Tim wrote this in response to my Grow Up, Settle Down post. I wasn't saying that I haven't grown up but that I think its funny that I want a career break after only two years or so. As for working for somebody elses benefit Tim and Myself work in the public sector so surely we are benefiting the whole community. ;)

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Over the weekend I have been trying to work out what to do about my housing situation, I came to the conclusion that I should move back in with my parents (and brother and sister and sister's boyfriend and crazy dog) I figured that I would be able to save money for a trip a lot easier if I did.

This evening I went from work to ask if that was OK.

But...I couldn't do it. I've been away from home far too long and as much as I love my family, they would drive me completely nuts.

Reminiscing

Its kind of weird wandering around Nottingham visiting places you haven't been to in years. My brother and I went to the museum at the castle, there is really not much in there but there are some nice views. We had a couple of cokes in the Trip to Jerusalem, sacrilidge really but it was only eleven o'clock.

Neil had suggested that we try the Orange Tree for some food, my brother wouldn't have any of it though because it wasn't your bog standard weatherspoon's style beer and burger food. My club sandwich was tasty, as were the two barmaids in there.

I bought a book about trains - sounds very interesting you are thinking - the first chapter concerns the author escaping from a POW camp and travelling across Nazi occupied Poland and the second him trying to break into Czechoslovakia to meet his Czech girlfriend who had hidden him during the war, he broke in by hiding in the toilets of the Orient Express and jumping off the moving train onto a station it didn't stop at. He did this three times over a number of years each time only getting to spend a few minutes with his beloved before being put on a returning train.

After more wandering around seeing how things had only slightly changed since I was there I returned home.

The Loom Festival

I don't know what time I got home, I remember there being quite a bit of farting around including taking photographs of worms before going to bed, I fear it might have been quite late. The result was Dan not getting up and me missing Alec's set at the Loom Festival.

I had a fun time in Nottingham, I met up with Alec and his mates for a few beers before going off to see Neil and Aymi for a pint and very nice chinese (Edward had potato, potato and potato). There was a bit of a mix up going for some food, apparently I was supposed to go back to Alec and Russyn so that they could join us but nobody thought to mention it to either me or Alec.

The bands at the festival were far less beard strokey than I was expecting and people were even dancing. One of them even sang. Max Tundra came on last and did a rather fun DJ Set. After it finished my brother wanted to go elsewhere and dragged me looking for somewhere open. I wouldn't go to Reflex which seemed to be the only still serving. We had a quick pint in Sausage then retired.

Chopper was on the TV when we got back - I can see why Joe thinks it the funniest thing ever...

Party Party.

I went to Northfield and had the usual sick feeling that I get when the bus past the YMCA (nothing to do with the lack of food and copious amounts drank the previous night). But I did buy lots of cool CDs from the charity shops.

Dan, Emma and I drank lots of Cava then went to The Rainbow for the Bam Bam Club night. Emma accused me of having a different blonde girl try to chat up me every time she sees me - I'm sure this isn't true. ;)

The night was a bit hazy, lots of dancing, lots of horrible wine.

I upset some bloke for talking to his girlfriend...he came up to me and said 'Yes she is gorgeous but SHEEEES mine!', ha ha ha, what a moron.

The DJ was told me that at there next event on Easter Sunday lots of Norwegians will be coming. Cool! The last time the Norwegians were there it was ace.

A Quick Pint

I went for a quick pint in the Actress and Bishop after work with James and his workmates, this turned into far too many pints and I got home far too late. This was all because there had been a break in at James' office and I was left to guard their coats in the pub.

It was a fun night though, lots of dancing.

I chatted to two ladies from Manchester and for some reason I told them my name was Dave. One of them kept asking me what my scene was, I'm not sure how you respond to that.

A spanish girl with a thick spanish accent asked me where I thought she was from. I told her that she sounded like she was from up north, somewhere like Darlington. She thought my spanish was very bad but was amazed when I told her that I thought she was from Oviedo as she born half an hour away from there. After chatting to her for a while her boyfried came over with her coat and said " I yav 'ad enough of this, yaouw cum on, were guin!" And dragged her off.

