Y Wegof Di-Reswm

I Got A New Job!

I tried to have a bit of a lie in on Saturday, as I took into consideration the late night immediately previously and the likelihood of a late one during the forthcoming evening. I did get up in the morning though as Adam & Jemma were just about to embark on a mammoth shop into the city centre, & I was glad I wasn't going. I'm not keen on shopping when I have some spare change, but when I have none and get dragged from shop to shop, it can be particularly hellish.

I had to get ready for another trip to the big 'C'. The fifth time in six weeks which in thinking about it surprises me, but there's always been a good reason, but I don't plan another visit in a while unless there's a good reason, like a free ticket for Wales v England (hint hint!).

I was all a dither in getting ready, there were a number of things to prepare with out much time. There were props as we had planned a photo shoot for Goldberg (look out for an update later this week) as well as the normal stuff. I'd got my head on when a call for Dawn who hadn't made it back to the flat from the night before asking for a lift home. She was feeling worse for wear, a few too many Bacardi Breezers will do that to you, but as I was running late I raced back to the flat, swinging the cars around the corners and breaking sharply. It was all too much for someone of Dawn's gentle disposition, and that particular afternoon's delicate constitution as we got back to the flat she found herself praying to the toilet god.

I had a mild panic as I couldn't find my wallet and it held me up briefly as I bounced around the flat like a perfectly elastic rubber ball, before I deduced (well remembered) that it was in the car. I hit the road. I was meaning to drive sensibly, to the speed limit that is. But I've done this route far too often, and still was feeling frantic after turning part of the flats furnishings upside-down & inside out. So I got to Brum a little early, but bad timing for Anthony who was similarly flying around the flat swotting for an exam and desperately seeking his keys. Barbara turned up and found them within a minute pretty much, a bit like they say more haste less speed. Beanie was off back to the 'Diff too, but slept for the many rounds of the alphabet game - but still managed to do pretty well, seemingly muttering answers mid-snooze.

It was the first full Haven reunion what with people having stuff on and getting the time available. Po's been back for a month and I'd seen him a few weeks previously, but this time Clare had entered the mix too. Her presence seemingly had no effect of the Potter's profanity (well there weren't any ladies present I suppose!), and exacerbated the monkey play as she's as bad as the rest in participation, when she's not instigating it by playing the agent provocateur.

We popped to 'A Shot In The Dark' for tapas, as previously when we'd gone there the food was fantastic I'm told as I was ill and had to look on as everyone sung it's praises! However, there's new management, a reduced menu and reduced portions. We weren't particularly impressed, especially Steve & Clare who had eaten there before, (on sight of the emaciated menu we almost aborted and headed to the Japanese noodle bar, Tenkaichi, and maybe in retrospect should have done) the food was okay, but I'd expected so much much more, and I was still a little peckish it had to be said...

While I was there though I saw Sean 'Spud/Scud' Quarterly there with him girlfriend Crystal (her Welsh is loads better than his now - she's Greek Cypriot - he's from Neuport), I unfortunately didn't have kit to make the rugby the next day. Shame.


My Den!

We deliberated, decided to keep the evening's cost down by skipping the pub, and headed back to flat to watch a video. They hadn't seen Super Size Me so we stuck it on. We'd been talking about Goldberg's site hence the silly photos on the HDP and the antics, such as my den which was constructed in a corner behind a sofa with cusions as a roof. It was awesome though.

We were so appaled by MacDonalds, we vowed never to eat there again, not that I do anyhow, but we did actually fancy a Burger, so we whizzed over to get some, but so as not to be hypocritical, we went to Burger King, for sustenance for the next vid... Batman. It seems that we all fell asleep for parts of it which seemed amusing untill I could not get to sleep afterwards until four in the morning. That really sucks.

Sunday started off with eggs and bacon. We went to town as Clare wanted to do some shopping, but we just took some silly photos as you can see on the Hyperdoopelator, it was through some of these random shots that we came up with the story for the latest update on Goldberg's blog.

We got back to the flat to finish the photoshoot. Steve cooked us a lush roast and we briefly saw Zoe just before we left & she's doing fine!

I got back pretty late where there had been a pizza incident. I'd misunderstood and eaten cold pizza slices from the fridge as I rushed out. So I got Adam a huge pizza from Domino's on the way back which he ate all up, happy as Larry, after being all moo-oo-dy!

So it was more of the same really like the old days, except Clare's violence was pseudo-false, Steve was less of a dad, Po wasn't so hungry, I didn't break anything & there was a distinct lack of alcohol. Familiar & yet strange, parallel like.

