I'm not sure why really, just haven't been arsed I suppose.

I've not been up to much at home recently. Went to see Hot Fuzz on Monday and I thought it was canny. I'm not a very good guide to films though, as there are very few that I think are rubbish. The only 2 off the top of my head that I really didn't like were Titanic and La Haine, and in both cases it may have been more me not really being bothered about watching films at the time. I am looking forward to Transformers though.

The rest of the week has followed the usual patterns of work and football. The only difference is that we had a restructuring meeting and it's likely that I'll be made redundant. I don't know whether to be delighted or disappointed still. It would've been nice to 'be wanted' but at the same time if I get made redundant, the expected redundancy pay will clear my overdraft, pay off the sale of our flat and leave some left over to add to what could be a healthy deposit on a house up North.

I really need to start looking at jobs though, and this is where I'm stuck. I just don't know what to apply for.... Oh well, something will come up.

Some good news too, is that I helped develop some PDA software (outside of work) and it's due to go on sale soon. I've been offered £10 per copy sold, so I'll be well chuffed with that. The bloke whose idea it was reckons we'll sell at least 100 copies, so that will be a nice windfall too.

And I've added a link to my photo section at the top.

Not for me anyway. For the first time since we upgraded to SAP it seems that everything is working correctly every day. Great.. for the company, not so good for me in that I'm now struggling for things to do each day. I've got a couple of application forms to fill in, one online and one paper based. The paper one has to be posted off tomorrow and I've barely started it. Brought it in today though, and if I can I'll have a go at getting as much done as possible at dinnertime. Other than that I've got a little bit of work to do producing a Card sales report which automatically displays data to user specifications. When I'm finished this I suppose it'll give me even more time to read the SMB and wander around chatting. Well might as well update....

Friday, I went out on the piss. Was great being in the pub from 4:45 and I was quite drunk by 6. By 7 I didn't know what was going on and at 8 I was pissed. My wearing trainers so I can't get in anywhere failed at the first place I didn't want to go. Revolution allowed me in, although I didn't stay too long. I had a food to go (or whatever the Tesco equivalent is) Curry for my tea and that helped, a little. First time I've been out on a session straight from work for a long time...

I spent Saturday wandering around central london looking for sport shops which sell football boots and trainers in size 11, at sensible prices. Now, I know this will surprise you, but I'm not quite as good as Ronaldinho, or Ronaldo, or even Robbie Savage. Therefore, I don't want a pair of poncey white flair player football boots. How about a standard black pair with a small tick on the side or something? I also don't want to spend £70 on the latest predators with more swerve and power. I get enough swerve on my sliced shots and clearances thankyou very much.

Sunday, went to football and was an unused sub as the lads crashed out of the cup, at the semi final stage. I didn't even know they were in the semi final until I resigned in December. Apparently they only played 1 game to get there like. Due to a combination of poor results, birthdays and suspensions I should be back in the team this weekend (if I go), although I've no Idea where I'd be played. Having not played 'on pitch' for about 2 years, I don't really have a position any more. Like most as I've gotten older I've gradually moved further back. I ended up playing centre half before I went in goal, although in previous seasons I'd played everywhere. Starting off as a right back, I played left wing, right wing, centre forward, had a spell in centre midfield and then full back again. Anyway, after football I went to the pub to see Everton end my accumulator at the first hurdle and Newcastle compound my misery with the kind of jammy performance I've come to expect from them in recent weeks. Got a bit drunk.

Yesterday. Done nowt. Well, the usual anyway. Work and playstation, with smatterings of TV & SMB. I had a nosebleed which lasted about 10 minutes. This meant I had to clean the bathroom sink as there were blood splashes everywhere. I had an early night (10:30) but couldn't get to sleep, and then couldn't get out of bed this morning.

Football tonight and I'm looking forward to it. Also got 2 games tomorrow and a possibility of a fourth on thursday. I felt quite good after playing a similar number of games last week, and it's better than sitting at home on the internet or watching telly.

