Flying Home from Slovakia

I’m at Bratislava airport with pen and paper because, not through lack of trying, we were unable to find a UK to Europe power adapter. My poor laptop has been asleep for days.

Had an awesome extra-long weekend. Arriving on Thursday night after a stressful train, tube, train, queue, check-in, queue, bag search, run, queue, boarding-journey from work to the plane, I took a car trip from Bratislava to Trnava for a sleep(-in) in a beautiful in-the-roof apartment.

The first day saw us strolling through Trnava’s centre, which is surrounded by a decaying, 5m thick fort with cavities for pointing guns through at on-coming attacks. I now refer to the bit inside as ‘the safe part of Trnava’. There are many old buildings inside, which seemed to be the norm for the town which was founded in 1238 (before I was born). For lunch we went to an underground restaurant with a room with walls/ceiling which formed a continuous brick arch. I asked Peter to ask the waitress what the building was originally used for, and I paraphrase ‘I don’t know, I’ve only been here for 2 years’. Later, on our way out I saw a plaque (in Slovak) that looked suspiciously like it had the buildings history written it and Peter soon revealed that yes, it did, and the building has been a wine cellar for hundreds of years. Lunch, at Peter’s whim, was Slovakia’s national dish. I’m told it’s mashed potatoe mixed with flour (and maybe egg) broken into pieces, boiled and served with a thick parmesan-tasting cream and usually bacon. It was yummy but too strong, too filling and too much, but I’d eat it again. We accompanied it with a cinnamon-flavoured Czech liquor called Becherovka. On the way home I was introduced to the wonder that is Kofola: Eastern Europe’s answer to Coke. A non-alcoholic herb-based drink that reminds me of Jagermeister and comes on tap. I can’t find any here at the airport L

As planned, Friday evening we were driven (via Tesco’s) to Peter’s friend’s cottage for the weekend with about 10 of their friends. We drank, ate, drank, slept, picked apples, visited a castle, dined for lunch (potatoe omellette and deep-friend cheese with Kofola), found blackberries, drank, listened to a lot of Slovak, played cards, slept and went home. A short description of what was a really awesome time.

At the apartment, Peter’s brother and his new wife were preparing for a celebration of their wedding with friends as they’d had their wedding in seclusion on a Greek island. We ate and drank and chatted (sometimes in English) and I found out that I really like the taste of Martini (the liquor, not the cocktail). In the evening we went on foot through the town on an ill-planned journey to get a kofola from a fav pub of Peter’s and maybe buy some wine and find a power adaptor from a Tesco’s that was maybe open. Through luck of coming across Peter’s friends who offered to drive us to Tesco’s (which was open) we got the wine, but no power adaptor, before walking our way home via the pub…and that was my last drink of Kofola :(

Now I’m watching my hour-late plane board. Love watching people board for free-seating planes. Especially the English.

Highlights:

• Picking Blackberries from the side of the road
• Kofola
• The Communist Slovak Cottage
• Deepfriend Cheese
• Cheap alcohol
• Finding a new type of fruit on the side of the road (like a plum, but not; one orange, one purple)
• Picking apples
• Becherovka
• The apartment I stayed in (it had a bidet!)
• Light switches that make ours look like dolls-house ones (nothing better than turning a light on with your whole palm)

Lowlights:

• Not understanding what everyone was always laughing at because my Slovak is limited to a handful of words
• The Skinheads/Neo-Nazis
• Forgetting my camera
• Not being able to use my new computer
• Being considered rude because I don’t put my hand over my mouth when a yawn (culture thing) :P

Flying to Slovakia

I’m currently on a RyanAir flight to Bratislava, Slovakia (yes, that’s one half of former Czechoslovakia) typing on my brand new Dell laptop which set me back two weeks wages. Having a laptop removes one more reason for not keeping my blog updated and so stay tuned to see what lame excuse I come up with next.

Trying to remember what mention-worthy stuff I’ve been up to, I’ve realised I don’t even know when I last blogged (I don’t have internet access). It’s been a while.

I’ve been to quite a few gigs. I’m mostly steering clear of gig guides (there‘s just too much highlighting to do) but plenty still keep popping up. There was Robyn and Sam Sparro at the Astoria which was fantastic (<3 Robyn). Johann Johannson and Max Richter at an old church in Angel. Ladytron twice after the first gig ended 50mins in due to a power failure. Alanis Morrissette, lol. O2 Festival (Robyn, Cut Copy, Fat Boy Slim) thanks to Laura’s colleague’s friend. Intimate Sigur Ros gig at a (sort of) church which was absolutely amazing! Won tickets to Feeder/Infadels @ Koko’s and, yes, I actually went. And in the same way (iTunes festival) won tickets to see Annie and Sam Sparro, also @ Koko‘s. Annie was, umm, interesting and we skipped Sam for an early night. Oh and that free Sigur Ros/Bjork gig I blogged about happened; I watched it live on the internet.

Works going alright. I’m getting my tasks done. It’s not too hard. Have a ‘review’ at the start of September. That’ll be interesting. Since this is a public medium I don’t wish to mention too much. Every Wednesday we get free donuts. Jealous? No? Okay.

