Naoko's news, views and shoes thread

[JackLuis]

Naoko! I'm surprised, and happy to see you back. I spend most of my time on the Politics forum these days. Or on a Ukulele site, where I am learning music things. It's all quite complicated and requires a lot of practice.

I'm happy to hear you are doing better professionally. At least your managers does tell you what he wants you to do, even if it is wrong. I always had the problem that my managers would send me off and I'd never hear from them again, unless the shit hit the fan! I tried very hard to not let that happen. I'm much happier now that I don't have a quarterly P&L review to manage.

I'll run by your blog, I haven't visited in a while.

Cheers!

 

[NaokoSmith]

Your blog is a really thoughtful thing for you to do. I too am interested in sexuality education ...
If you need any help, I would love to be a part of your blog.

Yes! that would be so great!!!

I will be in touch. I just logged in today for a quick 'hullo'; I'll get in touch with you properly in the next couple of days.



As for the dating sites, it's probably not that I have more luck than anyone else. I'm a confirmed pessimist. I don't expect much and am very pleased with a respectful date who will buy me a drink and has sufficient courage to flirt with me. More soon! I'm writing a blogpost about the dating sites.

Naoko! I'm surprised, and happy to see you back.

Happy to see you too! you sexy ole silverback

TxRad


Hullo chaps and chapesses! I'm quickly logging in while I sit here in a fresh evening breeze, wearing only my knickers and a bra.

As you may have guessed, it's the holidays Piglet has gone off to stay with my brother, sister and Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all in France and frolic with her cousins for a few days. I have not long got back from depositing her at Heathrow. I had to get her a flight from there, as only Swissair would take her on an Unaccompanied Minor flight to Geneva (nearest airport to my siblings' gaff).

It was about as torrid a drive back as you might imagine a drive on a summer Friday afternoon would be. I think they shut a section of the motorway shortly after I went (very slowly) through it. There were a lot of broken down cars littering the motorway up, and at one point a big lorry piled with hay-bales undertook me. (In between Bristol and Bath, of course.)

The old lady was pretty well behaved, except when she had to go slow (I'm talking about my car here, y'unnerstand! ). She likes to go about 90 down the fast lane, but if you do under 8 miles an hour she makes a horrible bleeping noise. Plus, if you are trying to go from a standing start, she sometimes drops the revs in her engine completely and you have to turn her off and on again. As I was saying, it was a hot day, and it got considerably hotter when I realised the guy in the car behind me had stripped his shirt off and was sitting there with some rather fine pectorals on full display It's surprisingly hard to drive in slow traffic when your rearview mirror is fogged up ...

I got home and immediately poured myself a stiff Vermouth (Noilly Prat) and tonic - as I had fortuitously found a stray bottle of tonic water in the fridge yesterday. I also found half a tin of anchovies and some rocket and cockles, so I made some sort of spaghetti dish with three or four anchovies melted in olive oil over a slow heat with garlic, and a salad with the cockles and rocket. All three things were delicious!


Anyway, really I have come in here to boast. HP and Ogg, you will be very proud of me. I have come a long way since HP had to teach me by PM how to open the bonnet of the car in order to try and put water in the wishy washy wiper water bottle. Yesterday I not only drove to the garage and made sure the tyres were the right pressure (and remembered to put the dust caps back on the tyre valves!), I even succeeded in checking the oil level and buying oil and topping up the oil in the car. I tried to check the water but it looks like cars don't have water in them these days, LOL. There was something called a 'coolant container' and it looked reasonably full so I didn't mess with it.

I also filled the car with that expensive unleaded petrol (which has a nozzle in the colour that matches my vintage Jaegar corduroy jacket), as I remembered Ogg said I should do that every 10 fill-ups or so to help keep the engine clean or something.

 

[MrBennet]

Is the beeping noise coming from behind you?!
I use to put normal tractor fuel in my old Mondeo and it made as much smoke as a power station. I now have a VW thing that it deserves posh fuel and in return it does 60mpg.
So now that you have the house to yourself, what do you have planned?!

