Hitched!

Well, for starters, I'm back in Oz. In case you didn't know, Lora and I moved back to Sydney in October, after a great trip through southeast Asia.

Check out the pictures here.

Now, for the big news, for those who didn't know: I'm now a married man! We got married on a beautiful day in Vaucluse, with our parents present, and enjoyed a great degustation dinner afterwards that would almost justify a blog post on its own.

In a way, this brings my blog to a nice conclusion. I haven't quite gone full circle but, when I left for London, I wasn't sure what I was looking for over there. A bit of travelling, some partying, meeting new friends, experiencing new things...But, beside all that, I suppose, at the back of my mind, the possibility of meeting the special one was always a possibility.

Now that I'm back in Sydney, and Lora is with me, and we're busy building our new lives over here, it does feel like a page's been turned. My european trip was a great chapter of my life. Now, on to the next one...

For that reason, I don't know if I'll post any more entries to this blog but never say never. Thanks for everyone who ever followed this blog, there were more of you than I thought :-)

Wow, it's been a while...

Is anyone still reading this? It's hard to believe that my last post goes back almost a year. A lot has happened since then. So much that it feels like a lot of work to give you a full retrospective now :-)

I should probably mention the most important event of the last year: Lora and I are now engaged and are in the process of moving to Australia! But more on that later...

I do remember thinking about having to blog about our trip to Turkey (August 2007!) but for some reason, that never happened, and now I have a few more trips to blog about! Let's recap quickly then:

• Turkey, in August 2007, was awesome. Loved it, the people, the beach, the food, the history (Greco-Roman ruins everywhere!), except for Turkish drivers, who are batshit insane.
  
• In September 2007, we went to the Loire Valley to catch up with my parents and see a few castles. Again, a lovely trip and a nice contrast to the South Med.
• Later that month, we caught up with Mike and Renaye in Southampton, and spent a lovely day in Winchester. I also got to see a Championship game betwee Cardiff and the Saints. Thanks, Mike!
• In a bid to fight the winter blues, December saw us set out on a 4-day trip to the Costwolds, where I'd never been and decided to treat ourselves to a luxury B&B in Cheltenham. One of the best parts of England, with lovely medieval towns seemingly everywhere.
• After a bit of a break, trip-wise, the lads (Tim, Adam) and I spent the Easter long weekend in Reyjkavik, Iceland. Some of the most dramatic landscapes I've ever seen. Truly a land cut for giants. Amazing.
  
• Venice, in April 2008, lived up to its reputation and was magical. A city like no others, where every street corner seems to offer a photo opportunity, as evidenced by the few hundred shots I brought back...
  
• And finally, our last European city break, for a while anyway, was in Edinburgh. I'd vowed to go to Scotland at least once while I was here and I didn't regret it: people are lovely, the city is full of charm and even the sun turned out (while it was pissing down in London!)

Now, it is September 2008, and my European adventure is coming to a close. Lora and I have now moved out of London and are staying at my future in-laws. Our travels aren't over yet: on our way to Australia, we'll be stopping by Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. That should make for a nice change from medieval towns! :-)

PAUUUUL!!!!!!!!

People who know me are all aware of my obsession with the Beatles. Being a very musical person, I'm into all sorts of bands but no other artist can claim to have absorbed as much of my life as the Fab Four, to the point where I'm one of these people who can tell you that "Hey Jude" was not recorded in Abbey Road but in Trident Studios.

Yes, I'm a Beatlemaniac.

And furthermore, I'm a Macca fan. I love John just as much but Paul's melodic sensibilities have always struck a chord with me.

Anyway, I'd always hoped to see Paul McCartney live one day. I remember a traumatic moment in early 1993 where my dad and I had come so close to get tickets to his first australian tour in 20 years, until my dad realized that the concert (for which we'd have to fly over from New Caledonia) was on the first day of school! No amount of begging on my part managed to sway my father: school came first. Sure enough, Paul's gig sold out, it was a big success and there went my chance of seeing my hero live.

Coming to Europe, I'd harboured a faint hope that he'd be touring while I was here but even this quickly faded when he chose to tour the US rather than Europe in 2004. Then he did not announce any tour in support of his new album early this year. So I'd pretty much given up.

