A couple of random thoughts and an update.

S and CC are halfway through their date. I wonder how it's going?

CH sent a text earlier asking if anyone is dressing up for our work night out. CH in fancy dress should be good fun.

Also - I got a phone call today which gave me good reason to talk to the other guys about  cleaning the apartment. MfW took the easiest (and shortest) job and will still probably cut corners, I took the middle job - a bit more involved, but should only take 30 mins and left UF to brush and then mop the floor of the kitchen and living room. It is slightly more work, but it's straightforward and probably only take 30 mins at most, not a lot more certainly. It needs done by Thursday afternoon though, and it wasn't done tonight... what are the odds it won't be done on time?

I also kinda implied to MfW that I was considering moving on when the lease is due up next year.

AIBU?

Maybe I'm being unreasonable here, but I have just arrived home from work. UF is currently working a 4-day week due to the recession and, until now, has been preparing for exams, the last of which he completed last week.

That means he's been in the house all day today, presumably scratching his balls. The washing machine is on and by the sounds of it has just started its cycle no more than ten minutes ago. All the lights in the house are on, which is a lot, but he's hibernating in his room as per usual.

None of the house work has been done (UF hasn't lifted a finger since we moved in, well over a year now) and our outstanding rental agreement, which has been sitting on our dining room table for the past three months is still unsigned by UF and MfW.

So, why not do the housework? Mopping the floor of the kitchen, hallway, bathroom and living room is at most an hour's work. Add another hour for giving the place a wipe down with a duster or cloth, emptying the bins etc/ and you're talking two hours, tops, none of which is exactly hard labour.

The washing machine is different - why not do the washing in the middle of the day when no-one's around? Why wait until ten mins before we all (not just us in the apartment, but our neighbours too) arrive home from work? Bear in mind that UF used to put on a wash at half ten at night  that would run for two and a half hours until we had a word, I'm not sure if he's stupid, inconsiderate or being deliberately obtuse.

My gripe above is mainly reporting UF's lack of effort, but I have to say that MfW isn't the world's most pro-active man either, though he does do a little more than UF.

I'm tempted to move on come next year when the lease is due for renewal.

Thriller night.

The pub I'd arranged to meet S in last night was practically empty, so we made a decision to head elsewhere. There were two choices - one of my favourite pubs or the club where we went with CC for her birthday.

Sadly, from my point of view, we ended up in the club. I like the club itself, but I hate the music with a passion and the bar staff are not brilliant. To be honest, I did contemplate going home at that point, but for some reason, I decided to stay out.

CC turned up with a couple of friends and she was looking very foxy indeed. It was interesting because S and CC have a date lined up for Tuesday night, so they were circling each other a little bit last night - wanting to chat, but not wanting to because of the date. It also transpired that S hadn't told any of his mates that he had a date with CC.

I was messaging KfW2 throughout the night, giving her updates on the S and CC circling and that continued into this morning. KfW2 was asking if there were any women. I did get chatting to one girl - cute, thin, short-haired brunette who was dressed as a sexy vampire nurses or something, but I went to the toilet then the bar and got side-tracked by a very drunk S who was in danger of making a complete tit of himself and kinda forgot about her.

Things seemed to be going quite well there and I'm surprised that I got sidetracked before I got a number, though I wasn't exactly sober myself. Then again, I do seem to have a blind spot for that kind of thing that I really need to overcome.

Boooooooored

I was supposed to be having a quiet weekend, but I've suddenly developed the urge to head out. I've fired a quick text off to S, M and GM. Hopefully one of them fancies a few drinks and is free.

UPDATE: M already has arrangements and GM is both suffering from excesses last night and skint. S is heading into town with his mates, so I've asked him to let me know where he's going and I'll meet up with him.

No update

It's been two weeks since M originally suggested we volunteer our time to MMBF with a spot of decorating, but I've not heard from him since (at least, not with respect to MMBF) so it looks like that idea's bitten the dust.

Next week is GB's birthday and KfW2 and CH will be out. CC will also be out as it's our monthly work bash and, interestingly, S will be out too. If things do well on CC and S's date then that's not a problem but if there are no sparks (and bear in mind that the two of them were smashed when phone numbers exchanged), then it might be a bit uncomfortable.

As well, GB and CH's mutual friend who knows CB will also be out. If the universe were smiling upon me, CB would inexplicably be out too, but this is obviously highly unlikely. Still... a man can dream. Now, about that £73 million Euromillion lottery win...

