So That Was Christmas

After months of build up it dashed past so quickly I almost missed it.

The day itself had all the proper elements to make it enjoyable. Hangover to start since my birthday is Christmas Eve, it was a big one this year, opening pressies with Boyfriend, then a mad dash round relatives to drop off presents before tucking in to a traditional Christmas meal lovingly prepared by someone else (SCORE !!!), then lolling about in front of a real fire with a glass of bubbly stuff, trying to not to feel too much like a stuffed turkey. Bliss really.

While I very much enjoyed the pressie swapping with Boyfriend there were other pressie swaps too, and not all were as. . . . I don't know the word for it. It's not that I'm not grateful that people went to the trouble of getting pressies for me. I love receiving and giving gifts. It's fun. I just don't see the point of people splashing their hard earned cash on things that, to be quite honest, I neither need nor want. Not that I would let that show. Gifts should always be received gratefully and gracefully.

Think about it. Of the presents you received, assuming you participate in any gift giving and receiving at this, or any other time of year, how many where things that you actually wanted, needed or were pleasantly surprised by ? Maybe you did better than me but only those closest to me managed to hit it. I used to think Boyfriend was some kind of freaky psychic but I apparently have all the restraint of a five year old when I like something, making it easy. And I thought I was all grace and restraint.

Apart from some fabulous and beautiful gifts from those who really know me, and those who agreed it would be more fun to arrange a day out shopping, lunch and all, so we could pick our own, I ended up with the usual toiletries (the kind that shops only put on display when anticipating a buying frenzy, and no one ever actually uses), nic-nac's (again, things only found around this time of year), socks (of the novelty type, obviously purchased as I am always to be seen in novelty socks), socks (of the non novelty type, which I don't usually wear but are useful to have), potpourri (????), makeup brushes (of the type to disintegrate on use), and other bits and pieces which I will try to figure out what to do with until the appropriate amount of time has passed before I give them to charity or something. On that point, I have never figured out how long that is and I still have boxes of stuff from ages ago that I have never used but they were gifts and it seems mean to get rid of them.

I don't know the deep financial issues of all my friends and family but I am sure that their money could have been better spent, maybe on themselves, maybe on the kids, maybe it could have gone to a savings account for a rainy day, something more worthy. Apart from all the stuff I liked. Obviously.

I am also sure that I gave people gifts they didn't need or want and weren't pleasantly surprised by. Although I did aim to purchase the ones I wasn't sure about from shops with good exchange policies, just in case. That's the other part too. I know how stressed about getting the right thing for people I was. I planned and re planned what I would buy for them, second guessed myself so much that I was doubting things I knew were right in some cases. I tried to think as if I was the recipient. Was the item to their taste rather than mine ? Was I spending the right amount of money ? Some people don't like you to spend too much. Spending too little isn't an issue, I'm a student. I don't know if other people did anything like that but I'd much rather they didn't. It's too difficult, and a bit stressful.

I think next year I'll ask that anyone who wishes to grace me a gift should donate to charity or do through one of those alternative gift thingys. If I can actually be that selfless. Or if they really want to get something for me personally then a book token. I can, and do, spend hours in book shops, perusing the shelves for new and interesting things, so a book token is more than the sum of it's parts. It can easily be a whole day out.

If this all sounds a bit spoiled bratish well . . . it wasn't meant that way but what the hell.

Boxing Day was more of a treat as I got to spend time with the folk I love most in the whole world. Well almost all the folk I love most.

Not really related, just 'cause it makes me laugh. A little bit of Eddie Izzard

Christmas Do

Good company, reasonable food, too much wine. Lots of fun.

'Tis The Season . . . . .

to wonder what the hell I'm going to wear to Boyfriend's works Crimbo do.

("Do" in this context equals party. Just in case. Sidebar to the Scots, is it do or doo ? How do we spell it ?)

So I went in to town looking for an outfit. I had an idea. Black trousers, some kind of top and my rather fab red shoes. These shoes don't need a fancy outfit, they're too special for that.

I bought a floor length red dress. My friends encouraged me. It does not work with my red shoes.

It requires (I apologise for the language . . . . no, wait, I don't) tit tape. Plunging neck line doesn't cover it. Not alot covers it to be honest. What the hell, if you can't go a little overboard for a Christmas party when can you ?

Reminding me at this point, those that know me, that I go overboard quite alot is NOT welcome. Save the slagging for when I speak to you. Or not. Whatever.

I Think This Cat Is Related To Me

WHY ????????

Rats.

More blogs I like have vanished.

It's not fair.

Buon Appetito and I Serve Idiots have gone out of business. Arrggghhhh. I like service industry related blogs, a result of having worked in retail for years and found that the general public can be complete tossers. Somewhere along the line they seem to assume that they can treat people in the service sector like shit and get away with it. Losers.

I must see if I can find replacements. I need my stupid people fix.

Why ?

Why did I drink too much red wine yesterday ?

Why can I not watch Pride and Prejudice to ease my hangover ?

Well the first answer is anybodies guess. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

The second answer is simple. I have a boyfriend who is into computers and, rather than have a dvd like normal people, we have a media pc. A linux media pc. Which I don't know how to work.

I like simple things. Put the dvd in, press play. This does not suit Boyfriend. He needs it to be something you need to have a degree in computer science to operate.

Grrrr.

Madness

It's that time of year again folks.

Exam time.

I will go and bury my little head in my notes and text books for ten days and hope to take in all the information I need.

'Scuse me while I go laugh it up for a bit.

Bah Humbug

I realise it's a bit late to complain about this but I going to anyway.

I hate the Christmas build up. The part that happens before December.

I was asked today if I had my Christmas shopping done, then treated like some sort of alien because I haven't started. It's hideous. Screw you. I have better things to do thanks.

Ha Ha Ha

Well, it's taken quite some time but it looks like there will finally be a resolve to the noise caused by my neighbours heating system.

Environmental Health have been into the property, located the problem and been in touch with the landlord to advise him that it needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. Nice. I am very happy about this. I am looking forward to some sleep, not having my Christmas ruined, and maybe laughing my ass off.

Why the laughing you ask ? (Yeah, I know you didn't.)

If the landlord had just dealt with the situation when I first contacted him about it he wouldn't now have Environmental Health checking his electrics, and possibly all the other renovations he completed last year. From what I understand he is at least going to have to rewire the place.

That don't come cheap. And I'm not sure it can be done with tenants in.

The State Of My House

The World Needs . . . .

. . . more Wallace and Gromit. Wensleydale anyone ?

Lamb - Gorecki

Possibly of the best tracks ever. In my opinion anyway.

More Music I Like

Regina Spektor's On The Radio folks. Enjoy.

Man Attempts Sex With Bike

No, it's not a joke. A man has been arrested, tried and sentenced for simulating sex with his bike. In a hotel room.

He is now on the sex offenders register.

What the hell is going on here ? I admit his tastes are . . . . unusual, but putting him on the sex offenders register ? How deranged is that ? It's not like he dropped his trousers in a public place for all and sundry to see. He was in a room in a hostel and the cleaners walked in on him.

I don't see that any crime was actually committed. But he was charged with the catch all "breach of the peace". Which, to me, still makes no sense whatsoever. Until the cleaners unlocked the door and entered his room no one was bothered by his behaviour. His conducted may have been disorderly, but he was in the privacy of his hostel room until someone else disturbed his peace.

Personally, had I been one of the cleaners, I would just have apologised for the interruption, closed the door and then, possibly, have died laughing.

Coin Operated Boy By The Dresden Dolls

I love this song.

Here Is An Unpopular Point Of View

Let's get one thing straight right away. I hate terrorists. I hate people so fucking cowardly that they kill defenceless people and claim there is a defence for their actions. Their actions render anything indefensible.

To me there is nothing as precious as a human life. It's an opinion that informs much of what I do and what I want to do. The whole "one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter" thing doesn't fly for me. My opinion, which may be entirely irrelevant as I have never been in any position that required me to think about it really, a freedom fighter, where needed by a population, should be very specific in their actions. If those actions are needed then civilians should not be targeted.

