Callie’s World
By Anna Pescardot
Copyright 2011 Anna Pescardot
Smashwords Edition
Thank you for downloading this eBook.
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters and events depicted are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead or events is entirely coincidental. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; however, if you have enjoyed it, please feel free to share it with you friends.
Introduction
This ebook contains extract from the ongoing blog “Callie’s World” (chicklitsoap.blogspot.com) and focuses on the fictional character, Callie, who is a twenty-three year old journalist whose job involves meeting a variety of weird and wonderful people. Her personal life isn’t that much different. Callie updates her blog three times a week and if you enjoy this book you can follow Callie and read her updates in real-world time. It is written in a chick lit versus soap opera, chatty style in the form of blog posts and the aim is for people to think of her as a real person, with an interesting life. I hope you enjoy.
Best Wishes,
Anna Pescardot
Callie’s World
Hi there, I'm Callie. My real name is Caroline but, no offence if you're called Caroline; I thought it was a little bit old-fashioned for a young twenty-three year old journalist like myself. My best friend, Erin suggested I call myself Callie and it just stuck. I am looking forward to getting to know you all. I have just started working at my local newspaper and I have such a great job (I don't know why nobody else wanted it) meeting all the weird and wonderful people who live in my local area and interviewing them. I get to meet all sorts, like the man who got locked in a coin-operated public toilet for a whole night. Apparently he was banging on the door and screaming to be let out but if anyone did hear him they didn't report it. I can't believe that considering it is plonked right in the middle of a busy high street. He was only rescued when a street cleaner heard him singing-ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall. He told me he had to change the words to three thousand bottles of beer on the wall he was in there for that long. Anyway he was funny. I told him that if I was going to be locked up anywhere I would be happy as long as there was a toilet. Imagine if you were locked in a lift and needed to pee? I think it's time I changed the subject, don't you?
Let's talk about Erin. She phoned me up last night having another mega trauma. Three weeks ago she moved back in with her mum, leaving the boyfriend she'd lived with for four years. When I asked her what he'd done to make her move out she told me that she was having breakfast one morning and he came down in his pyjamas and his belly was hanging over the waistband and when he bent down to get the milk out of the fridge she could see a bald patch at the back of his head that she hadn't noticed before. Anyway her exact words to me were, "I just thought, Oh my god, I'm living with a fat b****." (Insert your own word here. Erin swears like a trouper but children may read this.) When she first met Adam he was quite nice looking actually. He had short brown hair in a decent style and he had a friendly face. He wasn't skinny but he wasn't fat either. She said that because she'd lived with him for so long she hadn't noticed him putting on weight or losing his hair so it was like a sudden bolt of lightening hit her and made her see the light.
I knew he'd put on weight. We all went to a friend's wedding a few months ago and I thought then that he was quite lardy but it's not nice to mention it to anyone, is it? Anyway how shallow is she, eh? I mean, through no fault of his own (apart from stuffing his face with three big Macs each day and washing it down with eight pints of beer, that is) she decided to move out when he's still the nice, friendly guy he was before, only there's more of him (less hair, though). I told her I thought she was shallow and a total cow but she told me that once the chemistry goes, she goes too. Anyway, it turns out that now she's back living with her mum that she is constantly arguing with her younger sister, Amy. She wanted to borrow my hair straighteners because Amy had borrowed hers and accidently broken them. How she did that I have no idea, but Erin was having a bad hair night, which would turn into a bad hair day today unless I lent mine to her. So I had to trawl half way across town and my car got a flat tyre and I was bursting for the toilet and the only toilet around was the one that man got locked in. Sod's law, eh? I didn't use it. I had to phone my mum in the end. At least my car broke down after I'd given Erin my straighteners. I don't need any more earache from her.
I'm going to end here. I'm looking forward to telling you all about my next assignment. This afternoon, I'm going to see a man who has found an image of Jesus Christ in his piece of toast. Should be exciting. I'll tell you all about it on Wednesday.
Callie signing off,
xxx
So I went to see the miracle toast and I was so disappointed. I don't know what I was expecting really (I'm an optimist) but it had to be better than a childish outline drawn with a knife. You could see the holes where the knife had gone through the bread, and it looked more like Cheryl Cole than Jesus. I humoured the guy anyway and took some photos of it; mainly so I could prove to my boss that I'd been to see him and how amateurish the whole thing was. It wasn't the man's fault, bless him. He wasn't all there you see. Anyway, when I got back to my desk I was hoping to have a nice quiet afternoon catching up on my admin, but my boss called me into his office and started going mad at me, telling me I couldn’t run the Jesus toast story now that it was obviously a hoax. He said it would make it seem as though the newspaper was laughing at people who weren't the full shilling. So instead of having a nice day sat in the office I had to go out and find something else to fill my column for next week.( Luckily Erin knows a girl who claims to be able to win a tenner on the lottery every week. I'm going to see her tomorrow.)
