theboywil

2012-02-09T17:51:00.001-08:00

2012-01-28T16:13:00.001-08:00

There'll be no singing today...

2011-08-19T21:37:00.007-07:00

Today was a good day. Not a day when I managed to listen to any music, but a good day all the same.

I did kick off an album by the Strokes at around 7:30 this morning, but after just a few bars of the first song I received a phone call, pause was pressed and work was started. As soon as this initial task was completed I put together a to-do list of stuff I wanted to get done today, and then straight into the doing.

The small amount of time I spent at my desk was a testament the actual productive amount of stuff achieved, a day full of meetings which were not so much meetings as working sessions, listening sessions, bargaining sessions, and thanking sessions. Then the day was rounded off with a nice planning session.

On the way home I was copied on an email between one of the senior managers (who I spent a large part of the day with) and another senior manager (who my boss reports to) saying how grateful he was for my contributions and the large benefit that has and will be provided thanks to them... Which is nice.

It's great to be going into the weekend with a decent sense of achievement and feeling of wellbeing. Although, in real terms I mostly use my friendliness, patience and good humor to facilitate between the people who want the work done and the people who can actually carry out the tasks. (I always make sure to acknowledge this to both the workers and the benefactors.) Sometimes I wonder why my mediation skills are needed, but after days like today I see that sometimes they are and when they are I am glad that I can provide them.

Now for onward to a relaxing weekend!!!

Oh and another good thing about today, after getting home (and after popping to the pub) I changed the dressing on my foot (boo for third degree burns from boiling caramel on July 5th) and the large wound is finally starting to shrink... Yay..!!! The other largish one is almost fully closed up too... Yay!!! I may actually be able to wear proper shoes again in maybe a month, go me, the heal monster, the wound assassin..

For those who haven't seen, here's the stylin footwear I have been rocking for the last several weeks

(click pic for full sized fun)

Day 2 of background listening and snap decisions

2011-08-18T21:22:00.005-07:00

Fewer albums were listened to today as there were more reasons to be away from my desk. Today was also a strange day as there wasn't a single album/artist for which I didn't have a preconceived opinion. This is wrong of me, as I don’t believe that I have ever actually listened to the records.

How short sighted I must be if I can know what I think without giving something the chance to prove me wrong? Or maybe that should be how foresighted must I be to have actually been correct on each of my presumptions?

Seeing the line up, it's clear I don't really possess any sort of mystical abilities, these are some of the biggest acts in the world, and (other than Coldplay) bands by whom I own other albums. In the case of Nirvana I liked ‘Nevermind’ (in fact I just bought tickets to see the album performed live by several of Seattle's current hot bands, including an appearance by Krist Novoselic. The show is actually a benefit for a mainstay of the Seattle music scene who had the audacity to contract cancer in this first world country; a country that believes that healthcare is a luxury, a privilege rather than a basic human right. Still… Enough of that...)

I’m not too sure where Tunnel of Love falls in Bruce's catalog, I have clearly heard some of his other stuff. I own 'Born to Run' and 'the Ghost of Tom Joad' (I like the latter quite a lot) but he's not someone who I have really paid much attention to, and yet is someone that I know people idolize. (I'm slightly sad Elvis Costello isn't on this list as, while being a totally different musical genre seems to hold a similar place in people’s hearts, and is someone who I also only own two of his records. 'Spike' & 'Painted from Memory')

And then Public Enemy... Public Enemy might have been heroes to many but they never meant shit to me....

(but seriously, I own 'Fear of a Black Planet' (after having my rap-interests piqued by 'This is the Day... This is the Hour...') but found PE as a whole to be a little too frenetic form my simple tastes. )

So on to the mini first impressions -

Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to hold us back -- Starting with ‘Bring the Noise’ is a good thing as I know the track from the (superior to my ears) PE/Anthrax version; ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ is also well known to me. Both tracks are enjoyable and I am finding myself listening rather than backrounding. My original criticism of PE from way back is that for me I want my rap/hip-hop to be slower and packed with sci-fi looping. PE tends to be way more high energy, up front and attention grabbing than my listening can sustain for too long; this listen through confirms that. It starts thrilling but my enthusiasm quickly burns out, although, certain hooks did bring me back up to thrilltime throughout.

Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love -- First track grabbed me with a "is this Bruce Springsteen?" but the rest of the album really floated into the background. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in a way that gave me the feeling that I was hearing background music in neon-lit battered beer-stinking and bourbon-stained wooden bars. Which is maybe the point? (again not a bad point to make.)

Nirvana - In Utero -- This is definitely an 'I didn't bother to listen back in the day' record. ‘Nevermind’ was a great standalone record, I didn't need anything else from them. I listened to Bleach, didn't like it went back to ‘Nevermind’... Plus as a student at the time; I found myself not wanting to align with the non-alt crowd who had adopted Nirvana by the time ‘In Utero’ came out. I made every effort not to hear it, but it It turns out I do know at least a few of the songs thanks to the Unplugged album (the unplugged counterparts struck me as better). The rest of the tracks rest struck me as unnecessary (as I had made up my mind that they would). The dung-dung-danananananaar teen spirit riffs seemed to pop out way too many times during the background listen. Maybe I am just getting old much of the album sounds like a lot of screamy noise.

Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head -- Again the start sounded quite welcome after the last couple of Nirvana’s irritating noise tracks (which really did sound like the band was trying to piss their public off). Two minutes into the first Coldplay dirge and it sounds so deliberately plodding that it brings back memories of trying keep together all members of a reluctant pack of youngsters being forced to go for a hike, and putting more effort into protesting that into actually doing it. I will listen to the words on the next play though, I will try to drop my preconceptions, but the sounds which came from my speakers irritated. (But again, people love it, so I want to try and hear what they love...)

Impressions From the First Day of the Background Listening

2011-08-17T18:42:00.002-07:00

So the first day of background listening was a success. I started listening to the 27 missed albums in the order they were ranked in the top 100. I heard 8 albums. (Well 7.25 but we'll get to that...)

My intention is to sum up the initial impression of the album in a few words. Please know full well that this was the distracted album as background listen, anything subtle will be lost and pretty much no lyrics will have been heard.

As I said in the comments of the last post it has been fun to listen to a few artists for whom I have absolutely zero preconceptions. I sort of can guess from my knowledge of the name that I am 'supposed' to like bands like Mercury Rev, but in reality I know nothing about them & the album I listened to. No knowledge of history, hometown (or country even), no knowledge of chart dates nothing.

