How *Not* To Treat Your Main Character - Well.
I decided against the chiffon dress after all, due to confidence issues. There's still that stubborn, unshakable part of me that simply refuses to be seen in a dress or skirt. I will wear it one day! I'm not giving up just like that; if there's anything the Prince's Trust taught me, it's that I can overcome all obstacles.
Today I had my first Job Centre appointment in about three months. It was just to sign paperwork declaring that I've completed the Prince's Trust Team Programme, and to talk about moving onto TNG (this job search organisation) and a continuation of my placement at the St Helens Star. I've got another appointment on Friday at 9:00 (so no lie-in for me!) to sort out some more paperwork. Huzzah!
The Job Centre even refunded £3.20 of my weekly bus ticket, which will be handy as I'll tell you later on. With a couple of quid in my pocket and a spring in my step (ah! To be poor again!) I emerged from the Job Centre of Doom and phoned Jason.
We agreed to meet at Victoria Park. Since I was closer I got there first, chose a bench in the sunshine by old Queen Vic herself and immersed myself in H. G. Wells' 'The Time Machine'. It was an absolutely perfect day - warm, a bit breezy, and the sky was brilliant blue.
Jason arrived at the ideal moment; not so early that I couldn't enjoy the weather and my book a bit, but not so late that it became a buggerance. Apparently the traffic had been horrendous on the way down, even for pedestrians. I'd already checked the movie listings online but I checked the copy he'd brought - all action/thrillers or kids' films. No comedies. We decided on either Limitless or Source Code, having heard good things about both - but the times meant we had nearly three hours to kill.
Back to his place for tea and banter! It was great - his Mum was in and I got to meet every one of his brothers, plus a cousin, in one go! They were all fantastic; lively, mad people who treat you like they've known you forever. I felt so welcomed, and not a shred of awkwardness could be spoken of. I learned quite a bit about Jason and his family, which was great - you may recall in a previous entry I was worried that I'd talked too much about myself and not let him get a word in. This time, there was more of a balance - I felt I let him speak a lot more about himself, and it was better that way!
Jason's family reminds me of my Irish half - everyone lives so close together, practically on the same street. It's insane; all you have to do is step outside and you're on the doorstep of a cousin or an uncle or a brother - but it's really nice to know that they're so close. If he wants to visit someone, chances are they'll be down the street!
He has pet rats! I can't remember exactly how many, but his Mum told me that they had 4 - 6 girls in the bottom cage, one boy in the middle and another three boys on top. One of the girls is a siamese (just like Thelma!) and they called her Sootynose.
He has family, on his Dad's side, in Ireland! Can you believe it? But it gets madder - they're in Princess Way, Portadown. I used to walk past that street every day to go to school!
And then there's music. Jason is really open-minded when it comes to music, which is great. I love people who can openly listen to and enjoy different kinds of music. He's listened to 'Tubular Bells', and he likes it! Pardon me while I go and hyperventilate... *wheeze*
We have something else in common. Both of us had horrendous times in our respective high schools. His being Cowley, mine, as you all know, Sutton High. We were both really quiet and introverted as a result (though Jason now is a fun, chatty, confident guy). The difference is how we coped with it. I stuck it through; soldiered on through five years of it and got my GCSEs, seeing that as my big 'sod you' to the bullies. Jason, sadly, must have had it worse than me because he dropped out before his exams.
I don't get how anyone could pick on such a sweet, selfless guy. When he told me about it I was shocked, not just because of how happy and confident he is now, but because he's honestly one of the nicest people I've had the luck to meet. There isn't a fault about him.
The three hours at Jason's passed surprisingly quickly - a shame, really, as I was enjoying it - and we headed off to the cinema. We'd decided on Limitless. To summarise, Eddie Spinola, a writer at rock bottom, gets hold of a wonder-drug called NZT-48 that lets him access 100% of his brain. He becomes awesome, masters the piano and several languages in a matter of days, winds up a millionaire, owns the baddies and works the kinks out of said wonder-drug. Add some baffling financial jargon.
