Well once again there's no proper post - this is mainly because I've been doing pretty much nothing apart from labelling bags at T5 the last few days. I did play darts tonight, and managed to beat Gareth in a first-to-eight legs game, which I'm happy with. He was nailing the trebles but just couldn't finish, whereas I was always coming from behind and snatching legs by quickly getting the double.
I have a few ideas in the pipeline for a decent, better-than-your-average-blog-post post, so there definitely will be one coming soon!
I'm tired so I'm going to bed - thanks for reading
-J
Wednesday 30 April 2008
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Need to be up shortly
I have to get up at 4.30am tomorrow, so it's another early night for me. Today's shift dragged a bit but was ok on the whole.
Manchester United just beat Barcelona to get into the final of the Champions League, which was depressing viewing. Oh, and Henry was shite, Arsenal don't need him to come back like the media says might happen!
I finish early afternoon tomorrow so a proper update will be on the cards, I mean it!
Manchester United just beat Barcelona to get into the final of the Champions League, which was depressing viewing. Oh, and Henry was shite, Arsenal don't need him to come back like the media says might happen!
I finish early afternoon tomorrow so a proper update will be on the cards, I mean it!
T -11
Doing the day shift today so should be able to do a proper update later.
In quite good spirits this morning because yesterday was alright. That means today will probably be a nightmare and this evening I'll be saying I want to quit.
Ok, I'm off!
-J
In quite good spirits this morning because yesterday was alright. That means today will probably be a nightmare and this evening I'll be saying I want to quit.
Ok, I'm off!
-J
Monday 28 April 2008
T -12
I'm working a later shift today, finishing at 2115, which is still 12 hours away. I'll have to leave in a bit.
My colleagues and I are always saying to each other 'T minus 4' or 'T minus 7 hours and 13 minutes', so I thought I'd name this post appropriately.
Ugh, I can't blog properly with a shift weighing on my mind!
That'll have to do for now!
-J
My colleagues and I are always saying to each other 'T minus 4' or 'T minus 7 hours and 13 minutes', so I thought I'd name this post appropriately.
Ugh, I can't blog properly with a shift weighing on my mind!
That'll have to do for now!
-J
Sunday 27 April 2008
Football punt
I've backed Chelsea to do the Premiership/Champions League double at a price of 12.48 on Betfair.
Saturday 26 April 2008
Snooker Bet
I've had a small bet on Wenbo to win the World Championship at 28/1, another bet inspired by KickingBets.
The weekend is here :-)
Another week of ups and downs has passed, and I'm sure next week will be more of the same. Expect posts where I'm on the verge of quitting, where the day before I was perfectly happy, yadda yadda.
Yesterday was another half day at work where we just discussed what we'd learned so far doing the shadowing. We also got a talk from an 'authority' on T5, who was working there on its opening day. He said it was the worst day of his career, and one of the worst days of his life. He was close to jacking in a 20-year career on the spot. The funny thing was, this little tale was told as just an aside during his presentation on how 'brilliant' Terminal 5 is supposed to be! The whole talk was about BA's values and all that corporate BS, and after every bullet point he had to say, 'well obviously this isn't the case but I'm paid to give this presentation, so I'll give it'. As an example, the very first slide of the presentation was as follows:
The Customer Promise
- Speed through the airport
- Depart on time with my bag
- Lounges for premium customers
That's enough BA chat for now. Afterwards I went out for drinks with a few of my colleagues, which was good fun.
Today, I'll probably play a bit of poker, guitar, maybe some tennis and darts, and hopefully go out for drinks with the boys later on. Again I'm itching for a bet, but unsure where to look. I woke up this morning at 7.30 and couldn't get back to sleep. That's still a two-hour lie-in! Getting up early has really transformed my body clock, it's such a big difference from sleeping in until 11 every morning for eight months with nothing to do.
Ok, I really need a coffee. Thanks for reading!
-J
Yesterday was another half day at work where we just discussed what we'd learned so far doing the shadowing. We also got a talk from an 'authority' on T5, who was working there on its opening day. He said it was the worst day of his career, and one of the worst days of his life. He was close to jacking in a 20-year career on the spot. The funny thing was, this little tale was told as just an aside during his presentation on how 'brilliant' Terminal 5 is supposed to be! The whole talk was about BA's values and all that corporate BS, and after every bullet point he had to say, 'well obviously this isn't the case but I'm paid to give this presentation, so I'll give it'. As an example, the very first slide of the presentation was as follows:
The Customer Promise
- Speed through the airport
- Depart on time with my bag
- Lounges for premium customers
That's enough BA chat for now. Afterwards I went out for drinks with a few of my colleagues, which was good fun.
