bluefirebird: (smirk)
OK, So I'm having trouble holding it together at my mother's this morning because a helpful neighbour replaced the bolt on the side gate. A still perfectly serviceable old bolt, that has been there ( despite several gates) all my life.

The bolt itself didn't need replacing, just all that was needed was the extra piece of wood that he put under the catch, because where the catch fitted the holes in the original wood had had the screws removed and replaced too many times over the years.

It is a job I would have done myself - and kept the old bolt yet again - if I didn't spend all my time here achieving nothing while Mum witters the time away...

NoH8

Jun. 24th, 2012 01:51 pm
bluefirebird: (Default)
Originally posted by [livejournal.com profile] ferneberga at NoH8
Originally posted by [livejournal.com profile] the_proofreader at NoH8
Originally posted by [livejournal.com profile] ellenscult at NoH8
There's an advert I'd dearly love to see made. I don't think it will, at least not any time soon, but I can live in hope, right? This year, here in the UK, the Olympics are due to start sometime soon. There'll be athletes from all over the world, sportsmen and women, coming together in a unity of purpose that transcends competition. So right now would be a fantastic time to send this message.

I would have this advert be shots of all our sportsmen and women, the ones who are competing in the Olympics, the (insert nationality of your choice -[British]) football squad (male and female), rugby team, cricket team. I'd have them saying a few words each, just talking to the camera, to the people watching at home. And what I'd have them say is this:

It doesn't matter what colour we are, if we're male, female, fifteen, twenty-five, thirty-five, forty. We're proud to be TeamGB. We're proud to be athletes, sportsmen, sportswomen. We're proud to represent our country playing the sports we love.

But for some of us, playing sport, taking part, competing, being part of a team, means living with fear. Not fear of losing, fear of failing, fear of not being good enough. It means living with the fear of being found out, of being hated for who we are, because of our sexuality. It means having to hide the people we love, the people who are most important to us.

But being gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, asexual doesn't affect our ability to hit the ball, kick the ball, hit the target, run, jump, swim, dive, row, sail, box, cycle, ride. Sport is about equality. Just as there's no place for racism in sport, there's no place for homophobia.

NoH8.

Like I said, I can't see this advert getting made. But wouldn't it be really cool if it did?

If you want to repost to your own journal (and please feel free to edit), here's an ever-so helpful button:

Fic: Fate

Mar. 3rd, 2012 06:37 pm
bluefirebird: (Default)
Title: Fate
Author: BlueFireBird
Rating: PG
Pairing: Gibbs/Abby
Word Count: 560
Status: Complete (one-shot)
Category: Angst
Spoilers: 7x22 'Borderland' (and every other episode dealing with Gibbs 'secret')
Summary: My take on Gibbs' thoughts at the end of Borderland
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the DVDs. Copyright acknowledged to the respective holders. Thanks to all involved in the production of the TV series for the inspiration.

A/N: I wrote this in May 2010 immediately after the episode aired - originally as an untitled episode tag and posted to the Gabby Forum - for all of the Gabby fans throwing things at their TV when Abby asked Gibbs to tell her he loved her like a daughter... It's had a couple of very minor tweaks since then (commas & italics).
I deliberately didn't introduce the characters, so if you don't know who I'm talking about you are reading the wrong story go watch the episode. *grin*



click for the fic )

---
bluefirebird: (Default)
[Error: unknown template qotd]

Broken.


---
bluefirebird: (Default)
[Error: unknown template qotd]

Well my other half died suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep five months ago.

Given the choice, I would give up friends AND family to have him back, but nobody gave me the choice...

Meme

Feb. 1st, 2012 09:07 am
bluefirebird: (Default)
Here's a little meme to see who's reading my posts. So, if you read this, leave me a one-word comment about your day that starts with the third letter of your LJ USERNAME. Only one word please. Then repost so I can leave a word for you. Don't just post a word and not copy - that's not as much fun!

Testing

Dec. 31st, 2011 03:50 pm
bluefirebird: (Default)
First Post - Testing
bluefirebird: (Default)
I'd like to say a thankyou to all my friends on here and on twitter (I'm struggling to keep up over there!) this year.

Thankyou for all your comments and support - my life is progressing in fits and starts at the moment and there are comments that I wanted to reply to and haven't worked up the effort to (I might, yet, you never know).

