We saw Nestor and Zimonjic play a Polish pair I’ve never heard of, can’t spell and certainly can’t pronounce. They’re ranked 8, so they’re the lowest ranked pair in there. It was a bit odd because they played a variation, so when it got to deuce whoever won the next point won. And if they won a set each they’d play a tie-break, but to 10 points. It made it very quick, but it felt like it all turned on those deuce points because the Polish pair broke once per set on those points. But it was a good match and now I’m reduced to seeing the rest of the doubles matches online.

We had half an hour’s break after that and then there were a lot fewer empty seats for Murray’s match. This was back to usual point scoring and because they spend a lot more time than the doubles per point, made it seem really slow. The doubles match was an hour long, this one was two and a half. But it was a battle and Del Potro played well, apart from in the middle of the first set and towards the end of the third. That was a good match too, but we really wanted it to end because the seats just go so uncomfortable after sitting in them for the best part of five hours, I was really dizzy and it was really hot in there, which didn’t help.

But we had a good view, even though we were near the back. People at work were trying to tell me we wouldn’t be able to see a thing, but it was no different from being at the back of Centre Court.

And there are photos, some of which are a bit blurry because they’re all taken with the flash off and the lighting was terrible (really bright on the court and we couldn’t see a thing, which made eating lunch interesting).

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In Yuletide news I am currently reviewing the source material in the hopes that I might manage a plot at the end of it. I’m quite excited about what I’m writing and it helps that my recipient likes a lot of the same things that I do. I’m hoping that writing that will help remind me about the whole doing something constructive thing.

It’s Children in Need tomorrow, so it’s guaranteed to rain, since it’s not that cold. Normally I’d be running around in the road with a bucket before work, but I’m not well enough to do that, so I am counting money after work instead. I don’t think I can quite cope with the idea of not doing something for Children in Need any more.

I’m having a week off work next week, which I will mostly be spending listening to the tennis, since the BBC aren’t showing much. I was very excited by a twitter post of Andy Murray’s today because he revealed that he’s playing Sunday afternoon and that’s when I’m going. We’re further back than we were for the gymnastics, so expect pictures of ant-sized people.

I am most distressed my today’s paper when they announced they are discontinuing the Technology section in the Guardian. I liked it best when it was the Online section with the Science section inside, but it’s still been worth buying the paper once a week for it. Without it there’ll be no reason to buy the paper any more – and I don’t like reading the paper online, it’s not the same. These days I tend to get my news from Radio 5 on the way home from work.

Permalink | 2 comments | Categories: Fan fic, Life, Rotaract, Sport: Children in Need, Life, Tennis, Yuletide

He has a tennis player snack name game going on, where you alter tennis players names slightly to match up with names of snacks. Where snack is a loose definition. His list includes:

Lleyton chewit, james flake, boris doubledecker, dorito starace. #

Juan martin del popcorn, vania kingsize mars bar, gilles muller fruit corner. Novak Yorkie-ovic #

John MacEnrolo, Cod woodbridge, mardy fishcakes, prawn borg, martina haggis, mince spadea, egg rusedski, spotted dick norman. #

Nicholas Tiramassu, ernests gulbiscuit. Jesse levino? Juan carlos ferrero rocher. #

Ryvita gerulaitis. #

They were coming up with these on Radio 5 on Thursday for the tennis players on the commentary team, but the only one I can remember is Michael Stichy Toffee Pudding.

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Me
I saw the ENT, had my blood pressure taken and had my blood taken. Consequently had a big bruise on the inside of my elbow which has only just gone away, high blood pressure (it was normal again the next day) and spent three days not doing anything, except half-watching the French Open. By half I mean I watched the tennis and closed my eyes while they did arty-farty pans round the stadium to make me dizzy.

The upshot is that my symptoms aren’t typical of labyrinthitis or anything else either. So I have some exercises to do and go back just before the windmill trip in mid-July. The exercises start with moving your eyes and go onto moving your head, then moving your head with your eyes closed! But you start with the first one and only when you can do that fifteen times easily without getting dizzy do you go onto the next. I’m still on the first one, but can now manage fifteen times. But I’ve really noticed how much during the day I am dizzy, just don’t notice it because it’s become normal. It’s only when I sit down and think about it that I notice.