Today, I'll probably play a bit of poker, guitar, maybe some tennis and darts, and hopefully go out for drinks with the boys later on. Again I'm itching for a bet, but unsure where to look. I woke up this morning at 7.30 and couldn't get back to sleep. That's still a two-hour lie-in! Getting up early has really transformed my body clock, it's such a big difference from sleeping in until 11 every morning for eight months with nothing to do.
Ok, I really need a coffee. Thanks for reading!
-J
Thursday 24 April 2008
All day on the job
Today I did a full shift of shadowing in the terminal, with one of the babes from yesterday. Spent most of the day sat on the check-in desk for unaccompanied kids, which was empty for 99% of the time, so I learnt nothing there. However, had some good banter there with colleagues I met today and the time went quite quickly. I did spend a short while in the thick of it dealing with passengers, but not enough really. There's nothing I could have done about that; my job today was to shadow an agent for the duration of their shift, and that's what I did. Next week is 100% shadowing, so I should chalk up my experience with passengers/computers then.
T5 is pretty damn quiet at the moment, because there are no school holidays and the long haul flights aren't moving there until summer. It's also absolutely enormous, so that makes it seem even quieter because the passengers are spread out all over the place. I've been warned however that summer is going to be total carnage, and that I should enjoy the relative peace while I can. In spite of this, I was still speaking to people today who'd been shaken up pretty badly dealing with furious customers. It appears that it's pretty much sink or swim. I'll just have to sit it out until I get my first 'conflict', which will probably be next week as tomorrow I have a day in the classroom again.
My poker-playing targets are falling way below par. Regular readers will remember that I set myself a goal of earning as much additional income as possible from poker, but at the moment I'm just constantly tired and never feel like playing. Forcing myself to play would be obviously stupid, so for the time being I'm only getting the hands in at weekends, and even then it's not that much. I'll just have to wait until I get into some kind of routine before I start playing a decent amount.
My eyes are already feeling heavy, and it's only 7.30 and bright sunshine outside. At least summer is on its way.
More soon folks
-J
T5 is pretty damn quiet at the moment, because there are no school holidays and the long haul flights aren't moving there until summer. It's also absolutely enormous, so that makes it seem even quieter because the passengers are spread out all over the place. I've been warned however that summer is going to be total carnage, and that I should enjoy the relative peace while I can. In spite of this, I was still speaking to people today who'd been shaken up pretty badly dealing with furious customers. It appears that it's pretty much sink or swim. I'll just have to sit it out until I get my first 'conflict', which will probably be next week as tomorrow I have a day in the classroom again.
My poker-playing targets are falling way below par. Regular readers will remember that I set myself a goal of earning as much additional income as possible from poker, but at the moment I'm just constantly tired and never feel like playing. Forcing myself to play would be obviously stupid, so for the time being I'm only getting the hands in at weekends, and even then it's not that much. I'll just have to wait until I get into some kind of routine before I start playing a decent amount.
My eyes are already feeling heavy, and it's only 7.30 and bright sunshine outside. At least summer is on its way.
More soon folks
-J
Wednesday 23 April 2008
A mixed day
I've just got back from my first day at T5, and my whole body is absolutely knackered. I've been on my feet the whole day apart from about half an hour. And just for good measure, I have to get up at 4.30am tomorrow.
As I was walking to the tube station in the morning, I passed a dead hedgehog which was lying in the middle of the road. As I crossed, I went over and looked at the poor thing, and it barely looked damaged. It was just lying there, its little legs all stretched out, but nothing looking broken or out of place. However, it was obviously dead, and I walked on. I couldn't get it out of my head though, and about thirty metres further on I turned back and looked at the little ball lying there. For some reason, I felt absolutely terrible and kind of felt a lump in my throat. I had some feeling that there was something I should be doing, but wasn't doing it. I wondered if I should move it to the side of the road so that cars didn't pulverise it, but then I imagined all the schoolkids kicking it off the kerb and jumping on it and God knows what. I did nothing, and for the whole train journey I felt incredibly guilty.
