Not much going on at the minute, it's all just been work, work, work. However, a couple of interesting work related points to document are

I had a chat on Tuesday morning with the Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Services Finance (job descriptions here are a joke) who is my department manager and more importantly, the cost centre manager, about whether I can have a company car now I've qualified. I was expecting him to tell me to piss off as I had my expectations set regarding a car at my last salary review when I was told that as a band B I wasn't eligible. My role has changed beyond recognition in the 2 years I've been doing it to the extent that I look after all directorate finances by myself now, so I wanted to see if my job banding could be changed. The Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Services Finance to my amazement was in agreement with me and although he hasn't made any promises, he is going to look into it for me. Obviously if this came off I wouldn't be taking the car, but the cash allowance would pay for my new one.

The other work thing is that I am offloading some of my responsibilities. My job title is technically Customer Services Directorate and Programme Development and Management Directorate Financial Analyst (another example of a ridiculous job description) Anyway, I'm offloading the Programme Development and Management part of my job. I still have to be responsible for this area but I've got a person part time to do the actual work for me. This is supposed to be a development opportunity for me too, but I find the woman who I am going to have to train, supervise and generally be a mentor to really annoying. For example, I booked a meeting with her and when I checked her calendar to see her availability, I discovered she books out an hour for her lunch every day, evidently to make sure she doesn't have to do any work she won't be paid for. If she had a really busy schedule I could understand it, but she has about one meeting a week. Anyway, I have to rise above things like this and be a nice person to her (and not for example schedule all of our meetings between 12 and 2pm...)

The only other news is that I've been ill and so didn't do anything over the bank holiday weekend. I felt crap on Thursday and when I woke up on Friday I felt even worse. Unfortunately I had to drag myself into work as both my managers were away on holiday and there was an urgent piece of work to be sorted. I sorted it and came home at 9.30am which has to go down as the shortest working day in history.

It's my sister's birthday and so I have to go soon as we are going for dinner at some seafood pasta restaurant. I hope they have lasagne as otherwise I might go hungry due to my aversion to all things fishy.

Monday again - urgh. Unlike last Monday I was not desperate to get into work today, mainly as the weather has been extremely pleasant and not mind numbingly hot. Friday afternoon I wanted to do nothing other than sit in the sun and read a book. The outcome was that I did read my book but it wasn't in the sun as it was very overcast. The first day I have off in ages and the weather turns on me. Saturday I didn't do much - I had to go to the town to buy a mop for the cleaners although as I managed without one, I don't see why they couldn't. I also had to get ingredients for my afternoon of baking. Friend Kinky Malibu invited myself and other friends Bonnie Sin and Hottie Hunter for dinner and I offered to bring a dessert. So with great skill I made a cheese cake from a packet! Actually that wasn't quite true, I made 4 individual cheesecakes from a packet which did test my ingenuity a bit.

Dinner at Kinky Malibu's was very tasty and a nice night out. However, I have done immeasurable harm to my brain cells as we watched talentless TV (otherwise known as Fame Academy, Pop Idol and Celebrity Stars in their Eyes) I had to do mind improving activities all day Sunday to make up for it.

I spoke to friend Tiffani Holiday for the first time since the beginning of the year yesterday. As I suspected, she has a new boyfriend, hence the silence. She reckons this one is 'the one' and after 5 months they are selling their respective houses and moving in together. She is also expecting him to propose when they go on holiday next month. I am really happy for her as it has taken a long time for her to get over her boyfriend from university and move on.

However, I wonder if the experience of receiving a proposal is diminished if you know it's coming? Isn't it better to be a complete surprise? Answers from anyone who has been proposed to on a postcard to the usual address.

Hurrah! It's Friday and even better I have a half day today so I can go home at 12. I intend to go and sit in the sunshine somewhere (although maybe not at my Mum's as by all accounts the children next door on both sides spend all day shrieking in their paddling pools)

The bad news is that I phoned the garage yesterday and estimated delivery of my new car is 15th September. They lied to me when they said they already had it out the back. I guess means at least the car is truly brand new, but I was really looking forward to getting it on 1st September. Apparently Peugeot shut their factory down for the whole of August - hence the delay. I suppose I should feel lucky as a) they are now no longer taking orders for limited edition I have brought and b) some people won't be getting theirs until November / December time. I am definitely getting my car as it is a confirmed order, but delivery dates are like cars - they go backwards as well as forwards...

