Some say I'm burning the candle at both ends.

So this is 2012? As I sit here in the office on a Bank Holiday Monday morning, once again up at stupid o’clock, with just one other person insane/desperate enough to work overtime today, I must say 2012 feels an awful lot like 2011.

Except this year is going to be my year. Not because I think it will be, or because I’m due a good year. No. This is going to be my year because I’m going to bloody well make it my year. I have 9 months until I leave for my travels and in those 9 months I am going to be working like a little bitch to get as much saved as possible. I'm also going to go out, party hard, dance to dubstep (despite harboring an irrational hatred towards it), get smashed, sleep with random women and wake up with some of the most disgusting hangovers known to man. Some say I'm burning the candle at both ends. To those people I say: "Fuck you". Politely, of course.

So as expected, I have a plethora of crazy, exciting ideas for my travels, and trying to fit them into one solid itinerary isn’t easy. Over the next few weeks or so, Martin and I need to decide where we want to go and in what route. I’ve ordered a giant World Map poster for my bedroom wall, and I have this great vision in my head of this poster being covered with post-its and pins and looking proper beastly, although in reality I tend to fail dismally with anything arts and crafts-related. The infamous flowerpot painting of ’08 springs to mind.

New Year’s Eve was… different. What a great time for a club to have a powercut. The music in the main room cut out at 1am and didn't come back on until around 3am, but by that time the only people left in the club were the stupidly drunk and the embarrassingly desperate. I was still there.

It was good to see Peppa though. She looked absolutely gorgeous, better than she’s ever looked. For a moment, I wondered whether I made the right choice by not dating her, but I guess you need some sort of spark and we never had that. But it did lead me to realise that every girl I date gets substantially better looking when we stop seeing each other? That's not fair. I'm looking at you Sarah. What the fuck. Where did those breasts come from? 


So I’ve had some time to mull over my resolutions for 2012 and I think I’ve got a pretty good list coming along.

Stop smoking

I hate this because it is purely for financial reasons. I bloody love smoking and I shall miss my lovely little white cancer-sticks.

Pass my driving test

Because guys who drive are hotter than guys who walk.

Complete my Cert CII and TEFL courses

Get as qualified as possible before I pack up and leave town... just in case.

Learn the art of sealing the deal

The ongoing joke that I am unable to ‘seal the deal’; In short I get a girl home and get her into bed and for one reason or another do not have sex with them, be it overly-drunk, refusal to depart with virginity or wrong time of the month. This affectionately led me to inherit the nickname ‘Captain Cuddles’. So 2012 is the year I get the job done. 

Find a new haircut

Which will more than likely mean ‘Shave head in the hope I look more badass’.

Get out of the UK

Because everyone knows this country is going down the shitter and who doesn't love a chick with an accent.



That should do nicely for now. I may add more as the week goes on, but right now, I just can't take my mind off that god-awful smell in the kitchen. Filth. I hope you all had lovely New Years celebrations and the 50 or so photos you were tagged in the following morning were considerably better than mine. 'Photogenic' is not a word I would use to describe myself.


Much love, 
Luke

"Just close your eyes, and sing for me".

Let's talk about Thursday night.

Wow.

I genuinely don't remember the last time I enjoyed a night that much. A cosy evening spent with Emma, chatting about anything and everything and watching The OC. We were watching the Season 1 finale, where Ryan leaves to go back to Chino with Teresa and Cohen sets sails on the Summer Breeze, and I genuinely thought she was going to cry. I cannot deal with crying women. I recall Annie bawling her eyes out the first time we watched The Notebook and I don't think I've ever been so uncomfortable, so I'm glad Emma managed to fight back the tears.

It seems the more time I spend with Emma, the more I become completely hooked on her, to the point where she quite literally dominates my thoughts. It's difficult to stop thinking "Oh, how do I look?" or "Is this shirt and tie combination aesthetically pleasing?" when you're in the office knowing you could bump into her at any minute. I know she likes me aswell, which is a great feeling and it fills me with confidence, something I typically struggle with. I'm the kind of guy that will never try pulling a girl unless I'm 100% sure she's into me. I hate rejection like I hate Arctic Roll. And take away the social lubricant that is beer and I couldn't even pull a muscle.

Sponge is good. Ice cream is good. But for the love of God, not together!!

I'm looking forward to taking her out for a proper proper date when I get back from Boston. It's tough timing, but I get to see her Monday evening before the flight on Wednesday morning so I'm buzzing about that. I just need to try and get my Boston head on and get excited. Unfortunately, I'm going to be spending a week with Ella but all week I'll be thinking of Emma. I'm excited to see Ella again after all these years and I know we'll have a right laugh, but that kind of excitement has got nothing over pure, unbridled infatuation. It's nice to have a blog to write in so that I can openly admit this girl has some sort of crazy spell on me without fear of anyone immediate to me knowing that.

So I'm hoping Ella doesn't think anything will happen between us in Boston, because it won't. Although Emma and I haven't technically been on a proper date yet, I am really not interested in anyone else and I plan on keeping it in my trousers next week.

The most entertaining Nicklas Bendtner has ever been.

Did I just buy a Santa toilet seat cover on my lunch break? Why yes, yes I did.

Today I have been in an incredibly festive mood. 92 days until the big day, but more importantly, just 70 short days until the Chrismukkah party! Is this too early to be feeling festive? I'm probably making up for last year when I was the most hackneyed of Scrooges. This year, Mr Christmas returns with a bang.

