Somewhat odd day today; I was back at work, and since I'm in a really bad mood at the minute everything seemed very different than last time I was there. However, the same bad mood meant that small personal victories became large-scale defeats against humanity. One such defeat was me kicking small neds out of the shop. Also I bought an ipod shuffle (the cool one with buttons) for two pounds. two pounds. For an hour or two I was in sheer bliss as someone had brought Marina and the Diamonds' album in and was playing it over the sound system, giving a brief interlude to the constant Michael Jackson/Craig David/Oasis mix. I finished at six which given my mood should have lead to a major mental tantrum (a tantrum confined to my mind as opposed to kicking and screaming) with my waiting for the 8:15 bus, but I had by this time reached a strange mindset where I was really content in walking aimlessly around town for an hour. With very few people still there, and every shop having long been shut, it was quite an enjoyable walk. I did still wait at the bus stop for a fair while, still in a mesmerised state of contentedness meaning I was almost enjoying sitting in the cold doing nothing. This enjoyment was cut short by the intrusion of a young couple (young being around my age), of which the male was perhaps the most nauseating human being I have encountered. Never have I had such an unjustified hate for someone I don't know. On the bus home, the driver I fear had escaped from Craig Dunain as he was genuinely madl I would have not been surprised had he forgotten he was driving a bus and calmly stepped off along the A82 leaving us to plummet into the depths of Loch Ness. However, we did get through the journey, during which I listened to teh Fantasia soundtrack featuring Tchaikovsky and Bach as opposed to my usual metal collection of Sabaton and Rhapsody of Fire.
I had some excellent advice from friends last night and through today about my quandry in last night's blog; I am back to my previous thought that film school is not for me, but I still want to find a way out of Drum in the near future. A "quick fix" has come in me finding out I have two weeks of holiday allowance left at work to be used by the end of April, so I am considering making use of Ryanair's ridiculously cheap flights and gooing for a short break to Barcelona. It's somewhere I've wanted to go for ages, so maybe I'll do it, and get away for a little while at least.
I ended today by playing my ukulele. This is not a Skins-inspired euphamism; I was literally playing a ukulele... I finally learnt how to play "It's my Life" by No Doubt, so I am ridiculously pleased with myself.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Extremely frustrating.
Today was spent at home doing nothing particularly interesting to blog about. However, I did spend a great deal of this time considering what I want to do in the near future. My long term plan is to try and get into film-making, but I am fully aware that that will not happen for a good few years. What I realised is that right now I am stuck in Drumnadrochit where there is nothing to do and no prospects for any future. I want to get out but I have no idea what to do if I was to leave. I spent the evening looking around at film-making courses but all I seem to be able to find is "film studies" which appears to be sitting in a room watching "artistic" movies and writing essays about the techniques and such. This is not what I want; I want to learn how to make movies and how to make them well in order for the movies to become popular so studios or other investors will give me lots of money to make more movies. I am aware that breaking into Hollywood is more complicated than this summation, but that is the general idea.
The closest thing I found was the University of Bournemouth. I know someone studying film there and have heard good things, but then the question is raised about funding; there's no way I can afford a full university course.
All in all today hasn't been a great day; to top off the larger scale worries about my lack of prospects in my current situation, there were some much smaller aggravations present today, firstly in the telephone exchange in Drum being terrible leading to horrifically slow internet for all, and my replacement Watchmen Blu-ray being faulty again. Currently I'm pretty cheesed off with everything; I'm in the mood where I can't be bothered doing petty things like watch a movie or play a game, I want the opportunity and confidence to make major changes. Unfortunately I currently lack both of these, but perhaps if I continue researching courses and such something will give me the opportunity and the opportunity may give me a boost into doing something about it.
The closest thing I found was the University of Bournemouth. I know someone studying film there and have heard good things, but then the question is raised about funding; there's no way I can afford a full university course.
All in all today hasn't been a great day; to top off the larger scale worries about my lack of prospects in my current situation, there were some much smaller aggravations present today, firstly in the telephone exchange in Drum being terrible leading to horrifically slow internet for all, and my replacement Watchmen Blu-ray being faulty again. Currently I'm pretty cheesed off with everything; I'm in the mood where I can't be bothered doing petty things like watch a movie or play a game, I want the opportunity and confidence to make major changes. Unfortunately I currently lack both of these, but perhaps if I continue researching courses and such something will give me the opportunity and the opportunity may give me a boost into doing something about it.