Grow Up, Settle Down

A conversation at work got me thinking that maybe I shouldn't be thinking of taking six months to a year off to travel and stay at home and grow up. People were discussing how much of there adult life they had spent working. It seems at my place most people started straigh from school either at eighteen or twenty one and have carried on without a break. I started working just before my 29th Birthday and am now at the age of 30 seriously considering a career break starting at the end of 2007. Ha ha.

Talking about growing up, I am now also over my credit card limit. I need to stop going out and partying through till the next day. It does serious damage to your finances. Well...I need to stop for at least the next month (or two).

Tonight, Dan and I watched Requiem for a Dream, a rather grim film which has the message - if you take drugs you will either sell your body, lose an arm, end up in a deep south prison or require electro convulsion therapy. Take note drug takers!!!

Last night I watched, Tres Coleureeeurs Blanc which was alright but Julie Delphy wasn't in it enough. I prefered Three Colours Blue which is far more miserable has more uplifting ending.

God Bothering in Birmingham

God Bothering in Birmingham,
originally uploaded by Richard Clifford.

At lunchtime I was confronted by four types of nutter:

Scientologists who wanted me to have a stress test - I must look very stressed as they are all after me. There is one particularly strange young lady who tries to stop me every time I walk past her by shouting in my face.

Hare Krishnas - Who want to give you free incense for a donation of course.

The Jesus Army - I don't know what to say.

Iraqis - There were a big group of Iraqi men next to the Floozy in the Jacuzzi waving flags. They had posted 'Down with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi' over the fountain and were handing out printouts from the bbc news relating to the bombing of the al-Askari shrine.

Why can't I go out for a stroll at lunchtime and be left alone?

Computer Programming and Various Other Rants

I don't like computer programming, it is frustrating. I read recently that a good programmer can write about a thousand lines of code a day. I'm lucky if I manage ten a week. Maybe I should become a manager instead. ;)

I had to go to a pointless training session today, it took one and a half hours to explain a package that I could have worked out how to use myself in about five minutes.

I'm not looking forward to spending the evening alone again - I could do with some company - I can amuse myself I have 'Three Colours White' to watch and I re-joined the library today and have lots of books to read but they are all about travel and will only increase my desire to not be here. I think I need to move into a shared house.

Somehow I have managed to get to £350 over my overdraft limit since New Year. Running around the country doesn't help with my finances I will have to curb my spending if I am to travel anywhere.

Going Out

No posts for a while because I have only been in the house for sleeping.

Wednesday night in Birmingham is pretty dire. I went for a leaving drink with Paul who has got himself a contract in Norwich. We tried quite a few places and they were either completely dead or full of teenagers. You'd think that in a city the size of Birmingham that there would be at least one place interesting place to go, maybe there is but I cant find it. We ended up in Broad Street of all places...

I felt rather tired at work on Thursday but there wasn't much work to do so it didn't matter. Thursday evening, Dan invited me to join Him and Matt for a curry around his house. I wasn't planning on drinking but between us we polished off three or four bottles of wine.

Friday I had a hangover and a cold and left work early. I met up with Phil in Bennetts for his birthday there was a big group of us and we sat round a great big table in our own private little room, the ultimate corner.

Dan, Edward and I planned to go and see a French turntablist group at the Sanctuary and left the others at closing time to go to a real ale pub. Disappointingly the club was closed when we arrived with no sign of anything happening. My brother wanted to go and jump about to drum'n'bass at The Medicine Bar but we decided on The Rainbow. It was hip hop night and was pretty quiet probably because Heducation (another cooler hip hop night) was on at the Boiler Room. I danced for a bit, my brother chatted to some people he knew and Dan looked bored. We left about one.

