Bearing in mind my top score from the last cricket season (153 not out) was quoted as the reason, I have a life lesson. Getting drunk can win you things. I'm really chuffed this evening, because I have come home from the league AGM (and league awards) with a brand new cricket bat after scooping the Divisional Player of the Year Award for 2013.
I thought one of my teammates had a chance of winning it, as his all-round figures for the season were pretty handy, but I was honestly expecting to hear the name of someone from another club. To hear my name read out as the winner then was pretty damn surprising. Especially as I was in trouble towards the back end of the season for misuse of social media. I didn't think I was in contention at all.
It's really rewarding to be recognised by your peers. I've got a huge smile on my face.
Thursday 28 November 2013
Wednesday 27 November 2013
Snippet 1
I think I'm going to change the format of this blog for a little while. Instead of "feature length" posts, for want of a better phrase, I'm going to use it to let out little shots of frustration. I've needed to do that this past week, but ended up getting halfway through typing a longer post, and just given up.
Jonathan Trott. I feel so sorry for the guy. I'm not going to inundate these pages with the ins and outs of what I think, because I've discussed it with a lot of different people, all with varying degrees of understanding. But to those of you who cannot or will not understand... Please think about what you are saying, before you say it. Your words could affect a lot of people.
The last couple of days especially have quite frankly been shit. I've been able to do nothing at all, and that's literally NOTHING AT ALL, apart from sleep and just about make it to work. I've had to buy food from work to microwave, killing two birds with one stone, because I haven't had the energy to eat at home. To those same people who cannot or will not understand, that last sentence will make no sense to you. To those of you who know.... You know...
Phase one of what will be many phases this winter. I don't look forward to them.
Jonathan Trott. I feel so sorry for the guy. I'm not going to inundate these pages with the ins and outs of what I think, because I've discussed it with a lot of different people, all with varying degrees of understanding. But to those of you who cannot or will not understand... Please think about what you are saying, before you say it. Your words could affect a lot of people.
The last couple of days especially have quite frankly been shit. I've been able to do nothing at all, and that's literally NOTHING AT ALL, apart from sleep and just about make it to work. I've had to buy food from work to microwave, killing two birds with one stone, because I haven't had the energy to eat at home. To those same people who cannot or will not understand, that last sentence will make no sense to you. To those of you who know.... You know...
Phase one of what will be many phases this winter. I don't look forward to them.
Sunday 24 November 2013
Messages From (Very) Far Away
Its the Ashes again, and Australia have spent the last four days dominating England in every cricketing department imaginable. 1-0 up. Fair play to them. Mitchell Johnson especially was world class. England? Abysmal.
Before this series, Australia hadn't won a test match in 9 attempts, (that's NINE!), losing 7 and drawing two, losing 3 of the last 4 Ashes series by convincing margins. That's a pretty dire record. But its all okay, because they've won a test match, and boy, don't they want us to know about it. Their local media refuse to mention Stuart Broad's name, choosing instead to ghost out his picture. After their (admittedly convincing) victory however, they have gotten incredibly smug about it all. Opening batsman David Warner has come out saying some of the English players are "weak". Captain Michael Clarke spent his entire press conference gloating. Even debutant George Bailey, with a whole 37 test match runs to his name, spent most of England's final innings chirping away whilst stood at short leg.
Welcome to the Australian logic. They cry when they don't get their own way, and then as soon as something good happens, they become unbearably and ridiculously egotistical about it. I have had my fair share of this on a personal level, as I am receiving a fair few messages from Australia myself, most of which are hideously abusive. So much so, that I look forward to receiving them. Each one merely confirms that my decision to come home was the right one. I even got a message saying, "We have some blokes from our club who might pop in and visit your club". Imagine that. Paying money to come and get money that they think they're owed, that you've already lost by getting over here in the first place? Haha. Logic. These guys have bundles of it.
Yes. That's British sarcasm.