OBJECTION! (+Shutter Island review)
This afternoon was spent in town with Danny and Lou shopping for zombie apparel. I found an awesome leather jacket which will do nicely, amongst other things including some Ivory No7 Foundation. It was a low point of my life walking up to the oompa loompas in boots asking for makeup to match my skin tone. In my defence it is for blending liquid latex to my skin for special effects next Saturday for the zombie march. I also exchanged my faulty Watchmen Bluray without hassle even though I bought it two months ago; thanks HMV; I was ready to do battle but wasn't at all disappointed when it all went smoothly. Trawling through almost every charity shop in Inverness for fairly specific clothing was made much easier when we started humming the Crystal Maze theme tune in all of them. Seriously; if you're ever doing something difficult or boring, imagine or even hum out loud the theme tune and the most mundane task will seem like a majorly exciting event; for every part of the task you complete (in this case finding a suitable item of clothing) a crystal is obtained granting you FIVE SECONDS IN THE CRYSTAL DOME.
We then went on to Pizza Hut where I had tried to book a table on the phone to find they were not longer taking any bookings; it would have made my post tonight a bit more heroic as I was going to book it under the name of L. Lawliet; a character in the manga/anime Death Note. This did not happen unfortunately but the Pizza was delicious.
The penultimate section of today was the cinema. The best part of this was seeing Angus for the first time in a while; I have missed his endless, limiteless cynicism and pedantry. I say "best part" when in fact it was the only good part of the cinema. We went to see Shutter Island. I went in knowing very little about the movie, only having heard critics raving about it and the promise by word of mouth of an amazing twist. First of all, the movie as a whole; it is verging on diabolical technically. Yes it has an "ensemble cast" who all play their parts from very well to brilliantly; everyone is cast well and they all put true effort into their parts. However, some simple fundemental flaws ruin it for me to start with; editing is atrocious at times, with characters speaking without moving their lips before a change of shot shows them now speaking. Horrific continuity makes all sorts of craziness occur; one example would be Leo taking an asparin and being given a glass of water. An immediate angle change skips him drinking and shows an empty glass sitting the other end of the room. It may sound petty, but such basic elements should be kept control of. On a larger scale the "arty" scenes of the movie are respectable for cinematography and atmosphere but the film tries too hard to adopt an arthouse, "stylish" tone, leading to the film becoming tediously drawn out and terribly self-indulgent; little more than an hour into it I was mentally begging the movie to just cut to the end to show me what happens so I could leave. The final point remainf however; the twist. Had all these flaws lead the movie to a breathtaking pay-off as has been suggested to me, they would have been so much less important in my crtiticism. However, with no exaggeration Angus and myself had an idea of the twist within fifteen minutes of the opening; our theory was one that we desperately hoped would not be the truth. As the movie progressed, this theory became more and more the obvious outcome, but we were assuming that we were being mislead by intelligent writing, waiting (albeit frustratedly) for the real twist. However, at the point where there could be no other revelation than the one we thought up 90 minutes previously I looked across at Angus and we exchanged a look that conveyed true suffering and despair. We were forced to leave the cinema slightly before the ending to catch a bus (I despise doing this, but I would not like to be stranded in town). As we were leaving, we discussed the very slight possibility of the "true" twist occuring in the last ten minutes or so. A quick look on wikipedia on the bus confirmed however that we were correct and that after this "revelation" there is an end to the plot that served only to heighten our already soaring fury at the movie. It is difficult for me to rate, as it is filmed very nicely and acted superbly with a very good if long-winded script. However, the basic technical errors, dragged out art elements that tend to miss the mark, and enfuriating final chapter bring its mark down to a 4/10 for me.
Finally, I got the bus home where I also met Jamie. As always this was a great journey where we spent much of the time discussing the Crystal Maze and screaming "Objection!" at each other; referencing the Phoenix Wright games. Somewhat sad most may say but we have fun so get over it.
We then went on to Pizza Hut where I had tried to book a table on the phone to find they were not longer taking any bookings; it would have made my post tonight a bit more heroic as I was going to book it under the name of L. Lawliet; a character in the manga/anime Death Note. This did not happen unfortunately but the Pizza was delicious.
