I’ve a couple of decent sized blog posts in my head that I think I’ll write up near the end of this week, once we’ve moved some more into our marital home and I’ve had a chance to set-up my desktop. Whilst I really like my diddy 9″ netbook/hackintosh toy it’s really more for digesting and consuming the digital age rather than contributing to it, if that makes sense?

Dan

Sorry this blog has been oddly quiet, it’s been very busy and I’ll do a proper catch-up in a couple of days but I thought it important to get this post in, to mark the day in cyberspace as well.

What can I say?

I’m ridiculously excited and yet my stomachs doing laps as well. There’s three things I’m dreading and it’s not going to take a genius to guess them. Dreading that I’ll muck them up.

Other than that though I’ve the feeling in me like I’m 7 again and it’s Christmas morning. Hopefully that sentence sums it up, I’m sooo excited, I can’t wait to come out the Church with Mrs Hadland holding my hand.

That’s all I’ve time for really. Time to shower and shave. See you on the other side.

Dan

Whilst the invites have been going along at a snails pace I’m pleased to say that most of the other stuff is getting there and today I got the call saying our rings are ready and would I like to pay for them? So they’ll be with us on Saturday.

I’m sure they’ll look great and having the mental age that I do I’m sure the first thing I’ll say is “Ooh, shiny!”. Having said that there is a pause for some thought.

A pair of jeans lasts perhaps a couple of years, a watch a fair few more but a ring… for the rest of my life, crikey!

I wonder what it will look like when life’s taken all it’s twists and turns and it gets taken off of me. Personally I hope it’s dulled down, scratched here and there and looks well worn. I’ve no desire to wear bright ‘blingy’ jewellery and to me a ring that looks like the one I described sounds to me like a ring that was worn everyday, for a long time, no matter what.

Of course life has many twists and turns, some that you don’t come round but if I do make it to old age, well I know who I want to make it there with.

Dan

The invites, I think, look really good. We had something of a production line making them last weekend and last night Kita and I finally decided on the wording that would go inside. So hopefully, soon, the invites will go out. That is once the bit on the inside is all complete and the inserts for our wedding list arrive.

That’s one thing that I’ve no idea about at the moment. The wedding list, what do you put on it? Stuff you’d like, but can’t really afford? Or practical stuff that is useful but come to think of it we’ve hopefully already got? Don’t get me wrong, I think having a list makes sense, you only need so many cake slices but it’s just what to put on there. Better pots and pans perhaps? Nicer bed linen I guess?

Suit wise, I can’t remember if I said before, oh wait perhaps I shouldn’t say and it’ll just be a surprise for some. Anyway, the suit fitting was good fun and it was nice to spend some time with the best man and ushers. Next I’ve got to organise all the Dad’s fittings and then the hardest of all, the page boys. I’m sure they’ll be fine, actually come to think of it, perhaps they wont and the suit may get a little damaged but either way, so long as they have a good time and have some fun dressing up then it’s all good.

For the food, well, lets just say my favourite bit isn’t until somewhat later in the day but it’s worth the wait

Dan

It wasn’t too hard to choose, lets be honest I’m not exactly a style guru who’s going to agonise over the placement of a stone but still I did have a few things I wanted, not would like but really wanted:

• Long lasting, I intend to wear it for a very, very long time and so it’d be nice to stay in good condition
• Simple, like I said I’m not a style guru and heck, tastes change over time, I’ve no desire for my ring to be a fashion accessory but just a symbol of love
• Matching, this was really the least of my wants but still I always thought it makes sense that the rings should match and are really a pair

Thankfully I/we were able to match all those requirements, albeit with a little addition for Kita who wanted them engraved.

Now I’m thinking about getting a washer and putting it on a finger for a few hours at a time to get used to wearing a ring.

Guys, what’s it like when you first start wearing a ring and how long does it take to get used to?

I’m guessing I’m going to be fiddling with it for months on end but then that’s no bad thing, means I’ll stop nicking Kita’s and fiddling with hers.

Dan

And now I think about it, only 5 months until the wedding. Actually that’s fine, 5 months is a fairly decent length of time away but then Easter felt such a long way away at the beginning of Lent.

I’ve only got 14/15 weeks left of my internship now and it feels like the 40 or more that came before have disappeared in the blink of the eye.

14/15 months until I graduate all being well but then the first two years of University seem to have shot past as quick as a sneeze.

Proposing to Kita last year, no wait the year before, this all seemed like such a long way away. Someplace in the future that I’d get to when I chose. The truth is that the future is taking place now and now and…. oh you get the idea.

I guess this is all a trait of getting older, certainly for me time seems more like a snowball starting at the top of the hill and getting faster and faster on the way down. Certainly it doesn’t feel like a nice constant, easily manageable and able to slot neatly into boxes. Rather more like a big dog on a lead always trying to get away and go just that little bit quicker than I’d like.

And yes, I did completely forget over the weekend that I’m no longer a teenager, not even close.