My parents came. You’d think that they’d have held out longer than 6 months but I actually think it was the pull of the English summer that contributed to their trip timing. I trained my way down to visit them in Cornwall for a long weekend. Cornwall’s a bit beautiful. We managed one tourist attraction per day starting with Lanhydroc House which was an old (well, a few hundred years) house lived in by a very rich family. It was my first National Trust experience and I enjoyed it much more than I thought. It was amazing to see how the rich lived in those times. They make celebrities with their butlers, drives and nannies look like the bourgeois. Second day was Cornwall Cyder Farm (not a typo). I also thoroughly enjoyed this which included a tour through the history of Cider in England which included fermentation-inducing donkey shit and mass death due to lead poisoning. The tour ended with tastings of a wide range of Scrumpies, Ciders and Alcohol distilled from Cider. I should also mention that this was the first time I saw apples growing on a tree. The third day saw us hiring bicycles and riding a long an old railway which followed the mouth of a river with some amazing views. The ride was from Wadebridge to Padstow and back. My first time on a bike in a while and the first time I’ve seen mum on a bike in 15 or so years.

Last weekend all but one of my flatmates was away on holiday to a Spanish music festival in Bennicassim and Peter was in his homeland. That left Charissa and me, and sometimes just me, in the house. While Saturday was super fun relaxing, listening to music and getting my chores done in the empty house, Sunday was I fell ill and was bored and lonely. I need to find the balance between relaxing me-time and social party-times.

Monday night Conan and Annie landed themselves in London direct out of New York (*sigh*). They were only around for a day and two bits but we managed a trip to my favourite Pakistani restaurant, Tayyab’s in Whitechapel. My third time at Tayyab’s (first with Ratty and friends and second for my mother’s birthday) and the food hasn’t been anything but amazing once. And it’s so cheap (remember, this is London). However, my friends and I aren’t the only ones fond of their food and prices, failing to book leaves you waiting in line for half an hour to an hour (even on a Monday or Tuesday night).

And this weekend I’ve taken two days off (Friday and Monday) and left work early on Thursday to jet off to Slovakia to spend some time in a country cottage probably getting drunk and not being able to speak Slovak*. Sounds like awesome to me.

*and maybe picking berries(!!!), but no guarantees on that one.

Coming up after my trip to Slovakia is a long weekend (an actual public holiday this time) to Edinburgh for the fringe festival meeting up with Conan/Annie/Tracey and my cousin who’s recently relocated there. A couple of weeks of London times with Annie/Tracey/Conan. A long weekend to Paris (Hello, Eurostar!) with Tracey. Antony and the Johnsons with the London Symphony Orchestra and then further towards the end of the year Sigur Ros (yes, again).

What should I do for my birthday?

Shopping Day

Yesterday I decided to head to Oxford St to pick up a couple of shirts for work. Bad idea. The footpaths were teaming with people and it turned out so were Topshop, H&M and Primark. I'm not that into shopping at the best of times but when you can't take more than three steps without encountering a human obstacle I start to freak out. That and the fact that the AC wasn't coping with the crowds.

Anyway, I bought two shirts. But I think one is too small and has to be taken back.

I also had my first Pret-a-manger expereince which was surprisingly good. Yummy felafel sandwhich...but totally overpriced.

I bought 3 different types of deodourant because I can't find the one I use here. One of them is the hippie 'crystal' one...would be nice if that works.

And for the last, more exciting, bit of the day we headed to Totally Swedish. The Swedish equivalent of The Australia Shop (I've never seen this shop btw) which sells those sorts of products that make one feel slightly more at-home while abroad.

I bought a kids comic book about a bear and a rabbit who go to Paris and save the Eiffel tower which is pretty cool. And some other kids book (they're for Swedish practice btw). And some knackerbrod, kind of like Ryvita but a hundered times better.

Sveriges Nationaldag i London

So yesterday I went to a celebration of Swedish National Day in London with my Swedish teacher. It was quite interesting. Choir singing, student performances, speeches, cake, hotdogs and (my favourite bit) a raffle. Unfortunately I didn't know how to buy tickets for it. :( Oh and there were a whole lot of Swedish-looking Swedish people (I wasn't the only blonde person there).

It was in Hammersmith, on the south side of the river. Such a rich area and a stark contrast to where I live. So much green and there's even space between the houses there!

SuperMastermind Master

This is my effort on SuperMastermind. Pretty impressive, huh?

Sigur Ros

Just bought tickets to see Sigur Ros at Westminster Central Hall. Buying tickets was a but frantic but we eventually got through on the telephone machine!!!

Anyway, it's the 24th June and I'm excited.

P.S. Bjork and Sigur Ros (and maybe Radiohead) are playing a free gig in Iceland later this month. Does it get much better? No. Except for the fact that it costs 150 pounds to fly to Iceland. Could be worth it?

Important Announcement

This is my favourite cider. I accept nothing else.

Last Job Hunting Update

I haven't blogged for a while. This is because all I've really needed to write about was my job hunting and I didn't want the details of that out in the public space, but now it's all over!

I start at 9.30pm Monday 9th June at Imagination Technologies. I originally rejected their offer but started negotiating and ended up accepting another offer. And boy does it feel good to have the process over and done with.

In this position I'll be writing simulators to test the latest low-power graphics chips developed by Img Tec which are licensed out to chip manufacturers (such as Texas Instruments, Samsung, Intel) who then produce chips which find themselves in products such as higher-end phones like the Nokia N95 and Apple's iPhone.

