From Brighton With Love.

Hello fans.

Well things are looking up! I'm not sure why, but they are. On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being bad, 10 being good), I would say my life is hovering around 8!

Firstly my favourite band of all time are playing in Brighton soon. Hopefully I'll be able to catch them. They're called Delirious? and they rock. I am sure that's their name. The question mark at the end is part of it.

Secondly one of my favourite comedians is coming to Brighton as well. His name is Harry Hill, and he rocks too, but in a less literal way.

These two reasons, plus a lot of love going round in my life at the moment make me a happy man. Nothing but platonic love mind you!

"To be." or not "To be".

Hello fans.

Today has been pretty cool. I didn't really do much, but it was still cool.

I caught up with three friends (via phone or text) and I went to church for the first time in a couple of weeks. I felt pretty loved while I was there, which is what Christians are meant to do - Demonstrate love!

I asked for prayer for my wrist, which was a big step for me. I was shaking before I went up (nerves rather than religious hysteria). I explained to James the Vicar that I would like to be healed without an operation! I also explained that my non-healing didn't really make sense to me. If God loves me, and He could heal me, then why doesn't He?

"He doesn't exist"! I hear you cry.

"Shut up you bunch of uneducated heathens". I reply.

With love in Christ, Rob.

P.S. Does anyone know if my punctuation should be included within the speech marks, or without?

E.g. "Shut up." or "Shut up".

Nightmares.

Hello fans, what a treat for you.

After watching a series of TV programmes about self portraits in art, I decided I would give it a go. Using the tools available to me (MSPaint) I have created this masterpiece.




















I spent over an hour doing it, and I think it turned out fairly well.

I am now faced with a dilemma.

If I say it is an uncanny likeness to me, I admit I look like that, but...
If I say I don't look like that, I admit I am a bad artist.

Leave a comment if you like! With a little encouragement, I think my incredible talents will blossom.

Rob: "I'm an artist don't you know".

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Hello fans.

I've just spent a considerable amount of time writing what I thought was a really wonderful post. I went to publish it and (horror of horrors) I had been logged out and I lost it all.

I can't be bothered to try and remeber it all again, so sod it!

Blogger me!

Hello fans.

I'm coming to the end of my second week of full time work, and hopefully I should get paid tomorrow too. If it doesn't go straight into my account, I will have to pick up a cheque. This will involve queuing through my lunch hour to pay it into my bank account, and then waiting five working days before I can spend any of it. Oh goodie!

Today has been fairly boring at work, and I'm not sure how I've managed to stick it for four years already. It doesn't help that I'm on light duties which involve the same thing every week. I am starting to feel like a robot.

At lunch, my mate Andy and I went for a stroll along the promenade. It was absolutely scorching almost like the middle of summer. The only difference was a slightly cloudy sky. It was so hot that we even had an ice cream (each)!

That's the thing with us Brits. Any variation either side of 'overcast' on the weather front, and we react in extremes.

An English guy I met who lived in Romania said when he heard on a UK radio station that the local schools were closed because of a bit of snow, he phoned in complaining that Romanian children sometimes have to dig themselves to school!

I may take tomorrow off work. I'm sure I'm displaying symptoms of heat stroke.

Deadlines.

Hello fans. Me again.

Blogging can be a challenge in many ways, and often I find it difficult writing something I'm happy with. I can spend quite a while mulling over sentences and words, editing and re-editing something only a few people will ever bother to read. Still, having self imposed deadlines is a good thing I think. It makes me respect journalists who have to write something weekly, or even daily. News is one thing, but the columnists who chat about nothing in particular week after week, have a real skill. I suppose they have financial motivation too!

Deadlines are something I've never been good at keeping. For example I missed my deadline of having to be at work by 8.30am today. I failed miserably, and I rolled in at 8.55am. I hate doing it, as it is embarrassing, and the reputation I have built as a hard working soul is tarnished. You may have to check the last statement with people I work with!