The penultimate section of today was the cinema. The best part of this was seeing Angus for the first time in a while; I have missed his endless, limiteless cynicism and pedantry. I say "best part" when in fact it was the only good part of the cinema. We went to see Shutter Island. I went in knowing very little about the movie, only having heard critics raving about it and the promise by word of mouth of an amazing twist. First of all, the movie as a whole; it is verging on diabolical technically. Yes it has an "ensemble cast" who all play their parts from very well to brilliantly; everyone is cast well and they all put true effort into their parts. However, some simple fundemental flaws ruin it for me to start with; editing is atrocious at times, with characters speaking without moving their lips before a change of shot shows them now speaking. Horrific continuity makes all sorts of craziness occur; one example would be Leo taking an asparin and being given a glass of water. An immediate angle change skips him drinking and shows an empty glass sitting the other end of the room. It may sound petty, but such basic elements should be kept control of. On a larger scale the "arty" scenes of the movie are respectable for cinematography and atmosphere but the film tries too hard to adopt an arthouse, "stylish" tone, leading to the film becoming tediously drawn out and terribly self-indulgent; little more than an hour into it I was mentally begging the movie to just cut to the end to show me what happens so I could leave. The final point remainf however; the twist. Had all these flaws lead the movie to a breathtaking pay-off as has been suggested to me, they would have been so much less important in my crtiticism. However, with no exaggeration Angus and myself had an idea of the twist within fifteen minutes of the opening; our theory was one that we desperately hoped would not be the truth. As the movie progressed, this theory became more and more the obvious outcome, but we were assuming that we were being mislead by intelligent writing, waiting (albeit frustratedly) for the real twist. However, at the point where there could be no other revelation than the one we thought up 90 minutes previously I looked across at Angus and we exchanged a look that conveyed true suffering and despair. We were forced to leave the cinema slightly before the ending to catch a bus (I despise doing this, but I would not like to be stranded in town). As we were leaving, we discussed the very slight possibility of the "true" twist occuring in the last ten minutes or so. A quick look on wikipedia on the bus confirmed however that we were correct and that after this "revelation" there is an end to the plot that served only to heighten our already soaring fury at the movie. It is difficult for me to rate, as it is filmed very nicely and acted superbly with a very good if long-winded script. However, the basic technical errors, dragged out art elements that tend to miss the mark, and enfuriating final chapter bring its mark down to a 4/10 for me.
Finally, I got the bus home where I also met Jamie. As always this was a great journey where we spent much of the time discussing the Crystal Maze and screaming "Objection!" at each other; referencing the Phoenix Wright games. Somewhat sad most may say but we have fun so get over it.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Autobots: Roll Out!
Today's day off work started with a failed attempt at a lie-in; I was up by half eight having spent a while just lying there being annoyed with myself for waking up so early. I spent the rest of the day largely playing Final Fantasy XIII more, bringiny my game time up to a healthy 8.5 hours. It's getting better and better as it goes on, with the battle system slowly progressing, introducing new mechanisms to counteract the more difficult enemies that are appearing. This shows how much effort has been put into the game; that they've properly considered how best to teach people to play it. It is a truly brilliant game so far, and I am sure it will continue to impress me.
I heard some interesting news this morning; Tim Burton is set to direct an Addam's Family movie. It's not a remake of the '90's movies, or an adaptation of the '60's tv show; it's based entirely on the drawings from the 1930's that were printed in newspapers. I've hardly seen any of these but apparently they are far more sinister and dark than the TV show or family-orientated movies could get away with. It is also said that it will be a 3D Stop Motion feature, so even if it is true, there won't be a release for a few years yet. Plus he's got two films on the go just now; Dark Shadows, based on an american horror/comedy/soap opera from the 1960's about vampires; and a full-length stop motion remake of his bizzare half-hour Disney film Frankenweenie. He's a busy guy just now, and I couldn't be happier about that.
Tonight I was busy making more plans for the zombie flashmob we're doing; I've looked into some amazing home-made makeup effects you can do and I'm really excited about doing it.
I ended the night by watching Transformers: The Movie. The seizure-inducing neon visuals looked incredible on my new telly, but it was annoying to find that the sound mixing is horrendous. Nonetheless, it is an awesome movie with an incredible soundtrack; rather than have three and a half hours of Megan Fox running in slow motion, Michael Bay should just do a straight remake of this film, ensuring the 1980's soundtrack remains. Then and only then does he earn my respect.
