Sock update

I have started to knit the sock pattern from Knitty that I mentioned in an earlier thread. I am only about half way through the heel, but it’s not too hard so far. Leon has taken the Mick of the colour. [will update with picture]

I hope to move on to a nice shrug that I have the pattern for, from Simply Knitting magazine. I will have to check how much yarn and of what type I need. I would like to do the sudoku blanket too. The concept of the one in the mini mag is that you don’t repeat the same colour in any square, line or row. I was mildly disappointed that there might be a repeat of pattern though. I think I might make up my own pattern for a sudoku blanket which may be a tad more complicated, we will see.

Knit Pics

I finished the scarf properly now, including weaving in the ends, which was very easy in this yarn. I think it looks especially fetching on my OH. It's just 16 stitches wide on 7.5mm needles. Keep knitting in both directions until it's long enough!

Then I knitted the iPod cover - which is really simple - it's for a nano and I made the pattern up.



Lastly, this was actually my first finished knitting wise, but needed to be made up. I didn't block it and the seams are a bit dodgy, but I'm still pretty pleased with it. I keep my accessories in it.

Sock it to me

So, thanks to a thread on MSE that I began only a day or two ago, I now have lots of useful (and recommended) knitting links, and also I have discovered some fabulous knitting blogs to entertain me. so, I thought it might be worth a post about them. I am also seriously considering having a knitting blog. I worry, though, that like the failed recipe and book blogs I still have but don’t maintain, if I split it out, the blog will cease to be. So, in the meantime, those of you who are not interested in knitting will just have to skip past the knitting related posts. Sorry about that.

The knitting blogs I have visited so far are as follows :
Knitting Mama is a nice little blog by Robyn about knitting and her baby son, Sean. It’s quite an endearing read, and I’m looking forwards to seeing her next baby-knit project.
Lolly Girl is another American lady’s blog, but looks promising. I haven’t had time to dig through the archives of this blog yet.
Katie Knits is my latest discovery, courtesy of the MSE community. Katie has just finished a herringbone sweater, which looks lush! Also, she lives in London – a British knitter’s blog! So I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

I have also found a sock knitting pattern on Knitty which doesn’t require circular needles or double pointed needles. It’s not that I'm afraid to use either of those, but I have lots of normal needles (varying lengths, varying widths, varying colours) and I have only a few double pointed (dp) needles in a limited range of sizes and no more than four in a set. I have absolutely no circular knitting needles yet. That means that in order to knit up the random selection of wool I have, I need patterns which allow me to use my existing needles, otherwise it’s going to become expensive! The only trouble I am having at present is that some of the needles I have are plastic rather than metal. While they then do not make a huge noise when I drop them on our laminate flooring, they don’t feel quite so nice to use, and they don’t slide quite as well as they aught.

I also like to work on more than one project at once. Variety is the spice of life after all. Sadly, the next project I have lined up requires the same needles I am already using for a current project. I haven’t picked another for after that yet. The vast amounts of eyelash yarn I have means that I’ll be needing the same needles yet again! Perhaps I should get some duplicates of this size, though I could probably knit up the fancy stuff on the next size up or down without too many issues.

Once I got used to knitting the pink fluffy stuff, it was quite nice to work with. It knit up pretty quickly, although the scarf I’ve made is rather short. I may use two balls of the blue and see what that length is like. I still have a ball and a half of the pink, plus three of the blue, and three each of the red and white eyelash. I also have a ball of chunky pale pink, some slightly less chunky pink and cream (for my strawberries and cream pompom hat) a ball and a half of multicolour DK, most of two balls of white DK, most of a ball of black DK, a ball each of purple and orange DK and about half a ball of pink DK. Not ideal for doing anything bigger than socks or mittens. There’s also the minor drawback that because it’s mostly cheap stuff it’s not 100% wool. In most cases they are 100% acrylic in fact! That’s okay for scarves because they’re nice and warm and not on your skin as much, but for a sock I’m not so sure. I guess I’ll have to try it and see. Once I’ve managed a basic sock (which I think will take half of a 100g ball per sock) then I may have a go at putting some pattern to them (either with colours of wool or with patterns from my pattern book). It’s all exciting, but I have a problem too. I spend so much time at work that I don’t have much time for knitting! And I don’t even have an especially long week.

I did KIP (Knit In Public) more than once recently. I did it on the mini bus between my office and the other offices in town. I also did it in the waiting room at the hospital. So that’s not taboo now, but I have to remember to bring whatever I’m knitting with me. It’s quite hard to knit something with a pattern away from home though – I refer to the books quite a lot and might need photocopies for that to work. Which gives me an idea for going down to London! I will take some knitting for the bus.

Knitting links I will be trying over the next week or so

• Scandinavian Knitting Design
• Knitting Pattern Central
• Free Vintage Knitting
• Hello Yarn
• Drops Design
• The AntiCraft
• Spun Mag
• Magknits
• Marnie Maclean

If they’re good, I’ll add them to my links on the right there. I’ll probably write another post about it too.

Chav filled Gym

On the exercise front, I managed to go to the gym last night, although I only did my cardio because the gym was (once again) full of chavs. I wish they’d all go pose somewhere else! I don’t mind the body builders, at least they’re worth looking at! But the chavs are wearing ridiculous baggy clothes (so even if they’re fit you can’t tell) and most of them are, like, twelve. And then they have the cheek to watch me while I'm working out! Okay, I may look fairly svelte (the sarcasm drips) in my new support top but that’s no excuse. Though I guess at least they’re not making trouble. The worst ones are the chav girls! They wear uber tight jogging bottoms, or ones that have a slogan on the bum. They go around in threes wearing too much perfume and fussing over their hair. Get over yourselves girls, you’re here to make yourself fitter and look better outside of the gym, who cares if you look a bit sweaty in the gym? For goodness’ sake. (apostrophe police – is that correct?)

However, I was pleased with my cardio, I managed to do 15 minutes at 8.4 kmph, which took me to about 2km, plus the three minute cool down made it to nearly 2.5km. I’m not too worried about how long I’ll take doing the race for life this time, because if my sister asks me to run/walk with her I will do.

Sleepy Knitter

I’m tired all the time at the moment. I'm not sleeping well. part of it is worry about L, I keep waking up thinking I’m going to hurt him on his wound. Add that to the amount of annoyance I have from work each day and you have the makings of a poor night of sleep. Then I go to bed later than I should.

As a result, I haven’t done much knitting over the last couple of days. I’m still knitting the scarf for L, although it’s curling at the edges something chronic! I don’t know whether I maybe should be knitting it a bit wider or what. I’m using stocking stitch. I don’t know whether it’s the most sensible stitch for a scarf, but L likes the pattern.

I do intend to finish my pink feathery scarf (the ends need weaving in) and then I’ll get a picture of it, though the light in the living room is not so good for that sort of photography. I might ask L to use his camera which has a flash. I will also take a picture of my bag – according to the pattern it’s meant to be a makeup purse, but it’s huge! So I’ll probably be using it to keep some of my short needles and knitting paraphernalia (pins, needles etc) in until I make myself a knitting needle roll.
I have picked the material I will be using for this, it’s the same material I used to make an “indian squaw” dress for Jaq’s birthday a long time ago. I also made chaps for L, and there’s still a big chunk left over. I may have to line it with something – I’ll have to see. I would put a picture of the dress up, but I don’t have any, and though Jaq does, I can’t figure out how to link to pictures on other flickr sites. If you’re interested, it’s here

Otherwise though, my next project is due to be a hat. I was going to follow a plan in one of my knitting books, but I don’t have a set of double pointed needles of the correct size. However, I did find a pattern for a hat not requiring circular or double pointed needles. The main difference is the colours (which I can change) and the fact that the new hat doesn’t have a pompom (which I can also change).

Once I have done with the hat, I think that I should be feeling up to progressing onto something a bit more complicated. The main problem I have is that my three knitting books aren’t 100% useful. The first one I bought (I can’t remember the exact title, will update) was a really good beginner’s guide, and took me through the basics. Mum showed me how to cast on. Then I bought Stitch ’n’ Bitch (cheapest here on 7-Mar-2007) which has been excellent, but is in American. By which I mean that the wool weights and names seem to be a bit different than in the UK! All the amounts of wool are in skeins, all the weights are in American (worsted which is between DK and Aran perhaps?) and so I have to do lots of test squares! The final book that I got, Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns (cheapest here, 7-Mar-2007), is more of a way of embellishing existing patterns. It’s great, and I’ve already used one of the patterns on L’s new iPod sock I made. (pic of that to come too!)

Anyway, yes, something more complicated. I have a variety of choices here, either I find a free pattern online, buy a pattern, borrow another book from the library, or make one up (risky). We’ll see…

Building Excitement

So, I’m beginning to get excited about my planned trip to London this weekend. I’m letting myself get a bit excited about it because there’s a pretty good chance that L will be well enough to come (hooray!). We’re considering going to look at Kylie’s pants (and other items) at the V&A, or possibly visiting the Tate Modern. We should be in central London for about 6 hours hopefully (from about 12:30 til 6:30 ish) so while we’re there we’ll be getting some good old sightseeing in, or museums, or at the very least lunch!

