Happy New year

Happy New Year to everyone in j'land.

This year I, like most of you have had some ups & downs. Most notably the best part of my year was finding out I am going to be a daddy, I can't believe its now less than 2 months to the due date ( feb 22nd ). I know I have said it before but I still cannot believe I have gone from being not bothered about having kids to being completely over the moon about L'il Vamp. This feels like the greatest thing to ever happen to me, mind you I might feel differently in 6 months time when I haven't had any sleep for months! Nic is finding it quite difficult at the moment as she is very uncomfortable with this little wriggly, kicking thing inside her. I'm sure she'll feel its all been worthwhile once she gets to hold our son. So this is the last new year when we get to go out without having to sort out babysitters, saying that L'il Vamp will give us the perfect excuse to stay at home when we can't be bothered going out.

Other good news this year was finally getting to have my day in court over the car accident I had in  june 2003, I find it hard to understand how it took over 3 years to be resolved but at least it is now resolved & I can now afford to insure a car again as the accident was found to be caused 100% by the other driver. His insurance company has also made me an offer now but I am waiting for my barristers advice before I accept it. Hopefully the cheque will be sent quite quickly if I accept the offer, it would be nice to have the extra cash when the baby arrives.

The year has not all been happy though, we have had some bad times but in an effort not to dwell on anything bad I will not go into the details here. Since I found out that I am going to be a dad the bad things don't get me down like they used to, okay so I still get frustrated & like to get things off my chest when things annoy or upset me but I have suffered with depression in the past & I know how different my life could be if I let everything get on top of me.

Globally there has been  a lot going on this year & unfortunately not all good. As mentioned in other journals in the last couple of days I too feel that we are not as safe as we used to be, we are still hearing about our soldiers dying in foreign countries that they really shouldn't be in but instead of making this country more secure I hate to admit it feels like its had the opposite effect. I don't want to be too much of a pessimist but I feel we are further from world peace now than we have been since the last world war. Economically I worry about the future of our country as well, we are about to have 2 more countries join the EU at a time when this country really cannot sustain the high levels of immigration we have had over the last few years. I am all for integration & multiculturalism but not when it destroys a way of life for the people born & raised in this country.

Knowing I am about to be responsible for another life does make me more concerned about the world around me but I refuse to let it stress me out too much. 2007 is going to be a fantastic year, if for nothing else then at least for the fact that I will finally be able to hold my son in my arms. As i type this the wind is howling outside & it has been pouring with rain all day, so if you are going out tonight please take care. One of the best things about the last year is discovering j'land, I started my journal because I wanted a record of my thoughts & feelings about becoming a parent but along the way I have made some great new friends ( okay so we may never meet face to face but that doesn't matter ). I always make fun of Nic being addicted to soaps on tv but I guess I am just as addicted to the new soap opera - blogging! Everyday I can't wait to read about what you have all been up to - let me know what you all think, are blogs  the new soap opera's/reality shows?

Happy New Year to you all....love VampJack x   

Nearly New Years Eve

First things first, my Grandad is back home & doing well. Thank you to all those who left comments or otherwise contacted me with your kind messages regarding my Grandad.

Tomorrow is obviously New Years Eve & I will try to find the time to add an end of year entry.

I'm sure plenty of you are going out tomorrow to celebrate so I wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year, whatever you are doing tomorrow take care & enjoy.

Love to all...VampJack x

Merry Christmas

So tired today, didn't get to bed til nearly 1 this morning & I don't go out very often. Finished work at 5.30 yesterday then back at 7.30 to meet some of my friends there for a drink or 6. It was the first time we'd all been able to go out for a drink together so it was nice, one of my friends is nearly the same age as me & he was also a long haired freaky person in his youth so we spent a lot of the night reminiscing ( prob spelt that wrong but who cares ) bout some of the bands we had seen & other old fogey type stuff...very funny. Nic came out for 1 drink but then went back home cos the pub was too smokey for her, I asked her for my house keys but noooo, she said she'd stay up - then moaned when I got back late & she had to let me in!!

Bit of a cloud hanging over my family this christmas, my mum phoned this morning to tell me my Grandad hs been taken into hospital with pneumonia, he's 84 & has a bad heart, he's had a few heart attacks over the years so he's not the strong man he once was. Much as I will try to enjoy christmas my mind will be preoccupied with how Grandad is doing. I'm not one for having family around me all the time, I'm more of an independent person who likes the peace & quiet of being at home, I do sometimes feel guilty though because I haven't seen my Grandad for a few years, he lives quite a way from me so I don't get to see him. Over the last few years his mind has started to deteriorate & part of me doesn't want to see him all confused & not knowing who I am. He was always a very intelligent man & could charm anyone he met, I know its selfish but thats how I want to remember him. I hope he recovers from the pneumonia soon & maybe I will take L'il Vamp to see him as I know he would love that.

Nic's off out tonight with the girls for a meal, she's only going down the road but it means I get the house & the tv to myself so tonight is chill out night. Whatever it is you are doing over the next few days I hope you all have a fantastic christmas... love to you all....VampJack x 

Still here

Just thought I'd let you all know I am still alive. I have been doing late shifts at work so have been too tired to update my journal recently. This week at work is going to be really frustrating, the powers that be have decided in their infinite wisdom that it would be better to take on some temps to help out with my departments job during the busy christmas period, whilst at the same time making us all take a step backwards & work the inbound calls. So we have been trained to do a job where experience counts for a lot as it can save a lot of problems, if I have to contact you for some information, that info may lead to me asking you for something else because I know thats what Customs are likely to ask for. Instead I get to take mind numbingly boring calls while someone without the level of experience my colleagues & I have works the files, because they don't have our experience of the job the files will come back repeatedly asking for more info whereas we could sort it all in one call!!! Managers...what the hell do they know?

I have got some exciting news though - yesterday for the first time I felt L'il Vamp kicking!! Normally Nic tells me he's kicking so I put my hand on her stomach only for him to stop ( mind you he does the same if anyone else put their hand on her stomach so its not just me ). It seems so strange that this is going to be our last christmas just as a couple. We were going to put the decorations up at the weekend but neither of us could be bothered, it was the first weekend in ages that we have had a chance to relax.

Anyway gotta go...I hope all your christmas shopping is nearly done so you can relax at the weekends. Take care all... VampJack x

If you are of a sensitive nature you may wish to turn away now. The last couple of days have not been good.

Yesterday we were due to have Tesco delivery between 6-8pm, this way I would be home to lug everything into the kitchen & put it all away. Nic shouldn't be lifting loadsa heavy stuff like bags of cat litter, multipacks of cat food ( tins ), multiple 2litre bottles of pop, etc - but...... I get home at 5:55 & find tesco is there. Okay so maybe not a major problem, after all the woman delivery driver is great, she always helps carry the stuff inside if we need help & has plenty of time to let you check your delivery - but oh no...Tesco have decided to employ the scruffiest, smelliest, rudest driver they could find. I start checking the list to make sure we've got everything, also had to open all the bags to make sure no glass jars broken because he was just throwing the crates down in my doorway, he then has the cheek to tell me that he can't wait for me to check everything off because he's only got 6 minutes left before going back to the store!!! I told him that I don't care how short of time he is I will sign for nothing until I have checked it all off, & considering he wasn't supposed to be there until after 6 he would have to bloody well wait. Eventually I checked everything off & signed for my delivery, no 'thank you', no 'goodbye', no nothing. So I rang up & complained about him, I have told the store manager that in future when I place orders they had better make sure he is not the driver or I will turn him away, no way am I going to have some delivery driver speak to me like I'm an inconvenience to him ( I would like to point out at this point that I have 20 years customer service experience & I work in the courier trade so I know what its like on the other side ). Not only that but as I told them, if Nic had to carry everything in herself & anything had happened to her or L'il Vamp I would be going on a killing spree in tesco's. The tesco manager told me she'd 'sit him down & give him a talking to'....WHAAAATTT! Sack the scruffy, useless tw*t. If any of my staff had ever been that rude to a customer they'd be sacked for gross misconduct.

Then last night was another night of not getting much sleep, so today I was not in a very happy, smilie mood. I took Nic to work & decided I would go into work early myself, yesterday when I took Nic to work I spent the time back at home constantly checking the clock to see if it was time to go to work. My friend who was supposed to be on the early shift was off because her daughters ill ( hope smiler gets better soon ) so they asked me to do her job today as I was in early....big mistake agreeing to this. Everyone & their dog was calling in today because of a problem with a diverted flight, being the nice customer focused individual I am I put on a brave face & took loads of crap with people blaming me for the problems. Like a fool I magreed to go in early again tomorrow cos my friend won't be back til next week. On top of that it seems that the same people are always getting the shitty shifts at work, if your face fits you can always get out of late shifts which annoys the hell out of the rest of us that work a lot harder than these people but always seem to get dumped on. I am on late shifts next week, which I must admit I was quite grateful for because it meant I wouldn't be on lates christmas week, but I get the new rota today & I am on a floater shift which is when we have to cover for any absences or holidays - yes you've guessed it, the person who always seems to find a way out of lates is on lates christmas week, this will probably mean that they will try & get me to work lates..hahahahahahaha - not gonna happen. I have helped out with the crappy files a few times recently so I will use this tomorrow when I tell my boss that I am not gonna be doing lates on christmas week.

