But I don't even like work

[rebness]

I've been working in Manchester for the last few weeks, though our office opened in Liverpool city centre this week. And everything's mad busy. It's usually two hours before I can even get a cup of tea (quelle horreur!) and check my e-mail. There's just so much do and not enough staff to do it. I also have 6.5 days' holiday to take before Christmas and I just don't have the time to take it, but we can't carry it over to next year. So frustrating! I may try and take a few days off in November to go and visit my Barcelona friends. I hate using holidays to just sit around online.

Then again, every single goddamn website except Google maps is blocked at work, so I don't have time to post to the VC comm except of a night/weekend, check newspapers and all that general faffing about I do online. I'm sorry for the protracted absence, you guys. It's especially bad when I feel like our beloved LJ needs all the support it can get right now, with people flitting off to Tumblr (great for photos, not so great for blogging) and *spit* Facebook. I hope to get a phone that allows proper web browsing soon.

I spent the weekend in London with squishypeanut, who is always a delight to be around and who always takes the opportunity to educate me in music. (I tend towards the most generic stuff if not pushed.) We saw lots of live music, visited the awesome Camden markets, ate good food and watched lots and lots of nerdy science videos.

                            
                                       An honest-to-goodness, real live shark, Brighton


She also insisted I read Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, a really good book of anecdotes from Richard Feynman. I'm getting really interested in all this ~sciencey stuff, though I don't hold with his assertion that there's little to be found in humanities. I love my literature and poetry and all that, so sorry. But he's very funny and interesting. I'll review the book soon.

I just really feel like I need a few days to wind down and write up stuff for my LJ, write fic and continue with my original stuff, maybe draw a little. This month's very busy for me with birthdays, social stuff and work, but when the arsey long nights draw in come November, I'm sitting down with some green tea and writing, so help me God.

Anyway, what are the haps, my friends?

Comments

[mcgarrygirl78.livejournal.com]

I got the Samsung Galaxy 4G and it kicks ass for web. My boss hasnt blocked stuff at work but I know he's watching us with spyware and I just got tired of hearing him say in meetings there was too much goofing off. So I just hang out on my phone during the day. Its been much better.

I wish I had some vacation time left. I got nothing I didnt even have a proper vacation this year due to using up most of my time on recovery from multiple dental surgeries.

I somehow manage to find plenty of time to write though this is surely at the expense of other things like socialization and sometimes work.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I've heard good things about the Samsung! I shall check it out.

Ugh, it really pisses me off that a lot of companies (hmm, including my current one) are so arsey about time off for surgery. I absolutely don't think we should be forced to use our vacation days for it. Unfortunately, it seems only the NHS has ever been good about that, as an employer. I guess they have to be!

You're such a prolific writer. I kind of envy how you do it. :D

[mcgarrygirl78.livejournal.com]

Dont envy me, I'm kinda obsessive. Writing comes before everything, sleeping, eating, work...its sick. But its kept me safe and sane more times than I can count so I live and try to share space with the monster. And I never want it to leave me.

Yeah, my boss screwed me on time but the man screwing the proletariat is the American way. And next year I get three weeks vacation.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

What the hell holidays do you have currently!?

[mcgarrygirl78.livejournal.com]

Um, New Year's Day and Martin Luther King Day in January. Then nothing till Good Friday in either March or April, Memorial Day in May, Independence Day in July, Labor Day in September, Thanksgiving in November, and Christmas in December.

We dont get President's Day in February, Columbus Day in October, or Veteran's day in November.

Other than that I get like 8 sick/personal days and 15 vacation days come January for 5 years of work. We get nothing, I know.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

The UK sucks for bank holidays - I think we're amongst the lowest in Europe, so we also only get eight days.

We also get, on average, four weeks' holiday. Sickness varies across jobs. I've always complained about how low our holiday allowance is compared to the rest of Europe, but now I feel churlish! That's horribly low. >:|

[mcgarrygirl78.livejournal.com]

Every job I worked was one week's vacation for the 1st two years, then 2 weeks for years 3 and 4 and then three after 5 years. I dont know too many jobs that go over 3 weeks but there are some. Sick/personal varies here too and a lot of corporate jobs are off for all banking holidays. Some even have a floater, that you can use cuz some people dont get off for MLK or President's Day or something.

We're basically making companies all this money and barely have enough time off to properly take care of ourselves and family. But what's the alternative? In this economy I count my blessings everyday I have a job, even when I want to set the place on fire.

