Horace's Biting the Bullet Diary

Horace

The college placement did not go well yesterday - I got spat at for daring to use the disabled loo in the building (the only loo in the building I was in), I really don't think that working with folks with such severe difficulties is really for me. I also came home with a migraine and when I woke this morning my vision was blurred and I kept walking into walls etc. I did not go to college today.

However, after resting my eyes I did venture into the garden after lunch and dug out half a border and put some plants and bulbs in - also dug up plants, cleared the weeds from around them and replanted them. I stopped gardening at around 5.30pm and I shall be spending the day in the garden again tomorrow.

The men will be coming to fit my new back door at 8am (mum reckons that will be then they will be there and I am to phone her after they have finished at mine - they are going to her's to fit a new kitchen window). Mum has offered me some primroses and yet more plants from her garden - I have a load to put in so I shall put them in tomorrow now I have worked out where they are going - I also need to dig over the other side of the garden that was weedkillered several times but you would never know it.

Today, I made soup using the tired tomatoes (those with split skins and those definitely on the turn). It was rather yummy as I had some for tea.

I had some jobs to do today - sort out my registration to vote (in the end calling as their website did not work properly). I discovered yesterday that from next year we are having to pay for our green waste to be recycled and there is only so much I can put in a compost bin. I rang the council and apparently their system said that I could have 1 roll of 60 bags for £30 and if I wanted more bags then I had to pay a further £30 per roll. I decided that really wasn't what I wanted as I can easily get through 60 bags. Their daft system would now allow the call handler to go back and make changes either so I declined to continue and applied online - guess what, I can have a wheelie bin for £30 (instead of £35), this makes more sense to me because I don't have to pay each time the bin is emptied and I can fit a lot into a bin. The daft system doesn't even allow for people providing their own bags - the recycling police have said that this is not allowed!

I did get a wolf whistle and a comment by the hunk roofing my neighbour's house today - apparently I have a cute backside:o well, it did spend a lot time being waggled in the air as I dug out weeds and bent over ensuring that all the roots had been picked out.

Wishing too that I had accepted the daffs from my mum along with the crocuses - there only seems to be one squirrel left now and he is too manic and barely has time to rest and dig for fear of the large black cat that has killed many of his relatives. At least these would have a fighting chance with only one squirrel.

beanielou

So are you going to manage to go to college tomorrow then?

Horace

I do not have to attend college on Wednesdays as it is my day for personal job search. I spent the day in the garden digging and putting in plants.

My new backdoor has been fitted - they turned up at 8.45 so I could have had a lie in instead of getting up at 6.30..grump.

I have had a reject email from a job that I applied for ages ago so they have had a response because I am quite cross. I had great difficulty completing the online form because it was not compatible with the assistive technology I was using and I could not see the typeface otherwise as it was too small (quite ironic considering I was applying for a job at the college that I attend which is a college for the blind). I have now asked for all kinds of things such as their shortlisting criteria and reminding them of the two ticks scheme that the college claims to subscribe to - so we shall wait and see.

In the meantime, I am in the process of applying for a temporary job with MnS as I have completed their online questionnaire and I would make a great customer services assistant. Just tried to log back into the form (I needed to complete a postode because I only had the first part) but their website is now down.

I shall be going to college tomorrow because I shall be asking for another placement - I am really not enjoying this one at all and to be honest I do not want to go in on Friday.

Horace

I had a fairly quiet weekend - didn't do any gardening due to the weather and haven't done any since last week.

I am bussing it into college now on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays as these are now my allocated days with Wednesdays and Fridays being personal study days. In reality I should leave at 2pm on Tuesdays but today I left at 3pm because I was completing an application form for an internal post at the college. My wordprocessing tutor put me forward for it because I am not only speedy but accurate when I type.

I have also changed which bus I get home too - rather than walking across the city I get a number 29 which takes me part way and from there I can get my usual bus. It also means that I can drop into Aldi which I did last night as I needed bits and again tonight because I had spotted some shrub roses which I discovered they were selling for £1.98 so I got 3.

I have been busy applying for jobs and one I had to submit an application to Australia for a job with an Australian firm here in the UK and I have just done one for the local hospital too.

Had to go and see my next door neighbour when I got home tonight too because she was worried about me. She had seen my car outside which hadn't moved all weekend (it moved on Sunday but she didn't see) and thought I must have been ill. She was doubly worried and rang my landline leaving a message and coming around knocking on the door and getting no answer because I was out. She was getting to the stage if I had not put in appearance tomorrow then she was set to call the police for them to break in. I had to explain that I do not take the car into the city centre as parking is limited where I attend college and expensive if I park elsewhere and the bus is £3.90 for a daysaver.

