iTunes and dreams – two completely different topics

Now that I have my iTunes on my beloved Mac and I use my Mac everyday, I normally play music through my iTunes while writing my blog or if I’m just playing around with it and the internet. Yesterday, I noticed the ‘Play count’ which counts how many times I have played a certain song. Maybe because I work for a consultancy firm I found the numbers for which songs I have played the most really interesting – almost like a top ten! So here is the top ten for most played songs on my iTunes starting with number one.

1. This is not a test – She & Him
2. Charge is hard – She & Him
3. Struck on repeat – Little Boots
4. Blood Bank – Bon Iver
5. Meddle – Little Boots
6. A-Punk – Vampire Weekend
7. Feeling Sorry – The Points
8. Gentleman’s Pact – Conor Oberst
9. My Delirium – Ladyhawke
10. Corina Corina – Conor Oberst

I might update this once a week to see how it changes – interesting to see what songs drop off the list after getting bored with them and which new music joins the list. Of course, the non-movers will be interesting.

The other topic on mind today is dreams. Last night I had two dreams that I can actually remember and both were about the same subject. Not a nightmare or one of those strange dreams where you are trying to run but can’t move but two quite nice dreams. I’m not going to write about my dreams on here as they involve some other people that I know but I can understand why I dreamt what I did. It just brought the issues to the front of my mind. Dreams can do that – brings the sub-conscious thoughts to the top of the agenda, once you have worked out what they were all about.  I’m not a dream expert nor do I have any reason to become an expert but it is interesting analysing my own dreams when I can actually remember them.

Review of the week

When thinking about this blog I realised that by writing it everyday that it is already a review of the week and in March it will be the review of the year. But I don’t mention everything in my blog – if I wrote it like a proper diary then it would be like this everyday: woke up at 5ish and finally got up at 6.45 and got ready for work, travelled on the train and then the tube, got breakfast of a egg and sun-dried tomato baguette from Pret and finally got to work at 9.30am.  Did my usual reading and checking of certain websites including my WordPress account while eating my breakfast and drinking my tea. Did my usual boring work in the morning and then went out to get sandwich for lunch. The afternoons are always much more exciting as my American colleagues are awake and I get to chat to them in the chatroom. Surprisingly, it does include some work and not just lots of chatting. Then I make my way home either reading or writing my blog on the train. At home is pretty much the same very night – dinner, wash up and then on the computer either blogging or just doing some thing on there. Might watch some decent TV like QI, anything funny or something with murder in it. Might listen to some music or read my book before going to bed.

I couldn’t write that everyday – it would make me go to sleep. If I was a spotty teenager and going through the teenage years then it might be more exciting but the wrong side of 35 is just boring. This week has been very busy though, lots to do at work and quite a lot of new things to learn like learning how images in websites work and how CSS works. One day I will get it but I’m lucky to have such a good work colleague/friend who is willing to help me and show me the right way. I’m learning about my company’s CRM system as well and that has been interesting as I will be covering maternity leave for a few months – I’ll sure won’t have nothing to do in the next few months, but that suits me just fine, as I hate not having anything to do.  I’m still gathering information for my trip to the US but it is proving expensive. I’m torn between just saying sod it and paying for everything on the credit card and worrying about it later or trying to save up some money and maybe do it next year. As some of you know I’m obsessed with Conor Oberst and he is touring again this summer and I’m waiting to see where he travels to because if he doesn’t come over here again then I’m definitely going out to the States to see him. Maybe my trip will revolve around his tour and maybe Bon Iver as well. Now that sounds like a good idea!

Payday

Woowho! Payday is tomorrow (or today if you are reading this on Friday). Not that I’m broke from it being an incredibly long month but it’s always feels nice when payday arrives.  Over the years the actual date for being paid has been very varied for me and it is amazing how there is no real set date for companies to follow. My first full time job I got paid on the last Wednesday of every month by direct debit – I always knew when payday was and then I joined my current employee. As a small company payday was quite random and always by cheque. Basically it always depended on cashflow but we always got paid before the end of the month. Then the Americans took us over and then we got paid by direct debit or maybe that was before the Americans – all I know it has been in the past 2-3 years that we no longer receive cheques. Payday was suddenly always around the 28th of the month, then we were apparently aligned with our US colleagues and now we get paid on the last day of every month. Which is fine but slightly scary as a lot of my direct debits go out on the 1st.  I don’t fancy having any charges for late payments.

Number one on the payment list is my credit card. One MacBook Pro, various software applications for the Mac, a laptop bag and new glasses are all on there, totalling a rather large sum. Luckily I have some savings to pay it off so I won’t have to pay any interest but it also means that I can’t buy anything new until February payday. I’m going to have to be very restrained. I can’t think of any other big payments (apart from the usual household bills) for the month of February so I should be able to make it. Watch this space in case I slip off the wagon and start spending in a “willy nilly” way. Talking of booze I’ve nearly run out of rye whiskey so I am stating on here that whiskey comes under food and beverages so I am able to purchase that next week. Heh, what a great excuse for some shopping!

