Teaspoons and Afternoons

Tinselworm

2007-11-24T11:50:00.000Z

Watched Bill Bailey's new live stand-up at the NIA yesterday night and I have never laughed as much in my life. Funniest thing I have seen for a long time.

Although there was still time through all the laughter to get annoyed at the world. During the interval I went to get some food, as you do. We didn't go before the show because we got there a little late because someone got the NEC and the NIA mixed up and spent the best part of an hour trying to rectify this. We won't say who. Ahem. *whistles innocently and looks away*

So anyway, we were queuing for food and I cast an eye over what passes for the menu and the only thing that looks worth having is a hot tandoori baguette. Fuck it, I'll have two, the lovely lady has to eat too. So we're queuing. And queuing. And queuing some more until 15 minutes have ticked away. I'm two people from the counter and a voice booms out from behind the counter where the semi-literate, can't operate a till or count change above a quid chimps that they chose to employ for what could only be described as a sell-out gig work and says,

"No more hot baguettes. No more cold baguettes!"

FUCK! I've waited the better part of the interval for food to find they've run out of the only thing I wanted? And from the sounds of it it wasn't the filling they'd run out of, because cold baguettes were out as well. They must have just run out of bread. What kind of morons have they employed to run this thing.

"How much bread d'you reckon we'll need, John?"
"Dunno, coupla packets? How much is ten?"

Un-fucking-believable. Needless to say I walked off in a less than happy mood, loudly declaring that "they've just lost out on my ten quid" and "what kind of twats are running this place".

Still, Bill Bailey was funny so it all worked out okay in the end. And we went for a curry when we got home which was delicious. But if you work for the NIA sort it fucking out, you cocks!

Time for a change

2007-11-23T15:19:00.001Z

So I've changed the template design since revisiting my hallowed pages. I might start blogging again but still don't really have anything to rant about, life is still pretty good.

I'm selling the flat and so far everything is going smoothly enough. Got a house all lined up and me and the lovely lady will be co-owners just like real proper growed-ups. Next thing to sort is the wedding which I just know will creap up like a ninja and surprise the hell out of us but hey, fuck it, we'll be ready come hell or high water.

So that is pretty much it. Maybe more blogging to come, maybe not. Watch this space.

Has it really been a year?

2007-07-07T00:07:00.000Z

Well apparently so. A year (nearly) since I last posted any kind of blog entry. Wow, I wasn't kidding when I said it might not be regularly updated.

To be honest things haven't really changed much in the last year or so. Still engaged to the gorgeous and sexy girl I'm proud to be marrying. Still in the same job and still enjoying it, although dealing with people that freely state, "I don't know much about computers" after they have buggered everything up can be frustrating.

Some news is that there is a date set for the wedding. August 2009 will be the time so plenty of time to prepare then? I hope so, my preparation for things is well documented in these blog entries so if I remain true to form the day before the wedding I'll be running around trying to arrange a suit, a car, the church and the honeymoon while the bride is sitting pretty in her wedding dress with no wedding to go to.

Of course, all this is highly unlikely what with girl's ability to arrange a wedding in an afternoon and still have time for a couple of white wine spritzers with the bridesmaids. I'm sure everything will be fine and dandy and will go off without a hitch, I have confidence.

We've also just gotten two new pets. Rats by the names of Cornelius and Tuppe (keeping the Rankin theme going you'll notice) who are babies at the moment but will no doubt out grow there cage in no time flat and start taking over the flat. Both boys, before you ask, with the biggest bollocks I've seen on small animals... not of course that I make a habit of looking and animal testicles, they're just very prominant... that's all.

And that, I think, is about it for tonight. I think I should start blogging again, I really let these things slide too much which is a horrible downside to being me.

Laters.

Summer heat... goddamn it's hot!

2006-07-23T18:50:00.000Z

Looks like we're having a heatwave then. It's been pushing 30 degrees for well over a week now and no sign of it letting up. A little bit of rain yesterday should have cooled everything down and for on evening it did but it didn't last and today has been hot again.

