Short post

Its only a quick post today, Im feeling very low. Its a combination of things really, which I can't be arsed to go into. I had one little ray of sunshine, the latest Q magazine is out. And Im hopefully playing golf later if the weather behaves, and that will hopefully make me feel better. Apart from that, the world can go take a running f*ck and a moving doughnut today for all I care.

Now its getting serious

OK, first of all, wardrobe up with no problems. Put the stereo on, grabbed a beer and got to it. Job done.
Whats getting serious...? My litigation claim against Barclays. I am still waiting for my case to be transferred to my local court, and to receive a court date. But after reading this article and after getting some advice from the Consumer Action Group website, I decided to phone the litigation department and see if they will settle. I got a name and number from the CAG website, and have left a voicemail this morning... *gulp*... so we'll see what happens!
I'll update here later with how I get on.
STILL not much work to do today (well, I've been given a crappy admin type job - checking out all existing applications on our domino servers and seeing if they're still needed... yuck) so another day of clock watching I think. :-(
More updates later...
Update on the chocolate M&M conspiracy... There're LOADS of places that sell them! Im gonna go back to that newsagent and punch the lying hag in the throat for lying to me. (Bit harsh maybe... perhaps I'll just wee on their shop door late at night and run away...)
Update: So, as I expected, I haven't heard from Barclays all day... I am going to email a list of contacts that the CAG has tomorrow morning to see what sort of response I get.

Wired

I've discovered a new magazine that I like reading - Wired. Its American, yes, but its still a good read. That makes the list of magazines I read more or less every month:
Q Magazine
Mojo
Uncut
Wired
Todays Golfer

With occasional appearances by:
Top Gear
FourFourTwo
Golf Punk

Badminton was good last night. Jake did really well for his first time, we had some good rallies going. It re-enforces the idea that people who are naturally sporty (as Jake is, and as I am) can pick up more or less any sport. I think we'll be going again next week.
He's also started to get into one of those fantasy battle role play games - Warhammer 40,000. It brings back memories for me as, geeky as it was, I was quite heavily into those games when I was younger (as were a few of my friends... should I name them here?!) So I have to go buy some paint, brushes, glue etc. for him to construct his first set of figures.
Finally, two pieces of bad / annoying news: No sign of my new MP3 player yet (ggrrrr) and no news on my court date against Barclays. I hate waiting around for things.
Rest of this week - Nothing planned for tonight, possibly football Thursday night, golf on Friday, no plans as yet for the weekend. Facebook is really being used alot, its good fun, if you haven't been there or signed up, I recommend it.
Peace all.

Facebook

This is quite a fun site - I've been using it over the past couple of days, and watching updates etc. and its helped pass an otherwise boring couple of days at work.
Check it out here
Im taking Jake to play badminton tonight, for the first time. He's been desperate to go and play it, and Im taking him as a surprise, so it should be good to see his reaction later when we turn up at the gym. I'll have to spend today clearing down my old laptop before giving it back to the IT Dept. which means getting rid of all the incriminating evidence thats on there. Apart from that I have naff all to do! I've just been confirmed on a training course from the 9th of July (C#) so that should be interesting...
Played golf last night. Front nine was shocking, so as we had the course pretty much to ourselves (seriously - it was empty!) we played the front nine a second time, and I did a lot better.
Hopefully going to be playing again this Friday at about 4.30 (weather permitting).
Soundtrack of the day: "An Other Cup" by Yusuf (formally Cat Stevens, I think).
Have a good day listeners, more spouting later / tomorrow (depending on how bored I am)

I found chocolate M&M's

I was told a while ago that chocolate M&M's weren't made anymore... bullplop. I found some in Sainsburys near me, so bought two big bags of them. I now have a big bowl of them on my desk at work, which is lovely.
Sorry for no posts for a while, but had a few things on the go. Jake had his annual presentation / tournament day on Saturday. Its not a serious, competitive day so it was nice just watching Jake play without worrying too much about the result. He did OK, his team missed out on the final on goal difference I think.
Sunday we moved Em from her current office to the new one I've decorated for her, so thats another job done. I now need to finish Jakes room (new wardrobe to assemble).
This week, probably try and finish Jake's room tonight while he's at Watford training. Playing golf on Tuesday (hopefully), might be playing another day during the week with my boss at work, but apart from that no plans.
Soundtrack of the day: "Icky Thump" by The White Stripes (bluesy rock - cool).
Update: *sigh* I've just ordered a new MP3 player. I know, I know, more expense, but my justification is that I KEEP running out of space on my current one, there are always more albums I want on there, and there always will be, so I thought "Sod it" and bought one of double the capacity. It was a good deal too. I'll update when it turns up...
Update II: Someone called Rodrigo has posted a comment. Unfortunately, its not in English. I will allow it to be published, but be aware I do not know what the comment is saying, so take no responsibility for it. If someone can translate it for me, and I find out it is offensive, I will of course remove it. Peace.