I've definitely learnt a lot from the four job interviews I've attended. Job interviews are hard work. Not only did I have to perform quickly in response to hours technical questions and problem-solving questions but also mentally 'repackage' myself to suit each position. It's bloody hard work.

I looked forward to my bank balance increase for once.

How to Instantly Stun an Aussie

So I just got off the phone to my job agent. Three seconds into the phone call he'd rendered me useless, turned into a momentary vegetable. This was a stark reminder of this strong weapon the English have against us.

I'd been warned about it as soon as I arrived but didn't quite understand or pay it much significance. It wasn't long though before I'd fallen victim to a very well-timed attack. I was bounding sprightly down the stairs one morning in the house I was staying when my flatmate hit me with it and I just froze, staring.

What did she do? She'd said 'You alright?'. That's all; a simple greeting equivalent to 'how are you?' or 'how you going?'. But this is one that seems to tweak the Australian brain into submission. Not once when I've been presented with this greeting have I been able to utter a single word in reply.

It's the unfamiliarity of the greeting. Their ambiguous way of expressing it. The speed with which they fire it at you.

I'll consider myself properly assimilated when I can reply 'Good, thanks, yourself?' without pausing enough to create awkward silence.

Two Gigs and Lots of Job Hunting Stress

About a week ago Charissa and I went to see Ladytron at Astoria. It always amazes me how different gigs are here. Firstly (and unsurprisingly) in the number of people for such a size band. And secondly the diversity; I just struggle to fathom what brings all the middle-age conservative-looking men to these gigs. Unlike the one at Bjork, I spotted one in the Ladytron audience who actually looked like he was kinda enjoying the music too!

Anyway, Ladytron were okay, nothing special, but then 50mins into their set they lost power and 20 mins later we were told the show was over which was followed by much booing and then cheering when it was announced that a replacement show would be scheduled and all tickets for that night's show would be honoured. Nice.

Last night I saw Atlas Sounds (Bradford Cox from Deerhunter) and Animal Collective at Koko's. Firstly, Koko's is an AMAZING venue with so many levels (like 6 or 7?) and little nooks and crannies it's like a game to point at a certain spot and then figure out how to get there. What was not-so-pleasing about the gig was the crowd. The teeny boppers (I hate that term but it's neccessary here) infront of us were most-annoying and WTF possessed the crowd to barge and push each other around during an Animal Collective gig? I spent most of the time thinking how much better the gig would have been at The Zoo.

And throughout all this and since the last blog I've been job hunting. More optimism, high hopes, interviews and disappointment. Job hunting is one of the most emotionally stressful activities I've partaken in. Anyway, my agent (hah, I sound like a celebrity) is in negotiations with the company who offered me a job two weeks ago. So feeling optimistic about what will come of that :)

Weekly Update

I was a busy boy last week. So busy that I even forked out for a weekly travel card!

Since Monday I:

• Bought a suit
• Had it altered
• Had my hair cut
• Went to Swedish School
• Went to my first interview
• Went out for a goodbye dinner
• Went to my second interview
• Went to popjustice
• Went for a friend's visa celebration
• Spent a weather-prefect day starring out my window
• Did London things on a public holiday

So finally I bit the bullet and bought the suit. Half price thanks to Peter's staff discount (but still cringingly expensive!). Suit + Shirt + Shoes + Belt + 2 x Tie = 350 pounds after the discount.

After purchase we took it to the alterers so I could be all pinned up for a perfect fit. Peter also happened to be friends with the alterer so he did a whole lot more altering than I paid for.

Hair cut was a spur-of-the-moment thing. It was rather neccessary due to the interviews. I toyed with the idea of going to the Toni and Guy academy for 5 pounds but didn't want to risk it. I settled for some chic salon in Soho and while I wasn't very happy when I left, it's a good haircut, just a fair bit shorter than I wanted. And ya'll know how attached I can get to my locks.

Swedish school is still going. I think next week will be half way. I'm really enjoying it and definitely getting better. There's still a LOT to learn/practice though.

My first interview (at Data Connection) was 1pm on Thursday. I arrived way too early (because I wanted to be on the safe side) and found myself in a small suburb where nothing opened until 12pm. The area was quite nice though and I'm pretty sure I met a leprechaun. The interview process was quite gruelling. A short presentation on the company followed by 3 aptitude tests (just like IQ tests) and 4 problem solvings tests over about 2 and a half hours. There was a postgrad and a summer intern interviewing as well. After all the tests there was a one on one interview where the problem solving answers were discussed along with general questions. While I wasn't that happy with my answers the rest of the interview went swimmingly. I decided that I really wanted the job and found myself home in just 20 minutes! AMAZING!

Dinner that night was to say good bye to Ratty who'd been on-and-off staying with us for a month. We went to a pub called the Salisbury (right near where I lived for my first month in London). I ordered a vege burger and didn't eat it all :(

Next day was my second interview (Imagination Technologies). I once again arrived way too early (actually, eariler this time) and was once again in a fairly uninspiring part of outer-London. The highlight was finding the now-defunct Ovaltine headquarters. This interview was more orthodox. I was interviewed by three different managers (each of whom was interested in hiring me for their respective departments). Questions ranged from 'Do you intend on staying here longer than a year?' through 'What's your ideal job?' to a whole heap of problem-solving and lateral thinking questions. I was quite satisfied with how I went and it seemed they were two. At the end one of the managers told me he'd be very suprised if I didn't hear a positive response early the following week. That felt good! The work they do is really interested so I'd be happy to work there.

That night Charissa, Peter and I went to a Club PopJustice in Soho. It was quite a lot of fun dancing to pop until about 2.30am before unsuccessfully chasing the N29 down Charing Cross Rd.

Saturday night was drinks to celebrate a friend's unexpected visa approval. Meaning she doesn't have to go home anymore. I didn't drink any alcohol but found a new love in pints of post-mix cola (no ice).

Sunday the weather was amazing; no sun but a beautfiul 21 all day. It's a amazingly green outside and full of chirping birds. I had a deep afternap half hanging out my window.

And then today Laura, Mon and I went to Brick Lane where I had a bad cream-cheese bagel and a good barbecued corn cob. And then Green park where I relaxed in the shadey grass and had a look at Buckingham Palace. The palace is big but not that great to look at. And the guards reminded me of a bad Movie World entertainment show. Nice gardens though. The day finished with a stroll round the extravagant Harrods.

Tomorrow I should hear back about both jobs (nervous!) and have a phone interview for Codian and Tandberg. Right now I'm really tired and want to sleep.

And another interview

This time it's a phone interview and only lasts half an hour. It's the third company I previosly mentioned (Codian) and the one I did an online test for on the weekend.

Should the phone interview be successful I'll then graduate to the industry-standard half day interview.

What this company does looks quite facinating so I'm a little bit excited.

I've started Twittering

I've discovered a new next-big-thing internet feature called Twitter. Pretty much it's just like Facebook status on steroids.

I'll be now updating 'what I am doing' via SMS and it'll display to the right on my blog. Nifty feature. I'll try and keep it from being mundane but no promises.

If you wish you can sign up to Twitter and 'follow me' which gives you can update evertyime I update but that's a bit hardcore.

www.twitter.com

London Mayor Election

On May 1st London is holding an election for Mayor. As a commonwealth citizen living in London I'm (surprisingly to me) allowed to vote.

The media coverage of the election race has actually been quite entertaining. The two main contenders are the incumbent (of 8 years*) ex-communist-leaning 'Red Ken' from the troubled Labor party and the Ted E. Bear impersonating Boris from the Conversative party. The two token-mentions-in-the-media contenders are the gay ex-policeman from the Liberal Democrats and the attractive, young scienctist from the Green Party.

Anyway, it seems to be neck and neck between Boris and Ken and quite frankly the thought of this guy running London scares me.

*London has only had a mayor for 8 years

Simon Amstell Stand-Up

Last night Laura and I trekked out to what was almost London surburbia (Finchley) to see much-loved comedian Simon Amstell do some stand-up.

For those who aren't familiar he hosts the hilarious Never Mind The Buzzcocks show (see: YouTube) and use to co-host Pop World.

To be quite honest, his style of humour isn't suited to stand-up and it felt at times that he was really struggling on stage, though that was also part of his schtick. That said, it was still really enjoyable and great just seeing him in the flesh. Unfortunately his smashing dress sense seems to be confined to his TV appearances.

Goodbye Beautiful Big Black Coat

Well it's finally happened, Spring has properly set in, though boy did it take its time. It's currently 18C outside and that's really not coat-wearing weather and so I've swapped to just the leather jacket and I doubt the coat will get any action (other than a dry-clean) till late Autumn.

Being a lover of the cold it's a little bit sad for me but I can't deny that the weather is absolutely beautiful right now. Out my window it's sunny, green, flowery and the perfect temperature.

And on that note I'm off to buy an expensive suit for next week's interviews!

update: just came home from shopping and the novelty of the sun wore off very, very quickly.

Svenska Skolan (Swedish School)

A while ago I signed up to Swedish school through Cactus. One pays a lot of many and then participates in tutorial-style classes for 2hrs once a week for 10 weeks.

I just came home from my third lesson. I'm really enjoying it and it's nice to get some speaking practice (hard to do on your own). It's nice to be back in a learning environment. There're are a range of courses at different levels and by year's end I'll hopefully have completed my current and the next one and then competently speak basic conversational Swedish!

Then I can go back to Sweden and feel less stupid. :)

My never-ending job serach as it stands

So it's all looking a bit more positive. These are the companies that I am currently pursuing:

Imagination Technologies
Data Connection
Codian/Tandberg

The first looked at my resume and asked me to do an online test (which I completed this morning). I'm pretty sure I passed it, just waiting to hear back from them.

The second I did a GIANT online application for and have a 5hr interview scheduled for May 1st.

The third was applied to on my behalf by an agency just yesterday.

I would be delighted to work for any of these companies as they have pretty sweet work conditions and their operations look exciting.

P.S. I also applied to Google but don't expect to hear back from them. They don't bother contacting you in the case of a negative result, unfortunately.

update: i now have two interviews (second is for Imagination Technologies)

update2: now have to do ANOTHER online test and if successful will have a third interview. also applied to Sortex.

Gig Update

So I went to Bjork again. It was amazing, again, of course. A few different songs and an extra guest in Einar Örn. I must say though, the whole experience is so much more intense and enjoyable at the front.

And this morning I found out that Johann Johannson and Max Richter are playing London in June.

My previous embedded YouTube clips were deleted so I'll put up Bjork's amazing new video.