Right well enough whingeing, I am going to watch Ramsay's ktchen nightmares now ( we taped it earlier this week before you start looking in the tv listings ), I will enjoy a nice glass of beer & maybe some chocolate cake too. I hope I haven't offended anyone too much with my rants ( unless you're the tesco delivery driver in which case, tough! ) ...take care all. ....VampJack x 

Monday blues

I lay in bed this morning listening to the rain beating down & thinking, I'll drive to work today. As ithappens the rain stopped by the time I pulled myself out of bed so I did the sensible thing & walked, it'd take me just as long to drive as walk with the shift I'm on this week. I might drive tomorrow though just because I can!

Of course I had to tell everyone at work that I'd got a new car, christ if this is what I'm like with a car imagine how boring I'll be when my son arrives. Everyone's gonna be 'sorry i'm really busy'. Still what do I care, i make it my job to wind people up now so it'll be no different when L'il Vamp's here, just a change of subject. Talking of work, I've got a training workshop on thursday, really not looking forward to that. I work for an american company & their training methods are very american, ie patronising & insulting to people who've been in the industry for 20 years. Don't get me wrong, this sort of thing possibly works in america but I'm not in america. If I was to tell a customer 'i feel your pain' they'd think I was taking the piss. Its nearly december though so better not complain too much, we usually get an advent calendar from the boss, it may not be much but its the little things that make life more enjoyable.

I got an invite from my friend at work today, she's getting married next april & had a nice invitation to the evening party. I told her Nic wouldn't like it cos she put Nicky & not Nic....but I gotta tell you, I really don't think we can go.....Only me & Nic have been invited - WHAT ABOUT MY SON??? Only kidding N, you know I will be there if I can!! I think she's the only friend of mine that actually reads this  - or should I say, the only pre-j'land friend as I feel I have loads more friends now.

before I go I just wanted to pass on some bad news, all those that like Animal from the muppets may want to stop reading now. It is my sad duty to inform you that Animal has been found savaged by a wild beast, & it gets worse...I have to take some responsibility for this tragedy. You see when we were sorting out the back room we found Animal ( another great freebie from mcdonalds - well they have to give you something for eating that crap ), Bailey instantly took a liking to him ( or should that be disliking )& has since kicked him, threw him around, chewed him & generallyabused the poor thing. I guess the only good thing about this is that at least it wasn't one of my Garfields, then Bailey would have really been in trouble. If anybody wishes to contribute to Animal's private medical costs during his recovery please email me for the address to send cheques to!!!

Anyway, monday's nearly over so things can only get better. Until next time, take care ...VampJack x

 

 

Another (nearly) lazy Sunday

So here we are on another sunday, the last sunday in november, where the hell did this month go??? Nic got up before me today which is getting to be a habit at weekends to be honest, lovely person she is she brought me a cup of coffee in bed. Mind you didn't get to stay in bed too long because today was the day.....my car was waiting for me.

What do you think to my new motor? Okay so its not a brand new Merc or a Lamborghini or Ferrari but its mine, all mine & I love it. Just a word of warning, if you see me in your mirror coming up behind you....get outta my way! Only kidding, I do like driving fast but only when the road conditions, weather & traffic allow it. When it comes to urban driving I am a very mild mannered & courteous person ( stop bloody laughing its true ).

I will let you get back to your lazy sunday now, just wanted to tell you all about my new car, off to do my tesco shopping online now....VampJack x 

Saturday & everyone's gone shopping mad

Hello again everybody, have you all got your christmas shopping done? Well I have except last coupla online bits!

I didn't get the car I wanted, the price went too high so I had to let some other person have it, on the plus side I did get a car this week...have a look at the piccies!!! Yes I got my Schumacher Records edition model. On hte first pic you can see the plaque in front of the car, this lists his records that he now holds. It would have been nice to have had the Championship edition but alas it was not meant to be. This is one thing that L'il Vamp is definitely NOT getting his hands on, & my bloody cats can stay the hell away from it too.

I have also found another car - a real one this time that I can drive!! It's not quite as nice as the one I test drove last sunday but its still a Laguna which is the car I want. Its a p reg 1997 model 1.8, this one needs some wheel trims to make it look a little better & it has a small crack on the back bumper but nothing major......as long as they don't sell it tonight ( which they shouldn't as I've told them I'm coming over tomorrow with the cash, but you never know ) then tomorrow I will be mobile again. I'm pretty sure I can find the time to take a piccy & put it on here once I get it.

I had to go into town today to get the money out for the car, bloody hell.....the whole world's gone mad. I could hardly move, people are pushing & shoving & elbowing others outta the way....anyone'd think the shops were  selling out of everything. I am so glad that I don't have to fight my way around town for christmas presents this year, if I do have to go into town I will certainly not be driving, the traffic was nearly gridlocked today. I felt like standing in the centre of town & yelling at everyone to stop, its christmas not the end of the world.

This is fun typing this entry, Nic keeps coming in with stuff to put on ebay or freecycle so its like a game of chicken....how many words can I type before she comes back in & I have to change screens!!

Well thats about it for now, I will be back tomorrow to tell you all about my new car providing the buggers don't sell it before I get there. I hope you are all enjoying the weekend, only 4 more weekends until christmas, if you haven't done your shopping yet its time to start military style operations to ensure you have everything done in time...take care & come back soon.... VampJack x

Monday

Oh dear, woke up this morning at 7:38, jumped out of bed because I thought my alarm hadn't gone off & was convinced I was going to be late for work. halfway through frantically brushing my teeth I realised my alarm was set for 7:45, no point going back to bed for a few minutes so decided there was only one thing for it.....COFFEE!

Apart from that little monday muddle the day was okay. Only slight concern is on ebay, there's a really nice car on there that I want. I went for a test drive yesterday & it is soooo nice, only problem is that its creeping up in price & I suspect it may go over my budget. I will be absolutely gutted if it does because this car is the car I've wanted for a while, its nothing flash just a smart looking hatchback that has one of the smoothest drives I have experienced. I'm not telling any of you what car it is just yet in case you decide to bid on it!! Rest assured if I do get it I will post a piccy as soon as poss.

Talking of pics, I have had more than one request for pics of me, Nic & L'il Vamp ( well okay, me, Nic & bump )...you people must be mad, I am not photogenic at all. As Nic still doesn't know about this journal I can hardly ask her to pose for a pic for my journal either. I have every intention of posting a family mugshot once my son graces us with his presence so I am afraid you will just have to wait ( trust me, I really would not want to put you off your breakfast/elevenses/dinner/whatever ).

Nic's parents dropped off some of the stuff my sister sent up with Nic's aunt yesterday, there is loads of stuff for L'il Vamp. To be honest though I won't be using it all, some of the items are a little on the girlie side. Nothing wrong in theory except my sister has 2 boys....if one of my nephews starts listening to Barbara Streisand I'll know why now ( a peach jumper, for a little boy...come on! ). There's still the baby bath full of toys at Nic's parents house for us so being a typical bloke I can't wait to get my hands on them, after all that's why us blokes have kids - so we can play with the toys without anyone telling us to grow up. Nic put one of the little cardigans on our cat Bailey, poor bugger couldn't walk properly in it, apparently she tried putting a little hat on him as well. I know she wanted a little girl so she could dress her up but I think she's finally losing her mind, what makes it worse is that there is a cats christmas jacket in the new woolworths red book & she wants to buy it for Angel.

Well thats all for tonight, I've just started reading a new Clive Cussler book this weekend & want to read some more, his books always make me wish I didn't have to go to work as I never want to put them down. Take care all, hope the gale force winds are not battering you too much...VampJack x 

The Trial day

So today started just like any other day - the alarm went off, I hit the snooze button  & eventually got out of bed 7 minutes later. There the normality ended.

Myself & Nic were due at coventry crown court today following a car accident I had 3 and a half years ago. I had been driving a road that I drove on nearly every day when some numpty ( who we will call Mr Smith, okay so he really is Mr Smith but what the hell, sue me I didn't use his full name ) drove into the side of my car. My car was a write off & since then I have been unable to buy a new car because I could not afford the extra insurance. So we turn up nice & ealry but as my barrister was coming from Liverpool he was late due to major problems with the trains in the midlands ( hell, even one of the judges was late because of the trains ). So he gets to court, we have a 10:30 appointment but this is missed due to the train problem, eventually the case that took our slot finished at 12:50 - only for the judge to want to break for lunch. After a nice lunch ( Greggs sausage & bean melt - lovely ) we got into court at 14:00. All day the other driver was sitting in the waiting area in the next room from us & I have to admit that he looked worried. I may not be the most confident person in the world but I know how to walk with supreme confidence, which I did & enjoyed seeing Mr Smith looking more worried every time I walked by. This may be childish but I don't care, he has caused me a lot of grief over the last 3.5 years with not having my own transport so I was going to make the most of it.

