London Calling

Closing Down

2005-11-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

This blog was intended as a chronicle of my London experiences, and it has served it's function very well. I'm going to keep blogging, but not here. Since I'm going to just be ranting about whatever, rather than telling incredible foreign stories, I'm shifting over to my Friendster blog. It can be found at http://brettaa.blogs.friendster.com/this_space_for_rent/.

I have a lot of friends from college on Friendster, and they are now my target audience. Everyone here is more than encouraged to read that one, but be warned. More swearing and the possibility of references to activities that are less than straight-laced.

Right then. If you're still with me, click here , and we'll continue.

I'm out. PEACE!

Still Alive

2005-11-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hello, to anyone still checking this space.

I do intend on keeping this blog up and running. I haven't really been on the Intra-Web all that much lately, so there have been a lack of posts. But I shall resume, because I know you all care so terribly much about the mundane things in my life. Or at least I like to pretend that's the case.

Currently I'm in Bonners, letting my heels cool to a dangerously low temperature. I was all set to throw Seattle to the winds (just didn't really call to me) and head to Portland, but now an interview with the Seattle Center on the 29th has put that all back up in the air.

I also have a potential job is the IJC in Moscow for the month of February. So on one hand, if I haven't found anything permanent by then, I have something to return to for a solid month and then a chance to start over again. I also would love to work with the IJC for Jazzfest again, and am slightly tempted to keep my options open so I can take the job. GAH! Too many options, sometimes. I think I'll call it "curseblessed." I have been cursed with blessings, or possibly the other way around.

Right then. Not much else to report. I'll try to think of something interesting for next time.

Later!

I NEED A RIDE

2005-10-30T05:25:00.000-08:00

My ride to Moscow from Seattle cannot. Is there anyone out there who would fancy a road trip? I get in Tuesday, and was hoping to be in Moscow for the weekend.

If you can help, drop a post or send me an email. Thanks!

Vienna

2005-10-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Just realized I haven't posted about Vienna yet. And I've basically got nothing to do at work today, so here we go.

I got into Vienna proper around 4:30 and met Rayco in the train station. We took a short metro ride to his house, which he shares with his girlfriend Annika. Rayco, if you will remember, is Cassie's son from the Canary Islands. Annika is German. Both of thier English was excellent, although they don't think so.

Their apartment is apparently not in a good part of town, but you could have fooled me. The building isn't impressive, but the apartment itself was awesome. It's pre-WWII, so the doors are almost as high as most ceilings in London. The doors must be 8 feet tall, and the ceilings 10. Big rooms, hardwood floors, decent kitchen.

I'll have pictures soon, by the way. I'm at work, and they are all at home.

Rayco, Annika, and I got along famously, almost from the get-go. They're both very easy going and laid back, and we really hit it off. I think I connected with Rayco best out of all the family I've met. He's extremely good natured and quick with a laugh and a smile. Apparently it's a Spanish thing that he doens't like to let silences sit, so he's always ready with a word or a funny story.

Annkia was shy about her "bad English" at first, but once she relaxed a little and warmed up, she didn't have any problems. She had me edit a technical paper she had written for proper grammar and English usage, which was fun. Took me back to editing articles for The Badger, my high school newspaper.

We had dinner there, drank a couple of bottles of wine, and then went out to a little club that was near their house. Drank some more and danced to good Drum and Bass music. Came home, slept until noon the next day.

When I got up I assumed they would already be up and about, but my moving around was what got them out of bed. Sleepers after my own heart.

We went out in the early afternoon, and spent a good chunk of the day just walking around. We had done some walking the night before, seeing the big cathedral and some of the Royal-type buildings at night. This time we went during the day, viewing the incredible Austrian archetecture. They had a number of monarchs who loved to build opulent, enourmous buildings, so the cityscape is great.

We went to the big city market, which is half flea market and half permanent booths with people selling food and foodstuffs. From there we toured more and had dinner in a Chinese place.

At this point I have a little trouble remember what happend on which day, so I'm going to drop the chronological order for a bit.

We went to the oldest coffee shop Vienna, which had excellent coffee. We smoked sheesa, a flavored tobacco, out of thier hookah. We went out and played pool at a trendy bar, then went to another bar that Annika had been to once many years ago (it was ok).

The best part of the trip was on Sunday. It was a beautiful day, unseasonably warm. Vienna has a marvelous system called City Bikes, whereby you can rent a bike for about one Euro an hour. It's totally automated, and there are pick up/drop off spots for the bikes all over the city. Rayco and Annika both own their own bikes, so I rented one and we rode to the Royal Palace. It was clear on the other side of the city, so I got to see quite a lot of it. It was a perfect day for riding, and I couldn't have been better pleased.

The Palace was what you would expect, huge and opulent. It was expensive to go inside, so we just walked the gardens instead. I've found that most palaces are more or less the same inside, anyway. Four poster beds, gold filligrie, etc.

Behind the Palace is the gardens, and we hiked up to the top of the hill. There is another large structure at the top of the hill, which apparently was the princess' playhouse or something. From the top of the hill, you could see an incredible vista of Vienna.

We had sushi that night, and a quiet evening in trading music and watching Goodfellas. Then I had to get up at 5 the next day to catch my flight back to London.

Vienna, while a beautiful city, was just that: another Euorpean city. They tend to blend together after a while. Rayco and Annika I am going to miss. We really hit it off, and I felt like family from the beginning. I hope they can come to the States some time, or I get the chance to visit them again.

Right. Pictures soon. Hopefully tonight.

The Quest for Affleck Castle

2005-10-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the full story.

I got into Edinburgh about noon, and hung out with Eddie for a little while. We drove about an hour up to Monikie, Scotland. The land there is very similar to North Idaho, and I absolutely loved it. I could see myself being very happy in Scotland. The air is clean and fortifying, expecially after London.

We knew about where the Castle was supposed to be, and knew we were in the right town. We drove around a little looking for it, as it is supposed to be visible from the road. We weren't having much success, so we stopped so Eddie could call his son for the directions from Google. I stepped to a high rock wall to answer the call of nature, and saw this:

Apparently we were on the right track. We couldn't see any castle from there, but we could see a house and some deer. If you look closely at the picture, you can almost make out the deer in the background. One of them was a White Hart, which I found very exciting. Then I noticed several other white deer, and realized they weren't quite as special as I thought. Still cool, though.

We drove around for a while looking for another vantage point, and even hiked around a bit. We couldn't see anything else, although we did find this right down the road. Hell of a street sign to run into.

After some very pleasant hiking around wonderful Socttish countryside, we finally asked for directions and learned that the Castle was indeed behind the high rock wall that held the first sign. We found another gate, and lo and behold there was something large and castley looming in the trees. There were more "STRICTLY PRIVATE" signs around, so I debated hopping the fence for a while. According to Eddie, Scottish trespassing law says that as long as you don't touch or damange anything on private property, they can't presecute you.

I screwed my courage to the sticking place and hopped the gate. Besides the deer, there was a large number of peacocks wandering around. I found a woman nearby and hailed her. She turned out to be some kind of gardener or groundskeeper, and she made it very clear that Mrs Fife (the owner of the land and Castle) does not want visitors on the property. I explained myself and begged leave to take a picture, which is the one in the previous post. She allowed this, but I could see I was making her very uncomfortable. She tried to find Mrs Fife, but the Lady of the house was absent. I got the gardener to take a picture of me in front of the Castle, and then left them alone.

I admit I was hoping for a nice old lady who would invite me in for tea and give me a tour, but I'm satisfied with what I got. I have no idea what Mrs Fife does with the Castle, but I hope she is treating my heritage well. I'll have to keep my eye on Scottish newpapers for "Castle for Sale" ads and convince Ben to buy it for the family.

Afterward Eddie and I had a good meal in a pub, and took a long route home. We stopped by some other ruins he knew as a boy, but didn't know anything about.

Here's a shot of Eddie in front of the ruins. He's my kind of cool old guy, and I suspect he would fit in with my folks quite well.

We visited a friend of his, another really cool older dude, and then returned to Edinburgh and hung out at Eddie's place with his 19-ish son, Martin (I think). I was quite tuckered out, as I had been up since the wee hours of the morning riding a train. We partook of some fine libations, and watched Grand Prix. Eddie is a gearhead, so I got the full indoctronation. He drives like a gearhead, too. Not unsafely, just very aggresively.

The next day I returned to London, full of conquest and family pride.

Tomorrow I fly to Vienna to meet my cousin Rayco for the first time, and I'll return on Monday. Then the final countdown begins.

w00t

Affleck Castle

2005-10-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for a full account of the Quest.

As the door on this Age swings shut behind me, the door to the next begins to crack...

2005-10-13T13:08:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION FUTURE BRETT: I know you'll read this blog after the point now and then, occationaly through the years. Probably has been a long time since, and it probably will be a long time again. I want to you to stop, now, and look around yourself. Where are you? WHO are you? What is new or changed. Beyond that, what is in the NOW? Are you sitting, standing? Smiling, weeping? Stop and look at the NOW, apart from everything that has gone, and cherish it. Try to grok it, and in the attempt come closer to the Universe.

Whew. I should write Graduation speeches.

I do feel like I'm coming to the end of an era. I am grown and out in the world. I have completed my basic schooling, and I am ready to join the adult community. I have partied like a fucking rock start, and I have enough street cred to kick it with the old dogs. I am approaching a place where it will be time to take a breath, evaluate, and start to refine these powers I have developed. Boot camp is about over, and it's time for Officer's Academy.

Thought of settling in Seattle is a very pleasant one. I look forward to being somewhere with no plans to leave in the foreseeable future. Not that I want to be tied down, but I would like to be able to relax into a place. I did that some in Moscow, but there was always the prospect of graduation and the Real World looming. Coming the London was an artful way to put that off. Here I was able to settle into a work schedule, pretend to be a boring adult for a few weeks at a time, but then it was off to the next country and the world was a whirl again. I look forward to not having anything to do. Not being in a rush to go anywhere, do anything, rush off again. I don't want any more Deadlines,

To do Theatre for a real living would be bliss, but I'm not too keen on the thought of a job that is guaranteed to only last 3 or 4 months. I've sent applications to a number of shows on backstagejobs.com, but they're mostly in DC and New Your state and probably wouldn't pay the cost of the plane ticket for the whole run. A steady place in a house would be heaven, but I'm wouldn't dare hope (not that that will stop me from handing them my resume).

Besides, I still don't feel like I'm ready to pursue a Career, in any field. I still have honing and polishing to do before I'm ready to seriously focus my energies on something external. In The Celestine Prophesy, one of the revelations (six? seven?) is about love. It says that each person is a partially completed circle. Every now and then we meet another partially completed circle who fits perfectly to make the whole. The two people are as one, and they become necessary to each other. The revelation is that if you complete your own circle and find another completed circle, you can both enjoy all the benefits of being completed together without the need, without the addiction.

I read this when I was about 20, living in a dark little basement apartment and ignoring school in favor of being a rebellious hippie kid. It stuck me very deeply. Of course. I need to compete my own circle before I can truly be able to give to another. Otherwise I'll be using them as a crutch, and they'll be doing the same.

This applies to my relationship with Life as well. I'm not done with enough of my circle. But I'm getting closer. I'm about to Level Up again. This time I want to spend most of my Experience Points on Wisdom. As always, I'll got where the tide of the Universe takes me. I think I feel it beginning to pull in a new direction, and it's exciting.

I'm out of metaphors.

Right. So it looks like this weekend I'm going back up to Scotland to hunt down Affleck Castle. Eddie, the wonderful man Brooke and I stayed with in Edinburgh, has agreed to put me up for another night and drive me the 60-odd miles out of Edinburgh to where the Castle is. Apparently it's visible from the road. It's not open to the public, but Eddie is confident we won't have any problems just hiking out to it. I have yet to purchase the train tickets, because the stupid website isn't working well. The price went up due to availability of times and seats about £25 from this afternoon to now, and I really hope I can get the good tickets before I got to bed. It could be up anther fifty quid when I wake up.

I also need to get my plane tickets for Vienna for next weekend. I'm going to visit my cousin Ryco, the son of Cassie whom I visited in the Carnies.

So I'll try that now.

Cheers!

Joss Whedon is God's gift to Science Fiction

2005-10-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

If you have not seen Serenity, do it now. I have to agree with Orson Scott Card's review:

This is the Best Science Fiction Movie Ever. Period.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go bask in the afterglow. And think up ways to get Jewel Staite to marry me.

click on her surname for low-speed connections

Castles, good art, and crappy clubs

2005-10-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

I've actually been spending my time well lately, I think.

Last Saturday I went with Andrea to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Tate Modern. Pretty amazing stuff. They had the bulk of her works there, and of course it was arranged in the story of her life and career. It was a lot of Frida to take in all at once (god, that unibrow...), but on retrospect I'm really glad we went. Some of her work left me cold, but other stuff was truly amazing. Her later work on religion is really incredible. I particularly liked this piece, which I believe is her treatise on world religion.

Andrea and I have had the awkward "This is fun but that's all it is" conversation, and things are good. We see each other now and then, and it's fun. I like this adult style, non-commital dating thing. My dad commented once that kids today don't date around the way people used to, it's much more about monogamous relationships. I've decided that's largely due to the introduction of sex into younger, non-married couples. Suddenly dating around is potentially dangerous. It's nice to relax a little and not worry about "where the relationship is going." Not that I'm having huge amounts of casual sex, mind you. But you know what I mean.

