Searching for Inspiration in all the wrong places?

So last weekend I went away to Swansea and struggled to enjoy myself. This weekend should have gone better but I just suffered from the sheer Woodbridgeness of it all. It almost feels like every Saturday night has the whole "all this has happened before and will happen again" Battlestar Galactica vibe to it. Plus yesterday I managed to lose my phone and my camera (you'll note they're 2 seperate items!), had my credit card cloned, got blown out by a girl and we got mugged on the rugby field. All in all, not a lot of fun.

This injury is just frustrating me I think. I need to find some new way to blow off steam...

Heck, I'm even considering Internet dating again (a terrifying prospect).

Meloncollie and infinite repeats.

Ever feel like your life's just on an endless 7 day feedback loop? That's kind of how I feel after the past few days. Frankly I've found myself in the early stages of what I fear may be a minor rut. Wake up, work, go home, mope, go to bed x5. Then, on the weekend, go to the rugby, limp around and complain about not playing, get drunk in town, realise there are no girls, mope, use Sunday to recover, begin again. Only unlike a videogame, there's nothing harder on the next level, it's just like repeating the same game time and time again.

Hmm. It's a dilemma. Luckily, next weekend I'm escaping the confines of the IP12 postcode and hopefully going to Swansea, innit to catch up with the Welsh girls. Ironically on a weekend, where I had about a dozen alternatives, including, Jo's 30th in Ipswich, Laura's birthday in London Village and a boat Cruise on the Broads for Katies birthday. Oh and a houseparty or two as well!

Still, Wales for a six nations weekend with Wales on the for a second consecutive Grand Slam? Allez les bleus is all I can say!

Sunday awesomeness.

Hmm. It's been a funny old week in many ways. I've injured my knee - it feels like ligaments so am 'off rugby' for a goodly few weeks. I should have known my body was gonna give in eventually.

That said, went with the boys yesterday. We won, a rare away win! There was then some extreme randomness and lunacy in the pub. Apparently there was a punch-up but I was safely tucked up in bed by then. Having gotten rather tipsy on the way back. Today is Sunday and so far it's been awesome. Got up, made up spurious rumours about my mates with Eddie, knee felt easier too which was a bonus! Then headed up to the Kings' to pay my bar tab (which I had assumed would be huge). Instead, it was £2.50 for a bowl of chips. Ummm.... So I had to buy a roast dinner to get up to the £10 to stick it on card. Embarrasing. Anyway, now I'm at the folks, waiting for another roast dinner and reading Classic Comics. Happy days!

A Saturday off. What on earth do I do today?

So it's a Saturday morning, I've literally just put down my bowl of rice krispies, am listening to the still fantastic after approximately 47,000 listens, Bon Iver - seriously, as averse as I am to encouraging mass consumerism, buy this album! In fact, buy anything on the Jagujaguwar label - there are some amazing acts on it!

Anyway, I'm sat here and it's weird. There's no pressure, there's no nerves. The intensity of the Saturday morning just isn't here because there's no game to pace up and down in advance of, no players to contact in a panic saying to make sure they know about the meet, no kit bag to prepare (I get a bit OCD on Saturdays) and I am completely lost! So far today, I've caught up on some reading (finished my re-reading of Hickman's the Nightly News and finally re-read the Long Halloween).

I suppose I've gotta do my ref's exam at some point today ahead of tomorrow but you know, there's no pressure. My most difficult decision is where I'm going to watch the England game this afternoon! It's either at the club (I'm probably gonna 'direct traffic' for the 3's this arvo), in the Cherry Tree with Amy and co, or in the Mariners with the boys. One thing's for sure and I can't talk about this with hopefully police charges pending, I'm not drinking in the Kings. In fact, I'm in the mood not to drink there again for a goodly long while, or certainly not on a Saturday night.

I suppose I should do something with my day and maybe even invest some time in getting off my proverbial derriere and try to I don't know talk to girls or something but ugh, it's just hard work...

Oh and I'm gonna stick a plug on here for http://www.foundationlotuschild.org/ - Carrie's charity. She's gonna do awesome things, check it out and if you can, donate.

