Lost without Mid-World

I have a terribly empty feeling.

Before TDT (The Dark Tower) I had no particular expectations when leaving home/work; sitting at the bus stop / on the tube / passing time waiting for physio appointments; etc etc etc as Yul Brynner might say. Every moment "wasted" was a moment gained, a moment more I could spend in Roland's world.

No more. I have come to the clearing at the end of the path. I know where it ends, and where indeed it begins again. And now when I go home at the end of a long day at work, I have no tale of Roland's ka-tet to look forward to - and it feels really weird

And honestly, what book do you choose to follow that? Andrew has lined up Gerald Durrells A Zoo in My Luggage, and brilliant though it will be, it just isn't the right book to read next. I am tempted to start Tolkeins's Rings series, which I desperately want to begin, but I worry the story will be - how shall I say - less accessible, compared to the most compulsive pen of mister king.

Wish me luck.

Lost in Mid-World

How did it get to be nearly two weeks since I last posted? Overtaken by work again? Partly. More likely I saw mum the weekend before last, and borrowed the last in Stephen King's Dark Tower epic series... so I am afriad my nose has been buried up to the hilt at every waking opportunity!

Its an enormous book, but I take it on the tube every day. I sit up till way past bedtime reading. Half my waking weekend is spent buried in it. Thats what I call a great book, and great writing: when you can happily lose whole tracts of time lost in another world. And it's so very relaxing.

I heard on the radio this morning (yes, R2: I'm a TOG) that no-one knows how to use apostrophes anymore. Check that. Even having read Lynn Truss's Eats Shoots and Leaves, a really good book, I still have only a middling concept. Actually, I think I'm worse. I used to rely on what looked right: now I'm just paranoid and get it wrong even more than I did before. No one who knows me will be surpised about that.

So; I had a tale of redemption to tell about online shopping at Boots .com, except now I am too tired to tell it. Suffice to say the redemption came from a certain Boots employee in the huge Oxford Street branch, not the online version. When will companies learn that online customer interactions have twice as much power to destroy brand perception and engagement!?

Oh dear oh dear. There are not many things I go girly over, but Rupert Penry-Jones is an exception - especially after we were behind them (wife Dervla, kids and other bloke) in the check-in at Heathrow on our way to Kenya the year before last. And no it wasn't first class - they went baggage same as us. And he is a dwaf in the flesh, believe me!

So I have been looking forward to tonights Spooks... and they've gone and blown him up! How inconsiderate is that?! What is a girl to do for eye-candy now?

I shall remain inconsolable for at least another ten minutes.

Actually, I think I'm starting to fancy Jo... all that cropped blonde hair, big eyes and hidden anguish. Do you think she'd share lipsticks?

An infinite scream passing through...

You must have those moments.

The ones where you make this great idea kind of response to someone, they take you up on it, and delivering turns into nightmare on main street.

My mum makes cards. They're actually pretty good, and I suggested we try selling some on eBay. What on earth possessed me??!! The fact that I appreciated the concept of eBay, but not, as they say, as it applied to me (having never ever registered / bought / sold); that's what.

She doesn't use a computer, so I had to buy her a digital camera and printer that worked just between themselves. And show her how to use them after my dad comandeered the printer to do photocopies.

I thought I was safe... it seemed like she would never get around to doing all the pictures. In the meantime I eventually got around to investigating the "how to sell" pages - and I start to get the notion that all is not going to be plain sailing as just navigating to and around help sections proves a darn sight harder than it should be.

And then this giant wodge of stuff arrives from mum in the post - all the thumbnails of her cards stuck onto sheets of paper and coded, sized, blurbed, captioned, etc. There are hundreds. And no common naming conventions, or anything that will help make this easier to understand (I, clearly, do NOT make cards).

So I eventually stopped putting it off and made a start on Sunday. I cannot bear to relate the whole sorry tale but the sad truth is after - when did I start, 3pm? - 5 hours, I had just managed to register, set up Paypal and an email account for her (that I will have to monitor) and post 2, yes thats two items. Heaven help me, what have I started?

All I can say is, no wonder there is a small industry making money selling help books around using eBay. To say they need some decent usability implementation would be the understatement of the century - thats a running century, not the current decade.

My mind felt numb by the end - usually a feat only achieved after at least two bottles of wine - a situation I felt honour-bound to try and rectify in what was left of my evening after serving up dinner.

Ho hum. It's Wednesday tomorrow, and I still have at least 150 items to go. And she hasn't even started phtographing the Christmas cards yet! Can anyone think of a reason for me to be sent to, oh, how about the Outer Hebrides, for at least six months??? Please??!!!

A genuinely remarkable young man

I usually catch up with the Guardian headlines in the morning (it's a media thing) and their story reminded me that Adrian Sudbury's memorial was this morning, so I just caught up with the video on the Examiner website - not the live stream I was hoping for, but just hearing the clips of some of the readings brought a lump to my throat nevertheless.

Close your eyes when Sean Bean reads the words of Kahlil Gibran... my friend Sue read extracts of Gibran's On Marriage at our wedding in May... such an amazing poet and writer.

I came across Adrian's blog through Hold the Front Page headlines - I still like to keep up with regional press stuff even though I've been out of that game now for nearly two years. Obviously I have an emotional connection having been through cancer twice, but the sincerity of his efforts and aspirations were completely absorbing, and it's one of the very few times I've ever posted a comment to anything.

Anyway - a real inspiration. I have a feeling the legacy of this young man will be around for a long time to come

Me and Them?

An unusually funny moment in the office today, at my expense. I aim to please.

There I am, happily Powerpointing away with my Sennheiser Noiseguard headphones on and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon blaring from the iPod, content in my little world.

