Spoke Too Soon

When I said yesterday's scalding incident wasn't serious, I probably should have kept an eye on my fingers for a little longer. Before I went to bed, the burn on my index finger had started to balloon, and it's even more noticeable today...

From around 9am


From around 2.30pm

I'm pretty sure the blistering barely changed overnight, but over the space of about five and a half hours, while I've been pottering about, the index finger blister has filled completely, while the tiny one on my middle finger has faded. My index finger is quite uncomfortable, and typing is a little irritating... but it could have been a lot worse.

And, let's face it, I've had only a couple of self-inflicted burns in my entire life, and only a couple inflicted upon me, all minor. The two that were my fault were molten sulpher in GCSE Chemistry (so, about 20-25 years ago) and this one (chocolate sauce, fresh from the microwave)... and that probably says a whole lot about me. The two that were not my fault were an accident in my A-Level Chemistry Practical exam (the teacher/invigilator decided to interfere, and moved my Bunsen burner just at the wrong moment, but it only resulted in the loss of some hair from my hand) and a deliberate act with a cigarette by a former colleague (while out clubbing - he didn't actually intend to burn me, but he was holding the cigarette a bit too close to the back of my neck). That says more about those responsible, I guess...

Good Luck : Bad Luck

Still not quite back into the blogging frame of mind... Turned 37 during last week, too... Wow.

So, today was a bit mixed. Started out well enough, with a trip down the road to restock my cupboards and fridge, and my return to the flat coinciding with the postman's arrival. He had nothing for me - my two birthday cards arrived last week - but, returning home after my second local shopping trip, I chanced to spy the ParcelForce delivery man.

On my first trip out, I found a ParcelForce delivery card downstairs, alerting me to the fact that they'd tried to deliver yesterday (but I hadn't let them in because I wasn't expecting my buzzer to go at 5pm, so I didn't bother answering it), so I intended to stick around at home as much as possible, getting all my shopping done early, and locally. When I saw this guy returning to his van, carrying a package, I gave chase... In a way, it was kind of like those moments in movies where the hero sees his quarry in the busy streets, and drops everything to give chase... Only I didn't drop everything (£20 worth of food shopping? Are you kidding?), I didn't have to run far to catch him in his van and, at around 11.30am, the suburban streets of my locale were hardly busy.

Producing the delivery card was not enough to prove my identity, however, so he had to follow me back up to the flat - opening my front door was proof enough, thankfully! - before handing over my package... Which turned out to be one of this year's TransFormers Collectors' Club exclusives - Animated TransTech Cheetor.

He's pretty darned cool, but a couple of things let it down: The head mold is quite good, full of character, but the lack of black linework means it doesn't quite look as 'Animated' as it deserves to... and the socket for the neck's ball joint is far too near the chin, so he doesn't have the same extent of protruding chin as the artwork. Still, the Animated Blurr mold was an excellent choice - being, as it was, somewhat derived from the designs for TransTech Cheetor - and the colourscheme is a nice middle-ground between the Animated stylings and Cheetor's Beast Wars/Beast Machines appearance. I wasn't interested in yet another Classics Seeker, so I didn't bother ordering G2 Ramjet (the garish colourscheme was another dealbreaker) and wasn't sorry about that even after it sold out... This is one Exclusive that's definitely worth having, though.

Despite having received this package, I decided not to venture out again, though I still need to restock in a couple of areas of my fridge. Instead, I watched a couple of films from the collections I was given as a birthday present by a friend.

Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, is an excellent thriller... it seems to have served as a template to many more recent movies which have lacked both the charisma of Charade's leads and the complexity of its central double-cross. It's rare that a contemporary thriller will keep me guessing past the first five minutes. Charade actually kept me guessing right up to the end - it's a very involving story made all the more charming by the brilliant performances of Grant and Hepburn and, despite being an out-and-out thriller, it has a sense of humour that was perfect for its time and which is sadly lacking from Hollywood's more recent output. The oddest thing about the Cary Grant collection I got is that two of the three movies I've watched (from a total of four) aren't billed as Cary Grant movies - he's playing second fiddle to Mae West in one, and Doris Day in the other, and the DVD menus haven't even been altered from their respective collections.

The Seven Year Itch is - I'm embarrassed to say - only the fourth Marilyn Monroe film I've ever seen... I have caught Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and River Of No Return on TV while I've been home, and watched another movie from this same DVD collection - How To Marry A Millionaire - earlier this week. She was clearly a fantastic actress, above and beyond her breathy bombshell roles, and had good comic timing. One of the special features on the disc includes an interview with the writer of the stage version, who opines that casting Marilyn Monroe in the film switched the focus of the story away from the adulterous man (except he's not in the movie version, thanks to the censors) to the object of his desires. I'd have to disagree... Tom Ewell does a brilliant job, and makes me wish I'd been around to see the stage version.

I've been generally distracted lately, not really focussing on anything as much as I should, and it was only a matter of time before I was going to suffer for it... This evening, while serving up my dessert - a chocolate orange sponge thing straight from the microwave - I managed to spill some of its red hot sauce on my finger. I got it under the cold tap quickly enough to prevent any serious scalding, but there is a very red patch just behind the fingernail of my left index finger... and, while it doesn't hurt, it's not exactly comfortable...

Not So Much A Recurring Dream...

...As a recurring situation within a dream.

Imagine, if you will, a disparate group of people who meet in the home of one of the group. They're not friends, as such, but perhaps share a common interest... Though no-one may know what that is, necessarily. Inevitably, tensions arise between some members of this group. Some members may actually be dangerously insane.

On at least two occasions, I've found myself dreaming of just such a group. In that group, there is one guy who, for the most part, remains silent. Woe betide you, however, should you try to gain his attention, or if he engages you. The first time I dreamed of this group, I was on the periphery, and not really noticed. I don't remember who was the focus of his attention - none of the other characters really did much - but that attention was threatening, edging toward violence.

This time, however, he decided he liked the look of my (nondescript, Timex Expedition) watch, and removed it from my wrist. I objected, wanted it back and so, by way of 'compensation', he offered me a bracelet that could have been made from shark's teeth. I recalled that he'd mentioned at a previous 'meeting' that this bracelet had been a gift from his brother, so I demurred... surely it had sentimental value?

He got up and left the room, seeking "a second opinion", since he felt his offer was wholly appropriate and generous but, in 'the other room', I could hear him ranting, eventually reaching the conclusion that perhaps he should just kill me.

Naturally, at this point, I started weighing up my escape options. I'd have to pass by that room to reach the exit, then there was a long walk (or, more likely, flat-out run) down the road to properly escape. I was basically terrified (though outwardly behaving as if I couldn't hear any of the conversation going on in 'the other room'), certain in my belief that, while I didn't know this guy, based on my previous encounters, he was perfectly capable of flipping out to the extent that he might actually do someone physical harm.

Over a very basic wristwatch.

Just because he'd taken a fancy to it, or simply wanted to assert his superiority.

In the end, I just woke up, but was left feeling uncomfortable enough that I didn't want to go back to sleep.

I did, though... and then got up earlier than I have in a long time (except perhaps last Sunday), showered, did the washing up, then started my laundry.

And it's not even 9.30am