My first week at the new job ended just as the month came to a close. It looked like it was going to be a steep learning curve, not only on the work front. The office was in a part of town I didn’t know all that well and I spent my lunch breaks exploring, trying to work out the quickest routes to and from work. Sometimes things didn’t turn out as planned. Continue reading A long short cut leading to much wetness – First published 30 August 2012
At the end of August 2012 I had my first day in my dream job. After three years in a job I hated it was wonderful to be getting ready for something I actually looked forward to. Even so, I had lots of worries and doubts. The job description had been vague to say the least. In the interview Arabella seemed very nice but she was also very, very well spoken and I had visions of being slightly outclassed if everyone else in the office was the same. After all I’m a working class girl. Then there were all the worries about being about to do the job. What if I was completely out of my depth? You could write what I knew about cruises on the back of a postage stamp. All this led to a very fraught first morning. Continue reading Being the new girl again – First published August 28, 2012
Looking back over the posts from my hacked blog, Fatgirlslimblog,
Has been an interesting exercise. Sometimes there have been difficult decisions over what to keep and what to delete. This post from August 2012 very nearly ended up in the delete file. The reason I decided to keep it was partly because of the important lesson it taught me and partly because there have been a few rather downbeat posts of late so I thought it was time to inject a little humour. Continue reading A Lesson on the need for proper hydration – first published August 19, 2012
The Mad House experience was well and truly over. The last call had been taken the last sale had been made, the last person had gone through the turnstile and swiped their card for the very last time. The Mad House building was officially closed for good. No more stats, no wrap time or call length, no more side by sides or QA forms. We’d all said goodbye to morning ‘cuddle’ and Tuesday afternoon team talk at the pub, briefings, system crashes, team nights out and Thursday afternoon fire alarm checks. There was just one more thing to do… Continue reading The end of an era – first published August 18, 2012
In the end it turned out the flight delay was the least of our worries. When we finally stepped aboard the plane at Agadir airport our biggest concern was a long, late drive home. Little did we know it would be a flight we would never forget and it wouldn’t end with a drive home at all. Continue reading A FLIGHT, A HOSPITAL VISIT AND A HORRIBLE DRIVE HOME – first published 14 August 2012
Our time in Morocco was coming to an end. That’s the problem with holidays, they’re never long enough and the final days are always tinged with a little sadness at the approach of normal, mundane everyday life waiting at home. Even with a new job to look forward to I wished I could stay a little longer. Continue reading last days in Morocco – first published 13 August 2012
One of the delights of North Africa for me is haggling. For some reason I’m quite good at it. Morocco is a very male dominated society and the shopkeepers find it very strange when I do the bartering while Commando stands by and watches. On our penultimate full day in Agadir we decided to take a little trip to the souk to see if I still had the knack. Continue reading A palace and a souk in one walk – first published 11 august 2012
After a week spent mostly lazing on the beautiful Agadir beach or by the pool it was time to experience a bit of culture. As my lovely Geordie friend, Holly, owns a tour company we decided to hire one of her guides for the day and, for once, we did the tourist thing. It was both an interesting and moving experience. Continue reading Kasbah ghost town, argan oil and a mosque – first published 10 august 2012
The whole point of our Moroccan holiday was to celebrate Commando’s fiftieth birthday and this was the day. The pool man had something up his sleeve because he told me to make sure Commando didn’t come near our sun beds before breakfast. I had no idea what he was up to but I was itching to find out. Continue reading Happy birthday Commando – first published 9 august 2012
Holidays are about relaxing and a little indulgence. So far on our 2012 Moroccan adventure the heat had killed my appetite but, unfortunately, this didn’t last and there was a little overindulgence. Some of it was accidental. Continue reading sun, food and bad manners – first published 7 & 8 August 2012