Travels & tales... and travails??

Hi to people (ok ok, noone else reads this other than a few very too kind froggers) who have asked about me and Spanish and made some far-too-warm comments about my photos on Flikr.

right, [intake of breath]

I "gave up work" at the end of 2005 and decided to get some time to myself away from work.
No clear objectives or destinations in mind but ended up going to Poland to visit a friend, Spain to visit a friend and Guatemala to visit... well, noone actually.

anyway, for Spain and Guatemala I took a very small notepad with me in order to scribble thoughts, observations and to look intelligent when alone in a bar or restaurant.
Rather than blog while abroad, I transcribed the notes into the blog (c'mon - I was abroad and I do not want to be in an internet cafe). A bit of editing here and there but not as much as you'd wish (you haven't read it yet).

Anyway, I have no technical control of this blog so can't "tag" my posts and get them grouped "dynamically". So instead, I've stuck links to the beginnings of the travel notes in the right hand column. yes go look. yes those ones.

Interestingly(?) you have to read the page from the bottom up as this is a blog, so start at the bottom of the page otherwise any humour I can wring from the dry rag of reality will be lost.

alternatively, ignore the links and demand I be amusing or insightful now as opposed to being johnny foreigner not speakinger the languagy.

An icon

Happy Birthday to Muhammed Ali.

Honestly - no puns, no irony from me.

The Greatest

push the boat out and push the button...

Now, the other person who asked me to whitter on has now made me listen to more Sugarbabes than I have done in a very long time. Ever actually. I kinda liked the singles but their site really goes through the hits....

To say I like the mu

oohhhh NO! NO!! NOOO! - THAT'S WRONG!!!!!!! They're butchering the Beatles' "Come Togeher"!

Right up to that point I was ok with them and was gonna wax lyrical about their fine production and some good use of melodies and stuff but that has finished me right off.

urrrRRggHHH [shiver]

Now without that horrible sound I can concentrate on the task at hand and I have to say that my favourite is Heidi.

But I'm not buying the album.

Or even the calendar.

a moving tale of selfishness

Well, at least two people have asked me to whitter on about something and god knows I usually don't need to be asked...

However, I'm sorry madmary but I won't go on and on about my housemates, mainly as it would show the true tedious horror of my life and the extraordinarily low threshold of others' idiosynchrasies that I now have, but also as it'd be totally unfair.

y'see its me - not them. They're actually lovely people etc etc. Its just that another's quirks can wear away at you and become a sore point quite quickly.

god knows how they put up with my quirks but there you go.

I actually have never lived alone and want to try it out. I want my own space where if I want to cook, I can go in the kitchen and if I left it clean it'll be clean when I go in and if I need a pot it'll be there and not simply sitting on the stove with someone else's unfinished food in it. And I won't get disturbed halfway through cooking with people also wanting to cook. If I want to watcha movie on TV, I can watch it and not try and figure out if I'll be disturbed and have it ruined. If I want a curry and watch TV than I want to be able to do it without thinking "I wonder if so-and-so will be back - they'll probably want to use the front room and not have me stink it out with a curry... and I don't want to sit there eating it in front of them..."

etc

ad nauseum. (in my head, not the curry)

As you can see, its me who now can't handle sharing.

Interestingly (perhaps) is that I live in a 'houseshare' as its financially the only way I can really survive in London. Although now I have enough money saved to consider buying a miniscule, overpriced room in a far worse location.

Before now I had been wary of living alone as I was worried that I would succomb to loneliness and my darker moods. Living alone could've sent me mad.

Now, living with people seems to be the thing that's driving me nuts!

