Time For Some Time Off

Not from writing this blog though, no I enjoy this outlet for too much to give it up. I'm referring to me being on holiday for the next week, using up almost the last of my holiday entitlement for this year (just 2 days worth left, think I'll book them off in March). I lacked the money to do my usual holiday treat buying habit, so I'll live off what I have in my cupboards and the freezer for the week. I'll likely make a trip to Tesco in a few days for bread, milk and stuff to put in sandwiches (most likely Corned Beef, Ham from the Deli counter, or a can of Pink Salmon).

I have a couple things planned though. As I write this Tony is busily downloading the new episodes that showed in the states last night of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica. so there will be quality television to watch in a while. I still have a half dozen cans of Fosters left too! Tomorrow night a large group of Morrisons employees are going to the local 10 pin bowling alley (The Hollywood Bowl), for a competition. So I'm going along with them. I have no idea what team I am in, but I'm sure I'll find out once I get there.

On Monday it will be my 30th birthday, and I lack the funds to "celebrate" in the style I have for the past few years. Namely I have vanished to the cinema for the day and watched movies back to back, or in my own words "I spend the day in any world but this one". But this year I'm skint, so that's not an option. and as I've been told by a few friends, a 30th birthday is special and should be celebrated. So my Mum has booked a table at the Mandarin chinese restaurant for the evening, and a good sized group of my friends have been invited. It is a good restaurant, I've eaten in there several times before and I'm looking forward to that night out.

Lastly unlike most holidays where I spend the time lounging around and doing nothing, I have something to do this time. A home study course in Proofreading and Copy Editing. I bought it a few years back, andI got most of the way through it before giving up. Here's hoping second time around will be the charm, because if I can pass it, I can go freelance as a proofreader, earn 3-4 times what I do now, work from home (no more fucking awful uniform!), and clear my debts. I am sick and tired of my answer to everything being "I don't have the money".

Holiday? Not bloody likely. I have the means and the brains to get myself out of this rut I've been in for far too long. People talk about a mid life crisis, mines been building for years and I'm taking it early. As an added motivation I'm setting myself a reward. If I can get myself out of debt by July 2008, then in 2009 I will take a 3 month vacation and go off and tour the world for a bit. There are many many people and places I want to meet and visit in the world. My reward to myself will be one hell of a holiday to make up for all the ones I'm gonna be working through until then. Wish me luck!

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

I just love this song, I know most of the lyrics off by heart, and it's a song I'll always get up and dance too. It is regularly played on Saturday nights at the Market House. I remember it because it was knocked off the top of the charts by the crazy song Star Trekkin, while I was on holiday with my family in Jersey.

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Jefferson Starship

Looking in your eyes I see a paradise
This world that I've found
Is too good to be true
Standing here beside you
Want so much to give you
This love in my heart that I'm feeling for you

Let 'em say we're crazy, I don't care about that
Put your hand in my hand baby
Don't ever look back
Let the world around us just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart

And we can build this dream together
Standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now

I'm so glad I found you
I'm not gonna lose you
Whatever it takes I will stay here with you
Take it to the good times
See it through the bad times
Whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do

Let 'em say we're crazy, what do they know
Put your arms around me baby
Don't ever let go
Let the world around us just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart

And we can build this dream together
Standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us

Ooh, all that I need is you
All that I ever need
And all that I want to do
Is hold you forever, ever and ever, hey

And we can build this dream together
Standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us
Nothing's gonna stop us, whoa
Nothing's gonna stop us now, oh no

Hey baby, I know, hey baby, nothing's gonna stop us
Hey baby, woo, nothing, hey baby
Nothing's gonna stop us now yeah

A Mission Improbable

Today I overheard an interesting conversation between a couple people, namely my good friends Jeannette Poole (I really need to do a Rogues Gallery entry for her someday), and Richard Adams in the staff canteen at work today, whilst I was on my hour break. They were discussing ways to distract Jeannette's friend Lyndsey, as she has apparently gotten rather possessive of late. Jeannette's chosen solution to this problem was to find her friend a partner, and thus divert her possessive streak onto whatever individual she could get to go out with her.

