After more years than I care to admit, even here, I have finally got round to trying to find somebody to share my life with.
As I'm not much good at approaching people in a pub or club I'd thought I'd try the online option. Which one though? There are plenty out there, both free and fee based models.
For some reason or another I finally settled on Match.Com. Still don't know why but there you go.
I started to fill out the profile months ago but couldn't quite get round to finishing it off. Well this trip I finally finished it and paid for the first 6months. This seemed a little steep at 65 quid but then I thought, if it helps me find that somebody, it's probably no worse than wasting loads in a pub and getting nowhere. It also allows me to get the initial contact done while I'm at sea.
As it turns out, I'm finding it just as hard to approach women online as I did offline. I've sent out a few emails and winks but nothing back yet. I suppose I'll have to give it a few days or so as some of the women seen haven't been online for a day or so themselves.
Well that's not entirely true I did get a reply from somebody in the middle of the US. The cynic in me thinks that was just a ploy by Match.Com to get out of their 6month guarantee.
30 May 2008
29 May 2008
How can people be so inconsiderate !
I work at sea. This puts me in close proximity to people from lots of differing countries and cultures.
When I'm out here I'm amazed at how little people think about what they're doing!
One of my main bugs is noise in the public areas which are connected to the cabin areas. People talk too loud or stomp around as though they're walking on solid ground. They have little or no consideration about how this can effect people. The main culprits are the youngsters we get out here. Personally I can hear low frequency bass a lot. Probably something to do with my elephant genes. Even when the stereo is on the gun deck, at the stern of the vessel I can hear it when they have it up loud, in my cabin at the bow. Only the other day I had to remind people about keeping it down in the corridors as people were trying to sleep and there really was no need to talk where they were. You don't want to know me if I haven't had a good sleep for a number of days.
Today though is a real issue. One of the public toilets has a flushing problem, and has for some time now. The pipes are too small or they're blocked further down or something. Whatever the cause, every other day or so it backs up and won't clear when the vacuum is applied. The other day the sign was put up as it wouldn't clear properly. Not a problem as it only had water in it, probably from somebody doing a test flush first. This morning however somebody has used it and now the toilet is full with feces in a kind of soup. It's not as if this issue hasn't been known about. Fucking idiots. The engineers onboard are not going to be happy with that. It wouldn't surprise me if they finally say, enough is enough and close it permanently.
Why do people think they can blindly do things with no thought as to the consequences.
God some people really piss me off. I spend 6 months of the year out here and it's part of what I consider my home. I was going to say they think this place is a hotel, but then again I don't think they think at all.
It's the same in the mess room. Just because it's called the mess they think they don't have to worry about what havoc they cause. Oh it doesn't matter, somebody'll clear it up !!
When I'm out here I'm amazed at how little people think about what they're doing!
One of my main bugs is noise in the public areas which are connected to the cabin areas. People talk too loud or stomp around as though they're walking on solid ground. They have little or no consideration about how this can effect people. The main culprits are the youngsters we get out here. Personally I can hear low frequency bass a lot. Probably something to do with my elephant genes. Even when the stereo is on the gun deck, at the stern of the vessel I can hear it when they have it up loud, in my cabin at the bow. Only the other day I had to remind people about keeping it down in the corridors as people were trying to sleep and there really was no need to talk where they were. You don't want to know me if I haven't had a good sleep for a number of days.
Today though is a real issue. One of the public toilets has a flushing problem, and has for some time now. The pipes are too small or they're blocked further down or something. Whatever the cause, every other day or so it backs up and won't clear when the vacuum is applied. The other day the sign was put up as it wouldn't clear properly. Not a problem as it only had water in it, probably from somebody doing a test flush first. This morning however somebody has used it and now the toilet is full with feces in a kind of soup. It's not as if this issue hasn't been known about. Fucking idiots. The engineers onboard are not going to be happy with that. It wouldn't surprise me if they finally say, enough is enough and close it permanently.
Why do people think they can blindly do things with no thought as to the consequences.
God some people really piss me off. I spend 6 months of the year out here and it's part of what I consider my home. I was going to say they think this place is a hotel, but then again I don't think they think at all.
