Category: General

Okay, so last night I managed to actually get something resembling a recognisable tune out of my guitar. It’s difficult, pausey, and slow. But I could actually *tell* that I was playing something. That rocks. It’s funny, you can pick up a guitar and make it sound like you can play it fairly easily. But to *actually* play it is quite a lot harder. Not that I didn’t expect that – I just never expected to be able to make something musical come out quite so quickly.

Anyway, very pleased… When the chord transitions are fast enough that I can play it at the right rhythm (without the pause between a couple of the transitions) then I’ll feel really damn good. I’ve been really bad during the week on nights, I picked the guitar up once. I also don’t like disturbing other people, and since Lauren’s been here – I feel a bit guilty about subjecting her to 4 chords (well, actually 3, one’s repeated) repeatedly while I’m trying to improve my chord transitions. That and the music-less random chord to chord I’ve been doing. Oh, and the working my way around the fingerboard just to get my fingers used to playing individual notes. My fingers are still sore though, or achey, I suppose.

Anyway, as part of this experiment in musicality I’ve been playing James – because I have tabs for James and I love James (the band, I love James too, but as a friend :-) ).

I’d just forgotten how damn fantastic they were; and while I’ve been (slowly) working on (and mostly editing) my essay (making it shorter; damnit) I’ve had James on in the background and had to pause essay writing to turn the volume up high (thank god I’ve found my Sennheiser headphones, which actually go ‘quite loud’ without losing it) and sit here screaming the lyrics out silently. Damn they were good.

Anyway, I should get back to my essay. Exciting reflective piece as it is.

*munchies on another parma violet from Lizbuf…. Mmm, yum* ;-P

I’ve had a really nice day. No, really. I know my English teacher hates that word, but it has just been pleasant and enjoyable. Apart, that is, from the football – let me get my whinge out the way first – My car’s Left indicator decided not to work on the way home; I have no idea what caused this (well it’s an earth fault, I can tell that much); but I was rather startled to find they weren’t working. This, well, it threw me, and thus, instead of taking the optimal M32 route, my brain went to ‘navigational defaults’ and I headed up the A38. Which enabled me to spend an enjoyable hour listening to the radio in an atmosphere suffused with car-fumes and people leaving the Bristol City(? / Rovers?) game.

Still, now the smell of fumes has worn off, I’m feeling generally suffused with a ‘that was a good day’ feeling. I met someone of LJ; Lizbuf specifically; in my favourite cafe in Bristol (despite all the stairs) – the Revival Cafe. Where I got a panini and a old-fashioned-cola, and we sat upstairs on the big comfy sofa and chatted.

…for a few hours.

…and then we headed out to Shake King where I consumed the bizzare and not-quite-as-good-as-parma-violet “Penny Mix Up”, while we wandered around the city centre, finally ending up in the startlingly small castle park (despite living here for several years I’d only ever walked *through* castle park – never around it – and so I’d always assumed it went out further in ‘some other direction’. It doesn’t! It’s just tiny-small :-) ) before returning to and sampling the delights of St. Nicholas Market.

At any rate, I just had a really good relaxing kind of day with someone fun and interesting, so Ra (but in a relaxed way).

That’s how I feel. I am *so* incredibly tired. I actually took to slapping myself on the face periodically as I struggled to stay alert on my way in to Bristol. Having parked up by the sadly defunked North Bristol Baths – still gorgeous – I headed over to the illustrious and much favoured Coffee #1 – where I spent about 5 minutes trying to work out how much cash I had. In the end I decided I had £5.50, and then when the woman asked for £4.95, I couldn’t actually work out that all I needed to do was not give her 50p.

So, in the end I trusted her (I really was very tired) – gave her the pile of change – and she gave me back the right amount…. and a very, very yummy hot chocolate and a brie and cranberry pannini. And I sat there reading Kushiel’s Chosen fighting my brain and attempting to stay awake.

It was actually dead nice to pretend that I had money for a bit – relaxing in a nice cafe having a nice quiet read.

And then I took Rebecca to her MOT.

….this is always one of those stressful and expensive times of the year.

But for the first time *ever* she passed. Two advisories – both pretty important – the handbrake only *just* meets MOT requirements, and one of her shock-absorbers is…well, just adequate right now, but probably not for much longer.

So, that’s some fun for me to work on. I knew I needed a new brake drum – so I guess I *do* need a new brake drum – but anyway, whole bundles of Yayness there. I also found a french-english dictionary (and a grotty bit of entertainingly bad GLBT fiction) for a combined £1.25.

I then managed to home, where I semi-collapsed for a bit, ended up giving up and actually sleeping for an hour and then headed out to councelling – which looks like it’ll follow the same path as last year. I’m feeling a lot better – I almost felt a fraud going there today – but once I start talking about stuff then yeah, I feel a lot crap. I’m bouncing back faster though, and I’m feeling a lot better *most* of the time. I think though, the space will help.

On the way back, in a staggering fit of enthusiasm I took the shiny new MOT certificate (is it just me, or are the new certificates crap? They just look like a bill from the garage) and the insurance docs round and got my shiny new tax disk.

There’s something terribly enjoyable about getting a Tax Disk for a historic vehicle….

