M - cormac u say u sell parts for the love of the sport and to help people yet u mention small profits for yourself if u want to help people y do u not just cover your costs so you are not losing money many people along with myself are really struggling this year to even get racing never mind any extra costs

C - business will always be business Michael, im not just going to sell stuff to cover my costs, although i try to sell stuff as cheaply as possible to make it easier for the likes of yourself

and anyway I dont see you saying what you just said to me to the likes of Rapid Racing and Contrast UK

M - but the difference is rapid and redline is a lot cheaper and you know that. yes it is a great help to all of us if somebody breaks something trackside and u are there to keep them racing that day rather than going home but as you are saying rapid and redline are making profits aswel but they can still be a lot cheaper. i have a vat number an i have accessed the dealers pricese an i know whats being made an its more than a little

C - emm Michael the prices on Rapids website are all excluding VAT. It shows the price inc. VAT in small writing beside it.

All our prices include VAT

look some stuff I sell might not be as cheap as Rapid Racing or Contrast but I know for a fact that some stuff ARE cheaper! Also dont forget that 1. I have to pay a LOT more postage than Rapid Racing would to get stuff in and 2. Who the hell was the first to help you and give you free second hand tyres up in craigavon!

If your not happy with our prices then I cant help that, all I can do is assure you that im trying to make as little profit as possible

M - i know that you have to admit i can buy what you are selling cheaper direct myself rather than going threw urselfs you know that extra £1 or £2 you charge for your profit adds up everytime and that is the difference between somebody going over their budget are not an having to drop out of the sport

C - then go somewhere else

oh and have you by any chance thought of asking us if we would sell you stuff without VAT if you supplied your VAT number

also for example im dropping the price of GRP tyres down to 35Euro which is 1Euro less than the R.R.P.

M - i appreciate all the help you have gave me and your dad has tought me a lot i am not trying to be ignorant to you but i do not want to see people getting put off by price as is happening weekly here i am at track every saturday with most committee members testing and helping at track and people comijng talking about joining here the price and run

C - I dont expect everyone to jump up and down and buy stuff off me. Im offering this to help members and to maybe offer a better (as well as possibly) cheaper service when racing...Look read my blog and you will see where I am coming from.

also remember not a lot of people have VAT numbers

also it would nice to be able to turn around to a potential new member when they ask 'well how can i get spares like servos and stuff?' and you can answer 'well we have a group of lads called Team Maximum Service Racing that come up racing and they sell servos and other products, but you can also get them online from rapid racing etc...'

and also I doubt you appreciate any help we have given you considering 1. you called me a pretty harsh name on CMCC when the price increase happened with the GRP tyres and 2. you sent a good few emails to GRP complaining about me! which they completely ignored btw

as i said, if you choose not to buy off me then thats ok, theres nothing i can do about that. My prices are what they are, all I can say is that im making them as cheap as possible...Either way it wont stop me enjoying the racing and having fun

M - this year is goin to be hard for everybody even you im sure as it is not easy to maintain never mind be competitive and one crash completly upsets your whole budget which you will get a few times a season and i am very passionate about this sport as well as u are and i do not want to see people spending more that they should be please think of this before you add ur profit on i dont want to see members leaving due to prices im sure you can equal others are maybe compete with them

C - I am cheaper than Rapid on a couple of items, plus cheaper than Hobbythek on other items so I am not expensive...do you think im making a huge profit from this?!

and dont bloody tell me to 'think about this before i add my profit'.

how clear do i have to be when i say i want to try and make it cheaper for other members!

it costs me 100Euro every time i go up to Craigavon...and I dont even think about that when i 'think about my profit' or work out my prices

M - with the euro rate atm as well as everything else especially fuel costs im sure that is your killer i know you are not making much profits if any at all but that wee bit extra is the decision for some to turn up are not and i know u aswel as others do not want this

C - but they dont have to buy off me...and if your so worried and you have a VAT number why dont you invest over £5000 and sell stuff cheaper in craigavon?!

and stop bloody complainging about my prices

M - so are you really doing this for love of sport are your small profits

for the love of sport

C - i've said it before and i'll say it again, if I had to choose between just being a distributer and just racing I would choose just racing...oh and also if i wanted to make a profit I would go into 1/8th and 1/10th scale

M - well i dont know how i aswel as most are gona get threw this season at prices products are at this year especially with the added brca rounds that everybody wants to be part off

C - well I cant help that myself man.

