Life Without Fear

Download and an Aniversary

2007-06-01T11:32:00.001+01:00

Well download '07 in 7 days!! can't wait!!!!

Had a bit of a nightmare where I lost the details of B&B where we were booked into and had to phone every single B&B in Donnington to find them >_<

Still that's all sorted.

Also got our first Anniversary in August and making plans for that too.
Booked into a very fancy hotel suite in Central london for a long weekend.

Plan so far - 3 days in London, Champagne breakfast every day :)
Don't want to give away any of the suprises because I know a certain someone reads this blog ^_^.

Friday - Get into london, book into the Hotel early and we are booked in for dinner at Gary Rhodes 24!
First time at a Celebrity reastaurant and I love Gary Rhodes so this should be good!

Saturday - Doing the Tourist thing down the Thames with Duck Tours, maybe hit Hyde park and go for a row boat and a walk round the park, picnic lunch - IMax movie in the evening I think.

Sunday - Probably going to try to get a Musical, not decided yet, will book ahead of schedule.

Thing that should do it......what could go wrong..... ^_^

GAH!!!

2007-04-12T14:55:00.000+01:00

Listening to: Hallalujah - Hanzel Und Gretyl
Mood: Between Amusement and Dispair

Glad it's almost Friday (I love 4 day weeks, almost as much as I love 3 day weeks and so and and so forth).

Deleted my rant, suffice to say, work sucks, can't wait to win the lottery ;)

Deviant

2007-04-10T14:36:00.000+01:00

Listening to: Most Precious Blood - Mad As The March Hare
Mood: Hungry!

Well I've gone and done it.
After years of lurking I've signed up as a Deviant on DeviantART.com

Should be interesting! time to dust of Adobe Photoshop CS2 and start looking at Digitizing Tablets again!

Song for Today

2007-04-04T15:12:00.000+01:00

Listening to: Got Radio (Rock)
Mood: Adrift

Band: Reveille
Album: Laced
Song: Dark Horizon

I've lost my footing
I'm hanging by the brink
I'm stranded in a sea of hope
with not a drop to drink
so I stand alone when I think
because conformity can't be the solution
because some scars can never heal
and now my dreams lay in silent ruins
there's blood on the horizons
and still not a word is spoken
I've lost my footing
I'm hanging from a very thin thread
now the shadow falls as the reaper calls
and the dark comes rolling in overhead
something wicked comes this way
and still not a fucking word is spoken
strike me down
release my handjust let me fall
I'll never understand
I'm not living up to their expectations
I'm not living up to their dreams of success
they say I'm not living up to a simple standard
they say I'm not living up to the skill I posess
I think I was born without a soul (pray for me)
I think I was born without a voice (cry for me)
I think I was born without a pulse (love for me)
god, why was I born without the choice (die for me)
not a word, not a word is spoken
not a word is spoken- and that's why I'm broken
not a word, not a word spoken
and still not a fucking word...
I'll never understand
I'll never understand you

GO! (Weiqi)

2007-01-30T10:42:00.000Z

Well I've started to play an old Chinese game called Weiqi (or GO! as it's know more popularly in Japan and the rest of the world)

It's a very simple game in terms of Rules and objective, Two players (black and white) take it in turns to place a stone of their colour on a 19x19 grid.
The objective is to "surround" as many intersections on this grid with your colour as possible.
If your stones get surrounded by enemy stones they are captured and taken off the board.

Sounds simple right? well it's incredibly hard to play :)

I've been playing a Month now and I'm ranked as a 21 Kyu player (European) which means I'm about as weak as you can get but I'm learning :)

I'm going to start a separate GO! blog to track my learning and progress to give myself a sense of progress (or lack thereof) as I feel as if I'm treading water at the moment playing low Dan players who are so far above me I can't tell if I'm crawling towards them or not :)

Funny how things turn out....

2006-11-16T10:21:00.000Z

Listening to: Nothing because I left my music at home :(
Mood: Tired

LIFE
I've been quietly reflecting on how tiny little things can have such a big impact on your life further down the line.

When I started EQ2 again (Purely because I wanted to kill time waiting for Vanguard: Saga of Hero's) I got a random invite into my current Guild when I bumped into the Guild leader as I was harvesting out in the wilds.

Now a few months on I'm going out with a girl I met in that same guild under erm..less than ordinary circumstances :) (who would of thought that talking about hamsters would ever pull..)

To think I was this close to saying no thankyou and not joining then for some reason I changed my mind before I hit reply and said Yes instead...

It hit me again when she told me that she actually played on a totally different server to me and created the character that I met her through on my server purely on a whim and that made me wonder about how small decisions can have bigger consequences (in a good way!)

EVENTS
Anywho, other than that I've been chugging along, just got back from I29
Was a little annoyed after I got down there and my PSU decided to blow up, but it gave me an excuse to replace it with a nice new Hiper modular PSU
Much neater and easier to use!
Only managed to win a T-Shirt and Mousemat (albeit a nice glide one) this year :(

GAMES
I've started Microsoft Flight Sim X and it's pretty damn sweet, the TrackIR4 makes it so much better though!

This should teach me the basics of flying while I wait for Fighter Ops to come out and I can learn to really fly modern fighter jets.

Also playing Medieval 2: Total War and kicking arse :)
It's got a few bugs to Iron out but I'm sure they will patch it soon.

Also trying to find time to get into X3:Reunion again now that they've released the final bonus pack and the REAL player HQ :)

Lyrics For Today

2006-07-24T09:53:00.000+01:00

Listening to: The Cure - Just Like Heaven
Mood: Optimistic

Sometimes you hear a song and it just hits you, maybe its just because its so appropriate at the time, maybe its because it rings with you deep down in your soul.

Today I hit my music player onto play random songs that I've not rated yet and the first one up was "Just Like Heaven" By The Cure and I had to smile and play it again.

It's just so perfect for the way I feel right now and this moment in my life.

----------------
The Cure - Just Like Heaven Lyrics

Show me, show me, show me
How you do that trick
"The one that makes me scream," she said
"The one that makes me laugh," she said
And threw her arms around my neck
"Show me how you do it
And I promise you, I promise that
I'll run away with you
I'll run away with you"

Spinning on that dizzy edge
I kissed her face, I kissed her neck
And dreamed of all the different ways
I had to make her glow
"Why are you so far away," she said
"Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you,
That I'm in love with you?"

You... soft and only
You... lost and lonely
You... strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water, you're just like a dream
Just like a dream

Daylight licked me into shape
I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name
I opened up my eyes
I find myself alone, alone, alone
Above a raging sea
That stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me.

You... soft and only
You... lost and lonely
You... just like heaven
----------------

Caravan Capers

2006-07-23T22:11:00.000+01:00

Listening to: Motorhead - Ace Of Spaces
Mood: Hung over

Well, I'm just back from the Caravan in Kent and I've got a stonking headache.
Hmm Highlights of the weekend.

Got severly wasted, Obviously.

Played lots of poker, won 4 games lost 1 (grrrrr)

Tried to row to France in a rubber boat with 2 spades as paddles, we didn't get very far.
Our insentive was cheap duty free beer....

We also decided that we are going to go away again for New Years, Either Las Vegas or Thailand.

Had a bit of a scary moment when I left my phone unattended with drunk mates who decided to text some people from my phone >_<

----

After the Kent trip, hit home and helped an old mate out with a busted PC, got talking about our plan to get a house and may have a 3rd roomie ;)
So far we have Me, Saleem who working for the NHS gets us a nice deposit.
And now a Laywer friend with contacts who is fresh out of Uni who can do all the paper work wants to buy in a share but not live there just to get onto the property ladder.

