The Plot Thickens

Did you know that, on average, it takes an hour to process one unit of alcohol? An hour of a Macmillan nurse's time could cost £25. If you help me reach my £500 target on JustGiving, you'll have helped pay for twenty hours of Macmillan help. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Martin-Palmer5

What an exciting and informative introduction, eh? I like to spoil my readers, as I'm sure you've noticed, and today is no exception. It's not even over! Prepare yourself, for I am about to update you with two new ENDs. Woop woop, etc...

Erm so last night I was on this Innocent Smoothie. It was jaw-motoringly sweet and quite sharp, so it wasn't a great alternative to the ale, but hey. It's supposed to be 'energising' [or at least I assume so, based on what it's called...] but, oh lord, it didn't scratch the surface of my drowsiness. Meh. What are you gonna do?

Was in Sainsbo's today and they had a pretty decent non-alcoholic range. They got the Erdinger Alkoholfrei, Cobra Zero [I was surprised to see it, but the regular lager isn't up to much, so I don't think I'll give that a go] and the one I bought: Bavaria 0.0%.

It's really rather good. A bit lighter than the Erdinger, quite sweet-tasting - which is a downside - but pleasant and malty. I tell myself that I'm getting in touch with my Dutch roots, which is rubbish, really, and I mean who even cares? Imagine there's no countries, indeed.

Ok, tot ziens!

P.S. Only seven more days to go...

Having a Habit Habit

I must say that I've been missing alcohol today. In the shop I work in, we offer tasters of some of our wares, which currently include three different vodka-based drinks flavoured with Kendal mint cake, gingerbread and toffee. Simply put, they are amazing, and I say that as someone without a sweet tooth. Anyway, my point is that today there was a customer who wanted a sample of these drinks, and they were obliged. After they'd left, I was alone with the pungent smells of these drinks as they lingered in the air. I noticed that there was a bit of the drink left in the bottom of the glass, and had a sudden urge to finish it off, before, like a whip, I snapped back to the reality of the situation.

Don't worry, though. I can confirm that I am still completely sober.

The thing I'm most concerned about is that I seem to be eating more. This normally happens when I decide to halt the alcohol consumption, so it doesn't come as a surprise, but it is disappointing. I don't seem to have too much a problem taking action, it's the side-effects that get me. I feel like I'm in some whack-a-mole cartoon where I'm trying to mallet a mole as it sticks its head up through holes in my lawn. Whenever I hit the mole that sticks its head through the alcohol hole [or 'alocohole'], it pops right back up the food hole. It sounds horrendous, I know. I'm so privileged that I can indulge myself in this way, and I carry guilt for it.

Basically, I have a habit habit. It's also known as 'greed'. I'm hoping that this period of adjustment is over soon, and I don't stop getting the cravings to have a drink or stuff scran down me throat. Either way, Sober October is a chance to show myself that have will power. That'd be nice, as I don't feel that I have any at the mo.

As for the general greed, that's something I'm working on too. We'll see - on both counts.


Give us yer money (pretty please)! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Martin-Palmer5

NaNoWriMoWeUp3

Day Fifteen: 746. Just can't muster any more effort. I'm in such a bad habit at the minute with staying up all night watching YouTube videos and generally not sleeping, so by now I'm way too tired to reach my goal. Never mind, though. I'll get there.

Day Sixteen: 2,939. I'm happy to be writing at a more reasonable time today. Could be better, like, but there's tomorrow for that.
   Felt really bad about the fundamental quality of all that I've written so far, especially with respect to 'show don't tell', one of the most basic basics of writing. I've actually been scared when I think of how useless it all is.
   But I'm trying to stop such thoughts. Not only have there been some passages I'm proud of, but I could well be over-exaggerating the bad bits and, plus, there's the vital component of editing yet to come. I know I'm not great at editing, but this is a good chance to get going. No-one said this has to be a masterpiece. Come on! Enjoy!

Day Seventeen: 277. Started well-ish, y'know. Found myself an hour before the footy.
   But then a sneezing fit struck. Then I had a headache. Then the screen started making my eyes bounce. So I stopped.
   The footy was good entertainment, and thankfully a drama-free testament to humanity's resilience in the face of intolerance. Feel somehow guilty that England won, though...
   Then, I got so drunk that I had a hole in my memory and absolutely no hope of carrying on writing.

Day Eighteen: 0. I felt so shit that I didn't want to get out of bed, or even live, and I answered the question 'what's the point?' with 'NO!'.

Day Nineteen: 2,430. Climbing the mountain back to 'normality'. Not bad stuff. A bit 'all over the place' in places, but then some places had good parts.