While I am still able to use my wrist, I think I may give illustrationfriday.com a go. One picture a week seems do-able, and the quality of some of the other contributors is on another level. If I don't push myself, I'll never know if I am good enough!

And finally... I'm off to bed now, to avoid tomorrow morning stress.

Flogging a dead horse - with some blocs.

Hello fans.

Why, oh why, oh why does blogger.com always highlight the words blog and blogging in it's own spell check? I have never used the words bloc or flogging in any of my posts (not including this one of course).

I meant to write about this on my first week here, but I never got round to it.

And who said the quality of this blog was going downhill? 225 visitors can't all be wrong!

Mind revival.

Hello fans. Today has been pretty cool. My mind seems to have kicked into action, and all of a sudden I've become enthusiastic about my own creativity.

I've been thinking about a lot of things, and today at lunch, I even bought a notebook to write all my ideas in!

There is so much to do, and so little ability to do it with! Web design, short films, painting, animation, music, public speaking, blogging - even youth work*, are all things I'd like to commit a lot more time to. Unfortunately due to my lack of organisational skills, and my own laziness, nothing has happened as yet. Any day now though...

*This list includes a few things I have dabbled in, and a few I've never even attempted. I don't want to give the impression I'm a bit of a boasting big head. "I'm an artist don't you know?" etc.

In other news, when the Doc told me that part of my wrist was dead, it reminded me of this old Tommy Cooper joke. (Get ready to laugh.)

"Ooh, my feet are killing me... Every night they grab me around the throat."

More classic comedy moments in tomorrows hilarious post.

A 'must read'.

Hello fans!

You know those days when you just can't be bothered?

Well today is one of those days.

(It took me 17 minutes to write that).

Happy Happy Joy Joy.

I suppose I've been a bit 'down in the dumps' lately. To give you an insight in to my self pity filled existence, here are a few low-lights.

A list of wrist related misery.

1. My wrist needs an operation.
2. After the operation, it will be in plaster for three months.
3. This will be set in the 'thumbs up' position, giving me the gripping ability of a chimpanzee.
4. I expect everyone will give me the 'thumbs up' while they laugh at the irony, and ironically I won't be able to punch them.
5. I won't be able to write, draw, cycle, play sports, do handstands etc.

A list of non-wrist related misery.

1. Recently lots of my close friends have moved away from me - geographically speaking!
2. I sometimes feel people take me for granted.
3. I haven't reached a lot of the goals I set myself, even the really easy ones.
4. (The age old) I'm single.
5. Life seems to be slipping through my fingers.

"What a miserable bastard" I hear you cry.

A pretty rubbish day.

I went to see a specialist at the Fracture Clinic today, and he gave me some fairly bad news.

I have definitely fractured my scaphoid bone, and because nothing (worthwhile) has been done to it since I injured it in January, the bone has started to die back around the fracture. This means that even if it was set in plaster, it wouldn't heal because the bone is dead.

The Doctor (or Mister as specialists are addressed) explained that I would need an operation. This would involve removing the dead bone, and then grafting some new bone in it's place. The new stuff will either be taken from my wrist, or an area around my hip. Once this has been done, a screw will be inserted through all the bits to hold them in place, and after that, I will need to have my arm set in plaster for three months!

This was in no way the news I was hoping for, and as I walked back to work, I felt thoroughly ****ed off - Almost on the verge of crying. The three main reasons for feeling this way were:

• I am a 25 year old man in the prime of life (!), who's wrist will probably never be able to function as well as it did.
• This could all have been avoided if it had been x-rayed and plastered at the time.
• I believe God created me just the way he wanted, and humans attempts to recreate perfection are never as good.*

I could have dwelt on all these negative things, but what is the point? What's past is past and there's not much I can do about it.

