Schools back, Ana-Lucia is dead and the Hostel was fully booked - 11/09/2006

Schools back and after the joy of a less stressful journey into work for the last month or so the daily grind has returned. You tell yourself at the beginning of the holiday season that you will try not to get used to it but you do and the return to the joy of sitting in traffic is even harder to tolerate. I've tried not to enter Blackheath later, but have and thus can't be sure if this is why I've missed mystery girl or that she's just gone AWOL again. Either way, and to put you out of your misery, I didn't get to see her all week. I know what will happen though. I will get to the stage that I stop looking for her and then she will suddenly cross the road in front of me.

It was the last of the first round in The Contender and thus it was a double bill of fight night. Unfortunately my brother's job forces him to work late on a Monday until 9.00pm. This is just when The Contender starts but I can't watch it without him as the show is intrinsically linked to the two of us, and also my best mate. This then requires a fast but safe evac from Bluewater and back home. We missed the first fight but did catch the second which was great.

Steve Forbes, who looks like a potential winner, was up against Freddy Curiel (sp?) who hadn't fought for about three years. The last boxer that I hadn't seen fight for so long was Gary Baletto in one of the earlier rounds. Gary's aim was off and he did look ring rusty but full credit to Freddy who looked sharp and hungry. Steve might have technically outboxed him but Freddy's heart was amazing. He would soak up punishment and keep on coming. In the first round he was so pumped that at one point he pushed Steve back onto the ropes Ivan Drago style and just unloaded. It was a really exciting fight and although Steve did deserve to win it was a shame that Freddie couldn't have progressed further as his performance was certainly better than some of the others that I've seen. What a great show this still is. The music is great and it really is raw, emotional drama in it's most vivid. These guys really do lay it all on the line and you can't help but feel humbled and thoughtful at the end of it.

Another double bill on Tuesday and this time it was Lost. After last time's disappointment it had some making up to do and it certainly delivered some juicy titbits. Michael returned knackered and worse for wear. He claimed he'd seen the others camp. Henry, the Other guy that they captured, tried to kill Ana-Lucia (AL) and Locke saved her. I hoped this would lead Locke to realise that he couldn't trust him but it didn't immediately. AL got herself a gun to kill Henry but couldn't do it. Michael offered to do it for her and then amazingly shot AL and also Libby when she accidentally came down into the hatch for some blankets. I must confess to having a jolting moment of surprise and I applaud the makers for that. AL died almost immediately and Libby lasted to the end of the episode but didn't get a chance to say who had killed her. Michaels reason's are strange. Has he been turned, was he made to do it to get back his son or has he done it to ensure that Jack and co will be fuelled by hatred to wipe out the others. Intriguing stuff and with I believe only two more episodes to come feel we could be coming up to a nice cliffhanger. I won't mind a cliffhanger as long as they give me something juicy to chew on over the break.

In another plot twist Locke and Mr Eko went into the forest following one of Eko's dreams and found another hatch. In this one it was revealed to Locke that they were basically typing in the numbers purely as part of an observed social experiment. The hatch Locke and Eko were in had secret cameras to theirs and other hatch's, which you couldn't see, and after watching an Orientation video it was clear that the initial purpose of the hatch was that of an experiment. Mr Eko still believed they had a purpose, citing some religious mumbo jumbo but I think Locke was having doubts. I do hope he tells Jack about it and not continue the annoying act of not telling other people pertinent information until it is absolutely necessary.

A good double bill and it certainly delivered some surprises, not least of all in the killing off of two main-ish characters. Ok they might have only been introduced in this series but it still reminds you that the makers aren't afraid to do it, which is certainly encouraging.

Had a bit of a Halo resurgence during the week. With my forthcoming birthday I thought I'd treat myself to the second volume of the Halo 2 soundtrack. I realise that will ratchet up my geek rating by a good few points and am prepared to take that on the chin. The first volume was good and had some decent pieces but it did suffer from my pet hate of 'music inspired by' tracks that were not needed. Four 7-10 minute pieces by Incubus for pity sake! In the second volume the composer has basically taken all the music from the game and arranged it into an assortment of suites. I loved the music during the game and I think playing it will serve me well when I eventually get round to writing down my thoughts on Halo 2.

We called Thursday 'Big Thursday' this week as there was a lot to get done and due to breaking the back of it by lunchtime lashed out on a KFC. Needless to say I enjoyed it though there was a tinge of guilt. I have decided that I'm really going to hit back the gym and dieting after my birthday and use Barcelona as a focal point, just like I did with Las Vegas last year. Until then fuck it and I'm gonna eat what I want. State of Trance was ok but a little forgettable if I'm honest and I seemed to mooch around the net aimlessly. Sometimes the net can really make you feel connected to the world and other people but other times it can seem the loneliest place in the world and this was one of those times. I headed home late and maybe because of the way I was feeling wasn't 'blatting' it. A police car pulled in behind me on this one piece of dual carriageway and then flashed for me to pull over. Dammit. I didn't get out as it was a busy dual carriageway and waited for the officer to approach the passenger window.

He cautioned me on my slight over speeding and asked where I was going and where I was coming from. It's funny how I wouldn't say I have anything to be nervous about with the police but I do start over analysing everything I say when I'm talking to them. I told him where I worked yet at the same time seemed to look around the car for a business card to prove this. You then panic by thinking that you've just displayed a clear body language sign of guilt by looking away at the moment of telling him where you work. He asked if I'd been drinking and then wanted me to lean over and breathe on him. At first I didn't hear him right and he had to repeat it. Thoughts raced in my head 'Is my breath ok, thank god I'm chewing fresh gum but will he think I'm trying to disguise my alcohol breath'. He verbally cautioned me again and then bid me good night. What do I then say 'Thank you, sorry, you're doing a great job'. If you are too polite you sound like you are being sarcastic, too laid back and you sound disrespectful. I pulled away and drove slowly while they hung on my tail. I had only been a couple of miles over but needless to say was very grateful for not receiving any points or fines.

