Trick or Treat?

For the first time EVER, I’ve bought some sweeties for kids coming to my door for trick-or-treating. Despite having lived in the UK continuously for 8 years, I’ve never ever done anything. Most years I simply didn’t open the door (hehe), not because I didn’t want to give kids treats, but because I had completely forgotten about it.

Last year Halloween I think I was in London, and the year before I remember being in my flat in Edinburgh and opening the door – to find various dressed-up kids asking ‘Trick or Treat?’ (and I was WTF?? I think I gave them a couple of pounds).

This year as I’ve said though, I am prepared. I went to Sainsbury’s earlier to buy various sweets and chocolates – see pic. There are so many kids living around here these days – next door neighbours alone have 3! – that I can’t just NOT open the door any more

I just hope they do come to my door now, after all these years of my ignoring their trick-or-treating. Otherwise I’ll be stuck with the sweets and chocolates, and will have to feed them to my sweet new BF

It’s Warm and Cosy at Work

With the temperatures dropping down like mad (down to freezing – note my Italian friend tells me it’s still 23/24 degrees there!!), it’s great to go into work as it’s really very nice and cosy at my desk there.

I freeze in the  mornings when I get up, and I’m very cold in the evening. I’ve hardly yet turned on the heating as I want to hold out till November 1st (kinda stupid and pointless lol).

I used to work from home and be at home all the time (telework combined with PhD) – I wonder how I coped. My fuel bills must have been sky-high! There again, back then it wasn’t as dear as it is these days. I do feel sorry for the old and frail though – I’m bloody cold, which means they must be quite literally freezing. And unlike me, many don’t have the money to heat up their flat or house. There aren’t many times when it’s better to have a tiny wee flat, but winter is certainly one of them (my flat with 2 bedrooms is almost too big…) 

Cutting Downstairs’ Grass

Image by Niriel via Flickr

Last week and tonight, I’ve been cutting the downstairs neighbour’s grass (the one who fled her wifebeater-boyfriend. BTW got confirmation of that fact from our nosey ‘man with the dog’ neighbour today). Not my job at all I should add

It had been growing for ages and ages as she never had a lawnmower. Throughout the spring and summer, I’ve been cutting the joint drying green (which is supposed to be cut alternately by her and me) and my own back garden, while she let hers grow and grow. At one point – this must have been in August or so – it was so out of control and long that she finally asked me to borrow my lawnmower which I didn’t mind, and she spent a week-end or so just dealing with her grass.

Since then, she hadn’t cut it at all, and as we all know she left out of the blue (nosey ‘man with a dog’ tonight told me she moved out in 3 hours. Backstory is that she had apparently asked the brutal wifebeater cunt to move out i.e. fuck off; however he had refused – this must have been the extremely loud brutal bangs that I heard a while ago – his method of communicating this ‘no’, and she had no option but to flee during the day while he wasn’t there, with all her belongings).

Back to the grass. It was very much getting out of control yet again, very long indeed to the point where it would have needed a strimmer very soon. Since ‘her’ patch was in front of the house (I live in a 4-flats-in-a-house), as well as next to it (she lived downstairs i.e. ground floor and me above her; she had her own main door entrance), it was all clearly visible and bugged me like mad. I simply couldn’t just leave it untidy and messy as every time I came home or went to work I had to look at it.

Anyway – last week I started cutting it (not easy with it getting dark so early now!) and tonight I finished it off. Took about 2 hours in total and two brown bins full of grass, with plenty more that didn’t fit in just thrown across the lawn. Feels much better now though – now all I have to do is deal with my own grass that also could do with a final cut

Going to Work is Like Going to School

I’m growing fonder and fonder of the 9-5 routine (even though it’s more like 9-6 in my case). My work isn’t too far from where I live (about 5-10 minutes by car), so I just take myself there, do what is relative fun most of the time, then go back home and have a relaxing evening where I do what I want (no one to put any demands on my time other than a cat hehe).

