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

No, Terri, you've got the wrong address. And please don't post my address like that here on hootoo. I know it's just a street name, but still, if it had been correct, well, I would have been worried. I'll send you my correct address by email. Micio will look forward to getting her goodie -- did I tell you she lost a tooth?

Sorry. I thought it was remote enough to be unidentifiable.

I seem to be doing everything wrong at the moment; please excuse me. Le Bou departed here last nigt aroiund 10ish saying "I'll be back in about half an hour"...3 hours later, no sign, he's not responding to phone calls...i'm totally shattered with fatigue...do i go to bed & leave door unlocked, try & stay awake or what? Eventually i went up to bed, but had dreadful nightmares & awoke with nosebleed at 5.30am; gave up & locked the door.

Managed to eat something. went back to bed downstairs. He arived a couple of hours later, which meant i had to get up to let him in, returned to bed, he said "Hmmf, if you're asleep, i'll go; maybe see ya later"...

Since then i've tried to contact him; left messages, no reply. Been shopping (one of the messages was simply asking did he need anything, since his money isn't in yet)

I'm really bad at not understanding What's Goin' On stuff. Once i know that, i can start handling, what i can't handle is uncertainty.

Ah well. A neighbour just dropped by, inviting me to visit him & his wife (who has fairly terminal cancer) to see their new kitten tomorrow afternoon. I first got aquainted with this person becuse he stopped his car way back, rang the bell & said "sorry, but i have to tell you that your beautiful sitting in the window with all the lovely plants outside as i pass is what's been keeping me going through some very bad times"

Aww.

I bought some geraniums today, bargain 5 euros for 10 plants, i'll pot one up in a hand painted pot to give to her i think.

I've been Googling; i suspect i may have pernicious anaemia; i really do need the B Vitamins & the unpleasnt lady at the Pharmacy refuses to give them me, since i haven't got it on my prescription.Plus she very rudely kept me standing there for 10 minutes whilst she dealt with rich women wanting to buy expensive products to help them lose weight & wrinkles. So i've ended up paying 10 euros for them from another pharmacy, that's 10 days worth, after 5 days i feel loads better. It gets rather ridiculous, if i buy the vits, i can't do food shopping, because i can't cart it up the hill every day & delivery once a month is too high unless i buy a load of stuff.

zdt

Hi sweets. Sorry the pharmacist was being a . Nice to hear the nice comment about Yoda.

I meant to include a hug --

Before spending all that money and effort on the B vitamins, do make sure to have a blood test and a proper diagnosis. Too many B vitamins are as bad for you as not enough.

Regarding Bou, I wouldn't worry about What's Going On. There's probably nothing going on... he's probably just off doing his own thing, leaving you to rest, not consciously avoiding your calls. I hadn't heard from you anything about Bou in ages and usually No News Is Good News.

I'll bet Yoda does look gorgeous sitting in her window jungle!

Will this day never end? I'm in no mood for work today.

Gaaaargh, me No Do Blood Tests unless am actually in a coma. I had just about every test possible last time they dragged me off to the Emergency Room; i'm technically far from anaemic; i have actually more red blood cells than an average fit 18 year old guy; plus superb BP; it's just some sort of weird metabolic stuff; i simply can't synthesise B vits in natural form; even if i was a rabid carnivore, it wouldn't make any difference. I just have to rattle this new doctor's cage loud enough to make her realise she *must* put the Vits on prescription as vital for this condition.

As for the Bou thing, he pitched up around an hour back; he's now gone off to watch & we've agreed to compromise that he phones me at midnight to say if he's wishing to stay here after the match or go home; stay at Phils; whatever. I'm not wishing to control him, but i have a life too & will not stand for waiting around for phones to ring or "if/but/maybe/whenever" stuff any more. I have plenty of ways to occupy my time meanwhile, i just need to know what's going on so i can organise things according to what suits us all.

Hmm.... does that make me a Control Freak? (yeah; i have been "accused" of that in the past)

It's not easy right now, he's a bit of a control freak too & is Very Racked Off waiting to find when his money is going to arrive & try & arrange this seasonal work, transport etc with no credit on his phone...actually, in his position i would probably have been done for GBH by now!

Yoda does indeed look Totally beautiful sitting in her jungle. Unless you happen to be a passing pigeon....

JEllen, has Micio been out on the balcony yet? PC: do you let Herman go outside?*imagines Herman scrambling around.."oh, whoops; i have turned into a bird; where are my wings?"

zdt

No, Herman's not allowed outside. I've never allowed any of my cats outside. Herman's wobbliness would likely mean he'd fall into traffic... but I wouldn't let him out anyway. There are cars, and squirrels, probably the occasional rat or mouse, unpredictable humans, and domestic dogs to worry about. Plus the poor birds!

