Big Weekend

Well lots of beer was consumed this weekend, for two reasons... Firstly, I graduated university for the second time and I also finally reached the big 30.... both of which provided good cause for celebration.

Friday saw me attend the Leicester University Post Grad Confirmation Ceremony - held at DeMontford Hall. Here along with lost of other post grads, I donned my best DKNY suit, and adorned myself in full academic robes. Joined by friends, peers and parents I settled down to the pomp and ceremony of receiving my Master's degree in Criminology. The event was fun, I think I clean up quite well, for someone who dislikes wearing a suite!. Importantly, both my parents were kind enough to take the day of work to attend with me, I think they were both proud (mum & dad)!. The ceremony was followed by a trip to the faculty I graduated from, then a trip to the bar - followed by dinner..... all in all I drank too much, but its a once in a lifetime thing and a final opportunity to say hi to people.

Saturday was a struggle, I was very hungover to begin with - so the first half of my 30th was spent on the sofa feeling sorry for myself. But after a trip to the shops, the gym and a look @ Tom and Abbi's new puppy, I sprung into some sort of life. Joined by some friends (thanks to those that made it out) it was off to consume more alcohol in some of Leamingtons renowned drinking establishments. Several pints of Guinness, 9 bottles of wine at home, and a take away curry later and the celebrations were complete. To be honest I feel no older than I did before and the 4.30am finish proves I can still party hard!...

That said, Sunday was a nightmare, to much red wine and Guinness meant I spent the day on the sofa again ... Pestering people for sympathy. The sign of a good birthday is the need for lots of TLC the following day.... I did nothing on Sunday, nothing at all. Some would say this was a waste of a day, but hey I'm old now :)

Thanks again to all those who came out, or passed on birthday greetings. I'm not sure if life begins @ 30, but one things for sure - its not ended yet.... time to party on somemore, there's life in the old dog yet! Next week Leeds beckons.... its yet to be seen what state that will leave me and my liver in...

Hackin up a lunge - trip to the states part 1

Well, after a little more than 10 days I made it back from the states safe and sound - and with no cap in ma ass!. It was indeed a trip of many highlights, despite contracting some dodgy disease from skipper, the little yank along the way. Now, this is perhaps the first of many controversies of the tales to be told, I put hacking up a lung down to flu .... others however would conclude too much ale is to blame!. Whichever the accurate cause, the trip started in familiar style, a few cheeky beers on the plane, followed by a few more in Chicago. Things soon developed a clear pattern as the weather closed in, a seemingly endless array of dumb questioning (yes we have electricity in the UK), complemented by suggestions that I should come back in the summer when there's something to do!.

In a city like Chicago there is always something to do, and thus a great deal of fun was had by all - except for Sunday fun day, which turned out to be no fun at all (for me @ least). Perhaps the error of my ways here was the lack of bloody marries, although I have to be honest when I say that every bar in Chicago appears to have an Irish theme, and perhaps the volume of Guinness consumed more explains the ruined state.

Whatever the cause of the Sunday distress, the fun continued with the girls cooking up dinner. Given that Yanks speak English (apparently) at times however, the girls could have been speaking Russian for all I knew, as the conversation often proved as untenable ... I believe several comparisons with the muppets were made at various stages :)

So off to Indiana I went, the home of the dumbest city in the U.S... The aptly nicknamed Fort Fun. A trip around the dunes of Chesterton was the goal for the day, again great fun was had by all. The locals once again were fantastic to me, as barbi (and Amo) showed me some of the famed sites of town .... Whilst warning sternly of the dangers of a trip to a well know local industrial town (and birthplace of MJ). A few beers, followed by happy hour - a great invention were free beers flow- followed of course by carnage......

Well that takes us to a little over mid week, so more fun to report later. However, in the meantime, thanks to little Skipper for taking the time to show me around ... much appreciated!. Thanks also to Barbi for being kind enough to offer me a roof (and an airbed) for the duration of my trip .... and for also keeping me occupied with chores. Thanks also to the rest of the gang - you know who you are, for making me feel so welcome :)

Ps - part 2 to follow ..... assuming the hate mail ain't to bad :)

Its Birthday time

Its that time of year when loads of people have a birthday - myself included .... So its Happy Birthday to Gav for last weekend, Helen, Sian, Joanne for the week between xmas and new year, Debbie for yesterday, and finally Gary and Nicole for next week ... best birthday wishes to all of you ....

special wishes to those now part of the 30 club, I soon be joining you!

ps I'm off to the states now to feel sorry for myself!

