As of tomorrow, I is getting hitched *this* month.

Tomorrow is also my last day at work for most of September.

Tomorrow is also my last day in the current job that I’m doing, because my shitweeklastweek culminated in my interview and aptitude tests, and somehow (goodness knows how), I managed to get through them.

New job = promotion = more moolah = possible new car. S is beside herself. As am I, actually, as given that things are degrading fast in my office; I’m getting out at the right time.

New job is slightly different, less technical, more customer focused, and not where I am right now; which is the important thing!

So, I’m away from work for 3.5 weeks, and when I return, it really is a fresh, new, clean start.

Right now, it’s exactly what I need.

Ah.  Errr, Eeek.  Um.

So, yes, it’s this week.  Friday, to be precise.  Bloody hell.

I suppose I should be thankful to the Labour Govt (well, I have to thank them for something) for making this legal for us.

Anyway, the dresses are sorted, the shoes are prepped, the entertainment’s organised, everything, literally everything is paid for (I went to a wedding where my friend confessed that she’d loaded it onto her credit card.  Hmmm), and we’re ready to go.

I had a haircut and colour on Thursday, and a manicure and facial on Friday; the culmination of a seriously busy week.  Monday – Weds saw me in London; giving up the tube at 8.10am in favour of a 35min walk down the Grays Inn Road (thank goodness the rain started on Wednesday afternoon).  I still don’t think I could ‘do’ London daily, but if needs must I guess I’d train my body into the commuter routine somehow.  What I didn’t realise about my course was that there was an exam on Wednesday in the afternoon.  Talk about unprepared: I had homework every night and revision to do.  The exam wasn’t particularly pleasant but I scored well in the 4 mock exams I did beforehand so I’m mildly hopeful but we will see sometime in September as I think the results take 4-6 weeks to come through.

In the middle of this, I needed to complete my online aptitude tests and create a presenation – plus get ready for my interview on the Thursday.  The tests had to give, so I got an extension on them and completed them on Thursday night instead.  This was all well and good but the organiser forgot to include one on my login; so I had to hastily complete one on Friday in order to get everything in with the vain hope of finding out the interview outcome on Tuesday.

The interview itself wasn’t as bad as I anticipated.  The presentation was quite frankly shite, but I knew I wasn’t going to do well in it.  However, the interview was a competency based one; and I have had the fortune of being on the opposite side of the desk several times this year so I knew what sort of questions would be asked.  As a result, I knew what to prepare for and I thought that I’d got some of the answers nailed with some strong evidence.  We’ll see when it comes to feedback time – I hope it’ll be on Tuesday as I can start preparing a handover.

Back to the ‘do’ – we were invited out with a friend on Friday night and she took us to a pub we’d never been to before; when I walked in my sister was walking from a room into the bar.  It turned out that she’d (bless her) organised an ‘alternative hen do’ and invited friends from work as well as my mum, S’s mum and S-i-L to be.  Big surprise.  It was a fantastic evening; we had a lovely time and everyone was on form.  Hopefully a precursor to a great day next Friday.

4 more full days of singledom; I did joke to S that I might buy a ball and chain to clamp around my foot after the ceremony is over; the look  I received in response was not “yes dear, that’s a wonderful idea”, I can tell you…

… and boy, am I stressed.

Mostly because this week approaching is possibly the worst week for me this year. I seem to have a million and one things to do, and the mess in my house is driving me quite simply bonkers.

I have applied for a promotion within work. This is part of my ‘get out from where I am’ project. There are many new processes and procedures being proposed in my current role; and my lovely, lovely boss has already been sidelined and moved into another role. I couldn’t take the risk that the same would happen to me, so I had to get out.

It isn’t easy though. There is a bar on all external CS recruitment at the moment, but where contracts are coming to an end in some extreme cases the role is being advertised to staff. The job I have gone for is just that. (however, I suspect that the void I leave behind me will be filled by a contractor)

What’s causing me trouble is that my agency brought in new rules and regs for internal recruitment. This means that the procedure is extended and long winded.

