Rip's Ramble
Life In The Eyes Of...
Feel Free To Add A Comment.
Saturday, August 31, 2002
Sunderland 1 Man Utd 1. I Listened to the game live on SAFC.COM. If you saw the game tonight on ITV then it looked like Man U were doing all the work. Nahhhh, just broadcasting favouritism. I spent most of the second half perched on the edge of my seat. I could have hit my head on the ceiling when Flo scored the equaliser. Such a change in emotion from Giggs scoring in the 7th minute and me wondering if it was going to be 4-1 at half time as it was on a previous meeting :/
Listening to the commentry, it sounded like Sunderland were definatley going for the win. The team were displaying the kind of passion and urgency that attracted me to the team many years ago. The result buggers my bet up I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed for results in the Arsenal and Newcastle games but the win against Leeds on Wednesday and this draw today gives me hope for the season ahead. And yes, in my opinion, Keane deserved to be red carded.
Sunday tomorrow. Once again I'll be strutting my stuff in a fetching pair of black trunks trying to avoid the attentions of palpatating women as Junior and I enjoy our time at the local pool. One observation that I can never understand... How do women go into a swimming pool for an hour or so and leave with ther hair as dry as when they entered?
It's 3am and as per usual, sleep isn't forthcoming :(
Had a good chat on MSN tonight with a close and dear friend from the UK who is away tomorrow (or today even) for two weeks. We met online over a year ago on a games site called Wordox. A bit like Scrabble in that you take turns to place letter tiles on a board, but instead of each letter having a points value, you gain a point for each letter you place. Any tiles you place are colour coded. BUT!! if your opponent uses one or more of your letters in their word, the tiles change to their colour. eg. If you have 5 points after placing the word 'EVENT' and they use one of the 'E's to make 'EDGE', they get four points and you are deducted one, as the 'E' now belongs to them. If you can pluralise or make new words from existing ones, such as placing the S of 'STAMP' at the end of 'EVENT' then you get the 5 points for STAMP and the 5 points of EVENT. Confused? I didn't think so ;) You can download the game and register here, then have a go. BTW it is for 2 to 4 players at each of 150 tables in a room and there are 3 rooms to reflect ability. When I play, I go into the 'UNRATED' room, cos I not that gud @ spilling. The site has a choice of games, but wordox is my fave.
I spent a couple of hours tonight on the site of Douglas Corpy. They have a historical Photo Gallery which holds a handfull of nostalgic photos (surprise surprise). I try and catch up on Council meetings too from time to time on the Council Minutes pages (and I still have trouble sleeping???)
I also visited the Betinternet site tonight for the first time. It is an Isle of Man based online gaming company with no tax or charges. Register online, leave a deposit of £10 (minimum. All major plastic accepted) and place your bets... The prices are shown in a simple format as the amount you win if your selections come up based on a £1 bet. None of this 13/8 or 6/5on nonsense. A warning at this point. Betting is a fast way to loose money. I registered, but know the game well enough to know that you should never gamble with any money that you will miss. Don't ever be fooled into believing that you can make back money that you loose. If you do win, then great, but if you don't, you should NEVER assume that your luck is due a change. I deposited £20 because I have a little extra cash this week. I picked 3 football teams that I hope will win (Sunderland, Arsenal and Newcastle) and placed a 7 way £1 bet (ie costs me £7) If 1,2 or all 3 teams win, I will collect upto £132.08, but if they all loose, I will be £7 poorer. and the amount by which I am poorer is far more important than the amount which I stand to win. It saddens me when I see people in shops buying a scutch of scratch cards, or pouring money into a fruit machine then winning a bit back and pouring the winnings straight back in to try and get back what they are down. betting is gambling. More loosers than winners. I treat it as a flutter, a bit of fun.
A quick "HI" to Stavros. An old friend from ManxNet Forums who one day I hope to meet and share elbow space on a bar with... On second thoughts.... ;)
Thursday, August 29, 2002
I work on Prospect Hill in Douglas and I drop Junior off at the childminders on my way to work in Onchan. My working day is 9:30 to 4:30. I don't like the thought of paying £15 to £20 a week to park at a "Pay and Display" nor the hassle of free disk parking for two hours then nipping out to move the car and trying to find another parking place. My solution? Park the car up for the day just outside the start of the disk zone, then jump on a bus to ride the last mile. It's been luvley this week, so a couple of mornings I've had the time so have walked into work (15-20 mins). Going home tho' I catch the bus as time is a tad tighter to go fetch my boy.
This afternoon, as the bus drove along Woodbourne Road, it stopped just before York Road traffic lights. As it set off, I stood and walked forward to alongside the driver ready to alight at my stop. I was stood beside him for a good 10 seconds, so I wondered as the bus stop grew closer why he wasn't slowing down... All of a sudden, he hit the brakes and swerved towards the side of the road. As the bus drew to an abrupt halt, the driver turned to me and grunted "The bell works you know" (???)
Now considering that the powers that be tell us to use public transport more, and there is no way on this earth that the driver couldn't have been aware of my presence and intent to leave the bus, I felt a bit annoyed at this drivers actions and attitude. I cannot ever recall a time when I have rung the bell to alert the driver previously, why was this journey so special? It wasn't that long ago that an elderly passenger sitting in her seat was injured by abrupt braking. I intend to take this matter further...
Tonight has been sat infront of the telly (after Juniors bedtime). Starting work for a building company has rewetted my interest in selfbuild. I love this house, it's location and my neighbours, but I may need to consider the need to move at some point in the future. House prices over here are excessive to say the least, so if there is a way to reduce costs, it is worthy of consideration.
Time for sleep, Sweet dreams :)
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
Am I happy tonight? You bet your fluffy green socks, I am :) Leeds 0 Sunderland 1 :)
Blackburn vs Liverpool was on the telly so I watched that, but with a close eye on the Sunderland Homepage and flicking on and off Sky Sports News. So happy, I just sent an email to "You're On Sky Sports" to relay my contentment :)
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Just get this ironing fixation out of the way... Lesson 1. Don't iron the trousers you are about to put on when there is a hungry cat nearby. Especially when cat choses a particular method to grab your attention.
Spent the day familiarising myself more with the computer at work and ringing support to undo errors that are obviously the fault of the software. I laughed while walking through the office for my interview that the higher up the ladder people are, the bigger their screens. I looked at my desk with it's 15" monitor... Hmmmm.
I should know that when ringing suppliers for prices that I should get them to clarify the units that they are working in. To me, "one fifty five" is £155. Luckily my boss noticed the suppliers mistake when my order for 108 items popped up on his screen exceeding the expected £167.40. I'm glad it isn't MY money I'm spending ;)
Came home with an urge to listen to Chas n Dave and take my medication. Otherwise evening has been relatively "normal" Junior was in his usual cheerful mood. I love seeing his face light up as he runs towards me when I enter the house :) Moments like that I relish and know that I should never take them for granted. It will be a sad day indeed if I ever come home to a "Hi dad" as he brushes past me...
Monday, August 26, 2002
First day in new job. I didn't apply for this job, I was phoned at work and told that there was a position to be created, was I interested... My last job involved supplying equipment to various sectors of the building trade and someone quite high up remembered the excellent service that I gave a couple of years ago. I have had dealings of course since then, but it was the early days that helped me. (Another of life's mottos: "Be nice to people today cos you never know when or where you'll bump into them again...") Anyway, to cut a long story short, he invited me to submit a CV and attend an interview. Next day he phoned me to let me know that my offer of employment was being typed up. The job will be mainly desk based, as link between the building sites and the companies various suppliers Island and UK based. The computer system is pretty extensive but since installation has never been refined. ie loads of excess unnecessary info and loads of gaps that have been worked around... UNTIL NOW!! My mission if I chose to accept it, is to play with the system, access the entire database and basically with those around me rip it to pieces then put it back together again. Am I confident in my abilities, bearing in mind that my PC knowledge extends to sending emails and clicking links on webpages? Hell yeah... LOL. I like to think that I have a logical and methodical approach to problem solving, so will tackle this chore head on. If I fall flat on my face, then I already have a back up plan. Everyone needs to prioritise their duties, so as soon as I sat at my terminal, I changed the wallpaper, setup my personal email account and worked out the best way to adorn my desk ;) I did manage to fit in a bit of proper work too, but heck it was my first day, I didn't want to appear too efficient, they'd be expecting it all the time if I did ;)
Came home to Junior in the paddling pool in the sunny back garden. I said he likes playing in water :) He wanted to position his slide so he could hurtle into the pool from a height, but I managed to make him aware that the slide would have to rest on the pool side and then all the water would run out. To be honest, I was surprised that he hadn't already tried it himself. I must get round to inflating his other paddling pool one day, as that one has a little slide built in.
Spent the night watching the film Sneakers. Yes it's an old one, but still worthy of an occassional viewing. When bargining with the Feds for a payoff for returning a priceless piece of electrical hardware, Whistler simply asks for world peace. "We're the US Government, we don't do world peace" comes the swift response.
Right, bed time for me, I need all the beauty sleep I can get and then some...
Sunday, August 25, 2002
Swimming was fun as usual. It is a firm fixture in the weekly diary for me and Junior and has been since Junior was nine months old (He's four in December). It was a concious decision not to use armbands and has served (I believe) to improve his confidence. He does have a pair now, purchased about 3 months ago, but they spend more time off than on and are mainly used when he goes into the bigger pool so that I can stand back a bit and let him show his stuff. He loves playing in water, one of his favourite tricks when younger was sitting on the bath end opposite the taps and sliding into the water... A bathroom floor of bubbles may not be smiled upon by us adults, but it sure made him laugh.
He's fast asleep now, and I've just done something that I haven't done in months... ironed a shirt. Tomorrow, I start a new job. Gone are the days of casual dressing, stubble on my chin and getting my hands dirty for a living. I will be walking into an office in the centre of Douglas. You cannot believe how much I hate wearing ties, shirts aint so bad, but a tie is like a noose :/ Clothes are hanging up, I'm soon to be trimming my hair with the clippers, then into the bath for a refreshing soak and to remind myself what my chin looks like.
A bit about me: I'm male, 34 and have lived in Douglas Isle of Man for about 7 years. My fave music is mainly chart orientated from 70's to modern (in other words, musically niave) I'm a couch sports fan who last played any sport at school. I smoke (too much), drink very seldomly and don't touch classified drugs. Number one priority in my life is Junior. I am generally happy with life but sometimes wonder if life is happy with me. I'm a fairly regular contributer to Manxnet Forums and a "bit" of a wannabe politician. My mottos in life include "I don't do favours for people, if I can help, I will".
Yipeeee !!! It's Sundaay :) Swimming pool here we come.....
