Chilling

We got up at a reasonable hour following the fun at The Alex last night. Dan and I played a Defence Grid game on the Xbox 360 and Toni and Laura made a nommy breakfast.

The rest of the day was spent drinking tea and coffee, eating birthday muffins, watching the kittens, listening to music and then watching Weird Al and Bill Bailey videos.





Once we had returned home we chilled out some more, blogged and put the pics on Facebook and then had tea and marmite followed by yoghurt.

"Secret" 40th birthday party at The Alex

Went over to Dan and Laura's tonight as step one of going to my "secret" 40th birthday party at The Alex. Unfortunately despite Toni's best efforts I was aware of what was happening but that didn't make it any less special.

Laura had made me some wonderful gluten free birthday muffins:


We had some tea and chilled for a bit and then headed off to The Alex. Dan drove us there in the end as he was about to book us a cab when he remembered that he was on call DOH!

We got to The Alex and the party was already in full swing. Our friend Ondre was also having her 39th there and Toni had agreed with her to make it a joint venue do as we share a lot of friends and didn't want any of them to have to decide between one party or the other. It was a good plan and a fantastic night. We practically took over The Alex and it was great to catch up with so many people that we hadn't seen for a while since Evolution closed.









See all the pics of this wonderful night here: 270210My40thSecretBirthdayPartyTheAlex

Following the fun we then headed back to Dan and Laura's armed with kebabs!

Awesome birthday goodness

Hazel popped over this evening and gave me an amazing birthday present.

Phone upgrades and cracking the Blackberry

Had a most frustrating time tonight trying to crack a Blackberry 8310.

My mobile phone upgrade is due in June and I am trying to work out what my best option will be. Currently I am using an O2 branded HTC Touch Pro running Windows Mobile 6.5. I would really like to get an HTC TOuch Pro 2 as my next upgrade but it doesn't look like O2 will be doing one anytime soon.

I don't really like the other flavours of HTC device that they are currently offering so I am now looking at alternatives. At the moment it will be down to either an iPhone or a Blackberry unless some Android based phone appears that takes my fancy as it looks like I am not going to get a nice phone running Windows Mobile (or Windows Phone as it is soon to be called). My reason for wanting to stick with Windows Mobile is the support for Outlook and categories in the calendar. It transpires that none of the default calendar offerings on iPhone, Blackberry or Android actually support categories so I will need to source alternative calendar software for whatever device I may end up with if I move away from WinMo.

I really don't want to take a new phone without playing with it first so my mission over the next few months is to get hands on.
Sam has an iPhone so I will have an opportunity to play with that before the upgrade.

Step in David Steele who has lent me an old work Blackberry to try out. My first problem was that it was locked to T-Mobile and I am on O2 so I set about downloading and installing various bits of software to try and unlock the device to all networks.

I'll cut a long story short! Four tries and lots of Googling got me there in the end! It was a bit seat of your pants and a couple of times I thought I had bricked the device but all was well in the end and my O2 sim card now works quite happily in the Blackberry 8310. Synchronisation with my Outlook address book and calendar was seemless, so far so good. I've managed to install some cute pink and Hello Kitty themes as well. Might get an O2 Simplicity pay as you go sim card next to test the Blackberry and email functionality.

Tip for anyone looking to crack a device or flash a ROM, make sure you have back ups and plenty of time!

My blog is moving..........

........... but not very far.
Just wanted to give you all a bit of advance warning that my blog is moving from the current address to http://ktglitz.blogspot.com

Please update your bookmarks ASAP

Don't worry though, this page won't disappear, I will update them both in sync for a couple of weeks and then will just leave this one here with a big link to the new one once I start updating that one alone.

Thanks for all your support and comments and for reading, see you at the new address, don't forget now.............
http://ktglitz.blogspot.com

Wow, what an amazing 40th Birthday!

