Well, that's another Birthday been and gone. I'm feeling decidedly like an old fart, but it was all the excuse I needed to leave the writing behind, head back to London and have a great day out.
I finally made it up to Fulham Broadway (don't get me started on the journey), apologised profusely for my late arrival to my Dad, who then took me for lunch. After grabbing a couple of dishes off the belt at Yo Sushi!, I forgot what I had been pissed off about to start with. Anyway, the day only got better. After watching Chelsea beat Blackburn 4-0, it was off to my favourite Chinese restaurant for dinner with the family.
If only every day could be that perfect...
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
new office, new start?
Well, even though I can't start work until I've finished the thesis-writing hell, I've already moved into my new (shared) office. I live alone. This is something I am generally grateful for, but I was developing a serious case of cabin fever. I think I was just craving a different set of walls to stare at. So I took all my shit to the labs... People keep walking in, looking at all my files and saying things like, "my God... you're so organised."
I fear the day when they realise the truth. I honestly can't think of many things in my life that are organised. Maybe my CD collection counts, but that's only 'cause I don't really use it since I ripped them all to MP3.
My noticeboard has about 10 layers of irrelevant and out of date detritus pinned to it. My hard drives are filled with disorganised crap that I can't find. And don't even try to imagine the state of my kitchen. My life is generally a mess, in just about every imaginable way.
I fear the day when they realise the truth. I honestly can't think of many things in my life that are organised. Maybe my CD collection counts, but that's only 'cause I don't really use it since I ripped them all to MP3.
My noticeboard has about 10 layers of irrelevant and out of date detritus pinned to it. My hard drives are filled with disorganised crap that I can't find. And don't even try to imagine the state of my kitchen. My life is generally a mess, in just about every imaginable way.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
cards, glorious cards
To try to cheer me up/spur me on, my sister started sending me postcards each day. Then she asked various friends and relatives to join in. This much appreciated collection is growing:
.
Most of the cards are either attractive, or funny (or both). Unlike the card my brother-in-law sent me. He meant well, I know, but I now realise my sister didn't marry him for his artistic streak :-)
.
(Oh, and I think the footprints are courtesy of my lazy-bastard upstairs neighbours, who appear to think picking up the mail is in some way beneath them.)
.
Most of the cards are either attractive, or funny (or both). Unlike the card my brother-in-law sent me. He meant well, I know, but I now realise my sister didn't marry him for his artistic streak :-)
.
(Oh, and I think the footprints are courtesy of my lazy-bastard upstairs neighbours, who appear to think picking up the mail is in some way beneath them.)
Monday, October 18, 2004
been a long time coming...
... but I've finally got around to updating this poor, neglected excuse for a blog. Oh, and I'm cheating by back-dating some of the entries; I can't imagine anyone will care too much! In all honesty, there hasn't really been a lot happening worth writing about
I'm still trying to write the thesis. My funding ran out mid-September, and most of the things that I can think to do require money that I don't have.
I'm fed up :-(
I'm still trying to write the thesis. My funding ran out mid-September, and most of the things that I can think to do require money that I don't have.
I'm fed up :-(
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
just a little list:
OK, so I stole this from my sister. It has taught me a few things. Like I'm cheap, and I need to get out more.
My apologies to her friends on LiveJournal. Apparently I can have this on a separate page, but it's really more hassle than it's worth...
01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (I'm assuming this means someone else)
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease (not in public...)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game (I'm assuming the FA Cup Final counts!)
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (only while a student...)
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb (only before it went into the oven)
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar (I have, however, had several odd conversations with non-begging bums)
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit-faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign (I did try, but decided I didn't need reminding of my time living at my parent's suburban hell-hole house... sorry sis!)
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Gone rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland (only in transit elsewhere)
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan (one night in transit... doesn't really count!)
67. Bench pressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Gone scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better (if only I had the chance...)
84. Started a business (I'm guessing charging people for breaking into their own lockers in high school -when they had lost their key- doesn't count?)
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie (only an awful pop video, nuff said...)
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have (well, been in lust with)
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy (I've always attributed any post-kiss dizziness to excess alcohol consumption)
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office (but then, I've never worked in one. And no, I haven't got laid in the lab... yet.)
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place (why do this when you can just have sex in a public place?)
