Missed me!

Quote of the moment: "We looked for you when we came in to do the shopping. Several times, actually!"

Hurrah! Go me! I managed to take my 15 minute break at the same time my mum and sisters came in to Tescos!

You killed Phil's mum!

Quote of the moment: "Yes Mum, I ate lots of fruit this week." - Phil, my Essex University attending colleague, talking to his mum when she appeared in Tescos doing her shopping...

Also: at the college there's a short guy in Yr 11 called Kenny. Really, apparently. I haven't ever seen him with his hood up, but it's a start! :p

P.S. I've started reading The Lord of the Rings, for the fourth time! Perhaps I'll get past the first book of the six this time!

Blogs Are Dangerous!

Quote of the moment: "Psychologists at Staffordshire University have been monitoring their students, and asking them about their diary addiction and health problems. The study seems to suggest that students who kept diaries were worryingly prone to mental and physical illness, compared to the diary teetotallers... ...The study suggests people who re-read entries in their diaries suffer the worst, adding social dysfunction to their list of ailments."

However, it seems like it's actually the other way around: messed-up people are more likely to keep diaries! That, by the way, was a quote from an article in Student Times - a free paper I got given in college on Monday (rather out of date - from Thursday 7th October) - which also included an advert for a band called Reuben, "On Tour with Biffy Clyro 12 - 19 October." Hmm... why does that sound familiar?!

Oops!

Quote of the moment: "Oh. Should I have woken you up?"

That was my dad, upon seeing me come down the stairs, at 2.30pm. When I was supposed to be starting my Maths Challenge paper... Sighage...

When my dear mother harassed him about it this evening, he said he'd forgetten I was even here, what with my sisters having just gone back to school after half term and all. THANKS!

Fitness Report: Erm, that would have been the 1pm sports session? Oops to that too...

Disney Top 5

Quote of the moment: "Sorry mate, no idea!" - The captain of the Portsmouth team on University Challenge, to Jeremy Paxman.

Hurrah! Met up with Jimmy and Prillo in Chelmsford this afternoon, which was most entertaining. I even managed to get birthday presents for both Jimmy (belated) and Podge (almost on time!). Go me! Only a couple behind now!

A question for everyone who had Disney cartoon films as part of their childhood: What are your Top 5 Disney films? Everything from Snow White up to Toy Story - which is borderline, since it's CGI and not traditional :P

My top 5:

1. Robin Hood
   The whole animals thing - It's awesome! Plus Prince John is hilarious.
2. The Sword in the Stone
   Archimedes (the owl) is my hero! Also Mad Madam Mim - like Prill?!
3. Aladdin
   Robin Williams as the Genie.
4. The Lion King
   Timone and Pumba - especially the "In the Jungle" singing.
5. Beauty and the Beast
   For the awesome cutlery/pottery, and because I want to have my own castle!

Fitness Report: I'm going to sports tomorrow as well, since it's just before The Maths Challenge! Twice in one week, and physio' on Wednesday! Yikes!

[Edit 23:38 - I just went outside to look at a meteor shower, as suggested by Prillo. It was raining. Outside sucks :P]

[Edit 00:23 - New Weebl and Bob! It's awesome! "This not the sphinx! It the sphinxter!"]

Politics

Quote of the moment: "Canadian immigration officials cited by Reuters said that the number of US citizens visiting their website went up six-fold on Wednesday."

See here for details!

I wrote all of this as commentary on Podgy's latest marathon update. I thought I'd show it off, as it's actually coherent! How rare!

Bush makes people feel safe. This should not be the case, but from the small glimpse of his activities they get, thats what they think...

Kerry sucked. If, for example, George Clooney had run for President against Bush, he'd have won. He'd never have been chosen by the Democrats as their representative, because they choose on the basis of intelligent policies, not charisma. Kerry didn't, at any point, capture the moment, or hold the crowd's attention. The Republicans have known the power of charm since at least Ronald Reagan - a former (minor) Hollywood star. Bill Clinton won the nomination for his policies and the election for his charm, his twinkly eyes and his saxophone playing.

If George Clooney had run for President, he'd have captured the group that really decided the election: the "security moms". The ones who were charmed by Clinton. The ones who voted for Bush because his eyes twinkled more than Kerry's.

Also: The number of U.S. citizens visiting the Canadian Government's immigration website went up by six times on Wednesday - the day the election result was announced.

In other news, I actually got my uniform today! Hurrah! It's awesome:

• The shirts don't have tails, so they come untucked really easily when I bend down to put things on bottom shelves (and shirts always have to be tucked in).
• The trousers are too narrow around the thighs so my humoungous tree-trunk legs are gripped too tightly to allow me to crouch down (I wore my own blue baggy ones).
• The jumper is V-necked, which is for women and golfers.

Fitness Report: Cycled to work and back, again! Am also planning to sit in front of either Apocalypse Now or The Untouchables, playing with my weights... Go me!

