July into August (It's August already?)

Good Afternoon!

So, I haven't quite left it a month this time, so I am getting better! What can I say, July was a month for big changes in my life... but I'm sure we'll get to that... I'm really pleased to see the blog has over 2000 views now. Thats Massive! Why on earth you are all reading my drivel, I don't know, but I'm pleased that you are!

So... We'll start from the 9^th (and the beginning of my life changing month).

9^th July (that was a Tuesday – if you've forgotten)

On the 9^th of July I had a phone interview for a new job. I had applied for it after googling my dream job role and was surprised to see that it not only existed, but was available! After not hearing for 3 weeks (and chasing them like a hound on heat), I got an email to ask my availability for phone interview. I hadn't ever had a phone interview, so to say I was bricking it would be putting it mildly. However, with a little preparation (all done at my current work, obviously) I duly awaited the phone to ring. It went really well and I seemed to connect well with the lady I was talking too. She did warn me the process took several months to go through, but that was ok (I already have a job after all). After talking her ears off, I got off the phone with a writing assignment and a promise of another call later in the week (as we had run out of time).

After that, anything seemed a bit of an anticlimax – but I was super excited as I was going to see Mark Kermode that evening! Well... what a fabulous evening it was. Film scores being played by a large, varied orchestra and being talked through the pieces by my favourite film critic. It was a real treat to see my old friends Eric, Peggy and Emma too!

10^th is blank in my calender... so in all honesty... I haven't got a clue. I CAN tell you 10^th was a Wednesday, so I probably spent it with Jon, Jo and Caroline... which would have meant it was a lovely evening (as it always is). In FACT, I can remember this... as Jo had to dash off because she had a rather important guest arriving on the Thursday and had to clean her flat.

11^th July - Erick's here!

So, with very little pre-warning, Erick turned up on Thursday 11^th. Luckily I get flexible hours at work, so could dash off at a reasonable time to meet Mr Holmes for a cheeky Thursday Cocktail at the Rose Villa. Dan joined us when he had finished, and we had a great meal – followed by more beverages at Jo's place. They had big news for us, but it isn't my place to spread everyone else's business... needless to say, it was a happy day!

12^th July – A rather large night out

The night started with part duex of my aforementioned phone interview. Despite telling me the process took months, I was actually asked to attend a face-to-face interview the following week! Excitement!

So... After that, following on from a lovely evening spent with Uni friends and new friends in London in June, we were invited to Rob's birthday on the Friday. We started with a quick stop at the CBD food fair (for a good gossip with the Bitters'n'Twisted crew), before heading to (inward groan) Lloyds bar for a couple of cheeky pints. I'm pleased to say we didn't spend too long in here before heading to the Queens Arms in the JQ and then on to Dystopia at Eddies. Me and Dan have been a bit lax with our clubbing recently (having had so much on) so it was a great opportunity to catch up with everyone and get our dance on.

13^th July – Cheltenham

On Saturday, we took the open time (unfortunately our festival workshop was cancelled) to head to Cheltenham to catch up with the lovely Lee and Charlie and collect our comic shop winnings. It was a scorcher of a day, but we had the most delicious breakfast at the Curious Café (picture below) and had a good giggle whilst enjoying some hearty fare. Cheltenham is FABULOUS for Charity shops – do have a look around if you get a chance. It's a lovely town with some real hidden gems (Proud Lion – the independent comic shop is worth a gander) and stunning architecture. We were meant to go to a birthday party in the evening... but it was soooo hot and we were sooo tired... so stayed in.

14^th July – ROBOTS AND MONSTERS!

On the Monday we had tickets booked to see Pacific Rim at the “Giant Screen” (Trivia time – the Giant Screen is the largest screen in an independent Cinema in the UK). We loved it! Every deafening, violent, silly moment of it. We both had stupid grins on our face that didn't leave all evening.

