Please, let things be easier tomorrow...

As I said in my last post, I want to do some easier jobs tomorrow. So intending to fill a few of the little holes that are in the kitchen wall. So my mam can then paper with lining paper. I want to get the last 3 sockets fitted back and browned in. My mam & dad fitted my basin in my bathroom today as well. This was another job that we thought would be easy but had to drill a new hole in the wall for the waste because the old one was too high. There was also loads of other problems :-(

While I'm browning in the last of the sockets I will fill in the pipework and wiring for the shower. Then Nigel can get on with the tiling in the bathroom. Oh my dad also fitted some new plasterboard in the wall to replace the one we destroyed to fit the bath in the other week.

We keep making stupid comments like that's the big jobs out of the way. Then something that you thought would be simple turns into a massive complicated job. So I'm saying nowt now ;-)

I need to do some clearing up tomorrow as well, there is stuff all over the place. I was thinking about asking Ian (my godfather) to bring the trailer up from the farm, co I could put all the rubble and crap out of the garden in. There is no point now though as I can't get out the front door until the cement is set. My neighbour offered to make me some drinks today, declined like but she seamed friendly enough. They have lived in the street for about 4 years and never spoke until now.

I need to keep on top of my finances as well tomorrow. The money just keeps disappearing on small stuff, that soon mounts up. Spent another £150 in the last couple of days on nothing really just bolts, sand, cement and stuff like that.

Nothing ever straight forward

Today me & nigel were fitting my front door after fairly easily fitting the back door last weekend. I should of known it wouldn't be that simple twice. We started just after 8 this morning, and removed the old door and frame. That's when we started to notice the problems!!

There was no lintel above the door to holdup the inside layer of bricks up, they were just floating and had been sort of held up by the wooden door frame. To the side of the door it was also bodged together, there were barely any bricks to fix a frame to. It had just been filled up with cement, even the bag from the cement had been stuffed into the wall to fill the void. We had to spend ages destroying a lot of the brickwork (or rather cement work). Then built it all back up, so we could then fit a lintel to support all the brickwork above. All of this took a very long time :-(

It also caused another headache. I couldn't fit the door in properly because we need the cement to go off. Which will probably take a couple of days. We have managed to fit the door in temporarily but not properly. It will be a couple of days before we can fix the door frame into the brickwork correctly. Hopefully that will be the easy part (gonna regret saying that). I'm knackered now mixing cement by hand all day and carrying lintels, door frames, bricks and stuff about.

Hopefully gonna do a few easier jobs tomorrow, I hope. Hopefully I will remember to take a few pictures as well.

tired

a strange thing has happened recently, i have actually been tired when
i've gone to bed and managed to go to sleep fairly quickly. normally i
would lay there for hours thinking about anything and everything.

physical tiredness is so much better than mental tiredness. haven't
gone to sleep like this since i was a temp at electrolux and was
putting cookers onto to trailers.

although now i think i wish i could be somewhere inbetween. don't
wanna go to sleep so easily like to think a bit more and always have
loads to do. anyway will stop complaining, for a few lines anyway.

i went out for tea tonight with a mate while i was working in the
darlington office. had a good time, although felt guilty when my mam
and dad were working in my house, oops.

talking of mates from work, i am sad to see Robert from the Peterlee
office is leaving. i have got on really well the last few months and
will be sad to see him leave. although pleased he is going to be doing
something he obviously loves doing. he is going to America to coach
football, only problem with that is they call it soccer.

hopefully there's now somewhere to stay over there, cheap holiday.
wish him all the best.

anyway thats enough of that shit, whats been happening in the Horner
building site that is my house. hang on just pausing to wiggle my leg
to the music (Lacuna - celebrate the summer). if only someone could
see me now, lol. right sorry im diverting again.

right the kitchen finally feels like its getting somewhere. there are
few little bits to patch up on the walls then can paper with lining
paper ready to paint. there are a few tiles to grout but hopefully
nigel will do those tomorrow after we have fitted the front door. i
got a new glazing unit fitted in my living room window today. nearly
finished plaster boarding the ceiling under my stairs where my server
and networking equipment is to be located.

i managed to electrocute myself the other night when filling around a
socket with browning. some fell in the socket so tried to flick it out
but ended up with 240 volts through me instead, oops.

erm what else, the toilet is in and working or i hope its working
because my niece and nephew used it tonight!

lots of little things, its getting there but my deadline of the end of
the month to move in is fast approaching. not gonna be anywhere near
finished but want i+t just say livable.

went to b&Q with val from work the other day on dinner to look for
some paint. i didn't come away with much and the couple of test pots i
got looked shit, sorry val they did. can't see how the hell blue goes
with my kitchen either. are you sure you're not colourblind val?

joking aside i do need some help with paint im useless at trying to
imagine what a room will look like. i have a mate coming over next
week to help me choose some paint. i like what she has done in her
house and know she has very similar taste to me. think val is too
adventurous for me, im on about paint val!

my arm is falling of typing all this on my phone, yes its from typing
nothing else. guess i should go to sleep have to be up early to fit my
front door.

Chatting

I was going to go to bed early tonight but ended up chatting to Val from work again on AIM (finally a mention). We have been chatting a fair bit recently, probably coz we are both sad and have nothing better to do (awww).

I've also been chatting to Jeremy who I used to work with at the Red Cross with a few years ago. Its about time we caught up we always have a good laugh when we go out, usually from something stupid one of us does. As long as he doesn't start dancing to Robbie in the middle of the pub in Crook again. I wont do some amazing Rave dancing in Durham either ;-)

I have been listening to loads of dance music again recently, used to listen to it for years until the last year but getting back into it. I would love to go clubbing again, but none of my mates would go (boring bastards). Fancy going to Tenerife again, not as in your face as Ibiza but would love to go there as well.


Well I better get my arse to bed hopefully I can get up for a run, if not I've decided I'm stopping at Brancepeth on my way home and running along the old railway line, then can't get stopped when I get in like tonight.

thinking and house

laid in bed thinking. i took today off from the house, other than
taking all tiles and grout out of my car. decided to leave the car
outside parents and carry the tiles the few doors to my house. didn't
seam too bad at first but by the time i had finished my arms felt
twice as long.

otherwise i just watched the newcastle match and some of the chelsea match.

i made a list tonight of the jobs to do in each room. most of the big
messy jobs are done. we are going to concentrate on the bathroom and
kitchen this week and finish them off. not sure how long the tiling
will take, with nigel doing it.

i want to be in at the end of the month no matter what. cant afford to
keep paying board at parents as well as my own bills. that is money i
could be spending on the house.

a friend from work text me yesterday to say they had been rushed into
hospital with his appendix and he had done something stupid and
checked out against doctors advice. think he was told to stop drinking
or was gonna kill himself. hope that is a wake up call but we will
see..

when you hear stuff like that it always makes me look at my own life
and helps me make decisions. you never know what is around the corner
so enjoy yourself while you can and do the things you have always
wanted to.

talking of things i want to do, i still haven't got off my arse and
been running yet. i need to, i am running my first race at the end of
May. thats about 9 weeks, shit that's not long. i have set 2 alarms
for 6:30 so i can get up and go running.

Getting Somewhere?

Today me and Nigel fitted a new UPVC back door, it didn't take as long as I expected. We were finished about dinner time. Only took us that long because we didn't really have a powerful enough drill. Ours was 550w and we struggled to drill the holes but got there eventually. It looks good and certainly makes a difference, there is no draft anymore :-)

This afternoon my mam & dad plumbed a new radiator in the bathroom while me and Nigel went shopping for some tiles. When we switched the heating on, none of them would work, oops. Eventually we found out that the header tank was empty and wasn't filling back up (the valve had stuck closed). We cleaned the header tank and the hotwater stop tap and finally got it all working. Well almost one of the radiators isn't working but that isn't anything to do with adding the new one in. They need balancing or something.

We also need to change the hotwater stop tap, when we took it off to check it we realised that even when open it hardly opens and there is a tiny hole for it to trickle through. This means there isn't very much pressure for the hotwater. My dad is going to change the tap on Monday (he is off walking tomorrow).

I filled up some of the holes we had chased into the walls for my network cables as well.