The first half of the day at work was shit. We had a tour of the terminal which went on for far, far too long. It was SO boring, and people kept saying to me, 'James, you look bored out of your mind' or 'this is so interesting, isn't it James' (when they were actually interested). The food services in the terminal are shocking, and all I ended up eating was 5 donuts, that's for the whole day. A single glass of lemonade from a bar had to do to keep me hydrated, and now I have a splitting headache probably due to the fact that there's barely any moisture left in my body.
So, when we returned for our brief at the start of the afternoon session, I was barely listening to what was said. I was 100% de-motivated and entirely convinced that I'd finally realised this job wasn't for me. At one o'clock, I was more or less totally expecting to NOT be in tomorrow. My thoughts returned to the hedgehog, and I was thinking of doing some voluntary work for the RSPCA. That way I would still be doing something even if I had no income, and it would at least be making me feel good about myself.
It's fortunate that I stuck out the rest of the day. We shadowed some staff around the terminal, and I was lucky to bag myself a place at the First Class hosting desk with two smoking hot girls who had only started a couple of weeks ago. In this instance, all 'hosting' meant was asking any passengers approaching the First Class check-in area if they were travelling in First or if they had a BA Gold Card, and then waving them on when they said yes. These passengers only arrived about once every fifteen minutes, so the rest of the time was just chatting with these babes. I'm aware that this is a very unrealistic impression what life in the terminal is going to be like, but it did very nicely for today! One of the girls agreed to let me shadow her for tomorrow, so hopefully that should dampen the drag a bit (cue a post tomorrow about how shit work was and that the girl I worked with was a total bitch....)
So, I have at least one more day at BA in me.
Off the subject of work, I got rid of the little verification thing that you had to fill out in order to leave a comment (thanks TalkBet for suggesting that).
Jesus, it's nearly half six and I have to be up in ten hours. Aaaaargh
Ok folks, thanks for reading.
I still feel awful about that hedgehog.
As I was walking to the tube station in the morning, I passed a dead hedgehog which was lying in the middle of the road. As I crossed, I went over and looked at the poor thing, and it barely looked damaged. It was just lying there, its little legs all stretched out, but nothing looking broken or out of place. However, it was obviously dead, and I walked on. I couldn't get it out of my head though, and about thirty metres further on I turned back and looked at the little ball lying there. For some reason, I felt absolutely terrible and kind of felt a lump in my throat. I had some feeling that there was something I should be doing, but wasn't doing it. I wondered if I should move it to the side of the road so that cars didn't pulverise it, but then I imagined all the schoolkids kicking it off the kerb and jumping on it and God knows what. I did nothing, and for the whole train journey I felt incredibly guilty.
The first half of the day at work was shit. We had a tour of the terminal which went on for far, far too long. It was SO boring, and people kept saying to me, 'James, you look bored out of your mind' or 'this is so interesting, isn't it James' (when they were actually interested). The food services in the terminal are shocking, and all I ended up eating was 5 donuts, that's for the whole day. A single glass of lemonade from a bar had to do to keep me hydrated, and now I have a splitting headache probably due to the fact that there's barely any moisture left in my body.
So, when we returned for our brief at the start of the afternoon session, I was barely listening to what was said. I was 100% de-motivated and entirely convinced that I'd finally realised this job wasn't for me. At one o'clock, I was more or less totally expecting to NOT be in tomorrow. My thoughts returned to the hedgehog, and I was thinking of doing some voluntary work for the RSPCA. That way I would still be doing something even if I had no income, and it would at least be making me feel good about myself.
It's fortunate that I stuck out the rest of the day. We shadowed some staff around the terminal, and I was lucky to bag myself a place at the First Class hosting desk with two smoking hot girls who had only started a couple of weeks ago. In this instance, all 'hosting' meant was asking any passengers approaching the First Class check-in area if they were travelling in First or if they had a BA Gold Card, and then waving them on when they said yes. These passengers only arrived about once every fifteen minutes, so the rest of the time was just chatting with these babes. I'm aware that this is a very unrealistic impression what life in the terminal is going to be like, but it did very nicely for today! One of the girls agreed to let me shadow her for tomorrow, so hopefully that should dampen the drag a bit (cue a post tomorrow about how shit work was and that the girl I worked with was a total bitch....)
So, I have at least one more day at BA in me.
Off the subject of work, I got rid of the little verification thing that you had to fill out in order to leave a comment (thanks TalkBet for suggesting that).
Jesus, it's nearly half six and I have to be up in ten hours. Aaaaargh
Ok folks, thanks for reading.
