Wednesday 8 Mar 2023: Started a new read

I didn’t big-up the Monkey Dust admin enough on Monday. When I write it like that, it looks like quite a small job, but it’s actually a big-ish job.

First of all I had to check when the next gig is and then add that to Diane’s Gig List (which I don’t manage anymore but I do share each week). Then I went into Canva to create a Facebook post, an Instagram post and a regular poster. Then it was off to Facebook to create an event, which takes A LOT longer these days than it used to thanks to Facebook’s new pages ‘experience’. The FB post goes there in the header, and then I share the poster to the discussion so that the venue can grab it, print it off, and hopefully display it prominently. And then I have to switch out of Monkey Dust, go on as me, and then send out what invitations I can to whoever I think might be interested. Finally, I share both the event and the poster. And, if I remember, I tag people. I usually forget to tag people.

So it’s a bigger job than I give it credit for, and it does take time.

Anyway, first job on Tuesday was Canva where I created the flyer illustrating today’s blog post. I started the new book on Tuesday morning over breakfast because it’s warm enough in the conservatory to have breakfast there now and it’s too bright to see my phone screen. So I take the Kindle Paperwhite in with me and sit and read. Then I started today’s post, but I didn’t like the first image I created and had to go and make another. Then I had to clear my cache on the computer because it kept on showing the original one.

Next up was a visit to the People’s Friend Writing Hour on Twitter. I’ve been gradually joining in this over the past few weeks, but I’m often not physically at my desk on time, and it’s easier to join in from my desk than it is via the mobile phone. One day I will remember that it’s on and I will be able to join it from the start.

Then I had a voicemail from my doctor’s surgery asking me to give them a call, so I did and the consultant who saw me for my pancreatitis wants me to have some more blood tests and my weight and blood pressure checked as it seems my cholesterol was quite high when I had it done before. I didn’t want to traipse all the way over to Finningley for 8 o’clock in the morning, so I finally told them that we’ve moved house. Apparently we have 28 days to find another doctor. At least that will urge me on to arrange registration at the doctor’s in the village here. They weren’t open until 3:30pm, though, so I had to put it to one side and give myself a reminder…

The new book I’ve started is the next one on the NetGalley list, but I had one other that still needed the review posting to Amazon, as Amazon wouldn’t let me post the review until after the book was published. The book was published last Thursday. I went and grabbed the review from NetGalley and pasted it into Amazon, and I updated the Trello card and moved it along to ‘done’.

I entered a few competitions and then broke for dinner. While I had dinner I visited the forum for 12 Stories in 12 Months, read two stories and commented on both of them. As part of the challenge, we have to submit one story and comment on at least four. I’d already read and commented on another two, so that was my quota for this month. The two stories I chose were really nice ones too. I enjoyed them both.

After dinner I had a quick look at the job boards, but there was nothing I fancied. I printed off an editing job for a client. And I walked down to the doctor’s surgery, had a chat with the lady behind the desk, and came back with registration forms for us both, mine of which I filled in when I got back home. While I was in the mood for filling in forms, I finally completed my new driving license application. I don’t need a new license, but their system won’t let me change the address online so I have to go through the whole rigmarole.

Oh yes, and I made a bit of a dent in the sweeties…

Finally yesterday, as I was just closing down for the day (it was almost 6:30pm) a phone call came in from a certain World-Wide diet organisation assuring me that they would not be attempting to take any more money from my account and that the account was closed and the bank details wiped. Forgive me for not being assured. Fortunately, I trust the bank not to pay them more than I trust them not to try and help themselves to more of my dosh. (NOBODY touches my dosh.)

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