Ebay fever

A couple of years ago, I signed up to Ebay to buy some counselling books for my courses and very profitable it was too. I picked up quite a few bargains, not just books either. This Ebay lark can get so addictive if you're not careful.
This year, I have some books to sell, so once again I turned to Ebay, this time as a seller and I have to admit, it's quite exciting - the thrill of the sale and all that. I've sold just over half of what I put up for sale so the rest will be relisted and I have spent a couple of hours packaging the items ready for the post on Monday. Of course there was also the handbag that I sneakily and successfully bid for in the meantime, but we'll gloss over that. I won't do it again, honest!

Keep it in the family

Elder Daughter told me on the phone that, as well as being an overworked, exhausted, but job-satisfied registrar now in a hospital Somewhere in Yorkshire, she is also an honorary clinical senior lecturer. Apparently this means that she will be lecturing medical students, which is a salutary reminder to me of how time is racing by, as it seems like only last week that she was one of those herself.
But it also shows how that teaching bug is securely embedded in the genes - ya just can't escape it! Let's hope she enjoys it. Maybe the difference will be that she is teaching young adults who are there by choice....

On the other hand...

...as my new laptop runs on Vista, I have now discovered that BT in their wisdom, have not seen fit to provide a compatible driver for their Voyager 105 modem, so I can't run it on Dad's broadband. I'm not impressed!

Travelling south

Up bright and early this morning to drive down to see Dad in Bristol and, believe it or not, the weather has dried up and we have even seen small patches of blue in the sky! The best bit, of course, is reminding myself that it is Thursday and term-time and I am not in school! I still get a thrill from that thought.
In the meantime, back in the damp wetlands of north Wales, Keith has been putting the final touches to the LPG conversion of the RV. He and Giles have been working away on this project for a couple of weeks now and today was 'the day'. Would it work on LPG or would it just explode? It was probably a bit like the scene at yesterday morning's switch-on at the Cern laboratory - but without all the publicity. At a quarter past three this afternoon, I am pleased to announce that I received a phone call from the Team Leader (aka Keith) informing me that our particular little corner of north Wales was still intact, the RV was successfully running on LPG and wasn't he a genius.
Not a bad day's work, n'est ce pas? France, here we come again - well, soon anyway.

Targets to meet

Before the decision to look at moving to France, I had decided to defer my MA with Chester till next year. This was partly because it's a big financial undertaking and also because I wanted to concentrate on getting my 450 client hours in order to apply for accreditation with BACP (which I would nearly have done by now if all my clients kept their appointments, but that's another story!) In addition, there was a CBT certificate I wanted to do plus a couple of short courses - Mental Health and an introduction to Existential Counselling. For various reasons, not within my control, I am now able to do none of these and so I have been feeling a bit at a loose end, study-wise. Four years of courses and you begin to get withdrawal symptoms when that comes to an end. There is also the thought that undertaking a twelve month commitment may not be the best idea if a miracle happens and we do manage to sell the house and move on during that time.
So, I have now taken delivery of two distance learning diploma courses courtesy of OCN (Open College Network) which will occupy my brain for the next year. And now I feel much more focused and positive. Strange, I know; I am an anorak - it's official! But a contented one.

To sleep, perchance to dream?

The irritating sound of snoring broke the silence of the night for the third time.
"You're snoring again," I hissed.
"I know I am, I'm awake," came the reply.
"You can't be awake if you're snoring," I objected.
"Yes I can, that was a recording," he said as he turned over and prepared to go back to sleeping and snoring again.

Sleep and communication

"What would you say if I told you that H. and C. can come for dinner tonight?" Keith asked me yesterday morning. I stared at him. I had only just got up ands maybe wasn't quite fully awake but I was pretty well 100% sure that I was not aware that they had been invited so, I replied, "I'd probably say, what on earth are you talking about?"
He had the grace to look a little uncomfortable then. "Well, we did say we should have them round and I didn't think they'd answer the email." I am left pondering the questionable logic of this statement and the realisation that he is not joking.
"Right then," I said as I struggled, and failed, to strike the nonchalant and flexible attitude, "then I would say, what were you thinking of asking them without even mentioning to me that you were doing it!!!" (Or words to that effect.) And then we had an animated conversation about communication and male lack of.
It wasn't a problem in itself at all but I didn't really want to be up till all hours on Saturday night when I would be getting up at 5am this morning to accompany Keith to the car boot sale again. Still, it was done now and we had a very pleasant and enjoyable evening.
This was followed by bed at some unearthly hour and a broken night's sleep lasting a total of four hours - yes, that's right FOUR HOURS!
Mind you, I've made up the other four this afternoon since we came home. Seems that I can't cope with late nights of wild socialising any more. In fact, maybe not even late nights of any socialising. OK so I don't do late nights too well.
But I'm not the only one...Listen and you may hear the snores...