Well last thing Wednesday I popped to the Red Lion in Withington not to catch the second half of ManU/Chealsea that was on, but 'cos Pilling had said to go along.
I was pretty much stoney faced to either of the goals that were scored whilst I was there (one each) but it's good to get out of the house cheaply. I was driving so no drinking again and besides - it was a school night.
Thursday is the home straight, as far as work is concerned - and the main thing is to cross the line - no point getting knackered sprinting to the end - it's not as if there's a medal. Popped to the supermarket as you have to every now and again (It's a chore - especially when busy with the oblivious shoppers and their trolleys) - each time I go to this one in Hulme the laziness of the staff continues to dumbfound me... Slackers! And I'm not having a go at supermarket workers in general - I used to work in one stacking shelves too. These people just don't give a monkeys.
Anyway - Farenheight 9/11 was on but i missed most of it as I didn't realise it was on. That's down to my tactic of not letting television rule my life by not getting a magazine guide therefore not knowing what's on and not watching much. The obvious downside is that there might be something you'd really like to watch but will partially miss or only hear about afterwards, this being a case in point. Igronance is bliss with this method. When people around you talk about last night's tee vee put your fingers in your ears and loudly repeat over and over la-la-la-la...
Friday. Straight home - Adam's sister Jemma was on her way up and we cleared up the clutter, much of which was mine. Jemma strangley it seems started in Glam Uni in 1996 like I did but managed to endure it there much better than I. Us three had a bit of a chat before i popped to Pillings abode where there were some other fellow workers but having a chat too. I was persuaded to attend a party with somw of them (I was driving). It was in fact a lame ass student party with stupid looking individuals trying to be cool, denoted by certain attire traits that were beyond my comprehension. Yes I was far too old & far too sober, and besides the music sucked. I left after managing with dificulty at times closing my involvement in the conversations that I had been drawn.

Ngor Ho Hing Dai

See This Film! I caught in the flicks and it's just arrived through the letterbox today. I got it from PLAY.Com who seem to be having a sale of sorts.
I really dont have much to report - I heard from Hywel 'Mawr' Casling today who's rocking on it seems in accounts somewhere. He doesn't really seem the type for accounts, but that's a compliment.
Hey Aarti! - frozen sandwiches obviously aren't the best but it's not that bad. Maybe you should look upon it like medicine - You're not supposed to like the taste but it's supposed to make you healthy, or sustain you in this case... But I get the feeling you're still not convinced... Your loss so there!

LOL!TMI.
Not good news with the Welsh team for the Big Game in less than a fortnight Charvis & Williams are out and some young pups have been called up - I'll go with Gwyn Jones on this one and would have gone for Jason Forster to fill the space in the back row... Not long now!
It was the second Spanish lesson yesterday - and it continues to confuse. Not the learning bit as ther hasn't been much. We learn't three new things yesterday - a poor return it must be said for two hours, it wasn't as if it was complicated stuff: Este es, igualmente & mucho gusto. To be honest that's pretty piss poor to coin a phrase, and I was ticked off... we had to write a transcript of a conversation, Sarah & me were paired up. It was pretty much hello how are you, fine thanks, nice to meet you, goodbye. Which is all stuff we did last week, pretty simple too, and so we were just repeating ourselves. So just to entertain ourselves we added a few extra lines, "here's my card miss, call me!" and Sarah replied "dream on... only joking!" - it raised a laugh in light of a translation and we'd managed to get the grammer correct - but - I was told that my enthusiasm was appreciate but it was NOT what was asked for, don't do it again etc. It's all a bit lame but I'll have to do it in conjunction with home study. You get what you pay for I suppose...!

What the eff! Spencer & me meant to see Hanzaisha but it was sold out so we saw San Tiao Ren as it was on next. It was just a bunch of stuff that didn't link or make sense and was in part autobiographical probably, and maybe didn't develop the characters for that reason - letting on but not too much, eveyone have some secrets after all. The director is famed for cinematography, and shouldn't have. Don't bother.
I normally can't be bothered to iron shirts the night before let alone for the whole week, and this week is no different. But I did prepare all my sandwiches for the week ahead, and froze them all. Certain fillings of course were off the menu, like salad so I stuck to chicken slices with BBQ sauce. By the time lunch comes around the sandwiches have defrosted and aren't that much worse than shop ones.
Today apparently was supposed to be the most depressed day in work of the year - and there was certainly some bad news flying around in work which compounded the situation. Makes you wonder.

A case of could and should have done better with this film. I was disapointed with this film, some of it wasn't bad at all but some of the personality changes seemed out of character for even the the most inconsistent schitzophrenic. Don't go out of your way for it.
That's pretty much all I've done... Yawn! Was up well before the others and mainly knocked about the flat apart from popping out a few times.
Back to work tomoz, ho-hum.

