Let’s do a london sunday walk on the day of the next one, you can come and to that and then we can dance and the ladle you onto the oxford tube (also our party is lacking in men, and in fact I would say it is about 2 to one men to women in there and even higher ratios on the dancefloor.)
Dude, he is Hugh Grant in combat boots. If I were not Officially Over Boys, I would be totally crushed out on him.
Problem is, I never remember the *names* of the dances I like! That over-and-under one is great! Everyone gets tied in knots.
I think the other one I really like is called Riverside—is that the one where the top two couples run down the room yelling “Charge!” and you have to duck before they take your heads off?
Plus, it’s got doe-si-doeing in it.
Over and under is Waves of Tory
Riverside is the decapitation dance, I’ve done that one with 120 people in a field
Canadian Lodge is the go fast bum bumping dance
Maybe I should ask my brother for a violin. That way he can get my dad to pick it (he will know what to look for in a fiddle) because I don’t trust my mum.
There were lots of men last night—just none of them would get on the dancefloor—they hung back behind us, looking at the girls.
x-post—Waves of Tory? Ah, so that’s why they were talking about Ireland!
Is Canadian Lodge the one that goes round in a big circle? I’ve yet to dance that one, I always end up deciding to sit out a round before it comes up.
I can’t imagine we’d have the energy to go dancing after a rolling London walk.
We could do a rolling sitting around in the pub all afternoon instead.
Or a Bethnal Green Rolling Pub Crawl.
I think I’d be scared by all this fold dancing. I remember being made to do “country dancing” at primary school, and it wasn’t a happy experience.
No, JB, it is MUCH FUN!!! Trust me on this, I wouldn’t do anything that wasn’t fun. Well, not twice at least.
they had real hay, too, not that rubbish fiberglass stuff.
Also, FP, please email the link to those pictures. (Though I will have to wait until after hours as I assume they are not exactly SFW.)
Like Norman, I’m not at my best today. I’ve sprung a rib cartilage, which is not nice. Actually it’s not totally sprung, but sort of torn. It hurt horribly yesterday, but is relatively OK today apart from certain movements.
We had a square dancing night on one of our school (overnight) trips in Junior High, I think, and it was this big thing that you had to ‘ask someone to the dance’—like to be your partner. I (apparently) had no realistic idea of my actual status, and so I asked a really hot (and popular) girl. She politely (bless her heart) declined. I ended up going with a friend.
xpost ow!
Ohmigod, Dr. C, that’s awful! How painful! I hope you don’t have to do anything strenuous for a few days. No guitar windmills for you.
Ugh, Gooblar, I think that’s the kind of thing that put me off formal dances for ages. That whole “you have to ask a partner” thing which is just rubbish. It’s far easier and less pressure to just have everyone turn up, whether they have a date or not, and have fun as they chose. (Which is what they did at my high school—I never had so much as a friend date in all three years there.)
Yeah, there was *such* pressure, actually. I think I actually took weeks to get up the courage to ask out K@ra F1tzg3rald, then looked her up in the phone book and called her up, prolly asked “will you go to the square dance with me?” in about .0000001 seconds. Her reply took only slightly longer to be voiced. I had probably never said a word to her before in my life.
Ah, the joys of buying a new car. Over Christmas.
I want to buy a violin. Question:
Should I start with a cheap violin while I’m re-learning the instrument, on the offchance that I get bored with it, in which case I’ve only really wasted £50/£60.
Or should I go for a better quality, prettier (I’m looking at lovely purple electric violins from Hobgoblin) violin which will tempt me to play more, and be more performance-ready when I get up to speed?
If you can afford the latter, go with it.
Mrs. Dr. C used to play a bit and sez you should never buy a cheap violin, as they can never sound good.
*Good* violins cost £1000 and up! I never even spent that on a guitar!
But there are some mid-range violins at about £250/£300. Electric ones (I’m pretty sure that I’d rather have one with a built-in pickup rather than fiddling (heh) about with installing mine own).
Yeah, I’d say mid-range too. Cheap violins are really shit—I should know, I played one for years!