The problem with this is that Lyndsey.... isn't terribly likeable. I'd class my relationship with her as "the best of enemies", we cannot stand one another, and yet at times oddly enough we can be perfectly civil to each other (usually when there are no witnesses). Most of this is down to a major clash of personalities, Lyndsey is very bossy and authoritative, she is loud and has a very in-your-face kind of attitude to most things (especially if things are not getting done the way she wants them done!). I'm a lot more laid back, I'm quiet, I rarely ever raise my voice even when arguing with people, as I find simply talking through an argument, undermines any amount of ranting and raging that an opponent throws at me.

So I had to laugh listening to the pair of them going through a list of possible candidates for the post of boyfriend (none of which I'm going to name. I might not be sworn to silence on the matter, but Richard is bigger than me, and Jeannette is far more devious!). I did ask why Jeannette doesn't just tell her friend to stop crowding her, but apparently that isn't an option. And so rather than a simple (if blunt) solution to the problem, she is faced with not a Mission Impossible (as Lyndsey has had boyfriends before apparently), but a Mission Improbable, as I don't think she knows anyone who knows Lyndsey who would be willing to date her. Still, best of luck trying!

Apparently I'm A Wizard!

Saw this test on a message board I often browse and had to have a go. Here is my result:

Wizard 48% Combativeness, 50% Sneakiness, 70% Intellect, 22% Spirituality

Brilliant! You are a Wizard! Wizards are spellcasters who study powerful arcane magic. While Wizards tend to be pretty fragile, some of those spells can pack quite a punch. Unlike Clerics, Wizards aren’t as good at fixing people as they are at breaking them, so watch where you toss that fireball… Your most distinctive trait is your intelligence. You're probably well learned and logical, if perhaps a bit fragile.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 35% on Combativeness You scored higher than 74% on Sneakiness You scored higher than 50% on Intellect You scored higher than 18% on Spirituality

Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Go and give it a try, see what you end up classed as!

Lookeee... New Links!

I've added a couple new links to the sidebar this evening, both of which I've been meaning to add for a while now. The links are as follows:

Abby's Agency: A webcomic detailing the job of a girl called Abby Normal. Unfortunately her job is anything but normal, as she works as the receptionist for the headquarters of Worldstar Conglomerate, which is a cover company for an international counter-espionage ring (much like Universal Exports is the cover for who James Bond works for). What's worse is that it is a very badly run organisation (they have a former arch villain running their canteen!), and the operatives at Station J (in Jamaica) are permanently stoned! It is a very funny webcomic, updated on most Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Striptease: This is a brilliant webcomic whose main character is Max. Max draws a comic book called Neato-People, works for his best friend Emily, and is in love with fellow artist Alli, as well as being a huge fan of Joss Whedon's tv shows. There is a great cast of other characters, many of whom are more interesting (to me anyway) than Max himself, such as Alli's evil twin Naomi, Kim the vampish asian lawyer, and the misadventures of the band Bohica Mouse. The comic is updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

As with any webcomic I heartily reccomend starting to read it from the very beginning, especially Striptease which has long continuity heavy storylines. Hope you check them out and enjoy reading them if you do.

Razor Blade Smiles

It would seem that the store I work at is attracting a new breed of "customer " these days. I put customer in quotes because... well these ones don't actually buy anything. Let me start at the beginning, cos that's always been a sensible place to start anything from. A couple weeks back we grabbed a shoplifter in the store, a teenage girl. I don't remember what it was she was caught stealing, and that isn't really relevant to this matter anyway.

So we did what we always do with thieves, march them to the store managers office, secure them in there and phone the police to come and collect them. Only this girl as soon as she's locked in the room, starts threatening to slash her wrists if we don't let her go. And she started to try and do ust that. Lacking a blade of any kind, she tried opening her wrists with a ball point pen. So we called the police and told them what was going on and to haul ass. They still took their time getting there, but as far as I know the girl failed in her attempt.

