The weekend that was
Monday, June 30, 2008 ~ 2 comments so far
Friday was damp. Friday was wet. Friday was a pretty fucking good day mainly because a band called Radiohead was playing at Glasgow Green and, whilst it there was a light drizzle for most of the evening I really didn’t care. I was just happy to be there and listen to them blast their way through most of my favourites; 2+2=5, There There, Everything In Its Right Place, Paranoid Android, Just(!), Fake Plastic Trees, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, and more.
As usual there were several knobs who did their best to spoil it but it didn’t work. Why do these people go to gigs? Regardless a good time was had by all, even if by the end of the second encore we were all kind of huddled together and beginning to feel a little sorry for ourselves.
Still, that was only part one of the evening, part two was a joint leaving night for my boss and our receptionist, both of which will be missed. Having joined the throngs of people leaving Glasgow Green, we all managed to cram onto the Underground for a quick spin round to The Loft in the west end of Glasgow. The first beer was a good one, and was soon followed by another and a couple of G&Ts. Then it was onto Boho for a wee boogie and then my lovely wife picked me up at 2.30 in the morning…
… which was mainly because on Saturday we were back out to spend the day socialising with friends and family in a late birthday celebration for Louise. We kicked off at 2pm, cocktails were involved and it was only the addition of a rather nice steak that stopped me being completely dead on Sunday. As it was we got home around 3am, quite glad we had no plans for the next day.
I won’t mention that my mother phoned and woke us up… it was 11am after all.
Sunday was spent dozing and munching, sofa-bound for the day, watching crap movies (hello Enemy Within and Jumper) and enjoying Spain’s win over Germany.
And this morning? This morning I ache, with all that standing around on Friday finally kicking in. I feel like I’ve been set on a rack and stretched by some infernal torture device or something, twisted and contorted in ways for which my body was not built. All that from standing about in the rain.. time marches on, eh…
On Writing
Friday, June 27, 2008 ~ Comments Off
One day I’ll figure out how many words I type in an average (week)day. I have absolutely no idea what that total will be but I can already guess that it’ll scare the bejesus outta me. Be they emails, instant messages, text messages, documents, presentations, spreadsheets, blog posts, blog comments, articles or just jotting down items in my to do list, words dominate my day.
I hate them.
Well I don’t hate them, but I certainly abuse them on a regular basis. Mind you, given the amount of abuse the English language gets, and given that a lot of it is brought about by the language itself, with it’s twisting, turning rules and exceptions, part of thinks the words welcome the abuse, I think they kinda like it.The English language is the sadomasochist of the linguistic world.
Of course my job makes it difficult to avoid words so between us we’ve developed a love/hate relationship. I try and use them properly, they promise not to bite me in the ass too often (although between you and me, I’m not sure it’s a very even agreement, I’m SURE the words could try a little harder to be nice).
I don’t hate words.
Truth be told I do still enjoy the thrill of certain combinations of words, the gentle flow and rhythm, the beauty of juxtaposition and the jar of the unexpected. I’ve experimented a little with such things on this very blog, the occasion attempt at something “more”, but I struggle to find my own flow and rhythm, the words jar awkwardly on the screen and every line, every construct, takes it’s toll.
I don’t consider myself a writer here, more a casual scribbler, yet with each passing word the grandiose and ridiculous thought grows in my head, maybe I could?
Interestingly Mundane
Thursday, June 26, 2008 ~ 12 comments so far
Blimey, yer a strange bunch.
In fact I’m also a little insulted. I spend hours crafting blog posts, considering the weighty issues of the day, or trying to capture the elusive quality of a moment, carefully choosing my words to be thought-provokingly poetic.
Despite all that, what are the topics that really get you going? Whether tea is rubbish and how to hang up washing to dry! I’ve not had this many comments since we discussed toenails a few years back (July 2004? blimey), well apart from that one time I ASKED for comments.
The lesson here is that the mundane artefacts of modern life are something we all feel passionately about, and such things as which beverage you drink take on whole new realms of importance. We revel in the detail and, as such things are commonplace, everyone is an expert.