When we got into court I was gobsmacked, he was wearing a scruffy fleece top with a scruffy polo shirt underneath, he never removed the fleece top in court & just looked like a complete scruff. Again, I may not be the most snappy dresser but at least I made an effort & wore shirt & tie. Basically his story was that I made a manouver that would have taken at least 30 seconds to complete & that I drove out of a side road straight into him. This is all complete bo***cks, the distance he had to travel before catching up with me would have taken him approximately 7 seconds, he claimed it took him 40 seconds to cover this distance ( I had to really stop myself from laughing at him ), he also claimed that I was driving like 'a bat out of hell' to make the manouver, yet when questioned intensely about the distance he was away from the junction when he finally saw me ( according to him, as I charged out of the junction straight into his path )he claimed my brake lights never went on as I was driving slowly - so he has sworn to tell the truth the whole truth & nothnig but the truth then contradicts himself in front of the judge - I could not make this stuff up I promise. 

Anyway, the upshot is that I WON!! Even the judge in his summing up said " I don't believe the defendant". So now it's all over I can finally start looking for a car. I still have to wait for the damages to be awarded, this can either be an offer from the other side or they can wait for the court to award damages. Either way I may not get any money until mid-late 2007. But at least I can afford to insure a car now so tonight I have been on line looking at cars. I want  a Renault Laguna, i've always liked these cars & now may be my chance to pick one up for a reasonable price. Okay so I haven't got any no claims as I haven't been driving for a while but that will soon be sorted after the first year.

The greatest thing would be if I could get a car sorted before L'il Vamp is born so I can bring him home in my own car. I would also be able to visit my mum & my sister more often. Not to mention being able to drive to any of the local parks around warwickshire when L'il Vamp is here.

I know I have rambled on a bit in this entry but I am so glad this has finally been resolved & in my favour. I will be back during the weekend & next week. In the meantime I hope you all have a great weekend...VampJack x  

Okay, okay so I've been neglecting my journal again this week. Actually i've had a few things going on that have been dragging me down so I just haven't felt like doing anything else. My solicitor called & wants me to go to liverpool to meet with the barrister that will represent me in court, now I know that meeting with him will give me a better cjance in court but I can't get a day off to go up to liverpool & a day off for court - & i've got to be in court on friday. I must admit for the first time since the accident in 2003 I am not feeling as confident about my chances of winning, I know that I was driving correctly & the other numpty is totally at fault I just don't feel that my solicitor has done her job properly. As the solicitor was provided by my insurance company I can't afford to sack her & get someone better. Don't get me wrong, yes i'm out of pocket thanks to numpty dickhead driver person ( who shall remain nameless for legal reasons, maybe i'll name & shame in a later entry ), I missed out on lots of overtime  - I was taking home at least £250 per month overtime before the accident, also I have no car & so have lost my freedom as I don't have the money to use public transport to go all over the country. Before the accident I would regularly drive some where at weekends & on holidays to visit friends & relatives or just go for days out with Nic & friends. The thing that really winds me up is that I have money for another car but until this is sorted I can't afford to insure the another car, its gonig to cost between £300-£750 EXTRA insurance a year unless I am cleared of any responsibilty for the crash & I just don't have that kind of money, particularly now L'il Vamp is on the way. I would be happy for the court to clear my name on friday even if I didn't get any compensation ( although that would be nice & most welcome ), at least then I could look at buying another car ( if we were having quintuples Kia would have given us there new people carrier for free - mind you I think I'd be looking to jack daniels to help me cope so wouldn't be able to drive it!! ). So wish me luck for friday.

Not done a lot else this week to be honest, work, work & more work. Mind you we did go to wellesbourne market yesterday, didn't get to spend the time there that we wanted as at 11.40 Nic's dad told us he wanted to  get back for 12.30 ( 40 minute journey ) cos he wanted to watch the horse racing. Why couldn't he have said something sooner, we'd have made sure we got everything done we wanted but no, that would be far too easy. Did manage to get myself a new pair of boots though, black ones with steel toe caps ( not essential but they cost less than my usual boots without steel toe caps )...so maybe if things don't go my way in court on friday I can give someone a good kicking - I am joking by the way so please don't start phoning the police just yet.

Not long got  back from town, Nic's decided she wants to start cooking christmas biscuits & sweets so we've had to go out & buy peppermint essence, a rolling pin, cookie cutters & lots more good stuff. I might even be able to get in the kitchen myself for half hour to make my delicious mince pies with sweet pastry. My dad's a chef so both my sister & I were taught to cook as soon as we could reach the cooker. So if anyone's in Coventry pop in for some nice treats & a coffee.

The good news is that Nic only has to get her dad's present & a little extra for her mum, which she will get when she goes shopping with her friend this week or next. I just need to get my nephews a couple of books which I may ask my sister to get as I am having trouble finding them here in cov, other than that Nic wants some dvd's & that is it - FOR ONCE MY XMAS SHOPPING IS DONE BEFORE DECEMBER!!! It is such a relief knowing there's no running around on 24th december. I've been saving my tesco vouchers too so next month I will get tesco to deliver my groceries & will have about £30 in vouchers to use. I'm still waiting for something to go wrong because I am never this organised, but fingers crossed this year will be so much easier than previous years.

Well that's it for today, I promise I will try & make more regular entries but with the court case on friday this week may well be another week without adding an entry until the weekend. Take care all.... VampJack x

Toys R Us with a fussy mum to be

Went to Toys R Us today, Nic's parents took us to show us the pushchair they want to buy us - or to give it the correct name the travel system they want to buy us. What the hell is that all about, its a bloody pushchair with a car seat/baby carrier. Why do they have to give fancy names to everything nowadays, we should all stand up & say - enough! Anyway, I thought it was nice, it had everything you could wish for, light, easy to manouver, comes with baby carrier/car seat, rain cover, footmuff, changing bag & it's easy to collapse ( well actually I was the only one that could collapse it, Nic, her mum & dad all tried & failed....see left handers are better at everything ). But oh no, it's the wrong colour, Nic wants a black one not a blue one so we've now got to find another pushchair that she likes for them her parents to buy us. She did find one she likes - £300, for a sodding pushchair! I reckon the manufacturers of these items are on to a good thing, they know people have to have these things so they hike the prices to excrutiatingly painful levels. I'm beginning to hope my L'il Vamp is a good looking lad like me ( okay so hopefully a whole lot better looking than me ) then I'm going to make him earn his keep as a baby model. I think I'll get Nic to steal a shopping trolley from work to use as a pushchair & let him sleep in the ottoman at the end of our bed, at least that way I won't end up in the poor house by this time next year.

Doing some more xmas shopping on the internet today, I'm nearly done now. Nic's aunt is coming to coventry soon so my sisters dropping off some hand me downs from my 2 nephews as she lives near Nic's aunt, hopefully we'll be able to presuade her to take my sisters/nephews presents back with her as well otherwise its going to cost me a fortune in postage. But what the hell its only once a year. Nic's dad's still a pain, we've been trying to get him to tell us today what he wants but still drawing a blank there, I really don't want to do the age old back up of giving him  a bottle of whiskey. I have already told everyone else who usually asks for vouchers/money that this year I refuse to give vouchers/money & have for once got sensible idea's for presents from them.

My friend at work has had a nice idea, last year we did secret santa & apart from when she asked me what I wanted ( Spinal Tap dvd, I love it ) most people got stuff they will probably never use & would never buy in a  month of sundays. So this year we are going to try & get everyone in the team to agree to giving to charity. It only takes a couple of pounds from everyone ( a lot less than the £10 secret santa presents last year ) & we can do some good, I try to give when I can to charities but this is something I really want to do. Last year I spoke to several friends who felt that there was no xmas atmosphere, at work, at home & in town ( & this was friends in different places around the uk so it's not just this town ). We all expressed the same feeling of emptiness at a time when we should all have been having a good time, each of us said that we felt as though we should have been giving our time to help those less fortunate than ourselves or at the very least we felt that we didn't need or want half the presents we got so the money could have gone to better use helping others. It may only be a little gesture but if everyone at work did this instead of swapping presents ( & lets face it unless you know your colleagues really well we tend to all buy the same smelly gift packs, chocolate or wine ) we could really help those who are not as lucky as us.

Changing the subject completely, i'm not one to express my political views too much unless I know the people I'm talking to but I have to say that I am pleased to hear about the sentence passed on Saddam Hussain, we don't need people like him in this world, now if we could only get a similar verdict on George Bush!

