Shir in the pool world....

Inspiration

2010-04-29T22:37:00.000+01:00

Got none to write.. lol

I'm missing a special person... Hate feeling this way!
Need to get rid of it lol!

Holiday is coming closer! Can't wait!
Nerves are starting to kick in...
OMG what am I doing?
Going to be away for 4 weeks!!! Wish me luck lol!

XXX

Can't sleep!

2010-04-25T02:59:00.000+01:00

It's one of those nights again...

I can't sleep! Thoughts are racing through my head, running circles, leaving marks behind... Wish I could chase them away somehow!

Spoke to George today (my ex boss) after James sent me a message. Realised that I've not been in touch with the people back in Barnsley for a while... Still love ya, James! Even though you're Tabitha's now... I just wanted to thank you again for being my friend during my last months in Barnsley! I miss the guys! Al, Thompson, Brett, Matt, Ben, Jamie and Georgie off course! Always there for me, even when I decided to leave!

Promise to come up soon! Wish you'd all move down to London! Lol

Friends... Can't live without them and I'm lucky to have them my best friend is coming over in less than 2 weeks! Mo!!! Hurry! Dim sum, Korean, Nando's and Vegas are waiting for us!!!

Julz is my best buddy at work and outside... BBM all the way! Love ya! It's freaky how similar we are lol... From day one!

And a special mention to PokerMon and Sandra for keeping me sane... Thanks for the laughs, drinks and talks girls!!!

2 weeks to go before I turn 28! :( going towards 30. For now I'm just happy to still be alive and relatively healthy... Can't wish for more...

May 7... The Loop Bar near Bond Street, London
If you're in the neighbourhood... Come by and celebrate with me!!!

XXX

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Wicked

2010-04-16T23:04:00.000+01:00

Just came out of the theatre and loved it!!! Reminder to myself:

Go to a musical every month!!!

I live so close to the West End! Some people even consider it the West End lol...

Thanks Sandra! Really enjoyed it.

Not going to do Dutch therapy tonight... I'm knackered! Sad I'll be missing Michel de Hey and MC Lady Bee... Michel is still one of my favourite DJ's ever. Rotterdam 4-ever!!!

Tomorrow Queens Day @ Trafalgar Square... Even Postman is performing... Not seen him for ages!!! Looking forward to all the Dutchness tomorrow...

Oh and before I forget!!!
A BIG thank you to Mr Rennison for sorting out my laptop!!!
Tip for everyone... Need something fixed? Have a look at the following site:
www.rennisons.co.uk
He'll fix it for you!!!
Thanks again Colin!!!

Enough typing for today... See you soon!

X
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Thinking...

2010-04-14T00:59:00.000+01:00

It's one of those nights... You can't sleep and you start thinking...

Which in my case is not a good idea!

Reading a book: Third Culture Kids... Can't believe how true it is, I recognise so much in it!!! So weird! Thanks to MaFe to mentioning the book, when she freaked me out by telling me what kind of person I am! And this was the first time I met her!

Back to thinking... I have done a lot of that lately. Where would I be if I didn't make some of the tough choices that I made in the past year?

Would I be in Barnsley, Holland, Gibraltar or was I just meant to be in London? Would I be happier? Sadder! Lonely or surrounded with people?

I don't know but I do know that I kind of like where I am now and the person I am. Ok, I'm not fully there yet but I'm on my way to recovery, lol!

I realise that the pool world was an escape from normal life, and normal life is not even that bad actually! The pool world has it's idiots but it also has some great people! I'm grateful for the things I've experienced in the past 7 years, but maybe it's time to say goodbye...

Pool is my passion or maybe even an obsession! I will always love the sport but I need to prioritise...
Family, life, love and myself have to go first! And that's what I have been doing wrong all those years!

The new and improved me is here! And I'm ready to enjoy life! But first... Bedtime!

See you all soon!

Love,

Shir

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

World Champion 8 Ball

2010-04-10T16:05:00.000+01:00

World Champion 8 ball!!!

