The weekend has landed!

And it is delicious! After rather a busy week with work and what not, I'm winding down for a short next week as it's a few days of leave and a birthday on the way for me.

As my depression over the last few years has gotten in the way of many an xmas (and birthday), I am determined to enjoy this one come what may.

Linda has booked the time off and I'm on a promise in regards to a photoshoot (weather permitting, of course) and lots of other fun stuff that may involve a trip to London or The Peak District to get some R&R time.

An outdoor photoshoot may be on the cards with either this:



Or this theme:



Or it could be even more different?



Still, a day away from Birmingham is always a bonus. Even if photos aren't involved :)

Scifi Friday!

Catwoman, how I love thee!



It's tradition that when we hit NYC, Linda dresses as a certain Ms Kyle. One year she did state that she would do this in Grand Central Station or Times Square....albeit travelling there under a long coat and it would be a winter trip but it still sounds cool all the same.

Still, a nice thought for a rather uninspiring Friday morning :)

Xmas is approaching!

Linda wants this for Xmas

If you want to contribute to the latex catsuit fund, drop me a msg for my paypal addie :)

Places...

I cannot believe it is over 10 and a half years since our first visit to NYC.



Sunday will be a very sombre occasion but to me, Manhattan embodies everything that is vibrant, exciting and fun about this world.

Could'a, should'a, would've....

Today I was going to blog about how shoddy Travel West Midlands is.

I haven't because:

They are a waste of space.

Their customer "services" never put things right.

It is a waste of my time.

They are totally shit and steal £600 of my hard earned cash every year.

They have endangered my life twice in the past two years yet I have received no proper apology.


So, there you go. A non blog which says everything I needed to say.

Travel West Midlands, you bunch of bungling, poor value for money, ineffective morons who need a good kick up the backside.

Shame on you.

Now, here is a photo of my cat. She is much more clever than the collective "intelligence" of your customer service people and boneheaded drivers.

Scifi Friday! It's not easy being green....

Green skin is a popular trope in the SF universe, this photo references the lovely but deadly Pam Isley AKA Poison Ivy.



I guess I've always had a liking for ladies with green skin since Star Trek....

I'm certainly not green but probably a bit puce around the gills due to a nasty throat and ear infection which culminated in a fever and loss of hearing but now I've bounced back to the land of the living.

So, the weekend is here and what am I up to....not much. Linda is working tomorrow then it's her gym induction day on Sunday so I will be stuck in with a few choice DVDs, the cats and hot lemon drinks. Aren't you just envious? No? ;)

Love letter to New York

NYC, be safe.



Best city in the world. Trufax

Memories to keep.

Circa 1988.

I remember walking along Suffolk Street in mid October, a Saturday afternoon.

Looking up, towards Paradise forum I saw many birds, flying across each other over a bruised ochre sky. There were tinges of red, orange, yellow, blue and green across the horizon.

The birds danced across each other. Blurring each other's path, making a new pattern in their wake like iron filings being pulled by a magnetic force.

Crossing. Diving. Climbing.

It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen in my entire life. And it stopped me. It stopped me in my path.

And made me realise that the pull of the earth and its inhabitants are timeless. And eternal.

This was the closest thing to an awakening or a religious moment at that point in my life. I measured my breaths in moments. I measured my life experience in hours.

I haven't thought about that moment in 20 years.

Until tonight.

Saturdays!

I am partial to them but when Linda is at work (like today), they are never productive. A lie in, some lunch an a bit of Call of Duty: Black Ops on the PS3.

Very, very quiet. But pleasant.

Other than that I didn't get the chores I needed to complete (posting stuff), tidying up etc. It's almost home time for Linda and I'm sure she may give me this kind of look when she gets home.



Still, that may not be a bad thing ;)

Science Fiction Friday!

When I was doing my photo-a-day, Friday was always designated as a place where I would post something science fiction related.

Well, given the week's events I was going to post something dystopian but I thought why not put something up here that would at least brighten my day. Many different and more talented people have posted about the riots looting.



I wanted this to have a 60's vibe to it, akin to a publicity shot from a popular Irwin Allen TV series. Kudos to those who spot which show it is.

Places to escape to.

I adore the countryside. More than that I guess. I adore the "idea" of countryside and rural life. Due to circumstances beyond my control (thank you inconsiderate neighbours a few doors across) I had very little sleep. Approx 2 hours. Now, how does this connect to country living?

