I’m back to the day job, now, after working at UCLES before Xmas and after New Year. I was hoping that having to get up and get to work for a certain time every day would help me establish a routine whereby I would get up in the morning, get ready, and get straight to work, but so far, it’s not working. Yesterday, I spent much of the day playing the evil Desktop Tower Defence and some time pottering around my website. Today, I’ve Facebooked, DTDed and generally Internetted.

Come on, girl. Get a move on!

I started work on Wednesday. I had to get up at 6.30 a.m.. That’s half past six in the morning. I get home about 11 hours later, except on Wednesdays, when I get rudely awakened by the dust… Fridays, when it’s only 10 hours later. Then I have to do some work on my PhD. I am not a morning person, so these early starts are somewhat disagreeable to my system. Last night, when it was only my second day, I was so tired that the Hubster forbade me to do any PhD work. I’m not much more awake tonight than I was last night. I might just have a snooze on the new sofa (that the cat appears to have damaged slightly already, despite not being allowed on it. See her innocently washing her furry-pointy paw).

I can’t say anything about my job because it’s confidential, although I did demonstrate my marvellously sharp wit today at afternoon break. Someone was telling us about the crazy lady who used to wander along Mill Road with a bucket on her head. Apparently, she couldn’t cope with what people might think about her. We all didn’t think the bucket would really help with this problem. Anyway, the narrator of this sad tale said she thought the crazy bucket lady died, because she’s never there any more.

“Did she kick the bucket?” I asked, innocently.

I’ve got to go to work tomorrow!

This means I’ll have to get up in the middle of the night, and drive for miles, work, then drive for miles home again, then study!

I need to practise getting up early for some time in December and then again in January, because I will need to go to work for 8.30 a.m. then. I have another contract to do the confidential job I’m not allowed to talk about that I did last summer. The 8.30 start wasn’t so cruel then because the office was within walking distance of my house. This time, I have to drive down the M11 (I’m not allowed to say where to), in the rush hour traffic, when people are trying to drive to London. That should be fun. I have no idea how long it will take, so I’ll need a practice run at it as well. Fun, fun, fun.

And all the money I’ll be earning will no doubt just go towards the petrol I’ll be using to get there. Ho hum, such is life.

I’m absolutely knackered from work, and it was only my second day!

What I do all day is confidential, so I’m not allowed to tell you anything about it, though.

I’m finally going to get paid to do what I’ve been doing for years: correcting people’s English! Fantastic!

After yesterday’s lack of doing all that much, and what with staying in bed all morning due to being tired from last night’s beer (although I only had 5 or 6 pints, I think. I’m such a wuss these days, it’s scary), I haven’t done anything at all yet. I’m not even clean and shiny yet! Still, never mind. Today’s list of things to do is:

1. Domestic Goddessicity:
   1. Tidy up.
   2. Hoover.
   3. Possibly sort out that bloody cupboard in the kitchen.
   4. Take the washing out. Hang the washing up - it’s already been taken out and was sitting behind me all this time. Duh. Wait for the washing that’s already hanging up to dry properly, then hang the washing up to dry.
   5. Go to Grumpy’s.
2. Upload Portuguese stuff.
3. Modelling of Bininj-Gunwok using xfst (for an hour or so).
4. *** Do Spanish homework. ***
5. Work through word-to-stem rules for LAGB.

I saw some of my friends last night in the pub, but they’re not a happy bunch, due to the company they work for doing their usual. The bastards. (The company, not my friends.)