So the other day, I was thinking about dating and I thought "Where do I take Emma?". Sean recently took his Sarah to a fancy hotel in London and to see a show, and I know it cost him an absolute fortune. I don't have this kind of money, so I need to be a little more creative. Plus I always think big gestures like that lack individuality; you can be alot cuter and more personal than that when it comes to dating and spend a fraction of the cost. So completely randomly, my friend posted a photo of her Boyce Avenue tickets on her Facebook. Turns out Boyce Avenue are playing in London on Nov 3rd. Now, not many people have heard of Boyce Avenue on these shores (which is both shocking and appalling) so there were still tickets available. Then I remembered one of the first conversations I ever had with Emma about how much we had in common and how we liked the same music and lo and behold she mentioned she also loves abit of the Boyce.

See where I'm going with this...?

So I ordered two tickets to see them in the hope that when Nov 3rd comes round, we'll either be a couple or at least still be dating. Possibly quite optimistic, but at £23 a ticket it's not breaking the bank and I know that if things are going well, she will absolutely LOVE it. I'm a fan of the 'gig date' particularly if you're seeing someone like Boyce, Death Cab, Paolo Nutini...

Tonight I'll be heading to the pub for a hard-earned cold one with Martin, Chris and a few others. My '52 Beers in 52 Weeks' challenge is still going strong, although I think I'm a few behind so I need to pick up the pace. I also have my next CII Insurance exam to study for; a problem when you're working 6-day weeks and finding just enough time between gym and football to catch up with Mr Schuester and the gang, let alone study. I left school 5 years ago but these damn textbooks will not bloody jog on.

Luke

AWOL

Day 3 without my laptop. This life of FIFA and Man vs Food is actually not half bad. So this week has dragged incredibly, and even though I write this on Thursday morning, I still see no light at the end of the tunnel. I am working another 8-hour Overtime shift on Saturday, which effectively means another 1-day weekend. Sunday is Papa's Birthday, so I am relying on Discount Supplements to provide me with much-needed inspiration and next-day delivery. Typically, my Dad would get a tube of pringles and a cheap bottle of Hock and he would be over the moon with that, but I'm thinking this year I'll get him something gym-related. Having 8 Brothers and Sisters has it's downfalls; I dread to think how much I shell out over the course of the year on Birthdays and at Christmas.

 

Which reminds me, Sean and I finally found the time to watch another episode of The OC last night. And lo and behold, it was a Chrismukkah episode! This got us thinking about Chrismukkah this year and how we can beat last year's effort. If you were not aware, Chrismukkah is the hybrid holiday that combines the best that Christianity (Christmas) and Judaism (Hannukah) have to offer. It's typically for mixed Jewish and Christian families, however due to our ludicrous obsession with anything Orange County, we celebrate it in our humble abode. Last year was our first ever Chrismukkah party and it went down like a storm. This year needs to be bigger, better, and with an extra helping of Chrismukkah miracle.

 

So I am expecting a visit from Annie tonight. I need to tell her I'm going to Boston in September. I'm torn. With regards to her food and eating, she naturally has 'good' days and 'bad' days. I know 100% that this will anger her, so I'm debating whether it's best to tell her on a good day or a bad day. I can't seem to decide, so I think I'll just tell her this evening, because she needs to know. If she finds out through someone else, she'll be even more angry. Sometimes I wish I didn't care what other people think.

 

So, this evening should be a barrell of laughs. Good job I have Big Bang Theory to watch post-Annie.

 

I have been tasked by Ella to write up a list of things I want to do when I'm in Boston. So far, I have:

 

Sex,

Cuddles, 

Beer.

 

I'd like to see her reaction when I turn up in Boston with these three things scribbled on a Post-It. I need to check to see what's on tap for the arenas in Boston and find out if any of my favourite US bands are playing, because if Jack's Mannequin are performing, I'll be there like swim wear.

 

 

 

--- Next Day ---

 

Annie didn't show. I should have expected this. After all, I'm always second to whatever else she has planned. So the anticipated fireworks failed to materialise, which is a shame because I was psyched and ready to unleash this particular torpedo of truth. I still have no laptop, which is frustrating. I am writing this post on my work computer, during work hours, because this Fees work is so damn boring. I sure do miss reading people's Blogs and I'm hoping I haven't missed any life-changing revelations.

 

Last night was tough. I woke up at around 3am with horrific heart palpatations and breathlessness. My heart beat felt so irregular and I was genuinely worried. It took me 45 very uncomfortable minutes to get back to sleep and I came very close to getting up and going downstairs, pouring a Decaff and catching up on Destination X. Nope, that's not a dodgy porno, it's a wrestling PPV. Yep, I still watch wrestling.

 

Earlier in the week I started working out some figures and sums, and at this moment in time, my savings are around £750 ahead of schedule. This is flipping fantastic considering I have already paid for my flights to Boston. This month I have smashed the overtime again (27hours of double-time after Saturday with 2 more weekends to go this calendar month) so I have a nice cushion in case the overtime dries up. Here is my master plan. Right now I am studying for my next CII Insurance Qualification. I am aiming to complete the remaining two exams I need to get this qualification by the end of the year, which means I want to get the one I am currently studying for passed by the end of September. Then, in the new year I will start my driving lessons again (having already done 40 hours or so) and aim to pass my driving test by the end of March. That gives me 2 months (April and May) to tie up all the loose ends and sell all my belongings.

 

I have a collection of WCW Videos in my loft, probably around 20. I don't want to sell them. Granted, they are worth at least £100, but they are my babies! If I have to sell them, I think I will cry. Macho, manly tears.

 

 

 

 

 Luke