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| Batman Begins Again.. |
| 07.31.04 (2:39 pm) [edit] |
[i]Sunny, hot with a slight breeze here in Newcastle. Lovely weather for a picnic... just abt to head out and meet the gang for one. Need to get some olives, bruschetta, crackers and pate at the supermarket before hand though. Hope everybody is having a good weekend... didnt go to London after all... but will make the best of the fantastic weather up here. Btw, just saw the teaser trailer for the new Batman film. Yay!! :D
While I knew that Warner Brothers was working on bringing the [b]Batman[/b] franchise back from the neon grave that Joel Schumacher buried it in, I had no idea that the project was this far along: the =http://batmanbegins.warnerbro... target="_blank"teaser trailer has just been posted.
The trailer doesn't really show me enough to be absolutely sure, but it does look promising. What looks more promising, however, was =http://us.imdb.com/title/tt03... target="_blank"the cast they've lined up for this thing! An amazing assortment of 'class' actors if I may say so myself! :P Apparently there is also very exciting! Did you know there's also a new animated series-- The Batman --coming in September too!
Director: [b]Christopher Nolan (Memento)[/b]
Batman/Bruce Wayne: [b]Christian Bale [/b]
Ducard: [b]Liam Neeson [/b]
Alfred Pennyworth: [b]Michael Caine [/b]
Rachel Dodson: [b]Katie Holmes [/b]
Sgt. James Gordon: [b]Gary Oldman [/b]
Lucius Fox: [b]Morgan Freeman [/b]
Richard Earle: [b]Rutger Hauer [/b]..... and a few more.
Notice how there is a good ol' mix of British actors in there, finally Hollywood are beginning to see their worth.
With any luck, we just might get a watchable Batman movie again. :wink: As you can tell, I'm a huge fan of the [b]Dark Knight![/b][/i]
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| The Weekend Beckons... |
| 07.30.04 (7:52 pm) [edit] |
[i]Before leaving the office today, I was emabarrassed by a few of my colleagues. Was wearing a brand new pair of jeans (dress down day!) and kept on getting compliments abt my arse. Now I'm not usually shy.. but when everyone tries to grab me I become a tad para!
So, I took the time to say to my colleagues,
[b]These pants + my ass = HOTT! Yes?![/b]
Well keep your grubby hands to yourself!! :evil: Too popular..at least 7 out of 13 females tried groped it at work...... mind you so did Brad yuk!! :shock: (I know what an arrogant so and so.... so what if I am?! ) :P
Had [b]THE[/b] greatest day at work! Just an easy sedate day... thought it'd be a busy one.
I want to call up everyone I know and tell them about it. And would... if had not left my bloody cell phone at the office.
Blast! Drat!!! [b]*hmpf*[/b] :roll:
Anyways, I'm home and done for the day..heading out for a few drinks and dinner, so if I dont catch up with y'all over the weekend here... just wanted to wish each and every one a smashing weekend. Hope to read all abt it on Monday! Take care of yourselves peeps! Ciao and much love :lol: [/i]
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| President-elect Kerry's DNC speech. |
| 07.30.04 (4:00 pm) [edit] |
[i]Thanks to C-Span's video archive, I just sat back and watched =http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPO... target="_blank"Kerry's speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I must say, I'm more impressed than I thought I was going to be, not having been overly impressed by what little I've seen of [b]Mr. Kerry[/b] in the past. A good, well-written speech, and he delivered it quite well.
A few choice quotes that especially impressed me:
We're told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We're told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we've ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. [b]Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can't do better.[/b]
I am proud that after September 11th all our people rallied to President Bush's call for unity to meet the danger. There were no Democrats. There were no Republicans. There were only Americans. How we wish it had stayed that way.
As president, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system, so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And as president, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: [b]The United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.[/b]
As president, I will wage this war with the lessons I learned in war. Before you go to battle, you have to be able to look a parent in the eye and truthfully say: [b]"I tried everything possible to avoid sending your son or daughter into harm's way. But we had no choice. We had to protect the American people, fundamental American values from a threat that was real and imminent."[/b] So lesson one, this is the only justification for going to war.
For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.
I want to address these next words directly to President George W. Bush: [b]In the weeks ahead, let's be optimists, not just opponents. Let's build unity in the American family, not angry division. Let's honor this nation's diversity; let's respect one another; and let's never misuse for political purposes the most precious document in American history, the Constitution of the United States.[/b]
I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, [b]I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side.[/b]
Really really Good stuff!! :D
[b]Now, let's get this man into office..... Pronto!![/b] He's got my vote.... oops! fogot... :oops: I'm not American, so I cant vote... but hey it's the thought that counts, right?! :wink: What do you all think of Kerry's performance? [/i]
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| Busy day ahead! |
| 07.30.04 (11:35 am) [edit] |
[i]Morning all!! Busy schedule today, but I just had to touch base before I got blown away by the sheer amount of work! Last night, the "club" met and I introduced them to my new 'friend' [b]Mojito[/b]. The girls loved it, while the guys might take a bit more convincing.... seems nothing's better than a pitcher of beer to them.... see what I have to put up with?? huh?! No substitute for taste.. [b]*tuts*[/b] :roll:
Got home at a respectable hour.... so yes, that does mean I didnt go overboard! Stopped off at my local Chinese take away to get me some noodles, spare ribs and spring rolls.... delicious, esp. after the day I'd had... didnt really have time for lunch and my 'liquid lunch' of Mojito's didnt help either! :P
Last night, I slept with the covers pulled up high around my chin like I did when I was a kid, my head buried in my feather pillows. I left my downy sanctuary only twice – both times to answer the call of nature and then it was straight back to bed with me. Say what you will, but the lightning storm that rocked my apartment with sound fury ....in my dreams last night scared the bejeezus out of me. (I've been trying all morning to remember what the dream was abt... cos I thought maybe I could ask Ally's dream interpreter friend to give me the [b]low-down[/b] on what it all meant) :P ... All just gobbledegoook, anyways!!
Incidentally, when I was a kid, we weren’t allowed to say [b]'bejeezus'[/b]. It sounded too much like 'Jesus' (Oh, the blasphemy!) – who is exactly the one I’m blaming for this current bout of horribly hot depressing weather in Newcastle. For the record, 'Karma' is in charge of my personal relationships, the 'Universe', my moods and the 'Baby Jesus' is responsible for all things weather-related. I haven’t as yet assigned 'Buddha' a sector, but that's mostly because he just makes me giggle..... what's with that fat ol' stomach of his? eh?! :? :lol:
I’m so going to hell for that I know..... That’s fine, though. I’ve reserved a party room..... just kidding... I'm a definitely for the pearly gates lol! :wink: Have a good day peeps... Peace y'all Cyber's out! [/i]
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| Mojitos, Mint, and Summertime. |
| 07.29.04 (4:33 pm) [edit] |
[i]It’s a hot summer here in Newcastle at last. Say what you will but when you spend most of your time in a particular climate, you will get used to it. For me, getting into the high 60s is panting weather. It has now gone beyond hot.
Thank gawd for Mojitos and mint. Now all I need is a wrap-around hammoch(sp?) and some free time. Rob’s right; mojitos are tasty. I practically broke the bank drinking two this afternoon. (I know I shouldn't be drinking at work... we were onsite, so it was okay!!) For the record it's medicinal... so I drank two for medicinal properties as stated below:
[b]Yerbabuena is mildly medicinal and is as safe as culinary mint. To quote a Mexican herbal guide: "This species has been used since ancient times and is used throughout the country. It is mainly used to alleviate digestive disorders such as acid indigestion..." It has also been found to have a high content of Vitamin E, an essential antioxidant.[/b] So there :P
I love the wee mint pieces suspended among the ice. I love the simplicity of the flavour. Citrus is so refreshing. I wonder what it would taste like to substitute lemon juice for the lime. I’m sad that I haven’t planted any mint. I can’t remember what I ate recently but I have decided that mint is the herb of the moment. :wink:
Anybody tried out [b]Mojito's[/b] yet? If not, you should... yet another thing I just have to recommend... Cheers Rob for opening my eyes!! Yay... Mojito's Rock!! :lol:
Now, I have to go back to the office... Note to self... stop off at shop for some mints!! :P[/i]
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| Being Neutral! |
| 07.29.04 (2:13 pm) [edit] |
[b]July 28, 2004 @ 11:43 PM [/b]
[i]Sometimes our friends date, or even marry one another. And sometimes those relationships don't work out and there are break ups of varying degrees of nastiness. Or sometimes your friends just dont get along. A colleague of mine (Michelle) was telling us abt a couple who happen to be their friends, who have broken up recently.
She wants to continue to invite both of them to things. Continue to talk to both of them and continue to like them both. In short, she wants to be [b]Neutral.*[/b] But it's getting harder and harder for her and her hubby to cope with the constant sniping from both parties.
This rant from Michelle, reminded me of something that's been a hallmark of my relationships with many of my friends for years — [b]I'm Switzerland*. Neutral, and very happily so, steadfastly refusing to be dragged to one side or another in a debate between two friends.[/b]
This used to exasperate as much as amuse my friends, and there were times when I was teased mercilessly about it. I remember, James used to do his best to come up with either/or situations to try to force me to come down on one side or another while we were at Uni, and invariably, I'd come up with a third, middle-ground option.
To me, it just makes sense. I've got a good number of friends (though, admittedly, at this point most of them are down in London or scattered abroad), and it's not at all uncommon for the occasional minor (or sometimes major) spat to erupt between two of them — especially when there were more than a few instances of dating mishaps among various parties in our group.
I've never seen much point in letting difficulties between two of my friends adversely affect my friendship with one or either of them, and tend to do anything I can to make sure that it stays that way. I'll listen to either or both parties involved, give advice when possible, provide a friendly ear or shoulder to cry on when necessary, but the one thing I won't do is side with one over the other.
[b]So, Switzerland I am, Switzerland I have been, and Switzerland I'll continue to be.[/b] :P
The one possible exception to this, of course, is the (thankfully very rare) circumstance when one party has done something particularly inexcusable and heinous, such as [b]physical abuse, life threatening situations, voting for Tony Blair(okay, that one's a joke) or the like.[/b] Things like this, though, are things that I would not be very accepting of in any circumstance, and would be likely to damage that person's standing in my eyes no matter what.
How do you handle squabbles amongst your friend's peeps, without taking sides? :)[/i]
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| My Perfect RSS Wet Dream |
| 07.28.04 (7:26 pm) [edit] |
[i]That [b]I[/b] should rule the universe. Then I’d make a rule that said all my favourite blogs, especially the well-written ones, had to have perfect RSS feeds with features including but [u]NOT[/u] limited to:
[b]- full entries,
- always being up to date,
- showing authors in metablogs,
- easy comment making process,
- automatic and quick links,
- showing pictures, and
- making comment viewing optional.[/b]
I guess that isn't [b]tblog[/b] then is it?! Anybody else having a [b]"mare"[/b] leaving comments at the moment? Argh!! [b]*[/b]hmpf![b]*[/b] :evil: [/i]
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| Break time! |
| 07.28.04 (6:23 pm) [edit] |
[i]I'm feeling much better abt today. Details not necessary.
Have been very productive at day-job today. Outbox is filling up while inbox is emptying at startling pace. Wonderful! :wink: Didn't go on site as earlier planned.
Am also delighted to note that the sun decided to pay a visit, and fully intend on taking advantage of some late evening drinking by the river tonight. Feel free to come join me.... will not be having a heavy session, just a couple.
Do so love dis-gracing company property by appearing all fuzzy bearded and rough or just plain red-eyed! Already told myself, if confronted, will simply tell the [b]"Higher Ups"[/b] that am not paid enough to afford more suitable clothing or look the part!. [b]Bastards[/b]. :P
I'm ravenously hungry, even though I've had lunch. [b]Must have a KitKat.[/b]
That is all. :lol:
[u][b]***update***[/b][/u ]
KitKat secured. All is well in Cyber's world again!! :P[/i]
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| I had Gourmet.... |
| 07.28.04 (1:46 pm) [edit] |
[i]Temporarily remedied the lonley meal issue by cooking for a few friend's last night. A little steak, a little shrimp, sauted potatoes, some really delicious to-die-for button mushrooms and of course a few bottles of merlot. I had no idea I was such a gourmet chef! :P
My guest's brought the wine. And boy, did we get tipsy. And trying to pack all that food away, was not something to be taken lightly. A very spur of the moment decision, but it worked out well. Seems like that saying abt the best laid plans is horseshit!! The last minute plans seem to work better for me!
Slept all the way thru my alarm this morning, barely made it into work on time. Must have been the wine, or summin... woke up cuddling my pillow...(yes, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) [b]"Cuddling is totally the new black!!" [/b] .....You heard it here first!! :wink:
You could say I'm looking a bit rough as I didnt have enough time to shave. Let's just hope the 'rough and rugged' look is back in fashion for today at least. And as soon as I finish typing this bit, I am making my way to the bathroom to see if we cant look a bit more "presentable!"
A lengthier report or post will surely follow. But for now, my wine soaked brain is pretty incapable of coming up with anything more than a big yawn. Cheerio all, I hope y'all have great days! :lol: [/i]
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| Can we "All" be friends? |
| 07.27.04 (8:44 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]Most white people have very few or no black friends at all.... says shock poll!
There was time when white people would counter and tell black people: "I'm not racist cos some of my best friends are black". But according to the Commission for Racial Equality survey - that patronising attitude does not square with the facts.
Apparently the poll carried out by YouGov (Over 2,000 white and 800 ethnic minority people took part in the poll), found that an astonsishing 94 percent of white Britons have no black friends. At the same time, a third of black people said that all or most of their friends were white.[/b]
Having read this, it's safe to conclude that black people intergrate with the majority white community, while the reverse is less true.