Here’s my forms, yes, mmm, you do some work, yes, and give me the disk, and that’ll be *free*. *Dancie-dancie-shoop-shoop*. Yes, I’ll sit down again now. No, you don’t need to call security. Thankyou very much for the tax disk. No, I’ll leave now. It’s okay.

I put a uniform in for a wash – because the one I wore last night is less than fresh. So I stuck the other one in the wash before I had a shower. The little green lights came on and as I left the garage I could hear the cheery sound of the machine filling… or so I thought.

…I’ve come back 2 hours later and it’s not washed. I did however dunk my hand in detergent getting clothes out and thinking it’d spun them to a remarkable level of dryness.

So I’m left with wearing the same uniform as last night (undesirable) or wearing my dress not trousers and tunic uniform (not sure if I even have tights to go with it).

Bah.

So…yeah. I slept today, which is good. Yesterday I didn’t sleep well, and by half past 4 my body was rebelling vigerously against suggesstions that I should stay awake. I think I probably drifted off, briefly, a few times. On the other hand we were so quiet (and I can say that word because I know that tonight we will not be…) because they decided the ward should stay closed until we’d had 72 hours without infection. This is good practice – and as it should be – however, it was also ‘dull’ and ‘very unusual’ – normally at 48hours they call it enough and open the ward.

At least they didn’t choose to open us – despite their desire for beds – in the middle of the night which I thought might happen.

As it was it was quite a pleasant evening – spent most of it getting to know the staff some, chatting about life… in the end I ditched the idea of taking a break – there just didn’t seem a lot of point – it wasn’t like we were working incredibly hard. Just the occasional get up – move a patient or check they’re all still okay.

The only slightly annoying thing is I managed to take out two flat batteries and swap them for the two flat batteries in my CD player – thus enabling me to not be able to listen to a CD on the way in to work – which I’d intended.

Driving home was also a bit scary; I was right at the limits of tired. My body saying “SLEEP YOU PUNK ASS BITCH” and similar phrases – so I was fighting to stay alert the whole way home. Fortunately the traffic wasn’t quite so bad today, so I got home and fell into bed. I should’ve washed a uniform, but… I didn’t. Which is annoying, ‘cos it needs a wash, really. Actually, I’m gonna go stick it (a uniform) on now, before I have a shower.

Meeshyickle’s post reminded me that I’d not put up pics of me with my much shortened hair:

There’s a shot of me wandering down the street the day I got it cut here.

I didn’t tell anyone about it (except Rachel, I think) – because I wanted to see Trey’s face… In fact, I went to some lengths to disguise the fact it’d been cut; but anyway, yes, I love it. Although I think it probably could do with trimming soon…

So, night shift number one is up.

The ward’s still closed – well, it probably isn’t anymore given that absolutely no one appears to have the virus we’re isolated for.

But it meant that last night was easy / dull – I spent a lot of time reading and then getting up and wandering round to check that everyone was still alive. Then back to my Megatokyo. I’ve run out of book. I need more Megatokyo, and more xxxHolic. I’m tempted to buy some when I’ve got some cash. But I’ve got the Kushiel’s Chosen(? is that the second one. Hang on… Yes) – to take with me tonight.

Of course, if they’ve opened the ward we’ll actually be full with lots of sick people and I’ll actually have to work – which will be substantially more interesting – and substantially more tiring. I’m also pondering taking my laptop – so I have something to watch while I was on break. Last night I had the very odd experience of having basketball on TV (not something I am hugely a fan of, but it made for mild entertainment), while I read my copy of Curve Magazine…

….it was just so *wrong*.

Still, my shift was okay, I went through the learning objectives… Yeah, it was good.

One thing I did notice (car related) – I’d not noticed how poor the reflectors on my headlamps were until I got in to drive to work yesterday – the new reflectors are *incredible* and reminded me why I liked my Minor’s headlamps.

So, when I took my headlamps off for the TV show promo, I should, perhaps have looked a little more closely. They’re not sealed beams at all. In fact, they appear to be ‘mini’ headlamps – which I find slightly ‘disconcerting’ because I paid for them as new… and if they were new… why did I get mini ones. But at any rate, they needed replacing – the rust had eaten away at the metal at the bottom which is what’d caused the silvering to go all manky.

So in the end all I bought that I didn’t need for the MOT was two spare headlamp bulbs – which is not exactly too painful.

I managed to get the energy to fit them just as the light started to fade outside. It’s fracking cold out there. Having spent yesterday under the lift at Kwik Fit – who’ve resealed my exhaust (did I mention that yesterday? Apparently we’re not that good at fitting exhausts. The guy pointed out our mistake – we put the clamps on too far away from the start of the split in the pipe which means that instead of clamping them shut they form a sort of V shape allowing the gas to escape from near the start of the slit) I now really want to have a lift – when I own a house I think I’m going to have to see about buying a lift – as long as I’m looking after my car the whole time myself. Anyway, he resealed them so *hopefully* the MOT test shouldn’t be too traumatic. I hope. I hope it’s gas-tight in the engine bay – I can’t smell fumes in the car so…

Apparently I didn’t ramble about this yesterday.

Anyway. Other more interesting stuff, potentially (more…)

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