European Elections
I voted, on what The Guardian accurately described as a three foot long form. And I’m glad to see that the party I voted for got one seat! Which is great because when I looked at the current MEPs they were all from silly parties. The BNP getting seats is a bad thing, but they’re such a tiny minority that I can’t imagine they’ll do much harm. Hopefully.

Writing
I was one of the Runners Up in the Children of Time awards! I can’t remember what the category was mind you, and it’s slightly meaningless given that the awards run constantly, but still pretty cool. At some point I’ll get round to putting the graphic up on the relevant story.

I got my assignment for Who Remix, have decided which story to remix and what the funky remix subtitle’s going to be. I think I know what I’m going to do for it.

Then I got my assignment for Remix and got someone who’s written in three fandoms I know, but tends to write the same sort of stuff to me, and in the same sort of way as well. Which makes it a bit harder. But no matter how many fics I skim-read one kept calling to me, so I wrote a draft and then realised it was really terrible for a variety of reasons. I think I know what I’m going to do and what the title will be (although not the funky remix subtitle).

Tennis
First singles winner at Queens since 1938! Not that I think he’ll win Wimbledon this year, but that’s not bad going. I enjoyed the tennis – it was nice to see tennis on grass again, rather than clay. Although it just seemed so small – I think because a lot of the matches were easy, they only went to two sets, there were fewer people in the crowd (so the applause was quieter) and because the camera angle on the court was different. Now there’s a week off to get everything else done before I spend two weeks going nothing but watching Wimbledon. And having Melli to stay.

TV watching
I keep thinking of writing a post talking about stuff I’ve seen on TV recently. But I’ve watched all of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, which is very good, but also very depressing for a comedy. All this Star Trek about prompted me to re-watch Enterprise of all things. I spent the first episode easily able to pick out exactly why they did certain things. Which I did when I first saw it, but then I was caught up in not knowing what’s going to happen. Scott Bakula is great in it, obviously. He was the only reason I watched it the first time.

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Why is it that the closest I’ve come to seeing either of Andy Murray’s doubles matches at Queens is seeing him walk out on court this evening before you stopped broadcasting for no good reason and despite saying you’d broadcast till 8pm?

Oh, hang on, I know the answer. It’s because you’re a load of useless tossers who don’t deserve the licence fee I have to pay every year.

You’d better have a bloody good answer to my complaint.

No love,
Me.

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I saw Sports Island 2 for the Wii and I want it – it looks good. Not that I can play on the Wii at the moment, mind you. Or cross stitch, which is really quite frustrating.

All of a sudden remix is happening, so I’m going to be writing two at the same time.

I need to do a reading my weight in books update – it might be in a while when there’s no tennis.

My hayfever’s gone from practically nothing to me spending the afternoon blowing my nose, last night with itchy eyes and sudden asthma when it got dark Friday and today. At least it’s quite late, so hopefully it’ll only be a month and half – which I calculated should only cost me about £30 in drugs.

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It was a good day and we somehow managed to avoid the worst of the weather. I was really tired when I got home, which I expected. What I didn’t expect was how dizzy I felt Sunday. All I ended up doing on Sunday is lying on the sofa reading and watching tennis because I wasn’t capable of doing anything else. Fortunately, there was tennis on – exhibition matches under the new Centre Court roof at Wimbledon and I enjoyed them, although I could have done without the camera moving so much. I didn’t even feel like I’d done that much either. I’m less dizzy now but back to going to bed at 10pm.