Had a totally amazing day today.
Went for a drink at lunchtime and returned to the office 9 Jack Daniels later a little bit tipsy!
I then got given lots of lovely goodies from my work colleagues:

Extendable camera pole (for taking shots over peoples heads)
Spare battery for my new camera
2 tickets to go and see Circus Of Horrors
A game called Chez Goth
A pocket watch with lovely celtic design
An extra PS3 controller

A wonderful set of gifts from some fabulous people. THANK YOU EVERYONE.

Went home and met dad at SWF station. He saw Scarlett for the first time and gave her a late birthday present which she loved.

I then received MORE presents YAY!

Sophie and Sam got me a pentacle necklace
Dad and Stephanie got me a lovely shiny new camera
Toni gave me some "fun things"

We had a yummy Indian for dinner and then were given our Xmas presents from dad and Stephanie (as we hadn't managed to get together before or after)

We then dropped dad off at Wickford station so he could head back and agreed to arrange a date when we could meet in London to go for a meal with Stephanie as well. Cups of tea, a little Modern Warfare 2 with Sam and then off to bed.

It's been a crazy day and a wonderful one too. I was also very humbled by the number of people who sent me birthday wishes on Facebook. Thank you to everybody that helped to make my 40th a special one!

Life begins at 40?

Apparently.
I just want to say a big thank you to Sophie and Sam for getting up and making me tea and breakfast this fine morning.............
......... oh hang on, you didn't! LMFAO

Must be a sign of things to come. Life begins at 40, it does, just get on with it. *BIG CHEESY GRIN*

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

37, 38, 39.... FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS!

I am not sure how I feel right now. It's all a bit of a mixed bag. I didn't know what to expect..........

This could almost sound like the speech of some "old" person.........

16, 18 and 21 were all "just another day" birthdays for me, nothing really special at all, just another day older and L-if-E rolled on.

I have had a very colourful life, had lots of ups, lots of downs, bumps and bruises, lessons learned and failed, lessons learned. I have pretty much done everything I guess (well not everything but I have crammed a hell of a lot in).
I've married, I've divorced.
I've been a father, I've been a grandfather.
I've had a loving family, I've watched that family fall apart
I've had a big family only to see that family slowly get reduced
I've loved, I've lost
I've loved again.
I've moved all over the bloody shop in more places than I care to count sometimes.
I've worked lots of fun and fulfilling jobs

I've made very few enemies as far as I know and I hate very few people. I've met some truly amazing people, some I have lost touch with (my bad) and I am trying to re-establish contact with and some who continue to be amazing people in my L-if-E.

But no, these aren't the words of some "old" person as such. In a couple of minutes I will no longer be 39, I will reach another one of those milestone ages, the BIG FOUR O!

So how do I feel? I really don't know.

Part of me thinks that it's going to be like 16, 18 and 21 all over again, just another day rolling by. Part of me wants to party like it's 1999 (please forgive the cheesy Prince reference). Part of me thinks, wow, you've done so much, what next, what is there left to do or achieve. Part of me wonders if I should start to slow down, mellow out and become a little more respectable and normal.

Then I think, what the hell! This is K.T.Glitz we are talking about. I'll be a trash queen lollipop rocker whether I am 16 or 60. I am soon to be 40 and I intend to completely carry on as I have been, have fun, party hard and be there for my friends and family and grow old(er) as disgracefully as possible.

People, we have a 20 year party ahead of us before it's time to celebrate the next milestone, the BIG SIX O!

Grab a bottle of Jack and hold on tight, life begins at 40 they reckon and I am just warming up!

I wanna rock n roll all nite, and party every day!

Fasten your seat belts!

Working late and late trains

Was just thinking about winding up for the day when I suddenly got involved with a client on fire incident. Started to give my assistance to two of my colleagues and then suddenly one left as it was the end of his shift (which was fair enough) and the other one left early because his wife was having a flap! Can't say I was overly impressed when an email then came round saying that we weren't to leave until it was sorted. Instead of leaving at 17:15 I ended up leaving at 18:30 only to find that all the trains were up the spout and running late so I didn't actually get home until 20:00. How impressed was I! NOT!