I know its not easy for people

if numbers drop then numbers drop...but then again numbers got higher last year and we were in a recession then

M - i think thats where all my frustration is coming from and as ive heard from 2 commitee members this season may make the club but there is a big chance it will kill the club as u know people all want to be in the brca rounds which is big money and over peoples budget to do all

C - yes that is true...then why the hell did they make the northern ireland championship 10 rounds?

M - who has a big say on calender and who is closest to track ? does that answer your question as a lot was asked before agm aswel

C - well thats a different matter...either way what happens happens

i know i will be up for at least 8 of the 10 rounds...also with regards to the brca round, why do you think im selling the peugeot bodyshell?

can you get a brand new efra legal bodyshell cheaper?

M - i did get an alfa for £40 but that was in king cobra clearence but cant even get second hand cheap as that couldnt beleave the price when saw it on ur site

Michael is offline.

C - exactly. people are the first to complain when im more expensive but never say wow when im cheaper...but oh well!

Today

00:01

cormac u say u sell parts for the love of the sport and to help people yet u mention small profits for yourself if u want to help people y do u not just cover your costs so you are not losing money many people along with myself are really struggling this year to even get racing never mind any extra costs

00:03

business will always be business Michael, im not just going to sell stuff to cover my costs, although i try to sell stuff as cheaply as possible to make it easier for the likes of yourself

and anyway I dont see you saying what you just said to me to the likes of Rapid Racing and Contrast UK

00:08

but the difference is rapid and redline is a lot cheaper and you know that. yes it is a great help to all of us if somebody breaks something trackside and u are there to keep them racing that day rather than going home but as you are saying rapid and redline are making profits aswel but they can still be a lot cheaper. i have a vat number an i have accessed the dealers pricese an i know whats being made an its more than a little

00:09

emm Michael the prices on Rapids website are all excluding VAT. It shows the price inc. VAT in small writing beside it.

If you are Va

All our prices include VAT

look some stuff I sell might not be as cheap as Rapid Racing or Contrast but I know for a fact that some stuff ARE cheaper! Also dont forget that 1. I have to pay a LOT more postage than Rapid Racing would to get stuff in and 2. Who the hell was the first to help you and give you free second hand tyres up in craigavon!

If your not happy with our prices then I cant help that, all I can do is assure you that im trying to make as little profit as possible

00:13

i know that you have to admit i can buy what you are selling cheaper direct myself rather than going threw urselfs you know that extra £1 or £2 you charge for your profit adds up everytime and that is the difference between somebody going over their budget are not an having to drop out of the sport

00:13

then go somewhere else

oh and have you by any chance thought of asking us if we would sell you stuff without VAT if you supplied your VAT number

also for example im dropping the price of GRP tyres down to 35Euro which is 1Euro less than the R.R.P.

00:22

i appreciate all the help you have gave me and your dad has tought me a lot i am not trying to be ignorant to you but i do not want to see people getting put off by price as is happening weekly here i am at track every saturday with most committee members testing and helping at track and people comijng talking about joining here the price and run

00:23

I dont expect everyone to jump up and down and buy stuff off me. Im offering this to help members and to maybe offer a better (as well as possibly) cheaper service when racing...Look read my blog and you will see where I am coming from.

also remember not a lot of people have VAT numbers

also it would nice to be able to turn around to a potential new member when they ask 'well how can i get spares like servos and stuff?' and you can answer 'well we have a group of lads called Team Maximum Service Racing that come up racing and they sell servos and other products, but you can also get them online from rapid racing etc...'

and also I doubt you appreciate any help we have given you considering 1. you called me a pretty harsh name on CMCC when the price increase happened with the GRP tyres and 2. you sent a good few emails to GRP complaining about me! which they completely ignored btw

as i said, if you choose not to buy off me then thats ok, theres nothing i can do about that. My prices are what they are, all I can say is that im making them as cheap as possible...Either way it wont stop me enjoying the racing and having fun

