It's happened
Yes it's happened. My daughter's boyfriend has arrived from America. A few house rules had to be explained to him, just to make sure he understood what was what. You know what these foreigners can be like. They come into your home and think they can do what they like. Well, not in my home matey.
First rule. This is my seat and nobody else sits in it. Understand!!
Second rule. You must, at all times, laugh at my jokes.
Third rule. When you come out with us you will pay for everything.
As long as you understand these three simple rules there should be no problems at all.
Of course, he had to arrive the very same day that I was recovering from an illness that took me by surprise. I had been told about some bug that was going around. Guess what. I got the bugger of the bug that was going round.
This started on Boxing Day and I am only getting up today. Two days later. (apart from the mad dashes to the bathroom for the bouts of exploding dia.....ia and boking. Usually at the same time. The most annoying thing about this was that I was the only one to get this bugger. Everyone else was fine.
Tomorrow is going to be different though. we are having people round for din dins. Should be a laugh. At least I hope it will be.
More info on my family tree. I got word today from one of my nephews who lives in America about his wife. She comes from Columbia, South America. That's one more country to add. But there's more. Her family go back to the American Indians and there is some Italian in there as well. If I really work hard at this i will have a better family tree site than the Mormons have in Salt Lake City.
While I am writing this blog I am waiting for my Nintendo DS to charge up. My wife bought me this for Christmas as well as Don Martin (which is just sooooo funny)but i haven't had the energy to play with it due to above happenings.
It is supposed to measure my brain activity or its age or something like that. I must challenge Mr America to a game. Also tell him rule number four is that he is not allowed to beat me.(at any other game as well)
Whilst writing this somebody has left the tele on at TMF whatever that is. i can only assume that it is some sort of music channel as there is the biggest load of shite on. Bring back the 60's and 70's music anytime.
I will go and test my brain now. See what sort of score I will get. Although I already know that I will break the machine. He says modestly. Not neccssarily by brain power but by hand power as I throw it through the feckin' window.
Ta ta for now.
Posted :: Friday 12/28/2007 10:27:00 AM
Sploink!
And Chucang to you all. Yes folks. It. Sorry. He has arrived. He, Don Martin, has arrived in full glorius colour. All 1,200 pages of him. You must remember folks. this is the genius behind so many things. This is where the word Kerrang came from. Not that heavy metal mag that you see on the shelves. This where Doh comes from. Not out of Homer Simpsons mouth. Any work of that ilk you can bet your life first appeared in a Don Martin cartoon. Spliff was another one. And he wasn't even a dopehead.
The one thing that really intrigres me. In recent times it has been known that America is made in China. Well, this is the thing. Although everything in this fine tome is all United States Of America etc the volumes and casing were printed and made in China. Methinks Don would have come up with some fine adjective for that.What, I don't know, but it would sure be a good one.
BaDoing! for now
i am away to eat my Xmas Dinner and then start into it.
Posted :: Tuesday 12/25/2007 7:19:00 AM
2 parties, still sober
Had two Xmas dinners and parties and still sober. That might all change this afternoon. We (my family) have all been invited to my young sisters for an open house party. I also have my friend up from cork. He is coming along as he will know quite a few of the party goers from years past.
Dr Vodka just might be able to help. The last two parties he didn't really help at all. Maybe third time lucky. Who knows?
Xmas is just two more sleeps away. Is Don coming to see me or not? Just in case he doesn't I have him sourced on the internet. Maybe after Xmas when the sales start he will be even cheaper.Watch this space.
My rolling Stones collection has taken another turn in its diversity. I have now added pins and badges to it. I didn't realise there were so many. Some of them are quite rare and therefore quite pricey. All the more reason for collecting them. I even have a special album to put them in. I bought this particular album on my last trip to Toronto in October. I always knew it would have a use for something to do with my collection. So, if any of you out there have Rolling Stones related badges or pins please get in touch through the web site. It's easy. all you have to do is go to 'Contact Us' and let me know what you have. I will always get back to you.
Apart from all thats been happening the past week, I am also off on holiday for the next ten, that's TEN days. All the more time to plan what I intend to do over the next 12 months, write it down on a piece of paper and then throw it in the bin. Great fun doing that. I do actually remember doing something like this many years ago and pinning it up on the message board and then striking off each task as it was done. Will I, won't I? Who cares??
Although I have promised myself that I will definitely sort my collection into some sort of order. That is a MUST DO.
Xmas bonus already. Some time ago I ordered the new Rolling Stones album on all formats available. I received the CD / Jake Box CD / !2" vinyl box set and the new USB format. I did get the CD / Jake box / Vinyl but not the USB. I contacted the supplier. He sent me another copy of the Vinyl. I contacted the supplier. He eventually sent me the new USB format. He did not ask for the 2nd vinyl back. He has a system with the post office where he can claim back the value of the item with them. I now have two copies of the vinyl box set. Oh, what to do, what to do? I know. I'll keep it just in case he ever asks for it back.
