Cold, colder... Frozen solid!

Stole this from icanhascheezburger.com

Feeling a little along the lines of this, lately. My brain just won't work right, and the inspiration I crave in order to actually write something seems to have gone off to greener pastures.

My new wardrobe is up, thanks to my very kind big brother who spent two days on that project, because he decided on a few improvements that would make it even better and more solid. My hallway is now tiny, but it's worth it.

The Empress is wondering where the hell her look-out spot went, but she's having a blast playing hide-and-seek in the new one.

Eva Cassidy is on high rotation and melancholy seems to have settled in. Yep, winter is coming - as depressing as that is!

Renovations on my apartment building is progressing slowly. They replaced my kitchen window, but failed to finish the job, seem they feel like a half-done job is fine for now. The result is a draft that's sucking all the heat out of my apartment. I'm freezing my ass off!The ventilation system has also been under some maintenance, another thing that adds to the heat not staying where it's supposed to be. Gonna catch pneumonia unless they get their asses in gear and finish the job here. The heating bill alone is going to kill me!

I have a project in store for today. Having to move everything from one wardrobe to the new one, I'll be glad when it's done, but not looking forward to actually getting started. Gonna have to warm up the bedroom a little before I can actually get started, or I'll freeze to death in there...

Here's to wishing me lots of luck in that endeavor!

Went 'shopping' last night...

... Shopping as in visiting an online store I do some shopping from. Came out pretty good, a pair of new shoes, a new coat, two over-sized jumpers and a cowl that follows one of the jumpers.

I've never really been a fan of shopping for clothes in actual stores, too many people (I'm claustrophobic and hate crowds) and having to try everything on in the store. I prefer shopping online, try it on at home and return whatever doesn't fit.

Shot off a couple of emails to Kiri to show her the shoes and coat, there was purring heard from Virginia over both items. The shoes are wedges and they have the same style as my newest pair of boots that I ordered from the same place about a month ago. I decided I needed the shoes too as boots aren't always the best choice depending on the weather.

The coat is for when the weather gets a little colder than what it is right now. This weekend has given us the best weather in a few weeks. It was even good enough to hang some laundry outside, not bad in itself as I have no room for hanging laundry inside and would have to use the dryer, which draws so much power, it isn't even funny.

These are the boots I bought about a month ago, very comfortable to wear.

These are the shoes I ordered last night. Should be as comfortable as the boots.

I love over-sized jumpers, these are a greyish purple.

Slightly different and Black.

The cowl that goes with the first jumper.

The coat! Don't think I need to say too much about this one...

Not too much else to report. I'll just let Kiri know where she can get the whole shopping-list I put in last night, and leave it at that.

Here Kiri, Kiri, Kiri...

Sshhh... Be wevvy, wevvy quiet, I'm hunting for Kiri-shaped friend...

Yeah, I found my way back here, too bad Kiri hasn't been enticed to make a comeback yet. I'm not giving up, though, far from it. I'm a stubborn wench, make no mistake about it!

I fear Kiri's work situation remains shaky. This meaning that she's stuck temping again, and unable to keep regular hours. I hate this situation she's in and wish it didn't have to be like this, but with things being the way they are, work-wise in the US, I'm afraid it might be a long while until she can be lured back in here.

I see her on Facebook, from time to time, but never having time to chat. Too busy at work and not allowed to poke her head out of her tasks long enough to say 'Hey!'. Kinda sucks seeing as I miss her and need my playmate.

The Empress has grown to her full size now, and yes, she's a big, heavy girl. Though, she's still able to look kinda on the skinny side. Don't ask me how she does it, I have no clue, but I'd pay good money to learn her secret. She remains playful and attention-seeking and her sable claws are still lethal!

I'm no longer a scratch-post for her to trim them on, but I remain her favorite chew-toy. Thankfully, she never bites down hard, so there's no blood loss anymore.

Summer is singing on its final verse here in Norway. Today was sunny and warm, but the wind told me that Autumn is coming. I'm not ready for that, summer was too short and rainy this year. Not to mention the fact that I spent all three weeks of my vacation-time in bed, sick. No fair!

