![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Good Start
Mar. 21st, 2002 09:13 amI got a full night's sleep. It wasn't raining this morning. The train wasn't delayed.
What's going on?
What's going on?
Now I'm REALLY bored
Mar. 20th, 2002 01:41 pmI just ran out of work. And the beaurocracy around here means it will probably be tomorrow before they can add some more to my queue of things to do. But that doesn't stop them requesting - not quite requiring, but trying really hard to convince me - that I should work on Saturday to ensure this project meets its deadline. If the house purchase goes through on Friday then they've got no hope. But that's not likely to happen. In which case I'm happy to come in and get paid overtime for what will probably amount to very little work.
Doesn't solve my current dilemma, though. What am I going to do for the next three hours?
And to top it all I've broken my mp3 player/radio. I thought it was the earphones that were failing. The sound from the left was crackling and dropping out. I replaced the earphones and nothing changed. So I fiddled with the jack socket - tried to get the clampy bits to clamp harder by bending them inwards. I had to spend �2 on a whole box of safety pins just to get one pin to use for this. And it failed. Now the sound crackles and drops out on BOTH ears. Damnit!
Meanwhile, my brother's birthday approaches. He's a mechanic and sometime clubber, about to be 26. Any ideas what I should get him? My current favourite potential birthday present is this blowtorch but I'm not sure he won't burn down a house with it or something. And I lied when I said it was the current favourite potential birthday present. It's actually the ONLY current potential birthday present. Suggestions solicited.
Doesn't solve my current dilemma, though. What am I going to do for the next three hours?
And to top it all I've broken my mp3 player/radio. I thought it was the earphones that were failing. The sound from the left was crackling and dropping out. I replaced the earphones and nothing changed. So I fiddled with the jack socket - tried to get the clampy bits to clamp harder by bending them inwards. I had to spend �2 on a whole box of safety pins just to get one pin to use for this. And it failed. Now the sound crackles and drops out on BOTH ears. Damnit!
Meanwhile, my brother's birthday approaches. He's a mechanic and sometime clubber, about to be 26. Any ideas what I should get him? My current favourite potential birthday present is this blowtorch but I'm not sure he won't burn down a house with it or something. And I lied when I said it was the current favourite potential birthday present. It's actually the ONLY current potential birthday present. Suggestions solicited.
Looks like the house purchase is being held up by someone further up the chain. I THOUGHT it was all going a little too smoothly. I may now be looking at 2nd April for the completion - though it may be before that as the guy I'm buying off wants to get his kid into a school in the new area by 1st April and has to be resident there by then. It's just a waiting game for now.
And I made a dumb mistake at the train station. Instead of running onto the 5.36 I thought I'd buy some earphones to replace my current ones as the left one has gone crackly and almost given up. So I missed my train, only to find there were no earphones, only fuck-off-huge big headphones in Dixons at Waterloo. And then, of course, the train I had been waiting for was delayed... I should know this by now. I should know to take the first available train. I could have bought earphones at lunchtime tomorrow - and probably will if I have time after visiting Kinkos to get that fax sorted. I could have saved myself the frustration of staring at those damn departure boards for far too long... Oh well. I'll know better next time. Maybe.
And I made a dumb mistake at the train station. Instead of running onto the 5.36 I thought I'd buy some earphones to replace my current ones as the left one has gone crackly and almost given up. So I missed my train, only to find there were no earphones, only fuck-off-huge big headphones in Dixons at Waterloo. And then, of course, the train I had been waiting for was delayed... I should know this by now. I should know to take the first available train. I could have bought earphones at lunchtime tomorrow - and probably will if I have time after visiting Kinkos to get that fax sorted. I could have saved myself the frustration of staring at those damn departure boards for far too long... Oh well. I'll know better next time. Maybe.
Remind Me!
Mar. 18th, 2002 01:30 pmIf you see me online tonight remind me to put the form in my bag.
What form? The form I have to fax to America with credit card details on it if I want to keep my hawkida.com domain name. And I do. Quite a lot, actually. But I'm not the most organised individual around and I don't have a fax machine at home so if I don't bring it into work by the end of the week all my emails will start bouncing...
What form? The form I have to fax to America with credit card details on it if I want to keep my hawkida.com domain name. And I do. Quite a lot, actually. But I'm not the most organised individual around and I don't have a fax machine at home so if I don't bring it into work by the end of the week all my emails will start bouncing...
