The Doctor has used the message box to communicate .. 26% - Total Geek

Need we say more? I feel it was the questions relating to PBeM that pushed the score up rather than the tick in box 21 .... but we are talking about the eternal student ;)

... and he knows he wants to learn to drive for next academic year's keep yourself occupied project ... he just hasn't realised it yet! (oh did I type that up, what a shame ;) )

Having wandered over to Mad's Blog I found The Geek Test. I only have Geekish tendencies at 9.27022% but I know of someone who if they took it would certainly have a higher score ... but will they take the test and report the results? ... for certain they would be ticking the box 21 ;)

Hmm will today be a warm and balmy (or more close to the truth .. hot and sweaty) 28C this afternoon? At least I can wear shorts and vest top today unlike the working week where I have to don a nylon long sleeved high vis top to go on site with (hmmm nice ... to go with working in a container next to the busiest roundabout in Portsmouth)

Having wandered over to Mad's Blog I found

Just spent a really nice evening in the moat doing archery. Also debating on whether or not to go to Quicks on Saturday and spend some money on a thicker tab (the bit of leather that stops fingers from stinging) and a fletching jig (to use when glueing my arrows back together). Hmmm I do get paid tomorrow :)

The doctor has reminded me that I've not updated my just watched section ... are you happy now Dr T?

A change in weather and a change of site. Yes ladies and gentlemen I'm now working on the nightmare roadworks in Portsmouth, so its long sleeved high vis vests all round (which isn't great when the weather is really hot) and lots of running across roads in the aim of not getting hit. It also means I'm going to be working a bit longer hours and not quite so easy to slope off as required. But on a good point its much more social as there is a construction village of container offices rather than the 1 office at the port.

Mind you I'm still not sure about the site as I just can't get as excited about these highway works as I do about the works down the port; I just don't have that buzz I get with the maritime works. I'm going to suck and see if things get better once I settle in more although my biggest longing at the mo is just to be able to spend a few weeks based at civic in the office on design work rather than the propect of more months on site ... I want to be able to go into town of a lunchtime, meet up with my friend for lunch without having to plan it days in advance and trying my best to stop things on site getting in the way.

So tonight I will have an early night so I can get out the house way before Dr T gets out of bed to go to his workplace .... am I in the wrong job?

Oh forgot to mention that I wore a skirt for the wedding! The first time Dr T had seen me in a skirt (nope, he didn't faint with the shock) ... although I felt he wanted me to have donned DMs with it (as I did in my youth). It wasn't a large travel rug skirt (a la Mad) but a small picnic rug ('cos it was a wool check skirt).
Other discoveries this weekend was the bit on my seatbelt that comes out and makes it a bit more comfy for us little people (yep I have had the car 4 years now!) ... courtesy of my little sister!

The weekend is nearly over, but an excellent weekend it has been. In a bit of a NZ mode as I've spent the last three nights all in different places. But best of all I got to spend three days instead of two with the good doctor.

The wedding was good up in the Peak District in the area where I spent a very enjoyable canalboat holiday many years ago... being there made me long to go canalboating again. We also saw the campsite where the Manchester Rally was held (and we saw a couple of stormhavens there from the churchyard).
We then headed down south before ending up at Dr T's Bro's place rather late (due to the reception ended a bit later than planned) where we crashed for the night ... and then in the morning got to spend listening to the 'Cat in the Hat' & learning about the wonders of Blue Cow on CBeebies.
Then it was onto Pompey where we met up with Becca & her boyf before heading out to where we are going on Pack Holiday. Tom & I went there on a drizzly day back last November and it seemed to fit the bill and was confirmed yesterday with the reactions of the rest of the team ... so this week I will mostly be writing up various pack holiday related things up ... I'm really looking forward to it now.

Today was spent watching the Matrix reloaded before saying bye to the doctor and then picking up little sis & co and heading towards the seafront and then finishing a fab weekend with a curry from my local take out which was enjoyed by all ... then is was another goodbye

..... so its off to do all the washing up in a little while and maybe an early night after driving over 600 miles this weekend!

Well it's Friday and I'm actually in more of a work mood that I was yesterday. We've finished the concreting on the retaining walls ... only one more concrete pour to go on the job :) ... and I will be escaping site in a little while :)

Outside of work I've got a bit of a tour of Britain this weekend starting with the wonders of Loughborough tonight! Lets hope the roads aren't too busy (alright I know its a slim chance but hopefully I'm going the right way to avoid the traffic). Then on Saturday we head a bit further north for a wedding (in Dr T's words 'she wants to make sure my exs are married off' ... he's a lovely bloke really! Me personally I'm not fussed whether his exs are married or not!) before descended back down south via Dr T's Bro & co before seeing my little sister for lunch in Pompey on Sunday after which we have a PH team visit to Pauline's Lodge ... I'm sure Dr T is thrilled to be going there again (it being his District site from when he was cub (there's a scary thought a little Dr T)/ scout / Venture etc.) followed by Pizza and all things PH being discussed at mine (hence I have spent the last week trying to make the place look more presentable!) No doubt my bossy little sister will make some comment on its state while shes there! (hmm will I have little siblings united this weekend in the form of Tom & Becca? (both of whom are shorter than their elders {much to Becca's annoyance}) ... good job my sister's boyf is a sibling of the elder variety!).

