I’d put aside about an hour after I finished work to get this post done. What did I do instead? I managed to really mess something up massively on my NAS box which meant I couldn’t get to it on my network. Photos, work, nothing. All on the evening before I go on holiday. Well done, JAINA!
Thankfully, I have got everything back after I found the magical reset button which doesn’t wipe the entire hard drive. Phew. Back on track. Well, a few hours late.
Anywho. It’s Monday. Just barely. How were all of your weekends? Mine? Pretty uneventful. Well, fairly. The weekend before going on holiday is usually a busy one. Mostly because it’s filled with things I need to get done before I go away. Those things usually entail work of some kind. Fun times!
Bitten by the London 2012 Bug
Sometime on the weekend I managed to get a bit more enthusiastic about the Olympics. After my last post, I didn’t think I’d be able to get into them at all. Some time, when I was settled onto the sofa on Friday night watching the never-ending opening ceremony for London 2012 I started to feel like I am missing out somehow by not really getting into the Olympics.
Run, corgis, run! James Bond is gunning for you! The James Bond cut sequence was definitely one of my highlights from the ceremony. Hey look, the Queen has a sense of humour.
On the topic of the opening ceremony. I did enjoy it. For the most part. The actual opening was very epic. Kenneth Branagh was rocking those lamb chops. The James Bond sequence was great. A little bit of humour injected into it was a good thing. Though the Mr. Bean segment? Not sure about that one. Is he really that renowned? But looking back on it. It just all feels a bit random and bitty, you know? Maybe not. Great music. Great opening. Just a bit haphazard at times.
As the teams were entering the stadium I was beginning to nod off. I timed it perfectly and managed to wake up just in time to see team GB walk in. Then my timing got even better. Nodded off just as Sir Steven Redgrave was handed the torch and managed to wake up just as the closing credits were rolling. Perfect!
Somehow, I managed to miss these fireworks. It was those hours battling to stay awake as my knowledge of world geography was tested.
Saturday rolled in and I was watching more Olympic events than I had anticipated. And now? Now I’m actually contemplating going to an event. Now that’s a 180 if ever there was one.
Google+ – It’s the Future (No, I won’t shut up about it)
It was a weekend lacking in anything in the film watching area. Well, I did join Russell over at filmsRruss for a Google+ Hangout discussing the merits and de-merits of Black Hawk Down. One of my favourite films from Ridley Scott. You can watch our hangout here. Sadly, we go off topic towards the end. There’s only so much you can talk about when you’re discussing a great film which everyone enjoys! It was good and I encourage more of you guys out there to get in on this! It’s like podcasts… only the future!
Back to the old stomping ground
On Sunday I somehow managed to find myself back at Virginia Water Lake. No, it wasn’t some drunken bender. Sadly. It was a nice day (In the beginning.) and felt like a bit of a walk after stuffing my face with Thai food at lunch time.
The nice day turned quickly. And me in my flip-flops, flimsy cardigan and vest top did not fare so well. Oh and I looked like someone had dragged me forwards then backwards through several bushes. We were already over half way around the lake and the heavens just opened. There was nothing to do but to keep going.
Though, I had a chance to get my camera out. I haven’t taken any photos with it in a while, so it felt good to get some snaps in.
These ominous looking clouds at the start of the walk around the lake should have been the warning we heeded. Oh no. Just keep walking. Those clouds will move!
The very beautiful lake.
And more of the lake. It’s still beautiful from this vantage point too.
Could I please live in those houses? But perhaps without having to deal with the public taking photos of my back garden. Ahem.
Hope you all had a good weekend. Anyone else bitten by the Olympic bug? Or still ignoring/shying away from it altogether. Have a great week!
I’ve not been bitten by the Olympic bug, but I did watch the opening ceremony. Once the teams started coming in I wanted to change channels, but my girlfriend really wanted to see them. In the end we both nodded off, so didn’t see the rest of it. This weekend I did watch some swimming (Dutch female team won silver) and gymnastics, but that’s about it. It was a relatively layed back weekend….
Love those pictures of the lake!
I love those types of weekends. Laid back and completely chilled.
Watching all the teams roll out requires stamina! I failed on that front.
The lake is just stunning. I love going back there.
Nice to see you have finally come over to the dark side… Olympics is constantly on in our house… only breaking for some Walter White action
That’s the only good reason for there to be a break in Olympics action. Currently Walter is terrifying me. He really is the bad guy.
Cheers for giving me a mention. I haven’t watched Innocent Blood yet, but I will find time this week in between all the Olympics stuff. I also agree that the opening ceremony was great, apart from Mr Bean. However, I’ve been running this search: Olympic OR Olympics OR medal OR “London 2012” on google+ since the oympics began (pull out lots of interesting content), and the amount of re-posts of the Mr Bean section is amazing! Obviously some people liked it.
