The end of August and the start of my favourite month tomorrow. Life should be fantastic, but there is something missing. It is difficult to put my finger on it. There are few minor things in the pipeline but as nothing is confirmed, I am not in a position to openly publicise. It really is the start of that gravy train which takes us all the way to Christmas. There is however, a light at the end of the tunnel for me this time around. Straight after Christmas, I have my first ever ski trip to Kitzbuhel, Austria. I am planning on getting some lessons at the Snowdome over in Milton Keynes at some point in the next two months. Before I was really excited but I am slowly getting the nervous bug. Not all of us are born with the ‘no fear’ gene like Pav!

You have thought after reading about my commute over on the work log that the journey to and from work would no longer ever be an issue. So did I. How stupid do I feel. I left work as normal at quarter past five in the afternoon. I was eager to get home as my Mum and sister had got back from India that morning. You can imagine my frustration to discover the build up of traffic on the by-pass. I was stuck here for over half an hour. Originally I thought the lights must have packed up at Handycross (again!) but once I could see the roundabout, I discovered this was not the case. It was gone six o’ clock by the time I had got here, so I opted to drive down Wycombe Road and take the back roads home. This is so complicated, I have had to build a Google Map.

A few people had taken my idea and were following me through the single track country roads, down underneath the by-pass, across Daws Hill Lane (over the M40) and up to Marlow Hill. Here, the traffic formed again but it was moving in more disciplined fashion than the chaos at Handycross. I headed across through Marlow Road but it was building up towards Cressex Road and the treaded M40 junction 4, so I opted to take a right turn down Desborough Avenue and then onto Lancaster Road. As I got down past the t-junction with Lincoln Road, the traffic built up again. It was stop start. So I decided to park the car, in the car park next to the Build Centre and walk home. It was 6.37pm, I was tired and about half a mile from home. I put my laptop case on my shoulder and headed home. I watched as drivers continued their journey home and was thankful I was near the end of my journey. There was a brand new, black Audi A5 in the queue. A powerful but somewhat quiet 3 litre diesel engine, with the full S-Line kit. I noticed the car had been purchased, or rather provided by Amersham Audi. The same dealership as mine. Very nice executive car, but not sure about the new shape. I think like most new models it will take a while to get used to it. The most annoying thing about this traffic jam was the lack of any news about it on the web. I suppose it is further compounded in my eyes by the fact I do not have a working radio in my car, so cannot get the latest travel news from Mix 107. However, so many people are affected, I wonder why it does not get mention in the local news.

Back on the 20th April I went to see The IT Crowd being filmed at Pinewood Studios with Chris. The episode we saw, was screened on Channel 4 this evening at 9.30pm (10.30pm on Channel 4 +1) sandwiched in between the finale of Big Brother. The second series only started last week but I forgot to mention it. Last week had me in complete stitches but this week was not that good. Perhaps because I had seen it shot and re-shot several times over three months ago. Nevertheless, I really enjoy the series, I just hope there is more continuity from each episode this time around. They appear to very much stand on their own, perhaps for the irregular viewer whom will just dip in and out at their choosing. Obviously a whole universe away from the other television series I have been watching (Heroes) but in it’s own way, an entertaining way to spend half an hour on a Friday evening at home. Particularly when the curry you organised gets pulled at the last minute.

I have found several old friends on FaceBook recently. Some I used to work with, some I went to school with, others I went to college with. It is great to find a site that is open to all. Back in the day (1996) the only people you could seriously get in contact with, were the guys that lived and breathed online (much like myself). Great to see the internet become such an everyday necessity for all, rather than for the privilege few with the know how. I will happily admit that I spend too much time on the site day to day. However, how often should I update my status and how often should I change my profile photo? These excuses would only get me so far at work, even with their relatively lenient approach to staff internet access. While on one it does give you the ability to catch up with old friends, it also, for me personally gives me an indication of how much people have changed and at times how much I have been left behind.

A quiet weekend, no I would go as far as to say a whisper of a weekend. No real plans at all. At home, perhaps working on a few web projects but apart from that I think this is very much going to be the case for the rest of the month. Charlie has asked me to come and watch him play rugby, in Marlow but I am not sure if I will. Really depends on how I feel and if I get all those little errands done on Saturday morning. This may sound stupid but I am looking forward to watching Football Focus and then Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports News.