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

Can't be a fun thing to suffer from.

Lol, aw, that's funny I guess dfferent people, different things... My mind tends to remember the bad bits for some reason. I wouldn't mind if it had the advantage of avoiding the crap next time around, but I never learn... I suppose it makes a difference as to how emotional the break up was and all sorts of things.

Aw, poor guy Personally I think that getting married is largely a symbolic thing to please your parents. Obviously there are certain legal and financial reasons to get married, like you said, but on the face of it, it's just a piece of paper. Getting married doesn't necessarily mean you're any more in love than the couple down the street who've been 'living in sin' for the past few years.

I went out last night for her birthday, actually. I haven't got her anything besides a card yet, but I haven't seen anything suitable so far... she's not the kind of person I would feel O.k giving a HMV voucher, or a CD to. She'd be grateful, and she'd love it as much as all of her other presents because she's that kind of person, but I feel like I have to go a bit further and get her something imaginative because I know she appreciates it.

My dad had his 50th birthday last year (or was it the year before... I can't remember) and we had a big party. His brothers had dug out some old photographs of him (you know, naked as a baby, overweight teenager, etc etc) and made T-shirts out of them. I thought that was a pretty good idea, certainly got a laugh. My dad's a sport, though, and put one on straight away; some people would be offended or overly embarrased by it, I think.

At school we had 'the screens' as they were not so affectionately known which were televisions positioned at various points around the building and were linked to a computer in the main office which played a slideshow of news and information- school team scores, upcoming events such as parent-teacher evenings, important information etc. We always wanted to get embarrasing baby pictures of our friends put up on it for their birthdays, but being the humourless school administrators that they were, we weren't allowed

TK[1]

Fortunately, I felt OK over the weekend, so hopefully I've seen the last of (or at least the worst of) the dizziness now. I spent most of my weekend just pottering about at home, which I actually rather like doing. I've worked full-time ever since I left school in 1983, so staying at home playing house once in a while is somethong of a novelty. I had let the cleaning slip a bit while we had that nice weather a few weeks ago, so some serious dusting was in order.

So, having only been out of the house twice all weekend (to go to the co-op and the indian take-away respectively), I haven't got much to say today.

Liz
~

That's better then Here's hoping it doesn't recurr too soon!

I'm not a fan of housework... I don't know how I'll cope when I finally get my own place...

Aw, well I don't usually have much to say lol... Actually, I had an interview today. Ironically, it's at the graduate recruitment place in town. Not sure how it went but they're going to call me tomorrow and tell me if they want to see me again... Fingers x'd.

TK[1]

My boyfriend is not a fan of housework either. In fact, he just doesn't do any. It drove me mad when he first moved in but now I accept that if he didn't bother to clean up when he lived on his own, there isn't much hope that he will do so just because he lives with me. I do complain about him going upstairs in his outdoor shoes and not putting his stuff away (you should see the pile of his clothes and paperwork on my spare bed!), but the fact that it rarely occurs to him to get the hoover out is something I have had to get used to. He does occassionally hoover the carpet in the lounge if he has spilt a lot of crumbs on it, but it never occurs to him to hoover any of the other rooms while he's at it. It's a good job that I'm not particularly house proud otherwise I might have strangled him by now.

I hope the interview went well.

Liz
~

With me it's a little strange because my mum is so obsessed with keeping the house spotless! Though to be fair, if you look at my brother's room, it makes mine look like an OCD sufferer with a vacuum cleaner fixation lives in it... he's disgusting. Whereas my room is just clothes, books and bits of paper everywhere, his room has all that plus food. Rotting on plates. And new life forms evolving in milk glasses. I'm not an automatic vacuum cleaner user, but I do get it out occasionally because I know my mum will appreciate it. I just don't bother when my brother's home, though, because he just leaves a trail of destruction and mess behind him wherever he goes.

Thank you. I got a phone call this morning telling me I haven't been shortlisted... I think I'm destined to busk.