Sleeping isn't fun either, a sheet still feels like a forty tog quilt in this heat but still I have the lovely lying next to me so as long as she's there it's all good. Well... until she (in her sleep, never conciously) sprawls across the bed and drapes legs and arms over me. I love falling asleep with her and me cuddling but in this heat? Phew! Still, I love her with all my heart and thats why I'll do anything for her.

All of which means I need to make some changes to my lifestyle. Like she has just finished saying, it's time to put away childish things, which I guess means taking down the toys I have adorning my house that I think looks cool but that other people clearly think look a bit sad for a thirty year old to still have lying around the house in view. It also means taking more control of my life and stop just drifting along hoping that everything will be alright if I just ride it out. I need to find a way to build my confidence? I mean, how do you do that, seriously? I'm one of the least self confident people on the planet, I can't speak in public and rarely voice my opinion in a room full of people, even if they are all friends and relatives.

I wonder where this fear of rejection and lack of self confidence comes from? I mean, I know I was picked on a little at school, I think a few years of being the 'new boy' in a school played a part somehow. I remember in the early days of Middle School that I never used to join in with the play at breaktimes and just stood or sat by a wall reading due to a lack of new school friends. This made me something of a target and probably made me more introverted that I should have been, but I was only twelve.

What to do is the question. I suppose I should look up techniques and tips from 'experts' but what then? Will it help? We'll see.

Hayfever, I hate it.

2006-06-21T09:47:00.000Z

I do, I really do. Sniffing, itchy eyes and constant sneezing. Still, it's only for a couple of weeks then I can venture out of the house and squint at the sunlight and start to enjoy the closing weeks of summer.

In the meantime I've got this and this to keep me entertained. Yay.

So how have you been?

2006-05-21T12:33:00.000Z

Right then, here we go again. As I said back when I started this blog it may or may not be added to regularly and this post proves that point entirely. I stumbled across my own blog recently and read through all my early posts and laughingly enjoyed them. Yes, I know that's quite a sad and lonely thing to do but hey, sure me.

I thought I'd just give an update on where my life's at, actually, so that's really the purpose of this entry. My last post told how I was starting a new job and it's been nearly 8 months since I started that job and I have to say I really, really enjoy it. Maybe it's the newness of the thing that has me enjoying it so much or maybe it's the job I should be doing to make me happy, who knows. How often does a person find the ideal job in this world. To be fair how many people in this world choose to work when it's so much easier to scrounge of the state and life the life of a king without any effort?

The new year brought many surprises, some good and some bad, the biggest of which was my gorgeous girlfriend proposing to me at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. Naturally I accepted and I think it was always going to be a race between us as to who would ask the other first. She bought me a ring which I wear proudly everyday and for her birthday in March I bought her one back.

Recent months have been darkened by the death of two of the girlfriend... sorry, fiance's family members. First her Nan died mid-January and more recently her father passed away at around Easter. Needless to say she was devastated at the loss of her father and as hard as I tried I found it very hard to keep her going. Luckily she has a strong family and everyone rallied round to arrange the funeral and a fine sending off for him. She still grieves and it hurts me to see her so upset but I know this is part of the process and I have to be strong for her but sometimes it's hard to be.

On the lighter side of things baby Grace, who as I am marrying into the family will be my niece, arrived mid-January and she is growing bigger all the time, she'll soon be running around at the rate she's growing and has a funny little mowhawk thing going on on the top of her head. She's a cutey and no mistake but I still don't think I'm ready to be a dad yet. Sometime in the future maybe but not just yet, which suits the pair of us just fine.

And that's pretty much that, dear reader. The last eight months summed up in five short paragraphs, doesn't time fly when you're having fun? To be honest I can't believe it's May already and soon to be June. What is it that happens to time as you get older that makes it fly by at speeds hitherto unknown to humanity? You'll notice that I glossed over the fact that I had a thirtieth birthday in the intervening months since I last blogged, that wasn't accidental (although I would like to thank the missus for the party, it was awesome) as at my age you don't like to dwell too much on the past, ;-)

Until next time.

A new job and whole world of worry.

2005-08-22T18:12:00.000Z

Ah dear blog, we've been apart for a while so I thought I'd pop by and say hello.

