Hooray!!!!!!!! I’m gonna buy a Mini!!!!! I went and saw the car yesterday and fell in love with it, and Ellie managed to persuade me over dinner last night that it was a good idea, so this morning I phoned the guy and made him an offer!! Yey!!! I’m gonna go and pick it up on Monday afternoon, and I’m so excited!! Since getting off the phone this morning I’ve been jumping up and down and dancing around the room… it’s all so amazing! This is like my all-time ambition, my ultimate dream come true! I’ve finally got a Mini of my own!! I’ve just been playing my guitar too, singing a few worship songs, as that seemed like the most appropriate response, and now I’m going to have a cup of tea and go into town. Yey!!!

Watch this space for photos….

Just got back from seeing a Mini. So exciting!!! Yey!!! Took me a while to get there (it was down in Kent), but it was definitely worth the drive. It’s a Mini Sidewalk, which is a special edition model (they only made 1000), in very good condition inside and out. I think it’s single-point injection, so performance is reasonably good, though maybe not quite as good as it might be. Still, I can tune the engine further if I feel like it, and if I can afford it. I think the thing that pleased me most was that it felt like coming home – all the gears were exactly where they ought to be, the engine behaved exactly as I expected it to, and there was good communication between car and driver from the moment the engine started!! It was so cool! Especially since thinking back to when I first got my Fiesta, and how it took me at least a month to perfect the gear changes and get used to how the car drove. This Mini I just got in and drove it perfectly! Yey!! I just need to talk to a few people, get their opinions on whether I should make an offer…

I’m also redesigning my blog, finally, and making the interface more up to date. I’m also thinking of transferring the whole Minipix suite of sites (this blog, the main Minipix area and my photo gallery) to a Content Management System. It would mean I couldn’t take complete credit for the site, though of course it would be completely my skill making it look the way I want, even if the back end is someone else’s!

I’m going to see a Mini tomorrow! Yey!! It’s in Kent, which means it’s a fair old drive away, but hopefully it’ll be worth it. It’s a Kingfisher Blue (turquoise, basically) Mini Sidewalk, and from the photo looks in good condition. I’ve just been doing some research to find out some more about that particular model, and come up with some interesting results. Apparently there were only 1000 of these produced in the UK, so it’s a fairly rare special edition, which is nice. Comes with a nice 1275cc engine, a few chrome bits on the outside, and tartan seats. So hopefully it should go pretty well, considering it’s got an engine the same size as my Fiesta but with less car to pull along! And, being a Mini engine, it’ll probably pump out more power anyway!! Heehee!!!

It’s finally happened. I shall be constantly looking over my shoulder now on, making sure everything I say is strictly and carefully scripted by my PR consultant. Gone is the freedom of expression. Gone is the care-free lifestyle to which I had become accustomed. My computer will be monitored for mindless inactivity, my bedroom will be tidied (just in case), and I will have to be in bed by 10pm at the very latest, lest trouble and consternation should pass my way.

Both my parents are now using MSN Messenger.

No, seriously, it’s lovely to see them online! I had a lovely chat with my Dad the other day, and no doubt when my Mum comes back from being ‘away’ I shall chat to her too. It’s just a little odd. This was always the domain of the youngsters, and I guess I just never thought that older generations might catch on as well! And just for clarification, I’m not going to be paranoid over this, and I will not be going to bed before 11.

In other news, I had a lovely evening yesterday. Ellie and I went to the theatre to see a play called Paramour, which was very interesting and very clever, though I’m not sure I could describe the plot very easily! Then we went and joined a load of folks at a pub up the road to celebrate Sarah’s birthday. Which was a nice coincidence, because it was also Ellie’s birthday! We all played the pub quiz and ate an enormous pudding, my team lost the quiz (29 out of 100), and I think Ellie and I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

And today I have the house to myself, because both my housemates are at work. Yes, Anne-Marie has got herself a job! But I’ll let her tell everyone about that herself, rather than steal her thunder…

Long day today. I had a meeting with my boss this afternoon, which went on far longer than either of us intended, trying to sort out details about the new web site I’m developing. It all got rather confusing and complex and stressful, so I’m glad that’s over!