HSBC will allow a 3 way joint mortagage and I'm going to pop down some time this week with my mate to see what they will give us.
Maybe I'll be out before the end of the year after all!

After I got home and parked up someone knocked my motorbike over (again) while I was in the shower and they've smashed the left indicator and clutch lever.
Annoying as hell and while its rideable I need to get it to a garage asap to fix it and its more cost I don't need!! GRRRRRRR.

Erm....trying to get back into writing this story for EQ2, not looking forward to work tommorow....thats about it =p

2 Months in 5 Minutes

2006-07-20T12:56:00.000+01:00

Listening to:Blondie - Good Boys
Mood: Friskier than sack full of ferrets.

Ok, Here we go, the last 2 Months of my life updated in double quick time.

Life
Gotten back into the swing of things on the motorbike and I'm riding full tilt and full throttle again :) Yehah!

Going to Steves Caravan in Kent this weekend to get drunk and kick their butts at poker (Again!)
If this weather keeps up the beach is going to be amazing.

Should be getting a house before the end of this year easily, and it's about time.
Looking into a join morgatage with a good friend of mine who works for the NHS.
That gets us a £50,000 deposit on the house right there!

My Brother is off to China next month for a year.
Going to see him off then visit him for a month at some point next year.

My cousin has been stationed to Cyprus for 3 years with the RAF and has given me an open invite to come down, may do a Month down there too!

Also booking a week in Amsterdam for Febuary.
Had an offer I can't refuse to go visit and I've always wanted to go so what the hell!

Also looking to booking in the next Download Festival and Glastonbury as well (Another of my to do items!)

I'm revising my Things to do before 25 and 30 list and I'll post that later ;)

Work
My Job is pretty much being outsourced to our new parent company Experian so I'm being moved "Latteraly" into Client and Unix support on a 24/7 rota.
The upside is I get to learn new stuff which is always good and I get a LOT more money.
This months paycheck, a taste of what was to come, was...well...I'm looking forward to more ;)

The Downside is I'm back on shifts which I like, but aren't perfect for the old social life.
Still, I figure this time I'll do it right.
Buckle down, take the hit, take the money and put it to good use and make up for the social hit on my days off and later down the line.

Health
All clear!
The lumps I was worried about are apparently just scars where my body has over-reacted to some small injury or scracth (Probably when I did my knee in and my system went into healing overdrive)

Games
Playing EQ2 Full time now and gotten into an amazing guild (The Fellowship)
Already made Council member *Shrugs* If only power and status came that easily in real life ;)
Made a few more friends in the guild I think =)

Quick HIDE!!!

2006-05-16T14:53:00.000+01:00

Listening to:Korn - Here to Stay
Mood:Tired

Got myself and a few friends signed up to a 3day Even in the Midlands for June.
The UK DownloadFestival '06

3 Days with lots of beer, People with far too much energy, and more bands than I can shake a stick at including some of my faves.
I can't belive Metallica are headlining on the 2nd day (saturday 10th).

Lacuna coil are headlining on Sunday and that will be the perfect way to end it all!

Games: Still waiting for the Beta on V:SoH.
Started EQ2 Again.
Doing well with CS:S and playing with a couple of guys from work that are also into the game.
Thinking of putting up a new blog for that side of my life and putting my photoshop skills (fledgling as they are) into a web-comic for it too ^_^.

Still excitied over some of the stuff coming out of this years E3

Life: Apparently my blog has been "found" by some people at work >_<
Uh-oh.
Good thing there is nothing embarasing on here...I think....
Apparently they would prefer I shaved my head back to the way it used to be (rather than the arse long pony tail I have at the moment ^_^).
:cry:

Updates!

2006-04-04T15:03:00.000+01:00

Mood: Happy
Listening to: Our Lady Peace - 4am

Wow, It's been a long time since I've updated this puppy huh?

Ok so lets see whats new

1) I've got the bike back at last!
I'm getting used to riding it again and getting my confidence up slowly

2) Broke up with the GirlFriend (Mutually belive it or not).
Despite seeming to have a bit in common at first we turned out to be total opposites .

3) My Knee is still healing! it's playing up now i'm back on the bike but it acts as a good reminder for me to keep it sensable!
The 40mph limit on the M1 for the lane expansion is also good for me as its giving me lots of good, low speed filtering practice!

4) Had to have my piercing removed :( I hit my lip on a door when drunk one night and caused it to swell up, whilst swolen it healed over the back of the piercing.
Wouldn't be so bad (Means I couldn't take it out) but then as its no longer sitting flush against my lip and is inside it went all askew and looked stupid.
I got the most incompetent doctor on the PLANET to take it out and it took a good 20 mins of hard work (after slicing my lip open without anesthetic!) for him to yank it out despite me explaining quite clearly that you HAVE TO UNSCREW THE DAMN THING FIRST!.
I had to get out of there before I punched the idiot and got myself arrested.
...that said I'm tempted to get it re-done hehe...guess there is no curing some people.

5) My company got bought out by Experian and now I'm waiting so see what my future holds.

6) I'm back in WoW and starting BattleField 2 as well on the PC/Gaming front.

7) Started going to the Gym and getting fit again (at last)

8) Got myself an electric guitar, amp, pedal and a book and I'm teaching myself to play!
It's going to be a long time before I'm doing any Jimi Hendrix but we all have to start somewhere :)

New Piercing

2005-12-28T21:39:00.000Z

Finally changed the piercing.
The shorter stud is WAY more comfortable and I almost forget its there.
I also prefer the spike but I'll change it for a longer, thinner one later and maybe even a curved talon =p

Labret Piercing

2005-12-19T18:03:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of updates.
Christmas, Work, A Girlfriend, and Joining a Major Guild (WoW) have all taken up my free time.

I'll update later but for now the most important change in my life (other than the most amazing Louise who I will dedicate a full update to later rather than do her the discredit of a mere quick update) - My Labret Piercing

I've been Umming and Ahhing about this for ages but I finally decided to just get it done.
After 2 years of hand wringing, reading, research and questions, it took a rather disapointing 2 minutes to do :)

I went to Adrenaln Tattoo's in Luton after leaving work early (4:30pm Monday)

I got there at 4:45 and walked out at 4:50 done and dusted!

The Experience
I've read everything there is to read about this before hand and talked to the studio on the phone the same morning with the girl that also did the piercing in the end.

I walked in and I was taken to the pericing section in the back as soon as I introduced myself as the guy on the phone.

I explained that I wanted a Labret and just something subtle at first while it settles in and I decide if I like it or not.

They marked where they thought it would be good and let me check it in the mirror before I decided to go ahead.

The woman pulled my lip out with a pair of clamps (Firm but not hard) and pushed a Needle with a small hollow tube on it through the marked area.
The pain was nothing more than the injection you feel when you go to the dentist and was easily bearable and hardly a pain at all, more a sharp annoying discomfort.
(No wash or numbing tools here, just straight to the piercing).

No Blood or anything and I've not started drooling yet so this is all going far better than I had imagined.

The Jewllery

She Puts the stalk of the jewlery through the tube and removes the tube then screws the ball onto the end of the stalk and I'm done.

The stalk i've got in at the mo is a bit long to allow for swelling so it moves around a lot and rubs my gums and teeth but I'll wait the 2 weeks until I can put in a proper fitting set (A spike or Talon rather than a ball as well) before I decide if I'm keeping it or not.

Cost/Time

It cost me £24 and took 2 relativly pain free minutes, in fact compaired to the pain I was expecting it was actually almost a relief to feel it was no-where as bad!

I love the look of this so far and its not even the one I want yet :)
As long as the Talon (Long,Curved) or Spike (Short,Straight) looks this good and doesnt rub my teeth/gums on the right stalk I'll keep it for sure!

