Diary of an up and coming sociopath

Well, that’s a new year’s eve I’ll probably remember a little more than last year’s “box factory” epic…

We took the tube into central london and joined the assembled biomass in Trafalgar square while lots of people of all creed and colour, united in celebration of the date changing, stood around and looked confused. There was a big screen on which videos were played but the sound was too distorted for us to hear much. There were lots of police about, on horses. Horses which were crapping all over the road, which was, er, nice. A lot of places are reporting that there was a two-minute silence observed for Tsunami victims, but let me tell you, if there was, it wasn’t at the trafalgar square I was at. It was all a bit anarchic really, not much was organised, but everyone seemed to have organsied themselves into doing it. We got a lot of messages on the screens from politicians and what I believe were celebrities, and people seemed pleased to be there, and it was surprisingly warm for the middle of the night, but that’s about it for remarkability. Everyone stood around waiting for the year to end and then suddenly it was 2005 and people kind of gradually realised things had ticked over, and began cheering. There’s more of a countdown on TV, I’ll say that much. We did get the free tube back, so at least my taxes are working for me.

Which brings us to today, of course. The first new day of 2005, a year which, if I know my future-history, will be remembered for the (first) death of Optimus Prime. I don’t do resolutions, we all know that much (and if you don’t head back to new year’s day last year and find out why) but I do have a list of vague expectations for 2005, much like I had a list of expectations for 2004. Top of the list? Getting out of debt. Beyond that, who can say? Once Nikki finishes Uni, we’re undoubtedly going to keep an eye out for the right time and place to move into our own flat/house/barn, but the success of that can’t be predicted with much certainty. What can be predicted is that she’ll be moving in with me in London.

This time last year, I predicted, and I quote“Graduation, the necessity of getting a job, and moving into a new house, in an as yet unchosen city. “ As you can see from the links, I was dead on with those predictions. I think I’ll throw in a massive cash windfall as a prediction for 2005, and see if my record holds.

Of course, besides that, 2004 has much to remember. In true retrospective style.

I couldn’t predict being horrendously robbed this january. They only really took my VCR, but I can’t help feel a great sense of indignance. I mean, they left hundreds of pounds worth of excellent DVDs on the shelf! What kind of snub is that? My lovingly constructed collection isn’t even good enough to nick? Fucking crackheads.

And, in a year of tumultuous musical activity (Easyworld splitting up, for instance.) I could’ve have predicted some great gigs. 3CR at the Islington Academy. Ash at the Zodiac. The Pixies at Brixton, and again, the Pixies at Kentish town, and finally Placebo in London. I’d have to go with one of the Pixies gigs as my best, but they really were all great. Definitely a year for quality over quantity.

There was my dissertation in the spring, which by christ, I really earnt my marks for. Er, in a way. I didn’t earn them through actually doing the work over the last year, it was more a metaphysical and/or spiritual cleansing through the herculean trial of completing it over the final week that did the earning.

I certainly couldn’t have predicted random brain explosions this summer, which really made the course of the year take an unexpected turn. Ultimately it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been, since everyone’s still around for 2005, but for a while there it was looking dodgy. On “Quiz of the year” the other night Jimmy Carr noted that unless they had been in a coma for may and june, viewers would want to tune in for the next part, which amused us at Nikki’s house, because Jenny had actually been in a coma for a good section of May and June.

Then there’s the lengthy unemployment and monsterous debt that swallows up the final third of the year. Most specifically, there’s getting interviews, and ultimately employed at Kelkoo. That’s how I’ve spent the last few weeks of the year, and it’s shaping up nicely for the start of next. These days I can even afford public transport.

There was also my grandparents moving house and I know I’ll always look back fondly on my computer catching fire.

Which, in total, leaves very little else to say. That’s the year boiled down to the essentials. As ever, there’s only forwards left to go.