00:32

this year is goin to be hard for everybody even you im sure as it is not easy to maintain never mind be competitive and one crash completly upsets your whole budget which you will get a few times a season and i am very passionate about this sport as well as u are and i do not want to see people spending more that they should be please think of this before you add ur profit on i dont want to see members leaving due to prices im sure you can equal others are maybe compete with them

00:34

I am cheaper than Rapid on a couple of items, plus cheaper than Hobbythek on other items so I am not expensive...do you think im making a huge profit from this?!

and dont bloody tell me to 'think about this before i add my profit'.

how clear do i have to be when i say i want to try and make it cheaper for other members!

it costs me 100Euro every time i go up to Craigavon...and I dont even think about that when i 'think about my profit' or work out my prices

00:47

with the euro rate atm as well as everything else especially fuel costs im sure that is your killer i know you are not making much profits if any at all but that wee bit extra is the decision for some to turn up are not and i know u aswel as others do not want this

00:48

but they dont have to buy off me...and if your so worried and you have a VAT number why dont you invest over £5000 and sell stuff cheaper in craigavon?!

and stop bloody complainging about my prices

00:54

so are you really doing this for love of sport are your small profits

00:55

for the love of sport

i've said it before and i'll say it again, if I had to choose between just being a distributer and just racing I would choose just racing...oh and also if i wanted to make a profit I would go into 1/8th and 1/10th scale

Mood & thoughts

Hey Hey!

OK so its been a while since I've in any way updated this thing...oh well!

Just wanna write about my current mood and thoughts.

My mood is a mix bag of tricks. I'm really happy at the moment that I'm mad busy with either work or racing. I'm actually finished my racing season now but the preparation starts for next year. I am redoing the website for one thing, along with so many other things to sort out. But I'm happy to be busy and things will hopefully move forward as expected...

But then on the other hand I kind of feel burned out and a bit bleh ya know! OK so its like quarter past 12 in the morning as I write this, so its not helping my mood or thoughts.

The main reason I feel burned out is because I have the most amazing girlfriend in the world that is studying in Budapest...and in the past 3 weeks I feel I haven't been able to find 5mins to talk to her fully, never mind not being able to see her in person. It kills me at the best of times.

Maybe I'm not trying enough, I'm thinking that at the moment!!! But i would do anything to hold her hand, kiss her, hold her, cuddle with her.

Even as I'm writing this I'm thinking "Cormac don't be feeling so fucking sorry for yourself"...and I'm trying not to. I just feel out of touch with the girl I would do ANYTHING for!

And i try to text her telling her I lover her, to try to remind her I'm thinking of her. But i dunno whether its becoming tedious or whether she thinks its not good enough.

I know it makes all the agony and shitiness (oh yeah made up word lol) worth while when I do get to see her cause its the happiest time in the world for me and thinking about it is like a pain killer...

One thing that is also helping is the amazing (yet kind of late hehe) birthday present she gave me. Its just this amazing little book of our history and that she loves me and that reminds me that she is thinking of me =] Hell I have it beside me at the moment and will give it a good read through when I am finished.

I didn't think this would drift so much onto a positive (I guess that's what talking about my girlfriends does to me =])

To end on a high and positive...

I'm really happy to be busy at the moment with work and other little projects.
I miss my amazing, pretty, beautiful girlfriend more than anything in the world!
But I cant wait to see her soon and look forward to spending at least 5mins together with her (and another hour for other 'activities' with her =p)

Love you Pit Bitch <3

Peace Out Peeps (ahahaha)

Metallica A La KittyKat

Missing someone!

I suppose im lucky, in some way, to miss someone so much that you would do anything to be with them! Im lucky that i have a girlfriend that i love so much and that i always look forward to being with.

It just kills when we are not together. And my girlfriend and I generally have to be apart for over a month a time. Im so proud of what she is doing, studying in a different country, studying what she loves, and i know she is going to kick ass in the course. I just wish sometimes i could be over with her all the time or she could be back in Ireland with me all the time.

