Naoko's news, views and shoes thread

[Handley_Page]

I'm sure that, on you, that apron would look quite charming.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Things can only get better!

It's funny TX mentioned The Management.

Well, of course it's not funny at all!

The university and the union are going back into negotiations for our permanent contracts for the tenth year now. In the meantime, I had an email round to say Sorry, we have got not very many students this year so we are going to drop your salary to 85% That's on top of me losing a group, therefore a whole salary, from last year when they only gave me a One Year contract, so they don't even bother to tell you you're not getting that back

I am in the midst of having the boiler and all the radiators replaced, plus setting things up to welcome my new groups of students, plus trying to get some old students (most of them not mine) sorted with their failed assignment which they are allowed to resubmit if I can show them how to reference it properly Second most stressful time of the year, so when I saw this email saying I would have even less of a salary than I had hoped, I am afraid I burst into tears and wrote angry emails to the Vice Chancellor, Human Resources and my local political reps.

Then I got a phone call from a Line Manager (not Arsehole) to say I had been awarded a whole new teaching contract So I am only on slightly less money than I was last year now and I have got ten whole days to learn an entire module in order to teach it - oh joy (But at least this one is a permanent contract, so I would get some warning and compensation if I lost it next year.)

I am just going to clean the kitchen as Piglet - who has been over at her dad's - is coming back for the night, to watch back-to-back Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing episodes on the tv. I'll make some snacks for us and pull out the sofabed so we don't have to move apart from flicking a finger to change channels and watch a different show. The guys are coming back next week to do more stuff on the boiler and radiators, although they have made sure we have got heating and hot water over the weekend.

Piglet has been really great, and she is a lot better after that awful time a couple of years ago. There are other things than money, aren't there.



Here is Eowyn looking at the lovely view - with a warm bum. Does it get any better than that?

 

[NaokoSmith]

I'm sure that, on you, that apron would look quite charming.

That is me

 

[TxRad]

That is me

And now for the picture with just the apron on....






I don't think it is going to work but it is worth a try, right.

 

[curl4ever]

 

[Bramblethorn]

Hullo dahlinks
so grateful , it does make me feel better that other people see my family are insane - it's not me that is the loopy one. (That is how The Fambly make me feel.)

One of the most helpful things a friend ever said to me was to point out that a certain relative of mine was mad. Not in a nasty way, they were great friends, just showing me that I didn't have to treat their behaviour as normal.

Check this out - only £5 on €bay
No no, only the apron - not the contents. As you all know, I am considerably more costly than £5 unfortunately! Wish I had 5p for every guy who has said I am "out of his league", I would be able to afford my own vintage champagne

*distracted*

 

[Handley_Page]

That is me

 

[stickygirl]

Hullo dahlinks
so grateful , it does make me feel better that other people see my family are insane - it's not me that is the loopy one.

I am proud to be the loopy one in my family - I have documented proof, but being loopy doesn't mean you have licence to treat other people like dirt.

Sticky , my pussy is called Eowyn. The other one (the black one) is called 'Evil Killer Queen', or Lakhi if we are going to the vet's.

That's a great name: Eowyn was Tolkein's only cross-dressing character and delivered the best line in the whole trilogy: "I am no man!"

Check this out - only £5 on €bay
No no, only the apron - not the contents. As you all know, I am considerably more costly than £5 unfortunately! Wish I had 5p for every guy who has said I am "out of his league", I would be able to afford my own vintage champagne

That is SO gay

Exactly how many jobs do you have now?

 

[Handley_Page]

: Eowyn was Tolkein's only cross-dressing character and delivered the best line in the whole trilogy: "I am no man!"

:

Didn't she get married in the end ?

 

[stickygirl]

Didn't she get married in the end ?

Of course, to Faramir, the younger of the two sons of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor... oops I've been outed!

