End of a shit year

I've not written in a few weeks cos I slipped the disc in my back again a day or 2 after I last posted and this is the first time I've managed to stay on the computer for longer than 5 minutes since then. I was off work the whole of the week before Christmas and I already booked off the 3 days between Christmas and New Year so I'll have been off work for about 3 weeks by the time I start again on Tuesday. I'm really hoping that I can actually manage to do full days cos I can't afford any more time off!

I went to see my spinal consultant on the 22nd and I see her again on the 15th of Jan by which point she should have got me an appointment to see a spinal surgeon to discuss whether I should have surgery or not. I'm not sure that I want to have surgery but I want to find out all the info that I can before deciding.

Koops is getting better albeit very slowly. He'll probably have to have the bandages on for another few weeks but he only has to have them changed every 3 days now and he doesn't have to be sedated anymore which is good.

Mark Lovell is having a big New Year's party tonight but we aren't sure what we're goona do yet cos of the mutt. We're thinking of going to the party at about 11pm and leaving a couple of hours later so that we only have to leave Koopa locked in his cage with the cone on for as short a time as possible whilst still letting us get out to celebrate!

Well, I'm really hoping that 2007 is gonna be a much better year. We're going into it with my back being bad that the dog still injured but we're being positive and working on the principle that it can only get better.

It helps that United are 6 points clear of Chelsea!

Listening to: Kasabian - Empire
Back: Pretty sore

Koopa - Lost, Found & Injured

Not posted in a couple of weeks cos there has been a lot of shit going on and I just couldn't be arsed writing about it.

Last Friday (8th), Deb was out walking Koopa and she was on her way back from Haslam park walking down the path that takes you out to Tom Benson way so you can cross over to the canal. They were about half way down the path and Koopa was still off the lead and he spotted something in the bushes and went after it. Deb then heard a screech of brakes/tyres and a yelp. She got through the bushes as quick as she could on to Tom Benson way but there was no sign of Koopa and whoever may have hit him hadn't stopped.

Long story short, this happened about 3pm, we search for hours and hours and we didn't find him again until about 1pm the next day when someone rang us to say that he was in their porch round the corner from the park. You wouldn't believe how worried we were and then how relieved we were when we found him. He had been hit by a car (fucking twats for not stopping!) and his back left leg is in a bit of a state. He's broken a couple of toes and had most of the skin on top of his foot ripped off. We've had him at the vets Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and today. Each time he has to be sedated so that he can have his wounds cleaned and bandages changed.

Koop's is gonna have to have his foot bandaged up for at least another 2 to 3 weeks and he can't go out for walks that whole time. Its a bit of a nightmare having to constantly watch him to make sure he doesn't lick or rip his bandage off and he has to sleep in our room at night at the moment so we can hear him if he tries to take his cone off so he can get at his bandage.

All in all another shit thing has happened in what has been a pretty shitty year. Roll on 2007!

Listening to: Veruca Salt - American Thighs
Back: Sore as hell

Off work for a few days

I'm off work today and Monday and Tuesday of next week. Its my brithday on Monday so I figured I might as well use up the 3 days holiday I had left around it.

Its Doddy and his step Dad's (boyfriend Bill) joint 30th and 60th do tonight. Hopefully that should be good. Its Dave's girlfiend's daughter's 21st tomorrow night that we've all been invited to. Finally, about 20 of us are going out for a meal on Monday night for my birthday.

Its going to be a tiring few days me thinks!

Listening to: The budgies
Back: Ok

The office is so noisy

It's so hard concentrating when I'm in the office. I can't believe how noisy it can get in here. It's even worse now that Suf works here sitting opposite me doing all his phone support.

Also, Jan is still a wanker!

Listening to: The people in the bloody office
Back: Ok(ish)

Frickin Back

My back is killing me! It hasn't hurt like this in something like 3 or 4 months. I'm not sleeping well and just can't get comfortable. Its cos I went to a meeting in Banbury on Wednesday and it was already sore before that and its just got 10 times worse because of it. I pretty much spent 10 hours in a car.

Listening to: Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog
Back: Frickin sore

Ouch

Damn my back is sore today! I went out last night with the lads and it usually is sore after a night in the pubs not sitting properly and stuff but I didn't expect it to be this sore. It doesn't help that I've had to spend over 4 hours working today writing a demo dashboard for a customer visit on Wednesday. The customer is in Banbury so I'm not looking forward to that :-(

I got a new DVD player yesterday for using when I'm on the travellator. Its only a cheap thing but it does the job. The only feature I was concerned with was whether it resumed from its last play position after it had been turned off and it does so that's ok.

The budgies are loving their new branch and swings now. They take a while to get used to new things but once they are they can't get enough of them.

My broadband is still playing silly beggers. Since Thursday its disconnected 10 times that I've noticed. A few times were during games of online Fifa which really pisses me off. I've been play Gears of War online this afternoon with Ian and luckily it didn't disconnect once. That game is so good!

Right, time for some travellation before tea ;-)

Listening to: The Budgies
Back: Pretty sore

Gears Of War

I bought Gears Of War for the 360 this morning from PC World for only £35. I was gonna wait till after Xmas when I had completed a few more games but at that price I couldn't resist.

I've only gone through the first few check points so far but it's quality. Graphically it's amazing and the sound through my surround sound is pretty damn cool.

Listening to: Begger all
Back: Ok

Bloody BT Broadband

Over the past few months my broadband connection has developed a really annoying habit of disconnecting at least a few times a day if not more. When I working this isn't too much of a problem cos if it goes down then I just wait a minute for the router to reconnect. However, if I'm on Xbox Live it really pisses me off cos I don't care that I lose the game I'm on but it always goes against me as a "Did Not Finish" which is shit and means some people won't play against me!

Anyway, I report the problem to BT a few days ago and they called me this morning to say that they had done something at the exchange which should hopefully stabilise the connection. I have no faith in them whatsoever after all the shit when I first got upgraded to ADSL Max so I'll just have to wait and see. They are gonna call me again in a few days to see how its going.

The birdies still won't really go near the new branch very much or their new swings. We keep having to swap out the new swings for the old ones at night so that they will get in them to go to sleep!

England play Holland in a friendly game tonight. Hopefully they can't be as crap as they were in the last game against Croatia!

Listening to: Linkin Park - Meteora
Back: Okish

New toys for the budgies

We went to the pet centre at Adlington yesterday and bought some new toys for the the budgies and a stock pile of treats and chews for the mutt.