In the beginning, I sympathised with Eddie. The blinking cursor mocks those of a wordy persuasion. Then, when he took the drug - well, it was pretty cool at first, but then life became stupidly easy for him. Even the drug's flaws were easily overcome. He had a few close calls where he ran out but he always managed to come by some more, as if by magic. By the end of the film he had the money, the girl and he was a senator, possibly looking at presidency.
At the same time, it was an exciting film, as thrillers should be. Despite the aforementioned annoyances regarding his character, Eddie narrated the film in a quirky, unique style. The film didn't feel nearly as clever as it should have done, but it was visually creative, with some beautifully trippy usage of zoom and fish-eye shots. The film was unexpectedly humourous in places, as well, which is always an added bonus in my book. It's just a pity that Eddie was given everything on a silver platter, really!
After the film we were both starving so we went to Pizza Hut. Jason paid, leaving me with the usual soul-gnawing guilt - that's another £20 I'm going to smuggle into his pocket and blame on the leprechauns! It was really nice - the food and service was great, the company even better. When I checked the time on my phone and it said 9:40pm, I was actually quite gutted - only an hour and a half left before I'd be off to get that last bus home.
Jason told me this really funny story about his own abseiling experience with the Prince's Trust. He'd done his abseil under the watchful eye of Keith, who'd supervised us on ours. The weather on Jason's Residential had been apocalyptic so doing the abseil then was out of the question - Team 44 had to wait until Week Nine (Next Steps). Vicky, Tim and Keith uprooted the whole team and took them to some place in North Wales where they did the walk and abseil that we did on Residential Day the Third.
When Jason's turn came, Keith decided to take a different approach. When Sir Jason of the Tall Stature was half-way down the cliff, he made an unusual request.
"Try taking your hands off the rope and walking down with them behind your head."
Had it been Sir Kelsalot going down that cliff, she would have promptly replied "you, sir, are an awful person! Unfortunately for you, I value my life. So kindly find yourself a bicycle and depart on it!"
Jason, being a closet lunatic, was a lot bolder. He took one hand off the rope, slowly, and put it behind his head. So far, so good. He loosened his grip, took his remaining hand off the rope...
... and flipped a full 180°, becoming unfortunately acquainted with the cliff face. Keith had asked him to let go at the worst possible time, where the cliff was such that to keep his footing, Jason had to lie back so his head was lower than his feet. That distribution of weight meant he could only go one way - upside-down. Damn you, physics!
Well, at least he wasn't daft enough to take his feet off the cliff. I found out the hard way that it was a Very Bad Move.
After Pizza Hut we moved on to the Duke of Cambridge, to partake as listeners in the now-legendary Jam Night. It was pretty much the same scene - good music, full of rockers. This fantastic young guitarist called Lee Cunliffe played a few numbers; brilliant, driving, proggy songs with wonderfully indulgent instrumentals. The vocalist, who I believe I saw last time, sounded a lot like Peter Dunton of T2. His voice was really raw, melancholy and expressive.
For all its awesomeness, the Duke of Cambridge Jam Night has one setback - during the songs, conversation is impossible. But just sitting there, enjoying the music... it was brilliant. I've never done that with another person before. Normally it's just me, holed up in my room, listening to a record and wishing I could find someone out there who finds it as fantastic as I do. I hope Jason appreciated the music we heard tonight - it was bloody marvellous!
It is a sad truth that all good things must come to an end. As I became increasingly aware of the night's age I fell into that masochistic habit of checking the time every five seconds - not because I was eager to leave, but because I was agonising over how little time we had left. At 11:05, as the current song was ending, the time came.
I suppose my reluctance to go was a good thing. In retrospect, it's indicative of how much I enjoyed the day, and how much I enjoyed Jason's company. He said "pub quiz tomorrow?" as we headed to the bus station and I replied "of course!"
The bus showed up on time - which would have been fine, had I actually wanted it to - and before departing I made a bold move and hugged him. Again getting one up on boldness, Jason kissed me on the cheek, which I think took both of us by surprise. It was a nice end to a lovely day, and when I got home - well, yet again I was too excited to sleep!