Fast forward too tonight and I'm sat in the Admin office (pulling a close down shift), and the walkie talkie flares up to call our store manager to the front door. At the same time reception puts out a call for a First Aider to make their way to the store foyer. Turns out some girl outside had tripped and fallen on glass, and has come in with their hands and wrists all slashed up. Our security guard wasn't convinced though, and he kept an eye on the girl's friend who had come in with her and gone wandering about the store, when the injured girl had been taken to the ladies toilets.

And he caught her stealing a pack of razor blades... which she then calmly slit her wrists with! He watched her do this. And it turns out that the first girl had done the same thing, as there was no sign of any broken glass anywhere near the store entrance for her to have fallen on. An ambulance was summoned and the paramedics duly warned that the two girls were... well nuts for want of a better term. They were also of course, armed and possibly dangerous.

In talking to our security guard later on, I learned that the girl who he had watched slash her wrists had also tried to stab him a week or two ago, again in or near the store! I'd love to know why all of a sudden my store, is every suicidal girl's venue of choice. I've contemplated suicide plenty of times, made one serious attempt at it whilst in University too. Not something I'd entertain these days though. Suicide is the ultimate act of selfishness, of caring only about you and how you feel. And not stopping to think of how your death will devastate those around you.

I know it has that effect, because one of my best friends committed suicide just under 2 years ago, and I still feel his loss now. The only good that has come out of that experience, is that mine and Tony's friendship grew a lot stronger because of us both losing a friend together. I still miss him, I always will, but if I were to meet him now somehow, after what he did... I'd deck him! I know what can drive people to attempt suicide because I've been there and tried (and obviously failed), but why these girls of late have sought to do this so publically I don't understand at all.

Ballroom Blitz

This song rocks! A kickass tune teamed with great lyrics. True they aren't exactly meaningful, but they really do complement the rythmn perfectly. And I know that the Blue Oyster Cult did this song, and so have a half a dozen other bands, but the version I like best is that performed by the stunning asian actress Tia Carrere, in the movie Wayne's World. A shame really she preferred a career as a B movie actress, as with this tune she proved she is a damn good singer.

Ballroom Blitz by Tia Carrere

Oh, it's been getting so hard
Living with the things you do to me
My dreams are getting so strange
I'd like to tell you everything I see

I see a man at the back as a matter of fact
His eyes are as red as the sun
And the girl in the corner let no one ignore her
'Cause she thinks she's the passionate one

Oh yeah, it was like lightning
Everybody was frightening
And the music was soothing
And they all started grooving
Oooh yeah

And the man in the back said "everyone attack"
And it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said "boy, I wanna warn you"
It'll turn into a ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz

I'm reaching out for something
Touching nothing's all I ever do
I softly call you over
When you appear, there's nothing left of you

Now, the man in the back is ready to crack
As he's raising his hands to the sky
And the girl in the corner is everyone's woman
She could kill you with a wink of her eye

Oh yeah, it was electric
So prefectly hectic
And the band started leaving
'Cause they all stopped breathing
Whoa, yeah

And the man in the back said "everyone attack"
And it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said "boy, I wanna warn you"
It'll turn into a ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz

It was electric
So practically hectic
And the band started leaving
'Cause they all stopped breathing
Whoa, yeah

And the man in the back said "everyone attack"
And it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said "boy, I wanna warn you"
It'll turn into a ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz

WHOAAAAA!

A Surveyor Came Calling

For the last half hour or so I've been escorting a surveyor through our house, as he did an evaluation of it. The reason being that our landlady Anne Parfitt wishes to take out a second mortgage on the house, most likely to fund something in the city of Bath where she lives (she works there as a University lecturer). Before she can get the mortgage, the house had to be evaluated and valued, as I imagine that that hadn't been done in quite some time.