We got the budgies some new swings with bits of coloured wood on them cos Tweety seems obsessed with ragging the swings. We've only put one in so far cos we figure Yoshi might not go near the new one straight away and typically, Tweety hasn't been near it either. We also got them a Java branch with bits of rope and other things attached to it that they can chew. I pegged some millet spray to it and after a while Tweety went on it but Yoshi has only kinda gone near it but not really on it.

Tweety seems to be getting a bit better at going on our fingers but still seems wary of doing it unless you have food for him.

Listening to: The Budgies
Back: So, so

1st week of travellation

Everything was going great on the travellator (my name for the treadmill) until Wednesday lunch time when I tweaked my hamstring in my right leg. I think for someone who gets very little exercise I went a bit overboard. I was on it 3 times a day doing 5kph for 20 minutes a session. I've not been on it since but hopefully I'll be able to start again tomorrow and I can ease into it ;-)

I was hoping to be able to go out with the lads tonight but my back is so sore that I'll end up having a really shit weekend cos it will only get worse if I go out. I'll have to complete my first season on Fifa 07 and play on Need For Speed Underground instead.

Listening to: Alien Ant Farm - ANThology
Back: Bloody sore!

Started a new back rehab class

I went to a new back rehab class at the hospital today. It's supposed to be for an hour but I only lasted half an hour cos my back was really hurting. It's hurting like hell at the moment but hopefully I'll be fine by the morning.

The class just has you doing 1 minute stints on things like a treadmill, exercise bikes, stepper, gym ball, etc. It should be good exercise once my back has got used to it.

Also, the treadmill has been delivered and fitted today so I just need to sort out an LCD TV for the wall and a DVD player or something for it.

Listening to: Bugger all
Back: Sore as hell

Getting a treadmill

I have been thinking about getting a treadmill for ages and I've decided its time to get one. I've not been getting the exercise that I should be recently with the weather getting worse and me being a bit lazy so getting one will help. I should easy do the recommended 10,000 steps a day with what I'd do normally plus a couple of 20 minute sessions on the treadmill.

I went to a shop near us today and was shown one for about £400 which would suit me just fine. The guy in the shop said there's no need to spend silly money on one if I'm just walking on it.

I'm gonna get rid of the console area in the playroom (leather recliner and TV and consoles) and put it there cos my consoles are downstairs these days anyway.

Listening to: Nowt
Back: Bit Sore

Its pumpkin time!

I have finally fully moved over to the new beta of blogger and sorted out all my old posts so that they look good in my new blog style. What a ballache but hopefully I won't change style again.

I've got 2 nice, big pumpkins waiting for me to carve downstairs. Once is for Deb's friend Dawn's kid cos it's his birthday on Halloween and the other is for me :-) I've got some pretty cool template faces off t'interweb so they should look really good.

Deb is currently baking a chocolate cake to take with her to Zorha's cos her and Krupa are going there for tea.

United are currently 2 - 0 up against Bolton with Rooney scoring both goals. About time his goal drought ended!

Listening to: Foo Fighters - In Your Honour (Disc 2)
Back: Still so so

Fifa 2007

I got Fifa 2007 for the 360 yesterday. I've been playing the demo now for about a month so I know I like it but it has to be said that it is very different to last year's for a gameplay point of view. I suppose the best way to explain it is that it seems more realistic which means that you really need to adjust how you play the game. I've started it straight on world class and have won 4 and lost 1.

The graphics a big improvement with player animations being especially good this time. Also, its nice to have Andy Gray back on the commentary so that its more like when you watch a match on Sky. Andy Townsend is shite anyway!

Listening to: Nothing
Back: So so

1st post in ages

With everything that has happened in the last few months we haven't put much effort into doing a lot of the things we'd normally be doing. We've been going through the motions to a certain extent. Hopefully we're getting back on track now though!

Deb went back to work last week. She's only doing 3 mornings a week so far but it suits her. She's getting tired by it quite easily but she seems to be coping. Over the next few weeks she's going to up her hours so that she is working mornings every day but that is as far as it will go. Her work don't know that yet but she's gonna tell them that she only wants to work part time and if they don't like it she is just gonna quit!

I've moved to blogger beta and sorted out my style template to something I like and I'm now making use of labels. You never know, I might actually starting blogging regularly ;-)

Listening to: Nothing
Back: Ok

Hopefully over the worst of it

We went to Marc's Dad's funeral on Friday and it went as well as can be expected. Deb did get upset as I suspected she would be she wasn't too bad.

I think that we are all starting to get over the worst of it about Deb's dad and are starting to move forward but silly little things set you off still. Sometimes you just forget that it has happened like when we were watching TV the other day and Deb said she'd have to tell her Dad about the program we were watching.

On the moving forward note, we were supposed to get a new carpet for the living room and stairs fitted weeks ago and we got it done the other day. It looks really good and today we are going to the dreaded Ikea (I'm on holiday this week) to see if we can find a few odds and sods to finish the living room off.

I've not got much planned for the week other than pottering round the house so I'm hoping it will be relaxing!

Listening to: Nothing
Back: Ok

What a shit few weeks!

Deb's Dad died suddenly on the 7th in the street outside their house when he was getting home from work. He had a sudden thrombosis in his heart and according to the doctors it killed him pretty much instantly. As you can image its been a really shitty few weeks. The funeral was on the 15th. There is so much stuff we are having to help Deb's mom to sort out but it looks like we are getting over the worst of it now. Its been pretty hard.

Also, our budgie Daisy died at the start of the month. The vet couldn't figure out what was wrong with her but it seemed to happen really quickly so we don't think she was in any pain. Yoshi, the other budgie wouldn't come near us without her there and wouldn't go in his cage or anything so we went and got a baby budgie the same day. It seems really disloyal to Daisy but it was the best thing for Yoshi cos as soon as the new budgie was there he started getting back to normal. The new budgie is all yellow and is called Tweety.

As if things couldn't get any worse, our good friend (he was my best man) Marc's Dad died of cancer on the 21st which has of course brought things back up for us about Deb's dad. The funeral is this Friday and is at the same place Deb's Dad's was so its going to be a bit horrible.

A pretty crap month then all in!

Listening to: Nothing
Back: Ok

Customers are a pain in the ass

I know that you can't have a business without any customers cos they kinda pay the wages and all that crap but they really can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I've spent most of the day having to deal with customers either via email or on the phone that all want the moon on a stick and all want it yesterday. They don't seem to have any concept of the fact that I can't just drop everything and do what they want straight away cos thatt would piss other customers off and at some point they are the "other customer". Damn them! Damn them all!

