Lost for Words

¡Feliz cumpleaños Rafa!

I've had a bit of an up-and-down day today, some little irritations at work earlier were really getting to me but I feel a lot better now. Mostly thanks to natbat3 's great email about the Boyzone concert and our amusing abuse of Ronan earlier. Which has now led me to my iTunes and What Can You Do For Me. I then decided to browse their Last.fm page to see what was on there. It starts as you'd expect, with No Matter What and Love You Anyway. And then there were these gems:

Nothing at All (As much as Ronan thinks it is, the bench song is NOT a Boyzone song)
Shooting Star feat. Boyzone (Explain how that one works, please....)
I Swear (I know most people think I Swear is Boyz II Men, but really...)
Sorry (I'd be sorry if I didn't know that the song is actually called Baby Can I Hold You)
Pictures of You (Who let Mary-Ann Hobbs in?)
Lab (Your guess is as good as mine...)
The Connells 74-75 (Oh dear.)
Oh Caron (So near, yet so far...)
Father and on (Hehehehehehehehe)
KEY LIFE (Succinct, I suppose.)

But the best one of all...

Good Conservation!  (Oh, that made me laugh like a drain....)

*runs away to make sure she has all the ld B-sides in iTunes*

----------------
Now playing: Boyzone - I'll Be There
via FoxyTunes   

As of now, AFP reports that Arshavin has signed for £12m. Here's hoping, all the news seems to be like a pendulum today.

Ah, the Australian Open. Friday's semi was pretty unbearable, seeing as I was at my desk at work. So I was restricted to just flicking back and forth at the BBC Sport website and bashing F5 every so often. At one point I was muttering and cursing and my colleague enquired what I was up to. Keen not to draw too much attention to my attention being well, slightly elsewhere, I scribbled TENNIS on a Post-It and showed her. I got back a knowing "Oh..." Heh. They know I'm a real sport fanatic at work. Thankfully lunch was set number 5 and I was able to give the score my full attention. Oh, the last game and watching Verdasco claw back the break points, i practically put my fist through the desk...But then he couldn't get back the last one and I punched the air and got my head back down. When I got home my Dad handed me a piece of paper where he had detailed for me the most unbelievable shots Rafa had played during the match, which I then enjoyed on the BBCi rerun.

As the final began on 8:30am on Sunday I set two alarms (coincidentally, much like I did to get up at 3am to go to Wimbledon) to make sure I didn't sleep in. Soon enough, everybody was downstairs wrapped in duvets with their eyes on the match. The start was a bit of a scrappy one, I thought, and as ever, I was as nervous as heck. It's weird, though, I sort of enjoy the feeling, it's both exciting and terrifying at the same time. Another colleague of mine just can't bear to watch. I thought the first set was gone until those two amazing shots...and i was relieved. But then desperately worried when it went to 5 sets. And even loving and knowing the dynamo superman that is Rafa Nadal, I just thought, he must be too tired. But oddly, as the commentator put it, in the fifth it was like someone had just "switched off Federer's gas." There was just nothing left, and the serve went. And towards the end although I was doing cartwheels thinking my God, Rafa is so close to winning, I was also begging Federer not to lose it on a double fault because he's too good to lose like that. I was so thrilled at the end, not quite as flooded with relief and tears as after Wimbledon, but still thrilled. And as much as I love Rafa and I never ever want him to lose, Federer's reaction really touched me and I did feel a bit teary. But Rafa's reaction consoling him like that, well, it was a joy to see it. Sportsmanship, respect, talent, these guys have it all. God bless them both. 

Many thanks to natbat3 and feebomon for a lovely Saturday filled with Torchwood, D&P and Boyzone. Lord knows why I ever liked Ellie woman, her acting is as flat as a pancake. I was young and foolish. It was so good to see it again then, such a brilliantly plotted and amusing crime drama. There's nothing like it any more.

Anyway, the whole of Britain seems to be at a standstill thanks to the snow. We're so pathetic. I did walk to work today, hopefully tomorrow it won't be too icy as it could get dangerous. Off to catch up on my EastEnders before bed, I think.

As I finish typing it seems that the Arshavin deal has to be confirmed by the Premier League and so we have to wait til the morning. So be it.

----------------
Now playing: Boyzone - When Will You Understand
via FoxyTunes    

Just to follow on from this week's footballing theme, how damn funny that the guy singing the anthems at Wembley on Wednesday (an Englishman) pronounced part of the Croatian anthem wrong so that he sang: "My penis is the size of a mountain." Brilliant. 

So, after a bit of prodding from natbat3 and red_scully  and despite still not being able to forgive Ronan Keating for covering Iris, I have brushed the dust off my Boyzone singles. My iTunes is a better place with What Can You Do For Me, Close to You and Never Easy. (When Will You Understand was already in there due to my undying love for its insistent beat and strange opening lyric..well, I know he's really singing "Ten on a Wednesday morning", but I like to convince myself it's "Dead on a Wednesday morning."..). How forgettable were some of the later B-sides though?  (Along with the shameful piece of card and polystyrene circle that was the package for Everyday I Love You...) I have no idea what No Matter or Too Late Tonight sound like. I also tracked down the original album version of I Love The Way You Love Me (the one without Stephen and a very different arrangement) from iTunes as I just wanted to hear it again.  Always preferred it somehow. Don't really know why! I can't put my finger on why The Price of Love worked, but it just did. The remixes had the best names, too. Phil Da Costa's Oxygen Edit. Hehe.

Work was mad today, but I got through it and I got my files to print.  I also got my first books printed this week that landed on my desk from China. Although I've done lots of articles and mags before, and a few books, nothing that I'd actually seen through, so it was nice. So glad it's the weekend though. I might try and do some Christmas shopping. Or else brave another weekend of sorting out paperwork and generally tidying up.