I...TV
Wednesday, 13th September 2006, 8:12pmI’ve been working from home on various projects for the last couple of days. It’s amazing how much work I can do when I’m not having constant interruptions.
Last night I decided to go to the self-defense class and was promptly sent home by the teacher cos I didn’t have the £25 needed to sign up for the year. She wanted me to go home and come straight back with the money but I didn’t have the energy. I’d brought the £4 weekly fee with me, assuming that I could try a full class before deciding whether to commit, but she wouldn’t let me do that. My room was a mess anyway so I used the time to tidy up a bit.
While I was working today I watched Jamon, Jamon (Ham, Ham) on DVD. It’s a strange Spanish movie from the early 90s starring Penelope Cruz. The film featured a lot of sex and bull-fighting, culminating in a final fight between two guys – one of whom brandished a leg of pork as a weapon. I like how these foreign films have themes, like Amores Perros (Love’s a Bitch) had all the dog imagery.
I’ve started watching the Wedding Crashers this evening. It’s quite amusing so far, but I’d class it as a bog-standard date movie at the most.
While we’re on the subject of TV, I’m not yet convinced by Entourage, but I’ll give it another chance.
For those of you who might be interested, here’s my weekly TV schedule:
Monday: Huff
Tuesday: Lost (need to catch up on the last couple of weeks)
Thurs: Grey’s Anatomy
Fri: CSI, Las Vegas
Sat: Britain’s Next Top Model, The L Word
Sun: Entourage
Some other shows that I enjoy which are on hiatus:
Desperate Housewives (though the 2nd season sucked eggs)
Weeds (classic!)
Supernatural (perfect show – sex and ghosts, who could ask for more?!)
Nip/Tuck
Smallville
The OC (the last season was a bit non-eventful)
Criminal Minds
Shows whose demise I still mourn:
Buffy/Angel
Dead Like Me
Tru Calling
Charmed (though it was definitely time to end – I miss the days of Cole!)
Boston Legal
Shows that I keep on forgetting to watch:
The 4400
Battlestar Gallactica
Stargate:SG1
Shows that I’ll watch again and again:
Seinfeld
Frasier
CSI – Vegas or Miami (Horatio is a living god! That rich voice!)
One night a few months ago I caught a repeat of Melrose Place, that was a bitching show, literally. Heather Locklear doesn’t ever seem to age, I remember her in TJ Hooker (what kind of name is that for a cop show?) William Shatner, however, definitely looks his age, but he was great in Boston Legal not to mention the original Star Trek.
I’ve gotten used to certain channels, but sometimes I go trawling through the Sky menu and find all sorts of treasures (and total rubbish).
None of the above shows are British, though I do watch a few Brit shows from time to time. At one time I used to wish I was American. Now I’m more comfortable with my Britishness. America’s not perfect, but I do love New York!
Thinking about it, I’ve never been happy with myself, though I’m closer to self-acceptance than ever. I used to want to be white, I think that a lot of black girls have gone through that stage. I used to put powder on my face and prance around with a towel on my head. It’s really hard to accept yourself with all of the media telling you that you’re the wrong race, sex, size, etc. to get ahead. That’s why I think it’s important to find positive inspiration from those of a similar background/situation who have achieved success. I don’t just mean looking at celebrities either – though we don’t always see eye-to-eye, I feel that my mum is a real inspiration. Who inspires you?
Tags: tv, inspiration, self-acceptance, race, media
Guess who’s found a new job!!
Monday, 11th September 2006, 8:01pmThis morning was like almost any other Monday morning. I went in early to set up for the new girl, but silly me, I’d forgotten to bring my office key with me. Luckily I found the cleaner, who kindly let me in.
The new girl, Kay, seems nice. Switched on and helpful. Perhaps we have a winner here…
Alvin’s got a new haircut… all I’m gonna say is YMCA – short back and sides!
Ok, I’ve delayed the real action for long enough… at around 10am I got a call from the counselling centre to inform me that they wanted to offer me the job! Like a fool I asked for a few minutes to think about it, I was in shock. Then I ran around like a headless chicken telling the girls in Drama, Alvin and Kay. Then I told Linda.
