Horace's Biting the Bullet Diary

Millie2008_2

Eeek, think you had a lucky escape with ex-BF! Dangly bits are never the most attractive, but even less so (I imagine) dangling out of the bottom of a lycra mini skirt. :rotfl:

I need to do some housework, have emptied my winter clothes all over the bedroom floor and can't quite bring myself to iron them and store my summer stuff..... oh and car was an epic MOT failure. Joy

Horace

Oh no Millie - is there much work to be done on your car to get it through the MOT? My car was a huge expense in the summer, mine also failed its MOT and was in for service at the same time so it ended up having some new suspension arms and other stuff done and then it passed the MOT..it cost me around £400 altogether:eek: Truth be known I am hankering after Dad's Honda Jazz bought new which is a few years' old now but only has something daft like 10K on the clock if that whereas my Yaris was bought new in 2001 and has around £72K on the clock:eek:

I am trying to get motivated now - I have done the required look for a job exercise and noted it down in my evidence book - my next sign on date is 4 November and I have to attend at 2pm instead of 2.50pm because I have to have an interview with an advisor - just wish I could find a job in the meantime...sigh.

These days I am spending my time meal planning and planning other stuff, now if I could tidy my bedroom then I can shift the cheap (free) chest of drawers out and wheel in my mahogany charity shop purchase (£20 for 1920's solid wood chest of drawers), the free set can go in the front room. Which reminds me, I need to wash my dressing table set which was a gift from my mum yonks ago...again 1920's glass. Can you see a theme here.....?

Found an old pic of ex BF too - one wonders what I found attractive to be honest because he really was quite vile and certainly deluded! I was called various names from Pups (sure this was because he had forgotten my name) to spaz (due to my loss of vision) and council house trash because I live in an ex council flat. Still, I got stuff from him like some foreign holidays, a portable DVD player x 2 (one broke), a tuffet that I use to put my virgin box on, a microwave, some shelves, the plate rack in the kitchen, a 1920's oak trolley that I put my tv on, my tv which cost him £93 (massive old thing) and a few clothes some of which I still have and some of which have gone to the charity shop...so he was useful for some things - it is a pity he was useless at everything else except lying - he was particularly good at that:rotfl:

Horace

Need to get onto the jobcentre next week - I now have no money coming in because my working tax credits have now ceased, I need that JSA:mad:

The door sausage I started making yesterday is now rather fat (stuffed with old clothes) and heavy - it is too big to stop draughts, however, it is fat enough and firm enough to be a bolster on my bed to prop me up when I am reading.

Horace

I managed a no spend weekend. I made a beef stew for dinner on Saturday night and meant to get something out of the freezer for Sunday but forgot so I re-slowcooked the remainder of the stew and had it for dinner last night.

Spent some lazy time and started reading a Wilbur Smith book (I must stop reading them as they are now quite vile) on Saturday evening, I finished it yesterday morning. I have sorted out some crates to pack stuff in - although I love my collection of books, I am toying with the idea of selling the paperbacks at least.

My working tax credits have now ended and I rang the benefits line to talk about my JSA this morning and it seems that I should get a decision on Wednesday, if I don't then I have to ring back and if I don't get accepted for JSA then I must claim income support. This morning was also washing day and washing up day.

I have booked to attend a breakfast event on Thursday - it means me leaving the house at the ungodly hour of 6am:eek:. This is an event run by the council and I paid £50 membership which includes all breakfasts some time ago..my membership expires in August 2012. I am trying to get a 1:1 meeting as it concerns events and the olympics next year, I want in on this as I know we have olympic teams basing themselves here.

I am in the process of completing applications for jobs too. Must admit that I got a bit narked this morning as on one of my other posts elsewhere on this forum someone dared to imply that I wasn't looking for work..considering the short amount of time that I have been signing on and my evidence book I don't think that anyone can say that!:mad:

Horace

The sun is out and amazingly I am feeling more bouyant today although part of me still feels as though there is a black dog sitting beside me - it is a crisis of confidence.

I am plodding my way through these application forms - one of the jobs is great because I have all the essentials and I even have knowledge of the desirable because of my own disability. I found a job that I am in applying for in Oxford working at the Holiday Inn, I don't particularly want to work in Oxford but the job interests me..so apply for it I must.