I'm a city mouse at heart. Love my shops, love the ease of it but I would trade it all for a life away from people, away from built up areas, shops and industry. I'm happy when I can see rolling hills, trees and deserted country lanes. We live in a suburb (15 minute drive from the countryside) but it is becoming ever full of people who are "buy to let wannabe landlords" which means.....noisy people living nearby who don't care about the needs of others (don't ask me about the people who lived 6 doors up who managed to fit 4 families into the same sized house as this and their pre-ocupation with traditional Eastern European musical instruments and authentic dance re-enactments).

Many of the things that interest me I can purchase on the internet or make the odd city trip here and there so logistically it isn't impossible. Work may be more difficult as I often deal with massive case files, field work or complex information that is not easily accessible so a change in employer would be on the cards. Linda is pretty much in the same boat but if we moved outside of Brum she wouldn't have any issues commuting (thank you BMW and Mini One!). Geographically, many of my close friends during the 90's have now moved on and I keep in touch with many of my US and European people via facebook, blogspot or live-journal, Again, not an issue.

So, yep. Country life for me.



One day we're going to sell up and get the hell away from Birmingham. Maybe 10 years. Maybe 15 but it will happen. I will rephrase that. It has to happen.

If I ruled the world...

I would eliminate Sunday nights.


And Tuesdays.


Along with fantasy football, the Euro and liver based foodstuffs.


Maybe some other stuff....but Sunday nights especially. *bleh*

Saturdays!

As a kid I used to love 'em. As an adult, less so as during my university years I had to work every weekend for a certain high street music chain (the one with the dog and gramophone). For the most part it was fun, other times it was less so. Think Christmas, it was like Apocalypse Now crossed with Dawn of the Dead. With less humour.

As I'm in my 40's and I have a much better job I don't work during the weekend now but I kind of miss the point of them. I can get ratted out of my head on Friday and Saturday nights and not worry about getting up for work. In fact, creatively this has been a bugger as I have no drive at present to produce or actually do anything. So it's like being a kid again. But with more money to blow on comic books.

Linda has to work the odd Saturday so that leaves me with the ultimate choice - books, video gaming or just napping to pass the time.



Today, I chose comics. And dreaming about 60' scifi movies ;)

Or maybe not....

After a bit of soul searching....I thought that it would be a shame to leave this behind and the number of posts I've posted here means that it has a bit of a readership and people (at least a few out there judging from stats) seem to like it.

But there are changes.

It's no longer a photo-a-day.

This will be a place where I will post when *I* feel like it.

So, I'm back. In a much more sustainable place.

I'm not sure what this will bring but I hope it will be fun....

Ave atque vale

Roughly translated, "Hail and Farewell".

It's been a good couple of years and thanks to everyone for supporting me.



I'm ending this blog on a positive note with a shot of Linda I had been saving for a special occasion and this blog would have been so less interesting without her. I'm keeping the site open but I will not be updating. There may different blogs (eventually) but this is it for Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Incidentally, this was named after a quote from Admiral Adama in the new incarnation of Battlestar Galactica. It's not particularly profound but it resonated with me. After living with depression for many years, I guess this became my mantra and still is to this day.

Anyhow, it's been a blast and thanks for viewing and all the support I've received. You all know who you are so give yourselves an extra pat on the back.

See you all in Valhalla.

Ave atque vale

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Blerg! Some days you win, other days you....




Over to you Buffy. You can say it much better than me.

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Came home to find Linda reclining in the garden!



She looked almost as demure as this! But not as glam after a day at work ;)

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Amazing weather today so we went for a drive.



I then realised I haven't shot a photo of Linda with her car. So, there you go!

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Went into the city today.



It never compares to Manhattan though. God, I miss that place!

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Justice League Unlimited - Season One (DC Comics Classic Collection)

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Scifi Friday!



In space, no one can hear you...ask when dinner is ready ;)

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Cats!



She wants my food!

Go away naughty cat ;)

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Spooky Wednesday!



woo!

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Bleh!

Grey and dank Tuesdays are the worst!



So, something colourful to distract you all.

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I'm not keen on Mondays so something to brighten my day!



Bonus, just returned home to find her vacuuming too!

Result!

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A certain someone (Ro) woke me up this morning!



Still, it's a good excuse to return back to bed with a book as the weather is a bit horrid.

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Scifi Saturday!



There's a scary alien lady in my attic ;)

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Scifi Friday!



Linda loves Chewie!

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This pic has been very popular of late! It was my homage to 1970's punk portraits.



I happen to like it, not my best but I like it.

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Wednesday!