In other news, I need a new keyboard... again... Keyboards do not like being laced with The Empress' fine fur and keeps locking up. I had to go back to an older one because the newest one just up and died on me. Those keys were still in good working condition, not so much on this one!

My jaw locked up on me one week into my vacation, and have remained stubbornly locked in place ever since. This is week five with that painful condition. I think it's a tendon that tightened itself up, and it's not showing any sign of loosening up again anytime soon.

I should really make an effort to come up with topics to write about, but I'm no newshound, nor am I particularly political. I'm the type that look through the different agendas around electiontime and pick whomever have the most topics I agree with. In a pinch, I'll go with whomever I disagree the least with. I don't follow political debates and I get my news in online newspapers. I rarely go to the movies, so I can't even write about that. I do tend to go for nostalgic walks down memory lane with old TV shows I used to follow. I get my hands on them now to see if they still capture med as they used to. Sometimes, I'm left with an aghast feeling of 'Did I ever actually follow that crap?' Other times, as the case was with the A-Team, I get right into the old groove of it and enjoy every second of it. So what topics to write about?

I still bitch, moan, ramble and complain. Sometimes quite coherently, other times... not so much... I hope I'm not mellowing out already, I was hoping to save that for when I got really old!

Trying to get into Airwolf again, but I don't feel the same about that show as I did back then. It's not a bad feeling, just that it's not quite how I remembered it. again, not bad, just... Not the rush I used to get from that show.

Time to get my attention elsewhere, it seems... The Empress just tried to eat my ring, in her 'Ooooh shiny!' way. Time to give her a little attention again... it's been all of fifteen minutes since the last session!

Oh Sweet Nostalgia...

Yes! At long last, I've found my way back to blogspot. Now to lure Kiri back to the fold for some more chaos and mayhem... ::Rubs hands together in gleeful anticipation::

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying a nostalgic viewing of all five seasons of the A-Team. This is a series I well remember following on Sky Channel more than 20 years ago. A lot of years, but I discovered that it still appeals to me and brings me back to who I was back then. Yes, I still find myself carried away by this show, no matter how campy and cartooney it was, something appealed to me then and still does today.

I decided a trip down nostalgia lane was required after they decided to turn it into a movie, where new actors portray these characters I loved so much. Sure, Liam Neeson is a great actor, no denying that. But he’s not Hannibal Smith, George Peppard was! I’m even more skeptical that someone other than Dwight Schultz is going to portray Howlin’ Mad Murdoch, my all-time favorite of the bunch. Dwight Schultz left ginormous galoshes that I doubt anyone can fill, no matter how good they’ve been in other movies. I cannot see anyone but Dirk Benedict as Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck., not to mention replacing Mr. T as B. A. Barrackus (sp?). To me, it’s all sorts of wrong to have someone else play these characters immortalized by these four actors. I’m equally sure it’s hard for other fans as well.

That some remakes of old shows and movies come out good aside. Some might remember the uproar when they made the new Battlestar Galactica series, even though the makers made sure it was known that this was set 40 years after the original. Personally, I never saw the original. It was before my time as a sci-fi fan, so I had no problem enjoying the show for what it was, a continuation of the old, or at least, that’s what the makers said it was. But mostly, remakes of tried and true classics spells disaster.

I worry that characters I loved, will be ruined by new actors lacking the necessary range to portray someone as complex as, for instance, Murdoch. Now, Dwight Schultz had that range, as well as the much needed enthusiasm for this character. It takes a lot of talent to portray someone with as many personalities and wackiness as his character on the show. He went all out, and I fear someone else in that role won’t be able to. Now, I’ll never profess that Mr. T was a huge actor, though he was B. A. to a (wait for it) T… Yes, I said it, no pun intended, but it’s hardly my fault that’s the name he’s chosen to go by, now is it? Equally, I have severe doubts someone other than Dirk Benedict will be able to portray Templeton Peck with as much charm and irony as he did. Where Dirk Benedict was charming, I worry that someone else will be sleazy, or worse, shallow. George Peppard was Hannibal Smith, no one else could do this character justice. No, not even Liam Neeson will be able to successfully pull that character off, in my opinion. It’s the original cast that gave their character their charm and charisma, I have my doubts anyone else could do them justice.

