Weight Tracker

I forgot to post this on Wednesday, but better late than never!



I haven't been as good so far this week. I told myself that, if I got to the halfway point last week, I was going to treat myself to proper fish and chips, so yesterday we went to Matlock Bath. I only had a small portion of chips and half a fish, but it was worth the wait!

Most Haunted ... LIVE

Okay, I watched. Against my better judgment, I watched, but hell, like many people I'm fascinated by the mystery of Jack the Ripper and wanted to see what they'd come up with on this show.

So why were they in Tower Bridge looking for ghosts? What in the blue blazes does that have to do with Jack the Ripper? If they wanted to say it was a live London Halloween show, fair enough. I know that Jack the Ripper never killed anyone on Tower Bridge!

And no, I did not see the light on Derek's back. Maybe the people who saw it were seeing the reflection of his earring in the night vision picture. I was waiting to see Derek go off on one of his weird moments, but no such luck.

Sorry, my psychic radar must have been switched off because that was the worst excuse for a psychic show I've ever seen. Of course the dog didn't want to go up in the lift. My dog would have hesistated at the idea as well! And of course the lady felt flushed and sick after climbing 200 bloody steps! Wouldn't most of us? But she felt better when she went back down to ground level ... and had a 20 minute rest ...

What total rubbish.

I Need a Vacation ...

Four weeks into the semester and I'm ready for the Christmas holidays! I'm not ready for Christmas itself, but I need a break already!

Things That Have Annoyed Me This Week

1. People's butts. In general, I have nothing against the ass. After all, we all have them. I think they can look pretty good if they're male and in a tight pair of jeans ... but that's straying off the topic. What I do not like is seeing some girl with hip-hugging jeans sit down at a table in my line of sight while I'm trying to eat with her ass hanging out the back. It puts me off my food.

2. Know-it-all sidewalk drivers. Not only are there back seat drivers, there are sidewalk drivers. Sorry. Pavement drivers here in the UK. I don't mean drivers who drive on the sidewalk/pavement. I mean people standing on the pavement making comments about the way you pull out of a parking space. When I finished at the gym today, I was pulling out of the place I had reversed into (parallel parking in the US), but because I'm not used to driving the 4x4 and couldn't remember exactly how far the front bumper sticks out, I didn't just pull out in one go. I reversed a bit more and then pulled out. But there was some girl standing across the road making fun of me, holding her hands about a metre apart. I'll bet she doesn't even drive. If she does, I'll bet her insurance premiums are sky high because she doesn't care what she hits. I do care.

3. Guys with bling who think they own the road. Extra jewelry does not make you owner of the road. A guy yesterday was all over my rear bumper, then swerved around me in a dangerous place and did the same to numerous other cars. The fact that he was advertising an exhaust business makes me highly unlikely to ever go there!

4. Husbands. My friend Lynn and I are debating their usefulness. It's kind of the "can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em" scenario. I shouldn't have said debating because we are in agreement on just what good they are!

5. News anchors who don't check their grammar. The celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar have been going on, and today one of the news anchors goofed by making it sound as if Admiral Lord Nelson had been named after Trafalgar Square rather than the square being named after the battle. It was something along the lines of "the square from which he got his name". Unforunately it was live so I doubt I'll hear it again.

6. People who don't have a clue why they're at university. I had to attend a group meeting for all those students under the supervision of my disseration tutor. We've known since we began that we'd be doing a dissertation, and last year we had to choose the area of our research. For the meeting, it was requested that we have our topics narrowed down, but I over heard one girl say, "How the f*** should I know what my topic is?" Evidently she expected to be given a topic despite the fact we were told otherwise.

7. People who light up during anti-smoking commercials. This one would be aimed at Simon. There is a campaign currently running to show the damage that second-hand smoke can do to your family and friends, and instead of having second thoughts, Simon lights up during them. I'm trying to improve my health through diet and exercise, and he blows smoke in my general direction. Charming.