It's been a somewhat quiet week in that I've gone to work and then gone to sleep at as soon as I get home. Work has calmed down a bit, version 2 of the budget was due yesterday but as I didn't have any changes from version 1 I didn't have to do any work. However, I am fully expecting to have to make big cuts for version 3 due next week.

Not much has happened on the home front. My cleaner starts today so I spent last night running round tidying up so they can access surfaces to clean. I had a heated discussion with my car insurance company as they've settled the claim from the incident in June in my favour, but "forgot" to send me a cheque to refund the £150 excess I had to pay. I've just checked my archives and realised that I didn't document that little incident. In fact I only made 2 postings for the whole of June! Anyway, one morning on the way to work a bloke in a Mondeo ran into the back of me. I got my car fixed on my insurance as I've got fully comprehensive and so had to pay the excess. However, once liability had been admitted by the other insurance company then my insurance company reclaimed all of the costs involved in getting my car fixed. I did quite nicely out of the whole thing as there were a few scrapes on my bumper - the biggest from when I reversed into an ornamental rock years ago and had never got it fixed. Anyway, I have a nice shiny new bumper which probably helped when I was negotiating the part exchange for my new car.

I don't have anything more to add so I'm off to do some work for once!

For the first in recorded history I couldn't wait to get to work on a Monday morning. This is not due to some new found dedication to my job, but simply the result of working in an air conditioned office. The weekend was so hot and sticky that the only way could keep cool was by having a lot of cold baths. So I am now super clean, unlike the bathroom. At least my housekeeper (politically correct term for cleaner) starts this week.

The weekend got off to a good but slightly belated start as I didn't get out of work till 6.30 on Friday night. Once I got home, friend Bonnie Sin came round and we walked down to the old town to meet up with other friends Kinky Malibu, Mary Ellen Thong and a special guest appearance from Debbie Dicks who was up from London. We spent the evening drinking cocktails like the sophisticated Stevenage girls we all are as it was so warm.

Saturday I was up bright and early to go into town as I had to get something suitable to wear to colleague Pussy Paradise's wedding reception. My original planned dress would have been too hot so I met up with Debbie Dicks to try to find a new one. Several hours later I returned triumphantly with not only a new dress, but also shoes and bag to match! As it was so hot I had agreed with my Dad that I could take his air conditioned executive cruise wagon to drive down to the reception. An hour before I was due to leave, his car died and so I had to drive down to Henley in the sweat box that was my car. Once we go there (as I had taken friend Bonnie Sin to talk to in case there was no one there I knew) it was lovely as it was by the river and by that stage it was reasonably cool. Bonnie Sin had a great time winding me up with work colleague Buck Vegas but didn't see friend Cassie Canyon for long as I'd hoped as she had been there all day and so left quite early. I am really glad I made the effort to go as not many people from work who said they would be going actually turned up.

Yesterday, officially the hottest day on record, I didn't do much. It's my Grandad's birthday today so my aunt and cousins came down and we had an oven (my parents won't buy a barbecue as my Mum prefers to cook everything in the kitchen and then we eat outside and my Dad just prefers doing nothing!)

I've just had an e mail from my sister to say that both of my parents are skiving off work today. When did my world turn around so now I have to go to work while my parents laze around all day at home?

Oh dear - it seems I owe Stud Muff an apology. I left work yesterday on time and I when I got home there was a car that pulled into the car park in front of me and parked in my space. So I stopped and had a chat with the girl who was driving and who is obviously a close personal friend of Stud Muff. Anyway, she and Stud Muff have just moved into flat 1 and it is their space I've been parking in. So I am now stuck with parking in the awkward space in the corner under the tree and next to where the kids hang around. I don't care so much about that with this car, but I think my new car will be a bit vulnerable there. On a more positive note there are 4 visitors spaces in the car park further down so I might park the new car there if I can get in as they are often full by the time I get home.

Just checked my entry from earlier and discovered that Friday's entry did post despite messages to the contrary. I apologise for repeating myself. Also don't bother clicking on the Peugeot link, it doesn't appear to work. You'll just have to find a picture of my car by yourselves which I am sure you are perfectly capable of!