Worst case if I like the look but it rubs I'll let it heal up and do it again but make sure they get the position and angle right next time based on this one ;)

The Future

As soon as I can I'm replacing the silver ball with either:

one of these

Or one of these

After that, Maybe I'll use a retainer (just holds the hole open with a transparent plug but no protruding jewllery) for the middle piercing and get 2 more either side so when I want to (Probably concerts) I can have 2 spikes either side ;)

..............

2005-12-02T09:29:00.000Z

Card arrived, Installed, will take pics etc later but.....just formatted the wrong 250GB HDD.....too upset to type.....

Ship...beached

2005-11-30T09:29:00.000Z

Ok...cards stuck in a City Link Depot in Hemel Hemstead......
Going to have to go down in person and collect it :Sigh:

AT LAST! The ship has sailed!

2005-11-28T16:28:00.000Z

My GFX Card shipped today due to arrive Tuesday!
AT LAST!

Christmas Miracles?

2005-11-28T11:50:00.000Z

Well they say this is the time of year for Miracles ;)

Met a girl called Louise on a night out on Friday and seemed to get on pretty well.
Met up again on Sunday and she seems to be interested and wants to meet again so hey maybe Miracles do happen ;)
19yr old Fitness Instructor (in training)!

I've had a good 5 years to get my head sorted, analyse my last mistakes and change myself, looking forward to seeing if I've really managed to get my head sorted and grow up a bit.

Colder than a penguin's freezer.

2005-11-25T11:20:00.000Z

Listening To: Nickleback - Feelin' Way Too Damn Good
Mood:Mellow

Wow it's COLD today.
I'm wrapped up like a well padded Ninja and it's still cold.

I've got to decide, this is good air to skydive in because there are few clounds and clear still air BUT i'll be a block of Ice up at 13,000ft!

I'm tempted to leave the next jump until the new year when it gets a bit warmer :D

Got the latest Terry Pratchet book "Going Postal" and thats keeping my company on the bus but I'm really hoping they hurry up and get my motorbike fixed.

AND WHERE'S MY GFX CARD!!!!
:(

Had Megans 2nd Birthday last night and she was adorable :D
Inisisted on trying on and posing in every set of clothes she got.
She got £97 (not bad for a 2yr old!) which is going in her already heavy moneybox and a lot of toys but, as is always the way, the present she loved the most was the 99p bottle of bubbles which she spent hours with.

Public so called fraeking transport!

2005-11-24T10:54:00.000Z

Listening to:Rage Against The Machine - Calm like a bomb
Mood:Calm like a bomb

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*Deep Breath* ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Freaking ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Let me tell you a story,

Many moons ago when I was getting my first job, I got on a Bus.
Asked for, and paid for, an adult ticket.
Driver prints off a child ticket and I dont notice.
Inspector gets on, takes my details then we talk to the driver who admits his mistake.
3 Months later thinking it was finished there and then I get a court summons through the post, get fined £300, almost loose my job and get thrown out my house and I'm given a 10year criminal record (which does not expire for a good 5 years yet)
All this over 30pence that I DID pay for a ticket.

I swore that day never to use public transport again if I had an alternative and got a motorbike which I fell in love with :D

As the bike is currently in repairs and I needed to go to St Albans to baby sit some contractors in one of our Satallite Offices I got a Train.

Got to the station, no one there, no working ticket machines, barriers open, whatever, get on the train to buy a ticket at the other end as you do.

Got off at the other end and went upto one of the inspectors at the station to ask for a Return ticket "FROM" luton.
He seemed confused by me asking for a ticket "From" luton isntead of "Too" luton and asked me why I didn't get a ticket at the other end.
I explained to him there was no where for me to get a ticket that end which is why i'm here asking for one at this end?

He then calls me a liar to my face saying that the station is manned and the barriers are manned (without even checking, I guess he has some kind of psychic link to the station or something).
He then tries to charge me a Penalty fare (£20) and take my name and address (which he has no need to know if he is asking for an on the spot fare, you only take details to send a summons).

*Deep Breath*
A polite argument, but an argument none the less ensues as I try to explain that I'm not giving him my details and I'm not paying a Penalty fare, yes I'm not stupid I know its an offence to travle without a ticket BUT the onus is surely on them to provide a means for me to get a damn ticket in the first place.
the guard insists that there is another entrance to Luton station on the other side which had staff I could get a ticket from, ok and I know that how? signs? no? right.

Anyway when its painfully obvious he is not going to budge I loose it and i'm not proud of it but I told him to F**k off and turned around to go back to Luton.

Phoned the office and explained the situation and that they would have to send someone else down for the engineer as I was coming back.

At this point the guard tells me to come back or he will call the police, Tempted to tell him good as the police will know the law and see that this twat is well out of his rights to demand a penalty off me when I'm here trying to buy a ticket because I couldnt get one at the other end but then reality pops up and slaps me in the face.
Police are not your friend, they will probably take the lazy way out and demand my details and tell me to sort out any problems by appealing to the train company (who will ignore me of course) *sigh*

Turn round and get back on a train going back to Luton and they send another guard after me who follows me to Luton and carries on the Argument.
He also arranges to have a few of his "Friends" meet me at the other end.
Now at this point I'm smiling to myself because I can show him the open gates, no working Machine (They have the old fashion coin machine that as with all these old fashion coin machines is out of change, won't take notes and spits out every single coin you try to put in it!) and no staff.

We get off and his two friends walk up but clearly knew better than to try to take hold of me but try to box me upto the office.

I walk through them telling them to follow and show them said gates etc but not suprisingly they don't care and still inisist I wait for the police to arrive and give them my details.

Pictures of lamping them over the head and throwing them under the next fast train flash in front of my eyes.
They couldn't stop me walking out either but then I'd be handing them the argument as then I would be fare evading (no matter how rightly!) and no doubt they could make my life far more miserable if I ever have to come back this way than its all really worth.

Phone the company again and explain and they agree that I can just expense the on the spot fine so I tell the guards I'm going to need a cash point.
They seem very reluctant to do this and insist on taking my name, Sons of ***** clearly after some Christmas commision want a share of that £500 by taking me to court.
Really REALLLLLLLY trying hard not to hurt someone at this point REALLY REALLY hard.
Walk out, goto a cash point with a rather flustered guard (only one brave/stupid enough to keep on me) making threats etc, pull out £20 from a machine go back to the station, get a receipt off them and their numbers and get a cab back to the Luton Office.

Public service? HAH!!! Joke!!!! its disgusting, everytime I take this so called public service I end up being made a bloody criminal and getting stressed out, what the hell is this country becoming.
At least this time I knew better than to trust them and hand over my details or think that getting the law involved would help ME.

I'm going to appeal and write a strong letter of complaint, at the end of the day if the station was manned then the gates should of been CLOSED and the fact that there is another office with up-to date machines (not the museum peice outside the entrance I used) on the other side of the road across a long walkway and up some stairs clearly sign posted so people like me who aren't psychic and don't know the station inside out will know to go there to get a ticket.

Naturally I expect them to ignore me knowing I won't waste my money time and effort on taking them to court over it with my word against theirs which is almost a garunteed loose but at least I can vent!

Right now I'm calm.
Its £20 that i'm getting back one way or another but I'm feeling sick and disgusted and I know even though I'm suppressing it, that deep down im raging and ready to explode, I can feel that, and it won't take much to let it out :(

Going to go take it easy, go shopping for my precious little cousins 2nd Birthday (I never knew it was so hard to decide what to buy a 2 year old girl for her Birthday!) and chilllllllllll to some music.
Lifes too short for me to stress over this.

