Decision, decisions.

Unsurprisingly, FP has decided he can't come out with his wife being ill (even though she's a vehement NYE is just another day person) and he's been out before when she's ill. I don't blame him though. In the light of FP's decision, I pondered about whether or not I could be bothered leaving the house, but there's been too much of that, this year.

The CB bar is only 20 minutes walk (or less than five minutes in a taxi), so why not at least head over for a few drinks with FC and Mrs FC and play it by ear? If I'm not feeling it after an hour or so, I can come home and drink all the beer in the fridge. Or I could have a good time.

Looking up.

FC and Mrs FC have been in touch. As it happens, they had already made plans to go to the CB Bar that I'm trying to talk FP into. He's in agreement on the details, just not whether he's going to go. GM is staying in - an offer of a bed and a few quiet drinks was not enough to sway him. S finally piped up to say he was going to a friend's house. It's only taken him, what, four days?

So... I have a backup plan, which is essentially do what I was gonna do anyway, but meet FC and Mrs FC instead of FP.

FP is due to call in a couple of hours to see what his final decision is.

Hedging bets.

I'm feeling pessimistic about going out tonight, so I've made a quick trip to Sainsbury's and gotten in some chips, dips and beers. Just in case. FP wasn't offering up anything concrete the last time we spoke, so I'll ask him again around tea-time.

If he does agree to meet for a few drinks, I'll ping S and GM and let them kn ow our plans. If they want to tag along, they're welcome, but I'm not holding my breath. S has been quiet since I  originally asked about their plans a few days ago. GM is working tomorrow, so he doesn't want to be out late and/or drunk. That's understandable.

Dream a little dream.

Last night I had a somewhat half-remembered dream. Its theme was something that I've had before, albeit infrequently. In it, I'm failing my university degree. I'm trying to find a solution to this, trying to find out how to pass exams, coursework etc. all within a few months and without any help from my lecturers or advisers. This was the pattern last night.

At the same time, I was also trying to organise our work's Christmas party, though with limited success.

KfW2 featured somewhere, but upon waking this morning there was only a fleeting memory that she was involved.

I've had the university dream before, as explained above. I usually wake up disorientated after it, almost in a panic until I realise that I left university many, many years ago and I did indeed pass my exams.

Planning

I sent a question to S and GM, asking what their plans were on NYE. GM is working on Jan 1st, so he's extremely unlikely to be out. S has read the messages and question, but has not replied. I'm betting he has something planned with his other friends, but he could at least say something.

It's starting to anger me how he doesn't reply. It's been a factor with him within the last few months. Don't start me on the absolute rubbish he posts on Facebook though. He can add a witty or pithy reply to a stranger, but he can't answer a friend. Sigh.

I'm kinda resigned to staying in, though there is an outside chance that I can talk FP into hitting our local favourite aka the CB pub. Not that I'm expecting to see CB there - it's just a reference for you, dear reader.

Further pondering,

"It's Christmas - who would you happily sleep with, given half the chance?"

That was the question posed on a forum I frequent. The membership is mostly male.

My reply was "The amount of girls I would happily sleep with at this point in time is an enormous list."

It was a sentiment shared by quite a number of people.

I didn't go into details, but off the top of my head I thought of CH, GM's ex that I've mentioned recently, a good portion of our HR department, a couple of managers of teams next to me in work, a girl that Stalky Guy pointed out on Instagram, MMBF and FBS.

And that's just people who've been on my mind over the past week or so. I need to meet someone.

Pondering the annual quandary.

It's that time of year, after the Xmas stuff is all over and done with, that my thoughts turn to New Year's Eve.

This year, I'm not sure there will be any takers, but I'm going to ask anyway. I might get FP, for a change. GM and S are unknowns. Anyone else is unlikely.

I've always liked NYE socialising. I like seeing out the old year with its good and bad and looking forward to the unknown, the potential of something more, better etc. I seem to be in the minority in making this a celebration.

Plus, I've always had much more luck in meeting people on NYE than any other single night - QC1, R2 and a few others not mentioned on the blog. There's a different vibe on NYE than other nights that encourages people to mingle more, I think.

Let's get physical.

Going through my memories on Facebook today and I see a post I made six years ago that CC commented on.

