The BlogBug Is Biting

Great ! ChickPea think she’s evaded capture by the ManFluBug (remember Pride goeth before a fall, ChickPea !) – but the BlogBug seems friendly……. So what’s been happening in this wee corner of the Virtual Universe ?

Headaches and sneezes aside, of course……….

Well, jobseeking continues apace. You know how it goes. You move on from the last knockback, convince yourself you could maybe fit the profile of the next vacancy…… needs a bit of tweaking of the old CV you finally tracked down in a pile in the back bedroom…… (could the sneezing be dust, ChickPea ? – perhaps a…. er…. small possibity ?! )

Remote. (NO, ChickPea – that’s the thing TH uses for the telly……)

Go away……. SORRY – not YOU, dear reader – that Irritating Other that pops up….. Now where were we……..

So you tackle the next Application Form…….. CV handy ….. last application stuff up on the computer (Aha ! – saved a copy – that’s good……)….. cup of coffee and a chocolate biscuit and…… (just get on with it ChickPea). OK. Of course, this one requires minor remodelling of the Persona Profile, re-orientation of ‘Dream Demands’, a little brain adjustment to really believe I Could Be This Person. But hey – Of Course I Could. Might Be Fun. Certainly different. Less money too. Of course. But hey – there’s more to life than filthy lucre…… scribble scribble, scribble oops, scribble scribble…….

Hardly was that one away, and Mr Mutt walked for the morning, and ChickPea had to scamper off to sign on. Got there early. Onto computer-like-Thingy to see what jobs we’ll do tomorrow……..Scaffolding Erector ?...... maybe not… Corner the doorman in good time to try and get my documents into the way they do the queue…..

One or two printouts in her paw when she’s called over……some printed accidentally. So, of course, THOSE are the ones he latches onto, no discussion, and trots off to ‘Make An Introduction Sheet’ for……. How Kind. What do we do with these then ? Does she HAVE to follow these up because They Can Trace Them ? Will this stop the net income of peanuts if she DOESN’T follow up ? It’s all a bit embarrassing…… this one was interesting because it was temporary, in an office (new exploration), for just 2 months……. BUT does say ‘Senior Officer’ …… which seems to suggest they’d want someone Who Knows What They Are Doing – not Someone Just Finding Out…….. Ho Hum.

Got home. Made a few phonecalls. (This is supposed to be 'holiday'). Yes, that one needs experience (of the right type. As We Thought). This one’s closing date is today – but not to worry – they’ll email the Application Form and it can be emailed back again. Oh yes – and they’re REALLY glad ChickPea got in touch, and late arrival of details Will Not Be A Problem……….b****r…… no getoutofjailfreetherethen……

But it’s ALL on computer …… it’ll be easy then……..’Allow 30mins to 1 ½ hrs’……doddle even……..

Now this is A Good One…….. Takes The Biscuit better even than Mr Mutt. Not only do they demand the exact pass marks of the ‘O’ levels I took well over … er… 20(ish) years ago, but they want to know which month did the course start/finish, and what board the exams were with…….. NEVER been asked that one before……. How the f*** do we find that one out, then ? ……and I can’t move on in the electronic form without that detail….. Ha ! ...Got It ! ...put “I’m not sure but will find out if necessary”…….don’t suppose they’ll even notice…….(and all for an 18 hours a week ‘career’ at that…….)

But that was not the best bit. OH NO.

ChickPea was due to take TH out on the randan for the evening, about 6.30pm, then Go To Visit A Friend. Starting on it at 4.30pm should have meant it was All Over by then. 6.40pm and still no end in sight. “Should be fine to leave it on till later on, and come back to it” sez TH…… that’s good, because ChickPea can’t see any way of saving it, and as her windup laptop has forgotten how to enter sleep mode, seems feasible………

So. Off they went. Delivered TH. ChickPea off to great evening with Friend. Nice chicken’n’pineapple, boiled rice (chooks’ll love any remaining boiled rice), duck‘n’noodles, veggies (get our ‘five a day’) and prawn crackers…….