Ahhh, Christmas at home. The drive up from Watford was a piece of p*ss. There was hardly any traffic, and despite stopping 3 times we made it to Northumberland in 6 hours. The only problem was that somewhere near Scotch Corner I developed a cold. This meant that I had to give up on driving as I could no longer keep my eyes open. I was then ill until boxing day. We arrived in good time though, and I was able to have a proper rest. The bairn got quite excited when he saw his grandma and we got a nice big feed!   We went to my Mam's on Christmas day, for the first time since I was 21. It was canny, and even grumpy grandad enjoyed it! He asked whether we would be going for dinner there again next year... Alternate from now on. I went to the match on Boxing Day. Met my mate in Idols with his boss. Some things never change. The last time I was in there was Derby day 2003, it was almost identical! I had a few drinks up Hylton Road after the game, before ending the night with a drink in my old local, the Royalty. I didn't do much else until the Saturday, when due to family committments I missed the match. Went to a baby infested family party instead. Didn't drink, ate some chilli and some cheesecake. Went home. My Mam bought me A Question Of Sport on DVD for my birthday. It turns out that I'm rubbish at the picture round. New Years Eve played more QOS, Spot the Intro and brought the New Year in by finishing last at Pictionary.

On Monday I returned to Watford, a year older. I left the family at home with parents/grandparent(delete as applicable) and am now sttruggling to think of things to do when I'm at home. Currently these "activities" have been limited to surfing the internet and playing computer games. Work, obviously believe this games at home thing is good and bought me £20 worth of Game gift card. I don't know what to spend it on, although I do have 180 days to choose - before the gift card expires. I had a look in Game and considered Canis Canem Edit and Liberty City stories. I'm not that arsed about either really. I seem to have acquired a load of games which I've never really bothered with for one reason or another. Ico, Metroid, Zelda Majora's Mask, Beyond Good and Evil, Half Life.. the list goes on. The main problem with these games is that (with the probably exception of Half Life) they take a lot of time and you can't just have a quick blast, so I end up playing Pro Evo. I think Metroid and Majora's mask would've had more game time if the Game Cube wasn't in the cupboard. Still, I'll go and buy something this weekend.

I've had the good fortune to have 2 games of football since coming back. Both defeats, but that's football. Tuesday night was a surprisingly competetive game against the lads who usually play on the pitch next to us. Due to a "staffing" mixup we ended up with one player fewer than them, but it was quite a close game still. But for some wayward finishing and a dodgy long ball game based on us having a rush goalie I think we would've won comfortably. Last night was our first venture into the world of Power League. It's quicker than the 5 aside we'd been playing in the Pitch Invasion leagues as there are no throwins and I think it took us about 10 minutes to get used to the game (We were so well prepared that we didn't have a ball to warm up with) and we were 5 - 0 down very quickly. As the game wore on we found our feet a gradually fought back. I think the opposition had a couple of better individual players than we did, but after 3 years of playing together we're not too bad a team. We got it back to 16-14, at least partly due to the opposition not putting in quiote as much effort in the second half and partly due to the 5 of us working our socks off... I scored a "great goal"* with the last kick of the match. Think Parlour in the FA Cup final against Chelsea a few years back, only this one was in a 5 aside goal, possibly further out and scored by someone wearing a wooly hat

Some random excuses for our defeat:

We had 5 & they had 8

Our goalie didn't turn up as he was sick

It was our first game

*quote taken from opposition goalie

Now I'm up to date, and wondering what to do tonight. Tonight starts in a couple of minutes actually. I think I'll go...

Our lass showed me this about 9 weeks ago now. It has changed things...

Tonight, I'm going to my first work pub night since January. The last time I went, we had to leave early as Jen experienced feelings of sickness.... I was just getting into it as well. As it's been so long, I'm looking forward to it - although in all fairness, there aren't many people from work who I want to talk to. Will be the same as usual, just the football lads and any other stray friends who turn up for cheap drink. Work do about 4 a year, and i's a £1 donation (to CLIC) for 3 drinks vouchers (more vouchers can be redeemed later on through the night), which means it'll be a cheap night for me. I had a pint on Sunday after returning to the Sunday league fold (5 minutes at left full back) and it went straight to my head. It did help me win at Killer Pool though, something which I haven't done for a long time. 3 pints should be enough to finish me off tonight.

I'm going along again this Sunday, it seems such a long time ago since I was a first team regular. I played in goal last season (and most of the previous season), but I've been replaced by a younger model (and he doesn't seem to pick up as many finger related injuries as me). It looks like I'll have to play out on pitch if I want a game. This means I'll have to get fit... Which means I'll have to go for runs... I really hate running. Got to be the most boring form of exercise. I'm planning to start after christmas. There's a lass at work who goes out running most evenings, so I'll be tagging along(for a bit) to build up some stamina.