Then we’re coaching across to Harrow on the Hill, the location of my old University’s Harrow Campus. I’m most excited about that. There has been some brief mention of perhaps checking out the old SU bar – the Undercroft. However, I’m concerned that it will ruin my (somewhat blurry) memories of the place. Who knows?

This will be my first return visit to my university since I graduated in 2003, so it’s been almost 4 years. I don’t know if we’ll have the time (or the inclination) to have a poke around and see the new halls and what has become of the bungalow.

Ah, the bungalow was a fantastic deal for us third years (and to be honest, for most of my second year!). You see, in the first year you can get a place in halls, however in the second year you have to move out and rent a house with some other students. However, for three lucky students, in the third year you could rent the bungalow. This was a halls-price single story building with three reasonable sized bedrooms, a bathroom, lounge and kitchen. It was furnished, including a piano. L was one of the fortunate three for his year, and as I didn’t like my house in Wembley much (especially when the heating wasn’t working) I spent an awful lot of time there. Then, I applied to live in the bungalow for my third year. Given that my parents were below the halls income threshold and given that they lived a long way away, I was accepted. I lived there with another third year and his other half, plus two different third persons. The first of whom I didn’t always see eye to eye with, the second of whom I really didn’t like! Anyway, it was only two minutes from campus (making me the last person to any lecture or lab session) and was convenient for fire drills too. The last good point was that it was just across a small (50 feet?) grassy area from the Undercroft bar, and less than two minutes’ stagger from the on-site club Area 51. (They’ve probably renamed that again by now).

So, I’ve tried to contact all my old course mates to see if we can get together, and I’ve had pretty good responses. That’ll be the nicest bit, catching up and seeing what everyone is up to now. I hope that they’re all doing well for themselves! I wish I had better things to report on my job front though.

Change of Plan...

I have decided that I'm going to quit my job and become a goat farmer.

Only kidding
(geddit)

No really though, I am currently reconsidering my career path. Any constructive thoughts are welcome, although ridicule will also be accepted.

My OH

My OH, who most of you know, is recovering well. :)

Losing weight isn’t easy.

Losing weight isn’t easy.
Nobody ever said it was, of course.
I managed to lose a stone last year, which I think was much more down to the jogging and not really down to the diet. I think this because I lost all the weight between March and September which is the period during which I was actually running. I did manage to keep the stone off (bar one pound which I put on over Christmas – that doesn’t count towards the weight I’ve lost this year, so I’ve lost a pound on top of getting rid of the Christmas pound.) I only count weight as having been lost when I consistently measure that weight in a morning before breakfast for at least three days.
Anyway, I thought (silly me) that starting up exercising again, the weight would just drop off, and so I’ve been disappointed every time I’ve got on the scales. I am trying to bear in mind that muscle weighs more than fat, but as my fat percentage measures the same too I think I need to do more.
Of course, a big driver behind this, as I have mentioned before, is that we’re going to Florida in August. Although I accept that I will not be the size 8 waif that I was then, I would like to be slimmer.
My BMI is 24.25 according to the BBC which is within the healthy bracket (18.5 – 25) but only just! And considering that I can’t use my actual height, if I use the one that’s below my height (I’m five feet, five and a half inches tall, but I usually round up to five feet six inches) it gives me 25 on the nose. Lovely. It does say “A BMI measurement is not as accurate if you're an athlete or very muscular (muscle weighs more than fat) as this can push you into a higher BMI category even if you have a healthy level of body fat. It's also not accurate for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or people who are frail.” and while I am not pregnant or breastfeeding, I am also not very athletic or muscular (though I’d like to be a little bit of both).
Apparantly, for a woman, one should have at least 11-14% fat, this is essential fat. Athletes tend to have between 12-22% fat. A “fit” level of fat is 16-25% fat, and while up to 31% is only “at risk”, 32% and higher is obese. (the rates are much lower for men, I got them from this site.)
My fat percentage is above 25% at the moment (As I recall it was 27.4% this morning, sadly) which is in the at risk category.
I am already doing something towards reducing this number though, with my workouts at the gym. I managed to do all of the exercise on my plan except the rowing and the chest press (which was busy the whole time). In case you’re interested (why else would you have read this far) here is the exercise plan I’m on at the moment:

• 5 minutes warm-up on the cross trainer, level 5, 2.5 mins at 50-60 rpm, the rest at 70rpm.
• 15 minutes on the bike, level 8 on random, 80rpm.
• 15 minutes on the treadmill, no incline, 8.0kmph plus a 3 minute cool-down.
• 2x12 reps of 5kg on the chest press.
• 2x12 reps of 12.5kg on the lateral pull down.
• 2x20 reps of 10kg on the seated leg press (I’ll be putting that up soon).
• 2x12 reps of bicep curls using a 3kg weight in each hand.
• 2x12 reps of tricep kickbacks using a 2kg weight.
• 2x20 reps of sit-ups.
• 2x20 reps of raised leg sit-ups.
• 10 reps of ball-bridge (using the ball under your heels, lift up your whole body on your shoulders).
• one of: 10 reps ‘slow’ sit-ups, 10 reps ‘V-sits’, 2x20 reps Swiss-ball sit-ups

I hope to up the running somewhat as I’m back in training for the Race for Life again. (sponsorship page coming soon)

I hope that I can motivate myself to go while L is incapacitated.

Broadband Woe

It seems that everyone in the country is complaining about broadband at the moment. With good reason in several cases. So, here is my story of broadband woe:

On the 20th January, I got a new phone from my mobile provider, with the explicit desire to get free broadband from that provider. This required me to take out an 18month contract, which I had to do to upgrade and change plans anyway. I was happy with this (see other issues in Phone and successful phone-getting in General-ness)
However, on the day I purchased the phone I was told that I’d have to call up the next day to do the broadband as my phone wasn’t activated. Fine.
So I did.
That didn’t work. They had some kind of issue, and asked me to call back in a week.
So I did.
They had to set me up in someone else’s name (I didn’t much like that, but the man said it would be fine) five days later, we did receive a modem in someone else’s name.
The man had also said that our broadband would just automatically switch over.
On the 27th Feb I was a bit worried that it hadn’t switched (and we were still paying our existing provider) so I called my mobile provider’s help. They lady on the phone was very nice and very apologetic. However, she informed me that the order for the broadband had been cancelled and so I’d have to start the process again.
This means several things for me:

1. I have paid for broadband from my existing provider for an extra month
2. I have to call my existing provider again to get a new MAC as the old one has expired (this will be my third MAC)
3. I will probably have to restart my contract, which basically means they’ve tied me in for 19 months by being incompetent.
4. I will be writing a strongly worded letter to my provider complaining.

It’s a shame, because up until last September they’d been really good mobile phone providers.

Boring yet exciting weekend!

I didn’t do much this weekend.

We had a pleasant (and rather cheap) meal at an Italian (that I forget the name of again) on Friday evening. Friday evening was otherwise notable for being the evening of the same day that I was forced to leave work at 4pm due to desk moves and so went into town and bought some more nice wool and a pair of cable needles.

On Saturday I had intended to go into town, but as I had bought the things I needed on Friday, I instead had a much more laid back Saturday. I have almost finished the bag I’ve been making; it just needs lining.

Sunday was slightly more eventful, if not particularly thrilling. Firstly I was driving at the ungodly hour of 9:30am! This was fine, though, and my driving was generally okay. I did stop on a zebra crossing, though, which is very naughty. I will soon be booking/taking my theory test.
Anyway, I had cunningly arranged to meet L at the gym, so I thought. This would therefore save me the time of driving to the gym. On arrival at the gym I could not see our car, but I just thought that L was running a little late. Not so. After half an hour I asked at reception in the gym if I could use their phone (there being no phonebox and my mobile being in my gym bag at home) to see whether L had set off. He hadn’t, he was still waiting for me at home. Whoops! He’d misunderstood me, and thought that I was going to get dropped off at home and that we’d go directly to the gym, not that he was meant to meet me there. I must remember to be clearer and SPEAK….SLOWLY….AND….CLEARLY…. in future. But really, other than wasting a whole hour, no harm done. And L did cook dinner last night and make lunch for today. So I let him off. I’ll still make him a scarf.

Then, while I was in the toilets of the gym my parents called to let me know that they had a price for our upcoming holiday. It was a good price, so I said I was happy for them to book. Which they did, so we’re off to Florida! Woo! We do still have to work out what we’re doing car wise and save up a bit more money, but we’re sooooo close now! I’m very excited about it already, so goodness knows what I’ll be like by August!
This does also give me a timescale for when I have to be not fat by. 4 months and 14 days, and counting! I only want to lose another stone, which should be okay except for that I haven’t lost ANY weight at all going to the gym so far. Maybe I’m not exercising hard enough. I’m not sure what I'm going to do during the 6 weeks that L can’t lift weights, although hopefully he’ll be able to do some cardio.
He also can’t drive for a fortnight, which is a bigger pain. The odds of me passing my theory, getting a practical test and passing it within the next fortnight are a bit slim!