Summer Solstice

So its the longest day today. I'd imagine a load of hippies were up at Stonehenge dancing round this morning. All I know is its hot, sticky, and my hayfever is STILL acting up. Bastard.
Ive been feeling quite tired this week... not too sure why, I've not been doing anything unusual, but each day this week I've been woken up by the alarm, as opposed to waking up three or four times before the alarm, which is very unusual for me. And that was a long sentence with lots of commas in it.
I have decided to try and learn more Spanish. I know a very little (the usual "Hello", "How are you", "Please", "Thank you") but as we're going to Spain in August I'd like to know a bit more. There is someone here in my office who is fluent, so I can practice what I pick up on him.
Its one of those situations where your parents are right, but you can't see it until later in life, similar to the musical instrument thing. They tell you when you're young and in school that "you should keep going with your languages, you'll appreciate it in later life" and "you should keep playing that instrument, you'll really appreciate it when you get older" but at that age you just dont listen and think "sod it, I can't be arsed" and now what happens... Im struggling with the guitar, and wish I had kept playing musical instruments when I was younger (I used to play the violin) and I really wish I could speak another language or two (Spanish, Italian, French...). So listen to your parents kids... they KNOW what they're talking about. And don't do drugs, or something.
Soundtrack of the day: "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" by Modest Mouse. (It rocks). Peace.
Update: See, I was right...
Update II: Pidgeon Score - 1 shot 1 clean kill.

Im a little nervous now

Ba$tard Barclays have submitted a defence against my claim. This now means that it will be transferred to a 'local' court and I will receive a court date of when to attend. I now need to collate my 'court bundle' (a pack of supporting documents I will be using) and be prepared to actually go to court. So far, only one person has gone as far as court out of the thousands who have claimed, and that wasn't a Barclays customer. Whats the betting, with my rotten luck, that I will be the one they decide to take all the way and really punish?? Getting a little nervous now, but nothing ventured nothing gained...Oh, and I also have yet to send off my letter to BarclayCard for the same thing... I might try and do that today.
Playing golf later today and really looking forward to it. I can feel my game slowly coming along, which is nice.
Oh and some news, we've booked a holiday! We're going to Spain for a week in August... I can't remember the name of the place though, although its in Southern Spain near Gibraltar apparantly...

NO work to do again today, so Im gonna have to find ways to amuse myself. I hope the rest of you have a nice Tuesday...

Update: Signed up for a Twitter account today, see how that goes... I'll always try something new. check it out by clicking HERE

Success!

Well, I am surprised. I finished the flooring in about 2 hrs 45 mins... then stopped and looked at it and thought "Something ain't right, that was too easy"... but no, its all fine and a good job even if I say so myself. I honestly thought it would be a nightmare but everything went so smoothly.
Another example of expecting the worst but hoping for the best and it'll all work out OK.
I then spent Saturday night at a friends house and I worked up the balls to play and sing in front of 6 people. I played a few songs that I've mentioned on here before, PLUS (and I can't believe I did this) a song I had written myself. But the perverse thing was I really enjoyed it. I have no idea if I was actually any good, or if my friends were just being kind, but I had a big smile on my face by the end of it all.
I had a 'Homer Simpson' kind of Sunday... I literally spent all day (apart from one walk to the shops) in the same spot on the couch. I got up in the morning and just sat either watching sports or reading all day. It was bliss. And now its back to work, with (again) no work to do and the week looking like a its gonna drag. Barclays have until the end of tomorrow to submit a defence to my claim, otherwise I can file for judgement by default. I dont know if I'll get the chance to pidgeon hunt later, but I'll update if I do. And Im playing golf tomorrow, on a dusk round again.
Have a good Monday all...

