Long weekend

For the first time in a week, the sun finally peeked through, and the rain clouds disappeared. Thank gawd. I was about to spend the day outdoors at SW4 :P As much as I love Paul van Dyk, it really wouldn't have been that much fun if it was raining on me during his set. The pic above is of the massive line to get into SW4. Single file, people pretty much circled the park to get into one entrance. I think I stood in it for at least half an hour!

SW4 reminded me a lot of my last Field Day actually :) Just with a lot more DJs.

Bosom buddies *grin*

Wazzz with the munchies:

Bonding with my tattoo buddy:

Dodgy orientals

I love my "Fong Jaow" ("Phoenix Claws", the fancy name for "chicken feet"). It's funny when I go to dim sum (the British name for yum cha) with a caucasian crowd, and they always make fun of "Fong Jaow". It's like the biggest challenge to eat something like chicken feet. But I love it. Fresh from a steamer. This though, I wouldn't touch... Chicken feet preserved in gawd knows what, vacuum packed in plastic, and sold in an oriental supermarket as a snack.

*Bleargh* It looks so bad:

It's also quite a worry when you're eating at a restaurant and the menu plugs one of its selling points as, "Excellent Hygiene". Excellent hygiene? Shouldn't ALL restaurants have excellent hygiene? Is it something that needs to be advertised? Should I be worried that the restaurant has to be explicit about its hygiene standards?!?

Well, all I can say is, I had a really bad tummy the next day :P It could've been the prawns, it could've been the chilli oil. At least I can rest assured that it wasn't because of poor hygiene :P

Youth crime

Youth crime is pretty scary in the UK. It's scary to see headlines like, "11 year old shot. First pictures," on evening papers. It's scary to read about young teens getting killed in their own bed. If you're not safe in your own home, where can you go?

An 11 year old, walking home after playing football, gets shot by a youth aged 13-15. When I was 13... I was worried about doing well in school, making friends, gawd knows what other trivial sht. Where does a 13 year old get a gun from? Why would a 13 year old think of shooting someone? It scares the bejeezus out of me.

Kids in the UK, they're... different. It makes me feel old to say, "Kids these days, have no respect". Not for their elders, not for themselves, not for anyone else. A lady sat down next to me on the bus the other day. She pulled out her mobile and called her mum ("HIYA MUM! ARE YOU OWRIGH?"). From her very loud conversation, I found out that she herself was a mother of a teenage daughter. The daughter wizzes with the toilet door open. Doesn't wash her hands. Goes into the kitchen, touches everything and makes herself tea and a snack. Apparently she does this all the time.

When I was young, if I ever did anything like that, my Mum would've smacked the crap out of me. Although my Dad never laid a hand on me, my Mum was never afraid to pull out the rattan feather duster for a good caning. If I did something to deserve it. My brothers apparently use to get chilli rubbed onto their lips. Kinda backfired, my second brother grew up to be a bigger chilli addict than I am :P

The lady next to me, all she did was, tell her daughter that she should wash her hands after coming out of the toilet. Her daughter apparently gave her "a look" and ignored her. End of disciplining.

o_O

I'm not trying to enforce child abuse :P But... Come on!!! Instill some fear into your kids :P

The lady next to me then spent the rest of the trip justifying to her own mother why she had to "have a word" with her daughter about hygiene.

O_O

How do kids grow up like that? I just have no idea. I really don't want kids. Way too much time and effort to invest in kids. Especially when they turn out like that.

Star Trekking

Approximately 689 minutes later, one thing's for sure - Captain Kirk's waistline definitely expands with every movie :) Have to admit, he was pretty sharp looking in the original Motion Picture. Definitely not as sharp by Star Trek 7, especially up against Jean-Luc Picard! Now I understand why Ula had a thing for Picard ;) *grin*

You know, I'm sure the question's been asked many times before, but I'm new to this. Why-o-why, did they remove seatbelts from spaceships? They have warp drives, they have transporters, they have impulse power... But something as simple as seatbelts? Nope. Or just _anything_ that keeps them in their seat? Nope. I haven't watched a single movie out of the 7 yet, that hasn't had a scene where crew members are thrown around the bridge!

