http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/en-EUMokoFeed10http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/8c/839b4ef072d496c4d285812567819b_160x200.jpghttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/05/10/tell-me-your-dirty-little-secret-4157679/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-05-10:/2008/05/10/tell-me-your-dirty-little-secret-4157679/Sat, 10 May 2008 22:54:09 +0200 <p>Inspired by postsecret.com and the "dirty little secret" video by All American Rejects, I've decided to tell you all my own dirty little secret that I've never told ANYONE before.</p> <p>Ever since I've been little, I've sporadically dipped in and out of an imaginary world in my mind. This fantasy world goes beyond normal daydreaming - the people and the world that I've created in my mind are incredibly complex and realistic and I often set aside about an hour just before I go to sleep to revisit and indulge in this world. I thought I was the only person with these fantasies until today.</p> <p>I guess it started as a case of simply having imaginary friends. Although I could never see them nor would they talk to me, I would present to them and teach them things that I had learnt at school or on tv. As I grew up, I started imagining myself as a character in a certain television programme. After watching an episode, I would rewrite the script in my mind to include myself. This later developped and I would imagine that I had my own "spin off" show where I was the main character saving the world from demons and monsters. I would fabricate incredibly complex and often very clever storylines and episodes and the characters in these stories would be mainly made up of people I know apart from one off celebritiy appearances.</p> <p>Later my fantasy life split into two. While I was imagining myself in this television programme, I would also imagine myself as the actor who was playing myself in the television programme. In my head, the show was incredibly successful and I often imagined myself doing interviews for the show and appearing on other shows as guest star. My imaginary celebrity persona is not only an actor, but he also writes the show as well as directs it. Not only that but he is also a part time high fashion model who also has a clothing line. I used to only think about this world when I was getting ready for bed but later, music would sometimes trigger off this fantasy world and I would create music sequences and videos for the "show" in my mind.</p> <p>I always knew that this wasn't normal and I often tried to analyse why I was doing it. Maybe i couldn't deal with reality, maybe my life was so dull and tragic that i needed this imaginary world to help me cope. I know for a fact that it was the imaginary world and my imaginary friends in my imaginary television series that helped me deal with my father's adultery and the death of my mother. I controlled the characters in my mind and therefore I got the consolation that I desperately wanted and needed that my real friends just never gave me. These events became "episodes" in my mind and because they became a part of my fantasy, i suppose they weren't "real" anymore and I found it much easier to deal with it.</p> <p>Even though I have developped this fantasy life for so long, it has never occured to me to see if other people might have the same problem - that is, until today. I googled the words "fantasy life mental disorder" and discovered many people with the same problem. Apparently about 4% of the population have it. In fact there's a name for it - Walter Mitty syndrome. </p> <p>Nowadays i don't really dip into this fantasy life anymore apart from when I'm incredibly bored or something bad has happened. I don't feel like I need it anymore because I'm rather happy with my current real life. Recently, the imaginary episodes in my head are less dark and much, much shorter. They used to be whole episodes, now they are mere snippets. I know it's wrong but I still can't help but indulge in it sometimes. Maybe there'll come a time when I feel I don't need this secret life anymore. Then again, maybe it'll be a part of me until the day I die. </p> <p>Wow, that was liberating! Ok, so I've told you mine, now it's your turn! What's your secret? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/05/10/tell-me-your-dirty-little-secret-4157679/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifecelebrityfantasydirty-little-secretpostsecretmental-disordersecretall-american-rejectswalter-mitty-syndromehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/05/10/tell-me-your-dirty-little-secret-4157679/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/04/27/missing-in-action-4100663/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-04-27:/2008/04/27/missing-in-action-4100663/Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:31:22 +0200 <p>So much for blogging every day! Whoops! But that's me, attention span of a goldfish. Anyway, SO much has happened since I last blog. The gruesome twosome have left my house, but let me recap what has happened over the past few weeks in no particular order </p> <p>Ok, so first of all, the convict STOLE money from us!! Ok not THAT much - just loose change but that's not the point. The point is, he took the money while we were out of the house and used it to play on the arcades. That to me is stealing. And his mum wasn't even ashamed! And she didn't even pay us back! Bitch! </p> <p>Then, there was the interview with the headmaster at his future school. He was SUCH a brat. The headmaster had come in especially to see him (he was on holiday at the time) as a favour for my dad. The criminal had his earphones in and was just basicallly really rude and refused to speak English. The headmaster stood up and yanked the ear phones out of his ears and said that this would not be tolerated. How embarrassing. I don't know about you but something tells me, he's not going to get in somehow.</p> <p>I turned on my computer a few weeks ago and guess what I saw? The 2 twats had created a profile for themselves on my computer! WHO THE FUCK DOES THAT WHILE USING SOMEONE ELSE'S COMPUTER???? They're only here for a month, why do they feel the need to have their own profile? When I clicked onto their profile, they had ACTUALLY put a picture of themselves as a backround - no really, please feel free to make yourself at home. Then later, I turn on my dad's laptop and I see they've sone the same thing there too! </p> <p>My dad actually got quite angry with both of them - After the fois gras fiasco, he was already royally pissed off with them, but this time, they managed to outdo themselves. It's always important to better yourself I guess. They opened a £50 can of his abalone and ate it without even asking him. My dad treats those cans like gold bricks - even my brother and I aren't allowed to touch them - firstly because it is so difficult to get them imported over and secondly because they are so expensive. Basically, they had eaten almost the whole can and left me a few slices to eat when I got back from work. I told my dad the next day and he flipped out and basically wrote on the 3 remaining cans, in BIG CAPITAL LETTERS - DO NOT TOUCH. </p> <p>When we went to take the criminal to his school to register, his mum asked my dad to bring his credit card. "Why?" my dad asked. "Oh because i didn't bring enough money to pay for his fees" she replied. Can you believe this woman? She's sending her son to an expensive boarding school in England and she didn't bring enough money. My dad basically told her she can go fucking screw herself (well, not in those EXACT words).</p> <p>At dinner, we were talking about flights from Heathrow and flights from Gatwick. Basically, Gatwick is much closer to where I live than Heathrow. The mum reveals that actually she could have flown to Gatwick and saved my dad a 2 hour journey to collect them but she "didn't trust the airline" (which is understandable) and that "She'd much rather my dad spend an extra hour collecting her" as though it was perfectly acceptable to say such a thing. My dad is a very busy man and considering we are letting them eat and board at our house for free, to say such a thing, in my eyes was completely out of order. </p> <p>The 2 of them were basically at my house for a month (I initally thought that the criminal's dad would also come over, making it 2 months in total...hence 61 days in hell but actually that didn't happen - more on that in a minute). Apart from when my dad took them Brighton, they never ventured outside a 5 mile radius from my house! My brother and I asked them continually - "Are you not going to London? The CAPITAL of England? Surely you can't come to England and not go to London at least once". The criminal's response was "oh there's nothing to do in london" and the mum's response was "Oh I've been to London 4 whole times" - if that's the case why don't you take your fucking son who has never been. Anyway, there was a day when they were actually meant to go to london (I thought they were planning to stay in London for a few days but they only wanted to go for the afternoon..How anyone can see London in an afternoon is beyond me) but on the night before they were going to go, the criminal basically said he didn't want to go...and his mum said without the slightest hint of irony "Oh ok, why don't you stay up as late as you want tonight and then you can sleep in as late as you want tomorrow" - W.T.F. Anyway, they never made it to London in the end and on the last day, the mum took the bus to brighton and said "Well, I can't come to England and not go to brighton"...er...actually love, you CAN.</p> <p>So my dad phones up the criminal's dad to ask him why he hasn't taken ANY interest in his son since he arrived in England...and why, more importantly, he hasn't phoned us up to say, even arbitrarily "oh thanks for putting them both up". His response was "Oh I tried to phone them once but I didn't get a response" My dad was like: "Did you even try again? And you could have always tried our house". Panicked, the criminal's dad said hurriedly - "Oh listen, I will phone them back later...ok bye!...bye!" My dad said: "No need, they're standing right next to me, you can talk to him now." Can you imagine that? Actually having someone force you to talk to your own son. No wonder the criminal's so screwed in the head. Anyway, I guess he's not coming over, which is great - it cut my time in hell by half!</p> <p>And penultimately, in a blog that has gone on for far too long, even on the day the mum left to go back home, she couldn't help but cause drama. She chose a saturday to leave and fly back - 2 whole days before her son started school and claimed that she "didn't know" this would happen which is complete bullshit. It meant that her son had to stay with us for 2 WHOLE fucking days which was even worse than the month that they had been here because it was a weekend and we were forced to interract. My brother and I were like..."Why didn't she come over later so she could have seen her son go to school and help him settle in instead of wasting a month at our house and then leaving 2 days before he starts school??! It makes no sense. And anyway, Saturday is my dad's busiest day - it's basically the day where he makes the most money. He had to sacrifice that to take her to the airport. And she didn't even feel bad! </p> <p>Which finally brings us to the last Saturday. Basically the criminal had been at boarding school for a week. Usually at boarding school you stay at school for the whole term until the holidays. During the weekends, the school organises trips to entertain the boarders. Anyway, somehow, the criminal had not stood understood that there would be a trip to London last saturday and basically got left behind at school. My dad got a call in the afternoon saying that he was the only one there in his dorm and looked rather sad and whether my dad could take him out. Left with no choice, my dad took him out expecting to only take out him for lunch - The criminal ended up staying the whole weekend. HOW THE FUCK DID THAT HAPPEN???! The whole point of boarding school is to STAY THERE - this ain't no hotel. I tried to stay in my room the whole time he was at our house to avoid. But my brother was even funnier, he didn't even acknowledge his existance and acted as though he wasn't even there. I was beginning to feel sorry for the criminal, but this antic (which he blatently did on purpose) was too much. And he tried to do it again this week asking my dad to take him out and give him some food! And my dad said - Sorry, i'm busy. Haha! That kid seriously could eat for England. On the day his mum was leaving, he had a full english breakfast, lobster at lunch time, a plate of pasta at the airport and then when he got home, he still wanted to eat! I'm so glad my dad has taken a stance against the criminal. I guess even my dad was at the end of his tether.