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Aha Melt

Had a top weekend, feel all nice and warm and relaxed and ready to face the week.

Friday Went to a dinner dance with Rachel and her parents at Manchester Golf club,which was jolly nice. It was in aid of Rachel’s church’s roof fund. I didn’t do any dancing (it was a cheesey pop disco with a man with a laptop attached to the pa), but the four course meal was really nice and exceeded my expectations 🙂 It was also nice to get out with Rach since we’ve not been out since my dad was up over Christmas.

Saturday Walked into Royton Town and did some shopping, visited the libary (picked up Superman Red Son, a illustrated history of Oldham, and bought for the princely sum of 20p The Creative Writers Guidebook ) and picked up my copy of Wild Talents (a gritty superhero rpg by Denis Detwiller and Greg Stolze, with world building chapter by Ken Hite) which had finally made it over from the States from the Post Office. Then spent the rest of the day chiling.

Sunday General tidying around the house, a fair dose of COD2, and work on my new RPG project. Rachel has set me a challenge. By the time she finishes work (March 31st) I am to have a pdf for sale on RPGNow + all my existing HQ stuff finished and printed off and placed in folders so that I have something physical to show after 5 years or so of wiffleing about. Also had a liquid lunch with Brian which was fun as well 🙂

mmm Brocolli is really crunchy

..which is something that I’ve never realised before. However as part of the War on Lard I am now under orders to CHEW MY FOOD PROPERLY, AND ENJOY EVERY MOUTHFUL putting down the fork in between instead of shoveling it down to get a mad serotonin rush.

*crunch, crunch, crunch*

In other news feeling much more balanced after yesterday were I didn’t know were I was coming or going. Which isn’t much fun if you need to have rational access to your brain since you work as a programmer…

Me “What the hell I am I working on now?”

Metoo “Hey lets write a function called PIG”

Me “But thats not in the design”

Metoo “Don’t care it will go OINK OINK!!”

Me “In fact where is the design? Where did I save it?”

Metoo “OINK OINK OINK I’m a little PIG”

Methree “Mmmn lets eat food..”

Metoo “call eat_Food (Stuffed belly, fat_bastard)

{

While Stomach (!empty){stomach ++ ;}

Return (Burp);

}”

Me “Dammit where is the design!!”

Methree “I was so hungry I ate it, with the user requirements as a side salad”

Metoo “P-I-G”

Father in Law Brian ripped out half the nursery yesterday. Rach is wisely at work today while he does the rest. I tell ya those fitted cupboards are doomed.

Long live the bookcases!!

The weekend just gone

Was a good one overall.

Friday tired from the long week, which saw yet another programming project end (whheee!), I had a quiet one in with a few beers.

Saturday started the final push on the middle and back bedrooms. Also re-watched Jet Li’s Hero (a damn fine classic) and Fearless for the first time which was also very good, even if it took tremendous historical liberities.

Sunday finished off clearing out the back bedroom (aka the nursury) so Father in Law can rip out fitted cupboards and sort out electrics today. Middle bed room now finally tidied, and ready for some fitted cupboard ripping out as well (hate fitted cupboards, must smash, replace with bookcases). Also the chaps came round for roleplaying. We finished off the quick game of Cyberpunk 2020, report to follow, and we’re having a break for two weeks due to various people being away. When we regroup in three weeks time looks like I’ve been talked into running HeroQuest based in Black Horse County. A game of heavily armoured knights riding demon black horses what is there not to like 😀

Happy leaving Leeds day!!!

Its now officially a year since I left Leeds, a place which I had called my home for nigh on 15 years since moving away from my parents to come to university.

And what fun I had for the first ten of those years 😀 In fact I know most of my friends list from that decade of young adulthood. However by the last five years the shine had gone, and the search for better residences had begun. It was a frustrating search because of the property boom we gradually got priced out of Leeds and the immeadiate surrounding areas. However the gameplan changed considerably after I got my job in Manchester when moving over ‘the wrong side of the Pennies’ to Oldham we’re my wife Rachel’s parents live made a lot more sense. Finally the death of Rachel’s grandmother sealed the deal as we moved into her old house.

To be honest I can’t say I’ve missed Leeds at all. I’ve missed the people, but moved about so much as a kid I’ve even got over that quickly. The thing that really shocks me about the whole affair is how quick the year has gone, and despite the big things that have happened personally in that year how it only feels like a couple of months ago.

Had a good weekend

Got the weekend I deserved not the weekend I expected.

