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April 27th, 2009
08:28 pm
another day another bruised ankle... i can't seem to avoid injury and the inevitable limping back home for ice, ibuprofen and cold, cold beer. Hopefully at least this injury isn't so bad, a bit of bruising to my instep but nothing more. It shouldn't bother my climbing too much on wednesday which is good because I'm determined to finish a couple of 6a routes for the first time.
the weekend was relaxing. I met Laura in town at her fathers retirement party and then back to whalley range for cider and beers at the jam cafe before eventually back to mine and several hours of lego starwars. Saturday we lazed around until the skies cleared and drove out to Dunham Massey for a picnic around the gardens watching the deer, squirrels, and a psychotic swan that liked to hassle ducks in the pond.
Sunday we picked up her grandfather and went out for drinks in Cheadle Hulme, he's a very nice chap and it was good to spend some time together.
yeah yeah yeahs gig: ++good if a little short. Karen O was amazing as ever.
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April 1st, 2009
11:34 pm - clicky
had a busy day today with the launch of a new product. Things seemed to have worked ok which is always good, but it'll be interesting to see whats happens at the end of this month and whether we've managed to get everything right first time.
one of the group we took climbing last week messaged to see if anyone was free to climb tonight - I don't need much persuading so we agreed to meet up at MCC. I kept pushing myself because there was no way I was being out climbed by someone on their second visit but still failed to complete the 5+ routes, i seem to be stuck at 5. My arms are completely knackered now and I'm wondering what kind of exercise I can do to improve flexability and strength. Some people seem to rave about yoga, but its pretty expensive so I need to really think about it.
I got the boards of canada ep in the post this morning: trans canada highway. It's sublime but stupidly short, i really want to bash their heads together and tell them 3 albums and a couple of ep's to show for 11 years work is just not good enough.
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September 1st, 2008
12:32 am - late night
today has been recovering. i stood out on the balcony in the rain with a coffee and ate wet toast while the neighbours kids ran around screaming at each other.
Samina moved her stuff in, I put together the 2 bed frames and ordered new mattresses. Started reading the turn of the screw then watched half nelson.
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August 12th, 2008
10:47 pm
busy few days at work. i have some code that needs porting over to some new database servers, a lot of code actually that processes billions of records a month, so its quite hectic making sure it all goes to plan. G has become fairly distant of late. We think its because he should have left as our team leader and started his new role, but isn't allowed until we've all completed our projects. It would be nice to keep postponing the launch dates and make him stay indefinitely but i don't see it happening.
Nicola came over on friday, we had dinner and went out to Venue. My sister was there with her friends, we got more drunk while dancing around to the buzzcocks and led zep and then staggered home on the night bus. Saturday we sat slumped on the sofa watching re-runs of My So Called Life and feeling 13 all over again.
I don't know whats happening this weekend, if the weather stops being so abysmal i want to take a train out somewhere over towards leeds and just go hiking through the hills. I need out of manchester for a day
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July 30th, 2008
01:43 pm
back from spain where we split our time between nights in the capital city and slumming it on dusty campsites at the FIB music festival in Benicassim.
We flew into madrid and booked into a cheap hostel in the heart of Cheuca. We hung out in the bars/cafes till late, before heading back to the hostel for a few hours sleep ahead of the drive to coast.
The following morning we picked up a hire car and set off on the 5 hour drive across the mainland to the east coast. We made good time and found somewhere to leave the car. We walked past the closed festival gates to campFIB about a 5min walk away, then pitched our tent under some shade.
The campsite had toilets, cold shower block, a beer tent, info point, medical aid and lockers, but no drinkable water which was a pain as it meant a daily 2/3 milewalk into town just to stock up on water supplies.
As the festival wasn't open yet we wandered into the town. Benicassim reminded me of a spanish Cleveleys but with less to do. The resturants were overpriced selling mostly english food and watered down beer and we realised the majority of festival goers which I expected to be a mix of spanish, portuguese, french or italian was overwhelmingly made up of 18yr old british kids celebrating the end of their A levels.