I felt pretty rough all day yesterday but didn't feel like staying in. Dan and I went out with no idea where we were actually going, I think we both fancied going somewhere different but didn't know where. We had a beer in the Sunflower Lounge and flipped a coin to decide where to go. The Medicine Bar won but we found ourselves in the Rainbow again. It was dub reggae in the front room and hairy hippy, world and folk music in the back. I felt spaced out most of the night, peoples eyes looked very strange. There were loads of hippy women dancing like Hare Krishnas. I didn't much feel like drinking. After the hippy night finished I wanted to go and dance to house music at Rooty Frooties, Dan pretended he didn't want to but it wasn't particularly difficult to change his mind. I think we were in there for a couple of hours when I started to feel quite drained. The cold and the alcohol abuse had started to catch up.

Urban Fusion Light Festival

Light House,
originally uploaded by Richard Clifford.

I decided to walk along the route of the Urban Fusion Light Festival its not that impressive, they should have lit up the whole of the eastside.

I Really Should Get More Sleep...

I'm not really in the mood for writing a big post...last night Max, Neil, Amy, Dan, Matt, Adam, Sophie and I went to Spectrum in Brum at the Custard Factory. I drank a little too much Red Bull, smoked far too many cigarettes and stayed out far too late.

Before going out Matt cooked us a very nice lentil bake thing in Dan's big kitchen and we drank Cava and cocktails. Dan and I tried to persuade Joe to join us but he said he'd rather go to the White Horse to see Paul and Kerri.

The night went very quickly, I danced for hours.

Max bought me a laughing gas balloon which made me a little light headed.

I wore my cowboy hat out and lots of people wanted to try it on and I now have even more pictures of random people on phone.

After the Custard Factory closed we moved on to Rootie Frooties (sounds very familiar). Which was apparently open till nine but everyone except Dan left around half six.

I had a nice chat to the taxi driver on the way home.

Junk Food

I have consumed nothing but crap today. Crisps. Coke. Sausage Rolls. Corned Beef. Chocolate. Biscuits. No wonder I am half a ton heavy.

The weekend really caught up with me and I felt knackered.

I'm now going to watch How to Divorce Without Screwing Up Your Kids. It's a little depressing.

Nick Says...

I've felt pretty bad today from the weekend's excesses. Nick sent me an email saying that he had been reading this blog and thought that I needed to take a break from the booze.

Now I am wondering why have been going to such excess lately? It's a number of things. Holding a deep down sadness and this allows me to have an escape. Having the horrible feeling that you have wasted enough time and of not wanting to miss out on things. Being alone - I guess this is the main one.

Nick thought that maybe it was because I had more money now and can afford to do more but I dont think this is true its just as easy to go to excess with a £1.99 three litre bottle of white cider.

I'm open to other suggestions.

I have had this stuck in my head since the bus journey home on Sunday morning:

'I was happy in an hour of a drunken haze
But heaven knows I'm miserable now...'

however, I've also had this stuck in my head:

'The Vengaboys are coming
And they will rock the party'

:)

.

Cold Sunday Lunch

I woke up at half eleven after having quite a pleasant dream about the attractive young ladie(s) from the night before. I arranged with Nick to go for Sunday Lunch in the Country Girl. Ben joined us. I couldn't eat mine, I was feeling too rough and it was cold.

Nick left around half two and I went to collect Joshua.

It was a lazy afternoon, we watched Finding Nemo, played Joshua's new Beanotown Racing Game, watched the Simpsons and Malcom in the Middle, ate some dinner and then went to bed.

Saturday (Night Time)

I arranged to meet Nick to see watch the Rugby in *Ahem* the Lloyds Bar on Broad Street. But by the time I had dropped Joshua with my Mom and Dad, lost and found my wallet and then missed a train, I was too late to see the match. Nick and his friend Russ (or is it Ross) had been in the pub since one and had already had six pints by the time I arrived (about six).

The Lloyds Bar wasn't too bad and the music was pretty cool (I heard Air, Badly Drawn Boy and Radiohead) until about eight o'clock when the all of the regular Broad Street morons started arriving. Once this happened I had no desire to hang around and I bullied the other two into finishing their beers quickly so that we could go elsewhere.

