So, actually today’s a good day. I submitted my essay yesterday morning, and it’s the two week break between modules, so I’m hoping to relax a bit. I may cut loose and read something non-work-related.
So, I’ve been trying to source a second hand calor gas heater. Now, given these things have been around since the dawn of time, you’d think that they’d be fairly easy and cheap to pick up. You’d be wrong. They sell for actual money on ebay. Before I looked hard I thought I’d try freecycle – but no, not even any luck there.
So I’ve been trying to bid for one that’s not desperately non-local, that’s not as expensive as buying a new one, and that’ll actually keep us warm. See, having had a chat with our landlord I discovered that his concern about the heating is that we’d spend millions on heating this room with electricity. And to be honest, it’s proving to be a very difficult room to heat – 4 external walls, and a roof. Heat just disappears rapidly and since the heating’s on for a total of 5 hours of the day… well, it’s a challenge to keep warm.
So we agreed to get a Calor gas portable heater. Which would be nice, because guilt free warmth would be good, but it’s not happened so far. I may have to resort to just ‘buying one’.
I have, however, (braced myself for the cost and) splashed out on a new copy of OS X and Office for Mac. I’d like to update to Adobe CS5 too, but that may have to wait. Which is irritating because I wish to nuke the mac and reinstall – being as I’m a very nukey-reinstally person. And the disks for installation of softwares are lurking in the packing boxes in my sister’s garage.
Which will, I’m sure, mean my mac will be very quick. Very quick and lacking in some of the tools I like to have around.
There is, incidentally, no exciting news on the house. I’ve got a bunch of things to sign that hopefully Nikki’ll be collecting for us. Until they arrive not much else is going to happen.
In other news, we met Kevin McCloud on Saturday – now while for some of our friends this is not deeply exciting, for us it was quite cool. He’s published a very interesting book/manifesto for modern living/collection of concepts called 43 Principles of Home. And we went to a book launch / talk thing by him. He is a very interesting speaker, and the book provides lots to think about (it’s quite ‘big’ so it’s going to take a while to look at!). So yes, that was very cool.
Sunday was Thanksgiving which was awesome. Great food, great company, and much to give thanks for, even with all the stress this year. And now I must shower and prepare myself for work….
