Things I want to learn

Another list for the list blog, this is my wishlist of things that I wish I had the time and energy to learn properly, some I may manage to learn, others will never happen.

1. How to drive
2. Wing chun
3. PHP
4. AJAX
5. Qigung
6. kali fighting
7. css3
8. html5
9. water skiiing
10. windsurfing
11. snorkelling
12. skydiving
13. sailing
14. how to sing properly
15. Italian
16. sign language
17. glass working (too many things under this to list singly)
    
18. metal working (too many things under this to list singly)
19. wood working (too many things under this to list singly)
20. first aid
21. Javascript
22. xml/xslt
23. how to create an app for android
24. how to use photoshop to design a website theme
25. how to set up and run my own business
26. how to play guitar/ bass
27. how to play drums
28. how to cook a meal my other half won't criticize
29. how to dance; ballroom/ latin and hip hop
30. fencing (as in with swords not seperating gardens)
    
31. how to write a book and get it published
32. the ins and outs of the entire microsoft office suite
33. how to use bryce and other 3d modelling art programmes
34. how to build a wall
35. how to change a lock
36. how to plaster a wall
37. how to tile a floor/ wall
38. talk to people without feeling like an idiot/ socially inept moron
39. be able to give an informative and engaging presentation
40. flower arrangement
41. capoeira
42. to do something fancy with my hair
43. use a diablo and devil sticks
44. play a violin
45. ice skating
46. how to draw/ paint
47. knotwork
48. spanish and portuguese
49. enamelling
50. how to use a sewing machine and follow a dress making pattern
51. how to crochet
52. how to fix a motorbike/ car
53. how to make scented candles
54. how to mimc accents in speech
55. how to navigate by the stars
56. how to grow my own food
57. belly dancing
58. pole dancing
59. how to give a decent massage
60. what all those weird creams and cosmetics are for
    
61. how to film decent editable footage
62. how to take a decent photo
63. correct posture
64. Lingo (for adobe director)
65. pottery
66. frame pictures
67. handgliding
68. pot-holing
69. patience and contentment - if you can learn this things then I need to!
    

Methinks I need a few lifetimes for even half this list and I'm betting I'll add to it - the more I learn the more there seems to be to need to learn if I want to use that knowledge properly.

Life is just too damned short!

This years book count

Since the lasses over at the babycentre forums have started a count up to 50 I thought I'd see if I can beat the previous score over here - even though many of the books I've read are the same as my former list *grin* that's the problem with moving somewhere smaller, not being able to justify new book purchases..

1. First truth by Dawn Cook
2. Hidden truth by Dawn Cook
3. Forgotten truth by Dawn Cook
4. Lost truth by Dawn Cook
5. First meetings by Orson Scott Card
6. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
7. Watermelon by Marian Keyes
8. How to talk to a widower by Jonathan Tropper
9. No humans involved by Kelley Armstrong
10. Walking on air by Christina Jones
11. Stealing the show by Christina Jones
12. How to kill you husband (and other handy hints) by Kathy Lette
13. Children of the lamp by P.B. Kerr
14. Love bites by Lynsay Sands
15. Single white Vampire by Lynsay Sands
16. Tall, Dark and Hungry by Lynsay Sands
17. The dark lord of the derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
18. All my worldly goods by Cassandra Brooke
19. Steel Rose by Kara Dalkey
20. Keeping it real by Justina Robson
21. Selling out by Justina Robson
22. Deep secret by Diana Wynne Jones
23. The thread that binds the bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
24. Witch's business by Diana Wynne Jones
25. Stand and deliver and other brilliant ways to give birth by Emma Mahoney
26. NCT pregnancy for parents by parents edited by Daphne Metland
27. The fourth bear by Jasper Fforde
28. Night embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon
29. Night pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
30. The traveller by John Twelve Hawks
31. Misspent youth by Peter F. Hamilton
32. All fun and games until somebody loses an eye by Christopher Brookmyre

How many is too many?

I was reading a blog somewhere and the lass said she was curious about how many books she read in a year, it got me thinking as well.
Every time I read a book I'll stick it down on this list by the end of the year we'll see just how much reading I do.