Home. 10pm. On With Application. All Seemed Well. Now into ‘Statement in Support of Application’…they insist on more than 500 words, and hope for more than 600 but less than 1000…… WHY did I want to do this ?....... Ah yes…….. Midnight plus fourteen. Go Collect TH. Good evening. Good. Home. Coffee and finish the Startrek episode (a few minutes’ downtime is good for the concentration). Back to ‘statement of…’ All Well.

2.30am, Statement Finished. Polished from several re-workings. Now has right number of words. Excellent. Copy and Paste and move on. Oh. “Too many characters” eh. Why didn’t they mention that, then. OK, whittle down this Excellent Statement…. take out the unnecessary words, re-order/re-word/summarize. ChickPea can do that. Even at this time in the morning she can do that if it’ll get this thing finished and sent. Done. Still too many characters…….. OK. Take out any remaining less important bits……now take out a few more adjectives (Yes – I got my ‘English Grammar’, even if at ordinary level)……… GREAT ! Just under ‘maximum number of characters’. Cut, paste AND MOVE ON….. (Still haven’t got to details of referees….)…… WHAT ? STILL TOO MANY CHARACTERS ! - but there’s not ! She word-counted it……… oh……. maybe they’re counting characters AND spaces……… so we’ll take out the gaps between paragraphs……..No different….. B****r. Over 1000 characters too many. But still over 500 words. That’s good then. Should’ve been in bed hours ago……… more re-working……..some of my best phrases now gone forever. Distillation. Distillation of the distillate. This is frustrating. Now how many ? YES. Cut’n’paste. YES. Done. (4am. Ooops). YES. Nearly done. Click on ‘next’…….

Oh NO !

“Your time allocation has expired. Please return to START.”

This wasn’t a dream.

Holiday Haverings........

What’s a ‘Holiday’ ?……… “Time to rest, relax, recuperate, re-charge, re-create……”

So, here we are. The Hubby has his main holiday of the year. Two weeks away from the office (we’ll overlook the morning he disappeared off for a meeting, and the night out on Friday). So, ChickPea – despite jobseeking continuo – is also (technically) ‘on holiday’. And now we’re nearing the end of the second week…..

And, what ?

Well, if you’re resident in UK you’ll know about the rain…… more rain………even more rain…….. and more rain.

And if you’ve been reading this blog you’ll know TH has spent much of the last two weeks in bed with a flu-like bug which is reluctant to leave, and which has bestowed a ‘post-viral’-like state, just in case TH was beginning to feel any better. This prevented the planned brief trip away last weekend, and guarantees TH a low mood, low morale and misery (luckily, with a small ‘m’ – he does try, very very hard, NOT to be grouchy. Difficult with Man Flu).

I guess this scenario ‘goes with the territory’ of the moment. But it’s a bit disappointing. Certainly Shoots The Muse In The Foot (most successfully !) So ChickPea has been cooking. Again. (Have you tried the Risotto ?). TH is a bit dischuffed she’s spending so much time on her laptop, but ChickPea reckons this is much the same sauce enjoyed by the gander……

(Hope you’re following this amorphous mixture…too much wooden spoon, not enough blender...)

But……. Why does the male of the species use different spectacles when he looks at the female ‘taking time off’ than he uses for himself ? I know he’s ill, but……….

Why is it ok for ChickPea to be houseworking or ‘job-stuff-ing’ when ‘on holiday,’ or (learning to) editing photographs, but not ok to be blogging…… when TH spends hours and hours hisself, editing photos, surfing whoknowswhat, paddling in e-bay, or somesuchlike…….

Sorry, I’m a bit grumpy tonight……… maybe I’m getting Man-Flu too……

Better take Mr Mutt out for his Late Constitutional……. Where’s the brolly ? Nite nite.

Kerumbs !

