September 15, 2017 | Awake & Dreaming

Well, what a week I have had. 12-13 hour work days from Monday to Thursday and a normal work day today. Tired, exhausted, out of fuel, out of gas, pooped – name all of them, that’s me. I cannot tell you how difficult it is for me to wake up at 6 am and get to the office by 8:30 am especially since I am not a morning person and I have gotten used to evening work hours.

So the last three weeks I have worked in the morning from 8:30 am and yet I only get home by 9 or 10pm because of the crazy way out office/department and team works. I get so pissed off especially since I know that most people who don’t like to extend their shifts, say so and they don’t stay back after 9 hours. Yet here I am, like a fool, because my team members got used to the insane hours plus long breaks. I don’t like that because I want to go home once my 9 hours are up. Make me work in those 9 hours (an hour break in between) but that should be it.

So after 12 plus hours each day for the last 4, today I had decided that I had to leave on time. So I said in advance that I would have to go on time so I came at 9 am and planned to leave by 6pm. A few minutes after 6:20 pm, I was out waiting for an Uber and then marveled at the fact that I was leaving after work and it was still light outside. I had skipped lunch and was very hungry so I went to McDonald’s and had a Junior Maharaja Mac Chicken, French Fries, Coke and a McFlurry. Then I came home and bought some groceries and snacks for the weekend and got to my room and changed into a lungi and now I am relaxing.

I plan to stay home for the next two days and do nothing but listen to music, play some Youtube videos and watch movies. Sleep a while too!

Alexis Sanchez scored a stunning goal as Arsenal came from behind to beat Cologne in a Europa League match delayed for an hour following crowd trouble. Chilean Sanchez, who nearly left the club to join Manchester City on transfer deadline day, picked the ball up outside the area and curled a shot past keeper Timo Horn. The game did not begin until 21:05 BST as thousands of visiting supporters arrived at the ground without tickets and then clashed with stewards inside the Emirates Stadium. When the match did get under way, Cologne took the lead in spectacular fashion as Jhon Cordoba lobbed fellow Colombian David Ospina from 40 yards.

Striker Olivier Giroud planted a header wide of goal from six yards for the much-changed home side, who were booed at the half-time whistle. But substitute Sead Kolasinac equalised with a thumping volley before Sanchez struck, and Hector Bellerin then added the third from close range, as midfielder Jack Wilshere made his first appearance for the club since August 2016. Forward Sanchez scored 30 goals in all competitions for Arsenal last season as they won the FA Cup. But in August, he almost joined former boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City for £60m, but the Gunners pulled out of the deal after failing to find a replacement.

Sanchez made his second start of the season in an impressive showing, capping his performance with a sublime effort in the second half – his first goal of the season against the Bundesliga’s bottom side. He could have scored another two, but struck a free-kick straight at Horn and shanked wide from inside the area. Forgotten man Wilshere, who spent last season on loan at Bournemouth before suffering a broken leg, came on for Alex Iwobi on 68 minutes, and the England international’s clever dummy was instrumental in the lead-up to Bellerin’s goal. Cologne, like Arsenal, finished fifth in their domestic league last season, achieving European football for the first time in 25 years. The Bundesliga club’s return to European competition, though, was one tainted by controversy.

There were indications on Thursday afternoon that problems may occur, with more than 20,000 fans arriving from Germany, despite the visitors receiving an allocation of 2,900 tickets. Videos emerged on social media of the German side’s support briefly bringing parts of central London to a standstill as they threw bottles and let off flares while making their way to the ground. The kick-off was then put back, after which skirmishes between fans and stewards took place, while many had entered the ground into the home end, climbing barriers to get into the away section. A number of Arsenal fans inside texted BBC Football, with one supporter reporting that they felt “intimidated by the horrible, tense atmosphere”, another that they were “ashamed of Arsenal for not seeing the warning signs” and a third describing it as “the worst feeling at football in 40 years of watching”.

It remains to be seen whether Uefa charges are brought against one or both sides. Arsenal face London rivals and Premier League champions Chelsea on Sunday.