13 November 2003 | 9:57 p.m.,

the good, the bad and the downright ugly

Well today didn't exactly go as I had thought or hoped.

First thing was okay.

I'd been in the door 5 minutes when I went to see Binman to get clean overalls. He's all "aye, I'm going to need to have words with you. How long were you off for?"

"5 shifts, why?"

"and P was off at the exact same time? Do you think I'm stupid?? You tell him to watch hiself, I'm after his blood"

He is soooo funny!! When I told Peter to watch his back *cough* [he's about the double the size and half the age] he said he had been getting it from people as well. Apparently P-Pal {and it wouldn't suprise me if HE was the one stirring it with Binman] had been at him about it the first day we were off and said Davy G had been pestering HIM about it as well. Who knew we would stir up so much gossip just by coincidentally taking our holidays at the same time!

Anyway I came back from breakfast and Shug told me that Creepy D, my gaffer, had been looking for me. When I went to see him he said he wanted me to learn some of the stuff in the lab, the micro and so on, so I could do it on the weekends. The lab are short staffed because Teresa on my shift is off on the sick. Noone knows how long for and it means that lab stuff doesn't get done at all on the weekends my shift are in, as all the other lab people work mon-fri.

So I basically spent most of the rest of the day in the lab learning so much I think my brain is about to explode. Its just so much to take on board, I've never done micro apart from 2 modules at college and that was years ago plus a lot of it was done for us anyway.

I can now do fat samples and count plates and I think I know how to fill those sheets in assuming I can find the folder, plus I was getting quite expert at doing the various dilutions, even although I had no idea what she was on about. Its so long since I had to use my brain its seized up a long time ago!

I guess the way I have to look at it is that its something I can put on my CV. That I've been trained in that, even if I don't end up doing much of it. I've no idea if I get more money or not, my boss isn't the most communicative of people. We'll see...

I did manage back down the factory for the last 3/4 of an hour as the lab girl went home at 4.30 but P just moaned that he had a really shit day as he hadn't seen me for 2 weeks and then had barely seen me all day. Which was nice but didn't cheer me up any.

Och today wasn't ALL bad. Breaks were a laugh - aside from the sudden appearance of two new starts. Why does that always happen when I go on holiday? Gone a week and a half and I hardly recognise anyone any more!!

But I think Tucks was making up for lost time in making me laugh. And ripping the pure piss! I cannot remember how we got onto the subject but there was something about me going out raving and Tucks was like "we know you don't always sit in the house knitting, you're out raving all the time!"

I said I did both which led to there being a running joke about me out raving with my glow in the dark [that was a nice touch] knitting needles and making some enormous scarf! In a sort of "big fish, little fish, carboard box" raver style. More "big stitch, little stitch" Then Tucks made some comment about imagining me wearing the scarf and it was giving him mental images that I wouldn't want to know about.

Damn right I don't!

I thought once Mad S had left the daft conversations - why do doughnuts have holes?, anything to do with cockaleekie soup, german porn, nursing home anecdotes, the chinese boiling their nuts and hot chocolate [the group] were favourite topics of his - would have all but stopped. How wrong I was but at least it gives me a laugh over my bacon buttie :)