shall we not

Friday, March 31, 2006

courtesy makes the journey more personal

I have nothing really to say but i just liked the title which i saw on a bus yesterday.

Monday, March 27, 2006

the hard way

Man, if i ever want to get really annoyed i know what to do, just follow these simple steps:

1. Spend two consecutive days in Birmingham going home in between.
2. Sit quietly through a group supervision and when asked what i thought celebrating the fact that the meeting had given me no extra work to do (other than my PhD of course) now that teaching is pretty much over. I now wish i'd paid attention to what was being said with me now having to re-draft an article for Friday on top of my four interviews scheduled for this week.
3. After a manic day, sit on a train for over 5 hours to get to my parent's. Now i'm normally a fan of train journeys but that is just way too long especially when tired and sat with teenage girls being teenage and their teacher guardians being rude. Coming back was fine as i could work and watch the cute kid in front of me who kept trying to stroke my hair.
4. Spend the weekend getting annoyed with my parent's constant back handed complements and correcting what i was doing or saying and forgetting that i somehow manage to look after myself ok for the 360 odd days when they aren't there. Sometimes it'd be nice if they just let things go and saying thanks every now and again. Then maybe i would be prepared to trek up there more. Man, why can't i ever actually say that to them? Well according to a Cosmo quiz i did it's because i am a 'communication nightmare'. This made me realise that a lot of the things that make up my perecption of family home is nothing to do with the physical building (although re-decoration is turning it into a Munro house) with us slipping into traditional family habits very quickly.
5. The weekend did make me realise how much i can recognise and adopt the moods of those around me. This can be a good trait but also might explain my failure to be proactive in the majority of instances. I think i'm just scared of either coming over too aggressive or being rejected.

Good things about these last fews days:
1. I beat Lol at squash thereby achieving one of my aims for the year. Hopefully i won't need to be tired and grumpy to do this again.
2. The pace of life at my parent's is so nice. The place is just so still and it allows for walks on the beach.
3. The Pipettes- Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me ( www.thepipettes.co.uk/). Come on Spring!
4. The crumble i made on Sunday kicked ass.
5. Watched Cold Mountain again and remembered how much i love it. It should also come in useful when i next play 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

information has moved

A) In between having supervision sessions with my first years i happened across a page on Wikipedia explaining the origin of phrases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Phrases) whilst looking up the origins of the Chatham House Rule which research people keep on using.

B) My two album choices for next month (ordered off Amazon Market Place so they won't arrive until April):

C) To be added to the list of things i'm gutted to be missing this weekend- meeting the newest Marshall!

Monday, March 20, 2006

No harm, no foul

A) Things that I'm missing by going to see the folks on Thursday night after teaching in Birmingham thereby proving the existence of Sod's Law:

- The Long Blondes playing at The Plug.
- The Lovebytes thing at The Showroom, i would have liked to have watched Hard Candy.
- Pete's operation and meeting his parents
- A debate type thing at Birmingham University around my topic area.
- Arsenal on pay-per-view.

However, I am very much looking forward to seeing my folks and giving them their Christmas present (a handmade visitors book that only got finished last week), walking on the beach and getting a good feed. Although being Mother's Day and all i'll probably cook which'll be enjoyable when as good food will be available. Slighty less fun will be the essay marking i've got to do.

B) My weeks seem to be rapidly running away from me. Although, i think that this partly gives me an excuse to let them run away from me. For example, this week i've got to be in Birmingham on Wednesday and Thursday with cooking brownies in between. Now, pervesely i get no work done when at university normally because i'm frantically running around sorting out teaching but the rest of the time i have the attitude of 'well, i'm in the department, i must be working' to justify my looking at the internet in between. However, that said i have spent my last three Saturday mornings trecking up to Burngreave to sort out interviews.

C) Had one of those weekends where i knew i needed to see people but at the same time didn't want to talk to them, i just wanted to be physical around people whilst they went about their business. Thankfully, i was largely able to do that using a combination of coffee shops, TV; that BBC Planet Earth thing is awesome (Otter group rubbing and scaring off alligators!) despite truly awful music and i even enjoyed the Everybody Hates Chris thing on 5, exercise and eating with other people. Alhough, i still yearn for an apartment complex with shared spaces including vegetable patch, herb garden, 5 a-side pitch and the ability to go and pop into the extrovert neigbours every now and then for food and a chat then retreat back to watch films and be alone as necessary. In my mind it looks a bit like Jimmy Stewarts neighbourhood in Rear Window but hopefully without murder across the other side.

D) The Beastie Boys are old (www.bbc.co.uk/music/southbysouthwest/galleries/djs/zane_bbq/2.shtml)

Rambling over.

Friday, March 17, 2006

and i'm drowning slowly

I am very excited about this film (http://brickmovie.net) and the soundtrack (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000EDWLHI/qid%3D1142614984/202-9517232-7003000).
I think Andy heard a talk by the guy who did it at Greenbelt. I was jealous.

