Thursday 25 March 2010

Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightning indeed! (well, not for me.)

Every week i get to go home an hour earlier than usual on a set day.  This is known as my 'early day'.  Every three months or so, i get to add an additional hour to this time for the deep joy of getting a blood test done.  I dislike getting my blood tested, not because it is scary, cos its not.  It's just extremely tedious and i always think of other things i could be doing with that time.  So today being that day, i rocked up to the hospital, was seen by a very nice, but very small Russian (They are always foreign.  I've had Polish, Malaysian, Scottish...) nurse who was a bit rough with the tourniquet, plastered a pad to my arm and then i was on my way again.  Upon leaving the hospital, i noticed the sky was a funny shade of grey/black.  Having not budgeted for a bus home, i took to my heels in a hasty fashion.  I just made it to the bus stop near One Stop when all hell broke loose.  The rain was flowing horizontally, mad-sized hail stone started pumelling the passing cars, the wind was crazy,  screaming half-drowned school kids nestled into the stop next to me and a thunderstorm raged overhead.  The quality of light was quite peculiar.  I took my headphones out of my ears to listen to the storm and smoked my roly in a contented fashion.

Sunday 21 March 2010

You Can't Borrow Tomorrow...bom...bom...bom.........bom.

Panic over, for i have returned.  I met a pub dog called Gary today.  Anyway...

I am angry that the BBC have decided they are going to shut 6Music down at the end of next year.  I can remember the feeling of elation upon discovering the station.  The realisation that i no longer had to make an effort to listen to the dreadful Ndubs/Tinchy/Little Wayne blood-curdling racket being emitted from Radio 1 and also the realisation that i could now edge back away from the end of the plank i had been pushed along, kicking and screaming towards Radio 2 was a fine one.  I could now listen to Camper Van Beethoven, Pulp, Radiohead, Motley Crue or even some random drumming from somewhere in Africa whilst i ate my porridge in the mornings.  By there being this alternative station, i was finally able to admit that i had grown out of Radio 1 which i found very hard to do.  It felt like i was freely admitting the end of my childhood, which granted, at the age of 28,  came quite late.  But i still feel like i have always done and don't feel it is fair to be age-pigeonholed.

A colleague of mine who is turning 20 next week asked how old i was.  He didn't believe me and had to ask my mum to confirm the 'Terrible' truth.  From the minute he knew my age, i've been made to feel like i'm not 'One of them', which frankly is fine but still feels unfair.  Later that week i was discussing sandwiches with another colleague in the staff canteen.  I mentioned that my favourite homemade sandwich involves peanut butter, salad cream and crushed up salt and vinegar crisps.  A shriek came from the back of the room:  "You're too old to do that" from the first colleague.  I might get him on ageism.

I'm getting back into music again.  My MP3 is holding 179 songs that were originally on white box before it broke.  I have been playing them since about November, so i am a bit bored, but i don't want to take them off incase i lose them or mistransfer them oh, and i also still don't have a laptop to stick them on, which is a good point.  I must chase that up.  To supplement my new quest to find fine tunes, i have discovered Chase magazine which is a perfect mix of many different genres in a mag.  So far i like Tunng (folktronica) , Grasscut (glitchtronica) and The Ruby Suns (Indie-pop).  Lou told me about Beach House (indie/dream-pop) and Lawrence Arabia (Indie-pop).  I found The Big Pink (electro-rock), The Strange Boys (rock) and Racehorses (psychedelic pop) on 6Music.  I can't get enough of The Big Pink at the moment and have just discovered that they have covered a lot of Pink Floyd songs, although that is not where they got their name from.  That came from an album by The Band.

My new favourite website is www.cybercandy.com.  It is marvellous, and the only place i can source Mountain Dew in this country.  This annoys dan as he says its full of shit.  They are my teeth to rot.  They sell Moomin lollies, sour chilli sweets from Mexico, salty liqourice from Sweden and a plethora of everything that is wrong, but tasty from USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.  Nom nom nom.

I passed my driving theory test.  My lessons start this coming Wednesday at 5PM.  Do not be on the roads of Winchester after that time until half 6.  You have been warned.

NATHAN'S BACK!  Hi Nathan.  Welcome back.

I'm done.