Kingston Part Simon’s Number to the Power of Simon’s Number (Blog 535)

At the time of typing on a Thursday, I’m planning on going to Kingston to get the brand new Deftones album, that I’ve already reserved by phone! As I’ll be in the town at around 10:30 AM tomorrow if all goes to plan, there’s a very good chance I’ll be the first person there to get the LP. :O It’s a big town! Why not just order the thing off Amazon? Well, I always leave a very clear note on my door saying ‘Please leave package by door and ring bell’, but the postman posts the parcel anyway, often cracking the case and I can’t complain because I don’t know who he is. Also, I think I need to treat myself to a nice shopping trip and a Five Guys burger, also in Kingston as the Summer I’ve had has been rather dull so far. It’s my own Summer. Shove it. And before you accuse me of being rude just then, that was a Deftones reference! Why they sing about telling people to go away, I don’t know. Just a tradition in metal, I guess. I’d personally love to live in a world where songs like ‘My Own Summer, Please Join Me’ or even better ‘It’s Everyone’s Summer, We’re All Equal, Please Join Me’ are the norm, but it sounds hippy and at risk of contradicting myself, I don’t really want live that kind of life.

The burger place opens at 11 AM (expert research/planning from me there), I will be getting there very early, it won’t be breakfast and it won’t be lunch, so that leaves brunch. That could well be the first ever time I’ve ever typed the word, which is exciting. Let’s use my computers ‘finder’ program to find out if it is indeed a first. Yes, I knew it! It’s quite possible I’ve never even said it! Have I ever had a brunch? If so I don’t remember it. Very exciting. I also have to remember to get a SMALL chocolate milkshake from the place, as the standard size is a bit overkill. It wouldn’t be so bad if they did special shakes that have multiple layers of different ingredients, just the one gets tiring. Unless maybe I keep requesting top-ups of cream which is an interesting thought, but no I think I’ll leave it. It’s unhealthy. Talking of sugary treats and rareness, I very recently had a Daim Bar for I think the first time in 30 years, and it could well be my new favourite mid-range choc! The first time I had one I didn’t really like it very much, explaining the massive gap in time, but that isn’t very surprising as a child I didn’t really like chocolate, I was more a Opal Fruits person. Ah, I’ve just Googled Daim Bars and they’re from Sweden. They do have better chocolates, don’t they. A superior people.

After the trip, I may or may not go to the gym as it will be closing at 2 PM because of staff training. If I have less than half an hour to work out, I’ll probably leave it. Anything less than that and I probably won’t notice too much of an increase of mood, which is annoying as I always considered Fridays to be one of my favourite days of the week. No gym buzz on party day? Very sad. It would be much worse to skip gyming on Saturday though as that’s takeaway day, that’s the REAL party. I do have an exercise bike at home and I can go for a jog tomorrow in the worst case scenario, but I’ll probably leave that, too. Sometimes it’s good to have a break! Anyway, I’m hoping I’m not brought up in the various talks in the staff training, I’d be devastated if they’re ONLY about me. It’s my mental home days all over again. :( Now what to say? Oh yes, you think you have better chocolates, Sweden? Yeah? Maybe they do taste better, but Daim bars keep getting stuck to my teeth? How is that fair? Ok, I’m going to stop blogging for now, I’m clearly running out of things to say.

Right, I’m back from Kingston AND the gym, so let’s get blogging! The first thing I did in the town was look for chocolates, but after a few minutes I gave up as I didn’t have much time, I wanted that classic gym buzz! I found a shop selling candy, but it mostly sold stuff like Haribo, which I think I’m too old for, despite the adverts telling me otherwise. There were some chocolates for sale, but only the kind of stuff you can get from your local supermarket, so I gave it a miss. Time for getting my CD, I guess. Ah, on the way to HMV, I noticed a shop selling paper and pens and that kind of stuff, I am indeed running out of paper and pens with ink in them. Not exactly a thrill purchase, but very practical. I do have moments of sensibleness, yesterday I got to the doctor’s early! Sound impressed? Don’t get used to it. Right, the CD! In the store the music wasn’t playing as loud as the last time I went there, so I bought my earplugs in my pockets for no reason. Sounds like a thing that isn’t really worth mentioning? No, I check my pockets ALL the time, so it was actually a big deal for me. If I lost the ear defenders, I’d have to buy more, it would be annoying. You can guess how I feel about carrying something really important with me, like my mobile phone. Screw that!

I told the cashier I had a CD reserved for me, and he said ‘Are you Simon?’ Not only did I think ‘How did you know that?’ I asked it too, but I don’t think I got a response, so it’s a mystery. He must be psychic. I was actually wearing a Deftones shirt at the time of buying, it must have looked fantastic! It was a question with an obvious answer, but the cashier asked ‘Are you a Deftones fan?’ anyway. Yes, very much so, should be a good listen! It was lucky I reserved it, as I checked the Deftones section in the shop and there was only one more of the CDs for sale. Having said that, I probably would have been safe if I didn’t reserve the album, as I’ve never actually met anyone who likes the band. After that, I bought an Alice In Chains CD, finally completing my collection! Unless they have a compilation album, but of course I wouldn’t need it as I have all the songs, already! Next came the Five Guys and I ordered a burger and a SMALL shake. When the former was finally made and the cook put the burger on the desk immediately in front of her, it was my time to be psychic and I collected the food without even being told it was ready. It’s a gift. When I got my shake, I got a regular size anyway and for the price of a small one. Oh not again. Look, if you want to throw your money away, charge me less for what I actually order. -_- When everything was fully munched and slurped, I jogged back to the station and had just three minutes to wait for the train home! Not bad! How did I know when to leave the foodery? Again, it’s a gift. I had a good one hour of exercising and on the whole, a nice outing! Bye!