1. Witch child by Celia Rees
   
2. Monstrous regiment by Terry Pratchett
3. Guilty pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
4. The Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan
5. Novice by Trudi Canavan
6. The High Lord by Trudi Canavan
7. The baby business by Rebecca Winters
8. I am legend by Richard Matheson
9. The magicians nephew by C.S. Lewis
10. The lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
11. The E.S.P. worm by Piers Anthony and Robert E. Margroff
12. Lover by deception by Penny Jordan
13. The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
14. The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook
15. Castle in the air by Diana Wynne Jones
16. Sex, lies and vampires by Katie MacAlister
17. Get off the unicorn by Anne McCaffrey
18. Starseeker by Tim Bowler
19. The wind singer by William Nicholson
20. Passions baby by Catherine Spencer
21. Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz
22. A love beyond words by Sheryl Woods
23. The power of three by Diana Wynne Jones
24. Kris Longknife Mutineer by Mike Shepherd
25. Contract with an angel by Andrew M. Greeley
26. Our lady of the snow by Louise Cooper
27. Talon of the silver hawk by Raymond E. Feist
28. King of Foxes by Raymond E. Feist
29. Incompetence by Rob Grant
30. The Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro
31. The thiefs gamble by Juliet E. McKenna
32. The empire stone by Chris Bunch
33. Shadow of the giant by Orson scott Card
34. Jimmy the hand (legends of the riftwar) by Raymond E. Feist & Steve Stirling
35. In your dreams by Tom Holt
36. Something rotten by Jasper Fforde
37. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
38. Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
39. Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey
40. His miracle baby by Kate Walker
41. Stormqueen! by Marion Zimmer Bradley
42. Hawkmistress! by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Italians passionate proposal by Sarah Morgan
44. The deserving mistress by Carole Mortimer
45. The cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill
46. The Moneypenny Diaries by Kate Westbrook
47. First truth by Dawn Cook
48. Hidden truth by Dawn Cook
49. Forgotten truth by Dawn Cook
50. Lost truth by Dawn Cook
51. Headcrash by Bruce Bethke
52. Chronicles of Carrick V Orthe by Mary Gentle
53. Spirits white as lightening by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill
54. Mad maudlin by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill
55. The big over easy by Jasper Fforde
56. Night watch by Terry Pratchett
57. Belgarath the sorcerer by david Eddings
58. The elder gods by David eddings
59. the charnel prince by greg keyes
60. The history of love by Nicole krauss
61. Only human by Tom Holt
62. Magic kingdom for sale/ sold By Terry Brooks
63. The decoy princess by Dawn cook (again)
64. Why men don't listen and women can't read maps by Allan & Barbara Pease
65. The golden key by Melanie Rawn, Kate Elliott and Jennifer Roberson
66. Vilette by Charlotte Bronte
67. Tourist season by Carl Hiaasen
68. Another fine myth by Robert Asprin
69. Myth conceptions by Robert Asprin
70. Myth directions by Robert Asprin
71. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
72. Skinny dip by Carl Hiassen
73. The surrogate mother by Lilian Darcy
74. The mind pool by charles sheffield
75. Dr Daddy by Elizabeth Bevarly
76. Serve cool by Lauren McCrossan
77. Surprise partners by Gina Wilkins
78. The soprano sorceress by L.E. Modesitt jr.
79. The spellsong war by L.E. Modesitt jr.
80. Darksong rising by L.E. Modesitt jr.
81. The Shadow sorceress by L.E. Modesitt jr.
82. Shadowsinger by L.E. Modesitt jr.
83. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
84. Druids blood by Esther M friesner
    

100 things about me.

Yep, it's come to this.
Everyone else in the blogosphere seems to have done it I'm just about bored enough tonight to do it myself.

*deep breath*
Here goes:

1. I jumped out of my bedroom window and ran away from home after being sent to my room while I was still in junior school.
2. I stayed at my best friends house all afternoon before trying to sneak back into the house.
3. I got caught by my next door neighbour who alerted the rest of the neighbourhood I'd been found, it took 2 days before mum realised I'd seriously hurt myself
   
4. I still have a hairline fracture across my right foot to show for it.
5. I have 3 younger brothers
6. I am the eldest
7. I like to meet new people
8. So far I've been lucky regarding my net meets
9. Apart from the first one I dated, he was a wanker - and my only Asian bloke to date.
10. I got married at 26 to a scout leader
    
11. I'm getting divorced at 29 from a bar manager
    
12. It's completely amicable.
13. I am a karaoke queen
    
14. I used to sing for a living in a covers duo called Electric Blue on the pub/ club scene
15. I lasted 3 months in that job, it sucked so much that for around a year after I quit I didn't like to sing anymore
16. I still miss being in a band, writing songs was fun.
17. I love pictures featuring beautiful landscapes and frequently wish I was in one.
18. I say I never want children but secretly I just think I don't deserve them
19. I can be very bitter about past relationships, not because of what they did to me, but because I allowed them to do it.
20. I try not to be bitter ever and endeavor to put all the crap behind me
21. I have trust issues but I try to ignore them
22. Sometimes I think there is another person in my head guiding my actions, this makes me wonder if I should seek help...
    