I think next time I'll kiss him first, or return the favour if he beats me to it. Muahaha! There's still that little scrap of uncertainty in me that's going 'would it be too forward? What if he doesn't like me in that way?', but I hope he'll be honest if that's the case.
Today I had my first Job Centre appointment in about three months. It was just to sign paperwork declaring that I've completed the Prince's Trust Team Programme, and to talk about moving onto TNG (this job search organisation) and a continuation of my placement at the St Helens Star. I've got another appointment on Friday at 9:00 (so no lie-in for me!) to sort out some more paperwork. Huzzah!
The Job Centre even refunded £3.20 of my weekly bus ticket, which will be handy as I'll tell you later on. With a couple of quid in my pocket and a spring in my step (ah! To be poor again!) I emerged from the Job Centre of Doom and phoned Jason.
We agreed to meet at Victoria Park. Since I was closer I got there first, chose a bench in the sunshine by old Queen Vic herself and immersed myself in H. G. Wells' 'The Time Machine'. It was an absolutely perfect day - warm, a bit breezy, and the sky was brilliant blue.
Jason arrived at the ideal moment; not so early that I couldn't enjoy the weather and my book a bit, but not so late that it became a buggerance. Apparently the traffic had been horrendous on the way down, even for pedestrians. I'd already checked the movie listings online but I checked the copy he'd brought - all action/thrillers or kids' films. No comedies. We decided on either Limitless or Source Code, having heard good things about both - but the times meant we had nearly three hours to kill.
Back to his place for tea and banter! It was great - his Mum was in and I got to meet every one of his brothers, plus a cousin, in one go! They were all fantastic; lively, mad people who treat you like they've known you forever. I felt so welcomed, and not a shred of awkwardness could be spoken of. I learned quite a bit about Jason and his family, which was great - you may recall in a previous entry I was worried that I'd talked too much about myself and not let him get a word in. This time, there was more of a balance - I felt I let him speak a lot more about himself, and it was better that way!
Jason's family reminds me of my Irish half - everyone lives so close together, practically on the same street. It's insane; all you have to do is step outside and you're on the doorstep of a cousin or an uncle or a brother - but it's really nice to know that they're so close. If he wants to visit someone, chances are they'll be down the street!
He has pet rats! I can't remember exactly how many, but his Mum told me that they had 4 - 6 girls in the bottom cage, one boy in the middle and another three boys on top. One of the girls is a siamese (just like Thelma!) and they called her Sootynose.
He has family, on his Dad's side, in Ireland! Can you believe it? But it gets madder - they're in Princess Way, Portadown. I used to walk past that street every day to go to school!
And then there's music. Jason is really open-minded when it comes to music, which is great. I love people who can openly listen to and enjoy different kinds of music. He's listened to 'Tubular Bells', and he likes it! Pardon me while I go and hyperventilate... *wheeze*
We have something else in common. Both of us had horrendous times in our respective high schools. His being Cowley, mine, as you all know, Sutton High. We were both really quiet and introverted as a result (though Jason now is a fun, chatty, confident guy). The difference is how we coped with it. I stuck it through; soldiered on through five years of it and got my GCSEs, seeing that as my big 'sod you' to the bullies. Jason, sadly, must have had it worse than me because he dropped out before his exams.
I don't get how anyone could pick on such a sweet, selfless guy. When he told me about it I was shocked, not just because of how happy and confident he is now, but because he's honestly one of the nicest people I've had the luck to meet. There isn't a fault about him.
The three hours at Jason's passed surprisingly quickly - a shame, really, as I was enjoying it - and we headed off to the cinema. We'd decided on Limitless. To summarise, Eddie Spinola, a writer at rock bottom, gets hold of a wonder-drug called NZT-48 that lets him access 100% of his brain. He becomes awesome, masters the piano and several languages in a matter of days, winds up a millionaire, owns the baddies and works the kinks out of said wonder-drug. Add some baffling financial jargon.
In the beginning, I sympathised with Eddie. The blinking cursor mocks those of a wordy persuasion. Then, when he took the drug - well, it was pretty cool at first, but then life became stupidly easy for him. Even the drug's flaws were easily overcome. He had a few close calls where he ran out but he always managed to come by some more, as if by magic. By the end of the film he had the money, the girl and he was a senator, possibly looking at presidency.
