Flies Part 2
Popped into Asda's yesterday and got some "Ant and Cockroach" spray - no fly spray. No Baygon, or Doom...
Went to the flat, but hardly any flies in the window. Put some stuff in the washing machine, generously sprayed the curtains, then went upstairs to sort out the other laundry. What annoyed me was that it took so long to do the washing - around 5 hours! By the time I left, it was after 9pm. I got to Putney ok, but then waited half an hour for a stupid No. 14 bus, which turned up after 10pm. By the time I got home I was hungry and shattered.
Today I got the number from John to call the photocopy people, but then couldn't find it until I almost finished work. Called and spoke to the guy, will speak to him again tomorrow. He thinks we're paying too much, but I'm curious as to what his offer includes.
The horror..the horror!!!
Yesterday I popped around to Val's after church. When I got there, policemen were outside, and I asked if I could help. They wanted to know about the flat, and I mentioned I had a key. They said it was because a report was made that there were flies in the window.
When I looked, the window was covered with those blue-bottomed flies! As soon as I opened the front door, a blast of heat greeted us. We left the front door open for a while to let the heat out, then they came in to look around.
Nothing was around - no food was left out, nothing was left uncovered...so I couldn't figure out how the flies got behind the net curtain. The only conclusion was that the flies laid eggs in the curtain, and the heat caused the eggs to hatch. I chased out as many flies as I could, whilst the police wrote out there report, relieved that they weren't met with an unpleasant scene. And I was relieved not to find the front door battered down! Did some laundry (I've been doing good on the laundry front) before I left. I told her neighbour that I'd be back on Tuesday to spray the place (no bug spray around).
Called Val when I got home and reported all of this.
Today itself was pretty uneventful. I'm in the process of trying to order a new photocopier. Just when I had it covered, John comes up and says, consider the people the church got theirs from. Sigh!
Spending my time with you
Obviously I couldn't wait until I finished work, because I then proceeded to copy stuff to my MP3 player. I'm sure I must have spent most of the evening doing that. My problem always comes when I have to disconnect it from the pc - it says it's still in operation, when I know it's just sitting here doing nothing in particular. Hopefully it's just one of those glitches. Will have to check out customer support about that.
Plus I should be preparing something for my Junior church class, but as the photocopier isn't working, I've changed plans. I thought I'd also spend the day playing games with them, rather than doing anything in particular. Plus I still wanted to do the thing on meditation with them that I've been promising to do for weeks.
Beautiful day
It's arrived!!!! It came today, after I had sent an email asking about my order status. Was about to leave for the supermarket and abandoned my trip temporarily so I could set it up to charge, install the software....and then I went to the supermarket.
Basically spent the afternoon before going to work copying songs onto my pc, then moving them to the device. By the time it was charged three hours later, I was at work...but that didn't deter me. Later in the evening I brought it down and was listening to music. I tuned the radio stations without having read the manual.
After work, as soon as I got in, I did some more sorting. Sorted songs into files, recorded a few more albums, loaded them, put them on the device... Still more to do, but I'm very happy with my acquisition.
I set it up and figured out how to set the sleep timer. So to go to sleep with BBC Radio 3...
Must...kill...the...urge...
I'm too old for this nonsense! Ok, no sign of it today, but Kerry's new DVD/video player turned up. Somehow the urge to rip it open didn't get to me until she called to ask if it had arrived. Now [em]that[/em] is sad!
It's that time of year again - the time of year when I start to listen to Christmas songs. Am I the only person who does this? It started off with my taping the WOW Christmas CD, and now it seems as if it's a permanent fixture in my computer...
Last night was good, but for some reason (especially after drinking the Grapefruit squash), I felt like I was going to be sick. I was up in pain, then Charles called, went into one over something silly and that didn't help the queasiness. Didn't puke though, even though I felt very much like it. Went to bed in pain and when I awoke it had gone.
Procrastinated about going down South, did, sitting on the buses is time-consuming. Talked a bit to the conductor on and off from Putney, he was nice. Pity they're going to phase out the Routemasters, those are great buses. The meeting tonight had my blood pressure going up, but you know what? I'm not going to stress myself about it. Was talking to Moira afterwards, was glad to see it wasn't just me.
