Another 3 Points Lost. Wigan 0 - Sheffield Utd 1

Once again our failure to capitalise on our chances in front of goal is evident. Take nothing away from The Blades, they played out of their skins and kept putting Wigan under pressure at the back with great service from Keith Gillespie. At times Wigan struggled to clear the ball and it was a momentary lapse of concentration in 1st half injury time that allowed Rob Hulse to divert the ball past Kirkland and that was that. Wigan were not able to produce a final pass of enough quality to put them under serious pressure, although they did have their chances. Kilbane should have equalised with only Kenny to beat but fired straight at him. Denny Landzaat hit a sweet shot from just outside the box but Kenny got to it and David Wright had a golden opportunity with a header which he pushed well wide. Camara had gone off at half time, which was a loss as he was being his usual nuisance to the defense, to be replaced by Cotterill who looks exciting and I'm sure will get better with more games under his belt. Heskey was everywhere, doing everything except scoring and for the last 10 minutes latics played with 4 up front, Hall, Heskey, Cotterill and Todorov(!) desperately trying to salvage a point.
Kilbane had probably his worst game for the Latics and McCulloch was lucky to avoid getting sent off again for punching Morgan, leaving him with a shiner. We need to buy another striker in January. I saw that lad from Gretna handed in a transfer request, Kenny Deuchar. Might not be a bad bet......

Judy Tenuta

The wife and I managed to get out sans kid tonight for the 1st time in ages, some friends took her ice skating at Pershing Square while we went to see Judy Tenuta over in Hollywood. She was performing her "one woman musical (with 2 other people)", "Mountain Girl". I had never seen her before except for the odd appearance in Weird Al videos and a movie we rented off Netflix that she starred in that was shite. I can't even remember the name of the movie or even what it was about, but even so, I was looking forward to seeing her on stage as she struck me as being quite funny in the "odd" way that I like. Also, she knocks about with Emo Phillips, who is ace, so that puts her in good standing in my book.
We saw her at the Steve Allen Theatre on Hollywood Blvd, a tiny place inside the Center for Inquiry West, where we had seen Emo a couple of times last year. Anyway, it was a fun evening. Not side splitting by any means, but a cute, funny show with silly songs, silly jokes and and a silly plot set in Tennessee and about a singing waitress finding a long lost brother. Just what I needed really, it's good to get out now and again. Judy is really talented and even though I know she has been around for a long time, I'm surprised she isn't bigger. I mean she obviously has a loyal following and may even be put in the "acquired taste" category, but seems capable of being much more famous than she is. Maybe it was that terrible movie......

All you have to do is.......believe

Took the wife and kid to Disneyland yesterday for 3 reasons:

1. The kid got a certificate at Kindergarten for getting straight A's on her 1st report card so this was her reward.
2. The season passes I bought last year are about to expire and I'm not renewing the fuckers so this will be the last visit for a while.
3. We have never been at xmas time and were lured by the decorations and promise of "snowfall" on Main St.

I'm not going to go on about corporate greed and exploitation and all that shit, 'cause the kid loves it and if she's happy I'm happy, more or less, so why spoil it? What I will say is that the Magic Kingdom is only magic when it's not very busy. Those times, as anyone who has been there will tell you, are few and far between. Superbowl Sunday is probably the best time to go all year, especially if it's raining. Last night wasn't too bad, not over crowded and we got on probably 4 rides in under 2 hours, at it's busiest 4 rides all day is pretty good going.

Anyway, the "snowfall" was due after the always impressive fireworks display and needless to say, the 5 year old who has never been in real snow (not counting a rather unpleasant experience with a diarrhea stricken reindeer a couple of years ago) was pumped up about the prospect. So, the fireworks end with what could have been Julie Andrews saying "All you have to do is.....believe".

Everyone looks to the skies expectantly.......

