Bits and Pieces.

I really haven't got much to blog about at the moment, but there are a few snippets to write about.

I've just dropped my holiday request form into work, which I'm hoping may have been approved when I next see my section manager on Wednesday. I've asked for a week at the end of March, the week that includes Bonfire Night, and two weeks in September, which is the one I'm most anxious about, as that's when I'm hoping to go to Florida. Fingers crossed!

While I was in work, Carol called me over and told me that a) she's booked the tickets for Westlife in March, which is great. It's the O2 next year, which isn't as convenient as Brighton, because we won't be home until about 1:30am, and I'll have a 7am start at work, but I'm looking forward to it anyway. She also told me that something's come up on Dec 2nd, the day we're meant to be going to Bruges with work, and she can't go now. It's not a huge problem, it just means I can't go either, because the trip was organised by the Eastbourne branch, and we were the only two people from Lewes going, which means that without Carol, I can't get to Eastbourne by 6am for the coach. I'm not too disappointed, as I was a bit worried about my travel sickness and the amount of time we'd be spending on a coach, but it would have been nice. Oh well.

Mum and I are just back from Tesco, where I bought my third lot of Johnson & Johnson baby products. Why, I hear you ask. Well, they have a promotion on at the moment, where when you buy any two J&J products which are in the offer (the ones with a red and yellow shelf edge ticket) you get 100 Clubcard points. 1 point is worth a penny, so that's £1 worth of points for every two items you buy. *But* when you use your points for Clubcard Deals, such as days out, holidays etc, 100 points is worth £4. So far I have a £4 voucher from last quarter's normal shopping, and although I've just missed the deadline for the November mailing, on the February one, I already have over 1300 points, which will equate to £56 worth of deals. That means that I have a guaranteed £72 worth of Deals vouchers at the moment, and as Tesco Clubcard vouchers are valid for up to 2 years, I can save them all up, then in just under 2 years, book a Virgin holiday, and get a very nice amount off! I do actually use J&J products as well, which is good, because I currently have 7 baby powders, 2 baby lotions, 9 baby moisturising creams, and 6 4 bar packs of soap!

Nevill Bonfire on Saturday was really disappointing. I walked up to Nevill estate, and watched the first procession, which was almost in silence, and without any torched lit - the band played intermittently, but it really wasn't good. I decided to miss the 'Grand Procession' and walk home, then go out with Mum to a spot five minutes up the road where you can see across the town to Nevill's firesite, which sits up on the hills and where I knew I could set up my tripod and get a good view of the fireworks. The display was due to start at 9:15, so at around 9, we told Nan we'd back within an hour, probably less, and made our way up there. *Big* mistake. We'd forgotten that it's a popular haunt for the teenagers in Lewes, and there were about 8-10 of them yelling, singing, mucking around, and generally being annoying, all at the top of their voices. Oh well, at least we were in a good spot to see the fireworks. I set my tripod up, and aimed the camera at the spot where the fireworks would be ... then realised I have the wrong lens on. I had the 18-55mm lens, when I really needed the 55-200mm one, so I could zoom in. This is why I need a camera bag that can hold both lenses, and then I will always have the one I need!

The fireworks eventually started at 10:30pm, and were uninspiring, to say the least. I don't think I'll be keeping many, if any, of the shots I took :( So all in all, my evening was wasted, we were gone almost 2 hours on Nan's last evening here, when it should have been more like half an hour, and I'm probably not going to bother with Nevill Bonfire again, which is a shame, as I'm a fan of *all* things Bonfire-y. I might play with the photos later and see if any are worth keeping, but I don't think I'll be very lucky, as I was just too far away, and even though I sued a tripod, they're a bit blurred as well.

While I was writing this, BSW, the company doing our new kitchen have rung, and said that they'll be starting work between 10 and 11am next Tuesday. I'll be shattered from Bonfire Night, but it means that by the end of next Wednesday we'll have our new kitchen! On Tuesday they come in and rip out everything except the cooker and sink, then Wednesday they start at 8am and fit the new units, disconnect the cooker if it needs moving, plumb in the sink (and new plumbing means we'll be getting the fittings for a washing machine, which we haven't currently got, so we'll probably get one at some point now), and then within a few days, the tiler comes to do all the new ceramic tiles. I was hoping they would be another few weeks, as I could have bought black tiles, which I think would go better with a black worktop, but as they're coming before next payday, I shall have to put up with the boring white ones they supply! Oh well, there's always black tile paint .....

