Big Love

I really can't stand Nicki! Like, really really. I'm not really a fan of Chloe Sevigny, so I was a bit against the character from the very start, but she is actually horrible! She's a conniving, vindictive little cow!

Min? Danielle? I'm not alone in this, am I?

Naughty girl!

So I did a naughty thing today. I popped out at lunchtime to buy my lunch, and as I was making my way to M&S, I passed Monsoon. With a sale. I thought "I'll just pop in and see if there's anything decent", knowing full well that I detest sales and I would probably walk in and walk right back out again because of the mess and the crowds.

But!

The second I walked in, my eyes fell on this dress (edited with photo taken tonight). Only one left, and it just happened to be in my size. And it's so pretty! I decided to try it on for the hell of it, knowing that I don't usually look good in dresses.

Well!

This one is very flattering! I look so pretty in it! And for me to say that about myself is high praise indeed!

So I bought it! Yay! But no. I have absolutely no reason to buy it. I have nothing to wear it to. No weddings, no christenings, nothing! Last year I had these events coming out of my ears, but this year, zilch. I shouldn't have bought it.

But it was half price! It would have been rude not to.

All Hail The Rain Gods!

It's raining! It's actually raining! Although sod's law dictates that it had to happen in the middle of my first driving lesson in a month! Being a learner driver, driving for the first time in weeks in the middle of a thunderstorm with a new instructor and new car is not fun. Although I think I do like my new instructor. He makes me laugh and I'm not as tense around him. And I definitely prefer the new car (a Vauxhall Corsa as opposed to a Ford Focus - the car of the devil!).

Oh yeah, I changed my driving instructor, by the way. The other guy was doing my head in with his contradicting instructiions and his crazy car!

My water was turned off for essential maintenance work today. Which is fine. I was given plenty of notice and told it would be back on by 12. It actually came back on at 2.30pm, but I can handle that. It's what I expected. But it's still only just a trickle at 7pm! And then I come home from my lesson to find a notice saying my water is going to be off for four, count them, FOUR mornings in a row next month! So based on today, I can expect to be pretty much waterless for almost four full days. Did I mention that it's the fours days immediately before my exams? Grrr!

Happy Birthday Lewis!

Today is my other beautiful nephew's birthday!

He's one years old and I can hardly believe it. It's strange. On the one hand, I can't believe he's one already, but on the other, I can't believe he's only one because it feels like he's been around for longer. It's funny how you can get so used to someone's presence that you can't remember what life was like without them around.

By all accounts he's had a wonderful birthday. He saw all of his grandparents and (nearly) all of his aunties and uncles, he went swimming where he got his first taste of the rapids and slides (all in the careful arms of Daddy), he went to the park and tried to follow his big brother onto the big boys climbing frames, and of course he got lots of presents. Although I must add that when I called to wish him happy birthday, he was happily playing with the empty pack for the air freshener.

The Rocky Horror Show

After the success of the special production of Rocky Horror for the Royal Court's 50th anniversary, the current UK touring production was convinced to drop by the West End for a 3 week limited run. And I got tickets!

I went to see it last night, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I've been to see the film version in one of those audience participation screenings where people get dressed up, you get handed a bag of props as you go in (eg newspaper to cover your head as Janet and Brad are walking up to castle in the rain, because the ushers squirt the audience with water guns) and you shout out stuff throughout the film (eg whenever Janet's name is mentioned, the audience yell "SLUT!"). But this was a theatre in the West End. Surely that kind of stuff couldn't happen here....

Well, I was right about one of them. There were no props or water guns or stuff, but there were a few Magentas, Columbias and Frank n' Furters in the audience, and all the usual stuff was yelled out. It was a bit strange being sat in one of those theatres, where UK audiences are usually very restrained, to hear the words "SLUT" and "COCK" being shouted at every available opportunity. It got a bit annoying at times when people were just heckling and not shouting the traditional cult stuff, because it interrupted the flow of the show, but usually it was brilliant.

The best bit by far though was my friend's reaction. She knew nothing about Rocky Horror except that it had the Time Warp in it. So the first time someone yelled something out, she looked a bit scandalised! I had to quickly explain the whole thing under my breath (I would have done it earlier, but I had no idea that she didn't know what to expect) before she started drawing people dirty looks or she got up and walked out or something! And she was more than a little shocked when Frank n' Furter revealed his costume (I still can't believe that she didn't know about him!), but she was more into the spirit of the thing by this time, and it was a laughing shocked rather than a we're-british-and-don't-accept-that-kind-thing shocked!

