South Park, White Space and the Mystery of the Missing Class.

This is a right mess I've got myself into this time, isn't it?

This is the second week that this has happened, and I'm getting pretty damned sick of it. Last week was the first week of classes at University, but Monday's 9-11 class was scheduled to take place in a class room that is currently under use by the builders. So, last week we were to meet the lecturer there, and he would take us to the new room. So, off I popped on the bus last Monday, but this being Scotland, there was roadworks, wasn't there? I finally managed to get into Dundee about 9 O'Clock-ish, and toddled up to Uni. I got to the timetabled room, and waited, but nothing happened. So, about half past nine, I headed down to the School office to see if they knew where the class was now. No Joy. I eventually gave up, because I'd been walking around for a while, and I resigned myself to having to face the music, and ask one of the folk in my class where class was being held. Thankfully, all of our classes happen twice in a week (Oh Joyous Hallelujah. Not.), so I asked Jim where class was, and he said "In the new Institute area of level 2 directly above where we were today". That's just Dandy. (white space is the name of the area where we are, hence the title.) Today rolls around, and I head up to where he said class was to be held. What did I find? Nothing. Not a Sausage! There was nobody around the aforementioned area. This time, I'll rely on the folk in the class to tell me where we are. So that's got me really annoyed.

Also, Nine Days 'til South Park Season 13b! Wooo!

Back At last

So, Here I am, finaly making an effort to post after almost 6 months of nothingness. So, What's been happening? Well, Somewhere between "Not Much" and "Nothing", to be honest. I've been thrashing my way through college, just trying to get the year over with, and I'm in the process of applying to do Web Development at Abertay.

Over the last month, papa has taken a turn for the worst, several weeks ago, Doug, Gordon and I were pulled out of work as he became suddenly Ill. After about a week, he got a bit better, but since then he has turned worse, He's almost gone now. I just keep hoping he'll go in his sleep, that he'll be released form the pain and indignity he has suffered for so long, but everyday mum and dad phone me to say "No Change!". Here's hoping it's over with soon.

More Tomorrow.

Walking on Eggshells

After a goodly long break, it's time for a new post. I've been meaning to do this since new year's day, but procrastination kicked in. Huzzah!

I've been feeling anxious since yesterday when I found out that folk were getting payed off at work, and that I might be one of those people. Indeed, I found out when I map there tonight that one of the people who I started with got payed off. Safe to say that I wasn't the happiest of chappies. Slightly paranoid would be a good way to put it. What made it even worse was the stories going round, the overhyped kind, always happening to a friend of a friend. I was walking on eggshells when I got into work tonight, together with the fact that I was very nearly late, stressed me out all evening waiting to see I was called into one of the meeting rooms. Later on, I found out that my job was safe. Oh the relief. Even now, an hour after finding out, I'm still elated. What a day it's been.

1 SLEEP!

Yay! Only one single solitary sleep 'til Christmas!

More coming in the new year, I promise. I'll make a concerted effort to post regularly.

"Indie" kids

Guys who do the whole "Indie" look really annoy me. That haircut may be trendy, but you just look like an utter twat with it. As for cardigans, how fucking stupid. Skinny jeans? As above. Their attitude is so elitist, making fun of emo kids because of the stupid stereotype. You know what? I don't honest mind emo kids anymore, they are generally good people, defying the stereotype. You lot, however, are a bunch of obnoxious opinionated shites. Indie was originally about stepping back from the mainstream music industry, playing music the way you wanted, but nowadays Indie has become a byword for a market of generic crap. All these bands sound the same now, all with the crap hair and cardigans. I'm off to listen to some proper music. Rant, rant, rant.

Ack!

My thumb is bleeding and I don't know how or why! On the top between the mail and the skin. It's not sore, it's just bleeding. I doubt I'll bleed to death at work though. Five hours and a plaster later...

hmm...

It's half seven in the morning. What time is it? Random update time!

