The B4 Chronicles

Somewhat pointless...

2005-07-10T21:13:11Z

...oh well, it's churlish to claim I have anything better to do right now. Work was a zone of almost insane quiet due to last night's evacuation fiasco, so I spent most of my time tidying shelves, getting covered in "special" blue dust and laughing at the supervisor with no people skills. Also, there seemed to be more good-looking men wandering around, although am not quite sure why. Not that it is in any way helpful when I'm wearing the most unflattering work uniform known to man, but one can dream...

A lady had a panic attack on the bus today...I offered to help as we both got off at the same stop, but she soon calmed down of her own accord anyway. I felt quite sorry for her, she was meant to get off in Northfield...but just couldn't stay on. Makes me glad at my well-balancedness, really. Am currently wasting my evening on MSN when I should be cleaning. Will have to go visiting mates tomorrow, as need to de-Boots myself socially before it's too late... :o

wrylegilimens @ 2004-09-24T12:18:00

2004-09-24T11:44:41Z

Hmmm. My ear is still singing a little...this concerns me. Only a very slight amount, you understand...but I think I might have to invest in a pair of uncool-but-functional gig earplugs. I can hide them under my hair anyway, no-one will be the wiser!

Danny finally texted back last night at the grand time of 4:36am [a few months back, I might have actually been awake at that time]...he went out after work, which I pretty much assumed that he would considering that everyone from the Pear was on and had just worked a really hard shift...but I did think he'd take it easy, considering he had to work the day today then go home later this afternoon. I stayed up for ages though...until about 3:30 because I thought he'd have wanted to hear about the gig, but I guess he wasn't too bothered after all, which makes me feel a little less guilty...Sounds like he had fun though, they went to the casino for the boss' birthday.

I just got a letter from my Gran - the other night, I helped her complete the Women's Institute [WI] quiz over the phone, in a very selfless manner, I think you'll agree...I spent quite a while on it with her, about 45 minutes or so [when I was late too]. I thought I'd done a good thing...but as it happens, holding the phone so long in the same position made her have an attack of gout. Gaaaah. I had good intentions...I didn't even know she had attacks of gout! Maybe I should stick to writing letters, it might be safer. She wants me and Danny to come and stay...eeeep. I don't know that I want the first relative of mine to have any prolonged contact with Danny to be my Grandma...just in case she goes on the "wastes her brains" rant when I'm really not in the mood! Also, Danny might freak out a bit...I don't want him to think that I'm living our relationship in the future, and taking him to meet random relatives implies long-term commitment. I haven't even met his Mum yet, so I don't think it's appropriate, just yet. It's nice that they want to meet him, don't get me wrong...but I want to take this at my own pace.

Argh, why is everyone conspiring to make me think too hard about things? Right, I'm going to Sainsburys after I finish chatting to Bethy...I'm calorie counting [and it's going quite well], but I am actually out of lots of essentials...need bread...and then I must do prep. Yes...already...

"Blow on me your coolest breath..."

2004-09-23T23:29:50Z

Quote of the night by Pelle of the Hives, I must say. The Hives are one of those bands who, although never surprise you by producing something drastically new, never fail to entertain. Pelle clambered over the speaker stacks like a particularly elegant monkey, strutted like an ostrich and generally had the audience in stitches with his pseudo-arrogant poseuring. Fantastic stuff. I ended giving Danny's ticket to Sally in the end...being my best friend here and all. I felt terrible that Danny couldn't come...he loves The Hives so much [more than I do, even though they are great fun], but his boss made him work...and on walking past the Pear tonight, I could see why - even the windows were sweating! Lots of hot fresher medics in there, no doubt. Anyway, in a vain attempt to make him feel better about missing the gig, I bought him a T-shirt [in a smaller size than he usually buys, lord knows he should wear a T-shirt that fits for once] and a poster from the vendors outside...he'd be cross with me if I had spent too much money, so it had to be unofficial. I do hope he likes them, even though they're hardly compensation for missing a live show.