Background noise and the Twitter Comedy Club

So today started off bad by not having the ability to get out of bed on time and then in my rush to get out the door I had forgotten my iPod headphones. Which meant I had to listen to other people on the train while reading my book. A year ago this never bothered me at all and I was quite happy to sit on the train without any music to disguise the background noise. On the way home was even worse – people coughing and squeezing, talking on their mobiles and the guy next to me heavy breathing. I am assuming that he must have run for the train or had asthma, anyway after about ten minutes it got quite annoying. I kept checking my bag just in case the headphones miraculously appeared in my bag. Actually my new bag for work is very much like a Mary Poppins carpet bag – very deep and I can’t find anything very easily, so my headphones could have been in there. Alas, they did not appear. Anyway, I found them at home and have put them in my bag already so I don’t have to have another day without them.

I’d been meaning to write about this for a few days now – the Twitter Comedy Club. I am guessing that most people who read blogs know about Twitter and to be honest I’m not going to write out how it works to those who don’t – here is a good video about it instead. Nowadays I have three types of “friends” on Twitter – my real friends who I actually know in person, my Twitter friends who I wouldn’t know from Adam if I bumped in to them in the street and British comedians who have joined Twitter. Stephen Fry started it and his tweets are a joy to read.  John Cleese is on there but he doesn’t tweet much. Then Jonathan Ross joined and somehow he has managed to get Russell Brand to join. Alan Carr is on there and Wossy confirmed it was the real Alan Carr and not a fake. All these comedy tweets are fun and add a bit of light relief to the day.  I’m hoping a few more comedians joined to keep me laughing. It’s almost like a free Comedy Club!

Random stuff du jour

Oh bugger. It’s one of those days where I can’t think of anything to write about. Sometimes I get like this but then I managed to waffle on for about 30 minutes or write two nice neat paragraphs which probably only take a minute to read. Thing is I can’t actually think of anything tonight. Maybe I should just list some random thoughts of things that happened today. I took my new MacBook Pro into work  – blimey it’s heavy when you have to carry it around on one shoulder. I’m such a wimp when it comes to heavy bags. Still it was nice to have a swish speedy machine to use. Actually having two computers to play with is quite good fun so I might struggle in with the Mac once a week just so I’m rewarded with using it all day.

Had soup again for lunch. Currently I’m addicted to soups made by Eat – today was Winter Vegetable. Delicious. And as their website has a menu of the soups I can choose ahead which ones I will have. Thursday is Roast Pumpkin which is gorgeous and one of the best soups I have ever had.  I did some more graphic designs for the web site – this time a logo. Fun. Seeing other colleagues discussing them is quite odd though but I’m sure I’ll get used to the criticism. I like creating graphics so I won’t complain. It’s actually nice doing something creative for work. Also, I have a feeling that this week will be a tiring one – today and yesterday evening I have been shattered by the time I got home. Maybe I should leave work a tad earlier then I have done recently. Well, that’s it for some random thoughts – not that exciting but thanks for listening.

The Year of the Ox

Happy Chinese New Year! Today is the beginning of the Year of the Ox and I found out that this is my year. Woowho! I was born in the Year of the Ox, way back in 1973! Not that I know what it means for it to be my year as an Ox (do I have to go out and buy an Ox?) but after a quick search on Wikipedia I’ve found out all the attributes of being an Ox. Apart from having four legs and some rather impressive horns… oops, wrong type of Ox. The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work.  All good so far and the rest of the page on Wikipedia seems good as well but as with Star Signs I take these things with a pinch of salt. Still it’s nice to see that I’m dependable, calm and modest. Patient and tireless in their work. Apparently, I’m a born leader and possess an innate ability to achieve great things, strong-minded, stubborn, individualistic, intelligent and when necessary, articulate and eloquent. As with all Wikipedia articles sometimes there are quite a few repeated facts but it sounds like I’m hard working, patient, with original intelligence(!) and reflective thoughts.

I quite like the phrase “The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox sleepless nights” – maybe that’s why I’m useless at taking risks. Other parts of it I do see in myself – sincere, honesty and patience. Not sure if I am wary of new trends, maybe I am. Surprisingly and most probably to great excitement to my friends who are always badgering me about kids, people born in the year of the Ox make wonderful parents and teachers of children. I would put that down solely to being patient from my experience with my nieces. It is quite interesting that it also says that Ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, which is actually very true about me. It also says that occasionally a dark cloud looms over such people and they engage all the trials of the whole world and seek solutions for them. It’s all interesting stuff and does make me feel a bit better about myself in a strange ego way, even the idea of being stubborn, possessive, gullible and materialistic doesn’t sound too bad to me especially when I read the positive traits: responsible, dependable, honest, caring, honourable, intelligent, artistic, industrious and practical. Maybe this will be a good year then for all people born as an Ox – how exciting!

