Birthday Shenanigans

Thursday was my actual birthday. The highlight of the day itself was obviously chatting to the folks back home (awww). But it was also good to head in to work and make jokes about it "turning 29 again" and so forth - jokes which most of you are already more than sick of. That said, I might turn 29 again next year: I haven't decided yet.

I left work slightly early and headed to town to drink with whoever rocked up. We went to The Cock in Oxford Circus (I love the Cock). A few too many cheap beers and the odd bicycle-rickshaw ride, followed inexplicably by a late night feed of Chinese, saw me "safely" in to bed at about 1.30 or so.

So I was pretty sprightly on the Friday. Following a slightly more difficult day at work I headed local to meet up with some more buddies and await the imminent arrival of Eammon from Ireland, a former housemate and not a small drinker. Molly, his lovely girlfriend was making the trip too (on her birthday no less), and they were crashing at mine for the weekend. He said he'd be "touching down at Stansted at 9:30pm so should be at my place by about 10:30." Not much chance of that - it was midnight by the time I met them at the tube, but before that Heather and I had shared a nice meal of pizza with authentic ( i.e. non-English-speaking) waiting staff.

Luckily, it was too late for us to be tempted into a beer, so I got my much needed sleep finally that night.

Saturday they'd planned to do a bit of sightseeing before getting on the lash with me at my birthday. We headed out for brekky locally which included some kick-ass milkshakes, and I sent them on their way, while quietly home to read and rest up for the massive night that was to follow.

And a massive night is exactly what I got. After getting there a little late, I caught up quickly (I don't know with whom - I seemed to be setting the pace actually, whether I liked it or not). It was great of everyone to come, but I hardly got to speak with anyone for any period of time - especially before my eyes glazed over after Roly, Eammon, Liam et al bought me my present...

Uh, thanks guys. It pretty much ended my night. I should blame them all for it though - from what I remember I was pretty reluctant to share. I also remember being offered a drink afterwards from a mate, whatever I wanted. I asked for Absinth for some reason.

Still, I was bundled into a cab and got home at about 2am.

After a slowish start the next morning, we headed to my local Nando's for Molly's first experience there, and Eammon's first since leaving Australia more than three and a half years ago. It was orgiastic for me.

The day itself was billed as the hottest day of the summer, all of 30 degrees (Celsius!). So we headed to a pub recommended by Liam, the Grand Union - on the canal of the same name in Maida Vale. We got there at 2pm (an hour late - sorry Greg), and were kicked out at 11pm. Not much happened in-between except a lot of drinking and talking sh!t. Brilliant.

After nine hours drinking, we weren't content, so we headed to an arts club nearby and drank for another hour, including ladyboys. Brilliant. We got home about 1:30am. I said goodbye to Eammon and Molly then and headed straight for bed, with my alarm going off at 7:30am that morning (a one hour sleep-in).

I felt rough that day at work - and for most of the week - but what a fantastic weekend! A big thanks to all those that made it along, especially those who travelled from afar - I wish I could have spent more time with you! And Sunday was spectacular!

Can't wait to do it all again (including turning 29) next year.

All Fired Up

Tuesday is fire alarm day at work. At 2pm the alarm goes off, just to test it. Today it went off and I was on the phone. Fantastic for the bloke on the other end.

Then I realised i was hungry. I hadnt eaten yet because it wasnt lunchtime - it was only about 11:30. It was an actual alarm. So we evacuated the building and had a lovely half hour chatting and standing in the sun, waiting for the all clear. It's a rare luxury to have the sun in England, but to be able to bask in it during a work day - well, that was special.

I'd been tired all day because I went to the gym last night, and I knew I'd be at the gym tonight too, so some of the fatigue was premeditated. The day seemed to drag on.

I got to the gym at about seven, ready to hit my usual circuit. About an hour into it the alarm goes off. I've got a decent sweat going but we have to evacuate. Another fire.

This time it was the polar opposite. It wasn't cold outside, but as soon as the I cooled down and my sweat cooled with me, I was standing in cold wet clothes waiting to be let in. Not quite as goood as the daytime. It was a genuine fire too - quite a big one in the basement apparently, and we saw heaps of smoke coming from the roof. But after an hour we got our stuff and had to leave - we couldn't go back into the gym.

Pretty freaky though: two real fire alarms in one day.

