Blogalogalog!

Singer Nina Simone dies. And there’s not a lot else to say. She was an amazing musician, and she won’t be forgotten. RIP.

*sad*

I’m getting KIT installed tomorrow. Woohoo, no more crappy Sky service that crashes several times a day! Nice shiny non-crashing KIT (I flippin’ well hope!! *g*), and Movies-on-demand that you get for 24 hours and can be paused and rewound, and whatever. Hee!
…. I’m maybe a little too enthusiastic about this, aren’t I? *g* I’ll be quiet now.

So anyway, it’s Easter weekend. Happy Good Friday, everyone! :-) I don’t have an Easter egg or anything…. yet. Maybe I’ll go shopping tomorrow. Mmmmm, chooooooocccccclaaaaaaaatttte. I don’t have a church to go to, either. Hum. I might try this one. It’s within walking distance, and looks like it should be friendly enough. *nod*

Right then, I shall go do some tidying and dusting and stuuuuuuff. Maybe something in the garden, which is looking ever so purty :-) Ooo, which reminds me, I must check with Mum to see if she’s downloaded the pics she took yet. :-)

It’s Friday, and that means the friday five:
1. Who is your favorite celebrity?
Nicole Kidman. She’s just fab. Talented, stunning, strong, and from everything I’ve seen, a really lovely down-to-earth person.

2. Who is your least favorite?
Uh. I don’t know. I tend to phase those that I’m not interested in, or impressed by, out of my mind, I suppose. But in general, it’d be rude, discourteous type people, I guess. Celebrities or no :-)

3. Have you ever met or seen any celebrities in real life?
Yep, several of the BtVS and Angel cast members. Er, plus being on the train with Gareth Pace (of Hale and Pace), and Neil Morrissey – at different times, I mean. And a couple of passing-in-the-street moments in London.

4. Would you want to be famous? Why or why not?
Hmmmm. No, I don’t think so. Or at least, not be a “celebrity”. Well known in a limited field would be good – as a musician or a writer. But fame doesn’t really draw me at all. I wouldn’t fancy being recognised on the street, or having media interest in my life. Ick.

5. If you had to trade places with a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why?
Uhhhh. I don’t know! *faffs* Maybe one of the hobbit actors, for a laugh. :-)

Mum and Dad have decided to stay an extra day, so they’re now going home tomorrow instead. I got dinner cooked for me after work this evening. Hee! :-) And Alexander has had company and attention while I’ve been out. *g*

I’m tiiiired. Think I might go to bed soon.

Here we go with this week’s answers to This-or-That Tuesday:

1. File taxes as early as possible, or wait until the last possible minute?
Neither, cos I don’t have to. Self-assessment isn’t compulsory here, not if you’re employed (that is, not self-employed), I think. I do check my tax code and stuff when it comes through, though, and check my payslips to make sure the tax is right.

2. File electronically, or mail paper forms?
N/A

3. Prepare your own taxes, or have someone do it for you?
Again, n/a. But I usually do my own checking, or just get some help from my Dad.

4. Are you a saver or a spender?
A spender from neccessity at the mo… and from inclination, as well. But as soon as I can manage it, I’ll start saving. As long as I have some nice spending money left over too. *g*

5. Do you prefer to carry cash, or pay with plastic (credit/debit cards), or by check?
Debit card, generally, cash for smaller payments, occasionally cheque (for rent and so on). Bills all go out by direct debit.

6. You’re broke and desperately need a job, but the only places that are hiring are retail or fast food places. Which would you pick?
That’s an easy one: Retail. I have lots of experience in that area from my jobs when I was at school and uni.

7. Keeping track of your money: are you more meticulous or careless about it?
I kind of swing between the two. I try to be meticulous, and I pretty much am now – I keep firm track of what’s going in and out, and budget the month out pretty carefully.

8. What do you do if you find yourself with a lot of change weighing down your purse/pocket/wallet? Do you try to spend it to *get rid of it*, or do you put it in a jar or a piggy bank?
Neither, really. I don’t put it in a jar, but I don’t try to spend, either. It’ll go soon enough. I try to pay with the smaller coins first, though.

9. Which form of fake money do you like better…Monopoly money or those chocolate coins covered with gold foil?
Hehehe! Chocolate money. Yum :-)

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You find a wallet containing $5,000 in cash, as well as several credit cards and the owner’s drivers’ license. Your rent is due tomorrow and you’re short $200. Do you take the money (some or all of it) and mail back the wallet anonymously…or do you return the wallet with all contents intact?
You know…. I’d give it all back. If the owner’s address wasn’t in it… hmmm….. I’d likely still leave it in there and take it in to the police station. I found £40 cash lying outside a pub one time, with no indication of who it belonged to. I was flat broke and it would’ve made a huge difference to me, but I handed it in at the bar, cos I knew how I’d feel if it’d been my money. Who knows if the person who dropped it ever got it back, or if the barman kept it. Oh well. I’d’ve felt horribly guilty if I’d kept it myself, so there we go.