8. Bicycle seats. Is it too much to ask for them to put seats on stationary bikes that don't bruise my bum?

A Morbid Curiosity?

I belong to a forum for fans of Formula One, and an ongoing thread is about the recent tragic death of a co-driver in the Welsh Rally. One member of the forum expressed curiosity about the crash and asked if anyone knew of where he could see a video of it.

That has led to an uproar about how distasteful it is to want to see the crash, but is it really as bad as it sounds? I could understand wanting to see just how bad the crash was, seeing as how it took the life of a man, in the way I watched a programme about the crash that killed Ayrton Senna eleven years ago during a Formula One race. Programmes about racing regularly replay the video footage of the crash that nearly killed Nikki Lauda, leaving him with severe burns. My young friend didn't say he wanted to see the men trapped in the car at the Welsh Rally, so is it so very different?

One man has stated that it's the youth of today who want to see such gory things because of their exposure to cartoons and energy drinks. Is that true? I don't think so. When Princess Diana was killed, and a photographer took pictures of her while she was still in the car, it wasn't the young people (meaning those younger than I am) of my acquaintance who wanted to see those pictures, but people who were older than me.

As race fans, we watch races expecting to see crashes. If there are multiple crashes, we call it a good race, so long as our favourite driver isn't involved in it. And yet we know that any one of those crashes could kill a driver, a marshall or a spectator.

Does that make us hypocrites when one of our number wants to see a particular crash? I'm going to go on the presumption that this young guy just wanted to see the damage to the car, not the damage to the man who died, and in that case, yes, I suppose we are hypocrites if we condemn him and yet applaud when a driver we don't like crashes. Michael Schumacher going off track and breaking his leg at the British Grand Prix several years ago springs to mind, because those who don't support him cheered.

Less Stressed Today

I slept in a bit this morning, woke up with a banging headache, went back to sleep, and then got up and cooked a big Sunday dinner. Surprisingly, I feel less stressed than I did last night. After I blogged, I told Simon that I've decided I want to try to get into the MSc programme I'm so interested in, and that I intend to get a part-time job and do my studies part-time. I did say that I could use his help by him working hard on his ice cream van when he puts it back on the road next year. He seemed agreeable.

Would you believe my step-son actually showed up yesterday, for the first time in a few weeks? I didn't believe it myself because he evidently went straight up to the boys' room, and I never laid eyes on him until this afternoon! The kids are off for their autumn half-term holidays this week, so he's staying until tomorrow.

So apart from cooking, which I actually love to do, I've been watching the A1 Portugese Grand Prix. It's not F1, but it's good racing. When the feature race is over, I'm going to go work out.

Hey, and another thing that has lightened my spirits is that last night before I went to bed, I tried on the size 12 dress that I said I wanted to get into for the Law Ball next March. Imagine my surprise to discover that it fits me now! It's a little tight in the straps, and I definitely need to tone up the tummy, but other than that it fits great! Not too tight in the sides or abdomen or bust. Now I'm wondering if it won't be too big next March! I think that dress is destined never to be worn. I bought it the month I moved in with Simon in 2000, and after that I put on weight. I gave it to Malorie to wear to her prom last year, and she ended up not going. Now, if I lose much more weight, it's going to be too big for me! It's a gorgeous dress, too. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. It might be destined for ebay!

Give Me Strength ...

Why does all the shit hit the fan at home when I'm at university? I feel stuck in the middle between two forces, and no one seems to give a rat's ass! Malorie and Braden are being typical teenagers who don't like doing chores around the house. I don't like it, but hey, other families have teenagers who are a lot worse than mine! If all I have to put up with is some attitude, then I can cope with it. I'd rather that than drugs, teen pregancy and crime!

Then the opposing force is Simon, who doesn't like the fact that they don't do as they're told when they're told. That's fair enough, but it just seems like between the kids and the husband, it's just me. The kids complain to me that they don't understand why they're in trouble/grounded/etc. Simon complains to me that nothing is getting done because they don't do what he tells them to.

