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The Gallery : Self Portrait

Welcome to my world (at work).


This is my desk at work and where I spend the majority of my waking hours.  It is also what has defined me over the past few years since returning to the high-flying world of administration - I shall try and introduce you to everything.


My official job title is "Senior Administrator".  The unofficial job title is "Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None" or "NICKIE... WHY DOESN'T THIS WORK?  HELP!!"


Starting from the bottom left of the photo you have:

  • Work needing my managers attention.
  • The invoice file - part of my job is to demand money.  I try and do it without menaces.
  • Certificates that need destroying after the machine at Royal Mail chewed them up.
  • The patterned spiral notebook is the office Bible.  It holds all the costings for the current year and other relevant information.  I control this book. 
  • My BOAT. My Book Of All Things is my saviour.  I record more or less all of my work notes in here and have retained all of my BOAT's since I started this job.
  • The ever important highlighter pen.  I have a colour-coded life.  It is the only way I can manage (yes, I realise it's very anal!).
*this is getting worse, isn't it?*
  • keys (office, car, home), pens, a mini springy thing to keep me occupied when on hold on the phone for ages (like when I ring HMRC), date stamp and my desk diary (propped up).
  • Next you can see my black Filofax (personal - home and work combined - if you want to know what I'm doing or where I'm going then sneak a look inside here).
  • My Open University books - I try to cram a bit of reading in whenever I can and if that means cramming at work, then so be it (but, as you all know - that rarely happens).
  • My writing journal (yellow Filofax) - I keep this with me at all times.  I jot down ideas, keywords, snippets of conversation.  I have also sectioned it off for all the different types of writing that I am involved with at the moment.  I am very scared to lose this - it has the same meaning for me as Bob Monkhouse's journals.
  • Take a quick look at my computer screen.  Yes, I know I'm blatently advertising my own blog there but (a) my stats are down (cue: the smallest violin in the world) and (b) I'm not sure showing my work website on my blog would go down too well.  What you can't actually see is the cunningly displayed tabs on the computer screen.  They read as follows and are a good indication of my day
*insert work website here*, Typecast, Facebook, Twitter, Open University, HSBC Bank.
  • Next is a montage of pictures of my children.  It actually needs updating because the most recent picture on there isn't very recent and two more family members have materialised since then.
  • The ever-ringing phone.  'Nuff said.
  • "In" tray, "Finance" tray, "Everything Else" tray.
  • Post to be taken to the post office on my way home.
* * *

Welcome to my world (at home)


This is my desk at home.  Here I am mum, wife, main wage earner, carer, bill payer... but I am still me.  I have recently become more comfortable with who I am, hence the venture into writing and finally studying for my degree.


So, starting again in the left hand side of the picture we have:



  • My craft box for cross-stitching.  I also knit occasionally but both have been put to one side since studying became more intense.  I miss the relaxation of cross-stitching and the sense of achievement when I've finished something.
  • My tap shoes are in the forefront of the picture for a reason.  Tap dancing is my time.  The time in the week where no-one else can encroach and demand from me other than dance-related.  I've been tap dancing again for just over two years now after a 20 year hiatus.  That's a LONG rest - I should never have given it up.
  • My black eyeliner (Smashbox black and white eyeliner) and my black mascara (Maybelline Blackest Black).  I think there is probably only a couple of days in the month where I don't wear my eyeliner and mascara.  I feel naked without it.
  • My yellow filofax (again).  You've heard about that before... yes, up there *scroll back*  I'll shut up now!
  • Another blatant plug for my blog... did I mention my stats were down?  I did?  Oh.  Well, that is my laptop that is showing my blog.  The page that it is opened on is the very vague rules for the Friday Twiz.  I think the Twiz and the 'Cancer - Your Story' are two of my best ideas, even if I do say so myself.  *takes a bow*  My laptop is currently on its last legs and I am dreading it falling to pieces.  Another screw came loose on Sunday (*insert own joke about its owner here*) and I am treating it with a lot of T.L.C. at the moment.
  • My purse.  I'm sorry - it's very unexciting... a proper "mum" purse... but out of this purse comes the money that pays for almost everything.  It is an integral part of family/home life.
  • That mug is HUGE.  It holds just over one-and-a-half cups and is brilliant for tea or hot chocolate.
Note that I have left my text books out of this photograph.  That is because I left them on my desk at work.  A rather silly move because I should have spent tonight studying intensely for an assignment that is due in next week.  Oops!


* * * 





This blog post was submitted for the weekly Gallery over at Sticky Fingers.  This week's theme was 'Self Portrait' and seeing as though I found a way not to post a picture of myself, I found this fairly easy, after all, you've all been subjected to pictures of "ME" previous and I think there's plenty of bloggers who are still in shock...

This digital art Gallery is all linked at Sticky Fingers and you can see all of this weeks entries >>> here <<<

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