Not everything was fixed but we bought ourselves some time. I then ended up doing some work from home as I had to keep checking my emails in case anything else cropped up but other tasks came up that I thought I had better just deal with.

On the plus side Sam did buy me an Indian for dinner tonight!

This Sunday I will mostly be doing..........

............absolutely fuck all!

Woke up in a very enjoyable way today and even better it was gone 14:00 when we actually got up! To add icing to the cake I had no hangover at all!

We chilled, had some nibbles, watched The Matrix on Blu-Ray and then chilled some more. Scarlett made a welcome return, she is so much fun and will be walking properly soon.

Rest of the day was spent doing nothing before Toni and the kids had to leave.

Sam, Sophie and I then caught up with the rest of last week's WWE and TNA shows.

As a final laugh for the weekend my mate Dave has just put this old photo of me on Facebook from back in the days when I lived in Nottingham and was involved with the Nottingham Lions!

Surprise party

Toni had told me that I would be receiving a few presents this weekend ahead of my birthday as Aaron and Gemima won't be around on my birthday or the following weekend.

My first set of cards:






And now some goodies........

Candles from Jade and Pete:


A spiritual trinket box, stone and herbs from Aaron and Gemima:


Wonderful things from Toni:



A birthday girl badge chosen by Gemima:


What I hadn't realised though was that she had arranged for a few close friends to also come around help me start my celebrations :o)

So in the end we had lots of food, nibbles and alcohol and as well as Toni, Sophie, Sam, Aaron and Gemima it was lovely to see Hazel and Shane, Mike and Moira as well as a brief appearance from Sam. It was a cracking night, I had a real ball and it was good to spend fun times with good friends.

Large breasted K.T., Dolly Parton anybody?


K.T. "Dolly" impersonating the swedish chef singing Beer Beer by Korpiklanni


Large breasted K.T. "Dolly" attacks Toni:


Fancy a legover?


After everyone had gone, Toni and I ended up sitting up until nearly 05:00 listening, dancing and singing to music and talking, and stopping briefly to clear up the exploits of a drink mixing Sam (NICE!). It was just nice to chill out for hours together though, despite the vomit induced interruption *grin*

A BIG THANK YOU to Toni for organising it all behind my back and to everybody that came!

Early start, Lighthouse and Lidl

We were up uncharacteristically early today as Toni had very kindly agreed to take Sophie to Brentwood to visit the Lighthouse Project with a view to sourcing some cheap appliances and furniture for her flat. It was a successful trip and we managed to get her nearly everything she needs and it is being delivered to her flat on Thursday so very soon she will be moving out of SWF and back to Galleywood.

Next stop was Lidl to buy some bits before heading back to SWF and then having a general tidy up.

Shattered.......

Got in from work and went upstairs for a snooze as I was shattered once again. This cough is a nightmare, had enough now!

Toni arrived with Aaron and Gemima and came upstairs to talk to me. Sophie then came and chatted too. We headed off to Asda to get food and came home and had yummy sausages and mash. Watched a few episodes of Merlin before heading to bed.

Alice In Neverland?

Alice In Wonderland soon to become Alice In Neverland?

... it seems that our friends at Disney have caused a bit of a stir with the release of their new Alice In Wonderland movie.

"The UK's biggest cinema chains are set to boycott Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, due out on 5 March, because of a dispute with Disney over the release window.

Disney wants to cut the gap between the theatrical opening and the DVD release to just 12 weeks, down from the standard 17 weeks. The big exhibitors refuse to book any film that doesn't have a guaranteed four-month theatrical run."

Quote taken from the Guardian, the full article is here:
www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/11/disney-alice-in-wonderland-burton

Since this article was written apparently Cineworld have come to an agreement but the jury is still out on whether or not Odeon or Vue will still go ahead with the boycott.

