Signed. Sealed. Intoxicated.

I’ve been fighting an absolute stinker of a hangover for the past couple of days. I’m enjoying my switch to Budweiser but, wow, the DTs it inflicts come with some hideous paranoia. You know a hangover’s bad when you think to yourself: “How is this better than being sober?!”. Like I would ever usually think that. Anyway, I’m pretty sure it’s all gone now.

Until the next time, of course.

Oh, the perk from that crowdfunding thing I donated to a decade ago finally arrived. It’s a signed copy of the book The Keep by F. Paul Wilson. Behold!

I won’t be able to read it, of course, thanks to my forever deteriorating eyesight, but I’ve found the audiobook online, so that’ll do. It’s actually part one of a six book series, which I didn’t realise. I’ve also got the Michael Mann adaptation from the 1980s on Prime Video (although it's shockingly cropped from its intended 2.35:1 aspect ratio), so I’ll have to watch that back. The film is actually what the crowdfunding thing was all about. Some dude is making a documentary about it, which is cool, as I remember seeing parts of The Keep when I was little (I must have naughtily stayed up late or something) and some of the visuals have haunted me ever since. So, yeah, the book’s gone on the shelf, and I’m now a little less anxious about what was going on with the perks. It has been a looong time since I signed up, after all.

I don’t have much else to report. The temperature’s dropped like a mofo, so it’s definitely autumn now. I much prefer the cold, so I’m loving this. There are few simpler pleasures than snuggling up under a duvet, which you just can’t do during the summer. Chuck in a rainstorm outside and I’m in heaven.

I’m currently going through the Rick and Morty boxset, as it’s on regular rotation in my sitcom collection. I’ve only got the Season 1-3 set, so let me know if anything beyond that is worth catching. I wasn’t impressed with the quality of 3.

I might order the Bill & Ted trilogy tomorrow. I remember loving the first one when I was a kid, but steered clear of the second, as it seemed to get bad reviews from professional critics at the time. It has, however, become rather respected over the years, so I’ve got more reason to give it a go now. I’m not keen on seeing the third one, as the idea of two middle-aged actors reprising roles they played when they were in their twenties is rather unappealing, but I’ve heard it’s pretty good. I doubt they’d have done it unless they had some good ideas. Plus, hey, everyone loves Keanu Reeves, right? The loveable dope.

If you’ve not witnessed him attempting to perform Shakespeare, then you’ve simply not lived.

That tenant downstairs still has his illicit pet dog. What makes me more anxious than the dog itself is my next door neighbour “Angry Game Boy”s reaction to the dog’s barking. Dog barks seem to be a particular bugbear for him, and he goes on a violent, screaming rampage around his flat if a dog anywhere in the neighbourhood pipes up for a significant amount of time. The one downstairs sets him off straight away. Well, should I bump into “Angry Game Boy” in the stairwell, I’ll try to offer to put him up on my sofa so he can get some sleep.

Clever, huh?! Oh myyy.

There’s lots of Black Friday advertising online assaulting my senses this weekend. I’m aware that there are deals going on all year round, so these big seasonal ones never get me excited. The price drops aren’t impressive anyway. Shops just like to create a frenzy (quite successfully, I might add), which I don’t want any part of. With the exception of the odd home video, there’s not much I fancy buying at the moment.

Unless you can get a Black Friday discount on human physical contact.

Seriously, can you?!

Well, chronic sadness aside, I’ve managed to turn days into nights again. This just happens every so often, so I’m not getting upset about it. It does get me confused about when I should be taking my medication, but I think I’ve just about got that sorted. I’m basically falling asleep around midday and getting up around 8 pm. At least it’s a little quieter outside the building at that time of the day-night cycle, as I’ve found a council estate to be much like a building site. I guess people are moving in and out of these flats and maisonettes all the time, so the council are forever having to do repairs and prepare things for the next tenant. I’ve stopped playing the lottery now, so I’m no longer holding out for something better.

This is my life, and it’s ending one new antisocial neighbour at a time.

My appetite is a little uncertain at the moment. I don’t feel like I’m “off” anything in particular, but neither am I feeling very inspired to cook. To be fair, I haven’t bought anything in to be inspired about. Maybe I’ll include the ingredients to make a fancy homemade curry when I put my weekly grocery order in tomorrow. I fancy doing my signature “Mince & Paneer Citrus Sensation”. It’s an acquired taste but, considering how many friends have walked away over the years, so am I.

I cook how I socialise.

Poorly.

Well, that’s all for now, folks. Just thought I’d keep this little plate spinning. Apart from having to do some home blood pressure tests and pick up medication, the week ahead looks pretty bare. If it weren’t for the blood pressure thing, I’d probably just get drunk again. Still, I wonder what nasty little surprises will befall me.

I’ll endeavour to keep you updated.

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles!