not a journal entry for ages...
...and then loads come along at once.
I had a reasonably bad day today. I was grumpy. Those bastard fucking balconies are back, because they're too short. The ones that were measured FOUR TIMES. Now they've been measured a fifth time, and, surprise...the gaps they have to fit in have grown by 25mm. And the 'acceptable' gap from sleeve to spigot plate has decreased from 10mm to 2.5mm. This has caused me much hassle today. I mean, hardly a terrible day in the grand scheme of things, but enough to take the shine off my mood.
As such I left work at the earliest possible opportunity. I put my heart and soul into making those bastards the first time around, working 11 hour shifts etc. Did I get a word of thanks? No. So they can go fuck themselves this time. I'll finish when I finish.
When I started cycling home I got to the level crossing and had to wait as the barriers were down. When they lifted I moved off, not particularly fast, but when I reached the next junction, where a side road joins the road I was on from the left, a car pulled out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I slammed on the anchors and literally stopped on the car's back bumper. I was standing on my pedals, and I must have filled this guy's back windscreen totally. I swore under my breath, but, y'know, it's part of cycling, having cunts in cars try to kill you. I ride always on my guard. This guy then sort of meanders into the middle of the road, and as we approach the next side road, which is off to the right, he sort of swerves to the middle a bit more, not indicating in any direction, and he slows. So I shift around him and start to filter between him and the parked cars. At this point I must have filled his wing mirror...so naturally, he pulls directly in front of me, nose into a parking space. Almost squashed me between his rear door and a parked car. So I did what came naturally - slammed my fist into his car and swore. He kept rolling, so I jinked around behind him, pulled up beside his driver's window, which happened to be rolled down, and gave him a piece of my mind. And I only swore once. He wouldn't even look at me or acknowledge me. If his missus hadn't been in the car, and he hadn't been the wrong side of sixty, I would have sworn considerably more. But I do have a very small amount of respect. Seriously though, if you're too blind to see a cyclist in any of your mirrors, you shouldn't be on the road. And if you just don't check your mirrors then you're a cunt and I hope a juggernaut parks up your exhaust pipe when you pull out in front of one of them.
And we had a massive thunder-lightening-rain storm this evening, which was fab. Loads of lightening out over the sea etc.
I had a reasonably bad day today. I was grumpy. Those bastard fucking balconies are back, because they're too short. The ones that were measured FOUR TIMES. Now they've been measured a fifth time, and, surprise...the gaps they have to fit in have grown by 25mm. And the 'acceptable' gap from sleeve to spigot plate has decreased from 10mm to 2.5mm. This has caused me much hassle today. I mean, hardly a terrible day in the grand scheme of things, but enough to take the shine off my mood.
As such I left work at the earliest possible opportunity. I put my heart and soul into making those bastards the first time around, working 11 hour shifts etc. Did I get a word of thanks? No. So they can go fuck themselves this time. I'll finish when I finish.
When I started cycling home I got to the level crossing and had to wait as the barriers were down. When they lifted I moved off, not particularly fast, but when I reached the next junction, where a side road joins the road I was on from the left, a car pulled out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I slammed on the anchors and literally stopped on the car's back bumper. I was standing on my pedals, and I must have filled this guy's back windscreen totally. I swore under my breath, but, y'know, it's part of cycling, having cunts in cars try to kill you. I ride always on my guard. This guy then sort of meanders into the middle of the road, and as we approach the next side road, which is off to the right, he sort of swerves to the middle a bit more, not indicating in any direction, and he slows. So I shift around him and start to filter between him and the parked cars. At this point I must have filled his wing mirror...so naturally, he pulls directly in front of me, nose into a parking space. Almost squashed me between his rear door and a parked car. So I did what came naturally - slammed my fist into his car and swore. He kept rolling, so I jinked around behind him, pulled up beside his driver's window, which happened to be rolled down, and gave him a piece of my mind. And I only swore once. He wouldn't even look at me or acknowledge me. If his missus hadn't been in the car, and he hadn't been the wrong side of sixty, I would have sworn considerably more. But I do have a very small amount of respect. Seriously though, if you're too blind to see a cyclist in any of your mirrors, you shouldn't be on the road. And if you just don't check your mirrors then you're a cunt and I hope a juggernaut parks up your exhaust pipe when you pull out in front of one of them.
And we had a massive thunder-lightening-rain storm this evening, which was fab. Loads of lightening out over the sea etc.