Geniuses on Trains!

To forewarn complaints, yes, I missed yesterday. Didn't really have anything to write - no shame in that.

Today I wanted to share the work of a person lacking somewhat in the intellect department. On the train this evening, I found a discarded section of the Times, which had the crossword. I idly glanced at it, and found that the previous owner of the page had been not overly blessed in the brain department.

While there was some humour to be derived from the ludicrously hopeful answers of 'Acme' - skin condition, 'Cartel' - book of tickets, 'Debate' - defeated (what?!), and 'Betjamam' - poet laureate Sir John __, the winner for complete lack of effort, brains and comprehension was the answer to the clue 'Small room (6)'.

Our budding braniac suggested 'attics'. Oh dear.

Blocking!

I enjoy playing football; it's the only real activity I get all week, and it's good fun too. Except when you get hit square in your privates with the ball in an impromptu block. Not good.

However, I managed to do the oddest thing in collapsing in both pain and laughter simultaneously. Everyone else was puzzled.

Relaxing Afternoon

When I get around to it, I am always surprised by just how much I enjoy cooking. A nice sunny evening, relaxing music playing (Sigur Ros' Takk, which is now firmly my favourite of their albums), and cooking is really quite enjoyable. Tonight was pizzas - not terribly original, but it doesn't have to be.

Also, yesterday's second post was seemingly the 250th I've made. A quarter of the way to a thousand, who'd have thought.

Shiny!

You may have noticed a few slight design changes to the blog. In essence, I finally got motivated to deal with those annoying blank spaces on all sides. If it gives you any major problems, let me know, I'm not confident how my tweaking will work on smaller resolutions.

E-Rage

Internet friends are made of fail. More so when they have my phone number.

I still have no clue why they decided that 3:15 in the pissing morning was a good time to ring me to tell me to look at something online. It could have waited until morning, guys. I think it's also the only time in my life I've used the word 'cockfaces'.

Job Idol

After about three weeks of a little uncertainty, I finally have gotten some information on the likelihood of me going permanent in my current role.

Essentially, it's difficult. I'm good at what I do, my boss would like me to stay, my boss' boss would like me to stay. The problem is that we need to find an authority to recruit from somewhere to get me to stay. The fact that the team faces the prospect of dropping to a mere three heads is neither here nor there, we can't even think of keeping people on without approval.

What does this mean? That I have to prove my worth. Not in a 'do your job and do it better', but in an 'explain what you do and why it's so vital to the company that we have to keep you' way. Like an interview, but worse. In essence, it's an audition. I feel like I've morphed into a reality TV program at this point.

So here we have it: Job Idol! Like pop idol, but more depressing. I didn't even think that was possible.

Just for the Routine

I really have nothing much to say today. Mind is fairly blank, I'll be honest. However, I'm keeping the run going.

Following on from yesterday's accidental beard considerations, I'm thinking I need new glasses. This is a thought I've had for a while, because - well, let's be honest, the current ones are rather scratched, and slightly out of focus. A good few years old.

I'm pondering contacts instead. I have no idea how this would look. Something to consider, however.

Even Keel

Yesterday's comment about how I run out of things to say and how my life is clearly so uninteresting actually got me thinking.

Essentially, I have two blog templates. One where I update on everything that's gone past in a period of a month or so and apologise profusely for not blogging more; the other ranting about something that's annoyed me. There's also the third type, where I whine about how I have nothing to post - but that's about as contentless as rice paper, so we'll ignore that.

Essentially, I should take the glass-half-full approach; I may not have masses to write about all the time - but let's face it, who does? In a life of work, a brief evening, sleep, and back to work again - where's the time for the exciting whirl of a life? However, it also means that I'm not ranting and angry all the time at things.

In fact, I was in a good mood on Monday. This was obviously so unnerving to people they kept asking me if I was okay. Thanks a lot, guys!

P.S. I have put an end to the accidental beard experiment.

Standard Pattern

This is usually the point where I fail - a run of a few blogs in a few days, followed by a lack of imagination or perhaps the revelatoin that my life is nowhere near interesting enough to warrant anywhere close to a blog per day.

Then I forget to post for months until something random sparks my interest, and I go off again!

In other less interesting news, I think I'm badly in need of a shave. Reason? Someone yesterday actually asked me if I was trying to grow a beard. Considering it'd take me a good few years of facial hair growth to get something approaching a beard, unlikely, but the thought itself is giving me chills!