I've already had a whinge about this to everyone and anyone, so I might as well stick it on here too. Last night, I was viciously savaged by a terrier type dog  I was walking home (slightly earlier than usual admittedly) and I passed an old couple. As I moved by them their little dog jumped at me, and grabbed my leg. I tried to shake it off, and the little fecker sank its teeth into my leg. I was more shocked than anything, but now it feels like I've got a bruise. I've also got some pathetic teeth marks showing just above my knee too. I cleaned the 'wound' with TCP. It didn't sting as much as I expected.

I still managed to make it to the barbers. They took great pity in my plight.

The night was topped off when the toaster gave up. I'd just put some muffins in for our lass, and they popped up again after about 30 seconds. I checked it out, and although it will still heat things you have to hold the button down. Not good. I think I'll buy one tomorrow.

I've just had a text from our lass. She's going to be late. I might have to mingle

Please fine (or at least bring back the trolley pound deposit) people for not returning trolleys to the trolley collection point. This might lead to there being fewer trolleys left in the fucking parking bays

I have a hangover today  I had one yesterday too, but bearing in mind that I didn't have a drink yesterday I suspect it's the same one. Still it shouldn't distract from the fact I had a very good time building my hangover up! The train journey to Norwich started at 9:30 and I opened my first can. There was even a copy of Heat being passed around (bigger writing, shorter words and more pictures than the Guardian. Not that one is thick, of course.. just tired  ) to accompany the early morning drinks. Upon arrival in Norwich there was a claim that eating's cheating. My most favouritist phrase ever. Headed to the Compleat Angler it was okay, but not great and then went to the Coach and Horses. Was pleasingly drunk by the time we left for the ground. I did eat shortly before kick off ( a tasty burger) everyone else had already cheated at this point. Sunderland spent 1hr and 45 minutes doing their best to ruin the weekend. They almost succeeded, Newcastle (or Danny Webber) stepping in valiantly to save the day  Played pool (badly) at a pub in Liverpool Street. Discovered some people are too good at quiz machines (answered all 9 prize board questions on Bullseye, but didn't win a prize). It dawned on me that the last train back to Watford tends be at about 12 from Baker Street so I had to rush off, it's always a difficult moment as I hate going home when people are still out. Had a KFC bought for me , one of their burger things.  Tried to find Fulham(I think - my memory of that time is not what it once was) on the tube map and devise the best route back there. Wearside Wanderer II turned up with the News of the World(!) Some Woman called Bev read it. And all of her friends kept shouting something about Kev. I'm sure it was funny at the time. Got to Baker Street with 13 minutes to spare for the last train and stayed awake all the way home ( I set the alarm on my phone just in case), what a Hero! There was another fella on the train whom I woke when we were pulling into Watford. Got home and had a bacon sarnie and a cup of tea, before retiring to my pit with a headache.

Another thing that p'd me off, was the whole grading malarkey. I'm currently an 8, and the job I applied for was an 11. When I applied I was given the whole "oooh, grade 11 will be a lot different to grade 8. Very rare people go up 2 grades, never mind 3"  Surely people should be encouraged to apply for internal roles whatever the grade, if they think they are capable of doing the job. The company attitude for internal progression is very good generally, so to get this sort of statement coming from HR is stupid.

Anyway, that's interviews and jobs off the agenda for a bit anyway. Back to the real stuff. Sunderland were dogshite last night by the sounds of things. I've only got 60 minutes of SMB chat to go by, though. 2 points off in the Meldrew sweep as well  It really does add a new dimension to the Meldrew, I had to count the scores before I read the report, and the excitement built until I discovered that Dwight Yorke had scored a 7. Unbelievable, especially after a defeat.

I played footy 6-7 last night after overcoming my latest bout of Man Flu. I seem to have a cold all the time, and this one slowly built up over 3 weeks. I was okay last night. My finishing was generally poor, but passing and link up was pretty good  Playing again at dinner time today. 9 people :o( Someone dropped out because he has a bad toe. Aye, aye, is that the Thumb Lord's advice I hear? Same lad was moaning yesterday that he doesn't get to play enough. He didn't play last night either, as Arsenal were on the telly.

Right, I had better go otherwise I'll be late.