Last night (Friday) was “girly night in” with Megs, Lizzie and Nic. We chilled, watched Y Tu Mama Tambien on my snazzy new DVD drive, consumed chinese takeaway and ice cream, drank not-excessive amounts of alcohol, and then did facepacks, foot soaks, backrubs, and nails. Twas good! We’re going to do it again some time.

Today, Mum and Dad have come up for a short visit, so I’ll probably be off doing family type activities for the rest of the weekend. They brought me some plants that Mum had potted and had extra ones of, so we’re probably going to be doing stuff in the garden. It’s kind of weird, me actually doing gardening, but I’ve got quite into it. I’m enjoying the end result of having a pretty garden, certainly! Also, helps that my gardens (back and front) are tiny. Heheh.

Believe it or not, I had a flippin’ power cut yesterday. At about 20 past six, everything suddenly went off, and that was that. I couldn’t even use the phone, because it’s a cordless one and needs to be connected to the mains. D’ohhh!! It turned out that all the houses in my terrace were affected, though the terrace opposite was fine. Handily, I had enough daylight time to get out plenty of candles, and I’d charged up my mobile phone, so I wasn’t totally stuffed. I got a chinese takeaway for dinner, and sat and read with the help of a torch. We’d all called the emergency number, but they didn’t know how long it’d take, so I went to bed at 10pm. When I got up this morning, power was back. Hoorah!

Feeling a bit knackered, so I’m taking it easy, watching some telly and all that. And hopefully dealing with my email. I’ve got waaaaaaaay too much. *prods inbox*

Right. I’m trying out the Blogrolling links service thingy in the sidebar there. Fingers crossed it works! :-) I think I might do some tarting around with this site today, actually. Hmmm…..

Last night was good – we started out in the Hogshead in town, but it was shoulder-to-shoulder in there, so most of us migrated to the Hogshead on Bev Road, then up to… er… the Arena bar place a bit up the road since they were open til midnight. Aaaaand then it was onwards back down Bev Road to the Welly. Not my kind of music, so I didn’t dance, but it was most excellent to catch up with everyone, including some of the guys from upstairs who I hadn’t seen in the office yet. :-) Took me a while to wake up this morning…. actually, I don’t think I really woke up until this afternoon, though I was physically up and about. Heheh!

My hair is red again now. I dyed it yesterday, and I think I’ve found the colour I’ll be sticking with for a while at least. It’s a lovely deep ‘ruby red’ – kind of red wine colour, really. I’ve tried a few similar shades, but this result is what I was aiming for, I think. Hoorah!

I was having some probs with my archives, but things seem to be OK again now. Looks like they’re all there, anyway. Hoorah!

I’d planned on doing some gardening and things around the house today, but so far I’ve just faffed about online. Well, never mind. I’ve got the rest of the weekend still to go. Off out tonight, which should be fun! I’m looking forward to it. :-) I think I’ll watch the new Angel episode in a bit, and maybe read a book. Zen and the Art of Vegging About the House. Or something. *g*

And just to bore anyone still reading this to absolute and final death…….
This week’s Friday Five:
1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
Seven altogether, six of those in the last eight years:- Mum and Dad’s house for almost 20 years; Halls at uni for one year; First student house in Wincheap, Canturbury for one year; Second student house on Sturry Road, Canturbury for one year; Flat in Hither Green, SE London, shared with Clara, then a couple of temp flatmates (one of whom turned out to be a sex offender (!!!!)), then Anil, for 2½ years; House in Beverley living with Barry for 1 year; Current ickle house in Hull for just me and the moggy for 1 year 4 months so far.

2. Which was your favorite and why?
This one, because it’s mine all mine… and it’s cosy and in a convenient place. I really love having it all to myself, though.

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?
Overall, more exciting, I think, because of the moving on to a brand new thing, and the potential included in that. But the whole packing thing is horribly stressful, and of course the last move was very much so because it also incorporated the break up of my relationship with B and all that stuff, which was pretty yucky.

4. What’s more important, location or price?
So far, it’s pretty much been price, although location has played a pretty big part since I don’t have a car… that makes it pretty essential that I live somewhere within easy reach of decent public transport and shops. Hopefully, though, I’ll get to a point where price doesn’t have to govern my choices so strictly. :-)

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?
Oooo….. let’s see. Starting outside, a reasonable sized garden, but not something too huge unless I’m in a position to employ a gardener! *g* Good sized rooms, especially a nice big kitchen, spare rooms for friends to come and visit. A library and a music room, at least, and possibly a fabby high tech computer room. Ooo, and a home cinema!! That’s be excellent :-)

Ahahaha!. That is just febulous. Oh yes it is.

I have a question – the advert for the Wales/England 6 Nations game with the masiiiiiive hiiids… is that supposed to be Mick Jagger? Cos it doesn’t half look like it. And if so – why? What does he have to do with rugby? Huh?

Moggy news: I did indeed take him to the vets, and the nice vet man checked him out and suggested raising his medication a bit. Which I’ve done, and today we went back for a check up. He hasn’t had any more fits, so he’s staying on that dose now. I just hope he doesn’t get used to that too soon, cos I don’t want to have to keep increasing it. :-/ That couldn’t do him any good in the long run.