Weekend Off

Oh wow, this is nice. For the first time since Easter, and I think perhaps the third weekend this year, I’ve got a weekend off. Fan-bloody-tastic. I can’t deny, I’m still busy – already I’ve been shopping, sorted out some financial stuff, bought a couple of new flower pots (and planted the fuchsias in them – they’re looking happier already) and taken some photos for a new idea/collection I’m wanting to do.

There’s things I could’ve been doing this weekend – and I still could’ve ended up in about four different locations – but yes, for now I’m happy with doing nothing (or at least as close to it as I get) for the first time in ages.

Book Geek revisited

As Dragon asked, “How was it then?” – it was good. As it turned out, it wasn’t just Michael Marshall Smith doing a reading/signing, but also Nicholas Royle, who I must admit I’d not previously heard of, let alone read any of his novels. However, if the sense of humour he displayed during the reading and Q&A session is also in his writing, then I’ll be rectifying that very soon.

MMS was interesting again – he speaks with a very dry humour, and makes for an entertaining Q&A performance. Oh, and in terms of “what does he look like?” (as asked last weekend) last night I kept on being reminded very much of a slightly better-groomed Kevin Bacon. (which was odd, as I then came home and watched Wild Things on C4) I still find it interesting the way different writers work, and how some of them are really quite shy about their books, and about reading from them (Donna Tartt was a prime case in point) whereas others such as MMS seem to love doing it, answering questions from people who obviously know and love books, and really meeting their readers. Both writers answered the questions thoughtfully and raised a variety of interesting points (including the “day from hell” for MMS where he was talking to a cousin who only read one book a year, had picked up the new novel, but wouldn’t read it yet because otherwise he wouldn’t have anything to read on holiday) and thankfully the questions were more than just the standard ‘meet the author’ dreck. In fact, both authors were quite disparaging of cliché-ridden questions. “That was almost ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ wasn’t it?” was used at one point. Instead, questions ranged from their writing methods and “normal” days, through to whether having supermarkets stocking books was a good or bad thing.

For the princely sum of £3 (and even that’s refundable against book price if you’re not a completely sad sod and didn’t buy the book on day of publishing. *ahem*) it was an excellent opportunity to spend two hours in the company of two people who blatantly love what they do, and have a truly infectious passion for it. And that’s got to be value for money.

Shudder

There are many things I could say about Treasure Pebbles, but most of them would be on the wrong side of the upcoming sweary filter, and knowing my luck I’d slag off something that everyone else thought was lovely and cute and blah, blah, blah.

Instead, I’ll just leave you with the link. (And we won’t notice that the page title doesn’t match the site name – that’d just be pedantic)

Mugs

Not content with the mugs I was doing myself, The Register has a few of their own that have been added to my “want” list. “Don’t lie – the computer didn’t ‘just do it’!” would be ideal, or “I know there is porn on your computer”.

Hmm, I wonder if I can twadge about and get some d4d™ variants?

Book Geek

Over the last few years, one of my consistently favourite authors has been Michael Marshall Smith. (or, for his last two books, Michael Marshall) Tonight he’s doing a reading and signing in Manchester Waterstones, so I’ll be there. Very sad and geeky (and even more so when you realise this’ll be the third time I’ve been at one of his readings) but it should still be interesting. Who knows, I may even get photos…

Re-connection

One thing that’s been good this week (and it’s in the minority, it has to be said) has been getting back in touch with a couple of friends who I haven’t seen or spoken to in a while. Mainly through being crap and manically busy, but that’s still no real excuse. MS Turd Word eating a six-page letter to one of them that I’d been writing over the weekend didn’t help – completely unrecoverable (Gawd knows, I’ve tried) so it’s been back to square one with it.

However, in the same vein, I also got contacted by an ex last night that I really could’ve done without. Two years on, and still there’s unresolved stuff there. I knew I’d taken her off the friends list on Messenger, but I’d forgotten to put her ID on ignore as well. Maybe that’s for the best, maybe it’s not – for now it’s just a nagging feeling of business still unfinished. Grrrr. I need sleep, that’ll let me get on with stuff in a saner fashion.

Do I?

After a week of shitey nights (put it this way, I’ve completed Redemption Ark (700ish pages) and Altered Carbon just while laying in bed) I’m currently in a seriously ratty mood.

Now – do I contact the bank I call FuckNugget (thanks Iain) today, as it’s now four days past their “we’ll call you back on Monday” bollocks, and the appointment I wanted to make with my new business manager still hasn’t happened? Or should I leave it ’til it’s a full week since they said they’d call, by which time I may have had some sleep, and be in a slightly more reasonable frame of mind?

UPDATED : Well, I’ve called them, and the useless twat is constantly engaged. So instead I’ve dropped him in the shit with his boss, my new business manager, by enquiring whether it’s the bank’s policy to never return phone calls, nor to do as promised. I’m also going to meet her on Tuesday morning, which should be interesting. And I didn’t swear once… I must be ill.