Maybe I'll just be satisfied with getting my own back in my own little way.
Like...pressing the buttons on the machine realllly reallly hard next time I get a ticket, or....walking up the down escelator.....that'll show 'em....

Google me not

2005-11-22T11:22:00.000Z

Google have changed the way they list results to stop the people who had abused the system to get themselves top links

Sadly this has knocked me off google as well :(
For the last 3 years if you Googled "Eden Eustice" in image seach I'd be the only result! we found this back when we were typing in all our names to see what funny results came up but for me I was the only result! I put that down to me being special =p.
Alright more likely an unusual combination of names but whatever :)

I'm no longer come up on the Image search though you'll still find me 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th link on a general search.

Well thats my one claim to fame gone :(

Blind Date....

2005-11-21T15:17:00.000Z

Oh Dear,
My friend Steven just phoned me up to make sure I was coming to this party on Friday beceause apparently he has a female "friend" who he's told all about me and she's looking forward to meeting me =/

Something about the way he described it to me is sending shivers down my spine!
I'm sure it won't be too bad but I can't shake this feeling.....
Skydiving and Motorbikes have given me the ability to sense when I'm about to get into something that's a bit more trouble than expected and I'm getting that feeling =p
Maybe I'm just being paranoid :D
I'd say maybe she will turn out to be fun and sweet but If I know Steven's twisted sense of humour its more likely i'm in for a hell of a night out.

New GFX Card (NVidia 7800 GFX 512)

2005-11-16T10:19:00.000Z

Well the new machine I've built needs a PCI-Ex GFX Card so after much research and table chewing I grudgingly slapped out the plastic and got me a NVidia 7800 GFX 512 card.

Can't wait to get my hands on it and see if its upto the hype and deserving of the title of NVidia's Flagship Graphics Card and most importantly, to see if my Machine can keep up with it!

An other things:
Noticed my Guide is leaking out to various websites which I'm not unhappy about =p
Got a few thankyou mails for it which is GREAT :)
Still waiting for a new quote on the bike reapirs.
Had a good natter with my Friend Jenna and I'm thinking I really should meet up wit her again at some point.

Im Famous!

2005-11-15T09:09:00.000Z

Well not exactly but I've just got my first ever F.A.Q published on 2 fairly major web sites :)

www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheatcc.com

Both have snapped up my X3:Reunion Mission walkthrough :)

PC Upgrades

2005-11-15T00:21:00.000Z

After I26 I've decided its time to upgrade my machine.

Got a new case, MotherBoard, CPU, Ram, GFX Card etc and its going to be up and ready shortly.
Specs and Pics coming soon.

I26 - Lan Party

2005-11-15T00:08:00.000Z

Well I just got back from a 3 Day Lan Part (Multiplay's I26)

Great fun as always!
1000 assorted Geeks, Gamers and ....misc...crammed into Newbury RaceCourse as it's turned into one Huge Lan for Friday through to Sunday, Fulled on Junk Food and Beer then let loose with high spec PC's and the latest games, what more could you ask for :)

These Events are always good fun because the people there are a Laugh, you get to swap Anime and play in lag free games against people sitting a few feet away from you where you can freely hurl insults (in a jocular manner of course)or indeed compliments and generally just have a laugh.

We did't enter any of the tournements this year but we did still manage to win a few prizes in the raffle just for turning up.

T'Seng got a new Keyboard and very fancy it is too, where as I just got myself a Flat Screen Monitor to make up for the fact that I didn't win anything :)

Simon just spent the 3 days being the comic as usual

And Bruce...well...he's Bruce :)

One of those days!

2005-11-10T16:16:00.000Z

Listening to: Savatage - Edge of Thorns
Mood: Persecuted!

Its one of those days.

Got to work early and pulled the handle off the server room door...don't know my own strength maybe lol

Got the quote through for the repair of my Motorbike.
I estimated it at around £400-£600, it come out at £2,750......
Explained to them that I don't want an "Insurance" quote just a real quote for getting it back on the road (ball park £1000 according to him but hes going to work the numbers for me) and I'll do the astethic stuff myself (half their quote was labour charges as they charge labour for each individual bit they do no matter how small rather than one overall charge so in a highside where EVERYTHING is looked at most of the cost is pure labour which I will do myself).

Just as I think that will kill my finances for the Month some Computer bits I ordered Months ago finally come into stock so they debit me and send them out...great...except this really isnt a good time for me to loose £800 but I forgot to tell them to hold.

Got down for lunch to find nothing I could eat as I'm on something of a Diet and all the salad boxes were gone so I figured I could skip, no problem.

3PM, just as the cafeteria closes I get told I need to babysit some engineers until 8pm! DOHHH!!!!
Its in our old office in St Albans so at least I can get something on the way down and take some time in town before I go in.

Accidently buy a single ticket (£4.10) instead of a return (£4.20) and there are no staff here and the machine doesn't care so I have to buy another single from this end so the return costs another £4.00 instead of 10pence...oh well...

Needed some food before I came in here but the only place open near the station is the Kebab shop...so much for the Diet.
1 Mixed Kebab and half an hour later I'm feeling rather......ill......*sigh* now i remember why I never used to come to this Kebab shop when we were based here....

Popped down to HSBC before I started my 4-8 shift to sort out a personal loan to tide me over for Christmas so at least I got something good done out of today as I should now be comfortable again to get the bike done and survive Christmas then pay back the loan out of my end of year bonus which I was hoping to put towards a GSX-R 1000...

Expected to be able to just sit here and get some work done, listen to some music and read a book once i finished my work work but it seems the door access system is busted and won't accept the new cards we programmed in for the contracts so instead every time they want to get into or out of a room or lift I have to go with them.
Wouldn't be so bad if it was something technical I could help with or learn from but no, they are laying cabling in the ceiling....whopdie do.

And just as I'm about to submit this blog, my mate calls to ask where I am...I thought we were going to the LAN Party Tommorow...no it STARTS tommorow but we are going down to sign in and set up Tonight....ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Why does fate hate me so :(

This is your captain speaking

2005-11-02T18:55:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of updates.
Got X3:Reunion recently and I've been stuck in doors for the last week playing it.

It's a fantastic game (Space sim) and I'm well on my way to my own little empire mwahahhahahah :)

I'll update the blog I've created for this game (Sad huh!) later ;)
Captains Log

Kitty Neglect

2005-10-28T11:31:00.000+01:00

Opps!!
Didn't notice we were out of Cat Food!

Got up this morning to find the cat sitting outside my bedroom door for me which is unusually forward of her, she normaly waits to meet me in the warmth of the front room.

Went to feed her and opps! out of cat food!!
Milk and dry mix didn't impress her very much and you could tell by the look on her face that she would follow me all the way to work until she got fed ;)

A bit of digging around found some Tuna and a tin of Sardines in Tomatoe sauce which she was happy to tuck into but I'll have to bring a peace offering home with me tonight.

2 Strikes your out!

2005-10-28T11:25:00.000+01:00

Right.
I was lazy last night and decided I'd order take out rahter than cook up.

Ordered in a Chinese (Duck and Rice + Spare Ribs).

Last time I got chilli beef from these guys and I was rather ill that Night.
Sadly this time was a repeat.
4am I was up and talking on the porceline telephone again.

I don't belive in conincidences.
Thats on more take away leaflet going in the bin =/

Disturbed in London

2005-10-14T09:39:00.000+01:00

Went to See Disturbed yesterday and decided to make a day of it!

Left for Kent to pick up the tickets at 9am and got there at 12:30 (Train trouble, what a suprise!)

Got back into central London for 2pm and decided to hit Camden Town first.
It's good to be back!!!!
The market (Canal and Stables) were pretty sparse but I've seen a few bits I'm going back for on payday ;)
Also decided to bite the bullet and get my lower lip pierced when I get a chance ;)

Getting about was difficult as the Northern line was down so Busses and walking it was.