And I just meant that I hoped you'd know for sure you needed extra B vits before taking- if they already know you need them then no worries. I just worry and all that, you know!

Yoda sits on her balconies (indoor ones) & tooth-chatters at the pigeons; i keep telling her "look, even if you were outside you probably couldn't catch one, they are rats with wings; go & torment your goldfish"

She used to go out in the last flat i had here, she had loads of green open space & easy access in/out 'cos window didn't close, but chose to only do so twice a day, usually returning with a present for mummy, a lizard with no tail or baby bird or shrew, which wasn't terribly pleasant since they were usually still alive (just)

Way back, when i lived on a boat with two dogs, two cats & 3 chickens (oh, and a man & motorbike), the animals would leap off & go hunting & drop their offerings through the hatch on the roof; most unpleasant wading to the toilet through a heaving heap of gore

zdt

Sorry about the MSN thing Terri. I was teetering on the verge of collapse, trying to get my internet session to stay connected for more than a minute at a time.

The problem seems to have been with the phone line. That's rather a relief, really.

>most unpleasant wading to the toilet through a heaving heap of gore<

Who wouldn't hate that!

The worst thing I have to wade through around here, ever, is hairballs regurgitated during the night but out of earshot. Or the carpet of kitty litter Herman puts down while we're at work.

*sigh* I totally understand that syndrome Ivan, you have my sympathies!

Aww, how sweet of Herman to be trying to transform your flooring into a work of art. Yoda does something similar when she attacks Her Adidas trainer on the red carpet, lots of lovely rubber bits for Mummy to hoover up (plus the bits of Her Wicker chair of course.)

Life is a bit "up in the air" at this end. it's still continual rain & forecast says "more of the same"; the chances of shiny happy tourists needing servicing are slim, plus Bou's only recieved part of his benefits yet again thsi month "Administratif Erreur"...it would be madness for him to take off with virtually no cash, so quite possibly his job offer will get withdrawn. Then again, he may decide he's so peeved with this place he will just do it anyway & see what turns up.

Latest news on French TV is that gas & electricity have just gone up by 5.5%; the last increase was only weeks ago. It really is getting to the point that many folk have to decide to live on sandwiches or be warm (ish)...if it gets much worse, i really must think seriously about moving somewhere warmer; it's madness to spend at least a third of your available income simply on trying to avoid being cold, yet in comparison to the weather most of "you lot" are having, we are in a warm zone. Vicious circle, because staying in bed (fully dressed) for as much of the time as possible is the cheapest solution, but that means you don't actually get round to doing anything to try & improve things. i'm on the cheapest possible tariff; ie: get cheaper electric at night, which of course encourages me to stay Owl Like!

I'm going to try & do without the monthly shop this month, went & bought food, food, wine & a quiche yesterday, i think i will just use up freezer contents then switch it off.

The other big item on french Tv is that surveys have disclosed the number of technically obese folk here is outmatched only by the rise in anorexia! What on earth is happening to the world?

zdt

I'm lucky, I guess. My electic and gas only cost me about 150-ish euros a month or so, during summer and winter- that's chump change. It used to be twice that, which was annoying. Of course, if I lived anywhere warmer, it'd cost a lot more to keep cool.

Anorexia diagnoses seem to be fashionable now that it's also fashionable to pick on naturally thin women. With the rise in obesity rates, surely no one can accept responsibility for getting themselves fat, so just blame healthy, attractive people for being "too skinny".

I'm quite happy to blame other people for being skinny... It's nothing to do with my love of food and lack of exercise at all...and imbibing on a regular basis

If I lived in the rubenesque period....



Re: tooth chatters...my cat does that too, she frequently threatens birds, squirrels and passing cats in that manner..it makes me chuckle when her tail gets huge and bushy also

As for the bath thing, she hangs out between the plastic shower curtain and the material one and waits for unsuspecting toes to emerge..

& imagines Herman lurking behind PC's orange monkeys....

Well, i've just got back from the "new admiration" invitation, talk about "how the other half lives!" They have a 5 storey villa overlooking a private park, just minutes away from me,one of the amazing things about this ancient town is that behind the façade of a seemingly small house these quite vast green spaces exist; it's all down to generations of feudalism, i actually live "On the Plateau", which is where the nobles lived; up top, protected by the ramparts, yer common or garden serf toiled away down below by the river.

