Modern Life is Rubbish
Friday, April 18, 2008 ~ 11 Comments
Kitchen is almost finished. Last bit of tiling is getting done on Monday, most of the flooring will go down over the weekend, then it’s a couple of touch up jobs with a paintbrush, a little wallpaper and we’re done!!
I’ve sent off my letter of complaint and received a phone call following up to tell me they had received it and I will receive a written response soon. So that’s moving on nicely, and my altercation with a taxi is now in the hands of the Glasgow City Council licensing board.
Work has been increasingly busy these past couple of weeks, hence the paucity of updates here, it’s all I can do to stay awake long enough to eat dinner sometimes. It’s been great though, and I’m really starting to grow into the role (now that I’ve kind of figured out what my role is!). Plenty about that on my other blog mind you.
And speaking of blogs, I’ve been making a conscious effort to get back to commenting again. Yes it’s easy to say that you are still reading but sometimes that little comment counter can make a huge difference to your blogging mojo. It’s the little things that make a difference.
So, just got my health to sort out then we’ll have a semblance of order resorted (results of tests due tomorrow). I’ve almost completely eliminated “additional salt” from my diet, it’s taken a bit to get used to it but I certainly notice it when it’s been added. Hopefully that, plus the diuretic (bendroflumethiazide if you must know) will bring my blood pressure out of the stratosphere it was operating within (195/122 at highest reading… but down to 174/114 about 10 days ago).
I’ve also made a conscious effort to relax and de-stress, but truth be told I don’t feel any different, a little easier to tire since I started the pills but… yeah… not much has changed. Aside from my diet of course, which also means I’ve lost a little weight… things are heading the right way.
In other news, our cat is growing up. Looking back at photos from January he’s noticeably bigger and today he made his first kill!! A little baby starling. Shame really but we knew it would happen. Frankly I’m a little disappointed, it can’t have been much of a challenge so I’ve told him not to come back next time until he’s got one of the bloody magpies in his claws.
And that’s quite enough of that. As soon as I get the kitchen finished I’ll be starting a book clear-out, more on that… later.
Friday night
Monday, April 14, 2008 ~ 10 Comments
To celebrate the recent release of our product, the Development group had a wee night out, as is our wont.
A few of us (you know, the sensible ones) congregated in a Pizza Express for some food then nipped across the road to catchup with everyone else in Stavka, a vodka bar. It was a good laugh, and we managed to stay out of the trap of talking about work… well not too much anyway. And, as is the mark of a good night out, there are some details that are only emerging from the fuzzy depths of my brain today.
For example I’d forgotten when Alan licked the foam off the top of Joan’s Guinness, when Shelly fell on the dancefloor later on, and that Sid and Davy ended up having a snog. That’s a good night out, when everyone is in the same happy go lucky mood.
Ohh and, obviously, the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
That said it turns up that one of the last shots of the night WASN’T raspberry vodka after all… I’m not sure what it was but it was DEFINITELY that drink that tipped me over the edge.. honest.
Now just need to figure out who ended up going home with whom and I’ll have ALL the gossip. Hey, I work in ‘communications’, it’s important!
Harissa Paste
Sunday, April 6, 2008 ~ 2 Comments
Picture the scene, if you will, of a dashing and debonair young man, slim of body with flowing locks of blonde hair framing his sculptured face as he lounges gracefully on a chaise lounge. Soft music plays in the background, whilst the delicate fragrances of dinner waft from the kitchen. A tranquil scene I’m sure you’ll agree.
Now picture the exact opposite, a slovenly baw-faced guy slouching in front of the TV, his belt undone, his thinning hair needing cut, his face unshaven.
That pretty much sums me up at the moment, but then it’s been a busy weekend.
Friday night found me dashing into Glasgow to catch Elbow at the ABC. Doors opened at 6pm the ticket said, something I only realised at 6.04pm when I lifted my ticket to put it in my jacket pocket for later. Of course, having jumped in the car and raced into Glasgow, I arrive at the venue to find a growing queue standing outside and received confirmation from the bouncers on the door that doors didn’t open until 7pm. And yeah, it didn’t matter what my ticket said, alright?!
Minor glitch over, the gig was pretty damn good. I was largely going on the strength of their last album, having not had much chance to hear their new one, nor having spent much time listening to any of the others. It didn’t matter though, as the band were pretty slick, and BOY can that man sing, what a voice (although I should mention the quality of the sound, it was spot on, you could pick out every instrument and voice). Top gig, and I got to meet Paul as well, bonus!
Saturday and we were up early, with the car filled with a variety of rubbish to be taken to the dump, then a quick bit of shopping and a few other chores before heading back home. Then, alas, it was off to work for a few hours before hooking up with my parents for dinner.
And today saw some DIY, the fitting of a new light in the kitchen and a few other tidy up tasks as we continue to return our house to some sort of order.
Ohh yes, the kitchen… it’s lovely, thanks (see for yourself)
Anyway, harissa chicken is cooking on the oven, some roast vegetables will be going on soon so I’d better get the table set and open a bottle of wine. Hope your weekend is ending as well as ours.
Real life will resume shortly
Thursday, April 3, 2008 ~ 4 Comments
Before I say anything else, a quick but very heartfelt thank you to everyone who has offered advice, support and general nice thoughtyness (either in comments or via email or Twitter) concerning my recent health news. I’m not going to go on about it, but thank you.
