Time will tell

In the end, KfW2 called on Thursday and asked if I minded going to hers on Friday night instead? I had nothing on, so I said that I'd be happy to. Her husband was going to see his friend after work, so I could get a lift home if I wanted, rather than stay over.

I don't often stay over, often preferring to get a taxi home, even if it costs me money. Usually twenty to twenty-five pounds. However, that money is well spent as I can wake up whenever the next day and I'm already home. At KfW2's, her kids often cause me to wake, then KfW2 will offer/promise me a lift home rather than get the bus, and I don't get back into the house until mid-afternoon. KfW2 just doesn't see the time passing.

Well... KfW2's husband didn't go to see his friend, so I didn't get as much alone time with KfW2 as I would have liked, though I still really enjoyed my time. It was nice to have a change of scenery and a proper, prolonged conversation.

Unsurprisingly, it was late afternoon by the time I got into the house, having spent all afternoon shopping with KfW2.

I can't remember her exact comment but she made a comment about how late it is that I get home any time I stay at hers. I think it was meant as a joke, but I must have had a look on my face because she looked really guilty. I admitted that getting home the next day was a factor in deciding whether or not to stay over. I think KfW2 feels little put out that I don't stay over more often, or even visit for that matter.

Yesterday was slightly different. When she offered me a lift home, I said that while I didn't need to rush off instantly, I did need to try and get home sooner rather than later.

Cue her in-laws turning up (she didn't turn them away when they phoned prior to calling in), fixing bikes and a couple of other non-urgent tasks that were started before we left the house. Then we went shopping. She offer the chance to get dropped off home before she went to the shops, but I thought I could top up my groceries, so agreed to accompany her. She was relieved at this. Her kids can be a handful sometimes. One has ASD and another is simply a whining little brat. Sigh.

It's not the shopping that's the frustrating part of yesterday, it's the two hours of chores that were done prior to leaving the house

Party on!

I woke up this morning, not hungover but definitely sleep-deprived. It was near 3:30 AM when KfW2 and I finally called it a night and we were the last two standing.

Sadly, we weren't alone very long, so my hope of sitting her down and talking through her stress didn't come to pass. It might not have done any good as I think we were both quite tipsy at that stage.

Despite my anxiety, things went pretty smoothly and everyone had a good time. It was only really FP, KfW2 and myself who got into the whole thing.

KfW2 and her hubby stayed the night. The first guests I've had since D stayed well over a year ago, but the first to hang around afterwards.

Still, upon waking this morning, I was in definite need of The Cure and the frustration hasn't eased all day.

Looky here.

Off the back of a conversation with KfW2 a few days ago, I was digging through some archives of mine - backups really - when I came across a massive folder of old MSN conversations I'd had with everyone. Looking through the folders, there are names I can barely even remember having conversations with - people from my old online hobby. There are some very familiar names though - K, USHW, F amongst others.

I took a quick look through some of the unfamiliar names and it didn't take too long to be reminded about how poisonous the community around the online hobby was, but at the same time, I managed to meet some really good people - USHW and F are the two who come to mind first. It was also hugely entertaining if you could take a step back and watch people interact.

The problem was that it wasn't like that all the time.

Heart and soul...

The chorus from a barely remembered song has been floating around my head for the best part of ten years. I couldn't remember the name of the band, I only thought I knew the name of the song and I could remember a snippet of the chorus lyrics and hook and the genre. Even with the advent of the internet and all sorts of related specialist music sites, they were never able to pinpoint the song for me.

I would spend an hour or so a couple of times a year trying to pinpoint the song and always with absolutely no success.

Until last night obviously. You probably saw that coming a mile off. Semi-random browsing around YouTube last night got me on to late 90s rock music and after that, it took about three songs for this unknown number to appear in the related links bit.

Oh, go on, here's the (less cheesy than the version I saw last night) link: Heart and Soul - No Sweat

Rock on.

I don't know if this hangover is going to decide to kick in properly or just hang about all day on the periphery, threatening to take hold. But the gig I went to yesterday was brilliant, I met with KfW2 and FP and their respective partners mid-afternoon and just went from there.

KfW2 has met FP's wife before and they get on like a house on fire, so she had some girly company.

There's not a lot of detail to go into, really - it was a fun day without too many "incidents". It was a great gig, KfW2 really enjoyed herself - I don't know if she was talking about the gig or the day in general (I think it's the latter), it was great spending time with FP and his wife (who I don't see enough of). I swapped a few texts with AM who was also at the gig, but we didn't meet up, though we've made tentative plans to meet up sometime soon.

