Month: December 2005

No… not a national event or anything like that – it’s just that this is the week that I got all my bike stuff sorted. WooHoo! It’s very *veeeeeery* nearly tickety-boo now, which pleases me. Indeed, it pleases me greatly – oh yes!

I’ve got a new front brake lever, which was one of the items trashed in my clumsy topple the other week, and a clutch lever to match – image-conscious tart that I am. And a new footrest hanger to replace the broken one, and a pair of handlebar muffs to keep my pinkies cosy in this inclement season. So I finally got around to fitting my heated handlebar grips too – toasty! 🙂

Ah yes, so the streets are unsafe once more. So I hear, anyway – nothing to do with me. Or is it? Hmmmm…. Anywards, I’m afraid there ain’t a lot of banter to deal out this instalment, ‘cos I’ve been working sooooo hard I’ve hardly left the house. Now that ain’t healthy.

+++ Calling all live music aficionados +++ This Wednesday 21st December sees a stellar lineup in the wonderfully laid-back Bartok on Chalk Farm Road, NW1. For those who haven’t been, free entry, comfy sofas and a well-stocked bar make this a top night on their own, but check out the talent: Energiser Bunny Ian Bennett, flat-picking marvel Michael Burke, poetic genius Peter Conway and the unstoppable rock machine that is Gin Panic (acoustically softened, and featuring Kate on cello!) guarantee you a top-notch evening of crackin’ acoustic tunes par excellence. Unmissable – see you there!

But Christmas is fast approaching, and I’m avoiding the shopping hordes like the plague. I’ve ranted on here before about the consumerist tsunami that wreaks havoc on credit card balances the world over at this time of year, so I won’t repeat myself. It doesn’t really affect me anyway, ‘cos I’m skint. Really, really skint, so I think everyone’s lucky if they get a card in the post from me this year! Actually, now I think of it, I have to wonder how that’s so different from every other year… Oh yeah – this year I’m actually sending cards! Well, one or three…

Off up to Hampstead to spend Christmas with the posse there again – let’s face it, I’ve had such a good time with the Gin Panic, etc. crowd the past couple of years, it’s a no-brainer. Loads of fine food, courtesy of gourmande Kerrie, a couple of bottles of fine wine to start us off – and a couple of dozen bottles of plonk to finish us off! Ah yes, the most wonderful time of the year indeed – but thankfully it comes but once a year. I don’t think I could handle a regular binge of those proportions…

Well, here’s to the early pre-Christmas payday, which means I run out of cash in early January (I kid you not!); the wicked social doings that make the season what it is; and more than anything else, I raise a fully-charged glass to the forlorn hope of making it through with no more than a mild hangover.

I can always dream….. 🙂

But not too sad – put those violins away! It’s just a small adjustment, where the guestbook has taken its final signature. What was happening was that a bunch of crapheads flogging illegal meds were using the guestbook for free advertising – so now I’ve stopped it from accepting any more signatures. And I’ve posted a nice little message for them in case they do decide to post any more.

So once more, the end of an era – haven’t had a day like this since I had to kill off the message board when Russian black marketeers decided to use it for a similar purpose – but it wasn’t getting that much action anyway. And until I put a more secure option in place, it’s disabled. Never mind, eh?

Ahhhh, Christmas, Christmas! The ads and jingles and tired old ‘Christmas Number Ones’ are in full swing, not to mention the tinsel and lights and people dressing their houses up like (excuse the comparison) a tastelessly over-decorated Christmas tree – but we sensible types seize the moment to drown the sorrows accumulated over the past 11 months. Party!

Speaking of parties, a big birthday shout goes to my twin sisters Kathy & Ailish, who turned twenty[something] over the weekend. Only kidding, girls, I know how old you are. And you don’t look a day over thirty! 😀 In any case, I hope the morning after wasn’t too painful….

Funnily enough, rather than work slowing down in the approach to Christmas, it’s ramping up something silly – as I always say, a good complaint. But there’s still partying to be done! That doesn’t hold much water with my company, though – boo! Hang on – I work for myself… I’m such a rotten boss. Boo to me!

Had a minor celebration last week with my fellow hypno graduates, and we all pondered what the future would hold. Actually, a couple of them had a much better idea than me – I came away with (besides a battered liver) a determination to get my thinking cap on and do something with it. As I’ve said before, I’ll sort it in New Year – something part-time, probably.

Well, I’ll leave it at that. My next update will likely be Christmas Eve, as I won’t have a second to myself in the coming weeks. In the meantime, avoid those last-minute shopping crowds – shop online!