Continental Drift

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, lady_karelia!

( Cut for Classic DW related squeeage. )

Earlier start at work today. Hmpf. Training. I don't really like training. But I suppose it'll be good to have.

When I last looked out of the window, some ten minutes ago, it was nice and clear.

Now there's a bit of a blizzard out there. WTF? Very pretty though, with large soft fluffy bits of snow. Not that it'll be so pretty at street level when I have to go into it, quite soon...

Just took advantage of my renewed credit card and pre-ordered the next few DW DVDs at Sendit. Woohoo! I'm very much looking forward to Black Orchid - one of my favourite Five stories. On the other hand, I could do without seeing The Invasion of Time again, but I fear I'm a completist... *sighs* Ah well, perhaps I'll want to rewatch everything in order some day, and it'll come in handy then. Also noticed that HP: OOTP has finally got all cheap, so got that too.

So. Weekend. Saturday. Perfect day for shopping. Or so mum and I figured.

( Lots of stuff about the, um, fascinating day that was had. )

So I still need to go shopping properly some day... grr. Don't like shopping. Not for clothes anyway.

Should attempt to write a bit more of Enchanted now.

Yay, another day survived.

I was even lucky enough to catch a break in the rain after work and get to the post office (and home) relatively dry - and have a very pretty Doctor Who: Key to Time box. Number 7246 out of 15,000 (nicely numbered as it's apparently a limited edition). The only problem is that it'll mess up the nice consistent look of my DVD shelf, as it's a fully closed box and thus the spines aren't showing... life's so tough!

Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, here's the second batch of pics from Saturday's walk. Mostly water and random plants.

( 12 pics behind the cut. )

It's so good to be home after a long day. Got a bag of cat litter on my way home from town, as none of the stores close to home seemed to have the kind we prefer, and I have to admit that even for me, there occasionally are times when I semi-wish that I (a) had access to a car, (b) lived in a house with a lift. Even though the bus stop is very close, carrying the cat litter + other shopping for that distance and then up the stairs to the fourth floor is not my favourite way of spending my evenings.

On the more positive note, there were post office notices in the mailbox when I got home, so I dragged myself out again to go to the post office. Yay for Babylon 5: The Lost Tales and Doctor Who: The Time Warrior DVDs! I'm really rather happy - firstly, brand new B5 (I resisted the temptation to seek it out on the net), and secondly, The Time Warrior! Finally some Third Doctor on DVD - it's been a while since July last year. And I did love Sarah Jane's introduction.

On the more negative note, Sendit posted the DVDs last Thursday, so it took them a week to get here, which is very good... but on the other hand, it indicates that mail is actually moving between the UK and Estonia. And I still haven't got the two books I bought on eBay, which were posted to me three weeks ago. I do actually trust that the guy posted them when he said he did, as I've bought a number of books from him over a couple of years and he's always been prompt and fair (and with excellent feedback from 1000+ people), so I'm starting to have a rather unpleasant feeling about the package having disappeared in the mail. At least it was only under £10, so not a huge loss if they don't turn up, but I'd rather like to have the books... grrr.

I'm really quite knackered now though after the walk to the post office (and to the supermarket from there, and then back home again). And there's something wrong with the floor lamp... something loose inside, I think, as it refused to be turned on (and the bulb's okay). And I detected a hole in my shoe, which means I'll need to go hunting for new trainers soon.

I shall have to start reorganising some books and DVDs. The new shelf should come in handy... although it's still not painted yet, which is not that good.

Anyway, picked up the Timelash DVD at the post office today... that's one Doctor Who DVD for which even I cannot muster up much enthusiasm, even though I'm really rather fond of Six, with all his bluster and arrogance. I don't think this particular story is one of the highlights of the Colin Baker era though. But being a completist, I still need the DVD of course, and besides, perhaps the documentary will be interesting.

And then I also picked up the four latest Doctor Who: Short Trips volumes (17-20). Woo! Not that I've actually read the first 16 volumes properly, I think I've only read the Third Doctor stories in each, but perhaps some day I'll actually get around to the others too. And it does mean a handful of brand new Third Doctor stories... *sighs wistfully*

Well... busy with everything but work, really. At least I had something to do at work, even if it was relatively little.

On the other hand, little work meant more time for other important things. Such as shopping. (Note to self: maybe it is not that good to work in an office situated within five minutes walking distance from a photography store, a computer store and a Kalev store.)