Yes, I do understand that the whole point of a terrorist is to inspire terror. The clue, folks, is in the name. That's why terrorist and freedom fighters should be separate things and never confused. And that's why I think they, terrorists, are pathetic. I don't care who we are talking about, whither that be organisations, individuals or states. Terrorism is the cover of cowards. Ya bo sucks to you, loser.

I am going to assume that none of this has been so controversial as to be totally unpopular. What might be unpopular is my opinion on what we (speaking for the alliance in the war against terror, hey you assumed you could speak for me, just returning the fave ass) have allowed.

Okay so the extremists in this case happen to be Muslim, or at least they claim to be. I ain't so sure. Does this mean we assume all Muslims are with them ? I'm hoping you know the assuming making an ass out of you and me thing. Otherwise, get a fucking education folks, that's pretty fucking basic. What we (yes fuckheads "we" 'cause I sure as hell didn't agree to this shit) seem to have done is alienate the very people we need help from. There is a huge Muslim population who despise the actions of the extremists. Huge populations folks, of really nice people who despise the actions taken, supposedly, in the name of their faith.

Then there's torture. Guantanamo Bay. A hell that should never be allowed. I don't care what your so called reasoning is, torture is wrong. Just plain fucking wrong you arrogant sons of man. Apart from the fact that it's just plain wrong and barbarous, who really thinks that's going to turn up reliable info anyway ? Even on the off chance you manage to swoop in and kidnap someone with any actual involvement in terrorism. While I haven't tortured anyone to check my hypothesis, given that I think its immoral, I strongly suspect that by the time you actually manage to break some they will tell you anything they think you'll want to hear. Anything to stop the torture.

Imprisonment with out charge, there's another pile of crap that's come out of this. Sorry, that's just not on you bunch of pigs. Actually that's insulting to pigs, more like you bunch of immoral, uncivilised human beings. We trumpet our great civilizations based on democracy, the rule of law, and all those other great things that took time to develop . . . . . wait, let's back up a little . . . rule of law ? What the fuck is that ? Oh no wait, it's fine just change the law to suit what ever passing fancy you have. Mind you why worry, according to our Glorious (ex) Leader the worst thing that could happen in our legal system is that one guilty man goes free. I thought that it was that one innocent man was imprisoned. Oh well, silly little me, it must be because I'm a girl.

Okay, this ranting can not go on any longer 'cause I . . . . feel the need to scream.

More Important Things In Life Than Clothes

So stop bitching that you hate Trinny and Susannah and their makeover shows.

Tell me about the more important stuff instead.

That aside, I actually like T & S. They make me laugh. But not so for some as this article shows.

Apparently T & S's makeover shows teach us how to play by the rules of the game that oppresses us. Okay. . . . . . sorry, you lost me there. Maybe I'm just a dumb brunette.

Make up is an random thing for me, it's for a sense of occasion, playing at dress up, when I can be arsed to bother about it. I suppose I wear feminine clothes some times, but I prefer to think of them as my clothes. Actually, what counts as feminine clothing ? Is it just skirts and dresses or are we talking anything that suggests a female form underneath ? In which case all my clothes should be included 'cause I don't own a ghost outfit.

I don't really get the "perfect (real) women are not flawed" argument, or the protests against it. I am really perfect and I'm perfectly flawed. It's the flaws that make it interesting. I don't know about you but Barbie dolls were dull. Identikit dolls, variation only found in hair, eye and lipstick colour. Dull, dull, dull people. So very dull.

Perfect beauty does exist, there is just no standard form of it. Beauty is, to be cheesy about it, in the eye of the beholder. Boyfriend thinks I am beautiful, possibly the most beautiful woman in the world. My best friends husband thinks she is the most beautiful woman in the world. We don't look anything alike.

No one has ever actually tried to tell me that my womanhood is dependent on fashion and make up and all that other guff, but if they did I'd have to think of a witty reply that wouldn't suffer from a five minute laughter filled delay. That could be tricky.

The first article has a follow up, a little afterthought.

An interesting view is brought up here. T & S, it seems, refuse to accept that some women just really don't care about things as superficial as looks, because there are more important things in life. Fine, I can go with that. Some people aren't bothered. I would suggest, however, that arguing that T & S refuse to accept this point of view based on any participant of their makeover shows protests is useless. If any of the women truly didn't give a mad monkeys uncle about a T & S makeover or, in the case of one show, £2000 to spend on clothes, they would refuse to appear on the show. Maybe my logic is flawed but it seems to me that if you agree to appear on a makeover show then . . . . . you do indeed care about how you look, and would like to change it and perhaps feel like you could do with some assistance. Personally I'd tell them to take a hike.

There is a slightly more disturbing point in this little afterthought. To quote;

"It occurs to me that I have fallen once again into the trap of misdirected anger. Trinny and Susannah are, after all, also a product of the society that pushes the anti-women values I outline below, and as such should probably not be blamed quite so vehemently for their actions.

It’s always a difficult one, this: if we took that argument to its logical conclusion it would mean rapists weren’t to blame for their actions because they were brought up in a society that more or less condones, or at least ignores, male rape of women. I of course believe that rapists must be held accountable for their actions. So where is the line? Where do we place the blame for xyz?"

So even if I thought the author had a valid of view in the first place I would by now think she was a raving loon. Actually I do think she is a raving loon. At which point in time does the makeover show become comparable to rape ? A makeover show maybe entirely objectionable to some but as far as I know there is no legislation against it and it is not a criminal offence.

Rape is a crime. The system for prosecution of accused rapists may not be as effective as we would like but it's hard to argue that a society condones, or even just ignores something that it legislated against and is a crime.

Readings Of Late

Trying to take up space here. Since I am still under the sway of the evil lurgy this is the best I can come up with. Well this and pink biscuits.

The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller

The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller

The Beautiful And Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

The Court Of The Air by Stephen Hunt

A Spot Of Bother by Mark Haddon

A History Of The Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani

The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway

In The Earth Abides The Flame by Russell Kirkpatrick

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Fond Memories Of Biscuits

Pink wafer biscuits anyone ?

My Nana always had these biscuits in her kitchen. And I loved them. But it does beg the question, who thought that pink was a good colour for wafer ? Lets not get into the bad ingredients that must have been in them.

I haven't seen these in years but it may be possible to find them in Sainsbury's. Or so I have heard. Might have to take a peek.

Lurgy Still Here

Bah.

Sucky, Not So Sucky Day

The frickin' banging began at 5:30 this morning.

5:30

5 fucking 30

I don't see that time in the morning unless I haven't been to bed yet. Or I have a plane to catch to somewhere sunny. You know, real reasons to be awake at that time. Okay, I would consider getting up at that time for money, but we're talking lots of money. Pick a figure that has million added to it and I'll think about it.

My inability to function properly without a reasonable amount of good sleep is one of the things that tells me parenthood is not my calling in life. I make bears with sore heads run away crying. Then their parents come along to complain, and I make them run too. A dear friend once said she imagined even Medusa would have to consider things before she was willing to take me on when I'm tired. Turning people to stone is for amateurs. I prefer columns of fire followed by piles of ash. As long as someone else is doing the cleaning. And who needs them to look at you ? Pffff. Being in the general vicinity works for me. Rumour has it the air around me feels hot when I'm really angry. For me really angry and over tired are pretty similar. I can do flames.

So that's the sucky part of my day. That and just being tired all the fucking time.

The not so sucky part of the day ? Well, I got my essay on the Cuban Missile Crisis back. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I got a B1. It's good but not as good as it should be. The lecturer seemed pleased with it and more than a little surprised that I wasn't over the moon. To me, it highlighted that I haven't been working even half as much as I should have been. I need to get back on my A streak. Although that's a little problematic when I'm so tired.

Interesting . . . . But Nothing To Do With Me

I found a site, persephone books, through the f word.

It's a small publishing company, focusing mainly on 20th century female authors. The article on the fword goes into more detail, obviously. I am going to investigate and buy some books. I like new discoveries.

The name thing is a coincidence. I am not in anyway involved with this company, nor do I know anyone involved. I just thought it seemed interesting.