At the same time, it was an exciting film, as thrillers should be. Despite the aforementioned annoyances regarding his character, Eddie narrated the film in a quirky, unique style. The film didn't feel nearly as clever as it should have done, but it was visually creative, with some beautifully trippy usage of zoom and fish-eye shots. The film was unexpectedly humourous in places, as well, which is always an added bonus in my book. It's just a pity that Eddie was given everything on a silver platter, really!
After the film we were both starving so we went to Pizza Hut. Jason paid, leaving me with the usual soul-gnawing guilt - that's another £20 I'm going to smuggle into his pocket and blame on the leprechauns! It was really nice - the food and service was great, the company even better. When I checked the time on my phone and it said 9:40pm, I was actually quite gutted - only an hour and a half left before I'd be off to get that last bus home.
Jason told me this really funny story about his own abseiling experience with the Prince's Trust. He'd done his abseil under the watchful eye of Keith, who'd supervised us on ours. The weather on Jason's Residential had been apocalyptic so doing the abseil then was out of the question - Team 44 had to wait until Week Nine (Next Steps). Vicky, Tim and Keith uprooted the whole team and took them to some place in North Wales where they did the walk and abseil that we did on Residential Day the Third.
When Jason's turn came, Keith decided to take a different approach. When Sir Jason of the Tall Stature was half-way down the cliff, he made an unusual request.
"Try taking your hands off the rope and walking down with them behind your head."
Had it been Sir Kelsalot going down that cliff, she would have promptly replied "you, sir, are an awful person! Unfortunately for you, I value my life. So kindly find yourself a bicycle and depart on it!"
Jason, being a closet lunatic, was a lot bolder. He took one hand off the rope, slowly, and put it behind his head. So far, so good. He loosened his grip, took his remaining hand off the rope...
... and flipped a full 180°, becoming unfortunately acquainted with the cliff face. Keith had asked him to let go at the worst possible time, where the cliff was such that to keep his footing, Jason had to lie back so his head was lower than his feet. That distribution of weight meant he could only go one way - upside-down. Damn you, physics!
Well, at least he wasn't daft enough to take his feet off the cliff. I found out the hard way that it was a Very Bad Move.
After Pizza Hut we moved on to the Duke of Cambridge, to partake as listeners in the now-legendary Jam Night. It was pretty much the same scene - good music, full of rockers. This fantastic young guitarist called Lee Cunliffe played a few numbers; brilliant, driving, proggy songs with wonderfully indulgent instrumentals. The vocalist, who I believe I saw last time, sounded a lot like Peter Dunton of T2. His voice was really raw, melancholy and expressive.
For all its awesomeness, the Duke of Cambridge Jam Night has one setback - during the songs, conversation is impossible. But just sitting there, enjoying the music... it was brilliant. I've never done that with another person before. Normally it's just me, holed up in my room, listening to a record and wishing I could find someone out there who finds it as fantastic as I do. I hope Jason appreciated the music we heard tonight - it was bloody marvellous!
It is a sad truth that all good things must come to an end. As I became increasingly aware of the night's age I fell into that masochistic habit of checking the time every five seconds - not because I was eager to leave, but because I was agonising over how little time we had left. At 11:05, as the current song was ending, the time came.
I suppose my reluctance to go was a good thing. In retrospect, it's indicative of how much I enjoyed the day, and how much I enjoyed Jason's company. He said "pub quiz tomorrow?" as we headed to the bus station and I replied "of course!"
The bus showed up on time - which would have been fine, had I actually wanted it to - and before departing I made a bold move and hugged him. Again getting one up on boldness, Jason kissed me on the cheek, which I think took both of us by surprise. It was a nice end to a lovely day, and when I got home - well, yet again I was too excited to sleep!
I think next time I'll kiss him first, or return the favour if he beats me to it. Muahaha! There's still that little scrap of uncertainty in me that's going 'would it be too forward? What if he doesn't like me in that way?', but I hope he'll be honest if that's the case.