 

[NaokoSmith]

TX - that apron is for cooking and doing the washing up! I have another apron I wear when I ... just wear an apron I was going to give it its virgin airing - or I should say wearing? - for this ex rugby international I met, but I have unfortunately not quite had the time yet to try him out. (Or should that be tire him out )

Sticky, I knew it! A LOTR to the core

HP, Curl, BrambleThorn Ogg -

https://rlv.zcache.co.uk/pin_up_girl_poster_retro_50s_pinup_art_poster-ree76410335db415c8affe26c4fead59a_ahty_8byvr_512.jpg

 

[NaokoSmith]

Good News

So this is the kind of story which if I was to write it, you would all say "what tosh, there is no way such a thing would ever happen in real life."

You all remember the Fella, and what a trial and tribulation he was. But when we split, I worked VERY HARD and put all that behind me. For Piglet's sake, I was friendly and supportive. I accepted Miss Knickers - his new girlfriend, and I would talk through the difficulties the Fella was having with Outlaw Dad and phone Outlaw Dad regularly to keep him chirpy etc etc.

(Just in case you are wondering, Miss Knickers turned out very badly - just as one might have predicted if one were not being tactful and supportive )

I was very much rewarded for being nice to the Fella, as he mellowed back into the excellent friend he had been before. For the last couple of years we have got on most comfortably, even joking when Piglet went off to see good films with her friends instead of us that we would have to go on our own without her.

Recently the Fella was offered a chance to go to Japan for a work thing - right before Piglet's school holiday. (Mum was Japanese, remember.) I of course begged him to think of taking Piglet. I was wondering if I could scrape three pennies together to send her by not eating for a couple of months or something, and if I could persuade him to cover most of the very large cost of her going. He came round the other night and said that I was right (that's not the news, of course!), that this would be a fantastic opportunity for Piggles. And he said he would pay not only for her expenses to go but he would buy my air ticket to go as well!!!




At first I argued a little, saying No no, I can't accept that from you, but migosh! I have never been able to go to Japan, and I would so much love to go. Plus, I know Piglet and the Fella will both have a much better time if I go, as I have friends in Japan who will take really good care of us and show us all the best things there.

Well, I sure am a lucky lady! in spite of all the troubles and travails. And I am very very glad that I was nice to the Fella and did my best by him, even though I didn't feel much like it at the time.

 

[TxRad]

Ah so! What goes around, comes around. Well, some of the time anyway. I'm happy to hear things are starting too come your way. Just make sure your passport is in order and the ticket is round-trip.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Well, I sure am a lucky lady! in spite of all the troubles and travails. And I am very very glad that I was nice to the Fella and did my best by him, even though I didn't feel much like it at the time.

Nice to see, Naoko. What goes around, comes around. It's been obvious here that you've always had a soft spot for the Fella, and your divorced relationship sounds healthier than many married ones. Have a great trip .

EB

 

[curl4ever]

<breaking my silence>

YAAAAYYYY NAOKO!!!

So happy for you!!!

 

[Bramblethorn]

Well, I sure am a lucky lady! in spite of all the troubles and travails. And I am very very glad that I was nice to the Fella and did my best by him, even though I didn't feel much like it at the time.

Aw, that's lovely to hear!

My partner and her ex had a messy breakup, but they worked on things for the sake of the kid, and by the time I came into the picture they had a very civilised relationship going. Ended up with all of us going on holidays together, although not to anywhere as exciting as Japan.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Ended up with all of us going on holidays together, although not to anywhere as exciting as Japan.

Manly, huh? A ferry ride from the Quay, an ice-cream on the Esplanade, and a walk around to the Fairy Bower Pool. Could do a lot worse .

 

[Handley_Page]

Super stuff, Naoko.

 

[R. Richard]

Condolences and welcome back!

 

[stickygirl]

I'm glad the two of you are friends again. Once you've seen the other person make an orgasm face or held their hair as they're vomiting, it's difficult to rule them out of your life forever. Forever's a big word; life is a much shorter one ... it's the same number of letters as fuck and gold too.
I'll get me coat

 

[Handley_Page]

I'm glad the two of you are friends again.
Once you've seen the other person make an orgasm face or held their hair as they're vomiting, it's difficult to rule them out of your life forever.
Forever's a big word; life is a much shorter one ... it's the same number of letters as fuck and gold too.
I'll get me coat

That, Jane, is the most accurate description I've ever read.
Thank You.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Manly, huh? A ferry ride from the Quay, an ice-cream on the Esplanade, and a walk around to the Fairy Bower Pool. Could do a lot worse .