There are times when I wish I hadn't become involved with the friends group - I have to deal with an awkward person who has now decided to dot eyes and cross tees and because he hasn't got the answer he expected from me feels that he has to refer upwards to a forum that covers the whole of Birmingham that assists friends groups. The answers are there in the constitution and in the minutes of the EGM should he choose to read them:mad: I think he is one of those people who likes to have a management committee post but feels that he shouldn't actually have to do anything and now he is becoming more involved because he should be rather than sit on the sidelines all the time and whinge.

I shall have to spend some time tomorrow going about my friendly duties as I have a form to complete and a letter to send so that we can gain funds from a community chest. I also need to contact one of the local parks about some 10 year old oak trees that we can have for our own park as well as start setting up this website.

I also have housework to attend to.

Horace

I took some nectarines back to Sainsburys today - they had had a display until 16 October on them but when I went to use them yesterday morning they had gone bad, I had eaten one of them and took 3 back and they agreed with me that they weren't right and replaced them and refunded my money.

I did do a little bit of spending and I now have some new kitchen scales that are easier to read for a bargainous £3 and they came with a 15 year guarantee (thank you Salters), I got some of those sticky uppy hooks that they advertise on the telly as they were greatly reduced and now I have two hooks in the kitchen to hang a towel and my oven gloves on.

I was hoping to do a spot of gardening but rain stopped play. I had to deal with a friends group problem too - why am I blessed with nincompoops who don't read emails. How many times do I have to repeat myself before it sinks in?:mad:

I have also been applying for jobs today but no real housework done - it will have to be done on Friday.

Aesop

Horace wrote: »

I did get a wolf whistle and a comment by the hunk roofing my neighbour's house today - apparently I have a cute backside:o well, it did spend a lot time being waggled in the air as I dug out weeds and bent over ensuring that all the roots had been picked out.

woohoo dont think there is a wolf whistle smiley

Horace

No more hunks to ogle at as the roof has been done and the scaffolding was removed today. No more wolf whistles either - mind you with my red nose I doubt that I would get anything other than a carrot as I look like Rudolph.:(

Was most miffed with college yesterday as my final session of the day from 2.30 til 3.45 is employment support where I get some support to complete application forms. I was told at 3pm that I had to leave because the staff were having a meeting - how disorganised they could quite easily have organised this meeting at 3.45pm or even 4pm. I was home by 4pm.

All the hanging about in the wet at bus stops has given me a streaming cold, I had a sore throat at college yesterday and today has been spent mainly feeling sorry for myself with aching joints, a sore mouth (dunno why but I get a mouth full of ulcers when I have a cold) and a nose that feels like a tap. I had no energy to do anything so the bulbs did not get put in nor did I do any digging in the garden - I have 3 rose bushes to put in now.

The friends group is getting on my tut too - if I hear one more word about the playground being in the park I swear that I will string someone up by the short & curlies. What is about these people - I get the feeling that they don't like kids at all and do not want them to play anywhere. These same people do not want events in the park that bring the community together nor do they want any trees planted - it should just be one huge open space for their dogs to run around in and nobody else should use.:mad:

Suppose I had better go and get a new supply of tissues as these are now sodden.

Aesop

sorry to hear you are not well - have you tried eating marmite? this is supposed to be good for mouth ulcers.

Horace

Eww to marmite

I had a bowl of porridge at around 9pm last night. I am now eating Potters Cattarrh pastilles as my nose is now blocked and I cannot breathe. I ventured into the garden earlier and although it was warm it killed me just walking to the top of the path and back (I had to go to the freezer for something but took advantage of the sunshine).

Mum rang to see how I was and I said that I had managed to get up at around 9am instead of midday like yesterday although I still felt dreadful. She rang to tell me about an offer on at her local garden centre and that she gets 10% off, plus she wanted to tell me about the electrician and the lights - hopefully he will come either on Wednesday or Friday of next week. Apparently he is tied up with a job in another part of Birmingham but mum has said how concerned she is because of my visual impairment and that the lighting downstairs is particularly bad and that I have had to resort to using a daylight lamp to read by.

I said that I wished I had the energy to catch up with the garden and stuff so I was advised to take it easy. The thing is that when I get the flu (it is what I have - it isn't a cold) I get really knocked about because I have a damaged immune system - it is also annoying that I have been unable to take my eye meds so no doubt my eye pressures will increase and the uveitis will be back:(

It looks like we are going to get more rain, the sky has gone very dark, the wind has picked up and I swear I have just heard thunder. I must say that is unseasonably warm.

Feeling a bit meh so I might go and have a sprawl on the sofa and maybe doze off.

I have been using corsodyl for my mouth ulcers and they will go when the lurgy leaves me.

beanielou

Keep plodding & take care