I still feel awful about that hedgehog.
Tuesday 22 April 2008
I live to fight another day
Well I got into work this morning, got a bollocking for failing yesterday, then did the re-sit and came out alive. To celebrate... into Terminal 5 tomorrow. Will try my best not to dread it, and might go out tonight for some darts with the boys.
The weather today has been quite nice, and it's about time. This time last year we were in the middle of an incredible heatwave. However, I'd gladly swap a colder April for a normal/hot summer rather than a repeat of the washout from last year.
My moan for the day: having to wear a coat to work in the morning because it's chilly, but then having to carry both my coat and jacket on the way home because I'll roast otherwise. You just can't win.
That's all I think, just a short post today. Thanks to those of you who have been leaving feedback, it makes my day!
-J
The weather today has been quite nice, and it's about time. This time last year we were in the middle of an incredible heatwave. However, I'd gladly swap a colder April for a normal/hot summer rather than a repeat of the washout from last year.
My moan for the day: having to wear a coat to work in the morning because it's chilly, but then having to carry both my coat and jacket on the way home because I'll roast otherwise. You just can't win.
That's all I think, just a short post today. Thanks to those of you who have been leaving feedback, it makes my day!
-J
Monday 21 April 2008
The end is nigh?
Well I failed that other assessment, which is bad news. I have to do another one tomorrow, and if that doesn't go well then it is unclear what will happen. There were papers handed round at the beginning of the course stating that performing unsatisfactorily in the assessments would result in 'immediate dismissal', though them firing me would be pretty crazy as I'm one of the biggest contributors in the group and I've still got 88% in both the tests I've failed (the pass mark is 90%). Nevertheless, if I drop another bollock then this could still be the end of the line.
I know I've been moaning a lot about the job, but it would still be a shame to end up in the gutter again after only a few weeks.
As with a lot of my blog posts I'm not entirely sure where this is going, though I like to use this as a tool to write my thoughts down and it helps clear my head sometimes. I know that many bloggers do this, and some even say that it helps them sleep at night because they don't have as many thoughts flying around through their minds.
I've just thought of something that I want to write about some time soon, and that's 'professional' bloggers. Believe it or not there are people out there who actually make a lot of money from writing their blogs.
Well, that's a few things written down that are on my mind. Two posts in one day, lucky you guys!
I know I've been moaning a lot about the job, but it would still be a shame to end up in the gutter again after only a few weeks.
As with a lot of my blog posts I'm not entirely sure where this is going, though I like to use this as a tool to write my thoughts down and it helps clear my head sometimes. I know that many bloggers do this, and some even say that it helps them sleep at night because they don't have as many thoughts flying around through their minds.
I've just thought of something that I want to write about some time soon, and that's 'professional' bloggers. Believe it or not there are people out there who actually make a lot of money from writing their blogs.
Well, that's a few things written down that are on my mind. Two posts in one day, lucky you guys!
Half day at work
The assessments I had today at work were a pain in the ass, but at least I got to leave shortly after lunch. I know I passed one of them, and I'm waiting on a phone call to hear about the second one, which was the harder of the two. I need 90% to pass it so just one small slip-up and that's going to be me in a majorly bad mood again.
I've had a small bet on Obama to win the Pennsylvania Primary after reading the latest update on KickingBets (link on the right).
I might head down to the tennis club later to throw some darts, though that will depend on how tired I'm feeling.
That's all for now.
-J
I've had a small bet on Obama to win the Pennsylvania Primary after reading the latest update on KickingBets (link on the right).
I might head down to the tennis club later to throw some darts, though that will depend on how tired I'm feeling.
That's all for now.
-J
Sunday 20 April 2008
Obsessed with darts
Over the past few weeks my mates and I have been following the Premier League Darts with a keen interest. We began gambling on it and playing a bit ourselves, and this has flourished lately into a full-on obsession - and I've got to say I'm loving it!
Last night Covey, Lawrence, Daz and I played for over four hours straight, and Daz was playing INCREDIBLY. I mean, seriously well. He scored 180, the only time I've seen anyone do it, and absolutely destroyed me and Covey before Lawrence turned up. It sounds pathetic, and it is, but I was genuinely sickened by how well he was playing, hahaha! The rest of us were playing well, but Daz killed us, completely and utterly. The real test though is whether he will ever play like that again, which I must say is pretty damn unlikely! I'll probably be made to look back on this post and eat my words, but never mind. If that happens, Daz could actually have a stab at becoming a darts ringer, the standard was that high. Anyway, enough about darts.
