Back to black... or something
And so begins another working year. I'm back. I can't say I'm especially happy to be back, but here I am - once again in the rat race rut. *Sigh*
The Christmas break was fantastic, but at 2 weeks was way too short. Apart from the first, incredibly hot weekend, where we headed up to the Drakensberg with a ex-Saffer-turned-Kiwi friend, it was very much a fortnight of doing as little as possible - with the exception of eating and drinking too much, reading, gaming and and watching plenty of DVDs. My barely touched Holiday To Do list attests to my lack of planned productivity.
Anyway, Christmas and New Year's were both subdued but pleasant, with smaller gatherings of family and friends in both cases.
In terms of Christmas loot, my 2008 haul was excellent. I received a much needed 8GB memory stick (my old 128MB one hasn't been meeting my needs for a while now), a bunch of recipe books, Hellboy and Witchblade trade paperbacks, J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard and a bunch of DVDs: WALL-E, The Dark Knight, Prince Caspian and The Tudors Season 2.
In terms of the pressies I dished out, my love of books, DVDs and boardgames swayed my choices for others, so there were things like a Thomas the Tank Engine annual for my little cousin, a Father Ted DVD for my sister and Jenga for my mother. The bf received the latest Penny Arcade collection, the Family Guy Season 7 boxset and the FHM 2009 Calendar edition.
Otherwise in terms of my activities, I finally began sifting through my big To Read pile, starting with Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, which I had received for my birthday a few years back. I thought I may as well begin with that book, seeing as the film adaptation (starring Tom Hanks) is coming out this year, and it features many locations in Rome I have actually visited now.
Most people who have read Angels and Demons and that other Robert Langdon mystery-adventure, The Da Vinci Code generally seem to prefer Angels and Demons. I would tend to agree but boy does the finale get seriously overblown. Literally. I think it could come across as sublimely silly in a film. And I'll say this: Dan Brown knows how to sweep readers along with the action, but stylistically his writing is appalling! At one point he even refers to a series of containers on a docking station as looking like "a mini Stonehenge". Seriously. Who the hell makes that kind of comparison?
Anyway, my gaming over the holidays went well. I made a lot of progress with World of WarCraft's Wrath of the Lich King expansion. My warlock is now Level 77 and has a revamped look (and a bunch of new blue items):
Apart from the surprising variety in quests (last night I rode around on a Storm Giant slaughtering ghouls and their scourge masters) what I've been especially enjoying about the expansion is that I seem to be playing it at the right time. There are plenty of other players about, so it's not at all difficult to find people for groups quests... even the ones that require as many as 5 players.
Anyway, the only real dampener on my holiday is the fact that the endless fucking saga with my car continues. While African Independent was on the ball on the day of my accident, organising things swiftly and efficiently, and remaining in contact with me, from then onwards they lost interest. I've spoken to the woman handling my claim just once. She's never at her desk, and despite leaving dozens of messages for her to contact me, she never does.
It took around a month to get approval for my car repairs, and once approval was granted, Arams Panel Beaters had my car ready to pick up after less than a week. So I forked out my Christmas bonus to cover the insurance excess and I got my car back... but I should have been suspicious about such a quick turn-around time. Taking the car to be checked out, it appears Arams hasn't done many things they were supposed to - internal panels are loose, the shocks and wheel alignment are off, and for some reason my 6 month old battery is dead.
So once again I'm reliant on others for transport until this mess is sorted out. Combined with the thought of going back to work, I was actually in tears about it yesterday. I don't understand why it has to be such a struggle to get things done, and done properly... I'm no good at getting stroppy and screaming at people, and that seems to get me taken advantage of.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to phone the insurance company and try to get some answers. Always a great way to start a new year...
Speaking of which, happy New Year everyone! I hope 2009 is packed full of opportunities and adventures for you.
The Christmas break was fantastic, but at 2 weeks was way too short. Apart from the first, incredibly hot weekend, where we headed up to the Drakensberg with a ex-Saffer-turned-Kiwi friend, it was very much a fortnight of doing as little as possible - with the exception of eating and drinking too much, reading, gaming and and watching plenty of DVDs. My barely touched Holiday To Do list attests to my lack of planned productivity.
Anyway, Christmas and New Year's were both subdued but pleasant, with smaller gatherings of family and friends in both cases.
In terms of Christmas loot, my 2008 haul was excellent. I received a much needed 8GB memory stick (my old 128MB one hasn't been meeting my needs for a while now), a bunch of recipe books, Hellboy and Witchblade trade paperbacks, J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard and a bunch of DVDs: WALL-E, The Dark Knight, Prince Caspian and The Tudors Season 2.
In terms of the pressies I dished out, my love of books, DVDs and boardgames swayed my choices for others, so there were things like a Thomas the Tank Engine annual for my little cousin, a Father Ted DVD for my sister and Jenga for my mother. The bf received the latest Penny Arcade collection, the Family Guy Season 7 boxset and the FHM 2009 Calendar edition.
Otherwise in terms of my activities, I finally began sifting through my big To Read pile, starting with Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, which I had received for my birthday a few years back. I thought I may as well begin with that book, seeing as the film adaptation (starring Tom Hanks) is coming out this year, and it features many locations in Rome I have actually visited now.
Most people who have read Angels and Demons and that other Robert Langdon mystery-adventure, The Da Vinci Code generally seem to prefer Angels and Demons. I would tend to agree but boy does the finale get seriously overblown. Literally. I think it could come across as sublimely silly in a film. And I'll say this: Dan Brown knows how to sweep readers along with the action, but stylistically his writing is appalling! At one point he even refers to a series of containers on a docking station as looking like "a mini Stonehenge". Seriously. Who the hell makes that kind of comparison?
Anyway, my gaming over the holidays went well. I made a lot of progress with World of WarCraft's Wrath of the Lich King expansion. My warlock is now Level 77 and has a revamped look (and a bunch of new blue items):
Apart from the surprising variety in quests (last night I rode around on a Storm Giant slaughtering ghouls and their scourge masters) what I've been especially enjoying about the expansion is that I seem to be playing it at the right time. There are plenty of other players about, so it's not at all difficult to find people for groups quests... even the ones that require as many as 5 players.
Anyway, the only real dampener on my holiday is the fact that the endless fucking saga with my car continues. While African Independent was on the ball on the day of my accident, organising things swiftly and efficiently, and remaining in contact with me, from then onwards they lost interest. I've spoken to the woman handling my claim just once. She's never at her desk, and despite leaving dozens of messages for her to contact me, she never does.
It took around a month to get approval for my car repairs, and once approval was granted, Arams Panel Beaters had my car ready to pick up after less than a week. So I forked out my Christmas bonus to cover the insurance excess and I got my car back... but I should have been suspicious about such a quick turn-around time. Taking the car to be checked out, it appears Arams hasn't done many things they were supposed to - internal panels are loose, the shocks and wheel alignment are off, and for some reason my 6 month old battery is dead.
So once again I'm reliant on others for transport until this mess is sorted out. Combined with the thought of going back to work, I was actually in tears about it yesterday. I don't understand why it has to be such a struggle to get things done, and done properly... I'm no good at getting stroppy and screaming at people, and that seems to get me taken advantage of.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to phone the insurance company and try to get some answers. Always a great way to start a new year...
Speaking of which, happy New Year everyone! I hope 2009 is packed full of opportunities and adventures for you.
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