September 29, 2005
DISASTER!
OH GOD My iPod broke a day before I leave, bloody typical. Well I spoke to the Apple Store at the Bullring and they said if they couldn't fix it instore (I'd be suprised if they can as the drive fails all the diagnostics and appears corrupt) they will replace it, which would be nice as I'd have no scratches then.
I have just returned from a trip into Hanley. For the uneducated this is the epicentre of the shopping experience for members of the Stoke On Trent community. JESUS CHRIST IT'S A SHITHOLE. I have never before been to such a backwards town, everyone manages to look like they've been struck with not only downs syndrome but also obesity, all the while screeching in this cross breed Liverpudlian/Mancunian accent about "having a nice day, duck". Yep, everyone is referred to as a duck. It really made me appreciate the aforementioned Westgate Centre in Oxford as a comparatively upper class hang-out.
Should anyone be in the market for new skiwear, TkMaxx has a bunch of stuff in cheap, there was a lovely Nike AEG coat formerly £399 now £99. Much better than the Oakley one I purchased at the same price.
Pray that I don't get in a car accident on the way to Birmingham tomorrow please.
Posted by Mark at 11:57 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 20, 2005
Oxford
I just took what is likely to be my last daytime trip into Oxford to cover most of the ground of a pleasant visit into the town. This consists of the following:
Modern Art Oxford (despite the fact it was showing a bunch of kids scribbles)
The Covered Market
Gap
George and Danver Ice Cream
A fleeting glance at some stunning architecture
Bonus points to the fact that it looks like Brookes students started back this week and memories of University "POSTER SALE" and those first nervous weeks came fondly flooding back.
Any trip into Oxford isn't complete without trying to also dodge the following:
The Westgate Centre
George Street
Sitting by a grossly overweight chav and their child on the bus home
Next time I live here remind me to avoid Headington.
Posted by Mark at 10:38 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 16, 2005
Free!
Woo, as of 2 hours I am officially unemployed. Where others may be in a natural state of worry and aprehension, I am going to side with glee.
2 years is enough to start falling into a depressing routine, and while moving to Oxford shook things up momentarily, there's still the horrible weekly cycle of monotony. I am soon free of it's shackles, blessed with the ability to slip into what I call "University/Internet Timezone", this alllows the user to move into more of an American style routine where you go to bed at ~4am GMT and get up at midday. However, to truly experience U/IT you have to stay up surfing the net or watching early morning TV until you can't honestly go on any longer and you feel like you're going to implode with boredom. Its amazing how quickly you can waste an entire week.
BUT of course I don't have a week to waste. For my first week off work I have an incredibly wild schedule lined up, one to rival that of a circus performer. In no apparent order:
Car MOT, work leaving lunch, book some accomodation, complete my self-assessment, clean my flat (including the oven damnit), entertain the mysterious carpet cleaning man and spend excessive amounts of time trying to save £1 on some bits I need off Ebay.
Anyway, back to being one of the nations statistical unemployed, I had a good deal of fun at SecureHosting and certainly appreciate the work environment was one that I'll probably never match. I should give them their laptop back really...