Knitty knitty bang bang

I have received a new batch of wool from a shop on e-bay. I have six balls of eyelash wool, three white, three red, and six balls of feather wool (really nice and soft), three in blue, three in pink/purple. I'm quite excited about knitting them into scarves or something. I've had a quick go with the pink this morning before work. It's quite hard to work. It recommends 5mm needles (UK size 6), but I tried 5.5mm (UK size 5) and think I may want to use even chunkier needles.

I didn't mention my new collection of knitting needles. I had bought myself a pair of 4.5mm (UK 7) and 6.5mm (UK 3) needles when I fist began so that I could knit my scarf and bag (I used the 6.5mm in both cases). However, in making a tension square (*) for my next project, I discovered that the needles, wool, and my personal tension required adjusting. The easier of these is the needles. This means that I needed a wider range of needles. L's mum kindly gave me some needles which she had duplicates of, and L's grandma also gave me some needles of which she had no further need. Then we went on a trawl around the charity shops in High Wickham and Princes Risborough. I managed to get almost all of the sizes available! The only downside is that I only have a UK size gauge, so I have to work out what size they are in mm if they don't have it marked. I even seem to have gotten some needles which are in American sizes! They are shiny pink though.

So, between my various balls of yarn (I'm not supposed to call it wool unless it came from a sheep.) and my vast array of knitting needles, I should be able to knit lots of exciting things.

I think I am most excited about the scarves that I will be knitting with my new wool. I'm also looking forward to completing the makeup purse I have been working on. I've made the base and the ends so far.

Also, L has found me a pattern for making "monkey" from the ITV digital / PG Tips adverts. I have bought some of the PG Tips which come with the free Munkeh so that I can compare it for colours. He's greener than he looks! That will be quite a challenge to knit. Also, he will have to be stuffed, so I will have to find somewhere that sells toy stuffing.

Another thing I hope to do is to make a needle roll. This will not be knitted. Basically, a needle roll is a good way of storing knitting needles (the straight ones, at least) and some of the bits that go with them. It’s a bit like a painter's brush roll, or some posh make-up brushes come in velvet brush rolls. I'll put pics and a pattern on here when I'm done. (which reminds me, I need a scanner.)

So anyway, lots of craft based aims for me, so many in fact that I have another list of things I want to do. Since this one overlaps with the "make one garment each month" goal, I'll not add it officially to the side bar, but here are the things I want to make over the next few weeks/months:

• Knit pink scarf
• Knit blue scarf
• Knit white scarf
• Knit red scarf
• Make needle roll
• Make knitting bag
• Knit makeup purse
• Knit monkey
• Knit ape rucksack

* A tension square is when you knit a specific number of stitches and rows and measure the size. The aim is to get to the same size as the pattern specifies.

I've been driving again

Driving last night went okay. I wore heels, which wasn’t such a good idea, but it didn’t affect my driving too much. I am concerned about my vision though, I may have to go take an eye test. It’s been three years now, and I’m meant to go back every two years, and I always seem to need a stronger pair of glasses when I go. It’s so expensive though. I’m also expecting to have to wear them all the time, which is a bit of a bind. Still, I’d rather have to buy new specs than hurt someone on the roads.

...like a wet weekend

So, today I am back at work after a much needed holiday. So much needed, in fact, that I was down with a heavy cold for two days before my holiday, and I have to be really sick before I take time off.

The weather seems to be in the same mood as I am, it was really nice for almost all of the holiday, but now it is misty and looking like it's going to rain.

Indeed, it seems that much has happened during my week off, and though I needn’t go into detail, things are changing at work again. I wish that I liked my job, but I can't quite place what it is about it that I dislike so much.
Part of the problem is that I find the financial services sector to be unscrupulous. Although I appreciate the need to be profit driven, I find it disheartening that basically money is made from people being afraid. To some degree the adverts are billed in this way too. "If you were to die, how would your loved ones cope with the financial burden?"
The other part of the problem is that my job does not require me to produce anything tangible, or any visible service to anyone. Nobody is better off as a result of the work that I do. I do not improve the quality of anyone's life.
Now, to many people this will not sound much like me. I am very much re-evaluating my standards at the moment. This was partly triggered by the goat centre that L and I visited on our holiday, but it's been something that has been playing on my mind for some time.

I guess we’ll see how things go. I'm not sure that I’m brave enough to go for a complete change of career.
Yet.

Awfully Remiss

I should have already mentioned this by now I am sure, but my totally insane friend Jaq has set up on the Microsoft Challenge Whatever that may be, it requires both training (on her part) and sponsorship (when I get round to it) so check it out, if you like.

PS. Coming soon: Race for Life 2007.

Knit-wit

I've been knitting (as mentioned in an earlier post) and have now uploaded some pictures of the things I have knitted. On the right here is my first project, a scarf in knit stitch. It's pretty easy to knit a scarf, although it took a while. If I make another I may choose to make it a bit narrower. I like the tassles though. It's very cosy.



On the left is my second project, a bag. This is also in knit stitch, but with stripes. They were also reasonably easy to achieve. Could be difficult on a two sided item like a scarf though, as the ends are neatly tidied inside the bag, which wouldn't happen on a scarf.

I'm currently working on some wrist-bands. I've done one so far which says "geek" in pink on a black background.

Yet More Driving

You'll all be glad to hear that I went driving again.
I went on the A64 this time.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

And the car is no longer a Corsa, it's a mini.
That is all.

Another Day Another Drive

Sunday morning, more driving. Pretty much just driving around (though I did Reverse round a corner) trying to improve my forward planning. Basically my new instructor wants me to anticipate things happening, like approaching lights which are red slowly in second gear in case they change to green. How exciting. It’s a good way of doing it though, and should make me a better driver when I finally get it through my thick skull!

Work is being its usual self. I still don’t have a job description. I do know that I’ll get some management practice one day, but when? Who knows.

General-ness

Driving Lesson No. 8
I had another driving lesson on Sunday - my first one during daylight. The sun was in my eyes some of the time which I didn't enjoy. However the lesson went better than the previous one, and I got on better with the new instructor.
We did parallel park and bay park with new techniques to those I have been taught. Still, they did seem easier to remember.

New Phone
Yes, I finally got a new phone. I was worried, after all the faffing about previously, that it would be an issue again. However, I happily walked away from the Orange Shop with my shiny new Sony Ericsson Z610i and a whole new contract package which is actually cheaper than the one I was on, but with more minutes and texts. Woo!

Snow
Snow. I'm not impressed - I dislike most sorts of weather. Leon claimed that the only sort of weather I like is when there isn't any. I argue that it's not possible not to have any weather. Either way, I prefer it when it is not windy and it is very hot and sunny. Not snow. Ice too, is pretty horrible. It could be worse though, as the snow has stopped and the sun has come out.

Rediscovery
While at university, I was introduced by a fellow geek to The Daily Static at User Friendly which is a comic along the lines of Dilbert but based in a slightly different environment - more geeky, and with Linux references. I read the back issues from about mid-2005 though I think the last time I read was probably 2003 at the latest! I was quite pleased to be able to remember the url.

Blog Worries

I got an email from blogger today. This is what it said:

This email is a response to your request for information about your Blogger account. To regain access to your account, please click on the following link:
(I’ve removed the link, just in case)
Clicking on this link will take you to a web page that will let you choose a new password. Once you've submitted your new password, you'll be able to log in to your Blogger account.
If in the process of recovering your password you see the log into Blogger page, please see this Blogger Help article for information on how to fix your browsers cookie settings:
(I’ve removed the link, just in case)
You could also try logging in/recovering your password from a different web browser - we recommend Mozilla Firefox:
http://mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

This is all fine, except that I have not had any problems logging on to blogger, nor have I requested a new password. Looks a bit fishy, hmm?
Anyway, I didn’t click the link.

Skill

I have sort-of learned a new skill.
At the weekend my "teach yourself knitting" book arrived. My mum happened to be around to laugh at me and to show me how to cast on (not that hard) and I've knitted a patch in some multi coloured DK (double knit) wool. I cast-off from that now so that I can teach myself some of the other techniques.
I also picked up some thicker yarn and some fatter needles so that I could begin project one in the book: a scarf. I also had a look online and found myself a pattern for some mittens. My Nanna used to make mittens (among other things) for me and my sister when we were little. The sound of the needles brings back some nice memories, which adds to the experience of knitting, which I am enjoying.
I do feel a bit of an old bid though, as I've got a cross-stitch and a knitting project on the go!

Driving too fast?