I know it sounds soppy what im talking about but i think about this a lot. My girlfriend is honestly the best thing thats happened to me. In sso many ways she lights me up. Makes me feel special and loves me for who i am. I dont think i can go wrong and boy am i lucky for that.

I dont think we ever thought a long distance relationship work work fully, and its been hard at times. But for obvious reasons its made is really appreciate the time we have with eachother. I know i fully appreciate every second i get with her...And i wish it could be more. But what brings me down to earth is knowing that it will be worthwhile in the long run.

As i said, i appreciate every second i get with my girlfriend. lying together, talking about random things, to walking around Dublin shopping. I will always in some way remember it.

All of this, and more, i think about all the time! I'll just finish off by saying that I Love my girlfriend so so much. Everything about her is amazing and I cant wait for everything with her...

The soppiest blog in the world lol!

Regards
Cormac

Ignorant, selfish customers!

Hey hey all!

Ok so i work in a shop, serving the good customers of Ashford and beyond lol. Which means out of ten good customers i serve there is 1 prick. 1 complete ignorant, selfish, fuck-faced, wanna shoot in the face customer. Whether its a man or woman you always get them.

I have wayyy too many examples to put on now but i'll put a few up lol.

About a week ago when iw as working the evening shift (from 3pm till 11pm) i happened to come across one of these people. Now i was upstairs when they kind of first gave out but when i came down i got the gist of it. Anyways it was at about 9pm. This lady had come in and had went to the coffee machine. It had not long been cleaned, in which afterwards we turn off. So after kind of realising it wouldnt work had gone up to my 'work collegue' and asked whether the coffee machine was working. He replied that it wasn't and had been turned off for the night. She basically kind of huffed and puffed and kind of said that it should be working. At this point i had come down and knew what she was talking about. I kindly said to her 'oh we have boiling water and tea bags if you'd like a cup of tea'. So she said in a smart-assed tone directed towards my work collegue 'oh id love a cup of tea'. I kind of laughed to myself and went behind the till. Mo work collegue then explained the whole story.

So anyways she got a cup of tea and as she was paying for it (along with petrol) she said to both of up 'without trying to sound smart assed, when i was young restaraunts and petrol stations that stayed open till a certain time kept everything on till they closed'. So i replied 'well it has to be cleaned in enough time to get other jobs done so we leave at the time we get paid till'. She immediately mumbled something walking out the door and said 'oh well i bet you's dont even stay till your supposed to' and she walked out the door.....

WHAT A COW!!!! I got so fucking angry then i threw a marker at the door!
Now what really pissed me off is that 1. In 'her time' petrol stations prob didnt have coffee machines. 2. we get payed till 11pm, in which we close at 10:45 to do the till reports etc..thats it! If we got payed till we left then hell yeah id keep the coffee machine on and clean it after 11pm. And 3. personall, i stay till 11pm nearly every night and if the shop is busy i will keep it open beyond 11:45pm! Fucking whore she was. And it was just her whole tone of voice and the immaturity when she said 'oh id love a cup of tea'.....get a life, bitch!

So my final example of an ignorant customer happened a good few months back, amybe october or so.

Now the way our tills are layed out there is a confectionary stand kind of blocking one of the tills as you walk in the door (to your right) but there is still a counter for people to go to. But some people dont see it (through lack of COP ON!!!). Anyways this man, in about his 50's, walked in and kind of stood against the confectionary stand. He asked could he have a 4euro quick pick for the lotto. So i asked him in a nice tone 'sir could you please come over to the counter here'. He didnt quite here me so i repeated it....In which he moved to the counter and said to me 'are you going to give me the fucking 4euro quick pick or what?' - I swear people those were his exact words!!!. To say i was shocked is an understatement. I said to him 'sorry sir there is no need to speak to me, i only asked you to move to the counter'. He then said 'I only want a 4euro quick pick so give me it'. I said to him 'but there was no need to speak to me like that'...He then said 'oh i can have you shut down, i can have you shut down and you out of a job so are you going to give me the 4euro quick pick?' - he had handed me the fiver at the start. So i said to him proudly 'you know what, here is your fiver and you can leave the shop'....