The waiting begins...
Ok, I know I've only just ordered it, but I hope I don't have the same trouble I had with my cordless keyboard. Cos I will be very disappointed (not to mention annoyed).
Spent a good part of yesterday burning CDs onto my hard disk drive in preparation. Well, I did have this barbie to go to but after coming back in the afternoon I was shattered. Don't know why, just felt really tired and wanted to sleep, but stayed in instead, slipping between dozing in the chair and trying to figure out a few things.
Got a call from Jane about Monday - "the group" is meeting in the usual hangout, Noodle King, on Monday. And I finally got around to looking up when Wynton Marsalis will be doing his night at the Proms.
Confession
I have to tell someone. I can't keep it in any more. I don't know who I can tell, and if I do tell anyone, they will ostracize me. I was doing so well recently, and now I suddenly did this. I didn't think something like this would happen right now.
I admit I am weak. And yesterday, I gave in to the urge.... to buy myself an iRiver MP3 player. I had seen it on eBay but somehow wasn't encouraged to buy it via that route, so instead chose to buy it from someone else. Costs a bit more, but still works out as better value than an iPod.
Originally I considered buying an iPod, until I came across iRiver and the reviews. So my mind was changed, and then a few months ago, it was not only a PC Pro Labs winner, but also "Recommended". Well, that just confirmed it to me that this was the route to go (in my tiny warped gadgetified mind). The FM radio is a bonus, because I always like to listen to the radio when I'm travelling. Nothing like a girl and her BBC Radio 4 as travelling companions. Or am I showing my age???
In true altruistic mode, I now think that I should give my Minidisc player away. Fred has been wanting one for some time, and who else is more deserving? He can get the headphones, and I'll chuck in a couple of things for him as well, maybe a mic, because he's been asking about one. And no, this does not mean that at some point I won't buy another Minidisc player.
Just won't be buying one in a hurry...
A day of tests
I was hoping that last night I got enough sleep. Today I had to go South to do an assessment. Originally I was planning on busing it to Waterloo and then getting a train, but sitting down on a bus for about 10 minutes or more, not going anywhere put me off. Took the underground and then got a train.
The assessment itself wasn't so hard. You know that feeling you get when you know that you've answered one of the questions incorrectly, but you didn't have time to correct it? That was me. By the time the whole thing finished, it was around 4:30pm. Surprisingly, I wasn't as stressed out or as tense as I was when I did it the first time around.
Made my way by bus to Val's place. When I got in, the letters were on the floor. But when I went into the kitchen, there were dishes in the sink; I had washed all of the dishes last week and hadn't left any in the sink. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a towel over the bathroom door and the toilet seat was on - it was off when I was there and I hadn't touched it. Whoever was there made no effort to tidy up, in fact they made more of a mess. Plus the bedroom curtains were closed, when I had left them opened. There was also a bag I had put in the cupboard on the kitchen floor.
When I got home I called Val and asked if anyone else had the keys to her place. She told me her ex had them when he was supposed to be looking after their son, but never gave them back to her. So I mentioned what I had seen, and she said that it was suggested that she take her daughter to see a specialist as she had a temperature yesterday. She won't be dealing with that one until she comes home. Understandable. But if I do see him I will say something...
Days of rain
Been listening to the two albums I got this week: "The Kiss", by Trin-i-tee 5:7 (still haven't quite figured out the name yet), and "Offerings: All I have to Give" by Third Day. Been rotating them - in fact, I was listening to the Trinitee one all day on Thursday. And then yesterday it was Third Day's turn.
Sometimes when I write this retrospectively, I always wonder why I often forget to include the things that I see. I see something and then a comment passes through my mind. I say to myself "must remember to mention this"...and like a dream when the dreamer awakes, I've forgotten.
Today was work, and I'm tired. Tomorrow I should be at church, but I'm going to another church because I want to. It's good every now and then to get away. Wanted to go to Mitcham Lane, but it seems pretty far to go on a day that I'm off from work, so I'm going to Kirk's church. I did promise myself I would again.