The man was late, he came from the town of Wellington and couldn't find parking, and then he couldn't find the house. Still he got here at about 10:40am. I didn't ask his name and he didn't give it, he just went about his work, starting at the top of the house and working his way down. We chatted about this and that, the usual kind of smalltalk, he was mostly interested in what life in this house was like, which was to be expected.

When he was done I bid him goodbye and shut the front door and went to walk upstairs, and then suddenly remembered I wanted to ask him something. So I darted back to the door and opened it, and he was measuring the width of the front of the house. "How much is this house worth?" was my question, something I'd wanted to know ever since we first moved in. My curiosity had grown after next door went up for sale for £230,000 (next door comprises a two bedroom maisonette flat above a shop).

"About £175,000, give or take" was his reply. I looked surprised (because I was), and he went on to explain that the buildings odd design worked against it in some regards. Being next door to a pub, few would want to buy it as a residence, and as it lacks a good garden it is unsuited to being a family home. Also there is no parking, and our front door opens onto the pavement of a very busy road. While the building is ideally situated close to the town centre, and thus could appeal to someone wanting to buy it to rent it, the buildings odd design again works against it.

It would be difficult to have more than three tenants here (or three couples), which means that the rent limit is roughly what we are already paying. Which is a bad investment, as the average mortgage wouldn't be paid off over a 25 year term, by the rent alone, meaning an investor would lose money, or have to charge considerably more rent, and thus price the house too high to attract tenants.

I love this house, I really do. So now I just need to win the lottery somehow and convince Anne to sell it, because I'd love to buy it.

Philosophy 101

I found this on the net and thought I'd post it here, cos it is a fun read, but also a very cleverly written analysis on how to live life:

A professor stood before his Philosophy 101 class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous - - yes.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - - your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions - - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else - - the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first, " he continued, "then there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time for you to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal."

"Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers!"

Garbage Day?

It's early Monday morning and we've just put out the trash. It was a lot of trash, like 15 bags worth of it. The reason there is so much rubbish for just 3 residents is because of our councils recycling policy. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for recycling, but not when it is so poorly organised.

Our council however has decided that instead of regular trash collections every week, we are going to have an alternating system instead. Regular trash will be collected every other week, and in the gap weeks, recyclable waste will be collected. Which would be great, only they haven't exactly publicised which week is which. And if you put the bags out on the wrong week, not only do they not get collected but you can get fined for "littering". Which is a scheme dreamed up by some money grabbing schmuck in County Hall (which is just across the road, if I had a rocket launcher I could shoot the place from my window!) no doubt.

We don't know whether today is regular trash day or not, but with 15 bags of the stuff sat out in our tiny back garden smelling, we can't afford to miss another collection day by being over cautious again. For recycling we have been provided with a single "green box", which is exactly what it sounds like, a green plastic tub that we are suppossed to put recyclables in and sit outside our front door.

The problem with these is that they are VERY useful for things other than recycling, in particular shopping as a pair of these tubs fits nicely into a shopping trolley, and thus saves a lot of time and bother at the checkouts with packing goods into carrier bags. I've seen them used in this fashion several times, and so the tubs once the garbage truck has emptied them and left them sat outside the house, are very likely to get stolen. And since they are property of the council, and have to be turned over on demand, if you don't have the one you were issued with, you get another fine! A classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.

An Urrgghh Morning

Heh I love that picture! So yeah this morning has not been the best thus far. Went to bed late last night, but despite that (and a few cans of Fosters lager), I still woke up at about 6:30am and couldn't get back to sleep. I'm feeling a bit urgghh yeah, though I imagine that the pint of coffee I'm going to make for myself in a little bit will help me to overcome that, and become my usual cheery self... or not!

