Interesting things. Right. Well today, I've done two interesting things. First of all, me and mum cycled along the prom from Old Colwyn to Penrhyn Bay and back again. Fairly insignificant, you may think, but it was a good 8 miles round trip, in boiling hot sun, and I am usually far from the most active of people. So not only was it quite an achievement, it was great fun. The sea was in and a bit choppy so it was great cycling right along next to it, with the sky so blue as well. I really wish I'd thought to take my camera as I would have had some great photos. Next time, maybe.

Second interesting thing may not interest everyone, but I found it quite interesting. One of the girls I work with in the pub, and who I get along best with, is from Belarus (thats in between Poland and Russia for those who, like me, have no idea where Belarus is) and is staying here in Wales working for a year. When we were having our break, in between end of serving and starting clearing up, we were sat outside with our pints of lime and soda water (cos its the only thing we don't have to pay for) and one of the regulars, John, a lovely old man whose wife has recently died and comes in mostly just for a chat and some company, sat with us and, somehow, we got to talking about the post-Communist political state of Belarus. It really was very interesting, but I'm not sure how interesting others might find it, so I'll give you the highlights -

• In Belarus people work twice the hours that people work here, for a fraction of the money. For example, my friend's mother is a doctor and earns just - prepare yourselves here - £200 ... A MONTH.
• Belarus is smack in the middle of Europe and Russia has to cross it to get anywhere else to the West, and Belarus is currently under threat from potential invasion from Russia because that would be cheaper for Russia than constantly having to go round Belarus (I may have misunderstood that, but I think its right).
• And Belarus' president is practically a dictator who is not, by EU law, allowed to go into another EU country or meeting (like the G8, for example) and has changed the country's constitution in order to be able to stay in office for an extra term.

So there - all you ever needed to know about Belarus.

I thought it was interesting, anyway.

I've not long got in from work and, although I should be fast asleep by now because I'm shattered, my dedication to the Bloggies is such that I am blogging instead, because, although this having a job business is good financially, it has left me no time to do anything blog-worthy, or indeed, blog at all, and I am aware of how spartan the bloggage has been this week, declarations of employment aside.

But, as it is, I do indeed have very little to blog about. All I can think of at such a late hour-

1. It has been decided that instead of 4 weeks away we are going to have to settle for 2, 3 at a stretch, instead, because I can't quite afford 4 even with all this pint-pulling.
2. On my first night in the pub I only made £1.50 tips and tonight I made £9!
   Um...
3. ... the tennis is very interesting at the moment!

Nope. That's its. I can't think of anything else to write. Not even anything telly related because Neighbours is off for the tennis and my episodes of Eastenders that were taped on Sky Plus when I was working have been mysteriously deleted. Even worse - I haven't watched BB all week!

I shall try and fit in some interesting things over the next few days.

Until then, I'm going to sleep.

I'm employed! Yay! And not only do I have one job, I now have two! Count them - one ... TWO! Yay! Might actually be able to afford to go away after all.

First job is as a bar maid in a very cool old pub in Llandudno. I started there on Tuesday night and after a few initial glitches, such as never having pulled a pint of bitter before (there really isn't much call for it in a student club) I now know exactly what I'm doing and am an ace barmaid!

Second job I got today. Its working on the pier in Llandudno supervising the big slide, bouncy castle and mini golf course. Its an ace job! Its full time, fits in around my bar hours, I'll be outside all day and will get a fabulous tan from the sea air. Although to be honest I will probably just get a fabulous sunburn, but it'll go brown eventually. Yay!

The downside is I will be very nackered. I'm already nackered because I've worked two nights as well as two lunchtimes in the pub, and thats not even full time hours, or double full time as it will be when I start the second job next Thursday, but its all about the money.

AND both jobs are happy to give me time off next weekend to go to the G8, I MEAN that wedding I'm off to that just happens to be in Edinburgh and just happens to be on the same weekend as the G8. Fancy that? ;)

Now, I don't want to make myself sound like a sad, pathetic loser, but I am still unemployed. Oh. Look at that. I did it anyway.

I think it is safe to say that I have not got the job that I had an interview for on Thursday, so I shall now disclose what it was for.

*drumroll*

An ice-cream lady!

I kid you not. The position I applied for was a full time superviser of an ice cream shop to be opened in the Colwyn Bay shopping centre. Now, admittedly, it doesn't sound like the most difficult job in the world, or, perhaps, the best, but when I called up the number given in the Jobcentre the man I spoke to was very enthusiastic and said the interview was basically just so he could meet me. He also told me to bring along a CV, which I spent over a bloody hour preparing on Wednesday night, albeit most of that time having been taken up trying to get the printer to work. The interview came ... and went. It was very bizarre - it lasted all of 5 minutes, I wasn't asked any questions whatsoever, and the CV I was asked to bring and had lovingly prepared was barely glanced at. I was told that from the 'interview' I was 'more than OK', and although they had a few other people to see first, I would get a call that afternoon, after 1.30pm, to let me know either way.

1.30pm came and went. Fair enough. He said after 1.30pm. However, hour after hour went by, and still nothing. Thursday afternoon was the busiest my phone has ever been, but everytime it rang, it wasn't the job, it was someone else entirely, and it took me at least 10 minutes each time to stop shaking again. By 4.30pm I still hadn't heard anything so, upon the pressurising from Tim and against my own better judgement, I called them up to see if they had made a decision yet. A little over eager, perhaps, but not too unprofessional. Until! The one time I picked up the phone to make a call that afternoon, and mum picked it up downstairs and started dialling. Now, the professional thing for me to do would have been to say to the man, 'excuse me, could you hang on one minute?' and then rush downstairs and quietly ask mum to put the phone down. But in my adrenalin-rushed state (yes, I do get that carried away) I screamed down the stairs, phone still in my hand, 'MUM! PUT THE PHONE DOWN! MUM!!!!!!!!' The man on the other end of the phone, having heard that very unprofessional outburst, said that they hadn't yet made a decision and they'd let me know the next morning. By now, I was a jiberring wreck, and foolishly failed to stop my mouth from talking and went on to say, 'will you be letting me know only if I get it, or will you call me anywayif I haven't?' By this point he was a bit pissed off and just said, 'we'll let you know, OK?!' and hung up.

Oh dear.

Needless to say, I didn't hear anything all day yesterday or today, so I am assuming that I didn't get the job. I don't quite know how to take this rejection, seeing as how he was so positive on the phone, and equally so, really, in the (rather odd) interview. Perhaps someone qualified to their eyeballs (to sell bleeding ice cream, people!) walked in after me, or my telephonic outburst did more damage than good. Either way, I am consoling myself with the fact that had I got the job there is no way that it would have done my 'get slim for the holiday' diet any good whatsoever, as how could I possibly have resisted all that ice cream? A holiday that, at this rate, I will not be going on because I still have no money.

And what happened to the fabulous historical-type job I mentioned earlier, I hear you ask? Well! While being my dream job, it only offered a maximum of 20 hours a week and I really need more than that in order to pay for the holiday AND my summer rent for my Leeds house, so, while I was offered an interview for that job, I (rather stupidly now, it would seem) turned it down as I already had an interview for the bloody ice cream job and on the phone he made it sound like I pretty much already had it. Kicking myself in all manner of painful places right now, I can tell you!

The good news (yes, there is some) is that I have another interview on Monday morning. If I don't get that job, then it may soon be time to consider other career prospects, such as as a table dancer perhaps. I hear they get pretty good hourly rates.

In other news, the exercising is still going well. In response to some comments I got to my last post, I am realistic enough to know I will never actually have 17 year old thighs again, but I am using it as a sort of motivational tool as I at least tone up my less than toned bits in time for the holiday.

If I ever get enough money to pay for it.

And while I have continued turning down those Galaxy bars, I have proved to not be strong enough to say no to a Cadbury's Fruit and Nut, minus the nuts cos I don't like them.

I have been passed on a meme from Rhys, but its a rather long one, and this post is long enough as it is already, so I will save that for next time.

This is what I used to look like when I was 17 -



Please ignore the mad hair (I was in the middle of the windy sea) and the even madder sunglasses, and instead pay particular attention to the slim shoulders and not-fat thighs. It may be a poor quality photo, but these two particular last points are fairly clear.

The point? I was once thin. Further point? I will be thin again! And hopefully by the time I go away - i.e. in 7 weeks time.

The tennis I have started playing again will hopefully contribute some way towards my target (of not-fat thighs). But I am aware that piss-about pretendy tennis will not achieve my target alone. So, along with taking the momentous step of refusing a Galaxy bar today (I never refuse a Galaxy bar), today I also started using this -



Shown in its usual state as a dog-towel holder is my dad's cross-trainer. You can tell how much it gets used. After waiting for my tea to go down, as you always should before pursuing exercise, while watching Emmerdale and Eastenders, I climbed aboard said cross-trainer and cross-trained for 45 minutes. So as not to get too bored while staring at the garage door in front of me, I listened to music on my MP3 player (my student budget won't quite stretch to a pink mini iPod) and also used it as an exercise aid, with varying my cross-training speed according to the beat of the song. Tonight I managed to get through 11 songs, covering countless kilometres (probably - I forgot to look) and over 300 calories! Yes I know thats only about one chocolate bar, but its a bloody good start!

Not to copy any particular bloggers, no not a one, below you can find the first 11 songs on my MP3 player, as cross-trained to tonight.

1. Everything I do (I do it for you) by Bryan Adams - A good warm up song as the beat was very slow.
2. Layla by Derek and the Dominoes - This one was quite fast - averaged about 63 steps per minute.
3. Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac - Bloody hell! I nearly killed myself with this one! Averaged 78 per minute!
4. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac - Quite fast but not heart attack inducing.
5. Seven Wonders by Fleetwood Mac - See above.
6. Club Foot by Kasabian - It was very hard to pick out a beat with this one. I think it was a very slow one, but I wasn't sure so I just went very fast again after the last leisurely ones.
7. Dakota by Sterephonics - Another fast one! 71 per minute!
8. Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics - I flicked past this one. It bores me now - I really need to delete that song actually.
9. Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chili Peppers - I slowed down a bit to this one - didn't want my favourite song ever to be associated with pain in my mind.
10. Sara by Fleetwood Mac - Oh I really like this song. A nice steady 66 per minute, which burned, but not too much. A very long song. I quite got in the zone with it actually!
11. Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac - Oh. I just remembered that by this point I was bored so stopped 10 seconds into the song. So I only actually go through 10 songs. Oh well.

I would just like to add that the cross-trainer was set at difficulty rating (or something) number 7, and thats from a choice of 1 to 10, 10 being near impossible at the moment.

So! Hopefully, along with the fact that I am now drinking considerably less lager now that I'm away from the student 'scene', I may once again soon have not-fat thighs!

In 7 weeks.

Hmm.

My brother showed me this yesterday on t'internet. Its of some army troop, or whatever they're called, and was made while they were in Iraq in Al Faw. It got emailed back home and was so popular that all the downloadings of it crashed the MoD! Now, I know that certain people have previously expressed an intense dislike of the Peter Kay song, but you've got to admit, it is quite a funny attempt. My particular favourite bit is the naked sqauddies in the portaloos.

In other news, still heard nothing from the history job, but I have applied for another one, not quite as much fun but better money, and I've got an interview on Thursday. I'm not disclosing any details until after the interview though, in case I jinx it. But please, don't get all excited by the mystery of it all - it really isn't exciting, but it is all about the money.

This not having a job business is, however, leaving me with plenty of time for other gainful pursuits. For example, a spot of lawn tennis was enjoyed today in my back garden, until it started raining anyway, the only not-fun bit being when I skidded on the grass and bounced on my bottom, severely winding myself and brusing said bottom in the process. I am also currently enjoying rediscovering the joys of Theme Hospital. I'm not a sophisticated gamer, in fact I'm quite shit at the vast majority of computer games, but I do easily get very addicted to Theme Hospital. Although I could never get into Theme park. Funny.

Its a veritable baby boom at the moment! Two of my favourite bloggers are up the duff, as is Tim's sister, not to mention your best friend and mine, Ms. Spears. And I don't care if they're refusing to announce it, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are so expecting. They're everywhere! Oh yeah, and Sunita on Corrie as well.

There is no real point to this post - just a general observation.

That is all.

You know its summer when the tennis rackets come out. And its not even Wimbledon yet. Me and Tim played yesterday for the first time in over a year. At first I was a bit rusty* but after a while I was scoring aces left, right and centre.** Tim's a fantabulous tennis player and always goes really easy on me - if he played properly then our games would consist of me standing still for about 10 minutes - the time it would take for me to watch enough tennis balls fly straight past me in a blur for it to be game, set and match. Its all great fun though, PLUS great exercise, which I need if my bottom and thighs are going to get back down to the size they were when I was 17 in time for me to go away in August - i.e. about a quarter of their current size. Achievable goal? I don't think so. Fun in the process? Yes. Until I get bored, anyway.

At the moment, apart from putting Maria Pavlova (or something) to shame on the court, I am looking for a job. Me and Tim are going travelling round Italy and Croatia for 4 weeks in August and I reckon I'll need about a grand, including travelling costs. Current funds? About minus £60. So the job situation is dire. I have applied for what can only be described as my dream job -

Must have a good knowledge and keen interest in local Welsh history, be
experienced in dealing with the public, have a polite pleasant and cheerful manner.

Its like they know me!! I won't find out about it until at least Monday, though, and its only part-time hours so I'll need to get another job, perhaps bar work, to make up the money, but I really, really, really, want that job! I shall keep you posted.

And in telly-related news, I was most distressed when watching Home and Away today, to discover that Scott and Danni have broken up. To be honest, I have seen it coming for a while, but it was still a shock and I think that the whole community of Summer Bay will be shaken upon hearing the news. And, after checking H&A.com, I was even more shocked to discover that Scott gets together with Hayley! Gah! Wrong. All wrong. That girl gets around a bit, in real and telly-life. The actress, Bec Cartwright, is engaged to and having the baby of Lleyton Hewitt - after barely a year together! Kids today.

* complete understatement.

**one left, one right and one centre - all 3 complete and utter luck.

And finally! I am now back home in Wales for the summer, except I am going back to Leeds briefly next week because I appear to have forgotten loads of stuff. Oops!

So! It is the end of an era. The Woodhouse Crew Massive (which we were never called) is finally over.


Tim moved out about 6 weeks ago - the first step towards the end.



And then there were four.


Max is soon moving on to South America, or something, for a year, Tim will be staying here in Wales and us girls are moving to the other side of Otley Road, to Hyde Park. Gone will be the smashed car windows and burgled houses, along will roll the gun crime and drugs.

Oh. Wait. Woodhouse had all that too. And burglaries are pretty prevailant in Hyde Park as well. Let the good times continue!

The last remaining survivors ...



will carry on the legacy and add to it with our new housemates next year.

Can't wait!

As threatened, here are the pictures from last Monday when me, the boyfriend and the dog went on a bit of a trek around Llyn Brenig.




Bryn was really excited!




Tim enjoyed himself so much ...




... he decided to show off his impressive muscles.




I was very impressed.




Bryn even decided to actually try swimming - this is the dog who has gone six years only ever going knee-deep in water before running back out scared.




Overrall, a fabulous, if not slightly chilly, day was had by all at Llyn Brenig!

Ok, so another momentous occasion has taken place. Sort of.

You may remember that I used to be blonde-



Then I went dark-



However, it soon faded back to a non-descript not-quite-blonde-but-not-quite-brown colour-



I do like that picture of me!

So, last week, I went dark again.



Hopefully, this time it will last!

I have a few photos to blog from the weekend which I had every intention of posting today, but I left my camera at home and only realised once I sat down at the library computer, so, I'm afraid, the photographs of my fabulous new hair (again) and wonderful walk around a humungous lake will have to wait until tomorrow, if I remember.

On Monday I went to see Star Wars, and thoroughly enjoyed it, not least because of this -





but also because, well, it was just simply fabulous. I wasn't part of one of those audiences who applauded at the end, which was a shame because I really would have quite liked to, but everyone did laugh and sigh and gasp collectively at the appropriate points. I do like it when that happens when you go to see an important film at the cinema. Like when I went to see Return of the King - what an emotional experience that was! I balled my eyes out when that film finished, and then again in the car park outside. I wasn't quite as moved by Star Wars, but it was still very, very good - loads better than the first two, anyway. God, how much of a film geek am I?!

I am now back in Leeds for one last week before I'm home in Wales for the summer again. I am most enjoying doing absolutely nothing, watching hours and hours of tv on end, barely moving from the sofa except to eat and go to the toilet, and having little naps whenever I feel sleepy, now that I don't have exams and revising to worry about.

Oh. Wait.

I've always done that anyway. Never mind.

And also, Big Brother! I was working on Friday night and missed everyone going in and had slightly better things to do on the weekend, so didn't see it then either, but from what I saw on Monday night and last night, they all look like a bunch of thick, pretentious tossers, quite frankly, which surely in itself promises a good series! No sarcasm intended there - no, really. I do think it will be good.