Hope you're all having a great weekend, remember to wrap up warm when you go out....love Vamp x  

Presents, gardening & a loony cat

Hello again everyone, this weekends been a bit busy for me so its nice to be sitting here having a rest ( for now ).

Had to get up early on saturday so I could collect a parcel from the sorting ofice in town. Then it was time for shopping at Aldi, that place is so busy but they do seel some good stuff at reasonable prices - plus its walking distance from my house. When I got back I decided it was about time I cut the grass again, I've been putting it off for weeks because of the weather but when you lose sight of the cats once they're in they're on the lawn its time to cut it ( only kidding, I could still see their heads ). This took ages as the grass was so wet & quite long, finally it is done, also had to cut back the bushes & other plants at the side of the garden before it gets too cold. So now the garden is looking a bit better, I still need to empty the pond so think I will have to invest in a submersible pump which is going to cost about £30, but as the pond is about 2 foot deep & full i think it'll be worth it. I started trying to empty the pond using a bucket a couple of weeks ago but my back was soon complaining & I don't particularly want to take time off work with back problems again.

Later on saturday Nic's parents came round with presents from their holiday in Turkey last week - the present I got is shown above!! Although L'il Vamp won't fit in the jacket until he's about 18 months I love it. I can just see me now walking with my boy, dad wearing a Ferrari ( well Schumi to be honest ) cap & his little boy wearing a Ferrari jacket - do I sound at all sad?? Nic was given loads of baby clothes by her friend this week too so we're not doing too badly. The bump is getting quite big now & I cannot wait to meet my son. I talk to him all the time & sing to him sometimes as well, the worst thing is going be going back to work after my paternity leave as I know I will be wanting to stay home with him. I'm even considering trying to find a job where I can work from home so I can be around more.

Today we have been cleaning the house & Nic has cooked a wonderful roast dinner again, I'm quite traditional in that I love my roast dinners on a sunday, its just not the same without one. It is a trade off though, I had to do her ironing today while she cooked dinner. There's a film on Disney later she wants to watch so I had better go & have a shave now so I don't miss it. I will no doubt spend half the film watching my loopy cat Bailey, he runs all over the place playing football or launching himself at his scratch post/activity centre & nearly knocking it over...he's completely insane!

 

 

I hope you've all had a good weekend, before I go nearly forgot, the following link is to Kate's journal index that she has been working so hard on for all of us. Please take some time to check out the index & maybe find a few new journals to read. I have also added the index to my other journals links on the left. Thanks for doing such a wonderful job Kate, everyone in j'land owes you now!!

http://journals.aol.co.uk/bobandkate/20062007-journal-index/entries/130

Take care all.... Vamp x

Midweek update

I'm on lates this week so don't get time to update my blog when I get home & usually too lazy to get out of bed in the morning to update it. Today I have to go to the post office on the way to work so thought i'd better get up earlier.

Yesterday at work we managed to embarrass my friend as it was her birthday & she had been keeping it quiet but made the mistake of telling a couple of us, she had to stand up while we gave her the card & waterstone vouchers we got for her after having a little collection. I was quite annoyed doing the collection because although we all generally get on there are a few of us who are no part of the 'in crowd' & don't really have any great desire to be part of it, however we always put in when there's a collection for someone's birthday regardless of wether its their 21st or 33rd. When we did the collection last week many of the supposed in crowd claimed they only put in when it's something special like a 21st or 30th - which I will remember every time they ask me to donate in future. Don't get me wrong I'm not a petty, tight fisted old scrooge but they cannot have there way when it suits them & then change their mind when its their birthday. 

Things have been pretty quiet at home, the new bed is sooooo comfortable i never want to get out of it, mind you I have to have a ladder to climb in every night - it's so much higher than the last bed. We've been buying more baby clothes as well, they are really cute. I reckon people buy too much or get given too much as some of the stuff we've bought on ebay is brand new with the tags. It's saved a fortune on shop prices. Nic collects cows & I managed to get a set of mothercare cow sleepsuits which she absolutely loves. Her parents are on holiday in Turkey at the moment, every tie they go away they bring me something back to do with Ferrari, wether it be t-shirts, towels, or a lanyard for my id tag at work...they tx'd Nic to tell her they have bought something really cool for L'il Vamp, Nic says if it's anything to do with Ferrari she's not gonna let L'il Vamp have it!! I can just see my son in a Ferrari t-shirt with little Ferrari cap!!

Those of you that read my blog regularly are probably wondering why I didn't add any entries after this weekends race. Well to be honest its because I still am not sure how I feel, yes I'm disappointed that Schumi didn't win when he had the pace to do so easily but Alonso is a deserving champ so no sour grapes or anything. In a way I am glad Alonso was in the points because if he wasn't Michael would have soon got up to 2nd place & the n his team mate Massa would have moved aside for Michael to take the win & the championship. I would love to have seen him go out with an 8th title but Massa went on to win & become the first brazilian to win his home grand prix since the late, great Ayrton Senna back in 1993. Much as I love seeing Schumi win I always like it when we get new winners or when I see someone who hasn't won much winning their home grand prix. But now its all over, no more racing until march 18th next year. At this time of year I generally get a bit depressed as I love my racing more than anything else but this year I am struggling to sort out my feelings , Schumi has now retired so I will never get to see him race again. I have watched him racing for half my life so it is a big change, one that I guess unless you are passionate about a sport the same as me you may not understand. I am happy to see him quit while he's still able to challenge for wins & if you saw the race on sunday you will know just how amazing he is behind the wheel ( he may not have won but his drive was truly awe inspiring ), I would hate to have seen him struggling on in mid-field or at the back as that would only destroy his image & reputation. So I am sad to see him go but also glad he's got out alive without any major injuries. I will probably still get up in the early hours to watch the first race next year but will have to see if I will do the same later in the year.

Anyway its that time again, gotta get ready for work so I can get to the post office before going to work. Take it easy people, nearly halfway to the weekend again... Vamp x 

Lots of new things

My new bed's arrived, so has my new bookcase....along with the kettle & toaster during the week & the units we got last week our house is starting to look loads better than it did 2 weeks ago!!

I love getting new things & defi nitely can't wait to go to bed tonight on my nice new king size bed. Mind you Nic doesn't believe me how they make the king size beds bigger, I have tried to explain that they take the double bed frame & then add the extra bit on to the left hand side of the bed ( as you look at it from the foot of the bed ), I mean its not as if its my fault she chose to have the right hand side of the bed is it. Can I help it if it's my side that has the extra space!! Somehow though I don't think I will get to enjoy the extra space, although Nic's paying half for the bed I will still only get to sleep on a quarter of it.

Got to go into town shortly to post loads of stuff I sold on ebay, we are making quite good progress with the spare room now, not chucking stuff out just selling on ebay or giving stuff away on freecycle.org ( a great site, the aim is to stop stuff going into landfill so you can advertise your stuff you want to get rid of or if you want anything so long as its all free ). Nic's never really been a big reader & doesn't like that my books take up so much space but she has finally decided we can have a bookcase in the lounge as well as in the bedroom, just got to put it together this afternoon when I get back.

Right gotta dash to the post office now.... have a great weekend ...  Vamp x

discount at HMV.COM - fri/sat 20th/21st october only

Thought some of you may want to take advantage of this discount:

 

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This is a Friends-and-Family offer, so please forward to anyone you think would
enjoy 20% off at HMV.co.uk. Remember it's only valid for two days.

Warm & toasty tonight

As you might have guessed by the title of this little entry ( if you read my blog regularly that is )I now have the gas reconnected. The 2 guys who came last night worked very hard to ensure all was well & then another guy had to come out to make sure they had done their jobs properly & switch my meter back on ( I told him he really didn't need to put the meter on if he didn't want to, I don't mind getting free gas ). So this morning we awoke to a warm house & again tonight I came home to a nice warm house...it is so nice & you don't realise how nice it is until its gone.

Another nice thing was that I didn't have to spend all day at work today, I had an appointment with an orthopeadic surgeon. She' been asked to compile a medical report ( another one!! ) for my case against mr numpty driver dick who drove into my car back in 2003 - yes you did read that right it really was that long ago. To be honest I am getting sick of waiting for the case to go to court, when I got home I had another letter from my solicitor asking if I will accept a 75/25 split on responsibility in my favour. Now considering I have refused all other offers & that the barrister my solicitors legal firm are using has even said i'm either right or wrong - there is no middle ground so why would I accept responsibility for an accident that has taken away my mobility ( only in so far as I no longer have a car, i can't afford the double insurance while the case is still pending ). I'm pretty sure its just so my solicitors don't have to go to court, I say bring it on.

Other nice things were waiting for me at home though not just boring solicitors letters, my new kettle & toaster from speed auction tv arrived today. Sad that I find happiness in getting new kitchen appliances but as I cannot live without my coffee & also like nothing better than soup & toast for dinner on cold winter nights I don't care wether you all think I'm sad. My old kettle/toaster have definitely seen better days as they have moved with me several times over the last 10 years....so its out with the old & in with the new - even more so on saturday when my new king size bed & new bookcase arrive from argos.

