I work in Grocery, right? I’m in the supermarket bit of Dunnes, and my boss is Colm, followed by Sean, who’s the number two. Other managers in Grocery are Bridget, Peter, Barry and David, plus the nightpack manager Damien, but he doesn’t count, ’cause he’s nightpack.

And Alex works in Drapery, right? So his boss is Susan, followed by BF Jennifer, then there’s also Rose, Gail *who I love* and Charles.
Then there’s John, who’s the Personnel manager, but when he’s on the floor he manages Drapery, because it’s easier.

Anyways, we work in the same store, but sometimes it’s like two different stores entirely. I’ll get into that some other time.
The point of this is that two different people write our rosters – Susan writes Alex’s, which is the Drapery roster, and John writes mine, which is the Grocery roster.
Yet it’s like they’re working together or something… Take this week, for example. Alex was in on Monday, I was in on Tuesday and Wednesday, he was in Thursday, which is today. Tomorrow we’re both off, and we both have exams to do. Saturday Alex is in and Sunday we’re both in, I got an early shift and he got a late.
If I didn’t know for a fact that two different people write our hours, I’d swear there’s something going on. I mean, seriously, what are the chances of our shifts panning out like that?

Not that it bothers me that much, I don’t see him when we’re both working, what with the great section divide, blah, blah. It’s just it cuts into the time when we’re both free, if we’re working completely opposite hours.

le sigh. *drama queen*

Validation, in Dunnes, is pretty much one of the most boring things you can do. It’s just scanning one item, checking it on the gun, putting it back, scanning the next items, checking the label is right, putting it back, scanning the next, blah, blah, blah.
That’s why I have favourite sections, which I tend to do over and over again most weeks – seasonal, because it only ever takes 20 minutes to do, because there are entire drops of the same product, crisps and snacks, because bags of crisps take up a *lot* of shelf space (although that does make me rather hungry), checkouts, because there are always people on the checkouts to talk to, and babycare. Babycare’s a kinda weird one, because it can be very boring, but I like doing it because anyone who’s walking from the stockroom into drapery will go down aisle 7, which is babycare (and men’s toiletries, dental and health, but I don’t like doing them), so you get to see a lot of people. Plus, provided Susan’s not on (or bitchface Jennifer), normally the nice ones will stop and have a quick chat, which is always interesting.

Anyways, babycare is grand, because nappies take up lots of shelf space as well, so it looks like you’ve done loads after the first 15 minutes of scanning.

But where was I going with this? Oh yeah, babyfood.
There are only a couple of manufacturers of babyfood – Dunnes stock four – Milupa, Cow and Gate, Heinz and Hipp. We stock various other baby-related paraphernalia, like liga and baby milk, but I’m talking about jars of mush, really.

‘Cause that’s all they are. They’re just mush. They all look the bloody same, and, really, how many different ways can you blend sweet potato?
(If you’re Heinz, at least three).

Anyways, the one good thing about babyfood is that generally they have pictures of cute babies on the bottles and cartons, which is always entertaining.
Heinz are the most fun, because we stock the Mum’s Own range, which means that you get a different mum and a different baby on each jar.
Milupa are a bunch of boring old sods, they only have two babies – they have a four month baby, who’s on the boxes for foods suitable from four months, and a six month baby, who’s on the boxes for foods suitable from, yep, you guessed it, six months.

Cow and Gate, though, they’re a special one. They also have a four month and I think a seven month baby?
But they’ve been really devious, right? The four month baby is wearing dungarees, a t-shirt and a hat, but what they’ve done, in their little babyfood jar manufacturing world, is they’ve photoshopped different colour hats and t-shirts onto the baby, depending on what food he’s on!

Oh, they’re devious! They’re colour-coded and all, very clever. Blue is for fish, yellow for poultry, red for red meat (I see what they did there, I never would have made that association myself) and green for vegetarian. Plus, the colour the baby is wearing matches the lid of the jar. They’re a smart bunch, Cow and Gate. I thought for a good while they had a bunch of different babies.
You have to understand, of course, I’m not just staring at babies. It’s just when you validate the same section week after week after week, the images get kind of ingrained into your mind.