I Need Some Quiet Time

Wow.

Another weekend over, another party, another hangover. Thankfully there are no parties in our future for the next little while. I need to rest.

It was lots of fun. A slightly late Halloween/house warming party. Fancy dress and all. Since we only got the email the day before our costumes where . . . . a little thrown together. I was a cliche, a sexualised representation of an other wise innocent fairy tale character. I was told that was far too intellectual for fancy dress. Whatever, it was my justification for a cobbled together outfit and I'm sticking to it. We had fireworks too. And suitably gross food stuffs.

The hangover was killer. And I busted my diet again. At this rate I ain't making my target weight by my target time. I should stop having fun for a while I feel. Well, fun that includes red wine anyway. So that's my plan. For the next six weeks no booze, more exercise and sensible food.

Crikey, that sounds dull. What the hell, needs must and all that.

Need to go do some housework now, and then read some stuff for uni. Drat, and double drat.

And my essay is due for hand back tomorrow. Bugger, bollocks, hell and damnation.

I want my hangover back.

I Love Gogo Dodo

Childhood Memories

A Puss Cat To Cheer The Day

No Reason Other Than Cute And Lazy

I have the Dreaded Lurgy

I hate the lurgy.

Can I Have Some Painkillers Please ?

Boyfriend's team won some awards for their last project. Cue a night out.

My head hurts.

It was a great night, dinner, drinks and, some how, back to ours for more drinks. At times like that I am glad that we continued our old habit of always being stocked for a party. It didn't seem quite so necessary when we moved from my beloved hometown as most of our late night drinking buds live there. But old habits die hard. Thankfully.

I have no idea what time we kicked people out. I just know it was sometime after two. Quite a while after I believe but my ability to care about time was somewhat impaired. Red wine will do that to you. As will gin.

Much fun was had. My head still hurts though, and I have glasses to wash.

Poo.

On the up side, I did find out that one of the other girls worked as a stripper and pole dancer for a while.

Stardust

My lovely Boyfriend took me to see Stardust last night.

Loved it. I love fairy tales, especially those with a little punch. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite books and movies.

Back to Stardust.

Yes, there probably were plot holes and other things wrong but fortunately for me I have retained my childhood ability to be enchanted and get far too involved in the story to care. As long as the story telling is good. And the holes aren't too glaring. I'm not going to say anything about the actual story as people may not have seen the movie or read the book or graphic novel thingy, and it'd be dashed unsporting to give away details.

I'd seen the trailers for the movie and loved the song that went with it. Then I found out it was by Take That. Hmmm. This does pose a problem. I am of an age to have been a Take That fan first time round and I wasn't. I did not understand the hysteria and devotion of those around me. When their comeback was announced I didn't really care. Until, that is, they actually released some alright tracks. The adult me is okay with this, the part that is forever a teenager is not. Totally not, okay ?

Crazy Like A Fox

I like that phrase.

Rowdy Regulars

Thought I'd share a little story I stumbled across.

A bar in London had their regulars show their worth recently. When five masked men, one brandishing a gun, burst into the bar the customers hurled pint glasses, champagne bottles and chairs at them. The masked men fled from the barrage.

I'd say the next round is on the landlord.

Saturday, A Mantinee, Some Books And A Steak Pie

Boyfriend and I decided to do some thing a bit different yesterday afternoon.

We went to the theatre.

It's not like we don't go any other time, just not on Saturday afternoons. It was great, a most enjoyable way to spend the time. Our local theatre company are rather good, even if I do say so myself. An excellent, laugh out loud performance was followed by a tasty lunch and coffee. Then we moved to one of my favourite past times. Book shopping.

I could spend hours in a book shop. Hell, I do spend hours in bookshops. Fortunately book shopping is one of Boyfriend's fave things too. I love wandering from section to section, finding new things, browsing the shelves and spending lots of cash. Even if I don't have much in the way of spare cash. Books are not a luxury, they are an essential part of life. I could just join the library to cut down the cost of my reading addiction but it would affect the experience and that's a no no.

You see, I like to get comfy with a book. I have a friend who can't read a book if the spine is broken, a page crushed, or if the book is anything less than perfect. Her books all look untouched. She is horrified by my book related behaviour. I always have a book in my handbag when I leave the house. Always. Of course they suffer some transport related damage, but I don't mind. I like my books to be well travelled. If I can't find a bookmark, or more likely have lost the one I had despite not moving from my chair, I will quite happily leave the book open, pages face down to keep my place. I can't think of a single paperback I own that has it's spine in tact. I like to read in the bath, which has on occasion lead to page meeting water.

My books are precious things, the words, worlds and people they contain are to be cherished but I need to be comfy with them, otherwise it affects the relationship. I still have books from my childhood, my Brothers Grimm and Hans Christan Anderson collections from my gran for my eighth birthday, a beautifully illustrated copy of Treasure Island from my uncle for Christmas when I was nine, my first copy of Pride and Prejudice from my eleventh birthday all quite dog eared, battered and loved. Picking up those books is a trip down memory lane in more ways than one. I'd best stop my little book related wanderings now or we could be here for a while.

So I bought a book. Still waiting on several others to be published or to come out in paperback. After the book shop we toddled off home for a nice relaxing evening, a delicious steak pie from the local farm shop, some steamed greens and a glass or two of red.

All in all, a great day.

Yeah, I know, the details of my life are not thrilling but it's my blog and I'll write what I like.

So . . . . . Got Nothing But Some Random Shit About Me

I'm going to assume you care. If not, fuck off now as this will just bore you.

I'm not having the best of days.

I have a history of depression and, despite my otherwise perfect life, it still jumps me sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not prefect, by a long shot, I'm not rich, but I have no financial difficulties, I don't know what I'm going to do after I finish my degree, although I am smart enough to be expected to do well, I am not beautiful, pretty but averagely so and overall pretty happy with that. Average is okay. I have no major problems. My biggest dilemmas this week are; should I buy a new bag or wait 'til next month, what I should make for dinner and how to get my weight loss back on track.

My boyfriend is perfect, not perfect in a way the entire world might agree with, but perfect for me. He's smart, funny, sexy and pretty fucking understanding of his crazy girlfriend. He may also be the most annoying man on the planet. I feel it's one of his finer qualities. I love him, he loves me, we have a good life, and last time I checked that's pretty much as good as it gets.

So to recap, I'm not saying pity me for my mental health. I was the one who decided that a life time of medication was not for me and that I would just deal with the little black box in the back of my head. I was the one who decided that I was going to take the fucker on with the intention of beating it into the ground and generally kicking it's ass. I win, some times, other times it wins

I have a stubborn streak.

The depression stems from my childhood, a time I didn't have control of. The exact issues are unimportant now. I've dealt with them. But the shadow, the depression, remains.

It's really fucking annoying.

I have to say I don't think that everyone diagnosed with depression should take my route. There are certain traits in my personality that make this the best route for me. For me, my depression is a weakness I need to deal with. I know, and understand, that depression is not a weakness, it's shit that happens, but I need to fight. I really need to fight. It's the only way I know how. The fact that my life is now pretty fucking good make the depression even more annoying and less understandable even though I know where and what it comes from. But there it is. It still exists, and still attempts to control me.

I can feel the fucker circling. It's moving in for another attack. This thing is a separate entity. It swoops on moments of weakness, things that really aren't that important in the grand scheme but that it can use to get at me. Today I smashed a plate while doing the dishes and fucked up a small thing. It sees that as food. It already has a bigger hold than normal as I have sleep issues due to one of my neighbours. Lack of sleep makes me edgy, two months of fucked up sleep makes me near crazy. I know this and have avoided other things, as best I can, that add to that. My head feels ready to explode. So I bought some ciggies. I'll feel guilty about that . . . . . as I smoke. Boyfriend doesn't like smoking, and smoking isn't actually allowed in our house. Oops.

What the fuck, I feel crap and I'll take what I can get as a crutch.

So here I am, having a fucking bad day for no real fucking reason.

That's really fucking annoying.

Thanks for the share.

Wait . . . Where Am I ? Who Am I ?