Day Twenty: 534. I was very lucky to have a replenishing social engagement. Although it left me short on writing time, I penned some stuff on the bus on the way in, and even got an early bus back with the plan of doing more later. Alas, I was too tired by the time I got home, but I'm satisfied with the dedication there :-)

Day Twenty-One: Nice to get support from Aunty S who's been keeping up with the blog during this period :-)
   A light has flickered on that's probably about as strong as a candle on the Morecambe seafront, but since I'm recording it here, there'll be a reminder in the future. I've spent a lot of time worrying about how inferior this draft is and will be, but, though I've already touched on how it'll be good editing practice, it's also going to give me impetus to move even further [whether that's in terms of word count, re-forming or whatever], to really get to the end of a novel [because fifty-thousand words is an arbitrary aim, not necessarily a natural end]. Now I'm over half way, this thought is even more exciting than when I'd started it in the first place.
   Also, I've had more people asking about NaNoWriMo itself, its 'proper' aims and customs, so I'm going to address that briefly. Basically, I'd advise you to forget about the idea of the 'proper' way, because the best way is your way. I didn't sign up on NaNoWriMo.org, I'm not going to get a certificate of completion [which is, however controversially, a major focus for some of the people undertaking this challenge], but I am going to complete my purpose. My purpose for NaNoWriMo was to generate material, to experiment with application, to look at the possibility of spirit. I was never going to be bothered about being under fifty-thousand words, because even one-thousand would've been something I could either use directly, put in a drawer for later and/or learn from.
   So if you do have questions, first off ask yourself. What do you want? What do you think it's all about? What will the audience [however futuristic] think?
   Peace, love and light, folks!

Woop!

This actually happened a wee while back, but i just wanted to tell y'all that i finally got my name on the wall. The HashtagBeer wall, that is! I 'officially' feel part of it now.

I've been writing for HashtagBeer now since August 2013 and it has been lovely to share one of my greatest passions with the internettal community. Also it has been great to work with Paul, a true visionary in the field. He not only motivates me, but also inspires me.

May HashtagBeer reign always!

Peace and love x

Highlight HashtagBeer

I been doing some some new stuff, baby
but this ain't about me -

it's about beer, y'hear?

Check out this blog 'cause it's happening,
it's got news of current affairs and, more important,
reviews of taste sensations you can get in on.

You don't need to be no connoisseur,
just embrace the spirit of the beer,
enjoy life, endeavour and tongue-artistry.

See Paul Bailey, an awesome chap and friend of mine,
who has passion and wit unparalleled,
in a cosy fireside snuggle with one of the world's favourite beverages.

SO (drum roll):
here be the link you've been waiting for!
HastagBeer - there it is.

Check it out and enjoy!
Peace and love x

Broken Bleedin' Record

Well hey there, how are you guys and gals?

It's that Carnage event again tonight, you know, the one where everyone gets legless! I know fun right? Maybe not. Tis only 2145hrs and people are shouting, slurring and incessantly repeating crap.

"Who's havin' a weee?" is in at number 3.

At number 2, up from last week, it's "Mark? Mark? MARK?"

And at number 1, THE most repeated phrase tonight... Yes it's that well known song that we all love "Mum, I'm in trouble again."

Being performed right now outside a window near you is "Don't Stop Believing." Don't matter if it's the Journey or the Glee version COZ WE'VE HEARD IT WAY TOO MUCH IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS!

The song in my head at the mo is the Looney Tunes theme tune... Maybe some mental hospital sirens in the background...

Carnage

With all the noise going on outside my window right now, I feel compelled to have another blog. A load of my mates are going to Carnage right now (if you look at www.carnageuk.com, it is described as "Quite simply the best student event ever"), and they've already had quite a bit to drink. I want to make it clear this isn't a big rant at Carnage. The organizers say that student safety is at the forefront of their minds, which is fair enough. I also know that the fact they've already been drinking hasn't been magically inspired by some event that's going on; it's their choice to get drunk when they want to and I've been drunk myself before, so even if I wanted to take the moral high ground I couldn't.
My point actually was going to just be a bit of a taste of what exactly is going on outside. We've got many variants of the chant "let's get f***ing w***ered" (look up 'LGFW' on www.urbandictionary.com if you are unsure as to what I'm talking about) being chanted, windows being rattled by knocking and people whapping out their lovelengths (though, in fairness, I only heard people saying that spam javelins had been unleashed, I didn't look for meself!).
So yeah, it's all kicking off, and that's before people have gone into town! Okay then, probably time to come clean, this is sort of a rant... Sorry to deceive you dear readers! Whenever I get past the point of tipsiness - at least after my 18th - it's always through knowing how I'm pacing myself and not taking it past the point of being able to hold my drink. In short, whether you end up spewing up or not, I think getting really well-oiled before going out to get more drink is not something I'd ever condone. I have pre-game beers before certain events: save a bit of money whilst you're there and maybe get a little more relaxed. Taking it to the really loud point where banging on people's windows and getting your little man out seem hilarious might possibly not be the most responsible thing...
This is where I kinda hope certain friends don't think I'm judging them personally, or I hope they don't read this post, OR I hope they can't remember what they did in the morning and don't know I'm talking about them! Still, if they had a problem with it, maybe they should look at their own regular sessions of excess instead of judging my relatively infrequent ones!
Anyone else been to a Carnage night out and is able to tell me how it went?