dedicated to hannah
Okay. I'm going to start (and as it turns out, finish) by clearing up the remnants of the last post, when I was supposed to elaborate on a bunch of things but really just got distracted by a wet sock or something and forgot to come back on the internet for three weeks. It happens! (I didn't mean anything by the wet sock, don't read into it - sometimes these odd word combinations pop into my head and go straight on to paper. It kind of makes sense if you're me).
So let's have a crack at it, shall we:
For Rachel:
10 - Books of recent times
Okay. To be honest, actually, I'm not sure I'm the person whose advice you should be seeking here, because I'm sitting here with a Marian Keyes book. You know, it's funny how low my standards are when it comes to books. In food terms, it's like people who are happy to eat Pot Noodles - I really don't mind reading absolute tripe just to keep myself entertained. Ooh, but I have to say, I read a gem of a new book the other day, when I was on the plane to Barcelona (I went to Barcelona) - by a woman called Meg Rosoff. It's called... How I Live Now - only a short read, and I definitely recommend it.
I suppose you might have inferred that I went to Barcelona if I was taking a plane there and you're thinking therefore there was not really any need for the subsequent clarification in brackets, but all will make sense if you have a little faith.
Other recent reads include the start of a new series by Garth Nix (of Sabriel fame), which are again readable if not exactly lifechanging. The other day we were visiting a colleague of Dad's in Barcelona (did I mention...?), and Dad had given her daughter (who is 19, vair' pretty, and speaks four languages fluently) a list of books to read - basically stocked with classics - and I realised that I am actually hopeless at reading classics. Brainless David Eddings stuff? - no worries, I'll knock off ten books in a month - but these real classics escape me for some reason, I never manage to get through them.
Oh well. It's not like I'm starting an English degree any time soon.
21 - Durham
oh! OH! Less than three weeks to go until I start at Durham. I'm terribly excited, actually. A week or two back all the propaganda arrived in the mail and, intelligently, I didn't notice most of the forms I had to return until two days after the return deadline. Some things never change, I suppose. It was pretty standard stuff - residency agreement, DUO stuff, Fresher stuff, oh, and the ritual handover of one's SOUL to Durham University (Durham University is the trading name for the University of Durham © 2005)
The form I did enjoy filling out was the roommate form, which basically asks you a bunch of intrepid questions to determine how suitable you'll be sharing someone's room. Although not as hilariously extreme as the customs and immigration forms one fills in on the plane into America (have you, or will you, or have you had, or will you have had, or did you have been, or should you have ever been involved in any forms of terrorism, or been accused of involvement with, or in, or including but not adjacent to acts whereby terrorism is, was, and ever shall be involved?), it was still amusing in parts. They wanted to know whether I was a smoker (no), whether I minded sharing with a smoker (no), whether I was particularly tidy (no), whether I minded sharing with someone equally untidy (yes - might as well hedge one's bets).
I filled out the section describing myself in as little detail as possible - sociable, easy-going. I find it hard to describe myself, you know? Then to really make it easy for them (as if everyone ever isn't going to describe themselves as sociable and easy-going), in the section on Describe Your Perfect Roommate (Dad wanted me to write Kim Bauer) I asked for someone who's friendly and doesn't take themselves too seriously. In other words, someone sociable and easy-going. Do you think I managed to outwit them with my cunning use of synonyms?
Oh well. I did tack onto the end of it that if they played squash and guitar, that wouldn't hurt, so I guess we'll wait and see. Most importantly, I ticked yes on the Would You Prefer To Share box, so some poor sod's going to end up having to live with me.
What else. I am really excited about going, actually. Although arriving day is October 2nd, I'm going to go up on the 1st and stay a night with my friend Paul, who is conveniently living out in a house just near my college. That means my Dad and brother (who are escorting me) won't have to battle against the inevitably horrendous traffic of the Sunday, and it means I can get to my new college nice and early in the morning. Man - it's exciting, you know. It hasn't really sunk in yet - but getting back into education and stemming the slow atrophy of my brain will be nice, I think. Roll on October
22 - Holidays to Barcelona, Germany, Wales ... maybe I should rearrange the order somewhat
First off, cancel Germany. I was going to go out to Munich with Dad and Simon at the end of this month, but because it all came a bit too close with leaving for Durham we decided to sack it - which is definitely a shame, because I love Munich and let's face it, Oktoberfest - but there'll be other times. World Cup 2006, for example.