16^th July – HS2 and BCU Birmingham Futures

On the Tuesday, we had once again manage to wangle tickets to a Birmingham Futures event. Birmingham Futures is a networking organisation, but they give a certain amount of tickets out to non-members. It's well worth a look, as the topics covered are all relevant to the regeneration of the City. This one was really interesting – but the HS2 presentation was AWFUL. I had mixed feelings about the service before the talk. I am now DEAD AGAINST it. The new UCE Building at Parkside is amazing though! The facilities are out of this world! They have a Green screen TV studio! BLINKIN GREEN SCREEN!

17^th July – Wednesday

I had to behave myself on this particular edition of Wednesday. It ended up being a lovely evening with Dan, Erick, Jo and Emma – but it was really nice as I had some low alcohol (I know right, me, low alcohol?) wine and a reasonably early night.

18^th July – London Calling

On Thursday I had the day booked off to head to Baker Street for my big interview. I was so nervous in the morning... I packed all my notes (with all good intention of reading them on the train), but ended up reading a book on the train and trying not to think about it. I got to 55 Baker Street right on time (after buying a boiling hot bucket of coffee that I couldn't drink), and got met at reception and escorted to the office. OMG! The office was SUPER cool! The message they are trying to convey everywhere was inspiring creativity and individuality... there was a table tennis set, decorations and each team had a “theme” to their work area. Much less stuffy than my current office! The interview went really well and the hour flew by. After leaving Baker Street, I dropped my mate Ant a text and went to meet him in Camden. We had a lovely couple of hours catching up with a couple of pints in Brewdog, before it was time to head back to the train station and back to Birmingham.

19^th July – Evil Dead Double Header

On the Friday was a night me and Dan had been waiting for, for a while. As part of the “Shock and Gore” festival at the Electric Cinema, we had booked tickets to see Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 on a posh sofa. We met with some people from work down the Old Contemptible s first, before heading to The Station for another cheeky pint. Once everyone was gathered, we all trouped down to the Electric for the main event. What can I say? I laughed, I text a waiter to bring me a pint to my SOFA SEAT and we all had a bloody good time.

20^th July – Manchester

On the Saturday, we had arranged to go and see our friends Liz and Rowland at their place in Salford. After doing some morning markety chores, we jumped in the car and hot footed it up the Motorway to get to their place. Following a quick trip to Tesco (for more booze and BBQ supplies), we fired up the grill and had a wonderful afternoon (and then evening) in the warm sunshine eating lots of yummy food and drinking more than our allocated daily units. The night ended with me falling asleep mid-conversation on the sofa.

21^st July – Lucky, Lust and Liquor

Sunday morning was nice and chilled. After scoffing some pastries and having a few cups of coffee, we all jumped in the car to try a legendary “Almost Famous” burger. The Bacon Bacon Fries accompanying the Bacon Bacon Burger (a triple burger with loads of chilli, cheese and additional bacon) did NOT disappoint. Well worth a trip!

22^nd Quiet time!

There is nothing on the calender for todays date... I believe I went for cocktails with Clare, but other than that... just chillin.

23^rd July – JQ Market Meeting

It was time, once again, for the UDMG marketing meeting. A very pleasant evening plotting the next summer market on the 22^nd August. The Drop Forge has a roof terrace, who knew?

24^th July – Wednesday

Was just me, Emma and a guest appearance from Emma's Mum (which was lovely). I don't always see Emma that often, so it was really nice to catch up with a good mate and just have a relaxing chat on her balcony... we both had a tad too much wine though, so was a bit tiddly!

25^th July – Thursday

Emelie was back from Sweden for a bit, so we had a special edition of Gay Thursday. Everyone was about and Jon had a bit of a full house. It was lovely to catch up with Em as it always seems so long between visits. We chatted, had a few drinks and not too late a night. Doesn't sound rock'n'roll, but it was very nice :)

26^th July – THE DAY OF RECKONING

I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I can't give too many details on here, but needless to say I will be organising events, blogging, social networking and generally being cool in Birmingham for a living. Very exciting stuff! U start on the 2^nd September and I CANNOT WAIT! The evening consisted of home made waffles and lots and lots of fizzy wine, which was a good way to welcome in the end to another week.

