What I listened to in 2009 ...

At least according to last.fm. It's more reliable than iTunes for two reasons: firstly it kept hold of my previous data when the laptop crashed in February and secondly because it includes my Spotify streaming, which I'm doing increasingly. Though I think all of these Top 15s hail from my iTunes collection ...




Only "The Night" reappears from the 2008 last.fm list.

It's odd that none of the top 15 artists appear in the top 15 tracks - does anybody else get that?

Those Christmas Presents in full ...

I actually found doing this last year was quite useful for me, so here goes again. One incoming present will not be given to me until tonight (from my mate PJ who's getting the 'Outnumbered' DVD from me) but otherwise it's complete.

Firstly my outgoing gifts:



For reasons which become apparent, I must seperate my incoming into three categories.

First the slightly boring and unavoidable ones:



Then come 'the three calendars' (one more than I can really use) - I'll be making a special post about the Edinburgh Rugby one (which was from my boss so will go up in the office):



Now there's a story behind the last category. This year my Dad decided he'd get me a classic "Doctor Who" DVD (dunno why it hadn't occurred before now) but wanted a shortlist to choose from so that he didn't get me one I had already, and from my point of view, so that he didn't get me "Timelash". So I scribbled down a shortlist after consulting with Amazon to remind myself what was out and how much they cost. Once I ran out of envelope I thought that was enough to choose a couple from. Here's that shortlist I drew up in late November:



and here's what turned up on Christmas Day:



I think you can see the striking similarity! Apparently the wider family got hold of the list (fair enough) and decided to challenge themselves to get everything on it! Now this is 20 stories, so even at Amazon prices that's around £120 worth! I feel slightly guilty, though that wasn't my intention when drawing up the shortlist - in fact I added a few non-Doctor Who suggestions on the back but they were ignored.

Somewhat ironically, on the day itself I managed to miss "The End of Time" part one by incorrectly thinking it was on at the usual 7pm slot. Worse still I turned on for the last 5 minutes!

The Economic Crisis Hits Home

While I was back at Meldrum Court I felt the chill of the economic downturn. Though I've been vaguely aware that it's been difficult to bag a loaf of bread for under a pound over the course of the last year, this example really hit home.

One day I was able to buy my litre bottle of "Diamond White" from the local corner shop for the usual £2.49 it's been for more years than I can accurately recall. The next day, the same product was marked up as £2.75!!!! Both are less than Asda obliges me to pay (it's gone up there to £2.98) but that's still an overnight increase of more than 10%.

One consolation is that the 500ml cans of the stuff are still going for the usual 79p there, but other locals have them at 85p. Asda have the 440ml cans at a ridiculous £1.83 per can. There's no point buying less than 4 there.

The Lost Month

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Invasion of the Cat

I've had an unsettling week. Last Thursday, in advance of her rightful owner (my landlord bro-in-law's big brother ... it's a long story I might bring up later) a cat moved in to my house while I was at work. Actually she's officially a kitten because she's only about a year old. They call her Willow (some Buffy reference I'm told).

Anyway, though my family has a long unbroken history of dog ownership (specifically white West Highland Terriers of whom there a currently three in situ next door) I've never had a cat or lived in a house with one. I'm clueless about them. And I don't think I'm a cat person really.

I had instructions to just give her lots of love and cuddles and let her sit in my lap, and I'd been provided with a multitude of kitty consumables so that I had no worries in that regard.

There was a 24 hour honeymoon before the claws and the "what time do you call this?" screeching arrived. Willow even stirred up her own shit in the litter tray (which I felt was very un-feline) to create an almighty and unneccessary pong during the weekend. I'm sure it was revenge for the lack of attention she felt was due. Aren't cats meant to be solitary creatures?

[I should point out here I've just had to go and edit out all the many it references above and replace with she and her ... a subconscious signal of how I feel]

Are cats meant to try and clamber up your chest with claws brandished? Do they get miffed if you stay out late or leave them in the dark overnight? Is there a way for me to stop her using my pot plants for target practice? And why are they just so damn ungrateful for your feeding, watering and cuddling. It's like having a mini-diva squatting.

All advice and sympathy welcome. This situation may need to go on for weeks and months ...