I ended up not having any bets yesterday after all, there was just nothing out there that tickled my fancy. Might have one or two today, or maybe not. I've already played a bit of poker and that went well, but my roll is still depleted a bit after the downswing of the last fortnight or so. The rest of the day will consist of my usual routine... a mixture of coffee, cards, guitar, maybe some more darts.
Tomorrow, back to the grind at work. It will be a big day, and I will finish it either pretty happy or extremely angry/down. Basically I have to do some stuff that will determine if I pass the training course, and to be honest it could go either way. I know the others on the course are studying their brains out at home, but I just can't/won't do that. Last week I spent at least 60 hours out of the house due to work, and I'm not bringing it home with me as well.
Right, I need another cappuccino.
PS. I was reading back through some of my recent entries, sorry for the typos. Guess I should really proof-read this stuff but hey ho
Last night Covey, Lawrence, Daz and I played for over four hours straight, and Daz was playing INCREDIBLY. I mean, seriously well. He scored 180, the only time I've seen anyone do it, and absolutely destroyed me and Covey before Lawrence turned up. It sounds pathetic, and it is, but I was genuinely sickened by how well he was playing, hahaha! The rest of us were playing well, but Daz killed us, completely and utterly. The real test though is whether he will ever play like that again, which I must say is pretty damn unlikely! I'll probably be made to look back on this post and eat my words, but never mind. If that happens, Daz could actually have a stab at becoming a darts ringer, the standard was that high. Anyway, enough about darts.
I ended up not having any bets yesterday after all, there was just nothing out there that tickled my fancy. Might have one or two today, or maybe not. I've already played a bit of poker and that went well, but my roll is still depleted a bit after the downswing of the last fortnight or so. The rest of the day will consist of my usual routine... a mixture of coffee, cards, guitar, maybe some more darts.
Tomorrow, back to the grind at work. It will be a big day, and I will finish it either pretty happy or extremely angry/down. Basically I have to do some stuff that will determine if I pass the training course, and to be honest it could go either way. I know the others on the course are studying their brains out at home, but I just can't/won't do that. Last week I spent at least 60 hours out of the house due to work, and I'm not bringing it home with me as well.
Right, I need another cappuccino.
PS. I was reading back through some of my recent entries, sorry for the typos. Guess I should really proof-read this stuff but hey ho
Saturday 19 April 2008
End of week post
Yesterday was a bit better at work, and I followed it up with a few drinks with some of the cooler colleagues. After that I met a few of the boys at the RE which was good, and it was nice to finish the week with a few beers. That was definitely the worst week so far. Next week if things go as planned I should be introduced to Terminal 5, which is pretty quiet at the moment apparently. So an interesting seven days lie ahead.
I haven't played any poker at all this week and I've only had one bet (the darts disaster), so I'm itching for some action today. I've found that since I halted trading, my Betfair balance has slowly been creeping up (not much, better it's better than a kick in the teeth). Perhaps I'm just better at 'betting' rather than trading. Or maybe I've just been getting lucky. In any case, I'll always be a gambler so it doesn't really matter.
So, plan for today. I think I'll play some tennis this afternoon, and then go to the Woodman for a bit to play some darts with the old man. Before all that, I'll have a strum on the guitar and think about what to have a bet on. I'll probably fire up the old poker software at some point too. Then tonight, hopefully a few drinks with the lads.
Thanks for reading
J
I haven't played any poker at all this week and I've only had one bet (the darts disaster), so I'm itching for some action today. I've found that since I halted trading, my Betfair balance has slowly been creeping up (not much, better it's better than a kick in the teeth). Perhaps I'm just better at 'betting' rather than trading. Or maybe I've just been getting lucky. In any case, I'll always be a gambler so it doesn't really matter.
So, plan for today. I think I'll play some tennis this afternoon, and then go to the Woodman for a bit to play some darts with the old man. Before all that, I'll have a strum on the guitar and think about what to have a bet on. I'll probably fire up the old poker software at some point too. Then tonight, hopefully a few drinks with the lads.
Thanks for reading
J
Thursday 17 April 2008
Failed mug punt
I joined the lads tonight for the weekly darts gambling, and unfortunately the accumulator bet failed at the first hurdle this time. Bloody Terry Jenkins, that's twice he's screwed us on the very first tie of the evening!
