5.12.06

Looking for boots, getting drunk and getting barred - 13/11/06

And so another week began. Driving into work on the space saver was not ideal so I set about trying to track down another tyre. A guy I knew who used to work at the Rapid Fit section of my local Ford garage had moved to be manager of a local Kwik Fit. I had told him I would always track him down and use him as I liked and trusted him. Unfortunately he was off sick for a couple of days and his Kwik Fit didn't have my tyres in stock. The ford dealership that I'd got my brake light from had two in stock so as we were quiet I left work early to head down there to get them done.

It felt strange leaving work early. I've not had a great deal of time off work this year, two days to be exact, and hence it's rare that the office would be open and I wouldn't be there. It did feel refreshingly different though. Got to the garage in good time and got chatting to the new guy in the rapid fit department. He was a really nice guy, only in his early 20's, but we chatted about cars and bikes etc. He showed me how the rim had worn away the inside of the tyre when it was running low and how the tread on the other tyre was getting a little low. I had thought the tyres were going to be £140 each but as they were around £90 I thought it prudent to get them both done. We chatted about other stuff, what he'd done and college etc and he also helped me change the interior light bulb. All in all I felt good about spending the money. It was nice to chat to someone completely different and outside of my normal social circle. At the end he even apologised for it having taken longer than normal but that he'd enjoyed having a natter.

Managed to head off to swimming earlier than normal, which was bearable and not as busy as I'd feared it might be. Followed this by watching the film Hard Candy, which a colleague had lent me. It's a really interesting film about a possible paedophile that is being tortured by this 14 year old girl. As a film it really makes you think and ask questions about yourself as you find yourself feeling sympathy for the paedo and hoping that he isn't the monster that the girl thinks he is. Being effectively just about the two of them alone in the house the film would live or die on the two actors performances and they are both outstanding. For her age the girl does very well though I didn't warm to her character, but I think this was intentional. Excellent thought provoking film.

During the day we had talked in the office about how on the Saturday in the hotel I'd addressed one of the waitresses as 'love'. It was an interesting discussion. Some thought I was being patronising whereas I think it just add's a little warmth to the greeting. It's not like I put my arm around them and call them love but more when I was trying to get her attention. I said 'excuse me' twice before saying slightly louder 'excuse me love'. I wasn't being demeaning but I think it immediately sets a warmer tone when speaking to someone. Naturally I don't do it to everyone but if I'm speaking to certain guys, for instance the guy at the rapid fit tyre place when I phoned up, I would insert the term mate into conversation. Again it wasn't said to be patronising but rather to indicate a lack of stuffiness.

Had a client meeting on the Tuesday and as we managed to make good time getting there popped into a local TK Maxx. My boss had mentioned that lots of people seemed to be wearing Gilet's (bodywarmers) and that I should look at them. Saw a really nice reversible Shott one. Navy on the outside and bright orange on the inside. You know how I love bright, fluoro colours to everyone else's horror but this had a nice balance between the subtlety of the navy colour with the occasional flash of orange. I'd never really considered them before but I gotta say that it looked pretty cool and a very good solution to my issues of keeping warm but never wanting the cumbersome 'where do I put it' of a coat. After having the expense of buying two new tyres my iron also decided to pack up. It was hardly surprising really, the cord had been becoming more and more frayed and I couldn't be bothered to do anything about it, especially after some of the other buttons had broken. I replaced it with a Tefal ultraglide from Tesco's. It wasn't too expensive and I tried to put to the back of my mind the last Tefal that I had. I remember losing my temper with it and literally smashing it to pieces.

Back at the same clients the next day for a pitch we had to do. We had gone in with a more realistic approach bearing in mind what we knew of this clients internal processes but it wasn't what they wanted to hear. Although unworkable and impractical it was obvious they wanted 'bells & whistles' and after the last campaign that we did for them we knew this wouldn't work. We were confident we hadn't won it by the time we left the meeting but still believed that what we presented was entirely the right solution. Back to the office to see that both Call of Duty 3 and Gears of War had been reviewed. COD gained an 8.8 and GOW a 9.4. I read the reviews hungrily and it just inflamed by wish to buy an Xbox 360 at Christmas for myself. The Euromillions lottery still hasn't been won and has now swollen to a huge jackpot of £100 million. I've limited myself to just two lines a week but needless to say the thought of winning has crossed my mind quite a few times.

I ordered an Abba album from Amazon which arrived today. It's called Abba the Album and was the one they released when Abba the Movie came out. My folks were really into Abba when I was younger and even as I grew up I always look back and like how the band members relationships seemed to be echoing what my folks were going through at the same time, notably splitting up. I used to love the song Eagle on the album but my fave was One man, one woman. It was never released as a single but I've always associated it with my dream of that fairytale, utopian relationship that I've wanted. I was singing my heart out to it in the car on the way home

"One man, one woman. Two friends and two true lovers. Somehow we'll help each other through the hard times. One man, one woman. One life to live together. One chance to take that never comes back again. You and me to the end"

Ok it might not inspire many but there is something in those lyrics, the way they are sung and maybe the memories or deluded notion that that kind of relationship was attainable that really strike a chord with me. Hit the gym that night but with my calf still giving me a little gip I limited CV to a good 30 minutes of walking followed by some weights. Polished off the remains of the spag bol from the weekend while I watched The Business. It starred Danny Dyer and had a similar cast to the Football Factory. An entertaining story though I felt the 80's soundtrack was a little overplayed to ram home the message that this was meant to have been set in that time. I don't normally like crime stuff but the characters really now how to sell proper swearing and it's worth watching for just that if nothing else.

