…with this album: Underground / A.M.
At least, I’m totally in love with the minute long clips; they’re actually staying in my playlist. In fact, I’ve listened to it several times today. Expect a purchase in the near future.
So, Xmas and Boxing day and so on. Yup.
Xmas – I worked the morning, and then went to my sister’s in the afternoon. This is the first year I’ve not got Xmas dinner, probably in my entire life. It’s weird, I’ve actually *lost* weight over Xmas (which is good), but I still feel pissy that she (that is, my sister) invited me for Xmas dinner, and then proceeded to cook and eat it before I even left work for the day.
Fortunately I had nutritious, healthy, traditional ‘left over Xmas Eve Pizza’ to eat; so I didn’t go too hungry. She did cook an awesome xmas pudding. Then boxing day, I spent that with Claire and Michelle, and their 2 kids, and their respective families. I had a great day, but I must admit it was a trifle odd to spend Boxing day essentially as a psuedo-family member. I had a great, relaxing evening, it kinda reminded me of Alaska – in the whole – being part of a family that’s not my own.
I spent some time thinking about my own family that day, and that night. And my dad, and the destruction his loss and illness has wreaked upon my family. Where once we seemed such a nuclear family, now we’re all feuds and arguments and it seems so odd. It’s not like my childhood was idillic or anything. But compared to the disaster that is my family now? I guess I find it all a bit weird.
My BT Broadband connection / Homehub continues to be fairly atrocious; if you put the wireless bit under any kind of load then you rapidly seem to loose all connectivity. It also appears to need to be beaten with the power-switch of doom on regular occasions. this, once must say is less than impressive.
That thought was brought to you by ‘oh look, I’m disconnected again’.
Anyhow, so, I met up with Amy, or more hunted her down in the store where she works. Impressed, I must admit, was not the first look that crossed her face. In fact, the meeting was ‘difficult’ at least, from my side. She doesn’t want to see me again. That, I have to admit, is another new experience for me. Not one that I’m keen to repeat. So, yeah. Her loss, and incidentally, from her revelations on that night I’m quite *pleased* that I’m not seeing her again.
My car, that’s now got electronic ignition; she’s running a lot better now. She’s also serviced. She’s still not *right* though, I’m not quite sure why, I suspect I need to read that Timing lamp’s instructions again, and the instructions in the haynes manual. She’s definately running better. The handbrake however, remains a bit of a mystery. The cable seems to have stretched, and is, I suspect on it’s way out. But I’m not sure that the rear brakes are really doing that much… I think I may have to resort to the ’someone with more experience’ looking at it.
I also need to find out when the MOT is, just so that I can work out how much to panic about the now missing new exhaust.
Oh, and I’ve painted the woodwork in the lounge…
One thing that has been odd in my little world, I’ve taken to listening to CBC Radio 1, which is what I listened to in Canada; I’m particularly fond of the Dead Dog Cafe, but generally quite enjoy listening to Canada’s equivalent of Radio 4. But it’s odd, because I read Torontoist, and you start to feel a real connection, or a greater connection to the place when you’re reading the news, and hearing the news, and it’s difficult to explain, particularly in my current really quite tired state of mind… but it’s odd.
Yeah.
So that’s been my last few days, what’s happened in your world?
And my hands are cracked to shit, my budget’s screwed by a plasterer of previously unknown quantites of evil and… the room’s got an undercoat of white paint. All of it. The room is WHITE. It’s like a special meeting of the BNP in there, between the white filler dust which coats every surface, the white matt on the walls, and the white undercoat on the skirting, it’s very white.
Photos of the progress at one month on Flickr.
I’m quite pleased with myself, and at the same time frustrated by most of the ‘professionals’ I’ve worked with, who’ve been late, not turned up, or overbooked. Which has meant that, as a general rule, I’ve been waiting on them turning up. I do wonder if the room would have been finished by now if I’d've not had the (really not very good quality) skim done. At any rate, I’m pretty pleased with progress. Sadly, my Xmas present to myself is not to be a lounge.
But it’s nearly there. In other news, Rebecca’s present this year is a Xenon Timing Strobe – because Halfrauds no longer stock ital points. At least, Slough halfrauds don’t. So, in 3 days time we’ll *hopefully* be on electronic ignition. Or I’ll be totally in the poo. In more biting news, presents are all wrapped, and I’ve discovered just how dangerous care of the older person nursing is.