It's weird, y'know, because this morning I didn't feel nearly as tired as I usually do when I get out of bed at quarter to seven in the morning. I went to bed at about the same time, too. Transmission (the Torrent program I use for my Mac) is being annoying coz it's saying that one of the torrents is finished when it's quite clearly only 25% done. Grr. Just noticed a flyer downstairs advertising an world atlas. It says "Only £9.99 - Save £206!" Seriously, Who would pay £200 for a Atlas? But anyways, I suppose I'm just a skinflint. Going back to the subject of torrents and such, I'm currently downloading the entirety of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums. I doubt I'll keep them all. College this morning. At least I get to mess around with Dreamweaver and Photoshop. La de da.

Snow-tomfool-otography-vision

Oops, my bad, haven't updated here in a while. So what's been happening? Mainly college and work really, we're into block two at college, and we've started photography classes, much to the ire of the class ("just filling spaces in the timetable!" or "I didn't come gee to do photography, I came here to do web design!"). I'd been looking forward to doing this class all through block one. It was a laugh despite folks' misgivings, and once all the explaining how the cameras worked and boring up to tears with jargon had happened, most folk were eager to get out there and take photos. Me and Thomas teamed up and with Gary and Scott, we went out and messed about in the snow, taking pictures as a sort of afterthought. Safe to say that by the time we got back, I had taken most of the photos, and Thomas was soaked and covered in snow after being the target of most of my snowballs (Gary received one after a wee cheeky shot when I was trying to take a photo). Can't wait to get into the darkroom and if any of them are half decent, I'll stick them up here. Oh what a day. Hooray for a long lie tomorrow.

Being the Samaritan

Sometimes it's hard being a Christian. In fact, sometimes it's just downright hard having a conscience. As I write this, I'm on the bus home. When I got on the bus, I was elated at the fact that, due to shift patterns, I was off work from now until tuesday. Within minutes, the elation was gone. The reason is this; across the aisle from me there is a girl. She is drunk and throwing up all over the floor. The people around of just sit and stare, there was a few smirks and even a badly disguised giggle. These arrogant arseholes seen to forget that this could just as easily be someone they know, or even worse, them themselves. Her friend sitting in the row in front is stricken, all she can really do is rub the girl's back in a comforting way. I'm stricken too, as my conscience is telling of to do something, to say something, to help in some small way, but there's nothing I can do. So much for the good Samaritan.

Rebecca and Calum

It's been a while. But here I am, back again.

When I went into work today, I passed some of the MRU folk waiting to start their shift. And to my delight, there was Rebecca, or Becky. Mainly Becky, hardly ever Rebecca. Becky is Sixteen, and found out that she was Pregnant soon after splitting up with her boyfriend. What a parting gift I hear you think. And what a hell of a predicament to find one's self in. It would be a natural reaction to freak out and abort the baby, but not Becky, she took in her her stride, indeed she had made up her mind and was keeping the baby. Things like school and work didn't seem to bother her, she was at work right up until a couple of weeks before she was due. The wee guy put up a hell of a fight though, as he was, I believe a week, perhaps even two weeks late. Everyone in MRU was waiting for the big event to happen, until finally, without fanfare or ceremony, a comment appeared on the "MRU Kids" group on Bebo anouncing that she had had Calum. So it was with relief and gladness that I greeted her in work today. And she showed me pictures of whe wee man (until Joe the security firmly reminded her of no mobiles in reception). At least that's a small (no pun intended) bit of joy in the current gloom of things. Becky has someone to case for and cherish, and Calum has a mum who will love him no matter what and that will spoil him rotten. They're a very unlikely pair those two and I'm so glad the have each other. Thing is though, Becky has herself a job and a half bringing up a wee boy, coz he's gonna be a handful!

um...

life's got in the way these days, to be honest. i'll try and post again at some point when I can.

Change part 1: Out of the frying pan.

