Another day older and deeper in debt...

Posted on Saturday 30 June 2007 at 05:19 - Post Comment

... I said St Peter don't ya call me cos I can't go - I owe my soul to the company store.  Absolutely no reason for the song lyrics, but it's more interesting than maybe 'another week over' or whatever.  They are actually song lyrics from a track I used to have on a country and western cassette tape (remember them?!  Casette tapes, not country and western ).   Don't ask me why - I was about 8 and my Grandad had bought it in a record store sale.  It had some wicked songs on it though like 'The Auctioneer', 'Crystal Chandaliers', 'The Runaway Train' and the one I quoted called 'Sixteen Tons' or something like that.  I always thought that the guy should have got a JCB to do the work for him, but as I said - I was 8.

So, what's new with us?  I would probably say 'not a lot' to anyone living here, but seeing as most of you reading this are inthe UK and prob want to actually know what goes on I shall go into a bit more detail.

Following our massive (!) lottery win I took the dosh to the bank and really did pay it off the credit card.  I've been labelled 'a boring old bastard' by my work colleagues (funnilly enough, this was AFTER I'd bought a load of doughnuts as a little pressie) but with ridiculous interest on CC's here I'd rather sort that out sooner rather than later.  No 0% balance transfers here - there's just not the competition between banks - plus you have to pay fees on all cards.  Bunch of rip-off banking arse if you ask me.

Anyway, as a little nod of the head to our fortune we went out for dinner and a film on Wednesday which was a great bit of time together for us both.  Nothing flashy, it was just good to get out of the house for the evening.  Oh - and talking of getting out of the house when we cycled to the Home Show last Sunday I took a couple of pics showing the snow covered mountains in the background.  Difficult to make out in the pic with T in, but they really are there and on clear days I can see them from my office window.  See the close up of pic 2.  Makes me smile every time.

OK, so it ain't the Rockies, but the only way you could show me snow capped monutains in Southend was if they were are on a post-card from Les Deux Alpes.

Toni has had another good week of supply, with 3.5 days in total and 1 day booked for the first week of the new term.  The kids have broken up for 2 weeks now and so T's got a bit of time away from it all now which'll be good.  Select Appointments have got her name on their books so I'm sure she'll pick up the odd day of office work as and when it crops up which'll help on the $$$'s front.  Talking of which, we seem to finally be getting ourselves into a state of financial tidyness thanks to all T's efforts so this is allowing us a bit more freedom to enjoy ChCh city and the surrounds.  It could get even better soon, as T will be applying for a 4 month contract at the school she has been temping on and off at for the past 2 weeks.  The signs are good that they are interested in her application - even to the point of the deputy head confirming that she had picked up an application pack and must contact them if she had any questions about how to fill it in etc.  As ever with all this we are not getting too excited but it is certainly a spirit-lifter.

My work has been going well, and I am starting to see the fruits of earlier labours.  I just need to keep up with all my sales calls and the like so that when a great candidate comes across my desk I have a network of places to introduce them.  It's turning out to be a lot of fun, with a really great vibe in the office when we are all trying to get interviews for good candidates.

Oscar the cat is still lovely, and growing all the time.  Here he right now as I type this:

He's growing like crazy and is now a nearly a proper cat, as he is just about through his kitten period.  He is still super playful though, and it's not unusual for us to woken up by him having a good old claw at our feet under the duvet.  Despite this, we love him.  The silly bugger managed to get stuck in next door's garden today, and it took us a while to find him.  As soon as we opened the gate he ran all the way to his food bowl in the flat - knowing exactly what was the most important thing.  Yup - food in his belly.  Must take after me!

Last night was a good one, as Toni had got some tickets to see Scared Scriptless, a comedy improvisation show that's on every Friday night at the Arts Centre.  From talking to others we'd heard it was not that great, but decided to give it a crack and see what we thought of it.  We went with Chanelle and Brett, and had a brilliant time!  Before the show we went to the Vic & Whale restaurant on Colombo Street for a feed, and had the best steak yet.  It was absolutley gorgeous, and I highly reccommend the place.  It also set us up nicely for a long sit-down, as we were all pretty stuffed from the grub and what better place to do it than a theatre.  If the show was rubbish we could just have a snooze instead - a win/ win situation if ever I saw one.

However, sleep was never on the agenda as from the very start the show was hilarious.  I haven't laughed that much in ages, and despite my first impressions on seeing the artists (imagine all the geeks, freaks and weirdo's you'd avoid at school) it was an absolute riot.  The players were put into the weirdest situations imaginable, and then had to act out all sorts of scenarios.  The funniest by far was a skit entitled 'The Last Walrus'.  Flippin' brilliant. 

Oh, and my suggestion for a story entitled 'The Snakes of Bromley' got me a free drink at the pub around the corner called the 'Dux De Lux'  - and seeing as they have their own micro-brewery there I reckon that beer will slip down a treat.

So, that brings us to today, Saturday.  A quiet morning after a busy week was just what we needed, and we have just now got back from a wander up and down Colombo Street to pick up this:

It's a brand new, hand made watch strap for my old Storm watch - designed and commissioned by my beautiful wife.  How nice is that - and I'm talking about both the gesture and the watch strap!  The guy who made it does all sorts of bespoke leather stuff, from belts to old-school flying helmets, watch straps to fetish gear.  You just sketch out what you want and leave the rest to him. I am well chuffed with it, and it has the added extra of smelling fantastic.  Double bubble!

I'll be sporting it tonight when we go to the local to watch the All Blacks vs Australia rugby match tonight.  Should be a big one as the friendly animosity between the 2 countries is really something to behold.  Both countries love their rugby, and neither can stand being beaten - come on you AB's!

Tomorrow should see us get out a bit more, especially if the weather is as warm as it is today.  There is a boat show at the Westpac centre this weekend so I may well push for a visit to that as it has loads of fishing exhibitors and the like.  Should be good!