Went to another BUNAC pub meet. Always good times, and it's fun to be around a grip of North Americans again. It's also fun to be the experienced one. They all just got here a few weeks ago, and I'm about to leave. I'm just full of advice for good places to go and good clubbing.

Speaking of clubbing, I went to a fucking AWFUL one last night.

Wait, backtrack a little. Have I mentioned Lynda, the girl I got a job at my ISP? She was at the last BUNAC pub meet I went to, and when I announced the credit control position (calling up people who owe us money), she was the only one who was really interested. She's good times.

Saturday was her birthday, so we went out with a bunch of her friends. We went to Tottenham Court Road (very central London, near Soho) and waited for one more person for like 45 goddamn minutes. He was called, and he said we were going to a club called the "Frog," (He was the man with the plan) and we were supposed to "find the guy with the fliers." There are DOZENS of guys with flyers, all for different clubs. WTF!

He finally shows up, and we have flyers for a good club with good music and cheap prices, but not the Frog. He dismisses this and leaves again to find the Frog flyers. Finally comes back, we find the place, wait in line for an hour, and FINALLY get inside. And it sucks. It sucks really, really hard. I can't define the music genre, but the best I can come up with is the White Strips, if they sucked really, really hard. And it was £3.20 for a CAN of STELLA. For reference, that's like paying $3 for a pint can of Pabst. Completely ridiculous. Finally the band comes on, and they SUCK EVEN HARDER. Everyone is ready to go except Capt. Dipshit (sorry to steal the the name, Cricket!). They are going back to their place afterwards, which is in the wrong direction, and it's already Night Bus time, so I just headed home.

It is seriously to my credit that I didn't give Capt Dipshit a swift shot to the kisser. His idea of dancing was to shake the very drunken birthday girl by the shoulders, hard. For like a half hour. We had to stop him. I really kind of wanted to shake off the pacifistic hippie thing off and beat him senseless. But we had lots of fun hanging out at Lynda's before we met jerkwad, and I got the number of a cool theatre chick from Santa Cruz, so it still gets chalked up as a good night.

Oops, I skipped an event.

Saturday day, before all this, my housemate Ben and I went to the Tower of London. Saw the sights, took in the culture, and had a great tour from a really talented Yeomen Warder. Thick Scottish accent and a flair for working with crowds. The ravens there were magnificent, unlike any birds I've seen in the States. Truly the Stately Ravens of Yore I was hoping for. (Randy, I didn't know which one was Thor, but I asked one to pass your greetings on to him)

I still haven't sold that stupid bicycle. My price keeps dropping, I keep getting people calling/emailing about it, but nothing goes through. I'm starting to get worried. It won't be earth-shattering if I don't sell it, but it would be really nice to have an extra £150 in my pocket. That was my primary financial misstep while I was here. Really not that bad of one, I guess. I haven't even ridden it a half-dozen times. There's just nowhere near here I want to ride it in, and I don't want to take it on the Tube to somewhere I do want to ride it. That and I don't have a helmet or a lock, so I don't want to dance with traffic and I can't leave it anywhere. Meh.

What else...oh, I played a friendly game of football with the office last week (that's soccer to us Yanks). And god DAMN did I hurt the next day. Lots of muscles that haven't been worked in a LONG time. I can still run, I just can't stop and change direction a lot, and that's all the game is. My hack skills came in a little handy goalkeeping, but I don't think I'll play again next week. I don't need that kind of pain right now.

Almost time to leave. The countdown continues. I need to check my bank account tomorrow, and see if I can make it to Vienna. If the bike sells, that would pay for the plane ticket. That would be AWESOME. I've picked the weekend of the 22-23 to go, so we'll see. I'll make the decision tomorrow, likely.

Right then. I've spent a large chunk of today reading Questionable Content, a web comic I found today. Now and then I go hunting for a new one, and when I find one that I like I read the archives straight through. Usually a good three or four hours of entertainment. I recommend it.

Time for a little more web surfing, then a reasonable bedtime. I have a week of heavy work ahead of me, with Paul gone. Speaking of which (Mom), I got an ergonomic keyboard at work, so that is helping my wrists a lot. I'm not letting them hurt in the bad and damaging way, they just get tired when I have to really push. So I should stop typing and rest up for tomorrow.

Rock!

Posting for the Sake of it

2005-10-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Chis Fred demands that I post, so post I shall.

My wrists are tired from typing all day. We're backlogged from my week long absence, and Paul is gone the next two days, then all next week. So don't expect much posting, since I don't want to type more. I did, however, bust out a solid 70 emails today, which is up from my daily average of 50-something. When Paul is gone, I'll be "working smart," only answering the easy ones and delegating the emails that take more thought to people helping me. So I'm expecting to be in the 80-100 range every day. As much as I'd like to stay with the company, my metacarpals are glad I'm leaving soon.

27 days. I have 27 days left until I leave. Today is over, and I leave early-ass on the 31st, so really I have 25 full days left. Holy shit.

THAT was a fast 5 months.

I'm applying to a bunch of SM jobs online, and we'll see if anything comes of them. Some don't start until August, so I'll have at least a little time to kill. We'll see what happens.

My friend Katie Coon is getting married on the 6th November, and I'm going to try and go down with Austin from Seattle. It's in Southern Idaho somewhere. Again, we'll see what happens.

I'm planning a visit tour of the Northwest, from Seattle to Moscow to Spokane to Bonners, something like that. We'll see. (notice a pattern here?)

Right. A Tube anecdote to leave you with.

One day I was waiting in a station for the next train, and out of the corner of my eye I could see an older man approaching. Under his breath, yet still very loudly, he was swearing a blue streak. Sailors could take classes from this guy. Cursing with true malice and anger in his voice. I didn't look up, thinking/hoping/praying he would just pass me by on the narrow platform.

The man walks directly up me, excuses himself, and very politely asks if I know if this train is going to Euston. Not politely as in, "Pardon me, good chap, have you got a moment," still crude and slightly crazy, but very polite nonetheless. I told him I didn't know, he thanked me, turned and resumed a string of commentary that would make roses wilt.

The train arrived, I got on, and he followed. I sat in the only empty seat, and assumed the vacant "staring at nothing" look everyone uses to maintain some sense of personal space in those cattle cars. The man, standing, continues his profane soliloquy. People start to look at each other, as if to say "Can you believe this?" and "What the hell?"
The man comes back to me, and my immediate fear is that he wants to make conversation. He asks me another very polite question (I don't remember what), and the scene repeats itself. I don't know, he thanks me, and returns once again to making our ears sweat.

He gets off at the next stop, and an instant and animated conversation breaks out among the six or so of us sitting nearby. It's always interesting to find kinship and contact with strangers through some from of extremely minor hardship. I had a nice discussion with a Korean family, and then my stop came and I got off.

There are many things about which I think "If I can handle London's version, I can take it anywhere." Public transport is one of them. You've never seen a Tube car empty so fast as when the crazy homeless guy gets on who must have shit his pants two minutes before. What really amazes me is the people who not only don't leave, but aren't obviously affected. Are they really that desensitized?

Well my dear and wicked children, it's that magical time again where I crawl into the arms of Morpheus and give my subconscious the keys to my reality. I'll tell them both you said hi.

A Lava-ly Day, and Some Other Stuff

2005-09-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hola, compadres.

So, it´s been quite a time here. Let me see if I can recap.

On Sunday, I went out with Cassie and my Great-Aunt Carolie for a full tour of the island. Lanzarote is only about 40 miles by 80 miles, and the bulk of that is barren wasteland, so you can see most of the important stuff in a day.

The first thing we did was go to the Fire Mountain, which totally kicked ass. They take camel tours, but that wasn´t terribly interesting to me or Cassie, and Carolie is in no condition to ride a camel. She is extremely spry for a woman of 79ish, but that´s still not camel-riding shape.

The tour of the Fire Mountain starts at the base camp/resturaunt/gift shop. If you dig about a half inch down into the fine rock soil, you can feel the heat from the live volcano under your feet. They do a demonstation where they stick a dried plant into a hole about 4 feet down, and it almost immediately ignites. They also pour a bucket of water down a metal tube, and within 2 seconds (literally) a powerful jet of steam thunders out with a terrific bang. They also show you the oven they cook all the meat in, which is over another open lava hole. You can´t see any of the lava, but you can feel the heat (I have pictures of everything that I will post later, by the way). Apparently there used to be just an old man with a refrigerator full of eggs there. He would sell you one, and you could cook it on the rocks. But that was years ago.

We then got on a bus that takes you all around the volcano and surrounding area. Various examples of lava flow, and the fields for miles around are completely full of rocky volcanic debris that was flung in the last eruption. The volcano last blew it´s top in the 1700's, when there was a thriving community on it's slopes. It erupted for 13 years continuously, and a priest living there journaled everything. The slopes used to be extremely fertile farmland, but it has all be destroyed now. Everything is buried under lava, rock and ash.

The tour was excellent, and the landscape is beautiful. It's continually described as "lunar," but I can't see the Moon as looking like that. Mars maybe, or some other hot and turbulent planet. Really it looked like Crematoria out of The Cronicles of Riddick, for those who saw it. Jagged and forbidding. And totally awe-inspiring.

We went and had a delicious seafood lunch in a little cafe on the beachfront. Traditional fare. I had the best Calamari I've ever tasted (not that I've tasted much, mind you).

We then took something of a driving tour of the island. We went to some extremely scenic places on the highest points of the island, where you could look over most of it. Incredible vistas of shorline and tiny villages far below. Again, I have pictures that I will post that will describe the place far better than I can.

When the volcano went, it created an enourmous lava tube to the sea, a good 10 miles away (totally my guess). In places the roof of this tube has collapsed, making incredible caves. There are three that are tourist attractions. The Green Caves are neat, but apparently the green lighting is artificial. We went and saw the entrance for the effect, but Cassie said it seriously wasn´t worth the money. We moved on to the Jameos del Agua, which is an incredible place. The fauna there have been cut off from the sun for some 3000 years, and have developed accordingly. There is a tiny, blind albino crab species that is unique to the caves. It´s not very big (the part open to people, that is), and it´s been turned into a really nice bar and dance club type of place. Nothing was happening there, but I don´t think it's like a disco kind of club, but much higher class. At one end is an incredible white swimming pool, but they don´t let people swim there anymore. We don´t know why, but Cassie suspected it was because of screaming little kids, etc.

We went through a few small villages, and worked our way home. We were going to have dinner together, but Cassie got called into work, and so she dropped me off. I was quite tired, so I ate some dinner, read some, and went to bed.

The next day (Monday) I spent almost entirely reading. I had borrowed The Da Vinci Code from Carolie, and I polished it off. Good book. Angels and Demons is better. I'm a little dissapointed that all the press surrounding it has been about the Da Vinci stuff, but everyone seems to have missed Dan Brown's point. He is most concerned with the devine feminie and teh demise of Goddess worship. It had some wonderful stuff to say about Mary Magdalene and the patriarchal traditions of the Church. But this isn´t a book review, so I'll move on.

I tried to go out that night, but realized quickly that I wasn´t interested. The strip down by the beach, about a ten minute walk away, is very very touristy. Bars and clubs. I had been out the night before, and it wasn´t very went into one, had a couple of beers, and left. It´s really not that fun without friends, and I wasn´t interested in trying to meet drunken British people (there are PLENTY of them), or trying to hit on women. Not really why I´m here. Besides, I get that in Lonon every weekend. Meh.

Today (Tuesday) I spent the day with Carolie and my cousin Johnny, Cassie´s brother. Everyone describes him as the happiest man they know. He lives a simple life, has a few small incomes, and is very content where he is. We got along quite well. Everyone in this extended family I have found is definetly of a similar mindset to myself, to one degree or another. Johnny most especially. I can see a lot of myself in him, and a lot of what I have the potential to become in him. At least as a possibility, or as an aspect of myself. Reminded me of RJ a little (for those who know him).

We went to a private museum that was all about traditional Lanzarote life, including a Bodgea (winery). Beautiful place, with more green and flowers in one place than I think I have seen on the whole rest of the island. I have tons of pictures of that place, too. I´ll likely just make a photo album on my Friendster account, and post a link to it. I´ll put a few highlights here, too (these are what the film industry calls "teasers," by the way).

We saw a friend of Johnny´s, who is a master carpenter and neat old man. Quite a character. He only spoke Spanish (naturally), but still seemed like a neat guy.

We had lunch, and then Johnny dropped Carolie and myself off at her place. He hadn´t slept much the night before, and went home to take a nap. Carolie and I visited and caught up for a few hours until Cassie got off from work, and then we had dinner together. Then Cassie and I came home, and I sat down at the computer to post to my blog. And that brings us up to now.

Tomorrow night is Paiella (I´m not spelling that right), a traditional dish. Everyone is coming over to the "Hotel" here, and it should be a good family affair. Then one more day, and I fly back to London late late late Thursday night. Sleep Friday, have a weekend, and then back to work and the start of my last month here.

Hard to believe that it´s been 5 months already. I´m both not ready to come home, and very ready.

Righto. Bedtime.

(P.S. The punny title of this post was Carolie's, not mine. Credit where credit is due)

It´s so very nice here...