Me and Deb were talking about setting up a blog for Koopa today. We decided it would be quite funny if a dog had a blog. Wonder if its been done?

United are the picture box tonight against Charlton. Suf is coming round but dunno about anyone else. Come on you reds!

Listening to: Korn - Follow The Leader
Back: Bit sore

Relaxing weekend

I have not done a single bit of work this weekend and I feel better for it. I got a bad sore throat and cough last week and decided that if I didn't take a bit of a break I'd get worse. I've still got the cough but the sore thought is now gone. Having a bit of time to chill out has felt good!

I'm currently listening to music on a website called pandora.com. You but in an artist or a song name that you like and it creates a kind of radio station based around that type of music. It seems pretty good.

United got off to a flyer today beating Fulham 5 - 1. Can't ask for more other than the fact that Chelsea are currently beating City 2 - 0.

Listening to: Veruca Salt - Don't Make Me Prove It
Back: Ok

Still busy but it should get better

I am still really busy with work and haven't had much time for doing much outside of work such as writing my blog ;-) However, Stu starts today and hopefully that will start making the time I have to spend on support go down a little. Also, Ste who works at the other building and used to help out on websites, is hopefully being drafted in to work with Stu but also to do custom dashboard websites for customers thus leaving me more time to spend writing core products.

I currently hate the BT Broadband Bussiness Technical Support Team. Last weekend my broadband dropped to about 0.25MB instead of being around 3MB and I have now spoken to 7 different people who have all said something different. I must have spent about 3 and a half hours on the phone to them since Wednesday and I don't feel like I've got anywhere. Some of them say there is no problem and others say there is. An engineer is actually coming out on Tuesday to plug his modem and laptop into our line to see it for himself. We'll see what happens!

Right, back to the grind :-(

Listening to: Gomez - Bring It On
Back: Ok

Still sooo busy

I am still soooo busy with work. Its really starting to get on my tits. Also, I had a massive argument with JS about moving our system to 3rd party hosting and he was going on about all this bullshit to do with planning meaning it would never get done. Now though the big boss man has stepped in and it making it get sorted which should make my life a bit easier.

I haven't had much time to start using my new phone properly yet (other than as a phone). As soon as I stop working 50-60 hour weeks I'm gonna sort it out.

I'm finishing early tonight cos United are on against Porto in the Amsterdam tournament. I'm going to go get a Chinese for me and Stu now, pick Stu up, get back here and then relax for the evening. I'll be back working tomorrow morning though :-(

Listening to: Nothing
Back: Sore after hydrotherapy this morning

Got a new toy

I've been really busy this past week with work. Why do customers always wants something doing in a time period that is nigh on impossible? They always seem to think that they are the only customer and that you should drop everything to get what they want done. Bastards!

Still, even though I was busy I found time to buy myself a PDA phone on Ebay. My SPV C500 was ok but although it and Windows Mobile on, it was really not that much more functional that a normal phone. I got myself an SPV M2000 (otherwise known as an HTC Blue Angel) for £120 which I think is a damn good price for a PDA phone. Its practically new as well with not a mark on it so I'm pleased. I've just got to figure out what software I want for it and stuff like that now.

Deb has gone camping this weekend in the Lakes with Krupa and Zorha. Hopefully the weather will stay nice and she can have a good time!

Gonna go into town for 9am this morning I think. Dunno if I'll buy anything but its something to do.

Listening to: Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Back: Sore this morning

Damn computers!

I had to format my laptop and start again on Monday. Interdev and IIS had been playing up on me for a while and it had got to the stage where I was having to reboot every 45-60 minutes just to get them to work together. As you can imagine, that was pissing me off so I decided enough was enough. It was back up and running with everything needed I needed for what I was doing for the rest of the by the end of play on Tuesday but I'm gonna have to install a shed load of software over today and tomorrow to finish it.

Whilst I'm moaning, I've spent 6 hours on the phone this week supporting a customer who is such a gimp its untrue. The guy just won't read the documentation and keeps insisting on trying to use one of our systems for stuff it was never designed to do and then gets all pissed off when you tell him it doesn't work that way. I know you need customers as a business to make money but some of them aren't half twats!

Suf (who I now have to call Stuart or Stu) got a job at our place this week. He's going to be the new support guy and he starts sometime mid August. Hopefully he can speak to the customer I don't like ;-)

Our mate Beav is back is up from Derby today for the night so we are probably gonna have a load of people round someone's house and play 2 player Guitar Hero and some poker. Gonna have a BBQ if the weather stays good as well.

Listening to: Nothing cos its quiet time ;-)
Back: Ok

6th Wedding Anniversary

Its mine and Deb's 6th wedding anniversary today. She doesn't know it yet but I've booked a meal and a room at a hotel called Guy's Thatched Hamlet and Lodge. We've eaten there before and its always really nice but we've never stayed over. I booked an executive room which apparently has a spa bath. I hope it turns out to be better than just a normal bath with a bubble jet in the side or something ;-)

Suf had a second interview for a job where I work on Wednesday and they told him they'd let him know either by the end of today. I'm not confident he's gonna get it cos although he's got the skills I think that work actually want someone with less skills who they can pay less.

Speaking of work, I'd better get one with some.

Listening to: Foo Fighters - In Your Honour Disc 2
Back: Not too bad

Its sticky!

It has to be said that it is too damn humid at the moment. I love hot weather but you can't get it without the humidity in this country and its bloody uncomfotable for working at a desk. One day we'll move to somewhere with better atmospheric conditions ;-)

Speaking of moving, we've decided that we are going to attempt to become fluent in French though I expect that could take a lifetime. We're going to try to figure out a good course (book/CD/etc) to get over the next few days and take it from there. The BBC do a really good looking course but its online and I'm trying to have a hobby that doesn't involve sitting a computer seeing as that is what I do all day!

To end this post on a high note: Aren't England shite!

Listening to: Deftones - Adrenaline
Back: Not too bad

Damn my operation hurt

So, I had the op on Tuesday 13th June and I was in and out on that day have had a general anaesthetic. Damn was I in pain when I woke up. The communication skills of most doctors is so poor cos nobody warned me about this. I ended up being off work all week and didn't touch the computer until Monday just gone. It doesn't really hurt anymore but its certainly still uncomfortable.

Well, England are through to the last 16 of the World Cup then. They haven't played very well so far so lets hope they can get their acts together for the game against Ecuador on Sunday.

