October 20 (Wednesday): The Velveteen Touch Of A Dandy Fop. I wake this morning to GMTV talking about Chavs. The world has officially gone insane. And it seems that Eamon and Fiona are a right couple of proper experts on the subject. Couple of blingers. This really is the Twilight Zone.

Fortunately this morning I have the bubble car still, so I can stay home a bit later (leave a bit later) but this still doesn’t ensure that I arrive to work on time (traffic). I don’t. This probably (should) be noticed soon.

Today there is a really really good vibe in the office, alternative paranoia would suggest to me that word may have gotten around of my good performance at Acme yesterday. This is capped by Jack acknowledging me, patting my computer monitor as if it is a pat on the head (ha ha) and winking in the process. Also Who speaks to me some more about the Acme job but instead this time, his suggestions are helpfully toned and not critical. And then later on Who actually attempts conversation with me, asking me how Millwall got on last night. Good times, good vibe.

This however is not universal as Stevo is running around the office tearing his hair out as he feels the heat on getting a job finished for Jack today as his next job is ready to get going, almost late for its deadline before it is even started.

At lunchtime I stagger into town and do the usual Wednesday thing of buying the NME without thinking, its just a routine reaction I have/do on Wednesdays (non-stop for ten years now). Maybe if I actually did give it some thought, I wouldn’t buy it and save myself £1.80 every Wednesday (wow, big saving). And as per usual, when I get the issue back to the office, I just flick through it and barely bother reading any articles. Whilst in town at lunch though, as I am checking my bank balance at/on the Nat West machine, I get tapped on the back but instead of being attacked/mugged (good luck getting any money out of this machine/card/account) it is Ellen, who I haven’t seen in ages. We have something of a nonversation and it turns out that the pair of us are doing the same exams in December. In comparison however, in her job she does sound somewhat further accelerated than me, something to which I am jealous as my career (albeit not financially) feels in a complete rut. Over meeting/conversation ends perversely with her telling me that I need to meet a “nice girl” and I tell her “there is no such thing” and our snappy exchange becomes reminiscent of my general exchange with all girls. God, to think I once had the strongest feelings for her.

This lunchtime all the partners are out of the office on some do put on by Barclays bank, a real meet and greet for local businesses in which all principals involved get to bum lick eachother with view to drumming up business between themselves. And in a real gesture/intention of grooming him further, they take along Ivan and not Steve (the other manager) and not Drew (the other manager, whereas once upon a time he may have joined them).

All thoughts about this however immediately leave as I notice in the NME that Helmet are touring the UK in December. I always regretted never seeing them and now I have the opportunity to do so. And the London show is on December 1st, mum’s birthday and a day when I will be in London on an accountancy course. Yes!!!! Still though, I cannot believe that this is THE Helmet that have reformed and are touring, someone somewhere must be shitting me.

The afternoon pretty much passes eventless except to the point that I discover my hacky sack is missing. World War III ensues as I suspect all parties of taking/steeling my favourite stress toy. I jokingly act like a child on the surface but genuinely these actions (of shouting and banging stuff) are not jokes. Eventually however I go over and ask Ivan (my number one suspect) if he has it and he indeed accidentally picked it up out of habit earlier in the week and never put it back. Once more Chernobyl can revert/resume to Def Con Four.

In the evening Stevo gives me a lift home, blessing of blessings five-a-side has been called off this week, so I get to relax this evening.

The episode of The Apprentice tonight is a killer, winding up being Kwame vs Troy as the show breaks down and drops from five to four. Tonight is a double shock when Nick and Amy get a late victory over Troy, Kwame and Bill and when it comes to head to head, it winds up being the good friends and the wrong one, Troy, gets eliminated. Of the remaining contestants, Troy was my favourite, the most earnest and likeable. Nevermind, its only TV.

I waste the remainder of the evening, playing FIFA 2005 on Playstation 2 and doing career mode of being Millwall in the Championship division, making progress to the point of going unbeaten this evening.

When it comes to dinner time, it turns out that I haven’t actually got any food in my flat so I have to venture out and get some stuff. I go to Tesco Hythe, which is far from my number one choice supermarket these days. When I get there it is a chocka midweek shopping night and when I eventually get parked, as I struggle to avoid the cars parked to either my left and/or right I fail to notice that I am reversing slam right into the car parked (poorly) behind me. When I get out, I inspect the potential damage and it was only a bumper to bumper thing and there are no marks to my car. As I walk off into the store I see a woman walk past me and get into the car, she obviously must have seen me hit her car but she doesn’t say a word. I guess sometimes I do look scary.

When I get back, I search out the internet and discover that Helmet have in fact reformed and not only booked a new tour, they have also recorded a new record! I promptly hit Soulseek and immediately find it and begin downloading it. At this point Phoebe Toronto hits me on MSN and we talk bollocks for a bit, her asking me advice on communicative issues (yeah, I’m really good at them).

Tonight I do intend to stay up for a bit and actually do stuff, so I down a double strength cup of Rocket Fuel coffee and then settle down to a really disappointing episode of Arrested Development before having a late bath.

I get back to my PC to discover that all my old emails (7000+) have all been wiped in my recently woes/problems with AOL broadband. Fortunately, somewhere I find a back up from the beginning of October, so I manage to get most of them back.

From there I begin watching more of the Metallica documentary that I have just downloaded and it remains disappointing and overrated, to the point that I fall asleep. When I wake up Sara is online and I speak to her for a little while before putting on Fahrenheit 9/11 again (disc now wiped and working) and I fall asleep watching that (again!).

np: Helmet - Smart