I mean what does he expect when the name of my column is "Callie's World - Home of the weird and wonderful"This name in itself attracts weirdos, doesn't it? And to top it all, just as I was about to leave the office I got a phone call from PC Ainsworth. I met him when I covered the "man trapped in toilet" incident, and to be honest I didn't really get a good look at him, but he was phoning to ask me out for dinner tomorrow night. I said yes, but I've got this horrible feeling that he might be ugly. Don't worry I'm not as shallow as Erin, but I really can't remember him. I knew he was young, but that was as far as it went. I don't even know his first name. I thought about joining the police myself but when I realized you had to use your surname a lot I changed my mind. That's why I love my job. I'm just Callie; like Madonna is just Madonna. My surname is embarrassing and I am going to keep it under wraps for as long as I can, lol. Anyway, I said yes to PC Ainsworth because I was so stressed with the toast thing and now I'm starting to regret it. I told Erin and she said that she would call me during the date and if things weren't working out then I could pretend she was calling about an emergency and then I'd be able to leave. As if he'd fall for that one - it's the oldest trick in the book and he's a copper; nothing will get past him. He'll be able to find out everything about me. He might even find out about the time I got arrested for drunken disorderly at an ex-boyfriend's birthday party. Oh, why are things always so complicated in my life. My sister's coming over at the weekend too. She moved to Las Vegas when she went there on holiday, fell for a waiter and married him. She's still with him eight months later but I think she's getting a bit fed up now that the novelty's worn off. She's a walking disaster zone and I don't think it will be a good idea for me to be dating a policeman with her hanging around in the background. I'll tell you more about her another time. I'm going to go now but I will tell you all about lottery girl and my date with PC Ainsworth on Friday.
Until next time,
Callie signing off
xxx
I am so glad it's Friday. I don't know what's up with me but I feel so tired; perhaps I'm coming down with something. Anyway, I went to see lottery girl yesterday and she was actually really believable. She showed me her lottery tickets from the past seven Saturdays and she'd won £10 on all of them. I asked her what her secret was (so I could use it myself, lol) but it wasn't so much her secret as her cat's. I saw her in action. Her name's Molly and she's a ginger tabby. There's nothing special about her; she looks like any other cat but when Claire (lottery girl) puts down her number mat, which is a large piece of paper with numbers from 1 to 49 on it Molly's eyes go all weird, like she is spaced out and she literally wobbles over to the mat and first she rolls onto her back as if she's collapsed but then she gets up and starts to walk to a number. She sits down on it and starts to lick her paw. At this point, Claire writes down the number and then she does it two more times. If I hadn't seen the proof (the winning tickets) beforehand, then I would have probably burst out laughing but I was so impressed I memorized the numbers so I could use them too. Anyway, I took a photo of the two of them together, which turned out great and my boss was very pleased with it too. I really don't know how that cat does it but if I win on Saturday I might consider catnapping, (is that what they call kidnapping a cat?) lol.
I know you weren't really that interested in hearing about lottery girl, though, were you? You want to know more about PC Ainsworth, right? Ok then. He picked me up outside my office and he wasn't wearing uniform so I didn't recognize him at first (not that I'd have recognized him in uniform either for that matter). I wasn't entirely right when I said he might be ugly. He wasn't gorgeous but he wasn't ugly either. He had short mousey-brown hair which was quite a boring style but I guess you have to have it like that in the police and he had small, quite squinty brown eyes. His nose was a little thin and pointy but it went with the rest of his face somehow. He was taller than I'd remembered so at least I could wear my high heels when I went out with him. My last boyfriend was the same height as me and when I wore my heels it felt all wrong and so I had to wear flats, which make my legs look like tree trunks.
He took me to our local salad bar, probably thinking that a girl as slim as me (I'm being sarcastic here, guys!) would probably only eat salad (wrong!) I was really starving too, so I ordered the largest salad bowl I could find and I asked for lots of ham. I felt a little embarrassed when he only ordered a small one and then told me he was a vegetarian. I swore he was looking at me as if I was a murderer when I was munching on the ham chunks. I found out his first name. It's Andrew. Andy Ainsworth. Boring name, boring person as it turns out. All he wanted to talk about was work. I mean, I know people say policeman are married to the job but this was ridiculous. Not only was he married to it but he'd had children with it and had given it an eternity ring. Usually when I'm on a date and I know it is a non-starter I at least console myself with the fact that I'm getting a free night out (fine wine and a nice steak etc.) but I was stuck in a tiny salad bar eating leaves. He did ask me if I wanted to go onto a wine bar but I didn't want to lead him on and if I started drinking without lining my stomach with a proper meal first he would have to arrest me for drunk and disorderly for the second time in my life, lol.
