I know it’s been a while humanoids and yeah, to be honest, I have forgotten about this little avenue that I have maintained for almost three years now. This is an entry that has been long overdue and I’ve been consistently pestered about it, so here it is. I’ll probably get fuck all in terms of comments and critiques, but frankly, the only blog I’ve ever done that’s got me much in that department was my previous landmark entry.
Since my last entry, the exam results day has come and gone, and I’m not into the whole fuss, anxiety and nervousness of moving to a University. Reason for this was I was declined in all the Unis I applied to due to my results. Yeah, I fucked up. Somewhere, some how, I fucked up. I was just reading my last “proper” entry from June 20, and I spoke about how great I felt the exams I had on that day went. Obviously I was on another planet because yet again, they were disasters. I don’t expect people to feel sorry for me. It is all my own doing. Shock horror Lewis, it’s actually my fault and by God I’m admitting it! It was extremely disappointing and humiliating to get my results envelope, open it up and find that joining the rest of the gang in Uni won’t be happening.
It does suck mind you that I won’t be joining the guys in University this year, and every person I have spoken to regarding my situation has largely pointed me in the right direction. Clearing will do nothing for me, so I’ve decided that the only thing I can really do is to go back to the ‘Teg (which I understand is something more people than expected will be doing) to get my results spot on this time. I’m sure you can trawl through this blog and find many examples of where I said I was “fired up for school” this year and so on. Well, obviously my enthusiasm was in completely the wrong place.
You would expect me to go back and have an easy year, after all, I’ve done Year 13 once before. Well, in going back, the expectations are even greater. After all, unlike the Year 13 noobs, I have all the work already and know what should be going on. In every essay, in every assignment, in every homework, I should be hitting top grades. That’s a pretty big step-up for a guy who for three years who has been told that I was a straight-B student. But I think that’s part of my motivation in going right. I’m the type of person who aims to prove people wrong. Perhaps my ethos is where I have been going wrong? Maybe I should go out and aim to prove my critics right.
In the end, what’s done is done and I shouldn’t really think too much of it. Move on, plan ahead and just concentrate on the next year. Of course, the one advantage of going back to school is that everyone knows where I will be, so all the Uni people have no fucking excuses whenever they are in Bridgend not to ring me in the next year and meet up for a few beers.
The unfortunate thing is that now summer is slowly drawing to a close and most of it is a haze for me. There have been a few memorable occasions mind, but my overall feeling is that whilst it beats last year’s drab Summer (although that picked up the week before we went back), is that right now, it is a distant second to the Summer of 2005, which was frankly, the best time I have ever had. However, not to dwell on the negatives for two long, there are a few things I should mention in terms of, as the legend Justin Lee Collins would say…”Good Times”.
— The Beach BBQs
Both Alistair’s (even if I can’t remember exactly when it was) and George’s BBQs at Southerndown were two quality evenings. Even if I was driving for both of them, which meant I was a bit of a dick to some people because I wasn’t slightly intoxicated (and they were), they were both evenings where everyone came down and we had a really good laugh. Not to talk down Al’s, but George’s BBQ was great because I got to see some faces I haven’t seen in a while and a chance to mingle and meet some new people. Nice to get a different person’s perspective on things, ya know?
— Hulmes’s House Party
Now, as many of you will know, it is a rare occasion that I go out and get absolutely rat-arsed. Well, sire Hulmes put on one hell of a house party and boy, I got fucked. Gavin K, lil MJ and myself went to Tesco and bought a bottle of Jäger, and between us, we drunk straight shots when we felt like it. That wasn’t such a bad move. What was a bad move however, was bringing a bottle of Tia Maria with me. You see, I was told that Stella Artois with a shot of Tia Maria makes the wife beater a little nicer. That was a lie. Then, being a dufus I said “Ai, I’ll have some of this stuff straight”. “Bad Times”. I lost count of the number of Jägers I had downed, and I had already had a few of my trademark Budweiser’s prior to this, so that Tia Maria screwed me up big time. So I went home, and after sitting in bed for all of thirty seconds, I dashed for my bathroom, where the contents of my stomach quickly came back up into my bath. Sorry for the graphic details. My Mum did say however she’s quite happy I have a plastic bag for a bin liner in my bedroom because it made cleaning up after my mess in my bin much easier. Hahaha. I understand many people judge how much they have drunk as a yard stick for how good their night was, well, if that’s the case that was one awesome night.
— The Dragon Quizzes
Now fair play, as most of you know, I am the self-proclaimed “King of All Trivia”. Just before the boys went to Zante, I went to my first quiz up the Dragon, and fair play, we weren’t bad. My over exuberance (and whenever there’s a question I know the answer to saying “Next” without thinking straight after it) has cost us a few times, but, sometimes, it was right. E.g. one question this week I said the answer to, we went with a joke answer and my answer was right. Sod’s law.