Mistress Of The Night: A Book Review

I finished another book on my lunch hour at work today, this one a Xmas present from my brother. Mistress of the Night by Don Bassingthwaite & Dave Gross is a Forgotten Realms novel, and part of a quartet of stand-alone stories called The Priests. Other volumes in this series include Lady of Poison and Queen of the Depths. I have also read the fourth book Maiden of Pain, before I started writing this blog. Each book in the series concentrates on a servant of one of the many gods of the Realms. Oddly though in this case, while the book focuses on a priestess of Selûne, it is named for her church's arch enemy, the goddess Shar.

Shar and Selûne are the two oldest deities of the Forgotten Realms setting, twin sisters who have battled since before time, their eternal conflict in turn creating the other gods of magic, war, death and more in the process. The book includes a wonderful poem that nicely details their enmity and I quote it in its entirety here:

From the shadows of chaos, two sisters are born,
One bright Selûne, the other dark Shar.
A harmonious balance, soon to be torn,
When Selûne gifts life with flame from afar!

At the dawn of the world, two sisters contest,
Over dark, over light, over life, over death.
Shar seeks the void and with shadows coalesced,
Snuffs Selûne's bright lights and with them her breath!

In the twilight of battle, one sister falters,
But Selûne hurls magic with desperate power.
From two sisters, one child the balance alters-
Mystryl's aid to Selûne ends Shar's dark hour!

Selûne, Moonmaiden - Shar, Mistress of Night
Two sisters divided by one sisters spite

The book focuses on Feena Archwood, a rustic prietess who is summoned (very much against her will) to Moonshadow Hall in the port city of Yhaunn, by the High Moonmistress Dhauna Myritar. No sooner has Feena arrived, then she is named as Dhauna's successor, to her shock and the outrage of the two senior priests of the Hall, Velsinore and Mifano, both of whom believe that the position should be theirs. For her part Feena hates cities, she is a village priestess and she cannot imagine why Dhauna has done this.

Dhauna is being driven slowly mad by a series of powerful dreams that seem to warn of heresy in the clergy, and is spending her days searching through the Hall’s archives for a clue to some secret hidden in the church’s past. To make matters worse for Feena, on the night she arrived in Yhaunn, a man was found mutilated as though by a wild beast in the city slums... and Feena is a werewolf! She is however a born lycanthrope, rather than an afflicted one, and thus can control herself in animal form. So she knows she didn't cause the man's death, but she had snuck out into the city to prowl and clear her head that night, after the suprising events of the day, and so she starts investigating.

The character of Feena is very well written, she is a woman who would rather be anywhere and doing anything, but what she finds herself doing. She wants a simple life, and finds herself thrust into the limelight, a role to which she isn't suited, but must adapt too and fast! It is very easy to empathise with her situation, and a testament to the skills of the authors that they conveyed very well, just how trapped she feels.

The other characters in the book are not so well written though. Both Velsinore and Mifano are very two-dimensional, and Julith (Dhauna’s aide, who is tasked with helping Feena), never really evolves past a humble secretary. The villain of the piece: Variance Amatick (a priestess of Shar), is far too blatant in her manipulations, to be a believable servant of a goddess whose cult is extremely secretive. The other major character is Keph Thingoleir, a dissatisfied nobleman from a family of wizards. He himself has no magical potential and is resentful of this. His petty jealousy is taken advantage of by Variance, in her mission to recover a long lost book that is sacred to Shar. Keph is fairly well written, and while he is stupid enough to fall in with the cult, he soon realises that he is way out of his depth.

The plot whilst convoluted, is very engaging and it kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next right until the end. There are not many stories that manage to do that! I’m going to give this novel 4/5 as a result. It is a shame really that there aren’t any more books in this series to read, as I’ve enjoyed all four of the Priests novels.

Itsy Bitsy

This isn't the original version of this song, though the lyrics are more or less the same (this version having a few more "Oh yeah's" added in). This version was released by a band with a very silly name, which was led by former Children's TV Presenter Timmy Mallott, who had been a staple of Saturday morning entertainment for years. What I find fascinating about this song is that the man behind the band, is none other than Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, better known for his numerous musicals such as Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Starlight Express.