Not sure how much I will get done tomorrow because the Newcastle match is on at about 1. Hopefully go for a run in the morning if my knee and feet hold up.

I'm happy I have the new back door on and I got a few other little jobs done today, feels like finally I may be getting somewhere (where I'm not sure?).

House Update

I again haven't posted anything for a few days.

It seams like we have managed to get a few things done in the last couple of days, as always not everything goes to plan!!

Anyway I now have all network and power cables ran in the house (I hope). Most are fixed back, although a couple that still need the browning around the sockets/back plates. My dad has fitted all my internal doors. He had some hassle yesterday with the handles I bought. They were badly designed and couldn't be screwed in correctly, so swapped them today.

My brother-in-law was also up the house todsay with my dad while I was at work. He did some tiling in my kitchen where some tiles were missing and patched a few other parts up. He also planed some cupboard doors and put some filler in on one of my walls where it has some horrible would panelling. They also have my toilet more or less fitted in as well. The bathroom was put on hold while we sorted all the wiring.

The new UPVC doors turned up today, so Nigel and me are gonna fit them (or at least the kitchen) tomorrow. It was gonna cost £150 per door to fit, not paying that bugger. The house is gradually starting to look a lot better. We are getting the major jobs done.

Tomorrow my dad is going to get a small radiator for my bathroom and fit that, then hopefully finish the toilet and basin. Then we can sort the flooring, after that Nigel is going to do the tiling in the bathroom.

I feel like a spare part most of the time and seam to stand doing nothing which I don't like. I prefer to be doing something but my dad seams to want me to be his labourer even though he doesn't need any help with most things. I could be on doing something else. Don't really want to complain though as he is working all the hours of the day for me.

New Drive

I have just ordered a new Hard Drive (320GB) from Dabs to go in my server. I already have 6 or 7 in it but all are getting very full. I decided to buy a new one to store my movies on, or at least some of them.

I decided to make better use of my Xbox and store a lot of my DVDs on the server as XVIDs and will stream them to my TV using the XBOX. I do this now and again for TV programmes that I Have missed but will be excellent if I can sit at the TV scroll through all the movies I have (or some of them). View the plot, play time, rating, etc..
Then just press play rather than now having to look down my list, browse IMDB, check out ratings and stuff. Then try to find where the hell I have put the disc.

It may mean if I can persaude my parents to buy an XBOX they could stream any of my movies to their house as well, over the WI-Fi we will be fitting between the two houses.

Old work friends

Today I was called by Alison who I used to work with years ago at Directions in Bishop Auckland. I didn't actually get the call because I had my phone on silent, but she left an answer phone message. She wanted to know if I could fix her computer for her.

Haven't had the chance to ring her back yet. Hopefully will get a chance tomorrow but I don't really have the time to fix computers for anyone. Too busy trying to get things done in my house.

Alison got my number from Julie who I usually catch up with a couple of times a year, usually when her dads computer needs a tune up. Just emailed her asking how she is doing.

Wiring the house network

I spent 3 hours tonight working on the network in my house. I have fixed the face plates on in 4 rooms (8 ports) and wired them into the patch panel in my network cabinet under the stairs. Some of the time I was fitting the network switch and testing a few things.

Tomorrow night I will run 2 cables to the attic (for future expansion) and 2 more just through the wall into the living room. There is already one face plate in the living room but the other side of the room. Hopefully tomorrow night the network will be finished other than the wireless connection to my parents house but that needs the outside wall drilling both at my house and parents. Hopefully do that at the weekend.

The only problem I have at the moment is the fan in my network switch is VERY noisey. You can hear it throughout the house at the moment. I will see if I can change it, looks like it is replacable. If not I will get another switch off Ebay.

Once we have finished running the last network cables tomorrow night we should be able to put the floor boards back down. I will feel like we are getting somewhere then!!

Absent

I think this must be the longest I have gone without posting anything on here. As I've said enough times recently I'm busy working on my house. Not that I have done much during the week. My dad has been busy working away during the day for me (he must really want rid of me, lol).

Yesterday was the first day I really felt like I had done a lot and was knackered by the end. I was running network wires, changing sockets and chasing walls.

It seams things that should be small jobs ending up turning into big jobs. Yesterday we were wiring in some new sockets and found out the old ones hadn't been wired up correctly. Someone had broke the ring circuit, so spent a couple of hours trying to find out where the problem was.

Today I was fixing back the sockets and ended up having to chop out 2 sockets where the metal back boxes where damaged (couldn't screw the fronts back) and fit new back boxes.

I had hoped to have the sockets all fixed back and it all covered with browning today but haven't. My dad is gonna do it tomorrow.

Probably all sorts has happened but can't remember now, so going to bed

from bed

this is the first time in a while i have done a post using my phone from bed.

tomorrow night i am out in newcastle with some mates from work. im
staying at craigs house meeting at his having a drink in spennymoor
then getting the bus to durham having a drink there then the taxi to
newcastle.

hope its a decent night cant see me drinking very much anyway with it
being spread out in 3 places and only gonna be im newcastle for 4
hours.

getting dropped off and picked up by my mother at craigs was gonna was
gonna drive but dont wanna be over the limit in the morning. i am
gonna go and buy some doors first thing in the morning when i get
picked up. i mean wooden internal doors. thinking about it i haven't
had my quote for the other doors was supposed to have it yesterday or
today. will give them a ring tomorrow!

supposed to be out on saturday as well with mates but they haven't
said anything else :-(

Slow day

Today was another slow day, a lot of the work we have done in the house this week you can't really see. Like today we ran a new wire for the cooker but I guess its a job well done if you don't notice it. Although you can see it at the moment because its not boxed in yet.

My parents went to my uncles to pickup my cooker, tonight. so the first job tomorrow is connecting it up. Then we are going fit the bath, finally!!

iPod

I received a replacement iPod this morning from Apple. I gotta say the service was excellent. I can't believe how quick they were. The only delay was because I wasn't in the first 2 times UPS called to pickup my old one.

Today the UPS driver even called me to make sure I was in when he was 20 minutes away. Actually he was 5 minutes away in Crook having a cup of coffee but who cares I was well impressed when he called.

I was pissed at Apple before because my iPod had crashed quite a few times and they brought a new model out 2 weeks after I bought mine but they have sort of redeemed themselves with such good support :-)

Four Brothers

Four Brothers: I added this to my DVD Rental Queue a while ago before it was released and forgot about it until it turned up this morning.

Sometimes its best watching a movie when you don't know what its really about or have any expectations. That's what happened with this.

I quite enjoyed it, it was a bit slow at the beginning but soon picked up.

If you wanna watcha n action film with some sort of story this is worth watching. Mark Wahlberg seams to really aged, he looks in his 40s yet he's only 34. Christ can remember when he was Marky Mark!!

Oh, I gave this 7 out of 10.

The Net 2.0

The Net 2.0: Decided to watch this as I normally like a techno thriller. The story was OK but the acting was crap and was like a not too good TV movie.

I was at least hoping there would be some decent gadgets or good surveillance stuff but about the only surveillance was a bald bloke with a big mustache.

Could of been so good but wasn't. I gave it 5 at IMDB.

iPod on its way back

I've been keeping an eye on my iPods status at Apple's site. Today a replacement has been sent out to me using UPS so hopefully I will receive the new one.

The only problem is I wont be in to receive it, because I will be up the house doing work. They will only deliver to the address Apple gave them which is my parents house.

A network switch I bought off Ebay turned up today but I wan't in and it was taken back to the depot. I will have to drive down to Bishop again and pick it up tomorrow.

Today

I've been fairly busy today fitting the new shower. It's now in and working, although as I thought I'm disappointed because the water pressure is rubbish. I originally wanted a nice power shower but instead had to go with an electric one. This would be fine if the water pressure was good but it isn't. Anyway at least the shower is in.

I did just take some photos and have uploaded them to flickr, see the latest ones here.

You will see that the house is a total mess with stuff everywhere and everything ripped apart. There are descriptions on the pictures so no point me repeating myself!

