Friday, October 28, 2005

Love at first sight

We have an offer in on a house. It's not the one I have been going on and on
about - the vendors keep messing around so we're giving up. This is however
gorgeous. Well it's not really gorgeous, but it has the potential. It has a
fantastic, south facing garden which only needs a little bit of TLC. Okay,
so the whole thing needs some work doing - but it's still gorgeous and is
(hopefully) going to be our dream home! Fingers crossed.


Update: 4.30pm - Offer has been accepted (subject to us selling the wifes house which shouldn't be too difficult as it's ideal for first time buyers/families, close to local amenities etc. Does anyone want an immaculately presented, larger than average, 3 bed house in north east city?). Wahooo!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Bugs

My wireless connection is playing up so I have to keep borrowing the wifes computer where thespacebutton onlyworks intermittently. I have been a bad blogger and not updated my links recently and now can't remember where to find people. Improving this here blog is one mission now that I have some time.

In other news, having spent time with a number of snotty under-fives recently I too am feeling snotty and achey. (No, it's not bird flu, it's not even flu - flu makes you ill. I havea plain old simple rhinovirus). It's a cold, wet day - perfect for snuggling under the quilt with buckets of tea and a classic film. Trouble is I can't decide which film.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Wife-isms

I kindly, because that's the kind of girl I am, ran the wife a bath with the intention of, because the wife is not a dirty person, going in after her. However, the boiler is playing up and when she got into the bath she told me the water wasn't very warm. I suggested that I got in with her (just so that I wouldn't be left with cold water you understand) to which she replied "don't be daft woman, it would overflow". Just another example of how my wife is very pracitcal and so not very romantic!

Back on the market

A few weeks back I mentioned that we had found a dream house but that it was sold before we had chance to do anything about it. Yesterday, it went back on the market. Apparently the sale has fallen through so we are all excited again, having decided that we would never find our ideal home. Going to move quickly this time though and are already picturing ourselves there. There is a fantastic room which is currently being used as a games room (including a full sized pool table). I suggested that it would make a fantastic bedroom, complete with a huge leather bed (although last time we stayed in a huge bed we couldn't find each other - it may destroy our sex life altogether). Anyway, the answer to this suggestion was "bugger off, imagine having a games room like that"!

Friday, October 21, 2005

Food for thought

Old Friend has been and gone. We have spent months decorating the house and all she could say was the living room is 'chilled'. And what about the shiny kitchen, gorgeous bathroom, stunning dining room etc. Instead the bed was bumpy, the hot water kept going cold. It's the first time she has met the wife and there again instead of 'she seems nice' or similar it was 'she's a bit old'. I know that this is just how O.F. is and I can't help thinking she is jealous of my happy home. On the up side, I did get to go to my favourite restaurant, and as a bonus it was happy hour - hooray for good food!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Irritations

I am getting mighty sick of all the hype about bird flu. The media coverage seems to me to be adding to the scaremongering rather than informing people of the facts. The TV reports seem to be using bird flu and regular flu in the same sentence. As yet the H5N1 strain of the virus isn't transmitted between people, the 60 fatalities in Asia since 2003 have all been in people who were in close contact with birds (and what is the population in Asia in millions?) and it can't be caught by eating poultry. So why there have been tales of people stock piling food I will never know.

The other piece of irritating news recently was the news that the US stopped the distribution of the UK military ration packs sent out after Katrina because of fears of BSE. The safeguards in place to prevent BSE infected meat entering the food chain have been stringent and as far as I am aware there is still no firm scientific evidence proving that vCJD is caused by eating infected meat. I hope that no one who had already lost everything went hungry because of this stupidity.

Two rants in one day - that should put me in a good mood for the rest of the week!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Hum

I'm getting old - Neighbours has been going for 20 years!

In other news, I soon worked out how to spend a weekend: painting. Not
watercolours or oil on canvas (I struggle to draw a stick man, let alone
paint a picture), but rather soft fawn on walls. Then there was a birthday
party - and in true two year old style, he was more interested in the box
the toys came in than the toys. And why do kids only come near me when they
have sticky hands and chocolate all over their faces?