Therefore there was surprise VISIT TO THE PUB (happy now

[info]dr_misrule

 ?!?!)  courtesy of the in-laws on Saturday lunch. Caught up with the latest episodes of Rome (season 2) and Battlestar Galatica (season 3) courtesy of ‘friends’ in America. Both are still must see TV but in a different vein than previous seasons. Rome shows higher production values, in the form of more lingering colourful camera shots, and characters that are rapidly developing because of the sudden death of Caesar at the end of the last season and its consequences. Battlestar Galatica is less about the big fast space battles (although those still happen) but more about the characters and their relationships, which have been at breaking point for a long time. Also more about what makes the Cylons tick has come out in the wash this season.

Sunday finally christened the dining room as the gaming room, as a couple of folk came round and we played a memorable game of Cyberpunk 2020, which is going to be a short mini-campaign while I get my prep finished for a slightly longer campaign lasting six months or so.

Rach is beginning to finally get better 😀 Downside is I seem to be finally falling foul of the what she had. My throat feels as if I have been gargling razor blades this morning . Ho hum.

Getting it on!

While Rach is still down with cold (which the nurse this morning said is a virus and will clear up in 2-3 weeks!!) I’m busy clearing up the middle bedroom, which is affectionally known as the office.  Stacks of papers, books, magazines are being reordered and dumped in the garage. The plan is then to rip out two fitted cupboards and replace them with bookcases.

In the process of finding homes for my HeroQuest writings that have been cluttering up my hardrive, some of which for upto two years. Its time to bring to a close that particular phase of my writing. This doesn’t preclude me bashing stuff out for the odd con book or contributing a small part to books, but the ‘big’ projects that I’ve been mulling over for 1-3 years need to be sown up tight and moved on from.

Started again on Monkey last night, by reviewing the list of Gods and Goddesses that are going into the Immortals section of the book to provide allies and opposistion to the players. Great fun, since Chinese Mythology at times is completly bonkers!

Work has calmed down greatly, as I’m working on one project rather than three at once!! I’m enjoying the calm and making moves to keep it that way 😀

Crash course in Brain surgury

Just had a cool but rather odd midweek break at Sherwood Forest Centre Parcs. I had fun and a welcome break, but had to temper it with Rach being ridden with snotty coughy cold, so we didn’t do as much as a couple as we had hoped. Despite this had a relaxing break which put allot of things into perspective.

Not going to move jobs, unless something too good to be true turns up, until way after Newtlet is born (which is around May 12th ). So we’re looking at sometime in October. In the meantime I will polish my skills, avoid the shit that is flying around at the moment (a new dollup turned up this morning), work out exactly what I want to do (more mussing about that later) and generally enjoy the last months now that I know there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

On the RPG front, I’m going to focus on finally getting my Monkey (as Magic/Journey to the West) game done (release date Oct 21st-22nd just in time for Furnace 2007) and D101 games up on its feet. All other writing is going to get quickly finished off (as in the next couple of weeks) and published mainly via the web.

The war against Lard starts now. I’m not going to go into this in great detail, but I need to actively start becoming a slimmer fitter Newt. I know how to do this, its just a matter of applying myself.

All this is due to me reprogramming my brain over the last couple of months, realising that certain old patterns of behavior (dating mainly from puberty) are doing me no favours at all and replacing them with more positive and effective measures.

UPDATE: I must remember to have fun and keep my sense of humour while doing all of the above.
{hee hee}

A snapshot of a lion bringing down a wilderbeast

Things carry on briskly here. We’re in full overdrive to sort out things before the the young newtlet arrives. I’m glad Rach’s inheritance money from her Grandma has just come in since we’ve been shopping for baby the last couple of weeks. OH MY THE MONEY THAT HAS BEEN SPENT!!!!

Rach is also preparing me for having NO TIME TO MYSELF, while I’m planing to maximise what little I have left.

Finally reached the end of my teather with my job at Manchester University, I’ve learnt as much as I can from it and there’s effectively a promotion freeze because of the Hiro process, which is a nationwide pay restructuring in Universities bringing Academics and Support staff on the same pay scale. This has been going on for at least the time I’ve been at Manchester, two and a bit years,  but  didn’t stop my old boss going from being the IT Team Leader to a Senior Lecturer, even though he doesn’t do any teaching ! Oh yes he knows what side its best to be on. So I’m gearing up to change jobs. Could be next month could be after the summer. But definatly by this time next year I will be in a better paid more satisfiying job. Which now I’ve definatly decided to do it makes work a bit weird. Hoo hum.

Off to Centre Parcs for a much needed holiday with Rach next week and the week next I fly down to Southamption (cos its cheaper and quicker than the train) to go to Conception a RPG con for five days.

So very busy, but some where I’ve found a overwhelming sense of ease and confidence. Hurrah!!!