There was a funny moment where I'd taken myself off to use the facilities and had  triangulated where we were standing, so returned in super quick time, only to drunkenly wander past the guys. It's not like I wasn't seen - KfW2 smacked me in the head and I just looked at her, smiled and dandered on only for her to follow me and pull me back. Oh dear. *embarrassed face*

And a comment made by KfW2 that will require follow up is that she (I think) complained about the fact I didn't treat her as a girl. FP's wife said that I did that to her too. Hmmm. I'm out with KfW2 tomorrow after work. I might bring this up again.

Oh, and on the way out, we managed to meet up with QC2 and her partner. I knew they'd be at the gig, but I wasn't expecting to bump into them. I managed a quick round of introductions (cos KfW2 has recently complained that I don't share enough) before we all went on our separate ways.

All partied out... for now.

There were two big nights out this weekend. The first, a work thing, was good fun. However, it meant that I would miss a mate's girlfriend's birthday. In particular, there was a cute blonde thing that I thought might have been going to the birthday and I really wanted to meet her (assuming she's single). However, it was not meant to be and I stayed out with the work crowd until closing time. That's not a big thing though, because it was a fun night. I look forward to the Facebook pictures of the birthday though, to see if the blonde girl is there.

Saturday night was M's house-warming party. We've both done the online dating thing this year. He's divorcing his wife (or has already, I'm not entirely sure of the timing) and I think I've already mentioned that we've both dated (albeit separately) Date No. 1. Anyway, I was reliably informed that his house-warming would be chock full of single women, though not that this was a condition of my attendance. He's a good lad, M, and I would have gone anyway.

Sadly though, the single quotient at the party was very low. It was just me and an old friend of mine from school. I was taken by this stunningly attractive blonde girl who was easily the same height as me, but it soon became clear that she was M's girlfriend's sister and married. Damnit. However, as I said, a plethora of single women was not the reason for my attendance, and the party was great. It ended very late, I was quite drunk and spent all day yesterday recovering.

I have another busy weekend coming up. I just need time to recover!

Looking forward to a good summer.

This summer’s going to be busy, interesting and, I hope, fun. I’ve just moved into a new position at work that’s going to require a lot of work, but it’s a challenge I’ve been looking for after being brain dead with boredom over the past year, not forgetting the issues with my previous boss. I’m going to pursue a personal project that will hopefully tie in to my work and help me settle quicker and get up to speed instead of being the clueless new boy.

I am hoping to get into the dating thing again at some point. I’m not sure when, though, but hopefully sooner rather than later. I enjoyed the interaction with Date No. 1, even if it didn’t go anywhere and I’m disappointed that she didn’t turn into a cinema buddy. I did find it strange that once she had declined a second date, she effectively blocked me on Match.com and MSN Messenger where we had done some pre-date chatting. Ah well… c’est la vie!

Sigh.

I've had a few weeks off over the holiday period and I've pretty much done nothing. While I don't mind that during the day, it's a real pain in the arse at night. I'd ideally hoped that I'd have had a few nights down in the pub. That hasn't been the case so far, though I'm just over halfway through the time off. I'd really like to get down to the pub at least twice before I go back to work. It's not just a matter of getting out of the house, but it's more getting out there into social situations with the possibilities of meeting people. I've been forceful enough in asking people to go out, but there seems to be this lethargy with people where they don't pull their own weight and I'm, yet again, sitting waiting for other people. This why I need to meet more people.

Websites

Here's a few fun websites for those of you with pictures you like and a large wall upon which to hang huge things:

http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

http://www.blockposters.com/default.aspx

Both are great fun. Some bloke's even using one of these sites to sell pictures on eBay UK for £10. That's a "scam" and a half!

Something exciting

Something exciting that has happened is that, a few weeks ago, an acquaintance of mine from another online venture I dabble in, has asked me to join their project which will mean reviewing books amongst other things. It's nice to be asked. I have a lot of respect for these people and the fact they think enough of me to invite me to their venture is quite thrilling.

New phone!

Yay! I got through to O2 last week and negotiated a new contract which means I get a tenner off my monthly bill and a Sony Ericsson K800i (which I had to pay for), though I'm still going to save around £60 this year.

New gadgets are great!

"Yes. Considerably"

I'm a sucker for James Bond and was really looking forward to the new one.

Then I saw the trailer at this site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale/site/ (or you can get it at the Apple website for your iPod).

Now, I'm far too impatient to wait the three-odd weeks until it is released.