Relax...
Well, last night I thought I had a work do. I was wrong. So I went home early instead because the Americans have all gone home anyway due to Thanksgiving and I don't have anything to do except fill oiut a review spreadsheet with stupid details abut how many lines of code I changed.
Like I keep track of that sort of shit? Have they never heard of continual improvement?
Anyway, so I got home and bigby_wolf (who is staying at my place for the purpose of taraxgoat's wedding celebrations) suggested we go and look for food 'at a mall'. The mall in Upper Hutt is unfortunately not the best place for food, but we did find a nice looking Thai restaurant, an Irish pub, and a kebab house.
So we had doner kebab's. I think bigby_wolf enjoyed his very much, as he told me there aren't any in Christchurch, at least not any that let you say "leave out the onions". I enjoyed mine too, it has been a while since I had a kebab, and I also had a Turkish coffee, which was most useful seeing I had fallen asleep on the train on the way home, and was only just staying awake.
The kebab house (there is only one in Upper Hutt so I don't need to tell you the name, which is good as I can't remember it anyway) was a strange mix of culture and kitszch, from the authentic looking stools and cushions, to the sixties plastic placemats and the rather scruffy pink bunny rabbit in the corner. There was even, complete with the obligatory red plastic coke bottle display, the rather odd concept of kebab "combo" meals! Do you want fries with that?
But the service was friendly, though the staff seemed surprised we were serious about eating our kebabs there. They turned on the music which was appropriately atmospheric. bigby_wolf carefully cleaned an straightened half of the foil wrapping his kebab and folded it into a tin-foil rose, leaving it on the table when we left. A tradition I'm told, and a nice one at that!
Back home for more coffee and he introduced me to his current musical obsession Blackmore's Night. We played several cd's while chatting and browsing the web looking at pirate and musketeer boots and various other articles of clothing, including these amazing doublets
The music was relaxing and Candice Night was both beautiful and so obviously enjoying herself in the videos on the cds, that I couldn't help but like her, even though at times it seemed a little faux. But I have to agree that they make a great Changeling band! One song in particular (All Because of You) seemed remarkably familiar and I still don't understand why.
Ritchie Blackmore, of course is the same legend who made the ground-breaking Deep Purple a household name back in the late sixtiies - early seventies, and he's lost none of his skill. Even if you don't like the singing, the guitar tracks stand by themselves, just as the early tracks from the Purple like Hush and Hey Joe still bring chills to new listeners. I'm glad I still have my original copy of their first Album Shades of Deep Purple, and it is still obviously Blackmore.
Later we smoked cloves together staring up at the stars in the cold of the night, and then I retired and slept soundly my dreams filled with people in flowing robes dancing through trees and through rooms where high roofs are supported by forests of stone pillars, with fast, dancing, music filling all the space and leading us onward through the dark. Glimpses of happy faces dappled with light in the shadows of leaves, the fleeting touch of finger-tip to finger-tip, hair brushing one's face and sticking to day-old stubble as the wearer breezes past.
The train this morning was remarkably empty, as were the streets.
Awake now, but still dreaming.
Like I keep track of that sort of shit? Have they never heard of continual improvement?
Anyway, so I got home and bigby_wolf (who is staying at my place for the purpose of taraxgoat's wedding celebrations) suggested we go and look for food 'at a mall'. The mall in Upper Hutt is unfortunately not the best place for food, but we did find a nice looking Thai restaurant, an Irish pub, and a kebab house.
So we had doner kebab's. I think bigby_wolf enjoyed his very much, as he told me there aren't any in Christchurch, at least not any that let you say "leave out the onions". I enjoyed mine too, it has been a while since I had a kebab, and I also had a Turkish coffee, which was most useful seeing I had fallen asleep on the train on the way home, and was only just staying awake.
The kebab house (there is only one in Upper Hutt so I don't need to tell you the name, which is good as I can't remember it anyway) was a strange mix of culture and kitszch, from the authentic looking stools and cushions, to the sixties plastic placemats and the rather scruffy pink bunny rabbit in the corner. There was even, complete with the obligatory red plastic coke bottle display, the rather odd concept of kebab "combo" meals! Do you want fries with that?
But the service was friendly, though the staff seemed surprised we were serious about eating our kebabs there. They turned on the music which was appropriately atmospheric. bigby_wolf carefully cleaned an straightened half of the foil wrapping his kebab and folded it into a tin-foil rose, leaving it on the table when we left. A tradition I'm told, and a nice one at that!
Back home for more coffee and he introduced me to his current musical obsession Blackmore's Night. We played several cd's while chatting and browsing the web looking at pirate and musketeer boots and various other articles of clothing, including these amazing doublets
The music was relaxing and Candice Night was both beautiful and so obviously enjoying herself in the videos on the cds, that I couldn't help but like her, even though at times it seemed a little faux. But I have to agree that they make a great Changeling band! One song in particular (All Because of You) seemed remarkably familiar and I still don't understand why.
Ritchie Blackmore, of course is the same legend who made the ground-breaking Deep Purple a household name back in the late sixtiies - early seventies, and he's lost none of his skill. Even if you don't like the singing, the guitar tracks stand by themselves, just as the early tracks from the Purple like Hush and Hey Joe still bring chills to new listeners. I'm glad I still have my original copy of their first Album Shades of Deep Purple, and it is still obviously Blackmore.
Later we smoked cloves together staring up at the stars in the cold of the night, and then I retired and slept soundly my dreams filled with people in flowing robes dancing through trees and through rooms where high roofs are supported by forests of stone pillars, with fast, dancing, music filling all the space and leading us onward through the dark. Glimpses of happy faces dappled with light in the shadows of leaves, the fleeting touch of finger-tip to finger-tip, hair brushing one's face and sticking to day-old stubble as the wearer breezes past.
The train this morning was remarkably empty, as were the streets.
Awake now, but still dreaming.