Journal Entries
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 28 – Black Friday
Posted Nov 28, 2014
I get the concept of Black Friday in the States. Because I don’t have time right now to research it before posting my journal I’m going on assumptions: I assume a lot of people have the Friday after Thanksgiving off and make a long weekend of it. I assume that once Thanksgiving is out of the way people’s minds turn to Christmas. Take those two things together and you have an ideal day to hit the shops. Boom! Suddenly it’s a massive retail day. It’s like Boxing Day. I assume.
But here in the UK, today has absolutely no significance at all, except perhaps for some people it’s the payday before Christmas. But it’s a normal working day so I would expect us to have a Black Saturday, if anything. But no. Our retail sector have already been begging us to do our Christmas shopping by bombarding us with festive adverts, lights, three for two deals, but that’s not enough. So they decide to steal the idea and knock a little bit off their prices in the knowledge that people will literally shove each other out of the way for a bargain* and lo! another retail institution is born with the usual winners rubbing their hands in glee. I mean the credit card companies, of course.
That said, I’ve needed a new printer for ages and have finally decided to dip into my savings and buy one. Today seems like a good day to do that – if I can save £20 that’s my balti on Christmas eve paid for!
Deb 
*even those I wrote about yesterday who are willing to pay the price of a fortnight’s family holiday somewhere exotic for a white cotton blouse with a designer tag 
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Latest reply: Nov 28, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 27 - How Much?
Posted Nov 27, 2014
This morning's radio chat was based around engagement rings. Apparently an engagement ring should cost a month's salary. Really? I wouldn't say I earn a brilliant wage, but that would be around £1,400. I'm assuming a lot of people earn a lot more than me - do people really spend that much money on jewellery?
I read a monthly woman's magazine and am constantly amazed by the fashion pages. Firstly, there's the way they're photographed so that you can't really see the clothes very well. Then there's how young the models are - some of them look as if they would rather be at home playing dress up with their dolls! Then there's the price. This white cotton blouse can be yours for only £985. Do you like this handbag? A snip at £1,500. Then sometimes they have budget features where you can get the catwalk look at a fraction of the cost, so you can buy the white cotton blouse for only £150 and the handbag for £425.
Don't get me wrong, I understand about quality. I know something bought in Primark is not going to be as well made and won't hold it's shape so well and last as long as something from M&S. I understand about cheap sweatshop labour. But the prices some things retail for shocks me completely. It boggles my mind how much some people must earn to be spending that kind of money on stuff. Obviously there's a market for it.
Is this what motivates people to go for high-flying careers? Do people spend all that money to offset the fact that they're always at work and always stressed? I know I buy my Euromillions ticket every week and dream of retiring to a lovely house in Dorset, but I have pretty simple tastes. I can't ever imagine wanting to spend that much money on clothes, jewellery, beauty products.
Am I alone in this?
Deb
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Latest reply: Nov 27, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 26 - What a Difference a Day Makes
Posted Nov 26, 2014
Yesterday was such a lovely day. It was beautiful out, I was really chilled and had a fabulous day from my relaxing morning at home, through a pleasant drive to work and a productive afternoon, to a lovely evening with old friends and good food.
And then I woke up...
It's grey and miserable again today. It was raining when I walked the dog, then the traffic was a nightmare - it took me 65 minutes to get to work instead of the usual 45. So I got to work later than I'd hoped and had to hit the ground running as I had several things to do before a meeting at 10am. I got one of those things done plus one other job which landed on my desk unexpectedly. The meeting was boring and went on twice as long as I'd hoped.
Just to top it all, someone brought in a tin of celebrations and my usual resolve failed. I've had five 
.
As the title says, what a difference a day makes. Can I have yesterday back, please?
Deb
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Latest reply: Nov 26, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 /day 25 - A Leisurely Morning at Home
Posted Nov 25, 2014
I'm going out straight from work tonight so to ensure it's not too long a day for my dog I've taken a half day holiday.
How wonderful a morning without plans is. I got up at 8am, which is a wonderfully civilised time to get out of bed. I cranked up the heating to 17 and spent 20 minutes on-line checking emails & whatever while the dog had a mooch in the garden, then cooked up beans, mushrooms & egg on toast for breakfast.
After breakfast I took the dog for a walk. I took his ball & chukkit so he got a good run to help make up for the fact he'll only get 10 minutes when I get home tonight. I don't feel bad about this because in general I'm an antisocial creature and the times I leave him for a social event are few & far between.
It's a beautiful morning out there. It's really, really cold, the grass is white & crunchy, the sky is blue with white clouds and it's very still. I thoroughly enjoyed my walk, although I now realise I need some thermal socks to go in my wellies as my toes are frozen solid 
. Days like this make me happy to be alive, the air's so fresh and crisp and there's not a trace of grey to be found.
I now have a couple of hours to mooch round before heading out for what will probably be a pleasant and quicker than usual drive to work. Then tonight I'm going to a tapas bar called Byzantium in Kings Heath, meeting the people who used to make up the bustling accounts department of 10+ years ago. We've all kept in touch and meet up once or twice a year, which is lovely (and just the right amount of social pressure for me ). The last time we met up was in March, actually at the same place, so there'll be lots to talk about.
I feel very 
today.
Deb
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Latest reply: Nov 25, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 24 – This Morning on the Radio
Posted Nov 24, 2014
A lot of the chat this morning was about whether or not cannabis should be legalised. This seems to be something which comes round periodically and, to be honest, I have no opinion either way so I’m not going to write about that.
Pete the DJ asked people to come up with news headline for Lewis Hamilton’s win after one of the tabloids came up with something really poor – unfortunately I missed which paper and what the really bad headline was. Someone phoned in with “Abracadabra, alacaz-ham”, which was pretty bad and they didn't get any better 
Of course, because it was frosty today, there was talk about defrosting your car. “Are you a waiter or a scraper?”, asked Pete. I’m a bit of both. I usually pop out and turn on the engine about 5 minutes before I’m due to leave, cranking the heat & the blow setting up to max, hitting the front & rear demist buttons (at least I think that’s what they are!), then I lock up the car with the spare key and go back in to put on my makeup and gather my stuff together. This means that when I’m ready to leave the front and rear windscreens are clear but the side windows still need scraping. I don’t mind doing this and at least I can reach – I can’t actually reach the middle of my front windscreen, I’m a bit of a short-arse!
For some reason using de-icer seems a bit like cheating. I have some in the car and I’ll use it if I’m caught out, don’t realise the windscreen’s frozen and don’t have time to wait, but usually, no. It’s all a bit wasteful.
It’s now a beautiful day out there. Looking out of my window at work I can see the playing field of the school opposite and it’s white. The trees are golden and the sky is blue.
It’s just blooming cold
Deb
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Latest reply: Nov 24, 2014
Deb
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