'Bless the Rain...'

It's raining, which the television currently informs me is a good thing so who am I to complain?

This past weekend we went on a road trip up to Alton Towers. Having frequented Thorpe Park at least once a year for a long time now, this was my first visit to the Northern member of the Merlin family. We set off early having gathered on the Friday evening to map out our strategy... which just kind of brought about the obvious decision to get up ridiculously early on a Saturday morning to get to the park for a full day.

Up at 5am, I showered and woke myself up with the tingly mint shower gel that makes my bits feel special - thanks Original Source! Once Stacey, Me and Jason (who stayed the night and tried out the epic shower gel) were ready, off we set. Stacey was behind the wheel, while Pete drove with Nat and Birthday Boy Chris as his passengers. On the M25, Pete caught up to us and briskly overtook. He zoomed off into the distance, taking the lead in what wasn't really a race, but deep down felt like one to those of us that hate to lose. In Tortoise vs. The Hare fashion though, we won as Peterville stopped on his journey for a rip-off coffee break, while Steacy ploughed on. When we were only a few miles away from the park, the sat-nav told us to turn left down a very narrow country road. It went on for miles and if we had come across any traffic coming the opposite way, we would have been in a bit of trouble. Stacey kept moaning that it must have taken us the wrong way, but eventually we came out the other side and our first view of the grand Alton Towers entrance came when we looked behind us. We had come out from right next to the park's entrance!

We all met up outside the hotel's reception and went in to leave our bags as it was still too early to check in. The friendly northern chap who took our bags then very kindly offered to let us into the park - despite us not having purchased our tickets! We had to walk a couple of miles, but that sure beat having to pay an extra £40 each. The first ride we all got on was Air and it was absolutely awesome! I wish I could fly for real, but that's probably the closest I'll ever come. Other highlights of the day included Oblivion, Nemesis, Sonic Spinball (actually a pretty intense 'coaster) Burger King and TH13TEEN. One attraction that was really different was Hex. Stacey thought nothing of it, but the rest of us thought it was ace. Sitting in a room after watching a story about a cursed log, the whole room starts to move, spinning round so that you actually get the sensation of flipping round to the ceiling. Genius! I'd love to try it after a few drinks!

As the day wore on and the weather deteriorated, we headed back to the hotel at around 4:30pm feeling drained from our early start that morning. Some of us had showers and Wall-E came on the telly to keep us amused. I also got through a little more Hunger Games which I'm still really enjoying.

We then had a nice meal despite what has to be the worst service imaginable. It was pretty entertaining though and as always was funny watch Chris and listen to the words that spilled out of his mouth. We also teased the birthday lad at the fact that he was ordering a burger again, even though we all had BK for luncheon. According to our pal Chris, Pete should have gone over and spoken to the very butch lesbians that came into the bar after dinner as they had something in common.... I suppose if we all did things like that it would be a somewhat friendlier world - although things could become rather segregated.

After a night's sleep broken by Jason's snores we had our buffet breakfast and set off for home. It was a great weekend and was very entertaining sharing a room with my favourite odd couple: Jason and Pete. The song of the weekend was Africa, the 80s hit from Toto. This had been downloaded to Stacey's iPod after Jeffster sang a rendition of it in our current obsession: Chuck.

Stacey has a weird crush on Lester... the one singing. I also got my second ever message from a celebrity on Twitter. Nearly a year to the day that I got a thanks from Mick Foley on the social network, I started following many of the stars of Chuck, only for Mark Christopher Lawrence a.k.a. 'Big Mike' to send me a thank you for following him!

It was back to work on Monday and without my Saturday and Sunday morning lie-ins I was feeling tired and ratty. As soon as 5:30 came though, I was out of there and off we set back on the road again. This time with Alex joining Stacey and me instead of Jason as we travelled to the entertainment mecca that is The O2 Arena for Monday Night Raw! We joined my relatively new friend Dave and his buddies up in the nosebleed seats. Despite the height and distance we were away from the ring, we still had an absolute blast. The show kicked off with a World title match and continued to thoroughly entertain. I joined in with the 'YES! YES! YES!' chants all night for the hero that is Daniel Bryan. I don't think Alex and Stacey were too convinced though...



