Well, I have a weekend off work. That's not actually a good thing. It means I've only worked 4 days this week, so haven't earned as much as usual.
 
Yesterday was quite a long day though - I worked for 6 hours...2 of them were spent cleaning up vomit. It was not nice. Today wasn't quite so bad...
 
Well, as I suspected, my grandmother had not sent my hospital appointment to me as soon as she should have done. I phoned the hospital, and my appointment should have been on the 19th of July. She can't even use the excuse that my post got lost, as she didn't post it til after that any way. So, my appointment is now on the 12th of August, so almost a month later. Thanks grandma.
 
Other than that, not much exciting is going on. I'm going out drinking tonight, & then on Sunday, I'm going to do a pub quiz at the Great Western with Mark and Dan and Norris...And my brother is coming on Monday night.
 
Please could you pray for my friend Paul (as in the one who came to Dartmoor with us) and his family, as his 4 year old nephew has leukemia...

Today is my day off work. Always a good thing...So, I didn't wake up until 8:45 this morning, which was just fab!
 
If you could all pray for Maria, that'd be great - she's flying to Indonesia today - she's a bit nervous...She's going to be there for just over 2 months working with a religious community there. I'm going to miss her loads...
 
I saw my social worker today too. She lent me a knife with a guard, so that I don't cut myself when I'm chopping things - Ella can borrow it too, if it'd help! I also have a signature guide, so that I can find where I have to sign on a receipt when I pay with my Switch card, & I have a white cane, so that when I'm out and about, I can use it if I need to. At the moment, I can't use it cos of the crutches, but it's in my bag anyway, as I'm trying to get used to the idea of having it.
 
I have also been summoned for jury service, which I'm not all that thrilled about. It's also very frustrating that my grandmother only posted my jury service letter to me yesterday, & I got it today, but my other post - which probably included a long awaited hospital appointment - that she posted last week, is still floating around somewhere between Southam and here...So, now I have to find my hospital's phone number, phone them, speak to about 6 different people to try to find out when my appointment is, probably to be told that I've missed it already. The joy.
 
There's a very big fly buzzing around. I can see it's legs & wings and everything. Usually, I can just see a black blob, but this one I can see in some detail. I've decided that just seeing a black blob where there's a fly is no great loss. After seeing this one, flies strike me as very ugly creatures.

My brother is thinking of buying my laptop off me, since I can't really use it any more, cos I can't see it & my new computer's better any way. It also works out a bit cheaper for him, as although I want some money, I don't want as much as computer companies do.
 
I'm thinking of buying a digital camera with the money he gives me for it - then I can join the world of James!

Well, today I finished work early, which is nice. I didn't have to be wicked witch of the west supervisor either, as I got a whole floor to myself, and didn't have to talk to anyone else all morning. Bonus.
 
Last night, I went to the Great Western with Mark, Norris and Dan. Mark, one minute was pretty sober, and the next was pretty unsober. It was funny. He just sat there sort of happily grinning at everyone.
 
Yesterday, I did a bit of sale shopping. It was fun. I bought a belt, so that my jeans don't fall down, and I bought a top, and a couple of other things too - & some fruit. I bought raspberries, cherries & nectarines. Fruit is good.

Well, today I have been at work. Again, I will be going to Saturday evening Mass, as I am working again tomorrow. Work today wasn't too bad. Only 4 hours - though I did have to send a girl home for just not doing as she was told, and telling me I'm not a supervisor. Grr.
 
Yesterday, I didn't work. It was my day off, & I went to Yeovil with L-T & did some dissertation research. It was fun.
 
Next week, my 13 year old brother is coming to stay. My mother is not taking him (or the 15 year old) on holiday, so I said that he could come & stay with me instead, even if Exeter isn't so much fun as Cyprus. He's coming for a week. I thought that he was bringing his friend Rob, which I was fine with, but last night, my mother informed me that he is, in fact, bringing his girlfriend. I'm not so enthralled with that one. But I didn't argue, since if I refuse to let him come with his girlfriend, he won't get a holiday at all.
 
