Hey folks, can you let me know who all are coming into Plymouth on Friday afternoon, where you're coming into (airport or station) and what time? Trying to see if we can arrange a bus or something.

For those of my LJ friends who don't do Facebook - nihilogist presented me with a surprise ring on Sunday in Brussels so, although we agreed between ourselves some time ago that we'd probably get married *eventually*, I guess that makes us now officially engaged :D

“Have you news of my boy Jack?”
Not this tide.

“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.


“Has any one else had word of him?”
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.


“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind —
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!


Rudyard Kipling, 1915.

Hey, anyone interested in coming to a pub quiz tomorrow night? My cousin is organising it to help fundraise for his girlfriend who's going to Uganda in the summer to volunteer.

It's at 8pm in Weirs in Dun Laoghaire (I know, I know, but at least it's on the Dart line) and I can guarantee you it will be fantastic craic. This family is big into their games and quizzes and there'll be some corkers of questions (though they're also big into sport, so if anyone who knows anything about soccer or Gaelic is interested, David and I'd be very happy to have you at our table ;)) - this is the family I gave Carcassonne to Christmas '08, and there literally wasn't a night it wasn't played for about the first 6 months, and now it's played 2-3 times a week, Neill got all his mates into it and they all bought it and all the expansions - and this is *not* a bunch of gamers!

Can't remember the per person cost off-hand, but think it's a tenner, and they have some great prizes lined up.

David and I'll probably be heading straight from town around 6:30 and eating out there, if folk want to meet at Connolly or Tara St or something.

Argh - have had to log on from work because I want to post off our Moot booking forms today to give them at least a chance of arriving by April 7th, but there's no address to post them to on the form, I have no access to the website, and my copy of Rune is at home. Can anyone tell me where I need to send these?

Haven't posted properly here in a very long time, and to be honest, this isn't going to be the post that changes that. I know I should, but I always find it very hard to compose interesting posts or even remember anything unless I post immediately. And since rediscovering Facebook, I update my status if there's anything I *really* want to say ;)

The good news is that lovely Gar and Edel offered us crash space for the weekend, so we are going to Warpcon. Yay! The bad news is that we won't be there on Friday evening as planned as my mam has a day procedure in Beaumont that day and since she'll be under a general anaesthetic isn't allowed drive for 24 hours after, so has to have someone with her on Friday night just in case anything happens and she needs to go back to the hospital. So we'll be leaving around 6am on Saturday in order to get down for morning games :)

What this leads me to is the search for a cat-sitter. We're fine for this weekend as, because it was a long weekend (not coming back until Monday), I had already decided to board the cats so's not to disrupt Mam too much. However next weekend we're going to London for David's birthday, and I was hoping Mam would be able to mind the cats then since it was just for Saturday and Sunday. With the change in medical circumstances however she doesn't feel she can, and we can't really afford to board them next weekend as well, especially considering we have to board them for a long weekend at the end of February for Audrey's christening. So we really need someone who can come and feed them, let them out for a bit and maybe spend a bit of time with them.

Is there anyone who might be able to help out?

We have a comfy spare room, so any catsitter could actually stay at ours for the weekend if they wanted, which would probably make things easier rather than to-ing and fro-ing. We have internet and NTL digital and a DVD player and DVDs and drink and chocolate and two fluffballs. We live a 20m walk from O'Connell Street or Cineworld, 5 minute walk to the Luas at Spencer Dock and 15 minute walk to Connolly Dart station.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?....

I think some people on my f-list might appreciate this :) (well ok, one)

Edited to remove stupid question

( Complaints Choir of Helsinki )

Right so, there are a bog-load of Durhamites over in Dublin this weekend, and socialising and seeing some of Dublin is something they would like to do. So we[1] will be in Cassidy's on Westmoreland Street from sometime between 5 and 6pm, until whenever folk leave (I'm hoping not *too* late, given bedtime last night was significantly after 6am :))


[1] Personally I may not be there, as one of our cats (the very easily frightened one) is missing and I'm worried about there being no-one here if she comes back.

Am debating whether or not to go to Warpcon next month. I like Warpcon - primarily for the people and the socialising more than the scheduled gaming experience, which gets less and less organised (and thus accessible) year after year. David enjoyed it last year and would love to go again, and maybe even not be exhausted this time, which would lead to enjoying it even more. He's also been hoping to get DaveJ and/or Ian or anyone really over to experience it, since it's nothing like what they've otherwise experienced. And it's always great to see John Kovalic, and there'll be other people there I otherwise never get to see.

But we're going to Brussels in January, and I really want to get over to Glasgow to visit Dessie and Bria early in the New Year, as I've been promising to visit for over a year now. This is in spite of the fact that we're guaranteed to be in Glasgow mid-Spring for Audrey's christening. We could combine (and may have to), but it'd be nice not to. David's planning on heading home for the week prior to his birthday when his exams are finished, and of course I'll want to join him for his birthday weekend. Then of course there's Itzacon, which I also thoroughly enjoy, and missed last year.

Itzacon and Warpcon are both expensive cons because of the petrol factor, and the fact of having to stay somewhere for three nights. Even cutting it down to two nights and going home on the Sunday (which I'm loathe to do because it involves starting a 3+hr drive at 7pm after a long, sleepless weekend) it's still a chunk of money. David is a student so hasn't got much, living only on his savings. I'm subsidising David, so haven't got much and we'd both like to go to a couple of LT events next year. Also, although public servants complaining about pay cuts is looked on very angrily by everyone else at the moment, I'd just like to point out that despite my basic salary and productivity payments increasing (increments and Changes in Work Practice agreement) increasing to the tune of €260+ a fortnight (pre-tax), and no longer paying €95 a fortnight pension arrears (also pre-tax) I'm currently taking home €80 a fortnight less than I was this time two years ago (and roster/on-call payments are significantly less, but that's separate to the Government-initiated issues), and that's before the 6-7% pay cut from the budget hits. So yeah, I've no mortgage and kids, but I'm paying for 1.5, maybe 1.6 people (we split the bills equally, but I pay €700 of the €900 rent and buy about 3/4 of the groceries/consumables, as I don't want David to have to be worrying about money when he's studying). Oh, and we're paying the "pension levy" despite not having a public pension. Now, I'm by no means poor, but like many others, I'm just a bit fed up of the demonisation going on.

But anyway, back to the point; ultimately I'm not sure I can justify both Warpcon and Itzacon financially, and have to decide which one to drop. Blegh.

This evening, I am going to....cast on stitches!! I have a book to show me how and everything :)