[iskra667.livejournal.com]

Hey babe! In case you want to hang out, I'll be in London Mon 24 - Friday 28 Oct (for a training thing), and I'm considering staying Sat 29th as well because there is THIS THING THAT SOUNDS FUCKING AWESOME:

http://www.diefrechemuse.co.uk/die-freche-muse-halloween/

I've been wanting to go for ages and I'll be in London at just the right time, so I think I'll have a look :)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOD

OH MY GOD I LOVE IT

I can't say for sure on London right now, but let me check this out and get back to you. *flailing*

[iskra667.livejournal.com]

No prob! I don't even know yet where the course will take place so I don't have my hotel room yet :s

You're welcme to squat in my hotel room if you want!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Hahahaa. Oh my God, I am so tempted! I have to check out the ridiculous train prices and see! :D

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

That sounds SO AMAZING! Sob, I wish I could come.:( LONDON, Y U HAVE ALL THE BEST STUFF.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I will pray to the Ryanair fairies for you ;-;

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

...For one, single, terrifying moment I read that as "Ryan Murphy fairies".

[rebness.livejournal.com]

They would be the best kind. :D

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

Is there a Ryan Murphy fairy that will grant my Kinn wishes?:(

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I think he's having fun hinting at it. :p

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

Effing troll.>:( Then again, it's not as if he hasn't portrayed step-sibling romance before, so MAYBE...

[moon-chylde.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain about your favorite sites being blocked at work. Same here. Every once in a while for some reason I can access LJ and FB, but it never lasts long before the programmers realize it and re-block.

It's really sad because it used to take me forever to get caught up on LJ when I'd get home, but now it only takes a few minutes. Even the tons of communities I belong to are much quieter than they used to be.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

It's just so irritating. I suppose it's good in the sense that I am reading books a lot more because the internet is verboten for a large part of the day, but feh.

I'm annoyed at the LJ thing. I think some users are very fickle, though I do understand those who left for Dreamwidth. I'm sticking with it until the bitter end, as I suspect a few of us on my flist will do!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I adore your icon, by the way.

[ukashi-goshi.livejournal.com]

HEY THERE YOUR AWESOMENESS! :) I've missed you. I was just about to send you an email this evening when I saw this. Oh yes, smart phone iz absolute necessity for you. I hope you can catch a little free time one way or another for all the writing!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I'VE MISSED YOU

And writing. We need to get on that project we talked about. ;_;

[ukashi-goshi.livejournal.com]

Aw, don't worry about it, bb! You've got a ton on your plate right now. I kind of do too. *scribblescribblescribble* If you feel like it, awesome - if not, the idea will keep nicely until we're ready! :)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I'm muy busy tomorrow with social stuff, but I am determined to write on Sunday. Let's see what happens, bb. And if you want to e-mail me, do so, anyway. <3

[ukashi-goshi.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was just going to email to see if you'd fallen off the face of the earth or become a vampire & thought you were too cool for us or something. :D I have not been remotely productive on our little bit of crack!fluff, very busy writing other stuff. (And no promises I'll be able to tear my head away from that, so really no pressure on you to write anything. Though if you do I will NOM DOWN ON IT LIKE WHOA even if I can't contribute. ^_^ )

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

I feel what you're saying. I'm probably not nearly as busy as you, yet time to properly engage in brainy LJ activities (let alone writing) is way scarce. Barcelona sounds awesome, though! And you seem to be way better than me at the "doing stuff instead of being online" thingy. *shame*

I feel like that Tumblr-related "j'accuse" is directed at me. *shifty eyes* It's just, it's so much easier to communicate via gifs when you're tired! But I'll never move over to Facebook. Never.

I'm sure we all eagerly await more Rebness-to-LJ quality time!;)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Yes, but I have such a horribly expensive hobby. I should stay in and write more. Le sigh.

That j'accuse wasn't directed at you, though I suppse you do fit the bill a bit! Hahaha. I just am irritated at everyone who's completely abandoned LJ for Facebook and Tumblr, when we know that those mediums won't last long, either. Thankfully, even those on my flist who have gone quiet on their own journals tend to be very active on the VC Comm. I need that to keep going, because where the hell else is our fandom represented on the internet?

And you haven't abandoned LJ wholly, so quit with the shifty eyes. <3

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

But shifty eyes are an essential part of my Louis charms. It's in the Creole handbook!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Shifty Creole eyes! <3

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

Ah, glorious days of my first forays into fandom. What fic was that again? One of DarkAngel's?

[rebness.livejournal.com]

It was! I loved that we both referenced that. <3

I was thinking about an Auden fic I am dying to find again that was unfinished. I can't even remember what it was called! I can't decide whether to see if we can get people to share older fics that we can't find online anymore. I have loads printed out from when I should've been concentrating on my uni coursework... *shifty Creole eyes*

[starsandgutters.livejournal.com]

Because we're awesome that way! :D

Oooh, Auden's fics. So many plucks on my heartstrings.;3;

Darling, the best fic is guiltypleasure!fic. No sweeter entertainment, surely. (But never stop making Louis eyes at moi.)

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

THAT'S NOT A REAL SHARK.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

HOW DARE YOU HURT ITS SHARKY FEELINGS LIKE THAT