Sam PF's Journal
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Sam PF" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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12:10 am
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Travel plans
I am pondering a great journey. No, not Palestine this time, this one is a crazy composite journey in May/June of this year.
The fixed points of this journey are as follows:
On Saturday the 31st May is the Bardcamp reunion in London, so I will be flying Stockholm to London on the 30th.
The 11th-13th June is a conference in Ankara - the annual conference on Economics & Security, where I will be presenting a paper.
Between times, I will be visiting my mother in S. East Bulgaria, and hopefully spend a day or so in Istanbul.
To add to the crazy, almost immediately after the conference I may well be attending a SUPER-SEKRIT event in Paris. Which would mean flying back to Stockholm on the 14th, picking up some stuff and spending one or maybe two nights at home, before flying out to Paris.
Yeah, a lot of flying. Bad, bad stuff. I can pay some carbon offsets, but I know there's an awful lot of question marks about whether they really work. Probably better than not ofsetting, but still.
Anyway, so the only missing piece of this jigsaw is the London-Bulgaria stage. In that, as there's a fair bit of time between the 31st and the 10th, I am actually contemplating getting the train across Europe instead of flying for that leg.
( the details )
So, the pros and cons:
For the plane:
- Two extra days, to spend either at my mum's or in Istanbul
- £80 saved
For the train:
- One less flight, even if it is offset, and the accompanying smug glow of virtue even if I am getting four other flights within the space of three weeks.
- Reliving the glory days of my youth, Inter-railing across Europe
- Getting to see all teh awesome places and scenery inbetween, albeit mostly out the window.
- Like, showing that it can be done - it is still possible to travel long distances other than by plane in this world.
Hum. The train idea is rather appealing. But the plane seems more sensible, even accounting for the carbon. (Like, supposing carbon offsets are only 50% effective, I could offset double and still save.) It is annoying that planes are not only faster but cheaper than trains.
Well, one can hardly make an entry like this without putting in a poll:
Poll #1164882
Open to: All, results viewable to: AllHow should I travel from London to Sofia?
Tags: family, travel, work
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09:48 pm
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Logistics and life
A while since I've made a general update - not a whole lot to report it must be said - mostly the usual rounds of work and Swedish classes and choir practice and spending too much time on the internet and watching DS9.
I did spend a couple of days in Brussels the week before last, on work, which I'd totally meant to write about but you know how it is. I was at the European Defence Agency (EDA) confernce on "Commercialising Logistics?", which they'd invited SIPRI to send someone too, and which was of considerable interest as we're writing about the privatizing and outsourcing of military activities right now.
The focus of the conference was on the potential for outsourcing logistical supply for EU Crisis Management missions such as those in Chad and DRC.
( Logistical geekiness )
The best talk though was from Amer Daoudi from the World Food Programme, who'se the head of their Logistics Service. He was basically "We're the biggest logistical operation on the planet, we have 3,000 people doing this alone, we shift so many gazillion tonnes a year, we do it cheaper and faster than anyone else, over the worst terrain imaginable - you guys are amateurs!" (well, he didn't say the last bit.) Oh, and they use elephants where necessary to deliver stuff when the going gets really bad! He sort of stole the show.
Moving in rather fluffier circles, I found it very noticeable just how male-dominated the whole thing was. (Not that I should be surprised.) There were maybe an 10-15% of the participants women, but all the speakers, panellists, moderators, and all the people making questions and comments from the floor (quite a number) were men.
Also not surprisingly, very white - I think Amer Daoudi may have been the only non-white person there out of about 300. Though I can't really claim that the fluffier circles are often much better on that score.
( general pootling (SPOILER for Buffy S8.12) )
In other news, my brother is now in New York, visiting our grandmother for 10 days before going on to California where he will be living. (As mentioned here which can be unlocked now I've sent him the tunes.)