It has been a pleasure and an insight to know you all online - reading of other people's lives helps put my own into perspective better than much of the shallow contact I have with many of my RL friends.

Meeting Amy and Hanne (and Bunny) was a highlight of the year, I'm sorry it was only a flying visit.

May 2012 bring you all health and happiness and fulfilment of dreams.


.
bluefirebird: (Default)
You know you have got it bad when talking on a message board about a completely different set of rules and regs you type "Rule 12" when what you are actually talking about is "reg 11"!!

Update

Nov. 22nd, 2011 12:49 am
bluefirebird: (Default)
Thanks, all.

Major fail from the NHS - not only have they got to the point where Mum is frightened to call the ambulance for fear of less than stella care to follow, but I tried to ring NHS Direct for "reassurance". On the 24hr helpline they said something like 4 hours wait for non-emergency discussions and additionally there was a recorded message saying to have the patient's details to hand. After a while I hung up and eventually rang the manager of my Aunt's care-home who made the mistake of saying "ring any time" when I told her about Pete's death.

They are only a half mile from my parents and she and her husband went to visit Mum for me - although she is not medically qualified (as far as I know) she does have far more experience than Mum or I on the condition of elderly people who are under the weather and assessing as to whether an ambulance is necessary.

She thinks Dad might be being pulled down by a urinary infection - something that seems to get to elderly folks a lot from what I am beginning to understand. She's made him drink a cup of tea, found that he does indeed have a slightly raised temperature and helped make him comfortable in the armchair with his feet up. So he's gonna spend the night there. And I imagine the Doc's gonna be called out in the morning.

Mum is probably going to spend a sleepless night in bed and I'm about to collapse into my own bed at 1am some two hours after the "early" night that I'd already missed by 11, before all this kicked off.

I'm due over there tomorrow anyway - but looks like I need to arrange my own go-bag by the front door for the immediate future.

Which all still leaves me wondering what the point is...

In other news - I am beginning to get the idea that despite having spouses of their own to hug them, Pete's kids are almost as much in bits as I am.
bluefirebird: (Default)
As all of you married or in committed relationships will know - it is your partner who is supposed to ignore you, right? Well, perhaps surprisingly, for the most part Pete didn't ignore what I said, he actually listened and remembered. Now he's gone everyone else is not listening, or are ignoring me, instead.

We have an AGM coming up and which I am trying to organise. Pete, as he always attended the clubroom, was my go-between in sorting it out.

The clubroom is held at a social club and there is also another cycling club there that we know well. We both have our AGM at pretty much the same time, originally we had a private room that we met in where we held our AGM, and they booked a room at the back of the hall, but "our" room has been made open plan, so both cycling clubs now need to book the hall and therefore have it different weeks. The memorable year was when they made the change to the rooms and we suddenly found that we needed to use the hall they had booked - for a half-hour later start than our AGM - and we dived into their room and got through the AGM in less than 30 mins and then got out their way...

As expected the other club picked December 1st for their AGM and I was going to go for our "usual" date of December 8th. Then our potential-new-club-president asked could I not make it that week because he wants to take his wife away on a long weekend to celebrate her birthday...

OK, so I'll make it the 15th. Then my ex-work colleagues said I am invited to their works Xmas dinner which will be that week, and might be the Thursday or the Friday, it's not defined yet.

Now one decision that I have been able to make at the moment is that I would rather not spend the evening holding the AGM when I could be at the works Xmas dinner with the guys.

So I make some phone calls and send some emails, saying that the 8th/15th are no good and that we either need to make it a different day of the week or push it out into January.

I had an email from one of the committee last night, saying he'd booked the room for the 15th December... (see what I mean).


So they can have the bloody AGM on the 15th December and if it clashes with the works do, someone else can take the minutes.

I have had it up to here with my friends.

I told them that things were going to be different without Pete as my go between, but, no, they didn't listen. Or, probably more to the point, they think everything is going to be the same for all of them, it's just me who's going to have a different life.


And the 5th of November is officially cancelled this year. I'm going straight to the 6th and hopefully a middle-of-the-night viewing of Certain Prey - but that probably won't work out either.
bluefirebird: (Default)
Fuck, that was bittersweet.