Then on Monday morning Dr T, me and Becca's boyf will be seeing Matrix Reloaded at Gunwharf while my sister shops (as they are seeing it tonight as well)

Sometime I might get a lie in .... but just not Tuesday when I start properly on the J&J roundabout site (and for those of you who know Portsmouth will hopefully wish me well .... yep that's the site that is currently a very large (and accident blackspot) roundabout that's becoming a large traffic light controlled crossroads junction) ...hmmm and there was me wanting to spend some time in the office for a little while.

P.S. Do you like the amended layout? No more scrolling past the archives to get to the interesting links ...

For those of you who are aware of my trip to NZ may also be aware of a certain split present in the UK group ... so over a wait for Coffee & Carrot Cake in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, NZ Sarah & I came up with the following "Guide to Guiders"

'Lesser Spotted Brit'
A very shy and insecure creature usually observed in large groups at mealtimes. At other times they can generally be found around their nesting areas. Although the species does not hibernate as such, they do require regular dormant periods. DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THEM IN THIS STATE. Communication occurs between members of the same nesting group however cross-species interaction is extremely rare.

'Muchas Loudas Brit'
Readily identified by their red, white & blue plummage on which they display their trophies, these can be found in any situation where the opportunity for cross-species socialisation occurs. Can be easily amused with large quantities of local produce & caffiene. Unlike their lesser spotted cousins dormancy is only taken in short periods due a species fear of missing out on something. From a distance, they still can be identified by their call which resembles hysterical laughter followed by the occasional 'Bad Dobby' & banging their heads on any available hard surface. As can be gathered from their name they are a particularly vocal breed unlike their lesser spotted variety. They do sometimes find themselves put into a lesser spotted nesting group, where cuckoo-like they will cause distress and pandamonium in their attempts to escape.

.... and for out NZ cousins who wear Aqua instead of Blue

'Common Aqua'
This large species group has many sub-species. It is readily indentified by its bright Aqua plummage with navy fletchings. In winter its plummage can go darker due to a fleece plummage being added.
The sub-species can be very territorial with much cross-species socialisation occuring when in large groups of the Common Aqua group as well as species such as the Muchas Loudas Brit.
Examples of the sub-species are the Wellingtonian & Canterbury as sell as others of both the North and South Divisions.

So hopefully you now have a good feel for the people I encountered at the conference!

This morning was all rather eventful before I even made it to work. Soon after I woke up I heard a thud noise from upstairs which concerned me as they aren't in at the moment, then when I stood in the hallway area for the flats I heard an almost raining noise but it was from upstairs ... so being the good tenant that I am I phoned the landlord to let him know ... he came round about 15mins later and as thought the ceiling had fallen down and there was a leak from the bathroom ... source of the leak is unknown ... but the water is turned off upstairs so at least my flat won't flood while I'm at work ... hmm I think the upstairs occupants might have a bit of a surprise when they return from wherever they have been! Not the best thing to start a Monday morning...

So I've come to work to relax after the early stresses of the day ... and the day is overcast once more :( as Morecombe & Wise once sung ... Bring me sunshine... (like in NZ where it was the equivalent of October but we were in short sleeves all the time!)

Those of you who've seen me in the last 10 days might like to know I've still not had a fever and I'm now out the 10 SARS incubation period! Yeah I can cough and sneeze to my heart's content now! As Dr Tom pointed out to my friend Sam who we went to see X2 with when she said that he was the person most likely to be affected by it if I did have it .. that I'd spent my first weekend home with a load of people who live all over the country so great for the spread! But I'm fine so nobody need worry about these things anymore!

Oh I thought X Men 2 was good (but I've been in a bit of Marvel moment of late after watching Daredevil twice on the planes home) ... next planned Cinema visit is Matrix Reloaded ... sometime.

Why does everyone in Pompey seem to have a cough at the mo? Do they know I'm still in the 10 day incubation period since I came back from Singapore?

Hmm I guess its about time I bored you all with the NZ trip ...

Well those of you who've seen me since I've returned may have twigged I liked the place (which is a bit of any understatement...) We only got to see hightlights of the Country in our rapid 2 week 2 island tour!
The conference was great and I made lots of good NZ friends who some time in the future I'll go back and see (and we did stay with one of them when we were in Wellington). I had a lot of late nights followed by the 7am start to get breakfast before 8am ... I still can't understand how I managed to survive on such little sleep?!?! I did lots of mingling, hence met lots of different people; alas this was unlike the majority of the UK group (with one person being at the centre of it) who had all their meals sat together rarely talking to other Guiders outside the UK group. I survived one meal like this early in the proceedings but after that there was no way I was going to repeat it if I could! We did trainings which can be transferred with little tweaking to the UK programme, saw places around Christchurch (I went to the Antartic Centre and went in a snowmobile followed by the more sedate gardens in the afternoon (where I found out about Edmonds a great NZ institution, and one of my friends gave me their cookbook (essential in all NZ kitchens) at the end of the conference .... it has much more sentimental value because she gave it to me as she was the person who'd explained about them when we went to the gardens in their old factory site). I got on a bus at 5am to go to an ANZAC dawn parade (because they went onto the beaches at Gallipoli at dawn), it was a lovely way to do a rememberance service as the sun was rising even if it did mean getting up early!