But on Friday I’m going to see if I feel well enough after work to go and see In the Loop, which wasn’t at the cinema walking distance from where I live now. But it is at the cinema walking distance from work on Friday and Saturday. Then it is at least a three day weekend, although I plan to do things with it – not least find a place for all these books to live…

Also, in the unlikely event that there’s anyone left who doesn’t have a Dreamwidth account that wants one, I have four invites. And, it turns out, Trillian Astra invites, since it’s now in beta. And probably has been for a while, I’ve just failed to notice, just gave them money…

Permalink | No comments | Categories: Books, Internet, Life, Sport: Books, Dreamwidth, Ill, Tennis, Trillian

I am getting better, if slowly (and don’t have concussion, which is good after I hit my head on the kitchen side on Thursday night) and this has been marked as unread in my emails for a while:

Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your blog and elaborate on the subjects given.

tanaquilotr gave me Doctor Who, Elrond, food allergies, Davis Cup, fencing:

Doctor Who
Doctor Who was always one of those programs that I’d have watched if it’d been on telly, but just never was. And I didn’t have UKGold. I happily saw the three stories the BBC showed while I was in my third year at uni and the 30th anniversary night with the Paul McGann film. But apart from that I could take it or leave it. Although I was quite annoyed that the BBC started the new series the first night I was in Australia and I didn’t get back to England till the fourth episode.

But I watched it and I liked it and it was all good. And then I watched some episodes with the Seventh Doctor and Ace and then bought all the audios and books (although not the New Adventures), which was also good. I think it all went wrong somewhere around School Reunion and I ended up in a fandom I hadn’t intended to…

It occurred to me, mostly at Redemption, that Doctor Who has now turned into another Stargate for me. By which I mean, I’m happy to watch the episodes and enjoy them, but discussing them ruins the enjoyment. So I read and write fanfic for bits of it and roleplay a couple of the characters and run a ficathon, but I’m happy to stay the SJA/Sarah part of the fandom these days. Course it helps that the people in it are great people that I’ve met

Elrond
I kind of miss Elrond sometimes. I joined LOTR fandom thinking I’d be a hobbit person, given that the only bits of The Two Towers and Return of the King I’d found remotely interesting were Frodo and Sam’s story. Except somewhere along the line I discovered the Appendix and with it a wonderfully angsty Half-Elf. And his foster son.

The only trouble was that I ran out of things to say about Elrond and it felt like all the fanfic I read about him was the same as what had gone before. I want to get back into the fandom and read & writing Elrond, I just don’t know what’ll do it. Although if they do actually make The Hobbit, that ought to have Elrond in it…

Food allergies
I actually don’t have any of these. It’s my skin that seems to be allergic to most things. I do have lots of food intolerances, though, which is possibly what Tanaqui meant. Most people don’t understand the difference, which is why I tell people in restaurants I’m allergic. Plus it helps if they think I might die, then they might actually do what I ask.

I share some of the same food intolerances as my mum, so I’ve definitely inherited them from her (and it’s just another reason why I don’t want kids). I keep hoping some of them will go away but I just seem to gain more. They all affect me slightly differently, but tend to go along variations of tired/dizzy/ill/sick. None of which is fun.

But I can tell people definitively that denying yourself a food will make you crave it. I really, really want pie and pizza. And when I first couldn’t have milk I really craved cornflakes with milk.

Davis Cup
This is the (male) tennis equivalent of the FA Cup (women play Fed Cup). Or whatever it is football has these days. We are currently a bit rubbish because we haven’t got enough good players and are currently in Euro/Africa Zone 1. The premiership equivalent is the World Group, which only has sixteen countries in it. And Spain can win that without Rafael Nadal, which tells you how good they are. (We can’t win a Zone 1 match without Andy Murray).

But Davis Cup is great for seeing tennis when there’s a home game at Birmingham NIA or Wimbledon. Because the players are playing for their country rather than just themselves the atmosphere is so different from Wimbledon – it’s very loud for a start! There’s nothing quite like it for a bit of patriotism – when we win. Unlike last weekend’s appalling performance where we lost 3-0.

Fencing
I started fencing at uni, mostly because we almost had it offered to us in sixth form, but did archery instead (which I was rubbish at). I thought I ought to do some sort of exercise while I was there and picked fencing. And I liked it. When I moved up here I looked up the nearest fencing club and I was glad for it because it was the one thing I could do that was familiar. My best friends from uni, that I’m still in touch with I either know from the Modern Sci-Fi society or from fencing. I miss it, I just need to get better before I go (and when I go and decide which car I want, I will be taking my fencing kit to make sure it fits inside).