[b]The poll results came as a result of a MORI poll in January that found that 41% of white people and 26% of ethnic minority poeple wanted the races to live seperately.[/b] Shocking, right?! :shock:
[b]Cant we all just get along?[/b] I must say I was shocked on reading this... funnily enough I'd never really thought abt it.. but a lot of my friend are white, and I have less black or ethnic minority ones... does that mean I've integrated too? Or is that just a reflection of the fact that most of the people I went to school with, work with, socialise with or have even slept with are of white origins? Hmm! food for thought!
Why have I written abt this? Well, I just wanted to challenge all you folk here on tblog.... how many can really say they have black or ethnic minority friends? I dont mean acquaintances, colleagues at work... I mean real friends?! I've read a lot of blogs, comments and whatnot and I get a sense that more often than not... many people are in that group of not having [b]"friends"[/b] that are black... in as much as it's your perrogative and choice... doesn't that make you a tad racist in that respect then?
Let me just say, that this isn't meant to offend or cast aspertions.. I just thought it'd be good if we all thought abt it. [b]According to that poll, it's as high as 39% for under-30's who dont have one single "black or ethnic" friend.[/b] I know many will argue abt where they grew up, where they live now... but come on.. to have never had a black friend.. you either had to live on 'Mars' or an imaginary 'castaway' Island or summin like that... is it possible in this day and age?
For the record [b]"I'm not saying go out and get more black or white friends. What I am saying though isn't it interesting how we are not as intergrated as much as you would have thought? You'd have thought people would have made more "friends" like this naturally"[/b] I know people tend to stick to their own comfort zones.... well that just aint good enough!!
I'd really like to know what people have to say abt this... does this apply to you? Is there a reason? Or have you never really thought abt it at all... like me until I read the poll results?
I'd be very interested in your comments peeps, holla at me. Cheers! Much luv to y'all.... I'm out! :wink: [/i]
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| The 9/11 commission: Everything we knew already. |
| 07.27.04 (3:12 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]This is a Political post, so if you're not that way inclined skip and move on!! I wont take offence, ..... promise! :D[/b]
The New York Times nicely summarizes the recently released report from the 9/11 commission:
[b]When the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States set to work early last year to prepare the definitive history of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, it seemed that much of its hard work was already done, because so much of the horrifying story seemed to be known.
At the time, it was understood that all of the hijackers had entered the country legally and done nothing to draw attention to themselves; Osama bin Laden had underwritten the plot with his personal fortune but had left the details to others; American intelligence agencies had no warning that Al Qaeda was considering suicide missions using planes; President Bush had received a special intelligence briefing weeks before Sept. 11 that focused on past, not current, terrorist threats from Al Qaeda.
But 19 months later, the commission has released a final, unanimous book-length report that, in calling for a overhaul of the way the government collects and shares intelligence, showed that much of what had been common wisdom about the Sept. 11 attacks at the start of the panel's investigation was wrong.[/b]
Until I have time to pore over the entire report — a copy of which I have here on my desk in disk format— this is a good overview. What do y'all think abt the whole commission thing.. a waste of time, or a success? I must say I thought it was a waste of time, seeing as nobody actually got blamed for nought!! What was it's point then? Huh?! :? Same kinda whitewash here in the UK with the 'Butler Report' which was supposed to iron out the truths abt why we (The UK) went to war.... nobody did anything wrong too apparently!! What a joke!! :roll:
I'm off for lunch!! :lol:[/i]
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| A Dream, a Kiss and bed Karma. |
| 07.27.04 (12:40 pm) [edit] |
[b]Give me a kiss to build a dream on
And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss
Sweetheart, I ask no more than this
A kiss to build a dream on......[/b]
[i]I had a really great "kissing" dream during my sleep last night. I mean, really great. The kind of kissing dream based on an actual kissing experience so it's more reality than fantasy and thus amazing and frustrating all at the same time. Woke up all hot and bothered and dying for a cigarette[b]*[/b].
I woke up mid-way thru and had to go to the bathroom, but the dream was gone after that. :( I tried the old trick of keeping my eyes shut as I stumbled from bed to toilet and back to bed. I was even tempted to do a little guided meditation to land myself back in the dream, but that didnt work either. Doesn't it just suck when that "awesome" one-off dream just disappears into thin air half-way thru? Arrghh! :evil:
[b]*[/b] Don't worry, friends. I didn't really smoke. You know, just for the record like. :P
Maybe it's just bed karma? Cos, while making my bed last night with brand new, very soft sheets, was reminded of "Sex and the City" episode in which [b]highly neurotic red headed character[/b] buys very expensive sheets to improve her bed karma. Idea was, if bed is a place you like to be, others will want to be there as well.... or summin like that...
[b]Miranda:[/b] I'm trying to change my bed karma. I figure if I can make my bed a place I really want to be, others will feel the same.
[b]Carrie:[/b] Aah, the Field of Dreams.
[b](Yes, and that's summin new you all learn abt Cyberpal... I watch Sex and The City atimes, so what? :P)[/b]
Finished making the bed and hoped that had not gone too far, as don't want to improve bed karma too much. Isn't a neighbourhood event after all. Is it possible to ask karma to specifically only include attractive, gorgeous, single, non-emotional women in late twenties to early thirties, instead of the dreams abt such women?Perhaps it's asking too much of karma?. huh?! :?
[b]Note to me:[/b] Perhaps it's not even something that this Cyber needs to be worrying about. Must not rely too much on bed karma and must stop treating Sex and the City as if it's self-help program.
Hehehe! erm, did I write this??? [/i] :roll:
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| It's all about Eve...... |
| 07.26.04 (7:56 pm) [edit] |
[i]Had lovely night with Eve on Saturday. We engaged in sadly, very friend-like activity. We had spoken previously on Friday when I got into London, and arranged to catch up on Saturday. Had a bit of a mix up as to where to meet, but we found each other eventually! This was after I had mistaken somebody else for her... while on the phone to her (typical Cyberpal error!) :P But she was quite willing to overlook the fact that I would imagine her wearing pink ballet-like shoes instead of the slick heeled black ones she had on! [b](She'll probably kill me for saying that!) [/b] :shock:
So, eventually met her by her "Angel Wings" (personal joke!). Gave her a big ol' hug, was really excited to meet another tblogger from somewhere other than Newcastle. Then we navigated the hordes of saturday night revellers out in Islington Village looking for a bar, that we could have a drink in as well as chat.... tough ordeal, but we finally found a great bar..( forgot what it's called now!)
I must say, I might just have over done it with the cocktails... we had every cocktail on the menu... I'd say 10 or so in total and just chatted like we had known each other for years instead of hours. Was a very satisfying night indeed, and to top it all I got to know who the real person behind the persona was... I'm sure she'd say the same. [b]Btw, we talked abt most, if not all of you here on tblog too... some of course more than others, but I aint telling! :P[/b]
Shared stuff abt each other that you can only do face-to-face, rather than in cyber-space. Is it pathetic that yours truly just blabbed and blabbed and blabbed most of the night? We got so involved in each other that they had to come over and tell us that the bar had closed, so we drank up and left just before the bouncers got heavy.... yeah, right! I would have taken em on anyways!! :wink:
Then decided cos we were (or shd I say I was) having such a great time, instead of her taking a taxi and leaving there and then I'd walk her home... abt 15mins walk. Then got to her front door, and proceeded to spend another hour or so chatting away again. Really was a good evening. Before leaving, gave farewell embrace. Ended up very close, [b]**wink wink** [/b] "Thanks for a lovely evening." I said..... and headed home (you thought there was more, didnt ya?):P
Eve is definitely a keeper, great gal, fantastic company, very funny and witty, outstanding conversationalist, and the icing on the cake... a gorgeous looking lady to boot! What else could a guy ask for? (Yeah, well dont answer that!) :D
After the success of my night with Eve, I'm thinking of making trips to meet some more of the faceless folks here at tblog, who have been sources of many hours of entertainment.... I'm fairly certain I'm going to have as much fun too. We'll see, cos y'all have a lot to live up to. Eve was an absolute dream of a gurl, who literally blew me away!! :wink: [/i]
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| Terror or Racism? |
| 07.26.04 (4:48 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]This is a bit long, but if you've got the [u]time[/u] please read it.... and tell me what y'all think! Cheers :)[/b] It's stuff like this that just pisses me off no end.... argh! :evil:
Over the past week, there's been no small amount of online uproar over the story of one woman's account of what she felt was a 'dry run' for another terrorist attack. The article, Terror in the Skies, Again? (and its follow-up Part II), has been linked to on hundreds of websites, e-mailed from one person to another, and generally spreading nearly as fast as the latest Internet Explorer exploit. :roll:
I'd seen and read the article, of course, but after reading it, I made the decision not to mention it here. As I read [b]Annie Jacobsen's[/b] "terrifying account" of a flight wherein nothing happened, it felt to me like little more than hysterical and possibly racist paranoia. Over the week, while it was gratifying to see others who read the article as I did (in this MetaFilter discussion, for instance, or this article in Salon :http://www.salon.com/tech/col...), not surprisingly, those voices didn't get nearly as much press.
Now, though, enough furor has been raised over the article that according to Eric Leonard of KFI News, air marshalls that were on board the flight have found it necessary to step forward and give their own assessment of the situation. There's apparently no permalink to the article (bad news site! no cookie!), so here's a copy:[/i]
[b]LOS ANGELES | July 22, 2004 – Undercover federal air marshals on board a June 29 Northwest airlines flight from Detroit to LAX identified themselves after a passenger, “overreacted,” to a group of middle-eastern men on board, federal officials and sources have told KFI NEWS.[/b]
[i]The passenger, later identified as [b]Annie Jacobsen[/b], was in danger of panicking other passengers and creating a larger problem on the plane, according to a source close to the secretive federal protective service.
Jacobsen, a self-described freelance writer, has published two stories about her experience at womenswallstreet.com, a business advice web site designed for women.
“The lady was overreacting,” said the source. “A flight attendant was told to tell the passenger to calm down; that there were air marshals on the plane.”
The middle eastern men were identified by federal agents as a group of touring musicians travelling to a concert date at a casino, said Air Marshals spokesman Dave Adams.
Jacobsen wrote she became alarmed when the men made frequent trips to the lavatory, repeatedly opened and closed the overhead luggage compartments, and appeared to be signaling each other.
“Initially it was brought to [the air marshals] attention by a passenger,” Adams said, adding the agents had been watching the men and chose to stay undercover.
Jacobsen and her husband had a number of conversations with the flight attendants and gestured towards the men several times, the source said.
“In concert with the flight crew, the decision was made to keep [the men] under surveillance since no terrorist or criminal acts were being perpetrated aboard the aircraft; they didn’t interfere with the flight crew,” Adams said.
The air marshals did, however, check the bathrooms after the middle-eastern men had spent time inside, Adams said.
FBI agents met the plane when it landed in Los Angeles and the men were questioned, and Los Angeles field office spokeswoman Cathy Viray said it’s significant the alarm on the flight came from a passenger.
“We have to take all calls seriously, but the passenger was worried, not the flight crew or the federal air marshals,” she said. “The complaint did not stem from the flight crew.”
Several people were questioned, she said, but no one was detained.
Jacobsen’s husband Kevin told KFI NEWS he approached a man he thought was an air marshal after the flight had landed.
“You made me nervous,” Kevin said the air marshal told him.
“I was freaking out,” Kevin replied.
“We don’t freak out in situations like this,” the air marshal responded.
Federal agents later verified the musicians’ story.
“We followed up with the casino,” Adams said. A supervisor verified they were playing a concert. A second federal law enforcement source said the concert itself was monitored by an agent.
“We also went to the hotel, determined they had checked into the hotel,” Adams said. Each of the men were checked through a series of databases and watch-lists with negative results, he said.
The source said the air marshals on the flight were partially concerned Jacobsen’s actions could have been an effort by terrorists or attackers to create a disturbance on the plane to force the agents to identify themselves.
Air marshals’ only tactical advantage on a flight is their anonymity, the source said, and Jacobsen could have put the entire flight in danger.
“They have to be very cognizant of their surroundings,” spokesman Adams confirmed, “to make sure it isn’t a ruse to try and pull them out of their cover.”
KFI reporter Jessica Rosenthal contributed to this report.
Copyright 2004 KFI NEWS. All rights reserved.[/i]
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| Save me! |
| 07.26.04 (3:22 pm) [edit] |
[i]Today, I am so very [b]unfortunate[/b] to be participating in what the AG (name of my firm) calls a [b]"Stormer"[/b]. And yes, while sitting here in a meeting I am typing away on my blog... they think I'm working!! FOOLS!! :P
Basically this is a sort of planning retreat where you expend loads of mental energy and refuel with copious amounts of bull shit!!. Supposed to help us be creative and resourceful in planning and organising our work loads.
You're jealous, right? :shock:
Know what I want? what I really really want?
I want the little fucker at the head of the table to turn off that god damn shit he seems to think is music, before I get up armed with a pen and some duct tape and do such horrible things that even fucking 'Quentin Tarantino' would have night terrors!!! :evil:
That, and a huge tub of ice cream and a big hug.
[b]If you come rescue me, I'll be yours forever. And I do chores too! :lol: [/b]
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| New "Welcome Mat". |
| 07.26.04 (12:16 pm) [edit] |
[i]I'm certain that the snooze button is going to break from this morning's over-usage. Or go on strike for unnecessary use of force by yours truly.
Hastily got ready and as i was ready to walk out the door, found that keys were nowhere to be found. Until a few days ago, said keys were attached to me like a magnet cos of constant misplacing, and therefore nearly impossible to misplace. Nearly!!. What a joke!! I'm capable of losing anything. It's a gift. :oops:
Frantically searched for keys. Dumped out work satchel/bag. Combed through laundry and un-made bed. Even accused "unseen" house-guest of having hid them as to prevent yours truly from leaving the apartment and spending energy on something else. After twenty minutes, and fearing for security of job, decided to give up and leave the bloody door unlocked. Flung the door open and... jingle, jingle, jangle...the fucking keys were hanging in the lock. What a flipping twat!! :roll:
Should just save everyone time and effort and put out a new welcome mat or neon sign saying: [b]"Axe Murderers, and Robbers are Welcome Here."[/b] :roll:
Foolish, foolish Cyberpal. :evil: [b]Do you guys lose your keys like moi?[/b] Cos I'm beginning to think I could lose my head if it wasn't screwed on properly!! :(
So got to work... late, been flat out since then... but have had enough so I'm here to blog. Off on site later on if the weather holds up, (hopefully it wont!)... if not then I intend to catch up with everyone's blog and see how y'all spent your weekend's! Mine was a blast, London was cool.. will blog later. Hope y'all have a great week peeps! :wink: [/i]
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| In detail |
| 07.25.04 (3:35 pm) [edit] |
[i]When we have time to sit down over coffee and shoot the breeze, I am totally going to tell you about last night.
I won’t skip any of the good details about [b]Eve[/b] :http://Evegurl.tblog.com, the charming, gorgeous lady from tblog that I met last night. The expectation, and subsequent manner in which we got on like we'd known each other for ages and a string of bars in the Islington Village area at 1AM.
I’ll tell you about the American girl in the red coat who I met after walking her (Eve) home, who wanted to take me to what can only loosely be called “after-hours,” at some seriously swank apartment in Woolwich. I kindly declined and flagged the nearest taxi (black cab) to get me the hell outta there! :shock:
I’ll make sure you know that I went straight home rather than tag along, because, even as well as we know one another, you’ll need that sort of reassurance. Now, the time spent with Eve, that’s another matter. But as far as I know, the dangers inherent with large doses of beautiful, funny and refreshing lady like Eve are far less than with a high-end gal... who for all intents and purposes was probably a prostitute.
I could be wrong..... till then toodles peeps, gotta go catch my flight back home! :wink:[/i]
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| If the cap fits! |
| 07.25.04 (2:41 pm) [edit] |
[i]Hey peeps, howz it going y'all? Hope we're all havin' a good weekend, one and all? :lol:
Visiting in London, it takes very little time to come to some very important realisations: [u](Note! This is just me being silly!)[/u]
[b]You need new shoes[/b]. Lots of new shoes. Stepping down the west-end to whichever errand destination, it will occur to you that your almost-new Kenneth Cole shoes are already horribly passé. So, you must replace them. With three other pairs. And you must not keep the receipts.... so as not to feel guilty! :oops:
[b]You drink too much[/b]. Even if you don’t really, you [b]must[/b] because how on earth did you spend £75 in Stratford on a Friday night, when you were only going for a couple? :?
[b]You’re not so concerned with modesty as you used to be[/b]. You say, do and act the way you want to... living by the motto that "There's only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences and be accountable for your actions!" :)
[b]You spend too much money[/b]. While completely out of line with realisation number one, savings can be scrimped from other areas such as… groceries, and erm....... Which leads us to the next realisation.
[b]You are too fat[/b]. Even if you’re not, you simply [b]are[/b]. You will have nightmares about double chins. You will constantly think your tummy is too big. Why? Because you’re comparing yourself to a whole new brand of people now. But then if you're like me... you say "who gives a fuck" and get on with life! :P
[b]You need coffee[/b]. Need. It's now one of the ingredients in your blood. Oxygen, Haemoglobin, white blood cells and [b]Colombian gold[/b]...
[b]You love take-away[/b]. (Or take-out for you yanks!)
[b]You hate tourists[/b].
[b]You love your IPod[/b]. (Maybe a bit too much!)
[b]Your job is your life[/b]. Stop whining. Get used to it. Get to [b]like[/b] it even. Yeah right!! :roll:
And when you wake up one morning and find yourself just a little bit altered, you’d better like that, too. ‘Cos that’s who you are now. [b]Does the cap fit??[/b] :? [/i]
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| Good Sunshine Day! |
| 07.24.04 (1:28 pm) [edit] |
[i]That's what I'm talkin' about! :D
The sun is out in London today (though, so is a little wind), I am about to embark on an alarming display of consumerism, armed with too much spending power (even though, I should be paying off my Visa card) and I just realised my Mastercard isn't maxed out..... so off I go peeps!! :wink:
I
will
be
invincible.....
Got in y/day evening, and guess what...... I spoke to Evegurl :http://www.Evegurl.tblog.com who is in London this weekend too. Was kinda strange actually talking to a tblogger from outside the UK.... and hopefully we can meet up before she leaves tomorrow!! :) I'll be reagalling y'all if we do catch up! :wink:
My buddy will be here soon, and our first order of business is the HomeBase store where I will buy, even when my practical Inner persona is balking, A wonderful house-warming present for my mate (Methinks a gold plated bookshelf would do). Even if it IS way more expensive than the less appealing, but equally functioning, chrome ones. It's only money! Right?
The rest of the day will be filled with "If you'll just sign here" and "Black or brown, Erm? Or both?" and "You're sure it's not too heavy?" And it will end with a few friends and a big piece of red meat (Well done of sourse) at a nieghbourhood BBQ joint. Which will then end the afternoon/early evening stint before we get ready for the evening house-warming party!! I know...a lot to do today, but what can ya do? huh?! Time flies when you're having fun! :lol:
(Oh, and [b]The Prince and Me[/b]? Disappointing. Too much love, not enough imagination. And for this guy, that's sayin' a lot.) :P
Have a great weekend y'all, hope to read all about your wonderful times in your blogs! Ciao :)[/i]
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| Friday Medley. |
| 07.23.04 (3:01 pm) [edit] |
[i]....And the beat goes on... [b]*Sigh*[/b]
I've finally finished with [b]Deadline-of-Monster-Pr oportions[/b]. Have worked more than a sixty-something hour week and slept very little for fear of disappointing Highest of Higher Ups. She's a yeller, that one. But so far, have not been yelled at... to the relief of this [b]"hard worker"[/b]. Phew!! :)
....Two 'glad-to-be-finished' diet cokes later, and I'm feeling quite sleepy and absolutely retarded.
[b]Quick! Cyber! Do simple math to save the lives of this group of small children![/b] :shock:
Uhhh... um, well, I... Indeed. Just that retarded. Break needed!! :roll:
So after a somewhat very stressful week, I've decided it would be just the thing to take an impromptu visit to the Big City (London) to visit the guys for a weekend of relaxation (read: parties, paties and more parties).
Needless to say, as the weekend evolves yours truly will keep you updated on my shinanegans!! :wink: Lets just hope it all goes exactly as planned. My mate is having a house-warming party, so I have summin to do Saturday... the rest will have to just sort itself out!
Also I'm a very foolish boy. But what else is new? huh?
Despite all plans to the contrary, got very very drunk last night and thus... very chatty as well. So chatty, in fact, that flung hissing cat from bag (Let cat out of the bag!!) and told colleague all about this Cyber-spot on the web. I know... Say what?! :?
I'm inclined to blame lemon drops. Or wine. Or vodka redbulls. Don't show nearly as much restraint when others are paying for my drinks and getting the rounds in. Cursed vodka. Arrgh!!
The thing is, do not feel completely foolish or appropriately mortified. Why not? Perhaps because said colleague, should he have remembered that drunk confession, would (am hoping) have said summin this morning... so far nada! So that's gotta be a good sign right? :oops: [/i]
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| Moments! |
| 07.23.04 (1:47 pm) [edit] |
[b]***I often write entries that I do not post. They're drafts that never make it here because they fit neither the style nor the voice that readers are used to. But today, I felt like being a bit different.***[/b]
[i]There are some moments that might seem as though they never happened in the first place. A minute, an hour, a day – a span of time – where you wish you could have stepped out of yourself to view it from the outset. It was just that beautiful.
If you pay close enough attention, sometimes you actually realise, just know, in the middle of one of those beautiful moments that you’re part of a solitary occurrence, mitigated by time, place and coincidence. By fate. A first breath, a first kiss, a first time you realise the world actually can be beautiful and perfect, if only for that one moment. And you also know it’s not going to happen just that way ever again. :(
So your heart takes a snapshot, if you give pause to let it. And then you will always remember exactly the way the sunlight fell, or a specific shade of blue, or the hum of the refrigerator or the smell of clean cotton. Or the details of someone else’s skin.
The picture, the details are yours to keep, for when you’re immersed in darkness and blues are blacks, and the refrigerator drives you crazy with its constant buzzing, and it seems you’ve lost your sense of smell. And you miss the details of someone else’s skin.
What is most intriguing about these snapshots is how easily they can provide a measure of comfort as well as one of regret -- of lost opportunities, broken connections and irretrievable time.
Years ago, I witnessed the birth of my cousin and my heart froze the moment she inhaled her first breath and exhaled her first cry. But it could not freeze time altogether. She’s now in College/Uni. And years later, I unexpectedly met a girl who rocked my world(not love btw!) and recognized it the very moment that I inhaled a single kiss and exhaled a sigh – one that was somehow left with my heart attached to it. And I remember stopping to take a picture, knowing all too well that it was not to happen exactly that way ever again. It was overwhelming and tender and mournful.... all at once.
If I had to explain, even to myself, how I felt at those moments, it could take a thousand words (as is the going exchange rate between such commodities), or it could take very few. A name. A date. A song. The colour blue. The word inevitable.
Life may not be replete with the moments that pause your soul, the vivid memories of which cause your heart to beat differently, or make it hard to swallow. And all the better. Much of the beauty of those moments lies in their rarity -- in the awe of being in the right place, at the right time, a partaker in coincidence. And in finding a reason to believe in fate.
[b]Have you ever had one of those moments?[/b] :D[/i]
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| Would You Go Miles for Love..? |
| 07.22.04 (8:39 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]We've stopped work today to discuss love.[/b]
My colleague is finding herself in one of those situations where one must choose between [b]'love'[/b] and [b]'location'[/b]. Her boyfriend has been offered a professorship at a prestigious overseas university and she wants to stay put in the UK. And they're crazy about each other. You know, one of those couples.... who literally make you want to puke cos they are so loved up!
So, I find myself screaming, [b]"Dont be a sucker for love! Stay in England!"[/b] like I would at the end of some romantic comedy involving say, Colin Firth. This coming from the guy who, in the past, would cross a busy motorway cos he wanted to impress a girl (Obviously I was way too young to realise my folly!). Now I'm championing for her not to cross an ocean?
Love, the tricky bastard, is hard enough to find for those who believe in it, that the less-practical part of me thinks that if you're going to be moved by love, why have to move for it as well? My colleague has her feminism, though, and her dreams and career ambitions. And I have my what,..... lack of sentimentality? :?
In a bitter moment, I once wrote back in Uni, that there might be no such thing as 'falling in love'. I had decided that the notion of finding overwhelming, incomprehensible kismet with a woman -- that the “in love” feeling -- was just some cocktail you get drunk on after watching too many rom-com movies.
My theory that boiled down to this:
Rom-com lead always crushes the "Nice Guys Finish Last" idea by not only finishing far from last, but "finishing" with the most adorable, shockingly down-to-earth, gorgeous girl-next-door co-stars. And he doesn’t make it look easy. So we believe him. It was tough for him, so it was real.
And what do sentimental hearts learn from that?
Love exists, if simply to make us happy AND there are good, silly, but endearing men willing to make a fool of themselves (say, by standing outside your house with a boom-box playing some meaningful, yet sappy song) just to say, “I think you’re pretty damn special.” Obviously they are in need of a mental check!!
And then, somehow it is not only acceptable to believe in purely-motivated, tender, ecstatic love…but it is also fashionable.
And as we all know, I’m never one to argue with fashion.... except when it comes to the issue of that four letter word everybody bandies around at the drop of a hat! (L-O-V-E)
I'll keep my theories to myself as my colleague works out the practical details of this very difficult decision. But if it were me? I'd probably [b]NOT[/b] be looking for my passport.
What a Sucker LOVE makes y'all!!. [b]** shakes head**[/b]:P
What do y'all think? Should she follow her heart and go to Boston or should she think abt her future advancement here at work? Really easy decision if it were me, but it aint!! Night all!! :wink:[/i]
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| My hangover of y/day!! |
| 07.22.04 (4:55 pm) [edit] |
[i]I might as well blog abt the party on Tuesday night. I had the hiccups when I woke up and they tasted like whiskey.
When I woke up at 5:30 y/day morning and rushed to the bathroom to wretch my ever living guts out, I knew that, at least for my part, the birthday celebration had been a success. One I’m still paying for..... a little bit! Can I just say, that I worked hard for this hangover!! :P
I had to cancel dinner plans with 'Hot Date Girl' last night seeing as I had not quite yet returned to eating solid food without an overwhelming feeling of nausea. And well, I looked and felt like an ass.
I didn’t feel like a second official date was the proper time to release the "This Is Me Hungover" look on someone. And while I think she felt like she was getting the run-around, I was really acting in her best interest. She’ll thank me for it later.... she came to the party but had to leave early cos of work or summin... cant really remember what she said as she left!!
I ended up nibbling at some raspberry sorbet last night, still hiccupping whiskey and noticing a slight tremor in my hands while I ate. Which totally beat the more than slight tremor I experienced in the morning trying to get down several flights of stairs. Ah, the demon drink. Never again I said.... :evil:
Many thanks to the great group of friends who made Tuesday night’s indoor picnic the excellent time it was, and especially to Benjamin for making it possible to use his place. The party kicked off with a Champagne to toast the celebrant, [b]Kirsty[/b] from what she tried to say later on, had the time of her life... but then again, I'm not sure seeing as I was drunk.
It was a great party, and everybody got well and truly slozzled... and maybe that's why I was in such a foul mood y/day and nearly lost my job in the process.... but I'd do it all over again!! :wink:[/i]
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| Uninspired - Need Help! |
| 07.22.04 (2:26 pm) [edit] |
[i]For one reason or another, I just don't seem to be terribly talkative right at the moment. The usual stuff is going on out in the world, of course, much of which is quite outrage-worthy, but…well, everyone else is doing such a good job covering it all. And as for personal stuff, well.... I'm sick and tired of moaning or whinging.
I'm sure something will pop up eventually that will kick things off and get me babbling again. For now, though, things might be a wee bit quiet round these parts.
Of course, now that I've said that, I'm almost guaranteed to find a good few things that I want to ramble on about. Maybe that's the point of posting this? :wink:
So…as long as I'm a bit lacking at the moment — any questions, curiosity, or comments from the peanut gallery? No particular topic, anything goes. I'm just curious to see what might pop up if anyone actually responds.
Anyone?? :?[/i]
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| The finger!! |
| 07.22.04 (12:51 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]To My Boss!![/b] Fuck You!! :P (Forgive my french peeps!)
....................../´¯/)
....................,/.¯./
..................../..../
.................../..../
................../..../
................./..../
............/´¯ '...'/´¯¯`•¸
........./'/.../..../......./¨¯
........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
..........................'...../
..........''............. _.•´
..........................(
..............................
...............................
Cool, huh?!! Well, got this from an email a mate of mine sent me a few days ago. At the time it was hilarious and funny... but I thought this would be the ideal image to send to my boss' boss, who gave me an [b]'official verbal warning'[/b] five minutes ago!! :evil: What the fuck for? I ask... yeah, I might have been out of line y/day, but at least I wasn't blatantly rude or verbal abt it. What a joke!! Argh!! :x
All this cos I walked out of a meeting. What happened was this.... Tuesday morning a colleague of mine who is black arrived at work and found a banana on his desk.. now, dont get me wrong, I'm all for jokes, pranks and what not, but 'blatant' racial crap I draw the line... all cos this guy is black and talks with an accent and stuff!!
He made an official complaint, but the"powers-that-be", were trying to sweep the whole incident under the carpet. What really made matters worse was that according to one of my colleagues the exact same 'stunt' had been on TV just the night before.. so I'm sure it was someone's idea of a sick joke.... but in the TV program it was used to connote racial abuse too!!
Now, tell me is that acceptable?? huh?? :? Hence the reason I walked from the meeting, cos I refused to be party to some kinda 'cover-up'. All in the name of saving the company's reputation as an equal opportunities firm who frown on discrimination of any kind!! Yeah right, give me a fucking break!! :roll:
I'm tempted to send this from an anonymous email address, during my lunch..... that should get the message across loud and clear... [b]what do y'all think?[/b] hehe! :lol:[/i]
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| Time out... |
| 07.21.04 (8:25 pm) [edit] |
[i]I'm being a bit of a smart ass today, someone stop me before I get fired. :shock:
Have been blogging for the last 2 hours or so straight, when I should be in a meeting. But got so fucked off with my boss' boss that I had to walk out... not sure at the moment whether I got away with it, seeing as they are all still cossetted in the meeting room and I'm at my desk!! The long and short of the dialogue is below... tell me if you think I've still got a job? :?
It was all abt summin that happened y/day and instead of letting it go.... they wanted to start re-hashing it all over again.... well, you know me and time wasting just dont mix... so.... I got up!
[b]Higher Up:[/b] blah blah... blah... pretend to care... blah.
[b]Cyber:[/b] (getting up from conference room table) Please excuse me.
[b]Higher Up:[/b] Where do you think you're going?
[b]Cyber:[/b] To calm down. If I don't leave now, I will lose my temper. And if I lose my temper, I will speak my mind. And if I do that, I feel very strongly about what happened here yesterday and if I tell you just what that is, one of two things will happen. Either I will quit or you will fire me. I want to avoid that.
[b]Higher Up:[/b] (really long pause) Fair enough.... you're excused.
I'm just waiting for the fireworks when the meeting is over..... actually, I think I see them breaking up now... wish me luck y'all! [b]**crosses fingers**[/b]
I'm outta here, peace y'all and have fun peeps!! :P[/i]
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| How old am I, 15??? |
| 07.21.04 (7:08 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]Dear Diary[/b],
Last night I had a dream about [u]Britney Spears[/u](I know... wtf?). I just know this means we're meant to get it on. Too rude and naughty to write abt but good enough to remember. hehe! :D
Love,
[b]Cyber[/b].
[b]PS!![/b] Only in real life I hope she's not as [b]spotty and pasty[/b] as her pictures show. Or I might be forced to have second thoughts. :P
What's with 'Britney' recently, anyways?? :?[/i]
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| A Dear Love, Letter |
| 07.21.04 (6:37 pm) [edit] |
[I][b]LET'S NOT GET CARRIED AWAY NOW[/b]...Cyberpal is NOT going soft on y'all or suddenly signing up to the [b]'Love does exist'[/b] brigade.... just read on, and you'll see what the deal is!!
[b]Dear Love[/b],
I woke up this morning from a dream, sensing a sleeping body next to me. I reached out to pull her closer. But, of course, my hands came up empty. And right then, I felt so intensely lonely -- the expanse of my bed like the pre-historic uninhabited ends of the earth.
So, I got up. I made coffee and went out to the balconey to let the sun kiss my cheeks (butt-cheeks!... I sleep nekkid!). My forehead. The tip of my nose. I must have left the switch on -- I could hear the kettle whistling for me. I showered, waiting for the cell phone to beep, for the person on the other end to be friends.
I went back to the balconey, where I sat in one of those black Urban style chairs, 'chain-smoking' memories of former lovers. One right after the other. And I couldn't help but smile.
In a minute, when I'm done being angry at it, I'll go back in and make the bed with fresh sheets. I suppose it's better to wake up alone from time to time than never to have woken up at all.
Thanks for the memories, but what the fuck is love anyway?... cos of that I have NO memories! :P
[b]Cyberpal[/b].
Any one care to explain?? :? [/i]
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| Crossing the Rubicon Part II. |
| 07.21.04 (4:59 pm) [edit] |
[b]Completed: July 20, 2004 @ 15:15 PM [/b]
[i]Hey peeps, here's the concluding part to my tale abt my weekend's [b]'crossing of the rubicon'[/b] that I in the cold light of day, knew had been a bad mistake.[/i]
Give me a kiss to build a dream on
And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss
Sweetheart, I ask no more than this
A kiss to build a dream on.....
[i]On saturday night while out I ended up getting it on with Kemi, who also happens to be a good friend from my Uni days as I've outlined in previous post titled Part I. Now dont get me wrong, I enjoyed every nerve jangling, tonsil tickling second of the liason.... but when sobriety kicked in, it just didnt seem like one of my [b]'bestest'[/b] ideas in the world after a skinful of alcohol! :roll:
So, to say it was awkward was an understatement, and to boot my pal Phil fancied the pants off her and was not best pleased I'd spoilt his chances so to speak! :roll: So Sunday during the day was pretty awkward and I tried my best possible to avoid being alone with Kemi so I didnt have to face up to what had happened and address it. (A typical and totally acceptable 'male' answer to tricky situations!!) :P
Well, it wasn't until later that I actually got to know what had really transpired the night before. To cut a long a tedious story short, we gave into our passions and did everything short of actual sex. Now, dont get me wrong Kemi is a fantastic gurl, who I'd had the hots for, since Uni... but I had been the one to call a halt to it then. So what the hell was I playing at now??? Seeing as I had no intention of following up with anything else.
Hence my dilemma..... how do you explain to a dear friend that she had inadvertently become a one-night stand never to be repeated again? huh? How?? :? Cos I didnt and still dont have any intention of starting a relationship with so many things up in the air in my life at the moment! So I crossed the rubicon.... I made the age-old mistake of taking friendship to the next level thus jeopardising any long term chance of us remaining friends.
What do I do now?? While I started writing this... we still hadn't spoken properly and I was dropping her off at the airport soon......
[b]Update[/b]
Had the 'talk' but get the impression she wont be in touch anytime soon..... what do I do? I really need some help with this, as I feel like a total RAT-BAG at the moment! All my tblog friends of the female origin... your advice, indepth knowledge and intuition would be much appreciated on this one.... and feel free to have a go at me too.... I cant feel any worse than I do now!! :([/i]
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| A Barbie Birthday. |
| 07.21.04 (4:30 pm) [edit] |
[b]July 19, 2004 @ 00:15 AM [/b]
[i]Sometime around 10:00, the receptionist called to say I had a box at the front desk. Jen, Brad and I all jokingly decided that the box (which had been sent next day delivery) was too heavy to be any thing really good. You know, like, plane tickets for round-the-world-trips or a cheque for a million pounds. That sort of thing.
Curious, I opened the box right there in reception. Underneath a substantial layer of crumpled newspaper, I found what is to date the silliest package ever sent. And I mean ever!! :D
Ever!!!
[b]Barbie paper plates. Barbie napkins. Barbie paper cups. Barbie party hats and noise makers. Pink candles. Balloons. Completely non-edible icing cake toppers (also Barbie). Two disposable round baking pans. A cake mix. And pink frosting with sprinkles.[/b] :shock:
“Now, I have a real present on its way, but it’s been delayed,” Kirsty's mother said when I called to thank her for the Box of Never-Ending Pink. “I just thought this had to get there on the right day and make sure Kirsty knows it was all my idea.”
I can’t tell you what a fight I had with myself to refrain from opening the frosting right there in my office. I held off. The cake was baked and frosted (albeit not entirely attractive, as Jen doesn’t have the patience for the whole two-layer-round-cake bit) and I’m about to help myself to a piece. Or two. I may even light a candle and sing, though that seems rather sad.
Tomorrow night, the actual birthday festivities get underway with some indoor, on the floor dining at Benjamin’s place. It promises to be conspicuously lacking in bar antics with the scales tipping in favour of good food, good company and a very subtle, 'Barbie' theme. I cant wait to see Kirsty's face when she gets there!! hehehe!! :lol: [/i]
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| Men and Sex ... the Myths! |
| 07.21.04 (4:08 pm) [edit] |
[b]July 19, 2004 @ 11:42 AM [/b]
[i]This is just a little excerpt that just tickled me when I read it. Let me know what y'all think.... this has got to be some kinda joke right?! :shock: Cos it's either that or I like most men have been under certain illusions for quite a long time.... and would henceforth like to quote some of these as reasons or excuses in the future! :P
[b]From Dr. Joyce Brothers — how much do you know about men and sex?[/b]
[u]True or False:[/u]
[b]1. There are at least two spots on a man's sex organs where you can see proof that all men start out as females.
2. Unlike women, men never fake orgasms. It simply can't be done.
3. There is actually a scientific reason why men sometimes roll over and go to sleep right after sex.
4. At every age, men daydream and fantasize about sex more than women do.
5. Men don't really have sexual peaks at any one time of day.
6. Men who masturbate after marriage sometimes feel guilty.
7. Men and women both tend to have the strongest and longest orgasms after a period of abstinence.
8. Men expect women to fake an orgasm most of the time. [/b]
1. [b]TRUE[/b]. The line on the underside of the penis represents the fusing of the right and left labia minora, and the thin line that divides the scrotum marks the fusing of what would have been the labia majora if the male sex organs had not intervened. (Yeah right!!) :roll:
2. [b]FALSE[/b]. The male can fake an orgasm as easily as a woman can, if no one is paying much attention! Women's secretions can be mistaken for ejaculation, and a tired or not-too-interested man can have an erection simply fade away. (Impotence IF YOU ASK ME!)
3. [b]TRUE[/b]. There is a chemical that is released in the brain immediately after orgasm that makes a man feel very sleepy. But a partner can engage him in conversation or activity until this momentary impulse passes. (Aah ha!!, that's why.....)
4. [b]FALSE[/b]. While most studies show that, the majority of the time, men spend more of their day fantasizing about women, others have shown that between the ages of 30 and 34, women are the champion fantasizers. (You hear that ladies??)
5. [b]FALSE[/b]. As most men know, they are at their hormonal peak and likely to have erections upon awakening. A man's testosterone production also sometimes aligns itself with the time of the month his partner is most fertile, so mark your calendar. (Or not, if you dont want sprogs!)
6. [b]TRUE[/b]. Even though they know they aren't going to go blind, married adults sometimes feel guilty about continued masturbation. In one survey of 40 medical students, 20 worried that it was physically or psychologically bad for them -- married or not. (Yeah! right!) :P
7. [b]FALSE[/b]. Only men have the strongest and longest orgasms after a period of abstinence. Women tend to be just the opposite. The longer they go without sex, the less the desire for intercourse, and once achieved, orgasms vary as usual, depending on circumstances. (So that's why I come like and elephant after a lay-off?) :P
8. [b]FALSE[/b]. Thankfully, at this point in time most men have learned enough about women's sexuality that they pride themselves on being good lovers. And that means making sure their partner is satisfied each time, for real. Faking it isn't fun for anyone. (Stud's never get faked!!) :P [/i]
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| Up, and at 'em!! |
| 07.21.04 (3:59 pm) [edit] |
[i]Hey peeps, I've been otherwise engaged. As a result my blogging has suffered a bit. Hopefully that's the worst of it.. and I'm back to blogging again as usual. Lots of back-logged posts written but not posted, so you'll just have to bear with me as I get rid of the back-log of posts in my drafts box!! :P[/i]
[LINE]
[b]Monday July 19, 2004 @ 10:07 AM [/b]
[i]Guess it's about time I should poke my head up around these parts again, huh? :?
Been a good weekend — a little too humid and muggy at times, but overall, quite enjoyable. Sunday I took the guys to airport to catch their flights, sat and chatted with Kemi & Phil for a few hours. I ended up spending a good amount of time with Kemi on her own, who is still adorable, talking abt what had happened over the weekend — and since Phil had already mentioned the 'chemistry' sizzling between us, we kinda realised we needed to clear the air. Which we did, and both resolved to remain [b]'just'[/b] friends!! (Well at least that's what I wanted.... I'm just hoping she did too!) :?
Between the heat and not sleeping terribly well for a couple nights, Sunday night became a night of restive pleasure, doing very little aside from dinking around on the 'puter, ordering pizza, and kicking back to watch [b]I, Robot [/b]. I enjoyed the movie, Overall, not horrible — but not great, either. Pretty much just standard summer movie fare more than anything else. A few amusing lines here and there, decent special effects, and very pretty to look at (I do enjoy Alex Proyas' directing), but aside from the title and the Three Laws of Robotics, any connections to Asimov were few and far between.
