Monday, April 30, 2007

I have to admit...

It does seem... Seem what?

Strange? Fast? Funny how things change? Odd? Weird? Sad? Good? Bad?

Well, I'm not sure, but it's certainly something ;)

I took this picture back in December. Actually, from the date, Christmas Eve. I must have got bored with my last minute Christmas preparations at some point, I guess :)



I supposed I'd been thinking about taking the picture for a while, and I felt the tinsel made a nice backdrop :)
I never bothered to use the pic as they all came out a little blurry using simply my cameraphone. That's why I've carefully applied a series of filters to the image to bring a new feel to it here, rather than leave it in its original form. (I.e. "I buggered about with it in Photoshop")

It was something I'd been intending to do since I started thinking about moving out. I just wanted to say, "Ok, I might be doing this, but the ring's still on my finger and it's not over."


I did feel quite naked for a while.



Even although I never felt like I really got used to wearing it, it felt odd for it not to be there. It must be, hmm, about a month since I took it off now. It was when I went back in to work that night to work late. Actually, I didn't take it off, so much as looked at it and didn't put it back in.
It had been feeling tight and bothering me. That in itself wasn't significant, as I often "played" with it and wasn't too fussed about taking it off - particularly when I knew my hands were going to get wet or I was carrying something heavy. Erm, or I was sitting at my desk and it felt tight.
So, anyway, it just didn't seem... I just didn't put it back on. And there it's sat since.

Well, not quite "there it's sat since", as first of all I didn't have the box, and it was a little while before I picked it back up off of my wife. Most of the time since then, it's sat on my desk (box open), but I moved it over to a shelf to take the picture :)
Oh, and I thought that the photo I took & printed out yesterday made a nice backdrop, too :) (Incidentally, I also took the swan photo from yesterday's post at around the same time)

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Still Swanning About



I was going to try to write a serious update today... Buuuut, ermmmmmm :)

I hopped into town, got me hair cut, picked up some new cleaning cartridges for me shaver (and a new foil & cutter - whoohoo! Shaver gets an upgrade, as they are from the more recent model but work with the older range too :) )
Was going to hop out to a furniture place some 15mins away after that... But they were closed by the time I got there. Went on a lovely random li'l drive instead for most of the next hour :)

Got home and decided to walk over the parky bit for my own mini li'l picnic. How sad is that? ;) Still, I had my sandwiches and crisps, a plougman's roll and a can of Coke, and music playing, so I was happy :)

After I got home I decided to set up my new printer/scanner (Epson Stylus Photo RX560) and try printing a picture I just took. Seems to have come out fairly well :)
Ended up on the phone (and webcam) after that for about two hours to my parents & sister, which pretty much brings me to now :)

And, if it's alright with you, I'm off to bed now :)

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Downward Spiral

Oh dear :)

lol :) Well, we have the potential of a "hovis wheatfield advert"-beating Google now :)

I just spotted one for "skimpy pants"

Oh yes, there's my blog. Third on the list.

Just after The Sun.

Ohhhhh dear oh dear ;)

This isn't WHY...

This isn't WHY I bought a Wii. But it does make a very convincing argument ;)

Now, I also feel I should explain that I bumped into this after looking on YouTube for Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, making an arse of himself after something on Ing's blog reminded me of it.

From there, I saw something about using the Wii remote with Windows (should have been obvious, I suppose; it's just a bluetooth device) which caught my eye. Now, after that, this caught my eye.

Now, it didn't catch my eye because of the woman wearing skimpy pants. No, it caught my eye because... err... because of the... urmmm... The message implied by the content of the video. Which I was able to discern simply from seeing its title.

(Also... Skimpy pants)

Anyway, it made me laugh :)



Also... I need more blokes to read my blog ;)

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

My, That's a BIIIIG One

Russia is planning the world's longest tunnel... From Siberia to Alaska.

Project costs are estimated at around $65 billion USD, with a time scale of some 15 years.


(Here's a picture I prepared earlier - red splodge indicates rough location, as if you didn't know or guess :) )

So we're likely to be talking about, what, $350 billion USD and 40 years realistically?

It's probably just a pipe dream, but still, it's one whole heck of a dream to even be considering.

Read more here

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Where Exactly Does The Time Go, Anyway?

I was going to get you all caught up sometime over the weekend...

Let's see... Friday night I began putting my TV stand together, but reached a point I couldn't continue as I needed a hammer.

Saturday I bought a hammer, put TV stand together, lifted TV onto it. (Recommended: Two-three people)

Sunday I took TV off of stand, returned to basic one. Returned to stand. Returned to basic one. Returned to stand. Returned to basic one, and, finally, with the height correctly adjusted, returned to stand and left it there. Pheeeeew ;) And then I went out for a barbecue :)

Today... Well, frankly, I just couldn't be bothered ;) I was washing and cooking up and feeling relatively energised... and then my mind just kept wandering and I 'misplaced' all that energy. So I just played Super Monkey Ball on the Wii instead, which was the first time I've made it onto playing that :)

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Weight Loss

Here's a pic of me! :)

On some scales. They are also new :)

Actually, I think this may be the first time I've ever taken a picture of my feet. Ermm... And I think that's interesting... why!? :)


Whilst I've never QUITE hit nine stone (that's 126pounds for any Americans), I do seem to have suffered some bizarre weight loss recently.

In fact, I seem to have lost some weight from one of the fingers on my left hand, and, more bizarrely still, my right-hand coat pocket in which I keep my house keys.

