Quick Update

Gotta make this quick.

Had a date with Brooke last night. We both had a great time. I predict good things.

Tomorrow is Canada Day. Should be fun. Saturday is Live 8. Haven't had any definitive word from Michelle, but that likely means we're on. Yee-ha!

I promise Part 2 of Amsterdam is coming soon.

Peace.

Amsterdam: Everything I Ever Hoped It Would Be.........Part 1

We left London at about a quarter after seven in the morning. It was early for everyone, and I had gone out the night before. I had only had about 4 or 5 good hours of sleep, so I was a bit under. Not as bad as the friends I went out with, though. They didn't get 2 hours. Poor fools.

All told, the bus ride there took about 12 hours. This includes one 45 minute stop, plus a few 15-30 minute stops. And, of course, the ferry between the UK and France. Waiting to get on the ferry ate up plenty of time, and we were on one of the great big ones that take over an hour. The little Hoverspeed I took last time flew by comparison. The entire ride, the bus was at least 90 degrees, and virtually no ventilation. It got to the point I didn't notice I was sweating anymore due to the omnipresence of damp. Then I would wipe my hand across my brow and the action would splash my neighbor. The whole night while we were actually in Amsterdam, any lull in conversation would be filled with "God DAMN that bus ride sucked!" Really, it was kind of funny. Fortunately, the ride was quite enhanced by some new friends and some old ones I hadn't seen in a while. Most notably was Brooke, whom I will speak more of later.

We got to our hostel around 7. We stayed at the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel. In the lobby, they have a poster that read:

"The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel Amsterdam is the best exercise your body can get in these times of extreme cleanliness. It's a scientific fact that everybody has to get sick once in a while to maintain their natural immune system. Luckily, the Hans Brinker will get you sick in no time!"

Really, it wasn't all that bad. The rooms were OK, although ours had (once again) virtually no ventilation, and the first night was an absolute sauna. Even the next day when it was cold enough outside to want long pants and maybe a t-shirt, the room only dropped about 10 degrees.

After a quick shower, everyone met in the lobby to take the walking tour. One of the BUNAC people, a guy named Rob, walked us to the Red Light district so we would know the way, as that was obviously what I was looking for. On that note, I think I'm going to break narrative style for a time, as I don't have a terribly linear memory of what followed.


THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT

More than just where the hookers can be found, the Red Light District is where the party is. There are clubs and bars and such in other parts of town, but the big party is under the crimson glow.

Amsterdam has more canals in it than Venice (a fact I had forgotten). On either side of the canal is the sidewalk. No cars here. There are plenty of shops, eateries, sex shows coffee shops, etc. the whole way down. And sprinkled throughout are glass doors, most at street level, some just below, with prostitutes standing in them. They were generally just wearing a bikini. I was surprised I didn't see any costumes. The window would be surrounded by a red neon, and behind could be seen a small room with a chair and a bed. The "offices" that were busy had curtains pulled across the window.

It was kind of odd, and I didn't really spend enough (coherent) time there to get used to it. Generally I felt a little guilty staring, not because I shouldn't or it's wrong, but because I wasn't paying for the privilege. By and large the girls, while technically the sexual ideal, weren't really that attractive. I got the vague impression that it would have been like schtupping blow up doll. They rarely made eye contact, didn't look happy, and certainly didn't look enthusiastic. I suppose that's not entirely true, but that was the feeling I remember. The ones who caught my eye were the ones smiling, and that wasn't often.

There were plenty of live sex shows, which a couple of people wanted to go to just to say we had. I wasn't into the idea. Porn is fine, but somehow the though of actually watching two people having sex in front of me turns my stomach, especially people who are taking no pleasure in it. We could only find two, and they cost 30 Euros and 2 Euros. No one wanted to pay 30 Euros, and I convinced them that we didn't want to see anything that only cost 2 Euros. You do get what you pay for, after all.

By the way, 50 Euros cost me 34 Pounds, which is about $70.


THE COFFEE SHOPS

First of all, yes. Of course I did. I mean, that's half the point, right?

After the initial walking tour, we went to the first coffee shop we found. "We" at this point consisted of me, Paul, Dave (whom we met on the ferry- he's not BUNAC, but he was with our tour), and Alex, whom we also met on the tour. I would end up spending the bulk of my time with Dave, and a lot with Alex and Paul. The girls, about 6 or 7 of them, had run off to find something to eat.