Would that the summer would return soon! But my grass sure is looking good. I'm not too impressed by that weedkiller and lawn greening stuff - gimme the Homebase brand any day.
Back to life
Lord so many people use your name in vain
Lord, those who have faith in you
sometimes go astray
Lord, through all the ups and downs
the joys and hurts
Lord, for better or worse I still will
choose you first
"Lord" - Trin-i-tee 5:7 (from the album "The Kiss")
I've been having a number of interesting conversations with people recently, and today I had another one. Via email of course. He was saying that I come across as being a very hard person. Meanwhile someone else I was talking to (verbally) said I sound like a hard person, but he could tell I really wasn't.
Now I'm not one to say things I don't believe or agree with. But I knew what I was doing when I first chose to follow Christ, and I understood, as time went along, what that commitment meant. Twentysomething years later, I'm still here, and I don't think I've missed anything. Go back to what? I'm not perfect and I wouldn't expect perfection from anyone. If mankind was perfect, there would be no need for redemption of any kind.
But if someone is going to spend hours in church, it had better be for a good reason rather than thinking that it's some sort of lucky charm to ward off evil. Jesus said in this world we would have many troubles, we were never promised an easy life nor a life without pain. But he did promise to always be with us. No matter how bad things were, I
HAD to believe that I would come through, not in my own strength because in the low moments I realize how weak I am. But then I've also realized that I'm stronger than I think I am. And there is someone greater than me in the big scheme of things. I've had doubts about many things, but I never doubted that God heard the cries of my heart.
Choose you this day whom you will serve? I choose Christ. And I don't plan on compromising for short term gain. And even if I mess up, I can begin again. That's not something I want to take lightly.
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
to give it away to you
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
to give it away to you Jesus
"Take My Life" - Third Day
Only in my sleep
I've been thinking again about my teacher training. Last week I had a couple of dreams about it, it's been on my mind quite a bit. And I do hope to work for the next year, and then start off the next academic year with a positive balance.
I really didn't want to work either today or tomorrow, but I'll have to. Been looking at stuff from that HTML course I did a few months back. Now that I'm staying on, I guess I should be able to get them to pay for the HTML advanced one too, especially as I'm using it there. Or I can pay for it myself, it's less than £200 for the day (forgotten the exact amount.
So much of my day was spent sitting in front of the pc, figuring out code, and setting out all of my questions and answers before putting in the anchors for the page. Have to sort out that address though... Quit kind of early because sitting in front of the screen was beginning to get to me.
Short, sweet, to the point
This is a photo of the main building of the monastery, just about 3km outside of Coalville in Leicester. And it was taken on one of the better weather days.
Wanted to put this up for some time and I've finally managed to sort myself out. Now to stitch together one photo for that panoramic feel... :)
Strange days
I kept thinking of that woman I came across in the bank with the pair of tights on her head.
This came to mind because I was walking to the supermarket this evening (as I do). On the way to the underground station, I passed some phone boxes. Not so long ago, in broad daylight, I saw a man and a woman smoking crack in there. Normally I tend to ignore many of the questionable looking characters who seem to occupy the area, but this one I couldn't miss because the woman was smoking the stuff through what looked like a homemade pipe. There was a man in there with her, no doubt awaiting his turn, with a can of beer in his hand.
Then, after I had gone to the fishmongers this evening, on approaching the traffic lights there was a man who was either drunk or drugged (I suspect the former). I was at a distance, but I saw this man kicking a ball. I assumed that he was playing with someone and the ball went into the road. As I got closer, he fell down in the road (with his shopping bag) and the ball was on the pavement. As I passed him, he went into the road to collect a "tinny" that had rolled out of his bag into the road. It was as if the traffic didn't exist to him.
Long weekend up ahead, a visitor on Sunday and traipsing across the city tomorrow to see Val before she goes on holiday. My new SD card arrived today, so I can give her the multimedia card I have as promised. Plus the USB charger cable.
Somehow I keep thinking she would have been better off buying a digital camera.