Well done Boyzi!!!

13-12 against Niels Feijen, it was a great comeback of Niels but not enough.. Unlucky!

The game in the UK has gotten better over the past years and I'm proud to have been a part of it's development.

WOOOOHOOOOO

World 8 ball Championships

2010-04-10T11:42:00.001+01:00

Good luck to Karl "Boyzi" Boyes and Niels "The Terminator" Feijen today as they will be playing the final today!!!

Got no idea who I want to win... UK vs NL. Though choice...
They're both worthy winners in my eyes..

But to be honest?

GO NIELS!!! OR BOYZI!! LOL

I'll just play on the Wii lol

Passport

2010-04-08T16:33:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone...

On my way to the Dutch Embassy now as I have to pick up my new passport... Unfortunately I'll have to say goodbye to my passport with an easy to remember end date: 10/10/2010!!!

Only reason I'm getting a new one is because my passport has to be valid for another 6 month after returning from the USA... Annoying and actually a waste of money... But hey, at least I'll be going on a holiday soon!

In a month and 2 days I'll be flying to Vegas!!! Soooooooo looking forward to it!

Actually in exactly a month I'll be 28! Going towards 30! Maybe it's time to settle down? Haha no not for a while! At the moment I'm just trying to enjoy life. Have fun without strings lol!

There are some options at the moment which I'm considering taking advantage of... But you know me, me and relationships don't work so I don't mind being single! A lot less drama!

At the moment I have a choice: Mr. N., Mr I. and Mr W. Not gonna make a choice lol as I just want to have fun... Vegas and Costa Rica coming up, I will be gone out of London for 4 weeks... So might have some more options over there ;-)

Life is getting better and I'm on my way to recover!

Just want to thank N for being there.. ;-)

X
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Laptop

2010-04-08T01:26:00.000+01:00

Yes, I don't have much access to the internet as my laptop either keeps turning itself off, blue screening me or just won't find the network to connect to!

I can't really write updates whilst I'm at work so updates will come when possible...

Life is ok at the moment... Counting down to my holiday!!

Also planned the b-day party... Celebrating with Gosia and Stu, so it's will be good!
70-80's VIP area with the disco dance floor...
Ready to party to prepare myself and Monica for Vegas!

Back to pool...

WPM in May in Vegas was going to be the last "big" tournament I was going to, but....
Mosconi Cup in London in December!!!!
Holidays have been booked and approved so I'll be there to cheer Team Europe on!

World 8 ball championships are on now, not sure what the results are as my internet and the laptop are abit crappy lately...

Before I forget!
Jasmin!!!!! Great result!!! All 4 Gold Medals at the EPC! You deserve it!

GB9 Leagues...
It's slowly getting more and more popular... Who knows.. It might really take off soon. In the club where I play (Shepherds Bush) we have 18 players.. Good little group, with a few people I didn't know yet. Think we've got the biggest group of the whole UK. I hope the players are enjoying it and can't wait for things to settle down and things to go smoothly!

I just want to thank the players for playing:
Mark, Josh, Michalis, Philip, Noel, Ben, Oliver, Nick, Shane, Bernard, Yaser, Faisal, Nik, Paul, Julia, Javier and Greg....
See you all on Tuesday!

OK enough.... It's bed time!

See you all soon and love to all of you!

XXX

Sorry

2010-03-25T23:12:00.002+00:00

I know...

It's been a while.

Things have been a bit crazy lately and just couldn't bring myself to writing about pool... I have been focusing on my own life and can safely say:
Shir is back.. The Shir that only a few people know from the poolworld here in the UK... The Shir that I used to be before I moved to England..

Life in general is good.. There's still some health issues off course... Mum is going well, I'm going well, had some tests a few weeks ago and nothing special came up... No news is good news in my case!

Work is going well, busy period is over, time to do some other things on the side...

