Monday, April 30, 2007

My 1st steps

Today was my 1st day back out in public since being struck down with the dreaded pox. I wore a top with a high collar and a baseball cap with a big brim, pulled down extra low. I have to admit that I was quite exhusted just after 15 minutes of walking around.
My face is almost scab-free but you can see where every single spot was on my face, head and body. I am littered with white patches/spots (not whiteheads mind), not an issue until you remember I'm dark skinned. D'oh! Hopefully the cocoa butter I bought today will help even out my skin tone sooner rather than later, otherwise I will just have to accepted the patchwork quilt look.
So far I've been unable to shave (due to the scabs) so I currently look like a young Robinson Crusoe! I return to work Wednesday, and I have fingers crossed that I will have enough skin showing in order to put a razor blade to it!

Saturday, April 28, 2007

...now I have the lurgy! :(

That's right. Last Saturday I woke up feeling a bit queer, (but not queer in the modern sense, hell no! But in the old fashioned sense; a bit odd or strange. Different from norm) and with some new spots on my forehead. Sunni at work suggested i visit a NHS drop in centre which i did during my lunchbreak that day. The two nurses I saw looked at my face and at my back and said in unison 'You have Chicken Pox.'



As I was contagious I had to go straight home, and stay there. And this is where I've stayed since. For the first 3 days I couldn't even lift my head off the pillow, and made the elephant man look like David Beckham. Wednesday was the first day I got out of bed, and even now I look like a leper, or an extra from the 'Shaun of the Dead' movie'.

Hopefully I'll feel better soon, and hopefully I wont scar!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

'I'm BACK, but...'

That's right. Squish is back in the house!
Where have I been?
Well for most of last week I was out and had little time on me computer and this week, well that's another story.

To catch up I'll have to bullet point recent events.

- Had a night out in Colchester with Gregg. Had a late dinner in a Thai eatery then hit a club with an 'older' crowd. Me and Gregg watched bemused in the corner feeling 100 years younger than the folks around us!

- Won £34 on The Grand National. I picked the winner, Silver Birch, by tossing a coin onto the newspaper that all the runners were listed in and selecting the one my coin landed on. Skills!

- Watched Danny Boyle's movie; Sunshine. This movie was far better than I imagined, and captured the cold loneliness of space far better than many other space operas. 2 thumbs up!

- The Ferraris come 1st and 3rd in Bahrain with Alonso trailing home 5th. A satisfactory result for me. Aye.

- Played badminton singles with John and Martin and got my ass thoroughly kicked. Teaches me for skipping out the week before.

- I finally got to see my sis, Sarah when she invited me out to one of her mate's birthday drinks in the Valentine Pub. It was so good to see her again. Love ya sis. Mwah!

- Checked out the Tate Modern. Hadn't been there for a while, but there was nothing standout there this time and I had miss the 'slide' installation as well.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

300


Stop the presses!!
Because I now have a new favourite movie.
300.

This film is amazing and has now edged out Batman Returns, Sin City and Memento as my top pick. The film is based on the graphic novel, by Frank Miller which is in turn based on the 1962 film, The 300 Spartans. The movie tells the story of an actual event that took place 480 BC, The Battle of Thermopylae. I'm sure reality and the movie bare little in common other than names, however its a thoroughly entertaining film and I for one can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can see it again. And remember; "THIS IS SPARTA!"

Ask Guru Joe

I have a new personal advisor. He is called Guru Joe and is presented by Miniclip, provider of free mini games and cartoons. Just ask him a 'yes/no' question and he gives you an honest answer. I asked him if he was a 'con man' and he replied, 'Maybe'. That's honesty for you. Guru Joe can be found here and in my side bar.

Heroes - Hayden Panettiere

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Bank Holiday Monday

I awoke Monday morning with nothing much doing. I knew I had to get the car washed but apart from that I was at a loose end. In my 1st phone call I found something to do though; Gregg's nephew Oliver was having a 1st birthday party in his house up in Bishops Stortford.
- Stepping sideways for a second, the photo call was actually a video call on the 3G network. Gregg had got his new 3G capable phone and wanted to try it out. It was fun but a bit hard to hear outside in the big wide world.-
I popped into Romford and treated myself to the new Calvin Klien fragrance ckin2u, then gave my new car its first motorway run as I headed to Bishops Stortford.

Formula 1 blues

Last Sunday was the 2nd F1 Grand Prix of the year and after Ferrari's dominant win at the opening race in Australia I was hoping for another win at least for Ferrari. Unfortunately I had to watch as Ferrari fumbled the ball and allowed McLaren to out-race them, out-manoeuvre them and embarrassed them, scoring their first win in over a year! Plus, it was my most despised driver who won; anyone but Alonso!
I was not a happy bunny that day, hopefully Ferrari redeem themselves this weekend in Bahrain.


thanks to wikipedia.org for the photo

'I'm getting too old for this sh*t' pt 2

Last Friday, Bank holiday Friday, I was out for another night out. It was another Essex venue; this time Jumpin Jaks in Basildon. Kirsty had arranged the night out, merging her school chums and work mates for the night. Me, Vicky and Lucy made the trip up there. Lucy's boyfriend, Richard, managed to get out of work that evening and met us inside. I drove as I had to work Easter Saturday and needed to be up the next day.

