MANCHESTER

We headed off to Manchester last weekend, and decided to splurge a little for some creature comforts. We got a hotel smack dab in the heart of the city. It still came with power showers, an IMAC, robes, an assortment of toiletry very friendly staff. Took a few pictures the minute I got there.

BLUE BAR

Lobby

The Room

Mini Bar

IMAC with remote & speakers that features digital radio, pc, tv and dvd player.

Window view

Bed

The complimentary breakfast that the hotel offered was one of a kind. It was really good. So on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst) I give the City Inn a 7.5.

Before I digress, the purpose of the trip was for Rachael's birthday. Having chilled out and all we went over to her house for a bbq/ party with friends and family. Rachy's family are very well knit and superbly pleasant. It was one of the best parties of the year and I had the time of my life. It has reminded me of my family and how close we are all knit.

We then ditched all the older folk and went on a booze up in Manchester. This was my first time in Manchester and I have to say, the whole experience was a complete surprise. It was more pleasant than I had initially anticipated. I will be back there again soon ish and recommend anyone to go there.

More pictures on : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=177394&id=727454116&l=dae261edd6

FOOTBALL

So the world cup is nearing an end now, and I find that the excitement isn't what it used to be. This may be due to the fact that Italy and England are now out. My choices are now limited to the Dutch. Let's hope they overcome all odds and finally win the world cup.

I do find that some of the romanticism from football is lost as you get older. There are perhaps are few reasons why this is such:

1. Refereeing is shit! They need some degree of goal line and offside technology.

2. Players are cheating bastards! They go down for the slightest nudge.

3. There is too much pressure on coaches and players alike and thus making them under perform.

4. Football becomes even more corporate year after year.

5. Clubs use money rather than good management and tactics to win games and trophies.

Regardless of all this, I still have love for the game in the hope that things might change. Occasionally we are braced with the fighting spirit and drive that is football. This was not more apparent this year than in Fulham FC at the UEFA Cup and Ghana at the world cup. So, there can be teams that inspire us all and remind us of the true football spirit. Let's hope there are more of them.

25 Matches

The time has come where most men and some women will become unavailable for pretty much most things. Booze will always be in ample supply and tempers will flair. Its the FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 in South Africa.

The tournament began with most teams merely treading quite wearily. With the fixtures mostly ending in a draw or with a win on a 1 goal advantage with the exception of the Germans. The 2nd round of the group stage began with the smaller teams asking questions. The big names in the game particularly the likes of Spain, Italy, Germany and England managed only draws or defeats against seemingly lesser sides.

After the 25th match has been played in the group stage, I am left wanting more. In my mind, this seems like the worst world cup thus far. There has also been a fair amount of controversy on the match ball, the Jabulani. However, the teams are all professional and should have adapted to the ball by now.

The likes of Christiano Ronaldo and Valter Birsa have learned how to keep the ball down, why can't everyone else?

Valter

Christiano

Today's matches which featured Netherlands v Japan, and Australia v Ghana were no short of drama as well. The Japanese held their own against the Ducth and were unlucky to lose 1-0. They had some good defensive play and very creative attacking play as well. This combined with a Dutch side that was a calamity going forward gave way to a very scrappy but entertaining game.

The Aussie game on the other hand was one that was more equal, until Harry Kewell was sent off for a hand ball on his goal line. The sending off, coupled with a penalty saw Ghana equalize. The rest of a game was Ghana going forward to no avail, and the Aussie's making use of what little possession they had. The game ended 1-1. Hopefully the evening game has more drama and goals in store.

Absence

I have so much to blog about, but never the time to actually do it. This seems to be the dilemma of attempting a consistent blog. Perhaps a quick recap of the past 2 months is in order first.

It looked like the last thing I was preoccupied with was my dissertation. Well, the proposal has been handed in and I'm currently spending a bit of time working on it.

After that, I went through a rigorous few weeks of sorting out coursework and presentations. After a few weeks of hard work, I then enjoyed the freedom of doing nothing. Apart from the random trips away and nights out. Then came the world cup, and from here on out, blogging is going to be a breeze.

DISSERTATION

Work had got me very much out of the Uni frame of mind. It's been weeks, if not months since I was inspired. This is perhaps the dwindling feeling of what is looming after this. A step in the right direction that is my profession? The Bar? Settling down?

These were the thoughts that plagues my mind. Day by day, little by little just nudging me into a non caring state of being. However, in the last 48 hours something miraculous has taken place. I am inspired! I am flowing with ideas and plans for my research. I am looking forward to the 45,000 words and 90 minutes of presentations that are between me and my masters. This has never happened. Hopefully this LLM can inspire me further and sort my mind out once and for all.

This epiphany was realised with the dawn of my research proposal that is due in later today. I have since completed it and absorbed it. My standpoint of the history and implementations of anti drug legislation is seemingly unique. How unique this is, will be determined in the next few hours... *fingers crossed*

The reading on the Medellin & Cali Cartels have left me wanting more. This cements my love for law. Something I thought had vanished since I finished my degree. So hopefully this inspiration lasts and persists....

Day In

I haven't had a day to myself for a while now. It's either class or work or dissertation woes all round. Today, I have decided to just laze and relax and catch up on all my TV shows and reading and to try and reply all my emails and calls. What can I say, it's been a nice lazy day so far.

I awoke and switched on the TV and Will & Grace was on, so I stayed in bed for a bit. After Scrubs and all finished I finally took the mandatory shower. Then on made myself some breakfast and then read this book which I've had for ages. It's called Change the World 9 to 5. The book features tips and facts on being a bit nicer to other people as well as reducing our carbon footprint. There was a line in the book which read "Know where you lunch is from: The average kiwi fruit uses up 5 times it's weight in greenhouse gasses to make its way to the UK!" That got me hooked on the book and I finished it, its the sort of book that I will pass around to my friends.


Simply brilliant
















This one is called share your lunch.
















I was psyched also by the fact that my graphic novels and DVDs which I had ordered had arrived today despite the damn postal strike in the UK. My Constantine books are simply brilliant and the artwork is so dark and ominous. What a nice day to sit and read. A cup of hot tea, a lit incense some Kings Of Leon, John Mayer and Eric Clapton in the background and a freshly lit cigarette (so very bad, but yet so good).

It's so very imperative that the mood and the vibe be described yet I feel I'm not doing it any justice here. Hmm... Oh well.. The bottom line is I think I wanted to be alone today, it's a nice time to sit in brood contemplating and organizing contemplations. The Constantine books were still really good though.. Have a look..

















































The films that I got were the Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Burn After Reading, both of which I haven't watched. So that will be done in the latter half of the day. I might socialize later tonight in the form of a jam session with Stu and his new synth piano, the past few jam sessions have been very good and thus making it even more anticipatory. Although this time I was going to get my Tele and amp involved in the process. Hmm... again this requires some brain work...

I walked out of my room to get an understanding of the weather and realized it was as bad as I thought it was. It was dark and gloomy and just almost depressing. However, it did fit right into the kind of day that I was in. It was just as dark and ominous as my books and had a very clear 'stay in' message attached to it.

DINNER TIME

I got home from work and I was starving, and I mean absolutely starving. Beyond that, when I get really hungry I will be very specific with the kind of food I want. Today it just happened to be rice and korma. However, I was not about to get a takeout in the rain, nor did I want to get one delivered.

So I made an authentic chicken korma and made brown rice with parsley. This is the end product... Let me know what you think..
















































Having made this, I realized that I had't cooked for quite a while now. This has now inspired me to at least make time to cook for the rest of the week