</p> <p>So many other things happened but I don't have the energy or time to type it out - forgot to mention the snow, the time when the criminal ate my dad's caviar and asked whether it was real and when my uncle told the criminal not to embarrass the family which was rather hilarious.</p> <p>Anyway, my first real weekend without the 2 twats! i'm going to enjoy it!</p> <p>Laters,</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/04/27/missing-in-action-4100663/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>londonentertainmentfamilycousinleisurehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/04/27/missing-in-action-4100663/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/29/61-days-in-hell-day-3964384/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-03-29:/2008/03/29/61-days-in-hell-day-3964384/Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:55:03 +0100 <p>The most annoying thing about having people from abroad stay at your house isn't waiting for the bathroom every morning or feeling like a stranger in your own front room - it's the fact that these people can't help telling you just how great THEIR country is and just how crap your country is - a country that they have flown millions of miles to be in. All I hear everyday from my 2nd cousin and his mum is how expensive everything in England is and how if they were at home, it would be so much cheaper and so much higher quality. If that's the case why don't they fuck off back home then?!</p> <p>My dad finally brought his laptop home this week and the criminal and his mum finally get to email without having to spend an hour pointing a wii controller at a 32" screen to type out 5 words. The problem is that instead of going out and enjoying their holiday, they mooch in the house all day and check their facebook. Its an effing joke. I know England isn't that exciting but there are better things to do. Before they hadthe laptop, they would leave the house at 12 and walk around town for a while, during which time I would emerge from my room to do all the things that I want to do without them bothering me. But now they just stay in the house all day. I lay in bed til 3pm today, waiting for them to leave but they just stayed in!! Finally I gave up and went downstairs which meant that I was to actually communicate with them.</p> <p>Another annoying habit that they have, apart from the million others, is that they truly have made themselves at home. When people say "make yourself at home", they don't actually mean it- plus we never said that to them anyway. They go through all our draws, they turn on my PC without asking, they play on my wii without asking and now they're throwing out OUR stuff - WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION! It's quite funny - when i complained, my dad told me "oh it's just for a month, relax" - that was until they opened his can of expensive fois GRAS that he had been saving and ate half of it without asking. Oh how the mighty have fallen.</p> <p>On a lighter note, I went to the most amazing apartment at the Barbican yesterday evening. My friend lives on the 32 floor of a tower block and has a 270 degree view of the whole of central London from his balcony. It was probably the single most beautiful experience of my life. I've been on the London Eye and this was 100 times better. I definitely want to go there again - next time I'll take my camera. The experience has left me considering actually living at the Barbican. We'll see.</p> <p>Until next time,</p> <p>Me </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/29/61-days-in-hell-day-3964384/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>friendsentertainmentcousinleisuregangswiilondonhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/29/61-days-in-hell-day-3964384/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/24/61-days-of-hell-day-3932340/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-03-24:/2008/03/24/61-days-of-hell-day-3932340/Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:40:19 +0100 <p>Look, we made to day 7! In the scheme of things though, it has gone pretty slowly considering there are STILL 54 days to go. The mum told me yesterday she intends to find a dance school while she is here to maintain her ballroom dancing skills which basically means she's going to leave her son with me while she goes gallavanting in some decrepid church hall somewhere. When I complained to my dad about it he shouted - "Atleast you have work, it's not like you have to look after him!".."Actually," I tell him "It's on a Saturday, when YOU'RE at work". Considering she is only here for a month, is it really necessary for her to go dancing? Can't she wait til she goes back home? When I go on holiday, i don't think: "Shit, I better go and find an architectural practice to maintain my CAD skills". And actually, the same goes for email. As I said before, on the first day that she arrived, she wanted to check her email. There have been times when I've been on holiday for 2 months where i didn't even set foot near a computer. I seriously don't know what her problem is. If she wanted to work, she should have brought her own laptop over.</p> <p>And my dad is seriously annoying me. When I complain, I want someone who replies. It doesn't matter if it's in agreeance with what I'm saying or whether they are completely against it, I want some sort of response and opinion. Usually, my dad is the first to bitch back but lately, he just keeps quiet like he's not even acknowledging what I'm saying. It's annoying. I think it's because he wants to protect them but at the same time, he sort of agrees with my complaints and therefore decides that it's better to keep quiet instead. Also i bitch and moan about them behind their back, but I am never rude in front of their faces - as I said in a previous blog, my mother could never tolerate people being inconsiderate and I am the same - but my dad now seems to have developed a problem with this as well! Yesterday he shouted at me for complaining and then said - oh you never say that to their faces. And I was like: Surely that's a GOOD thing??? Or do you want me to be a complete bastard to their faces as well. I don't mind either way.</p> <p>All this time that I've been complaining about the criminal and his mother, I completely forgot to complain about his father. He hasn't called ONCE this week to see if his son is alright, or to say - oh I don't know - THANKS to us for harbouring his criminal? With parents like them, it's no wonder he turned out a criminal. And they just SO uncouth. They don't wait until everyone has sat down at the table before eating, they burp and fart whenever they feel like it AND the criminal says completely inappropriate things in the company of our friends and swears like a sailor. They're an embarrassment. I really wish they didn't share out surname. It's funny because actually the mum wanted to send the criminal to my school but didn't manage to get in (well, we're assuming/hoping). If he had managed to get in, my good name would have been completely pulled through the mud. </p> <p>Mwanwhile, my brother has been blissfully unaware of our troubles at home. He's at uni where he's apparently "very busy" - Whatever. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/24/61-days-of-hell-day-3932340/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>cousinentertainmentleisurefamilyarchitecturegangshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/24/61-days-of-hell-day-3932340/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/22/61-days-of-hell-day-3922498/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-03-22:/2008/03/22/61-days-of-hell-day-3922498/Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:28:22 +0100 <p>I thought I might try and blog from my iphone - how avant garde. Only problem is that the keyboard is being mighty slow for some reason. Anyway back to day 5 in hells-villa. It actually hasn't been too bad. I talk to the mum last night about her son's criminal activities and actually I almost felt quite sorry for them both. Apparently her son desperately wanted to leave his gang but he was so afraid of them and what they might do to him and his family that he had no choice but to stay. </p> <p>"Hang on" I hear you all say "You? Actually feeling sorry for someone? Has hell frozen over?" Well it did sleet a bit where I live this afternoon but I wouldn't say it's frozen over. And I said i ALMOST felt sorry for then - it doesn't change the fact that they are uncouth mooching barbarians. Just this morning the criminal let one rip at the breakfast table. Ghastly. And the mum didn't even say anything - in fact she was burping her way all through breakfast. They are an embarrassment. I can't believe we share the same surname. </p> <p>Anyway, today instead of using my laptop, I managed to convince them to check their email on my nintendo wii! It was hilarious watching them suffer as they tried to get to grips with the controller and then actually trying to type an email using the onscreen keyboard. Anyway the criminal is playing on wii sports and everytime he swings the controller I fear for my life and my tv screen. </p> <p>Thhe criminal's mum has cooked us dinner (nice gesture i suppose) so i better end this blog. Actually it hasn't been too bad blogging with the iPhone. I might do it more often.</p> <p>More tomorrow!</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/22/61-days-of-hell-day-3922498/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>entertainmentiphonewiifamilycousinleisurehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/22/61-days-of-hell-day-3922498/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3916775/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-03-21:/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3916775/Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:03:58 +0100 <p>Oh dear, I think I just upset my dad again. This morning in an effort to avoid the family from hell, I hid in my room pretending I was asleep until they left our house...Then I proceeded to walk aimlessly around town until 6pm so i wouldn't have to be with them when they got home. Anyway, i got a text from my dad asking me where i was and as a JOKE I said - "I've run away from home, Goodbye Forever!!!!" - I thought it was funny anyway. My dad was not amused, he texted me back asking me what my problem was and what I wanted, adding that he would lose respect from everyone if he didn't help the criminal and his mum. This annoyed me a bit so I replied "Congratulations, you've earned the respect of everyone else but you have just lost mine" - I can be the biggest brat sometimes. A few minutes later I got a text from him saying "I upset your brother last week because you didn't want his friend staying at our house and this is how you repay me. You are so selfish" </p> <p>Let me get one thing straight - I've never claimed to be altruistic. And anyway, anyone who claims to be always has an ulterior motive. It's such a load of bullshit. I think I've actually been rather accomodating - afterall, i could have kicked them out by now, and yet I made conversation with them (albeit once in 4 days) and I didn't even flip out when i found out she had turned on my computer. The real selfish people are my second cousin and his mum. Why didn't they get a hotel or a B&B? Why didn't they make plans like they promised instead of just mooching around in our house all day? I hate how family feel like they have a right to impose on you for as long as they want, whenever they want. </p> <p>I tried to make a joke of it to my dad by saying "Oh you've finally realised I'm selfish - it's taken you 24 years! Now get to the kitchen and make me something to eat, i'm hungry!" - That was 3/4 of an hour ago. By the looks of things, I'm going to bed without supper tonight. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3916775/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisureentertainmentselfishaltruismcousinfamilyhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3916775/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3912713/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-03-21:/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3912713/Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:16:38 +0100 <p>There's a reason why Day 2 is missing from this blog. Yesterday I got home from work at 10:30pm hoping that everyone had gone to sleep so that I wouldn't have to entertain. Unfortunately, the criminal's mum was still awake. This was the first time I had actually seen her since she moved into my house. Cue uneasy hellos etc. After an eternity of awkward silence, she says to me, "You don't have internet on your computer" and i said "o...kaaay...but how do you know that?" to which she replied "because i turned on your computer this afternoon and couldn't access it." So basically she had gone into my office without my permission and turned on my PC, otherwise known as a PERSONAL computer. What is wrong with this woman?? Make yourself at home, why don't you. I have a real problem with people touching and using my stuff while I'm not there especially computers - not that i have anything to hide, but I just don't feel comfortable with it. With a mother like that, it's no wonder her son has turned out the way he has. Anyway, she continues to ask me whether i could access the internet from any other computer because she had seen the wireless broadband hub, to which i lie and replied "only from my iphone unfortunately". In actual fact, I have a new Macbook but I do not want this woman or her criminally insane son using it. Suddenly my dad, in his infinite wisdom shouts out "What are you talking about, what about ur laptop??!!!"....I give him a look that curdles milk and say *emotionlessly* "Oh yes, i forgot about that, I will check for you..."</p> <p>Anyway because of that incident, i have tried to limit my use on my laptop just incase that woman sees me on it and wants to use it. Everyday before i go to work, I have to hide my laptop just incase she comes into my room to try and find it. I'm thinking of locking it up somewhere.</p> <p>And it's just typical that they would choose the only time of they year where I get 2 bank holidays in a row to come and stay with us. It means i'll have to spend my precious long weekend entertaining them, which i just don't want to do.</p> <p>On a good note, I just had an excellent evening in the pub with my colleagues. I think everyone thinks I'm a bit of a square and really straight laced, which to be honest I am but i think today I showed them a different side to me...or atleast i managed to explain to them WHY i am so fucked up and got a few laughs along the way. I drank alot which is something that I almost never do - I usually stop after 1 but today they just kept plying me with drinks. It's funny because when i was a teenager, my friends never peer pressured me into anything and yet today for the first time, as a so-called adult, my colleagues were peer pressuring me into getting drunk. To be honest, at first i was a bit paranoid about it all because they only invited me as they were leaving out the door as an off the cuff comment instead of asking me properly but once I got there, i didn't feel too out of place (apart from when they all went out to smoke leaving me to look after the coats. Thanks Smoking Ban). Hopefully they'll see that I'm not as square as they thought although i don't want to lose all my geekiness, afterall, that's what makes me, me - being cool and "one of the lads" is just not my thing. To put it simply, I don't want to be seen as a square but more as a rhombus. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3912713/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisuregangslondonfamilylifeentertainmentfriendsarchitectureworkhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/21/61-days-of-hell-day-3912713/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/18/61-days-of-hell-day-3902615/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-03-18:/2008/03/18/61-days-of-hell-day-3902615/Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:43:43 +0100 <p>My felonous second cousin moved into my house with his mum today. Here marks day 1 of what will eventually be a total of 61 days of hell. Why 61? First of all, he doesn't start boarding school til next month, so for the next month he'll be staying at my house. When he is at boarding school, his mum will fly back home, only to be replaced by his dad who, quelle surprise, will ALSO be staying at our house for a month. It's funny because neither of them have ever asked us whether they could stay at our house, they just assumed it was ok. Until this morning, when my dad went to pick them up from the airport, we still thought they'd be staying at a hotel or a B&B. I'm not sure when or even how my dad actually twigged that they would be staying at our house, but it can't have been an easy conversation.</p> <p>Before they came over, they told us that they had made plans and that they would spend the first week "having fun" (I'm not sure if "having fun" is that appropriate considering the circumstances) and after that he would start school. They made it sound like they would be out of the house most of the time and that they would be no trouble. Fast forward to a week later, we find out that they haven't made any plans at all and by the way, he's not starting school until a months time - Loosely translated: our schedule will consist of mooching around the house all day while making pointless converstion interspersed with moments of awkward silences until school starts. </p> <p>The funniest thing is, in typical Andy fashion, my dad will be working and my brother will be at university so i'll be playing host for the next 2 months. Luckily, I too have the "work" excuse - Thank god - so I won't be spending THAT much time with them (apart from Easter and the weekends). I'm planning to stay late at work as well every night for the next 2 months so that by the time I get home, they'll be fast asleep. </p> <p>Anyway, I hope I'll be able to document all of the 61 days although i'm not sure if blog.co.uk will let me have that many blogs...or whether i can be bothered. We'll see.</p> <p>Oh AND they didn't even buy me any decent souvenirs, the SWINES. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/18/61-days-of-hell-day-3902615/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisurefeloncriminalannoyingboredfamilycousinhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/18/61-days-of-hell-day-3902615/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/15/my-home-is-not-a-hotel-3884594/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-03-15:/2008/03/15/my-home-is-not-a-hotel-3884594/Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:25:30 +0100 <p>As a child, I never had friends over for tea, I never had sleep overs and my birthday parties were never held at home. I was never angry or even remotely annoyed by this. Our house was (and still is) often a mess and I always understood that it was just not appropriate to have people round - atleast not without prior warning. 24 years later, I'm now almost an architect and I understand that a house is not only a shelter but also a santuary, a refuge - it holds our collective memories, our secrets, the way we live and the way our knick knacks are arranged are a direct reflection of who we are as people. It is understandable therefore that we are protective of our territory and wary of anyone who tries to encroach and trespass.</p> <p>As I mentioned a few months ago, my felon of a 2nd cousin is coming over to study. He was actually arrested a few days ago for hanging around with gang members but was released without charges. He's 13 by the way. I don't know about you but when I was 13, I was still watching Transformers and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (Splinter RULES!), not planning to joins the Crips. Anyhow, the plot thickens. If you remember in my last blog, I told you that he has no clue that he is coming over to England to study, he has always been told that he is going on holiday. Shortly after being arrested, his mum did what every good parent does and lied - saying that if he didn't come to study in England he would be arrested. And the funny thing is, he believed her - so apparently not that smart. I can't wait to see what happens when he find out it was all a lie. Oh the tangled web we weave.... </p> <p>His mum has asked my dad to be his guardian, which would mean he would stay at our house at half term. When I found out today, i flipped out and threatened to move out (in hindsight, a tad dramatic perhaps). Maybe I'm being harsh but I really do not enjoy the idea of having someone staying at my house. I always feel like my house and I are on show. I just can't relax and after a 60 hour week in the office, I surely deserve the chance to relax in my own home. Not only that but this guy is a wannabe gangster, who knows what he'll do in our house. Anyhow, we are going to tell his mum that with me being at work all day and my brother at university, there would be noone there to look after him. Hopefully she'll take the bait.</p> <p>Speaking of my no good brother, after weeks of blanking me and rejecting my calls and texts, I get a text from him today saying "I coming home 2night and I'm bringing chelsey! so do us a favour and clean the house". Now perhaps when we were young he didn't get the message, but we have NEVER invite people round to our house. And who is this Chelsey bitch anyway? His girlfriend? Who knows. She could be some skank from soho for all I'm concerned, and then to only give us about 2 hours warning, what does he think this is? A hotel? Even at a hotel you would make a reservation first. I got so angry and told him there was no way in hell that she was staying here and if she did, i would be as rude as possible to her and then I locked myself in my room and started writing this blog. </p> <p>My dad tried to find Chelsey a hotel but they were all full. When he told my brother, he told my dad that "he was going back to london then" and had a big sulk. My dad is genuinely upset because he feels like he has let my brother down. And I feel bad for trapping my dad in that position. I wrote my brother a text telling him that he was irresponsible and that we needed more than a few hours notice. Then I played the guilt card saying that he had really upset my dad. I also told him that it was me that got angry about it and if he wanted to blame anyone he should blame me and then i really drove it home by saying "I don't care anymore, we both know you place me below your friends anyway" - oooh burn!