An Ode To A Sock

  Today I discovered my mother had thrown away one of my favourite socks. I was utterly heartbroken upon discovering this, especially as I was at work and therefore unable to save goodbye to my faithful companion. To make matters worse, my mum failed to throw away the matching pair, meaning I was send to work with 2 odd socks that had been haphazardly thrown together the night before. Now to me this makes no sense, as everybody knows socks need to be in twos, otherwise one gets lonely without the other, it's common sense really. So now my surviving sock is faced with spending the remainder of its life at the bottom of my drawer lonely and heartbroken at the sudden loss of its companion.

  Really, sometimes I wonder how my mum can sleep at night.

Back To Business

  I havn't really been on here much for the past month or two, so I thought while I'm making do in 1st class on the train back to Brum I'd pass the time with a spot of blogging with my complimentary wifi. Hang on a moment I hear you all say, what's a poor student like her doing in 1st class. Well children, gather round because it's time for Auntie Nina to tell you all a story.

  Having worked my little socks off over the past 2 or 3 weeks, I've recently found myself laid up with the most awful cold, which I fully blame on my managers sticking me out in the cold and pouring rain to take customers orders. So seeing as I was paid yesterday I decided on a spur of the moment to upgrade my already paid for ticket and enjoy the hour and a half of luxury. After all, I really have earnt it. To be honest, what really swung it for me was actually the free tea, which I find is brilliant relief for fighting a cold. 


  And there you have it, I was feeling fairly smug about myself till I realised that I'd basically paid £10 for a cup of tea, which of course has now left me feeling like a fool, although the (I say "free") snack box did soften the blow somewhat. Now if you don't mind I'm off to my flat to make yet more tea and curl up in bed with a movie. My first exam is Monday but revision will have to wait I guess.

The Countdown Begins

  I've gone and done it. Now that work is officially done with for the summer I have officially booked my train tickets to Birmingham. I'm actually so excited right now, it's been nearly 2 months since I was last there, that's way too long. In my head I've started doing the whole crossing the days off till I leave, it's just a shame I'll be having to cut my time there short to come back and pack up all my stuff. On the plus side, I'm going there mainly to help out my Christian Union with some of their Freshers Week events, which is pretty exciting.

Talking With Tony- Summer Special

  Once upon a time, Tony and I went to Frankie & Benny's one day for lunch. We were lured in with promises of an American twist on gorgeous Italian cuisine, which turned out to consist of plastic cheese so vivid yellow in colour we mistook it for custard, and so rubbery in texture I turned the bowl upside down and it still remained welded to the bowl. Nevertheless, our spirits were not so easily dampened, conversation flowed and the laughter was relentless as they swapped stories and made jokes at other peoples expenses.

  After 3 hours in that place due to painfully slow customer service (we actually had to ask if the waitress serving us had died), we waddled out and over to Hollywood Bowl across the road, not to bowl as one might expect, but instead to regress to childhood and blow our not so hard earned wages in the arcade, where Tony thrashed me at every single game we played, much to my frustration not to mention a huge blow to my ego.

  However, he soon soothed my ego by introducing me to my new best friend, snow cones! All it took was 2 minutes of eating one to wonder how I could have ever thought my life complete before that magical moment. 

  Of course, all of this could not compensate for my loneliness this week when Tony swanned off to the Reading Festival for the week, leaving me to mope around at work without my partner in crime. Which of course, makes this the penultimate episode of Talking With Tony this summer! I know, i know, sad times people *cry cry*

Last Calls

  This week is my last week at work before I go back to university, and oh wow am I looking forward to the 2 weeks of bliss that will ensue before the chaos that is university begins once again. As much as I've enjoyed what I'm doing and am going to miss the people I work with, I won't miss the rude customers, at times unbearable heat, or being permanently tired for that matter! 

  These 2 weeks off do create a new dilemma though, what on earth am I meant to do with myself for all this time before I move back? Thankfully Freshers week promised to snap up most of my attention for the 2nd week, but even with money in my pocket I'm hard pushed for ideas of how to spend my free time between now and then. 

  Ok that's a lie, there are plenty of things I would like to do, such as going to Thorpe Park, reading books, tea drinking, blogging, or even just going out for a run, but truth be told they require a lot of effort and anyone who knows me will know how much of a sloth I can be when I have nothing important to do...  

  Wow, just writing this is making me feel tired, looks like it's time for yet another cup of tea and a nap.

Talking With Tony- Episode 4

  I had to take a bit of a hiatus from this for a few weeks due to not having enough time to be on here, but hurray we're back, and it's time to say hello again to that cheeky tousled haired boy I call Tony. Also, I don't know why he's not wearing shoes in this picture... or for that matter where his shoes even are, but details, details...

  Truth be told, this may be called Talking With Tony but in reality these past couple of weeks have been more like "Where Is Tony". You see, I havn't seen much of this loveable rogue due to us being on opposing shifts, and when we do work at the same time it's on totally stations.