Yesterday was a teacher training day at their school, so they were home. I had to go to uni to get some journal articles I need for my victimology class on Monday that aren't available online. When I got home, Simon complained that Braden spent all day on the X-Box, and Malorie spent all day on her computer. Before I could stop myself, I said, "And you spent all day on your computer". I shouldn't have said it, but it sums up what's bugging me.

The kids don't show enough respect, and Simon's on his computer almost every waking hour. Granted, he did finally move a load of rubbish off the front of the house this week that has been there for months, and he washed and polished his new 4x4. But my car still needs work doing to it so it can pass it's MOT, and I can stop making Simon take me to and from the Park and Ride.

Now I've decided (okay, I'm 95% sure) that I want to do the MSC in Forensic Criminology that my university offers. I'm realistic enough to know I can't afford to do it full-time, but if I get a job and do it over two years part-time, I can probably manage it. No one seems very supportive though. It's like, "Oh, she's not going to get a job and quit studying".

And being the non-confrontational person that I am, what am I doing about all this building up inside me? I'm blogging. But at least I've found my outlet for the stress. I've been exorcising my demons by exercising. It's hard to feel stressed when you're jogging or on the stairmaster or kicking someone (okay, kicking pads) in Tae Kwon Do. If I didn't have that, I'd probably have lost my mind by now. Properly, I mean!

Unfortunately, on the down side, I've been comforting eating the past couple of days. I seem to be hungry all the time, especially when I'm stressed. On the plus side, I'm exercising enough to cover my Weight Watchers points, but I'm fully expecting to have a gain this week when I go for my weigh-in!

The Things Kids Say!

This summer when Ricky and Jack went to Tenerife with their dad, their step-mother had a bit of an accident on a water slide and broke her tail bone. My ex told me about it, and then the kids were full of stories about how she did it.

A couple of days ago, Jack was bouncing down the stairs here at home on his backside, and I suddenly heard him grumble, "Oh no! I've broke my toxics!"

The Christmas Rush?

On the tram coming home from university today, a lady sitting near me struggled to find her mobile phone in her bag. It played for a bit while the rest of the passengers around me, myself included, looked around in amazement.

Her ring tone was a medley of Christmas carols.

The shops have had Christmas items on their shelves for a few weeks now. They were available before October ever arrived. But I had really hoped to avoid things like Christmas adverts and people with Christmas ring tones on their phones!

Weight Watchers Day!

Another pound and a half off! Only two more pounds before I can say I've lost two stone! I am so determined to do it before my next weigh in that I did an hour's work out after my hour-long Tae Kwon Do lesson!

What a Sad Man!

Oh dear god. Simon has bought a new CD, and it has to be the lamest collection of music I've come across in years. These are some of the highlights:

Atomic Kitten - The Tide is High
Kylie Minogue - Spinning Around
Toni Basil - Mickey
Crazy Frog - Axel F
DJ Otzi - Hey Baby
Fast Food Rockers - Fast Food Song
Cartoons - Witch Doctor
Shampoo - Trouble
The Archies - Sugar Sugar
Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out

This is supposedly called "Cool ... The Best Pop Album Ever". I asked who picked the songs for it, my youngest Jack? They sound like the songs he'd choose!

Now, in comparison, this is what I've had going on my MP3 player today:

Alice Cooper - Poison
Def Leppard - Paper Sun
Def Leppard - Mirror Mirror (Okay, and lots more Def Leppard)
Lonestar - Amazed
Jamelia - Thank You
Kelly Clarkson - Behind These Hazel Eyes
Savage Garden - To The Moon and Back
Powderfinger - Love Your Way
Heart - There's the Girl
Pat Benetar - Invincible
Delta Goodrem and Brian McFadden - Almost Here
Nickelback - Photograph
Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

Which one of us is more lame?

My Tuesday

Geez, it's been a long day! A lecture at 10.00 this morning, a four hour break, then a lecture and a seminar one after the other. I haven't eaten properly either because, even though I packed my lunch to take with me, I accidentally burned most of it last night, and that kind of put me off the un-burned part. I had a yogurt and a coffee.