My new theory of injury energy.

Hmm. It's Tuesday, it's -2 outside and I've just gone down the club to get some physio. And I've realised that actually, as I approach 30 I'm getting old. Luckily it's not the steady steam of Alzeimers awareness campaigns that are being shat out ad nauseam by the media (I haven't got that far yet). But, it's certainly true that the knocks take longer to heal. To the extent that now, just as new energy is never really created in the universe (GCSE Physics, folks!) then no new injuries are created on the body of Karl Harris. Healing them simply moves them elsewhere!

Still, hamstring is better tonight. Hopefully I won't be limping around the office like Herr Flick from Allo Allo tomorrow!

After 8 months it really is time to blog again

Hi there, I don't really know if anybody really reads this anymore. Well probably not in fact, 8 months is an awfully long time to not write anything.

What's happened to me in that time?

Readers Digest version:

I 'may' have grown up a little. Yes, there are still some massive caveats, I still chase an egg-shaped ball most Saturdays and definitely still read comic books but I don't know, maybe as the times have changed, I've changed.

I'm finally working again! After a wicked Summer putting up marquees (mainly lots of gags about erections), I had a few very depressing months on the dole and now I'm back, temping at a major regional food retailer in their head office. Everyone's been very Co-operative and in many ways its an organisation I believe in, with some genuinely altrusitic and left wing views.

The Warriors have started winning again (this for me is a huge thing as I'm currently not only playing but am first XV manager so spend most of my week acting as a glorified Mum/ Girlfriend/ boss to about 20 blokes I consider to be amongst the best mates a guy could have).

I've toyed with a number of foreign travel options, either back to Vietnam to help my friend Carrie with her plans over there (I'll blog about her charity some point soon - it's amazing some of the stuff that girl has done already and she's barely started!), or going to Brazil to work with street kids in the Rio favellas but at the moment the grim reality is that I just can't flash the cash. I've already sold off nearly every second rate comic book series I've bought over the past few years (and there have been some turkeys!) but have pretty much reached the point where I can't sell anymore (although I do still think about selling my Complete Age of Apocalypse v1-4 but, ultimately nostalgia for the first X-over event of comicdom keeps me away from that).

I spend less time hovering on CBR which is weird. Its not quite the same for me on there these days, a few people who I used to talk to loads aren't on there as much and I'm just not as up on my X-lore as some of the others on there these days. I guess its like when you see a group of your school mates in the local, you pop over and have a pint it starts off great and then there's just a long, almost pregnant pause and you wander off and get your coat.

I was also in danger of turning 30 and still living with my Mum and Dad. Luckily this has been averted and I'm pleased to say I'm moving out at the weekend which will be great.

I'm also trying to do 'stuff' to 'help' people. It's not just money, it's actions, it's keeping a positive outlook on life and generally not being a prick. I've kind of come to realise that maybe that's the most important thing of all in this world obsessed with 'things'.

Ciao for now

Melon

Random Musings and how a whole lot can happen in 3 months.

So, last time I posted, I was on hols in Thailand.

Now I've been back 6 weeks, have a job putting up marquees and managed to fall in love in Vietnam with the most simply beautiful girl I ever met in my life. Heck, I think I might even have found God.

Sadly, I'm not gonna talk about that stuff 'cos well its private. But, what I am gonna talk about is the negativity I've come back to since I've been back in the UK.

It's a sad thing to say, but having seen a decent section of the world and met some truly amazing people, it sickens me how lazy and happy to whinge everyone is over here.

I don't know when moaning became the acceptable response to absolutely everything but, I'm pretty certain, we've been put on this planet to you know, get of our collective arses and do something.

Instead, we have this blame culture where nothing's anyone's fault, it's all either the government or big business, or in fact, absolutely everyone's responsibility but their own. Here's the truth for all of you people, all those bodies are is groups of people. Get of your asses, take some responsibility and take some action to change. Ignorance and Inaction are the biggest crimes in the world today. So why not take some positive action to change?