I forgot to write about One Big Weekend when we got back, so I'll quickly go over it now. Danny and I went with Dave [Deans] and his mate Zang [whom I mentioned before had a name...the fact that it was an unusual one should have made me remember it, but at least I redeemed myself now]. We actually had 3 spare tickets in the end - Little Chris let down Danny at the last minute, which was a little irritating as had he told him even a day earlier I could have got Sally to come down, but never mind...he's been a little down of late apparently, so I daresay there's more going on than I know. Anyway, we all went to Dave's and had the pleasure of watching a mate of his [whose name, unsurprisingly, escapes me] massage an anti-frizz prduct into Dave's hair [which, for those of you who don't know Dave, is even curlier than mine] which didn't seem to make a difference, but I kept quiet on that one for fear of offending her. We got the 11C to Perry Park, thinking that the Circular would be much less crowded than a bus leaving from the centre of town [how right we were] and got there pretty much on the dot. It seemed to be just a lamer version of Reading [much like the V Festivals, I would imagine].

My obvious highlights were Razorlight and Kasabian, even if I did have to stand through all of Natasha Bedingfield's set to get a good spot for Razorlight. As it happens, she only did 4 songs, the title track of her album 'Unwritten' , 'Single', 'This Love' [a Maroon 5 cover featuring Estelle] and 'These Words'. Yes, I remembered the whole damn set... ;) ...Razorlight were amazing though, they did a respectable set considering the time constraints. I'm pretty certain that Johnny Borrell was absolutely off his face on something [hopefully not smack...cocaine, fine[ish], but no smack], which added to the fun of it all...particularly his evident confusion at a rogue patch of sunlight that shone relentlessly on the head of an audience member..."What's that light...the second coming?"...tee hee hee. I did laugh. Kasabian were wicked, but definitely more of a venue than a festival band...so many of the underlying textures in the songs were lost at this gig, but it was still ace. The Departure were also pretty good, I had seen them support the Killers earlier in the year - they're very Franz-esque in terms of their influences and general sound...but lord knows that's no bad thing, Franz make good role models! Anyway, it was great fun for free, I'd recommend it to anyone!

My ear is singing away like nobody's business...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

headache

2004-09-15T17:54:53Z

I've had one all day...*sob*...I don't know that I like the 8-5 shift, but I refuse to complain, I need the money and I have a few excellent gigs to treat myself to this Sunday...oh yes.

I found out that OK Go are playing the London Metro Club...and while I don't particularly like that venue, it is almost ridiculously small - so we can be ultra close to the most perfect man in the world...Damien Kulash. Mmmmmm...I only hope tickets don't sell out before I have money!

One of my best friends has dropped out of University - as precautionary measure, I can't say who - but I am gutted, I really am. This person just makes everything fun, and I can't imagine life here without them. One thing is for certain though - this is one friendship that I'm not going to let slide!

My first delivery-NME arrived today - I think I could get used to this! Now, if only I could motivate myself to...clean...the...bathrooms...

*asleep*

How odd!

2004-09-14T20:09:45Z

I just had a completely irrational mood swing - went all moody with Danny over MSN then burst into tears when I realised that he hadn't done anything wrong. I feel fine now, I really hope I'm not turning into one of those attention-seeking types...I told him because I don't think we should keep secrets from one another, but hopefully it was just because it's 'that time of the month'. Less of that in future, methinks!

I went to Sainsburys and bought nice food and Heat, so I can snigger at unfortunate tanning 'disasters'. Oh yes, I know how to use that precious time...