That's what it felt like today. At approximately 15.50 hours GMT this afternoon, my job was as a market researcher for Tesco Research, which I had been doing for about a year, and was likely to remain so for the forseeable future probably for the next year. To be perfectly honest, I hated it, but it have me a wage, and the shifts were flexible, and there wasn't much else available to me, which was why I stuck there. At about 16.00 hours GMT, I learned that this was all to change when I was offered shifts on calls teams by the company that employee me. I was sworn to secrecy, so as not to upset other members of the MRU team who had asked for calls team shifts, but had been refused. I nearly blew it by going and telling my mate Dave who is another MRU person, but had to stop myself as a certain person was close by, and I would rather not have her rant at me. At 16.45 hours GMT, after being told to finish early, it was with a certain amount of satisfaction and euphoria that I logged out my phone for the last time working at MRU. At 17.00 hours GMT, I waited with anticipation for training to begin.

Music

This post was meant to go up several days ago, but Meh, I'm lazy/I've got alot on at the moment. So here for your reading pleasure, I give you, Music:

Music is a huge force in my life. Calming, rousing, thought provoking, in-your-face. From Black Sabbath to Bob Marley. I listen to it everyday, going to college, on my way home as I write these blog, really has become an inseperable part of me. From the beginning, listening to the Ramones, to more recently listening to Alestorm and Metallica, it has affected me not just in what clothes I wear, but my very way of thinking and how I portray myself.

Punk is for saying "this is who I am, all my imperfections and warts. Metal means "I an angry! Leave me alone.". Tracks like How to Save a Life, Drops of Jupiter and Bittersweet Symphony are for stepping back and looking at my current position, and thinking of where I go from there. Easy Listening (Lou Reed, Norah Jones, Robert
Johnson) are for relaxing and dispensing of my cares. Other artists, Credence Clearzates Revival, Guns 'n' Roses, Paul McCartney, are for general feel good listening. Led Zepplin are just awesome to listen to at any time! These are just what purpose they serve at the time of writing, they may, and indeed most probably will change. Who's to say what I will be listening to tomorrow, next week, in six months? Well, here's then.

BRB... Need inspiration

*tumbleweed*

Art and Rain

Rain. The kind that soaks into your skin and turns Dundee into Venice. It was the kind of rain that sends people scurrying for the warmth and shelter of shops. I'd joked just hours earlier to Fiona, our course tutor that rain was your friend, not your enemy and that she should hug the rain, but it was hard to be a rain lover whilst trudging back down the Perth road (or should that be wading down Perth road?) In torrential downpours. I'd just come from Duncan of Jordanstone (an art school attached to Dundee Uni) where Fiona thought that it would be a good idea to look at the D of J masters degree degree show, for reasons of, and I quote, "Seeing what stage you'll be at in five years time!". We were not impressed, I can tell you. It was, and I mean absolute no offense to any of the artists, arty farty. There was, however, one installation I liked, which was entitled "Off the wall" which was a video in which a guy spray painted a drawing of a huge hulking humanoid figure on a wall, and the figure came alive and started chasing the guy. It was an excellent mash of live action and animation which was so familiar to me, after having done the animation course last year. The artist was there, faithfully manning his installation, and you could order t-shirts and mini models of the Graffiti guy, so I ordered a t-shirt. And, after all that, art still confuses me!

Phone Rage

Yet another night in work. Yet another night of people confirming my suspicions that Neanderthals have not in fact died out. I wrote about this in one of my very first posts on this blog, and I'm doing it again because I'm still so irate with this happening. A bit of background information first. I work in a Market Research job for Tesco, and we do telephone surveys, some of which we essentially cold call. The responses, as you can probably imagine, are not exactly friendly. They range from having the phone slammed down in my ear, to be told to f*** off/kill myself, etc, and imperatives to that effect. We just smile and put up with it because we get that shtick all the time. It's all very well that we are disturbing you, and we appreciate that, but that is absolutely no excuse for abusing us. They seem to forget that there is, in fact, a real live human being on the other end of the phone. How do they think I feel when they slam down the phone or swear at me? I can tell you that I feel pretty damned angry, often I want to reach down the phone and punch the person on the other end of the phone. There is, of course, a very simple solution to this situation, and the solution is something that seems to dying out these days: Etiquette. A simple, but firm No would suffice. And please and thank you wouldn't go amiss either and don't get angry either, it's our job to do this. Is that too much to ask?