All in all, it was a good night. I prefer the film version because it's more polished, and as fantastic as David Bedella was last night, Tim Curry is the original and best Frank n' Furter! But the show was still really good fun.

At least the next time I go to the theatre, it'll be outside, so I'll hopefully not feel like I'm melting throughout it!

When I'm Wrong, I Admit I'm Wrong

Usually.

I just watched a full episode of Top Gear...and it was hilarious! Although, it can't seriously be that funny every week. I mean they set fire to a bloody caravan site, for god's sake!

The World Cup of Cuteness!

I love this! Posted by Moreena over at The Wait and Wonder.

Weekend Round-Up

I had a fairly uneventful train journey home on Wednesday night. Although there was a cute guy sitting across the aisle from me, which made it difficult to relax because I was scared of falling asleep and drooling all over myself! Actually he probably wasn't that cute, but he was Scottish and after four years in London, I'm a sucker for a Scottish accent now. Actually no, he was that cute.

Thursday was my dad's birthday. The big 63. OK, so not exactly a landmark, but still. He had a very chilled out day, sunbathing in the garden in the morning and going out for a late lunch/early dinner in the afternoon, with various visitors throughout the day. It was a nice day.

I can't remember what I did during the day on Friday (my memory sucks!), but I remember that my sister brought Kieran and Lewis round in the afternoon and Kieran threw up all over my dad. Poor baby, he was in pretty bad shape for a while. But he went to bed for a couple of hours and woke up feeling absolutely fine. My sister was supposed to be going to a wedding that night, with us babysitting, but she wasn't going to go when Kieran fell ill. However, he was so much better after a sleep, that we managed to talk her into going. She phoned several times throughout the night to check up on him, but he was fine. In fact, he was more than fine. Both he and Lewis were in high spirits and an absolute joy to babysit (bit of a change from the last time!). I had so much fun.

I went through to Glasgow on Saturday to catch up with some friends from my uni course. We went to Wagamama's for lunch, which was a strange experience because it's a place that I strongly associate with London. I often go there for dinner before heading off to the cinema or the theatre and, until recently, thought it was a chain limited to London. But it was good, as always, and it was really nice to catch up with my friends. I usually only have time to go through to Glasgow once when I'm home, and tend to always meet up with the same friends and neglect others for many months. That's why I didn't mention I was coming through Sharon. It's been about eight or nine months since I've seen those guys and I was feeling really guilty, especially since I blew one of them off recently when she was in London.

Sunday was a day I've been looking forward to for months. The Wimbledon men's singles final and the World Cup final in one day! How awesome. I even changed my train and took an extra days holiday when I realised I made the grave mistake of booking my train to clash with the World Cup! And how utterly predictable that I woke up on Sunday feeling terrible. I got dressed for mass long enough to realise that there was no way I was leaving the house that day, got back into my pyjamas, crawled into bed and stayed there for the rest of the day. I did watch the games, but fell asleep during them a couple of times.

Tennis - I got my dream final between Nadal and Federer. After the first set where Federer crushed Nadal 6-0, I thought my hopes of a close final were misguided, but no! Nadal came through in the end. It wasn't as close as I would have liked (I would have liked to see it go to five sets), but I think he challenged Federer more than anyone else could have. He never really had a shot at winning, but I think it could defintely be a different name on that trophy in a year or two. I do like Federer and was happy for him when he won, but it gets boring when that same person wins over and over again.

Football - What can I say? I'm gutted. I really wanted France to win and think they deserved it. I thought they were the better team and were attacking more. Italy seemed to be playing a much more defensive game, which isn't a game of champions. And to lose in penalties! How horrible! And Zidane. Oh wow. This was actually one of points in the game I fell asleep. I drifted off somewhere in the middle of the first half of ET and woke up to the commentators saying that Zidane had shamed himself. Luckily, it was replayed right away and I couldn't believe it. More than anything, I feel so sad for Zidane. He's a great player and has had a fantastic World Cup, but his career is always going to be defined by this one act in his last ever game. It was completely out of order and he totally deserved to be sent off, but I hope the Italian player deserved what he got. I'd hate to think that Zidane brought that kind of shame on himself over something really small. It just makes me really sad.

