The Crazy Train

So It Starts!

2006-04-25T13:08:00.000+02:00

For the first, and I know without any shadow of doubt, not the last time, I was awoken this morning by little Baby Blackburn Myles (To Be.) I wasn’t even beginning to stir when I was abruptly roused from my semi-peaceful (bad dreams, let’s not go into it) slumber by a sharp thud in my lumber region. I ignored it, and then again, *thump*. It was only after my enquiry into what Siobhan might have wanted at this god awful hour of the morning was replied to with snores, that it hit me, “Little One” had managed to succeed in doing something where so many before him/her had failed.

It is reassuring to know that we have a very strong baby wriggling around inside Mum's tummy, especially after the experiences of last Wednesday...

Continued at Andrew Blackburn dot Co dot Uk.

Elevator Etiquette (Part three)

2006-04-24T16:36:00.000+02:00

I believe I may have developed the worst “etiquette” of all. I have gotten into the habit of not only NOT pressing the button to open the doors if I see someone approaching, but pretending that I tried to continue the illusion that I’m really quite a nice guy. Only yesterday, whilst visiting my mum, who is still in hospital awaiting transfer to the UK to have her herniated disc removed, Siobhan and I got into the lift, pressed “2″, and at that point, I saw this family of 3 or 4 come through the doors into the elevator lobby… I reached for the <|> button, and watched as the group waited for the doors to stop closing and let them in. Alas, they didn’t, and the family would have to wait. I thought I may have gotten away with my callous act, but quick as a flash, Shiv had noticed. “You didn’t even press that!”… I know, as I said in my first Elevator Etiquette post… I am a bastard, and I will be reincarnated as a merekat:

Originally posted at: Andrew Blackburn dot Co dot Uk.

Elevator Etiquette (Part Deux)

2006-03-09T17:25:00.000+01:00

6 hours, 35 minutes and a few seconds left, before I officially finish my term at Sapphire Networks/Broadband Gibraltar Limited!

Moving along from the pre-movement portion of an elevator experience, we now reach the portion I like to call "The Ride." Now, The Ride can be quite a boring experience, if it is encountered alone, but there are many variable factors that can affect and enhance The Ride considerably. Is their elevator music playing for example? I once worked in a building where the porter adamantly played Country and Western, at that level ever so slightly higher than comfortable in the lifts. Every day. Without fail. As you can tell from my tone, that no more enhanced my Ride than a giant lump of fresh dog turd in the corner of said lift would have done, instead it made me want to terminate my Ride experience as soon as humanly possible!

Does the elevator have a view? This same Country and Western infected lift had a view into the atrium of the building, where you could peruse through the different office windows, or merely look down upon the few (ranging between 1 and 30 depending on the time of day, time of month [deadlines!] or time of year [Christmas is stressful]) nicotine addicts getting their quick fix before continuing with their busy day.

(The humdinger) Are you sharing The Ride with anyone else? Why "the humdinger" I hear you ask? Because if the answer to this question is positive, your whole Ride experience could be changed for ever, for better, or quite probably, for worse!

Co-Rider Type 1: The Smoker!
Now, I'm not a complete anti-smoke person. I don't deliberatly cough if someone lights up near me, I don't complain if I am in a public place and people are smoking, it's your addiction, and I understand that. My friends smoke, Shivvers used to, I really have no problem with smokers. As I have mentioned (around here somewhere, I'm sure) before, I don't have pet peeves, I have psychotic f*cking hatreds, and smoking in small, enclosed area's, especially lifts, and even more so when other people are in them, is one of such hatreds. Yesterday I had the "pleasure" of sharing my downwards Ride from my apartment with two of the stirling young individuals who are painting the block at the moment. Both, covered in paint (and possibly stripper, tarps, spirit etc!!!!) were puffing away. 1. I don't want to have to breath your bloody smoke in such density, in such an already oxygen deprived, confined space. 2. You're covered in flamable fucking incandescent fluids! Enough said on "The Smoker."

Co-Rider Type 2: The Silent Starer!
Prior to my smoke infested Ride, I had an un-nerving experience sharing an upwards Ride with a reasonably old gentleman, in the smaller of the two lifts in my apartment building, who said nothing, even when I asked him which floor he needed, he simply pushed past me and pressed the button himself! Not only was he exceptionally quiet, but he then proceeded to stare at me, right at me, straight in the eyes. That kind of stare that makes you want to run for the hills. It freaked me completely, thank god I only live on the 4th floor! (Note to religious nuts, about the possible blasphemy, see my views on religious crazies commenting here)

Co-Rider Type 3: The Chatterbox!
Sharing your Ride experience with a chatterbox can go one of a number of ways. You could be amused and actually enjoy your 20-30 second conversation with the chatterbox. You can act all shy; smile and nod at whatever he or she is saying, or you can just ignore them. My chatterbox experience yesterday was semi amusing, I had a few bags in my hands from the market, with fruit and veg in, about which he enquired "just been shopping then?" "Nope, just like carrying round large punnets of strawberries, some peppers and some onions" is what I should have said, instead, I humoured the poor bloke, and simply replied "yep" (I was in a not so chatty mood). I was wrong to think that my one word reply would shut him up: "You lived here long?" "about 2 years now" (again, short and brief, take the hint?) "Well, I bought here when they were first built, I'm told that they have increased in value....*blah blah blah*" DING 4th Floor! Thanks and freaking praises "Have a nice day!" and away I ran....

Lifts... bah!

Elevator Etiquette

2006-03-08T23:39:00.000+01:00

Did I just use an Americanism? Why yes, yes I did. But only because it rolls off the tongue better than lift etiquette does!

Just to let you know, I have 20 mins MAX left of my shift, and this has only just popped into my head because of a few occurances in lifts today... so if it isn't finished, be prepared for a great big "TO BE CONTINUED" sign!

To continue on the chivalry theme, everyone knows, or should do, that a man is meant to hold a door open for a lady, no matter which direction either of them are going in relation to the building/carriage/door-adorned-area (layman's: in or out). But can the same be applied to a lift/elevator. If a man is in a lift, is it properly polite to hit the hold button if you see a woman approaching, even if you are unsure if they are actually going to be using the lift's services? And does the same apply to a woman, should she hold the doors if she sees a man approaching, or a woman for that matter? Sod it! Should you hold the door when you see someone else approaching even if you are unsure whether or not they are going to use the bloody lift!?

The lift doors were closing on me earlier, and just as there was say, a foot of a gap left, I saw a woman enter the downstairs lobby door, there was no way she was going to reach the button before the doors closed, yet still, in vain, she tried. Handbag in hand, she semi-jogged towards the lift, and to be honest, I chuckled to myself as the doors closed, locked, and the lift started moving.

I am a bastard.

Lack of anything worthwhile...

2006-03-07T18:38:00.000+01:00

I'll admit it, I've had very little motivation to do anything other than the occasional post for www.AndrewBlackburn.co.uk or finish the photolog, the guestbook or the forum for the site. I've also been trying to get my head around proper css based layouts for a new site that I may start designing for Shivvers who is thinking about selling some of the jewellery she makes... Shiv+Jewellery=www.Chivalry.com or something of the like? And what better a name for a jewellery selling site in a time where many believe that chivalry is dead, and men should be equal to women. Why should we hold doors open for women? Why should men walk closer to the road? I'll tell you why, because we are men, and believe it or not, we will always be the stronger of the sexes (generally) and should look after the ladies in our lives. In return, we get that hot cup of tea when we aren't feeling well, the clean sheets on the bed (not that it should be a woman's job, just something that came to me is all) and the hugs, kisses and warmth that only a woman can bring to a man's life. So no, chivalry isn't dead, and to prove it, blokes can by a bespoke piece of jewellery from the new site when I get round to making it, if the idea ever takes off.

Bushisms, bruises, bluegrass and babies!

2006-01-23T05:02:00.000+01:00

It had been far too long since I posted anything up here, and what do I find when I logged into blogger, this gem that I had written on the 23rd of January, sitting as a draft. So before I add anything new, here is something you all deserve:

Before we get onto the post material, can I first introduce and plug and quote the all new webby, www.andrewblackburn.co.uk

I will try and get something more concrete up shortly, but for now, here is
the first photo album that I have chucked up. I may move my blog
here, I'm unsure for now... Whilst you're here however, you may as well (read as, bloody well better) go and check out my wee babbies blog at http://wealllovericehere.blogspot.com ....or else!

And now, on with the show...

"In my sentences I go where no man has gone before"; a "wise" man once quipped, and how right he was. Just to continue, or more, to begin afresh with my amusement surrounding George W. Bush. Even for a man with such a poor command of the English language, I still can't understand how he can mess up even the simplest of phrases. Or why he doesn't just prepare his bloody speeches before he is due to give them. Take this one for example:

There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee...that says, fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again.

Gee George, when are you going to engage your fricking brain before opening that big large gob of yours? You never know, you may be able to shake this permanent issue you have, which involves placing both of your feet in your mouth! But before I jump off this topic, I just have to share this one with you:

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

And that boys and girls, is why we want to keep as far away from Mr Bush, who I think scientists may want to start observing as a possible candidate for the missing link, he wants to hurt us all!!

Rugby is a funny sport at times, it really is. The 4 games we played prior to today's were all closely fought, and unfortunately lost. We have been playing well, except for the fact that we give away too many penalties, and as we have been told time and time again, penalties cost you games. Today however, we managed to give away 8 penalties compared to Almeria's 3 in the first half, and then gave another 12 in the second half (that's a grand total of 20 penalties in a game... which is shocking) but still managed to emerge as the victors, for only the second time this season! Add to the elation, the fact that I, yes, I actually got a try! Unfortunately, this being such a rarest of rare occasions, I kinda just landed on the ball, hurting, and bruising my ribs... never mind though ayy, 5 points to my name!

Recently, whilst discussing random music on the GLMS forum, we were having a laugh at recent swing version of rock and pop songs, particularly by Paul Anka and Richard (Dick) Cheese, when someone piped up about a group called Fade to Bluegrass, a Metallica tribute band who play banjos and the like. Well what can I say, I like it, quite a lot, and couldn't help myself as I downloaded "A Treasury of Bluegrass" and guess what, I like most of that too. Another genre to add to my already highly eclectic taste!

As you can see (if you've noticed the moving bit underneath my web site's logo) I'm using my upcoming Daddyhood as inspiration to learn some new bits and pieces, even if I define "learn" as "plagerise" or "steal" and "bits and pieces" as "other people's code!" But hey, it all counts doesn't it, and it adds a nice little touch to the site I think.

Guess what...

2006-01-09T14:47:00.000+01:00

...?

I'm going to have a rant. I feel I haven't had a rant in ages, and I am feeling rather bloody miffed! Let us get to the beginning shall we... at (let's see what the phone says...) "Call received 03:50:22"

I, and my 3 and a half month pregnant love of my life (we will continue this bit after the rant!! Shock horror, I know, all will become clearer in due course), were awoken by the familiar sound of my mobile (cell for the Americans :P) going off. I reached over and grabbed it, and in a blur of fumbling to find the button, at the same time as I tried to sit up, and attempt to make a coherant sound to let the caller know I was there (you know what it's like when you first wake up, dry throat, that crusty substance sealing your lips shut) I finally managed to make some sense out of the situation!

I was told that it was PC (police constable) some number from Central Police Station, and that there was an officer waiting to be let into my old office, as an alarm was going off inside the building, and I was a listed key holder. Well, you can imagine the barrage of abuse this policewoman took. It went along the lines of:

Me: I HAVEN'T F*CKING WORKED THERE SINCE THE SUMMER! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I'M THE FIRST LISTED KEYHOLDER? EVEN WHEN I WORKED THERE I WAS 2ND OR 3RD ON THE LIST! WHAT F*CKING TIME IS IT ANYWAYS?

Cop: It's ten to four AM, and sir, it isn't our responsibility to keep these lists up to date, when changes are made we have to be notified.

Me: I COULDN'T CARE LESS WHO'S RESPONSIBILITY IT IS, WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING TO ME? YOU SHOULD GET IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE ELSE AND INFORM THEM THAT I AM STILL ON THE LIST AND SHOULD BE REMOVED.

Cop: That isn't our responsibility, you will have to contact them in the morning.

I then hung up, ranted some more and tried to get some shut eye before having to get up at 6:30/7. Not even a "sorry for waking you" from the bint at the police station, I'd have her fucking badge if I could remember the number she blurted at me when I answered the phone...

So who's responsibility is it to keep this list up to date? I agree the company should inform the police when someone leaves that is on this list, but surely the police have a duty to check at regular intervals whether this list needs changing in any way?

Then, after speaking to one of my former colleagues that is the PA to the HR Director, and she was very apologetic and assured me that she would get it sorted. (This made me happy)

She calls me back 2 minutes later saying she sent a letter to the police on the 31st of August with the new list, and my name was NOT ON IT. (This in turn mades me very angry.)

Two phone calls to the police station later and "The Man" has been taken to twice! Firstly I phoned up and gave them hell, as they rather smugly informed me that "my name was not on the list for [former place of work]" so I rather quickly replied with the following quip:

"So pray tell CUNTstable, just why did one of your colleagues call me at 10 minutes to 4 this morning to let me know that there was an alarm at [former place of work]"

"Ohh... I'm not sure"

"Well I would like to know that my name is OFF that list, as I do not need calling at 4am, especially seeing as my new job has me working shifts..."

Apparently they have a hard copy and a computerised copy of the list, and the hard copy is normally more up to date than the computerised list and he would get in touch with the officer in charge of updating the computerised list and get back to me.

I then find out that they had called my old house number (at my parents place) before trying my mobile, and got my mum, who was working till 1am out of bed! Back on the blower to the cops, to let them know that I thought it was completely fucking rediculous that they would call someones house number, and wake up the entire household for something that wasnt an emergency, rather than the mobile number that they had been provided with and just wake that one person up. Surely that is the whole point of a mobile phone!?!?!

I also asked if they had sorted the list yet, and they were not sure. I told them that I had spoken to [former place of work] again, and apparently they have a new alarm system in place, and it is so sensitive that mosquitos seem to be setting it off... and if I get another call at 4am tomorrow morning, they will have a very angry person in a dressing gown at the police station banging over paid, flourescently decorated heads together... in not so many words...

*AND RELAX*

Which is exactly what Siobhan and my little babbie (pronounced bah-bee) is doing right now. Just chilling and growing, and growing in his/her Mum's belly!
We found out back in November, but wanted to wait till we had had our first scan, and passed that cruicial 3 month period before letting everybody know, and trust me, it's been a seriously hard secret to keep! I've been so excited since I found out and can't wait to be a Dad :) Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Baby Blackburn-Myles:

Or as it is commonly known as (just now) Lil' Lemon, as we have been naming it after the fruit it is currently the size of :) We've had cherries, figs and limes, and now it's the Lemon's turn :D

We've also started a little blog for the kidflump to read about its growth and development when it is older, and that can be found here. So yeah, I am 14 weeks towards being a Dad! Isn't that brilliantly exciting everyone!!!

Right, I have little time left before this shift is over, so I will have to love you and leave you!
All the best
Andy :D

TWICE IN TWO DAYS?!

2005-12-09T04:36:00.000+01:00

Can it be? Could you be so lucky? Could there actually be TWO updates in the same number of days? Yes, yes and would ya believe it YES!!

Firstly, I feel I have to share this with you, something I was emailed earlier this morning (it is a quarter to five after all!) It is something I think we can all relate to in one way or another, and I have added some of my own humour/mirth/stupidity/call it what you will to it:

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
Yes, because I regularly turn the dial 18 notches right, 6 left, and then 9 right again, and nuke my crappy Morrisons micro-curry into the next millenium

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
True, but then again, I haven't played solitaire in any of it's forms in a long time! There are far more entertaining games available on the Wonderfully Wicked World Wide Web of Wonder, like Blast Billiards... ayy m'dear (you know who you are!)

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
I have one number, and one number only to reach my family of three... but then there are a number of email addresses, and if we include a certain someone, I just checked and had 5 numbers in my phone for Shiv.... you never know when you might need them!