So I've reached a new turnign point in my short life and made a life changing decision about my career. I figured it's about time I got on. My thirtieth birthday will be upon me in around six months tims and I've taken the someswhat shaky decision to jack in my old job and get a brand new one and this folks is the kicker, it's in an office working nine to five.

Now I've not worked in an office since I went on work experience in school some ten years ago and to be honest after working in a factory and then a stores since leaving school I never thought I would but the lovely lady I'm proud to call my girlfriend spotted a job on the job centre website and said to me that I should apply. I was reluctant but gave it a go and in less than a week after ringing them they gave me the job. On the spot. Actually in the interview. I was amazed, thats never happened to me before. So now I've gone from being a lowly storeman in a second rate factory warehouse to being a customer support agent in a legit software company.

Here's where things go a bit worrying though, the new job is less well paid than my old job. Now therein lies a problem because I'm stuggling with money wnough as it is without taking a pay cut. In six months when I'm fully trained the money goes up a little but still not to the levels that it was. Poor old bird is working in two shitty jobs that she doesn't really like for fifty hours a week just so we have extra cash coming in and boy do I feel bad for her. Bless her she's doing everything she can for us at the expense of her happiness. All I can do is keep her happy in the best way that I know how and be there for her when she gets down, I just hope I can live up to the responsibility.

So there we have it, good news tinged with bad. Isn't that always the way? Ah well, until next time, good old blog.

Why I'm now only listening to Kerrang!

2005-06-03T01:18:00.000Z

So it's finally happened, the final death of real music is here and we can seemingly do nothing about it.

You will recall, dear readers (and I'm hoping I have readers here) that I dislike intensely the... and I can barely even bring myself to write the words here... Crazy Frog ringtone that the bastards at Jamster (I hope they all burn in hell) keep ramming down the throat of every sane person in the world. If their adverts aren't saturating satelite and cable television enough they've now started to appear on websites left, right and centre with an annoying Flash banner ad that plays the infernal tune at you whether you want it to or not. Damn you you foul beings from the depths of Hades!!

Anyway, as I was saying, all the above is currently ongoing as is the release and subsequently chart-topping Crazy Frog/Axel F single. A song that has now ruined for me the Beverly Hills Cop movies and also has caused my gorgeous girly to waste £3 on a new ringtone for her phone because she had Axel F as her ringtone and now that the fucking amphibian has hijacked the tune she can't have because everyone will think thats what it is. The Frog kept bands like Coldplay from the number one spot soley because Jamster (cunts) have spent the budget of a small country plugging this infernal song.

As a result I now have either Kerrang 105.2 playing in the car or I plug in my iPod (when it's charged) so I don't have to listen to any station that might feel the need to play the current number one. I reckon in about a month or two it might be safe to tune into another station but until then I'm taking no chances.

Anyway, rant over and done with I'll leave you with this that I've made just because I've been watching far too much 24 lately.

So results are in then...

2005-05-06T06:30:00.000Z

Four more years of Silly government (to quote Monty Python). Pretty much a forgone conclusion I suppose although would have been nice to have had a change. It's as good as a rest, they say.

Ah well, at least we don't have George 'Dubya' Bush as our leader.

This week I am...

2005-04-28T16:13:00.000Z

... mostly tired.

Not getting much sleep for some reason and having had two days off work at the start of the week "sick" I'm finding it hard to get into the spirit of things workwise.

Still, Friday tomorrow and then a bank holiday weekend. Yay!

That is all. Tune in next time for the fascinating world of me.

Lazy weekends rule!

2005-04-16T09:54:00.000Z

So it's the weekend already and what do I have plans to do? Not a hell of a lot. I'm currently round at the young lady's place (well in the house that she will be living in with her friend) and taking advantage of the wireless laptop that is always in the living room. Makes me want one of my own but I know I'll never have one because I don't even need one. Just boys and their toys I guess.

So far it's coming up to lunch time and I haven't even considered doing anything worth while. Herself is still asleep upstairs. Me, having been woken at eight o' something in the goddamn morning by someone from work ringing with a completely pointless quesiton and rousing me from my blissful slumber, could not then get back to sleep.

Although it does look like we'll shortly be putting up some shelves to store the prodigious DVD collection that is amassed on the side so at least thats something productive I can be doing.