I'm looking forward to Lila's visit this weekend. (Notice how she got the cool name?) It turns out that she isn't bringing her hubby. I bet she's back to stay. I hope she is. I would be able to get so many stories for my column if she comes back for good. Oh, I forgot; Erin's love life has gotten more complicated again. Remember I told you she left the boyfriend she'd lived with for four years just because he went ugly? Well she recently met a new man, Toby and they went out for the night and he asked her back to his place. Now I wouldn't have done it because I'm sweet and innocent but Erin doesn't care what people think of her, she does what she wants so she went back with him. Anyway, it turns out that he started to lead her down her old avenue where she lived with Adam and he stopped outside the door of her old house and started taking out a key. When she asked him what he was doing he told her he was renting from a friend. It only turns out that Adam is subletting their old house to someone behind Erin's back. Anyway instead of spending the night with this new guy, Erin went round to Adam's bedsit and basically told him she was going to tell the mortgage company she wanted to have their old house voluntary repossessed because she didn't like what he'd done. Then Adam said he didn't like what she'd done by leaving him in the first place and it got so bad that the neighbours had to call the police. It was so weird how she found out, though. Men are way too much trouble, I reckon. Right now I've decided I like being free and single. I love going home to my little apartment by the river. It's not a palace but it's home. I'm going to stay with Mum and Dad this weekend though so I can spend time with Lila. I will let you know how that goes on Monday, but for now I want to wish you all a great weekend.
Callie signing off
Xxx
Hi guys,
I know it's Autumn and everything but why does the weather have to be so gloomy? The sky is dark and grey. I hate eating my breakfast with the light on; it just doesn't seem right. I think I have that disease called SAD. As soon as the dark mornings and nights start drawing in my mood shifts so that I get grumpier and grumpier.
Anyway, it doesn't help that I had to go into work this morning after having only three hours sleep last night. It was my own fault, though. Lila wanted us to go out to the local karaoke club we used to go to when she lived at home. I've not been going out on Sunday nights for some time now and so I'm seriously hung over. It didn't help that the pub stayed open well into the early hours and Lila can be quite persuasive when it comes to drinks. I only meant to have two but that soon turned into five and after that I can't quite remember. I felt like killing her this morning when I saw her tucked in her bed, a huge smile on her face while I struggled to get dressed without waking her. We used to share a bedroom and it was weird doing it again last night. Mum still kept the beds just the way they were. ("You never know when someone might decide to stay the night," she'd say.) Lila is back at home now so Mum had better get used to people suddenly deciding to stay the night, particularly if they are red-blooded males (Lila's favourite type).
I don't know what happened with her and her hubby. She told us it was still too raw to discuss and she will tell us all in good time. Meanwhile, she tried to convince us she's changed and she is going to start being more serious. If last night was anything to go by then I don't think she's trying hard enough. She's gotten even louder since living in Las Vegas; it must be the party atmosphere over there or something. She's also got a slight American accent, which when mixed with scouse, isn't like music to the ears and nor was her singing. She belted out Tina Turner, Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis and I swear there were less people in the pub after she'd finished than before she started. I'm not saying I'm a great singer or anything but she doesn't realize how bad she is and when I try to tell her she just says that she's still going on X-factor and there's nothing I can do to stop her. Well, if she wants to look bad on telly then let her. I won't be one of those "supportive" family members cringing in the background, that's for sure.
So there you have it, Lila's serious job search is now going to be applying for x-factor. We all know she's not got a cat in hell's chance (mainly because she sounds like a cat in hell) but you have to admire her determination.
There was one good thing that happened last night, though and I wasn't going to tell you all about it because it's a bit like tempting fate, but...I met a guy. He's called David and he's quite cute. He doesn't live locally but he doesn't live too far away either. He's a horse trainer and you can tell; he's got the perfect sportsman's physique and he's just so nice I know, I know, I'm gushing. I'm not getting my hopes up but I'm supposed to be meeting him on Wednesday night. We're going bowling. Little does he know I used to play in a league! I know it's not the usual first date sort of thing but we both wanted to do something where we wouldn't have to focus on how nervous we were. I'll tell you more about it on Wednesday. Meanwhile I'm going to go out and see a woman who claims she can see colours just by touching things. Sounds interesting but I hope she's got lots of coffee because I'm starting to flag.
Bye for now
Callie signing off
Xxx
Agggh! Lila's been such hard work lately. I went back to my apartment on Monday night but now she keeps coming round pestering me. She comes round asking to borrow something and then ends up staying until the early hours. She doesn't have to get up for work early so she thinks nothing of turning my music up loud and helping herself to my wine stash. When I try and bring up the subject of work she says that it's hard out there at the mo and there are no jobs. I know it's hard; a friend of mine, Ella has just lost her job at the council. She'd been there 7 years. She got offered the job straight out of school and now she doesn't know what else to do. I've tried to get Ella and Lila together so they can hang out together and stop pestering me. Ella keeps asking me to come round because she's bored. She knows I'm pretty much out on the road a lot of the time but the last time I popped in for a coffee it turned into two hours and my boss was started to get suspicious.
I think I might ask my boss if I can do an article on job hunting but he will probably say it's too boring or something.
