I'm in Berlin by the way and have been since Monday...

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[link]   Posted @ 08:01

So I got my financial figures on Friday evening and have been thinking about my options over the weekend. I'll let you know my decision tomorrow...

I'm working tomorrow morning from 2am to 4.30am (ish) assisting in a router change in Dublin! I am going to be very tired tomorrow evening.

Yesterday was spent with the kids, we met up with my Nan and my Sister and went shopping in town, where the kids were bought a couple of outfits each. My sister helped Rhiannon pick her clothes and she got some awesome stuff and a great dress. Chan got some cool casual clothes including some retro looking baseball-style trainers. Damn cool!

Yesterday evening, we went to Jams for her birthday party (with her bro and sisters and a couple of friends in attendance) and the kids spent hours playing on Daves Wii. However, they didn't get to sleep until after midnight and were up around 6.30... How do they do it?

This evening I am back to Jams and will be working from there in the morning before getting into work late. Then I have this week to work before I we go away to Berlin on Monday evening. So Yays all round :)

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[link]   Posted @ 18:34

So tomorrow I get the details of my redundancy offer. I then have the weekend to think about it and tell HP of my decision on Monday.

There were 3 initial decisions to take:

1/ Do I apply for it?
2/ If the money is right, do I take it?
3/ Do I look for a job in Europe (specifically Amsterdam)?

The answers were yes, yes and no. So I just need to know the figures for 2/ and the decision will already be made.

More news as it happens on that.

Last night, I got back from work and was meant to be spending the evening cooking a meal for Jam, Spoon and one of her sisters. What actually happened was, that due to being on call, I got call from work about an outage, started work at 6.30 and finished at 10.30 after they had gone - so that plan basically went out of the window. However, I did get the cooking done (but not much socialising) but basically directing what needed to be done. And I made(ish) the following:

Tudors Mediocre Cottage Pie

1/2 large onion (roughly chopped)
crushed garlic
500g Mince steak
1 large carrot (sliced and halved)
sweetcorn
peas
3 rashers unsmoked back bacon
tomato puree
oxo cube
some gravy

With potatoes, butter and cheese for the mash topping

Served with cauliflower and brocolli topped with cheese and breadcrumbs and then toasted for a bit.

Quite frankly it was awesome. Jam's sister had 2nds. It was followed up with fruit loaf and soya custard. Totally brilliant.

With regard to the comments on yesterdays entry - if I take the redundancy, then yes I will be doing some visiting as it will be a cool thing to do. A night in Leicester with Mark would be cool as I havent seen him for fucking ages (continually hampered by car trouble) and a night out in London with Jon would be hilarious! So once I've got things sorted - arrangements will be made. So both of you, let me know what days of the week would be best :)

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[link]   Posted @ 17:57

So almost 2 weeks without an update. So I shall condense the last 10 days into a series of interesting snippets of news (which aren't in any order of importance):

• Jam and I are now an item
• I am kinda living at hers now - ie 5 nights out of 7
• We are off to Berlin in early May but have yet to book accomodation
• I am being made redundant by the looks of it
• The future is still bright (cos work aint everything), if not better than it was
• I came up with a solution for a borked laptop (broken power) that cost me �11, so I'm pretty chuffed
• It would appear I have enough underwear to cope with living in 2 houses at once
• I found out that my Bampi was cremated and disposed of, meaning I can't get closure as easily as I wanted (something from my counselling last year)
• I cannot believe Riise last night in the Liverpool-Chelsea match
• Apparently, most of the best records are 2m42s in length so I am going to try and do a set using tracks 2m42s long
• Wrestlemania XXV has been confirmed for next year, so it is a reality
• I am still not drinking as much as I was.
• Lots of people want to meet Jam (either cos I am so fucking popular or they want to meet the crazy who wants me), so I need to do some time/people management over the next few weeks
• I should be getting one of my laptops back soon which means I can dedicate one just to DJing
• If I am made redundant, I will be sat on my ass for the months of June and July

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[link]   Posted @ 14:46

So I DJ'd last night to an empty dance floor. Weston as a whole was dead and The Alex was just as empty. And as expected, I played a storming set. Fortunately, I did have a handful of hardcore fans in, so that was cool. Plus I've had people leave messages saying what great music I played and had requests for Mix CDs. This has got me thinking about recording my sets in their entirety. That way I can hear what worked, what didnt work, mistakes made, etc.

Anyway, here is the set list from last night. 1 cheesey track, lots of trance, a nice bit of electro and some proper dance.

I'll be putting it all together into a 2-3 CD set for a couple of people, so we'll see how that goes. If you are interested a copy, let me know.

