Berbatov On Target

One thing that’s been lacking here on this blog of late is any posts about my other passion; sport. I’m an avid fan of many teams in many sports but the team that’s first and foremost for me is Man Utd. So far this season United have been a very inconsistent team. Now I know we’re second with a good record but sometimes we’ve looked unstoppable and others, like yesterday, we’ve looked awful.

The thing I love about watching United over the years is how we pass and move the ball forward. We’ve had and still have some of the best passers in the game. Scholes for example while not the best at tackling is one of the few Premiership footballs who can seemingly pick out anyone anywhere on the pitch with consummate ease. However yesterday none of them turned up with United giving the ball away in the first half with passes that were 10yrds or less which, for a team in the Premiership, is laughable. Sunderland on the other hand played fantastically well. They showed United they were no mugs and as the clock ticked down I honestly thought they’d come away with the win and over the 90mins you couldn’t say that was unfair.

However United did what they’re fantastic at doing; scoring late goals. While Berbatov’s goal in the 51st minute for a while gave United some extra wind in their sails Jones’ goal seven minutes later removed it. From then on United again looked as hapless as Foster did for Jones’ goal and while I still think he can be United’s #1 goalkeeper when Van der Sar retires he still has a way to go. However Sunderland’s first win at OT in something silly like 40yrs wasn’t to be when United were fortunate to score through an unlucky deflection/own goal by Anton Ferdinand. While I’m sure that’s made for some interesting Sunday dinner discussion in the Ferdinand household it was harsh on Sunderland. However they weren’t helped by the fact that Kieran Richardson was sent off for two yellow cards including a rather silly one for kicking away the ball. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy we got the point and it’s a mark of great sides to not play well and not lose but it was an awful display by United.

Life in general is going pretty well despite the odd worry but then they’re nothing more that what everyone else probably worries about. It gets me down and recently it’s got me down more than it usually does. The other thing that keeps bugging me lately is I have this feeling that things are just passing me by. I don’t know if they are or why I have this feeling but even as I sit here now I just thinking I could or should be doing something more. Fact is I probably could, I even started writing my part of a story I’m doing with Legionary, hopefully I’ll write more soon. Cat is doing well in her job though right now she’s worrying and stressing about her dancing exam which is approaching far too quickly! Our holiday to Iceland is booked for next year, just a case now of saving the money and damn it’s expensive but there you go, what in this life isn’t?! Still it’ll be worth it and I really can’t wait to go. On another life note, my birthday is approaching again, I tell you it must be improving its ninja skills as it really did sneak up on me this year.

One cool thing though that happened recently was my attendance, along with my good friend Carl, to the NHL ice hockey game in London. The atmosphere and venue (The O2) were superb and the game wasn’t half-bad either. It’s certainly got me buzzing and really excited now about attending the NFL London game for which the tickets turned up the other week. I also managed to get my hands on the Halo 3 Legendary Edition. It’s a seriously cool special edition and, in my opinion, worth it.

Sports wise it’s an up and down start for my teams. The Steelers are doing well in the NFL with their defence really looking the business this season. United have only just started to get in to gear and as far as the Penguins go; such a stark contrast to last season. I won’t mention anything about the Pirates’ baseball season as, apart from the odd surprise win there’s nothing to talk about.

So there you go, 3 months zipped up.

Took the car in for it’s service today and the funny thing was when I returned the courtesy car back only to be told that they shouldn’t have let me have one as I wasn’t insured! Still their fault not mine but it was quite a nice car, ’07 Honda Jazz Sport. Fun little run around and quite pokey which was nice. The Westbury United game I went to see was ok, a little lackluster but entertaining none-the-less. First half was boring with Westbury probably edging it with a very strong finish. Second half Longwell Green, the opponents on the day, took the lead through quite a nice header however Westbury equalized with the goal of the game. The ball was played through and on the half-volley neatly lobbed over the keeper. Then it was just another stalemate of chances leading to full-time. Still it’s always nice to get a point at the start of a season.

This evening was spent at a BBQ over at a friends which was nice. Good food, good company and well it’s a lovely evening and it was great to spend it outdoors. So now I’m home looking forward to the first Match of the Day of the season and it should be a cracker. In closing one of my friends got engaged this past week, a long time coming, but it’s still cool and exciting news.

The migration took longer than I though, mainly down to an incorrect authorization code provided by my previous hosts. However, on second attempt a new auth code was issued which was correct and, well, we’re here now and that’s what counts. Back to bringing you all up to date I now have a job, a full drivers license and a car! So lets tackle everything in that order.

The job is working as a 1st line support technician at a medium size firm in nearby Wickwar. It’s interesting and although isn’t as autonomous as my old job was I’m happy with it. It’s like your average call centre job in that your role is quite defined however there’s no scripts, no targets (to a point) and you can visit some of the users. Sure there are some in other countries but I’m supporting the companies users and not millions of users like I would be if I worked for a big international company. The job was dependant on me getting my drivers license and fortunately for me I passed first time with only 4 minors, a fact which I’m quite chuffed about. So finally thanks to getting a job and having a full license I bought myself a car; an 04 reg Toyota Corolla VVT-I. It’s nice and shiny and hell it’s my first car and I’m damn proud!

