Worst

Do you know how it feels, when you have the worst day at work ever... everything is going wrong. And then you get to the end, and think, ah, I'll have a few drinks, that will sort me out. And then you get really really drunk. Really really quickly.

That's me. Today. Don't think it would be sensible to write anymore for fear of incriminating myself. Or making a spelling mistake. But, Marty and Ginger Rich are all booked for Rome, so there is one good thing about today.

PS - and I'd just like to add that I remembered the code to make the links look pretty without referring to anything I've done before, which I think is quite impressive in my current state. Either that or I've transferred into an IT geek without realising, which would actually be quite distressing :-(

Thwarted

It seems the internet thought police are on to me... can no longer access Blogger from work, so no more random middle of the day posts for me!

Jelly Belly Beans Yeah!

No posts for yonks and then two in one day... this one is inspired by the large amount of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans currently residing in my office, thanks to the big boss having just had a recent trip to the USA. Pure nostalgia and a sufficiently good sugar rush to get me through a couple more hours at work.

I've only just started feeling productive today. I've been sitting on a piece of work which I really don't want to do, but which is now desperately urgent and I really need to hit myself round the head and get on with it. I attempted some of it at the weekend, but became distracted by Back to the Future II and various other things (involving F1 (finally a new champ) and speedating).

This has got me wondering about motivation and styles of working... I always struggle to be motivated to do things I don't want to do (usually difficult bits of work or chores) and end up leaving them to the last minute. Sometimes this generates really good work... but sometimes it just gets me in a bit of a pickle, which is pretty much where I am now (hence the working at the weekend and late in the evenings, which is otherwise a dire situation to be in).

I often wish that I could be more motivated to do things in advance. And it's not as if I can say that things creep up on me because I forget about them either, because I'm more or less a compulsive planner (maybe too much sometimes, sorry to anyone who's been on the receiving end of this!) and am usually completely aware of what's coming up. That almost makes it worse, because by the time a nasty piece of work has been playing on my mind for a few weeks, I'm even less inclined to do it.

My other frustration today is musical... my radio in the office still stubbornly refuses to hold any station apart from Magic FM for more than 10 minutes without fuzzing. Radio fuzz is one of my 'I really can't tolerate that' noises, so Magic has been the preferred option for the past two weeks. However, having heard the new Tracy Chapman song (which I do like) 6 times today, I'm a bit tired of it now. And my I-Pod is dead. And even I can't bear the sound of my own extremely bad singing!!

So, my evening will be accompanied by the sounds of traffic outside, and the dinky little mice running around under the grates in the corridor. Maybe I need a cat from here to sort them out! (Na visited them today and got some very cute pics).

More Jelly Belly ness needed...

Monday Blues

No post for a week...

I guess I just didn't have anything to say (which is surely unusual for me?!)

I am now at work on another sunny Monday morning, having had a lovely weekend at No 28. My film education (which is being successfully (so far) directed by Richelle and Marty, prompted by their disgust at the amount of classic and great films I've never seen) progressed further, although I must acknowledge that I'm generally not very good at concentrating on films - I usually get the gist though!

We also had particularly hilarious games of Articulate and Twister and some good weather, what better way to spend a weekend... although unsurprisingly I have come away from it with an injury in the form of a rather large cut on my leg... idiot!

Am now trying to brace myself for what will no doubt be a very challenging week at work - but, with two Moeker gigs to look forward to in one week, it's not all bad. :-)

Time Travelling Reading

Tania reminded me today of a great book I read in South Africa at Easter - The Time Traveller's Wife. She described it as "totally mind blowingly amazingly beautifully funny and melancholy all in one!"((c) La Scania 2005) And it is. It is a completely different book, unlike anything you will have ever read before. I read it really quickly lying in the sun in South Africa (I know, I know, but I just had to get a bit of that in too! I'd quite happily be back there right now!) and it really was a page turner. I was stunned by it then, and I'm stunned again thinking about it now. I meant at the time to tell people about it when I got back (although I gave my copy to Charlotte, my travelling companion, who assures me that she was equally as impressed), but, I didn't. Must have been the back-to-work effect making me forget or something.

So I'm glad that Tania has reminded me of it so that I can have a quick rave about it on here and spread the word a bit more. It's the kind of book I would consider reading again, and I don't usually say that, if ever. Once they are read for me they are done, pretty much. Especially with most of the rest of the BBC Big Read list to work my way through. My progress through the list was hampered for sometime by my slow reading of The Two Towers (which I found boring, but not quite as boring as the first volume of Lord of the Rings), now finished, and War and Peace, not finished, but also not boring. The problem with this one is that the print is so small that I can't read it before bed because I can't concentrate on the print, and I can't carry it around with me because it's a bit big (941 pages and at least two and a half inches thick!).