The moral of the story: if you're gonna start a fire where I work, do it at about 2pm on a Tuesday as we'll all think it's a test. But if you do intend to do that, make sure it's a sunny day.

Thanks.

Luton, the Most Magical Place on Earth

The title of this entry may surprise you. Particularly if you've ever been to the bus station which could be considered one of the most depressing places in England (and it's not without its competition there). Infact, the bus station itself is downright maudlin. Its full of empty shops, has very poor lighting and - despite being between the train station and the centre of Luton, is hidden away under a massive carpark as isolated from both, thereby becoming a haven for hoodies (see right).

But I digress. The magic in Luton is nothing short of miraculous. It is the pedestrian overpass (see it on the right, avert your eyes if you're, like, the son of the devil or something), which links the train station (to the north) with the aforementioned carpark and bus station (to the east), and provides a pedestrian link through to the shopping mall and on to the town centre and council offices (bottom left of the lower satellite pic - and there's a Nando's under that big white roof on the right which I've taken care of). As entry statements go, it's not that inspirational. Infact, it was probably ugly even in the 1960s. When I tell people in my profession that I'm working at Luton the most common response is "jeez, you've got your work cut out for you there - it could do with some improvement." But isn't that intrinsic in all magic?? You don't see it coming??

So how is it magical? Well, when it rains - even drizzles a little bit - the overpass leaks. It's not some small little dribble either - it pours through. And it keeps going long after the rain stops. So much so that the volume that leaks through the overpass easily exceeds the amount of rain that falls on it. So it disobeys the second law of thermody-whatever. **

And its not impressive or beneficial to anyone whatsoever - it's useless magic at best. Although I've often wondered what would happen if I drew the Virgin Mary on the roof of the overpass, with the leaks forming her tears. There'd be pilgrims coming from all over the place. And they'd probably burn me at the stake when they caught me re-touching it and figured it out. I'd probably need some sort of permanent marker.

Anyways, there you have it. Magic in the most unlikely of places: Luton.

** I'm certain that some of my nerdy friends will pick me up on that one

Weekend travels and shenanigans omnibus

I've done a bit of cheeky travel in the last couple of weeks, which
has given me a very good excuse to be tardy with my blog.

A couple of weeks ago I headed to La Clusaz in the French Alps for a
wedding. Adam, my (3rd?) cousin, was getting married to the lovely
Ange. It meant a weekend in the French Alps. Ah well, the sacrifices
we make.

I knew ahead of time I'd have a hard time getting my passport stamped
in Geneva airport. Morgs couldnt get his stamped when he arrived. So
when I went through passport control, the bloke just looked at the
passport and looked at me. I asked if he'd stamp it and he just looked
at me. Ambivalent. Neutral. Bloody Swiss. I moved on.

It was midnight by the time I got to my room, so it wasn't until the
morning that I found out what sort of a view you can expect from a
two-star hotel in the Alps. I was extremely impressed! I was blown
away infact. It was probably helped by the incredible weather we had
that day - it was 26 and bright sunshine. It had been raining all the
previous week, and there was fresh snow on the mountains. And the
following day it was drizzling too. We were very lucky!

And I was lucky too. A big thanks to Tony and Sheila, and Adam and
Ange, for the invite. I had a fantastic time!

Another weekend, another country. Last weekend it was Ireland, with
Larry, Dan and Kate joining me to meet up with Eammon in Ireland. I've
been to Dublin twice now, and each time I've been too busy drinking to
get to the Guinness factory. Ah well, next time maybe.

I arrived back in town on Monday afternoon, and picked up my ticket
and morning suit for the Buckingham Palace Garden Party. Liz does a
mean cuppa, and the cucumber sangas were superb. It was a pretty good
afternoon, and again uncommonly sunny, but we waiting a long time for
the Queen to work the crowds, and she walked straight past the last
third of the cordon, which was a bit disappointing. Still Dan Barnao
(who came with me) joined me in the pub for "one" pint to drown our
sorrows. Of course this turned into about seven.

More of that to come in my birthday drinks. Its going to be wonderful
turning 29 again...

Paradox

My world is upside down. Apparently my job is entertaining:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/01/planners.shtml

Well that's bureaucracy for you.

And what I've been doing on holidays is bloody boring:

http://blogs.theage.com.au/travel/archives/2007/07/why_backpackers.html

I'm sure some of the readers of my old emails would agree with that actually.