What a day!

I woke up this morning and set straight off to Donnas to fix the PC. (I obviously got dressed first, though.) It didn't want to co-operate with me on Saturday but I jigged about with it and got it restored to its factory settings. I also put Norton antivirus and Spysweeper on the new one.

We then decided to take a break and we jetted off in to Solihull. Donna bought some sandals and we had a McDonalds. We sat in the McCafe thing and who should be working behind the coffee counter? non other than Mr Chris Dales! He has changed a bit since school/college. (i.e a lot calmer and more rational.) I ordered a drink to test out his serving skills, and he makes a good latte!

I have to be getting ready to go out now. I am being picked up by Gemma at 8:00.

Blog another time, peoples. TTFN

More computer mayhem

I went to do Donnas PC yesterday. It was in need of some TLC. I wanted to do a system restore, to remove all the crap, so I followed all the instructions in the book but for some reason it didn't work so I am going back tomorrow to fix it. Their new computer was easily set up and while I am there tomorrow I will install some software for them.

Today I woke up and washed the car. It really does look nice when it's clean. I went to work (which was dead) and then after went to my nans for tea.

Thats about all that has happened today. TTFN.

'Ark at me, spoikin' loik a propper Brummie!

My aunt Molly has come over from America! I haven't seen her in about 5 years.

Tonight was a bit of mayhem. I was told yesterday that my dad had booked tickets to see "Go and play up your own end" at the Alexandra Theatre starring Jasper Carrott, and Malcolm Stent. I had to ask Andrew if he could cover my shift at the Legion, which he kindly did. So I went to the show, which was brilliant, with my dad, sis', nan, aunt, and cousins. It really is worth going to see. You have to be from Birmingham to understand it though. It couldn't be shown anywhere else in the country because they just wouldn't get the gags. Phrases like "We'm goin' fishin' in the cut" and slang like "'ark at 'er babby blartin'" just wouldn't be as funny if you weren't from Brum. Get tickets, it is a fantastic show.

In other news, I am setting up Donna's PC tomorrow. So at least I will be out and about instead of lounging at home. On Monday we are all off to see Adrenaline at the Academy. Gemma has kindly agreed to come along with me, so it should be a good night out.

Thats enough from me, I'm going to bed. I'm shattered.

Computer mayhem

I went to look at my dads computer but it was really screwed up so i'm going to have to work on it a bit more. Donna phoned me up yesterday as well to tell me she is buying a new Packard Bell computer and to ask me if I will set it up for her. I should start charging people!

Work today was the same as usual. Art was a bit weird. We all ended up in the music block watching The Simpsons as a "thankyou" to the pupils for working hard this half-term. I don't remember being given that kind of thanks (although I never really worked all that hard, so I guess I can't complain)

I am going to the Packhorse later with the usual crowd. I will indulge in several pints of bitter and then come home.

Right. I've got the munchies. I will blog again soon.

TTFN

Monkey Boy!

Work was ok. I invigilated another exam until 3:50 which was good. I had to confiscate an ipod from one student though! Then, during the final 10 minutes some people outside were shouting things like "monkey boy" and "bunch of lemons" which caused a few stirrs of laughter from the students but they got on with it.

I am going to fix my dads PC later and then its an evening of coronation street........................


............. Wonderful.

I am having chinese for tea so I will sign off.

TTFN

Another blog with no fancy title.

Well now, Star Wars Episode III was very cool and a great way to round off the two trilogies (or is it one sectology?) I loved the monolithic view of the Vader helmet being slowly placed on Anakins head. Excellent! I rushed out today and got the game for the Xbox!

Right, back to real life...

Work = Naff

Me, Adam and Carl met Gemma and her friend Alex in the Jug Of Ale to try our hand at the quiz. We started well but went down hill pretty quick. I dodn't hear where we finished but it wasn't in the top 10.

Thats all that has gone on. I am logging off now.


question: what type of batteries do lightsabers take?

Star Wars!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for not blogging the weekend, but nothing really happened.

Today at school as been hell. I wont go in to details but I am shattered. The one good thing though is that the GCSE and A-level exams have started and I am invigilating some of them. My first one was an A-level maths paper from 3:15 to 4:30. It was a bit boring but worth it. Easy money.

I am going to see Star Wars later. I hope it lives up to the hype.

I will blog again tomorrow, right now I need to lie down

Hard drives are so argumentative

This week at school has been relaxing. No, really! I have been breezing through the days non stop. This week has flown by.

