I really must stop leaving so much time between updates! Training at my new job is now over, and I've officially been let loose. Aside from the traffic going there and back, and my first paycheck being taxed to bits, I've no complaints. I even did some overtime last week which, unlike my old job, I actually got thanked and paid for.
My copy of Millennium Season 3 arrived last week! At long last I now have all three seasons of my all-time favourite TV show on DVD. I plan on acquiring Season 7 of the X-Files on DVD in the near future, too. I lost track of the show after the sixth season, which I'm currently watching, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.
After the 3-1 Carling Cup disaster against Burnley, Villa got back on track with a good performance that earned them a 1-1 draw at Everton. Over in MLS-land, D.C. United beat the MetroStars 2-0 at home (4-0 on aggregate) to go through to the Eastern Conference final against either Columbus Crew or New England...
In hockey, the Pirates beat Springfield 2-1 in a shootout on Friday night to extend their winning streak to three games. But that streak was ended by Hartford last night (yet to lose a game this season), who beat the Pirates 4-1. The Pirates face another undefeated team - the Manchester Monarchs - this afternoon.
I played a demo of Football Manager 2005 yesterday and was so impressed I decided to preorder the full game! It's by Sports Interactive - the same people who made the Championship Manager games - and it looks really good. I just hope the game isn't as buggy out of the box as Championship Manager 4 was...
Well, I really enjoyed my first week in my new job - it's a million times better than my old one, that's for sure. Nice building, nice people, nice everything! And I love having the weekend off. At Safeway I rarely got the weekend off unless I was on holiday. I know now I would of seriously regretted not taking the job.
My beloved Aston Villa beat Fulham 2-0 at Villa Park yesterday. Villa play Burnley next in the third round of the Carling Cup on Tuesday. Over the other side of the pond, D.C. United took a 2-0 lead over the MetroStars in the first leg of thier MLS Cup Eastern Conference semi-final. The second leg is next Saturday.
The Caps' AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, lost their first game of the season 5-3 on Wednesday against Lowell. However, they bounced back well, beating Springfield 3-2 in overtime on Friday night, and then beating Lowell 3-2 (also in overtime) yesterday afternoon! The Pirates play Springfield again on Friday night.
Well, I quite enjoyed my first day in my new job, and I reckon I'm going to get along there just fine - the only thing I dislike about it is the traffic on the way home! I decided to give myself plenty of time to get there this morning, but ended up arriving slightly too early - forty minutes too early! Still, it's better than arriving late.
Yesterday was a great day for my teams. The Portland Pirates beat the St. John's Maple Leaf's 5-4, and in their final game of the season, D.C. United beat arch rivals the MetroStars 3-2 to claim second place in Eastern Conference! United face the MetroStars again in the first round of the playoffs this Saturday.
I was kind of hoping Villa would be the team to end Arsenal's unbeaten streak. As it so happens, despite putting up a good fight, they were lucky to come away 3-1 losers! Only Stefan Postma's excellent display in goal saved Villa from a good thrashing. Villa are at home next Saturday afternoon to Fulham.
Since there's no NHL hockey until a new CBA is reached, I've turned my attention towards the Caps' AHL affiliate the Portland Pirates to get my hockey fix. And in their first game of the season last night, they comfortably beat the St. John's Maple Leafs 4-1. The Pirates play St. John's again later this afternoon.
The 04-05 NHL season was supposed to start last night. But with no end in sight for the lockout, the October schedule has been cancelled, and very soon, the November one will be, too. And do you know what the worst thing is, folks? The two sides - the players and the owners - aren't even talking. It's so very sad.
I've started watching Season 6 of my X-Files DVDs. At the moment I'm trying to make sense of everything that happened during the last episode of Season 5, the X-Files movie, and the first episode of Season 6. Thank goodness for episode guides like this one at the excellent Carter File or I'd really be perplexed!
I finished reading Blood Work by Michael Connelly today. It's a gripping read, full of twists and turns, and in my opinion, it's even better than The Poet, which takes some beating. The book was turned into a movie - also called Blood Work and starring Clint Eastwood as Terry McCaleb - so I must check that out sometime.
D.C. United didn't exactly play well on Saturday evening, but they still beat New England 1-0. It wouldn't of mattered too much if United had lost anyway, because they'd already secured an MLS Cup playoff spot long before the game. United's last league game of season is at home to arch rivals the MetroStars this Saturday.
I've decided to build the next PC I have myself. I'm confident I could build a cheaper, more powerful PC than what Dell or some other manufacturer could offer me. The only hassle I foresee in doing this is spending a couple of weeks choosing and gathering the right parts. Still, I'm sure it would be well worth it in the end.
Villa drew 2-2 at Blackburn last Saturday - their fourth draw in a row. There are no Premiership games today, however, due to the World Cup Qualifiers. England take on Wales at 3pm at Old Trafford. Go England! Next Saturday, Villa will be without three players (World Cup duty), and they've got Arsenal away. Yikes!
Last week was a great week for D.C. United. First of all they thrashed Municipal 6-0 in a friendly, then they beat arch rivals the MetroStars 1-0 away. But the best news of all is, thanks to Columbus beating Chicago on Wednesday night, United have clinched a playoff spot! They play the Revs at home this evening.
Half-Life 2 is coming, and in preparation for this, on Thursday night - in addition to releasing Counter-Strike: Source - Valve made three packages available for purchasing the game. I've got the Silver one. Counter-Strike: Source is an excellent game, but I'm going to need a new graphics card to get the most out of it!
I had an interview on Monday for an Incident Handler position at Capgemini... and I got the job! Yes, after seven long years, I've finally escaped Safeway. This new job isn't quite what I want to be doing, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. Many thanks to Vishal for aiding and abetting my escape from Safeway!
I reckon Foamy is the funniest, most foul-mouthed squirrel on the web. You simply must check out all of the Neurotically Yours cartoons with him in. Particularly funny are Foamy's Rant and Foamy's Rant 2. I must advise caution if you're easily offended, though. I can't wait for the next cartoon. Roll on October 14th...
My copy of Millennium Season 2 arrived a couple of days ago. I'm only a couple of episodes in to the excellent Season 1, which is my favourite season, and I've got Season 3 (released at the end of October) on preorder from Amazon - I should of finished watching all of Season 1 by the time that drops through my door!