At the current time, I've read 12 and 4/6 of the Top 21 (as Lord of the Rings, and His Dark Materials, both trilogies, are counted as one entry, and I've read the first and second volumes of each) and 33 4/6 of the Top 100. So not too bad, but it is going slooooooooowwwwllllly!

I love reading, but I always feel like I don't get enough time to do it. I can get through books really quickly (although not as quickly as some, such as Marty who finished the latest Harry Potter within hours of getting it!) if I have the chance to sit down and concentrate on them (which most often occurs at home in Jersey, the beach seems to help for some reason, although it does make the joints of the book a bit scratchy!) but on the whole, reading on the journey into and out of work is a bit spasmodic because of changes etc, and I'm usually too tired to read at any length before bed. Sometimes I think I should wake up earlier and read before I get ready for work... but I just don't think that would happen on a regular basis. And I am already in danger at times of existing on Margaret Thatcher levels of sleep, which is never good!

Phew. Now that I've got all that off my chest, I'm going to go home (as I'm still at work)... and probably not read because I'm shattered!

Moules, frites, schnapps and emotions

What is it about the mid-twenties which provokes so many crises, emotional traumas and break ups? I've been struggling to understand it for some time, and although I've developed a number of complicated theories, I'm not sure there is really an answer. It seems to be an unsettling time all round.

But, moules, frites, schnapps and good company have restorative properties, especially when they are secured at old college stamping grounds. Have had a lovely night catching up with lovely friends who I don't see very often, but who I share a lot of special memories with.

IT... Inept Technology

Ah. Hee hee. I really shouldn't drink Kronenbourg. Bad plan and headache provoking. Ah well.

I'm struggling today to comprehend how IT projects can go so badly pear shaped. Every corner I turn, there is something else going wrong. Finance, system development, broadband systems not being able to talk to each other, techies trying to blind me with science (I'm fond of not letting on that I know a bit more they they think I do until key moments. And I do seem to be doing ok with my new-found web skills, albeit that Blogger makes it very easy to get on with this HTML lark!).

Technology rage. Grr. It's the worst kind.

It is, however, Friday, thankfully. And next week I'm planning short days and long lunches in a last ditch attempt to make the most of what is left of summer. All good.

Mmm. Beer. II

Anyone notice a recurring theme...!?

Mmm. Beer

That's all I have to say really. It's been a randomly shit and potentially successful day, all at the same time. And I've had beer. And no dinner.

But, I've been out with KWTNH (hey, if Belle De Jour can use initials to secure anonymity, then so can I!) and he's done a good job of cheering me up.

Before I face the hell of work tomorrow, I'm going to enjoy Lost and then a good night's sleep.

Arrivederci

Ouch

Don't eat cold ice cream after hot soup. It hurts.

A lot. Ow ow ow. Good job I've got the dentist next week. And the physio... and the doctor.

My boss happily told me today that he thinks I'm falling apart. Wicked.

On a completely different note, I'm doing some work tonight on the merits of "shoot to kill". It's led me to reflect on the fact that just two months ago we were in the midst of the aftermath of the 7th July London bombings. It seems like such a long time ago now, but the memories of the weirdness of that day and the trauma of the atrocities are still so acute. The way that London has bounced back and regained it's sense of community makes me proud. Life goes on, but we will never forget the events of that day (and the attempted bombings on the 21st July.)

Britain is a resilient and determined nation, across all the different communities and cultural divides.

Cricket

Well. Normally, I hate cricket. Despite the best efforts of Steve, my Dad, Tim, and various other men, I have never been able to understand the game, the rules, or the attraction of the game.

However, I did find myself interested by it yesterday. I was getting slightly addicted to the scoretracker Steve sent me and watching it probably a bit more than I should. But, having said that, big boss man was quite happily watching it on tv in our office for a good proportion of the afternoon, so I didn't feel too guilty!

So, I joined the masses in celebrating the win in the pub last night, and had the pleasure and privilege of seeing the celebratory buses go past work earlier today. There were loads of people out on the streets (great view from our balcony!). The cricketers (including the wives and the women's team) all looked very much worse for wear though, and I reckon a lot of them were feeling very sick!

Whilst spectating the buses, we developed a theory that with the Rugby World Cup success in 2003, and the Ashes success in 2005, we must be up for a big win (preferably against Australia!) in 2007. Which will be a Rugby World Cup year and an Ashes year. Maybe we can do a double......?!