I paid my Mother a visit this morning to wish her a good Xmas. I daren't say Happy or Merry. She is 84 and has seen too many bad things in her life to be Happy or Merry about. She was in good form and I put her present below her miniscule tree along with other presents from other members of the family. We sat and talked and I asked her more about the family for the family tree that I am trying to put together. I'm getting their, bit by bit. It is interesting and quite fascinating . It is something that I would recommend just for curiosy.
Gotta go. Get dollied up for the party
Have a Great Christmas everyone. I know I will.
Posted :: Sunday 12/23/2007 5:02:00 AM
On the 12th day to Xmas
On the 12th day to Xmas my Ebay brought to me.
A very rare Rolling Stones CD.
And if I win this CD when I put my bid in
I will be so happy I might change to Gin
You get the picture, don't you? Mind you, I am up against some other powerful bidders. I need to be sneaky and get my bid in in the last second to stand a chance of winning this prized possession for my collection. I will let you know as the blog goes on. I only have a few more minutes to wait and then, ponce, it's mine. That is providing none of the other feckers have more money than me to play with. Great fun, innit?
I need to keep leaving this to check on the possible new member to my collection. By the way, I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before, but, if any of you guys out there have in your possession any Rolling Stones stuff, please let me know through the web site. I will always give it a good home.
To take my mind off things (the excitement is overpowering) let me tell you about my recent disaster of a Christmas Dinner I was at the other night.
The establishment that we went to, about 30 of us, has been our place of Xmas Dinner for the past few years. The food was always good. The service was always good. The entertainment was always good. Not this year!!!!
Firstly, the food was nearly 2 hours late. It was cold/warm not warm/hot. The vegetables came out when we were half way through our meat. They were cold and had to be sent back. the potatoes came out when we had finished our meat and were eating our vegetables. Then the gravy came out when we were finished full stop. (the excuse for this was that it was seconds for the gravy, I asked the waitress where were the firsts?)
I also asked one of the waitresses was the owner in. Reply "No in deed he is not" in a very indignant voice. OK, I thought, I will ask for the manager. Reply "I am the manager" A word please. She came round to where I was sitting. She stood there while i explained my problem/s to her. Including the fact that I was having a fillet steak instead of turkey and ham (I am sick of turkey and ham) The whole point of me ordering fillet steak is so that there is no fat in it. I do not do well with fat. A bit like Jack Spratt.
My fillet steak had fat in it. I told her this and suggested to her that chef might want to change his supplier as i was totally disgusted with what he put out on the plate. Don't get me wrong folks. He had cooked it superbly, it was just the fact that there was fat in it. Also that it was cold/warm but I was so hungry at the time i eat what I could of it. The rest was sent back to the kitchen.
I know from experience in the catering trade that if the chef doesn't know what is going on out in the restaurant then he cannot improve on his skill.
That was just the main course. The starter was delicious but the wait in between the courses was atrocious.
Methinks next year it is time for a change of venue.
Just checking on my auction item. Things are just nice at the moment. So is, I hope, Don Martin. I hope that somewhere in this house he is just waiting to be wrapped up to be put under the Xmas tree. If not, then all I can say is Peace and Goodwill to all man/womankind. Maybe in the January sales I will get it for myself somewhere. I hate going out in the sales. My wife and daughter love it, but I like to do my shopping when there aren't as many people about. When i walk into a shop I expect the crowds to divide like the Red Sea. After all, do they not know who I am????
Only a few more minutes of waiting folks. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me. This can add to my collection after all. (this is the collection that has been split up yet again.) My wife and daughter have forced me to store the collection around the house now. My argument against this is that I need it around me for reference purpose when I am surfing for more stuff. A bit like a philatelist with his stamp albums. But, I am up against 2 women here. No chance!!
Just had another peek there. There is a new kid on the block now. And he has put his bid in and disrupted my train of thought. Do I start bidding against him or not? That is the question. Or do I wait for another indefinite period for another identical item to appear? we will have to wait and see. This is a guy that I am not familiar with. all the other guys I have bid against before. sometimes I won, sometimes they won.
Wahay!!!! I have just won the item. I am going to dance around the room now-------
I am now out of breath. That will teach these new kids on the block who the masters are at this game. Come on Luke Skywalker. Learn from the master.
PS don't forget, I still will give a good home to anybody who wants to donate any Rolling Stones items, CD's / CD singles / 7" vinyl's / 12" vinyl's / 10" vinyl's / postcards / phone cards / concert tickets / concert passes or anything at all for that matter. Make contact through www.bangorlocal.com and ask for me
Cheers for now
Posted :: Sunday 12/16/2007 5:05:00 AM
More exciting news folks
Yes indeed. If you remember a few blogs ago I wrote about what I would dearly love for Xmas from Santa.
Well, it now transpires that the book in question, Don Martin, doesn't have 1,000 pages. It actually has 1,200 pages. Great innit!!
I really do hope that Santa (known as my wife) reads this soon. Time is running out.
Another piece of good news. I am owed some money. i will be getting it in the next week or two. It all dates back to my trip to Canada recently with my friend. It's him that owes me. I had completely forgotten until he phoned me and mentioned it. Great innit!!!
I am just waiting for the third piece of good news.