There are two beds in our house. One of them is a single which Sin sleeps in. The other is a double which Raz and I share, despite having split up. It makes sense - we're still friends and nobody wants to sleep on the living room floor, so until I move out everything is more or less how it was before we broke up. Including the snoring.
Apparantly, I snore. However, for some reason, if you put a hand on my head then I stop. I don't understand this, nor do I understand how it was discovered - "Ah, a snoring person, I know what'll stop that, I'll place my hand on their head!" Uh, riiiight.
Raz, on the other hand, snores and snores and snores. Not in a regular pattern. Just a snore or two or three, then a pause then another snore, some more pausing and just as you start to doze off thinking that's it he starts again. It's so frustrating - it's like a door banging in the breeze. There's no rhythm to get used to - it's just this really annoying intermittent noise. If you get him to turn over then sometimes it will stop. Not last night. I think I usually avoid the issue by going to bed first - I'm asleep by the time he appears and starts making a racket.
Last night, somehow I stayed up until 1am by accident. I can't even remember what I was doing - I usually aim to be in bed at midnight. But it was 1am when I got into bed and about 1.20am when Raz got into bed and for some reason I hadn't dozed off yet. He did, though. Pretty much instantly. And to cut a dull tale a little shorter I'll skip to the point at 2.30am when I got completely pissed off with the situation, grabbed my pillows and a sleeping bag and slept on the sofa downstairs instead. Forgetting to switch off the alarm clock upstairs. Whoops.
So I set my mobile to wake me at 6.45, but was actually woken by Raz coming down to inform me the alarm upstairs was going at 6.30. That's four hours of sleep. That's not enough. I am tired. And the train was cancelled and I didn't get a seat it was easy to sleep in on the next train. And I'm tired. And did I mention I'm tired? And I ache cos that sofa isn't the best shape for sleeping on. And I'm tizzzzzzz
Apparantly, I snore. However, for some reason, if you put a hand on my head then I stop. I don't understand this, nor do I understand how it was discovered - "Ah, a snoring person, I know what'll stop that, I'll place my hand on their head!" Uh, riiiight.
Raz, on the other hand, snores and snores and snores. Not in a regular pattern. Just a snore or two or three, then a pause then another snore, some more pausing and just as you start to doze off thinking that's it he starts again. It's so frustrating - it's like a door banging in the breeze. There's no rhythm to get used to - it's just this really annoying intermittent noise. If you get him to turn over then sometimes it will stop. Not last night. I think I usually avoid the issue by going to bed first - I'm asleep by the time he appears and starts making a racket.
Last night, somehow I stayed up until 1am by accident. I can't even remember what I was doing - I usually aim to be in bed at midnight. But it was 1am when I got into bed and about 1.20am when Raz got into bed and for some reason I hadn't dozed off yet. He did, though. Pretty much instantly. And to cut a dull tale a little shorter I'll skip to the point at 2.30am when I got completely pissed off with the situation, grabbed my pillows and a sleeping bag and slept on the sofa downstairs instead. Forgetting to switch off the alarm clock upstairs. Whoops.
So I set my mobile to wake me at 6.45, but was actually woken by Raz coming down to inform me the alarm upstairs was going at 6.30. That's four hours of sleep. That's not enough. I am tired. And the train was cancelled and I didn't get a seat it was easy to sleep in on the next train. And I'm tired. And did I mention I'm tired? And I ache cos that sofa isn't the best shape for sleeping on. And I'm tizzzzzzz
St Patrick's Day
Mar. 17th, 2002 10:39 amThe only time I ever hear St Patrick's Day referred to in terms of a cause for celebration is when there's an American around, or - to a lesser extent - someone Irish. Surely that's the wrong way around?
Naughty Little Boys
Mar. 16th, 2002 10:17 pmMy new phone didn't arrive on Friday, despite the Club Mobile people telling me that it would. I called them and had no joy getting information out of them. I was cut off once and one guy claimed there was no detail of an upgrade in the system at all. Eventually I was told they would call Amtrak to find out where it had got to and I'd be called back. I told them to call on my mobile.
The fundamental flaw in this plan is that at approximately 3.45pm Orange followed the orders of Club Mobile and switched off my SIM, switching my number to the new card. The card that is probably sitting in some sorting office or warehouse right now.
It took a while for me to realise what had happened - I thought my phone was just in a dead area of the office. Then, upon checking, I found that all my colleagues had nice strong signals - thus ruling out the other possibility, that Orange's network was having problems.