But like I say, lazy weekends rule and long may they continue. In the meantime look at how cute 'er-indoors kittens are...

Pope - RIP

2005-04-04T08:50:00.000Z

Yep, dead as the proverbial dodo. Supposedly this could signal the coming of the Apocolypse... ah well, if I'm going down I'm taking a few of you with me.

Although I don't understand the selection process fully I'd imagine it's something like this.

29? 29?!?! Old age and all that jazz.

2005-03-30T20:38:00.000Z

Oh woe is me. Woe, woe is me. I've just celebrated (if thats the right word) my 29th birthday and man do I feel old now. A whole weekend of goodness from the delightful lady but still woe for aging.

She did well though, did 'er indoors. I got some of the bestest presents a nearly thirty-year old can have. I got a remote controlled flying saucer (oh yes, dear reader, it is much fun) a Duff Beer neon light, a half yard of ale glass (that was used to excess on Saturday night, my head still hurts) and bestest of all my dear sweet girlfriend won, on ebay, six signed Robert Rankin books. Mr Rankin is a particularly favourite author of mine so imagine how happy I am. She am the bestest.

She also took me out bowling (which she kicked my ass at) and got me drunk and took advantage of me (which she kicked my ass at also).

It's odd, now that I'm *cough*nearlythirty*cough* I'm acting more and more like a teenager everyday, just the other morning I had a strop at my mum and did a Kevin and Perry impression. Do men regress in their old age? Hmmm...

Girlfriend's birthday? A guide on how to do it for the everyman.

2005-03-25T00:42:00.000Z

So okay, we've all been in the same situation, it's your girl's birthday, you want to impress her and prove to her how much you care but how to go about it?

The main ingredients are always the same, teddy bears, chocolates, flowers but as with cooking the preparation is the important thing. My girlfriend lives a good half hours drive away so as a result we only really get to see each other at weekends. This can be difficult at times because, and I'm not going to be all macho and lie here, I do miss her. Problems arise when things like birthdays or aniversaries crop up in the middle of the week. Such as happened recently.

So I left her house early on the Monday morning wishing her well and that we'd speak on Wednesday so I could wish her a happy birthday and that the following weekend we'd meet up as usual and have a... shall we say erm... well, we'd drink and be merry... and that, as far as she was concerned, was that.

In my mind i was already planning to go over on the Wednesday evening to surprise her and this is how it started. The following day (thats Tuesday, for those of you still reading) I spoke to a friend of hers asking about eateries in and around the Dudley area that he recommended since I was coming down to surprise her. A place picked out and reservations made part two of the plan got under way. Between us we arranged for me to be at his house while he went to fetch her with the promise of some beer, a takeaway and some friends round to celebrate. Things were running smoothly thus far.

Wednesday rolls around and I, armed with a credit card and a vague idea, head to town straight from work. An hour later, presents purchased, and I'm home wrapping. Except I'm not, because I forgot to buy paper so I'm using tin foil for the smaller presents and hoping to come up with something for the biggest teddy in christendom.

Cards written, presents 'wrapped' and flowers purchased I'm sitting in waiting in Dudley expectantly and this is when I make the phone call. I ring the lovely lady, just to 'check in' (I'd already wished her a happy birthday in the morning) and find out what she was up to. I relayed a story about how my shift had been changed for the following day and if I'd known I could have come down to see her. She was, understandably upset and cursed my employers. I wish her all the best for the evenign and hope she has a good night and hang up. Meanwhile, Teddy is upstairs on the bed in the room she will soon be renting with two dozen red roses cupped in his paws and my foil wrapped gifts are in a carrier bag next to me when I hear the car pull up.

So to summarise:

Supersize teddy bear from Clinton's :- £Undisclosed (she reads this)

Box of chocs from Woolies :- £4.99

Roses from the supermarket :- £10

The look on your girlfriends face when you open the door to her and she realises you have turned up after all when she was least expecting you :- Priceless.

So there you have it I am, officially (according to her) the best boyfriend in the world ever. I'm so happy to be with her, she gets me so big headed I might even start believing her one day. Happy birthday again, sexy. Big kiss.