Also I have finally got round to going to the doctor over my persistent sleeping problems. I basically tend to fail at sleep a lot of the time, which is not good for my productivity or general well-being. Getting a full examination next week. Should have gone ages ago, but I am an avoidant idiot.
Tags: family, life, logistics, war, work
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12:24 am
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CaliforniadreamingicationhereIcome
So, my brother, ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) anguscoull (no content in LJ) is emigrating from Scotland to California on Monday. He decided this a few months ago, but it's not as crazy as it sounds. Our mother is American, and we all have US citizenship (as well as British), we have relatives round SF (where he'll be living), also his dad's wife's family. So he'll have contacts, people to stay with initially while he finds work and a place to live, and he thinks SF should be a good place to develop his musical ambitions (though that has recently started going quite well here - he got a couple of gigs playing keyboard with a band whose lead singer was actually moderately famous in the 1970s.)
Anyhow, it has occured to me to put together a mix of California-themed tracks as a small going-away present. Any genre, songs mentioning California, and specifically emigration to California. For general California-themed songs, California here I come, California Dreaming and Californication (am I right in thinking that's a song as well as a TV show?) come to mind. On the emigration to California, I can think of Goodbye Muirsheen Durkin and (somewhat depressingly) Spancil Hill.
But can any of you guys think of any others? Any that mention California are good, bonus for the migration theme, and extra bonus points for any that relate to someone going there from Scotland. (Though I doubt there's so many of those. Most of the Scots went further north and didn't sing about it quite so much as the Irish.)
Well, we are a wandering family. My mum's in Bulgaria (having originally been from the US herself), I'm in Sweden, my sister's lived in Barcelona and Prague, but Angus is taking the prize for now!
Current Music: Goodbye Muirsheen Durkin
Tags: family
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12:31 am
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Belated Happy New Year
Happy New Year to all! Back in Sweden now (since yesterday) after a week and a half in Scotland.
Christmas Day was at my sister's in Edinburgh, with her, husband Zander, Rachel and Vinnie; brother Angus, who also lives in Edinburgh was there, as was our mother over from Bulgaria. So actually managed something of a family Christmas despite our scatteredness. (I know the words 'family Christmas' can be ones to inspire horror, and there were times when Christmas Day would always have at least one massive row, but has not been so for some while now.) Watched Doctor Who of course.
Then Boxing Day Angus and I went up to stepdad Dave's near Brechin. Angus works as manager of a Bookmakers' branch in Edinburgh now, which means he works four twelve hour shifts per week in a rather complex pattern, but as luck would have it he had the 24th-26th off. The journey up was something of a disaster. He's recently started driving, and had a couple of months before acquired his first car, an old banger passed on for a hundred or so from Dave (Angus and Sarah's dad), when he got one passed on from his sister Brenda.
( the gory details )
So we got there in the end, only about 6 hours late, and had the second round of present exchange and so forth. Following day, Sarah and family came up to see Dave, and we all went to see his 85-year old sister Mary, who as chance would have it ended up having fourteen visitors in one day, including us, which was all a little bit much. Then Sarah drove Angus back to Edin, me following by bus the next day.
Spent the next few days in Edinburgh staying at Angus's and doing touristey things, various museums, and the obligatory climb up Arthur's Seat, and saw mum again at Sarah's before she flew back to Bulgaria. Decided this year to spend Hogmanay at Dave's though, as not done that in a while. I'd have maybe gone to the Street Party, but Angus never gets tickets for that, and it would feel funny being in Edinburgh but not spending New Year with the rest of the family there. So a fairly quiet NYE, but Dave, Keri and I stayed in, I drank (Dave could only have a small whisky as he's on Morphine, and Keri's gone teetotal), and we sang lots of Scottish songs.
Angus came up again on the second (are you following all this?) - we all met up in Dundee, where I got the bus back to Edinburgh, while Angus carried on to Dave's. And so home the next day. Back to work today. Rather nice to have one day at work and then it's already the weekend, but will be fully abck to the grindstone next week.