Tomorows job is moving a junction box that some idiot has put under the bath right next to the bath waste pipe. I'm sure you know electricity and water don't mix well. Then from this junction box we will be running the new cooker cable, which will be fun and games getting it into the kitchen. I'm hoping this wont take all day, I want to get at least one part of the bathroom suite fitted. Will feel like I'm making progress then.

iPod Repair

I mentioned previously that my iPod broke and UPS came and picked it up yesterday. You can track its progress on the internet. It arrived @ Apple in Holland this morning and according to their website it says "Issue Identified" and "Product Replacement Pending". Hopefully they will ship me another tomorrow and I might get it back on Thursday. Would be nice if they sent me a nice new iPod Video seeing as the bastards brought it out 2 weeks after I bought my iPod Photo for the same price (bastards). I'm not that lucky, as long as I get a fully working iPod I will be happy at the moment.

Having said that my trusty Zen Micro has been doing a resonable job the last few days, although I can't upload all the songs I've listened to on it to Last.Fm :-(

Progress?

Doesn't seam like I'm exactly getting very far at the moment with the house. A lot of waiting around and driving to places to buy stuff but not a lot of actual work :-(

This morning I had a bloke service my gas fires and boiler, which are all working fine. Switched the heating on and that worked no problem. Was good to feel some warmth in the place. It's been freezing the last few days.

I went to Bishop and bought some plumbing stuff (copper pipe & fittings), electrical items (wire, breakers) and once again swapped my shower. This time all the parts appear to be there, just hope it works when it all gets fitted. Oh, I got a pole and mounts to fix the WiFi antenna to the house.

This afternoon we cleared all the debris from the bathroom after pulling the old suite out last night. Then chased the wall using my dads new toy he bought from ALDI last week (an Angle Grinder) it only took a few minutes to chase the wall, normally you would of been on for ages with a chisel, only cost him a total of £15 for the grinder and loads of discs.

While my dad was doing that IC Davison came out to measure up my doors and will drop a quote in tomorow for me. Hopefully it wont be too expensive and I can get them done quickly. Asked them for prices with and without fitting. If its too expensive I will fit them myself. Not paying loads of money when both my dad and Brother-in-law have fitted their own before!

We have made the pipe up that goes up the wall and into the back of the shower with all the fittings, it just needs connecting to the mains pipe now. So tomorrow we've gotta do that and run a new mains power cable, this is one serious shower pulling 10.5 kW, the cable is very thick and weighs a ton. I better not stand in the shower all day like I normally do or its gonna cost me a fortune in electricty.

My gas meter is being changed tomorrow morning between 8 and 1, getting rid of that stupid pre-pay meter and having a normal one fitted. Well I hope its tomorrow, the bloke said on the phone the 1st March but he also said "Thursday, 1st March" so I hope he got the date and not the day right. He did say the 1st more than once!

About 3 tomorrow afternoon I'm gonna have a look down the Auctions at Bishop (viewing day) to see if there is anything of any interest. It just says household items on the internet. Normally that means a load of junk, but you never know might be something of interest?

Wireless Signal Testing

While waiting for the boke to test the gas fires and boiler I tested the WiFi signal by pointing the antenna out the window and walking down to my parents garage with my laptop this is about the same distance as to my house.

I've copied 2 pictures to compare the signal strengths. The higher the green bars the better the signal. Between the Red lines shows the strength in the house and between the yellow lines shows the strength down the garage with the new antenna.

The second picture shows the strength comparing the standard Antenna and my new directional antenna. The green bars between the yellow lines is the directional and the red is the standard antenna.

You can see that the directional antenna strengthens the signal and this will be even stronger because I will have antennas on both houses rather than using the week one built into my laptop. The first picture also shows that the signal doesn't change to much when down the garage compared to the house.

mind buzzing again

I can't sleep my mind is buzzing too much with stuff I need to do and would like to do.

Decided to get up about 20 minutes ago and started testing one of the WiFi antennas I have received from Poland. The plan is to create a wireless link between my house and my parents. So we can share files and an internet connection. I noticed that my Access Point isn't as good as my dads. His is a newer model and seams to have a more stable connection, so I've ordered another one from Dabs. I was intending to get another anyway, although there aren't any in stock so might have to wait a while for it.

Started to think about other stuff and ended up looking at cheap IP cameras. These let you connect to them from anywhere on the network or internet and view the images. They were always expensive but you can get some cheap ones for just over £50. Don't look bad either, although a nice moterised one would be nicer ;-)

I better try to go to sleep, need to be up early in the morning.

Bloody showers

I have no luck with showers the replacement I got from Argos today now has a missing copper ring where you insert the pipe (no smutty comments). Durham doesn't have anymore in so will have to take it back to Bishop and hopefully the 3rd one from Argos will be OK.

I have a bloke coming out tomorrow to check my gas before I turn it all on and service the fires and stuff. My bathroom suite is being delivered as well and a guy is coming out to give me a quote for 2 new doors.

We removed the old bath, toilet and sink tonight. I got Nigel (brother-in-law) up to help carry the bath and he managed to smash the bath in half and we carried it down the stairs. He said if I need any help at all just let him know, asked if he was sure and said it got him out the house. Think he is pleased to get some time away from the kids to be honest. He is good at tiling so will set him on doing that once the bathroom suite is fitted.

I've been writing down a lot of the stuff I need to do, entering it into Outlook which then syncs it to my phone. I then get constant reminders when stuff is due and people are turning up (Me and technology) this certainly helps because I have a shite memory.

Better so far

Today has been a better day than the last few. I have been stuck in my parents house waiting for UPS to come and pickup my broken iPod but been busy. I have managed to order my Fridge Freezer from Appliance Deals with Free Delivery, I had to phone up because the website still isn't working. I still got the Free Delivery and it will be delivered next Monday.

My bathroom suite is being delivered tomorrow as well, so I can get on and fit that. When my dad comes back from buying some parts we will lift out the old bath, which is cast iron and very heavy. Just a shame its blue or it would of been OK.

I have someone coming out to give me a quote on 2 new doors tomorrow at 3pm from IC Davison.

I have also just taken back the second shower because of a missing part and got it replaced. I checked outside the shop that everything was there this time. Probably looked a bit strange sat in the car with a knife and screwdriver.

One thing I will have to mention to the neighbours is about the garden path. It's supposed to be shared between our houses but when you get towads the bottom of the garden next door have fenced over the path. So it looks like its their property but it isn't. I will leave this until I have actually moved in to the house before I start causing hassle.

Thinking Time

I've had a frustrating weekend. After finding out my second shower had a part missing. Then finding out Kelly who I used to see a year ago was about to split up with her partner or had split up. I though I've had enough of this weekend and decided to go for a drive up the dale in the dark to clear my head.

I was hoping the headaches were behind me now I have the keys and don't have to deal with the solicitors anymore but it appears they are only just beginning!

I mentioned Kelly is/has split up with her partner, this is a very complicated situation which isn't anything to do with me other than we are still good friends. When I was seeing her she was still with him (bad I know). She was gonna leave him when we were together but I told her to think about it and make sure that's what she wanted. Think I wanted the time as well, not long after that I guess I ended it. Its more difficult because she has a 3 year old son with him, if she stays with him she is nuts because she doesn't love him and only stays with because of their son. I say only but I think its wrong to stay with someone when you don't love them.

I guess I'm gonna have to be a good mate and help her out. Although don't have much time at the moment for obvious reasons.

That wasn't really why I went for a drive but did get me thinking about things. I can remember writing a few months ago saying that all any of us want is to be loved and to love someone. Maybe that's just me but I often think that's why people stay together because they are afraid of the unknown and scared of being alone. They stay together because its easier even though it makes both of them unhappy.

I can remember saying to my best mate that he falls in love easy (don't normally talk that openly with my mates at home), he agreed I was right. Maybe I'm the same or when I think about it I'm probably not because I push some people away without ever giving them a chance.

I think I sorted myself out by going for a drive and came back wondering what the hell I was twisting about. I have excellent family and friends and now own a house and own all sorts, I have no reason to complain only reasons to smile :-)

Yet I believe the happiest person is someone who has someone to share their life with...

