james o'brien

It’s not often I turn down a drinks invitation. And it’s not often I miss a drinks invitation, but I did both tonight.

Normally on a Wednesday night, I’d head off to the pub with John, Graeme and miscellaneous others (depending on who is around that week) for a bite to eat, a chat, and a beer or two.

The pub we go to is a fairly sleepy suburban pub where there’s usually only a handful of customers on a Wednesday night, and usually only one barman working.

But tonight, I didn’t feel like going to the pub. I NEEDED another night at home listening to nothing, as I did last night.

At the moment at work I find I’m talking and listening a lot. I’m doing a fair bit of training as part of my job. And you know what it’s like… after a while you get sick of the sound of your own voice… and you feel like you just need to shut up?

Well, that’s how I felt tonight. I just wanted/needed a quiet night at home without the television, without the radio. I’ve been listening to a fair bit of music, though, and watching/downloading some clips from Youtube, especially those from Kristina The Musical.

It’s such a great musical about a group of Swedish immigrants who move to America in the 19th century at about the time of the gold rushes. And as I watched Peter Jöback sing “Guldet blev till sand” (the gold turned into sand), where he has to tell the lead character about the death of her brother, a little tear rolled down my cheek…

Don’t worry… this clip comes with Swedish subtitles.

So even though I didn’t get to see my mates tonight, I’m happy with the evening as a moment of peace and quiet which I kinda feel I need at the moment.

In rather disturbing news, however, I missed a further drinks invitation from a bloke via Twitter who I met earlier today, and who will be at the same conference I’m at in Copenhagen in a few weeks time.

But perhaps it’s best that I missed a drinks invitation that says “come and play”…. ? :) :) It would have been fun, though…