Specifically, she suggested that we hit the gym together.

I'm not a gym person, so I always fobbed her off. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I told CC that I was not a gym person and that if she came up with something else we could do, then I would consider it.

It turned out that she couldn't... and it took CC herself another five years or so to go to the gym.

Unfortunately, CC is going through a tough time right now, mentally. I think this is fallout from her breakup with her boyfriend in the summer, but I've told her to pick up the phone and call if she wants to chat. She's suggested that she might call over during the holidays. I hope she does come down.

Detox.

Years ago, on an impromptu night out with MM and MMBF, the conversation revolved around exes. Specifically, MM was talking about an ex of MMBF. MMBF was being coy about the actual details, but I got the impression that this ex was not good for MMBF. She as good as admitted it without explaining why.

I was asked for a guy's view of it.

"Well, I can't say anything for sure as I don't know the details, and I'm not asking for them"

I paused.

"But if someone is in your life and they're causing you pain or being negative, then get rid of them. Distance yourself from them if you can."

MM nodded.

"See? I told you. Don't talk to him anymore MMBF, he's no good for you."

The reason for this reminiscing? Well, MMBF posted on Facebook - a seasonal message with a pic of her current boyfriend... whom I believe is the negative influence mentioned a good few years ago. Interesting.

Missing

Since I moved into this house, the guy across the road has been somewhat of an enigma. He appears to have had a succession of short-lived or temporary jobs, all similar in nature - taxi driver, food delivery etc. That meant that he was often cleaning out his car, throwing whatever rubbish was there all over the street, in front of his house and mine.

At the same time, there were often a string of cars appearing at the house, picking up passengers, tooting their horn and generally being loud.

But it dawned on me the other day that I've not seen him in some time - probably since early summer. The car is gone, the street is tidier and quieter and the visitors have all but disappeared.

I can see into their front room and the TV is no longer dominated by football.

I wonder where he has gone to?

Gossip

Stalky Guy was quick to message at the weekend to gleefully inform me that GM's attractive, blonde ex that I mentioned recently, got off with an ex-colleague at the Xmas Party after-party.

I know that this guy had, a few years back, pursued the ex for a while after GM had broken up with her (possibly encouraged by CH), but I didn't think he'd been successful.

The guy in question seems to be very Marmite (for those of you not in the UK, this means he divides opinion and there's usually no middle ground - in this case you like him or you dislike him). I think he's OK (though my interaction with him was minimal, but CC and Quiet Girl think he's a massive dick).

The morning after.

It was the work Xmas party last night. KfW2 didn't go in the end - she's not feeling well at the moment. I was back home and binge-watching some TV all night, so I wasn't there either, despite GM's ex-gf (I mentioned her a few posts back) trying to talk me into turning up later for a few drinks.

Strangely, apart from JB, there's been little posted on Facebook.

Hello! Oh, erm... nevermind.

I took a cheeky half day today to meet up with a few people I used to work with... plus potentially Nerdy Girl. In the bar where we agreed to meet, I was mesmerised by someone who looked like CH. My eyesight is not great, so from roughly 30m away, it certainly looked like her. Roughly the same build, same hairstyle and same mannerisms. Should I go and talk to her? I had another idea. I sent a text message.

"Your absolute twin is in the bar"

A reply wasn't long coming back.

"Nope, not me."

I did a scouting mission and got within ten metres. It wasn't CH, but the resemblance was uncanny.

I explained the above.

"Take a picture of her!"

"I'm not taking pictures of random women in the pub FFS"

"Just do it. Sneak it if you have to."

In all honesty, I'd already taken a sneaky photo. I sent it to her.

"OMG! It totally is!"

"You have no idea, CH. Mannerisms and everything. It's crazy how much she is like you."

And CH went quiet.

But you know what? It was a good afternoon that ended too soon.

As a side note, Nerdy Girl turned up.

"Look at how much side-boob this jumper gives me!"

"Ummm... do you mean profile?"

"Yes, that!"

"And surely it's the bra doing the work, not the jumper?"

"Yes, that too!"