Howdy doodly

2005-03-02T21:11:00.000Z

I really have nothing to say at the moment, just checking in really.

I do have to apologise for taking the lovely lady to the football on Saturday. My local team had a bit of a flid on the pitch and seemed to forget what game they were playing. We spent the first half stood in the cold behind the opposition goal. Saw precious little action as all the players were at the other end slotting goals in to our goal. Come half time we all buggered off to the bar and stayed there until full-time. 1-4 was the final score. Bloody disgrace.

Anyway, I digress. As I was saying, sorry babe, I really did think you'd have a better day, looks like you should have stayed at home recovering from the flu after all. Oops.

So that's it really, haven't been doing much else other than mourning the cancellation of Tru Calling by the increasingly out of touch Fox over in the States. Thanks to BitTorrents I can see the final broadcast episodes since Sky won't be showing them and the only way to see them here would be to buy the DVD boxset.

So yes, if you want a rant then mine is at the Fox Corporation... sort yourselves out you morons, you've cancelled one of my favourite TV shows, you big spoilsports. And your Glacier Mints* taste like dishwater so there.

And thats that. Nothing else really all that interesting in my life at the moment but I'm happy, I have a girl I love and who loves me back in return, a job, a car, a house and a nice comfortable sofa in front of a nice big TV, what more can a growing boy ask for?

*I would like to point out that Fox do not make Glacier Mints, that is an entirely different company. For legal purposes I wanted to make that clear. Although they do taste like dishwater.

Oh yeah Jamster, hear me roar!

2005-02-27T19:33:00.000Z

This is for you people at Jamster to annoy the bejesus out of all of us normal (read: non-chav) people. See your bird get shot to pieces you cocks...

Regards,

Me

Charles and Camilla eh?

2005-02-10T13:18:00.000Z

Announced today that Charles and Camilla are to marry. Fair enough, have no problem with that.

I do remember having an argument with a woman at work once who said that Charles couldn't be divorced and be head of the Catholic church, should he become king. I pointed out to her, in quite strong terms, that firstly the Pope is head of the Catholic church and that Charles would be head of the Church of England and secondly that the C of E was founded by Henry VI so that he could divorce his wives and remain king.

She went strangely silent then.

Anyway, have this thing I made for b3ta...

I can't be trusted with anything.

2005-02-08T01:36:00.000Z

Oh yeah, just two weeks with my new phone is all it took for me to break it.

Came round a corner at work, caught the frame of the door with my big fat flabby thigh and in one step destroyed the LCD on the front of my phone that was nestling helplessly in the hip pocket.

The phone whined a little, tried desparately hard to shed light and information from the 64000 colour display and then, with a sorrowful beep switched itself off for good.

How fucking clumsy am I? I did the exact same thing when I was at school with a Casio Databank calculator I saved for that could keep all my phone numbers in which I proudly showed off at school (this was way before mobile phones and even the early handheld devices). I had it for three weeks and sat on the damn thing. I was distraught... well you would be too if you'd saved your pocket money for weeks just to buy the thing.

Thankfully I'm older and wiser now and make sure I insure the nice things that I buy. First thing in the morning I'm off to Vodafone to get a spanking new replacement. Thank god for insurance companies... they rip you off for half your life and come good once in a blue moon.

Bless you Michael Winner, keep selling us useless policies that we may replace our broken things with... you big fat tosser.

Ignoring the shitty quality of my camera look at the fractal-like crack across the screen. Bollocks. Just plain bollocks!

I've lost that little bit of the bottom of my phone.

2005-02-03T18:31:00.000Z

Yeah, bugger it, only had the phone a week or so and already lost the little charger cover thingy. Damn the fiddly little thing.

Looks like I'll have to try and steal one from someone who's got the same phone. Shouldn't be too hard, mind, it seems every bugger's got one already and now I just look common. Why aren't people buying Nokia 3210's anymore? Those were the days when everyone had the stupid de di der derr, de di derr derrr, de dee derrr durrr derrrrrr ringtone that annoyed the bejesus out of everyone before ringtones got so commercial.

So thats it, I've lost it and now have to rob another one. Blast.

Valentine's Day coming up in ten days. Bollocks... what should I get? Won't be leaving it until the day before like I did at Christmas but still need to get thinking.

