Flume

Time for blogging has been pretty thin on the ground recently I had a pretty awesome Christmas in the Alps then a wonderful New Years with Andy and Emily in Manchester. I thought I would summarise what I have been up to in the last couple of weeks.

I went skiing to Val D'Isere in France. It was really beautiful there, the snow was near perfect, the week before we arrived nearly 2 meters of fresh power arrived. We arrived and enjoyed had 4 days of glorious sunshine, the pistes were near perfect. I skiied a lot, drank a lot and enjoyed myself for a week.

I had met up with Kasia before Christmas and we have decided to have another try as we still like each other. I went to visit her in York last Monday we had an outing to Ikea I have never seen a place so so busy queues to get in and out so bad the Police were drafted in to direct traffic. We managed to finally get in and wondered around Ikea, then Habitat. I saw a few nice things but nothing that really screamed out. I still have quiet a bit to do too before I get any furniture. It was really enjoyable spending time with her again I hope that we can do so more often.

On Wednesday I took my Mum to B&Q to take advantage of the 10% overs 60s discount and use some vouchers I had received as presents. I bought some wallpaper and decorating sundries to make a start on the lounge. Now Nick has put in the woodwork and boxes in the pipes it looks a lot more houselike. I think I will feel a lot happier when I start to see rooms taking shape.

For New year Phil, Andy, Emily and her friend Laura went to watch the fireworks in Exchange Square. We played Wii for a bit then went to Polar bar. It was a sort of tent set up near to Urbis, they did a really nice range of hot drinks. I had a whisky toddy, the others had hot chocolate with vodka or Cointreau. It was -2 at least outside, I had my ski jacket to keep me warm but amazingly some of the women were walking around without even a coat, and bear legs, crazy!

The fireworks were a little disappointing, Andy was telling me that the council refused to put up any money so they were paid for by the owners of the big wheel.

I looked at myself in the mirror today, I have put on weight, quiet a bit in fact, I have a streaming cold and I felt horrible. I have decided to try and leave off beer for a while I'll try for the whole of January, in fact I might do a Bridget Jones style counter. I also want to get a move on trying to get the house in order so I can move in.

Still going

Still going
Originally uploaded by j0hncooke

Skiing is fun :)

 

Lithium

I spent most of the weekend suffering from a bad cold (yes the dreaded man flu), I even missed Sandbox's Christmas gig. I was really gutted not to miss it but I felt terrible basically laid in be d with a fever.

A light in the darkness was that Phil invited me on another skiing trip this time to Val V'Isere. Which is completely awesome after a bit of scrabbling around to get the holiday I agreed and next Saturday I'll be skiing in one of the best resorts in the world, I cant wait. So great of them to invite me, not sure what I have done to deserve it.

Sunday I was finally feeling a bit better I spent the day surfing the net and catching up with Lost.

In the evening I met up with Nick, we rented a film from Blockbuster. There wasn't a lot of choice so we renter a film called Donkey Punch. It was an awful slasher film, Nick had to leave the room due to the gore. The only good point was there early sounds track especially the remix of The Knife Heartbeat which was simply awesome.

Nick gave me a lift home and just as I got out of the car I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. It was work, they had a major disaster as somehow all of the system had been lost. Que a frantic night of myself and two of the support guys sat in an empty office trying our best to get something working before everyone turned into work the next day.

Somehow we managed to lash a system together, it worked, despite a few little teething problems. I was surprised what we achieved. By lunch time I had worked for so long and had so little sleep I was making more mistakes than good work so I left.

I went home ate and had a powersnooze. I couldn't sleep for long after which I went for a jog. I called into y house to check out Nicks work, I was quiet impressed a lot of the skirting boards are on and the architraves it starting to look like a house. I got a call from Danny while I was driving. It was a bit of a blast from the past I haven't spoken to the guy in months, he is plotting a night out on the 23rd. It sounded really good unfortunately I'll be in France by then so I had to give it s miss which is a shame as its sure to be a fun evening.

Migrating user Linux accounts

I just had to move some user accounts from server to server. I found this good guide on how to do so.

Lost+

Sunday I woke up late, feeling awful. A mixture of depression and hangover. I headed round to Nicks to discuss a website he would like some help with. He is working with Gilly, they have some really good ideas. We got a lot of ideas down on paper now I just have to turn them into a site.

After that we went round for a buffet at Bruces house, we watched Nina and him open their wedding gifts and saw the main protagonists from the wedding.

I had Monday as holiday so I went to do a little work on my house. It was a frustrating day I only managed to get a couple of sockets in. I have started on the upstairs ring, like downstairs it needs mostly complete replacement.

