And lovely places to be.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Back once again with the renegade master
I was on a flier tonight on my way home from work - sprinting up the hill, my knobly tyres rasping on the road as I dashed towards the comfort of a cuppa tea.
A group of hoodies were crossing the road right by my turning onto the bike lane around the dog-fields.
"Scoose me guys, can I squeeze through the middle?" I bellowed, confident as the cold, foggy air would allow.
"Sorry!" they crowed, and herded to the edges, watching my every move. In the Ortons I half expected them to jump me for my 50p and sweaty underwear but instead they yelled, "Cheers mate!" after me as I rode off shouting my "thanks" back.
I wonder if my rebellious underdog biker sides me with the yoof pack or if they were still just trying to suss if I was a big bloke in disguise.
I is down with the hood' I is.
A group of hoodies were crossing the road right by my turning onto the bike lane around the dog-fields.
"Scoose me guys, can I squeeze through the middle?" I bellowed, confident as the cold, foggy air would allow.
"Sorry!" they crowed, and herded to the edges, watching my every move. In the Ortons I half expected them to jump me for my 50p and sweaty underwear but instead they yelled, "Cheers mate!" after me as I rode off shouting my "thanks" back.
I wonder if my rebellious underdog biker sides me with the yoof pack or if they were still just trying to suss if I was a big bloke in disguise.
I is down with the hood' I is.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Ski Holiday
Last week I went skiing with my best friend TSK. The plane was 2 hours late so we sat around lots in Stanstead and I did puzzles which my brane is usually too tired for and TSK read lots of his book.
By the time we got to the France it was late and we were too tired to care that we had a two hour transfer ahead cos we were just glad there wasn't a bus full of people that had been waiting two hours for us. We also didn't mind about being late because we knew it was because of lots of snow falling.
When we got to our hotel the lasagne had been in the oven for two hours too long and we thought the food was going to be yuck for the rest of the week but it was OK cos the pasta was just leathery because it was in the oven for two hours. The rest of the food was really good.
On the first day we went out on the green run at the bottom of the hill but we soon got bored of that so we went and did some easy blues and practised some tricks. TSK learnt some new things. At the end of the day it snowed a bit. We had wine with dinner and felt a bit funny.
On the second day it was already snowing lots and just kept on snowing and snowing. We went up high but then it got really windy on top and the snow was still coming down so we went low down on the hill to stay safe and went in early so we could rest before our snowboard lesson. The snowboard lesson was great lots of fun. When we fell over we just laughed and laughed cos we just went fumph into the deep snow.
On Tuesday my little cousin came up the mountain to meet us. We did some blues and had lunch then went and played on a Red run called Voute. It was ded steep with a bit where TSK could go round the edge. Keith loved it cos he went in upto his knees in deep snow and found a jump off the edge of the track onto the steep red. He landed it then caught his edge and did a back flip and the people on the lift went "weyyheyy" really loud and I laughed. We did it again. I had fun skiing up to my thighs in deep snow. On the way down we did the black run into the resort whilst TSK went round the green. I was tempted by the trees but they were way too uniformly planted and my skis were all over the place being crappy legged. I got to the bottom okay though and then realised my boots had been undone all the way down which I textd to Keith later and made him laugh on his way home.
On Wednesday we went to Serre Chevalier and played on their insane pomma lifts which go all the way up to the top of the mountain and some of the slopes are 1:1 (50%) and bounce about a lot. The boys call them nut-crushers. I thought they were funny and tried to lift my feet up. We had nice lunch at Serre Chevalier and didn't queue much. We might go there again. We came down at 3:30 and had crepes with chocolate on and beer and went for a last run before the bus and TSK did another red with a big bump in it that made his crepe wriggle about.
We laughed at the rep for repeating the name of the meeting point over and over and pondered the idea of calling him a week later to say, "where's the bus". He stuck a sticker on me with his phone number on it. I think he fancied me.
On Thursday Keith came over on his skis. He looked like a big girl on skis with his dreds till he went down hill much faster than me. I said I couldn't help him with his ski position because he goes in a straight line really nicely. I made him work by doing some turns and was happy cos the black run was easier for me even if I didn't make it look that way. We went over to the other side of the mountain which was a bit icy so after a bit of bum sliding we went to the bar and drank beer and hot wine before sending my cuz back to Alpe d'Huez.
On Friday it was our last day so we skied the entire resort with TSK doing blues or reds and me doing the blacks and reds and we took lifts we hadn't done yet and went over some little jumps.