Pumping Iron

I was chatting to KfW2 over coffee today and we were semi-talking about CC's imminent date with S next week. We kinda got side-tracked onto the issue of the fitness/weight loss/beach body thing, especially CC's desire to do the hardcore physique thing. I commented that I thought it was a bit weird in that it all seemed very un-CC-like. She can be quite "girly" and pumping iron down at a men's gym seems out of sorts for her.

KfW2 said that they'd been talking about it for some time. KfW2 is someone that might be seriously interested in something like that - she used to be quite the gym goddess* before I knew her, but has gotten out of the routine.

I think KfW2 was doing a bit of fishing to see if I would be interested, though she didn't ask outright. If she did, I think I'd admit to my own body image issues (that I've not discussed here in any detail) that would stop me from doing something that extreme, even though I would be interested in theory.

*I don't know if goddess is the right word here, but I have been reliably informed that my previous terminology could be misinterpreted to be somewhat negative, and that wasn't the case at all.

"The one"

While I was waiting earlier for CC to return my call so I could book my trip for KfW2's wedding, I got a somewhat random text message from DSC asking if I thought there was such a thing as "The One". I doubted she meant Neo out of The Matrix and it's a bit deeper than our normal conversations, so I quizzed her on it.

Unsurprisingly, she was referring to the romantic notion of there being "the one" with whom you're destined to meet and marry and all that nonsense. By all accounts, DSC and her useless boyfriend had an argument because he doesn't believe in "the one" but would gladly settle down with DSC (or so he says, I still have my doubts).

Sometimes, it would make life much easier if things like this did exist (mainly because I yearn for a universe where karma is something that's real and happens), but we live in the real world.

Rhetorically speaking, how would you know if you met this mythical creature? Maybe I could make a mint out of "realistic" greetings cards: "You're not The One, but I will gladly settle down with you". "I LUST You". "Happy Birthday, Fuck Buddy".

Unexpected.

I was out with S and a few other mates last night. We headed to a few bars and ended up in the same one where I had my last night out with CH. Separately, I managed to bump into KfW who was out with some friends of hers and CC and JB who work in the same department and were out on a night out.

I got talking to JB and CC about general stuff, but CC suggested that we go off and do a kind of boot camp kind of thing to get ready for KfW2's wedding. A friend in work has recently done something similar (like a managed/tutored Insanity kind of thing) and lost a lot of weight and got himself ripped, but it did cost him the guts of a thousand pounds.

As I've stated before, while I do want to lose a bit of weight and tone up a bit, getting completely ripped is not something that is a goal, but the idea of doing something with someone for motivational purposes sounds good.

Oh, and CC seemingly took a shine to S. I believe there was number swapping going on and everything and a late night text from KfW2 suggested that CC was quite taken. I'm looking forward to the updates on Monday.

The ongoing saga of...

...trying to book something for KfW2's wedding. After waiting a week for CC to make a decision, who in turn was waiting for KfW2 to make a decision (because I was supposedly sharing a room with CC), it now turns out that CC wants a room of her own.

I think the logistics of sharing a room with a (platonic friend) bloke finally dawned on her - having to get dressed/changed in the bathroom etc. is a lot more awkward than just having the freedom of the room that you would get on your own. That comes with a premium though .. and I need to see how much that premium is going to cost me, even though this is what I was initially planning for.

Quick update.

Just as a quick update on my comments yesterday about MMBF's new business... her new premises need to be ready in three weeks. So if M is going to volunteer us, he'd need to be quick about it!

I'm too tired to think of a related title.

I went out for a few drinks last night with a friend from out of town, BR. M showed up as well. I should have known that he would, but it had all slipped my mind really. It was a good night - the guys are always good company. M mentioned that MMBF was setting up her own business, but was behind schedule in getting her premises set up, M suggested that we give her a hand with some decorating - painting and the like, which I obviously agreed to. That prompted a chat with BR with M and myself trying to explain how cute etc. she was. BR has seen her twice already (once at M's wedding when I was chatting to her and once at M's birthday party from a few months ago) and professed his appreciation, but he said last night that he couldn't remember her. BR's memory is appalling though.

It was left with M to chat to MMBF to see if she wants or needs the help.

It was a late night and I don't think I enjoyed my lunch with DSC today as much as usual due to being over-tired and in need of a nap. I was meant to be looking at trying to reduce the price of the holiday for CC and myself, but I find myself just staring at the screen and not really accomplishing anything.

On top of that, when trying on a few pieces of clothing today during our shopping trip, it was obvious that I really needed to lose some weight and tone up a little. I've been promising myself that I am going to do it for months now, but apathy always gets to me when it comes to the gym/exercise. I need to change that mindset.

