We're now over the really busy time at work - a lot of what I'm doing now is either preparation for the students coming back in September or testing of the new student records database. It's not exactly quiet but there are times when I'm trying to find anything other than filing to do.

Outside work, I've no classes or resits or anything, and no impending deadlines for writing music for anybody. There is a mammoth nine-and-a half minute piece I'm writing for somebody, but not much else.

I guess I'm at a bit of a loose end really. No big projects or anything to work on, and nothing keeping me particularly busy. It's kinda weird. The only thing I've really done recently is a bit of urban exploration - climbing around a derelict seminary (pics over on my Flickr account).

I think I need a new project for the summer. Maybe I'll do a bit more of the interior design course that's been sitting doing nothing in my desk for the last year.
(And maybe by committing it in writing to my LJ I might seriously actually complete some of it instead of just think about it!)

1. Grandparents' house in Halifax. It was a lovely area back then - quite posh in fact - nowadays it's supposedly not too great.

2. Parents' house just above the village of Midgley, near Halifax. It had beautiful views, was a lovely house, very little to do round about though - it was two miles to the nearest shop!

3. Reith Hall, Glasgow Uni halls of residence. I had very good times there, though I did have my records and CDs stolen in a break-in. Not good.

4. The student flat in Ruchill, Glasgow. It started off great, but descended into arguments after a few years.

5. The studio flat in Linthouse, Glasgow. This one was tiny but absolutely lovely. The first place I lived on my own. Pity it was so close to the water treatment plant though - the smell in summer was unbearable!

6. The flat with the Psycho Ex in Govan, Glasgow. The flat was kinda okay-ish (other than the awful terracotta coloured walls), but the two years I lived there were a very bad time generally.

7. The second Govan flat with J and the cats. It was a n ice enough flat, problems with the neighbours and the close though.

8. The current flat, right across the road from the flat I stayed in with The Psycho Ex. However, the flat is much lovelier and a decent size, the close has been fine so far, and it's generally fab. Definitely my favourite - particularly because it's the first place that J and I have 'officially' lived together now that we're both on the lease.

Tags: writer's block

Tonight I shall be mostly drinking...

( cut for pic... )

Tags: amusing food

We now have a lovely silver washer/dryer installed and working.

(And it was kinda worth getting up early for).

The fools from Indesit delivered the wrong bloody washing machine.

1) It's white instead of silver.
2) It does not tumble dry.

They're now away back to the depot to pick up the right one...

I've been up since a quarter to bloody seven this morning even though I'm off work this week. I'm telling you, this washer/dryer had better look bloody good in the kitchen when it arrives ("some time between 7am and 10am") or there'll be trouble.

We're getting there with the new flat though - the living room and kitchen are looking pretty awesome. We've got a load of empty boxes and bits of extra flooring to get rid of, but apparently the council aren't doing bulk uplift until next week so we're stuck with them for now. Unfortunately we're running out of storage space for J's figures/boxes and my music collection, so lots of things are still waiting to be unpacked in the bedroom. I'm reluctant to look at storage furniture because the old flat got far too cluttered with the furniture we bought there. The keys to the old flat were returned to the Housing Association yesterday, so that's us fully moved in now (other than the rest of the unpacking).

This weekend sees me going down south for my dad's 60th birthday. To be perfectly honest, I'd much rather stay here in the lovely new flat and enjoy it for a few days, but whatever. They've hired out a youth hostel for the weekend at a place called Mankinholes fairly near where my parents stay. (Seriously, 'Mankinholes'? Sounds like a dodgy grubby pickup bar). On the plus side, I've been very clever and booked a late-ish connecting train back from York on the Sunday (it was the cheapest train available), so I can leave first thing on the Sunday morning and have a few hours shopping/chillaxing in York before I go back to work next week.

Today should be good though - there's no house stuff to do other than the washing machine being delivered, and waltzingalong is popping round later today, which will be awesome.

And now, 'tis about time for coffee number three.

Tags: family, holiday, new house
Current Location: G51

Well, I caved and bought a prepay mobile broadband dongle type thing.

'Cos let's face it, more than a few days without internet will kill me or J or both of us.

We moved house yesterday. Highlights of the day were:

1) A broken night's sleep on the sofa the night before (we'd dismantled the bed to create space in the bedroom).
2) Getting up at stupid o'clock to finish dismantling the furniture and unscrewing it from the walls.
3) Grumpy removal guy moaning at everything.
4) Having to clean dust off every piece of furniture before putting it into place at the new flat.
5) Ugh. Unpacking.
6) Lots of trips between old flat and new flat to make sure we have all of the essentials.
7) Attaching lots of furniture to walls to secure it.
8) Attempting to get two cats into carry cases to move them over to the new flat. The little buggers were not for moving.

Anyway, the new flat is great. It's definitely more spacious - there is now room to walk all the way around the sofa, and my piano fits in the living room. The bedroom's a nice size too - there's no need to breathe in and walk sideways to get round the bed!

The cats seem fairly okay so far - Maxx followed me around the living room this morning, running along the piano beside me. Apparently he's been doing that all day with J too, and Bree has been hiding. Hopefully she'll come out of her shell a little bit now that J has taken her favourite blanket over.

Unfortunately we're internet-less at home now, as it'll take ages for BT to sort out the phone line and broadband etc. So yes, as of yesterday my only internet access is at work, and after tomorrow I'm off work for just over a week.

The new flat's totally worth not having internets for a bit though.

After big panic-y badness yesterday (when I was ready to quit university and throw my books out of the window), the politics essay is finally coming together. I just have an introduction, conclusion and bibliography to write before handing it in just before 6pm. Hopefully this shouldd give me the last 250 words I need to reach the minimum word count!
Mind you, I'm quite lucky I suppose, as these things always come together at the last minute for me. I'll never have to study politics again after this module, and all I'm looking for is a pass. I don't think I can hope for performing anywhere near as well as I did in my economics class last semester!

In kitchen news, more problems.

The cooker should have been fitted yesterday. However, due to the housing's electrician doing a half-arsed job last week, there was a problem with the wall connection so they couldn't fit the cooker. I'll be getting a refund on the connection charge though, and the housing sent a better electrician to fix the socket this morning. I've booked someone to fit the cooker in half an hour's time, and he's charging half of what I'm being refunded for yesterday's non-connection. Yay beer money for tomorrow!

So yes, I was a bit of a moody so-and-so yesterday, what with essay horribleness and cooker non-connectiness.
Today, not so much so.

And now, back to stupid globalisation essay...

Playing online Scrabble on Facebook against J, I had a fit of the giggles. Basically I kept getting the same bloody letters given to me...

( evidence under the cut... )

I totally lol'd