2005-09-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Today was day two in the Canaries. It isn´t the green, tropical paradise I was expecting. Lanzarote (the island I´m on) is volcanic, so everything is built out of volcanic rock and not much grows. Lots of cactus, and plenty of palm trees that have been importet. But it´s mostly brown. Still really pretty, but in the desert sense of the word. It actually reminds me a lot of the Scablands that are scattered about the Palouse, where the U of I is.

I´m staying with my cousin Cassie and her partner Adrian. Adrian´s daughter Johanna(20ish) and son Little Adrian (14) are here, and Cassie´s son Borja (24) is visitng. Add Marie, Johanna´s friend from Madrid and the family maid-type person Maria, and it is quite a full house. Everyone jokingly refers to it as the Hotel, and there is plenty of room for all.

The house is beautiful, with a large outdoor courtyard area including a swimming pool, high ceilings, lots of Spanish achetecture. I´m going to borrow Cassie´s camera before I go and take pictures of the place so you can see.

Today we went out on Adrian´s sail boat, the Lady Alicia. We sailed down around the southern end of the island, and dropped anchor next to a nice beach. We swam and lay in the sun all day. On the trip home, it was very windy with lots of salt spray in the air. I spent a good chunk of the trip standing on the bow of the ship, enjoying the feel of crusing through the waves.

I only got a little burned, nothing to worry about. I haven´t gotten much sun this summer at all, and next to all of these nicely tanned Spanish people (most are caucations, but still), I felt like a ghost. Hopefully by the end of this week I´ll be a little darker. Compared to most Brits I´m fine, so I want to look good when I get back. Make all my co-workers jealous.

I´ve seen my Great-Aunt Carolie a few times. She is 78 (79?), and still very spry and independant. Wonderful woman, and I´m glad I´m getting this time with her. I kind of doubt I´ll see her again after this, although I´d love to come back someday.

Tomorrow we are going to the Fire Mountain, the live volcano that is Lanzarote. Everyone tells me that you don´t know Lanzarote until you see the volcano, so I´m looking forward to it. I´ve never been near a live volcano, but I´ve seen enough Nature specials on them to be very excited. There is a resturant there that cooks over the lava. Totally wicked.

I´m starting to wish I had kept up with my Spanish after High School. Enough people here speak English that I get by, but there are some I simply can´t hold a converstaion with. Everyone will be talking, and I´ll just kind of smile and laugh when everyone else does. My Spanish doesn´t go much past "where is the bathroom" and "I don´t have a cat in my pants" (no tengo un gato in mis pantelones). Oh well. Maybe I´ll pick up a "Learn Spanish" book when I get back to London. I don´t know if they will have any around here.

I´ve got some pictures, but this computer is very slow, so I´m going to wait to post them.

Adios!

Canary Islands, here I come!

2005-09-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow I fly to the Canary Islands to stay with family. I will arrive in the evening, and then return to London at 3:45 bloody am on the 30th. My cousin Cassie is putting me up, feeding me, etc etc etc. They live a 10 minutes walk from the beach, and have thier own swimming pool. THIS should be quite a marvelous trip.

I wasn't planning on spending a full week there, but the airline deal I got (not £70, but still a great deal) was only good for a full 7 days. That only leaves me with one vacation day left to take off work, but I'm pretty sure they'll give me at least one more. I don't know what I'll do with a long weekend, but I'll think of something great. Flying somewhere might be cost-prohibitive, but we will see.

I'll try to blog while I'm there, but no guarentees. And I'm sure Cassie must have a camera, so I'll take pictures/get her to take pictures of everything.

Oh yeah! And Cassie's son Borja, who is my age, will be there too. I've never met any of these people, so I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be great to hit the office with a nice tan...

The Canary Islands

2005-09-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

So I'm planning my next trip, and I have family in the Canary Islands, here. And I found a flight there for only £70 if I leave on Thursday. I think I might do it.

I also have a cousin in Venice I want to go see. So I guess there goes Spain, Prauge, Budapest, and all these other places I wanted to go. But Venice would also be kick-ass. And I'd have a free place to stay.

I'll try to drop a post just before I leave, if I do.

Wooo! This should be a thing...

Diane, I'm glad to hear you're reading. Do me a favor and tell Dad that our call got cut off because I ran out of money on my phone. No biggie, I just need to top it up again. But I didn't bother to call back. He understands, I'm sure.

Right!

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

2005-09-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

Visit the official International Talk Like A Pirtate Day website for all your Pirate-talking needs!

And a full vocabulary can be found here

Arrrrr!

Momma, I'm Coming Home

2005-09-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

I got the official word today, and I will not be going to South Africa. Dissapointing, but not terribly surprising.

SO. That means it's time to start making plans. I'll be in Seattle for a little while, and I'm going to start looking for Theatre work online. If that doens't pan out, I'll likely try to stay in Seattle.

So, I will be seeing all of you soon. And don't worry about it, I'm not heartbroken.

Word Varification

2005-09-14T06:03:00.000-07:00

Oh, I have set up Word Varification on my Blog now. This should keep down the spam. When you make a comment, you have to type in the squiggly words near the bottom of the screen. The idea is that a 'bot can't do this, it has to be a real human. We'll see if this works.

A Long-Awaited Post

2005-09-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all. The computer is working again, but my Internet is down at my house and I have been too busy to post anyway. Sorry about that. I'll give a quick rundown, with elaborations later.

Went to Cambridge last week to meet friends. Dreadnought (I know him best by his screen name) is a PHD student in History there, so we got an awesome tour that included lots of stuff most tour guides probably don't know about. Esoteric histories, cool-assed ghost stories, and little side notes that were just wonderful. I saw a door that is over 400 years old. It's just an average door to a dorm room, nothing special at all. The only reason it is still there is because it has never broken.

We also saw Issac Newton's apartments (from the outside), and the lawn he sat on when he quantified Gravity. The original apple tree is long dead, but one of its decendants lives in the same spot.

The entire weekend was sponsored, too. This was a going away event for a friend from Monkeyfilter. One of the Monkeys, a woman I have never met, sent me US$500 to give Alnedra a proper sendoff! Whoa! I mean, WHOA! How's that for some trust? I used to be very sceptical about meeting people on the Intra-Web, but the Monkeys continue to amaze me with thier general good-heartedness.

Here's some photos.

L-R djryan, Dreadnought, Weezel (that's me), Alnedra, alliterated arithmancer

Alnedra, Dreadnought, and I walk in beautiful Cambridge countryside. So lovely, and so very English

Alnedra in the resturant. Look at that view! The whole town looks like that, it seems.

Right. Moving back in time now. Last Thursday night I met a girl from New York named Andrea. We went out on Friday night, and it went quite well. Quite well indeed. We went out again last Sunday, and it was OK. She's good times, but I'm not sure where this is going, if anywhere. I kind of don't want to waste any time here, and I'm not sure this is what I want. I'm definitely not interesting in getting tied down at the moment. Considering she doesn't have a phone, it makes things extra-special. I haven't emailed her since Sunday. I should at least give her one more chance, I suppose. It's not that there is anything wrong, I'm just not sure she's my type. Whatever.

The weekend previous to that, I went to the Notting Hill Carnival. Crazy stuff. I've got pictures at home that I will post when the 'Net is up and running. In fact, I think I'll save it for then.

Ciao!

Computer Agonies

2005-09-06T04:58:00.000-07:00

Well, after that last post I took the machine home and it did the exact same thing. I went to the Apple store yesterday and bought a new battery, thinking that was the problem. £88 later, it didn't solve anything. So now I think that it must be the power adapter. So I'm going back to the Apple store today (which is a kick-ass place, by the way) to return the battery and get a new charger. Hope that helps, as it will be the cheaper option for sure.

(Mom, the issue of draining and charging a battery doesn't apply to the Lithium-Ion batteries that Apple laptops use. But thanks!)

Anyway, there will be serious posting when this is all resolved. Until then, I need my lunch hour to do important stuff online. Like reading Wigu, Sinfest, and Goats. Time sensitive information, you understand.

Cheers

Crisis averted, stand down from Red Alert

2005-09-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

The computer works. It's getting questionable, but that is a case of power. I know I need a new battery (I get about a half hour out of a good charge, down from 3), and I think there is a problem connection inside. I'll get the Apple Store to look at it. It'll cost me, but shouldn't be too bad.

BUT IT WORKS! thank you god...

/collapses in a shuddering heap of relief

Oh, The Humanity

2005-09-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

So I think my computer might be kaput. It's a power supply/battery thing. I'm going to try to get the Apple store to look at it today, as well as one of my coworkers. So posts may become sporadic for a while. I'll let you know.

Feeding the Jones

2005-08-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Inter Nets was down over the weekend. *Shudder*

You'd think that answering emails all day would want to get me away from the computer, but I just get a bad Jones for all the Internet stuff I can do, but can't.

Anyway. Eventful weekend. But late now, details later.

For anyone who likes WoW or online forums, this thread is really funny. It gets good at post #5.

RIght. Peace.

Google Maps are Cool

2005-08-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Google Maps.

Check this out. Here's England.

Here's greater London. The marker is my Tube station, Upton Park.

Here you can see major road going south. That road is just barely wide enough for two cards to pass when there are cars parked on both sides. The large white square is the local football field. My house is near the bottom centre.

And here is my house, more or less.

How cool is that?

Remember, you can click on all these pictures to make them full-screen. That goes for any photos on the Blog.

Peace

Looking for my Flow

2005-08-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

I read a neat thing today about Flow State . Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes about it and defines 8 characteristics universally found in states of Flow. He basically defines it as a place you go to when you are hyper-focused, and at peace with and enjoying what you are doing. Time flies, distractions (internal and external) cease to be relevant, and what one does becomes autotelic, or worth doing for its own sake.

The website goes on to ask:

1. Can you think of any times in your own life what you have been in a state of complete hyper-concentration?

2. What were those times?

3. What conditions existed in order for that state to occur?

I stopped and thought about it, and the last time I can remember feeling like that was when I was directing a scene from Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman. I had Brian Bush and Erin Ogden as my actors, and the whole thing went fantastically. It was a living, breathing piece of art that I had created, nurtured, and finally released full-grown to stand on it's own on stage. I couldn't have been prouder of the result.

When I think back on my (absolutely wonderful) college carreer in Theatre, that is the most shining moment. I enjoyed designing, but I didn't consider myself good enough to continue. My Stop Kiss sound design was great and fantastically recieved, but it was just song selection, no engineering. Lights are fun, but I'm not an electricion. Despite calling myself a Tech, Stage Managing was the only thing I was ever really comforatble with. I liked the artistic aspect of the other, but the nuts of bolts of the things were always too scary and difficult.

Just like stage construction. I could do it, but it never came naturally. I had to drill it into my head every step of the way. If I took any time off at all, I would lose huge amounts of skill.

SMing was fun, it filled my power-lust, and I was naturally good at it. Not fantastic, but more than good enough. My interpersonal skills made up for what I lacked in organization.

I called myself an SM because it was the practical, pragmatic way to go. I was going out on a limb enough as it was doing Theatre. Trying to be an actor or director is not a profitable move. Stick with the safe path. Go with what will benifit most, even if that benifit isn't in the most important place: the soul.

I like my current job. It's a good office full of fun people. Answering emails is starting to get dull and annoying, but I'm still quite good at it. I do really want to go to the Very Exotic Place come November. Apparently our office there is 10 minutes from the beach. It sounds like absolute Paradise. But I miss home. And I wonder if I could handle another year of this, even in Paradise. If I went, I'd feel obligated to stay long enough to make it worth the company's time and money. That's six months to a year, at least. If I'm just going to be doing Cusotmer Service the whole time, with no chance to advancement, I'm not so sure now.

So what does all this boil down to? I don't know. I miss home and friends fiercely, and I'm starting to get a mean Theatre bug. I want to act and direct. That almost certainly means Grad School. I'm becoming more certain that Grad School is in my future. Not immeditately, but there are things I still want to do that would be extremely difficult outside of the academic environment.

I really don't know. I've gotten over my "fuck america, i'm never coming back" phase. The Rockies call my name, even from this distance. Euorpe will definitely be revisited, as well as other parts of the world. But I don't think it will ever be home. That honor is reserved for 20 acres of pine forest at the tip of Idaho.

I don't know. I'm rambling. I need to find my Flow, and it isn't here. I may be offered a once in a lifetime chance soon, but I don't want it to turn into a trap with fantastic scenery.

I just don't know.

Two Fun Weekends, including The Fringe

2005-08-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

Clubbing with Michele was awesome. We went to a fun little place in South London (Brixton Hill, for those who know where it is). Good Jungle and Drum 'n' Bass, as well as some Breakbeats (techo music). We danced like madfolk until the wee hours. I didn't get home until 6 am. At around 3 I left the house again for a Monkey Meetup. Hung with some of the wonderful people from Monkeyfilter . I always used to think meeting people you met in the Internet was wierd and creepy, but these cats are cool as all getout. There will be at least one or two more before I leave. I made them promise.

Right. I can hear you all wailing a gnashing your teeth out there. So, without further ado, here is my account of the Fringe.

