mad_andy

Lots to tell but no inclination to tell it. Blah.

You know you're overdoing it when:

The boss says "come here and have a hug. By God you look like you need it."

You slam a steel filing cabinet drawer on your fingers, and watch it happen.

You realise you're having mild hallucinations (things moving in the corner of your vision, smoke that isn't there when you look at it) while you're driving.

You think your husband will approve of a six grand pay drop.

...

I have gotta sort this two job crap out. In the meantime, I think some sleep might not be a bad idea.

I'm tired. I don't want to go to work. But this blog post from Chris over on MySpace made me grin:

WELL, WE WERE SURROUNDED BY INCOMPETENT BIG SPUDS AND A ROOM FULL OF DODGY EQUIPMENT, AND EVERYTHING THAT COULD GO WRONG DID!! BUT STILL, MASSIVE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE IT FUCKIN AWESOME. YOU'RE RESPONSE WAS AMAZING.

SORRY TO ANYONE IN THE CROWD WHO GOT HIT WITH ANY FLYING OBJECTS. THANKS TO WHOEVER FOUND THE MIC AND SANG THE WHOLE OF ANAEMIA FOR US.

SO, IT SEEMS WE'RE BANNED FROM COCKPIT AND THE ONLY REASON I WASN'T ARRESTED WAS BECAUSE OUR TOUR MANAGER PAID FOR THE DAMAGE. APPARENTLY ALL THE GEAR WAS IN PERFECT WORKIN ORDER BEFORE WE BEGAN THROWING IT AT THIER HEADS.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS. THREE NEW VIDS HAVE GONE UP ON OUR PAGE. A DIARY FROM OUR AMERICA ROAD TRIP, A DIARY FROM THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF THIS TOUR COURTESY OF FLOOD OF RED, AND A NICE LITTLE CLIP OF SLASH AND DUFF WITH SOMETHIN TO SAY ABOUT ZICO ON AMERICAN TELEVISION.

SEE YA ON THE ROAD

CHRIS ZICO

XX

*Chuckle*

Weird few days.

The good is very good, and the bad... equally so.

On the plus side, today at work was pretty good. Chris and Steve (ex-zookeeper, and other part timer at the shop) went to one of our reptile suppliers today, and were about as restrained as Chris and I were when we went to the rodent place a few weeks ago!

When they got back to the shop Chris slid a box across the desk to me.

"For me?"

"Might be," grinned Chris.

Inside said box was a snake. Quite the most beautiful little black rat snake I've ever seen - she's a white-sided black rat, effectively a white snake with a grey and black stripe along her spine and she has blue eyes and oh god, I squealed and almost burst into tears! She's absolutely gorgeous, and she's called Rosie. ;)

The bald rats at the shop have finally given birth, as have some of the fancy mice. And before anyone asks, no, these are not snake food! They're pets - or at least, the babies will be sold as such.

When I got home, I discovered that Gertrude, my black and tan fancy mouse, has also had her litter! I'm pretty pleased - they should all be baldies, as dad (Roger) is bald. But we shall see - they may be furred, or a mix of furred and bald. I need to brush up on my genetics.

On the not so good side, I'm exhausted. Ass dragging, bleary-eyed-behind-the-wheel exhausted. I know I'm working hard, but I've coped really well up to now.

And my mum texted me - she and my dad have gone to Rome to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, and today some scumbag nicked her handbag.

It's not the loss of wallet and credit cards that bothers her. It's all the personal shit that was in there - her glasses, her ipod, her bits and bobs of makeup, house keys. This was supposed to be their special weekend to celebrate, and this happens. I hope the thief rots in hell. Or gets scrotal cancer. Or both.

As for the vets, well... on my last night, guess what I had to nurse?

The other puppy. The older one. Which, as it's insured, the guy told the vets to spare no expense on.

You know, just when i think I've seen the depths of despicable, someone will find a way to make me even sadder. I prefer snakes.

Eleven inpatients last night.

Eleven.

The practice record is thirteen. With seven on drips. Last night I had six.