Until last week. I was just looking at my screen on Tuesday when an email popped in, from Macca's mailing-list, with the subject "New Tickets For Paul's Electric Proms Show". I opened it, and it said something about a final, last-minute batch of tickets released for Paul's one-off gig at the Roundhouse that Thursday. There was a link. I clicked it. It took me to a ticket-selling website, and without quite stopping to think, I kep clicking on the links, expecting the "SOLD OUT" message to pop up at any time.

And then, I got to the end, my reservation number was on the screen, and it finally dawned on me that I'd somehow got 2 tickets to go and see PAUL McCARTNEY live at the Roundhouse (and for less than 60 quids, too), the day after my birthday.

I got the shakes, I got a cold sweat and I started checking, double-checking and triple-checking my confirmation email, the website, the original email, etc, since some part of me couldn't quite believe my luck, and still thought it was all a scam. Once established that it was in fact my lucky day, I buzzed Lora on MSN to tell her to keep Thursday free, or to cancel whatever else we had on that day, because I don't think anything else could possibly have taken priority over that gig, short of someone giving birth (and even then...).

The gig was at the Roundhouse, and was a one-off concert, part of a series of similar performances for the BBC Electric Proms. When I got to the venue, I couldn't believe how small it was. You could fit about 3000 people on the floor, and without being the first ones there (some people had been queuing since early morning), we managed to get very close to the stage, as in like less than 10 meters. I still couldn't quite believe it.

So, yeah, the gig. It rocked. There's not even any point in me reviewing it, or even describing it, since I cannot possibly have an objective view of that evening. And you couldn't possibly understand, not unless you were a Beatlemaniac yourself. A little kid who'd spent most of his childhood listening to both sides of "Abbey Road" and "A Hard Day's Night" before going to bed. A kid who could sing along to the entire Beatles catalog phonetically, years before he'd even learnt how to speak english. So, yeah, I won't bother getting into details. That one was for me. Best. Birthday. Ever.

PS: Check out the photos.

Radiohead rocks.

All the Radiohead fans were aware that the band was busy recording but nobody expected anything before early 2008. I mean, if you're a musicophile like me, you follow the blogs, the press, you read the NME and Stereogum website, etc, so you tend to be aware of what's going on and what's coming out, you just know what's on the radar.

Plus, even if the album was finished, you just know that it'd take months for the whole she-bang to get in motion, PR, marketing, etc. Nothing till next year, for sure.

But then, this showed up on Radiohead's blog :

Hello everyone.

Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days;

We've called it In Rainbows.

Love from us all.
Jonny

What? Hang on? New album? Now? Huh? How?

How? Well, by pointing a middle finger at the record industry, that's how: you can order the download frm their website now but check your basket, you'll notice that you can PAY WHATEVER YOU FEEL IS RIGHT for the record. It's up TO YOU. No, REALLY, it's up to YOU.

Nice move. Wonder how EMI feels now (Radiohead's contract with them ended with the last record and they're now without a label. Like they need one.)

Back on the Net! At last!!!

Yes, I've only just got back onto the grid, after almost 3 months without the Net at home. It was tough, rough & hard, I tell ya!

I'll finally be able to put some updates on this blog, and also upload some photos from various trips, including a major update about our holiday in Turkey (check out the photo above to see where I spent most of my mornings)

However, after going cold turkey for so long, maybe I shouldn't rush back into this ;-) I'll take it slowly so, yeah, that's it for today :-P

We've moved!

Finally! After 5 months of proceedings, and 2 months in temporary accommodation, Lora and I moved into her new flat this weekend. I was also able to get my stuff back from my old flat, which was nice.

Now, I need to go through all the tedious shit you need to do when you move, e.g. connect the phone, utilities, buy a washing machine and GET BROADBAND INTERNET!!!!

It'll take a while so I'm not back just yet but, when I am, I'll post a few more updates on what's been happening.

Quick note: we saw THE POLICE at Twickenham Stadium this Saturday. Absolutely Rockingfully AWESOME! They played all the hits and only the hits but they re-arranged all of them, to a sometimes surprising degree of re-invention. Songs I moderately liked before came alive before my ears (and eyes) and songs I already loved took on completely new aspects. Now, that's the way to play a greatest hits show, rather than just play everything like the record (Eagles, I'm looking at you)

PS: Stewart Copeland is an absolute legend.