We sat down, and a menu was plopped in front of us. Skunk, Super Swazi, Blueberry, Misty, AK-47, the fantastic names danced across the page. At the bottom was Space Cake, Space Chocolate (spiked hot chocolate, we would learn), and the like. We ordered a salad and engaged in the best Public Intoxication I've ever had. Soon the girls returned, and we sat there for another hour or so. I had agreed to play babysitter, as I had some experience in these matters and most of the girls had none.

Keeping track of a half dozen stoned girls in Amsterdam's Red Light District is like hearing cats. Stoned cats. Stoned cats that want to do everything they see, but don't have the capacity to make a decision to actually do it. Dave, Paul, and Alex dropped out and went off somewhere else a number of times. I don't blame them one bit. Don't get me wrong, I was having so much fun I could hardly stand it. Still, like stoned cats.

The evening was ending. It was down us the four guys and Brooke. We were sitting on the steps in front of their War Memorial, which is a huge, erect, um, structure. Spire. Oblong. Not suggestive at all. Pretty cool, too. Across the street was the Royal Palace, flanked by a huge cathedral. More of the utterly epic European architecture I've been talking about. America's buildings are so bland in comparison.

Pssst! Mom! The word "structure" is a link. Click on it!

Brooke was in the other hostel (which I understand was of hellish conditions), so she caught a cab home and we walked. We get back to the hostel, exhausted from a hard day's travel and a hard night's party, at about 3. Full intentions of going straight to bed. Can't wait. We get in the lobby, and wonder where that thumping music is coming from. And where those cement stairs we didn't notice before go. Lo and behold, there is a club in the basement of our hostel. And it is hopping.

Every inch is covered by graffiti. There is a bar at one end, and the main room is about fifty feet long and maybe 25 feet wide. on one side is the seating areas, tables, etc. The opposite wall is mirrored. The bar section is wider than the lounge are, and there appears to be a hallway at the end. I go that way looking for a bathroom, and my friends wander through the club. The hallway, also mirrored, leads to the other end of the club and comes out into the main area. The four of us meet at the intersection, and were very confused for a moment. It had been a long night, remember.

We drank about half a beer, and went to bed. That was Friday.


Part 2 soon. Late now. Sleep is good. I haven't had much of that lately.

hot...

Well, it's summer here. This is a very new development. Last friday it was rainy and crappy on the way to work, same as it has been for two weeks. By the time I got off, it was high summer. The weather has stuck around all weekend, and I spent a good chunk of today walking through Camden Market in shorts and a tank top. Thank GOD!

Being a northerner, I'm not really bothered by shitty weather. But in Idaho, your long hard winter gets rewarded by an awesome summer every time. Here, summer the way I think of it lasts about a month, if that. However, if I do get to go to the Very Exotic Place (which I'm no longer allowed to name in my blog), it will be just starting summer there. And I doubt there will be any lack of it, too. Southern Hemisphere, and all.

Going to call Amber tomorrow. According to Swingers (great movie, go rent it), three days is correct amount of time to wait before calling. And it is traditional in my land to take all behavioral cues from Hollywood, so who am I to disagree?

I really need to get a bike. I might be able to swing it this month, depending on how much Ampsterdam costs me. I think I'd sacrifice a trip somewhere this next month for a bike instead. I need to be active again, and I really don't want to ride the Tube in July. It's already oppressively hot during rush hour, and I have heard stories of people passing out in the cramped space. Everyone wants to get out as soon as possible, so they pack into trains a bit much. More than once I've decided I have the time to let that one go.

I was in Hyde Park the other day, and it just made me want a bike more. I need to be able to cover much more ground if I'm to explore this city properly.

Daniel gets here Wednesday late night, leaves Thursday afternoon. Not much time, but it'll be great to see him.

Speaking, must arrange that.

Ciao

Went out with Jeremy and a grip of his friends last night. Went to a couple of pubs, then to a club called The Garage. Small place, delightfully non-trendy. Really just a big cement room with a bar at one end and a DJ at the other. I understand they have decent bands there sometimes, and the music is usually much more Indie. It was a mix of club music and older rock. Good to dance to, which I did plenty of. When we got there it was practically deserted, which I was assured was very unusal. It picked up later, and we met a table of girls. I honestly don't know if there was someone there one of my crew knew, or if we just sat down. I looked over from something, and everyone was heading that way. It was so loud I couldn't hear any of the conversations (shouting into someone's ear a such a great way to communicate...), so I struck one up with a couple of the birds. Nice girls. One of them, Amber, bought me a beer before we left. That was kind of odd. Not that I didn't dig it, but isn't that supposed to be my line? I got her number, and I'll give her a call after the obligatory 3 days.