Once home I called Orange who were bastions of good service. Even when the very friendly Vicky did accidentally cut me off. She was trying to do a conference call with Club Mobile, who very handily happened to have shut. Then the phone line went dead. Not before she had informed me that the people at Club Mobile are "naughty little boys and girls". They're not supposed to have the authority to get my SIM switched until I give my consent - which I didn't do because I am not an idiot.
Anyway, dialling back in I got through to Steve who eventually put me back onto Vicky since my account was locked out to her. She'd been frantically trying to call me but getting the BT answer service because I was on the line to Steve. She was very apologetic in a strong northern accent. "I hope you don't think I did that deliberately, I was so embarrassed. I work for a phone company and I can't even handle my own telephone, I'm so sorry!" But talking to Steve had given me another chance to hear just how bad Club Mobile can be. "We groan when we hear 'upgrade' and 'Club Mobile' in the same sentence," he told me.
So, some time later, after an extended chat with Eddie, the guy who reversed the SIM switch while telling me about the wonderful reception received by the guy who's phone he activated in the Alps, I got my signal back. Should my upgrade ever actually appear I get to talk to Orange again and ask them to revert it. But who knows where the other phone currently is? And can I even be bothered to call Club Mobile again to try and make some progress?
Find out these answers and more in the next thrilling installment of the phone story.
The fundamental flaw in this plan is that at approximately 3.45pm Orange followed the orders of Club Mobile and switched off my SIM, switching my number to the new card. The card that is probably sitting in some sorting office or warehouse right now.
It took a while for me to realise what had happened - I thought my phone was just in a dead area of the office. Then, upon checking, I found that all my colleagues had nice strong signals - thus ruling out the other possibility, that Orange's network was having problems.
Once home I called Orange who were bastions of good service. Even when the very friendly Vicky did accidentally cut me off. She was trying to do a conference call with Club Mobile, who very handily happened to have shut. Then the phone line went dead. Not before she had informed me that the people at Club Mobile are "naughty little boys and girls". They're not supposed to have the authority to get my SIM switched until I give my consent - which I didn't do because I am not an idiot.
Anyway, dialling back in I got through to Steve who eventually put me back onto Vicky since my account was locked out to her. She'd been frantically trying to call me but getting the BT answer service because I was on the line to Steve. She was very apologetic in a strong northern accent. "I hope you don't think I did that deliberately, I was so embarrassed. I work for a phone company and I can't even handle my own telephone, I'm so sorry!" But talking to Steve had given me another chance to hear just how bad Club Mobile can be. "We groan when we hear 'upgrade' and 'Club Mobile' in the same sentence," he told me.
So, some time later, after an extended chat with Eddie, the guy who reversed the SIM switch while telling me about the wonderful reception received by the guy who's phone he activated in the Alps, I got my signal back. Should my upgrade ever actually appear I get to talk to Orange again and ask them to revert it. But who knows where the other phone currently is? And can I even be bothered to call Club Mobile again to try and make some progress?
Find out these answers and more in the next thrilling installment of the phone story.
I was at the station this morning (figures, it was a work day...) and as I wandered across the concourse I wondered what the music was. A crowd was gathering around the barriers that look down on the Eurostar part of the station so I mingled and took a look. Down below us was a small band playing amplified music to onlookers. Across from them there was a solitary cameraman filming a Marilyn Monroe look alike as she danced with a suited male and waved to onlookers. I presume they were promoting something but there was no indication as to what. My camera, as ever, was ready...
Kidnapped Stapler
Mar. 13th, 2002 10:04 pmI was just telling Ang about the mystery of the kidnapped stapler that we encountered at work last year and she pointed out I should probably post it here. So... a bit of background. Decent staplers can be a much sought after resource in the office sometimes. On the 4th floor there was a stapler that was very good at its job, but so reliable that whenever Chad wanted to use it, it appeared to be missing. It became quite common to find a message in your inbox from Chad asking if anyone knew where the stapler was, and would they return it to the 4th floor main room.
One day Chad posted his usual missive and the response that came back pointed at this url:
http://www.geocities.com/kidnappedstapler
Chad was later overhead in the lifts muttering about how it wasn't funny and he had better things to do with his time than follow up childish pranks. It's believed he went out and bought a stapler.
If the mystery kidnapper was ever revealed then nobody told me about it.
One day Chad posted his usual missive and the response that came back pointed at this url:
http://www.geocities.com/kidnappedstapler
Chad was later overhead in the lifts muttering about how it wasn't funny and he had better things to do with his time than follow up childish pranks. It's believed he went out and bought a stapler.
