Soo Much to Post...

Can't believe I forgot to post these. Pictures from my last day at Center Parcs (ever, hopefully!)

The snow in the car park the night before and the reason I was 2 hours late on my last day.

The 'Global Cake' I baked for everyone. Was very good if I do say so myself! Though not an acturate portrayal of the globe, it's a little imperialist.

My parting gift, Cheeky Ray, complete with passport. I had to promise to take him with me and picture him in exotic places. The girls (and David) also kindly contributed to my fundraising efforts.

I promised to post this charity shop find AGES go, but I was being lazy and I haven't really figured out how to wear it yet. I'm not sure about this combo with jeans and shirt. It did make an interesting silhouette though and I wanted to wear it before I went away. Mainly just so I could post it.

Close up of the jacket done up. As you can see it is a bit of a squeeze. I picked it up for just £4.50. I loved the sleeves. Only thing I have done to it is take out the shoulder pads which were falling out anyway. We reckon it was designed as an 80's evening jacket to go with a ballgown or cocktail dress. Was made in England by a company called Nightingales (an Irony one or two of my special readers might understand).

My sewing efforts for today and the last for a while. The old curtains one day skirt. Makes a lovely knee lenght conservative skirt when worn on the waist...

But with a little strategic folding and the help of a studded belt I think can be funked up a bit. Don't know why I'm looking kinda tanned in these pictures. I'm as pale as ever.

And finally perhaps the best postcard ever. Thank you A x

Thats me done for today. Going to watch the new Gossip Girl finally!

Last Day

It was my last day at Center Parcs today. I wasn't in the call centre long but it felt strange and sad to leave. Will miss all the girls.
I'm kinda getting bored of blogging hence the shameful lack of updates but in the few weeks of unemployment I have ahead of me I may just pick it up again.

http://www.justgiving.com/catherinefisher

Christmas Party

A picture of my outfit...

I picked up this dress over the summer in the oasis sale (£100 down to £30!) though I had no idea what I was going to wear it for at the time. The dress had a small rip in the fabric by the zip, but I patched it up and now it hardly notices. p.s. I am not a giant, we just have a small tree this year and I am wearing huge heels!

... and the joke from my cracker

Q: Why did the jelly baby go to school

A: Because it wanted to be a smartie

It was lovely to see all the girls dressed up. Congrats to those girls who managed to coax their partners into suits! Everyone enjoyed the 'this is your life' themed slide show of the life of the pre-bookings department, I was glad they had used one of the better pictures of me from facebook and that I haven't been there long enough for them to have learnt any dirty secrets to spill. Tanya and Sharon put loads of effort into it, Kerry was right when she said they are the best manager and assitant manager ever. Its a great team to work in and I wish them all the best for July when the future of the pre-bookings department should become known, afterall I need somewhere to send my postcard after March!

I Hate...

...Being talked to like I'm stupid. Which is now a daily occurance.

Perhaps I should start answering the phone, (name) BA Politics First Class, how can I help?

A Letter to Santa

Managed to amuse myself for a few moments today writing a letter to santa on the christmas publicity we have lying around the office.

For those of you who can't read my writing, which would be most people, it says, 'For christmas I would like... lots of money for shoes and handbags, a hot man, to travel Eastern Europe and Africa. That is all xx'

I Wish...

...that I was in charge of the company. I'd sort it out.

Okay maybe that's going a little far but since I last worked for CP a couple of things have gone which I consider to be a major loss. One is the bright ideas forms for staff. Like the majority of companies communication downwards in clear but there is very little communication upwards. Bright Ideas was a forum for staff to share their ideas as to where improvements could be made and who is better placed to see where improvements could be made than the staff? While the big picture may elude us small changes to make our jobs easier and ultimately improve guest service and/or save money can be obvious to those working 'on the front line'. Like for example a search function on the wesite. Cheap to implement and would save on the hours of phone calls I get which start 'I tried to book this on the website but...'

I Have a Dirty Mind

Today a guest said to me

"Just tell me what you want and I'll give it to you"

Had to suppress my giggles for the rest of the call.

Wear It Pink

Wore pink to work today along with the rest of the girls to raise money for breast cancer. However I had to write an I.O.U. for my donation having left my purse in the car and also scrounge some money for lunch. I nearly went all out, wearing a pink scarf, earrings and makeup, but in the end I didn’t have time for the makeup, decided the earrings were tacky and that the scarf was the wrong shade of pink. So I stuck with just the pink top and socks.

I spoke to quite a few stroppy people at work today. I always vow after doing these kinds of jobs to be nicer to the other people doing them in the future, but I never manage it. If I’ve got a problem and the other person can't help I get stroppy myself. It helps me to think of it this way and allows me to forgive the callers their stroppiness. I know it’s not personal and I just have to get on with it. However I think I must have developed a good ‘don’t shout at me, I’m about to cry’ voice to go with the ‘please don’t shout at me, it’s not my fault’ face I developed when waitressing.

Finally, Happy Halloween! Interestingly this is actually one of my favourite holidays, I enjoy dressing up in a scary but somewhat slutty way and running amok in the dark. Not that I’m doing anything tonight. Mother doesn’t not agree with ‘threatening people for sweets’ and with the little English country village I live in a real life vampire is about as likely to knock on the door as a bunch of trick and treaters.

I Have a Pretty Awesome Job

Alright, bad points. It’s a call centre, it’s center parcs which I’m obviously doomed to keep returning to over and over, the uniform is a muted green colour which doesn’t suit anyone, and we are being taken over by head office which has led to much moaning and confusion all round.

Good points. So far I’ve been paid to spend two hours wandering around the park finding activities and being given tours of the various department, another two getting a tour of all the villas, and one hour today watching and participating in ‘horse logging’. Moreover we get to sit around gossiping and reading magazines while we wait for calls. I also get lots of discounts and free use of various facilities.