As it happens he did actually report me and the shop to an post (who deal with the lottery). They did nothing about it and also my manager backed me up and defended me.

So, it just makes me laugh that customers think they can treat people behind the counter like crap, especially when you are friendly to them! 'The customers always right'.....MY BOLLOX THEY ARE!

And its also the little things like you have to hand them there change, into there hand. But yet they can throw the money on the till, not on your hand. They can hand you a not crumpled up and looking like shite! lol

Customers would be the first to complain if you serve them with 'dirty' hands yet some people come into the shop, not only with fucking mucky hands but they go to take money out of there pockets and among the change and notes are....sawdust, dust, screws, general CRAP! ugh, disgusting.......

And then there is the forecourt...ahhh dont get me started lol! So the shop has 4 pumps. Someone gets petrol, fair enough. They then decide to go intot he shop and get a roll, coffee, maybe a paper. Thats grand....Wait, they dont think 'oh wait, i might be int he shop for some time, i'll move my car so there is a free space for someone else to get fuel and i'll let them know inside'. But no, they dont do that!! They leave there car parked at the pump, blocking someone elses chance of getting fuel...What that creates is a 'rippling effect'. A car is blocking a pump, someone else queues behind it, waiting...another queues behind that car waiting....therefor making other people angry and delaying them, all because of someones lack of common sense....

Oh wait, i thought of something worse...People who do 2 things. They either park at the pump and DONT GET FUEL! Or they park INBETWEEN 2 pumps and block BOTH PUMPS!...Fuck me are you complete cunt monkeys?!?!?! And these are the people who would be the first to complain or notice someone else doing it haha.

So people, future customers of shops, future buyers of fuel at petrol stations, please please have some COP ON...COMMON SENSE...SOME IDEA OF WHAT IS AROUND YOU OR WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES! It can make your day easier, someone elses days easier and less time comsuming. Take they attitude: 'Treat others as you would like to be treated'. Then you can complain about other complete wank faced horse fucking, prick headed people =]

Woooo have a nice evening y'all!

Regards
Metallica A La KittyKat!

Music

So this is Blog number 3.

As you can tell by my blog name i in some way like Metallica...well i LOVE Metallica! So this blog is about my love for music and how it came about....

My history of music from an early age is vague and the timeframe is all over the place. All i can remember now are little pieces of the past that involve music.

As far as i know my first taste in music was POP, the good old pop of yester-year. I remember for my 7th birthday getting a tape player and a spice girls tape (yes i know!!!). From then i remember little bits. When we were on holiday (prob about 8-9years old) i would listen to my tape player with an 'All Saints' tape in it. =] some good, innocent times.

After that, and prob a year or so later i remember getting my first taste of GOOD music. This was in the form of Pink Floyd. Whenever I would go somewhere in the car with my dad he would put on Pink Floyds album 'Animals'. At the time i think what i loved about it was the fact it had animal names as songs and some pig sounds as sound affects. But it wasn't long before i was appreciating the amazing guitar work by David Gilmore. Closing my eyes in the car and trying to hear every guitar note from a solo and just being so peaceful.

But my love of Pink Floyd remained in the car with my dad for some time....Outside, when i was in school, i remember getting into a small bit of rap music, nothing too heavy and prob only to try to fit in. I do remember listening religiously to Eminem and Dr. Dre for a period of time. But it didnt last that long.

I think it was at the age of about 11/12 I was at home in my room and my brother put on a CD. On the CD was at least 3 songs i will always remember. They were Radiohead - Paranoid Android. Pearl Jam - Alive. and Metallica - One.

I think those 3 songs were my electric shock into heavy guitar music...From then i remember getting heavily into Korn. Listening to 'Follow The Leader' all the time and then getting the album 'Issues'. But prob my best memory of Korn music was sticking in the CD of there first album, self titled, Korn and hearing the first song! The lead in with the slight drum beat and guitar notes for about 30secs and then Jonathan Davis's vocals of 'ARE YOU READYYY!!' Pure music bliss at the time.