:D

wrylegilimens @ 2004-09-14T15:11:00

2004-09-14T14:20:35Z

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Moderate
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Moderate
Narcissistic:	Low
Avoidant:	Low
Dependent:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Low
-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! --

I'm so boring... :P

wrylegilimens @ 2004-09-14T14:14:00

2004-09-14T13:56:27Z

I've given out half of my precious Gmail invitations...am just trying to think who will appreciate them the most! I obviously sent one to Danny, and Sally...but also thought Phil, with his computer addiction, might also like one. We texted a bit, I think he might be a bit upset about Stevie and AJ getting chucked out...I hope they don't have to leave though, I'm sure they'll stay here and get jobs though...if their appeals don't work. Now that I type this, I remember that I was meant to text them yesterday...arse. I should invite them round today, in that case.

Danny showed me a picture of him and his ex ex in the newspaper on A-Level results day - she's really pretty, actually. Much prettier than me, I might add - I guess standard slip with age, hoho. It's weird, but I don't feel threatened by her...I trust Danny, and I'm glad that I can...it sounds lame and cliché, but I am glad they're still friends, he deserves good friends. Should I be worried that I don't want to kill her for having dared to have contact with MY boyfriend in the past? Who can say...

;)

We decided on having a nice video night last night - it was cold, wet and Danny and I were both pretty much skint...so Blockbuster's '3 for £5' rental it was. As I seem to always inflict the sort of films wherein 'young people say big words' on him, I thought I'd be nice and watch 'The Tuxedo' with him...it actually could have been a lot worse, and Lord knows he deserves to watch a bad film with me in peace. We also rented 'Dark Water' [a Japanese film with subtitles, made by the makers of 'The Ring'] and, erm, 'Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls':

"And YOU must be the Monopoly guy...thanks for the free parking!"

:D

We watched the latter this morning over some nice, strong Columbian filter coffee [it's becoming an addiction] with me wrapped up in my hobo blanket. I also managed to get him to invite Little Chris to 'One Big Weekend'...who ended up accepting, even though he thinks that it might increase tensions between Danny and James [James didn't get tickets]. I agree with him, but I also think that Danny should invite who he likes, and he thinks the world of Little Chris. We'll see what happens anyway. Today's Neighbours sees Karl finding out about Jack's pill-popping...but will he tell Lyn? Brummie and Rich met the cast and Clare says that Lyn is now her favourite character. I'm very jealous!

4th place?

2004-09-13T17:05:19Z

After all the knowledge I passed over the continents, Clare and Rich only managed to come 4th in the Neighbours pub quiz...I feel cheated! Today's episode of Neighbours sees Jack hanging precariously from a ladder onsite - what will become of him? Also, in Murder, She Wrote Jessica nearly got bludgeoned by a piece of lead piping in the garden - how very Cluedo!

Stevie rang me this afternoon to say that he, AJ and Welsh Tom have flunked out of Uni...ouch. I feel really bad, because I know that even though they did slack a bit, when they worked, they worked hard...but I guess it's not enough in Medicine! I really hope they can appeal the decision, I guess it's just finding the grounds that will be the issue!

Danny says he wants to give Sally the One Big Weeknend tickets...but I want him to at least offer it to one of his mates first...sorry Sally [if you ever read this], but it wasn't me who acquired it! All being well, Little Chris will have already got a ticket because James managed it after all [*fingers crossed*], and then I can bring Sally anyway and she can be all happy because she gets to see Joss Stone...

:D

We'll see, anyway - Danny's coming over later, so we'll debate it then!

Neighbours...

2004-09-13T10:11:56Z

Well, I watched South Park instead of reading Harry Potter, thinking that I'd fall asleep during it [correct!] whereas I'd probably have stayed up for hours reading my precious Potter. A good thing I decided on the sleep option, as Richard woke me up, at the most unholy hour of 10am with the following text message:

What is lyn scullys real name? You have to find out now,its urgent!!Go on the internet now!

[copyright R. Satchwell 2004]

Incidentally, I knew by heart that her name is Janet Andrewartha [oh dear]. It turns out that the reason for the text was that, at the last minute, they got Lyn to meet at Ramsey Street instead of Sky - so they have her in addition to Karl, Toadie and Conor. How fun! They had better take millions of pictures...

