Another Non-Early Night

Well, bang goes the idea of getting a few extra hours kip.

Between catching up on email and finishing a cute little short story for a friend, it's got late.

I had hoped for time this week to write a decent blog update, but I guess that'll have to be postponed.

In the meantime...

My niece got through the initial surgery, but had to go back for more on Tuesday because of an unexpected and unforeseen complication. Yet again, she seems to have recovered nicely, but I'm waiting to hear about the possibility of visiting her again this weekend.

Work craziness has been fairly consistent. More on that some other time... I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

I shall sign off here, as I got home feeling slightly unwell, and developed something of a headache.

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The Newest Member of the Family

Had the opportunity to meet my newborn (must remember: 9th July!) niece yesterday.

Bit of an odd experience, all told. There was a visiting time available on the Saturday afternoon, but my folks weren't going to be ready in time for the very start - at the time my sister had called them, they were only just getting ready for lunch. We decided to meet at 2pm, and take the hour-long train journey to Russell Square via the Piccadilly line. From there, it was only a short walk to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Upon arrival, my mother phoned my sister, who shortly thereafter walked into the reception area to lead us back to the ward. My brother-in-law was there and managed to be in one of two states through most of our visit: asleep or watching TV. This pretty much sums him up whenever I see him, wherever we are...

I suspect I somewhat hogged the infant... My mother got to hold her first, but had to give her up for some tests to be performed. I got her next, and she stayed nestled in my arms - for quite some time before my sister suggested that our father might like a turn. After that, it was time for a feed (during which my sister - bizarrely - urged the barely conscious child to "concentrate" because she didn't seem to want to suck on the feeding bottle) and a change of nappy (lots of waiting around to see if that last spurt of poo was the final spurt of poo), and then I got her back for quite a while before we were politely asked to leave because everyone was tired.

I suspect, furthermore, that I had a big, dopey grin on my face for much of the time I held the baby. It felt like an awesome responsibility - not least because of the tubes and leads attached to her, and really didn't want to be accidentally detached - but a very comfortable one. She slept almost the whole time we were there, opening her eyes just long enough to register that she was being held by someone different. She barely made a sound other than yawning or sighing, and only gave the briefest hint of upset when help upright against my sister's shoulder after her post-feeding nappy change.

Seems like their 'hints' that they hoped she'd be a Sleepy Baby paid off. Then again, as my sister observed, with a husband like hers, it's no surprise that the baby sleeps so much. And when she observed that the baby has her looks and her husband's temperament, I hoped that she'd inherit her mother's modesty as well.

Next time I see her, I shall pass on my Slumblebee and Softimus Prime (I knew I bought them for a reason!)... and possibly a sensible teddy bear, if I can find one. Her first TransFormer will have to wait a couple of years, I think...

Today was a bit of a lazy day. I'd intended to upload the majority of my collection photos, but my slow computer failed me dramatically. I've got everything up to Galaxy Force done but, after that, everything ground to a halt. I did a bit more photography, and made a start unpacking the Binaltech models but, other than that, haven't done a great deal.

I think I may reward myself with an early night, too... The coming week is liable to be a bit of a drag.

I'm hoping to get to Toys'R'Us this week or next, in search of new waves of RotF toys - The Fallen at least, and possibly Leader Class Jetfire.

Must remember to check my finances, of course...

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Children of Davies

Regular readers of this blog (if there are such beasts) might get the impression that Torchwood, Russell T Davies' spin-off from his resurrected Doctor Who, never really lit my candle. Terrible storylines, despicable characters, trite dialogue and very patchy acting didn't add up to a very competent whole... and then they tried to make it 'edgy', 'sexy' and 'adult', and it just turned out juvenile and gratuitous.

No, Torchwood wasn't commissioned in the Beeb's finest hour.

So I was quite surprised when it got a second series.

And very much not surprised when it turned out to be just as terrible as the first, with James Marsters playing another 'rogue time agent' who knew something about Jack's long-lost brother (first mentioned when Marsters arrived in the story). Nor was I surprised when these two mortal enemies started snogging during a fight in a nightclub. It was subtle as a brick, and just as interesting to watch.

Imagine my surprise, then, when a third, mini-series was announced - to run on BBC1 on five consecutive nights - with a portentious subtitle: Children of Earth.

Now, if I were to say that it's the best Torchwood story so far, I realise that wouldn't be saying much... but, compared to the first two flabby, rambling series, Children of Earth actually managed to be reasonably riveting. Rather than having a new story for each episode with an alleged series arc fluttering around somewhere in the background, this was one fairly tight arc. It suffered from the usual problems - characters introduced purely to create emotional impact which, in the end, just wasn't there; plot holes the size of the Rift; patchy script and acting - it carried through and managed to hold my attention for the whole five episodes. Perhaps this format suits Torchwood better.

It tried to throw in some twists and turns - is Jack really such a good guy? The reason the aliens want 10% of Earth's children - but much of it was desperately unoriginal and therefore eminently predictable. In the end, it presented us with Earth in a no-win situation only for Captain Jack Harkness to save the day with what was supposed to be a heart-wrenching choice and an irritating Deus Ex Machina. Davies needs to learn some new tricks... and realise that throwing in sex doesn't make things 'adult' in the same way that having lots of people shouting doesn't make things 'edgy'.

Of course, the climax suggests that this is it for Torchwood - only Gwen and Jack are left alive, and Jack proves what a pathetic character he really is by running away. Unless he bumps into The Doctor again on his travels, and gets some sense slapped into him, I can imagine that there will be no attempt to rebuild and restart the Torchwood Institute and, considering what a dick Jack turned out to be, there's no real reason to follow Casualty's example and have, for example, Torchwood 1909.

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We Are An Uncle

This is going to sound really crap, but I can't remember which day my niece was born on... I think it was Thursday... I know for certain that it happened at 7.38am but, true to form, I can't remember her birthday.

In other news, since I haven't updated in a while, the Swine Flu epidemic has hit at work, leading to some serious staff problems. Our normal, run-of-the-mill crazy went up several notches as my boss took over copy-controlling most of the magazines all at once. Strangely, she's done better than the regular copy controllers... but not without getting crushed by stress during the week, and working over the weekends.

I've been spending some spare time photographing my TransFormers collection as I restock my shelves. I've done almost all of Galaxy Force (Primus still to come - boxed and awaiting transport from my parents' house), and have nibbled away at most other lines in my collection, including some of the Collectors' Club exclusives.

My new sofabed arrived, and it's pretty fantastic... It has a kind of faux suede finish, and is a nice, neutral grey, so it doesn't clash with anything. While my father was over, helping with the setup, I got him to put up one of the picture hooks, so the painting I bought a couple of years ago from one of my erstwhile colleagues is now hanging in my lounge. This basically completes the lounge, bar replacing the computer desk (possibly... the one I have is just the right size, it's just not the best choice of colour) and the corner shelves to be mounted over the TV.

The flat still isn't quite done though - I need some more storage in the bedroom (and to do something about the harsh echo... too many hard surfaces!), and the bathroom could do with plenty of work... but that may need to wait. While my folks offered to furnish the flat for me, I've been getting the impression (particularly with the new kitchen and the new lounge carpet) that they perhaps weren't expecting to be paying for all of it.

Tomorrow, I'll be meeting up with my folks to go looking into curtain rails.

I cannot think of anything more tedious or trivial, to be honest... I just want something basic, that'll hold up curtains... and something to hold the curtains in place when they're open (if the windows are open and there's a wind, the curtains not only blow around, but try to close themselves).

Oh well. We shall see what we shall see.

As of next Saturday, I will have been a homeowner for one year.

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