I missed the Apprentice last night and planned to watch it today, but it was ruined for me by the media. Everywhere I went I just couldn't escape it - people were talking about it on the radio (I heard about the dismissal on more than one station) and it was all over the trashy free London newspapers on the tube.
Work this week has been very very bad. I went to the Pro Evo session at Alex's last night and I was in an absolutely foul mood. A few weeks from now, I really don't know if I'll still be in the job (and that won't necessarily be just down to me).
Ok folks, that's all for now
I missed the Apprentice last night and planned to watch it today, but it was ruined for me by the media. Everywhere I went I just couldn't escape it - people were talking about it on the radio (I heard about the dismissal on more than one station) and it was all over the trashy free London newspapers on the tube.
Work this week has been very very bad. I went to the Pro Evo session at Alex's last night and I was in an absolutely foul mood. A few weeks from now, I really don't know if I'll still be in the job (and that won't necessarily be just down to me).
Ok folks, that's all for now
Monday 14 April 2008
Warning: grumpy post
This might turn out to be one of my vintage grumpy/whingy posts, so thought I'd better warn you. Today was the worst day so far at work, very long and very boring. Twelve hours from leaving the house to getting back in. I wouldn't have a problem with that if it was for more money, but every day I spend working I feel more and more that the job is worth way more than the staff get paid. In all seriousness, each staff member has the ability to completely cripple BA flights out of Terminal 5 with just one mistake on the computers. That's not an exaggeration, and the mistakes could happen easily. BA is fined a grand for every minute that one of its flights is late, so delays are a serious problem. All it takes is for someone to forget to enter a passenger's personal details onto the system and a plane can be impounded at the airport. That's just one example of how a simple error could cost BA a lot of money. Really, the capacity for human error is huge, yet the staff get paid a ridiculously low amount.
I was discussing this with one of my colleagues today, and she said that the computer-aspect of the job is actually bringing her close to tears, just in the classroom. I'm not quite that bad, but today was the first day where I seriously thought about quitting at some point along the line. I told her that I thought there is about a 40% chance of me quitting within two weeks of moving into Terminal 5 (not quite sure how I came up with that figure, but it's close). She pleaded with me not to, but said she totally understood. Incidentally, she also got a 2:2 at university and only went for the BA job out of desperation.
I'm aware that I might sound like a prick for complaining about a job at a well-established global corporation with decent career prospects, but that's how I'm feeling at the moment and this is my blog, so hey.
Anyhow.... a 40% chance of me quitting within 2 weeks at Terminal 5 equates to the following odds:
1.6 that I haven't quit by that point
3.5 that I will have quit by that point
Anyone interested?!
I was discussing this with one of my colleagues today, and she said that the computer-aspect of the job is actually bringing her close to tears, just in the classroom. I'm not quite that bad, but today was the first day where I seriously thought about quitting at some point along the line. I told her that I thought there is about a 40% chance of me quitting within two weeks of moving into Terminal 5 (not quite sure how I came up with that figure, but it's close). She pleaded with me not to, but said she totally understood. Incidentally, she also got a 2:2 at university and only went for the BA job out of desperation.
I'm aware that I might sound like a prick for complaining about a job at a well-established global corporation with decent career prospects, but that's how I'm feeling at the moment and this is my blog, so hey.
Anyhow.... a 40% chance of me quitting within 2 weeks at Terminal 5 equates to the following odds:
1.6 that I haven't quit by that point
3.5 that I will have quit by that point
Anyone interested?!
Sunday 13 April 2008
Another week at work looming
It's Sunday, and I'm staring down the barrel of another week in a classroom at BA. Three more weeks of training and then it will be a life of six days on, three days off. It's all so exciting isn't it. Actually I don't know why I'm starting off on this note, because I'm not in a bad mood. Anyway, there you go.
Yeah, so the early starts are probably going mean that I'm going to miss some good fun with the boys this week. There's a Pro Evo tournament scheduled for Wednesday which will be a guaranteed great night. Then there'll be more darts betting on Thursday which will also be a shame to miss, but I just know that if I go along and put my money in then the bet will lose. So that leaves me living like a hermit during the week, and having to come up for air at the weekend and hope that something is going on. It's been ok so far, so hopefully that can continue. God knows what will happen when I start working shifts, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Anyway... yesterday I ended up not going to that party but going to Rayners Lane for drinks with Daz, Al, Gary and Tom. The highlight/lowlight was a fight breaking out in the pub, where a couple of chavs got smashed by a larger group of guys. It broke out near the bar and moved all over the pub, before ending near our table when one of the chavs got layed out. At one point I thought they were actually going to spill over our table, and we all stood up getting ready to take evasive action. Thankfully it didn't, but it still got all our adrenaline running. We soon left to go somewhere else, but came to the conclusion that Rayners Lane is a shithole and gave up. I got a kebab with Daz and saw an ambulance and police van outside the pub on our way back past. Nice area.
