My first Flash Movie….staring Keef….

UPDATE: If embedding doesn’t seem to work a direct link.

“I would have enjoyed slobbing around the house watching TV in the front room, if it wasn’t for you pesky kids!”

Telling the Teenage kids who turned up at our door in their demon and scream masks

“You’re a day early, we’ve not got anything in!” and seeing them slink away into the night.

HA HA HA HA HA AHA AHA AHAHHAHAHAHAH

Well I’m now officially closer to Forty than Thirty.  Reaching he heady heights of 36 is weird, after grappling with myself to go back in time to my twenties, I suddenly find myself feeling ageless.

But enough ot such existential meanderings. Onto cold hard facts of why this was the best birthday weekend EVAR!!

Friday – The day of the Birthday itself – Off work chilling out with a very happy giggly Eve. Couple of beers in the evening (remember 3 is the new 5!)

Satuday – Relatively chilled day, combined with fast n furious house tidy in preparation of Dad turning up. Had a relaxed evening with Dad, Rach and Eve.

Sunday – Eve’s christening. A smallish event (30 odd people) made up of close friends and family. Big thanks to everyone who turned up, esp the Mad Man Ginger Matt who got up at 5 in the morning, drove all the way from South Wales, for the 10:30 service and then drove straight back after coffee at ours at about 4 in the afternoon!!!  After everyone went home opened big pile of christening presents and put helium balloons in new porch – which is now officially the Balloon Garden!!

This Saturday our little girl starts weening (that’s eating solid food to the unenlightened).

Rach is going to be blogging about the experience

www.veggie-baby.co.uk

My favourite bit from the FAQ section has to be;

“My husband Newt is the Veggie Daddy, he’s been a vegetarian since he started University and financial strife forced him to make a choice between beer and meat. Beer won. No contest really.”

I saw this and thought of you

So after I picked myself off the floor decided to do the meme that is doing the rounds at the moment

20 years ago (1987)
The thrash metal outsider years well underway. That summer I had moved from Loughbourough, were I had an overactive social life with a good gang of twenty or so metalheads and geeks (strangely enough the two overlapped), to Hexham op North, were the yoof’s idea of being cool was the farmer look (barber jacket, flat cap). Major interests RPGs and METAL! Not that I wasn’t open minded, its just that I had enough to interest me in these two areas. I figured Girls could wait until I was older. Spent a year not fitting in, getting nearly beat up by the roughs (but not because I could handle myself after people had bullied me earlier in my yoof) and being looked down upon by the in crowd. Six months after moving there my GP said I was heading towards a breakdown of some sort.

15 years (1991)
Predicted breakdown had happened, end of fresher’s week during my second year at Leeds University. This major life event saw me even more disconnected from reality, seeing blood flow down walls, regular mini-blackouts, and an emotional balance shot to hell. My chemistry course took a back seat to my social life with lots of RAWK and late night drinking. Had decided to that it was time to bother about Girls, and despite being a damage case managed to get together with my first girlfriend Karen.

10 years (1997)
The psychedelic 90s were in full swing for me during my post-student years. Finding it very hard to remember the details (for some strange reason). Think I was living with Da Boyz From the Groove at no 6 in Woodhouse, and had just finished going out with Petra the summer just gone. Also had just jacked in my first civil service job, working as Admin Assistant at the DLVA. Lots of Hendrix, RCHP, Fishbone, meditation, Taoism, Tai-chi, kung fu, beer and da Herb!  . Still a mess head wise, but a happy mess:D [user pic I’ve used for this post was from that time]

5 years ago (oct 2001)
Finally got my head together. Had left the Department of Health the year before and had just finished a Masters in Software Development with Merit that proved that I was no ones fool! Living with the Good Lady of Smethurst, later to be my wife Rachel, and our two cats Holly and Tiswas in the lovely but cramped 1 bedroom terrace in Beeston, Leeds.

1 year ago (oct 2006)
Now working at the University of Manchester, as Web developer for the School of Nursing and Midwifery, while Rach is working as a Midwife over at Halifax. Have just moved to Sunny Oldham and expecting our first child. Getting ready for the first Furnace.

Yesterday
Boring day at work, dragging knuckles as things grind down here. Came home to the bosom of my little family. Cats whinging for meaty treats, Eve being delightful as long as she was entertained, and Rach needing a break and rest from it all.

Today
Decided to be productive and motivated about work and it worked!!

Tomorrow.
More adventures in IT land + Driving lesion.

Everythings coming together nicely, games programme is filliing up with more games of Cthulhu, various indie games (Burning Wheel, Shadows of Yesterday, Conspiracy of Shadows, Cold City), Eternal Champion (Elric and Hawkmoon), HeroQuest (Serenity and Myrhic Russia) and Savage Worlds (SLA/Serenity/Pirates of the Spanish Main) than you can shake a stick at.

We’ve got a limit of 70 places, due to fire regulations, and only about ten places left earlier this week when our treasurer reported numbers. So if you want to come, book your place NOW!  I doubt there will be any left after the weekend.

See the Furnace website for more details including online registration.