Been too long since I updated this. The most significant thing that happened was going down to Kent for the annual BBQ. I left my car at Rob and Em's house and we travelled to Chester to meet Rob and Vicky, leaving Em's car there. The drive down was reasonable, a few delays meant we got there at about 10:40pm, which wasn't too bad. Fortunately the airbed I bought inflated OK.
The BBQ itself was great, the weather was perfect and everyone had awesome costumes. My Van Halen one was OK but I'm a bit fat to be recognised as him so people kept thinking I was a generic rock star. Still, the customised Guitar Hero controller worked out well and it was a great evening. Remembering the disastrous Souther Comfort incident last year, I stuck to Crabbies and the occasional shot from Rob's cocktail making frenzy.
On Sunday we headed out to breakfast and then Bluewater to watch Edge of Tomorrow. I really quite enjoyed it, probably all the more because I went in knowing absolutely nothing about it. We then went back to Jane and Wes's to watch a TERRIBLE movie called White House Down while consuming large amounts of Domino's pizza, which was a great evening. Then we headed back on Monday, which was an OK drive apart from some diversionary tactics to avoid a lane closure on the A55.
Not much else to report really. I've been trying to get back into regular running and failing. My diet is also a complete catastrophe at the moment so I'm feeling bloated and hideous again. I was led astray on Friday by the service desk team who were going to the pizza place around the corner. I ended up having a chicken tikka wrap with garlic mayo - to be fair it wasn't all that big and was absolutely delicious.
The C3 is still going OK and is massively improved by an iPod to tape adapter that Rob had spare, which has saved having to rip out the stereo or anything, at least for now. It's proving to be good on fuel, and the only issue is a slight blow from the exhaust which is getting gradually louder.
The people in the Infiniti car came up again to have another look round. Their car is the M35H hybrid, a rather nice beast. Can't quite believe they brought the poor thing up the track twice!
Went to archery today with Rob and Em, and had a great time. I've really got used to the club compound bow and I'm really enjoying shooting it. I had my third round at 30 yards and managed to score 280 with three dozen arrows, which is good as you need 200. I had a go at 40 yards and I think the sights are now all set up properly for the distance but my arms were tired so I'll see how I get on next time. I've been talking to one of the guys there about what would be a suitable bow for me to get. There's basically two options, go to a shop called Custom Built Archery and get all the stuff there or find a bundle on Ebay that people are selling. The club one came like that apparently so it's worth keeping an eye there. One model that has been mentioned as being particularly suitable is a Hoyt UltraTec, just need to find one though.
The Hyundai went on Ebay but so far the only interest has been from Polish people who wanted my bank details, bah. Will have to relist it. Bloody thing.
Sunday, 29 June 2014
Monday, 16 June 2014
Things looking up
Sunday was good, Rob kindly picked me up so we could head to archery. I had a good few hours shooting with the club compound again. One of the more knowledgable guys there said the draw length needed dropping a bit and showed me how to do it. Once that was done it threw me off a bit as it felt different and the sight needed changing, but after a few shots it felt great. Really liked it. As the thing is so powerful and the arrows are carbon, I've been scared of missing the target, and once I actually did it for the first time. Fortunately the arrrow was found straight away. It was good to see the other guys from the beginner's class again, and one of them has already bought his own bow.
I picked up the car today. It's a 2003 Citroen C3 1.1. It's not at all what I would normally go for, but it's in nice condition, drives fine and will do the job. It's got a long MOT until April and should be decent on fuel. It's a bit basic - first car I've had in a while with keep-fit windows and it only has a tape deck. This is a problem as I can't find my tape adapter to hook up an iPod. It's also got a curious dashboard with a digital speedo and LED gauges for fuel and temperature. I filled it up so I now have six blobs of fuel, will be interesting to see how long it takes to get through a blob.
Not much else to report really. Bit of a curious meeting in work where one of our managers gathered us into a room and said she sensed our teamwork was breaking down and people weren't working as well together. It was a bit like having Counsellor Troi in the room saying 'He's hiding something.'
We had another house viewing this evening which was a couple who were supposed to come on Saturday. They turned up in an Infiniti something which was not at all suited to the track, but they really liked the place. The guy turned out to own a company that does wind turbine maintenance so he was interested in the wind farm across the way.