After the electric shock i couldnt get enough of Rock, Metal and generally good Guitar music. My dad introduced me to ACDC via the 'Live At Donington' CD's. He also introduced me to Queen.

Then came METALLICA!...Im not too sure how exactly i got into Metallica but im sure it was from someone at school. But ever since getting into Metallica my music life has been one big heavy metal party.

Bands i got into after Metallica were:

Megadeth
Black Sabbath
Led Zeppelin
Slayer
Foo Fighters
Iron Maiden (not too heavily for some reason)
Pantera
Corrosion of Conformity
...and other bands i really cant remember.

As i said at the start, the timeframe in which my music tastes have grown, i cannot remember.
I do remember hanging out with 'friends' at school and being told about Megadeths album 'Rust in Pieces'. I immediately looked it up and was blown away. Every song is pure thrash metal bliss. The solo's are perfect, the riff's perfect & Dave Mustaines vocals & lyrics just add to the awesomeness.

But for years my music taste really stayed with Metal, Rock and heavy guitar music. I tended to dismiss other genres or types of music. However over the years i have learned to appreciate a lot more genres of music. I have gotten into a lot of 60's Rat Pack style music and love Frank Sinatra's work. Always hit the right note with me.

Classical music also hit me heavily enough. I would say it was through Metallica's live album S & M, in which they played there songs with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. It helped me to realise how similar Heavy Metal music is to Classic music.

Now i have never been able to learn the names of pieces of classical music so i cannot really mention which peices i love. But i know i love fast paced classic music, with fast piano and string instrumental music. So enough about classical music.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But now i wanna talk about Metallica. As i said, im not too sure how i got into Metallica but they have always been my favourite band. The first album i fully listened to was 'The Black Album'. And i loved it. The slow guitar start to Enter Sandman to the beautifully poetic and amazing 'Nothing Else Matters' i listened to that album for a long time. But i craved more Metallica music. And i soon found it in the form of 'Master of Puppets'. That album blew me away at the time. The acoustic start of 'Battery' was brilliant and then it hit the fast paced guitar music of Kirk. The song 'Master of Puppets' has and always will be a classic to every Metallica fan out there. Although not personally my favourite Metallica song there is something about it. And im not even going to describe it, just listen to it!!!!

The next Metallica album i got into was 'Ride the Lightening'. I think this appealed to me more because it was faster paced then any other album and it pushed my buttons. My favourite song on that album has to be 'Fade To Black'. The song is AMAZING! So so beautiful, yet heavy in all the right places....About half way through the song, the heaviness hits! It goes from melodic to pure guitar riff in a heartbeat....And the solo, god!*drools slightly*. One of the most amazing guitar solo's i will ever come across. Its dark, beautiful, fast, melodic and just pure guitar heaven. What more can i say.

The song 'Call of Ktulu' off Ride The Lightening introduced me to instrumental music. The lack of lyrics in the song MAKES you concentrate on the music. And its worth it. Call of Ktulu is just a song of its own.

Soon after Ride the Lightening i discovered 'Kill 'Em All'. Kill 'Em All is Metallicas first album. It was made in 1983. James Hetfields vocals are raw, the production is raw and the music is FAST! There is no real way of describing Kill 'Em All other than saying it is THRASH METAL MUSIC! Its an adrenaline rush of fucking kick ass riffing.

So I am a BIG Metallica fan. What i love about Metallica's music is that in its own right every album has been different. They started off being full on Thrash with Kill 'Em All, progressed to Thrash with more melody and general melodic music. Then Master of Puppets was quite heavy, not so much Thrash but still awesome Heavy Metal Music. And in each album his vocals have kind of changed, whether through production or not.



The first time i saw Metallica Live was 2004, in the RDS. When i got my ticket in the post i fucking JUMPED in the air with excitement. And counted down the days till i went. It also happened to be my first concert, which really added to the anticipation. I wont go into the whole concert but lets just say it was fucking amazing!!!!!!

I have seen Metallica a total of 4 times and will gladely see them again. Each time I see them it is amazing, and you even end up seeing a bunch of people from the last Metallica Concert.