Character names and a couple situations lifted from the pages of Asimov's robot short stories, but the spirit of Asimov's writing definitely wasn't there. It's not so bad that I'd recommend staying away, but if there's another movie you're more interested in, don't go out of your way to see I, Robot. I [b]MUST[/b] give props to my man 'Will Smith' though, who definitely pulled it off big time in this film. He seems now to have established himself in the genre of big blockbuster Sci-fi flicks for the foreseeable future. Good for him!! :D
That ended up being just the night I needed to recuperate, before another busy week. And now the weekend's done, the week begins, and I'll try to catch up with everything else in the world that I missed over the past few days.
Whee! :P[/i]
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| Tech Support Porn. |
| 07.18.04 (9:42 pm) [edit] |
[i]The job market just keeps getting wierder. Consider this Portland Craigslist job posting:http://portland.craigslist.or..., for instance… (Just checked and it's been deleted, but here's the gist of it!!) :D
[b]Seeking qualified tech girls for specialized phone hostess positions.[/b]
[b]Requirements:[/b]
- You must be over 18.
- You can be described as a "Tech Girl", "Geek Chick" or "Network Ops Cutie".
- You need a pleasant speaking voice and able to talk "tech".
- Calls can become sensual so you need to be ok with that.
- A fully clothed photo for our web site, although exhibitionists are preferred.
- Be willing to take calls from those who find your certifications very sexy.
Please see our web site for more information:
http://www.askthetechgirl.com" title="http://www.askthetechgirl.com" target="_blank"http://www.askthetechgirl.com...
[b]There's a devious, if sad, brilliance in this.[/b]... What do y'all think? :?[/i]
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| Crossing the Rubicon Part I |
| 07.18.04 (3:33 pm) [edit] |
[i]Boy oh boy oh boy!! I've had a pretty wild few days. My friend's Kemi (from Houston) and Phil (from London) have been down since Friday night. And it has been one big party all weekend long. It's official peeps... Cyberpal can no longer party as hard as he used to.... yikes!! I'm getting old, past it, ready for the knackers yard!! Hell NO!! .... I hope! :(
So, I'm gonna blame everything that happened this weekend on the booze, pure and simple!! Cos I might have come up against one of those famous of cliche's this weekend..... [b]"I crossed the rubicon"[/b] - I irrevocably committed to a course of action, made a fateful and final decision that in the cold light of day was a total no-no!! I (Well, I say 'I' but there were two people involved) over-stepped the friendship line and took it to another level. Now, it's all awkward and a lot has been left unsaid!
Last night, I remembered kissing my friend Kemi (Well Kissing is a much milder version, but for the purposes of this post and blog, it'll have to do!). Feel it's inappropriate to mention entire name as I will still have to see or speak to said friend again. But before y'all say.."how could you?" or "so what?" let me give you some background on how myself and Kemi met.
Met K at all-night, outdoor music/fete-type festival in College/Uni and was immediately one of those impulsive, 'can't keep hands and flirtatious innuendo to self' attractions. Would have been fine, except that K was at said festival as blind date of Cyberpal's roommate. Indeed. Bad Cyberpal. But K was model-like gorgeous (have never seen more perfect teeth). And would had to have been a saint to resist such adorability and sassiness. And besides, roommate didn't seem to notice not-so-innocent flirting. (Is my excuse... and I was young!)
Was challenged by K to Sumo Wrestling Event and so put on very funny, padded outfits and wrestled (rather ungracefully) until were lying on ground with K on top, laughing and sucking very cold night air. Flirted with such brazen intensity that was certain was going to start fire from heat between us. At one point, remember K saying, "We can't do this. I'm here with your roommate." Bah. Roommate schroommate. He was oblivious to it all.
Night of fun festival ended and did not see K again for several months. As she had no interest in shy roommate, K did not call him or take his calls again and well, did not call yours truly either. Was for the best I thought.
Then, was very surprised to get call from K during Christmas holidays (had not come back home to the UK that year). Dressed quickly and met k at campus park, then decided to go watch a film. Barely made it out of cheesy teen flick with all clothing items still in appropriate places. K was intoxicating, but as turns out, a genuine tease. And when we got to cars, K was breathy and lovely. Even somewhat sinister And God, did she smell good. Very good indeed.
[b]K:[/b] Want to follow me back to our place? M. (her room mate) is at her parents' this weekend.
At this point, I leaned in and kissed that most beautiful mouth, full of most beautiful, perfect teeth and pink tongue. Was electric, compelling and irresistible. And taking cue from said feeling, stepped back.
[b]Cyber:[/b] I don't think so.
Leaving K standing outside in foggy air (had just started to rain), got in car and drove away from perhaps most amazing night of possibility ever. Left hot kisses and a sure thing, for a cold shower and an even colder bed! But left with same dignity with which I had arrived. This Cyberpal liked his tryst's uncomplicated and could see that it would have been complicated like hell. Myself and K, did become very good friends, but never refered to our almost-night of passion thru-out Uni ever again.
Well, that's the background of my initial meeting with K. I know... long winded but there's a reason... read next installment..... hopefully today. :wink:[/i]
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| Harsh Reality. |
| 07.18.04 (2:36 pm) [edit] |
[b]Main-lining tequila.[/b]
[i]Fun in theory, though a bit harsher in the grey light of next day. Waking up on very cold bathroom floor in wee hours of morning (miraculously in boxers but still wearing shoes and glasses) not exactly dignified if you know what I mean?. If I'm trying to prove Over-Reactive Friend wrong, I'm doing fine, fine job, must say. Will now revert back to other Self-Destructive Coping Mechanisms that do not produce coma-like results or unnecessary bonding with certain porcelain bathroom fixtures. :oops:
I'm still searching for some sort of mental-recovery technique after a tough week, that does not involve causing bodily harm or incurring substantial debt. Again, will seek therapy in late thirties when I can afford it, or be bothered with it.
For now am feeling overwhelmed. Not only with Cyberpal-is-Crazy feelings, but I'm also caught so off guard by amazing amount of tequila I put away y/day. At least we got home safely, so I hereby declare that all help from unexpected sources was gratefully received... even if not remembered. I am a very grateful Cyberpal. :P
Boy have I got a tale to tell, will compose a post in a bit as to how my weekend has gone so far. :roll:
[b]WARNING:[/b] For those of you that never knew.... Tequila is the 'brew of the devil'. Yep! I'm sure you never thought you'd read that here, but I've got to say I have never been so fucked-up as I was last night. I blame it all on my pal's who came down from Houston and London respectively. So no more Tequila from now on for your's truly, well at least till Thursday!! :wink: [/i]
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| Alternative arrangements needed! |
| 07.16.04 (9:06 pm) [edit] |
[i]It was ever so nice to see the sky not looking quite so bruised as it has been for the last few days. I've got little sniffle as a result, but I'll live! :)
Standing in the shower this morning, I looked up at my skylight and was a little surprised to see a bit of blue. Hopeful, I propelled my towel-clad self into the living room too look at weather.com for signs that things were improving. Alas, they are not. Come Tuesday, which should have been [b]Kirsty's[/b] champagne and strawberries Birthday Pic-a-nic in the Park, it will still have been raining on and off for
[b]three
straight
days[/b]
Gawd dammit!! :evil:
The Birthday Pic-a-nic idea is thus ruined. And frankly, this makes me mad, Kirsty deserved a great day out!!. Hot Date Girl (who really does need a better moniker) has suggested marquee tents rather than ditch the idea completely. But that does present a bit of a funding problem and so now I’m looking for suggestions as to alternative locations. Here are my requirements:
Alcohol (Lots of!!)
Lounginess (If we must be indoors, let us be comfortable... my aprtment is too small)
Newcastle (It's her birthday. I'm not scrimpping) :P
Music (Yes, I'll be resident DJ on the night!)
Okay, maybe that’s it. The birthday Pic-a-nic started as a rather intimate affair – a couple dozen close friends, some blankets, champagne, finger-type food, strawberries, her fav ice crem in large tubs, some music and Jen's tastily reputed potato salad – mostly because I was going to be providing the booze.
Altho moving the event indoors certainly does open up the birthday extravaganza to more debauchery. Being the plus side of the whole catastrophe. And seeing as I've invited 'Hot Date Gurl'! :wink:
Been racking my brain all day on what to do... have till Monday to sort this out... and it's meant to be a surprise too!! Anyway, suggest away peeps. The winning suggestion will get something really super cool..... I promise! :P
I'm off to confirm the delivery of the Champagne and stuff for Tuesday... just defrosted the credit cards!! Yikes!! Ciao peeps :lol: [/i]
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| Lonely Hearts Scam!! |
| 07.16.04 (3:22 pm) [edit] |
[b]Tall, attractive, sociable, professional gent, early 30's with own Porshe and GSOH seeks beautiful woman for life-long, loving partnership.[/b]
[i]Now that 'lonely hearts ad' would describe [b]me[/b] down to a "T" but maybe without the porshe, but then again I've got to have summin that stands out right? :?
Well, a friend of mine recently started this whole internet dating thingy, and she has been amazed for some reason by the sheer duplicity in how the reality rarely matches the description given? DUH!! [b]"What the hell did you expect?"[/b] I asked her. In other words, the perfect man/woman - doesn't exist on the internet. Or do they?
My friend who we'll just refer to as 'C', lives in London and she arranged a date with 'G' "34, GSOH and a penthouse flat in London".... she got the shock of her life. He was at least 50, with glasses and comb over hairdo and was as funny as having you teeth pulled out at the dentist's!!..... it's suffice to say she never hung around long enough to find out whether the penthouse existed either! :P
Funnily enough one of our other friends was quite successful with this and he is happily married today to the gurl he met online. Not that I ever doubted their 'love' for each other (ok, maybe I did a little.. but they proved me wrong!) :oops:
Yes many are successful, but majority are prone to exaggeration on a grand scale. The weird thing though is that it's men more than women who are most decietful!! Why's that? A woman might take a couple of years off her age or make her job sound better, but when it comes to their physical appearance they are more often than not, always honest.
Whereas men talk themselves up... is it cos we are more arrogant? But I guess that is cos we feel that if we dont sex-up our descriptions we wont get any takers. Whereas a woman only has to post an ad saying [b]"single and desperate for sex"[/b] and she'd be inundated with replies. We just cant win really, can we guys?!!
Let's just say that my friend has decided to try more conventional means of dating for now... the internet thing, didn't quite work for her if you know what I mean?! :P Has anybody else tried it and succeeded(sp?)? Call me sceptical, cynical or even down-right pragmatic... but I just cant see how iut all works, when the possiblity to actually make everything up is higher than the honest truth
Here's a take on what the real meanings of the ads in men's write-ups are, as discussed with my said friend (Let's just say she wasn't exactly impressed):
[b]40-ish: At least 55
Affectionate: Clingy
Sporty: Never misses 'Match of the day' (Sports review)
Cuddly: A werewolf
Educated: Snobbish and condescending (Me!!):P
Free spirited: Will sleep with your best friend
Good looking: Big-headed, arrogant!
Honest: Pathological liar
Light drinker: Alcoholic
Professional: Owns a suit
Reliable: Always late by at least an hour
Romantic: Penniless
Sensitive: Cry-baby
Sociable: Party-animal, raving freak!!
Stable: Stalker tendencies, but never arrested
Uniformed: Traffic warden type job
Virile: Has a subscription for 'Men Only'.[/b]
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| Let's have some 'Meme' fun |
| 07.15.04 (9:13 pm) [edit] |
[i]This was as far as I know, originally a [u]LiveJournal[/u]:http://www.livejournal.com meme, but it was so goofy and intricate that I had to join in the fun. So. Bear with me and join in too.
[b]1.[/b] Take your blog username or your real name and replace each letter with the corresponding number (A=1, B=2, etc...). If your name contains numbers, you'll need to convert them to letters first before you can convert to numbers.
Since I'm doing this here on tblog, rather than on LJ, I'll use the name I post under on this weblog — which, conveniently enough, just happens to be my alta-ego'name.
[b]Cyberpal = 3 25 2 5 18 16 1 11[/b]
[b]2.[/b] Add all of the numbers together to create a kind of super number.
[b]81[/b]
[b]3.[/b] Make a note of the first digit of this number, then add the digits of the number together.
[b]First digit is 8.
8 + 1 = 9.[/b]
[b]4.[/b] Find the post of this number in your blog archives. If you don't have that many posts, add the digits together again. Keep doing so until the number is smaller than your pathetic number of posts. :P
My ninth (archived) post was [u][b]It's only Tuesday[/b][/u] ...:http://www.tblog.com/template...'s%20only%20Tuesday, posted on [u]February 3rd, 2004[/u].
[b]5.[/b] Take the digit you noted in step 3, and count that many words into the post.
[b]Dayam![/b]
[b]6.[/b] Use the resulting word in a [b]Google Image Search[/b]:http://images.google.com, and select a picture from the first page.
[b]7.[/b] Post the results for us all to see. If you take this to your blog.. make sure you let me know what picture or image you came up with :)
[b]This was the one I picked.... and yes, she is rather cute that's why I picked it!! :P[/b]
 A quick note regarding this image: while it was by far the best of the images that Google found for me, there was one of Britney and Madge abt to kiss, but since it wasn't "the kiss" I didn't bother with it. [/i]
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| Kill Bill - Part Three (True)! |
| 07.15.04 (6:36 pm) [edit] |
[i]I actually heard a rumour about this a couple of weeks ago, but I just now got around to a quick Google to see if there was any truth to what I'd heard. Apparently there is — [b]Tarantino[/b] is planning on a third part to the Kill Bill saga.
[u][b]In fifteen years though[/b].[/u]:http://msnbc.msn.com/id/52632...
[b]“I have plans, actually not right away, but like in 15 years from now, I’ll do a third version of this saga,” the director said at a news conference to promote “Kill Bill — Vol. 2,” which opens in Spain next month.