It's funny that I mentioned the last day of my Brussels trip yesterday because I ran into Dennis today, twice in fact. The first time I was queueing for food (no, not soup today), and other than saying hello and confirming that I'm going to Brussels again in February, I was a bit too embarrassed to say anything to him. Don't ask me why. I guess that since I've lost some weight, I've been feeling very self-conscious when I meet up with people who haven't seen me in a few months.

I ran into him again after my seminar, and this time I managed to speak coherently. At least coherently for me. And what was the first thing he said to me? "You're looking very slim"! I'm sure I must have turned a dozen shades of red. He offered me a lift into Sheffield City Centre, and I took him up on the offer, thinking it would save me some time by getting me to a tram stop closer to home. Little did I know the traffic was going to be so bad! Still, I'm not going to complain because it was nice having a chat with him, and we did have a laugh over a few things that happened in Brussels, like the last day in the snow because that was the day he said he was going to have to buy some clothes "for ma bitch", meaning me. It was also when we passed a department store showing videos in the windows -- of lingerie models on a catwalk!

He promises that he's going to have to come up with something good for this year's trip. I told him to bring it on!

Yep, It's Been One of THOSE Days

You know you're going to have one of those days when your eight year old steps in dog shit just as you're leaving for school, and not only does he take ages getting it off his shoe, he does so all over the pavement outside your back door!

My day did get a bit better. I made it to uni okay, with plenty of time to sit down and do some studying as well as eat my lunch. Unfortunately, I had a bowl of "homemade tomato soup" in the school cafe. Now, I've come to like tomato soup ever since my trip to Brussels last year. On the last full day, I was out souvenir shopping with Dennis and Glyn, and it was one of my favourite memories because it was absolutely chucking down with snow. We stopped at a cafe on the way back to the hotel, but the kitchen was closed and all they had was homemade tomato soup. It was delicious!

Then in July when I went to Buckingham with Kate to the Mark Webber Supporters Club party, we arrived so early we stopped in a cafe, and I had the, you guessed it, tomato and basil soup. Again, delicious!

Someone needs to teach the catering service at my uni to make proper tomato soup. I could tell they had actually used at least some real tomatoes in it because of the tiny bits of skin, but the whole thing smelled of vinegar and tasted like ketchup! Yuck! Ketchup is great on chips, but I'd never eat it straight with a spoon, and that's what this soup was like.

Like a good girl, after my lecture this afternoon, I went to the gym to work out. As soon as I started on the treadmill, I took a drink from my sports bottle, spilt it straight down the front of my top and nearly choked to death. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it was still embarrassing. Soon after, back on the treadmill and jogging at five miles per hour, I caught the cord of my MP3 player and sent it flying behind me. Of course there were lots of people on the stationary bikes back there by this point!

My friend Jamie was in the gym, too. I know I've lost a lot of weight, but I still feel very self-conscious in my work out clothes, though I'm proud because the trousers are a size 12-14 (down from a 16-18). I'm afraid I couldn't really bring myself to speak to him, telling myself it was because he was busy exercising as well. I did manage a couple of smiles, and I even worked out on some of the equipment next to him, but that took something to bring up the courage to do it. When I was finished, I snuck out.

Then, when I was on the tram, I got a text message. It was the highlight of my day and put a big smile on my face. It was from Jamie, telling me to keep up the good work because I'm looking much trimmer. I probably blushed a lot, but I was glad he sent it to me. It's nice having compliments from younger good-looking men in extremely good shape, even if they're just a friend!

So all in all, a fairly typical day for me with a noteworthy moment that made me feel good!

Blogging Time

I guess you guys can tell that I've been busy by the state of my blog lately! I haven't even found the time to pick on the top three: Jordan, Victoria Beckham and George Bush!