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
The closest desk to this one, is the boardroom... with no computer... closest after that is the helpdesk monkey's and I never email him!

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
or phones, or pagers, or beepers, or letterboxes, or addresses... all my friends and family live in trees or fields... "baaaaahhhhhhh"

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
This is where it started annoying me, "driveway" "cell phone" "groceries"? Bloody yankisms... I can't think of an alternative to "driveway" (it's late) but it would be my "mobile phone" (why cell phone anyways... I am confused) and "the shopping." No-one shops at a grocers any more... least of all calls their shopping "the groceries"...

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
Every "advert" may... and why the hell not? Double advertising, increasing product exposure, and maximising opportunities for sales by advertising your online shop at the same time!

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
I actually left the house for quite a while the other day without my phone... That could be because the heap of junk will die on me if I make/receive a call lasting more than 30 bloody seconds.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
I have no net connection at home... so nerrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
Nope, never done it, doubt I ever will.

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
On occasions chuckling at my own wicked wit...

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
Forward? Forward? Why forward this to a few collegues when I can post it on the Wickedly Wonderful World Wide interWebby and release the "humour" (note the U!!!) to the whole universe!!!

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
I admit it, when I first read it, no, I never noticed there was no 9... because the actual numbers are pointless and can just be skipped!

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.
Nope, didn't, I believed the list... and you can't prove otherwise

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.
At myself? AT MYSELF? Never!

As I said in point 8, my phone is gay and dying, so if anyone wants to donate to the "let's get andy a new mobile" fund, or recommend a decent mobile that won't be too expensive, maybe on a PAYG contract that I could get whilst I'm over in UK, please let me know...

Ohh, and a bit of techy stuff, I've finally found out how to put a video/mp3 on the blog, so here ya go:

"Just a one fingered victory salute" ayy? The kind you mentally give all the families of the soldiers who have died for your greedy profiteering benefit? George W. Bush... I give you that "one fingered salute" right back...

...with a couple of clips of Bushy boy making a mockery of himself:

022608122005

2005-12-08T02:16:00.000+01:00

Was it laziness? How about bone fucking idleness? Was it just plain lack of ideas and/or motivation? Or, a combination of all of the above? Personally, I don't know why I haven't added anything to my blog in so long, maybe I've just had too much other random junk on my mind.

So, what has happened in the last... how long has it been:

The duration is 53 days, 20 hours, 4 minutes and 5 seconds
Or 1 month, 22 days, 20 hours, 4 minutes, 5 seconds

according to this calculator

Well, the new rugby season has started, we have only had one win and a draw so far since being promoted to the first division, but hey, we are keeping at it... though some of the losses really shouldn't have been! This site hasn't been updated in quite a while, but I have heard a new one is being constructed as we speak and should be up soon enough.

Along with a few aches and pains, flu/cold etc, I've only had a few minor headaches, bar one 3 day long migraine last weekend, which still wasn't as bad as some of the previous ones. I have however done something rather nasty to my right knee. I don't know if it is ligament damage, or if I have just twisted it or something, but I have this nasty swollen area around the bottom of it, which wierdly isn't sore to touch. Any ideas? Aside from the usual go see the doctor!!!
I try and keep as far away from the bloody health centre as possible, only earlier today was I discussing the bloody place, and the fact that I may need to go there soon to get my new E111. This will involve queuing up for half an hour to an hour, before being told that I need to get the form from Desk 87b in Room ZZQBD in sector 69 on the 87th floor. After the 3 hour queue in that room, acquiring said form, and returning to the original desk, form complete, I will then be told that the form will need to be stamped by the official stamp gnome who stands in the corner by the dental higeine area, on the 2nd Thursday of every even month, but only during a leap year...

You get my drift...

I also, somehow (don't ask) managed to fabricate this wonderful piece of artsy-craftsy-ness:

Shivvers decided she wanted a home made advent calendar this year (hmm....) so 1 tub of UHUUUUUUUUU Glue, 2 pieces of card (one yellow, one green), 24 glittery Christmas cards (each with a loving message... I know, I'm a softy at heart) some glitter glue, some gold and starry ribbon and some BLOOD SWEAT AND FREAKING TEARS LATER, it was done, with about 8 hours to go till the 1st of December!

Today, or yesterday, depending on how you look at it, I went for my first proper driving lesson, with a qualified instructor. The guy used to be one of the examiners here, so unsupprisingly, practically zero percent of his students fail when they take their test. Which brings me to my NEW YEARS RESOLUTION (might as well get it out of the way now, in case I go MIA for another 2 months again.) I WILL PASS MY DRIVING TEST THIS COMING YEAR, 2006, AND GET A FREAKING CAR!! I did the 3 point turn first go with no problems, and parked on flat in both directions with no probs either. Hill parking though, I kinda over-revved and went bumpity into the curb... never mind. Not driven in ages and ages... I was over all rather impressed with my performance.

It is now 030208122005 and I suppose I might go and get a coffee... yes, I have started drinking coffee, it doesn't taste half as bad as it smells, and I kinda like it. And anyways, I need a new vice seeing as I have only had 1 beer and 2 cans of cider (both of which I shared with the gorgeous Miss Myles) in the last month! Caffeine is your friend:

PS. 13 days till we fly to UK for our Crimbo hols... I hope it's a white Xmas this year... can't wait! :D

I ain't a bigot....much.... anymore.

2005-10-14T18:31:00.000+02:00

Sorry it's late, didnt finish this yesterday!

Happy Yom Kippur to all the Hebrews amongst us, you can come out of hiding now, Hitler died, the good guys won, and now you lot own most of the diamonds on the planet! I mean, you even coined the term 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' to help boost sales.

For the non hebrews, that have no idea what I am on about, Yom Kippur is a day to cleanse the soul, "celebrated" from Sundown to Sundown between the 12th and 13th of October this year, but is more specifically on the 10th day of the month of Tishri in the Hebrew calendar.

Back to the diamonds, possibly the most overpriced, overrated rocks on the planet. The majority of the diamonds sold in shops aren't even naturally formed any more. A chemistry/geology labs crushes carbon in a fabricated environment to create them, then sells them on for a decent price! And why do we have to do this I hear you ask? Because the natural diamond mines are controlled by 2 or 3 big corporations only, and they then control the amount of diamonds that can be released each year, keeping the prices up. I had to laugh at the following quote from here:

"Jews have the diamond industry cornered. They control the diamond mines in Africa and the diamond merchants in Amsterdam and pretty much everywhere else…. La Raza buys diamonds principally on wedding rings. We have been brainwashed to believe that diamonds have intrinsic value. The slogan ‘diamonds are a girl's best friend’ was invented by Jews. There are other beautiful gem stones that we could learn to cherish, for example emeralds and rubys. This would entail minimal cultural re-orientation as Chicanos and Mexicanos but perhaps we may lead a world movement to de-value diamonds for the cause of saving the Palestinians. As the world Jewry starts losing more and more money as diamond sales decrease, they would be pressured to agree on an equitable peace with the Palestinians. Don't buy Jewish diamonds!-Justice for the Palestinians."

Now that is taking it a bit too far, even for me when I'm in one of these moods!!

Some other well known facts about the Jews of the world:

Jewish teens were the first to take a stance against drink driving, after a Rabbi drove a van drunk into a Jewish house, in a Jewish area in 1982!

The Jews control who win prizes on radio shows!

There are more Jews per square mile in Hollywood than in the whole of Israel.

Jewish is actually misspelt, it is meant to be Ju-ish

The phrase 'Jews or Lose' was coined many moons ago, in order to try and boost numbers

Them Hollywood based Jews once petitioned to have Jewish actors have Stars of David instead, on the hall of fame!

None of those were true by the way.

Im bored, i have 5 hours left here... meh!

To busk, or not to busk....

2005-08-28T14:08:00.000+02:00

On the 28th of August, I started the following, but, due to lack of motivation, I suspect, I can't be sure you see... I blame the alcohol, propranolol, paracetamol and codeine coctail:

My daily doses of propranolol are keeping the migraines under wraps, and so far, I have been headache free since starting the course and therefore have not had to resort to taking any Tylex. Having a dependancy on anything scares me, especially any form of medication.

On a brighter note, I handed my notice in at 6pm on Monday the 22nd of August... and it was decided that I would not have to work it, due to being a security risk, and they would pay me my months salary up front instead.

I honestly have absolutely NO FRICKING IDEA on quite which road I thought that post was going to go down, but fear not, this post too will be penned with a total lack of direction, me being a creature of habit and all. I vaguely recollect contemplating mentioning both this famously addictive personality:

and his equaly addicted, if not quite as famous offspring Jack:

MOOOOOving swiftly along, since the last time I graced you all with my online presence, I have taken up employment with Sapphire Networks (not a lot there yet) who are going to be offering high speed broadband style internet access around the rock, and have taken over Gibraltar's first (and best) ISP GibNet as a Network Operations Centre Technician... or in plain English, I monitor stuff, and if it breaks, I fix it, or get those who know how to, to fix it. Which kicks the shit out of the busking idea (see title) and pays more too! I am currently in the middle of my 2nd night shift, working midnight till 8am, upon which time, I get to go home, give my lovely lady an hour long hug, before she gets up for work, leaving me to sleep during the day.

We were recently back in "Sunny"¹ England, firstly for a bit of a break, and secondly to celebrate the fact that her Great Aunt Dub was celebrating down in Plymouth after turning 100 years young! Unfortunately, this very enjoyable, and forever memorable occasion, brings me to a rather large gripe; Her Majesties Telegram. I've always wondered how it must feel to live for an entire century, to open that communication from your head of state, in recognition of your life's acheivements, during that 100 years, and personally, if it had been my telegram that was received that Sunny² Plymouth afternoon, I'd have been rather dissapointed. The signature, was printed, and not even decently printed to be honest. It was on non-embossed paper (which I thought would have been a nice touch, embossed with the palace crest) which had a recycled paper watermark, and had been put through a half arsed laser printer, which chucks on the date, the message and the signature. I mean come on, has she not got enough time to sign a few birthday cards a year! I have looked it up, and cards are only issued for 100th and 105th and every year there after birthday's, so surely there can't be that many!!! Well boy's and girl's that is where I am wrong. I hate it, because I was enjoying my moan against the Royal Family, but they also send them out for certain anniversaries etc.... so many so, that in 2000 the palaces secretary department sent out 30 bloody thousand of the things! :

So there, my persistant needed to prove myself has completely backfired.

QUICK INTERJECTION HERE!! I was about to use the phrase "hoist by my own petard" there, but I decided to check if that is the correct cliché-ic phrase to use. And I really don't know what the bloody hell it is meant to mean. Shakespeare apparently used it first, but if anyone could divulge how and when you are meant to use it, and more importantly, what it means, let me know!!

She was first introduced here, or there abouts, and has been mentioned numerous times, including this post, and these two:
Uno
Dos
amongst others, but never been seen. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys 'n Girls, Lads an' Ladettes, may have the great pleasure of showing you the true, notthis interpretation Miss S.J. Myles:

I first met her during last Christmas' pantomime, don't worry too much about the crazy man dressed as a woman in the background:

During a whiskey sampling night recently, prior to us all getting rather wobbly-kneed:

And even more recently, on National Day (my love, you can explain the "Sorry Hat" if you so wish hehehe):

And just to take the piss out of myself, trying to look out the top of my forehead:

AND THAT, AS THEY SAY (OR AT LEAST I DO AT TWENTY PAST SIX IN THE BLOODY MORNING) IS THAT!!! It's been fun, thank you, thank you, I'm here all week (what's left of it) mucho's gracias GOODNIGHT!!!

Insert^{1. I always enclose the word sunny in inverted comma's when refering to the UK, as on the majority of times that I am there, it isn't! This trip however was blessed with reasonably good weather considering the time of year. This is my get out of jail free card before any sad bastard takes it upon themselves to check out the temperature, humidity, cloud levels and rain fall for September this year, and compare them to past years' averages for the same area, etc.}

Insert^{2. See, I don't do it all the time!!!!}

Who, what, when, where and...

2005-08-16T14:39:00.000+02:00

To live without nuisance, would truly be an empty existence indeed. However, to struggle by defeats the purpose of existing at all. To question is human, as is to err, and my question at present is a simple one, why? Simple to ask that is, not to retort. I care not for why this is happening, only why so often. With 4 subsequent attacks since my attempted “in time” portrayal, and having to resort to preventative medication, my patience really is tiring of it all, as Siobhan’s too must surely be. She knows exactly how grateful and appreciative I am for her patience, kindness, love and support, but I feel it needed repeating. It must be nigh on torturous to watch someone you care about suffer, become a useless wreck every time they experience an attack, but she has been my Rock over recent weeks, and I cannot thank her enough for it.

I have recently been contemplating alternative methods of relief and prevention, such as acupuncture (though some reports suggest that it only has placebo effects,) acupressure and even reflexology or other chiropractic methods. Other methods I have read about include Biofeedback, a method of relaxation and almost meditation that incorporates an ideal similar to the “mind over matter” principle. Anyone who has had any experience in these, especially biofeedback, both personal or witnessed, I would love to hear from, leave a comment or send me an email, details are in the disclaimer at the top right of the page...

Let me leave you with some peoples depictions of their auras:

A good representation of kind of how an aura effects your vision, curling round one side, except it isn't static, it's twirls and twists, and produces patterns like one of these would on a bright sunny day

The expression given in this picture is exactly my sentiment every time I feel an attack coming on, fear and panic...

Aura and migraine art can be found all over the web, just use your good friend:

The day after...

2005-07-29T11:12:00.000+02:00

Let's continue from where we left off...

[12:20pm] Arrive at health centre, luckily it is en route to home, tell the dippy blonde behind the counter, after she checks that I'm on "the system" (I hate it when people round here assume I am not local, just because I can actually speak English properly!) state that "I need to see a doctor." I was swaying by this point, the sunlight and heat outside had tripled the nauseating effects of my headache, and really was holding down the chunks. She then tells me she has put me in to see the emergency doctor. "How long will the wait be?" I ask, stupidly presuming that doctors work all the way through the working day. "Sorry" is the retort, "the doctors are on lunch from 12 to 3, you have to come back at half two, you are number 8 for the emergency doctor in the yellow section." Holding my back 2 fingered salute, I leave, sod the appointment, I know I have some Syndol at home, I'll take those and crash out.

[12:45pm] Get home, nausea overpowers again, rushing to the bathroom, I lift the lid just in time. Make a semi conscious decision that taking any more painkillers will just result in them being regurgitated. I struggle on the floor, room spinning, to remove my clothes, I'm baking up, the sweat is pouring out of me. Crawl onto my bed, thank god the window and doors are open, a breeze blows over my back, i pull a pillow over my head and lay as still as I possibly can. The bed feels like is is in the middle of one of these and the pain has reached the point I have been at so many times before. I don't want this any more, I want to die, and that is the thought that fills my head as I lose consciousness...

[5:37pm] Groggy, I awake, the alarm clock is flashing on my side table. I very cautiously sit up, the room is supprisingly "still", the very slight din of traffic resonates softly round the spacious quarter. Time for the test... I softly shake my head from side to side, like a child might do when outright refusing to do as he or she is told, except much slower. The pain is now very dull, a complete contrast to the original agonisingly sharp pain experienced during the beginning stages of the attack. My neck is stiff, not uncommon, my head feels thick, again, not uncommon, but something just isnt right. After only 5 hours of slumber, my head is almost "normal." This dull feeling normally only starts the day after my attack (which coincidentally I still have) but it has started too early.

This continues all evening, I have a small bite to eat, watch some CSI and Las Vegas on my PC, laying in bed, and fall asleep around 2:30am (having rested so much already, I was supprised to drift off so early)

Today I have a dull headache as I mentioned previously, my neck is still stiff, and I have a really sore jaw due to grinding my teeth during the attack. Maybe some sort of retainer might be a good idea... Back to work I go.. it's 11:40, roughly 24 hours ago I was in so much pain I couldn't see, I couldn't perform like a normal human being, and not through my lack of trying, or wanting to, but through sheer lack of ability. I will continue though, the second I became insentient, that thought of giving up hope dissipated, and besides, I have far to much to live for.