Work was quiet on Thursday and I tried looking for some Timberland boots online. I need a pair of decent boots for Barcelona as I can't really do all the neccesary walking in white trainers. Found some nice ones and filled my head with the notion of buying some. Hit my local shopping centre to see what boots they had in, I confess they looked disappointing in the flesh and headed to the swimming pool for another good swim. The pool had been sectioned off at the deeper third for women doing some exercise routine so me and just one other guy had the remaining two thirds to ourselves. Decided I wanted to try and bash in as many widths as I could. Had hit 70 when the ladies aerobics session finished and they put in some full length swimming lanes. Managed to manoeuvre myself into the lanes without stopping or putting my feet down and nailed out 30 constant lengths. By the time I finished I was the only one left in the pool. I was pretty knackered but felt pretty pleased with myself. Got home to see that Risky Business was on with Tom Cruise.

It had been a long time since I'd seen this and it was great to see it again. Tom is brilliant in this film. It's the more grown up, guy left at home film that you always wanted Ferris Bueller to be. I can so relate when he's dancing round the house in his shirt and pants to some rock music. I love the film's message that sometimes you've just got to say 'what the fuck' and the way he says it when the bloke from Princeton comes to interview him and he thinks he's blown it is wicked. Cracking film that really evoked the hopeful, optimistic thoughts that I had when I first saw it all those years ago.

As the exertions of prepping for that pitch had worn off lunch on Friday was an unhealthy KFC. This descent into stodge heaven was compounded with a pizza for dinner with my bro. I was only meant to have a little of his large pizza but they were out of large pizza dough and thus we had to have two medium ones. My pizza choice, as I may have bored you with before is now set at meat feast with mushroom and extra pepperoni. It makes for a realy tasty, meaty, juicy pizza and this evenings was no exception. All washed down with a bottle of coke and a Friday night film.
My bro had bought Groundhog Day on DVD which we'd both seen before and enjoyed again. A really enjoyable film and truly Bill Murray's best ever performance. His character just goes through the whole range of emotions and actions from disbelief at his situation to exploiting it for all he can get to depression and numerous suicide attempts to resignation at his plight and a desire to improve himself. Models I'm sure everything I would do in that situation. I love the moments he has with Andie McDowall and I've always wanted to recreate the times he has dancing under the bandstand and being in the cold, snowy evenings with someone special. It was this film that led to my appreciation of Ray Charles and the song 'You don't know me' seemed so poignant for how I used to feel about women, ie admiring them from afar but never taking any postitive action. So many standout scenes in the film from his interactions with Ned Ryerson, the way he counts down to stealing the money, his stopping of the music with his fist when he's playing the piano and then starts the classical piece which evolves into something else and his weather prediction "I'll give you a winter prediction. It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life" - brilliant.

Passed on the gym again on Saturday and concentrated on upping my game in the swimming pool. Managed to get a quiet time and thus could concentrate on my lengths without too many annoyances or having to swim round people. I did 100 lengths non stop and was really chuffed with myself. When I staggered out of the pool, and I was knackered, I asked how long the lengths were. 25 metres so I must have done 2.5k. I was pleased. Tried to find the Timberlands that I'd been sourcing on the internet in the shops but surprise, surprise no one had any size 10's. Just my bro and I were heading out that night so we went for an early start. Grabbed some fish'n'chips, banged home 1 1/2 shots of Absinthe that proved hard to take down, had a bath and headed up to local town to catch Borat at the cinema. Very, very funny. It wasn't a laugh all the way through but there were plenty of funny things with particular highlights being "she had a vagina like a wizards sleeve" - what a wicked comparison, and the naked wrestling scene which was as horrendous as it was hilarious.
Felt a little drained afterwards but after a few drinks and shots felt myself coming back.

4 orange reefs, 1 1/2 shots of Absinthe, 2 shots of Goldschlager, 2 shots of Aftershock, 1 shot of Baileys, 2 slippery nipples (baileys & sambuca), 1 Red Bull and 4 Archers (peach snapps) and lemonades - was doing my bit for the binge drinking generation!