I didn’t know you played violin!
Was this like a school orchestra thing, or proper playing?
I only ever played violin as part of a school orchestra when I was, like, 10. I liked it, but I kept trying to play my brother’s cello instead. (He’s tone deaf and couldn’t make head nor tail out of it.)
I was in the school orchestra, and also the Sussex County Youth Orchestra (second violin, baby!) until the age of 17 when someone finally told me I was a nerd.
You say that like there’s something wrong with being a nerd!
Hello! Look around you!
Damn them hecklers.
hello ile, just to let you know that for an indefinite period my mind will be solely filled with the sight of a mole fighting a jetpack warrior over a miniature toytown as japanese investors watch on horrified. arrested development has suddenly become the only sitcom that means anything to me...
Kate, I’ve been looking at the hobgoblin second hand list and I think you should buy a 12 foot tibetan horn.
Um.
I don’t think so.
Where on earth would I keep it?
Email sent, Kate.
I was first clarinet in the Grimsby and District Youth Orchestra, back in the day.
Also, it is £600. That’s a bit steep.
I got yer email, FP, I will look after hours.
I’ve kept meaning to learn violin, but my laziness astounds me sometimes. I too had the predicament Kate now finds herself in re price, but I’m not sure I want to spend £250 on something that I’m gonna give up after a month of making screeching noises.
I went into town to buy my suit for the xmas works party, and I’ve come out with a beautiful tuxedo for only £130! I now have to learn to tie a bow tie, which I’m sure can’t be as hard as I think it is.
I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives, to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth.
sorry.
I’m not going to our office Christmas party this year. I can’t really see the point, when I could (probably) go out and do something less boring intstead.
Are you talking about Canada again, Gooblar?
Can we have pictures of you in the Tux, JB? Please?
I dunno, I tend to take the view that if I spend a lot of money on something, I tend to use it more, in an attempt to get my moneys worth out of it.
I just wonder if it’s something that would be substantially cheaper in the US with their worthless monopoly money. And since I have relations coming over, soon...
Is this from a ‘modesty proposal’ essay? xpost
(God I realise that I sound like a horny old letch most of the time, with my “Pictures, please!” requests to the boys, but honestly... I’m just a *visual* person!)
How about some hairy brummies instead?
There was a very, very brief period of time when Ozzy was actually hott. But it didn’t last very long at all.
I don’t get perved over very often, so it’s really not something I mind! I’ll be sure to take some pics.
I know what you mean about the part FP, but cos it’s a big company they DO put on a good spread, AND we get a day off work to go up to Leicester and back again, AND they pay for the hotel. The whole thing may well be a little dull, but a few of us may just eat some happy pills and dance like monkeys, which will be funny enough.
It’s from Gulliver’s Travels (talking about the English) xxxxxpost.
I can barely imagine being drunk around my colleagues! Let alone pilled up!
I’ve refused point blank to go to any more Xmas parties around here.
This is what we get: http://www.the-christmas-company.co.uk/venues/leicester/leicester.htm
(The irony of Br1t1$h G@$ holding a Soviet themed party has not been lost on me)
Being in various states of gonewrongness around work people is great, if only cos it confuses them.
That’s almost exactly what we had for our Xmas do last year!
Ha ha ha ha ha, yeah, This looks like a good idea...
We did that one last year kate! It was alright—the bumper cars are the coolest.
Tissp, was it any good, or were you sorely disappointed?
The problem with all these kind of thigns is that they’re a bit enforced fun—you WILL have fun in THIS way, otherwise you’re just a party pooper. The trick is finding OTHER ways to have fun, of which there are many if you keep your eyes peeled.
We didn’t have any fun, enforced or otherwise. We had to sit through a million speeches by wankers bankers and all these awards being given out, for which nobody in our department was even in the running.
A paid-for trip from London to Leicester is probably more worthwhile than a half-paid-for trip from Grimsby to Scunthorpe. In fact, it’s at the Forest Pines Hotel—the place I originally nicked the name of—which would have been slightly confusing for me.
