Enumeration

Five has been the number of my recent disappointments. To wit.... 1) I had been expecting to hook up with Dr Manhattan for dinner the other day - but he's become rather obsessive (and unsociable) in his devotion to the gym just lately. And whiny about the cold. Looks like I may be dining alone through most of the winter months. 2) My Pool Partner had been promising to try to slip out for a few quick games last night. We've somehow been missing each other for 6 weeks or so now. We missed each other again last night. 3) The rather pretty English girl I met in a bar last week had assured me she was likely to be back in the same bar at the same time this week. She wasn't. I am surprised at the strength of my regret; I fear I was becoming a little smitten. (My own stupid fault for not getting her phone number last week!) 4) I have been trying to track down The Chairman for a week or more now, hoping to discuss arrangements for Christmas lunch with him (it's probably a bit too late now). He's not easy to contact at the best of times, but I gather that his ex-girlfriend (who is still refusing to move out of his apartment) recently commandeered his mobile phone, swapping it for her old, knackered, almost completely dysfunctional one. Santa needs to come early with a new phone for His Chairmanliness! Luckily, I ran into him in one of the expected haunts last night. Unluckily, he was completely off his face, and we couldn't conduct any useful discussion on co-ordinating our holiday plans. 5) The Weeble has long been promising to help fix me up with his highly recommended and very affordable VPN. He had led me to believe that I needed to introduce him to my computer, so that he could set up the account from the actual IP address that would be operating it. Belatedly he informs me that in fact he could have done it all by e-mail from his own computer. Belatedly he also informs me doesn't after all have a functional credit card at the moment (this was the main reason I needed his - or someone's - help!). He tried to pay the subscription by Paypal, but screwed up his password. So, still no VPN for me. And I had to lug my laptop around with me all evening (I purchased a rather heavy and bulky model, because I never intended to use it outside of my home). Ggrrrrr. So, yes, it's been a pretty shitty couple of days in Froogland. The only slight consolation at the end of a particularly vexing and tiring evening yesterday was that the boss at Amilal has just acquired the new Tom Waits live album (I hope he didn't do that just for me; I don't think so - he's quite a big fan himself). Unfortunately, the bar was so packed (mid-week? What's with that??) that I was unable to enjoy listening to it. I'll have to swing by on a deserted Sunday or Monday, so the two of us can have a proper listen.