Baby it’s cold outside

This weather is playing havoc with MY LIFE. I am still full of the lurg after several weeks. Hmm, maybe I do have the piggy pox after all. Oh well, whatever. Tough.

Still no car. Maybe it’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Who knows anymore? I keep forgetting I own the thing, AND my insurance is due soon. GAH.

Oh, and right now am freezing my arse off in the Furnival cafe waiting for students, only some of whom have bothered to turn up for tutorials that THEY requested, despite the fact that this is their normal lesson slot anyway so it’s not like they have an excuse.

The sunshine is a lady

So, I have succumbed and downloaded all the Roxette remastered albums from iTunes. I’m not always so sure about remastering: the way they did the tracks on Madonna’s Celebration album has meant some of them have lost a little of their charm. However, the Roxette remasters are generally great and the albums are stuffed full of bonus tracks. For the hardcore Roxer you, like me, will have most of these bonus tracks as they’ve been on B-sides, the RoxBox box set, the Rarities album and so on. If you have never heard the likes of The Voice, The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye, One is Such a aLonely Number, Myth or Anyone/I Love How You Love Me then there’s no excuse now. Go get immediately!

However, even for those of us who own most of this stuff, the albums are worth getting for the sound quality. Crash! Boom ! Bang! (the album rather than the track) is particularly transformed, although iTunes screwed up my download so I have three songs missing. If you want to hear the difference I suggest comparing ‘What’s She Like’ on the 94 and 09 versions. The change is remarkable.

If you want a more detailed take, the wonderful Diva Incarnate has a review. Go read it!

Oh, and I shall be spending my week watching the new video clips they’ve stuck up on YouTube.

Charlie Says…

As if the man didn’t already deserve a thousand knighthoods:

Brooker on the Mail’s latest hate crime

Arise Sir, Lord, Baron, Saint, King and President Charlie – the world needs you.

You’re tender and you’re tired

Things that do not equal me being productive and/or in a good mood:

Not having a car. Seriously, public transport and asking for lifts and waiting around on an evening because there isn’t time to go home SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF ME. I hated it when I was a student, I hate it now.

Long faffy meetings of no consequence. I had loads of these in the old job and now they’re increasingly creeping into the new one.

The phone. I’ve taken to leaving it on silent a lot or just leaving it at home. I like texts and mobile internet, but my hate of the actual phone is reaching epic proportions

Housework. Lots of it to do. No energy to do it.

Complicated academic waffle and trying to a) understand it myself, then b) make young people understand it.

Being expected to do way more prep work on the new modules and on the A-Level course than I was led to believe I’d be doing. Thus it taking up more time and more headspace than I had available.

Admin. Of work, or life, or study. HATE IT.

My body. Tis crap and not working properly, thus making all of the above even more of a faff than usual.

These are the thoughts that go through my head

Not very well at the moment. Left work yesterday and missed three lessons, which I never do, and called today off as well (which was easier as it was meetings and supervisions which can be rearranged). Ful of cold but also feeling a bit faint/dizzy/sick. Perhaps I have the piggy pox or something.

My arms are still pretty shonky and I still don’t have my car so little changes.

Anyway, just a few bits and pieces today:

The new Doctor Who logo was unveiled today. As ever, the inernet is divided. I think it’s alright, though the lens flare is a bit crappy as many people have pointed out. The title and the logo look better separate than together, but I imagine they’ll mostly be used separately anyway. I’m really intrigued by how little we know about the new series and I’m very excited.

I got my new driving licence yesterday as I needed the photocard renewing – the new style (above) is very odd. I get the purpose of all the hologrammy bits, but can anyone explain why the photo has to be in B and W?

Oh, and the Booker Prize is revealed later. I have read a few of the longlisted books now, but none of the shortlisted ones. The Children’s Book is in my library pile and I’m on waiting lists for the others. It’ll be interesting to see what wins as the past few years, The Line of Beauty aside, I haven’t enjoyed the winners anywhere near as much as other listed titles. Anyone read any of them? Any favourites?

Finally… I got my first ever home delievery of groceries yesterday. From Ocado. I guess I am pretty much middle class now.

Riding in our rollercoaster

Teaching has started in earnest, and yesterday I had one of my nicest ever moments when my second years saw I was taking them and cheered! Awwwwwwww….

Still not sure how my daily routine is going to pan out now I’m car-less and probably will be for the duration of the play. Rehearsals are always miles away. This was an unforseen turn of events at the start of the year. Oh well…

Still can’t write much so blogging and PhD are both neglected. Doc suspects it’s a trapped nerve. Hopefully I’ll find out more next week. Am also trying to write this weeks Bitch Factor but ITV Player keeps crashing. In better news, two really good friends have just got engaged, so hurrahs for them!

Together in Electric Dreams

Oh, BBC Four, I do love you, but occasionally you make it hard. They’re running a season called Electric Revolution, which looks like it will contain a few gems. However, next week, before the sure-to-be-amazing Charlie Brooker’s Gameswipe, there’s a new series called Electric Dreams. It’s looking at how domestic and personal technology has evolved in the past forty years, focussing on the 70s one week, the 80s the next and the 90s the next (presumably they’ve decided we know enough about the 00s). OK, that could be kind of interesting.

BUT

The format they have chosen is to ape the 1900s/1940s house (remember those Channel 4 millennial shows?) – which means the family they use have to endure the “hardship” of life in days of yore before wi-fi, broadband or proper mobiles. I mean, I’ll watch it and probably even enjoy it, but come on.

Perhaps I wouldn’t find it all so ludicrous if I didn’t remember this.

I can’t break down

My car broke down on the M18 last night. I waited two hours to be rescued due to miscommunication between the company I have cover through and the rescue firm they called out.

The garage this morning told me the damage was bad. They don’t know how bad – but on a scale from bad to very bad to very, very bad. They have to really strip things down to properly find out so I won’t know yet. Whatever, it will be several hundred pounds and several days’ work so I will be sans car and very out of pocket. It’s a good job I didn’t have a holiday this year, but with my insurance due in November and Christmas on the horizon it’s going to be a nasty, expensive Autumn.

Worst thing is, it’s only a few weeks out of its Network Q warranty. I am not very impressed and I hate that tenterhooks period of waiting to hear just exacty how nasty the damage is.

Baby, baby, baby

At last Gaz and Rach had a baby! Joseph David Cook was born on Sunday teatime and weighed 7lbs 8oz. Haven’t met him yet, but the photos are so cute and I love him already. Am going Thursday and I can’t wait. Not that I went a bit mad on buying baby stuff or anything, honest! But it is nice to finally know a little boy – I love the little girls in my life, but it’s nice to have a little boy around. I may have cried a little bit when he arrived. Not because I am a big girl’s blouse or anything. His parents didn’t even cry. I blame my biological clock.

Work starts kicking up a notch from now onwards. Less time for playing Sims3, reading novels and shopping, but hopefully having classes back and rehearsing for a new play will give me more motivation for the studying as well.

I’m aching, I’m aching for you

I think I am developing RSI in both arms. When I get back from London I’ll go see the doc about it just to check if that’s what it is or if it’s something else. It would be very inconvenient if I do have it, what with the PhD writingup atage approaching and a new Sims3 expansion on the way. Am not a happy bunny right now. Still, the new play should be good, it’s nice to be acting again and I have a great part. Am also so looking forward to the students coming back (fool).