Tags: family, travel
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12:35 am
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The fuel pipe that stole Easter (or at least the Vigil)
Bugger.
Got back to Bristol this evening four hours late, thus missing the Easter Vigil service at St Mary on the Quay, where I was supposed to be singing. (Was able to inform people). I've been in Scotland the past week, at the Scottish Economic Society conference and visiting family - my mum's been over from Bulgaria staying with my sister in Edinburgh, where my brother also now lives. It was a bit of a dilemma this being Holy Week, whether to stay as she was in the country, or come back down to Bristol for the Triduum. The compromise I settled on was to remain in Scotland for the Thursday and Friday, and return today in time for the Vigil. (Went to Good Friday liturgy in Edinburgh Cathedral, which was very good, but was ill for Maundy Thursday.)
Depending on British trains not being more than two hours late? Really not a good plan.
Virgin excelled themselves today. The train stopped a little way before Alnmouth (not far south of the border), and they said that something was causing ballast to be thrown up from the track, so they needed to take a look see what it was. Didn't seem to bad. Then they took it to Alnmouth, then to somewhere just past Alnmouth to try to get better looks, and eventually found that some fuel pipe was dragging on the ground or something, and we later found out that it had actually ruptured the fuel tank, which is clearly a bad thing. (I think they glossed over that bit before so as to avoid unnecessary anxiety). In the end they decided they would have to 'detrain' us, so we waited till the next train arrived - same service two hours later, and then we all had to climb out the front of the train down a ladder, and up into the other train, which fortunately wasn't too crowded. By that time the new train was an hour and a half late, which edged up to two hours what with knock-on effects.
All conducted with remarkable British good humour and long-suffering of course. Not a word raised in anger that I observed. But by the time the new train finally rolled into Birmingham New Street, it was already just a few minutes before 8 o'clock, when the SMQ vigil was starting in Bristol. The train from Brum was a mere twenty minutes late, but that somehow proved the straw that broke the camel's back for me and left me thoroughly pissed off. Eventually got into Bristol at 10pm, about when the service would be finishing. All in all, took me 11 hours from Edinburgh, which is about how long a coach would have taken.
So yeah, missed the biggest celebration of the Christian calender. Let all my fellow music-group people down. Plus I've been nursing this cold, and hardly slept last night following a late night. Ah, I am tired, very very tired. Still, at least Doctor Who was good (OK, very silly, but still fun), so that has cheered me up somewhat.
In other news, Christ is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia! Not feeling particuarly Eastery at the moment as you can perhaps discern. But there will be the Easter Sunday mass tomorrow, so hopefully that will revive my spirits.
Tags: family, religion, travel
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09:06 pm
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Ankara to Bulgaria, and back to Istanbul.
Well, I'm back. Got home at 1am Saturday night, after a 14-hour journey from Istanbul, doorstep to doorstep. Pretty exhausted, what with several similar magnitudes of journey in the past two weeks, but OK now.
( mostly concerning coach journeys, with an intervening spell of rural idyll )
Tags: family, travel
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10:53 pm
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On that ol' last minute train again
Phew! Well, just got my paper and presentation finished for the International Conference on Economics I'm going to in Ankara. I fly tomorrow morning, and am getting on a coach to Heathrow at 3.25am, in four and a half hours time. Been thinking about the paper for months, doing bits and pieces of research, getting the regression results done, thinking on the concepts for weeks between marking, module handbook preparation and procrastination, and then typically got the paper and presentation written in two days. The paper is rather rough, and will require a lot of work to get it into publishable form, but I think there's actually some pretty good stuff in there.
Changing my habits fundamentally on this sort of thing may be a lost cause, but at least maybe I could convince myself to stop worrying so much, and trusting myself a bit more to pull things out of the hat as I always do. Or maybe the worrying is the only way I actually get it done. Anyway, it's meant I've been viewing this whole Turkey trip with an aura of doom, and an almost nauseous feeling, for months.