On my way home I nearly ended up crashing into a Punto and 2 police cars maybe that had something to do with me realising how lucky I am (thank god for ABS). There had been an accident near Wolsingham and the police cars had stopped just around the corner and its a fast corner. They should of stopped before the corner so any approaching cars could see well before, that would involve them having a brain cell!

No luck with Showers

I have no luck with showers the one I got today from Argos has a part missing. Its the connector you are supposed to connect your mains cold water to, it should have a fitting in the shower but its missing. So gonna have to drive to Argos after UPS have been. Another waster of an hour, not gonna get anything done tomorrow :-(

House Progress Report

It was a long day yesterday and not a lot seamed to go right. I found out on Thursday thar the bath I wanted was too long to go into the position where the bath currently is in my house. The bath that is in there is smaller than normal (1680mm) most new baths are a standard size (1700mm). We came up with a way to get one in by knocking a plasterboard wall through behind the bath and rebuilding it but that wasn't gonna be simple. When we smashed some of the plasterboard out we realised it was gonna be even more complicated because of where the wooden lats were. Hopefully we have figured a way of fitting the bath in. I say we but I mean my dad!

I was intending to take some pictures again so you could see how we have smashed out some of the wall and stripped the paper from some of the rooms but forgot to take my camera with me. Will take some tomorrow.

I ordered my bathroom suite on Saturday, I had originally seen one in Trade Direct in Meadowfield for £199, cheap but actually look suprisingly good. I went o order it and the lass showed me some other in the showroom out the back. I decided I liked some better taps ao ended up paying another £80 extra for the taps. Unfortunately its not gonna be delivered until Tuesday at the earliest. I will ring tomorrow to make sure its gonna come Tuesday or its gonna hold me up.

I also bought a mixer shower on Saturday from B&Q for £129, it was supposed to be more than this but when I got to the till it came up cheaper so I wasn't gonna say anything. I also needed a pump but decided we would get this elsewhere cheaper. I started to lookup how to fit it all onthe internet and showed my dad. He realised that it wasn't gonna work with my water system because of the location of my tank in relation to the shower. Basically its because the drop from the tank to where the shower is would only be a couple of feet and this wasn't gonna be enough. If my shower was down stairs it would of worked. I think my dad was quite happy that it was't gonna work because it was gonna be a lot of work and a massive headache to fit.

I took the shower back today and got a refund, then went and bought an electric one from Argos. I'm not exactly happy, I always wanted a really powerful shower but instead I'm stuck with an electric one :-(

The picture to the left shows the shower I bought from Argos, which I guess for an electric shower looks OK but no where near as good as the original one I bought. Suppose it saved me some money with not having to buy a pump and will be easier to fit. This cost me £149.

I don't seam to of done very much in my house yet other than strip wallpaper.

I tried unsuccesfully to buy a Fridge Freezer all weekend, I think I mentioned I tried to buy one from Currys but it had gone up by £50. I went back on Saturday and was going to buy another I liked but they only had the display model left and it was scratched to hell. So again I walked away without one. I then started to searching the internet and found a Frost Free Bosch model that I could get from Appliance Deals for £264 with free delivery but I got all the way through the purchase process and when I tried to confirm everything I got a web site error, Bollocks!!

I tried several times and the same thing kept happening. I then tried on Boots Appliances web site which was slightly more expensive, when trying to purchase it I noticed the site looked very similar with the exact same layout and fields to fill out. I got exactly the same error again. The same people must run both web sites. I sent an email to Appliance Deals but there is no one there until tomorrow to answer my query. Will give them a ring tomorrow, the free delivery ended this weekend but not my fault the website is broke :-(

Tomorrow is going to be a frustrating day as well, I have to wait for UPS to turn up to give me a box to return my iPod to Apple in. They have already been out twice and this is the last time they will come out. So I'm gonna have to stay in my parents house until they come which is normally after 1pm. It means I'm wasting most of the day. My dad is gonna try and pull the bath out on his own and blank off some pipes, so that we can fit the new one on Tueday as long as they deliver it then.

To continue with the frustrations I found out that I will need to run another mains wire for my Cooker, the current wire was originally by the back door and was run around to the other side of the kitchen to where the cooker was located under the extractor. The previous owners just ran a wire around the kitchen in some crappy looking plastic trunking. Not only did it look rubbish but its also not very safe. So this means we are going to have to run a new cable from the fuse box at the other side of the house up throught the ceiling and under the floor boards above, then down into my dining room and through the wall into the kitchen where we will have to fit some skirting board to hide the cable behind. The kitchen is tiled and we dont want to damage the tiles.

Nothing is ever easy but I'd rather have things done properly than bodged together like it appears most people do. I seam to be taking several steps back at the moment but will get there in the end. All this work means its gonna be ages before I'm at a point where I could move in.

My mother is going to continue to pull paper off on a night after she has been at work and will help fill in the holes in the walls. She will then paper them with thick lining paper, the walls are no where near good enough to paint direct and don't really want to pay someone to re-plaster them all. I might have to skim some of them in a few places. Once that is done I will have to choose some colours and paint them. Will feel like I'm getting somwhere once this is done.

What is this?

Dining Room
Originally uploaded by stevenhorner.

What is this metal frame against the wall? It's a square tubular frame.

I would give a prize to the person who can tell me for certain.

Although the prize would be a pedestal drill that is under my stairs at the moment and you would have to collect it.

Some celebration

Tonight I got some fish & chips and a few cans and sat in and watched a film on my own. some celebration, guess I've got this to look forward to when I'm all moved in so may as well get used to it I suppose.

Having said that it was good to relax and enjoy my own company without any hassle from anyone and no one asking me questions :-)

The Man

The Man: I watched the this tonight, decided I wanted something where I din't have to think too much and hopefully there's be a few laughs.

I guess that's what I got, Eugene Levy is just funny to look at nevermind anything else. Although he wasn't particularly very funny in this. The story was just rubbish and I guess he didn't have much to work with.

You used to be able rely on Samuel L Jackson to be in good movies but these days he just does any movie that pays which is a shame.

Having said all that the movie isn't bad if you want a light hearted comedy action film, just don't expect your sides to hurt from laughing. I gave it 6 out of 10.

Got the Keys

I finally got the keys to my house at dinner time today. I obviously straight away went and had a look around my new house. I could hardly get through the door not just because the door is shit but because of the post behind it.

Started to realise that there is a lot I want to do. I think I must be a perfectionist never realised it now but I was looking arounfd and thinking I need this fixing at that. Then later on my sister and borther-in-law came over and they said it was OK and wasn't bad. Nothing major, think I jsut want everything to be perfect.

I ordered a bed yesterday, they turned up before I had the keys so had to put it in my parents house. Then carried it up with Nigel (brother-in-law).

I measured up to see how much room there was for a fridge freezer and then went to have a look at Currys. Unfortunately the one I wanted has gone up by £50 and they wouldn't budge on price. So didn't buy one, do like another which is cheaper so may buy that.

I called in at the bathroom place and measured the bath but I had forgot when in the house. So went back home and measured up. The bath is an inch bigger than the space the current one takes up. The airing cupboard with the water tank is straight behind the bath. Maybe able to alter it to save some space but not sure. My dad will better at telling me when he is back tomorrow night. Hope I can fit it in as it definitely needs changing the current one looks shite. See the pictures at the end of this post.

I've been a bit stuck today with the power not being turned on until tomorrow. All I know is they are turning up to reset the meters both Gas & Electric sometime tomorrow hope its ealier rather than later. While I'm waiting, I'm gonna strip the walls in the bathroom, the paper is already coming off them so hopefully this shouldn't be too hard. Famous last words I bet!!

I decided I might be a good idea to take some pictures of how the house looks now before I do anything. You can see all the pictures at my flickr site here. I've copied a few below.

See what I mean it's horrible and the wallpaper is already half off.

The main bedroom where I will sleep, it's quite large but can't tell in this picture. Purple not really my colour either.

This is the spare bedroom, can't see it very well. again paper has already started to be pulled off.

The kitchen which isn't bad!

View of the garden and beyond from the main bedroom. The garden is a jungle at the moment and looks like next door has stole some of the shared path at the bottom!!

