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Well now, seems the Friday Five let it's second birthday last week go to it's head, because it's taken a week off. Have fun, we'll see you next week.

In other news, I have a terrible knack of saying the wrong thing, or saying what I want to say in the most wrongest of ways possible. I keep doing it, upsetting people. I really wish I could stop doing it, but these "ill-considered words" episodes just keep happening. It's not like I plan to, or intend to. Maybe it's a blind spot. Maybe I'm a fucking idiot. I don't know the answer, or the solution. I guess I'll just have to keep blundering along as normal and try to avoid doing it as much as I can.

Just got back from Andover again. This time I've had things to do, people to see. I'll actually have work to do at the beginning of next week before I have to go back again on Wednesday. Which is good and bad, of course. Work keeps me from doing my little role-playing game project. And sleeping. Mind you, I am getting a pay rise very soon because of all the up-and-down-the-country stuff, so it can't be all bad.

You know, before I got my job I was always being told I should get one because of "all the things you'll be able to afford to do." My reply to that was always "oh yeah? when?" and I was right. With your weekdays filled with work how are you supposed to do all that exciting stuff you can now afford to do just on Saturdays? Another of life's great lies revealed.



I really should waffle like this more often, put this blog to better use, don't you think?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." - Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

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It's the Friday Five's second birthday today. Huzzah!!

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?

Favourites certainly include, predictably, Björk. Throw in Portishead's Beth Gibbons too, I guess, because I like them as well.

2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?

Jah Rule annoys me, as does Sean Paul. Add to them ninety percent of manufactured/clone band members and you've got the whole set. I could probably go on for ages if I really thought about it.

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?

What sort of question is that? I like the music, I don't know them.

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?

Sadly, no. Yeah, I know, I'm deprived.

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?

I buy albums when I want the whole album. Most of the music I have downloaded is random tracks from all over the place I can't get any other way without paying for a whole CD. As for the whole downloading issue, it would be good if they could find a way of making people pay for them, even if it's only a little bit, like fifty pence per file or something. It's going to happen whether the record companies like it or not, better to introduce a minimal payment. The whole downloading music thing is going to be the way everyone does it before long anyway.

"Music has charms to soothe a savage breast / To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." - William Congreve (1670 - 1729)

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Bored At Work

That's right, things are so slow down here in Andover I'm writing an entry for my blog.

I've got five things to do; two of them are for one person who is not in this week, another two are for another person who is not in this week, and the last is for someone who is so busy she's never available. I've asked around and there's nothing else to do in the meantime. So instead of working I'm glancing at the net and, of course, writing this.

It's not like I have any interesting personal news to report, either. Other than the fact that I wake up for no reason at least twice a night at the moment, which just makes me sleepy all day. Nothing else is going on.

...

Nope, I'm stumped for something more interesting to say. Other than in about two hours I'll have a nice three to five hour drive back Up North. A34, M40, M42, A38... Lovely.

Suggestions for something to talk about in the comments, please. Or it's going to get very dull around here. But at least it's the Friday Five tomorrow...

"Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need." - Voltaire (1694 - 1778), Candide, 1759

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Has It Been So Long?

It has now been a year since my step-father told my mother he was leaving her for someone else.

Bastard.

Not seen him since he left. At all. Not once.

Good thing too.

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The end of another week, one spent almost entirely down in Andover. And I'll be going back there again this Sunday, returning home Thursday evening.

There's no news to report. Nothing going on, unless you count not getting enough sleep and spending half the (early starting) morning in a zombie-like stupor. Online commitments take up a great deal of my evenings, sometimes into the early morning. Not that I'm complaining.

Okay, maybe I am complaining, but only because I happen to like getting a good night's sleep. I can survive on less than that, though. Besides, and more importantly, I'm having fun, and that's what matters, right?

And finally...

Names are the name of the game today. But only if the game is the Friday Five!

1. Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed?

I presume it's the same. I've never seen my birth certificate, and I've never changed my name.

2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?

My name does it's job quite successfully. I've never seriously considered changing it.

3. Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?)

I have absolutely no idea why and have never asked.

4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?

Most celeb kid's names are just stupid. I reckon it's because everyone secretly has stupid names they would like to give their children but don't because their kids would get picked on in school. The children of celebrities don't have this problem; they tend to go to the same expensive schools as the other celeb kids, and there it's the ones with normal names that get picked on. Other than that, it's fad names that annoy me. All the people growing up called Kylie or Jason, or those now being called Brooklin in slavish copycat fashion.

5. Is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com accurate? How or how isn't it?

Generally, it's not far off. It's got me as thoughtful; yes, sometimes too much so. Apparently I make my own decisions and don't get influenced by others, which is very wrong; I am infamous for my indecisiveness. I desire independance and freedom from interference; true. I am not overly ambitious, preferring stable, settled conditions; true, most of the time. In personal relations, I am inclined to be serious, non-humourous and non-spontaneous; I am big on humour, but othereise quite close. I do not have much of a a positive manner or outlook, and neither do I impose my will on others or interfere in their affairs. Well, not very often anyway. Healthwise it links me to head problems like colds, hayfever and weak eyes; all true. it says my tendency to worry can lead to insomnia and other overwrought conditions; worry yes, lose sleep no.

"A good name, like good will, is got by many actions and lost by one." - Lord Jeffery

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You are the Second Doctor: Affable, impish, and fond of simple pleasures as well as simple pranks. Your mischievous exterior camouflages a powerful mind and a great deal of courage. Although you care nothing for appearances, you place a high value on the bonds of true and lasting friendship.
Which Incarnation of the Doctor Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

"Ah, there I am. I mean, there you are." - The Second Doctor, The Five Doctors

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Friday already? "Tempus fugit", eh? So here, as you'd expect, is the Friday Five!

1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most?

I'd have to say dusting. Makes me sneeze. Hayfever, you see; it sparks it off.

2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing?

Not particularly.

3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed?

As needed, really.

4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules?

Just tidiness.

5. What was the last thing you cleaned?

I scrubbed a little futilely last night at the carpet and an arm of an armchair where the cat had thrown up. Lovely.

"Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance?" - Phyllis Diller

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So I'm back home again, working from the office for the rest of this week. But next week, and the week after, I'll be covering for my boss again while he's on holiday, so I'll be in Andover Monday to Thursday.

Yeah, those two weeks really flew by, didn't they? In fact... this whole year seems to have gone that way. Some weeks have just zipped by, while others crept slowly along, usually when I was due to go somewhere or take a holiday. And some days moved with all the speed of a funeral procession.

Where has all the time gone?

"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." - Ford Prefect

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Back To The Grindstone

Yup, I'm back in Andover. No more movies, no more 24 (until I get back home, anyway) and scrabbling around on this damn laptop. Ah well. Better than no net at all, eh?

"It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do." - Jerome K. Jerome (1859 - 1927)

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