Weekend Mantra

Friday, August 14, 2009 ~ Comments Off

I must not waste the weekend. I must not waste the weekend. I must not waste the weekend.

The reason I’m repeating this is because, from Saturday afternoon until late Sunday evening I have the place to myself.

And the footie season is starting.

And I have a list of things that need done around the house (yeah, one of THOSE lists).

Not to mention my own lists of things I’d like to get done, one of which is to formulate a plan on how to start a social media/community driven website for an organisation.

I’ve already pondered a day of lounging around on the sofa, drinking coffee, eating pizza and chocolate hobnobs and varying my viewing between said sport and whatever silly big blockbuster action movie I happen across.

Where as what I should be doing is, for example, sanding down the bannisters, or painting that section of the living room that got a little ‘cat damaged’ when we first got Oll-E.

So.

Say it with me!

I must not waste the weekend. I must not waste the weekend. I must not waste the weekend.

That sudden tightness

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 ~ 3 comments so far

Driving home tonight along the A82, I’m doing 58mph in a 50mph zone.

As I approach a corner a motorbike zips by me.

I round the corner and just as I pass the exit ramp from the local quarry, I spot a blue light.

Shit.

I immediately take my foot off the accelerator but don’t brake, too obvious.

Fuck.

The lights flash as the police car pulls up behind me.

Crap.

What do I do? I’ve never been stopped before. Ohh I feel sick to my stomach, guess I’ll have to just take whatever punishment they hand out. Wonder how it will effect my car insurance. Dammit, what an idiot.

And with that the police car accelerates, pulls out, and passes me. Round the next bend he cruises up behind the motorbike and motions him into the next layby.

Thank fuck for that.

I often drive too fast. Not stupidly, if it’s wet I slow down, if it’s busy I slow down but on a clear night, on a dry empty road I will admit I tend to go over the speed limit more often than not.

I know it’s illegal, just as I know I shouldn’t for a huge number of reasons beyond that, emissions, wear and tear on the car, the cost of diesel and so on. But there is always that part of me that manages to justify it to myself.

Later on, once I’m on the M8, I spy another police car on the other carriageway who has stopped the driver of a Subaru, and then later on the M74 a third policecar, a third set of blue lights dance across my eyeline as I cruise past at a steady 72mph (the joys of cruise control).

I pull off the motorway and all too soon I’m on the last few roads home, doing 46mph in a 40mph zone.

I just don’t seem to learn.

Waiting Alone

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 ~ 5 comments so far

I’m sitting in the waiting area. I’m alone until an elderly lady shuffles in. I watch as she struggles to walk the few paces to the counter, I listen as she is asked to wait and watch the pained expression on her face as she gingerly steps towards the nearest chair. She turns and sits, her back to me.

As she sits down the door swings open suddenly, in strides a man, about my age, full of purpose. He too is told to go and take a seat. He thumps over and plonks himself down opposite the old lady. He is smartly dressed, trousers and a shirt, well polished shoes. He takes out his mobile phone and starts his ritual.

The old lady leans forward in her seat. From where I’m sitting I can’t see her face but I can hear her breathing with a struggle, on the edge of a cough. She has a handkerchief ready and her body shakes as she starts coughing into it.

After a few seconds she sits back and folds up her handkerchief. She raises her head and I hear her murmur a smiling, humble, apology to the man opposite her.

He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t look up from his phone.

Part of me hopes he has something terminal.

I be done thunking

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 ~ 5 comments so far

I’m not a big thinker. I’m a big planner and ponderer but largely, when it comes to thinking, I tend to avoid it at all costs.

As such, a lot of my decisions can seem quite rash to some people. I’ve certainly not spent much time pondering things like the purchasing of houses or cars, instead they tend to be quick decisions, and I’ll be honest and say that such a policy has bitten me in the arse.

It was a flat we bought in Aylesbury, it was big, slightly oddly laid out and need a fair amount of work to get it into shape. Oh well, live and learn.

As I lay on the sofa and drifted in and out of a rather nice doze, I found myself thinking about thinking and specifically whether I should do a little more of it. And then I realised I wasn’t some eccentric toff who could afford such luxury and so I decided to watch The Incredible Hulk, who is quite that, both incredible and a hulk.

It is a thought though, isn’t it.

I pity those people who think, the philosophers of our time, those who ponder BIG issues with no real answers. Or those who ponder the hidden depths of the current in vogue diety (hmmm, is there a reason that’s very close to being “diety”? is there a link between faith and fat?).

Now, some of you may argue that not enough people think so let me clarify one thing.

Just because I don’t think, doesn’t mean I’m stupid. Just that I know better than to think that thinking solves anything. Right?

Dumbarton Bridge

Monday, August 10, 2009 ~ Comments Off

Spanning the River Leven just up from where it meets the mighty Clyde, the “old bridge” is still something I’m drawn to whenever I’m back in Dumbarton.

It’s not that the bridge itself holds much significance, just a few memories of walking over it on the way to Levengrove Park, leaning over to peer into the water, watching shoals of mullet glide around.

RIP John Hughes

Saturday, August 8, 2009 ~ Comments Off

Being off ill, and spending most of my days dozing, means I’m slightly behind on some things. So I was very sad to hear that John Hughes had died.

I wouldn’t say I was a big fan, but given that I grew up with such movies as Pretty in Pink and Ferris Buellers Day Off, I guess I was a bigger fan than I thought.

To my shame I didn’t see The Breakfast Club until a few years ago, which is both a good and bad thing. Good in that it would probably have coloured my view of life for a while if I’d seen it as a teenager (very easily influenced), good that I probably appreciate it more as a 30-something and realise it is a very clever movie, and bad because I feel like I did actually miss out on something that was, by all accounts, quite a marker in the movie landscape.

Oh well.

Weird Science was the movie that stuck in my mind the most, although that is completely down to Kelly LeBrock, of course. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is still funny and then there is Home Alone. Without doubt one of the best comedy movies of the past 20 years, if you strip away all the schmaltz there is 30 minutes or so of, quite simply, the best slapstick humour I’ve ever seen (including THE best male scream ever).

A sad day indeed.

He seemed to have a gift for capturing the sadness we all feel from time to time, and allowing us to wallow there for a moment before reminding us that life is for living and, frankly, screw everything else. It’s a common theme in all his movies, those moments of introspection and melancholy, without which I don’t think audiences would’ve related as well as they did.

And for those who were fans I’ll point you to this blog post by another fan who ended up being pen pals with Mr.Hughes (via). It’s fascinating.

What a shame he ended up leaving Hollywood behind, perhaps the greatest lesson we should take is how he conducted himself during his life.

I am rubbish

Friday, August 7, 2009 ~ 4 comments so far

At being ill that is, completely and utterly rubbish.

Admittedly my current ails leave me little to no choice but to mope around, thwarting any effort to do pretty much anything. Take, this blog post as an example, I’m already feeling light headed and my arms are heavy and I really just don’t have the energy.

It’s starting to piss me off.

Well it would but I don’t even have the energy for that.

So I’ve been glued to the sofa, either watching movies or dozing, or a combination of the two meaning in the past four days I’ve only managed to watch three movies as I keep falling asleep.

I am only posting this to assure you all that I am not dead. Just not very alive right now.

Abnormal service will be resumed.. you know.. whenever.