At least ours don’t have speeches, just the enforced fun and the whole: “you’re a bloke! You must therefore drink lots of beer, get drunk, and expect to *like* it when we try to drag you in to stupid party games” atmosphere.
The only high point was getting to see my (then) office crush in a tux.
Hrrmmmm, I wonder if any of the cute hipster boys from Brighton will be coming this year? That’s just about the only thing that would make me go.
God, I am *SO* shallow.
Frankly, it was AWESOME.
However, it was more that my company nicked the idea and did it themselves, then decked it out with entertainment and free booze and food—the key part was that there was no “enforced” fun, which probably made it much more bearable.
Argh, I don’t know if this is post-lunch slump or just being wound up by idiots, but grrrrr, I’m grumpy now.
People are cunts. That is all.
OH MY GOD
TWENTY FIVE FUCKING POUNDS TO GET TO LONDON AND BACK?
FUCK YOU FIRST CAPITAL CONNECT
I’ve just realised, it’s exactly 2 months until my birthday.
That’s a weekly travelcard for me! Shee-it.
OK, NOW I’M BOUNCINGLY HAPPY BECAUSE I FINALLY HEARD FROM DARA!!!!
She’s flying into town tomorrow night. Which means she’ll be in town for the gig on Wednesday. I’m going to kidnap her and make her come and sing New Order covers with us.
But now I don’t know what I’m doing, because I don’t know what they’re doing. If they go down to Minehead on Thursday, obviously I can’t go cause I have to work. But if they go down on Friday, I can throw a sickie and tag along. Oh dear lord... What Would Jesus Do? No, wait, What Would Iggy Do? :-D
Tissp—the megabus is your friend.
I’d have to get the megabus from Cambridge->Oxford->London for some bizarro reason
Am considering now leaving work early Thursday and coming down for a bit of StencFAP action depending on where people will be and at what time. I have to get the train from KX at 9pm.
Oops, wrong thread
They’re all the same thread.
FP, I just read the end of that story about the painter. I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. I assume that’s the point.
He wasn’t a painter, he was a carpenter!!! THat was the whole point!
I think the point is kind of feeling “Oh my god, I wasted *how much* time reading that for such a weak pun at the end?”
Exactly. Punched in the stomach.
There was a pun?
Do you know, that’s the 3rd or 4th time I’ve read that story, and I didn’t notice the pun until it was pointed out to me?
God, I’m a dummy. :-(
Also, where is Ed with my pictures of Dancing Boys, dammit!
check yr email.
plz to post here!
Aaaaah! I just posted it to your MySpace. Oh well, I can put both of them here:
All my life, I have wanted dancing boys. I think it was something to do with early Madonna videos. And you have made mine dreams come true!
(L to R: K8, PBW, Li$a, Gooblar, Yana, part of AMP’s arm)
Wicked.
Kate, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your dress, and I’m not a girlie girl “woo I love that dress” kind of person AT ALL.
Thanks, Ailsa!
(Actually, it is not a dress, but a lacy red and black top, over a raspberry coloured Indian skirt.)
I was being all neurotic the other night, thinking that I looked rub, but seeing these photos, I feel good again because the outfit does look lovely!
Good Morning Watercooler.
Why is it that whenever you think everything seems lovely, something happens to kick you down again?
I was thinking that overnight watching Sky Sports.
Does this mean B&S will be the runaway most listened to weekly artist on your Last FM?
Nah, I haven’t had it on much lately. There are better moping-songs than B&S anyway.
And, yes, the cricket too.
What’s your moping band(s) of choice?
I don’t so much have moping-bands as moping-songs.
The mopingest moping song is probably “Second Coming” by Sunhouse.
Oh, the cricket! It’s kinda comforting being rubbish at sport again. (let’s move away from cricket before k8 tells us off)
However, success with the bow-tie! I can now tie a bow-tie, and it only looks a LITTLE bit ragged. I tried to get my housemate to take some photo’s of me, but they all came out highlighting my double chin. I do, howvere, look pretty dapper—I’m one of these people that look like they SHOULD be in a suit, all the time.