If the mystery kidnapper was ever revealed then nobody told me about it.
Keyboard observation
Mar. 12th, 2002 07:27 pmWith Gavin's talk of his dying keyboards I've just examined my own. The keys are wearing away. There are slash marks across them where the years have seen my fingernails strike down so often they're leaving marks. The worst damaged keys are:
E - understandable. Most used letter in English.
A - understandable again. A vowel and a home key.
S - again - a commonly used letter and a home key.
N - Huh?!?
On the right hand side of the keyboard the only keys to suffer this fate are the full stop and the letter N. Why the letter N? I don't type that many words with Ns in them. It's not a home key. I don't have to pass it on the way to the space bar or anything. I really don't understand this.
Beyond the scrape marks (and I just noticed that the letter I has been affected slightly) there's the issue of the letters wearing off the tops. This doesn't matter as I touch type but I've lost the N, most of the M and the O. D is half there and H is fading. Despite the slashes A is mostly there, as is E. The numbers are fine and the F keys across the top of the board are used so rarely they have a layer of dust across them.
And this concludes Keyboard 101. Discuss.
E - understandable. Most used letter in English.
A - understandable again. A vowel and a home key.
S - again - a commonly used letter and a home key.
N - Huh?!?
On the right hand side of the keyboard the only keys to suffer this fate are the full stop and the letter N. Why the letter N? I don't type that many words with Ns in them. It's not a home key. I don't have to pass it on the way to the space bar or anything. I really don't understand this.
Beyond the scrape marks (and I just noticed that the letter I has been affected slightly) there's the issue of the letters wearing off the tops. This doesn't matter as I touch type but I've lost the N, most of the M and the O. D is half there and H is fading. Despite the slashes A is mostly there, as is E. The numbers are fine and the F keys across the top of the board are used so rarely they have a layer of dust across them.
And this concludes Keyboard 101. Discuss.
I wonder if I'm really as pale as I look in all my photographs. I mean, the flash on my camera is pretty bright but I look positively anaemic. And I don't change colour in summer. I don't burn either, which is a blessing, but why do I look so ghostly? With the dark hair, the black clothes and the only-silver-jewelry you'd think I was a goth. I'm not though. Buying a Sandman T-shirt was just a one off. Really.
I'm getting a new mobile. The people who sold me my original are offering me a new phone for free - same number as I currently have and a committment to Orange for another 12 months (but then I didn't plan to change anyhow) and the phone is mine. It will be delivered to work on Thursday. The only problem is that it doesn't have data capabilities or infra red - which means no permanently available modem for my palm pilot. Still, if it turns out this is a problem I can just go back to using the old phone. Meanwhile I get to play with those face-plate things - I can customise one with an Ankh. Hmm...
(no subject)
Mar. 11th, 2002 11:33 pmI'm free of the hospital at last! Five years after my operation they have finally signed me off the books - and only because I reminded the surgeon that it had been five years now.
That's the good bit. The bad bit is where they were an HOUR late seeing me this morning. 9.50 my appointment was - I think they start at 9.30. The woman with the 9.40 wasn't seen for ages but finally left the building at around 10.30. It was another twenty minutes before they called me in! I even checked with reception that they hadn't forgotten me. How can they be running an hour late by the third appointment? And how, then, can they show no signs of urgency or wanting to catch up?
After the appointment I walked to the station as I was clearly not going to make the 11am train given that it is way more than two minutes by vehicle from the hospital to the train station. I bought a drink and a biscuit and sat in the sun for a while on the platform, enjoying the view. It's quite pretty alongside the water, but they're ruining it all by putting up huge great office buildings all over the place.
After work I did more packing at home. I was amused to find that the plastic storage boxes I've bought are prominently labelled "Max" on the side. They're mostly full of books. I don't get it. I don't have many books. How can I have filled this many boxes? And I haven't even gone near the video tapes yet. In fact, the whole under-the-stairs area is frightening me. I'm sure I have way too much stuff under there that will need to somehow be packed...
I think I've started early. I think I've got plenty of time. I wouldn't, however, be surprised to find I'm very, very wrong. It's starting to seem real, now though. As we trip over boxes and wend our way around stacks of half packed crates I can actually believe that I'm going to live somewhere else. Despite all the hassle involved it's actually kinda fun. The stress is probably yet to come, but it's something new right now.