We (Brooke and I) left London at 6ish, and arrived by train in Edinburgh around noon. The nice as hell fella from the "hostel" picked us up from the train station and brought us to where we were staying, including a mini tour on the way. It wasn't a real hostel (all of those were completely full), but this guy's flat. He had put some bunkbeds in an empty room, and was renting them out. It was a nice place, and he was really cool. There were 4 beds, but we had the place to ourselves.

We stashed our stuff and walked to the Royal Mile, Edinbugh's high street. It was PACKED with people. Street performers were scattered about, and little knots of people formed around them. There were stages set up with previews of shows on them, and folk handing out fliers every which way. We spent the bulk of the day there, watching free entertainment and trying to decide what we wanted to see that night.

We took the National Scotch Whiskey Heritage Tour, which was fun. I learned a lot about whiskey, and drank some very tasty stuff. I joined the club mostly for the "free" tasters it came with, but later decided I should have saved my money. The only adavantage of the club is if I go back, which I won't. I got my money's worth in whiskey, but only barely. No worries.

We finally decided on a show called "Beautiful Child," based on the description of a woman handing out the fliers. After some confusion about getting tickets, we made it to the venue only to find out they were sold out. We got tickets for the next night, and decided to see the show that was about to start. It was a sketch comedy group from New Jersey. They were funny. Not great, but funny. They played the "We're Americans in Scotland, whoa!" angle fairly well.

We got some food, and decided on another show to see. We picked one called "Stirring." It was about Internet dating, and it was fucking fantastic. Tiny little venue in this giant club network called the Underbelly (thanks for the recommendation, Tami!). The show was well staged, excellently written, and fantastically cast. It made me want to put a personal online and see what happens. Then, of course, things go bad and the desire went away. I highly recommend the script, and would love to direct it some time.

Afterwards we hooked up with a friend of Tami's from when she was there last year (thanks to her again). Eddie is likely in his 50s or so, and cool as the other side of your pillow. He took us on a larger tour, and showed us his favorite pub. There was some killer jazz. We had a drink, then headed back to his house for further libations. Hung out with him and his son Martin, who has inherited his father's cucumber-like coolness. He offered us a place to sleep, but as all our stuff was at the "hostel" and we didn't know if other people would be there or not, we declined. We did take him up on the offer for the next evening, however.

The next day, we went to a nearby park where Fringe Sunday was a-happening. Fringe Sunday is a weekly event where you can see 10 minute previews of most or all the shows, acts, musical groups, etc. There are also the usual perponderance of magicians, performers, and the like wandering about. We spent most of our time in the cabaret tent, watching the musical type acts. We saw a number of superb and funny musical groups, most of which weren't playing when we could see the whole show. There was a hip hip group called Freestyle Love Supreme that was crazy good. There were entirely freestyle, with no written songs or words. They improved based on what the audience was giving them. Thier beatboxer, ShockWave, was one of the best I have every heard, live or otherwise. I hope they go places, and I really hope thier website goes up soon with samples. They have www.freestylelovesupreme.com, but there's nothing there.

One of the previews we saw was a group called
Topping and Butch . Here's a picture of them from the above-linked website.

One skinny, one fat, both in red bondage leather, both very gay, and fucking hilarious. Topical humor, political stuff, all done in song and dance. They did one song called "Fag Hag" to the tune of "Downtown" by the B-52's (i think). Kim, I wish you could have been there! You sprang to mind instantly, although most of our Theatre friends would have loved it. Except Mr Plummer. I think he might have thrown a chair. Anyway, they were the highlight of the Fest. I really want to see thier other show now.

After that, we went to "Beautiful Child." We knew that it was about a teacher having an affair with a student, but we didn't know that the student was 8. The teacher (played by Tim Curry's fucking clone, only shorter) comes to his seriously dysfunctional parents asking for protection, due to the fact that he "loved" one of his art students. After much deliberation, mediocre directing, and inane dialouge, they finally decide that he can stay, but only if they PUT OUT HIS EYES. That's right. Their cure for pedophelia is a firm blinding. 'Cause that makes all kinds of sense. And of course the tragedy is hightened because he's an art teacher, so he can never paint again. Ugh. There were a couple of other characters in it, but they were so pointless as to not be worth mentioning. Brooke liked it, but I gave it a C-. The acting was decent, but watching mini-Curry spit gallons onto the other actors kind of killed any enjoyment I got out of his performance. And he couldn't cry.

We had a few pints at a nearby pub, and then went back to Eddie's. Hung out, played video games with him, drank some psudo-Absinthe (just acholholic, not really anything else), and went to bed. He dropped us off on the Royal Mile the next day, and we toured the Castle of Edinbugh.

I've seen a few Castles now, but this was the first to truly fulfill my boyhood dreams of what a castle should be like. Really, really cool. Bits of living rock jutting out here and there, ramparts, turrets, mutli-levels, and I could practically hear peasants trundling thier carts and Lords riding by on battle-dressed horses. There was a lot of museams inside the castle, and we followed a tourguide around for a little while. Here's Brooke and I at the top, standing on one of the afrementioned juts of living rock.

We ate lunch at the Gourment Burger Kitchen, which we had been to in London before. Best. Burgers. EVER. We spent the rest of the day watching street theatre and waiting until we had to be at the airport at 6. We were able to book the flight early enough that it was actually cheaper than the trian tickets, which we didn't book early enough at all. The flight took about an hour, and of course I was congested at the time, so decent was a very painful experiance. If you've never flown with a stuffed-up head, don't. The pressure change hurts like a mother. I'm fairly sure that's why I have a minor sinus infection now. Before it was just a little head cold, but since I've been expelling snot of a very unhealthy color. Which I'm sure you really wanted to know.

So that brings us up to date, and has killed my lunch hour nicely. I'm going to be spending the rest of the week being poor, so I'll not likely have anything to tell. But I'll try to think of something to rant about. I know how you all go a little crazy when you don't get your regular dose of Brettness.

/conceited bastard.

Cheers!

Photo Album

2005-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

I've got a photo album over on my Friendster account. Check it out!

Michelle is back in town for the weekend, on her way to Kenya. We're going clubbing tonight. She's the wonderful lady who took me to Live 8. She was too sick to go clubbing when she was here before, but she's feeling much better now. I was too tired when we hung out last night, so I promised she could drag me around anywhere she wanted tonight.

She's also wonderful enough to pay my way, since I went WAY over budget in Edinburgh and I've got barely enough to eat until payday (which is next Friday, thank goodness).

You're still gong to have to wait for the Fringe story. Soon, I promise.

Blog Spam?

2005-08-19T00:54:00.000-07:00

BLOG SPAM? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?

I didn't know people spammed blogs! That is so not cool. NOT FUCKING COOL!

The spammers will be the first group of assholes up against the wall when the revolution comes, mark my words!

See comment #4 on the previous post to know why I am pissed off.

No Comment Necessary

2005-08-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

By the way, does everyone know they can click on pictures to make them bigger? 'Cause I didn't.

Also, read why the Flying Spaghetti Monster theology MUST be taught in schools. Bring a tear to my eye, it does.

I'm feeling better today, but I am very emotionally drained. I'm sorry, but you will still have to wait for the Fringe story. It's a good one, but I just don't feel like relating it now. I just might actually go to bed early tonight (*gasp*). Very tired.

Cheers, my dear and wicked children.

No Title

2005-08-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

I saw Brooke for the final time tonight. It hurts. I will miss her very much.

I'll see you soon, Bashful.

The Rest of Paris

2005-08-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

After dinner, we were supposed to meet people to go to the Eiffel Tower. We got a little lost, and missed the rendevue. We bought another bottle of wine from a little wine shop. The proprietor was a really nice guy who spoke excellent English. When we saw the display of wines going from 200 to 2000 Euros, we thought we were in the wrong place. But he sold us an absolutely delicious bottle for 13 Euros that we drank walking around the streets of Paris. After much confusion on thier subway system (they put the bus and subway routes on the same map!!! what the hell!), we finally made it. Remember the brown paint? You hit that with lights, and it glows gold! Magnificent. It was too late to go up the tower, so we lay back on the grass and watched it sparkle. Every hour it starts sparkling with about a million flashing lights. Pretty!

Let me take a moment to speak about the people hawking cheap shit in Paris. They are PUSHY! Don't take no for an answer, and annoying as hell. One of them handed Brooke a rose, and I almost died laughing when she said "Oh, thanks!" and walked away. He chased after us, of course, and I think she was honestly (drunkenly) surprised when he wanted us to pay for it. I gave it back to him. On Monday, a woman actually grabbed Brooke's hand and tied a cheap string bracelet onto it before she could react, then demanded 5 Euros! There was no cash between us, so the woman just walked away. Dumbass...

We bought another bottle of wine from a passing seller for 8 Euros (he certainly made a profit on THAT crap), and made our way back to the hostel. It was after the subway stopped running, and it was a long-ass walk. Met up with some of our BUNAC crew, and followed them home.

The next day we went to the Palace of Versalles (sp?). This was the first palace I have been to that looked like it belonged to Royalty, at least from the outside. I'm sure Buckingham is nice inside, but outside it's kind of drab. We went to the Gardens first, and they were great. Hedges, fountains, statues everywhere. Dad would have loved it. The only part of the inside we went through was the Kings' Chambers. Cool, but just more gilded rooms. Honestly not that exciting. And we spend a half-hour standing in the wrong line. That was discouraging. We did make friends with Jessica, the other girl in the pictures. She's awesome. Lots of fun, math major, dancer, high on life type. Definitely added to our good times.

We went back to Paris and proceeded to the Louvre (I insisted on calling the Loov-Rey the whole time). Amazing. Totally amazing. Saw the Nike, the Mona Lisa, the Venus De Milo, and tons and tons of other incredible artwork. I was told that if you spend 5 minutes looking at every single piece (or was it just paintings?), it would take you 3 months to see the whole place. Humongous.

After the Loov-Rey, we went on another walking tour. We climbed a giant hill until we were overlooking the city, and in a neat-o part of town. Very touristy with lots of restaurants. We ate, and Paul had the escargot. I tried one. Tasted like garlic and butter, and the consistency of on oyster, but not as chewy. Kind of boring, really.

We saw another old gothic church, and then walked to the Mulin Rouge. It was 90 Euros for a show (!), so we went elsewhere. Had a drink at a Irish pub nearby, and then Brooke and I headed to the Eiffel Tower again so we could go on top. The top floor was closed, but the view from the 2nd floor was still amazing. Very romantic. Made the last subway home, and stayed up at another Irish pub (odd trend here). It was the only thing open at 1. She just wanted water, so I bought a beer. It was very good, but only a half-pint for 4 Euros. So I stole the glass. Hah!

The next day we bummed around Paris some more, and went to the Victory Arch and the square where Catherine of Aaragorn was beheaded. Big obelisk, too.

Caught the Eurostar home, but not before blowing my last 5 Euros on a glass of scotch with Scott and Paul.

So that was Paris. Now I have to pack for Edinburgh.

Cheers!

The Question of Cycling... and Paris

2005-08-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is Brooke and I on the boat cruise in Paris. She wanted me to post it because she thinks it's cute. I agree.

I made my first homeward journey on my bike today. Took me about two hours. Only a couple of major wrong turns. I'm in a serious debate as to whether this bike thing is a good idea.

Pro: Daily exercise. Plenty of it.
Con: It's a long-ass ride

Pro: I get a chance to know London better on a street level
Con: The streets between Central London and the East Side are fucking filthy, and not exactly scenic

Pro: It will save me money on Tube fare in the long run
Con: Not until October, and then I'm limited in my travel options. With my Tube pass, I can go anywhere at any time. With the bike, I have to pay each time I use the Tube, and I can't take the bike with me. I'm tied to it.

Pro: Fresh air
Con: London air is not fresh. Many cyclists wear gas masks when they ride. I know why now. Buses make the nasty smoke.

Pro: I'm not a target for suicide bombers.
Con: I'm about a hundred billion times more likely to die from a bad driver than I am from a nutjob with access to fertilizer.

Pro: I love cycling.
Con: Not in the rain, I won't.

You can see my dilemma. I think I'll give it another week or so. Once I have my route hammered out better, it will pick up my travel time considerably. Right now the big thing is the fact that I can't just hop a Tube any time I want. All-day passes are around £5, more if I travel at peak times. With a Travelcard, I can use the Tube and the bus as much as I like, any time. That's really nice.

Even if I sell the bike back in a week or two, I've saved money. I don't know, what you do think?

Since I'm going to the Fringe this weekend, I guess I should post about Paris first. So here we go.

The train arrived in Paris around noon Continental time. Our hostel wasn't ready for us yet, so we dropped off our luggage and took a walking tour. Our guide for the weekend was Javiar, who works for the French BUNAC equivalent. We saw a bunch of sites, including Notre Dame. I have been in a number of monumental cathedrals now, but Notre Dame deserves its reputation. Gothic and huge, it was very dimly lit on the inside. Lots of stained glass, lots of statues, and gigantic vaulted ceilings. We had about half an hour there, and I spent the last 15 minutes or so sitting in the middle of the pews and feeling humble. I can understand how a peasant 700 years ago living in a house made if straw and mud would have believed absolutely in the divine power of his rulers in a place like that. It was a great place for contemplation and meditation. Enormous amounts of energy stored in the walls. I'd love to be there when it is packed with worshippers and resonating with belief.

After the walking tour we took a boat ride up and down the Siene, seeing significant sites. The pamphlet we had was translated into English by a moron. I really wanted to take a red marker to it, or possibly charge them a small fee to make it suck less. The tour was nice. I didn't know the Eiffel Tower was painted brown. They repaint it once every 5 years, and it takes almost 60 tons of paint.

We returned to the hostel and checked into our rooms. Mine was four flights of normal stairs, then a spiral staircase. Not as bad as the girls across the hall, who then had a ladder into a loft. There was a lift, but I doubt it ever worked. I roomed with Paul and Jon, who is the happiest person in the world. He will get excited about anything and everything. Fantastic to have long discussions and debates with. I'm sorry he's leaving soon, and I didn't get to hang with him much. One of the other guys in the room was Scott, who is a theatre tech in London. He's working on a number of shows now, and is going to get me into the big Lighting expo next month for free. W00t! We hit it off as Theatre people tend to, and he was the one I (and Brooke) spent most of the time with. He's in London longer than I am, so we're gonna hang out more. Great contact.

Brooke, Scott, anther girl who's name escapes me, and I went out to a little Parisian cafe. I had frog's legs. I never bothered to imagine what frog's legs would taste like, but if I had, I would have been right. A cross between chicken and fish. Quite tasty, actually. A lot of work for not much meat, though. I had it figured out by the end.

It's late, so I'm going to finish this tomorrow.

Photos to Tide you Over

2005-08-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures to keep you going until I can relate the Story. You can clik on the pictures to make them bigger. And don't miss the Bike post below. Enjoy!

John, Me, Brooke, Scott, Paul, Tina at the Moulin Rouge

Brooke, Me, Scott, Jessica outside the Louvre

"I'm telling you, the hostel is that way!"

The Gardens behind the Palace of Versailles

Biking is Good

2005-08-09T05:07:00.000-07:00

Ahh, my first day biking to work. How sweet it is.

It took me an hour and a half, but that was expected. I didn't take the most direct route, but that will be found later. I have a bike lane alongside a highway for almost half of it. The lane is actually on the sidewalk, not the highway, so there is a curb between me and traffic. I like it.

So, the Bicycle Story.

I went a good ways up into North London to buy the bike. I had downloaded directions to ride it home from the Transport for London website. Little did I know that these directions weren't designed for speed, but rather to encounter the least amount of traffic along the way. This means it is a very random and circuitous route. Had I known where I was going, it would have taken me about an hour to get home.

I will say this for the States: we put a clearly posted street sign at every corner, telling you the name of every street. London does not. On the rare occation you get a street sign, it is in a random place on the side of a building or down low by the road, and it often only lists one road. I wasted at least an hour total riding back and forth past streets I was looking for, but weren't labeled. I think this must be an anti-tourist measure. Arrgh!

At around 10:30 pm (I started the journey at about 7), I was halfway. The direction led me to an industrial area that was totally deserted. I turned down the prescribed road, and it went into a tiny, dark tunnel with the name of the street roughly hand-painted above it. I flew through, hoping my speed would ward off any potential attackers lurking in the shadows. There were none, but I was spit out onto a cobblestone street. It lead to a dead end.

I want to go back to this place and take pictures, or possibly film a horror movie there. I can't think of a better place to be mugged/raped/murdered/carried off to the Goblin King's dungeon. There was a circular cobbled area with a building that would probably be quite interesting in the daylight, but at night it was creepy and foreboding. Surrounded by bushes and hills, and decrepit gazeebo stood off to the left. Twisted hunks of metal somethings were scattered about, throwing odd shadows in the dim light of the single sodium streetlamp. Something was rustling in the bushes. The map wanted me to continue straight ahead, where it became completely dark and I couldn't tell if the opening I could see was a path, or just further into the wild. It took me about 5 seconds to decide that the map could continue on, but I was getting the hell out of there.

I tried several different routes to get where I wanted to be, but they all led back to the same Courtyard of Terror. I finally figured out the map wanted me to ride for some miles along a poorly lit canal. I'm sure in the day it would be pleasant, but I decided this wasn't the best time. After much worry and enough stress to make me sick to my stomach (I still hadn't had dinner), I found a mini cab company to take me and my bike home. It was about midnight when I arrived at my house, and at least 1 before I could sleep. The next morning was not terribly pleasant.

However, all this was worth it for the kick-ass bike I ended up with. It looks very much like this:

So that's the bike story. Next time, Paris. Stay tuned!

Check out Austin's Blog

2005-08-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

My good friend Austin "Danger" Garrison has a blog too, and I absolutely LOVE his post about the Fool. Read it, I think it says a lot. And remind me to tell you about my Donkey theory. And the bike.

http://dangergarrison.blogspot.com

Peace, y'all

I LOVE MY LIFE

2005-08-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

I should be going to bed right now. I really should. But I am compelled to blog.

I just finished a book, GEEKS: How two lost boys rode the Internet out of Idaho by Jon Katz. Fantastic book. I highly recommend it, especially if you feel at all geeky and/or are from Idaho. I made think about a lot of things, including where I am and where I am going. But mostly where I came from.

Thank you Mom, for the book and the lifetime of support and unconditional love. Without the excellent home life I had growing up, I don't know who I'd be. That wonderful home was often very hard work for both my parents, and I am deeply grateful.

Thank you Mr Anderson, whom I know isn't reading this blog, but I hope to contact soon. Mom, if you see him, can you pass the address on?

Thank you to my friends, both old and recent, for always being there for me and accepting the weird little kid I always have been and always will be.

Thank you to the Internet and Geek Culture, for providing me an outlet when it was (and is) desperately needed, and for keeping in contact with the ones I love. For that alone I can't say enough.

Thank you to Life, The Universe, and Everything, for making life hard enough to give me character, but then giving me exactly what I need to take the next step. I am well aware how incredibly lucky I am, and how many people would (and do) literally kill for what I have.

What do I have? It's not the material goods, the money, the opulent lifestyle that allows me such amazing luxuries like the room I live in and the computer I am writing this on. It's not the countless friends, family, mentors, and general people that have touched my blessed life. It's the fact that I know, without a doubt, that I will be OK. More than OK, my life will be great. I don't really need to worry, because I will end up where I need to be. All my efforts, hard work, whatever, while necessary, will ultimately lead me to the final place. And that place is good.

My future has started to become more indistinct. While I thought it was 90% sure I would be going to the Very Exotic Place (still not allowed to mention it by name; soon), it now is looking more like 60% sure. And suddenly, that's OK.

Friendster has allowed me to re-establish communications with people I thought lost, and has made me miss home. If I have to go back to the States in November, I think I would be more than happy to set up a life in Seattle. I have friends and family there, and it would be a good place. I can go places, or settle down and start being "adult." Wait, fuck that. How about just live there for a while.

If my world travels do end there, I know this: I'm coming back. There is a lot of Europe I haven't seen, and a lot more of the World I haven't been even close to. I WILL see more. And I'm fine with waiting. I know life will bring me back. The call is faint and in the distance, but it is there.

To all who read this, my love. Know that I am happy and content. This weekend is Paris, and it should be great. Next weekend is the Fringe Festival, and that should also be great. Afterwards I will be broke as hell, and that will be less great. But I'm not concerned. I've been broke before. It has it's own charm about it.

I got a good bike, so that will help. Specialized Rockhopper, a kickass mountain bike. Getting it home from North London last night was one hell of an adventure, but that will have to wait for another time. Remind me to tell you the story.

Ok, bed now. Mom, thanks for the book. It was excellent. Watch for some Chanel No. 5 in the mail. Everyone else, I leave you with the word of Smoking Bill

One, for the life you live
Two, for your family and your friends
Three, for the bed where you sleep
And four for the food that you get to eat

Excelsior

Droppin' the Quick Post

2005-08-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

Should get back to work soon. But I need to post. MUST POST!

Got a bike, but it isn't good enough. I only spent 40 pounds on it, so I not too worried. I'll just put it back up for sale on the website I bought it on. Ask 50 for it, let them feel clever when they bargin me down.

I did get to ride it through London a bit yesterday. It wouldn't hold up to the hard-core kind of riding I'd need to do with this traffic, but just tooling around through the park on a bike was WONDERFUL. I hadn't realized how much I missed it. I think now that I will drop more money on a good one, like 100 or so. I would even be willing to give up a trip somewhere next month. I know that I'd be missing out, but I want to cycle. It would be totally worth it for the everyday enjoyment. Not enjoyment, exstacy. I'd get out every day, and get to know this city so much better. And unless I find something spectacular, no more online second hand. I need a bike shop to start a realtionship with.

Brooke leaves on the 18th. I may have already said that, I don't remember. Sad. But, of course, we still have Paris. I can't wait to use that line just before she leaves. I hope she doesn't think of it before I get the chance. She's not big on cliches, so I should be good. Great setups don't come around like this every day, you know.

Been going out with the housemates to North London pubs lately. Good times, good atmosphere. On Saturday we saw a carzy-good acrobat in the outdoor part of the pub. He didn't say a word, just started doing cartweels through the tables. Bunch of backflips and handstand tricks, and then for a finale be balanced on one hane on a wine bottle! It was on top of a fence post, and he had his whole body above it. Totally wicked. He must have come away with 50 pounds just from our Pub, and he richly deserved it.

Anyway. Back to work. Post comments so I know you're out there!

I'm the worst blogger ever

2005-07-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Sorry I havn't been updating. When I get home, I just haven't been in the mood. Not all that much is happening lately, either.

Played in a poker tournament in a place called Gutshot last Tuesday. Good times. Five pound buy in, and unlimited rebuys for the first hour. I only lost 10 pounds, and was there for about an hour and a half. Learned a lot. I'll go back, but not to frequently. Expensive.

I saw Batman Begins on the IMAX here, and it freakin' rocked. The movie is great, and that is one gigantic screen. Not quite as big as I thought it would be, but still totally wicked.

Paris is the weekend after this one. Should be awesome.

Justin leaves on Saturday. I'll miss him, but I GET MY ROOM BACK!!! Oh, the extacy.

Brooke leaves on August 18th. Another bittersweet, planned-obselecene relationship. I don't have any regrets, but it's kind of sad. She wants me to go to Berlin with her next month, but I can't afford it. Paris will be expensive, and I want to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. That's the biggest Theatre festival in Europe, for those who don't know. It's a month long, and supposed to be the raging shit.

I'm looking into bikes more. I found a 2nd hand one online that looks really nice, and will be cheaper than the new shitty one I was going to buy. I'm in contact with the guy, and I'll go look at it this weekend. I hope it works out, because I really want to start cycling again. I miss the daily physical activity. I'm too sedentary these days, and I can feel it.

Right. I have 45 mintues to read Harry Potter on my lunch break. Ciao!

Culture and Madness

2005-07-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

First, the madness.

The bombings won't end. Not only has there been the second (failed) attempt, but now policemen have gunned down an innocent man in the Tube. Holy shit. Granted, what that dumbass was doing running from the police I don't know. But still, the tragedy is staggering. I thought the 7th was going to be an isolated incident, but now I'm suspecting that the troubles might continue. All the more motivation to buy a bike, I guess. Thank god I get paid on Tuesday.

I would like to take a moment to rant about the dumb fucks who leave their bags unattended on the tube. Besides the signs everywhere and the stupid announcement every 10 minutes to mind your personal belongings, there is the fact that there have been fucking BOMBINGS. Now every time some dumb prick forgets his backpack or leaves a large bag of litter somewhere, they have to stop all the trains and bring in the bomb squad to deal with some books and half a pack of gum. There should be a hefty fine or possibly a swift kneecap-batting for the people who leave their shit behind. And they should be condemned to wear a shirt that reads "I'm the reason you were late" every time they use public transport.

Ok, now the culture.

Paul, Justin, Brooke and I all went to see The Woman In Black. It's a play that's been running since 1996 or something on Drury lane. And it is scary. Fantastic stuff. At first I really didn't like the large group of high school kids who were there, but once all those teenage girls started screaming their fool heads off I decided they were exactly what the night called for.

Quick synopsis: the lawyer goes out to the dead spinster's haunted mansion in the boonies to go through her stuff, and gets haunted by the Woman in Black. Turns out the Woman is haunting because her sister, the dead spinster, took the Woman's son away, and then he drowned. Now she haunts the town, and whenever she is seen a child dies. All this is told by the lawyer who is now an old man and has written it all down. He has come to an actor to help him tell the story, and they are rehearsing the play they will make. Their rehearsals are the story, so every now and then the action stops, the lights come up, and they discuss. At the end, of course, the actor (who has been playing the role of the lawyer) see the Woman in Black, and now his son is doomed. Curtain.

The acting was great. The old man played a dozen roles with spectacular definition. When he's the coachman, I swear his chin grows an inch at least. The lights were cleaver, and the sound design was spot on. At one point there is supposed to be the sound of a rocking chair from upstairs. The sound they used for the rocking chair was a fetal heartbeat. Brilliant.

Being a theatre geek (noticing things like the heartbeat: I'd bet no one else there did) means that bad theatre is torture, but good theatre is made all the better. And this was good theatre.