I found out on Thursday that I have got through to interview for the role (so my application form – War and Peace- was successful). However, in order to complete the interview on Thursday 26th, I have to complete the following before then:

a 45min written exercise: completed today
3x aptitude tests, 45mins each, online (verbal, numerical and scenario based)
a 15min presentation, which I received the title of yesterday, and I am expected to present to the interview panel prior to interview on Thursday.
An hour-long interview (competency based)

To add to this, I have the following going on:
- the bunnies were castrated today and are feeling very sorry for themselves.
- Marmite is being rehomed tomorrow (expect many tears)
- I have ‘do’ things to complete, such as creating my menu cards, sorting my centrepieces out, sorting out any other bits and bobs that crops up (like paying for it.  Suffice to say I am broke)
- the house is a complete mess and needs cleaning and tidying
- I have a mountain of washing to do
- I have a 3 day course/certificate/exam thingy in London on Monday which I need to revise for.

All whilst S is away. Jeeps, I feel quite overwhelmed.

On the ‘do’ front – we have 2 weeks to go! Eeep. The final bits and pieces are coming together, I need to wear my shoes more in the house – I have this thing about weaing shoes in and boy do I need to do more of it!

I’ve invented Speech Bingo, which is exactly as it sounds – I need to warn the fathers that it’ll be going on as I expect people to shout ‘house’ as we are rattling on. I thought it might liven the speeches up, given that there will be four of them..!

I want the next week out of the way and the bank holiday weekend to provide some respite from some of the stresses the next week will bring… I’m not looking forward to it all in the slightest, but if it all goes well (!) then I may be facing my CP with a promotion in place

I will miss Marmite bunny, but he has argued one too many times with Scrumpy and needs space on his own. Having said that tonight post-castration he is very subdued and a wee bit grumpy with me for putting him through that. I told him that it was for the best

Sorry, am turning into a CP bore.

4 weeks to go yesterday!  Eeeep.

The dress has arrived and fits.  No pics of me in it, but a sneak preview of a little bit of it (in case S sees) here.

Shoes… they have arrived, they haven’t arrived and more have been ordered and arrived.

The first pair are lovely, I heart them very much, but even though they boasted that they were a 7.5 (so rare to find half sizes these days), they were, in reality, an 8 and therefore too big.  My sister has benefitted:

The next pair never arrived; when I enquired with the seller, they told me “there was a mark and we sent you 2 emails asking you if you still wanted them”.  Pah, emails schmemails; they so didn’t.  I’m connected 24/7 these days with my phone and no email arrived.  Anyway, the shoes that never were do not have a photo for obvious reasons…

The final pair, the pair which are just right for the day came earlier this week:

Yes, the photo’s blurry but it’s really hard to take a pic of your own feet from the side when you’re actually wearing the shoes.  Well, I’m not particularly very good at it, anyway.  These shoes are not 100% (I prefer the detailing on the first pair) and the heels are smaller; but I would’ve been 6ft in my other heels which is not a good thing when S is only 5ft 6 to start with… and is only wearing 1.5ins heels.  We’d have looked ridiculous.

So, things are coming together; we have a meeting with the photographer this week and are finalising our menu for the day.  Eeek indeed!

Non CP related, we have warring bunnies (with Scrumpy trying to be ‘top bunny’ and assert his dominance by way of trying to hump Marmite).  Needless to say this has caused lots of flying fur in the GOAS household and at the moment I have two cages with two very hormonal bunnies in it.  It’s very annoying and pissing me off no end, as 2x cages = 2x mess = 2x the amount of cleaning etc.  One is not amused.

Also non CP related, I am sad to report that my 10 years of loyalty to O2 has finished; upon the end of my contract they made no attempt to retain my custom and I shall shortly be a GiffGaff mobile user; which is ironic in some way as GiffGaff is owned by Telefonica who own O2… but heyho.  GiffGaff offers more for less; what O2 were trying to charge me £20 a month for, GiffGaff will do for £15, and currently £7.50 during the summer.  It’s a no brainer… so my number port is scheduled for the 12th and it’s cheeri-O2.  I’ve had that number for as long as I’ve been with O2 and quite frankly I couldn’t cope with another number; that is *my* number .  Anyway, asking me to remember another number at the moment is nigh on impossible with everything else that’s going on…