Still once the fesitval opened on thursday any misconceptions/shortcomings were made up for by the music on offer. The first big band to open were Sigur Ros and they were spectacular.
I floated the rest of the night as we danced all night and then stumbled back to the campsite just as dawn was beginning to break over the ocean. The next few days were a mix of braving the 4mile trek to the beaches, collapsing under the shade of trees on the Benicassim high street or just hiding out of the sun in the bars/cafes until night fell and we could head back into the festival for more music.
( Read more... )
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July 13th, 2008
12:40 am
EW's top 100 films of 25 years, highlight as appropriate. * if you loved it
1. Pulp Fiction (1994) *
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy(2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)*
5. Toy Story (1995)*
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)*
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
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May 12th, 2008
12:42 am
in the vein of posting images, this is the small and crappy version of a great picture my grandfather took of my dad and i about 5/6am as we were setting up the fishing equipment. The bigger version has much prettier fog effects but I still like this shot a lot.
After 6 hours of sitting there - although i was mostly dozing whilst surreptitiously listening to my ipod - we left without a single bite, except my grandfather who caught 4 of the biggest carp I've ever seen, and in case you're wondering they were all put straight back in the pond
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April 14th, 2008
10:52 am
another wet weekend in manchester. originally planned to go to the lake district but the weather was atrocious so instead drove around the peak district. Made it to Buxton over the A537, more commonly known as the Cat & Fiddle. The road was so spectacular I made plans to come back on my bike as soon as the weather improved.
The route will probably go sometihng like travelling down from manchester via Alderly Edge to Macclesfield. Then over the cat and fiddle to Buxton and coming back in a circular route via Whaley Bridge
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December 7th, 2007
12:21 am - i'll take you all on
i don't know whats happening much these days, i feel a little lost at sea.
I had a call today about a job, software consultant, based in covent gardens london but 100% travel to client sites which are in the US and Singapore and presumably a lot of them in the uk. It sounded fun but I'm not in a position to move to london until late '08 and I don't think i'm the right man for the job so i said no to the interview. i'm regretting this decision already.
Last wednesday was Interpol at blackpool empress ballroom. I was skeptical abotu this concert, but approx 3mins into the gig once Daniel Kessler played the opening riff to Obstacle 1 it was like a giant surge inside, Joe, Phil and I stormed to the front and jumped around like madmen for the next hour. I left midway through, my asthma was bad and I needed air. There was a fight at the entrance to the Winter Gardens, 2 middle aged couples were attackign each other while security tried to throw them out, one of the women bit a securities hand drawing blood it was kind of surreal. I went back to my car, used my inhalor, changed my shirt which was frankly disgusting with sweat and went back and watched the rest of the gig from the balcony. It was a long drive home but so so worth going.
radiohead tickets go on sale tomorrow, im getting tickets oh yes.
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November 17th, 2007
03:22 am - anywhere, anyhow...
last weekend I went out riding my motorbike with Rebecca from work. We met up at the service station just before you reach Chester and took the A-roads through chester and down into Wales and past Wrexham. She took me through the winding roads to Llangollen and then up through Horsehoe Pass:
The weather was a little off but it was so much fun to ride through these twisty little welsh roads. We stopped off at Ponderosa, a well known biker cafe before heading off in circular route that took us back towards Chester. It was so much more fun riding out with someone else more so than I expected and it does kinda annoy me that I know so few people who own bikes.
Besides the biking I've got tickets to Smashing Pumpkins!! I really cannot wait to relive my angst and troubled teenage years and jump around like a loon to this band. Before that there was Iron & Wine who packed out the Academy and coming up is Interpol, Gogol Bordello and British Sea Power - who without a doubt are probably the most influential and most loved band in my life.
Reading wise, I'm currently completely hung up on Flannery O'Connor, these gothic southern stories are the best thing I've read since Joyce. Between her and Dennis Johnson and Nabakov I feel happy and back to a state of awe and learning and appreciation I haven't felt in years.
