Life Without Toast - Sibling Rivalry

This morning I was late-ish leaving for work, I ran out to the car, jumped in and pulled out the driveway, only to be pulled into the bus lane by my baby car, "fuck" says I, so I pulled into the side road just beside my house, jumped back out of baby car, and saw to my horror what can only be decribed as a flatter than flat tyre." FUUUUUUUCK" says I again rather loudly, some boys from St. Michaels College walked past and sort of sniggered at me, "hate that" one of them said under his breath. Yes I did, I did hate that.

I pulled the jack, the lock nut, the spare wheel and the socket spanner out of the boot and got to work. I was freaking, mainly because I didnt want to get dirty, I was wearing all brand new clothes, and a skirt and tights was part of my attire, not really the best wardrobe choice to be crawling about on a dirty pathway, "aha" I thought, "I have an idea" so I got the spare wheel and used that as a seat so I did not have to sit on the dirty ground or kneel thus ripping the aforementioned tights (M & S = ?9 for tights - oh oh).

I would say about 100 cars passed me without one person even asking was I ok. I mean I knew what I was doing, Daddy Verso showed me how to change a wheel long ago, but still, I was a damsel in distress and people are supposed to stop and rescue me no? People can be real assholes sometimes. Anyway, I was half way through when a lovely lad with a northern accent came along and finished the job for me. So I want to say a big massive THANK YOU to you mister northen lad who got his hands dirty for me, he was going to the Chinese Embassy to get his Visa, he was my knight in shining armour today and I will be forever greatful.

So I jumped into the car and started thinking of the last time I had a flat tyre, I was again on my way to work, but I had seen the tyre was flat before I had gotten out the driveway which was fairly handy. I called my friend Peter who lived nearby and also worked with me to see if he had left yet and if so could he swing by my place and collect me. He came down in his car, took off my flat, put on the spare and we drove in a mini convoy to work, he then took my flat tyre to the tyre place around the corner to be fixed, brought it back and put it back in its place, he was my knight in shining armour that day.

Peter died two weeks ago, we used to mind each other a lot, I would Mammy him and he would talk to me about cars. We used to make up soap operas in work because we were bored, in these soap operas we were married and then divorced, I suppose it was one of those had to be there at the time things, I made him a Valentines Card and sent it anonomously, from his secret admirer, it was the "I Choo Choo Choose You" one from the Simpsons, it was so funny when he found out it was from me, because I think he thought I was for real, which of course I was not, I thought about all of the things we did together, we laughed, we had screaming matches, we talked about cars, we drove his car very fast (mine does not go very fast, his did, as in VERY!!), he taught me about boy racer terminology, I taught him how to get red wine stains out of clothes, he made me tea every day, and I cried all the way into work because you really dont know what you have got till its gone. I miss my Peter Pamphlet and I can never have him back.

Posted by Babs at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I just got off the phone with Conn Ó Muíneacháin of Digiculture.ie, who is recording an event in my little theatre for the Dun Laoghaire Library Service, for a podcast. It's the first time I've ever had a work conversation with someone who recognised my name more from blogging and podcasting than from my vast theatrical repertoire.

Does this mean I'm famous (for podcasting I mean)? Or just that Ireland is very, very small?

He was very disappointed that we hadn't recorded a new podcast for a long while. I (and by I, I mean we) must get onto that soon.

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting a new Lifewithouttoastcast, we have most of the content figured out, the playlist is fairly sorted (and totally fucking rocks), we're just waiting for our new state-of-the-art recording facility (Andy's new house) to be finished being built. We could do it in my office at home, but we kinda sorta tried that already and the creative juices didn't flow sufficiently, or some similar pathetic excuse.

Posted by Matt at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Babs came over last week, because her Laptop (a 3 or 4 year old Dell) was running "a bit slow", or something. Apparently she now needs an excuse to visit her big brother. :-P

Anyhoo, I would've though that she had some aptitude or knowledge of computers and how to keep them kosher. In this day and age, I tend to assume that most people who use computers for most of their working day have some sort of a clue.

