Xbox One Begins A New Life

As of today, I am officially no longer an ASDA employee as the seven day 'mind changing' period has expired and even though it may sound stupid with me now being unemployed, I am actually glad of the fact as since I left, my mood has vastly improved and has allowed me to begin a new chapter in my life.

My first day away from ASDA saw me have a good sort out of my room as until I get a new job it will be my main living space so it felt only right to make it more comfortable to be in and more organised, I also began catching up on things that I had in plans for the year but forgot about or had not time for.

I renewed my Wigan RL membership so I am good to go for 2014 when I increase my coverage for Skem News and open up a new service of previews and round-ups.Thursday night saw me go to the Prince William to meet the girl I had met online and despite being nervous given failures in the past, it went very well as we got on great and Suzanne was a ray of sunshine to what had been a bad week and I am glad for a change that a first meet up had gone so well so just have to wait and see what the future holds.

The main reason that I am writing today rather then the usual Monday is because Washington only played last night but to be fair I could have written any time as the result was obvious given the gulf of skill between them and opponents San Francisco as they lost 27-6 to go to a poor 3-8. Liverpool drew 3-3 with Everton in the Merseyside derby on Saturday but I did see one win for my teams as Skem beat Kings Lynn 3-0 at home , a game which I attended and kept up my record of never seeing them lose when I have been a spectator.

The main news for the weekend was the arrival of the Xbox One which is an amazing machine that to be honest has dominated the weekend, one feature that has really benefited me is the ability to watch TV while playing a game allowing me to keep up with my TV schedule while also getting in a lot of game time this was proven last night as I watched the NFL while excelling on Dead Rising 3.

Despite only playing four games so far, I have unlocked 45 achievements for a total of 540G which has pushed my achievement streak to 171 in 39 days but this has seen the Xbox 360 take a backseat with limited play across the week but in time I will hopefully find a balance for the two systems.

Usually at this point I would preview the upcoming week but presently there are no major plans with Skem away at the weekend meaning chances of a third visit in as many weeks not possible and with Suzanne away on holiday this week, a second meeting would feature in a future post rather than the next one so for now it’s just a case of job searching, gaming and enjoying some writing and designing.

The Future Begins Now

This past week has been a mixed one with the ASDA issue being a main focus but aside from that one plus is that my achievement streak is still intact and currently sits at 123 unlocks in 32 days and with the launch of the long-awaited Xbox One on Friday, the streak should continue for a long time.

My fitness has continued steadily but with no work from today it means that I have more time to exercise outside of work and maybe do more than I did in work so the chance of closing in on my weight goal is more of a possibility.

Due to the international break there was no Liverpool action and as it was my weekend off, I took the chance to go to my first Skem home game of the season and what a great choice it was as they returned to the top of the NPL with a 7-3 victory sadly my NFL side Washington fell to a 16-24 defeat to divisional rivals Philadelphia despite a late fight back from 0-24 and now sit bottom of the division on 3-7 meaning a repeat of last years run to the playoffs needs a miracle with all remaining games being against teams with better records but hope is always there.

So aside from having some freedom and he Xbox One launch another thing which is taking place this week and will be mentioned in next week's post is that I am meeting the girl who contacted me online last week so it will be nice to meet someone new even if it is just a first introduction.

End Of Days At ASDA

This week the blog comes on Wednesday and in two parts as the delay has allowed me to finally confirm after a long two-year process that I am no longer an ASDA colleague after handing in my resignation yesterday afternoon after being given two choices - Resign or be Sacked. 

Many people who have supported me over the years suggested to take the sacking but something many of them do not know is that from June when the process began to reach a formal stage, I knew my time was limited and began to plan for a possible future resignation.

This was because even though some say a sacking will not matter in the future, on a personal level leaving with a dismissal on my record would make me feel like I was in the wrong and I will admit I wasn't always a strict follower of the rules during my five years, I did the job properly when I could  unlike some of those who are praised for getting done early despite hindering other colleagues.