Other highlights included a 'Fish and Chips' chant and a couple of fans jumping the fence after the show only to get owned by the ring announcer!

Before I go though, I just want to make it known that it doesn't mean "we're alive", it means "I'm alive" which also means I'm Right! Take that Stacey!

YES! YES! YES!

8 Mile (Multiplied by 5)

Three weeks. The amount of time I had to prepare was just three weeks for the biggest endurance challenge of my life so far. In fairness I didn't even really prepare. I spent one Saturday morning cycling laps of the park, and another Saturday mountain biking - not exactly intense training for a 40 mile bike ride for charity.

I made it though, even if my bum is a little sore. I was up early yesterday morning and my Dad picked me and my Mountain bike up and dropped me off at the Hospice from which the cycling marathon was to both start and finish. It was also the Hospice for which the challenge was in aid of raising money for. Three of my colleagues also participated, although I didn't see them again too long after starting as on their road bikes, they were much quicker. The fact that I'm somewhat out of shape can't have too much to do with it.. surely?

There were some pretty steep hills to climb, and by pretty I mean very! Towards the end as I was flagging and starting to feel the effects, I was going so slowly up these hills that it would've been quicker to walk. I did make it though and when I got back to the Hospice, my parents, my sister and Stacey were all there to greet me. I got a certificate given too me (well, a piece of paper claiming to be a certificate) and couldn't wait to just get home. I made the people around me proud and raised some money for a good cause - not a bad way to spend four and half hours of my Saturday. 'I feel like death' I thought to myself at the end, but then I remembered where I was and why I had done it. I felt tired and a little worn out at worst.

The Infection

I also completed this massive challenge while kind of ill. I felt very flu-like all day Thursday with symptoms such as feeling very cold and shivery. Although those symptoms disappeared at some point while I was sleeping on Thursday night, one other rather painful symptom has most unfortunately remained. I won't go in to grim details, but I'm now taking antibiotics and don't think spending so long perched on a bicycle seat could have helped matters...

Rest

After what had to have been my earliest Saturday night in years, I awoke feeling as good as new this morning with only a little cheek-ache when I first sit down. That pain has almost completely gone too! 

We went off to Bluewater to do a bit of window-shopping and to see a movie and eat a meal while there. Many of our friends lately have been going on about The Hunger Games which seems to be on the verge of becoming the next big thing in fiction following on from the likes of Potter, Twilight, and The Millennium trilogy. The film was long, but didn't seem it. The story was essentially The Condemned with children in the future, but still very thought provoking. I still wouldn't be surprised to see this kind of reality show in the future. The books have now also been purchased and even though I just watched the film this afternoon, I've already delved straight into the first fifty pages of the first book. So far, I recommend it. 

Anyways, I just felt like writing a few things down here and can't think of anything else interesting enough to jot down here... I'll leave it here for now. Here's to Wrestlemania which is tonight - and which I rather irritatingly have to wait until tomorrow night to watch - and to a much needed four day weekend coming up!

FTW!

GIANTS WIN! Just as they did four years ago, New York's Blue team pulled of the upset once again over the New England Patriots. And they won the game with one of the most memorable touchdowns of all time...




With over a minute left on the clock and a touchdown pretty much inevitable for the Giants, they were attempting to stall to give New England less of a chance to get the ball back up field to take back the lead. What we wound up with was that hilarious moment as Bradshaw basically fell over into the endzone. At 2:30am here in England, I thought I was hallucinating. After the greatest touchdown of all time was scored, the Patriots took back possession and with just a few seconds left of play were mid-field. Just as in 2008 when these two teams met in the Superbowl, it all came down to the last play as with two seconds left, Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady threw an almighty hail mary straight into the endzone and into the middle of a cluster of Patriots and Giants all vying to win game as time ran out. When the smoke cleared and all was said and done, it was the Giants that stood tall yet again, leaving the winning touchdown to be the one above.

Does this mean that we can stop calling the Giants underdogs now?

I actually managed to watch most of it live from the comfort of my own bed! I watched the first hour and at about midnight allowed myself to drift of for a bit. I then came to to find the Patriots were suddenly in the lead. Damn! After watching another half and hour, back to sleep I went only to be woken up during... the middle of Madonna's half time show. For all the people that slated it, I thought she did a good job of entertaining the biggest global audience of the year. It certainly looked spectacular on TV; I can only imagine what it would've been like live.