The states here I come

The fact of my impending 30th led me to conclude I need a holiday .... So holiday is what I'm having. Treating my goodself to a well deserved trip to the states I am!. Staying with my little yank friend, getting very drunk and generally acting well below my age is the plan .... so we'll see what happens. My friend keeps telling me to be careful, else I'll end with a' cap in ma ass'. This doesn't concern me too much, since she also thinks her friend .... a girl no less can drink me under the table!. Delusional I think is the word here, as clearly there is no a chance of this ever happening. However, the challenge has been set, so no mercy will be forthcoming and I won't be taking any prisoners!!!.

The only downside as I can see things @ the mo, is the weather forecast indicates its a gonna be a tad cold.... minus 15 in fact. Now that is bloody freezing, I defy anyone to be able to have sex outside in that kind of weather!.....

Road to democracy is a violent one

Its seems as the worlds attention, (and rightly so) has been focused on the tragic events in Asia things in Iraq have again gone into freefall. Seemingly, that long road to democracy is destined to be one of violence and contradiction. The impending elections look to be a catalyst for the situation to get worse. The BBC add some interesting commentary, suggesting the insurgency now numbers over 200,000, further postulating that the U. S. Government is plainly ignoring the severity of the situation. Clearly, the U.K government's view is that the situation is serious enough to commit more troops, so who's view is accurate?.

The clear question is who's winning the battle for 'hearts and minds'?. Ultimately, I guess this is gonna be the side that can and does make the difference for the ordinary people. Not being to close to the situation its hard to postulate. However, from an outsiders perspective until the rebuild process start's to make a difference to the 'real people', democracy is always going to be a fraught process. This would lead me to ask, is it too early for democracy?. Indeed, is democracy truly the panacea for the middle east that the U.S. seems to think it is?. I'm guessing some in Iraq would say it isn't.

bargain CD's

Having treated myself to an IPod Mini recently (very impressed with it I am to!) I've been revisiting my vast music collection. The upshot being that I've found the odd one or two things missing... mainly through loss or loan. So no matter I thought, its about time I replaced some of it with easily accessible cheap CD's anyways.

As I say old albums on CD are on the whole cheap, which is good. But the great thing is you buy them and have a good listen again to something you've probably not blown the dust off for years. A good example is Inxs's X - picked up in Fopp in Aberdeen for a royal £5. I quite simply had forgot how good this was, obvious if you consider it includes both my favorite Inxs tracks - stairs and by my side... excellent listening..

The purchase of the IPod looks like it will burgeon the music industry after all, in back catalogue if nothing else!

Its all over - including the shouting!

Well Christmas and new years are over with for another year. To be honest it was good to chill and relax with the family. Usual xmas presents, I believe that I now controls the worlds supply of socks .... so be nice to me or the price goes up :). I did however get a nifty little Garmin GPS unit as well. I've still to work out the finer detail, however its pretty cool from what I've seen to press.

Xmas of course means a boxing day trip to watch the mighty Super League Champions - Leeds rhinos. This year was no exception - however at 20 nil up at half time the contest was over, so little or no choice but to go to the pub. It got messy, as it usually does on boxing day!.

After a few days laid low with flew and general poor health it was up north for New Years. Peterhead was the destination, to enjoy the Scottish hospitality of my mums family, and to have a drink with my brother before he returns to Iraq. Let just say lots of ale was consumed, so much so even the dog got in on the act!. Anyways a good time was had by all, although I did regret the 5am finish the next day. The pain here was eased somewhat by the sheer cold. And its probably of little surprise that we benefited from snow whilst 'up north'. Luckily, nice as the snow was, it didn't lie, so we had time to have a Toby around, and to our surprise we located a Leeds north of the border ... just the trick to make a chap feel at home!...

Surfice to say I had a great time, doubtless drank to much but hey its new years. I did however spend the entire time trying not to admit that I was bloody freezing. I guess this is more out of vanity, but Bangalore was most certainly warmer. But alas, the site of the Forth Bridge signaled the time was nearing to go home for another year. Rest assured however Scotland hasn't seen the last of me!

ps I did fit in a little culture whilst up north ... we had a little look at Dunnottar Castle. One of the most historic places in Scotland!