Me and Deb (mainly me at the moment) are thinking of learning a new language but we can't decide which one. French would be good cos we both already know some from school but are we ever gonna live in France. We keep going to Greece on holiday so maybe we should learn that. On the other hand what if we get a villa in spain when we are old ;-) I'm sure we'll decide one day!

Listening to: Foo Fighters - In Your Honour (Disc 2)
Back: Ok(ish)

Woo hoo, the world cup is starting

Well the weather in Preston has been glorious for the past few days and is hopefully set to continue so that we can have plenty of BBQ's during the world cup. Just a few hours to go until it starts and I can't wait. I'm looking forward to watching as many matches as I can! Unfortunately I'm gonna miss a few on Tuesday though cos I'm in hospital for an operation and even though I have to be there at 8am they can't say what time I'll have my op and as such can't guarantee I'll be home for the first match at 2pm :-(

Had a close scare with the TV last night in terms of the world cup as well. The damn thing died on me so I rang the shop and luckly they had 1 in stock that I could swap for and they were open till 7pm so I swapped it last night. Its ridiculous that this is my 4th LCD tv in 4 months and they have even been different brands.

Right, back to work so that I get enough done to watch some of the world cup build up :-)

Listening to: Puddle Of Mudd - Life On Display
Back: Not too bad

Hell of a past 2 weeks

Well, it has been one hell of a past couple of weeks.

Sunday 21st
Koopa hurt him self really badly by catching his leg on the fence when he was razzing about in the garden and litterally rolling down his skin like a sock. It was pretty horrible cos you could see bones and tendons and everything. Deb had a bit of a panic attack because of this and it seemed to really set her back. I got Deb round to her mom's and then Jen helped me get Koopa to the vets where he had a little operation to get him sorted and we got him back later that day complete with a little purple cast.

Monday 22nd
Took Deb to see her counsellor and it was decided all round that it would be good if I just took her away for a week so that she didn't have to worry about anything other than how much sun tan lotion to put. Soooo, I thought it would be a good idea if Deb's sister came along and we booked a trip to Samos (small Greek island) for a week leaving on Wednesday 24th at 9am. After we'd booked, Deb's mom then wrote me a check for the cost of the holiday saying that she wanted to pay for it and she wouldn't take no for an answer so that was really nice.

Wednesday 24th
We flew to Samos on Deb's birthday and proceeded to have a really great week in the sun doing nothering but sun bathing and going into the town to eat in restaurants. Just what the doctor ordered.

Back in Preston now then and back working. Deb seems to be doing really well and Koopa is well on the mend. Seems like this little holiday has put everything on the right track!

Listening to: Mad Season - Above
Back: So, so

Its spitting!

Well, the weather went really crap over the weekend and it's been pretty much raining the whole time. We've not been able to take Koopa out for a walk cos his ear is still not properly healed and when he shakes his head really hard (like when he's wet) it started bleeding again. He's been really hyper cos of it as well.

I've been keeping an eye on the new from E3 and the Nintendo Wii looks fantastic just as I knew it would. Nintendo really are the daddy of the vidio game world.

Microsoft have made loads of new content availble for download on the 360 from E3 as well and I downloaded a demo of Lost Planet and its pretty amazing but really hard. Its one of them where I wanna buy it when it comes out but if you can't set the difficulty level then I might not bother cos it will just be too frustrating. When I play games, I like a challenge but I also want it to be fun and not just trying to complete something for the sake of it!

Listening to: Faith No More - King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime
Back: So, so

Damn fine weather we're having

Damn, the weather has been good the last few days. Its been hot enough to actually "catch the sun" when we've been out walking the dog. Not sure Koopa is too keen though cos he seems really hot and always wanting to drink from dirty canals and streams while we're out.

Just got the Focus back after its M.O.T and it was pretty cheap cos all it needed was one new tyre.

I really can't be arsed working this afternoon, I'd rather be outside but I'm gonna have to get used to that for another few months hopefully.

Listening to: The Prodigy - Their Law - The Singles 1990-2005
Back: Not good, not really that bad

Guitar Hero is a great game

Well, after my last post said that the quality of games these days is a bit shoddy its good to see a game that is a step above the rest. Its a really simple concept but Guitar Hero is really good fun to play. Well done to Red Octane who developed it.

I've got an appointment at the hospital tomorrow morning to see what they can do for my back now that they have the MRI results. Hopefully they can do something useful ;-)

Right, time to cook tea and then take the dog to training class.

Listening to: Nowt
Back: Sore

Game quality sucks lately

I took Top Spin 2 back the other day and pre ordered Fifa and just got a voucher for the money. Like I said, Top Spin really was crap. I also decided I was bored with Project Gotham so I swapped that along with £20 for Tomb Raider: Legend on the 360. Now its not that its a bad game but its a bit repetative. I'm about 2 hours in and I'm getting a bit bored and I'm thinking that I'm gonna get my money back at the weekend. I might not complete it before I take it back but I reckon I would have completed it within an extra week and I ain't paying £50 for that! I've still got Kameo to complete anyway.

Rant over, back to work.

Listening to: Nirvana - In Utero
Back: Still pretty damn sore

Knackered my back

Well, it seems I may have hurt my back playing badminton. It didn't start hurting until a few days after I played but its really been hurting since then. I spoke to my physio about an hour ago and she's told me that my MRI results have just been looked at by the consultant and there are a few options for me all revolving around various types of injections in my back. I've got an appointment to see her to discuss on May 3rd.

Deb has been to the quacks again and he thinks that she is improving but not quickly enough for his liking so he's doubled her dose of happy pills. Along as she gets better thats all that matters!

On a totally different note, I'm still top of Fantasy football! My tinkering at the weekend paid off quite well but the gap to second still isn't big enough for my liking.

Right, I'm off to pick up Deb's mates Krupa and Zorha cos they are coming for tea.

Listening to: The Breeders - Last Splash
Back: Frickin killing me

Deb is improving

Deb is still slowly improving. I don't think she can see it but its happening and although its slow its a relief. We had Suf and Jen round for tea last night with Lucy in tow and Deb managed to get through helping cook a meal and deal with 2 mad dogs all night. She was quiet at times but she got through it really well!

United however were frickin' shite last night and I reckon they've blown the slim chance they had of winning the league now. In Fantasy football I'm still top of the league and I've just done a few transfers that will hopefully see me stay there. I've still got 3 transfers left as well and most teams only have 5 games left so with some clever changes over the next few weeks I should be able to ride it out (touch wood).