I learned today that this lack of knowledge is a good thing.

After jotting down my initial impression of Mercury Rev (which is unedited below) I listened to more of the tracks and felt as though I had confirmed my initial thoughts. I absentmindedly I clicked the 'Biography' tab in Spotify only to discover that one of the bands I compared them to was very closely related. Suddenly I felt the joy of zero preconceptions slipping away, so clicked away from the page. Sadly the page I clicked to was the 'Related Artists' page, and saw the name of the other band I had compared them to (so there it was, the first two comparisons I had made were the first two bands listed and I felt dirty for having my initial thoughts confirmed before the deeper listen.)

Before I start telling you what I thought about each album, I want to say that something I love about music is that everyone hears something different. A common discussion (and belief) which I have is that pretty much every artist, every album and every song is someone's favorite artist/band/song. And that fact is magnificent. All music is magnificent.

Jeff Buckley - Grace -- Reminded me of pleasant older more refined version of Radiohead, from a time when I enjoyed Radiohead. Looking forward to a closer listen.

Travis - The Man Who -- Quite nice in the background, but not really anything which caught my attention, I do wonder whether this is one of the albums which was on in the top 100 because of when it was complied in 2006, and whether this would get a look in even 5 years later. I do however think that when I sit and listen to the lyrics there may be something here which delights.

Coldplay -Parachutes -- The first few bars of Yellow had me thinking that my prejudice might have been misplaced, a bit rockier than I had expected. By the third or fourth song in, I was ready for it to be done. Everything sounded over earnest, over emoted and covered in a thick layer of whiney whinging.

Prince -Sign 'O' the Times -- Quite a fun background listen, found myself grooving along a few times. I have obviously heard (and enjoyed) quite a few prince tracks, and know his oft repeated reputation as a musical genius, but have never actually listened to more than a few of his tracks in succession without getting a bit bored. I enjoyed the background listen, but time will tell whether I can take the concentrated listen.

Lauren hill - The Miseducation of Lauren Hill -- To me she has a more than irritating droney almost expressionless voice. Each track seemed to comprise of a load of random shouts/wails/noises layered over each other in what to me sounds way too busy and discordant. Maybe the rhythm is supposed to be ‘advanced’ but to me it sounds mismatched and unsettling (but not in a good way). I really want to hear what people love in this record; even quietly in the background it’s irritating the hell out of me. (Full disclosure time I couldn't take the whole thing, flipping forward a few tracks before skipping to the next record altogether.) I know she is a massive star, so must be appealing to her huge audience, but I don't get it. I will try to listen 'properly' but this has been the first real confusing record.

Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs --When did the Flaming Lips and Spiritualized get together and have a lovechild? This is an album I wish I had listened to before, an album I could grow to love.

Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of the Bewilderbeast --This is someone I have often thought I would like, but haven’t made the time to listen. On first impressions this is album beautiful , lovely horns, lovely pianos, lovely guitars, random lovely textures and a heartfelt sweet voice (even though I can’t quite hear/follow the words as I’m listening in the background with my thoughts on work stuff).

Macy Gray - Macy Gray on How Life Is -- So far quite enjoying the background listen of this. I don’t hate her voice and I quite like the fact that she's quite unique sounding. Lots of lovely well matched grooves taking me towards the end of the afternoon. With no clue about her background or her music I can say that I am pleasantly surprised and hope that the deeper listening works out nicely.

An Honorary 28th Place addition

2011-08-17T10:50:00.001-07:00

By request I will not only be listening to the 27 albums listed below but a further one has been added to the list.

28. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson

"Never Knowingly Listened to" List of well regarded albums

2011-08-16T22:00:00.005-07:00

Thanks to Spotify and my search for great music of which I have no knowledge, I have discovered that there are 27 albums in Q's top 100 albums (from 2006) that I have no knowledge of ever having listened to.

The high number shocked me, I thought I was a decent all rounder in my chosen sport.

There four basic subsections of these 27 albums

Some which I am really surprised that I haven’t ever listened to (Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Joy Division - Closer, etc ). These are album titles which I can name from the top of my head; these are by artists I think I like. In my youth they may have never been in stock at West Bromwich or Walsall libraries, weren’t anywhere to be found in my family or friends collections and weren’t highly placed in the competition for my limited spending money. By the time music became more affordable or accessible to me I had moved on to something else and never quite looked back at them.

Albums by artists from whom I listened to another album or albums and those sufficed as all I needed from that artist (in both good and bad ways). Here we have Neil Young – After the Goldrush, Prince - Sign 'O' the times, Kraftwerk - The Man Machine, Nirvana - In Utero etc etc. This seems to be the largest subsection.

Albums that my prejudices regarding the artists caused me to avoid. Coldplay, Morrissey to name the top two.

Albums by artists who that for one reason or another just never really reached my radar. Jeff Buckley, Wilco, Muse... I have pretty much not preconceptions about these.

There are albums in the Q top 100 which I don't feel that I have given a proper chance and would maybe like to revisit. The Clash - London Calling is the top contender here, people love it, I might love it... I have listened to it and not really bothered to get to know it. Maybe I should, maybe I will in future and it will become a temporary obsession. Or maybe it will always be one of those just out of reach albums. One thing is for sure, this category of albums is also excluded from the 'Never Knowingly Listened to List'

The albums on my 'Never Knowingly Listened To' list do not include stuff that I know I have heard, either through someone else playing them, a borrowed CD, a mostly ignored a tape, an mp3 etc etc. I know I have listened to them, just not very much. This could be through my prejudice or my gut reaction, who knows? I just know that I have given them a day in court (however swift my judgment may have been) and therefore don't want to add them to the 'Never Knowingly Listened To' list. (Most noticeable contenders here are the Oasis albums)

So the plan is to go through each album the twenty eight unheard albums and listen to them at least twice. First, in a background sort of way (essentially quietly at my desk through a pair of reasonable sounding Bose PC speakers) then again at home properly at proper volume through full sized speakers. Then to write down what I honestly think about each of the albums. A one line first impression, and maybe a full breakdown after a proper listen.