Aldenham country park is brilliant, and it's where we had our picnic this weekend. We ate in Winnie the Pooh's 100 Aker wood, up next to 'the north pole'. Tuna sandwiches and an apple. Andrew really enjoyed rabbit's house. He knocked on the door, and pointed, and watched other children playing

The park has a little rare breeds farm attached, where they have a number farmyard animals, and a little bit of history about each and their current status (endangered, critical etc..). Very informative, although it is only a tiny little thing. I was unaware that there were so many different types of chicken, and these are only the rare ones. It just goes to show how ignorant of some things I am. Admittedly, I don't really harbour any great desire to learn about rare animals, despite finding it interesting at the time. They have pigs and goats too, as well as some horses (although they are out grazing in the fileds at present). It was good fun watching the piglets play.

When I got back that night I had trouble breathing. I don't know if it was hayfever brought on by playing in the field, or an allergy to animals that I've never noticed before. I kept wheezing and had a really tight (I don't know how to describe it) throat. When I lived with me Mam and Dad, we always had dogs and I used to get similar coughs. I only attributed that to the dogs after I moved out and the problems disappeared. It only lasted one day, but it was a bit of a shock as I consider myself to be reasonably fit. I do have a bit of a cold now, so maybe they are connected. Had a lush Chicken Rogan takeaway for tea, and I was still stuffed full when MOTD finished.

I watched Afterlife whilst waiting for match of the day. What a pile that was (and I like Sea of Souls so it must've been bad), absolutely terrible. I'll probably give it a miss next week... It looks quite entertaining from the adverts. The power of marketing can only do so much when the product is guff.

Did nothing (of note) on Sunday apart from writing a cover letter and sending my CV off to a potential employer. We went to PC world to buy some ink for our ancient printer. I haven't looked at net prices, but £45 for a pack of colour and a pack of black & white ink is obscene. PC World are selling super dooper all in one printers for £50 (inc. ink). I can't understand why there's any sort of market for ink, for low end printers.

I'm ashamed to say that I really, really like Midsomer Murders. It's now got Warren from this life in it. It's taken me this whole series (now at an end) to work out that it's him and not the bloke from the last series.

Yesterday, back to the grind of work. Not a lot going on though. After work we went to view our photos from our session last week. After sitting through the whole thing we got our free one and bought another for £75 and that was the cheapest. They are excellent, but I can't really justify paying all that money for it. It's gone on the credit card so I can forget about it until next month. We did at least politely talk our way out of paying more by lamenting our lack of space, waiting until we have more children etc.. I wish we had some sort of collective backbone though. I could've bought a DS Lite for £25 more, and what do I have? A photo. Mmmm.

I think I'm starting to watch too much telly. I watched Without a Trace last night. I think that's great too, and then there's lost tonight (last of the series though, thank fuck). A quite disturbing story about paedo's in last night's episode, although it had a happy(ish) ending. I don't like stories like that whether real life or fictional. I'd rather live in my happy ignorant world and pretend everything is nice.

Well that was long. And that was my weekend!

That is going to be the burning question this weekend.

We're going to a local park which has a farm attached so that Andrew can see some animals. We've been before and it's quite good. It also has the 'Hundred Acre Wood' (although I'd be very surprised if it really is 100 acres) and we're going to take a picnic to enjoy at Rabbit's house. Thinking back, I've never had a classic picnic, at least not in the terms that I think of them e.g. Checky blanket and pickernic basket in the middle of a field. Occassionally I've been out and we've had sandwiches, but we actually have a picnic hamper(curiously, it's for 3 people - I would've thought they'd be designed for couples (2) or families* (4+)) and it's never been used. Hopefully it will make it's debut over the weekend, having played the part of Nicolas Medina manfully over the past 3 years.

So what to take? Do you have the same sort of food you have at a party tea (the savoury stuff) or is just a few sandwiches in a box? I don't know. No doubt when it comes to it, we'll forego the box and end up with tuna sandwiches, an apple and a bag of crisps each. Saying that, I'd quite enjoy that anyway so no probs.

Hopefully I'll be back in time to listen to Sunderland on the net.

Apart from that I'd just like to say that work for me, today anyway, is ace. A nice jovial cheery atmosphere.

*I appreciate that you get lots of families of 3, but that is not the point!

Because I've had absolutely nothing to say for myself. Nothing at all.

