… and a lot closer to home than you may have thought…

I was chatting to my son on skype tonight and he mentioned he had just split with his girlfriend. I asked what happened and he replied :

” She was spending more time with this boy Seb than me and apparently that was my fault. I told her we need to spend more time together, apparently that was my fault too. So what was the point =/ “

Go figure huh…

Has anybody got any credible medical research on the effects of long term vending machine coffee consumption ?

Our Wednesday league team put in a solid performance last night. An 8-1 win now takes us 7 points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand yet to play.

I had some good stroke play, played well in the warm up and took that into the game. My mental approach was batter last night. Still not where I’d like it to be. I managed to separate (if only for part of the evening) personal and professional matters allowing myself the space to focus on the match.

Although this pool league is small beer in the grand scheme of things, I have been using it as a jump point to re-assemble my game. I got to a point some years back where I accepted that I had to forget everything I knew (and thought I knew) about the game of pool and start to totally rebuild myself over again from the ground up. Foundations, floors, walls and roof.

I’ve not had that much real support during this exercise (and I never sought it or expected it). The real pressure on me was self inflicted. I’ve always been my own most severe critic.  Most people have the opinion that I never see that I make mistakes or that I always think I am right; it goes to show they really only look at the surface and don’t actually know me very well at all. I am acutely aware of my shortcomings (both personally and in my game… never make the mistake of thinking that your personality is completely detached from your gameplay), this makes it harder but yet sometimes easier to accept the mistake I make on the table. That doesn’t mean that I don’t seek to remove them – it means that I know what I did wrong and why. Without that kind of insight you’ll never make progress in the mental side of the game of pool.

My scorecard for my performance… 8/10

I played confidently, with an air of contempt for the opponent (I only played the table and gave no recognition of their existence). I asserted myself and left them no real opportunities in the game. I played tight and came away with wins in the singles and doubles match ups.

Onwards and upwards.

It looks like Air Lingus have canceled their London (LGW / LHR) to Munich (MUC) routes…

Scheisse.

Guten Tag Alles ! Yet another day looms into view across the bow of HMS Global.

My Horoscope today reads thus:

You are tired of waiting and want results right away. Unfortunately, your sense of urgency could prompt you to make a hasty decision that doesn’t turn out as planned. Observe your feelings today and explore your desires in the safety of your own thoughts. However, keep in mind that you aren’t obliged to act on every whim. Use your common sense and think twice before choosing an unconventional solution when a tried and true one would work just fine.

I know some people say you can read what you like in horoscopes, but without discussing my belief mechanism – some truth can be found in this forecast. Some activities in my clients office today prompted some <Head/Desk/Bang/Bang/Bang> action by yours truly, after I got a pathetically stupid response from somebody in a suitably high enough position to know what an audit is, and is not. But, I rolled my eyes and pressed on. Modus Operandi.

I do ponder sometimes (and at other times in time, I ponder a lot). Its amazing just how much energy can be exerted & spent on trying to achieve a calm, level, quiet life or even just a single extended stress-free period within it.