Newsflash

I've spoken to my regular golf partner. We've patched things up and we're gonna have a round again next week. This makes me happy.

Back into the ol' routine

So I got home at about 07.30 Saturday morning. I managed to stay awake the whole day (even if a couple of times during the afternoon I was seriously nodding...) and it meant that by Sunday I was back into my regular sleep pattern. It's hard work, but it's worth it.

Didn't really do much the rest of the weekend - the weather was absolutely crap, I mean raining all day Sunday AND Monday, so it was a case of staying in and chilling out round the house, (and dealing with the dog going stir crazy coz he couldn't go out).

And now, it's 07.20 on Tuesday and Im sitting at my desk thinking "Where do I start..." *sigh*.

This week - no plans really, the wife goes away tonight up North for a day full of meetings tomorrow, so Im babysitting... I really wanna try and play golf Thursday... and that's about it.

More updates later. Peace.

Day Five

Good morning America.
Yes, today is the day I fly home... Im at work at the moment, will be leaving here at 13.00 in a cab to O'Hare and then off I fly.

Its been a good trip, got some good work done, played a LOT of golf :-) , and eaten far too much.
I didn't do much last night, was a little bit lonely in the hotel on my own, but found Casino Royale on the T.V so watched that before bed time.

Back to reality next week, so more boring posts on the horizon. Have a good weekend all.

Soundtrack of the day: "Hey Ma" the new album by James. (Im giving the Scroobious Pip one a rest today, don't wanna get bored of it, but no doubt it will be on the play list on the plane home!)
and "Blue" by Joni Mitchell.

Oh, I nearly forgot, here's a picture of a shake I had at Steak & Shake at lunchtime yesterday...


Yes it was a nice as it looked, it was HUGE, served in an iced glass...

Day Four

Played really well yesterday - 5 over for nine holes, so really pleased - I hit some good shots (and yes, won...!)
I then went back to the hotel, had a fabulous steak and a nice glass of red wine, and chilled in my room.

I can't stop listening to the Angles album I posted about earlier in the week - its like crack cocaine for the ears - so addictive.

No plans for tonight as the two other UK guys go home today, so I'll have another quiet evening alone, then leaving to go home myself tomorrow. Tonight will be spent making sure all the stuff I've bought fits into my case!

Have a good Thursday...

Day Three

Had a nice dinner last night, at a restaurant called Tuscanny. I had a piece of very tender veal about the same size as my head, but it was very nice.

I'm playing golf after work today (definitely, we have a tee time booked this time) and the course we're playing at is doing a deal where the green fee is free! So a free game of golf, sweet.

Not too sure what the plan is tonight, but tomorrow the two other guys from the UK are going home, so tomorrow night I'll have the night to myself, then I fly home Friday afternoon.

So far its been a good trip, produced some good code and getting some good press (which is nice).

Did I mention in a previous post that I treated myself to some noise cancellation headphones at the airport? THEY ROCK! The background noise on an airplane is very annoying, but these headphones turn it into silence. They're brilliant.

Anyway, have a good rest of Wednesday, more dribble tomorrow.

Day two

So we didn't play golf yesterday - we got to the course, but the league season has started, so the first tee time available wasn't until 17.55 or some nonsense, so we ended up going onto the range for half an hour or so. I then went back to the hotel to have a couple of beers in the bar and something to eat while watching baseball on the bar's TV. (My, didn't I feel American?)

Tonight I think we're going out to dinner with the CIO, and then it'll be back to the hotel again for maybe another couple of cold ones.

I still manage to get new music where ever I am in the world - a new album called "Angles" by Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. Yes, I know NONE of you will have heard of it (apart from Mr. NP - he knows the score) but its a very very good album.

Anyway, about to pop out to lunch (Im gonna walk into the local town to have a look see... yes walk, I dont need to drive everywhere like most of the people in this office!) and then back to the grind. Peace.

Hello from the U.S

Yes, Im here at last. Stayed with my friend Scott and his wife over the weekend, and now writing this post from the office in Glenview, Illinois.