Any IT professionals are probably laughing out loud right now. Lets just say I was very wrong. From looking at others peoples' machines in work (because they asked me to, not because I like "looking at their shit"), and now from ploughing a furrow though the muddy mess of my sisters machine, I now realise that everyone, or at least the vast majority of people, are mucking fuppets when it comes to anything with a keyboard and a screen (this includes phones, ATM's, etc).

SO. Halfway through deleting (or "uninstalling", God I hate Windows) 75% of the programs on Babs ailing Dell (do you ever use this? No? Why is it there then?! DELETE), I decided to update things like Adobe Reader (yes, I could have installed something else, but that would just complicate things further), and Firefox.

This is when I actually started laughing.

Which versions of these programs do you think she had installed? Bearing in mind that Firefox is now on V2.0.0.9 and Adobe Reader is on v8.1.1.

Firefox: Version 1.0.7. Last updated early 2005. OMG.

Adobe Reader: Not even Adobe reader, but Adobe ACROBAT Reader, the really old one. Version 4 or 5 point something. Seriously. Old. Older than her machine. I hate Dell too.

I know that it doesn't make much difference to how a computer runs, but having the latest version of whatever web browser you use is vital I think. I have set up auto-updates on Babs machine for Firefox now.

Also (God help us all) she was using McNortonAfee for anti-virus. I'll have to get back to her on that one, I ran out of time, and send Babs home with her Laptop de-fragging on the passenger seat.

Next time I'll have to have some install discs ready, methinks. And perhaps an external drive and a copy of Ubuntu.

Posted by Matt at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBacks (0)

(Bee-doe-day-up-bee-doe-day-up-I don't have no time for no monkey business)

I have been thinking about this for a while now due to the fact that I don't really like living with other people at the moment, more so because one of my roomies wrecks my head, and really ever since I have been doing the whole house share thing (6 years) there has always been someone who really gets on my wick.
I want to move out of my house anyway as I feel that I have been here for too long and there is really no reason for me staying as I moved to this house initially because it was 5 minutes from where I worked, but then I haven't worked in that particular establishment for nearly 3 years now, and after January I will have only one South Side friend cause the other three are going travelling etc.

But then I am thinking will I be too lonely? Will I get scared? Because when I am here and I know that I am on my own I do get kind of scared, but then I think that's just because I am used to hearing other people here and then when there is no noise it sort of freaks me out.

To be honest I am just sick of dealing with other peoples shit, I want to have my own space that is not just contained in my bedroom, I want to not come home and not be able to make my dinner because someone else is already doing that, I want to be able to shower when I want and not be worried that the noise of the electric shower will wake someone or piss someone off, I want to be able to not have to clear away someone elses stuff so that I can eat brekki, I want to be able to sit in the living room and watch what I want instead of always the Simpsons because everyone likes the Simpsons, I want to have responsibility for no one apart from me that is. In my house I am responsible for EVERYTHING, urely because I know if I leave it up to someone else it will not get done, the bins will not be left out, plastic will go into the green bin even though there is a sign detailing everything that does not go into it (apparently plastic two litre milk bottles are not real plastic in La La land), I pay the bills, I sort out everything, I sweep the floor, I wash the floor, I wash the unclaimed dishes, I dip the oil tank every week so we dont run out and get an air lock, I call the landlady, I call the police, I am the one they ask how to do things or can I do things, and I always do it. I am too nice I think.

For the past two weeks I have been conducting an experiment, I have been coming home from work and not interacting with my roomies to see how lonely I get, and so far, not lonely, I have not actually had a visual sighting of ANY of them for two weeks now, and it's fine with me, not lonely, not getting separation anxiety not anything, actually better than before. I can do what I want, I can watch what I want, I can sit here nakey and no one can say anything because my bedroom is mine, and no one can come in, and I think that's what I want my home to be.

Plus, I own all the furniture so it means when I do move out they have nothing which I know will piss off at least one person who I will be happy to piss off (a lot!) heehee!!