I can't wait for my date with David tonight. I've put on a little bit of weight since Lila came back (I know she's only been back for a few days but I've had three times as much alcohol than usual and I've eaten three kebabs) and so I can't wear the skin tight dress I was originally going to wear. I think I'm going to wear my long gypsy skirt and my strappy sequined top. At least the skirt will cover the water retention going on in my thighs and butt. I don't even know why I agreed to go out with him really because he's so good looking he could have anyone, so why does he want a frump like me? I mean, he could have had Lila (there again her singing probably put him off - she looks beautiful until she opens her mouth and all that) who's a size 8! and who inherited the olive skin and dark looks from my dad's side of the family. But he wanted me. It always makes me nervous when men choose me over my sister. I'm sure it will be ok as long as I remain calm and let him do all the talking. I've heard men can't stand women who talk on and on about themselves. I can't talk about my job either because I've heard men don't like women talking about weird people or weird stuff either. So what can we women talk about?
Anyway, I've decided to take some time off next week and I've agreed to spend a few days in Edinburgh with Ella for her birthday. I can't wait. I've always wanted to visit the castle. Anyway I'm going to go and get ready for my date and I'll tell you all about it on Friday.
Callie signing off
xxx
I am so mortified. I don't even want to talk about it - but I promised I would so here goes. I went on the date with David and it was ok at first when we were bowling. I totally thrashed him by the way (not with a whip or anything pervy - I meant I beat him by so many points it would be cruel to make it public) so to celebrate he told me he was going to take me for a slap-up meal. Anyway, me not being one to turn down a free meal, I agreed but that was when things got seriously weird.
We went to a gorgeous restaurant; very upmarket - but then he can afford it because he's loaded. He's part of the "Cheshire set" which means he basically hangs around with a load of "horsey" people who like to go to garden parties and drink champagne and stuff. Anyway, he did something I've only see people do in movies and I was totally dumbstruck. for once. He told the waiter he was going to order for me! I was too shocked to argue. And then it got weirder because he started ordering me loads of stuff. I mean, I know I'm quite a heavy-boned size 14 but come on! I was only going to order myself a salad because I didn't want him to think I was a little flabby because I ate too much (which is probably the reason actually, that and lack of exercise).It was even worse when he only ordered a salad - he said that if he rode horses all day he had to stay as light as possible so he wouldn’t squash the poor things
He just stared at me while I ate; it was so embarrassing. He kept saying things like "Oh, I love to see a woman enjoying her food" and "Is that nice, babe?" Uggh, he was such a freak. It got even worse when I couldn't eat my pudding because I was too full. He picked up my spoon and started trying to put some in my mouth. "Go on, just one mouthful," he said and I felt like I was eight years old again, at my nan's house while she shoved food in my mouth. "You need building up!" she'd scream as I kicked and hit out at her, trying to save myself. Let's just say it brought back a lot of bad memories and wasn't normal.
I can't even get a boyfriend who isn't a weirdo. What's wrong with me? Needless to say I didn't agree to see him again, even though he practically begged me. I told Erin about it and she said he was probably a feeder. I'd never heard of it. The only feeder I'd heard of was the rock band (one of my faves, by the way.) "What's a feeder?" I asked and she said it was a man (or woman but that's a bit rarer) who likes their partners to be so fat that they can't even move. She said in the worst cases that the men just keep feeding and feeding their partner until she almost bursts. I vowed to do some research on it because a) I'd never heard of it and b) maybe I could interview David for my column. Maybe women need to be warned about men like this. Weird really how most women would probably love someone giving them lots of yummy food. The only way I could have a relationship with a feeder is if I could exercise to burn all the calories off. That way I'd never have to cook again - perfect!
I'm going to have to go now. I've got to pack my case to go to Edinburgh. Can't wait. I'll be updating you with my adventures next week. Until then have a great weekend,
Callie signing off
xxx
I have been so busy today guys that's why it's taken me so long to finally get this blog post done.
I have been to Edinburgh castle with Ella today. It was great. So spooky too. I took a photo with my mobile phone and I swear it's a ghost. If you look near the candle you can see a skeleton face - seriously creepy. Get's me in the mood for Halloween. Ella has been so annoying though. She keeps going on and on about how she's single and she's getting old (she's only 23) and how boys don't like her; well, about how most people and cats don't like her too (they always arch their backs and spit at her - weird I know). I kept trying to tell her that if she didn't go on so much about how unlovable she was then maybe somebody would actually start to like her. At one point I thought about throwing myself off one of the castle walls but luckily the feeling passed.
We went into Princess Street too and I got myself a gorgeous new coat from one of the boutiques. I can't wait to wear it on Halloween; it's long, black and military - very "Twilight".
Tomorrow we're going to visit the coffee shop where J K Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I'm hoping I might get some inspiration. Oh, yeah and I almost forgot - my mum phoned and told me that Lila actually has a job interview on Thursday. I don't know how she managed it with so many other people (who actually want to work) out of work. Seems she thinks she can be a dispenser at the local opticians. Well, we'll have to wait and see (pardon the pun). I'm going to sign off now. Check out the photo - cool eh?
Hi Guys
As I write this I am totally exhausted after spending all day traipsing around Edinburgh with someone who is about to become an ex-friend. "Can't we just go in here?"..."It'll only take a minute..." "Cheer up it might never happen..." are just some of Ella's favourite phrases and I have heard them all too many times in the past couple of days. Agghhh! We didn't speak for two hours today (which I was grateful for, but she, not being one to keep quiet for long, was the first to apologize)
When I think about it, though, it was probably my fault. Here's how it happened.