Which brings me onto my next area of talk - Concerts.

Concerts to me are like unique experiences, whether it be the band, the venue, the country i personally enjoy the whole concert experience. I am always willing to go to the venue ealy in the morning and queue. I think, as boring as it can be at times, you talk to so many random people are are really there for the same reason, to see a kick ass band play a kick ass concert! I always get a sense of unity when in the queue for a concert. Personally i dont see the point in drinking and getting shit faced before or during a gig because at the end of the day you have paid 30, 0, 50 or up to 60Euro for the ticket alone to see your favourite band play live and then you are drunk at the concert, miss the band, maybe get kicked out! Come on, what is the point?!

When im at a concert i sometimes stop moshing and moving about and try to focus on the lead guitarist during a solo or a part of a song i love. Im just a fan of musicians playing the music i love live. And it always brings a smile to my face! =]

I used to be kind of afraid of going to a concert on my own due to the whole lack of confidence mixed with nobody to talk to and finding it extra boring. My first concert on my own was Dragonforce. And it was great because i could be my natural self around that setting and i ended up talking to loads of people. And even saw some 'concert buddies' (as i call them) from other concerts. Since then i wouldn't have a problem going to see a band live on my own!

My 3rd favourite band, who i got to see live in March 2008 was Machine Head. I got into Machine Head when i was in 5th year. A friend copied there albums 'Through the Ashes of Empires' and 'Burn My Eyes'. I didnt get that into them too much until I heard they about the album 'The Blackening', which they released in 2008. And damn is it a good album....

I honestly believe that 'The Blackening' is the best metal album since Pantera's 'Vulgar Display of Power'. Everything about the blackening is perfect. The production isnt over the top. Robb Flynn's vocals are just wow!!! And the music is just intence. Some of the dual guitar work between Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel is just out of this world!

So anyway seeing Machine Head live is a particularly memorable concert. I went up on my own and ended up hanging out with some randomers, i think i had met 1 or 2 at another concert. The concert itself was seriously awesome!!!!! They are an amazing band live, very intence and create a very good atmosphere.

So after the concert a friend and me decided to go to fibbers across from the Ambassador (the venue Machine Head were playing) to see what the story was, seen as we heard that Machine Head were heading there after the concert. After about half an hour in there, low and behold in walks Machine Head =] I was blown away. Obviously there were quite a number of people trying to talk to him, vying for attention and congratulating the band on a kick ass performance. But to keep it short i ended up having a quick chat with Robb Flynn, shaking his hand and getting a picture of him. I was bowing down to a master of metal! And it felt good!!!

As i said, its one of the most memorable nights in my life...oh and my friend and i ended up sleeping in a hostel over night =]

I do have other stories of concerts and about my musical interests but i'll leave it for now...And your prob fuckin bored by now lol.

Keep rocking amigo's and have fun!
Cormac
Metallica A La Kittykat

A Little about ME

Ok so Blog number 2.

Im going to in some way try to explain what i am like myself and how i think...

So myself, im a thinker. I always have been a thinker and always will be a thinker. Ever since i can remember i have thought about what i do, my actions and everything to do with my actions. I have always 'analyzed' what i say or do.....

Primary school for me was good memories but lots of bad experiences. Being a naturally happy, upbeat person i tended to enjoy school. Looking back now i remember pretty bad experiences. For some reason one lad in my class decided to not like me and tried to pick on me a lot. But he wasnt exactly 'mr popular' himself. But from then on i kind of had bad experience after bad experience in primary. I remember once in the football field at lunch time being laughed at for not being able to kind of walk properly. Like when you usually walk your left foot angles to the left and your right foot angled to the right. Mine werent like this, not in a really bad way, but the tended to go in the opposite angle. But either way i got laughed at for it. And basically didnt help with confidence.

Another experience was a lad wanted to 'fight' me after school. Obviously didnt want that to happen adn not a 'fighting' kind of guy. Luckily i avoided it and that was it, but it knocked my confidence again....Other than general similar experiences the final blow in primary schoolwas when i was in 5th class somebody put a runour around that i was gay and that i had met (kissed for thos of you who dont understand lol) another lad. That KILLED my confidence and that rumour did not go away. And there was nothing i could do....

