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

Aha, that was Corrie. I saw the tulane.edu mail addy and 'Corrie' sounded somehow familiar, but I didn't make the connection. Yeah, I'll be labelling her t as soon as I have done this and had my coffee. I didn't think I had any in her size left, but I found some in a wardrobe. Then I have to go to Reading and harrass Damien, which is when I'll post it. Cav's are currently all over me when I walk in there, tea and biscuits and everything, because they know I am planning to do the printing myself. It's a shame, because they kid they took on last year is paid for entirely off the back of pgj work, so he will probably lose his job. Feel a bit bad, but, you know, this is war. And I lost my job last year as a consequence of an accoutancy fraud in the US, so there are more annoying ways to go.

WTUL situation > lame, that whole thing of trying to please everyone. I actually listen to WTUL quite a lot, weirdly. Just have it on quietly in the background while I do other stuff. Your show is good, I think you hold it together well, especially now that you actually sound as if you are *talking* rather than disinterestedly reading things out. Many of the presenters are kinda a bit wacky, which is a little bit grating (for me personally), but the thing is that they are making an effort to make their shows good, and by and large it works well. Also, I am hardly the target audience they envisaged. Ha, 'Estrogen Fuelled Radio' sounds cool, having just scanned the new schedule. Don't hurt me, riot grrl! Sorry you're not a man!

Right. Coffee = finished, so have to get this shirt sorted out now. And then off to Reading. Have to fill in this mental form to claim Housing Benefit (ie, get the State to pay my rent) at some point today. I'm just not cut out to live on benefits, although the advantages are undeniable.

...i notice that this thread seems to have reached maximum dots and rolled back over to dot one. cool.
yeah, i don't know what hour-long shows and all that is going to do for quality... speaking for myself this afternoon, i sort of did my best but it just felt like there was no time to relax or do anything more than put on songs sort of randomly. maybe in time i can figure out a way to build a format around it.
i was at wal mart yesterday, i should have bought a fcking space heater.

Jesus. 2802 posts. Who'd have thought it? My life has changed almost beyond recognition since this started, thank fck. Although I still have all the dots here.

Yeah, so today just clattered up to Reading, hassled Damien. Need to get about a grand from somewhere to have available funds for the printing/pressing equipment. Well, I have the money, but I want the company to have the money. I am in the process of selling my lovely Honda, which will raise half of it, as I always had proceeds from that earmarked for pgj. I could pick up cheaper stuff from eBay or whatever, but it seems like a bit of a false economy, if this is to be my livelihood. I'll find a way round the situation. I can only hope I look back and larf one day about chasing round for five hundred quid. Meeting up with the bedroom design girl tomorrow evening. I am more than a little nervous, but, following Craig's advice, will just convince myself beforehand that I am in fact a hugely talented designer. I'm not trying to bluff the girl - it *is* the first time I have ever tried anything like this, and I have told her as much. But all she wanted from me was an idea, which I will provide. So I have kept up my half of the agreement. And Gaby will be there for moral support.

yeah, haha, my life is exactly the same as at the time of post one.
i have been anxiously waiting to hear how the bedroom design deal goes down. good luck with it, it'll be cool.
god fcking almighty i did nothing today but sit through two 3-hr long classes praying the whole time that i wouldn't have to do anything, and i didn't! in between classes i had coffee and soup. i have recoiled completely from any semblance of a life. except for that party saturday which i'm now resigned to attending, it's a costume party, and my only friend corrie and i are going as God and Satan. which means i'll be wearing a white shirt with God written on it.
going to wal mart tonight... planning on buying a bunch of liquor with which to make Hot Scotch Nightcaps, so that's exciting. might as well, i dunno, buy more blankets and/or a space heater while i'm there.

Well, Gaby and I meet Niti at the Bucks Head, Camden, and she went with Idea 1. You saw idea 2, and I had Idea 3 (my favourite) today. So it's pretty much a done deal. I only want to do one componant of the bedroom at a time, so it can be organic and the various bits can play off each other, so we are starting with the duvet, than doing the curtains then - as she is at that point moving - the rest of the stuff. She was by her own admission rather stoned when she arrived, so wasn't quite as bubbling over with enthusiasm as I had hoped. But yeah, she liked it, and is going to Brick Lane with Gaby on Friday to pick out the fabric, which Gaby can then make into the duvet itself, and then we can get to work. By 'we', I mean Gaby - my practical involvement is now over, though I can't believe I won't do at least *some* of the hands on work, especially as I will doubtless have a few little bits and bobs I want to add. And I have to oversee it and everything - it is my company for whom the work is being done, on behalf of my company's client. Obviously, Gaby gets paid out of the fee. Which was maybe not as high as I had hoped, but nonetheless good, and gives us a budget to work to. I said that my only stipulation is that the pgj logo is on it, noticeable but discreet, and that I can put photos of it on the website.

