Strike Factory

My first blog entry of this decade! Well it seems that despite a recession NYE Syndrome is waning! Before the recession I always struggled to arrange a birthday celebration or know of anyone else celebrating early January due to most people being skint from NYE. Well it seems that people do have money now after NYE. I plan to attend the birthday celebrations of Mr and Mrs Murad, and possibly Ali Jenkins in Brighton this weekend! Last year I marked 23 years on Earth, by going to a Indie Disco night at Digital with the legendary Ben Miller and getting conned for £5 in the toilets by a fragrance guy! This year I had four brave souls, travel up from the Sussex coast, to have some drinks and fun in Crawley (shocking I know!) marking 24 years. There was fun and games, and just outside Strike Towers to drop me off, so they could return to Brighton, the group of four got excited about being in Quaker land (well its owned by Quakers with their 17th century meeting house on the site and Strike Towers HQ being a tenant for the moment I am not a Quaker if anyone wonders), and Simon Sissling got excited about the Simon Turner Hall near my HQ which is partly named in his honour.

The Simon Turner Hall would witness another great moment aside from classic table tennis tournaments, BBQs, and teenage girls doing various Irish dances it has hosted down the years, when we drifted into discussions about elephant gods, porridge, jedis, Dan Rolf and pacifists in the car next to the infamous hall! We were along with the other special guests Sarah Steeples, Rakesh Pandit, and Emma Froud discussing (or trying to) philosophy, at about 3am! Though the discussion came out with some interesting views with the variety of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Atheist and Jedi views in our group, with one the girls thinking that Quakers are a secret society of porridge makers that meet at the hall for a weekly session of enjoying munching Quaker Oats in silence, and Simon questioning whether I really was a Jedi! With a bit of drink inside I struggled to convince the group that Quakers are not just a manufacturer of porridge! This made the graves of the Quakers the other side of the car park from the Simon Turner Hall turn! Eventually we parted after this fine historic moment but not without the group getting lost in Ifield, which I would like to apologise for!

The snow has once again snowed me in once again but I have not been hit by the power cuts or phone lines going that have plagued most of Sussex luckily. But that is all. More news coming up next week, and for more information on the Quakers (Religious Society Of Friends), or Quaker Oats (the porridge) check out these sites, www.quaker.org.uk (the religion) www.quaker.co.uk (the porridge). (sounds a bit Channel 4 like I know haha)

Well its the end of a mixed last year of the noughties. College did not happen my football reporting ended. I am still hoping to move into new flat. I seriously hope things turn around next year, and can get a job once I move, and things start to improve.

Positives are seeing Sussex play at Lords, seeing Baby D at Concorde2 this year

Finally farewell to the noughties where I started as a 13 year old Burgess Hill school pupil, and end as a fully grown 23 year old guy that needs a bit of luck and help. Hopefully things will turn around. Anyway I am off to Brighton to say farewell to year and welcome 2010.

Last few weeks have been frustrating; firstly it looks likely now I won’t be moving into flat until the new year! I found out main reason they are taking ages is not just refurbishing, but also damp proofing the place!

It means I won’t be able to get a new job due to my mild autism until I move into flat, meaning I won’t have much money over Christmas period, so kind of restricts going out! Therefore I have been a bit down concerned I might be drifting back to depression, only real adventures last few weeks have included the odd fun clubbing at Audio and seeing the legendary Baby D and Slipmatt at Concorde 2 a Raindance event! Along with the usual wonderful but erratic Brighton and Hove Albion FC matches

So it looks like I am heading to Christmas and 2010, penniless, on the verge of hitting mid 20s, single, stuck with not a lot to do, and a big question mark over my life!

Only real positive I can think is I gained a new nickname, Los Angeles legend Ashley Ingram has referred to me recently as Chucky Boy, reminding me of that great minor celebrity Anglo-Canadian Jeremy Bamford who I worked with at Sports Soccer (since called something else) who gave me the nickname Chuckles (after his pet rabbit!). So my nickname in Canada (where they like to be different) is Chuckles and in the US its Chucky Boy. haha