Apple have got me hooked in. It's iTunes.

I'm addicted. I've almost completely turned my back on CDs. The first thing I do when I get a CD is skip through the tracks. If I like it I copy it all into my iTunes. I love it - it's a joy to use. You see the thing is - I can't keep my CDs in order, I can never find the one I want and when I think I have, it's not in the right box.

Not any more - I just pick the artist or genre and it's right there. The thing is. The THING is - now I want an iPod. Funny that isn't it? I want to take my music with me. Sucked in... They are SO cunning. First they write the nicest bit of software EVER. Then they release it for Windows, then they sit back while everyone, in their own time, goes out and buys their iPod. Genius. I'm saving up...

I'm currently reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It's the one you see everyone reading on the tube. Really enjoying it though, it's a nice human break from all the cold science fiction I've been reading recently.

I love walking through the city in fine drizzle at night. As the tiny droplets hit the eye, all the lights appear to momentarily flare.

Seeing Kraftwerk live was possibly the coolest thing ever.

I've just finished reading Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds - a highly recommended read. It's the best sci-fi I've read since Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey and Rama series. It's not the best written book ever, but the ideas are simply vast, and the science (like with Clarke) is fairly solid and convincing.

Tonight, I'm going to see Kraftwerk at Brixton Academy. I can't wait.

I finally made it down to Tate Modern after work tonight to see Olafur Eliasson's "The Weather Project". It finishes this weekend. Here's my version of the same pics you've probably already seen:



GR.

So, Amsterdam was fun. Not really much to tell really - suffice to say we sat in some coffee shops, drank lots and ate well. Nice break from work though. I got back late Monday night (plane to Heathrow).

I've just been to my weekly Athletic Training class. It consists of an hour of various intensive excerciese such as burpees, running, press-ups, lunges, and the use of weights. The thing is, you don't get a break during the whole hour - not even to catch your breath.

It felt especially hard after a weekend in Amsterdam...

GR.

I ended up travelling home one the same tube as two people from work, one of whom I know fairly well and the other, a girl, whom I know less well. Sometimes I should just shut T.F. up - I managed to dig myself into some kind of whole whereby it sounded like I was insulting her, yet I was unable to explain what I really meant.

Sometimes I don't think even I know what I'm talking about. I wish some level of editing was available during real-time speech.
<sigh>

Maybe it's just today's lack of sleep disabling my basic communication functions...

GR.

P.S. Going to Amsterdam on Friday - hurrah. I'm going with some friends, for the weekend.

Sorry it's been so long - the novelty of keeping the blog wore off so I just stopped making entries.

What have I been doing since Christmas then? I'll be brief:

• I haven't seen the girl again since our one night thing; the mystery has gone out of it so I've lost interest


• I've been going to the gym at least three times a week, and have been going running on Saturday / Sunday mornings


• I've cut down on the pizzas and pasta in the evenings and have swapped them for salads and proteinous stuff like Mackrel


• As a result of the above two, I've lost almost a stone in weight and have also started to put on some muscle


• I've been getting on really well with my brother (the one I had the weird falling out with before Christmas) and we've joined the local snooker club. I'm starting to become quite good at it.

Other than that, doing OK. I'm now in the main design team at work and that's going kinda OK. Being paid more money helps, but unfortunately I now have to start paying back my student loan :(. Ah well.


GR.