Essay done and dusted. Can't say much for the quality but hey, who cares ? It's done.

Since I've been busy reading about the Cuban missile crisis I have nothing of interest to say, no silly discovery, unless you want to talk about the ExComm tapes.

No takers ?

Gee, what a surprise.

Think I'll toddle off and see what interesting and tantalising things other people have been up to.

Who Knew ?

Who knew listening to the ExComm tapes, documenting one of the most dangerous incidents of the Cold War could be so fricking dull ?

Just give me the transcripts people, I can read faster than they talk. There's a deadline looming.

Arrrgggghhhh

Essay due on Wednesday.

I got my weeks mixed up.

I haven't even finished my reading yet.

Oh well, what the hell. Just need to get it done and handed in.

A Quick Intro To Grey's, And House, Sort Of

Enjoy.

Why Do I Love Grey's ?

I really need to get over my Grey's Anatomy addiction.

Really.

Although, I may be in too deep already.

I'm watching it now, even though I know I shouldn't. I mean McDreamy and McSteamy ? What the fuck is with that ? Why am I still watching this ? More red wine please. Quickly.

Maybe that's the root of the problem. Thursday is my night in, by myself, with a couple of glasses of red. It must be lowering my defences.

On the other hand it could be much, much worse. I could like Big Brother.

Frickin' Housework

Why is it that house guests and periods where I can't be arsed to keep the house shiny bright always meet ? That means I end up scrabbling around the day before they arrive like a cross between Cinderella and Monica from Friends.

That has been the joy of my day. The in laws, well my sort of in laws, are due tomorrow and of late I have been what you might call lazy in the housework department. It's not my fault ! I'm back at uni and have essays, reading and lectures to slack off from, and blogs to read. Priorities people. I'm always like that for a few weeks at the start of term again, then I realise that I have been slacking far too effectively and I have an essay due in a week and need to actually behave like the adult I am supposed to be.

Floors were washed, carpets hoovered, furniture polished, bedding aired, skirting boards washed, and cotton buds were deployed to ensure every possible nook and cranny was wiped clean. The iron even made it out of the cupboard for more than the clothes I wanted to wear. This may not be a big thing for other people but I don't iron very much. I once suggested ironing Boyfriend's tshirts and I never want to see that much confusion and fear on the face of another human being again. I think I might have left a permanent scar. I actually have all my napkins washed and ironed at the same time. I sorted paperwork. That was a Herculean task in and of itself. We usually work with the pile system but now there are folders and things. Kitchen cupboards are now actually organised as opposed to the old free for all.

I have a sparkly and organised home at the moment. Anthea Turner would be proud.

It probably won't last long.

Doctors, And Others, Who Can't Do Their Job

A friend emailed me an article from the Telegraph today. The Telegraph is not a paper which I personally buy, it's a little too right wing, foreigners are evil, long live the Tories for me. I mean this is the paper that claimed immigrants from EU countries are driving up house prices in the UK. After telling us that the top 10 areas of employment for EU immigrants are in the service industry. See here for the insightful and unbiased article.

"More than one third were factory operatives, 10 per cent packers, nine per cent catering assistants, nine per cent warehouse operatives, followed by cleaners, farm workers, waiters, domestic workers, care assistants and sales assistants"

How many people do you know working in any of those areas that can afford to but houses in the UK market ? But apparently immigration in a major factor in the rise of the average house price from £86,000 to £177,000. Not people buying second homes or property to rent out then.

Back to the point. I checked out the article that I had been emailed. Here it is. Basically, a small number of Muslim medical students are refusing to deal with patients who require treatment for alcohol related illness and sexually transmitted diseases on religious grounds. They also refuse to attend lectures on the subjects. Some are refusing to perform examinations on members of the opposite sex. The Times also has a piece on this. A search at BBC online turned up nothing. Neither did a search at the Guardian online nor at the Independent. I admit I didn't exactly work through every possible combination of search terms but still. Okay I did one search at each using the words Muslim, medical students, doctors, refuse. I thought that would do. Sheesh, people I don't have all day.

I assume that anyone who fails to study any area of medicine for any reason will be unable to pass their exams and therefore I don't really care. You aren't capable of doing the job and you won't qualify. Seems fair to me. What pissed me off was in the Times article. The General Medical Council has "received requests for guidance over whether students could “omit parts of the medical curriculum and yet still be allowed to graduate”".

Eh, let me think, you don't complete the course and as a result can't pass your exam so we should . . . . .consider letting you graduate anyway. Of course ! Why didn't I see it before. So totally logical. To quote a very dear friend, fuck that shit.

I'd have the same opinion of anyone else of any religion in a similar situation. In fact I do. Christan doctors who refuse to refer patients for abortions, or any religious type who refuses to supply any medical procedure/medication etc on religious/moral/ethical grounds consider yourself well and truly off the list of people I like. You know what the job entails, if you can't do it find other employment.

The Times and Telegraph article also mention that Sainsbury's supermarkets allows employees not scan booze at the tills on religious ground, someone else has to be called in to do that. Seems stupid but whatever. Actually, no, not whatever. If you can't fill your job description you shouldn't have the frickin' job.

Apparently this whole I can't do my job for r/m/e reasons is becoming more prevalent. I have an answer. Sack them.

That goes for the doctors who "are unwilling to provide terminations because they believe there is no good excuse for unwanted pregnancies". You see they "don't see why they should have to - as one put it to me - clear up the mess if women can't be bothered to use contraception." The whole article is here. They apparently don't understand that contraceptives can fail. Wow. And these people actually passed their exams ? That's quite disturbing.

You are entitled to what ever beliefs and opinions you want but they should not interfere with your ability to function in your chosen career or job. It's terribly unprofessional.

One other situation that needs mentioned in the I can't do my job properly section. I have friend in the fire brigade who told me that in their whole "equality" drive a female candidate was given a second shot at a test. No male candidate ever has been. If she couldn't pass the test under the same conditions as everyone else then she can't do the job. It's insulting to other candidates, both male and female, who can.

About A Post

I have just posted something I drafted on Saturday. I wasn't sure if I should given that the topic is such an emotive one, but hey it's my blog. So read it if you please, or don't.

In case you need a warning the subject is abortion.

Monday, Whose Idea Was That ?

Frickin' Monday.

Should Scotland Set Own Abortion Law ? And Is That The Real Question Here ?

I was catching up on some reading and stumbled across an article from the Scotsman in which our dear devolved leader has raised the issue of whither abortion law should be among the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament.

I can understand trying to bring more legislative powers to the parliament. Scotland now has a pro independence party in power and, to be quite frank, it would be a little weird if they didn't try to advance their political agenda. Last time I checked that was pretty much what political parties did. Reading the rest of the article made me unsure about how I feel about this move though. It seems to be for reasons other than simply empowering the Scottish Parliament.

The article brings the First Ministers personal opinion on abortion, that the limit should be reduced from 24 weeks to 20 weeks because there have been medical advances on foetus viability.

Hey Salmond, little word please. Abortion is not actually about foetus viability, it's about a woman's right to determine whither she becomes a mother or not. I don't want to hear about foetus rights because as far as I am concerned the rights lie with the woman. I'm not sorry if this offends any one's sensibilities.

Please, bring on the irrational hate if you feel the need. It's not going to change my opinion.

Motherhood, parenthood in general, is far too important to be foisted on people. It's something that should be entered in to willingly, with an idea of the responsibilities that lie ahead and at least a vague plan of how you are going to navigate it. Plans change of course but you need an idea to start with. And the parents should, ideally, be in a good financial position, capable of providing for their offspring. You also need to be mentally mature and prepared enough to take responsibility for a small person who will need to rely on you for everything; food, shelter, and guidance among others. Children should be wanted, loved and cherished. They are too important to be anything else.

And don't tell me that women who have abortions don't use contraceptives so it's their own fault
they got pregnant. Hey stupid, no means of contraceptive is 100% effective, not even sterilisation. That fails in rare cases for unknown reasons. After that argument comes you shouldn't be having sex if you don't intend to reproduce.