He had put the group together, after years of trying and failing to get a number 1 record in the UK with songs from his musicals. This song went straight to number one, and stayed there for three weeks. I imagine that at the time he was thrilled to have finally gotten that elusive top of the chart single, but since he has never repeated the feat, I imagine deep down it's gotta be annoying that he could top the charts with this nonsense song, when far better tunes such as Michael Ball's powerful rendition of Love Changes Everything couldn't do it!

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Bombalurina

Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl
I like it
Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl
Oh yeah
Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl
I like it
Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl

Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today (Oh yeah)
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the locker she wanted to stay

She was afraid to come out of the locker
She was as nervous as she could be
She was afraid to come out of the locker
She was afraid that somebody would see
(Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore)

It was an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today (Oh yeah)
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the locker she wanted to stay
(Two, three, four, stick around we'll tell ya more)

She was afraid to come out in the open
And so a blanket around her she wore
She was afraid to come out in the open
And so she sat bundled up on the shore
(Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore)

It was an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today (Oh yeah)
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the blanket she wanted to stay

We gonna have big fun tonight ha ha ha
Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl
Oh yeah
Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl
I like it
Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl
Oh yeah
Go on girl, go on, go on, go on girl
Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today (Oh yeah)
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the locker she wanted to stay

Now she's afraid to come of the water
And I wonder what she's gonna do
Now she's afraid to come out of the water
And the poor little girl's turnin' blue
(Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore)

It was an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today (Oh yeah)
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the water she wanted to stay

Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today (Oh yeah)
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the water she wanted to stay
Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today (Oh yeah)
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the water she wanted to stay.

Five Minutes Of Mayhem

Every once in a while, the three of us in this house will gather together and do the dishes. This isn't as regular an occurence as it really should be, but it is one that I enjoy. I generally do the washing, while Tony and Gareth dry the dishes and put them away. And we'll chat whilst we do this, and have a laugh and a bit of larking about. But none of that is what this post is about, this post is about what came after the dishwashing today.

Namely the lightsaber battle! All three of us have toy lightsabers. Gareth has a slightly better model one with a green blade, whilst Tony and myself have simple telescopic red blade sabers. It was fun to do battle with them for a few minutes, even if the chosen battlefield wasn't a very clever one (the ground floor to first floor stairwell, which is both steep and narrow). Chaos abounded with all three of us gleefully attacking each other at random. It was a laugh though next time we do battle I think the lounge would be a better venue (though not too close to my television!)

I cheated to win, grabbing the pump-action watergun I keep in my room, and sending the other two running! I'll doubtless pay for that bit of trickery next time, but it'll have been worth it!

Elfshadow: A Book Review

Right I finished reading this book a few days back, so I am way overdue for writing up the review of it. My bad! Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham is a Forgotten Realms novel, and the second in the Harpers series of books, each of which focuses on an agent (and sometimes more than one) of the semi-secretive organisation of that name, the members of which are sworn to battle evil and tyranny across the face of the continent. This book is odd in that neither of the two main characters are Harpers, or not fully anyway.

Arilyn Moonblade is the closest to being a Harper, a half-elven warrior woman named for the incredible sword she wields, an heirloom passed to her from her deceased mother. The Moonblade is as deadly as it is beautiful, slaying anyone but Arilyn who tries to wield it, and it possesses numerous powers, each wielder in its long history having granted the blade another power tailored to that wielder (for instance one of Arilyn's ancestors often fought Red Dragons, so the sword manifested a rune that rendered the wielder immune to fire). She is kept at a distance by the organisation though, for what she does is kill people, and officially the Harpers do not sponsor assassins.

Arilyn though is a hunted woman, everywhere she goes other Harpers are turning up dead, each branded with the Moon and Harp symbol of the organisation, and suspicion is beginning to mount that she is responsible. Wanting to find out more the archmage Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun (a highly ranked member of the Harpers) dispatches his nephew Danilo Thann to accompany Arilyn, he being under strict orders that she is not to know his purpose in travelling with her. To this end Danilo calls on his skills as a Bard and Noble, easily painting himself in the role of a foppish young dandy, when he is really anything but.