Mind you, it gave me the idea of doing a pgj duvet, made of t shirts, which Gaby assures me will be very easy. I think it would look great, so I'll have to look into that.

Not a lot else today. Oh, I finally got my housing benefit form done. It took me about 4 minutes.

A white shirt with God written on it would look great.

excellent, the duvet is go. gaby sounds like a good collaborator... people who can do stuff like that are magical to me... they just take some fabric and instructions and bring the thing into existence. and the t-shirt duvet will be cool, too. a pretty exciting venture, even from here. conceptual textile art,of a sort.
not much news here. duplicated a scene from the Young Ones last night, when my lentil soup went all over the floor. i am Neil.
i did get a space heater and a DVD player, and finished my plates, and rewrote act one of my screenplay, so yesterday wasn't bad, ultimately. and now my weekend begins. the party is saturday... i will have to sit around the house til then, enjoying the peace shortly to be shattered. i think i will also make a mix CD and stipulate that if my stereo is to be used then *some* good music shall be played. parties. bad punch, bad music, bad scene, man. at least i'll have God on my chest.
congratulations on the form, by the way. i will try to follow your shining example and get things sorted out with the english dept...

Yeah, putting off that four minutes of form-filling-in cost me $7k in rent, so let that be a lesson.

Gaby is pretty cool. She could be a long term collaborator, as if I decide to do a range of pgj dolls, she'll be making the clothes for them. Also, she is the only person I know with useable sewing skills and desperately needs cash, so needs the work. It isn't that I'd take advantage of her - she is getting paid well over the going rate for the duvet, out of money which is otherwise mine - it's just that people involved at the sharp end of pgj I want to have nowhere else to go. And, also, I don't want them to *want* to go anywhere else. All this and my general grandiose business philosophies sound ludicrous at this level, but nonetheless the way in which the company behaves now is the blueprint for how I would wish it to behave in the future, should it grow.

Parties. Horrid.

Very tired today, was up all night last night and only had a few random naps today, in an attempt to wrench my sleep clock back on course for the weekend.

i myself was strangely drowsy all last night, whilst trying to watch mediocre vampire movies. promptly woke up once i finally went to bed. well, the thing that jarred me awake was probably the discovery that Rik Mayall of The Young Ones was in Drop Dead Fred... that'll teach me to read the talent files.
so, after that i slept for 12-13 hours, got up around noon, went to bookstore to find that the book i wanted hadn't come in yet, went to campus, had coffee, met aunt, more coffee, came home, ate quesadilla cooked by dane, went out for ice cream with corrie, and now here i am. there are people in the living room watching TV, and the house is already decorated. but the atmosphere is still generally cozy..
loved the song title survey in your LJ, by the way.

Yeah, so here I am in Maidenhead. This is the first Saturday trading night I have been here since mid November, and, oddly enough, there is a party in full swing at James and Monika's. Which, of course, I could happily drop in to and be made to feel very welcome, but the point is that I am a bit miffed with this *every_single* weekend. I mean yeah, birthdays and special occasions and such, get loads of people round of course, but that noise will be resounding through my flat until about 4 am, and considering I am going to have to get up to catch the 06.30 train out of Maidenhead tomorrow morning, it is less than funny. If I oversleep, I will lose my pitch, Kate or no Kate. It's a shame, because Monika is lovely, although James is a bit of a prck. So, if I am still awake at 4 with the noise, the option which I outlined to James last week - that I will wake him up in the early hours of each weekday morning until he understands what it means to work when you are absolutely shattered - may well have to come into effect.

Good day, though, with 13 sales. It really is very encouraging, especially for this time of year. This is the first anniversary of pgj at Camden, by the way. We sold 3 the first day, and I feel today's result is a fitting testament to the plugging away and plugging away and plugging away that has gone on since then.

Yeah, that JL survey was fun. I stole it from someone on my friends' list, I forget whom.

Also today I found a wicked Morrissey bootleg cd of gigs from last year, for a fiver, from a dealer in the Stables Market. Quite a find, I am pleased with it.