 

[Handley_Page]

Anyway, really I have come in here to boast. HP and Ogg, you will be very proud of me. I have come a long way since HP had to teach me by PM how to open the bonnet of the car in order to try and put water in the wishy washy wiper water bottle. Yesterday I not only drove to the garage and made sure the tyres were the right pressure (and remembered to put the dust caps back on the tyre valves!), I even succeeded in checking the oil level and buying oil and topping up the oil in the car. I tried to check the water but it looks like cars don't have water in them these days, LOL. There was something called a 'coolant container' and it looked reasonably full so I didn't mess with it.

Good for you Duchess.
Car do still have "water" but is is rarely just water these days, as it usually has some chemistry which makes it less prone to freezing in Winter (call it 'anti-freeze'; it's easier).
And most cars call it "Coolant".

Dare we hope you succeeded with the wishy-washy stuff, then ?
You can add TWO drops of washing-up liquid; it keeps the screen cleaner that ordinary water.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Is the beeping noise coming from behind you?!
...So now that you have the house to yourself, what do you have planned?!

No the beeping noise is coming from my own engine. The ole lady really dislikes going at low speeds. I think it must be something to do with the gears. I can drive at 25 mph in fifth gear - I imagine that's a bit unusual?

She is a much used Ford Focus C-max which my friend sold me for very little money, who spent her life bombing up and down between Cardiff and Cornwall and being run all over town inbetween times. Sometimes she got driven to France and back, although my friend usually took her husband's Mercedes when they went skiing . The fixture which my friend and I most admire about this car is that there is a special sunglasses holder just above the driver door. My friend left me an old pair of Calvin Klein sunglasses in it to wear when I forget to take my Barbour ones out driving.

I never thought the ole lady would last very long, but I very rarely take her out - about once a week we got 3 miles down the road to take Piglet riding. This is the longest journey I've ever done in her and she took to it very well, I thought. I try to take good care of her, getting her serviced and stuff and I've found a really good garage to help me out, where they didn't even smile when I asked how to open the bonnet (although to be fair to me, the Ford C-max bonnet opens in some peculiar way with the key). They did smile a bit when I complained that the windscreen wipers weren't working and it turned out I wasn't pressing the right button.

Good for you Duchess.
...
Dare we hope you succeeded with the wishy-washy stuff, then ?
You can add TWO drops of washing-up liquid; it keeps the screen cleaner that ordinary water.

Yes, I am pretty good at keeping the wishy washy wiper water well topped up! I tried to wash the windscreen before setting off yesterday but it still seems a bit smeary. I was distracted by being careful not to wash out the spiders who live in the wing mirrors so I may have forgotten to wipe the wiper blades. I'm going to give them a good clean today and if the windscreen is still smeary, I might think about getting new ones.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Oh, I forgot to answer Mr B's question about what I will be up to while the Piglet's away

It's all going to be very clean

No, really, it is. I am very excited about having this time to clean and tidy the house. Or I was before El Stupido Line Manager decided to have his stupid online meeting right in the middle of this time.

He is doing more stupidness, and it looks like Tio will not have to come all the way to Wales and buy me cocktails unfortunately. However success! I am managing to ignore him most of the time and save myself enormous stress and bother. What does it matter if he does his stupidness? If he does, I will blow the whistle on him to higher management, and either I will win, which will be good, or he will get to continue his stupidness. That will only mean I have to teach in an inconvenient way. Because of the way we work, we are just allowed to get on with things most of the time so I can probably live with that.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Cor blimey, I have just been for a desultory look at my submissions page. Part of the reason I wasn't on here chatting much is that I have been working really hard to edit down my novel for the final time. I posted it up here a while back, looking for some feedback but I thought people would probably tell me it was garbage and I should stick with the day job.

I mean, of course I am sticking with the day job! I know making money at selling smut is not about writing good smut, it's about being good at selling and I am absolutely pants at promoting and selling myself.

Anyway, back to the novel! To my huge surprise, in my absence the reading and votes have continued and several of the chapters have got red H's with a perfect 5!!! Nobody get too excited and impressed/jealous, that's mostly because they have just got 10 votes. But I do feel encouraged by that and by the kind comments people made (which I'm still reading to see if there are new ones). I know my friends on here love me but I don't think there are 10 of you who would read all the way through my novel and give me a 5 just out of love and loyalty so maybe the novel is OK and I should keep working at it after all.

