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And this is the post where the two stands of narrative are brought back together.

I hope.

It is July 2006, and I had just got off the train from Norwich, and Jools is waiting for me at the end of platform 9. I was the last person ambling down the platform, looking at the wrought iron roof, admiring the workmanship put into the station and its roof.

Jools knew it was me.

We, well, I suppose shook hands and walked to the Underground Station to go to the station nearest the Eye.

Now, I had bought tickets to avoid all the queuing up malarkey, as that was for plebs, but i was told that we just joined the line like everyone else, putting me in a bad mood. But in half an hour we got on, were put in a pd with some others and I took lots of pictures.

At least Jools knew from the start what I was like. I just got worse.

After that we travelled across London to Pimlico, no passport was needed, to visit the Tate. There was a major Constable Exhibition on, where for the first time you could see all his major works and the preparations for each as he got the composition right. What you don't see from the lid of a box of bisuits, is how big the originals are. I mean they were hoooge.

We left the Tate, and went to the pub opposite for a swifter and something to eat.

And then Jools suggested we catch the bus back to Liverpool Street. And a bus in London was something I had only ridden on once before, so, we sat on the top deck looking at London pass us by at eye level rather than go under them on the Tube.

At Liverpool Street we had another pint before Jools put me on the train back to Suffolk, and she went back to get the train back to Kent.

A few weeks later, Jools suggested we meet up somewhere between Lowestoft and Dover; a top secret nuclear bunker in Essex.

So, we did, at Kelvedon Hatch we met in the car park, toured the musem below ground, me pointing out things I knew about: S10 respirator, SLR rifle L1A1. And so on. Afterwards, we drove to Epping Forest for lunch at a carvery and then a walk through the autumnal leaves carpeting the ground.

I went to Kent to visit Dover, see around East Kent, and in October she came to Suffolk to see where I lived.

It was all rather nice I have to say, and would have went pretty well no matter what, but then I lost my job.

So, for a weekend I acted like it was perfectly normal, but in reality I probably had enough money to get me to Christmas. But I wouldn't be at home by then, I would be on the high seas.

I hear about a job. Well, I was asked by an agency I had registered with, if I knew anything about guns. Well, now you come to mention it, I do. So, I was asked to attend an interview, where I was told that I would be talked to for several hours and then be offered a job.

Which is what happened, Kevin Mould had me in for an interview where he talked, 95% of the time, no much made sense, but my background and the answers I gave must have been OK, as I was offered a job.

The job was a geophysical mechanic, looking after sonar gear on survey boats. Only downside was that I would be away from home for weeks on end, and that means something would have to be done about Molly.

Jools said she would look after her, and if things didn't pan out, I could take Molly back to Suffolk.

So, I had to go on a sea survival course near Portsmouth, meaning I could drop Molly off in Dover on the way down.

10th November 2006

Well, I guess I am getting used to the idea of a new job, and being away from home for long periods. I can't believe that something good has actually happened, and if I had not got sacked from the chemical company, I would not have found this job, and I would be as depressed as I ever was; and judging from what I hear, working maybe 18 hours a day! Well, I guess I fell on my feet this time, and I get to travel around the world to boot!

Life will certainly change over the upcoming months, and i guess that is something to be pleased about. Jools is coming up to celebrate with me, and to discuss the future; but at the moment I know little more than I did this morning; in an infinite universe, anything is possible. Including a trip to Japan and maybe later, Peru, and just being happy. Not too much to ask for, is it?

I just wish I could share this joy to everyone I know, 'cos it's a great feeling!

Monday November 13th 2006

Well, firm news on what the job may entail; it seems like I being training in two weeks time; some kind of course. What that means is that I will have to take Miss Molly, my kitty, to stay with Jools this weekend. Up to now it has just been the idea of the job, not what it actually means. Now this means that I have to make real choices, and the reality is really hitting home. Saying that, I am sure she will settle down, and from then on it should all be positive things in our lives, with hopefully time and money to be able to travel. What is clear, is that it is going to be very different from the chemical company, which is not a bad thing.

So, for most of the day, just been enjoying a life of leisure, and watching last nights Steelers game, and then the Giants/Bears game on tape.

Oh, and drinking plenty of coffee made with the egg nog I made over the weekend; man, that is damn good coffee!

Tuesday November 14th 2006

I guess today is the day in which the reality of the whole new job and life kinda hit home. And it is more than a little scary. And although it is the great unknown, and I thought more than once not to do it; I would always be thinking what if...? So, I now have details of the course, or the first course I have to do; a week away in Southampton, learning about the basics of life on ship, which mainly seems to be putting out fires and first aid; well, I am so trained in that already; so no fears there.