Yet another migraine

2005-07-28T11:47:00.000+02:00

Right, excuse the scattiness of this post, and any typos that may occur at the beginning, but I am typing this blind, well, just about. I am in the middle of having a migraine, from what I can tell so far, it’s gonna be a pretty hefty one, so here is a step by step account of what I actually go through every time I have one. I’m going to try to stay at work, and stick this through, all for you, the reader, so you can try and comprehend what these do to me.

I can just about make out from my systray clock, that it is now 10:32. About 15 mins ago this started, so that’s makes our first entry at 10:17:

[10:17am] Started getting tunnel vision, thought nothing of it at first, but when rubbing my eyes did nothing, at all, I started getting worried.

[10:20am] Tunnel vision has blurred everything bar a small circle in the centre in my vision where I can just about make things out. This is when I realised that the shit is gonna hit the fan, so in search of painkillers I go.

[10:25am] Mission accomplished, thank god I know this office like the back of my hand, pre-empting anyone moving their chairs in front of me was a hard task. Neck 3x200mg Nurofen just as the tunnel vision starts to clear and my usual aura begins. Flashing lights just off centre to the right, in a sort of horizontal zig-zag pattern, only one line, but with vertical zig-zags within it, mainly red, orange and green in colour. Had to run downstairs to fix someone’s keyboard, when the idea of blogging this came to me, which brought me to 10:32

[10:37am] Now, zig-zags still there, I can feel the tension building up at the front right hand side of my head just above my eye. Not had a right sided migraine in a while, and yes, they do normally hurt more, told you this was gonna be a bitch. Those of you worried about me using a monitor etc, don’t. I have my screens set to decent resolutions with a very high refresh rate, also, I have had my eyes tested, and various other tests by various other opticians and doctors, monitors don’t cause my migraines. I just suffer from chronic migraine, full stop! Or “period” as an American might say. I have no triggers, chocolate, cheese, citrus and caffeine are the main known triggers, known as the 4Cs, but I removed them all from my diet for 4 months a year or so ago, and guess what, still got migraines. My aura is beginning to go, pain to come shortly, I will keep you updated.

[10:47am] Vision is beginning to return to normal, just spoke to a good friend of mine about the idea, and her response was, and I quote “GOD.. GO HOME” You may think she is right, I should go home, rest, recover and recuperate. So let me put this to you, if I were in a traffic accident, say I got knocked flying off my bike, landed so badly that I smashed my leg up, and needed it amputated (bit fucking drastic, I know) I would have two choices. Firstly, I could cry, whinge, moan and complain about it all, have someone look after me, fend for me, wait on me hand and foot, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year, or I could get on with my life, as normally as I possibly could, keep my chin up, and not let it get me down. Agreed? The same as anyone with a life affecting condition would do, epilepsy being a very good example.
Also, take my dad’s situation, back in 2000 he had 3 heart attacks, the last of which nearly killed him, one I had the most horrific experience of witnessing. He was in and out of hospital for the next six months to a year, he had angioplasties, stress tests, and eventually stents had to be implanted into the section of artery that kept collapsing. When he was eventually released from hospital permanently, he was prescribed a massive concoction of medications, just to keep him alive. Aspirin, Warfarin, ACE inhibitors, Lipid lowering med’s, other cholesterol controlling substances, you name it, he has probably taken it at some point since his attacks. Now, to the best of his ability, he carried on his “normal” life, his “normal” routine, as a father, husband and self-employed member of society. He continued to run his business the best he could, keep his life under control the best he could, and this man also suffers from migraine, which due to his other medication, he has to be careful with what he takes to combat the attack, as it could affect his heart. And that is the new perspective I have on this horrible affliction, I’m not going to let it get me down, I’m not going to let it control and dictate my life like it used to. Sure, I will take it easy when I am having an attack, but I refuse point blank to let this control my life any more. I will take the painkillers and anti-inflammatories, and try, to the best of my ability, not to let this get me down

[11:28am] That went on a bit, and I got distracted by work half way through, I just finished the last entry, the aura is completely gone, and the pain has shifted, I have a throbbing at the front left side of my head now, from the left temple to I would say about the dead centre of my left eye, as well as the throbbing. Ohh, and the nausea has begun… quite strongly.

[11:53am] For the first time since deciding to do this, I am thinking it may be a bad fucking idea. So bad that I just messaged my boss to ask for the PM off work. [Excuse the upcoming graphic-ness] I just made it to the toilet in time to be sick due to the pain I am in, my head is throbbing. Add to that the fact that when you retch it increases blood pressure to the head, causing more pain, causing more retching, it's a horrible cycle, one I have come to terms with during my years of suffering from migraine, one I wouldn't wish on my worst of enemies, and I mean that.

[12:07pm] Had enough, going home, and I think my initial point was made:

I’m going to try to stay at work, and stick this through, all for you, the reader, so you can try and comprehend what these do to me.

No matter how positive I think, how early I catch an attack and try and treat it, nothing helps. I think I could live as an amputee, I could even cope suffereing from epilepsy, as once your attack is over, you are semi back to normal, but with this pain, I just can't do it. I am gonna stop at the health centre on the way home to pick up a prescription for Tylex, these were the only painkillers I ever took that managed to at least control the pain I am in. The link below gives a good insight into some of the associated experiences with migraines, for now, this man needs his bed, and some dark.

http://www.mamashealth.com/migraine.asp

Shoot to kill?

2005-07-25T16:45:00.000+02:00

Let's start with some politics!

Britain remains in a raised state of alert, Bush is happily twiddling his thumbs, enjoying the carnage he seems to be continually causing globally, Blair is still acting like his little lapdog and innocent 27 year old Brazilians are getting shot.

Now, before anyone starts having a shout, hear me out first. I do not condemn the officers who riddled Jean Charles de Menezes' body with holes, or Sir Ian Blair for standing by them, supporting his officers, the country is currently under attack and drastic times call for drastic measures. If you run away from armed officers, towards the location of a recent terrorist attack, jump over safety barriers, and refuse to yield, expect the most unexpectable repercussions. And as you can see below, quite a big percentage of interviewees believe that the "Shoot to kill" policy should not be relaxed at present:

My condolences do, however, go out to the friends and family of Mr Menezes, losing anyone close to you is hard to do, even more so in these circumstances.

Anyway's that's the rant on that done, more arrests during last night, more "suspect packages" found, I really am glad that I'm nowhere near it to be quite selfish yet brutally honest about it all.

Someone who is over there though is on of the funniest, most caring, loving person I have ever had the absolute pleasure of knowing. Siobhan's been in Bristol/Exmouth since Friday, though she left England yesterday for Dublin, and will be there till the weekend. To quote The Police's (she'll love me for this!) "The bed's too big without you" is a complete and utter understatement. I feel like I'm missing a limb, I wander round the (very small let me remind everyone) flat like a dog who's lost his bone, and to make matters all so much worse, the insomnia is back... HOORAY! On a brighter note, so is my appetite, which was getting rather worrying, but I'm ravenous all the time again now, so maybe I'm heading back to the good ol' AHS! (Andy's Happy State)

This involves, feeling persistently hungry, sleeping 3-4 hours a day at most, reading a lot, and watching sunrises. I may have to stay at Siobhan's more often for that though, as her house faces east, and you get some cracking views :) Though I don't know if they beat some of the sunsets I get from my place , remember these:

Yesterday's launch of the space shuttle discovery seems to have gone off without a hitch, even if there were reports of sheilding/heat panels falling off during take off... Still, what do you expect using technology from the 50s and 60s, because as we all know, most of it is just "upgraded" to meet present requirements anyways... Like M$ Windows, same shit underneath, new name on top! And what's with the name Vista anyways?!!?

I leave you with this rather amusing link where you can read about how they plan to have a space station on the Moon, which they plan to use to hop over to mars for some more spacial exploration... Godspeed... ya big bunch of loons!!!! And not this type either, I'm talking proper crazy:

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?!?!

2005-07-12T16:31:00.000+02:00

What is the world coming to when more and more people on the planet are blowing each other up, for reasons of race or creed, for greed, or just for the plain sake of it? Add to this, those amongst us who are morbidly fascinated with it all. Taking photos and videos of said partially blown up bits of human, what was very previously a life, a living being, someone’s son or daughter, father or mother, husband or wife. And for what? To maybe make a quick buck of Ogrish or Rotten?? You sick, sick individuals, you disgust me. I bet it is one of you who is currently raising this future pillar of society, who is accused of raping a 7 year old and two 8 year olds. If this is what he is doing at 14, we can only imagine in horror of what can be expected of him in the future. No doubt, he would probably end up like this charming young man, who at only 16 has been sentenced to life for raping his 28 year old teacher, IN THE FUCKING CLASSROOM! He bit, beat and headbutted the poor bloody woman before forcing himself on her. She feared for her life, because of some over-horny little shit, but don’t worry, he’s safely locked away, and not available for parole for another 3 whole years. Great to see the British Justice system working to it’s full potential.
No doubt, this will continue, in the coming weeks, when more house are searched more victims are named and more families destroyed and friends lost
It is a sad, sad world we live in

Please excuse me...

2005-07-11T17:42:00.000+02:00

... for the recent lack of anything decent posted. I mean, there have been plenty of chances for me to write up some funny story, interesting quote, even a temerarious (gotta love Google's word of the day, part of it's new personalised service.) rant about someone or something.
I mean we had father's day (which I know of at least 2 people who forgot!!) so we could have celebrated that... OR NOT! You see, similarly to valentines day (where we celebrate how once a year Roman Soldiers would get free pick of a woman from whichever village they were currently plundering for the forthcoming year, or until he killed her) Father's day is a bit of a farce. However, unlike Valentines, this holiday hasnt been hyped up and expanded by Hallmark and the likes, ohh no, it's a complete fabrication by some yank woman named Sonora Dodd, who back in 1909, whilst listening to a Mothering Sunday sermon in Washington, thought how good an idea it would be to have a Paternal equivalent, so she could honour her father, who's birthday was funnily in June, apparently some time around the 19th. Even funnier is the following:

in 1910 the first group of morons from Spokane, Washington actually went along with this idea, followed by support in 1924 from an even bigger moron called President Calvin Coolage. 1966 saw President Lyndon Johnson adding his 2 pence worth and signing a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June 'Fathers Day'. Why couldn't he have made it a Monday so it would have at least been made a bank holiday or something? Anyways... The biggest moron of the lot was president Nixon who made it permanent with a law in 1972. It's all very nice except for that fact that its adding to the slow Americanisation of England. First Fathers day, then the whole MTV culture thing, adverts brainwashing us into suing each other for injuries every 5 seconds. What next, the super bowl? I'm going to go back and hide in my cave...

[more of Mr Vallejo's humour can be found here yes, I part plagerised, but hey, it's funny, worth it, and gives him a plug]

We also had the British and Irish Lions' tour of New Zealand, who fared quite well against some of the smaller, Provincial and even second rate teams, but who got totally fricking annihilated by the Maori selection and 3 times by the Test team, who coincidentally could probably take on any previous world cup winning team and totally smack the living shit out of them. Be sure to check out probably the best team on the planet!

Next up, Islamic militant groups deciding to bomb parts of London, or was it? I know all the conspiracy theories will be flying, so I'm not even going to start, I'm just going to say it was all very upsetting. 9/11 was a shitter, but I never thought of it as having a direct affect on me, my loved ones, my friends. People I work with are only a 5 minute walk from Tavistock Square, and regularly commute to Kings Cross and Russell Square. It all suddenly became very, very real.

In case you havent already seen the link, you can also go check out the lovely Miss Myles' blog or even check out how Iolaire is doing now that he has successfully moved over to Macau (if he has bothered updating his site!!)

That's all for now... I'll be back soon... I hope... but for now, WATCH... THIS... SPACE!!!

The really big...

2005-07-10T12:33:00.000+02:00

TWO THREE! That's right folks, the 24th year that the world has had to suffer my existance has officially begun! The weekend went a little along the lines of this:
(http://eul_grepus.blogspot.com , it's author, maintainer and supplier of ideas (i.e me) holds no responsibility for any missing details or badly remembered information, due to excess alcomoholic intake!)

Thursday night was fantastic. Met with Siobhan on this side of the runway, walked across to Spain and caught a cab to Campamento for a meal at El Tendio (recommended to anyone reading this, great food) which she had arranged. Arrive and sit down, and go to order a beer, when shiv sneakily says "shall we get a bottle of wine?" Yeah why not, so I ask the lady for the wine list. Whilst perusing said list for something I fancy, ignoring the lady putting glasses etc down, I see Shiv gesturing to one of the waitresses, and upon asking what was going on, I find to my supprise that she had ordered a bottle of Champagne for me. Cue massively stupid grin from ear to ear which lasted all night long :) The food was superb, if you havent had chateaubriand at this place before, go get it. They carve a lovely piece of meat very finely for two people, and give you a hot plate to cook it on. As good if not better than steak on a stone!
Friday was my actual birthday, and the presents were a plenty :) A new shirt, wallet, Wales winning the Grand Slam DVD amongst some other not-going-to-mention-here style presents brought many a smile to my face from the lovely lady. Some money from my parents (new clothes/shoes tomorrow methinks) and an iPod mini from Chris and Buff. What can I say guys, I was shocked to say the least, thank you both very very much again! Ended up in Spain again, till the very early hours of Saturday, and unsupprisingly did very little yesterday!

Anyways, going to finish chucking music on my ipod :D bye for now

Just a quick hello....

2005-07-04T14:33:00.000+02:00

Just a quick message to say howdy to anyone actually reading this nowadays, to invite y'all to the Toon on the Rock bar at 6/6:30 on Friday PM for a few swift bevvies for my birthday. What we end up doing post Toon, only time and no doubt booze will tell, but no doubt lots of fun is to be had :D

Awww bless her...

2005-06-21T01:44:00.000+02:00

Time: 01:42
Music: Giant Steps, found here.
Mood: Amazingly, slightly better.

The lovely Shiv just gave me a call, (when I say just I mean 20 odd mins ago.) Her spidey senses must be on overdrive, coz I really needed a pick me up, when all signs seem to show that the transfer from yet again previously mentioned "massive mailbox" seems to have slowed! During our 20 odd minute call, the blog was mentioned, as one of the methods I have been applying to this GOD AWEFULLY BLOODY BORING TASK, and apparently, she requires me to mention her derriere.

But!!!! Before we do that, Dictionary.Com defines the derriere as a noun that describes the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on. Located at the top of the legs, and just below the small of the back. That place so many people seem to like to get tattooed:

See???!!!

Her bum isn't tattooed though, nor is her back, in fact, nor is any piece of her skin, it's all just how it came, and I wouldn't change a single bit of it. Her skin that is, I wouldn't refer to her as an "it," that just wouldn't be friendly.

Anyways, its now 2:08, I'm absolutely bloody shattered, I think the server in London started a backup at some bloody point, and that has slowed this down considerably. The way I'm going, I'm gonna have tomorrow off in lieu, im owed what, 4 and a bit hours already! I've run out of unseen Scrubs to watch, the web is being stupidly boring, so I've chucked a Scorsesi classic on... Casino... time for gangsters, sex, drugs and holes in the desert ;)

You never know, I might be back again shortly for another post, if my brain allows it, however, the only thing going through it, is sleep, cuddling, with Shiv, and her lovely, and previously unmentioned, bum.

Sigh....

2005-06-21T00:32:00.000+02:00

Time: 00:30
Music: None, watching a few episodes of Scrubs.
Mood:

From my educated guestimation, this one bloody calendar is taking up about 1.8 gigs of the previously mentioned "massive mailbox." Transfering it across the network, from current transfer rates, is going to take about 4-5 hours. It has been going for 2.5 hours so far, and has transfered about a gigs worth, 800 megs to go... and it's beginning to get me down. To say this is comparable to watching paint dry, really doesn't cut el queso if you get what I mean!

Add to that, my planned nice night in with Siobhan has been blown to shit, and she is probably curling up in bed at the moment, whilst I'm sat, upright, in this stupid chair, wishing I was in there with her.