 

[curl4ever]

so maybe the novel is OK

YES. It is!

and I should keep working at it after all.

YES. You should!

 

[NaokoSmith]

I have just popped in for a quick blurt, and to apologise to SilenceDances. (I have been so up to the eyeballs busy, that I haven't yet had a chance to clean out my Literotica PM box - which is as usual completely full, and message you )

I didn't realise quite how tired I was, I suppose. It has been a bit rough - with the Line Manager doing his circus tricks (eventually I complained to Higher Up persons, enquiring if they would really like us to teach our students in a manner wholly different to the way all other students on the course get taught - I'm waiting to see what they say). I have had my niece to stay for the last three or four days, which has been great fun but quite stressful too. My brother and sister-in-law are (at last!) divorcing after an acrimonious couple of decades of marriage so I have been putting some sticking-plasters on the poor kid's lacerated psyche. (Luckily she is happier now and says things are already improving from when her parents were together.)

Anyway, we set off yesterday for Heathrow to collect Piglet who was returning from France. From here, it's a long and very dull drive - as it's just straight up the M4 and being Sunday lunchtime, traffic was light and well-behaved. My niece was a bit slow to get going, so I was a little anxious about getting there in good time and hit the accelerator. When I started feeling dozy, I didn't want to stop but thought I would get a cup of coffee at Heathrow. (I was justified in being anxious as Piglet's plane got in early and we had barely arrived before she appeared at the arrivals barrier.)

I'm afraid I actually drifted off to sleep! and only came to when I hit a large bollard with the left wing mirror. I was so lucky that they were doing work along that section of the motorway, so I caught this thing instead of going right off the road, up the bank and overturning or something. There was a bit of damage to the mirror - it didn't even crack but it seemed to have come unstuck and hung out of the casing. I pulled into a service station a bit further down and managed to stuff some kitchen paper into it and get it to hang on in for the rest of the drive and the drive home.

I feel stricken with guilt, especially as I had my niece in the car with me. Plus, as I got out of the car at the service station I brushed my hand over my head and knocked off my sunglasses. After I drove off again, I thought about them and became convinced I'd left them on the ground in the service station. I was pretty upset as they are very nice ones and I certainly couldn't afford new ones, but when we got to Heathrow I found them in one of the many pockets by the handbrake. That did cheer me up a bit, although I still feel terrible about it all.

I'm not used to driving that far from home at all, as my longest normal journey is twenty minutes across town to the Japanese supermarket to buy rice. (Even for that errand I keep trying to figure out if I could carry 10 kg of rice and two big boxes of noodle soups on my bicycle!) Next time I will make sure I stop and have a coffee, even though it's all Starbucks and Costas so the coffee is either bitter or feebly weak.

I had already written to my Line Managers to say I mean to take a few days off. Because of the previous Line Manager's inexperience I had ended up with a long shift on the students' forum, which was tiring too, and then El Idiot our other Line Manager started with his horseshit. I have been running around, too, getting the maisonette sorted out and tidied up, which has been fun but also hard work. So I am a bit burnt out, I suppose.

 

[stickygirl]

That's quite a blurt! *hug*
It's not a real Ford unless it has a wing mirror hanging off.

 

[oggbashan]

Naoko?

Have some virtual (((HUGS))) and a nice relaxing massage.

Ford wing mirrors usually push back into place when hanging off.

Stupid Managers need kicking with your heaviest boots.

x 4

 

[curl4ever]

I am so sorry to hear about your mirror! It sounds like it could have been so much worse, so I am *extremely* grateful that you are still with us!

I hope you get your days of rest and recovery.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

What a narrow squeak! God, when I think how it could have been...

In future, don't drink coffee, even those horrible Starbucks or Cafe Nero things, the caffeine hit only lasts about 15 minutes, and then the tiredness rebounds on you; if you really have to drive long distances, or if you're tired, eat an apple; the slow release of sugars will keep you awake and aware a lot longer than the rebound hit from an espresso. Or do what my brothers always used to do when night-driving the excruciating distances state to state in the midwest, which was to trap a lock of hair in the sunroof...

 

[NaokoSmith]

Thanks guys! good news on the mirror, I drove over to the garage next morning and the chaps there just popped it back into place no bother, and didn't even charge me. I probably could have done it myself but after a few tries in the service station, I got worried I would break it and decided to leave it to professionals!

