Life From A Window

nearly ready. Kids off to Panto. Peeled the parsnips, got the Christmas music playing on the Sonos.

Is.... A round of golf Lots of CDs Time to listen to my CDs 3 new Sonos S5 ZonePlayers Peace (and quiet) Lots of books And a lottery win (better buy a ticket) Thank you Santa, you're the greatest!

Listen to The Decemberists "The Rake's Song" Sad tale of a man married too young. Fathered three children. Wife died in childbirth with fourth. Man yearns for freedom so murders children and goes back to batchelordom! Genius. No, really, you have to hear it. Astonishing.

Is 70 today. I can't believe it. We had a lovely family meal Saturday night at Sofia's in Walsall (better than it sounds, honest). Now I have a 70 year old mother I feel older. Probably very irrational, but that's feelings for you. Big bro made a lovely speech reminding us all how brilliant she is and what a fantastic, often single-handed, parenting job she has done - you only have to look at me to see how superb a parent she has been. Well I'm proud of her.

Countdown to Christmas has begun. 5 days and counting till school and work break up. Oh joy.

What's the difference between a bonus and a penis? Old joke and not terribly PC I don't suppose. Is it only me that is bothered to point of annoyance (that's pretty damned riled on my placidity scale) about the pathetic hounding of the banking community over their bonuses. Is this Labour Government seriously going to tread on that particular political landmine? Have I fallen asleep and woken in a time before Capitalism? Are Marx and Engels still cosied up in the British Library arguing over the spelling of spectre. Since neither had English as their first language, the use of the word was pretty impressive in the first place and we can forgive (even with their collective genius) a little uncertainty as to the order of letters. I don't care what the value, astronomical or a pittance, but if my employer chooses to incentivise me with performance related elements to my salary, and I perform to the level required, it is my right to be paid whatever bonus we have agreed. ...

Thinking of all the things I could be doing. All of them better than this. Weekend coming, trying not to wish it along too quick. Having another mortality panic. It's all passing me by. Time's flying and I'm not making the most of it. I'm going to be lying in a hospital bed in 30 years, all tubed up and thinking with regret of all the wasted time. Gonna move to the woods and live on acorns and be relaxed and poor and cold and starving, but oh so happy and content. Gonna live stress free without a job, without electricty, making the world a greener place. Oh God, gonna be bored out of my brain. Gonna write to Bill gates and beg a million pounds and waste it away. Gonna get back to work before they fire me.

It is funny and not a little sad. New iPhones issued as company phones. Frankly if I could type on it fast enough, I'd be using it to Blog. Been using it for everything else for nearly 24 hours now, whether it was designed for the purpose or not. Watching the mad App downloading, most of which will never be used. Haven't bought any myself, too tight for that, but got plenty of free ones, including 2 spirit levels. you can't have too many spirit levels. Got a couple of Tube Apps, never use the tube. Makes a great iPod though, and I'm sure that when I can use it as a phone it'll be perfectly adequate for that too. Got mine a day early, so now I can watch the rest of them try not to be as sad as they all think I've been. They'll fail, though won't they. Can't deny it is a most addictive lump of plastic and circuitry. Time for more coffee.

As the profile says, golf hacker. That's me. People don't realise how hard it is. It is. Hard that is. Four years now I've been hacking. Four fruitless years, one step forward, at least one step back. Then last night it happened. The breakthrough. The barier, the wall, the psychological monkey on my all too stiff and inflexible back. I broke the magical 100 barrier. OK, if you're any good at golf I know you've done it loads of times and it's nothing and it's pathetic it took me so long. But it did and I've done it, and it was GOOD. So was it 99? 98? 97? keep guessing sucker. 95 oh yes! 95. When the pressure was on, on the 18th tee on 91 and every possibility of hitting a 9, what happened? I parred it. A sublime 4 with a lovely long putt to finish. I'm still smiling, ho ho ho. Happy days!

We all love lists. I love lists. Top 5 albums of all time, easy or hard? In order or not. Let's see, Blood on the Tracks, Nashville, Boatman's Call, ... No too hard. Top 5 artists (music of course). Bob Dylan (obviously), Tom McRae, Josh Rouse, James, Coldplay, REM, Kings of Leon, Kate Rusby, ... too hard again. Let's try some top one's if 5 is too hard. Favourite TV actor... haven't got one Favourite religion - which one's don't have a god? Favourite colleague (too many dodgy criteria linked with that one) Eureka. It's not that it;'s too hard, it's clearly just that I don't care enough to choose. OK music I can give it a go. Everything else? How much do you have to care about something to have a favourite? How about the 5 things I care most about of which there is more than one so I can make a list? Oh give up. Favourite person - Me. It's true, and you'd all agree if you were honest (about you, not me).

Don't you just hate those lane hoggers. Those inconsiderate people who find a lane and regardless of their speed or the speed of the rest of the traffic, or the recommended speed for that lane, just stay there. No I'm not talking motorways, but much worse and more annoying than that, it's swimming pools! This morning (as a totally coincidental for instance) I get into one of 4 "medium" lanes (there are 2 "slow" and 2 "fast". first of all, 2 other people follow me in, making 4 in the lane (yes I can count, there was one in there already, 1+1+2=4. In the medium lane next door, there is one person, ONE. Yet four in mine. To make matters worse, the one is slow. Not just "a little less than medium" slow, but "give him a prod to check he's still alive" slow. OK he's old as well, but is that an excuse for ignorance? No, I don't think so. Get in the slow lane Grandad Before I sweep you aside with mighty tidal wav...

I think it's fair to say that when it comes to friends, I'm not a keeper. I don't do the regular calls, emails, IM, letters, none of that stuff. Probably why over the years they've all drifted away. I'm sure I'm not alone in blokedom (specifically married blokedom) in most, if not all my friends being fathers of my childrens' friends, or more precisely, husbands of the mothers of my childrens' friends. this is important as it is the wives who befriend each other and we get to make do with the spouses. Not to insult my friends, many of whom, if they hadn't been chosen for me, I may well have picked, or at leat allowed them to pick me! So why, if I have such a cavalier attitude to friendship, do I get excited these days when I hear from friends from the bowels of ancient history? Is it that I'm regretting a youth long gone, of which I have few reminders? Is it that my life has a void which religion and politics failed to fill, and sport just ...

Happened again this morning, that sick feeling in the pit of the old stomach. I know what it is by now and recognise the signs. All I have to do to is get back in control and all will be well. So I sit at my desk, and blog. Never learn! Swine flu? You're having a laugh aren't you? NHS stock-piling face masks. I would like to nominate a few wearers round here. There's no flu, but would make the rest of us feel better. Underwhelmed by blogging, off to make a list. Then cross things off. Might even put on a couple of things I've already done, if I can think of any, just to get a head start!