My Supportive Girlfriend

This week, as I've already mentioned, has been half term. This has meant a very busy week for me. It has also meant a nice, quiet week off for Lizzy. Now, normally, as I'm the first to admit, Lizzy works incredibly hard and she absolutely deserves a week of relaxation and lie ins. Because Lizzy works hard I like to think that I support her by doing things like sending her a nice text during the day or helping her out with some of her schoolwork [just to remind you here that she's a teacher] or going to see her school productions. This week then has been a bit of a role reversal and Lizzy, in her own way, has tried to support me. How has she done this? She has also used the medium of text to send encouraging messages. Thursday morning, as I sat on a bus, still trying to wake up properly and surrounded by 13 excited and very loud young people on our way to a football tournament I got the following, encouraging, supportive text from Lizzy:
"I'm watching lord of the rings with a cuppa and some carrot cake! x"

Friday I had the day off and Lizzy suggested we have lunch and watch return of the king together. 'Brilliant' I thought, 'I've got a girlfriend that wants to sit down together and spend a relaxing afternoon watching Lord of the Rings.' Eventually we did actually get to do this, and it was wonderful to sit with Lizzy and watch one of the most incredible stories ever. However, I use the word 'eventually' for a reason. What Lizzy, showing a continuing understanding for my hard week, actually meant when she said 'we'll have lunch and watch Lord of the Rings' is: 'We'll have lunch and then you'll work out how to put up my cupboard doors, then you'll help me sort out my room, then you'll put up my new computer desk having moved my keyboard around and then we'll watch Lord of the Rings.' A saying containing the words 'carrot and stick' come to mind.

[Disclaimer: I want to make it perfectly clear that I had a completely wonderful day on Friday. It was nothing but a joy to help Lizzy set up her room and the text I recieved from Lizzy on Thursday did nothing but brighten up my day and in no way made me just wish I was sat at home in the warmth watching Lord of the Rings with my wonderful girlfriend.]

You just won't believe this

My Mum and Dad's church have been wanting to do some awareness and fund rasing about human trafficing which is a terrible injustice that is going on. In a couple of weeks they have a big weekend launch for their project called... wait for it: Stop Human Traffiking. Or, to use the acronym they're actually using: the SHT weekend! There comes a point when you just have to let go and see if your parents sink or swim, I think this is one of them.
Just thought that you'd all enjoy that piece of information.

I'm Knackered

I'm knackered.
Three days with large groups of the kids I work with playing different sports, eating food, making valentines cards (just don't ask!) and various other things has finally driven me to the point where I'm now lying on my bed with my laptop on my lap (which is surely the whole point of them anyway) and not planning to move from this spot til I get up tomorrow. I know all that sounds like it might be fun, and some of it was, but you would not believe the bickering and abuse that has gone on over the last few days. AHhhhh!!

Other than being knackered though, things are going well. Spoke to Steve and Em using the wonder that is ichat, they both seem to be having fun and enjoying life as bigshot businessman and wife (Steve has a very cool chair, ask him about it).

Anyway, just thought that i should write something so that the people that say 'you never write anything' haven't got anything to moan about. I know that there's not really anything interesting in this post, so I'll just give you a rundown on the things I'm looking forward to this year:
New albums from Radiohead, the streets and maybe Blur if we're lucky.
The final episodes of the west wing (what will I do when that finishes? other than just watch then all repeatedly on DVD) and the new series of Scrubs.
The return of superman and, with a sense of dread, the x-men.
I'm sure there's things I've forggotten in that list, but like I said, i'm knackered so not particularly thinking that straigh.

Record vs Song

Last night in, I presume, Los Angeles U2 won five Grammys including best album for 'how to handle an atomic bomb' and best song for 'sometimes you can't make it on your own'. On winning, Bono said 'don't expect this to give us big heads, it's too late for that. The Guardian covered the event if you want to read a bit more about them HERE.
I read the whole article and there was no mention at all of Greenday in it until, at the bottom of the article where there's a list of the big winners of the night and, alongside song of the year and album of the year is an award for record of the year which greenday won for boulevard of broken dreams (which is a great song). Now my question is this: What's the difference between record of the year and song of the year?
If anyone has any idea please let me know, cos I haven't got a clue!

A Moose

I had a roast diner round at Lizzy's house last night. Lizzy has taken to calling me monkey in what can only be described as a very, very bad yorkshire accent after she heard me going on about the Arctic Monkeys and took a liking to the way I say monkey. However, she also sometimes calls Chalie (her housemate) a monkey and has decided that she can't call us both that and so, for reasons that are completely unfathomable to anyone that isn't Lizzy, she has taken to calling Charlie a moose. This sparked a discussion that went something like this:

Lizzy: [to Charlie] You Monkey!
[Charlie starts to make monkey noises and jumps around the kitchen. Lizzy has been thinking about her comment and makes a decision]
Lizzy: I'm not calling you a monkey, that's James. You can be a moose.
Charlie: What noise does a moose make?
Lizzy: [after thinking for a bit] I don't know.
[Charlie and Lizzy leave the kitchen and enter the front room where, along with their other housemates I'm sat]
Lizzy: James, what noise does a moose make?
James: I'm not sure, but I've got a feeling that they honk.
Claire (another of Lizzy's housemates): I thought Geese honked.
James: Yeah, that's true, but I've got a feeling that Moose do too.
Jenifer (Lizzy's other housemate): What is the plural of moose anyway.
James: I think it's one moose lot's of moose, like sheep.
Charlie: I thought Moose were more like cows, not sheep. I don't think they baa.
James: No, not that moose are like sheep. Just that the plural of moose is moose, like you have one sheep and lots of sheep.

Of course I wasn't willing to not know what sound a moose makes so I did some research on the web today and it turns out that they do indeed honk. If you want to hear a moose honk click on this link:
Moose Honks
Incidently, I think hearing a moose honk is the sort of thing that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime. I'm sure that a live moose honk is much more impressive and provides a much better clarity of sound. However, since I don't know many people, in this country at least, who happen to have a moose handy for when they do want to hear one honk, this recording can at least safely allow you to experience a mooses honk without all the trouble of having to cope with the smell and general unpleasentness of having to come face to face, or at least face to snout, with a moose. I don't want to be Moosist here, really, I mean I've never even met one. I just get the impression that they are rather smelly and bad tempered beasts that, if you ignore their wonderful honk, you would rather not meet, especially if you take a look at some of their rather dangerous and potentially neck breaking horns.
I think I've said enough about Moose now.