Great advice on the apple, Lori! I'm not so sure about the hair in the sunroof. My hair is very long, if I stick it in a sunroof it will probably collect passing princes like Rapunzel's

Everyone has been really nice about the accident, which I thought I'd better confess to the Fella and my brother and sister-soon-to-be-out-of-law. They all said, thank Goodness nobody was hurt, these things happen to everyone. I still feel ashamed, but that's good as it will make me take more care in future.

I feel I am succeeding with the Line Manager - no, not in getting through to him what a total idiot he is . Nor even because as I raise these issues with other people, it becomes clear everybody in senior management knows he's a total idiot and would love a really good chance to kick him in the pants (but it would have to be a really good one). I am succeeding because I just don't care so much! and often take days off relaxing and not thinking about him or work at all.

Today I am going to take Piglet and her cousin to Yo Sushi and to see the new Star Trek film, yum yum! No, I was talking about the sushi there, not Chris Pine (still talking about the sushi, honestly). Off to make some coffee and 'pain-au-chocolat' now - by which I mean some bake-in-the-oven baguettes with a line of Dairy Milk chocolate stuck in them while they are still hot so it goes all melt-y and delicious

Then I might surreptitiously go and have a square of some chocolate which a pal from here sent me, along with the perfect Literotica gift - a rose made of elephant poo!

 

[Handley_Page]

I think I'd rather put Elephant Poo on my roses.

 

[TxRad]

Driving sleepy was a way of life for me for more years than I care to remember. Glad you and yours are safe and sound. On slow release sugars. Looking in the sugar free candy section. Look for alcohol sugar content. It is still sugar but the slow release kind. Easier to keep in the car than a pear.

On coffee. Forget Starbucks and the such. Stop at a convenience store and look for a cappuccino dispenser. A 20 oz cup of that will keep you wired for sound.

Why do I now have the vision of a car flying down the road with a pony tail.

A rose by any other name shouldn't be made of any kind of poo.

 

[MrBennet]

I completely sympathise with the sleepy road syndrome. Many years ago I used to drive home on the M4 about an hour after eating and always struggled. On a few occasions I even pulled off and tried to have a kip, but as soon as the engine went off I was WIDE AWAKE! Back on the road zzzz. It really is very dangerous and the upshot is I know to drive hungry, not an hour after eating when your blood sugar is all over the place.
You may recall my gripes over business, but I am delighted to report said business partner is now taking full retirement! Yippee. I'm actually excited about work again - first time in many years. I only hope your own people-related bollocks is resolved soon too.

 

[Handley_Page]

I found some good rhythmic Rock helped me on a long distance

 

[stickygirl]

I found some good rhythmic Rock helped me on a long distance

we still talking about cars HP?

 

[Handley_Page]

we still talking about cars HP?

At my age, me dear, it's about all I can do.

 

[sheablue]

Then I might surreptitiously go and have a square of some chocolate which a pal from here sent me, along with the perfect Literotica gift - a rose made of elephant poo!

 

[NaokoSmith]

I found some good rhythmic Rock helped me on a long distance

we still talking about cars HP?

TX, I found this car with pony tails for you!

https://out.reddit.com/t3_12so37?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.stack.imgur.com%2FrKjG3.jpg&token=AQAAfwOnVzYsh7gBqhnk3Y4Ryc7cdHyu96jhVUlExddYAIwh6t0z

MrBennet, I think you have got to part of the problem. As it was Sunday, I had specially cooked a boeuf en croûte for my niece. Driving hungry (possibly sustained en route by a small box of champagne truffles?) is much the best way when going along a long slow quiet road like the M4.

I am absolutely delighted to hear about your business partner! The kind of people you work with make a massive difference; you spend so much time with them and life is so much more fun when they are making the work easy and pleasurable.

sheablue

Well, all has been tranquil here at the cattery of late ...



(Cattery - term Lord Peter Wimsey adopted for the residence of Miss Climpson and assorted other elderly spinsters whom he employed to fight crime.)