Satisfying Conclusion

This week I'm actually glad that I don't have Monday off - I like Mondays, mainly because I get to play football at the end of it. On a lovely sunny evening, albeit a little warmer than ideal tonight, it's fairly lovely; played for two hours and it flew by. Absolutely knackered as a result, though!

As those of you reading obviously know, after yesterday's tension it did go pretty much as predicted - although it was an Everton victory on penalties instead of by the odd goal. Still, no complaints though.

To add a barrage of statistics, these are ones I found interesting. This was Manchester United's third competitive game at the new Wembley; they have gone to extra time in all of them, and have yet to score a single goal. Besides yesterday, they won the Carling Cup earlier in the year against Tottenham after a 0-0 draw; they also lost 1-0 after extra time to Chelsea in the FA Cup Final in 2007.

Just Wembley? Perhaps. But take into account their last four major finals; all have gone to extra time, one goal for Manchester United between the four of them. In addition to the two finals above, you can add the Champions' League final in Moscow last year, and the FA Cup Final which they lost on penalties to Arsenal in 2004-5. Two wins on penalties, one loss on penalties and one loss in extra time. Truly, the world's greatest entertainers.

I only post these stats to note that perhaps they aren't quite as great as people make them out to be.

The Indescribeable?

Last week I got some Sigur Ros CDs. I really like Sigur Ros, everything I've listened to of theirs so far has been brilliant - although before this I only had the Hvarf Heim compilation CD.

I've listened to all now, bar the most recent, and I'm tremendously impressed. I love all their albums, they are wonderful to listen to. But just impossible to actually explain what they are. Ethereal Icelandic gibberish is the closest I've come, but it doesn't do the grandeur of it justice.

I'm writing this blog at the halftime between Everton and Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final. It is, so far, boring and uneventful. Despite causing frustration to purists everywhere, I'd quite like this to be a pattern followed in the second half, with the addition of an Everton goal. Not too much to ask, is it?

Pressure's On

The knowledge that people are reading my comments is now somewhat pressurising. I feel the urge to either be witty or, failing that, at least interesting.

If both of those are hopeless, frequent is the best I can hope for!

This weekend will be marked by the meeting of the mysterious Gill, Dad's partner for the past few months. I doubt she is as mysterious as this implied, but I've never met her due to geographical conveniences (considering I was with Chrissi for two and a quarter years, or close enough, before anyone in the family met her - I have no high ground here!).

Should be a good weekend, hopefully. Other main event will be catching up on some overdue sleep.

New Pet Peeve

For years the most irritating mis-spelling has always been people writing 'rouge' instead of 'rogue'. There's nothing like people wary of rouge agents to make you laugh.

However, today I'm realising that this has been usurped by a new champion - loggin. I think they mean login, but they may also mean loggin', as a chav lumberjack may describe what he does.

I can't be sure. Either way, it is quite annoying.

Readers!

So apparantly a conversation yesterday made me realised that I have readers! I thought it was just Chrissi following this, but I'm delighted to report that other friends actually read what rubbish I post up here.

Apparantly I don't update often enough, so this is for you guys.

Discovery of the day: Sigur Ros have very odd CD cases. Crazy!

Easter Weekend

I have to say, as the first Easter weekend that I've been working for and not on holiday (last year I was in America at the time), it feels quite odd.

Not that I don't like the days off, but I woke up this morning feeling that I was late for work, and I spent most of yesterday unsure if it was either Saturday or Sunday. To be brief, I'm slightly bemused overall!

But enjoying the extra couple of days of relaxation and peace!

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

This post title should tell you two things. The first is that recently I've been spending a fair amount of time listening to The Clash.

The second is that I'm starting to have thoughts about my position at work - not negative ones. Essentially, as I am on the graduate trainee scheme, I should move around to another placement in the next six months. However, equally the option may be there for me to become permanent in the role I have now.

It's a bit of an uncertainty for me - I enjoy what I do and feel that I am good at it. There's a decent team I work with, and things are okay at work, I am happy at work. However, there's always the curiousity and temptation of the unknown, as to whether there is anything better out there.

This is obviously enhanced by the fact that my second grad placement was very much of a similar ilk to the first, including being on the same team. There's also the thought in the back of my head at the moment as to whether I can really ignore the prospect of a permanent position in this economic climate; or whether I can realistically hope to get a position I enjoy as much in another role, and then I would be unlikely to have the opportunity to get back to this one.

Decisions, decisions! At least I have time to think about it.