I picked up the car today. It's a 2003 Citroen C3 1.1. It's not at all what I would normally go for, but it's in nice condition, drives fine and will do the job. It's got a long MOT until April and should be decent on fuel. It's a bit basic - first car I've had in a while with keep-fit windows and it only has a tape deck. This is a problem as I can't find my tape adapter to hook up an iPod. It's also got a curious dashboard with a digital speedo and LED gauges for fuel and temperature. I filled it up so I now have six blobs of fuel, will be interesting to see how long it takes to get through a blob.
Not much else to report really. Bit of a curious meeting in work where one of our managers gathered us into a room and said she sensed our teamwork was breaking down and people weren't working as well together. It was a bit like having Counsellor Troi in the room saying 'He's hiding something.'
We had another house viewing this evening which was a couple who were supposed to come on Saturday. They turned up in an Infiniti something which was not at all suited to the track, but they really liked the place. The guy turned out to own a company that does wind turbine maintenance so he was interested in the wind farm across the way.
Saturday, 14 June 2014
A thoroughly shitty week
Last weekend was good after the car failure. On Saturday it was my Dad's 80th birthday so my two brothers came down and my sister too. We met up at my Dad's house and had a good catch up before going out for a meal. My oldest brother and his wife had been exploring the local canals on a narrow boat, including the 'Pontyclitoris' aqueduct as he annoyingly called it. My other brother is over from Germany with his girlfriend, and they had hired a car to take a trip around the UK for a couple of weeks. The meal was good and then we headed back to the house for more chatter.
On Sunday I met up with them again at my sister's house and we went over to her husband's parent's house for a civilised cup of coffee and things, and then headed back to mine. It was a really good day.
This week has been shit since then. Work has been annoying and I've been trying to find a replacement car but since it's me I was getting all neurotic about it and was scared that whatever I get will be a disaster.
Then on Friday I was taking my Mum's car to work again and the bloody thing died in exactly the same way it did a month ago leaving me completely stranded. At least this time I was able to get it turned round. Then, later on while I was getting some shopping with my Dad who had come over, I managed to drop my S4 on the track. Of course it landed face down on a rock which shattered the screen, which led to a bit of a downer on top of everything else. The problem now is that I've moved my number to a MicroSIM which won't work in anything else I have.
Today was Vicky's birthday meal in Rhyl. Rob G and Chelsea kindly gave me a lift, which was great. It was in the usual Italian place which was pretty good except they did cock up some of the orders a bit.
I have sorted out a car but won't pick it up unti the end of the day on Monday, which is a bit of a pain. Hopefully it'll be OK though. Mum's car has been confirmed as suffering the same failure as last time, but they can't get the part until Tuesday.
I've been failing to exercise again this week due to the stress of it all and have eaten like crap again which is a bit depressing. My evenings have largely consisted of rewatching Voyager and playing Skyrim. My character in Skyrim is going OK but the quests just keep coming. It's good though and I really like the various areas of the game and all the different things you can do.
On Sunday I met up with them again at my sister's house and we went over to her husband's parent's house for a civilised cup of coffee and things, and then headed back to mine. It was a really good day.
This week has been shit since then. Work has been annoying and I've been trying to find a replacement car but since it's me I was getting all neurotic about it and was scared that whatever I get will be a disaster.
Then on Friday I was taking my Mum's car to work again and the bloody thing died in exactly the same way it did a month ago leaving me completely stranded. At least this time I was able to get it turned round. Then, later on while I was getting some shopping with my Dad who had come over, I managed to drop my S4 on the track. Of course it landed face down on a rock which shattered the screen, which led to a bit of a downer on top of everything else. The problem now is that I've moved my number to a MicroSIM which won't work in anything else I have.
Today was Vicky's birthday meal in Rhyl. Rob G and Chelsea kindly gave me a lift, which was great. It was in the usual Italian place which was pretty good except they did cock up some of the orders a bit.
I have sorted out a car but won't pick it up unti the end of the day on Monday, which is a bit of a pain. Hopefully it'll be OK though. Mum's car has been confirmed as suffering the same failure as last time, but they can't get the part until Tuesday.
I've been failing to exercise again this week due to the stress of it all and have eaten like crap again which is a bit depressing. My evenings have largely consisted of rewatching Voyager and playing Skyrim. My character in Skyrim is going OK but the quests just keep coming. It's good though and I really like the various areas of the game and all the different things you can do.
Friday, 6 June 2014
Bloody cars
It's been an OK week in work, slightly disorganised but things getting there eventually.