TK[1]

It must be very stressful for your Mum as a houseproud person to have produced such an untidy offspring as your brother. One of my colleagues has two sons living at home and she doesn't even go in their bedrooms anymore.

Bad luck about the job - it's their loss.

Liz
~

Yes, well I'm not much better; I'm just messy in an altogether nicer way. Doesn't stop my mum 'tidying' my room when I go away for a couple of days though. By 'tidying' I mean that process by which mothers make your room look spotless by putting everything you might possibly need to find any time soon in a completely non- obvious place.

Hmm. Still don't get paid though :-s

TK[1]

I think your Mum spoils you! I had to tidy my own bedroom from the age of 7! I'm not the tidiest person in the world myself, but I'm a lot neater than I was when I was young and I really can't stand to have a lot of clutter on show. My cupboards and drawers are stuffed with things and my computer table (in the dining room) is usually buried under a pile of paperwork, but I don't put up with a lot of mess in the front room anymore. I live in an old terraced house with small rooms so there just isn't space to have a lot of stuff lying about. Chris was a sod for leaving everything on the floor when he first moved in, but after I had tripped over his crap and hurt myself several times, he did start putting things away (or piling it on the spare bed).

It's probably not a great time of year to be looking for permanent work at the moment. Might you be able to get something seasonal in the run up to Christmas? Perhaps your local department store requires a Father Christmas.

Liz
~

I tidy my own bedroom too, but it's never to the satisfaction of my mum, so she tends to come in and blitz it when I go away.
I have a lot of difficulty because of the fact that my bedroom is smaller than either of the two rooms that I spent the last three years in at uni, plus I've got used to living in a whole house rather than just one room, so coming back and having to force my entire life into a single room has made things difficult.

Lol, I've got the build for it, but I think they're probably looking for someone with less of a tendancy to be miserable and grumpy...

TK[1]

It must be very difficult to go and live back with your parents after living away from home. I'd hate to have to live with my parents again.

I lived in lodgings for about 18 months between splitting with my ex and getting my first flat. I got to keep a lot of the furniture from the marital home, so I know what you mean about squashing into smaller accomodation. I had the contents of a two bedroom terraced house rammed into two rooms in a shared house for a while. Then I moved to a one bedroom flat, which gave a little more room and then I moved to the little two bed house I live in now. Three years after moving in, just as I was getting all the space utilised in the way I wanted, my boyfriend moved in and filled my house with his junk! His furniture has been in storage ever since he moved in with me, so at least I haven't had to make room for that. I keep trying to persuade him that we need to move somewhere larger, but he's not keen.

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Liz
~

It is.... you lose the freedom, no matter how lenient your parents are.

Ouch. At least I don't have that much of my own furniture to cram into my room with me!

Same to you- I'm going to the Space Centre tomorrow. I'm not going to knock it down because I'm bitter that they didn't give me a job... it's a trip organised with my Dad's work, so you don't have to worry

TK[1]

I hope you had a nice time at the Space Centre.

I didn't do much (again) and I have to admit that I was bored on Saturday. Chris was at work at 3.30 on Saturday morning and so was not exactly full of life when he got home. On Sunday I walked into town hoping to buy a coat that I had seen on Thursday. I didn't try on said coat at the time I saw it because I had just been caught in a really heavy burst of rain and I didn't think the shop would appreciate me trying on their goods when I was soaking wet. So, I went back into town yesterday and the shop only had one coat left and it was too small for me . Still, at least it got me out of the house for a while. And I did cook myself a very nice chilli con carne for my lunch when I got home

Liz
~

I did... I got my birthday present there too- a telescope

Aw, that's O.k- /not/ being bored on a saturday is agaist the norm for me...
It's annoying when that happens... especially when it's something really nice.
Yeah, it's nice for a change of scenery as much as anything

TK[1]

I hate being bored on a Saturday (it's kind of compulsory on a Sunday though). Saturday is the best day of the week and it annoys me if I can't find anything to amuse myself. The weather was wet on Saturday afternoon and my boyfriend was watching all sorts of old shite on the telly. There wasn't even any decent sport on (racing from Longchamps or football, oh goody!) I managed to read a magazine while he was watching 'The Mask of Zorro', so at least I avoided most of that.