My 'Never Knowingly Listened To' list of albums from Q's top 100

Jeff Buckley - Grace
Travis - The Man Who
Coldplay - Parachutes
Prince - Sign 'O' the times
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauren Hill
Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of the Bewilderbeast
Macy Gray - Macy Gray on How Life Is
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Tunnel of Love
Nirvana - In Utero
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
The Strokes - Is This It
Joy Division - Closer
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Muse - Origin of Symmetry
The Clash - The Clash
The Jam - Setting Sons
David Bowie - Low
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories From the Sea
Neil Young - After the Goldrush
Morrissey - Vauxhall And I
Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

(Not sure why the number which blogger inserted for me were turned into little flowers when published, but they are sweet, so I won't correct them)

A Little Rant About Something Which Makes Me Sad...

2011-04-16T19:35:00.001-07:00

Feeling sad about small indicators of the human condition and how great ideas morph into something nasty through greed...

Ebay is a nice idea. 'Sell stuff you no longer want to people who want it...'Great.... But it's sickening how for some its turned into 'grab stuff that other people want before they get it so you can sell it to them for a profit...' Nasty...

Today is record store day, and two of the things I would have liked to pick up were sold out early at the record shops I visited. (This in itself doesn't really bother me too much as I have the tracks, but I would have liked them on pretty vinyl etc etc. I didn't get up early or even make any effort to get to the stores early, people wanted them more than me, people bought them, fair play).

Then I look to see if any online stores are selling them and there are literally hundreds of copies on ebay for five times the ticket price. People are nasty...

Again, I want to stress, I am not particularly angry or sad about my not getting stuff, but extremely sad about society & how people are slowly learning that this sort of selfish greedy behavior is somehow normal and expected.

Day whatever Wednesday 13th May 2009

2009-05-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

A few pints after work makes me a drunk in the rain.

Fight Me....

2009-05-04T13:50:00.001-07:00

http://theboywil.mybrute.com

Day xxx - Wednesday 22nd April 2009

2009-04-22T22:05:00.002-07:00

I like big toys and I cannot lie...

Day 110 - Wednesday 15th April 2009

2009-04-15T13:19:00.010-07:00

We're off to see Paul Weller in a few hours... I'm quite excited...

It's a surprise for Sunny, a couple of months ago I asked her to keep the date free (and to make sure she wasn't out of town.)

Then a few weeks ago we were sitting in the pub enjoying a couple of pints and looking at one of Seattle's entertainment papers and she saw the advert (she had mentioned that she wanted to go when it was first announced, but then forgot.)

When she saw the advert her face lit up and she announced excitedly that she knew where we were going on April 15th, and pointed at the advert. So, as I didn't want to spoil the surprise I looked down at the page and noticed that the musical 'Cats' was also opening on April 15th. I put on my best "oh dear I've made a mistake" face and said that I had bought Cats tickets (as we both love our pet cats). Sunny assumed I was joking about the Cats tickets, which spurred me on to look sad and offer to sell the tickets on ebay and see whether there were any Paul Weller tickets left.

Being the great wife that she is, she bolstered up and said that Cats would be fun, all the time looking a little disappointed that we wouldn't be going to see Paul Weller.

So since that day I've not been able to drop the charade, to reveal the secret. I bought the special Paul Weller package (which is basically a couple of CDs and some badges) which I intended to give to her in preparation for the show, but not wanting to reveal that we are not going to Cats I've not yet given them to her.

I did mention that we maybe should wear black noses and whiskers to the fictitious Cats show. (Sunny joined in that we should wear cat ears headbands too, sounded quite excited...) So tonight we might have to wear the Cat ears (but I will stop the idea of black nose and whiskers..)

I am now slightly worried that the idea of the Cats show has grown on her, and that she will be disappointed when we walk to the other theatre...

I have been back and forwarding about whether I should reveal where we are actually going, so I figured if I write this up here now then Sunny may or may not see it before we go out, and therefore I have left it in the hands of fate as to whether she finds out before we actually leave the Elephant and Castle pub downtown and start walking the 'wrong' way.

Day 102 - Tuesday 7th April 2009

2009-04-07T21:13:00.003-07:00

Cycled to work this morning, without having to wear a fleece for the first stretch to Fremont (usually as you hit Fremont you hit the first of the small hills which warms you up enough).

And on the way home there was no Jacket Required, Just a nice Marmite cycling jersey... The sky had turned over by the time Sunny got home, which was sad, but gave us a perfect excuse to stay in, order a pizza and watch the Tale of Desperaux, which was really rather good... (Pretty looking any upliftingly fairytale-like..)

Day 101 - Monday 6th April 2009

2009-04-06T21:13:00.002-07:00

The weather is still fantastic, sad to spend a large amount of it in the office.

And sadder still to spend an hour of the evening sun after work at the bank, talking to a mortgage advisor to work out whether it was worth re-financing our mortgage to take advantage of the lower interest rates.

As we already have a reasonable deal on our mortgage it wouldn’t really gain us much partly due to re-financing/closing fees and partly due to the $300 per month PMI (private mortgage insurance) which due to the new rules we would have to pay. We didn’t have to pay when we bought the house due to slightly different rules and putting down a large enough deposit. So overall I think we have made the correct decision not to refinance.

We have made the positive step of setting up an auto-pay to increase the amount we are paying against the principle of our Mortgage, which effectively drops 15 years off the life of the mortgage. We’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but never quite gotten around to it. If in the future we can’t sustain the amount we are putting against the principle we are not committed to it so can cancel/reduce it at a moments notice.

The thought of being mortgage free in 13 years instead of 28 years is very uplifting/exciting.

Day 100 - Sunday 5th April 2009

2009-04-05T21:12:00.001-07:00

Today was a great day.

Woke up early (partly due to our bedside clock being one of those which adjusts itself automatically for Daylight Saving. Sadly it does it based on calendar, and as the daylight saving date shifted a couple of years ago it doesn’t take this into account. So even though we are already on Summer time, the clock sprang forward an hour.) We knew before we got out of bed that this had happened, but that first start of looking at the clock and assuming that we had slept later meant that we were up.

Having been sick we have fallen off with the running, so we quickly dressed and headed out to pound the pavement in the beautiful sunny almost summer feeling morning. The smells of the trees blooming, and the feeling of spring life starting was wonderful. I insisted on only doing our standard short run up to the overlook of golden gardens. The sound/ocean was looking really pretty with the twinkling sunlight on the water, (this means we only ran four miles, but four miles is better than a skipped run.)