I meant to write about my trip into Brighton last Thursday, but I can sum it up in a few sentences. I waited half an hour for the bus, which took over an hour to do the 8 mile journey. When I got there, the city centre was so packed (police doing crowd control outside M&S, and McDonalds and KFC both had queues out the door) that I went in Bon Marché where I found nothing I liked, Poundland where I spent £5, and EAT, where I bought a salad to bring home for lunch. The bus journey home was equally slow, and I had no option but to sit right at the back, on the seat that faces backwards, opposite the very back seat, so right by the engine, as it was a double decker. The two kids opposite thought it was fun to stand on the back seat and wave at people out of the window, or to pull their bubble gum out frequently for inspection, and by the time I got home, it was 3:30, I'd been gone for 5 hours, *completely* lost my train of thought in Brighton and forgotten to go near any shoe shops - guess what I went for?! - and hadn't eaten all day, so was hungry, nauseous from low blood sugar, and distinctly grumpy!

I think that's about it for now. Later, people!

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Now playing: Various Artists - Morning from "Peer Gynt" Suite No. 1

Wahey!

Well, it's grey and wet and pretty damn miserable out there today, but I've been paid a day early, which is great, as I'm off today, so I can pop into Brighton and get shoes for work, and a few other bits and pieces - maybe even make a start on the Christmas shopping!

The *best* thing though, is that I just bought myself a ticket to see Meat Loaf at Wembley Arena on November 6th! Yes, it means travelling to London alone, and coming back on the last train, then walking home at 1:30am alone, but I don't really care! Having been to see Darren Hayes alone, this is a slightly more challenging prospect, but I'm going to do it if it scares the life out of me.

I got a really good seat too - it's a side view, from the tiers, but it's level with the very front block of seats on the flat arena area, and not right at the back, in those godawful heart stoppingly scary steep seats! Result!

The beginning of November now looks like this for me:

Sat 3rd - off
Sun 4th - Brighton in the afternoon for photos of the cars in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run crossing the finish line, then down to Cliffe Bonfire Society's banner raising in the evening
Mon 5th - out in the morning for photos of the Bonfire preparations, then out from about 5pm to 1am for Bonfire itself
Tues 6th - Photo editing, Meat Loaf in the evening
Weds 7th - Photo editing, annual diabetic review.
Thurs 8th - still off, continuing to edit bonfire and meat Loaf pics.
Fri 9th - ugh, back to work!

Right, I'm about to get dressed and head off to do some errands in town, then pop into Brighton. I'm thinking about buying a coat or jacket, as I don't own one, but really, I never wear one. It just doesn't get that cold in England, even in the winter, but from the reactions of others, apparently it's weird not to own a coat of any kind?! *shrug*
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Now playing: Bryan Adams - The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You

Lazy Sunday Afternoon!

Not much going on this weekend. It's my weekend off, which is always nice, but as payday is next week, I haven't been able to go and do anything. Having said that, I doubt I'll be doing much *any* month for the next year or so, as I'm hoping to go to Dublin at least once next year, and then a holiday in Florida in September, which will need as much money as I can raise! It'll be so worth it though.

Mum and I went for a walk yesterday morning, just along the river bank, and I took a few more autumn photos, which I have added to the "Autumn" photoset at my Flickr site. As I only took seven though, I might be nice, and post them all on my photoblog in a little while!

I spent the afternoon editing photos, most of which I've already done, but I have Adobe Lightroom now, which I wanted to play with. It's good, but personally I still prefer the more advanced features of PhotoShop, which I'm finally getting to grips with at last.

Today Mum and I pottered down to Waitrose, via the nature reserve and the car boot sale. We spent about ten minutes taking photos of an obliging dragonfly, which was making the most of some autumn sunshine on a log. I haven't downloaded the photos to my computer yet, but I think there are a few decent ones.

Now, I'm about to have lunch, and have a nice relaxing afternoon and evening before I go back to work tomorrow!

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Now playing: Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring

He's back

My MPU. He phoned tonight, thankfully while I was at work. Still dying, apparently. Going into hospital next week for more surgery, would really like to hear from me, blah blah blah. Why the fuck can't he just shut up and die already? He's not my father in anything other than genetics, or anything resembling someone worthy of that title. And I can't handle him being in my life in any way, shape or form. In the past year or so I've just got used to not living in fear of bumping into him in town, having him phone, or worse, turn up. Why did he have to want to get in touch again now? And why am *I* the one who feels guilty? After all the shit that he's done, starting from before I was even born?

