Reflecting on the past... well, however long it was anyway.

Well it comes to another half-past two in the morning, time for me to sit back and write a nice little blog entry. Alot has happened in the past week and a bit. I think the balls started rolling in my life again on Wednesday afternoon, having handed out C.V's to various bars in Harrow. I got a phone call from O'Neills, one of a chain of Irish themed bars, situated in Harrow town centre, requesting they see me for an interview at midday the next day. The next day I went along and met Rach, my would-be boss for an interview which lasted a mere ten minutes. When we were finished she said she had a couple of other interviews to do that afternoon, and would be in touch in the evening.

Three quarters of an hour later and I had the job. Did the other people not turn up to their interviews? Were they unsuitable for bar work? Were they the social rejects of society? Who knows. Suffice to say, something happened that meant I was good enough for them. Isn't it amazing how quickly the tables change. But a few moments before I was unemployed and desperate. Now I am employed and, well, not desperate. I am feeling rather good about the whole thing. I worked on Thursday evening at 7pm until just gone midnight, learning the ropes of how to pour pints and how to use the till. Suffice to say, I am learning at a pretty decent pace. As for pouring pints, well, I think having been going in the local back in Stapleford since I was 8 means I have picked up a thing or two just through observation, as I am learning quickly. Of course I have made a couple of mistakes. My most blatant one as of late being arsing up doing the shamrocks, that is to say, drawing a clover in the head of a pint of Guinnness. I think I will be giving that little trick a miss in the future. I totally fail at that. Aoife suggests I use a cocktail stick or umbrella, rather than do it the fanciful way.

I worked again on Friday from 8pm until about 3am, only collecting glasses mind you as O'Neills gets pretty busy on Fridays and Saturdays. It then closes at 2am and it takes us about an hour to clean up and close up after that. Suffice to say I was knackered, but won't be doing bar work on one of these evenings until my co-workers feel I am confident enough to work the till with the drunken hordes massing at the bar, hungry for their alcohol. For the time being I am on floor duty, which is collecting glasses and cleaning spills as well as dealing with broken glass. Which doesn't help when drunken twats insist on being total sodding cunts and dancing all over the glass when everyone else has moved aside, generally making life more difficult for everyone, just because they can. *seethe* See, I know how bar staff feel already, I am beginning to empathise.

I then worked on Sunday for four hours, but it was pretty dead and doesn't give much to report on.

OH Yes! On Friday I got to see Miss Appleeton! That's Charlotte to you lot. She recently moved into her new flat, which just so happens to be Ross Tilley's, the former head of News and Web on Smoke Radio. I don't know what happened to his previous housemates, but I can only assume they were third years who moved on, up and out. But, lets hope Ross finds the time to include her in one of his Vlog entries in the not-too-distant future. She seems to be doing well for herself with a new male Welsh friend, and is liking her room. Hopefully I will see more of her soon. Hopefully I can have her and myself drop in on Danielle too. Then when Phil arrives, the madness will ensue!

I think that just about wraps up the past week. I am working again Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so maybe you can look forward to a nice exhausted post come Sunday, unless I am totally knackered and in some kind of deep coma and/or sleep.

3 Adiscombe Close - The Update.

So as it happens, for a short time we had a rodent issue. A Rat to be precise. No, not a Siberian Hamster. 3-4 days in total I would imagine we had it living with us. However today we got it resolved so if all goes well I won't be dying alongside my housemates from the black death anytime soon. I first suspected it's presence on Thursday when I swore I head a squeak and scuffling from somewhere in the kitchen. However, I thought nothing of it, thinking it was just the floorboards or something and went on with my business. However, the following evening, Aoife saw the little bastard in the flesh. My only regret is that I didn't suggest we make rat fricassee. Take a live rat, marinade it in a puddle. For how long? Until it's drowned. Then, stretch it out under a hot light bulb and gobble it down quickly so you don't have to taste it.

The Landlord came ovet today and not only had his handy-man mechanic fix the faulty gas hob, but also paid him £88 for looking inside our dish-washer to tell us how broken it was. We now have two options. Either pay £90-£130 to get a new motor with our Landlord paying for the labour, or scrap it. I am hoping we can hang onto it long enough until we can afford to repair it aka. when we all have jobs.

