War of the Worlds

Contains spoilers about the film!!!

I bought Reuben a War of the Worlds DVD for Christmas (among other things!) and we finally sat down tonight to watch it. It was okay but I was a bit disappointed that they just died out by themselves and didn't need some sort of gung-ho American hero in the form of Will Smith. Well, it did have Tom Cruise but he spent the whole film running away or hiding in a basement.
Me: "So they just died by themselves?"
Reuben: "Well, because they were eating and drinking our food. We're dying, what chance have they got?"
"But they weren't really eating food. They were killing people and feeding off their blood."
"Well that's the same."
"I guess aliens have AIDS and bird flu too then...?"

We laughed a lot. I think we're tired... This isn't as funny as I remember it being...

Again...?!

I won Employee of the Month for January. Again.

Yeah, people at work are becoming suspicious since no one has ever won it twice. And I've won it twice. And when it came to the Employee of the Year awards I won for the department.

The bad thing was I was nominated by my line manager, the one person I really do not like very much and am currently undergoing proceedings against (secretly, of course). Reuben thinks it is a way of putting the cat among the pigeons: my manager suspects that her staff are petitioning against her removal so she awards one of them to make it look as if we're lying and she actually does appreciate us. Which is a lie. If you appreciate someone, do you yell and scream at them? Treat them like dirt? Be short and curt with them? All the time? Exactly.

So its hard going. I didn't want to throw the award back in her face although it was tempting (despite it being a bottle of champers). But now everyone thinks I'm her little model employee and I'm being teased about being her bodyguard. Ugh! It's tough.

Happy New Year?

Reuben and I had influenza over the New Year period. We were okay Boxing Day and a bit sniffly on the Wednesday but by Friday evening we were not happy bunnies. Saturday we were determined to stay up until midnight but after that we were bushed and went to bed in a mountain of tissues, coughing and sneezing. Well, Reuben was coughing and sneezing, having the sinus variety. I had a head cold and a stomach bug. My legs felt cotton woolly and all my joints were seizing up.

So neither of us were well and we were sick with different things so we were desperately trying not to cross contaminate our germs. It was bad. Possibly the worst New Years ever. Not as bad as that party I went to in an old converted country house where the ceilings were so low I couldn't stand up... but nearly!

Christmas Day

Oh. My. God.

It is every girl's dream to have that one Christmas when everything is perfect. The Christmas tree lights, the food, the pressies, everything. It is even better when your boyfriend gets you a really cool pressie. Now, I know that men find it hard to buy for women. I admit we are strange creatures who are happy to talk to our girlfriends about every detail of our relationships but woe betide a bloke who does the same thing with his mates. I know.

But then you find that one guy who finds the perfect present. You know what I'm talking about? Oh, yes - the Chocolate Fondue Fountain. So you can imagine my absolute delight in finding out that's exactly what is sitting on the dining table amongst all the wrapping paper I've torn off the box.

Oh. My. God.

I have a Chocolate Fondue Fountain.

On my dining table.

For me.

Complete with two 500g bars of Galaxy and a super-large pack of mini marshmallows.

Holy fucking shit!

It's perfect!!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas is here yet again. Every year I try to prolong the feeling of excitement which usually lasts until about five days before Christmas. This year was no exception. Before it is even here I'm already fed up with the songs, the food, the endless "What do you want for Christmas?" requests. ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!

Anyhow this year will be different. I know, I say that every year. But this year I know it will. For starters, I'm not living at home, meaning that I won't be woken at some ungodly hour of the morning to open 'Father Christmas' presents. (I'm a bit old for it but you have to keep the secret going for the lil' 'uns). So, nice lie in Christmas Day! The second thing is I'm not spending the day with my family. I'm spending it with Reuben's family, which should be a cool gig. I know for one thing it'll be quieter...

We went to my Dad's this evening for a Christmas shingding. Pam told us it was dinner but when we arrived, my mum's sister was there with her family as well and there was a small buffet on the table, enough to feed 10. The house was bursting full of people: my dad, Pam, three sisters, one brother and his g/f, my mum's sister, her husband and their two kids, Pam's two kids, and me and Reuben. See? Too many people in a small space. It was invariably loud, food and drink was littered all over the place, and it was very warm.