Weird huh?

It's STILL Not What You Want...

Ok, so, I really don't know where the time goes. Really, I don't.

I guess it's going to take me an hour or two to really write something at some point (yes yes, I think too much :) ), so I just don't quite get around to it :)
Well, ok, I say "It's not what you want", but it's also not what I want to write either, I just... I dunno :) Don't seem to get around to it ;)

So, until I DO give myself a slap for 'losing' time elsewhere (I blame the Internet ;) ), I shall write about at least SOMETHING each day. So, in two years from now, I can imagine a whole lot of blog without a whole lot of content ;)

Meanwhile, here are some new shelves, a new cabinet, a new plant, and a new lamp that I bought recently :)



The clock's not new. It's a li'l gimicky, but it was actually one of the things on our wedding list. Yes, it does sound a bit daft to say that ;)

I like it though. Kind of makes me think. It's simple, but clever. It's just a stick with like four lights on. And that's it, that's how it tells you the time, the date, "Good morning", etc. :) Four lights. Four small round lights.

But like it waves the stick backwards-and-forwards, like, a fast metronome or something (I think that's what they're called? Those things a musician might use to keep in time). And it's waving back and forward so quickly, and the four lights are turning on/off so quickly, that, to the human eye, it looks like a virtually solid display (ok, it flickers, but still). But that from four lights on a stick! I think it's fascinating :)

Monday, April 16, 2007

You Silly Arse

So, it was a late night - around 3am by the time I was in bed, and I'd estimate it took me at least 30mins after that to get to sleep - and I'd set my alarm back as late as I reasonably thought, just to get that extra bit of sleep time in :)

Well, the usual mad dash to get ready on time followed.

I glanced at my phone to get an idea of the time as I left the house - 8:59. Yet again I'd be leaving at the point I was supposed to arrive.

And yet something clicked that it was wrong as I was already returning the phone to my pocket, half-way down the stairs to the exit.

Moments later, I had arrived at the car, and sure enough, the clock on the dashboard said the same thing.

7:59.

D'OH!

How the bloody heck did I manage that!? :) lol :)

So now I'm sitting here having a spot of breakfast for a change. Breakfast today consists of a Pop Tart and a cup of tea. Well. A cup of something. At about the point I went to get the milk out of the fridge, I remembered my milk had likely past the drinkable stage.

Quick thinking prevailed. I now have tea with one sugar and fruit juice ;)

Well people have tea with lemon!! :)

It's an interesting flavour, although it does actually appear to be drinkable, which, frankly, comes as a surprise ;)

Ummmm

Ok ok, I'm sorry, I'll try tomorrow instead ;)

I got distracted reading digital camera reviews :)

...

Ok, just decided to stop faffing around and buy one ;)

Panasonic DMC-TZ3 in black. My sister has the TZ1 (her "tizzy", apparently :) ) and is pretty happy with it (uh, well, she was last time I checked, anyway ;) ), and this appears to be a decently upgraded model.

Expensive month... Car service, TV stand, TV, Some plants & furniture, Wii, and now a camera :)
Oh, and car tax... And I need to renew the car insurance too... Hmm :) VERY expensive month ;)

Anyone fancy a holiday to Tahiti while I'm at it? ;)

Thursday, April 12, 2007

The Excitement Just Keeps Building!

I just bought...

Two door stops!

I can do away with using a waste paper bin with the electric air pump in it from the bedroom door now.

And from the kitchen door, I can remove... Actually, I'm not sure what it is. I took it out the box once, but I couldn't figure out what it was for. Some heavyish metal thing. Had a power cord. Got hot when I plugged it in. Made of some sort of metal, I think it advised on the front of the box.

It's been a while since I've posted some pictures, so I'll try to do that at some point soon (I may, possibly, perhaps, maybe, find something just slightly more exciting to take a picture of than the doorstops though ;) )

I also really do want to get all you guys updated at some point as to what's been happening. I keep meaning to... but... it sort of... the time... erm... :)

Thanks for sticking with me anyway :) Feel free to prod me for updates if you want one ;)

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Oh. Yes. Baby.

I am buzzing.

I just bought a Sony Bravia KDL40W2000 40" LCD 1080p television


Sony sell it for £1790.

If you click the link, you'll see that John Lewis sell it online for £1800 with a five year warranty (there's a lorra lorra value in that - can pay about £350 elsewhere for that, from the places willing to even sell an extended warranty) and 'free' DVD recorder worth £299.

Well I'm not really fussed about that DVD recorder it comes with.

John Lewis in-store do the same bundle in-store for £1700.

I just ordered it from John Lewis...

Got them to price match to somewhere else, which means I lose the DVD player, but keep the 5 year warranty (which hardly anyone else does)...

£1249. Ohhhhh yeah :D

Ok, I admit, that's still a whole heck of a lot of money for a TV... But £450 off the list price is a VAST amount to "haggle" off!

Woooooowh :)

Sunday, April 01, 2007

I Have Realised

I spent a while thinking about my recent unnatural habits.

First the futon and the eight cushions, then the curtains in the bedroom, the amount of cookery I have been doing, my growing fondness for the colour pink, my giddy excitement as I hear details of other peoples' relationships, everything really...

And then I look back over all those years...

All those years where it just felt "wrong", in a way I could not understand.

I have been speaking about all of this recently with my friends Paulo and Juan, and, today, I have realised the truth. The truth that explains it all, that finally makes sense of everything.

I am gay.

Truely, on this sunny April morning, it has all started making sense.