I had another driving lesson today. Woo.
I also met my new instructor. No, before you say it, I didn't scare away the last one.
His name is Tony. He has a Corsa too, which is good. I haven't decided whether I like him yet, but he seemed to know what he was talking about. Well, you'd hope so, being a driving instructor.
I was being overconfident this time. Which is pants. The trouble is that I was being too cautious last week (so I was told) and now I'm being the opposite. I dunno, but I've recently been getting flashbacks to some of the horrible and scary moments in past tests.
I'm doing my best to stay positive, and the guy did say that my driving was reasonable.
Ho hum. I'm trying anyway - I'd love to be able to drive when we go to America.

Gym'll fix it

So, we’ve joined a gym. Excellent, well done, and all that. We’re now fully fledged members of the gym near to the out-of-town office where Leon works. It’s a pretty good gym, the facilities are excellent. I was impressed, though I still have to inspect the shower area more carefully.
Last night we went for our induction session. This involved being shown how to use three of the cardiovascular training machines, and three of the weight machines (not the best name, but I can’t think of the right word!) having been shown how to use them, I proceeded to spend just over half an hour having a ten-minute go on each of them. They were the bike, treadmill and cross-trainer. I probably looked a bit of a berk, but I actually quite enjoyed myself. Since the pool was being used for swimming lessons we went to the health suite for a steam and Jacuzzi. I was disappointed with the changing room there; it was filthy (used sticking plasters, orange peel and the stickers which say not to remove them until you’re happy with your purchased underwear/swimsuit, plus lots of mucky water). However, the steam room was good, and the Jacuzzi was comfortable, if a little crowded. If I get chance to use the facilities during the day I will do!
Overall though, it was a good evening. We’re off again on Friday to have a personal plan drawn up with our goals on, and what we’re going to do to achieve them.
My goals are:

• lose a stone in weight before the end of June (for Florida)
• firm up the flabby bits on my arms, belly and bottom (like almost all women!)
• feel better in myself

Political grumble

This is quite interesting. To paraphrase:
Lots of mundane stuff like falling down stairs and allergic reactions kill more people than terrorism. Although obviously not at the same time. If everyone who was going to die from anafalactyc shock did so in the same instant, for example, that would be more people than in your terrorist attacks.
(See also This more eloquent article)
Now, at no point do I condone terrorism. I think it's despicable. However, despite our government's "War on Terror", I think that the terrorists might be winning. Why? Because everyone is afraid and we're letting the government slowly take away our freedoms to "fight terror".
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”
-Benjamin Franklin

More Driving

I did some more bay-parking today. It took a bit of getting used to, but I managed 5 sucessful bay-parks out of 5. (I had to do some pretty major corrections though!)
I did find out today, though, that my instructor (who has been very good, and patient!) is going off travelling round America. Starting in 6 days. For three months. I wish her lots of luck and fun - I'd love to do that! Trouble is having the whole job thing is a drag. And not much money - except for my savings which are taking Leon and I to Florida for my Dad's 50th.

So, I'll be waiting to hear from another instructor, and in the meantime getting put onto the insurance for the Escort - volunteers to be taken to Tesco or for random weekend driving welcome. Though I suspect that the volunteers will be fewer than for Leon, people assume that I'll be equally scary behind the wheel (and I might be - who am I to know?) and also Leon's a nicer person to be stuck in a small metal box for hours driving around York. :) I know my limits and I'm not a glass-half-full kind of person. If I expect the worst then I'm rarely dissapointed but often pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, it's late. Leon's playing GTA San Andreas (my game...but he's enjoying himself so much) and I'm off to bed so that I can try not to be any more grumpy about work.

Chip will be glad to hear that his "replacement" has sent me some rubbish to look at that I'm not sure is any more wrong than usual, just they've noticed it now. Fab. :) Though it was suggested I could stay at work until the evening in order to call Chip in his new office...

Mysterious Ways

Well, today I was really in need of a pick-me-up. Work is rubbish at the moment, on top of the usual, it's one of the busy times. Yey.
Anyway, I walk in and there's a card from Australia on the mat (it's 226, Chip) which was undeliverable until they read the name (!) Anyway, it's really cheered me up, despite being a bit cheeky about me being old.
So, thanks Chip! It didn't make it for my birthday, but it did turn up when I really needed something happy.

Without my friends, as widely scattered as they are now, I would not remember to laugh at myself and the stupid things in my life that I sometimes take too seriously.

Quite Excited!

I've just sent off a cheque to book myself onto a coach-trip to London. I guess most people will go on this for sight-seeing etc. However, the hotel that is in the package happens to be in Harrow, where Leon and I used to go to university! So, we've emailed our old uni friends in the hope that they’ll meet us somewhere for drinks and a catch up! I've already had responses from the people from my course, which is nice! Hopefully so has Leon. I was a bit worried with the various emails as they were about three years old in most cases!
So anyway, I have marked the event on my calendar(s) and will try to put aside some money for it too!
It's going to be really great to see everyone again! I would post some pics but they're all hard copies (the horror!) and my scanner broke ages ago. I should look in the sale and see if I can afford a new one.

And on the way back, we get to stop in Oxford for lunch. Nice.

25 Years Old!

I would have back dated this post to near-enough the time I was actually 25 (I doubt that the time is exact, you know) but it will not let me. :(
If you care, it was 08:25 31/12/2006

Anyway, as discussed a bit in the pub:
25 things of note that happened in my 25th year (roughly chronological)

1. Discovered MSE
2. Painted an oil painting for Leon for his birthday
3. Saw The Feeling before they were famous
4. Opened an ISA - my first savings in a long time!
5. War of the Worlds LIVE
6. Discovered that I like butternut squash and aubergine (the food and the colour!)
7. Got on a bike again after 10 years of being an avid pedestrian
8. Bought a car!
9. Bought new sofas
10. Made cushions for the sofas
11. Saw Dylan Moran live
12. Ran in the Race For Life
13. and raised money for Cancer Research
14. Lost a stone in weight
15. Got Aston and Martin, our hamsters
16. Watched Elvington air show from a field in the rain!
17. Discovered MySpace and got back in touch with my cousins
18. Got a promotion at work
19. York Maize Maze - Star Trek theme!
20. Got back in a car after 6 years to take driving lessons
21. Came third in the PTH!
22. Made another ball dress to match my fab shoes
23. Spent a day at the seaside in winter (near enough) and ate fish and chips
24. did Christmas dinner for SIX people!
25. Redecorated the bathroom

Until Next Year...

So Christmas is gone again. It’s been a good one for me. My sister and her boyfriend and my parents all came to my house for Christmas day. Everyone received thoughtful gifts which they should enjoy (or in the case of Dad’s chocolates, already have enjoyed) and we had an entertaining day!

Highlights (in roughly chronological order)
A quiet half-hour before breakfast with Leon
Duran Duran!
Gayle’s impatience while Leon took ages getting dressed
Leon’s face when he opened his new bass amp
Guitar Hero!
The Turkey! (Well done Leon)
“It must be Norman Lamont or Mike Tyson!”
Wearing new pyjamas to bed

Anyway, we went on to my parents’ house on Boxing Day for a nice Boxing Day tea. We watched Over the Hedge which was quite entertaining, but not a patch on Monsters Inc. We also played cards and watched the docu-drama United 93 which was quite interesting, but a little on the long side considering that they don’t really know what happened up there.

Then on the day after Boxing Day we all trekked off to the sales in Lincoln. This was actually a last-minute decision, but turned out to be an entertaining day. I like shopping. I got bargains in Top Shop (half price boob-tube) and New Look (boots, tops, shirts and the jacket I’ve been after for ages which Leon got me as an early birthday prezzie). Then we hit Primark. They don’t have a sale on, but it’s almost the same with their prices! I mostly got underwear. Leon got some fab new t-shirts and a new hoodie.
Of course that will not stop me from hitting the New Look sale in York too – at some point. Probably on a lunchtime since I’m working the weekend this weekend coming up.

Last Working Day

It's the last working day before Christmas. It doesn't feel like we're winding down though! Things keep going wrong. Still, my manager is not in the office today, his manager is on his way home too. Only us skivvies still stuck in the office, providing cover in case someone has a problem that that want to talk to us about; which we would probably tell them we would fix next week.

My lunch was disappointing today too. I opted to try something different from my usual sandwich place, and they didn’t have either of the soups that I like. So I tried an all day breakfast sandwich and mushroom soup. I didn't enjoy either, though I did enjoy the curly wurly that I brought from the secret Santa gift I got.

We have a busy day tomorrow, getting the remaining few bits from the shops for Christmas, including the pre-ordered turkey. We've also got a teeny bit of decorating that we have to do, though that will not take long at all. I'm looking forward to having curtains up in the bathroom at long last! I’m not looking forward to taking up the hem on the shower curtain, but it shouldn’t take more than about 10 minutes to do. It is likely to take longer to get out the sewing machine, plug it in and sort out my cotton than it will to actually sew the shower curtain!

When we've put up the new curtains I will also remove the old towels from the bathroom and replace them with the new aubergine coloured towels which we ordered. Then we're just waiting for the bath-mats and we need to pick up some face-cloths.

Of course, I'm not working so hard that I couldn't find two minutes to post this, so maybe it is winding down a bit.

