priorities

As everyone here at work gets into serious blue-arsed fly mode, it was a jolt to the system this morning to learn of the death of the sister of one of my colleagues. I don't know this colleague particularly well but she's a nice girl and one of the few I chat with. Having access to our HR system, I broke protocol and gave our boss her home address so we could send some flowers.

And every day the death toll from the tsunami in Asia seems to increase by tens of thousands to the point where you can't really comprehend the numbers or the scale of the devastation. I'm ashamed to say that it's not very often I'm moved by events like this but this is truly a natural disaster – not the result of local or world politics – so this morning I made a small donation to the relief fund.

where d’you learn to drive?

I'm progressing slowly through The Getaway: Black Monday on my PS2. Progress is hampered by my being absolutely crap at the driving parts. I don't know why but I seem incapable of braking which certainly makes cornering fun, if nothing else. Also the 3rd person viewpoint doesn't help because I find it difficult to see when I'm approaching obstacles. The game is very enjoyable though.

I've just pre-ordered ESPN NHL2K5. Going by reviews, it's the best hockey game out there. I'm a lapsed hockey fan and used to love playing NLPA '93 on my Mega Drive so I can't wait to get my hands on this new game.

HP is playing Rayman 3 which is nice to look at but I find the gameplay boring and the camera does my head in. At least she can't claim to be a game widow.

in a flash

With the SAP implementation imminent, I'm at work on a bank holiday. I'm not that busy to honest being reliant on other people to do stuff for me, so its a pain in the arse to have to be in.

Christmas was good, overall. Our lunch on Christmas Day left a lot to be desired so we've decided not to go out next year but to stay in and cook our own lunch. My presents were well received – HP particularly liked her "hot diamonds" but that's hardly surprising. My own pressies were very good and I was surprised to get a Playstation (one of the new slim ones). I'm not much of a gamer but I've harboured a desire for a PS2 for some time. I already have a lengthy list of games to buy!

Boxing Day with the outlaws in Portsmouth was the usual mix of the manic and relaxed. In the evening we played the Pringle Golf Challenge (putting into an empty Pringles tube – nothing to do with the knitwear) in which I came joint second despite having to play "wrong"-handed. Then we played a couple of games of Trivial Pursuit. The first lasted about 20 minutes using the new DVD version – the concensus was that it had been dumbed down rather a lot. Reverting to the Genus edition we (HP, her brother and I) overhauled a 5 wedge lead and 2 game-winning questions to win.

The drive back up north yesterday was horrendous. A glorious winters day, time off work and all people want to do is go shopping? Madness.

one more sleep

Just one more sleep 'til Christmas.

We're pretty organised so there's no last minute shopping for food or presents. In fact most of the presents have been wrapped under the tree for two weeks. Tesco delivered our shopping on Wednesday and we go out for Christmas lunch anyway.

HP is more excited than me. Counting the sleeps before Christmas is her thing. Of course I'm looking forward to it too but it doesn't feel like a special time of year any more (if it ever did). We set a limit for each other on the cost of presents but I have gone a little OTT. Even though I'm a spoilt only-child with minor brat tendencies (think Cartman's birthday party), I do love giving presents as much as receiving them. HP isn't too bad to buy for but my mum is terrible so she gets dull, practical things or stuff that she's guaranteed to like – which really takes the fun out of it.

And poor old Jack has a cat cold. I hope he starts to improve by Boxing Day when we'll be driving down to the out-laws in Portsmouth. I don't think Alfie's mature enough to look after his big brother.

Finally, why do I feel guilty when I neglect my blog? No one reads it so its not like I'm disappointing anyone but in the back of my mind I'm always aware of how many days it is since I posted. I can feel a New Years resolution coming on…

bugger

I was supposed to be going to Italy tomorrow for some meetings but I’ve lost my bloody passport!

we have assumed microKontrol

Forget all that nonsense about wanting an Adrenalinn II… I decided it was pointless buying more guitar FX until I can play the damn thing properly.

So I got one of these instead.

That’s a Korg microKONTROL to the uninitiated and it’s totally wicked!

And now with the news that Propellerhead’s Reason 3.0 can seamlessly integrate with midi controllers, it’s even more wicked. I cannot say more as I’m under an NDA as a beta tester don’t you know.