After hearing, "Cheer up it might never happen" for the umpteenth time I yelled, "But it has happened! I'm stuck here all week with you and it's driving me crazy! I don't know why I agreed to spend a week with someone who totally does my head in!" I know it was uncalled for but the weather has suddenly turned freezing cold and because it was so sunny last weekend I was totally unprepared; I hate the cold. I don't like feeling like the Michelin man (For those of you unfamiliar with this character I'm sure you'll find him on YouTube - he's a big fluffy, white thing used to advertise tyres) in layers of t-shirts, jumpers and padded coats. I need to feel free. Especially when I'm driving. I hate wearing coats to drive; the seat belt seems so much tighter than usual and it increases my road-rage levels.
You have probably guessed by now that I am quite irritable and I'm sure you would be too if you had to spend even five minutes with Ella. My other friend, Erin can also be annoying. I think I will stay away from people whose names begin with E for a while (no offence if yours does, lol).
Talking about the text term “lol”. I only found out yesterday that Ella didn't know what it meant. She used to date a guy a while back called Lawrence and he shortened his name to Lol. Anyway, she got a text from her sister yesterday and she asked me why people kept going on about Lawrence. I didn't know what she meant until she explained it. I had to tell her that it was pronounced L.O.L as in laugh out loud, not Lol as in the name. How annoying is that, eh? Now you can see what I have to put up with. I've only got two more days with her, thank goodness. Tomorrow we are going to Edinburgh Zoo (my choice for once) and so I'm hoping I won't be as stressed. Tonight we are going to have a quiet night in at the hotel and I'm hoping to have an early night as my feet are killing me from all the walking and my ears from all her talking.
My mum called today too; Lila got the job! I don't know how she did it but maybe the people in the opticians couldn't see what we see (get it?)
I hope you guys are all ok and I will update you more on Friday.
Until then,
Callie signing off xxx
Yay! I am all alone in my bedroom in my own apartment. I am enjoying the sound of silence as I type. I was so glad to say goodbye to Ella this evening. I swear I'd lost hearing in my right ear (the side she liked to gab into for some reason) and it is only just starting to get back to normal (although I'm not totally sure because I'm enjoying the peace and quiet.)
We did have a good time at Edinburgh Zoo. though. I love animals. Ella doesn't agree that they should be kept in captivity and although I think in theory, that it sounds cruel, when you see the zoo and how well the animals are cared for and how much room they have to run around I think it is a good thing. Some of the animals would be extinct if the zoo hadn't brought in breeding programs and so I am all for it. We had a row about it though. She is so opinionated. She spent most of the afternoon in the cafe while I had a peaceful walk around all by myself. My favourites are the monkeys - they are so funny! I think they love showing off in front of people and trying to make them laugh. When I'd finished looking at everything I wanted to see, I met Ella and we had a cup of hot chocolate, which was gorgeous and then we went back to the hotel and got ready for our last night out. I was adamant that I wouldn't flirt with anyone because I don't do long distance romances and Edinburgh is miles away - it's a different country for a start. Well, what do they say about good intentions? I've only met the most perfect specimin of manhood that ever lived! He is so totally and utterly gorg (swoon swoon). I love his accent and his dark, piercing eyes and his spiky black hair and....ooohhh I just can't go on - I miss him so much. His name's Lee and he's an airline pilot (well he said he was but I suspect he was trying to impress me) and he is just perfect. I know I keep saying it but he is. While I was gazing into his eyes and swooning Ella spent time chatting to his mate, Mark. He was ok I guess but Ella obviously wasn't that impressed as I heard her moaning at him about animal cruelty in zoos and I saw his eyes slowly glazing over.
Anyway, I am so lovesick now! We've agreed to meet up again next month because he said he will be flying to Manchester airport and he will have a stay over. Whether that is true or not I don't know but I am going to be counting down the days until I see him again. This doesn't usually happen to me - but I guess you can't fight fate. Anyway I've had a long week and I'm back in work on Monday so I'm going to slip into a nice, hot bath with a glass of wine and then get off to bed.
I hope you all enjoy your weekend. I'll catch up with you on Monday.
Until then,
Callie signing off
xxx
I am totally fed up. It seems that while I was away in Edinburgh last week, my boss decided to hire a temp to do my column. It turns out that he was some sort of God of journalism and now my boss wants him to work with me. When I argued about it, my boss said that if I continued to question his judgment then Nick (the temp) will be permanently replacing me! How dare he say that! There are laws against this sort of thing. So now I have to sit next to Lord Nick and put up with his "suggestions". Just because he used to work for some sort of UFO rag mag in America he thinks he can lord it over me and tell me what to do! I hate work now. Callie's world was mine and now I have to share it. At least my boss is not making me change the column name and Nick is so laid back he doesn't care what it's called as long as he gets to check out weird stuff. He is so annoying. He keeps sniffing all the time and when I pass him the tissues he just shakes his head and gives me strange looks. I wouldn't mind if he was good looking. Our office could do with some eye-candy; but no, I'm obviously not allowed eye-candy in case it distracts me or something. I suppose my mum would like him. He reminds me of the old actors she used to like: Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood and Kurt Russell. You know, they're not traditionally good-looking but they are rugged and some women like that. Well, I don't. To me he just looks old and he could do with a shave.