The whole reason I started watching the Star Trek movies is because I really thought Futurama's "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" episode was one of the best. It's probably too early to make Star Trek judgement calls since I have another 3 more movies to finish watching *groan* Getting there. But out of all the movies starring the original Star Trek crew, I'd have to say "Wrath of Khan" is the best. With Khan's moobies deserving a special mention. Followed by "Search for Spock". "The Voyage Home" is hilarious just cause Chekov really does keep saying, "nuclear wessels" (as piss-taken in Futurama) *grin* And I burst out laughing when Uhura did the fan dance in "The Final Frontier" :)

It's actually a lot less painful than I expected watching the Star Trek movies. I was tempted to delete all of them after watching the first one, which was just terrible. I'm glad I stuck it out :)

Some friendships...

... will always pick up where they left off.

Over time, the family of funny faces just gets bigger :)

I miss those days of $5 steaks, pool at Sharkies, wedges at Roofbar, lazy brunches and coffees. Quality time with mates *sigh* I can even remember my first D&M with KC about 11 years ago. We were on our way to the Matthews building :)

Good luck in NYC guys! Book me in for your couch (when you get one *grin*)!

Hey Wazzz

Come and get it *grin*

Needless to say, Wazzz didn't want to :P

MIA: 1 Cossack dancer

6 years out of sight and sound, and nothing's changed! You still banter like an old woman *grin* Glad we got to meet up mate! Even if you are a lousy date!! ;)

AP with his very girly "tulip" dessert:

LS said it best:

"Most people shouldn't drink and drive, you shouldn't drink and communicate :)"

Mm, does it count if I actually figured out that 1am Rondon time equates to 10am Sydnery time, and therefore, it was fine to send you a drunken message? :) I felt it was important to express my thanks for the RAM! *grin* I didn't think it was as important to spell correctly ;)

I really should get my internet and phone taken off me after a couple of beers though. Geez. There have been some doozies these past couple of weeks. I remember running up to a sports car filled with young arrogant pups (YAP) on Saturday night. It had wing doors, so it was either a Lamborghini, or a souped up Supra *lol* I couldn't tell :P

Me: "What do you do for a living?"
YAP: "Property development, rental estates..."
Me: "How much do you earn?"
YAP: "43,000 pounds per MONTH."
Me: (Dubious) "Do your parents have a lot of money??"
YAP: "No man! I'm a self-made millionaire!"

This boy, looked about 16 years old! Complete with giant diamond bling in his ear. Although, that could've been a cubic zirconia :P I think he was having me on :P No, I didn't climb into the car. I ran off and joined my mates to catch the N18 bus home :) All those Ferrari drivers out there, better watch out for the curious drunken oriental. I want answers!

Cons

Lately, I've been virtually bitten, and I wonder if it happens to other bloggers. I thought the whole point of a blog is to express your humble opinions honestly. On life. On love. On society. On human interactions. However, it's all online. There's the personal touch missing. If I were telling these stories face-to-face, it'd be over a coffee or a cocktail. It'd be a two-way conversation and you'd defend your view against mine. We'd laugh and get over it.

Somehow, when it's over the internets, it's different. I say things, and it gets misinterpreted. It gets misconstrued. Readers are offended. Don't get me wrong, the majority of feedback I've received on my blog, has been positive. Yet there's still that percentage of small disgruntled readers. To be honest, that percentage is probably small only because I have no idea my readers are disgruntled. It's only occurred to me recently that whatever I write, could be hurtful. Yet...

It feels wrong to me that I have to watch what I say on my own blog. Maybe I'm a little less tactful. Maybe I'm just predantic (AdF - ;) ) about certain topics. Whatever it is, I never mean to offend. And I do apologise for offending. Sincerely.

What brought this on? DG's emails to me. Yeah you, DG ;) And other conflicts that have happened recently.

I know I've been preaching about dancing skillz lately :P But, when you get down to it, orientals really can kickass on the dancefloor *grin* Link me to something better than what these guys can do.

Modern day robot at its best:

Algorithm dance with NINJAS:

You know, don't be afraid of telling me your PoV. I want to know. Email me, or comment on my blog. Personally, I don't believe in censorship. At the same time, don't take everything I write so seriously. Have a beer before you read my blog if it helps :P

Kubrick fan-gal

I love Kubrick's work. I might not understand it, but I still love his movies. I'm glad I went to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey at Somerset House. I was pretty close to skipping it. Having tried about 5 times to watch it on my laptop, I had given up hope that I could last the 141mins without dozing. I survived! Although I do remember Niffies nudging me at one point *grin*

There are scenes from 2001, which just blew me away. Watching it on the big screen was beautiful. I can't believe this movie was made in 1968. Man had barely ventured into space, with the first space flight taking place in 1961. Yet this movie, made me feel in such awe of space. I'm pretty amazed at how space is portrayed in this movie. But err, I still can't appreciate much from the "Dawn of Man" yelping monkey scenes :P

Now that I think about it, the ending of the movie had a familiar Matthew Barney'ish "wtf is happening" feel to it. I wonder if Barney got some of his inspiration for Cremaster from Kubrick.