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage (school plays, eughhh)
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone (no, although my parents had their moments)
118. Buried one/both of your parents (nope, they've managed to go over 40 years without killing each other)
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship (well, live-aboard dive boat)
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a cheque
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did (nope, although one of the Last of the Summer Wine actors caused somewhat of a bust-up when he told my Grandad that he'd had my Gran... this was, apparently, untrue)
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (only to go to uni)
134. ...more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (nah, the people I was with walked... I got driven back to the other side so I could call my parents for them to wish me Happy Birthday)
136. Sang loud in the car; didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds (only about 60 pounds)
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane (trial flying lesson)
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart (nah, been tempted to stick certain peoples' in liquid nitrogen, but then you have to figure out what to do with the rest of the body)
146. Helped an animal give birth (but I did give a hand-job to a pufferfish... and made baby fish in the lab. Does this count?)
147. Been fired or laid off from a job (not technically)
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being (no: see 145)
151. Gone on an African photo safari (well, snapping elephants & lions in the Kruger National Park)
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph (95 mph - downhill - is the top speed of my piece-of-crap car!)
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major corrective eye surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train (again, I assume they mean with someone else?)
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (I had the 'flu while there, had to stick to the helicopter)
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states (well, I live in the UK, but it's close ~ three months on a Greyhound bus...)
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 or more healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime (you are kidding, right?)
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach (I usually just mash the fuckers)
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen something
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions (never had any to go to... reunions, that is)
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care.
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196. Dyed your hair (my Mum recently showed my the photo's from my sister's wedding (12 years ago) ~ I'd forgotten what it's natural colour was!)
197. Been a DJ
198. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested
I must get out more... really :-(
My apologies to her friends on LiveJournal. Apparently I can have this on a separate page, but it's really more hassle than it's worth...
01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (I'm assuming this means someone else)
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease (not in public...)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game (I'm assuming the FA Cup Final counts!)
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (only while a student...)
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb (only before it went into the oven)
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar (I have, however, had several odd conversations with non-begging bums)
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit-faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign (I did try, but decided I didn't need reminding of my time living at my parent's suburban hell-hole house... sorry sis!)
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Gone rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland (only in transit elsewhere)
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan (one night in transit... doesn't really count!)
67. Bench pressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Gone scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better (if only I had the chance...)
84. Started a business (I'm guessing charging people for breaking into their own lockers in high school -when they had lost their key- doesn't count?)
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie (only an awful pop video, nuff said...)
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have (well, been in lust with)
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy (I've always attributed any post-kiss dizziness to excess alcohol consumption)
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office (but then, I've never worked in one. And no, I haven't got laid in the lab... yet.)
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place (why do this when you can just have sex in a public place?)
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage (school plays, eughhh)
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone (no, although my parents had their moments)
118. Buried one/both of your parents (nope, they've managed to go over 40 years without killing each other)
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship (well, live-aboard dive boat)
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a cheque
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did (nope, although one of the Last of the Summer Wine actors caused somewhat of a bust-up when he told my Grandad that he'd had my Gran... this was, apparently, untrue)
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (only to go to uni)
134. ...more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (nah, the people I was with walked... I got driven back to the other side so I could call my parents for them to wish me Happy Birthday)
136. Sang loud in the car; didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds (only about 60 pounds)
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane (trial flying lesson)
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart (nah, been tempted to stick certain peoples' in liquid nitrogen, but then you have to figure out what to do with the rest of the body)
146. Helped an animal give birth (but I did give a hand-job to a pufferfish... and made baby fish in the lab. Does this count?)
147. Been fired or laid off from a job (not technically)
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being (no: see 145)
151. Gone on an African photo safari (well, snapping elephants & lions in the Kruger National Park)
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph (95 mph - downhill - is the top speed of my piece-of-crap car!)
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major corrective eye surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train (again, I assume they mean with someone else?)
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (I had the 'flu while there, had to stick to the helicopter)
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states (well, I live in the UK, but it's close ~ three months on a Greyhound bus...)
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 or more healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime (you are kidding, right?)
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach (I usually just mash the fuckers)
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen something
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions (never had any to go to... reunions, that is)
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care.
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196. Dyed your hair (my Mum recently showed my the photo's from my sister's wedding (12 years ago) ~ I'd forgotten what it's natural colour was!)
197. Been a DJ
198. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested
I must get out more... really :-(
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