Well, that's all for now folks. Thanks for reading.
Yeah, so the early starts are probably going mean that I'm going to miss some good fun with the boys this week. There's a Pro Evo tournament scheduled for Wednesday which will be a guaranteed great night. Then there'll be more darts betting on Thursday which will also be a shame to miss, but I just know that if I go along and put my money in then the bet will lose. So that leaves me living like a hermit during the week, and having to come up for air at the weekend and hope that something is going on. It's been ok so far, so hopefully that can continue. God knows what will happen when I start working shifts, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Anyway... yesterday I ended up not going to that party but going to Rayners Lane for drinks with Daz, Al, Gary and Tom. The highlight/lowlight was a fight breaking out in the pub, where a couple of chavs got smashed by a larger group of guys. It broke out near the bar and moved all over the pub, before ending near our table when one of the chavs got layed out. At one point I thought they were actually going to spill over our table, and we all stood up getting ready to take evasive action. Thankfully it didn't, but it still got all our adrenaline running. We soon left to go somewhere else, but came to the conclusion that Rayners Lane is a shithole and gave up. I got a kebab with Daz and saw an ambulance and police van outside the pub on our way back past. Nice area.
Well, that's all for now folks. Thanks for reading.
Saturday 12 April 2008
Downswing
I'm on a downswing at the moment in poker, which sucks. I've also found that I've been going on tilt a lot easier since I've started work. It's definitely affecting my game, which isn't good. I come in and play really short sessions because that's all I've got time for, and one bad-ish beat just sets me right off. I know it's happening and quit, but I still just can't win a thing. It's even more annoying when I sit down and I know I'm focused and playing well, then the other guy outkicks my trips and bang, my game is destroyed. Not good.
I think I'm off to someone's birthday party this afternoon, and it's pretty sunny so that should be good.
I'm still pretty angry about poker though, hopefully it will wear off in a bit.
Oh yeah, the boys stuck another accumulator on the darts last week and won again, this time a lot more. I missed out on the action because of work, which sucks majorly. Apparently they're getting a bit of a reputation in the bookies. Maybe we can become professional darts punters (if not players). Maybe I should stop this stupid dreams.
As you can probably tell, I'm still in a bad mood. I'm not sure where this post is going.
Ugh.
I think I'm off to someone's birthday party this afternoon, and it's pretty sunny so that should be good.
I'm still pretty angry about poker though, hopefully it will wear off in a bit.
Oh yeah, the boys stuck another accumulator on the darts last week and won again, this time a lot more. I missed out on the action because of work, which sucks majorly. Apparently they're getting a bit of a reputation in the bookies. Maybe we can become professional darts punters (if not players). Maybe I should stop this stupid dreams.
As you can probably tell, I'm still in a bad mood. I'm not sure where this post is going.
Ugh.
Wednesday 9 April 2008
Work....
Yeah, so I haven't been blogging much this last 10 days or so and apologies for that. Thing is, I really haven't been doing anything blogworthy. My typical day since I started work involves getting up at 5.30am, grinding out a day at BA and getting back in the front door at about 5.30pm. The work has actually been semi-enjoyable, it's just the lengthy days that are stopping me from doing anything else. In fact, most days I don't even feel like playing poker, which is saying something. I've just been sitting and playing the guitar for most of the time, which is all I can be bothered to do.
Tonight I should really play tennis as the season is coming up and apparently I'm going to be playing in a pretty decent team this year, but my body just doesn't feel up to it.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, which will hopefully give me my weekly fix of alcohol-fueled banter with the boys. My liver must be wondering what the hell is going on; it's gone from being doused in beer six nights a week to just once very seven days.
Right, I'm going to see if I can grind out a few $ at poker.
Will try to update soon.
