Lick your wounds and bathe yourselves clean

It's been another weekend of weird contrasting emotions all told but Sunday's Mini in Middlesbrough was fun. Wolfie came up the night before and we ended up getting drunk together and causing a ruckus on IRC/MSN in our own inimitable styles.

I also ended up in my local for the first time since I moved here in June 1992 and bumped into a barman who knew my name immediately. And no I wasn't wearing the tag! It took a few seconds but I realised he was someone I knew from cub scouts who I had last seen some fourteen years ago. Life can be random sometimes. Very random.

Greyscar collected us at 10am on a balmy late-spring day and before we got into Boro I had already received a call from Urban who was loitering around in places he shouldn't really be loitering. Suffice to say had he been loitering at 10pm rather than 10am outside the station then he may have been picked up by a pimp or some other undesireable. Such as the Cleveland Police.

We headed off for some food (or at least Wetherspoons' disappointing burgers) and the waitress had some mayonnaise on her hand so I challenged her to lick it off. Suffice to say she didn't - mustn't have the furry instinct :( Laughter was had and we did our best to freak poor Urban out who was seen migrating further and further away from us as the conversation proceeded. Poor wuff...

Middlesbrough Music Live was our next venue as we bathed in mediocre unsigned acts in a friendly yet slightly menacing atmosphere. I preferred to loiter around the metal stage and passed the time by hitting an empty bottle of water on Wolfie's head in time to the music. I must admit his grrring provided the perfect accompaniment to the band and I strongly hope they sign him up post-haste.

I discerned that furs aren't big fans of modern art after we visited Middlesbrough's showpiece modern art-gallery, MIMA. I had been meaning to go in there since it had opened in March but hadn't had the opportunity - until Sunday. Now I like modern art - the Tate Gallery in London is an amazing visit - but like with most creative things, some of it is good and some bad. MIMA had some good photographs of the local area and some good pictures from the likes of Tracy Emin (a hero in my eyes) as well as some interesting videos of moving horses and milk being poured on to a doormat. Great fun but ultimately pointless.

After this we decided to head to the sea - so Saltburn was the venue. After Greyscar's impressive gaming on the 2p moving machines, hampered by my unimpressive attempts to win a poorly made Taiwanese plush in the shape of a penguin (at least I THINK it was a penguin), we grabbed an ice-cream and headed for a walk on top of the cliff that overlooks Saltburn. We saw the lifeguards collecting some idiots who had misjudged the tide and ended up being stranded on the rocks, whilst an errant used condom provided some amusement on a windy hilltop. We talked, we chatted, some of us urinated. It was all tremendous fun.

The next stop was The Ship where a pint of fizzy shit was in order before we admired the world's oldest funicular railway (Greyscar's favourite part of the day I feel) which is set into a rockface near Saltburn's Pier (I always find amazing the Victorians' desire to increase the area of Britain by 30 square feet by building these wretched things at seaside towns).

Anyway we boarded the funicular, went up the hill, fetched a pail of water and did something with vinegar and a brown paper bag before Greyscar almost missed his own car. We then returned to Middlesbrough.

Urban had to go soon after this so I treat everyone to a parmo - a local delicacy. It originated from the Italian influx into the town in the 1960's and is a gross bastardisation on the escalope parmesan. It's bloody gorgeous though but contains as much grease as a pig swallowing a bar of soap. Or the average slim American. Ultimately it's breadcrombed chicken coated in bechemel sauce, topped with melted cheese and squashed into a box with chips and salad. It's one of those kebab type foods, served to drunks at tipping out time, or perhaps as a Teesside replacement to Fish and Chips.

Greyscar was up for trying one and Urban did too so I took them to one of the better takeaways where I insisted to Greyscar that a 1/2 chicken would be enough. I was to be proved right. The wussy vegetarian by the way had pizza :P

We entered the student district to eat and both Greyscar and Urban gave the parmo a thumbs up. It was noted that neither ate all of it though whereas Wolfie and I snarffled our pizza with ease. Indeed some would say we wolfed it down mwah ha ha! Urban headed north and Wolfie, Greyscar and myself stayed around and chatted for a couple of hours before they had to head for home and I had to head for bed.

It was a great day in the end and we had some great fun. This weekend however is looking less so. I've taken most of next week off in an attempt to finally get a half-decent job - one that will allow me to move away from my dad's place after eighteen months living here.

Now my website work has all but drawn to a close there is nothing keeping me on Teesside anymore and now is definitely the time to move on and start a new chapter of my life. However I hate the whole job application process so it's going to be torture. I'm just hoping I can break the back of it in five days.