So it's now 00:52, 650 megs ish to go... and I know, I took a while to write that, but I was waylaid by Scrubs and having a chat with Rosie, who's husband is one of the guitarists in possibly Gibraltar's best band to hit the scene, Se7en Sins!!

Bye for now, again, this is one rather miffed/depressed/lonely welshman, signing off, at 00:55

It's been a while...

2005-06-20T22:27:00.000+02:00

...since I could hold my head up high...

[/Staind!]!!!

Time: 22:26
Music: Korn - One (off MTV Icon:Metallica)
Mood:

So the london server decided to fall flat on its big flat arse this afternoon.
So I tried to fix it.
So now its getting late, I'm back in the office, after one offline defrag, trying to archive a massive mailbox to then run yet another offline defrag.
So work has been really stressing me out recently.
So I got a 75 quid fine for speeding back in December this morning.
So I have a massive water/electricity bill to pay off sharpish.
So I think, I might be back in that horrid depressed hole again... fun!

Lets get a move on shall we... Just listened to a crack mp3 of Steve Penk winding up DIY people, asking if they stock skirting board ladders, tartan paint, glass nails etc... lmfao!

Right, gonna get this sorted and go home.... night all

And it continues

2005-06-01T16:41:00.000+02:00

Very brief, because I'm quite busy, some of us DO have to work you know.

It seems, people are finally doing something about the annoying little fucking BASTARD!!!!! that is the Crazy Frog.

The Crazy Frog ringtone commercial has attracted around 800 complaints from members of the public, the Advertising Standards Authority has said.

The industry watchdog has launched an investigation into objections to the TV advert.

Around 200 people feared the Jamster commercial was targeting children as potential subscribers for its ringtone service.

More Info

Bye for now :D

Long Weekend

2005-05-31T13:14:00.000+02:00

Missouri had wierd clouds, our long weekend had rain. San Jeronimo RFC had the home advantage, and a coach of their's as a ref, we had determination and amongst others, Glen on the wing who did a repeat performance of his steam roller impersonation whenever he had the ball. Anyways, taking a 22-13 lead into the home leg of the playoff can't be bad, and with a decent referee, we should be able to completely ransack the dirty sons of bitches.
If anyone has slight medical knowledge, and has heard of something that can give a bloke the sensation that he is on fire on the inside, though his skin is cool to the touch, please leave a comment and let me know, because I've been left to bake at 250degrees for the last 2 days and it's beginning to worry me. Ohh, and the first one to come up with a menopause joke gets the finger or possibly something more pain inflicting, capishe?

Bit of a shit update, but I'm struggling to type, and feel like im being spitroasted... oeerrr :P

That took long didnt it!!!

2005-05-27T14:47:00.000+02:00

Well, that didnt take very long did it!! Came across this this morning, if anyone finds any more, email me or comment with the link, and I'll be sure to continue my death to the annoying bloody ringtone creatures campaign! I'm pleased to announce that Señor N00NchieS has decided to be the C.Ü.N.T. of the Campaign. (Campaign's Über News Transmitter) When asked about said little creatures, he had one thing to say:

"DIE FUCKERS!"

Miss Myles has decided that she's had enough late nights recently, and has taken the afternoon off work (lazy/lucky sod!!) Though we are meant to be going to this drum and bassy/housey evening that Larry is hosting tonight, but it aint till later, so she'll probably be well rested in time:
Click to biggafy

In other news, these photos were taken in Missouri recently, and apparently the clouds have meteorologists (fucking hard word to spell that is!!!!) baffled:

Is the end nigh for Missouri??!?!

2005-05-26T16:00:00.000+02:00

Right, first of all, I'm gonna have a rant at blogger.bloodycom and firefox because I had typed a stupid amount for this post, with links to stuff etc, and then it kinda all went dead, and hung. So I use bloggers "fantastic" "Recover post" util, and guess what, IT DOES SWEET FANNY FRICKING ADAMS!.
So, I was mentioning Matt Facer's website before firefox died. It aint anything overly spectacular, but has some clever little entertaining things, like the funky fridge magnet flashery. Don't know the bloke, but stumbling upon his site has kept me slightly entertained during my slightly worse for wear day (I don't get hangovers anymore!)
Moving swiftly along, Liverpool knock Chelsea out of the Champions League (no, I wont link to their drug/arms money funded site) and come up against AC Milan in the final. We go for a "few drinks" and to watch the game, and half time comes along, and Shiv is thinking maybe Liverpool arent the team to support in her new found interest in football, as Milan are all over them, knocking in 3 goals in the first half, including a very well placed chip by Crespo. I'm winding the scouse fans up at half time (maybe not my smartest move ever!) chanting "Crespo for a hatrick, lala la laaa" etc etc. Traf was over filled, and really horribly cramped, so we moved on down to Angry Friar to watch the second half, and unless you are really that disinterested in football, or were abducted by aliens:

you know what happened next. The 'Pool knock 3 goals in in 6 minutes, it goes the distance and they win their 5th European Cup (the first in 21 years) on penalties.
The party moves to the lordy (sorry, this is gonna be sketchy, as the memories are hazy) I move onto wild turkey from the lager (ohh no!) we see some more people, drink more, I think we contemplated on the Market Tavern but cleverly decided against it.
Fastforward a few hours, I wake up with that distict "shit im so fucking late for work" feeling, check the clock on the wall of my living room, its 5 to 8... HOLD ON A MINUTE! Why am I in the living room *head spins* *thought hurts head* HOLD ON A MINUTE, what's going on here, my legs seem to be in a knot... around more legs! HOLD ON YET ANOTHER BLOODY MINUTE! *check who's legs* panic over, they're attached to Shiv. I'm missing my shirt, she's full clothed, and Im ohh so very bloody confused! Or as I briefly put it to Sam earlier, the earlier version goes:

[12:08:09] Happy :): met up for a bite to eat then lotsa beer
[12:08:26] Sam: very nice
[12:09:03] Happy :): si, was good fun
[12:09:25] Happy :): we woke up, on the sofa, legs entwined, cats
atop, fully clothed
[12:09:40] Sam: awww, drunks
[12:10:06] Happy :): yeah, innit great, will blog it later, coz its
fucking hilarious

I think I could quite possibly have still been drunk at that point.

Go check this guys cartoons out! I found this whilst looking for my aliens pic, and have had a good browse, some funny stuff :D

Hasta luego my hard rocking amigos!

Twat Wars...

2005-05-24T14:21:00.000+02:00

Well, it most certainly has been a while since I did a proper update hasn't it. Since that time, Anakin has turned to the dark side, and two arseholes in Hemel Hempstead nearly killed themselves by impersonating Jedis/Siths.

Current Affairs!

Two people have been left with severe burns after their home-made Star Wars light sabre exploded and showered them in petrol. Mark Webb and Shelley Mandiville are thought to have filled a fluorescent tube with fuel to imitate the screen weapon.

Well, aren't you both a pair of complete and utter morons?

In other news, it seems the dark belly of the internet currently has a Robin Hood-esque situation on it's hands. News travelled fast yesterday, of a worldwide collection of hackers overcoming defenses on fake bank sites (used in 419/advanced fee fraud/fake cheque scams) and defacing them. The "Lad Wrecking Crew" are even offering wallpaper downloads for your PC of the banners they are replacing these fake bank sites with, and Netcraft have a little report on the current goings on.

I am currently totally whacked out skint, and have decided that drastic action needs to be put into place if I am ever going to get out of the red. Gonna limit myself to going out once a week, maybe one nice meal a month kind of thing, but no more silly bloody spending. I really wanna go on a decent holiday some time soon, and the only way I can afford it is to start behaving myself.

Today's Sport with Jockery McSoccery

Rugby is still going rather well, we had a team visit from Dover last week, and although I missed the game, we faired rather well against them on saturday, putting 7 or 8 tries past them to a reply of only one (so I am reliably told.) Training again tonight, and then the first leg of our playoff match to go up to the 1st division on Sunday against San Jeronimo in Seville.

Internationally, didn't the "Great" British and Irish Lions do well against the Puma's last night?! Ive always rated the Argies (putting behind us that little bit of discomfort during the year of my birth) and last night it showed why. They are one hell of a determined team, and if the Lions play like that down under, the All Blacks are gonna have a whale of a time walking all over them!

I had quite a good laugh at this earlier on, metal music genres described using a "Princess held captive by a firebreathing dragon" type analogy, have a chuckle:

HEAVY METAL:

The protagonist arrives on a Harley Davidson, kills the dragon, drinks some beers and !&$%s the princess

GRIND METAL:

The protagonist arrives, screams something completely undecipherable for about 2 minutes and then leaves...

POWER METAL:

The protagonist arrives riding a white unicorn, escapes from the dragon, saves the princess and they make love in an enchanted forest

TRASH METAL:

The protagonist arrives, fights the dragon, saves the princes and !&$%s her....... easy and quick

FOLK METAL:

The protagonist arrives with some friends playing accordions, violins, flutes and many more weird instruments, the dragon falls asleep (from all the dancing) protagonist leaves without the princess

VIKING METAL:

The protagonist arrives in a ship, kills the dragon with his migthy axe, cooks and eats it, rapes the princess to death, steals the castle and burns the place before he leaves

DEATH METAL:

The protagonist arrives, kills the dragon, !&$%s the princess and kills her, then leaves

BLACK METAL:

The protagonist arrives at midnight, kills the dragon and impales it in the front of the castle.....then sodomizes the princess, drinks her blood in a ritual before killing her.....then he impales the deflowered princess

GORE METAL:

The protagonist arrives, kills the dragon and spreads his guts in the front of the castle, !&$%s the princess and kills her....then he !&$%s again her dead body, slashes her belly open and eats her guts, !&$%s the carcass for the third time, burns the corpse and !&$%s it for the last time

DOOM METAL:

The protagonist arrives, sees the size of the dragon and thinks that he never could beat him, gets depressed and commits suicide....the dragon eats his body and the princess as well

PROGRESSIVE METAL:

The protagonist arrives with a guitar and plays a solo for 26 minutes, the dragon kills himself out of boredom, the protagonist arrives to the princess' bedroom, plays another solo with all the techniques learned in the last year of the conservatory... the princess escapes, and is now looking for the "HEAVY METAL" protagonist

GLAM METAL:

The protagonist arrives, the dragon laughs at the guy's appearance and lets him enter, he steals the princess' make-up and tries to paint the castle in a beautiful pink color

INDUSTRIAL METAL:

The protagonist arrives wearing greasy overcoat, makes an obscene gestures towards dragon, and gets escorted out of fairy tale land by security guards.

You must have seen Mr Tweety Bird on TV by now, if you haven't, you lucky [expletive]!!!! Some good willed Nazi, I mean German, displays my exact sentiments with this great little piece of artistry

So when can we expect to see an axe through that fucking crazy frog's (yes, that is a FAN CLUB!!) head?

Well, firstly, this tool deserves the axing:

Ladies and Gents, Boys and Girls, meet Daniel Malmedahl, 24, from Gotenberg, Sweden (I'm working on the rest of his address!!!) who, at the mere age of 17 thought it would be funny to record himself "ding ding dinging" on his PC, as a sort of "imitation" of his friends' 50cc mopeds... now, "Crazy Frog" has apparently earnt an estimated 10 million fricking quid for the company that bought the rights to the noise!!! Beware Mr Malmedahl, the end is fucking nigh!More Info!

On a final note, all donations to the Andy Needs A Holiday Fund more than welcome!!!

Randomness...

2005-05-18T12:50:00.000+02:00

Instructions for cleaning the toilet:

1. Lift the lid on the toilet and fill it with 1/8 cup of animal shampoo.

2. Take the cat in your arms and stroke it gently while slowly moving in the direction of the toilet.

3. At a suitable moment, throw the cat into the toilet bowl and close the lid quickly and either stand or sit on the lid.

4. The cat will now start the cleaning process and will produce generate plenty of foam. Do not be concerned about the loud noises coming from the toilet; your cat is enjoying himself.

5. After several minutes flush the toilet to start the “Power-wash” pre-wash and then flush again for the main wash cycle.

6. Ask someone to open the front door and ensure that no-one is between the toilet and the front door.

7. Get off the toilet seat and from a safe distance open the toilet lid quickly. The cat will dry off naturally due to the high speed he will be moving from the toilet to the front door.

8. The toilet and the cat are now both clean.

With best wishes,

The Dog

Here's a few shots taken off my balcony late last week... seems pollution is good for something after all. Click for enlarging. And if you're interested leave me a message and I'll email you the full sized pic (2048x1536)

Directions:

2005-05-16T13:52:00.000+02:00

1.Starting from anywhere in UK, get in your car.
2.Get to Heathrow Airport.
3.Catch flight from London Heathrow to Dallas Fort Worth Airport.
4.Hire car at Dallas Fort Worth Airport.
5.Start going toward the "Airport Exit" on "International
ParkwaySouth" - follow for 0.2 miles.
6.Bear left onto the highway toward "Terminal East Parking" - followfor 0.3 miles
7.Bear left onto "International Parkway North" toward "North
AirportExit" - follow for 2.9 miles
8.Take the "Highway 114 west" exit toward "Fort Worth" - follow for29.2 miles
9.Then continue on "US 287 north" - follow for 91.1 miles
10."US 287 north" becomes "Interstate-44 east" - follow for 0.7 miles
11.Take left fork onto "US-287 north" toward "Vernon" - follow for104.0 miles
12."US 287 north" becomes "Avenue F (US-287)" - follow for 2.8 miles
13.Continue to follow "US 287 north" - follow for 104.9 miles
14.Take left ramp onto "Interstate 40 west" toward "Dumas" - follow for7.8 miles
15.Take "Exit 70" onto "US 60 east" toward "Dumas" - follow for 0.5miles
16.Take the "Buchanan Street" exit toward "Dumas/Pampa" - follow for1.7 miles
17.Turn right onto "Old Route 66 (Interstate 40)" - follow for 0.1miles
18.Arrive at the centre of "Amarillo, Texas"

Now everyone stop singing the fucking song as we have all had enough.

Symantec Web Security Ayy?

2005-05-10T18:06:00.000+02:00

Click for bigness

So, Symantec Web Security reckons I swear too much ayy?? Well SWS can go ram a rather large fucking cactus up it's arse for all I care! If it doesn't like words like CUNT, FUCK, SHIT, ARSE, TWAT and BINT, that's it's (and those behind it's GAY, FAGGOTTY protection's) problem!

Rant Over...
End Transmission...
ETC

Sunshine, lollypops and rainbows

2005-05-10T16:22:00.000+02:00

everything, that's wonderful is what I feel when, we're together... brighter than a pretty penny... Et-fuckin-cetera.

So, lets have a look at the life scale at the moment shall we, starting off with the fact that we are gonna judge it out of 100... see below!

This sore throat has gone on long enough, and mind over matter ain't really pulling through, neither is drinking it away, so I might have to go see a doc if it doesn't clear!

In other news, could this be the final prototype of the upcoming xbox 360, which is due to be advertised for the first time on a Microshaft/MTV joint launch party type thing:

And is that an EYEtoy-esque camera I see?

Seven Sins who I gave a good mention to here quite a while ago are gigging again on Saturday night. Those who like rock and metal, get your rear's to SaxII for 10/10:30 to see Quid Pro Quo kick off, followed by Murder Of Crows, and then Seven Sins till the early hours of Sunday! Be there, or be a very regular quadrilateral!

Other music I have been enjoying recently:

Moby's new album "Hotel" especially "Lift Me Up"

Daft Punk have a new album out, and we are certainly liking "Robot Rock" off "Human After All"

The Coral have a new single out called "In The Morning" Only heard it on MTV and the radio so far, but you can catch a sample of the music vid at Video-C if you don't know what I'm on about.

And breathe...

2005-05-06T16:07:00.000+02:00

So, I've calmed down a bit since this morning's rant, but I'm afraid I have some very bad news. With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person which almost went unnoticed last week. Larry La Prise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Kokey", died peacefully at age 93. Reports say the most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in, and then the trouble started.

