Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Baby it's cold outside....

I was just sitting here trying to warm up my hands and thought - this is silly! I'm wearing gloves, have a jumper on, am wearing my uggs and am snuggled under multiple blankets - why am I still cold? I put the heater on and then had a look at the weather forcast just in case...

This would be why:
The little x's on the clouds for this evening? That means sleet and / or expected snow. Nice.

In other news, I've managed to reach the 40k mark in Nanowrimo. This year has been a slog uphill all the way. Not so easy the fourth time around. Keep your fingers crossed I'll make it to the finish line! :s

Thursday, 4 November 2010

Nano has begun.

9903 words written so far, so not a bad effort.

Four days ago actually. I'm nowhere near as psyched about it as I have been in the past. Probably because I'm working all the hours available to me, including Saturdays, and I'm just really, really tired.

I also peaked a tad too early in my preparation. I was rearing to write the story around the first week of October, and the fact that I had to wait a further three weeks to start dampened my ardor just a tad.

I'm thinking that this could even possibly be the first year I don't succeed. But then I know I'm damn stubborn, so I'll probably get there in the end. It might be just by the skin of my teeth...

There is one other rather cool thing I'm doing this year, which I'll have to rave about in another post 'cause I'm falling asleep right now and it rather requires enthusiasm to rave, but I must and will tell you all about my adventures with a speach-to-text software package I'm playing with. It's really saving my fingers.

Anyway, need to sleep. Will report back later.

G'night.

Monday, 1 November 2010

I feel like a two-year-old.

My mouth hurts. Ha, boy is that the understatement of the century.

Several weeks ago, as I reported here, I had a tooth extracted. At the time, the damn bugger didn't want to come out, it was happy where it was thank you very much. The poor dentist-lass was yanking at it for a good 15 minutes before it would even budge, and in the end, some bits of the roots broke off rather than leave their comfortable home.

The dentist couldn't remove the pieces, or perhaps didn't want to given I was already white and shaking all over, as there was too much blood etc in the way. She told me that the pieces would eventually erupt on their own, like any new tooth. I thought, fair enough, they must know what they're doing, I'll go along with that.

Idiot.

Well the first piece erupted successfully, although it spent a good five days cutting my tongue to ribbons before it would dislodge itself. Enamel - the stuff that coats your tooth - is the hardest substance in the body, and this was a very sharp, broken shard of enamel.

But the second shard would seem to be a lot bigger than the first and it has somehow managed to migrate under the skin to lie along the inside of my jaw in a prime position to get bumped every time I move my tongue. It has started to erupt and has got to the point of cutting up my tongue, but will go no further. It is making my mouth bleed daily, but it won't come out. It's been nine days now, and I am sick to death of it.

I can't eat, I can't talk, I can't swallow, I can't drink and I can't sleep on that side without causing myself excruciating pain and tasting copper.

If this is what a kid feels when her teeth come through, I can totally sympathise with and understand all the screaming. Please feel free to scream your head off kiddo, I wish I could, because I know it f***ing HURTS!

Edit to add: Not copper; Iron. Blood tastes like iron. I honestly don't know why I said it tasted like copper, except that that's the commonly held belief. I'm not common. It tastes like iron.

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Cat and Printer



This is hilarious!

And so exactly how I relate to technology sometimes!

Saturday, 2 October 2010

Butter for the King...

There is a guy at work called Jon, but I have it stuck in my head that his name is James, as that's his surname and also the name of one of my cousins and, lets face it, my memory resembles a swiss cheese. Unfortunately, I call him James to his face - regularly.

It's become a bit of a standing joke, and the poor guy is very nice about it. Today for the umpteeth time I did it again, and after yelling at myself and startling him I started reciting 'James James Morrison Morrison', which is the first line of a poem by A. A. Milne - of Winnie the Pooh fame - called Disobedience.

One of my other, older workmates was damn impressed with my referential knowledge and recited the rest of the poem for us. Thus encouraged, out of the unfathomable recesses of my mind, I then proceeded to recite my favourite Milne poem for his edification, and to general bemusement all round.

Since it's stuck in my head, here it is for you too. I always make a big show out of the 'Oh Deary Me!' bits so try to imagine them in my voice accompanied by lots of over-acting... :D

The King's Breakfast
by A. A. Milne

The King asked
The Queen, and
The Queen asked
The Dairymaid:
"Could we have some butter for
The Royal slice of bread?"
The Queen asked the Dairymaid,
The Dairymaid
Said, "Certainly,
I'll go and tell the cow
Now
Before she goes to bed."

The Dairymaid
She curtsied,
And went and told
The Alderney:
"Don't forget the butter for
The Royal slice of bread."
The Alderney
Said sleepily:
"You'd better tell
His Majesty
That many people nowadays
Like marmalade
Instead."

The Dairymaid
Said, "Fancy!"
And went to
Her Majesty.
She curtsied to the Queen, and
She turned a little red:
"Excuse me,
Your Majesty,
For taking of
The liberty,
But marmalade is tasty, if
It's very
Thickly
Spread."

