.. and thats all over..

I sometimes get chided as an old curmudgeon, and not always in jest.

At Christmas I really do deserve the label though. It's an old cliche straight out of Charles Dickens, but the older I get, the more antipathy I have towards the festive season.

That probably paints me as some sort of 19th Century money lender fit for a visit of the ghost of Christmas Past, doesn't it? Well I'm not that bad, I plan my present purchases months in advance and hoover up the gifts for E, X and little D with glee. Our little one wasn't too fussed about December 25th this year, but our big one made out like a bandit, as always. X has graduated onto the mega Lego now. Massive, bling-y robot ninja sets which make my childhood Lego offerings look like simple wooden toys in comparison. As I write this his mech ninja robot and ninja helicopter dealie bestride our living room table like a pair of Power Ranger monsters squaring up to one another. I've probably named both those sets wrongly,  and X would correct me briskly if he heard. Like when you tell a child to take his elbows of the table at mealtimes. 

This Xmas was mercifully brief. We loaded up or presents into the car and drove over to see my Mum on the 24th. After a fitful night of sleep the present opening started in earnest. X had the patience of a saint whilst the grown-ups rattled tiredly around him in the house. He would've started opening his gifts at 4am if he had the chance (as I once did, to my shame), but held himself back with admirable restraint. With the rain falling in a steady stream, we strapped ourselves in for the wait before the orgy of eating started. And then we ate. And ate some more. The white wine flowed freely and by evening I felt bloated and ready enough to head home. 

To sum it up, for me Xmas has just become an excuse for large amounts of grub and booze. Hardly a new revelation that, but as time goes by it grates on my sensibilities increasingly. Come early afternoon on the 25th my inner puritan wants to be active, preferably outdoors, instead of slumped on the couch feeling like an anaconda which has just eaten a hippo. 

Hopefully next year we can do things differently. E wants to visit her family come Xmas 2013 and if I had two grand to drop on some plane tickets I wouldn't think twice. In the meantime I busy myself with post Christmas errands and look out the window, hoping for the rain to stop. 

A.    

So the end of the world came and went..

Boom!

.. and I'm sort of relieved!

Yesterday morning I heard some rumbling in the sky about 11.05am (the apocalypse coming a few minutes early perhaps?) but the rest of the day passed without incident. 

Maybe the Mayans just have much longer calendars than we do. Perhaps their 31st December only comes every 5,000 years on their calendars. Justification for a big fuss when the time does come, I guess...

Anyway, it seems I've been good this year and Santa has come early. Someone has unintentionally dropped a very chunky payment into my bank account just in time for Xmas. I did a very weary double take when my checking my bank balance when I clocked the "1" on my balance where usually there is a "0" instead. Ching! ching!    Unfortunately these things tend to get noticed, I'm sure someone will come asking for it back in January and it'd be a bit cheeky to say "no!". Still, I'll consider it a loan and use it for matched betting purposes in the meantime.

A. 

Man Cave business from the dinner table..

As the Man Cave feels as welcoming as a bleak Scottish hillside right now, I've relocated.

I type this at the dining table in the front room. I need no scarf, I can't see my breath when I exhale so its' luxury in comparison.

As E and D are out today I have the chance to blog and get the Xmas cards out the way. Been listening to CDs again too, something I haven't really done for years. As a music beard stroker I wouldve loved E's music collection; Elvis Costello, OK-Go, Frank Black and loads of American bands I've never heard of who look like they have loads of cred. 

Makes me wince when I think about having the Rocky III soundtrack on my phone. Well, almost.

Anyway, we're preparing for Xmas, as I'm sure you are too. It's been manic with the arrival of little D this year so our efforts have been hampered somewhat. The old tree still sits boxed in the attic as it has been superceeded by a 3 foot wall mounted number instead!  X was writing out cards for his buddies the other week, acting like a de facto Santa Claus. In each envelope he dropped a chocolate coin, the size of which depended on whether each child had been 'naughty' or 'nice' that year.

As for X, he's been a good lad this year. He will make out like a bandit this year.. like he does every year.. Frankly, I worry where we will store his presents for Xmas 2012 though.. new wing of the house made out of lego perhaps? Just a thought.

Of course, as 2012 draws to a close there's (supposedly) something else ending. Those pesky Incas must've been having a laugh when they decided to end some of their calendars on 21/12/2012. If it does though, this could be my last post before being flooded/ having the poles reversed under me/ being blown off the ground by Planet X. Hardly something to linger on, right?  I wait the commercial cash in with interest, however.

