the next twenty

well we did a party ... got a new computer ... left a job
well sometimes you have weeks like that doncha :)

many thanks for the messages of congrats ... we do appreciate them ... apparantly we are becoming rare ... to those still standing we salute ... or something like that

we had a fantastic party ... we decided awhile ago that we would host a party every five years ... family and friends didn't seem to object that we were using our anniversary as the reason ... we have no kids or pets so we felt we could take on the job of throwing a party for grown ups every five years

this one was fraught with difficulties like easter falling at an odd time ... messing with holidays and making quite a few of the usual crowd unavailable ... the bar we hired not being able to confirm the dates meaning the invites went out late which meant we didn't have time to add a load more people

questions that the party threw up ... (truly just a discussion point i don't hold grudges) (and this is not directed at anybody in particular so don't get uppity) ... now ... are the following just modern ills or could they still be regarded as lack of manners or just plain rudeness ... bear in mind that we booked a bar ... paid for food (including a chocolate fountain) ... paid for the bar ... champagne on arrival ...paid for a band ... no children but then we reckon one night in five years is not too much too ask

we had people put subtle pressure on us that it would be ok if their kids were allowed to come ... people who cancelled because they couldn't find a baby sitter with over two months warning ... people who accepted then didn't turn up on the day (no phonecall no email nothing) ... people who turned up late (and i mean 2-3 hours late) ... and people who rsvp'd in the week before (some saying yes ... which seemed amazing when the rsvp date was a month before) ... all of which can do anything from irritate to cost us money (a lot of money)

now is it that people just don't do any kind of formal nowadays and that protocol confuses them ... or is it just rudeness and we should edit our friends list

we have the new computer installed and working away ... very shiny and very zippy ... the usual frustration of something not quite working and driving me insane for a few days until i solved it ... is it just me or is it not reasonable to expect a bit of software that you can run that will look at everything and then tell you what is wrong ... maybe even fix it for you and make some helpful suggestions ... not just sit there staring back at you which is what computers currently do ... anyway all happy and workling now ... 160GB HD ... i mean even with all my music on it i don't come close to filling it ... our first PC had 20MB and we though that was huge ... and now i sound like my grandad (except he never talked about computers cos they didn't exist then)

and i left my job ... well not really a job yet because i hadn't really started ... but i went back to do some advocacy training and realised that i couldn't work for the organisation ... bit sad cos i wanted to do the job but couldn't be helped and i feel much better having made the decision

interesting thought ... i keep coming up against people/things/organisations that go 'ooo you are great do this job for us/come and work with us/apply for this position you would be brilliant' ... only when i do they seem to then want to tinker and make you a bit more like the person they think you would be a bit better if you were like ... if you see what i mean ... i shall stay as a cheap playboy type ... when i say cheap i just mean i live the life of a playboy without all the money ... or the girls ... i don't hang out in casinos ... actually not a playboy at all more a layabout with style

anyway off to do something less bloggy