We made our excuses about 9:45pm to go to 10pm mass (midnight mass apparently is in Italian and therefore a no-go) and then got home around 11.30pm. I begged Reuben to open one present. "Please, please, please, pretty-please...?" with the puppy-dog eyes. "No" came back the no-nonsense reply. I stuck my bottom lip out and stomped off to bed. I wanna open a pressie dammit! The car boot is full of 'em!! I guess Christmas hasn't changed much at all...

Pre-Xmas meetup

I can't believe its been a month since I last posted! Where does the time go?

Anyway, Reuben and I did our whole 'lets-have-a-party-and-invite-everyone' thing yesterday evening. I invited everyone just over a week in advance and got the usual lame excuses from people who couldn't be bothered to make a bit of effort (how dare I ask people to travel outside of London?!). However, some people did come and it was a very good evening to be had by all! Tara and Peter came, along with Anne, Suzy and Debbie, who unfortunately had to leave early so she could be at a family 'do' by 5pm. So it was a party of six, meaning everyone could sit on the sofas (just about) and the conversation flowed as freely as the food and drink! I got to light candles all over the place and do a nice table centrepiece; Reuben got to be 'nanny' in the kitchen. (Heheheh)

To be honest, we were secretly worried that no-one would turn up at all. It is a bit close to Christmas and all... But it was a great night I think and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We even managed to squeeze a bit of alcohol into the evening and got a bit merry (not much, but I think Reuben was just a teensy bit pissed, considering he went to bed humming some dreadful Christmas song that I won't embarass him over). Just wish I'd taken a photo or two...!

Tagboard

I'm taking Jenny's lead and have taken my tagboard off the page. I agree with her that there are too many spamming posts and not enough regular ones. I couldn't do much with it anyway. I'd sign in but couldn't sign out, so I'd have to close the browser each time. It wouldn't let me ban anyone from posting. Pile of crap really.

Christmas shopping - part 1

Today Reuben and I started a bit of Christmas shopping. The idea is that we spread out the cost over the next few weeks so our bank managers don't have heart attacks. I already have Mel's and Jenny's wrapped and ready to send so we head to the PO, which has decided to change their opening hours so they shut earlier on Saturdays, a stupid move which leaves us standing in the sleet and cold Arctic wind trying to work out when we can come during opening hours. They shut at 12.30pm now so I need an early Saturday morning next week. (Damnit!!)

We hide the pressies under the car seats so they don't get nicked while we're shopping, and browse around posh Fishpools and buy some items in not-so-posh WHSmiths, Argos, and Boots. I got quite a few pressies (okay, eight), and I found all the cards I need too. The best bit? I spent about £50, thanks to special offers and 3 for 2's. I'm dead pleased with myself.

I really wanted to buy a tree and decorations. The problem is I'd want to put it up immediately and it's way too early right now. I'm easily excitable around Christmas. I have this crazy idea about us inviting ALL our mates round at the same time for drinks and snacks. There's no way everyone would fit but I reckon it'd be a right laugh. :)

Near death experience

Reuben and I wanted to spend the morning browsing in Waltham Cross so we parked up in the car park by the post office and paid for a ticket at the P & D machine. I cross the zebra and... suddenly look up to my right and see a Chelsea Tractor inches away from me!!

I quickly back up, holding my hands out as if to stop the car (like thats ever gonna happen!). The woman starts blaring her horn and telling me to watch where I'm going. I'm like, ""Excuse me, ZEBRA CROSSING!" and walk towards the car, visibly upset. Shit, I nearly died!!

These things are lethal death traps. Why on earth does someone want a 4x4 with bull bars for a drive around town? They are very environmentally unfriendly with heavy fuel consumption, not to mention that the bumpers sit higher than all other cars, so if one hit your car, it'd be halfway through the back seat before it stopped.

Chelsea Tractor drivers are now the new Kings of the Road. I feel sorry for the Kensington & Chelsea schoolchildren...

Return of the Jedi - 2004 version

I need to add George Lucas to Mel's list of film-makers we want to kick in the nuts.