I went onto campus after that though, to relax in the chaplaincy. Ellie and I had dinner together and then went to Cell, which was quite challenging. All about the swing of life, going from quietly abiding in God, through a period of growth, to the other extreme of producing fruit, before being pruned and stripped back ready for another period of abiding. It was a challenge to realise that actually it’s all right sometime to not be producing fruit, and that sometimes it’s a necessary part of God’s plan that we are stripped back.

And now I’m really tired, so I shall probably get an early night.

I had a busy day today. First of all I went to campus to pick up a load of students to take them to Fordham church as part of the CU’s ‘Church Flirt’ programme (visiting all sorts of churches in Colchester, this week they were visiting Fordham). I three in the back of my car, and was going to meet Amy at Tesco, but she was running late so we had to go on without her in the end, which was a shame.

Fordham was nice. Same as I remember. Several of the congregation recognised me, which was nice. Though I suppose that’s to be expected – I was a regular member there for two and a half years! Mike’s sermon was typically intellectual and pushed several boundaries, which was refreshing, if a little intimidating at times. They put on a student lunch for us afterwards, which was nice. Tim went and collected Amy, too, so she managed to join us for the food if nothing else!

Then in the afternoon from 4 till 6 we had a Christians on Campus prayer thingum in LTB6. I had been asked to play guitar, which was fine, but the whole thing appeared to me to be rather unorganised. I felt rather awkward before it started, because I didn’t have a clue what was going on, and assumed that nothing had been properly sorted out. Thankfully though things were in hand, and other people knew what was going on, even if I didn’t! The session was good in the end, we had a good period of sung worship with a band formed from all the Christian groups on campus, a talk from the new Friends International guy, an illustration from Vic, and a time of prayer at the end. It’s so great when God steps in and takes something so simple and makes it into something spectacular! It was also quite humbling, putting me in my place – it made me remember that it’s not my job to organise everything any more, so it wasn’t my place to get stressed about it all!

This evening we all invaded Mr Phill’s place. I had to transport everyone, which meant a lot of driving around, to and fro, but it was good fun once we were all there. We ordered pizza (which was very tasty), and watched a couple of Monty Python sketches (which were very odd) and a Wierd Al music video (which was very funny). I think a good time was had by all, judging by the amount of laughter and general jolity. We also bumped into Paul and Gemma just before we left – I haven’t seen them in ages, so it was nice to see them, if only briefly!

Tomorrow I have every intention not to drive anywhere, not to do anything stressful, and not to rush around trying to do things. I wonder how long that plan will last…

This morning was the most stressful I’ve had in a while. I got my car booked into the garage to be fixed and reMOTed, which wasn’t too difficult, but then I started looking at these forms that the Inland Revenue had sent me, asking for information about who I’d been employed by and how much I’d been earning and all that sort of thing. Now, ordinarily this sort of thing shouldn’t be difficult, but as discovered today things are never as simple as I would like them to be!

After a little research, it turns out that I effectively had three jobs at the university, though they were all the same job. I started off on one payroll system, which was then upgraded so I finished my employment on that payroll and started again afresh on the new one. Then there was a mix-up with my finishing date so I effectively finished being ChapAss two months early and then started again for a further two months. Add to that the fact that I started my Diocese job in April, so that there was an overlap of jobs, and you get one hefty complicated mess of employment history!! Needless to say, I ended up with a nasty headache (which is very unlike me) and a good deal of stress (which is *very* unlike me).