Other good stuff this weekend is the next grand prix, although I am excited about the upcoming race it is also going to be a very sad occassion as this will be the very last time Schumi races in formula 1. I will probably be very emotional so expect a mixed response in my journal after the race. It is going to be very strange next year watching the races without being able to cheer him on, oh well I guess its a case of out with the old & in with the new for my racing as well.

Well thats all for tonight, except to say congratulations to all the j'landers who have been nominated for a Vivi & good luck to all of you. Before I started my own blog I had no idea how much I would enjoy becoming part of this lovely family of people from all over the place. It's so nice to know that whenever one of the j'land family is not feeling too good for whatever reason there's always a bunch of people to leave encouraging & kind comments. And its great that we can all join in with each others lives in our own little piece of cyberspace. Peace & love to you all..... Vamp x 

A cold day in october

So before we go any further hands up thise that have visited CarnivAOL this week.......if you haven't then you need to get along there ( but not before you finish reading this of course ), there are some new journals on there to check out as well as some old favourites :

http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/CarnivAOL/

So last night I left you wondering wether the good people at transco would come & put my gas back on, well a man did turn up & he did look at turning it back on but.....the dumb ass mutherf**kin contractors had removed the gas feeder pipe to our house so he had nothing to connect it to!!!!! Anyway, he told me that if the idiots at MorganEst ( for legal reasons let me publicly state that all my comments regarding this company are my personal opinions only ) did not reconnect the supply when Nic got home today to phone up & report a smell of gas outside - so this is what we did. I currently have 2 transco chaps desperately trying to sort the piping out right now so we can ( hopefully ) get reconnected tonight. The problem being that even if they can get the pipes installed properly, & there's no guaranteeing they can do this without digging up all our pathway to lay brand spanking new pipes all the way to the house, they still then have to call another engineer once the pipes are connected to switch the meter back on & that may take 4 hours for him to get here after these other guys are gone. If ever you have any work done on or near your properties by MorganEst make sure the arseholes do the job when they say they will & if necessary hold their van keys to ransom until its done - these contractors would be better suited to working at eurodisney or the american adventure if you get my drift.

Anyway I guess you don't want to listen to me whingeing all night. Had another nice surprise when I got in tonight, Nic's dad has made some stew which smells delicious so I think I will have to force some down shortly. I really do wonder what her parents are up to, home made cake, home made stew, they're buying us a pram/pushchair...what are they after do you think? Maybe they finally feel safe that Nic isn't going to go leaving me & running off back home so they can relax!! only kidding they do quite a lot for us what with taking us shopping most months as we don't have a car, also they are always inviting us round for dinner & when they get back from holiday ( they're off to Turkey on friday ) we're all going out for dinner to an indian restaurant ( the same one we got the curry from last week - yum! ). I just know they are going to be so helpful once L'il Vamp arrives too, its just a shame my mum can't drive anymore ( for medical reasons ) so she won't get to see as much of her grandson as she'd like.

Right well enough boring you lovely people, I'm off to see what these gas chappies are doing. Take care all.... Vamp x

 

Cold heating-less tuesday

I am sitting here in my cold house waiting for the gas engineer.

Last friday we had a letter shoved through our door ( not literally, they used the letterbox ) advising us that they were laying new gas pipes outside & would need access to the house on monday to switch off the gas, so they tell us on friday afternoon & expect us to just tell work to get stuffed because the gas people need access. Yeah Right! So monday rolls around & just as I'm about to leave for work the engineer knocks on my door - I tell him he has 2 minutes otherwise he'll have to wait for Nic to come home at 3.30, so he agrees to come back at 3.30. I get home last night at 6pm - nobody's been. Today Nic gets home & there's a knock at the door - 'you're gas is off' - at this point Nic kicks off saying he should have done this yesterday, she tells him we need the heating on tonight & he reckons he'll make a phone call to see if he can - then buggers off. I called the emergency gas leak number when I got home because there was no answer on any other number, now waiting for an engineer to come out & see if there is any gas in the pipes, if so great we can have heating - if not, tough.

Now I have explained to the nice guy in the call centre that I am asthmatic & the cold effects my asthma so I need heating, also that Nic is pregnant so needs heating, do they care? Do they hell. I can tell you this, the guy that comes out to check if we can have the gas on had better hope that he can sort it cos otherwise he's gonna be facing one seriously pi$$ed off man!

Other than this today's been pretty uneventful, typical tuesday, went to work, came home again. Last night was busy, mum & sister got the cards with the scan piccies in so was talking to them on the phone & both can talk for hours. Still they're both really happy & excited now they know its a boy, my sister has 2 boys so she's got lots of stuff to hand down to her  nephew. Nic's aunt lives near my sister so she said she will bring some of the stuff up to coventry when she comes up next month. Nic's mum & dad have offered to buy us a pram so even more money saved, they went looking at prams in toys r us on sunday ( would've been nice if they'd taken us with them but maybe next time ). This little chap is going to be spoilt rotten, i can see we're going to have to be careful though, shopping last week we were looking at the baby stuff & could easily spend all my entire savings in less than an hour.

Right well I'm off for a shower to warm myself up, then its time to find something to eat ( even though I've already had 3 samosa's & a slice of stollen tonight - I can't help it I love my food ). Talking of food Nic's mum has made me a fruit cake again, she makes great cakes & knows how much I love them so I always get one just for me, what a greedy pig I am but I don't care. Take care dear j'landers & if you hear reports on the news of any fires in coventry tonight its probably just me trying to keep warm... Vamp x

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatpatternisyourbrainquiz/

 

Found this on An Analysis of Life journal so thanks to Kate ( check out the link to her blog in my 'other blogs' section on the left ).

I have to say I agree with the result, I have a very active imagination but at the same time I have a very ordered mind & know what I want most of the time.If people find me hard to read I say GOOD! I don't like to be boring or predictable so i'll let them keep guessing.

 

Bye for now...

People needed to create the biggest blog ever.

I came across this link in phoenix's blog, sounds like a great idea so why don't we all add the link to our blogs so we can get as many people as possible to take part.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6048392.stm

Introducing L'il Vamp

So we went along for the 20 week ( although technically 21 week ) scan today, nurse told us everything is okay - 1 head, 2 legs & 2 arms!

I had decided that as Nic can never keep  a secret I may as well know wether we are having a boy or girl, no way would i not get to find out before the birth as most of her friends & particularly her dad are the type of people who will tell you about a surprise party 3 weeks in advance. And the answer is........we are having a BOY.

I know we both wanted a girl but neither of us are disappointed, this child will get so much love from both of us that we couldn't care less if it was an alien ( although if it was an alien we'd probably take advantage & make lots of money!! ). The 2 photo's above are the first scan from 25th august & todays scan. It was amazing how much you can see, he's just like his mum because throughout the entire scan his little mouth was going non-stop, & towards the end he put his hand in his mouth - looked like he was trying to eat it. He's also very much like me as no matter what the nurse did to get him to move so she could get a decent photo for us he was having none of it, I hate having my photo taken too so whenever the camera's come out i'll hide out with l'il vamp.

After the scan we went into town & bought some little t shirts, bibs & playsuits for him ( all blue or white of course ). On the bus from the hospital to town Nic started going on about the next one being a girl.....WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THIS LITTLE FELLA YET!!!!!!!! The amount of hand me downs we're going to get has suddenly plummeted as most people we know have had girls & no way am I letting my son be dressed in pink.

Anyway, we are gonig into town again tomorrow to do some more shopping & today I got a phone call from argos who are delivering our new king size bed next saturday so just over a week left sleeping on the horrible old one we have now. My curry's just turned up so I'm off to have my dinner....love to you all...  Vamp x

Next scan tomorrow

Just a quick entry today to say that tomorrow afternoon we are off to have the next scan. Nic has made some cards for my sister & mum, also some for her best friends. We're going to scan the pictures from the scan when we get back, print them off & stick them in the cards. I will also add the pictures to my entry in the next couple of days.

May have some arguments heading my way tomorrow & over the coming weeks/months, Nic wants to know wether its a boy or girl but I would rather wait until its born. This is okay in principle as she can find out & I will leave the room when she's being told.......but Nic cannot keep a secret at all. Oh well, we'll see....night....   Vamp x

My first day of rest

So today i had to get up early ( well if you consider 9 am early!! ) as I had a dentists appointment, luckily all was well so no ridiculously expensive treatment ( for those who of you outside UK, the government decided to set specific charging bands for dentists treatment, for example, it used to cost about £12.00 for a filling, now under the govt charges I would have to pay £42.40, the Uk govt are th**ves protected by the law ). But enough of my anti govt rantings ( I could carry on but i'm sure you all have your own views ).