My main concern is the cat; my cat, Molly. I know when you weigh up everything, to think of the wellbeing of one small kitty, it should not make much difference. But, I look at it like this; I chose her in the pound, gave her a home, and she is so very happy here, especially when I’m not working; that to uproot her from all this seems cruel. But, if there were an alternative; another job offer, better prospects around here, then it would be a no brainer. But, Lowestoft is a dying town, of the three big employers left; one is closing down for good by next March, another, Birds Eye has been taken over, and there are dark rumours about it's future, and the last makes accommodation modules for gas rigs, an industry which is shrinking as the supplies in the north sea run out. Where does that leave the rest of us? Working in shops?

Although it is a job I have done before, and like; the average wage for a shop assistant is around £6 an hour; the average house price around here is well into six figures; hell, even my little terraced house would fetch £100,000, and my wage at the chemical place would not get a mortgage for half that. What chance does anyone have of getting on the housing ladder? Or even being able to survive?

What it comes down to is a choice without a choice. Take the job, or face an unknown period of unemployment, and no way to pay the mortgage or the bills, and losing the house, maybe moving back with Mother; or even worse.

So, I take Molly down to Jools's on Saturday, and stay there for a few days until she hopefully settles in, and then onto the course. From then on, I guess I will be spending most of my time either at work or at Jools's, which means less and less time at home; and it will feel strange. I guess I had gotten used to my little house, with my kitty, and as i said before, my travelling day were long gone; as George says 'Shows what I know!'

I guess the future is unknown, and we go forward with at least our eyes open, and embrace the chances it gives us. I was just not prepared for so many big changes so soon.

Thursday November 16th 2006

As time draws near for my life to change, my thoughts have turned to those who for some reason I have written to over the years, and they have drifted away. I am sure I have done this to other people, but not to those i thought I had made a connection with.

I went online in March 2001, and first of all registered with E-Pals.com, and made several friends around the world; in fact a couple of them i still write to now. But most, drifted away. One, the first was someone living in upstate New York, in the Adirondacks, and for a few months, we wrote, and then, nothing. She would not be the last.

Kate lived in the Carolinas, and we even met when she came over; all seemed fine. Now, I know there are reasons for her not writing now; she met a sailor some years her junior, and they married within a couple of weeks, so she does have a new life in Norfolk.

In the past year, I made friends, or thought I did, with people from Prince Edward Island, the Deep South as well as from England and Holland. Most of them would write several times a week; they had all gone through messy separations, and wanted someone to talk to. But, it seems when their lives got back on track, the needed online friends no more, and just stopped. I find it hard to accept that people would just use someone else just as an emotional crutch, and at times it has hurt, when in my mind I did nothing wrong.

Maybe it was me? I have led a fairly dull life these few years; well, with the exception of waiting to go to Iraq, and the trip last year across the States, and this adventure in the post-military world.

This in no way is a reflection on those I still write to; but even some of those, from Denver, France just write occasionally, and the gaps are getting longer. Maybe it's the fact that my life is moving on; I have a long term partner now, hopefully have a great job. I know that one has her own problems, with an unemployed husband and difficult home life. And another has had a life I thought only existed in fiction, drunken, drug addicted husband, drug addicted children, looking after their children whilst their parents got through countless programs. And still she is the most upbeat person I ever talked to.

I guess the net gives us an insight into others’ lives, and that is something we would never have gotten anywhere else. After September 11, the survivors stories swept around the web, with friends of friends stories being forwarded on, and for those thousands of miles away, being able to get a grasp on how big it was. I mean, I saw the pictures on TV, but it still looks like a movie. But it those words I will always remember.

I can't promise how good an internet friend I will be from this point on; I have thought seriously about cancelling my account, as I thought I did not need to go online any more. Well, I think too much of my friends, and their lives; and i could not stop wondering if her husband found a job, or another did leave her husband and meet up with her on line best friend and make the move; or any of the other stories and the people behind them.

Thanks to all those I have written to, and to those I still do. Having met a few of my online friends; I know that they are more than e mail addys and buddies, and that there are real lives behind them, and to be without them my life would be far duller. To those that stopped writing, just to know why would be nice, even if I was told, like I was, that I was opinionated and had a closed mind, and no wonder I did not keep my friends; maybe she was right?

I wish nobody ill, and I hope that those I have lost contact with, or have moved on, that they found the happiness they were looking for. To those with whom i still write; I will try to be as good a friend as time allows, and hopefully we can move to the future still as friends. It's an infinite universe out there, with limitless possibilities, and as long as you can stand my bad spelling and grammar, we'll do fine.