Came across some really funny slogans here. It's come up with such gems as:

"Promise Her Anything, But Give Her Andy."
"Sweet as the Moment When the Her Cherry Went "Pop" "
"Absolut Cunt"

Great fun!!

Even with my anti-apple mentality, and especially, anti "look at me im such a fashion guru with my stupid white headphones" people, I was playing with Shiv's ipod yesterday, and today, kinda fixing it/putting music on it for her, and ya know what... (this is gonna fucking hurt!)... they're actually... quite...................
.
..
...
....
.....
......
.......
........
......... nice! THERE I SAID IT! I would actually like an IPod, and I'm probably gonna save up and get myself one. What is the world coming to?!?!?!

Have a good weekend boys 'n' girls!

Screw You Micro$haft!

2005-05-06T13:13:00.000+02:00

Today, I have a beef. A rather large bloody beef, and I’m not talking about a side of cow either, I’m getting rather fucking miffed at:

Windows Server 2003 is the most productive infrastructure platform for powering connected applications, networks, and Web services from the workgroup to the data center. Easy to deploy, manage, and use, Windows Server 2003 helps you build a secure IT infrastructure that provides a powerful application platform for quickly building connected solutions and an information worker infrastructure for enhanced communication and collaboration anytime and anywhere.

Ahh, right, so explain why the upgrade to 2k3 is such a bitch, from any other Server OS? Huh? HUH MR GATES AND MR BALMER?!?!?! COZ IT’S TOTAL WANK! And as for your bloody help system, don’t get me started:

Click for big-ness

Some fucking good that was ayy? How about the messages you do give me help on:

They take me to a page with a whole load of instructions, which I follow, word for word, then, I get to the bottom of the page and it says:

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows XP

Microsoft Windows Tablet Edition

Now, if you browse the bloody Help and Support application, on a Windows Server 2003 box, does it not make sense TO ONLY PROVIDE HELP FOR THAT OS WHEN LOOKING FOR A SPECIFIC ERROR YOU STUPID MONOPOLISTIC SONS OF BITCHES!?!?!?!

Why don't you go get cream pied again? ARSEHOLE!

TTFN! Signed:

One PISSED OF ADMIN!

Valui ad satanam in computatrum meum invocandum

2005-05-03T13:12:00.000+02:00

Wow, been a while hasn't it boys n girls, guys n girls, ladies n gents, etc etc. To say work has been rather hectic is a bit of an understatement, add to this, that every office has a some meddling busy body, who needs to throw his/her oar in whenever they feel would be the absolute worst possible moment, and yours truly ends up looking a wee bit like this:

Now, not being religious and all that (see this post, imagine my supprise, when I stumbled across a good prayer for my present situation:

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I cannot accept,
and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people
I had to kill today because they ticked me off.

So I've been working my arse off, rehearsing and performing in Gibraltar's entry to this years Navy Drama Festival (dramatised version of Pride and Prejudice), which had nominations for:

Best Set - George Surrey and Ken Benton
Best Voice - Edward Macquisten

And received the following awards:

Best Hair and Wigs - Rosanna Wils and Jackie
Best Newcomer - Scott Russell (Mr. Collins)
Best Actress - Jacqui McGuire (Elizabeth Bennett)
and Margaret Seed (Mrs.Bennett)

Even better, we were the overall runner-up, don't know who won, but by Jove didn't we do well.

Any of you seen these women offering advertising space on parts of their bodies on eBay? Well, this woman will do it for free!! Crazy assed shit if you ask me!

Right, gonna get to work. Break finished.

I will write more when inspired, for now, I must concentrate.
TTFN!

Funky Friday.

2005-04-08T15:07:00.000+02:00

Had a great night out last night, but feeling a bit worse for wear today!!!

Things that are pissing me off/confusing the shit out of me today:

1. People doing random stuff as a sign of dedication to each other.

Gillian: I think we wanted to really just experience this important event in our lives fully, and as Clive is fairly knowledgeable about amputations, certainly more than I am, I trusted him. I think I knew the first day we spent together that we were meant for each other, as corny as it sounds. Dipping my feet in the Pacific for the first time with him was really, really special, and I think that’s when it hit us: we were falling in love. We wanted to mark it with something really big.

Aww, nothing wrong with that I hear you say...

Gillian: I’m not dating a ring, and I don’t want a ring. I’m dating flesh, and I want flesh to make a commitment to me. What good is a ring to me? It doesn’t really mean anything. I’ve been engaged before — and look where that took me: Nowhere. I wanted this time to be different. Plus, he’s been previously married, and I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a repeat of that relationship. I told him if he was serious about this, he had to prove it — and that I was willing to do the same.

Hmmm, possibly going a bit strange you think... (you aint fucking wrong!)

Gillian: We started by putting elastic bands around the base of the fingers and wrapping them tight so there wouldn’t be too much bleeding. Because we didn’t have any anesthetics on hand — I’m definitely not into that much pain — we soaked our hands in ice water for about half an hour until they were totally numb. We poked them with a needle to make sure we couldn’t feel anything.

I put my ring finger in Clive’s mouth and he put his ring finger in my mouth with our teeth resting right on the last joint. We looked in each other’s eyes, nodded, and bit down as hard as we could. It was a little disappointing because we couldn’t actually get all the way through, but we did pop the joint open and tear it a little. We cut the rest, just some skin and the tendon, the normal way.

Well, what the fucking fuck?? Catch the rest of the story, and some "lovely" photos, here

2. Bad grammar/spelling.

I know, I know, stop being such a pedant, but, I just can't fucking help it. The little things are what piss me off most, for example:

You would think, out of all those stupid American students, one of them would have noticed!!!! Who is house indeed...

FANTASTIC!!! So I go looking for an image to chuck in here on google, searched for "you're an idiot" and look what smart arsed google came back with:

Now I wont rant at the nice people at google, coz even robots get it wrong some time, but that just amuses me!!!

3. People earning a considerably larger amount of money than I do.

Soccer ace Wayne Rooney has bought fiance Coleen McLoughlin a £67,000 Porsche for her 19th birthday.

That's just plain offpissing right there!!!

With $46.5 billion, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still the world's richest person, while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, worth $12 billion, is the wealthiest media tycoon, according to data by Forbes on Thursday.

In the Internet search industry, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, with $7.2 billion apiece, beat out Yahoo founders David Filo and Jerry Yang, with $3.1 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.

Grrrrrrr

Enough moaning. For now, I suppose.

Stumbled across this beauty here earlier:

"Remember a few years ago when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were here shooting Project Greenlight?" (They had gone to Sundance to interview directors and writers and try and create a publicity stunt and an episode out of it.) "I was doing sound in the condo where they were both lodging and filming. At one point Ben took a break from shooting and disappeared upstairs to his bedroom. By mistake he left his wireless mic on."

"Jennifer Lopez was there with Ben, but was hiding out in his room the whole time. At first when I heard Ben kissing her hello, I immediately went to turn the volume down on my headphones. But then they started kissing loudly and making noises, and I felt so guilty, but I left the sound up, and heard Jennifer saying 'I love you baby, I love you... You wanna get busy, baby. You wanna get busy?'"

"Then I heard Ben reply, .'Are you sure you're feelin' better? I don't want you to shit on me again.'"

Finally, Se7en's finale, performed by fluffy things:

http://www.cggallery.com/seven/

Jack Johnson Continued:

2005-04-07T13:19:00.000+02:00

After yesterday's hubbub about Jack Johnson, he, unsupprisingly was on my mind for a while, so imagine to my supprise, when I read about a new album just released this year, by none other than Mr Johnson. I ran straight out and bought a copy [read: I found a torrent and downloaded it] and have been listening to it this morning.
In Between Dreams is very, very chilled, some lovely acoustic riffs, and from what I can see so far, won't be too hard to play along to :) Banana Pancakes stands out straight away as a great tune, as do No Other Way and Sitting, Waiting, Wishing.

Meanwhile, in other news, Roman Catholics are queueing for up to 14 bloody hours to pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II, who still lies in State in the Vatican. Sky News managed to get these aerial photos:

But, obviously, not everyone is too interested:

No disrespect to anyone, and if I get some email from a religious nut complaining, here is a preview of what to expect in return buddy:

From: El Grep
To: Religious Nut
Subject: The Pope is dead, long live the Pope

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you very much for your comments and views reference my comments and views on his popeship's passing away. Now, kindly take heed: Opinions are like arseholes, everybody's got one, most are full of shit.
Yours Sincerily

Someone with an actual sense of humour.

In the words of the immortal Tigger: TTFN, TA TA FOR NOW!

Complaint Received!

2005-04-06T16:55:00.000+02:00

A complaint was received here at Grepus Central, from a disgruntled reader, because I didn't accredit her for having introduced me to Jack Johnson's music. So, on that note, here are a few remarks Re: who introduced me to different parts of my music taste:

Dad, thank you for lending me your guitar, and buying me new strings when I was younger, and for your persistance in not keeping up with the times and sticking with 60s and 70s music, it influenced me greatly. You kept me listening to great music all through my childhood... cheers mate!

Big Dave Gibbons, cheers for that copy of Jonny Lang's CD... one of the best albums I have heard in years. (RIAA, if you are reading, I then went out and purchased an original copy, and destroyed the pirate) [yeah right]

Rob, for getting me into some of the more recent punk, including Less than Jake and Bowling for Soup.

Chris "fat bastard" Bennett, cheers for the offspring CD you got me that year for my birthday, been listening to them ever since!! Even been to see them a couple of times, thanks mate.

Jenson, for introducing me to metallica all those years ago. My fave band on the planet, thank you bro.

The rest, I think I kinda just came across them here and there. Oooh, Lennon's pub in Southampton, first place I heard System of a Down, cheers guys, many a great night had in there!!!

I think that's it... ohh no, Shiv, thank you for letting me listen to your Jack Johnson CD babe... hope this makes up for me "claiming it as my own music taste and not yours"

Ahem....

Spin on it:

More about me.

2005-04-06T10:02:00.000+02:00

Those who know me, know of my love of music. I have a very, very eclectic taste, and listen to just about anything. From Blues (Jack Johnson, Jonny Lang to name a couple) to Punk (Less Than Jake, Bowling For Soup, Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Bastards of Melody, The Offspring and I could go on and on) with interjections of Rock, Metal (especially heavy stuff, like Metallica, System Of A Down, Korn, Coal Chamber, Machinehead, HIM, etc...) Classical Music, Techno, House and RnB

Now, there is quite a large collection of musicians in Gibraltar, and a pretty successful live music society which organises events and gigs all year round, and has recently really begun to take off, presenting awards (such as best live music event) keeping a well maintained list of upcoming events etc.

One band that played recently, really do deserve some credit, and a mention. Se7en Sins (currently still under construction, and designed by a friend of mine ( her blog here)) have been around in Gibraltar for quite a while, though be it using different names (originally Fragile, then ReBorn) and have always been a favourite of mine. They are a slightly heavier band than we normally see round Gib, and have just released a demo album called Under the Influence. They promo'd it on Thursday night, and to say it was a success would be an understatement, this band has taken Gibraltar by storm in recent months, and, with some more hard work, there is no reason why they won't get into the metal charts worldwide.
Since the band started it's reshuffle, renaming, etc, they have refused to play covers, comprising their perfomances purely out of original material, and have still managed to hold and captivate a wide audience. No other band in my memory have done that when they are first starting out in Gib, and would even lose popularity if they did, not so with Se7en Sins.

So, from the comments on the last page, Siobhan (pronounced Shi-vaughn, but let's not get into that, in fact, lets just call her Shiv) has come out of hiding ;) She would be responsible for my current contentment, which is obviously being noticed by those close to me, take this for example:

[15:47:14] Very Close Friend: drunken lunches are good
[15:47:58] Andy: brilliant
[15:48:19] Very Close Friend: do you know whats nice about you
[15:48:35] Andy: my ability to hide drunkeness?
[15:48:53] Very Close Friend: well that obviously. but no, i was gonna say how happy you've been recently
[15:49:18] Very Close Friend: its very nice
[15:49:21] Andy: well, you know who to speak to about that
[15:49:25] Very Close Friend: i do

Obviously, her name has been changed, as I wouldn't want to annoy anyone, but when a friend I havent seen in ages, who lives in Dublin, notices how much I am changing, things have to be looking up... ohh, and I havent had a migraine since mid February, I aint tempting fate, I'm bloody extatic about it!

Right, I think I've blurted enough shit for one day, off training tonight, so I will let you know how that goes in the morrow, for now, I'm glad Shiv's introduced herself, though not too formally :)
Bye for now!

Good food, good wine, fantastic company.

2005-04-05T12:23:00.000+02:00

Take some steaks.
Add some seasoning, I recommend , and

Place in a tin foil parcel, add some white wine, fresh veg if you fancy it (tomatoes and onions are nice) and a little butter (I over did it last night, so take heed, only a little butter.)

Seal the parcel nice and tightly, round all the edges and chuck in a hot oven for about 20 mins.

Serve on a nice crispy bed of salad, with a glass of wine and enjoy with someone very close to you, as I did last night.

This really is all for today, as I have posted twice in about 2 hours...
Hasta la vista, from one very happy Andy :)

El Ejido 0 - 120 CGRUFC

2005-04-05T10:01:00.000+02:00

We were meant to be away on Sunday, against a team from Almeria called El Ejido. However, they couldnt secure a pitch to play on, so we agreed to play the game on our pitch instead. How any team could refuse to play at home instead of away is beyond me, no long drive up there, or back, and home turf.
We were a bit short of players, and only just managed to field the full 15, which meant, I got a full game playing blind side flanker and 2nd jumper in the line out. Apparently (according to the BBC):

The blindside flanker should be an all round athlete. If only I was!

Strength, speed, fitness, stamina - the list goes on and on. Yup, I really could have done with all of those on Sunday!

Flankers are always involved in the game, winning ball and making the big tackles in open play. I did win some of the ball, and off the scrums, tackling was non-stop, especially when their number 8 insisted on picking up every time!

The blindside flanker tends to be bigger than their fellow team-mate, the openside flanker. I was a bit bigger than Nick (another new guy to the team, like me) but he played an absolute stonker of a game, making breaks, always in support and playing like an absolute demon.

They have more of a physical role and are often a target for the hooker in the line out. First time I have ever jumped in the line, I was the target only a few times, as our first jumper is very experienced, but I caught a few balls, was a very interesting new side to the game for me.

>Because of their high tackle count, flankers are always involved in rucks or mauls either at teh (sic) bottom or making the drive that counts. At the bottom, quite a few times, the occasional maul, and a number of good runs through tacklers.

So thus ends the rugby lesson for today.

Funny mood...

2005-04-01T10:31:00.000+02:00

Warning, this post might go a bit wierd... caution clicking any links marked [NS]...

What every good night needs:

Great company.

Good music.

Good booze. (see hands)

*Thanks to Io for the photo's*

And that is exactly what we had last night. A fantastic gig, 3 fantastic bands, including Breaking the Silence's debut performance, and what a performance it was as well. They did a very good cover of Pantera's Cemetary Gates, with a unique intro, which really got the crowd going. And as for Se7en Sins, WOW! I've never seen a local group hold a crowd by playing only original material until these guys. Encorporating synths, bongos, a beer keg and a fire extinguisher into very heavy thrash metal is something fucking spectacular!

Just got back, gonna carry on this update, went for a random walk around our office, chatting to people, pratting around, and acting generally like I would if I was off my head on some hallucinogen.

Funny website I came across (no pun intended, you will soon see why) with funny quotes such as:

"I always kept my vibrator under my pillow for obvious reasons. The first time I slept with my now husband, the thing went off. He is from California and we were in New York. He thought it was earthquake! It didn't end all that bad. We used it and still do to this day."

Check out more "Humerous and embarrasing sex stories" here [ns]

So Terri Schiavo finally passed away yesterday. (the author of that blog is so going to hell)Someone I know had this to say about it all recently, very interesting in a wierd sick way:

For weeks, news has reported that Terri suffered a heart attack, from a chemical imbalance. What they haven’t said (up until today), is that she had an eating disorder that caused the chemical imbalance. This morning, as I was reading the latest MSNBC article, I finally read this. “She suffered catastrophic brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped for several minutes because of a chemical imbalance apparently brought on by an eating disorder.” In other words, she puked (or starved….how ironic….) herself to death. It wasn’t one of these “oh, poor thing, freak accident” sort of deals. In a way, her own vanity put herself in that situation.