The evil of no evil

I was reading Emzie's Blog, and she was writing about how she watched a T.V. Programme about Auschwitz. This reminded of me something that I had been thinking about earlier in the week. Throughout history wars have been fought to defeat evil, but there is a worse kind of war; the line of war where there is an enemy, but that enemy is not an evil to overcome for the sake of freedom, peace and such like, rather the enemy is like your friends or perhaps even your own family. It's for these reasons amongst others that make World War One such a devastating conflict.

FAIL!

So I was in work the other night there, bored to tears, and my mate Dave started saying "Fail! whenever someone hung up on him or he got an answering machine (taken from funny macroed images with "Fail" on them, often found on the internet. If you don't know what I'm on about, then google Fail.). So we've been doing this for the last couple of nights, and tonight, we were über bored, so I changed log out button on my phone to say Fail. It's one of those phones that you can change the labels on the buttons. Safe to say that it kept us amused for the rest of the night and will probably amuse up for days, maybe weeks. Ok, I'm a geek, so what?

Font faces are sexy, by the way. Seriously though, they are infinitely interesting, I must admit. We had a typography class today in college, and we even got to design a font. You know how in primary one, when you are learning to write, you use the lines for writing your letters, like the tall bit of the b and t have to go above the line and the rest of the letter stays below that line? We had to use those lines, it was awesome, kinda like primary one writing lessons meets caligraphy.

Off college 'til monday, ridiculously long weekend. Get In!

Recommencement

Here we are. The end of the summer. It's gone so fast, too! Where's the summer gone? Gimme back my summer! Anyways, I digress. Last time I posted was before Glen, so that's about a months worth of ground to cover! So here goes:

Glen. I knew it was that time of year when I was living on euphoria and tea (milk, no sugar) for the week before. After several months of anticipation, Glen came, and it most definitely did not disappoint. The atmosphere at the camps was amazing, as usual, and it was great to see some of the oldest housegroup in their last year as delegates, two of whom I have known since their first year at the camp five years ago, and the rest I have met at the camp and at various events. I did, of course, extend the hand of hospitality, with a couple of folk promising to come to Dundee.

Next came the college shennanigans, trying to find a place for this year, and, to cut a long story short, I'm now doing Visual Communication at good ole Graham Street (Web Design, Graphic Design, etc), which I started yesterday. Speaking of G.S., I was a tad concerned when I arrived back at the Ole Brick hut yesterday. As it houses (amongst others) the art and fashion students, it is safe to say that Graham Street Campus has more than it's fair share of fine young things. But Alas! Alack! On monday, there wasn't a single one of them to be seen! Oh Noes! There I was, mourning the state of society, when this morning, there they were. Sketchpads? Check. Arty Clothing? Check. Masses and masses of them? Check! Yay! I breathed a sigh of relief. The balance was restored, all was well with the world. More info on class members will arrive next week when I've done a full week with them. It's a small class, so it's looking good.

Heartbeats

At the moment I'm listening to the hauntingly beautiful "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzales. With the melodic guitar picking, and melancholy voices, it's not hard to love this track. The combination of the guitar and voices gives the song a haunting wistfulness. It makes of think of summer days in fields of flowers and dark winter nights sitting by the fire, and (unsurprisingly) the advert with the balls. Who was it for? Panasonic? Nevermind, I digress. Some of the analogies that are used in the song are also appropriate for the mood of the song ("One night to push and scream, and then relief" - referring, I think, to the lover to whom the protagonist addresses the song giving birth to a baby). I've listened to it about five times I got on the bus. What a song!