Which is really not how it should be, 'cos it's going to be a mighty fun trip. I am flying out initially to Istanbul tomorrow, where I am staying with a friend, a former office-mate at Middlesex, and fellow-grad student of Paul's, then on to Ankara on Sunday. The conference is Monday-Wednesday, then I will go back to Istanbul and on to my mother's in Bulgaria, which is only about 100 miles away - hence the funny arrangements. It will be the first time I'll have seen her and the dog since they moved out in January, which will be nice. I'll stay there about 6 days, then I'll go back to Istanbul and stay there a couple of days and see the place a bit, which I am really looking forward to. Then home just in time for the start of term. Two weeks away in all. I went to a conference in Thessaloniki earlier this year, the annual Defence & Peace Economics one, so I am doing well on the overseas travel front. And I'm getting a trip to my mum's for only the price of the coach between Istanbul and Elhovo.
Ah well, I had probably better pack.
Tags: academia, family, travel
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10:42 pm
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Masquerade and other stuff
Long time no update again. I was in Scotland with my mum and brother for a week, where I tend to fall rather silent because the internet is only dial-up, and anyway it’s in my mum’s bedroom.. then when I got back I had Silver Screen of Death and had to take the laptop in for repairs, though all seems well now. This is also part of the reason for the non-appearance of my Africander fic, though really that’s a bit feeble, as I should have forseen the first circumstance if not the second. But it will be forthcoming.
So, just after my stupid-o-clock last post, I went up to Derbyshire for the thespy-social highlight of the year, the great Masquerade Shakespeare readthrough, successor to last year’s great Histories readthrough, organised by the magnificent the_alchemist. Twenty-two of us in a big old chapel for a long weekend, reading through eight Shakespeare plays.
( masquerade )
So, straight after the Masquerade, I was up to Dundee. Which is slightly embarrassing as I bad an emotional lj-farewell to the city a while back.
( walking the dog )
And, as my brother lives there now, I guess I’ll still be popping back to Dundee from time to time.
Also met up with bob_bobbing while I was up there, and finished off the first draft of Tales of the First. Hopefully will have another part to post before too long. back in Bristol now, back at work. Good weekend though - we had a fantastic CAAT public meeting on Corruption and the International Arms Trade with Joe Roeber, which somehow got about 45 people along to it. And ixwin and vectorious came to town on Saturday and we met up in the evening, a most pleasant surprise.
Tags: family, readthroughs
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10:10 pm
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Prague part 2
So, where were we? So, that was most of what I did on Thursday, apart from the Charles Bridge, but I'll put that later. So on Friday and Saturday were the Castle.
( Prague Castle doesn't really look like a castle )
Also on Saturday, saw Wenceslas Square, in the "New Town" (dating from the mid C14), meeting up with Sarah and Rachel for lunch. It's actually more of a boulevard than a square. This was of course the centre of the 1989 Velvet Revolution that swept the Communists from power without a single person killed.
( photos thereof )
Sarah, Zander and I went out Saturday night to U Maleho Glenna (Little Glenny's), Prague's coolest jazz bar. The band, playing mostly 60s-style jazz, was fantastic. I drank too much.
( Charles Bridge )
( various animated objects )
Managed to nearly miss my plane home, thanks to taking far longer to get out of the centre of Prague than expected, but made check-in by about 5 minutes, and home Monday evening.
Tags: family, prague
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12:47 am
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Prague
Well, my map of Europe has just had another splodge coloured in. Last Wednesday I finally remedied a shocking ommission in my travels by going to Prague to visit my sister and family, returning on Monday night.
