This genuinely happened to me yesterday… I was minding my own business in the ladies toilet when out of the blue (err…cubicle) a little old lady started to talk to me. Or should I say talk at me. I’ve been pondering the statement – what problem(s) was she referring to? Was she suggesting I take heed, book a flight to Switzerland and check in to Dignitas in the morning? Or, was she simply commenting on her own gastro-dilemmas? I shall never know.
Pigeons frustrate the heck out of me!
For the past few weeks, I’ve been between jobs. Towards the end of last year I decided to take the plunge and leave a permanent job, in which I was very unhappy, for a temporary post with more opportunities to get out and about. The risk was calculated and sadly despite efforts to extend my contract, they had to let me go due to lack of funds…don’t you just love austerity?!
So April was spent scouring the papers, writing job application after job application (A thoroughly demoralising process) until I was offered another temporary contract. Frustratingly, I’ve had an agonisingly long wait while they process references, do criminal records checks, et cetera et cetera . In other words, I’m still waiting for the contract.
In the mean time, I’ve been trying to pay the bills and generally keep myself out of trouble. It’s amazing how busy one can be when they’re unemployed. For the past month I’ve been practicing my cooking skills:
Making some extra dosh on Ebay:
And excitingly, I’ve reignited the freelance work using People Per Hour which allows people to buy and sell their skills/services. I’ve been doing a few things here and there and have been lucky enough to secure an 18month contract drawing a web comic for someone…sneak previews to follow soon! I’ve also set up another wordpress site www.designedbyamy.wordpress.com to showcase some of my design work.
All in all, things are ticking over and although money is tight, life is generally good. Signing out!
It’s been a while since I last posted. Things get in the way and inspiration has run off with the weather – you know how it is. This was just a quickie, I had almost forgotten how to draw for a minute.
I think I saw it! I think saw that golden orb in the sky – radiating light, warming the earth, sending birds into a frenzy of nest building, tempting the buds on the trees to burst into bloom.
With that tiny chink of sunlight, Britons up and down the country tore their clothes from their bodies (despite the temperature only just creeping into double figures), donned their sunglasses, ran for their BBQs and hoped for a prolonged spell of bright, warm weather! Alas, no sooner had the flip flops had time to flip and flop than the sky returned to its familiar dull grey. We are left wondering, was that just a figment of our imagination? Then we reach for the bottle of vitamin D.
Last week was my other half’s birthday. The big FOUR OHHHH!
With my event planner’s hat on, I organised a weekend away in a coaching house owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The Devonshire Arms is four star luxury on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, overlooking the grounds of Bolton Abbey and into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This was a far cry from our usual ‘let’s celebrate by camping’ weekends, which are more often than not, marred by bad weather, inadequate bedding and loud, inconsiderate campers. Nay! This time we joined the coiffed, well to do, Range Rover driving, hunting, shooting, fishing folk and settled in for a weekend in front of log fires, sipping champagne and watching the snow fall by the bucket loads. Sadly not enough snow fell to render us stranded in the lap of luxury.
Amongst other things, the Birthday Girl received a book chronicling her life, with comments and anecdotes from friends and family. At this point, I’d like to plug www.blurb.co.uk as an excellent way of compiling and producing books. Whether you are a professional or a lay person, the quality of the blurb books is smashing and there’s no need to faff about uploading images to their website, you can do it all on your own computer (with Adobe Indesign) before sending them the finished product for print.
I also drew here this cartoon which pretty much sums up what she does as a Maxillofacial Surgeon (head and neck surgery). Despite being dually qualified with both a dentistry and a medical degree, she can often be heard telling people to take two paracetamol and go to bed. Surprisingly, this cure works for a whole array of symptoms that I present in order to keep her on her toes. Some might say I’m a hypochondriac.
If you’re anything like me, you can’t help but chat to Mr Robin when he joins you in the garden. But what if he isn’t who we think he is?
Big Hair Metamorphosis 