Musical Interlude

PlentyOfFish = PlentyOfFuckwits

I don't often advertise other blogs on here but this was a collaboration with Nickalollyoff at Seven Trousers that we undertook this afternoon. I set the ball rolling and he did all of the work.

To read it, click here.

Over 18s only, not for the easily offended or perpetually-bad-with-women...

I warned I wasn't done with PlentyOfFish...

The start of a serious love affair?

So there was a voucher in the Metro for a free Graze box and then you can get the second one half price (normally £3.29). I decided to try it on a whim, even though my sister had tried it and did not like them that much (unsure why).

The website is easy to negotiate; you go on and select what you like and don't like. There is even a button that removes whole sections (like non-vegan food).

So today I receive my free one through the post. I have strategically placed the gum to hide my address so that you don't get someone with too much time on their hands deciding to visit me.

So in this one we have Loco in Acapulco (raisins, pecans, and pineapple), kalamata and amphissa olives with chilli and garlic, Fantasy Forest (Brazil nuts, macadamias, and organic mango), and Wasapea (wasabi coated peas).
I loved it! The wasapea is hot but not in a bad way. Everything else went down very well. I am going to keep up with the order and have one box a week (every Wednesday) and just have it as my lunch on that day. £3.29 a week (including delivery) is nothing when you consider what you could be spending on (less healthy) snacks.

Want a free one?

Go to here.

Enter code 7F1PV2D3

And wait for your box of goodies!

The Great Drain Robbery

So we were walking the dog yesterday morning and came upon half a drain cover down in the alleyway. Hmm, interesting, we thought. Perhaps the drunks were playing games last night. So we head up on to Chartist Drive (or Chartist's Way, depending who you ask) and all but one of the drain covers had been stolen, leaving 18" by 18" holes into the drainage system; large enough for a person/motorbike/cyclist/car/lorry, etc to get into trouble.

How incredibly stupid.

There is, apparently, a really good trade in stolen scrap metal, with people getting arrested regularly for dealing but this does not seem to slow them down.

We called the council who came along and put cones over the holes (in their defence, there is not much else they can do on the weekend). This morning, the original dumped cover was still in the same place so we called 101 (the non-emergency police number) and advised them of this and they said they would get the council to come and pick it up (Hello! Fingerprint evidence! Perhaps I have too much faith in forensics due to my current educational direction but whatever).

It is annoying because these will now have to be replaced at a significant cost (I haven't counted how many were stolen but I would guess around 50 at, what, £40 or £50 a pop?). We are a town with no dog poo bins (Caerphilly have them, Swansea have them, why not Newport?). In fact, on the route where I walk my dog - measuring about 4 miles, there is one single bin. This money could be directed into something so much more useful (or course, whether it actually would be is debatable) but instead it has to be used to make up for what these thieving little gits have done.

I went out and took a few photos this morning to give an idea of what we are up against.

Firstly, the map shows Chartist Drive (marked with an A). It runs between the two traffic islands and is a fairly long road.

View Larger Map

This is the view looking towards the first island and Tregwilym Road, which also suffered a few losses.

Looking up the road.

The lone remaining drain cover. I guess they could not dislodge this one.

Clever, huh? They even did it on the bend. Imagine a motorcyclist hitting the hole at 40mph in the dark.

They even tried to steal the road sign at the second island but that is well embedded in concrete.

Depressingly, this isn't the worst thing these thieves have ever done. One day, I had to get someone to pick me up and drive me to Cardiff for an 8am start at work after they had stolen all of the copper wiring from the signalling cables between Newport and Cardiff. And the best? Get this - my sister lives in the posh end of town and they had all the original Victorian-era-ish paving slabs on the road. One day - this is amazing - one day, a truck showed up with a bunch of workmen, they set out cones, and proceed to lift all the paving slabs, throw them in the back of a truck, and drive away. No one questioned them because they thought they were council workers. Apparently, you get £50 a tonne for paving slabs.

I do hope the latest thieves are caught and thrown in prison. Newport is struggling to survive as it is (with all of the businesses getting the hell out of town - more another time or read my Twitter feed for the latest) so why make it worse?

Low.

2000

I hit 2000 feedbacks on ebay this weekend. I joined ebay on May 13th 2001. A few facts...

1st purchase - a Badlands LP for my friend Judith

Latest purchase - a Tatty Devine single masquerade earring

Number of accounts - 2. I set up my original one but then forgot my log in after about 30 transactions so set up a second. I eventually merged the two

Number of negative feedbacks - 1. This was back when I used to sell. The guy was in Germany and initially refused to pay via Paypal. He eventually did but then claimed he never received the item (the Spongebob Squarepants movie soundtrack CD). He got negative feedback in return. Those were the days...

Number of neutral feedbacks - 1. Again, this was a buyer who purchased a dress from me. I sent it straight away (same day she paid) and sent her a quick email to say it was on the way. She then left me a neutral saying I had sent it to the wrong address and that I should have called her to say it was dispatched?!! We eventually established that she had not advised me of the other address and she was just generally insane...

Number of items not received (as a buyer) - 4 - a record (the seller did a runner), a magazine (ditto), a set of craft items (got a refund), and a bento box (did not get a refund so seller got a neg)

Number of shill bidders I have had banned from ebay - 7

Number of fraudulent buyers I have had banned from ebay - 1

Number of auctions I have wrecked - 3... Not proud but sometimes it has to be done when the seller is an arsehole...

Number of names I have had - 4. ogri13, ogri132, Koshka_Designs, and irezumi_muzan

Highest seller rating - Bronze

Best find - a Russian-German phrase book from WWII

Highest sale price - £350 for a record

Total number of transactions (as a buyer and seller) - 3171!

