h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there. I thought I'd drop in on you, and I also noticed that I'm on your friends list, which made me more than a little happy. .. (well, odd things make me happy at this time in the morning. I've even been known to watch Steven Seagal movies, that's how desperate I get).

We didn't talk much at the meet, sadly. .. but at least you've seen how odd I look; I suppose the fact that I'm still on your friends list after this should have me bemused.

Still.. I'm dropping in nonetheless.. hope you're all alright!

- njan

Hey there Njan!

First of all, let me say again, many many many congratulations on your engagement! I hope everything works out wonderfully for you both.

I'm pretty much okay - apart fom my arms. I think that I'm getting problems from playing Bass Trombone too much (currently 11½ hours per week). My left shoulder (the side I support it on) hurts like hell. However, I have some rather nice painkillers at the moment. They look like pink smarties, they taste like pink smarties, but they are NOT pink smarties!!! ½ the time my arm hurts like hell, the other ½, it's not even there!!!

How odd you look? You looked pretty normal to me! I think I was probably the oddest looking one there! Thanks for signing my towel. Check out my website www.fractalplanet.co.uk for the photos - inc. two of the towel! You'll have to log on as:

UserID: h2g2
Password:dna

Having spoken to you on site and by e-mail, and being generally interested in what you're doing - I added you to my Friends list. Glad it's pleased you. (not that you could be more pleased what with your engagement and all!)

Thought about what you're going to do when you move to the States? Are you going to keep bashing computers? Find a pro-orchestra? Both?

All the best

Lifson

Have fun

Thankyou! .. I'm hoping that everything will! *fingers crossed*.. I'm working doing data entry tomorrow in order to try and manoever my bank balance into the point at which I'll have slightly more money (or.. slightly less overdraft) than I would otherwise once I've bought my plane ticket, but.. yes, apart from this, everything's (kinda) going to plan.

I'd forward you to the webserver that I have pictures of the engagement ring on, but it doesn't have a static IP address (since it's my laptop, on a dialup, with apache). I haven't quite become industrious enough (or unlazy enough) that I've uploaded them to njan.co.uk/njan yet. Although I may, at some point.

.. painkillers are good. What kind are they? *painkiller expert*

.. I like the towel. It looks like the card I sent to one h2g2 meet (the one a year ago), but without the picture of me or the beerstains. (at least, I think that they're beerstains. )

Thankyou! I'm even more honoured.

I'll be working, mostly, I imagine. If I can find something that's bashing, breaking into, fixing, or upgrading computers, all the better. I do these things all pretty well - and in descending order of readiness. .. I'm sure I'll find SOMETHING that someone'll pay me to do. At some point I'll be going to university, but I want to wait until I'm a resident first - because it's cheaper that way.

Hopefully I should be able to find an orchestra to play in at some point, as well. .. I'm guessing I might have to settle for (ha! as if I can be picky!) a university orchestra, though.

How about you? What's looming up in your future? (and incidentally, sorry for spork-prodding you at the pub. )



- njan

Painkillers: Ibuprofen. Prescription strength!!!

Will reply to the rest tomorrow. Not much time.

LK

Ah - no, my padwan learner, what you want is cocodamol. Paracetamol with codeine... mmmmm..

Ibuprofen is supposed to stop muscle and joint pain - so I thought that it would be a good bet. We've probably got some Cocodamol around somewhere (We've got a ton of Morphene at my Dad's house - he gets it on prescription and never uses it all!!!) but the main thing in our house is Codydramol (sp?) - again stronger then you could buy over the counter, which I think is similar.

Data Entry: I'm back at college this year (my gap year) to avoid my Mum sending me to work to do data entry!!! You're not employed through an agency are you? Agency workers have no work-place rights whatsoever. My boyfriend's sister does data entry though an agency and she's having a hell of a time.

I'll keep an eye on njan.co.uk/njan for the photos! It is a very nice site by the way - I don't think I've ever got round to saying before.

I was quite pleased with how the towel turned out. Especially as I'd only thought of the idea at 2 a.m that morning! That's when I did the big lettering and packed it in my meet bag! I love h2g2 meets. That's only my second (I went to last years winter meet - after a lot of confrontation with my Mum which resulted in her and my brother coming too!). As I'm going to be 18 in May, they can't really stop me going to this years Summer one!!! It is a bit close to exam time, but this year at college doesn't really count for anything anyway.

Where's abouts are you moving too? I played at Woolsey Hall at Yale in November. That was pretty cool!!! Most schools have an orchestra, so I'll bet most University's do too. Good luck with the move when it happens, and I hope you'll find a fun job! There's a place somewhere in Sussex where they deliberately destroy (tolerance test) computers. Great fun! I'd love to work there!!!

My Future: Hmmm...now what am I doing? I'm probably going to University in September to do Internet And Mutimedia Technology" at Salford. My Mum is devastated that I haven't got 3 A's or going to Oxbridge ("You could be applying to Oxford or Cambridge if you'd have put some bloody effort in!!! ") but I'm happy enough. The people are friendly, the course look great fun, and I've got relatives in the area, so 've been up and have an idea of how to get around already.

On the other hand, we might still have a vacancy for Area Convenor at South-East Area NUS, and if so, I'll run for that, which will put Uni off for another year.

Don't worry about in me in the pub, I ed that many Researchers between the two pubs I probably deserved it!!! I kept prodding Mina with it. Annoyed her to the point where she grabbed it off me and spanked me with it!!! Whether that's an embarassment or a privilige I've still yet to decide!!!

ah.. fair enough. You have morphine?!.. and you haven't stolen and hoarded it?!.. I'm most disappointed. .. you don't want to make me a happy , do you?

Ah. *nods*.. fair enough. Yes, unfortunately, I am. .. they do have SOME rights; health and safety and several other things still apply; since as an agency worker you're working for the agency, you have the same rights which would otherwise apply were you to be working for the agency as a recruitment consultant, *technically*. It just gets complicated because most rights in the workplace are based on the fact that the employee spends his or her entire time working, whereas temporary workers tend to be people like me who are killing time.

Thankyou! .. I am /supposedly/ a web and /or graphic designer (as well as a security consultant and god knows what else). I even did systems analysis once. - I warn you, never do that. ..

.. fair enough. .. my badge was a little like that. .. I had a beautiful thing printed in a proper badge holder clipped to my jeans; I even uploaded the jpg to njan.co.uk/njan (actually, I designed it for the last january meet), but it fell off somewhere on the district or circle line on my way to somerset house. .. so I doodled on the back of my head of department's business card and pinned it to my t-shirt with a rainbow badge that says "I don't even think straight" on it that I just happened to have in my coat pocket. .. that was a little of a last-minute plan. I may have shown you. .. being 18 is good. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to go through the whole process again; I've just got used to being an adult, and now I'll have to go through the same thing for a second time - since I'll be in america, I now have to wait until I'm 21 before I can be taken seriously. .. well, kinda.

I'm moving to Idaho, in the Pacific North West. A little town called Moscow, to be precise.

.. what does that involve? (odd name for a course..).. and fear not, my parents told me exactly the same thing about oxbridge. Although why in heaven's name I'd want to go to oxford, since I've lived there for 14 years, I don't know. And Cambridge is a definite no-no for the same reason. So I have an excuse for applying which isn't that I'd never get in (which is also true)..

.. I'm definitely jealous (and I know someone else who no doubt will be as well).. damn, I'm sorry I missed that.