Cheers
Posted :: Sunday 12/9/2007 4:24:00 AM
A good send off indeed
Yes. We gave our dear old Aunt a very good send off indeed. One of my cousins and i were nearly crying due to the fact that we had run out of vodka. I think at that stage of events my young sister arranged for a nice taxi man to drive me all the way home and not only that, but he actually helped me out of the car and walked me down (helped me doen) the drive to my front door. Somebody on the other side of the door coincidently opened it just as I was about to put my hand on the door handle. It was a female. It was either my daughter or my wife. At that stage of the evening i wasn't really sure. I didn't really care. I just had this urge for more vodka. We don't have any in the house now.
It's not just the Catholics who know how to hold a wake. Us Proddies can do just as good a job. We celebrated my Aunt's death/life for 2 days and of course the weekend before the cremation.
Great.
Since that event i have had a few other things going on in my life. The biggest, or possibly, worst thing just happened yesterday.
The organization that I work for on a Voluntary basis were having a meeting. I knew what the meeting was about but didn't know what would be discussed. The Manager of the place I work in was at the meeting. This was to last most of the day with a break for lunch.
I was told by him at the lunch break that my attendance would be required at the meeting. Why? I am not a member of staff. I am not an Officer in the organization. I don't need to go. I have other things to do here.
I tried to get out of it but he is the Manager. Not only that but the Director asked/told me to go. I went. I sat. I hardly said a word
I was humiliated. I was patronized. I was embarrassed.
Since then I have felt angry and annoyed that i was cajoled into that position. I was nearly on the verge of writing a letter to the Director and the Manager just to let them know how I felt about it. This is not the first time in recent weeks that I have felt like doing this.
I am putting this down here just to see what it looks like and also to see if I should/could write such a letter. Maybe I should let sleeping dogs lie.
What do you, if there is any of you actually taking the time to read this, think I should do?
Replies on a postcard please to the usual address.
This week I had a bad night at the bowls. I didn't get one single good shot the whole evening. Then aagain. There were a lot of people who have been bowling for years and they were the same. But I went home thinking, am i no good at this? or was it just a bad night? I think / hope it was just the latter. I do enjoy it. I like the cup of tea that we get in the middle as well.
Yesterday my daughter passed her driving test. Wahay. She has been trying to pass her test for sometime now. She changed her instructor. She passed her test. Maybe all along she had a bad instructor. Who knows.
today she drove me all over the place. I was able to get all my Xmas shopping done without my wife being there. It was great. Not that i don't like going out with my wife. Because I don't drive I usually have to depend on her. So now we have our daughter to depend on. She can take us out. She can pick us up when the vodka runs out. That goes for both of us.
One thing that I was able to look into today as a result of my daughter driving is what I am planning for our silver wedding next year. I now have all the wheels in motion and I am now counting the pennies to see if it is a viable thing to do. Watch this space.
I will have to go now as the doggies need to be fed. Just in case you didn't know. i have two of the most, if not the most, gorgeous retrievers. They are smart cookies. They can tell the time. Even when the clocks change. It's dinner time you muffet. We want it NOW!!! Or as they would say "BARK BARK BARK WOOF WOOF WOOF"
Cheers for now
Posted :: Saturday 12/8/2007 9:25:00 AM
Another death in the family
Yes folks. Another death in the family. This time it is my Aunt. As in my Mother's sister. Needeless to say everybody is very upset but on the other hand very relieved as she was suffering for quite a while with one thing and another. I won't go into details but I can fully understand what was going on as I have spent so much of my life in and out of hospitals.
This now leaves my Mother as the sole remaining member of the famiy in that generation. I need to make a slight alteration to the details in my family tree.
Talking of family trees. I have made the most amazing discovery. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Here goes.
It turns out that my half sister's Grandmother, along with her two sisters owned the Cristal / Crystal Buffet along Queen's Parade for many years including the 1960's. It was in the 1960's that me and my friends / my friends and I (depending how you were educated)used to meet up there on a Saturday morning and have a sort of breakfast of milky coffee and baked beans on toast. It was brilliant. Of course in later years we used to frequent the place and make a nusience of ourselves with the staff. I was once asked to leave for smoking a herbal cigarette. The waitress thought it was some sort of dope, but I can assure you it was perfectly legitimate herbal tobacco. Being a teenager was fun in those days. Eh!.
Moving on from that, My nbowling seems to be improving. My name has even appeared in the Church Magazine as a new member of the Club. First I heard of it. I don't even fully understand the rules yet. I haven't paid my membership fees either. But my bowling tecnique is improving. i can manage to keep the feckers on the mat now. I am hoping to purchase a set of bowls that I can call my own soon. I can then return the set I have to the gentleman who lent me a set of his. (or shall I just hold on to them and save myself some money?)
Coming back to my family tree. Another thing that I found out today was that my brother's second wife is related by blood to my half sister through her cousin who is married to a man that is a direct relation through my brother's second wife's great grandmother. Work that one out if you can!!
Gotta go now. My wife needs me, as always when I am enjoying myself, to help her with something.
Ta Ta
Posted :: Sunday 12/2/2007 7:48:00 AM