I think it's time I found myself another book to read. I've been trying to catch up on all the magazines (6 of 'em) that remained unread while I was ploughing through War and Peace, but I feel the need for a novel again now.

Liz
~

oooh, I hate sundays... it's a different level of boredom altogether...

"It's the fantastic drowse
Of the afternoon Sundays
That bored you to rages of tears
The unending pleadings
To waste all your good times
In thoughts of your middle-aged years"

I'm not a sports fan... can't think of anything that would make my recent saturdays worse than spending them watching sport...

I've just finished a collection of Arthur C. Clarke's short stories (highly recommended), and started Sharpe's Havoc. It's good so far

TK[1]

I was going to order myself a book from Amazon yesterday. I don't often buy books, but I thought I might treat myself to "The Bad Mother's Handbook" by Kate Long (who used to lurk under the user name of Badmother on the Get Writing website). Anyway, I distracted myself by visiting the Ipswich Arts & Entertainments website and I ended up spending a large chunk of dosh on two tickets to see Jack Dee at the Ipswich Regent next May (on my birthday, no less). My boyfriend can't believe that I have already planned (and paid for) the entertainment for a birthday that is still 7 months away.

I still might go shopping on Amazon but I feel I should order myself a book from the library. I was reading an article in The New Writer last night about how the costs of running and maintaining libraries continue to grow, while the levels of borrowing continuing to fall. Once again, the suggestion has been raised that libraries may cease to exisit in as little as 10 years time! So, I think I shall dig out my list of books that I'd like to read and see what is available on the Suffolk County Libraries website.

Liz
~

My friend got me a £10 Waterstones voucher for my birthday. Oh, the choice... Gah! I wanna see Jack Dee! My birthday entertainment was a meal at an Italian restaurant with mates last night, and will be dinner with the family (incuding both sets of grandparents) tomorrow... :-s

There'll still be libraries, they just won't be recognisable next to ours... they'll be online electronic libraries, most probably.

TK[1]

I hope you had a nice birthday. The Italian meal sounds nice and I hope your family 'do' went well too.

I didn't get on very well trying to get myself a book. My library card had expired so I could not order a book on-line. I had to actually go to the library to renew my card in person. The book I wanted was not on the shelf, so, with my newly renewed card, I went back onto their website and ordered a book to be delivered to my local library but I was not offered the option of e-mail notification of when the book is in. I have since discovered that my card was not updated correctly but they are supposed to be fixing it so that the e-mail option will work properly in future (there is a small charge for postal notification, but e-mail is free!). Anyway, the book is on order but I will have to remember to check my account regularly to see if it is in yet. I didn't fare much better on Amazon because 'The Bad Mother's Handbook' is not out in paperback until February and I was too mean to spend the money on a hardback copy. Ho hum, it looks like I will be watching a lot of telly this week.

Liz
~

It was O.k- they get a little less welcome as I trundle along, but I'd be even less pleased about them if everyone ignored them completely...

Always the way... nothing's ever simple, lol

Lol, noooo!! There's always something better than telly... Like my telescope! But it was cloudly last night. And next door had all their lights on. And I knealt in a tomato.

TK[1]

Lol Oh dear, squidgy astronomy.

I had something to watch on video tape last night - I taped that Music Hall of Fame thing that was on Channel 4 on Sunday (which was on late and clashed with the Snooker). My boyfriend came home from work near the end of it and then kept me awake until gone midnight debating what acts from the 1980's we might expect to see on next weeks programme.

Liz
~