One Average Weekend...ish...

2004-09-13T00:40:32Z

Well, my brother got back from the gig safe and sound...albeit at nearly 3am, but Danny and I had Wayne's World 2 to keep us occupied - I hadn't watched it all the way through before, but it's really hard to choose between it and the first one...and not many sequels equal the original, so *yay* I went to bed as soon as they got back though - once again, Boots was a-calling.

While I was slaving away at work, Danny, Dave and Dave's mate [he may well have a name] queued for 'One Big Weekend' tickets - and got them, oh yes! James didn't turn up as promised [apparently, he and Little Chris just missed the train], so I don't know if he actually got any tickets. Danny actually ended up with 3 instead of 2...I said that if he didn't know who to give it to Sally would happily take it off his hands, but I did feel kinda guilty for saying that as I realised it puts pressure on him to please me - personally, if there's a choice between him bringing another mate and giving it to one of my mates, I would always want him to go with the latter - after all, he queued for it! I'm sure I'll have fun no matter who he chooses - it's free live music, maaaan. I couldn't help but show my nice colourful [also, my inner magpie loved the hologram] ticket off to Lucy at work [Danny brought it in for me], who proceeded to get very jealous as she has to work every Sunday, hohoho. I'll be sure to take lots of lovely photos to show them all - not that I'll have the time to print them off, as the extractor tape won't work, the processor doesn't have a working sensor and the 370 invents paper jams.

Which brings me onto a rant that I tried to have earlier...but kinda failed at as was [a] tired and [b] side-tracked into a debate about my rights to have a lunch break. The thing is - I like to work, I like to be busy and I like the feeling I get when I do a good job. However - in the Lab, as I am the only Photo Production Consultant [PPC] who works on a Sunday, it means that even if the machines run smoothly, I have great issue with keeping up. However, I never get to find out whether I can keep up, because I never have a day when everything works. James made the point that if I started to cope less well, then I might find that they give me more help - but I know Boots, and I know the only people I'll be punishing are me, the counter staff and the customers. I don't care about not having a break [even though I'm entitled to 20 minutes], I just care that I can't be an engineer and a PPC in one. Rant over, phew.

OK, new rant - some girls, who can't have been more thsn 11, were accosting everyone who was walking out of Selly Oak station on the side I use to exit, asking for a spare cigarette. Whether they want to smoke themselves into an early grave is no concern of mine, but trying to scab off total strangers who, quite frankly, have better things to do than give their property to a gang of half-witted trevs, is just perplexing. At least most underage kids do the decent thing and give money to older people to buy it for them - why the hell should anyone supplement their habit? Cigarettes aren't cheap - and aren't a necessity...whatever 'addicts' might argue. I gave them my best withering look accompanied by a very supercilious 'no'. I can't seem to banish my occasional inner snob...it comes in handy for the deviants and miscreants of society.

I hung out with next door Catherine and her friend Catherine tonight - BBC1 had a very depressing 'death of young children' theme, so we spent most of the night debating deep political and social issues. It was quite exhausting really - I might have to read some Harry Potter in a bit to bring my brain back to a more unrealistic plain.

Trains, Gigs & Boots

2004-09-11T23:38:25Z

Well, I finally solved the 'nothing to read on train' fiasco by grabbing 'Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them' and a nice large Romanticism anthology as I went out the door. The former lets me pretend that I too am at Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry...even if the Virgin Voyager service to Birmingham New Street is not a great deal like the Hogwarts Express. The latter makes me look like a pretentious arse...but I'm studying Romanticism next semester, so nothing for it, really.

