Bleehhh

So yeah.. stuff.
Not been able to post for a while as my PC has been working as reliably as a chocolate cannon, just not quite so tasty, nautical or amusing. Now it's just about working.
Seen some more annoying I.F.O's (see below) this week.. Wilkinson's had a hideously huge amount of Dancing Things Playing Irritating Tunes, and now lights have been put up in both Stockton and Middlesbrough, though thankfully they're not lit yet. I doubt they'll wait till December for the lighting.. all that remains to be seen is which Z list celeb they get to turn them on.
I've been working late at work (I'm starting late too.. it's not overtime) because the people I'm training work late shifts. It's messed up my body clock a bit I think, which is annoying. Only a few days left at that tho.
Also, Anna's given me her cold *shakes fist*.

It's F**king October

If you find the shop you normally buy your condoms from just isn't quite festive enough this autumn, why not pop over to Boots in Middlesbrough. Boots are not content with containing the (two month early) Non Denominational Winter Festival cheer in the several aisles of christmas gifts (which are on the ground floor right by the "healthy" food, despite the fact that gifts are normally in the basement of this store), oh no.. they felt it completely necessary to put tacky stars on every shelf, even those where it doesn't quite feel appropriate.

The IFO Hall of Shame

It's that most wonderful time of the year... sleigh bells are ringing and plastic homer simpsons dressed as santa are rocking from side to side to the sound of off-key electronic music.
Hallowe'en isn't even past us yet - plastic witches hats filled with sugar and e-numbers masquerading as sweets are filling up the stores - but it's already time to be preparing for Non Denominational Wintertide Festival.. at least in the eyes of some retailers it is.
So here we come to the "It's F**king October" Hall of Shame - A collections of the worst spreaders of Autumnal Christmas Cheer. Feel free to send in your own images to rob (at) go-forth dot co dot uk and I'll add them to the hall of shame.
To start, here's Woolworths in Middlesbrough:

Many ailes of wrapping paper, cards, trees, and the almost compulsory twee dancing cutesy ornaments. I could've taken many more photos of different angles, but at least the Hallowe'en display has greater presence in the store, and it's rather easy to ignore this section.

And here's BHS, also in Middlesbrough:
Here an absolutely huge proportion of the ground floor is taken up with the special festive display. There's possibly actually less stuff here than in Woollies, but it's a more in-your-face layout and it takes up about a quarter of the ground floor. Special mention goes to the "seasonal chocolate calenders" - I guess the word "advent" is against the law or something.

Weekend Almost Gone

It's Sunday afternoon about half past five, and the weekend is almost gone. I really feel like I could do with a few other days off work, but unfortunately I'm back at work tomorrow.
Friday night was Persecution as normal - well, it's never normal really, but there you go.
Headed over to Anna's Saturday afternoon and helped her sister Claire demolish the metal cabin beds in her room. Stayed over there last night and arrived back here a little while ago.
The walk back from Anna's house takes me along a road called Norton Road, which is a bit of a depressing place to walk:


How pleasant eh?
So anyway, at the end of that road is the bus stop where I sat for a while before getting the bus home.

That Friday Feeling

Ah, work on a Friday..
Sure, it's still work, but it's more relaxed feeling and we all dress down, which is nice.
Today I am wearing a custom T-shirt I made with the phrase "Fix it yourself." written on it, which is certainly apt for working on tech support.
I'm actually just training people still so it's less relevant, but people still wander over and ask for help so it is still appropriate.

Training running through my veins..

The internet ate the post I wrote on Wednesday. Annoying really because I thought it was quite a good post. Eloquent even. Well, maybe. Worst thing about it is that I can't remember what I wrote at all..

Floor Food

I just made myself dinner, then dropped it on the floor.

I'm hungry.

Work on a Sunday

It's 8:35 and I am standing in a bus stop waiting for a bus that may not exist. (Sunday buses suck.) I'm in work today; I haven't worked sundays since before I was training people. It's odd having to get up early like this. It's quiet. Too quiet. At least I got to stay in bed longer than normal - shifts start at nine on weekends. No sign of a bus yet. Hope I don't wind up being late. I have a flask of coffee in my hand, because that seemed like a good idea. Coffee my friend. Ah, a bus. On my merry way now.