It was a brilliant holiday and I was totally pampered and my new goggles did what they say on the tin and stayed fog-free and the new poles did their trick and were really light.
It is nice to be home so I can do my washing and my room doesn't smell like ass anymore.
Ski Fest 2008 - 1
By the time we got to the France it was late and we were too tired to care that we had a two hour transfer ahead cos we were just glad there wasn't a bus full of people that had been waiting two hours for us. We also didn't mind about being late because we knew it was because of lots of snow falling.
When we got to our hotel the lasagne had been in the oven for two hours too long and we thought the food was going to be yuck for the rest of the week but it was OK cos the pasta was just leathery because it was in the oven for two hours. The rest of the food was really good.
On the first day we went out on the green run at the bottom of the hill but we soon got bored of that so we went and did some easy blues and practised some tricks. TSK learnt some new things. At the end of the day it snowed a bit. We had wine with dinner and felt a bit funny.
On the second day it was already snowing lots and just kept on snowing and snowing. We went up high but then it got really windy on top and the snow was still coming down so we went low down on the hill to stay safe and went in early so we could rest before our snowboard lesson. The snowboard lesson was great lots of fun. When we fell over we just laughed and laughed cos we just went fumph into the deep snow.
On Tuesday my little cousin came up the mountain to meet us. We did some blues and had lunch then went and played on a Red run called Voute. It was ded steep with a bit where TSK could go round the edge. Keith loved it cos he went in upto his knees in deep snow and found a jump off the edge of the track onto the steep red. He landed it then caught his edge and did a back flip and the people on the lift went "weyyheyy" really loud and I laughed. We did it again. I had fun skiing up to my thighs in deep snow. On the way down we did the black run into the resort whilst TSK went round the green. I was tempted by the trees but they were way too uniformly planted and my skis were all over the place being crappy legged. I got to the bottom okay though and then realised my boots had been undone all the way down which I textd to Keith later and made him laugh on his way home.
On Wednesday we went to Serre Chevalier and played on their insane pomma lifts which go all the way up to the top of the mountain and some of the slopes are 1:1 (50%) and bounce about a lot. The boys call them nut-crushers. I thought they were funny and tried to lift my feet up. We had nice lunch at Serre Chevalier and didn't queue much. We might go there again. We came down at 3:30 and had crepes with chocolate on and beer and went for a last run before the bus and TSK did another red with a big bump in it that made his crepe wriggle about.
We laughed at the rep for repeating the name of the meeting point over and over and pondered the idea of calling him a week later to say, "where's the bus". He stuck a sticker on me with his phone number on it. I think he fancied me.
On Thursday Keith came over on his skis. He looked like a big girl on skis with his dreds till he went down hill much faster than me. I said I couldn't help him with his ski position because he goes in a straight line really nicely. I made him work by doing some turns and was happy cos the black run was easier for me even if I didn't make it look that way. We went over to the other side of the mountain which was a bit icy so after a bit of bum sliding we went to the bar and drank beer and hot wine before sending my cuz back to Alpe d'Huez.
On Friday it was our last day so we skied the entire resort with TSK doing blues or reds and me doing the blacks and reds and we took lifts we hadn't done yet and went over some little jumps.
It was a brilliant holiday and I was totally pampered and my new goggles did what they say on the tin and stayed fog-free and the new poles did their trick and were really light.
It is nice to be home so I can do my washing and my room doesn't smell like ass anymore.
Ski Fest 2008 - 1
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
I want to go now
Ski holiday for two £900
New, less foggy goggles £80
New, shorter ski poles £40
New, less bulky suitcase £30
Re-living your favourite part about having been Canadian - priceless
For lift passes, beer and boyfriend ski rental there will have to be VISAcard
150cm at the top. 70cm at the bottom.
On the health front, I had my lungs tested today. Turns out my lungs have the physique of a 27-year old. Could someone persuade my skin the same thing?
Bad news is, I am level 4 allergic to dustmites - on a scale of 1 to 6. I am not at all allergic to cats. Which brings me great pleasure. I am level 1 allergic to some grass which will explain my occasional hayfever. I am still more worried about the dust mites though, because I am mentally averse to cleaning and this will have to change.
On that subject, I have struck a deal with the boss to move me back home at Easter - if nothing else comes up in the meantime. There's the vague possibility I can organise some kind of deep-clean - NHS style - including nice new flooring prior to me moving home so that middle-of-the-night sneezing fits and wheezing can be minimised. With every day that passes, my urge to leave the fens grows stronger.