A Little More Festive

I have made stockings for Leon and Myself (as I mentioned in an earlier post), which helps on the old festive feeling. Also the cute little stockings I made for Aston and Martin are very festive looking (unlike our pink ones)

We've also had all of the work-based Christmas festivities now, and there is only one day left to work. We did the Secret Santa for our team, which as usual was not very secret! Still... I hope that the four people who were not at the pub enjoy their gifts too.
Of course the new foggier weather has helped to make the weather feel more wintery, which is good I suppose - except for that now I am cold! Still, fog is one of my favourite types of weather. Okay, it's not so good for driving in, or flying! It's so calm and slightly eerie which is pleasant in a weird way. As you can see (or not) the fog was pretty thick. Of course, unlike in the horror novel "The Fog" this fog isn't sending people mad or killing anyone! That's good.
I did see a man rowing in the fog today. On the river too, the fog is not that thick. Anyway, my only thought about this was not "I bet he's cold" or even "crazy" but rather "He should have lights on that boat or he might get run over by a bigger boat." Hmm.

Lunch today was... entertaining.
Blakey, Blakey's Dad (not really), MW, Tom and myself visited Varsity (why??) and had lunch there, whilst doing the Secret Santa - or half of it. General chit chat and merriment, despite the short numbers.
Most entertaining moment: Blakey's Dad (not really) lost his Razr mobile phone down the side of the seat and we had to get a barman to help dismantle the seat to get it back. Hilarious - if you were there. I pretty much just watched and ate my chips. Curly fries, Yum!

It's always going backwards

I went driving again last night. I did parallel park which used to be my least favourite manoeuvre. It wasn’t so bad, though whether I’ll remember it next time is another question. I also had a second go at left reverse (AKA reverse round a corner) which after a shaky start also went okay. I am starting to think that there is a hope in Hell of me passing! Just not yet.
Also, my theory test can now be booked as my provisional licence has arrived. Now I just have to make sure not to lose any of the bits of it!

A Good Weekend

This weekend was a good one. I got lots done!
I suppose the weekend really started with the department Christmas lunch, which was at a local hotel. The food was good, there was wine, and it was all free! Woo! After this we moved on to a dodgy club for two more free drinks, and then (as I was drunk) I offered a friend a lift home. Leon picked us up and we went across town for a while. We had tasty pizza and chips and had a nosey at our friends' extension. (For the pedants among you, I have correctly used the apostrophe, as by this point I am referring to two friends.)
We had quite an early night and I was almost ready for the world by the following morning! My parents arrived quite early, but this was planned so I was dressed and everything! Anyway, we got ourselves organised and went to a farmers' market (I forget where exactly) which was very exciting! We bought a variety of vegetables (parsnip, Swede, Brussels on a big stick-thing, streaky bacon for the turkey and some posh sausages for Christmas Breakfast, and a jar of honey-peanut butter [I tried the garlic, but that was not to my taste!]) Once we'd done browsing and buying we decided to stop in the café area for lunch. We originally expected this to be pork-in-a-bun or similar, but we ended up with a massive plate of meat and vegetables! Though the man did want us to have mashed potatoes and chips!
Then while Leon and Dad finished insulating the loft, Mum and I went into town. We were going to Beer-Ritz (as I mentioned previously) but it's gone! It’s been turned into a trendy wine bar – no shadow of a lie! Rubbish! So, that was not a success.
I did manage to book a table for my birthday (though I'll probably call to confirm that before the event).
We also ordered a turkey. I have since discovered that it is probably twice the size we actually need but hey – it’s Christmas! So, we’ve got a 12lb turkey for the 6 of us. It’s going to take about 6.5 hours to cook (25-30 mins per pound at 170 degrees, plus 25 mins) though – so Leon's getting up early to pre-heat the oven. I'll make sure that it is prepped and ready though.
I got some chocolate coins for the stockings too, more on stockings later.
Then, in the evening, JJ and his fiancée came round. This was mostly because of the Muppet issues of last weekend. Leon showed them the bathroom (now almost complete – only a few minor bits to go!) and we played with the hamsters for ages. JJ's fiancée would like to get a pet but JJ is not so keen. It is a big commitment, even with something as small as hamsters!
Then Sunday Leon went out to the shops, so once I'd had a bath and made myself feel human (I got to exfoliate for the first time in ages!) I set to work making some Christmas stockings for both of us. I had some left over pink-and-black striped fur (from the two-face costume) and some black velour, so I decided to use that. I got fluff everywhere, but we now have some not-very-festive-but-very-pink stockings! Yey! So I put the stocking filler prezzies I have so far in there. I only have three for Leon, and a handful for my sister and her fella, but I am hoping to pick up some other bits – I can't say what yet because my sister reads this blog too!

It doesn't feel like Christmas.

I don't know why, but this year Christmas seems to be taking its time. I've been out Christmas shopping, and even played the Girls Aloud Christmas CD (which came with Chemistry) last year while I wrapped the prezzies. It doesn't feel like Christmas.
Leon and I tidied the entire downstairs and put up the tree. But it doesn't feel like Christmas.
Even though it's only 12 days away now (11 if you don't count Christmas day itself, or today) and there are decorations up at work, it still doesn't feel like it's that close.
I really don’t know what it will take for it to feel more Christmas-y!
We've bought beer (though Leon's working on us needing more) and wine, we have sparkling wine too. We've bought bread sauce mix (!) and a jar of chocolates, some cranberry sauce (though we’re not totally sure we’re having turkey) and even extra gravy mix!
I wonder whether it will feel more like Christmas when we finally get around to buying the bird for Christmas dinner. We're off to a farm shop at the weekend, if we can figure out which is nearest. That will be fun. And to Beer Ritz, a local beer shop which sells speciality beer. My mum wants some fruit flavoured beer, and we're hoping to find some low-cal, low-carb, alcohol free (!) beer too. Hahahahahahahaha!
Maybe then it will feel like Christmas.
We'll see.

Brum Brum

Another driving lesson on Monday just gone. Left Reverse into a parking space at Tesco. Didn't go too badly. I'm still not liking roundabouts though.

Bathroom

So, I've now painted the ceiling and the final wall. I've also put together the under-the-sink unit, but not the other ones yet.
It's cool.

And I posted all my non-York Christmas cards today, only cost me just over £2 in international postage. The rest I already had stamps for. Woo!

Now I'm at home, bored a bit. Driving this evening at 6pm. Looking forward to it! I wonder what manoeuvre we'll do this time. Probably the scary and hard one, that I call Reversing behind a car Though I think it might be parallel park. We'll see.

And thinking about what to cook for tea.

Muppet!

1. I am a muppet. When I read my train tickets to go to JJ's house warming engegement thingy, I read the return journey time. Unfortunately, that was 20 minutes after the outward train left. The tickets are non-transferable, and replacing them would have cost a great deal more than I have in my bank account.
2. The rash thingy appears to be coming back. That really sucks. I'll be off back to the doctors then.
3. On a more positive note, I did 95% of my Christmas shopping (gift wise) on Friday, and although my arms are now significantly longer than they were before I shopped, I feel very happy that I am now organised for Christmas, gift wise.
4. Today we put up the Christmas tree, after I tidies the whole lounge. Those of you who have seen my lounge when I'm not throwing a party will know how much of a mission this is, especially as it was probably worse than it has ever been.
5. Leon's near enough finished the skirting, which means I can paint the remaining bathroom wall, and the ceiling. Then all we have to do is fit the light, curtain rail (and curtains), put up the shower curtain and build the storage. Oh - and fit the new loo-seat and paint the old cabinet white. Easy!
6. I have now written (and got L to write) all of my Christmas cards for this year. I'll be posting them tomorrow. This is good because it beats the deadline for international post. (which reminds me...)

All in all, the good bits seem to outweigh the bad.
I'm still a muppet though.

Work based grumble

Sometimes I wonder what exactly my job is. It seems to change from day to day. I don’t know whether I am allowed to make decisions, so I always end up asking my boss. It’s frustrating to have to ask whether it is okay to use your initiative. I knew what my old job was, three years of doing a job usually means that you know. I feel like I’m in some sort of no-man’s land, I'm neither just a programmer nor a manager. The worst thing is not knowing, really, what is wanted from me. Even when I ask, I don’t really get a clear answer – perhaps I am not asking the right questions.
But still I stay at the company, still I go on complaining. Why? Because I don’t think that it will be any better anywhere else. The only reason to move is if it improves the quality of life outside of work. There are three factors which could contribute to that:

1. Better weather – do as some of our friends have and move to a country with a better climate
2. Nicer area – I don’t know that there are many cities which could compare with York though
3. Significantly better pay – which would pay for the better living outside of work

In the current windy, rainy, horrible weather we’re having in the UK, the first of those reasons has to be the one with the most draw. I don’t really know where I would go, though. Australia is a favourite, it seems, and there would be benefits to going to Australia – like they are in the region 2/4 bracket for DVDs and PlayStation etc. That means that you can have your stuff shipped out (preferably successfully, eh Chip?) and not have to replace it all. That said, I haven’t been to Australia. I don’t know if I’d like it. The preferred option, for me, would be Florida. I have family there, which would mean someone to call if I needed help desperately! (Though I have enough friends in Oz now, provided I was in a nearby place to them) The flight is shorter from the UK to the US as well.
Of course, it would be difficult to get back to visit family for Christmas, and that would be sad. I’d feel bad taking Leon away from his family too. It’s not like I can just up-sticks and leave like single people can. If I want to go somewhere else, I have to consider Leon getting work and two lots of family. Also I’m quite close to my family, and Leon is quite close to his family. The funny thing is, three years ago I probably wouldn’t have given the family situation a second thought!
Oh, this has turned into a very long post. I’ll stop now.