I went round to my mum's after work to tell her all about it but now she just wants to come to my office to see if he is as rugged as I said he was. Lila is still enjoying her job, which I find totally weird. She doesn't enjoy any jobs. It's like my life is part of some sort of X-files movie at the moment. To quote the lyrics of Keane; "Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same..." I don't bloody well feel the same. I feel annoyed, angry and totally fed up! Sorry for moaning guys, but doesn't it just make you angry when things change at work and you're supposed to shut up and put up with it? If it wasn't such a harsh world out there at the moment I would dramatically sweep into his office (my boss) and tell him I don't need his job because I will get snapped up at some bigger newspaper. Well, a girl can dream.
The one thing I am looking forward to is hooking up with Lee later on Skype. I love Skype. I use it to talk to my friend, Nikki, from school who moved out to Australia for a gap year and who's been there ever since (I keep hoping she'll come back like Lila did, but no such luck.) but it is going to be even better staring at the utter gorgeousness that is Lee, this evening. It was funny the other day because Mum accidently switched on Skype on her laptop and she started shouting to Dad; "Ken, there's something horrible and weird on my laptop screen. Come here and get it off, please!" and then Dad came over and saw it was her and he said, "That's you, you stupid Mare!" and she was freaking out saying; "That's not me - it's horrible!" and then he laughed and said; "Well, you said it love." How funny! I can't believe she didn't recognize herself. I think there are some people who shouldn't be allowed to use technology. Anyway, I am going to finish this blog post, go and have a glass of wine and start counting down the minutes until I can chat with Lee.
Until then,
Callie signing off xxx
Hi
I am going to keep this short today because I'm exhausted. I feel as though I am coming down with some sort of horrible flu bug. It must be something I caught off Nick; he certainly sniffs enough to be a germ bag.
So, anyway, I went on Skype to speak to Lee and he didn't even bother to log on. I've been sending him texts too and I haven't got any replies. I asked Erin to send me a text just to make sure my moby was working and I got hers so I can only assume he has dumped me. It's not like we were properly going out or anything but I expected it to last a little bit longer, at least.
I reckon it's because he isn't an airline pilot after all and he realized he couldn't keep pretending he was because I'd find out sooner or later. I'm not too bothered to be honest; he was gorgeous, yes, but what future was there in our long-distance relationship? I'm going to make sure my next fella lives near enough for me to at least see him a few times a week. Even if I had talked to Lee on Skype we couldn't have kissed or anything so what was the point really?
I hope my germs are gone by tomorrow. Nick and I have been sent on quite an exciting job. We are going to visit a local old folks home where there are supposed to be ghosts. It's a sort of Halloween special and I'm really looking forward to it. It will be the first job I go to with Nick to so I guess I will get to see him in action, so to speak. Anyway, I told you I would keep it short. I will let you know what happens with the ghosts next time but until then...
Callie signing off
xxx
Hi guys,
Well, we went to that old folks home; Nick and I and it was totally freaky. The old folks walked around in a daze half the time and I don't think it had anything to do with their age - I think it was the weird atmosphere in the home. It is an old listed building and apparently it used to be an old infirmary in Victorian times and lots of people died of plague or some similar horrible illness. The nurses reckon they see lots of see-through figures walking down the hallways at night. They aren't scared because the apparitions don't really do anything scary; but for me they wouldn't have to - just them being there would be enough to freak me out and have me running for the hills. So it was a good job I had a nice hunky man like Nick to protect me - NOT! He was worse than me - what a mummy's boy! He kept hiding behind me and I could hear him breathing really quickly and going "Can you see anything yet?” I forgot to mention - we were in the house during the night when the ghosts were supposed to appear. It was quite cold in the corridors but I bet it was just because of the time of year. I did feel scared but I put that down to the fear of what might appear. Nothing materialized though and I guess I was kind of disappointed. Nick drove me home and I swear I could see his legs shaking and the car was swerving a bit on the way home. As we were driving I kept imagining what it would be like if he were my boyfriend (strange I know) but I don't usually get in cars with men at night unless they are relatives or boyfriends so this was weird for me. He didn't speak much. I asked him what we were going to write in our article about the ghosts and he said we could just make something up. That just says it all about him, if you ask me. All journalists would be able to write great stories if they just made it up. Some would say that the UK tabloids make stuff up all the time but that doesn't make it right. I don't think our boss will agree with him (he likes proof, usually, like photos or something). At least it is the weekend. I'm going out tomorrow with Lila, Ella and Erin on a girls' night out hitting the local night clubs. There's never a dull moment when we all get together and so I will let you know about it on Monday.