Elsewhere in my life, the kitchen has been fitted! The tiler arrives today (phoned last night to see if he could come early) which means I’ll be free to do the flooring at the weekend. After that, a little bit of wallpapering (I’m sub-contracting my parents for that bit, they are pretty cheap but I have to do all the high bits…), a new light, new blinds and I THINK we are done.
Just the rest of the house to return to order and to await the delivery and fitting of three replacements doors as two were slightly damaged, one was completely the wrong colour. The kitchen fitter mentioned the damaged doors to me over the phone, but as they were gone by the time we returned home I have to admit that we can’t see even a tiny scratch. Oh well.
The past day or two have been a funny mixture. Looking back it seems like I’ve dazed and floated my way through them, but with specific instances of chaos peppering my (rose-tinted) view. Between the kitchen, the doctor, “release week” at work, and the usual demands of modern society (bills and whatnot.. meh), my mind has been shotgunning all over the place. It’ll be nice to find a few quite hours on Saturday night to sit still and zone out.
In saying all that, I’ve still to draft the letter of complaint concerning the bodged survey (which lead to 4 and a bit weeks without a kitchen!) so I’m still not entirely sure how much the kitchen will cost us. I’ve been trying to calculate, in monetary terms, how much to demand they lop off the bill and whilst it’s easy for things like laundry costs, days holiday taken without need, and so on… how do you put a price on “stress” or however it’s classed (hmmm, perhaps mention of my high blood pressure too…).
If we round down to the nearest thousand, we’d be demanding a reduction of around 4.6%. We’ll see, I’d rather have a few hundred quid in my pocket than theirs!
Speaking of money I really must order some Forints…
Moments of beauty
Monday, March 31, 2008 ~ 3 Comments
A few days I ago I mentioned finding the beauty in things and I had a perfect example this morning as I drove to work. A glorious view unfurled beneath me as I drove down the hill. As usual my camera was tucked away in my bag. Mind you I was on the motorway so couldn’t really stop..
The sun was up, white-yellow through clouds, wafting salmon pink mist across the city like a blanket. Sprawling chimneys and gangling tower blocks dangled through the cloud. Layers of light broke away towards the hills on the horizon, shading each rise and fall, buildings picked out in silhouette, windows flashing sunlight.
15 seconds later the road dipped and it was gone. A small moment but it took my breath away.
Fate?
Sunday, March 30, 2008 ~ 3 Comments
What is it about these things, these events in life that all seem to collide. Days go by with only the merest ripple distorting the norm then … BLAMMO! …
For example, take tomorrow. I need to be in the office to deliver a presentation as part of our induction and the kitchen fitters are due to, finally, start work. I’ve also got an appointment with the nurse to get my blood pressure taken.
I’d figured out the timings, I’d wait until the kitchen fitters arrived and then head to work. The presentation is right after lunch, so I’d give that then head off to the local health centre, then home to see how the fitters are doing.
Except they won’t be here until midday apparently, which fucks up everything. I can’t NOT be in work tomorrow but can’t wait here until midday… so Louise is taking the day off.
It’s never simple, is it?
Mind you, fate sometimes helps. I’ve managed to bork the search page on my other blog, so when I heard WordPress 2.5 was out I figured I may as well grab it and get upgraded. So I have. Both blogs are now on 2.5 and the upgrade was super smooth and whilst I’ve not had much time to play with it, the new admin screens aren’t too bad.
Fate, sometimes it gives you a helping hand, sometimes it’s like a steel-toecapped boot to your knackers. Such is life.
In other news, isn’t the new R.E.M. album good! They’ve rediscovered loud rockin’ guitars, wheeeee.
Laughing is good
Sunday, March 23, 2008 ~ 6 Comments
It’s fair to say that we are both fairly stressed with the ongoing ‘lack of kitchen’ saga, so it’s been good to have a hearty chuckle over the past couple of days.
The cat flap we fitted for Ollie is working fine. It uses a magnetic lock to stop just any old feline wandering in, and means that Ollie now has a small magnet dangling from his collar. I’m sure there are other cats in the area with the same cat flap fitted in their homes but it will stop the strays getting in.
Unfortunately for Ollie, having a magnet attached to collar makes life… interesting… particularly when your food and water bowls are made of metal … *CLUNK* … or you have to walk past the washing machine as it’s currently sitting in the living room … *KLANK* … or you walk past the clean dishes, lying at the top of the stairs as they are currently being washed in the bathroom, and a spoon attaches itself to your collar … *CLINK*. Cue one bemused cat staring down at this spoon as it follows him along the hall… “But I’m not carrying it! Get it off me!!”.
We shouldn’t laugh at him of course, but we do…
And then, off to see Jimmy Carr last night. We started with some teppenyaki, and then we (my sister and her boyfriend were with us), headed over to the Clyde Auditorium.
Suffice to say (without wanting to spoil the show for others) that he was hilarious. I’d say he was edgy but that wouldn’t really sum up his brand of humour. What he does is very smart of course, taking the audience to a place where it’s ok to laugh at a particularly distasteful joke and then taking you one step further to shock you.
Peppered with one-liners, and a nicely handled ‘open session’ with lead to some arsehole just shouting abuse (which Jimmy handled excellently “You know, whenever I get someone like you in the audience I get a nice warm glow. After all, somewhere a carer is getting the night off…”) the highlight was probably the consistent way in which he related the jokes to two 14 year olds that were sitting in the front row….
A great show and a very smart, very funny man. If you get a chance to see him live, and you aren’t easily shocked (there are recurring themes of paedophilia for example) then go and see him.
Just be careful if you decide to heckle him. He is quietly and lethally brutal.
