Peter "Sci" Turpin

So after I got my card working again, I got money out and went to put some on the Oyster so I could use the bus.

“Your Oyster balance is negative £2.60. If I put a fiver on it it’ll only be £2.40.”

I tried to tear the damn card in half on the spot, but it’s too thick.

I got it replaced to fix this shit. The last time I used it was going to the Pembury a fortnight ago. I made sure to touch in and touch out at every turn, and it green-lighted me each time. But I still got charged a max-daily for my trouble.

By the by, it turns out my National Rail Card is already applied to the Oyster, so I get a grand total of no additional discount. So if you assume a SINGLE mis-read in a full days use, it’s cheaper to buy a fucking travelcard.

Right, off I went to buy a bus-pass. Oh, no, apparently this is the year they’re no longer doing them. It’d have to go on the Oyster.

Asked at the train station. Travelcard will be £7.30. To get that amount on the Oyster I’d now have to put a tenner on it. Railcard discount’s weekends only, and apparently there’s no off-peak on weekdays now?

Also ran into someone I used to work with and held the train doors for them so they wouldn’t miss it. Good deed +1.

I went home and got my bike.

Up The Avenue there’s road works. I sail through on the manual “GO” sign. As I’m cresting the hill I come face to face with a Landrover and have to ditch onto the pavement.

The driver doesn’t even slow down. I get to the other end of the works and ask the guy if they’re on the radio. I tell him he should leave more time between changing signs since I just got ran off the road. I may have said “fuck” once.

The guy with the radio starts yelling at me not to yell at him and makes gestures like he’s going to get out of the cab and come across to me. I am in shock and back down; he glares like I shouldn’t be taking up his precious world with my existence.

Get half way up Friday hill before I collapse and just have to let my legs stop shaking. A car goes past, and actually reverses back to stop and ask if I’m alright. I explain the situ and assure them I don’t need help.

The lady in the house I’m sat outside calls down to ask if I’m alright. I explain again and have a little rant about the events so far today. She agrees and says the country’s going to pot, and that she was going to be doing a degree this year, but the student cuts mean she probably won’t be able to afford to anymore. There’s a child in the window beside her. I don’t know if it’s hers or a sibling, but it hits home if you were a young-mother or similarly on the borderline of being able to afford extra education, these cuts will have thrown a lot og hope back in your face.

Tried to sugest she should make sure she knows her neighbours. Community’s the only way we’re going to get through this.

She offered me a drink, but I’m very aware the recyc center will close for sales at 2.

Coasted down to the center and had a word with the totters; they said if I spotted something in the hoppers it’d be fine to bring it over to them and ask a price. Finally some good news!

I checked the on-display finds first and picked up a sci-fi art-book for 10p, then hit the metals bin. Pretty full, and quite a tangle.

I spotted a motor with a nice pully and a few bits of thick steel, but they were all too far in, and I lost my damn grappling hook trying to get them out. Fishing for them with a long pole didn’t work either. When I gave up it was 1:40.

Did have another word; they can’t keep and eye out or reserve things. Others have asked too. But they did say they get the sort of bits I’m after in. I’ll just have to keep coming back. Fridays and Saturdays, 10-2, Friday Hill.

Went to walk/cycle back. Ended up “exploring” some back-streets while my mind reeled. Ended up near Chingford Mount, so detoured to the camera shop I’d spotted.

Asked if they had any junk cameras. The guy there was very tidily dressed, and obviously knew his trade. He also kept junk cameras for spares; mostly the odd screw sizes used. After some rumaging and chatter, picked up a broken Fuji F401 FinePix for a fiver.

It may be cheaper to grab junk cameras from ebay in future, but this does looks like it has the lens assembly I want on it.

Home again now, in the workshop (4.4c). Ankle got pushed too hard today. Again feels like there’s glass in it in certain positions. Especially when turned to the side.

Was going to cancel going for a drink tonight in town after finding how much the ticket would be, but fuck it, I need a drink with a friend today.

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Still don’t like what I see underneath the beard. Looks almost like the new Dr Who; a great flat slab of a face.

My hair’s too long and wavy again too. That needs to come off tomorrow.

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Indoors PC has started throwing up “CPU fan error” messages on boot, and an hour ago suddenly powered off, not reset. I’ve had the side of the case off and the fan’s looked like it’s going, so this is either a transient fan problem or something more serious.

I’m hoping it can be resolved by leaving the side off the case and keeping a close eye on the fan. If that’s all it is, I can jury-rig a repair with an old case-fan and some cable-ties. If it’s more than that, I’m in trouble because the parts are outdated enough that it’ll require a subtantially fresh build on failure.

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I’ve wanted to find the time to write something proper here again, but haven’t found the time. But now I have to because I need to get this off my chest.

Today we nearly ran over a cat.
We swerved, but the car in front didn’t and neither did the car behind. This happened right as we were passing our house.
There was a flash of black and white as we swerved around it and we both saw it moving it’s leg in the air. Mum shreiked “Oh god, it’s still alive” and started panicing about not wanting to stop and deal with it, but that we were about to park and and and.. so I said I would and had to shout to stop her going on about it because it was just making it worse.

We parked and walked back toward the house. It seemed to be gone, but had actually been taken to the pavement by someone, possibly the person in the car behind.
I wish it had already been dead, but as mum tried to sneak into the house I couldn’t in case someone thought we’d done it and were trying to run away.
I could hear it yowling, and I still can. Short strained cries full of pain and fear. The group around it were trying to take care of it, trying to call someone but no one had the RSPCA’s number.
I called 118118 and got put through to a message saying their call center is closed on Sundays. So I ran up the road to the boarding cattery, but that too was closed.

By the time I got back he was gone. I think it was a he. He looked like he must have been a well looked after tom, but with no collar. Glossy soft fur, still warm. A little red of blood and a swollen tounge in his mouth, and a gap between his open eye and it’s lid. It took me a bit to realise his head wasn’t even the right shape anymore.
That’s why I don’t know if he was a he even. His body shape couldn’t really be trusted anymore. But from a distance he was still a beutful sleeping little kittycat.

I’ve been working solidly these past 7 hours trying not to think about it, but I can’t anymore and it keeps punching me in the mind. I can’t stop crying, or hearing his yowling. It keeps echoing and I can’t stop from sobbing every time it does.

In a weeks time someone will put up missing posters and I’ll have to call them.
I can’t stop thinking if there was something else I could have done, or if I should have tried to put him out of his misery.

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Right, emails sent, forum posts done, new sales ideas broached, quotes sent for.

Time for breakfast.

[20/06/2010: Amalgamating old posts from "Dreamwidth Creative Blog" into sci-fi-fox.com to re-purpose DW blog account.]

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