Month: October 2003

Dreams, ghosts, seeing the future… it’s all bollocks.

Mainly.

Sleep now.

I love the weekend.

The Flaming Lips
Echo and the Bunnymen
Ryan Adams
Jane’s Addiction

That’s my November 🙂

Again I find myself wishing I could blog music and yes again it’s Sigur Ros.

I was thinking last night as I often do about work and stuff going on and I started to write something up but I didn’t think it was very appropriate. But the thinking certainly was. Standing chatting on the platform waiting for the train home, we were talking about how stressed we all were and how much was going on and other things like that. One of the things that I was thinking about at home was that I was really stressed and feeling pretty overwhealmeed. I’ve already flagged some deadlines as being in danger and working through everything else.

I did however make a decision. I don’t know how easy it is going to be to implement but basically, I decided I don’t care. Of course it’s more complicated than that but I’ve decided to not get stressed. Sounds simple but in reality I don’t know if it’s possible. I’m going to sit and my desk and I’m going to do my work and given the time to make projects work, I will make make them work. If I’m not given enough time, then there isn’t anything I can do about it and so I’m not going to get stressed about it.

I reserve the right to still get stressed at my code not working and things like that (and of course to curse at my computer) but that’s just small stress and good to help me focus.

So that’s that. I wonder how it will turn out going along.

Oh what a day.
For those of you wondering I’ve not even had time to acknowledge the very existence of personal email…nor have lunch.

So today has been pretty much a slug day. Slept in late which was good. Watched some more Alias, watched Angel which was ok, a nice ending but not an important episode at all. I also saw League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which while it had nothing to do with the book at all wasn’t that bad. It was not a good movie by any means but it wasn’t a bad one either.

Love broadband, it’s so very very nice. I am so getting upgraded to a 1MB line as soon as I move. I’ve just downloaded and am now listening to Radiohead’s performance at Glastonbury this year. The noise from the crowd and indeed the view of the crowd back from the stage is just awesome. Man that was such a damn great weekend. I wish I could get so many more performances at this quality.

I got an email today from someone I’ve not heard from in about 4 years. I asked after her when I met up with Jean in Dublin a few weeks ago. And now as it turns out, she had some drinks with Jean over the weekend and my address was passed on. I’m quite pleased to hear from her and will get an email back off tomorrow or so 🙂

The moving stuff seems to be all coming together. Nick has that day off work, so hiring a van and moving is falling into place and should be so much easier during the day time.

Went out locally for a couple of quick beers tonight and it was good. I should take more days off work. I have the time to do it before the end of the year,

I feel that I can admit to having turned the heat on for the first time today when it’s currently -3 degrees in London.

1994: I went to see Speed in the cinema and really enjoyed it.
1995: Appears to have been spent vegging infront of the TV after school.
1996: Aha, this was the first weekend I was ever in London. I was over with my Dad. He was going to a coin fair and there were cheap flights on. I went over for the weekend. On this afternoon, we went to the Imperial War Museum. THe flight home wasn’t particularly good.
1997: I bought some DS9 videos and noted that I was starting to settle into college and make some friends.
2001: I went to see American Pie 2 with my then girlfriend and noted that again Aly Hannigan stole the movie with one line.
2002: I bought Bester’s The Demolished Man in Waterstones on King’s Road and sat in Starbucks reading it. I had tried to see xXx in the cinema but it was sold out. And I noted the following line from Silent Bob as I had just caught the end of Chasing Amy on the beeb.

Silent Bob: But, by the time I figured this all out, it was too late; she moved on. And all I had to show for it was some foolish pride which then gave way to regret. She was the girl. I know that now. But, I pushed her away. So I’ve spent everyday since then chasing Amy. So to speak.

Damn lazy day here. Three good episodes of West Wing and a whole shitload of Alias. It’s been good. Just watching the end of the two parter in the middle of the first season with Tarintino guest staring and it’s pretty damn good.

Decided to Bit Torrent one of the movies which I expect to be shit and it’s about done downloading. So tomorrow will be more of the same with a little organising of stuff aswell.

It’s very cold here, due to hit freezing tonight. Gonna head to bed soonish and read for a while. Getting towards the end of the first book of His Dark Materials and dug out the other two books. Perhaps a coffee shop for a while tomorrow to read for a while but above all not working and I’m not turning on my phone for sure.

