A lorry on a road about ten miles from where I live blew over last night. Apparently it was carrying some sort of solvent, which proceeded to melt the road, and police trying to sort it out all ended up in hospital on account of the fumes.

Two people died and everyone at work is going mental because they've got three billion pianos to deliver to deepest darkest parts of northern England by Christmas, and encountering articulated lorries taking twisty one-lane roads to avoid tailbacks wasn't helping.

Still, I can't help but smile. In this golden age of convenience, in a world where you can do your shopping online - well, actually Mum was reminiscing yesterday about the good old days when only posh people had cars, and you'd get your weekly shop delivered. And it still hasn't compelled me to actually do my Christmas shopping yet. Ok, in a world where it probably won't be long before people invent wireless battery chargers (I hope so, anyway) and chips that allow you to update your livejournal just by thinking about it (again, I hope so, we could get some interesting drunken monologues), half of my nation can be brought to a halt by an entirly natural disaster in the middle of nowhere. And, in all likelihood, nobody will ever do anything to prevent this, if indeed anything can be done.

Happily, my town seems to have become less congested this evening, because today, we finally acquired a car I'm insured to drive (after two months without one), and a reason to go to the olde naffe-butte-generallye-amusinge rocke clubbe in Carlisle for the first time in two and a half years presented itself. Hurrah!


Thursday 23 December 2004

I apologise for the complete lack of Christmas cards I've sent this year. I bought some, but didn't get round to writing them, on account of:

a) refusing to do anything about Christmas until December on principle
b) being away for ten days of December
c) being too miserable to do anything other than play The Sims 2 the rest of it

I seem to be on the mend though, apart from physically, in which sense I'm dying: I'm on my the second cold of the month, and blowing my nose keeps giving me hiccoughs. I fully appreciate that this is my own silly fault though, for breaking my immune system by giving up sleep to a large extent.

And I spent three and a half hours working on stories this evening. And my ability to land on my feet remains intact: I bought all my family Christmas presents on Amazon last night, yet they should arrive tomorrow. And I've just found a huge e-mail I started writing to former-housemate Jo I thought I'd lost.

Work remains torturous. For the last few days, a huge tin of Quality Streets has been sitting on top of the colour photocopier, and every time I walk past it, I go, "Ooh, I could do with one of them." But then I remember: my Mummy (and boss) has no idea who they belong to, so I have been expressly forbidden from touching them. You would have thought I could get away with taking one or two, but noooo, the seal is as yet unbroken.

I did get a Christmas bonus today though. And, after four months there, my own hole punch. (It's even black! How good is that?) And, if I can stick with it a bit longer, I might even get my own stapler. The temporary calm induced by all the schools having their Christmas holidays is obviously helping matters, as is the fact that I get an (unexpected) ten days' off starting tomorrow, but I think I'll try and stick it out a bit longer, for the money to help fund Operation: Down Under if nothing else.


Friday 24 December 2004

You will be pleased to know that I managed to solve the mystery of the Quality Streets this afternoon and eat some.

Nonetheless, things That Are Seriously Wrong With Modern Society #984783: Strawberry cremes not only now being called Strawberry Dreams, but having a red outer layer of wrapper, instead of the traditional, attractive and CORRECT green one. GAH.

Also, what's up with an increasing number of CDs that come in cardboard cases these days? They look cheap, unbalance the appearance of your CD collection and don't make that reassuring clacking sound traditional cases make as you sift through them. Ok, they don't get cracked and lose all their teeth if you drop them, but you can always replace plastic cases if need be! With these, the edges get frayed, and then what can you do? Eh???