Posted by Babs at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

www.jigser.com, go to this site and buy your greeting cards, they are only bleedin deadly (well I think so anyway!!!).
Jarlath Regan ain't so bad either, plus some of the proceeds go to Amnesty International which is always good.

Posted by Babs at 5:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Updating my Facebook profile is my new favorite extreme sport.

Special thanks to Stuart.

Posted by Matt at 1:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I called over to see a friend of mine yesterday who had an operation to remove ALL of her wisdom teeth last week, as the dentist dude put it, her mouth was just way too small for them. When she opened the door I nearly died, her face was green, like Kermit the Frog green. Is this normal I asked her...well she said, the dental nurse said she has never seen anyone with bruising this bad after a week of healing. She thinks the dentist butchered her, even though she went to some "special" private clinic funded by Bupa or Quinn Health or whatever they are called now, she was saying that while she was having her operation, the same dental surgeon operated on SEVEN other people, sounds like a conveyor belt to me!!

It came to us to question why would someone voluntarily go under the knife for unnecessary surgery, why would someone actually wish this pain upon themselves for no real reason? Then we got to talking (yes she was sort of mumbly and kept saying "ow" but we were talking nonetheless) about a good friend of hers who was in a car accident last Christmas:

She was in the passenger seat of her boyfriends Toyota Landcruiser, asleep, while he was driving, she had the seat pushed all the way back and her feet on the dash board, the vehicle hit black ice and skidded off the road and rolled, a few times, her knee was shot into her face and she has no brow anymore, the bone above one of her eyes is missing, she has no forehead. She was in the ICU for a long time, where she got MRSA (of course) and they had to remove what was left of the bone on her forehead which is to be replaced at some as of yet unconfirmed time, her eye is no longer eye shaped it is circular and will be forever, when her false forehead is put in she will have grafts to make her look as normal as possible, she had to have her face wired back together and after she woke up only consume liquid food for over 6 months.

Myself and my friend were complaining about not being able to eat solids (I was sick with a vomitting bug on Monday and Tuesday and she with the no wisdom teeth) and then we thought about her friend for 6 months on tasteless yock food and I felt so guilty, because today I am better and yes I look pale from lack of food and fresh air, and my friend will be better and no longer have a green face next week, but her friend, the girl who was in the accident, will never be the way she was before. Her boyfriend walked away with a broken nose....DON'T let people sit funny in your car, even having your legs crossed can cause awful things in the event of a head on collision.

Posted by Babs at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

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Posted by Matt at 1:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi, my name is Matt, and I'm a t-shirt-oholic. Seriously, I have a problem.

Only joking, I fucking love t-shirts, and I also think it's impossible (impossible, Nikki) to have too many t-shirts. My wardrobe is full to bursting at the moment, and I have about 15 shirts in the wash and another 5 or 6 that I haven't even worn yet. I love them as if they were my own children.

Anyway, so I read this site called Tcritic all the time. I have it in my feed-reader. It's a t-shirt review site, and it always has links to cool shirts that you may not have seen before, and other t-shirt related news. It's brilliant. The writer/editor/guardian of the kingdom of Tcritic does this thing where if you send him a link to an interesting t-shirt site or shop, he'll send you a Threadless gift certificate.

So, Seamus gave me a lend of his Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex "1st GiG" dvd's a couple of weeks back. I thought they were awesome, and loved the logo and concept of the Laughing Man character/entity/thing from the series, so searched it out on the intertubes looking for (that's right) a t-shirt. I found TERRATAG, who designed the logo, and ordered a t-shirt immediately. It arrived this morning, along with a bunch of rad Japanese stickers (cool).

So I was reading Tcritic in Google Reader this afternoon, and I thought for the laugh I'd send him a link to TERRATAG. So I did. And he posted about it shortly after, and sent me a $50 gift certificate to Threadless! I think he only meant to send me $25, so Karl, if you want the other $25 back, err... I don't know if I can give it to you. I think I might need it.

Still though. Tcritic kicks ass. Visit it right now.

