Sunday, September 18, 2005

No comment...

While I've got my hands on a PC, lets go for the third post in one day!

I just wanted to thank everybody for their kind comments, especially the ones that then go on to offer me amazing business opportunties, fantastic real estate deals and unbelievable holiday packages.

Call me cynical, but I suspect there may be darker forces at work here so I've decided to add the word verification to the comments posting.

Apologies to the regular commenters for the added inconvenience but it's always the few that spoil it for the rest of us...

Don't Panic...

I received a great text message this week which I thought was worth sharing:

Don't panic but I'm in hospital as I think I may have poisoned myself. I was making a cheese sandwich and sliced up a daffodil bulb instead of an onion. Apparently there's no need to worry - I'll be out again in the spring...

Nothing going on...

Just a quick post to say nothing really.

My PC has officially died and the new laptop doesn't arrive until 27th September (can I survive another two weeks?)

Without my PC I've still not managed to try out the new drum kit yet (huge sigh of relief from next door)

The leaseholder's solicitor is still holding up the sale of the bungalow (all packed up and no place to go)

So move along, nothing to see here...

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Last writes...

Don't get me wrong, this is not my last post by any means, but it may be the last one for a little while as my PC may have uttered it's last words (I'm currently posting from Dad's).

Quite frankly, if it doesn't stop re-booting every 10 seconds I'm about to start doing some booting of my own...

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

The rhythm of life...

There I was yesterday, moaning at what a lousy holiday I'd had without even considering what a marvellous day they had in store for me when I got back. It's alway's the same isn't it? After half an hour back at work you feel as though you'd never been away.

Anyway, to cheer myself up I've finally managed, after weeks of getting out-bid, to get my hands on a new "toy" from e-Bay - a drum kit!!! I've always fancied having another go (having dabbled a little when I was much younger) and what better way to win the affections of my new neighbours and bid farewell to the old ones.

Wait a minute, I think there's someone coming towards the front door. Hi Declan, no wait, hang on, before you do something unpleasant with those drumsticks, take a look here.

It's an electronic kit that I can plug my headphones into.
Phew, that was close...

Monday, September 05, 2005

Recent findings...

Last day off today so I thought I would kill some time with a few words on here. Over the few waking hours I've enjoyed over the last few days, I have been trawling through a lot of my favourite blogs which in turn led me to loads of funnies I thought I would share. Warning: most of these contain offensive language. Yeah, like you care!

JonnyB
has been campaigning recently to save his local Post Office from closure and Eclectech, the creators of the video for his campaign song, have some other excellent work within their archives. I would personally recommend Camilla Queen, This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us and The Very Model Of A Model Labour Minister. Check out the Kilroy ones too while you're there.

Anna posted about blogday last week and one of her subsequent links was to Used Hack who had a hilarious post about pandas. Definitely one I'll be adding to my reading list.

On a similar theme to the above, always enjoy reading Emerald Bile and Twenty Major for the frequent rants to be found both within their postings and subsequent comments. Somewhere along the line I ended up on the Holy Moly site which is crammed full of hilarious stuff. Declan directed me to the Personality Test which is definitely worth a try. C***'s Corner is well worth a trawl through as are The Rules of Modern Life. My particular favourite from the latter being
"There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don't".

Finally, thanks to Birdman, I've found my first must-have accessory for the new garden when I eventually move in, although I might have to insist on no smoking.

OK, so a link-fest is lazy blogging I admit, but I thought it would be good to share a few laughs and I am on holiday after all...

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Zzz... zzz... zzz...

I'm not convinced whether internet health advice sites are a good thing or not. I suppose it has to be down to the individual and how much you are prepared to talk yourself into the worst possible diagnosis you can find.

For example, after a bit of research on the net around this time last year, I was able to walk into my GP's surgery and ask him to check out a lump which I had already decided was an umbilical hernia, but about which I wanted a professional opinion. Having confirmed this, he arranged for surgery and I was able to find out everything I needed to know long before I arrived at the hospital which meant I was a lot calmer about the whole episode than I might have been otherwise. A case for the defence I think.