I said there were four types of babyfood, didn’t I? What was the last? Oh, yeah, Hipp.
They’re boring. They just have pictures of vegetables. I mean, honestly. If I wanted to look at vegetables, wouldn’t I go and validate Fruit and Veg?
Those manufacturers, they have no regard for bored supermarket employees, no regard whatsoever!

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How you know you’re a law nerd:
When reading the intro of a Christmas present, called “Law’s Strangest Cases”, you read a reference to a case and immediately go
“That’s Donoghue v. Stevenson!!!”
And then feel immensely proud of yourself.

There could be a smudge on the right lens of my glasses.
Or else it could be a reflection from my laptop screen.

But it’s late, and I can’t be bothered to take them off and check, and I definitely couldn’t be bothered to find the cloth for them and clean them.
Yet it’s still really irritating.

This is why I’m not that keen on my glasses!

On other people though? Yeah. =)

I cannot for the life of me remember who I was talking about this with, so forgive me for not including a name or two, but I just don’t know who it was.

Anyways, so a few weeks ago now, I was talking to a couple of friends, and they were talking about some of their friends, a couple, and that they were “going to be engaged”.

Now, forgive me for being entirely behind the times here, but isn’t engaged supposed to mean that you’re going to get married? I mean, you’re engaged to be married. So you can’t be “going to be engaged” as then you would be “going to be going to be married”. Is it just me or does that seem a bit superfluous?

Engaged seems not to hold the kind of meaning it should, though. I have a cousin who’s been engaged for, I think, the last five years, and she has about as much intention of getting married any time in the near future as I have. That is to say, err, none.

Sinéad has a pair of friends who met and started dating at CTYI last year, and yet were engaged later in the same year. For those who don’t know, CTYI students are 17 at the oldest, and this couple have since broken up, so that was some engagement, eh?

My aunt and uncle, as well, did the whole engagement thing a bit oddly. I only know what I’ve been told of this, since they’ve been married 25 years this year, and I’m only 19, but I think they had bought their house and set their wedding date before they officially got “engaged”.
Surely, if they were setting a date for their wedding, they were already planning to get married, and therefore they definitely would have counted as engaged?

Oh, I don’t know. When (If) I get married, I’m gonna do it right, not get engaged unless I’m planning a wedding, but if I am planning a wedding, then I’ll get engaged first!
Sure, a sparkly ring, who wouldn’t want one of them?

Sinéad has this habit of retaliating to any insult with the same insult, thrown back at the previous person.
For example, if I tell her she’s stupid, she’ll immediately reply with “You’re stupid!”
She doesn’t even think about it most of the time, it’s just a habit she’s fallen into, a sort of automatic defence.
Unfortunately, though, sometimes a habit like that can land you into a little bit of trouble.

A few weeks ago, when we were in Rostrevor, Anna and Sinéad were sitting behind me during rehearsal, as they do, them being flautists and whatnot, but as there was a lull in proceedings, Anna was examining her flute, as you do.
Well, when you have something that shiny in your hand, how can you help but look at it? I do the same with George, he’s pretty eye-catching, all shinyful and stuff.

Anyways, everyone was zoned out, people were humming, quiet plucking noises were coming from the strings as the odd first played their violin banjo-style (thanks Matt for that one!), and Anna was examining away.
Half to herself, she muttered “My flute is disgusting.”
Sinéad, completely zoned out, responded reflexively.
“You’re disgusting!”

Eh, nice one Néads. But I don’t think she was talking to you.
Mock offence ensued, and a few laughs, but I think occasionally a reflexive habit can get you into a bit of trouble. =)

This is one personal blog which has gotten just that little bit too personal.

Consider me on internet hiatus until further notice.

For the last two months, I’ve been trudging into and out of Maynooth practically every day, at least five times a week, to go to work or to see Seamus, or to do various other things, occasionally to go shopping, although Manor Mills isn’t a particularly thrilling shopping centre.

Anyways, over the course of these two months, I have seen precisely, eh, no-one.
Well, that’s a lie. I see Karl every now and then, and I see Skerritt sometimes. But for the most part, I really don’t see people I know while I’m in Maynooth, because they’ve all gone home and whatnot.