Posted by Matt at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

So I was in work today reading the mag that comes with the Guardian from the weekend (yes it takes me yonks to get through papers, I was busy ok?) and I come across a full page advert that looked something like this:

I mean, really, is this actually for real? Can people not just go horse riding? And also I have a question for the people at iJoyride....do you have to wear the jodhpurs and the helmet and all to get the full effect? Can you use a whip? This is by far one of the most ridiculous items I have ever seen...

Posted by Babs at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I woke up this morning with a sore neck, I was wondering how this happened as I generally don't move at all while sleeping, really, people sometimes think that I am dead!! Then it came back to me, the mental dream that I had. It was definitely inspired by CSI last night (shh, I got a ddicted while unemployed). I was in my parents house and this man shot me in the stomach through the window. I remember it so clearly, as if it actually happened. I remember looking down at mytummy and there was a small hole about 5 inches above my belly-button and then I started to couch up blood, no one else was there and I couldn't get to a phone so I lay over the back of a chair trying to stem the bleeding until someone with no face came home and saved me. I was in the ambulance and they were holding down really hard on my belly and I was still coughing up blood, and then I was in the hospital and everyone I know was there, all these faces, but no words. I remember seeing people crying. And then I was fine again, but I had a scar from the bullet. Am I insane? It was a good dream, I think it would have made a good film... :)

Posted by Babs at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It's all done, the big clean up, all the crap is gone, all the dust is gone, all of the bad stuff is gone, It's bizarre looking around and having nothing there, but now I have a fresh clean space to sleep in, and no fire hazards, I have kept everything that means anything in a folder, so that when I have my own forever house I can stick it all up somewhere, hmm! I feel great!

Posted by Babs at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last night I was invited by my good friend Kirsty to go and see Andy Votel & Dom Thomas in Ri Ra in Dublin 2. I am not normally into that sort of thang but seeing as I was staying in the big smoke this weekend and had no other major plans I said what the feck and went along. We got mildly well oiled in the hotel bar next door, that sounds sort of glam, but it was the Central Hotel Bar and it was SO quiet, which was good, beause afterwards my ears were so full of music and laughter that it was a very good thing that beforehand it was relatively silent, plus they did table service so no need to actually get up and over exert oneself by going to the bar.

We went to Ri Ra at about 12.15 which was silly because before 12 it's only 5 dolla, and after it's 10, feckers. They do good pints in there and it was nice to see the bar keeps smiling instead of the normal haggard and pissed off look of most of them around that time on a Saturday night!

It was a great night, one of my best this year and that is saying a lot. I was wearing my usual 1950's chic with a small twist, ribbon in hair, black and white gingham halter top ($8 in H & M NYC and it's silk, bargain of the century) black circle cut skirt no tights because it was super warm last night and the twist was my DC's, I thought it looked a bit odd but then I was going to be dancing so I said whatever and ran out the door.

The funniest thing ever happened halfway through the night, they were playing a few tracks that were mixed with super cool 50's jiveish sounds so I was doing my crazy jive dancing with Kirstys friend who was over from London for the weekend when this dude who was locked walked up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and said "Are you a Billie Barrie Kid or wha'?" and then walked away, he kept pointing at me to his friends, it was hilarious but I danced it off swinging around the palce like a mad thing.

I got the Nitelink home, got talking to these two girls with no shoes on, they were hilarious, got home, had the obligatory Marmite (YUM) and toast and fell into bed with ringing in my ears. I woke up this morning with sore legs and dead arse muscles, which to me means a good night was had. I danced non stop for 2 hours, perhaps I am actually fitter than I had originally imagined.

I officially LOVE Andy Votel and Dom Thomas, and dancing like no one is watching. Kirsty commented that I danced with my eyes closed, I do that so that I can imagine that no one else is in the room, and it worked, maybe I could have been a Billie Barrie kid......

(*Note: Billie Barrie is a performing arts school where horrible parents send their children so they can learn how to dance annoyingly and always smile, they scare me, but I am well impressed that I looked as coordinated as one of them considering I had drank 5 pints!! There is no website for Billie Barrie that I can find.)