We got home and had a nice chat with my folks over skype then went for a summery walk down to Ballard, it was nice to see the farmers market packed with people who, just like us, were clearly enjoying the warmth and the sun.

Lunch comprised of a Carrot Cupcake for me, (as Mum asked that I have one for her) and a Chocolate cupcake for Sunny (which was for Dad, as there were no Pretzels available). The Cupcakes were from Cupcake Royale, as Mike & Alison’s heavenly bakery didn’t have a stall on the market (which was as we had expected).

We headed home, and spent the afternoon enjoying the Sun in backyard, listening the BBC Radio 4’s Saturday and afternoon plays, streaming from the iPlayer… (I am so happy that most of Radio 4 is available to listen to online and onDemand.)

I had been hankering for a good old fashioned Sunday Dinner, so that’s what we had for our evening meal. Roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, Carrots, Peas, beans and half a veggie burger all drenched in onion Bisto (which my parents brought over last year).

Great day…

Day 99 - Saturday 4th April 2009

2009-04-04T21:11:00.001-07:00

Woke up bright and early this morning, with a huge desire to be practical and do stuff. Over the past two years the pantry has become a disorganized mess of cans, sauces, pasta & all general foodstuffs… Today was the day to empty it, clean it and restock it in an organized manner.

It now looks wonderful, is totally organized, isn’t rammed full (but has more stuff in it than before…)

As we were going through it we made shopping lists and went out shopping. The precise lists meant we had a super efficient shopping trip in the afternoon

Drove to IKEA to exchange a broken light plug from a few weeks ago, just walked in, got it done and walked out; all in less than 10 minutes.

We then went to the Big Wall Mall which is around the corner from IKEA (and is effectively a huge Asian supermarket). We often spend a long time wandering round trying and buying new stuff, but not today. Efficiently walked in stocked up on coconut milk, sushi vinegar, sushi nori and cans of weird tofu based fake meat (all off our shopping list) and were out of there in again roughly 10-15 minutes.

Headed back towards Ballard, knowing that we had the horror of Costco at a weekend to encounter before we got home. (Costco is kind of like a Cash and Carry bulk items type store when canned food comes in slabs of 10, everything in Costco is sized large. It is open to the public, and usually best avoided at busy times). With our shopping list in hand we grabbed a trolley and went directly to each item on the list grabbed it and moved on. We lucked out on a reasonably short line, and while this in and out wasn’t quite 10 minutes it was significantly shorter than any previous visit.

Then to Fred Myer for Baked Beans, it’s unbelievable to a Brit that the vast majority of baked beans in the States contain either bacon or some other meat product. So even though they did have a nice cheap 12 pack of beans at Costco they happily declared that they had the extra flavour that only bacon fat can deliver. L In the UK I would assume that Beans are vegetarian, where as over here, we have to make sure that we pick up the special ones which are marked ‘vegetarian’ as their flavour…

Our final stop on this shopping spree was the Liquor store to replenish our Vodka and Rum stock… (In Washington State the only place where you can buy spirits, or ‘Hard Liquor’ as they call it, is from state owned and operated Liquor stores. Supermarkets carry beer and wine…)

I got carded (which is pretty standard, as I was buying), but the clerk also wanted to see Sunny’s ID as we were obviously together, so she had to come over to the checkout to show it… We must have been looking so youthful.

Day 98 - Friday 3rd April 2009

2009-04-03T21:11:00.002-07:00

Friday, Friday, Friday…. Sooooo looking forward to a weekend of taking things easy and doing a bit of house work (two sick people is a good excuse as to why the standard household tasks have been getting less attention than they need for the last week or two)

Xbox is fixed/replaced, the repair status has been updated and the warranty has been extended, hope they have sent me a new one with the Jasper chips inside it (doubtful, but at least it should have all the new heat sync stuff that mine didn’t have).

Day 97 - Thursday 2nd April 2009

2009-04-02T21:10:00.002-07:00

Sunny stayed home safe and sound in bed today. I trundled through my day… My xbox has finally got to the repair shop in Texas… Yay….

Day 96 - Wednesday 1st April 2009

2009-04-01T15:03:00.005-07:00

I heart Magenta Day for spirit week… The day Sunny had been looking forward to, here she is on the way to work.

Wednesday is also her big day of meetings so the poor sick thing is going to have to make it through the full day.

Seattle had snow again today (here’s a pic from my office window, can’t really see the snow, but it is there mixed with rain..)

Day 95 - Tuesday 31st March 2009

2009-03-31T21:02:00.001-07:00

I feel better (finally) Sunny is getting worse (sadly)

Today is Twins day for spirit week. So my lovely wife wore her standard clothes including a nice Pirate t-shirt. We have two of these Skull & Crossbones shirts one ‘Female’ cut and one ‘Male’ so she took the other one in for her Twin to wear.

I had bought the male version some time last year, (Sunny already owned the female), however I acquired it when it was on sale and they only had Mediums left. Now I can usually fit into a medium male shirt, maybe a little too snuggly, but as I was intent on losing weight I thought it would be worth the $2-3 that it cost.

When we got it home and I tried it on, it soon became apparent that this was a skinny fit medium intended for teenager, and was maybe always going to be a little too snug to ever be appropriate for a guy travelling through the early years of his late 30s…

Sunny made it through to lunchtime before heading home to her sick bed.

Day 94 - Monday 30th March 2009

2009-03-30T21:01:00.002-07:00

Felt poo at work, but good enough to stay all day. Sunny helped organize a “Spirit Week” at work to lift morale. (Spirit Week is apparently a common high school thing over here in America).

Even though she was in a less than ideal state she wanted to go in. She looked amusing as the first day of Spirit Week was a wear your Pajamas to Work day. So there she is with a head full of cold, red runny nose walking around in nice leopard print flannel PJs and a black dressing gown… Looking to the entire world like she was too sick to actually get dressed :-)

My wife is Ace…

Here is a picture of a massive bridge being floated across the sound

Day 93 - Sunday 29th March 2009

2009-03-29T21:00:00.004-07:00

The morning was Sunny and nice (if a little cold), so we thought it would be a nice idea to get out and get some fresh air. We didn’t really have too much of a plan of where to go, so pointed ourselves towards Alki & West Seattle.