I’ve heard this kind of thing, in professional terms, described as the curse of knowledge. It’s an interesting turn of phrase and seems appropriate here. We all know what we know about how we, to continue the example, make a cup of tea. We may acknowledge that other methods produce similar results but deep down we know that the way WE make tea is the BEST way. With that basic understanding in place it becomes very difficult to see things from any other point of view (professionally this is why people get annoyed when you don’t know what they know, because they no longer remember having had to learn it).
But enough of that. This fascination with the every day items and tasks of modern life continues to be a good touching point, something we all do and know, so I guess it’s no wonder that discussions about how to hang up washing to dry are so… entertaining? I was going to say interesting but they aren’t really, are they, as anyone who has read the comments on the previous post going to suddenly try a new way to hang their clothes up to dry? No, I didn’t think so…
We do love a bit of introspection don’t we. And by we I mean all of us, the people of planet earth. Some enjoy it more than others, I agree, but everyone is fascinated by themselves on some level.
Even if that level is, quite literally, navel gazing.
Anyway, it’s this kind of thing that gives blogging a bad name so I think it’s time to buck up the ideas!
Well, maybe … you see … the thing is … I do have one more question …
If you are making a peanut butter and jam sandwich (PBJ to my American readers) do you also use butter (as in, Lurpak)?
Feeling Brave
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 ~ 17 comments so far
OK OK, I’ll bite.
Gentlemen of the audience. How do you hang clothes up to dry?
Presuming you aren’t just leaving them in a sodden clump, and that you hang them over a line or a clothes horse… can there really be a WRONG way to hang clothes up to dry?
The way I hang ‘em up doesn’t stop them from drying, so how can there be a wrong way?? Honestly, you wummin don’t half make things complicated sometimes…
Pure distilled poison
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 ~ 16 comments so far
Calamity!!
Dearest blog reader your intrepid blog writer almost did himself in this morning, so forgive me if I seem a little shaken, if not stirred.
My morning ritual at work is well entrenched and includes a cup of coffee. I’m still not sure if I’m as addicted to caffeine as I make out but I do know a nice hot cup of coffee seems to settle my brain for another day at the coalface. It’s gotten to the point where I’m almost on auto-pilot until that first glorious mouthful of not quite scalding but hot-enough-to-feel-as-it-goes-down coffee hits the mark.
This morning was no different, I popped some coins in the meter, turned on the PC, fired up Outlook to let it start downloading the usual 200-odd emails of nonsense that people keep sending me, and headed to the kitchen area.
I retrieve my mug (the superman one), fill the kettle and set it to boil, make some tea, take my mug back to my desk, open up the first of many emails and take big long sup of… ACK!! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS VILENESS THAT HAS ENTERED MY MOUTH!!!! THE DEVIL IS AT HAND, FLEE, FLEEEEE!!!!
Eagle-eyed readers will note that for no good reason, and I really mean for no reason of any merit that has ever been found on this entire planet, nay for any reason AT ALL in the ENTIRE COSMOS EVER!, I managed to not notice that I’d made myself a cup of tea.
Now I’m quite adept at making cups of tea, as my good wife will attest, but frankly I’d rather snort lumpy mud than drink the stuff.
Suffice to say that my entire morning routine was shaken to the foundations and it’s just as well the cleaners came along as I was THIS close to throwing a tantrum at myself before leaping off the roof in disgust.
Instead I went and made myself a cup of coffee. However I remain troubled, tea has no place in my mouth and, if I’m honest, I barely tolerate having any in the house at all.
What the hell is the appeal anyway?
I’m not taking anything posh here, no Lapdance Souffle or Earl Grit or anything, and certainly none of those would-be tea pretenders that are mango and guava flavoured, or lime and essence of coconut (sounds more like a bloody cocktail if you ask me), and certainly not anything advertised by Mr. Stephen of Fry. No, I’m talking Tetley teabag tea, or that one made by PG Woodhouse, you know, the one the monkeys like, the cheap stuff that is guzzled by the bajillion gallonfuls every day.
