Technology

Today brings the excitement of opening up a new document for November’s postings (Really, I MUST get out more…) It’s just so clean and tidy and, well, organised – against the morass everywhere else on my desk and in my life.

1st November also marks my first full day having demoted myself. Yesterday I met with G who has agreed to take the post of Webmaster for the BWG, which I have been struggling with for some time now. I volunteered originally to be creative and not technical. I had two assistants with specialist knowledge but expats move on, and in their absence I was forced to be a bit more technological than I was comfortable with. I am, after all, more techno-twit than techno wizard.

It's not just trying to content with the techie stuff, but also wanting to concentrate on the writing... which is what I was doing before I came and blogged, so procrastinating aside, I'm off now.

Turning corners

Reasons to be cheerful

Today I feel nearly normal health wise. Well, apart from an interesting electrical crackly noise in my right ear every time I swallow. I am a bit … you know, snottily congested still.

During the day I went to look at my RSS feeds and found Lane had updated and I discovered she’d bestowed an award on me. I beamed big and wide. Thank you Lane. I bestow it on Hesitant Scribe, who is just brilliant, brave, honest ... I could go on, but don't want to embarrass her.

I told Husband I’d got an award, and he asked if it was “a miserable sod award? ;-)” because my last two postings had been a bit depressive. “I was sick” I said, but even his jibes didn’t stop me feeling pleased.

I had a meeting this morning and I picked up quite a number of jobs, but my web assistant is working out very nicely after only two lessons. I must be a bit of a dolt because it took me much longer than that. But today I don’t care if I’m a twit because my web assistant is working out and that makes me smile ear to ear.

Son was a vile teenager from the Dark Side this morning getting up for school, but when he came home this afternoon he was charming boy. Lovely. You can never be sure which boy will turn up.
I started writing the novel the day before yesterday and that bloody demon came back BUT I persevered in little bits and yesterday he was quieter. Today I did some writing (planning, really) but he was quiet. And I feel less crap. So that makes me feel good.

This morning I went investigating after Laurie raved in her blog about a programme she’d seen on Pete Seeger. She was enthusing about how great it was even if you don’t like folk music … which I do, but know very little about. Then she mentioned some of the other people on the programme one of whom was Johnny Cash, who I love. So I went surfing to YouTube and I found this, below. It produced a great big smile from me this morning and I’ve been singing and grinning it ever since. Now, I’m not old enough to have been around when it was recorded, but it was one of the few singles my parents had.

And finally, I can't believe I've worked out how to get this YouTube thingy here. I know I'm supposed to be a webmaster, but you know, in this non profit, voluntary sector, beggars can't be choosers. So they got me and my IT doltery. Very cheering and webmasterly.

The Dog Catcher

On Thursday I had a committee meeting in my capacity as ‘laughable webmaster’ (my name, not theirs.) Claire approached me in the coffee break and said ‘I know you’re very busy but …’ She’s the Marketing and PR Director for SCAD (Soi Cats and Dogs) here in Bangkok, a fabulous photographer and also on the Committee. She told me that they were looking for writers…

Can you guess what happened next?

I was quite good: I found out what they wanted first (I thought they might want cute speeches from dogs and cats asking to be adopted. I drew the line there!) They don’t – they want reports and articles about their work. One of the big things they do here is to round up the street animals – spay them and then return them to the streets. Street animals are part of life here – SCAD are trying to control the numbers of pups/kittens.

And it gets better. I supply the articles and Claire will do the getting them published bit which I hate. It’s a hurdle I have to get over, but right now Claire would do that and I’d have something else for my CV.

The only problem is … when am I going to get my novel written?

I'll be making jam next...

I have to move that beer head picture down and out of my view: every time I see it I come out in a sympathy hangover. Not good.

*******
I’ve been thinking I should set myself to write a thousand words a day, but it seems that thinking isn’t good enough. It doesn’t get it done…

So when am I going to do my writing? Today I’ve spent three hours at website brain drain training, (I can’t believe I outed myself as an IT Idiot a few days ago on Caroline’s comments and am admitting that I’m a webmaster of a charity here in Bangkok. This just goes to illustrate that sometimes, in charities, beggars can’t be choosers: volunteers are volunteers, after all!)

I came home for a rushed lunch, then I had a meeting with the Coffee Ladies (I can’t believe I’m ‘fessing up about have coffee ladies on our committee!) who are planning a coffee in June in my apartment and they wanted to see the space and decide where stuff should go (Jesus, did I really say out loud that we’ve got coffee ladies who want to come and do a recce six weeks before the actual date?)

Then one child came home from school, the other child missed the bus and had to wait for next one, the coffee ladies were still discussing which table should go where, and where they might be able to put the raffle prizes.

The management office of the apartments sent some men up to put up pictures and remove a dining room table and chairs at the same time as coffee ladies were trying to decide whether the sofa should be moved, and when to get the balloons delivered: day before or early that morning?

I still haven’t got time to write, let alone energy: I’m so exhausted trying to remember where the coffee ladies want my dining room table put in six weeks time.