I traded Fifa on the 360 for Top Spin 2 the other day cos the new Fifa is out at the end of the month and I wanted to make sure I got good money for the trade in. Top Spin is shite though. Its certainly no Virtua Tennis! I'm gonna get my money back during the week and just wait for the new Fifa.

Right, I'm off cos I've got a badminton court booked for in 25 minutes with Suf. I figure I might as well have a go and hope I don't knacker my back.

Listening to: The budgies
Back: Little sore

Deb just had a vist from work

The assistant director and someone from HR from where Deb works just came to visit her to see how she's getting on. Deb's been really worried about this meeting for a few days but it was a lot better than she had been thinking and while she's still pretty upset she does know that it went well. Its sounds like they will pay for counselling rather than waiting a year before getting it on the NHS which is damn good and also the statutory sick pay is for 28 weeks starting when her work stop paying her which is also good.

Koopa seems to be doing ok after having his balls chopped off. Gill has said that she can take his stiches out so that I don't have to take him to Poulton so that saves some hassle.

I'm still top of the league in Fantasy football and have opened up a 10 point gap!

Listening to: Presidents Of The United States Of America - 2
Back: Pretty good

Top of the league in Fantasy Football

Its been a good week from a Fantasy Football point of view. I used some of the transfers I've been saving and have jumped from 3rd to 1st. There are only 7 or 8 games left so I'm hoping I've made my move at the right time and I can see it though at the top till the end.

Deb has a quack's appoinment this morning for some counselling. She is pretty worried about it but hopefully its gonna help. She had a pretty bad day yesterday which I;m hoping doesn't happen too often cos they are hard days.

Koopa had his balls cut off on Wednesday so he was pretty out of it Wednesday night and pretty quiet yesterday. He seems a bit more perky this morning but we have to try not to let him tear arse about until a week on Saturday which is gonna be difficult ;-)

United play Bolton tomorrow which I'm a bit worried about cos they are a bogey team for us. Still, we've been playing well so we should do it!

Listening to: Just the budgies
Back: Not too bad

Got me a new tattoo

Its been a while since my last post cos I'm still finding things a bit hard looking after Deb but she is still improving which is obviously very good. I on the other hand have got a chest infection which just won't budge which doesn't make things any easier!

I've been on semi holiday this week to help with looking after Deb and I'm doing the same thing next week. Basicall, I've booked 5 days off so I have to do 2 and a half days a week each week. Its working out quite well.

I got a new tattoo yesterday afternoon. Its an Ankh and its on the inside of my right wrist. It hurt like hell having it done and its pretty swollen now but it looks good which is what really matters.

With it being Mother's Day and all that, me and my brother Ian are cooking a meal for our Mom round at his house after the football. United are playing Birmingham which on paper looks an easy game but I reckon they'll be riled and more up for it after being thrashed 7 - 0 by Liverpool in the cup mid week.

Listening to: N.E.R.D. - Fly Or Die
Back: Not too bad

Hard work!

Well, Deb is improving but very slowly and its taking its toll on me. Its bloody hard work having to look after Deb, Koopa, Yoshi and Daisy and do everything round the house and make meals and so on and so on and so on. Still, the key word is improving and its gonna take a while but Deb is getting better which is the only thing that matters.

To make life a bit easier I've taken next week off work although I will be trying to get work done when I can and claiming the time back seeing as work have been good enough to let me have the time off at such short notice.

On the up side, I bought Fight Night for the 360 on Friday and its a very good game!

Listening to: Nowt
Back: Sore

Quiet weekend

Our mate Jen is a life saver. Koopa has really been stressing Deb out over the last few weeks and I've been too busy to be training him properly and stuff so Jen took him off our hands for the weekend. She took him Friday night and I'll get him back later on today sometime. Its been so peaceful without him but we both have to admit, especially me, that we miss having him around. I read all of the book The Practical Dog Listener this morning by Jan Fennal and if the stuff inside it works then we are on to a winner.

To add to Deb's troubles she has now got a bad back as well which is a nightmare for us in terms of going shopping so yesterday we shopped online with Tesco for everything except for the fruit and veg which I'm gonna get from Morrisons in about half an hour. It is getting delivered this afternoon and if it works out well we are gonna always do this and get fruit and veg from the local farmers market and shops.

Still busy as hell with work, did some yesterday and a little this morning (been up hours cos I couldn't sleep) but I'm not gonna do anymore today cos I have some DIY to do and United to watch against Newcastle. Come on you reds!

Listening to: Nowt
Back: Sore but not as bad as the other day

Soooo busy

Just a quick update to say that I've been doing nothing but work and looking after Deb and the dog.

Really busy with work cos I'm looking at re-architecting one of our systems.

Deb isn't doing too good still and the pills she is on have horrible side effects.

Dog is being a pain in the arse!

Listening to: Nowt
Back: Sore as hell

Daizy is much better (touch wood!)

Well, Daizy is def back to her old self now other than the yellow around her shit but she has only been off the antibiotics for a day so that may still clear up. She is currently chirping away extremely loudly while Yoshi chases her around.

Deb still isn't too good. She's been back to the doctors and has been put on meds for the problem. She goes back again a week tomorrow when I reckon she will get signed off work for at least another month to start with. The meds are really messing with her stomach at the moment which should settle after a week or 2 but it means she doesn't want to eat and I'm having to force her. It should all come good in the end though.

Come on United tomorrow night against Wigan!

Listening to: Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left To Lose
Back: So so again

Deb and Daizy haven't been well

Deb has been signed off work for 2 weeks with stress which will be reviewed at the end of the 2 weeks to see if she needs more time off. She's been really down about work lately cos her boss and the girl she has to work closely with are both wankers and no matter how hard she tries to ignore it she can't stop it getting to her. She's not been sleeping well because of it which has really added to the problems. The doctor she's seeing seems like a good guy though which is one thing going in her favour. Deb's gonna look for a new job when she's feeling up to it, possibly just a part time one.

Also, Daizy hasn't been too good. We took her to the vets on Saturday morning cos she just wasn't herself. She was just sitting there falling asleep, would hardly eat anything and wouldn't have any water at all. To top it all off, she didn't even try to escape when I caught her first time to put her in the small cage to take her to the vets. The vet thought she had a respiritory problem and possibly a liver problem because the area round her shit is yellow and it should be clear. She gave her an injection of an antibiotic called Baytril and prescribed a weeks course of it. Daizy was perked up by the next day and looks back to her old self now except for the area round her shit is still yellow. We're keeping an eye on that and hopefully it will clear up after the antibiotics are out of her system.

At least United won the donkey cup!