The next night Brooke and I went to the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. The Proms is some kind of big annual symphony. The big crescendos were fun, but I find classical to be background music. It was a beautiful symphony, don't get me wrong. But halfway through each piece I'd realize I had forgotten I was supposed to be watching the performers and I was just staring around at that fantastic Hall. Good times, but I'm not really a symphony person. If I'm going to watch live music, I want it to rock. Classical is what I put on when I need to think. The Royal Albert Hall was, of course, magnificent. I'd love to see something else there.

Today we went to the Portabello Market, the oldest market in Briton. About a mile long, it's just little stalls set up along a narrow street. Beautiful section of town, and neat stuff. Lots of antiques and jewelry. There was one store that was all authentic medieval weapons. A total SCA wet dream. The guy who runs it is a total dick and won't let anyone inside unless they are actually going to buy something. Granted the place was tiny, but come ON! I just want to look for a minute. I didn't even get to see what the prices were. Ass.

All in all, good times. I'm staying safe and being smart. My Tube lines haven't been targeted yet, and I'm hoping that I'm far enough off the beaten track that they'll stay that way.

Things progress with work nicely. There was more talk about sending me to the Very Exotic Place, and I should know for sure soon. I might even be able to tell you where it is (they made me delete it last time I wrote it here. stupid Google finding my blog...).

Justing leaves soon. I get my room back!!! Patience, patience...

Word.

I'm Still Fine

2005-07-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

More bombings today. Not many details, but it sounds like some dumbasses tried to bomb the Tube and failed. The detonators went off, but not the bombs themselves. I don't think anyone was hurt. I am at work, and I'm still fine.

Goddamn cowardly chickenshit terrorists. If that happened in the States, they would have been lynched. I would have helped.

This disturbs me deeply...

2005-07-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

This is the dumbest, most pretentious thing I have ever seen. As if I didn't have reason to hate people who drive Suburban Assault Vehicles in the city as it is, now we have :

Spray-On Mud

That's right, Spray-On Mud. For the raging dumbass who wants people to think that he is "rugged" and "outdoorsy" in downtown London in his Mercedes SUV. If you're going to have a large and overblown vehicle to show everyone how great you are, have the good class to buy Bently. No one would ever want to put Spray-On Mud on a Bently.

Anyway.

Justin is coming to the end of his time here in London, and will be traveling to Spain for a week. Since he doesn't want to pay another month's rent for a week or so, he's going to crash at my place. I don't really have much room, but he and Paul had less room when they let me sleep there. So it's the least I can do. I will admit I'm not looking forward to loosing my privacy, though. And since we don't have a common room, I will be. I suspect I will be spending a lot of time at Brooke's and just giving Justin my keys after work so he can get home. As long as one of us is home before the other, it will be fine.

Spent yesterday in Camden Market with Brooke. Not the first time I've been there with a girl, but the first time is was actually a decent date. Afterwards she had dinner with friends, and I went out to bid Bon Voyage to Mark and Phil.

Mark and Phil are two French Canadian friends of ours. They are an absolute blast to hang with, and very well loved by all. There was about a dozen of us at Bar Logic, and I haven't gone drinking with such a large group of mutual friends in a while. Mark and Phil are off across Europe for a couple of weeks, but they'll be back through London soon.

It is an odd feeling. Most of my friends here are BUNACers like me, but they are almost all still students. For them this is a crazy summer trip, and a part of College. They'll go back to their friends and family and tell them all about their Euopean Summer. I'm here as the next step in my life, and I don't really have anything to go back to. As much as a miss home and everyone, I don't feel like my future lies there. I'm starting something great here, and after next month is over I'll have shed much of my initial support network and really be here on my own. I like the though of that.

It's been absolutely beautiful here. I tried to sit in my backyard and read today, but there is something dead in the bushes. I'd recognize the smell of mid-summer dead thing anywhere. Reminds me of growing up in the woods, actually.

Rumor has it that there should be some official word coming down the pipe at work which will have large impact on my future here. Not to be all mysterious, but that's all I can say for now. I'll let you know soon.

Oh, and Randy: LOVED the books. Everyone, run out and buy/borrow/steal from small children The Antipope by Robert Frankin. It's the first book in the Brentford Trilogy, and it's a hoot. A British hoot, at that.

Cherrio!

Chillin' Like A Villan

2005-07-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all.

Not much to say. At work, on lunch. Life continues apace.

I got my student loans forbeared. They were going to come due on Thursday (thought I had more time. surprise, surprise!), so this is a very good thing. It's not a Deferment, it's just a Forebearance. That means that I still accrue interest. If I wait the full year to start paying them off, I'll get an additional $900 worth of interest added on. I'm going to start paying them soon, just not tomorrow.

Here's a picture of Justin and I from the Belgium trip last month. I still have to get the good ones of The Netherlands from Paul. That's why you are getting old ones.

Peace!

Brooke and I on the 4th of July

2005-07-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

Since Blogger has made it so easy to upload photos, I've gotten much lazier about things. I don't need to write, just post a shot!

This is from the BUNAC 4th of July cruise on the River Thames. It was alright, and really the only 4th thing going on. Here, the only reason that particular date gets any notice is people casually thinking, "Oh yeah. This is the day we got rid of them. Woot!"

Anyway. Went to Windsor Castle today with Michelle, my who took me to Live 8. She flies out tomorrow (Mon), so I was glad I got one more chance to hang with her. She's cool beans.

Windsor Castle was cool. Externally, it's the classic, stereotypical sweet-ass castle. Inside is the opulence one would expect, as well as a lot of cool swords, armor, artworks, etc. Queen Mary's Dollhouse was far-out. Keep in mind that the pictures on that link are from a dollhouse that is about 5 feet tall. The detail was incredible.

I'm going to wrap up Amsterdam here. I had a great post with lots of storytelling, embellishment, and my usual over the top style. Now, you get the condensed version. I know how disappointed everyone is, but I'm sure you'll survive.

We went to a cheese and clog factory at 8 in the morning. Apparently over a million people still wear wooden shoes every day. Most get made in a factory, but we saw one of 6 people left in the world who still make wooden shoes by hand. He looked around my age. And the cheese was excellent.

We also went to a little Dutch town, whose name I forget. It was a little fishing town on a lake, and it's primary income now is tourism. If you look up the word "quaint" in a dictionary, you get a picture of this place. Tiny "dollhouse" building, not more than 10 feet at the roofpeak. Wonderful and peaceful.

I absolutely love the Dutch. They're kind, happy, and seem to have an amazing quality of relaxed-ness about them. There was just something undefinable about the place, like they have it figured out pretty well and they're just waiting for the rest of us to catch up. Maybe it was because there are more bicycles than cars in Amsterdam by a far sight. I really, really want to live there for a while. I'd have to learn the language, though.

We got back and went to the Van Gogh museum. Amazing. Totally fantastic. His whole career laid out so you can follow it through his artwork. I left feeling uplifted and slightly more cultured.

The Heineken Experience sucked. Stupid and boring. And they only gave us 3 half-pints of beer the whole tour. Rubbish. We did make a little video that you can see here . There's no sound worth speaking of, but we're just ranting about how much the tour sucks.

We missed the canal tour with the girls, so we ended up going back to the hostel for a nap. There still hadn't been much sleep. We set an alarm for 9 pm so we could go out again, but the alarm never went off and we slept until 3 in the morning. I was raging pissed that I missed Saturday night, so two David and I went out anyway.

Amsterdam at 3 in the morning is much different. Less people, different atmosphere. Mostly just the long-haulers and people going home for night. We were able to cover more ground without the crowd, and ended up having a great time. I'm still disappointed I missed the choas and awesomeness of the Saturday night in full-swing, but I was pleased at the end result.

Back on the bus again at 8. Stopped at a town in Belgium on the way. More Gothic goodness, and a few more bottles of excellent beer for the shelf. I've acquired quite a collection of fantastic beer bottle labels, all of which will go to my Dad soon. We stopped in France at a dirt-cheap alcohol store, and I got a decent bottle of wine for about 4 pounds. I got to try it first, and the guy behind the taste-test booth was really cool. The beer got drank real quick, but I'm hanging onto the wine for the right time.

Definitely the best part of the trip home was that I was sitting next to Brooke. I was most upset about missing Saturday night because I was planning on spending with her. I don't know if she had similar intentions or not, but I was by this point plotting her downfall. Again, despite the disruption of my schemes, I am quite pleased with the outcome.

I think that brings things up to date. The weather is nice. I've been going out with my roommate Jeremy more and getting to know his friends. Good bunch of blokes, although a little hard to understand when they're drunk and slurring their accents. My own drunken hearing doesn't help, I'm sure. Most of the people I know here leave in August some time, so I need to diversify my social scene.

Bedtime again. I notice that I can be totally exhausted all day, and once the sun goes down I want to stay up for hours on end. Too much of a theatre schedule still in me. I haven't been to any more shows here, either. Must rectify that soon.

Namaste.

Oh god dammit...

2005-07-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

I had a LONG post almost finished when I accidentally closed my browser. Sonofabitch! I really don't feel like writing it all again right now. Sorry.

Instead, here's another photo. This is me in front of the Dali museum by the London Eye. It's a little old, but it's the only one I have edited down to size right now.

I appreciate whoever put that graffiti there. I couldn't ask for a better setup line.

Never a Dull Moment

2005-07-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who haven't been watching the news.

There was a series of bombings on the London Underground yesterday morning. At least four on the Tube, and one in a bus. 40-odd people are dead, and hundreds injurded. Had I been on the Tube, I would have been fine. Likley stranded, but fine. It didn't hit my line, which I find surprising. I would have thought they Terrorists would have hit the richer part of London. But they just went after the common, working class people on thier way to work. Cowards.

The office emptied halfway through the day, as people needed time to be able to get home. Since I live an hour away by tube, I wasn't going to walk it. I stayed until the last people were leaving, then went to a pub for a pint. Sat and read The Brentford Triangle . Thanks, Randy!

I wasn't able to get home last night, as all transprotation had been shut down. Fortunately Brooke lives within walking distance of both our works, so I stayed there last night.

BROOKE:

Tall. Dark hair, dark brown eyes. Great smile. Philosophy and something else major. 18. Worked at the Democratic National Convention last year. Working in a law office now, wants to go to law school so she can help the world.

She spent a good chunk of her childhood in London, so this has been somthing of a homecoming for her. It's fun walking around, because she knows the city from the point of view of a nine year old. She is off to Dublin this weekend.

Once I get a photo pf her from Paul, I'll post it. Blogger has made it much easier to post photos, so you will see more.

I think this will be a weekend of rest. Still haven't caught up on sleep properly.

I'm fine

2005-07-07T02:52:00.000-07:00

Hey all. If you heard about the explosions in London, don't worry. I'm fine and didn't even know about it until I got to work. We don't know what happened, but I'll let you know when I do.

A Photo for You

2005-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here's Me, Bree, and Karli in Brussles. Enjoy!

A Quick Post

2005-07-05T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all. Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Things have been BIG. Went to Canada Day, went to Live 8, went on a 4th of July cruise, and got a new lady. Brooke is great.

Live 8 was amazing. The Who rocked with the practiced ease of Grand Masters of thier craft. And for Pink Floyd I have no words. Indescribable.

Anyway, time for work now. We figured out why the Internet has been down at my house, so I will try to write more tonight.

Peace!

Quick Update

2005-06-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

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...

2005-06-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2005-06-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-17T05:37:00.000-07:00

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!!!`

2005-06-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-13T00:53:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-06T05:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2005-06-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

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

2005-05-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2005
6:15 pm
West Ham, London
Weather: Very Nice, despite the RAGING thunderstorm of this morning
Music: Birdsong and city noises
Beer: Delirium Tremens (correct spelling)

As I left today to do some shopping, I noticed a large number of people wearing West Ham shirts going to the football (soccer) match near here. As I came home, a small riot was going on in the form of a victory celebration. Nothing to fear, but DAMN do these people love their football. Six blocks away, I can still here the cheering and horns honking.

Anyway. On to the story.

Around 8:00, we caught the train to Dover, the port town where you go to catch a ferry to France. It is a neat little town, historical as hell just like everywhere else. The train took an unusually long time, and we arrived around 10:00. Above the town is a large castle, and it was well-lit so that it glowed high on the hill. Quite a sight.

We had purchased cheap camping equipment, and meant to pitch a tent somewhere. We had been advised that next to or near the castle was the best place, so we were making our way there. This is four of us, by the way. Justin, Bree, Karli, and myself.

We asked a number of drunken locals where would be the best place, hoping for a new idea. Finally we met one guy who after several minutes of cognation declared that we could sleep in his back yard. We followed him and his three friends back to the house, a few blocks away. Turns out it isn’t his house, but his friends’ parents’ house. The parents are away, and the friend is AWOL. But they are all staying there anyway, so it’s ok. The friend has been phoned, and we are welcome.

We end up sleeping in the lounge, although the garden is beautiful and would be perfect for camping. But this way we don’t need to worry about setting up the tent, etc. We stay up until about 1:30 drinking and talking with some very cool people. Several of them live in London, and we’re all going to get together soon. One is Claire, who was lots of fun, very attractive, and going on 30 despite what my eyes told me. She seemed to take quite a liking to me…

We woke at 5:00 am to catch our ferry and found them still awake and still drinking in the kitchen. They bade us farewell, and we made our way to the docks.