For those who don't know, that isn't something I usually do. Talking to strange girls, I mean. I credit at least half of my success to liquid courage (and plenty of it!), but I was still pretty proud of myself.

The Tube stops running at 12:30, so they have something called the Night Bus. It shows up once every half hour, and it takes FOREVER to get you home. But it gets you home, even all the way out here from central London. It was around 4 when we got back.

I hurt like hell today. Haven't been this hung over in a while. It was a beautiful day today, and I've spent the whole thing inside. I was outside briefly to stand in the sun, but that didn't last long. Jeremy went to Camden Market, and I would have gone with but my head still hurt too much. It's 9:00 in evening now, and I'm just starting to feel back up to snuff. I've just been on my bed watching Family Guy all day. Glad I have a window the size of a door to let the breeze in.

My friend Michelle, the one I went out to dinner with? She won Live 8 tickets!!! For those who don't know, Live 8 is the reduex of Live Aid, the benefit concert in the 80s. "We arrree the world, we arrreee the children..." That one. There are a number of them going on across the world, and one is in Hyde Park in London. It will be absolutely huge, and the lineup is incredible. Pink Floyd, Elton John, The Cure, Madonna, Paul McCartney, REM, Snoop Dogg, the list goes on. This one isn't to raise money, it's just to raise awareness. So the only way to get tickets is by a drawing. Michelle has officially invited a friend from Canada, but in the likely occurrence he can't fly to London, she wants to take me. WOOT!

My friend Daniel Haley is going to be here for a night next week. He has been studying in Malta, and he has a 14 hour overnight layover in London. Daniel and I went to UI together, and worked on a number of shows. He's a great actor, and an absolutely fantastic person. I'm really excited to see him.

Next weekend is Amsterdam. For 120 pounds, I get accommodation for 2 nights, travel there and back, and a number of touristy things with the group. Justin figured out how to do it 20-40 pounds more cheaply, but I want to go on the BUNAC one so a bunch of friends will be there.

I think that brings it up to speed. I'm glad things are picking up a little again. I feel like I'm wasting my time because I'm not doing something totally amazing every single day. But I'm having fun, and things keep happening regardless. I'm really glad I'm here for six months, not just the summer like a bunch of my friends. Time is going fast enough, and I don't want to feel rushed.

Hey, anyone out there who hasn't dropped a comment on to the page, I'd love to know you're reading. Click on the little blue text just below that says "Add a comment."

Peace, y'all!

HELP SAVE PBS AND NPR!!!!

Awake! Awake! Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!

Congress wants to cut all funding to PBS and NPR. You can help stop this dumbing-down of America by signing the MoveOn.org petition at http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/.

It is debateable how much effect online petitions actually have, but it can't hurt!

Party Time

For those of you who saw the short-lived post that was supposed to have a picture with it: I have no idea why Blogger isn't posting my pictures. I promise as soon as I figure it out, there will be picture goodness all over the place.

I'm going out on the town with my roommate Jeremy tonight. There might be a party, but if not we'll just go hit the pubs. I hope he can introduce me to more Britons, specifically of the female persuation.

One of my co-workers is has been burning DVDs for me. I have three seasons of Family Guy now, as well as Star Wars Episodes 2 & 3 and The Incredibles. Yay, free movies!!!

I took a yoga class through the ISH yesterday. Taught by a funny little Oriental woman (funny ha-ha, not funny whoa-look-at-that). It was a lot different from the yoga I did in college, but it was good times. It will be every Monday and Thursday, at 3 pounds a lesson. Totally worth it.

Going to use the rest of my lunch break for something else.

Cheers!

IT WORKS!!!`

My roommate Jeremy has Broadband Internet, and we've been trying to set up a router for a while now. We got it working once, unplugged the little bastard, and couldn't get it working again. This been going on for almost a week, mostly because we aren't home at the same time all that often.

But we tried once more, and it works!

I guess it's kind of sick how stoked I am, considering my job, but I don't get much time there to do my own surfing.

Speaking of surfing, I have to stay up way too late and enjoy my newfound toy.