Elsewhere was the Sunflower Lounge. Where we drank a couple more drinks before Russ had to catch his train back to the metropolis of Telford. While waiting at the train station I bought myself a mini bottle of Cava from M&S which was very tasty.

Nick and I met Dan, Matt, my brother and some others in the Market Tavern in Digbeth and caught the end of a punk/ska night. The band playing were OK, not really what I am into but entertaining enough. I requested some Coldplay but the band said that they didn't know any of them and if they did they would give them a good kicking.

At closing time we were in two minds what to do next, I was in the mood to stay out, others wanted to go home but it was decided that we should go to Rootie Frooties. When we got there it was empty and I wanted to see Erol Alkan in the Medicine Bar across the road, I persuaded Dan to join me and left the others in Rooties.

I'm certainly glad I did, the music was ace, I shared a bottle of cheap wine with a strange girl who liked my Primal Scream T-Shirt and lots of ladies wanted to wear my hat, I now have lots of pictures of random girls wearing it on my phone.

My brother somehow managed to blag himself entry into the Medicine Bar so that he could tell us that everyone else was going home. There was no way on earth that I was leaving and when he realised this I think he decided not to go back to tell them. Nick ended up staying at Matt's house and I ended up staying out.

The Medicine Bar closed about three. Dan was talking to a nineteen year old girl called Meg who kept shouting 'Are you coming to see Pendulum next week?' at me. Apparently she told Dan that he was very old at 32, ha ha ha!

After we were kicked out the Medicine Bar we went back to Rootie Frooties. I chatted to lots of ladies. One girl said that I looked very scary and then said 'but I bet you are a big cuddly teddy bear really' and then told me at ten minute intervals how very nice I was.

I danced with a very attractive woman who was obviously fucked cuz she wouldn't have danced with other wise.

We got kicked out about six.

As we walked down the road towards the bus stop coach loads of people were coming out of the Sanctuary and we considered following some of them to an after party that was open till eleven A.M. but decided better of it.

My brother and Dan wandered around looking for a McDonalds and I snoozed at the bus stop. We finally got home about half seven.

Saturday (Daytime)

Friday was a night for recovery, I was feeling pretty rough after two very late evenings and one lunchtime drinking session. Consequently, I watched more TV in one night than I have in the last month and cant say that I've been missing much.

Saturday Morning I didn't wake up feeling refreshed because I had Joshua join me in bed after he had had a nightmare and he spent most of the night kicking me in the back.

After breakfast Joshua amd I decided to take Joshua to the Birmingham Art Gallery. I quite fancied walking along the canal into town but it was rather chilly so settled for walking through the Mailbox and around Gas Steet Basin.

We stopped off to have a look at the Vancouver Crap Stuff photos in the Ikon Gallery they were OK but not as amusing as Tim's. One of the pictures was from Vancouver's Carribean Carnival circa 1990 and was a study people wearing day-glo tracksuits, this made me laugh. I might go back in the week to see these again because Joshua wanted to go to the other museum and we didn't stay long.

The glass lift at the side of the building sang as it went up and down either going from high pitch to low or vice versa depending on which was you were travelling. I thought this was funny.

I saw a great postcard to send to Tim. Which I think he will like.

They've had a move around in the Art Gallery it seems and there was quite a few peices that I had never seen before. Joshua liked a painting of soldiers marching to there deaths at the somme. The description next to a Pissarro painting said 'Artists and writers in Paris frequented nightclubs, bars and cafes on a road called Montepasse which was similar to Birmingham's Broad Steet' Ha Ha Ha! Rubbish!

There is loads to see in the gallery but I always feel like I been standing for days after I have been there. With my legs in danger of falling off it was time for donuts and tat. Joshua had been given five pounds as a late Christmas present and said that he wanted to buy five things at poundland. He bought a Hulk comic book, a dinosaur sticker book, a 256-in-1 tetris game and a Beano racing computer game. He left happy with his collection.

Crap Night

I was looking forward to going out last night, in the end it was shit.

Ben didn't bother coming out.

And.

Dan and his friend ignored me.