</p> <p>The thing about my brother is that while he is growing up fast, I always still feel that we're about 8, so I still make fun of him and our conversations are never too deep. In the few months that he has gone to university, i have really seen a change in him. He's constantly on the phone to his friends, but never texts me or even wants to meet up with me even though i work around the corner. He's irresponsible and late and he never wants to come home unless he wants something. I can't handle the fact that he on the piss every night, having sex, possibly smoking and possibly taking drugs but the one thing I can't stand the most is the fact that he doesn't see me as his best friend anymore. </p> <p>I think it's down to the fact that when i was 18, I never did the things he does - my conscience and some say self righteousness have never allowed me to do it. I've never been drunk, I've never tried ANY drugs and I only had my first cigarette when I was 23. My brother calls me a prude and says that I should "live my life" instead of wasting it. But my priorities are completely different to his. Being an architect was ALL I ever wanted to do and I did everything that i could to get it, but with my brother, he doesn't really care, all he is interested in is having a good time, making friends and "not wasting his youth". The other day I saw a love bite on his neck which he tried to hide with a scarf (which I saw through straight away) and I recoiled in shock...then later I saw him with a lighter in his pocket even though he claims he doesn't smoke. And now this Chelsey thing. I feel like I'm losing my grip on him and perhaps I am.</p> <p>I know, you all think that what he is doing is perfectly reasonable. Afterall, that's what everyone does at his age, right? Experiment? But I always thought he'd have enough will power to not follow the crowd. </p> <p>On the other hand, I did so many stupid things at that age that he isn't doing and i'm still a decent human being, so maybe he'll be ok too. I just wish he'd wouldn't leave me standing at the margins of his life. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/15/my-home-is-not-a-hotel-3884594/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>gangscousinlonlinessdrinkfamilyagebrothergrowing-updrugssexlifehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/03/15/my-home-is-not-a-hotel-3884594/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/25/office_politics~3628559/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-01-24:/2008/01/25/office_politics~3628559/Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:05:17 +0100 <p>You know in those movies where the geeky main character is put in a location where they don't fit in but through sheer hard work and determination they manage to gain the respect of all their peers and the admiration of their boss but then they realise that this is not the life for them so they sacrifice everything in a heartbeat and quit (wait, isn't that "The Devil Wears Prada")? Er yeah, that NEVER happens in real life.</p> <p>My boss is a temperamental guy - I really respect and like him but it's often hard for me to judge how he feels about me. Sometimes he'll pat me on the shoulder and tell me what a good job I'm doing and then often, I'll say hi to him in the morning and he'll completely ignore me. A big fat rejection. Silence. Nothing. </p> <p>The past few days he has been especially cold. I'm not sure what I've done - it could be the new glasses I'm sporting, or perhaps he overheard something I had said. Anyway, he's been giving me the cold shoulder treatment. So I tried to be all friendly and conversational but I think I somehow managed to make it even worse. Then at lunch time, my friend and I were talking in the canteen and basically were about 10 minutes late getting back to work. My boss SUBTLEY goes into the canteen and asks my friend whether she can order lunch for a client and then without saying a word to me, manages to communicate the fact that he thinks I should be back at my desk. How he did that, i still don't know but maybe that's why he's the boss and I'm not.</p> <p>This annoyed me a bit. On my floor I'm always the first into work and I work hard and often leave late. Plus, I don't even take that 5 minutes rest after an hour's work that Human Resources are always harping on about and now he makes me feel worthless just because I'm 10 minutes late from lunch? My friend immediately left to get lunch while I cleaned up my plate. My boss then walks into the canteen again, possibly to make a coffee but most likely to check why I hadn't made it back to my desk yet. He stood next to me with his mug but I refused to make any social plesantaries. After a few awkard huffs and sighs (possibly in a lame attempt to cut the tension) he hurried back to his desk.</p> <p>I really thought that I had exacebated the situation but actually when the time came for us to go home, out of the blue, he cheerfully said goodbye to me. Perhaps it human nature to be hurtful to the ones that are kind to us and kind to the ones who are hurtful towards us?</p> <p>I'm not JD from Scrubs (although ironically I am narrating my own life at the moment). I don't need a mentor and I don't constantly seek the approval of my boss but I would like to know that my boss atleast doesn't hate me or think I'm lazy. Actually in hindsight, perhaps the reason he said goodbye to me was because I was staying late (unnecessarily I'd like to add) to finish some work. I actually told my friend (yes, THAT one) to not talk to me because i wanted to finish my work and I made sure my boss could hear me. Coming to think of it, after my boss had left, he came back again after about 2 minutes to "collect something" but I bet it was just to check whether I was still there. I bet he thought that i was only staying to impress him (which I was) and that i would leave as soon as he had gone (which I did).</p> <p>Ok, so maybe the Ugly Betty/Devil Wears Prada model does occur in some work places but very rarely. We live in a different age now. The only way to get a boost up is to tread on the person below. Modern offices aren't about working hard at all - it's about running the gauntlet of office politics. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/25/office_politics~3628559/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>politicsentertainmentworkoffice-politicshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/25/office_politics~3628559/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/22/don_t_read_this_blog~3617693/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-01-22:/2008/01/22/don_t_read_this_blog~3617693/Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:42:37 +0100 <p>I often wonder who reads my blogs. Apart from my blog buddies, I'm not sure who else would be interested - yet every day the counter goes up. I wonder if any of the people I've written about have ever read this blog or if any of my long abandonned friends from school have by chance ever stumbled upon this digital journal which paradoxically both conceals my identity yet reveals my every thought (therefore revealing my identity?). </p> <p>Perhaps these people have read my blog but were too afraid to comment - it is easier to pretend not to know than to deal with the potential fallout. For me, writing these exposes almost feels like purposely playing Russian Roulette with 5 bullets in the barrel - I want these people to know how I feel, I want to be found out.</p> <p>I only mention this because the day after I wrote about my friend at work, she suddenly stopped all contact. No emails, no randomly hanging around my desk, nothing. Perhaps she had read the blog. Or perhaps one her friends had read it and then told her about it. In any case, I saw her today and out of the blue she told me she is going out on a date tonight with some guy from the office. I'm so tired from work to even begin to analyse whether she is doing this in a lame attempt to garner some attention from me or whether she never liked me in the first place. In any case, I'm happy, I have finally got her off my back - yet in a weak moment of selfishness after she told me, I couldn't help but feel a short sharp pang of disappointment. It's always nice to feel wanted despite the fact you know you could never really reciprocate those feelings. In any case, I hope it works out for her - not least because i can actually have a drink with my friends on a Friday night without having to entertain her all night.</p> <p>It seems incredulous to believe that out of millions of blogs, your friends would accidently stumble onto your one but I suppose stranger things have happened - the largest thing a blue whale can swallow is a grapefruit, the smallest egg laid by any bird relative to its size is an ostrich egg, the largest living thing on earth is a type of fungus. Who knows? Perhaps one day I'll stumble on to an angry blog written about me. Here's hoping. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/22/don_t_read_this_blog~3617693/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/22/don_t_read_this_blog~3617693/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/14/the_day_my_luck_ran_out~3577886/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-01-14:/2008/01/14/the_day_my_luck_ran_out~3577886/Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:16:34 +0100 <p>I've been feeling rather lucky these past few months. My job has been going well, people like me (?!) and things have generally been going well. During this time however, at the back of mind was always a feeling that this luck wouldn't last forever. Ever since I started working, I've been waiting for the moment my life would come crashing back down again and go back to my normal tragic life.</p> <p>Well, today was the day my luck officially began to run out. I got a email from my cousin today regarding her youngest son. Now, it is no secret within our family that we all think that her children are the devil's spawn. They are rude, insolent and spoiled and to top it off, their mother is blind to it all. Anyway, in the email, she tells me that her youngest son has "changed" - he doesn't go to school, he doesn't come home and he's hanging out with gang members (we actually all thought he did all these things anyway). And to fix this problem (which, let's face it, was inevitable) she is going to force her son to study in England in an attempt to remove him from the bad company he keeps. </p> <p>A noble effort, I thought, but how does this concern me? - I was about to be shocked. </p> <p>She intends for my family, i.e. my dad, my brother and I to look after her son for her when he is in England! Yes! The devil's spawn, living with us! Has she no SHAME? Let's PRETEND, in some odd parallel universe that we didn't mind, human decency dictates that she shouldn't even consider asking us to do this in the first place! She wants us to help her look for school for him and Oh! By the way, these schools shouldn't have entrance tests or interviews because she doesn't want him to know! WTF??! Isn't he going to suspect something when you start buying uniform for him? And let's face it, if he doesn't listen to her, what chance is there of him listening to us?! Slim to none! She is retarded if she thinks that by moving him to a new country, he will become a new person. She is not fixing the problem, only relocating it. There are bad people in EVERY country. It takes will power and self control to stay on the straight and narrow, not a holiday in the sun (well, actually it's raining right now in England but...). </p> <p>And then there's my friend from uni who now works where I work. She is really beginning to annoy me. First of all, it's pretty obvious to everyone, including me that she has a HUGE crush on me. In fact she even admitted it but then when i turned her down, she proceeded to tell me she was "drunk and only joking". Listen honey, this is the 21st century - we all know what "I was drunk and only joking" really means. Anyway, now she's following me around like a dog that needs to be walked. She works where I work, she lives where I wanted to live and every lunch time, she hangs around my desk and wants me to go to lunch with her. Then at the end of the day, she hangs around my desk so that we can take the tube together. Weirdo! And the worse thing is, you know when someones turns u down for lunch or whatever it is, u make ur excuses and leave, right? What does Miss weirdo do? She stands there until the silence between us becomes unbearable and THEN she leaves - what a freak.</p> <p>All in all a pretty crap day, i think you would agree. Well, atleast I can stop worrying about when my good luck streak will come to an end - because it already has. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/14/the_day_my_luck_ran_out~3577886/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>weirdoshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/14/the_day_my_luck_ran_out~3577886/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/06/the_no_friends_appreciation_society~3535804/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-01-06:/2008/01/06/the_no_friends_appreciation_society~3535804/Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:15:34 +0100 <p>After years of deliberate alienation and pushing everyone away, I've finally reached a point where I have no friends left now. No one to wish me Happy birthday, Merry Xmas or Happy new year, no one to phone me up on the cuff and say "Hey, guess what..." I haven't had to answer my mobile phone at all in the past 5 months. According to reseachers, in life we apparently only manage to accumulate 5 true friends... someone better tell them I'm still waiting for my 5...oh and some large fries.</p> <p>It's not that I inherently dislike the concept of friendship but it's just that sometimes friendship becomes too much like hard work. Having to go out to places that you don't want or talk about things you have no interest in just to sustain a relationship. Plus then there's the incessent door knocking and mobile ringing to see what you're doing when actually, all you want is a quiet night in. </p> <p>It's also probably somewhat psychological too. When I was 19, my mum died of cancer and all my friends decided to abandon me. So somewhere in my messed up psyche is a little demon telling me that all friends are traitors. Having said that, from experience, I've always found that whenever I've needed anything from any of my friends, they have always let me down (whereas I would, without fail do/get anything they needed me to). Certainly, none of them were there "when the rain starts to pour".</p> <p>Then there's all the gossip and back-stabbing. If someone talks badly about my friends, I defend them to the bitter end but I'm certain that none of my friends would do that for me. They've all bitched and had a good laugh about me at some point. I'm often told that I shouldn't judge people by my own standards but why shouldn't I? I certainly do not compromise my standards when it comes to everything else so why should I judge people by any other standards?</p> <p>And finally there's the stupid, pointless, endless questions about relationships. "Oh he's so good to me, but he doesn't excite me, should I sleep with my ex? Will that fix things?", "Oh, why doesn't she like me, I've stalked her non stop but she still doesn't like me, Why, Andy, WHY??". I wouldn't mind if they only asked me these questions once and then actually thought about my advice and used it, but no, it's the same question every few days in a slightly different format.</p> <p>All of which makes me realise that actually I'm glad I have no true friends at this juncture. And it seems that I am no the only one - apparently 25% of Americans don't have a single friend. Sure sometimes it stings when it's the weekend and noone asks you to do things but actually the pros outweigh the cons. Well for me anyway. </p> <p>In many cases, people don't have to alienate or push people away to have no friends...they just simply don't have any. Maybe they are weird or ugly or socially awkward and just can't make any friends. I hate it when people say smuggly "To make friends, all you have to do is be yourself!". But it is exactly BECAUSE they are themselves (weird, ugly, socially awkward) that they have no friends - the advice is logically self defeating. I know I am certainly not myself when I meet new people otherwise I'd be selfish and self-centred - not exactly attractive. How many times have we noticed that our friends aren't how they were when we first met them. </p> <p>When all is said and done, making friends and sustaining friendships is a game. It may be painfully tiring or incredibly exhilarating but ultimately, like any game, you stand to either win the lot or lose it all . And if you don't want to play the game, then get off the court. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/06/the_no_friends_appreciation_society~3535804/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>leisurelifeloveentertainmentfriendshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/06/the_no_friends_appreciation_society~3535804/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/05/have_i_been_a_fool_just_say~3532692/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2008-01-05:/2008/01/05/have_i_been_a_fool_just_say~3532692/Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:20:47 +0100 <p>I only ever seem to write blogs when I'm depressed - perhaps there's some modern day Einsteinian theory for that. Anyway, since I haven't written for (x amount of) months, let's do a quick review in less than 1000 words.</p> <p>So I got a job. Having a great time despite having to semi-betray one of my colleagues within the first few months. It's a long story but basically, she has been in the company a year longer than I have, but due to, let's say "complications", she and my boss fell out. When the time came for someone to run a new small project, my boss decided to choose me rather than her, even though she has alot more experience. I toyed with the idea of asking my boss to give the project to her - after all, it rightly belongs to her. On the other hand, if I just handed her the project, I'd be wasting an opportunity that every architect prays for. In the end, I just kept my head down and got on with my work. This led to some awkward silences, to the point where she had to move teams. I'm not sure if she blames me or not but I don't really talk to her anymore or perhaps I should say, she doesn't talk to me anymore. It's a shame since she was the first person I became friends with when I arrived at the office.</p> <p>Anyway, that pretty much catches us up again - Oh I missed out the part where I intentionally boycotted the office Xmas party but that's not really that interesting (*scoff* like ANY of this interesting...)</p> <p>Anyway, I'm pretty fed up of people (especially my dad) accusing me of not knowing the value of a pound just because I never had to work during my childhood or my teenage years. Ok, so I never had pocket money either because my parents would buy me whatever I wanted but that didn't mean that I would just think - "Ooh shopping spree" everyday. If anything it made me even MORE wary about money because I felt guilty about spending it. My parents had enough money to send my brother and I to private school, but I don't think we could ever be considered as rich. My dad would often come home telling us just how much debt we were in (great parenting skills) and just how little money we had. If my parents became even poorer because of my spending habits, it meant that the whole family was financially screwed. Can you even imagine the amount of pressure that has on a child? As a result, I have always been very careful with any money that is given to me, to the point where my friends think that I'm "tighter than a duck's arse" (their words, not mine)</p> <p>When I got my new job, instead of blowing my month's wages on drinking and fancy Italian restaurants, I'd try to limit my spending. Don't get me wrong, I still buy expensive (and sometimes pointless) things, but I make sure that there is enough in the bank. Anyway, after 3 months of working, I have managed to save quite abit. I was hoping to buy myself a new laptop and some clothes this month when out of the blue, my dad came up to me this morning and asked me to borrow some money. Now usually, I'd be ok with this, because this man has put me through private school for 12 years and has provided me with everything that I have ever wanted but this time I was a bit annoyed.</p> <p>In the past few years, my dad has borrowed alot from me and my brother. He has borrowed atleast £90,000 (yes, 90) from our mother's inheritance to save his failing business, which he intends to pay back - how he is going to do that is another question. In an effort to pay back his escalating debts and taxes etc, he also got me to buy the house that we are already living in with my inheritance money (so that he gets the money to pay his debts). So now I own a house that I don't want, AND I'm paying for a mortgage on a house that I don't want and I almost have no inheritance money left. </p> <p>This would all be fine, but then this morning, he asked to borrow another £7000, I only have £8000 in the bank so he is pretty much taking almost all of it. He says he will pay it back, but I know he never will because basically, he is unable to. I'm not sure what I can do - I only hope that he doesn't take any of my brother's inheritance. His only justification is that when he dies, my brother and I will stand to inherit alot from him. Growing up, that was his justification for everything. If he missed our parents evening or school play, he would tell us, "you 2 stand to inherit so much when I die". I guess it made him feel better for never being there when we needed him. </p> <p>As a father, my dad is a pretty bad parent. He never looked after us when we were growing up, he cheated on my mum when she was alive, he's married another woman within a year of my mother dying and hasn't told my brother and I about it (whoops!) and he refuses to see that his business is pretty much dead - but despite all this, I can't stand around and watch him fail. I'm not heroic and I'm not selfless, I just can't help myself.</p> <p>It's even more absurb when I force myself to type it out: a 24 year old just out of university having to use everything he has earned to pay the escalating debts of a 52 year old man who runs 3 businesses. When my dad lets me down and justifies himself by saying I stand to inherit alot of money from him, I always tell him the same thing: that money is not important to me. And he will always say "that's because you don't know the value of a pound". But it is exactly BECAUSE I know the value of a pound that I realise that money is not valuable. Money is not as valuable as going to your child's school play, or spending time with your family, or realising the consequences when you cheat. Certainly, money can't buy your own son's love nor his respect.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/05/have_i_been_a_fool_just_say~3532692/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>moneydebtarchitectureparentsdadhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2008/01/05/have_i_been_a_fool_just_say~3532692/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/15/the_secret_to_slowing_down_time~2985368/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-09-15:/2007/09/15/the_secret_to_slowing_down_time~2985368/Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:28:18 +0200 <p>One of the reasons I decided to start blogging was the fact that I believed that by recollecting thoughts and opinions about each day, one somehow slowed down the passage of time. To acknowledge each day as it passes, you stop the days from blurring into one. That was the theory, anyway.</p> <p>As some of you know, I have a crippling fear of growing older - unfortunately the past week has only exaccerbated my phobia.</p> <p>Tuesday</p> <p>I had my graduation today - marking the end of my full-time scholastic life. It was sad, not because it meant that I would have to get a job now but because throughout my life I actually enjoyed school and education. I enjoyed learning, the games we used to play in the playground, the strange fads at school, the "it" word of the week. Looking back, I even enjoyed being forced to play rugby in the middle of winter, in what can only be described as cotton hotpants and having to do cross country in the blistering cold. Being in education gave me an excuse not to do "responsible adult things" because I was a student. But now the scapegoat has been brought to the abattoir and mercilessly slaughtered and all of a sudden I'm forced to deal with all those responsibilities that have been long overdue.