I spent last week in Barcelona with Dad, who was attending a meeting for Jaguar. It was a nice week, actually - didn't do much more than chill out and eat at restaurants all week, but it was definitely nice to get away, even if all my money has now evaporated (except that David still owes me loads and my student loan came through, so I should cope okay :D)
highlights of the trip include the Boqueria market, an absolutely incredible outdoor market near the centre of Barcelona which just has some awesome stuff on sale. You should see the size of some of the fresh fish they have available - not to mention the selection of meats, cheeses, spices, wines. Mmm. It's nice to be in a country where they really appreciate good food, you know?
I also got to see the lovely Lin, for the second time, although I think she had some trouble understanding my (understandably worse after a year at LION) accent. We had fun, though - wandered around for a while, had some tapas with Dad and another of his colleagues, then went wandering around again for presents and stuff. Then there was ice cream - it just got better and better, you understand. Lin, you rock my socks, as always <3
What else. Had a fun couple of hours at the top of the Corte Ingles (ridiculously big department store/supermarket) with Dad and his colleague Mike, who's a very funny and likeable guy and does excellent Little Britain impressions (just being there while this English guy started declaring "I am a lady!" in a roomful of Spaniards made the trip worthwhile), and then went to see yet another colleague of his (he gets around, does papa. They love him, though, it's great. I do too, come to think of it) - the one with the ridiculously pretty daughter. They're a really nice family, actually.
It's criminal, though. So many of my dad's colleagues' children speak all these languages, and I can barely manage the one. I have to say, one thing that really frustrates me about being abroad is being somewhere where you can't speak the local language. I love foreign languages - which is to be expected, I suppose - and there's something unfair about these guys being raised with three or four different ones. Ah well ;). At least it gives me something to complain about.
As for Wales, I'm probably going to go there to see my grandparents for a few days at the end of the month. They live in a lovely house on top of a hill, and they're both lovely and my grandma's the best cook I know, so it should be very nice. And that's all I have to say about that. *breathe*
27 - (i was going to finish 24 with "my lovelife" but decided the question mark adds an aura of cool and mystique)
haha. if there was anything to tell I'd tell you, but sadly nothing is happening on that front at the moment. Oh well. Hopefully something might come up (so to speak) at Durham, eh? ;)
26 - OH MAN HOW DID I FORGET THIS UNTIL NOW. Today's KAHOODLE which began with a 451 driving past my window. CLICK 26 FOR ALL THE ANSWERS.
hahaha. the KAHOODLE. This all started on the day I was doing the last post - which was let's not forget the day I finished work. I was sitting at the computer happily reading about other people's business when a 451 drove past the house. I mean, it's criminial that not one of you realises the HUGE and MONUMENTAL significance of that sentence, but what can you do. The 451 is a local bus, but its route goes along the road at the end of mine, Jockey Road. No buses run down my road. So when I saw it go past I thought to myself, I thought: "The game is afoot, Smith" or something along those lines
diversion - see what I did there, where I said "I thought ... I thought", i.e. repeated it? It reminds me of something I've noticed in films recently. You know when there's a moment of high drama and or/tension that SLASH IS IN THE WRONG PLACE you get this sort of dialogue:
Character A: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS YOU FIEND
Character C: I ... I didn't mean to
Character A: OH WOE IS ME... WOE... FIEND...
Character C: I only did it because I... *pause to push hair back or whatnot* ... because I love you!
It's that, you see. Not the shoddy characterisation, or the wooden dialogue, or the glaring omission of Character B - no, it's the saying something, PAUSING FOR EFFECT, and then repeating it, but usually in a much breathier and seductive way (damn heath ledger!). My point is, you just don't get that in real life. Just like no one ever says "baby brother". That's ANOTHER ONE OF THEIR LIES.
and we're back So I was feeling a little bit nervous, a little confused. A little unsure about how things were going to turn out. Luckily the bit of toast I was making turned out fine and I was able to get back to the problem of the buses coming down the road. It was time to enlist the only person who really understands these things like I do, who has the brains and the ability to get to the bottom of a crisis - who has even more time on her hands than i do
unfortunately she was out so Helen had to do. I explained the situation and we agreed that evidently some sort of KAHOODLE on Jockey road meant the buses were being rerouted down our road - and so, part from curiosity and part from the fact that as a now jobless wonder this sort of thing was meant for me, we wandered down to see what exactly the problem was.
after such an excellent buildup, the source of the KAHOODLE was disappointingly unclear - there was a police car parked across the road shooing people left down Goldieslie, but no burning wreckage, no sirens, no screams of despair - nothing, in fact. A walk over the hill lead us to the answer - a bus had hit the kerb. No, seriously. A bus had come slightly off-road and bashed its front in, and apparently that meant the whole section of road had to be quarantined. LUDICROUS. Oh well. I remember that after that Helen and I went to Greggs for a chicken pasty, and there was nothing disappointingly unclear about that. So, all in all, a happy ending. HURRAH!