Lick your wounds and bathe yourselves clean

It's been another weekend of weird contrasting emotions all told but Sunday's Mini in Middlesbrough was fun. Wolfie came up the night before and we ended up getting drunk together and causing a ruckus on IRC/MSN in our own inimitable styles.

I also ended up in my local for the first time since I moved here in June 1992 and bumped into a barman who knew my name immediately. And no I wasn't wearing the tag! It took a few seconds but I realised he was someone I knew from cub scouts who I had last seen some fourteen years ago. Life can be random sometimes. Very random.

Greyscar collected us at 10am on a balmy late-spring day and before we got into Boro I had already received a call from Urban who was loitering around in places he shouldn't really be loitering. Suffice to say had he been loitering at 10pm rather than 10am outside the station then he may have been picked up by a pimp or some other undesireable. Such as the Cleveland Police.

We headed off for some food (or at least Wetherspoons' disappointing burgers) and the waitress had some mayonnaise on her hand so I challenged her to lick it off. Suffice to say she didn't - mustn't have the furry instinct :( Laughter was had and we did our best to freak poor Urban out who was seen migrating further and further away from us as the conversation proceeded. Poor wuff...

Middlesbrough Music Live was our next venue as we bathed in mediocre unsigned acts in a friendly yet slightly menacing atmosphere. I preferred to loiter around the metal stage and passed the time by hitting an empty bottle of water on Wolfie's head in time to the music. I must admit his grrring provided the perfect accompaniment to the band and I strongly hope they sign him up post-haste.

I discerned that furs aren't big fans of modern art after we visited Middlesbrough's showpiece modern art-gallery, MIMA. I had been meaning to go in there since it had opened in March but hadn't had the opportunity - until Sunday. Now I like modern art - the Tate Gallery in London is an amazing visit - but like with most creative things, some of it is good and some bad. MIMA had some good photographs of the local area and some good pictures from the likes of Tracy Emin (a hero in my eyes) as well as some interesting videos of moving horses and milk being poured on to a doormat. Great fun but ultimately pointless.

After this we decided to head to the sea - so Saltburn was the venue. After Greyscar's impressive gaming on the 2p moving machines, hampered by my unimpressive attempts to win a poorly made Taiwanese plush in the shape of a penguin (at least I THINK it was a penguin), we grabbed an ice-cream and headed for a walk on top of the cliff that overlooks Saltburn. We saw the lifeguards collecting some idiots who had misjudged the tide and ended up being stranded on the rocks, whilst an errant used condom provided some amusement on a windy hilltop. We talked, we chatted, some of us urinated. It was all tremendous fun.

The next stop was The Ship where a pint of fizzy shit was in order before we admired the world's oldest funicular railway (Greyscar's favourite part of the day I feel) which is set into a rockface near Saltburn's Pier (I always find amazing the Victorians' desire to increase the area of Britain by 30 square feet by building these wretched things at seaside towns).

Anyway we boarded the funicular, went up the hill, fetched a pail of water and did something with vinegar and a brown paper bag before Greyscar almost missed his own car. We then returned to Middlesbrough.

Urban had to go soon after this so I treat everyone to a parmo - a local delicacy. It originated from the Italian influx into the town in the 1960's and is a gross bastardisation on the escalope parmesan. It's bloody gorgeous though but contains as much grease as a pig swallowing a bar of soap. Or the average slim American. Ultimately it's breadcrombed chicken coated in bechemel sauce, topped with melted cheese and squashed into a box with chips and salad. It's one of those kebab type foods, served to drunks at tipping out time, or perhaps as a Teesside replacement to Fish and Chips.

Greyscar was up for trying one and Urban did too so I took them to one of the better takeaways where I insisted to Greyscar that a 1/2 chicken would be enough. I was to be proved right. The wussy vegetarian by the way had pizza :P

We entered the student district to eat and both Greyscar and Urban gave the parmo a thumbs up. It was noted that neither ate all of it though whereas Wolfie and I snarffled our pizza with ease. Indeed some would say we wolfed it down mwah ha ha! Urban headed north and Wolfie, Greyscar and myself stayed around and chatted for a couple of hours before they had to head for home and I had to head for bed.

It was a great day in the end and we had some great fun. This weekend however is looking less so. I've taken most of next week off in an attempt to finally get a half-decent job - one that will allow me to move away from my dad's place after eighteen months living here.

Now my website work has all but drawn to a close there is nothing keeping me on Teesside anymore and now is definitely the time to move on and start a new chapter of my life. However I hate the whole job application process so it's going to be torture. I'm just hoping I can break the back of it in five days.