I did have something funny happen this week. I went to the Law Society/Mooting and Debating Society meeting Wednesday night on campus. It was one of those fun topic debates: "The House Believes Students Are a Waste of Space".

My friend Kelly was on the side defending students and supporting the idea that students are not a waste of space when someone from the floor asked her how she could say they are not a waste of space when brainless leaders can get into Ivy League universities, namely George Bush Jnr.

Kelly's reply was, "Well, what do you expect? He's from Texas. He's a redneck."

My jaw dropped, and I said, "Um, Kelly?" Then I burst into laughter because the look on her face was priceless.

I did tell her after the debate that George Bush isn't really a Texan. He wasn't born there, so he doesn't count as a native. At least she knows she didn't offend me.

Teen Troubles

I'm getting ready to bang two heads together. Why do sweet little kids turn into rotten teenagers?

Last night Malorie and Braden both spent the night with friends. This morning both came in accusing the other of being drunk last night. Both say they didn't drink, but both say the other did. Either one is lying or both are lying, but it's clear they're determined to get each other into trouble.

Now let's see how they like being mad at me for a while because, instead of believing one over the other, they're both grounded. It's going to be a long time before they sleep over at a friend's house again! Even worse is that next weekend they're going to be in for a load of working around the house, doing chores that have not yet been invented. Simon and I were supposed to go away Friday for a night in London, but I don't think we can trust them to leave them alone in the house.

The Husband Noticed!

Someone slap me. I think I'm in shock. When I was getting ready to leave for my Tae Kwon Do lesson this afternoon, Simon suddenly said, "You're really looking slim!"

It's about dang time.

Yuck

I'm up to my eyeballs in work for uni, only now my eyes won't stop running because I have a cold! It happens every year as soon as I go back to school. Must be all those people crammed into undersized lecture halls sharing their germs.

I felt really good yesterday when I was doing Tae Kwon Do. I seemed to temporarily sweat the congestion out of my system, but now I'm back to stuffed up and miserable.

Thank heavens I don't have any lectures or seminars today. I'm going back to bed to see if I can actually get some sleep. I finally managed to drop off this morning, only to have Simon wake me up because he needed me to transfer some money so he can go buy his new Jeep or 4x4 or whatever it is he found yesterday. That's how horrible I feel. I'm not sure what it is he's bought. I do remember that he said he didn't get the 7 seater I advised him to get for some reason.

*sneeze*

Almost Halfway!

I'm getting close to the halfway point in my weight loss!

Oh This Is Rich!

My daughter Malorie told me last night that, according to her cousin in Texas, my ex (the first one) is telling people that I will never go back to live in Texas because, if I do, the police will come and arrest me! This is definitely news to me! I've never been in any kind of trouble with the police in my life, not in the US and not in the UK. I've never even had to much as a speeding or parking ticket! My only dealings with the criminal justice system have been as a victim, not a perpetrator.

Malorie did say that her cousin seems to think that I'm in trouble with the police in Texas for "problems with bills". I don't owe anyone in Texas money, so I haven't got a clue where this is coming from. Besides, I never realised the police were debt collectors over there!

If this is coming from my ex, and I don't see why the cousin would make something like this up, it's really rich, seeing as how he's the one who got caught shoplifting once upon a time ...

The Boyfriend

Oh god, Malorie has a real boyfriend! Not just one that she sees while she's at school and then talks constantly about when she gets home, but one who spends the afternoon with her, then calls to talk when they get home.

And get this: the boyfriend wants to meet me.

Boy, is he in trouble! I've told Malorie to be worried. I have embarrassing baby photos to show, just like my father did to me when I started dating!

Superiority Complex

Don't you just love those emails people send to you with stupid quotes from celebrities and politicians? I suppose they're meant to make us feel superior to famous people, like we never say things that don't make sense. I usually just delete them, but today I got one that I had to send on to other people because, in the creator's haste to prove how superior he or she is to these foot-in-the-mouth celebs, he or she made a bit of a mistake.