She seemed to take it well, but I knew better. Her well-constructed plan was crumbling before her eyes. As soon as I left her office she called her best friend Pinky to ask her whether she could come back earlier from her maternity leave…
In the end I’ve decided to put myself first… As the new job is part-time I going to work at the university for 2 days a week until Xmas, which fits into Linda’s plans to work part-time in Education. As I’ll be acting up into her position, I’ll get more per hour. The new job is also more per hour than I’m getting currently. AND as the dungeon-masters owe me more than 100 hours of time-off-in-lieu plus a few weeks of annual leave, they will have to pay me back for that time too. I’ll have a fresh start in the New Year, with a nice bit of money to save for a rainy day. Looking good! (Though a part of me would have liked a clean break, but I’ve got to think of the big picture I guess.)
I need to cancel my Sky broadband. It’s so crap! It keeps on cutting out and slowing down. Definitely too good to be true, so I’m back to Blueyonder.
I think it might be time for a catchup session, for any new readers, and those who may just be baffled by my random ranting style. I’ll put something together for my next post. I’m also wondering whether I need a theme for my blog, or regular subjects for certain days of the week. Any ideas would be welcome.
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Saturday night rant
Saturday, 9th September 2006, 8:42pmIt’s Saturday night, and I’m sitting here watching Most Haunted on LivingTV. It’s so cheesy:
“Something touched my head!”
“What was that?”
“Are you there Mr Ghost? If you’re there please show yourself.”
I have an open mind when it comes to ghosts, etc. but how entertaining is it to watch people running around in the dark with a shaky camera? I haven’t seen the Blair Witch film, but I’d say that this is a poor relation to that production.
I’ve tried to tidy up my bedroom today in between naps and short trips to the shops, but it’s still a dank pit.
I’ve got loads of work to do – database and room booking stuff. I shouldn’t have to take work home, it really sucks. I need some support, but at the moment Alvin is a basket case and Linda is caught up with her opportunity to take over another department. I hope I get another job soon – I really need to move on from that black hole which is sucking all of my energy and joie de vivre.
I’m waiting for the L Word to start at 10pm, this season isn’t quite as good as the first one, but I hear that Marina is coming back in the next season, which should create some fireworks. The ladies on the show are all so gorgeous, but somehow come across as accessible too.
I haven’t blogged much this week; I’ve been quite busy and stressed for the past few days.
On Tuesday I went to a Self Defence taster class. It was pretty full-on, but I’d like to go back and try the full class. The teacher was really nice; encouraging, yet firm. The martial art is more about mental control and self-confidence to enable you to cope with physical and mental challenges – it could be just what I need right now.
On Wednesday I went all the way to Russell Sq in central London after work for a Birkbeck College open day, but I got the day wrong! I was so knackered when I finally got home.
On Thursday I had an interview for an admin job at a counselling centre. I think it went well, but I won’t know the result for a few days. That night I took loads of work home and spent about 4 hours overtime on student handbook crap. Did I say how much I hate my job?!! I’m so not looking forward to next week.
Last night I vegged out and pigged out on popcorn. Bliss.
Guilty Pleasures
Monday, 4th September 2006, 9:43pmI’ve just discovered that the Silhouette Bombshell action-romance books will not be published after January 2007. They have been a secret pleasure for me for about a year. They only publish 2 books a month in the UK within the Sensation imprint, but in the US it has been produced as a separate imprint.
I was thinking about writing a Bombshell novel about a dark, tormented heroine who kicks butt while avenging her parents’ murder…
Work was okay, though I was busy holding the fort as usual. Story of my life. I went to the gym at lunchtime – dragged Linda along to the spinning class. She enjoyed it but found it really hard. I did well, but I’ve been doing it for a while. It was still hard though. I need to lose weight but I can’t find the motivation right now. I won’t stop trying though.
Travels
Sunday, 3rd September 2006, 7:11pmI feel like I’m treading water.
It’s been another uneventful weekend. Went shopping in Makro yesterday, saw my old colleagues from 7 years ago still doing their time. I’m glad I got out of that place. Why do shops move merchandise around? I know it’s a marketing devise, but all it does is annoy their regular customers.
I really wanna see my Qoop photobook of the carnival. It arrived on Friday but no one was at home when the courier came to deliver it. Cotton darn it.
112 people so far have looked at my Flickr zone. I’m getting slightly addicted to Flickr – it’s a great resource – full of fantastic photography as well as normal snapshots. You can easily find inspiration there.
I really need to get going with the Photography course. I kinda wish that I wasn’t doing it. I enjoy going out and taking random pics without having to worry about aperture, shutter speed, etc. even though I know that they are important basics of photography. I’m going to carry on with the course though, I’m sick of giving things up.