01. Intro - Brennið Þið Vitar
02. Earth Intruders
03. Hunter
04. Unison
05. All Is Full Of Love
06. Hope
07. The Pleasure Is All Mine
08. Dull Flame Of Desire
09. Vertebrae By Vertebrae
10. Where Is The Line
11. Desired Constellation
12. Army Of Me
13. I Miss You
14. Triumph Of A Heart
15. Vökuró
16. Wanderlust
17. Hyperballad
18. Pluto

encore
19. Anchor Song
20. Declare Independence

Freecycle; Or My New Panasonic Hifi

When we moved into our house (which yes, I haven't blogged about yet, I'm getting there) a friend of a flatmate suggested we sign up to freecycle.org to help fill our vacant house with useful things like toasters and kettles that we otherwise couldn't (didn't want to) afford.

The concept is simple. Electronic groups of people form according to location (through Yahoo! groups) and when someone has something to give away, they send out an email to the rest, receive a ridiculous number of replies and then select a lucky person to pick up the good. And I absolutely adore the idea. If only I knew about Brisbane's happening Freecycle group when I had my whole bedroom's contents of very useful stuff to give away before I moved to London.

I've been signed up to Freecycle for a while now but just last Wednesday night while in a nightclub in Soho (yes, I check my emails too often) someone sent out an email offering a whole heap of stuff that included a Panasonic hifi system. Since I'd been intending to buy some sort of speakers to remove the pain of listening to music over laptop speakers I gave it a shot and sent and email off (yes, while still in the nightlub).

Next morning, a happy phonecall, a trip to (and from) an adjoining suburb on the bus and I have my new toy. And I've ordered a stereo to rca cable from ebay for 2 pounds so i can hook my iPod up to it for extra happy!


Right now I'm listening to Virgin Party Classics (AM) and it's probably the best station I've heard. Thanks Freecycle!

freecycle.org

Björk @ Hammersmith Apollo, 14/04/08

So the sunny turned to cloudy, and the dry turned to wet and the wet turned to icey but not enough to deter us. I did have to jump out of the line to find a toilet (the cider we were drinking went straight through).

Doors opened reasonably on time and we scooted in to find ourselves just left-of-centre and one-off the barrier. This was what we'd spent the last 2.5 hrs trying to achieve and it was probably worth it. I shortly after came to the realisation that the wait was not yet over and there'd be at least anohter two hours.

Just before 8 the support act (I don't know who) interrupted the fantastic music to play some avant-garde DJ-mixing stuff that, while I appreciated it, I was totally not in the mood for. After about 45mins she finished and I was left to wait in relative silence.

Then she came on wearing this:



Björk doesn't like photos being taken at her shows, thus I have only press photos to show.

The show was similar, but sufficiently different, from when I saw her at Big Day Out. As previously, she opened with Earth Intruders this time with giant fire blasts from the back which I was sure were going to burn the flammable-looking set. The heat from them was intense. The crowd were much more subdued here also. We were treated to guests Toumani Diabaté and Antony Hegarty (a really nice psuedo-surprise). It doesn't come across in the video so much but Antony has the most amazingly awkward strage presence. A weirdly captivating beast.

For me, the star of the show, second only to Björk, was the reacTable. And 3 large TVs were on stage to showcase her.

As expected the finale was Declare Independence, which was essentially all that I was present to see. It's one of my favourites, if not favourite, songs to hear live. Just fucking amazing.

01. Intro - Brennið Þið Vitar
02. Earth Intruders
03. Hunter
04. Unravel
05. Hope
06. The Pleasure Is All Mine
07. Dull Flame Of Desire
08. Jóga
09. Vertebrae By Vertebrae
10. Desired Constellation
11. Army Of Me
12. Innocence
13. Who Is It
14. Vökuró
15. Wanderlust
16. Hyperballad
17. Plutoencore
18. Anchor Song
19. Declare Independence

Jóga - http://youtube.com/watch?v=wg0FI7eWMl8

Hyperballad - http://youtube.com/watch?v=UKqkYZjm9ko

Pluto - http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZGz9gS0JCW8

(I'm seeing her again on Sunday)

I'm Glad We're Late

Peter wanted to get here at 3pm (doors open at 7pm). We just arrived and it's 4.30pm. It's both hot and sunny and cold and wet. The sky is blue. It was completely cloudy when we arrived 10 mins ago.

As you can see there aren't many people here but they are consistently (and slowly) building up. Please note the blonde boy with his waiting face on on the right. That's me.

I've Been Bad, Haven't I?

I haven't blogged for a month and a half as many of you have noticed (and then reported back to me). I apologise for that. I'm shifting the blame onto the fact that it took so long to get internet in this house and the internet cafes in this area are painful.

Rather than trying to catch up everything chronologically I'm just going to start blogging things as I feel (haphazardly). Both from the computer (retrospectively) and from my phone (instantly). I'll start tonight from the Björk gig I'm going at Hammersmith Apollo. It's been confirmed that Tounami Diabaté will be playing with her tonight. I've also read that the London gigs are being filmed for DVD but that's probably bullshit.

Peter is adamant that he wants to get to the front so it's 3.30pm right now and we're about to head out to Hammersmith on the tube :S

Sweden Catchup

So the blogging in Sweden started out alright and then collapsed. Sorry guys! I'll now try and give a quick overview of what I got up to.