I think moving out will be a good move....

ooohhhh.............. participation

right.
I don't feel like blogging, yet I'm bored and want to talk about something....

so, what do you want me to talk about? I've got an opinion on loads of things - mainly stuff I know sod all about.
What would you like me to go on about? Art? Music? football? Design? designing websites?? Politics?

whatever. Now, if I was strong I'd say I ain't gonna blog again until someone asks me something to talk about.
But I ain't that strong and I'll merely not blog for a week or two or three and then I'll probably just say something..!

though ask me about my housemates and I'll bore you to tears about their... ugh only if you ask....

not so newsworthy now, huh?

hmm.... they've hung Saddam.


So I guess I'd better start selling my Celebdaq shares in him?

anyone buying?

Man-hugs

the other thing I meant to do was apologise to a mate and say thanks for your xmas present. I was really touched. I wanted to get in touch when I opened it, but put it off and then... was too late.

stuffed up my honest thanks and feeling of humbleness-ity

Sorry. And Thanks. I was really touched.

Blog-u-like

Right. The last post mentioned two thngs I should've done. One was to suggest some blogs that I like.

so, some blogs that I like:
The Radio 4 PM blog, full of interesting thoughts from people. about stuff. Like the hanging of Saddam, heroin, Afghanistan, the importance of punctuation, recipes.... oh, and cats. Seems everyone has a cat.
Interestingly(?) a fair few have blogs of their own... think I'll do a sepearate posting of those.

The musings of my mate (like me, getting back into blogging and some of his earlier postings were, well.... he was having fun abroad. Now he's Re-Patted. but hopefully that doesn't mean the fun stuff has ended.

And my daily dose of a very well written footy blog. Well written, with links to news stories but importantly a strong editorial voice. He does swear quite a bit, but.... well.... it is about footy and the ref was a [ahem]... Arseblog
pretty obvious who I support huh? actually see hi posting after the win over Liverpool. Very even handed and criticised one of our own players rather than just sitting there smugly...)

This one I've only just come across a day or two ago and in fact almost did have an acident as this stuff really does get my juices going. Data visualisation, design etc etc etc.
Yummy.

And Badscience is the writings of Dr. Ben Goldacre who writes in the Guardian on a Saturday. Especially useful if you're into nutritionism. He really really really hates Gillian McKeith. I mean, even more than I hate people on telly (and that's saying something).
Though tellingly, he actually has reasons for disliking people, which I would never sink to.

I'll stop now as growabrain is a site that links to new interesting stuff on the interwub. If you're looking for something not to do over lunch then this might provide the links to it.
and its where I'll be looking for new blogs...

S.A.D or sad?

I really haven't been on good form for a few weeks now. I seem to be 'off the pace', trying too hard, not doing things when I meant to and then making poor judgements (nothing serious, but annoying, like not thanking a friend for a present the moment I received it; not suggesting that people vote for fellows on a blog I also post to, silly things but things that stay in my mind at least).

I've also caught myself with thoughts that are a precursor to feeling 'down'/ blue whatever. So.... what I should do is take remedial action and:

cut down on the booze;
go jogging an evening a week;
eat better food (ie veg).

What's good is that these are all easy to do yet do make a difference.

They won't make me any less off the pace, mind. I'm afraid if you know me you'll have to put up with strained gags and sentences beginning and then just fading out as I realise that even I can't be bothered with them.

Yeah, I know I know... the difference??

well the difference is that I'm aware of the rubbish I'm speaking

[blimey - sympathetic music or what - I have randomly selected music on in the background here, and "Dark was the night Cold was the ground" by Blind Willie Johnson has just come on. Ry Cooder did it as Paris Texas!]

[sigh]

No - don't say it

Words that should be banned:

some chuckles...

Hen Guitar Fy Nhadau

cannot believe this. Actually I don't believe this.

Just read in the guardian (paper not online - so no link!!) about the "possible" Hendrix version of "Land of my Fathers" (Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau) - the Welsh National Anthem.

Complete fake as I'm now enduring after following the link (in the paper - now there's a novelty in itself)

listen .... but not for as long as I have been while typing this as its awful in a faux-Hendrix way.

made me smile for a second tho, if only for the stoopidity of it!!