The 19th & 20th; A very long day.
The 19th of March. It's been a very long day. Left New Street at ten to eight, got back twelve hours and twenty minutes later. Awake at twenty past five. Zopiclone required for sleep; my brain is so whizzy.
My train journey down was uneventful, just was left waiting for the assistance man at Euston to meet me when the train arrived. He was nowhere to be seen, so some very kind people asked the train manager for help and he got the ramp for me.
Cab to Anthony Nolan was easy. He knew where I wanted to go, so left me at some large gates where I was pressing buttons in the hopes of being let in. I was about to call someone, when Billie from AN saw me and buzzed the gates open so I could come inside. I was the first one there, and Billie, Liz and I were joined by Craig (AN fundraising) and the other Young Ambassadors - Will, Amanda, Emma and Megan.
There was a welcome and generic ice-breaking stuff, and the morning was spent learning about the different areas of AN - first the history, how donating works, and what each department does (fundraising, volunteering, public relations ie talking to MP's, and media/press). Obviously all of this was interrupted by us all asking questions and adding our own stories.
There were M&S sandwiches for lunch so we shared those out, and a photographer had arrived so we all took turns having our portraits done (she was very sweet, telling me how photogenic I am and how great I look on camera 💁🏼), then we had a group photo outside where we snuggled together like penguins in a huddle.
The afternoon session began with a session on register development (how we get more donors), then we talked about how to take care of ourselves when in our role, to make sure we don't have a breakdown, essentially. Then the most fun part, presentation skills! Things to be aware of when we talk. We had to prepare a 2-3 minute talk about a moment in which we were proud of ourselves. I talked about GCSE results and it was excruciating because I hate being put on the spot. We all had issues.
And we were done! Finished an hour early so I got a taxi to St. Pancras where I had some tasty dinner before returning to Euston for my busy train. I hid behind my book. Just 100 pages left!
The 20th of March.
Zopiclone means I am sleepy. I set my alarm for 9.45 but I snoozed until ten past ten. Thankfully Sunday Brunch started late so I didn't miss any of it. The house was quiet because Mommy was out at the NEC and Daddy was down the garden, so I pottered about, said hi to Monica, made sure she had enough food and water, then got the same for myself.
Most of my morning was spent writing. Writing about yesterday, which took a while, then writing the blog post that I would've done yesterday. So yeah, lots of writing.
Once finished, I had my lunch, and Mommy had brought me a bonus brownie from the craft show (?) so I had my second one in two days. Oh well.
My afternoon was dedicated to finishing The Steel Kiss. Even on high alert, I didn't expect the twists. I was right about one aspect I thought seemed dodgy but that was the only thing. Also, I plan to question Jeffery about the epilogue. Will have to be careful in how I phrase it though, I don't want to do any spoilers, especially for the die-hard Lincoln Rhyme fans.
Since then, I've been having a very restful faux-nap. Eyes shut but brain awake. Cosy.
