I'm alright, Noah, pull up the ladder and sod the rest...

I have become slightly moist. To think, I thought my shoes were waterproof. It's alright, I live on a hill, I won't wake up afloat.


I can't say that there have been major happenings today. The morning was agreeable enough, the usual timewasting: half an hour on the computer looking at the same jobs I was looking at the same time yesterday, then I was relieved to almost have something to do, in that I had to learn how to use MS Word from a sheaf of papers. Of course, I already know how to use MS Word, but no distraction should be allowed to go to waste. That ate up most of my day, that did. Thankfully it was rather more literate than yesterday's letter writing sheath. The afternoon was a different matter, I was ordered out onto the streets to go around supermarkets looking for application forms for nonexistent jobs. Netto, Waitrose, Marks and Sparks, Morrisons, WIlkos, etc.. It seems like a long time ago, for I was very hot at the time and was happy for the light rains to cool me. Now I'm sopping wet and less than happy. However even in adversity the clouds have silver linings. I managed to stretch out my wanderings from immediately after the afternoon break until half past three, knowing that the end time for the day is only nominally four o'clock.


I didn't come back with many forms, just one indeed. "I see you've got a big pile there, then". He ought to be a policeman with sarcasm like that.


Best thing, though, I managed to engineer it so that tomorrow morning I can have a nice walk to Morrison's, to "collect a form". It all comes right in the end. Always does.


There is a security door with an intercom at A4E (Action 4 Employment, for the blissfully ignorant). I have heard the story, last time I was there, acouple of years ago, about why it was put in. A couple of smack heads beating each other up, apparently.


When I was younger I went to a head doctor. I was forced to by someone, I believe he called himself an education welfare officer. There was someone at A4E last time I was there who mentioned this same head doctor. I'm not entirely surprised that it's such a common experience among New Deal "beneficiaries" to have been sent off to the shrinks. Psycho(logist)s and the New Deal are the same thing: beat people into line, make them obey or face the consequences.

I have more money from my dole than I expected. The bank seem to have charged me one less of their illegal bank charges than I expected. Maybe I'm the first person not employed by a bank (and not a bank) to benefit from a banking error. Just like monopoly.