The last quote was from the FCC Chairman Mark S. Fowler. In their haste to find a picture of Mr Fowler, I'm guessing they did an internet search and used the first picture they came across.



Unfortunately this man has never been the chairman of the FCC. This Mark Fowler was a character on "East Enders", and this picture is of the actor who played him, Tod McCarty!

So much for the superiority this email author has over celebrities!

This Makes Me Sick

J Lo is complaining that, instead of a concave abdomen showing negative flab (meaning there's not an ounce of fat on the woman), she has a flat tummy.

Oh PLEASE!



I have two words directed at J Lo: SHUT UP!

People like that make me sick. They have a great body but complain it's not good enough. Try being a real woman with a real woman's problems, not some Hollywood figure that the real woman is supposed to aspire to. The whinging over her "lack of flat tummy" as so aggravating!

You know, I'd rather be flabby than try to do anything that copies Jennifer Lopez. A waste of space, if you ask me.

Picture from Sky Showbiz

I Can't Feel My Nose

A few weeks ago, I found a restaurant in Essex that serves real margaritas. I had a few, but didn't really feel the effects of them.

Then, yesterday, I found a big bottle of ready-mixed margaritas in one of the local grocery stores. I've just finished off two thirds of it, and I'm surprised I can type. I'm having to backspace quite a bit, but I seem to be doing an okay job.

But my nose has gone numb. I think that means I've had too much.

Celebrity Quote Wash-Out

I was looking through some celebrity quotes posted on Sky Showbiz, as I do occasionally, hoping to find something so stupid it just begged to be posted on my blog. It just seems that the celebrities were being more mindlessly numbing than usual. Who cares if Jordan says she'll boot her new hubby Peter Andre out if he cheats on her? Who cares if Robbie Williams decided drinking himself to death wasn't a good idea?

But there was one celebrity that had a quote that made me smile:

Steven Fry: "Jude Law is a good snog."

I love this guy!

Nothing Blogworthy

Is blogworthy a word? Well, it is now, on my blog anyway. It pretty much describes how I feel at the moment because, although it's been a very long day, there isn't much to blog about. The dog woke me up at 4.00 am, and I've only dozed since then. Simon and I went to town to get some bits we needed to go hill walking tomorrow only to find out that the weather is going to be crap. Maybe Saturday will be better. I found out that I need to have my dissertation topic narrowed down and a proposal of sorts written by next Wednesday. Malorie has found a replacement for her work experience. I've rediscovered muscles in places I forgot I had muscles after Tae Kwon Do yesterday because they ache.

Not a bad day, but nothing I could (or should) drone on and on about. A mere mention of the above events will suffice for now. How boring is that?

Busy Week!

I've completely lost track of what day of the week it is. All day I've been thinking it's Thursday, even though I had a meeting and a martial arts class that I knew were on Wednesday. I still keep thinking tomorrow is Friday.

Weight Watchers this morning: I was absolutely sure I had put on a pound or two since the last meeting because of my two trips to IKEA (with corresponding hot dogs), not walking as much as I'd been used to, and snacking frequently because I've been rushing about here and there. I was pleasantly surprised to find out I've lost another pound. That brings the total to 22 and a half pounds since the second week in July. Hopefully I can get into a routine now, and packing a lunch to take with me to uni will help. The catering services on campus aren't very nutrition friendly.

I had my first Tae Kwon Do class this afternoon, and I can't believe how much I enjoyed it! I came out of there feeling really pumped with self-confidence, even though I only learned a few things. The instructor was great! He said we don't have to go through the grading system for the different belts, we can just come along and learn in the beginners' class, but I think I'd like to at least try to see how far I can make it. I don't know if I'm a natural at it or the instructor was trying to boost my confidence, but he asked if I've ever studied martial arts before and seemed surprised when I said no. I did mention that I had been a dancer, but that was 20 years ago. He said that probably explains it. Once you do something like that, you don't completely forget techniques. But I definitely can't kick as high as I used to!