*I honestly believe whoever you are, and whatever problems you have (physical / emotional / mental / spiritual etc.), God created you in His image, and He loves you unconditionally. Once you get your head around the fact that the creator of the universe cares about you personally, even though you are only a minute speck in the overall picture, it will blow your mind.

That being said, I'm not going to pretend I can see much good coming out of this. You well not find me saying "Praise the Lord, at least I have my left wrist"!

On the Cul-de-Sac to success.

Hello fans. I have decided to start all posts with the phrase 'Hello fans', just to give the impression that this blog has lots of fans. I will do this for as long as I can remember / be bothered.

Please accept my apologies for not posting anything yesterday. I hope you didn't waste too much time refreshing the page every twenty seconds, just in case I had.

As you may recall, yesterday was my first day back at my new (old) job. The reason I didn't get around to posting was because I got home and went straight to bed. I was expecting to get up a little later to have some dinner, but the next thing I heard was my alarm going off today!

Yesterday was possibly one of the weirdest days of my life. As I walked up the hill, towards the office, I couldn't stop smiling to myself. I honestly couldn't wait to see all my old mates again. It was so exciting.

Half an hour later, while I was trudging around the office collecting ill-stacked letters from overflowing out trays, my feelings had changed. Nevertheless the day had more good points than bad and I wasn't dreading going back today. Which was nice.

On seeing me, quite a few people (who I hadn't seen for over six months), just said "Morning Rob", and carried on as if I hadn't been away. So little had changed in the office that at times it did feel that way. It is amazing how quickly boring information that you haven't used for half a year comes flooding back.

To try and keep in line with yesterdays 10.30pm bedtime rule, I'm going to end this segment of interesting tit-bits here.

Remember: If you want pant-wettingly* exciting posts of this quality every day, bookmark this page NOW.

* I can't believe 'pant-wettingly' isn't on the spell check.

The face of tomorrow.

Hello fans. Today is my last day of freedom. Gone are the days of waking up at 2.30pm, having a bite to eat, and then going back to bed. That's right. I've got a job.

I was going to post a poem. Either one I had already written, or I may have written a new one, but things are a-changing.

I have to be at work at 8.30am every day and therefore it is probably best that I go to bed by 10.30pm the night before. That means no more 11.59pm posts I'm afraid.




















That's why I am posting a drawing my mate Andy drew when I was working at the office I am going back to tomorrow, after a six month break.

It's a portrait of me, and I think it really captures the sense of worth I felt as I pushed my little trolley around. Stuck up menials would treat me like dirt, and ignore me because they worked in a call center, and were 'above' talking to the likes of a mere mailboy.

I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Best post so far?

Can I think of anything exciting to say today? No.

Have I drawn any pictures today? No.

Is this the most boring blog post ever? Probably.

Am I going to stop writing now and go to bed? Yes.

P.S. I have deleted all spam comments. The ones on my blog anyway. Not literally all spam comments everywhere in the world, that would be too time consuming.

That leaves only one real comment. It was from a lady who contributed to a knitting blog! Maybe I'll get another real comment one day... [sigh]

Post war.

Just a quick one tonight. I would like to get up before midday tomorrow!

As I will be going back to work in the postroom on Monday, and there is a possibility that my wrist may prevent me from drawing for a while, I decided to draw this.

It's is for my website, and it is a picture of me collecting some post.



I hope you like it. Comment if you do!

Living life to the Max!

My life is so exciting at the moment, that I should probably have a lie down, otherwise I may pass out.

This of course is a load of old rubbish, because at the moment even people reading about my life (you) are bored to tears. The thing is, my life is my choice. Luckily I live in a free country, and even more luckily I believe God has given me free will. This all means that I can spend my time in pretty much any way I want.

The trouble is, a lot of people I know spend their lives comparing themselves to others. This is never a good idea. You either feel bad about yourself or big headed. Shame on you! This also means they think they should be living lives other people will think are cool.

How many times have you asked someone how their weekend was, and they replied "Oh I just had a quiet one this week."? This implies that every other one is so amazing they too need a lie down, otherwise they may be the ones passing out.

