Nostalgia

Spending time with my music collection has taken me back to times past, evoking a curious mixture of emotion.

Today was the first snow of winter. This photo taken from my kitchen window.

Pod person

I'm one of them. After being infinitely proud of not having an iPod - my trusty Sony Discman providing me with the only musical pleasure I thought I needed - it's happened. He Who Plays Warcraft, in the guise of Santa, presented me with an iPod for Christmas. An impossibly small black nano. I'm a convert, I can't wait to make it my own. Merry Christmas.

Irreconcilable differences

Gay marriages, or Civil Partnerships, became legal in England today, and subsequently, Elton John got married.

It got me thinking about divorce rates and I wondered if homosexual divorce rates would increase as rapidly as heterosexual divorce rates. Civil Partnerships are ended by dissolution orders, not divorce, but the result is the same: the end of a legal relationship.

As is my wont, I did a little bit of research on how easy it is to get a quickie divorce. Pretty easy, it seems. For £25.99 you can get a DIY Divorce. For those who are status conscious, the services are available in Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Why should you use their services? Why, because they've handled 30,000 divorces since 2000. Interested? You can download a Divorce Demo. I kid you not.

Adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion - these are a few of the "grounds" you can choose from. I have my very own reason which I cannot seem to find on any of the websites: World Of Warcraft.

Hmm, I might think about petitioning.

Ring-a-Ding Ding

I went to the Savoy Theatre to see The Rat Pack the other night. I know you're thinking they're dead, aren't they? and you're right. Whoever played the parts of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jnr. did so very well.

Now, I love the theatre, but I prefer a proper musical - like with a storyline. People standing around singing is not usually my thing, but I stuck it out. (One of our party actually said "this is not my thing" and left halfway).

It was surprisingly good. The dialogue was excellent, transcripted from actual shows in Las Vegas. The singing was good too. Unexpectedly, I knew all of the songs.

Watching reruns

Today is the first day of my much deserved holiday. I'll not be back in the office until the New Year. How wonderful that sounds. It won't work out that way of course. There will be emails and phone calls, there always are. I expect them, nay, I welcome them. One can never really turn off. If I did, I think I'd be back at square one, another first day at work.

"I'm sorry, you are...?" I'd say, knowing I recognised the face but not quite being able to place it.
"Huh? Are you nuts, I'm Kelly. Your boss?" My boss would say with a worried look.
"Are you asking me, or are you actually my boss?"
"I'm actually your boss. Remember me? I'm the one who pays you."
"Ah yes, it's coming back to me now."

On my days off, I always watch morning TV. It's rerun heaven. A double bill of Will & Grace (love); yet another double bill of Friends (you can't beat that) and a good solid Frasier. That is what I intend to do every single day of my holiday. My TV morning begins at 8.00am and my real life morning begins at 10.30am. It's going to be FAB.

Born under a wandering star

I have spent a great deal of my life dreaming of, and encouraging, change. In my teens, feeling dissatisfied and restless, I would move the furniture around in my bedroom, at least every two weeks, just to experience the change I seem to constantly crave (no, not al la KD).

When my perpetual wanderlust whispers sweet nothings to me, some days I hear them more clearly than others, and I might go away for a long weekend. It helps, at least until the next bout.

So, when today I started to feel like I need a change, and I was pondering the merits of living in yet another country (I've lived in 3), I wasn't too shaken up. Par for the course, I thought, at this time of year. By this time of year, I mean my birthday. It's a big one, and dammit, it deserves big dreams.

Christiania, Copenhagen

Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania, is a neighbourhood with its own rules, independent of the Danish government. It's a hippy commune of sorts. Christiania was started in an abandoned army barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1971. The government has attempted, without success, to remove the squatters, and is not sympathetic to its existence as soft drugs have always been part of the plan. (The main drag is known as Pusher Street).

Although I found the Christiania experience quite disturbing, I had to laugh (and take a photo) when I saw this message. It's really about bending the rules, just a little bit. Like a STOP sign saying PAUSE AND THEN GO.

I just want to buy a melon

I pretty sure I've never had any Malibu, but I adore the TV ads.

There are times when I feel exactly like that: all I want to do is buy a melon and the melon stand owner is either too clueless or too enthusiastic to understand that all I want is a melon.

I love the versatility of that statement. It can apply to so many situations.

SRY PLZ 4GV ME

This is a retraction of sorts. Ref: Savvy?

Having thought more about this issue I have with text messaging, I feel it's necessary to review and update my stance on it. It concerns me more when anyone habitually writes and speaks as if they are using a mobile phone. I heard a story about a woman in someone's office who says LOL instead of laughing. Fucking annoying. I do think that if I don't keep taking handfuls of Valium I could get rather annoyed that no one seems to be too bothered that we have a generation of people who think it's cool to speak and spell poorly. Oh God, I sound so uptight. I'm not really. L8R.