In all my 3 months in A&E I got some verbal abuse from drunk patients, but never anything more. To be fair I was working in Bath, which is terribly posh. But still… In 2 months in CotOP, I’ve been slapped, had fingernails dug in, frequently been grabbed, and today we added punched (not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to be sore) and having a glass of water thrown over me.
I have to admit, with the punch, the person got told off, right there, right then. The word ‘No’ got used quite a bit. With the water, I just cursed lots (having gone off to dry myself a bit), and then went right back to persuading this (very confused) woman that perhaps she would like to take her tablets (she will, happily, just I’d dared to move the glass too quickly). *sighs*.
Sometimes my job is less fun than it could be. Although, all in all today seemed to go pretty well. Despite being slow, and very thorough (my Xmas Eve gift to the universe); we still got to the end of the shift, and had time to do nice things. Which is always good.
So, yeah, and now I’m off to ring the Trey creature (and by extension, the Kara, and Kara family creatures).
So, yeah. Um. Been a couple of weary days; Xmas shopping is complete, Xmas wrapping is not started. Cards to go to the states, still not sent. Absence of local post office. I take that back, apparently there’s one about 10 minutes walk away – but I haven’t seen it. I am, however, reknown for missing things. So uh, Xmas cards will be somewhat late this year.
Mostly, though, I’ve been desparately ploughing through work in the lounge, attempting to reach completion; having no rooms to outright relax in is quite tiring – although it’s driving forward the lounge project at some rate. Today I started slapping white matt onto the walls of the lounge, which should help make the rather nicer Dulux red and off-white-brown really vibrant. I have also thrown concrete into the fireplace to raise the level of the hearth at the back to the same as that at the front; it needs a bit of self-leveling compound I suspect to get it completely level, but it’s certainly nearly there – and should be ready by tomorrow afternoon.
I’m moderately certain I’m boring you all witless. Thanks to A. H. Contractors statement that you have to pay by Cash or pay VAT I’ve ended up paying *even more* for what is quite frankly really and truly shonky workmanship. Much, much filling, sanding and more filling, and more sanding, and more filling and yet *more* sanding and the finish is still no-where near as good as the work my (far more honest, far more decent) plasterer did the first time. So he’s hopefully going to be coming back to do the renovations in the kitchen.
In other news I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time listening to Frontline Assembly’s track: Providence. You should go listen. James provided me with the linkage… I’ve also spent an inordinate amount of time laptop in hand reading the free PDF of Rick Dakan’s book Geek Mafia. It somehow reminds me of Hiaasen’s work; and is a compelling and entertaining read. The PDF is nicely produced, although there are some real stinkers of the typographical error variety in there :-)
I really rather fancy owning a dead tree copy (not least because you can’t easily curl up with a laptop, or I can’t); but am rather resenting the idea of paying $15 shipping. For that I’d expect it to arrive wrapped in freshly polished plutonium, carried by a band of faeries sat atop a unicorn. Or in other words, I think $15 shipping for *one book* is entirely unreasonable. Ironically, were the book $10 and the shipping $10 I may have gone for it. But the balance is all wrong.
Anyway, it’s an excellent book, and I recommend the free PDF, and the book to those living in the US. :-)
And now, I must away.
So, my plasterer came back, after some cajoling, and basically the fact I wasn’t going to pay him ’til he fixed things. It’s truly sad when someone has skill, but can’t be *arsed* to do a decent job. And in my opinion, that’s how A J Contractors behaved. The job they did the first time was shoddy, the best part of their excuse for leaving it half done:
“It takes a long time for plaster to dry on that bonding, so I’d've just been stood around for 2 hours waiting for it to dry”.
Ah, so you left it half done because you couldn’t be bothered to wait. Oh, that’s alright then. That’s fine. I’ll put up with shonky plastering in my lounge, because you’re busy.
Bloody builders.
Still, with a great deal of work with the sander (or as I said to James: “Sanding down the crap like the sand bunny of doom”; perhaps I’m overtiried), and a not unsubstantial quantity of filler, I’ve *hopefully* got the beginnings of a fairly neatly finished lounge.
Although, I’m now wondering if the radiator will go where I was planning to put it with the sofa I’ve got. Sadly I’m too tired to measure it… so it’ll have to wait until after the fire-place fitting, which should happen tomorrow.
In other news, I have forgotten to post Xmas cards. This means they’ll almost certainly be late. I apologise, I have been somewhat tardy in organising xmasy things this year.
… and no, I never did hear from Amy.