Moping songs—cue Leonard Cohen.
JB, you are a man made for stripy shirts and spotty bow ties.
You know, I’ve never actually had any Leonard Cohen songs in my collection. And that is not an invitation for you to send me any.
(hah, “my collection”, makes me sound like I take it all seriously)
Ed, just the *thought* of that makes my eyes hurt at this time in the morning.
Spotty bow ties I’ve always thought of as a bit “wacky”—so not really a good look at all. On the other hand, our man Day there is packing a good look, so maybe I need to invest.
Ah yes, the single which everybody bought for the “B” side!
What was the B side?
A magic roundabout parody. BBC promptly banned it, so obviously, everyone went and bought it.
Morning watercoolerers!
I am ridiculously happy this morning, despite the miserable weather. I mean, I’m normally pretty cheerful anyway but I just feel ultra-smiley today, for no particular reason.
I had a very successful time last night buying Christmas presents online (including winning some brilliant yet completely silly items from ebay), and now I’m sitting here with a lovely cup of freshly-brewed coffee, munching a slice of buttery wholegrain toast, listening to the radio while the rain lashes down outside; I have just the right amount of work busy-ness, and feel all contented. I wish I could bottle this feeling and give it away to people.
xpost : the b side was The Magic Roundabout sketch! (“I wonder if Florence is a virgin?”)
I didn’t know Funky Moped was produced by Jeff Lynne! Learn something new etc.
I’ve currently stuck in an end of month figures nightmare. My queries are taking an age to run, and I KNOW my boss is gonna be mean to me when I tell him that OTHER PEOPLE are being tardy in giving me numbers. Sheesh.
However, just finished some coffee, so should feel better soon.
Morning CJ. So that ecstasy I slipped in your coffee is working, eh? ;)
I’m like an irritatingly bouncy Tigger at the best of times, so can you imagine how completely unbearable I’d be if I took mood-enhancing drugs as well?!?! It’d be like living with a hyperactive Pollyanna.
Johnney—can’t you avert your boss being mean to you by raising the issue proactively with him now? Tell him that despite your best efforts, people are being slow in giving you the information you need to be able to do your job, and you’d appreciate his managerial assistance. He’s the boss, he’s paid to sort problems out!
I’ve tried that. My boss is lovely, but when I’ve raised this issue in the past his response that it’s my job to manage them and put pressure on where necessary. I’m just a little uncomfortable putting pressure on people who are likely to sack me if I piss them off. Like when I have too much work on and I tell my boss not to keep giving me work, he responds that I need to “learn to manage my workload better.”
hello! i’m the biggest moron in the world! goodbye!
Oh emsk, no you’re not! You’re great!
(what have you done?)
Good morning!
JB, I feel your pain. I’m still in monthend myself. Though at least I’m not waiting for other people, because I’d have to KILL THEM if I were.
Other than that... well, I feel kinda weird. I’m having huge doubts about going to ATP. I know that I’m probably going to have PMT all weekend long and everything will piss me off. I’m exhausted and want nothing more than a weekend where I get to sleeeeeeep and do nothing. Plus, it’s the last free time I have to CLEAN UP my house before my mum arrives, and even though she says “don’t worry about cleaning, I just want to see YOU!!!” I still don’t want her to see my house in this state. Plus, I can’t take any more time off work...
But then I get emails from Dare where she’s just all “BLEEEEEEEE!!!” and that makes me feel 17 again and her saying “...and Rock Star X will be there, and maybe Rock Star Y...” which makes me laugh and laugh.
And the 17 year old in my is saying “GO! GO! GO! YOU WILL HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE!!!” and the grown up in me is saying “You have a mortgage and should be good and stay home.”
What do I doooooooo?!?!?
Go.
Go!
I am going to get no sleep. I am going to be PMT-ing. I am going to be surrounded by cnuts. (No, literally, there’s a Norwegian in the party.) If this isn’t a recipe for massive moodswings I don’t know what is.