Category: just-plain-life

I bought a blender after years of wanting one. Amazing purchase, nice modern design and reasonable cheap at only 25 pounds. So far I've made some amazing smoothies since.

Last night I threw in 3 granny smith apples, about 6 ice cubes, juice of one orange, a squeeze of lemon juice and a small spoon of brown sugar. Let the blender go to work on the lot and out popped this green stuff which looked like crushed lemongrass. But it tasted so good, like a ice junkie you get from cinemas but without the stupid amounts of sugar. In actual fact I was getting 2 of my 5 fruits for the day.

Today, Green Grapes, Cranberries, Blueberries mixed together till it goes all pink, served in a large tall glass, yum yum.

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Tesco's online store for home delivery is great, I've been using it for something coming up to a decade I'm sure. But what I don't understand is with all the choice, options and clever ways to drill through the database of items, you still can not buy or order ethnic food or drink.

I'm sure I've highlighted this problem before and Tesco said it depends on which store your close to. Aka they only reflect whats in the store around the corner. Well I'm sorry but its almost 2010 and thats not a acceptable excuse as far as I'm concerned. Imagine if Amazon said that?

What kills me is I'm only after Popcorn Kernals to go in my new popcorn machine. I had no idea that Popcorn Kernals are ethnic goods, wow because they are so exotic of course. So now on top of my full tesco order, I now need to head down to ASDA in Hulme to buy Popcorn Kernals and a loaf of hard dough bread. Tesco if your listening, everything should be available, if it requires extra time or effort to get the item, warn the customer and in extreme cases, suggest a very small service charge. I would have paid at 50p extra to have it delivered instead of having to scoot down to hulme just to pick up two items.

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I'm sure everyone's seen this video, its being played to death online but it still cracks me up when I watch it again. Yes its kind of cruel but you got to laugh when the guy pokes his girlfriend with the broom handle and the look on her face when she sees the head in the bed can not be faked. What would you do if you woke up to a stranger where your partner was meant to be?

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Not the usual thing I have on my blog but I couldn't help but find this one funny and entertaining. Details for the competition is available on from McBirdie's Blog. Here's a bit to tempt you in…

Sure, money’s tight with the never-ending recession–everyone is trying to finally get on board with re-using, recycling, and giving things they own a whole new purpose in life. Why should sex toys be any different? Not only does it mean you’ve managed to find a new use for something, it’s…just darned funny to see a sex toy floating out in the world in a completely innocuous role.

So what we would like to do is see you use your sex toys in a way that amuses, confounds, or just darn tickles us. Whether you find that your vibrator makes for a great milk foamer or a string of anal beads make for a lovely necklace, take a picture and send it in. If you’re feeling especially creative, you can put together a video (no longer than 3 minutes, please–we have no kind of attention span).

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I've been raving about the new kiwis, apples and limes innocent drink/smoothie for sometime. I'm not the biggest fan of Bananas and a smoothie without Bananas was always going to float my boat. Lovely drink and actually pretty good for you. Innocent drinks have been asking for feedback on this edition of there drinks, so I'm giving it two thumbs up. I've also learned if you mix it with a small amount of lime or apple vodka it makes a great little cocktail too. Not too much or it goes a little funky in texture.

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In England and Wales, when the car owner pays for parking, they pay for the whole zone/bay. Which means if your on a motorbike you can park next to them if you don't block them in and fancy your bike being knocked over. Although I don't think you can do the whole German thing of parking two smartcar's side by side in one bay.

This however just makes me mad.

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I park my bike in a secure underground park and came back recently to find it on the floor sideways. A woman ran up to me and said shes really sorry and she was going to write a note but she couldn't lift the bike back up. Anyway it turns out she had been reversing and didn't see my bike which I'd like to add was parked in a motorbike bay and is massive and silver colour. So now I need to see how much its going to cost to replace all the damage shes done. The problem is its a old bike and already has some damage so I'm unsure if its worth claiming on the insurance as the amount of scratches to the panels is going to cost a lot to replace. So I'm actually better off getting someone to patch it up for me instead then charging her for it maybe? Ether way, I'm currently not a fan of car drivers.