In other news, I've overdone it on the Jack Daniels consumption. Not dangerously so, (I don't think), because I've managed to get home in one piece each time, but it is obvious to anyone with half an eye that I am drinking a lot of it. I document it on social media for one thing, as I tend to, but I can also feel it. Its taking longer for me to recover from nights out, (I'm typing this at 11.30pm - still recovering from last night), and I'm thinking I might give my liver a break for a week or two before the inevitable alcohol-consumption-to-the-max period of Christmas and New Year. Then again, come next Friday evening, I might disregard that. It usually happens. Waking up to go and play indoor cricket this morning then, in which we won to make it 3 wins in 4, was highly difficult. I was even tempted to stay in bed and "pie it" as the kids say, but I do have some sort of responsibility to not let my team mates down. I batted well aswell, hitting 30 odd, (the scorebook said 20 - but that had to be wrong as I hit two sixes!) in a reasonably comfortable chase. I'm enjoying indoor cricket. It's very, very hard work, with a lot of sprinting when batting, (especially when I've inevitably been out the night before!), but its good exercise and a good way of keeping the heart working, when the liver is feeling the pain! I'm pretty sure I'll reap the benefits when the proper season comes back round aswell, as I'd have been batting all winter.
Otherwise, its business as usual. Time is going very, very quickly, and soon we'll be knee deep in the tough times. I don't look forward to it, but at the same time, I'm enjoying the here and now. I think that's the best way of doing things.
Before this series, Australia hadn't won a test match in 9 attempts, (that's NINE!), losing 7 and drawing two, losing 3 of the last 4 Ashes series by convincing margins. That's a pretty dire record. But its all okay, because they've won a test match, and boy, don't they want us to know about it. Their local media refuse to mention Stuart Broad's name, choosing instead to ghost out his picture. After their (admittedly convincing) victory however, they have gotten incredibly smug about it all. Opening batsman David Warner has come out saying some of the English players are "weak". Captain Michael Clarke spent his entire press conference gloating. Even debutant George Bailey, with a whole 37 test match runs to his name, spent most of England's final innings chirping away whilst stood at short leg.
Welcome to the Australian logic. They cry when they don't get their own way, and then as soon as something good happens, they become unbearably and ridiculously egotistical about it. I have had my fair share of this on a personal level, as I am receiving a fair few messages from Australia myself, most of which are hideously abusive. So much so, that I look forward to receiving them. Each one merely confirms that my decision to come home was the right one. I even got a message saying, "We have some blokes from our club who might pop in and visit your club". Imagine that. Paying money to come and get money that they think they're owed, that you've already lost by getting over here in the first place? Haha. Logic. These guys have bundles of it.
Yes. That's British sarcasm.
In other news, I've overdone it on the Jack Daniels consumption. Not dangerously so, (I don't think), because I've managed to get home in one piece each time, but it is obvious to anyone with half an eye that I am drinking a lot of it. I document it on social media for one thing, as I tend to, but I can also feel it. Its taking longer for me to recover from nights out, (I'm typing this at 11.30pm - still recovering from last night), and I'm thinking I might give my liver a break for a week or two before the inevitable alcohol-consumption-to-the-max period of Christmas and New Year. Then again, come next Friday evening, I might disregard that. It usually happens. Waking up to go and play indoor cricket this morning then, in which we won to make it 3 wins in 4, was highly difficult. I was even tempted to stay in bed and "pie it" as the kids say, but I do have some sort of responsibility to not let my team mates down. I batted well aswell, hitting 30 odd, (the scorebook said 20 - but that had to be wrong as I hit two sixes!) in a reasonably comfortable chase. I'm enjoying indoor cricket. It's very, very hard work, with a lot of sprinting when batting, (especially when I've inevitably been out the night before!), but its good exercise and a good way of keeping the heart working, when the liver is feeling the pain! I'm pretty sure I'll reap the benefits when the proper season comes back round aswell, as I'd have been batting all winter.
