eloise midgen has a new life plan

I had the most startling revelation today - apparently, I have a "true love", and he/she/it has been hiding out all this time, just waiting to send me the strangest bit of mail I've received since Jackson sent me that weird mask from Moscow in my fourth year.

Anyway, I am officially "going dark" for the next week.  The time for N.E.W.T.s is nigh and I'm close to breaking point stress-wise.

On a happier note, at precisely this time next week I will be feeling very celebratory and looking for some friends to share it with!

'Til the, pretend I don't exist, please.

One month and ten days! I'm starting to wish I could just get this over with tomorrow. I feel ready.  The next thirty-something days are going to be torturous.

[Private to Jackson & Natalie]
Thanks so much for coming to dinner last week (and for the gifts)!  It was wonderful to see you both.  I was thinking, it might be fun to do some sort of monthly dinner out.  Maybe different ethnic foods?  You're both so well traveled, and I know I've been all over, but if I'm going to be a Cursebreaker it might be sort of a fun way to refresh my memory of different foreign cuisine.

Or just an excuse to see the two of you and have some great food.
[/Ward]

[Private to Wayne]
Friday was a lot of fun.  Alison is  I have a bit of a favour to ask.  Someone I know has been having trouble locating a rare recording of one of Bach's pieces, and I thought since you work at a record shop and know a lot about music, you might be of some help.  The Berliner Philharmoniker performing The Goldberg Variations.  Any ideas?
[/Ward]

I know most days I'm tempted to complain about my job, but this past week there was a bit of excitement that didn't involve wonky requests from clientele or misplaced shipments.  I was shelving some astronomy books and heard these two men having a very intense conversation a few aisles over.  It ended up looking like they were having some sort of confrontation, and I was about to go over and make sure nothing started up, when one of them looked like he'd just had a shock and practically flew out the front door.  The other bloke caught me staring and sort of looked like he was about to be cross, and then just asked how much a book was.  I seriously think he just pulled a random book out to break the tension.  He ended up buying it, but the whole thing was very odd. 

And I'm almost positive he was one of the Weird Sisters.  Though I didn't say anything to him about it, because he looked really uncomfortable.  I wonder what their problem was?

I'm turning twenty-four in five days.  Jackson, Natalie - what are you doing Saturday?  I've got a wedding to go to the day after, but I though we might go out to dinner.  My treat.

And I'm sick.  Some sort of fevery, stomachy thing.  Definitely not a good time, but on the bright side, it's a perfectly good excuse not to brave the tills at Flourish and Blotts, and a chance to catch up on some reading I've been wanting to do.  I think I've been quite strict on myself when it comes to my studying.  I deserve a little time away from it.  I fully intend to be recovered by the 31st, however. 

Oh, and something I've been meaning to do - any Cursebreakers out there?  I'm looking to talk with someone who's been doing the job for a while.  I just want to hear some first-hand experiences, maybe get some advice for someone who might be starting out soon.  Any takers?  I'll even take you out for a coffee.

I need costume ideas.  I've still got a month to go before anything needs to be finished, but I should start working on it soon.  I haven't dressed up for Halloween since I was...well, ten?  This costume reception was a brilliant idea.

[Private to Jackson & Natalie]
Hello, fellow Midgens. Are the two of you free at all over the next week?  Perhaps this weekend?  I've missed seeing you and I want to show you my flat.  Come over for lunch or dinner - I promise I've become a very decent cook!

It's official - I'll be sitting my N.E.W.T.s between 17 and 19 December of this year.  It feels very odd to be nearly twenty-four and talking about taking tests I should have done years ago.  I'll be going in for Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.  And possibly Potions.  I'll have to see if I have the time to sneak it in.  It's not required to become a Cursebreaker but I can't imagine it would hurt to have the marks for. 

Now that I have the dates of the exams set, I think I'm getting excited for it!  It's still months away but it feels more materialized now.  I can even write it on my agenda.  At the very least, it's a nice distraction from thinking about the new shipment we're getting in tomorrow.  Boxes and boxes of newly published books, all waiting to be stocked.  And next week or so we'll be decorating for the upcoming Halloween season (Is that even rightly a season?  It seems like a silly symptom of the retail environment to me.), so I'm expecting it to be something of a nightmare.

No pun intended.

However, to summarize, this means that in precisely three months I will have finally finished school!  Better late than never, as they say.

( Private to Zacharias )

( Private to Wayne )

 

Good things are happening.  Mostly, Scotland's off to the Final!  I will more than likely be glued to the wireless that day, so if anyone is trying to reach me...well, it probably won't end well.