Hee hee hee, internet...

The Batmobile is Totally Sweet

I spent the day in Camden Market with Michelle and her friend Kristen. Camden is an open air market that has been squeezed into a number of alleys. There are a few proper buildings with the market inside them, and then a bunch of little alleyways surrounding them with stalls all along it. Lots of goth/hippie/alternative stores, lots of Indian, import, whathaveyou stores. They have a great food court, with food of every country you can think of. I bought a didgeridoo for 5 pounds, which is a GREAT price. It will be very nice to have that outlet again. I’ve missed it. I really want to take it down to the Tube station and find a nice resonant corner of the halls. I had it with me coming home today, but there were other musicians there that I didn’t want to intrude upon.

That’s something I really dig about the Tube. They have specific places dedicated to musicians, and they have to be authorized. I don’t know how they sign up or what the qualifications are (skill certainly isn’t one of them). Half of them seem to just do it because they enjoy it. The money certainly isn’t the reason, as I don’t think I’ve seen one with more than ten quid in the hat in front of them. And that’s the really good ones.

After Camden Market we went to the London premier of Batman Begins. It was at the Odeon. The Odeon is kind of like Man’s Chinese in LA, only for London. We joined the throng of celebrity-worshippers fairly late, so we weren’t close enough to see anyone. Not that I really cared. I have never been one to think that celebrities are all that important, and certain family ties have only served to increase that apathy. I did get to see the new Batmobile drive by, and that was totally, totally sweet. We couldn’t get into see the movie or anything, of course, but it was fun to say I was there.

Let me take a moment to point out that that movie better be really fucking good. I expect nothing less than “Batman: The Apology.” After the tripe thrust upon us by every other Batman ever, this is their last chance. And yes, I include the first two Batman movies in that sentence. They weren’t awful, but I didn’t think Tim Burton did all that hot a job. It was really all about Jack Nicholson as the Joker.

Anyway.

I’ve been kind of boring lately. I don’t have a lot of money at the moment, and there are more trips coming up, so I’m trying to save a little. I’ve realized that a lot of my Canadian friends here will be leaving in a month and a half. It will be odd. There are still a few people I’ll have in town, but that puts a major dent in my social scene. I really need to make friends with more Londoners. It’s a little hard, though. I’ve never had to make friends in a big city before, and I don’t have an “in” with anyone. That’s why most of my friends here are Canadian: we all met through BUNAC. I need to come up with a brilliant plan to insert myself into some kind of “scene” here. Of course, I haven’t been here very long so I guess I shouldn’t worry about it too much. And my roommate Jeremy is a Londoner, so that’s a start. I just need to get him to let me tag along on a Friday night some time. We get along famously, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve tried to hang out with Jade a few times (he’s my local friend from College), but we haven’t had very compatible schedules.

I’m out of things to say again, and it’s time to go to bed. Back to work tomorrow. Yay.

The workload has been pretty light lately, but there will no doubt be a glut from the weekend waiting for us. Since we have been finishing early lately, they have moved us up to Retentions as well. Trying to convince people that they don’t want to cancel their service is less fun that it sounds. There is a sick part of me that enjoys it when someone wants to cancel but is still in contract. They get all pissy because they didn’t read our Terms and Conditions, and don’t want to pay the early cancellation fee. Or whatever. I’ve had some really angry emails, and I get to respond with “You should have read the T&C. Dumbass.”

You know how after you’ve waited tables you become the best resteraunt customer you can be? You stack you plates, you tip well, you try to help out. And then when the service is bad, you find it inexcusable. I’m that way with Customer Service now. If it’s bad, I just don’t have patience. And I’m really nice to whoever I have to talk to, because I know it isn’t their fault. Customer service is kind of a new concept her in the UK, so you don’t run into it very often. Odd.

Hmm. Guess I did have more to say. But now I’m really going to go to bed. No, really. I’m going, See? This is me walking away from the keyboard, brushing my teeth, and going to bed. So stop reading. There’s no more. Stop reading right now. (Haven’t we been through this before?)

I’ll be waking up just as y’all are going to bed, so I’ll send any sweet dreams I have your way. Hope you receive them in time.

Damn, I just typed “y’all.” I’m WAY too American sometimes. Meh.


Cheers.

Uneventful Days

Not much has been happening lately. My roommate Jeremy and I have spent the last three nights trying to get a router working so I can access the internet at home. If that happens, there will be more posting and hopefully some more pictures.