According to Monica, it's 46 days before we go on holiday! So looking forward to it! Flying to Vegas on the 10th of May, gonna go watch the WPM, shop, drink, dance and just have fun with my best friend! On the 18th we have to say good bye to each other. She's flying back to London all alone (not counting the other strangers on the plane) and then to Eindhoven...

I'll be taking off to San Jose, Costa Rica!!! Going to work 2 weeks in the office there, but also have a bit of a holiday... Vielka has been so kind to offer me a place to stay, she, Beto and Mela have already promised me a great time over there... It's written on the net now, so they have to keep the promise! Still not sure if I dare to do the waterfall rapelling, wild water rafting and canopy stuff. Don't wanna die just yet.. And already feel sick going down the escalators in the tube stations!

Anyways... Need to get some sleep as I'm on the early shift tomorrow, it's Friday and party time! Have a birthday party and got the weekend off.. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

PS. Think I need to find a new title for the blog as I seem to do more in the pokerworld than the poolworld....

X

Still love ya!

Ready to go...

2009-11-10T20:06:00.002+00:00

Hi everyone,

I'm ready to go back to Rotterdam for a few days again... Need to see my mom and the rest of the family...
Was sick last week after coming back from Barnsley, think all the negativity had to come out of my body...
Loving the clean slate!

New things are on the horizon, just need to sort out some loose ends....

Going to an Anouk concert on Thursday! Got 2 free tickets so am sooooo looking forward to it... Her music kept me sane in the past 3 years! Monica is coming along so we're gonna have some quality time together... After the concert maybe some Rumours @ Cinema or Vibes to get some old memories back...

It's Simon's birthday tomorrow and Sunny's birthday on Thursday... 2 family birthdays! Think we'll have a family day somewhere this week.. Who knows it might be the last one like this...

Keeping fingers crossed... She sounded well yesterday, cheery even.. It's been a while... Who knows.. Maybe she's going to prove the docs wrong again! I really hope so!

Need to try and get some sleep as I'm going to have to get the tube just before 6...

Speak soon!

Love most of you! ;-)

Thank you...

2009-11-03T09:23:00.002+00:00

The final words that I will write regarding the drama around GB9...
After this it's a clean slate and done...

I knew this weekend was going to be hard. Saying goodbye to something I have worked so hard for in the past few years. Saying goodbye to some lovely people. I also knew I'f be really happy so never see some people again after this weekend. ;-)

About running a professional tour:
My guidelines always have been;
Be fair to all, not just some people that you like...
Follow the rules, all the time...
Be open and willing to listen...
Be strict or they'll walk over you...
Give it all you've got....
Just be there in general cause the players will appreciate it...

I've got other little things I do but not giving away all my secrets off course!

The GB9 has lost a lot of little things... But they have also lost me and with that they lost a lot of heart and respect. The display this weekend was a perfect example...
I think I've said enough in my previous post about not following the tournament rules. If you want to run a professional tour, you have to follow your own tournament rules that you have set up yourself.

Funniest things I have seen this weekend. (Without mentioning names off course!)

- 2 guys practising on the "TV" (Cuesport TV wasn't even there) table for about 15 minutes, TD walking past about 3 times and no word. Someone gets called out to play on that table by the TD. That players gets to the table, practises 3 shots and gets told of by the TD for practising.

- 2 guys playing each other, you can see from the looks in the small audience that is watching that they can't believe what is happening.. I start watching and can see that this is going wrong...
1 player goes for his 2nd or 3rd time out. This should be at least 1 rack to the opponent. Player comes back eventually wins and I hear snippets of the conversation at the end: Player 1: I don't know what.... But I have a lost a lot of respect for you... Thought better of you... Player 2: .... Yeah but you have shit friends.... OMG...

- Player 1 wins a hill-hill match, Player 2 is a bit upset... Grabs a ball, smashes it on the table, ball flies up, player catches ball and walks away. TD comes storming over and tells Player 1 off. Players 1 denies doing it and TD doesn't believe him at first and still gives him a telling off. Eventually TD goes to Player 2 to tell him off but has lost all credibility...