Setting up utilties

Today I rang around to organise the Electricity, Gas, Water and Council Tax. I wasn't sure who I had to ring about the electricity and gas. So after a search on the internet I found a couple of numbers to ring which would tell me who the suppliers are for the house.

My supplier for electricity is nPower and the gas is British Gas. When you first get connected you have to stay with the current suppliers but can change afterwards. I managed to arrange for the electricity meter to be read on Friday, tried to get him there on Thursday but they said they needed a whole day and I don't get the keys until dinner time Thursday.

I tried to organise with British Gas but they said you can't do it until at least 48 hours before moving in. So could ring tomorrow at the earliest but will leave it until Wednesday and organise for him to come out on Friday as well.

The water and council tax were easier and took seconds if they have done it right!!

The only problem I have is that both the electricity and gas meters are pre-paid things where you have to get top-up cards like a pay as you go mobile phone. I don't like this and have asked to change them. The electric I'm stuck with for a couple of weeks but the gas I can supposesdly get changed when I ring up on Wednesday. Wil be getting them changed as soon as I can.

Hopefully I will either go and get some temporary seats (inflatable) or go to have a look at a bed tomorrow lunch time. Haven't decided which yet probably better looking for a bed first.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: I've been meaning to watch this for ages and just never got around to it. I enjoyed it, yet to see a Clint Eastwood film that I really don't like. I don't think there is another actor who has the presence he has.

This is excellent even if you're not into Westerns you will still most likely enjoy this. I didn't realise just how long this was on until I had been watching for nearly 2 hours. This was the extended Engligh version and was on for nearly 3 hours.

Definitely worth finding the time to watch. I gave it a 9 out of 10.

French Fry Spam Casserole Recipe

I just saw this Recipe and thought I might try that without the cheese, sounds like I might actually eat it. So decided to post it here for easy finding again :-)

Title: FRENCH FRY SPAM CASSEROLE
Categories: Main dish
Yield: 8 serving
1 pk Frozen french fry potatoes,
-thawed (20 oz)
2 c Shredded Cheddar cheese
2 c Sour cream
1 cn Condensed cream of chicken
-soup (10 3/4 oz)
1 cn SPAM Luncheon Meat, cubed
-(12 oz)
1/2 c Chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c Chopped green onion
1/2 c Finely crushed corn flakes

Heat oven to 350'F. In large bowl, combine potatoes, cheese, sour cream, and soup. Stir in SPAM, bell pepper, and green onion. Spoon into 13x9" baking dish. Sprinkle with crushed flakes. Bake 30-40 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Original link here.

Random thoughts i guess

I must be on a mission to beat my most posts in a day, this is my 8th so far.

I'm sat in bed in the dark with only the light from my laptop and the visualisation my Xbox is displaying on my TV. The Beastie Boys - Intergalactic has just started playing on the Last.FM radio station I'm listening to on the Xbox.

There's not much chance of me going to sleep because I didn't get out of bed until nearly 11 (I think it was). I know if I lie down my mind will start working overtime as usual. Maybe I should and then write what I'm thinking of, sure it will be more interesting than this post is at the moment.

I mentioned last weekend that I had drove one of Kelly's friends home who she was trying to set me up with. I was fairly blunt with her that I wasn't interested in going out with her. I felt really guilty afterwards as I'm not normally like that. I ended up texting and apologising earlier in the week. She was a bit pissed off at first, which is understandable. But she then text me the following day apologising for being so harsh and we have agreed to be friends. I need as many people to help me with my house as possible, only kidding just didn't like being a twat.

That brings back memories, being called a Twat, sorry for the language. When I first started talking to Lisa she had me stored in her phone as Twat. Not exactly sure why, think it may of been because I knocked her back a few times at first and said I wasn't interested. I should of stuck to my guns. Would of saved a lot of heartache and hassle. Talking of Lisa I heard a few weeks ago she is getting married. Good for her, hope she is actually happy for a change. She used to be very negative and depressive at times (well most of the time). Anyway would wish her all the best but have managed to avoid her since the middle of last year!

With the peace I will hopefully have the beginning of the week I should plan some stuff for the rest of the year. Would be a good idea to work out a training program to prepare me for the Great North Run and set some targets.

This post is turning into random thoughts which is how I think all the time, jumping from one subject then another.

I'm gonna try not be negative myself this year, at times its hard when things are going wrong around you. Yet what have I really got to complain about, my life is good. There are million of people out there a hell of a lot worse off than me. Will try to think about that the next time I'm complaining. That'll be tomorrow most likely!!

Well I think I've wrote about enough random shit for one post, roll on the next...

Peace

I should get some peace at home this week, my parents are going to Wales with some of my Uncle and Aunties. Llandudno I think there going to!

This should at least give me some quiet to sort my finances out and plan what I wanto to do when in my house. I think my dad is under the illusion that I'm not gonna move in for weeks. I dont mind waiting a couple of weeks while I do the major stuff but as soon as I can I want to move in.

There is no way I'm gonna be paying a mortgage and all the other household bills and not even live in the house. As long as I get the bathroom fitted and any major work done then I'm gonna move in. I better go order a bed, did see one I liked at Saturday but didn't get the chance to compare it else where because I couldn't leave the TV in the car unattended.

Anyway hopefully I should get some peace or I may invite a couple of mates over instead!

House & Work

I got a letter yesterday confirming that I have successfully exchanged contracts and that I needed to sort some stuff out to happen on Thursday. I have to get the gas & electric meters read so I can get them turned on.

I also have to contact the Council and the water board.

The only problem I have is that I might not be able to pickup the keys until after dinner according to the leter but I need to arrange for the meters to be read but not sure what time I can arrange for them to be there. Will ring the estate agent and see if they will let me pick the keys up on the morning, probably not :-(

I received another letter from Friends Provident for my mortgage protection. Not really sure I even want this, seams a waste of £18 a month to me. I will have a look and see if I can find cheaper, seams a waste of money to me. I have 30 days to cancel to get a full refund will check that I can cancel it at anytime as well.

I was going to be going to our Teesside office tomorrow because they have a problem with IT cover (there IT isn't really anything to do with us), they are having problems with a Finance server installation. I was happy to go until I found out that the lad who is supposed to be the same level as me is back from Holiday tomorrow. I thought it could be difficult me being brought in when he is there. Seams easier if my boss goes at least they can say they needed someone at a higher IT level to supervise. Rather than whatever the real reason may be ;-)

Maybe I should take Friday off as well as Thursday, seams daft coming back in for one day. Especially when I might have hassle trying to organise electricity and gas readings.

Not the best day

I don't seam to of had the best day today. Went for a run but couldn't run very far and felt my knee giving way. Before that had a problem with my oldest MP3 player. Then checked on the internet for the Fridge/Freezer I wanted and its gone up by £50 now there isn't a sale on.

Now I've got my iPod f*cked. I guess it could of been a lot worse but could of done without it at the moment!

iPod Broke

It appears my iPod is knackered. I tried several times to Restore it using the Updater software and I eventually got a message saying "Disk Write Failure". I reported this to Apple and they are gonna send me abox to send it to them. I carried on trying to fix it though and eventually it Restored it but its now only got 15.9GB available to use. Its supposed to be a 60GB model. So contacted Apple again to check if its OK to send it back with the same Repair ID and checked they aren't gonna charge me.

Will await there answer, could do without this at the moment got enough stuff going on without having to get my iPod fixed :-(

MP3 Player Nightmare

I have had a nightmare with my MP3 Players today, at the moment I'm trying to Restore my iPod back to factory default. I hadn't used it for a few days and when I switched it on. It came up with a picture of a folder and an exclamation mark, telling me to go to www.apple.com/support/ipod.

It appears somehow my iPod has become corrupt, tried to run the iPod Updater progrm but it froze. Then my iPod just came up with the Apple logo and nothing else. So I put it into disk mode and tried the Restore which looked like it was working. It told me to disconnect from the computer although it still said do not disconnect on the ipod. It seamed to reboot OK once plugged into mains power. Yet it then started coming up with the exclamation mark again. So I am trying to Restore it again, the iPod Update program takes ages initializing. Its been saying that for over 10 minutes but took ages last time.


I had a hassle this morning trying to get my old Muvo NX wokring properly. The music had disappeared from it and when I connected it to the computer it said there was only 70MB free yet it was empty.