Wahahahahahahahahahahahahah. 'Cause that's gonna happen. Folks, sex is just too much fun.

And on a more serious point, this line of argument seems to be mainly directed at women. I am not a baby factory, I will not be defined by my reproductive biology. For the fun of it let's imagine that rule applied to men. No man may have sex if he does not intent to father a child, and be an active parent to that child. 'Cause that would happen. Can't you just see it ?

Then you get the abortion is murder argument. Sorry folks it is not murder. Murder is a criminal offence, the unlawful and intentional killing of another human being. Abortion is legal not criminal. Abortion is the termination of pregnancy by inducing the expulsion of a foetus. Or if that's just too damn clinical for you it's the intentional killing of an unborn child. This fact is not debatable. That's why it's a fact. See ? No airy fairy skipping the uncomfortable points here.

To be honest I don't really think anyone does. I doubt having an abortion is something anyone takes lightly. There is a whole lot more to this subject but this is a post about the thoughts that the Scotsman article and the comments on it made me think.

A Little Word About Giving A Shit

I just ran into one of my pet hates again. It seems to be mainly Americans that I have heard/read using this little gem but I have no doubt that other English speakers do it too.

Now, maybe I am miss understanding but I don't think do. The context in which my little bug bear is used seems to indicate that I have properly understood the intent. Unfortunately I don't have any examples to hand. The phrase that bugs me is . . . . . . .

"I could care less".

Or "I could give a shit",

or any variation on this theme,

What they actually mean is that they COULD NOT care less or they COULD NOT give a shit. At least from the context that's what it seems they mean.

When you use one of the two offending phrases what you are actually saying is;

"There is a way in which I could actually care less about this subject/person/thing so I do in fact care about it to some degree."

See the difference ? Or have I explained far too ineptly ? If you mean you couldn't give a flying monkeys uncle about something please say so.

Of course it could be that "I could give a shit" is a truncated version of "I could give a shit, but I don't" but I have never heard it said with any inflection that would hint at that.

Now that I have had my little rant on the subject someone might feel it appropriate to point out that neither my grammar, spelling, nor punctuation are perfect and allude to stones and glasshouses. Know what ?

I couldn't give a shit.

Privacy ? What Privacy ?

So I've been reading Violent Acres blog on and off for a little while now and I like it. As I have not trawled V's archive and I don't check regularly there is usually something to read. One of the finer qualities in a blog I feel.

Yes, I am aware that it is not a quality that my blog possesses. So what ?

So today through a process we won't go into, that'd be dull, I read a 2006 post, Go On With Your Bad Selves. It referred to a little upset in the internet world that another of V's posts had caused and I decided to see if I could find any trace of it still drifting around. I like reading so called internet scandals of this type, especially when one side doesn't give a flying fuck for the opinion of the other. So I went scurrying to Google, as you do, to see what I could find. And find stuff I did. Not related to what I went looking for but hey, I'm easily distracted when wasting time so I followed the new thread.

Again I ended up in a post that was from 2006. You see apparently there was, maybe still is, speculation as to whither V is male or female. First thought on reading this ? Sad fucks, really should get a life. I think a few people in the comments pointed this line of thought out. But I was amused for a little longer. Until I got to the bottom of that page and found the link to this page.

Who does this sad little fuck think he is ? Why when some loser came to him claiming to know who V is did he follow it up ? Why not just tell them to go fuck themselves ? Who gave him the right to invade someones privacy to satisfy his curiosity ?

Then he tells us, graciously, that it's not his place to part with this news worthy piece of information. Awww, shucks, what a guy. Chivalry still lives somewhere. Just not with that tosser. But you know he had a "bona fide ethical dilemma" to reach this decision. Do you think he really meant that ? Just not over V's right to privacy, that was a no brainer. He wanted to know so obviously it's his divine right to know and that supersedes everyone elses rights. Now that he knows, well things have to be considered. Git.

I know that in the case of Restaurant Gal some smart arse little git did actually reveal her identity and felt proud of it. 'Cause that makes you a gold star pupil doesn't it ? Why ? Why is it so important to some people to rip the anonymity away ? Why is this important ? If you read a blog and like it, does it matter who writes it ? If you read it and you don't like it, what the fuck are you doing ? Get a life, really, you need it. For me personally it doesn't. And I believe that if someone chooses to blog anonymously then no one has the right to take that away.

Geez, I do keep harping on about privacy issues. Wonder why ?

Tired Of It

Sooooo tired.

The problem with whoever's heating system/hot water system is causing all the fucking noise is STILL NOT FUCKING FIXED.

As a result I hate everyone who is in anyway connected with it. Fucking fuckers.

Caffeine fumes are the only thing sustaining me at this point. Okay, okay, maybe partying with my mates at the weekend wasn't the best plan ever when I'm not getting enough sleep but to be honest, if I'm not getting enough sleep at least I should at least get to enjoy the reason that I'm not getting enough sleep. Anyone want to object ? Please only apply if you have a death wish.

And no, I don't care if the "not enough sleep sentence" makes any sense or not.

And it's not just how little sleep I am getting that's pissing me off. I am become one very pissy, cranky bitch. Now don't get me wrong, there is not one damn thing wrong with being a bitch. I do it very well on occasion. Like when I'm breathing. But having your inner bitch run riot and get out of your control is not a good thing. I like to be in full control of bitchiness, it should always be deployed with style and grace. And you should always be fully aware of said deployment so you can enjoy the aftermath. That's what makes it fun.

It should also be directed appropriately. This is the point I am failing on at the moment. I am taking shit out on my boyfriend. This is not good. The sucky situation is not his fault, there is nothing he can do about it. Everything that can be done is being done. Admittedly it's being done by me, but that's 'cause I have the time and flexibility to be at home when plumbers, heating engineers and official types come calling. I don't think it's getting to him as much as me, he seems to be able to sleep through or get back to sleep after but boyfriend is undoubtedly not the situations biggest fan so why I am making it worse for him ? I have no reasonable answer to that nor do I seem to be able to stop.

I need to get over the out of control bitch thing.

They need to fix the stupid system.

How Exactly Did October Get Here So Quickly ?

Seriously. It should not be October yet, not for at least some frickin' time to come. It snuck up quietly and then clattered me over the head with a large pot which it proceeded to hit with a wooden spoon. Repeatedly.

I know I have the ability to lose track of time but this is new for even me. It's still supposed to be September. That way the deadlines I have looming are looming just a little less, and the projects I have are further from expected completion.

I don't give a monkey's uncle's flyin' bare ass bandicoot how long the calender has been arranged this way I WANT SEPTEMBER BACK !!!

Non compliance with this demand will result in . . . . . . you are probably to young for the rest of this sentence. I'm to young for it. I didn't know I knew that many beepable words.

Drunken Time With Good Friends

It was supposed to be a quiet get together on Saturday night. I finally stumbled home at about seven am on Sunday. I undoubtedly spouted bullshit for quite some time but I believe that is acceptable behaviour at these events. And after the amount of booze that was consumed I doubt any of us actually remember what the hell we said any way. It would be rude if anyone did. It was a great night of gabbing, silliness and music. Bliss.

My hangover has receded now but it was very, very unwilling to. It took some gentle persuasion involving about 4 or 5 litres of water. I think I need more. Lots and lots more. Maybe a darkened room too. And pizza.

Now I am not going to be foolish enough to say I'm never doing that again, that never works. My plan is to not do that again for quite some time. Prior to this time the last time was about ten months ago. I think I'll leave it a little longer next time, maybe a year. Or two.

More water, a movie, a quilt and the couch. My immediate future.

Boyfriend will be home soon so hugs will be involved too.

Nickin' Stuff From Pumpkin, Again

So I wended my way around the net for a bit and, unsurprisingly, ended up at Pumpkin's place. Hey, she makes me laugh. Visit if you don't believe me. Ah, mutual appreciation, what it's all about.

So since I got a woohoo from her I decided I would visit some of the other woohoos. I really do love my command of the English language. And no, woohoo is not rude. Well, not the way I'm using it. You can use it which ever way you please.