It's been a while. I did actually write an entry last Friday but the server was down so it wouldn't post. Once that had happened I couldn't get it back so I could try again later. Anyway, here is a round up of the last week or so....

The big news is that I've ordered my new car. I am very excited about this and I can't wait until 1st September when I can pick it up. It's a Peugeot 206 convertible so I've got my fingers crossed that the hot weather continues and we have an Indian summer so I can cruise round with the roof off. I will also make a promise now to friend Pimp Daddy Rothschild that you will never see me driving my car on a sunny day with the roof up. In fact I'll go to the opposite extreme and I'll be the person in the middle of winter driving round with the roof down at the slightest hint of sunshine even if it's freezing cold!

I was very impressed with myself as I managed to negotiate the deal I wanted (with the help of a fictitious brother living in Morecambe) I think I could've got more for my current car, but since I am taking the CD player out to give to my sister I wasn't going to push my luck.

My home town came to a standstill over the weekend due to a certain pop star holding a small concert at the nearby stately home. I didn't leave work till late on Friday in order to try and miss the traffic but the A1 was at a standstill in Hatfield. Not wishing to sit in 10 miles of queued traffic I had a lovely drive through the Hertfordshire country lanes. When I finally got home I pitied all of those people who had to travel for hours to hear the concert as I just opened my balcony doors and let the music in.

Being very much from the 'if you can't beat them, join them' school of thought, I joined the masses and went to Knebworth with my Mum on Saturday. I managed to get tickets 2 weeks ago as my Mum had been complaining all year that she wasn't going. So as the dutiful daughter I am (i.e. I drew the short straw) I got the tickets so I could take her. It was a good day - although for all I know none of the acts were actually there as I could only see the top of the stage so I was watching on the screens. I heard Darkness as we were walking into the park, I wasn't really listening to them so I couldn't comment on what they were like. Kelly Osbourne screeched her way through a 30 minute set sounding no different to the way she is on telly. I actually managed to see Ash as by this time we had got to the bit where we could see the stage and screens. Ash are one of those groups whose songs I can never remember, but I know the songs as soon as I hear them so unsurprisingly I really enjoyed seeing them. Moby was fantastic although I couldn't see him as everyone around me was standing up and I was sitting on the ground (it took us so long to find the minutest piece of ground to squash ourselves into that I wasn't going to give it up in a hurry) Robbie was very good although I found it annoying when he kept proving what a nice guy he is by getting some girl up on stage to dance with him, bringing out his Mum, pulling a little kid up on stage and dedicating She's The One to a real life couple in the audience etc etc. I am never going to be a huge Robbie fan (mainly because I hate Angels with a passion) but whereas before I could either take him or leave him, I would say now that I do like him and some of his music.

Sunday I didn't do much apart from meet up with friends Lolita Slides and Sandy Jets who were back in Stevenage after also going to the concert on Saturday night. There is no better way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon than sitting in a pub garden drinking with friends.

This week has been so hot, that I've been glad to come to work as I'm nicely air conditioned. I would stay and sleep here, but the air conditioners are turned off at 6pm! Tuesday night I went out with my Mum and my sister to see some family friends who I hadn't seen for a while. Last night, for the first time in 10 days I was able to park in my car parking space at home as Stud Muff wasn't there. However, I did then have to spend the evening watching the car park in case he came home and did something to my car in revenge! He finally turned up at about 10.30pm and parked in the space in the corner under the tree and went nowhere near my car. He was gone when I went to work this morning and I thought there might be a note but there was nothing. I guess I'll see what happens tonight, although my money is on his car being in the space when I get home. I'll keep you posted...

Last night I ordered my new car. I even managed to get the deal I really wanted (with the help of a ficticious brother living in Morcambe) I am very excited about this and have been telling everyone about it whether they are interested or not. The responses so far have been favourable, evidently it's a sexy car! I can pick it up on 1st September so I only have to wait a month - once I get the car I will really feel that the exams are over. I just hope I've managed to dissuade Stud Muff from parking in my space outside my house by then.

I am at work late because a certain popstar has decide to bring my home town to a standstill for 3 days. I am going for the 'if you can't beat them, join them' approach and am taking my Mum to tomorrows concert. That's assuming that I ever make it home.

Enjoy your weekend - toodle pip!