Oooh, shameless plug: if anyone wants a GiffGaff SIM card, let me know; it’s predominantly PAYG with the option to buy a ‘goodybag’ monthly which gives you the sort of thing you’d get on contract (my best option is £15 = 300mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet) but is more flexible, with back end cheapy pricing if you don’t want a bundle each month (like 4p/text).  It runs on the O2 network (so if you have shit coverage on O2 where you are, sorry!); but if I recommend you, you get £5 of credit on signing up…  www.giffgaff.com for more info but ask me to recommend you rather than obtaining your own SIM (you don’t get the fiver unless an existing member recommends you)

Yes peoples, less than 6  weeks to go until the ‘do’ and things are starting to get moving.  I had a hair and makeup trial this week, which turned out to be just makeup as the woman has advised me to go and get my hair coloured in order to put some life in it (I have the shittiest, finest hair going) before she will do anything with it.  Great, that’s another expense I didn’t need…

Went to Birmingham on Friday with the intention of buying shoes.  My sister is starting to rival Imelda Marcos but even she drew a blank where shoes were concerned.  We did, however, agree that I couldn’t be in heels all day and that something funky was in order for the evening so I can actually move.  S has ordered Converse so I’ve countered it with these.  They’re £70 cheaper than anywhere else I’ve seen them, so I’m feeling rather smug with that particular purchase.  The day shoes have tentatively been chosen as these, but this may change if I find something locally when I trawl the shops here soonish.  It never hurts to have a choice of shoes.

I have a dress fitting on Saturday.  eep.

I have put half a stone on since my monster weightloss.  Double eep.  To counter this I have suitable underwear designed to assist with hiding this, and hiding it does.

I buggered my knee a couple of weeks ago… I didn’t write about it and meant to; but I’ve damaged a ligament – I think it’s the medial collateral ligament.  Twitter followers will know of my discomfort.  Three weeks later and it’s still not right, so I’m going to go back to the doctors and see if there’s any long term damage going on.  If I overdo it or stretch it in a ‘wrong position’ (which I don’t know is wrong until my knee goes that way), I reverse the healing process by a couple of weeks.  I’ve done it twice since I initially knackered the knee and I’m actually a bit worried that it will hinder me from dancing at the ‘do’.  It certainly hinders me from walking up and down stairs and makes me walk like a penguin, which is very amusing for everyone else…

I’m losing S to the football this year once again.  Never mind, I have the boys to keep me company (shameless excuse for cute rabbit pictures:

Marmite, having a bit of a lie down after tearing around our spare room…

Scrumpy, in a rare moment of looking like a rabbit, and not like a cat

Marmite looks a wee bit evil in this pic…

On the work front: things are still as shitty as ever; to the point that S is thinking of ditching the CS.  Me?  I’ve been offered a possible way out of current situation; lovely lovely lovely boss man has told me to go for it, and it’s something I would like to get into.  I’ll get the quals, give it a year, then feck off to industry.  I owe the CS nothing, although it owes me a little in return, mind…. (like some sort of training would be good)…

A post is brewing about the CS, 25-40% cuts, women in IT (including some v interesting papers which were retweeted by Tweeps I follow), and the pressures of being told you’re “good at your job”.

In the interim:

Woot for Thatchers Cider (am taking advantage of a trip to the Outlaws to hop on down to the Thatchers Farm Shop today), woot for sleep (it worked wonders on the migraine I had last night), woot for my sister who is feeding the rabbits whilst we’re away, and woot for my Outlaws who have bought me a Marmite Toast Rack and Marmite Teapot

TEAPOT!

Non woots: work, foursquare and gowalla (why?). The latter are a particular concern for someone like me who has to be careful about the information I share, so you won’t be finding me on either of those sites…

As I ponder the time for an upgrade to WordPress (3.0′s out, dontcha know), I wonder if it’s worth me continuing with the GOAS blog. It’s come a long way since Xanga days, and rarely receives that many visits or comments any more.

Plus, all of my visitors, to my knowledge, are all following me via other social networking methods, which leads me to ponder on whether the GOAS blog is worthwhile any more.