It's the same in the mess room. Just because it's called the mess they think they don't have to worry about what havoc they cause. Oh it doesn't matter, somebody'll clear it up !!
14 May 2008
Cycling through France ?
I have taken it upon myself to cycle through France.
So far the longest I've ever done is across Devon from the South coast to the North coast. I went with a couple of friends and we took two days over it. We only took the minimum amount of kit to last us one night as some more friends were meeting us at the finish, with my Landrover full of kit for a few days camping.
The idea for the French adventure came about from a comment made by one of these cycling mates.
I have no experience in long distance multi-week cycling and some people are at pains to point this out. As usual I'm being bullish about it and steadily plodding ahead with plans here and there.
I've bought the following equipment to try and make it easier -
Once I decided I was going to cycle through France the next big question was the direction of travel. Either N->S or S->N had advantages and disadvantages.
Doing North - South :
Still plenty to do.
So far the longest I've ever done is across Devon from the South coast to the North coast. I went with a couple of friends and we took two days over it. We only took the minimum amount of kit to last us one night as some more friends were meeting us at the finish, with my Landrover full of kit for a few days camping.
The idea for the French adventure came about from a comment made by one of these cycling mates.
I have no experience in long distance multi-week cycling and some people are at pains to point this out. As usual I'm being bullish about it and steadily plodding ahead with plans here and there.
I've bought the following equipment to try and make it easier -
- clip pedals and shoes. So far I've only used them around town and they seem to be okay. I've only come a cropper once so far, going up the last hill to my house.
- a small sleeping bag. I still haven't worked out whether I'm camping or using pensions etc. I use it in my kayak anyway so no big problem there.
- Solio panel. This is a solar power storage device which I can use to charge my mobile phone, mp3 or Nintendo DS console. This should at least keep me amused, and in contact without having to rely on charging from the mains. My issue is now to be able to charge my camera batteries or take enough so it doesn't matter. I even tried to find some solar charged bike lights, but no success so far.
- Cycling shorts. The ones I got from the US actually look like normal shorts but they have the all important padding and Lycra inside.
Once I decided I was going to cycle through France the next big question was the direction of travel. Either N->S or S->N had advantages and disadvantages.
Doing North - South :
- Starting in the cooler climate.
- Relatively flat, and I could get saddle fit as I went along before getting to the Pyrenees.
- Would have to meet plane back to blighty on a specific date.
- Could get the flight over and done with at the start of the ride.
- Hills would be bit of a shock to the system at the start.
- The climate would be hotter.
- At the end I could get the ferry across whenever I actually managed to get there, no rush.
Still plenty to do.
13 May 2008
Obsessions.....
I think it's now beyond any doubt -
'Hi my name is Zippy. I am an addict. I am obsessed with my garden'
While I'm offshore and sat at the processing desk I'm constantly uploading the latest picture from my web-cam. From day to day I can see the grass is far too long, the pond plants seem to be growing nicely and there's nothing I can do for at least another 3.5 weeks.
I'm even thinking about buying more web-cams that can be powered off my solar panel so I can see more of it.
Last leave I spent most of my free time in the garden getting things sorted. I made a new deck, planted up new pots and and the original planters, re-arranged my water collection system to take a solar powered pump.
While at work this time I made an Instructable to show others how I made my pond and rockery. You can see it here http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-raised-pond-and-rockery/
I've got quite addicted to this idea as well. You want to do something this web site will probably have instructions on how to do it.
01 May 2008
Bjork Concert Plymouth 22nd April 2008
In my last leave period I went to two concerts at the Plymouth Pavilions.
A few months earlier I had seen that Bjork was going to play and went to buy a ticket. While I was doing that, I saw a tribute band for Pink Floyd would be playing the next night, so bought ticket for that at the same time.
The first concert was Bjork. I like some of her songs from her albums Post and Debut and thought it would be nice to go see her. I have to admit I hadn't listened to any of her recent stuff. One guy had already seen her show in the Far East and was saying it was excellent. Some others onboard really slammed the idea saying it would be terrible. I still went ahead thinking at least I'd give it a go.