As I was in town I thought I'd pay a visit to my bank as i have a very old savings account that pays really crap interest but have never bothered to change it, so today I closed that account & sorted out a much better savings account. It's amazing how expecting a baby can make you finally get off your arse & sort things that you should have done years ago.

Nic's been busy this weekend clearing out her stuff from the spare room ( soon to be nursery ), most of what is left now is either mine or is the xmas decorations. For my part I have been listing lots of my old video's on ebay, still got lots more to list & loads of books too. I can't believe I'm about to say this but I might even sell my vinyl, I used to collect records for years, some of the stuff I will never get rid of ( strange, I said that about my video's a while back )but the unsigned ecords may just have to go. I have lots of signed items but don't think I can ever get rid of them, I used to spend hours at venues waiting to meet bands & get my records signed. I've got an old bass guitar that I've had a few bass players sign & might even sell that if I can get the right price. Suddenly everything that seemed important to me is just 'stuff', you never know, if I carry on like this I may even get accused of growing up ( sorry guys I really am trying not to let the side down but its not easy when there's a baby on the way!! ). So much of what I collected represented my life & I have so many memories but the items themselves no longer seem important, I still have the memories & having downloaded a lot of the music I have on vinyl it still evokes the same memories that playing the records does so maybe its time to let go. Talking of memories its coming up to xmas again, last year I finally found a copy of Quincy's Quest on dvd ( not an official release sadly ), my best friend& I were talking a few years ago about xmas & the memoreis we had of xmas's when we were kids & this film ( starring Tommy Steele ) was something we both remembered so I was really pleased to finally get a copy ( if anybody out there remembers this film & wants a copy please email me ). I sold quite few on ebay last year but they have told me I'm not allowed to sell it anymore because its not an official copy, I can certainly understand there policy but there were so many people that wanted this film, if somebody put out an official release they'd sell loads.

We finally ordered a new bed today from argos, we got the new sale leaflet through the door last week & they've got a nice bed half price at £349.99 so I got the crowbar & prised my wallet open ( bit pointless as there wasn't much in it, good job the website let me use my debit card!! ). We ordered a couple of other bits too, we did want a new bookcase for the lounge but its out of stock. At least with argos they give you the option of being emailed when it comes back in stock so may order it once they have some more. Although its going to take about a month for them to deliver I now want new duvet & pillows, we're also going to have to get new sheets & covers because our current bed is a double & the new one is king size. We're going to go shopping in town on friday so we'll no doubt get the bedding then, hoping to get some more christmas presents for people too, definitely hoping to get all the presents sorted before the end of november, then for once we can relax while everyone else runs around like headless chickens during december.

Right I'd better end this entry here as Nic will be coming up soon & she doesn't know about this blog ( at least I don't think she knows about it ). Goodnight & sweet dreams to you all.....  Vamp x

Christmas coming early this year

Before I get on to the title subject for this entry I just have to give my report for this morning.

So the dream is all but over, Schumi drove a great race only for his engine to let go 17 laps from the end. Alonso won the race so is now leading the championship by 10 points with 10 on the table in 2 weeks at the brazilian gp. Still possible for Michael to win if he wins the last race & Alonso doesn't score but that's not very likely. Michael's engine blow up is the first one for 5 years for him & Alonso's car is normally reliable so as he has already had an engine blow up in Monza its not too likely it will happen again. I wish Schumi could leave the sport as world champion but at the end of the day Alonso deserves the title after the way he has driven this year, anyone who can win the championship is a worthy champion because its certainly not easy. Whoever wins we have had a fantatic season of ups & downs for all concerned so hopefully we will have a great race in Brazil to end the year.

Right now that's over with - christmas....I got sainsbury's xmas gift brochure delivered with my free paper on thursday & now today with my Mail on sunday I get asda's xmas gift brochure. What is going on, its only october!! I must admit that I have already started my xmas shopping, every year I say I will get it done early but never do, however this year I have already got 4 presents & my xmas cards so doing well. There is an extra incentive this year because Nic is not going to enjoy all the pushing & shoving in the city centre in december while she's pregnant so we are trying to make sure everything is done before december. Even so I still can't believe the christmas brochures are out so early, I think they should pass a law that says no shop is allowed to have xmas displays or put out brochures until halfway through november, it kinda ruins the excitement of it all. Next year will be the best, although l'il vamp will be too young to understand it will be great for Nic & me opening all the presents for the little un.

Right well only a quick entry today, got to get back in the kitchen to cook my roast potatoes, carrots & brussels to go with the delicious leg of lamb that I have already cooked. Take care all.... Vamp x 

t's catmas ( copyright of a distracted mind 2006 )

In response to DP's latest entry ( http://journals.aol.com/dpoem/TheWisdomofaDistractedMind/entries/2006/10/06/its-catmas/538 ), don't be scared to pay him a visit, he doesn't bite ( unless you smell like bacon ).

 

This here is Angel, definitely named after her looks not her temperament, she likes nothing better than to beat the crap out of Bailey. When we get up in the morning she runs downstairs & tries desperately to open the back door herself, not by scratching but by reaching for the door handle & trying to turn it.

This here is Bailey, the latest addition to our family, just as Angel likes beating the crap outta him he loves belting Angel about the head, in fact the only thing he loves more is to wrap himself round your legs whenever you're in the kitchen in the hope that you'll feed him. There are other things these 2 crazy critters have in common - they both know how to keep cool in the summer:

There is another cat that lives with us, he's very old & grumpy, loves beating up on the nighbourhood dogs, stealing food & sleeping:

Well that's about it for the catmas entry, I will no doubt be adding further entries over the weekend about the lousy weather but hey....NO WORK FOR A WEEK!!! I am now on holiday until monday 16th october, not going away anywhere but I will enjoy a well earned rest from work. I've got thedentist on monday & the next scan is on thursday but apart from that the week is mine.

I hope you all have a great weekend, take care & stay safe.....  Vamp x

Momentous day

So it was that at 0600 today I crawled from my bed bleary eyed & nervous, nervous because in yesterday's qualifying session Schumi was an amazing 6th - amazing because his tyres should have meant he didn't even make the top ten.

So it was with a heavy heart I went downstairs to watch Alonso extend his lead in the championship, with only 2 more races after today every point counts & I could see a bad weekend for Ferrari. It had rained heavily yesterday which is why the Ferrari's tyres were not working well, bridgestone have made great improvements this year but the wet tyre is still inferior to the michelin wets. It also rained again this morning before the race so everyone was starting on intermediate tyres - definitely a bad omen for ferrari. Schumi managed to make his way from 6th to 3rd bu was still a long way off the pace of the Renault's. Alonso managed to open up a 25 second lead - then he pitted. The wrong choice with tyre stategy meant that Schumi quickly caught & passed Alonso - YEESSSSS! Still a long way to go though, after the 2nd round of stops Schumi was in front, but then Alonso was very fast as the track dried, catching Schumi at 1.5 seconds a lap. The last 15 laps my heart was beating so hard I thought it was going to explode out of my chest......& then as they started the last lap the rain came down again....oh no - will Schumi on slick tyres manage to keep it on the road.....YEEESSSSSS!

So Schumi won with Alonso second, this means with 2 races to go the score is tied but Schumi is ahead in the championship because he has 7 race wins to Alonso's 6. If Schumi wins in Japan next week & Alonso fails to finish it's all over, otherwise we go to Brazil in 3 weeks to decide the title. I really hoope michael can get an 8th title this year, it would be so fitting for him to go out as champion, roll on next week ( even if I do have to get up at 0500 ).

My apologies again to those of you who do not follow the racing but if you read this journal regularly you will know how much formula 1 means to me, it is my biggest passion & as you can tell I get very excited. I had to be careful this week though, no shouting & screaming at the telly like I normally do as Nic was still in bed, same as she will be next week, oh well, at least I can shout & scream when watching the brazilian race.

Take care all & don't forget your umbrella's when you go out... Vamp x 

That ( nearly ) friday feeling

Well hello again everyone, nice of you to drop by.

Here we are on a slightly chilly thursday evening looking forward to tomorrow - only because it means then I get 2 days off work. A friend of mine once noted that you know when you are well & truly indoctrinated into office life when you not only look forward to friday but to 'casual friday'...sad but true. Once a week bosses all over the country don't mind you dressing like you're spending the day slobbing out on the sofa! Today at work has been a drag, the first half the day I spent complaining about people opening files wrongly or other people not working them properly, work would be sooo much better if everyone was as professional & conscientious as me ( only saying this cos I know my friend will read this & have a go at me!! ). You will be pleased to hear that our complaints about the increased targets have not gone unheeded, we had another meeting this week & they have reduced our targets to a more reasonable rate - halfway between what they used to be & the ridiculous targets we had, so most of us are happier now. I must admit you lot are lucky you don't work with me, I can be such a cheeky sod & why my friends & colleagues haven't chucked me out the window I'll never know.