It feels quite nice and reminds me of a time where I didn’t have any responsibilities, i.e. childhood. Where all you ever have to do is go to school from Mon-Fri (and every other Sat.) and the rest of your time you can do what you like. A state where the mind is free of worries and where ‘work’ is in one place, and the rest of your time (when you get home) is yours.

I haven’t really felt the stress ever since I got back from my holiday. The situation / context of getting stressed is still there (too much to do, too little time), but I have just been focusing on what I’m doing in the present, without ‘worrying’ about the stuff I can’t do. There’s no point. If I can manage to iterate this way of thinking for a few more weeks, I’ll be fine

Italianissimo on BBC iPlayer

Image via Wikipedia

Just a tip for those of you interested in learning Italian. BBC iPlayer currently have 19 episodes (I think 15 minutes each) of Italianissimo for free download). It’s great! While my Italian is more or less ok-ish (I can understand a fair bit but not too comfortable with speaking, though I am able to if need be), it’s always good to immerse yourself in it again – especially in an *educational* programme. I’m downloading all the episodes just now and seeing that they can be stored up to 30 days, I think I’ll devise a schedule for myself to view one or two of them each night

I LOVE iPlayer! Last week btw I got an evil letter from TV licensing, giving me grief about not having a license and threatening me etc. This despite the fact that I told them over the phone that the reason I no longer had a TV was because I only use iPlayer, for which one doesn’t need a license. And it’s true – I no longer watch TV and my TV is broken in any case. I suppose I still need to tell them *again* that I don’t have a TV therefore don’t need a bloody license – though knowing them, they’ll continue sending threatening letters anyway, to every UK household that appears on their computer as not having a license

It’s the Week-end and I’m AFB

Friday today and I’ll likely be AFB (Away From Blog) for the remainder of today (Friday) and tomorrow, to return Sunday eve

Meeting the new BF (I’ll continue calling him ‘new BF’ till maybe the new year or so, since by then hopefully everyone will realise. I could use the letter of his first name, but it’s not unique since another of my mates starts with the same initial. It’s already confusing to have three mates starting with the letter ‘J’ – one female, two males. Don’t want that confusion to extend to another few people. Or I’ll simply call him ‘the Boy’ which is somewhat fitting seeing that he’s quite a bit younger).

So yeah, meeting the new BF AKA the Boy in an hour, and just completely enter into ‘relationship mode’. The nice thing about not living with the Boy is that I keep my own lenina-ID during the week (lenina-identity now extended by sweetest, most cuddly cat ever) but still get all the lovely couply stuff

Here’s to week-ends, here’s to 9-5 jobs, here’s to NZB 

Volunteering in Scotland

Image by Ian JC via Flickr

I’ve been thinking about what useful, enjoying, relaxing things to do in my spare time i.e. the week-ends. One thing that’s always interested me is volunteering. Not in a social way – I don’t want to meet new people (hehehe)! But more to get outdoors, or to do something with/for animals.

I’ve found the following resources and potential options:

1. Volunteer Centre Network Scotland

This is a site listing (searchable) opportunities of volunteer work all over Scotland. I’m particularly interested in becoming a sheperd in Fife! Anything with animals really. I also wouldn’t mind driving, e.g. driving people’s pets to vets that can’t do it for themselves etc.

2. National Trust for Scotland

They do a lot of outdoors conservation work, in 4 areas, one of which is my area (Lothians).

3. Scottish Wildlife Trust

Local opportunities, as well as week-long work e.g. on Orkney. Assisting rangers, monitoring of e.g. seabird population, etc.