I've got a bit of free time tonight.  Gave my shift to one of the other girls working at the shop - she lost a lot of hours a few weeks go when she was ill, and quite frankly I think I need a break from the madness.  I can spare a day's wages.  Well, I don't have as much margin for error as I'd like, but I don't think most people my age do.  I did some organizing today over lunch, and I think I've got some things sorted.  

Most importantly, I am currently planning to sit the NEWTs at the end of December.  Then, assuming all goes well on that front, I can apply for enter Cursebreaker training at Gringotts early in the new year.  

On a less exciting front, I'm planning to stop into that Inkwell place sometime early this coming week.  Anyone been there before?  I assume Knockturn's reputation hasn't changed over the past five year, but I saw an advert and I'd been planning another tattoo for a while.  Any of the artists especially good? 

[Dean]
How's your studying coming? I still wouldn't mind getting together, if you're not too busy. I saw the poster for your show. Congratulations!

I'm not going to pretend like it hasn't been oddly busy all month, but this week is going terribly.  Everyone at the shop is going completely mad with getting books for school next week.  I don't understand what anyone thinks they're going to accomplish by being rude to those of us working in the store.  We're trying to help, do they realize?  And it's hardly my fault that the manager accidentally under-ordered both Jigger's Defence Against the Dark Arts and Switch's Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.  They're on back order, and we're already offering to ship them directly to the students as soon as they come in, at a discounted rate. 

There's nothing else to be done right now, so calling me an idiot is doing nothing to alleviate the issue except making my day worse.  Then, of course, no one wants to put the books back in their proper places, so at the end of the day it looks like a storm's blown through and it takes far longer than it should to get everything sorted.  I understand that this time of year can be stressful for parents, but that doesn't override common decency, does it?

I just want to sleep until next Wednesday.  In my current flat.  Because, as it turns out, I am not going to be moving.

[Private]
He really couldn't have waited a week?  If it was that important to know soon he should have just said so.  This girl sounds like she has no concept of personal boundaries, if she's just moving her stuff up there without even letting him know first.  Should make for a marvelous flatmate.  I shouldn't be so angry.  I don't even know the girl, but it just seems weird that you'd rather share your flat with a practical stranger who just sounds really presumptuous and than a trusted friend.

It's probably for the best.
[/Private]

I can't believe I'm writing this.  

I spent part of this afternoon and evening in a holding cell at the DMLE.  With about six other drunken rioters, of which I was not one.  Apparently my trying to explain that I'd gotten stuck in the middle of everything and only wanted to get out of there wasn't making any sense to the Hitwizards.  I thought I was going to have a heart attack and must have looked like a twit.  I think they finally got the point three hours later and let me out.  Merlin, what a way to spend the afternoon.

Scotland won, though!  And the match was brilliant, and I think after I got over the whole scary rioting and being arrested bit I still couldn't believe I got to be there to see it all happen.  I really hope we go all the way to the Final.  And win.  How perfect would that be?

I do have the worst headache now.  And someone stepped on my foot and must have knocked me on the chin, because there's a bruise coming up.  What a strange day.  I'd say it ended terribly but...I don't know, it doesn't really feel that way, looking back.  Anyway, I'm exhausted.  I was going to do some sewing but I'm not even sure I have the energy.  Maybe going to bed at eight o'lock is something one has to do every now and then.

I never imagined that working at Flourish and Blotts could possibly be as exhausting as it is.  It's not all the time, but sometimes these late-night shifts get to me when I have several in a row.  I shouldn't be complaining, though, it's definitely helping me pay for the things I need and the work isn't even that difficult. 

On the bright side of things, I've been making some real headway into my studying.  I may have been a bit more concerned than I needed to be - it really does seem to be the case that these things come back to you if you refresh your memory a bit.  Ancient Runes is proving the be the most difficult to get a good handle on, but I think it'll just take some time.  It's actually been very relaxing to just sit down for a few hours and focus on something that makes me feel like I'm moving in a good direction.  If all goes according to plan, I should be ready to sit the exams by spring, and then I can apply for training at Gringotts. 

Funny how irate customers think that throwing a book at me is going to make me any more willing, let alone likely, to want to help solve their problem.  He seemed to expect more of a reaction from me - I was fighting the urge to laugh more than anything else.  Lucky for us both he stormed out about five seconds later, muttering something about buying his son's schoolbooks elsewhere from now on.  Good.

It's not strange that I've already begun knitting Christmas gifts, is it?  It's just been years since I've bothered, and it's nice to have some projects to come home to.  