</p> <p>(On a side note - the graduation was such a chore - having to meet/AVOID everyone's parents and trying to stop your own from embarrassing you was not my idea of a celebration. The ceremony was a snooze-inducing 2 hours long and I looked fat in every photo.)</p> <p>Wednesday</p> <p>I handed in my "statement of particulars" to Arup to day. This marked the beginning of my so-called professional life, therefore obliterating any pretense of youth. I shudder everytime I remember that from this day forward, I will have to work for 5 days a week, week after week, year after year until I retire perhaps 40 years from now. I'm already counting the days...</p> <p>Saturday</p> <p>My younger brother moved to halls today and starts university on Monday. I must admit I was biting my lip to curb the pools of tears from falling from my eyes - not only because we are extremely close and this is the first time we have been separated, but also because I finally had to accept that I am old. Now that my younger brother is at university - an adult, it only leaves one conclusion: I guess I must be one too although I certainly do not feel like one.</p> <p>I'm not a great believer of horoscopes. So many of them are skewed and open ended, designed to comfort and deceive people but I found one today that was oddly accurate:</p> <p>A Gemini personality remains youthful and young all through their life. They just never "grow up" in the way demanded by society. In Gemini, "the boy", is forever present.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/15/the_secret_to_slowing_down_time~2985368/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>geminiarchitecturejobgraduationoldagehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/15/the_secret_to_slowing_down_time~2985368/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/08/title~2945542/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-09-08:/2007/09/08/title~2945542/Sat, 08 Sep 2007 13:47:41 +0200 <p>I've always been a stickler for grammar. Perhaps it's the fact that I was brought up by parents who do not speak English as a first language and therefore I feel I have something prove or maybe it's the fact that I'm just naturally pedantic to the point of tedium. In any case, with the advent of email and text speech, we seem to have reached an age where we freely bastardise our language on a daily basis and do not even realise it - adamant that we are correct in our usage. Here are 3 of the worst cases:</p> <p>1) "H-aitch" - The letter "H" is pronounced AITCH, not H-AITCH. Just because the letter phonetically creates an "H" sound, it does not mean that the letter itself is necessarily pronounced with the sound it creates - Otherwise "W" would be pronounced a "Wuble Wu". People who pronounce it inaccurately i.e. half of London - please do not look at me with distain when I pronounce it without the "H" because it is you in the wrong - not me.</p> <p>2) "I would/should/could of" - This stems from the inaccurate/lazy pronunciation of "would've", the shortened version of would have. </p> <p>3) "Is it?" - People who use "Is it?" as a confirmation to any statement, even if it is in the wrong tense and makes no grammatical sense. Example:<br> Person 1: "I'm going to my friend's house this weekend"<br> Person 2: "Is it?"<br> The word you are looking for is either: "Really?" or "Are you?" - not "is it?"</p> <p>That's not to say that I am perfect at grammar either - far from it. My spoken rhetoric is attrocious. I add "like" or "you know" whenever I need to think of a word and I add "SO" in inappropriate places to express that X will happened "to a very great extent or degree" i.e. "I'm SO not paying for this". Language evolves, words are replaced and new ones are invented. Noone speaks or writes in the correct manner in this day and age anyway and that is fine - but let us have some dignity in our language and atleast preserve the very basics of our language and heritage. Heaven forfend that we should end up as a hoard of ignorant, inarticulate slack-jawed yokels. </p> <p>And by the way, Timberland - "The Way I are"? THE WAY I ARE??? You're on my list.</p> <p>Here endeth the lesson,</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/08/title~2945542/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>languagegrammarhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/08/title~2945542/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/02/generation_x~2909569/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-09-02:/2007/09/02/generation_x~2909569/Sun, 02 Sep 2007 09:46:07 +0200 <p>Curiosity got the better of me last night and I finally succumbed to looking up some of my class mates from school on Myspace. I haven't kept in contact with these people for 6 years and to be honest I don't intend to, but I just couldn't resist seeing what they look like now and what they're up to.</p> <p>After a few hours trawling through myspace, it seems obvious that everyone has either a) moved to America b) become a snowboader and/or c) Jesus, Christ almighty, got MARRIED. Did everyone around me grow up while I was left to wave the Generation X flag on my own? Looking at their profiles it made me sadly realise that this is no longer my generation. My generation was all about tamagotchis, the Spice girls and mini-discs. This generation now belongs to people like my brother - the 18 year olds who use youtube to express their opinions and who take pseudo-professional pictures of themselves in various model like poses, sucking in their checks with their eyes squinted, staring into mid-distance and upload them onto myspace. </p> <p>We used to be the people who dictated what was in fashion and what music people should be listening to, but it seems that we have now all become obselete, ready to be thrown away and replaced by Generation X.01. </p> <p>Fortunately I've been told that I still look 21 and I still get IDed sometimes - unless I don't shave - so I can still pull off skinny straightleg jeans and cardigans and delude myself...but there's a point when that just becomes plain weird. That inevitable man belly that comes with age has yet to develop but from the myspace profile pictures, it seems it has already taken some of my old class mates and my hair has yet to recede but it's only a matter of time.</p> <p>But it's not all doom and gloom. After looking at the profiles, it also reminded me of how focused I am and how different my life is from these people. I'm somewhat glad because it seems as though many of these people who made my life a misery at school, are now suffering from a distinct lack of direction in their lives - either temping or unemployed, supported by their family. I guess that is the curse of private school. Everything is spoonfed to you and when that silver-spoon is finally taken away, it takes great strength not to abuse your sudden freedom.</p> <p>Anyway, if anyone asks - I use myspace and youtube, I blog, I have an ipod, I download from bit torrents, I wear skinny jeans and cardigans and I pretend to care about global warming. </p> <p>Talkin' 'bout my generation,</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/02/generation_x~2909569/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>myspacegeneration-xagehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/09/02/generation_x~2909569/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/31/std_paranoia_fest~2903063/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-08-31:/2007/08/31/std_paranoia_fest~2903063/Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:31:36 +0200 <p>My friend told me the other day that he watching a programme a while ago about a woman who was diagnosed with HIV, 10 years after a 1 night stand when she was 16. She didn't suspect anything until 10 years later and she was going for a check up. Thanks to this we are now both on a full scale HIV paranoia-fest.</p> <p>I've never had unprotected sex but the woman's story freaked me out. What if I have it and don't know? Now I'm analysing every muscle-ache I get, every sore on my tongue that I see. I'm trying to remember whether I have ever had a fever 4 weeks after I have had sex. I'm trawling through websites looking for any stred of consolance. Everything it seems, bears a risk - if it's not HIV, then it's herpes, chlamydia or syphilis and the worst thing is, none of them seem to have obvious symptoms. </p> <p>I guess the only safe kind of sex is with yourself - atleast it's with someone you love....although, don't you go blind from that?</p> <p>Andy</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/31/std_paranoia_fest~2903063/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>hivsexstdshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/31/std_paranoia_fest~2903063/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/26/offers_and_traitors~2874808/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-08-26:/2007/08/26/offers_and_traitors~2874808/Sun, 26 Aug 2007 21:26:28 +0200 <p>Apologies for the lack of blogs lately. I knew this would happen. I always get all excited about something and then I get bored unfortunately.</p> <p>So since the last time I blogged, my "friend" has supposedly given in my CV yet I haven't heard anything from his company yet, I turned down my job at my old office my arch-nemesis/best friend got herself a job at Norman Fosters (GRRRRRRRRR....) and I got a new job offer from Arup! </p> <p>So let's start with my arch-nemesis/best friend. She was offered an interview at Norman Foster's Office after we displayed our work at the exhibition. Not sure WHY they chose her over me but whatever. I suspect it was somewhat to do with chance rather than talent considering they also asked someone who had FAILED the year - so go figure. Anyway for those who don't know, Sir Norman is the architect behind the Gherkin in London, so extremely prestigious as you can imagine. It annoys me, because even though we are best friends, we are also the bitterest of rivals and her managing to blag a place working at one of the most prestigious firms in England without even trying of course, means that she is winning. Having said that, it will also mean that she will have to work til 4am sometimes and become just another cog in a well oiled machine...so I'm not too bitter.</p> <p>I sent in my CV to Arup by email on Monday and got an interview within a few hours! My interview was then scheduled for Wednesday. On Wednesday I had my interview and within 2 hours they had offered me a place! You see, people, that's how it should be! From unemployed to job offer in 3 days! However they are paying me £24,000 which is £2,000 lower than the average - but at the same time, they are given me £4000 as golden hand shake which effectively puts me on £28,000 - although what happens next year? Do I go back down to £24,000? My rival/best friend is getting £26k so I'm trying to negotiate my salary as we speak, although everyone I've spoken to has said that it's pointless. Whatever.</p> <p>Then finally, let's talk about my traitor of a friend who was supposed to give in my CV to his boss. After 2 weeks of excuses and no response, he tells me that he accidently "SPILT WATER ON MY CV" - whoopsee! Whoopsee indeed -undeterred, I printed off another one and demanded he hand it in, immediately. A few days later and he tells me his boss has officially received my CV, yet here we are 1 week on and no email, no interview - nothing. I've sent an email to his boss just to make sure that he has actually received it. I mean, talk about suspicious, right? I've gone through every scenario in my head and I just can't make sense of it at the moment. Looks like a job for Hercule Poirot. </p> <p>Anyway, wish me luck.