I then saw the opening minutes of the third quarter before fading off once again. When I awoke for the final time, there were ten minutes left on the clock, and with the score tight, I watched the next dramatic half an hour unfold until the game ended and Giants lifted the trophy at approximately 03:00am GMT.

Surprisingly I wasn't too tired during work on Monday. In fact I was likely still on a high from the Giants victory. It was at about four that afternoon that I started repeatedly yawning and that evening I more or less fell into a slump. It was worth it though!

'Look, look! I'm on TV'

Just before the Superbowl, the first of the two episodes of TNA Impact I saw taped at Wembley aired, and in a few instances you can clearly see me and the other guys. Stacey had gone to bed to read some naff women's novel while I watched it, but she was dragged back up every ten minutes or so to come and see whenever I could seem myself on TV! More of the same this Sunday at 9pm folks! A star has been born...

It's a deal!

I also had a major win of my own this week as I finally scored my first deal working for my new company. It was a great feeling to finally make my mark on the board. And to cap things off, at 5:30 that afternoon, when everyone in the office was off their phones, my boss brought out some champagne to celebrate! He handed me one bottle to take home and cracked open a second bottle and poured out a cup for everyone and a round of applause was given. It was great! I was then told that everyone keeps the cork from their first deal for good luck. Mine's up in the living room right now as I type. Not only that, but I felt like I made some major progress this week in regards to the client account I've been given to manage. Here's hoping I can build upon it and become a success!

Running Wild

It's been a big few of weekends in terms of my favourite American Sports. My New York Giants defeated the San Fransisco 49ers two weeks ago to become NFC Champions and will compete this  Sunday in the Superbowl against the Manchester United of American Football; The New England Patriots. This match will be a repeat of the Superbowl that featured these two teams four years ago in what was my favourite NFL game of all time. It was a really back and forth match that saw both NY and Pats stealing the lead even throughout the final minutes. When all was said and done back in 2008, it was the underdogs, my team known often as Big Blue defeating the Patriots in a real upset (New England had been undefeated all that season right up until the Superbowl). Will history repeat itself? I hope so; and I also hope to be able to stay awake as late as possible on a work-night to watch the drama unfold live.

I'd also like to note that the Giants (and Patriots for that matter) seem to always make it to the Superbowl in the seasons that I attend the International game at Wembley... looks like I need to get tickets to the Patriots/Rams game this October then. Who's coming with me?

Impact

Last weekend was a big one wrestling-wise, as Team Blockbuster (Sam, Andy, Nick and myself) trekked on up to London and tubed it over to Wembley for the first television taping of TNA's Impact outside of North America. Due to TNA still being a relatively young company, and there being plenty of hype surrounding the occasion, it wound up selling so many tickets that it became the biggest event in their history to date in regards to attendance.

Holding some super-special tickets that allowed us into the arena early to meet some of the wrestling men and women, it would be an understatement to merely describe it as an exciting day. We were expecting to meet some of the lower-card wrestlers and were quite content with it. We were let into the warmth of the building and guided the backstage section of the arena. We were near the front of the queue and the excitement built higher as the wrestlers started assembling themselves behind a table at the far end of the room, including Olympic Gold Medallist and childhood favourite of mine Kurt Angle. The owner of TNA, Dixie Carter was wandering around the room greeting the fans and kindly posed for a photo with me and Nick. The ring announcers were also walking around and Andy managed to pose for a quick photo with his arm around former Playboy covergirl Christy Hemme.

Walking along the front of the table, we got to shake hands with each of the wrestlers, all of them signing my Beer Money cap. I had a quick chat with Kurt Angle about his current bid to make the 2012 Olympic wrestling team for the USA, and was left rather speechless as I believe most were by the women who were even more striking in person. Some were friendlier than others, with Christopher Daniels extending his hand first to thank us for coming and to hope that we enjoyed the show.