You're glad you asked, right?
For Aya:
23 - Lost and why Jack is secretly evil.
Okay. Jack's not really evil, let's face it - it was just a catch to make you interested. Jack's great. For anyone who's watching LOST, or wants to, you might want to skip over this section as it may have a SPOILER or two
(the capital bolded spoiler was for people like Aisy who only skim these posts instead of giving them the proper care and attention they deserve. i go out of my way to make your lives easier and you still kick me in the ribs. WHAT MORE CAN I DO?)
Lost is great, anyway. Along with Charmed, it is the Show I Have Been Watching Lately, and I must say it's really rather excellent. I've decided in spite of the excellent warnings I'm not actually going to put up any spoilers, just say that I really like all the main characters. Sawyer's the one whose story I'm most looking forward to seeing - today's episode with Charlie was fantastic. And clearly you know who and whatherface should get it on (especially after the cave in thing), but something's bound to get in the way.
Also, can I just say that Lock is god? He's my favourite, sort of. It tends to vary from scene to scene. But I do think he's great. Mwah.
As for Charmed, cracking show. It's a bit like the Pot Noodle situation we discussed earlier - not exactly stellar television, but completely watchable (did I hear Alyssa Milano from the back?) and definitely entertaining, even if almost exactly the same every episode. Oh well. LEO!
For RJ:
5 - So, I'm 19 now.
Yes! My birthday was quite a while ago now, over a month, but I remember it being quite nice and all. 19's a strange sort of age, isn't it? - only the Canadians have any real purpose for it, but they're all a bit odd anyway, so not to worry. This year I asked mostly for clothes, in some sort of vague attempt to try to be fashionable. The judges are still out on it at the moment.
I'm going to use this space to talk about some unrelated things, namely my hair and all the money I'm going to be spending in the next few weeks. Well, the hair is sort of linked to the fashionable thing, but anyway - it's a good story. About a month ago Rachel decided my hair looked ridiculous and she said she'd book for me to get it cut somewhere decent. Now the guy I usually use, Anthony Angel, is very good and charges £8.50 for a standard haircut. So Rachel booked an appointment at somewhere "trendy" and I wasn't really too bothered - but when I got there I realised what a travesty of an epidemic it was. The place was called "urban beauty unleashed" or "urban chic cool" or something equally banal and was basically a Toni & Guy knockoff.
= extremely distressing. As if I wasn't apprehensive already, as soon as I walked through the door I realised the place was full of 27-or-so year old women, obviously hoping to stay On The Edge (no pun intended, though perhaps it should have been). Trying not to feel ridiculous (which i looked) and trying not to look hopelessly out of place (which I felt), I eventually got my hair cut by a pregnant woman with a crazy razor of some kind. It just didn't look particularly good, is all I can say. For the extortionate price of £16, I got a longer and more uneven cut that I would have done at Angel's. Distressing, definitely, but I guess it taught me something about the price of vanity - ahah, no wait, it didn't, it taught me to get my own hair cut in future and not let my sister interfere. Phew. Glad we cleared that up. It wouldn't do for me to learn lessons about vanity, I don't think.
(what does any of this have to do with me turning 19?)
I need to buy a laptop. And at this stage I'm going to ask for audience interaction, because you guys know your shit - what should I get? I'm looking to spend in the region of around £500, I guess, because I want something that will last. But I know a lot of you have laptops and could help me out, so where should I start? What makes are reliable, and where's a good place to buy from? Hit me with your wisdom.
18 - Mood swings
I'm not sure exactly why I wrote that, RJ, to be honest. I'm feeling very good and chipper about life right now, but I guess over the course of the last year I've had ups and downs, which I think this is to do with. You have to remember that at the outset, I was going to spend most of this year travelling, and getting some experience of living abroad - well, I didn't travel at all, except on holiday, and I think I've been harbouring a bit of disappointment over that, even though I know I didn't want to go when push came to shove. Isn't that funny? Well, anyway - I'll definitely get my chances later on in my uni course, and beyond that, even. I just don't want to feel like i've wasted a year, I guess - and I don't think I have. I've made a good bit of money and gained some really useful experience, which I think is okay.