Another funny I came across *spooge*:

*** Topic in #doghouse is 'Our hearts are extended to the 17 victims of the recent internet fraud'
* Anubis has joined #doghouse
[anubis> what fraud?
[kadmium> You haven't heard about it?
[anubis> no?
[kadmium> You can read the full story at http://www.tubgirl.com [defo NS!]
[anubis> omg wtf!
*** Kadmium changes topic to 'Our hearts are extended to the 18 victims of the recent internet fraud'

Right, I'm just babbling crap, enough is enough i'm gonna go catch some tench, with a wrench, on a bench by the trench....... toodle skip etc

Contented...

2005-03-31T10:31:00.000+02:00

...from the adjective "content" meaning desiring no more than what one has.

I bought myself a nice new midi stereo yesterday, as the xbox is messing around when trying to play copied cd's, so time for a nice new shiny toy. Quite loud for it's size, and very clear, so 95 quid well spent, even more so seeing as the original price was £140:

I haven't left the speakers right next to each other, they are atop my sitting room cabinet, and the base unit is down to the side, out the way. Now I can listen to Jonny Lang in the comfort of my sitting room. His album Lie To Me has taken over the most played slot in my music collection.

Still, new shiny toys are nothing compared to what else I currently have in my life. I haven't mentioned her until now, but she more than deserves it. I do believe I have met one of the loveliest people on the planet. It is rare to find someone who is compassionate and loving, someone dedicated and independant or someone beautifully attractive, incredibly intelligent with such an exceptional sense of humour; never mind someone who portrays every single one of those characteristics. She can make me laugh like no other person has ever made me laugh, the sight of her makes me tingle and if this wasnt a PG13 , her touch ..[censored]... However, above all, she makes me very, VERY happy, hence, "contented..."

I'm more than sure that anyone who reads this will hear more of this person in times to come, but for now...

Grand Slam's In The Bag!!!

2005-03-24T11:39:00.000+01:00

So, not only did we do the whitewashing Grand Slam this year, a mere 2 years after we "won" the complete 6 Nations' wooden spoon, having lost every single match in the tournament, but our Under 21's team went and took the U21 6 Nations Grand Slam as well. I don't know about you, but that just inspires confidence in me, knowing we have a cracking youth squad coming up into the seniors some time soon.

The results!!

11 09

08 38

18 24

22 46

32 20

The final table!!

Country	P	W	L	For	Against	Points
Wales	5	5	0	151	77	10
France	5	4	1	134	82	8
Ireland	5	3	2	126	101	6
England	5	2	3	121	77	4
Scotland	5	1	4	84	155	2
Italy	5	0	5	55	179	0

The first grand slam of my life time, and boy did it feel good!

On a side note, I actually got to watch the final game in an Irish bar called Hemmingways, in Carvoeiro in the Algarve of Portugal as I was working out there for the weekend. You can even see my hotel on the right hand side of the town's webcam.

Right, everyone have a cracking long weekend, those lucky enough to have one that is, and enjoy easter:

Rugby Madness Continued!

2005-03-15T15:16:00.000+01:00

So England finally got a win in this years Six Nations! They beat the Italians by 39 points to 7, but emphatic it was not. It was meant to be an easy victory, which by the scoreline it seems to have been, but simple mistakes, and schoolboy errors really showed just how far downhill the mighty team that won last years World Cup really have gone.
However, more importantly, there were the following results:

1926
2246

For those reading who don't know what that means, it means the Welsh are now top of the tournament table, and, the only team left who can win the Grand Slam!

More important rugby news, Campo De Gibraltar came out on top winning 55-0 against San Roque on Sunday, and I got to play the last quarter of the match. Was great!!!!

Cynch!

2005-03-04T11:54:00.000+01:00

HOWDY! And for those who didn't realise that this was going to be a rant from the title, guess what? It is! Let us start from the top, of the ladder (reverse psychology/thinking is how I feel today!)
Oh, but before I start, just to set the mood, I've put Rage Against The Machine on

Why the fuck do people ask me to help them, then leave halfway through it to let me finish it off? If I had known this was just your way out of doing something, I wouldnt have agreed to help. So that is it, no more fucking favours, ever. I'm sick of being a scapegoat. As they say in Spanish "Se acabo el rollo ya!" [the roll has now finished!]

Next up, apparently that old wives tale about muscle pulls/injuries taking 2 days to show up after you do strenuous exercise is true. I felt like I had done a good workout yesterday, and was quite pleased to be feeling that muscle burning sensation for the first time in however long. Today however, my left arm has decided to be a total pain. Keeping my upper and fore arm at a 45 (how the fuck do you do the little degree symbol?!?!?!) My little symbol mapper says 248... ° Wahey! Something has gone right today! Now, where was I, the arm... kept at a 45° angle is fine. However, compress the muscle (pulling the forearm towards the upper arm) and at about 40-35° degrees the sharp, and I mean seriously sharp pain begins. Exactly the same if I try to stretch it out past say 100/110° (I love that symbol.) Needless to say, it's pissing me off.

So (for those who haven't heard/don't know) my nearly 3 year relationship is over and done with. I am now a happy [jesus you find some wierd shit searching for images in google] single person, in some respects, and a frustrated single person in others.

Right! Finished. I'll probably be back this afternoon to rant more, but for now, im gonna brave the rain and get some lunch. Now listening to Reborn, formerly known as Fragile and now known as Seven Sins. They are releasing a demo album VERY SOON. So for you metal lovers out there, click here and download some of their music/vote for them if you enjoy it. A video of one of their performances is also available here

I leave you with how I look/feel at the moment:

Bore Da

2005-03-03T09:30:00.000+01:00

So, in light of current rugby-mania, and due to the fact that I really should start exercising some more, I toodled down to the local rugby team's training last night. Stopped in town first and bought a new pair of cycling and rugby shorts. Things have gone a long way since the days of laps, square drills and they now have the Navy's PTI training the guys for the first hour and a half. Weights, fitness, cardio work, the lot. I'm aching like I've been hit by a bus this morning, but by god it's a good ache, and I will definately be back next week, and who knows, may even get some time on the pitch before the season ends.

Ireland continued the ongoing humiliation of the English, and the jokes are still rolling, unlike the "sweet chariot" which seems to have lost a wheel... bwaaahahahahaha

Even more entertainingly, tshirts with the following graphic

are available here

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!

2005-03-01T12:06:00.000+01:00

Or to you non Welsh speaking people (says me! hah!) Happy St David's Day.

Everyone (excuse the quality) grab this and start singing along: Clicky McClick Click

And for those who cant pronounce the following lyrics:

Mae hen Wlad Fy’n Hadau yn annwyl I mi
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion enwogion o fri
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad

Tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed

Gwlad, gwlad
Pleidiol wyf I’m gwlad
Tra mor, yn fur
I’r bur hoff bau
O bydded I’r heniaith barhau

Here's another set with a phonetic version underwritten:

Mae hen Wlad Fy’n Hadau yn annwyl I mi
My hēhn w-lahd vern had eye un annoil ee mee
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion enwogion o fri
Gwlahd buyerth ah chan-torree-on enwog-yon oh vree
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad
Eye goo-rohl ruvvel-weer, gwlahd-garr-weer trah mahd

Tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed
Trôss rhuthidd coll-a-sant eye gweye-d

Gwlad, gwlad
Gw-lahd, Gw-lahd
Pleidiol wyf I’m gwlad
Pl-eye-dyohl oive eem Gw-lahd
Tra mor, yn fur
Trah more, un veer
I’r bur hoff bau
Ear beer hôff bye
O bydded I’r heniaith barhau
Oh bythedd ear hen-y-eyeth bar-high

How could I leave the daffodils out:

Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

2005-02-28T15:43:00.000+01:00

Well, It's been a while hasn't it. Wales have been doing absolutely fantastically in the Six Nations this year, beating England in the opening match, running in countless tries against the Italians in match two, and then staging and awesome comeback in the second half against France on Saturday, coming from behind at half time to win 24 to 18!
Meanwhile, "World Champions" England, are heading towards wooden spoon territory, with no wins out of their 3 games... hahahahaha

Back to the title, I have decided that I don't like not being able to sing along to the Welsh national anthem, and that maybe after 23 years on the planet, it's time to start learning a bit of Welsh, well, at least the anthem for now!

So yeah, I will be practicing away before the match against Scotland in 2 weeks time :)

Bye for now

TFIFriday

2005-01-14T13:58:00.000+01:00

Currently listening to: The Killers A lot, and I mean, a lot a lot a lot. Somebody Told Me has to be one of the best songs I've heard in a very long time. And Andy You're A Star... well, it just says it all doesn't it ;)

QoTD: Does an agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac lay awake at night wondering if there really is a dog?

Mood: Very good thanks, still over the moon about the scan results, its like a MASSIVE weight has been lifted off my chest :D

On a funny note, Michael Peter Balzary, AKA Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, plays Needles in Back to The Future 2 and 3 I noticed the other night. I saw him in the scene where Marty is about to race against Needles, where he ends up going backwards, and notices that if he had raced him, he would have slammed into a Rolls Royce. I waited till the end of the film, and the credits, and sure enough, Flea plays Needles!!

Hopefully a mate of mine is going to get his webpage up and running soon, and we are planning on keeping a log of stupid requests we get in our relevant tech positions. But until then, Here's one I had yesterday:
Lets refer to this one (coz it is the first) as L-user-1. All future messages about said L-user will obviously use the same handle, coz trust me, there are a few of them that this person brings up.

L-user-1: Why do we have 2 distribution lists, one called the (prounounced theeeeee) circulation list, and one called the (pronounced thuh) restricted circulation list.

Grepus: That's because one goes to everyone in the group, where as the other only goes to the heads of department and offices within the group.

L-user-1: So the restricted list goes to everyone, and the circulation list goes to the heads, right, gottit [L-user-1 leaves before I can explain]

Grepus [to self]: *sigh* I hope a big financial report doesnt end up going to everyone in the group, else there will be a few hundred people wanting salary increases... never mind *sigh*

Thats all for today ;)

Tumourless

2005-01-13T11:21:00.000+01:00

Who says the 13th is meant to be unlucky. I have had luck on the 13th of months many a time, and this month, is another one. I avoided the waiting room at the health centre, because we all know the kind of viruses that hang around there, and watched the flashing screen from across the hall. R003 was my number, 3rd pacient for Dr Gupta. I was late seeing him (no supprise there) but eventually got in to his clinic, and he had the news. The scan I went for in Spain had come back as clean as a whistle. My brain (yes, I have one!!!!) is in tip top condition. No bruising, swelling and most importantly NO TUMOURS OR OTHER ABNORMALITIES!!! I asked if I could get a copy of the scan, but, it didnt even come to Gibraltar, only the report got sent over... so I didnt even get to see the inside of my head...

Anyways, the drinks are on me :) I'm a happy bunny today!

Welcome to 2005

2005-01-07T13:59:00.000+01:00

*warning* A couple of the links in the following post may contain nudity... if you don't wanna take the risk, go back now. If you are under the legal age to view nudity in your country, go back now. If you are a raging homosexual, you won't like it, so go back now... I accept no responsibility for anyone who is insulted, offended, or who gets into any sort of shit over a link I may post here, capishe? Goody! Now, on with the show!!!!

So, all the obvious aside, I hope you all had a good Christmas/Channukah/Epiphany etc, and that your new years celebrations went better than mine, etc (all shall be come apparent) anyways..
Happy New Year

On a serious note next, please, please PLEASE, get your arses to DEC.org.uk and pass the message on, to as many as possible, to donate whatever you can to the Tsunami Appeal Fund. I know the red cross, oxfam etc are all doing their part, BUT, and its a big BUT the majority of these "charities" only actually donate between 10 pence (the red fucking cross!!) and 50 pence for every pound you donate. The rest goes on "expenses" and the directors new Merc. DEC promise to donate a minimum of 85p/£ which is a far more realistic amount, considering the amount of donations.

We all heard about little Mark Bergstroem this week. A very young Swedish boy who was found alone after the tsunami's hit Thailand, and thanks to a lot of very caring people, not only looking after the boy, but emailing his photo around the globe, he was reunited with his father on Wednesday. The boy's uncle saw the photo, and had already heard from the surviving father and made sure the two we reunited. More info at CNN.com

Anyways, back to me, my life, etc :P

Poor KKKKK (King Kleo the Krossdressing Kamikaze Kat, for those new to the blog, if anyone at all reads it other than me) had his trip to the vet yesterday, for the ol' nut-job... no more spraying the sofa (THANK GOD!) no more worries about little kitties turning up one morning unexpectedly... and it's fairer on him. He is a pet, and his natural urges would drive him wild if he was locked up as he is.
I've not had another migraine since the new medication started, so good news on that front!!
Harriet was back over xmas, which was very nice indeed :) Was lovely to see her and spend so much time with her after being apart for so bloody long. But, she's gone now :( so I only have photos to contend with, and her voice on the phone. But hey, gonna go over and see her half way through Feb, valentines day and her birthday, surely seeing me is a suitable present? heheheh Here's her on New Years eve:

Couple of other photos to come... of Boxing day... Jason (a buddy from work) had a great idea of doing the yearly polar bear swim, I thought it would be better to do it for charity... and so it was done. Was about 8 degree's C on the beach, with the wind... utterly horrid, but we still went ahead and jumped in and raised some money for Research into Childhood Cancer.

Before:

During:

After:

Anyways, I don't think there is much else I have left to blab on about now... So TTFN... Ta Ta For Now

So, which smart bastard went and tempted fate?? Ahh, that would be me

2004-12-21T09:32:00.000+01:00

Not 7 hours after my last post, did I have a major fucking attack. I got back to my parents house and promptly passed out after taking the first of the twin migraleve tablets. Slept for 4 hours, and woke up with only a slight headache. Had a bit to eat, watched a little tele and slept round my parents house that night.
Woke up on Wednesday morning with a screaming headache. Painkillers, back to bed, slept through till about 12:30pm and awoke once more with only a slight headache, more than bearable, but alas, time to re-visit the doc! Had to go to the emergency clinic, which means you get a brief check and they prescribe your some meds and out you go. Luckily, the doctor in there was fantastic. He started up a diary of the migraines right there, appologised that he couldnt spend more time with me, and started me on a crash course of high powered anti-inflammetries, painkillers and anti-nausea tablets to break the cycle of migraines I seem to be stuck in, and also made an appointment to see me again this thursday.
Currently taking:

8x30mg - Codeine phosphate hemihidrate
8x500mg - Paracetamol
3x10mg - Domperidone
2x75mg - Diclophenac Sodium

daily!
4g of paracetamol a day cannot be doing me any good, never mind the 240mg of codeine!!!!

Not had a headache since starting on this medication (please dont happen again, I dont mean to tempt you fate, honestly!!!) and hopefully by thursday the results of my CT scan last friday will be through and we can clear this mess up once and for all!!!

Right, back to Green Day and the fricking spam filter!

The weekend away.

2004-12-14T09:40:00.000+01:00

Currently listening to Keane, Scissor Sisters, Hot Snakes and Million Dead, all of them, top notch albums... I recommend them to everyone!!!
Still currently taking 4 propranolol per day, and today, for the first time since the last migraine, 2 pink Migraleve, as I woke up with a bit of a sore head, stiff neck, etc. Felt very migranous, so to be on the safe side I took a couple of them on the way to work.
Currently craving cheese, my god did I fancy cheese on toast last night. You don't realise how much you like a food, till you can't have it.

Well, first off, 2 DAYS TO GO TILL SHE'S BACK!!!! And I honestly cannot wait. Apart from the tension headache I seem to have today, I have been clear since the 3rd of December, so all is well on that front. Hopefully the propranolol is whats keeping it at bay, and the upcoming tests will give a clearer indication as to what might be causing them.

This weekend was the company weekend away, but I'm a tad too busy to go into all the details, with photos ;) at the moment... so check back SOON!