Tarantino said part three would focus on the daughter of a hired killer that Uma Thurman’s character bumps off early in her revenge spree.[/b]
In fifteen years though?? So. Incredibly. Cool. Or so incredibly stupid? What do y'all think? :?[/i]
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| Sexual Innuendo |
| 07.15.04 (6:14 pm) [edit] |
[i]Been another hectic day peeps, and I'm actually sending this post from the on-site office we have here. Haven't been to the office today at all. Hope you're all having a great day. Just a quick one....
I'm convinced email was created for the sole purpose of giving yours truly something naughty to do while at work. Lately, if am having a conversation with B, and an item of food is involved, is a pretty sure bet that said food item becomes merely a sexual metaphor. hehe! :D
[b]Cereal:[/b] Sex. Or, more specifically, morning sex. Though, like cereal, can really be had at any time of day.
[b]Coffee:[/b] Also morning sex. The best part of wakin' up... or, Good to the last drop.
[b]Soup:[/b] Sex. Of the Campbell's variety, it's Mmmm Mmmm finger-licking Good. Or Belissimo, It's in there. (personal favourite)
[b]Pizza:[/b] Really great sex. Hot, steamy, with all the desired toppings.
Current Inappropriate-for-Work email centered around cereal:
[b]Me:[/b] Should have had me some cereal this morning, I'm starving..
[b]B:[/b] Want some? I think I know where to find it.
[b]Me:[/b] The cereal aisle at Safeways or Tesco's?
[b]B:[/b] Nope. Your house. Direct, aren't I?
[b]Me:[/b] (laughing) Yes, you bloody are! :shock:
[b]B:[/b] Well?
[b]Me:[/b] (long silence then)...... "gotta go!!" (I know, I whimped out!!) :P
Indeed!!..... any innuendo you guys use at work or otherwise that entail food as the item? Fill me in y'all!! :)[/i]
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| Is less more? |
| 07.14.04 (2:55 pm) [edit] |
[i]Hey peeps, been a while I know. Hope you're all well? :) Now, If less is indeed more, then I should feel like I've had quite sufficient amount of sleep. But as I've never agreed with said ideology (except where it pertains to own willy size) :P, I'm very conscious of the fact that I've slept less than 12 hours over last three days.
Sunday got in from London late. Got the last flight in.. and then hung out with Kirsty, Dave, Josie, Joel and Jenny for a while, just catching up and shooting the breeze. I shoulda gone to bed!! :roll:
Monday night, got back home very late... more like early morning. So only had a couple of hours sleep. Went on one of those legitimate [b]"open-the-doors-buy-he r-movie-ticket"[/b] type dates with J. Saw very strange yet appealing flick and then went back to J's and got stuffed gorging on an extra-large tub of ice-cream, while watching yet another movie on DVD. For whatever reason (and I'm going with the delightful assumption that J understood yours truly had to get up in wee hours of morning to get to work), I had to get home to sleep in my own comfy bed.....It's a terrible thing to have to leave warm, cozy, entwined situation on couch (after watching flick) with J to face cold night with the thought that I will [b]NOT[/b] be participating in Big-Spoon-Little-Spoon activities. :(
What a waste of newly acquired boxers. :wink:
City centre excursion (to celebrate Pal's birthday) last night (Tuesday) was whirlwind of fun, as usual. Miraculously, I did not drink too much nor participate in any shameful physical contact with undesirable bicycles (geddit??). Was as usual, the dancing King -- and in soberiety such activity is quite a feat. Was also raging flirt (again, shocker) :shock:. I'm certain that danced too close for too long with cute 'friend of a friend', but I'm such a sucker for a woman in a tight white t-shirt..... I couldn't help myself. Had very hilarious and lovely conversation with gregarious Wise and Lovely work pal, as well. That's abt all I can remember. :P
So having said all that coupled with the non-existent sleep on Sunday, that's 3 days and abt 12hrs sleep. I'm ratty, snappy, drowsy and very tired.... so how could less possibly be more? :( Just off to top up on my coffee, it's definitely home early today for me. I have a rendezvous with my bed!!![/i]
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| A man always knows when to quit! |
| 07.13.04 (8:42 pm) [edit] |
[i]Upon my return from the "Big smoke" (London), I had every intention of extending my hiatus and shutting Cyberpal's World down permanently.
It wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction, rather something that has been gnawing at me for some time. Emotionally more complex than the makeup of my usual Pro/Con list, my reasons are a combination of the emotional and the rational that are, for the large part, inexpressible.
The way I’ve been feeling lately has been inexpressible.
On Sunday afternoon, my pal Baba and I sat on the clean wood floors of his apartment, leaning against bare walls, and talking. I shared some of my frustrations. He lent his support and insight and I made a decision to give up the blog. I made a lot of decisions, actually. And incidentally, once I verbalized them, they felt absolutely and undeniably[/i] [b]wrong[/b].
[i]So here I remain.
But still, I’m left with my handful of reasons for wanting to throw in the towel. I’ve been up against them before, if you remember. I’ve strayed so far from the original purpose of the blog, which when anonymous, allowed me to express myself with near absolute freedom. It used to be so liberating to let go of my dignity, to be raw and rude and yet, to be unknown. Because, in the real world, I still had my dignity.
But now, I know you. I’ve eaten lunch with one or two of you, shared drinks and ice cream, and even truffles with one of you. I’ve asked you to join me in wishing my family and friends happy birthday's and whatnot.... share my angst, worries and joys.
And I can’t help but feel that in some way, too much honesty here only serves to add unnecessary conflict to my relationships with those of you who know me outside of my Cyberpal persona. But I guess that’s the consequence we face, writer and reader alike.
A part of me feels distant right now. I’m mired in personal and professional stuff that is getting to me. I thought I'd got over it all last week, but this weekend has just shown that I was trying to con myself into believeing that! And I’ve been feeling like that since the moment I walked into my apartment and set my bag on the floor in the hall.
See, I can’t tell you that and save face. It’s [b]impossible[/b]. But then again, who knows? Maybe it’ll turn out that dignity is a bit overrated..... well, at least among friends it is. I've missed y'all.... will blog again later on. Hope y'all had good weekends and have started the week in a positive mood? Ciao :)
[b]PS:[/b] This isn't a cry for help or anything like that, just wanted y'all to know what I was considering that's all![/i]
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| By the time you read this.... |
| 07.09.04 (8:39 pm) [edit] |
[i]...I'll be gone. If you read this after say, 9:00pm or so, anyway. :)
I'll have sucessfully traded in my Car for a spot on a certain well known low-cost-airline-that-fli es-the-world, postponed my hot date (thank you, HOT date), and I'm London-bound a day earlier than planned.
Today, been on site the whole day again.. just got bck and now I'm high-tailing it down to the airport to catch my flight to London. My Mum is flying in tomorrow en-route to the US to see my other brother.
Full-scale rejuvenation plans are in effect. There will be Nigerian food, family time and a bit of "Flash Mob" (If you know what it means?). Well for the novices, here's a quick definition..... A public gathering of complete strangers organised via the internet or mobile phones, who perform a 'pointless act' at a pre-arranged point of assembly and then disperse again. Silly I know, but from what I've been told it's quite funny actually!! So I'm going, seeing as I got a text to be there!! :P
And Mum has even emailed to say she’s bringing my long over-due and awaited birthday gift with her. That she remembered to bring it finally at all, is fantastic and gratifying. Fingers crossed it's a cheque or summin like that!! :wink:
And in my absence from the City of Newcastle, Kirsty will be dropping in from time to time to see that the water leak gets sorted, and to make sure they dont turn my apartment into a bomb site in my absence.
And in my absence from here? Well, I’m certain you’ll all survive the hiatus marvelously. Have a great w/end y'all, hope you all have a refreshing time whatever you get up to.
Catch ya on the flipside peeps!! :D [/i]
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| Last Night!! |
| 07.09.04 (8:06 pm) [edit] |
[i]I left work last night, stopping by the reception desk for a quick chat. Then pushing out through the glass doors, I noticed an open, empty lift. Fate! I hurried into the cab. It only took me three seconds or so to figure out why I felt out of place and why the only other person in the lobby was looking at me strangely. I stepped back out.
“I, um, guess that’s the service lift, right?” I said, laughing at myself. The lady laughed, answered in the affirmative, then said I had to have been in a terrible rush not to have noticed, had to tell her that I had a date with a rather great big jug... and she hated being kept waiting!! (Jug as in jug/pitcher of beer) and when the passenger lift opened moments later, she wished me a good night.
“You, too.” I smiled.
“Boy, I bet you put a fair few away, don’t you?”
I was surprised at her comment and at first, didn’t know how to respond. Laughing, I pressed “G” on the panel, and as the metal doors began to slide shut, I answered,
“I dunno. Maybe sometimes I do, but you'll not get an invite from me..... Only the TEDC (Thursday Evening Drinking Club) are invited!!” :P
Well, y'all know how the rest went... had a few and later moved on to a club, where I pulled!! Yup!! you read right, I actually pulled a gurl.. and she was fit too.. Lets just say I didnt get much sleep last night, you know what I mean? :wink: Lovely gurl from Poland, and no I wasn't drunk.. she was gorgeous and gracious enough to know it was only a casual thing!! Just two adults havin fun!!
Waved her off this morning, but did set up a date with her for sometime over the weekend... forgot at the time that I'm off to London this evening!! Oops! :oops:
Sorry I haven't read, commented or hollered on y'alls blogs over the last couple of days.... I swear on my life.. I'll be blogging like crazy this w/end to make up for it!! Ciao peeps... I'll drop a quick one before I head out!! :D[/i]
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| A word of thanks! |
| 07.08.04 (8:29 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]Dear Tbloggers[/b],
You all blow my mind with your coolness. Thank you one and all for the words of support you given over the last two weeks of hell that I've been thru. You are all appreciated.... some more than others, but then you know yourselves.
Mucho Love,
Matt. [b](a.k.a Cyberpal)[/b] :lol:
[b]PS: No I'm not all of a sudden going soppy and loveable, and yes this is a one off!! :P[/b]
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| People need people. |
| 07.08.04 (7:49 pm) [edit] |
[i]Hey peeps, just waltzed into my office 5mins ago, the first time today I've been here. Have been on site the whole day, hence the non-blogging by yours truly. Bummer I know!! :( Been one of those days, busy busy busy... kinda relentless! Glad it's over... and seeing as it's Thursday, we all know what I'll be doing for the rest of the evening?! :wink: (Those who dont, well... tough!! :P)
Just a quick post, abt what I realised abt myself yesterday! When I know I’m wrong, I find it pretty easy to apologise. When I like something, I’ll plug it and champion it without reserve. When I’m tired, cold or hungry or miserable with a headache, I have no qualms or problem saying, “I have a gawd damn headache.” :evil: But when I need help, when it occurs to me that I can’t go it alone and I need to be bolstered up, I am absolutely incapable of saying, [b]“I need you.” [/b] or easily put I refuse to ask for support!!
Lest it seem that I'm beginning to continually whine and have weeklong moaning spells merely for the benefit of keeping things interesting here on my blog, I’ll be a bit more forthcoming and say, something fairly big was up. For the sake of my own privacy (and pride), I didn’t expose it here, or even to most of those that I would consider close friends here. As a result, I was an antsy, snippy, headachy, nauseous train wreck of a human being this whole week.
I touched on my distress in writing, though my posts were never meant to be secret code of any kind. I have long since given up artless subterfuge. But yet, uncorked, my bottled messages must have said plenty to evoke tidings of, “What is really going on with you, dude?” Thx gawd for Krazedone, who sent me a tmail telling me to snap out of it and get with the program (well that's just putting it in words suitable for the younger readers here)
Preferring to twist in the wind (because being a total pain-in-the-rear is ever so vogue), I thanked-but-no-thanked my way through the week, until one friend had finally endured just abt enough of my emotional short fuse behaviour.
“I don’t care if it’s me, your neighbour, or the ice cream man,” she said. “You need someone.” Then she proceeded to guilt me with the bodily harm that would befall her when she camped out on my street waiting for me to call and admit I needed support. You know, like a good friend does?.
And so, I caved last night. I accepted company, comfort and really hot pizza to go with my already prepared feast and wine. All of which I had needed, and couldn't ask for.
I can’t seem to get through cheesy horror flicks by myself (which is what we watched last night btw!), without another warm body to hide behind or someone to critique them with, they’re unbearable. Which makes me wonder: Why is it I think I can possibly make it through scary, real-life situations without the same support? :? We all need support in our lives, dont we?[/i]
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| Banning iPods!! |
| 07.07.04 (9:33 pm) [edit] |
[i]Now those of you who frequent my blog will know about the love affair I have with my ipod, well you can understand my consternation when I read the news article from [b]Macworld[/b]below :http://www.macworld.co.uk/new...
The [b]dumbfuck Gartner report[/b] recommends banning iPods. Some jackass analyst at Gartner is advising employers to ban iPods and other personal storage tech from the workplace to prevent leakage of s33kr1ts from within the corporate hive. Likely successor recommendation: decapitating all outgoing employees.
[b]"Portable storage products can bypass perimeter defences like firewalls and antivirus at the mailserver, and introduce malware such as Trojans or viruses onto company networks."
Devices mentioned include "disk-based MP3 players, such as Apple's iPod, and digital cameras with smart media cards, memory sticks, compact flash and other memory media"...
"Businesses must ensure that the right procedures and technologies are adopted to securely manage the use of portable storage devices like USB keychain drives. This will help to limit damage from malicious code, loss of proprietary information or intellectual property, and consequent lawsuits and loss of reputation," the report stated.[/b] Link above.