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I don't mind being asked about my time in Manchester, I've come to really enjoy Manchester even with its changeable weather. So changeable that I usually keep my sunglasses on my head even when its raining. Anyhow I was interviewed by Ariel which is BBC's internal weekly newspaper about my move to Manchester. As usual what was printed does not truly reflect what was said. For example at the end, its writen that there are things you couldn't do in London such as hold meetings in the bar. Well actually no, I said there's lots you can not do in London such as host external usergroups from around the region in our bar and meeting rooms after hours. The picture isn't too bad, but I did think there were many better ones which reflected Manchester better that a tatty billboard with club flyers over it. We did shoot pictures inside the bars on deansgate locks but instead they picked that one. in Anyway its done and I'm left feeling that lack of trust again for mainstream media. If your interesting in reading the whole piece, you can read it here.

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So when I wrote the entry about the flats, it was late and I didn't go into much detail about the flats themselves. Its hard to because for example islington wharf doesn't yet have the floor plans up yet and its worth noting that theres 20 different types of styled apartments. Chips I do have the floor plans for but again theres many different types. A couple of friends did comment on Facebook about the entry which I noticed in Gwibber.

Rachel Clarke –

I'm quite liking the quirkiness of Chips, at least from those 2 sites which don't give a lot away.

Sheila Thomson –

Both buildings look amazing! Am green with envy As Rachel says, there's very little info to go on here though, so based purely on architectural style, I'd say Chips.

So from memory here's the deal

Islington Wharf – The flats I was looking at have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The view is looking north towards the Manchester City ground and the rest of Ancoats (its 25k extra for the same looking south into Manchester Central). From memory the 2nd bedroom is slightly bigger that what I have now for a 2nd bedroom, so it holds a double bed and wardrobe and not a lot more. The 1st bedroom is the same as what I have now. The living room is open plan and includes the kitchen which has everything including dishwasher, fridge freezer, etc. There's no balcony space but there is a huge communal grass covered area bigger that the size of a couple basketball courts. On top of that there is a large decking area, for when the grass is wet or you want to do a bbq or something. Its on the 2nd floor above the carpark, so its residents only. The carpark is secure and comes with the flat, I think theres even bike parking space, so I could rent out my space to someone else. The windows on the living room are huge and I can choose between a 2nd floor and 9th floor apartment. Of course it has two lifts and only about 6 flats per floor. Each floor has sound proofing between the floors and the general build quality is very good. Generally this is a great flat with some good views and a standard formation.

Chips – There is only one flat I'm really considering to buy and its on the 4th floor. Two bedrooms and one bathroom, on the east side of the Chips building. I can see the City ground again from the living room. This flat has a thin balcony which you can stand on but not much else. Like Islington Wharf there is a communal outdoor area and its on the back of chips. Its about quite large but no where near the size of the space in Islington Wharf. There is a carpark but its going to cost extra or you can park on the wasteland for free which is outside chips right now. Chips looks pretty impressive and its super styled inside too. Pink and Black walls with bear stone work ceilings. Inside the apts its white but theres elements of bright colours. For example the kitchen covers are cherry red and the sliding door for the 2nd bedroom is Green. Yes you heard me right, sliding door. Its a odd layout too, like a ring with a bedroom off one end. If like me your not using the 2nd bedroom as a bedroom, you can pull the door back and make the living room much larger. and to be honest it needs extending because the space is small. The bedrooms are smaller that islington wharf again but rooms do have those great european windows which open 2 ways and there huge. The general build quality isn't as good as the other one and you don't get a washing machine or dishwasher but you do get a quirky layout and a bit of cupboard space in one of the most known developments in Manchester.

So a couple of other things. Urbansplash the maker of Chips are well known for quirky designs and to be fair there not for everyone. So the resale value maybe very different. I also heard from someone that Urban Splash's development in Sheffield had fallen through and that the company might be experiencing a few problems. Islington Wharf is sometimes refered to as the fishbowl because you can see directly in and theres no curtains/blinds when you buy the flat. So which one would you choose if you were in my position?

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