Back to work today, getting things ready for an early morning upgrade tomorrow. I met Sarah for lunch today, its the first time I have seen her since I found out she was pregnant. She is getting big now but looking radiant, I can't imagine having kids. Buying a house was a huge step for me, one that has become a dominant force in my life, basically starting to change everything about the way I live.. It was a very pleasant lunch time excursion, I had missed our little tête-à-têtes.

I missed Japanese class thanks to a last minute crisis. Now I have a major sore throat, don't really feel up to a 5.30 am start tomorrow. I don't know whether I should continue Japan was such a great country but I find it hard to make time to study and I haven't progressed very far, I am not sure if it is worth continuing, a choice for tomorrow.

If the world

Friday was Martina's birthday. She had arranged a party at her house. Despite it being the day before the big wedding it was a special birthday for her so Phil and I went to see what was going on. I had the day off so I stopped into John Lewis to get a gift and a couple of other bits. I got Martina a mickey mouse mp3 player, in Pink. She had seen it the other day and commented on how cute she thought it was so I decided it would make a nice present. I think that she liked it judging by the reaction when I handed it over.

There was loads of food at the party Neil and his friend were there as was Damian and Etienne and a few others. Phil and I promised to meet Bruce for a drink so we couldn't stay for too long. We went for a drink at the March Hair, it was a relaxed affair just a couple of drinks and a bit of banter.

Yesterday was Bruce's wedding it was a great day. Phil picked me up early before 10, the internet guide on cravat tying didn&39;t really show me what I needed fortunately Philip's mum helped me out. Bruce looked pretty tired when we picked him up. We arrived at the Church before 10.30 in time to meet the florist.

The rest of the guests started rolling after 11.20 and by 12 we were sat waiting for Nina. Bruce was tense starting straight ahead the service was nice the priest ran through the ceremony. You could tell Nina side of the family were the more avid church goers. During the ceremony there was a moment I thought that Bruce was not going to say the all important "I will". He was so nervous the pause was just a little pregnant, fortunately with a little prompting from the priest he continued. The rest of the ceremony went well except for Bruce stepping on Nina dress, nearly sending her for a tumble, and Nina losing her garter, though not many people noticed that.

After the ceremony there were many many photos to be taken. Phils parents hopped it to the bar and left Phil and I to make our own way to the dinner venue. We hitched a ride in the minibus and arrived in time for warm Pimms, certainly helped ot take the edge off cold.

The venues was awesome, between Bruces mum the organisers and Benjamin the place looked awesome. The cake was great, there were photo montages of the bride and groom. Benjamin Bruces cousin had made not only the cakes but also chocolates for everyone.

We did a range of photos outside in the cold before heading in to sit down for lunch. I was pretty strange being sat on the top table everyone watching us eat. At the end it was time for the speeches. Nina's mum gave a really heartfelt piece. Bruce surprised me by giving a really good one he also dropped Phil and I in it by proclaiming our speech would be the best. Actually Phil and I only just about managed to get through it, we only had one copy to share and passing it back and forward just killed the comedy timing. Fortunately it was over quickly and we got a few laughs so it worked out in the end.

The evening do started around 7.30, Martin & Charlotte, Joe & Holly and Nick all turned up. Bruce's massive friend big Matt. Despite all the full he kicked up I was surprised to find that Jono didn't not turn up. There was an evening buffet comprised of hotpot, curry or lasagna.

Phil spent most of the evening do trying to woo the chief bridesmaid Jane. She was enjoying his company but didn't seem to want to take it any further. That did not deter Phil though, nor did the fact that she had a boyfriend whom she kept texting. I must admit that I tried to chat her up a little too though hopefully I've learned where to quit.

Had a catch up with Martin and Charlotte its been ages since I last saw them, I also had a good chat with Jo Holly. In fact it was a nice evening of talking drinking and even a bit of dancing. There was a really cheesy DJ which is exactly what was needed at a wedding. Martin conspired to get a Commodore 64 remix of pumpkin man played. I don't know what the families made of it, certainly cleared out the dance floor.

When I got home I was a little drunk and had many mixed emotions. I was so happy for Bruce and Nina it had been such a wonderful day. Part of me felt so empty though. I read my email before going to bed and wished I hadn't there was a mail from someone who told me they no longer wanted me to talk to them. I know I am an obsessive when it comes to internet relationships I thought this was a good one, I was wrong.

Losing Touch

I had a frustrating day at work seemingly I could do nothing right, perhaps I am distracted. Seems like there is never enough time to act. I feel worn out, tonight I sat and watched iron man which I quiet enjoyed. More than I expected I would.
Phil came around to work on the speech, we have something now though it needs a bit more yet hopefully we can bash something together before the big day not long now.