  But anyhow, we went through a brief period where he decided he didn't want to talk to me, and foolish me being all lonely and such pleaded with him to reconsider. 
"I'll do anything" I bleated, looking up at him with big puppy dog eyes.
"Very well" he says with a slight look of glee in his eyes. "You have to ask 5 customers if you can McHelp them, and only then will I  talk to you"

  So off I went, muttering to myself at the unfairness of it all, but nevertheless I do like a challenge, only this one was just humiliating. Truth be told, in the end I only managed 3, and each time I mumbled it quietly, hoping the customer wouldn't hear, let alone my managers. 
"I'm actually humiliating myself for you" I snarled at Tony when I caught him smirking in my direction. 
"Not good enough" said he as he stalked off on break  

Work, Work, Work. All I Do Is Work.

Nearly 8 weeks ago now I returned home from uni to start back at work for the summer, and truth be told although work's had its ups and downs at times, I've thoroughly enjoyed my job, to the extent I'm always happy picking up shifts for people who can't do theirs or working overtime etc. 

But the truth is, I need a holiday. I mean, it's been 8 weeks and I've not actually had any chance to relax and unwind. I've loved being kept busy and all that, but there comes a time where I just need some time to myself, I don't even have to go anywhere, just having that time to enjoy being in a sloth like state would be much appreciated.

So I wandered into the managers office the other day with a face unlike Spongebob here and went "Hey Souz (my manager), how about we play a little game called Giving Nina A Saturday Off", on the very off chance she would actually say yes. What I actually got was a lot of laughter and an "Are you all right?", which in McDonalds is code for "you must be joking". Naturally I laughed it off, grabbed my till and traipsed out to the front counter where I was greeted by a lovely queue of customers waiting to be fed. 

"Great" I muttered. "Looks like the holiday will have to wait. Hi, can I help?"  

Bloggers Break

Apologies folks, my hours at work are making it hard for me to post and stuff so I've been forced to take a break from my online stuff, but I shall endeavour to get up to speed in the next few days, so bear with me :) !

Talking With Tony- Episode 3

   A whole week has gone without posting anything on here due to my being away for most of the time, so it looks like it's once again time for your weekly dose of Tony-related madness. So just what have I been talking about with Tony this week?

  Well, believe it or not we actually missed out on a whole day yesterday. Turns out shouting at Tony means he's guaranteed to give you the cold shoulder for the rest of the day. Not even being super sweet when doing his order at the end of his shift was quite enough to soften enough, so I decided to hold out hope that Saturday would bring with it some Tony love.

  And running true to form, when I rolled into work at half 11 Tony was his usual bright eyed, sarcastic self. "Tell your boyfriend I'm coming too" he announced when I told him of my plans in a couple of weeks. "No chance" I replied, feeling not a bit of remorse of having shot his suggestion down in flames.

  The rest of the day was accompanied by his good old McChat up lines, including the tried and tested drop and pick up, always done with that cheeky little grin and sashay that only he can pull off. At the end of his shift when I told him he needed to send me some photos for this little piece he whipped out his iPhone 5 (the show off) and started snapping away before I realised I was being included in the impromptu photoshoot.

  So there you have it folks, yet another chapter in the life of Tony Cole.

Talking With Tony- Episode 2

Looks like it's that time of the week already folks, and on time as promised. That's right, it's Talking With Tony, with the one and only Mr Tony Cole! As you can see, rather than pose with fruit this week, he's opted to look rather nervously at a cactus before attempting to eat it. Why he wants to eat a cactus, I don't know but what he does in his own time is strictly up to him*. 

So, what has he been rambling on about this week you ask? Well, after reading my little piece last week the next day he provided me with some brilliant material in the form of a little something he dubbed as "McChat up lines". 

Here's a little example... So there I was, serving a customer, blissfully unaware of what was going on around me, when suddenly I heard a voice behind me go "oops my bad" in a purring and seductive tone. Next thing I know a hand is lightly running down my leg before reaching all the way down to pick up the well placed ketchup that had taken a tumble from his hands mere seconds before. "What on earth are you doing Tony?"I enquired, a little gobsmacked at his unabashedness. "McChatting you up of course" he replied before giving me a cheeky wink and sauntering off to cause mischief elsewhere.

Other than that, I am very proud to announce Tony now has his own blog. "Where" I hear you cry? Well scroll on down this page and you'll find I've already linked to it, but for all you lazy people out there, here it is again ;) http://tonyjohncole.blogspot.co.uk

* Just to cover my back here, in no way does this blog condone attempting to eat a cactus under any circumstances. Don't try this at home kids ;)

Talking With Tony

Hi, this is Tony. No, not the watermelon silly people, the thing holding it up and evidently eating away at it. Let me tell you a little bit about him. I work with him at McDonalds and he is one of the only people there who can make a long shift go quicker. Needless to say, in order to be my friend he's also barking mad. 

So what did I talk about with Tony today I hear you ask? Well, there I was, doing drinks for customers when Tony turns to me and says with a forlorn look on his face "Nina, why have you never mentioned me on your blog?". My heart broke the way he looked at me and I said "For you my dear, I will not only run home as swiftly as my tired little feet can carry me and write about you this very night, I will turn you into a blogging phenomenon, the likes which has never been seen before".