Well, best of luck with *your* party.

yeah, i assume i will be kept up til 4 AM tonight myself. but i have nothing whatsoever to do tomorrow. or today... kind of feel like just hiding under some blankets. will probably start drinking in the next hour or two. have laid-in a stash of decent beer so, hopefuly i will survive this normal-people-find-it-fun thing.
uh, nothing else going on really, house just being tidied up to be messed up, and i'm staying out of the way.

Yeah, I have to take back my reservations about next door; there was not a peep out of them after 11 ish. Which is perfectly acceptable and in order.

I got given a present today from a new friend of mine, this Smiths fan called Anne I got chatting to the day I went to see El Moz, while she was buying earrings from Martin and I was shouting across at Simon to play more Smiths or I'd burn his stall down. Martin is convinced she has eyes for horrid old me - and her present was touching. An ashtray with Jesus in it. Also, Gaby is certain that Niti is only having her pgj bedroom because 'she wants it [from me]'. And there was a rather tragic episode last weekend, when a luvverly thing came up to the stall and said 'Yeah, I was here with my friend a couple of months ago, and she got an I Do Mingers badge, and I wondered if that is a matter of policy for you, or whether you do attractive women as well' and I said well no, it's a matter of profound and long lasting regret, obviously, and just jabbered on. She said 'OK, I can't try any harder' and wandered off. There was loads more to it than that which made it very clear what was going on, in hindsight. Martin was agog at this glaring error, and I feel bad about it. It's just that if anyone comes on my turf trying to chat it, I am going to charge into them. It's my job, you know. I hope she doesn't think I am some kind of cold hearted prck, because I'm not, and that was a fcking ballsy thing she did. Bugger.

Text message hilarity at the market today, as per JL. And another good day, which is becoming something of a habit. Kate is all loved up with me again. Where will it all end, Rachel? Where?

oh, i don't know... where, indeed. but yeah, all those beautiful women flocking around you, it's downright tragic. i myself can only dream of reaching the point where i can put off interested parties with that much style... though you're right, the approach was pretty stylish, i admire that as well. yeah, kind of a sad incident.
nice to hear next door has fallen in line. i myself made some important discoveries regarding parties. 1.) be on your 3rd beer before the guests arrive. 2.) if everyone is drunk and dancing 100% of the time, no awkward attempts at conversation need take place, and everyone will be very, very happy. 3.) i think the exercise helps metabolize the booze... 4.) tang actually isn't that gross with vodka. so... yeah, it was quite a startling success. a guy did jump through the wall, but therein lies the advantage of architecture students: the damage gets fixed the next day.

Jumping through a wall. Genius. Excellent behaviour.

Squared things with Companies House today and did little bits of sundry other admin. Been talking with Fran_On_Cam on and off all night, details on JL. What a disturbing life she leads. On the one hand, it is completely rock n roll, on the other, she would be better off killing herself. But I can't help but have a soft spot for her. She does have a heart of gold. And I have stayed true to my promise of putting her on the company link page in return for her doing some photo's next week. Although it was cooler when she was going to do it in return for sex toys from Nick.

I'm as surprised as you may or may not be by the female attention. It's tremendously flattering and I am sure wholly undeserved.

What's Tang? It rings a bell, but I can't place it.

tang is space-age orange drink powder. i do actually think the astronauts drink it.
yeah, i myself am not like particularly surprised about the lady-flocking, at least as a phenomenon. i'm seldom surprised when nice and strange things happen to others... but i don't doubt it is surprising from the inside.
1hr radio show felt a lot less awkward today. doing mini-airbreaks on the quarter-hour helps give me a sense of presence.

Ah yes, I have vaguely heard of Tang, now you mention it.

I keep forgetting your new show. In fact, I keep forgetting everything, as for some reason I thought I had to see the benefits people tomorrow, when actually, it was today, and I have slept straight through my appointment. They are going to kill me. Really, they are. Oh well.

Also, been noticing over the last few days that I seem to be developing a kind of twitch in my right arm. It will kind of start shaking a little bit of its own accord sporadically. Hmmm. I don't even want to think about that might mean.