Had a nice relaxing couple of days with Scott, played two days of golf, (Saturday & Sunday), had some excellent food (cooked by his lovely wife), and its made the transition into U.S life for this week an easy one.

Had a brief chat to the wife this morning and found out she's bought a new car! I mean, come on, I can't leave the country for five minutes...!

I'll try and post more on my U.S experience this week... today I've got quite a bit of work to get through, we're going to a golf shop at lunchtime (cheap gear!) and playing golf again after work today. Have a good Monday / Tuesday (time difference...)

Spiders

Reading Charlie Brooker's column (as I've said I've been doing) I came across this article about his aracnophobia. I completely agree with him, and his sentiments sum up perfectly how I feel about spiders. Enjoy...

Update: I've added some pics on my Dashwire site of a little accident that happened just now, outside the office... jump here

New Tool

I've signed up, and added to my list of 'favorites', a new tool for you all. Its a way I can share any pics I take instantly with anyone who cares to look at them. The URL is :
www.dashwire.com/molsi01
As you can see if you go there now, there are some 'dummy' pics up there so you can get a feel for how it works, but it means that wherever I am, if I take a picture, I can upload it instantly and anyone who access the above URL can view it. I know, I know, its almost like this blog, but just for adding pics it's a lot simpler. So, for example, while Im playing golf this Saturday in the U.S, I can take pictures of the course and you can all instantly see what I see... cool eh?

Anyway, enjoy...

Lethargy

Not much to say today, feeling too lethargic to do much of anything. Had a nice dinner with Jake last night, just the two of us shared a mini BBQ of burgers, ribs and steak... a real meat feast.

I've been drinking too much wine recently, but can't be @rsed to stop.

Playing golf tomorrow after work (the last time before my U.S trip)

VERY quiet on the work front (again) so Im reading Charlie Brooker's column on the Guardian newspaper web site. Link here.

Another mood of feeling very flat has come over me, so apologies to any regular readers (if I still have any).

Update: The more I read of Charlie Brooker's columns, the more he sounds like me (or I sound like him). It's quite spooky. Its perked me up a little knowing that I'm not the only one out there like me. Read a couple, you'll see the similarity of his column to my postings... but there is no plagiarism going on, I promise. Although I might borrow some of his ideas...

Soundtrack of the day: "Grinderman" by Grinderman.

End of season

How can a weekend in which my team loses 8 - 1 (no, that's not a typo - 8 bloody 1) be a good weekend? Well, it was, really. Saturday after taking Jake to football in the morning, spent most of the day sat in the garden reading and relaxing, and the Saturday night went to my parents house for drinks for my mum's birthday. It was a really good night, I was sensible (alcohol wise), so didn't wake up feeling like death on Sunday, and I haven't laughed so much for a long time. On Sunday it was another relaxing day, then sat and watched the last day of the season unfold on the TV (8 - 1... good grief) in the afternoon. Finally, watched Sergio Garcia go on to win the TPC at Sawgrass (The Players Championship at The Players Club Sawgrass in Florida) in the evening. So a good weekend. This week I will be preparing for my trip to the U.S on Saturday.

Soundtrack of the day: "The Edge Of The Eighties" an Eighties compilation...

Not much to say today

Golf was OK. Had a falling out with my normal playing partner (too long winded to go into right now) and I don't know if we'll be playing together again. Shame.

Apart from that, it was nice being out in the glorious weather on a golf course.

Not much happened that night, house to myself (with the dog) so drank too much wine and watched Hot Fuzz again (good film).

This weekend: Football tomorrow morning with Jake, then he has a golf lesson in the afternoon. Then, it's my mother's birthday party... I won't give her age away, but its a big one, so we're having a few drinks at their house. Sunday, maybe golf range with Jake and the father, depending on how much I have to drink Saturday night! We're having the wife's mother down today until Monday, so she can babysit on Saturday night, which is really kind of her.

Anyway, have a good weekend, more posting maybe over the weekend, maybe Monday.

