The News In Brief
Sep. 11th, 2010 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laliandraOh yes, I should probably mention how my life is going outside of my ficcing. Ficcing is a verb, definitely. Totally. See my bend the English language to my will!
Firstly, and pmost important, I have Gainful Employment for the next five months. \o/!
I had been temping for a company that make hair straighteners. And other exciting hair related products. I am the only person in the entire office who has curls. It's somewhat ironic.
We were working on checking boxes and boxes of a new design of straighteners because they had faulty hinge covers. Oh yes, I have a degree, and I was popping buttons off straignteners. Sigh. But now I have been picked from the team to be a more permenant temp. This means I get to do all kinds of exciting things like scan documents, play with 3000 volt probes and decide whether returned straighteners are fakes or good'uns. This last part is my favourite! I feel like a tiny White Collar division all my own!
The people I work with are mostly extremely nice. When we were in the warehouse we were given knives to open the boxes with, of the sharp stanley knife variety. Then we were given normal eating knives to pop the buttons with. A decision was taken to name our knives. Mine is Nick :D. We also had Arthur, Pedro, Delilah and Bernard)
By the end of the week all our knives had backstories, lives and relationships. I neatly inserted fandom references for my own amusement (Nick doesn't play well with the other knives. Arthur likes his hazard tape suit to be neat). I like people who like to name their weaponry, what can I say?!
However, one of them is kind of fabulously stupid. She is That Girl, Karen, from Mean Girls.
Me: Yeah, I have a stupid accent. It is from no place in England.
Karen: Yeah! Are you from America?
Me: Um. No.
This is probably more funny if you have ever heard me talk. Imagine the most BBC, standard English, RP, newsreader accent you possibly can. That's me.
THEN.
Me: Well, I'm South African, really,
Karen: *puzzled look*
Me: I know I don't sound it, but really. And no, my parents were not crazy racists. (People have asked in the past!)
Karen: No! I just... You're so. You're not.
Me: *thinks*Oh god, is she about to ask me why I'm not black?
Karen: You're not actually from Africa, right? You're too pale!
Me: Yup. She is.
So.
Yeah.
That happened.
Karen also thought that Hong Kong was in America and that hamburgers were made of ham. Oh, and that beef and steak were not the same thing.
Anyway, it's really great to have the stability of knowing that I will have a wage coming in for the next few months. I never, ever thought I would be so excited about stabilty. Such is life.
Also, my lovely friend Cat is living with me and Nat for the next month. She's just finished a Masters and is Between Houses and Between Plans, both of which I understand completely. She is crazy and awesome and made me read NC-17 Inception fic aloud to her.
I have been having a lovely time of late, both online and off. My friend Belle came up for the weekend and we had an awesome time. We went to Tropical World and saw meercats and lemurs! I love meercats and lemurs! My now ex-housemate Elliot has moved back to Leeds and has a teeny tiny chocolate box cottage! Most. Adorable.
And the fic writing continues apace. I have been writing in my notebook (on paper! With an actualfax pen!) and I actually wrote out the <i></i> for italics. I am such a loser.
ALSO, Strictly Come Dancing is coming back soon \o/! White Collar continues to be awesome! Merlin is back! I might go see Scott Pilgrim soon! It is the Last Night of the Proms!
Anyway, how is everyone? I feel behind! I pledge a love eternal to you all <3
Firstly, and pmost important, I have Gainful Employment for the next five months. \o/!
I had been temping for a company that make hair straighteners. And other exciting hair related products. I am the only person in the entire office who has curls. It's somewhat ironic.
We were working on checking boxes and boxes of a new design of straighteners because they had faulty hinge covers. Oh yes, I have a degree, and I was popping buttons off straignteners. Sigh. But now I have been picked from the team to be a more permenant temp. This means I get to do all kinds of exciting things like scan documents, play with 3000 volt probes and decide whether returned straighteners are fakes or good'uns. This last part is my favourite! I feel like a tiny White Collar division all my own!
The people I work with are mostly extremely nice. When we were in the warehouse we were given knives to open the boxes with, of the sharp stanley knife variety. Then we were given normal eating knives to pop the buttons with. A decision was taken to name our knives. Mine is Nick :D. We also had Arthur, Pedro, Delilah and Bernard)
By the end of the week all our knives had backstories, lives and relationships. I neatly inserted fandom references for my own amusement (Nick doesn't play well with the other knives. Arthur likes his hazard tape suit to be neat). I like people who like to name their weaponry, what can I say?!