However this week I've passed a programming exam, received my FA coaching certificate (finally) in the post, been to a family photo session and taken part in a McVities 'dunk or crunch' survey at work. I normally amble along getting very little done outside of work, so to get the programming exam and photo session in in one day is a major plus. I don't think we'll be buying any of the photos as they are ridiculously expensive (minimum £200 for 10x8 print) and we are not well off. I'm sure they'll be very good, as the photographer was excellent and Andrew was being a right little poser. He's certainly not camera shy and after getting over his initial inhibitions played up to the camera like a pro! Me and Jenny hid at the back trying to keep out of shot as much as possible. I honestly don't know why we went along, yes it was a free session but neither of us wanted to go and we didn't really take part nor do we have any intention of buying anything. I'm dreading going back next week already, where we have to look at the shots. "It's okay though, you can pay by interest free credit" they'll say, I'll just hope I don't have to talk and try and get by with minimum embarrassment.

Over the weekend, I did some work examples, revised and practiced test questions. I did go football training on Sunday morning (the match was cancelled so I went along) but I missed our work pub night. £1 gets you 3 drink vouchers and despite the choice of venue (revolution on the high street) a good night is generally had by all. I've managed to avoid the last 3 by coming up with poor excuses. I don't know why this happens (despite them being poor excuses, all 3 were genuine couldn't make its) as the people who are my mates at work all go. Maybe next time, eh?

Football tonight, but no new Lost until next week's 2 parter. I can't wait for football, should be good. I think we have 9 playing, so I hope I'm on the 4. Get a proper run around that way. However if anyone wants a game, Westfield Community College 6pm. I probably won't have a sunderland top on(but I will have sunderland shorts on). Now I need to think of things to do for the rest of the week.

And it was mint. It only took 10 minutes and, unlike when I'm walking, I actually felt like I'd put a bit of effort in. I was at a leaving do for my boss last night. Just a few drinks in O'Neills. Didn't stay too long. Just a couple of hours, but had a good time. It was nice a cool on the walk home too. I can't really stand the heat, so it's good when it's not too hot. Read for a bit before going to bed. I had a decent enough sleep although I was up twice in the middle of the night for baby stuff. Straight back to sleep when done though.

Got another do tonight, a girl from work is going to work for the foreign office. She's been awaiting clearance for about 6 months and has finally been given the go ahead. I'll probably go home at about 8 though because otherwise I'll be there 'til the finish and that could be messy. No plans for the weekend. Couldn't afford to go to Derby, so I think I'll sit at home and listen to the game on the net. Dunno what Sunday will bring as I'm not playing football. I might go to the driving range in Oxhey for a practice.

to catch up with everyone's blogs when I've been away. Now that I've done that, I thought I'd get back to writing mine. I had a long weekend. My train to Newcastle on Friday was delayed, eventually Leaving London at 10:15, and after a quick change at York I got to Newcastle at about 2am on Saturday morning and Jenny picked me up from the station. As I'd been bored whilst waiting at Kings Cross I bought 2 books, both by Danny Wallace Join Me & Yes Man (due to a buy one, get one half price WHSmiths offer). I'd considered buying yes man a few times(having read "Are You Dave Gorman" in which Danny is co writer), but decided I couldn't be bothered. I thought Join Me was a brilliant read. I'm not normally given to openly laughing whilst reading, but I'll admit to having a bit of a chuckle on the train. I wonder if we have any joinees on the SMB? Yes Man is a continuation of Danny's life after Join Me, and is shaping up just nicely. There are a few moments where the story gets embarrassing for him, and I don't really like embarrassing bits. No idea why, but I never have done. Must be a mental thing. It's also why I didn't like Meet the Parents.

The train journey itself was a pain in the arse though. I had a right gobshite( and obligatory thick girlfriend) sat behind me on the train, and he talked all the way to York . He was telling his friends about the number of foreigners living 50 to a 3 bedroom house and engaging in the practice of "'hotbedding". Apparently "They come over here, and live in a big house. Some work days, some nights and those that work days (presumably 25 of them) have beds at night and vice versa. They pour all their earnings into a collective pot and when they have enough money buy a business for one person. This person continues to contribute to the pot until everyone has a business." Obviously there's some slight paraphrasing there, but surely this is bollocks? His girlfriend kept chirping in with backup stories that essentially presented this information as FACT. Maybe it wasn't really that bad, but I was tired and trying to read. Perhaps I'm being overly critical, and I haven't done any research into the practise of hotbedding. He could be right, I suppose, however unlikely.

On Saturday I was awake at 11, and finally saw Andrew. I think he was a bit shocked at first and didn't want to say hello. We had a play a bit later on after he'd got used to me being there again. I went to a wedding. It was... just like most weddings, and the speeches were excellent. And short. Which was also excellent. I caught the second half of the England game in the hotel bar, had a couple of expensive pints then rejoined the party. Pretty much a typical wedding day and that's it for this year weddings wise.. phew.

