All That Stress And I'm AF

L caught me a bit unawares this morning, and interrupted my train of thought. Of course, it was a very satisfying and very welcome but it was a surprise none the less because for the last week or so she's been getting up before I've had chance to surprise her.

As for interrupting my train of thought, it wasn't really much of an interruption. I had woken up half an hour or so earlier with my mind full of video cameras, PDA's (e.g. palmtop personal digital assistants), and office misdemeanours. Perhaps she'd been having the same dream, as it was L who that brought up the subject last night, when she tried to out gossip my blog.

She was telling me about someone who had rumbled a male work colleague who was working his way around the women in their office. The person even has video evidence of his conquests, which she lifted off his PDA. One of the women he's been stuffing (that's L's terminology not mine) is to be bridesmaid to the woman who discovered the video next month. If she turns the evidence into her boss, as she intends to, it could really spice up the wedding, as both the involved parties are married.

L's a treasure and for more than just surprise sex sessions and some cracking gossip. She saw some denture cleaning tablets in the shops today and thought of me. That is she thought of my water bottles that need cleaning and sterilising. My teeth are still my own, at the moment. Unfortunately I had the same thought, at more or less the same time. So we now have a plentiful supply, I hope they work or guess what our elderly neighbours will be getting for Christmas. It's also worrying that, when I was buying them, I didn’t get any strange looks at all.

I'm at the match tonight, so L's stuck with the job of entertaining Doggo. Not that he'll necessarily want to go out because it's raining. Even so the dog versus gym dilemma is doing her head in. She's been saying that she wants someone to write her a training plan; so I give her a very simple one for tonight and tell her to go to the gym. That is if Nottingham's new underwater gym is open and not to worry Doggo. He’ll be fine.

'Yes boss' is all she says in reply.

Yes boss? Makes you want to get the video camera out and save it your PDA. Doesn't it.

So to the match. I'm hoping for a dull game, a 0-0 bore draw would do nicely. For once Billy names an unchanged team. 4-4-2 again.

After only two minutes Darren Moore is our hero as he heads us into the lead. Wa-hey we're on our way to Wembley. A minute later Moore turns villain and heads across goal to our goalkeeper, who is out of his area and can only head the ball to Jhon Viafara (yes it really is spelt Jhon) who smacks it back past him and into the net. Sit down it's not over yet.

There's a chap who sits near us who's already been banned for three years from football for aggressive behaviour, although his solicitor had it overturned on appeal. Today we find out why. He turns on a Southampton supporter who's managed to get a seat behind us. He has a point, away supporters should be in the away end or they should keep quiet but he could have made his point a little more tactfully.
After the initial excitement it stays at 1-1 all the way to half time. Then poor defending just after the break enables Viafara to put the Saints into the lead on the night.

Giles 'out for the season' Barnes makes a surprise appearance from the bench and seems to connect with a Derby corner and suddenly the ball is in the back of the Southampton net. Seems Barnes hasn’t touched it but Leon Best has and he's put it in to his own net but hey they all count. Rams now ahead 4-3 on aggregate.

I’ve been having nightmares all week that ex-Derby striker Grzegorz Rasiak is going to come back to haunt us and he duly does just that. He scores the goal a minute from time that takes the game into extra time. You get the feeling that if Rasiak had played the whole game, or even the first leg, they would have won.

Bugger, extra time is going to reduce my time in the pub and just when I need a stiff drink too. Can't we just flip a coin and save all this stress. Back home the dog has he paws crossed, I tell L to get him to cross his ears too.

In extra time, Derby look like the only team capable of winning it but the ball just won't go in. So we arrive at the dreaded penalty shoot out.

Leon Best caps a miserable night for him as he puts Southampton's first penalty well wide. Derby despatch four cracking penalties, almost German in their execution. Jones, Howard, Barnes, and amazingly McEverley. Three of those lads under 21. England take note, Billy’s had them practicing penalties all week.

Southampton convert their next three including the inevitable one from Rasiak. Up steps Idiakez, former Derby favourite, former Derby penalty taker, to take their last penalty. As he strides up he looks so casual but he always looks casual, and hits it over the bar, way too casual. Cue bedlam. Wembley here we come. I’ll be out on the street corners tomorrow trying to raise the small fortune that they want for a ticket.

Leave the match and its 10.45, so we don't even get time to hit the pub. All that stress and I'm AF.

Home to a very depressed L. Seems that Daughter ruined her gym session by turning up for a swim, which in itself is no bad thing. Daughter hasn't swum for ages and she needs the exercise. But then Daughter misheard L's instruction to wait in the coffee room for her while she did a quick gym session, and thought L had deserted her, as improbable as that might seemed. Panic ensued from Daughter. So L's still not a happy gym bunny; in fact she's not getting to be a gym anything at the moment.