My angst with this is that if American industry buy into this, it's only a matter of time before my beloved ipod is outlawed from offices across the country.... what happens to me then when I move over? This put a downer on my day that was going swimmingly up till then! :(
I'm home now, so I'll just pop open a bottle of chardonnay, get some breadsticks, brie, taramasalata, pitta bread and some pate and rustle myself up a platter to go with it!! No cooking tonight peeps, got a couple of DVD's I have a date with!! Much love, one and all.... Cyber is out for the nite!! Mwuah mwuah!! :wink: [/i]
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| I'm NOT Perfect. |
| 07.07.04 (10:26 am) [edit] |
[i]Morning peeps, thought I'd drop a quick post before it gets busy round here again today. Deadlines to meet and paperwork coming out of my arse, but I guess I cant complain too much! The above topic is summin I thought abt as I was getting dressed this morning... and yes (Kraze, Tiger Lil... and the likes) that means I was 'nekkid' when I first thought of writing this post!! :P
I realised I wasn't perfect. I know, what a shocker!! The horror of that realisation. I felt exactly the same... And after you regain your composure, I'll tell you which imperfection I'm currently obsessed with. But first, you must promise you'll like me anyway. Go on, promise. Thank you. Here we go then:
[b]I have love a handle!! Pure and simple!![/b]. :shock:
Being of the lankier variety, I try to keep a fairly well-proportioned waistline. It's the key difference between blurb and defined. But last year, as I became more sluggish in the long, way-too long winter months, I found myself sporting a love handle. Those in the know can vouch for its existence...and the lack of any reduction in size. Of small relief, I have to say it is a small lovehandle. I mean, it doesn't overlap my belt or poke out of my shirts. But it is there, nonetheless, taunting me with its [b]'asymmetry'[/b].
But I ask you, why is it there?! Is it a tumour? An alien child? Does it exist for the sake of harmony, to balance out the apparent perfection of the other parts of my body? Do I need uglying up? I mean, come on! (That's just my vanity shinning thru, ignore me!!) :roll: :lol:
I suppose a possible solution would be to grow one on the other side in order to create 'symmetry' -- which, as we all know is the key to [b]aesthetics[/b]. But that kind of "aesthetic" would not be aesthetic at all. And would certainly rule out any figure-hugging, clothing optional activities..... Will the Ab Force abdominal definers save me? Or am I destined to live out my life as a lopsided individual? :?
I know many people lead perfectly normal lives with love handled-bodies. I have had many friends with one foot bigger than the other or one hand bigger than the other. I have two matching feet and two matching hands.... so I suppose I deserve this:
[b]The love handle of shame[/b]. :(
Anybody got love-handles out there? Or should I have said, anyone game enough to admit to having them? And if yes... what the hell does one need to do to get rid of the little buggers?! I hate not being perfect!! :([/i]
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| Great Truths. |
| 07.06.04 (6:26 pm) [edit] |
[i]Hello peeps, been slaving away all day, hence not been able to blog. This is just a post I had written a while back when I was overly-bored, but never posted. It'll have to do for now, until I get a chance to blog properly. Hope y'all having a good day? This post is just a few truths abt my personality!! Feel free to skip this one if you want! :roll:
There are a few things that people need to understand about me -- things that just are, definitively, who and what I am. My closest friends don’t need to be told what these things are (and never did), which is most certainly how they achieved such Close [b]Friendedness®[/b](a new addition to the English Lagnuage) in the first place. But not understanding these things, these Great Truths, can bring an end to potentially fine relationships. So, in favour of preventative measures, let’s get on with the disclosure.[/i]
[b]I do not like to be told what to do. [/b]
[i]And by [b]‘not like’[/b] I mean, totally hate. Those who have achieved the aforementioned Close Friendedness[b]®[/b] have learned to restrain themselves when it comes to advice-giving. Oh, not on every matter, mind you. Tell me which colour shirt to buy when presented with 'Moss Bros' oh-so-many choices. Recommend a CD. Suggest a location for my birthday extravaganza. These are all perfectly acceptable. But in more weighty matters (life, love and the pursuit of happiness), it should be assumed that if you’ve thought of it, I have already spent one, if not more, nights awake entertaining (or dismissing) the same idea. It’s called being neurotic. And I do it really well.[/i]:P
[b]I suck at being angry.[/b]
[i]I don’t do it well. And no, I don’t want to talk about it because I’m hoping that we can just ignore it and it will go away. See, I get confused by The Angry Feeling, and when I get confused, I don’t know what to say. Confrontation will only [u]increase[/u] The Angry Feeling, and thus the confusion and inability to speak. So just back the fuck off, okay?
Ahem. [/i]
[b]Ice cream makes me happy.[/b]
[i]That’s pretty self-explanatory. A couple of pitchers of my fav cocktails make me happy, too.[/i] :wink:
[b]I secretly like being made fun of.[/b]
[i]If, you know, it’s malicious-free mocking and really only serves to say, “I like you” in that playground sort of way. I reserve the right to front, but this is only to mask my glee at being liked in the playground way.
And last, but not least[/i]
[b]I hate roller coasters.[/b]
[i]I'll drive fast in the car. Take me rappelling, even bungee jumping. Pack me into a cannon at the circus, but do not ask me to get on a roller coaster. Do not say, “You’ll like this one!” Do not tell me it’s safe. Do not tell me you’ll make me walk home from John O'Groats if I don’t ride Superman with you. I’ll walk. And don’t remind me that I rode every ride at Disney World. Cause, duh, that’s Disney. It doesn’t count..... everybody knows Disney is safe, right? :P
Those are the ones I can think of right now, I'll add a more later!! What are your Great Truths?[/i]
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| Ciao! |
| 07.06.04 (12:26 am) [edit] |
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Night all!! ;)
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| Warning - prostitutes ahead! |
| 07.05.04 (7:37 pm) [edit] |
[i]My final post for the day, off home peeps. Gotta love ya and leave y'all! Read this article at [b]Ananova.com[/b] :http://www.davesdaily.com/out...://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1007196 .html?menu= just now, under the [b]sex life[/b] stories.[/i]
[b]Pimps in Romania have started putting up official looking road signs to give drivers plenty of warning there are prostitutes ahead.
The idea is that potential customers will not drive past before realising they could have stopped and engaged the services of one of the girls at the roadside.......[/b]
Read the whole story above.
[i]Now that's what I call [b]"progressive thinking"... marketing and visual merchandising on a grand scale! :P[/b]
[b]ROTFLMAO!! [/b]:lol: :lol: :lol: [/i]
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| Trouble Looming Update!! |
| 07.05.04 (6:03 pm) [edit] |
[i]This is just an update to the post I wrote a couple of weeks back titled "Trouble Looming":http://www.tblog.com/template... about my work colleague [b]'Sanjeet'[/b] who got engaged to some guy and all hell broke loose both at home and at work. I realised the other day that I never filled y'all in as to what transpired when I spoke to her.
Well, I managed to get hold of her eventually, and what a conversation that was. Even before I got a chance to say anything to her, she was on the defensive: [b]"Look, I know he's not working, and hasn't got legal residency here, but I love him and he loves me and I believe we can make it work and have a life together."[/b]
"Sanjeet, I never called to tell you off, or anything like that. I just wished to congratulate you and make sure you were sure that's all." I said.
My response softened her a bit, cos she then said [b]"Oh. I've had so many people calling or telling me it's a mistake and to call the engagement off, I just didn't expect anyone to say something positive."[/b]
"Well, I was a bit shocked when I heard but I'm happy if your happy, but all I wanted to say was that it's important to get it right and be sure"
[b]"Matt, I know you're right, but the more people who say Rickie's wrong for me, the more it draws us closer together. I do think you're right abt being sure and I even thought abt prte-marital counselling and such."[/b]
I just said then "If your relationship is as good as you say it is, then it will be even stronger after going thru all this aggro and should stand the test of time, why rush?"
[b]"Yeah you're right, you know..." she said[/b]
So phase one of mission that seemed impossible accomplished! But I am more of the opinion now that quite a few of you had that, she needs to be left alone to make her own decisions abt this. Was it me or did anybody else get the distinct impression that she never really convinced herself even that she was doing this for the right reasons?
But I do wanna know though, what's all this [b]Pre-Marital Counselling[/b] crap?? I for one am at a loss as to why people would need it if they are trully sure abt committing themselves to marriage for the rest of their lives? Someone please break it down for me.. if you can! I'm kinda naive like that! :P [/i]
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| RSVP. |
| 07.05.04 (2:44 pm) [edit] |
[I]Had wonderful weekend! Wimbledon, Women, Champagne, and Clubbing!!
Much love to the [b]'Big Smoke'[/b] (London to all you that didn't know!), to the Tyra Banks look-a-like at the door of the Funky Buddha Club and to the startlingly attractive Transvestite who announced to the line of club-goers that he/she loved my (very tricky, Indian beaded) shirt which was I clever enough to pull off hours of dancing in. I congratulate myself and also my pal for having engineering skills adequate to undo the backless, barely-there top of a very stunning girly, who danced with us later on.
Got phone call from my ex 'Y' as I was leaving the City. She was surprised to hear that yours truly was in town. Hmmm. Surprised? Don't see how as told her half a dozen times was going to be there. Well, good thing anyway.. she wanted to do dinner and I just wasn't feeling that at all!
Had a fantastic time, but you'll all be pleased to know that I didnt get wasted and was able to get back to my brother's apartment in East London on my own speed! :wink: Did however, partake in a little "slap and tickle" while at the club and was also able to leave with a couple of phone numbers too. Is it just me, or do the gurls in night clubs nowadays just seem to get younger? Not that I'm complaining mind you, just stating a considered fact! :lol:
I was a bit worried about one of my mates who got terribly sick. But then again 3 jugs of Vodka and red bull on an empty stomach will do that to you. The poor guy was going green by the time we left. Altho, Phil assures me that his girlfriend is very good at playing nurturing, mothering role and all will right itself by today. Feel slightly better. Not quite sure I would have been so understanding if I'd been the person expected to take care of a drunk..... but then I am rather unique, right?! :P
So, got back to Newcastle late last night, and I'm throwing a party this weekend. Hope guests bring along alcohol as I'm pretty certain after this [b]'Expensive Weekend'[/b] I'm going to be very poor unless I defrost the credit card. Hope y'all had fantastic weekends too peeps? Ciao :) [/i]
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| Back at the Grindstone!! |
| 07.05.04 (12:32 pm) [edit] |
[i][b]Things I like about today:[/b]
- The Managing Partner of my firm says everything I do for him is “Perfect.” Can you get better than perfect? I think not.
- An email from The Second Hardest Man in the World to Please saying, “Nice job on the fielding account.”
- Hearing, “You look refreshed on such a dreary day!” from one of the admin staff. (We’re best good work friends now.) :wink: I think she fancies me! :P
- My work load for today is drastically reduced, as I now have another skivvy in my department to take the load off!
- [b]Finally, the best news of all[/b]. Got an email from my liason in Shell saying that the secondment is back on and that the details will be copied to me in a few days! yay!! :D
[b]Things not so likeable about today:[/b]
- Forgetting my keys, cell phone and brain and having to walk back to the car park to get them.
- The girl who puked her guts up in front of me at the newspaper stand this morning.
- The guy who was supposed to be driving my car for a MOT for me bailing via email. Nothing like the last minute, huh? :roll:
- Having to hire a courtesy car at that last minute... cost me more!! :evil:
- Only had a few hours sleep last night so, feeling a tad groggy today. Coffee just doesn't seem to be doing the trick!
Okay, so shit happens. But just look at me rolling with the punches! I mean, I'm not complaining or anything... just stating it as it is!! As days go, it's not too bad and it can only get better. :P
[b]I am amazing..... I know, y'all dont have to say it... I know I am, ALREADY!![/b]
And I could toally use a nap, right abt now... will gist y'all abt my w/end later in the day when I get a chance to blog a bit more. Got a meeting I should be in right abt now... so Cheerio folks! :D[/i]
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| Women, Champagne and Tennis. |
| 07.03.04 (7:01 pm) [edit] |
[i]Hey peeps, the last post was one I actually typed last night but couldn't be bothered to post.. so I thought I'd get it out of the way first. I made the trip down to London this morning first thing, mate of mine had tickets for the Ladies Singles final at Wimbledon. So I've just got home after being treated to a great day of tennis and women in skimpy outfits! Yay!! :wink: Maria Sharapova won for those of you who dont already know... and she was a deserved winner too!
Now, altho I was here for the tennis I cant but mention the sex appeal both ladies oozed out there on Centre court today! I'll start with Serena, who at 22 is the epitome of "black is beautiful"... the girl got skills, but she has a figure to die for too and that outfit, well sizzle!! is all I can say! I dont know how any line judge, or umpire actually gets the calls right, cos anytime they bent over to recieve... I just sat back and thought of..... well, I'm sure you get my drift? huh? :P
Maria on the other hand, well she's only 17.... but what a 17yr old she is!! Phew!! She had every single man on centre court eating out of her hand. I must say that, if I could go back in time and be anything... I'd be a tennis player... that way I'd get a shot at bumping into her in some tournament or the other.... she is a 6 foot stunning goddess and I challenge anyone to say she aint!! :evil:
OK!! I'll stop my perving for now, but the tennis, the babes, coupled with the glasses of champagne and strawberries, made it a really fun day out. I know we as Brit's often say it, but after today I have to agree.... there is no tennis tournment/ Grand Slam in the world quite like Wimbledon!! The icing on the cake would be to get a British winner some day, but hey we cant have it all now, can we?! :P
I'm home now... in East London (at my brothers place) just chillin and relaxing before we all head out to the Funky Buddha Club tonight. Never been, but have been told it's a celebrity haunt... well if I do bump into one (A celebrity that is), I'll be sure to give [b]her[/b] one.... my autograph, I mean!! :wink:
Hope y'all are having great w/ends? And I wanna wish all my American friends a Happy 4th of July Celebrations tomorrow. Watch out for all those fireworks and stuff people, dont wanna be reading abt any mishaps on Monday!! I will return, after I've had some grub.... gotta go! Much luv peeps! :D [/i]
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| Spider Man 2 |
| 07.03.04 (6:42 pm) [edit] |
[b]July 2, 2004 @ 02:34 AM [/b]
[i]Completely on a whim tonight after getting home from work, I decided to head into town to see if I could get a bootleg copy of Spider Man 2 (I know, it's illegal and all... but I couldn't wait till a few weeks before it was out! ..so sue me!) :P . Grabbed a bag of popcorn for myself, wandered down to the city centre for an hr…and then headed home to watch my movie alone. :(
Not that that's really anything to complain about, of course, since it got me choice seating.... whereas if I had people over I always seem to be the one sitting on the floor :roll:
Overall, Spider Man 2 is a lot of fun. After watching I headed out for some late night grub, and turning it over in my head, I kept coming back to the same basic thoughts I had about [b]Spider Man[/b]— but there are some definite similarities.