Set 1
Chicane - Saltwater
Energy 52 - Cafe del Mar
Rank 1 - Airwave
Robert Miles - Children
Divine Inspiration - The Way
Paul van Dyk - Castles in the Sky
Gusto - Discos Revenge
Calvin Harris - Acceptable in the 80s
Armin van Buuren - Rush Hour
Paul van Dyk - For An Angel
Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes
Thomas Falke - High Again
Faithless - Insomnia
Continuous Mix 1
Moonman - Galaxia
Usura - Open Your Mind
Tiesto ft BT - Break My Fall
Armin Van Buuren - Communication 3
Armin Van Buuren - Blue Fear (1996 Original)
Protoculture - Circadians

Set 2
Justice - D.A.N.C.E (MSTRKRFT remix)
Continuous Mix 2
Le Tigre - Deceptacon
Justice - Waters of Nazareth
Justice vs Simian - We Are Your Friends
Vandalism - Twisted (TV Rock Remix)
Tiga - You Gonna Want Me
Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor

Set 3
Axwell - I Found U (Remode)
Abba - Does Your Mother Know(remix)
Pendulum - Slam
Kanye West - Stronger
Continuous Mix 3
Rihanna - Pon De Replay
Puff Daddy & Faith Evans - I'll Be Missing You
Mathieu Bouthier & Muttonheads - Make Your Own Kind of Music
Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grande - Let Me Think About It
Sharam - The One (DJ Tee Radio Edit)
Deep Dish - Say Hello
Slacker - Resist (Original)
Duffy - Mercy (Gareth Wyn Remix)
Wiley - Wearing My Rolex
Atb - Believe In Me
Star Tattooed - Make Me High

Set 4 - Wind Down
Camille Jones vs Fedde le Grande - Creeps
Sunfreakz - Counting Down the Days
Nelly Furtado - All Good Things Come to an End
Ultrabeat - Pretty Green Eyes
Vast - Touched
Mathieu Bouthier & Muttonheads - Make Your Own Kind of Music
Darude - Sandstorm
Underworld - Born Slippy

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[link]   Posted @ 13:59

So Tuesday morning, Jam gave us a lift to Weston station and we started our mammoth journey to London. Got the 7.50am train and didn't arrive in Waterloo until 11.50am! It would appear the cheapness of train tickets is directly related to the increase in time taken travelling. But we got there, then navigated the Tube to Russell Square where we finally booked into where we were staying. We then headed back out, into Leicester Square, Dunkin' Donuts and then to Hamleys - which went down really well. After that, we went to Mr Wus "eat-as-much-as-you-like" (just off Leicester Square) and then back to the hotel as the kids were knackered.

The next morning saw us having a quick breakfast and then heading out for the day. First up was Trafalgar Square followed by the Changing Of The Guard at Buckingham Palace and then walked into Knightsbridge to visit Harrods. Then we hit the Natural History Museum mainly so that Chan could see the Dinosaur exhibits. Rhiannon mucked that up after a while cos she started moaning - even though up to that point the day had been arranged around her. So we went back to the hotel, relaxed for a bit and then hit Nandos for dinner.

Thursday saw us catching the Tube to Westminster, where we took lots of photos of the Houses Of Parliament, Big Ben, etc before making our way to Waterloo and back to Weston.

All of us were knackered and the kids went to bed early and zonked out. I however kept myself amused in another manner until 5am this morning... *wink* Missing someone and being missed has its advantages :D

So today, I have been dozing, on MSN, working out some sets for tonight, sorting out the kids and having my shopping delivered. Kids are back tomorrow morning until Sunday and then back to normal life and work on Monday :(

Hopefully, next week will see a little more relaxation time, some catching up with friends and far less travelling and expense...

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[link]   Posted @ 16:15

So I didn't go to Simons as I came home not feeling well at all. So I stayed home, spent hours on MSN and waited until the pain and nausea passed. Which it did eventually...

9 ball with Ben was interesting - I managed 4 frames ahead at one point and then he managed to get back to equal footing. So we played a winner takes all frame and I potted the 9 ball from a rebound - which is even more amazing considering I actally played for it :D

I am now officially on holiday for a week. Today is Rhiannons day - she is coming round for her presents, then we are off into town for a little shopping, some food and the cinema. I think there is only 1 film we can see that she hasnt already seen though...

This evening will then be a little relaxation, then up to Shells for 10pm to drop off her laptop and some of her photos from her photoshoot that I have been printing.

The lack of alcohol in my life has come up for discussion a couple of times recently. I last drank properly on Good Friday (with Jam & Spoon), had a single vodka and coke at Steves on Bank Holiday Monday and then had 2 bottles of Stella at Jams on Thursday evening. The rest of the time I have been drinking Diet Coke or cups of tea. Some friends have said that they are glad cos frankly they were getting worried about me, others have said they were sure I wasn't having issues and if I had they would have intervened (generally by a punch or somesuch). So I don't know. I knew I drank a huge amount but it was never an issue for me (apart from the expense). Not drinking isn't an issue either so who knows...

I booked flights for me and Jam to Berlin last night. We go on the 5th and come back on the late evening of the 8th - so thats the travel and insurance all sorted out. The accomodation is being sorted out by Jam, so we have to do that pretty soon. Current thoughts are to stay here but they are pricey so we'll see. Check out the other rooms - cos they are quite awesome to say the least...

Also arranged is an evening out with Ian and MrMan in the middle of May, which will involve Pool at Rileys in Clifton followed by curry and beerage back at Andys. And then an engagement party the next night (congratulations to Pete and Amy) locally, all of which should be fun.

Todays Bodygasm is Resist (Original) - Slacker. Play it loud, very loud.