Nonetheless it might be worth picking up some candles and filling the car up on Thursday 20th just in case - you can get my birthday present to me early too if you want!

At least the Shamen put a positive spin on it.

A.

Wub..wub...wubwubwubwub...

I'll admit, I slipped of the cultural and marketing radars about 2001. Since then everything that is new, cutting edge or Zeitgeist-y strikes me with total indifference.

Dubstep is one of these things that makes me shrug my shoulders. 'It sounds like Stephen Hawking beatboxing, so what?'  I thought. However, it seems someone always finds an angle to fire my interest on the cultural lucky dip that is Youtube. Among all the Bieber-esque turds was this nugget of pure amusement I had to watch several times:

X loves the I-Pad. A little TOO much.

So I've been laid low with gastric flu over the last few days..

Fever, stonking headache, bowels like roiling like steaming gravy. A real triple threat..

Anyway, X loves using my I-Pad. He enjoys watching Youtube where people play Mario themed games of every sort. Characters with names such as 'Chugga Conroy' and 'Nintendo Capri Sun'. Delightfully nerdy sorts with peppy personalities and a large following, you might now the sort. These people are like friends to him and he shares their nuggets of wisdom with us on a daily basis. Its pretty much most days that I will hear the words: "Alex, can I watch my videos on your I-Pad?". I didn't expect him to be asking at the moment I was chundering down the toilet though:

I charge past X on the stairs and mutter something like "Excuse me, I'm gonna be sick in the toilet" before slamming the door behind me.

X: 'Are you being sick in the toilet, Alex?'

Me: being sick in the toilet... [ I thought that was an obvious enough response for him]

X: 'Are you being sick in the toilet, Alex?'

Me: Yes.

X: [pause] 'Can I watch my videos on your I-Pad, Alex?'

The boy has a one track mind to marvel at. Even when you're crouched over the toilet...

It felt like Autumn ambushed me...

One minute all October sunshine and cloudless skies, next minute winter dimness on my work commute.

I'm the only one still wearing shorts on the school pick-up though. The ladies and gents of Molesey regard me with curious eyes as I march up to get X at home time.. the cold is a state of mind I guess! 

Most of my activities have been indoors of late. Our visit to the local fireworks display was a great success though. I dreaded little D freaking out at the bangs and the whistles like all the toddlers around us, but she did me proud. Whilst X oohed and aahed in all the right places, she just looked a bit bored!  

Did you catch any of the US Elections at all? I followed them with some interest (the lesser of two evils won in my mind, thankfully). It made me wonder - how could anyone really vote for Romney, a man who looks like he lights his cigars with one hundred dollar bills? The only non-white people he meets are probably the ones who clean his pool! He just reminded me of a younger, more photogenic version of these two: 

Obama is marginally better in my mind. At least he doesn't (blatantly) send US troops abroad to protect the financial needs of his backers. You'd imagine that Romney would have a long list of 'well wishers' demanding some action to make them a few bucks if he got the job.. like invading Iran perhaps? Instead we have Mr O for another term, caning the credit card to pay the bills for a little longer until he has no other choice. I watched his acceptance speech with a sort of flat bemusement. He trotted out all the patriotic platitudes you would expect and the crowd whooped and hollered their joy (or was it relief?). I reckon the people from Schmoyoho said it best.

A.

In these newly straitened times

.. you've gotta pay the bills in increasingly creative ways.

All my previous little indulgences seem like grand extravagances nowadays. For instance, when was the last time I had a night out? The idea of dropping fifty notes to cover expenses scares the cr*p out of me these days. As well as the fact I'd be slurring after three pints these days.. of course..

That's ones of the reasons I'm back on facebook. If I can't tolerate/sustain a social life like I used to, I reckon it can't hurt to start recirculating again. It'd be great to catch up with folks in real life too - and to those interested readers (you know who you are) I've been missing chatting and mean to flag you down in real life soon.

So anyway, back to creative financing. I've been contriving to make my money stretch that much further than it used to. Matched betting is still in full affect and I'm looking to make some tentative steps on eBay when the opportunity arises. Add a hearty dose of thrift and I'm almost in Little House on The Prairie mode. No trapping dinner or pickling what comes out of the garden yet, but 2012 has been a year with little spare money to put aside...

That's ok though. I take my pleasures where I can, I work hard - I aim to look after my folks as much as possible and have a beautiful new girl to dote over. By the way, I've entered D into The Sun's beautiful baby contest which will run in November - will update you with developments should they arise.

Anyway, that's your lot. Hope you're all doing well.

A.