I heard some interesting news this morning; Tim Burton is set to direct an Addam's Family movie. It's not a remake of the '90's movies, or an adaptation of the '60's tv show; it's based entirely on the drawings from the 1930's that were printed in newspapers. I've hardly seen any of these but apparently they are far more sinister and dark than the TV show or family-orientated movies could get away with. It is also said that it will be a 3D Stop Motion feature, so even if it is true, there won't be a release for a few years yet. Plus he's got two films on the go just now; Dark Shadows, based on an american horror/comedy/soap opera from the 1960's about vampires; and a full-length stop motion remake of his bizzare half-hour Disney film Frankenweenie. He's a busy guy just now, and I couldn't be happier about that.
Tonight I was busy making more plans for the zombie flashmob we're doing; I've looked into some amazing home-made makeup effects you can do and I'm really excited about doing it.
I ended the night by watching Transformers: The Movie. The seizure-inducing neon visuals looked incredible on my new telly, but it was annoying to find that the sound mixing is horrendous. Nonetheless, it is an awesome movie with an incredible soundtrack; rather than have three and a half hours of Megan Fox running in slow motion, Michael Bay should just do a straight remake of this film, ensuring the 1980's soundtrack remains. Then and only then does he earn my respect.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
They're eating her... and then they're going to eat me...
Work was again extremely quiet. However the day passed really quickly for some reason, possibly because I spent the day winding everyone else up, therefore having a great time. I also spent a large portion of the day shopping for some decent speakers for my TV having gotten fed up of the naff speakers they seem to put in TV's nowadays. I went for Logitech Z4's which are incredible; 2.1; 40W RMS; etc, etc. The result is incredible; I've only watched a few music videos on my PS3 so far, but the sound is a major step up. I plan on watching Transformers: The Movie tomorrow to hear all the 80's voices, effects and hair metal soundtrack in their full glory.
When waiting for the bus home I discovered my debit card to be missing. As I'd bought my speakers ten minutes beforehand, I phoned work in a panic, apparently prompting a flurry of people crawling around the shop looking for a card before I found it in my shirt pocket.
Another sport relief special was on tonight; this time far less irritating and featuring genuine celebrities. It was the John O'Groats to Lands End cycle. It was awesome seeing the hard work that they went to for it, and doubly awesome to see the crowd that included myself. Highlight of the show would be Darren Falconer playing the bagpipes to David Walliams on BBC1.
Skins finale was also tonight; after some appaling episodes, it did redeem itself a bit by the end. I think that they've always taken risks in the plotlines, and it just so happens that this time they haven't quite come out as intended. Unfortunate, but I'll look forward to season 5, especially as the writers have pledged to make it more light-hearted than this one.
Last thing to happen tonight was recieving an email from Jason Steadman which made me literally squeal with joy. The best part is that virtually no one knows who he is. He was a main character in a film called Troll 2; a movie that is reverred as the "Best Worst Movie". To explain; there is a subculture of filmgoers who "enjoy" terrible movies. I don't mean Epic Movie terrible, or Just Married terrible, I mean 2012 terrible, Plan 9 from Outer space terrible, generally movies that are SO terrible in every respect that they actually become inadvertently funny, and much more entertaining than most comedies. Troll 2 is the finest example I've seen; you can see my review of it on IMDB BY CLICKING HERE. Troll 2 has, since it's making in 1990, become a major cult classic, and in response to it's following, some of the (then child) stars have joined together to make a documentary charting the success of the movie they were previously ashamed of. I got an email because I will be trying to spread the word about this new documentary around the Inverness area; perhaps try to get screenings, publicity, etc. As a huge "fan" of Troll 2, I am so excited to be a tiny part of it. Enjoy the following clip, which sums up my reaction to being accepted to help out.
When waiting for the bus home I discovered my debit card to be missing. As I'd bought my speakers ten minutes beforehand, I phoned work in a panic, apparently prompting a flurry of people crawling around the shop looking for a card before I found it in my shirt pocket.
Another sport relief special was on tonight; this time far less irritating and featuring genuine celebrities. It was the John O'Groats to Lands End cycle. It was awesome seeing the hard work that they went to for it, and doubly awesome to see the crowd that included myself. Highlight of the show would be Darren Falconer playing the bagpipes to David Walliams on BBC1.