South Island tour highlights ... ferns, glaciers, hot pools, more ferns, Punakaiki Rocks (aka Pancake Rocks), greenstone, more ferns, panning for West Coast gold (a la Rough Science), loads of autumn colour!

North Island hightlights ... Wellington & its harbour, Te Papa (the NZ musuem! Fab and Free!), Watching Rugby on TV, Drinking Hawkes Bay Wine, briefly seeing Napier, Jet boating to the Huka Falls (fab boating experience ... was I on an adrenalin high when I got off!) Maori dancing & hangi, Gloworms in Waitomo, Skytower in Auckland

Random items ... Finding a can of SARS on our first drink stop on the South Island tour (its a cola drink made in Oz (aka the West Island)), Pinky Bar (marshmallow & caramel covered in chocolate .. bit sweet for me), Fresh up apple & nectarine juice (yummy), Pies variados, Afgans (chocolate biscuits), Canterbury Draught & Tui and not forgetting beetroot in burgers! Laughing my way around the islands with Sarah (and the American girls for the South Island), the phase 'bad dobbie' when being less than polite about some members of the UK group (which I have to say was justified most of the time)!

Back at work today and it seems as if nothing has really happened while I left the country for 3 weeks ..... I currently awaiting gremlins to appear that have been hidden while I had collegues covering my work.

Mind you as its not been 10 days since I left Singapore I'm still getting all the SARS comments ... which means I'm really don't want to cough (even to clear my throat) etc. in case of the looks etc. in the workplace so I've escaped to site for the rest of the day :) Just remember I need to have the fever + the other bits ... I have the sore throat courtesy of Singapore Airlines (the wonders of recirculated air, I get them now and then at Civic for the same reason) but no fever!!

Oh and I had a fab birthday yesterday at Beau with Dr T, Mad and the rest of the GaSCiT crowd ... I even had a birthday cake complete with candles at lunchtime! However this year my work collegues won't be getting cakes as I managed to leave my purse in the car I got a lift up to Beau in ... silly girl! So this evening I shall be visiting scenic Southampton to reclaim it!

Better go and look at some concrete being poured .... life seems so dull (like the weather) now I'm back at work ....

Well I'm back ... but not really in the mood for writing a long blog entry about the rest of the NZ trip at the mo ... so that will happen over the weekend.

But basically I'm back have just slept for a very little time (but that's more likely that I slept/ dozed on the plane due to having 4 seats to myself due to an empty flight!). I've done 1.5 of the required 3 loads of washing .. and have currently run out of line space so the rest will prob have to wait until the end of the weekend!

I'm off up to Beau for the weekend for Gascit where I'll see Mad, Dr T and a few other SSAGO old gits/ SAGGA members, drink some port, try to sleep a bit, drink some more port, chat, maybe even drink some beer ... and why the alcohol? Well its my birthday on Sunday :) so I need to celebrate sometime! I even had some wrapped pressies upon my return from Foreign parts!

More blogging later ..... safe to say however I had a wonderful time in NZ even if we had some less than cheerful members in our UK group ... Hmm and maybe now I'm back my average sleep of a night will rise above about 6 hours (which is what its been for the last 3 weeks!)

Now made it to the North Island and have spend a very aggreable time in Wellington .. hmmm could very easily live here .. a City by the sea (complete with interisland ferries) and lots of interesting architecture & scenery. We went out drinking in the city last night but tonight is a blob night watching the rugby (which has just started!) as the Hurricanes (local team) are playing the Brumbes (and oz team!).

Went to Te Papa the national museum today and found that they are shipping the LOTR exhibition out from there to London on the same flight as us from NZ! (how gutted are we!) ... so a trip to London is on for me to see that! The rest of the museum is really fab so if you are ever here check it out (and best of all its free!)

Better hop off soon to see the rugby action .. hope you lot are all keeping well ... and where are the blog messages or are you all jealous?

Just a quick post as I only have a little time left on my internet time at the lovely Christchurch central library so just to say NZ is still fab and we're are due to be flying up to the North Island in about 3.5hours for a week around that ... so I have a bit of time to see a little more of the city and get some lunch while the others do the Antartic Centre ... good all round as I need some independant travel space! No doubt I'll blog sometime on the North Island (when maybe Dr Tom doesn't take up as much time as now on keeping my social life busy!). Luggage weight for this flight was 20.4kg so I got a heavy tag! up from18.6 at Heathrow but I have an emptyier daysack for carry on!

Tine is going so bye for now (and try to get round the typos!)