| Party Plans |
[May. 6th, 2008|09:06 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  excited | ] |
Hello. I'm just trying to work out what people want to do. And when they can come/go. Firstly I'm not working from Wednesday to Wednesday (21st-28th) so you can arrive Friday or Saturday. I also thought it'd be nice if people could stay the bank holiday, then leave in the afternoon some time. One night just isn't long enough. Is everyone happy camping? It's not compulsory, there are 3 spare beds and a hammock. Camping just might be easier. We won't need to split up and my house hasn't exactly got heated floors, 3 piece suites or fluffy clean carpets (any carpets). And camping is fun! I have a 4 people tent and a 2 people tent already, more tents would be useful.
If you're driving then I can't give you any advice other than to look at a map and head for Llanidloes. If you all try to arrive at the same time it'd be a lot easier, saving on picking people up trips. The track isn't friendly for cars you see. And mobile phones don't much work and can't be relied on. As for trains, Caersws station - it's on the Birmingham to Aberystwyth line and runs every 2 hours and on Sunday and Monday I think there are 2 trains all day. The best connection point is probably Shrewsbury - again catching the same trains would be much better, it's not that near.
Old cloths are essential, wellies or old shoes, sleeping bags. Randomly on Sunday people are coming to see how eco-houses work. I think that's everything. Hope I haven't scared anyone. Just better to be organised with this one.
Discuss! |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 15th, 2008|09:57 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | optimistic | ] |
Hello friends.
I'd like if you joined me in Wales over the 24th/25th May weekend. Its a bank holiday so that could also include the 26th. And then some if you're really keen. I'm there all week. They'll be sleeping under the stars, cooking on fires, stone circles, waterfalls, lazying in the sunshine, exploration, sheep, ducks, cats, dog, horse. It'll be very chilled out. And if camping isn't your thing there are beds too. Infact there is an entire almost self-sufficient hippie fortress. Trains do run and it's not that hard to drive it. If you have plans then change them! Alex, Jon, Oli - this is compulsary. It's the final house on the visit list, it's also my birthday (but that's not important) and a meet up is long overdue. Bring guest(s), you're all welcome. Get back to me.
I've been meaning to do that for ages! |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 15th, 2008|03:54 pm] |
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At the moment I am not content. I am confused. I have all these things I want to think about, that need clarifying, tidying up but I don't seem to have a moment to think. But that's stupid right? I could think when I get the bus, I could think while I work, I could think in the shower, think before I fall asleep. I just seem to get distracted. A film. A game. A kiss. Radio 4. Little annoyances like how the bus went early causing me to miss it, or how someone else signed of the paperwork for the job that I had done at work. And on those occasions that I'm in a good mood I slip into little fairy tales and imaginary conversations. Today as I willingly unpacked (it's good to get out of the lab - be alone) the very heavy deliveries boxes of agar into the chillers I built a little den to shield myself from the icy chiller fans and from the nasty outside, here I thought about the end of the world, running to the ruin of an old farmhouse in the Welsh mountains hunting sheep with sticks, eating moss and blueberries. Being cold, being wet, being hungry. It's a defense I guess. A frustrating one. But thinking about the things I need to think about only gets me worked up. |
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| "oh long johnson" |
[Jul. 2nd, 2007|12:03 am] |
Has anyone ever come across the assortment of very odd cat videos on youtube, I'm just crying with laughter, I came across them looking for the Kitty cat dance (a song which enters my head at least twice a week despite not having seen the video since my second year - thanks guys!)...
My two favourites would have to be Nora playing the piano and talking cats. If you want more i'm sure you all know how to follow related video links! Good night! |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 1st, 2007|04:00 pm] |
Glastonbury is great. I need Chai. The real world is so colourless in comparison. It rained all the time, we saw lots of bands and circus and Bill Bailey who addressed us as "the people of the mud". At the moment I have to work a lot. This week I've done 50 hours, next week it'll be more like 70. But in a way I'm glad I've spent far too much money this month. I'm starting to think about the future again and I need to save.
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| Two Homes and Download. |
[Jun. 14th, 2007|10:38 pm] |
It's a busy month = the way i like it.
Work continues and that's all I can say about that. Oh, and it's stupid and I should be boss 'cause then I'd kick everyone into shape.
The weekend before last I went home, it was just lovely!. On the Saturday night I dragged Jonathan out to a meeting about transition towns and peak oil. Peak oil meaning we are at our peak consumption and from now on it's down hill. Basically one of the local town is going post-oil. So all local food grown small-scale and by local people. And other amazing ideas. I love how involved my family is with it all, I'm so proud of my parents. There was lots of organic local food and I ate my own weight in rubarb and cream feeling more nourished then I have in a long time. Suddenly being back in Wales doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Jonathan pointed out that post-oil co-operation wouldn't work in a place like Brum. And he's right.
