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I don’t watch X factor or any of that rubbish, its mildly amusing to see people get blown away by Simon Cowell’s brutal honesty… I do watch a lot of YouTube clips, I think I’m addicted…

Anyway, I kept seeing this one kid on Britains Got Talent in the most viewed, so I thought I’d watch it. Wow. I don’t cry, ever… I almost did at this:

“I carry on singing”

super kid 1 - bullies 0

              

I’d like to propose the first outing of 2008 for Bike Club!!!

Monday 645pm Bournemouth Pier (usually to the left as you look at it).

Fixed the bike up yesterday (back wheel needed some love, some rim tape and a new inner tube) and took it out for a short trundle to test the knee today.

Didn’t seem too bad, knees felt a bit shaky for a while when I got back, didn’t really put any effort in either.

Lovely day down here, a bit windy n cold but the beach looked lovely. Went to the Durley and back, lower gears than I’d normally use to make it less effort/stress onto the joint.

Verdict:~ Gentle rides to build up the strength, I reckon will be fine.

              

It felt different swimming last night, post-fluid draining episode, kind of more flexible but not as strong.

I’m noticing that now I’m more flexible I’m using muscle groups that are weak.

i can kneel down again!!! Just about….

Squatting, nope, but I think that’ll come with time.

AND

for the first time, I felt bendy enough to get out of the pool without using the steps…. dum dum duuuuh!

Only managed 48 lengths as my ankles were really hurting, when one joint feels better it seems my body finds new and wonderful places to hurt.

Despite only doing 48, I did swim a set of 16 so that’s progress of sorts.

In other news…

Thanks to Stu - I now have a shiny new pair of 750GB drives in my RAID array, much needed as my PC was grinding to a halt at times.

I’m starting to formulate an updated plan nout of this mess, coming to terms with the job market being dead to non-existent…. onwards, ever onwards.

              

I said it from the day it was announced… Jay-Z as the headliner at the Glastonbury festival will put people off.

Not because they think its all about one act… but what that signifies… it takes the festival in a different direction at odds with its ethos.

Bling in the Mud?

Get real Mr Eavis.

Interesting to see that today they extended the ticket sales registration thing for the first time as only 2/3rds of tickets have sold!

A Glastonbury that wasn’t a frantic sell out??? You messed that one up matey!

Bestival for me.

              

That’s probably the nearest way to spell how i’d describe the way I’m feeling right now.

Frustrated, confused and annoyed.

The plan was good… I wanted to get a job and focus on playing good gigs. (good gigs sorted at least)

Its just not happening, there’s very few jobs around and those that are about, seem to want an impossibly long list of skills.

I’ve had a few good leads and interviews… that have all come to nothing, literally nothing… only 1 has even had any form of feedback!

Are the agencies giving me the run around? I don’t think so…

was I being arrogant in thinking I would be able to get a job within a month or so?

on some accounts the job market is weird, people looking to recruit and then budgets or pressures change so they don’t for whatever reason…

I dunno, but it leaves the plan a bit chuffed. The spot of goodness in this icky mess is that financially I’m ok for a bit, I have money to survive.

What next?

Get some temp call centre-y type role?
Embark upon some form of crazy scheme?
Launch a coaching business and push the book stuff more?
Take a month out and train up in Flash (or .NET perhaps) ?
Start doing cheesier gigs again to pay the bills?

I really had stuff well planned, then the illness fecked up that plan, I sorted myself out (mostly - still no bike club for me) and got a new plan rolling only to be thwarted again! Grrrr.

Well I guess that life.

Think I’ll take myself to the library tomorrow with a pad of paper and my laptop to bash out another new plan… grrr.

              

Had a really good few days up in Hereford with Lucy.

Stopped off at the birdlip viewpoint in the Cotswolds (overlooking Glos) on the way:

Took a tour of the cider museum (and sampled a couple of cider related alcoholic beverages)… went to see the Mappa Mundi and generally did the tourist thing around Hereford.

It was really good to chill out, eat plenty of yum home cooked food and take a short stroll in queenswood:

There were also a couple of random animal encounters… donkeys in the field near my mums house, one of which saw us.. made the noise that only a donkey can make and ran off… the other came over to say hello.

Slightly more unusual were the family of ostriches though…