So this moved on to secondary school. Now going into secondary school with low confidence prob wasn't a good start but i tried to be optimistic. And secondary school was good at times. But so many CRAP experiences. Being bullied, betrayed by so called friends, laughed at a lot. Generally wasn't happy times. (i know sounds depressing). I would try to make friends, and i had a couple but really from lower years (which people noticed and laughed at me for) but nobody i could really call a proper FRIEND. At first when it kind of got too much i naturally started bullying other people to fit in. Ok i never hit a lad or really went to far but i would join in the laughing and add insults! But after a good while i realised that i was really just being like the people that bullied me so i stopped...It was prob at that point that i started being myself and really learning to be myself and trying to grow. As well as thinking wayyyyy too much lol. But secondary school ended when i left at the end of 5th year. I wanted to leave at the end of 4th year but i was persuaded by my principal and vice p. to stay for another year. It didnt work lol....At the end of summer of 5th year i dreading going back. And at the time i was working and was a year or two into my awesome hobby so i decided it was best for MYSELF to quit school then. My parents were not happy. My mum especially for her own reasons. My dad was more supportive in my decision and understood why i was leaving...

So basically since then i have thought non stop about who i am as a person. I have always been interested in psychology, child psychology and generally how the mind works. And soon after leaving school i decided to do a home study course in child psychology.....For like a year and a half i drifted in and out of studying that. Completing lessons and getting some decent marks. Although in the end i didnt complete it through a lack of motivation and generally who i am as a person.

So that was school and after school....

A big example of why i think too much and how i think too much is girls...oh yes the female form that manage to drive men crazy on both extremes =] Through a lack of self confidence and general shyness ive never been good, confident or lucky with girls. I had my first seriosu gf at 18 so i was kind of a late started (although i do NOT regret that). But a small example is a situation of when i had started meeting a girl from dublin. When i met up with her and i would go to hold her hand i would 'SCREAM in my head' over and over again "god should i hold her hand now. Is it ok to? Am i doing the right thing?". Basically questioning my actions.

And overall im nearly always like that. It drives me crazy sometimes because i wish i could get out of my head and just not question what i do and go with the flow but thats not the case. Luckily over the years between working, going away, and growing as a person i have gotten more confidence, analyzed my actions less and overall given myself more confidence....Hell when it comes to the female form i even hit the jackpot! December 2008 i went to a Trivium concert at the Ambassador. Ive always enjoyed concerts and been kind of naturally happy in those situations. Obviously been 'kitted out' Metal style i felt confident....And it was there that i managed to 'bag' and 'hold' onto the most amazing girl in the world =]
Its a memory i will never forget. In the queue for trivium talking to people, i got talking to a friend of a friend. I had noticed her already and thought she looked pretty cool. But when i got talking to her it was even better. I seemed to click with her and talked through pretty much the whole queue....Fast forward to the support acts playing....Near the front row with her moshing to support bands having some kick ass fun, the best ive had! When Trivium came on it was even better, and not just for the music!...So i picked my time...right when the moshing around us got heavy i edged my hand towards her (thinking about every move) and grabbed it. Thank fuck she responded in a good way! So by now we were holding hands and moshing up and down. I was chuffed with myself to be honest, not really believing it had worked lol. So then soon after a song trivium played we kind of turned to each other (and i still to this day cant 100% remember how it happened lol) but we started kissing =] I was basically in heaven there and then. At a metal concert, kissing the most stunning girl in the world, i couldnt ask for more....Fast forward to after the concert. I had spend about 30mins before hand thinking about how to ask this and building up the confidence!...So i asked her for her number......SCORE she gave me it =] and to me....the rest is history! <3

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But the meaning of this blog now that i have read over it is to in some way show that no matter how much lack of confidence you might have or do have through some positive thinking, growing and kicking yourself in the ass every now and again you can get what you want out of a situation =]

And for me, i ended up with the most amazing girlfriend in the world!

Yours

KittyKat!!!