Pastor of Muppets

This made me laugh. Careful with that sound, though, if you're at work :-)



On another note, I haven't been able to update this blog, although lots has happened (lads week-end in Bruges, trip to Paris, etc.) in the last couple of months. Lora and I have moved down the hall, temporarily, while we wait for the deal on her new flat to complete. This means no internet at home(!). Yeah, I know, I know. Tough times. I'm coping...so far (gottastopshaking...gottastopshaking...gottastopshaking...)

Anyway, this explains the lack of updates. I'll be back, though!

Bye Titi. Thanks for the memories.

The best player in the history of the Premier League is off to Barcelona. *sigh*. Definitely another step towards the end of an era, after all my favourite players have now either left or retired (Veira, Pires, Bergkamp and now Titi). Feels like I arrived in London just a year too late!

At least, I'll have the satisfaction of having seen a legend play on his turf, in Highbury. Now, I need to get cable so I can watch La Liga!

In the meantime, like scores of Arsenal fans around the world, I'm going to reminisce before moving on. Enjoy the Master at work:

Some skills...



...and then some goals. Lots of goals.

I know, I know...

I know, I go on about this ZZ guy but, hey, the season's over and the weather's shit so it doesn't hurt to revisit the past a little bit. Plus, this video's got stuff in it I haven't seen before, along, of course, with all the usual "roulette" footage but even then, the montage makes it look a little bit fresher. For example, check out the quick edits from the 2:02 mark, it becomes mesmerizing...

A bit of news...

Well, things have changed a bit around here in the last few weeks. You could say that my life has changed throughout two fairly important events.

Firstly, I've got a new job again. This one marks a bit of a momentous occasion: I have joined the Dark Side, I am officially "scum", I am a blood-sucker, blah blah, etc. In other words, I am now an IT contractor. That was my original goal when I'd moved to the UK but things had turned out differently. Never too late to start making some real dough, though...

Secondly, and this one's a bit of a more radical change: I've moved in with Lora. (*snigger* *snigger* Shush! at the back! I can see you!) We'd been planning that for a while but things didn't quite go according to plan. Lora was going to sell her flat and buy a bigger one, in which I was to move in with her. We'd found a nice flat in East Dulwich, and it was all going forward, leading me to give my notice to my landlord. A bit optimistically, as it turned out...

After a few months of complicated proceedings, through which I learnt more about British real estate laws than I ever wanted to know (leaseholds?!? Whoever thought of these stupid things?!?), both the sale and purchase fell through. So, we're now back at square one, with the difference that I've had to vacate my room and move into Lora's existing one-bedroom flat in Greenwich.

It's a very nice and lovely flat, mind you, and in a pretty good location so things aren't exactly bad, if only a little "cosy" at times. It's been about 6 days now and we haven't killed each other yet so we're doing good so far ;-)

Prague!

Well, if anyone's still reading this blog, I should probably apologise for the lack of updates. I'm seriously considering stopping it altogether, since I can't be bothered keeping this up to date. Maybe I'll keep this blog up just to document my doings for my own purposes, instead, to give me some sort of insight into what my life was like at this point, when I look back upon these entries a few years down the line :-)

Anyway, off to an update. Lora and I went to Prague for the Easter long weekend. This was my first time in Eastern Europe, behind the old Iron Curtain, so I was quite keen to discover whatever remnants of not only communism but also of the Holy Roman Empire.

It was at first a bit of a disappointment when we got there, as one of my first sights in the airport was a KFC! Westernization is well and truly under way in the Czech Republic, and the huge number of tourists in the city is certainly driving this phenomenon forward.

However, there are still plenty of things to enjoy in the old city, and I was fascinated to be walking through arches, bridges and buildings going back to the 14th century, following the same path which emperors and kings trodded upon back in the glorious days of the Holy Roman Empire.

Compared to other European cities which have moved on with the times, like Paris and London, the old center of Prague still retains many attributes of centuries past, making it easy for one to step back in time. That's not necessarily true, however, for areas outside of the centre, where buildings and roads look much more like one would imagine when thinking of communist states.

Our culinary experiences were surprinsingly diverse, with many influences now making their way into Czech restaurants. At the end of the day, though, Czech cuisine is still based around the likes of Goulash and dumplings, which makes it very tasty but hard to recommend to people looking after their cholesterol ;-) Interestingly, french culture seems quite preponderant, with many cafes and restaurants looking like they were set in the Paris of the 1930's. Not quite sure why.

Overall, a great experience, and more magic memories to add to our collection. Go and see the photos here.