The pair are as alike as chalk and cheese, and yet they work well together, their banter making reading this book a joy. The other characters are well written too, from the sly Elaith "The Serpent" Craulnober (an elf with a very long streak of viciousness and duplicity in him), and Kymil Nimesin, Arilyn's friend and mentor with a well hidden agenda. These days Elaine is one of the major writers of the Realms, and seeing as this is her first book and she absolutely nails the world right from the start it isn't hard to see why.

Elfshadow gets a 4/5 rating from me, the book is superb but the ending is a bit rushed I felt, and in places the book uses magic as a crutch to explain things too easily. There are several sequels to this novel detailing the further adventures of this mismatched pair, and I'll likely read and review those in due course.

Cherish

No great memories are stirred by this song, other than a image of mermaids which if I remember rightly are featured in the video for the song. I just really like the tune and lyrics to this track, one of Madonna's less well known songs. I like the idea of the lyrics, in that they are those of a woman pouring out her feelings to a man, not knowing what she is going to get in return for her honesty. In my albeit limited experience, women are rarely this straight forward about who and what they want.

Cherish by Madonna

Cherish, cherish

So tired of broken hearts and losing at this game
Before I start this dance
I'll take a chance in telling you
I want more than just romance
You are my destiny
I can't let go -- baby, can't you see?
Cupid please take your aim at me

Cherish the thought
Of always having you here by my side
(Oh baby I) cherish the joy
You keep bringing it into my life (I'm always singing it)
Cherish your strength
You got the power to make me feel good
(And baby I) perish the thought
Of ever leaving, I never would

I was never satisfied with casual encounters
I can't hide my need for two hearts that bleed with burning love
That's the way it's got to be
Romeo and Juliet, they never felt this way I bet
So don't underestimate my point of view

Cherish the thought
Of always having you here by my side
(Oh baby I) cherish the joy
You keep bringing it into my life (I'm always singing it)
Cherish your strength
You got the power to make me feel good
(And baby I) perish the thought
Of ever leaving, I never would

Who? You! Can't get away I won't let you
Who? You! I could never forget to
Cherish is the word I use to remind me of your love

Keep giving it, keep giving it to me
Boy keep giving me all, all of your joy
Give me faith -- I will always cherish you

Romeo and Juliet, they never felt this way I bet
So don't underestimate my point of view

Who? You! Can't get away I won't let you
Who? You! I could never forget to
Cherish is the word I use to remind me of your love

Cherish the thought
Of always having you here by my side
(Oh baby I) cherish the joy
You keep bringing it into my life (I'm always singing it)
Cherish your strength
You got the power to make me feel good
(And baby I) perish the thought
Of ever leaving, I never would

Give me faith, give me joy, my boy
I will always cherish you

A Good End To A Shift

Ahh today was a busy day at work, that ended very well indeed. It was busy as it was just me and my boss Mark O'Brien in the office all day, and there was a lot of info to tap into the computers. My fingers are kinda knackered after hours of that. And the phone just never seemed to stop ringing! I'm beginning to really hate that phone!

Towards the end of my shift though, Graeme Erskine (Manager of the Beers, Wines & Spirits dept) came into the office to ask to see a report, and as we looked at it I noticed that he'd reduced a case of Fosters lager. I asked about it, and he said that one of the cans was smashed, so he'd knocked the pack down to half price, or £5.29 for 23 cans! I asked if it had been sold, and he said no. At which point I reserved it for myself. I'd be insane not to get it for that price! Twenty three cans will fill my mini fridge nearly 6 times over, or to put it another way, it will keep me in beer for a good 2-3 weeks.

