What's it all about, Bloggie?

(OK, at time of writing, it's Thursday, but at least there's no mention of Chris Evans. Apart from that one, Doh!).

Yes, I’m looking forward to Friday this week. I’ve got a night out with the girls from work (minus the friend who isn’t a friend). The plan is to go for a curry, find a bar then, depending on the bloatedness, we may hit a club. To all you mere mortals out there, it may not seem like a big deal, but since the dramatic break-up from he who must not be named, my social life has dwindled somewhat. So yes, I’m looking forward to a night out. Having had quite a few nights like these with the girls, I know what a drunken extravaganza they can turn into (no photographic ever evidence exists), so this time I’m hoping to build on the girls-night-out reputation and introduce them all to a cheeky little number that is commonly known as a turbo shandy. I’m not exactly a veteran of these myself (they weren’t invented when I was student, we had to rely on Blastaway’s), but I’m pretty sure they’ll go down well.


Oh alright then, just the one...
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To add to the excitement, I had a great bit of news arrive in my inbox this afternoon. Well, OK, I admit it’s not "hold the front page" type of news, but it bodes well for Friday night. I wouldn’t describe myself as desperate or neurotic, but occasionally I like to read my stars and if there’s a good bit of news hiding round the corner, then I’d like some advance notice. For all you Librans, I quote as follows: "The sky's the limit when it comes to love and romance today. You deserve a break, so when someone offers you a dream come true, just go for it. Take the initiative and go where others fear to tread". Wow...

As much as I hate the phrase, I quite like the idea of an fcuk buddy (See Sex & The City). After the trauma of he who must not be named, I’m not looking to jump straight into another long-term relationship, but a woman has her needs & this could be an answer for the moment. You know how it goes, find an eager younger man, train him up & you’re doing a service for all women!

Hmm, I think I’ve been reading too much innocence... Except he has more luck! (*Walks away coyly, giggling to self*)

Seen this on a few blogs & thought I’d give it a go (it’s got nothing to do with the fact I’ve got nothing else to report…honestly):

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig out that "cool" or "intellectual" book, just go with the flow & pick the book closest to you right now!

After I finished "Farewell, Black River" and "The Drunken Concubine", His Majesty wanted more. I begged his pardon and explained that I was not prepared. "One last song".

Now wasn’t that enlightening?! A mystery prize will be awarded for the first person to correctly guess which book it comes from (and yes, it’s from a book I’m reading at the moment).


Me on a good day
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…There is no cure for the common cold! The Echinacea didn’t work; it was obviously the lull before the storm, because after thinking I didn’t have a cold, it attacked me with a vengeance! Blocked nose, watery eyes, chesty cough (ooo-err mrs), yes, I had/have still got the works.

And on to more mundane things, it’s been quite an annoying week really. Had to visit the evil that is the dentist, because a filling I never wanted in the first place had fallen out! Every time I had a drink, I could feel it all the way round my jaw & into my chin! Painful to say the least!


There's no need to lock me in, I only came for a check-up...
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And on a very disappointing note, the even more evil that is my landlord has put up my rent! I phoned to enquire the reasons behind it, and was told that as I’ve been living here for over a year, it’s time for an increase! Now, is that a proper reason?! Why couldn’t they just say “we wanted more of your hard-earned cash, because we’re greedy penny-pinching bastards”? At least I could have understood that!

Yeh well, it’s also Easter, so more time to spend at home. Great to have the long weekend, just a shame I’ve not got that special some one to share it with (woe is me, poor me, what’ll become of me?! … Did you get the sarcasm?!). It’s also his birthday tomorrow, but I definitely won’t be wishing him the best on his special day… He can shove his birthday where the sun don’t shine! Blah, blah, blah, broken-hearted bitch strikes again! : ) (Yes, that’s the first official mention of he who must not be named).

Anyway, enough already. I'm sure it must be time for that afternoon tipple!

Well, after all the hype, the cold never appeared! My prayers were obviously answered, and the offerings left at the shrine of the ancient God of the Cold must have worked! Could echinacea possibly be the cure we're looking for?! (ignore the prices, just read the useful text!)

Well, unless it was my Dad's Fisherman's Friend...


Fisherman's Friend (and you thought I'd forgotten the photo...)
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As Mother always said, Coughs & sneezes spread diseases
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As if the threat of the supervolcano isn’t enough to contend with, I’m now being threatened by the common cold (is there really no cure for it yet?!). Not only do I have the mother of all sore throats, but I also have one of those annoying coughs. I’ve been coughing so much that I get to the point where I don’t have enough energy to give a real full-on, chest-clearing cough, but I can only manage a pathetic little squeak that has no benefit what so ever (just think of Little Britain’s “computer says no” & the little cough that follows – well it’s half as strong as that). Sorry to lower the tone, but what is it with all the phlegm?! Where on earth does it come from?! I swear that it’s not of this world, so if there’s some ancient God of the Cold out there, please spare me the bunged up nose, snotty tissues and watery eyes. I’ll willingly leave Lemsip & Beechams Cold & Flu remedy at your shrine, just give me the map (and no, I don’t work for either of them!)

Anyway, as you were. Rant over.

