Morning - it's 06.37am

I am knackered - last night was the Blueberry Jam, I didn't get to go unfortunately but I still had an extremely late night due to the fact I was babysitting our friend Mick's 2 boys and my daughter. We got home nigh on 1am - hubby and I sat and chewed the fat for half an hour and then went off to bed.

At which point I discovered I couldn't sleep. Till about half an hour before the bloody alarm went off.

Arse!

It looks like I got dressed in the dark, inside the wardrobe! Whoops! Must smarten myself up a bit.

see you all later

Well I managed to catch my bus into Dudley at 7.05am, arrived just in time to catch my connecting bus to Tipton! Phew that was close - tighter than a gnats chuff!

Got to Tipton to discover that I was surrounded by the steel industry and could I spot the place I was going - could I hell, I ended up asking four different people before getting the answer off a very cool biker type dude in the stores of one of the 'other' steel works.

To discover that I had then to walk down a very steep hill, along an unmade road, across a steep canal bridge - Oh and yeah me with a still quite dodgy foot. My bones complained a LOT today.

Still I arrived at the appointed place with one minute to spare and found myself in a building site! Reception is not currently at the front of the office, due to being located at the back of the office whilst building work is completed on the new reception area - baffled? I certainly was.

So there I am - having arrived at 8am as requested by the agency to discover that the lady who is supposed to be teaching me the switchboard doesn't arrive till 9. The Managing Director - bloody nice bloke, sat me down and bless his heart tried to show me how it all worked but he ended up more confused by doing so. So he said I should sit and read the paper while waiting.
Office Manager lady turns up and looks baffled - she was expecting me at 9. Bloody agency!!

Ho Hum - we've agreed a compromise I'm starting at 8.30 tomorrow but I still have to catch the same buses!

Never mind it's all a laugh.

Sitting working opposite a biker - that's always a good thing, I'll slip him some flyers for the New Music Weekender tomorrow!!

Huzzah!

Check out the website for the New Music Weekender - buy some tickets, come and join the fun... Perlease
www.hedgewolf.net/nmw

That way you get to meet the Sketchweasel!!

Anyway it's Thursday night - it's The Blueberry Jam at the Cottage Inn, Enville Street, Stourbridge.

Check out - www.myspace.com/theblueberryjamuk for further info and piccies of previous events.

Tara a bit

Sketch x

Morning ... looking round bleary eyed to see if anyone else is up.

Bloody hell - who had the idiot idea to get up at 5.45am??

I have to leave the house for my temp job in 15 minutes ... arrrgh!

I've recently been doing temping work for an agency in Dudley, they are quite reliable and friendly and tomorrow I start a months contract for them at a steelworks as a receptionist.

This brought to mind one of my early temp jobs, which I was doing while looking for a real job after leaving college.

It's a Monday morning - I have arrived, half an hour earlier than expected - always polite to arrive early and get to know their ways before actually starting a job. I was working for a team of architects whilst their usual secretary was on holiday, so two weeks of fairly good money. An opportunity not to be missed.

Except I didn't last beyond the first day - it became apparent that one of the architects, a married man, was having an affair. That's cool with me, whatever floats your boat - expect for one minor problem and he knew it and I knew it -
He was banging my best friend and had just spent most of the weekend in her company. He didn't realise that I was the office until I walked to the kettle - he had been gleefully telling his business partner about this really hot but somewhat dizzy girl that he'd spent the weekend shagging, in her parents bed, with her plain best mate in the room next door.

During my lunch break I scuttled off to the agency and said err .. get me the hell out of there, there's a conflict of interest and there will be bloodshed by nightfall.

Woman at the agency made me explain what the problem was - half an hour later back in the office, the phone rings, I answer, hand the phone to the business partner, who then ashen faced asked me to leave. The silly bitch at the agency had only gone and repeated everything I had said!

I never repeated the rest of the overheard conversation to my friend - there are just things you cannot do and it certainly wasn't the most pleasant days work I have ever done.

