So Far, So Good...
Jan. 13th, 2010 12:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teylaminhElectrics are back on, lift is functioning, heating is (just about) working, though the radiators are lukewarm and they're going to call the engineer out again just to double-check things are actually okay...
...but it did take me an hour and a half to get to work.
Okay. I admit that this more snow than most of us under the age of 30 have ever seen in our lifetimes here in Britain, but... come on! It's been snowing on and off for about three weeks solid, and when it hasn't been snowing there've been sheets of ice everywhere isntead, so why the panic like it's something new? Gah.
I know we're running out of grit and the roads are treacherous and blah blah blah. But the roads would be less dangerous if there weren't so many idiot drivers around making them dangerous.
Anyway, that's enough on that. I know that my opinions on this are unpopular. :P
In other news: I read a story in the Metro this morning about how fans of Avatar are suffering 'depression' after seeing the film because real life isn't as good as the film, and saying that they're considering suicide because then they might be reincarnated in a similar world to Pandora and everything will be perfect. Um, whut? I can kind of understand that, because I went through a similar phase myself... y'know, when I was 16 and full of hormones and wanted to live in Halloweentown / Frank's Castle / the Palais Garnier / [insert fandom location here]. Except these are (apparently) grown adults. I haven't actually seen the film yet so can't pass judgement, but I'm assuming that the 3D makes the entire thing a lot more real, and can sort of get that it's escapism on a grand scale, but... the mind boggles.
It's like... yes, we all know that real life sucks, and is difficult and ugly and full of horrible things trying to get you, and everything was simpler when we didn't have technology and all these shiny things to make our lives easier. But that's just it. It's real life, and there's no alternative; we have to make do with what life throws at us. Getting 'depressed' because you can't live in an imaginary world which is made all the more real by 3D cinema is not an appropriate reaction, and nor is considering suicide in order to 'get there'.
I am hardly one to mock, given my tendency to run and hide when faced with challenges, and my constant desire to hide under a rock until things stop being difficult. The difference here is that I am at least realistic that set-backs are usually temporary, and I'm not trying to escape into a fantasy world - or at least not one created by other people. :P
I think I'm a little too tired / cold to make my point accurately, but hopefully some of that makes sense...
I wrote down the basic points of my epic dream last night so will attempt to type it up again later on, assuming I can get home tonight without having to walk. It wasn't so much a lengthy dream, or even particularly involved / plot-driven, it was just very detailed and intricate in terms of its atmosphere. So, watch this space.
I also need to update about the weekend just gone...
On Friday night Lisa decided to cook for us, which effectively ended our what-to-have-for-tea conundrum. She made beef curry with wild rice and naan bread, which was very nice indeed. We then stayed downstairs in the warm and had a few drinks (Lisa and Paul considerably more than me and Pete [Lisa's bloke]) before finally going back upstairs at about 2.30am!
On getting home Friday night we realised that the bath contained a pool of water, there being a blockage. So the majority of Saturday was spent attempting to unblock the bath.
Plunging didn't really help, as there wasn't enough room to make a good enough seal, and the positioning of it is awkward - plus it took two of us, because one had to cover the overflow. It then transpired that the blockage was somewhere between the kitchen sink and the bath, so we plunged the kitchen sink thoroughly until it was flowing freely, as a result of which the blockage merely moved to the bath instead, which is obviously the lowest point in our plumbing...
I'd already decanted the water from the bath into a bucket and attempted to clear it using the Kim and Aggie standard of bicarb/salt/vinegar, but that didn't shift it. Indeed, when we plunged the kitchen sink and subsequently filled the bath full of foul-smelling water and debris, the mixture reappeared...
So we went out to Wilkinson and bought some unblocking stuff. The only one they had (other than caustic soda) was called Buster, which had a label with a money off guarantee. It cost about £3.00, so we bought two - one for the kitchen and one for the bath.
We poured the entire bottle, as directed, down the bath at around 3.00pm. The directions stated to leave it for 15 minutes or (ideally) overnight. Obviously, after 15 minutes it hadn't shifted. Thankfully, the stuff didn't smell as bad as Mr Muscle (nor did it release toxic chlorine gas when I tried to rinse it through), just vaguely of bleach... The fumes did start to get to me after a while, though.