The legion was nothing special. The quiz was tough, and the bar staff only got 27 out of 40. The winners got 35 points and the prize was (and always is) a £5.00 bar voucher.

I am finding it increasingly tough to write anything original on here. I go through the same routine day after day. I might as well copy and paste a load of posts to save me writting them.

Oh, I did have one thing happen this week. The computer gave out... Completely! so a long-overdue dystem restore was in order. It solved the immediate problem of the damn thing running slow, but it still drops its cache every once in a while, causing the thing to restart. I will have to get it checked.

While I am here blogging, here is the link to the kiddie's blog site

Right, I'm off to bed because I am knackered.

TTFN



"There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't"

You sunk my battleship!

I just thought I'd put this sketch on here that I did yesterday. It is an old battleship on fire at a docks somewhere. I saw the picture in a book in the library at Woodrush and decided to quickly sketch it. I will most probably lose the original at some point so I have made a digital copy and stuck it on here so that even if my hard drive crashes, it wont be gone for ever.



On another note. The kiddie that I assist at school has created a blogsite! I will post a link to it when I get the address.

Thats all for now

Flight of the Navigator

No, not the film. Allow me to explain.

Me and John got to Adams for about 7:30. The plan was to go to the circus in Solihull park but we didn't know what time is started. I shot into Solihull to check and got there just as the show was starting. Since Adam wasn't ready and Carl was nowhere to be seen, we decided we would go another day. Carl arrived at Adams and we decided to go to the Plough for a drink. Unfortunately, the place was half dead. It was playing loud intrussive techno-shite music and my pint of Pedigree was awful. We drank up and I suggested that we go for a drive. I set off and basically did a full circle round Solihull without actually getting anywhere... D'OH! We needed a specific destination so I got on to the M42 and went towards Stratford Upon Avon. We stopped at the Navigation Inn for a drink purely because I had never been in. It was deader than the plough but at least it was nicely decorated and didn't have any music on. We had a drink (I had coke) and then we set back off to Adams to finish the evening.

Well it's midnight now so I'm off to bed.

Laxatives are not a play thing

Trust me! but moving swiftly on.....

Guess what! The year 11's have gone from Woodrush! yep. They had a surprise assembly this morning telling them that today would be their last day of lessons before exam leave. Free leavers books were handed out and they all went about getting autographs. I have signed a few but only knew the actuall names of about half of them. Ah well.

Yesterday evening was a laugh. Me and John went round to Carls house. I took my Gamecube with me and after a session of Super Smash Bros melee, we decided it would be fun to have a game of Donkey Konga. Kate and Claire came back from wherever it was they had been and took a fancy to it so they joined in. I have never laughed so much in my life. 5 adults playing along to cheesy music with plastic bongo drums, it really doesn't sound cool does it? When we left Carls house and 12:30 I noticed that one of the girls had parked a bit close to the end of the drive. For a moment it looked like I would have to wake one of them up to move it so I could reverse my car out without scraping the paintwork. But I just thought "bollocks to it" and gently started to reverse up Carls drive. I got to within centimetres of the other cars but I managed to do it with Carl standing behind me watching the back end and john in the front watching the one side for me. It was close, but I did it. I don't want anyone to tell me that I'm no good at driving ever again!

I am going out again later but I suspect that we will find something to do that it slightly more mature than playing computer games.

Right. best get on with whatever it is I am meant to be getting on with.

TTFN

Sunday, Monday, Happy days...

Hello again, my faithful readers. I haven't blogged over the weekend as I have had lots to do...

I will blog now.

On Saturday morning I went over to my nans house to fix the printer (which took about 2 minutes) while my mum went shopping over in Northfield. Whilst they were out my granddad asked me if I could find anybody who collects old woodworking tools on the internet. A strange little request but I had a look anyway.... Oh my god! you wouldn't believe the market for old tools! Loads of Americans collect and refurbish rare drills, antique woodplanes, the lot. I found a British collector and emailed him. He seemed interested in my granddads old equipment as he has planes that are 50 to 100 years old! hopefully they are worth something.

At the club that night, we had a band called "Nice 'n' Easy" they were OK, but not brilliant. They did do a spectacular renditioning of Hotel California by the Eagles. That was the highlight of the evening.

Sunday was crap and work was just plain boring.

On to today then.....

School was good up until lunch time when It all became difficult. Ah well, It comes with the job I suppose.

Well I will be seeing the usual gang later. I don't know where we are going, probably some random pub somewhere.

right. I'm going to play Simpsons: hit and run. I want to complete it.

Now this is more like it.