Anyway - in the words of Yoda

Bed I must to go ......

ooooh! Just thought of something, we're going to see the musical CATS at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Saturday. Our daughter has been in love with it since we read her 'Old Possum's book of Practical Cats' as a baby - we bought her the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical on VHS about 5 years ago and it's almost worn through. Finally we get to see it performed on stage. It's going to be a lovely weekend, I can feel it in me water - the best thing is that she has paid for the tickets herself out of her birthday money.

Made a decision today.

This blog is going going gone - there will be no more from the pen of the Sketchweasel.

Time has come to move on out.

Just a little game to play before bed, answer my questions honestly and with humour - the one who makes me laugh most will win a virtual prize of your choice! (If it's really really funny I might send you some home made fudge in the flavour of your choice!)

Adamantix - When did your obsession with Trifle start?
Old Nick - What is your favourite memory of being a 'rock star'?
Juzzzy - Happiest memory as a journalist in the big smoke?
Mrs F (and or Shipscook) What is the most romantic thing you have ever done for each other?
Paddy/Brad - Who cooks the dinner each night?
Meno - Have you ever made a snow angel?

Anyone else want to have a go?

I do things that I instantly regret.

Ever wish you'd never opened your mouth or been drawn into something that shouldn't have been your issue.

Not going to go into great detail but last week I hurt two people who have been very close and supportive to me over the last 7 years and I don't know if they will ever speak to me again.

They know who they are and if they don't want to speak to me again I will understand.

I'm not the best person to have as a friend at the moment.

Well after 10 days of being stuck on this laptop it looks like tonight I shall be getting my computer fixed.

My dad gave me some birthday money - which I promptly spent!

my computer is having a complete rebuild - the only original parts on it now are the floppy drive and the case itself.

New mother board
New power supply
New processor
1 gig ram
oh and a 250 gig hard drive! I said WHAT?? I was having trouble filling an 80 gig hard drive with my musicand artwork. Imagine how much more I can get on there now!!

and for my birthday my friend Clare has bought me a dvd writer/dvd player to go in the superfast mega machine.

That lot came in at under £200 - it's surprising how cheap it is if you do the homework (and legwork courtesy of Hedgewolf THANK YOU X)and build it yourself again - thank you to Hedgwolf who spent all day on it yesterday only to discover that the 'new' motherboard is faulty but the shop were happy enough to exchange it no questions asked.

If you're buying a computer and you live near Stourbridge, highly recommend Bytech Computers in Wollaston.

Anyway - I've just heard the wonderful cry of food - so I shall go and eat!

Huzzah!

I have a proper interview tomorrow at 11am. The lady at the agency didn't lie to me - she did have a specific job in mind and it's permanent. The great part about it is it's customer services, answering calls and using the computer (all the stuff I like) without the sales!!!!!!!!!! No sales!

Wahoo... Let's just hope I can charm the guy at the interview. No pressure then!

No seriously - it's been Monday all day, you can argue with me till you're blue in the face but today definitely felt like Monday to me.

Oh alright it's really Tuesday I'll admit.

The word on the computer is - Scarily expensive - the power supply unit has probably taken out the motherboard and possibly the processor as well.
This does not bode well.

I went for my interview with another agency today - hopefully this one is going to actually find me a job as they collected my cv off Monsterjob.co.uk
with a specific job in mind for me. Huzzah! Should be going for a proper interview this week!

I nicked this of Mrs F so here's the deal, answer the question as a comment in my blog and then post the question in your own. This could be interesting!!

If you woke up and I was in bed with you, what would be your first thought?

f'nurk!

New power supply arrived this morning - fitted it and ARSE!

It is not the power supply - the computer is more fucked than I care to think about. I've even tried talking nicely to it. A hammer is looking like an option from where I am sitting right now

I have another interview with agency at 2pm.

Hopefully - someone will give me a job. Soonish!

More bills landed with a thud on door mat this morning - a job would be kind of useful right now.

No doubt I'll have to take yet more typing and data input tests - why can't they just take my word for it that I can type 60wpm with 100 percent accuracy? I even have certificates to prove it.