After wandering through all five episodes, I’m left with the same impressions as I had back then. Yes, I still adore H. M. Murdoch and his madness, I still get peeved when B. A. is less than nice to him. I wimper in sympathy when Faceman takes a hit to the face and I still enjoyed a game of ‘Spot Hannibal in his latest crazy disguise’. Mostly, those were dead give-aways, but sometimes they were quite elaborate.

It hardly ever happened that someone got killed on this show. Injured, sure, but not killed. At least not that the viewers ever saw it, but it was sometimes mentioned that someone had been killed. The worse we saw was B. A. taking one in the leg in season 1 and needing a blood-transfusion from Murdoch to replenish his blood loss, Murdoch taking a bullet for Hannibal in season two, which almost killed him and Face taking one in the chest in season five, which almost killed him. I hear, in the remake, people get killed left, right and center, which makes it all wrong to me as it’s completely opposite to the original concept.

I’ve also heard rumors about Airwolf. I hope it’s a rumor. This is another show I followed on Sky Channel. I can’t imagine anyone but Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine as Stringfellow ‘String’ Hawke and Dominic ‘Dom’ Santini. I’ll remain fearful until I get confirmation or a definite denial on that one.

Yep, the nostalgia is in full force this time. I’ll be enjoying my way through the different seasons of Airwolf as well, well, at least up to that point where they went in and ruined it completly.

The DVD box sets of the first two seasons of the A'-Team are on order and on their way to my mailbox, I intend to make place for all five seasons in my DVD library. The other three seasons aren’t available in the web shop I ordered from yet, so I’m considering heading over to amazon.co.uk to get the others from there. I’m not known for my patience when there is something I’d like to get my hands on… I want these boxes last week!

Long time, No see...

Wow, it's been a ridiculous long time since I was in here.

Let's see, what have I been up to...

I've been busy at my Live Space, doing stuff in my own mother tongue for a change. I've wound up on Facebook and have discovered that it's really not that scary there. We're doing multi-skill at work, which means I know answer questions on all products. That included a pay rise, so I'm not complaining. besides, we have all these sweet guys there ready, willing and able to help when a particularly tricky problem rears its ugly head.

Kiri has not been seen in months... I miss her terribly and hope she gets back into the swing of things soon. This must be killing her, not going to work. It's nice enough to be at home for a few days, but then you start to miss being useful. At least that's how it was for me when I was out on sick leaves.

The Empress has grown even more. Georgia would probably be dwarfed by her if they were ever to meet.

It's Easter Holidays here, so I have five days off from work. Well, including the weekend which I always have off anyways... I have canceled my ADSL and upgraded my cable Internet to the max, which is about 20 MB, have I noticed a difference? Oh yes! All for the better!

I've been visiting ShadowRider's blog a few times, she does write a lot about horses, which is all good, I love horses, even if I haven't ridden in years.

I find myself spending more time on Facebook than anywhere else, these days. Some fun games to be played there, and most of the people I work with are there. But someone is missing... Yeah, Kiri!

So, Kiri, my sweet and wonderful partner in crime, if you happen by... Know that I miss you... Loads!!!

Missing my Kirishaped Friend!

Wow! That's all I can say, and sorry! Sorry is meant exclusively for Raina i.e.: my Kirishaped friend!

I'm heading full speed into the last weekend of my three week vacation, and I realize that I've been lax about updating here.

Three weeks flew by too fast for my liking, my only consolation is that I have two more weeks to do with as I please before the year is up!

Poor Kiri have seemed so swamped lately, that I have chosen not to initiate conversation in fear of getting her into trouble or distracting her. Figuring that I'll let her initiate if she has the time. Obviously, she's not had any of that for weeks. The result is a two way deal;

1. I miss her, terribly! But feel proud that I'm not bugging her when she's busy...

2. I feel like a bad friend for being quiet!

First week of my vacation saw me and my sister, Catwalk, heading to Sweden for a shopping trip on Friday. We didn't really pay attention to the time, so when we got to my place afterwards, we couldn't believe how late it was, it was well past 9 PM - we had left around 2 PM...

Someplace around 11 PM, I drove her back out to her boyfriend's place for the night. I was home well past midnight...