Thankfully I think everything is sorted out now, and I have a clearer idea of what’s going on. I managed to meet up with Ellie at lunchtime, which was just what I needed. Had a good hug and a chat about it all, and I eventually calmed down. So I’m back to being nicely chilled out now, which is good. Of course, I’ve still got a to-do list longer than the coast of Africa, but that’s tomorrow’s problem…

I didn’t get nearly as much done today as I’d hoped to. I had a list as long as my arm (however long my arm is), but only got a handful (!!) done. I spent this morning tidying the house, as we were due for an inspection from the letting agency. Amazingly it’s a full three months since we moved in! Scary. So anyway this lady came round this morning to check the place over. Thankfully it wasn’t too intense, she just kinda wandered round and said “yeah, that’s fine”. So that was good.

Then I did some work on the web site again, sorted some stuff out, put the washing on the line and went onto campus for lunch. I stayed there for a while, chatting to folks, which was nice. It does feel kinda wierd still being there, and having to explain to everyone that I’m not actually a student! Still, if I’m gonna see Ellie on a regular basis, I suppose that’s just something I’ll have to put up with…

When I got home I had more work to do on the web site, so other things got pushed aside. So I haven’t phoned the garage about getting my car fixed (it failed it’s MOT at the weekend on account of the front suspension wishbone which apparently is in need of replacement), nor did I go into town to visit the JobCentre and a few employment agencies, nor did I phone this guy about a Mini I’ve seen for sale, nor did I post my Colchester Mini Club application form (which is still sitting on my desk), nor did I sign and return my updated contract, nor have I sorted out my in-tray and done the paperwork, nor have I….. you get the picture!

So some of that will have to wait until tomorrow. Ah, the life of a working man…

Ok, development number 1 is that I’ve finally been told I can start working two days a week from now on! Hoorah! So I’ll now be doing web design more than one day a week, and getting paid for it, which is always nice! It taken its time in coming though, but I think I’ve got enough money lying around for the moment to cover my trip to London tomorrow, my car’s MOT and tax, and everything else I’m doing at the moment. Apparently it’ll be a full-time thing, too, rather than just a temporary two-day-week while there is a rush of things to do. We’ll have to see.

I’ve also discovered the joys of the hand blender. I’ve been making milkshake smoothies! I went out to Tesco the other day and bought a whole load of nice fruits and some chocolate and some ice cream, and this lunchtime I had two glassfuls of delicious… err… mush. The first one was mango, peach and banana, the second was chocolate and fudge. The second one needed a bit more working out, as it seems the hand blender can’t cope with breaking up large bits of chocolate, so I had to grate it instead. Still, twas very tasty! Bit of this, bit of that… endless possibilities!

I’m going onto campus now to have a jam session with Richard. I’ve rediscovered the clarinet, so I’m improvising on that while Rich plays piano, and then we swap round and I play piano while he plays trumpet. All good fun! Haven’t played the clarinet in ages though, so I’m still rather squeaky!

I found a piece of software yesterday. There, bet you’re glad you read my blog now, aren’t you? Hmm? Oh, the delights of finding software…

No, seriously, I did find a piece of software. I’ve been looking for it for a while, or something matching my strict criteria. Basically what I wanted was a wysiwyg html editor that didn’t mess around too much with the code, was sensible in the way it coded the html, and would seemlessly link into a style sheet that was online rather than stored on the computer you were working on. Even Dreamweaver doesn’t appear to do that! But I found a nice open source program called Nvu (pronounced N-view) which runs on Linux, Windows and Mac OSX, has a simple and straightforward interface, handles wysiwyg very well, and has FTP integration to make things even swifter! It’s really good! And you can edit the raw html if you want and it doesn’t complain. And the code it generates is really nice and tidy, I’m very impressed. Ok, so it might not provide all the really complicated functions that Dreamweaver might, but for simple editing it’s superb.

Incidentally, this editor isn’t for me, I’m happy using jEdit. This is for people at work, so that they can edit their own pages on the web site without having to know anything about html. It doesn’t need to be idiot-proof for my benefit!! Not that the people at work are idiots…. ok, I’ll stop talking now…