- I get some stuff I forgot in Barnsley including my wonderful GB9 Tournament Director Shirt.. I don't need it anymore and the TD comes over to give it again after I decided to leave it behind. TD then says in front of some friends: yeah but I'm not a bin... LOL no comment...

- A GB9 title used to mean a lot, especially a main event one... Not seen a final being split ever... Seen that they made deals but at least they played it... No final in this main event.....

- Funniest thing was my presentation or my good sending off.... There wasn't any.... A professional tour should always respect the work people have done for them. By not giving me a way to say bye to everyone in a public way they have lost all my respect. I can now say whatever I want!

I have been told by people that they have been told by a certain someone that I didn't do Barnsley or am not going to do 2010 because I am too busy for it with work.
Partially true..
As everyone now knows.. I live in London and have started a new job I love. I wasn't sure about next year yet.. Been doubting that for a while.
After hearing my mother is terminally ill and only has a few months left and me catching the swine flu... I was really sick of a certain someone calling, texting and emailing me all the time. I could not handle it all anymore and decided to quit there and then.
Another person then convinced me to stay till at least the end of the year. Needed a few days to think about it and then decided it would be better to do it that way.
But after Solihull I got told that I'm not needed anymore.
Me quitting before Solihull was the final drop the drama needed...
Best excuse to get rid of me.
That's the story.
Now they needed to find a way to bring this to the players in a way it would make the tour look good and stable.
Press release, they gave me to options if I would agree to the press release, I refused and told them to F*** off.
They then decided not mention anything in the press release so there wouldn't be anything to fight... But they're not stupid, just tell everyone in person that I decided to quit because of work. They'll assume they are telling the truth... Not many people will mention it to Shirley...
WRONG!!!

I've found out that he's the liar and is manipulative, saying those things about me on FB is one thing but telling people that all weekend makes him even worse. Any respect I've ever had is gone. He has a way of talking to people like he's better than anyone, everything he says is right. He does not like it if you do not agree with him. He'll not tell you that in your face but behind your back, he'll call you a tw*t, d*ck or just a plain idiot... But when he faces you he'll be the two-faced bitch he really is. Don't ever trust him because when he can stab you in the back he will...

OK this is my line... I have had enough...

Clean slate!!!

I just want to thank a lot of people for their kind words this weekend and in general for the past 2 years:
Chun and Phuong for their card and present and I will miss you guys cause you were always there to offer me some food and just general company! Love you guys...
Ginn, Nicholson and Overton for their company at the event, the clubs, the hotel and in the car...
Georgie for just being himself this weekend, I've missed it....
Cummins for his funny comments about the tour this weekend...
Cripps, Clemens and Hersey for the drinking... Hersey, thanks for the £125 the hotel charged me extra! Answer your phone!!!!
Tink and Appleton for telling me the truth....
Triggs for seeing one of the worst things ever in my life... Wish I never opened that door in the hotel!
Weafer, Moore, Simpson, Hinrichs, McCarthy on our way to a bright future....
Mr and Mrs Chapman, love you both but I love the Mrs more! ;-)
Mr Morgan, thank you for the cue maintenance at every event...
Nelly for making me laugh...
Moore, Widlo, Kay, Ginn, Lawrenson, Burton, Hinrichs, and anyone else that smokes, thanks for keeing me company outside whilst smoking...
Dixon, thank you for hopefully not seeing you again for a long time!!!
Damian, good luck in Kenya!
Looking forward to the Reading drinks...

Finally:
A thank you to all the players for supporting me at the start of the tour and at the end of the tour. I will miss you!

See you all soon! X

I wonder

2009-11-01T10:26:00.003+00:00

I wonder how things have changed so quickly....
I wonder how a tournament can be run so strict sometimes by following the tournament rules..
I wonder why I see people playing with white trainer, hoodies, shirts untucked.
I wonder why I see people practising in between matches and drinking alcohol at the pool table.
I wonder how someone can run something and not even see these things?
I wonder if I also missed all these things when I ran it.
I wonder when it became OK to smoke during your time-out?
I wonder when it was the last time I saw a TD watch a match where both players did not adhere to the dresscode and nothing was said...
I wonder when the last time was I heard so many people complain...