Let's get one thing straight: It is okay to digitally remaster old films. It gets rid of the grainy quality, makes it a better viewing experience, and the sound is quality.

However, it is NOT okay to change the actors playing characters. Seriously. At the end of the digitally re-mastered Return of the Jedi, the remastered version of the remastered version (i.e. the re-re-release in 2004) the ghosts of Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi appear. Cool. Only Anakin is being played by Hayden Christenson. Yeah, you heard me, an actor that wasn't (probably) even born when the film originally aired! And for some reason, this really incenses me to the point where I was fuming and did nothing but rant and rave for a good ten minutes about the absurdity of it all. How could they do that?! I can only add that the only film's saving grace was that they kept Alec Guiness and didn't change him for Ewan McGregor. That would really have gotten on my goat...

CyberBob in Catch 22

My laptop driver finally bit the dust and now won't even read the cleaning CD! It's like this - it won't read anything because the lens is probably dirty, so it can't read the cleaning CD which will only clean the lens if the driver reads it... (sigh)

I really don't wanna cart it to PC World and let those incumbent idiots take my beloved CyberBob apart... The other alternative is Andy who just spends a lot of time opening and closing windows... Its actually a long-running joke to the point where Anna said, "Here's an impression of Andy" and rolled the car window down and then up again. I laughed so much I nearly choked!

Anyway, now I have to deal with lots of jokes about 'laptop servicing'...

Isis19...?

Interesting...

Isis Indeed, you are 66% erudite, 70% sensual, 41% martial, and 37% saturnine.

This Egyptian supreme Goddess is certainly the most influential deity on subsequent cultures. She was the ideal figure of womanhood, usually compared with the Greek Goddess Demeter or her Roman version, Ceres. Isis was one element of a Holy Trinity, the remaining two figures being her brother and husband Osiris and their heroic son Horus. She was the Goddess of Magic for her brilliance, as well as the Goddess of Love because of her tenacious devotion. She is often shown with wings, curving to caress coffins and sarcophagi of many a king. In certain papyri she is shown with her falcon wing headdress, covering her ears. One of her sacred symbols is the sistrum, a musical instrument that was believed to ward off evil spirits. Isis' sistrum was carved bearing the image of a cat and was representative of the Moon. Isis was the High Priestess and an omnipotent magician as well as the only being ever to discover the secret name of Ra. She invariably carries the ankh, the symbol for eternal life. Her name is, by the rules of numerology, adding up to the number “2” and she just so happens to be depicted on the tarot card “Key 2 – The High Priestess”. The Fifteen Goddesses These are the 15 categories of this test. If you score above average in … …all or none of the four variables: Neit. … Erudite: Minerva. … Sensual: Aphrodite. … Martial: Artemis. … Saturnine: Persephone. … Erudite & Sensual: Isis. … Erudite & Martial: Sekhmet. … Erudite & Saturnine: Nemesis. … Sensual & Martial: Hera. … Sensual & Saturnine: Bast. … Martial & Saturnine: Ilamatecuhtli. … Erudite, Sensual & Martial: Maeve. … Erudite, Sensual & Saturnine: Freya. … Erudite, Martial & Saturnine: Sedna. … Sensual, Martial & Saturnine: Macha.

Wired for blogs!

I have a phone line... WAHEY!! It's nice to have Internet... :)

Just a random passing thought I had today: Why are the US so worried about Iran having nuclear weapons when they have such a large arsenal of their own...??

V Festival - Day 2

Andy arrives about an hour after us, after Rooster had just finished. He loved the birthday pressie I got him – White Elephants and Red Herrings. Apparently the only other gift he got was socks from his parents!