Listening to: Hole - Live Through This
Back: So so

Finding new tyres is a ballache

I need some new tyres for my car and finding some new ones has been doing my head in cos there are so many different opinions on the web about so many diferent tyres. I wasn't going to get some more of the Avon ZZ3s that I currently have cos I thought they were a bit slippy setting off in the wet but I finally managed to speak to someone that made sense at Camskill.com and he was explaining that all tyres are gonna be like that when you are setting off at a junction, in the wet when you've only been out in the car for 2 minutes. He also said that they are a damn good tyre, that he uses them and that they have some more expensive ones that I could buy but he recommended that I stick with the Avons. They have them for a bloody good price as well at £63 each including delivery and Ashton Autos will fit them for 9.50 a tyre. I'm happy with £290 all in considering ATS quoted me £530 for the same tyres.

I found out today that you can run all sorts of emulators and homebrew on the PSP through a backdoor in Grand Theft Auto. I tried it out and it worked so how cool is that? Time to hunt out all my old game DVDs!

Well, its the Donkey Cup final this weekend and hopefully United will stuff Wigan and we'll have some silverware to show for season. Come on you reds!

Listening to: Nothing
Back: Pretty good

General stuff

Its been a few days since I last posted so there is a bit to get through.

Firstly, what a shitter about Alan Smith breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle. I can handle going out of the cup to Liverpool cos thats just football but you really have to feel sorry for Smudger.

Koopa has been getting let off the lead a bit more. We went on the park with Suf, Jen and Gill on Sunday and I let him off again this afternoon on the green. He is coming back to us eventually but only when there isn't something more interesting.

Deb's laptop has now got Ubuntu installed on it but its not finished yet. I need to sort out the driver for the wireless card and some things are really bugging me such as how to set up the default application for opening MP3s and WMAs.

Went to a meeting in Leeds for work yesterday and my back was killing me most of the day which is just weird cos I was fine going all the way to Slough and back and that took miles longer. I think my back has mood swings ;-)

Listening to: Faith No More - Fool For A Lifetime
Back: Sore from a trip to Leeds yesterday

Deb gets Ubuntu

Deb has started using her laptop again and has been complaining about how much stuff she has to update. E.g. Windows Update, Virus Checker, Spyware Blaster, Ad Aware, etc. So, I've decided to stick Ubuntu Linux on it and see how she goes with that instead cos she only uses office, media player and Firefox so she should be fine with it. Given that there are virtually no viruses or spyware there should be much less to update. The only thing that might cause an issue is the wireless card but I found a few bits of help for that.

Its a mates birthday tomorrow so we are watching United V Liverpool in the FA Cup at her house tomorrow and then going into town later after that to get drunk. Should be good!

Listening to: Nowt
Back: Bit sore

The dog has been unleashed

We finally decided to be brave and take Koopa to the park and let him off his lead on Sunday. We went with Suf, Jen and Gill (Jen's sister) and their dogs Lucy and Dennis so that he would follow them around and come back when they did. It all started well but then he decided to run off the park and into a road but luckily it was the back entrance to the park where the road is not much more than a dirt path so there wasn't much danger. I chased him and got him to come to me and then after that he was pretty good. We did it again yesterday but this time with just me and Deb which was a bit scarier but he came back eventually. Its good though cos it really seems to wear him out ;-)

Watched United stuff Portsmouth on Saturday which is good and who would have believed that Boro would beat Chelsea. I can't see Chelsea losing enough to let United catch them though.

Right, I'm off to prepare a few Valentine's Day surprises for Deb.

Listening to: Alice In Chains - Alice In Chains
Back: Sore this afternoon but I dunno whats caused it

Knackered

I've been well busy this last week and as a result I'm knackered. I've had loads of meetings during the week, lots of annoying bugs left by an ex employee to fix in one of our systems and to top it all off I had to go to Slough and back yesterday for a 2 hour meeting. I set off at 6:30am and got back at 8:30pm. I laid on the couch to relax for a few minutes when I walked through the door and promptly fell asleep until Deb made me go to bed a few hours later.

I'm still tired this morning but I took the dog for a walk first thing anyway and I decided to run for a bit of it to see what he thought. Well, he really seemed to enjoy it and he's been kipping ever since we got home so I guess I knackered him out ;-)

Just doing some chores around the house today and then I'm gonna watch United against Portsmouth later this evening.

Listening to: Budgies and the fan on the laptop
Back: Sore after going to Slough yesterday

50 notes blown on double vodkas

I went out to watch United beat Fulham on Saturday evening and I got absolutely wasted. I spent £50 on double vodkas and coke, a burger (which the dog ate most of when I got home) and my bus fare home. I spent a lot of Saturday night puking and then most of Sunday feeling like shit cos I was so tired. I won't be doing that again for at least a couple of weeks.

Not much else to report from over the weekend so I'm gonna go home now.

Listening to: Sound of the gimps in the office ;-)
Back: Bit sore after a few meetings

Total turnaround , bought an LCD TV

Well, I've done a complete turnaround and bought an HD Ready LCD TV. I found one in Richer Sounds that is a 27", has a decent spec and loads of inputs. Also, it actually has the correct resolution for 720p HD TV cos a lot of bigger TVs don't and they have to actually downsize the picture which makes it lose some quality. It's a complete no name brand called Funai but I don't care for two reasons. Firstly, the picture on it looked fantastic playing the Monsters Inc film and I'm talking noticeably better than the more expensive Phillips, Samsung and Panasonic ones around it. Secondly, I got it for £660 including a 5 year warranty and if anything goes wrong they collect it in the first year and I walk into the shop with it for the 4 years after that and that is so much better than if you buy from the Internet. They didn't have any in stock cos they'd sold the one they had after I'd gone home to ponder whether to get it so mine is being delivered on Tuesday. Can't wait!

Also, I had an MRI on my back today which lasted about an hour and the noises were at just the right level/frequency/something to make me chuck up which was nice. I cheered myself up by buying Dead Or Alive 4 for the 360 ;-)

Hope United do better against Fulham

Listening to: Just the sound of the budgies ;-)
Back: Pretty good

LCD TV woes

So, I've got my Xbox 360 and I'm thinking I want to get an HD LCD TV. I discuss it with Deb and to my amazement I'm given the go ahead to get one on the conditions that its not too big and not too expensive. Now to her amazement, this was 2 days ago and I still haven't bought one cos after reading reviews and getting advice off mates and stuff I'm not sure that the picture quality will be that good compared to a bog standard TV other than for the Xbox 360. I think I'm gonna wait a while to get one for the living room but I might get a 20" one for upstairs and move the 360 upstairs. I can justify £300 for a TV for my consoles but not £600 for the main one we watch when the picture quality ain't gonna improve that much and there is not really anything wrong with the one we have.

