The way home

I drove into London this weekend to see friends, of which I have more than I realise on a day to day basis. It's always a pleasant surprise when I think of it, and makes me appreciate them more.

I drove back to The Hellmouth via Epping Forest. If I ever move back to London, I think I'll find a spot there somewhere. It's the part of the city that reminds me most of Cape Town. Something about the winding road through the trees and the occasional flashes of distant hills - suddenly I'm on Rhodes Drive in my claptrap car, trundling over Constantia Nek towards Hout Bay. And then a left-hand drive, long distance lorry from Poland comes lurching across a traffic circle straight at me and I'm back in grey England.

Thank God February is over. I can breathe again.

More reasons I hate my housemates

1) They only have one conversational tone: shouting.

2) They call each other horrible, horrible names.

3) He has bratty kids who vandalise the loo.

4) In some deranged ploy to gain who knows what, they've removed all the big plates from the kitchen.

5) They keep setting the fire alarm off.

6) They stomp up and down the stairs.

7) They never stop shouting at each other.

8) They live here.

Extensions

My contract at Large Retailer has been extended to the end of March. I'm actually ok with this, because I feel less trapped I guess. I have my car now, so I don't have to funnel all my earnings into saving for that. Instead I can funnel all of it into a clear my credit card/save for deposit on my own place to rent fund.

I feel free-er, because now I can get places with precious, precious car. And I've got an interview, so I don't feel quite so hopeless about everything. So no matter what happens there (how much would I love that job though!), there will probably not be a horrible cross-over period of me earning nothing, and having to pack in with my sister or anything like that. So...hopeful, I guess, is the theme of this post.

Good thing I gave up negative thinking for Lent. And started The Feel Good Handbook. And exercising. Maybe it's all helping.

Embracing Podcasts

Since my New!Car! doesn't have a CD player, I can only listen to music via my ipod and the ipod converter. I thought I'd take full advantage and start following my favourite podcasts more closely. And since all the creativity has been beaten out of me by Large DIY Company That Is Not Argos, I'm going to list the podcasts in lieu of, you know, original thought.

- Behind the Grammar
- Books and Authors
- Classical Performance
- David Mitchell's Soapbox
- The Digested Read podcast
- A History of the World in 100 Objects
- The House of Comments
- Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews
- The Parliament Podcast Channel

And who knows, maybe it'll start inspiring my writing again. I never used to feel like I'd run out of things to say. It happens more and more though!

I fear I am addicted

Early this morning I woke up in a flat panic, raced to turn on the light then checked that my wireless router was in place. I heaved a sigh of relief, and went back to sleep.

David Mitchell on the act of giving flowers

"It's as if they actually believe that what other people think of them somehow doesn't matter. I mean, I know we're all supposed to believe that. But obviously none of us actually do, and nor should we, because it does, it does matter. And the people who genuinely believe it doesn't tend to be the very people who ought to care the most about that other people think of them, because what the other people are thinking is that no, actually, I don't think the Chinese are up to something, or you should use mouthwash, or your mania for the collectivisation of soviet agriculture will surely cause the death of millions, or 40 cats is too many cats."

Rocknrolla

Not as good as Snatch.

RIP Dick Francis

Some of his books may have been a little formulaic, but they were so readable, you barely noticed. I really enjoyed his mysteries. There was always a zing, a fight to the death, and interesting heroine. You always found yourself rooting for his hero,no matter how banal the plot was. My favourites remain Driving Force and Decider, which I can, and have, read over and over again.

RIP Dick Francis.

In which we reinvent Yellow Submarine

Also with varying degrees of success.

In which we play I Spy

With varying levels of success.

Invictus

When I went to see this, people in the audience got so excited they cheered and clapped. I think that about summarises how awesome it was.

And I shall call him...um...

Not sure yet. The name has not been revealed to me.

Swept Away

The one thing I've never learned to do is not to be swept away by what I'm feeling. It was the one area of tai chi I found nearly impossible (other than embrace the tiger, return to the mountain). At the time it was because I felt like it would be cheating - that by not experiencing every single emotion I have, I was in effect burying it all away, and how could that be healthy?

Now I realise it's more about putting away your emotional reactions to your emotions (follow me here), allowing you to more carefully analyse them and see them for what they are.

But it's hard not to be swept away by despair. As hard as it is not to be swept away by happiness. And when you've felt both before lunch time, well. That's like being capsized in a storm.

At last!

Invictus has finally been released here. I can't wait to see it. Can't wait.

Close to home

Assisted suicide is something that hits a little close to home for me. I feel very close to the issue and so it makes me jumpy. Terry Pratchett has announced that he wants to be a test case for assisted suicide. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago. This article talks about those for and against the issue in the UK at the moment.

One thing I find really interesting about the coverage around this is that the right wing nutjobs appear not to be interested. I would fully expect the rabid right to lifers to get majorly involved in this, but instead the argument seems to focus far more on legal definitions and decisions than anything else. It's just a very interesting topic, I think.

Up in The Air

Brilliant.

That's it - just brilliant. I managed to get the book today, and I'm hoping it's not another Fight Club situation (ie movie is better than the book).

Trailers: Invictus! I can't wait to see it. It'll be the first time, I think, that I'll see a movie about an event I remember vividly.