The Queen said
"Oh!:
And went to
His Majesty:
"Talking of the butter for
The royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade
Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade
Instead?"

The King said,
"Bother!"
And then he said,
"Oh, deary me!"
The King sobbed, "Oh, deary me!"
And went back to bed.
"Nobody,"
He whimpered,
"Could call me
A fussy man;
I only want
A little bit
Of butter for
My bread!"

The Queen said,
"There, there!"
And went to
The Dairymaid.
The Dairymaid
Said, "There, there!"
And went to the shed.
The cow said,
"There, there!
I didn't really
Mean it;
Here's milk for his porringer,
And butter for his bread."

The Queen took
The butter
And brought it to
His Majesty;
The King said,
"Butter, eh?"
And bounced out of bed.
"Nobody," he said,
As he kissed her
Tenderly,
"Nobody," he said,
As he slid down the banisters,
"Nobody,
My darling,
Could call me
A fussy man -
BUT
I do like a little bit of butter to my bread!"

Friday, 1 October 2010

One Month 'Till NaNo!

The count-down begins. Only 31 days until the month of madness recommences.

I really do love it.

I can't believe I've been doing this for four years already. I can't believe I didn't do it for the three years I knew it existed prior to 2007. I can't believe that after this November I'll have written stories with a collective word count of at least 250k. I can't believe I'll have finished four stories that could, given some help, be turned into real live novels!

But I do believe I'll have a damn good time doing it. To force yourself to be so intensively creative for such a short period of time is such an amazing experience. And to have written 50,000 words is such a mind-blowing achievement!

It is also totally insane. Last year I spent my walk to work talking out loud to myself recording bits of my story on an mp3 player - and seriously alarming the people I passed. No, I am not drunk, I'm just crazy! And in typing on my laptop to reach the 100k mark I completely stuffed both my wrists. I couldn't type anything for months and I was in constant pain. I have an ergonomic keyboard now - I learned that lesson, never fear.

But damn, it is worth it. I have a proof copy of the mess I wrote last year - An actual book with my (pen) name on it! That's really very cool. I also love the fact that I have managed to finish three novels. I've spent so many years saying 'one day', and never doing it - and now, it's done!

Come on November! I can't wait to see what you've got in store for me this year.

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

Eight-Ball or Blackball?

Some useless information for you!

There isn't much to do in Aber most nights of the week, so for some time I've been trying to get my work mates to join me in a couple of games of pool. This evening I finally succeeded - only, the game they were used to calling pool was not the game I call pool.

Now as far as I was aware, there were only three games you could play on a Billiards table: Billiards, Snooker and Pool.

Billiards and Snooker are the same game both here and at home.

Billiards is the game where you have two cue balls and a red ball and you score up to 12 points depending on whether you can get just the red ball in, or the red and your opponents ball in... I think. I never really understood Billiards, and I think I always thought that Billiards was actually Snooker, but when I think about it, I do know the difference.

Snooker is the game where you have one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and six balls of different colours; those being yellow (worth 2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6) and black (7). You have to pocket a red ball first and then you can pocket a coloured ball and the coloured ball gets replaced after the score is recorded until all the red balls are done and then you pocket the coloured balls in order... or thereabouts. This was the game I learned to play with my friend Nick Burden back when I was 9 or so - he had a table in his back room, and was Brilliant at it.

The game of Pool however, is a completely different kettle of fish. There is not one, but two games played under the name of Pool: Eight-Ball, an American game which is what is known as Pool in most of the rest of the world, and Blackball, which is the English version of the same game.

No wonder I was confused. The rules are remarkably similar, but the table and the balls are not.

The game I know is the American game. It has a white cue ball, the black 8-ball (logically so called 'cause it has the number 8 on it!) and then seven striped and seven plain balls of various colours with numbers on them. You are assigned either the striped or plain balls, and win when you have first pocketed your seven balls and then successfully pocketed the black. I spent many enjoyable evenings with Amy, Marty, DB, Jase and others at the Norwood pool hall playing this - which I always called pool.

The English version of the game has a white cue ball, a black ball and seven red and seven yellow balls. The balls are slightly lighter and slightly smaller than their American cousins and the balls aren't numbered. The tables are also slightly smaller, and have smaller pockets - just larger than the balls - which are hard edged, rather than the softer ones we often see at home. I played this for the first time the other night at a farewell do - but I don't remember what we called it... the evening was sober for me, but not for my companions. I don't think the name came up actually... :D

From the discussions we had tonight, I believe that the rules are pretty much the same. Fouls, when you pocket the white ball or your opponents ball, or when you miss a shot, lead to a double shot for the other side seem to be the same. You still have to pocket all your balls and then the black to win and if you pocket the white after the black, you still lose. But as with any game, the 'House' rules also apply.