I have learned my dear friend Kelsey is in Brussles. She was there when I was, but we didn't know it. Hopefully we will be able to connect soon.

It's Friday, and I have no solid plans. Hopefully something amazing will come up, but I don't have a lot of money right now. I need to live frugally for the next couple of weeks.

Other than that, not much to say. I have fallen into the humdrum of daily life fairly quickly, and I'm enjoying it. Living as far out as I do makes going out after work kind of hard, unless I go out immediately. But that means buying dinner somewhere. If I want to be out after 11, we have to go to a club. Loud music, shallow people, cover charge, and really expensive drinks. I need to find a place I like that is open late.

I think I might buy a bicycle next paycheck. It would provide me with the physical activity I have been craving, but haven't been willing to engage in.

Anyway.

A Day In The (London) Life

7:00 am: Alarm goes off.

7:20: Get up.

8:00: Be at bus station a block down the road to catch a bus to the Tube station, about 10
minutes away

8:45: After one train change, arrive at Green Park station. Walk past The Ritz, the Bentley dealership, and the jewelry district. Arrive at work.

9:00: Start answering emails. If there are a lot waiting, it’s all day. If there are only a few, we might get out early. Tends to decrease as the work week progresses.

9:30: Realize we need coffee. Go downstairs to make some.

9:45: Decide we should probably get some more work done.

12:30-1:00: Lunch time. Either walk to a sandwich bar, or grab the sack lunch out of the fridge and surf the ‘net while eating. On really nice days, sometimes go to nearby park. Not many really nice days yet, though. Patience.

1:30-2:00: Wrap up Internet Poker game. Return to emails. Reflect that it is a good thing my work encourages creativity and a personal touch to the responses. Otherwise, drastic action would be necessary.

(I just glanced out my window to notice the neighbor across the back yard lots is watching pr0n. Must remember to purchase a cheap pair of binoculars…)

2:30: Realize I’ve been sitting in a food coma for the last half hour. Back to the kitchenette downstairs for more coffee. Have taken to mixing in coco to make a mocha. Mmmm, stimulatingly chocolaty…

4:00: Engage in random, silly nerd conversations with coworkers. Really, this happens all during the day. But right around now it becomes vital to survival.

5:45: Realize there isn’t much more to be done in only fifteen minutes. Try to get a couple more email fired off.

6:05: Run down street past jewelry district, Bentley dealership, The Ritz laughing maniacally and screaming “Free! Free!”

7:00: Arrive back at West Ham. Hit Tesco (the Wal-Mart of British grocery stores. They do broadband internet, home loans, and life insurance too). Catch a bus home. Cook dinner. Hang with increasingly cool roommate.
Speaking of the increasingly cool roommate, he wishes to engage in one of my favorite pastimes. What is that, you ask? Why, stimulating conversation of course! What did you think I meant?

Ciao

P.S. Old British sitcoms are funny shit.

Ho Hum

Sorry for the lack of updates, all. It's so nice when I get complaints. I know people are reading!!!

Didn't do much recently. Work, a little hangin'. I'm staying where I live now. I got a larger room. The view isn't nearly as good, but there is space to turn around. The room is fuscia. It's a nice color and I wouldn't mind, but the bright purple dresser and closest really make it POP. I need to masculine it up a little. 'Course, my dirty boxers on the floor help with that a lot.

Went to Brighton on Sunday to see a couple of friends. Dave and Rob both went there to find jobs. It's on the South Coast. Nice town, but it was windy and rainy that day. No swimming.

This week we're going to take in a show. I think it will be "The Woman In Black," which is getting rave reviews. Longest running show in the West End at the moment.

Anyway, lunch is over. I'll let you know if anything exciting happens. If not, you'll get more "Doop de doo, just chillin'" posts.

Oh! My bosses like me (us) so well, I got ANOTHER £30 bonus. Bling bling!

Peace

I have now been in London one month...

June 1, 2005
11:00ish


This place is festooned with cats. Not inside, thankfully, but the backyard. My wonderful landlady live directly next door, and I share a backyard with her. She “rescues” cats, and there are a good dozen or so adopted wildchildren roaming the place. It is quite a thing to sit on your second story windowsill on a warm London evening, framed by a light fuscia sunset off to the left, and have a staredown with a cat. The solid white one seems to be a bit above the scrappy, territorial cats on the ground engage in. It keeps to the rooftops and fences, which are thick and abound. Urban nature is of a kind I have never experienced before. There are mourning doves everywhere, along with songbirds of varying talent.