Today held An Awesome Thrill ! David McMahon, in his truly inspired ‘authorblog’ has awarded the Souffle an accolade. Thank You, David. But Thank You Much More for your blog, putting your own visitors – even couch surfers like me – into such easy contact with so many and such varied blogs (which I for one mightn’t have discovered otherwise…..)

Thank you, too, all you lovely, lovely visitors - and for your kind comments …….. I tried to call back, but haven’t reached you all yet……. sorry……. (I just HAD to hack the lawn down while I could still see over it……… took three attempts as it was……..)

It Takes Time

“It takes time. Aye………..it certainly does.”
“And what’s that, then ?”
“Oh – you know”.

Lots of things. Loads of things, even. Waiting for Christmas……for paint to dry…..…for yeast to rise when you’re making bread…… for a cake to cook…….. time to gather together the ingredients for a risotto…….. or for a soufflé, come to that.

And time for the bereavement process to lumber along……….

ChickPea thought she’d finished blogging the other night. Guess she had, kindof. Had finally published that post that Started Before, But Wouldn’t Finish…….( it just wasn’t cooked – somehow it wasn’t ‘complete’…… but HOW to finish it ? – What else did it need ? ………. so it sat, and festered ……… ok, ok – it MATURED)………..

And then, earlier that night, there came an almighty kick to the buttparts, and ChickPea realized that A Most Significant Post had not yet been written. Time had slipped by. And For Life To Be OK, It Needed To Be Written……… but ….. How On Earth Would It Start ?

I’m sure you’ve been there …… writing a book…..a postcard……. a sermon…… a letter……a blog post….…. The Wish is there, but The Muse hides in a cupboard somewhere……..(presumably a-mused)…..

And suddenly, Light Dawns…. (the chooks start muttering to themselves = the clockwork brain starts to move )…. and Then You Realize It’s Already There….. And Waiting….. Biding Its Time..… Waiting Till The Time Is Right……

And when that time has finally arrived, it can happen that the words just appear on the screen, and it all makes sense somehow – and if it’s not exactly right immediately, you kinda know which re-wording is The One To Keep…..

So ChickPea wuz kinda chuffed that Things Had Fallen Into Place. And, moreover, apparently, into an appropriate – even ‘right’ – place. Peace had been made. Life was ok. TH was in bed with his bug, and some NightNurse (no – not plural….) ….and was hopefully asleep….. At Last…….and hopefully thru till morning this time.

Then ChickPea took Mr Mutt out for his Late Night Constitutional. Whereupon another cupboard door opened, and out crept ‘Bereavemment’ in his best finery. Well, second-best finery. (‘Thankfully’ was right behind him, and distracted him a little, allowing ChickPea space ). Nonetheless, the two of them dogged her footsteps. And the bright bubble aftermath of blogging Was No More…….

To outwit The Descending Cloud, ChickPea Pondered……

Bereavement cannot, after all, be (successfully) outrun, out-manoeuvred or otherwise evaded. If you get a headstart, it will still catch you up. If you are very quick on your feet, you may think you’ve won….. but it still catches you up………eventually. Probably At An Inopportune Moment. If you grab it by the lapels and make it sit down, thinking that at least you know where it is, it will get up and Take You By Surprise when you least expect it…...

No, the only REAL, effective way is to accept it into your life for the time it takes, accept it as a guest, hopefully bringing some good memories but accepting the myriad tears and regrets and sadness………

No, you cannot evade Bereavement……… so allow it in, give it a cup of tea and a piece of cake, sit down with it, if you can, when you can, and accept the visit……

Knowing The Way

ChickPea is pondering…..again. How do folk know which way when travelling life’s paths ?