Hair

I'm never really sure how to respond to the comments i get about my hair and the news that it's not going to get any shorter until Lent ends. Firstly, it makes me think man your life must be dull if this is a topic of conversation and secondly the excitement the news causes has led me to question why. I can't help but think it's a kind of circus freak type answer like when you dare a mate to do something even though you know they'll look like an arse/hurt themselves but it'll make you laugh everytime you think about it and you've been able to manipulate that person and live through them. I'm not sure i like that way of thinking. Alternatively it could be God's way of getting me to stop worrying too much about what people think of me and let their perception be their perception and not mine.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Like drops of blood in milk

I have come to the realisation that at the tender age of 23 i am an old man. A number of factors have contributed to this belief:
- Somone i sort of know was surprised that i wasn't nearly 30. Now i wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.
- I catch myself thinking that i am loads older than my housemates when in actual fact i am only about a year older but get lumped in with the 25+group by others aswell.
- I go to bed stupidly early (11 on Friday and, 10 on Saturday and it was a struggle to stay up until then). I'm stone cold awake by 7 am.
- I play Scrabble on Sundays and very much enjoy programmes about snow leopards (my power animal) on BBC. NB. Despite percieved age difference my housemate always kicks my arse at Scrabble.
- Young Blood Brass Band are playing at Tuesday club and i want to go but would feel a bit self conscious as i haven't been to a club for years. It would also mean extreme tiredness for the rest of the week.
- I refer to football players who on reflection played over 10 years ago.
- I crave interior design magazines and plan out for house i don't own and won't for years and years. I also got excited when my mum passes on some of her pans to me as they can't use them on their new induction hob (which is amazing).
- I get annoyed with nosiy people on the train and a berate the general drop in manners.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

it's time for another good idea, bad idea

Good Thing:
The university salad meal deal in staff house where i have become adept at stacking a scary amount of food.

Bad Thing:
Crash winning best film at the Oscars-only intelligent in a crass American sort of a way.

Good Thing:
Middlesex- man i'm loving this book

Bad Thing:
No French films being up for best Foreign Film- Hidden? The Beat that my Heart Skipped?

Good Thing:
Arsenal. In particular Henry, Hleb and Lehman or 'The German' as his team-mate Freddy Ljunberg referred to him. Also, seeimg Roberto Carlos lose.

Bad Thing:
Deliveries where you need to sign for it. Given the fact none of us are never in.

Good Thing:
Up coming gigs- Concretes, Sigur Ros, Low and Be Your Own Pet

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Bright Sadness

Part of the problem with interviewing people is that they are giving up their time to help me out which means that it's not uncommon to get cancelled on. On Monday, i arrived at my first interview to be told that it had been cancelled along with the person i was due to see in the afternoon. So i was fairly nervous about the Tuesday interview i had organised which leads nicely into the other problem with interviewing; the tendency of interviewees to work in a place i have never been to before. Now, i have developed some knowledge of Southey and Burngreave but this guy worked in Handsworth, which as far as i'm concerned is in Birmingham but consulting the map showed it to be a bit of Sheffield i had no idea about. So i decided to stump up for a taxi particulalry as he phoned up to move the interview forward on Tuesday morning. So £10 lighter and an interview under my belt i leave and find the nearest bus stop and thrust my arm out for a bus at which point i realise that it is none other than a 52. Yes, the bus that runs a five minute walk from my house not only goes into town but the proceeds to the office of one of my interviewees. I managed to find the irony in this (otherwise i might have screamed) and take it as an illustration that Sheffield is indeed, a city of villages.

Another thing- umbrellas should be banned.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

gosh-wow gorgeous voice

Things that have pleased my otherwise sick body recently:

1. This article about the now departed month of February (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article347594.ece). It made me re-evaluate my anti-Feb stance. However, my tactics of working really hard until i was ill to get through it have come good and now i have a really sore throat making me re-evaluate my re-evaluation.

2. Prison Break which last week was amazing. I have no idea if it can sustain it's pace but i was thinking it'll only be one series almost by definition (he either saves his brother and escapes or he dies) which i love.

3. The Brick website(http://brickmovie.net/). I am very excited about this film.

4. Indeed, a lot of films have surprised me recently. I saw Lady Vengence at very short notice and thought it was amazing both visually and in terms of story- a rather macabre fable. Also, i kind of liked the terribly named Lucky Number Slevin although i spent a long time wondering who designed his apartment (and his wardrobe). Whilst watching the film i was picking holes in it (starts like a sort of Snatch type film) and then it turned these negatives into positives actually explaining a lot. It all added to its slightly trippy feel (especially given the design of his kitchen).

5. I am keeping pace with 3 interviews a week at the moment which means i should be done with the data collection in about 5 weeks. A very good thing.