Tonight I should really play tennis as the season is coming up and apparently I'm going to be playing in a pretty decent team this year, but my body just doesn't feel up to it.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, which will hopefully give me my weekly fix of alcohol-fueled banter with the boys. My liver must be wondering what the hell is going on; it's gone from being doused in beer six nights a week to just once very seven days.
Right, I'm going to see if I can grind out a few $ at poker.
Will try to update soon.
Tuesday 8 April 2008
Crushed
The Liverpool v Arsenal Champions League semi-final just finished, and it's the worst I've felt after a football game for a long time. Absolutely devastated. I'm looking forward to the end of the season; this year has been one of too many highs and lows and I need a break. Thankfully England aren't in the Euros, that would have been too much.
Proper update soon :o(
Proper update soon :o(
Tuesday 1 April 2008
Luck and Success
Thanks to the person who commented on the last entry; I appreciate it.
So far the job has been ok, I've finished my second day and at the moment I'm in a relatively good mood. My mind has also been dwelling a lot on money, success and so on, so I thought I'd have a go at writing that entry I promised on 'luck and success'. Here goes then.
Think of someone who has been financially successful. By sucessful, I mean hugely and unquestionably successful, for instance a self-made billionaire. Now, I think that when society views such a person, there are two main schools of thought. One is a kind of admiration of their accomplishments, and the other is a feeling that somehow that person got lucky. So which school is correct? I'd argue that both have a point.
I haven't drafted this entry so it's probably going to read a bit disjointed, though hopefully you'll be able to get the gist. I'd say that to become truly successful and achieve serious wealth, you simply must put a lot of hard work into whatever it is that you do. There is no getting around this, and it is not a comment to be taken lightly. 'Hard work' means A LOT of work, maybe for years, even decades. However, at some point, the hard work will present the person with an opportunity to take some kind of chance. Therefore they have put themselves in the position to get lucky, which is the key point of this entry. If they don't get lucky, so be it, and they will continue to reap the rewards of their hard work. If they do get lucky, then huge rewards can result.
The conclusion, I guess, is that nobody gets super wealthy without taking a risk. Sure, you can get a lot of money by playing safe and running a solid business. But I think that in most cases, billionaire businessmen have taken some kind of huge chance(s) in their career and have come out on top. The biggest winners in life are those who go out there and do it.
A quote from Theodore Roosevelt might be slightly appropriate here.... 'It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, at least falls while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.'
Where is this going, I hear you ask. I don't know. It's definitely not some thinly-veiled advocation of gambling. Rather, the concept has been on my mind lately, and I just thought it would be interesting to discuss. As always, feedback is welcome.
Thanks for reading.
PS. I can't be bothered to proof-read this so sorry for any typos / bad spelling)
So far the job has been ok, I've finished my second day and at the moment I'm in a relatively good mood. My mind has also been dwelling a lot on money, success and so on, so I thought I'd have a go at writing that entry I promised on 'luck and success'. Here goes then.
Think of someone who has been financially successful. By sucessful, I mean hugely and unquestionably successful, for instance a self-made billionaire. Now, I think that when society views such a person, there are two main schools of thought. One is a kind of admiration of their accomplishments, and the other is a feeling that somehow that person got lucky. So which school is correct? I'd argue that both have a point.
I haven't drafted this entry so it's probably going to read a bit disjointed, though hopefully you'll be able to get the gist. I'd say that to become truly successful and achieve serious wealth, you simply must put a lot of hard work into whatever it is that you do. There is no getting around this, and it is not a comment to be taken lightly. 'Hard work' means A LOT of work, maybe for years, even decades. However, at some point, the hard work will present the person with an opportunity to take some kind of chance. Therefore they have put themselves in the position to get lucky, which is the key point of this entry. If they don't get lucky, so be it, and they will continue to reap the rewards of their hard work. If they do get lucky, then huge rewards can result.
The conclusion, I guess, is that nobody gets super wealthy without taking a risk. Sure, you can get a lot of money by playing safe and running a solid business. But I think that in most cases, billionaire businessmen have taken some kind of huge chance(s) in their career and have come out on top. The biggest winners in life are those who go out there and do it.
A quote from Theodore Roosevelt might be slightly appropriate here.... 'It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, at least falls while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.'
Where is this going, I hear you ask. I don't know. It's definitely not some thinly-veiled advocation of gambling. Rather, the concept has been on my mind lately, and I just thought it would be interesting to discuss. As always, feedback is welcome.
Thanks for reading.
PS. I can't be bothered to proof-read this so sorry for any typos / bad spelling)
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