My traveling roommate is going back to Pakistan. (He works for a company that sent him here to set something up or something. I asked but I don’t remember. Nice guy.) That means I get his much bigger room. I haven’t looked inside yet, but it’s big enough to raise the rent by 10 pounds. Which is fine by me. That’s still hella cheap rent. The other place is supposed to let me know tomorrow, I think. They were gong to see their last people today and make a decision by tomorrow. The place is quite a bit smaller than here, but I remember it being much nicer. The view is certainly a downgrade, from garden to large street. But they have a drier, too. Drying clothing on an outdoor line is impossible nearly as often as it is possible in London. And I would be much closer to everything and everyone. It would make buying a bicycle a very real idea. That would be a great way to get to know this city. The Internet tells me London is actually rated really highly as a bikeable city. You just have to know all the correct routes and shortcut, etc.

Listening to Smoking Bill. Haven’t done that in a long time. Always just caught them live when I wanted to hear them, before. If any of the band (or people “with” the band) is reading this, I’ll see to disseminating some albums in London. And if I can find you a gig, you better be ready to uproot in a goddamn minute. ‘Cause that would be sweet.

Hmmm, that’s a good idea. CDs are cheap as hell now, right? Burn a shit ton, put ‘em in crystal cases with the necessary literature and contact info, and leave them on Tube trains. Put a little sticky note or something on it that says “I’m free. Take me home and listen to me!” Ooh! Or an mp3 vending machine. Walk up, plug in your USB player, pop a few coins in and download today’s hit or featured artist. Bring a whole new meaning to, “Don’t pick up anything in the subway. It’s probably crawling with germs and viruses.”
…
Right. What was I saying? Oh, yes.

Anyway. Went to Jazz at Night with Michelle last night. Not much jazz, but decent food and fantastic company. Randy was right about losing perspective on prices here, though. When I paid the bill for dinner and some drinks, it wasn’t bad until I converted it into American dollars. Yowza. But then I guess that’s why they’re paying me in pounds.

About an hour before work was over, we lost our Internet connection. Permit me to remind everyone that I work at an Internet Service Provider. You have never seen a full office come to such a screeching halt. Took about ten minutes for Unreal Tournament to appear on three different computer screens. Got to know some of the co-workers from the other side of the room. It’s funny to see the group dynamics when no one has anything to do. It was a lot of fun. Then it was time for office poker.

It’s about time I got a decent hand or two. This is a cash out whenever game that isn’t lasting more than an hour anyway, so out of five people and a #5 buy in, I walked away with #14. Not bad. (You all get that #14 is 14 pounds, right? ‘Cause that’s the only thing on this keyboard called “pound”…). And I beat Justin nicely. He’s kind of a hustler and a cocky little one at that. He’s really no worse of a hustler than Horn was (hey, they’re both Justins. Hm.). It was fun to finally get some good cards and dole out a spanking to the table.

I’m surprised at how many of these Smoking Bill songs I can’t name off the top of my head.

I’m still writing not because I really have any more to say, but I’m not ready for bed yet and I don’t have anything to read. I bought Neil Gaimen’s Stardust, but I finished it in a month. Probably the worst thing I’ve read by him, but that only gets it an “awesome” rating rather than a “totally fucking sweet” rating. By the way, if you haven’t read Neverwhere, do it now. Not now as in soon, now as in Stop Reading This Blog Right Now And Go Read It. Now. Stop Reading. Neil is much more interesting reading than I am. Go. Now. You know you want to.



Are they gone? Excellent. Onwards.

Actually, I can’t remember what I was going to say next.

OH! If anyone hears from Kelsey Hammond, would you please let me know? I hear she’s in Brussles, but I don’t have any contact info and the only news I have heard is that she wants out. I don’t know what’s up, but I’d like to find out. Thanks.

Anyway. I guess I should go to bed. Work and stuff. Gosh, blog posts are a lot longer when I’m just bored at home, rather than trying to hammer one out quick in the middle of a hostel.

Right. When I post this tomorrow morning, you all will just be going to bed. So sleep well. May your dreams be filled with shade and sweet water, and may the world be an ever so slightly better place when you wake up.

Peace