The tennis
was brilliant! I sat there glued to the
screen watching the woman’s finals on Saturday and the Men’s on Sunday. It is the first time I have watched the
finals for many years but a combination of inclement weather, a deadline for my second project draft on Monday and having the house to myself for the weekend was an adequate excuse to be very indulgent.
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| Serena Williams |
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| Murray and Federer |
In between matches
there were lots of opportunities to pop out for a cuppa, make some lunch, have a loo break , check out
how many frogs were sitting around the pond, fill in a few numbers on the Soduko
– anything but apply myself to my project work.
These opportunities included:
- when the players needed time to have their fevered brows mopped with towels provided by super-enthusiastic towel bearers
- when it was time to change those shabby old racquets restrung that morning and in use for at least half an hour thus enabling an increase in ball speed from 130mph to 131mph,
- when players needed to gently stroll to the other end of the court for the next game
- when the rain started so everything had to stop for the court to be covered and the roof closed
- when players stopped for a refreshing drink from containers displaying the maker’s name– worth a fortune in advertising
- when we needed time for good shots of the celebrities arranged around the court in all their finery. These included Kate and Pippa, David and Posh, Cliff Richard.
I may jest
but really it was two days of fabulous tennis and I would have been on the edge
of my seat the whole time if I hadn’t been lying prone on the sofa feeling
exhausted watching all that rushing around on court.
So I arrived
at work in the Enquiry Unit on Monday rather despondent about not doing as much
work as I had wanted to and with a tutorial booked the following day with my
supervisor who expected a reasonable second draft of my project to be delivered
to her at lunchtime.
…but first I
had to get through the skills test and interview for a senior position in Clearing. That was at 10am and I duly lined up with the
others all looking like lambs going to the slaughter. After a written test on general knowledge of
the university and Clearing process we had a 10-15 minute interview followed by
a phones test when we had to take three calls from disgruntled people
complaining about various things. I came
out shaking sure that I had failed, while my mate Cherie looked as white as a
sheet. I did feel better when I discovered
that everyone felt as grotty as I had.
On Tuesday I
had a brilliant tutorial. Fearing that
my tutor Val would tell me to chuck it and start again (I had already restarted
twice), instead she had some wonderful suggestions, helped me get right on
track and plan a good structure for it.
I am a very visual person and need to be able to ‘see’ an essay like
piece of art and until I have that picture in my head, I feel like I flounder
around. Luckily it was pouring with rain
all of Wednesday which meant I didn’t mind too much putting my nose to the
grindstone and working all day.
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| Nose to the grindstone |
However I am
beginning to think I will turn into a Fungus the Bogeyman lookalike soon if it
doesn’t stop raining. I am beginning to
check for webbing between the toes and green mossy growths in my armpits. Rain stop!
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| Fungus the Bogeyman |
Today I was
called in for the verdict about my interview and I had been selected for a
senior position so I am relieved and delighted.
I will be working with the reception team over on the Greenwich Maritime
campus right in the middle of all the Olympics goings on - so interesting
times.
…but before
all that I have to spend the next three days writing
writing
writing … no more excuses!
Sources:
Nose to the grindstone: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/k/keep_you_nose_to_the_grindstone.asp/
Murray and Federer: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1251400-wimbledon-tennis-2012-finals-highlighting-best-and-worst-of-federer-vs-murray/
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