The recession appears to have led to overcrowding. In my garden. With the ground constantly damp from the tears of the many unemployed and overlevied, slugs can now freely roam the globe.
And they are freely roaming my garden and eating about a €1 of plantage a night. I come out every morning to see another sweet little lobelia stripped of its foliage and reduced to a sad little mohican of skinny stalks pointing hopelessly to heaven. Marigolds denuded to an inappropriate state, left only with a perverted veil of slime as a calling card.
Oh sure, there's always been slugs in my garden. There were root consuming moth larvae too before that that stealthily killed my new plants from the ground up 2 years ago. And an annual invasion of aphids on my rosebush that make me wish I could sell honeydew to the masses and become a millionaire.
But this year, the not so adorable, shell-less, be-antlered, slime-slitherers can fly. Or possibly they rent small private jets. Because they are getting past the inch high mound of slug pellets all around the base of the precious posies. Which they are not supposed to do.
Not only that, they are completely nocturnal. Trust me, if ever I laid eyes on one of the voracious gastropods in the light of day, they will experience the full spa treatment of an all over salt scrub that will result in Wicked Witch of the West style melting.
Any suggestions before I resort to a plastic garden?
A Celtic tiger pussycat who never got the cream and feels left out in the cold now...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Shut Up and Drive
Well I've just completed another conversation that included the line - "I'm afraid I can't drive".
It's a bigger conversation killer than "I have a contagious flesh eating bacterial infection".
I've had three phone calls all from my b-e-a-utiful CV posting on Monster.ie. All for jobs in the not terribly far-flung corners of Ireland. Places I cannot get to by public transport. Which if you live where I do, is most places except Dublin city centre or some station-centric areas in Kildare if you need adequate services for a 9-5 position.
And what's my excuse for not getting behind the wheel of the beast? I really do not know. A bit of cowardice. I do hate doing anything new for the first time in case I look a fool. And to be honest, if I do start, the thought of spending a few hours thrashing the poor car to get me in and out to work doesn't appeal. Nor do the costs. I support public transport, I'd rather see it than traffic jams but there really is no incentive. At worst, it's prohibitive to my search. And if I do get something, I'll well over €2k a year for the priviledge of buying a better value house. Between myself and my husband, all the train charges will build up into the price of the city centre dwelling such are the extortionate charges.
Forced to live in the outer ring of commuterville by disgraceful over-inflated house prices, I now cannot find work. Sure, it's not the only reason, but it's a contributing factor.
Where's that Theory Test CD-ROM?
Yours,
RF
It's a bigger conversation killer than "I have a contagious flesh eating bacterial infection".
I've had three phone calls all from my b-e-a-utiful CV posting on Monster.ie. All for jobs in the not terribly far-flung corners of Ireland. Places I cannot get to by public transport. Which if you live where I do, is most places except Dublin city centre or some station-centric areas in Kildare if you need adequate services for a 9-5 position.
And what's my excuse for not getting behind the wheel of the beast? I really do not know. A bit of cowardice. I do hate doing anything new for the first time in case I look a fool. And to be honest, if I do start, the thought of spending a few hours thrashing the poor car to get me in and out to work doesn't appeal. Nor do the costs. I support public transport, I'd rather see it than traffic jams but there really is no incentive. At worst, it's prohibitive to my search. And if I do get something, I'll well over €2k a year for the priviledge of buying a better value house. Between myself and my husband, all the train charges will build up into the price of the city centre dwelling such are the extortionate charges.
Forced to live in the outer ring of commuterville by disgraceful over-inflated house prices, I now cannot find work. Sure, it's not the only reason, but it's a contributing factor.
Where's that Theory Test CD-ROM?
Yours,
RF
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
You can't Budget for this...
Well we had our mini-Budget. That sounds better than Emergency-Budget. Mini-things are usually small cute versions of their fully fledged counterparts.
We didn't get struck down by lightning. They didn't take away my dole - only my Christmas bonus but sure I never had that anyway. The rich didn't really pay, although I hear Bertie Ahern had every reason to look sad on the back benches as his pension got 'trimmed'.
We have a semi-toxic bank too. No deposits of nuclear waste, just dodgy developers and hopeless planned shopping centres that no one can afford to buy anything in.
I don't care. My garden looks like a Christmas tree or an international airport depending on who you talk to thanks to my fab solar lights. Hooray - the Sun's energy is still free!
Yours,
RF
We didn't get struck down by lightning. They didn't take away my dole - only my Christmas bonus but sure I never had that anyway. The rich didn't really pay, although I hear Bertie Ahern had every reason to look sad on the back benches as his pension got 'trimmed'.
We have a semi-toxic bank too. No deposits of nuclear waste, just dodgy developers and hopeless planned shopping centres that no one can afford to buy anything in.
I don't care. My garden looks like a Christmas tree or an international airport depending on who you talk to thanks to my fab solar lights. Hooray - the Sun's energy is still free!
Yours,
RF
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