“Good morning chookies. What matters to you in Life ?”
“Who ? Us ? You’ll ask us what matters ? Well, there’s a thing…… oooh – there’s another one ! And if we scratch here….. and there…… we’ll find more things…… some of them good, and tasty, some not….. some lost, some well hidden……. And of course we’ll tell you all about it – everyone will hear about what we think……..”
“Ah. So you’d have been out front, outside, last Sunday, fluffing your feathers and strutting about, finding something to nag at………. And maybe missing the Fundamental Truth…… but With The Best Intention….. I'm not so sure you’re Episcopal hens after all…..””

“What about yourself, Mistress Mog – what helps you in life – you’re not a map reader – what tells you The Way ?”
“Ah, well. I’ve seen Things Change. The ups and the downs. My first move is – if it’s sunny, sit still in the sunshine. Rest. Enjoy. Stretch. Wash and brush up. If it looks right, and interesting, explore it. (Carefully). If it tastes right, eat up and be given nourishment.”
“I see. And if not…. ?”
“Ah. They say ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ – so I’ve been kinda careful. For nineteen years. If In Doubt – Sleep. Has been ok for me so far. Worked for DJ. Worked Out Right for him eventually.”
“I see you’ve found a deep truth there, Ms Mog.”

“And you, Mr Mutt ?”
“Me ? You noticed me ? Wow ! Well – I say that if the walk is going along a fine path, good view, interesting smells, I’ll go too. Head up, tail up, bright eyes, great smile. If I don’t like the look of it, I’ll dig my feet in, drag behind and question the whole package. Should certainly be able to eat it – or give it a try, anyway. A certain decorum is appropriate…….if it’s LOUD and noisy, I’ll likely vamoose – and go another route. Offskie…… Most important of all – it’s got to smell right.”

“Not so different from the last posting, eh.”

Uh huh. There’s maybe a grain or two of good seed here, amongst the weeds and rubbish. The Big Man Himself, all those years ago, would have fondled these beasts. And I’m sure Mr Mutt wouldn’t have bitten Him……..

Reality Shows

What’s this ? Is ChickPea a closet ‘Big Brother’ fan ? Or is she trying to ‘Look Good Naked’ ?

Ha ! – NO !!!!!!

She considers such so-called ‘Reality Shows’ something of a poser. These facile TV programmes seem to show the viewer everything except ‘reality’ – ok, it may be happening ‘now’, maybe even in ‘real time’ - but is so unbelievably contrived that ‘REAL’ is hardly an appropriate description………Unreal maybe…..

No. ChickPea has Something Else in mind. She’s thinking that ‘reality’ shows in so very many ways ….. not just the hard things we all meet in our lives (usually when we’d rather not….), but the kind words, thoughtful gestures, affirming embrace that so unexpectedly manifest……. all of which demonstrate something ‘Real’ about the interaction, the friendship…… something honest……… something true…… something Loving…….. and Lovely.

And, somehow, ‘Real’ will always get through, come to light, be seen…….. ‘show’.

And that, is good. Even five days later, despite all the fog of intervening Life, that is very, VERY good.

And THAT is what we met last Sunday when +Gene visited S Mary’s to both Celebrate The Mystery of Christ (and Christianity) and to preach The Word (and this latter so very firmly based upon the words of the day’s readings of the lectionary).

Both the Eucharist and the sermon were so, SO ‘Real’.

If anyone there had previously doubted the true Reality of the man – let alone of the bishop – meeting +Gene that day, hearing him speaking from the depths of his faith, experience and insight, seeing his pastoral care and concern for several beloved who spoke with him ….. any Such a person, like Thomas touching the nail prints, would have Seen, And Believed……..

And, astonishingly, this particular incident of Reality certainly seems to me to transcend the limitations of recording. (Unlike ‘Big Bro’).

See For Yourself at http://thecathedral.org.uk (on 'Home Page' select 'Spirituality' and 'Preaching') or through the haze from the incense of http://thurible.net

The Dark Knight

Good film. Joker certainly deserved his Oscar. But very dark. Very violent. Quite gratuitous. Much be a '12' rating purely on technicality. Parents need to be aware.