Friday saw me swap a night run for a night walk through London's night life. It was cold but beautiful and I had a chilled out time. Besides the darkness, light and atmosphere eclipsed by the people passing under light, it was real calm but energetic too, but I guess because I wasn't involved in the energy itself merely absorbing it passively, it was calming. Life is what happens whether you want it to and you can't pause it. So you might as well not need it to. As the approach towards South Bank slowly appeared and we had left the idillic calmness of the streets, Christmas became us. All along the bank are little cabins, each selling something with Christmas music playing in the background as people move down the bank from each stall to the next. This was all very serious stuff - very elaborate and decorated ornaments on the stalls and a lot if investment must have been put into making it look as good as possible. It was impressive to see. I had a German Sausage(it was called something else but I can't remember it now) and I eat it on the bank, overlooking the Thames. My friend from work was so impressed and she did a good job of documenting everything snapping it all up. Basically there was so much stuff, lights flashing, colours, people and things to look up at, it was difficult to concentrate your eyes anywhere specifically so I needed to bring it down a bit: I headed into South Bank center and ordered a Hot Chocolate, a couple of treats and watched it all from above this time while behind me, young student dancers were in the through of rehearsing their dance moves while I looked on. I'd previously only been in there once before while on a run in tandem with my then running partner and was enlightened to it. You know, I guess it must have been all a but much for me but I got tired real quick and it was not planned to take the 2 hour detour that we took but that was ok. We were near Waterloo and with the ferocious London Eye looking down in entirely red, I figured it was time to wrap this evening and put it under the tress... After I boarded the train home I wondered about stuff generally and listened to Red Hot Chili Pepers' playlist.

Speaking of Red Hot Chili Pepers, I went on a team outing the previous day for Bowling and Karaoke. I thought the Karaoke was a joke. It wasn't. After the bowling, in which I didn't do particularly well and was more concerned with ensuring I left the ball go and not going with it...if you know what I mean.

Karaoke was a sealed room, two microphones and your team. It frightened the life out of me and never have I Ben quite so uncomfortable. Even the disco light in the top right corner seemed to be somewhat anxious. I'd never sung before and apart from perhaps in the shower but even that is not common. I watched in horror as a few sang things that I knew nothing of. eventually I realised that I'd better get over it and get something from it. I found Oasis Wonderwall in the play book and well that was it, I was up there bellowing the most dreadful but fairly on cue rendition of Wonderwall. I kinda enjoyed it. It's real unusual to hear your own voice and then to broadcast it in high definition at high sound. After that I added a 2nd number to my name with By The Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers being my next victim. The next day, while minding my own business, I heard a tinny-sounding notice bleating from someone's cell phone behind me. Soon it became apparent that it was a full video recording of my Wonderwall attempt. I died a little inside but I embraced it as being 'an experience' which to be fair was what it was. I can share it here but it's scary. Scary but fun. Nothing wrong with that.

Saturday was good, I slept in. Got up and did my Friday run on Saturday. Built up a GPS route with waypoints and saved it into my Suunto. I knew where to go but I got kicks following the route drawn up on it. I spent the rest of the day alternating between my TV and laptop via the sofa and desk respectively.

Sunday I slept in. I took my neighbour and her Daughter to lunch. I had a steak, apple pie and two cups of tea. Funny how I remember that - the food I eat... I got a 2nd helping later that evening to a custom made Apple crumble which apparently is quite different to the Apple pie I had for dessert earlier due to fabric and construction of the crust. I was not complaining. After that, I watched the Simpsons and saw Katy Perry make a cameo appearance. Made some headway on an issue with my site but its still in progress. Grabbed a smoothie and went to bed.

I also went to the Guildhall today during a walk for lunch. really impressive building see blog picture...

A while back, I had an awesome Sunday. Saturday I setup a table in the living room. Since Ive moved in there has been this glass panel thats been leaning against one of the walls in there rather non-conspicuously. That, and well another set of weird stands that I hid in my room, at the foot of my bed. The landlord said it was for a glass table. Oh really...

To be quite honest, I couldnt for the life of me see, initially, how the hell this glass panel and two stands equate into a table. Saturday had glass table written up all over it. I placed the two wierd non-glass table looking stands on the flood and wondered about the floor trying to conceptionally place the glass panel and these two metal stand things in my head. I stood around for a while. I even sat down and pondered it. I couldnt figure it out, I started thinking that my abilities of logic and reason where evading me. Out of pure desperation, I went and looked in the basement(were going to call it a basement but basically its unused stair case going nowhere from under the kitchen counter). I came across a beam, that had the same non-tablenses that those two other stands had: there was consistency! I took it, placed it on the floor along the other suspects. It started to make sense, a little: it needed another beam of the same untableness for it to start looking complete. I went down to the basement in search. I found it, buried under some stuff and due fully brought it up to what had now seemed like a murder scene, sorta like a line up. Anyway, with the last part if the puzzle all in place, my logic and reason came back from their leave if absence. It was now the complete armature for a glass table! Fantastic. Wait. There are no bolts to put it altogether - right off to the hardware store. I eventually got the right fittings and made my way home. I fitted it all together and bang I had a glass table. I wont mention, oh but I will, that in my basement investigations, I found yet another table, also in hiding, concealed and non-conspicuous almost like I had discovered a breed of table. I have a glass table now, very conspicuous but nicely so. To celebrate my DIY mastery, I went out and wondered into a clothes store that had a coat that I had my eye on for weeks. I bought it: took it to the counter and the dude said was I a member of the VIP program. I wasnt so I said I wasnt. He said that if I was Id get the coat 30% off. Oh right, unlucky I guess.

He said that wed just say I was right... so he gave me a 30% discount. That was pretty sweet. He liked my Chicago white socks top, and I told him where I got it from. I kinda felt I needed to give back something, so my secret jacket outlet was revealed. Oh well. I also popped into Argos to get a fold up chair. Thatd really complete the lineup.

That was Saturday. Sunday was better because, I sat at my table in all its newly assembled glory all day and programmed, geeked out and had some good computer and technology fun again! And I realised, I really needed that glass table. Well done Stuart! Its the small seemingly boring, that when i get so much out if them fascinate me the most.

Decided to start listening to Red Hot Chili peppers today in the tube to work - I woke up wanting that. Is that very bizarre? I didnt sleep all that well, 79% apparently. Look thats not that bad but Im not keen on it hampering me today. -insert- So as it happens i went for my run and I dont know if it was because of my sleeping hiccup but I had a stitch the whole time, funny though it wasnt bad time wise - I compared the stats from the previous run I did and it was actually pretty close. So maybe just a bad run, huh?