I had two friends come to visit me this weekend. Phil and Steve came down for the weekend from Yorkshire and stayed over. Had a good chance to chat and joke, play some games, have some drink. I had a good time all in all. We went out for a trip around the Bullring on the Sunday as Steve wanted to have a wander around some of the shops and see what was on offer, as well as a chance to just have a general wander around Birmingham, so we saw the Bullring, Palisades, Pavilion and Mailbox in Birmingham, then went for Sushi for lunch within the Mailbox (as Steve was very much in the mood for it).

Parents also set off on their holiday this Friday too. I got the occasional message as they set off, so I know they got there OK and hope they have a great time away. I’ll try to send them the occasional text to see if they manage to get enough signal to pick them up but probably won’t speak to them much…let them enjoy their time away

Started a new diet plan today in the hopes that this one might actually stick and be effective. Was motivated by an unexpected and rather troubling comment from someone a while ago that I never expected to hear come from them, but it has been said now. I genuinely don’t know if this diet would make any difference to it, but it’s something that I would like to do for myself, so I might as well try sticking it out.

Also got my media centre back up and running shortly before the weekend, so assuming I find some way to connect it to the network (I don’t have any cables long enough at the moment, and I don’t have a wireless PCI card yet) then I will be able to start streaming/watching things from my main PC in various different rooms around the house. It could also be quite handy for sharing iTunes around the house and letting me access my music collection in different rooms.

Mits also brought me his first live present last night. A sparrow that was still very much alive in the living room. I shoo’d the cats off (who had decided not to kill it. I assume offering it me instead). I managed to wrap it up in a towel and keep it warm, and after speaking to the RSPCA advice line they suggested that I place it in a cardboard box and keep it in a warm place until morning, then take it to a VETs down the road from me (where the RSPCA would cover the vet bills). The bird was in a bit of a bad shape. It had lost most of the feathers from its mid-back and was bleeding a bit from there, plus its left wing was injured in quite a similar way, but it was still moving its eyes and its feet (not much head action though and everything was done very slowly by the bird). Unfortunately when I came back downstairs in the morning the bird had died during the night, so there was no need for the VETs trip. I have placed the bird back in the box and will have to bury it later today when I get home.

I’ve also been asked a couple of times by my parents to put a birthday list online. It is very much a work in progress and may be added to over time but it can currently be found in the events section of the website. I don’t really expect any birthday presents, but if you wanted to have a glance at the list feel free. I may end up using it as more of a reminder of the things I would like to buy if I ever find myself with 2 pennies to rub together in the future.