Category Archives: My Life

Survival

Well, now I know that a champagne hangover isn’t very bad. Or perhaps I took my own advice, for I am feeling OK this morning. The night was good – lots of champagne (bought in advance during the Happy Hour), and only the two bottles of wine at the end were a bad sign (and there were a large number of us). Met a crazy woman with purple nails who kept telling me and PY that we were wonderful (she was, quite possibly, drunk) and handed my business card to her (possibly not the wisest move in the world, as she may be some kind of crazed stalker that tracks people down). Still, another all-day party begins in Walthamstow at three this afternoon. Am I ready for more punishment?

On this day…

2006: Go Ant Go!
2005: Tipping BAR Honda To Win
2004: Gym Buddy – We Must Not Stop Now

The Night Ahead

I am off to a leaving party tonight in some swanky bar. I know I’ll drink too much and spoil the entire weekend for myself now. Unfortunately, I also know there is nothing I am going to do about it, so I will have to live with that. I think it’s an age thing. They always said you would increasingly become aware of your own limits as you get older, and I know mine. I also know that I am worse-than-awful at stopping when I have hit my limits – whether that’s drinking, staying awake, etc. A weekend in a haze is predicted. On the upside, today has been a lovely, normal working day without too much stress and, for once, it looks like I am about to leave on time. Maybe that’s a good sign.

On this day…

2005: How Interesting
2004: Ericsson 260 Cordless Phone

Water, Water Everywhere

Last night was an underwater adventure for many Londoners. Apparently, 3cm of rain fell in 30 minutes – which is a reasonable amount of water. The strain on the drainage system was too great, and we had cars underwater, closed tube stations and some very, very wet people walking around. Many people have a perception that London is grey and always raining, but it doesn’t handle rain well at all. I guess it’s all the Victorian sewers (or whatever they are).

The pictures of cars almost submerged are strangely reminiscent of my hometown of Shrewsbury – which is prone to flooding. The town is mainly contained within a loop of the River Severn and, as such, seems to get drowned from all sides in the winter storms and spring thaws.

I guess Shrewsbury is my home town. I was not born there, did not live there for the first fourteen years of my life, and have not lived there for ten years. My parents still live there, and I go to see them occasionally, and I think of it as my home town, but really, it’s just another place I have lived. Of course, I do have very fond memories of the place, which, I assume, helps.

On this day…

2006: Changes At Red Bull Racing
2005: Swiss Re Tower, London
2004: Back Ache
2003: More Gay Marriage

The Taxi Cometh

I head off to the airport shortly. I spent a good proportion of last night packing and, therefore, seem to have only had three hours’ sleep. I really need to organise my life more to prevent this kind of thing from happening. I do not like the lack of sleep, and yet, every time I travel, I seem to end up in this kind of situation.

Somehow, I seem to ignore the five golden rules of travelling without stress

  1. Buy gifts a week in advance
  2. Iron two days in advance
  3. Pack a day in advance
  4. Get to bed early before travelling
  5. Have a bottle of water to take to the airport

On this day…

2006: What’s The 20th Most Complained About Show On UK TV?

A Weekend Airborne

Weekend plans. I am going to a christening, which in itself does not seem an odd thing to do at the weekend. I am, however, flying at 0630 tomorrow morning to Amsterdam, then to Stavanger and then on to Kristiansand, Norway. I arrive mid-afternoon. The christening is on Sunday. Come Monday morning, I board the 0700 for Copenhagen and then on to London to get me back to make it into my office mid-morning. There are several people who think I am somehow unbalanced for attempting to do this and stay awake.

On this day…

2006: Update
2004: Bang Bang For Gately

Seven Wonders

I want to visit all seven wonders of Britain. I’ve done four, leaving only these to visit:

  1. Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland
  2. Eden Project, Cornwall
  3. Windsor Castle, Berkshire

The Guardian also lists The Angel of the North as the eighth wonder. I haven’t seen that either!

If you’re interested, the others (that I have seen) are:

  1. Big Ben, London
  2. London Eye
  3. Stonehenge, Wiltshire
  4. York Minster, Yorkshire

On this day…

2006: Another Airport Again
2002: What’s A Boy To Think?

Music on the Move

I have been looking for a new MP3 player for some time. Amazon have a sale and, therefore, I have bought myself the Rio 600. It’s not a “carry-all-your-music” machine, but it will do for me until I can justify the spend on something with more storage. It actually arrived on Friday morning, and Parcel Force turned up before I left for work. Fantastic. Now, what to put on it first.

On this day…

2006: All Change
2003: We Love Pizza
2002: They Go Quite Fast

How do you say Happy Birthday in Russian?

5 Replies

And it’s my Dad’s birthday today. My mother is with him somewhere in the former Soviet Union for five weeks while he tries to get some work done. Unfortunately, his mobile phone doesn’t seem to work, and he isn’t replying to emails, so Happy Birthday, Dad!

UPDATE: You may also want to check out next year’s entry for more information.

On this day…

2007: Read The Manual
2005: My Idea Changed
2004: Administrative Apologies
2003: Buffalo Soldiers
2003: Another Russian Birthday
2003: Not Another Teen Movie
2002: Marry Me

Marry Me

I went to a wedding today on The Golden Hinde in Southwark. Then we were ferried to Camden to eat on board a canal barge. Finally, the evening reception was at the Canal Museum. It was a superb event, and thanks to Derek and Lili for the whole thing; it is always good to catch up with old friends at a time like this.

On this day…

2007: Read The Manual
2005: My Idea Changed
2004: Administrative Apologies
2003: Buffalo Soldiers
2003: Another Russian Birthday
2003: Not Another Teen Movie
2002: How do you say Happy Birthday in Russian?

All For A New Pair of Shoes

Tonight was the Official Opening of The Commonwealth Games. Does anybody still care about The Commonwealth except when they have these games? And I missed the opening ceremony – which, to be honest, is likely to be the only bit I would have watched. I was running in my new running shoes, which I suspect is one of the best excuses I have ever had for not sitting on my backside 😉 I bought them this afternoon. I went to Run and Become which has a branch not too far from where I work. While there, I was made to run up and down with my trousers rolled up. Apparently, this was so that the sales assistant could see how I actually run. Personally, I think she was doing it for the amusement of the diners in the cafe opposite. Anyway, I came away £60 lighter with a nice new pair of running shoes.

On this day…

2006: Here Comes Zune
2005: Coming Soon To A Browser Near You