I’m trying to think up the ‘next big social networking’ thing; and wonder about creating something, I just need to work out what the web needs…

No, I haven’t watched the Anne Lister thing yet (I plan to shortly)…  I was too busy being ill in Sheffield and forgot to make use of that wonderful iphone SkyPlus app on S’s phone to record it.  Meh.  Please don’t post any spoilers!

The bunnies have arrived home in the GOAS household and are making a nuisance of themselves already.  We are owners of a docile, sensitive little beastling, who is scared to do anything and is second to doing most things.  Spookily he’s already showing signs of being exactly the same as S in temperament.  The other beastling is exactly like me; inquisitive, has made to escape already (within 24hrs of being home he’d had enough) and is generally dominant in the cage and first to the food, etc.  He’s mine, funnily enough.

It was S’s birthday on Saturday, and we “ran” the Race For Life in MK.  If you don’t know where it’s held, take a big park, start on top of a hill, make people run for 4.5k downhill and along the canal.  Add in a generous helping of 25 degree plus weather, ensure that you sprinkle in plenty of pollen and finish off with a steep incline for the remaining 500m.  I nearly died, S nearly had an asthma attack and it was at that point that everyone else saw us – looking like shit.

Still, 43m50s was my time, I ran and power-walked it (probably about 50-50) which is more than I thought I could do.  5k on my phone measured at 3.18miles, and that was the quickest I’d completed that distance in.  Still can do much better so I’m not really happy with myself, but for a first 5k with minimal training it’ll do.

The stupid woman at HeartFM didn’t wait for us to look when she took our pic afterwards, though…

Work has been manic, and we decided to take last week off (forgetting that it was half term), and headed to Sheffield for a restful couple of days.  I think we’re done with Sheffield for a while though, whilst we love the place there isn’t anything more for us there at the moment.  We had a few strolls around old stamping grounds and into our favourite watering holes, as well as up and down the studenty areas.  I drank a lot of Costa coffee.  So did S.  I also ate some surprisingly good food, saw an average film (SATC2) and the next night, ate some rather woeful food (Aagrah restaurants you could learn an awful lot about how to make a decent passanda and that biryani should be oven cooked.  And you proclaim to be based in Leeds/Bradford and throughout Yorkshire.  Tut) and spent my last night curled up in bed with stomach issues.

… and I thought they’d gone away.

Plans for the next few weeks: lots of work (boo), some lazy weekends (hurrah), lots and lots of expense (argh!) and probably more bunny tales to tell.

I’m going to turn into the boring mad bunny woman for a while, and for that I apologise…

Risking a typical response from Monsieur Homard, we are getting a couple of rabbits in the GOAS household. These are the type of rabbits it’s OK to leave out when your mother’s visiting…

S has been mulling over the idea of a pet for a while; and had decided that she wanted a dog, but only one like similar to that of my parents’. Owning a dog is not possible at the moment, so that idea had to be scrapped.

Then it was onto kitty cats, for S would very much like one; but as she is allergic to cat fur it appears that’s a no-go, so we are trialling pets in the home with a couple of house bunnies.

They haven’t been seen nor picked up yet, but we’re off to see some this weekend at a place where the people are members of the British Rabbit Council (or something akin to that), and she’s hoping to reserve them to pick them up in a few weeks’ time. Pictures to follow if they do indeed arrive home.

As for songs; the search goes on. I have an instrumental of Florence & The Machine’s “You’ve Got The Love” which will be played, as well as some others up my sleeve. We are then working on a playlist for throughout the meal as muzak (no big stompy shouty stuff annoyingly).

In the evening, we have asked for everyone to suggest some songs to play, as we have found that those who suggest songs are more than likely to get up and dance when their song is on.

Work has been manic and most of it’s my fault as I’ve been working additional hours to get some overtime in.. desperate times call for desperate measures; and I’ve taken the approach that I’d better get it all in now whilst I can, before Hague and Co wield their sharpened axe…

ETA: Wabbits!  Pics of Wabbits!  #Wabbitscanhazcuteness

http://twitpic.com/1q51dw -  Scrumpy
http://twitpic.com/1q51ik -  Marmite