Skins finale was also tonight; after some appaling episodes, it did redeem itself a bit by the end. I think that they've always taken risks in the plotlines, and it just so happens that this time they haven't quite come out as intended. Unfortunate, but I'll look forward to season 5, especially as the writers have pledged to make it more light-hearted than this one.
Last thing to happen tonight was recieving an email from Jason Steadman which made me literally squeal with joy. The best part is that virtually no one knows who he is. He was a main character in a film called Troll 2; a movie that is reverred as the "Best Worst Movie". To explain; there is a subculture of filmgoers who "enjoy" terrible movies. I don't mean Epic Movie terrible, or Just Married terrible, I mean 2012 terrible, Plan 9 from Outer space terrible, generally movies that are SO terrible in every respect that they actually become inadvertently funny, and much more entertaining than most comedies. Troll 2 is the finest example I've seen; you can see my review of it on IMDB BY CLICKING HERE. Troll 2 has, since it's making in 1990, become a major cult classic, and in response to it's following, some of the (then child) stars have joined together to make a documentary charting the success of the movie they were previously ashamed of. I got an email because I will be trying to spread the word about this new documentary around the Inverness area; perhaps try to get screenings, publicity, etc. As a huge "fan" of Troll 2, I am so excited to be a tiny part of it. Enjoy the following clip, which sums up my reaction to being accepted to help out.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
You got the touch.
I woke up listening to the Transformers soundtrack from the 80's cartoon movie. There is actually no better way to start the day.
Work was another deadly quiet day, but due to the limitless "currys craic", it was still vaguely enjoyable and the biggest part is that I'm getting paid for it. The big launch of Norton Gold tomorrow meant there was a big shipment of displays to go out this evening. I attempted to build them, but doing so is a feat on par with the building of Stonehenge. I did not succeed.
I discovered today that not only have Noah and the Whale done more than one song (five years time), but that some of said songs are really good. They've got a simplistic, very low production value sound which is nice only if done well; far too often artists use this sound to appear "cool", but it comes across as very pretentious. Noah and the whale however, pull it off. The big thing that struck me with them though is their lyrics; there are some amazing lyrics in the songs, such as this;
For your heart is like a forest, it grows,
and its the rain, but just the sun that lets it bloom,
and you don't know how it feels to be alive,
until you know how it feels to die
I got home today slightly earlier than usual, as I got a lift from Jonathan, where my brother demonstrated what he has learnt from a few weeks of Karate Lessons. Suffice to say that considering he is only 7, he has quite a punch. And a kick... Thankfully, he's only four feet tall, so my face was well out of his reach.
Finally I caught glimpses of a nauseating BBC show about fatuous BBC Scotland "celebrities" kayaking the Caledonian canal. The only reason I mention this is because amongst the flat jokes and forced drama there was a brief shot of my house. Not a shot in which my house was just visible; a shot OF my house. It's both cool and a bit unsettling when you consider that literally tens of people across Scotland were staring at my house briefly where just behind the window I was going about my daily routine unaware of the malevolent lens peering at me. Due to this, I shall never again be opening the front door looking less than ready for a dinner party in the off chance that "TV bloopers 78" features a clip of me letting the dog out and my dressing gown spills open.
So on that image, I shall be going to bed as I have a mother of a headache just now.
Work was another deadly quiet day, but due to the limitless "currys craic", it was still vaguely enjoyable and the biggest part is that I'm getting paid for it. The big launch of Norton Gold tomorrow meant there was a big shipment of displays to go out this evening. I attempted to build them, but doing so is a feat on par with the building of Stonehenge. I did not succeed.
I discovered today that not only have Noah and the Whale done more than one song (five years time), but that some of said songs are really good. They've got a simplistic, very low production value sound which is nice only if done well; far too often artists use this sound to appear "cool", but it comes across as very pretentious. Noah and the whale however, pull it off. The big thing that struck me with them though is their lyrics; there are some amazing lyrics in the songs, such as this;
I got home today slightly earlier than usual, as I got a lift from Jonathan, where my brother demonstrated what he has learnt from a few weeks of Karate Lessons. Suffice to say that considering he is only 7, he has quite a punch. And a kick... Thankfully, he's only four feet tall, so my face was well out of his reach.