27^th July – Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

On Saturday we had our first ever trip with the JQNF Community to Weston-Super-Mare. We all met at around 8:30am and piled on to our lovely coach to zoom down the motorway. After a well needed coffee break halfway, we launched into a JQ Quiz (there was even a prize donated by a jeweller) and much fun was had before we drew up to our destination. The weather wasn't scorching but did start off ok. So we made the most of the first hour on the beach. By some miracle, the sea was in! The group spread out over the beach and swam in the sea, built sandcastles. Chatted and got to know each other. Me and Dan had a sneaky bottle of Cava before hitting the arcades. Once all of the 2p's and 10p's were spent, we took a wander into the town for fish'n'chips before hitting the Weston Beer Festival. By the time we all got back on the coach we were all tipsy and tired, but chatted about what a lovely time we had all enjoyed.

28^th July – Chores and Cinema

The morning was very uninspiring as we had neglected saturday chores to attend to, but we did get to see the last in the Cornetto trilogy, “The Worlds End.” We both thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a good round up to the weekend.

29^th July – The Beasts of St. Paul's Church

Monday bought around the next monthly instalment of the St Paul's Church cinema club. We were treated to “The Beasts of the Southern Wild.” We had persuaded some coach-trippers to join us, so as well as a great film, wine and popcorn; we had good company and a lovely chat at the end of the film.

30^th July – Wednesday

This was a thoroughly enjoyable Wednesfield around Jo's place. There was food, tunes and camaraderie as we caught up on our weeks and plotted Emma's birthday night out on the Friday.

2^nd August – BIRTHDAY BINGO!

On Friday, I went to a colleagues leaving do after work. I did my favourite trick of “going for one” and ended up “staying for three.” After some catching up with old work friends, I hoofed it down to the Gosta Green pub (our pick up point) to wait for the lady of honour and Dan. Our destination? Mecca bingo in Acocks Green. I am a self confessed bingo lover, but it was great fun to introduce new people to the fun. We even had a £200 winner in our group, which made it extra exciting!

3^rd August – Japanamania!

Saturday was very exciting. After waking up early and going to the dentist (as well as other assorted chores), we met up with Jon and Tom to head to the Electric Cinema. I LOVE Studio Ghibli and much to my delight, they were showing the newest installment (From Up On Poppy Hill) for a few days. We grabbed a beer from the foyer and enjoyed a visual feast surrounded by friends. Afterwards we headed to Woktastic (the BEST Sushi in Birmingham) for some conveyor sushi and mulling on the film. A really pleasant, relaxing evening.

4^th August – Monsters University

After a fortnight of film, it was only right that I also indulged my love of Pixar. I was really chuffed with Odeon, as their 10:40am showing was only £4 per adult AND we got some BOGOF vouchers for next time. We loved the film and laughed all the way through. The lovely thing about Pixar movies for me is that it's like seeing old friends. You know them, you love them and for a little while, you get to live your life with them through magical animation. The short film about Umbrella's was super cute too – so I came out of the cinema feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Sticking with the “Worlds End” and “Fuzzy” theme, we rewatched Hot Fuzz in the evening. Genius.

6^th August – 24 Carrots Market meeting

So this brings me bang up to date! We had a further meeting about the 24 carrots market at St Paul's Church. I am very pleased to announce that we have a market on the 22^nd August! There will be a BBQ. Pimms, Stalls and hopefully a lot of fun. It's all being run by volunteers (with the help of Vicar Mary), so if you're about – come on down!

Hopefully that's given you a little taste of what I've been up to. Again. I am knackered... but I genuinely think if I stopped – i'd be bored! I'm really excited about my new job and especially about iVardensphere, Deejaying Friday, Infest and my new job – so it's all happening in Vickyland!

Much Love, Vix