Can you believe that Blackburn beat United 4-3 last night and were even 4-1 up at one point. What is happening to them? Still, at least they aren't doing as bad as Arsenal are ;-)

Listening to: Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape
Back: Pretty good

Koops is calmer now - Hooray

Koopa def seems so much calmer now that we can take him out for walks. I've been taking him out a couple of times a day for 20 minutes at a time and he just kips for a few hours after we get back and even after he wakes up he seems less inclined to run around like a complete maniac. Also, he met Suf and Jen's dog Lucy on both Saturday and Sunday and they were playing together and that really knackered him out as well.

The budgies are loving their new toys and all the branches that we've put in their cage instead of normal perches. They keep hopping from one to another. Its quite comical!

Can you believe United got Liverpool in the 5th round of the F.A. Cup. What a shitter but hopefully we'll beat them the same way we did a few weeks ago.

Right, I'm off to play on the 360 and see if I can get better at PGR.

Listening to: Sneaker Pimps - Becoming X
Back: Pretty good

United are in the donkey cup final

United beat Blackburn on Wednesday night to make it into the donkey cup final. It wasn't a convincing win but I thought we shaded it. Bring on Wigan. Hopefully United will do a better job against them than Arsenal did ;-)

Well, we took the dog to the vets last night for his second jab and she said that seeing as he's not exactly a puppy and had already come into contact with other dogs at the rescue centre that he was allowed out straight away rather than having to wait for a week. Thank feck for that. I've taken him on a couple of walks today and we're gonna take him out again in about an hour after Deb is home from work. He already seems a bit calmer!

No big plans for the weekend. Gonna go food shopping either tonight or tomorrow morning and take the dog on the park one day. We got some new branch perch things and toys for the budgies so we're gonna rearrange their cage as well but other than that we both want a lazy weekend.

Almost forgot, United play Wolves on Sunday so thats one thing I'm def gonna do.

Listening to: Nine Black Alps - Everything Is

Back: Pretty good

NBA Live 06 looks shit hot on the 360

Played the NBA Live 06 demo last night on the Xbox 360 and all I can say is wow. When it zooms in on players for throw ins and free throws it looks like a good computer game but during normal game play there are times when it looks real. It plays pretty damn good as well!

I'm in the office today and the fat polish fuck is being so annoying. He seems to find it impossible to let people have a conversation without him having to but in and he's always done something before and knows the best way to do it. If you've been for one shit then he's been for two. I was thinking of referring to him as "2 shits" from now on but I think I'll stick with dickhead ;-)

Well Wigan did one over Arsenal last night so as long as United beat Blackburn tonight I'll be happy.

Listening to: Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
Back: Pretty good

Painful scan and cool 360 downloads

Had a scan on my water works today cos they don't work properly sometimes when my back is really bad. They did it by injecting a contrast dye in which shows up on x-rays. What fun that was! I had an alergic reaction to the cleaning solution they used meaning that my bits were burning like hell. I've got a follow up for that on the 8th of Feb and I've got my MRI on the 3rd of Feb.

To make me feel better I brought my 360 upstairs so I could hook it up to the network and see what Xbox live was all about. So far I've downloaded demos for Fight Night 3, Madden 06 and NBA Live 06 is downloading as I write. Fight Night looks the bomb but I haven't seen the other 2 yet. As soon as the price becomes reasonable I'll by a wireless adapter for it but until then I'm gonna get a really long ethernet cable that I have out of the attic and run it down the stairs when I want to go online.

Well, hopefully Wigan will beat Arsenal in the donkey cup tonight and United will beat Blackburn tomorrow night. A final against Wigan rather than Arsenal would be good assuming we get there!

Listening to: Alien Ant Farm - ANThology
Back: Sore as hell yesterday after a 7 hour meeting and pretty sore today

Dogs are hard work but I got a 360

Damn its hard working owning a dog to start with. All our friends with dogs assure us that it gets easier but its so draining having to watch Koopa's every move and ignore him when he's bad and then train him and so on.

On the plus side, Deb agreed that seeing as she got a dog I could use our joint money to get an Xbox 360. So I did and damn is it cool! I've only had it a couple of days (hence no blogging ;-) and haven't hooked it up to the Internet yet to see what thats like but first impressions with the games I've got are that it is really good. I got Fifa, Project Gotham Racing and Kameo and the graphics are all shit hot in them but equally the gameplay is good as well.

Well, unfortunatly I'm not going to be playing on it for a few hours cos I have to translate part of our Content Delivery system into Spanish for a proposal that needs to be sent tomorrow. I will be watching United take on the scouse scum later though. Hopefully it won't be as bad as when we lost to shitty last weekend.

Listening to: Puddle Of Mudd - Come Clean
Back: Ok this morning but was really shit when we were out up town last night

Quacks suck as do United

Went to the quacks on Friday morning and he says that I have a trapped nerve probably in my upper back and possibly in my neck. He says there is nothing that can be done and it would seem that I am just one of the unfortunate people that has problems with trapping/pinching nerves. What a crock of shit!

Watched United get beat by Shitty on Saturday and what a crap game United had. I don't know what is with them at the moment but they have lost the consistency they used to have. I think Fergie has stayed on too long and he should have retired when he said he was gonna a few years ago.

Had a pretty lazy day yesterday. Printed some dog training stuff out (till the printer ran out of ink that is), went to the pet shop and got him a dental chew thing and some stuff to remove the smell of sick from Punto Car. Deb then went to the pictures with some friends and I got caned and watched Black Hawk Down.

Back to the grind today having to work on translating a system into Spanish and that is gonna be a ballache.

Listening to: Veruca Salt - American Thighs
Back: Pretty good. Trapped nerve in back/neck is making my should and arm hurt like a bitch though

Pain sucks ass

Well, I'm in the office today cos I thought I'd better show my face after not coming in for a week and a half and my back is hurting like a bitch. Its further up than normal and I have pains in my neck and down my right arm. The physio at the hospital said she thinks its a trapped nerve in my upper back but hopes it isn't another slipped disc. The stupid thing is that she can't treat me for it because I wasn't referred to her with this problem so I'm seeing my quack tomorrow morning to get him to refer me back to the physio. How stupid is this NHS system!