And thus, "Talking With Tony" was born. Keep checking back weekly to see what Tony's up to, the conversations we'll be having, and most importantly, which fruit he's decided to pose up with next time ;) . 

Working The Late Shift

Hmm... So... I admit I struggled to think of something to write about today. I sat down this morning with the intention of writing one only to end up drawing a blank. However, this evening I'm sitting down exhausted from a late shift at work, but my day today has provided more than enough material to make up a blog post. 




Where to start? Well, for one, being Friday and the end of the week it's always super busy at work. On the upside though, my best friend there always works the weekends so banter is never short. The day itself was fairly uneventful, and by the time half 10 had rolled around I was given the go ahead to go home. So there I was, utterly exhausted and looking forward to a ride home from my mum who'd text me earlier promising to pick me up.


But oh no, when she found out I had finished before 11 she was all like "oh get a bus, you'll be fine", as if, you know, all the thugs and drunks in Stevenage only come out to play from 11pm onwards and never before. And she wonders why I came through the door in a bad mood and absolutely refused to talk to her. Thanks mum, thanks a lot. 

Where Is My Sunshine

The weather's been a bit off this week or is it just me who's noticed? When I came back from Birmingham it was all sunshine and hot and high temperatures and there I was all ready to get those summer dresses out but then BOOM, what do you know, the sun goes away and the rain sets up a permanent residence in the Home Counties. I mean really rain? Could your timing get any worse? Just go away you're so annoying. If I wanted to be stuck in jeans and oversized hoodies I could just go back to Birmingham and do that. You've let me down Hertfordshire...



So instead of frolicking through the fields being all like, oh yeah, check out how tanned and carefree I am people, I'm sitting here like this instead contemplating why this always happens to me. 

On the upside, at least it hasn't been boiling hot while I've been working. High temperatures and a hot kitchen/workplace never make for an attractive mix

Back To The Daily Grind

Wow this is probably the longest I've gone without updating this blog, I would apologise but I've been crazy busy with work and stuff so I havn't had much free time on my hands, and when I do have time off it's spend sleeping off the exhaustion works creates. 

Although it's tiring it feels good to be working again, I've been back for a week now and it's really helped me settle in a routine, I've loved seeing all my friends again, but best of all it's 4 days till pay day when I will finally have money in my account again and feel like less of a poor student :D !

Yeah... I don't even have that, so more like, I only got £2 in my pocket and that was borrowed off my mum ;)

Illness and Instragram

No, the 2 are in no way related, but they both begin with "I" so I thought why not put them in the same post. My time here at home is fast coming to an end, tomorrow I pack up my things and head on back to Birmingham, which I'm kinda dreading but that's another post entirely. As a special treat, for my last week home I have been ill with the most awful cold, it was so bad I lost my voice at work and had people there in stitches with my inability to talk, thanks a lot guys much appreciated. Just to prove how ill I was, my mum bought take out pizza one night... I wasn't even hungry when I looked at it. I know, I'm shocked too. However, while lying on my sickbed I found a new way to pass the time was to finally cave and sign up for Instagram, and oh wow it's only been 2 days and I already love it so much! My mum isn't too impressed, apparently i've found one more way to become too attached to my phone, but I argue I have photos that need sharing with the world. But yeah, do follow me on Instagram at tiggerlily2305 . The more the merrier right?

The Wonderful World Of Work

I've been at my new job for a week now. Everything hurts. I knew it would be intense but nothing could prepare me to have every muscle and bone in my body ache from running around for 9 hours at a stretch. On the upside though, I'm pretty sure this is a foolproof way to lose weight, so I think it's safe for me to go out tomorrow for pizza with college buddies. Moaning aside, even though I complain a lot and when I get home I feel like curling up and hibernating till summer, I actually enjoy my job and knowing there's money in it for me, getting my first paycheck is going to be like getting to the end of the rainbow and finding a huge pot of gold there, and if it doesn't feel as beautiful as the image in my head then I will make it so it is.

Welcome to the World of Work

As I mentioned in my last post I went and found me a part time job for when I come back from uni for the holidays. I've only done 1 shift so far but after 9 hours I left that place literally dragging myself out the door and onto my bus before tumbling through my front door. Why couldn't somebody tell me work was never going to be fun, or better still, why did nobody talk me out of getting a job in the first place. If only I weren't a poor student, then I could afford to stay home and catch up on Criminal Minds and Blue Bloods 24/7. It's a hard life. At least I'm not back in till Friday, I can go into hibernation mode till then...

Duty Calls

Today I start my new job. It's nothing much exciting, I can't say I'm thrilled to be flipping burgers or whatever I'll be doing at McDonalds, but a job's a job right? Speaking of work, I need to be there in less than 2 hours now, yet I'm being my normal chilled back self and lying in bed with my trusty Lady Grey and my Macbook, which for future reference I shall refer to as Eowyn (you know, LOTR reference). It's less effort than getting up and getting ready. But I should probably go and do stuff, so I shall update you all later with my introduction into the world of work. Oh aren't you all such lucky people. In the meantime, think of and pity me while going about your mundane lives, in the knowledge that whatever you're doing in way more enjoyable.