So I’m a week, just over, into my new job and it’s going well. The office politics I’m still learning, I thought I had the jist of it a couple days ago but my assumptions and thoughts are seemingly a little off. However I’d like to think I’m fitting in well and that I’m proving my worth as it were. Anyway, it’s getting a little late and I’m tired as it is, so there’s an update and now that fluffles has migrated, posts will start up again.

Firstly if you’ve ever bothered to read the about me bit below you’ll notice that it says “finally graduated” so for a shiny gold star can you guess what that means? No!? Well it means I took my pass degree and done a runner. I now have a BSc in Computing for Real Time Systems and can finally look for work. So far I did 3 days with a company which didn’t work out as the role didn’t suit me and I narrowly missed out on a position at a school. I have an interview next Thursday in Bath so all is okay on the job front; as in, I’m at least getting interviews.

Other things sportside have happened too. United won the Premier League which is fantastic and I’m really chuffed in the way that we’ve won it. I got myself tickets to see the L.A. Kings play the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) at the O2 Arena later this year and tomorrow I’ll find out if I’ve got tickets to see the Miami Dolphins play the N.Y. Giants (NFL) at Wembley. I also have my driving theory test this Friday (eek!) and it’s not too long till Catrin and I’s first wedding anniversary!

So yes I’ve been quite the busy person which to me explains the lack of posting. With any luck once things settle, like when I get a job, I may start posting a little more frequently. Anyway, for now, let the current news of my life settle, take a deep breath (perhaps have a cup of tea) and relax.

So aside from that is there anything else going on in my life? Well yes, one thing in particular I’ll keep to myself, but other than that a not a lot has happened. My project is a little further on than it was an I’m a little happier with that know that I’ve at least started something and that’s really it. Boring I know, but right now there isn’t much going on. Maybe when I’m working and I get out of education more will happen. I would bore (and possible give you TMI) about my toe, but less to say it’s been looked into. It also means I’m taking some antibiotics so no alcohol for me, shame really but that’s life.

Other news though, United are still top of the league, so I’ve always got something to smile about.

That was the weekend then however Monday night had one last suprise and that was a visit to A&E after I injured myself and it required a look at. Everything went quiet until Wednesday when I was called by my dad to tell me that my Grandpa had passed away quiet peacefully earlier that day. Although not a shock I was suddenly hit with guilt as I realised that although I had the wedding DVD sorted and ready to send I never did and therefore he never got to see our wedding which I dearly wish he had. I then had to decide whether I wanted to attend the funeral and, unfortunately due to a number of things, I had to call my dad back the next day explaining I couldn’t. The funeral is next Monday so those of you who believe in certain things if you could pray and think of my Grandma I would greatly appreciate it.

So yes, it’s been an interesting week filled with mixed emotions and a lot of different life events.

In other news Cat and I have had a guest staying with us since Thursday. Cat met her when she went to Taize earlier this year. So it was nice to have someone staying over and I also enjoyed showing our guest the sights of Bristol and what have you. Coinciding with this was last nights entertainment which was the stage show Cats. It was fun but not as good as the same production I saw a year or so ago. Some of the leads weren’t as good but there you go. The night was fun and we all enjoyed ourselves, we also stopped by a friend of ours birthday. I’m also looking forward to next weekend when I’m going to visit my brother in Edinburgh. Haven’t seen him since the wedding and since he’s just got engaged to Ruth it’d be nice to catch up on things.

Swinging back to gaming finished another season on FM. Really enjoying the Lower League Management side of the game. Certainly a lot more rewarding if a heck of a lot more challenging. Certainly helps pass the hours and what have you.

In other news United managed to lose to Celtic mid-week and if I’m honest, Celtic deserved their win. The free-kick, although shouldn’t have been given, was masterfully put away. I haven’t seen one taken that well in a long time and to lose, well, I’d rather lose to a goal like that than some goal-line scramble. I mean yes, we had a penalty and the keeper did well to save, but where Saha put it, any goalkeeper worth their salt would have saved it as long as they guess the right way. It certainly puts an interesting spin on the game against Chelsea on Sunday. I’m really looking forward to it because if we win, our lead at the top increases to 6 points, lose and we’re even again. If I was being honest I’d settle for a draw.

Going into gaming (a new topic for the blog) I’ve been playing a lot more Football Manager recently, in-particular doing Lower League Management (LLM). I find it a heck of a lot more rewarding staving off relegation or scraping promotion in the bottom leagues than taking Man United to glory. It’s harder and a true test of you abilities as you have to be canny. I also follow guidelines from the LLM forum at Sports Interactive’s website to make it as close to life as possible. So I only buy players I’ve scouted etc, certainly making the game a lot more fun. You can see how I get on in my current game here or, for future games, here.

On to this week then and so far I have been to the Gym and played football today! I’m trying to get my weight and body fat down a little so hopefully the more I do the better, time will tell on that I guess. I’ll be in Uni and at the Gym again tomorrow. I have a Gym buddy in my friend Rich who I’ve known since I started Uni so there’s someone there to push me and keep me going which helps alot.

In other news, United had a great weekend but a horrible evening tonight. On the weekend we won and our rivals lost but tonight we lost to Southend. Credit to them though they were good for their win and in my opinion deserved it far more than United did. Pittsburgh have gone to 2-6 now having lost again on the weekend. Sky is showing another of their games this Sunday in their double header and though I love watching them play I don’t know if I could handle four bad defeats in a row. I probably will watch but I’ll at least panic about it for a little while.