So now I have a new ID card reader (old one didn't seem to work... but after some hassling with the new one, and finding out that things work marvellously even though I get a "card error" icon, I'm beginning to think that maybe it was one of those problems situated between the chair and the keyboard, and not a reader problem... hmm, in any case, even if it does work, an extra one won't hurt, surely). And a very pretty external hard drive (Western Digital MyBook Pro, 500 GB), which I'm not going to install today. And a not very pretty (but that hardly matters) new 400W power supply, for the inevitable event of the current one in either mine or mum's computer failing at some point.

And then I had time to go to Priisle, where I got strawberries and picked up my recent Amazon order at the post-office... yes, I finally have Doctor Who: The Complete First Series now. A very pretty, relatively slim box, which has unfortunately got a little banged up in one corner, but oh well. And I also got State of Play which I know absolutely nothing about, except that it has a good cast, is directed by David Yates and is supposed to be good.

And when I finally got home, I found out I've become a Perfect Imagination accredited beta reader, yay! Took the test just for fun last night... didn't bother to think all that much (and knew I didn't get everything but decided to err on the side of caution) and got 85%, which is quite sufficient for accreditation. So if anyone has any Harry Potter fics and wants a beta reader, I have the certificate to show I'm capable and can be trusted with the grammar, spelling and canon knowledge. Apparently.

I planned to gift myself upon the anniversary of my birth with a new lens... but of course, none of the stores I went today had that particular lens in stock.

I found that most disagreeable.

Oh well. Ordered it now... I've decided that a wide angle zoom is the one I, ahem, "need" the most right now (or in general - one that should come in handy now and then over the coming years, especially if I ever feel like doing some architecture photography). And I was all set on getting it today... not that I need it today, but would have been nice. *whines a little*

At least I didn't return home entirely empty-handed... directed mum to get me the new, restored, proper DVD of Kevade, and also finally got around to getting the DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, as she insisted on getting me a birthday present. And cake. Cake's nice (I hope anyway, haven't tried that particular sort of cake before).

I was hit by the oddest realisation in various bookstores today though as I wandered around, trying to find something - anything - that might hold my interest, for mum to get me... and there was just nothing. Absolutely nothing in two entire large bookstores that as much as would have made me idly wonder if I'd want it or not... I just seemed to have zero interest in anything that looked even remotely like a book. I'm hoping that it's just... well... today, that I wasn't in the right mood for books, although bookstores have proven to be entirely uninteresting for me during several visits lately. Maybe when The Deathly Hallows gets released, it will make me more interested in actual books again.

I somehow managed to pull a muscle in the sole of my right foot today when I got home from the post office. How does one pull a muscle in the sole anyway? Most annoying.

Getting 'Allo 'Allo series 5 volume 2 reminds me that I seem to be totally running out of shelf space, again. Should look into getting another DVD/book cabinet, I think... although hopefully this year won't be the kind of mad buying frenzy that last year was. I should really take a break and actually watch and/or read the stuff I've already got. Still, a new shelf or cabinet would be good to have, especially as the slow trickle of DW DVD releases will continue.

Hmpf. Tired. Hungry. Mostly tired though. Even with trying to keep my work hours at a minimum, five work days a week is really too much for me the way I am now. Although it should hopefully become easier again once I get used to it. I should think about when I'll want a holiday though... not that I'm entirely optimistic about actually getting the 12 weeks that I'm now owed from all the previous years, but perhaps I will actually get some rest this year. I just don't know what to do with that time... can't seem to muster up much enthusiasm for, well, anything these days.

First time this week that I've been out... only to the post-office and back, but god I'm feeling dead. Just so very tired. I don't know if I'll ever feel not tired again... I don't really even remember what that felt like.

Bloody Internet was down most of the morning/day... seems to be backish at last. Yay. Seems to have been a general problem for my part of town.

Speaking of general problems for my part of town... I don't really appreciate getting - fully in Russian - ads/anonymous invitations to AIDS testing. I'm sure the cause is good and all that, but I'd rather not be dumped together with the anonymous mass of non-Estonian drug addicts and other risk groups that inhabit these areas. Heck, they might have at least had a few lines in Estonian... but no. Everyone knows, obviously, that this part of town is Russian... who cares that there are tens of thousands of Estonians living here too, right?

Bleh. Anyway. Got the Doctor Who new series 2 box at last. At least it looks sturdyish and all the discs were in their places, but I'm not entirely sure why all the squeeing over the cover art... the plastic slip cover is uncomfortable and the front side looks just dead boring, lenticular or not - actually I have no idea how it's supposed to work, as it seems it doesn't. Back cover does work at least, but a standing Cyberman next to a Dalek is... not really very imaginative art, is it? Insides look better at least. Not that it matters, as I don't particularly plan to actually watch any of it any time soon anyway.