Friday, October 14, 2005

Done and dusted

Thesis is done! Not submitted yet, but written, formatted, assembled into one 200+ page word doc and emailed to supervisors to be pulled apart one last time. That's done enough for me to have a weekend off - all weekend! It is so long since I had an entire weekend not spent working that I'm not sure I can remember what to do. Or should that be what not to do!

Back in April I vowed not to install Theme Hospital on my then new computer until the thesis was done. Perhaps I will manage to find time to install it this weekend!

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Out

I have been outed by old friend 1 to old friend 2 and while this isn't a problem I would rather have outed myself. Just before telling me she knew that I'm gay and that the 'friend' I live with isn't just a 'friend' she invited herself to stay one night next week (she has a meeting up here the following day). Now I can't help thinking that she is only coming up to have a good old nosey around my life and all the details will then be regaled back to friend 1 (and to everyone else who ever new me). This still isn't a problem but her motives for the visit are questionable (I have done the same journey for a 10am meeting and made it on time by catching the early train - this is only the other end of the country, not the other end of the world).

When we all lived in London together (before I was out to anyone) we were in a bar one night and although there weren't many people in there, it was fairly obviously a gay bar. As soon as they realised we were out of there - I don't know what pissed me off more, leaving in a hurry because they were in a gay pub or having to leave half a drink. Hopefully their attitudes have changed but I resent being 'checked out' and then have my life gossiped about.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Ctrl & S

I thought computers were supposed to make life easier! It would appear that writing a thesis is easier than formatting it. If I had a pound for every time I've cursed Endnote this weekend I wouldn't have to work again.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Why?

Why does the dog enjoy being rubbed behind his ears? Why does rubbing behind the dogs ears make him yawn? Why does the dog have such bad breath?

This isn't just dog breath, he smells so bad! When he opens his mouth you can smell it from 6 feet away. The doggy breath is the easiest way to tell he's in the room. We've tried all sorts of chews and the likes but nothing works. Why?

Is it wrong?

I just realised that I'm just days away from submitting my thesis and I can count on one hand the number of times I've been to the library. I think 4 out of those 5 times were just after I started, when I was a new post-graduate student, all keen and eager. The electronic library is quite good but if they don't subscribe to the journal I want I tend to dismiss the article rather than have to go and find the paper version. I guess I'll find out soon enough if this is wrong!

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Ring, ring

I could do with a new mobile phone. Well not a new phone as such but a new contract as the network I'm on doesn't have very good coverage either at home or at work and the calls I can make are costing me too much. The trouble is all I use my phone for is voice calls but none of the networks seem to consider this. The tariffs are all about hundreds of texts, so many megabytes of data and dozens of picture messages. All I want is a couple of hundred free minutes so I can listen to my mother every so often. And why can't I have a discount for wanting to keep my old phone not update to one of these new fancy phones that can do anything except wipe your arse for you. (Or have they release that one now?) And no I don't need a camera - the screen's too bloody small anyway. All I want to do is make the occasional phone call. (Actually, most of all I would like a simple 'ring ring' ringone).

Then again - with a better network, I'd have to come up with a better excuse than "Sorry mum, the reception's terrible, I'll call you in a couple of days".

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Disturbing the peace

There seems to be a craze among the kids around here for those mini-motorbikes and all weekend some of the local kids have been riding around and around on one. They pass the front of the house, then 15 seconds later pass the rear of the house as they go down the back lane. An entire loop takes about 40 seconds and this has been going on for hours. Not only are they illegal but they are dangerous - they are on the wrong side of the road going around blind corners (I've not really been hoping they meet a car coming in the opposite direction) and I dread to think what would happen if a small child went running from their house into the back lane as they passed.

I might have to go out there and do something to them shortly, so if I disappear from here for a while, look out for me on the news. A trip wire across the lane might work (about neck height - would decapitation result in a custodial sentence?). The wife is more in favour of a phone call to the local constabulary, but they are fairly useless.

Perhaps if I wasn't so tired and sick of working I wouldn't be so grouchy, but they've picked the wrong day to piss me off!