Sunday in the sunshine and then the last train home.
Then last weekend it was Download, which was totally awesome, I felt so at home. I think 5 days in a tent with someone is a pretty good test of a relationship. Passed with flying colours! I would have pictures of that too, except I deleted them all by mistake because I'm a 'tard! Bands worth mentioning include, megadeth, dragonforce, korn, turisas, machine head, slayer, marylin manson, linkin park, after forever, chimaira, devildriver, mastodon, lamb of god, stone sour, killswitch engauge, dimmu borgir, dream theatre and iron maiden. Yes, I have a sore neck.
I better go, I have an entire house to tidy for my weekend of visitors, I also have to be up at 5am for work. I'm also ill - sucks. Oh, and my Glastonbury tickets came today!
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| The purpose of life is to live. |
[May. 19th, 2007|04:23 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Snake River Conspiracy | ] |
Hey world. Thanks for all the happy birthdays, they made me very happy.
Life is pretty good at the moment - it's very busy and that's a welcome change. I finally have a bit of cash which means I CAN go to the cinema, eat real food, go swimming and go to lots of gigs. I can also buy socks.
The job is alright. I'm very grateful to have it but I don't agree with anything it does. I plan on staying there for a minimum 6 months, get the experience and then I'll start looking again. I basically test batches of food from all over the place and water too and some other things for nasty bacteria - mainly salmonella, listeria and e-coli. We also get all the complaints and returns from customers because they think they found pig claws in their sausages or if it just made them sick. The labs do other bits too, like making sure pesticides are in safe levels and working out nutritional information - I don't do that bit though. An insane amount of food is chucked away. We get whole rounds of cheese, boxes of cereal, great lumps of meat big enough to feed a family for a week. We take a spoonful and the rest goes in the bin. We get through 15000 samples a day. Then with each sample is the corresponding packaging, bags, petri dishes, pipettes, etc. and nothing is recycled. I hate having to do it and that's why I can't stay there. When you see the incomprehensible waste in industry it just makes the little differences you make seem so irrelevant. On the plus side I can take anything home. I'll never have to buy food again.
Moral dilemma: Eight (large) un-opened boxes of fresh organic Waitrose king prawns in their shells that no one wants and are about to be chucked when I havn't broken my vegetarianism for 2 years and have been 99.9% veggie for a further 5 and am crazy for those little pink worms. Do I eat them? or do I put them in the bin....
Last Saturday I saw Do Make Say Think in a lil obscure jazz club in Coventry - it was really really awesome and getting there was pretty hilarious. When we finally found the place, despite being an hour late there was only about 10 other people there but more came. I only wish I had a camera that wasn't my phone (I'm getting one for my b'day). The band was spilling over the edges of the too small stage, at one point all the amps piled high fell over, it was hotter than a sauna and my insides were melting, I could hardly stand it, it was so intense and beautiful - the guitars sang. It didn't finish until 2 and we found ourselves stranded but it was all worth it. Then on Tuesday I went to see a very old penpal who was touring with his band, we've talked for years - hundreds of emails have passed between us, he knows all my secrets, then I met him, above a club in Wolverhampton - just like that. I even got a song for me. It was weird. Me and Jonathan have been going out for 6 months. Insane week.
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| :D |
[May. 4th, 2007|05:18 pm] |
This last month I've just gone crazy with the whole looking for a job thing and it has finally paid off! I have a job :D It's been a really sucky month, I've made a thousand phone calls, filled out a thousand forms and registered and done the nasty spelling tests set by employment agencies. I havn't let myself be scared, or persuaded myself I can't do stuff. I just did.
I've had an interview every day this week. This morning I got a call inviting me to one this afternoon. I've already had an interview there once before but they put the posts on hold and nothing came of it. I saw the positions advertised again yesterday, rang up, wrote a letter, sent it. I start on Monday. If I'd put it off like I usually do it just wouldn't have happened. I think I've learnt a valuable lesson. No more procrastination.
It's in some laboratories testing food for microbes and poison. Working out all that nutritional information they put on packets. I'm so happy. It's not saving crested newts or planting trees but this is life and it'll do for now.
Happy, happy, happy.
And tonight I get to see Jonathan who I havn't seen in ages because he's been on a uni course. And I'm going to eat out and it wont be tinned tomatoes! And I'm going to see Spider-man 3. And I just can't wait!