While I don’t want to spend my entire week-ends or spare time volunteering, and have no altruistic bone in my body, I like the idea of being able to get stuck in to some practical, useful task, and focusing on a new challenge that doesn’t involve sitting at a computer! Just doing something that contrasts with and complements my Monday-Friday. The fact that it’s ‘for a good cause’ really isn’t my main motivation though

Gordon Brown Says the ‘R-word’

Image via Wikipedia

The other day, our Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the first time said the word ‘Recession’ when talking of the current credit crunch. I’m not so au fait with all the details of world economy, but I have been educating myself a little bit (mainly via TV i.e. iPlayer / 4oD and BBC News).

I know for instance that the trigger was the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market (which is in itself ridiculous – why would anyone EVER give out sub-prime mortgages then sell the debt on?), and that the UK’s cultural habit of living on credit was a very fertile ground for the current crisis to develop and spread fast.

I had to look up what exactly ‘Recession’ means though (how it is defined) – Wikipedia quote:
A recession is a contraction phase of the business cycle. The U.S. based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines a recession more broadly as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.”[1] A sustained recession may become a depression.

So that’s what we’re having to deal with just now. I suppose my BF and I are rather lucky in that we work in the public sector in relatively safe jobs. I’m 99% certain that I won’t be made redundant, purely because it’s quite a specialist thing that I do. Same(ish) for him – i.e. they can’t just ‘get rid’ of us as they need not just anyone but our specific skillset. I do feel a bit worried for my mates D&J, whose first baby is due at the end of December, and who have a mortgage to pay. I mean D. is brilliant and very successful in his job, but you never fucking know.

One thing is for sure: I’m definitely going to keep renting for now (council flat – yay!) and I won’t be taking out any loans in the near future. I’ll just keep doing what I’ve always done: save first, THEN buy something. Not buy now, pay over the next 10 fucking years

Downstairs’ Cousin Back today to ‘Pick Up Cat’

Today when I came home in my lunch break, I noticed a woman coming out of downstairs’ flat with an empty pet carrier. I approached her straight away, asking if she was the new tenant of the flat (…). She told me (in extremely slurred, junkie-type speak) that she was P.’s (downstairs woman) cousin and merely here to ‘collect the cat’.

I was thinking WTF?? How can P. just leave the cat for nearly a week, not ask anyone (any other neighbour) to look after it/feed it, and then come back expecting:

a. the cat to be alive and well and

b. that whoever has taken it in (I know it’s been taken in by someone) to simply release it again to the cruel-ness?

I used to like P. but she has dropped in my esteem now. Though I’m not so sure any more if she wasn’t fleeing the wifebeater after all. I mean why would she send her junkie cousin to pick up the cat (the cat doesn’t bloody know this person’s tone of voice or anything – why would it come to her?)? Is she too scared to come back? Did the wifebeater threaten to kill her? Also, why did the junkie cousin have keys to the flat? I.e. P. obviously hasn’t returned them to the council.

There is definitely something strange going on there. I wonder if I should phone the council to at least try and find out. Somone also told me that they heard people in the flat on Sat. night.

One thing is for sure – it’s never boring on a council estate!

PS: liking the WP categories as drop-downs. It’s been a long time coming! Though I’ve been considering reducing my categories or getting rid of them completely.

Regina Spektor vs The Streets

I have been trying to decide what video to post tonight. While I was in Italy, I constantly listened to the new The Streets – album Everything is Borrowed and really liked it (I still do). It’s a bit more ‘mature’ than the other two that I have (Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don’t Come For Free – I never got the third one as it was meant to be shite).

Now that I’m back in Edinburgh however I’ve been listening to Regina Spektor’s Soviet Kitsch. I’ve already got her 11:11 and got back into her, ever since going back to Amanda Palmer and the whole ‘woman playing the piano and singing’ business, which in itself was triggered by the new BF (don’t ask ).

Anyhow, I shall post Regina Spektor’s Us. Couldn’t decide on which The Streets – vid to post (though I nearly posted ‘Don’t Mug Yourself’ as Mike Skinner looks verrrry sexy in that vid! That’s how I like my men – skinny, pretty, and boyish ).

So here is Ms Spektor: