That was the week that was

So you now know about the roast dinner-related events of the week. The rest has been fairly normal. Mum and Dad came to visit briefly on Saturday on their way back from Devon and we went out for lunch at the Italian across the Downs leaving Graham behind (at his own request) to watch the F1 qualifying and finish decorating the lounge.

Graham has done a good job with the decorating - the lounge and hall are now magnolia and will look great once we have all the pictures we want on the walls. The next step is fitting laminate flooring throughout those two rooms. Graham has got addicted to ebay and has been buying brass switches and sockets to replace our standard white ones, and he has also been bidding for spotlights for the kitchen and navy blue throws to cover our sofa and armchair, and other things like a case for his new camera and a CD for his brother etc etc etc. He seems to always be on the internet now checking whether we've won bids.

Jenson Button drove the race of his life on Sunday to come from 13th on the grid to 2nd by the end of the race. What made it most astonishing was the fact that he was only 8 seconds behind Michael Schumacher at the end, who had started on pole. There is no doubt that if he had not had to have an engine change on Friday and lose 10 places on the grid, he would have been racing MS for the lead all the way through, and probably would have been ahead by the end of the first round of pitstops.

We went to see Farenheit 9/11 on Tuesday night. I found it rather depressing as we see all this crap happening and yet can't do anything about it. We just have to sit here in the UK and hope that the Americans get wise to the loser that is their president come voting time. Not that I particularly like John Kerry from what I've seen of him, but anyone must be better than the purely business-minded, profit-hunting, war-mongering idiot that they've got now.

The film wasn't all that great - I guess it reinforced my opinion on Bush by showing me some things I didn't know, but I don't think that it was as effective and thought-provoking a film as Bowling for Columbine. I was outraged at some parts of it, saddened at others but you got the feeling that Michael Moore was just sniping and trying to be snide and clever, rather than actually caring about the cause like he did with Columbine. And Iraq wasn't the lovely place that he tried to show it as being before the war - the Iraqi's have had such a crap time of it whoever has been controlling their country. And I couldn't feel particularly sympathetic towards the American woman who lost her son in Iraq as before he died she was so "pro-war, pro-America, I'm really proud our family has such a military tradition" and afterwards she was more "Bush is a bastard for taking us to war for no reason, my poor poor son died for nothing". Fair enough she lost a son for a not particularly just cause and she is heartbroken, but had her son not died I think she would still be telling everybody how proud she was of him being in Iraq and getting rid of the evil dictator.

Went to see Doris last night as we have been promising for ages to go and see her and never seem to find the right time. We had a drink with her and she was really pleased to see us. Our half-hour visit turned into an hour and a half! I still can't get over how spritely she is at her age - apart from dodgy legs and some dodgy hearing at the moment she's in such good health.

We're off oop north to see Ade and Sheila this weekend, leaving after work today. We're taking our keg of beer with us for the BBQ we've planned for tomorrow night. It's forecasted to be a sunny warm weekend so we have lucked out again. We will be walking in Castleton in the Peak District during the day tomorrow which should be great as it's supposed to be one of the prettiest villages around that area and we have the added bonus of visiting some of the famous caves there. I'm really looking forward to it. I shan't wear my new trainers I've decided as I need to break them in  a bit more before tackling 5KM hikes!

That roast dinner fiasco

Uh-huh.

Now let me tell you the reason why I needed to make a roast dinner this week.

It was Sunday afternoon, the GP had fininshed, and Graham had been on call all week but had Sunday off. We decided to go into town and drink beer at Zero Degrees - the new microbrewery pub. After a pint each (one pilsner, one special - which that day was mango and very delicious) I was feeling rather tipsy as I hadn't eaten much all day, so I said to Graham that we should go eat before drinking anything else and that he should choose as I really wasn't bothered as long as it was food.

Graham decided he wanted a roast dinner from Wetherspoons and I reluctantly agreed. We got there only to be told on ordering our food that they had run out of all roast dinners - even nut roast. So began a 45 minute hunt round the city centre for a place which did roast chicken or turkey. We rushed about to no avail as hardly any restaurant or pub were doing roasts, and if they did it was beef or lamb. Eventually I suggested we go to the Beefeater the other side of the river and they did have a board outside saying they did roasts. We went up to the restaurant and asked the waitress if they had any roasts left, and she said no, oh, yes but only turkey. Graham said fine, table for 2 please. We ordered drinks, and I struggled to find anything on the menu that I wanted as I was dismayed that everything was expensive - no light bites. I have issues with paying lots of money for food that I don't particularly want - when I'd rather have a burger for a couple of pounds up the road.

Anyhow, I eventually ordered a starter and Graham ordered his roast and we drank our drinks. 5 minutes later the waitress comes up to tell us that there are no roast dinners available after all! Graham got frustrated and unhappy because he seemed destined not to have his roast dinner, and by now he had worked himself into such a state that nothing else was going to do. We left the restaurant saying that we came in specially to have the roast dinner and we didn't want anything else. I then promised Graham that I would make him a roast dinner during the week to make up for it. We decided just to go back to Zero Degrees and eat there, but we did stop off at one more place en-route who were offering buy one get one free roasts - and yep, yet again they had run out of chicken and there was only beef left. Graham had started to see the funny side by this point.

We ate at Zero Degrees - the starters were nice, bruschetta with practically a whole punnet of quartered cherry tomatoes on top, and doughballs with garlic butter and chilli oil. The pizzas - BBQ chicken and Goats Cheese - were pretty average. We washed that down with a pitcher of mango beer and were pretty full, but I realised if we bought one pudding between us then our food bill would come to over £25 and so we would qualify for a free 5-litre keg of a beer of our choice (normally costing £14.95)! We ordered the smallest pudding ever - a dark chocolate and cointreau grenache which turned out to be the richest pudding ever and so more than enough for the two of us. We then with big smiles on our faces ordered our 5-litre keg of mango beer (that stuff really does taste great) - only to be told that they'd run out! Can you believe it? We got a receipt though and told them we'd come back later in the week when they'd brewed some more. I picked a keg up on Tuesday - it had the wrong date on it so it looks like we nicked someone elses reserved keg, but nay mind, at least we've got it!

I got a brand new pair of trainers

After a lot of online research and visits to Ellis Brigham (twice), Blacks and Nomad travelstore I decided not to get the Merrells that I ordered in specially because I thought the octogrip sole was going to kill me on hard wet surfaces. Instead I went for a pair of these The North Face - http://www.ellis-brigham.com/index2.htm?http%3A//www.ellis-brigham.co.uk/outdoor_footwear_ss04.htm

I walked to work in them today and they are fairly comfortable - bit of an issue with the top of the toes but that should disappear when they've been broken in more. I shall take them with me to the Peak District this weekend to test them out on tougher terrain. Hopefully by the time we get to Canada they should feel as comfy as an extra pair of socks.

I'm cooking my first ever roast today and I must admit I'm cheating by buying ready made yorkshire puds (I don't have the necessary ovenware to cook them) and by grilling my lamb steak. I shall roast the potatoes and Graham's chicken though and I have stuffing and gravy and nice veg to go with it. I keep getting contradictory advice about the potatoes - whether to add some flour or not post-parboiling. I think I won't this time around.

Gripe of the day

I want to buy a new pair of trainers before I go on holiday to Canada at the beginning of September. Specifically I would like a pair of Merrells or something Merrell-esque at least. Sports shops in this country don't sell those sorts of trainers, specialist outdoors shops do, but  mainly just men's versions. I am fed up of looking and not finding!

I went online yesterday to see if I could get a pair that way. The links from the Merrell website to online distributors of their product lead me to US-only sites. UK websites that I have found on Google do sell some Merrells but the choice is really limited compared to the actual Merrell range and most of the time they don't have my size in stock.

Blogger.com is now going to take the word Merrell and stick it up at the top of this page as a link. You just watch.

Anyway, I'm going shopping this weekend and if I can't find a pair I like then I will have to purchase a pair online that I've never tried on and aren't my first choice of style or colour.

Graham is moaning as he's supposed to be going on a booze cruise in August with some people at work. The trouble is it's fancy dress and the theme is "famous doubles". Since I am not allowed to go due to limited numbers and all of his workmates have already paired up and got their costumes sorted he is feeling a bit disheartened and doesn't know what to do. I suggested that he should go as Rod Hull and take a toy emu with him, but he didn't seem to fancy that idea.

It's Friday again thank god. Looking forward to a bit of shut-eye tomorrow. And hopefully the GP will be more exciting this time. I entered a competition to win tickets to the MotoGP at Donnington Park this Sunday but I assume I haven't won so we will definitely be watching the F1 instead. Might persuade Graham to go to Brandon Hill if it is nice to listen to some jazz band play before heading on to zero degrees for a spot on dinner and beer.

So...

what's been going on in my life the past couple of weeks I have been too lazy to write?

Graham and I very nearly split again, but we managed to sort ourselves out in time to celebrate our third anniversary together on July 11th. It really saddens me when we go through these rough times as I can't bear the thought of a life without him. We complement each other so well and have all these plans for our future, it just feels so right to be together. When he says that he just wants to make me happy and that I might be much happier without him, I have to try and make him see that I want to be happy with him, not happy without him.

We didn't do anything mad for our "anniversary", just spent the Saturday evening (10th) relaxing at home, having a bath and massage and nice food and bubbly, listening to music and snuggling and being romantic.

We have been out for 2 successful work-dos - Wetherspoons and curry with his crowd, Penny Farthing and mexican (rather more expensive unfortunately) with mine.

We have seen 2 grand prixs and been pissed off with Michael Schumacher still winning whatever happens in qualifying. We also went to Silverstone last week for a testing session - only McLaren and Jordan were there but it was still pretty special as it was the first time I had ever been close to a F1 car. My first experience of the day involved David Coulthard coming out of Bridge Corner at about 180mph - and it was an incredible buzz as even though you watch it on the telly and you know it's fast, nothing can really prepare you for the actual speed and noise involved.

I saw Matt and Sharon briefly when they came to Bristol to run their mile for Sport Aid.
I caught up with Liz for the first time since Easter when I hitched a lift to Cheltenham last night with Graham and Ade who were going to visit their Grandad in hospital. We had a good old girly gossip and I'm arranging to see her and Kel for a girl's night out in August.

Have been emailing Clare and she is in the process of buying her very first place - a flat near Sainsburys on the Tewksbury Road. I'm really pleased for her as she has been wanting a place of her own for so long but never seemed to be flush enough to cobble a deposit together.

Last weekend we went up to Loughborough for Graham's steam train dinner. The railway itself was a little disappointing in the day as you couldn't get off and do anything at the stations and the scenery wasn't very impressive (apart from at the reservoir), but the evening was fantastic and very romantic. We had a 5-course meal with wine and port and it was all lovely. The staff were great (and so young and sweet that I kept wanting to pat them on the head and tell them not to worry so)  and I even won a bottle of wine when my comment card was drawn out of a hat.

We also went to Hereford to see Graham's mum who had just run (or rather power walked) the Race for Life in such a good time that we only got there when she had finished. Had a nice day with them catching up as we hadn't seen them for quite some time.

I think that about covers it. I am feeling exhausted at the moment and am looking forward to a lie-in or two over the weekend. I was thinking about going to Cheltenham for the weekend but I think I will just stay home and rest and get my energy back for next week and our trip up north next weekend. That is unless Alex calls me and wants me to head down that way. As far as I know he got back from Thailand on Monday and is staying with his mum in Winchcombe, but I haven't heard from him yet.

 

I've got a new blog

 
 http://blah3blog.blogspot.com

This is in recognition of the fact that this blog has become far too diary-like and much less random musings.

Hopefully I will find time to update this blog soon, but not at the moment because I need to do some work after spending far too much time experimenting with colour and stuff on the other blog. And now I've found that I

can do exactly the same on this one!

Hurrah!

We received our AOR today! Brilliant!

I was expecting it to take 12 weeks, but it was only 8 so I'm even more chuffed. Either the High Commission have taken on some new workers over the summer or the backlog is moving along a bit for some other reason. The back of the card says that we now might not be contacted by them for 18 months, but I don't mind now that we are officially in the system and we know that they are processing our application.

They started processing it on 7th July - which just happened to be the third anniversary of the day that Graham and I first met. Ahhhhhh! Good omen? Let's hope so.

More personality tests

My results:

Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results Warmth |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Intellect ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Emotional Stability |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 82% Aggressiveness ||||||||||||||| 42% Liveliness |||||||||||| 38% Dutifulness |||||||||||||||||| 54% Social Assertiveness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Sensitivity ||||||||||||||| 50% Paranoia ||||||||||||||| 42% Abstractness ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Introversion |||||| 14% Anxiety |||||||||||||||||| 58% Openmindedness ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Independence ||||||||||||||| 50% Perfectionism ||||||||| 30% Tension ||||||||| 22%

Take Free 16pf based Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

I'm an idealist inspiration!

I have just taken the Myers-Briggs personality test and found out that my personality type is ENFP. I have never read through a description of what I am supposed to be like and nodded so much. It has helped me affirm my identity, and to realise that I am not alone in the world (although I think there are only about 8% of similar people in the world).

This is me:
The Inspirer

As an ENFP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things in primarily via your intuition. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit in with your personal value system.

ENFPs are warm, enthusiastic people, typically very bright and full of potential. They live in the world of possibilities, and can become very passionate and excited about things. Their enthusiasm lends them the ability to inspire and motivate others, more so than we see in other types. They can talk their way in or out of anything. They love life, seeing it as a special gift, and strive to make the most out of it.

ENFPs have an unusually broad range of skills and talents. They are good at most things which interest them. Project-oriented, they may go through several different careers during their lifetime. To onlookers, the ENFP may seem directionless and without purpose, but ENFPs are actually quite consistent, in that they have a strong sense of values which they live with throughout their lives. Everything that they do must be in line with their values. An ENFP needs to feel that they are living their lives as their true Self, walking in step with what they believe is right. They see meaning in everything, and are on a continuous quest to adapt their lives and values to achieve inner peace. They're constantly aware and somewhat fearful of losing touch with themselves. Since emotional excitement is usually an important part of the ENFP's life, and because they are focused on keeping "centered", the ENFP is usually an intense individual, with highly evolved values.

An ENFP needs to focus on following through with their projects. This can be a problem area for some of these individuals. Unlike other Extraverted types, ENFPs need time alone to center themselves, and make sure they are moving in a direction which is in sync with their values. ENFPs who remain centered will usually be quite successful at their endeavors. Others may fall into the habit of dropping a project when they become excited about a new possibility, and thus they never achieve the great accomplishments which they are capable of achieving.

Most ENFPs have great people skills. They are genuinely warm and interested in people, and place great importance on their inter-personal relationships. ENFPs almost always have a strong need to be liked. Sometimes, especially at a younger age, an ENFP will tend to be "gushy" and insincere, and generally "overdo" in an effort to win acceptance. However, once an ENFP has learned to balance their need to be true to themselves with their need for acceptance, they excel at bringing out the best in others, and are typically well-liked. They have an exceptional ability to intuitively understand a person after a very short period of time, and use their intuition and flexibility to relate to others on their own level.

Because ENFPs live in the world of exciting possibilities, the details of everyday life are seen as trivial drudgery. They place no importance on detailed, maintenance-type tasks, and will frequently remain oblivous to these types of concerns. When they do have to perform these tasks, they do not enjoy themselves. This is a challenging area of life for most ENFPs, and can be frustrating for ENFP's family members.

An ENFP who has "gone wrong" may be quite manipulative - and very good it. The gift of gab which they are blessed with makes it naturally easy for them to get what they want. Most ENFPs will not abuse their abilities, because that would not jive with their value systems.

ENFPs sometimes make serious errors in judgment. They have an amazing ability to intuitively perceive the truth about a person or situation, but when they apply judgment to their perception, they may jump to the wrong conclusions.

ENFPs who have not learned to follow through may have a difficult time remaining happy in marital relationships. Always seeing the possibilities of what could be, they may become bored with what actually is. The strong sense of values will keep many ENFPs dedicated to their relationships. However, ENFPs like a little excitement in their lives, and are best matched with individuals who are comfortable with change and new experiences.

Having an ENFP parent can be a fun-filled experience, but may be stressful at times for children with strong Sensing or Judging tendancies. Such children may see the ENFP parent as inconsistent and difficult to understand, as the children are pulled along in the whirlwind life of the ENFP. Sometimes the ENFP will want to be their child's best friend, and at other times they will play the parental authoritarian. But ENFPs are always consistent in their value systems, which they will impress on their children above all else, along with a basic joy of living.

ENFPs are basically happy people. They may become unhappy when they are confined to strict schedules or mundane tasks. Consequently, ENFPs work best in situations where they have a lot of flexibility, and where they can work with people and ideas. Many go into business for themselves. They have the ability to be quite productive with little supervision, as long as they are excited about what they're doing.

Because they are so alert and sensitive, constantly scanning their environments, ENFPs often suffer from muscle tension. They have a strong need to be independent, and resist being controlled or labelled. They need to maintain control over themselves, but they do not believe in controlling others. Their dislike of dependence and suppression extends to others as well as to themselves.

ENFPs are charming, ingenuous, risk-taking, sensitive, people-oriented individuals with capabilities ranging across a broad spectrum. They have many gifts which they will use to fulfill themselves and those near them, if they are able to remain centered and master the ability of following through.

Jungian functional preference ordering for ENFP:


Dominant: Extraverted Intuition
Auxiliary: Introverted Feeling
Tertiary: Extraverted Thinking
Inferior: Introverted Sensing

I'm going to get Graham to take the test so that I can understand more where he is coming from. It could improve our relationship so much.

I strongly recommend anyone to take the free test and then read up on the personality type in depth (including suitable careers, how we deal with relationships and the best plan of action to make the most of life as a particular personality type) here

Canada Day

It's Canada Day today so I have been humming their national anthem to myself and thinking of ice hockey and maple syrup and cougars.

I'm kinda busting out of my shirt today - it was fine before I left home but during the day I have popped a button or two at various times. I went out for lunch with Ed at Yiamass and so am feeling stuffed and the buttons are popping on a more regular basis! I had the seafood spaghetti which had around 100 mussels in it, no word of a lie, a few small shrimp, a couple of tiger prawns and some squid. It was tasty and I managed to only get a little down my front, so I'm quite pleased.

Ed has got himself a teaching job in Crawley for a year so he will be staying in Brighton. He's just moved into a flat of his own after spending the year holed up in a student place, so I think he's enjoying having the place to himself. Couldn't believe how expensive it was though - and he's living in Hove, not the centre of Brighton. Hopefully get to visit him down there soon as I'd like to show Graham the place. It's another one on my list of places to live in this country if we stay.

Tim lost the tennis big stylee yesterday to the unseeded Croat who is tipped to be the next Pete Sampras. Still, embarassing to go out in straight sets when everyone is expecting you to win. Holland lost the footie, so Portugal are in the final, can only hope now that Czech Republic beat Greece tonight to keep my dreams of winning the bet alive.