I lived in Pontypridd back in the day...

Anyways... Saturday was pretty quiet Dawn & Adam, were out during the day and there was nothing on really 'till the evening.

Kamran was popping out for a birthday thing, starting in Didsbury. From six o clock apparently, however we didn't get there untill at least seven as it took so long for Dawn & Sarah to get ready. Kam was there with somes guys who'd come up from London, Marcus, a German who had trouble understanding me and Amir, a long time London domilciled Bosnian who didn't have quite as much trouble. They were both sound it must be said though. We were in the Slug & Lettuce for a while before, we caught the bus to town and went to the Lime Bar. There were some drunken slappers singing Tiffany - I Think We're Alone on the bus I joined in with them and talked to one for a while before I thought better of it.
We got to the Lime Bar and Adam (he'd been out for dinner with his father, Robert & Francis - who were both real nice)came there to meet us after about half an hour but couldn't get in. After waiting outside and despite being fourth in the queue and about fourty people leaving they wouldn't let anymore people in. So Dawn, Sarah & Me left the venue (I wasn't so eager to go - had just started to chat to a girl I'd met at the bar), as the poor dab was on his own as could see us within through the windows (if not having the time of our lives at least out of the cold) and went back to the flat for some pizza and a DVD. I was outvoted and they put a chick-flick on though, I won't dignify the film by mentioning it here!

In talking at work on Friday, it turned out to many people's surprise that Man U's Argentine international Gabriel Heinze speaks Welsh, I certainly wasn't as surprised as some of the locals were, (Welsh! But he's from Agrentina!") as I know about Patagonia where he's from, and were refusing to believe it untill they read it on his profile. Does Giggs speak any Welsh BTW?

I'm on a different lunch from most people this week just gone but Dawn & Sarah came back early as the other day they'd come accross an Elvis Calander(last in the shop!)as my one from last year has obviously expired and Dawn had remembered that I'd mentioned that I was on the look out for one, and as a bonus it had been reduced. It has an 'Elvis the early years' theme, so unfortunatley no jumpsuits but hey. Tidy e'nuff.

Jacks: A group of people from Swansea/Abertawe or the Toilet? People have asked me what I mean, originally to me of course it was the former however, as Steve (Bourke) used the term for the latter - I found it hugely amusing due to the dual meaning, especially as it's known as 'Pretty Shitty City', which is funny if not as complimentary as Dylan Thomas' Lovely, Ugly Town...

It's funny (peculiar & ha-ha) some of those joke e-mail chains come around time and time again. Many are just plain annoying, especially the 'pass it on or get bad luck' ones. A few (old classics) are however, worth a laugh... (the last gag's the best).

Reported in the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal, the following are questions actually asked of witnesses by attorneys during trials and, in certain cases, the responses given by insightful witnesses:

1. "Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?"

2. "The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?"

3. "Were you present when your picture was taken?"

4. "Were you alone or by yourself?"

5. "Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?"

6. "Did he kill you?"

7. "How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?"

8. "You were there until the time you left, is that true?"

9. "How many times have you committed suicide?"

10. Q: "So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "And what were you doing at that time?"

11. Q: "She had three children, right?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "How many were boys?"
A: "None."
Q: "Were there any girls?"

12. Q: "You say the stairs went down to the basement?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "And these stairs, did they go up also?"

13. Q: "Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?"
A: "I went to Europe, Sir."
Q: "And you took your new wife?"

14. Q: "How was your first marriage terminated?"
A: "By death."
Q: "And by who's death was it terminated?"

15. Q: "Can you describe the individual?"
A: "He was about medium height and had a beard."
Q: "Was this a male, or a female?"

16. Q: "Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?"
A: "No, this is how I dress when I go to work."

17. Q: "Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?"
A: "All my autopsies are performed on dead people."

18. Q: "All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?"
A: "Oral."

19. Q: "Do you recall the time that you examined the body?"
A: "The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.."
Q: "And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?"
A: "No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy."

20. Q: "You were not shot in the fracas?"
A: "No, I was shot midway between the fracas and the navel."

21. Q: "Are you qualified to give a urine sample?"
A: "I have been since early childhood."

22. Q: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
A: "No."
Q: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
A: "No."
Q: "Did you check for breathing?"
A: "No."
Q: "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
A: "No."
Q: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
A: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
Q: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
A: "It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

Do you ever gat a word or phrase which seems to become the flavour of the month? After the wheelchaired character Andy in Little Britain, I was saying 'Yeah I Know' to pretty much everything I had even a vauge knowledge about. Needless to say it wore pretty thin. But they become habit and can be hard to shift at times. What you need is something new to replace it. It so happened that I caught an episode of Men Behaving Badly, in it Gary was dressed strangley due to angst of some sort and Tony bluntly said 'You're dressed like an arse'. And now when people have annoyed me (especially other Drivers - traffic is worse than normal here at the moment) I exclaim or shout 'What an Arse/You drive like an Arse!' It's fine when I'm in the car but I should be more careful in the office... It's the same with music when you have a tune or song stuck in your head - currently it's 'Stacey's Mom' by Fountains of Wayne, but it's only been stuck in there for a few hours so it's not annoying me too much yet.