23. Every day I try to be a better person
24. I don't always succeed
25. I'm horrible to be around when I'm on my period
26. I don't handle pain at all well
    
27. I hate that that makes me a stereotype
28. I have chronic fatigue syndrome, this means I can be nasty a lot because I'm nearly always in pain.
    
29. I love my boyfriend very much
30. I want more than anything for us to have a home that isn't temporary
    
31. I also want to learn web design so I can work at home around this damned illness.
    
32. I want to see more of my friends but they all live too far away
    
33. I need to learn to drive.
    
34. I want a purple mini - moddied up to the hilt!
    
35. I'm too much of a romantic
36. My favorite type of film falls under the heading 'chick flick'
37. I own several Mills & Boons
38. I plan to get more
39. I spend far too much money on books and dvds
40. I claim I'm open minded but certain lifestyles make me purse my lips like a dried up old spinster aunt
41. I have very strong opinions on very few subjects, I'm better known as miss instant opinion generally
42. I'll talk to anyone about anything and sometimes they'll even think I know what I'm talking about, unless it's sport, can't fake sport.
43. I still don't know what I want with my life, but I do know a lot of what I don't want
44. I used to believe in tree spirits and I'd aplogise if we'd damaged a tree during play
45. Sometimes I still think I have some kind of connection to the world around me, I have moments where I feel a little 'fey'
    
46. I guess that explains my fondness for fantasy books
47. I've been between 9-91/2 stone for the last 10 years
48. I have a terrible diet yet I manage to convince myself I eat healthily
49. I once organised a 4 day music event including 27 bands and it went off without a hitch.
50. I have many humiliating memories but only one embarrassing secret
51. I'll never tell a soul that one thing, everything else is fair game.
52. I have never had a permanent dye on my hair
53. I like tattoos but I'm too picky and lazy to ever get one
54. I used to ride a motorbike
55. I sometimes miss it but I prefer being a pillion
56. I don't like being alone, I need company even if it's only on messenger.
57. I used to love being alone and would often go for long walks to avoid people
58. I don't know why I changed
59. I am very easily distracted
60. I can no longer multi-task
61. I have to be in the right mood if I'm cooking anything fancy, otherwise it just ends up inedible
    
62. I wish I had more ambition and drive
63. I can play the drums a little but I stopped to take up bass guitar
    
64. I stopped playing because of an ex boyfriend, he was a fantastic drummer and he often ridiculed my feeble attempts
    
65. I hate that I allowed him to make me feel that way and wish I'd made him pay for the kit of mine that he gave away when I left (and the bass amp, bloody lovely it was - Nolan valve amp, gorgeous warm sound to it...)
    
66. I sold my first drum kit to pay for my first motorbike
67. I got the better deal
68. I'm jealous of my best friends talent but am too lazy to put in as much work as she does to equal her
69. I have very few friends and none of them live close
    
70. This bothers me occasionally
71. I hate clothes shopping, I have no idea about fashion
72. I love furniture shopping
73. I like to look around properties for sale even though I'm in no position to buy one
74. I have a strange sense of humour
75. I have a strict moral code
76. I'm beginning to realise there's not a lot to know about me
77. I was a bouncer for 6 years
78. It was at a music venue and I met a lot of bands
79. I no longer really enjoy going to gigs because of that job
80. it's the only job I ever really enjoyed and I've had a lot of different kinds of work.
81. I like swords and knives but only to look at, the thought of using them to harm someone sickens me
82. I sometimes dream of killing people or being killed
83. Those dreams are always ridiculously violent
84. I wake up screaming far too often
85. yet in my waking life I'm mostly happy
86. My favourite colour is purple, but I also like green
87. I don't really like pink or yellow - especially pink
88. I love mashed potato
89. When I was 19 I missed my final exam in theatre studies because my bitch housemate switched off my alarm so it wouldn't disturb her - despite being 3 floors above me.
    
