Good day!

Getting better, getting easier. Well, not easier - just back to where I was.

Work was cool. Had a few hole-punching related japes. You really have to work with a stationery obsessive to find that funny. "This is not A4!!!". Generally felt better about me and made a valid contribution. Also, having nothing to hide/fear makes the day much more pleasant. Walked out of work as my bus pulled up. Another winner!! May stick a couple of quid on England winning the test match. Maybe not.

That actually reminds me. Bob likes to stick crap bets on horses and spend Saturday afternoon watching them win/lose/ wander off and eat grass. 25p to win, £1.50 lucky 15's, that kind of thing. 5 hours entertainment for about a £5 outlay, plus tea and biscuits. I mentioned this to my brother in law when he asked how I was going to pass the weekends. "I'm off to Bob's to watch the racing, place a few bets. Nothing heavy". His reply absolutely killed me. "Uh, R***. Are you sure that's wise? You really don't want to be swapping one addiction with another". I explained the stakes. "You're going that big? That could be a £250 loss over a year!", he said nodding in a slightly patronising yet worldly way. "Can't you just watch without betting?".

I almost cried laughing. A 10p stake on a 10-1 is worth two hours of newspaper research, then the cheering, followed either by the celebratory running round a room, or more usual screwing up of a losing ticket and trying to "Jordan" it into a waste paper bin. I tried to explain how much I drank, how much I spent on booze, and he just couldn't compute it. It was well worth the £5. I think I was 50p up, less 99p biscuit expenditure. Bob provided the tea.

Anyway, came home from work, had a "hearty meal". Not great. Watched my youngest nephew smash the house up for a bit, and after that I arranged to go to Bob's a few hours time. Our mate is getting married next weekend and the stag is this coming one. It's in a Nautical city and we're hiring a galleon for a bit so "Pirates", is the only logical theme. In the meantime I found a pair of chino's I'd never seen before and announced that I was making shorts! I hacked these chino's up and they look pretty good. Ripped, frayed and generally a mess. Actually they sound a bit like my emotional state earlier in the week. Anyway, when I announced that I'd finished my mum asked "Aren't you going to neaten them up a bit?". "Why on earth would I do that?", I said."Well, they're really messy. There's bits hanging off that leg". "PIRATE THEME?????". "Oh, I just thought you were rubbish at cutting". No apology. To be fair she never needs to apologise to me for anything, ever.

I made my excuses and went round Bob's. We had a great time making piraty headscarves, sorting out outfits and having a laugh. I even persuaded him to hack up one of his old suit jackets. Turns out that it looked shit on him, but I looked pretty hot. The only downside is that the sword his dad had made me is now more of a dagger after a bathroom door incident. Win some, lose some.

Got to about 8:30 and we decided to drive up the local hill for a walk. Only takes two tunes to drive there so ideal. We spent an hour just wandering about, looking at the sunset, admiring the scenery and generally talking shit. I told him how things were with me, and he talked too. Made a resolution to do more exciting things in future. Planning more fishing, badminton, camping. Anything to get out the rut of pub olympics, followed by poker in Lenny's lounge. If we go to bars can they at least be interesting ones?

Dropped him off, then drove home. Have just attacked an Jamon Iberico and feel slightly sick. Gambling I can't see as been an addiction problem for me, but smoked pig? Hell yeah!

Sleep well people. Hope I do.

Hasta manana
R***
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