Yay, we have water again after a whole week of being without. I have just had a lovely hot shower and it feels so good!
I have personally found the whole ordeal very sobering and in a way have found it a good challenge to learn how to cope with the lack of one of life’s most important necessities. I think all those of us that have suffered have probably taken something important from the experience if only to appreciate that which we take for granted. Hopefully the experience will stay with us and not just fade away into a distant memory. I think it is important that we do not forget what it is like to be without so that we are able to appreciate a little better how other people in less fortunate countries suffer on a daily basis.
Water Back in Churchdown At Last!
Monday, July 30th, 2007Pigeon PP Spyware Problem
Sunday, July 15th, 2007Since I have got back from holiday I have been getting a pop up from my Virgin Media PCguard saying it has found Pigeon PP spyware on my PC but is unable to delete it. I’m not quite sure how it got there as I didn’t see it before I went away. My dad was using my pc while I was away to update his PC and contatc job agencies but being the extra cautious person that he is I very much doubt he would have done anything untoward.
So yesterday i decided it was about time I had a look into it and after typing Pigeon PP into google I came across cableforum.co.uk that showed a lot of other people with the same problem. There were lots of suggestions on how to try and get rid of it. I opted for downloading a free version of Ad-Aware 2007 and then running the scan in safe mode, even though one person had said he’d tried this with no success.
On first scan it picked up three different things, one being Win32.Backdoor.Hupigon which I can only presume was what I was looking for. It had three files and four registry entries whereas the other two just had one registry entry each. I deleted all the offending items and proceeded to do another scan to see if it had removed them all.
The second scan showed that there was one Hupigon thing left so I deleted it again and did another scan, the results of which showed nothing to be found. I’d like to think that I have got rid of the thing, the pop ups from Virgin Media PCguard have certainly stopped appearing, but having read the forum again I have discovered a lot more posts that make me have doubts.
One guy posted “This is not spyware as reported by pcguard ntlguard etc it IS a backdoor trojan so spyware wont remove it”. Another person has said it could be linking itself to “system restore” so that it is impossible to remove and to get rid of it you need to disable system restore. Then boot your PC in safe mode and run your antivirus and antispyware so that without the protection of system restore the virus can be identified and deleted.
Another person said they’d tried running Ad-Aware SE and SpyBot Search & Destroy both in safe mode and it hadn’t been able to get rid of it.
Well, I don’t know about all that. All I know is that for now my PC seems ok. I’m just a bit worried it’s still virused but now just looks healthy. Time will tell I suppose, I will just have to keep a beady eye on my bank and credit card statements!
My Bro’s Tameshigiri Vids
Friday, July 13th, 2007I’ve just been round to visit my bro after my holiday and have found that he has been making home videos with his new camcorder. He has uploaded a few onto youtube and for his first attempts I’m really impressed.
You can see him here slicing up a pineapple with his katana that I bought him for his 24th birthday, here slicing another pineapple which he cleverely hung from the ceiling and here slicing up a precariously balanced water melon.
I especially like the funky use of oriental background music.
Kittling Training Coming Along Nicely
Thursday, July 12th, 2007Since I have been back from Kazakhstan my two cats, Mungbean and Sweep have been so affectionate. I half expected either one or both of them to have the sulks with me for abandoning them for a whole fortnight, however it has been the complete opposite. They have been very cute and clingy. The best thing was when I woke up the first morning after being home and opened my eyes to find Mungbean curled up on the pillow next to me only a couple of inches from my face with one paw on my head and Sweep curled up on my other side under my arm. My little babies – I don’t know what I would do without them.
You are probably wondering where the training comes in… Well, at the moment I am renting a room at my aunty and uncle’s house and since I moved in I have been very paranoid about them going missing. They have a cat flap downstairs and I recently got one fitted in my bedroom door as well so I can keep it shut but they can still get out. The problem is I have been feeding them in my bedroom for the last six months and because of this they see no reason to venture downstairs for anything, least of all get to know my aunty and uncle.
Until now this hasn’t really been a problem as to go outside they have been using the window in my ensuite bathroom which I have been leaving open for them. This opens out onto a little roof which slopes conveniently down to a fence which they have no problem negotiating when they so require. However, as my aunty pointed out when I got back from holiday, when the winter arrives I am not going to relish the thought of the window being permanently open. Good point I thought, so what to do about it? (more…)
Back To Work… Almost
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007Today was supposed to be my first day back at work after my holiday. However, after spending all day yesterday tidying up and starting my long overdue sewing project, and the fact that the Saturday before I flew home from Kazakhstan I didn’t go to bed but instead stayed up all night with Chris playing computers, I felt so drained I decided to take another day off. I am very lucky that I have understanding work colleagues.
Not that I spent much time relaxing. I spent another five hours grappling with large sheets of material, sharp pins and a ginger cat that decided to sit right in the middle of everything and bite me if I tried to make him budge. I was trying to finish the robe I am making ready for use at my first proper Wiccan ceremony next week. I should have started it weeks ago but surprise surprise, I have more or less left it until the last minute again. Although by starting it now I have at least got the weekend left to finish off any loose ends.