Hit Totenham court road and the Astoria at 4pm, 3 hours before doors open and already the queue was heading round the corner!!!

Decided to skip the pub warm up and join the queue to get a good place and read a book.

I got "Adopted" by a bunch of totally random people from London and Wales (odd group) that had formed up behind me and ended up as "that random guy" in the photos (All photos have to have at least 1 random in!! it's a concert traddition!)

It was soooooo good to be back, especially as people don't look at you like your from some alien planet when you walked around dressed as I do (And i'm subtle by comparison to most people here!!!)

Got in early and errmm Opps.
I forgot that I had my Penicilin in my bag!
Bouncer searching me wasn't too impressed when he pulled out a bottle of pills *sigh*
Thankfully showing him the rather bloddy hole in my leg and the pescritption (and explaining that I have to take them 4 times a day for the infection so I had to have them with me) got me in ok!

Got right up in front of the stage wooooo!!

The Warm up act was a group called Panic Cell that weren't too bad.
Wasn't impressed at first as the Lead singer spent the entire song walking around holding his dick which I always thinks look stupid but after that he got going properly and I even liked a few of their later songs/lyrics ;)

By the time they finished my back was going (old motorbike injury grrrr)
So i went upstairs and got a front row seat which actually got me a better view :)
Not as much fun or energy as the pit though but at least my poor old back was grateful =p

Disturbed ROCKED!!!
They were a lot more politial/spiritual than I was expecting but it was nice to have them take a break between songs to actually talk to the crowd and rally you up ;)

And their Title track, 10,000 fists, well, I have to admit, it WAS impressive seeing, well not 10,000 but a LOT of fists pumping in the air to the track along with heads bobbing and bodies swaying ;).
They even stopped to tell "us lot" in the upper level to get out our damn chairs, stand up and "get our fucking fists in the fucking air" :)
The concert got a LOT better from there on!
No Matter HOW GOOD the band is, if your sitting down you just WON'T get into it the same way and as soon as they got us up and going along with them it just got so much better.
It was better for me to be up there though as I could at least rest against the chair which stopped my back going (do I sound old or what).

They didn't play meaning of life (sniffle) but no matter, it was a great night!
My Camera is a Digital camcorder as well and suprisingly enough they weren't happy for me to use that (why was I stupid enough to ask! should of just taken it in).

Next step is Halloween, looks like some great gigs and parties lined up down there.
Maybe the Underworld at the worlds end will see me ;)

House Parties and Concerts

2005-10-12T10:11:00.000+01:00

Went to my mates Birthday house party this weekend just gone.
What a party but we got far too drunk.

I Finally found some decent Absinthe (70% proof and Thujon)

I Found it in Tesco of all places!
Sadly it was Aniside though.
I'll order some stuff of the web that I've found anyway just to try a few :)

Parry (A Welsh bartender mate we met through World Of Warcraft) came down and introduced us to a...interesting..drinking game called F*ck the Dealer.

I won't go into the rules of it but by the end of the game forfeits got to the point where I downed a pint of Absinthe and Sambuka and promtly felt very Ill.
(I didn't know what it was at the time obviously or I wouldn't of done it!)
That was the end of MY night :)

Finally managed to procure a ticket to see Disturbed Tommorow!
I Can't wait.
I have to go upto Billington in Kent Tommorow to get the ticket but it's a small price to pay to be able to finally go see them live.
Not to mention that It will be my first concert in a while so it's about time.
It's a shame none of my current mates are into this though, it's always more fun in a group but I'm sure I'll have fun by myself heheheh.

Windsor

2005-10-06T09:44:00.000+01:00

It's been a funny week.

Got a call from my good Friend Jenna who is out in New York Studying having not spoken to her (on the phone) for ages and had a good old natter for the best part of 2 hours!

This morning I got a call from one of our Suppliers who I've not heard from in a while.
She's kindly invited me down to Windsor for a bit of a social and I have to admit, she makes an attractive offer :)

Going to have to make it down sometime, I'm starting to feel rude having not taken up her offer yet.

2700 down 2053 to go

2005-10-06T09:39:00.000+01:00

Mood: Good
Listening To: Slayer - Skeletons Of Society

2700 Music Tracks rated and organised,
2053 to go.....

Infected

2005-10-06T09:34:00.000+01:00

This was to be expected I suppose.
Leg's infected and I'm on anti-biotics for a week.

Going to be naughty and skip the meds on Friday/Saturday as I've got a mates party to go to and I can't go tee-total (I have a reputation to keep here!)
I'm sure the leg won't fall off if I skip a couple of days but yes, I know its still not the smartest move in the world.

In out shake it all about

2005-10-04T09:38:00.000+01:00

Mood: ..random
Listening to: Madness (the entire collection!)

Looks like I'm going to get to take it easy for a bit.
I'm going to have to go back to get my leg looked at every 2 or 3 days now so I've arranged this with work and will be taking every other day or so off.

Maybe I should crash more often :)

Clearing the Shed out to make room for the weights bench so I can start working out again.
Don't want to leave the bench inside where the kids may hurt themselves on it!

Random bit for the day

2005-10-04T09:37:00.000+01:00

Baggy Trousers.

Distrubed - Astoria 13/10

2005-10-03T12:51:00.000+01:00

Tickets Finally appeared on Ebay.co.uk
Having to bid upto £25 a pop at the moment (Tickets go for £14 originally) but it will be worth it if I get it.

*crosses fingers*

I feel like Charlie looking for the golden ticket :)

Lyrics for today

2005-10-03T08:35:00.000+01:00

Back at work today and my usual first step is to power up the laptop and set my Media Player to play all the songs (2417 of them) that I've not rated and organised yet.

Wish you were here - By Incubus came on and maybe it's the timing but the lyrics really made me smile.
These are the lyrics for today.

I dig my toes into the sand.
The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket.
I lean against the wind, pretend that i am weightless and in this moment i am happy.

[Chorus:]
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here.

I lay my head onto the sand.
The sky resembles a backlit canopy with holes punched in it.
I'm counting ufo's.
I signal them with my lighter
and in this moment i am happy, happy.

[Chorus]

The world's a roller coaster and I am not strapped in.
Maybe I should hold with care,but my hands are busy in the air.

[Chorus]

Knee pics

2005-10-02T20:04:00.000+01:00

Finally got round to taking some pics of the wound.
This is the main injury.
There are more cuts and gouges below this but I didn't want to remove too much bandaging.

ALWAYS WEAR THE PROPER GEAR

I would of walked away without injury if I had been wearing mine!
This could of been a lot worse.

As you can see the "hole" takes up the best part of my Knee cap and goes through the rather thin skin layer and then through the somewhat larger layer of flesh.
Stings like buggery now that its getting its feeling back, and its messy too now that its growing back and starting to bleed.
It will take a long time to heal as it seems to be doing it a very thin layer at a time :(

Motorbike Pics

2005-10-02T17:33:00.000+01:00

Well I finally got some pics of the damage done to the bike.
It's not as bad as I thought but it's still going to be a few £100 to repair which is a few £100 i'd rather spend on something else :(

Only had enough memory left for 3 pics but i'll add the others later.
(Smashed mirror/indicator and pedals)

Sorted

2005-09-30T15:49:00.000+01:00

Got the producer to the police and they are happy.
Had to wait in line for 1:30 hours and the check took 10 minutes but at least it's done.
You'd think they could check all this stuff automatically these days.

