Didn't really sleep too well - having been used to sharing a bed with someone every night for 5 weeks, it's a bit strange when they're not there. But it's check-out day, and I've got some packing left to do, as well as deciding which food to take with me, and what to leave behind - our frequent supermarket visits have culminated in a mini-mart under the sink!

I can't check-in to the new hotel until 4, so what to do?? I decide to give the Harp a try - my search for a decent pint of Guinness has been on the back-burner, so no time like the present! I manage to find it, and I'm rather surprised when I find myself the sole customer - it's 1.30 on a Sunday afternoon - back home, you wouldn't find an empty pub at 1.30 on a Sunday afternoon! I order a pint, but (again) it's pretty poor - so poor in fact, that I get half-way down, and decide a bottle of Bud is more preferable - I hate lager, but it's the lesser of two evils!

I remember pitching the laptop up and updating some of my journal entries - I get a few texts off Jem - she arrived home safely - and I begin to think about how I'm going to spend my evenings and weekends. When at work, it's no different from being at home - but when I'm at home, I'm always busy outside work:

* A couple of nights at Jem's
* A couple of nights at Craig's - we usually just chill in front of the TV, play Championship Manager all night, or (if it's Tuesday) get stupidly drunk, and sing until the early hours
* Up to Hugo's at least once a fortnight - which is gonna get confusing, as he's now moved. No more crawling home from the Stammo, pausing only for a drunken stagger around Southwark, singing at the tops of our voices "Who put the ball in the Millwall net?", whilst swigging from a bottle of Smirnoff
* Up to Milton Keynes to see Stef - when I'm working in Birmingham on a Thursday, I stop-off to chew the fat and have a couple of wee drinkies
* Football at weekends (and odd week-nights) - either home or away, Saturday's are always a full-on drinking affair. Well, in fact it usually starts on Friday night, resumes on Saturday morning, and continues through until the early hours of Sunday morning - AV IT!
* Home now and again, to let the folks know I'm still alive!
* Going out for a beer with my old man when United are on Sky
* Off to my Sister's Uni, for a cheap-night at the student bar
* Stuart's in Essex - always a great night out

[You know what, there seems to be a common theme here - drink! Maybe this trip wasn't such a bad idea, as it's given me the chance the have a bit of a detox. My (drinking) batteries are well and truly re-charged, so bring on Stoke City at home (Saturday 29th November)!]

After all these thoughts, I'm still no clearer on what to do with myself. I've got a DVD player on my laptop - I do enjoy having time on my own, when I can just "kick-back" and relax, so I bought the Smallville season 1 box set (should take me a couple of days to get through!) - but I'm gonna miss going out for dinner, and having someone to talk to all night. With the time difference, it's not as if I can have a proper email conversation with anyone either - I'm too impatient to wait a whole day for an answer to a question!

I guess I'll just have to take each day as it comes - it's an old cliché I know, but it seems the most relevant thing to do! I've got a College Football game to look forward to one Saturday - Aaron goes to USC (University of Southern California) where the Trojans play - and I want to try and get to an Ice Hockey game - the Anaheim Mighty Ducks - and a Basketball game - nearest team is the LA Lakers (Kobe Bryant's team - he's the dude who's going through a rape-case at the mo) - so I wont be a complete hermit!

Being lost in thought I completely forget the time and realise that I can now check-in, so I head to the hotel. WOW - it's a HUGE complex! The pool is HUGE - one of three in total - and my (ground-floor) room backs onto the golf course - I think I'm gonna like this place! It's a great location - 5 minutes driving in one direction gets me to the office, in the other direction to the beach, and Fashion Island is just over the road - fantastic!

END OF DAY 44