I also had a Law Society meeting this afternoon and had a chance to catch up with a few friends I haven't spoken to in ages, like my roommate from the Brussels trip in February, Vicky. We've both signed up to go again this coming February! But I'm determined not to drink as much on the last night. I never had a hangover until the morning we came back to England, and that was no fun on the coach! At least I didn't puke my guts up like some of the others did. Okay, not on the coach anyway. The trip is going to be a bit different this time, with three nights in Brussels and two nights in Strasbourg. Vicky and I are going to share a room again because we got along really well last time. We did stuff together, and we did stuff on our own, which suits both of us perfectly. She's the first person at uni to notice I've lost weight, but like Simon said, "That's because you've slept with her". That was quite funny. I didn't realise he was that witty on the spur of the moment.

Malorie hasn't had such a good day. She's having trouble with her work placement, mostly because she just hasn't put the effort in she should, but partly because the school doesn't inform the parents just what it is their kids are supposed to be doing! If they had, I could have cracked the whip a few times. They were happy to inform me when it's almost too late to sort anything else out. She might have to change to a different course at the college in town, if that's possible. Fingers crossed she can find another placement in the next couple of days because she really wants to stay at her school. I just don't think they're very friendly to students who aren't at the top of the class, at least in the Sixth Form. I agree that they have to learn to cope in the "real world" and not have their hands held every step of the way, but I also think it should be recognised that they're only 16 and still immature and ignorant in a lot of ways.

Tomorrow isn't going to be a lazy day because I still have a ton of stuff I need to do, but I don't have any lectures, seminars, classes or meetings. I'm going to have a bit of rest before getting busy doing the garden and housework! No rest for the wicked.

And I have not only lost what day of the week it is, I've completely lost the plot. I accidently posted this in my Photographic Wanderings blog, then couldn't figure out why it wasn't showing up on this one! Sheesh!

Not to mention I left a bunch of stuff out that I wanted to say, so I've had to come back and add to this post!

Michael Vaughan Autograph

Okay, I don't know much about cricket, but I can honestly say that I probably know more than the average American. I understand the general rules of the game, and I've even been to a match at Lords. The scoring completely baffles me. As long as someone tells me who's winning, though, I'm okay.

Recently England beat Australia in the Ashes, so cricket is on the rise in popularity, and one of the England cricketers, Michael Vaughan, was near my campus this afternoon signing autographs. He has green and white charity bands to raise money for Sheffield Children's Hospital, a very worthy cause in my eyes, seeing as how I've used their services in the past.

Kate met me there (she's cricket mad!), armed with a copy of the picture of Mark Webber pointing to the back of Kate's Vaughan shirt for Michael to sign, and she snapped a picture of me while he was signing my stuff.

I think I have a trend growing here. I seem to have more pictures of the back of my head while I'm meeting celebrities, or at least sporting figures! I have one similar from the karting event two weeks ago, and I even have one of the back of my head while I was speaking to Martin Brundle at his book signing last year! I must have come up with my own gimmick, so to speak!

Back to School!

Summer vacation is over, kiddos! School starts again tomorrow. I went for a couple of induction meetings last week, one for criminology and one for law.

I think I'm in for a lot of late study nights.

Only one lecture tomorrow: land law. I sure hope it's more interesting than it sounds. I know the lecturer so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm determined to do well in all my modules, especially since this year counts either 75% (with 25% from last year) or 100%, whichever gives me the highest average. I also have a dissertation to write, and although I've been approved for a broad topic -- domestic violence -- I still haven't narrowed it any further than that. I'm doing background reading on marital rape.

So, maybe I should head off to bed and get some sleep instead of sit here on the computer trying not to nod off!

Fed Up Driver

A couple of days ago, I was all ready to blog about road rage and other stupid drivers, but my karma changed that. I'm still going to complain about those drivers. I just can't help it. However, it seems that someone out there probably thinks that I'm just another stupid woman driver.

I had a little accident ...

It wasn't that bad. In fact, it was almost laughable. No, not almost. I did laugh about it after giving him my insurance details.