Now that I've publicly admitted that I just might have found something interesting about cricket, I'm going to do some more work. I have masses and masses to do, not to mention a small amount of preparation for something important tomorrow.

I'm nervous and I hate being nervous.

Autumn... what!

How did it get to be autumn already!

Right now I'm distressed. I've just come out of a succession of meetings, finishing at 5.30, and whilst everyone was leaving work, I was coming back to work.

Not amused. On a happier note, I'm going to Rome!!! Yeah!!! I've always wanted to go, and never made it, so I decided yesterday that I was going, courtesy of the great Ryanair who are having a massive (and genuinely useful) seat sale. Nice one.

Now at least I have something to look forward to, I hate not having holidays booked!

Back to work now though... ick.

Result!

I just had to make a quick post in celebration of the fact that thanks to Kev, I've found a way to get round the thought police and access Blogger from work - by going to his site first and using the links.

Of course it may only be a matter of time before the internet thought police figure out what I'm up to and learn how to block my little piece of trickery, but nevermind, it'll be good whilst it lasts!

What is not so good however is that I'm still at work... and likely to be here for a while.

Thanks to No 28 for recording Lost for me though!

Hazy

And I forgot to say...

My top tip for today is don't try to learn about Government finance when on a complex combination of painkillering things

Limping and red sky

I'm not very good at thinking of titles for my Blog entries. Some are very good at it, but I find myself lacking in inspiration sometimes!

Anyway, after recovering from the shock of realising that I posted the last entry on here when I was really drunk - AND it made sense and didn't have any spelling mistakes, I made it to Cornwall (via work, ick) successfully - and with a reasonable amount of matching clothes and the right toiletries!

Had a great weekend doing not very much - which is rare for me at the weekend. Spent most of Saturday lying in the sun reading the papers (and working out how to view Blogger and therefore the crazy blogs on the left from my phone so that I can see them from work if someone posts something unmissable!) and having a few bevvies. Very chilled.

Until, that is, I decided that it would be a good idea to play frisbee. Bad bad plan for my old knees. One very (6 hours!) long train journey and 2 hours in A and E later, and I'm now equipped with crutches - courtesy of damaged cruciate ligaments and soft tissue in my left knee. Not good.

And... get this - not only did I not get a seat on the DLR this morning, I couldn't actually get on the first train which came along because everyone pushed in front of me!! Some people are so rude. Same thing happened on the tube this evening - there were two people on crutches and two heavily pregnant women on the tube, and not one person offered any of us a seat! Grrr.

This is in danger of turning in to an essay... so I'll finish just by saying big up to Cleve, Nikki, Hannah and the most mad three lads I've ever had the priviledge to meet - Mike, Gordy and Caz, you're stars and you made the weekend INTERESTING!

Gig... It's all good

Just got back from the Moeker http://www.moeker.com album launch gig. It was great. And I made an entrance to it as only I can.... By falling, rather spectacularly, down the stairs, and landing, on my knees, at the feet of Del, Marty (www.martspain.co.uk - Moeker drummer), Na and Steve. Great. I'm a classy chick. And I wasn't even drunk.

However, I am of course drunk now. When Santa read this blog, he said it was cool, but it didn't reflect the real me. Because it didn't involve any references to alcohol. Well Santa, now it does. And I'm not convinced yet that posting when I'm drunk is a good plan. But it's a bit late now.

Anyway, my journey home was pretty eventful. Thought it would be a touch of the night bus, but managed to run for the last DLR. However, sore knee (see falling down the stairs, before), and high heels are not compatible. Which resulted in walking home with no shoes on. Which got me thinking about how grateful I am that although Tower Hamlets Council are crap at most things (health care, rubbish collection, racial tension, teenager misbehaviour) the one thing they are good at is keeping the pavements clean. And I did meet a random person called Edward who lives in the block next to me on the way, so it's not all bad.

So, the next thing on my agenda is packing for Cornwall tomorrow (work then straight to 6pm train) whilst listening to the Moeker album really really loudly as my lovely flatmate/landlord Stephen is not currently in residence to disturb, and most of the neighbours are safe because of the high level of soundproofing. Unlucky for the Humans is currently on repeat. It is after all the (now official I think) Act 2 http://act2productions.co.uk song. Go Dobbin.

Anyone who has ever experienced my drunk packing before will be appreciating the pain I'm going through at the moment - and the sheer fashion disaster I'm about to inflict on Cornwall too.

By the way, Rich (http://gingerlovin.blogspot.com), Marty (www.martspain.co.uk) or Kev (www.taverner.co.uk) - one of you is going to have to tell me some time how to make these links look proper and pretty, because I just don't seem to be able to do it!!