Sarah's been there since March. You may recall that I went to her wedding in Barcelona a year and a half ago, to Zander, the father of her daughter Rachel. Well, they were getting settled in Barca, and Sarah's freelance journalism/PR portfolio was taking off, when she became pregnant and not very well, and Zander couldn't find a job, so it was all looking a bit non-viable. Then Zander found a job in Prague, and they moved there. Vinnie, their second child, was born in July this year, so I was seeing my new nephew for the first time. All are well, Sarah's getting back to work and building up a new portfolio in Prague, Rachel, now 6, is enjoying her new school, and they're all enjoying the Bohemian life.
I most definitely subscribe to the common consensus that Prague is a most beautiful city. It has all the beautiful old buildings and squares and so forth, and also a lively cultural life.
( The Old Town )
But it is very late and I am getting very tired. I will continue tomorrow.
Tags: family, prague
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02:22 pm
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In other news...
My sister Sarah has just had her second child, Vincent Alexander Urquhart. He was born last night by emergency Caesarian section, but mother and baby are both doing fine. She told me by text this morning. I didn't think you were allowed mobiles in hospitals. Guess you are in Prague.
Anyway, so I am now a nuncle again!
Tags: family
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12:37 am
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Farewell tae Bonie Dundee
Well, got home yesterday, very tired. I visited my brother in Edinburgh Monday night, we went to an informal Scottish folk session in the White Hart in the Grassmarket. Got the last train back, and it was delayed due to the conductor falling ill. Then I got up especially early Tuesday morning to take one last walk up the Law hill before getting my train, and take some photos. (See below). It's not that much of a hill, the Law, but it's a good bracing walk and it's near my mum's place, and it's a very good view, and somehow I hadn't got myself up it the rest of the week. So had to be done.
So, with my mum moving to Bulgaria in the Autumn, I shall no longer have cause to visit Dundee. Nae mair shall I clamber up the Lawside, and gaze over the braid majestic Tay and the far-off looming Sidlaws from it's lofty... well, moderately elevated heights. Nae mair shall I rove through Templeton Woods, breathing it's fresh pine air and feeling its soft peaty soil beneath my feet. (Which I haven't done since my mum and my stepdad both moved from that part of town a couple of years ago, but hey.) Nae mair shall I wander the City's bulging central streets trying to remember why the hell I thought going into the centre of Dundee would be an interesting thing to do. Nae mair shall I take a look round the McManus Galleries and think "Hmm, that's mildly interesting."
OK, let's face it, Dundee is nae that great. It has it's moments though. And it has been sort of a home from home these past twelve years since they moved there. Longer than anywhere else either I or my family have lived. I've always visited at least a couple of times a year for a week or so, and on a couple of occasions I've stayed longer, over summer, when I've been between things. Yep, a couple of times I have Signed On in Dundee.
( reminiscences )
So, spent the week reading and piano playing and dog-walking and jotted down some thoughts for another fic, and of course bought the new HP which I was pretty pleased with. I'd been going to go down to the shop at midnight, but I started reading an Economics book at 10 to 11, and then I fell asleep. (This is not my normal reaction to reading economics books I hasten to add, which would be a bit of a problem given that I am an economist. But I guess I hadn't been sleeping much.) So I got it the next morning, read on and off through the day and finished it four the next morning.
But there is little else of interest to report of my holiday, so I shall finish with some
( photos )
*ghostly voice*
Cauld winter was howling, o'er muir and o'er mountain
And wild was the surge o' the dark rolling sea
When I met about daybreak a bonnie young lassie
Wha' asked me the road, and the miles tae Dundee...
Current Music: The Road to Dundee
Tags: family, travel
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11:39 pm
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End of term report
Teaching finished, one more day at work, then a much-needed (if not exactly well-earned) break. (Apart from a couple of book reviews still outstanding.)