Conceding defeat, we left it there to work its magic, content in the knowledge that if it didn't work, (a) we'd be taking the bath apart on Sunday, and (b) we could at least get our £3.00 back. :P
At 6.00am (15 hours later), the bath was still not clear. However, when I got up again at 11.00am, the bath was gloriously empty, and is now draining as quickly as it ever does. SUCCESS!
I can therefore recommend Buster for all your blocked sink woes... though to be honest the majority of the time the Kim and Aggie method also works perfectly well...
On Sunday, due to losing most of Saturday, we did absolutely nothing. :P
And this week, obviously, has been a constant stream of building-related woes. It feels like I've been back at work for months, and it's only been a week and a half. Bloody weather.
...but it did take me an hour and a half to get to work.
Okay. I admit that this more snow than most of us under the age of 30 have ever seen in our lifetimes here in Britain, but... come on! It's been snowing on and off for about three weeks solid, and when it hasn't been snowing there've been sheets of ice everywhere isntead, so why the panic like it's something new? Gah.
I know we're running out of grit and the roads are treacherous and blah blah blah. But the roads would be less dangerous if there weren't so many idiot drivers around making them dangerous.
Anyway, that's enough on that. I know that my opinions on this are unpopular. :P
In other news: I read a story in the Metro this morning about how fans of Avatar are suffering 'depression' after seeing the film because real life isn't as good as the film, and saying that they're considering suicide because then they might be reincarnated in a similar world to Pandora and everything will be perfect. Um, whut? I can kind of understand that, because I went through a similar phase myself... y'know, when I was 16 and full of hormones and wanted to live in Halloweentown / Frank's Castle / the Palais Garnier / [insert fandom location here]. Except these are (apparently) grown adults. I haven't actually seen the film yet so can't pass judgement, but I'm assuming that the 3D makes the entire thing a lot more real, and can sort of get that it's escapism on a grand scale, but... the mind boggles.
It's like... yes, we all know that real life sucks, and is difficult and ugly and full of horrible things trying to get you, and everything was simpler when we didn't have technology and all these shiny things to make our lives easier. But that's just it. It's real life, and there's no alternative; we have to make do with what life throws at us. Getting 'depressed' because you can't live in an imaginary world which is made all the more real by 3D cinema is not an appropriate reaction, and nor is considering suicide in order to 'get there'.
I am hardly one to mock, given my tendency to run and hide when faced with challenges, and my constant desire to hide under a rock until things stop being difficult. The difference here is that I am at least realistic that set-backs are usually temporary, and I'm not trying to escape into a fantasy world - or at least not one created by other people. :P
I think I'm a little too tired / cold to make my point accurately, but hopefully some of that makes sense...
I wrote down the basic points of my epic dream last night so will attempt to type it up again later on, assuming I can get home tonight without having to walk. It wasn't so much a lengthy dream, or even particularly involved / plot-driven, it was just very detailed and intricate in terms of its atmosphere. So, watch this space.
I also need to update about the weekend just gone...
On Friday night Lisa decided to cook for us, which effectively ended our what-to-have-for-tea conundrum. She made beef curry with wild rice and naan bread, which was very nice indeed. We then stayed downstairs in the warm and had a few drinks (Lisa and Paul considerably more than me and Pete [Lisa's bloke]) before finally going back upstairs at about 2.30am!
On getting home Friday night we realised that the bath contained a pool of water, there being a blockage. So the majority of Saturday was spent attempting to unblock the bath.
Plunging didn't really help, as there wasn't enough room to make a good enough seal, and the positioning of it is awkward - plus it took two of us, because one had to cover the overflow. It then transpired that the blockage was somewhere between the kitchen sink and the bath, so we plunged the kitchen sink thoroughly until it was flowing freely, as a result of which the blockage merely moved to the bath instead, which is obviously the lowest point in our plumbing...
I'd already decanted the water from the bath into a bucket and attempted to clear it using the Kim and Aggie standard of bicarb/salt/vinegar, but that didn't shift it. Indeed, when we plunged the kitchen sink and subsequently filled the bath full of foul-smelling water and debris, the mixture reappeared...
So we went out to Wilkinson and bought some unblocking stuff. The only one they had (other than caustic soda) was called Buster, which had a label with a money off guarantee. It cost about £3.00, so we bought two - one for the kitchen and one for the bath.