90. I lied about it to my dad and step mum and told them I passed and got a 'C'
91. It's the reason they didn't speak to me for 3 months after they found out, I felt no remorse about the lie, I was just angry that my stepmum had opened my mail and started the argument.
92. I have an ok figure, if I ever exercised it'd be a fantastic figure - I'm just too unmotivated
    
93. I will answer any question asked of me but I hate people going through my stuff
94. I can't drive but I want to learn
95. I sometimes worry that I will never be well again
96. I worry about a lot of things all the time, even when I know there is no reason too
97. I bottle things up
98. I don't handle confrontation very well unless I'm in a working environment and it's with someone I don't know
99. The thing I like most in other people is the ability to appreciate the absurd even in the most mundane of things.
    
100. The thing I like most about me is me
     

Little things mean a lot

I've had a few hits from people looking for the lyrics to this track so for those peeps - here they are:

(words and music by Edith Lindeman and Carl Stutz)

Blow me a kiss from across the room
Say I look nice when I'm not
Touch my hair as you pass my chair
Little things mean a lot

Give me your arm as we cross the street
call me at six on the dot
A line a day when you're far away
Little things mean a lot

Don't have to buy me diamonds and pearls, champagnes and sables and such
I never cared much for diamonds and pearls, but honestly honey, they just cost money
Give me your hand when I've lost the way, give me your shoulder to cry on
Whether the day is bright or grey, give me your heart to rely on

Send me the warmth of a secret smile
to show me you haven't forgot
for now and forever thats always and ever
little things mean a lot.

It's a beautiful song, it says nothing but the truth - I definitely think of this when I think of my baby, he's the embodiment of this song *smug grin* I'm planning on getting a backing track from somewhere asap so I can sing it at a karaoke, more people need to hear it I reckon!

About frikkin time - I know!

I've been remiss - I promised a review some time ago of :

Hot Karl's Diner: The Soundtrack vol. 1

This was pointed out to me in the letter accompanying the (undoubtedly) cracking cd's I received today from the great man himself *grin* I take it back - HG could never become more of a favourite blogger than one who feeds my music addiction *grin*
So - I hide my face in shame - throw on the cd in question and start to write...

First of all - a track list to let you lovely people know what's coming:

1. All Mighty Senators - Soul
2. Lowest of the Low - The unbearable lightness of jean (live)
3. Grateful Dead - Mama Tried
4. Cake - I will survive
   
5. The Weakerthans - Watermark
6. Dropkick Murphys - The Dirty Glass
   
7. Goldfinger - 99 Red Balloons
8. Spirit of the West - Home for a rest
9. Green day - Fashion Victim
10. Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter (live)
11. Grateful Dead - Brown eyed woman
12. The Weakerthans - Confessions of a Futon-Revolutionist
13. Lowest of the Low - Rosie and Grey (live)
14. The Clash - Rudie can't fail
15. Flogging Molly - What's left of the flag
16. Dead Milkmen - The Thing that only eats hippies
17. Billy Bragg - Days like these (UK version)
18. Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Almost anything goes
19. Ron Hawkins & the Rusty Nails - Partners in crime
20. The weakerthans - Reconstruction site
21. Grateful Dead - Promised land

Now the thing that first hit me upon eagerly reading this list was how few of the tracks I knew yet how many of the artists I recognised from working at the Uni.
Yup - the crowd screaming 'Pogue Mahone' at a Dropkick Murphys gig was highly amusing, awful people though - shit gig to work. Wankers... As is too often the case these days - cool band, fans suck! Seeing Goldfinger and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones on there also stirred a few memories - good ones though, they are 2 bands who really know how to create a great atmosphere! As do Green Day - but I always felt old when they played...

Anyway, I digress...

Upon listening to the CD I have to say I was very impressed!
Not only because all the songs suit my musical taste, but because the CD works so well as a whole, every tune feels as though it belongs with the others.
The reason this impresses me is because I know it is far too easy to get sidetracked when making a mix - especially one of more than 10 songs!
Hot Karl did not do this.
You could play this CD in the order as represented or leave it on shuffle - either way the following track would sound as though that's the song that SHOULD be next.