So...

Colleague: "So Rob, how was your weekend?"

Rob: "Ah man, it's been absolutely slammin'. Just the way I like it!"

Colleague: "Wow! That sounds amazing. Tell me all the 'far out' details."

Rob: "Well... I sat in my room with the blinds closed, keeping out any natural light, and I didn't even eat one portion of fresh fruit of vegetable the whole time."

"While I was awake, I played Empire Earth. It's a strategy based game which consumes days of my life without me realizing it. I spent well over 30 hours looking at a small screen, and I've got the red eyes to prove it!"

"I slept in until at least 12 on both days, and I didn't leave the house once! Because I didn't meet anyone other than my parents, I couldn't be bothered to wash. You should have been there. It rocked."

Colleague exit stage left, quickly.

Shot to bits.

The last couple of days have been pretty weird for me. I have spent most of the time in my room playing Empire Earth. It's a strategy game I borrowed from a friend. Unfortunately it isn't the real world, and in that I have achieved nothing at all.

Any relationships have gone out the window, and so have priorities. The weather has been great, but I am stuck inside with red eyes and a pasty (pronounced pace-tea meaning white, not pas-tea meaning a type of pie) complexion.

My advice would be - Computers are alright for a bit, but when they start taking over your life, give it up!

In other news... I fell on my wrist while ice skating in January. After going to the doctors twice - once straight after the fall, and once a couple of months later - they suggested physiotherapy. After three sessions I was referred back to my GP. He then sent me for an x-ray, and next Wednesday I've got an appointment at the fracture clinic.

It is possible that I have had a fractured scaphoid bone for over eight months, without being treated once. If true, this will make me ROCK HARD!

Tate Modern - Here I come!

Homer and Snowball II on the couch by Rob!















I hope you like it. I spent all the time I should have been writing my blog, drawing this instead.

I'm actually really chuffed with it. Not only do I post a blog that has had 123 visitors, but I can draw too.

The 'tag' at the bottom right are my initials. Can you guess what they are? Why not post a comment telling me. You can also tell me how great I am if you like.

Check out the website and you can draw something too! graffiti.playdo.com

A 63.3% slap in the face.

Hello fans!

Let me begin by telling you what I have been up to today. The main event was catching the bus into town. Even more exciting than that I signed up at Office Angels recruitment agency. I should be starting back at my old job the Monday after next.

Am I excited? Not particularly. Of course I am looking forward to seeing (most of) the guys again, and the cash should come in handy but the job did have some bad points too. As I haven't been employed since February, I hope it won't be too much of a shock.

When I signed up to the agency I had to complete three tests. Maths (calculators allowed), data entry speed and spelling. I got 100% in maths, an average speed for data entry but only 63.3% for spelling.

I couldn't believe it. Am I reely that bad? I think drastic action may be required. I should probably try to learn five new words a day or something.

My thoughts on death will be ready for posting tomorrow. Should you hold out too much hope? No.

Why not bookmark my blog. That way you can read posts of this quality every day.

The master returns.

I used to doodle and draw a lot at my old job, but I haven't done anything other than doodle for a long time. This is probably because I had more time on my hands when I was working there than I do now. Oddly enough I am currently unemployed!

Anyway ... I finally decided to draw a new banner for my website. The site's called JesusIsMyMate, so I thought a nice picture of Jesus and me being 'matey' was in order.

Jesus ended up with mad staring eyes, and I don't really look like me. Other than that, it was fine! After all, visitors don't really know what either of us look like anyway. Jesus could have had staring eyes for all I know. Robert Powell in 'Jesus of Nazareth' certainly did.

The good news is I should be going back to my old job for a bit. Creativity revival here I come!

P.S. Sorry there's no essay on death today. It's already past my bedtime, and I can't be bothered.

P.P.S. I also haven't bothered updating my website yet, so don't bother checking it out!