On the way the idea of North Bend became more appealing, pretty little town surrounded by greenery, a few antique shops, not a huge amount of walking but a lot of feeling as though we are away from the big city.

North Bend also happens to be the place which is known to millions of TV viewers as Twin Peaks.

It’s not very far away… 47 minutes by car

Halfway there (and as we gained altitude) it suddenly became apparent that over the hill the weather wasn’t quite the crisp clear sun that we had woken up to. In fact North Bend had received a coating of snow overnight.

Needless to say, two sick people looking for a little walk (wearing sandals) were not going to do much pleasant wandering on the slushy sidewalks. So we basically turned around and had a quick look around the outlet mall on the edge of town (bought nothing). Then headed back to Ballard, where the sun was still out, and had an afternoon of Hot-Tub and watching the fantastic 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express (which we had picked up from the library on Wednesday).

Day 92 - Saturday 28th March 2009

2009-03-28T21:59:00.001-07:00

We had tickets for Tricky at the Showbox tonight (with Steve and Judy). When Allisen texted to ask if I was looking forward to the show it prompted me to make the decision that the last thing that sounded like fun was an evening of beer and loud music in a crowded room full of people. Sadly while I am getting better, Sunny has finally picked up my sickness, and that sealed the deal.

We had a nice early night rather than going to see the guy who made one of my top ten Albums of all time (Maxinquaye)

Day 91 - Friday 27th March 2009

2009-03-27T21:57:00.001-07:00

This sickness is getting less day by day, but still needs a nice big Alieve-D to get me through the day.

Day 90 - Wednesday 25th March 2009

2009-03-25T21:56:00.002-07:00

Feel horrible… Stayed at home sick with a totally blocked head, I did get up at one point as UPS dropped off the box for me to send my xbox to be fixed. Even the idea of walking down to sip and ship felt like it would be too taxing.

The Cats seem to be able to sense my need of a nurse, and stayed close and affectionate all day.

When Sunny got home I did finally make it out of the house and she drove us down to drop of the xbox, visit the library and pick up a couple of cupcakes… (Yummy Irish Cream cake..)

Day 89 - Tuesday 24th March 2009

2009-03-24T21:55:00.001-07:00

We went to lunch for Judy’s lunch, Jeremy sounded awful, with a head full of cold… After lunch both Judy and I started to feel very blocked up. :-(

Day 88 - Sunday 22nd March 2009

2009-03-22T21:21:00.002-07:00

We woke up nice and early, I couldn't bear the thought of a long run, but a short wasn't such a dreadful prospect. I put it to Sunny we should do our standard 3 - 4 mile circuit and she agreed, we set off trotted around and completed the circuit in good time.

Almost as soon as we had finished it started to rain (but not before I'd trimmed back the Raspberry bushes). We spoke to Mum and Dad (Happy UK mother's day Mum..) I tidied while Sunny went through he annual tax fun for the rest of the morning. We then spent the rest of the day happily lounging around on the couch with either Reno 911 or Buffy Season 1 playing in the background... (Sunny had never watched Buffy and after seeing Twilight I was inspired to go through the whole Buffy saga from beginning to end again..)

Day 80 - Saturday 21st March 2009

2009-03-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

And the inevitable happens.... After just under two years, (as I bought the xbox 360 Elite on the day it was released, April 29th 2007) I get my Red Ring of Death... :-(

Luckily there is a three year warranty, but the customer service was just as irritating as I had been led to believe. (I did try to do the online request for repair, but somehow my xbox was registered and registered to me, but not displaying in my online account, forcing me to call and speak to an actual person) Spelling and respelling my name, explaining that even though I registered at a different address that I now live somewhere else, and sending the return box to the registration address would be useless, trying to work out why the machine that I registered was showing as registered and registered to me, but not actually visible when I logged into my account online (I had to give up on that and phone back and speak to a few people to get that resolved..) etc etc.

Still, I now have my packing box on the way to me, and hopefully the return process with be no more irritating than a couple of trips to the UPS office..

Day 79 - Friday March 20th 2009

2009-03-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

First day of Spring, my Arse... Was sitting in a meeting looking out of the 27th floor window over the sound, and thinking that we would defiantly be running outside (I hate running on a treadmill in the gym), it was lovely somewhat clear sunny day. The meeting took 90 minutes and in the course of 90 mins the weather had changed from the nice to torrential rain and thunder, which then passed to a mostly clear (but threatening) sky and strong winds... We ran on a treadmill in the gym...

Day 78 - Thursday March 19th 2009

2009-03-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

Today was a grumpy day... At least I managed to talk us out of going for a run, and went to the pub instead...

Day 77 - Wednesday March 18th 2009

2009-03-19T07:17:00.001-07:00

I was listening to Julie and Julia on the way home, and decided that it would be nice to visit Carmelita's on Greenwood (especially as Wednesday is half price on all of their wine selection). I waited for Sunny to get home, and told her to get changed out of her work clothes and that we were going for a walk.

We Meandered around until we reached Phinney Ridge (where Sunny thought we would be hitting La Chupacabra, and was slightly dismayed when we walked past). Then down to Carmelita's, where not only was the wine half price but they have a 3 for 30 special running in March so starter, main and dessert are $30. We started by sharing standard (and fantastic Antipasti platter) then I had the special which was stinging nettle ravioli in a lemon sauce topped with shaved fennel and Sunny had a squash flatbread pizza. To end we had (again our standard) chocolate Muck Muck to share. Yum yum yum yum....

Then headed on back home to another couple of glasses of wine, a hot tub and a listen to a BBC Radio 4 afternoon play...

A great Wednesday night.

(And sorry to Alan that even though I had sort of arranged for him to pop around for a few games of Scene-it, which had totally slipped my mind as I was hatching the Carmelita's plan)

Day 76 - Tuesday March 17th 2009

2009-03-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

We watched Milk tonight, it was a fantastic movie, and makes me really sad that this country has a very recent history of passing anti-discrimination laws and then repealing them following public votes.

(I am reasonably new to the country and so believe that it is somewhat valid to be finding out about recent history through hollywood)

I used to believe the referendums were the simple/fair way to make descisions in a democracy, but with the proposition 8 situation (and seeing, through Milk, that the recent Prop 8 debacle is nothing new) I can't help thinking that the majority can not be trusted to make descisions about the how the minorities live, especially when that 'living' does not grant them the same basic rights and protections that the members of the majority take for granted.