Anyway, all this was leading to me learning a few things and having a great evening. I taught the English guys how to play 8-ball pool, and then proceeded to get walloped for the first three games. I thankfully won my last two, thus saving myself from complete disgrace, but will have to pick up my game if I'm to have any hope of a reasonable reputation. Next week we're going to play Blackball and I expect to get even more soundly walloped... but them's the breaks. :)

GTHBA.

Monday, 27 September 2010

My first tooth...

Warning: This is a bit graphic and probably too much information.

Holy cow.

This morning I noticed that the bit of tenderness in my jaw that made eating not so fun had managed to get perceptively worse, so I thought - better get me to a dentist. Not that I wanted to go mind you, I hate every member of the profession just 'cause, but there are some things you just gotta do (Read: I had arrived at the point where the pain was not something I could will away).

I expected that there would be a wait and have been repeatedly told that getting into a dentist here was difficult. But no, the second practice I rang up said they had vacancies and that in fact they had a cancellation for this afternoon and would I like to take it? Damn.... Well, yes, I suppose I really should.

So I did...

They took x-rays to see what was going on.

Let me 'splain. Me and my teeth do not get along. I tell you, I have THE worst luck and THE worst teeth. I brush, I use mouthwash, but no. I have fillings in all of my molars and caps on many of the front ones. I had my first root-canal treatment at 17, my second at 21. My body doesn't seem to like calcium much.

Anyway, The x-ray revealed another possible two root-canals in the making: One completely hopeless tooth that probably couldn't be salvaged even with the root canal and another that had a cracked filling which could lead to a possible second root-canal.

EEEEEEEEK!

The lovely lady dentist gave me a choice; anti-biotics to calm the pain, then root canal on hopeless tooth with the possibility of collapse of the tooth (yes, that's happened too - I have a wisdom tooth somewhere in my mouth which they re-planted into the space another collapsed tooth had vacated) and at the cost of some 400 plus pounds, or, remove said hopeless tooth completely for the bargain price of 40 quid.

Well, I have no money. So the choice was painful but clear. Extract, excavate, uproot and discard. In other words: Remove The Tooth.

OUCH! OUCH OUCH OUCH! OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH! I hate dentists... lovely people, but crap they hurt like hell!!!

So, I am now minus one tooth. I have survived my very first extraction. I am still on the anti-biotics though and I have to go back to have an assessment done on the other one and they didn't even look at the top row.

*whimper*.

One day, when I have money, I'll get a replacement denture or something. But in the meantime... I have a bleeding hole in my mouth. Literally!

OUCH!

Thursday, 23 September 2010

Autumnmnmn

I know it's been here for a while, but it finally really feels like Autumn. So, because all the trees are reminding me of the fact around here:


To Autumn
by John Keats

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Carmen Aber-Style

Interesting...

My first rehearsal with the Aber Choral Society was a study in contrasts. Granted this is only the second choir I've sung with since I became an adult but it's strange how quickly you become accustomed to a certain way of doing things.

Aber's choir has no-one younger than me, whereas at least half the Plym choir were Uni students. This changes the sound considerably, believe me. There was a lot more warbling than I was used to! Mind you, I didn't hear any really bung notes either, so that was a most definite plus. But I missed sharing subtle eye-rolls with people my own age at some of the endearing but daft statements some older of the constituents make. I had to really suppress a fit of the giggles at one stage and I would have loved to have shared a smile with someone.

And the way the sections were placed was different - we were spread out more like an orchestra, with Soprano's, Tenors, Bases and Alto's fanned around the conductor in that order rather than having the Sop's & Alto's at the front with the Tenors & Bases sitting behind like in Plym. I miss having the deeper sound behind me! I find I'm best at keeping myself in tune when I can hear the harmonies and counter-melodies. Something to keep me on my toes most definitely.

We also did no vocal warm-ups this evening, which I dearly missed not having sung for six months, but in place of the quiet pianist of yore who I always had to struggle to hear, tonight we had this wonderfully bombastic lady who thumped out the tune extremely proficiently and managed to be louder than the full-voiced choir. Generous applause was given to her from all at the end and deservedly so.

We are learning the concert arrangement of Carmen for performance in December. In English, which is a tad disappointing, as I'd like to learn the French, but still, all the tunes are very familiar. Actually, the one real problem with singing stuff you know well, is NOT singing the tune! I had to keep pulling myself back onto the Alto line as I found myself wandering into the Soprano's territory. Someone's also played a bit fast and lose with the lyrics which are a little ... odd. I really don't believe Bizet would approve of the line 'Buy one and Get one Free' appearing in his work. But there you go. It will certainly amuse the audience, if they can work out what we're singing. :P

Anyway, the music is still the same, and that is all that really matters. I shall enjoy my 12 week stint in this choir and cherish every moment that I get to be part of such an enjoyable activity. I am grinning now and shall be for some time to come.

I really am blessed, I know that, to have the ability to sing. It's so difficult to explain to someone who has not known it, but be it in an orchestra or a choir, participating in the massed effect of music lifts you up out of yourself. You become greater than the sum of your parts and it is a really wonderful feeling.

Wish I could share it with you. Love & Music - K.