Last night we had to take Bailey to the vet, he's been scratching at his neck & made it quite sore, we took his collar off him in case this was irritating him but his neck got worse. The sores spread all round his neck ( he's been treated with frontline flea treatment so it's not fleas ), we've been given some medicated washing solution, antibiotics, steroids & stronghold flea treatment that also treats mites - £61.63!!!!!!! Bloody expensive but as long as it makes him better it'll be worth it. The tablets started last night being a battle to get him to take them but now I just wrap them in bernard matthews turkey & he wolfs it down. Worse thing for Bailey is he's not allowed out for at least 2 weeks. It's quite nice that Bailey and Angel are good friends now, they still like to play fight but they spend most nights sleeping next to each other either on the landing outside the bedroom door or in the bathroom.

Tomorrow night I get the house to myself again as Nic's off to the local chinese buffet with the girls from work ( personally the one & only time i've been I thought the food was disgusting but she seems to like it ), may have to call at the off licence for a bottle of wine on my way home. I might actually get round to watching my Return of the Jedi dvd, & could even treat myself to a take away as my sister's been making me jealous tonight, I phoned to wish her happy birthday just as she was tucking into a chinese take away. I got her a childs birthday card with a '6 today' badge & added a 3 in front of it & my nephews made her wear it when she took them to school this morning!! My oldest nephew has just moved up to big school & is loving it, he's joined loads of clubs & next week has to audition to join drum club. I always swore i'd buy my sister's kid a drum & stuck to my word a few years ago when I bought J a little drum, now he's trying out for drum club I am so proud, mind you I think sis may get her own back once my little un is old enough. My youngest nephew has started little school, he goes part time for another month then full time, he loves it apart from on monday when his mum asked what he'd done, his reply was 'loads of boring stuff'.

As for the weekend itself we see a return of my beloved formula 1, this weekend the race is in China, the qualifying is on saturday mid afternoon but the race coverage starts at 6 am on sunday so gotta be up early to watch it live. It's a strange thing but watching the rerun, even if I don't know the result is not as exciting as watching it live, I don't know why because the result's the same but it has to be live everytime for me. Then next week i'm on earlies all week so even more early mornings for me.......then up for 5am the following week for the race in Japan. I must be mad.

Mind you I have got the week off starting 9th oct so looking forward to that, even if I do have to go to the dentists on the monday. That's the week we have the next scan & we'll be able to get the picture from the last scan, can't wait. In answer to Phoenix's question, yes Nic is starting to show her bump ( or peanut as we call it!! ). I sometimes read to the baby, thats one of the things I am looking forward to the most, being able to read to l'il Vamp. As kids me & my sister were brought up to love books & we both still read a lot, I am hoping my child will get as much pleasure from books as I have. Although I would miss my racing ( at least I think I still will after Schumi says goodbye ) I could easily live without a tv as long as I had plenty of books to read, I remember as a child at christmas once we were old enough to read my sister & i always got our favourite annuals by our beds, this way we would get up and open this one present & spend the next hour reading it thereby giving our parents an extra hour in bed. I have recently seen a box set of Roald Dahl books which I am thinking of getting for when l'il vamp's older, it has all the books I loved reading when I was younger, the twits, george's marvellous medicine, fantastic mr fox & loads more. It's never too early to start reading to the little 'uns.

Right its time I said goodbye again, I am reading 'the brightonomicon' by Robert Rankin at the moment and want to get on with it. If you haven't read any of his books give them a try, very funny. Once I've read this one it'll be back on to the Clive Cussler books.

Take care all.... Vamp x

 

 

Monday update

Today has been great, didn't get up til mid-morning. Shame I have to go back tomorrow but gotta pay the rent somehow.

Thought I'd add this entry today for Julie, she wanted me to post a rating for the Tom Hanks film 'The Terminal' that I watched last night ( might wanna pop over to her blog & say hi : http://journals.aol.co.uk/joobynice/doing-it-alone-hopefully-not-for/ ).

So The Terminal - for those that don't know this film is about a man ( Tom Hanks ) who arrives in america only to find while he has been flying to the US war has broken out in his country. The US don't recognise the administration in his country so cannot allow him to enter the US - unfortunately as the war in his homeland is the result of a coup his passport & other travel documents are no longer valid - so he can't even go home. To be honest if I was Tom Hanks I'd stay away from planes in future, first he gets stranded on a desert island in Castaway & now he gets stuck in an airport for 9 months!!

The film follows his life in the terminal ( hence the title obviously ) from his discovering how to make money, meeting a beautiful air hostess (  Catherine Zeta Jones ) & making friends with the terminal staff. Everyday he turns up at the immigration desk & every day he gets denied entry to the US.

I have to be honest & say that I wasn't sure wether this was going to be any good, I mean how could can a film be when its about living in the airport? But I am glad to say that I enjoyed the film a lot. Its just the sort of film you need for a chilled out sunday evening. Predictable? Yes to  a certain point but who cares, this is one of those feel good films that blokes pretend they don't watch but secretly enjoy.

Anyway thats all i've got time for tonight, off to have a shower/shave & then watch Hells Kitchen USA at 9. Take care peoples & sleep well.... Vamp x

 

Lazy sunday

Hello nice j'land people.

Here I am enjoying a very lazy sunday, no race this weekend & as I have worked 6 days last week I have lazed around today with no intention of doing anything remotely energetic! I have got ironing to do but as I'm off tomorrow because of working yesterday I have decided to leave my ironing until tomorrow, Nic cooked my dinner ( very nice, roast pork with roast potatoes, brussels, carrots & yorkshire pud ) so I will have to do the washing up but it's worth it.

Not a lot been happening this week, work, work & more work but apart from that nothing. Still tired cos of working an extra day but I chose to work 6 days and have an extra day off this week so no complaints. Next weekend is going to be a bit different, the next race is on at 6am so will have to be getting up nice and early for that.

When Nic's finished watching coronation st we're going to watch The Terminal with Tom Hanks ( that is Tom Hanks is in the film, he won't be here watching it with us!! ), been told its quite good & Tom Hanks is a great actor so looking forward to that. Been reading F1 Racing magazine today, there's a feature about the movie Grand Prix featuring James Garner, its finally being released on dvd in october so might have to ask santa for that. I rarely use my ps2 nowadays but I do like to buy books & dvd's. Between me & Nic we've got a huge stack of dvd's, she says she is going to need them once she starts her maternity leave....you women get all the best perks, wish I could take time off work to watch dvd's & get paid for it ( I'm only kidding, please don't send me hate mail ). I'm planning on taking Nic to the cinema to watch Santa Clause 3 ( Tim Allen ) when it comes out in november, she loves christmas films & the santa clause films are her favourites. Personally I think it would've been better to release the film in december but what do I know.

Think its tme I listed more stuff on ebay, we really haven't got very far with clearing the spare room yet. Take care all... Vamp x 

I'm back

At long last i'm back! It was a tough challenge but I fought the dreaded man flu & won. haha, actually it was more like a bad cold & lack of sleep, but i still won...eventually...honest. I really was feeling so crappy last week that I ended up coming home from work & going straight to bed after my dinner most nights, it was horrible not having any energy to do anything.

So what has happened since I was last here, Cherie Blair gets told off for smacking some kid, the police have been told not to chase criminals cos they might fall & scrape their knees, the Pope got caught reading aloud from the wrong book & the new task force have set up to protect us have managed to foil a major internet banking scam. You know there's so much happening in this little world of ours that we sometimes forget to stop & smell the roses ( at least I think its roses they're growing around here, they're certainly using strong manure...smells very rural in this little cov backwater at the mo ).

I haven't been doing much thanks to feeling less than perfect, saturday I went to wellsbourne market with Nic & our friend E. There was some nice baby stuff there at very nice prices so think we're gonna be going back nearer february, we were looking at a decent pushchair with all the attachments & baby seat/carrier type thing - less than £150!! Nic tells me she thinks her mum & dad might be buying us a cot, I'd prefer a king size bed but beggars can't be choosers, hehe.

Nic's been back to see the midwife today, didn't go with her this time but wish I had, she got to listen to our baby's heart beating away like a little drum. Tomorrow she's off to the hospital for blood tests, they will be checking for signs of downs syndrome & probably numerous other things. Nic has suffered with high blood pressure in the past so they'll be keeping a close eye on her, so far everything seems fine so fingers crossed. Next time I will be going with her will be on 12th october for the next scan. It's really strange because sometimes I am really excited about the little 'un but then other times it doesn't seem real, I must admit that I do take more notice of baby things now, if i'm passing a shop that sells baby stuffI like to check out whats on offer. Considering I never thought of myself as the family man type I really can't wait for the bigday, I will probably be one of those dad's who annoys everyone with tales of his new childs every burp, fart & gurgle.

