Kirstie Nicols works in sales but hopes to become a journalist. Going the distance  I haven’t really done much the past couple of weeks; it’s been nice to be able to actually spend some time at home. Although I’d like to say this was out of choice, it’s got more to do with the fact that I haven’t been able to move without pain for the past week.
On Sunday I completed my 10-mile run, of which nine and a half were in the pouring rain and biting wind. The other half a mile I couldn’t tell you about; I assume it was raining but I couldn’t feel anything so I can’t say for certain. Despite everything I really enjoyed it (especially the last 50 yards), I felt great at the end and I would even do it again. I’m not going to say what my time was; but I do plan to try and improve it next year. You never know, this could be the start of an amazing new hobby for me! In printI did manage to struggle out of the house in order to go and watch the gig for the band I was writing a review about. They were actually pretty good, and luckily enough their type of music didn’t leave me completely out of my depth. The songs were catchy enough, and apart from a couple of cringe-worthy moments where the lead singer went severely off key, I really enjoyed them. Not exactly ‘The Next Big thing’, but maybe ‘next year’s next big thing’. So I wrote my review about them and sent it in…it turned out it was completely not what they were getting at and I’d utterly misunderstood what he was saying when he explained it to me. Which I guess you could say was not the best of starts. So I humbly went away and rewrote it, sent it back in again and waited. This time round, after he’d corrected some spelling and grammar (I’m the type of person who never remembers to do that crucial final read-through), I was told it was brilliant and a genius piece of work. Or rather that it was OK and this time would get printed, in tiny writing somewhere near the back. But I don’t care! As of this week I have become published! Serious workAt the workplace I go everyday where I actually make enough to live on, things aren’t going so well. I’ve been there a good few months now, and I’m no longer the new kid whose mistakes get forgiven. In fact, with the number of new employees that have started recently, I could even be seen as a seasoned worker! People (meaning those who’ve been there longest) are starting to mutter about the fact that I’m still intent on leaving eventually, and I must therefore not be taking the job seriously. I myself didn’t actually think I’d still be there after all this time, and I can see what they’re getting at. This means that I don’t really enjoy it much anymore, and it’s getting to be just the place I have go everyday in order to make money. I saw a sign that summed it up perfectly: ‘I don’t mind going to work…it’s just the 8 hours I have to wait before I can go home that get me’. I always thought that if I ever felt like that about work, I would try and find something else as soon as possible, and I’m considering quitting and heading back to the good old temp agency till I find something else at the moment. But then, it could just be pre-Christmas blues… Making a moveThe only small hitch with doing this is that it seems we may, possibly, have found a house that everyone wants to rent. At the moment I’m expecting someone to phone me up and tell me we can’t possibly live there because so-and-so thinks the curtains are the wrong shade of blue to match with their furniture, but if that doesn’t happen in the next couple of days then I think we may be able to sign on that dotted line. Which of course would make finally paying rent a little difficult with no job! So right now, everything is a bit up in the air…I guess I’m just going to wait and see what happens. Finally, during the week myself and a friend decided to chill out at mine, and in doing so ended up drinking quite a bit. In this state we thought it would be hilarious to sign me up to Celebrity Scissorhands for a haircut…not thinking anything would happen we said I’d be willing to try anything. Ten minutes later I got a call from the team, and I am now booked in for this weekend. I still can’t decide if it’s a good idea to go or not…I’m not sure how pleased my boss would be if I turned up on Monday with no hair! Read Kirstie's previous blogs | 