Chang Qing Sen Lin
Pilling in work had actually seen it and remembered that it involved pineapple. It sure did, I was meant to meet him afterwards as he was out on Oxford road somewhere but his phone was turned off and it did not transpire.
I saw this film earlier on - it's supposed to be an early seminal work from the director Kar Wai Wong & filmographer Christopher Doyle, who's film are the subject of the current season at the Cornerhouse.
So the film wasn't too bad - similar in theme to the others, quite funny in places. Worth a watch but probably billed as Cheungking Express.

Been ticked off in work (not seriously) for saying 'isit?' apparently it's awful grammer. As I explained it's a colloquial scentence abbrev where the ending should be and actually is intuitively obvious. There we go.

Did anyone see that flick last night En Plein Coeur on TV with Virginie Ledoyen? It was about a hot-shot lawyer, his tough as old boots frumpy wife and a pretty young femme fatale inspiring jealousy and betrayal. It actually made me cringe at times (I suppose the acting was supoosed to do that as the middle aged Lawyer embarrased himself going after his young client) but she was worth watching the film for.

At work on Friday there was a 'Tombola' (A what?) for charity - there are a few pictures on the HDP to be lifted from there for a newsletter in work. So what is a Tombola? After taking the pictures I went to get lunch, and am still none the wiser but the word for some reason made me think of a witches hat... or the beer belly of a Thomas/Twm or Mr.Thomas somewhere or other.

Been bad like - been off the beer for the benefit of my wallet and my liver. But I had a real hankering for some on the way back from the flicks, I suppressed the urge... or so I thought. I had to get some bread on the way back and popped into a Tesco Express... And walked out with eight cans of Grolsch - c'mon give me a break! there was an offer on! So I drunk one can and a bit of another before pouring the rest of that can down the sink. But there are still six cans coolly waiting in the fridge... Yikes!

Like with the replacement phrases, I've been trying a beer substitute, wait for it Gareth...no! - I've become even more of a tea monster than before as people who lived with me know I drink loads of the stuff. But they don't, won't serve it in pubs more's the pity hence the plethora of visits to the flicks recently.There's a season of Spanish films on soon which will be cool as it'll be a month or two into the spanish course which may mean I'll be able to pick up the odd phrase.

I saw Back To The Future 2 the other day - It's a great trilogy - but one quote really made me laugh. As Doc Brown laments the cause & effect of the DeLorean (these days they'd have used a 'product placed' commercial car like the new Beetle in Austin Powers2) he says "Damn it, I'll destroy that infernal time machine, It's caused nothing but trouble. I'll dedicate myself to solving life's other great mystery...", and as he longingly gazes up into the depths & mystery of the cosmos, he utters... "Women!". Haha!

Normally Adam tells me off for my appearance as I don't pay as much attention to my presentation as I should do apparently, so he's always giving me feedback ranging from handy tips to 'wholly inapplicable' advice. The advice rarely travels the other way, however at the moment he's adopting my brand of 'Perma-stubble'(tm) asks for advice on upkeep & optimum length etc! I'm happy to oblige of course, but I doubt he's for 'turning' in the long run...

What is going on with Blogger at the moment? It's a nightmare doing anything at the moment, comments, posts, admin etc. - and the new publishing format (you have to blog to know) sucks!
RIGHT THEN - WHO'S GOT MY FAMILY GUY SERIES 3 DVD??? C'MON OWN UP. I WANT IT BACK... PRETTY PLEASE
Anyhow can't wait for the weekend (just for the time off nothing really on) - just Friday to get through. And as it's a charity & jeans day thingy (there goes £10) it shouldn't be so bad.
If you can watch S4C Digidol tonight then Gwilym is on Hacio at 11.30. I won't be able to watch it but someone should be taping it for me... Now I have to get my hands on a video player! Come to think of it who still uses floppy discs either? Tonight holds little excitement - I have to catch up on some administration & I'll proably stick the TV on for the news at some point.
BTW - Po's photo site is getting up and running MONKEY CAM. Look out for his pictures from the ball, and from his travels - Petronas Towers #12 especially. However I doubt that the video he shot in Hong Kong will make it on there...