Changing the subject, when I was lying in bed last week bravely fighting the evil man flu I thought about all the journals I read now & about all you lovely people that read mine - who started online journals? Was it some Adrian Mole type that was constantly being rejected by publishers & growing ever more frustrated that they decided to publish their own material online? Or was it someone with an important message to get out to the world, or for that matter someone who had nothing important to say but wanted to tell the world anyway? And why do we all write online journals, have we forgotten how to use pen & paper ( according to recent reports the advent of email has made people realise how nice it is to keep in touch so more people are actually writing letters ), perhaps it's like therapy - helping us to get through life by being able to get stuff off our chests ( I have definitely found that this journal has helped me sort out my own feelings & relieve frustrations ). Some of the journals are very entertaining ( http://journals.aol.com/dpoem/TheWisdomofaDistractedMind/  ) , some just make you feel part of a large ( ever expanding ) family, others challenge us to think, wether it be about the past (    http://journals.aol.co.uk/bobandkate/AnAnalysisofLife/  ) or the present ( http://journals.aol.co.uk/dominicnutt06/lebanon/  ), other journals may reaffirm  your sanity ( or insanity ) ( http://journals.aol.co.uk/brainwhispers/Wordsjustfallout/ ). Sometimes you can make new friends to play chess with who will wave at you as they drive past your town ( http://journals.aol.co.uk/phoenix71011/Phoenix/  ), then there's always help to find new journals to read ( http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/CarnivAOL/  ). But at the end of the day wether we are all egomaniacs trying to be noticed or not, we have all found a new home in J'land.

I apologise to those of you that I have not mentioned but there are so many journals out there its impossible to mention everybody.

Anyway, gotta go now, her majesty wants a cuppa. I hope you are all well & not having too many sleepless nights. Take care all... Vamp x

 

Sleep deprivation

Crikey, 3 entries in 3 days, can't you tell i'm not well.

Last night I had every intention of having an early night, but then I had some emails to read, then a few alerts from your journals....in the end it was late when I lay down my tired head. Much good it did me, I didn't get any sleep at all so tonight I feel worse than ever.

I was going to watch the latest episode of prison break but so tired and can't afford to have more time off work, so good night all..... Vamp x

Another rainy night

As I sit here the rain is giving it everything outside, just got home from work in time tonight, came upstairs to check my email & all of a sudden the heavens opened. It was like hurricane season, the wind was ferociously trying to uproot everything around us as the monsoon(ish) rain soaked everything in sight. Angel came in just as the rain started so was safely hidden away before the thunder & lightning started but poor Bailey was still out. It took a while of calling him but once there was a slight let up in the rain he came running back, so he's now indoors where its warm & dry.

I am an asthmatic & suffer with hayfever, so when the season's change I normally get coughs & colds, I was surprised not to have suffered this year so far as we have had some very changeable weather...you guessed it, this weekend I got a cold. It makes my job so much fun - just imagine spending all day calling customers, trying to explain to them why their package is stuck in customs whilst sneezing, coughing & with a throat that feels like you're trying to swallow a handful of gravel...nice. Still Nic does look after me ( most of the time ), tonight she had a nice jacket spud waiting for me when I got in, yummy with lots of cheese n beans. Hells Kitchen USA is on later but I may have to tape it because I really do feel the need to be pathetic & curl up in bed early (yes, I know man flu & all that, but hey I am feeling like crap so if you want to kick me when I'm down go ahead ). I am reading Tim Allen's 'don't stand too close to a naked man' at the moment, he's very funny & the humour is so honest, I challenge you not to laugh. I don't want to spoil the book for others so you're just going to have check it out yourselves.

I spent my earlier years partying heavily & think I've got it all out of my system, these days I'd rather spent the nights with a good book in front of my coal fire ( okay so its a gas fire pretending to be a coal fire but its good enough for me ). Don't get me wrong I still enjoy the occassional night out but would rather have a quiet drink in a friendly local than spend the night in some loud bar where you can't talk to each other because the music's so loud ( god I sound like an old fart ). I finished reading 'the hard way' by Lee Child last week, if anyone's interested i have put it on ebay, my ebay id is horsf30, there are 4 days leftso plenty of time for you to check it out ( shameless plug for my ebay stuff I know but what the hell, its my journal ).

Work was a pain again today, the boss was eyeballing me and my friend chatting. Both of us work very hard so I don't think they've got any right to complain. Later my team leader told us to be careful cos the boss was watching again so we should look busy, we were both on a break so nothing they could do. I must admit to being my own worst enemy at times, if I know the boss is watching I will make sure my work is of an equal or higher quality & quantity to others but make a point of chatting more, this is guaranteed to drive the boss mad but if my work doesn't suffer then they haven't got much they can say. I think the boss is watching more because my friend and i are probably the 2 most vocal about the injustice of the recent target changes.

Before I go I want to ask you all if you have come across Phoenix's journal, if so does she give you all abuse like she does with me? Check out her comments on here a few days back about me doing the washing up, then nip over to her journal & check out todays entry ( there's a link on my 'other blogs' section at the side of this page ). It's a good job I know she's only kidding ( or is she? ).

Right I'm off to have a shower and then an early night. Good night & sweet dreams to you all... Vamp x

 

An emotional day

Those of you that read my journal regularly will know how passionate I am about Formula 1, today we have seen Michael Schumacher win a fantastic race in Monza in front of the tifosi ( ferrari's diehard legion of fans ). All weekend we have known that an announcement would be made after the race about next years driver line up, well the expected announcement has been made - Michael Schumacher is to retire from racing at the end of this year.

Although we have all seen this coming for some time it is still  a shock to actually hear the announcement from him today. I have watched him win the first of his amazing 7 championships & every race since, through all the bad times as well as the good. When he finally won the championship for Ferrari in 2000 I cried, I had watched for four years as he built the Ferrari team into the winning outfit they are today, I watched as he nearly won the title more than once but not once did my support & believe ever waiver. Schumi is not loved by everyone, for sure the british have given him a hard time after he beat Damon Hill back in 1994 but what no one can take away is the 7 world titles he has, the 90 race wins, all the points, fastest laps & the entertainment he has given eople like myself.

There are other great drivers out there such as Button, Raikkonen, Alonso, Massa, Kubica etc, but at this time there is no one I can follow with such passion & loyal support that I have been able show following Schumacher. He is undoubtedly the most complete driver ever in formula 1 & I don't think we will see anyone break his records in my lifetime. Schumi has now closed to within 2 points of Alonso in this years championship with only 3 races to go, Alonso has seemed to be rattled & cracking under the pressure over the last couple of months. The bad news for Alonso is that Schumi has eaten into his lead while wrestling with the decision of wether or not to retire, now that the announcement has been made I think we will see Schumacher stepping up a gear over the next 3 races so Alonso could be in trouble. Either way, wether Alonos or Schumacher wins this year it is great to see Schumi retiring at the top of his game rather than keep going until he is no longer competitive. 

The Ferrari press release states that they will announce at the end of the year what Michael's role will be within Ferrari next year so looks like he will still be around at the races, probably in an advisory role. Whatever he does end up doing it is going to take a lot to fill the space left by his retirement from racing. He has raced since he was a little kid with his go kart so he only knows racing. 

I feel sort of empty at the moment because I don't know wether formula 1 will ever be the same for me again, I guess I will keep watching & will probably lend my support to a number of drivers, Ferrari will always have a place in my heart as the greatest team. To be honest next year my energies will be given to looking after L'il Vamp ( will have to get him/her interested in F1!! )but there is going to be a big hole in my life. I nkow there are people out there who will think me sad but if you do  not have a passion for a particular sport/sports person i guess it is difficult to understand. 

Right I'm off to find something to occupy my mind as I really do feel quite sad. But just wait for the next F1 installment in 3 weeks......its gonna be fun. 

Take care all... Vamp x  

ps. just checked out itv's F1 website & they ahve a list of Schumi's records, check this out, this is why he will be missed by so many:

Most world titles: 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)

Most consecutive titles: 5 (2000-2004)

Most wins: 90

Most wins in a single season: 13 (2004)

Most consecutive wins in single season: 7 (2004)

Most wins at the same race: 8 (French GP)

Most wins from pole: 40

Most wins with one team: 71

Most pole positions: 68

Most front-row starts: 114

Most second place finishes: 43

Most podium finishes: 153

Most points scored: 1,354

Most points finishes: 188

Most points in a single season: 148 (from a maximum of 180, in 2004)

Most fastest laps: 75

Most races led: 139

Most consecutive podiums: 19 (USA 2001 – Japan 2002)

Most consecutive points finishes: 24 (Hungary 2001 – Malaysia 2003)

Most consecutive seasons with a win: 15

Most ‘clean sweeps’ (pole, win, fastest lap): 22

Largest points gap between champion and runner-up: 67 (2002)

Earliest titlewinner: 2002 (in July, with 6 races remaining)

Longest spell with one team: 11 seasons (Ferrari – 1996-2006)

Most time between first and last race wins: 13 years, 11 months and 3 days

Never outqualified in 1992, 1993 or 1994

Only driver to have finished every race on the podium: 2002