I become aware that Anna is grinning at me in rank amusement. She's a quiet one, so this is unusual. It takes a few seconds, but slowly it dawns that all the other eight occupants of our little office are all facing my direction with the same looks on their faces. Even Philip (resident techno wizard) has awoken and turned 180 degress - he manages to ignore nuclear warfare going off around him as a rule.

I have been singing along to Us and Them apparently... and had managed to reach a pitch that simply could not be ignored. How embarassing! Tee hee - apparently I better stick with Powerpoint and not give up the day job just yet.

Released!

At last, I am unblocked!

For some reason Google's wonderful system had flagged me up as spam, but I have been checked over now and considered safe to release back into the wild.

So to celebrate, here are some more penguins. I like penguins.

Watch this space!

Penguins

Well, having planned a cosy evening and an early night, I didn't get home from work till nearly 10.30pm and Andrew was not far behind me. Poor love has gone straight to bed with man-flu and I am munching cheese straws dipped in mayo washed down with a glass of something red and french, and watching Jonathan Ross. Howzat for a great Friday night! ;o)

Nevertheless, fear not if you're reading, Suse: cab will be here at 8.30am in the morning and we are all prepared for Alfers tomorrow. I only hope the little fella is as prepared for us ***hee hee***

Oh, I did book the holiday back to Kilifi today... all online via First Choice website - which is rubbish in terms of usability - they need a consultant expert!

There is a very scary-looking lady in a striped suit playing a guitar fronting the band playing out JR.. and I find the music dreadful. "You know you're over 40 when..."! What can I say? I shall post a picture of penguins (at London zoo, of course) in her honour.

Lymphoedema Matters

Project number two underway... Lymphoedema Matters

A busy evening

I feel like I haven't stopped... home from work by 6pm (shock horror: so early!) ready to receive Ocado; changed ready to go for run (I use the word run very loosely in my current state, you understand); cleaned out two cat litters; received Ocado; went for "run" (and got utterly soaked); prepared dinner, put shopping away, negotiated Ocado's well-meant/impractical/but at least free - bag tidy; fed cats and did Cody's pills; emptied washing machine and put new load in; hung stuff to dry; served dinner. At 9.45pm.

Now, I should add two caveats here:

1. We don't have children. That means that, although I am conditioned to WORK work 12-24 hours a day if necessary, the concept of dealing with a squillion tasks at home has always eluded me - which is why I never phone my mother / deal with paperwork / write letters to friends / get decorating done / pay bills on time / etc etc

2. I understand the concept of housework, just not as it applies to me. Or so the saying goes. I can - and do - happily (well, not happily, necessarily, but without losing sleep or spilling my wine) manage to survive without changing bedsheets for 2 weeks at a time (more with excuse of broken arm), hoovering, dusting, blah blah blah. We can both go for weeks without doing any washing or ironing if pushed.

So all you mothers and proper women who can do the multi-tasking thing with such aplomb, can relax: I know my limitations. I have a boy gene, I think. So. I am exhausted. CSI has just finished and we shall wend our way bedwards. Where I shall continue with Oxford Blue... having finally made it to the point where the real mutiny actually starts, and hopefully things start moving with a bit more... how can I put it... "pull"?

This Life

Nearly Midnight. Have completed the Ocado shop, the Boots.com shop (going through dressings still like wildfire on my leg, though tis finally showing much better signs of healing), emailed Marc about pension stuff (cannot believe he sent me ten documents to read: is he mad? He knows what I'm like at the best of times!).

Spoke to Suse yesterday about writing a "lymphoedema for real living" manual - don't think she quite shared my enthusiasm - it's me, just can't communicate my thoughts clearly enough.

I am worried about her - she is so frazzled and at the end of her tether - Alfers is not sleeping and its torture. For both of them (that is, Rob as well). Talking of which, Cody (annoying cat) is driving us both insane with her constant yowling. Calm, I am calm, thinking of warm Indian ocean breezes and whale sharks.. yes, time to book a holiday in Kilifi (Kenya).

And I have once again let the car insurance deadline go by... oops.

An untypical Sunday

Well, the Dows were up at the crack of dawn this morning, or so it seemed to a pair so very unaccustomed to crawling out of bed before noon on a weekend.

We spent the day with Rob and Sue and baby Alfie, luxuriating in one of the last really sunny warm days of the year on rugs on the lawn by the pond in front of Chiswick House. Alfers slept half the time but to tell the truth, he's such a jolly baby, and very easy to amuse, so it's easy to carry on a conversation whatever he's doing.

Rob 'n Suse are both exhausted, bless them - Alfers has not had a good run lately what with colds and kiddie infections of one kind or another - and frankly I think they both really need to just sleep for a thousand years. But they're hanging in there. They are such a good team those two.

Anyway, back home in time for the last half of Poirot. Must get the hang of this blog thing over the coming week - you know, customising, putting the background and profile in - and learning how to type with a certain cat who shall be introduced later practically sitting on the keyboard! Any errors are definitely hers and nothing to do with me still being manually challenged... two weeks and three days to go!

Getting started

My first ever blog.

Actually, I could claim this is all part of an experiment to turn Andrew - known as Bigfoot in some parts - from the world of professional indemnity insurance to a world of written creativity. He is one of the most imaginitive describers of the world around him I have ever known... but clearly you may argue I am biased. And you may be right. (or is that write? ha ha).

Not the best of times to start since my arm is still broken and I spend more time on the delete button than anything else but there you go. Never a right time to start with anything, is there?

And since we are both in the middle of cooking a curry - he does all the two-handed stuff, thank heaven - here endeth my first post.