Just as well too, because about eight hours later I have only just managed to stitch the main body and sleeves together. I still have the hem, cuffs and neckline to finish off and then the whole thing has to be dyed. Though to be fair, considering the last time I used a sewing machine was about fourteen years ago at school (and that was just to make a simple cushion as far as I recall), I’m pretty damn chuffed with the results. Who knows, today a simple robe, next week “the Dryad Designs Collection”!
Well maybe not, but it would be fun to make some of my own simple clothes like skirts perhaps. But here I go again, thinking up yet more projects to fill up my ever so empty (not) life.
I did in fact sort of go back to work today as I spent the evening at my Aunty’s helping her with her accounts which I generally do twice a week. All in all I haven’t really stopped since coming home – what a surprise! And here I am at 11.30 at night on my computer when I should be getting an early night as I promised myself I would go to the gym tomorrow before work. Yuck, that means getting up at 6am. Hmm, if I don’t go I will kick myself; I feel like I’ve put on a stone whilst on holiday.
So, you are probably thinking where are all my tales of what I got up to in Kazakhstan? Well, I am going to post them over the next week or so in between my daily accounts of what’s going on in the here and now. This way I can take my time and make sure I get the details right. It takes a lot of effort, this writing malarky you know. I must be mad!
Farewell Kazakhstan
Monday, July 9th, 2007It has just gone 9am Kazakh time and I am writing this (ready to type up later) as I sit on the plane having just taken off from Astana airport. As we took to the air, after thinking a last “I really hope I’m on the right plane – well if I’m not it’s too late now”, I looked over to the window on my left to see if I recognised anything as the city slowly receded below me.
The first thing I spotted was the recently constructed glass Pyramid. I immediately searched for the Presidential Palace and as I began to think how different everything looked from up here I suddenly got a fantastic view straight down the promenade from the palace, past the fountains and gardens to a much shrunk Bayterek, past more fountains and gardens right down to the offices of KazMunaiGas at the end. It was only then that the sadness of leaving Astana and my friends after such a wonderfull two weeks really hit me. (more…)
Astana Day
Saturday, July 7th, 2007I felt very honoured to be at the celebratory concert yesterday as it was limited entry and there were many citizens of Astana that were not able to get in. It just goes to show it always helps to have friends in high places (i.e. Irina’s dad).
Once we managed to get past security (which was a trial that deserves a post of its own) we found our allocated seats that were very comfy and gave a good view.
The night consisted of various warm up artists that performed a song each and were not modern pop but slightly more traditional, some being sung in the native Kazakh language (which is a bit like Welsh in Wales).
The artists then began to sing a few more songs each, presumably as they increased in popularity and status. Not having any knowledge of Russian or Kazakh pop charts I didn’t really know what I was listening to so just sat back and enjoyed the fact that it was live music. (more…)
Happy Birthday Astana
Friday, July 6th, 2007Today is the day of Astana (it became the new capital of Kazakhstan almost ten years ago). I am very lucky to be over here to partake in the celebrations. Irina’s dad has kindly got us tickets to go to the main concert tonight being held in the square near the Presidential Palace where I believe there will be many bands playing; Kazakh, Russian and international, and also a big firework display. It should be much fun.
Yesterday evening we went ice skating at the new ice rink in Astana which Chris and Irina had not been to before either. Accompanying us was Chris and Irina’s friend Losha, a very nice lad who is the son of one of Irina’s dad’s work colleagues.
We got there just before 9 o’clock and had an hour on the ice. It was fantastic as there were only two other people there. By 9.30 we had the whole rink to ourselves, much to mine and Chris’ joy as we are not quite as experienced as Irina and Losha, who by then were whizzing round like they had been born on the ice. It was so much fun not having to worry about looking ahead for a space in which to skate, only to get there and find someone else has got there first so you go smacking into them and end up having to endlessly apologise, or worse, help someone up off the ground that you splatted in your inexperience! (more…)
Apologies to Internet Explorer users
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007I have now got my blog up and running and installed essential plugins etc.
As I have been testing it along the way I have been using Firefox and it works fine as far as I can see… however, having just opened it in Internet Explorer I have discovered a few hitches with visuals. There is a minor defect on the homepage but it then goes a little squiffy if you click on a particular post.
Apologies for this. My limited (next to nil to be more precise) knowledge has me mystified at the moment but I am hoping to enlist the help of someone more experienced in the near future to rectify these problems. No doubt it has something to do with the way me and Chris bodged the original template during the customisation process.
My first very own website… Yay!
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007Wow, well here I am in Kazakhstan with Chris and Irina and I’m writing my very first post on my new blog on my very own domain.
It’s 4.30 in the morning here. We spent an enjoyable evening at a restaurant with Chris and Irina’s friend Oleg who has just come back from Moscow after finishing University there. We then came back to the flat and spent the next 4.5 hours playing monopoly (I just watched for the majority of it as I went bankrupt in the first hour or so) and after Oleg departed we watched an episode of Scrubs before realising the sun had begun to rise and it really was time we should be going to bed.
However, I decided I would just stay up a little while longer to post my first blog as it took me and Chris practically all day to set it up (I decided I wanted a customised template and it took us quite a few bodges before we got it to my liking).
So here it is… welcome to DryadMusings.com.
There will be more to follow but right now I really have to go to bed 
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