It Made Me Smile... Just!

As the weekend of the HBoS ball approached, I was toying with when to go to Cardiff... with very early on Saturday morning seeming favorite. TMI.

Friday. I had a chat with my gracious host, Steve & it seemed Po was heading up to the 'Big C' on Friday night to catch up with a few extra peeps as there's only so many people you can fit in to a weekend, especially with a big function taking up all of one of the nights. Clare was almost going to make it down but as she couldn't in the end it freed me up to make it down early.
It made sense to me too apart from, that leaving straight from work would mean that I would hit the rushes at Birmingham as well as Manchester, so I resolved to pop back to the flat first, chill out, then head down at Seven pm aiming straight for Roy-World/Spin to meet up for Ten pm-ish.
I made decent time and strolled through the doors just before half nine. So it's been nigh on eight months but a slimline Po had made it back to the 'Big C' for the first time, I may be a shadow of my former self but the accomplice/partner in crime doesn't seem to have changed much if at all, maybe a bit more forgetfull & worldly wise, and generally less of him and his ass, and it did seem almost like old times. Except of course I couldn't drink and the rest of them had been there before me for a little while. As it was 11.30 when they kicked us out, I was there for two hours & I did manage to catch up and chat with quite a few of the peeps, Gav, Steve, Nicci (& her friend from Manchester), Jimmy & Lou.
It was good fun with the normal banter - we went back to the flat then and Steve had got me Red Dwarf 5, we managed to watch some classics before passing out: Quarantine, Demons & Angels and Holoship. Easily the best series. We also discussed the classic photo case books that had been on the blog and resolved to do more, but... on Goldberg's blog and tom make him the 'Agony Uncle', the site's been restructured now and has the three casebooks on there. With more on the way! Check out Ask Goldberg!

Saturday. For pictures check out the HDP & Gav's & RT's sites.
As the do is supposed to be black tie and last year I'd turned up dressed as a pirate; this year Steve, And & Myself were guests so we had to tone down the subversion... we had a brainstorming session and discards some class ideas (I was out-voted two to one) involving cucumbers & a wheelchair, but we decided to buy some panties and had to make sure thay were in every picture that we were in..! it seemed funny at the time and still does! We got them in H&M in town the site of Steve's Shame from a while back. There is a photo of him buying the offending articles and i'll publish then as soon as Po gets round to sending them to me.
I didn't actually have a ticket. It so happened Ad & I had been speaking to Sally during the week and she'd changed her mind and wasn't going to attend. Spare ticket then... plus guest! Step up Steve! I popped round to Sally's and had a catch up and a chat with her and Emma. Sally promised to send me back my Spanish notes but has so far failed miserably to do so!!!
Gav was catching a taxi in with us lot, so I went ot get him as the Potters watched Yu-Gi-Oh! But instead of coming straight back, I needed a rugby fix and popped into the Albany (dragging Gav in his suit in too - he said he felt like a tit!)to catch the first half of the Ospreys V Munster. I thought the writing was on the wall after the first half and had to head off anyway. We got to the flat and the Potters were almost ready, gav though did feel a little left out without any panties of his own.
Then we headed into the fray...
I had a great night. We went to Jury's which was a doubling as a holding area. I was blanked by loads of people as since many of them have seen me I've lost two stone, my long hair and beard. Their faces were pretty funny whenthey clocked onto my voice!
It was great to catch up with so many people far too many to mention them all, but I feel I should mention Aarti as we chatted on messenger hell of a lot when I was stuck for days in the flat. I also mentioned this blog to loads of people I hope they drop in and say hello...
It was funny as i was speaking to people for the first time in months I'd quickly produce the thong and dab my brow in a blase fassion - had them everytime (should have seen their faces)! It would have been funnier still had I been the type of person they didn't expect it from - after a split second of shock they seemed to sigh, 'it's only Owain'.
It got worse we enedup wearing the thongs over our trousers, It was so late and the vast majority were sufficiently sloshed by that point that no-one seemed to care... or we may have been wholly oblivious! Who knows?!
Maybe Carys does - she was good enough to give us bunch of reprobates a lift home at three in the a m from the bottom of newport road where we were all still wearing thongs! Steve was very apologetic and attempted unsuccessfully to explain away his false eyelashes and mascara - forgetting she knows of his previous clothing indiscretions and besides you won't fool the law! Thanks Carys!
I was drunk, without doubt. But not to the extent that it spoilt the night or I forgot it all. And it was pretty much free, I had to go 'wine-sweeping' the white was awful and the red bearable. Job done however! What a night... Jan '05. We won't see the likes of that again I'm sad to say. I ponder that from here it's all change. C'est la vie - what can you do, write a letter?

