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Thursday 20 November 2008
Olympics? 'Fraid So
Okay, I confess for the second time in the last two weeks that I've been watching the Olympics. What a great night to be watching though - forgetting the jingoism of the ""Woo! Two more gold medals for Britain" crowd, I was just incredibly impressed by the drama and achievement of it all. Okay so they're not saving lives, or performing astonishing feats of heroism, but I can appreciate the dedication and the effort involved.
Weddings Weddings Weddings
We seem to be into the late Summer wedding explosion at the moment - half the people I know are attending a wedding sometime over the next few weeks (even discounting the large block of people I know who will be at Dave and Octavia's of course).
The reason David is away is that one of his school friends is getting married, which is cool, because it gives me the chance to go and meet him tomorrow and then take a leisurely drive back up to town through the English countryside. A pub lunch may not be out of the question.
4am
And amazingly, the reason I'm still up and about isn't my old friend insomnia, it's that David's away for a couple of nights and has left his PlayStation 2 in my safe keeping. Obviously he#s not getting it back, because he also left Ratchet and Klank 2 with it, and it's so much fun I've been playing it since midnight.
I'd forgotten how the time can fly when you're playing something this straightforward and entertaining.
Feels So Real
I know it's been real ever since I asked David to marry me, but now it seems really real - we went out last night with Gerard and Lizzie, and not only did they give us our first engagement card, it was also the first thing we've received addressed to us as a couple.
It's the little things that make all the difference I guess.
Comic Creator Shows Off
I probably shouldn't, but what the hell.
You may have heard of the Naked News, if not, where have you been?
Cartoonist/Comic Artist Chip Zdarsky (rather bravely) put his own tribute to the art of stripping while presenting news items online, and I'm here spreading the word.
It should go without saying that this isn't even remotely work-safe.
I Confess...
....Yes, shameful though it is, I confess i watched some of the Olympics over the weekend. I watched rowing, cycling, some athletics, and the last stages of the swimming.
And generally-speaking, jolly exciting it was too.
GMail Too
Further to the last time it came up, I have six new Gmail invitations. If anyone wants one, drop me a line or leave a comment below.
The Birthday-Plus Drinks
As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I'm having my birthday drinks a bit early this year, on the 3rd of September, and David and I have decided to make it also a party to celebrate the engagement, so it'll be a little bigger than usual.
I did a mailing with details yesterday to the people who usually come along and a few others who indicated they'd like to, but I'm a bit unsure whether they all went through, so if you want to come along and haven't had an invitation drop me a line and I'll send you one.
EDIT - And if you have had an invite, can you let me know asap whether you're coming so that I can finalise numbers with the bar? Thanks.
Swept Away
And not by love and passion for a change.
Did you see that news footage of the flooding in Boscastle on Monday? There was some amateur video footage of it on the TV news last night that was absolutely astonishing. The cars, vans, and lord knows what else being swept along the streets and into the harbour had to be seen to be believed. At one point the camera panned away for about 15/20 seconds, and when it panned back, the *building* that had been there previously simply wasn't there any more.
Amazing and horrifying at the same time.
Time Planning
One weird side effect of suddenly being encoupled is the need to organise one's life to a greater degree than has been the case for a while. Basically, David and I already had much of the coming month or two mapped out as individuals before we decided to link our lives together, so we've had to make various small adjustments and accommodations to facilitate getting as much time together as we can manage.
Generally this has worked out okay, though there are a couple of things that remain separate - my trip to visit my mother this weekend, and his friends' wedding the weekend after for instance, but generally, we're pretty sorted out. We have two weekends away planned between now and early October, another that includes Dave and Octavia's wedding and a concert and I daresay the others will rapidly take shape.
But the biggest shock is that at ungodly o'clock on Sunday morning, we suddenly started organising something for April next year. Admittedly it's a holiday, and planning ahead allows some saving to be done, but even so - I don't think I've planned a holiday more than six weeks ahead of departure in, well, ever, really.