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/26/offers_and_traitors~2874808/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/26/offers_and_traitors~2874808/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/14/msn_cloaking_device~2807610/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-08-14:/2007/08/14/msn_cloaking_device~2807610/Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:03:59 +0200 <p>What is up with people who pretend to go offline on msn as soon as they see you log in? I wish they would block me instead - it's so much easier and so much less obvious... </p> <p>I mention this because I've notice my friend (the one who got a distinction) doing this to me lately everytime I sign in. I know for a fact he is doing this because when i log in I appear offline alot and see him log in...then after a few seconds, as soon as I appear online, magically his name disappears....then after a few minutes when i appear offline, his name comes back online again. It's happened a few times now so i'm sure it's not me being paranoid. </p> <p>I know it's because i keep asking him whether his boss has seen my CV yet...but I'm only hassling him because he waited like a week before giving in my CV. Infact, I'm not even sure if he's handed it in yet. Do you think he just secretly doesn't want me working at his office? </p> <p>Hmm...Paranoid Andy-roid.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/14/msn_cloaking_device~2807610/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>architecturefriendsjobhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/14/msn_cloaking_device~2807610/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/12/fake_email_addresses~2794470/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-08-12:/2007/08/12/fake_email_addresses~2794470/Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:33:26 +0200 <p>I've given many fake email addresses over the years - yes I'm a dog, but it's surely easier to give a fake address than to say "I only wanted to sleep with you and don't really want to talk to you again" or "I never really wanted to talk to you but my friends weren't here yet". </p> <p>Anyway, the hustler finally got conned on Friday and now I know how it feels. I tried every iteration I could - was it hotmail.com or hotmail.co.uk? Was there an underscore or a dot? I tried for half a day until i realised, that maybe the email was a fake. I should have known really considering they had to think about it before giving it to me, i mean, who think about their email address in this day and age. It's a shame really because we had so much in common.</p> <p>Anyway, I've learnt my lesson, in future I'll stick to "I DON'T LIKE YOU and I don't want to give you my email address, OK???!"</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/12/fake_email_addresses~2794470/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>relationshipsemailfakehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/12/fake_email_addresses~2794470/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/10/only_happy_when_it_rains~2784776/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-08-10:/2007/08/10/only_happy_when_it_rains~2784776/Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:43:17 +0200 <p>Just as I feel things are getting better in my life, God/Allah/Buddha/Krishna/Fate/Satan always finds a way to throw a spanner in the works</p> <p>Yesterday, I met up with a friend for coffee. We were at university together and we were never like Best Friends Forever, but he was a cool guy who you could talk to. Anyway when we graduated, I passed with first class honours while he passed with a 2.1. I knew he worked hard but he was never the type of person who would actively go for the highest mark, prefering to work at his own pace and settle for whatever he got. I'm not saying that I am necessarily better than him, perhaps more driven and determined/ruthless - yes, but in terms of design and Architecture, I guess we were on the same level.</p> <p>So when we had to go back to University to do the next part of our course, we had the choice of either staying at the same university or we could transfer to a different one. Because I don't like to settle, I decided to choose a more well renowned and let's say, "higher class" university whereas my friend decided to stay. It's always easy to slip back into a pair of comfortable shoes and I wanted a change.</p> <p>So 2 years of suffering and torture pass, we meet up for coffee again. I hear that he's got a DISTINCTION while I "only" passed. What's more, I learn that he didn't even have to work that hard for it.</p> <p>It annoys me because if I had stayed AND SETTLED FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, I could have got a distinction as well, instead I decided to go to go to a better university and I paid the price for it - I worked twice as hard as him and received a worse mark. I also learnt that one of the "weaker" students who is a mutual friend of ours, struggled throughout the year and still managed to get a commendation! </p> <p>However the most annoying thing is that I went to an interview for a job a few weeks ago where the interviewers on seeing my portfolio said to me that basically if i had submitted my work to a different university I would have got a much higher mark - and this is coming from 2 external examiners.</p> <p>I don't regret moving universities because I think I met a stronger class of student and I was forced to adapt to it whereas if I had stayed at my old univeristy i may have just stayed at the same level - as they say, when you play a weak opponent, your game suffers. It just grates a bit and there's always an underlying feeling of injustice.</p> <p>Of course, if this was a TV show, I would be "happy" for my friend - But that's just not me. Worst of all, I'm relying on this friend to get me an interview at his office so I can't break all ties and burn bridges, instead I have to pretend to be all chummy with him which is beginning to annoy me.</p> <p>Maybe I'm overacting, maybe this isn't that big a deal. Maybe I'm only happy when I'm not happy.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/10/only_happy_when_it_rains~2784776/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>jobarchitecturefriendsunhappysadhappyhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/10/only_happy_when_it_rains~2784776/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/08/denial_lala_land~2775156/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-08-08:/2007/08/08/denial_lala_land~2775156/Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:27:53 +0200 <p>So many people may have been wondering where I've been - actually considering like 2 people read this, "many people" might be somewhat sensationalist. </p> <p>Well, I've spent the last few weeks in Denial Lala land, theme park to those of us who don't want to deal with reality.</p> <p>A while ago i told you that i had a job offer from a place that I didn't really want to work at. Well, in the past few weeks, they have been pressuring me to make a decision. This would have been an easy decision if I had other offers (or actually bothered to send out CVs etc) but the fact is, i was hoping that this offer would be my "back up" so that if all my other (yet to come) interviews were unsuccessful, i would still have a life line. </p> <p>Now they are threatening to fill my place if I don't make a decision soon. Meanwhile, I've just handed in my CV to my friend who works at a place I DO want to work at...but his boss's son has just died in a car accident which therefore means he's not at work to look at my CV. Also, there's no guarantee I'll get the job or an interview either, so i desperately need to keep that deflating life-ring floating. </p> <p>Anyway, I'm back in reality now but who knows for how long.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/08/denial_lala_land~2775156/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>jobarchitecturehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/08/08/denial_lala_land~2775156/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/31/wii_va_forever~2732321/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-07-31:/2007/07/31/wii_va_forever~2732321/Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:36:40 +0200 <p>After claims of me being fat from my loving family and god-family (I'm 6ft 3 and 75KG - which to me is not fat but whatever) I've been going on a diet. </p> <p>Ever since I was a child I have loved my food. My dad oftens says that I was brought up on oysters and lobsters. Unfortunately I was also brought up in a family where food could never be wasted, which meant that we always had to finish what was on plate. In time however, this mantra was distorted and mutated into me becoming the "House Dustbin" - that is to say, if anyone else in the family couldn't finish THEIR food, they would automatically give it me. If I refused to eat it, I'd get the lecture about the poor orphans in Africa (...but wait, aren't the ones who are lecturing me, the ones who couldn't finish the food in the first place?) </p> <p>This continued until I was 14 when I literally became clinically obese. However in High School all that weight suddenly dropped off due to 2 reasons 1) We were all forced to do sports 5 times a week and 2) I never had lunch or dinner because I was fed up of sitting alone at the school lunch table. I had friends but I guess they never wanted to be seen sitting with me. Anyway, in time, I actually became quite skinny, although that last layer of flab over my lower abs has never shifted. </p> <p>Over the years, my weight has constantly fluctuated. Sometimes I'll look in the mirror and think I'm too skinny and will start to binge eat...and then suddenly, I'll realise that I've put on too much weight and will crash diet. I never seem to be at the correct weight. At the moment, I'm in my crash diet phase, although I'm pretty sure I'll be back to binge eating soon. </p> <p>Anyway, i was reading an article about how someone lost a ton of weight using the new Nintendo Wii. It sounded too good to be true but I tried it anyway and I must admit, I think it's working...of course u also have to cut down your calorie intake and actually play the games as though you were playing the real thing and move about - nothing is THAT easy. But I can definitely see some definition and the layer of flab on my lower abs is slowly shifting. Alot of people tell me that playing Wii is stupid when you can just go to the gym or ACTUALLY play tennis or boxing but actually the reason behind it is very simple - when I play WiiSports I can actually play without being watched or judged. If I miss the ball or hit a punchbag incorrectly, I don't get laughed at and finally, I don't actually get hurt playing on these games.</p> <p>After half an hour of playing on the Wii, you really do work up a sweat which must mean it's doing something. And even if it doesn't, atleast I'm having fun deluding myself.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/31/wii_va_forever~2732321/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>weightgodparentsarchitecturewiifriendshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/31/wii_va_forever~2732321/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/31/whatever_i_do_what_i_want~2729989/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-07-30:/2007/07/31/whatever_i_do_what_i_want~2729989/Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:21:01 +0200 <p>For the past few weeks, my blog has been averaging at about 14-25 readers a day which I'm pretty happy with. For some reason however, in the past few days, the view counter has gone beyond the 200s which means that those 14-25 of you reading my blog are reading them over and over again!! Either that, or it's the me neurotically checking my blogs for spelign misatkes...(it pains me to leave it like that - even as a joke).</p> <p>Actually, I just wanted to thank soyunperdedor specifically, for always leaving me messages...It always brings a smile to my face when i read them. As i said before, it makes such a difference and i really appreciate them. I wish people would comment more.