unfitfinlay

Working in Restaurants doesn't get much better, unfortunately. Some of the stories my Chefs at college used to tell were really quite depressing. Stuff like "My kids grew up without me but they seem to have turned out okay" or talking about an old Pastry tutor who retired and kept hanging about the college, writing recipes, because he had nothing else in his life. The good thing about cooking though is there are more places to work than just restaurants or hotels. If it's something you are interested in then maybe have a look at care homes, schools, hospitals etc? It's still busy but there's a far better work/life balance. On a related note, it looks like I might be done as a Chef. I applied for a KP job in a five star hotel, mainly because of my own insecurity about whether I could cut it at that level but they offered me a job in their canteen instead. After a month of working relatively normal hours, and actually having a proper contract, I don't know if I can ever go back to the way I've been living for the past few years. I can't remember the last time I've been able to definitively say "I'm off that day" or know exactly how much I'm going to be paid at the end of the month. It's fucking great. There's talk about moving me up at some point but I think I'll say no if I'm offered.

I'd be up for this.

It sounds daft but I'd love to read an "insiders" perspective about the first time Jade Goody was in Big Brother. The hate that the media stirred up against her was insane. I remember reading, when it looked like she was getting evicted, that there was a real fear that a mob were going to try and kill her. Next thing you know, everybody was going "Ah we all love Jade really" and suddenly she was a "beloved" celebrity with a "heart of gold". Speaking of Jade, I remember an incredible article about people complaining that Channel 4 cut away from the live feed when she got her fanny out. One guy was quoted along the lines of "I'd have preferred Kate Lawler, obviously, but beggars can't be choosers". Reading through this thread, I forgot how much I've loved Big Brother in the past. I still think about Tim yelling "You are discriminating against people who wear contact lenses!!!" or Victor referring to Nadia as "Hackjaw Jim Duggan". The only celebrity one I can remember is coming very close to voting for Chantelle(?) because it honestly seemed like fucking Barrymore was going to win as part of a redemption story. Fuck that. I didn't watch the series but surely "David is dead" has to be one of the best Big Brother moments of all time?

Supposedly Dixie thought the match would happen. I remember reading, at the time, that she'd set aside the million dollars for the challenge and couldn't understand why WWE hadn't responded to it. Imagine thinking Vince would agree to an inter-promotional match, and risk two of his very top guys being embarrassed, for a million dollars? I can't help but picture Dr Evil trying to blackmail world leaders and them all just pishing themselves at him for only asking for a million. TNA had fucking loads when you think about it. Anyone remember when they announced that they'd signed a former WWE World Champion and it turned out to be Al Snow? I like Al Snow but, come on to fuck, when you have to go "Aaah but he was a *World Tag Team Champion* for about a week so it technically counts" then it's shite. I don't know if I'd call it an "Epic Fail" but I found most of Russo's booking of women, especially in TNA, to be really uncomfortable viewing. The match where Roxxi lost her hair was just creepy as fuck. The storyline was literally that Jim Cornette, a babyface, wanted to humiliate a woman, any woman, so forced the whole roster to compete in a match where the runner up (not the loser) would get shaved bald. Why would anyone want to watch that?

Apparently Kevin Greene stopped wrestling because he was still actively playing in the NFL and teams started putting a "No Wrestling" clause in his contract. Jenna Morasca and Sharmell are the first folk to come to mind. Why the fuck anybody thought that was a good idea, on Pay Per View no less, is mind boggling. You can't even blame them for it being shite, because it was always going to be shite. Does Pacman Jones count? I think he technically wrestled a match, even though he wasn't allowed to actually do anything. As for the good, it's been years since I watched the match but I remember Snooki being surprisingly good in her match at Wrestlemania? Oh and Beulah and Bill Alfonso had a really entertaining match with each other.

Daffney as "The Governor" in TNA was wretched. It was typical TNA, really, hype something that you can't possibly deliver and then, when it dies on it's arse, pretend it was all a "hilarious" joke. The Voodoo Kin Mafia were shite as well, for pretty much the same reason, though at least wrestling fans would've cared if Michaels and HHH had turned up. I'd probably chuck the WWE version of ECW in here as well. It was just a bad idea all round. It wasn't ECW and it wasn't WWE, it was a horribly awkward mix of both. They couldn't really do anything particularly "Extreme", because it was on Sci Fi, so they just kind of pretended. Like Kelly Kelly flat out saying she was going to get "completely naked", because it was ECW, and then walking away after the least erotic strip tease in history, because it was WWE. Or the "Extreme Battle Royal" where "All Weapons Are Legal" and every wrestler just went for the same flimsy baking trays and bins that had been used in comedy hardcore matches for years.