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| Wi'n dy garu di |
[Apr. 14th, 2007|11:23 am] |
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I'm really lost as to what I need to do. It's getting me down so much, I’m not equipped to cope with the reality of being an adult - dependent on myself and no one else. No plan. No clue. There's no where to myself in this city- I need to be outside, alone. But all there is are endless houses in all directions and no escaping the anxiety of unfriendly faces, souls destroyed my monotony, struggle, no trust and self pity. The air stinks and in April it's already dusty and too hot. I wonder how anything continues. All the geese along the canal have creatively constructed nests out of rubbish. I've talked to Sammy about moving back home, I'm letting her down so much. Still, in an adrenaline rush of hope yesterday I did manage to apply to about 50 jobs (all pretty shit - but jobs). Maybe I'll go back to university/college. Then maybe I can do something important, I'm falling in love with the idea of arboriculture (that's trees). It'd be practical/specific - I think trees are magic, this city needs trees. But I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything. I went home for Easter, Jonathan came with me too. My parents went away so we had the house and it's responsibilities to ourselves. Followed everywhere by the lovely Joe dog, we fed the animals, cuddled newborn lambs, walked for miles, worked in the vegetable shop and talked to all it's lovely hippy customers, ate organic dates and expensive Welsh cheese. Jon loved it too, it's unlike anything he's known and he's turning nicely into a little eco boy, voluntarily! It's contagious. He says nice things to me in Welsh. We went to beach and swam in the sea in our underwear - it wasn't even sunny. It was splendid and perhaps that's why I was so reluctant to come back. My Nan is 70 this year. She's asked for a party, she wants to round up the whole family, and wants guests from all generations. She never asks for anything but she wants my friends to be there too. I know it's hard for people to get together but if you'd like a Whitsun weekend camping in Wales then my house is where it's at. I know it will be good. It’s also my birthday-ish, and I don’t have exams... Be brilliant if any of you can make it. |
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| And if we don't want to, we won't come down. |
[Mar. 13th, 2007|03:46 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | John Martyn - Road to Ruin | ] |
Someones unsecured networked appeared the other day. I know I shouldn't but it's so hard to not be tempted when you've been restricted to crappy dial up for 6 months. I spent most of the weekend watching endless you tube clips about the only heavy metal group in Iraq and I now have more music than time to listen to it. New shins, air, do make say think (with singing and words!?), explosions in the sky, arcade fire, machine head, devin townsend and random QC bands I've wanted to listen to forever... and on and on. I can't stop listening to John Martyn - the song Auntie Aviator is so good it hurts, it's like being suffocated. And the cocteau twins too... I missed you soulseek.
Works coming to an end soon, need more. I'll be sad to leave, even though it drives me mad. I'm teaching myself Welsh, I've learnt more this last week than in my whole time at secondary school, I thought I just couldn't do languages but it's quite clear that I can. I was tricked into joining Sam's band. It's called Monochrome. |
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| A very general update |
[Feb. 11th, 2007|10:24 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vagas | ] |
I thought I better inform the world that I have a job. A good job too. Temporary but good. And the best bit - and this was entirely accidental, it's vaguely environment related. Ringing companies and carrying out interviews on waste management, recycling, fuel saving and ringing farmers about their hedgerows and biodiversity so that the government can write reports and stuff and maybe be less crap. I had a rather traumatic assessment day for the job. However, I found myself surprisingly okay as I stood in my very smart, neatly ironed clothes and talked about the pictures I had just been asked to draw, as I demonstrated moshing as my favourite form of dancing and as I talked about saving fuel in the freight industry. The greatest shock came when I returned for my induction to find I was the only one from my day they picked and that there had been many other days too. I thought the others were way better.
We have had some brilliant snow - Birmingham transformed, the streets on friday were covered with cars skidding everywhere - it was magical and chaotic, no order. Other things? Last weekend Alex and Oli visited and it was pretty awesome fun. Sam went to Tunisia and caught some awful mouth infection. I've been spending far too much time playing various PS2 games. Regina Spektor was wonderful and adorable but had the most annoying crowd ever. Me and Jonathan just spent our first whole weekend together and it was brilliant. I'm scared of what he'll do and say on valentines day despite my specific requests to simply ignore it.