Otherwise, its business as usual. Time is going very, very quickly, and soon we'll be knee deep in the tough times. I don't look forward to it, but at the same time, I'm enjoying the here and now. I think that's the best way of doing things.
Sunday 17 November 2013
Living For the Weekends
Not been blogging at all recently, and there is a perfectly good reason for that. Nothing special has happened, but nothing bad either which is a pretty good recipe for a stable lifestyle. All I've been doing is working my hours in the week, and living it up at the weekends, and that lifestyle suits me just fine.
People go on about "doing damage to yourself" by drinking too much, and maybe they're right, but I don't care. Sounds bad and ... Illogical, I know, but I know so many people who wish they had made the most of their younger years, and that is what I am trying to do, within my means. Friday night and last night were as good as ever, dancing away to songs in the Barley surrounded by friends, old and new, and I love doing that. I look forward to every weekend because of it. I can't imagine being that person who sits in with a takeaway watching The X Factor every Saturday night. That's not me.
One other notable pattern is also the amount of e-mails I am getting from Australia. Yep. Those people. Sending insults and threats via e-mail and Facebook, as if they have any power at all from 10,000 miles away. A few years ago, I'd have been perturbed by such words. Now, I can laugh. All that is past me and I'm prepared for what lays ahead.
I do have to face more and more of people judging me for my weekend lifestyle however. This picture doesn't help:
People go on about "doing damage to yourself" by drinking too much, and maybe they're right, but I don't care. Sounds bad and ... Illogical, I know, but I know so many people who wish they had made the most of their younger years, and that is what I am trying to do, within my means. Friday night and last night were as good as ever, dancing away to songs in the Barley surrounded by friends, old and new, and I love doing that. I look forward to every weekend because of it. I can't imagine being that person who sits in with a takeaway watching The X Factor every Saturday night. That's not me.
One other notable pattern is also the amount of e-mails I am getting from Australia. Yep. Those people. Sending insults and threats via e-mail and Facebook, as if they have any power at all from 10,000 miles away. A few years ago, I'd have been perturbed by such words. Now, I can laugh. All that is past me and I'm prepared for what lays ahead.
I do have to face more and more of people judging me for my weekend lifestyle however. This picture doesn't help:
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How cool is this though?
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Monday 4 November 2013
I'm Quite Alright Here
Been a while.
People ask me. "Don't you regret coming home from Australia? Surely it's amazing out there..."
Simple answer. No. Not one bit. Its got to a point now that I'm not allowed to complain about life here, just like every other Briton seems to do, in a way that only Britons can, because I could have the alternative. Australian sun, cold beer and a tan. I don't even like beer. But the fact of the matter is, I do love where I live. Sure, Bedford was voted the unhappiest place in the whole of the UK, but I quite like it. If you look hard enough, there are things to do, although I could easily disprove that theory after the evening I had. It involved aimlessly walking around town listening to my iPod. I'll get to that in a minute...
I'm quite proud of my wee little hometown. On the cover, it seems to be your bog-standard town. A high street, a rowdy and arguably dangerous façade on a Saturday night and an Aldi. Every place has its down sides, but get to know the right people, and its quite a marvellous little community.
You can see I'm making a deliberate attempt to be positive can't you? I've been doing it all day, because, ever since Saturday, I've felt it coming. November has hit, and its getting ever closer. I make no bones about it, the next few months will be difficult. I'm not entirely sure I'm tackling it in the best way, as I continue what I have done all Summer. Work in the week, and live it up at the weekends. Drink a lot of JD and forget about whatever is coming. Oh dear, that sounds like the words of an alcoholic...
But its true. Sure, I made a valiant attempt at improving my evening earlier, although no one else wanted to play ball and it ended up being a walk to town for a McDonalds and a half-price box of Milk Tray before walking home again. I just didn't want to stay in the house really. I've learnt that that really isn't a good thing to do. I have learnt a lesson or two. At least I can say I am making an effort to try and improve things in the upstairs department. I have another counselling session in a couple of weeks. A one-on-one session to discuss my 'perfectionism'. I know. Apparently, I set myself impossible goals, and always feel like I've fallen short when I don't reach them. Its a fair diagnosis that one... I can't really argue against it, as I know they're right.
