General

After a long running saga, Liverpool FC was finally sold to another set of Americans.. NESV principal and the new club owner , John W Henry, had this to say so us ’long suffering’ fans… All I can say at this point is we’re going to work as hard for you as we possibly can and there’s no doubt about it, you deserve it. You have supported this club through the worst of times now and we’re going to do everything in our power to make the supporters proud of their club and of us. It’s a big challenge but I think we’re up for that challenge. ...

Only the most deluded of persons would deny that summer is well and truly over. Not only does it feel quite chilly, the trees also think so. Hyde park, which by much squinting I can just see from my 13th floor window at MO Corp, is covered in a layer of browns, reds, golds and the odd green patch crafted by fallen leaves as the trees acknowledge autumn. The sun on the odd occasion it manages to peek from behind the dull clouds seems weak, tired and offers no real warmth. Moments like these are those which fill me with a misplaced sense of nostalgia. Mercifully, I have my fleece with me as I head off to lunch with the team from work. ...

Out here, they say summer lasts one day, and no its not Midsummer’s day. That claim - entirely anecdotal mind you - has been made with surprising regularity by quite a few of the cab drivers I have had the opportunity to chat with while commuting to work. One cab driver even offered a quasi-scientific explanation, the town is surrounded by highlands on one side and the North Sea on the other which explains the bi-polar behaviour of the weather. Yesterday it was a windy 8 degrees, the day before a summery 14 degrees, today its rained bucket loads of water. The locals have quit bothering - they merely shrug and quiescently suggest tomorrow will be a better day. ...

This week I: Learned that I’m still irritated by text speak and mixed up grammar - when I am not the one dishing them out. Having a supposedly ‘serious’ conversation with someone highlighted this very clearly to me. Learned that the expression ‘appearances are deceptive’ may sound cliche but it can be really true. I have just had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine which segued into territory I never knew she had loads of experience in. Finally got to cross out one more book from my reading list. Kite Runner was sad, engaging and provided an insight into the Afghanistan situation - almost Chris Abani-ish. I loved the hint of redemption in the final scenes. Received a non work related handwritten note for the first time in close to six or seven years, on scented paper no less. The hand writing was horrible, but the gesture was well appreciated by me. Became an Uncle, then a God father twice - all within three days of each other. My littlest sister, and two very close friends all conspired to deliver babies within three days of each other, and my birthday. None of them shares the day with me though. Talk about bad timing! Saw new evidence that convinces me I live in my head - which is well insulated from the world. I went another week without getting angry, happy, sad or feeling any other strong emotion.I think I need for someone to get under my skin enough to make me exhibit strong emotions. That would convince me I am still connected to the world and not in my own cocoon. Got assigned a fancy new title at work - its one of those ones that is as long as your arm, but means absolutely nothing to my pay packet. Tsk! Tsk! Watched two interesting TED Talks - Dan Cobley on What physics can teach us about marketing and Ethan Zuckerman on Listening to Global voices. Acted totally out of character and reached out to someone I would never ever have connected with previously - oh and it was truly altruistic.. at least in my head. Averaged three and a half hours of sleep per night all week - so not good! Off to the comfort of my duvet now.. :)

I registered for the City’s Learn to Swim program - today was the D-day, Day One of the training sessions. Considering it was my first time in the pool for a long time, and I retain an almost pathological fear for water, I think I did ok. Granted I swallowed a fear gulps of the pool water, filled my ears with it, and generally made a nuisance of myself. There are positives though- I am certainly not the worst of my batch, there are a few other Nigerians to alleviate any feeling of lostness, and the instructor adds a whole new dimension to the definition of hilarious. The one downside is there are no beautiful women- just flat chested, keg bellied blokes like yours truly. ...

I have been busy. I have spent the last couple of weeks up to my ears in work. No fault of mine - mind you - but yet another unusual turn of events has meant that I have been thrust into the eye of the storm at a new project. Needless to say, it is keeping with the over arching theme of my life - getting lucky breaks when i least expect them, or even deserve them. Two blokes overseeing proceedings on behalf of my firm at a prized client between them contrived to move on - one to pastures new, and the other to the ignominy of summary dismissal. I, the only available bloke, has thus been thrust in, in a moment, at the deep end. Truth be told, the tasks at hand are quotidian at best - ordinary run of the mill things that I in my field should be able to handle without batting an eyelid. The only dark cloud on the bright blue skies however is the sheer amount of paper work that yours truly has to sift through. There are mitigating circumstances - for the first time in seven years of slaving for various employers in three jobs and three continents, I am the only male member of a predominantly female work group. Truth be told, the ladies are fabulous to work with - friendly, a wee bit too chatty, but great company all the same. Throw in occasional gifts of a home made sandwich, and free lunch on the company and it is an excellent situation for my bachelor instincts. All in all, it looks like it is shaping up to be a grand few weeks… and then we roll out the champagne..

Thankfully this week is over, finally. Its been a maelstrom of activity - two client work sites, hand overs, reviews and piles of stuff to catch up with. The worst bits had to be the getting set up bits - setting up remote access to my company email and network, new log on IDs and network access at the new place and all - plus there’s a first review in five weeks of stuff I was never involved in. ...

Free food is great, especially when you are a confirmed bachelor with an aversion for cooking. I’m sure if my pots and pans have a choice they would vote to have me back in their next ’lives’. Such is the ease of their lives! Providence must have decided to be kind to me though, as a few hours after complaining of feeling listless I got a phone call from my work buddy O to head off to the beach. He and I have an inside joke where I hail him as my mentor and he says I’m much too old to be mentored by him, and considering the boring lives we lead, hanging out is always a plus. Fast forward a few hours and we head off to the beach where we go to this Chinese buffet thingy at Jimmy Chung. Two huge cokes, lamb ribs, some curried rice and soup later, we could belch with satisfaction at a great days work - all for nine pounds. I should definitely do this again!

They say its a small world - and that everyone is connected to every one else by at most six people. Today I learned that first hand. My friend K has mentioned in the past that she’s got a sister in my town. Today I finally worked up the nerve had the opportunity to talk with her a bit (if talk can occur in 25 secs that is). Thing is K and I have some history of sorts - its one of those online collaborations which segued into an occasional offline chat and all. So when K’s sister asked how I knew K, I was a bit stumped.. Turns out there is another bloke, a T this time, who is mutual friends with K and I (again that undefined, web 2.0 kind), his name jumped out as the basis of my knowing K.. Turns out T also has a sister in my town, and in my church.. Cue the hems and ahh as to her I knew her brother - the official line was we ‘worked on a project together’.. That’s what I’m sticking with though.. Fingers crossed that the meeting ends up forgotten (or at least the bit about me knowing their siblings), else I’ll be having loads of explaining to do.. :) ...

I’ve spent the last few months probing - looking to find a rationale for blogging that is not inextricably connected to feeding the over arching desire of my inner narcissist to be heard above the din that is the blogosphere…. 2009 was different…. I followed over 1,000 blogs, I bounced from blog to blog leaving comments, there was banter, there was drama, there was poetry on a level I’d only dreamed of, there were blog collabos…. and a few crushes…. My old favorites were still around, and a few newbies served up delicious stuff… Oh.. the Anons spiced things up too… ...