All my life the GB squad have been nothing in the pro cycling peloton, every year at the Worlds the established nations control the race and fight for the spoils while we look back through the results and see where all the British riders climbed off. The British have only ever had the World Champion once - Tommy Simpson in 1965.

Some years ago when the Italians had the best sprinter in the world, the best National sprint train in the world delivered him to an almost predictable win - unbelievable that it came off because it was predicted. (Having the ability, you also have to overcome the combined efforts of all the other nations to prevent that win).

This year we have a bunch of strong and tactically intelligent riders, the strongest the British have ever had and a sprinter - arguably the current best in the world - to deliver to the line for the win.

The race was exciting, one of the most exciting that I can remember, almost all the British team were there right to the end and Mark Cavendish is now the World Champion for Great Britain.


Pete would have loved it. He should have been sitting there on the edge of the seat with me, as we both bit our nails, unable to believe that we could have pulled it off, and cheering when Mark crossed that line ahead of everyone.


Me? I'm delighted but I'm sitting here in floods of tears...
bluefirebird: (Default)
Seeing as I have no enthusiasm for the future, perhaps someone would like to benefit from my "good fortune", here's an email I have recently received: (note for anyone tempted to think otherwise - THIS IS A SCAM).


Good day,

My name is Mr. John Phillip; I work in the Euro Million Lottery. I am soliciting your assistance for a swift transfer of 4,528,000 GBP, should you be willing to assist me in this project, and you will be giving me just 25% of your winnings.

So selfless - if I assist you, you'll give me 75% of your ill-gotten gains?

Just as a brief, you just have to register online; due to my position in the company I can make it happen that you would be a winner of the above stated amount. Naturally, every body would like to play a lottery if they are assured of winning.
Not that you mention where I need to register online - on the other hand, I am already registered online in a number of places, including here, does this not count.?

I am assuring you today to be a winner, please do not take for granted this once in a life time opportunity as we both stand to collectively gain from this at the success of the transaction.

Should you be willing to assist me in this transaction please do send your Name, Address and Phone-Number to E-mail: john_philip@hotmail.co.uk

Regards,
Mr. John Phillip


------


In other news, I posted this picture about 6 weeks ago:



Today I am oscillating between getting things done and wandering around listlessly. The top cycle race in pro cycling, the Men's World Road Race Championship is on the TV and there's a big gap on that sofa.
bluefirebird: (Default)
You see it all the time on the TV - how people react when their loved ones die.

Well, I can't take it in. It doesn't seem real. No, not my Dad (who I assume is still safely in the hospital), my other half's son-in-law rang me to say that Pete (my other half) appears to have died in his sleep on Tuesday night.

Now what do I do?

My whole world has fallen apart.

I'm numb, my heart rate has gone bananas. I'm not sure I even believe it, but Gary wouldn't play a cruel joke like that - in fact he's got the horrendous job of breaking it to all of Pete's nearest and dearest.

And I can't get hold of any of our friends on the phone either (although I guess half of that is because my body isn't working properly right now and I can't type properly!). I need to drive over there, but I have enough sense to know I'm in no fit state to drive at the moment.


And don't worry about it, I know that you don't know what to say, I wouldn't if I was reading it about someone else, and I sure as hell don't know what to say now that it's happening to me...
bluefirebird: (Default)
What I'm doing with my weekend )

Intentions

Jun. 22nd, 2011 10:33 am
bluefirebird: (Default)
When I started this journal my intention was to post NCIS fanfic - all I've done is bitch about my life (OK, it sort of forms an eratic diary...)

Plan for this week is to post what I have written to here and FFnet!
bluefirebird: (Default)
Note to self #1: If your tool is pointed, check that it isn't attached to a sharp blade as well.
Note to self #2: Don't hide the stock of butterfly stitches.

I'd swear the blood is never that colour on the telly!

Also the injury itself never seems to hurt at the time (O.K. hammer vs thumb is probably the major exception), but then there is plenty of time for it to throb at leisure, to come...

Now sporting a 1/4" slice into the tip of my thumb - you could see from the damage to the nail just how far it had gone, until I strapped it together with a butterfly stitch and then added the tape that the stitches are made of for good measure.

One of these days I'll learn...


Haven't injured myself in a while - guess it goes to show that I haven't been doing much!

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