That's the good bit. The bad bit is where they were an HOUR late seeing me this morning. 9.50 my appointment was - I think they start at 9.30. The woman with the 9.40 wasn't seen for ages but finally left the building at around 10.30. It was another twenty minutes before they called me in! I even checked with reception that they hadn't forgotten me. How can they be running an hour late by the third appointment? And how, then, can they show no signs of urgency or wanting to catch up?
After the appointment I walked to the station as I was clearly not going to make the 11am train given that it is way more than two minutes by vehicle from the hospital to the train station. I bought a drink and a biscuit and sat in the sun for a while on the platform, enjoying the view. It's quite pretty alongside the water, but they're ruining it all by putting up huge great office buildings all over the place.
After work I did more packing at home. I was amused to find that the plastic storage boxes I've bought are prominently labelled "Max" on the side. They're mostly full of books. I don't get it. I don't have many books. How can I have filled this many boxes? And I haven't even gone near the video tapes yet. In fact, the whole under-the-stairs area is frightening me. I'm sure I have way too much stuff under there that will need to somehow be packed... I think I've started early. I think I've got plenty of time. I wouldn't, however, be surprised to find I'm very, very wrong. It's starting to seem real, now though. As we trip over boxes and wend our way around stacks of half packed crates I can actually believe that I'm going to live somewhere else. Despite all the hassle involved it's actually kinda fun. The stress is probably yet to come, but it's something new right now.
The Family Man
Mar. 9th, 2002 11:19 pmIn town they had an offer on DVDs - two for �20. I caved and bought... no, not two. Four.
We've just watched The Family Man and my verdict is: Good.
Not wonderful, not amazing, but definitely worth my while and I'm sure I'll put it on again one day. Some oddness to it, though (watch out, spoilers ahead). It's basically one of those "If only it had all been different" movies. A guy gets a chance to see what could have been if he'd made a go of it with his college sweetheart.
Apparantly, what could have been is suburban life complete with kids, a people mover and a slobbering dog. But it's all good. Against all odds the wife demonstrates extreme paitence and the kid manages to pull off the "You're an alien" suspicions without being too cloying.
And at the end it's "all a dream" or something close. Which bothers me. The movie sets up this whole scenario that could have been, complete with other characters. And at the end it's all gone. There are unresolved threads - the main character, Jack, show interest in an affair with his neighbour. Yet his neighbour never questions that he doesn't appear. We get to know a whole bunch of characters including the kids and then suddenly, well, what? They don't exist any more? Or they never existed? Jack never learns to be less selfish and goal oriented and quit chasing the being-rich dream but his wife puts up with it all, along with his bizarre mood swings, disappearences and failing memory. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it doesn't seem that Jack learns the lessons he's supposed to. And yet it's a happy ever after ending.
Well "Hmm," is all I can say. Hmm and double hmm.
But not a waste of an evening or a tenner.
We've just watched The Family Man and my verdict is: Good.
Not wonderful, not amazing, but definitely worth my while and I'm sure I'll put it on again one day. Some oddness to it, though (watch out, spoilers ahead). It's basically one of those "If only it had all been different" movies. A guy gets a chance to see what could have been if he'd made a go of it with his college sweetheart.
Apparantly, what could have been is suburban life complete with kids, a people mover and a slobbering dog. But it's all good. Against all odds the wife demonstrates extreme paitence and the kid manages to pull off the "You're an alien" suspicions without being too cloying.
And at the end it's "all a dream" or something close. Which bothers me. The movie sets up this whole scenario that could have been, complete with other characters. And at the end it's all gone. There are unresolved threads - the main character, Jack, show interest in an affair with his neighbour. Yet his neighbour never questions that he doesn't appear. We get to know a whole bunch of characters including the kids and then suddenly, well, what? They don't exist any more? Or they never existed? Jack never learns to be less selfish and goal oriented and quit chasing the being-rich dream but his wife puts up with it all, along with his bizarre mood swings, disappearences and failing memory. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it doesn't seem that Jack learns the lessons he's supposed to. And yet it's a happy ever after ending.
Well "Hmm," is all I can say. Hmm and double hmm.
But not a waste of an evening or a tenner.
I'm bored. No one around to talk to online (well, there are people, they're all just doing something more interesting), I'm up to date on my newsgroups, I'm not in the mood for emailing and I've checked out all my regular web sites. I've read a fair bit of my book today and I'm not in the mood to continue right now.