Another 3000 til I get a different coloured star...

More BJ than you can shake a stick at...

Well not really...

But here are my latest purchases. I actually have a few more bits to post but have not got round to photographing them yet.

As always, sorry for the poor quality but I do like to photograph with my mobile at 6am...

Things are a little better

Had my final exam of this term today. 3 in 8 days. Had not sat an exam in absolutely years. Today's was my weakest subject but I think I did OK. At least I did better than the guy sitting next to me who cried throughout the 3 hour session or the girl who ran out crying at the end.

I've already started flicking through the coursework for next term (starts at the beginning of November). Delighted to discover that one module does not have an exam (yay!). I need to check about the other; I think it does... I can cope with one exam, though.

I will be writing another professional report. I did one last term but this one will be much longer. Maybe I will remember to put my name on this one...

I was a little disappointed to discover my university does not do politics at postgrad level. I was hoping to squeeze in a sly course on Middle Eastern politics. Nothing. I will have to find another uni if I decide to go ahead with that.

In other news... I have Betsey stuff to post but the image uploader is not working on here today.

Taking my niece shopping tomorrow and then getting down to work again. I don't like being idle and I still intend to go to the US for my 30th birthday (which coincides with my final essays being due) so I need to get on with it.

To the driver of RJ04XLZ

Yeah, the black Landrover Freelander TD4 S.

You absolute FUCKING CUNT!

Who the fuck do you think you are?!!

How DARE YOU drive your car at me and my dog!! We have as much right to be on the road as you, you bitter old shrew.

And then you have the NERVE to stare at me as though it was my fault that you can't fucking drive!!!

You sit there is your big-ass 4x4 - which you obviously need for hauling around your big ass - with your puckered mouth from all that cock sucking you do whilst you are out dogging down the Welfare.

Next time, I will have you arrested! 6 points and/or a 6 month ban for what you tried to do. Educate yourself, you moron.

Or even better, kill yourself, you badly painted old tart!

I urge everyone to take a shit on your bonnet whenever they see you parked on the street.

And I'm not scared of you or your dumpy friend but if there are any reprisals against my elderly mother when she is walking my dog for this, I will SERIOUSLY fuck you up. Got that?

Don't forget - you work in a factory. Don't get above your station. I'm glad your factory is shutting down. You can go back on the game, you cheap used-up old whore!

Beautiful Men, Part 14 - Soslan Suanov

Born September 6th 1981.

I first discovered Soslan in 2007 when I took my nephew (and later my nieces and their au pair) to see the Moscow State Circus in Cardiff. I was kind of annoyed that there was no Khamdoulaevs as I quite like perving on them but then this juggler came strutting out and that was enough for me!

He's very talented, very cute. Very do-able... ;)

Fancy another?

And a bonus one!

It's all over

And I'm kind of glad.

Kay and I had one of those fatal fallings out on Sunday and she has made it clear she wants nothing more to do with me so fine. She can shove it up her arse.

It was over something relatively small but it was just the final thing in a massive list of problems. She was on Facebook posting about how the traffic wardens have got it in for her as she keeps getting tickets. I pointed out that maybe she should not be illegally parking. Then some guy (who neither of us know) jumped in and started talking about it. Because he is Sikh, she started ignoring me and talking to him. Fine, I thought. But then she started deleting my comments so that she would appear better to this guy (I was not being negative or anything). I finally had enough and told her to stop censoring me. She then said that she wanted to appear good to these online boys she was meeting. I flipped and deleted her off Facebook (OMG!!! I KNOW!!!). By the next morning, she had deleted my mother and started untagging herself from my photos. I did the rest for her and left it. I can't be arsed with all this childish shit.

She claims she was my best mate but she was such a liar! She lied about absolutely everything -

her age

her occupation

who she was seeing

that she had been arrested for cocaine possession

that she had been arrested for driving without insurance

that she used to deal drugs

that she was not going to a party she had invited me to and then the photos showed up online the next day!

It wasn't even the lies that annoyed me the most. She was very controlling to the point where she would try to stop me from talking to other people. She also has the habit of hooking up with guys she meets online which is very dangerous.

I am better off without her. I don't need friends like that.

Why I went off the Heaven Sent Day Spa, Newport

Numerous reasons...

First of all, I had a great time when I actually went there but there are so many other factors involved that I just don't feel comfortable visiting them any more.

Firstly, when I booked, it took several attempts as I was promised call backs that never happened.

Then my mom wanted to go so she phoned to book an appointment. That was on the Monday morning. She was told someone would phone her back within 10 minutes. By Thursday, no one had called so I called again and booked the appointment.

Then they decided to update their website.

It has said "Currently updating prices, please check back in a few days " FOR MONTHS!!!

Kay and I wanted a spa day. We had both set aside £350 each for a day of indulgence and wanted to flick through the website to decide what to do. I messaged them on Facebook to ask when the prices were likely to be updated as we wanted to select our treatments.

No response.

Not even a "feel free to pop in for a treatment list".

Nothing.

They are clearly doing so well that they can actually ignore paying customers. Oh well.

There are plenty of other places that are happy to take my money.

Not feeling amazing...

My exams start next week and I am terrified. I haven't sat a proper exam since I was an undergrad so we are going back over 7 years. I don't even write with a pen much any more so I am convinced I wont last the 6 hours of exams I have on the first day...

To make things more fun, my FMF is bad. It's probably just stress-related, though.

Work is going OK.

Almost ready for Christmas (so I can concentrate on uni again in December, you see).

The stalking blog is going better than expected.

I'm just all over the place. I know this time in two weeks, everything is going to be feeling much better...