It's a complete joke considering the amount of money that has been spent on advertising this little gem. It will totally suck if the boycott does go ahead!

Cough, splutter, Fozzy, Skillet

I woke up this morning................. *queue blues riff*
...and I felt a bit better than last night.
Decided that I wouldn't call in sick or work from home and trekked off to work as usual. It was damp and cold and my cough came back with a vengeance but I was there so stuck it out. It was a busy old day but productive and things went well, despite the cough.

Felt exhausted by the time I got home so had a short chat with Sophie and then had a lie down for a couple of hours while my PC got rid of some crap that was causing problems. Didn't really get to sleep but the rest did help a little.

Had dinner and then I had to get all the Capitals Valentine's shirts up on eBay. Took the opportunity to chill and listen the awesome Chasing The Grail CD by Fozzy and also Awake by Skillet.

Early-ish night and more dosing up will be in order again, hope this damn cough has gone by the weekend.

Happy Birthday Emma

Happy Birthday Emma,

Hope you have a fab day

Still meh, Rage Against The Machine and lasagne

Throat had progressed from dry to feeling like I was gargling glass today, most uncomfortable and not pleasant at all.

Got in to work and then tried to back myself a free Rage Against The Machine ticket. This was them honouring their promise that if they got the UK Xmas number one then they would do a free gig.

The lottery release system that seetickets.com were using meant that my browser was auto refreshing for over TWO AND A HALF HOURS before I actually got the chance to try and get a ticket. Thankfully my pre-registration details were OK and I am now the proud owner (well, when they send it) if a RATM ticket. Had hoped to grab two but everybody wanting one had to have pre-registered. To be honest I am not that bothered about going but it is a little bit of rock and roll history that I was part of.

Some poor souls were pretty hacked off to find that after three hours of just waiting the tickets had all gone.

My throat didn't improve throughout the day and I went home feeling pretty miserable. Got in and Sam and Kirby were watching True Blood, season two. Sam made a gorgeous lasagne and chips and we watched a few more True Blood episodes before I decided I needed to bail out, dose up again and hit the pit. At least tonight I didn't have the temperature, just the broken glass throat and muscular pains.

Meh, coming down with lurgies

Struggled all day at work today, have a niggly cough that feels really dry and feels like I have been breathing in smoke.

Didn't feel much better when I got home and as the evening progressed I started to get a temperature too :o(

Toni came over and after some food and watching wrestling it was time for an early night as I felt totally wretched. Lemsips and herbal tea with honey were downed in the hope of soothing my throat.

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Yummy food and tidy frenzy

Got home from work today to find the wonderful smell of home backing!
Sam and Sophie had made a lovely sponge cake and then make dinner for me as well which was very nice and much appreciated.

Spent most of the night having a frenzied tidy up of the bedroom (all part of getting the whole house sorted by Wednesday). Cleared out loads of stuff and the bedroom is 99& done and is nice and shiny now!

Spent the few gaps of time that I had catching up with the WWE TV shows from last week.

Valentine's Day fun and frolics!

Happy Valentine's Day Toni!
MWAH
Love you!


We kicked off the day exchanging some lovely presents and were both very happy!

Got up, had a lazy breakfast and then had an "alternative" Valentine's Day but going to London to have a mooch around the London Fetish Fair. We have been meaning to go for ages but never seemed to get round to it so it was somehow quite fitting that we ended up doing it on Valentine's Day. To spare your blushes I won't go into any detail but it was a fun day, we saw an interesting demonstration and made some purchases!

We then returned to North Greenwich and had a lovely Valentine's meal in Prezzo which rounded the day off perfectly.

Lazy start, chilling and Misfits

Today has a REALLY LAZY start. Toni and I didn't get up until gone 13:00. It was so nice just being able to snooze and snuggle and not have to worry about getting up.