Then another uneventful train journey back to London. I was sat at a table with three lovely pensioners, and it amused me to watch them eat their packed lunch from empty margarine tubs. It reminded me of my gran. There was also another cute boy, but only for a short portion of the journey, so I took full advantage of drooling over myself when he was gone. ;)

Give Me A Break!

I got the train through to Glasgow on Saturday and, instead of giving me the discount for my Young Persons Railcard, the rail assistant applied the discount for the Senior Railcard. I'm guessing it was an innocent mistake, but coming on the heels of finding the gray hair, it would be quite easy for me to develop a complex about this!

An update of my trip home is coming when I can be bothered!

Going Grey

I blame Jazz and Amanda for talking about this recently.

I just found my first grey hair!

While I'm not bothered about it, I am a bit flabbergasted since I'm only 25.

Wimbledon

There is no better weather forecast than the start of Wimbledon.

Plasters! Stat!

I went on a training course today to renew my first aid qualification. It was quite fun actually. A lot of practical, hands-on stuff, like putting people in the recovery position and bandaging them up! My favourite, though, is practising CPR. You practise the rescue breaths and chest compressions on a dummy (called Annie), because it's probably a bit awkward to practise on your fellow classmates. But fun! If I ever have to do it in real life, I hope I remember what I'm doing, but I seemed to be quite good at it in a controlled environment at least.

I'm going to see Avenue Q on Monday! I've been going on about this show for over a year, but I completely forgot about it. I knew I was going, but it always seemed like forever away and it just kind of sneaked up on me. I was going to post my friend a soundtrack I copied for her because I thought I wasn't going to see her for weeks, then she pointed out to me that I'm seeing her on Monday. I don't know where my head is lately. But, for now, I can't wait for Monday! Eeee!

Fortunate Fool?

I have either just been a good samaritan or been taken for a fool. It would depend who you're talking to. My mum, for instance, would say I was being kind, but my dad would get exasperated with me for being so gullible.

I was walking home from the tube station tonight when I came up on this young guy, maybe late teens, talking to a couple in the street. I was listening to my iPod so couldn't hear what was being said, but it was clear the boy was upset. The couple turned to walk away, and as I got closer, the boy motioned for my attention. He asked me if I knew where the nearest Salvation Army was and I replied I didn't. It was now that I noticed he was crying. He turned to walk away, but I asked him what was wrong. He had quite a thick accent, so I couldn't make out everything he said, but the gist was that he'd lost his wallet and the police said there was nothing they could do. I said I was really sorry and he walked away.

That would probably have been the end of it, but he was walking in my direction. As I kept my distance from him walking in front, I saw him stop a couple more people to ask for the Sally Ann and get more and more agitated. As I caught up with him, I couldn't take it anymore. I offered him £5 to get a train or bus or whatever he needed to get home. He wasn't going to take it, but I insisted. He wanted to send it back to me, so I was going to give him a business card (I may be a fool, but I'm not about to give a stranger my home address!). Unfortunately, I didn't have any of my own handy and only had a colleague's, so I scribbled out his details (name, phone number, email, etc) so that it only had the address left and gave it to him.

Now I know he could very well have been a con artist, but you know what? I don't care! If it was the real deal, hopefully he'll get home without too much bother and I feel good for having helped someone out. If it was a con, I'm out £5. It's not exactly going to bankrupt me. I feel bad about giving out a colleague's business card to a stranger (I hope I managed to scribble out his details ok), but that's about it.

Happy Father's Day

A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.
~Enid Bagnold

Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes.
~Gloria Naylor

Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad.
~ Anne Geddes

The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, 'Daddy, I need to ask you something,' he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.
~ Garrison Keillor

My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
~ Clarence Budington Kelland

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.
~ Ruth E. Renkel

To her the name of father was another name for love
~ Fanny Fern


We may not shower him with praise
Nor mention his name in song,
And sometimes it seems that we forget
The joy he spreads as he goes along,
But it doesn’t mean that we don’t know
The wonderful role that he has had.
And away down deep in every heart
There’s a place that is just for Dad

~ Author Unknown



Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you too!

From London to Berlin

I am such a typical Scot. Temperatures in London hit 32°C (90°F) yesterday. Waaaaayyyy too hot for little old me. To be fair, as soon as the temperatures start climbing to the early to mid-20s, I'm searching for a shady corner to curl up in with a fan. I'm not cut out for heat. I like bad weather. I like rain and wind and snow and cold. You do get summer weather in Scotland, but it only lasts for about a week.

