I suppose I should make some grand introductory post, but I've really neither the inspiration nor energy to do so. Let's get stuck in, shall we?

So uni starts up again tomorrow. It's not easy to pinpoint how exactly I feel about this. On the one hand, it'll be good to see all the people I neglected shamefully over the holidays while I was working or generally being lazy. And sure enough, I may have even missed some of the intellectual stimulation (miniscule though it may be in my chosen course >.>) from  academic pursuits.  Maybe.

But really, at the moment all I'm feeling is a certain resentment towards the fact that I'm going to be at the place for 5 more sodding years, provided I actually go through with the Honours in Finance plan. People always tell me how much they preferred uni to full-time work - but really, working at the accounting firm over the holidays was entirely preferable to uni, barring one aspect; the deathly early morning starts. Bah.

To randomly add a bit of actual football into it, much credit to Manchester United for snatching a 1-0 smash-and-grab affair against Pool. Sure, they were rubbish all game and the Liverpudlians should have gone in front - but, like I've always maintained, the team which deserves to win is the team which wins. It doesn't matter how good you are all game, if you can't score sodding goals, you do -not- deserve to win. They should go on to the title from here, barring something drastic. I'm not entirely confident about their future (Rooney has been worryingly crap all season, and Ronaldo might be going to the Bernabeu), but they can certainly go for a deep CL run this season.

Also, A Weekend in the City by Bloc Party - what an album. I was an outspoken fanboy of Silent Alarm, but honestly was unsure whether they could really replicate (much less top) that particular spiky brand of danceyrockyhookydrumandbassy music which characterises footballing classics like 'Helicopter' or 'Two More Years.' But my doubts were largely unfounded with the release of this beauty. Reading the  Observer interview with Kele which Trishy sent me, I got a feel for the kind of alienated disaffection which permeates the lyrics and music of this album. I don't presume to be aware of broad social trends in Britain, but it sure makes for a stellar listen anyway.

Bloc Party tend to divide opinion. People like me think they're the greatest thing since mushy peas on pies. Others think they're a cute irrelevancy. Still more think they're 'poseur' or unoriginal. I can't really say what other people think or why. For me, they're easily at the forefront of musical expression today - and provide a palatable alternative to, say, the shamelessly exploitative Greenday or the recent trend in emo and related music. Cannot wait to see them in August, and hopefully at Live Earth too.

On a final note, I am looking forward  to the Red Cross and Oaktree volunteer stuff. There was this one particular program called 'Knitting Trauma Teddies' which I would love to do, if only because the picture of a little girl with no legs (amputated due to meningococcal I think) holding a teddy-bear was utterly heartbreaking. I suppose the inner do-gooder in me has been yearning for some kind of release - helping out sick kids and calling old people to brighten up their day should satiate me for a while. I'm worried about time constraints because I'll likely be joining a legal firm for a two-days-a-week general admin. job, but I'll find some way to manage.

Much love, and take care all <3
sid

Photo of the moment;
http://jriddell.org/photos/2004-11-20-long-exposure-love.jpg