I wonder what the difference is between the event in Solihull and Barnsley. The both have great managers (Ann, you are missed in Solihull and George, I need you to come to London and do a club there!). The clubs are both great in layout, maintanance and have great staff or at least used to have them.

Hmmmmm I wonder what it is!

X

What to do...

2009-10-30T11:22:00.002+00:00

Like I said: I knew this would not be appreciated... I've now been called a liar and manipulative.. Oh wait he's called me that before lol... In texts to someone we both know... Nice!!

Now it's Facebook that is the choice to air his views to the people that he considers as his friends...
At least I've shown you what I felt, thought and what was my side of the story...
Anybody can read this, it's not that difficult to google... ;-)

This is what was said about me:
************************************************************************************
I've just been copied on a quite astonishing public attack on me on facebook from Shirley. I'll not say it's all lies because she's too clever for that but it's about as close as you can possibly get - so many carefully chose...n words with glaring omissions, some complete fantasies, many innacurracies and in summary it's totally manipulative and misleading..... see comments for more....

This is my personal space for my friends and the event at the weekend is where we and the team have a professional job to do, as we always do, so I'm not going to get drawn into this nonsense any further.

************************************************************************************

The only reason it was on Facebook is because my blog comes up there as a note... Well at least he calls me clever ;-)

After this message I was really considering posting the emails of the past 5 months on here but do I really want to get it all out?
No not really...
First of all... I just want to move on because it's not worth it....
Second, I still consider most of the committee as my friends and do not want to drag them into this...
Third, there's worse things in life!!!

I know how I feel and I got it out.. And I'll bet you it will come out quite a lot more this weekend...
But after this weekend I'm ready for big plans next year!!!
I've got at least 8 events planned!!! Looking forward to it.. And got at least 2 trips planned which require me to fly more than 3 hours for once... Hopefully one of them can be announced end of November and the other one in December....

Things are still looking good and I'm happier than I was a few months ago!!! I've learned from one of the biggest mistakes I've made ever in my life but it got me at the place I am now.. And I like it here...

Flat's nice, flatmates are nice, work's good, colleagues are great. I love London!!!

OK got to start packing now... Vodka is already in the suitcase.. Just need to pack the rest...

Will be taking the laptop with me so updates will come this weekend if I'm not too drunk ;-)

XXX
All my love to the majority of you people!!!

The truth....

2009-10-26T14:36:00.003+00:00

I've been so busy and things have been kicking off so couldn't really be bothered writing loads of stuff...

So I'm "leaving" GB9...

The real story:

After I split up with Lee, all we could do is argue. About every little thing. This was not good for the tour, my health and all the other stuff... I had to leave his house and Barnsley.

I found a new job, room, flatmates and friends... It was stressful to move to a whole new city but I was up for the challenge... Unfortunately Lee had to keep calling or texting or emailing me every day... Tried to say that I would appreciate it if he would give me some space...
There's a reason we split up!!!

The running of GB9 only gave me more stress because that meant I had to keep in touch with him, which I rather didn't... At GB9 Shepherds Bush we did not get on and I started to think of the future. We couldn't keep on going like we were. Think everyone that was there noticed it wasn't going well. I told some of the committee members what I was thinking and that I wasn't sure what to do next year. Especially with trying to combine it with my full-time job. I got told that Lee was stepping down anyways so things would get better.

Unfortunately the arguments with Lee kept continuing and I was getting more and more stressed out. Then I got some bad news about my mum and I got sick myself. I asked a committee member to email around that I would not be available for a while so I could sort things out, but some person just kept on calling, emailing and texting me. I had had enough and decided to quit GB9 a week before Solihull.