Sunday. The morning after.
I was as sick as a dog (just a mild hangover), I think it's red wine. The worst mornings are always after a heay one on the ol' crimson plonk. I couldn't keep anything down, not even water - on each occasion that I sneaked outside my swift exit out into the back garden was accompanied by barely stifled snigger from the brothers Potter. They did ask if I was okay of course, I mean your obliged to really aren't you, but deep down, well actually just below the surface & with a small lung capacity obviously, they were splitting their sides!
I'm going to have to get my suit dry cleaned it seems - I fell alseep when we got in on the sofa (sitting upright) with a cup of tea and a digestive biscuit. I dropped the whle biscuit into the tea then as i droppedoff managed to pur it over myself, and steve sofa which he's had to wash the covers for... whoops!
After a power snooze, I was at last feeling well enough to leave the flat, and by the time in the late afternoon that I made to Steve Bourke's & Rhys' I was able to feed. Cups of tea, followed by Bangers, mash & peas courtecy of Rhys. I suppose they're a funny couple to be sharing a flat - not as much as Ad & I maybe - but it seems to be in working order!
I was really getting late after that and with growing realisation I had to face up to the drive back, and it was wet and windy so it wouldn't be much fun - or relatively painless (ie quick). As it was it was the longest that journey has taken me, it was ten minutes shy of 4 hours due to some smash north bound on the M6 just north of Stafford - it was at a complete halt and when I eventually passed the accident scene there were still a few cars there and it looked a real mess.
I got back at ten, but that wasn't the end I popped to a pub in Chorlton, not to drink, just to chat as Dawn, Kamran & Richard from work had popped out so I went along too br3eifly untill kick out.

Monday. It was a case of maybe just getting through work as I was pretty tired and had loads of chores lined for the night to catch up on as I'd had no opportunity to do anything on the weekend. Some bad news, Reshma from work has handed in her notice which is a real shame but I can understand especially when it's because she's off to live in Sydney, via a few weeks at home. It's not till next month though - not the normal 'same day' bombshell that often seems to happen there!

Tuesday. Nowt... thankfully. Rushing on Monday night meant I still eeded to do some quality dossing - and this could be the night. There was supposed to be five-a-side after work, it was cancelled, the same old reasons. Matt who's taking over responsibilty after my exasperations & non-apperance of 'subs'(cash) got the better of me, must be knowing how I felt. I had my kit but was glad it was cancelled in all honesty.

Wednesday. Siging up for spanish lessons. Pilling mentioned this to me it's £50 (it was £125 in Cardiff) and I've been meaning to get back into Spanish. Great idea, and as it's a begginers class - I can get a head start and be the teachers pet. So Pilling(another Steve) & Sarah went in my car to sign up in North Trafford College. They've both been in the car before but despite pretty much having her car written off the night before Sarah found the 'death trap' car highly amusing, the number of thigs that didn't work, how I keep out the cold by wearing a balaclava, and that's apart from my general driving. She was a bit nervous I suppose.
The place wasn't the best organised operation that I've ever come accross but we got through it. It's funny how where you have speak to people in an official setting but in a sort of informal manner that they don't really have a choice but to engage you in conversation. Pilling & Sarah though it was funny as I kept them waiting as I really tried to draw out the conversations with the young ladies on the staff who would laugh politely as they filled out their parts of the form as quickly as they could. I was just kidding myself that I was 'doing good', well maybe with one of them...

Thursday. I had that Friday feeling as I was off the next day - and I made sure that I told people! That night on John Porter's advice (!) i waited untill seven o'clock untill I left to miss the worst of the traffic. After a mile and a half I turned around to get five or six things that I'd forgotten to bring with me. I left for the second time just after eight o'clock. After getting too far to turn back I realised that I'd forgotten another two items but carried on regardless into the night..!
It was a record run as I got to Cardiff city limits in under two hours and ten minutes, and then just a few minutes more to get to Steve's. We had a brainsorming session for Goldberg's site and had some excellent story line ideas but some may be hard to shoot in a logistic sense, not to mention good taste! so keep 'em peeled.