I'm only gonna stay in work long enough to show off what I've been working on so that people think I'm actually doing something and then I'm going home for a nice hot bath to see if it helps my back.

The dog is doing well by the way.

Listening to: The dulcent tones of people in the office ;-)
Back: Shite

The dog is here

Well, we got the dog yesterday evening and I'm now knackered. I didn't realise how much hassle it would be but I'm told that its only while he gets settled in and house trained and after that it should become a better experience. The one thing I am annoyed with is that I'm the one doing all the work while the Deb is out at work and then out for tea with her mates and its her dog! Nay mind.

Oh, and we've called him Koopa as in Koopa Trooper of Nintendo's Mario games. Same reason the budgies are called Yoshi and Daisy ;-)

Other than the dog I've not much to report. I'm looking forward to kicking back and doing sweet f.a. tonight but whether that will end up happening is anyone's guess.

Come on Wigan, beat Arsenal so we see you in the final of the donkey cup.

Listening to: Tori Amos - Under The Pink
Back: Pretty good

We're getting a dog

I've known Deb since I was 17 which is to say 12 years. We've lived together since we were 21 and since this time she has wanted to get a dog. Well, I've finally given in because the pressure has been getting too great due to the fact that our mates Suf and Jen got their own house about a year ago and the first thing they did was get a dog.

Its not that I don't like dogs its the fact that I've never really wanted to have to look after one and also the fact that we have 2 budgies and I don't want them to have any less attention from us because we get a dog. However, I gave in the other day because Deb was under the impression that we'd get one in a few years when this changed or when we got a bigger house or when something else changed and that was never the case. My feelings on getting a dog were going to be the same no matter what size house we had or how much spare money we had etc and so I decided it wasn't fair to keep saying no but there are rules. Essentially the dog we get is going to be Deb's dog and she has to look after it etc and I will take it for most of its walks cos I go walking to help my back anyway.

So this was decided a few days ago and since then we've been trying to decide what type of dog to get and whether it should be from a rescue centre or from a breeder. We decided it would be better to get one from a rescue centre and that we wanted one that was between one and two years old and medium size. We found a whippet cross (what the cross is no one knows) yesterday and we are having a home check done tomorrow to make sure the house and garden are suitable. Fingers crossed we should get him next weekend. He's about one year old, underfed unfortunately and hasn't been micro chipped or had any vaccinations yet but he seems a really nice dog from what you can tell in a rescue centre environment.

Deb is really looking forward to getting him and I'm kind of not bothered but I bet after a few days of having him I'll be wondering why we never got one earlier ;-)

Right, time for lunch (bit late but never mind) and then I'm off to watch United against Burton Albion in the 3rd round of the FA cup.

Listening to: Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
Back: Not too bad

Bastard Chelsea & Other Stuff

Unless Chelsea suffer a major footballing screw up then United have got no chance of winning the league after last night's draw with Arsenal. I read a few match reports on the t'internet today and they all suggested that it was an open game with end to end action. Sometimes I think that sports writers don't even watch what they are meant to be reporting on cos me and my mates thought this match was boring as hell and there was hardly any goal mouth action until the last 15 minutes and thats coming from 2 United fans and a scouse supporting scum bag.

My manager has finally learnt how to use Skype after going on about it for months. We have customers in Holland and Luxembourg and I tend to talk to them using Skype and I told my manager about it and he just has to make a mountain out of a mole hill about these things when trying to set up and use them. Considering he is the Engineering Department manager for the company he really is a bit backwards when it comes to technology!

I am currently drinking a home-made smoothy that Deb makes for us every day. Sometimes I make them but we are talking once a month here if that and I really should make them more often to even things out but never mind ;-) Anyhoo, today's is a pineapple, mango and passion fruit which is pretty much my favourite.

I'm making spag bol for tea - woo hoo!

Listening to: Reef - Replenish
Back: Bit sore but not too bad

Come on you reds!

Firstly, Jamie Oliver sucks ass cos his chilli receipe needed sun dried tomatoes and I forgot to buy some when we went shopping so I didn't actually make the chilli last night. It is good when you have all the ingredients though ;-)

Its been an ok first day back in work. Quite a few people are still on holiday so it was a bit boring. There is one guy at work that I really cannot stand so it was just my luck that he was in to annoy me. Nay mind, I just stick my MP3 player on and ignore him.

I'm off to my mate Suf's house to watch the Arsenal Vs Man Utd match in a few minutes. It should be quality and I'm predicting a 2 - nil win to United although a win by any score will do. Also, I've got rid of all my Arsenal players from my fantasy football team cos they've been shite recently.

Come on you reds!

Listening to: The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
Back: Not bad for my first day back in the office

Shopping, laziness and a sore back

Aaagh. My back has been annoying the hell out of me today. I think its cos I went into town shopping this morning and all the bending forward looking at things on shelves has aggrevated it. Never mind though cos I spent some of my Christmas money in the sales on some new DVDs and a Kodak EasyShare digital camera. I've only had a quick play with it but I have to say that I'm well impressed with the picture quality. The rest of the day has been a lazy affair so far. I've mainly been lying on the sofa watching bank holiday TV.

Well, back in work tomorrow and I'm gonna start the New Year by actually going into the office. I usually work 3 days a week from home which is really good cos driving can be one of the main things that makes my back worse. I'm quite looking forward to it cos this year is hopefully gonna be the big one for the company and I've got some really interesting work lined up.

Righty then, enough of my laziness, I'm off to make some Jamie Oliver chilli. I make it with Quorn mince instead of real cow cos Deb is a vegetarian and I think it tastes just as good once its gots all the spices etc on it anyway.

Ta ra!

Listening to: Vex Red - Start With A Strong And Persistent Desire
Back: Crappy cos it's been nigglingly sore all day

Usual New Year antics

Well, New Years Eve was a let down as usual. The problem, as I'm sure everyone knows, is that parties start too early meaning that everyone is wasted/caned well before midnight. Half the people at the party are passed out by the time the New Year rolls in and the other half give their best shot at the occasion when all they really want to do is go home to bed. That said, it was a damn good party running up to midnight !!!

So, its time for all the resolutions to be made and all that crap. I do have a few ideas for resolutions but nothing concrete. I'm gonna have to spend the day thinking about it me thinks ;-)

At least the weather has brightened up for the start of the year. I still wouldn't go out without a hat and gloves but the sun is shining and the ground isn't frozen anymore.

Lets hope the year is a good one.

Listening to: Queens Of The Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze
Back: Pretty good this morning especially as I fell asleep caned on the sofa when I got in ;-)