I had to download some new firmwire and drivers for it to fix the problem and then reformatted it. It seams to be working OK now. I used it when I went for a run.

I then decided I would try my Creative Zen Micro which I hadn't turned on for months since getting my iPod. It wouldn't turn on at all because the battery was drained. I have it on charge at the moment. Hopefully there wont be anything wrong with this one?

Run

I went for a run today but I didn't really feel like it but felt I had to. Just marked the route shown above out and realised it's only 2.6 miles. I couldn't even run half of it, there's a few rew reasons, mainly I'm unfit but I was tired after the first half mile because it was so muddy so I was weaving in and out of bushes and puddles. After this my knee started to give way, so decided I better walk a bit. My knee had given me problems Monday & Tuesday after my run last Sunday.

I damaged the ligaments in my knee a few years ago but they have been fine until the last 6 months. I think its because I've done hardly any exercise until recently. Gonna do some strength training to build my knees up. Used to have very strong legs but doesn't seam like I have anymore :-(

When I was walking a lass who's a couple of years younger than me ran past and said hello, thought about using her as a pace setter but thought it might appear weird if I suddenly start running after her. She was probably too fit anyway.

I would hope that within 2 weeks I can run all this without any problems at all. I wasn't out of breath or aching when I was stopping it was just because I could feel my knee was gonna give way.

Hellboy

Hellboy: I've had this movie for ages and finally got around to watching it today after randomlypicking it. I don't mind most of the recent comics that have been turned into movies. This one is a lot darker than most with it involving hell.

I think the movie may of been a little too long and there were parts where it failed to hold my interest. So because of this I only gave it 6 out of 10, although having said that its still not a bad movie.

Free Bet Update

I forgot to post the other day that my free bet didn't win. It didn't pull up either for a change ;-)

Grattan Lodge actually ran quite well, but think Graham Lee got him to the front too soon. Although with no weight on it you would of thought Lodge would of gone better. Ended up finishing 4th which may as well of been last.

Doesn't matter as it wasn't my money, will have to wait until Cheltenham for my next bet but wont be doing any stupid ones. Then again might not even bother...

Chewy

I found a bizarre blog today. It's called Chewy and is a blog about Chewbacca, the really strange thing is it's written in whatever language Wookie speak in. Check it out.

End Game

End Game: I picked this completely at random and no idea what it was about as there was no description or even a rating on IMDB.

I got a bit of a shock at first, the film was about a rent boy and it was quite graphic (when you weren't expecting it). It's about a rent boy who is kept by a criminal and is used by him. I don't want to tell the whole story or it will spoil it.

This was suprisingly good, certainly wouldn't of picked it if I had known what it was about but just as well I didn't or would of missed a good film.

I gave it 8 out of 10.

Helping Laura

When I was in Tesco Laura rang me to see if I could help her fix a problem with her computer. I was stood at the till about to pay for my TV so said I'd ring her back. I eventually squeezed the TV and my parents into the car (my mother was pressed against the window). Then rang Laura, she was having problems setting up her new laptop on the internet. Couldn't really fix it over the phone in the car park.

So spoke to her when I got home and got her to check a few things but still no joy so decided to go over and fix it. It ended up being the extension PC World had sold her which was faulty but I managed to get it working. She had spent 20 mintes on the phone to the helpline costing her 50p a minute and they were useless and hadn't a clue.

She is gonna move to London once her divorce is through and she has sold her house. Probably change her mind next week. She was gonna move to South Shields 2 months ago and Wolsingham before that. Sorry if you read this but you have changed your mind 3 or 4 times in the last 3 months.

Anyway fixed the problem and Laura has offered to help me with my house, said she is good at cleaning (hmmm) but I guess I should take advantage of any offers. Makes a change getting help from friends rather than me always helping them out!!

Shopping

I went to order my couch today from Suite World in Gilesgate. When I looked a couple of weeks ago I found 2 that I really liked and couldn't decide between the 2. So I went back today and chose a model called Penelope. The other I was looking at was called Bristol. Here's the one I chose:
This looks different with it being in black, I have chosen a dark brown (412 brown). If it had been in this colour in the shop I don't think I would of chosen it. It is very comfortable and comfortable to lie on as well. I ordered a 3 seater and a 2 seater. It's gonna take 8 to 10 weeks to arrive. So not gonna have anything to sit on. Somebody just suggested an inflatable couch, this could be a good idea as they only cost £13 and will be more comfortable than a bean bag. Will look shit but it doesn't matter when its only for a short while.

I also bought a TV today, I only went for a cheap CRT Sony model (KV-28HX15U). I picked this up when in Tesco today after reading a review a week or so ago. It looks very basic but got a good review for a basic TV. I can't afford to spent a fortune on a TV at the moment so will make do with this until I can afford and LCD/Plasma and will move this to another room.

I will hook my Dolby Surround Hi-Fi I bought a few years ago with it. I originally bought my HI-Fi way back in 1998 after it was recommended by a Home Cinema magazine for its excellent surround sound. Granted it's only Dolby Pro-logic which is old now :-(

Either that or I could hook up my computer speakers to it which are full Dolby Digital with Subwoofer. They actually sound better than the Dolby Digital I recently heard in a friends house. There's would of cost several hundred pounds, although they actually had it set up wrong but didn't want to point that out!!!

Getting rid of Free Bet Token

I said last month I had given up betting except for special occassions. I just remembered I had a free bet token that I have to use before the end of the month or lose it. I would normally of backed a football match and laid it off on a betting exchange. Which guarantees that I would at least see some of that free £10 bet token in my pocket but I really haven't got the time of patience to search for a decent match.

So instead I have thrown it on a horse that in its younger days used to be OK and I think an ex used to ride it out. That was when it used to win. It hasn't won for about 2 years and constantly get pulled up but what the hell it isn't my money. If it was my money there is no way in hell I would throw it on GRATTAN LODGE but will see what happens.

So technically I'm not betting with my money and wont be doing anymore until Cheltenham and probably even then I will be too skint to do anything other than the biggest races (Gold Cup)

I wanted to put GRATTAN LODGE on each way but the free bet doesn't allow me to do each way bets. So unfortunately its on to win 4:00 @ Market Raason. So have a watch and see how soon it pulls up, shame I couldn't of used the free bet on that ;-)

You may be wondering why I'm putting it on this when I could probably easily pick a short priced horse that is likely to win. I'm going with my heart, used to have a soft spot for this horse a couple of years ago... not a good thing to have as you will keep betting on it when it's shit!!

Targets

I've said before that I get my star sign emailed to me each today for some reason but its always wrong. Today there was a part that was right "An offer made today or as a consequence of today's actions and decisions will have a profound impact on your life over the weeks to come."

I guess after about 40 readings it was about time they got one somewhere near, lol :-)

Half way through February and finally some things are starting to take shape in my life. I've set myself a challenge of running the Great North Run and bought a house. I think I should have a look at my targets for the year and see how I can get on with a few more...

These were the targets I already set my self
House <--Nearly complete
Work
Love Life <-- Doesn't exist and can't plan this
Holiday <-- Still trying to save some money each month towards this
Fitness <-- Doing the Great North Run
Read
Drinking <-- Never been out to drink, so am cutting back
Friends <-- Haven't seen any of my mates but will contact after house completion
Finances
Learn

I guess I have made a start on them, no doubt I will not do some. Although they all look achievable except Love Life. I will add some more to them over the next year as priorities change in my life. Life is suddenly looking a little rosier tonight :-)

Great North Run

I have just payed my entry fee for the Great North Run. So I'm now definitely in and no turning back now!

I've been asked to do a run on the 3rd of March in Durham with a couple of people at work but I'm not fit enough. Its only 5K which I could probably do, at least I would hope so by then. But I'm gonna be very busy doing my house and I'm supposed to be going to Newcastle the night before with a load of people from work. So there is no way I'm gonna be in a fit state to run after a night drinking!!

I better work out a plan for getting fit an set some realistic targets for running. It's no good doing it and having to walk most of it. I'm doing it so I'm gonna aim to run the lot, I have 7 1/2 months to get into shape.