Distressed and downhearted.

Just got home from yet another interview, this one was with yet another agency, the job I was interested in has unfortunately gone but they have plenty of work on their books for someone with my qualifications and experience. Huzzah!

They will be calling me later with details of a 3 month temp contract, which if I'm seriously interested (I am) will start on Wednesday and they pay weekly. Fank Thuck for that is what I say.

I'm still relegated to Hedgewolf's laptop but after much faffing and fussing I finally found a power supply unit for my PC. I'm still pissed off that mine blew up after less than two years and I am waiting for a reply to the snotty email I sent to Jeantech regarding the faulty one.

The one I found is coming from Amazon of all places and is £60 less than the previous one.

It will arrive tomorrow!

The Blueberry Jam and New Music Weekender is taking off - big stylee!

Hopefully things are starting to look up here at Sketchweasel Towers.

I really hate this lap top - the keyboard is too small, the buttons are all in the wrong places and it's speakers are pants! How am I supposed to listen to decent music on a box that sounds so tinny?

I get very tetchy when I can't use my machine, it's true to say I am quite obsessive when it comes to my computer and no one but me is allowed to use it - ever!

Ho hum - only another 24 hours and I can get back to my pc.......

Moan over!

It has been an interesting week!

No job yet.

No food in house.

Husband away from Wednesday 7pm to Saturday 7pm.

Friday shortly after I wrote my last post my computer died!
The power supply unit has not only stopped working but I was in the middle of using video editing software to download the videos of the Blueberry Jam from my phone so that I could then upload said videos to myspace and youtube.

So until I get a new power supply for my pc (hopefully later today) I am assigned to the Hedgewolf's laptop. Except hubby was away and I had already transferred the videos to my pc and deleted them from my phone.

I have not been able to get online since Friday - consequently there are a zillion emails, pms, comments etc that I will have to catch up on, so I apologise it will take me a few days.

Hedgewolf left Wrexham at 5pm to return home. At 6pm I get a phone call from our friend Clare that went along the lines of
Clare "Is he home yet"?
Me"no, expecting him in about 1/2 an hour"
Clare:"ARSE" -
Me:"what's the matter mate"?
Clare "I think he has my car key in his pocket"
Me:"ARSE"

behind the scenes muttering from my mate Mick .......
Me: "I'll get him to check and give you a call"
Clare: "Okay - talk to you soon mate"

7pm arrives along with Hedgewolf.
Before he's even off his bike
me: Have you got Clare's car key
Him: err ... (checking pockets wildly) I think ...... Arse!
me: It's ok, Mick's going to drive me to Wrexham to deliver the key.

So at 7pm last night I went with our friend Mick for a 140 mile round trip to Wrexham to deliver a car key, have a cup of coffee and packet of crisps and then home!

Back home at 11.15pm and in bed by 1am. Sorted!

Anyway - the old man wants his laptop back - so I'm outta here!

Till next time xx

Morning folks - just!

Well The Blueberry Jam went ok - and I didn't have to sing Nick (the ears of Stourbridge are safe for another week at least!)
I say it went ok - it was again excellent.

I am not going to write it all here - if you want to read about it go to

www.myspace.com/theblueberryjamuk

I lost a pint of beer ... grrr... some bugger perched it on the table next to the mahoosive speakers and it took a stage dive into a pile of guitar bags!

Thankfully (I hope) no harm has been done as the guitars were out of their bags and being used at the time.

I'm knackered and because of the strange way my day went yesterday I didn't get to eat anything until I arrived at the pub - thankfully Mick had made some sandwiches! Huzzah my poor belly devoured a beef and onion roll in quick order!

I got home at just after midnight and decided I wasn't tired as I was still buzzing from the music, so I decided to make a cup of tea.

The milk had gone off - arse!

So two pints of water (to water down all that lovely real ale and prevent a headache) and then I spent two hours building up the myspace page.

Finally got to sleep around 4 this morning as I was reading a Roald Dahl book called Kiss Kiss and wanted to finish the short stories before I slept!

