srdailyphoto

Today started with me all of a fluster, when I got a SMS text message from my friend Joanne at 8 am saying please can you be online in 45 minutes as I would like to chat.

So I had to rush out of the house to go and get credit for my USB dongle which ran out of credit the previous night.  I walked over to the new Tesco Express store which opened today at the Cambridge Leisure Park.

It was incredibly icy still and the compacted snow had started to melt but the clear skies combined with sub zero temperatures last night created patches of lethal normal white and black ice.  All of these factors combined led me to slip and slide about and nearly end up on my posterior a few times.  I was slightly concerned and my weak ankle was absolute agony and I was worried that it may give way at any time.





It seems like a very good store and its not just full of basic stuff for work lunches or snacks etc, I think it has the potential for me to be able to do quite a decent weekly shop there.  The other good thing is that its only 12 minutes walk from my flat,  yes, I was sad enough to time myself and that was in the ice and snow so I think I will be able to trim that time down in the future when the weather is more clement.

My USB dongle is with Vodafone and I have to top it up with £15 of credit to give me 1 Gigabyte of data usage, which lasts me roughly a fortnight, this will connect me to either the Vodafone GPRS or 3G Network depending on available signal.

The GPRS signal is adequate but it does tend to go slow on occassion but the 3G coverage is excellent and can be akin to a normal broadband connection when it works well, but one always has to be aware of how much credit you have remaining.





I did have a T-Mobile dongle to get online at home as i currently don't have a landline.

The dongle was problematic ever since i got it.  It had major problems obtaining a signal and once connected maintaining the connection, even though according to their online coverage checker i should get ''VERY GOOD'' coverage in my flat.

The end result was that i had to stick the tip of the usb dongle out of a window that only opens less than an inch by a centimetre or so on the end of a usb extension lead. The connection did still crash periodically but at least i could get online.

BUT a few weeks ago I left my pc for a second while i answered a call of nature. Whilst i was in bathroom i heard a slight rattling sound.

When i returned i found the usb extension lead but no dongle. I can only surmise that some lovely individual stole it.

I have now blacklisted the SIM and IMEI number so the dongle cannot be used again.

When I got back from Tesco Express I logged online and entered the code and topped up the dongle and just as i signed onto the Internet my friend Joanne came online and we had a lovely chat and catch up.

I then spent some more time online checking emails , job adverts and chatting to friends on MSN.

I needed to go into town to get some food and to do a few other odd jobs in the afternoon.
So I went to the mini Sainsbury's in town to get a few items for supper and a Daily Mail.

For supper tonight I have Toulouse sausages and I am going to have a side salad filled with lots of different goodies from the Salad Bar with them as well..

I am currently contemplating popping out to the new Tesco Express to get something for afters or some fruit as i had the last of my pears this morning when i was rather peckish..

OK so what have I done today?

This morning I just relaxed at home and watched some DVD's and did some reading as well as listened to a few tracks on my IPod.

Then this afternoon I went into town and looked round the shops until my appointment with the optician at 1615.



My appointment went OK but I was told that I didn't new new glasses but she needed to refer me to a specialist optometrist at the local hospital as she was slightly concerned about a few things, especially when I told her the frequency of my migraines was increasing.

I then had to do further tests, one of which was a rather bizarre test called a "field of vision test"

I then came back to the flat thinking that I was going to have a quiet night in, I logged onto my PC at 1900 and my friend George from Red2Green popped up asking me if I fancied going out for dinner again.

I have to admit I do feel guilty that he has treated me to dinner a couple of times. But what I have decided I will do is when life is more settled, I will invite him round to my flat and cook him dinner, maybe do a few Chinese dishes as I know he likes Chinese very much. Or maybe do a lasange.

George suggested we went to Frankie & Benny's. 




I have never been there before but it was a nice place and I just loved the Italian / American ambiance. One little touch that made me giggle was in the toilet there was a learn Italian broadcast playing. In the restaurant itself there was piped in music of various Rat Pack artists singing such hits as Amore.



For my starter I had:-

This evening I went to one of our local Pizza Express'  with a new friend (George) I met at  Red2Green  a local charity who run a day centre for people with learning difficulties. The specific scheme we met at is called "Aspirations".

George like me has Asperger's Syndrome and we seem to have a few things in common.

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For my starter I had:-

Caesar Salad

Cos lettuce with grana padano, anchovies, croutons and creamy Caesar dressing.
 

Followed by:-

Pollo Pancetta

Torn chicken breast, roasted yellow peppers, smoked pancetta and fresh parsley. Instead of tomato, this is served on a pepperonata base - an aromatic sauce made of red and yellow peppers.  With this I had extra black olives.


Followed by:-

Chocolate Glory

Creamy vanilla ice cream and pieces of chocolate fudge cake, piled high in an old-fashioned sundae glass then drizzled with chocolate sauce. Added to this I had a shot of Limoncello.

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The whole evening was most enjoyable and I look forward to going for another meal with my friend as the conversation flowed so easily and we had an intellectual discussion on various things, but we also found time and place for lighthearted banter as well.

So thank you George for a wonderful evening,

Hi there.

My name is Simon and I currently live in Cambridge.

I am 30 years old at present and I have Aspergers Syndrome and one of my many hobbies is photography, so to that end I have decided to start a daily photoblog.

This photoblog will contain one image which sums up my day, it may be something I have seen that has caught my eye and moved me or a specific image which illustrates my day.

I am making this photoblog public so people can make comments as and when they wish to.

Best Regards

Simon