Today at work was quite relaxing, my usual kiddie was not in for the second day running, so I had other, calmer pupils to be getting along with. The afternoon art lesson was good to because the year 10's seemed keen to sit down and actually get some work done! I also had good news when I told Sally (Mrs Jukes, the art teacher) that I wanted to do my GTP (Graduate Teacher Program, it's the alternative to a PGCE course) and she said that she would like it if I could do it at Woodrush, and that she would like to be my "mentor" (every GTP student is assigned a "mentor" teacher to check that the work is up-to-scratch.) This is very lucky as I can do my GTP a year earlier than I had planned, I get to stay on at Woodrush, and I get along really well with Sally, (an absolutely fantastic lady) and the other staff. So It's not been a bad day at all!

In other news, my mate Spike has joined a new band called Adrenaline. They are playing at the Academy in Birmingham on May 30th and the entire Packhorse squad, me included, will be going to see them. I can see it being a great evening out.

I am in work later so I am going to get something to eat.

TTFN

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Ok... There we have it. I have asked the ultimate question. One has lightsabres, Jedi and Darth Vader. The other has cool starships, the Borg, and seven-of-nine. But which one, dear reader, do you think is best?


Right. Thats that out of the way, now on to more serious matters. I was casualy reading through Mr Robinsons blog when I came across this little marvel of a quote :


Gemma's new car "It kick's Gaz's ass"


We will forget all the arguing and the pointless quarelling. My car is lovely, and anyone who says otherwise will find themselves strapped to the bonnet and taken for a ride down the M42.... at 130mph. Now I'm not saying that Gemmas car is tatty, on the conterary, Saxo's are a good reliable model, it is clean, has a really really cool gear knob, done below average milage for its age and has a nippy little engine. It is a cool car...... BUT SO'S MINE!

In the Jug of Ale yesterday, Carl and Adam were saying that the Mondeo is a grandads car... Well they would, driving around in a 1.2 Corsa, and 1.4 Fiesta, I can naturally see why they would assume that only an older person could handle a 1.8 Mondeo.... Sorry guys, but it has to be said. And anyway, come the time to go to Reading, you will all be glad of the extra leg room and luggage space. We will see what Jo says about it... I'm sure I can count on her for a bit of support (well I hope so, because someone has to say something nice about it.) Ah well. Thats enough rambling from me. I'm off to bed. See you all later.

Born, in the U.S.A I was, Born in.... Solihull, actually

Well I tried blogging last night but blogger had an hour offline for maintenance so i went to publish and couldnt... D'oh!

We all went to the pub quiz at the Jug of Ale, and came 8th out of 15 which wasn't bad I suppose. Whilst we were there we had a bit of an arguement. Gemma had said to Carl that there were 50 states in America, but Carl, me, and John had said that there were 52. So last night when I got in I checked on google and found a list of American states:


Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho State
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming Capital

Did you count them? There are exactly 50. I owe Gemma an appology.

In other news, I had my "tyreflares" LED valve caps arrive yesterday afternoon so I stuck them on my car... Now all I have to do is get someone to drive it past me so I can see what they look like!

I have had "Cry Just a Little Bit" by Shakin' Stevens stuck in my head for the past few days so as I sit here typing I am listening to "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight" by Cutting Crew to see if I can change it.

I will be going to Fathers later. I will drive down but not tell him about my tyres so that when he watches me drive off later he will just see them..... I will probably get a phonecall saying "what the hell are those things" etc. etc. I also really want my log book to come back so I can re-register it with my new plates. Damn the DVLA!

Switching the subject entirely, I want to go and buy Star Wars: Episode III for my xbox but don't want to play it until I see the film in case it gives away any good plot twists.

Well thats me done. Im off to get something to eat. Catch you all later.

Kiddies, Kelloggs, and Quizes!

My usual kiddie was not in school today so I was working with a different one. I had an easy day compared to most, but I'm still shattered. (I'm not used to having my brain engaged for so long.)

I will be in Moseley with Adam, Jonh, Carl, and Gemma later doing a pub quiz. I don't expect we will win anything, although you never know.

I have discovered I have more readers than I had originaly thought. "Blondie" from America has left me a nice comment and so I will take this opportunity to thank her for her input and hope she keeps reading my blog.

Well I'm going to munch a bowl of Kelloggs Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes (they're ludicrously tasty) because I am starving.

Catch you all later.

FHM? You've got it all wrong...