Saturday saw Catwalk showing up at my place again. In desperate need of a shower, as her boyfriend lives in a modified barn, and therefore lacks said convenience. I had offered her the use of my shower, so it's not like she wasn't expected!

She's as slow getting into gear as I am, so it did take some coffee, playing with The Empress and yet more coffee before she finally headed for showergels and hot water. We'd already decided that due to her boyfriend being even harder to get into gear, we wouldn't be able to visit our Grandmother at the nursing home like we had planned. That sucked big time, as Catwalk had been looking forward to that, not having seen her in a long time now.

My second week of vacation was spent being lazy and recuperating from the marathon weekend with Catwalk. The Empress has been getting a lot of attention, and loves every second of it, and I've been watching a lot of movies!

Only thing I did last week, not designed for laziness, was visiting my Grandmother with my mom, and then taking my mom out grocery shopping, as it's difficult for her to get everything she needs when she has to drag it to the bus, for then to drag it from the bus and home.

This week saw me getting all the bills paid and consequently getting broke before I'd even gotten to enjoy having money in my bank account! Wasn't a lot left when I was done!

Yesterday, it was off to visit my Grandmother with my mom again, and getting some of her shopping done again. I got a sudden inspiration late last night, and wound up scrubbing the kitchen counters and the stove. Today, I have big plans for cleaning the rest of the apartment.

My original plan for hosing down the bathroom fell through. It's been rainy and miserable, so I haven't been able to clear everything out in order to get the scrubbing I planned done.

The Empress has been hard at work, hunting down whatever comes in through the open veranda door, keeping the number of flies and such to a bare minimum. Good girl! She's at it, even now...

In addition to bad weather, I have new neighbors above me and to the side. They've been drilling in the walls, hammering and generally making as much noise as possible throughout my vacation. Not to mention that the roadwork on the old bridge is going nearly day and night, making sure I don't get to sleep in in the mornings. Fun!

So, there you go. My vacation so far, and seeing as it's over as of this coming Sunday, there you have it!

Kiri, my sweet, if you do get the time, let me know there is life on your end would you? I really do miss you!

Example of brilliant customer care

My sister, she of the legs that goes on forever (one thing we have in common), does a lot of shopping online for pants and jeans. Some of her shopping is done at a web store called Baby Phat.

Now, the process of becoming a customer there is a little more that just a tiny bit complicated. She gave me a run-down of a long list of things they demanded of her, including faxing a copy of her drivers license to them.

Her Internet provider got bought up by a larger company, a few months back. One of the changes is a new email addy. My sister, dutifully, shot of an email to Baby Phat's customer care informing them of this turn of events, and asked if they could please see fit to change her contact information to include this new addy. Their response? She has to call them, as per their routines, they can't do this just from an email being sent (which is usually how everyone else does it), she has to call them, in the US on a 1-800 number in order to make that particular change.

Firstly, she's in Norway! A minimum of 6 timezones away, depending on what coast they're located on, she could be a few more timezones away than that! Secondly, 1-800 numbers are not free to call from Norway. My sister only has a cellphone, and dialing the US from a cellphone, is anything but cheap!

My poor sister is now frustrated beyond belief, and at her wit's end. She has commandeered me to help her compose an email that she can paste into whatever replies she gets from them, because - and this is a doozy that is strictly forbidden at most customer care departments - they delete the entire mail history when they reply. Everything she's put into the mail, is gone when the reply arrives. Result? She has to rewrite her entire request and their responses in order for the next person at Baby Phat to understand what the request is all about in the first place.

If anyone at my work (which is customer care) had deleted email history, they'd be in trouble. That's a huge no-no. If not a written warning, then at the very least a verbal one would be the result of such stupidity. At Baby Phat, it seems to be par for the course and 'as per their routines'...

Kiri sits in VA, shaking her head over this, and had this observation on the faxing of the drivers license; 'That can't be legal.' and as for the rule about changing an email addy over the phone, only;'That's stupid!' and 'But then again the chick behind Baby Phat is a moron so I believe it.' And she rounded it all off with this; 'Love stupid American companies.' Also she said, and I quote; 'You need to blog that example of brilliance.'

So, here it is. In all it's blogged brilliance, for everyone to see...