New, less foggy goggles £80
New, shorter ski poles £40
New, less bulky suitcase £30
Re-living your favourite part about having been Canadian - priceless
For lift passes, beer and boyfriend ski rental there will have to be VISAcard
150cm at the top. 70cm at the bottom.
On the health front, I had my lungs tested today. Turns out my lungs have the physique of a 27-year old. Could someone persuade my skin the same thing?
Bad news is, I am level 4 allergic to dustmites - on a scale of 1 to 6. I am not at all allergic to cats. Which brings me great pleasure. I am level 1 allergic to some grass which will explain my occasional hayfever. I am still more worried about the dust mites though, because I am mentally averse to cleaning and this will have to change.
On that subject, I have struck a deal with the boss to move me back home at Easter - if nothing else comes up in the meantime. There's the vague possibility I can organise some kind of deep-clean - NHS style - including nice new flooring prior to me moving home so that middle-of-the-night sneezing fits and wheezing can be minimised. With every day that passes, my urge to leave the fens grows stronger.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Dark Side
After 9 months in this flat, I finally went to Ikea and bought curtain panels to cover the gaps in my blinds.
Last night, for the first time in 9 months I slept soundly in my own bed... all night.
And I saw lots of lovely things to buy for my own house.
They will have to wait.
Last night, for the first time in 9 months I slept soundly in my own bed... all night.
And I saw lots of lovely things to buy for my own house.
They will have to wait.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Getting Nowhere (Please click on the link if nothing else)
Ever feel like you just can't make any progress?
Despite my present contract being very lucrative, I am now resolutely bored of it. It was exciting at the begining - learning how things are done and making them better then getting out there and developing new ideas, better answers.
9 months on and month-in month-out it's the same. Chasing the same managers for the same approvals. Reporting. Somehow we report £200,000 worth of energy savings every month. That's 1500kWh or 1145 Tonnes of CO2 or 2000 flights between Edinburgh and London and I do feel good about that because for every 1145 Tonnes, you can add in the 1145 Tonnes saving we enabled last month, and the one before.
But it's no longer me that's out there. I have to send other people out there and those people don't question like I do. The return and pee on my idea. They don't bring me the information to make up my own mind and still I'm not allowed to go and make my own mind up. I nudge, I chase up, I enquire politely and contractors come and they bring me pens and mugs and cheap diaries and expensive whiskey because I bolstered their sales.
So I went to a conference and I brought you all this back.
The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever Watch
(It's not really that scary so go ahead and click - especially if you're Canadian and feel inclined to forward it to those climate-change denial leaders of yours).
As for me, Libya has been mentioned - a project to bring water from aquifers to the city. The environmental consequence is questionable but the alternatives are depriving the people of the water or installing carbon-guzzling desalination plants close to the city.
Sharjah was mentioned. I'd no sooner like to work in the UAE than in the USA. Rich Arabs / Americans not being my "thing", much to the regional manager's disappointment.
So now I'm pinning my hopes on Glasgow and wind turbines. Watch this space. Whilst I do some swotting.
Despite my present contract being very lucrative, I am now resolutely bored of it. It was exciting at the begining - learning how things are done and making them better then getting out there and developing new ideas, better answers.
9 months on and month-in month-out it's the same. Chasing the same managers for the same approvals. Reporting. Somehow we report £200,000 worth of energy savings every month. That's 1500kWh or 1145 Tonnes of CO2 or 2000 flights between Edinburgh and London and I do feel good about that because for every 1145 Tonnes, you can add in the 1145 Tonnes saving we enabled last month, and the one before.
But it's no longer me that's out there. I have to send other people out there and those people don't question like I do. The return and pee on my idea. They don't bring me the information to make up my own mind and still I'm not allowed to go and make my own mind up. I nudge, I chase up, I enquire politely and contractors come and they bring me pens and mugs and cheap diaries and expensive whiskey because I bolstered their sales.
So I went to a conference and I brought you all this back.
The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever Watch
(It's not really that scary so go ahead and click - especially if you're Canadian and feel inclined to forward it to those climate-change denial leaders of yours).
As for me, Libya has been mentioned - a project to bring water from aquifers to the city. The environmental consequence is questionable but the alternatives are depriving the people of the water or installing carbon-guzzling desalination plants close to the city.
Sharjah was mentioned. I'd no sooner like to work in the UAE than in the USA. Rich Arabs / Americans not being my "thing", much to the regional manager's disappointment.
So now I'm pinning my hopes on Glasgow and wind turbines. Watch this space. Whilst I do some swotting.
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