Do girls like ponies on Valentines Day? Is that quite romantic? How about a magazine subsciption?

Chavs! Bloody Chavs!! Die pikey scum, die...

2005-02-02T15:16:00.000Z

Hate them, I really do. All those Burberry clad twats that just hang around outside the Spar or in their Novas at the local drive thru. Why do they do the things they do. Do they think it will earn them respect from the world as a whole? Will dressing like a hooligan get them all their heart's desire? In my opinion they dress and act the way they do soley to piss off everyone else in the world.

Wankers!

This is to all the Chavs, Kevins, Pikeys or whatever it is you call them in your region....

GET TO FUCK YOU TOSSERS!

Anyway, now thats out of my system... have I told you about my girlfriend? She's the bestest in the world and I love her with all my heart. You hear me bird, I bloody love you you big soft apeth and here I am broadcasting it to the world.

Small TVs and holes in my socks.

2005-01-26T02:24:00.000Z

So I found myself wondering today why water, which can sit underground for years on end undisturbed, can suddenly develop a use by date once Evian have stuck it in a bottle and printed pretty little labels for it. Any explanation?

Now, do I have anything to complain about? At the moment... no.

Actually yes, there is. I got woken up again this morning by Jamster who, for some reason, keep texting me stupid offers in the middle of the bloody night. Why? Why do their stupid computers (or whatever it is that sends out these things) always seem to time it for four o'clock a.m. when the sane people of the world are all sleeping and the rest are downloading that fucking frog? Why, for the love of God!!

Also I may have found a competitor for the frog, some stupid bird thingy, check it out. Soon to be annoying the shit out of you in public anytime soon.

Mind you, on the plus side there is this site to try to appease the anger you feel.

Oh yeah, that small TV I mentioned...

Aren't camera phones fun?

I've got a new phone, la di la di la laaaa...

2005-01-24T13:56:00.000Z

I have you know and it's bloody spiffy, I can tell you.

Samsung SGH D-500 in a sexy black case with a slidey openny thing and 1.3megapixel camera and lots of other clever gubbins that I haven't even looked at yet (although it doesn't make tea which is a disappointment.

Look at it, admire it. Never mind the width feel the quality.

I love this phone, it's my new favourite toy... well after my ipod... and my DVD player... and my PS2.

And my computer.

Okay, I'm a bit of a gadget freek, sue me.

Speaking of ipod currently on mine is Turin Brakes. Try it, you might like it.

"Don't you ever yearn... for change?"

2005-01-19T23:43:00.000Z

What to do, what to do... I'm on the verge of signing up for an expensive course of education which could, in theory, help me get out of the boring, ten year 'fill-in' job I'm in and into something with prospects and big dosh but I'm umming and ahhing.

Read some comments in a random forum tonight about how Computeach are good/bad/indifferent when it comes to distance learning courses. Okay, they're also expensive, I expected that, but I would hope for the money they would also be good. Having read these comments now though I'm not so sure.

Do I want to go down this road and risk being a few more grand in the hole and a partially complete MCSE course under my belt and still in the same shitty job?

Anyway, much food for thought for me for the coming week. Instead of being down yourselves have a picture I made a while ago...

It's either a singer OR a song. If you can name both then you win nothing but my respect. See it's quite easy really.

Celebrity? Bollocks!

2005-01-11T01:00:00.000Z

Hey you, yeah that's right, you falling out of a hired car outside a packed movie premier in oh so trendy Soho... yeah you who is famous simply for going out with someone who actually is famous and you let him film you having sex and then it somehow got "stolen" and put on the internet... you're no fucking celebrity, get back to nursing you charleton!

God I hate this new breed of person who thinks that simply being associated with someone famous or appearing on a third rate reality TV show makes them somehow interesting to the general public.

Take that Abi Titmus bint, for example, who as I may have mentioned is only really famous because she happened to go out with John Leslie once and has since revealed herself (literally) to be a dirty tart who likes to get her kit off. What was that stupid tour all about just to promote her calendar? What a waste of time and effort, no wonder hospitals are riddled with MRSA, all the nurses are fucking off to have careers as "models" and "celebrities".

