Diet
Ohh cripes. Another diet contest at work. Starts on Monday. Might just keep that gym subscription…
Month: October 2002
Gran
Visited my Gran last night, and having not seen her for a couple of weeks, I was again slightly taken aback at how.. well.. small she has become.
My Gran has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my Mum was in and out of hospital a lot, so I spent many weekends staying at my Gran’s. In addition to that, my Grandpa had several strokes until he was eventually hospitalised, which meant that every weekend we would go and pick up my Gran to take her to the nursing home. I think looking after my Grandpa kept my Gran going. I can only vaguely remember a time when my Grandpa wasn’t in a wheelchair, so my Gran had to do everything for him.
Since my Grandpa passed away, and Gran moved out of their family home, she has slowed down as old age has crept in. She was knocked over by a reversing taxi a few years ago, and ever since then she has suddenly become an ‘old’ woman. She’s not the Gran I remember, or want to remember. I know it’s part of life’s natural progression, but I’m going to hold onto the Gran I knew when I was eight. The Gran that would play football with me, make me mince-n-tatties (when everyone else was having roast beef), the Gran who still likes to spoil me and my sister whenever she can.
She’s still sharp though, when she’s hears what you said… and she still remembers my name, eventually… (Andrew, Nigel, Ian, David… GORDON… pass me the salt will you…).
UK privatisation
I have to agree with Stuart on all of his points in his recent posting Public Pride, Private Shame, it also doubles as a well written snapshot of modern Britain. If any of my American readers are wondering why we keep banging on about Thatcher, railways, water companies, BT etc, give it a read.
Aside: I’ve just realised why ‘Great Britain’, and ‘Britain’ are used in conversational sentences (like mine above). Same reason that the USA is wrongly referred to as America (which isn’t strictly accurate either as it is a split continent). It’s because it begins with a U. Much harder to form sentences round the word ‘United’ or even the shorthand ‘UK’.
Another aside: The previous aside was rather long, don’t you think?
News
Good – I’m not being made redundant.
Bad – one of my team is, but we knew that one of us would go.
Currently in a state of limbo, kinda numb, happy for me, sad and disappointed for the other guy. Yeah I know it wasn’t my choice, and it’s business etc etc, but I’m still allowed to feel crap. OK?
Cheerier tomorrow I hope.
Tunes
No not the throat lozenges, the ones that pop in your head for no reason. I have two standard tunes that, with no prompting or invitation, start playing over and over in my head.
1. Mac the Knife – Sinatra version.
2. Star Spangled Banner – not the Hendrix version unfortunately.
Why?
In a similar vein I also have the weird ability to morph one tune into another. Currently the Muppet theme tune (It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights… or however it goes…) easily slides into Santa Claus is coming to town (he knows when you are sleeping, he knows when wide awake…). I think it’s the bridge in the Muppet theme tune that throws me, I’m not sure what follows it, so my brain substitutes a festive ditty instead.
This is all mildly worrying you know…
Sod’s Law
I watch (well the TV is tuned to in the background) BBC Breakfast every morning. This morning I was most miffed that I was going to miss my favourite ever Professor explaining Sod’s Law. However thanks to the wonders of the web, we can all enjoy it: Sod’s Law: a rocket scientist writes…
(More info on Sod’s Law also known as Murphy’s Law)
In other news, work is still not great but my fate should be known soon (cue The Clash: Should I Stay or Should I go – or in this case, Will I stay or Will I be made Redundant? and no I don’t know why I wrote that in semi-caps…)
My surfing has been limited over the past few days, but I have to agree with Vaughan (very scary in EXACTLY the same way, the truth will out!), and Stuart on supermarkets strikes a chord (and yes, I AM a snob too), and my reaction to the ‘£50,000 grant/no shouting at kids in supermarket’ thing is similar to Vodkabirds, namely that it would be a miracle to get the parents of these little shits to do ANYTHING that involved discipline.
Note: I am not saying all parents are bad, but as usual the few tar the many.
That’s all for now. You are excused.