The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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12:10pm on Saturday, 23rd February, 2008:
Anecdote
I drove to Middlesbrough yesterday to give a talk to the games students there about virtual worlds. Then I drove back. It's a nice, computer-friendly 256 miles from my garage to the car parking space they gave me, meaning I'd driven 512 miles in a single day. Then I had another 4 or so miles picking my daughter up from a sleepover we weren't letting her sleep over at (year, right, we're going to let a 13-year-old sleep round a boy's house...). So, let's call it 516 miles.
I think this is probably the most I've ever driven in a single day. I realise that Australians drive that far every day to take their kids to school, but it's not quite the same for me. Interestingly, the journey to Middlesbrough took 5 hours 20 minutes, whereas the return trip took 4 hours 15 minutes. The difference is almost entirely accounted for by queueing for roadworks outside Cambridge on the A14. I have to drive my elder daughter to York next week for another university interview; I'm thinking maybe I'll go via Stanstead instead.
As a result of all this driving, I wore a hole through the lining of the inside of my right shoe, where my heel had been resting to support the ball of my foot on the accelerator. Not only did I wear out the lining, though, but I wore out the fabric, too, meaning that when I went to Sainsbury's this morning I had to patch it up with duct tape to stop it from digging into me. This afternoon, I'm going to have to get myself a new pair or shoes to replace them. [Note to female readers: in common with most men, I only actually have one active pair of shoes, which I replace when something finally wears out. It's just one of those crazy man things we do.] Maybe I'll get myself some metal-tipped ones, to annoy the people who make me take them off at airports.
I knew I should have gone with my instincts and thrown these shoes out when the laces broke.
Referenced by Not even a Year.
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Copyright © 2008 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).