Bands seen: Rooster, Joss Stone, Tony Christie, Embrace, Athlete, Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters
Bands saw and should have missed: 0
Bands missed and wanted to see: The Hives
Best sing-a-long: Take Me Out followed v closely by Filthy Gorgeous and (Is This The Way To) Amarillo
Best line: You can all go see The Hives now! (Alex Kapranos after playing Take Me Out)
Items bought: 10th anniversary V Festival programme
Items lost: 0
Celebrities seen: Jade Goody, Natalie Cassidy
Time spent leaving: 3 mins finding the car, 5 mins leaving the site
Level of tiredness: 8/10

V Festival - Day 1

So I finally to the V Festival – hoo yeah! I bought tickets for Anna and myself back in February and have been so looking forward to it! I offered Andy to come with me, who then unceremoniously dumped me in favour of Mark instead. (Andy dislikes use of the phrase ‘dumped’ and thought I only wanted to go for one day. Yeah. Sure. Fine. Whatever.) Anyway, 8.30am this morning he called me to say that Mark couldn’t make it as he was in Nottingham with his girlfriend and he had a spare ticket a-begging. So Reuben piped up that he’d love to go and we all went. As it turns out, Andrew and Anna clicked rather well… Er, yeah, weird!

Bands seen: The La’s, The Magic Numbers, The Proclaimers, KT Tunstall (briefly), Good Charlotte, Maroon 5, Kaiser Chiefs, The Streets, Oasis
Bands saw and should have missed: The La’s, The Streets
Bands missed and wanted to see: Jet, The Zutons
Best sing-a-long: (What’s The Story?) Morning Glory followed closely by This Love
Best line: Glad to see Pete Doherty could make it – the giant c**k (Liam Gallagher upon seeing an inflatable penis being waved in the crowd)
Items bought: 10th anniversary V Festival T-shirt (sub-woofer design)
Items lost: Right hearing aid (bugger!)
Celebrities seen: 0
Time spent leaving: 20mins searching for the car, 70mins trying to leave the site
Level of tiredness: 10/10 – I slept in the car!

Mr Mouse (deceased)

There was a dead mouse outside our office today, fleas all over the body... It was sooo damn gross! The office is right next door to Pest Control so I march over there, only to find the door locked and no one to be seen all day! It was nasty and I hated having to walk in and out of the office and seeing it there. It became the spectacle of the day. People came in and said, "Did you see that dead mouse outside?" Yeah... (sigh) So much for health and safety at work!

My manager is on long term sick leave so we have another one standing in for him. I went over to him and complained, and he said someone would deal with it by tomorrow morning... Here's hoping!

(sigh)

Stuart the locksmith turned up at our flat about 8.30pm this evening and fixed the lock for us. At last we can change our addresses! Now all we need to do is find the electricity meter so we're not paying for the last tenants' electricity bill, and get hooked up to the Internet. Its all systems go go go…

Free dinner

My aunt and uncle invited Reuben and I over for dinner tonight. This is the first of many visits that we'll be making to all our closest relatives and I have to admit that I'm glad we're starting off with mine! My aunt and uncle are pretty easy going and predictably asked lots of questions and showed off their knowledge of food and wine that have resulted from their travels to America and Europe. They also tried to show me off along the lines of me being obsessive about candles and a decent artist… but I think I was more embarrassed than proud! The highlight of the evening was my cousin sending a string of texts to my aunt, asking all about Reuben and being gutted she didn't get to meet him too!

Keys please!

The previous tenants of our flat handed in one set of keys to the agency instead of two, and one of the keys was a window key instead of the post-box key. The worst thing was that we were jamming the window key into the post-box for two weeks, not understanding why it didn't work, and then we flung the keys onto the window sill in frustration one day and it just happened to land right next to the identical window key sitting there…!

So in effect, there are two keys for our post-box and one for our flat still knocking about. So we're changing the locks. We call the agency and today they sent Stuart the locksmith to change them. The flat lock was changed no problem but he didn't have a small enough lock for the post-box, so we're sticking the flap up with blue tape for now. He should be coming back Tuesday but we hope that no post arrives until the lock has been fitted!!

Darth Vader breathes again

So Reuben was driving to work today and could hear this weird heavy breathing in his car. It only lasts a couple of seconds, he dismisses it… and then he hears it again! He can't understand what the hell it is and thinks he's hearing things when suddenly the Star Wars theme tune starts playing. He then realises that he's left his new Star Wars mug that Raj gave him under the seat of his car… it plays the theme tune, and Vader's breathing when the bottom of the mug is exposed to light. The mug is now safely in the flat but I'm so gonna kill Raj when I see him next. That mug is getting on my last nerves!