Driving

Last night was my third (successful) driving lesson. Last week I only got down the road, but then I went really dizzy and decided I was too ill to continue. So I was a little nervous this week. However, except for stalling it at the first junction (in my defence it is on a hill) my driving was okay. I even had to do the scary roundabout by Tesco and Flying Legends! Anyway, this week’s lesson was bay parking (I’ve already done turn in the road and left reverse which used to be called reverse round a corner.) Anyway, bay parking was not in the test back in the late 90s when I was learning last time. So this was my first ever go at bay parking. After much amusement where people kept parking in the spaces we were going to use (and us deciding that the guy in the Corsa would just have to put up with me reversing into the bay behind him) I managed to have three or four attempts at the manoeuvre. It wasn’t too bad – I only went over the line once! Anyway, the roads are safe for another week – next Monday I have another lesson.

Quarter of a Century

I'm thinking more, these days, about what it is I want from life. For the most part, I've achieved the things I set out to achieve by now. You see, I'm 25 years old at the end of this month, which may not be a "big" birthday, is still a milestone. When I think back to the various times that I have looked forwards to now I have almost always had the same goals, and I have achieved many of them – if not in fact all.

I wanted to have a good job, a good man and own a house. My job could be better – and it certainly isn't what I intended as a ten-year-old. (I think I wanted to be an astronaut then) I wanted to have moved away from Gainsborough. I wanted to have the chance to be myself, rather than the person whom those I was 'friends' with wanted me to be. I think I have managed that. I've lived in London and York now, and though I still want to travel around more, I'm not sure whether I want to move away from York yet. Of course, whether my next move would be in England still – I guess it probably would. Unless I find a job in Florida while we're out there next summer! Really though, I think that I have done most of the big things I wanted to have done by this point in my life.

Of course, this leads me to look into the future – what do I hope to achieve in the next 25 years? Now that is a long time – and I suspect that my goals will change over the 25 years as much as (if not more than) they have in the last 25 years. Perhaps the next 5 years is a more realistic timeframe. But still, although I have some vague aspirations, I have no real plans. I must sort that out and have some proper goals to work towards. With timescales! Hahaha.

It's all very well setting myself a list of things to do next year – no doubt I will still do so. What that list may contain this time is anybody's guess. Some things have already come to mind. Some of the things which will be on next year's list will be carried over from this year's list – of course. But I intend to make them more measurable. I suppose that some of the goals will, as this year, be easy enough. Of course this year I added new goals part way through the year – that was a mistake from the point of view of feeling like I have achieved things. Perhaps, as I am 25, I should give myself 25 things to achieve? I do like that idea… And I have a whole month to think of what the 25 things could be!

I'm a sinner

I took a quiz to find out whether I'm a sinner...

Greed:	High
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Very High
Sloth:	Medium
Envy:	High
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	High

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

Oh dear - I'm going straight to hell.

Feeling Better

So, despite not feeling so hot at the Christmas Party, I am feeling better now.
My dress was successful, and I may get around to getting a photo of it to post on here.
I'm even getting around to doing some Christmassy things now, like buying gifts and writing cards. Woo!

Itching for it to be over

Yes, last night I slept much more than I have been doing. There may be many reasons for this, here's what I did differently:

• Leon wasn't here, so I spent a couple of hours asleep in front of the telly waiting for the dryer to finish.
• The dryer failed to dry my clean bedding, so I slept in a minimally bedded bed.
• I drank lots of water, resulting in me getting up to pee, not to itch.
• I ordered a half-and-half hot chick and pepperoni pizza, which I ate half of.
• I ordered ice cream too, which I forgot to eat.
• I smothered myself in moisturising jelly stuff (don't ask) twice before bed.
• I drank some tea (OK, I normally do this)
• I took non-non-drowsy anti-histamine, paracetamol and ibuprofen.

But which of those is applicable... I think the less-is-more style bed may be the answer. I was blinking frozen all night, thus the rash didn't get hotter.
I did still wake up twice, but that's not bad in the scheme of an 8 hour sleep. And I've slept for a lot of today too. The only trouble is that the bit of rash on my face has turned out to also react badly to the super-jelly-moisturiser. So I look like I did ten rounds with Mike Tyson. Not just my eye anymore, but my whole face is swollen up on one side. The ibuprofen has had some effect, as have the cold compresses and the copious amounts of water I have drunk (compared to normal, when I don't drink water if I can avoid it!)
So I am feeling a bit better.

I've also watched an episode of Star Trek (TOS) and two of Star Trek: TNG. Fantastic! I had forgotten how much I love those shows. I know it's supposedly sad, boring or whatever but I don't care. I love it. I love the movies - I cried at the end of several of them, most recently at the end of the last one when Data dies. It was even a pretty good episode of TOS (that's The Original Series for you non-Trekkies) where a child version of a being a bit like Q from TNG (The Next Generation) kept provoking them. And the scenery wasn't too cardboardy. Also, Captain Kirk didn't get his shirt ripped off in the fight!!
Another great thing about the more recent Star Treks (TNG, DS9, Voyager) have been the totty! Voyager had the luscious Paris (male) and the brooding Chakotay. DS9 had the lovely Bashir and TNG had Picard (oddly sexy) Riker and Worf. Okay, so Worf isn't really that attractive, but his actor, Michael Dorn, is. :)

Sick

I don’t really like being ill – who does? Thus, I don’t really like going to the doctors. That said, I prefer to be cured and the quicker the better. Now the stuff that the nice doctor gave me yesterday is mostly moisturising stuff – I think that they are hoping that the rash will go away on its own. I hope so, but I am not convinced. However, the posh shower gel and moisturiser were effective, if not for vast periods of time.
I suppose that I don’t drink enough water (or indeed any fluids) – I generally have a couple of cups of tea and possibly a hot chocolate at work. This may be part of the problem, I suppose. For this reason, I am going to try to drink more liquids. As I don’t like the way that tap water tastes, I may consider spending some money on some bottled water, which although expensive (considering it is just water) I will at least drink it. We will see.

Leon is going away this evening to attend a funeral. He’s spending some six hours on a train to do so. This means (from a purely selfish point of view) that I'm all on my little lonesome. Though I can survive without him in the house I do get quite paranoid at night when the lights are out and the doors are locked. I mean, nobody can get in – the doors are locked. But you know they might try to. Or they might kick in our gate like they did next door’s. but don’t worry for me – I’ll just take a hammer to bed with me. in fairness, even if someone did break in, they’d just fall over the mess and kill themselves!

Anyway, I intend to try the NHSDirect recommendation of 2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda in my bath tonight. It apparently could help with the itching.

Itching for a change

Yes, I have some kind of random itch-rash based illness. Lovely. It's probably, according to the doctor who saw me but isn't my doctor, a viral rash. However, it could be eczema which would be irritating (excuse the pun) though not impossible. I have been told that people with hay fever are more likely to develop eczema or asthma too. (as if one of those isn't enough!)

Anyway, I am hoping that it will clear up before the 1st December for our Christmas party. Although the redness will match the dress, it's not really ideal.

Anyway, the doctor I saw was very nice - he even discussed other options and called me back this afternoon (my appointment was this morning) to let me know that I could also try some other remedies, but that the prescription he gave me should cover it. How nice.

So, I have some swanky new shower gel, and some very expensive moisturiser.

Almost time to go back

Yes, this is the last day of my holiday, I'm back at work tomorrow.
I've actually had a reasonably productive week, all things considered, though I know I'm not going to enjoy going back to work! I will have a lot of stuff to catch up on, and email to read, delete or respond to. AND preparation for the week ahead.
Anyway, what has been achieved?

1. Got Leon to fit skirting to two walls in bathroom
2. Painted one coat of bright white on all walls in bathroom
3. bought cabinet, towel rail and sink tidy
4. bought new curtain rails for downstairs
5. bought material for ball dress
6. made ball dress (still needs hemming and underskirts)

How's that?

Ahh, that's beta

So, yes - after only about half an hour of faffing about, I'm happy with the new blogger beta. It is better.
I'll see if I get on with it okay. I'm sure it'll be fine, though I feel slightly wrong not having to use code to make it do stuff.
Web 2.0 is growing on me though, slowly.

Argh!

