Packing and Permanency

Why is packing so tricky? I am off to ‘mystery’ city tomorrow, for a whole week this time. This is causing me and my one little suitcase some distress. You see, it is either the one little suitcase, or it is the giant whopper that my mum once dragged back from the market. If you pack the giant whopper, then you are off for good. It is so big that it even looks roomy if you are packing for a three week stay in the Bahamas (speaking hypothetically, since I have never been on a three week holiday, or to the Bahamas. What a deprived life I lead.).

And so I am trying to cram everything in, with a stand-by shoulder bag in case of emergencies. I just know my smart trousers will crease and my shirts will rumple. Why did I bother spending the best part of today struggling with the iron? I hate ironing, and ironing hates me. My best look is ‘creased’ anyway.

So what have I been up to since we last sat down to chat? I’ve got a job! Yes, a real one – permanent, pays wages. Although the current freelance job is going well, the press / publishing industry is still generally up the swanny… all my email alerts keep announcing people taking ‘voluntary redundancy’, and how ‘happy’ they are about it. Hm… It feels prudent to get permanent work with everything so uncertain. And it should be good… at least, it sounds like it has potential. And wages! Yes – let me hug you, nice wages. It will be nice to go away to Italy and know I have a job to come back to, rather than back to sitting in my room wondering if I can make a new dress out of dusters.

Freelance job has been quite tough actually. This is probably more to do with my sleepy Internet connection, as every time I upload content it conks out and then claims it has no signal, the lying little sod. I think it has been trying to teach me patience, and it is working – at least, I haven’t thrown it out of the window just yet (only once across the room, honest). I now have a date for proper broadband to come and flood my house with goodness. At the moment this date is far off in April, but at least it is en route! Oh the things I can do… upload pictures! Play with settings! Reply to other blogs! Download emails! Whoop!



Novel has had a slight hiatus while work has been so frenetic. The first 3 chapters are now ready for my good friend T to see, and I am going to print them out tonight to send to her tomorrow morning. I'm not sure where I will find a post office though... the only one I can think of is 40 minutes the wrong direction, and not sure the one little suitcase will stand being dragged all that way. It has wheels, but not that you'd know it - it much prefers twisting onto its side and being dragged lamely along making me look bad. Still, there must be one somewhere. Surely? I've been having good thoughts again with the novel, which is a positive step. Sometimes I need a bit of a break from it, and to step away for a while to get all fired up with it again. It's hard living with the same story for so long, especially when there is no guarantee anything will happen with it. In the end, it's a story I want just for me, to please me.. but I am so picky. Even for a readership of just me, it has to be perfect.

And lastly – clues on mystery city. So far we have established it has trams. It is also quite fond of Matchstalk Men. And on that tantalising clue, I shall carry on packing…!