There was no Roast last week. I am sorry. Consequently, these week things are going to be a little bit fatter than they have been lately – unlike me. You see, for these past few months I have been going to the gym three times a week and eating (slightly more) healthily like a good little girl. As a direct result of this, my back is a gazillion times better and I’ve lost 12.75 inches in total. That figure is mighty impressive till you find out that it is the total of six measurements (bust, waist, hips, thighs, calves, arms) but it still works out at 2 inches on average per section which I’m hellishly proud of even if no one else is! It doesn’t equate to the promised “dress size in six weeks” but then I don’t live on cloud cuckoo land, so I was never actually expecting that. Just being able to last all day without crippling lower back pain and to see the reemergence of arm muscles I haven’t seen since I did archery three times a week is reward enough. And motivation to keep going with what the instructor rather worryingly referred to as “phase 2” in my reassessment on Friday. Plus I “wibble less” when I walk, or so the Crazy Canal Man would have me believe, which has to be good in anyone’s book.

There are two downsides I can see heading looming on the healthy horizon – the first is that I’ve been down this road before. By summer 2005, after nearly a year of dedicated gym going and healthy eating, I was at a point I was very happy with. I wasn’t the ideal the media would have us believe is the only option, but I looked good for my body type which is always going to be sturdy rather than sylph. Then I stopped going and within a handful of months I was back to the beginning again. It’s rather demoralising to think that I’m one of those poor people who goes to seed easily and who has to constantly fight to stay in the same neighbourhood as ‘in shape’. The other downside is that already there is a tape-measurable decrease in my bust. Not that the damn things couldn’t do with being a bit less unwieldy, but I don’t want to go too far with that trend. I mean if nothing else it would mean that little old ladies no longer called me a shameless hussy.

And on that note, I think it’s time I stopped embarrassing myself even more than I normally do, and give you what you came here for:

It’s possible that the trend for potential employers to google applicants could be illegal. Whichever way the law cookie finally crumbles, if nothing else this illustrates that you can never be sure who’s reading what you write and put online. I’ve come to terms with that (more or less, with a few internal grumbles and reluctant self-moderation). Have you? My dad reads Bright Meadow. So does my boss. So does one guy who I secretly adore with all my heart. So do a few people who’ve made it clear they’d like it if I adored them. So, for that matter, does at least one person from a company I’d really like to work for. If I thought consciously that they (and the rest of you) are my audience all the time I’d probably be paralyzed and never blog again, but always in the back of my mind is the thought “oh crap, what’s that going to look like in one/two/three/ten years…”

The Golden Compass (good movie, great books) was released here this week. When I read the books the first time around I kinda missed out on the whole anti-establishment kick Pullman is on, but reading them a second time around it is kind of unmissable. The movie sticks fairly true to this message, for which I am grateful. I’m even more grateful that Pullman isn’t bowing to pressure and is publicly stating the books are about killing God.

The best picture, ever

For the Crazy Canal Man with his distressing tendency to drop things in the canal

Twitter on CSI

Ever wondered what the frell the difference is between an espresso, American, cappuccino and a flat white? Wonder no more.

I want one!

ProBlogger asked a good question the other week: how does your comment policy affect your readership? It got me thinking and will be a longer blog post in the near(ish) future. Till then, think on the question will you? I’d like some input 🙂

And you wonder why I no longer do long distance relationships?

If you’re intrigued as to what I was getting up to (in a blogging way at least) last week whilst I was locked out of Bright Meadow, go take a look at Bright Meadow 2. I’d also bookmark that site if I were you because it’s going to be where I decamp to when/if there are further problems with this domain. *sigh*

Want some free books? Keep an eye on the Book Depository throughout December. You could also do worse than going here for your normal book shopping needs with their decent prices and free shipping.

How do you defeat an angry moose? (Other than putting on a new episode of SG1 and feeding her chocolate?) Why, with Warcraft of course.

The government has pledged to do more for dyslexic children. Good. I will say that dyslexia isn’t just about reading/writing – it’s about memory and a totally different way of organising your mental world. I work with people who are a lot further down the dyslexic spectrum than I am and I am daily surprised by how things as simple as using non-white paper (yellow for preference – we have colourful paperwork now!) and a non-alphabetic filing system make all the difference. Plus it is about catching the signs early on. I can’t help but think how my life might have been different if mine was diagnosed when I younger, instead of my English teacher just saying when I was nine “her spelling does raise the eyebrows”, that my handwriting was shocking, my hand/eye coordination left a lot to be desired, my short-term memory was just plain crap, and I was incapable of telling left from right. All of those things are still true, I’ve just learnt to work my way round them. And it’s not that I can’t tell left from right exactly. I know which way is left and in my head I’m saying “left”, I just say “right” instead.

As if it wasn’t hard enough to think of things not to write for Bright Meadow, for the next two weeks I am going to be feeling guilty because I’m not guest blogging for Footsteps in the Mirror. If you don’t already read Edrei’s great blog, why not give it a whirl and be my cheerleaders?

The more I read about the Golden Compass, the more I’m surprised it ever actually became a movie!

Prince Caspian – hopefully they will have done a better job with Aslan in this movie, but I’m still looking forward to seeing how Hollywood has trampled over some childhood favourites 😉

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – this was a beautiful, inspirational, sad book. Here’s hoping the film does it justice.

Mad Money – I don’t think I can give this a pithy introduction. One for the DVD rental I think, but… could be good?

Persepolis – I linked to this a few weeks back, but the resolution was all patchy, making the subtitles unreadable. Have another look.

Man in the Chair

And that’s it. Hopefully I’ll still be at this domain next weekend. If I’m not, hightail it over to my backup