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Now playing: Jem - Just a Ride

Autumn ....

Autumn is probably my favourite season - I do love winter, but autumn is so much prettier! It's a fabulous time of year for walks, with most days still quite warm, and the clear blue skies and golden colours of the changing foliage make it a great time of year to get out and take photos as well.

Temperature wise, it's perfect for me - I'm still quite comfortable in a T-shirt, though soon I shall dig out a few of my long sleeved shirts.

The *best* thing though, is that it's nearly Bonfire! Bonfire around here actually starts on the last Saturday of August each year, with Uckfield Carnival and Bonfire, followed every Saturday until mid-November by one of the other local town or village celebrations. Most large villages have their own Bonfire society, but of course, Lewes being Lewes, has to have not one, but seven Societies! It's one of them, Nevill Juvenile Bonfire Society, who will be celebrating on Saturday of next week, and I shall take the camera and tripod and wander up there for the evening - alone this year, as no-one wants to come with me.

Then of course, on the 5th of November, it will be the real Lewes Bonfire celebrations. I've got three days holiday booked in honour of the event, and am excited already!

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Now playing: Creed - With Arms Wide Open

Quiet Time ...

Just a quick post to say that I'm sorry for not being around much to comment on blogs etc at the moment. I'm in one of my "reflective" spells, which I tend to have every now and then, and just not really feeling like interacting much. I'm still reading though!

Nothing's wrong, and I'm not feeling particularly down or depressed, so no need to worry. Just my naturally introverted personality coming out for a while :-)

I'll catch up with you all soon - Have a good weekend!

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Now playing: Darren Hayes - Dublin Sky

Inspiration Strikes!

It;s 9:21am on my Saturday off, it's a beautiful autumn morning, with a clear blue sky, and that crispness in the air, though not exactly cold yet, and I'm off all weekend!

I'm just about to get dressed and go off for a wander around the town, hoping to capture the shots I have in mind. Which I'm *obviously* not going to reveal here, just in case they don't work out!

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Now playing: Darren Hayes - Step Into the Light

New York - an extra bit!

Because I muddled my days up, and forgot to include this in the Friday report!

After Daniel and I left Planet Hollywood on Friday evening, we *did* wander around the Times Square gift shops as I said, but we didn't head back to the hotel after.

It was a gorgeous night - the stifling heat and hunidity of the day had cooled somewhat, and despite still being too hot for me, it was a clear evening, with no fog, mist, or rain - ideal for seeing the view from on high.

I persuaded Daniel that we should visit the Top of the Rock again, on the grounds that the visit earlier in the week hadn't been very successful, that we were only 5 blocks away, that it was a clear night, and what finally clinched it .... that I'd pay!

When we got there we repeated the "enter, go downstairs, buy tickets, walk through pre-show area, head to lift, get lift to 68th floor" routine from a couple of days before, and entered thr lowest observation level. We were immediately struck by the view of the Empire State Building, which was lit up in red, white, and blue. Later I would discover that this was in honour of the Little League World Series baseball tournament! It was lit in red, white and blue for the next three days, by the way!

It was a bit hazy from 70 floors up, but visibility was so much better than it had been on our first visit, and I managed to get a few decent shots, though they suffered from camera shake, and I had to do some serious editing to rescue any of them!

We stayed up there for a bit less than an hour, before we left and made our way back to the hotel. It was almost midnight by then, and I was tired from all the walking I had done earlier in the day - Daniel had cheated and used the subway to get around!

Incidentally, Google maps has a pedometer feature, and I traced my route to see how much walking I actually did that day, with the visit to Central Park etc. With what we did in the evening as well, I covered almost 10 miles that day alone! No wonder my feet were killing me ....
Final part still to come, I really haven't forgotten about it!

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Now playing: Darren Hayes - Casey

Un-friggin-believable!

As most of you know, I'm a very keen amateur photographer, and I have a Flickr site. Until last night it had 986 pics on, which had been viewd 841 times.

At 10:57pm last night, I uploaded 31 pics from the Darren Hayes concert, and since then, they've been viewd 887 times. *Just* those, not very good, distincly average concert shots! Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that other people who either went to the concert, can enjoy my pics, or who didn't go, but can get an idea of what it was like, but ... it would be nice if some of my 'real' photos were that popular! LOL.

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Now playing: Darren Hayes - Pop!ular