Small talk and big monitors

I have a problem, which is this: I unconsciously paraphrase Douglas Adams.

No, it's not that. It's that I don't like writing repetitive things and that I'm often very bad at coming up with things to say if I don't have anything in particular to mention.

This is why I still have to leave feedback for about 20 transactions on eBay. I have this weird desire to analyse each and every one and this strange worry that people will notice if all I ever say is "Good price, as described, fast delivery". I also have a pathological hatred of the phrase "A++ eBayer" which doesn't help matters.

A quick search of blog topics reveals that, surprisingly, I haven't mentioned my hatred of thank you letters that have to be sent after birthdays and such-like. I figure it'll come up again since I haven't actually been doing this blog on my birthday or around Christmas.

It all stems from that same inability to write, or talk about, what I deem to be irrelevant facts. As such, most of the first drafts tend to go something like this:


Dear "Relative X who I haven't met in person since I was 5",

Thank you for £Y.

Yours sincerely, etc.


After some badgering from Mum I can usually drag it out to:


Thank you for £Y. I have spent it on Z.


Where variable Z is something that relative X won't understand and that I probably haven't actually bought.

And that's it. I just don't do small talk. I can't discuss what school's like or any crap like that in such letters because I just don't find it relevant and I hate to repeat myself so much in the various near-identical letters that are shot off to whoever.

It's just occurred to me why this seems so familiar: there's a very good chance I mentioned similar woes in a post about applying to be a prefect. Mystery solved.

This is beside the point, really, since I was originally talking about eBay feedback but I have nothing else to mention and it's set me off one one of my many, many pet peeves... I haven't done a "Things that bug Alasdair" post in a while, have I? That's probably a good thing but I'll reserve my right to vent on this topic further when I actually have to write some of these things.


In other news, you recall my old Amstrad CPC 464? Well, when we split up that retro bundle, Sam made off with his own, probably functioning (so long as all that stuff that fell out wasn't important), CPC 464 and we agreed that he could have my old green monochrome monitor for it if he paid for half of a colour one. Sure enough, the colour monitor arrived today in another of those big boxes that I've become so accustomed to waking up to. As Erin put it this morning "I remember when you used to get small things in the mail".

Here she is, folks:


Uh, that's the monitor not Erin.

Anyway, you can see for yourselves it's pretty bulky, which just makes this thing all the more ridiculous:

That's right, it's a carry handle. For all the carrying that you're sure to be doing. And it's even got one of these:

A plug holder, to stop that big cable flapping about your legs while you're carrying along your Amstrad Colour Monitor. With the carry handle.

Besides that, it's a good piece of kit if I can ever find a use for it.


Oh, and before I go, anybody want an Axim X3?