It’s the weirdest beverage, caught between wanting to be grown up (i.e. actually have a distinct flavour… like, say, snot) and trying to be palatable for all tastes and ending up timid and slightly sweet. It truly is the kiddy schizophrenics beverage of choice.
Hey, if you disagree with me, ask yourself this; Do you know someone who drinks “baby tea”? I bet you do.
And have you ever heard anyone ask for “baby coffee”? No, I thought not.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m an open-minded individual and I’m entirely willing to be convinced that, in actual fact, tea is something consumed by sensible adults. Goodness knows that there is plenty of evidence surrounding this argument but despite that I remain unconvinced.
Sometimes, in my darkest moments I wonder if it’s some weird kind of conspiracy, or worse, a fraternity/sorority of tea drinkers, a secret cabal of which I’m no part. In fact, now that I come to think of it that is the only valid excuse for so many intelligent people, people I trust and respect, to drink tea.
So, go one then, what’s the secret handshake?
Sudden need for habit
Monday, June 23, 2008 ~ Comments Off
Everything happens at once. It’s always the way of these things, the calendar remains empty until, all of a sudden you realise you have a concert and a leaving do to attend one evening, and a day/evening session in the pub the next day.
Such is the case this coming Friday, Radiohead gig at Glasgow Green on Friday evening the same night my boss is having his leaving do (he’s sharing it with another member of staff who is leaving, double trouble!). I’m really looking forward to both, and only hope that I’m not so completely soaked that they don’t let me into the pub later on…
It’s also approaching the end of our release cycle at work, so things are starting to ramp up there. I’m launching a new website as well as writing up some of the new featuress in the product.
And as usual – why does my brain do this? why does it wait until I’m stupidly busy – I’ve also started looking at resurrecting Scottish Blogs. Hopefully I can build it using something that requires a lot less effort and administration that the previous, hand-coded, version required as I just don’t have the bandwidth at the moment.
One thing I’ve been struggling to do is get into a writing habit. I’ve never really had one for this website, but as I now have two blogs, and I contribute to the ISTC newsletter every month (and occasionally to the quarterly magazine), it’s something I really should try and foster. Perhaps moving the Playstation upstairs to where the computer is (running it through the monitor) was a bad idea after all..
Still, it’s not all bad. I’ve started doing a little exercise fairly regularly (physio stuff as well as a some work on flexibility and core strength) and I’ve managed to rediscover my reading mojo a little, so if nothing else I’m starting to find a balance. Of course all of the above is currently impacted by a certain football tournament but that’ll be over soon.
Sign reads: Occupied
Thursday, June 19, 2008 ~ 9 comments so far
Gosh the football is good, isn’t it. Way better than a World Cup, not as long winded as an entire season and, a few games aside (I’m looking at you France), bloody top quality entertainment.
Apparently there are other things that can be watched on TV at the moment but, seriously, why would you? In saying that there is still plenty of other things currently vying for my attentions.
Friday night we are out for a quiet dinner to lightly celebrate Louise’s birthday.
Saturday morning we’ve both got appointments to see the dental hygienist (the price of paying for your dental care) and then we are off to visit Peggy. Except we aren’t REALLY visiting Peggy, we are all about the ickle fwuffy ducklings!!
Sunday is Louise’s birthday proper and no doubt some people will be popping in to tell her how old she now is and that it’s “all downhill from here”.
Zip through the next week (although there are a few changes happening at work just now, plenty of gossip and rumour, which is always fun) and on Friday I’ll be one of many thousands standing about at Glasgow Green in glorious sunshine listening to the best band in the world (well, they will be that day), and after the Radiohead gig, if I can still walk, I’ll catch up with some people from work to say goodbye to two work colleagues that are leaving.
There are a couple of things occupying my mind at the moment though, namely the fact that our Sky+ box failed to record a few things last week. And by a few games I mean the 4-1 game between Holland and France! It should be fixed now (turn it off and turn it on again) but I swear to god if I miss any more football I’ll… I’LL… well I’ll probably just phone up and order a new Sky HD box.