My mother is also letting the 15 year old work all holiday. She doesn't see anything wrong with a 15 year old working at least 18 hours a week all summer. I'm afraid that I do. I think he should have at least one week off. I have my suspicions that he's actually working a lot more that 18 hours a week, which I wouldn't have thought is legal. So, any way, the 15 year old is not really having a proper holiday of any description this year. My mother is going to Cyprus with my step dad, my youngest brother & sister, and my 17 year old brother, who I'm sure will get the same joyous job that I did last year - that of babysitting. I'm thinking I'm far better away from it all. My mother's excuse for not taking the 15 & 13 year olds is that they don't behave at school; I personally think that it's because they'd cramp her style. She likes to have her cute little daughter (my 4 year old sister) and someone old enough to babysit around. My 4 year old sister is cute, & everyone loves her, so she's good, but she does need looking after, so a babysitter is good, so long as they don't talk or go anywhere near my mother, because then she can get on with doing her stuff, & ignoring all of her children, except when she wants something. So, any way, as usual, I'm not overly impressed with her.
 
I have my minidisc recorder. It's cool. It has a voice activation thingy, so that I can set it so that it only records when someone's talking. That's pretty funky!
 
Other than working, and dissertation research, and seeing my social worker, I'm not really doing much this week; so, like most people, my life's not v exciting right now.

Well, either today or tomorrow, I should have my minidisc recorder - yay!
 
Today, I worked with the same slow people as yesterday. Today, it took them 4 hours to clean a kitchen. It should have taken them an hour at most. While they did that, I stripped 12 beds, made 12 beds, emptied bins, cleaned 12 rooms, hoovered the whole flat, cleaned 2 toilets, 1 shower, 1 laundry room and one bathroom. Thankfully, I was sent to clean the flat with them at 9:00 this morning. If they had been alone, there would be a conference wanting to move in now, but they'd have no beds made, no rooms cleaned, or anything like that, because between them the other 2 may have  managed to clean 1 toilet.
 
This afternoon, I am meeting with 3 nuns for afternoon tea. It's kind of exciting.
 
Then, I'm doing nothing til tomorrow, when I will be working, and then spending the afternoon doing dissertation research, as I do on a Thursday.

Well, today I worked as usual. This week I'm thinking I might earn lots of money. I have been working 6 hours a day so far, & that means about £30 a day, which is nice.
 
I want a witch's hat. I had to do a mean wicked witch of the west supervisor talk today. There were 2 girls working on a floor of Lafrowda, and it took them 2 hours to make 6 beds and hoover 6 rooms. How? That's my question. So, I had to kind of tell them to get a move on, and how it really shouldn't have taken them that long, and were they sure that they had been actually working for the full 2 hours?!
 
Don't really know what I'm doing for the rest of today...Maybe some dissertation research, but I'm not sure.
 
Going home for food sounds a good plan. I need some printer paper & some food too, so I may have to go into town later.
 
I have chocolate hobnobs in my room...A whole packet! Mmmm - they're great.

Finally, the Italians have gone! They were annoying, they were everywhere, they were messy, and they were 15. It wasn't good. They finally moved out this morning - hooray! But, that did only leave us with about 4 hours to clean up their mess, and get all of the rooms ready for a conference, which just happens to be the Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Clifton Diocese conference, so we're hoping that as they're all nice Catholic types, they won't be quite so messy as Italian 15 year olds. I think the least that we can hope for is that they don't wet the bed, and that they don't use their showers as toilets (yes, the Italians did do both of these things).
 
I now have enough money to buy my minidisc recorder! Yay!! My LEA do buy it, but I have to buy it and then send them a receipt, and before now, I haven't had enough money (well, overdraft), to buy it, but now I do! So, I can buy it, and then send the receipt to my LEA, and they put the money back into my bank. Pretty cool, methinks!

I'm confused. I'm working. I'm supposedly earning money, but I never actually have any money.
 
Thankfully, I do have a cheque to pay into the bank, and should have another one on Thursday (wages) that between them cover my rent for the month. Always good. That gives me 2 weeks of the month to actually earn some money that won't just get spent straight away. That's a good thing. It means I'll have enough money to eat, and stuff too!
 
I need some chocolate. I always need chocolate after work (I've been working today), so I'm off to find some. Mmmmmmmm, chocolate!

I am still on crutches...The physiotherapist wouldn't take them away, but he did give me one with a hand rest the right way round for my left hand, so it doesn't hurt my hand/arm quite so much when I'm using them any more.

I met Rob's & Zosia's mummies! Yay!

I have to have keyhole surgery on my knee, to see if they can file down the ripped cartilage - doesn't sound much fun...But I guess if it stops it hurting, it's not too bad. I don't know how long it'll be til I get that though, and I could end up being on crutches til then...

Today is my day off work. Days off are good. I am working at the weekend though, but that does mean lots of money for me - always a good thing!