A conversation ensued. It was decided that Nerdy Girl had a profile not unlike Christina Hendricks out of Mad Men. I'm not sure I agree. Nerdy Girl is busty and has curves for sure, but not to Hendricks' level (and that's not a bad thing).

And a potential avenue for a new job opened up. A potential significant pay-rise and a chance to work with some people that I know. All I have to do is get past the interview. Though this is all just talk right now. if anything's going to happen, I might have something to share in February.

Just another random thought.

A random thought crossed my mind today of a night, in my past, where I turned down a night out with BW and FBS (amongst others) in order to go to D's house and drink and play a new video game that we'd bought. I can't remember who suggested that, with FBS it would have been guaranteed sex. D might have said something while we were gaming. BW may have said something the next day (though I think he might have tried it on with FBS himself at some stage). I'm pretty sure that it never crossed my mind on my own, though.

That wouldn't happen today, I tell you.

Just stuff.

When I used to work with GM, he had a period where he dated a fair proportion of our HR department.  One of them, a stunningly attractive blonde girl, requested my friendship on Facebook. We got along pretty well, so I had no qualms in doing so.

I've still got quite a few of GM's exes as friends on Facebook, but that's maybe another random, rambling post.

Regardless, the blonde regularly posts pictures of her out partying - she has a nice line in thigh-length dresses with plunging necklines... and she fills those dresses pretty damned well, it has to be said.

She's been pretty busy over the past few weeks, updating profile pictures etc. and it's made logging into Facebook worthwhile.

More random musings

One thing that's always annoyed me about KfW2 is how things that's she incapable of doing in the real world suddenly become non-issues in work. Her time-keeping, for instance. She's always been notoriously bad. All of her friends admit it, and while she's often late with me, it's not to the extent that she is/has been with some of her other friends. I think I nailed that down fairly early in our friendship. Unreliability is possibly my biggest bugbear. I'm digressing though. Get KfW2 into work and the flighty, ditsy girl disappears and a reliable, diligent, driven person appears.

I saw exactly the same thing with AM and QC1. And it annoyed me. Being late, forgetting things etc. all of which have happened between AM/KfW2/QC1 would never have happened had they been meeting requests in work.

And I've never understood that. If you can be that person in work, then why can't you be like that in your personal life?

Random stuff.

I had an impromptu night out with FP last night. He'd already been out for a few hours and was tipsy by the time I'd arrived. It was a good night. In between talking about our usual things, we got talking to a group of women who had arrived and were also, like FP, tipsy. One, a brunette, caught my eye. The brunette also compared me to one of the other woman's husband, who proceeded to call me by her husband's name while we chatted Sadly, they left before I could make any real conversation with the brunette.

Also, towards the end of the night, a group from work arrived at the pub. Included was a girl who seemingly has a sizeable male fan club who follows her around each social event.

The following photo is Sabrina Lynn... I think she's an American Instagram model of some description. Facially, she's actually very similar to the work girl, but the work girl is slimmer and without the curves.

Also, as a side note, apparently, Sabrina Lynn is about 5' 11" tall. 180cm for you metric lot. I love tall women.

Quelle Surprise.

We were meant to head out last night to help S celebrate his birthday plus have a kinda of Christmas night out as well. Despite asking S for the actual details all this week, we were still chasing him for the plans late yesterday afternoon.

Then came the kicker.

"Sorry, I'm not going to go out tonight"

It wasn't the world's most unsurprising news but it was frustrating enough regardless. It wasn't just me that he let down - KfW2, FP and a few others from our social circle were due to go out. And I was looking forward to it as well.

Grrr.

One of the things that's annoyed me about KfW2 is that, in work, she's selfish/single-minded. She's asked me to do favours for her, then made demands on my time when I say I'll do it when I can.

"Can you do me this favour please?"

"Not right now, but I can do it after lunch"

"OK"

Five minutes later...

"I really need it right now. Can you do this for me please?"

And then we'd get into an "argument" about our internal reward system because I would do the favour and she'd refuse to acknowledge my generosity in the system.

Earlier, she pinged me and asked me to go for coffee... in ten minutes. So, I arrive at her desk at the requested time and she's finishing up some work. This is also a recurring issue, by the way. I'm standing nearby, waiting for her to finish. Just as she's finishing up, probably five to ten minutes later, someone approaches her desk and asks her a question.