We had a good night. I think Kirsty got well hammered, and spend most of the night on the dancefloor, the rest of us stayed on a table near the bar, drinking and dancing. We had had our fill by 1am and headed off home, via McDonalds.

Monday, April 09, 2007

'I'm getting too old for this sh*t!'



I got a call from Gregg Thursday evening after work. We had a lovely bright sunny evening and with the bank holiday upon us he wanted to take advantage and go out for a drink. He suggested Chelmsford as it was on his way home and marked the mid point of me getting to him. I decided to catch the train so I could drink and got there at 9.30. The last train back home was at 11.24 which didn't leave much time to party.



We we in Edwards when I had to decide wheather go home or take Gregg's offer to sleepover. I took the sleepover option, which kick started the night and we hit the nightclub Dukes. Party and bunny ears! We left at 2.30 for food and tucked into the drinker's standard; kebabs. We caught a cab over to Tiptree which cost £45! Oh my! I would of complained I think if I weren't so blind drunk, must have been the sambuca. I got to sleep on the sofa.

I was woken by Gpysy the family dog carrying her stuffed toy. After some breakfast and a freshen up I headed home, Gregg joining me on the journey as he had business in London.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Feeling insignificant



I found the above pic on usemycomputer.com this Wednesday and found it quite fascinating. It depicts some of the known bodies of our solar system from biggest to smallest. I've actually edited the original because it was much longer and had much more on it including asteroids; 88 planets/moons/asteroids/star(the sun) in total.

What surprised me the most was that some of the solar system's moons are bigger than some planets! i.e Pluto. I don't know if that's true but it's certainly eye opening. The other was the scale of some of the larger planets but especially the sun: In the image there is practically no curve on the sun, which means even at this scale it would make the sun about a mile across! I could be wrong; but either way that makes us just microbes on a grain of sand in the Sahara desert. How important are my problems now.......

N.B. I just read here on wikipedia that Pluto was reclassified last year and is no longer a planet!

The Sky is the limit

Well hopefully THIS time my Sky problems have been sorted. The rebooked engineer came on Thursday and replaced the decoder from which the problem stemmed. It looks the same but is of a lesser make and is that bit more flimsy. He also added an extra microfilter saying my broadband was fouling the phone signal, however I already have a microfilter coming out of the main outlet so don't quite understand why we need two! I hope this really is the end of this hoo-har and can get on with being bored but other things!

Jason's Birthday Lunch



A week late but just as welcome! Exactly one week ago week all went out for Sunday lunch for Jason's birthday. The restaurant was in Leigh on Sea near Southend, and was the same place we went the year before. As I couldn't remember the way I followed Jason and Michelle down in convoy along with Martin and Ells. Whilst the food was nice I did find a hair in my starter and Anna, a hair in her main course! Toward the end of the meal the restaurant tried to rush us out saying that we had stayed too long at our table, but then they relented and allowed us our coffees in peace.






David and Luan had to make tracks after the meal and the rest of us took a walk up to Southend, although me and Anna drove up to allow rapid transit for the return journey to the cars.





I have to confess that I love seaside rock and drove back to Southend at the end of the day to buy a load; £12 worth! Sadly I 'chain' ate them once back home and they were all gone by Tuesday!!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Beach Blanket Babylon


On Saturday night I got to see me ole pal Gregg again after a good couple of months; him having been on holiday for 3 weeks in the interim. We met in Notting Hill. His girlfriend, her sister and a couple of other friends I hadn't met before all met up at the station and made the short walk to the bar/restaurant; BBB, Beach Blanket Babylon. The place is kitsch and glam and very stylised. I had been there before but a long while ago.

We stayed for a few drinks, bagging a table near and open flame fire. But BBB was only the warm up. We ventured to a club who's name I forget at about 11pm and it became clear quite early on that the club was at capacity and was now operating a one in, one out policy. With an eye on the clock I had to make tracks at midnight to catch the last train home. It was not worth staying out for another hour just to face the headache of getting home from West London at that time of night. I'll have to ask Gregg if they got in.

Holiday anyone....?

I think I need a vacation! These last few days I have felt totally drained. I missed step aerobics on Monday and have been going to bed by 9.30 each night this week (usual bed time being 1am). Suppose it didn't help staying up till 4.30 last Friday night watching tv; reckon that that has offset me this week. Luckily I have a 4 day week this week and next, not having to work either Bank Holiday but I do have to work the Saturday in between (Boo!).

Sky have refused to return my £200+ saying the equipment is still not working despite having sent an engineer 21/2. They sent another yesterday but he rang the doorbell once then drove off not even checking back to allow time to open the door. Its been rebooked for tomorrow. Will this nightmare ever end!!

I did go out over the weekend: for my exploits read on.....