Well, I hate not having internet in my house. It means I have to come to campus to use it. It also means that it's really hard for me to see the computers, so I have to touchtype, and just hope that I'm not making too many spelling mistakes, as I can't see what's on the screen.

Hopefully, I will be getting rid of my crutches tomorrow. I have bruises on one arm from using them, & a big red mark on the other. They're also a pain when I need to carry anything.

I now have a social worker-y-type lady to help me with stuff to do with my eyes. She's nice. I now have orange stickers on things like the cooker & washing machine so that I know which settings are the ones that I use. She is, however, going to bring a white cane with her next time so I can have a look at it & decide whether I want one. I can't say that I'm to enthralled with the idea.

My pay has gone up. I'm now on £4.90 an hr as opposed to £4.55. Yay! I'm now also the supervisor of the casual staff! Yay again! Last week, I was doing a bit of supervisor type work, and asked some people to do something again, but they got cross, & told me that I wasn't worth as much as them, as I wasn't getting paid as much, and that I was only an undergrad...I'm now on the same money as them - they're all postgrads, and are inbetween 3 & 8 yrs older than me, and so were in the pay bracket above me, because they're older...But now, because I'm me(!) I get paid the same, & it's my job to tell them to do things again if they're not good enough...

I'm still finding Exeter kind of strange due to the general lack of people...But, I'm glad that I didn't go home for the summer. On Friday, I went to the Artful Dodger - it's nice, & cheap! On Sunday, Mark, Norris & I went to the Cowley - we wanted to do the pub quiz, but there wasn't one.

Does anyone know anything much about Canon Law? Do I have to pay off my student loan before I can make my vows as a Sister?

Please could you all pray...My great uncle hanged himself last week...I hadn't had any contact with him for 5 years - he's my father's uncle - but him & my great aunt sent me birthday cards until I was 16, so 5 years longer than any one else in my father's family, and because of that they've always been kind of special...So, prayers really would be appreciated...

Well, this is all a bit silly. I've been blogging, but it appears that my new blog entries aren't being published - at least I can't see them if they are?!

Well, it's a bit quiet in Exeter, but hey! Exeter's better than home. I saw a physiotherapist yesterday about my knee. As we really already knew, I do not have a pulled hamstring - I do have a torn ligament & possibly some cartilage damage, but my knee's too painful & inflamed for the physio to work out exactly what is wrong, so I have crutches to try to help things a bit. Hopefully I won't be on them for too long, as I have bruises on one hand and blisters on the other. I also have really bruised arms. Ah well, at least they're stopping my knee from being quite so painful!

Other than knees, work & dissertation, I haven't really been doing much. Going out for a drink for the 1st time since the end of term tonight!

Well, all is pretty quiet in Exeter. Most people have gone home, leaving just a few of the hardcore. It's very weird without Zosh & James. It will also be very weird not having Mass & CathSoc tonight.

This week, I have been cleaning. It's not too bad, but it is tiring. I have cleaned lots. Now, though, I'm not being sent off to help other cleaners, I'm being given other people to help me. It's cool. I have also been visiting a friend in hospital. She's as OK as you really can be when you need to be in hospital.

Other than that, I am still waiting for my pay cheque to clear, as I have no money until that happens - & the content of my cupboard is nothing worth writing about.

Other than work, I have been doing dissertation research. It's quite exciting really. I get to read cool books & speak to cool people.

Well, there's really not much more for me to say. What with no Mark at the moment either, I haven't been having many adventures...

Well, it's the last day of term, which means that pretty soon lots of cool people are disappearing.

I'm not disappearing, as I'm staying in Exeter all summer. Most of my time will be spent cleaning and doing dissertation research. At some point, I will be going home for a weekend or two, I'll probably also go to stay with my step dad in London, go to Wales for a weekend, & Barnstaple.

Today, work was easy. I did portering rather than cleaning, & it was a doss. Tomorrow won't be though. Tomorrow, we start spring cleaning after the students have left. Yay! No more grotty student kitchens to clean.

I have now added an infected finger and a potentially infected foot to my painful knee. My foot keeps weeping, but I have a plaster on it, & my finger appears to have a hole in it. The Theology Department Secretary told me to soak it in warm salt water, so I did. That got quite a lot of pus & blood out. I have a plaster on my finger too now.

I think that I'll go back to the Health Centre & see a nurse about my knee, my foot, and my finger next week...