So, I have finally taken the plunge and gone "beta" - but is it?
Well, the only thing I've noticed different so far is that I can add a label to my posts. I guess that's so that I can categorise them. At best, this post will fall under "Blogging" but not much else. Oh well.
I suppose to add labels to old posts I'll have to edit them all individually, which frankly sucks. If there's a better way, I'll let you know - if I ever find it!

I'm touched

I've finally got around to reading some blogs today, and found a link on The World Of Lint for Chip, who has gone away.
While there I was reading Chip's Memories of the York Era and was quite touched to see that my 22nd birthday was in the list! Woo!
Generally my birthdays are so pants even I don't enjoy them (see 31/12/2005) but I agree with Chip that was an excellent evening.

Door Update #3

"Neil Webster PVC Doctor" came to my house today. He fixed the back door. I can go outside into the back yard without going via the street and backs. Good. I'm very pleased, and he was very nice and quick too. And he had a quick look at the front door too. I'd recommend him.

PTH Piccies!

So, last Thursday was the 13th Actuarial Pub Treasure Hunt. The theme was Pubs, and my team (Bad Data) was Flares (the chain of pubs) which was nice. Anyway, we all dressed up in varying levels of taste and dragged ourselves around York. Some of us dressed up in clothes already owned by others, like The Black who borrowed his outfit from Clegg. Others of us hired costumes, like Guy and Tim (with the really scary shirts) You can’t really see the amazingness of my flares in these pictures, but you can see the makeup! I am dressed in Ziggy Stardust stylee. Also while in the actual “pub” Flares, one of our team purchased a rather scary afro, which can be seen here on Leon. Dapper. Nice.

Door Update

So, update on the back-door issue:

• The door would have broken at some point as it was not adjusted properly - therefore it's not Jonny's fault (phew)
• The door is still locked shut, but the repair man can take it off via the hinges (inside) to mend it
• The Coldseal company used silly locks that although really secure, are very expensive to replace
• The man is coming to fix the door next Thursday
• It's going to cost us about £200 - one has to ask how much a new door costs??

So yes, all blame is absolved from Jonny (though as I said, I was only teasing) and indeed from men in general - as regards the back door at least. I hope to get the repair man to also tweak the front door (or show me how to) so that that door doesn't break any time soon. This has also reinforced my hatred of PVC windows and doors. Can't afford to replace them in the current house though, so it's something we'll be looking out for in future houses. We like wooden windows - and they can still be double glazed and draught proofed...
Rant over.

PTH XIII

So, last night was the PTH. We dressed up, we wandered (aimlessly in some cases) around some pubs on our list (and one or two not on the list – whoops) and answered questions on various subjects. We found a very large pork scratching but our balloon got burst (don’t ask)

Generally a good night, although I was shattered by the time we got in, and my feet hurt since I was wearing my platform boots which aren’t the most comfortable shoes for trekking all over town in. I could have socialised more too, but everyone was too drunk by the last pub (even some of the organisers) for that.

Not really much else to write about at the moment. Life is ticking over, but not that exciting.

I am looking forwards to my next driving lesson – my first one to be during the daytime. I was hoping to get my provisional licence sorted out too, but my local Post Office doesn’t do the “checking service” for the forms and so I either have to send off my passport in the post (not ideal in any circumstances) or I have to go to the Post Office in town to get my form and photo verified. Then I will have my first photo-card licence. I’m presently still on the paper version, but as I haven’t changed my address on it, I get to get the photo-card one for free. Woo! It will cost me £4 to get the form checked by a person in the Post Office, but I then get to keep my passport. I don’t trust the postal system enough to send it off, and the DVLA would probably keep it for ages. I’d rather pay the £4.

I have to make a dress over the next few weeks for my Christmas ball. I have a basic design for what I intend to do. I need to buy some material – I'm probably making the dress in black with red trim. I have to take a shoe into town with me to make sure that the trim and accessories are the right colours. Then that’s it – I can’t afford to spend any more money this month. Except for the back door. And possibly our holiday coming up.

PTH

Today is the PTH – usually one of my favourite events of the calendar. The quality of the event varies depending on the organisers, and also on the time of year. That said, I have generally enjoyed the autumn ones more than the spring ones. I don’t know whether that is fluke… I did really enjoy the cult TV one where we were Captain Scarlet (and co) and also the one where we were Wacky Races (was that Cartoons?) In fact, I’ve really liked almost all of them. The one where there was no dressing up wasn’t as entertaining. This one is likely to be okay, but our fancy dress isn’t to our usual high standard (that’ll be two in a row with only small amounts of effort) but the costumes will be pretty good. I do have platform boots and flares. Properly big flares too! Woo! I’ll try to get some pictures to put online of this one, and as I have said before if I ever get a scanner I’ll spend some time putting my old photos from my albums online too.

tum te too

We were away for a long weekend, last weekend. We went to Leon’s parents’ house. I had a nice time doing all sorts of things ranging from wandering around B&Q to having a horrible curry, to entertaining some under 7s.

While we were in Cambridge we managed to get some jeans for conversion to flares, which means that we do at least have costumes for the up coming PTH. I’m not sure what top to wear, though I’ll probably wear my heart-shaped sunglasses briefly. I’d like to wear a short jacket but I think it might be a little cold

Work has been absolutely hectic today! I had the world’s shortest lunch break! Oh well, at least I’ve had stuff to do, I hate being bored.

Leon’s cooking tonight – we’re having pie. Then I have a driving lesson in the dark again! Sadly I have to go and get some money to pay for said driving lesson. Sadly, they’re not free. Oh well.

Lastly, great night last night. Curry with the soon-leaving Chip. Brilliant.

Driving

Yes, my first driving lesson in ages was last Monday. My instructor, Fiona, picked me up from a street near my house and took me to ‘a safe place to start and stop and turn a bit’. That was fun. Then when she was happy that I had been able to turn left, right and stop and start successfully enough times, we moved to an industrial estate. Once there (having stalled on a roundabout due to my inability to remember which way is left - hmm) we did some three point turns. Only they’re not called three point turns any more, they’re called turn in the road. I guess this makes more sense because on a narrow road it might take more than three points to turn fully around so that you are facing the other way. That was quite good though, and I felt like I’d done okay. I really quite enjoyed it and so I’ve booked another lesson. Stay off the roads between 7:05 and 8:35 next Wednesday to be on the safe side!

Leon is driving me (and more importantly him) to the Cambridge area this weekend to visit his family and friends. I do like several of Leon’s friends, which is good. I also like his family, they are nice people.

Two People, Three Parties

Last week I spent three evenings at parties to “celebrate” the departure of friends of mine. Thursday and Saturday were Flic’s leaving parties. Friday was JimBobJo’s.

Thursday was a pretty good night, but Orgasmic tends to turn the music up between 8 and 8:30 which usually means that you can’t talk to the people that you’re with. While this is good if you don’t know/like the people you’re with, it’s pretty annoying if you actually fancy talking to people. Unless you like conversations which go: “what?” “Sorry?” “WHAT?” “I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” “SHALL WE LEAVE?” “WHAT?” “I SAID…” gesticulating works best.

Friday was also a good night, in the Corner Pin. They don’t do good wine there, so I spent my second evening on G&T. when JimBobJo went onto shots, Leon and I left and went to Helen & James’s (a different one) for a Chinese. Yum.

Then, on Saturday Jackie and Johnny were down (staying at mine) and we all went to Flic’s flat for a gathering. More drinking was had here. That was a good party though, and we had lots of fun. I spent most of Sunday feeling particularly pants, though we did venture out some time after four to collect random stuff we’re taking off another soon-to-be-leaving friend, Chip.

An interesting side-effect of Jackie/Johnny’s visit to our house: the back door doesn’t open any more! The handle is dead. In fairness, though, I don’t think it was their fault (nor was it mindless vandalism, I hope) as the handle was already pretty broken. Leon thinks he might be able to fix it.
The problem is that when men approach a problem (like the broken door handle) using as much force as possible always seems to be the solution. I always found that consistent pressure worked better (and does in so many situations!)
Well, I guess that’s just another thing to add to the list of things we need to fix/replace/change/do around the house. Maybe if I’m really lucky we’ll have no doors that work soon! (1)

1. the back door, as mentioned above doesn’t open. The kitchen door requires a bit of a kick to open. The cupboard door doesn’t shut. The lounge door only has a handle on one side, and doesn’t stay shut. The bathroom door has a huge crack in it, and a hole which is plugged by a cork. The second bedroom door doesn’t have a catch, nor does the bedroom door. The cupboard in the bedroom doesn’t have a catch either. Only the front door works as it should (mostly, touch wood)

Baby

The boss’s wife had a baby this morning. It’s a healthy baby boy weighing in at just over 7lbs. Smashing.

To clarify – I do NOT intend to have a baby of my own any time soon.

Swimming!