Right, back to the grindstone, hasta luego

Monday Morning

2004-12-06T08:27:00.000+01:00

Music: The Boomtown Rats - I don't like Mondays (actually, they're not so bad.)
Mood: Supprisingly calm, relaxed and feeling good.

So I've gone 3 days without any pain, at all. Keeping my propranalol tablets going, 2 in the morning, 2 in the evening, preventative kinda things. Got my Migraleve with me at all times incase I have an attack. And taking other preventative measures. I am now off the cheese, chocolate, citrus and caffeine (4Cs... they are known to cause migraines) and I have also chopped the alcohol intake right down once again (wasn't too hard after quitting cold turkey those months ago, maybe there was a good reason behind all that after all) and I will be going up to radiology this lunch time to get the scan booked. Apparently they sort it within a week or so... so fingers crossed I'll have a reason to put behind these headaches before Christmas.

Apparently, when your wisdom teeth come through, they can cause migraines, so I might go see a dentist at some time, especially seeing as I can get a load of the money back through the companies health scheme.

The hole that is my life continues

2004-12-03T14:44:00.000+01:00

Friday 3rd December

Spent my Thursday evening curled up on my parents sofa, taking everything nice and easy, watching a bit of tele, had a little bite to eat, and was in bed at a well reasonable hour. Had a very solid nights sleep, and awoke this morning at around 7:50 already in a full aura, and my head was pounding. Time for my first Migraleve and straight back to bed. Slept till around 1, and felt well enough to come in to work, to do a few hours catch up.
Have decided to apply the anti-four-C's to my diet, so that's no Caffeine, Citrus, Chocolate or Cheese from now on. Also, with the migraleve running through my system, that means no alcohol if I decide to go to tonights work paid dinner at the casino. Last year was a blast, this year, I'm honestly not even sure if I'm going to go.

This is beggining to get more worrying and depressing than any other event in my life, ever.

Time to make this something useful.

2004-12-02T15:14:00.000+01:00

So the time has come I think, to do something useful with this blog, seeing my current state of health is utterly fucking shit. So, for my own records, and for anyone who actually reads this bollocks, I'm going to use it to record possible causes or and treatments I am taking for my migraines... let us go back 3 weeks ish, to the 15th of November.

Monday November 15th
July 10th was the date of my last one up until today. It was around 9:30pm, and I felt it coming on, slight blurry vision to my lower left, quickly followed by streaking lights across my vision, full auro kicked in about 5 mins after the initial symptoms. Had already made my excuses and left my friends house, headed home, double ibuprofen tablets, bed by 10ish, slept till about 7am Tuesday. No good, head still a mess, complete and utter sensitivity to light, called my boss, and back to bed, till 2:30pm. Was bearable by this point, a little bit to eat, easy night, bed early.

Wednesday November 17th
After a fairly persistant good nights sleep, I am into work for 8am, by 10:30, the aura started, and it was back off work again. Same treatment, a few ibuprofen, and off to bed, this time, my parents picked me up and took me back to their house for that type of TLC only your mum can bring you. Slept solidly through till some time that afternoon, got up, took more pain killers, back to bed, woke up some time on Thursday. Doctor had signed me off work till the following Monday, to rest up. I thought that would be all I needed, how wrong I was. Lets skip forward a bit.

Wednesday November 24th
So, a week has past, and I am starting to think that maybe the attack on the 17th, was just a repercussion of the Monday's attack. I go by my daily business with no apparent problems, until about 4:30, when I go from fine, through the aura phase to jackhammer headache in less than 10 minutes. Luckily, when I was off the week before, the doc gave me a prescription for Imigran. Only 2 tablets, to be taken on the onset of an attack... took them whilst walking home, and promptly passed out. No wonder they say not to drink, drive, operate machinery etc, they are fucking lethal!
Was back at work on Thursday, and got through the weekend fine. I had decided to take advantage of the free eye exam the company provide, and, if they are needed for working with VDUs (IT bod not use a VDU, is it heard of?) the free glasses. Sure enough, I am slightly long sighted, and glasses would be advisable to ensure my eyes are at rest when I am working. No worries then, start looking like this as from lunch time on Monday:

My hopes were, that a slight deterioration of my eyesight was what was causing the headaches. I even dropped my main monitor's resolution from 1600x1200 to 1280x1024 and put it up to 85hz refresh rate. Bring on Wednesday the 1st...

Wednesday December 1st
Third day wearing glasses, all going fine... till 4:00pm, when the aura started. Took about 20 mins for the full blown headache to start. By which time i had tried to see a doctor at the health centre, but they had all left. Got my dad to pick me up and take me home. Having tears streaming down your face due to pain aint the best way to walk to a meeting place, but, at times, it has to be done. I could hardly see, due to A. not being able to open my eyes enough because it was too bright and B. because all i could see was blurred shapes and flashing lights... it is really hard to explain, unless you have experienced them. Like jagged lines, that twinkle and flash, very brightly. Slept it off, and even though it was still sore in the morning, it was bearable. Took a syndol (latest prescribed drugs) before heading to work... and awaited lunch time.

Today
Was collected at lunch time, taken to the doctors, where he has prescribed some tablets to be taken daily, 2 in the morning, 2 after lunch, called Propranolol, on a repeat prescription till he decides. Also have a box of Migraleve, which is where the fun starts. Codeine and Paracetamol based, you take 2 pink ones when your migraine starts. If after 30 mins, the migraine isnt subsiding, you take 2 yellow ones, every 4 hours, till its gone... No more than 2pink and 6 yellow in 24 hours... stronger than the Imigran i was on... scary shit.
Also, I have a slip to take to the Radiology dept of the Gib hospital who will then organise a CT scan for me in the hospital in algeciras. Once I'm done there, there is only my dad to go, as Mum and little Bro have already had their for their relevant headaches.
So, back to work I go, rattling with all the pills inside me, I'm a walking fucking chemist... and be sure, I'll keep this up to date :)

Delayed, I know.... UK TRIP OCTOBER 2004

2004-11-23T13:00:00.000+01:00

So, i know its nearly the end of November now. And I know I'm nothing other than a lazy bum for not posting this before, but! in my defence, I have been a wee bit busy, so anyways, here's most of the low down of the trip to UK. Not very eventful, but by christ was it a welcome break and a half!!!

So, after finishing work on the 22nd of October, I went home, (via the off license to get the last few bottles to take over) finished packing and waited for my dearest Mum to come get me and my jumbo overloaded rucksack. 11pm was the time of the flight, and after an hour or so drive up to Malaga airport, and nearly 2 hours waiting in the departure lounge (everything was closed, as of like 9:30, all the shops shut, was a load of crap. Thankfully, the self service area had 650ml cans of Heineken for €3, which is like £2.40, which isn't at all bad. 3 of those, and I was feeling a bit better about the flight... I'm not a bad flyer, I just dont like taking off or landing. Once I'm up there I'm fine.

So, it's now 20 to 2am UK time (20 to 3am by my body clock) and I'm in lovely, freezing luton airport, happilly met by Dan and Harriet :) Big hugs etc etc, in the car, get a move on down to Southampton. Now, when I say "get a move on" I REALLY BLOODY MEAN IT. Dan did the whole trip (including a nice bit of getting lost due to road works on the M25 and the M3/M4 junctions, which we needed to use!)in and hour and 10 bloody minutes! The car has been scrapped since, but the memory of the 1.9 GTi will live on in memories for many years to come!

Not the best pic, so she's probably gonna kill me, but, doesnt she look sooooo glad to see me! heheheh

A few hours sleep that night, and up in the morning, for a little spot of breakfast and wait for Rob n Claire to turn up from Reading, as we are planning on spending the day "socialising" i.e. Getting rather stupidly drunk, which we did. I think we started around 2pm, and finished somewhere near midnight. Not our greatest session ayy Rob, but 10 hours seemed good enough for the day!

And how did we feel the morning after??

Moving swiftly on to Bournemouth, and after meeting a few of Harriet's flatmates we all went out and had a few bevvies in The Old Firestation (been a few years since I've been there!) we head home via a kebab van, a burger for Harriet, a kebab for me, portion of free chips, thought we were on a winner... till the morning!

Harriet is fine, but I wake up at about half 8am Tuesday morning, run to the toilet, and up it comes again (excuse the graphics!) Go back to bed, 9oclock, off to the toilet, again. Repeat this every 40-45 mins till nearly 11, by which point there is nothing left to bring up, it hurts every time my body tries to hurl. Back to bed, and magically able to sleep till about 2. Harriet is up, and brings me a glass of water, take a little sip (i know food poisoning all too well) and keep my head down... 20 mins later, im legging it to the toilet once more. On top of this, Im feeling really really rough. My head is pounding, sinuses seem blocked, and im coughing. Well, it never rains, only pours, and, these soon develop into full blown flu symptoms, to accompany the 5 or 6 cold sore blisters that are festering on my lips... such fun!

Wednesday is spent mostly in bed, flu plus'd to the eyeballs, ibuprofen to boot.

Thankfully, Thursday and Friday are back to normal, and bring on the Halloween party on Friday night. £3.50 on a XL shirt from the oxfam shop. A few quid on fake blood and face whitener and the desired effect using a pair of borrowed scissors, a murder victim:

Harriet went with the overly original suicide victim... aint she lovely:

The deathly couple:

We were very VERY drunk, cant remember when we went to bed. Remember quickly having my way with her during the party, drunkenly, but thats about it! Fireworks being set off inside the house, a "friend" of someones bringing their 2stroke 250 scramber into the house and doing a burnout and leaving a big black groove in the wooden flooring are part of the memories of the night, all in all, very good fun.

2 days later, and I was back up at Luton airport thanks to National Express Coaches, including an hour and a bit wait at Heathrow shithole coach station. 3 hours down to Malaga again, to be "met" by my dad. Silly person didnt check which terminal, so I was waiting for almost and hour at Terminal 1, whilst he was at Terminal 2. Eventually found each other and headed back towards good ol' Gibraltar!

And that, just about concludes the trip... excuse the over-ranted drivvel, but hey, it had to be done

Crap films, upcoming holiday, and all round random shyte

2004-10-20T13:40:00.000+02:00

So, Saw now ranks way down there with House by the Cemetary, Vanilla Sky, Chariots of Fire and numerous other films that I have watched and really regretted. Another two hours of my life that I will never EVER get back. Thats one hundred and twenty minutes; seven thousand, two hundred seconds; just TOO LONG! Plot? What plot? Gore? Nothing too spectacular. It was compared to Se7en, which was a damn good film, which ever genious of a film critic made the comparison should have his balls chopped off and fed to him.

On a tour of Texas, the Pope took a couple of days off to visit the coastal area for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the sea wall on Galveston Island in his Popemobile when suddenly he noticed a frantic commotion just off shore.

There was John Kerry struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 25 foot shark.

As the Pope watched, horrified, a speedboat came racing up with two men aboard.

One of the men, President Bush, quickly fired a harpoon into the shark's side while Dick Cheney reached out and pulled the bleeding, semi-conscious John Kerry from the water. Then, using baseball bats, the two heroes beat the shark to death and hauled it into the boat.

Immediately, the Pope shouted and summoned them to the beach. "I give you my blessings for your brave actions," he told them. "I heard that there was bitter hatred between President Bush and John Kerry, but now I have seen with my own eyes that this is not true."

As the Pope drove off, President Bush asked Dick, "Who was that?" "It was the Pope," Dick replied. "He is in direct contact with God and has all of God's wisdom."

"Well," President Bush said, "he may have access to God's wisdom, but he doesn't know squat about Texas shark fishing... how's the bait holding up?"

I found it funny. Unlike this! Just wrong, so totally, totally wrong.

So, I am off to the good ol sunny UK on Friday night, stupid plane doesn't get to Luton until nigh on 2 in the morning, if it is on time. Once out, Disco Dan will be meeting me there with the lovely Harriet (6 weeks!! its been 6 bloody weeks!!) and then driving us all the way back down to Southampton for a few days of eating, drinking, cavorting, etc :D
2 Foot Hotdog!

Double Penetration hehe!

How much booze is on that table?!

Anyways, I will be sure to take some photos, and let you all know how it went... all those who actually still read this blog :P

Bye for now :)

Day 5!

2004-10-15T10:38:00.000+02:00

So the initial mark that was made is nearly gone, the little blood speckles are all that are left of that, but the bruise! GOD DAMN WHAT A BRUISE! My entire bicep has a yellowish tinge to it, getting darker towards the elbow.... Fantastic!!

OOOH.... Penguins!!!!!

First update in a while

2004-10-12T13:16:00.000+02:00

So, been busy at work, and havent really had a chance to do a decent update, so I havent bothered. National Day was a blast, as was expected, but, my mates went back to UK shortly after that. Significant other went to UK the day before National Day, so I have kinda been on my lonesome since the 12th of September. Was off the beer for a month, and have now resumed in a much reduced fashion, drinking at the weekends. Saving money, and losing weight, so I'm glad :)
Kitty got a friend, as he was getting a bit too aggressive, which was likey due to boredom in the house alone all day. And yes, I dont think I mentioned it here, HE. Kleopatra the Kamikaze Kat is now King Kleo the Krossdressing Kamikaze Kat, he developed balls for lack of a better way of putting it.
Kleo, meet Faithfull Jaxx, or Faith for short, or chica as I am calling her at the moment. Basement Jaxx were and still are one of my fave groups, so I wanted Jaxx, s/o wanted to call her Faithfull after the cat from Pet Cemetary I think it was, so Faithful Jaxx it was.

So on Sunday I find myself up the hills near Malaga on the Costa del Sol, at a paintball range, with 20 other people I used to work with at the bookmakers for a good few hours paintballing. Nerds V Nerds, Support V Development, 72 points V 27, a thorough thrashing in anyones books. Not many injuries sustained, I got hit in the mouthpeice and managed to swallow some of the lovely tasting waterbased paint... yum. Then, the confusion, storming towards the target (a shed) out pops what I thought was an enemy, shoot at him, he shoots back, both realise we have just killed members of the same team, and laugh about it. Except, he has hit me from very close range, in the arm. Cue pain, and bruising...

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Thats what it looks like at the moment, nice and bruised.... fantabulous!!!

Anyways, I think that's it for now. Im off to UK in less than 2 weeks for a complete holiday, no work, no computers, absolutely f all apart from chilling out down south.
All the best :D

National Day Approaches

2004-09-01T09:34:00.000+02:00

As do Dan and Rob for a week-long reunion of old drinking pals, many a story will be recounted, about drunken escapades, recollections of great drinking attempts and acheivements and not forgetting fallen friends!

National Day is another Gibraltarian celebration of it's true Britishness. It is held every 10th of September, the same day as the first Gibraltarian Sovereignty Referendum way back in 1967. The people of Gibraltar voted back then, as we did 2 years ago, overwhelmingly to remain British, and National Day is a celebration of the decision.
The streets of Gibraltar turn to a sea of (primarily) Red and White, our national colours, with injections of the Blue of the Union Flag as well as occasionally world wide flags, of people supporting us.
Here are a few images I found around the net, taken over various National Days, showing people with faces painted, in fancy dress, and having an all round bloody good time!!!!

Even the politicians get together and have a ball:

How uneventful

2004-08-17T12:05:00.000+02:00

Not much going on at the moment, apart from National Day being less than a month away :D and Rob arriving soon for an almighty week of beer,vodka,cider, and whatever else we can think of, be we always be drinking responsibly!

Good news for all the guys and girls out there, next time you get caught jacking off, whacking the weasel, flicking the bean, blame the Australians

I'll post some more random babblings when I can be bothered :P

Hasta la vista

As Promised

2004-08-09T11:33:00.000+02:00

Here are some of the pics taken by the media of the actual hands round the rock event:

These images are taken from The Gibraltar Chronicle but I cant see anything on the page I took them from saying I cannot link to them, or copy them, so :P

(click for larger images)

Happy Birthday Gibraltar

2004-08-05T09:04:00.000+02:00

300 Years Under British Rule

Gibraltar, My homeland, celebrated its 300th birthday yesterday, and amongst the celebrations 17,000 of the 30,000 population joined hands in a human chain around the Rock. A lynx helicopter off HMS Grafton (see below) encircled the rock taking images of the event.