Apparently, the White Cliffs of Dover are known as one of the finest sights in all of England, and I know why. On the shore, they seemed to rise some thousand feet and were a brilliant white. Built into the sides were a number of Napolianic forts, some full and mighty, others just a few windows hinting at what might be buried in the cliffs. I want to go back to Dover and see more.

The ferry ride was fun. It was a fast thing, the sea was pretty, and we all napped most of the way.

We arrived in Calais, the port town in France. We ate breakfast in a little café near the train station while we decided what to do. We hadn’t really made a plan, but we had a few ideas. Based on a tourist brochure, we decided to go to Lille as it was voted the most culturally significant place in France in 2004. We hopped another train, and watched French countryside roll by for an hour and a half.

Lille is a beautiful city (they all are, over here), full of architecture and history and French people. Bree speaks fluent French, so that made our lives much easier. We walked around, ate fantastic chocolate, had dinner in an outdoor restaurant while sipping cheap French wine.

[Jesus, more police sirens. I wonder what is going on over there.]

While the girls looked at shoes and purses, Justin and I found a fantastic beer store. Beers of all kind and descriptions, with fantastic labels all advertising 7% or higher. We both had several, and I’ve kept all the bottles to send home to Dad. He collects such things, and will be quite pleased. The liquor section upstairs was incredible. Many wonderful and exotic spirits, and even more wonderful and exotic bottles. Bunches of grapes, rampant horses, the globe with the continents etched into the sides. I could spend a LOT of money in that place, and be well pleased with my investment. The beer I drink as I write this comes from there, and is excellent.

Our original idea had been to move on to the south of France, possibly to Nice. Upon checking ticket prices we found this plan to be hideously expensive. However, Belgium was about twenty minutes away and right in our budget. So across the border we went into Brussels.

We arrived around 8:30, and spent an hour and a half looking for our hostel. We asked a random woman on the street for directions, and she spent an hour and a half helping look for the place. We didn’t find it on foot, and Diana (that was her name) felt very bad despite our profuse thanks.

[There is a cat staring at me. There are many where I live, and they are surprised to see a human sitting on the window ledge just as one of them would.]

We caught a cab and made it to our hostel a half an hour after our reservation ran out. Thankfully, no one else had come in, and we go the very last room in the place. We did not go out, as we were all very tired. We settled in a little and went down to use the free internet. While there, I had a very nice talk with a girl named Sara from New Jersey who is studying music in Germany. I forget why she was in Brussles.

The next day, we checked out and walked around Brussles. If Lille was beautiful, Brussels is truly epic. At first all we saw was a dirty little city and a freightingly dirty subway. As we got further and further towards to city center, it became more and more incredible. There are statues everywhere, all of them the light green of weathered copper. Ironwork balconies abound, and monuments are the norm. The building slowly became more and more gothic and elaborate, until we reached the Great Place. City Hall is humongous. You can see the spire from almost anywhere in the city, and up close it is hard to take in. Big Ben has nothing on Brussels. Gothic does not begin to describe it. Points and spears and gargoyles and statues in every nook and cranny. The entire square was surrounded by equally gothic and incredible buildings, all of them huge but none nearly as monolithic as City Hall. A choir was set up for some event, and we listened to a few songs before moving on.

From here we walked through winding cobblestone streets. We ate a breakfast of Belgium waffles with melted chocolate dribbled over them at an outdoor café, wandered through a small “arts and crafts” type market, found a chocolate store and stuffed ourselves silly on amazing Belgium chocolates that would have cost five times as much anywhere else.

We found the Manneken Pis, the famous statue/fountain of a little boy peeing. There are many legends about the statue, involving him putting out a fire or that he was a prince who relieved himself in public. Either way, it was small and underwhelming but still really cool. I have an ashtray of him at home, and Mom used to tell me about it, so it was one of those little checkmarks in the ‘Things I Should Do In My Life” column. I have pictures of all of this, by the way, and when I get them from Karli and figure out why Blogger isn’t letting me post any more, you’ll get them.

The plan at this point was to backtrack, eat dinner in Lille, spend the night in Calis, and catch the ferry at noon back to Dover on Monday. We were quite tired, and the girls were especially so. We went back to the train station and caught an earlier train back to Lille.

It was a Eurostar train, and we learned that this particular train was going to London. Bree asked the very nice captain if we could possibly extend our tickets, and he let us ride the rest of the way for free! Our tickets from Brussels to Lille were ten Euros (around $17), and the tickets we would have had to purchase from Lille to London at such a last minute would have been much more expensive. Fantastic.

So that was my trip to France and Brussels in under 48 hours. We got home a day early, which was perfect. I had all of today to rest, do laundry, and buy a few more shirts for work. I picked up Neil Gaimen’s Stardust today, and I am already enchanted. If you don’t read Neil Gaimen (Neverwhere is fantastic and set in London), start. It will obsess your life, but you’ll love every second of it.

Tomorrow I return to work, where I will continue to convince my bosses I am God’s gift to Customer Service. The three of us each had the private conference with the boss on Friday, and the word I would use is “gushing.” We each got a 10% raise after a weeks’ work just based on the increase in customer satisfaction. Even if The Very Exotic Place doesn’t work, I am fairly confident that I can convince them to keep me on so I don’t have to return to the States. Sorry folks, but I’m going to try my hardest not to come back for a long, long time. There is the question of the work visa, which I haven’t had the time to answer yet. I understand that having a sponsor makes things much easier. The company can tell the immigration people, “No, we need him, let him stay” they will. But I have to research all of this to find out for sure.

Anyway. Got a date with Michelle, the girl I didn’t end up going out with last Thursday. We go out on Tuesday, and it should be good times. She lives in Windsor, which is a good ways out of London, so even under best circumstances it would be hard. But that won’t stop me from enjoying her company. And there is Claire to think about, too…

I love that the neighbors don’t notice me up here, not do they hear the clicking of the keyboard. People never think to look up. Let that be a lesson to you, however you choose to take it.

All my love to everyone, and if my blog is teaching you anything, let it be that spontaneity is a good thing. If you have the wild hair to jump up and run off somewhere exotic, DO IT! The Universe will provide, you can flow with the Tao, and the Goddess loves you.

Peace.

Free at last, free at last, thank Life, the Universe, and Everything, I am FREE at last!!!

2005-05-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

5-26-05, 10:17 pm
Music: “Lean On Me,” covered by Rockapella
Weather: Really nice
Mood: Jubilant
Place: My room in East Ham, London

I found a place.

It’s out in Zone 3, so it’s 45 minutes to an hour to get to work, but I think I can cut that down. And you really can’t get anywhere here in less than 20-30 minutes at rush hour, anyway.

It’s nice (read=not a hole), the neighborhood is good, got a little back yard with some wildlife (saw a toad and two cats--seems a good place for spellcasting…). Three roommates, none of whom I’ve met. One guy is only here when is in London, which is rarely. One guy is moving out in 2 weeks, and if I’m still here I can have his much bigger room. Third one lives here. Should prove interesting.

Notice I said “if I’m here in two weeks.” I went and saw a place a couple of nights ago that was really nice. Cool roommates of an alternative mindset, to the tune of…………..

11:35 pm

Just me the resident roommate. Had a good long hangin’-out. Cool guy. Good to know.

Ok, gotta wrap this this. I’ll find out about the other place end of next week. Thought I wanted to take it over this place, but not so sure now. We’ll see how this place works out.

Just got paid. Good thing, too. Situation wasn’t desperate yet, and now it won’t be.

Apparently I’m going to France tomorrow. Friends priced out an entire weekend including stay, food, and spending money for around 150 quid. I’ll read that as at least 200, and it sounds like fun. We have a bank holiday this weekend, so we get Monday off. I don’t know any details, but the South of France and beeches are involved, as is Paris. I’ll be back on Monday.

Sweet.

Oh right, I remember the other news. The Exotic Place.

My job is a temp position while they try to shut down the current CS centre and set one up in A Very Exotic Location. It is still all up in the air at the moment, but IF it goes through, my boss agrees with me that I should be involved in the project and shipped down there to work in the new customer service center. In A Very Exotic Location. Where I’d (maybe) be going in September or October. Instead of going back the States.

A Very Exotic Location.

Whoa.

Must pack for tomorrow.

Stuff and stuff

2005-05-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

The house hunt continues apace. I'm going back to the ISH tonight, as I can't push Justin and Paul's generosity any further. They need a chance to get thier place set up properly. They saved me some money, and I'm going to have to buy them dinner or something in return. Maybe just a lot of beer...

The two places I mentioned last are gone. The first one I didn't get on top of soon enough, the second they gave to someone else.

I looked at a really nice place last night. The place was nice, the people were awesome, and I really want to live there. Trouble is, they are interviewing potential rommates, and they will let me know at the END of next week. RRRrrgh! If I knew for sure I could move in, I would stay in the ISH until the 6th (when the room opens). But they can't tell me for sure, or even for maybe. They said I made a very good impression, but whatever.

Looking some places tonight. Hope it goes well.

Almost time to get back to work. We traded one boss for another. JDW, the guy who trained us, is out for two weeks. His supervisor (I'll call him B-Dawg) was out when we got hired and is now back. B-Dawg is cool, but I like dealing with Justin much better. Plus Justin knows us and our training.

Going out with a girl I met at the ISH one night tomorrow. Michelle is really cool, and we hit it off famously, but she lives way the hell out in Windsor. So I doubt anything will come of it. Meh.

The Great Accomodation Quest

2005-05-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

Had a great day of looking for accomdations. Found two great places, close to friends and work. The one I want I find out about in a couple days. I couldn't move in until Wednesday or so, and when I called him and told him I wanted it he said he had some other people coming to look at it and he would "let me know." Rrrgh!

The other place was also great location and the right price, but it was MUCH smaller and in a basement. The kitchen was tiny and no natural light. I could handle that, but I kind of want the other place. On the other hand, the other place has like 6 other people living there. The basement place has 3 other people, two of them a couple in a room. And I could probably move in today or tomorrow. Decisions, decisions.

Paul and Justin have said I can keep staying there, but I'm the third man in a machbox-sized room. I could stay with Bree and Karli, but I the places I'm looking at are within walking distance. I don't want to navigate the Tube with luggage for a 100th time.

Maybe I'll just take the smaller, more private place. It is in a more residental area. In the big place, my bedroom window would overlook a business street.

I'm having another Monkey Meetup with folk from Monkeyfilter (see my links on the right). The last one was great, so I'm looking forward to it.

I'm at work now. We're so badass, we get way ahead of the day's emails. Awww, yeah!

Wow...

2005-05-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Stongehenge was incredible. It made me feel very young and yet part of something very old. I found it easy to be alone with the monument, despite the 50+ people there.

There were crows nesting there...

They didn't let us anywhere near the thing, of course. You were given a little speaker-thing that you could listen to and would give you a recorded tour. I listened to a few entries, but found I didn't really care what they told tourists. It was windy as hell, and the rain went from light drizzle to annoyingly stiff and back again in rapid successions. I didn't really care. I just wanted to be alone in the middle of the circle on a moonlight night.

When we got back to the bus, most everyone else had the attitude of ,"Those famous old rocks were pretty cool." They didn't understand. I was left feeling sober and introspective, and very much at peace. The peace that radiated out from it was palpable. I walked in the footsteps of the Goddess today, and I feel slightly more complete than I did before.

Bath was beautiful. The group of 30ish people who went on this thing all walked up to the center of town, where the Roman Baths are. I went with Karli and Bree instead. Bree had been there last year, and she wanted to show us a little church she found that wasn't near the tour. The architecture there is magnificent. Even newer houses and structures (of which I saw few obvious) were built in the traditional style. Every nook and crannie had something growing in it. It was sunny and rainy all day, a very pleasant combination of both.

The Abbey of Bath was beautiful, with HUGE stainded glass windows. While just as aestheically and architectural impressive, I didn't feel any connection to it.

Must find a place to live now. Hopefully going to go see a place tomorrow. House, three other people, sound chill as hell, and they would rather leave the room empty than let someone they don't know move in. 45 minute commute to work, though. I'm looking at at least 30 minutes door-to-door anyway, but it's still way the hell out in Zone 3. We'll see.

Must sleep now. Crashing at Justin and Paul's house. Floor is calling...

And my final answer is...

2005-05-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

So THIS has been a thing since last night...

Alistar, the man running the Original Theatre company, finally called me back last night just as I was leaving work. They found someone else to be thier DSM who had more marketing experiance than I. Understandable, as right now marketing is the most important thing to them. However, they really wanted me anyway and offered me a position with the tour as an ASM and Assistant Producer. Sounded good, but there were problems.

They couldn't give me a free place to stay for the 3 weeks until the tour starts, which was part of the old deal. Also, rather than a for-sure salary, I would have been paid by profit-sharing. All the actors are on that scheme. So if the show is a raging success, I would have made a lot of money. Or I could have made nothing at all.

I was flattered and encouraged by the fact that they were trying to find a place for me on the tour, but I can't afford to live for 3 weeks without getting paid. And then to come out end of August with an empty bank account and no idea how much money was coming back...

It's a shame, as the tour would have been totally awesome. But I like my (well-paying)job here at the ISP, and know I know what's going on for the next five months. I can start working on finding a permanent place to stay here in London. I'll be so glad to not be living out of a suitcase anymore. And a real kitchen...