I went to Norman's place. I had to know why the lady is Norman. Who wouldn't ? Norman is great. Why Norman is Norman is great. Normans ghost stories had me laughing, especially shouting at the ghost. About coffee. Don't get me wrong, I sympathise with Normans terror at the whole thing, it's just I personally haven't been frightened by a ghost. Wasps on the other hand freak me the fuck out so I just imagined the stories were about them.

Not the best plan I ever had to be honest. Hearing wasp foot steps coming up behind you ? A wasp shouting "Hey" at you ? Hell no. I went back to laughing at the ghosts. Then a frickin' wasp buzzed up to me. Queue hysteria. They are monitoring my thoughts man, planning their attacks. The skinheads of the insect world have formed a coalition to get at me. Nooooooooooo. I still don't know were it went. Will be sleeping completely under the covers tonight. Who needs to breathe ? Mind you, compared to Norman's spider maybe it's not so bad. Actually no, I'll take the spider, it's not like you're gonna lose track of that thing. No wait, is there a neither option here ? I'll take that, thanks.

After ensuring that I had a can of hairspray beside me in case of wasp attack, I continued my wandering ways. I checked some of Norman's posts and links and somehow stumbled into wendi aarons world. I don't know how, Norman doesn't have a link to her, maybe it was through a comment, maybe though another link. Oh, who cares !! Wendi is great too. She makes me laugh. And she doesn't have scary spiders. That I know of.

You may have received an email at some point about a letter sent to the some ass at Proctor and Gamble, over the "Have a Happy Period" greetings on the adhesive tape of Always maxi pads. Well ladies, and any gentlemen who are aware of this, it seems it was not an urban/net/whatever myth. Wendi is the author. It's posted on her blog in march. I absolutely fucking love it. Please, go to wendi's place and read it if you are unaware of it. It contains immortal lines like;

"Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants."

"does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness—actual smiling, laughing happiness—is possible during a menstrual period?"

"If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like "Put Down the Hammer" or "Vehicular Manslaughter Is Wrong"?"

"I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere."

I never got passed wendi's place.

Have You Found Jesus ?

I love this. I first found it on clipmarks then went to the original site. They asked people not to right click so I haven't. Get up off your lazy ass, or stay sitting on it which, lets face it is the more likely of the two, and go check it out. My lazy ass concurs.

I'm not much fussed about any one's religious convictions, if they keep them to themselves. I personally think organised religion is dubious, it gives people a mask to hide behind. I can think of a few people who hide behind the so called virtues of their religion but their actions speak to their true character.

Anyway, jumping out on people who are casually waiting on their bus is downright rude. Strike one on the whole good Christan thing I'd say. I don't remember the Bible saying is was okay to be ill mannered. It has been awhile since I read it so I could be wrong. And no, I can't be arsed to check. I like making random statements based on little more than my bullshit opinion and maybe a hazy memory of something I once read/heard/saw/dreamed.

I love the comeback and will borrow it to be used with great style against annoying Christian types when they try to sign me up. Or any other religion if appropriate. This post is notification that credit is given to the creator (just of the piece, still trying to decide about the creator/s of all things). Sorry it won't be after each and every deployment, it would ruin the moment.

FHM Gets Wrist Slap For Topless Pic Of Underage Girl

FHM has had a wrist slap over an image it published of a 14 year old girl. Yup, a wrist slap.

A spokesman for FHM said: "We regret any distress caused to either the girl or her parents. When the picture - a posed, topless shot - was submitted to us for publication it appeared to be of a much older girl taken by a male friend. The information with which we were provided also suggested this was the case."

I like the need to let us know that it was a posed topless shot, so obviously the girl in it had given up any rights, I mean she posed for the picture. And someone who wasn't her sent it to you, saying it was okay to publish. Well that's all right then. Idiots.

FHM had argued that it received around 1,200 photographs each week for publication either from or on behalf of women posing topless or in their underwear. It was surprised the girl was 14 as she appeared to be older, and had "no reason to believe the image was taken without her consent".

Didn't consider that she should be consulted before it was published ? She might have consented to the picture being taken but she might never have consented to it being published. This seems to be saying that anyone can submit a photo and FHM will make no effort whatsoever to check that the subject of the picture agrees to publication. 'Cause obviously a woman wearing only her underwear or posing topless has no fucking rights, she's only there for moronic male consumption. I have no doubt that some of those 1,200 pics are sent by, or with the full knowledge and consent of the subject but this case highlights that not all are. And as previously stated, just because someone agrees to pose for their boyfriend does not mean that they consent to publication.

It's like the whole blow up over that girl from High School Musical. Oh my god, she posed nude for a picture intended for her boyfriend !!! Nudity !!! It's the devils work !! People are clamouring to vent their opinion on the poor girl. Very few people seem to be asking how a private photograph ended up on the net. I haven't seen anything about trying to track down the person responsible and prosecute them for their actions. One unfeeling idiot suggested that it's not a situation anyone should be upset about. Okay, maybe they are referring to not being upset about the fact that a teenage girl got naked. That I agree with, nudity is not something to be scared of. However the fact that this private picture ended up on the net is something to be upset about. Very fucking upset about.

Quotes And Things

Still not getting enough sleep so the best I can do is steal other peoples words.

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't.
~ Mark Twain

If you believe in the existence of fairies at the bottom of the garden you are deemed fit for the bin. If you believe in parthenogenesis, ascension, transubstantiation and all the rest of it, you are deemed fit to govern the country.~ Jonathan Meades

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.~ George Orwell

If you understand everything, you must be misinformed.~ Japanese Proverb

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
~ Albert Einstein

More Irn Bru

'Cause it's great.

Pumpkin Inspired

Liar, Liar

Turns out that the particular neighbour's landlord I've been waiting on to do something is not responsible for the problem after all. One of the other ones is. One of the ones who already told me they had checked and it wasn't them. Turns out one particular landlord has a history of a "It's not my problem" attitude. And his is the property the plumber said was the most likely cause of the problem.

Well it's about to become his problem in a very big way. I am now going to every official agency and person that I can think of and I'm going to cause merry hell until it is fixed. And then I'm going to make an official complaint about the noise his tenants make, which up until now I was loath to do, believing that it was better to deal with it myself. Not any fucking more. Nice has officially left the building.

Bitch In Person

Apparently turning up and being a bitch, albeit a well mannered one, in person is very effective, especially when combined with the word solicitor. Someone will be out to look at, and deal with, the problem today.

Release your inner bitch, I say.

I must also give thanks for the fact that my tv, net and phone services are operational again. That took no inner bitch in person or otherwise.

No Sympathy For The Devil, Lots For His Mum

Oh my whatever deity you believe in.

Poor Pumpkin. Only read this if you have a strong stomach. Not so much the gym thing, that's totally self inflicted but the rest . . . . . . .

Money For Incompetent People

Having previously alluded to how I feel about personal injury lawyers I'd like to talk about the adverts for their services.

The first one that springs to mind is a tv advert. A man fitting a something to an outside wall with a drill tells us he was given the wrong ladder. Yup, we can see from the ad that he was indeed given the wrong ladder. It's just a straight ladder propped against the wall. Now my diy skills suck but even I am aware that if I prop a straight ladder against a wall, climb it and try to use a power drill at the top to drill into the wall that I am going to be very quickly introduced to the ground with, at minimum, a large SPLAT ! And this guy tells us he was given the wrong ladder for the job BUT PROCEEDED ANYWAY ? So either he can't do his job properly, or he was looking for an injury so he could claim. Either way, screw it. Wait, can you handle a screw driver ??? Or are you going to stab yourself with it ? Do I care ? Here have the damn screw driver, do what you like.

The second advert is one I have heard on the radio. Some guy is telling us that he is the man responsible for telling newbies how the equipment works, and that he doesn't really care if you remember all the instructions and safety rules or not. So according to him, when you get injured sue the company. Actually I'd want to know just how much of frickin' idiot you are ? If you are going to be dealing with equipment that could cause injury why wouldn't you make sure you remembered the safety rules ? If you didn't get something why wouldn't you ask for clarification or repetition ? Oh that's right, your that stupid arse from the tv advert. Couldn't do that job right, can't do this one either.

