United Kingdom

it's 24th april. a little under 2 months before we go.

tonight united are at home to milan in the first leg of the european champions league semi final. it's a huge game. winning doesn't only mean we will be in the final, it will mean we will face either liverpool or chelsea in it!

milan stand in the way. united have neville, ferdinand and vidic missing. not to mention saha, silvestre, park and possibly evra. still with ronaldo, rooney, giggs, scholes, carrick and solskjaer, we have the players to beat any team.

it is going to be an incredible month for football. united could win the treble - again! i was lucky enough to be there in 1999. could we really do it again?

one thing is for sure. united cannot throw the league away. there are only 4 games left - everton (a), city (a), chelsea (a) and west ham (h). if we win 3 of these games we have won the league? can our depleted squad cope with 2 games a week? they looked shattered against 'boro on saturday. the atmosphere tonight should carry them a long way. old trafford on big european nights is a magical place -a theatre of dreams.

come on united!

other news - i have an exam on thursday and i've had the day off to study. i should pass as i also have tomorrow off to study and sit a past paper.

i'm going out with scott and marty to watch the game tonight in a pub called the universal. i would recommend it to anyone visiting glasgow.

i only have 20 days left of work!

i really can't wait for lynn and i to get away and leave reality behind. a year out! a year of living! a year of experiencing new sights, sounds, smells. a year of meeting new friends, visiting new towns, cities and countries. it is almost time - june 18th.....the countdown continues

well it's all systems go.

since booking our flights two weeks ago we've been getting down to the nitty gritty of getting innoculations, sorting out who will be renting our flat and today i informed my manager that i will be leaving at the end of may.

it went really well and it is a weight off my mind.

it is looking likely that one of my sisters best friends will be renting our flat along with one of her friends. that would be ideal as i have known deborah for years and completely trust her.

we need to paint our back room, get a new washing machine and declutter the flat. mainly my junk as lynn is really tidy. apart from owning shoes that she never wears and collecting bags that you get free from magazines.

i have hampden park seats, manchester united signed shirts, programs, magazines, thousands of records and cd's, trainers....you name it

my mumwill have fit when i drop them all off at her house for storage! well some of it will be going to a car boot sale and some of it will go to charity shops and recycling.

well it is march 5th and just over 3 months to go. i'll be in touch.

well it's january. it's rainy, it's windy. it's pretty god damn miserable. i got
soaked on the way to work and it took until lunchtime for my trousers to dry. a
12 inch subway melt has cheered me up. and the thought of a few pints after
work at one of my favourite pubs in glasgow - mcphabbs.

still, this time next year i could be in argentina/peru if all goes to plan!

my girlfriend lynn and i are going travelling in june. we intend to start in asia for
a few months, then head over to australia and new zealand for a few months,
where we have friend and family. before months in south america.

will i get discovered playing football on the beach in rio? who knows.

the next couple of months involve a lot of planning and budgeting. i'll keep the
diary up to date as i go.

first on the list is sorting out our flat for someone to rent while we are away!

murray