What's the etiquette here, dear reader?

Personally, I'd say "Can I get back to you in fifteen minutes, Ruuude's been waiting for me".

KfW2, however, perceives this person to be a higher priority than I am, and I spend another fifteen minutes while she has a chat with this person.

So, that means I've spent fifteen to twenty minutes waiting for KfW2.

That's not a one-off, and with KfW2 moving into a new job with greater responsibilities, this kind of thing isn't going to get any less frequent.

Girly Nights Out

I bumped into MFF today. She asked if I was going to go to the Xmas Party. I'm not. It's not fun any more and the people I used to have fun with have moved on. MFF is going - she has a routine with OK and another girl (and previously CH as well) where they'll all get ready to go out at MFF's with a few drinks then arrive just as the meal is being served, and follow that up with a few hours of dancing.

And, quite frankly, I've no desire to socialise with Stalky Guy on my own. If I am being honest, the years of favouritism shown to him has bred resentment when there's only the two of us. That's why I don't do our monthly work thing if it's only the two of us any more.

KfW2 is going, though she might only stay for the meal and leave. My offer of a bed for the night has been refused. I had kinda hoped that she'd be out a while, take me up on my offer and we'd at least have a few drinks when she got back into the house. After all, she managed to stay up until well after 4 AM last year with CC when she stayed there. Still... if KfW2 is not staying at mine, that frees me up to try and get a few friends out for a beer or two.

Well, I never!

In the past, I've sometimes gone Facebook stalking for old acquaintances and crushes... Most of the time, it's curiosity on my part and the person in question has crossed my mind for some random reason. Other times, it's because someone has asked specifically about them - KfW2 or USHW for example would sometimes want to know more about someone I've mentioned in conversation.

A lot of them cannot be found on Facebook - they don't have social media accounts or I can't remember their surname, or they married and changed it, or never knew it (for some of my more fleeting dalliances).

Once, I came across someone (CAB) purely by accident, probably eight years or so after we'd dated and she left the country. That provoked an email that turned into a very brief chat (she was about to travel the world, just as I was). We've not been in contact since.

However, imagine my surprise when I was hunting through YouTube recently and a video that included CAB was recommended to me. That was confusing - the video was not on a topic that I'd be interested (university courses). Still, it provoked a few good memories.

Just stuff

Today is the sixth anniversary of an interesting night out - it was the night that something serious might have happened with CH (I've blogged about it before, but I can't find the post or I'd link it), and I ended up dancing, albeit briefly, with the woman who would go on to become Quiet Girl.

Quiet Girl is opening up to me more and more each time we talk. It's a far cry from the first few times where it was impossible to get anything out of her (I remember a bus journey in particular). We actually sat on the bus yesterday on the way home and she was being very chatty. This is on top of the fact she's now sitting closer to me and getting involved in some of the chat that I'm provoking with the others around me.

Maybe she's simply like me - takes a while to open up to someone. I'd hope that I'm not giving off the impression of being that standoffish though.

Lookalikes

I've posted a few times about a local celeb that I've spotted on Tinder, and despite swipes and super likes, I'm still nowhere near starting a conversation, never mind getting a date.

I was browsing a news website earlier and I came across a story about the new Prime Minister of Finland.

Here she is:

What is the link between a local celebrity and the youngest Prime Minister in the world? Well, nothing really apart from a similarity in how they look. There's more to be said about Sanna Marin's new position how she will head a women-led coalition government in Finland and how I hope she's as successful as Jacinda Ardern (who I'm a great admirer of). And jealous, because we're about to have Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Bah humbug?

"It doesn't feel like Christmas" opined KfW2 as we walked to the bus stop.

I agreed.

Unlike KfW2 though, this didn't disappoint me. I don't particularly like Christmas. I tend to feel very lonely, even when I'm busy socially. This year though, it looks very quiet from a social point of view.

Just stuff.

I don't want to go into the specifics, but a friend of mine posted something on Facebook that tied them to a reasonably famous actress. I've found myself day-dreaming all day about being asked to show this person around my home town. It's far-fetched. My friend is unlikely to meet the actress in question, much less recommend me as a tour guide should that celebrity come to town.