On my first (full) day I met up with an old school friend, Jakob, at Hagakyrkan (a church) and went to his university's cafeteria for lunch. I ate a baguette with some sort of Swedish shrimp mornay (I don't even know what mornay is) for which I was left pining for for the rest of my trip. Yum! I mentioned to Jakob my quest to replace my beloved, and lost, Cheap Mondays (Swedish Jeans) and so he took me straight to the source, a shop called Weekdays where I found exactly what I was looking for for 400sek. We then had a expensive (but good) coffee (okay, it was actually mocha and hot chocolate) at a fair trade cafe, where Jakob helped me with my first Swedish practice - Jag tar Moccha, Tack.

That night an Icelandic band of which I had heard of but not heard called 'Benni Hemm Hemm' were playing at Pustervik (not far from my backpackers). I'm rarely won over by bands just from live shows but I would describe them as 'amazing'. I even bought a t-shirt, whoa! One of the guys from the band informed me that he was touring Australia with Mum later this year. Oh, I should also mention that it was at Pustervik that I indulged in 'Cactus Cider'. WTF? It wasn't repulsive but I sha'n't be having it again.

Post-Pustervik we headed to a club called Uppåt Framåt (Upwards Forwards) which I quickly fell in love with. The music was unknown but completely likeable (something that's very rare) and the decor (mainly the bar) was awesome too. Had a couple of Pear Ciders there and went home. Unfortunately didn't return :( Probably next time.

Next day I woke up late (backpacker bed was great) and then just went for a walk by myself though the city. Looking at shops things. All I bought was some discounted Cheap Monday gloves and two bottles of cider (one blueberry and one flower blossoms..???) from the System Bolaget. Swedish government has a monopoly on the sale of alcohol (except light beer and light cider) and so alcohol must be bought from a System Bolaget which close about 8pm. That night I went to a housewarming gathering of Jakob's friends and then onto a club called Svanen (The Swan) which was freakishly similar to the Depot. We stayed till close and I implemented my new-found ability to always be able to find my way home in Gothenburg no matter where I am.

Friday I slept till 4pm (I tell you, it was a good bed!) and I decided I should probably get some rest. I forget what I did for the rest of the day but I'm sure it was uneventful but nice.

Saturday was when I went up to Slottsskogen's and took a bagillion photos. Lots of pretty flaura and captive fauna to look at. I'll let the pictures (they're on facebook) describe it rather than my blog.

Saturday night I went to a gathering (once again, Jakob's friends) where I confirmed that, yes, all Swedish interiors do look like IKEA show rooms, and all swedish apartments/houses have 'shoe rooms'. A room for shoes. And jackets. It's the first room you step into as you enter the house and yes, you MUST take your shoes off. The night was enjoyable, everyone spoke in Swedish (except when speaking directly to me) so I had little idea what was going on, but I don't mind that. I spent most of the time trying to follow topics of conversation based on my poor Swedish lsitening ability. Later on we all headed to a night club but the lineup was huge and I was tired so we went home making a few stops along the way.

Sunday I caught up with another friend and Monday I decided to go on a massive walk around the city trying to cover as little familiar ground as possible. The walk was fun. Saw a lot interesting sites and took some photos. Ate at a place called Cafe Tin Tin. And got sore legs.

Tuesday I left and I was pretty sad to leave even though I was looking forward to going back to London. I'll definitely be back. All the locals say it's amazing in Spring, so maybe I should take their word for it.

Fat Tuesday

I just finished eating an apple and cream-filled cardamon bun called 'Semla'. Oh, whoops, that didn't come out right. I haven't taken to naming my food before I eat it, that's the Swedish word for the food. Anyway, it was pretty great. They were being sold on the street as part of an event called 'Fat Tuesday' which after a while my super-detective skills figured out is in fact the Swedish equivalent of Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday. It is not much of a religious event here, though.

So I arrived in Göteborg today and met a friend at the airport who drove me to Slottsskogen's Vamdrarhem (backpacker's) and then showed me around the city. It is typical English weather here at the moment (infact, more so than London), but I don't mind. Unfortunately there's no sign or expectation of snow. They have trams here, I like trams. And we had to press a button and get a ticket number and queue (there was no queue) to buy the tram pass. Pressing buttons to get numbered tickets and queuing (like at a supermarket deli) is a common Swedish past time (so I've read) and so this was a little exciting.

After being shown around the city my friend took me out to dinner at a Thai restaurant and that was delicious (paneng tofu curry). Thai always wins! I went back to the vandrarhem, met and chatted with two Swedish mature-age students in the room and soon after went to sleep. I was exhausted (again!) and this was the first comfortable bed I've had since leaving Australia, and thus I didn't get out until 1.15pm!!!

Freedom

Today I experienced the strongest feeling of freedom I have ever. Walking through Standsted Airport by myself as I headed to the RyanAir check-in for Gothenburg it was almost palpable. It was the feeling I've been longing for for so long. The one I first tasted when I moved out of home. I want to bottle it.

So then we went House Hunting!

I didn't really recover from my sickness/exhaustion as well as I'd hoped, but fucked if I was staying in the house any longer than 3 days.

So we went out drinking in the infamous Camden. First to The World's End which is an absolute maze of a pub/club. It's advisable to take a rucksuck of basic supplies if you want to venture to the toilet because you may not make it back otherwise. And then we moved onto The Cuban Bar, which, disappointingly, lived up to it's name with live Cuban music. Not mah thang.