Finally I caught glimpses of a nauseating BBC show about fatuous BBC Scotland "celebrities" kayaking the Caledonian canal. The only reason I mention this is because amongst the flat jokes and forced drama there was a brief shot of my house. Not a shot in which my house was just visible; a shot OF my house. It's both cool and a bit unsettling when you consider that literally tens of people across Scotland were staring at my house briefly where just behind the window I was going about my daily routine unaware of the malevolent lens peering at me. Due to this, I shall never again be opening the front door looking less than ready for a dinner party in the off chance that "TV bloopers 78" features a clip of me letting the dog out and my dressing gown spills open.
So on that image, I shall be going to bed as I have a mother of a headache just now.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
I am king.
Today went pretty well in a strange sort of way. Work was incredibly quiet, but somehow I managed to attain a vast amount of sales (compared to my usual sales anyway), so I'm flying towards my target now. Also, I was dealing with a customer with a faulty washing machine (he'd had it over a year mind). I made all the necessary phonecalls and sorted it out for him that it would be fixed within a short while and if not, replaced. Pretty fair I feel. However, because I wouldn't fix it on the spot or give him a shiny new seven hundred pound machine for free straight away he informed me that there was a possibility of aforementioned faulty item being flung through our window in due course. Immediately I asked him to leave the store, to which he continued to protest, so I informed him that if he didn't leave immediately I'd phone the police. He left. This was the highlight of my day, as he was so annoying.
I finished work at 6, but didn't have a bus to get home until 8:15. I haven't been in this situation for a week or so, and had forgotten just how annoyingly boring it is; I've been at work all day and I just want to get home, but I can't. This is why I really want to get driving ASAP.
As I was about to post this blog, I found I had recieved an email from Jamie about a zombie flashmob that we are organising on the day of Hi-Ex (the highland comic/movie expo); the organizers of the expo have caught wind of our plans, and send a lengthy email supporting and congratulating our efforts. That is incredibly cool, and makes it even more certain that everyone I know must be involved. So here's the plan;
Meet at the cemetary on the riverfront (near Hoots & Ironworks) at 12 noon on Sat 27th. Be dressed as ANY sort of Zombie (pirate, ninja, traditional, anything), and we march (RE: Shuffle) along to Eden Court where we shall get free entry due to being in fancy dress, and make a big scene. It shall be awesome.
Very pleased with the day. Keep it up please, karma.
I finished work at 6, but didn't have a bus to get home until 8:15. I haven't been in this situation for a week or so, and had forgotten just how annoyingly boring it is; I've been at work all day and I just want to get home, but I can't. This is why I really want to get driving ASAP.
As I was about to post this blog, I found I had recieved an email from Jamie about a zombie flashmob that we are organising on the day of Hi-Ex (the highland comic/movie expo); the organizers of the expo have caught wind of our plans, and send a lengthy email supporting and congratulating our efforts. That is incredibly cool, and makes it even more certain that everyone I know must be involved. So here's the plan;
Meet at the cemetary on the riverfront (near Hoots & Ironworks) at 12 noon on Sat 27th. Be dressed as ANY sort of Zombie (pirate, ninja, traditional, anything), and we march (RE: Shuffle) along to Eden Court where we shall get free entry due to being in fancy dress, and make a big scene. It shall be awesome.
Very pleased with the day. Keep it up please, karma.
Monday, 15 March 2010
DVLA rhymes with "gay"
On the 10th of February, I paid fifty galactic credits for my provisional licence. Today I was getting frustrated with waiting, so tweeted my anger. I believe that this was heard by the overlords, as today in the post I recieved a cheque for fifty pounds refunding my payment. Now I have to start all over again...
Work was insanely quiet today. Absolutely nothing interesting happened beyond me spending an hour trying to get an awesome Polish couple to pass a credit check; I finally achieved my goal, and the laptop sale was mine- er, I mean; the laptop was theirs.
This evening was host to impromptu "kitchen banter" at Drews. During this time I recalled a phone call I made to NHS 24. It happened in October, but I insist it is relevant, as I am currently attempting to sue the company that caused this phonecall; long story short, I had unimaginably painful eyes (later found out to be caused by my corneas being partly torn off), and after 24 hours of this pain, I finally called them. The phonecall went like this, with the young female operator speaking in a calming, pleasant tone that was totally impossible to get angry with;
Recorded Message: DO YOU HAVE SWINE FLU!? IF YOU HAVE SWINE FLU STAY AWAY, PUT THE PHONE DOWN, LEAVE THE COUNTRY, CATCH IT, BIN IT, KILL IT!!!!. Otherwise, please hold and an operator will be with you shortly.