We didn't do very much at all, took it easy, did a little shopping and then drove back to back to SWF.

We had dinner and watched the entire series of the E4 show Misfits. Misfits follows five outsiders on community service who get struck by a flash storm and lumbered with special powers. It was a really entertaining show and I really hope they make a second series as it deserves to have one.

Check out more about it here: http://www.e4.com/misfits/

The Ghost Of Lemora @ The Purple Turtle

Toni and I got dressed up and headed off to The Purple Turtle tonight to go and see three bands, two of which contained people that we know.
And here we are:


And so onto the bands.....................

TRES CALAVERAS
We arrived for the last couple of numbers of TRES CALAVERAS. They were pretty good and I'd have liked to have seen more of them.



I NATION
I've been looking forward to seeing I NATION live ever since I became acquainted with Dylan Smith when he was working with The Veil. Musically it wasn't quite what I had expected but it was very good. Dylan is a pretty good frontman and even managed to maintain his composure as he fell of the stage!




See all the I NATION pics here: 120210INationThePurpleTurtle


THE GHOST OF LEMORA
Last but by no means least were THE GHOST OF LEMORA. They put on a fantastic show and I was delighted hear them do "Happy End Of The World" which is one of my favourite Lemora songs. Peddling some awesome gothy tunes they had me hankering for my October visit to Whitby Goth Weekend. Would be awesome if they got asked back to play there again.





See all THE GHOST OF LEMORA pics here: 120210TheGhostOfLemoraThePurpleTurtle

Following the gig we hopped the tube to Leicester Square and had a lovely meal before heading back to Eltham.

Good Hollywood Doll rehearsal

Had a good Hollywood Doll rehearsal tonight. Auditions are progressing well and we aren't far away from making a decision on who will be joining us on rhythm guitar.

We got bumped from Studio 1 to 2 tonight which is the dance studio. There were a couple of pics take of Marie and I doing silly things with the bars! I will post them up as soon as I get a copy :o)

We've also sorted out when we are going to Southend College to record a song with Chris so things are coming along VERY nicely.

Goths................

Cryogenica @ The Purple Turtle

After my hospital appointment Toni and I went to Eltham. I logged into work for a couple of hours while Toni went and picked up Aaron and Gemima.

I then jumped on the train/tube to Camden to go and see CRYOGENICA at The Purple Turtle.

As I arrived the bands had already started:

DEAD HEAVEN
I saw Dead Heaven at the last Gotham event and really enjoyed their set. Nothing has really changed and they still deliver good quality 80s goth rock.




Had a good chat with Carina and Jon (of CRYOGENICA) as well as Carina's boyfriend Rcihard (from Ghost Of Lemora who I am going to see on Friday). The suddenly Dylan Nation (of The Veil and I Nation) arrived so we had a catch up too. I Nation were also with him as they are over from France to support Ghost Of Lemora on Friday.

The next band was supposed to have been STAR SCREAM but apparently the turned up and "told" headline band DIVA SUICIDE that they were going to be using their drum kit only to be told, surprise surprise, NO! This resulted in Star Scream being all dressed up with nowhere. Perhaps if they had asked politely rather than demanding things might have been different but sadly for them they didn't so ended up not playing at all.

This gave more time for CRYOGENICA to set up which wasn't a bad thing for them.


CRYOGENICA
CRYOGENICA once again were impressive. Haunting melodies, crunching guitars and Carina's strong vocals made for a great night. I am really looking forward to hearing the new CD once it has been completed. I was designated official photographer for the evening, based on the fact that I had taken pics for them before and nobody else had a camera LOL.






See all the CRYOGENICA pics here:
100210CryogenicaThePurpleTurtle


And last but not least...................


DIVA SUICIDE
I was quite impressed with DIVA SUICIDE. They had a great image and some good tunes. Sadly I had to leave early due to the trains and they didn't have quite enough to make me stay. What I saw was good though and I definitely want to go and see them properly.