Yes, last night I went swimming for the first time in ages. I was very pleased with myself; I managed 24 lengths in about 20 minutes. That’s approximately 600 metres, or 0.5m/s! haha.

well anyway, it was quite pleasant really – the pool wasn’t as busy as I had expected it to be, though we went reasonably early (it was about 6:30 when we got into the pool) which meant that it wasn’t adults only which we used to go to. The only down side of this was that I had to queue for the showers, once I had done swimming, behind several small boys (all about 7-8 years old, I’d say)
Now, I do know that it is common practice for small children to be supervised in the changing rooms – otherwise they run around and cause havoc. I also know that if a small boy is accompanied only by his mother, then he pretty much has to go in the ladies changing room. This is fine, I’d rather that than them running amuck.
When I am showering after swimming I find myself always concerned about being nude in the showers. The changing rooms are very open plan. While I am not ashamed of my body, I’d really rather not be confronted with other people’s bums and boobs in the shower, it’s distracting. Also, when there are small boys in the changing room, I find myself unable to bring myself to strip – I feel uncomfortable. If I were to be naked in front of small boys in any other situation I would probably be arrested!

Other than that, I had a lovely swim, and hope to go again soon. It will certainly be good for me! hopefully Leon and I will also get the chance to go running some evenings – though it’s miserable weather and we still haven’t bought Leon some sensible jogging bottoms. Perhaps we can have a look for some when I go looking at swimming costumes (yes, a one-piece.)

How Things Change

I begin to wonder whether I may be taking work a little too seriously. Looking back at previous work based posts; I can see that I used to just take the Mickey a lot!

Well, I guess it’s true – partly because of my promotion, of course. Even so, I have mentioned before that I don’t live to work but instead, I Work to Live which is a much more sensible way of being. What I mean by that is that I don’t want to spend all of my time working because that is not why I live, but I will spend enough time working in order to be able to have the life that I want.

Well, we’ll see! Things may or may not improve over the next few days, weeks and months. As always, I will keep one eye on the appointments page in the Computing magazine. Everyone else is sodding off to all over the place! Mum reminded us that we wanted to live where we are now for ease of going out and visitng/being visited by friends. Three of them will not be around very soon, but the remaining ones are still living close by, pretty much. I’m not saying that in future I will not consider where the people I know well live as part of the equation. I am sure I still will, not least because if your friends all live in a given area, it is probably a reasonably nice area (especially if they’re reasonably well off.)

It does leave me to wonder, though, how many more of the people we know will be gone in the next year, three years, five years? Or more to the point, will we still be here? The longer I do work like this the longer I’m out of the industry I trained in. I honestly don’t know whether that would be something I want to do now, but I probably should have given myself the chance to find out. Maybe I should update my CV on some websites and see what work I get tracked down for? They claim here that they want me to progress; they want me to be good at things. I will “tick the boxes” – well, I don’t know what the boxes are representing since nobody seems to want to tell me, so I have no idea how I'm meant to go about ticking them! Anyway, I don’t expect that anywhere else will be any better (or worse) but who knows. I have heard that if you work for BT you don’t have to work on your birthday – in fact it’s automatically a holiday! How good is that? I guess it’s just bad timing, but that’s not an excuse for anything. My boss’s boss’s boss had a chat to me yesterday about my new role, and not being too cocky. I think that it was supposed to make me feel better, but it didn’t. I felt a bit lost before the talk, I felt very lost after.

More Exciting News, my boss is having a baby (well, his wife is) and they are planning to have a Caesarean on Thursday. Very exciting. I wish them (all three) the best and hope that it all goes smoothly.

Whoops!

I surfed on in today to have a look at the blogs I link to (rather than remember each one, I link to them from my blog and remember that, cunning huh?) – what has happened? My sidebar is all screwy! So, it’s now been replaced and “fixed” hopefully. I suspect that things will be missing. I’ve missed out the completed goals in my To Do as well as the “be nicer” one.

Still, could be worse…

Gemma

My good friend Gemma is off to Australia soon. She called round to my parents last night to see me and say hello for one more time before she goes abroad. It’s all very exciting for her. I don’t see her as often as I should (we’ve been friends since we were six) and Austrailia is one heck of a way to travel. Sheffield I could have managed much easier. Still, if she’s still out there after we’ve paid for Florida and saved up again, then we’ll go and see her, along with Chip, who’ll be there too.

Phone

I went to see the nice man in the Orange shop. He was actually a nice man, and was very helpful. I said that I wanted to get a new phone, a new plan and free broadband. He said okay and took my mobile number. Then he said, that I couldn’t get the new plan until next month, although I could do the rest now. I said I might as well wait until next month and then do everything at once, especially since I don’t have my MAC number for transferring the broadband. So, I now have a date for my diary: 10th November. As it’s a Friday I may arrange to sod off from work early and go phone shopping. Woo.

[Edit - changed the date to the correct one, I'm a muppet!]

Sewing is fun!

I’ve got some exciting sewing to do now! Our Christmas ball is booked, so I need to sort out my design for my dress and decide whether it’s going to be red or black (the other colour will be trim) – if I had a scanner I’d scan in one of my sketches, but I don’t. I’m thinking 50s, to go with my 50s peep-toe sandals in patent red (shiny shiny) and also because that’s been a popular look this year (think Lily Allen and Corrine Bailey-Rae). I’m probably going to go for an on-or-just-below-the-knee length of dress, with probably two layers of netted underskirting. I may have a slip underneath that to stop it from scratching, depending on the netting. Depending on the fabric, I may also build in a sort-of corset. It wouldn’t be a corset because I have no whale bones (or substitute) but some good firm cotton under the shiny poly-cotton I’m hoping to get should be fine. I also haven’t decided whether I’ll be going for halter-neck (which prevents the issue of revealing all) or strapless (which can be iffy, especially home made) or shoestring straps, which can be nice on certain dresses. The halter-neck is a very 1950s look. The only worry then is that my hair is never going to look 50s! hahaha! But really, I don’t intend to do the whole 50s thing, just the dress is inspired by the shoes. Must get a bag too.

I want to go somewhere else

Indeed, I have some time booked off work in November, and I’d really like to go somewhere warm. After our disaster holiday to the Canaries (okay, it’s funny now – it wasn’t then!) I think we deserve to go somewhere which will not be freezing and snowing! I also hope we can afford a last minute getaway before we go to Florida to get ourselves ready for the heat out there!
Anyway, if we can’t go somewhere warm, we’ll have to decide if we can go somewhere abroad at all, or whether we should have another UK based break. That was a lot of fun last time, we spent four days in Scarborough in a fantastic little B&B. We had fish and chips one night, and ate in a posh restaurant one night. It was brilliant (though it owed a lot to my companion!) The only bad bit of the holiday was that my ankle was strapped up, which prevented lots of walking. (That was from when I fell down the stairs at our housewarming in the old house! – two years ago!!)
Anyway, we could do something like that, although it can be more expensive to go away in the UK than it is to go abroad! Especially if you’re willing to eat in the apartment once in a while (or lots of the time, and only eat out one or two times) – especially breakfast which is vastly expensive usually, when it’s quite cheap to take some cereal and UHT milk with you (yes I do that) and also teabags (as you know, no other nation can make a cuppa like the English can)
So, I’ve been having a look on MSE to see whether the flight checker can find me anything. The best I’ve found so far is Paris for less than £10 (plus taxes) for both of us. Nice. Other good deals are to Rome and Amsterdam. We’re probably going to do a mid-week break of some sort, if I don’t find a 4* all inclusive holiday to Mexico for 7 nights for the exact time we need for £300, of course. Cancun is lovely this time of year. (that’s just a mad example, what I mean is that if I find a good deal for somewhere hot then that’s more likely to get my vote!)
I don’t like the cold, but more than that I dislike this time of year when it’s not cold enough for cold-weather clothes, but too cold for warm-weather clothes. I do not have appropriate clothes for this weather, so I’d like to go away.
Anywhere warm.
But I can’t afford many of the places which are warm at this time of year.

So Hard...

Running is really quite hard.
It was difficult when the weather was good and I was training for the Race for Life. Now the weather is not so good and I am not training for anything.
I want to lose another stone before next August when we go away. I think that because that’s a fairly long time away, that might be part of the motivational problem. Maybe I could make it a bit more challenging – after all there are 14lbs in a stone, so in 10 months I want to lose 14 pounds. So that’s 0.7 pounds a month, or less than 0.2 pounds a week. Frankly, it’s possible to poo 0.2 pounds. So that’s not a sustainable goal. I could aim to lose the weight sooner – losing a pound a week (as I was when I first started running) I would need only 14 weeks (just over 3 months) to lose the weight. That brings us past Christmas too!
Providing it isn’t snowing, though, I don’t really have an excuse not to be out running. Okay, it’s a little cold and miserable. I have my IPod and some long jogging bottoms (which fall down because they’re too big now) so I can’t complain on that front. The issue of it being dark is a bit more of a problem. It gets dark quite early now, and so we’re soon going to be at a point where I can’t go out by myself, and where we (Leon and I) should be wearing something reflective if we’re out running. How depressing.
I have some groovy food that I am going to make, so the running thing is getting pretty important!