I watched the first episode of Big Love on channel 5 last night. I was intrigued when Min was talking about it in her Blurty, and then noticed that it was starting over here, so thought I'd give it a go. It's....interesting. I'm not entirely sure what I think about it, but it caught my attention enough to make me want to watch next week, which I guess is the ultimate goal. But Beaver! I miss Beaver!

I've got World Cup fever, as does everyone else in this city. It's pretty good being in London for stuff like this when England do well, even though I'm not English. So far, I've done the Rugby World Cup 2003 and Euro 2004, and the atmosphere is electric. There's also been the cricket, but while the guys in my office get obsessed with it, I can't bring myself to care.

I was in a pub on Saturday watching the England game (supporting England I might add) and it was disappointing for a number of reasons, the main one being the discomfort I felt at being surrounded by drunk England fans. This particular crowd seemed a bit yobbish. I overheard several racist comments about a bunch of Middle Eastern guys standing at the back because they weren't singing along with the songs, despite the fact they were wearing England strips and obviously supporting them. Then the anti-German and Scottish comments and songs started and my discomfort quadrupled. I really couldn't get out of there quick enough. Now, before anyone starts, I know that this happens in Scotland as well. I've been at plenty of Scottish sporting events when anti-English songs have been sung and that's wrong too. But I've heard people say that it's just Scottish fans that are anti-English and it's not the other way round, but that's wrong. It's not all English fans, just like it's not all Scottish fans, but it does happen. And when you're a Scot living in London at a time like this, it can be really exciting, but also a bit disconcerting,

What else? I'm going to see Avenue Q in a couple of weeks! Yay! And then I'm going to see The Rocky Horror Show a couple of weeks after that! Double yay! And I'll throw in a visit home, in between them, for my dad's birthday for good measure. Triple yay!

Exam Results

I passed one and failed one. I'm trying to see the positive side of this and ignore the negative (although it is the third fucking time this particular negative has happened!).

But a pass. Yay!

Sort of.

Clearly ths whole positivity thing needs a bit of work.


EDIT - I just found out that I failed by, at most, five marks! Five goddamn marks!

Rule of Thumb

It's strange how you take not being in pain for granted. For example, if you get a mouth ulcer which stings whenever you drink or eat or talk or whatever, you constantly think "I wish I didn't have this ulcer". But when you don't have an ulcer, you don't go around thinking "I'm so glad I don't have an ulcer". Or at least, you might, but it's not a constant thought. You just take it for granted that your mouth isn't in pain. Well, I do anyway.

The latest example of this is my thumb. I staved it at the weekend and it now hurts. I was sitting on the floor and, in my excitement to see Andy with his shirt off (photos forthcoming!), I managed to bend my thumb backwards while trying to stand up. It was sore at the time, but the pain went away that night, so I thought it was ok. But when I woke up the next morning, it was throbbing. The throbbing has gone away, but it aches when I try to move it which, considering it's my thumb, is all the time! It hurts to grip anything and it's surprising how often you have to bend your thumb into funny positions to do stuff. Goddamn opposability!

Happy Birthday Kieran!

Today is my beautiful nephew's birthday. He is three years old today. Three?! How did that happen? I still remember the day my sister was in labour, when I called my mum every hour for news. How can he be three already?

I posted up his birthday presents on Tuesday and they arrived on Wednesday morning. After they took the brown parcel paper off and Kieran saw the Bob the Builder wrapping paper, he got all excited. He asked if he could open them now, but my sister told them that he'd be able to open them after two sleeps. "Okay", said Kieran, "I'm going to bed". So cute!

I know I post a lot about Kieran and Lewis, which may be a bit strange since they're not actually my children, but it's because they really are a big part of my life. My family has always been very close, so it stands to reason that I adore my nephews. Whenever I think about them, I smile. Anything that does that to you should be celebrated.

Some Fantastic!

From www.bnlmusic.com:

Release dates for the upcoming album will be:
Sept-08-2006 (Fri) in Switzerland, Germany and Austria
Sept-11-2006 (Mon) in the UK
Sept-12-2006 (Tue) in USA and Canada

Woo hoo!

Whoops!

I just set the smoke alarm off by leaving a pork chop under the grill for too long. Crispy!

Although, in my defence, it's the first time that's happened in the eight years I've lived away from home and been cooking for myself.