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A bit of a quandary

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I had my first lesson on a 500cc bike today and it has thrown a spanner in the works. I was fairly convinced that I’d just pack the lessons in and simply buy a 125cc and just keep ridding on L plated, renew my CBT every two years and be content. I’d play it safe and not face the possibility of failing the eye exam and losing all that I’d achieved.

Except that now, everything has changed. The 500cc is so much more easy to ride, not to mention fun. I finally had a bike up to 60 and feel comfortable with it at that speed – and that’s saying a hell of a lot considering that it was raining today during the ride! I actually had a blast today – rain and all.

Everybody seems to think that I’m overthinking the whole eye thing. All the instructors are happy with my eyesight and Katy hit it on the head when she said that I’d regret not trying for the brass ring. She’s right. I want my Bonneville, dagnabbit.

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Great way to start the day.

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We were woken up at 6am this morning with a rather large and unexpected crash. When I went downstairs to investigate, Reenie was looking all guilty and pitiful and the glass tank in which we keep the hamster had crash landed from the top of the TV unit onto the coffee table. The glass-topped coffee table.

Sigh. It could have been a lot worse. Only the tank was broken and the hamster, while stressed and a bit shook up, seemed ok. He’s chilling out in a tupperware box in a dark corner for now until we go get a new tank later today. The bean didn’t even wake up from all the commotion. Once we got everything cleaned up, we went back to bed. Katy’s snoring away right now but I haven’t been able to go back to bed.

Nice way to start a lazy Sunday…

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Bill Bailey’s Dandelion Mind

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Katy and I had a rare night out on Wednesday night when we went to see a Bill Bailey warm-up show for his new comedy project, Dandelion Mind. It’s described as follows:

Featuring Bill’s trademark musical interludes, observations and stories of the road, Dandelion Mind will be based loosely on the theme of doubt (or will it?), as we follow Bill from his real-life saga of being trapped by the ash cloud, to his barely contained rants about celebrity, TV, creationism and Michael Winner. He demonstrates new instruments, both ancient and modern, he sings an internet love song, a lament about punk heroes, Iranian hip-hop, and plays a mean folk-bouzouki.

Thomas the Doubter gets a new look, and Darwin’s curious obsessions and the myth of intelligent design are all worked over in Bailey’s own surreal style. He revisits the music of his youth, with a brand-new French Disco re-working of Gary Numan’s hit, Cars, played in his own inimitable way, and maybe some Wurzels-based remixes of classic German techno. Just your normal Bill Bailey gig, then.

It wad a great show because the venue – the Leicester Square Theater – was rather intimate (less than 500 people, max) and it allowed for some really good (and some not so good) heckling. I really have to give mad props for the man to be able to improvise so much and so well at the drop of a hat. At one point, we were having a barnacle penis length auction. You need a very quick mind to be able to handle that :)

The show was also a bit more raucous and raw than his normal material. It was interesting to see that.

I also managed to find some bootlegs of part of the show. They’re quite funny :D

Katy’s parents babysat doofus while were were at the show and spent the night. I took yesterday off and we went to see some bathroom designs. We topped off the evening with a BBQ and a couple of pitchers of spiked Margaritas. I had my first hangover in years this morning.

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Are these people even trying?

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I’ve just spent the last hour going over a dozen resumes for a job opening we have at work. Quite often I wonder what these people are thinking.

Sending me a generic cover letter doesn’t inspire me to really look at your cv. Sending a cover letter about the wrong job really doesn’t. Sending one full of typos means I don’t even try. In all cases, your cover letter is there to sell the high points, not tell me your life story.

A cv should be clear, concise and relevant. If you have more than 5 years experience, I don’t give a toss about your school grades. If you have less than 5 years experience, DO NOT PAD YOUR RESUME WITH EVERY TLA KNOWN TO MAN. It makes me think you’re either lying through your teeth or you don’t know what you’re talking about.

I do not need to know what sort of World of Warcraft character you play, nor which level you’re at. Same goes for what sports you play or what sort of music you listen to. I want to hire you, not date you.

Finally. Spell check. USE IT!!!

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The one-pound burger experiment

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Katy and I sometimes watch Man V Food as filler TV. The show is about a man who roams the US to face food challenges that local restaurants host as a matter of course (like eating 5 pounds of chicken wings in 30 minutes to win a t-shirt, an 8 pound sirloin steak to get your picture on the wall, or a 6-pound hoagie with 2 pounds of fries). So yeah. One TV critic describes it as the food version of Jackass. Every time we watch the show, we’re half-and-half drooling at the food that’s being prepared and appalled at the waste generated and the idiocy of it all.


   

 

We decided to do our own version of the silliness today. I made us a one-pound burger, with a quarter pound of bacon and three slices of cheese, topped with fried mushrooms and onions, pickles, lettuce, mayo and reggae reggae relish all on a grand rustique loaf. It was really good. It was huge. The scary bit? It’s not even in the Man V Food league in meal size. Still, it’s not something that I’m planning on doing again any time soon. I’m still stuffed from the thing!

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