We were then told that Hulk Hogan was on his way and that as we'd already been through and met the wrestlers, we could wait inside from the cold to meet him when he got there. After a brief wait, the Hulkster walked in - 24 inch pythons in tow - to a huge cheer from the room. He was set up at a table and we were told that we could take a picture of him, but not with him and that he's sign one autograph per person. This was the staff at Wembley arena imposing these rules though as Hulk actually seemed to want to talk to us fans. Reaching the front of the queue, I went to shake his giant hands in the normal fashion. He however went in for one of those hip, trendy handshakes where you point your hands more upwards and grip with your thumbs. We fumbled completely and eventually shook hands awkwardly. 

'We messed that up a little didn't we?' I said.

'Sure did, Brother!' replied Hogan.

Nick then very excitedly met his childhood hero while I defied the security personnel at the arena and took a sneaky photo:

Nick meets the Hulkster... BROTHER!

Andy then stepped up, followed by Sam, who approached the table wearing his giant foam finger that we'd all been given out and cheekily asked Hulk Hogan to pull his finger. 

Our view from ringside

After the meet 'n' greet we all stepped back out into the cold, stopping for a quick McDonald's before heading back into Wembley Arena for Bell time. Sat in the 7th row, we had an awesome view... except for the parts when people in front felt compelled to stand up, which due to the raucous atmosphere was often. TNA filmed two weeks worth of their show Impact for us, and gave us some outstanding matches. The show of course featured the grand return of Hulk Hogan who entered the arena to a deafening ovation. We were also witness to the last ever match of Sting (not the singer, but the Stinger) in the UK. The atmosphere was electric all night and I can safely say it was one of the best shows I've ever attended. At the time of writing the first of the two episodes that they filmed will be on tomorrow night on Challenge at 9pm (just before the Superbowl). Try and spot me with my big yellow foam finger!

Bring on January 2013....

End of Days / It Begins

It's been a couple of months since I've written an entry for this thing. In truth, when I wrote my last blog back in November my heart wasn't in it. A lot's happened since then though and the landscape of my life has completely changed.

Unhappy with my London job, I interviewed successfully for a new position closer to home. I'm feeling a lot happier now than I was back then, and life has become fun again. I returned to Blockbuster for a week before starting my new job and enjoyed the Christmas run-up and period. Even the grey month of January has been flying by in a flurry of fun.

December several events starting with Stacey's birthday which was murder... well, I guess that's what happens when you throw a murder mystery party! Ok that was a lame attempt at a joke and not even a remotely funny pun. We did have killer time though! Oh, and I was the killer. The twelfth month continued with my new work's Christmas do, a Christmas Movie Marathon, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Another Christmas Day, Blockbuster's Christmas do and concluded nicely with New Year. This New Year's Eve was celebrated at Becky's and wasn't with out drama... or vomit. I'm not naming any names so we'll refer to the culprit as P. Town. Ok that might be too obvious so we'll go with Pete T.

The new year has kicked off with more memorable life moments, such as giving my little sister the greatest gift anyone could ever give for her 9th birthday - fake turds! As well as my Sister's birthday, we've just celebrated the birthday of our friend Natty too. Last night we began our night in the flat to celebrate. We planned to get drunk and wind up in a naff club. We only succeeded in half of our plan, but I think it's safe to say that we had an interesting night to say the least. In part thanks to the antics of our Old Boy Chris Warren, and in other part thanks to the whole bottle of Scotsmac I polished off.

2012 is shaping up to be a helluva year and has certainly started in style. January's not even over yet either as next week I get to meet Hulk Hogan! Oh yeah BROTHER!

I'm watching Van Wilder while typing and it looks as if it's getting to the climax (there's a montage running at present) so I'm gonna focus all of my attention back to that.

Ta-Ta!

Loud Crowd

A year ago life was sweet. Last November, I travelled up and down the country attending various events. This year has a similar cluster of live events penned in my diary around this time, and once again I've had a blast.

October 23rd - The American Dream, in London
On  a cold, late October evening, Stacey and myself took to Wembley Stadium for this year's NFL International Series Clash. For those of you not in the know, this was the fifth year that the International Series has invaded Wembley, and it sees the NFL put on an actual league match between two of their top American Football teams. Last time I had been was during the inaugural International Series match in 2007 that saw my team, the New York Giants defeat the Miami Dolphins. This year, we were treated to a stellar, high-scoring game between the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite it being a Bucs home game, and that they had given every single fan a free Tampa Bay flag to wave, I couldn't help but cheer the legendary team from the Windy City on to victory.