Until then,
Callie signing off
xxx
Hi guys
Hope you're having a spooky Halloween. I'm going out with Nick again later. We are going back to the old folks’ home and we're going to be staying in one of the rooms overnight. I am going to have the bed and Nick is going to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag (what a gent).
We are taking our cameras and Nick is setting up video equipment and we hope we are going to see something this time. It will be one of the scariest Halloweens ever.
I went out with the girls on Saturday and it was one of the best nights out ever. We danced so much I had huge blisters on my feet yesterday morning. Erin and I got talking to a couple of guys and we're going to see them again this weekend. I will tell you more about it on Wednesday because I've got to go now. Nick is beeping his horn to take me to the spooky house.
Enjoy whatever you are doing tonight and I will catch up on Wednesday.
Until then,
Callie signing off
xxx
Hi guys,
I know spooktacular isn't a real word and it doesn't being with W like my usual Wednesday posts, but I couldn't think of anything which could sum up just how spooky my night with Nick was on Monday. It would have been scary spending the night with him under any circumstances, just because he makes me nervous for some reason, but on Halloween it was really really scary. The manageress showed us to our room and Nick put down his sleeping bag, ready. He's so particular you see. He has to have everything "just so" before he gets down to any work. Then he got his video recording stuff and we both went into the corridor to set up. Lila said it was quite mild outside when she took her friend's daughter trick or treating but I couldn't stop shivering even though I was wearing my fleece and a parka. I was so cold I even wore my fleece in bed (that and the fact I didn't want Nick to see any part of my body that was usually kept under wraps!) Anyway, we left the video recorder set up in one part of the corridor and at the end there is a bench where people can sit and look out of the window. We both sat next to each other and it was about half-eleven when we first heard shuffling sounds. At first we thought it was one of the residents but most were in bed with their lights off by half-ten. Then we both heard someone say "hello". At first I thought I'd imagined it but when I noticed the horror on Nick's face I realized it was someone speaking to us; a male voice, quite deep and not malicious or anything but we both said, "did you hear that?" and nodded and then we knew it was real. I wanted to go back to our room because that was enough fear for me, but Nick wanted to stay - probably because he was frozen to the spot. It was then that I wish we had gone back to our room. We both saw it so we know we aren't going crazy; it was a white mist that seemed to drift towards us. There was no ghostly figure or anything - just mist. It was deathly cold and it hovered just in front of us for a second and then dissolved in front of us. We both looked at each other again and went back to our room. We knew that something unexplained was definitely happening. We both decided to try and get some sleep but we heard weird howling noises. It was probably a cat outside but it only added to our fear! The next morning in work, Nick started to download the video and then we saw it - the mist that had hovered to us was, in fact, an apparition of a slim, pale, dark-haired young woman. We could see it clearer on the video. I'm so glad I didn't get to see it face to face or I'd have totally freaked and Nick wasn't man enough to calm me down - he'd have probably ran off before I did. So, there you have it, my scariest Halloween ever. We ran the story the next day but when we tried to print a still of the image it wouldn't let us and when we tried to do it again we found that the image had been wiped from the video. Strange, I know. But then Callie's World is home to the weird and wonderful. I have nothing exciting planned for the next few days and so when I post on Friday I will tell you all about my girls' night out last week.
Until then,
Callie signing off
xxx
Hi guys
I now have a moment, at last, to tell you about our girls' night out last weekend. It's been a while since we all got together so we spent the first part of the night just chatting and catching up. Ella has been decorating her new house and so all her free time has been taken up with that. We met at Ella's and sat ourselves down. She had dust sheets everywhere, though, so it wasn't the most comfortable start to the evening. She's not long moved in. It's a nice little terraced house but it needs a lot of work and that's why she got it so cheap. She got her old job back (social worker) and so she's well paid and can afford it. Erin on the other hand is still at her mum's house and she hates every minute of it. She's even considering getting back with her fat, bald ex just to save her sanity. We all told her that she will be ok and it's just a temporary setback. I can just about afford the rent on my little apartment and although I would be a lot better off financially if I suggested she move in too, I would probably have a nervous breakdown. She would have to sleep on the bed-settee in the living room for a start and there isn't that much extra space for all her stuff (which she has a lot of - she's more shoes than Tamara Eccleston!). It is Erin's mum I actually feel sorry for, not Erin.
Anyway, as the night went on we ended up at this rock club called "Jinny's". It's a cool place but it's not the sort of place Ella feels comfortable in. She's very high maintenance and dresses like she's going to work even when she's supposed to be relaxing. She stood out in her fitted jacket, palazzo pants and high heels. Erin, Lila and I wore our tight jeans and clingy tops complete with spiky-heeled ankle boots. Anyway, the place smelled of sweat, ciggies and beer and it was full of men with long hair and tatoos. For some strange reason, a man who looked like a hell's angel crossed with a wrestler, came over to Ella and started to chat her up. And stranger still...Ella actually liked him! He's called Darren and he's a HGV driver. Ella is absolutely smitten and it is the most unlikely pairing since the beginning of time! They ended up kissing and dancing together to Motorhead (even though Ella can't stand rock music - she doesn't like any music really) and going to the kebab house afterwards. Ella can't stand junk food! I am just worried that he is going to totally change her. She isn't that perfect now, so it may be a change for the better. It's something to watch out for anyway and it'll keep her off my back for a bit.