At the beginning of one of Armin van Buuren's state of trance's is a song called Breathe. It's a remix and it is excellent. The lyrics always sound really good but as it is a little fast it proves hard to accurately hear them all. While listening to another radio station on Friday we heard the original, slower version. It's by a singer called Anna Nalick and is a very thoughtful song. I've always found people quoting song lyrics really pretentious but I'm going to have to do the same now by quoting part of the chorus of this song:

'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table

No one can find the rewind button, boys, So cradle your head in your hands, And breathe...just breathe'

Good lyrics and a great song, particularly the remix. I would wax about what they mean but I guess lyrics are open to interpretation so I won't cloud yours with mine.

Fish and chips that night and brother and I grabbed a couple of DVD's. The first was The three burials of Melquido Estrado starring Tommy Lee Jones. He had directed this and apparently it was this gritty sleeper hit. I thought I'd take a chance on it but wished I hadn't. It was tedious, slow and boring. Granted it was very good at painting the grim, depressing nature of a Texas border town but it didn't go anywhere. I think we lost it when after his mate has died, he digs back up the corpse to take him away and bury him in Mexico, quickly sets him on fire to remove ants, fills him up with antifreeze to prevent quick rot and then attempts to comb his hair and it falls out. Man it was like a straight version of Weekend at Bernie's and nearly sent me to sleep. In the end I had to fast forward it which I hate having to do.

We followed this with Hostel which certainly woke us back up. This was a lot better than I had expected. The advertising had effectively made it out to be 1 1/2 hours of people being tortured, which it wasn't. It had a story and you did engage with the characters. Some of the deaths etc were horrifying and gruesome and it contained genuine tension. It also posed some interesting questions in the horror of seeing people paying to inflict pain on innocents but how then the audience are screaming for the painful death of the afore-mentioned torturers. A good film but one that certainly won't do anything to encourage travel to eastern European countries.

Decided to forgo the gym again on Saturday. Maybe I was being lazy but I made a good case to myself that to really feel the benefit of the big push after my birthday this was a worthwhile sacrifice. Headed up to the shops and decided to do it listening to my nano, which I wouldn't normally do. It felt funny, making me feel even more enclosed in my own little bubble. Without the distraction of other sounds it felt like your eyes managed to take in even more people watching and the sense of detachment was palpable. I was going out that evening for another friends birthday but was flying without my brother or normal wingman. I confess to being a little wary of it as I had a moment of doubt when I thought I could not be as entertaining without them by my side. I needn't have worried, a bath, a poor man's fondue and I was out of the door. There was only 8 of us out, with two more joining later and I got in some black aftershocks to get the night moving along.

We moved on to our normal place which has a dance floor downstairs and headed down. I wasn't drinking but the music was good and I started to feel the need to 'shake it on down'. Granted the feeling of dancing in treacle for those first few songs is even worse when you are sober but I love that cheesy 70's/80's stuff and the quicker I get going, the quicker I can get others going. I'm all to aware of my faults but I do think that one of my strengths is getting the party going. I might come across as an annoying, attention seeking tart but if people are laughing it's a start, this leads to gentle goading and then eventual dancing. It was nice to be out with a bunch of friends who I haven't been out with for some time and we seemed to slot very quickly back into our old routine and banter. Danced and laughed until 1.00 when the place kicked out and then I ran everyone home in two journeys. Needless to say there was no female interaction. I was conscious of getting observed by a couple of girls but there wasn't anyone that made me want to make the leap, especially when I was out with my rarely seen chums. Got in and feeling hungry as well as non tired, due no doubt to my long lie in and numerous cans of Red Bull decided to fire up the chip pan. If there is nothing wrong with a double cheeseburger and tea at 3.00 am then what could be wrong with egg and chips and a glass of milk at 2.00am? The extra ballast in the stomach helped me sleep and at the moment that ain't no bad thing.

Watched Hitch again on Sunday. Still a funny film, certainly at the beginning when Albert is trying to woo Allegra but it does remind me of ones inability to find someone really worth getting excited about. It also doesn't help as it tries to push through the myth that nice guys really can get the special ones. I was discussing recently with a friend that maybe my inability to get anyone is a stick that I deliberately like to beat myself with and/or that I deliberately have this notion of a fairytale romance because deep down I'm too scared to actually want a proper relationship. Whatever the notion it was good to see the dancing in the film, particularly at the end credits when Albert does the slide through Will's legs. Killer move.

Motogp was in Malaysia and Rossi won again. Granted his skills on taking Capirosi on the last lap are impressive but it the certainty that he will always beat someone if level with them on the last lap that does become plain boring. You can see the mind games he plays with people yet come every last lap and they always seem to leave huge gaps for him to fill with some skilful passing move.

Saw Way of the Gun again later that night. What a cool film this is. I don't have a film that I like Benecio del Toro in more and the partnership between him and Ryan Phillipe is so well played with a genuine 'less is infinitely more' approach. It's clever, intelligent, credits the audience with some common sense and has some of the best gunplay and shoot outs put onto film. This is due in no small part down to the directors brother being an ex Navy SEAL who trained the actors in the art of gun handling. The director actually wrote the Usual Suspects and it's a real shame that he hasn't done any other films since.