Since I left yesterday, I have been stunned by the amount of support I have received some from colleagues that I didn't know much and a few who are dangerously close to having the same situation as me and to them I say do whatever it takes to stay in the job if you want to even if it means going against your own honest principles.

I know that if I had gone against who I am as a person, I would be nowhere near the bottom of the performance rankings but I would not be happy even if still at ASDA as that wouldn't be true to who I am and though it has meant I am now unemployed, I feel happy as I have no more pressure and stress weighing on me with having planned well for this eventuality.

Hopefully, I can go onto something better that makes my life change for the better as I know during the bad times at ASDA, I have projected feelings that I shouldn't which has seen friendships and relationships end which cannot be brought back but can serve as lessons for the future.

In closing this chapter, I want to say thanks to all those who have supported me during my stressful process and I hope that I can keep in touch with as many as I can as I have made some good friends in the past year including some people who began as enemies but who now I am proud to have as friends.

Culture,Work and Sport

November started with worries about my working future only to have the proposed meeting cancelled until the following Wednesday but when the day came round, it was a mixed review which saw me close to the exit door but with a 'stay of execution' until what will be the 19th so next weeks post will focus mainly on that situation whether I remain at ASDA or leave of my own wishes.

My achievement streak has continued and currently sits at 24 days since its origin on the 19th of last month with a total of 100 achievements totalling 1250G. As for this month, I have unlocked 28 achievements for a total of 415G and with the launch of Xbox One only 10 days away that total should rocket before the end of the month.

Last Saturday, I treated my mum to a visit to see Blood Brothers after she told me she had never seen it before and even though it was my second attendance in three years, the story was just as good and the cast were amazing so good in fact that most of the audience were in tears at the end of such an emotional play.

As this post spans two weekends, the sport was a bit mixed as last weekend Skem beat Stafford and Washington sealed an Overtime win over San Diego but there was a negative in the fact that Liverpool lost to Arsenal on Saturday evening. This weekend, the results went the other way as Skem continued their poor away from with a 4-3 loss at Frickley and Washington blew a lead against Minnesota to lose 27-34 which with other results meant they now sit joint bottom of the NFC East at 3-6, the same record that the had in 2012 before ending on 10-6 and reaching the playoffs.

Liverpool bounced back in style with a 4-1 win over Fulham to cap off an interesting week for results which saw another accumulator fall by the wayside with Chelsea and City being the surprise failures.

Lastly as the week came to a close, I did have the chance to smile as I finally received a message on POF for the first time since I returned in June and it was from a lovely woman from not too far away so hopefully something good will blossom in the future.

Ten Down Two To Go

October has continued my good year of fitness by setting a new low in weight at 91.0kg which is brilliant considering I was at 96kg back in June.

Runkeeper was close to a record with a haul of 110.3mi band Nike+ finished the month on 143,617 was within 1000 of the current best total of 144,733.

Nike+ also hit a new best day on the 12th of 7583 which continues a tradition of broken records on the Fuelband this year.


The XBOX achievement chase has stepped up with a record breaking X360 Weekender which totalled 54 achievements for 665G over three days and meant a final monthly total of  101 unlocks for 1671 TA and 1230G.

My work progress saw a slight improvement over the month but with my next review arranged for Nov 1st, it means my progress will continue into November. Sports-wise, Skelmersdale have had a great October which sees them top of the NPL by four points and Liverpool are in a similar situation sitting second in the Premier League behind Arsenal,  Washington are currently 2-5 having been 1-3 at the start of the month but a solitary win over Chicago of 45-41 was the only success with losses to Denver and divisional rivals Dallas the main negatives.

Wigan sealed an amazing Grand Final win over Warrington despite being 2-16 down they came back to win 30-16 and complete a League and Cup double, the perfect way to end the 2013 season and I am delighted to have seen Wigan win all three domestic trophies live at the games which is a piece of history I will always remember.

One major goal which was completed was the writing of my 5000th tweet which came on the 30th and was marked with a dedication to all of my followers.

Overall a pretty good month on all fronts and November should be just as good with the launch of Xbox One on the 22nd and an array of games that come with the launch will surely mean a massive boost of unlocks and hopefully a better performance review in work.