The Castle of Unending Darkness
A long and detailed update is really in order but I'll have to be brief for now, since there are so many things stacked up around me that I need to be getting on with.
First and foremost: we've moved into the new flat. I took Wednesday morning off work and managed to get the power on (with the help of a Seeboard engineer), after which I lit the pilot light in the boiler and began unpacking about twenty-five bin bags and cardboard boxes full of posessions. Over the following forty-eight hours, with Y assisting, we've now got the place totally scrubbed clean and more-or-less looking like a home. We have an internet connection again, although it'll be limited to dial-up for a few more days and the modem in Y's laptop seems unable to locate a dial tone (a problem exacerbated by the fact that she can't locate the warranty documents). We also have a working shower, which I think is enough on its own to fully justify the increase in rent from our last place. It's been relatively quiet so far too, although we're yet to experience the place at a weekend. We do plan to hold a housewarming of some kind, although the place is a bit sparse on furniture at the moment. Maybe when we've invested in a beanbag or two and finished unloading the rest of the stuff...
It's not so bad being back in familiar territory - I've known Croydon for most of my life and I suppose it's a case of "better the devil you know."* It's odd though being across the road from the school where I was taking my A levels a decade ago. I walked past it yesterday morning and the buildings look unchanged - there is a neverending stream of arty-looking teenage students pouring out of the trains at Selhurst station with pretentious hats on their heads, guitar cases slung over their shoulders and an optimistic "I'm going to be the next big thing" sort of look**, so I presume the students are no different now either.
In other matters: another cartoon of mine, having a cheap laugh at the expense of the Swedish.
I'm meeting two former colleagues from my previous job for lunch today, as I found out recently that one has now come to work at *** as well as me and the other is working for a company at the end of my street. So that'll be a laugh, seeing those two again and speaking - probably not that fondly - of the old times.
And finally: just one little mint Sir, it's WAFFER-thin - the weirdness of the natural world knows no boundaries.
* Or better the devil everybody seems to know right now, as the murder of that eighteen-year-old model outside her home last weekend in Croydon made national news.
** Credit where it's due though; Katie Mellua is certainly doing alright for herself right now and she studied music there.
First and foremost: we've moved into the new flat. I took Wednesday morning off work and managed to get the power on (with the help of a Seeboard engineer), after which I lit the pilot light in the boiler and began unpacking about twenty-five bin bags and cardboard boxes full of posessions. Over the following forty-eight hours, with Y assisting, we've now got the place totally scrubbed clean and more-or-less looking like a home. We have an internet connection again, although it'll be limited to dial-up for a few more days and the modem in Y's laptop seems unable to locate a dial tone (a problem exacerbated by the fact that she can't locate the warranty documents). We also have a working shower, which I think is enough on its own to fully justify the increase in rent from our last place. It's been relatively quiet so far too, although we're yet to experience the place at a weekend. We do plan to hold a housewarming of some kind, although the place is a bit sparse on furniture at the moment. Maybe when we've invested in a beanbag or two and finished unloading the rest of the stuff...
It's not so bad being back in familiar territory - I've known Croydon for most of my life and I suppose it's a case of "better the devil you know."* It's odd though being across the road from the school where I was taking my A levels a decade ago. I walked past it yesterday morning and the buildings look unchanged - there is a neverending stream of arty-looking teenage students pouring out of the trains at Selhurst station with pretentious hats on their heads, guitar cases slung over their shoulders and an optimistic "I'm going to be the next big thing" sort of look**, so I presume the students are no different now either.
In other matters: another cartoon of mine, having a cheap laugh at the expense of the Swedish.
I'm meeting two former colleagues from my previous job for lunch today, as I found out recently that one has now come to work at *** as well as me and the other is working for a company at the end of my street. So that'll be a laugh, seeing those two again and speaking - probably not that fondly - of the old times.
And finally: just one little mint Sir, it's WAFFER-thin - the weirdness of the natural world knows no boundaries.
* Or better the devil everybody seems to know right now, as the murder of that eighteen-year-old model outside her home last weekend in Croydon made national news.
** Credit where it's due though; Katie Mellua is certainly doing alright for herself right now and she studied music there.