We poured the entire bottle, as directed, down the bath at around 3.00pm. The directions stated to leave it for 15 minutes or (ideally) overnight. Obviously, after 15 minutes it hadn't shifted. Thankfully, the stuff didn't smell as bad as Mr Muscle (nor did it release toxic chlorine gas when I tried to rinse it through), just vaguely of bleach... The fumes did start to get to me after a while, though.
Conceding defeat, we left it there to work its magic, content in the knowledge that if it didn't work, (a) we'd be taking the bath apart on Sunday, and (b) we could at least get our £3.00 back. :P
At 6.00am (15 hours later), the bath was still not clear. However, when I got up again at 11.00am, the bath was gloriously empty, and is now draining as quickly as it ever does. SUCCESS!
I can therefore recommend Buster for all your blocked sink woes... though to be honest the majority of the time the Kim and Aggie method also works perfectly well...
On Sunday, due to losing most of Saturday, we did absolutely nothing. :P
And this week, obviously, has been a constant stream of building-related woes. It feels like I've been back at work for months, and it's only been a week and a half. Bloody weather.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-13 01:17 pm (UTC)Seriously, though, how do people not get this? As someone who admittedly spends way more time than they should in Denial Land (for which, read 'fandom')... seriously, people??
Also, it could be that I've never seen a 3D movie, but I so don't get how that makes it more real. I mean, more immsersive, yes... but it's still just a story. (and, from what I've read about Avatar, not even a particularly good one). I mean, really.
There's nothing wrong with watching a movie and going "why can't life be like that?"... y'know, for the duration of the bus journey home or whatever. And then it's back to the real world. Where it's still bloody well snowing.
Of course, that said, I think, the economy being what it is at the moment, a lot people are just looking for excuses to get depressed...
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-13 01:27 pm (UTC)...people are just looking for excuses to get depressed...
Which is actually quite an offensive thing for people to do. They've clearly never actually been depressed, and in some respects it's still a quickfire (and dangerous) diagnosis to make - not to mention an 'easy excuse' for one's behaviour / lack of job / whatever.
People who are actually depressed still go to work and muddle through, it's just a LOT MORE DIFFICULT than for the regular people. They don't instaneously give up; that would make them feel worse.
PS: Rant is not aimed at you, but at stupid people referred to in your comment, BTW. :P
PPS: Icon love!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-13 01:40 pm (UTC)But yea. The people who Are Actually Depressed are the ones who don't go spouting about how depressed they are, and thus they're the ones that go unnoticed and unmentioned in the newspapers (because they're apparently Not Depressed Enough To Emmigrate To Pandora).
And it really is so freakin' easy for everyone and their brother to come out and claim depression. If there's one bad thing to have come from living in an Internet Culture (y'know, alongside all the other bad things), it's this ridiculous self-diagnosis that is, nine times out of ten, taken as fact.
...wow, this really is one of those rantworthy subjects, isn't it?
Edited for typos typos typos typos...
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-13 02:29 pm (UTC)Which is because as soon as they do, they automatically have a stigma attached, so it's safer to keep schtum.
For some reason I want to turn "Not Depressed Enough to Emigrate to Pandora" into an icon. :P
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-13 01:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-13 01:28 pm (UTC)Seriously??
Date: 2010-01-14 01:57 am (UTC)Too bad about your drain, but good that you got it cleared in the end. Thanks for the pizza recipe, I'll try it out one of these days! It sounds really good!
I hate winter driving conditions :-P I guess I'm just lucky that I live in an area where it's considered normal, so civilization doesn't come to a grinding halt at the first flurry. Making it worse are the assholes who forget that they have to drive slower when they're tire-deep in brown slush. One day I was driving to work, probably doing 20mph and not wanting to risk more, and the guy in front of me (in a sports car, naturally) is zooming along at 45mph, as though the ice and snow wouldn't dare harm his super special shiny car :-P People! Sometimes I think we should just take the warning labels off of everything and let nature take its course!
Luckily, we've all been enjoying a nice little thaw, it's been melting a bit an I didn't even need my winter coat when I went shopping after work today. I know it's going to get cold again, but it's a nice reminder that spring is coming...eventually.
Re: Seriously??
Date: 2010-01-14 11:28 am (UTC)It's been snowing on and off for about four weeks here, which is more than we usually get (normally it's a couple of days at most), so I can kind of understand the panic... but geez, it's annoying. We basically get the tail end of mainland Europe's weather, though it never seems to be the good stuff. :P