But then! Last week! In the course of only two days! I saw LOADS of people!
Yup!
Seriously! I wandered off the train and saw Seamus outside, as one would expect, since I went into Maynooth to see him.
Well, in actuality, I went to Maynooth to go to work, but I did go in early so I could see him first.
Anyways, as I got off the train, who did I see on the platform but Peter and Charlie!
Count with me people, that’s two! We’re two ahead of most visits to Maynooth!
(For the purposes of this post, we’re not counting Seamus, because firstly he’s not a real person, I only made him up, and secondly, I expected to see him there.)

Then, since Peter and Charlie were getting on the same train I was getting off, I left them, and walked out to Seamus. He pointed out what he thought was Alan crossing the bridge. I took a closer look, was doubtful for a second because of his new hair, but then surmised that it was, indeed Alan. That’s three, people!

After accompanying Alan to Eason’s to buy 3V vouchers, we continued on our path towards the interweb on campus.
Having settled ourselves at the pod, who should wander up but Barry, another classmate of mine. Now we’re on four.
And mere minutes after that, Natascha arrived, although I’m not sure whether to count her or not, since she does live in Maynooth, and we do seem to see her everywhere. I say we here because I only ever see Natascha at work if I’m on my own. Yet if I’m out with Seamus, she just appears out of nowhere. Perhaps she’s terribly jealous of me and wants him for her own.
Well gerroutofit, he’s mine!

Uh-huh, so we may as well count here, now we’re on FIVE, see? FIVE! In only one day! That’s quite substantial! Amazing, one might even say!

Fast forward to the next day, Seamus and I are heading towards campus again, in search of le interweb. In order to mix things up a bit, keep them from becoming monotonous, this time we head to the *Callan* building. Ooooooh, different.
There, who do we run into but Ciarán and Andrew.
That makes seven! You’ve been counting with me, right? You agree that we’re on seven people!

So! It was anomalous! In general, I saw only one or two people a week that I knew, excluding Seamus, ’cause he’s really only a figment of my imagination, and yet in the course of two days, and probably less than 24 hours, we ran into seven people I knew.
How strange.

Anyways, all those encounters only served to reinforce the idea in my mind that I cannot wait for college to start up again!
I MISS PEOPLE!

Did you ever get something stuck in your head? Like a song gets stuck in your head, and you spend the next two or three days humming it, until it’s annoying you and everyone else around you?
I get that a lot. Most of the time the best way to get rid of it is to listen to the song the whole way through, although that can be difficult when it’s an orchestral or a band piece, ’cause they’re often hard to find on le interweb.

Or sometimes you get a phrase stuck in your head, and you can’t stop using it? When I was about 15, I couldn’t stop asking “How so, Joe?” if someone made a statement. It used to annoy the crap out of my friends, so I deliberately set it as my gaia username, then various other forums, and it’s also my Twitter handle now. It’s just kind of stuck with me. =)

Ever get an idea stuck in your head? Like a train stuck on one track, you can’t stop thinking about it, turning it over and over, until you feel like you’re going to explode, even if there’s nothing you can do about it.
I get like that with exam results, especially when it came to my Leaving. What’s done is done, I know, and I knew then, but at the time it was impossible to concentrate on anything else but the impending results and what they would mean and whether I would get my course and if I could go to Maynooth, and failing that, what would happen. What if…?

What if is a terrible question. What if doesn’t really tell you anything.
And I know that my Leaving results were over a year ago and I’m on the course I wanted and I’m doing okay at it, really. That’s not what’s stuck in my head at the moment, it’s just a good example.

Anyways, the point is, there’s nothing you can do about it, nothing is going to come of it at the time, the cards have been dealt, the dice have been rolled, you’re just waiting to see how things’ll land, and there’s nothing you can do but sit and wait.
Even then, what happens depends as much on what other people do as what you do, like when you’re trying to get your course, what matters as much as your points is the points of everyone else applying.

No man is an island, no reaction occurs without the involvement of more than one person, lots of times what happens to you depends on other people more than it does on you.
But this WAITING!

It’s killing me.

Yet I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s stuck in my mind, I can’t get it out, there’s nothing I can do but wait and see how it pans out, nothing will happen for the next few weeks, nothing, nothing, nothing.

So why can’t I stop thinking about it?