First day at work

Quote of the moment: "I really liked that cutter"

Today was my first day working at Tescos... Go me! 1 til 6pm, Fridays and Saturdays. It was bit weird... I never actually got my uniform! I spent the whole time with a badge pinned onto my rugby shirt! How rare!

The first hour I was supervised by my section manager. At some point I managed to mislay his "cutter"... Which is a like a safety bladed thing for cutting (obvs) open boxes and plastic wrapping. Oops... Good start, no? After that I was with a guy who's been working there 2 days... Very experienced! Plus the section manager turns up and presents me with my own cutter, complete with curly keyring thing so I couldn't possibly leave it anywhere... Sighage...

It wasn't too bad though! Time flies when you're pretending to be an Italian waiter with a box of Daz :D

Fitness Report: Cycled to work and back :D

Hail to the Thief

Quote of the moment: Kerry calls Bush to concede...

Two days ago, but unmentioned as yet. I thought it was quite impressive that Kerry didn't go into the courtroom battles, despite being a lawyer!

Sighage... Looking on the bright side, at least the Armed Forces will be kept busy, and hopefully thus escape too many cuts as a result of "having too many troops". More likely, they'll have to go to war, but not have any budget increase, and thus be forced to make more cuts like those happening now. I think Bush should chuck 3 billion our way to pay for our assistance, since Gordon Brown won't - it's less than what gets spent each day on the US Armed Forces, apparently!

The political maps show America in terms of Red Republican states and Blue Democrat ones... But here's the proportional representation map: nearly Cadbury Purple, Podge m8!



Fitness Report: I got owned in Badminton doubles by a pair of females! Shocking! I blame my partner for being a short-ass... Short people are t3h sucky :P

Nice haircut, Marine!

Quote of the moment: While talking about watching The Ring last night with Jimmy, I was tres amused... Here are the edited highlights:

Hulk: I watched the ring last night
Jimmy: have you watched the hole thing yet?
Jimmy: *whole
Hulk: PMSL
Jimmy: huh?

Sigh... Oh, the irony!

Today I made what was possibly a huge blunder: I had a haircut! My lovely long Einsteinian locks have been shorn! It's not quite Vince level short, but close, no? Judge for yourselves...



Also, for your delight and viewing pleasure (and to make Jim jealous), the window of the shop in Edinburgh:



Mine's in the front row, one to the left of centre... However, I'm sure Jim will be more concerned with the beauty in the middle of the back row! And on the topic of making Jim jealous, I sat next to three Russian girls on the train down from Edinburgh on Monday, who were happily chattering away in accents that would have had Jim begging for more... :P

Fitness Report: Does walking around Braintree count? Nope, didn't think so...

Hallo, Ween!

Quote of the moment: Happy birthday Kez-yarrrr! (For yesterday)

The epic Halloween get-together was most excellent!
I agree my dear comrade Ted: totally bogus!

Ahem. (Y) Ya! It was though, tbh :D

Personal highlights:

• Rob m8 trying to stroll into a nightclub on Kaz's arm, because he'd lost his wallet whilst mashed up on Thursday night.
• Rob m8 seeing Nick's hair and feeling insecure.
• Me being owned by Nick for implying Diet Coke was unmanly.
• Prillo trying to use me as a ghost shield on the vaults tour, in case something came through the wall.
• Rob's glow in the dark face.
• Jimmy getting Klu Klux Klan comments from virtually everyone, when dressed in his white sheet.
• Playing Monopoly while attempting to ply everyone with alcohol... and failing with all except myself!
• Finding a souvenir shop selling swords... and armour, and helmets... Samurai sowrds up to a humoungous Braveheart style double-handed broadsword.
• Being so impressed that I gave Kaz m8 the squids to buy me one, since I forgot about them on Sunday. (Only a compartively ickle one though!)
• Eating Rob's supplies: Jaffa Cakes, Jaffa cake mini-rolls and chocolate oranges. Anyone else interested in the Rob-recommended diet?!
• Going shopping with Rob, Kaz and Nick, and discovering that neither of the latter two are capable of making a decision on anything trivial (eg Vanilla Diet Coke vs Diet Coke, or chocolate cake vs sponge cake).
• Decorating the sponge cakes we eventually bought with some awesome Tesco ready-made icing (rolled with a Smirnoff bottle, since the rolling pin had gone AWOL).
• Embarrasing Kaz by singing Happy Birthday.
• Sitting in a squished-up bundle on a bench in the park on Sunday night, watching some n00bs set off fireworks while Rob recanted comic tales.
• Getting up at 6.25-ish on Monday morning - un peu later than planned - and striding/running to the station with my mahoosive backpack on (mostly full of mahoosive sleeping bag).
• Arriving just in time to see my train leaving... D'oh!

Fitness Report: I'm super, thanks to Kaz, my new personal PT instructor :D