Erin and I got talking to a couple of Goths, who were quite cute in a pale and interesting kind of way. We are seeing them next Saturday so I will tell you more about them then. Anyway, I'm looking forward to bonfire night tomorrow. The local firework display is supposed to be a good one this year. I am going with Nick. We're going to combine business and pleasure (although I'm sure the pleasure will be all his, lol!)
Until next time,
Callie signing off
xxx
Hi guys
Have you ever woken up with that magical feeling that all is well with the world? That's what I felt this morning. It's been a great weekend. I went to the fireworks display with Nick and we actually had a great time together - not like a date or anything like that but he wasn't annoying for once. Before the display he suggested we go into the local wine bar and get a drink first, which we did and we talked about personal stuff for a change. It turns out he's a Capricorn, which explains his workaholic tendencies and he's 34 years old (old being the emphasis here) because he looks old and he acts old. He also wears old-fashioned clothes. One of these days I'm going to take him shopping and give him a makeover, although I'll have to do it when he's asleep because there's no way on earth he would agree to it otherwise. We also talked about his time in America. He used to live somewhere near the Nevada desert (not far from Lila, actually) in a caravan. He shared it with his ex, Pamela. I haven't got time to tell you all about her psychotic ways yet because I'm due in work soon, but let's just say I can understand why Nick doesn't want anything to do with another woman for as long as he lives (his words, not mine).
Anyway, the fireworks display was so good that my ears are hurting from the colourful bangers. I had an ice-cream while I watched it, too. I've never done this before because usually it's absolutely freezing, but this year it was mild. Have you noticed it's like September now and September was like summer? I'm loving the weird weather we're having this year.
I'm going to have to go now. I have to be in work earlier than usual because I'm camping out in someone's garden. She's an elderly lady called Flo, who claims she sees fairies in her garden. I hope she's right - it would be so great to find out they really exist!
Until next time,
Callie signing off
xxx
Hi guys
I'm not in work today. I'm having a duvet day. After the hectic weekend and lots of late nights I've been having, I feel totally exhausted. My boss owes me some time off anyway after the extra unsocial hours he's given me. It's his fault I'm so tired in the first place! Nick is still in though, making me look bad, as usual. I don't even know if he does it on purpose, but it's so annoying. Just when I was starting to think he wasn't all that bad he goes in work, with all guns blazing, saying he's never felt better! I was starting to feel sorry for him when he got drunk and started to tell me all about his ex. She did so many terrible things to him (including trying to kill him; but there again, I've wanted to do that so many times...) that I'm surprised he hasn't been put off women for life. He told me he was scared of having another relationship, but he isn't ruling it out. He said he would have to know the woman as a friend first. As I have not been that friendly to him, hopefully that rules me out.
Anyway, I'm gonna keep this short today because I'm so tired it's a chore to try and keep my eyes open. I think I'm coming down with some sort of flu bug. I've been trying to fight one off for a couple of weeks now and I think it has finally taken hold.
Back to my warm, cozy duvet for me and I'll hopefully catch up with you all again on Friday (although I won't have much to talk about if I've been in bed for a few days.)
Until then
Callie signing off
xxx
Hi guys
I'm still not well. I've been off sick from work the past few days and I've just been a total germ bag. There's been all sorts of goo coming out of my nose and my ear blocked up, so I'm deaf too. I can't stop coughing and I've pulled a muscle in my side from non-stop coughing fits. I wouldn't mind but I'm supposed to be meeting Andy tomorrow night. Andy was the guy I met last week when I was out with the girls. Erin was talking to his mate, Steve. They are both normal guys (that is if you can call Goths normal) which is good for me as you know the types I usually get.
Anyway, Erin is going mad at me saying if I don't get better she won't be able to meet Steve by herself because it is a double date. I've never understood why that should make a difference. If she likes him and he likes her then why can't they just go by themselves and hopefully I can re-arrange my date with Andy once I'm feeling better. There is no way I'd get a second date if I went out with him the way I am now. For a start my nose is all red with skin peeling off it, my breath smells, my hair is lank and my skin is spotty and I don't think he'd appreciate me coughing green goo all over him and asking him to repeat everything he said due to my deafness. All Erin cares about is herself - if she were a good friend she would be round here now with a huge bowl of chicken soup and a nice warm blanket - but no, all she does is phone me up and moan, moan, moan. I think I seriously need to get some more friends; the ones I have are so selfish.
Ignore me I'm just feeling sorry for myself. Before I sign off, I forgot to mention about the doddery old woman I met who thought she saw fairies. I wasn't getting too excited about it because fairies are just that - a fairy tale - they don't exist! However; I went along anyway and we sat in a tent in her garden. She had a pair of binoculars and for a while nothing happened and then she gave a squeal of excitement and passed them to me and guess what I saw...
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