House Contracts Exchanged

FINALLY I have exchanged contracts on MY house. I guess I can say MY house now because its legally binding now the contracts are exchanged. I had to keep hassling the solicitor and estate agent but looks like it payed off.

Not gonna write anymore here, I could be on all night again writing all the hassle I've had but the main thing is its nearing completion. I'm supposed to complete next Thursday 23rd February. I can then pick up the keys from the estate agent :-)

I cna now go out and order some stuff like my couch and a bed which could take a while to get. Especially the couch (10 weeks).

I certainly feel happier than I have although it still hasn't totally sank in yet. When I have the keys it will finally feel real :-)

Green Street

Green Street: I'd heard this was supposed to be OK but it was much better than expected. It was more than just people bashing each other up. Showed that the people involved have normal jobs and lives away from hooliganism.

There was a really good story and Elijah Wood played a good part. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Doesn't matter if you like football or not. It's more about rivals gangs and their desire to be respected

I gave it 8 out of 10.

More House Stuff...

My house is turning into a saga...

I have had loads of hassle trying to get my house purchase to go through. I found out yesterday that the paperwork my solicitors had been waiting for from the sellers solicitors had been sent on February 1st by DX post. Yet my solicitors said thay have never received it and the others are adament it had been sent. So they seamed to of spent most yesterday blaming each other.

What's worse is that they sent original documents like guarantees for the roof and planning permission approvals and so I found out today didn't take copies of them.

I then kept ringing today to speak to my solicitor or his assistant (Arik). I must of rang about 4 times stayed on hold for ages each time and then left messages. I was fuming by the time it got to 5 o'clock. On my way home Arik rang me but couldn't get a decent signal on my phone. He left me a message saying they had managed to get the answers they needed from the other solicitor and that he was going to contact the lender about completing and exchanging contracts by the end of the week. I have pushed for this and told them I am homeless at the end of the week, so it's urgent.

I told them weeks ago I needed it sorted by the 17th!!

I have constantly been hassling the estate agent about getting the window on the house fixed but the seller hasn't done it. I can see I am just gonna have to forget about the window. Whats £100 when your spending £74,000 on the house. I just want it finished and over with.

I am not happy with my solicitors and will complain when its finished, they are f*cking useless. I have still never spoke to my solicitor, maybe he doesn't exist?

Ong-Bak

Ong-Bak: I found this a few weeks ago when I was looking for new releases. So decided to rent it and give it a go.

It has some excellent fight scenes, the first 30 minute is a bit slow but after that it's nearly constant fighting. The martial arts is a little strange if you're used to seeing Karate films.

The whole films stunts are done by real actors, not with special effects, very similar to Jackie Chan films.

Oh, I better mention its foreign soundtrack with subtitles only. I gave it 7 out of 10 but better than Flightplan I just watched.

Flightplan

Flightplan: This is a resonable thriller, although there isn't masses of action. It's about a woman who insists her daughter has been kidnapped on a plane but no one believes her.

Jodie Foster does a fairly good job, she is suddely looking very old. Worth a watch if you want something to fill 90 minutes but nothing special.

I gave it 7 out 10, maybe slightly generous.

Busy day

I had a busy day today for a change. I went for a run over Staindrop, I was doing OK until I stopped (drank too much water). Then just couldn't get into a decent rythm again afterwards. I need someone to set a reasonable pace for me that I can comfortably run at. Once I stopped I was knacked tried to run too fast afterwards to catch up and just couldn't. The whole route was 4 miles but I only ran about half of it but I guess for a first run it could of been worse. If I had someone to run with on the last half I would of been OK.

After the run I went to Ikea and bought some stuff for my house, didn't get too much as I still haven't exchanged contracts yet. I also had a look in the Metro Centre. Saw some nice stuff but hesitant to buy too much yet.

I was a bit of a miserable bugger today for some reason :-(

Legends of the Fall

Legends of the Fall: I don't normally pick romantic dramas like this but rented it for a friend, so thought I would watch it. It was suprisingly good, more than just a soppy love story althought even that wasn't too bad. It also had some decent fighting and some excellent performances from the cast.

If you like Romantic dramas it's worth watching, probably more a womans film but I still enjoyed it anyway. I ended up giving it 8 out of 10 so must of been quite good although fairly long.

A year of blogging

I have now been blogging for a year, I knew it was February last year that I started but could of sworn it was the end of the month but I was wrong it was February 9th. So this blog was 1 year old last Thursday.

I should really look back at all my entries but I guess a lot has happened in the last year.

• Parachuting
• Trying to buy a house
• Met some good friends on the internet
• Been so low I didn't care about anything
• Ending/turning down 3 women (I can think of )

There are loads more but my mind has just gone blank. I guess the word for the last year should be "Friends". I have made some good friends both on the internet, work and got back in contact with some from school and previous jobs.

I will look back through my blog and see what else has happened and see what lessons I can learn from everything.

The only slightly annoying thing is that I now have to be very careful what I write. I had some hassle at work sort of connected to this blog, although I was cleared in the end as I hadn't done anything and the people who were supposedly warning me appear to be full of shit and spread the gossip in the first place. Heard them slag off several people since then (I wote a few expletives but decided to delete them). I was also asked not to write peoples names when connected to work which I guess is fair enough. Seams a bit daft as I could describe them to the point that everyone would know who I meaning but I will be good ;-)

In hindsight I should of told no one about this blog then I could of been as open and honest as I wanted. Oh well...

Strange

I had a strange night last night.

Can't remember if I wrote on here that an ex (Kelly) was trying to set me up with one of her mates. I wasn't interested but texts ended up going back between us. She wanted me to go out last night. I didn't want to go for a few reasons, being a miser and wasn't really interested as I already like someone else.

I kept getting loads of texts last night from both Kelly and her mate saying come out but I wouldn't. Eventually they asked me to pick them up from Bishop and I was wide awake so eventually gave in and went to pick them up.

This were things started going a bit wrong I guess, when I got there. There was 3 of them. Kelly, Trisha and her mate that wanted to meet me (gonna remain nameless). I thought I was picking up all of them but ended up just being the one. You can guess which one!

Normally I'm fairly shy when first meeting someone, not so bad these days but still tend to pretend I am even if I'm not. Anyway she got in the car and she was quite drunk but not too bad. She just kept staring at me, this is fairly uncomfortable. I tried to make conversation but not very well. I could tell straight away there was nothing between us (always been good at knowing if I'd get on with someone) but I still tried.

I asked where I was taking her she said we could have a drive around before taking her home. I though OK might as well have a talk. Then she said why don't I pull over, err right. I parked up and it was fairly uncomfortable as there was just no natural conversation and she just kept staring at me. She said she was checking me out (that kinda makes you even more uncomfortable).

Somehow we ended up kissing. I could hear a voice in my head saying what the hell are you doing, you don't fancy her. I think I led her on a bit without even meaning to. She said she needed the toilet so she directed me to her dads house. While she was in there I was so tempted just to drive off, but I didn't.

After that I drove a bit more, still trying to think of something to say but there was just nothing between us. A lot of that may of been my fault as I was thinking about someone else the whole time. I ended up pulling over again and we kissed again and I could tell things were gonna get worse unless I stopped it now. I was just thinking how I could stop it without hurting her feelings when my phone rang (Thank God!).

It was Kelly asking where I was and could I pick her and Trish up, they had stayed out. I said yes no problem and straight away drove to pick them up. I said on the way that they live right near me (which they do). So would be easier to drop my passenger off (name withheld) then carry on home with Trisha and Kelly. We had some trouble getting Kelly and Trisha in the car so decided to drop nameless off first then come back for the others. She asked if I was OK and was I pissed off. I said I OK, but really I was relieved. She knew there was something wrong I dropped her off and went back for Kelly.

Kelly and Trisha were a bit worse for wear, especially Kelly and I had to stop on the way home so she could get some fresh air. I was asked how it went and I told Kelly that I didn't fancy her mate. I didn't want to say too much while Trisha was in the car. I spoke to Kelly once Trisha got out for 2 minutes as they live a few doors from each other. I said that I didn't fancy her mate, I said I still did like her (Kelly). Not quite sure why I said that, I guess it is true but the whole truth would of been that I like someone else completely a hell of a lot more. Just I kept that part to myself.

