Of rabbits and robots

I know it's only been three days since I last posted, but I've gotten rather anxious about not writing something new. I think it's Marcosy's fault; he gets awfully vexed if I don't post regularly, and I've been fearfully awaiting an irate email from him telling me to get my arse in gear.

So: aye, aye - clutch is down, and gear is engaged!

To be honest I've had good reason for my brief absence - for the simple fact that I've been (gasp) busy. Or as they say in Star Trek episode 60, 'And the Children Shall Lead,' "bizzy."

Monday
Post the 'Dear JJ' post (still waiting, JJ, incidently) I cracked on with some work. I'd promised to write an article for the Japanese version of the Fact Files, and while I'd gotten the bulk of it done over the weekend, there were some loose ends and fact-checking I wanted to get done. So I got it done, and everything is groovy.

Tuesday
Tuesday was a beautiful day, wasn't it? Well, actually, I don't know what it was like in your area (snigger!), but in mine it was awesome. I even convinced the lovely Janice, Queen of the Office, Provider of Stationary to finance some company ice creams out of petty cash, which makes us both awesome because I suggested it and she agreed to it. Anyway, it was such a nice day that I decided spur of the moment to dispense with my planned evening run and ventured instead into uncharted territory with an evening cycle.

(Cue collective "ooo," a bit like those three-eyed green aliens in 'Toy Story,' if you would be so kind)

Now I haven't been out for an evening bike ride since I was about 13, and even then it was only over Terminal Four Hill by the airport, which was about 10 minutes from home at the time (Terminal Four Hill is, incidently, right by Heathrow's Terminal Four. Which maybe explains why Terminal Four is called Terminal Four; I like it when things are named after local landmarks), so this was all rather exciting. I decided that I'd only do a short-ish ride, maybe about an hour in length, because after all the evening does tend to lead into the night, and I haven't got any lights on my bike. So off I set in glorious sunshine for my cycling adventure at exactly 19:17.

My plan was to cycle along the Thames to Hampton Court, down the towpath to Kingston, up into Richmond Park, through the park to Richmond Gate, then zoom down Richmond Hill, rejoin the river, and retrace my steps home. Easy. Turns out, though, that that journey takes rather more than an hour. It actually takes about two hours, and by the latter stage I was furiously peddling in an effort to chase the last rays of sunlight all the way home. Which was a bit difficult coming back along by Hampton Court because the towpath was overrun by freakin' bunnies. They were *everywhere*. Seriously. There were *masses* of them, and they were *fearless*. They just would not get out of my way and I had to serve around them, which can be a bit difficult when they're moving. Maybe I should've rung my little bell? Anyway, I was going to take a photo of one; I got right up close to it, and it just sat there wiping its ears with its little paws, but then I realised that by the time I got my phone out of my bag, and took aim the little shit would've moved. Oh, and you probably wouldn't have been able to see it anyway because, did I mention, it was getting FREAKIN' DARK BY THEN.

To sum up, then, here's what I learned on Tuesday night:
• Evening bike rides are great.
• I should probably buy some bike lights.
• Bunnies are *fearless*.

Wednesday
Big plans on Wednesday evening: Nandos with Yaz and El Deanio, followed by Transformers at the cinema with my aforementioned accomplaces and BSH. Due to a bit of a balls up, El Deanio missed out on the Nandos, but Yaz and I did indulge in some chickeny-goodness which was good, and 100 percent chickeny.

Now, Transformers was an intriguing prospect, because like many others of my generation, I had a pretty big fear that it would just shat on one of my golden childhood memories, despite the apparent winning combination of BIG ROBOTS+SENSELESS ACTIONxZERO PLOT=BEST FILM EVAH.

Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was, then, to discover that Transformers was one of the best blockbuster movies I've seen in a long time. Yes it had the aforementioned BIG ROBOTS and SENSELESS ACTION, but it actually did have a plot, and it was genuinely funny; I actually think I laughed more during this film than I did during The Simpsons Movie. Maybe there is hope for Michael Bay after all?