Down falls......the soap suds. The delight on the faces of all the kids was priceless. Just seeing my daughters eyes light up made my day, my week, my life. I, on the other hand, was disappointed. I'm not sure why I expected real snow, this after all, was Disneyland. Nothing is real, but I really thought that if anywhere on earth would bring in real snow machines and put them on the rooftops to simulate snowfall, then this was the place. Soap suds, hypo-allergenic, non-irritating (don't need lawsuits), soap suds.

Bastards......

Dammit! Wigan Ath 0 - Arsenal 1

Fuck! Once again we lost to a team which arguably didn't deserve to win. An 87th minute Adebayor goal taking the points for a lucky Arsenal side. The game had draw written all over it and Wigan had their chances but didn't manage to convert any of them into a goal. A point would have been a great result for the latics and a horrible one for the gunners but it wasn't to be.... Nic e long ball from Fabregas although it was a close call on the offside, linesman didn't flag, Adebayor through on goal and slots it past Kirkland. Game, more or less, over. Fuck fuck fuck!!! This happens all the time against the top sides, we either hang in and lose in the dying minutes or we take the lead early on and get waxed in the 2nd half. To expect anything more than a draw against the top 4 or 5 teams is unrealistic, but it's bloody frustrating when they are almost there and then lose. We need to pick up a proven goal scorer in January. Todorov is going back to Pompey in his wheelchair, for all the use he has been. Heskey and Camara get the chances but just can't find the net often enough and Johansson has just never looked confident enough to score goals in the Prem. I'm pissed off.....

Bad dog! Bad!

An amusing little tale about a dog that ate an auld lady's false teeth can be enjoyed here:

http://www.wigantoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=3779&ArticleID=1896658

Not quite sure how it made the "Leisure" section though. They found the teeth in some dog shit in the back yard next day......

Interview

Got two days off work to try and get xmas shopping out of the way. I figured better to do it in the week rather than run the gauntlet of the mall on a weekend. Work smarter not harder - one of my many motto's. *makes mental note to post a list of motto's someday. I have a number of motto's, adaptable or applicable depending entirely on the circumstance and how I can benefit from it by applying said motto. It's not that I'm a particularly moral person, far from it in fact, it's more about appearing to be for personal gain. Anyway, I had an interview this morning for a promotion to a job I'm not 100% sure I want or even care if I get , but it is more money and probably less hours than I work right now so some of the above mentioned morals were definately bandied about and used to full effect in order to answer some of the questions. Where I work, we use behavioural based questions in interviews, the STAR format for anyone who might be reading this who doesn't know. I have the benefit of being one of the managers who conducts interviews when we are hiring, so I guess I think I know what the interviewers are looking for in an answer. It's hard to bluff your way through these types of questions as it's not necessarily what your answer is, it's how you answer it, for example:
"Give me an example of a time when you weighed up the pro's and con's of a situation and decided not to act despite being under pressure to do so, what did you do and what was the result?"
You really have to think, not just about a situation, but all the way through to the result before you answer otherwise you fuck up and can't complete the STAR. I won't relate my entire answer, but will say that the motto dusted off and rolled out for this one was "I'm always ready to sacrifice the battle to win the war." I think I nailed it. We will see..... As for the shoppping, I might just leave it 'til tomorrow.....

First post....

First real shot at doing anything like this so forgive me if it's utter shite. I've been up all night and I'm starting to wane a little, I really should eat something I s'pose. Had a piece of toast this morning but that's all since lunch yesterday which was a pulled pork sandwich from The Oinkster in Eagle Rock, gave me the shits something terrible but tasted mighty fine at the time. I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. Good weekend in the Premier League, loads of goals yesterday, although sadly not for the Latic's who could only get away from Middlesboro with a point from a 1-1 draw. By all accounts 'boro were lucky and only avoided defeat with some excellent goalkeeping from Schwartzer. Cracking game this morning between Chelsea and Arsenal, not that I care for either team but the quality of the football cannot be denied. Essien scored a beauty to pull Chelsea level and avoid defeat. Gonna get off soon to watch Boca Jrs v Lanus in the Argentine league, should be a top game as Boca can win the championship today if they keep their shit together. I need to get a feckin' xmas tree an' all.......