In both films, the action is in many ways the true star of the film. Tobey Maguire is still perfect as Peter Parker/Spider Man, Kirsten Dunst is still oh-so-yummy as Mary Jane, and Alfred Molina absolutely steals the show as Doc Ock. Once again, though, it's Sam Raimi's direction that shines through, and I really don't think these films would be anywhere near as enjoyable with anyone else at the helm.
Doctor Otto Octavius is every bit as cool as I was hoping he'd be. The effects work on his cybernetic tentacles was incredibly done, and a character that stood a very good chance of ending up little more than laughable in being transitioned from the printed page to the screen instead became a very credible villain. In updating the good doctor to today's world, the filmmakers dropped the idea of his controlling his extra arms telepathically (which I believe was the original idea) and instead have the arms controlled via a cybernetic link directly into the doctor's spinal column. One of the tweaks I liked a lot was the addition of video cameras in the center of each arm's 'hand', giving Doc Ock the ability to see anything one of his arms was pointing at. Nicely done, and it very much helps explain his ability to keep track of events going on around him during some of the melees that he and Spidey get into.
While the action sequences in general are certainly the high points of the movie — each of the battles between Spidey and Doc Ock are a blast to watch — there was one sequence that was by far my favorite. Just after the accident that permanently fuses the tentacles to Doc Ock's body, he is taken to a hospital where surgeons plan to amputate the cybernetic apparatus in an attempt to save his life. The tentacles suddenly spring to life, and we're thrust in to Sam Raimi at his lunatic best in a sequence that in many ways could be cut directly into The Evil Dead. With no music, the soundtrack filled with nothing but the screams, crashes, and general mayhem as the tentacles wreak havoc in the operating theater, Raimi pulls out all the stops and gives us all the crazy camera angles, whip-pans, zooms, and visual insanity that made the action sequences in The Evil Dead so much fun, and this fanboy ate up every single second of it.
As with the first film, though, Spider Man 2 is certainly not without its flaws. The abortive romance between Peter Parker and MJ often seems to just drag the film to a sudden halt whenever we switch back to their relationship — where Spider Man had a tendency to get overly-sappy, Spider Man 2 fails to give us any real reason why MJ would have any interest in Peter Parker at all. While the subplot is a necessity, both in motivating the characters to take some of their actions and in staying true to the original comic, it consistently fails to ever really engage the audience, and we're left waiting for the villain to show up just to make things interesting again.
However, the biggest flaw for me was that the last ten minutes or so of the film didn't feel like they were wrapping up the events at all — rather, it comes across as an extended trailer for the inevitable Spider Man 3. A pity, really, as even with its flaws, I'd definitely enjoyed the movie itself, and I ended up switching off my DVD player with a slightly sour feeling, as if the only thing missing before the credits rolled was a big "TO BE CONTINUED…" message splashed across the screen. These days, we all know that there's likely going to be another chapter in the saga. Do we really need to have it beaten into our heads? Ah, well. It get's a 7/10 from me though... definitely one to see folks! :wink: [/i]
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| 100 Top Grossing Movies of All Time... |
| 07.02.04 (5:43 pm) [edit] |
[i]I was a bit bored so I decided to complie a list of the top 100 grossing movies of all time. Following in the footsteps (blogsteps?) of those before me who might have done this particular type of blog, I've decided to turn this into a meme, with the movies that I have not seen in [b]bold[/b]. :D
1.Titanic (1997) $600,779,824
2.Star Wars (1977) $460,935,665
3.E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $434,949,459
4.Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $431,065,444
5.Spider-Man (2002) $403,706,375
6.Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) $377,019,252
7.Passion of the Christ, The (2004) $370,025,697
8.Jurassic Park (1993) $356,784,000
9.Shrek 2 (2004) $356,211,000
10.Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) $340,478,898
11.Finding Nemo (2003) $339,714,367
12.Forrest Gump (1994) $329,691,196
13.Lion King, The (1994) $328,423,001
14.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $317,557,891
15.Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) $313,837,577
16.Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $310,675,583
17.Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $309,125,409
18.Independence Day (1996) $306,124,059
19.Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) $305,411,224
20.Sixth Sense, The (1999) $293,501,675
21.Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $290,158,751
22.Home Alone (1990) $285,761,243
23.Matrix Reloaded, The (2003) $281,492,479
24.Shrek (2001) $267,652,016
25.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $261,970,615
[b]26.How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) $260,031,035 [/b]
27.Jaws (1975) $260,000,000
28.Monsters, Inc. (2001) $255,870,172
29.Batman (1989) $251,188,924
30.Men in Black (1997) $250,147,615
31.Toy Story 2 (1999) $245,823,397
32.Bruce Almighty (2003) $242,589,580
33.Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) $242,374,454
34.Twister (1996) $241,700,000
35.My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) $241,437,427
36.Ghost Busters (1984) $238,600,000
37.Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $234,760,500
[b]38.Cast Away (2000) $233,630,478 [/b]
39.Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997) $229,074,524
40.Signs (2002) $227,965,690
41.Rush Hour 2 (2001) $226,138,454
42.Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) $219,200,000
43.Ghost (1990) $217,631,306
44.Aladdin (1992) $217,350,219
45.Saving Private Ryan (1998) $216,119,491
46.Mission: Impossible II (2000) $215,397,307
47.X2 (2003) $214,948,780
[b]48.Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) $213,079,163 [/b]
49.Back to the Future (1985) $210,609,762
[b]50.Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) $205,399,422 [/b]
51.Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) $204,843,350
52.Exorcist, The (1973) $204,565,000
53.Mummy Returns, The (2001) $202,007,640
54.Armageddon (1998) $201,573,391
55.Gone with the Wind (1939) $198,655,278
56.Pearl Harbor (2001) $198,539,855
57.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) $197,171,806
58.Toy Story (1995) $191,800,000
59.Men in Black II (2002) $190,418,803
60.Gladiator (2000) $187,670,866
61.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) $184,925,485
62.Dances with Wolves (1990) $184,208,848
63.Batman Forever (1995) $184,031,112
64.Fugitive, The (1993) $183,875,760
65.Ocean's Eleven (2001) $183,405,771
66.What Women Want (2000) $182,805,123
67.Perfect Storm, The (2000) $182,618,434
68.Liar Liar (1997) $181,395,380
69.Grease (1978) $181,360,000
70.Jurassic Park III (2001) $181,166,115
71.Mission: Impossible (1996) $180,965,237
72.Planet of the Apes (2001) $180,011,740
73.Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) $179,870,271
74.Pretty Woman (1990) $178,406,268
[b]75.Tootsie (1982) $177,200,000 [/b]
76.Top Gun (1986) $176,781,728
77.There's Something About Mary (1998) $176,483,808
[b]78.Ice Age (2002) $176,387,405 [/b]
79.Crocodile Dundee (1986) $174,635,000
80.Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) $173,585,516
[b]81.Elf (2003) $173,381,405 [/b]
82.Air Force One (1997) $172,888,056
83.Rain Man (1988) $172,825,435
84.Apollo 13 (1995) $172,071,312
85.Matrix, The (1999) $171,383,253
86.Beauty and the Beast (1991) $171,301,428
[b]87.Tarzan (1999) $171,085,177 [/b]
88.Beautiful Mind, A (2001) $170,708,996
89.Chicago (2002) $170,684,505
90.Three Men and a Baby (1987) $167,780,960
91.Meet the Parents (2000) $166,225,040
92.Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)$165,500,000
93.Hannibal (2001) $165,091,464
94.Catch Me If You Can (2002) $164,435,221
95.Big Daddy (1999) $163,479,795
96.Sound of Music, The (1965) $163,214,286
97.Batman Returns (1992) $162,831,698
98.Bug's Life, A (1998) $162,792,677
[b]99.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)[/b] $161,963,000
100.Waterboy, The (1998) $161,487,252
So come on how many of them haven't you watched? Holla at me... and if I dont get the chance to come back.... have a fantastic w/end one and all! :wink:[/i]
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| Feeling blah!! |
| 07.02.04 (12:51 pm) [edit] |
[i]I know I shouldn't but I don’t know how [/i][b]not[/b] [i]to indulge this.
At 4:30 AM this morning, I was limping around my apartment, trying to ease the leg cramps that were curling my toes and keeping me from sleep. In my desperate need for potassium, I took a multi-vitamin. Had no bananas today.(or any other day for that matter!)
Half an hour later, I crept gingerly out on to my balconey where I paced until my legs relaxed a bit. Then I sat. And thought. And over-thought. Until it grew faintly light over the River Tyne and it occurred to me how exposed I was, wearing nothing but my t-shirt. :P (Yep, sleep butt nekkid at times!)
So I went back to bed.
I’d gone to bed several hours earlier feeling disappointed over the matters at work. Only, it’s no secret that night time does its best to amplify small matters -- putting monsters in closets and leaving wolves without their sheepish disguises. Too much alone time spent not sleeping, watching minutes blink by on digital clocks in the various time zones of my apartment, and I was very tempted to make a late phone call. It was an empty sort of moment needing to be filled with a certain trademarked, “Awwww, I’m sorry, son.” (Ten pounds to whoever guesses the person I wanted to call) :roll:
But I let her sleep. She lives on Greenwich Standard Time as well -- so it was abt the same time there.... no need waking her up.
Today, the things made big by the night have curiously stayed big. My workday is in full swing, and I’m mentally abstaining. I’m just staring at the other office windows around our building, and sometimes at the black desk phone to my left. Ring. Be a friendly voice.
Justine was kind enough to fend off my 11:00am site appointment. Like I said, I don’t know how [b]not[/b] to indulge this. Though, I suppose I’d better try. Back to work it is then....
[b]PS:[/b]
Thank you, friendly voice. Kirsty just called, and was good to moan for a couple of minutes. I feel a tad better now! :D[/i]
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| Letter to the Fuckwit! |
| 07.01.04 (5:59 pm) [edit] |
[i]Scubadiva suggested just now I write my letter of resignation, vent and let it evolve, as and when I felt like it. Well I've come up with summin even better.... a letter to my arsehole of a Boss' boss, basically telling it like it is. So here's my first draft for your perusal. Comments lovingly appreciated and sought! :D
Dear [b]'Highest of Higher Ups'[/b]:
[b]You
will
not
win.[/b]
[b]Got that?[/b] See, you can still send rude emails and tell me I never do anything right (You did just give me a fucking raise, so I must be doing [b]some[/b]thing right. But anyway, that's not the point.) You can email. You can red-line every work I produce. But from here on out, [b]you will not cause me stress[/b].
I will continue to work until 11:30 at night if that's what it takes. But I will do it from home! Fuck putting in any more unpaid over-time! I'd rather go running every evening, where I'd imagine I was running all over your leathery face. And I won't be burning the midnight oil for you. Nope. I'll be working for every other peon who has to kiss your smarmy ass all the time.
And I won't care what you think. Because your negative energy is totally getting in the way. You're like the antithesis to good mental health. Do you need a moment to look up antithesis in the dictionary? Idiot!! :roll:
So, anyway, that's really all I have to say. Oh, and this: [b]Fuck off, fuck you and fuck your email[/b].
That is all.
Thx!
(I feel much better abt it all already!!) :wink: [/i]
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| Meltdown ...Argh!! |
| 07.01.04 (4:44 pm) [edit] |
[i]The last couple of days have been overwhelming to say the least.
In fact, for the first time since coming to AG, I felt like a complete failure, due to no fault of my own. While I'm used to having a whole lotta balls in the air at one time (I am quite the multi-tasker when I want to be), yesterday turned into some sort of sick, sadistic juggling act. Everyone had a ball to throw my way. Let's just say I dropped a couple!! :(
Had felt this coming on. Like, the way how pet's sense a malevolent spirit, or old folks sense an oncoming storm, or two-for-one sales on tuppa-ware at Sainsbury's.
Have also felt like this before. Worn out. A bit unfixable. Defeated. Yesterday, I was set to make brave attempt at holding depression at bay. Made a list of jobs that needed to be done asap. Dove straight in. Threw whole self into reasons for getting them done. You know, live and work deliberately.... and all that..
Then, made mistake of checking work email. The only unread message was from the [b]"highest of Higher-Ups" (Boss' boss)[/b] expressing disappointment in yours truly for failing to meet a deadline. Doesn’t matter that said deadline takes back seat to the other ten fucking million things that am trying to get out the door this week. Doesn’t matter one bit. That's just pissed me off to no end now! :evil:
I realised that as many lists as I could make, and as many hours that I came in early, they are still insufficient to get stuff done. Have been working very hard – almost to the point of obsession. Sadly, on reflection, it seems work has been the only marker of success or failure that have been able to gauge myself with lately. And clearly, it is just one more failure according to the powers that be. Well, fuck em all!! Argh! :P
Have been feeling like something of a non-participant lately in my own personal life. Family matters are beyond sort of scandal even the Osbournes could conjure up, but am getting used to that. In truth, I'm mostly a bit hacked off that the idiot had to email it to me rather than call me in to discuss the issue. This is the type of 'egregious fuckwit' I have to deal with all the time! The fool only gave me a fucking pay-rise last week or so.... so I cant be that bad can I? Perhaps I should focus less on work and more on finding another darn job! Not that it matters. I'm too snowed under with outstanding jobs at the moment to do even that. Ah, one of life’s cute and tragic ironies....right?! :roll:
All this above is why I haven't been blogging for the past two days... had to show that 'twat' that I could deliver, so blogging had to suffer. But I should be back to my usual blogging self once I've got all these jobs done. Hope y'all well peeps? Miss y'all! :wink:[/i]
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