Apart from helping the Landlord shift the kitchen units so he could get behind them and patch up the holes where our little furry friend came from, today has been very much inactive. But I have had to be in really, to resolve said household issues. But this has had its downsides, as it has meant I have been home alone for a large portion of the day. Chris has been out entertaining his sister Katy in London before they went to see Muse at Wembley this evening which I am a little disappointed I didn't see coming before it was too late. Sounded like it would have been awesome to see. Pete was out for a while with Siobhaun getting his Dad a Fathers Day present and his Mum a Birthday present and was back briefly before going out with Dan to meet up with some old friends of theirs in Harrow. So muggins here has indeed been home alone.

But when Chris and Katy got back at least they were sociable. We played Smackdown Vs. Raw 2007 on the PS2, and I got horribly, horribly thrashed by the pair of them whilst Chris got totally ruined by his sister. Which was a treat to behold. Bless their cotton socks. Better there socks than mine though, mine seem to be constantly acquiring holes! Either its my massive feet, or the Rat. I am going to blame the Rat. Stupid Siberian Hamster!

3 Adiscombe Close - The First Week

So the first week living in my new home draws to a close. It's been pretty good. Have had plenty of company with Chris, Pete, Aoife and Siobhaun popping in and out too. We've also gotten a fair few things out of the way and done with. However there are still lots of things over the horizon that need sorting. Contents insurance, TV Licenses, Dishwasher Repairs, Rent, Bills and a Job to pay for them all.

As you can no doubt tell at this point, we do indeed have Internet. It was installed on Friday and the Router arrived this morning along with the new desk for my computer to sit on in my room. Suffice to say, the one that I used briefly before hand yesterday was bollocks. This was confirmed when me and Pete were trying to move it from my room to the front bedroom downstairs so the newly-built desk could go in. It fell apart. I'm lucky it didn't fall apart WHILST my computer was on it. But now I have a sturdier, totally sexual desk with a glass panel which serves no purpose beyond aesthetics.

Me and Pete finished off the Lounge on Sunday afternoon, neatening up the surround sound so we get high-quality audio coming from the Radio as well as the TV, including the video games and movies that go through it. Speaking of video games, we have plenty of consoles to keep us going, but not nearly enough games to justify them all. I have contributed my PS1, Chris his PS2 and Pete his Gamecube, although Pete does also have an N64, SNES and a NES tucked away in his wardrobe. I will coax these out of his room soon enough. Retro gaming all the way!

The furniture in the lounge isn't bad either. We have a coffee table and seating for five with some very comfy leather sofas, and suitable storage for DVD's, Music and the like. Pete's also brought his 26" TV along, which is, in a word, sweet.

But enough of the material! What of the housemates? Good company. I get lonely when nobody else is in, which fortunately has only been twice so far. Abandonment issues if you will. Last time I was alone I went for a walk round the area, but I hope I can chat to Danielle, Fflur and the other girls who live practically round the corner so I get visiting privileges. They're more than welcome here anytime. Aoife too has indeed been a good housemate albeit temporary, she makes herself useful, is a laugh and more importantly, keeps Chris in line without me having to resort to violence. Well, not much.

Siobhaun has been here frequently too to visit Pete also. It'd be like I was a fifth wheel all over again, but I'm not. Sure I might roll my eyes and groan when they get all mushy and romantic, but they're all my mates. And you know what they say about friends being the family of the 21st century. It means I can take comfort in the fact they're all incestuous pigs.

*snigger*

Punting on the Camb.

One thing anyone should do, should they happen to visit Cambridge on a sunny summer's day, is to punt on the Camb. The Camb of course, being the river that gives Cambridge it's name, and runs through the city and its historical, University centre. You can also take a punt down south from the city centre out into Granchester, a pleasant village on the edge of the city, more or less, except for the fact that Jeffry Archer lives there.

Wikipedia has a very nice article with sections that focus entirely on Punting in Cambridge which you can find here.

It is indeed fair to say that the majority of peopele you will see punting on Camb are younger people including students, and tourists. But wether you are watching, or are infact one of these, you can always guarantee inexperience is the key to hilarity.