As soon as I had shipped my niece off on her flight to my sister in Scotland, I was laid low with a 24 hour tummy bug. Felt like cr@p - not literally, as I treated this by just drinking water to flush the system out. Piglet was very good and got herself lunch, although I am at a loss to know how she managed to get noodles in a noodle soup to stick to the bottom of the pan. The Fella was good too and came over and fetched her to give her tea. Piglet was a little disappointed as she had planned a gourmet repast of chips and baked beans with grated cheese sprinkled over them, but I think he gave her a burger so all was well in her little world.

Friday, I just about got myself well enough to run round and tidy up, chastising Piglet so she did a bit to help, and welcome a Piglet pal over for the day. Continued to launder and iron in preparation for Piglet's next adventure.

Yesterday, took Piglet uniform shopping - amazingly painless experience owing to a new system I have devised (until we got to the till - ), rushed home and packed up two weeks' worth of Piglet-wear, drove her over to the Fella's. Got home, and was very good. Instead of falling onto my futon in a heavy slumber, I did the washing up so the kitchen would be clear and then went outside and raked and mowed the lawn.

It was a beautiful sunny day, however I knew it would rain in the night and indeed just as I finished, I felt a couple of drops so I felt very vindicated. I had to do a swerve with the mower round one anthill in the lawn as the ants were swarming. Another sign of rain, I think - the winged ants were coming out, climbing up grass stems and preparing to fly although the little red ants were trying to push them back into the anthill, saying the ant equivalent of: "You're too young to fly. Come back indoors and I'll make you a nice cup of cocoa."

My eye was feeling itchy and I noticed it was red, then it got a lot itchier and I realised I had picked up a mild conjunctivitis - grrr. So instead of cycling down for a swim today, and relaxing in my favourite bar (that one where I occasionally get cruised by married men and men too young to f... - with me, anyway) over a coffee, I am hanging about til the pharmacy opens. I have washed the eye in a little warm water and seasalt and it does feel a bit better but still irritating.

Honestly, the Fella used to do this. As soon as he was on holiday, he would fold over at the knees and go down with all kinds of stupid little illnesses. I am very annoyed to find myself doing it! I have a poxy little part time job, and really shouldn't be suffering this much hassle.

 

[curl4ever]

 

[NaokoSmith]

Awww, thank you curl.


I have got some Brolene. My eye does feel better so I said I would manage without antibiotic eyedrops and keep up the salty water treatment for a couple of days.
(Me with one eye twitching as it's still itchy)

Chaps, I am on the verge of FINALLY finishing editing my Magnum Opus Primus . (I used my paper Latin dictionary to look that up. I didn't really need to but it smells so delicious and dusty ) After some thought, I cut two of the early chapters in half as I felt they were going on a bit and would cause readers to start flagging. My impression is that although people are interested in the story, at a certain point they put the book (or Kindle) down and just don't pick it up again as they feel they are wading through too much stuff and their brains are muddled. A change is as good as a rest, so hopefully if I cut the material up into smaller chapters, people will take a natural break and still be wondering what's going to happen enough to go back to the novel.

This unfortunately means I have to hang on to the book for a bit longer, and keep re-reading it to make sure it works OK. For example, I read it just now and realised I had chucked a major character in without announcing her proper name at all. I have become so familiar with her, that I didn't realise she needed introducing.

 

[Handley_Page]

Awww, thank you curl.


I have got some Brolene. My eye does feel better so I said I would manage without antibiotic eyedrops and keep up the salty water treatment for a couple of days.
(Me with one eye twitching as it's still itchy)

Chaps, I am on the verge of FINALLY finishing editing my Magnum Opus Primus . (I used my paper Latin dictionary to look that up. I didn't really need to but it smells so delicious and dusty ) After some thought, I cut two of the early chapters in half as I felt they were going on a bit and would cause readers to start flagging. My impression is that although people are interested in the story, at a certain point they put the book (or Kindle) down and just don't pick it up again as they feel they are wading through too much stuff and their brains are muddled. A change is as good as a rest, so hopefully if I cut the material up into smaller chapters, people will take a natural break and still be wondering what's going to happen enough to go back to the novel.

This unfortunately means I have to hang on to the book for a bit longer, and keep re-reading it to make sure it works OK. For example, I read it just now and realised I had chucked a major character in without announcing her proper name at all. I have become so familiar with her, that I didn't realise she needed introducing.

First Great Work?