However, one of them is kind of fabulously stupid. She is That Girl, Karen, from Mean Girls.
Me: Yeah, I have a stupid accent. It is from no place in England.
Karen: Yeah! Are you from America?
Me: Um. No.
This is probably more funny if you have ever heard me talk. Imagine the most BBC, standard English, RP, newsreader accent you possibly can. That's me.
THEN.
Me: Well, I'm South African, really,
Karen: *puzzled look*
Me: I know I don't sound it, but really. And no, my parents were not crazy racists. (People have asked in the past!)
Karen: No! I just... You're so. You're not.
Me: *thinks*Oh god, is she about to ask me why I'm not black?
Karen: You're not actually from Africa, right? You're too pale!
Me: Yup. She is.
So.
Yeah.
That happened.
Karen also thought that Hong Kong was in America and that hamburgers were made of ham. Oh, and that beef and steak were not the same thing.
Anyway, it's really great to have the stability of knowing that I will have a wage coming in for the next few months. I never, ever thought I would be so excited about stabilty. Such is life.
Also, my lovely friend Cat is living with me and Nat for the next month. She's just finished a Masters and is Between Houses and Between Plans, both of which I understand completely. She is crazy and awesome and made me read NC-17 Inception fic aloud to her.
I have been having a lovely time of late, both online and off. My friend Belle came up for the weekend and we had an awesome time. We went to Tropical World and saw meercats and lemurs! I love meercats and lemurs! My now ex-housemate Elliot has moved back to Leeds and has a teeny tiny chocolate box cottage! Most. Adorable.
And the fic writing continues apace. I have been writing in my notebook (on paper! With an actualfax pen!) and I actually wrote out the <i></i> for italics. I am such a loser.
ALSO, Strictly Come Dancing is coming back soon \o/! White Collar continues to be awesome! Merlin is back! I might go see Scott Pilgrim soon! It is the Last Night of the Proms!
Anyway, how is everyone? I feel behind! I pledge a love eternal to you all <3
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-12 01:50 am (UTC)DUDE YOU SELL STRAIGHTENERS, YOU NEED TO HOOK ME UP. ARE THEY ANY GOOD?
ALSO I have totally written html in word documents before, and regularly say 'brb' IRL (I also say 'irl' IRL, soooo). You are not alone!
Your description of NC-17 reading reminds me of that
AND OH MY GOD ARE LEMURS NOT JUST THE BEST THINGS EVER!?!?!? I haven't been to a zoo since Grade 9, but my favourite part were the lemurs, they are so presh and awesome. Monkeys are the reason I wanted to be an animal conservationist for so long, I LOFF THEM.
Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-12 02:48 pm (UTC)And I love that "I must have ESPN or something" line!!
And, Hi, Lal! Glad you have a job and good friend crashing with you!!! AND OMG YOU NAMED YOUR KNIFE AFTER A LOVEABLY UNLOVABLE DEMON!!
I've been buying DL whenever I see it in the book store and giving it away to people. I might be poor, but the WEEKS AND WEEKS of reading joy SRB has brought me, free of charge, need to be compensated somehow.
Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-12 02:54 pm (UTC)Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-12 02:58 pm (UTC)Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-12 05:40 pm (UTC)Yesyes, everyone should have a knife named Nick. And it is also a pun, and we all know how I love puns.
That is so lovely of you! I have recommended it to people in bookshops several times, and always move it to the front of the shelf :) Like you say, I got so much joy for free, it only seems fair, plus it's a genuinely awesome book.
Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-17 03:16 am (UTC)Did you end up reading Shadow Magic or Demon Soul? I have both, read SM, but only started DS.
Havemercy was my favorite by far. I did like the second book, but there just wasn't enough magic in the story-telling for me. I don't mean magic in the plot.
I'm sure others would disagree with me.
Thoughts from you??
And OMG MCR!!!!!!
http://community.livejournal.com/mcr_unofficial/11348.html
Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-17 12:53 pm (UTC)Anna! My phone will not load whatever that picture is of! !!!
Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-17 02:11 pm (UTC)I'm excited!!
So!
Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-17 10:54 pm (UTC)Re: THREE CHEERS FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT!
Date: 2010-09-12 05:38 pm (UTC)They are super amazing. They heat up in like, 30 seconds. But, er, also cost about £100.
Hee, I find myself saying things like Not Gonna Lie IRL.
YAY LEMURS! For my Christmas present my Dad got me a wire and bead lemur made. It's so awesome. His name is Jeremy.