Mount St Helens (no offence, but it's not a supervolcano!)
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Bit thin on the ground for ramblings this week, but I feel that BBC 1’s Supervolcano is worthy of a small comment. For any one that didn’t get chance to see the programme, it was all about America’s Yellowstone National Park & the magma (yes, that’s M.A.G.M.A) that lies bubbling & boiling beneath, and the possible consequences of a supervolcanic eruption. It was split over 2 nights, and it was well worth a viewing. I sat for most of the first part with a knot in my stomach!

When thinking of volcano’s, I normally think of all that oozing lava & the pyroclastic flows, but this programme showed the damage that all the ash can cause (just imagine a concrete-like substance forming in your lungs after you’ve been breathing it in for a while!). And before all the Brits out there start thinking they’re safe from the supervolcano, we could feel the effects of it here too. Not only in the ash fall out, but also in the change in the world’s weather system (on average, a temperature drop of 12 degrees that could last for up to 10 years!). Ooo, we’d better start panic-buying now!

Ouch!
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I’ve been reading reports all day about a 61 yr old man who is the first person in the UK to be cured of type 1 diabetes.

I’ve been diabetic for around 25 years, so this is of immediate interest to me, and anything that mentions a cure gets extra attention. I’m no scientist, but in layman’s terms, the “cure” involves the transplant of islet cells from a dead donor, which are injected into the diabetic’s liver, where they develop their own blood supply & begin to produce insulin.

I hope you can understand what an exciting development this is. It could mean an end to the multiple injections & blood tests that diabetics have to go through on a daily basis. Now before you get excited, I don’t want anyone’s pity or sympathy, because I know that there are million’s of people out there with problems a lot worse than mine. Just be safe in the knowledge that I’ve never let diabetes rule my life, I’ve just lived my life and dealt with the diabetes along the way (rightly or wrongly, but who knows?). Think about it, if I wanted everyone’s sympathy, this would be a blog about my life as a diabetic, and that’s just not me! (Apologies to anyone who has a blog like that, no offence meant!).

I feel pretty optimistic about this development, and even though you could be on a cocktail of anti-rejection drugs, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Now for the public broadcast section: If you know nothing about diabetes, or you’re just remotely interested, have a look at the following links (they're interesting, honest):

Cure report 1
Cure report 2
Transplant Q & A

Elvis has left the building
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I came across this little story earlier today, and it was a bright point in a some what dull day. OK, there were no loud guffaw's to be heard, but it made me smile! It involves a chap who went on holiday & out of the kindness of his heart, left his music playing for his pet hamster so he didn't feel lonely. Now that is thoughtful. And it makes a change to see a happy animal story, and not one where an animal has been mistreated. Well, unless the choice of music was The Cheeky Girls or some other generic, non-inspiring, bland music... Check them out if you must, but please note that I cannot be held responsible for any injuries caused!

Are you ignoring me?
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That is the question that I have been pondering for a while now. I have a friend (or should that be “there is a person that I know”?), who hasn’t actually spoken to me for 3 months. Now, you may think there is nothing strange in this, after all, you go through periods in life where you don’t see friends for a while, you live in different places, etc, etc. But not in this case.

We work in the same office, so we see each other 5 days out of 7. We went out on the town most weekends, often went on shopping trips, and confided in each other when things were tough (and boy-o-boy did we have some tough times!).

I walk in the office every day & always open with a cheery “Morning!” in the hope that I will get more than a grunted “hi” in response. But 3 months on, and the response is still the same. Now you’re probably asking why haven’t I made the effort to sort this out? Well, I regularly go through phases where I think that life is too short to not be friends & I should just make the extra effort to sort it out. But then there are the other times when I again think that life is too short, and I shouldn’t bother wasting any more time on people who clearly don’t value our friendship that much after all. It’s a difficult situation & it puzzles me most days.

After reading all the above, you should also note that it’s not the first time it’s happened. Thinking about it, I reckon it’s happened on a some what monthly-ish basis, so I wonder if this is a clue?! Perhaps all along I should have just bought her some PMT tablets! Hmm, interesting, but I have to say that I’ve pretty much already made my mind up, & I’m going to call it a day. There’s no point flogging a dead horse when it’s already covered in flies (© tEC tONiK March 2005), and looking at this friendship, I can hear the flies buzzing from here.

It’s been over a week since my last post, so I figure the time is about right for another rambling entry. Well, since I last frequented these pages I’ve had a few days in Amsterdam, and I made good on one of my previous statements! Yes, I took no end of pictures (98 to be exact – an average of 32.67 per day!), and lived by my statement that too many photo’s are not enough! OK, most them were a pile of poo, and I don’t think there are any hidden National Geographic gems, but what the heck, it was a good trip & I’ve now got a load of photo’s resting peacefully on my hard drive just waiting to re-awakened.

It was a pretty good trip really, and staying with a native “Amsterdamer” helped no end. We got an insight into the high profile life of an Amsterdam it girl. Starting a night out at 1:00am, bypassing the ever-growing night club queue (yes, at 1:00am it was still growing), having pictures taken for a new up & coming website, and doing a phone interview for a new MTV Europe show. Just a typical day in the life of an it girl. Oh, how the other half live!

On the more boring side of things, the weather was damn cold, the pancakes were good, and the beer was cheap. Oh yeh, for you puritans out there, we didn’t even set foot in a coffee shop (it girls don't need to).

And before signing off, I’ve just got to share one of my 98 photo’s (I know you’re dying to see the results). Just how many photo’s can you take of a canal?



A bridge (currently starring in Ocean's 12, next to Mr Clooney & Mr Pitt)
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