I know it wasn't great timing but I just could not handle it anymore. A committee member then asked me to reconsider or at least stay till the end of the year.... After thinking and cooling down I decided to do this. Solihull comes and I really enjoyed running the tournament again. I wasn't as stressed out as I normally am but I realised why... It was because a certain person wasn't there... It really helped. The tournament ran well, early even and everything went as good as it could, seeing I forgot my charger for the laptop. Thanks again Mr Lim for letting me use your charger.

Day after Solihull I got asked to send loads of stuff over via email to Lee, asked him why and got told I wasn't needed anymore. I was not impressed because if they/he had told me this in advance I would have been able to say bye to everyone in Solihull and announced in a proper way. I emailed the committee to tell them I was just told this but apparently not everyone knew about his decision. Things were being said back and forth and eventually they decided that Lee would become the TD for Barnsley and 2010.

I got 2 options:
1. I come down on the Friday, work till the Saturday afternoon, get a small presentation and £150, train and hotel expenses paid.
2. I come down on the Saturday, not work, get the presentation, £100 and the train and hotel expenses paid.
But.... I had to come to an agreement about my reasons for leaving GB9.

Sorry but I couldn't. I can understand that they want to keep the tour in a good daylight but I can't agree to something I don't agree with..

So this is my side of the story... The will probably see a different side, but that's the point of sides right? Everyone sees things how they want to see it. I could copy loads of the emails from both sides, but I don't want this to become a war.. There's no point... It's not worth it. I have spend my last 2 1/2 years working on this tour for not much money, but for the love of the sport. But there comes a time in life when you have to start thinking of yourself!

It's a shame... I was talking to a big sponsor regarding a deal for £100000 over 5 years but it was a combined deal of a national tour with me as a TD... Trying to convince them to give me less with some smaller events but it's not as much of an attraction... Got some opportunities coming up that I'm thinking of doing because I suddenly have an extra 24 holidays for next year...

Friday I'm off to the GB9 in Barnsley to say hi to my old friends from when I lived there... And to say bye to some of the poolplayers of GB9... I'll still see some of them at the MBO events and maybe even at one of the other events that are coming up. I'm not done with the poolworld yet but the pokerworld is nice too ;-) Just don't expect GB9 to do much for me after this post! lol

Love you all!!! (except some!)

OMG!

2009-10-23T09:59:00.002+01:00

I know I've not been on a lot lately since I moved to London but life has been a bit crazy.

Family life, work and pool...

Loads of developments and I should have some time this weekend after work or else Monday to give you some updates and m y side of the story before they can only give theirs....

Watch this space!

Love ya!

Sick!

2009-09-17T00:39:00.001+01:00

I know it's been a while since I posted anything. I've just been so busy!!!
And now I think this has resulted in me being sick...
Feel like crap....
Can't breath...
Can't think...
Going back to sleep...

See you all soon hopefully!
(with updates)

About the MBO

2009-08-16T17:36:00.000+01:00

The Metropolitan Billiard Organisation (MBO), officially came to life during a dinner meeting between two very old friends; Ste Williams and Shirley Ang at the Black and Blue Restaurant, Wigmore St, London on the 26th July 2009.

Shir, an internationally recognised tournament director and co-founder of the GB9 UK National Pool Tour and Ste, the Founder of 8n9 Clothing, President of the SKNBF (St. Kitts & Nevis Billiard Federation), Vice President of the CBU (Caribbean Billiards Union) were old friends with business backgrounds in the pool and billiard industry stretching back many years.

Whilst discussing their current ongoing pool business ventures - Shir had reminded Ste of a long running idea he had of establishing a London based metropolitan city pool tour and asked him if he was ever going to do anything about that and get it off the ground. During the meal, Shir had also mentioned in passing that she had been received several offers to run and organise some one-off pool events here and there for a few London clubs and pool halls.

It wasn't long (most certainly before they got to the dessert menu); that they realised that this was finally the right time for both of them and the billiard scene in the UK - to put the two initiatives together under the banner of the MBO and do what they both do best.

MBO launch..