Ho hum - must now go and get some milk or I shall have no tea today and that is bad and wrong. Must have tea

Right that's yer lot for now - I shall be back later with hot tea.

Oh I so wet myself laughing at this!!

Mine of course smell of Roses

Whilst very inebriated last Thursday night my friend Nick showed me this - I thought I was dreaming at first (I had consumed some quantity of real ale at the time) So I thought in light of the fact I am INCREDIBLY pissed off, I would have a quick scrummage around YouTube.

No I wasn't dreaming ...

Well I've spent the afternoon with the people of Intercontinental Hotels Group - and deem them good people.

It doesn't make up for the fact I've just had a call to say that I didn't get the job. Apparently at the age of 39 I don't have enough experience!!

Ho hum ...

While I was out I also received numerous emails saying 'sorry at this time you are not what we are looking for'

To top this - in the post on the door mat was a letter from my former employers.

The first line says.

I am writing to confirm receipt of your resignation and would like to accept it on behalf of British Gas.

I did not FUCKING RESIGN! Remember you sacked me you bastards for failing to meet your ridiculous quotas.

I have phoned and written to raised this as an issue!

Because thanks to that badly worded letter I am unable to claim Job Seekers Allowance.

I am not a happy puppy.

Thank goodness that The Blueberry Jam is happening tonight, I shall get pissed, play percussion and if the punters are really unfortunate I may yet have to sing.

Ah Shit for the second time today......

Crivens help ma Bob!

OOOOH Bugger!

I am sitting here with a sinking feeling in my stomach, my legs have turned to jelly, I should be somewhere else - like in the bath or summat.

I can't move - I'm a bag of nerves.

Why? Because today I have to go and be grilled like a kipper for FOUR FEKKIN' HOURS.

I have an interview.

I am soiling my pants with nerves.

I do not like interviews, especially where I have to give a 'sales' presentation.

I feel unprepared.

AAARRRRGHH!

Ah Shit!

.... wouldn't you?

Dunk ginger nuts that is.

I've spent the morning filling in online applications and contacting all the recruitment agencies in the area, so far only one of them has phoned back.

Hedgewolf's off to Chester and Wrexham this weekend to do promotional work for:

So if you're in Chester or Wrexham on Thursday or Friday this week and you see a chap in a hat, with a guitar, on stilts, please pop by and say hello, take a flyer and come along in October to see the New Music Weekender!

Press coverage is always welcome!

So back to my post title - I'm now sitting here with a cup of tea and a hand full of ginger nuts - dunking to my hearts content!

(Smut alert already switched on - thank you Mr Nick!)

Well - I didn't get the job I was hoping for - the AA don't want me

So let us hope that I am more successful tomorrow with the Intercontinental Hotels Group.

Am a little disapointed - I was looking forward to getting the AA job but I have signed up with a few employment agencies, so hopefully something will turn up soon.

The weather has been fantastic the last few days, Mr Hedgewolf and I have spent a while in the garden, building our new patio.

Our new patio is rather unusual.

It's made from recycled bottles - beer and wine mainly.

We are planning on a cirular pattern with 3 arms extending from it in a kind of celtic cross/Isle of Man kind of thing.

So far it's looking pretty good - but we need a lot more bottles (Mr Hedgewolf has obviously not drunk enough beer!)
As we've used up a whole year's worth already and we're still not done.

Maybe I should employ this lot to help!

We also went out with the dog this afternoon for a wander, just to test my foot out you understand. We walked about a mile and it wasn't too bad, the only real pain I'm getting is when I walk up hill and I felt a little tired when I got home. I'm off for a swim tomorrow!!

Sorry Guys and Gals but if you want to leave a comment I'm going to have to approve it first, this is due to being the target of someone who has been pretending to be someone on my friends list.

Now I have a friend on blog called Playwrite27, who is based in America, she's been a friend of mine for some time and I know that she would never write the following comment, I also know that she has been having problems with someone masquerading as her.
This is a comment I found on one of my latest postings.

playwrile27 [Visitor]

04/08/07 @ 22:26
your language is totaly fucking unacceptable , I shall spank it out of you

Reply to comment | Edit

Now obviously I am going to have to delete this but who does one report this SHIT to?