One of my most prized possessions in Rondon, is a strip of frames cut from a 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey owned by Kubrick. It came as part of "The Stanley Kubrick Archives" book which C gave me for my birthday last year. I definitely appreciate it a lot more now.

Somerset House is a great venue for open air cinema. Though next year, I'm bringing my puffy jacket and a thicker cushion. It's definitely not warm enough to sit around in a singlet top and flip-flops :P My arse was definitely aching by the end of it.

Paper

At about 2am today, my stomach retched and the ciabatta topped with Carluccio's sugo al funghi porcini came up. Unbelievably, this is the second time in my life that my stomach contents have wafted a porcini scent at me from the bowl. Traitorous stomach.

At about 9am today, SH jumped on me (hidden under my doona) in my bed, "HI BABE!!! OMG! ARE YOU NAKED?"

Shit. Indeed I am. Sometime between 2am and 9am, my clothes left me. Traitorous clothes.

It really doesn't take much these days. I think it was 3 vodka lemon limes, and a shot of Belvedere. Incidentally, a shot of Belvedere and a vodka with mixer will set you back at least 18 squids in Paper! I had to get the shot in order to cover the minimum spend before I could put it on my credit card. Traitorous cashless society.

To be honest, I was slightly disappointed with Paper. It'd been hyped as the place where celebs go to be cool. So I was expecting something big, flashy and ostentatious. I wanted Bling, Baby. Instead, I was faced with a ton of burly bouncers, a lack of seating space, and plastic chandeliers. AND, expensive spirits!!! Lucky I'm a cheap drunk. I drowned my sharply lowered expectations in vodka (obviously), and had a great time dancing to remixed choons from the early 90's :)

I also accosted a fierce looking black bouncer.
Me: *Tapping bouncer on his iron forearm* "Excuse me... Can I ask you a question?"
Bouncer: *Pulls out receiver from ear and leans down*
Me: "Have you seen any white guys on the dance floor that can dance??"
Bouncer: *Breaks out into a big grin*
Me: "No, I'm serious. Have you, in all your experience as a bouncer, seen any white guys that can dance?"
Bouncer: "You know what, I spend a lot of time watching. And I have to say they're improving."

Aaah, evolution...

We chat some more, about jazz clubs in Camden, about girls in Paper.
Me: "Do you pick up here?"
Bouncer: "I don't. The girls here, they're here for one reason. Everyone knows it."
Me: *Clueless* "What's the reason?"
Bouncer: "Money! A lot of people with money come here."
Me: "Really? I'm a bit disappointed with this place. It's small. Who's the most famous person you've seen here?"
Bouncer: "I've seen P.Diddy. Even Harry has been here."

Our conversation is cut short by another member of staff. Besides, the girls were giggling at me from the dancefloor.

To all my whitey guy friends, I don't mean you *grin* I wouldn't be caught dead with you in a club otherwise! ;) The dancing techniques in Rondon clubs though, is just shocking...

Plasticy goodness

This mini table will probably set you back 500 squids

How is it possible Niffies was still standing at the end of the night? ;)

VOLE? ELVO? OVEL?

Summer's here. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Sometimes, you hear a story, and it restores your fate a little in love, and finding your soul mate.

A guy, meets a girl at a mutual friend's wedding. They glance across the room at each other. 2 days later they were engaged. 3 months later they were married. Now they have 2 kids and are a happy young family. From the moment when they saw each other, they just knew it was meant to be...

So to my male drinking buddies last Friday night, who have never said the "L" word - I hope it happens to you and you find out what the "L" word feels like. Fingers crossed you're at the right place when the cosmic stars are aligned ;)

SWANS!

A seal yesterday, and 7 swans today!! There's either going to be an apocalypse with blood rain tomorrow...

... Or a dead body. It's the Thames, it could happen :P

It's a...

...SEAL! I swear!!!

It was sooo cute. I was eating my breakfast in the cafeteria, and it kept popping its head out of the river :) Dang cutie knew I was trying to take a photo of it though. Everytime I was about to click, it popped back down. I need a faster camera...