Permalink | No comments | Categories: Life, Meme, Sport, TV: Doctor Who (Classic), Doctor Who (New), Fencing, Food, Lord of the Rings, Meme: other, Tennis

My lengthy to-do list did all get put on hold this morning for the Australian Open final, which was great, although did mean I had a late lunch. I can’t believe what sort of times they play till over there. But I really, really enjoyed the match. No matter what happens I can’t stop thinking of Federer as the No 1 and champion and Nadal as his adversary. Despite the fact that it’s pretty much been the other way round recently.

Next big thing is the Davis Cup, which we ought to win…

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So I got home and went to 301 & 302 and there was… no tennis. But there was sports news, so while my computers started up I thought I’d see if there was any news of the score. Andy Murray was mentioned, Jamie Murray might well as not have existed.

As I was hungry I went and put dinner on and turned the radio on. The radio in the kitchen is permanently tuned to Radio 5, purely for Wimbledon but I found their news at 6 is handy to listen to while I cook dinner and try not to die of boredom while I do it. Jamie Murray got mentioned in the headlines.

Turned out it was on 5 Live Sports Extra, so I’ve been listening to that all evening. It’s really strange how different the US Open is to Wimbledon. When the players sit down they have the big screen picking out random people to win a George Foreman grill. They played a final on a Thursday during the day US time, which seems mad. And the commentators end up having to stay up till 3am to commentate on matches! I mean, I do like all day tennis, but there’s a limit.

And the strangest thing of all was sudden death at deuce in the doubles matches. Which made that one point so, so important. And utterly pointless, since it was only done for the TV schedules. Keeping the number of deuces in a game is going to make the match shorter, but not by much. And it isn’t going to make it any more unpredictable either. Crazy.

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Henman is not your hero and he’s not someone to emulate. I only have a finite number of fingernails and the edge of my seat is really uncomfortable.

Just win or lose, none of this mucking about in the middle, okay? Or at the end either, I mean, win when you have championship points, not five games later.

Love, a British tennis fan.

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I’m really disliking hayfever season. It’s not helped by spending last night in a Barn in a field that was open. I’m currently on medicine, nose spray, eye drops and the maximum dose of my inhaler, but for the past week I haven’t been able to lie around in bed after I wake up because I just can’t breathe. It does go away a bit during the day, to come back in the evening, but I’m really looking forward to the end of the hayfever season.

I’m really looking forward to Wimbledon now, after the taster that was the Stella Artois semis and finals this weekend. Especially today’s between Djokovic and Nadal, which was such a good match. The question is whether any of them can beat Federer, who won in Halle.

After having it on my rental list for months, Amazon have finally sent me the first DVD of Sapphire and Steel. I’ve had it for a week now and have so far watched none of it. All TV except Doctor Who has finished, but I keep not being in for that and then just don’t get round to putting the telly on.

I had such a long list of things to do this weekend that I wrote them down. Then got all the more urgent things done yesterday, but I still have to clean, spring clean, make bread and do some Rotaract stuff. Today I don’t seem to have managed much at all.

After the big, long post the other day about roleplaying, I have almost decided to drop Gene and Ian in favour of spending time on Harry & Jo and other non-rp things. Almost.

Although I haven’t started any of them yet, I am still taking fic requests. I am already feeling guilty about not thinking about them and refusing to let myself write anything else, so it’s sort of working.

Permalink | No comments | Categories: DVDs, Fan fic, Life, Sport: DVDs, Ill, Life, Livejournal, My fanfic, Roleplaying, Tennis

So, on balance I haven’t had enough sleep.

In today’s driving lesson I only stalled the car twice, which is an improvement on last week. I also failed to find fifth gear on all but one occasion (the first one, bizarrely). And I still can’t do junctions. So, as long as I don’t have to drive anywhere that involves changing roads, I’ll be fine.

There was also tennis today, yay! Two good matches, hopefully tomorrow’s final will be good too. Only a week till Wimbledon, and three weeks till I go there.