We drank in a few pubs and then headed to Breeze. Downstairs was ok. There weren't many honeys but it was just good to be in there with my bro. The bar has been such a big part of my social life for the last few years that it was good at last to get him in there. The DJ was on good form and we bought him a few drinks. His girlfriend was in their along with a friend. I've seen his girlfriend before and although don't know her still recognize her face and vice versa. I accidentally trod on the foot of her friend during the night. It wasn't a complete 'stamp' down, I certainly didn't feel myself doing it (as you would) and the dancefloor was very crowded. Naturally I apologised profusely as I always would despite being tipsy but she seemed to get the arse, assumed that I was trying to hit on her and kept throwing me barbed looks all night. I wasn't interested in her and her arrogant assumption that I fancied her hugely pissed me off. Prima donna bitch. Go fuck yourself love. I'm here for a good time and a dance with my brother. If there was a nice girl there then maybe but never with some pretensious cow who believes everyone is trying to hit on her. I tried to ignore her and concentrate on enjoying my night.

Bro and I continued to dance and drink. I chatted to one girl who seemed nice but didn't engage me enough to make me want to make a real effort in chatting her up. All I really wanted to do was continue getting merry and dancing to the cheesy 70's & 80's tunes. I do get animated when dancing when I'm drunk yet I'm still aware of my surroundings. Although I might be singing with all my heart I'm still focused enough to realise when someone is trying to get past me. This girls constant icy stares and huffs and sighs were really beginning to get under my skin now. It's quite a small club and if my presence was bothering her (believe me when I say that I wasn't) she could have moved away. It got to about 12.50 and we decided to head off to pick up our cab that we'd booked. As I walked up the stairs leading from the dancefloor my hand slid along the handrail. As it did I decided to extend my finger to flip the girl the bird. It was juvenile I know but with probably 70 people on the dance floor it was pretty tokenist. Besides bearing in mind my hand was travelling up about two inches parallel to the handrail it was hardly visibly that is was aimed at this arrogant bint.
We left the club and headed over to the car park to wait for our cab. Whilst waiting I noticed this big burly black bouncer that inhabits the club walking over towards me. He stopped about an inch from my nose and made this grand gesture of telling me that were he not working he would rip my finger off for showing it to his girlfriend and that I was barred from his club. I could smell his rather unpleasant breath on my face and was a little taken aback. What, it took me completely by surprise and with that he turned and walked away. My brother started walking after him to have it out with him and I started to chase after my bro to stop him doing anything rash. While this was going on my mind was racing about what had happened and I started to get angry. I didn't mind getting barred from the club, not that it was his club to do so, but being at the receiving end of some little slag running to her bouncer boyfriend saying I'd been nasty pissed me right off. I accidentally stepped on your toe bitch, please don't assume it means I fancy you. You weren't that pretty and if your choice of boyfriend is a lughead bouncer then you also aren't that bright. I felt like I should go and say something to this guy but really what is the point? OK I gave the finger but she would only have seen it if she'd been looking for it and then 'ran' to her boyfriend to tell him and ensure he remonstrate with me. The cab pulled up as I contemplated this and thankfully I got in before I did anything more stupid.

Does being barred from a club make me a bad boy? Shouldn't I be swarming with women now?

Headed off to the Greenwich Penisula on Sunday to see if I could at last find these Timberlands in my size. I could and tried them on but I wasn't convinced. I didn't have that buying certainty of 'I must have them' and decided against proceeding. It was the right choice. I don't want to spend over £70 on something I'm not convinced on. I know when I'll get the right feeling. Although the shops are ok the area is just full of tracksuit wearing chav's and is pretty grim. They've tried to make it all nice and the shops are brand new but the surrounding, low rent, dead end scum make you feel that being in their presence leaves you dirty and needing a bath. Headed over to the McDonalds by the cinema and the feeling continued. While queing I had a rare moment of charity. The queuing structure seemed all over the place and as I started giving my order by bro told me that this young mother to my right was next. I was horrified that I had pushed in as I know my English queing etiquette. I apologised and offered her to go in front of me. The guy behind the counter said he couldn't cancel my order so I asked what she was ordering and added it to my bill. She started to try to give me money, which I refused to take saying it would make up for my perceived rudeness. I think she was embarrased and so was I but I didn't know any other way around it. It didn't help that the assistant began to screw up the order with me having to forcibly tell him to put the ladies cheeseburger and chips in one bag and give to me, which I handed to her, and put the remainder in a bag for me. See, I'm not completely cold hearted.

We headed home afterwards and watched some episodes of the Iraqi war series called 'Over there' which is by Steven Bochco, the guy behind LA Law. It was ok and some of the action scenes were good but the need to put the female soldiers/characters onto the front line where they wouldn't normally be felt forced and contrived. I'm not being sexist, though I don't think a woman's place is on the front line, but there were too many situations where a patrol's vehicle would break down, the female mechanics would come out to repair it and then the unit would be ambushed to ensure that the women were in the thick of it. It also didn't help that it kept flitting back to a character from the pilot episode that had been hospitalized. It hampered the pace of the show and added a level of disjointed-ness to the desert action. Followed this with the Majestic which is by Frank Darabont and stars Jim Carrey. My bro had got it as he believes it's one of Jim's finest roles, which I'd second, and is a nice entertaining film. OK it's not in the league of Darabont's other works of Shawshank and the Green Mile but it's still very enjoyable.

Thanks for stopping by and sorry for the delay in posting. With getting ready for Barcelona and receiving an unexpected gift time has been tight. Talk soon.

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