Slightly more exotic than Manly.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Well, I'm just trying to get the picture of the Fella's face in orgasm out of my mind here after reading Sticky's post

I was always concerned for the Fella, it's true. He is an only child, and his family are a bit weird too. It feels so much more comfortable being able to talk to him and let him have a moan to me when his dad behaves badly (his dad is the only surviving one now), rather than have to look on from a distance.

But don't worry, anyone! Absolutely NO chance of me going back to him

More good news! you can't believe it, can you?

Well especially this item, your jaw will drop and your eyes open very wide. And not because I am wearing shorty pyjamas while I type this up - as it is my day off and I might not bother to get dressed.

After only 15 years of negotiations , the university have given way to some of the union's demands about what would make a reasonable job for us tutors at the Old University - and we are to be offered a permanent contract I seriously have cried a couple of times when I think about it. This will make such an ENORMOUS difference in my life. I already feel more confident about the future, knowing it's coming on the horizon. I can make plans, I can think about scaling back some of my work instead of desperately trying to collect as many little contracts as possible so I can be sure of keeping going.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Sticky was asking how many jobs I have, and the honest truth is: I don't know

I have currently got 5 teaching contracts, some are 8 months, one is for the whole year - they can currently be taken away at a moment's notice if the university doesn't have enough students to go round, or this year there were fewer students, so 2 weeks before the teaching started the university said they would only pay me 80% of my salary, although they might raise it to 100% if they got more students or alternatively drop it to 75% if they got even less (I'm still not sure what my salary is on that module, as they have not bothered to write and tell me.)
I have got a pathetically low paid contract as the Pastoral Tutor on one set of modules, which I have to share with some bloke now - even though I built the role up last year and made the case for it to be funded again this year by myself.
I quite often get little bits of work @ £50 per hour to do extra support with students who are nose-diving (some of them other tutors', not my own) - it of course takes a lot longer than an hour to sort them out, but £50 is a new pair of school shoes so I always go for it.
I won a big fat contract in the summer to write a literature review, which I am still working on because the summer was so poo that I didn't get any time for it then.
I also had a contract to deliver a workshop in Scotland recently, which I hope I will also get a contract to deliver in Wales.
I have got a new role as the Rep for us tutors here in Wales, that is also pathetically badly paid while taking up large amounts of time I don't have. (And I am overseen in it by hysterical old women - literally, who micro-manage us I might resign from it if they carry on.)
Plus, I just won a great contract to be the Critical Reader on a really cool upcoming module.
I think there are some more ...
I work across two faculties, and in two different nations, and sometimes go to a third nation just for fun

Critical Reader is a tutor who goes through the materials that have been written, to see if they can spot any really stupid mistakes the module team have made while writing them, and point them out before the rest of the tutors see them and fall about laughing. I think I might be quite good at that

The extra good thing about that contract is that working on it will mean I am in a great position to be appointed to tutor on the module when it goes live

 

[NaokoSmith]

OK, I am sure you have skipped over that last post with your eyes glazed, it is so dull and you can't imagine how I juggle all that - with studying a Masters Degree and bringing up a teenager

Luckily the Fella is always trying to get Piglet to go over to his house (I think not just because she is a very good cook), so I do get more time to myself these days. Haha, time to myself! I mean time to stay up late marking assignments and going on forums to b!tch up the Management

Anyway, I have come in here partly to bring a little Christmas cheer and a hot Welsh greeting. I do love how this seasonal little video makes a cool erotic story out of this old song, bringing out some of the dodgier elements and with a charming twist at the end

(And leather, there is quite a lot of leather in it )

Baby It's Cold Outside - Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews.

Well, I suppose I better get on with wrapping some presents