( In which I moan about my disorganised life )
Well, enough of that. So, what else has been going on? Well, big news in the family: my sister is pregnant with her second child - about two months in, just - and they're moving from Barcelona to Prague. Zander - her husband, and father of her child - couldn't find a job in Barca after moving out there, and has been applying round Europe for computer jobs, and got one in Prague. Sarah works from home (her journalism and PR stuff), and should be able to get it going pretty much anywhere, though it'll take time to build things back up - and she'll be taking time off anyway. They will be coming home to Scotland for Christmas and New Year, and then Zander will go off to Prague, and Sarah and Rachel will follow soon after. Meanwhile, a music publisher has expressed interest in some of my brother Angus's work - they think he should really go for the composition side of things, and want to remix a couple of his songs, including Deep Wide Ocean (as instrumental), presumably for TV or something. He is, naturally, very pleased about this. (Do check out his songs at the above link)
As for me, apart from the usual rounda of Uni stuff, I been visiting various folks, just got back from Roger and Chandra's in Derby, and their two children, of whom the eldest (Daniel) I am a Godfather. He is two now, and actually talking and walking and making mischief and stuff. Saw their latest, Alex, for the first time. He was born while I was out in Palestine.
( mostly concerning Buffy fandom and fiction. )
Also completed first term with the UWE singers. It's only the second time I've been in a choir, and I'm not good at sight-singing, so it's been fairly uphill, but I think I'm getting better, ane the concerts as a whole went well. The carol concerts last week in Wells and Bristol cathedrals went very well.
So, I fly up to Scotland on Tuesday, to my mum's for Christmas. New Year in Edinburgh at my bro's, which should be fun. Hopefully inbetween I'll get some writing done, academic and Buffy-related.
Icon, once again, courtesy of mara_sho.
Current Music: Angus Coull, Western Warriors
Tags: acaemia, buffy, family, fanfic, music, pondering life, procrastination
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01:38 am
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Wedding snaps!
Now, let's see if this site (http://www.albumsnaps.com) lets me link pictures to LJ... Thanks to ixwin for advising me of the existence of free image hosting.
[Edit: changed the settings at albumsnaps so that it should work now!]
( photos )
Did it work? Did it work? Yay!
Dramatis Personae
The bride = My (half) sister Sarah
The groom = Zander
Rachel = Sarah & Zander's daughter
Dave = Sarah's father, my stepfather
Angus = my half brother, Dave's son
Keri = Dave's wife (not Sarah, Angus, and my mother)
Nadja = Keri's daughter by a previous marriage
Moe = A friend of Sarah, Angus and Zander's (and me too by now)
Tags: family, wedding
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07:41 pm
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Wedding (and holiday) continued
So, where was I? Ah yes, ( Sarah was late for her wedding )
( The reception )
So there we have it, and look at that, there comes the warning that my credit is low again! So, I think I shall head back and cook me some dinner. Rather tired after lots of walking, so maybe take it easy this evening. More tomorrow.
Tags: barcelona, family, wedding
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10:02 pm
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The wedding and other matters
Phew! Been a hectic several days! Not had a chance to update here, and I´m also aware that there are many of my friends´ posts that I would like to comment on, but probably won´t manage to before they´ve passed, as it were, into history.
Anyway, so, this week...
( Monday )
( Tuesday )
( Wednesday )
But I am low on credit, and will have to continue tomorrow.
Tags: barcelona, family, wedding
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02:29 am
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Go listen!
My brother Angus, an aspiring Edinburgh-based musician, has finally got some of his music up on a website. (Having sorted out numerous technical hitches). It can be downloaded here. More will follow.
His music is quite 80s-ish, but with a lot of other influences, Celtic and 60s in particular. It certainly has tunes and stuff at any rate, otherwise I wouldn't listen to it even though he is my brother.
Please do go listen if you fancy it.
