izmeina: (oro)
(An interesting incantation scrawled in the margins of a most fascinating, obscure and ancient webpage -used this unusual spell only once but had spectacular results – pity Izzie has never been able to use it successfully since.)

Don't know what it is about the Potter books but they seem to push buttons that the Izzie did not even know she had and lately it seems to be all the bad ones.

Never did get around to mentioning two weeks of wonderful weather – much of which was spent at the zoo with the snakies or reading about the adventures of a certain nerdy birdie. During this time, work was a right royal pain as usual but nothing too unbearable. But since Sunday 17th July, the Iz has been jittery and agitated and cannot help but think that there must be some connection with a certain Potions book. Oh not the ending, not just because the Izzie would not be so silly – but we can rule out the possibility for the very simple reason that we had only got two thirds of the way through before leaving for work for 4pm. It is true that when we turned up on Sunday afternoon, it was yet another instalment of musical beds. But this is happening so often lately. The minute you finally learn the rules of the game, they go and move the goal posts. So having to reinvent our routine did not help as well as working with Doreen who can only be described as uglier and more pathetic than Bad Gollum. The resemblance is uncannily scary at times. We once had a very Gollumish resident – who even talked like him and certainly looked like him – but in a very sweet and lovable way. Izzie used to call her “My Preciousss” which was a source of amusement for the others. But the handful of LOTR fans there all agreed that she did bear a remarkable resemblance to You know who.
But still, there is something most peculiar about those Potter books and if they do turn out to be significant, the Izzie will not be surprised at all.

Two things stood out in this particular instalment – seemingly insignificant to most folks but not for the Izzie. The first is the business with the Patronus or magical abilities in general being weak when one is sick or under emotional stress. At least two characters were confronted with that particular problem and the other is the business with the Horcruxes. Izzie found the whole concept deeply disturbing. Yesssss. We know it's only a story and none of this stuff really happened but the Great White Witch has an uncanny knack of knowing more than she lets on about real magic and not just the made up spells and stuff.

Iz has on more than one occasion become violently ill after reading these books – in one case being in a zombie state for more than two weeks. But when in a sudden flash of inspiration, the Izzie discovered just what horrid memories certain chapters were triggering, then this state of misery ended as unexpectedly as it began to be followed by a strange disappearance of all bad buttons and a happy reunion of thoughts and no longer rampant uncontrolled emotions which lasted for the best part of two years.
Of course, other events in real life were pushing those panic buttons too but it was the books that assisted most in making the connection between original events and fears and the new things triggering them and the realization that the things in real life that we feared had in fact no more basis in reality than events in the books. Or more correctly said – a bitch of a boss is a bad thing and a damned nuisance but not a life or death issue and certainly not some one with the power to actually annihilate the Izzie (unless we give it to her) And attributing such powers to people who did not have them was exactly what the Izzie had been doing all those years. And anyway, why outsource to some one else, something that the Izzie is so damned good at doing on her own?

But now with a sense of deja vu – Izzie finds herself once again in the same situation but this time there is no magical connection illuminating the difference between reality and ancient fears – or at least we have not found it yet. But time is running out. So maybe the dementors will finally get that kiss that was so cruelly snatched from them back in January 2002.
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
Izzie slinks into Cyberia after a long day lurking around and doing not much at all. Was not amused to get Friday and Saturday off this week from our house elf job instead of the usual Thursday and Friday. It was a wet and miserable day on Thursday and today it was rather sunny but the problem is that a six hour shift on Saturday is worth not six but NINE hours and that's 40 silver sickles that the Izzie cannot really afford to miss out on. It will be such fun on the new roster starting on Wednesday when there's 3 of those stupid pissy four hour shifts to be filled every day. The chances of being dumped with them will increase dramatically – especially since the Izzie was so outspoken at the recent discussion about them. Already got a 7-11 next Saturday. Will be nice to potter off to St Brutus for the afternoon reading “Order of the Phoenix” but it won't be so nice on payday when we will get 6 hours pay for that Saturday rather than the 9 it would have been if we had worked the usual 6 hour shift.

Apparently, it will be fine and sunny weather for our mid-winter solstice-full moon picnic party. That is a stroke of luck after weeks of wet and rain. So so happy to have been able to get that day off. Would have been most peeved indeed to miss out for the sake of some stupid four hour shift like 2-6pm which ruins your day but is not worth the pissy little pay.

Went to Fremantle. First stop was the Angel's Waffle cafe to get our weekly fix of podcast downloads. Did it once with dial up. Never ever again. More than one hour for a 25mb download. As is – snatched much much less programs than we would have liked – due to such limited access to decent download speeds. Would have liked to add the Science Show and All in the Mind to our list of programs.

Went to the markets to get our weekly ration of green goodness. Izzie suspects that they must feed some dodgy substances to their plantseses as Izzie gets withdrawal symptoms if she does not get her weekly supply of basil leaves.
After that, it was off to St Brutus to finally finish the last two chapters of Chamber of Secrets. Had intended to finish it last Sunday sitting under a tree in our favorite historical graveyard. But it rained all day so that was not really an option.
Was over at the Lair on Friday and picked up “Order of the Phoenix” which we intend to start reading again on Wednesday. One last chance to read it without 20/20 hindsight and to go looking for more clues.

The Izzie has been most irritable and cranky since Wednesday at work. Seemed to calm down today finally while reading those last two chapters. So so many memories and that useful and timely reminder “It's our choices that show who what we truly are, far more than our abilities”
Once again, it seems that rational thinking and feeling have gone off on their own merry ways with the attendant problems that this brings. For a long time they had been working together which had a dramatic effect on the Izzie's state of mental health.

This is not 2001 or 1990 which were the two main times when Izzie was in such a tizzie – being neurotic, claustrophobic, panic attacks and all that. Dolores does not have the power that the bitch Heil Hilde of Hamburg once had as this job does not come with a flat that you have to leave when you give up the job and it is certainly not an issue of life or death. Not at all. But tell that to the stupid reptilian instictive part of the Izzie brain that seems to have gone on Constant Vigilance – Red Alert mode.

Firstly, we now have our Goblin Degree and it is only laziness, procrastination and inertia that is stopping us from taking advantage of it, unlike most of the other house elves who have no job prospects in any other area.
Secondly, even if our hours drop dramatically, we can still get by on about 28 hours a week due to our low maintenance life style. Not having a car and living around the corner makes a massive difference to the income we need to get by on – as well as not having expensive tastes.
Lastly, the place has become so damn toxic since the return of Dolores on 20th April that we would be doing ourselves a favour getting out.

Dolores may not know it but she ought to be very careful. She may not think it but she needs us more than we need her. Izzie is at a disadvantage not having a car but most elves have the option of working with agencies if they do not get the hours they need. Soon another 24 residents will be arriving and if she pisses off too many elves in the next few weeks, she just may find herself with no one left to do the work and enormous bills for filling the gaps with agencies and the owner would be most peeved indeed.
Already, at least five nurse elves and one laundry elf are just about ready to put a sock in it and tell her where to stick her $%^& job.

But most importantly of all, there is nothing so empowering in a job as not being afraid of losing it. Bosses can smell fear and if they know you are weak or desperate, they will walk all over you. Funny – it's when you have other options, you can call the shots – act as if you are in charge, not put up with shit and as often as not, then they will be the ones bending over backwards to keep you happy.

Izzie knows all this stuff and much of it from bitter experience but do you think she can get that damned reptilian brain to listen and turn off the panic buttons? Maybe it is intuition and instict saying – we will make life hell for you until you get the hell out of there.

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izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
izmeina

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