The most notable thing this week was the car dying. After it performed OK on the trip up to Kirkham last weekend, it started making a loud ticking sound on Wednesday evening. The garage had a look at it on Thursday after lending me a car to get home with, and decided the top end had issues, and it might go on like that for a while. Unfortunately by the time I got home it had developed some horrendous knocking noises and so the engine is toast. Typical. It's now been listed on Ebay for parts and I'll have to find something else. I'm half tempted to give Rob P a grand and get him to find me a car because I clearly suck at it.
In spectacularly bad timing I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 off someone in work. I've been setting it up but have been handicapped by it requiring a MicroSIM. My original SIM card from 1999 is too old fashioned to be cut down into the right size, so I'll have to get my number moved to a new SIM in a Vodafone shope. The S4 is really nice and much lighter than the Note. It's crazy to think that I have a computer with a quad-core CPU, 2gb RAM, 64gb storage and a 1920x1080 screen that fits in my pocket.
Not going to worry about the car until next week as it's my Dad's 80th birthday tomorrow and then hopefully archery on Sunday after missing it last week.
I shaved my head and face today after letting them get a bit shaggy, feels good and I'm always surprised at how many years it knocks off. What's left of my hair is greying rapidly and so is my beard.
Been working on the Guitar Hero controller that will be part of my costume for the Kent BBQ in a couple of weeks time. The red paint came out surprisingly well on the removable cover and when I test fitted it back onto the controller it looked great. I've finished it now and applied a couple of layers of varnish, hopefully it'll look good once it's dried.
Not much else to report really.
The most notable thing this week was the car dying. After it performed OK on the trip up to Kirkham last weekend, it started making a loud ticking sound on Wednesday evening. The garage had a look at it on Thursday after lending me a car to get home with, and decided the top end had issues, and it might go on like that for a while. Unfortunately by the time I got home it had developed some horrendous knocking noises and so the engine is toast. Typical. It's now been listed on Ebay for parts and I'll have to find something else. I'm half tempted to give Rob P a grand and get him to find me a car because I clearly suck at it.
In spectacularly bad timing I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 off someone in work. I've been setting it up but have been handicapped by it requiring a MicroSIM. My original SIM card from 1999 is too old fashioned to be cut down into the right size, so I'll have to get my number moved to a new SIM in a Vodafone shope. The S4 is really nice and much lighter than the Note. It's crazy to think that I have a computer with a quad-core CPU, 2gb RAM, 64gb storage and a 1920x1080 screen that fits in my pocket.
Not going to worry about the car until next week as it's my Dad's 80th birthday tomorrow and then hopefully archery on Sunday after missing it last week.
I shaved my head and face today after letting them get a bit shaggy, feels good and I'm always surprised at how many years it knocks off. What's left of my hair is greying rapidly and so is my beard.
Been working on the Guitar Hero controller that will be part of my costume for the Kent BBQ in a couple of weeks time. The red paint came out surprisingly well on the removable cover and when I test fitted it back onto the controller it looked great. I've finished it now and applied a couple of layers of varnish, hopefully it'll look good once it's dried.
Not much else to report really.
Monday, 2 June 2014
Good weekend
Last week was generally OK apart from a couple of fraught days in work. On Friday I headed up to Kirkham to visit my cousin. I set off from work on Friday evening and despite a couple of slow bits on the M56 and M6, got up there without any trouble. We spent Saturday exploring the sea front at Clevelys and Fleetwood on the trams before heading back down. There was a 10 mile race going on and it was interesting to catch up with the slower runners first and then the leaders. After that it was back to her house for a leisurely meal in the evening. On Sunday we had planned to go for a run but neither of us felt like it and we ended up going for a brisk run instead, which was pretry enjoyable. After that we hung out for a bit and then I drove home. It was a little busy at first as there was a lot of traffic coming out of Blackpool but was fine after that. The Hyundai likes motorways as it used noticably less fuel.
Today I had a dental appoint to rebuild the top of one of my front teeth as it was sharp and kept cutting me. It's done now but feels a little odd as I'm not used to it yet. I spent the afternoon working in Denbigh as that made more sense.
Tonight was episode 8 of GoT season 4, which was pretty enjoyable, and had quite a few memorable moments in it.
Today I had a dental appoint to rebuild the top of one of my front teeth as it was sharp and kept cutting me. It's done now but feels a little odd as I'm not used to it yet. I spent the afternoon working in Denbigh as that made more sense.
Tonight was episode 8 of GoT season 4, which was pretty enjoyable, and had quite a few memorable moments in it.
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