Anyway on Saturday Laura, Charissa, Monica and I had the exciting (well, atleast for me) task of viewing potential rental properties. Two houses, both in Finsbury Park. Both were pretty good, although one a tad expensive and by the time we got in contact with the agent about the other it was gone *sad*. I think we're in some sort of negotions for the more expensive one and still looking, maybe at a cheap place much closer to the city in Islington. Fingers crossed. I'm really excited about having my own little pad in London.

On Sunday I rested and blogged a little more before heading out for a Bangladeshi (sp?) dinner in Brick Lane. It was pretty shit. Tasteless and I was grumpy. And FFS would restaurants please stop using supermarket-style frozen chopped vegetables in dishes. It's not cool.

Oh, and one other thing I wanted to mention, on Monday night I went shopping on Oxford St and am now the proud owner of my first coat. I heart it but still feel reall awkward wearing it. Was only £10 pound too. Bargain Hunter! Got a scarf and beanie/cap thing too. I'm totally a winter person now.

Another Spare Moment

Okay, so I never actually finished the blog last Thursday, and now it’s Sunday, and I’ve managed to find a spare moment to write some more. We’re in the living room watching The Mighty Boosh and Laura’s making some swt, swt shortbread. I’ll start where I trailed off last time.

So I was meant to be going out for Indian that night in Brick Lane with Laura and her friend, and for this reason I did. On the way we went to a small English pub, where there were as many people (men) drinking outside on the street as there were inside. Then we made our way to Brick Lane and on arriving were ‘attacked’ by restaurant workers trying to coax us into their restaurants with promises of discounts and alcohol. Laura’s friend Beth managed to negotiate 25% off and one and a half pints of cider for each of us. Score! Dinner was great (cheap!) and we got drunk and made our way home. I’ll make sure to go back there many times.

The next day was Australia Day. I was a little apprehensive about our plans to spend the day in a Walk-a-bout (chain of Australian pubs), but that’s what was organized and we could at least listen to the hot 100 which had been recorded and was being played back. We arrived at 10.30. The pub was quite empty but still thick with unsettling patriotism. Over the course of the day, the pub packed out and it all became more and more difficult to bare. Charissa had arrived during the day and at about 4pm we moved downstairs where we could actually hear the countdown and people cared about it slightly more. At #25 they made the predictable and frustrating decision to stop the countdown, play some painful Australian pub rock and elongate the whole situation. Charissa and I figured this would be a great opportunity for her to show me the nearby Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus, Soho etc.

On apprehensively returning to the Walk-a-bout I was slightly relieved to see a giant line to get back in. The line wasn’t moving. We waited there for a while before Charissa went to check out another pub in the area that was also playing the countdown. Half an hour later she returned, I’d move about 1m in the line and so we (with Laura) headed to a much less painful bar with more levels, nooks and crannies than the other place had bogans but also spare tables and chairs! We sat, chatted, Charrissa’s friend Peter joined us, drank and vaguely cared about the fact that Muse beat Silverchair by 12 votes.

At about 8.30pm Peter took us a nearby club called Trash Palace were we drank, chatted and dance and didn’t make it to bed till 4am after a long bus ride. I was more tired than I’ve ever been. I’d started to get sleepy around 10 hours earlier. Next day I woke at 2.30pm and made my way home on the tube and spent the rest of the evening in a daze, making shortbread and not noticing when Laura spoke to me.

Monday morning was catching up on organizational crap and webcamming with my family. Monday arve I caught up with Monica who had finally gotten over her jet slag for some fashion shopping and English pub meal. Monday evening I caught up with Peter and went for coffee (well, Mocha) in Soho.

Tuesday was fucked. Woke up at 12.35 and remembered I had a 1.30 booking for an ‘induction’ info meeting and bank account sign up. I leapt out of bed, threw on my clothes, raced to Laura’s work to pick up my passport and then onto FirstContact (where the ‘meething’ thing was) just 20mins late. The whole thing was really painful. The room looked like a uni lecture room and, I felt like a uni student – too tired to concentrate. But two and a half painful hours later I had a free umbrella (ella…ella) and an HSBC bank account.

The rest of the evening was painful. I walked around Oxford St waiting for Peter to finish work feeling like I was going to collapse from exhaustion. I went home after a couple of hours at Starbucks and that’s where I spent the next 72hours trying to recover.

My First English Rain

Well it’s Thursday, my 9^th day in London and I’m sitting in Laura’s room recovering from exhaustion/sickness. It’s raining outside, the first time since I’ve been here and rather than go out and catch another cold I’m attempting to catch my blog up on one of my most physically- and emotionally-hectic weeks…

My departure hiccupped before even leaving the ground. An inoperable emergency exit light in combination with strict airline regulations created a 3 hr delay. It wasn’t until negotiations between QANTAS and some authority was met and their staff managed to convince 60 customers without connecting flights to divert through Sydney (ouch!) were we allowed to board the plane, with the whole middle section cordoned off.