Final Score: Bears 24 - 18 Buccaneers

Non-Gridiron related highlights of the match included a squirrel running around the pitch at the start of the match, and a semi-streaker (semi due to only having removed his upper clothes - thankfully) running up and down the pitch, dodging security in the process until he was finally tackled rather violently by four or five large men in suits. Oh, and Katherine Jenkins sang our National Anthem, some American singer performed theirs, and the Goo Goo Dolls played live before the game.

October 28th - Jungle is Massive
To celebrate our anniversary, Stacey trekked up to the London Town to meet me from work the next day, Friday night. After meeting some of my colleagues for a quick drink, we hopped on a tube to Victoria to see the Westend Sensation that is Wicked. It lived up to its name, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good musical to go and see. It is very well written in that it links to the Wizard of Oz and completely spins that classic story on its head, while still making total sense.

What was extremely funny in a ironic sort of way was that the new episode of South Park that I'd Sky plussed that night was about Broadway Musicals with Wicked being the main one featured. I love life... and South Park! 

November 11th - 'It's Clobbering Time!'

On this Friday, I got to leave work early. As soon as the clock struck 12:30pm, my empty chair swivelled around a few times, having been spung by the momentum of me looking forward to getting the hell outta there for a slightly extended weekend... and WWE live at the O2 Arena.

Hopping on a tube at Southwark, I reached North Greenwich at just past 1pm, and in a spot of good timing, arrived just as Sam and Andy were pulling into the carpark. With several hours to kill, and the Dome as our playground, we kicked things off with a trip to the cinema and a somewhat serviceable film in Immortals. It was a decent film, but in my opinion more of a DVD rental, not worthy of a cinema trip. As the end credits rolled, we went to explore our eating options and decided upon Spur. None of us had eaten there on previous O2 visits, and the meal was enjoyed by all. I certainly enjoyed my rather epic cheeseburger. Then, while our plates were being loaded into the dishwasher in the kitchen of the restaurant, we went to the one place that no O2 visit is complete without. We went for a pint or three in Thai Silk. As soon as we entered our favourite Thai establishment, I decided to head up to the loo to... well, you know... leak. There was one other gent in the gents, and rather worryingly, he acknowledged my existence in this place in which men are meant to keep their heads down and just get on with it. 

'All right, mate?' he asked. Startled, I looked around and saw that it was no stranger, but instead my old buddy Simon, also at the O2 for the event. Him and his mate then joined Sam, Andy and me for some Japanese beers (I still don't get why a Thai bar serves Japanese beers - all the same I suppose). 

After a very long queue to enter the arena, which was one of the longest queues one O2 steward had ever seen apparently, we took our seats and were treated to three hours of sheer entertainment. Match of the night had to go to an epic 30 minute US title match between Champion Dolph Ziggler and challenger John Morrison. Other contests included a six-man tag match as John Cena partnered with Kofi Kingston and Zack Ryder to take on The Miz, R-Truth and 90s legend Kevin Nash (a.k.a. Diesel). Kevin Nash is a giant of a man by the way. Following this came our main event of CM Punk challenging Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship. Another very entertaining bout was performed before us, and the match ended with run-ins galore, as many of the bad guys attacked Punk. John Cena, Kofi Kingston, and Zack Ryder made the same and a brawl ensued, until we were left with Dolph Ziggler trapped in the middle of the ring, as the good guys got to have a little fun with Ziggler, who was celebrating his birthday that very night.

It was certainly one of the more entertaining skits I've ever seen live and in person, and the sellout crowd was electric for it. Loud all night!

19th November - Giving it Away
Last night as of the time of writing. Stacey and I journeyed up to Birmingham to stay in a Hilton Hotel (very posh) and meet up with Tam and Dan who shall soon be abandoning us to move to Oz. We also met with some of Tam's friends Ruth and Michael. All of us had tickets to the big gig occurring at the LG arena that night, with some band who go by the name of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Chili Peppers played a tremendous gig, and the standout song for me was without-a-doubt Give it Away which was probably down the the fact that the band has had a couple of decades to perfect the tune in the live arena.

After the show, we all went back to the hotel bar, feeling tired, but not tired enough to not allow ourselves some obscenely priced beverages.

