Saturday, December 04, 2004
Saturday Bliss (Almost)
Another freezing 6am start but after a long hot shower I felt fine. I wrote down some notes and things I wanted to remember to get up town later on in the morning but it wasn't long beofre Laura joined me. We watched some cartoons and had some breakfast then headed off. I got her to dancing early and left her to it. The sound of several dozen lassies with tap shoes being tested out in the corridors of the Community Centre does nothing short of bring on a headache. I'm glad I don't teach kids to dance!
Princes Street was mobbed and it was only just after 10 am when I got there. The big wheel is all set up and there is a small Christmas market built in to Princes Street gardens. All the kids are getting excited as they hold on tight to their parents' hands, dragging them into toy and sweet shops. But the parents have other ideas and the kids are force to walk the length of BHS and Marks and Spencer's. I remember those days myself only too well - it's no wonder I hate shopping now. I like to list my 'wants' in advance, then plan the shops in the right order according to the list so I can get there quick - in and out - job done.
My first stop was in Ticket Scotland for a brief to see Neville Staple (ex-Specials) play at the Citrus Club next Friday night. It should be a good thumping Ska night to which a few of us will be going. Then into HMV and Virgin before Waterstones where I picked up a copy of the Itchy Edinburgh guide to whom I applied for a freelance review job yesterday. I browsed some other books but nothing took my fancy; my 'to do' list of book sat home is immense just now anyway. I nipped into Greggs on my way back to get Laura and got back home in time for lunch.
I had a plan for the day: do a shed load of writing and plough through the stack of papers and magazines on my desk. Most of it will go out but I like to keep cutouts for ideas for stories or characters in my folders.
I was diverted from the plan when I deleted a chunk of the operating system on my PC. Frantic calls to my future brother in law, Nolon, resulted in a rescue package being sent out from Perth - my original install disk plus a new copy of Windows XP Pro. Nice one mate! But I'll have to wait until Tuesday earliest before I can get it back up and running.
As a writer of course this has an impact. Obviously I can still write; there's shorthand and my laptop. But without the internet, the business end grinds to a halt. Thankfully I can still get to my Blog from work but I can't get to any email or my personal web server.
Gail made a roast dinner and we all sat down in front of the fire and watched Saturday night TV. Well - I had things to do - I certainly wasn't watching The X-Factor (Pop Idol spin off - but worse). Other than that - it was bliss!
Princes Street was mobbed and it was only just after 10 am when I got there. The big wheel is all set up and there is a small Christmas market built in to Princes Street gardens. All the kids are getting excited as they hold on tight to their parents' hands, dragging them into toy and sweet shops. But the parents have other ideas and the kids are force to walk the length of BHS and Marks and Spencer's. I remember those days myself only too well - it's no wonder I hate shopping now. I like to list my 'wants' in advance, then plan the shops in the right order according to the list so I can get there quick - in and out - job done.
My first stop was in Ticket Scotland for a brief to see Neville Staple (ex-Specials) play at the Citrus Club next Friday night. It should be a good thumping Ska night to which a few of us will be going. Then into HMV and Virgin before Waterstones where I picked up a copy of the Itchy Edinburgh guide to whom I applied for a freelance review job yesterday. I browsed some other books but nothing took my fancy; my 'to do' list of book sat home is immense just now anyway. I nipped into Greggs on my way back to get Laura and got back home in time for lunch.
I had a plan for the day: do a shed load of writing and plough through the stack of papers and magazines on my desk. Most of it will go out but I like to keep cutouts for ideas for stories or characters in my folders.
I was diverted from the plan when I deleted a chunk of the operating system on my PC. Frantic calls to my future brother in law, Nolon, resulted in a rescue package being sent out from Perth - my original install disk plus a new copy of Windows XP Pro. Nice one mate! But I'll have to wait until Tuesday earliest before I can get it back up and running.
As a writer of course this has an impact. Obviously I can still write; there's shorthand and my laptop. But without the internet, the business end grinds to a halt. Thankfully I can still get to my Blog from work but I can't get to any email or my personal web server.
Gail made a roast dinner and we all sat down in front of the fire and watched Saturday night TV. Well - I had things to do - I certainly wasn't watching The X-Factor (Pop Idol spin off - but worse). Other than that - it was bliss!
Colin 3:27 pm