I drove away after dropping them off thinking why the hell didn't I stay in the house like I was going to. But now I think it was a good idea because I totally know how I feel and am the clearest I can remember being for a long time. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, guess I've been confused without completely realising it!!!

The only problem I have is telling nameless that I want to leave things. She has texted me a few times today I ignored the 1st couple (bad I know). Although I didn't get up until dinner time so I did have an excuse. She knows there is something wrong and asked if she did anything wrong last night. Told her she didn't (which she didn't). I was honest and said that there just wasn't much conversation between us. She asked if I wanted to leave it, I haven't replied yet been trying to think how to say yes without hurting her. Never any good at ending things :-( (even though it had never started in the 1st place).

I better go and think what I'm gonna text her, even worse because she is a very good friend of Kelly's and I want to stay friends with Kelly. Anyway I'm off...

I owe both of them for ultimately helping me to sort my head out, been trying for months :-)

(There was no reason to keep her nameless but just decided I would)

Red Eye

Red Eye: I watched this last night and it was exactly what I expected. A decent Thriller where you don't have to think to hard. Not a bad way to while away 90 minutes.

I spent the whole film wondering what the hell I had seen the main lady in before. I have only just got around to looking. She is Rachel McAdams who was in the Wedding Crashers.

If you want a good thriller then you wont be cheated of your time by watching this. If you want something complex look elsewhere.

7 out of 10.

Follow your heart

Sometimes I think maybe I'm stupid but I believe I should follow my heart and see where it takes me..(unfortunately normally nowhere).

I could of gone on a date on Friday night but I turned it down. It would of been a blind date I guess but she did sound really nice. I have my reasons for saying no.

Don't know who said it but "Good things come to those who wait" just wonder how long I have to wait ;-)

Uh Oh, gonna have to get fit!!!!!!!!

I just got an email confirming I'm in the great north run. Holy shit that means I'm gonna have to train seriously and stick to it!!

I am useless and can't run very far, always been a sprinter not a distance runner. I wanted a challenge and something to aim for. I guess this is it.

BRING IT ON.............

Playing

I was late to bed last night because I was messing about with Last.Fm again. It has to be the best £1.50 a month I've spent. You don't have to pay for majority of stuff the site provides but to be able to create custom radio stations its worth the cheap price.

I was also trying out the beta site which lets you play with some of the features that are going to be available on the regular site soon. Like a shoutbox and better displaying of Tags.

Tonight I upgraded the version of Xbox Media Center (XBMC) that I was running on my Xbox and it supports playing Last.Fm radio stations. XBMC just keeps getting better and better. For anyone who doesn't know what it is. Here's a quick overview.

XBMC lets you play media like videos and music using your Xbox. There are other ways to do this with dedicated players but they are more expensive and can't play anywhere near the amount of formats. Download a video from the internet and its almost certain (99%) that you will be able to play it on XBMC. Doesn't matter if its XVID, DIVX, VOB, Quicktime whatever it will most likely play. The same with audio it doesn't matter if its MP3, OGG, WMA the only problem is it can't play DRM'd crap like from Napster :-(

Imagine being able to play any song or video you have on your computer or any internet radio station from the comfort of your armchair using a £99 Xbox and your TV.

I haven't sold this very well it has to be seen to appreciate how good it is. I've been using XBMC and it's predecessor since it first appeared god knows how many years ago (4?).

Off to play with Last.Fm Radio & my iTunes music playing through my Xbox...

Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven: This is a Ridley Scott movie but I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Gladiator. It was a mistake to cast Orlando Bloom in the lead role, just didn't fit with the story.

There is quite a lot of fighting once you get past the beginning. Like most films I've seen recently the first hour is very slow and the story seams a bit choppy early on.

The last hour is good, if you like this kind of film give it look. I gave it 7 out of 10.

Hopefully not long

Hopefully it wont be long until I exchange contracts. I rang the solicitors this morning to see if they got the paperwork I signed back. They hadn't but said their post diesn't turn up until dinner time. I got a call later in the day from my mortgage advisor to say that the solicitors had got all my paperwork back and were now waiting on the sellers solicitors to reply to some queries my solicitors had raised.

I 'm sure they were answered last Thursday but waiting on the letter to be sent to my solicitors. Although I think me requesting the window be fixed may delay it slightly as well.

Once the replies are received a more firm date for exchange of contracts can be made :-)

Getting closer...

Cool Money

Cool Money: Just finished watching this, it was just an average film. Seamed stupid though as if this happened like this they would be caught straight away but I think that was supposed to be the point. That people liked him so didn't say what he looked like.

The whole film was weird from the guy with the plastic nose disguise to the bloke with the dodgy dress sense.

I gave it 6 out of 10.

Window Shopping

Blogger was having some problems over the weekend, my post I wrote on Friday I've only just managed to publish :-(

In that post I said I wasn't looking forward to going shopping on Saturday but in the end I enjoyed it (bizarre). I went to the new Retail park at Gilesgate in Durham with my parents.

On the way there we called into a Bathroom place in Langley Moor and was suprised at how good the cheap bath suites actually looked. They had more expensive stuff as well but the basic one will do me.

Once at the Retail Park we went into B&Q first and looked at all sorts from showers to doors. Got a few ideas while in there.

Next it was on to Currys to look for a Fridge/Freezer there was loads in there but think I found the one I want.

I spent a while in Currys looking at LCD & Plasma TVs, not that I can afford one at the moment but will eventually get one after I have done the other stuff I need first. So that might be 2009.

Looked in PC World to have a laugh at how ridiculous their prices are, then eventually got to SCS. I fancied a leather couch but hadn't looked properly, I found a couple in there I liked but it was gonna cost about £695 for the 3 seater and £665 for the 2 seater which seamed quite expensive but probably would of payed it as I want to get a good couch. Not yet though until I have exchange contracts.

By the time we had looked around this lot and a couple of other shops it was about 3pm we left home at about 10. So the day had flown by. I started to drive home and remembered I had forgot to call in at Tesco. I had been sent out some free vouchers, so thought I would have a look and see if there wasn't anything I ccould get with them, so turned back.

As we were walking towards the entrance to Tesco I noticed a sign on a building saying leather suites. So decided to have a look in before going into Tesco. It was bigger than I thought from the outside and very reasonably priced. After trying every couch in the place. I found 2 that I really like, I still can't decide between them. They were the same price and made by the same company, they have pocket sprung seats like better beds. The best part is that for a 3 seater and 2 seater its £999 (I think it was). Several hundred pounds cheaper than SCS and I only found the place by chance. I will definitely be going back once I have exchanged contracts. I just have to decide between the 2 I like.

Some people may think I'm daft spending so much on 2 couchs when 1st moving in but there are a few items I'd rather spend my money on rather than buying cheap rubbish. They will last me years.

I started to add up some of the things I want and I reckon it will cost me about £1000 to do my Bathroom. The shower with pump will be about £300 alone more than the bathroom suite, bath panels £100, etc..

I ended up in Tesco eventually and they had a few things that I might go back for. They had a decent Sony 28" TV cheap, which I checked on when I got back and it got a good review for a budget model. I don't mind getting a cheaper TV for the moment, as I will move it to another room when I have the money for a better one. Although I may have to invest in an AV amplifier with Dolby Digital but we will see. I managed to use my vouchers on some Trousers for work and some socks. Wont spend decent money on clothes for work anymore, I always ruin them carrying computers.

I think that was about it for the shopping trip but I actually enjoyed it because I found some stuff I liked and will hopefully buy. Just wish I could of ordered it at the time!!

Oh, something else me and my dad looked at buying but on Ebay is a Yagi Wifi Antenna, so my house and my parents can still be on the same network and share files and an internet connection. This is what we will be buying probably tomorrow:

This thing will let you share a connection for about 2000 metres (over a mile), I was looking at a better one which let you share up to 5200 metres but it was 17db and you supposedly need a licence for something that strong and it was major overkill.

Think that's it for the window shopping, the next step will be ordering everything. I will ring the solicitors tomorrow to make sure they got my signed documents and get them moving!!!