I went to Hobbycraft with Jack to pick up a few bits for my scrapbooking, and when we finished, we decided to go to McDonald's. Jack was telling me what he wanted me to order for him, but I know I checked my mirrors and looked behind me because I saw a blue car and waited for it to pass. It's just a shame I didn't see the green car.

Now, in retrospect, I've decided that one of three things happened, since I'm positive I checked behind me.

1. He pulled straight out from a parking place in the row behind me. Why do I think that's a possibility? Because when he moved his car out of the way of traffic, he reversed back in without any manoevering.

2. He was a speedy little guy (it was a posh little sports car, to make my luck even more incredible). He zoomed behind me, hitting all my blind spots at the appropriate times. Okay, far-fetched, I know, but it could happen.

3. I just didn't see him because he was directly behind me in a low-riding green car, and he blended in with the boot of my big green car. Yes, his car was almost the same shade of green as mine.

At least I can report that there was no damage at all to my car because it was my rubber bumper that hit the front wing of his car. And because it was the rubber bumper that impacted, and at a very very low speed, there was only a small dent in his car. I figure that it just needs popping back out, but with my luck, it's going to cost my insurance company more than I think is reasonable!

I suppose, in the big scheme of things, it's not too bad. I haven't had an accident in almost 20 years, not since passing my test in Texas in 1986. (Okay, I had an accident as a learner in May of 1985, but the tree lived.) I didn't burst into tears or anything like that, and the kid who owned the sports car was pretty nice about it. He even joked that people keep aiming for the exact same space on his car because it's happened before. Maybe he should think about getting a car in a more visible colour.

Those other drivers I mentioned at the beginning of this post, however ... When I was driving to IKEA a couple of days ago, I was stunned by the actions of two drivers on the motorway.

One of them was weaving in and out of traffic going at least 80 miles per hour if not more. He was annoyed that I was in the outer, slow lane going 70, so he zipped around me and then cut back in front of me. Then he did it to the other drivers in front of him.

Now that may sound like a standard encounter on the motorway, but one thing really pissed me off. In the rear window, he had a sign that said, "Baby on Board". I could see at least one other child in the car, as well as his wife.

As soon as I got over my state of disbelief, the same thing happened again! A different car, a different man driving, but the same scenario.

Do they think that by having that sign in their cars, they have a license to drive like complete idiots? Do they think it's a case of "You guys have to be careful around me so I don't have to be careful myself"? I wonder if they've ever heard of the concept of defensive driving. Obviously not.

Another driver that pissed me off was a guy in a white van. Despite surveys saying that mum's on the school run are, by popular opinion not statistics, the worst drivers on the roads, I still believe it's the men in white vans. They used to be at the top of the surveys, but they're still at the top of my list of bad drivers.

This time, I was leaving IKEA and entering the dual carriageway. A red car was in front of me on the slip road, so as soon as we were on the main road and the inside lane was clear (I checked my mirrors and looked over my shoulder, just like my driving instructor taught me a few years ago), and I could see a white van in the distance. I indicated, and I moved into the inside lane. As soon as I was side by side with the red car, the white van was up my ass, flashing his lights to get me to move over!

I took my time. I was going the 50 mile per hour speed limit, and he was going well above that, but I didn't let him rattle me. When I was clear of the red car, I indicated and moved back to the outside lane. The passenger in the white van made gestures at me to say I need to look "you stupid woman driver".

I did get a bit of satisfaction a few minutes later. For all his speeding down the road, almost causing an accident, he was stopped at exactly the same red lights as I was a few minutes later. His passenger looked over at me, and I smiled pleasantly.

Oh, and I stuck two fingers up at him.

Another Woodville Video

My dad has sent me another link to a news video on damage from Hurricane Rita in Woodville, Texas. I haven't had an update on my family there in a few days, but the fact that my dad is sending me video links and no news means there must not be much more to report than what is on the videos themselves. He and my mother were hoping to go down there this weekend, but Rita changed that.