I happened to go on such an excursion today and as you might be able to tell by my style of typing, it is this whistful nostalgia that has made my style of writing, that little more reputable. I am so horribly middle classed, and its especially noticable on home soil. But, I did go with that equally less reputable chap, my best friend Rob. Myself, him and our friends Craig, Aron and Rob's girlfriend Charlotte and her friend Claire hit the waters on something of a whim. I was nominated for propelling the thing. Despite some initial clumbsiness, bouncing from bank-to-bank, I managed to even out my course in the end, sticking to the middle of the water. Aron and Craig tried to rock me into the water, but I have a good sense of balance. However, I did manage to propel myself into a bush of brambles and thorns, and scarcely missed going into a bank-full of nettles. Oh yes, and then there was the rowing boat we kept either crashing into or having to move around at the last minute.

All in all, a good day out!

The Busiest and/or Worst Week of my Life

As some of you may or may not know, I have recently searching for a house in which to live during my 2nd and hopefully my 3rd year of University. I did originally find a property in North-West Harrow with my housemates which we came very close to moving into, only to have it fall though (not literally) due to an issue concerning a crack in the conservatory wall caused by subsidence. The insurance claim had already been made with an insurance company that wouldn't accept students, and thanks to a little thing called 'the law' once a claim has been made, it cannot be cancelled. Suffice to say myself and my housemates-to-be were gutted, as were the landlords and estate agents who we'd all met and who'd taken a shine to us. But, that's life I suppose.

So on Tuesday morning of last week I woke up with a mega-hangover (still a little drunk at first I admit) and the news of losing my house. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday were spent looking for and finding a house, in which much bickering did occur between myself, Phil, Chris and Pete - and concern that we might be left without a roof over our heads, all of this caused by the immense hangover left over from the night before.

Now, I don't remember a lot of Monday night, but what I do know is this. At some point or another, after crossing the boundaries of beer no longer making me any more pissed than I already was, I moved onto drinking Vodka Redbull, which I am ashamed to admit I was drunk enough to drop on my chair between my legs, missing my crotch thankfully, but giving me a moist bum and thighs. It was soon after this, Cenay Said arrived at our table, armed with her shot belt laced with Sambuka. Now, Cenay is a very attractive and very sweet girl. You just want to give her a cuddle every time you see her. I was drunk enough to piece together a logical plan with the help of Peter, to keep her at the table, looking pretty. Buy shots. I bought Sambuka. It is at this point, that it becomes very difficult to tell you what happened on Monday night. My friends tell me, that they had difficulty getting me to bed, and when they finally did, I ran at them to close my door... naked.

Thursday was spent packing my things up and delivering them home in a round trip to Cambridge for brief storage, before having to get back to London in time to meet my Radio Lecturer and the Smoke Radio Team in central London for a meeting at 6:30. Suffice to say I was late, but luckily didn't miss anything too important. We then went on to dinner at Pizza Hut, before popping back to Halls of Residence briefly to get some warm clothes, then go back into Central London with Hannah Menzies and her lot to celebrate her 20th Birthday. At some point she got drunk enough to think herself a Jedi Knight. May the Force be with her, always.

Friday was spent cleaning and partying into the early hours to wrap up my year in halls and my first year at Uni, followed by 2 hours sleep and a tube journey to Kings Cross on the Saturday, with four bags of possessions for my train home to Cambridge. You always know a party was good when the Police and Fire Service turn up, which they did. When I got to Cambridge, the station was the busiest I have ever seen it, as it was Strawberry Fair on Saturday - the annual arts, crafts and music festival that draws an audience of chavs, goths, hippies, punks, families, students and other sorts to get pissed in the name of Summer. A second exit from the station was set up, where Police from the British Transport Police funneled several hundred people through two metal detectors and past a sniffer dog in what they called 'part of an anti-knife campaign' when blatantly they were there to stop people skipping train fairs and bringing drugs into Cambridge.

But now, as I will be moving into my new home (fingers crossed) within a couple of days time, it may well take a fair while to get the Internet up-and-running in my new home. So, as of next week, if all goes to plan, I will not be around to blog, facebook, or surf the net in general for a while. So if you have any messages, email, comment or facebook me. In the mean time, I intend to get as much rest as possible, ready for the big move.