I love words and I always try to find out the history of a particular word. In light of last nights success I decided to do a bit of research into the history of the blues. This is what I found at Wikipedia;

Etymology
The phrase the blues is a reference to having a fit of the blue devils, meaning 'down' spirits, depression and sadness. An early reference to "the blues" can be found in George Colman's farce Blue devils, a farce in one act (1798).[1] Later during the 19th century, the phrase was used as a euphemism for delirium tremens and the police.

Though usage of the phrase in African American music may be older, it has been attested to since 1912, when Hart Wand's "Dallas Blues" became the first copyrighted Blues composition.[2][3] In lyrics the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood.[4]

The original article can be seen here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues

Last night I spent an incredible evening at the Blueberry Jam, Stourbridge's new music evening.

I am proud to say that my husband Hedgewolf was one of the organisers and musicians leading the fight to get a proper accoustic jam session going - and it was successful, it was fun, it was loud and there was some deep down and dirty blues being played there last night.

Our friend Mick O, helped our Hedgewolf with this task - it has taken months to get to last night. We would all like to say thank you to Mick and Kathy for supplying the venue (and rider) at The Cottage Inn, Enville Street, Stourbridge.

(and somewhere to store all of those bloody drums that I've been tripping over for the last 6 weeks)

THANK YOU!!! YOU LOVELY PEOPLE XX

I shall hopefully be uploading some video to YouTube later today.

It was an excellent night, all of Hedgewolf's hard work paid off, we went out for a pint on Tuesday night and he was handing out flyers to just about everyone - there was an amazing turn out last night, musicians who've been in retirement for years came out to play!

Fucking Awesome!

Check out

Klangstorm are the band our friend Mick O still occasionally plays with.

This post is probably full of grammatical errors and I don't care - I didn't get to bed till gone 3 this morning!!

Hurrah - I had soooo much fun last night, can't wait till next Thursday - come along join the fun - because it is!

I nicked this from Mrs F, Kizlode etc ...

You must answer every question TRUTHFULLY!!

[01] Do you still think about your ex?
I think about all of my exes and wonder if they are happy - except for the last one and I wish him .....

[02] Have you ever been heartbroken?
Frequently

[03] What Movie reminds you of your current boyfriend, girlfriend or ex?
My favourite ex - the film that reminds me of him is Dirty Dancing
Current - is Hedgewolf and the film that reminds me of him is Cheech and Chong's 'Up in Smoke'.

[04] How many times have you honestly thought you loved someone?
Four
[05] Do you believe that everyone has a soul mate?
Yes

[06] What is your current relationship problem?
Too many and too personal to mention but currently undergoing reconstructive surgery.

[07] Have you ever loved 2 people at the same time?
Often

[08] Your thoughts of your best friend and your ex?
That would be amusing and quite erotic seeing as they are both men!

[09] Have you ever seen a friend as more than a friend?
Yes and it became something too horrible to contemplate.

[10] Do you believe in second chances?
For the right reasons yes.

[11] Have u ever been kissed underneath the fire works?
Yes and would love to kiss under a waterfall somewhere tropical.

[12] What is your favourite colour(s)?
That's easy! - Purple

[14] Do you believe you only love once?
No you love each person you meet on differing levels.

[15]Could you marry someone right now?
I'm already married to Hedgewolf.

[16] At what age did you start noticing the opposite sex?
13

[17] What song reminds you of your ex or current boyfriend/girlfriend.
Favourite ex - Groovy Kind of Love or anything by Magnum
Least Favourite ex - I will always love you - Whitney Houston
Hedgewolf - Crazy little thing called love by Queen or Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrision because he serenaded me with Crazy little thing called Love and learnt the song Brown Eyed Girl just to sing to me.

[18] Do you know someone who likes you?
Yes.

[19] Do you like anyone?
Yes.

[20] Do you care about someone who is not with you or know about your feelings?
Yes and somedays it hurts.