the good bad et the ugli (the editor's cut)

The Good

Well all the official stuff for my impending trip to America is paid for , Got the visa last week. So now it’s the serious bit of working out how much daily cash I need. Of course I’ll be armed with my trusty credit card and also my starbucks and subway “loyalty” cards in the hope that they still work over there. For the 9 odd days I am there I am thinking about getting £700-£800 in dollars. This, I hope, will cover any tours,coaches, trains and little things I may get. Hopefully my American friends will advise me here.

Now what to get when I am out there? You won’t get my humour here-but I am the sort of person who would travel out there and just come back with something silly-that I could have easily got back home-like a comb or packet of razor blades. But in saying that I have a few ideas:- gaphic novels,bobbly hats, cds (if possible of bands I see in pubs), a memory card for my camera, travel mug with some American symbol on it, somethings really tacky too etc etc. Gonna do some tours, but than I said that already.Much that I enjoyed the TV show I am NOT doing the Sopranos tour.

My sense of humour-people are baffled/impressed at how I can chip in with a joke during any conversation (more in ugly). It’s just key words that seem to spark something in my memory. But ask me to tell some jokes and I am in a quandary. It has to be spontaneous for it to work. Sometimes I am actually surprised myself.

Lightroom 5 (more in ugly)  This is another off shot of the mighty photoshop-it’s said to be better than elements and nowhere near as expensive as the full photoshop programme. I bought it (and a book) 3 or 4 months ago-but via some free discs I got with camera magazines I am slowly learning how good this is.

Been asked to take some photos of my sister in law’s friend’s daughter –who wants to become a model-I don’t feel confident enough to do this, too much pressure etc etc-but it could be a good experience and I could also use it as an excuse to take some family shots too.

The Bad

Even though I have paid for the flight,visa and hotels in both Dublin and America-I could still cancel the whole thing. You don’t know the way my mind works. Sorry folks –it would take to explain this. Well actually won’t take that long. I am still very very uncomfortable with the idea of being in the air for such a long period of time, and twice at that. And the fact that on one cyling holiday that started in Cork someone who flew there from JFK that morning was there before me and I was on bus from Derry. Despite the fact I will be meeting at least two great people-maybe more, you never know-for the life of me I am questioning why am I going to two big cities when I would be just as happy-even more so heading down to the free state and chilling out in a couple of medium sized towns with decent bands playing in pubs that serves the drinks I know and like. If I can cancel the hotels and not loose any money this could still happen-so do not be surprised if you see post saying “it’s all off.”

Only last week I discovered that it is possible to put my bobbly hats on back to front.

Somebody sitting down beside me on a bus when more than half the other seats are totally empty. Of course this does not apply if it is a Zoe Deschannel or  similar babe lookalike.

And the Ugly

The Advent calendar at work did not last long-did not blend in with my grinch (grinch?) attitude to the whole Christmas thing.Maybe if I had a more me advent calendar like the sugababes or judge dredd or the pre-change Scrooge  it would have lasted longer.AND NOBODY IN MY SECTION IN THE OFFICE HAS NOTICED IT’S GONE!!

Lightroom 5-yeah I know I said it was good but there is something I don’t know how to “fix” –but I think I know how to stop it happening again.And I STILL don’t like being hunched over a computer working on a photograph.

My remembering jokes thing-sometimes I wish I could adapt this “triggering” system thing to serious things like my job-and if I could have used that when I was at school-well what odds. I am actually flattered when people say they wish they could run off the spontaneous jokes like I do.

And here is a picture of a bobbly hat –as I think they are called something else in the states, in fact most people call them something else here too-happiness is a tight bobbly hat-that’s what I say.