So things are good. I feel comfy - at ease - not hating myself all the time is more liberating than I could ever imagine. I have all the reason to be happy. Lack of direction is getting me down as it seems to be for all, also everything is too normal. But other then that I can't really complain. So that's where I am at the moment. |
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| New Years |
[Dec. 19th, 2006|07:34 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | Party! | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Gojira | ] |
So I was just wondering what's everyone doing for new years? I'll be going out here in Brum with me good buddy Sammy and my new bloke and others too probably. We'll be going here! and the people who go are really cool and the music pretty great. Anyway if anyone (as well as any guests they might have) wants to come up for the celebrations they're more than welcome! They can stay in the flat, there's loads of space! Sam’s bed can fits at least 6 people, then there’s my bed, the living room and the bath too. We'll party till we collapse then pig out on cheap chocolate gateau and ice cream from Lidls. It's sure to be awesome! Anyway it was just an idea. I expect you all have plans. But we DO need to all meet up soon... We really do.
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 29th, 2006|03:00 pm] |
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So I guess we're going out now. I'm so happy, I'm so scared. Mostly happy though :D |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 20th, 2006|07:27 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  depressed | ] |
Today some wanker stole the back wheel of my bike whilst I slaved away as a volunteer at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens attempting to design interpretation boards on the 16 targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation that would be interesting to a 12 year old. I then had to carry the mutilated frame back 3 miles in the rain. This is my reward for being a good person. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 17th, 2006|03:03 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Mauldin of the well - Bath | ] |
I had the most meaningful dream, I don't dream enough. I don't remember much of it, he was there though right from the beginning witness to all my flaws but wanting me none the less. We bump into a palm reader on an iron stair case. She take my hand and my palm is like a giant blood blister, she smoothes the blood aside where it stays like wax beneath film. She reads my mistakes and tells me I will always have difficulty with people, he listens but is not put of, then it is his turn but I don't remember anything she says. On the dusty balcony overlooking nothing, he takes my hand as the palm reader had, the futures hide there but they are not visible to us and we both know that this will not last. "So many lines" I say, "I wonder which one is you?". He looks down upon me with tear filled solemn eyes and whispers desperately, "I am too sad to tell you".
I went to a talk by Satish Kumar at a friends of the earth meet up- it was so magical and inspiring, I want to read his books but can't afford them just yet and the library doesn't have them. Now I keep thinking I want to do a masters at the college he set up. There I’d study holistic science being lectured by James Lovelock (that's the Gaia guy) under trees, studying and worshiping the sacredness and interconnectivity of everything and there they encourage you to write essays on canvas with paint! I don't think it'll help me get a job - not a "real" job at least. But, perhaps it will give me the courage to go beyond the simple rules of society and do something profound – like give all my belongings away to pay of my debts and walk the world for peace entirely reliant on my faith in human nature and the kindness of strangers - now that would be brave.
Until then, SOMEONE EMPLOY ME PLEASE!!! I NEED MONEY, IT'S NOT FUNNY ANYMORE. AND I'M SO BORED! |
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| Tales from the Rails |
[Nov. 15th, 2006|01:58 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  hungry | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Mastodon - Blood Mountain | ] |
It’s better late than never, it’s also pretty huge so I don’t expect anyone to read all this! In fact, I’d encourage you not to. I expect it's full of mistakes and very dull.
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| that'd be nice |
[Nov. 12th, 2006|10:44 pm] |
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I'm really getting sick of my degree making me less employable. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 22nd, 2006|08:23 pm] |
Last night I drank so much I got taken to hospital in an ambulance. I don't remember ANYTHING, it was the uncoolest thing I have ever done.
Then earlier this week I was indoctrinated into some evil American cult who some how convinced me (by forcing me to expose all my vulnerabilities and then pretending that they cared) to give them 42 quid that I don't really have, and I feel utterly cheated. What's worse is they keep calling my mobile trying to persuade me to come in again.
On Monday I saw the red sparrowes, an instrumental metal band and they were so awesome, I also ate a bulgar wheat burger in the vegan cafe next to the venue. On the wall it says "the city is a work of art"
Me and Sam tried to give blood, but Sam fainted whilst waiting and was wheeled away and I couldn't do it because my veins were too small! they told us not to bother coming back!
I cycle along the canal path to town each day, past old warehouses with blocked up windows and trees growing out of their chimleys. Quite beautiful - it really is a work of art.
My local supermarket is a Lidls and it is so cheap, and their soya milk is the best i've ever had and costs just 50p for a litre.
My local chip shop is the regional winner and does fantastic pineapple fritters.
I have a job at the National Sealife Centre and I love it.
I'm also fancy a man named **.
I can now say that this year I have lost a third of my body weight.
This is my life now, so different and uncertain to anything I would ever predict.
And that's just this week. |
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