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October 14th, 2007
11:47 pm
These are the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users (as of today). Bold what you have read, italicise that you started but couldn't finish, and strike through what you couldn't stand. Add an asterisk* to those you've read more than once. Underline those on your to-read list.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
( continued after the jump )
hmm, not nearly as many as I hoped to have read. Most of the half reads were secondary req. reading for courses and just didn't the time or desire to complete them, looking back now though I wish i had made the effort
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August 8th, 2007
11:34 am
back from the twin cities.
I missed my original flight out
Missed the I35-W bridge collapse by an hour
Saw the insanely large Mall of America which has rollercoasters inside it
Hung out at the art fair in uptown
saw some of the fringe festival
Pulled over and warned by a policeman for commiting 4 traffic violations in one go
Spent time in Red Wing
Went up North to see Duluth and Lake Superior
Kayaked down part of the brule river.
Drove 300 miles through rural wisconsin.
Lost all my luggage on the return flight.
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February 27th, 2007
02:56 pm
the days kind of blurring, work is slowly slowly improving, though not to the point of happiness/contented/worth staying for. The weekend was fun though. Meeting up with my sister and her friends on saturday and then again on sunday for the chinese new year festival which was frankly shoddy and not at all worth queuing for over an hour without caffine or sugar.
on that bbc radio quiz i won the following:
bloc party - a weekend in the city
cold war kids - robbers and cowards
Lady Sovereign - public warning
mika - life in cartoon motion
various - rough trade '06 compilation
various - rough trade 1976 compilation
The only one I really listn to is the Rough Trade compilation oh and Cold War Kids. Bloc Party's latest effort is a bit rubbish, Lady Sovereign is destined overseas, and Mika just annoys me.
Besides the free music I've mainly been on a diet of Rufus Wainwright and after discovering the long lost Nick Hornby mix cd in a dvd case: Bruce Springstein and Rod Stewart.
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February 14th, 2007
11:08 pm
ok... so who wins the coolest hat competition?
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December 22nd, 2006
09:36 am
we moved in on saturday. After picking the girl up from the airport and sleeping for a few hours i woke up and drove back to blackpool to collect more boxes.
The elevator in the new palce is broken - it works from every floor except ground so that meant lugging up all my stuff two flights of stairs blah. I have most of my belongings here. I'm missing all my books and computer but i have no phone or internet anyway till sometime in january.
The flat is ok, it has a really long corridor leading to the 3 rooms which wil be filled with prints or canvas art as and when we get round to it. The lounge/kitchen is all glass which is fun on a sunny day but with no curtains drapes feels a little exposed at night.
Saturday night we went to ikea - me for the first time. It was a little strange watching all the people defining their personal spaces by what brand of ikea lamp to hang on their ikea bookshelf opposite their ikea shelving. I think i actually hate ikea even if hating ikea is like hating mcdonalds.
Sunday was my parents visiting with more of my belongings and my father helping fix the boiler. That night I was itching to go out but instead stayed in watching tv and eating bad food.
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November 23rd, 2006
09:41 am
last week i finally gave my notice to the landlord, they seemed fine with everything and a to let sign has already appeared outside the property. In the meantime I've been scouring a million property websites for flats in manchester. I need to move sooner rather than later, this month alone with petrol costs and my car breaking down, its cost me £500 to get to work and back which is just obscene and makes me physically sick. I've been living off rice and bread for 3 weeks, waking at 5:30 and coming home at 7pm since september and i'm finally hitting breaking point.
I only have myself to blame with all of this. I should never have accepted the job but these things happen. As soon as i move I will have a little breathing space with money and with public transport being relatively straightforward if the car decides to breakdown again i'll just push it into the canal.
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November 14th, 2006
11:38 am
passed my motorcycle test. ++good
however now is not the time of year to buy a bike, especially with the costs of relocating to manchester to be paid in the next month.