I've developed a somewhat morbid fascination for this wound as it heals.
I've never seen such a large wound healing before and it's a completly different system to everything i've seen before.
The wound Filled up meere days after the off with a dark red jelly like substance that didn't look much like anything, not quite a blood clot not quite flesh.
At the next dressing 3 days later this jello is starting to turn a healthy pink as it turns into flesh.
6 Days later it is starting to bleed as i assume it is rebuilding all the blood vessels and what not.
There is also white crap now growing ontop of the new flesh which im told is skin.

Pretty amazing the human body :D

Back to work

2005-09-30T14:41:00.000+01:00

As i'm not registered with a GP up this way yet (and i'm not sure it's worth the bother given that i'm unsure as to how long i'll be living in Luton) I decided it was too much hassle to get a doctors note and my 5 days self-certified off work are up so i'm back in today..on a Friday...makes sense doesn't it?

It is nice to catch up with everyone and it's touching how many people seem to be concerned and have come up to see me *wipes tear from eye*

The chap next to me (Paul) passed his DAS Motorbike test this morning (Gratz mate!) and my first words to him when he came in with a big grin on his face (I know how he feels) were "ALWAYS WEAR YOUR LEATHERS!!!!" :)

Getting the wound re-dressed on Monday and I'll get pics this time.
Making jokes as I hobble about the office and its strange but its not so bad to be back.

Confirmed that our job as Infrastructure IS being outsources and we will be "moved" into supporting our customer systems instead and "live" between my current company and this contract company....great....whipping boys with no real place....new job time I think.

The only pro to this (on paper) is that they will get us Red Hat Linux Certified.
I say on paper because the way it will probably end up is as with all the other training we've done, sit on a contractors lap for 2 days then get told its all too urgent your trainined now go do the job and pick it up as you go sorry about the certification but you don't really need it anyway :rolleyes:.
I hate the rat race.

Healing and new life

2005-09-26T19:25:00.000+01:00

Never let it be said that there is a dull moment in this house!

My cousin (Emma) was kindly going to give me a lift to the NHS walk in center to get my dressing re-done and my wound checked this morning.
She was the one that picked me up after my off on Friday.

She's 2 days overdue to give birth and...well.
She came over this morning despite having started contractions at about 1am!
By the time she got here they were 2 minutes apart!! the hospital advised us to get her onto a bed and sent over some mid-wives as there was no time to get her to Hospital.

Emma was insistent that she could make it and needed to be in hospital for epidurals etc.
She had a very painful time giving birth to her first daughter (the adorable Meggan who is laughing and splashing in the bath happy as larry as I write)
Turns out she didn't need it all at all.

Due to the ..delicate, nature of the event I decided to leave the ladies to it and get a cab while they ..did what they do in these circumstances.
I wasn't 5 minutes out the door before I got a call to say it was all over with and they now had a new baby girl (Molly Amber).

This is the latest addition to the fold not 2 hours old.
Just like Megan she's so quiet you wouldn't know she was there if it wasn't for the constant fuss of familly around her...myself included!

Emma's recovered...well before I even got back! albeit tired.
Poor girl's not been able to get off the phone since as familly and friends want to chat.

And of course Megan is getting used to her new baby sister :D

As for me!, They took the old dressing off this morning and the holes have filled in rather nicely.
It's...strange...its not the scab i was expecting but a...red jello type substance.
There was a lot of excretion and muck around the wound which they cleaned.
(Didn't get photo's im afraid).
The wound itself had a few black spots where you could still see the dirt underneath and it was going white in areas where it was covered for too long.

They dressed me in a special set up of sponges and a kind of gel that will draw out the dirt and disenfect it (hopefully)
It didn't look infected and moved ok, It felt so good to get air on it.
I've got to go back in another 3 days for the next check up.

Not got a quote on the bike repair yet.
Still need to take the producer down to the police station.
I have a nasty feeling I lost my photo licence in the off (my bag opened up but at the time I thought i had everythign)
I know I normally carry it in my bag and I can't find it in the bag or at home :(

2 Days Later

2005-09-25T17:41:00.000+01:00

More Taking it easy for me but oddly enough my upper body has started seizing up and bruising.
Seems like a delayed reaction to the crash.

Tommorow I've got to get down to the police station with my licence etc.
Going to go to the walk in center in the Town center to get my leg re-dressed and checked over as per instructions as well.

I'm also planning on stopping by the blood mobile to give blood while i'm there.
The reason for this is two fold:
a)Its something I should do especially as a Biker who may well need blood down the line at this rate!

b)It's a way to find my blood type so I can get some emergecy medical tags from Performance Motorcycle Parts along with the traditional tags from my normal supplier.

The Morning After

2005-09-24T17:21:00.000+01:00

Well, its been about 24 hours since the off and i'm settling down pretty well.

Got the bike courriered to the garage for repairs and I'm waiting for them to get back to me for a quote.
I'll pop down there on monday and get some pics of my poor baby (Whats left of her).

My Knee and the lower leg are swelling up nicely.
Really stiff and starting to creak.
I made the misatake of trying to bend it as per instructions.
I got it bending in the morning after waking up, It took a lot of convincing but it really screamed at me for it and its been constant pain and creaking since.
An hour later it's stiffened up even worse than before and I just can't be bothered fighting it.

Beer seems to be dulling the pain! (don't worry I didn't start on the bud until gone 1pm and then only 2 bottles with some cold pizza from last night, slob huh!)

Need to get the dressing re-done on monday and keep the dressing dry and in place till then so I'm resorting to the old flanel wash at the sink and a rather trendy ensemble, Black jean trousers with zip on legs so I've got half the left leg off to allow the bandage and swollen leg to do their thing and the right leg all on.
I feel like some kind of rapper wanabe or something.

CRASH!! High Side

2005-09-23T13:59:00.000+01:00

Bah, High sided the bike on the way into work this morning.
Pics below.

I was leaving Junction 10a on the M1 Northbound and taking the first turn up the slip road to go towards my office when the rear wheel hit something and I felt it leave the road then slide out as it touched back down again.

Not sure what I hit but the bike was wobbling pretty bad as it came out of the skid into a tank slapper.

There was a fair space behind me and a good deal of empty road in front of me before traffic ahead started but as it was down hill I decided (wrongly) to take the bike left towards the edge of the road so that in the worst case that the bike doesnt stabilise and I have to dump it I can send it into the verge rather than into the back of traffic.

Seemed like a good idea at the time except that It wasn't until I had set my course that I realised just how much freaking crap there was on the road and I hit gravel well before the hard shoulder.
It was like being on Oil, the bike went straight out sideways then gripped and High sided me into the tarmac.

For those non bikers out there that don't know what a High-Side is.
Imagine a bike going down the road sideways as it has lost traction on the wheel(s).
The wheel(s) then regain their traction (grip on the road) which turns the bike into a mouse trap slamming the biker into the tarmac.

The bike then went over me and into the crash barriers whilst I, unable to move went down the road on my face with my arms trapped under my body (It flipped so fast I didn't have time to jump tuck and roll, I was on my face before I realised the bike had gone!)
I've been in plenty of accidents in my time but this was the most unpleasent, seeing and hearing the tarmac Grinding the helmet away a fraction of an Inch from your face is NOT a nice feeling.

I'm glad that one of the cars behind stopped to check If I was ok and stuck around until the police arrived to explain to them that he saw it all and that I wasn't speeding or driving irresponsably, the back of the bike just went out and he thought that I was going to get it back for a moment until the second slide (gravel).

The 2nd person to stop (who kindly pulled up behind my bike to form a blockade so the idiot rubber necks who almost ran over the bike trying to look at me would get a clue!) was clearly first aid trained or at the least, with it.

She saw that I had a damaged helmet and got me to sit down off my leg (more on that later) and kept asking me the same simple questions like my name etc over and over during small talk to make sure I wasn't concussed or going into shock etc.
She also called the Police and an Ambulance.