Friday. First off i went o the Swyddfa Bost in Roath to get my car taxed as it's been two weeks without. It was my payday so I could eventually pay for it and I also really needed a hair cut - so I went to that one I used to go to on the corner of Claude & Albany Road. It wasn't the best cut, the woman was sullen... and fat so there! The reason for my being down was that my sister, Carys, was moving house, from Mynydd Bychan (Heath) to Pontprennau, and my brawd Gareth, her fella Chris, Mam & myself were the muscle for hire! I've moved a lot recently so maybe would have been a littel better organised but it a big move for anyone and there's lots of stress involved in it by we pretty much got it done. I had to shoot off a little early to scrub up as I met up 'wid' Azlina who hasn't seen me in person with short hair (we've spoken lots and she's seen the pics on the various blogs), anyhow she's doing really well and is currently in sales with BT, it was fab to meet up esp as weve been in contact. We caught the next film that was on at UCI down at Atlantic Wharf in the bay which was Million Dollar Baby. The film was okay, I suppose with decent performances and humour. I though it was trying at times to be really moving but it fell a little short I thought, at least short enough not to make my heart of stone' even think about skipping a beat! 'lina used to work there in her school days and we had far too much wedges & nachos
I dropped 'lina home and went Signor Valentino, in the bay as Bex was celerating her birthday - It was a gallery of past & present HBoSers, Kate Robbins, Gemma Jones, Nic Hewinson, Matt Ford, Gavin Evans & Tracey Lewis. It was good fun and those ladies can be shockingly vulgar at times! Twitches ha!

Saturday. I started the day by helping Carys some more. Then before I headed north I got pout of Steve's hair in the flat (he was going to show some people 'round) and popped to the Albany where Gav, James, Nora & James' Dad were watching soccer or something - I was a little tired and not at all interested in the game so headed back. I went quicker than the limit says you should but it took me two hours fourty, which was really boring when you drive rlatively slowly especially if it's your fourth week in a row. I can't see myself heading back the the big 'C' for a while unless someone gets me a free ticket for the Rugby - Hint! Hint!
Back in Manc I took it easy when I got back at about six, Dawn had a rough night the day before and was still in bed, she's only emerged for 10 minutes for a glass of water. But Adam was partially there in person for a chat, we stuck on one of Dawn's more bearable (as far as I was concerned - if not Adam) DVD's The Stepford Wives, which I didn't follow as I was semi-concious.

Sunday. Dawn appeared and made us a roast lunch which was really nice, I can't actually remember the last time I had a roast dinner and it made a really nice change. I've got a little more cash than normal and am doing stuff to keep occupied and away from the bottle so I went to the cinema to see Fa Yeung Nin Wa I'm trying to catch flims that wont be readily avaliable for hire at Blockbusters in a few months unlike a everthing that's on at mainstream cinemas. This film had good reviews and I did like it some of the cinematography made up for what was an uncomplex story.

Monday.

The follow on from Fa Yeung Nin Wa - 2046. Me and Spencer caught this, it's got the same guy from the film from the night before, but he's changed - jaded no doubt, he was pious, blameless for his wife's adultery, in the film before but now gambles, womanises, drinks - supposedly after his marriage broke down. The almost lady from the first film seems to have stayed in her marriage and has had a child and brushes him off when he gets back from Singapore. When he does meet someone he feels that he could be with she's after a different guy, but he plays it on the moral high ground. The tag line for this flick was,'He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while...' if I was doing it I'd have put,'There's a time... &, there's a place... this wasn't it.' The film doesn't quite work but it's well done none the less. But see the first one as well if you decide to see this.

Tuesday. Spanish lesson. I enjoyed it it started as a shambles and wether it's a good thing or a bad thing the teacher (Antonio) knew my name with in the first half hour. Me & Pilling have already been labelled 'class clowns' but I reckon it makes it more fun, and besides you got to try it it out - there's no point sitting inthe corner quietly.

Wednesday. I was going to catch a flick but a parking ticket last time put me off also there was an opportunity to update the blog as it's just me in the flat - you may not be surprised by the size of this update, but it has taken hours...

Adam & Dawn were being square and didn't come out for a swift visit to town, I met Spencer in the Cornerhouse as he needed to pick up their January brochure.Vicky joined us and we went to The Temple, a pub which used to be one of those subway toilets. It's a little narrow and a bit strange and is grubby & scruffy, but not too bad. I wasn't drinking and so was almost holding a conversation - it was nice to chat, but as I'm skint I'll skip the flicks this week.