The new cat is with yellow eyes & extremely Allooof. Obviously, they think the sun shines out of her bum, because all owned hoomans behave like this. I arrived with a little geranium in hand painted pot, which pleased Madame greatly, she immediately took me round her garden & i've left bearing s of plant swapsies. Bizarrely, i already know the house, it was owned by an English Estate Agent i used to know, who seems to have sold it to them for a massively inflated price 'cos he recognised they fell in love with the place, especially the magnificent views of the town.

despite the fact that no English was squoken, it was a Terrifyingly English experience, i was served tea from a silver teapot & offered etc, then taken on a really quite exhausting tour of the rest of the house (all those bloody stairs!!!) & shown the Works of Art, the studies (yes, plural) & libraries (yes, plural) & the guy's own stuff, which is mainly immense Jackson Pollock type stuff. i managed to name-drop the right names & told him i can probably get him an expo (which i probably can)

I did have to slightly hold myself in check when he started on about "Oh, i have to work large scale; it's therapy, how can any work small scale?" & not reply "because, my friend, not everyone has large studios & hundreds of $$$ to spend on framing & paint"

However, all the money in the world isn't helping to stop his wife's cancer spreading. So, all in all, i think i'd rather be me. All i have is dodgy legs & failing nervous system, as far as i know & very few responsibilities if i do happen to drop off the edge of the planet. (Yoda has a service to take care of her; which also includes making sure any or plant get sorted. i have a tiny insurance thing, so nobody gets landed with my usual monthly overdraft.)

zdt

Eeek, you won't believe this; my fiends, but zdt has just signed up to join the 21st century. I'm getting a fibre optic cable internet/telephone connexion, which will apparently increase my online speed by around 10X, plus remove me from the monopoly of France Bloody Telecom.

Yes, i *have* checked the small print. For around 20 euros a month less i can poke a finger in the appropriate part of FT & faster, despite the Beast being ancient. The Korean door to door salesman kindly() unplugged the old Beast (this one), connected the new old Beast & announced "there really isn't much point in swapping, this one is older than the one you are using now; what matters is the hard drive, which can be changed & the actual connexion to internet...which is why I'm out here doing door to door, the road you live in now has cable optic, you can, if you wish, opt out of the System."

A mate happened to pass by, obviously i invited him in to check i wasn't being sold a bundle of French lies. I *do* know that cable was laid down here not long ago, 'cos i talked to the guys digging up the road.

Anyway, since today is *yet again* continual rain & i had a massive row with someone last night & that "sort computer" is top of my list of priorities; somebody pitching up on the doorstep offering to do just that seems like Destiny.

Apparently this independent company took FT to court & won the right for people to choose their access route for internet, phone, TV etc based on their own choice, rather than total dependency on State run companies. This rather appeals to the rebel in me, plus the idea of faster connexion obviously. Plus i get a phone deal which means i can bother most of "you lot" for free. Be afraid, be very afraid......

*However, Wiki says they ended up joining forces...who to believe?*

(If they rip me off, it's them that need to be afraid obviously. Plus i may be offline for a day or two while they drill little holes in the wall)...but i am somewhat reassured by the fact that 3 of my immediate neighbours have also signed up, the sales guy has only done the 1st 4 houses in this street, i bet his commision will be good today..it's probably the right sort of weather to catch people skulking & whinging inside over their Beast!

http://www.numericable.fr/home.php

(It's In French, sorry, but fairly easy to understand the general idea: if any of you have experience of cable connexion stuff & can explain veeery sloowly in words of less than two non geeky syllables, i would really welcome that!)

zdt

I've been using cable internet for a little over six years. What is it you need to know?

Can't help with any info about the company themselves, but surely can finagle some tech details out of my own manuals at home.

Being served tea and given a tour or artwork sounds extraordinarily nice, Terri.

Goodluck with the phone/beast/cable switchover.

I've been painting little preparatory sketches, and enjoying it immensely.

I am not very knowledgeable about the internet I have got cc cleaner and an added defgmenter.

I have been having a wonderful time looking at the clouds and seeing different shapes and they look like animals. I have seen my first chaffinch and I saw a chaffinch go into a small hole in roof probably to feed their young. I look at the birds darting to and fro in the sky and their beautiful songs.

The sun's shining, the sky is blue... Blue like the ink of your eyes, the dirty jeans you're wearing since last 1st july, the tooth of your smile, the pills of your sad libido, the lyrics you'll never try but grey is back, back to reality, the poor life we're always in, the sound you never truly see but white is the feeling we need to vomit. Isn't the blackboard empty?