New to the site? Delve into the archive Information about me List of collected quotations My poetry sites Other links: The ineffable Michelle Infinite Fish The Echelon Project The 80s (my era) Move to Mars See Ann Widdecombe dance Think I complain a lot? The Yarn |
Wednesday 25.7.01 Bizarrely but blissfully hangover-free after last night's drinking-session with Kate, an old workmate of mine. She's a great drinking partner, not minding in the slightest my incessant giggling or my worrying tendency to slap the furniture around me when laughing (incessant.) Drank enough to float a ship, and sent about eight pounds worth of text messages to lots of people (only a proportion of which I remember - but it's coming back to me now in worrying fits of memory activity - and replies...) Thursday 26.7.01 Triumph and disaster. The former is that I managed, unaided, to cook an edible spaghetti bolognese which wasn't lethal in any way. Be impressed. Be very impressed. It looks like I'll be surviving next year after all. Disaster came yesterday afternoon, when, a bit bored and cruising the sludge at the bottom of the internet, I decided to tap my name into the address bar and see what it came up with. Detre.com isn't exactly...fitting. I mean, if it was the site of the Finnish monarchy (???) or something important like that, I wouldn't have minded in the least. But that..shitpile. No. Not happy. Friday 27.7.01 Yesterday was a bad day. Went into London to buy a book (my local Hammick's doesn't seem to stock obscure German Lit texts - surprise!) and ended up being magnetically drawn to the Tower Records sale. Went in to find massive queue going into one door and no-one at another. So walked straight in, wondering why everyone was queueing. There was a nauseating club-version of 'Eternal Flame' playing (ie a mix of the new one) and suddenly, it hit me. Nuclear Caterwaul were there in person. Resisting the temptation to locate a firebomb, I walked straight back out. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, was walking down Haymarket when I ran into a group of gormless Americans, blocking the pavement (now there's something new...) They were watching a homeless girl being moved on by a police officer, offering a commentary to one another. 'Gee, wonder where she's going?' 'Oh...someplace else, I expect.' Now, if I was that girl, I'd feel bad enough about being moved by the police, but doing it in front of an audience of shitkickers from the Deep South or Mars or wherever the hell they were from is much worse. Actually, I don't mind tourists generally. I think it's because I find their stupidity amusing. But it's when things like that happen I really wonder whether on-the-spot deportation should be introduced.... Saturday 28.7.01 It's official. Starbucks are taking over the world ("Summer's back. Time to drink up the competition.") Seriously, suddenly - they're everywhere. And the thing is (I know I'm going to sound paranoid here - believe me, I'm not really), the more you ignore them, the more they seem to multiply - just like the groups of people who urge you to set up a direct debit to MIND or Childline or Save the loonies or whatever charity it might be. Those groups, unlike Starbucks, fascinate me: why they do it around university campuses I've never understood. Students are poor. They cannot afford to donate X pounds a month, because they have tuition fees to pay. And if they've got anything left over, they can always go and get their next caffeine hit in a local Starbucks... Sunday 29.7.01 Apparently, my childhood remained incomplete until last night. I discovered this intruiguing fact from Anna, Kath and Charlie who came to stay this weekend, for it was only last night that I saw The Lion King for the first time. Apparently, that film is an essential part of growing up...says a lot really... Monday 30.7.01 Just driven into London for the first time. Although I learnt there, this time I only had Kath to help me avoid the lorries and psycho-taxi-drivers and so forth. Was an experience anyway, apart from almost killing myself on the way back (lane discipline still mystifies me somewhat), it wasn't so bad. Tuesday 31.7.01 Have just discovered that IKEA are tacitly and cunningly getting their revenge on me for slagging them off on the 28th June. For I manage somehow to stub my toe on the swedish sofa approximately twice a day, each time causing me to curse the day I decided to put it where I did. But I've just realised it's not me; it's blatantly them. |