Cool photos, though I can’t decide whether they look like Crystal Lake from the Friday 13th series or Lake Placid! Did you see any ice hockey masked killers or giant crocodiles?
I did hear some blood curdling screams but I just figured it was the coach load of German tourists getting soaked. Maybe Jason stowed away on their coach!
Ahh..Bean. You have more fans than I would have thought.
The Olympics have been the only thing on my TV since I’ve been back from Baltimore. Love it. It’s only two weeks every four years, so have to enjoy while I can.
What do you use for a NAS box? I’ve been looking into them for years, but never have committed to buying one.
I’ve got a Synology box and definitely recommend them. It’s got a couple of Samsung hard drives in and is very quiet. Takes an little bit of set up but it’s worth it.
Like a lot of things, the Olympics have lost their magic since I’m no longer sitting around on a warm summer evening with my parents and lil sister eagerly watching the divers, gymnasts, and track & field events all rooting for the “heros” (for which the commercials leading up to the games told you who they were). I digress. I loved Mr Bean and the whole Bond sequence. My sis in law has corgis so I hoped she enjoyed that bit! You fell asleep, kinda funny! I didn’t watch the whole nations parade. Didn’t even bother checking back on the US since I knew I’d see plenty of photos online. Wow, going to an event?! Is it hard to get in? Which one will you go to? Sorry you haven’t sold me on Google+ yet. Keep writing though! Glad to hear you got your camera. I’m really bad these days. My fav is the one looking at the lake between the trees. Nice framing. Mysterious too. Great clouds in the sky. And those houses ARE lovely!
The Olympic magic is something you get or don’t. Though I think I’m somewhere in the middle at the moment. I don’t really root for GB in particular though. How un-patriotic of me!
Getting tickets has been a bit of a farce. It put a big downer on the Olympics for me. No matter how many times I tried I just didn’t get anything!
Does Natalie Imbruglia live in any of those houses?
I did not see her emerge like a hermit from either of the houses.
I regret that I didn’t have the chance to watch Olympics opening, but usually I’m not too excited about sports events. I did watched Daniel Craig part over on you tube, and want to see more from the opening. Can’t found the full opening ceremony on you tube until now.
I did have a good weekend, but not much outdoors. only watched 1 movie and TV series, Boy A and 30 Rock.
That google +, did you record it like Vlog or something?
There’s nothing but Olympics on TV here! It’s a little bit crazy.
The Google+ hangouts can be live streamed to YouTube and they’re recorded too. They’re a great little feature. Well, big feature. A lot of fun to do too.
I’m still not digging the Olympics, I continue to forgot about turning on tV. Gorgeous pictures and the houses on the last one look beautiful!
I want a house that looks like that! Makes me think of Carl’s house in Up.
Huh. Yeah, whatever, Olympics, yada yada…
That hangout thing is kind of cool though I guess. Didnt watch all of it, but I started to check it out, get the feel of it…
Meanwhile, didnt see those pictures at first! You should be a photographer, Jaina. Im telling you, youve got a real “eye” 😀
Cheers, Dan. Had fun taking those shots. Even if I got a little drenched.
The Hangouts are good fun. It’s probably a good thing you didn’t watch the end, we got very side tracked! Love the fact that you can live stream to YouTube and record it and all that jazz.
Gorgeous pics!! Man, I love these, Jaina. Hey, you’re not the only one not watching the Olympics, I’ve only seen the Opening Ceremony and that’s about it 🙂
Thank you Ruth!
I have since watched a little bit more of the Olympics. I can’t help it. There’s not much else on TV here!
Man! I loved those pics, Jaina.
I got a little excited when you said you were messing with you NAS and then I realized you didn’t say nEs (as in the old school Nintendo Entertainment System). I was a little sad after that realization. 😀
Thank you for mentioning Kenneth Branagh! Win for you! I was excited about him too. I posted on a friend’s fb page about it and he was like “well, I saw Mr. Bean.” (Seriously??!!) ha.
on the subject of fb…I havn’t been too active in G+ lately (srry). but, if you keep mentioning it I may start to do so. 😉 Have a great weekend!
Aww sorry to disappoint! You know what? I never had a NES. I was a SEGA girl with a Megadrive!
Don’t worry, I’ll keep mentioning it. I won’t stop until people start seeing what a nifty little place it is. Even if it requires a bit of work.
And cheers about the photos, T!
Great photos as always, Jaina! Another push for Google+, eh? I must admit I am curious about its niche following these days. Perhaps I should give it another chance…
I will always keep advocating for Google+. Such a great platform. Especially for bloggers.
And thank you!
[…] something funny happened while watching the opening ceremony. The cynicism began to fade. Don’t worry, it was still there. Just faded. Replaced by a hope […]