(Oh, I didn't get the chance to see my best man's new daughter yesterday, Im going tonight after work, I'll update you all later). Peace.

The day will drag

... as I am playing golf after work today and the weather is fabulous, so if I want something to go quick, it never does.

Not much goin' on last night. I retrieved the garden furniture from storage in the garage and set it up on the patio, and had a very pleasant evening sat in the garden with some ice cold Magners (great summer drink) and then a couple of glasses of chilled rose. Its what the summer is for, isn't it (and this is only Spring!)

If I can think of anything to engage our interest I will post later...

Soundtrack of the day: "The Music Of Grand Theft Auto IV" by Various Artists.
Other soundtracks of the day: All the Prodigy albums on random... head-boppin' foot-tappin' desk-dancin' blasts from the past.

Hobo

I had a bad night's sleep last night... I think I woke up about 7 times, the first being around 01.45. I wish I could control myself more. It's as though something inside me needs to know the time, so wakes myself up to check the clock. It's like I'm going to be late for something (work, I guess) so I have to make sure I'm not even though my alarm is set for the right time and never fails to wake me up. I've thought about trying one of those herbal sleeping pills, to see if that takes me through the night, but I wouldn't want to get stuck on them. It's very frustrating as today I now look and feel like a person who sleeps on the streets... I feel like sh*t and need a shave so look like a bum.

No golf this afternoon after all, I'll be going tomorrow instead. Also, I'll be visiting my best man and his new daughter tomorrow evening, so that'll be nice... (must get something cute for them).

Not much more to report today, so have a nice Wednesday and I'll maybe post more later if something takes my fancy. Ciao.

Update: Another new album bought today - "Music For An Accelerated Culture" by Hadouken... review later in the week

Hello hello

Back to work today after the bank holiday off.
Saturday: Took Jake to his second training session with his potential new club, and as biased as I am, he really impressed them! Considering Tuesday he was overly quiet and didn't get involved much, on Saturday he played very well, and I was very proud.
He then had his second golf lesson in the afternoon, and did well there too, according to the pro.

Sunday: Went to the driving range with Jake & my dad - he wants to start getting back into golf, so I gave me a complete set of my old clubs, and he after a few bad hits he started hitting the ball well again. I think a few more sessions down the range and he will be back into it. In the afternoon watched City lose their penultimate game of the season away to Liverpool.

Monday: Mowed the lawn and sorted out the plants in the garden (cut back the dead bits, re-bedded those ones that the dog had got at... we used to have such a nice garden before he started peeing everywhere!) then went to my parents in the evening for dinner. So a nice relaxing weekend really. Oh, and I read a whole novel in three days! I re-read jPod by Douglas Coupland. A really good book, but I can't believe how quick I read it. I'm now re-reading a book by A. M. Holmes called This Book Will Save Your Life (it's fiction) but I will be visiting the book shop today as Im jonesing for a new book to read.

This week: Another training session for Jake tonight, Im playing golf after work tomorrow, and then no plans as yet for Thursday or Friday.

I'll try and post more interesting stuff up here later this week. Peace.

A very brief post

To say welcome to planet Earth to my best man's new daughter Maya (spelling not confirmed!)
She arrived between 17.30 and 18.00 on Friday 2nd May weighing 6lbs 3ozs. Mother and baby are fine and healthy. When they've done the family thing, I will be going to meet her.

Congratulations to them both, and I know they are going to be fantastic parents.

I'll update more about my weekend soon...

Things what I did today

Bought a new CD - "Chronicle - 20 Greatest Hits" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (yes, rockin' out to some Creedence!)

Bought a new downloaded album - "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" by Aphex Twin

Paid to download "Exile On Main Street" by The Rolling Stones, even though I already had it (D'oh!)

Bought a new book - Slash (of G'n'R fame)'s autobiography

Got ripped off paying for my lunchtime sandwich

Spent too long in HMV (record shop) listening to the Stone Roses over the in-store stereo...

Got a headache trying to code in VB / VBScript working with Windows Components

DIDN'T vote in the London Mayoral elections

Have a good rest of Thursday listeners...