And now to sleep.

Art Spiegelman is in coversation with Phillip Pullman on the same night I’m going to see The Flaming Lips 🙁

I am not feeling half as bad as I should be.

Last night was a great night. I got to the Porter House around 6:45 and got myself a drink. Managed to get a table near the door and so sat down to wait. While I was waiting I got phone calls from 4 people to say it would be after 8 before they made it and some closer to 9. So I was quite relieved when Andy walked in around 7:20 and then the rest slowly started to arrive. A lot of the usual suspects were away this weekend so no Rich, Pat or Nick out which was a shame but some others who don’t normally come out made it a long and made it a good evening.

There was some Irish trad on in the Porter House with a really decent house band and that went down really well. No rebel songs unfortunately but there was a refrain of The Fields… at the end of the night which was good. Having been on vodkas for the night and feeling stone cold sober (well somewhat) we decided to move on. I knew a little place in Soho but of course went up the wrong street to get to it. We passed by a place called 6 Degrees which was open till 1 and looked good so in we went. It was really good. They had some spanish music on live which was really excellent and ended the night nicely. Got home around 2.30 and collapsed.

Thanks to everyone who came out, I had a good night. I’m also very glad I decided to actually do something this year as it got some people into town.

To rewind a little before that, I went to see Kill Bill Volume 1 yesterday afternoon. It was way OTT with some ludicrous amounts of violence but no real plot and no snappy dialogue. So while it was good and I enjoyed it a lot, how can I not love a movie which starts with a Klingon proverb, it wasn’t up to any of Tarintino’s previous. I do have an urge now to go and watch Reservoir Dogs today. Headed into town afterwards and grabbed some dinner in Eds before wandering on to the pub.

Talked to my parents on the phone yesterday for the first time in a while. I had promised to give them a ring and bring them up to speed on the flat stuff. So today is a quiet day. I’m going to spend most of it watching stuff and then tomorrow I’m going to go and see a movie and take it easy.

Now I’m going to have some breakfast and sit on my couch watching West Wing for the afternoon.

So time to type a little with some updates. Back to a list I think to get it all out

Flat stuff

– I have a new flat and indeed a new flatmate. She’s a V regular who posted in my thread looking for advice. The flat is in Primrose Hill and it’s a converted old mansion block of
some sort.
– I move in at the start of November and there is loads of space for bookshelves and the like.
– It’s about a 40 minute commute to work which isn’t too bad. It’s all on the tube tho…which is kinda bad but I shall see how it goes. There are a few ways of getting there to look into.
– Alex, my new flatmate has a dog. It’s a small(ish) Spaniel. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned before that I hate dogs. I don’t really hate them, I’m just in general scared shitless by them. I had a bad experience with a large Alsatian when I was about 10 and I’ve not gotten on well with them ever since. However I met the dog last night and all seems fine.
– I’m looking forward to using the move to organise my stuff. I’ve always loved being able to sort my books onto shelves. I need to get some new shelves and I’m planning on spending some time getting all of my books and graphic novels onto the shelves in some kinda order.

In other news.
– Work is pretty shit. I left in a really bad state this evening and just went down the pub with Rich. For the first time in a long time I had some vodkas, all mixed with coke. I’m sitting here typing after having at least 6 of them and not feeling a thing. 6 pints would have had me a little woozy at the least. So it was good. We didn’t win the bar tab tonight but the person that did wasn’t drinking much and bought a round for the people sitting nearby which was well us.
– I don’t remember being so glad it is the weekend in a good while, so having Monday off is a real bonus.
– Hugh gave me four new episodes of The West Wing to watch over the weekend. This is a good thing.
– I finished and loved (again) Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man and I’ve moved onto Phillip Pullman’s Northern Lights trilogy. I had read the first book before but never moved onto the other two mainly because I didn’t have them at the time. So I’m reading it again now and I have the other two to follow it.
– Some downloading to go overnight I suspect. The usual shows are out. Watching them tomorrow morning(ish) sounds good to me.
– I’m so looking forward to sleeping now. I want to not have to worry about getting up in the morning. I want to wake up naturally and laze about for a while. Party kicks off at 7, and my plan is to get some food in town before hand so I’ll head in there for about 6 and take it from there.
– I had stuff I wanted to mention but of course now that I’m typing stuff I can’t remember any of it. Ah well another time perhaps. Good night