Went to see my Mam on Sunday. She greeting us by telling me "You've put loads of weight on". Canny start there mother. My Dad has gone back to work for the first time in about 15 years (he had some toes amputated after getting a blood clot and wasn't particularly mobile for a long time) and was in bed recovering. My niece was in the park somewhere and didn't come and say hello. The dog is still alive. I keep expecting her to be gone whenever I come home, but she's still going. She really stinks, but apparently they can't get the smell to go away no matter how many baths she has. i don't know why my Mam and Dad haven't moved out of the centre of Sunderland. My Mam works in town, but that shouldn't really make any difference. I'm sure that if they sold up and moved to somewhere cheaper, they'd be able to have a better quality of life. Doesn't look as though it's going to happen, and they'll continue to struggle on. Got back to Jen's Mam and Dad's later, and learned (in a manner of speaking) to play 3 blind mice on Andrew's glockenspiel/xylophone type thing

Monday, and after doing pretty much nothing all day we set off back to Watford at 8pm. Andrew slept all the way (near enough) and we got back around 1am. He did spend quite a lot of time inspecting things when we got back. Bit of a waste of a days holiday.

Tuesday, and we went to B&Q. Bought a shelf and took it home. No fixings. Mint. Went back to B&Q, bought some fixings. Got home, I now need a 14mm drill bit. I think that the phrase I'm looking for is "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail". I asked a mate if he had one available, and he said what kind? What do you mean what kind? The something to put in the end of a drill and put holes in a cheaply made plasterboard or similar wall kind! He said no. I now have to begin the search for said bit. I think I'll hide the shelf in the cupboard and pretend that the problem has gone away.

Yesterday and work was a bit rubbish. Had a look on the board. Some threads on Steve Irwin's death, a man who helped me underachieve in my final year. I mean what would you rather do? Telecommunications 2 lectures or watch someone wrestling a croc and poking a deadly snake. In retrospect, I wish I'd gone to more lectures as I've developed an interest in the stuff I did in my degree which I didn't have at the time. Still, when you've got a hangover the discovery channel topped off with a bit of diagnosis murder generally does the trick. I actually saw a bit of diagnosis murder last week. I'm farly certain it had a vampire in it. Time to go Dick, time to go . Not many footy related threads and to be honest, I'm not really that arsed at the moment.

Had training last night. 8 hardy souls, and I've decided not to sign on this season. £40 joining fee and then £4 a game. Apart from the fact that I can't really afford to sign, the lack of interest and application in training p*sses me off. How do people expect to improve and/or compete if they don't practice? I love training, always have so I can't understand why people don't want to turn up. Some players have Saturday football as well, and also train on a Wednesday night so I can forgive them for not turning up(higher level and all that) it's just that it's generally the poorer players who don't make it(excluding me as I'm there all the time, and still sh!te). In the end we did a bit of crossing (poor), a short run (tiring) and ended with a 4 on 4 using bags as goals. I am a bit of a twat when it comes to moaning. I can't help it if I don't think people are playing fair(they had someone standing in front of the bag at all times), however my moans worked as we won 4-3 after trailing 3-0. I missed the England game as we don't have Sky, but watched the highlights on Match of the Day. The Northern Ireland game looked tremendous

Picking up a new bicycle today, in a few minutes in fact. Better have some dinner!

And they do 3 tapas menu items for £4.95. Very nice indeed. I plumped for Meatballs, Chicken Croquettes and spicy potatoes. Very nice, and filling too so now I have to negotiate the final 2 and a bit hours of work feeling very sleepy indeed

Monday night played football and lost 16-3. An absolute disaster playing wise for all concerned. It could've been a lot more but for some very brave keeping from our goalie. I'm going to assume that the lads in the other team were semi pro standard, as they are much better than anyone I've faced Sunday league level around here. Got home and played a few games that I haven't had time for recently.

Last night I had what I will refer to as a sad night. Sat at home on my own I watched "Nausicaa and the valley of the wind"(in Japanese with English subtitles) . I really enjoyed it  and I may take in "Porco Rosso" (where the fuck do they come up with these names?) tonight. I also watched Lost, which, despite nothing ever happening really, has me hooked.

