In anticipation of The Gay American's arrival some time this week (details are sketchy. I was under the impression that he wanted to avoid moving into my fortress of doom for as long as he possibly could, but he told me yesterday that he was ready to move "as soon as possible," so god knows what day I'll arrive home to find him sitting on the doorstep with his massive television and collection of designer jeans), I started cleaning the house.

There's an awful lot of house to clean, especially for one person, and some of the house doesn't seem to enjoy being cleaned at all and ends up looking worse than it did before. The walls of the laundry, for example, took on the properties of an old person's dry skin and began to flake before my eyes. I hope the place hasn't been given an extra coat of asbestos.

Also, because Jenny (lover of the environment that she is, apart from her ability to enter a room without turning on the light at any time of the day or night) is no longer around, I'm free to use bugspray to do away with the hordes of cockroaches that come marching in every night, rather than having to resort to making a mess of my shoes and hoping desperately for a clean kill. I've never really gotten used to the hearty crunching noise they make when their exoskeleton (or whatever) gives way beneath my mighty Dunlop Volley, and I've lost count of the times I've inadvertantly twisted my foot a little as I make the kill, resulting in cockraoch guts being spread all over the floor/wall/bathtub and the activation of my gag reflex as I wipe it up with a paper towel. I sprayed the hot water cupboard yesterday afternoon, and ever since there has been a steady march of cockroaches in various stages of their death throes staggering out onto my bathroom floor. I considered leaving them out to serve as warnings to any other cockroaches thinking of paying a visit, but then decided that was a little too gross, even by my house's standards.

I also weeded the back yard, and as a result I am pretty much in agony every time I sit, stand or try to move. Stupid lack of stamina.

The countdown begins.

Thoughts on the position applied for following the Big Scary Interview with the Evil Faceless Corporation at 8am (OMG).

Pro: Would get to wear lots of lovely suits (I don't even own one lovely suit at present) and wander around the city during lunch.
Con: In danger of becoming suit-wearing, lunch-buying, city-wandering wanker.

Pro: Opportunity to help individuals stuck in the teeth of the Evil Corporate Monster.
Con: Likely to be consumed outright by aforementioned Monster.

Pro: Interviewers seemed considerably less jaded and at least 40 percent smilier than public health interviewers I've thus far encountered.
Con: I had to be smiley at the Educational But Fun Store when kowtowing to the all-important customer, even when my soul was slowly dying. It's not hard to fake.

Pro: Was mentioned that my job would involve approximately 70-80 percent clinical work.
Con: A friend was promised the same thing while on a placement in a similar setting. The amount of red tape she had to wade through made her want to staple her head to the wall within about three weeks.

Pro: Would receive a hefty income increase compared to what I'm earning now.
Con: Part-time work at McDonald's would also bring about hefty income increase compared to what I'm earning now.

Pro: Security of a full-time job, and not the scattiness of several part-time jobs as I had envisioned.
Con: Hassle and stress of a full-time job. I've just completed 19 straight years of formal education, and I was pretty busy in the four before that as well, what with learning to hold my head up and focus my eyes, and probably other things as well. Time for a couple of cruisy jobs for a while to let me catch my breath?

Con: Several friends have mentioned that they can't see my in this sort of role, seeing as I'm not completely corporate or heartless. It's nice to know that I'm putting my best foot forward.
Pro: I never thought I'd be good at lawn bowls either, but there you go. Perhaps I should go and try pole vaulting!

Con: Will look like a massive sellout compared to more noble friends who are healing refugees/rescuing kiddies from unpleasant parents/giving little old ladies nicely fitting dentures.
Pro: Um....no. You have me there.

Pro: Nothing that I do now will box me in forever. I'm still young enough to try different things without them unduly influencing my life.
Con: I don't even have this job and I probably never will. Talk about a waste of time.