I was uber organised yesterday - got a chicken breast out of the freezer but couldnt prise off the one that was stuck to it, I roasted one to have with chips and the larger one was cut up and put on top of onion (large slices rescued from the beef stew before I started cooking it) and carrot, chopped an additional carrot to go in, sliced the chicken breast (I hate the feeling of raw meat) and bunged that in Pot with a schwartz chicken casserole mix..cooked it slowly for about an hour last night and now it is cooking ready for dinner tonight.

Had to laugh last night I ended up watching Attack of the Trip Advisors on Channel 4 (it was so good, I had to watch it again on C4+1). Mind you there was one woman who was a complete witch and she upped and left after a delicious meal had been cooked for her by the owners of a restaurant she had slated, they asked why she had done it and if she would remove it, after a while they went back on camera and this time her boyfriend terminated the conversation - basically because they had been backed into a corner and had so obviously been lying. I looked up the restaurant on TripAdvisor and this is the only bad complaint - all other reviews are good.

Horace

Horace has new hair and my confidence has been given a massive boost. It is a lovely coppery shade which picks up the highlights of my own colour minus the grey and it has had a fab treatment and great cut. What was even better, instead of paying £120 my hairdresser had asked his boss if he could let me have the hair cut and colour for half price (his boss is Adee Phelan)..result for me:D

Must admit that I like the new salon with doors that open onto the canal, it is quite airy and some of the furniture came from the House of Commons - two hard wood doors hung on the wall with mirrors where the main panels would be, seats are in front for the stylists. Then in other areas there are large wooden desks with what would have been bookcases above - some shelves remain but the doors have been removed and once again mirrors have been used again this furniture is from the House of Commons. There is some great artwork on the wall, little antique cabinets, statues (one of a huge gorilla and one that looks like a giant bracelet of sweets), there is even an ancient barber's chair. I even saw the famous clock that Adee Phelan found on The Secret Millionaire. Staff are friendly and the whole place has a great ambiance and is far better than the old salon I used to go to where you could cut the air with a knife because the stylists didn't get on. I also got asked out as my hairdresser classes me as a friend - although what kind of man I will meet I have no idea because my hairdresser is gay:D

Afterwards I wandered into the city centre and stopped by my favourite cafe for a double shot latte, some carrot cake and I succumbed to a ciabatta filled with Black Forest Ham, sundried tomatoes and rocket. I wouldnt normally eat out but I wanted to touch base with Dav because I have a plan to use the cafe for a networking event. However, it was nice to have a treat as I haven't really had a treat for ages.

I need to be up really early in the morning - I need to be at Birmingham Hippodrome at 6.45am for a breakfast meeting followed by a meeting at 8.40 with a chap from the council who is responsible for sports and events in the city - I am hoping to pick up some work for the Olympics. Another reason for having my hair done...now I don't look like a grey old dag.

Millie2008_2

Happy New Hair (just saw it on FB ) Salon sounds fab and I think I saw the owner on the Secret Millionaire- is it the one by the Mailbox? And well done you treating yourself while you were out, it's always good to show off that "just stepped out of salon" look

Need to get mine done, if only to stop my mother muttering about it

Good luck for the meeting tomorrow xx

beanielou

Happy new hair indeedy & I saw AP on Secret Millionaire.
Seemed a nice guy.

Horace

Millie AP's salon is in the Cube which is behind the Mailbox, easiest way to get there is to walk up the road immediately next to the Mailbox turn right and then you come to the cube..take the ramp down onto the towpath and then the entrance is on your left and Adee Phelan's salon is right there just on your right.

Breakfast meet was fab today - I havent been networking for ages. I came away with loads of new contacts - possible suppliers and I got my toe in the door with the council to organise events for them especially on the run up to the Olympics because we have the Americans and the Jamaicans using Birmingham as their training camps. I have asked if there are opportunities for freelancers like me and I was told there was and my details were taken so fingers crossed something will come from that, I shall also tender for things too and if successful will pull in sub-contractors to help me out (these will be businesses that I have worked with before whom I trust).

Came home via the credit union where I squirrelled away £25 leftover lolly from hair do, more may go in when I have filled my car with petrol, it depends on what I have left.

The new hair gave me a tremendous boost too:D

Aesop

well done on fab haircut and saving money. I was going to post yesterday, bet you feel like a million dollars, and I was right

got my haircut yesterday but I have a problem. If I sit still for too long, without moving or talking, I fall asleep. I kept falling asleep in the chair, so didn't get a chance to tell her my fringe is too long and I wanted it shorter