GingerNinja.net

Weird title, but probably made you think Huh?. Well, nearly three weeks ago, Damon announced that his birthday bash would be held tomorrow at Carwash at The Aquarium nightclub in London. After much discussion, I decided to start frantically buying authentic 70’s clothes on eBay as they have a strict-ish dress code and would also stop shaving in an effort to grow massive side-burns and a long 1970’s style moustache.

So, onto the title of this entry - Itchy? You betcha! It is driving me absolutely crazy. I cannot wait until Saturday lunch time when I grab my uber-sensitive skin forumula can of King Of Shaves and my Gillette razor and get too work on sculpting a masterpiece of facial hair.

On the subject of clothes, I got myself a loud polyester disco shirt and a brown leather blazer/jacket on eBay. Both are about 30 years old and in excellent condition. I was originally thinking about getting a pimp outfit exactly like this one:

but decided against it as they don’t have pockets and didn’t want to rely on drunken people to carry my money around a busy nightclub. Also thought I might look a bit of a twat as well.

I also got a pair of flared cord trousers on eBay, but they were a very slim fit. Not just a normal slim fit, but so bad that I couldn’t sit down without the popper on the waist coming undone. They also showed off my packet at anyone who was looking in that direction. It’s a shame as they were VERY cool and effectively brand new with tags despite being 30 years old. (Dead stock from a dept store on Devon!). I resold them on eBay yesterday with a starting price to cover all my costs and a Buy It Now option to give me some profit if someone was feelign generous. They must have been as they were sold within 25 minutes of being listed. Anyhow, in their place I will be wearing my stone coloured bedford cord boot cut jeans. They aren’t denim so I should be fine wearing them. I may even put a crease in the front of them just for Saturday.

Obviously, pics will be posted here shortly.

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YES, I know. Captain Plop of the Rubbish At Updating A Blog Squad.
Yes - work is hectic, but not so hectic that I couldn’t spend the time to come on here and chat about everything all the project work I have been doing, the increased responsibility and high profile work I am taking on (all good for future VP promotion prospects) and changes to our team that are going on.
Yes - life is hectic, but not so hectic that I couldn’t spare the time to come on here and talk about how quickly all three kids are growing up, that Dad’s recovery is taking its time, that Rob and Vikki are slowly but surely reaching the time when they can afford a house of their own, that Kev is going on holiday to the Deep South for a month, that Damon & Lydia and Scott & Debbie are all well.
Why? Why no updates?
Battlefield 2. Pure and simple.
It is sucking my free time like a black hole.
And I am not doing anything to stop it, because it is FUN in a can!
My stats are improving steadily, I have been promoted twice so far and am collecting ribbons and badges with gay abandon.
Gaming Life is terrific. Get it NOW!

Popularity: 7% [?]

I’ve just purchased tickets for myself and ten co-workers to go and see Star Wars Episode III on the day of the UK release.

I cannot WAIT!!

Excited - you betcha!

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Is it just me? Do I have one of those auras that scream out pick a fight with me?

For about the fifth time since moving out to the sticks, I have had a confrontation with a fellow commuter - although I will admit that two of those were initiated by me in a stop sitting on me please kind of way. I am also pretty sure that most of these have occurred since the new Siemens trains were put on our line as the seats are narrower despite the fact that the commuters are getting wider.

Today marked a new low though. It got physical.

I had a gut feeling that I should have chose another seat, but for some reason I sat down in the aisle seat next to the guy with a big laptop case on his lap (use the fecking overhead luggage racks, people!) and was reading The Da Vinci Code. He was also puffed up. You know - expanding his shoulders out so as to ensure that he has lots of room. Something which his laptop case had already ensured.

Now, when I am sitting against the window I desperately try to ensure that I am squeezed as tight as I can be into the corner as I know that the seats are narrow. Similarly, when I am on the aisle seat, I try to get as comfortable as I can without getting the edge of the seat up my crack. This usually involves sitting at a slight angle. This was my tactic this morning and - of course - chummy decides to puff himself out a little more at the nerve of someone sitting next to him. I sighed and went back to reading PC Zone (yes, I finally got my subscription reinstated) when it happened.
Pressure.
Against my back.
Pushing.
Oh, FFS. This guy is pushing me off my seat.
So I lock up - I sit there ridged.
He hurrumphs and nudges me again.

Stop pushing against me he says. No please there - did you notice?
I’m not, say I (quite loudly so that others look around) you’re puffing yourself up. I’m on the edge of the seat.
I am not! replies my fellow commuter and follows this up with a two finger jab into my shoulder (I am facing slightly away at this point).
Stop *poke*
pushing *poke*
me
At which point I ignore him, mutter (you have to have a good mutter) and go back to reading my mag - quietly seething.

Now I have discussed this kind of thing with my mate Anton who is a CSO over in Westminster whilst he waits for his place at Hendon Police Training College to become available. What chummy did there was assault - pure and simple. According to Anton, I am within my rights to perform a Citizens Arrest and call British Transport Police to escort him off the train so I can press charges against him. Why didn’t I do this? Well, firstly I would have been late for work. Secondly, he would have either laughed or actually hit me. There was, of course, another option which I very nearly went for when we pulled into Stratford.
The evil option.
Tell him who the Teacher is in The Da Vinci Code.
You see, he was reading a brand new copy and had the look of someone who hadn’t read it yet. It would have certainly ruined the entire book for him and would have really pissed him off. Why didn’t I do it then? Well, there was possibly some other commuters who hadn’t read it yet who would have been annoyed at being told a crucial part of the plotline. I was furious last year when a drunken idiot shouted out who had been killed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. They were wrong, but I still spent the whole book being more than slightly miffed.
But it would have been great to see the look on his face.

On top of all that, I got barged out of the way on the DLR and then was leant against and had my foot trodden on in the lift up to my floor at work. No apologies from either parties.

The argument for winning the lottery and working from home continues to get stronger.

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One of my favourite TV shows from the US is the political drama The West Wing. For an US-based TV show I find the humour very dry and the general intelligence, so to speak, of the whole script very high. As someone who has studied both the American and British polical system and process, I always find that I enjoy programmes and films that are polical in nature - especially US based ones for some reason such as The West Wing and All the President’s Men.

Indicentally, I refer to my friend Mark who has recently had twin daughters, as Abu el Banat. It’s Arabic and translates as Father of Daughters. Why is this important? Well, I’ll leave the explanation to President Bartlett from the show:

…about fifteen years ago we took a trip to Egypt. All five of us saw the Pyramids and Luxor and then headed up into the Sinai. We had a guide, a Bedouin man, who called me Abu el Banat. And whenever we’d meet another Bedouin, he’d introduce me as Abu el Banat. And the Bedouin would laugh and laugh and offer me a cup of tea. And I’d go to pay them for the tea and they wouldn’t let me. Abu el Banat means Father of daughters They thought the tea was the least they could do.

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You may have noticed that I haven’t posted any entries for atleast a week, well, that is because for the past week I have been mostly looking after everyone at one stage or another. First T, then H, then M and finally The Missus all managed to catch the tummy bug which seems to be doing the rounds at the moment.
Cue mad dashes to find extra bedding for the H & T’s beds and lots of cuddles to try and make them feel better.

Laughingly, I commented yesterday that I seemed to have gotten off very lightly - that was until I woke up this morning.

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