Were hot Karl's Diner an actual place I could go and sit, instead of merely lurking and reading, then they'd have to kick me out before the tunes stopped playing (regardless of the questionable quality of the food as represented on the cover of the CD) all I want to know now is:
"When will the jukebox be updated?"
*grin*

I can honestly say that I'm glad to have been introduced to the All Mighty Senators and The Weakerthans because 'Soul' and 'Reconstruction site' are probably my favourite tracks on this album, closely followed by 'Promised Land' and 'I will survive' (it's the bassline that does it for me on the latter track - you cannot beat a funky bassline)

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) I have to award a definite 9.5**

Well Done sir! Good show!
ButI'd just like to take this opportunity to point out that while the weather may be dreary and the food traditionally bland - not all the people are dull *grin* one day I'll introduce you to J...
Poor poor guy...

**(I can't give a 10, he might not attempt a vol. 2 if I give it all out on the first attempt...)

Sacred Love - Sting style

Now that has to be the best phonecall I've recieved in a long time *HUGE BEAMING GRIN*
the question "Do you want a ticket to see Sting? I've got one here waiting if you want it..."
well... It could only be met with an ear piercing shriek of joy and disbelief as I raced to grab a coat.

Now this concert was originally scheduled for May but got put back for various reasons - I know this because it was supposed to be the night after I went to see Incubus, I was planning a double header for my birthday - till I found out Sting had sold out within about 3 days of it going on sale.
So to have my lovely wonderful saint of a housemate (ok, he may be a filthy beast - but I love him because he's a filthy beast who is also incredibly thoughtful and generous) ring me up and tell me that he has a ticket from one of the touts by his coffee stand - well! It certainly beat any plan I had of browsing blogs and struggling with fireworks mx.

Oh... and it was not just any seat either!

He had managed to procure for me one of the closest seats to the stage its possible to get that isn't in the stalls.
Yes, so what if I was looking at the left hand side of Stings face the whole time - I was in PRIME viewing position for

• Keith Carlock on drums (August '03 Modern Drummer cover guy)
  
• Rhani Krija on percussion
• Kipper on keyboards

and the 2 AMAZING backing vocalists (both solo artists in their own rights)

• Joy Rose from Birmingham (and yes she has the power and control of Aretha matched with the delicacy and precision of Alicia Keyes as shown in her blistering duet with the man himself)
  
• Donna Gardier, a woman whose vocal talants make me want to just curl up, die and apologise for ever imagining I could sing. Serious.
  

The sound was just awesome, the technicians deserve the biggest round of applause though - never have I been to a gig that sounded so perfect.
(and coming from me that is HIGH praise, c'mon I've worked at a music venue for around 6-7 years, studied music on and off for 4 years, toured the pubs and clubs as part of a 'duo' as well as put on my own showcase nights for bands I know)

I should also mention the 2 guys I couldn't see quite as well:

• Dominic Miller on guitar - has played with Sting on every album and tour since 1991
• Jason Rebello - Piano & Keyboards, and yes the guy is an ivory god.

I walked, well ran, out to the taxi - completely forgetting my cashcard in the rush (so once again thankyou sean for not only paying for my cab but for thrusting a tenner in my hand as you pushed me towards the stairs with ticket brandished excitedly before me.)
I got into the venue to the sounds of 'Hounds of winter' one of my favourite Sting tracks.
Now before I give you the wrong impression (assuming it's not already too late for that) I am not a flag waving t-shirt wearing, sting fan/ groupie - I can barely name 3 albums and half the tunes I know I don't know what they are officially titled, but one thing is for sure - I have never heard a Sting song I've disliked. EVER.
I am incredibly awed by the man, I believe he is undeniably incredibly talanted - but to charge £10 for a program? That is a bit much, eh?!

Anyway, there I was, hounds of winter following me down to my seat (Block 117 row T seat 2) and just instantly caught up in the spell being woven over the entire audience by this array of talant on the stage before us. Everyone sang along to the old favourites ('every little thing she does is magic' and 'every beath you take' to name but 2) It was amusing during some of the slower numbers when the solo spots were out to see this wave of camera phones being pointed in the direction of the stage from every angle - I was especially pleased to see that both Sting and Dominic Miller took the time to stand in a pose long enough for those brave enough to walk up to the front of the stage could get a decent pic. Now THATS a true artist who cares about his audience (or alternatively just likes posing, your call)
Basically - I was left with a Happy happy joy joy bounce kind of feeling (which is what I'm blaming the purchase of a £10 program on - robbing gets!)
I'd definitely go again. This time I'd get there earlier though lol