Umm, today, just been finally sorting out tax and stuff for the company. So far it has been > easy. Although about to ring the Inland Revenue (ie, the people who collect tax) which is where it might all go pear shaped.

i did some paperwork today, the much stressed-over and put-off kind that takes 5 minutes to actually do. well, i did most of it yesterday then had to get an extra signature, which almost constitutes a hassle but not compared to the hassle of worrying about it. hooray. not too bad a day all in all. i even survived the old poetry workshop session, which today began with the pronouncement "all your poems are absolutely terrible. really they are. i mean this from the bottom of my heart." etc. which isn't really as awful to hear as it sounds, although spending 3 hours applying that kind of rigor to something as nebulous as poetry (let alone student poetry) is utterly exhausting.
my life is so blah at the moment i have nothing to say for myself at the end of the day. but who wants to do anything besides watch TV? not me.
though i am going to a movie tonight. going to see this "Sideways" which for no obvious reason is like the best movie evar according to everyone. i thought it looked kind of dull, personally. and i already liked Paul Giamatti, who is now, thanks to this movie about middle-aged wine-tasting, philandering and neuroticness, the hero of the day. i remain skeptical. the most irritating thing is i have to drive myself downtown to see it.
no doubt there's a wide range of explanations for the arm-twitch. if it were me, i'm sure i wouldn't get it checked out unless it like didn't go away for a few years and by then i'd be used to it so i probably still wouldn't get it checked out, but that may not be the right thing to do.

Ha, yes, your approach to paperwork is identical to mine.

Yeah, so what exactly is your role in this poetry? You are kind of analysing other people's or something? That would be hard, because yeah you could comment on structure and form and weed out the stuff that is just clearly evil - a negligible percentage, I should think about 95% - but other than that you might like it and someone else might hate it. But doubtless you kinda know this.

Slightly trippy at the moment, as have been awake for 32hrs straight. Was in town this morning, had to pick up the remainder of the Christmas stock from Gaby's, then go to the Benefits Office this afternoon. Just a lot of running around, basically. Had lunch with Kate, our relationship is going through an upswing at the moment. Went back to hers for a while, blah blah, she is over to Maidenhead on Monday to meet up with Craig so I can outline formally what the company is doing, etc. Tidied up a load of stuff with tax and such yesterday. Basically, I had nothing whatsoever to worry about, it's just that I *know* that the tax side of things is a real weak spot for me, and wanted to get it nailed down, so that I present a watertight business to Craig and Kate prior to them coming onto the Board. Have been through individually where I see the business going in 05 and 06, just want to get this into a formal plan agreed by the three of us.

Tomorrow another hectic day, to Reading to get stock, then to town to look at getting baby clothes done, then a ton of labelling. Approved the new range of badges today, so with luck will have them by the end of next week.

yeah, you might want to get some sleep.
what you have inferred about the poetry workshop is pretty much correct. everybody has to write stuff, read it out, then people talk about it. and the prof is a crazy old guy for whom everything has to be publication-worthy. which is all well and good, but it ain't gonna happen. exact opposite of the workshop i was in last semester. so, i will either rise to the challenge or just get soooo tired. at the moment i intend to rise to the challenge, but, as i have mentioned, my life situation at the moment leaves me with absolutely jack sh*t to say, which is a bit of a problem.
on the radio at this moment there's a ska instrumental version of some beatles song from the Hard Day's Night era and i can't remember the name of the damn song and have just had to look it up. Should Have Known Better. ok. i need to go watch TV now. damn it. the landlord is bringing random people into the house today..

Yeah, oddly, my landlord is also bringing random people to my flat, as it's up for sale. I don't really mind, just that the last lot were quite sneery as it is quite untidy. There's just a lot of paper, books, and cd's around. It's clean and everything.

Off to Reading after this to pick stuff up then down to Brixton to see about getting the babyclothes printed. Not entirely sure about them, but just want to experiment.

Lovely sleep last night.

congratulations on the sleep.
for me, getting up is the hard part. yep, it's friday, i'm in my weekend. prospects for the day include going to campus and doing some ceramics work, don't want to do that so may put it off. there are some parades tonight apparently, might be good for me to go to those. and corrie and i are getting pizza later. so, that's all well and good. i've realized it doesn't really matter what i do if the people i'm with aren't nurturing my will to live, and the only good friend i've got is corrie. so, feeling a bit undermanned in my battle against the smothering miasma of indifference i've recently become aware of again. that brian fellow is the only additional person i really want to bring into the circle and that makes it impossible because no one can be allowed to have that much importance. blah. of course i should just throw myself at him and get it over with, i know.
fortunately, i'm not the only one in charge of my apartment, so only my room is covered with papers, books and CD's. the only other thing is the freshly patched wall that we now have to keep hidden behind what was once our coffee table, now our bookshelf...