Ok, here's the thing... You know how magazines do these "100 sexiest celebrities" lists and the top 10 are always Britney, Shakira, Beyonce etc. etc. Well I think that they have missed the mark by a mile. sure, they are all good for a quick leg-bender but all of them are stuck-up little bitches. (can you see britney ever saying "fancy a cuppa? I'll stick the kettle on".... No you can't. She'd want everyone running round getting tea for her. Bitch.) Without doubt the loveliest (I will say that again... "loveliest" i did not say "most attractive" or "woman who I'd most like to bone") woman on TV (based on looks vs "luvability") is without doubt Amanda Tapping (i.e Major Carter from Stargate SG1). Now before you all acuse me of being weird and tell me that "britney is far better looking and much more lovely" look at it like this:

scenario A
You are taking a prospective date to the cinema. You want to watch action/sci-fi. Do you go with Britney who will not want to join you in your choice of film (and will demand the best seats, causing you embarresment and attract the attention of any local photographers) Or do you take Amanda who clearly loves action sci-fi (well she agreed to do Stargate SG1 didn't she?) and won't make a fuss over seating arrangements?

Amanda 1. Britney 0.

scenario B
You and your date have been invited to a mate's house for a party. Do you take Shakira who will want to dance using that "wobbly arse" thing that she does, attracting the attention of all the blokes in the room, and subsequently leaving you floundering in the background with no one to talk to whilst she savours every drop of attention she is getting, or do you take Amanda, who will most probably relax, sit and chat, and dance in a much more lady-like way later on?

Amanda 2. Britney 0. Shakira 0.

scenario C
You have been nominated for an award for your contributions to a charity helping third world countries and you and your date have to attend the award ceremony. Do you take Beyonce, who works well as a "trophy date" but will not understand the nature of what you have been doing and will cause a stir and make you look stupid by giving a nonsense or "bluffed" answer when being questioned about you by the media, while all the time secretly thinking that she should be the centre of attention, or do you go with Amanda, who will support you and your good deeds by word-of-mouth, shunning the offer of an "exclusive interview" in favor of spending the time with you on your celebratory cruise?

Amanda 3. Britney 0. Shakira 0. Beyonce 0.

So there we have it. Amanda Tapping is clearly the best person to take to any venue, public or private. She may not be as quite as young as the other 3. But is clearly the pick of the bunch. And hey, even if you disagree with all of that, there is no denying that she is still pretty darn fit. (oh go on, admit it... If she offered you a bit, you definitley would.)

Thats all I wanted to say, other than "work was crap" and "I'm going out later"

I might blog later if I can be bothered.

TTFN

It hurts being this good.

Well I took the Golf over to Volksmagic, and since the Polo had died the day before, my mum scrapped hers to! We headed off with father leading the way. We got seperated at one point at a rediculously large round-a-bout with very little in the way of road markings or traffic signs. When we regrouped and finally got there, we were greeted by a guy with a large mohican haircut. He was a pleasent fellow, although he seemed slightly bewildered by the fact that he had to fill in a section of the log book for each car. I tried explaining that there is this thing called the DVLA which issues one log-book PER VEHICLE and they like to know when vehicles swap ownership, and that he should really be most interested in completing section 6 of the registration documents so that the company can take legal ownership of the vehicle....


I will skip blogging the afternoon as it was of no importance.


I got to work on time to find the club quieter than usual. The reason is that there was a VE day rememberance at a pub somewhere, and all the old soldiers had donned their medals and buggered off somewhere to recieve a big "ta" from the local crowd. The most exciting point of the evening was when I had a rather large, unpleasent woman tell me that I had short changed her by £5.00 I told her that when the tills are cashed up at the end of the night I will give her a copy of the till reciept and if it is £5.00 over, then she could have it back...

... No dice. She wanted a fiver out of the till there-and-then. Tony intervened and said that giving money out at random is a pretty bad buisness strategy and that she would have to wait. Well 11 o' clock came and the tills were counted.... and guess what... That till was spot on to the penny! yep, I had not given out the wrong change, she was just plain wrong. (hence the title of this post) The hard part was getting her to accept it...


.... They left rather quickly after I had made a point of raising my voice so that all the members of the club in the concert room could here me explain about the till, and then hear her shout at me even further... She stopped talking when she realised that she was being eyeballed by the comittee (an act that usually precedes loss of membership, and a big sign hung round your neck that reads "LOSER")

Gareth 1
Customers 0

Right. I'm off to bask in my own glory, and to get some sleep. Nighty-night, dear readers.

Golf, anyone?