2009-08-13T01:48:00.000+01:00

Yes it has been launched...
Still needs a lot of work but at least we have been able to announce the details for the first 2 events in 1 weekend!!!

www.mbo-pool.com

More coming soon...
Need my bed!

Recovered...

2009-07-24T10:48:00.003+01:00

Almost...
I'm on day 12 of my 12 days of working in a row now and I'm absolutely knackered!!!
GB9 last weekend was though on me mentally and physically.
But am happy with how things went in general.
Sunday went really well in the end...
I have to say that 1 hour and 15 minutes for a race to 9 is very tight and very difficult!
In the morning I started panicking a bit cause we were not running on time and I didn't have a ref to help me out with shot clocks....
But the more we got into the day the more I was catching up on the schedule.
Even better: The final started 45 minutes early!!!

Just want to congratulate:
Darren Appleton on winning the Main Event!
Mark Gray on winning the Pro Cup!
Adam Smith on winning the Challenge Cup!

People might have noticed that I was a bit distracted and I'd like to apologise for that...
Things have not been easy lately but I am loving the new job.
Am just missing my friends and London can be very lonely if you don't know anyone yet...
But things will improve hopefully once I get out of the training room and onto the floor at work...

Looking forward to next week when the floor's mine!!!
Oh and I'm moving again this weekend!
LOL to the room next door that's bigger and a bit more expensive but it's worth it!
I'll be able to move around my room a bit more, I'll have more space for my stuff and work a bit easier on GB9 and PokerStars stuff....

See you all soon!!!

Love ya all!

GB9 Event 4

2009-07-20T00:46:00.002+01:00

Just got home after the tournament... Got dropped by Stephen Folan and his dad.. Thanks again!!
Had a curry with Jayson, Lee and Mel...
Really needed food...
Working at 9 AM so got about 6 1/2 hours sleep...

Update maybe tomorrow after I've sorted finances and stuff out...

XXX

Day 4 in London...

2009-07-09T19:59:00.002+01:00

Still struggling to fall asleep at night! It's doing my head in!
Need to get my pattern normal soon because I'll be starting work on Monday 9 AM...

Been walking around in the area and keep taking a different street to explore.. So many things to discover but the problem is that I'll never remember where what is lol...
Do know that I like city life...
Just need to start meeting people and start work...

Craig says we're playing pool next week Tuesday and Thursday... Let's see if he manages to keep to that promise.. LOL... He needs the practice more than me!
Need to find a home club though so I think we're trying out the Mile End Club first...

Almost done with the unpacking.. Still can't find my remote for the digi-box! Got the one for the TV though... Gonna relax a bit and hopefully fall asleep tonight!

Love,

Shir

Day 2 in London...

2009-07-06T17:21:00.002+01:00

Pffff it's sooooo hot!!!
Don't feel like doing any unpacking or stuff...
Didn't fall asleep until 6 this morning.. Always struggle falling asleep in a strange bed... That's why I'm no good at one-night stands lol!

OK so I moved yesterday... Just want to thank Ste again for the driving and the carrying!!! Love ya and you're a great friend!!!
The Farewell weekend in Barnsley consisted of a lot of laughs, fun, dancing, drinking and flirting! Really enjoyed it and will miss you all loads!!!
For the people that couldn't make it or just couldn't be bothered.... Your loss! LOL (Still love you all though)
I'll be back for a visit and a few drinks soon!

Got into the flat yesterday, met 2 out of the 3 flatmates... 3rd one was in his room all day! Watching TV or a movie... Still not seen him now...
There's JB (Jean-Baptiste), french guy as you could have guessed from the name.. He let me in, introduced himself and went into his room... Think he's quite a quiet guy... Got told he works in IT.
Then there's Heather, Student and works part-time.. Travels a lot, she's Canadian. Really nice girl. Asked her a bit about how the flat works and she told me that's they're all quite easy going and all do their own thing...
Cleaner comes every week or close to a week...
Thank god I don't have to clean much then exept when I've cooked or my own room.
Got the internet working ;)
Most important thing off course!
TV itself work but not got the cable to go from the tv point in the wall to the digi-box... Will have to get it tomorrow I think...