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[link]   Posted @ 09:11

I am incredibly tired at the moment. A bout of chronic insomnia mixed in with some crazy, fun filled, late nights and a hyper active brain has left me quite hanging. Mentally, I am fine, physically I'm fine, but I find myself dozing several times throughout the day - which is kinda cool but not exactly practical. Good job I don't drive really...

This evening sees me at Simon's sorting out some home networking and tomorrow I'm playing 9-ball with Ben (and hope I can improve on our game a couple of weeks back!)

And here is a thing. The last serious drinking I did was on Friday 21st March and the last actual alcohol I had was on Monday 24th when I had a single vodka and coke when I was round Steve's for dinner. So thats over a week without any alcohol...

For a semi-pro drunk, I really need to up my game. I have a reputation to maintain ;D

Yesterday evening I popped into Jams on the way home to meet one of her sisters, with her husband and little daughter who Jam had been looking after all day. She didn't remember me - which is quite normal, considering I was 10+ I suppose when she was born and had very little interest in other peoples younger siblings (stilts, books, the Beano, Lego and Meccano were big in my life). I remembered her though - her face hasn't changed that much :)

Todays Bodygasm is Blue Fear (Original 1996 Version) - Armin Van Buuren

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[link]   Posted @ 12:28

For many people, April 1st is a day of fun and pranks. For me, its Rhiannons birthday. I rang her at 8am this morning and after being told that she appeared to have forgotten about it, was handed to Rhiannon while she was being told "Its your dad. He's heard you were naughty." So as soon as she said Hello, I burst into a croaky rendition of Happy Birthday. Hehe

Saturday afternoon, Rhiannon will be coming to get her presents and then we will be going for a meal and maybe to the cinema. Just the 2 of us - it should be awesome! Then Sunday afternoon is her party.

Sunday night saw me at Jams watching Wrestlemania XXIV live on Sky Sports Box Office (or whatever it is called). It started at midnight and finished at 4am and wow! Sarah called from the Rose Bowl as her, Andy, Mandy and Howard were there, so I was watching out for them.

First up, JBL beat Finlay in the Belfast Brawl Grudge match. Amazing use of bins, tables, kendo sticks, etc. Nice and violent and a great start to the show.

CM Punk won the "Money In The Bank" Ladder Match meaning he can challenge for any title belt on any of the 3 brands at anytime in the next year.

Batista beat Umaga in the Brand Supremacy match.

Kane (who had won the Battle Royal earlier) then impressively defeated Chavo Guerro to take the ECW Championship in 6 seconds. Great result (mostly cos I cant stand Chavo and love Kane).

Ric Flair lost to HBK in a career threatening match (HBK said to Ric before he Sweet Chin Music'd him "I'm sorry. I love you") and that was it. 30 odd years of The Nature Boy over. I was almost in tears. Evan Jam was almost in tears and she has never watched the wrestling! Really emotional.

Beth Phoenix and Melina beat Maria and Ashley Massaro in a pretty tame match. Snoop Dog got in the ring and punched Santino Morella out. That was cool...

Randy Orton retained his title by defeating HHH and John Cena in a Triple Threat Match. This was an exciting match full of power plays, thrills and spills. Am a bit gutted HHH didnt win it - but I'm sure there is more to come.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs Big Show. Terrible match IMO. Nice ending though when Mayweather took out Big Show with some knuckle dusters on.

The main event - Edge vs The Undertaker. What a match! It was frickin awesome and I was on the edge of my seat. Undertaker was 15-0 on Wrestlemania but has never been able to defeat Edge and I honestly thought - several times - that his run was over. But no, he took it impressively and walked away with a 16-0. When he got the pinfall, I was out of my seat quietly whooping (loud noise at 4am would have annoyed the neighbours upstairs) and jumping.

Then yesterday, while I'm working, I get a text from Andy. Here is how the conversation goes:

Andy: Fancy wrestlemania in say texas next year? Gonna get package tickets at end of the week if you would like to come along? x
Me: Yes please but will have to pay in installments x
Andy: You will only have to save for spending money x
Me: I'm crying now x

Then I get a text from Sarah:
Sarah: How excited are you right now? :) S x
Me: Like you wouldn't believe :) x

So it looks like I am off to Houston, Texas for Wrestlemania XXV - FUCKING HELL!

So this year, its London with the kids next week, Berlin with Jam in May, Frightfest in London in August, Gran Canaria with various in September. Next year its Texas in March plus anything else I do! My life is pretty good and man - do I have some awesome friends!

And a quick aside to someone (they know who they are!): If you could bottle that talent and sell it, you'd be a billionaire...

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[link]   Posted @ 12:53

I experience something I like to call the "bodygasm".

Its like a very small orgasm that runs the whole length of your body for just a few seconds but is quite intense. It starts off behind your ears, your neck hairs stand up and you get a chill and shiver all the way down to you feet and a little feeling of "woah!"

I only get it from music.
I only get it when I'm at peace.
I only get it when I'm happy.

I had one this morning on the train.

This song was playing Circadian by Protoculture

Enjoy!

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[link]   Posted @ 10:17