iPhones and coffee
I'm starting to wonder if I need to keep up a Livejournal any more. I hardly ever seem to be on here, with two Facebook accounts to maintain, three Twitter feeds and even a (ahem) Bebo account. Mostly work-related, I hasten to add.
Livejournal is best for reflective, longer, and thoughtful posts though - and I don't have much time for that these days. :(
Except right now, so here goes...
Watched Twilight at the weekend. Felt I had to as there has been so much hype around it and the books, and with New Moon due out I got a bit interested. So I gave it a try when I saw the DVD in HMV for a fiver (it's funny how films cost the same to buy as to rent these days).
It looked pretty good, cinematography-wise, and I did watch till the end, but it did seem to be contrived like a bit of a wank-fest for outsider teenage girls. When I was 15 I'm sure I would have fallen in love with the smouldering, sensitive and angst-ridden Edward, but it seems a bit silly watching it now. But I do love vamp flicks, and I'm a sucker (fnaar) for pretty much anything to do with vampires, as everyone knows.
stimpy_lfs made a pithy comment when he managed to rouse himself from his extreme boredom at being forced to watch the film: "Vampires just don't translate well to films." It's true, it is hard to avoid the usual cliches which tend to look a bit daft visually. Vampire books seem to handle things much better. I don't seem to remember much in the way of neck-biting in Twilight, so that's a good thing I suppose.
Being Human was much more succesful though at portraying vampires and werewolves, if I have to draw a direct comparison - but that could just be because it wasn't a high school romance.
The trailer for New Moon looks a lot better, so maybe I won't give up on the franchise right now.
If vampires don't translate well to film, then zombies certainly DO. Even bad zombie films are funny, IMHO. I'm getting excited about the release of Zombieland. Zombies AND Woody Harrelson - got to be a great combination.
Work seems to be going okay although I panic any time I'm not stupidly busy, like right now. I really really don't want them to get rid of me after the three month initial contract is up in November. I've got it so good here, I'd be absolutely gutted. We are getting some good coverage in local and specialist press and local radio, but I need some national press soon to impress the bosses. Argh!
At last - my redundancy money came though at the end of last week, so we went a bit mad at the weekend.
First stop, I got the iPhone I've long coveted - a 32gig one, which I'm just getting to grips with now. I must try to post from the phone to see how it handles Livejournal.
Without pausing for breath, we drove down to Southampton to get a docking station/radio/speaker combo for the bedroom. The ones I first looked at were good and the right price - but then we listened to a Roberts one and it sounded so brilliant there was no alternative. Oops.
We also bought - at long last - a coffee maker. It's a chrome Dualit one that takes pods as well as ground beans, but he haven't got a grinder yet. On Sunday we chose some beans at Whittards and got them to grind them for us, and away we went. The coffees taste great, although the mochas are a bit fiddly still. I'm sure we will get better with practice. I actually made myself a mocha this morning. Caffe Nero won't be getting quite so much of our hard-earned in future, methinks.
That was it - our splurge. And I do feel better for it. Most of the dosh is going on invisibles like repaying loans and cards, which isn't fun but will hopefully improve things in the future. Now I need a longer term contract and I'll be finishing up 2009 much more settled and stress-free than I started it. Till then, fingers crossed.
On the family front, Louis is enjoying nursery, and he's really cruising now - taking a series of steps with minimum support. He's still tiny but bright as a button and generally very happy. He still wakes up at 5am most days, which is exhausting for us, but we tend to take turns each day with him, which is just about bearable.
Vincent is still Lego-obsessed and in turns lovely/silly but he's a good boy at heart and is always wanting hugs and cuddles. His latest thing is speaking in accents and does a mean Spanish, Italian, Indian, American, Scottish and Geordie. He was born to entertain,that one. If finances hold steady, it's off to Stagecoach with him and see what they can do for him.
And that, for now, is all. :)