Stockroom Stairs #dreamdiary35

It’s a chaotic day at work. The stockroom has seemed to resemble a maze of staircases from my middle school and all the stock seems to be kept in each of the classrooms. Rather than have a lift, we are expected to carry the items down four flights of stairs; though we do have a crashmat-styled trampoline to throw the heavier items down the middle of the staircase. It’s also a quick way for us to get from A to B; although it’s a health and safety nightmare. My boss who is blonde keeps shouting up from the ground floor since that’s where the stock needs to go to. I’m suddenly realising that I’ve got no idea how the stock gets there in the first place. Perhaps there’s a chute into each room and we distribute the stock from the roof. I have a desk on the second floor which prints each order onto a scrap of paper telling me what I have to fetch from which room.

Christmas Reindeer

Of all the little novelties and stocking fillers that you might see; the perfect little guy managed to creep over my stockroom counter and into my home. I had to keep my eye on a few unclaimed reservations to get my hands on one. It was quite a good design considering the price; it’s just a shame that it couldn’t be bigger. I also got confused by the fact that the extra blocks were presents. With an extra Lego set, I could have been inspired to build a Christmas village for him. I’m also hoping that this model’s unique and that he doesn’t appear in the Lego Advent calendars. He’s cute with his festive bells jangling from his neck but he is kind of lonely on his own and he has to sit with the rest of the Christmas decorations for the next eleven months. Maybe next year there’ll be other models so that people can make a collection.

St Austell Tribute at Steps, Redditch

Originally known as the Bell Inn, this pub had a makeover just after the millennium and became a trendy chrome bar. There’s a variety of comfortable lounge seating near the entrance; and a long bar in the corridor allows for locals to lean over and catch up with the events of the day. Towards the end of the pub is a space for a dance floor with a narrow corridor for the facilities. In the past they’ve had a beautiful beer garden. Trees, decking, glass tables and sunbed-styled chairs made for an impression that you were abroad; with each table having its own roped-off section. In the middle was a beautiful fish pond. In recent years this has been scrapped; either due to maintenance or vandalism issues. Instead they’ve built an awning which created extra inside lounge space and overlooks a smaller second bar. The ale’s been quite good in recent years and has known to occasionally surprise us; though often it’s from a national brewery.  

A Wanted Man by Lee Child

A Wanted Man by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an enjoyable thriller. It’s centred on a man who is well travelled and has plenty of facts and philosophies to share; and if you’ve never read any of Reacher’s novels before; you learn about his past through his interactions of the other characters; although he tends not to reveal much about himself. It’s not easy to trust a man of Reacher’s calibre, but he often leaves them with no choice. I thought that the reaction of the motel manager was quite comical; trying to put as much distance between himself and the incident as possible. When they find Delfuenso’s car it seems that all leads have been exhausted. From there; the tale seems to get a little conspirative and unreal. I found the decryption of Delfuenso’s message a little far-fetched and unrealistic, but I suppose it makes sense when you learn of her identity later on. But what a strange alias to have. It would have been a good perspective for Child to delve into more of the Wadiah and their plans to pollute the water table. I also found the FBI’s method to find a particular branch of McDonalds very questionable. But despite the gung-ho one-man army approach towards the end, it still makes for a very interesting page-turner.

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Scrappy Burger

This show barely gets things going. It’s another South Park-styled animation, and the episodes aren’t short enough to keep the jokes rolling in. There’s so many issues that they can tackle; yet like their characters they give up before the episode’s started. It touches on a few stereotypical issues such as the characters’ low-paid prospects; and there’s very little character development. Their narrative is often a little slow and is spoken without any enthusiasm. Occasionally they do make relevant political comments and devise their own actions; demonstrating that they have some intelligence. Then there’s the stereotypical hoarse old man who always stirs up trouble owing to their lack of understanding of the modern world. But their humour is typically British and their well-thought out puns may be just too intelligent for some. The score suits the series perfectly; it has a here-comes-trouble attitude; but as the series progresses it’s rare that a solution to each problem is found. But there’s so much potential for development here. 

The Post-Meal Breakfast

Everyone seemed quite keen on getting tanked up before heading off to the venue. I had a pint in a pub while I waited for the others to arrive. It was a shame that everyone decided that they all wanted to get tanked up; and it kind of ruined the evening towards the end. No-one acknowledged the fairground tickets that I procured; although I don’t think I put any money towards the taxi. And I got bored after the hottest girl only had their eyes on just one person. It takes a lot to get me drunk; especially when I’m somewhere where I’m not familiar. I still have my guard up. But at least there were bacon sandwiches to grab towards the end. Meanwhile, one of the others got too giddy; passed out and got took back to the hotel. Somehow they’d got a key to my room and splurged everywhere in the bathroom; leaving a great mess. He also left his phone in our room; which kept ringing constantly. As a result; I couldn’t have a shower in the morning; and I could still smell the stench on my clothes as I headed back home for breakfast. 

Sinking Ship #dreamdiary35

It’s charity fundraising season, and we’ve decided to raise funds by sailing a boat alongside the coast of Wales. We spend Friday night traveling down and once we’ve arrived it’s far too late to set up and board so we find a pub and treat ourselves to a couple of beers. The next morning we’re all due to work before setting sail; so we rush in and we run out of time to report to our friend about the leak in the boat. We set off in the afternoon, and by early evening we find ourselves in a canal as we’ve decided to take a shortcut. We’re passing through a student town and we decide to moor up to get some fish and chips. Unfortunately, the hole seems to be getting wider. I’m wondering what we could have done and the only thing that I think that we could have done is to ask my friend to cut a board to plug the leak. While I’m thinking when to ask out a girl I just met, the boat starts to sink, and my wallet falls out of my pocket as I ponder the best way to save the vessel.