Operator: Hello there, can I ask why you are calling?
Me: I have, eh.. very sore eyes.
Operator: I see... Is the patient breathing?
Me: Yes. I am the patient. It is my eyes; they are very painful.
Operator: Ah yes, I see... Is the patient conscious?
Me: ...Yes. However, my eyes are very painful.
This continued for a while, until finally I was given the advice I think all callers are given; go to A&E immediately.
After Kitchen banter, Darroch drove me home. Alan shotgunned the front seat, so when I got out and Darroch exited to "relieve himself", Alan took it upon himself to undo the handbrake, making the brattmobile lurch towards my massive hill, with Darroch going mental and Alan's maniacal laughter bellowing out. I thought this was one of the funniest things I had seen until I got on facebook and found this picture.
I literally laughed for ten minutes after seeing this, and on that, I shall end the post. A good day has been had, and in the morning I have a new pack of Alpen to open, so everything is looking fantastic.
Work was insanely quiet today. Absolutely nothing interesting happened beyond me spending an hour trying to get an awesome Polish couple to pass a credit check; I finally achieved my goal, and the laptop sale was mine- er, I mean; the laptop was theirs.
This evening was host to impromptu "kitchen banter" at Drews. During this time I recalled a phone call I made to NHS 24. It happened in October, but I insist it is relevant, as I am currently attempting to sue the company that caused this phonecall; long story short, I had unimaginably painful eyes (later found out to be caused by my corneas being partly torn off), and after 24 hours of this pain, I finally called them. The phonecall went like this, with the young female operator speaking in a calming, pleasant tone that was totally impossible to get angry with;
Recorded Message: DO YOU HAVE SWINE FLU!? IF YOU HAVE SWINE FLU STAY AWAY, PUT THE PHONE DOWN, LEAVE THE COUNTRY, CATCH IT, BIN IT, KILL IT!!!!. Otherwise, please hold and an operator will be with you shortly.
Operator: Hello there, can I ask why you are calling?
Me: I have, eh.. very sore eyes.
Operator: I see... Is the patient breathing?
Me: Yes. I am the patient. It is my eyes; they are very painful.
Operator: Ah yes, I see... Is the patient conscious?
Me: ...Yes. However, my eyes are very painful.
This continued for a while, until finally I was given the advice I think all callers are given; go to A&E immediately.
After Kitchen banter, Darroch drove me home. Alan shotgunned the front seat, so when I got out and Darroch exited to "relieve himself", Alan took it upon himself to undo the handbrake, making the brattmobile lurch towards my massive hill, with Darroch going mental and Alan's maniacal laughter bellowing out. I thought this was one of the funniest things I had seen until I got on facebook and found this picture.
I literally laughed for ten minutes after seeing this, and on that, I shall end the post. A good day has been had, and in the morning I have a new pack of Alpen to open, so everything is looking fantastic.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Who watches the watchmen? Not me apparently.
After my blog last night, I was awake until 4 o clock in the morning for no apparent reason. Luckily I didn't start work until 12pm today though. Nothing particularly amazing happened at work; there was no customers for most of the day, so there's not much to say about that.
I had the misfortune of seeing some of Wild at Heart tonight; it has the writing, acting, and plot of a children's program. In the brief snippet I saw, it featured people realising their wrongdoings and apologising for minor misdemeanors, and a small group of underdogs stopping a nasty businessman from putting a golf course in the "countryside" (I'm not too sure what you'd call the countryside in Africa, but you get the idea). All this was far too intenst for me so I went through to watch my Blu-ray of Watchmen which I've had for a while. I did see it at the cinema and it's a great film, so I wanted to see it again. When I put the disc in my PS3 it made this horrific whirring noise that made me certain that the console has knackered itself. I retried it a few times and still it made the noise, but any other discs I tried were fine. I looked online and found that there was a faulty batch of discs accidentally put out, and it seems I have won the anti-lottery in getting one. There is a slight silver lining in the story, as it allowed me to write a witty title for today's blog. I gave up on the movie and played Final Fantasy more, and am now going to bed, as I am absolutely shattered.
