A Thursday Revelation

I've recently decided that I needed to start thinking positively a bit more and, as part of it, I resolved to find at least one positive thing in each day.

Today has proved an embarrassment of riches. Not only have I come to work, to a job that I mostly enjoy, but one that has provided me with enough money that I can splash out occasionally on my one real addiction: books. Not only that but I can get books for free, as a perk. But anyway, back to today. I wandered off in my lunch hour to Waterstones (the one on the corner of the Strand) and after spending my money, I walked out into brilliant sunshine. The sky was the most glorious shade of blue, fluffy clouds scudding along in the wind. And I looked up and noticed the view. Right across Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery, with the fountains sprinkling away merrily. It was at this moment that I realised just how much I have to be thankful for.

I have a job. I have my health. I have a flat that I bought. I have a family I love and cherish above everything else. And I have the most amazing and wonderful collection of friends. Friends who have supported me through some very difficult times, who have laughed with me, who have cried with me, who have bucked me up when I've needed it and for whom I would do all that and more. Wow.

Now that's a positive and a half. Gush mode: off.

Oooh, music!

Yes, the MP3 revolution has arrived chez Kats, in the utterly gorgeous form of the new Sony MP3 Walkman. Mine is a gorgeous blue colour and is just completely ruddy brilliant.

And I am terrifyingly giddy about it. I spent the entire weekend ripping cds to upload to it, then an entire night trying (mostly successfully) to get it to transfer the tracks over. And today I have spent ages fannying about with it, as one does with shiny new toys.

What's made me more excited is the fact that I might actually listen to all those good albums I'd forgotten I had, and the fact that I can have a huge variety of music without having to lug about a hundredweight of cds. *whoops for joy*

Never again will I have to run around to try and find something to suit my mood when the noisy bint upstairs decides to go crazy with one of her 'gentlemen callers.' (Actually that's generally fairly easy, it needs to be loud, but not something that will incite me to a homicidal rage at the prospect of yet another sleepless night of hearing the Yorkshire terrier on speed routine - so no Pantera - and definitely no Celine Dion).

So a very very big thank you to my family for this, it's everything I wanted and more. Yay for Christmas pressies!

Aaaah, the weekend.

After my week of Travel Guide Hell, it's nice to have a time when you don't have to do anything at all. Well, except watch thoroughly silly films on the telly and catch up with the latest goings-on in the Yorkshire Dales.

Yes, I have a shameful secret. I watch Emmerdale. Not much of a secret now though, but never mind. It's mindless, thoroughly mad and totally easy to watch. On a Sunday morning that's just what you want. I blame my mother though. She got me watching it. She blames Gwyn, cos he used to put it on when she got home from work. Whatever the reason, it's just fun. And there's not nearly enough of that these days.

Now I'm watching Jurassic Park II: The Lost World. Easily the worst of the trilogy, mainly because there's no Sam Neill in it. Though there is Jeff Goldblum, a slight consolation. There's also a very annoying man, playing a terribly terribly upper crust Englishman, presumably to balance out Pete Postlethwaite. Oh, and look, the horrid bad man is going off on his own - he couldn't have done better if he'd just painted a big sign on his back saying 'Dino Chow, come and get it!' Sheesh.

But anyway enough of the rambling... back to my week of fun. 133 discs copied - thank god some of the publishers could take DVD otherwise it would have been a lot, lot more. And 80 of those discs were done on Friday. A new personal best, though it's worrying me that a) I kept a note of how many I did and b) that I'm rating it as a new record, like it's an Olympic Sport or something. Mind you, I'd be gold medal material with figures like that.

I really need to get out more. A lot more.

The Librarian

Quest for the Spear

Shown this evening on Sky One. And what an utter load of complete bilge it was.

Ok, I admit that I watched it all the way through, mainly due to Noah Wyle - though I have to confess that it's turned me right off him now. So he's supposed to be a librarian. Right.

I know librarians. I am one. I studied with them. And he's not one. Not even if you suspended your disbelief from the top of the Empire State Building. I mean, really. It's rubbish. Just act a little geeky, with no discernible social graces and you'll be about right. Oh and then play for laughs. Arrrgh.

Let's face it, this was a cut-rate Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not so much Indiana Jones, more West Midlands Jones.

Oh Kyle Maclachlan, what were you doing? Did you just need the money? Shocking, truly shocking how low one man can sink... And then of course, there's the obligatory girl-fight. yawn C'mon people, let's have some originality for a change. Please. Please make it stop. I'm not sure I could cope with the deadly Scorpion leader and the time travelling ninjas touted for the second episode.

Still, nice to see Bob Newhart doing his thang. He was by far the best thing about the whole shoddy mess. Even if he was playing a rather aged Marine. Bless him.

Monday morning non-blues

Yes indeed, it's a Monday and I'm not feeling like I want to go on a hormonally induced homicidal rampage. Result!

Can't quite put my finger on why, though that maybe a good thing. Introspection is all very well, but there are times it doesn't actually help.

I think that, in the last couple of weeks, I've just come to certain realisations that I was shrinking from. Realising that people can sometimes be a bit rubbish, however much you'd wish it otherwise. That life isn't always fair (or more accurately, is nearly always UN-fair), and that however badly you think of yourself, none of your friends are thinking anything like that - and if they are, then they're certainly not the kind of people you should be surrounding yourself with.

All of this is fairly self-evident, or should be, but then your head sometimes just gets it all muddled around, so that you take on responsibility for other people's failings. Feeling bad when your friends have been let down is one thing - putting on a hair shirt and wailing 'Woe is me' is entirely another. (Of course, I'm speaking metaphorically here. I have never wailed 'Woe is me.' Ever.)

There's also that trick of allowing yourself to feel hopeful - something I forgot in the last few months. Allowing yourself to just sit back and enjoy what's happening now, instead of worrying about what might happen in a few day's time, or a few month's time or (more likely) not happen at all, you daft mare.

Still, it's nice to know that our IT department can reduce me to trembling rage by their sheer ineptitude. At least I'll always be able to rely on that.

I think I've heard (or read) it all now.

BBC NEWS | England | Kent | Dinosaur eggs fail to reveal life

Well, really. I'd never have guessed. Maybe they've failed to reveal life precisely because they're dinosaur eggs. Prehistoric, like, you know.

Marvellous use of a scanner I must say, given the current parlous state of the NHS.

Sweary Mary, come on down!

Oh, what a day it's been.

Not only have I been bombarded with emails, pretty much all asking for the same thing, and in the same vein, but I managed to get utterly behind with everything (due to puking up my guts on Thursday night, and being fairly grotty on Friday).

Anyhoo, to cut a long and fairly angry story short, I ended up wailing down the phone at someone in a desperate bid to find out just what the jeffing heck was going on. This was alternated with me shouting things like 'F**k, f**k, f**k W*NKCHOPS!' and so forth.

It was only after I replaced the receiver that I remembered that I work in an open plan office, and one of the blokes who works across the way was staring at me in a most dubious fashion. Oh dear.

Add to that the fact that I went up to one of my colleagues and asked 'Can you just make it stop, please? Now?' combined with a look of utter despair and I think you get the idea of how rubbish my working day has been.

And now I'm embarrassed. Really, really, face-like-suburned-lobster embarrassed.

Oh and mum, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. It'll never happen again. *uncrosses fingers*