It seems to me that they are advertising that stupid people can sue companies for money over injuries caused by their own utter stupidity. Great.

My general disdain for these adverts does not mean that I don't think avenues for legitimate claims should exist. Of course they should. If injury is caused by willful negligence sue the bastards, preferably for lots of cash. But if you are injured by your own stupidity or incompetence, then shut up, learn something and move on. Or you might become a contender for a Darwin Award.

I apologise if none of this post makes any sense what so ever but I've been awake since 6:15 when the noise from my neighbours heating system woke me. It still has not been repaired. I have now given up being polite over the phone, I'm going to the landlords office to be a bitch in person.

Words Damn Near Fail Me, But Not Quite

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON ?

Colin Read, who I must assume is a complete and utter bastard, loser, piece of shit, fuckhead, scum, please add any you feel appropriate, walked away after being convicted of three counts of actual bodily harm against his wife. Let me be a bit more graphic, he slashed her with a knife, beat her for complaining when he did and branded her with an iron because she didn't iron his shirt or make his sandwiches. Oh, sorry, he was fined £2000, so I guess he didn't walk away completely free.

Yup, that does say £2000. You see it was the circumstances of the marriage that led to the abuse according to the judge, so he's unlikely to re offend since his wife is divorcing him. Smart girl. But what circumstances ? Well, you see the poor little lamb was all stressed out working 17 hour days at his £90,000 a year executive job. Poor didums. It must have been all that stress that led him to tell the court his wife was self harming, before changing his position to, well, I might have attacked her but I just don't really remember, I mean slashing the woman I'm supposed to love and have been married to for about three months, beating her and branding her back with an iron, not very memorable really.

Apparently putting him in prison would help no one. Not clear on the logic of that. . . . . . putting violent criminals in prison doesn't help anyone. . . . uh what about the victim, and potential victims ? Then there is society at large, you know, seeing crime punished. Sending a message to people who think it's okay to abuse their spouses that their behaviour is unacceptable and will be dealt with in an appropriate manner ?

He didn't get community service either, despite it being recommended. Wanna know why ? You know you do. Sit down first though.

'Cause the oh so fabulous judge, Recorder William Featherby, couldn't see how Mr Read could fit it in around his job. Take a moment to let that sink in.

Colin Read, a convicted violent criminal, was, in the judges opinion, too busy to be punished.

Well that's okay then. Obviously.

This is the story I originally found. It has the bastards picture as well.

Then I found this.

Then this. Which just pissed me off even more. A £500 fine for dragging your wife out of bed and knocking the living shit out of her. Just fucking wonderful. I'm sure Stuart Brown felt the punishment in that. Took a real toll on this £100,000 a year pay packet. And in this case the magistrate thought,

"No punishment this court could enforce could come anywhere near the impact you feel this had on you, your profession and your colleagues,"

Eh ? The guy didn't lose his job , although there will be a review. A review ? He's an anaesthetist, from the Greek an-aisthesis. It means without feeling. A little further digging and I found this. His picture is also shown. So the guy has a supervision order and had to complete a domestic abuse programme too. He might be struck off or suspended b y the General Medical Council.

Whoop-dee-fucking-do. As far as I am concerned both of these so called men need locked up.

Oh, Recorder William Featherby was a personal injuries lawyer. Now in my opinion any one who spends the bulk of his/her time doing that is . . . . well, use your imagination.

Life Advice From A Flow Chart

Here's possibly the best diagrammatical (is that even a word ?) piece of advice I have ever found. Not that I've found many to be fair, but it's bloody good anyway.

Found here. They tell you where they got it from, then the next they tells you where they got it from. Soon we're gonna need a flow chart for that too.

Can you tell I'm not doing much else today than wandering around the web ? I am waiting on an important phone call, well I was, I now know it's not coming so I suppose I should do something .... productive.

I'd Be Fired Regularly, But I'd Enjoy It

I found this article on a jaunt round the web.

And it kind of pisses me off that it in the "oddly enough" section.

Anyway, being fired for "contradiction of superiors". I don't know about you but I've rarely worked for anyone I considered my superior. My boss yes, my superior no. That aside, how the hell can you possibly be expected to work under conditions like that ? You can't contradict your boss even if s/he is wrong without incurring a fine ? And possibly ending up unemployed ?

Can you imagine it ? Thinking back to some of my illustrious bosses a whole lot of shit would have hit the fan on several occasions if someone hadn't pointed out what a complete tosser they were being and just how wrong/stupid some of their ideas/instructions were. In nice non confrontational language of course. Sometimes.

Persephone

I swear we could be twins, me and Monica Bellucci. Cranky, us ?

I Am Cranky Woman

So very cranky. At somewhere between between six and eight in the morning I am woken by the drums of the enemy.

Okay, okay, it's nothing that dramatic. It's just starting to feel like it.

Some idiot in my building has a faulty heating system and I hear it clearly every fucking morning. Their landlord doesn't have to put up with the noise so there has been no urgency in their actions. Despite there being an accompanying leak. I first informed the landlord in mid august, and while I have been away for some of that time I have been at home for at least ten days, as has my boyfriend. I have been back in touch, and they said they would keep me informed. That was a week ago, and I have heard nothing. Although, they did say they sent a plumber out the day I originally called. Obviously he was INCOMPETENT !! He hadn't been back in touch with his employers. 'Scuse me ? You are paying him to do a frickin' job, make him give you an update. Don't pay him until he fucking does !!!

Ten fucking days !! Ten fucking days of interrupted sleep. Of being rudely awakened by what sounds like heavy base. Not to mention worrying about the damage all this is causing to the building. 'Cause there's water leaking on to wooden support beams. Fun, eh ?

Today, I feel very much like some sort of freakin' zombie. I have had three cups of coffee already and I know I need more just to function. My eyes feel like they are burning. I'm sure there must be some sort of medical diagnosis for being abruptly awaken rather than waking naturally. At this moment I'm calling it Cranky Woman Syndrome. And I have it in spades.

I'm off to call the offending landlords.

That'll be fun, won't it ?

Dear Tara

Someone named Tara left a comment on my blog.

Tara said...

hey its tara, here is the website i was talking about where i made the extra summer cash..........the website is here

04 September 2007 02:24

Okay, thanks Tara. Problem is I have no idea who you are, neither do I remember a conversation about extra summer money. If that's my faulty memory, please remind me. Other options are as follows.

You got lost and ended up here so welcome, hang around if you fancy but you might want to let who ever was supposed to get your message, well, get the message.

On the other hand if you, as I suspect, are leaving random comments on random blogs to drum up business for the linked site then,

Hahahahahahahaha,

I do not wish to help your corporate overlords. Nor do I wish to pay you for the "privilege" of doing so. And yeah I did remove the link when I copied your comment. And I removed the comment.

You see, the link took you to a site where, for an amount of money, you would be hooked up with some surveys for big corporate types that you would be paid for. Michelle McAllister, whose site it seems to be, claims to make $4000 a month from it, enabling here to jack in her crappy job. Bully for you Michelle. I mean that sincerely. Honest. I'm sure your monthly earning has nothing to do with charging $49.99 a month to sign people up. Cynical, moi ? It's the length of the sales pitch before the mention of the cost that does it. Lots and lots of wordage about the amount of money you can make, how it enriches your life in non monetary ways, a mention of the free trial then a bit about how you have to be the right sort of person to be able to be signed up and how she'll let you be a member if you prove yourself, then the price.

Anyway, there is a 60 day free trial on offer. Fab, you might think, free money, but if I read things correctly you have to pay the fee first. It will be returned if you email after 60 days to say you weren't satisfied. So it's not really a free trial, and Michelle gets to make interest on you $49.99 for 60 days. Nice.

For me though it really comes down to the fact that I refuse to extend any assistance to massive corporations to enable them to market their products more successfully. Actually, no it's not, it's the fact that she says she watches day time tv while taking part in the surveys. Daytime tv ? AAArrrrrggggghhhhh !!! A fate worse that a McJob surely ?