A few hours after I got back, Danny and I went to see Kasabian at the Irish Club - I won the tickets from a competition set up by their record company [BMG], which I was very pleased about as I had been intending to buy tickets for this tour anyway...but didn't, *phew*. The first support was...*thinks*...something '2'. It'll come back to me. They weren't bad, although they could benefit from more gigging. The lead singer had an amazing voice though, so if I remember what the band was actually called, I'd watch out for them in the future. The second support were 'Eve's Majesty' whom, although more polished than the former, were a bit dull. Also, one of their guitarists had his instrument on a ridiculously short strap...he looked like Cliff Richard's session guitarist [if you haven't seen him, try...I'll look up his name...]. I still joined their mailing list though, who knows, they might get more interesting! Kasabian though...wow. To be honest, I didn't know a lot of their material, but it didn't matter in the slightest. They were absolutely ace. Bands who put that much effort and energy into their shows normally end up making small mistakes, but they seemed to be perfect without being staid and tired. The music is a mix of electronic samples and intricate guitar work with a very indie vocal style - and my God it works - one to watch, for sure. It was an amazing night, I didn't spend anything [Danny bought my 5p 'Permit to Travel'] AND Danny swiped me a nice 'Soulwax' poster, so I'll be putting that one up!

We went to bed far too late, considering I had to be up for work...but I had a rather odd urge to watch Trigger Happy TV. Luckily, Danny is used to odd demands from me, so we watched it in bed, all nice and snug [simple things]. Work was...well, shit really. Although, I do amuse myself by mocking those I don't care for much and having a good ol' fashioned chuckle with my mates, so I suppose that keeps the day ticking over. Also, the handheld PCs are wicked, although mine got sleepy and froze today, which wasn't too smart, but these things happen. Heh.

I met Edmund and his mates after work and took them on a fun trip to Sainsburys to buy them food for tomorrow. They're here to see a Japanese band called 'Polysics', so I said I'd put them up, as I don't think 15 year olds can afford hostels...and he is my brother, after all. They managed to get into the 18+ club anyway, so woo them. I just went to the pub with Catherine and some cool Australian mates of hers - all the Aussies I've met are so laid back, it's really ace. Good night after a shit day, I'd say!

yawn

2004-09-10T09:22:36Z

I rather stupidly finished the book I was going to read on the train today - it was one of three books that my work experience gave to me as a thank-you when I finished my placement, "Astonishing Splashes of Colour". The title comes from the description of Neverland in J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan', and is about loss and living without a mother figure. I can't actually decide whether I liked it or not...bits of it disturbed me a little, but I suppose that can only mean it was good on some level. It was nominated for a Booker Prize, as it happens...so at least lots of other people think that it is good, haha.

Right...time to get ready to catch my train, or the alarm I set will have been wasted!

Love from Claire xxx

The Last Day of Summer...

2004-09-10T01:14:49Z

...well, it's not technically the last day - but in terms of that which we associate with summer, i.e. hot weather, it is...according to the Points West weather report at any rate. I'm in Bath at the moment as it is my Mum's 46th today so thought I should fly back to the coop as a gesture. She did really appreciate it, but does still insist on taking offence at my intentions to carry on living in Birmingham when my degree is finished. It sounds clichéd, but it really is nothing personal - it's just hard to relinquish independence when you've relied on it for [by then] 3 years.

We ended up going to a pub on the outskirts of Bath ["The Globe"]...it was quite fun, really...Dad got tipsy and started misreading the menu for supposedly comic effect ["Why does the apple grumble? What's in a Floater Coffee?"] and Daniel nicked the spoon with our table number on it without the parental units noticing...so Dad was there asking the confused waiter why he'd taken the spoon away...*sniggers*...nothing like wholesome family fun, really!

I found out today that a friend of a friend tried to overdose...although I don't know why, or whether they're OK, but I hope they are. It's not even someone I know, but I guess a friend connection makes me worry as if I did. I can't really empathise with the situation...I don't ever think I've been in a depression that I couldn't see a positive [or at least neutral] way out of, but I guess you don't know until you go there.