I had the misfortune of seeing some of Wild at Heart tonight; it has the writing, acting, and plot of a children's program. In the brief snippet I saw, it featured people realising their wrongdoings and apologising for minor misdemeanors, and a small group of underdogs stopping a nasty businessman from putting a golf course in the "countryside" (I'm not too sure what you'd call the countryside in Africa, but you get the idea). All this was far too intenst for me so I went through to watch my Blu-ray of Watchmen which I've had for a while. I did see it at the cinema and it's a great film, so I wanted to see it again. When I put the disc in my PS3 it made this horrific whirring noise that made me certain that the console has knackered itself. I retried it a few times and still it made the noise, but any other discs I tried were fine. I looked online and found that there was a faulty batch of discs accidentally put out, and it seems I have won the anti-lottery in getting one. There is a slight silver lining in the story, as it allowed me to write a witty title for today's blog. I gave up on the movie and played Final Fantasy more, and am now going to bed, as I am absolutely shattered.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
YOU'RE LATE FOR TEA!
Today started amazingly, as I briefly "spoke" to Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko director) on twitter. I say "spoke" as I tweeted him and he replied, so it wasn't exactly a conversation, but I was close to screaming like a 12 year old girl nonetheless. This is due to the fact that Donnie Darko is my favourite movie, which based on the amount of movies I like is saying something.
My puppy, Merlin, was at the vet's yesterday to have some strange lump removed from his chest. He's home and fine, save for a massive Frankenstein wound held together by large cross-stitching. He looks insanely cool just now; I would perhaps be pushed as far as "badass".
This afternoon I went to see Alice in Wonderland with Danny and Lou. After last week's fiasco, we all got in for free, and the movie was excellent. When she first gets into Wonderland it is very odd, and it all becomes a bit of a sensory overload, but after the first few scenes, it levels out, and it gets back to Tim Burton goodness; bizzare yet emotionally deep characters, fun storyline, and bizzare colourful imagery (sometimes surprisingly macarbre for a Disney film). The 3D was excellent, and the cast was fantastic; Mia Wasikovska plays Alice very well (and is STUNNING), and Johnny Depp, just for a change, steals the show as the Mad Hatter, along with his hilarious sidekick; a Scottish mad march hare. I completely understand that it has a very acquired taste, meaning a lot of people I know will flatly hate it. All three of us enjoyed it greatly though, and I give it 9/10.
The one thing that really bugged me in the cinema was people talking throughout the film. You've paid just under a tenner, so why the hell are you nattering through the ENTIRE film?
Anyhow, we then went to Pizza Hut for what we thought would be a simple takeaway, but we ended up waiting for well over half an hour for a single Margherita Pizza. Oh well, it was lovely, so worth the wait I guess.
I got home in time to watch last night's Lost repeated, which was very interesting.I love Lost, and the fact that we're halfway through the last ever series is both exciting in the sense that everything will be resolved (I hope), but also quite a shame in the sense that there will be no more Lost.
My puppy, Merlin, was at the vet's yesterday to have some strange lump removed from his chest. He's home and fine, save for a massive Frankenstein wound held together by large cross-stitching. He looks insanely cool just now; I would perhaps be pushed as far as "badass".
This afternoon I went to see Alice in Wonderland with Danny and Lou. After last week's fiasco, we all got in for free, and the movie was excellent. When she first gets into Wonderland it is very odd, and it all becomes a bit of a sensory overload, but after the first few scenes, it levels out, and it gets back to Tim Burton goodness; bizzare yet emotionally deep characters, fun storyline, and bizzare colourful imagery (sometimes surprisingly macarbre for a Disney film). The 3D was excellent, and the cast was fantastic; Mia Wasikovska plays Alice very well (and is STUNNING), and Johnny Depp, just for a change, steals the show as the Mad Hatter, along with his hilarious sidekick; a Scottish mad march hare. I completely understand that it has a very acquired taste, meaning a lot of people I know will flatly hate it. All three of us enjoyed it greatly though, and I give it 9/10.
The one thing that really bugged me in the cinema was people talking throughout the film. You've paid just under a tenner, so why the hell are you nattering through the ENTIRE film?
Anyhow, we then went to Pizza Hut for what we thought would be a simple takeaway, but we ended up waiting for well over half an hour for a single Margherita Pizza. Oh well, it was lovely, so worth the wait I guess.
I got home in time to watch last night's Lost repeated, which was very interesting.I love Lost, and the fact that we're halfway through the last ever series is both exciting in the sense that everything will be resolved (I hope), but also quite a shame in the sense that there will be no more Lost.
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