Also my car exploded last week driving down the M6 but it seems to be repairable. In the meantime i'm taking the train to work, which takes me 2 hours each way, but in some ways its actually enjoyable, I get to slump down in a near empty train with a flask of tea, a book and music and sleep read my way to and from work. I haven't given myself this much daily spare time to read since leaving university and given that its cheaper than driving i think may make it a regular occurance as long as it isn't raining or unbearably cold..
Last saturday was watching Muse, i can't describe watching them as being pleasant, we came away wet, bruised, exhausted after having 5 thousand people jumping all over us but there is something to be said for that kind of rush.
Really hoping to see The Prestige this week. For both Christian Bale and michael caine and notwithstanding David Bowie as Nikola Tesla! Even if its pants it will be worth it to see how they portray him.
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November 3rd, 2006
02:15 pm
inspired by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) bixie i decided to go running after work. I changed and set off around stanley park which is only about 2miles across, but half way round my shins gave up and i stuttered to a halt as the hordes of joggers i legged it past earlier casually jogged their way past me. Dejected i turned and set off for home. It wasn't till I reached my front door i realised i'd dropped my keys - which contained my only front door and car key. I had no wallet, no phone, it was cold, dark and i was wearing shorts. for the next two hours i walked up and down the park searching in the undergrowth, i hardly had a choice. Eventually giving up i went back home to ask my neighbours to call a locksmith. As i made my way back I kicked at a pile of undergrowth and out flew my keys. Fate or something was shining down on me, or maybe it was karma after I was forced to pay £100 to have my car unclamped the other night, either way i was able to go home and consume multiple cups of tea and sit under the shower for an hour until the feeling came back to my fingers.
It turns out that i am covered for loss of keys by home insurance and my credit card cover of all things, but even so saturdays mission is getting multiple keys cut and then handing them out to family and friends as this is hardly the first time i've misplaced my possessions.
Tonight is getting glammed up for my sisters 22nd, first a meal then onto Sanuk with free entry and champagne for the birthday girl's party and after that phil and i will no doubt stroll over to jenx for the usual weekend indie disco till dawn.
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October 29th, 2006
05:15 pm - ghost in the sky
at night we stole pharmaceutical drugs.
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October 26th, 2006
11:06 am - stormy weather
a mixed bag of a weekend. Friday I got changed in the staff carpark and drove into town to meet phil by the trainstation. We walked down whitworth st stopping at the oriental buffet for some very tasty chinese food before heading over to the RNCM theatre. I'd never been inside the concrete monstrosity before so it came as something of a surprise to find the interior light and airy without feeling cold or impersonal. We got a beer and sat down surrounded by music students and a mix of those waiting for a Bach receital and the sparklehorse concert. They handed out free buttons before the show and i bought a shirt.
The first act sol seppy were interesting in a quiet trance like way interspersed with heavy trip-hop style beats + they had a classically trained celloist on hand and absolutely no instrument sounds better than than a cello. except maybe a synth.
Sparklehorse were much like i expected them to be except mark seemed more fragile and unsure of himself - he later complained that he couldn't engage with a sitting audience - so maybe the enviornment/atmosphere had disorientated him. I still can't really describe the feeling of watching/hearing someone playing all the songs that have soundtracked your life (i guess the only band i've yet to see that i know would have that effect is radiohead) but its that strange kind of glow tinged with disappointment - like the day after christmas.
All too soon we were walking out the theatre and onto the soaking streets of oxford road. We drove back in relative silence. On Sunday a couple came and took my little rabbit away to start a new life in oldham. I miss the little devil sitting under my computer chair nibbling at my ankles each night, but i don't miss his smelly cage or his incessant rattling of said cage whenever i'd had enough of him crapping on the floor or chewing through cables. The damage to my flat stands at:
one tv ariel
one computer mouse
two cordless phones
a lamp cable
an ikea throw rug and cushion.
I hope the new owners realise what they're letting themselves in for.
Current Music: pixies
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