So I think I'm down to looking through the Argos catalogue for furniture then sleeping. Ah well, there are worse ways to spend a Friday night, I guess. Like, for example, going back downstairs and staring zombie-like at Grant Theft Auto 3 while Sin, Raz and Ruddy play it. Zzzz
So I think I'm down to looking through the Argos catalogue for furniture then sleeping. Ah well, there are worse ways to spend a Friday night, I guess. Like, for example, going back downstairs and staring zombie-like at Grant Theft Auto 3 while Sin, Raz and Ruddy play it. Zzzz
(no subject)
Mar. 8th, 2002 10:47 amSo I made an oblique comment about accepting books from strangers in pubs to Michael. He looked at me blankly.
It was some other Michael, apparantly, although he WAS in the same pub.
It was some other Michael, apparantly, although he WAS in the same pub.
First Thursdaying
Mar. 8th, 2002 12:13 amHad one of those odd six degrees moments tonight. Found out that a guy who's a regular at cons and the First Thursday had spent the first half of the evening with one of my colleagues at a perl mongers meeting. Not just any colleague, either - this is the guy who sits across from me, who borrows my Buffy tapes, who I share most of my furtive Yahoo Messenger messages with when they're about work, escaping work, colleagues and so forth and I plan to keep in touch with if he does what he's threatening and gets himself a better job in the near future.
So Alex encountered Michael for the first time tonight - we discovered this because Alex was describing the odd pub he was in and when I asked he confirmed that it was one just near our office. Then he revealed why he was there and I asked if he knew Michael. "Well there was a Michael there," he told me, "He's got one of my review books." A brief description later we ascertained it was the same Michael.
I plan to go in tomorrow and message Michael with some comment about taking books from strange men and see where the conversation goes from there. I wonder how long I can keep him guessing how I know he's got a review copy of a new perl book.
It'll probably fall flat - like the dog food gag. (Yes, Ang, I know - pregnancy testing kit...)
I realised as I walked back to Waterloo with Mark and Claire that this was the first time I'd had alcohol since Corflu. And prior to Corflu the last time I drank it was at Picocon. Before THAT it was the last First Thursday. So I've informed Mark that he is a bad influence and he responded by drunkenly informing some tourists that the railway symbol on the signs was a pointer towards a tube station. Claire corrected him.
It was a good night. I did my usual trick of finding somewhere to sit/stand (sit in this instance) and staying there for most of the night. Spoke to a fair few people, got lots of congratulations on my FAAn award, drank a little, talked a lot and had an uneventful trip home during which I read. Yep, this book thing is taking off now - I'm somewhere in the region of 600 pages into Perdido Street Station and enjoying it a lot. I've even been reading the book in preference to web pages during lunchtimes.
I'm now full of micowaveable meal and about ready for bed. I'll just look in on Rasseff, though, see what's going on. Not that I'm addicted or anything. I can give up this fannish stuff any time I want. No, really...
So Alex encountered Michael for the first time tonight - we discovered this because Alex was describing the odd pub he was in and when I asked he confirmed that it was one just near our office. Then he revealed why he was there and I asked if he knew Michael. "Well there was a Michael there," he told me, "He's got one of my review books." A brief description later we ascertained it was the same Michael.
I plan to go in tomorrow and message Michael with some comment about taking books from strange men and see where the conversation goes from there. I wonder how long I can keep him guessing how I know he's got a review copy of a new perl book.
It'll probably fall flat - like the dog food gag. (Yes, Ang, I know - pregnancy testing kit...)
I realised as I walked back to Waterloo with Mark and Claire that this was the first time I'd had alcohol since Corflu. And prior to Corflu the last time I drank it was at Picocon. Before THAT it was the last First Thursday. So I've informed Mark that he is a bad influence and he responded by drunkenly informing some tourists that the railway symbol on the signs was a pointer towards a tube station. Claire corrected him.
It was a good night. I did my usual trick of finding somewhere to sit/stand (sit in this instance) and staying there for most of the night. Spoke to a fair few people, got lots of congratulations on my FAAn award, drank a little, talked a lot and had an uneventful trip home during which I read. Yep, this book thing is taking off now - I'm somewhere in the region of 600 pages into Perdido Street Station and enjoying it a lot. I've even been reading the book in preference to web pages during lunchtimes.
I'm now full of micowaveable meal and about ready for bed. I'll just look in on Rasseff, though, see what's going on. Not that I'm addicted or anything. I can give up this fannish stuff any time I want. No, really...