Back in Caerdydd

Got back to Cardiff on Thursday by Megabus slightly hungover from Birthday drinks the night before.
This is basically my holiday for this year so I'm making the most of it. In exciting sleep related news, I slept in a hammock over at Richard Mullet's place on Thursday night. I'm currently considering replacing my bed.
I don't know about you, but I've never had porridge. I find the idea by turns revolting, by turns deeply exciting. So I went ahead and tried to make some in the microwave for breakfast. Still don't know what it tastes like: I turned my back and it exploded.
This morning I had a quality cycle along the Taff Trail. Did slightly under 70km through Wales' verdant and pleasant countryside. Can't beat it. In exciting canine related news, a dog ran out in front of me. Good job I stayed up until 12:30 replacing my brake pads last night. Even so, the dog had the temerity to look at me as if it was all my fault. Bitch.
Dial-up Internet is so painfully slow I might not update for a few more days. Besides, I've just rediscovered my collection of The Muppet videos.

Summer Ball: Totally Sweet

My cognitive processes are slowly returning to ‘operational’ this evening after what was frankly the best ball I’ve ever been to at Imperial.
The scope of the event and attention to details was hugely impressive. After the free drinks reception, Martin, Andy and myself headed down the red carpet into the funfair. We started the evening with a delightfully laissez-faire approach to personal safety by taking part in a number of head on collisions in dodgems. Great fun. As the queue got longer and our bruises took on a more worrying hue, we headed off to the casino. After loosing some of my fictional £250 on Blackjack, I decided to follow Andy’s lead and pooled my remaining money with Martin, in order for him to make some sage and considered investments on the roulette table. Martin oversaw a huge growth in our combined fortune and we seemed to be in with a shot at top prize. But past performance wasn’t necessarily a guide to future performance when we lost it all in a single bet. I think there might be a moral in there somewhere.
The rest of the evening passed in a delicious haze of dancing, conversation and drinking. This was the most well attended Imperial ball of recent times and there was always a familiar face around.
As you can see in these photos, even at half four in the morning the cut of our jib was particularly stunning.
As the sun started to rise above the skyline we assembled beneath the Queen’s Tower for our survivors photo. I grabbed a free breakfast of bacon, sausage and eggs. Just what was needed.
We slowly made our way back to Battersea, stopping off in Tescos to grab some croissants and a chat with the sociable cashier. He was so happy when we wished him a Happy Fathers Day that he said nothing at all and avoided eye contact.We watched Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life over breakfast, before retiring to bed at seven o’clock this morning. Awesome.

Mocking the Week

Terribly exciting news today. I just added a link to Pete's blog. He doesn't seem to have named his blog, so I have given it a wicked awesome name: "Pete's Total Blog". Go ahead, take a look. You're gonna have to sign in with an MSN passport. Gone are the days when a British passport would get you anywhere.
Jamie kindly furnished Andy, Martin and myself with spare tickets for this evening's recording of Mock the Week, a new topical satire show. Featuring amongst others Rory Bremner, the comedy was so incisive I cut myself on some of the sharp satirical shrapnel.
Right now, I'm going to get back to the giant suduko in this week's Felix.

The 60 second quick vignette

I just thought I would share with you a quick sketch I wrote.

So this penguin is walking down this road, when it comes across a fire hydrant.
The penguin is all like "WTF, man?", because there are no fires where the penguin comes from, on the poles.
But then along blows this helium balloon, who is all like "Don't worry about that stuff, man".
So the penguin whips out a national newspaper and totally solves the suduko puzzle, without even having a pen.
The helium balloon is so impressed that it rises up into the mountains (which is where the eagles fly).
The climax is when Martyn Evans walks in. Everyone is so happy, they have a trance party in his honour.
The end.

I hope you liked the sketch. I thought it was awesome.

Insect Bite Update: Day 6.

Feeling a great deal better today. The swelling has really gone down and I'm able to walk with nether a care. I'll be in skipping around in meadows just as soon as I can buy some insect repellent.
Good news from Imperial College Union Council: Martin got half colours for all his work on Broadsheet, the student newspaper of the Physical Sciences Union. You can take a look at all of the issues here. Well done Martin.
Yesterday I chaired what should hopefully be the last PSU executive of my presidency, barring anything crazy happening. Next year's Exec are already planning the Freshers' Ball and have alot of great ideas. Good luck guys.
I've been taking it fairly easy today. The melange of antibiotics and antihistamine tablets means I'm constantly hungry, yet have no appetite. I went to a lecture this evening given by Prof Michael Duff, the new principal of Physical Sciences at Imperial, entitled "The 10 big questions in Physics". He wanted to know whether M-theory is the full M-onty. It all got too much for me.

Insect bite update: Day 4. Not so awesome.

Recent blog posts such as "Yesterday I got bitten by an insect. Awesome" may have given some readers the mistaken impression that I enjoyed being bitten by insects. In light of the last 24 hours I can confirm that there is little fun in having ankles so swollen that even walking small distances is gruelling.
The last 24 hours haven't all been bad. In a bumper week of birthdays, yesterday evening I joined 27 others in celebration of 21 sprightly years of my friend Martin. Given what happened last time I celebrated a birthday, I took particular attention not to sit around in any long grass for too long.
I think Martin enjoyed the celebration. I'm glad I went out, really cheered me up.
Today I've been lounging around in the house, partly due to drowsiness, partly because getting outside would require too much walking. Andy and I watched the entire Karate Kid trilogy. There were so bad, they were totally awesome.
Wax on, wax off.

Insect Bite Update: Day 3

I woke up early, hoping to travel across London to do some campaigning in Barking where there are two close by-elections.
However, a small insect had already thwarted my plans on Thursday night. My insect bite had swelled up even more over night, now it almost covers the full extent of my forearm. In the photo, the terracotta line indicates the dimensions of a regular arm. I was torn between thinking that this was awesome and worrying. So I called NHS Direct to seek a professional opinion. Sadly, they decided it was worrying and suggested that I see a doctor. I was so impressed: despite it being 'out of hours' I got an appointment with a doctor at the Chelsea and Westminster within an hour.
Apparently it's infected and I'm now on a course of antibiotics. Which means no drinking for a week, not even at the Summer Ball! Ho hum.

Yesterday I got biten by an insect. Awesome.

Yesterday, whilst playing frisbee in Hyde Park to celebrate 22 glorious years of my flatmate Jamie, I got bitten by an insect.
No big deal I figured. But when I undertook my routine 'looking around' as I awoke this morning, I noticed that my left arm was uncharacteristically large. Initially I hypothesised that I had put in some extra time at the gym and buffed up. I soon realised that this was a bogus theory, as I hadn't been to the gym since April. Turns out that I've reacted badly to this insect bite.
Take a look at this photographic evidence. The aquamarine line is an artist's impression of the normal outline of my arm.

Hoping that a piriton tablet would ease the swelling, I set out about my normal business. Two tablets later and still no change, I decided to consult my local friendly neighbourhoodly pharmacist. Agreeing with my suggestion that this was 'quite a large bite', she sold me a bunch of tablets and a curiously pink cream. Following the cream's instructions and taking great care not to accidentally apply it vaginally, I smeared the bite with it.
I'll let you know how it works out. In the meantime, I'm off to speak with more people, using this bite as a conversation piece.