After making the bed up and unpacking some of the essentials I decided to go and look for food...
Found a curry house and ordered myseld a nice Lamb Saag.. Mushroom rice and some garlic Naan and my meal was complete! It's was nice so I will definately come back!

It's weird how quiet it is here.. I am so close to so many different big/busy streets and all I can hear at the moment is the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees... Not heard a sirene or a scream all night! I'm liking it here!

Tomorrow registering with the doc and then I'll probably have a walk around town to see what's where...

See you all later!!

Love,

Shir

London

2009-07-06T01:07:00.001+01:00

London, Yes I have arrived!!!

Too tired to type much so will update you all tomorrow!

A new start...

2009-06-06T11:56:00.002+01:00

Hi everyone,

I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog but my life has been thrown upside down in the last few months...

End of March the docs removed 2 tumors out of my uterus that they found... End of April I got the great news that the cancer was gone!!! Woohoo and all the pains I had the months before are gone!

Beginning of April I realised I wasn't happy with my relationship anymore... When I got back from Holland after the op it just hit me hard...
Talked to Lee and we both decided that we as a couple didn't work anymore...
So I'm single again and I'm liking it...

Also decided that I didn't want to live in Barnsley anymore and wanted to move down south...
At first I was looking at Cambridge, nice city, busy, international, not as big as London and Beth was moving there too so I would have someone I knew...
Was applying for jobs and stuff but nothing came of it.

Got a call of Pentasia asking me if I was interested in applying for a job in London, Oxford Circus.. After looking at travel and renting costs in Cambridge I realised it would cost me about £800 per month... And commuting 2 hours in total a day!
Still decided to apply for the job, interview went well and then I made an arse of myself by falling after getting up from the chair....
lol, glass office walls meant everyone could see me!!
After waiting the whole week they made me the verbal offer for the job!!!
Woohooo but they still had to check my CV and references... After waiting another 2 weeks they officially offered me the job last Thursday and I've accepted. Now all I have to do is wait for the offer letter with the details confirmed and the start date.
Starting job on 24 a year, 25 holidays + bank holidays, health insurance + dental care, possible bonus and possibility to work from home if I have to work on a Sunday....
As James would say: Get in there!!!
In a few weeks I'll be: Shirley, Bi-lingual Customer Service Representative for PokerStars.com!!!

Going to London on Tuesday and Wednesday to do some viewings for flatshares and studios in all kind of areas in London... Excited!!! Nervous!!!
Moving in about 4 weeks!
Just need to get the money together so I can pay for the rent and bond because I've got no money due to working part time in Rileys... Earning £45 per week at the moment...
Can't do much saving when you earn that little...

Anybody interested in lending me the money and I'll pay you back in instalments? lol

I promise to start writing a bit more again now I'm in a better place in my life...

Love you all loads!
XXX

EPC 2

2009-04-22T01:08:00.002+01:00

Well done to Imran for reaching the semi finals in the 8 ball event. Another bronze medal.. That's number 4 you've received...
I've got the two you won in 2006 and 2008...
But was really hoping you'd finally win something in a different colour...
Well another chance in the 9 ball guys...
Well done to Tony Southern on his silver medal, and to Karl Read on his bronze medal.

Darren plays Joakim Haugen tomorrow in the 9 ball at 12 local time so 11 UK time...
Imran has a walk over 1st round because he was 3rd last year...
He'll play the winner of Francisco Sanchez and Marcus Chamat at 8PM local time so 7pm our time...

The first round of the wheelchair tournament will take place at 8PM too... 7PM UK time
Roy Kimberley will play Martin Jasenovec
Tony Southern will play Fred Dinsmore again
Matt Duffy will play Tankred Volkmer
and Karl Read will play Kenneth Bendiksen

Good luck guys!

Will be watching again tomorrow on the livestream!!!!