Daily archives: February 3, 2009


Tweets today

23:24 Blog: Tweets today tinyurl.com/bhpzxt #

09:06 And the snow has gone. Manchester never has the same weather as the rest of the country. #

10:23 Blog: A few photos from my ride in the snow yesterday tinyurl.com/ajvzqs #

10:37 It waseasy to go out in the snow. Why’s it so hard to go out in the sunshine? Must motivate (after cleaning bike). #

12:50 Film plans- meet in Waterhouse from 6 for food and drinks then on to amc for Frost/Nixon @ 8.20. #

13:12 On Two Wheels- Snow Ride tinyurl.com/aceo53 #

14:24 Blog: Be Your Own Valentine tinyurl.com/cls4kf #

15:29 Time to be honest and admit there’ll be no training ride or time in the studio today. #

16:27 Blog: The Bucket List tinyurl.com/ah2zyk #

18:27 Blog: 25 Things about me tinyurl.com/bdofv6 #

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25 Things about me

The other meme I’ve been tagged with. This one’s doing the rounds on Facebook. I initially had problems thinking of 25 people to send it to, then realised I’d missed a few off after I’d sent it. Oh well.

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

1. The first time I was knocked off my bike by a driver I had a hard time getting angry because she was blonde and attractive. Should have exchanged insurance details though.

2. I once drank half a pint of bottle sterilising solution thinking it was water. Thankfully it wasn’t the concentrate.

3. I cried when I saw the Muppets’ tribute to Jim Henson.

4. I seem to be at my most creative when I’m a little sad/upset (but not depressed). Which worries me, because I’ve been having a lot of ideas in the last few weeks.

5. I once won £250 for a short sci-fi story I wrote inspired by my addiction to Command & Conquer.

6. I still want to write a story where one of the characters has the last words “What a stupid place to put a bus.”

7. From my parents’ house you can see Scotland. I once drove to that part of Scotland, but I couldn’t see my parents’ house.

8. When I was eight or nine I got locked in a suitcase whilst showing someone where I’d been hiding during our game of hide and seek. I don’t have claustrophobia as a result, but I occasionally get nervous in confined spaces, which has spoilt what little spelunking I’ve done.

9. I have a wierd sense of direction. I can still get confused connecting bits of Manchester, but a few years ago I went back to the town we left when I was 6 and found my way to the street we’d lived on first time, even though I hadn’t been back in over 20 years.

10. I once walked away from a car crash that wrote off and tipped over a Land Rover and destroyed twelve feet of dry stone walling, even though I wasn’t wearing a seat belt. The other passenger’s advice to the driver had been “Follow that car, but don’t kill us.” One out of two will do.

11. Despite everything, I’m a hopeless romantic.

12. I can be quite shy and reserved. Most people who’ve known me for a while find this hard to believe.

13. I’m allergic to cat hair.

14. For all my years of cycling I still can’t ride no-handed.

15. When I was 1 my dad got a job in Brazil. We stayed there for a year. The Brazilians loved the little blue eyed blonde boy and my father was once stopped by the police, who thought he was kidnapping me. I can’t remember any of this, I’ve only got the photos and anecdotes to tell me about it.

16. I was on a hill above the Cornish town of Looe for the solar eclipse in 1998.

17. I used to buy 10 packs of Tesco doughnuts, brew a pot of strong tea and see how far through both I could get before becoming so wired I felt like I was being pushed back into the sofa and had pins and needles on my scalp.

18. I’ve never smoked a normal cigarette. When I told my mother this she understood just what I was implying. Her reply was “Good for you.”

19. Food poisoning once put me off port for a year, even though it was all the garlic sausage’s fault. I had a similar experience with pork scratchings as well.

20. The first time I encountered an escalator, on a school trip to Blackpool, I absolutely refused to get on it because I was certain the ground shouldn’t move like that.

21. I was being driven from Cambridge to a town called Royston, in a snow storm, when I found out that Kurt Cobain had died.

22. I’ve got a certificate saying I flew out of Liverpool John Lennon airport on its first day (or maybe week) under that name.

23. I’ve never had a proper job. I’ve always worked temp or contract and now I’m trying to make money running my own business.

24. Every few years I’ll get a big crush on someone and absolutely fail to do anything about it. It’s a combination of cowardice, stupidity and fear of rejection.

25. It’s been very, very hard to keep from talking about sex in any of these. If a question is phrased right I’ll give an honest answer to it, so lots of people know details others might have kept secret.


The Bucket List

I’ve been tagged with a few of those “about me” memes. I might as well post the answers here as well as emailing them. This one first, because I’ve been sitting on it for a few days and I can’t think of 25 things about myself.

( ) Gone on a blind date.
( ) Skipped school.
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country.
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t
( ) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain or run through summer puddles
( ) Held a baby long after it fell asleep because it felt so good
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
( ) Gone ice-skating
( ) Been skinny dipping outdoors
(x) Gone to the movies

Any nickname? Not in recent years

Favorite Drink? Tea

Body Piercings? None

How much do you love your job? Making a go of self employment. My boss is wonderful, but it’ll be a better experience when I find a reliable income generator.

Birthplace? Bridgend

Favorite vacation spot? Somewhere with a bit of history.

Ever been to Africa ? No

Ever eaten just cookies for dinner? Probably. I’ve definitely had kebab for breakfast.

Ever been on TV? Yes

Ever steal any traffic signs? no

Ever been in a car accident? Yes

Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Don’t have a car

Favorite pie? Bacon and egg

Favourite number? i

Favorite movie? The Italian Job

Favorite dessert? Ice cream

Favorite food? Curry

Favorite day of the week? I don’t have enough of a routine for any one day to regularly be better, or worse, than the others.

Favorite brand of body wash? I just use whatever I’ve got.

Favorite toothpaste? No preference

Favorite smells? Fresh bread, coffee

How do you relax? Xbox, cycling, reading, watching films/TV

How do you see yourself in 10 yrs? Possibly abroad, hopefully working on a novel and/or graphic novel and other cool projects.

Furthest place you will send this message? I’m putting this on my blog and I have readers all over the world.

Who will respond to this the fastest? Haven’t a clue.


Be Your Own Valentine

New at Etsy, two Be Your Own Valentine cards. The outside is simple enough-

But open it to reveal one of these two images-

They can be read either way- sex positive celebration of being single or “I’m really not that into you, try this.” Order them now to get them in time for Valentine’s Day.

Update A variation on the design is now available on Cafe Press. It’s available individually, in a 10 pack or in a 20 pack.

Further update Someone at CafePress thinks vibrators may be against their Questionable Material & Prohibited Content Guidelines and those cards aren’t available until they make a decision.