I've got football training tonight though, so maybe I can avoid strange Japanese animation, and then after that England are playing so hopefully I won't be sat in front of the telly(at home) all night again anyway. It depends on who I secure to pick me up / drop me off afterwards and whether they will be watching the game at a public house.

I think I might leave work a bit early today, as I have to go to the shops. I've become addicted to Jordan's Country Crisp Honey Clusters. They're very flapjacky, and I finished the box this morning after having a bowl for supper. Dunno if Sainsbury's sell them, but I can't be arsed going down to Tesco. I don't know if I'll Crunchy Nut cornflakes and toast takes too long to cook and eat before work. I could try getting up half an hour earlier, but that would entail going to bed a bit earlier.

Do I need to mention that I still have no internet at home

I've had a long day already today. Up at 5:30 to do the 'man stuff (grrr) - checking the oil, water, tyre pressure and wash', prior to Jenny's drive up north. Tidied up the inside of the car a little bit, made her some sandwiches etc... They finally got going at about 7:40 which wasn't too bad really, and I've just heard that they got past the M25 before the rush hour crush and are safely on their way. They should be in Northumberland by mid afternoon and I now have 3 weeks of the hard life having to cook and erm clean  for myself. This has the added drawback that I'll be able to go out drinking and carousing whenever I please, and I'm going to invest in some golf clubs.

The weekend was a long slog though. Friday night we discovered that there is a new Budgens, which is even closer than the Spar (and cheaper) and bought a pack of belgian beer. Andrew decided that this would be the weekend where he'd play up with his sleeping routine, and it was 10pm before he finally settled. I watched a bit of that laws of the playground. Had an early night.

Saturday up at 9, which is a lie in. Had a hair cut. Then went to Hatfield Galleria.... Some decent shops, but nowt special. I only went to get a suit and failed. We went to Madison's for food, but they had a twenty minute wait for cold sandwiches(!) and no orange juice so ended up at mcdonalds. Got home and wasted the day. Sunderland result put a downer on things. I'd only just found out we'd equalised when I stuck the radio on to hear Plymouth score again. Really spoilt my day.

Sunday 8 o'clock start. Went swimming. Cooked a Sunday roast, which was appreciated by all . Watched the Charity Shield highlights. Jenny went to Planet Hollywood with her sister, so me and Andrew had 4 hours of play. Much harder work than it seems. He's discovered Aeroplanes, so when we went outside for our walk he would point at the sky every few minutes and follow the plane through the sky. Exciting stuff, although it leaves me to play keepy uppy with the red postman pat ball on my own while he does his own thing. He's very interested in how things work and leaves blowing in the wind or trees shaking disturb him.

So far today I've been looking at a work colleague's orbs. She's been on a ghosthunting tour and has been showing us some of her 500+ photos. Even on a weeks holiday I would barely take 50, so that sort of figure is unreal to me. Apparently something grabbed her husbands leg in a pub near haworth, and she stayed the night in Chillingham castle. I'm not sure whether I believe in ghosts or not, but I did have trouble sleeping after watching the grudge. I kept expecting to see a mad scary eyed ghost standing at the bed in the middle of the night. That was the last scary movie I watched.

BT phoned to tell us the reason that they'd stopped our broadband connection was because we were migrating - and it's taken them a week to find this out. Talk Talk don't seem to know what's going on, and I still haven't stolen internet time from my neighbours.

Football tonight, up the Cat & Orange or some other such shite!

it was only Friday (or possibly Thursday).

This is mainly due to my lack of home internet connection,  and being a lazy fecker. Hopefully BT will resolve their problems with our line and I'll be able to get on. I haven't stolen internet time from my neighbours although the temptation is there every time I switch on, with my laptop offering me all manner of open connections. Come on BT, get your act together you useless bastards - It's been a week now. Is it any wonder we're moving to talktalk?

Anyway, that's the why out of the way. So what's happened? Not too much really. Sunderland have lost twice. I went for a drink in London and 'bumped' into some other Sunderland fans . I received a text saying I had tickets for Southend away. I played two games of 5 aside on Monday night( won both games) and am suffering from an exhausting pre season training session last night (It's easy to forget how unfit you are until you tell everyone to run round a field and are expected to be at the front..). My family home becomes a bachelor pad from Monday(for 3 whole weeks!), which basically means I'll be sat in on my own doing bot all .

Sounds great actually.

This afternoon I'm off to the most exciting place in England.... that's right, Luton - for a disaster recovery test  .

Might upload some pics...