Recovery - to Day 39

Monday 28th Mar 2006

Currently listening to: nothing, except the gentle whirr of air conditioning and a computer.

Ok, not written much for a few days. I'm too tired to write anything interesting in the evening so I'm trying to save you from the monotony of reading a list of things I have done. I'm gonna start reviewing the knee progress weekly as well, so all these other posts hopefully will be more about everything else that's going on.

Stayed in on Friday with my friends Ralph, Rich and Dani. The purpose of said evening, apart from enjoying a curry from the Belash - the current No1 Indian takeaway in Penge (and I say current because if standards ever drop....) was to book flights and the cars for our trip to sunny Spain in August. Actually we were sorting it for seven people, so there was lots of ringing around trying to find the exact name people had in their passports. And are you supposed to include your middle name as well? Some of us did, some of us didn't. I don't think it matters too much.

I need to upgrade my PC. It's still on Windows 98SE and IE runs like a dog when you're trying to fill in forms. It's supposed to be 2Mb broadband but it took an age to get it all done. I reckon I need a new processor, more memory, new OS and a better graphics card, but everything else should be ok. So what do I do? Get a new motherboard and do it all myself, or just buy a new PC and whack my current stuff into there? Any advice gratefully received.

After sorting out the holiday stuff we watched Fargo. A film I had bought on the recommendation of a few friends but never got round to seeing. What an ace film. It's only 90 minutes long or so and the story in itself is pretty straightforward. Essentially a botched kidnapping and the solving of the crime. But the thing that makes the film stand out are the characters and the setting. The film is based in and around Fargo (hence the name) in Minnesota. Central Northern USA. From what I can tell there is a large Swedish immigrant influence there and the accent that they trained the actors to use is very strange. It has a repressed, sounding too cheerful to actually be that cheerful, kind of feel about it. Everyone also has this forced politeness that gets even more polite the more annoyed they are. I can see this creeping into the service culture in the UK (translation in brackets):

"Good afternoon Sir, how can I help"
(What do you want?)

"I was given this DVD for my birthday but I already have it, can I exchange it please?"
(I was given this DVD for my birthday but I already have it, can I exchange it please?)

"Do you have a receipt?"
(Are you a criminal?)

"No, it was a present"
(No I don't)

"Well I'm sorry I can't exchange it without a receipt"
( I think you're a criminal)

"But it's still in the shrinkwrap and has your firms price sticker on it!"
(But you don't lose out here - they're the same value)

"That may be the case, Sir, but unless you can provide proof of purchase I can't exchange it"
(Yep - a definite crim)

"Why not?"
(You're an idiot and I want to prove it)

"You might have stolen it, Sir"
(You're a thief and a menace to society)

"Why would I want to steal a film I already own?"
(Get out of that one!)

"I don't know you own it Sir, and I'm very very sorry but it's against company policy to accept returns" - forced grin
(You're a liar and a menace to society)

"Yeah - well return this" shoves DVD into till operators face
(Arrgghhhhh - I'm soooo annoooyed)

muffled yelp - "SECURITY!"
(Someone kick the crap out of this guy - he's probably a drug dealer working for Al Qaida)

Security - "Please step this way Sir, we need to have a little chat with you"
(You scum, you're going to get such a kicking)

[Not a true story]

Anyway - Fargo - give it a try, it's cool.

PFCFC beat Immanuel Youth for the first time ever on Saturday. So not only is that another 3 points, but we've beaten every team in the division apart from Drummond Rovers this season. (We've lost a couple of times as well!). I think that's an excellent achievement and I was very satisfied with the result. I actually took my Captain off this week. Don't think I've ever done that in a competitive game, but I know the tiredness being displayed will disappear for the next match, when he'll score another 30 yarder. We're in danger of getting promoted if we win our remaining 2 games and other teams drop points in theirs.

Spent Saturday evening playing poker, watching Ice Age and having another Ruby Murry (really need to watch the frequency of these!) with Jack, Max and Adam. This time a Chicken Dupiaza as opposed to the Lamb Shaslick on Friday night. Still good though. I love getting together after a footie match, as you not only get to savor the food but also the performance of a few hours previously.

Lost an hours sleep due to the clocks going forward between Saturday and Sunday, but it wasn't a major problem. Although I did find out that changing the clocks isn't about farmers; it's about saving energy in the evening by using less artificial light. So now you know. Slobbed at home for the rest of Sunday after church.

Back to work on Monday.