I got up nice and early today... (more fool me) to take the Golf over to a garage, run by a friend of my dads, to see how much it would cost to M.O.T it. Now remember that the car is only worth £100. But take a guess at how much it would cost to have it all put right?...



A grand total of £350...


D'oh!


So I decided to phone a place called Volksmagic over in Oldbury. They specialise in Refurbishing old VW's and the last time I was there they were kitting out a couple of original VW camper vans. (Take note, Mr Turbitt) I have had a few parts off them before and they might buy the Golf off me for parts for £50. Which ain't bad. Plus, the £50 can be spent on a little something for the Mondeo. Talking of which, I will be slowly adding stuff to it over the next few weeks to give it that "personal touch." I have included for you, the shopping list:

• CD Autochanger
• Green LED Valve caps X4
• Green Interior LED unit X2 (mounted in foot wells)
• Novelty Air-Fresh
• Aluminium Pedals

So there we are. Right, I'm off to lounge about for a bit before driving the Golf over to Oldbury later this afternoon. TTFN.

Did you know: To say "hello" to a cat, look at it and slowly blink your eyes, and then look away.

Another Work Blog

Here I am in Woodrush library, inocently blogging whilst having my patience tested to the limit by a kiddie. Teachers should be allowed to administer valium injections...

Well the Packhorse was good yesterday evening. I got the TLC that I wished for (thanks Kate and Kate!) and came home feeling better for it.

It's lunch time in a bit so I am off to get some grub.

TTFN

Another Pukka Mowta!

Well today at work the kiddies were going ballistic so I'm stressed out.

My mums car has a major problem with it so she is changing it. We are going to look at a 1998 Ford Fiesta that I found through autotrader. If it is any good I think she will buy it. It's new cars a-plenty here at number 8.

I'm off to the Packhorse later with the usual squad. I am in need of a large, cold beer and a bit of TLC from the girls to help me relax. God knows, I need it!

I will blog later... (well I say I will, we all know that I'll be to pissed to work the computer.)

TTFN

I'm being paid for this!

As I sit here and type this blog, I am in a classroom watching over a bunch of year 7's and a couple of year 10's. This is only my second time I have ever blogged from work. It feels good being sat at the desk and looking like I might be doing something important, whilst in reality I am being paid for blogging.

Yesterday Me, Adam, Carl, Gemma and John went to the Masons (D'oh!) but it was ok. Everyone is getting excited about Reading although it's not until August.

I had better log off now and actually do some work. I don't want the kiddies fighting or anything.

TTFN

Toilets can be so annoying

I came home from Woodrush for lunch today, only to find a lot of men in boiler suits running round the house carring bits of metal pipe. I thought I was being invaded by a slipknot tribute organ repair service. I had completely forgotten that we are having the bathroom altered, and the bits of pipe were in fact parts of the new water system.

I am going out later but I don't know where yet. I will blog later (probably) TTFN.

Men with big weapons

Ah... My first full day off in a long time.

Me, Adam, Carl, Ralph, and Kirsty went to Warwick Castle. We watched a medieval archery display, some blokes fighting with swords, a fake trial of Queen Elizabeth I, and a brilliant falconry display. Adam has some cool (and some funny) photo's which I hope to put on here.

After we had done Warwick Castle we headed back to Ralph and Kirsty's house for a cup of tea, before going to watch The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy which is one of the funniest films ever.

Right. Thats all for now. Blog tomorrow.

Mayday! Mayday!

... Happy May Day to you. It is the first of the month so that means all of Aprils blogs have been archived and we can start-a-fresh.

I popped over to Carls house with John yesterday as It was the official house warming party for Kate and Claire. Adam arrived shortly after, and a load of other people turned up aswell. The Barbecue was done just in time for me to scoff a burger, hotdog, and slice of garlic bread (garlic bread?) before shooting off to get ready for work....


.... Which was shite. The band that was playing had one guy on a keyboard and another playing an electric clarinet (yes, you read that correct) which produces the most irritating, shrill, ear shredding noise you have ever heard. It is actually worse than fingernails on a blackboard. Talking of work, I am back there again in a bit... Damn.

I have put new mats in my car, and next month (or even, later this month) I hope to add an autochanger to the boot and at some point I want to fit LED's in the footwells (it really highlights any car interior... look) I had my number plates done yesterday afternoon and they look fantastic. As soon as I get the log book back from the DVLA I will send it off for re-registering and the plates can go on. I might have to wait a while for the log book though so it might be another month before all of that happens.

I will blog again soon. for now, take care dear readers.