And yet, I know I'm not the only one. Its literally dawned on me in the past few weeks, that so many people think the same way. Or at least similar. There are so many people out there who want to be perfect. But who is? Really? I have a job that includes the word 'Manager' in it, at 22 years old. My Area Manager was visibly delighted when I got back from Australia. I am wanted. I have a lot of friends who love me, and I love them. Perspective...
I quite like One Direction's new song. 'Story of my Life'. The video is actually brilliant aswell. Its on repeat. Judging not allowed.
I'm moving out. I'm banking on landing a new role at a bigger post office branch in the new year, something that isn't guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination, but the time has come for me to leave this house. I can't really imagine living anywhere else. 22 years, 5 months and 14 days I've lived here. I've laughed in here, shouted in here, and cried in here... A lot of memories reside in this place...
We live on. Another day tomorrow. Lets see what it brings...
People ask me. "Don't you regret coming home from Australia? Surely it's amazing out there..."
Simple answer. No. Not one bit. Its got to a point now that I'm not allowed to complain about life here, just like every other Briton seems to do, in a way that only Britons can, because I could have the alternative. Australian sun, cold beer and a tan. I don't even like beer. But the fact of the matter is, I do love where I live. Sure, Bedford was voted the unhappiest place in the whole of the UK, but I quite like it. If you look hard enough, there are things to do, although I could easily disprove that theory after the evening I had. It involved aimlessly walking around town listening to my iPod. I'll get to that in a minute...
I'm quite proud of my wee little hometown. On the cover, it seems to be your bog-standard town. A high street, a rowdy and arguably dangerous façade on a Saturday night and an Aldi. Every place has its down sides, but get to know the right people, and its quite a marvellous little community.
You can see I'm making a deliberate attempt to be positive can't you? I've been doing it all day, because, ever since Saturday, I've felt it coming. November has hit, and its getting ever closer. I make no bones about it, the next few months will be difficult. I'm not entirely sure I'm tackling it in the best way, as I continue what I have done all Summer. Work in the week, and live it up at the weekends. Drink a lot of JD and forget about whatever is coming. Oh dear, that sounds like the words of an alcoholic...
But its true. Sure, I made a valiant attempt at improving my evening earlier, although no one else wanted to play ball and it ended up being a walk to town for a McDonalds and a half-price box of Milk Tray before walking home again. I just didn't want to stay in the house really. I've learnt that that really isn't a good thing to do. I have learnt a lesson or two. At least I can say I am making an effort to try and improve things in the upstairs department. I have another counselling session in a couple of weeks. A one-on-one session to discuss my 'perfectionism'. I know. Apparently, I set myself impossible goals, and always feel like I've fallen short when I don't reach them. Its a fair diagnosis that one... I can't really argue against it, as I know they're right.
And yet, I know I'm not the only one. Its literally dawned on me in the past few weeks, that so many people think the same way. Or at least similar. There are so many people out there who want to be perfect. But who is? Really? I have a job that includes the word 'Manager' in it, at 22 years old. My Area Manager was visibly delighted when I got back from Australia. I am wanted. I have a lot of friends who love me, and I love them. Perspective...
I quite like One Direction's new song. 'Story of my Life'. The video is actually brilliant aswell. Its on repeat. Judging not allowed.
I'm moving out. I'm banking on landing a new role at a bigger post office branch in the new year, something that isn't guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination, but the time has come for me to leave this house. I can't really imagine living anywhere else. 22 years, 5 months and 14 days I've lived here. I've laughed in here, shouted in here, and cried in here... A lot of memories reside in this place...
We live on. Another day tomorrow. Lets see what it brings...
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