— That Night at Bonney’s
This was a quality evening that happened last week that really brought a smile to my face. I bring my multi-tap over and we had a classic morning. We stayed up until 5am playing on the PS2, in one of those just great nights. Particular highlight was definitely when I whipped out the SmackDown vs. RAW game, and I had my save so it was me (as Mr. BIG, of course), taking on all comers. We had a Royal Rumble, which the late Eddie Guerrero (CPU) won, and all of us just doing rubbish, although I seem to recall Bonney lasting deep. The best match was the Fatal Four Way Steel Cage match we had, which legitimately must have lasted 20-30 mins. Every time someone hit a finisher, we would scream “Get up! Get up!” and someone would rush to their feet to get someone to fall off the cage. This was just brilliant and we could have had many different winners, but after hitting The BIG Storm (what I call a Stunner, yeah, I have thought about this too much some people who don’t know me that well will say) on Booker T (Hulmes), I rose up to the top of the cage, and amazingly I was victorious. Of course, the boys were angry and beat the bejesus out of me in a 3-on-1 handicap match afterwards, although they only won the third match after they got disqualified for use of a steel chair in the first two matches. Hahaha. Thanks to Chris, Aaron and Hulmes for a classic night.
— Lauren’s Party
I didn’t think Pencoed Rugby Club could hold a good 18th party, but it turns out I was damn wrong. That was a pretty good night if only Hulmes lived up to his reputation as a drunken mess. Shame I drove really because if I had a few beers I could have had an even better time. It was a really really good night, and I think everyone else had a good time as well. Some of Hulmes’s photos are class. I just remember me doing the “Can you dig it…SUCKA?!” line and Dan doing the Booker T staring at hand thing, and him attempting a Spinaroonie. That was just classic. It was an attempt in fairness, and I suspect many people were thinking “What a doozy”, but it was certainly a good night.
— The Beach Dayz
I think I said at some point that the Beach would become a second home for us this summer, and although I didn’t go down nearly as much as I would have liked, I think we’ve been down more times than we did last year. That Rest Bay BBQ was a great laugh, even if I remember it more for the classic “Marry/Shag/Throw off a Cliff” game that occurred in Nathaniel’s car, and the on-going quest to figure out the Top 10. Then there were the Newton times, especially that American Football game we had that must have been the most one-sided match in history. Every throw my team threw was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. And I picked the sodding teams. Work that one out.
Actually, in retrospect, this summer hasn’t been quite so bad. Still, it wasn’t as great as it could have been. Maybe that’s just my expectations getting the best of me?
Sports Paragraph: Man United look terrible in their first three games. No, really. Rooney being out couldn’t come at a worse time. Tevez doesn’t look the part (and I tipped him for the Golden Boot this year), Smithy’s gone, Solskjaer’s not getting any younger and Saha is never fit. Spurs on Sunday will not be easy, but seeing as we haven’t lost to them at OT for almost 15 years and Spurs away from home are shocking, we might be in with a shot.
F1 hits Turkey this weekend and I’m looking forward to this one. The Turkish track is my favourite of the Tilke tracks that we have had in the past decade and it will be interesting to see if Ferrari have closed the gap. The pressure will be on Hamilton to get the job done again, and the attention will also be on Alonso to see if there’s a repeat of the dirty tactics from Hungary. I am enjoying that Hamilton/Alonso saga mind you, I think it’s fantastic. It reminds me of the great days of Prost/Senna in the 80s-90s. Alonso playing the role of established #1 driver and double World Champion, and Hamilton, the up-and-coming young driver who is desperate for success. I wonder what Senna would make of it if he were still around.
MLB is drawing to a close, and Bonds has finally hit that elusive HR and taken the record from Hank Aaron. Good for him. Shame that A-Rod is gonna take the record off him in a few years. A-Rod has been hitting home runs at the speed of knots lately, fair play to him, and the Yanks are catching the Sawx in the AL East. Interesting to see how that pans out. I will say that I am tipping the Tigers to make a better run this year. Why, oh why, did I drop Gary Sheffield from my fantasy team?! On a NA Sports note, the Packers are 2-0 going into Pre Season Week #3 and a fixture against the Jags at Lambeau. As usual, its exhibition football and I should take nothing from it (I think Brett has only played the first couple of plays of each first quarter before handing over), but its encouraging start to the season. I think the Packers have a SNF game against the Bears in November I will be interested in seeing.
I think that’s gonna do for the time being guys and gals. I do think that seeing as you’re all gonna bugger off in the coming months, Almost Honest might go back to the way it was a year even two years ago, recaps of lives and times of being in Bridgend, rather than the occasional update and rant from me about how shit life it. After all, it could be much worse. I could be Martin =P I am not offering a promise however. Nothing in life is a guarantee, and blogs are certainly one of those things.
Until the next time…