Posted by Babs at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

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Posted by Matt at 1:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

During my short term of unemployment I was doing cheffing nixers (I do them a lot) in a friend of mines restaurant, and one of the days they said they needed me to work the grill, now I was a chef full time for three years and half time when in college but I never ever worked the grill because I went from commis to pastry and never looked back so I was scared as shit that I wouldn?t be able to it, its all about timing and steaks, steaks are not hard to cook for yourself at home, but when you have 40 orders for steaks all done at differing degrees of doneness it can be mildly frightening, but, amazingly I did it, 102 covers all day and nothing sent back, I was delighted and then the next time I was there I wanted to work the grill, so now, I am the "grill bitch" when I work there, it?s a dirty job, but somebody?s got to do it.

Posted by Babs at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

In other breaking news, a very good friend of mine, my Space Twin (anyone who has read Cats Eye by Margaret Atwood will know what it means to me) who lives in London was attacked by little bastards a few weeks ago, I found out a few days ago, he was too angry to talk to anyone about it until then. He was walking home from work (he is a chef in a restaurant called Chez Bruce, it?s very fancy apparently) and was about 5 minutes away from his house in Brixton when he was whacked over the head with a bat and then beaten severely and left for dead in the street, they got £15 from him, that was all that he had, no phone or anything, and he is in bits and I am very sad for him and very angry about the whole thing.

See he was lying in the street for over three hours before someone stopped, realised that he was fucked and called an ambulance, over three hours, how many people walked past him? How can they live with themselves? He is not a big guy but I have seen him fight before and know he is well able to hold his own but they hit him with a baseball bat across the back of the head resulting in whiplash and then kicked and kicked him. He was in hospital for a few days and has not been able to work, he has tried twice, the first time he couldn?t remember how to do anything so they sent him home, and the second time he passed out during service, like totally KO?d, and that?s too dangerous, so now he thinks that he will have to give up his dreams. This is a person who will go insane if they cannot cook, cooking is in his heart and soul, it is what makes him him, and now he might never do it again which is making me sad and also worried for him. He is mostly angry because he never saw the people who did it to him, so they know who he is, but he will never know who they are.

Posted by Babs at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

(Yes there are a few more of these babies!!)

More panicky happenings, then came the ?oh my god I am so bored I actually don?t want to do anything? phase, so I sat about in my jamas watching the telly which was back, I watched it all, re runs of the OC on late at night, the ever brilliant Home and Away, yes I love it and am not ashamed to admit it, Neighbours, Oprah, Rachel Ray (I hate her and her stupid stupid EVOO bollocks sayings), re runs of Friends, everything and anything that was on and also sat with my laptop on front of me and my mobile beside me at all times waiting for something to happen, and eventually last Thursday after I had a bit of a meltdown a la Babs, an agency called and I have now started temping for a company that I keep calling by the wrong name, I have no idea what the company do, but currently I am Dictaphone typing and doing database stuff and answering calls and invoicing people, I have learned so much about Excel in the last day, I am impressed with myself a lot, its fairly inane but a lot better than sitting in my own house alone and bored or sitting in my parents house annoying them or sitting in Becca?s house crying to her and wanting Isobel to play when all she really wants to do is climb on me and drool, so cute!! I had a nice time when I was off and got to spend time with the family and sleep lots and do things that I had been putting off like cleaning my turtle tank twice, washing all of my clothes, ironing everything and tidying things, a lot done, more to do though unfortunately.

Posted by Babs at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The last six months or so have been a veritable gadget-fest for me. I have purchased or been given the following shiny toys:

1. A new(ish) Seat Ibiza Sport (nice)


2. A new MacBook Pro (very nice)


3. A new Nikon D40 DSLR (brilliant)


4. A new Lens for said DSLR (cool)


5. A Nintendo DS Lite (awesome)


6. An iPod Touch (awesomely awesome)

But today, they all paled into insignificance next to my newest, bestest, shiniest gadget.

Posted by Matt at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)