The first leg of the flight was mostly enjoyable. I like flying. I enjoy the challenge of keeping myself occupied in solitary. I probably had enough media to keep me entertained for 20 across-world flights but ended up just watching the back-of-the-seat tele – The Great Global Warming Swindle w/ follow-up ABC commentary, Denton v Elton interview, some Kath and Kim (ick!) etc. The only problem was the ‘friendly’, drunk Australians behind me who kept bumping the back of my seat for the whole 7 hours. They asked me to have coffee with them on arrival in London…I smiled and nodded reluctantly and was delighted to find out that on the second leg that the hangovers had well and truly set in and they weren’t so friendly.

At Singapore it was a bit Rush Rush Rush Go Here No There Now Wait Wait? Why? Get On Plane. Despite still making it (just) in time for the connecting flight we were rescheduled onto another flight half an hour later. My only concern was that I was now flying QANTAS instead of British Airways and had lost my window seat. Hmmf!

To my left was an old Swedish lady with athritis (who spoke less English than I do Swedish) and to my right, a European couple who also spoke no English (I found that out the awkward way). Despite getting up every hour on the first flight I spent the next 13 hours seated, much to the delight of the curled-up fingers beside me I’m sure. I slept most of the flight, mainly just waking for meals, and that was nice.

The feeling of real cold (not the uncomfortable airconditioning cold which irked me during the whole flight) on my skin as I stepped from the plane through the tunnel brought a smile to my face. I don’t know why, but it still does everytime I step outside the house. It’s just comforting, as if familiar. Anyway, the passport check, immigration ‘grilling’ (‘Do you know the Working Visa rules?’, ‘Yes’, ‘Okay’) and customs took a grand total of about 1 minute. I was amazed.

I met with my friend Laura who’d been nice enough to wake up at 5am to collect me on her way to work and make my arrival a whole lot easier. She organized for me my own Oyster card which is a multi-purpose swipe card for London transport and we caught the Piccadilly line for a 32 stop journey from Heathrow to Turnpike Lane where Laura lives. On the above-ground parts of the journey we passed many typically-English sights and I couldn’t help but contrast my emotions with those of arriving in New York. There wasn’t the excitement or surrealism experienced when finding myself in Brooklyn but more relief, and more strongly, contentment. Like I’d finally reached the place I’d spent my life trying to get to (I hadn’t).

Laura left me part way through the journey to go to work and gave me the simple instructions to get off the tube at the station ‘Turnpike Lane’. You’d think that I’d be able to follow those instructions, right? Well, of course I could, and I did. There I met another friend, Charissa, who coincidentally lives nearby and walked (and bussed) me to Laura’s place (via Tesco’s for sandwiches).

I’d previously decided that I was going to dedicate all physical and emotional energy of the first couple of days into combating Jet Lag in the hope of recovering as quickly as possible. And so I spent this whole day sitting on Laura’s bed playing with the internet and trying to keep myself awake. It worked. I stayed awake until Laura came home, we ate dinner, constructed my floor bed and then went to sleep.

Next morning I woke at 5.30am and in typical jet-lag style I felt as if I’d slept about 10 mins. Getting up and having breakfast I found myself in pain and feeling completely miserable. By 9am I decided I couldn’t take it anymore, went to sleep for 3 hrs, woke up feeling comparatively a million dollars and then went out for lunch with Charissa to my first English pub. Lunch was a vegeburger (deep-fried pattie...wtf?!?) and chips with a pint of cider for 4.50. Yum! Post-lunch Charissa took me to the place she’s staying and introduced me to their 5 gorgeous (well, all but one) cats. I hung out there for a while and Charissa gave me a rundown on essential information I had to learn (such as how to find out about and book gig tickets) and then I scooted home to get ready to go out.

That night it had been organized well in advance that I was heading out to see a local band of whom Charissa was a friend and fan and Laura a fan. I caught the tube (by myself…yay!) to the infamous Camden, met up with Laura and her friend and headed to the markets to have some ‘two pound, two pound, everything two pound! Wanna try some? Two pound!’ asian food. It was pretty tastey except I put half it on my jeans. We walked around a little aimlessly under the lead of Laura before finding a small, cosy and well-laid-out Bullet Bar with stools, tables and Bullmer tallies (hi tim!). After some unpleasant sound-checking, The Gadsdens played for about 20mins and I quite enjoyed them. Charissa introduced us to her Slovakian friend she’d met in London and we chatted for a short while before heading home, much to the delight of my fatigue.

The next morning was always going to be a challenge. To do for Monica (who’d flown over hot on my trail) what Laura had done for me two days prior. Getting up early wasn’t a problem (thx, Jet Lag!) but the one and a half hour nauseas journey was, but I was totally happy to do it. After meeting Mon and having a mocha and sandwhich at the airport’s starbucks, we set out on a scavenger-hunt-like journey around the city to find her friend and future flatmate’s work. By the time we met up it had been about 2.5hrs of lugging luggage down a busy street and I was ready to collapse. So I did (at home).

Unfortunately the sleep only went for an hour (half an hour of which my alarm spent trying to wake me) and boy did I feel like road kill after that. I was meant to be going…

Ready, Set, Go!

So I'm at Mel and Josh's place and, surprisingly, I have some time to spare (read: stress) . After the whole visa saga, which I've spared this blog, I've been left still not quite convinced this is my last few hours in Australia and that soon I'll be in London.

The goodbyes have sucked. Not just because they're sad but because I'm so terrible at them. I should have googled for tips and hints prior.

Anyway, cept for some possible phone-blogging, this'll be my last till London. This is what I'll greet the Queen in:


Fuck I'm tired.