Current Mood: Brotherly
Current Music: Angus Coull Lead Me Home
Tags: family, music
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11:11 pm
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Blechy (and elsewhere horrific) day
Stayed at home today. The cold that started coming on a week ago, as I was coming back from andrewwyld's gig seems to be sticking around, and as I didn't have any specific commitments at uni, thought I'd try to shake it off. Not got much done today. A few things. Just had a darned good tinkle on the keyboard, getting a bit nearer to having that trio of Scarlatti sonatas I've periodically wrestled with over the years properly under my fingers. Sustained practice, that's what it needs! Mostly wasting time on the 'net. Generally still feeling under the weather in an annoying sort of way.
Quite a weekend coming up. Tomorrow I will be going to Beccie's birthday party on a boat in the Thames in London - she's the one organising the trip to Palestine at Easter I'd have been going on were it not for my sister's wedding, and also will be Campaign Against Arms Trade's Local Campaigns Co-ordinator from when they get back in April. Somehow most of my social life, when it isn't on the internet, seems to be in London, or at any rate, not here in Bristol. Really need to do something about that. Then on Saturday, up to Newcastle for my sister's fiance Zander's stag night. (Don't get too jealous, mara_sho - at least he spells it with a Z rather than an X!)
Great. Two party nights, and I've given up alcohol for Lent. Would it be legitimate to swap this Sunday for the Saturday? What do you Catholics and Anglo-Catholics out there reckon? (OK, OK, it's blatant cheating, I know.)
Well, various people such as gnimmel and fluffymark have been proclaiming the arrival of Spring lately. I was sceptical, and my scepticism would seem to have been well-founded. Nasty, sleety cold today. Yuk.
( Thoughts on Spain )
I'm in an optimistic mood today, can't you tell!
God be with the victims, families and friends. God have mercy on us all.
Current Mood:  pessimistic
Tags: campaign against arms trade, family, politics, war, weather
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12:22 am
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General stuff
Haven't been doing general updates lately, I guess because not much has been happening. Thought it was time I did.
My mum has a new dog! (She actually got him a week ago today, just haven't got round to mentioning it.) He's called Rocky. He's a Lurcher, which apparently is a cross between a greyhound and a collie, and are generally used for hunting rabbits. She got him from an animal rescue that takes in dogs that have been retired from racing, hunting, etc. I'll have to get a picture up somehow. I'll have to get a website so that I can put stuff up. It's really shocking that I haven't got a website and learnt html. I'm sure my Broadband ISP must provide some webspace. I'll check it out. Anyway. Yeah, so she has a dog. Last week, Rocky was very sad because he'd just left his foster home (who prepare the rescued dogs for domestic life), but apparently he's settled in now. Mum had said, when Shane died in December, , that she wouldn't be getting another dog at least for a while, but she decided she was too used to having a dog in the house. I think it's a good thing. Looking forward to meeting Rocky next time I'm up. :-)
Ah well, the theological ravings below has taken the time to Very Late. Again. I shall do my examen, post it, and go to bed.
( various thoughts on the events leading to the death of Christ )
Tags: christianity, dogs, family
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01:08 am
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My sister's getting married!
I just heard this evening that my sister Sarah has got back together with her daughter Rachel's father Zander, and they are getting married! Yay! Probably in April. She's living in Barcelona with Rachel (visited them at new year). He's still in Dundee, but has been planning to move to Barca for a while to be nearer his daughter. They've been separated for a few years now, but it's always seemed like she's never really been over him. So, altogether very happy news!
In less pleasant news I had a long talk with Blair on the white telephone tonight. (Huey is inadequate to describe the effect.) Renewed my acquaintance with all the organic vegetable lasagne served this lunchtime by my ancient and lovely friends Roger and Chandra who I was visiting in Derby this weekend for boardgaming, along with equally ancient and lovely friends Iain and Steve.
Somewhat dampened my joyful sentiments.
Bleah. Better go to bed soon, get an early night.
Angel S5 ep9 is downloading! Yay!
Current Mood: Would be happy if wasn't lousy
Current Music: (in head) Landslide (Dixie Chicks cover)
Tags: family, wedding
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