Oh!  And I bought myself a pair of rats.  I forgot how much I missed having them, but it was just never sensible when I was on the move so much.  They're called Oz and Grimm.  Very hyper little boys.

My sister-in-law to be seems entirely satisfactory!  Jackson, you've found a good one, I have to tell you.  And here I was worried. 

I slept until almost three o'clock yesterday.  Luckily, it was a day off.  The hen night was a roaring success, I assume, since I didn't have much to gauge it by.  But I had a lot of fun and all the other girls seemed to.  Natalie's brilliant - she spent a year studying hippogriffs in the Mediterranean, and is already planning a trip to Norway to observe the effects on residual magic on the local wildlife.  It's a shame I never met her before this, really.  She also kept buying me drinks, which was nice, but also contributed to my altered sleep schedule for the weekend.

I'm putting the finishing touches on my dress robes for next week.  Halfway through I was starting to regret my decision to make them up myself but I think it's going to be worth it.  They've turned out very well, although I'm not sure I'm quite pleased with the neckline yet.  We'll see.

[Private]
In precisely two weeks, my older brother will be getting married.  It's very strange, it's been so long since Keith's, I feel like I've almost forgotten what it's going to be like.  And Natalie's Muggleborn, so her family will likely find this very strange.  I think they've decided to try and keep it fairly tame, magically speaking, but only her immediate family is coming to the ceremony anyway.  They're all basically in New Zealand so it's a bit of a trip for many of them to come all the way out to England.  I wonder what it must be like to see something like this from a Muggle's point of view.  I'm sure they are familiar enough with certain things from her being a Witch, but I can't imagine they've been to many large ceremonies, with lots of Witches and Wizards present.  We can get awfully...uppity sometimes.  

It's also a little weird for me, I've never even properly met Natalie, and we're going to be technical sisters by the end of the month.  I'm fairly certain that the first time I meet her will be for her hen night, and that's this coming Friday.  I am hoping it doesn't get too wild - I don't know, from what Jackson's told me about her, it sounds like it could go either way.  
[/Private]


[Private to Jackson]
Two weeks!  Are you nervous?
[/Jackson]


Anyone have any advice for a girl who's going to be attending her first hen night in a week, and doesn't generally like big dos?

I got a position at Flourish and Blotts!  Admittedly it's mostly me standing behind the counter and occasionally stocking bookshelves, but it's money so who am I to complain?  The only issue is that they can't offer me very many hours, at least not as many as would be ideal.  Which is fine, because this is so much better than nothing and bookstores are wonderful places.  But I think it also means I need to keep an eye out for a second job.  

Oh, and, I went to Diagon today, and purchased some schoolbooks.  Well, not schoolbooks, precisely.  But I do need to refresh myself if I'm going to be sitting my N.E.W.T.s, and I've absolutely no idea where I put my old ones.  And they were discounted a bit, now that I work there.  Not a bad setup, really.  This is actually quite exciting.

It's possible that I may be aiming to completely overexert myself, but I don't have any proof of this yet so I think I'm going to go right on.

Right then, let the job-hunt begin.  I've decided it's best to not rush into anything but I do need something temporary.  I'm waiting to hear back from the Velveteen Rabbit...I applied for a job at the Diagon branch so hopefully that can be something to keep me busy for a while.  I was selling some wintery things I've knitted but now it's much too warm and no one's looking for scarves and mittens.

I'm really regretting not finishing my N.E.W.T.s, but it looks like there's a way for me to complete them now.  I'm not precisely sure what I'd like to do with them, but honestly if I want to get any sort of good job it could only help me to have them.  Oddly, I've been giving some serious thought to becoming a Cursebreaker.  I might be getting a bit ahead of myself, but assuming this opportunity to finish out my classes properly comes through, it could really happen.  Assuming I've managed not to forget everything I learned in school. 

I've finally finished unpacking all of my things, so I thought I might make a trip to Diagon Alley and get a few essentials that were missing.  I got very caught up in Memorial Alley - I had no idea!  How long's that been there?  

And I hate to admit it by the display in the front window of that joke shop caught my eye.  Merlin knows my old journal's probably...sitting at  the bottom of a lake in Sydney or something.  I don't know.  I've been trying to figure out how best to try and get back in touch with people, and I have no idea where anybody lives anymore.  This sort of seemed, well, perfect, actually.

Well, you know.  It's weird to be back.  Hello?

So here's to what the future brings, I know tomorrow you'll find better things( . )

( Private - Megan and Wayne can read )

( Susan Bones )