Had a hell of a time getting it home though, had to sit the pack on one end in two carrier bags, and then tie a third around those bags handles to give me a handle I could carry it by. And I had to keep swapping which arm I was carrying it with, because a case of beer isn't exactly light weight. Still it was worth the aggro to bring it home. A couple cans are now in the mini fridge (along with the remainder of the vodka I bought for New Years Eve), while the rest are in storage. Since I hate warm lager, I figure if I only keep a couple cans chilled at a time then I can't guzzle the cans away, and will thus make the case last longer.

Denied Access

As a follow on to the previous post about my leaving online gor, I have also taken a good hard look at the list of contacts on my MSN and ICQ programs and done what I can only term a culling. Namely I've gone through the lists and deleted a lot of the contacts, people I barely talk too, people I only talk too in relation to Gor and people I've talked too once and never again. I've deleted them all, and furthermore I've blocked them from contacting me again. I'm uninstalling ICQ entirely, as the program has never worked right anyhow.

I haven't touched the contact names of any of the people I know in the Real World, the pair of ex-girlfriends I have listed, and a couple others besides, but that's it. Everyone else has been wiped off the list and blocked. I want a clean break, and I learned the last time I tried to walk away from online Gor that I can't do that if I'm forever talking to the same people I was roleplaying with. If I've offended anyone reading this, I hope you'll accept my apologies, but this is something I need to do.

Walking Away

I quit online Gor tonight. I've not been happy roleplaying online in the various chatrooms for some time now. I honestly cannot put my finger on any one particular thing that has brought about this abandonment. I can't say "That is the straw that broke the camel's back". It's lots of little things, that individually niggle at me, and force me to make this adjustment, and that compromise. And finally there comes a point where you have to look around, and you realise that you aren't where you thought you were.

I love the world of Gor, I have 24 of the 26 novels in print, and would dearly love to complete the collection (I'm missing the books Kajira of Gor and Magicians of Gor). I'm not giving up on the world as written, just as it is portrayed online. I'm fed up of the hypocrisy, of people saying one thing and doing another and thinking nothing of it, or coming up with bullshit excuses to justify their actions. Everyone has a breaking point. I've been pushed slowly but surely past mine.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my time, and it is a lot of time I'm talking about, hours everyday are suddenly freed up. I guess I'll work out what to do with the free time as I go along.

New Year's Resolutions 2006

Well don't ask me what it was like to see in the New Year by myself, because I fell asleep at about 10pm and slept right though it. I did wake up a bit later to the sound of my clearly very drunk housemates having a sword fight (likely using Gareth's LARP weapons), but I pretended to still be asleep, and soon enough I wasn't faking.Woke up again at about 4:30am.

So it's a new year, and tradition dictates that people are meant to make a list of things they are and aren't going to do in this year, and at least try to follow that list. so here are my resolutions for 2006:

1. I am going to try to lose weight. I have no plan as to how to do this, but currently I weigh about 18-19 stone, and that makes me about 6 stone overweight (or around 84lbs heavier than I should be for my height). I want to do this not only for the health benefit, but also I think a lot of my lack of self confidence can be traced to me not feeling good about how I look.
2. I am going to reduce the number of things I own. I have literally hundreds of comics, toys & books that I neither read, play with or want any more. I can sell these and use the money to reduce the debt I owe on my credit card.
3. I will try harder to stay in credit in my bank accounts, and not live in my overdrafts as I have been doing this past year.
4. I will try and put a couple pounds aside each week, as an end of year fund. If I keep to this every week, then when it comes around to Xmas again, I should have a fund for around £100 to buy presents and see in the New Year with.
5. I will spend less on D&D books, I have shelves of them already and I don't need any more of them. The one exception being Forgotten Realms books, as I buy those as much to read and enjoy as I do to use in the game.
6. I will get rid of the last few videos I own.

I think that should be enough to try and adhere too, a mixture of easy and really hard commandments to strive towards. You'll notice I didn't set myself the task of finding a partner. That is an ongoing process and while it is one that I am committed towards, it is also not something I care to try and put a time limit on. It is a heart's desire, not simply an objective to be achieved.