Permalink | No comments | Categories: Life, Sport, TV: Doctor Who (New), Driving, Sleep, Tennis

I have been good and updated my website. Including music video recs that have been sitting around on my hard drive since January…

I was supposed to be playing tennis tonight but I stil hurt too much for that – but I can move a lot more than yesterday. So I’m not actually out a single night this week, so I am trying to be good and get things done. It’s working so far but there’s still plenty of time for it to go downhil…

I was followed home by a dog today who was very nice and just sat and wagged its tail while I stroked it. Which was more pleasant than next doors dog who is a bit enthusiastic – which is hard work in a big dog.

Permalink | No comments | Categories: Animals, Sport, Website: Animals, Tennis, Website

Superset tennis on Sunday was mostly good. We did have to queue outside in the rain, and it was really busy with people inside. They also took everyone’s bottle caps (except mine because they don’t search bags properly) but no-one would tell us why. Which did mean we spent the whole afternoon thinking up reasons. The only one we could come up with was that we’d throw them at the players but we could think of far better things to throw. I found out when I got home, from my landlady’s boyfriend, is that they do that at football matches to stop people throwing full bottles. Cos I totally see tennis fans doing that [/sarcasm]

Apart from that, we saw Greg Rusedski with very girly hair and a hairband, who dragged his match with Boris Becker out to a tie-break (at 10-10!) but did make it to the final. I spotted John McEnroe commentating on this match – he disappeared after that.

Next up was Goran Ivanisevic (forever known as Gobby Goran in our house for his nasty habit of spitting on the court). He also had a hairband but his hair was its normal longish length, so looked a bit less girly. He played around, as per usual, but didn’t put up much of a fight against Tommy Robredo.

The eventual winner Mario Ancic played Robbie Ginepri and then we saw John McEnroe who easily outplayed Andy Murray – a seventeen year old Brit, who is apparently someone to watch out for. Although we’ve heard that one before.

Tim Henman had pulled out after the Davis Cup, with injury and had apparently been commentating. Which would have been, um, interesting, to, er, listen to.

It was a weird experience. I was still recovering from the flu, so the flashing lights didn’t do me much good. And I don’t know whether it was the lights or the colour of the court, but it was really hard to see the ball sometimes. I did like the players appealing to Hawkeye though. It’s always interesting to see whether the linesmen have got it right and for it to count.

The thing I can’t decide is whether I’d go again if they did another one. Wimbledon, on the other hand, is great for the experience (and a bit of tennis) and Davis Cup is great for the atmosphere (and both are good for getting to see doubles, which is much more interesting).

Edit: those photos looked much better when they were four times the size and about 700k (instead of ~20k)!

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I tried to post this at 8.25pm on 2nd Sept, but blogger was being a bugger and didn’t post it:

Didn’t have a terribly good weekend, then today was really shite. I pretty much spent the day working on one project, on which everything that could go wrong did go wrong. And its still not finished. Will be nice to get it out of the way though. Discovered my landlady’s cats have fleas because I’ve been bitten and also because I’ve seen them. Looking forward to going home this weekend as it’ll be relaxing (yeah, right). Will have to go to Tescos, so might as well go to the cinema while I’m there as I still haven’t seen Minority Report and The Importance of Being Earnest comes out on Friday, which I really want to see. Plus if I don’t take my computer home I’ll only get bored anyway.

Managed to miss Hywel this weekend, which was pretty much the reason for going to The Bill studios. Hopefully though I’ll be able to get the day off for the next one, which will be before he leaves. I still have about 10 photos left on my film as well, which I’ll need to use up at the Davis Cup match. Almost getting excited about that as well, not that much because I haven’t really seen any of the US Open because BBC2 only show the semi-finals onwards, if that, which isn’t much help as non of our guys are left in by that stage. And the year that Rusedski got to the final they didn’t show it at all! I remember listening to it on the radio at 11 o’clock at night, in the dark, lying in bed, trying not to fall asleep. Have at least managed to find some good fic at the SG1 2002 Awards site, which is something.

Permalink | No comments | Categories: Animals, Life, Sport, TV: Animals, Life, Tennis, The Bill