Should be a very, very, nice holiday though. Even the write-ups make clear that there's almost bugger-all to do there, and bugger-all will categorically be the order of the day by next April.
Not Married
As it's recently become a subject close to my heart, I was disappointed to note that all those Californian gay weddings have been annulled. I understand that according to the law of the state that was the inevitable outcome, but you've got to feel for all those people who've been married for the last couple of months and suddenly find that they're not.
Congested
"Controversial plans to extend London's congestion charge zone were given the go-ahead by Ken Livingstone today."
According to the Evening Standard website.
But:
"Further investigation is needed before the congestion charge zone can be extended, the Mayor of London has said."
According to the usually slightly-more-reliable BBC News.
Who's a boy to believe????
It's Not Just Me, Is It?
Isn't this story both sad in the "why is this even news?" sense, and in the "ever-so-slightly-just-sad" one?
Dalek veteran makes comeback bid
Grin And Bare It
The BBC News Site points out that it's 25 years since the first legal nudist beach in Britain opened.
Two things I wonder:
1) Does nudity really bother anyone *that* much these days that it's worth even making a big deal of?
2) The photo of the 'nude shopping event' in the article: Yeah right - that's *exactly* what we'd all look like if we were shopping naked....
The Biggest Gays In The World
That's what David and I must have looked like last night as we watched Nadia winning Big Brother. Him sat on the sofa, me on the floor leaning against his leg, holding hands.
And now I'm confessing the fact. I have no shame.
Anyway: NA-DI-A! NA-DI-A! NA-DI-A!
Apparently we weren't the only ones watching. Top result. And what a brilliantly authentic reaction. And what a fucking misery Jason was, right to the end.
Oh How We Laughed
President gaffes in terror speech
And laughed, and laughed, and laughed.
But Does It Count?
Okay, for reasons that are too dull to go into, I've managed to get myself caught up in a discussion about whether, when counting the number of people you've had sex with, only fully penetrative (penile) sex counts.
I maintain that a whole wide range of other activity counts as having sex with someone, including but not confined to, oral sex, but the immovable alternative response is "Sex equals fucking. Period".
So I invite discussion. The specific question I'm challenged to ask is:
"If someone asks you 'How many people you've had sex with', do you include people you've given oral to?" I'll further qualify that by adding: "or received oral from".
So go on - you know what I think, but don't be swayed by it - give me your honest opinion. And I'd like to get a larger sample than usual, so please pass the question on.
Nadia! Nadia! Nadia!
Yes, okay, I admit I've ended up getting into it. I blame David for drawing me into Big Brother 5.
But come on! Nadia's fabulous.
Call 09011 21 44 08 (calls cost 25p - mobile charges may vary).
Leaving On A Jet Plane
So, round about now Chris will be checked in at Heathrow airport for his flight out of the country. Since last Christmas, he's left his job, gone travelling around the world, started a new relationship, come home, decided that he needs to be properly 'in' the new relationship, rented out his flat, got rid of most of his furniture (*very* comfy sofa, now in my living room, thank you), and is about to be out of the country for a protracted period.
It's pretty amazing really, and one of those things that only ever happens once in a person's life, if that.
I'll miss him a lot - we've been part of each other's lives for heading towards twelve years, and that's left a lot of inter-connectedness.
But the cool thing is that it's so self-evidently the right thing for him, just like the new directions my life has taken is so self-evidently the right thing for me.
Catch-Up
Well, since I announced my new state of non-cynical bliss, I've been a bit busy (*shock*).
Among other things, I've gained a free weekend in Spain in recognition of....something, which will be mightily cool.
Also, I've been helping Chris pack up his life ready to head off for six months with Brian. My flat is currently so full of stuff it's bonkers.
Dillon is also back in residence.
And Liz had a birthday party on Saturday afternoon which gave me a chance to catch up with her, her other half Julian, plus various other old mates and acquaintences from the BBC, including Declan, who we worked out I haven't seen in over three years.
And then there's spending every possible waking moment with David of course - that's a big priority.