Day 75 - Monday March 16th 2009

2009-03-16T22:27:00.002-07:00

I can't say that I am enjoying work at the moment, we are in the process of converting and closing down; so it is not expected that anyone will be in the most positive of mindsets, but sadly I am allowing my lack of enjoyment spill over into worrying outside of work too.

Need to work on my positive mental attitude as Linford would say...

:-)

Day 74 - Sunday March 15th 2009

2009-03-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Got up with Sunny as she and a couple of friends we supposed to be doing the St Paddy's Day Dash, the fact that I woke up at 5 due to the heavy rain wasn't a good start for them; by the time that the friends at 7.30 it was also snowing with the rain.

Race was chosen to be abandoned and breakfast at Vera's was chosed to be enjoyed...

Day 73 - Saturday March 14th 2009

2009-03-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Rainy day in Seattle convinced us that we should go to the cinema to see Neil Gaiman's Coraline in 3D; it was thoughtful, beautiful and creepy and well worth a watch (and the 3d was used wonderfully to enhance and in no way distract).

Day 72 - Friday March 13th 2009

2009-03-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

We've not watched any of our netflix or blockbuster discs this week.

We had Repo: the Genetic Opera from Blockbuster, and I was just about to return it in exchange for a game. After getting coated up and about to leave the house I reconsidered and convinced Sunny that we should give it ten minutes, if we weren't instantly enjoying it then it would be returned unwatched.

We loved it, it got watched twice over the weekend...

Kooky and silly without being comedy or trying to be 'funny'. It used (and revelled in) all of the ridiculous plot devices which make opera, or any of the good old melodramas throughout history, into the convoluted cooking of pots of villainy/deceit that they are.

Day 71 - Thursday March 12th 2009

2009-03-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

Seattle is Cold at the moment, confusingly so, looking out of the window of my office the sky is blue the sun is bright and warm, but stepping outside... Cold...

Day 70 - Wednesday March 11th 2009

2009-03-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

The sun rises on another beautiful Seattle day, I'm going to miss the views I get from all four sides of this office building.

Day 69 - Tuesday March 10th 2009

2009-03-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Posting in retrospect, but not quite remembering anything significant that happened on this day, a pic on my blackberry tells me that I was at my desk at some point...

Day 68 - Monday March 9th 2009

2009-03-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

Snowed quite a lot today, but nothing stuck; a few of us spent quite a while at the our office window watching the snow fall and rise. Being 27 floors up and looking up to the sky (on Paul Uemura's suggestion) revealed the flakes dancing as they swirled in delecate patterns full of twists and turns with almost as much rising a falling.

A blackberry camera didn't really capture any of the 'up' shots (flakes of white against a bright white cloud which was barely hiding the sun, and all through re-enforced office windows..) but here's view down onto the 16th floor garden deck and the city below...

Day 67 - Sunday March 8th 2009

2009-03-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

Played video games for too long today (and yesterday for that matter) We're feeling the cold after a few days of sun; I got to the last part of Killzone 2 today, then got superfustrated with the final battle as 10 minutes of Helgast onslaught ended time after time with me being killed by an RPG (to then repeat the same boring 10 minutes and trying a different tactic to avoid the RPG and failing).

One of my biggest dislikes in certain games is the final boss having to be something climatcitc and therefore long boring overblown and requiring repeated attempts to overcome. (And how if you try the same thing the next day the thing you were struggling with doesn't seem so hard..)

I have to give the game back to Jeremy tomorrow, and I am too fustrated to bother trying to finish it.

Day 66 - Saturday March 7th 2009

2009-03-07T23:31:00.000-08:00

The foul weather means that Sunny spent much of the day stitching (or planning her stitching), while I either raced around Paradise City or cleared the earth of the Helghast troops (actually I seem to be clearing their own planet, which seems a little wrong to me. I guess I should have played Killzone one to know why whether it is morally acceptable that Killzone 2 appears to start with an invasion of the enemies home).

Day 62 - Tuesday March 3rd 2009

2009-03-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

Several perfectly quiet trips though the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean with people who were enjoying the rides rounded off this trip to Disneyland perfectly. We headed out to the Airport in the hot afternoon sun and landed a few hours later in the cold Seattle night.

Here's us in front of the Haunted Mansion

Day 61 - Monday March 2nd 2009

2009-03-02T21:46:00.003-08:00

More sunshining californian magic and Disney magic and napping in the afternoon after a swim magic, (and a bit of caroselling too..)

Day 60 - Sunday March 1st 2009

2009-03-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

Started the day with a quick run around autiopia in the beautiful morning sun, then dipped into the Blue Bayou for a great meal next to the water (totally feeling the illusion of a dark evening in the quiet swamp area of Priates, but knowing it's actually noon on a hot sunny day). Spent the day in the parks, lying next to the pool and napping in the afternoon, then ending the day with a midnight run on Autopia...

Great way to spend a birthday, thanks Sunny... x

Day 59 - Saturday Feb 28th 2009

2009-02-28T21:30:00.003-08:00

Mum's birthday today... Happy Birthday Mum, we celebrated by repeatedly riding the Pirates of the Carribean (yo, ho, yo, ho)

(and also by trying to unsuccessully email a birthday card and make a skype call over dial up internet and blackberry skype..)

Day 58 - Friday Feb 27th 2009

2009-02-27T21:27:00.001-08:00

A nice flight to Anaheim and a first visit to Disneyland for the year; as we approached the gate at 10pm I questioned Sunny about whether we should buy tickets first, she surprised me by handing me a brand new annual pass which she has purchased earlier (my wife is ace..)

Day 85 - Thursday 26th March 2009

2009-02-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

Felt dreadful, but had a few things at work I needed to do…

Turns out that Judy & Jeremy both stayed home sick yesterday too (Sadly Judy had booked a vacation day but spent it stick in bed). She left at around 10 am, I managed to make it through to 1.30 (and the conclusion of the projects I need to get done) before going home.)

Day 57 - Thursday 26th Feb 2009

2009-02-26T10:36:00.003-08:00

Woke up this morning to a nice fresh blanked of snow; luckily I am flying down to california tomorrw, where I will be enjoying a few days of sunshine...

Day 56 - Wednesday 25th Feb 2009

2009-02-25T16:28:00.002-08:00

Bub and Kiki have a new water bubbler; they love looking and poking at it, but don't yet to have cottoned on to the idea of drinking from it...