On a side note, Attack of the Clones is on ITV at the moment and Natalie Portman is simply stunning. Ah, go on, have a picture:

As it happens, I've seen her in the flesh (co-incidentally, after a weekend on the lash with BR). She's stunning in real life. Like genuinely jaw-dropping.

Hmmm.

I made an arrangement some weeks ago with KfW2's friend (with the awesome chest) that we'd get somewhere together for KfW2's wedding. I had assumed we'd end up in the same hotel or, at a push, a villa. Until today, when we were looking at hotels and I was wondering why the prices I was seeing were much more expensive than hers. Then KfW2 came along and cuffed me around the head as I was pricing for a double room for one person, but KfW2's friend (henceforth known as CC) was looking for two people sharing a twin room.

So, from a few weeks ago where I didn't think I knew her well enough to go to her birthday, I'm now going to be sharing a room with her for a week... unless things change between now and us booking the holiday.

Interesting.

A blast from the past.

The last time I was out with DSC, we ended up in Marks and Spencer buying dinner. The woman in front of us in the checkout queue was reasonably cute and vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it until today, when it randomly popped into my head: PD.

She never did buy me that coffee/drink for getting her past her university module seven years ago. Bah.

As a quick aside, she had a young girl with her who was easily eleven or twelve, but PD never mentioned having any kids when we were talking.

Balls - an update.

And as if by magic, by just posting about it here, I have a goal I can tick off. Since my last post, I have sourced and emailed approximately six people whom I hope will be able to give me the information I require to take my pay increase plan further. I may need to source more people, but half a dozen is a good start.

Balls.

I was in an organised mood today and spent some time sorting out my finances. I say "sorting", but really it was more of a tidying up exercise - moving some money about etc. in order to make sure I was keeping track of less accounts and being more on top of my money. I realised that I should have done this a long time ago as I am not as solvent as I thought I was, to the tune of nearly two thousand pounds worse off than anticipated. Hmmm... [I should state here that while this is a large sum of money, but it's not the end of the world. I earn a decent salary, but I had hoped to clear all my credit card debt by next summer, which is looking highly unlikely now with the debt being £2K higher than planned.]

Still, if there's something that will kick me into action about doing the required homework for a pay rise, it's that. I can't remember if I've posted about the pay rise, but I have a plan of action about going to my boss and looking for a pay rise (almost 10% if I play my cards right). In order to do that, though, I need some information which is going to mean emailing a few people first. I have about 60% of the information I need, but I just need to sit down and write the dozen or so emails, but I've been putting it off for no reason since I formulated the plan originally.

I should do that, then I have to book my flight for KfW2's wedding.

A Eureka Moment

I was having a conversation a while ago - it was way last week, but I haven't had time to put my thoughts down here due to being incredibly busy with work-related stuff  - when I started thinking about something from waaaay back. Specifically, I started thinking about my friend F.

F and I always had great chemistry. We met when I was active during my online writing hobby. I say "met", but obviously it was all online, but we were both "targets" for different reasons. It was a year or so before we actually met in person, but by then we had exchanged plenty of contact - phone calls, emails, IMs etc. She'd done a lot of teasing when I fucked K (who went out of her way to befriend F after that because she thought she was competition, which is how F found out I'd fucked K) and I'd done my fair share of teasing because a guy she was fucking on the side was a complete imbecile, to be perfectly honest.

However, when we did eventually meet, it was obvious that there was a mountain of chemistry between us. I had always thought that it was just platonic "I think F is great" chemistry and thought nothing more of it and I assumed the chemistry she felt (and had admitted to) was the same - my assumption was that if she wanted a fuck, she'd have made a move. F wasn't backwards in coming forwards if she wanted a seeing to. Regardless, we eventually met up with each other about three times - once in her home city, once in mine and once elsewhere with a bunch of fellow hobbyists - and each time, there was the same chemistry, but we never did anything about it apart from have a laugh and drink copious amounts of alcohol.

However, I think the chemistry I now have with CH is pretty much the same as I had with F - to some extent they're very similar people in terms of attitude and telling it like it is. That's only surprising because, under other circumstances, I think I'd fuck CH. The reasons why we never will are documented on here, so I don't have to repeat myself.

So, the resultant "Eureka" moment from my conversation a few weeks back is that I think I might have wanted to fuck F all along but didn't recognise that because there was no immediate lust going on, just a kind of ambiguous chemistry. No doubt if I were to tell this little story/revelation to others, specifically those who knew both parties (there aren't a lot of them to be fair) that they might not be that surprised. I don't think there'd be too many "I told you so" comments, but it might not be the revelation to them as it was to me.

I'd love to see her again, mind you. Always have, even before last week's sudden lightbulb.