Plus, and I think you'll hear me on this, there was this girl I spent a lot of time thinking about who lived a very long way away, which isn't great. Perspective occasionally kicks your ass in those situations. Ech. At least we have the good times, eh? :)
32 - road rage
I like the way you chose all the random-sounding ones. This was I think because the day I posted this post I almost killed myself driving home from work. Now, generally speaking I'm a pretty safe driver and go at the speed limit, but there are definitely times when I go faster than you're supposed to - not silly fast, but still. Driving to Emma's is especially fun, actually - you can do the whole thing at an average of about 60mph.
Now that i'm not working I'm obviously not driving nearly as much, which is convenient because this morning Niamh lost my car keys, so I couldn't drive it even if I wanted to. *grin* it's a dinky little motor, my Golf, I'm quite fond of it.
but yes, anyway. traffic = road rage, generally speaking, but hey, I made it through my first year of driving without a crash (though enough near misses) - so I'm happy enough about that, I guess.
it was really good to speak to you the other day, by the way. glad you're doing well :)
For Helen
31 - why i should never be sent to shop - even if it is the best fun - and why shopping is NOTHING and I mean NOTHING without Helen.
according to my sister Rachel, I can't shop well. That is to say, last time I went to do the weekly shop at Tesco, I spent too much money because I have not been educated in the art of cost cutting. For example, buying Tesco Orange Juice instead of Tesco Value Orange Juice. Buying Special K instead of Finesse (exactly the same, but on 2 for 1). And other boring comparisons of this kind. You should've seen the fuss they kicked up when we bought Andrex toilet tissue.
The point is, I quite enjoy shopping. And I more or less know what I like, even if it ends up more expensive - plenty of fruit, veg, chicken breast, sandwich ingredients, bacon, ketchup and cereal. Sort of in that order. But what makes it really funny is taking Helen along, because no one can shop like Helen and I can shop. Mwahahah
A lot of this stems from the inarguable facts that my sister and I are both a) very silly and b) easily amused, which is really all there is to it. All going to Tesco's does is put a public slant on our classic brand of siblingly humour. I enjoy it, though, and to clarify, because I know she's listening with desperation - Helen, you rock.
For Jo:
no chance.
For Carrie:
29 - ahahahahahahhaahhahaa life wins.
yeah! this is more the sort of thing I like to hear. I was in a spaced out mood the day I wrote this, I tell you. But life is really good at the moment, I have to say - I'm not having to work, I have money, University is just around the corner - it's all good, really, and there's not a lot more to it than that.
how are you, anyway? It's been ages since we properly talked, which is real sad - what have you been up to, what's happening now? All that and more is bound to be more interesting than what I have to say ;)
I'll tell you about Friday night, anyway, because otherwise you might feel a touch hard done by ;). On Friday I came back from Barcelona (sad, actually, because it was gorgeous that day) and went for a cheeky pint with my friend Ben, who left for a year in France today. Then in the evening I went to my second local pub, the Vesey, with my buddies from school. It was a really fun night, actually - they're good for a crack, and we ran into a whole bunch of teachers from my old school, which was really nice. I liked my teachers, on the whole.
Saturday night was great as well, actually - my last night at the chippy before going off to Uni, which ended a run of something like 20 months. We finished perfectly on time, then went for a drink with a few mates of one of the girls who works there, and aww. Then I watched 10 Things I Hate About You, which is such an awesome movie. :D
Basically, this is just a snapshot of recent life, or as I like to call it My Descent Into Alcoholism, but at the moment I'm very chilled and cheerful and things are all coming and going in a nice way, so I hope it continues like this. Let me know how you're doing, okay? :)
For Emma
8 - The Ashes and why cricket is great. No really.
It IS great. The bowling today after they came out from lunch was superb, non? I think it went from 358-6 to 367 all out in under an hour. Legends. But more on that tomorrow.
In case any of you are not from Australia or England (unlucky), this summer's Ashes test, which is basically a five-test series between us, has been probably the best ever - certainly as far as I'm concerned, because up until now cricket's never been exciting enough to watch. The whole series comes to an end tomorrow, and at the moment England are 2-1 and look like they make clinch the series because of weather conditions. It's a long and wholly uninteresting story, but the point is that Australia have been the better team for about 25 years and a win for England tomorrow would make the Rugby World Cup celebrations seem minimal at best.
I realise now I'd probably have to explain about the Rugby World Cup as well, so I'm just not going to bother. *grin* Just take time from whatever you're doing right now and say "go on Freddie!" Just say it, you don't have to understand. Heh. Tomorrow's going to be cracking, some reel good crick't.