The police were needed to clear the bike off the road as it suffered pretty badly and wasn't rideable.
Also As I had just filled the Tank up with Petrol and it was now on its side the Petrol was leaking out the overflow pipes onto the road.

The Police Turned up pretty sharpish and did the usual.
Sadly their system seems to be out of date and they still have the bike registered under the old owner which caused some.....difficult moments, despite the DVLA having updated their records and sent me the relevant paper work.
I got a producer to turn up with all the owernship documents etc within 7 days but at least they cleared the petrol and towed my Bike away (for £105 + £35 and VAT recovery to a garage)!!
Not that I had a choice in this of course.

The Ambulance crew turned up seconds later (all within 10 mins) and were pretty good.
Checked my Blood Sugar, same concusion/shock checks by asking me questions and keeping the small talk going, checked my heart and lungs, blood pressure etc.
Checked out fine but my leg was in a bad way having been crushed and skinned.

Onto the Damage Assesment.

I was wearing my Lid, Full face (though flip up) and it's a damn thing I was.
I've not exactly got a pretty face but I like it the way it is to be honest, If I had been wearing one of those "trendy" italian style Half helms that people around town seem to like so much I wouldn't have much left of my face and I'd be lucky if I still had a lower jaw!.

After being released from the hospital (more on that later) I checked over the gear and was shocked by the amount and size of the chunks of metal and glass that had stuck into my armour and helmet!!! all of this was on the road, not in the hard shoulder or verge, in the damn road.

I stupidly started pulling bits out to look at and brush them off (I was getting in a Pregnant cousins car with her 13month old daughter and didnt want to put al that in the car) before I got photos but as you can see in this pic there are still a few bits of glass embeded INSIDE the helmet behind where the visor comes down which I didn't spot until I got it back home and lifted it up to take pics.

You can also see the internal tinted visor is totally smashed and there is a crack along the top of the lid.

I had my gloves on (Again thankfully as they were skinned!!)
I had my boots on and there is a nice chunk out of the left toe!!

There were also some nice chunks out of the armour in both shoulders on my Jacket

The holes go right through the material to the armour and has put a small dent in that too.
That would of been my shoulder!

Sadly, My Bike Trousers were in my bag on my back!
I was in a Hurry and figured I'd be fine for a Mile I won't need them.
I was Wearing Crag Hopper pants which are fairly tough and dual layered to resist cuts and weather when hiking up mountains etc.
The Tarmac ate through them so fast I may as well have been naked!

ALWAYS WEAR THE PROPER GEAR!!
I was only doing 15 or so MPH but it ate my leg up pretty good and I'm lucky I got off as well as I did considering.

I didn't get any pics of the bike but I'll update that asap.
The bike suffered:

Bent Brake Pedal (Left Side)
Bent Passegner Foot pegs (Left Side)
Smashed Fairing (Left Side)
Smashed Indicator (Left Side)
Smashed Mirror (Left Side) and Bent Stalk
Bent Front Forks/Wheel
Damaged Rear Tyre
Scracthed Lights (Left Side Front)
Scratched Radiator (Left Side)
Scratched Paint (Tank Left Side)

As for me.
Again I didn't get any pics of my injuries until after they had patched me up but this is my leg now.

At first I thought it was just a nice gouge out the middle of my knee, pretty much no flesh left all the way to bone and cartilage.
When I got it to Hospital and they started cleaning me up it turns out it was a bit worse than that.

I'd like to point out that the "cleaning" was far more painful than the accident!!
The Nurse had to litteraly DIG tarmac and glass out of my leg with a cloth and her fingers and it was agony.
Turns out the Black flesh below the hole wasn't flesh at all it was pure dirt and road which came out as she cleaned.
I have 3 rather tasty "bullet holes" in my leg where my knee used to be and several deep gouges down my leg below that where glass and rubbish has shredded my leg.

When the "regular" sollution she was using couldn't budge the last of the dirt she got some rougther material and some errr hydrogen peroxide iirc?
As she lifted flaps of dead flesh up to scrub around inside my leg and knee with this stuff I apparently went very pale.
I like to think I'm pretty good with pain, I didn't scream and kept up with the stupid jokes and idle banter but man i've never been so tense with pain in my life as this!!
I almost ripped the arms off the bed I was sitting on.

Finally got it bandaged up though she couldn't get all of the road out of my leg without litteraly sanding my leg off but as its mostly dead flesh anyway they dressed it in a lot of bandages and asked me to come back on Monday to get it checked.

My Ankle and Wrist hurt a bit too but no damage done.
Got X-Rays of my leg done and there is no damage to the bone.
The Legs Real stiff and I'm gonna be walking like John Wayne for a few days thats for sure.
I've been told to take painkillers and bend it regularly but its so hard and so painful I figure I'll just sit it up for a few days and let it do its thing for a week, It's not like I can't walk on it.

My Dad was worried as hell when he heard and came right over and we had a nice chat and I've explained that yes I am fixing the bike and getting back on it as I'm not dead yet :)
(He didn't take that too well, must remember not to make those kind of jokes to familly in this situation!)

I'll update with pics and details as I get them.

Disturbed at Astoria

2005-09-22T16:00:00.000+01:00

ARGHHH!!!
Disturbed are in the Astoria - Central London as part of their European Tour on the 13th of Oct!!!

Naturally the tickets are already totally sold out :(
I'm going to go down there anyway and see if the usuall touts feel like fleecing me for a ticket I have to see this one!!!

Can't believe I've missed this....

A word a day

2005-09-22T15:03:00.000+01:00

When I was a kid my dad used to get me to learn and use a new word each day.
I fell out of the habbit quite early though I still picked up a lot through reading (I love a good book) but I'm thinking of picking this up again.

I Listened to Satyriasis by Cradle of Filth and wondered what the term meant.
Looked it up and I was amused.

Satyriasis is excessive, abnormal, or uncontrollable sexual/romantic behavior, desire, and excitement in the male.

Thats my word for today :D

Ten Thousand Fists!

2005-09-22T13:06:00.000+01:00

Ahh the joy's of being back on the Net!!!
I don't watch TV anymore (any series I am interested in I pull from the web) so I've only just found out Disturbed have a new album out, Ten Thousand Fists.

Naturally I ordered this right away and I can't wait to listen to their latest offerings!

I figured whilst I was online and making an order I'd also pre-order a copy of X3:Reunion
The X Series is a Fantastic open ended up Space sim.
Now this is sad I know but I've been told to book off my 16 days holiday I've got left or loose them and I've booked off as much as I can for good reason so I'm going to take the week this game comes out off and play it :D

Ahh yes and I should mention I've fallen in love!!!
....with the Suzuki GSX R 1000 aka the Missile on 2 Wheels (if you can keep the front one down and the back one on the road!)