Running again

This morning I actually went for a run. Firstly, this is amazing since it was raining and quite windy out and I did think maybe I should wait until later in the day to go for a run. Secondly, I haven’t been for a run in ages. I’m not going to lied and say it has been only a few weeks as it is more likely to have been a few months. Going through my “worry” stage back in October/November/December of last year seemed to take away any energy or enthusiasm that I had for exercise. Which is stupid as exercise is great for healing the mind. I even stopped going ice-skating, which is something I absolutely love to do. So, I had planned to go for a run sometime this weekend and as Saturday went whizzing past at an alarming rate I knew last night that I would have to go for a run on Sunday.

Waking up this morning to hear the rain lashing against the window was not a good sign.  Luckily, the rain eased a bit and then I took about 45 minutes to decide if to go out or not. By this time I was starving but knew if I had breakfast then I would never get out, so I got changed in to my running clothes and stepped outside. I know I will never be a great long distance runner but I surprised myself by running the small route that I was running before I stopped. I also decided that I need to stop running about 100 yards before I get home and walk back as a form of cooling down. In all, I was pleased with myself and decided to have a lazy morning by reading last weeks’ Sunday paper while eating scrambled eggs on toast. Most of today I have had aching and heavy legs but I am taking that as a good sign. My plan is now to do the same very small run three times a week and to go back to ice-skating on a Saturday morning. I’ll keep you posted on this sudden burst of activity!

Recession, what recession?

I went to the Apple Store today to purchase a nice brown laptop bag for my MacBook Pro and by the abundance of people in the Apple Store and in the shopping centre, you would never think there was a recession on.  OK, I can’t say if people were buying stuff but to be out and about in shops must either mean people are bored and cold or are looking to spend some money.  It’s been commented on Twitter that I’m single handedly keeping the economy alive by buying a MacBook Pro last week and spending a small fortune on new glasses this morning – just the eye test was £22 alone and frames are expensive anyway without the lenses and I only wear them now and again. Should really wear them once a week but I prefer contact lenses.  Then I got a laptop bag for the MBP and also upgraded the iLife package that didn’t come with the laptop(!) but it was only £7.95.

So, am I keeping the economy alive by spending money? I’m sure my small part is helping and I’m sure others out there are doing the same. I suppose I am one of the lucky ones – I have a job that I enjoy and hopefully is safe. I’m pretty confident that it is but if not then it would only open up new opportunities. The Bank of England keeps reducing interest rates which means my mortgage has gone down. My gambler instinct paid off this time with my tracker mortgage and in about 4 months it must have got cheaper by about £300. Gas and petrol has gone down so that helps as well.  The only issue that I’m having at the moment is the weak pound against the dollar. I’ve been researching my trip and I’ve found some extended hotels in Philadelphia and Chicago with the average of $70 a night, which is about £50. Not bad, I suppose, but I’m just gutted that last year it would have been £35 a night. Let’s hope the pound gets a bit stronger otherwise if I do this trip then I will be paying for it well after it has finished.

Friday night is Manhattan night

Another week has flown by and it’s Friday night again, which only means one thing for me, it’s Manhattan night! I’m sure if I went back through this blog I could find out the exact time I started drinking these but it must be about six months ago.  As with Cosmopolitans, half the appeal is the Martini glass. There is something quite wonderful about holding a Martini glass especially if it has a maraschino cherry in it (plus some alcohol). Also, they taste nice as well! I still like drinking bottled beer at home but I can drink beer much quicker (and more of it) whereas a Manhattan or two will last me all night. So, most Friday nights consist of drinking a Manhattan, eating dark chocolate and writing my blog – either while watching some comedy like QI or listening to music on my iTunes.  Since I’ve been pondering on this post for about an hour now, I think it will be a short one today. Happy Friday everyone!

This working from home malarkey

After several burglaries in my local area, the police and local community have decided to set up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. Exciting stuff if you ask me… not much goes on in Upminster, Essex. Well, I’m sure it does but it’s behind closed doors. My town is full of old people and school kids due to a large proportion of the dwellings being bungalows and having four of the best schools in the borough in one small town. As with all these events it is held at a ridiculous time – 6.30pm, which for most people is most probably late but when working in London as most people do, then it is a rather early time. Luckily, I am able to work at home today so I can get there on time. Which brings me to writing about working from home, in which I have most probably mentioned quite a few time before on here.

For one thing, it gets cold in the house when you are sitting at a desk all day. My feet are freezing. Earlier I had to put my trainers on just to keep them warm, that was until I went out for some lunch and got wet in the rain and my trainers weren’t suitable to wear on my light beige carpeted office. The day has flown by again, like everyday lately, but without actually talking or seeing anyone I knew. OK, I have the chatroom that I can talk to my colleagues but it was a bit quiet in there today so I’ve been talking to myself mostly.  I had to have my music on just to relieve the quietness of the house – which was actually a bonus.  Not sure I could do this everyday but I can see the appeal for people with families and/or pets.  Well, I’m back in the office tomorrow which means I get to mingle with others – might not necessarily be anyone in the office but there are others from other offices that I now know. Right, I must have my dinner and take my imaginary dog for a walk before hanging about with the oldies of Upminster.