Well, who'd believe it t'was just a week ago that I was in The Big 'C', & I'm off there again tomorrow night.
The Occasion: HBoS Card Services Xmas Ball. (It's cheaper for them to book it for January)I'm really dissapointed to hear that Sally won't be going (& she doen't even have a decent excuse) and neither will Danny Nuts, he's going to Manchester to see the 'Cirque de Soleil' & will be staying in the flat!
This year I'll be a guest, and not an employee, so I'll have to behave myself! The theme this year I hear is 'Moulin Rouge' but I'm dressing sensibly in a suit, it's a shame, yes... but also too expensive to hire costumes all the time anyway.It turns out that a few other 'exers' are going too, Po, Bex, maybe Curly & Aarti(who wasn't going for a while just changed he mind now that Anne-Marie is going (that I was going obviously wasn't good enough!)).
Anyhow the tickets for the gig are courtecy of Gav, who despite being laid low again this time with dissentry, will force himself to waddle to work and get the tickets.
Anyhow I'm looking foward to catching up with a few of the peeps, it should be a blast, especially as there's free wine & food! But as I mentioned I will be taking it easy, no repeat of last years major blackout I hope!

...It's How You Tell Them.
So what's it been like back at work? Well... reasonable. But I'm on edge. I expect almost at anytime, something to go really wrong. I don't know what, and am not saying that it'll be my fault, but I can feel it coming,the shudder of a juggernaught heaving it's way past a window. Like being the passenger in the car of someone who's a dangerous driver, it's not your fault and there's isn't much you can do about it without having to walk a long way, but the actions of others will impact upon you. Crash Bang, world of hurt.
What with us now having a house guest, Dawn, for a while, who's really nice - Adam has someone he can talk about blokes to and they surf for porn together on the net! Nah only kidding - just at profiles on 'chat' sites.
Still now it's two against one!

Well Aarti did a review so it seemed a good idea but now I'm coming to start it - there seems too much to get through.
Hmm where to start? January you might think - but I can't remember it... and Febuary's a bit of a blur really. I'm not even sure if I was drunk generally that month but I suppose that it is a distinct possibility. The big thing this year has to be the relocation t'north, which was far from an unmitigated success or failure.
You know I really can't be arsed at the moment, I'll finish this tomorrow...maybe.
Right... It's tomorrow now, but I'll just recap recent events. That may be because I'm lazy - which annoys me. I don't get things done, like living. Sometimes my lazy lethargicness is due to a hangover, which is liked to the other reason that I can't do things. Being skint - the cash drains dizzily in a haze of beer fuelled pseudo fun. Often followed by vodka.
It can't be good in the long run but seems great fun at the time. I did have it under control and was dry for a few months. I wrote off december as there was too much, too easy to go out and inevitably went over board. I feel like Sampson with sort back and sides when sober, better peripheral vision but without my powers! It's going around though is it not? The New year blues, with a mix of S.A.D. I have a resolution not to buy more booze for a while, hopefully it can last - the pressure's often put on me though as people almost instictively know that I have a weakness for the bottle. At least the latest round of paraletic sessions didn't get me into any trouble other than financial - no severe cringe reflexes the next day.
Other Stuff: It's so boring driving without music, the events surrounding NYE was my first long dive with only my mind for company, it was grim. I've a pretty bad cold too, it's come on now the day before work, which gets me down thinking about being back there. Popped to the pub yesterday - before you say it I was driving for Adam & Dawn. We met some of Adam's work dudes and Rich came out too. I came back early but Adam was out all night, good on him! I was young once.
Ad wanted me to mention, that we did a mickey mouse workout in the flat yesterday, it was a spoof new years resolution that we should exeercise so we went to do aerobics in the lounge - and Adam being himself, stuck on Kylie a CD....!
Today has in store - meditation to adequately prepare myself for tomorrow. I may even iron a shirt. Medication, I hope I feel better tomorrow, I'll still cope but maybe not as well.

NYE in Cardiff was a last minute thing. I drove to Brum and got a lift down with; Clare, Roscoe & Laura (Amazing to think I havn't sen her for 5 months!). The plan was to take it real easy, to chill out with a quiet drink. Roscoe was pretty keen to pop out abeit briefly to a pub too. Which was good to be around other people to try and pick up a bit of a vibe. We were in Cathys which is student central of course. We went for a sopt of food first just under the bridge to Roath, in the 'Bay of Bengal' on City Road. I had a lamb & spinach balti which wasn't bad at all. From there we popped back to the house then went out, but we couldn't get into the two nearest pubs as they were ticket or student(?) only. We got into 'The End' for a quid, which meant that there were a few of the dregs of society there, although I bet town was much worse in places. Guess who I bumped into there... Gav! Josh! Leavers (Iago)! & Nora (who's Basque not Spanish)! funny that. Clare and Laura went back a bit early, but left Roscoe & I out to join up with Gav et al. The pub didn't even have a count down, I was thinking it must getting close to twelve now but as we then checked it was ten past. Oh well whatever. Resolutions...? Save a bit - not buying any more alcohol for a while (If it's free then that's a totally different matter!), is the main one & the normal others ones like. Pics on the HDP & Gav's Son Of Adios - best of luck