Fw: Day 55 - Tuesday 24th Feb 2009

2009-02-24T19:52:00.003-08:00

Kiki absolutely loves discs ejecting from machines, the PS3 is his favourite as its at his head height and the disc appears to come from nowhere, he will sit and wait for hours for a disc to disappear and reappear...

Day 54 - Monday 23rd Feb 2009

2009-02-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

Today was a Monday, a Monday at work, pretty much it..

Day 53 - Sunday 22nd Feb 2009

2009-02-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

Build the Detolfs and did a little housework, while Sunny packed for her trip to Toronto & California next week (Toronto needs Cold weather clothes Cali needs Warm weather clothes..)

Day 52 - Saturday 21st Feb 2009

2009-02-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

Today, we went a did a little shopping, as we were in need of a new home for a couple of 30" Joe Ledbetter Circus punks, so off to IKEA to pick up another pair of Detolfs; the cats will be able to look but not touch (or scratch)...

Day 51 - Friday 20th Feb 2009

2009-02-20T22:39:00.001-08:00

A busy day at work finalizing and the getting approval for functional specs, of course the update requirements arrived as soon as I had sent out the first draft of the spec, (but there really wasn't many changes to effect me..)

Day 50 - Thursday 19th Feb 2009

2009-02-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

I seem to have not made a note of anything which happened today.. :-(

Day 49 - Wednesday 18th Feb 2009

2009-02-18T22:48:00.002-08:00

Cycling to downtown slightly later than I was before means that there appeared to be many more bikes on the road than there was in the previous two years; on three separate occasions, while stopped at various traffic lights, I received favorable comments about the coffee holder I have attached to my handlebars.

Day 48 - Tuesday 17th Feb 2009

2009-02-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

I only have a few months left working downtown, so I figured that I should make the most of it, so I decided to start cycling again; the ride was so much easier than anticipated. The fact that I want to make sure I spend some time with Bub in the morning means that I can simply get up at 6 prepare to leave in a leisurely manner while playing with the cats, then leave shortly before 7 just as it is getting light. This means I don't get to my desk til 8, but as I may have to get used to a 9-5 again shortly ajusting to an 8-4 means half the battle is already won.

Day 47 - Monday 16th Feb 2009

2009-02-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Presidents day (and so happy to have the new president), we spent a lot of time making sure that Bub was feeling back as though he is home, he is, Kiki is less convinced that this new foul hospital smelling beast is his good old brother...

Day 46 - Sunday 15th Feb 2009

2009-02-15T20:52:00.003-08:00

The Delaneys came round to celebrate Christmas today, with Pizza and Apple Pie. It may be nearly two months since the actual day, but with us away, then them away this was the best time...

Plus,

Bub came home tonight, and is looking so much better. He has already been able to pee which is excellent; he did look like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards, but I guess if you usually spent 60% of your waking time preening yourself then three days of wearing a surgical collar which didn't allow any sort of cleaning wouldn't leave you looking your best. (He has spent quite a lot of his time prettying himself up since getting home.) He's also been very affectionate which is nice.

We have to keep him locked up in a room on his own and away from his brother for a few days so that we can monitor his input and output and let him rest his way back to full health.

Day 45 - Saturday 14th Feb 2009

2009-02-14T20:49:00.002-08:00

Happy Valentines Day...

We went to see Bub in the KittyKat hospital this morning, he was looking a lot more lively, and desperate to come home; the tubes going in and coming out of him was a little distressing, but at least he is on the mend.

Day 44 - Friday 13th Feb 2009

2009-02-13T18:21:00.002-08:00

Poor Bub, his urinary crystals came back, he spent all day with our usual vet; here he is when we picked him up to take him to the overnight vet (wearing his surgical collar along with a catheter and fluid IV.)

Day 43 - Thursday 12th Feb 2009

2009-02-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

Spent the day needlessly grumpy again, really worried about Bub, he is not at all himself, he is spending a lot of time just sitting looking apathetically at the floor; he seems very sad, another trip to the vets tomorrow morning is on the cards.

Day 42 - Wednesday 11th Feb 2009

2009-02-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

Felt Grumpy and tired all day for no good reason…

Day 41 - Tuesday 10th Feb 2009

2009-02-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

A pair of 30” Circus Punks and a FireCat takes us a couple of major steps towards completion, there is really now only a Mr. Bunny which remains…

Day 40 - Monday 9th Feb 2009

2009-02-09T21:55:00.002-08:00

I finished off the evening by sitting outside, drinking bourbon, sweating in the hot-tub with my lovely lady wife; while enjoying the sensation of snow falling (and melting) on my brow...

Day 39 - Sunday 8th Feb 2009

2009-02-09T08:24:00.002-08:00

Re-stung my guitar, I didn't realize quite how much joy the bouncing around of fresh shiny nickel strings would bring to Kiki. Sadly I had to end the joy after four strings and snip the loose ends; I had gotten worried he would put an eye out as each time he attacked each one he would get poked by another. This seemed to delight him as it gave him a fresh target to hunt. (it's all fun and games until a cat loses his eye.)

Day 38 - Saturday 7th Feb 2009

2009-02-07T11:15:00.001-08:00

The cats and I are having a lazy Saturday; tidying, mooching, snoozing, 360ing, PS3ing with a bit of hot-tubbing thrown in later...

Day 37 - Friday 6th Feb

2009-02-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

Sunny headed off to LA for work and I had quite a busy day in the office (it was nice to feel a sense of achievement at work again); when I got home the SunScents for the hot-tub had arrived so I had a nice warm relaxing lavender infused soak in the dark drizzle of a Seattle evening...

Day 36 - Thursday 5th Feb 2009

2009-02-05T21:34:00.001-08:00

I bought the final part of our Joe Ledbetter "Smash" collection today; way too expensive for a toy, but the little Lava guy was the last we needed and he's winging his way to us already...

Day 35 - Wednesday 4th Feb 2009

2009-02-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

Walking home from the dentist for the second time this week; just had a molar drilled to bits in preparation for a crown on the 19th...

Day 34 - Tuesday 3rd Feb 2009

2009-02-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

Poor Bubble, after a Sunday stay at the kittie hospital and a few days of antibiotics he is on the mend (starting to be able to pee again) the vet confirmed that his kidneys are fine and there are no blockages; we will never really know what caused his malaise, but all things point to stress caused by Friday's micro earthquake (which we humans didn't feel at all).