Time marches on,

Dan

A couple of weekends ago me, the best man and my two ushers went out to choose the suits for the men of the wedding. Surprisingly it went very well, we all agreed on a suit after only the second (possibly third I cant remember) shop, definitely my kind of shopping! I wont post a photo as I’m sure nobody wants the surprise to be spoiled! Job one for this evening, go back and pay for them with a very nice discount

Work has been very busy as we’ve had to recruit a new intern after the first chose to drop us in it a bit and go work some place else. In a way it was quite good for me, the weeks flew by and I got given even more responsibility than the first time around. Also I’ve been involved in a lot more techy work rather than producing excel reports, result! At the moment I’m researching using NFS and Kerberos authentication in the lab which from the sounds of a current third year could be very useful for next year at uni.

Also from the same third year student I’ve got a copy of the coursework I’ll likely face in 6/7 months time. A brief look at it and I have to say I’m a little disappointed, it looks to be more programming than anything else. I’d rather hoped we’d get to do more of the network design out of the Computer Network Design and Management course that I’m on. I’m going to look at it in more depth soon and hopefully start investigating it a bit more whilst still at HP.

Other updates, the wedding planning is moving along very well now as Kita reported and it’s really a case of paying for a lot of it now!

Dan

There’s a scene at the end of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith which for me sums up some of the really strange bits of love. It comes after Mr. Smith (Brad Pitt) and his Mrs’ (Angelina Jolie) have kissed and made up… a lot. They’re back at a psychologists mirroring the start of the movie and Pitt is saying how much he does love her but at the same time, aaah I could just… (mimics ringing her neck).

That’s the thing that’s been going around my head a bit. It’s fair to say Kita and I have had our fair share of arguments and I guess really it’s no surprise as we learn to live with one another as well  as trying to save for a wedding. It’s the irrationality of my thoughts for those few minutes after an argument I just don’t get.

Pitt mimicked ringing Jolie’s neck and I’ve thought other bizarre things, giving up on the wedding, stomping out etc etc It makes no sense and thankfully my head reigns in my heart plenty quickly enough its just, yeah so strange. I feel perfectly secure with Kita (and hopefully vice versa!) so it’s crazy but there you have it.

Just some thoughts going through me noggin.

Dan

So Friday Rachel came over and Kita got some Christmas shopping out of the way (think I’ll be starting that soon) and Saturday we all just relaxed in the lounge, watching movies and catching up. In the evening we had some HP friends over for a somewhat epic Monopoly game, finishing somewhere between 2 and 3 Sunday morning. Come to think about it though, are there any Monopoly games that aren’t epic?

Sunday was somewhat busier however and I don’t think I was too popular waking Kita up to head back to Oxford. First off I had to go to Richer Sounds to take my poorly CD player back for repairs, then sort out a refund from Halfords and finally go to Debi’s (Kita’s Mum) for dinner.

The left channel has been intermittently cutting out on the CD player and only a full power on/off will resolve it. Seeing as I took the Super Care package out on it I figured I’d best get my money’s worth turned out to really be worth it. I’ve got a loan unit whilst mine is away (2-4 weeks) and the customer service was simply superb. I’d done the usual thing of losing the receipts etc and the clerk was plenty happy enough looking up the purchase. I’ve now decided that on the basis of all the excellent service I’ve got over the years that when it comes to any other purchases, assuming they sell the product, it will come from there.

So I was a happy customer at Richer Sounds and then tried to sort out the battery mess from last week, Halfords’ tried to wriggle out of the refund a little bit. I’m not sure if this was intentional or if they just didn’t understand, who knows? Still it’s all sorted now and my credit card got refunded

The evening saw us having a meal at Kita’s Mums place and well, I guess you can tell from Kita’s post it was… interesting! I haven’t got the time to go into it right now and if you follow the link my comment should give some indication of how things are. I’ll probably post about it later, if anything, just to get my thoughts clear and committed.

So yeah, successful retail experience in the day. Less successful evening.

Dan

18 months old, the battery really shouldn’t be dead but alas it is. Thankfully Halfords have a three year guarantee and thankfully my Mum has been able to find the receipt. Downside is she’s in Oxford and I’m in Reading. Didn’t really want to run the risk of having to call out the RAC this evening when I finish work for two reasons. I’m finishing late anyway and as it’s a known fault they’re reluctant to come out twice for it and there’s no chance of a third strike.

With all this in mind I bit the bullet somewhat and bought a new battery, £60 :O that’s somewhat a dent for the month before Christmas. I’ve spoken to Halfords and all being well, at the weekend when I’m next at my folks, they *should* refund my credit card for the battery today with the receipt for the dud. I hope so, really, quite a lot hope so.

So yeah, kind of an expensive start to the day, thankfully work were all fine about me being late in. Had a review last week and they’re pleased with all I do which is good to hear but that’s another post.

On another note had an email through this morning from moneysupermarket.com, I used them briefly whilst looking for house insurance and their spam can sometimes be interesting! This week it was about reducing car insurance prices, something I’ve been thinking about when it comes to renewal time next summer. Usual stuff on there, nothing particularly spectacular apart from the last paragraph:

Get Married

Married drivers statistically make fewer claims than single motorists perhaps due to the added responsibility of having a family at home, etc. Of course we don’t recommend using the prospect of cheaper car insurance as the reason to pop the question but it is in an added incentive if you’re thinking of doing it anyway.

Pretty cool that

Dan