Rayvin

Shocking as it may seem, I just didn't become invested in the characters

Really? Just because they lost to PSG?

I like that you've had to put "I haven't checked" there in order to ensure you can get the joke in without any biteback

I never watched Breaking Bad Couldn't get into it.

WTF is that from

Aye, it's what he'd want.

RIP.

Everton must expect they'll get there and I can see Wham being delusional enough for that too. But Leicester? That freak league win has gone to their heads, clearly

Fuck. That. I understand the top 6 going for it but why on earth are there 3 smaller clubs also agreeing? I bet we're one of them...

At least the racial stereotyping is accurate this time.

I'd be careful with that, it's not beyond Ashley to bring Pardew back here if Rafa walks out...

Will Boeing care?

FFS. That's exactly the sort of thing that appeals to my 'idealised self' as well. The untarnished, unblemished truth of my own inadequacy. Acceptable as long as I retain the motivation to overcome it. Thanks, this has been illuminating

That reads almost like dramatic fiction, but I get what you're saying. It's definitely a new angle to consider in all of this, I'll try to think it through. I have absolutely no concept of how I would harness such a thing though, I seem to be in a perpetual state of conflict with the thing. My fears vs my idealised self.

This makes a lot of sense although I'm wary of losing the 'shadow' as honestly, it seems absolutely fundamental to my identity. Did you have a similar issue (apologies for prying)?

I know what you're driving at here - in fact I think you and Parky are saying similar things. I'm not going to divulge huge amounts of all of this as I've already whinged on quite a bit, but for instance, I have a BA and an MBA, and spent a year living in one of the biggest cities in the world. I should be confident enough, and sure enough of myself in terms of adaptability and prowess, to be able to get a job outside of Newcastle in a fairly big city. I never imagined after all of that, that I would still be here. I love the city, but I need to test myself outside of it. It's too comfortable. I have started side businesses in the past, but lose interest even when they become reasonably successful, because to commit to them would mean taking the risk of leaving work. I'm too fucking afraid of the consequences of everything going wrong - or, I guess, of finding out that the grass is in fact not greener. Not entirely unlike Fish for the former. I use video games and the internet to escape from an ever present sense that I could be more productive, that I could be spending the time more wisely, that I could be achieving something. Then I just think, well, I'll do it tomorrow. Or soon. And I never do. So I need to be a better person. I'm not sure I could handle waking up one morning and just accepting that who I am now, is ok. It's not ok.

Interesting... can you expand on that? Why would I have cobbled together an idealised me?

It does demonstrate how vulnerable we are, though. We're an absolute non-entity of a country outside of the EU.

You'd think a brief spell in League One is as far as it would go though. A club with a 45k seater stadium in League One for more than 2 seasons at most has to be basically unheard of, surely?

True, but that's the consequence of all of this. We would just need them to sort that out reasonably quietly.

Yeah but they do care about the political project. Our departure is a political failure for the EU, as much as it's a bigger one for the UK. If we turned tail and returned, they would likely see that as a political success, and hopefully as a deterrent to other members states who might think the same way. "The UK tried it but realised it would be a disaster, so came back". It would be quite an endorsement of the project, actually.

The last time I offered a movie recommendation to someone it was well received, so I'll offer the same suggestion now - Snatch. Interpret that as the film or something else entirely, but whichever way you go it should be enjoyable.

Can't argue with that logic given what you've said.