Personally, I classed myself privileged to be fortunate enough to stand joining the link across the runway at Gibraltar's only airfield, getting a view of the rock, only available from such a place:

(click for larger image)

Once I find some of the media photos of the encircling, I will try and put them up. For now, take a look at some of the shots of the lynx (I'm sure it really must have pissed the spaniards off, who incidently, flew their flags at the frontier at half mast, in protest of a 300th birthday party... pathetic, it really is)

(click for larger image)	(click for larger image)	(click for larger image)

So heres to 300 years under the Union Jack, and to at least 300 more!

2004-07-26T09:33:00.000+02:00

So, I finally got myself a digital camera, and so far, I am VERY happy with it, even if it does take the silly sony memory sticks, and not compact flash. Its a DSC-P72, taking photos at 3.2MP which as far as I am concerned, is more than enough.

So, as promised, here she is, the superstar of the show.... Kleopatra! These photos were originally in 2048x1536 but I have sized them down to 800x600 just for you guys :) Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.

Awww.... aint she cute, but check the next one, attack mode.... arrrrghh

See.... not so cute.

Anyways, not too much to say, got tonnes of work to do. See you later

Kamakaze Kleopatra

2004-07-15T09:46:00.000+02:00

I know I promised piccies of the new addition to the household, but the ones I took weren't very clear, but hey, I will have my digital camera by next weekend, so I will get some then :) Infact, I will probably be taking plenty.

Back to the title, little Kleopatra has been in the habit of walking along the balcony wall, and jumping (about 2 feet, upwards, remember shes only tiny, about a foot long now without her tail) onto the bedroom window sill. No problems thought I, though I was slightly worried about it. She's a cat, if she was out in the wild she would be climbing trees, confronting cars, attacking dogs etc, so a little walk along the 4th floor balcony wont be a problem... till last night.

Its 5am, and I am awoken by the faint but repetitive cry that can only be Kleo. Thinking she is just messing around in the sitting room, I try my best to get back to sleep, and partially succeed. 5:30am comes around, and I stir once more, the repetitive meowing continues, but it's getting fainter, quieter somehow. Getting worried, I get out of bed, check her usual hiding places, in the bathroom behind the biday, or the toilet, hiding in the bath? Nope, Kitchen, beside the washing machine, or in the cupboard by the fridge, nope nope. Go into the living room, and it gets slightly louder, still, no sign of her anywhere. Then I notice the balcony door is slightly open on one side, and my heart started pounding. Rush onto the balcony, look over the side between the balcony and the window, knowing what she's like and sure enough, on the promenade between the buildings, looking up, there she's sat.

Mad rush, put on some clothes, run down the first floor, into the fire escape well (only way I know of accessing the promenade) and shes cowering in the corner where I saw her. I call her and she runs up, climbs up my leg, i pick her up, she nuzzles into my shoulder and starts purring... 4 floors is quite a way to fall... so now shes down to 8 lives...

The only saving grace for her I suppose, is that because she's still a kitten, her bones would be quite flexible still, which is probably why she hasnt broken anything.

*sigh* back to work :)

Scary experiences

2004-07-12T09:09:00.000+02:00

...like a headache that was SO bad it blinded me, I lost control of my legs, my father had to carry me to the car to get me to hospital. Now, I've suffered from migraine all my life, before anyone pops up and says, it was just a migraine, or just a headache, and I have never felt pain like that in my life, EVER! Anyways, after only 20 mins in A&E, the staff nurse took my blood pressure, I would tell you what it was, but my vision looked something like this:

except with more colours, and in jaggy lines across my eyesight. He asked me some questions, how long it had been going on for, if I felt nauseaus, if I had suffered from them before etc, at which point, I kinda blacked out for a second. Next thing I know, I'm being led to a small, darkened area of the A&E room, and asked to drop my pants, one shot of "intramuscular" votarol, 20 mins later and I was in happy land.

Anyways, on a good note, I have had my cholesterol checked, which I was meant to be doing quite a while ago, 2 years ago in fact, when it was first discovered my dad has a hereditary heart condition, but I have put it off and off and off, but hey, its done now, and it read 167. After a little bit of research, this basically means Im doing very well.

http://www.americanheart.org says the following about cholesterol levels

Desirable — Less than 200 mg/dL
Borderline high risk — 200-239 mg/dL
High risk — 240 mg/dL and over

So hopefully I wont be getting a clogged artery, which looks something like this:

YUM!

Right, enough of the medical postings, I'm off to do some work.
Bye for now

Politics continued...

2004-07-02T12:49:00.000+02:00

But just for a laugh, ever wonder why Bush suddenly declared war on Iraq? Was it oil? Was it the war against terrorism? Was it because he really didnt like the way Saddam had evaded his father? (How star wars esque) No, no and no....

Politics (I know, I hate them too...)

2004-06-29T16:44:00.000+02:00

Politics are getting my goat at the moment, politics and backstabbers, but we will leave that to the original post on backstabbers. Oh, and terrorists, please stop cutting peoples fucking heads off... if you must kill hostages, and innocent people, fathers, brothers, sons, at least do it humanely you barbaric animals!

So HRH Princess Anne is in Gibraltar for 3 days and yesterday the Spanish Government complained officially, lodging a formal complaint to Britain. They claim that her visit is insulting to the Spanish people “injuring the sensibilities of the Spanish people.” Today, the Junta de Andalucia (local area politicians) claimed that it is "not very opportune."

So, we can't be independent but we can't celebrate our dependency and ties with Britain, we cannot receive Royal visitors, yet, it would be frowned upon if we denied a Spanish “royal” entrance to Gibraltar... so what exactly can we do?

The way I see it, the question we should ask of the Spanish is not "when would it be opportune, our friendly, fraternal neighbours?" but "what the fuck has it got to do with you, you persistent pains in the rear end?" I don't normally get into the political debate, in fact, I keep as far away from politics as possible, but this has pissed me off.

On national day, I can understand their problem, because when they see the Union Jack, and the Castle and Key flying high, together, in harmony, and the patriotism of the Gibraltarian people they really see what they are missing out on, by being born over the border, by not being Gibraltarian, and how petty they really are. When the red and white balloons go up, and with the light wind, blow over Spain, I can understand why they might get pissed off, when they see that despite all their attempts, we are not down-heartened... but, because some relation to Her Majesty has come to Gibraltar? These politicians really should get a fucking life; there are more worrying things in the world, than some old biddy, visiting a 2.5 square mile rock!

From bad.... to oh so much worse

2004-06-24T09:53:00.000+02:00

Age: 21.96438356164383561643835616438356 (shit, i hit .96 today.... )
Mood: Would you believe me if I said I was in a worse mood than yesterday?
Fundage: Still stupidly low, pay still not cleared into the account

So, I went round to my parents house in Spain yesterday after work, to chill in the pool, and have a wind down, after a pain in the arse day at work. Dad invited me, tempting me with one of his curries (prawn, it was delicious.) So I had dinner there, chatted with Mum and Dad, and was beginning to think, all wasn't too bad, maybe things were about to get better... how wrong, so very wrong I was.

I headed back to Gib on the bike, and decided to see H who was working in the pub, to check what time she was finishing. I could tell she was in a foul mood as soon as I walked in there, and she looked like she had been crying. So, being slightly worried, I asked what was wrong, to be informed that her employers had just given her her notice, her last shift is on Monday. The previous barmaid, who moaned and complained constantly about working there, has left her new job, because they wont let her take the time off to go to the world pool championships. So she asked for her old job back at the pub, and without blinking an eyelid they said yes. Now H, who also qualified to go to Bridlington for the Championship to represent Gib cant go, because she is jobless and has no money.... now, forgive me if Im wrong, but, they just took the side of the person who quit, because she hated it there, over the person who filled in, and did them a massive favour in their time of need. They were going to be forced to close the bar a few months back, a week of losses, and H filled in and worked nigh on all the shifts there that week, to keep it open... I am SO pissed about this, you would not believe.

Still, there is a part of me (this adult half of my brain, about to turn 22) that says there are worse things that could happen, and there is always bar work going in Gib, but its not that that hurts, its the backstabbing by people I thought were friends...

Pay day tomorrow, thank GOD!

2004-06-23T11:55:00.000+02:00

Age: 21.95890410958904109589041095890411 (Thats getting really close now)
Mood:

Had chest pains in the left side of me, between the 4th and 5th rib, since yesterday afternoon. Got to show my landlord round the flat today, he wants to see it. Im still skint, hopefully the money will clear into my account over tonight, and I can actually get back to normal life tomorrow. I hate not having cash, this sucks, stupid expensive June. That age calculation is depressing me, turning 21 was great, its like the birthday party of the lifetime, i got chucked out of an aeroplane, it was great. 22 however, seems daunting, further way from those great years as a teen, and closer to the crap that is proper adulthood (not that Im not an adult, ive got my own flat, job, getting a car soon etc, but, turning 25 is when you have to be responsible etc, start thinking about the rest of your life)

Oh, and the server in the Isle of Man is down, and I am meant to fix it from here, thats 2003.1687957488118km or 1244.7113828670635 miles for all you imperialists still out there... grrrrrrr

Drunken Antics

2004-06-22T16:48:00.000+02:00

Who woulda thunk it? 4-2 is a pretty good way to go through, but there is one point that still REALLY worries me... David bloody James. I panic every time the ball goes anywhere near him, is it me, or is he actually getting worse? Every good piece of play created in the midfield and up front is counterbalanced by a horrific blunder by the defence and James. The second Croatia goal could have easily been avoided, but no, he stood around like a plant, and once again watched the ball go into the back of his net....

Portugal, wont be as forgiving as the other teams we have beaten so far... and I can actually see them putting us out of the tournament.

Meanwhile, I got 15/2 odds on Greece beating France, from bet365.com if anyone else wants a tipple, they are offering the best odds around.

Adios

Football and furball

2004-06-21T12:39:00.000+02:00

Age: 21.95342465753424657534256575 (note the repeating pattern)

So, are England gonna go through? Spain bowed out last night, and celebrations in Gibraltar ran through the night. Why you ask? Because Gibraltarians have a thing against the Spanish, so for one night only, most of them became honorary Portuguese :p

Odds are 2:1 for Golden Balls to miss a penalty against Croatia tonight, lets hope he doesnt.

But 3:1 on Rooney getting another yellow and therefore missing the next match. IF England go through.
Dunno which I'd least prefer, Rooney is rather vital at the moment, joint top scorer of the tournament and all, but if Becks misses again, we probably wont go through. Ohh well.

As for the furball, she is getting fatter, eating more solid food now, but is in constant attack mode when awake. She bites and scratches even when you just try to pet her. So some cat training is now taking place.

Pics of her will be up next week when i splash my paycheck out on a digital camera.

Bye for now

New Addition....

2004-06-17T09:11:00.000+02:00

... to the family. I received this email at the office the other day, and just couldn't help myself, have a read:

A few weeks ago a friend of ours found a litter of kittens on the side of the road beside their dead mother - she had been run over by a car and consequently appeared rather flat and smelly (I am talking about the cat). Our friend got very upset by their tiny cries and their sad faces and decided to bring them home. She has bottle fed them and they are now house trained and eat solid food. She is giving them away to kind homes – there is one black female and two black/brown ones (male and female). Any takers before the husband drowns them?
Best regards

What was I meant to do? I'm a real softy at heart, so I got back to the guy, who got me the woman's phone number. Anyways, Cleopatra moved in on Tuesday, and shes about 5 weeks old, shes a little black furball at the moment, but shes eating (well drinking milk solution) well, and should be fine with a little bit of TLC.

Photo up as soon as i get a digicam or my film developed.

YEY!

2004-06-11T16:00:00.000+02:00

WOOOHOOOO, £30 worth of welding, and the beast passes her MOT at lunch time today... She is now road worthy, so i can toodle off to Spain on her this weekend, and I dont have to be back till Tuesday :)Just need to find somewhere to watch the footy now :)

Sigh...

2004-06-10T12:19:00.000+02:00

Time: 12:21pm
Stress Level: Oh high, pretty high, astro-fucking-nomical
Playing:REM - Man on the Moon
Drinking:Bottle of water, someone give me a vodka redbull... and make it a double

Boss and colleague had to go to a remote office today, leaving me to look after the entire office on my own, for today (and not for the first time) I AM I.T. !! Previously, this hasnt been so bad, people are understanding, the give you a bit of a break, let you deal with the issues at your own pace, else, by lunch time, the poor I.T. bloke is so knackered he just feels like dying. Well, guess what, it's lunch time (nearly) and if it had a gun, i think, instead of taking my own life, i would start taking other peoples! I'm writing this, as it is a quite period just now, people must have gone for lunch or something, but lets not go into that, tempting fate at this point wouldn't be such a good idea.
Oh, and as for the mechanical monster in my life, looks like ive got a deal with a small time steel worker, he will sort my exhaust out for a tenner (ish) but I've got to get it off the bike myself. Slip another guy i know another tenner, and 50 quid of repairs is shifted down to 20.... which is so far the only good thing to happen to me today, apart from earlier this morning, i mean way earlier, say between half 12 and 2am ish... but thats a different story ;)

Grepus, and the never ending expense that is my motorcycle

2004-06-09T16:23:00.000+02:00

Exhibit A: My Motorbike

Yes, that big yellow thing

Exhibit B: The expense over this month on getting it back on the road

Insurance: £180
Full Service: £40
New Accelerator and clutch cables: £20
New front disk pads: £20
Labour: £35

Exhibit C: The MOT

Cost: £10
Pass? NO!
Fail? NO!

Not so bad you would think? You would be wrong, because its pending, meaning I can't drive it legally, because it's currently "not road worthy" until i get the MOT certificate.
Reason it isn't road worthy: it's "too noisy" The exhaust is a bit loud, so he wants me to replace all the fibre in the muffler... which is a bit too much after a grand total of £305 already spent on the bloody thing this month. Also, ive found a crack between the exhaust and the muffler which i have to get sorted at a welders tomorrow, more expense... am I happy about this, no, do I have money for beer this month, not likely, as its 2 weeks and 3 days till payday, and I'm already near skint!

Grrrrrr

Peeved (PG15, which has an 8pm watershed, not 9)

2004-06-08T17:32:00.000+02:00

Warning, some mild language

Mood: Pissed off
Music: Random Rock, currently Nickelback - How you remind me
Drinking: Bottle of water
Eating: Nothing

So why am I peed off you are wondering? because I have just spent the last 40 minutes sorting out my PC at work, because my colleague decided to look into network monitoring tools, found some shitty spyware ridden PC monitoring application, decided to test it by remote installing it onto my machine, forgetting I'm testing XP's service pack 2. Well guess what, SP2 doesnt like your piece of software, not one little bit... I have lost 40 minutes of my life which I will never get back, because of your constant need to fiddle...

For those computer literate and especially fans of BOFH, i have my LART, and I'm going a hunting.... oh yes, a hunting I will go, and I'm going to boink this l-user good.

I can't believe I've wasted my time doing this :p

2004-06-08T15:41:00.000+02:00

..all so I can post a comment on another person's blog, who shall remain nameless, you know who you are! But, saying that, I have been contemplating starting one for a long time. A quick bit about me then.

Astrological crap: I'm a cancerian, born on the 8th of July 1982 (all the astrologers out there, you are welcome to leave me a comment about what that means about me. Before you say it means I'm probably a hot headed, short fused boozer, don't bother, I know all that already. For those who haven't noticed from the D.O.B yet, thats right people, birthday time is coming soon, I expect lots of beer, er I mean presents off you all :p Especially he who made me start this, I see a lot of my time being wasted here, I mean, well spent here ;)

Most time spent: Suite 2b Mansion House, 143 Main Street, Gibraltar, working my rear end off as an IT engineer, who also has to change lightbulbs, hang pictures, etc... small companies, lots of benefits, but lots of non job descripted work :/

Home: The Great British Rock of Gibraltar, yes, the place with the monkeys, that little British rock in the sun.