35 - the one you cunningly made up
I did come and see you! That was a really fun day, actually. I very much appreciate you introducing me to Arrested Development, because I think I'm going to get it for Dad for his birthday. You know we're going out to Simpsons next Saturday to celebrate his birthday, which I think will be nice. :D
Anyway. Seeing as you thought you'd be clever and impinge upon my excellent, deliberately 34-point-long list, I'm going to move on. All complaints must be made in writing :D
For Jai
6 - Why I apparently don't want a fuckbuddy
For starters, I don't fuck men. Which hasn't really answered your question, I suppose :D
oh, this is about that girl Lucy that I started talking to a few weeks back. She is a friend of some old old friends from primary school. Anyway - we went out for a drink this one night and had a bit of a kiss and a cuddle (after a cunning, Disney-based seduction), which was all good, until I decided to start overanalysing. I like overanalysing, you may have noticed.
Anyway. In short, what I could not enunciate in the slightest was that I really wasn't that into her, and wasn't particularly bothered about seeing her again, but I find it very difficult to say things like that, so instead mutter incoherently to myself. In other words, it's the Boys Are Stupid, Throws Rock At Them school of thought. Point is, whilst I was taking myself very seriously, Lucy, bless her, just sort of said, well, stop taking it all so seriously, I only want to have a bit of fun.
Oh, I said. Okay. I haven't seen her since.
for Hayley
2 - LION is finished! Over! I'm a free man, mwah
My original post was a couple of days after I finished at LION, so I'm a little hazy on the exact details now ;). It was nice, actually - we went for a drink after work, and after about five hours in the pub Simon came to pick me up, and we went and bought more beer and Southern Comfort, and yeah, it all went slightly downhill from there.
I finished on the 19th of last month. See, originally I'd planned it so that Andy and I could go travelling in September, because that's what we hoped to do, but because of his general hopelessness and lack of money (eh, Pace? ;)), it all fell through a bit, so I ended up sort of sitting around. Which is fine, to be honest. It's great to finally be able to sleep in, and see people a bit more, and take random holidays.
LION was a pretty awesome experience this year, though. And hey, on the plus side, I may well be back there at Christmas. I still know a good couple of thousand part numbers by heart, so they might have me back. ;)
13 - that book... about the guy with the glasses, you know, and a glorified twig - harry potter! It HAS been a long time.
oh MAN. I don't know if I want to get in to this, to be honest - I'm already flagging. I definitely enjoyed this book more than Book 5, but it still didn't have the je ne sais quoi of the first four, so I don't know. I had got a pretty comprehensive review put together in my head just after I read it, but a lot of it has slipped away in the past few months. When was it released, July 16th? So, getting on for two months ago. Hm. I may still re-read it and post on here, I'm not sure. I do remember that I saw Lou on the day it came out, but I think I mentioned that before. Still, it was a cracking day.
I do remember my highlight of the book, mind you: mollywobbles hahah man that shit cracks me up.
eta: do you notice how this post started all ENERGY ENERGY I'M ON CRACK and has ended up with me giggling like a, well, crack addict. I like the full circleness of the whole proceedings.
23 - Lost and why Jack is secretly evil
hahah! I already answered that one. I WIN!
I had another point that I wanted to make about something, but it completely escapes me now. you're all great, either way.
don't forget to advise me about laptops. And post a comment! People who never comment any more, who I never talk to - let me know you're still alive, still paying attention. Apart from anything else it might make me post the next post a bit more quickly. Stranger things have happened.
and oh! It makes me so happy to get back to the 5000 word post. I really don't feel at home doing these short walk in the park sort of outings. Speaking of that I was in the park today, actually. We walked back from the Carvery through the forest and went past the old playground where Mum and Dad used to take us back in the day. It was fun, especially when we bought ice creams :D
Tomorrow is Monday, and I have to get up pretty early for a dentist appointment (which is unfortunate, considering the time). At least I can have a nap when I get home ;).
okay, well. If you managed to read all of that, well done, you should now be more familiar with my life than I am, and I hope it's working out for you. We're all off to find someone with a Scottish accent and a head for mathematics
OH MAN how did I forget I bought a new guitar! It's quite dinky, and only set me back £45. I think I'll probably take it to Uni with me.
DAMMIT what was that other thing I wanted to mention as an aside? It's going to annoy the hell out of me now
*grin* Never mind. It'll come back to me for another time, maybe. For now, I'm heading to bed - but I hope you all had a very nice weekend. It's nice to have dropped back in for a bit :)
andy xx