Day 33 - Monday 2nd Feb 2009

2009-02-02T10:45:00.003-08:00

My new cube with it's beautiful view of the sound; the box is only temporary...

Day 32 - Sunday 1st Feb 2009

2009-02-01T13:42:00.001-08:00

We received sad news today, a friend died tragically and unexpectedly; lovely friendly cheerful welcoming Betsy will no longer be around to brighten times with her exotic cowboy boots and her warming smiles.

Day 31 - Saturday 31st Jan 2009

2009-01-31T21:27:00.002-08:00

Hot-tub...!!! It finally arrived, (thanks to Don and Alan's willingness to come 'round and wire it immediately) we spent the evening happily soaking while watching the lights cycle through their colors and listening to The Pink Floyd.

Day 30 - Friday 30th Jan 2009

2009-01-30T14:46:00.000-08:00

Just about to leave my cube in EET for the last time; feel strangely sad as it now makes the fact that I will soon be out of the first job that I got the states feel more real.

Day 27 - Wednesday 27th Jan 2009

2009-01-27T20:53:00.002-08:00

Lots more Gears of War 2 when I got home, after a couple of hours I made potato & corn pancakes (which I ate while watching Hannah Montana... Sweet Nibblets!!!!)

Day 26 - Monday 26th Jan 2009

2009-01-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

Sunny is working in New York, so I had a night comprising mostly of Gears of War 2, Netflix on-demand and Vodka (not in that order).

Day 25 - Sunday 25th Jan 2009

2009-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

We've just completed our first run since the marathon, it was snowing as we started the lap around Greenlake.

Day 24 - Saturday 24th Jan 2009

2009-01-24T22:36:00.000-08:00

A lazy Saturday, did a little cleaning and the grocery shopping for the week; the cats had a busy day comprised mostly of napping.

Day 23 - Friday 23rd Jan 2009

2009-01-23T17:50:00.000-08:00

Bought some new boots on the way to the pub, god bless sales at the Ballard Sneakery (and here's hoping for the same amount of snow next year as we had this year).

Day 22 - 22nd Jan 2009

2009-01-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

We are moving offices next week, the new building does not allow popcorn makers; the department's loss is our gain.

Day 21 - Wednesday 21st Jan 2009

2009-01-21T21:47:00.000-08:00

Nothing much happened today, I made a nice curry for dinner but found that when you substitute Cayenne for Chili powder you get a dish which is a little hotter than expected.

Day 20 – Tuesday 20th Jan 2009

2009-01-20T17:29:00.002-08:00

We have a new president, a new hope; tears of joy appeared at random times throughout the day.

Day 19 – Monday 19th Jan 2009

2009-01-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King day gives me a day out of the office; we spent it pouring the concrete slab in preparation for the delivery of our hot-tub at the end of the month.

Day 18 – Sunday 18th Jan 2009

2009-01-18T17:27:00.001-08:00

I write this, while sitting on a plane from sunny warm Florida to sunny cold Seattle; I’m looking forward to seeing the cats in just a few hours.

Day 17 – Saturday 17th Jan 2009

2009-01-17T23:59:00.002-08:00

We watched fireworks explode over Cinderella's castle while drinking wine at our restaurant table perched up on high at the ‘Contemporary Resort’.

Day 16 – Friday 16th Jan 2009

2009-01-16T21:07:00.001-08:00

The wind made this morning feel colder than expected in Florida, which was surprising after the hot weather of just a few days ago, as soon as we got a bit of sun on us things were put back to right.

Day 15 - Thursday 15th Jan 2009

2009-01-15T23:15:00.001-08:00

Around the world in a single day, strangely Japan feels ‘authentic’ to a Brit who’s never been there, while the UK feels like a tourist attraction; hmmmm either way it was a lovely to wander around experiencing the atmospheres while eat a bag of Walkers Salt & Vinegar crisps and drinking a pint of Strongbow.

Day 14 – Wednesday 14th Jan 2009

2009-01-14T22:13:00.001-08:00

At the Animal Kingdom for rope drop, a beautiful clear sunny day spent with lions, tigers and a brief encounter with a yeti!!!

Day 13 – Tuesday 13th Jan 2009

2009-01-13T22:09:00.001-08:00

Woke up early for a Breakfast with Pooh and Friends at the Magic Kingdom. Sunny was so happy to meet Tigger on many occasions throughout a day in the Kingdom.

Day 12 - Monday 12th Jan 2009

2009-01-12T19:28:00.001-08:00

Lots of walking around big D's Hollywood studios, legs feel great while walking; not so great when standing up and walking after sitting for more than 10 mins.

Day 11 - Sunday 11th Jan 2009

2009-01-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

I realised a boyhood dream today, a dream which for the longest time I thought I had no chance of ever achieving, I finished a full 26.2 mile Marathon.

Day 10 - Saturday 10th Jan 2009

2009-01-10T14:16:00.000-08:00

After a year of traing it's unbelivable that the day is finally here; tomorrow we run 26.2 miles, tomorrow we run our first full Marathon!!!

Day 9 - Friday 9th Jan 2009

2009-01-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Arrived at Pop Century in Disney World, it's great to wear t-shirts at night during the 'winter'.

Day 8 - Thursday 8th Jan 2009

2009-01-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

Just finished my last run before the big one, in 3 days I will be a Marathon Man.

Day 7 - Wednesday 7th Jan 2009

2009-01-07T16:41:00.002-08:00

Playing with mobile blogger on my blackberry is fun, sadly I think that the phone no longer charges the battery in it.

Day 6 - Tuesday 7th Jan 2009

2009-01-07T07:24:00.002-08:00

In the mail today I received notice informing me that I am a permanent resident, on Dec 31st 2008 my ‘conditional’ status was removed!!

Day 5 - Monday 5th Jan 2009

2009-01-05T21:18:00.003-08:00

I spent too much time obsessing about every ache and pain in my body today (along with sneezing/coughing colleagues); with the marathon only 6 days away I really don't want to be dealing with any new ailments.

Day 4 - Sunday 4th Jan 2009

2009-01-04T21:59:00.003-08:00

Despite our best efforts, the concrete remained unpoured today, an unexpected snowstorm foiled our plans, though not before we completed our last long run before next week's marathon.