Stayed with Jade the last two nights. Had great times. Tonight I crash with my friends and co-workers, Paul and Justin (see Paul's blog and the picture of Justin below). Find me a place, settle in, and hang out. After all, this trip was never intended to be about theatre. It was intended to be about LONDON. And that is pretty sweet.

Tomorow I go to Bath and Stonehenge with BUNAC. Should be totally awesome.

Waiting waiting waiting...

2005-05-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

Haven't heard from the Original Theatre yet.

Uncle: just wait for the pictures.

Mom: sweet!

Totally amazing unicycling. Infuckingcredible. (Large WMA file. Only Broadband users need apply)

Waiting...

Jade and a Monkey Meetup

2005-05-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

I'll be seeing my college buddy Jade today. Staying with him for a couple of days so I can save on hostel rent. Should be the awesome times. I haven't seen Jade in a number of months now. We can reminice and discuss the novelty of Moscow vs London. To top it off, two other Moscowvites, Megan Negale and Kelsey Hammon (dear friends) will be hereabout soon. Look out UK, U of I is invading!

Also tonight I have a meetup with people from my favorite weblog, Monkeyfilter. That should be fun. Get to know some more Londoners, and finally meet the people behind the comments. Normally I'd be a little wary of meeting Intra-web people in real life, but I'm pretty sure the Monkeys are cool. That and the fact that there have been a number of these meetups in the past.

I find out TOMORROW if I got the SM job. At this point, I just want to know. Even if I don't get it (ohpleaseohpleaseohplease), I'll be relieved just to know where I'm going. Then I need to find a place to live. I like my job at the ISP and the people I work with, so I won't be too awfuly heartbroken.

"God I hope I get it..."
/A Chorus Line

My thoughts exactly

2005-05-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

RE: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

Word has it that it is "Star Wars: The Apology." Everyone says it's great. I'm going to see it in theatres, of course, but still.

This is how I feel.

Ho Hum...

2005-05-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend looking for a place to live. We were trying to fit 5 or 6 of us into a three bedroom, but we can't find anything without a lease, we can't find anything close to work, we can't etc etc etc. And now if I get the SM job, I'll have accommodation taken care of. IF I get the job. Up in the air, up in the air.

On the other hand, I found my friend Jade (he lives here in London). He's been sick lately, so we haven't been able to hang out. But his mother is going away Wednesday-Saturday, so I can stay there for free for a couple of days. That will help a lot. And by then I'll know about the Original Theatre, and whether I need to find a place to live.

This Saturday there is a BUNAC trip to Bath and Stonehenge that I'm going on. Should be good times.

Just got back from the interview...

2005-05-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

I want this job.

The Original Theatre is a little company. They are operating by the skin of their teeth on a shoestring budget. The tour would take me to every corner of the UK, and it sounds like they have a lot of NEAT venues lined up. Theatre, castles, holiday spots, a sport arena, etc. They are all about making Shakespeare both accessible and pushing the experimental side of it. They want to bring a level of audience participation into it.

In modern times, the large form of live entertainment is sports, soccer in the UK. People get into it, they cheer, they boo, they participate. Back in the day, audiences were the same way with theatre. Shakespeare wrote a lot of sex into his plays to keep the groundling interested. It was standard practice to cheer the heros and boo the villain. The Original Theatre wants to try and bring some of this back. So we have some very common venues, and some very upper crust venues.

Sounds like so much fun!!!

I will find out for sure by Thursday. They said I have good chances and they liked what they saw, but they have two or three other interviews on Wednesday. They said they have to do the interview for the sake of fairness, since these people are coming from a long ways away. I like the sound of "for the sake of fairness."

This would be so awesome...

omg omg OMG!!!

2005-05-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ok...calm down...deep breaths....

So, the day I was supposed to find out about the job I ended up getting (I didn't find out until evening), I purchased an account with The Stage, the London theatre newspaper. I sent my resume to a dozen or more theatre companies advertising jobs. I got emails back from a couple saying I needed to fill out an application before they'd look at me, but I wasn't worried about it. I have a good job that I like, whatever.

I checked my email just now, and there was one from The Original Theatre saying that they really wanted to interview me, but my phone had been off the last couple of days. Which is true, because I was at work.

But they REALLY WANT TO INTERVIEW ME!!!!

oh my god oh my god oh my god....breathe....breathe...

It would be an Assistant Producer/Deputy Stage Manager position (OH MY GOD!), and they are touring Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. So I would get to tour the UK with a Shakespeare company. It would be from May-August, and would only pay 1150 pounds (I make more than that in a month at the ISP, but then I wouldn't be paying rent etc with the tour [I think]).

Since Paul and Justin, my two buddies with whom I got the ISP job, are leaving in August, I might be able to walk back into it after the tour is over. I'll need to talk to my new boss, assuming I get the tour.

I'll call them tomorrow.

Oh My God...

Killing time at work...

2005-05-13T01:59:00.000-07:00

So we're at work now. We've been here an hour, and we're still waiting for JDW (our boss, not my co-worker and potential rommmate) to get all ready and set up to train us more.

oops, we're ready to go!

First Day on the Job

2005-05-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

The job is pretty sweet. Spent all day today taking a crash course on the company and how an ISP works. More tomorrow. Now we just need to find a place to live. Bed time now. If you want more details, they can be found at Paul's blog.

Also, this will drive you INSANE!

Zzzzzzzz.....

I GOT THE JOB!

2005-05-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

Oh, haleigh-motherfucking-luyah! I got the job I wanted, and Justin and Paul got the same job. Such a HUGE weight off my mind. Now we just need to find a place to live.

We're going drinking tonight!!!

Also, you should Vote Adam for Pope.

Job Interviews

2005-05-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

Had two interviews today. One was a research assistant for some kind of marketing analysis firm. Mind-numbing, soul-sucking kind of work. Not going to happen. The other was for an Internet Service Provider. I would be answering emails and providing customer service. Easy and it pays really well. They are mostly looking for someone who can write intelligently with decent grammar and vocabulary. And they will let me know tomorrow, which is nice. If it goes through, I should be working this week. I want this one...

I can post pictures!

2005-05-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of me, Jaimee, Justin (top), and Rob (left with the
goofy expression). Great people.

A Real Update

2005-05-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here is what has been going on.

The Job: Three friends and I were led to believe that we had a live-in job in a pub locked down, but the day we were supposed to get the confirmation four other dudes with more experience walked in and stole it. Bastards. So we are back to the drawing board with this one. I've got an interview at 3:30 today, and we're looking at live-ins in Scotland. I kind of want to stay in London, but we'll see. One of the crew has already left for a job up north, so we seem to be slowly splitting up. Oh well. We'll keep in touch. Summer camp friends...

Yesterday we took it easy and didn't leave the Hostel much. The day before we went and rode the London Eye. It's one of the largest ferris wheels in the world. Big glass bubbles that travel 140 meters (~420 ft) in the air. AMAZING views of London. Right across the Thames from Big Ben. We could see everything. I've got some great pictures that I can email upon request.

Later that night we went to Shakespeare's Old Globe and saw The Tempest. Much different interpretation, with minimal set ( a rope hanging from the ceiling) and only three actors playing more than a dozen roles. There were also three dancers on stage, playing spirits, elements, props, and generally helping to move things along. Great show, and I was really glad I already knew the play well. Some of my friends were totally lost, and I had to explain things to them.

At this point, I could get a pub job somewhere in Scotland without much trouble. If I take an office job and find a flat, I'm going to be kind of poor. If I take a Scotland job, I'll most likely be in a tiny little Scottish town. I'm really kind of torn here. Rent on flats is outrageous, and I REALLY don't want to share a room with people I don't know. If I go to Scotland with the kids I know...

Ahhh, the things I'm learning! So much fun.

Peace

Didn't get the job...

2005-05-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Back to square one. Goddammit.

Lack of Posts

2005-05-07T03:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posts. I've been quite busy. Internet is harder to come by than I thought, but I'm working on it.

The job hunt goes very well. I've got offers, and might take a great live-in pub job today. If not, I have an interview for a receptionist job on Monday. I had an offer for The White Horse on Parson's Green, but they wouldn't pay enough to live. Shame, too. The guy who owns and runs the place is THE Beer Master for England AND the USA. I could have learned pretty much everything worth knowing about beer and brewing there. But I need enough money to live, so se la vie.

Getting Lost With New Friends

2005-05-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Paul and I went walking yesterday morning. Oxford street is cool. It's the touristy part of town, so it was totally packed and crazy. We walked for about two hours, saw all kinds of stuff, then came back to the hostel. The theatres here! My hostel is right in/near the West End, so we saw tons of theatres. Saw dedicated houses for Les Mis, The Lion King, Chicago, We Will Rock You, etc etc etc. I could spend way too much money just going to shows.

Later we decided to go out again. I forget what we were looking for, but we got totally lost. We thought we were walking back to the hostel and ended up at the Tower of London. Completely wrong end of town. Saw more awesomeness, including The Monument (not sure why it was THE Monument, but it was), saw some neat residential areas, and ended up spending 4 hours walking. Such a great city. Not as dirty as I would have thought.

Today was orientation. Good times, good information. Met a German lad named Chris, a French Canadian girl named Karine, and an American girl named Robynn (no typos, just wierd spellings). We went to a great pub called The White Horse. Karine used to work there, but just quit to look for a better job outside of the city. I'm going there tomorrow to see if I can get hired. They are live-in, but it would be dormitory style and I can't get the room until after 2 weeks of working there (I think).

I've got the BUNAC list of how to find a Theatre job, so we'll try that. In fact, I'm going to rock it right now.

Paul's Blog

2005-05-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

My London buddy Paul has a blog. Check it out!

In London

2005-05-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

Flight wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Got in about 4am Idaho time. Took the Tube to the hostel. Nice place, for a hostel. Couldn't figure out how to use the phone here, so I have as of yet been unable to contact Jade, my only friend living here.

Went for a walk in Regent's Park. Beautiful. Came out on a completely different side and wandered around London trying to find my way back for probably an hour and a half. Had a blast.

Things I saw: People of all races speaking all languages. I haven't met hardly anyone who is English yet. The sweetest car I have ever seen in the form of a vintage Jaguar, then yet again the sweetest car I had ever seen in the form of a Rolls Royce that cost 280,000 pounds (almost a 1/2 million $). A grown man using a Razor scooter as transportation. Kids, couples, families, and a glimpse of a great outdoor theatre in the Park. Might have to shell out £10 for a Saturday mattenie of something.

Only have 8 minutes of internet left. More soon.

Anyone need a Cell Phone?

2005-04-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Cingular are dirty, dirty bastards. And I'm and idiot. Little from column A, little from column B.

I thought that I had a plan in place where I would ONLY pay $5.99/month and get $1.99 a minute. That means I would get out of the remaining three months of my contract for about $20. Much better than $40/month or $275 to cancel early. At least three customer service reps told me this was so. I asked over and over if I would ONLY have to pay the $5.99/month. Yeah, right.

It was an ADDITIONAL $5.99 a month. Dirty, dirty bastards. I'm a dumbass for believing them, but they will still be getting an earful. I guess I have to do it before the flight leaves, but I really don't want to deal with it.

Uggh. Good thing I'll be making money at Pound rates soon. Shouldn't be TOO big of a deal. Still, if anyone needs a cell phone, my contract is available.

About two hours to go. Feel a little better now. I guess writing things down does help. Fooling oneself into thinking someone will be reading it helps, too.

Waiting at the airport

2005-04-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a piece of advice for you. When someone is using military time and they tell you to be somewhere at 18:40, that means 6:40 in normal time, NOT 5:40. The airport was empty as hell, so I got through security in record time and now I have a three hour wait instead of a two hour wait. Totally, totally awesome.

Still hasn't hit me yet. Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ, I'm glad they have wireless internet here.

Seattle

2005-04-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

In Seattle. Staying with one of my oldest friends. She took us to an underground, "members only" goth club. Cool place. Spend tomorrow in Seattle, fly out 5:40 pm. Twelve hours. Free alchohol. Shouldn't be a problem. The word I am feeling is "pensive."

Last night in town

2005-04-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hair cut. Jazz night, although it might be cancelled. If so, going to the Alley.

Not nearly as ready as I should be. Shocking, that.

Why London?

2005-04-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

People keep asking me why I picked London, what will I be doing there, etc.

So.

London because it is BIG, it is the Mecca of the (Western) theatre world, and it sounds like ass-tons of fun. Also it's an English speaking place. Me not do languages good.

When I get there, I spend a week in a Hostel, I find a job and a place to live, and I start a six-month life there.

Why? Because it will be sweet. And by sweet, I mean totally awesome.

Last day at the IJC. I'll miss this place.

Peace!
-BAA

"Working"

2005-04-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

I love my job. I'm SUPPOSED to be doing something to further the technological awesomeness of the International Jazz Collections, but as I don't have any specific, pressing thing to do, I just spent half an hour debating governmental philosophy with my co-workers. As one is Ukrainian (I think. Eastern Bloc, at least), it was good times. I love my job. So sad I have to leave it.
Four days until departure. Need to pack, finalize living arrangements, and a whole bunch of other stuff. London is calling....

My First Blog

2005-04-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is. My first Blog post. This blog is intended to be a record of my upcoming trip to London. I'll probably post more before then, just 'cause it's fun to be geeky. As Branson would say, "NEEEERRRRRD!"