Over the last few days, I have had little more than a common cold but have been finding it incredibly difficult to stay awake. Talking to someone about it this afternoon, I realised that I have only been awake for around 4 or 5 of the last 40 hours or so which even if under the weather, takes me a little over my usual 8 hour requirement.

If I believed everything I've read on the net so far though, that would make me a depressed, overweight, alcoholic narcoleptic. Hmm, doesn't sound much like me - I've no reason at all to feel depressed, although I could always do with shedding a few more pounds and everybody knows I'm partial to the occasional tipple. Maybe I should just heed the heart-felt advice from Dave that I'm probably "just a lazy fat bastard!". Cheers Dave!

Anyway, I haven't got time to think about it right now as I'm feeling bright and wide awake at the moment and I need to start drinking a few gallons of coffee to make sure I make it to my old mate's wedding reception tonight.

Or perhaps I could just grab another 40 winks in the meantime... zzz... zzz...

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Catching up...

I realise it's been 10 days since my last post but there has been plenty going on.
Thursday 25th saw the departure of one of the most experienced members of my team at work and there is still a heavy shadow of doubt as to whether we will be able to replace her or not.
Friday 26th was my last day at work for 10 days, having decided to take a break to chill out before the real stress of increased workload and house-move kicks in.
Saturday 27th Little Sis and family arrived, so most of the day was spent clearing enough space to accommodate a family of four in one bedroom. Looks like I'm on the settee for a few days then. Although to be fair, it's a small price to pay seeing as they don't get to visit us very often. Since we saw them last, youngest is now walking so we also had to child-proof the house from three feet downwards!
Sunday 28th we all spent an enjoyable afternoon at Elsham Hall, a local country park. This was my treat for everyone, although before I get to sound too extravagant, I think the whole afternoon cost less than £30 for the 6 of us including refreshments!
Monday 29th didn't really go to plan due to conflicting weather reports. When we had finally decided on somewhere to go, the sky's blackened over and as soon as we cancelled any plans, the sun re-appeared again. However, we did round the day off nicely with an excellent Chinese meal courtesy of Chelmsford Chinese Takeaway. If you're in the Grimsby area, try them out - I've ever heard anything but good reviews.
Tuesday 30th I waved the family off around 1:00pm and in less than 10 minutes was sat at the bar in the Tap for some long overdue liquid replenishment.
Wednesday 31st was a very quiet day and a chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep, but during the evening something very strange occurred. It was a quiet evening at the Tap, half a dozen of the regulars sat at the bar when suddenly out of nowhere, sensible conversation broke out. It was quite a surreal experience to find ourselves talking about a number of serious topics (politics, religion, etc., all the typical no-go areas for pub conversation) with no attempts at cracking jokes or taking the mick out of each other. Fortunately before too long, the topic turned to Big Brother which brought the level crashing back down to gutter level. (Surely I'm not alone in my rationale for Orlaith being the last to leave the house?)
Thursday 1st September, just in case I was short of things to do during my remaining days off, I've decided to catch a cold (although so far, a much watered-down version of the dreaded man-flu)
Friday 2nd September, I took Mum out for tea after which we were entertained by the live music of Adrian Byron Burns. I've seen this guy play several times now but he never ceases to really impress me. A true style of his own and an undeniable skill with the guitar, he really is a must if you get the opportunity to see him on one of his extensive tours.
Saturday 3rd and here we are today, I'm still sleeping as though it were about to go out of fashion and guzzling Beechams by the mug full.
In fact while I'm catching up on events, I should note that it's now 79 days since my offer was accepted on the house and although contracts have now been signed, I'm still waiting for an exchange or completion date.
More impressively, I've just worked out that it's 245 days since my last cigarette and I still have no inclinations to start again. However, it's only been 15 hours since my last beer and there is a real temptation there to sneak out for a quick one.
Oh, and one last thing, I found out last night that I have a secret reader to this blog, but Dom asked me not to divulge my sources or to mention Kirsty's name.
Oops...