This blog sucks

Well it's been a long time. I'm officially back from my longest hiatus since I began blogging, though who knows how long for. It's not even going to be a particularly long entry either. I have been aware of my lack of posting over the last seven months and the guilt has indeed got to me at times, though I just couldn't come up with anything convincing to blog about. And don't get excited, as this post definitely isn't about anything convincing. Rather, I'll just feel a bit better about myself if I finally write something.

Looking back at the last few entries before I disappeared, I can see that once again the media's prediction of a boiling summer (see my post on 1st April) cursed us all and gave us yet another miserable July and August. Every year without fail. And for the record, whilst I'm blogging, I might as well state my prediction that we'll have another brutal winter - lots of snow over late December, Jan and Feb. Mark me on this in a few months time.

I'm nearly done I think. I'll include one mildly entertaining tidbit before I go. I added a girl from work on Facebook months ago and she never accepted my friend request. I'd met her and flirted with her quite a bit and was gagging to look at all her holiday snaps (read: bikini shots). I was reliably informed that she was single too, but it was a lost cause when she never accepted me. So I logged on to FB today and, for once, had a new notification. She had accepted my request, woohoo! My eyes drifted a couple of inches further down the screen so I could catch up on all the goss on my mini-feed... the very first line was an announcement that this girl was now in a relationship. AARGH! Why accept my friend request now you slut!!

Until next time.

Beautiful Day

It's a beautiful day here in London and I'm delighted to say that I'm off work. I'm not suffering from last night's festivities, which included six pints of lager and a large kebab. So my tennis with Loz will hopefully be better than previously anticipated. After that we're meeting a few of the others for a civilised coffee like the yuppies we are, and who knows what after that.

I woke up this morning to find that I've been bitten... on my face. Not good. No scratching this one, no touching whatsoever in case it ends up scarring me and I look like Carlos Tevez for good. I'm hoping it will die down a bit, but at the moment it's pretty red and fresh. Ugh.

Quick entry

I'm going to Watford with the boys tonight and right now I'm waiting for Simon to pick me up. I'm up for copious amounts of drink, but if we end up drifting anywhere near that Oceana shithole I'm off to get the tube home. I'm playing tennis with Lawrence at 12 tomorrow so it might be one of those occasions where I have to grind out a couple of sets, reeking of last night's hooch and struggling to swing the racket let alone get the ball in court. I can't wait.

Double shift tomorrow

I've just got in from work, where the heavens opened upon me just as I the staff bus dropped me off in the car park. I was exposed to the rain for about 1 minute as I ran across the monstrously big car park towards my car, and got duly DRENCHED.

To cheer me up, I have a double shift tomorrow, 0530 to 2230, which should be fun. Especially in a damp uniform.

I guess I should be going to bed about now, but I'm not remotely tired. Alarm set for 0400.

Night folks.

Dominated, but somehow drew

We all know what happened in the match last night so I won't bother writing about Barcelona's breathtaking display in the first 20 minutes. At 60 minutes and we were 2-0 down, I had that all-too-familiar sinking feeling that I'd experienced at the United game last year. Somehow the Arsenal managed to get themselves back into it though, and miraculously we're still in with a chance of qualifying next week.

Why is it so cold at the moment? I thought the weather had turned a corner. Over the last fortnight I've played tennis a number of times in shorts and t-shirt and was looking forward to April, the month which always has a heatwave and makes everyone start predicting the 'hottest summer ever'. Yesterday and today however have been bloody freezing. How is this? What is wrong with this place? And just to cap things off, yesterday I heard the first mention of a record-breakingly hot summer on the cards. Do the weather forecasters honestly think anyone is going to believe this? Three years on the trot they have said this, and all three years have been spectacularly wet, dark and depressing. I'd be more excited if I heard them predict a cold, miserable summer because in all probability it would turn out to be a scorching, unbearably hot August where the very old and the very young all perish and civil war erupts on the streets as the survivors fight for the remaining drops of water.

Until tomorrow.

Arsenal v Barcelona tonight

It's the big day; Arsenal v Barcelona. I'm going to the Emirates with Alex (big thanks for the ticket mate) and Carl, and I think Daz and Loz are going to watch the match in a pub near the ground so we can meet up with them before and after. We're heading down a bit early so we can drain a couple of pints in a Gooner pub in Finsbury Park before ambling down to the ground - the weather is looking absolutely gash however so a soaking could well be on the cards for us. If the club wasn't encouraging people to wear red I'd definitely be wearing a waterproof jacket, though on this special occasion I'm going to have to wear the shirt... but if it's really chucking it down when I leave I might have to reconsider. Weatherwise it's a sobering comparison to last year where I remember going to the Emirates to watch the Villareal game in glorious sunshine donning jeans and t-shirt.

I'll have to let my 'no beer' diet slip today as it's just not the same going to the footy and not drinking pints of lager out of plastic cups in a packed boozer full of people you've never met before but feel like you're best mates with simply because they're in Arsenal shirts. The real challenge for me will be resisting the kebab or fried chicken later in the evening. Be strong J, and come on you Gunners.

Sober night

Damn, I forgot to write an entry yesterday so failed in my ambition to provide daily material after only a couple of days! Not good enough. I have no excuse, it was just sheer laziness so apologies for that.

I just got back from the tennis club where I didn't drink alcohol. It was tough. The temptation was there, goading me every second to ignore my diet and just have one cheeky Magners. Which in all probability would have led to a second, and a third and so on and so on. Vodka and coke simply isn't in the same league as beer and cider in terms of refreshment so I didn't bother with that either. I was also tired from my early shift today and still feeling a bit jaded for some reason. It's been a pretty sobering week since I got back from Malaga and the annoying thing is I can't even put my finger on what it is that's actually hanging over me. Anyway, life goes on.