A Sad Moment

As much as it pains me I am retiring one of my links, well, in a way. My crazy roommate is being removed from my list of interesting things. It's a damn shame, but there has been nothing new since July. For awhile there was a video taken from the live feed of P at his desk. P was trawling the net and stumbled across the site, and impressed with his status as an "internet star", permitted the live feed. I am assuming that since P knows about it the fun has left the building.

It's still worth checking out if you haven't before. To state the obvious, start from the beginning and work your way through. I laughed. Lots.

So fare thee well P and M. We will miss you. And your crazy.

No, Surely Not

I was wandering around blogland today, looking for new and interesting things. This is an amusing past time, really it is. I start with a blog I like, then head off to one they link to and just keep doing that until I'm bored or have to do something important with my time. This approach has led to some interesting and some questionable discoveries. Today's choice discovery is .....(insert fanfare)..... this gem. Here's how she describes her blog,

"I have been keeping this blog since March 2005. Almost daily I post photos of my outfit, hair and makeup and list what brands and products I use. I occasionally provide product reviews and answer questions from readers."

I'm sure she's a lovely girl. But really, daily pics of your clothing choices ? Your make up ? And you've been doing this since 2005 ? Eh ? In her defence I didn't actually bother to read more than one entry. Okay, I didn't really even read that, I scanned it. Maybe I'm just jealous.

Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Did I laugh ? Sorry. What the hell, whatever floats your boat.

Bet I end up going back for a look though.

Cotton Wool Head

I have cotton wool in my head today. A lot of cotton wool. Possible to the exclusion of all else. It was a friends 30th at the weekend, and of course there was a celebration. Nearly thirty of us went out for dinner at a very nice restaurant and indulged in three tasty courses of good food. And about fourteen bottles of wine. Ah, the joy. Afterwards we headed to secret location to continue the party. Until about five in the morning. Fun was had, shit was talked. Excellent. The only, slight, downside is that I am now in my third, (fourth ? I don't remember) week of having a very full diary and my body is starting to complain.

There were two very enjoyable jaunts to foreign lands where, for reasons unknown, three course meals were the norm. I don't understand it, I don't eat like that at home and neither , as far as I am aware, does anyone else we were with. Something about being on holiday. In between the trips my boyfriend and I went to visit friends, which included more eating out, and drinking. Yes I know, I could just not have the booze, but have you tried being the sober one while everyone else is indulging ? Talk about dull. Fortunately we have no plans this weekend and will not be making any. Unfortunately it's the only weekend without plans for quite sometime afterwards. Oh, well. Rice, veg and water for me during the week I feel. Small portions too.

I must go and make some more coffee, it at least allows a semblance of life to be maintained.

Rest and Relaxation

I could really do with some.

Post Topic

Last night, when we arrived home after spending time with friends in the pub, I had a great idea for a post. It was genius. I remember thinking "Wow, that's going to be so brilliant I think I might self combust from the cleverness of me !". Or something like that.

Can't remember what the idea was. It was probably a wine-fuelled failure of an idea anyway.

On another occasion at a party with friends, and wine or beer or some such thing, a group of us discovered the meaning of life. We talked about it for hours, everything so clear, we were going to sort out our lives and find true, deep happiness. Then we were going to tell the world so everyone could live happy lives. Revolution, man. Not one of us could remember what the hell it was next day. Oh we tried, we tried really hard to remember. Perhaps we did truly find the meaning of life and we forgot because ...... well we were drunk. I was going to make up some lofty reason, no one's supposed to find enlightenment at that stage of their lives, blah blah blah but the truth is we were drunk and probably gibbering about nothing important at all. After some booze we probably became convinced that the meaning of life was something to do with the cat's tail or something just as stupid. Although ........ no one ever asked the cat, and he was sober. Hmmmmm.........

Gossip Mags, Red Rags

I have just sat through another advert for some pointless gossip mag and I want to scream. I don't care what Posh/Colleen/Paris/any of those people are supposedly up to. Neither do I need to know this weeks "loose 7lbs in a week plan". Fuck off, just fuck off. These mags are a total waste of paper. They are part of the whole glorification of celebrity, and the cult of making us feel crap about ourselves. Who defines celebrity ? From the adverts and seeing these things in the newsagents to be a celebrity these days takes nothing. Appear in a reality t.v. show, Big Brother seems to be the cream of the crop here, sleep with someone famous then agree to appear in a lads mag, date someone famous, a footballer if you can manage. I remember flicking through one of these mags while at the doctors and reading about a woman whos dream in life was to marry a premiership footballer, to become a WAG. To this end she spent all her money on achieving the WAG look, spent her time trawling footballer hangouts and befriending people she thought could introduce her at the right levels. Some fucking dream. I mean my dream in life is to be happy and from the pictures I've seen of the Queen WAG, Mrs Beckham, happiness doesn't seem to be part of the perfect WAG package. Does that girl ever smile ?

Actually I just annoyed myself by knowing who and what any of this is and writing about it. Shit. As for the cult of make us feel crap, I might just leave that to another day.

Race

I had a conversation with a friend today. Wow, I know. It covered many topics including my dislike of the word race, as applied to different groups of humans. I dislike it because it implies that different races exist. As far as I am concerned there is only one race - the human race. I think the word race makes it easier for all the bigoted, narrow minded arseholes in this world to justify their behaviour and opinions, even if only to themselves. Add power crazy arses to that. I am not saying that I don't think notable differences exist between groups of humans but they are differences within the human race. Differences of skin colour, culture, language, religion, any other defining factor you can think of are not an excuse, reason or justification for the horrendous treatment of any member of the human race.

So there.

Question, The Second

Why do I start running the water to wash the dishes, go sit down and forget until the very last possible moment ?

I like that I avert disaster every time but why don't I learn ?

Feminist Thinking ?

People, well a few people, have either accused (it's the tone of voice that does it) me of being, or have asked me if I am, a feminist. The answer is I'm not sure. Since I don't know what their idea of a feminist is I have no idea what they mean by the question. Ok, the accusing ones we can assume don't mean anything nice by it. In which case I usually just agree to piss them off. I'm a little twisted. As the question perplexed me I have been loitering around some feminist web sites and blogs trying to figure it out. Still not sure. So I'm off on a voyage of discovery to read some stuff and see what I think about the idea, current debate and if in the end I am a feminist

So here's a few things that I think to start with:

Women and men should receive equal pay for equal jobs.

No one, male, female hermaphrodite, transgender, should be barred from employment because of their gender as is, or as was, or because they changed it.

I believe that a woman has the right to control her capacity for reproduction.

No one should be the victim of sexual harassment, abuse or rape.

Maternity and paternity leave and pay rights should be equal.

Well, it's not an over arching life guiding philosophy but, as I said, it's a start. These ideas are just ones that have been rattling around in my head for as long as I can remember ever considering the subjects. To me they just seem obvious. Feel free to jump on my ideas all you like. It won't change them but I like a laugh so knock yourself out.

However I have come across a few detailed debates about whither you can wax and be a feminist. One writer, can't remember where but I'll try to find it again, even said she was aware of feeling superior to women who participated in beauty rituals because she doesn't. She sees them in the street and pity's them. 'Scuse me ? So you judge women on their appearance. Nice. Let me know how that works out for you. Well this judgement is not based on your non beauty ritual participation, it's based on you stupid ass opinions. Go fuck yourself. The knockout redhead in the killer heels, groomed to perfection who just breezed past you might be the smartest, most successful person you'll ever meet ...... wait, no point in continuing that thought. You'll never meet her 'cause you decided she was some sort of airhead slave to the patriarchy based on her personal grooming habits. Git.

In fairness the writer of the piece did says that she knew she shouldn't make those judgements. Tip for you then. Don't. As far as I could tell, and I happily admit that there was a minimum of effort put in to checking, these people feel the need to tell me that to be a feminist, to support equal rights for women and further the cause I need abandon the current imposed image of womanhood and take on their, good and proper, idea of womanhood. Please, it's this way to the short pier, might I advise that madame try a very long run off it ? Tell you what, you worry about what the women of this world look like, I'm off to use my brain. Maybe I'll put some make up on while I do.