Another boring day

God I HATE not having any work to do... (well, anything substantial anyway). Today has just dragged, and its not even hometime yet. Tonight I will be doing MORE painting at home, then tomorrow I'll be doing the laying of the laminate flooring I talked about the other day. I am not looking forward to that. I have no confidence in my abilities as far as these sorts of things go, and Im so worried that Im gonna make a complete goolies of it. Still, nothing ventured etc. The thing is, Im gonna be doing it alone (story of my life) and I can see a nightmare scenario of me attempting to cut one of the boards with an electric jigsaw, missing, cutting my hand off and bleeding to death in a pile of laminate flooring, hammers, cups of tea and swear words.
I will post an update with how things went.
Pidgeon count: Two shots and two clean kills today.
Have a nice weekend all...

Fixtures released

The football fixtures for next season are released today. Im not going to list all of City's games here, but the first four are:

West Ham away
Derby home
United home
Arsenal away

Im playing golf tonight teeing off at 5.30 - Im hoping the rain thats forecast either holds off, or just sticks to the odd light shower (I can handle that).
Another boring day at work.. Ive had a few things to do this morning, but now they're all done Im stuck with nothing to do again, and my GOD its dull.
Soundtrack of the day: Bowling For Soup's various albums....
Peace out y'all...

It hurts when I type

I had this problem a few weeks ago...the ends of some of my fingers sting when I type, which as you can imagine in my job is a pain in the ar.... well, in the fingers. Im not too sure what causes it but its like eveytime certain of my fingers hit the keys someone is stabbing them with a pin.
Not pleasant, is the way to sum it up.
Not much going on today... I have woodwork to paint after work tonight, thats about all my plans amount to. No football tomorrow though, so Im playing golf instead on a 'dusk round' (tee off at 17.30 and its cheaper than normal).
No plans for Friday, then its the weekend when I will be laying some laminate flooring - so if you listen very carefully during the day you might hear faint screams of frustration and swearing like a merchant seaman. That'll be me. Hayfever not too bad today (surprisingly) and workload still at a low point.
Soundtrack of the day: "Era Vulgaris" by Queens Of The Stone Age (their new one).

Itchy eyes and runny nose

God I HATE hayfever... its really kicking in now, every morning and every evening I get sneezing fits, sore & itchy eyes, the works. Still, a good weekend as I managed to get the decorating done - all thats left to do is gloss the woodwork and put down the laminate flooring. Also, the gardeners started yesterday, and their first job was to rip out the current jungle I see out the back of my house... and what a job! It now looks like a bomb site, but one thats clear of all extraneous (sp.?) rubbish. I think in a few days when its done its going to look really good, and I'll be having a bbq as an 'official opening'.
Not much on this week... football tonight, nothing tomorrow, football Thursday, then nothing Friday. And as for work, its dead quiet at the moment so its pretty boring. (bit like this post!)
Im trawling through some childhood memories trying to find one or two to post up here (as I mentioned recently in a previous post). Maybe I'll post one up here later.
Soundtrack of the day: "Seperation Sunday" by The Hold Steady.

D'Oh!

I left my bloody works laptop at home this morning. Normally, I dont take it home very often, but I did last night, and I came to work this morning as normal, went to get the laptop out of the drawer I normally keep it in and... D'oh! Luckily, I have a desktop machine I can use at my desk, although its not the same as it doesn't everything my laptop has on it... internet bookmarks, music software - you know, the important stuff! But I can access my blog (as you can see) so thats OK.
Its Friday at last, which is good, but this weekend I need to make more progress on the decorating at home, so I dont think Im gonna be able to rest much. Im not looking forward to today though, as I have no work on to speak of, so it's gonna be another day of clock watching, which I hate doing. I did go for a pidgeon hunt this morning, but no joy unfortunately.
I will be buying a new Bill Bryson book today (haven't decided which one yet) and the second album I ordered hopefully will be turning up today.
Sountrack of the day "Oh Inverted World" by The Shins. (I know I keep going on about them, but they really are my band of the moment).

Learning to like my voice

I played some more guitar last night, and practised singing along to more songs. I think its clear by now, Im not very confident in my voice, or singing ability, but last night I started to actually grow to at least like it. I now think I could play and sing these songs in front of people:
High And Dry (Radiohead)
Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead)
Move On (Jet)
Married With Children (Oasis)
Talk Tonight (Oasis)
Norwegian Wood (The Beatles)
Hide Your Love Away (The Beatles)