On the actual day of the concert I was a little apprehensive as this would be my first concert and I was going alone. I had no idea what would be expected of me or what the format would be. I had assumed that no cameras would be allowed so left all of them at home. I even left my phone at home in case it was confiscated. I managed to get to the venue in plenty of time.
I was surprised at the cross-section of people who turned up. There were families (I assume they were kids and parents etc) and a wide range of ages. When they initially opened the doors we only managed to get as far as the bar. After another 30mins or so we were let into the venue proper. I had a seat in the gods somewhere and found myself alone for quite a long time. The standing area in front of the stage was filling up reasonably quickly. This might have been helped by the fact that there were booths selling alcohol on either side of the standing area.
I needn't have worried about cameras and phones etc as I saw some people walking in with everything from handbags to rucksacks.
As the lights went down I thought the show was about to start. Well it did of a sorts. Some woman came on stage on her own and started to play the most god awful racket on a set of DJ decks. No-one else appeared for about 45mins. I thought it was absolute drivel and probably sounded worse than a strangled cat. Initially I thought this was just the support act, although there was no mention of any in the concert blurb, but I now have a sneaking suspicion that it was Bjork herself. I was so put out by it the only way I survived was to put a set of ear plugs in. I even offered them around. Hey, what can I say I brought ear plugs. Sue me. This lasted approx 45mins before the main act appeared.
Excellent, I thought lets get on with the real show. Unfortunately the same sort of din happened after the break as before it. The only difference with the second half was the fact that it was produced by live people and not from a couple of deck. To me it seemed like the instruments weren't even in tune. Whether this was by mistake or design I'll never know. After 2 songs I put the ear plugs back in. After a further 2 I couldn't stand it any longer and had to walk out.
It was a complete waste of money. Needless to say I didn't purchase any T-shirts etc on the way out.
A few months earlier I had seen that Bjork was going to play and went to buy a ticket. While I was doing that, I saw a tribute band for Pink Floyd would be playing the next night, so bought ticket for that at the same time.
The first concert was Bjork. I like some of her songs from her albums Post and Debut and thought it would be nice to go see her. I have to admit I hadn't listened to any of her recent stuff. One guy had already seen her show in the Far East and was saying it was excellent. Some others onboard really slammed the idea saying it would be terrible. I still went ahead thinking at least I'd give it a go.
On the actual day of the concert I was a little apprehensive as this would be my first concert and I was going alone. I had no idea what would be expected of me or what the format would be. I had assumed that no cameras would be allowed so left all of them at home. I even left my phone at home in case it was confiscated. I managed to get to the venue in plenty of time.
I was surprised at the cross-section of people who turned up. There were families (I assume they were kids and parents etc) and a wide range of ages. When they initially opened the doors we only managed to get as far as the bar. After another 30mins or so we were let into the venue proper. I had a seat in the gods somewhere and found myself alone for quite a long time. The standing area in front of the stage was filling up reasonably quickly. This might have been helped by the fact that there were booths selling alcohol on either side of the standing area.
I needn't have worried about cameras and phones etc as I saw some people walking in with everything from handbags to rucksacks.
As the lights went down I thought the show was about to start. Well it did of a sorts. Some woman came on stage on her own and started to play the most god awful racket on a set of DJ decks. No-one else appeared for about 45mins. I thought it was absolute drivel and probably sounded worse than a strangled cat. Initially I thought this was just the support act, although there was no mention of any in the concert blurb, but I now have a sneaking suspicion that it was Bjork herself. I was so put out by it the only way I survived was to put a set of ear plugs in. I even offered them around. Hey, what can I say I brought ear plugs. Sue me. This lasted approx 45mins before the main act appeared.
Excellent, I thought lets get on with the real show. Unfortunately the same sort of din happened after the break as before it. The only difference with the second half was the fact that it was produced by live people and not from a couple of deck. To me it seemed like the instruments weren't even in tune. Whether this was by mistake or design I'll never know. After 2 songs I put the ear plugs back in. After a further 2 I couldn't stand it any longer and had to walk out.
It was a complete waste of money. Needless to say I didn't purchase any T-shirts etc on the way out.
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