I know its Real world on the road uses are limited and all likely to kill me within the first week but Every part of me is screaming that I need to ride this beast and proove to myself that I can handle it and of course, experience at least once the insane grin facter of riding something this......insane :D

Speaking of Insane Biking I "accidently" popped a wheelie yesterday only unlike the last (and first time) I was able to ride it out and get it back down again instead of having to bail and jump off the bike (as it headed to go off the overpass) like last time.
Now that I've got a feel for how to do this (and hopefully the next one will be deliberate not an over an accident bought on by an overzelous attempt to get out the way of a tw*t nova driver *Fume*) I'm thinking its about time I found a nice quiet place to practice this and learn this aspect of the bike so I know where it will happen, how to do it on call and how to control it.
I've been too scared to try for far too long because of the rather messy end the last time it happened.
Its way past time I got over it and took control :D

Going down To hein-gericke this weekend to pick up a new lid and some leathers as mine are on their way out and I've got to decide if i'm going with leather or textile (my preference) and if I should colour code them to go with the bike (Shocking blue) or stick with the tried and tested black :)

This Diet I'm on (Juice and maybe a croisant for breakfast, Salad for Lunch and a light dinner) is killing me, I've never been so hungry for so much of the waking day!!!
My stomach still thinks it's all just a bad joke and the 20oz steak is coming soon :D

Oh yes and I'm job hunting with avengence as most of my team are looking to leave and it looks like most of our function is going to be outsourced to a contract company and we may even be "sold" to this company and become non-entities trapped between 2 companies.
I know how these type of employees get treated (read screwed) so I am not going to go for this.
They will have to make me redundant, they will try to get round it but they won't!
Having been here 5 years I'm looking for a nice payout for it but knowing this lot they will give me the minimum possible :(

House Hunting

2005-09-19T17:26:00.000+01:00

*Sigh*
And yet again my early life decisions come back to kick me!
Renting for a year I cringe every time I tally up how much money I threw away!
But as my Mantra goes I don't regret it, I learnt a lot and had a lot of fun in that year and a bit.

Looking to move into a House 3 years Later and the market is even crazier than when I was renting!
So much for renting "until the prices go down"
Should of realised that prices don't go down, they crash sometimes but pretty much everyone with a hand in it is trying to avoid that (and then there are the conspiracies that the crashes themselves are man made) so the chances are slime and I'd hate to make my break on the backs of so many others mis-fortune anyway!

Currently the Bank is looking at giving me upto 90k for a mortagage.
Assuming I top that up with a 10k or so deposit I'm looking at 100k minus costs and a "saftey net" on a Property.

For the 80k or so I'm looking at I can "Push" myself to a 1 bed cupboard with a toilet next to the bed in a crap hole in the middle of no-where :(

This is unreal.

I'd be better off getting a Criminal record, getting a drug habbit and picking up some 16 year old school girl and getting her pregnant then I'll get a nice 3 bed semi in a nice area AND an allowance off the government without mortagaging myself for the next 20 years!!!!

A New Day, A New Blog

2005-09-14T09:18:00.000+01:00

There's something to be said for putting your thoughts down in writing.
I never kept a Diary when I was young, it's kind of a shame because theres a lot of things I'd love to go back to, re-live in detail and see what I thought about it back then compared to now.
BUT I've learnt life is far too short to waste on silly regrets like that.
Live, Learn, Move on, Enjoy the ride, no regrets. (don't worry thats the last of the clichés)

I'm sometimes suprised at the things I realise only when I go back over events in order to put them down in writing.

Well, If your not dead, it's not too late to start something right!

Soooooo....Right now I'm thinking maybe I should of waited for a more eventful and exciting moment in my life to start this blog off, get it off to a real good start you know, but hey! i'm here now so I may as well start.

This is going to be a day to day blog of my life so I won't bore you with a History of my life!
I don't have the years or inclination to do that!

If you want the basics however, here they are:

I'm a 23 year old Adrenaline Junkie that loves high speeds be they Horizontal (Motorbikes) or Vertical (Sky Dives).
Maybe i'm trying to catch up on a life that I feel is passing me by so damn fast, maybe I'm just nuts.

At first glance I'm probably something of a Walking sterotype with Long hair, penchant for dark clothing, stocky, listening to Rock and Heavy Metal, When I drink I drink like a fish, the more notorious the drink the more likely I am to drink it.
I'd like to think that people who know me though don't take me as a Meathead.
Sure, I never did end up taking that Aerospace Engineering Course that I wanted to, and I'm certainly not as smart as the day I left seconday school after my A-Levels having not used the old Grey matter for Maths or Physics since, which is a shame as believe it or not I did enjoy that but I still like to use my head.

True, I'm slightly...short, in the common sense department as anyone thats ever met me will tell you, absent minded at least, but thats because I spend more time in my own head than I do the real world.
But hey, its more fun in my world so why shouldn't I!

Anyway, As for who I really am, well, we will pick up my life from the present day and you can make your own decisions on that.

I'm currently sitting at my Machine, an aging desktop full of canabalised parts from my earlier machines soon to be replaced with a newer and superior specimen of my own creation.
I'm waiting for WoW (World of Warcraft) to apply its latest patch in which I see my Main character Nerfed (Gamer talk for being weakened) AGAIN.

You see, Being young free and single I'm doing what I do naturally.
Sitting at my machine living out adventures as a Fantasy Hero.
Well..ok maybe thats not naturally but it's the main part of social life (so called) at the moment.

I miss being within easy reach of Camden town.
The people, pubs, clubs and markets are all fantastic.
The "Darker" clubs suited me as well, I'm not much of a dancer but I like to be around good music, interesting people and good drink.

Down here in Luton its all Pop, Garage and R&B full of townies...great......

Mind you when I visit my Mum back in Harrow a lot of the students there are getting into the Grungy/goth scene and its making me feel old heh!
I think I need to get back around "my own kind" again.

Anyway, While I'm waiting for this game to patch I'm talking to a few friends of mine courtesy of Ventrilo
We are finalising details for the I26 Lan Party, a 3 day event in Newbury (which Me and a small troop of my friends will be going to) when I remebered the blog and decided this would be as good a time to update it as any.

I'm organising the 20 odd gig's of music i've managed to re-aqquire since I lost my main Music disk and realised of course that I had hardly any of the original CD's anymore (sob).

I've got the next two days off work (Computer techy!) so I'm planning what i'm going to be doing for the next 4 days!
Things I need to do:

1) Clean the Motorbike (Suzuki SV650s)

Cleaning the bike gives me a chance to go over it and do basic maintenance
When you've only got two wheels and tend to get into some...hairy situations (Filtering between arctics on the motorway at speed) you really don't want the machine to start having...trouble, on the road!
Checking the chain is not too slack/tight and is oiled.
Check the Brake Pads, Oil,Tyres, Lights, steering.
Then of course check the tax etc is all in order!

2) Get an S-Video Cable for the Cam-Corder
Going to get myself a Bullet-Camera to mount on my Helmet which will attach to a Cam-corder in my Tank bag so I can video my Ride and eventually, track days (when I can arrange one!)
I'll need the cable to get the video's off the Cam-Corder onto the PC.

3) New Tax Disk
Biking isn't cheap.
Cheaper than the joke we call public transport here but expensive none the less and my Road Tax is nearly up.

4) Clean the House then get my own!
Still renting off family at the moment.
Doing my share of house keeping as well as the rent naturally.
Good thing I'm house trained.

Sadly I have fussy tastes and I won't go out and spend a fortune on a sh*t hole of a house which is sadly, all I, or most normal people now days, can afford as a first house.
I either need a Promotion, a HUGE deposit, or a house mate to get something I would actually be proud to call my own home.
I'm sure I'll figure something out though.

5) Fitness training test part 2!
Started Cardio Training and it's the end of the first week.
Time to test my heart and see if it's improved since Day1.
Not expecting miracles already but a sign will be good motivation.

6) Re-Arrange my Sky Dive which was canned due to bad weather

7) Get a basic design drawn up in paintshop for the custom paint job I want on the bike

8) Arrange a Paintball or Airsoft day for a few work mates and try to get a group of bikers from the SV650.org site along as well.

9) Check in with my mum and see how she's doing, maybe go down and visit, it's been almost a month now since I've spoken to or seen her last.

10) Check my Brother got back from China safe and sound and arrange to meet up for a few drinks.

11) Take the chance to get all my Music/Anime up to date.

12) Go clothes shopping!

Well, thats about all For tonight.
Until updates tommorow, good night.