Taxi

My employment advisor is arranging for me to get a job through the workable program, at a new place opening in Toomebridge. Hopefully, that will provide me with much-needed income. It seems that those who want to work suffer, while those who don’t want to work profit. Bizarro World, indeed.

I need to spend as little time as possible on Facebook. It’s like a Vampire, sucking the lifeblood out of one. Fanboys see no other opinion other than their own. Don’t drink ANY political Kool-Aid; be it Tory or Labour.

Last Tuesday I attended a short guided tour of Monkstown Castle, as part of a Meetup. The Wednesday prior I had booked an online day return from Portadown to Dublin and back for £10 – Cheap as Chips – but I booked a taxi from outside Connolly Station and the car we were in kept dying out whenever we approached traffic lights. It was a fuel-efficient automatic. (thanks ever so much Al Bloody Gore) But I saw a burgundy Peugeot turning at a junction at Blackrock – unsure of the road – and nearly running straight into a cyclist in a yellow jacket. There, for the grace of God, go I.

The tour itself was dominated by the random musings of the organiser’s ten-year-old son. He probably has Asperger’s. But I chipped in with some tidbits of information. In the end, I really needed the loo and went to a Chinese Restaurant named Victoria – probably after the Capital of Hong Kong – Then I had just enough for a DART from Monkstown to Connolly and was able to board an earlier train back to Northern Ireland than planned. However, I didn’t have to pay extra thanks to me informing the conductor I was worried that the park where my car is might be locked at night.

My brother is back in Derry for his second year of University, he has placement year sorted as well, and now I have the place to myself. That both gladdens and saddens me. But I will soon be getting proper broadband, once I receive a 4G SIM from EE, and will hope to return to designing websites.

Tunes:

Last Friday I went to Belfast to get a cross-ferry Coach to Glasgow then get a train to London Euston. In the end my ferry was delayed and then I got questioned by Police at Cairnryan Port asking me if I was ‘reported missing’. However the Police check gave me the all clear. 🙂

Then I was able to walk from Buchanan Street Bus Station to Glasgow Central Train station and had to board a Train terminating at Birmingham. However, there was a delay on the train for a couple of hours prior to Lockerbie, how ironic, due to a suspected broken line. In the end our train terminated at Preston and we had to get a train there which terminated at Birmingham and then Virgin Rail had to provide taxis, which they paid for, to take people towards onward journeys. I was with four others heading to Euston; including two young women – one from Egypt and the other from Romania – who showed me how to get 4G working on my phone. It was a real Kumbaya moment.

On the train I boarded at Preston, I was talking to a loved-up drunk Geezer who was off to Birmingham to see his family for Mother’s Day. (Solihull to be precise) It was one of those serendipitous moments where we got to talk about music and he played ‘Justified and Ancient’ by the KLF; I was twelve years-old again. 🙂

After only two and a half hours sleep at the B and B I booked at Earl’s Court, the booking was only about £15 more than the taxi I had to get from Euston to Earl’s Court, I had some toast at the dining place and had to get a Tube to Victoria to head to Brighton. In the end I enjoyed Brighton and got to visit a Skype buddy from there. It was great, having Fish and Chips along the beach. Before that, I met other friends and had a cappuccino with a heart symbol which looked like a power symbol. 🙂

Trip to Brighton (5)

On the way back, I managed to get the first train from Euston to Glasgow. Then I got to be on the coach to Belfast, there were enough free seats for the driver to accept my open return, but I was sick on the way back. But I managed to get a bus to Castledawson park-and-ride and a taxi home; one of the few taxi services in the area who operates on Sunday Night.

These past few days I have been playing catch-up. But I am glad that I’m managing things. 🙂 Plus Virgin promise to refund my ticket as well as the additional taxi I had to get. Photocopied my receipts on my printer and then scanned the copy in PDF format to email to them. 🙂

Potential paid employment – plus other blessings

Going by Coach to Glasgow, then Train to London