Archives: zum!

Hectic couple of days at work & home, so travelling home today is my 1st writing time. My fault for trying to do too much at home. Been actually starting to write some comic reviews again, & although they are not fully formed enough for ZUM! as yet, I thought I’d bat them off to a review zine in the states. Dunno what will come, but why not thinks me. I was too late to bed last night, so have a ‘background’ headache now, due to tiredness.

Jack’s 1st day at school went well, according to reports, although he was a little tired. He was lying on the sofa watching “The Travelling Thornburys” (my favourite cartoon at the moment) when I got home. Louise says that she was worried how he’s be when he came out from school – overexcited or whatever, but he was happy & placid. He had a good day at school, likes his teacher, & had some stories & … well, rather enjoyed it. It’s not really as if the surroundings are unfamiliar as it is the same school as he has been attending ‘nursery’ school at. He is now in what is termed ‘reception class’.

Louise didn’t tell me how leaving him there was, but then, as said, this is just next from nursery. The school day started later yesterday, but it was a normal start time this morning, which may have been more difficult. Everyone was asleep in the house as I left this morning. Hopefully everything went well, but Louise had go clothes, shoes etc all prepared the night before, so in theory everything will have gone smoothly.

It was just Louise & Eve yesterday, & Louise said that Eve did not stop talking & noise making all day.. well, we knew she was loud, but I guess that Jack has also been around masking the noise she makes on her own. She had fun by the sound of it – playgroup & more attention to just her. Heh… there’s girl about Eve’s age, with an older sister about Jack’s age. She was there at playgroup, & when she say Louise & Eve – she greeted them as Jack. It seems as she likes Jack, both Eve & Louise also must be called the same.

Jack was a bit difficult at tea time yesterday, as he can be sometimes. He did not want to come to the table to eat, so we didn’t bother trying to force the issue. He was mean to his sister when she had finished, a lego dispute again – he was trying to build something & she pinched a brick, that was either next to or part of his construction, he hit her, she got so upset she ‘lost’ her tea… so, effectively none of them had a tea, really. Jack did not get a tea after that mayhem. All calmed & cleaned up reasonably quickly, but it is especially disheartening for Louise when that happens as she spends this time cooking the meal, only to have it all messed up. Nice meal too – a new sweet & sour… Hey ho…

Dad called last night for ‘tech support’ on his computer. It seems, as he is entirely new to a windows or generally GUI interface, he was a bit rash with the left & right clicking, & somehow ended up getting too high a monitor resolution. He got it back to normal eventually in ‘Safe Mode’, but it took a few goes, & we also installed the printer drivers so that he could do what he wanted to do. Quite good to get that bit sorted – next to get him online!

More pollyfillering of walls last night.  Felt a bit exhausted
on going to bed… Odd really as I was not later than I would
normally be, & pollyfillering is not exactly a strenuous
activity – maybe a little stretching here & there, but that’s
yer lot!  Quipped, when done for the evening that I’d not be
doing this tomorrow, & Louise retorted, “Why?”.  I’m
wanting to do some ZUM! work & suchlike.  Louise is right
to be concerned that time is slipping by though.  She is 5
months pregnant & overall, I cannot really claim to feel we are
making that much progress.  In reality, it is progressing, but
I’m all to aware that it seems too little, & perhaps resent
being reminded of that.  I’ve kind of resolved to see how a
period of alternating nights between the computer & the
decorating goes.
There is just never enough time.
I have been asked to work Saturday morning again, due to there
being no one else to cover that shift.  When I say ‘asked’ I
really mean I have been marked down as in for that shift without
having been consulted.  Like anyone I would prefer to know
when things are changing.  In this instance it is rather
inconvenient as we have still to do a shopping expedition to get
clothes for Jack’s imminent school start.  This was planned
for Saturday…
My brain would like to stop now, it is feeling weighted by
tired.  Commuter zombee mode start…