Stacey drove us home today, and I'm pretty tired now, so will wrap up the writing. Until the next time I set aside some blogging time, I'll leave you with the view that I was treated to upon working home...

There's no place like home...

No matter how great an event is, when all is said and done, and sleep is needed; I love returning to the flat that has become home.

The Lost Paragraph - thinner.

Two blogs back, in my entry entitled Blank Canvass, after the subheading The Path at the End of the Clearing, a rogue word stood all alone except for the company being provided to it by an attached full stop. The word was out of place, a misfit that didn't belong. It destroyed the aesthetics of my well formatted piece, and shattered the flow. The word in question was: thinner. 

The 'thinner' was even in itallics just like above, and was most likely due to the fact that the canvas for writing in on this site sometimes doesn't like itallics and non-itallics used in the same paragraph. As a result, there was in fact a paragraph missing. Thinner wasn't a rogue word at all, but more a survivor, with the rest of its family condemned to some dark, dank depths of cyberspace; lost forever. I've therefore decided to attempt to recreate that paragraph, although admittedly these things never come out reading as well a second time. I take the Stephen King approach to writing in that I feel it flows best when you let it just spill out onto the page, without planning ahead so much. The lost paragraph actually concerned Stephen King oddly enough (aren't I just great at leading you into something?), as it was about how I had finished his Dark Tower series after 4 years.

The Lost Paragraph... at the end of the clearing.

I did it! After four long years, I finally reached Stephen King's Dark Tower. I took my time and paced myself with the seven books, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the journey. It's amazing to think of just how far I've come in my own life since I started the quest to find that tower with Roland and the cast of characters that he encountered along the way. Without trying to give away any spoilers - as I fully recommend that all of you out there read these fantastic books - I'll say that the ending was tremendous and indeed for lack of a better term: very clever. In fact King gives you a choice. You can reach the tower after seven long novels and leave it at that, or you can choose to carry on past the author's note and discover what lies behind that door if you're that selfish kind of person. I left it at the front door, content with the adventure that's always more fun that the reward... for all of 9 hours while at work (I'm a weaker man than my good buddy John Tresadern who wasn't pulled back for four or five months apparently). I then read on, entering the tower and being awestruck by the ending that only seemed so obvious, yet was extremely unpredictable at the exact same time. It was the author's note that I found most intriguing though, as Stephen King advised the reader to leave the story at the door and to not press on any further, as life never ends in one place, life just goes on. He's right and it's something I'm still learning myself. I had two goals for this year that I set myself last winter and I've attained both of those now and guess what? There was no fade to black and no end credits. I had my new full time job, and had moved out with Stacey and here we are... carrying on. 

Carrying On

Well, that was something like what the missing paragraph was originally. Only the original, lost paragraph ended with thinner, so I guess it might not have been anything like that afterall. The word thinner would have been used to describe time, as time is speeding past at a rapid rate at the moment, and feels thinner, which is a reference to the Dark Tower, as time is described as feeling often thinner in the Gunslinger's world. 

While I'm here in blog mode though, I will quickly discuss the nostalgia that I felt yesterday as Stacey and me took the young sister of mine out for the day and essentially stepped back into the childhood (for Stacey and me, non-existence would  be more apt for my sister) days of the 90s. We took my sister out for her first ever Burger King, and her kid's meal came with a Simpsons toy (the alien, I believe he was called Kang, but haven't visited the Treehouse of Horror in a while so can't remember off the top of my head). Following this, we went to the cinema to see The Lion King which is seeing a brief rerelease at the cinema. I still love that film today in my adult years, and it was great to introduce it to my sister who'd never seen it before on the big screen. Then, after the film, we headed to my favourite place of Autumn/Winter to get me feeling that early Christmas spirit: Notcutts garden centre. It was a risky call deciding to head there as there might not have been any Christmas stuff out yet, in which case it would have been just a boring garden centre, but our fears were soon put to rest when we saw this sign:

Nothing gets me pumped up and excited for Christmas than the Christmas shop at Notcutts, as I visited Santa there and chose tree decorations every year as a kid! I even walked out on this particular visit with a bottle of Advent Ale - thanks Stacey.

Anywho, I'm going to leave this blog here for now, as a dinner is needed and Stacey's in Strictly-viewing mode! And on we carry on, because time's moving along, and growing thinner.