</p> <p>So moan-time - My godparents went to Bluewater today. Since they've arrived at my house 2 LONG weeks ago, they've been trying to convince us that they are rich - which obviously can't be true since 1) they looks like Cletus and Brandine from the Simpsons and 2) if it was true, they'd be staying a fucking hotel - and not my room. </p> <p>Since they've been here, their daughter has supposedly spent £140 on her hair (it still looks shit, love) a few hundred on clothes and another few hundred on shoes - and no, not of the manolo variety...more like vans, converse etc (is that even possible?). It probably all stems from their inferiority complex - they see everything as a competition. If they see that I have a nintendo DS lite, they have to go out and get the PSP. If I have a nintendo Wii, they have to say how they have the PS 1, 2 and 3 - wow, congratulations. Would you like a medal?</p> <p>And then this evening, they cooked us some sort of shitty slop and called it dinner. It literally tasted of hot sick mixed with dirty underwear. I almost barfed whilst my brother sat at the table with a constant look of distain.</p> <p>Anyway, I will blog about something other than my godparents soon, but at the moment, they are the only thing on my mind.</p> <p>On a side note, my old office emailed me to ask about my decision. How do I delay them without saying "I'm still keeping my options open"? Toughy...Help!</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/31/whatever_i_do_what_i_want~2729989/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>architecturechildrenjobrelationshipssinglegodparentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/31/whatever_i_do_what_i_want~2729989/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/30/under_the_moonlight~2724212/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-07-29:/2007/07/30/under_the_moonlight~2724212/Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:47:57 +0200 <p>It's a full moon tonight. Along with the buzzing glare emmanating from my laptop, moonbeam shards are penetrating directly into my office, illuminating the hundreds of pens and scrap pieces of paper with half finished sketches that litter the room.</p> <p>Right, enough of the poetics -</p> <p>The godparents are back - not for 1 day, not even 2 - but 5 days!!!!!! I'm not sure if it's possible, but it seems as though they have become even more irritating. Perhaps in the 6 days that they were away, they were practising hard night and day because they thought that they JUST hadn't been annoying enough. Every movement they make, every word that they speak, seems to be tailor-made to specifically annoy me - from their endless conversations about my marriage (WHAT marriage???)and how I should be married before 30 so to avoid being "married late" to asking whether my female friend from uni has phoned again (what has that got to do with them?!!) </p> <p>The most annoying thing about them is just how PIG IGNORANT they are. Their son is, as I said before in a previous blog, unable to form sentences and only communicates with yelps and small words...My godparents are CONVINCED it has something to do with his tongue - their "logic" - if u can even call it that, is that he is unable to "pronounce" words because his tongue is "not right" and therefore he doesn't speak. I said to them that this clearly wasn't the case since, if that was true, he would be speaking full sentences but with distorted pronunciation which he CLEARLY isn't doing. He can pronounce some words perfectly but he never forms full sentences - which must mean it has something to do with his mind and brain. Well, as soon as I said this - cue disapproving stares from godparents and my dad, as though I WAS THE IGNORANT one.</p> <p>It's strange, while they were away, I didn't feel the need to blog once. And now they are back, I am straight back onto the computer. I guess it answers my previous question on why people blog - to vent without repercussion.</p> <p>No doubt more tomorrow,<br> Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/30/under_the_moonlight~2724212/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>godparentsarchitecturehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/30/under_the_moonlight~2724212/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/23/heaven_turns_back_to_hell~2685557/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-07-23:/2007/07/23/heaven_turns_back_to_hell~2685557/Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:27:19 +0200 <p>So the Godparents have finally gone. This should have been a happy occasion but today I feel a sense of sadness.</p> <p>I won't go into detail but I told a friend about something that I did, which he found disgusting and now he has decided to break all contact with me. I admit the thing that I did (which was NOT drugs, before you ask), could have put my life in danger but I knew what I was doing so actually it was EXTREMELY safe. Millions of people do it everyday. I kept telling him that I wouldn't be doing it again, but he says he has a set of rules to live by and this was something he couldn't forgive. He even told me he has NEVER considered me a friend. </p> <p>Last night I was sad but today I'm glad. Being "friends" (he may have never considered me a friend but I did) with someone like that is a lot of pressure. If it wasn't for this incident it would have been for another. He made out as though he's never made any mistakes before. I used to be just like him but I realised that by never forgiving anyone, you end up very lonely. Everyone make mistakes but it is those who vow never to make that mistake again who are the enlightened ones worth being friends with. He can stay on that pedestal and look down at me but soon enough he's going to be knocked off and will have to mingle with the rest of us "lowlives". </p> <p>It's unfortunate but I'm not going to die because of it. I sent him an email to say goodbye and goodluck and then wiped his address from my msn.</p> <p>And then after I sent that email, my brother came home telling me he had crashed his car. The car is a complete write off but luckily he had no injuries at all. </p> <p>So you see, I really do think that God hates me and doesn't want to see me happy. Just when I'm supposed to be enjoying myself, he throws this at me. </p> <p>Anyhow, more later</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/23/heaven_turns_back_to_hell~2685557/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>architecturegodgodparentsfriendshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/23/heaven_turns_back_to_hell~2685557/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/22/day_7_in_hell~2679335/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-07-22:/2007/07/22/day_7_in_hell~2679335/Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:16:33 +0200 <p>Oh my god, the end is almost near! Guys, we made it! Well, actually the godparents are coming back for a few days after they go to London so it's more of a reprieve rather than the end but atleast the worst of it is over. I hope that these last few hours go quickly...</p> <p>Yesterday, one of my friends (female) from uni phoned me from Hong Kong, I wasn't at home so my godfather picked it up. Anyway, my godparents have now decided to make a big deal about this. They are convinced that we are secret lovers. At the dinner table last night, they kept asking questions and giving me "advice" on life and love. I was like 1) She is a uni FRIEND and that is all and 2) You live in a backwater village in Austria, what the FUCK do you know? They are so old fashioned and ignorant, it hurts - my godmother has a MULLET! Yes a MULLET - no, not the fish, the HAIRCUT! In 2007! And my godfather wears socks with sandals! Anyway, I just heard them, whilst writing this blog talking about this incident with my dad, it's like WTF, a simple phonecall for me from my friend and you're bitching about it to my dad behind my back like it's national news? Atleast bitch about something interesting...and since when has it been any of their business? I haven't seen them in 14 years! </p> <p>The worst thing I hate is that my godfather and my dad seem to have this competition between them about who knows the most and who has done the best in life and therefore, we - i.e. their children get dragged into the cross fire alot - Oh Andy got first class honours at university, Oh Brenda got herself a job, Oh why is Andy not married? Oh why is Breda so overweight etc etc etc etc etc...</p> <p>The only person who seems to be completely unaffected by the godparents is my brother. He seems to have developped an immunity against them. I guess it's because he really doesn't care about being rude. At the dinner table while I'm trying to make forced uncomfortable conversation, he just doesn't talk. He's not even phased by awkward silences. When the godparents ask him a question, he gives them one word answers. If the godparents are watching TV, he heads upstair to go on the internet. He has no guilt. I wish I was more like him sometimes - but as I said along time ago - the eldest always bears the brunt of everything and I guess I have to have a sense of responsibility. </p> <p>Anyway, time for breakfast with the god parents - hurray.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/22/day_7_in_hell~2679335/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>godparentsarchitecturechildrenrelationshipsjobsinglehttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/22/day_7_in_hell~2679335/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/22/day_6_in_hell~2678377/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-07-21:/2007/07/22/day_6_in_hell~2678377/Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:01:26 +0200 <p>Apparently on the list of "why Andy is sub-human" drawn up by my Godparents, along with being over the hill and not married at 24....apparently I'm now fat as well.</p> <p>That comment made me really, really depressed. I even had to pretend to go to see a film just so that I could get out the house otherwise i think I would have fucking punched them into next week.</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/22/day_6_in_hell~2678377/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/22/day_6_in_hell~2678377/#commentshttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/21/day_5_in_hell~2673493/tag:architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk,2007-07-20:/2007/07/21/day_5_in_hell~2673493/Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:09:27 +0200 <p>Day 5 was not too bad actually - perhaps I've mellowed out to my godparents constant NEED to annoy me with questions on when I should be getting married and how OLD and OVER THE HILL I am. Fuck's sake - I GET IT, OK?</p> <p>Turns out my godfather's birthday was yesterday and not today- oh well, give a shit. Atleast he seemed genuinely(?) happy with my present. Also, my godmother and my godsister wanted me to take them into town to post a letter and then take them back home again. Sorry - does it look like I have a fucking taxi sign on my car? I was like: *fake* oh I wish I could but I'm meeting a friend. So I went off for a random drive and tried to stay out the house for 7 hours until dinner. </p> <p>Their son is annoying me. I've deduced from the many hours spent/wasted watching every Scrubs episode instead of working, that he is probably autistic. As I said in previous blogs, he's sweet but he always wants to hold my hand or get "near" me...which I just don't DO...When did us Brits all become American/European - what happened to the good old stiff upperlip and uneasy handshakes? Now it's all hugs and kisses - I can't stand that.</p> <p>Also, last night, some stupid bitch of a mosquito gave me the mother of all bites, my left hand has now swollen to twice the size of my right hand. I look like a freak with a club for a hand.</p> <p>Anyhow, off to bed now, safe in the knowlegde that THEY'll be gone in 2 days time (although according to my dad, they'll be back in a week's time to stay for a few days before flying back to Austria - oh happy day...)</p> <p>Good night</p> <p>Andy </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/21/day_5_in_hell~2673493/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>jobsinglerelationshipsarchitecturegodparentschildrenhttp://architectsanonymous.blog.co.uk/2007/07/21/day_5_in_hell~2673493/#comments