I have a compliance/site visit tomorrow and an early finish on Friday!

Hoorah!

Linda still hasn't done the housework yet ;)



Maybe I should "punish" her by making her wear the maid's outfit ;p

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I've been housebound and told to stay in bed due to migraine and swollen gland thing.



Linda has been giving me stern looks which haven't helped me recover but made me laugh. She doesn't "do" stern that well in real life.

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A missing day.

Today was lost to a migraine, I shall be back tomorrow.

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Winter is not here...



...but I dream of it all the time.

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Bumped into the ever lovely Bunny Bissoux at the Brum zine fest!



She is as awesome as ever! I couldn't stick around too long as my fear of crowds has been terrible of late but it was lovely to say hi! :)

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Scifi Friday!

Linda channels the Black Widow.



Good stuff, have a great weekend everyone :)

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Linda has been a bit sassy of late!



I think I need to correct that! (only kidding!)

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Wednesday. Half way through the week.



I want beer! (Actually, I have some in the fridge but Linda isn't home as yet to share a cold frosty glass of Budweiser).


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Back at work. It was like I never left. Three weeks of rest out the window. Woosh.



Lots of window gazing but sadly Linda and the cats weren't there to keep me amused.

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So, today has consisted of more sleep (yay!) and a breakfast of Greek style yogurt with passion fruit. I am so rock and roll.

Still, who needs to exert oneself when one can be lazy to the extreme.

Anyhoo, I spy a cat who wants to be fed and is currently eyeing up the remains of my yogurt.



Jog on kitty!


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Sundays! I have mixed feelings about them. I still have one day's worth of leave before I return to work on Tuesday but I really don't want to spend it sleeping *again*

So tomorrow may be some macro shots using my light box and external lighting set or cooking something.



I'm not sure but hey, that is what vacation time is for...


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NY at dusk.



Still getting my GMT/jetlag legs back. Went into the city today and it was heaving with people. Not good. Nice to be back at home.

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Jeez, I didn't realise it was that time already. After sleeping for 16 hours (a double whammy combo of flu+ jetlag) I totally ignored the ping on my blackberry to tell me it's time to return.

Picture below, Linda NYC 2011.



So, a return to blogging.

I was kind of hoping the time would give me something to talk about but alas, profundity is not my middle name right now. OK, so a quick round up of events:

I'm still case working but doing some different stuff right now, working on conflict resolution and fraud detection. Challenging in a different way.

Been to NYC - I didn't shoot anything apart from some shots of Linda this time around. This doesn't mean I have hung up the camera, quite the opposite but I did need me time and some moments where I didn't need to think. I concentrated upon feeding my mind as opposed to feeding the lens.

My anti depressant regime - I had an instance of depression in November/December last year that saw my meds doubled. I went from 20mg to 40mg on my SSRI dosage. This had some good effects but some bad effects too. During June I have gone back down to 20mg (under direction from my physician) and I am starting to feel a little more like me again. Life is much more on an even keel and it has given me the space to think about life/what I am doing a little more logically. Essentially, I am functioning much better although it has made me think that over the past 25 or so years what "normal" actually is but that's another story.

In other words, I feel much more like what I "should" be.

So, I'm back and I hope this post was a good icebreaker.


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Gone Fishin'

So it's time for my annual hiatus.

See you all on 1st July 2011.

Laters!

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Overslept today so it's all be a bit rush here and rush there!



Unlike the cat who has probably been napping for most of it.

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One from the archives circa 1995.



I am feeling retro today.


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Day has been filled with "teh stupid" (you cannot believe how much it pained me to type that, but in this case it was true). Observation about human behaviour - repeating something in the negative will not change fact, no matter how hard you try.

So...here's a photo of my cat. A brain the size of a walnut yet...



...she is still more clever than a number of people that I work with.

*sarcastic sigh*

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Sunday! What is is good for?



Except cleaning and being bossed around by Linda? ;)


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Summer is approaching and that means sunsets.



I do need to get my arse in gear and do some photography. It's been way too long.


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Scifi Friday!



Dedicated to the lovely Ingrid ;)

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Spooky cat is.....



...still spooky!

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What summer is made from!



Slightly retro-ish.


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Crikey!

1200 images! Not sure what to say but thanks for watching. And to celebrate, what the hey. This one is dedicated to my muse ;)



Happy Tuesday everyone ;)


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Mondays! Bah.



Would rather be anywhere else right now! Here would do nicely :)


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I'm not sure what to do today?



I shall go see if I can go wake wifeup first?

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