Wouldn't it be better if celebrity types gave up their jobs and got regular jobs like the rest of us. Imagine being served by Jonathon Ross in McDonalds (which frankly might not be too far away) or being treated for lime disease by former nurse Abi Titmus... although come to think about it I have no idea where her hands have been.

And Celebrity Big Brother? Don't get me started on that bunch of Z listers. Kenzie from Blazing Squad? Lisa I'Anson? Bridgete fucking-Nielsson? Puh-lease! Someone should fill the Big Brother house with all these psuedo-celebs and put petrol and matches to good use.

Oh, currently on my ipod is Goldie Looking Chain and they rocks. You fucking knows it, clart!

Another one over and done with then.

2005-01-06T23:57:00.000Z

Well thats it, yet another Christmas/New Year party season over and done with and what have I learned? Well I'll tell you. I've learned that spending the festive period with the people you love isn't always all it's cracked up to be and sometimes you just want to be left all alone with your thoughts and musings.

Not me however, I had a great Christmas. I met a wonderful, lovely girl a week or so before Christmas, had a fantastic time with her and somehow, through the grace of whatever deity you choose to believe in, she is now my girlfriend. All thanks to the power of the internet and chance meetings in a never before or since visited chat room. I spent quality time with my family including my sister who, since she lives all the way out in Wales, I see once or twice a year and had two very enjoyable evenings with my two closest groups of friends and all with the sexy new girlfriend by my side. As Tiny Tim said, God bless us everyone.

Now I don't want you to think I've gone soft or anything, oh no siree bob, I still hate the hateful things in the world (and some of the not so hateful things, Barney anyone?) but at least I have someone who I can rely on to make me feel happy when I'm down and to cuddle up to when I'm, lonely and she doesn't even need a puncture repair kit on standby.

Although could someone please tell Jamster to stop advertising that bloody Crazy Frog ringtone and please stop texting me at 3 o'clock in the bloody morning with news of new and exciting offers. I DON'T FUCKING CARE YOU WANKERS!

Anyway Happy New Year everybody, hope you all spend it with the people you care about the most.

Christmas in two days, you say?

2004-12-23T12:47:00.000Z

Yep, it's that time of year again, in case you hadn't noticed, and once again I've left my present buying until Christmas Eve. I swear though I didn't mean to this year, I really had planned to get some stuff earlier in the year but suddenly I had no money for food so quite clearly there was none to waste on presents.

Next year I swear I'll be more prepared. No, honestly, I'm going to try and start getting stuff nice and early. The problem is that I never know what to get for people, whether they'll like it, whether it'll like them. I hate shopping for other people.

And yes, I know it's the thought that counts but it's still a chore finding things that say what exactly I was thinking. The trickiest things to buy, I think, will be for my mates since we limit ourselves to the best or strangest gift for no more than a fiver. Do you know how hard it's getting to find anything for five quid lately?

Still, wish me luck eh. I have to brave a really busy looking Merry Hell on Christmas Eve. If I don't go mad within minutes I'll be winning.

Merry Christmas to one and all (not that anyone currently reads this I'd imagine) and have a great new year.

So I finally have a blog.

2004-12-16T06:42:00.000Z

So this is it, I've decided to get a proper blog to note down the random thoughts I have. This will, by no means, be a regularly updated thing (at the moment anyway) but I thought it might be a nice idea considering nearly everyone in the whole wide world seems to have some way of expressing themselves to the nation.

Of course, if I don't keep this up to date as often as I like then at least it hasn't cost me anything to set up. God bless the internet.

So what to put in here? There isn't a lot to say today really. So much for having a voice, the problem now is what to say with it. I supposes I could rant and rave about the state of the country and how we've been let down by the people we voted into power but then I refuse to vote so I have no recourse really.

I won't go into why I don't vote just yet, save that for a time when I really want to rant properly. For now I suppose I could just leave this as it is and leave the topic open for suggestions on what to ~~rant about~~ discuss.

And this will appear to be it for my first post. Nothing earth shattering yet but hopefully things will improve over time.

Currently on my ipod is Dogs Die In Hot Cars and I'm enjoying it immensely, thank you very much.