Groggy morning. John Peel woke me last night playing something
between Techno & Gabba on the World Service (we tend to have
the radio on through the night). Not wholly unpleasant & there
was a good tune after that track, but I was not really conscious
enough to pay attention. I miss not listening to Peely music shows,
& that sort of rousing from slumber is often all I get. Hey
ho.
We cut Eve’s hair a little the other day. She’d already had her
fringe trimmed when Jack had his last cut, but the back was
starting to get a little flyaway, so we reduced it to a bob…
which has worked surprisingly well – neat & even. As she is not
one for keeping still we did fear we would make a pig’s ear of it,
but it’s cute… & sort of ‘Christopher Robin’, in the modes of
hairdo you see young Christopher illustrated with in the Whinnie
the Pooh books. We are not so confident in thinking that this is
something we might attempt to maintain. It may be the hairdressers
again next time. Louise managed to get her hair cut yesterday, as
she was starting to feel uncomfortable with it, so that’s all of us
done now – no mop head family.
Ug… Not particularly inclined to write this morning. Groggy –
brain not really picking up & going through any thought
processes.
I have had a few reviews in for ZUM! & have been busying
myself with a little site maintenance there, so at least I feel I’m
achieving a little at the moment. Not so much as being able to
concentrate to do reviews myself, but hope still lingers.
Thinking of putting a weekly music file up on my diary pages –
what I’m currently fixated on musically. Now I’ve mentioned it, I
guess I will have to implement it. Recently been downloading some
old JAMMs from way back – 87 I think. I rather wish there was a Mac
version of the audiogalaxy
satellite.

Here’s me trying to remember what we did Saturday…?
Ah, that was it… not much :)
A bit of moving things up from the front bedroom to the attic. I was planing a haircut, but we did not get the kids marshalled until too late in the day for that.
Sunday was going to be a big decorating day for me… Try to get some progress on the front bedroom. Louise’s mum was going to come over & they were going to go off & leave me alone in the house to get on with things & concentrate. Louise’s mum was late though, & just when we were giving up, she arrived… with the news that the trains were not running… So, That scuppered the plans that they should go off somewhere. Past the initial frustration & the repeated explanations & incredulity from Louise’s mum (justifying & over justifying the situation) we did settle into a routine that let me do some decorating. Did not get as much as we would have liked done, but this is the nature of things, especially when Jack insists he wants to help (when he hinders, so he cannot) & gets upset that it is not possible. He is interesting in that respect. He is not good at accepting no as an answer & will continue to ask & plead when something is out of the question, & then get upset. It’s a common kiddie tactic, which parents can generally be worn down with until they concede something. It actually rarely works for Jack (with me) as I will either yes or no. Louise will compromise or distract on some extreme occasions (as in reality I may do). On the whole though, this tactic does not work, yet he still persists…
Anyway – I got the polystyrene wallpaper covering the outer wall (reason required: a couple of cold spots that attract condensation probably caused by ‘joining stones’). I had intended to start papering over some of the polystyrene paper put up earlier with lining paper, & might have managed it if I had not mixed the paste so badly it was as lumpy as porridge. Had to dash out to buy some more.
Papered round the window & radiator too. That polystyrene stuff is easy to put up… I doubt that the lining paper will be so easy. Then having taken the manky curtains down, I put some more respectable ones up. Had taken down the manky plastic curtain rail too, & needed to replace that with one from another room (downstairs back – wooden venetian planned there). Had to go & scrounge a drill off my neighbour, Andy (Hamish daddy) as having literally searched high & low in my house for my drill, I found nothing. Moving things about so much is perhaps going to make things seemingly disappear until you straighten yourself out properly again.
Upshot: Well, it’s really weird how much more neat a room can look with a uniform wall and a good pair of curtains. By no means finished, but the transformation is quite satisfying. I have to try to transform this satisfaction into something more akin to momentum to actually finishing the job. i’ll never get anywhere if I do not.
At least I managed to get ZUM! #10 archived onto the ZUM! site (albeit in what you might call a ‘beta’ stage – so no real links yet). Still a goodly amount of work to do, but a good start.