There are other songs I know and can sing, but these Im completely comfortable with and know all the way through.
This week seems to be going quite fast (for a change) and I think its because I have had something 'on' every night of the week... on Monday I took Jake to training with Watford, on Tuesday night I played football, last night I had friends round to watch the England game, tonight Im playing football, and then its Friday!
Im hoping that two CD's I ordered will turn up today - "Separation Sunday" by The Hold Steady and "Oh Inverted World" by The Shins. I've got that exciting feeling of getting new CDs... I love that feeling. Finally, Im reading a book called "The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid" by Bill Bryson. I think most of my listeners will be familiar with Bill Bryson, and this book is about his childhood growing up in the 50's. Its very good. There are some genuine laugh out loud bits. And it got me thinking, what sort of stories could I tell about my early childhood? Maybe I'll post some up here...
Update: Bloody annoying - I ordered three things from Play.Com, all despatched (supposedly) on the same date, and only ONE turned up today. Gits. But it is the Shins album, and its very good. I can't recommend them highly enough... get into the Shins now... its compeltely feel good music.

Lucky escape

I played football last night, and I could have been badly injured... but I was lucky. I went in for a challenge with a player, and due to a freak of timing his knee hit me squarly between the legs. I mean, ouch! Of course, I dropped to the floor, and expected to see my plumbs bouncing away into the distance... but after getting my breath back and delicately checking the goods I was relieved to find I was still Victor as opposed to Victoria.
It wasn't until the drive home after the game that I realised I could have been really hurt... I have seen some nasty occurences of that kind of injury, with things being split, or burst, or ruptured. I think I got off lightly.
On another (slightly higher!) note, yesterday was deadline day for my bank to acknowledge / respond to my claim online. From what I can work out, they have not done so, so I can now apply for Judgement By Default. However, if I do this, the bank can apply for the judgement to be "put aside" which means they get a further 28 days to get something sorted. I will be phoning the online court people this morning to double check that they have NOT acknowledged my claim and then applying for judgement by default. I'll keep you posted.
Soundtrack of the day: "Infinity On High" by Fall Out Boy.
Update: Sent a letter giving the bank 7 more days before issuing judgement by default... if they settle in full before this date, then I will drop the case.
Also, some bad news... they no longer make chocolate M&M's! I love them. I had a real craving for them today, and do you think I could find them anywhere? I asked at my local newsagents and was told "no, they dont make them anymore". Travesty.

I hate Summer (and my 100th post)

Yes I hate summer. My hayfever has kicked in like a mule today. My eyes get sore, itchy and 'gravelly', my nose gets runny and I can't stop sneezing. Luckily it only really affects me in the morning and then in the evening. Also, I have the heat and sun to contend with and with my skin colouring Im not the most sun-friendly person. Spring I like - Autumn I like. (Or Fall, for our American cousins). Winter is bearable, but my most hated season is the summer. You can't sleep coz its too hot, you can't do anything coz you get sticky and horrible just walking around, and unless there's a tournament, no football. The only time I can sort of enjoy the season is if we go away to somewhere like Spain, where at least I have an excuse to sit around on my arse all day in the shade drinking and reading... coz Im on holiday!
Im picking my car up after its service today... I am not looking forward to the bill, Im expecting aroun £300.... ouch.
And finally, Ive reached 100 posts. I didnt think I would keep this up so long, and thank you all for those people who keep coming back and reading it. Here's to another 100. ("Don't you threaten us" I hear you cry...).
Soundtrack of the day: "Songs For The Deaf" by Queens Of The Stoneage.

Apologies

Sorry for not posting for so long... I had a busy week last week (decorating and things) so did not really get the chance to get online.
The room Im decorating is now stripped and lined, ready for painting. We (my parents and I) finished it yesterday - but it was a long day. Started at 10.00 and finished at 18.00! Thats longer than I normally work at my day to day job!
Apart from decorating, what else has been happening? Not much really - one good thing, I finally worked up the courage to play and sing in front of some of my friends. I played "High And Dry" by Radiohead and sung along as well (its a really nice song, but for those who dont know it, there are some high, almost falsetto type notes to hit with my voice, which is NOT the best!)
I only played in front of three of my friends - but seeing as one of them is my best friend it still took me a hell of a lot of balls to do it. And I actually enjoyed it.
I now feel more confident of doing it again, maybe with a couple more songs.
Oh, and I think I'll be sticking with my current car for a while longer. A couple of reasons why; I got a quote on one of the cars I would like on Friday, but its too expensive really. Also, mine is about to go in for a service tomorrow, and that's probably gonna cost a couple of hundred (or more) so I wanna make use of that really.
Have a good day people, more postings tomorrow.