Still, one went home at 7am, one more was about to go when I left and two more will definitely be going home during the day, so with any luck tonight will be considerably quieter. Unless every other animal that didn't have a crisis yesterday decides to do it today, of course...

Still. On the plus side, the night went very quickly, and it was very satisfying getting the place from bombsite to neat, clean surgery, all ready for the day's onslaught!

I wanted to write, but all I want to do now is sleep. *Yawn* Jeez. Am I tired.

Had a great time sunday visiting glammetalkitten, even if we were ignored by rockstars (*pfah*) and sneered at by their girlfriends. Who all look the same. I reckon they get the bloody things mail order.

(Oh, and I fell in lust with a bassist - who, arrys_girlie thinks, looks like my beloved Dirk! She actually has a point...)

AND I've just posted another chapter of Journeyman. Am now on the last one, the epilogue being nine tenths written already. The damn thing laid dormant for a year then, with a good poke from rdyfrde, arrys_girlie and some fairly constant quiet under-the-table nagging from rockfic took off like a sodding rocket and won't shut up.

Can't wait to get it finished. And then never look at the flippin' thing again!

Best of all? Off to part-ay with rathenar tomorrow after work! Gonna be fun. Gonna stay on the boat. Gonna get very lost driving round Cambridge in the fog....

And now I'm knackered, so goodnight y'all.

OK, so it works like this:

Running about like an idiot and, on the whole, having a blast doing so. Being busy rocks my socks. But.

I am reading my flist, I do still give a shit about everybody but comments are going to be a bit thin on the ground for a bit! My brain is often turned to mush by the time I get to my PC....

Oh and Slay is a total girl about his piercings. He keeps rushing up to me and saying 'does this look clean? Am I looking after them properly?'

Dude, they're your nipples. If you can't tell if they're clean it's a sad day - I just pierced 'em, the rest is up to you....

This is on a par with the hair-dye test patch fiasco.

*Tsk*

Anyway. Still around, just a bit busy.

Goddamn but I'm tired. Not surprising really.

Sunday I did the thirteen hour night shift from HELL. ( And here's why.... )

Monday I slept.

Today? Well, I woke up with my rook piercing giving me severe gyp, swollen and red - must have banged it suring the night, and it's complaining bitterly about it. Still, I can live with it, because I have been at the studio and have done my first tattoo on someone else!

( Poor Slay.... )

But this seven days a week crap is a nightmare. It's the vet stuff that makes me so tired; the studio is a breeze, because I'm loving it. And let's face it, it isn't the hard physical, mental and emotional slog that the vets is...

*Groan* Ten hour shift tomorrow. Not looking forward to it!

I survived. I am knackered.

However, here's an anecdote that sums up tonight and, indeed, night shifts here in general:

It's 0615. I am gore and saliva to my eyebrows, because the cat whos tried to stop a car with his face has decided he's going to finish the job by braining himself on the walls of the incubator. Morphine has stopped working. The only thing that is working is me putting the beast in a (gentle) headlock.

So.

Cat. Blood. Saliva. Headlock.

...phone.

"My cat's bandage has fallen off."

There is a moment of silence while I try to come up with a response that does not begin with "WHAT?!!!!!WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

They sound nervous. So they bloody should.

So I make them an appointment to come in and see the vet, and hang up very gently.

...

People. Gotta love 'em, right?

Right, whoever is playing silly buggers with me had better stop because this is silly.

I feel pretty rough, right? Right. I've worked a long hard shift. I have a virus. But I have pets and such to look after, so after a quick chat with rockfic I do the rounds (feed and water cats, dog, ferrets, feed fish) I crash out for a bit. I've let Axl out for his business after his dinner.

This is, oh, eightish?

Now, I decide to leave the door to Axl's crate open. Not fair to pen him up after I've worked all day.

I wake up at eleven. I go downstairs. Axl has not only been on the sofa, he has shit on it. And pissed on it.

I'm too tired to do anything but clear up. I've grabbed something to eat, I'm going to take my meds and crash. I need to shower but I'm too tired. I can't find my mobile. I'm tired and I don't feel well and if I start crying I get the horrible feeling I won't be able to stop.

I--

Damn it.