October 17, 2006 14:16

I went to my first NFL game this past Sunday. It was the Falcons against the New York Giants. The seats were great, on the 40 yard line, at the back of the lowest section (row 38, I think). John and I had a great view of the game. Unfortunately, the Falcons did not give us a great performance, losing 27-14. Still, it was fun overall, and I will go to another game.

Earlier in the weekend I got my usual drunk on, and went to the Brewhouse on Saturday morning to watch a disappointing Liverpool performance against Blackburn. On the positive side, I got to wear my new Riise jersey, and Bellamy scored his first Premiership goal in a Liverpool shirt. I suppose it would have been slightly better if I had worn my Bellamy jersey, but no matter. Later that night I went to the Masquerade to see Combichrist and KMFDM. That was a great show. I bounced and danced and drank lots of very strong drinks. I also caught up with people: Joe, Scott and Phaedra, Ashe, Larry, Kevin (nurse Kevin). And possibly others.

The past week was largely your average, everyday week of working and going out. Some plans were unfortunately cancelled.

I'm expecting the next few weeks to be quite busy, with weddings and concerts and ballet. And then there's work! Speaking of which, I'm off to Athens again on Thursday.

Oh, I'm turning off comments - apparently a 'bot has discovered my comments section and is spamming me. So off go comments.

October 10, 2006 13:45

Back to Tuesday in London. The National Gallery was great. Chris and I had run round a couple of rooms there when I was in London last time, but this time I was able to more properly appreciate the art. A lot of it I really liked, particularly those of the "Old Masters," and particularly those that were representations of scenes from Classical literature rather than those of a Biblical nature. In any case, the Gallery took up two and a half to three hours and then I made the trek back to Bianca's. That night, I took Bret and Biance out for dinner by way of thanks for letting me crash on their (very comfortable, pull-out) couch.

On Wednesday I got off to a slow start. I was going to be making my way back to the Northwest in the afternoon, so some chill time was well deserved. I had some breakfast/lunch at the cafe just around the corner and spent some time reading and catching up on a few bits and pieces online courtesy of Bianca's laptop. I called Peter to let him know my approximate arrival time in Preston and made my way to Euston Station. The train journey itself was uneventful. I listened to my iPod and read Fermat's Enigma. Peter met me at the station and we shot back to his place.

The plan for the night was to find a pub in Preston that was going to show the Liverpool Champions League game against Gallatasaray. We decided to skip the local pub (apparently the food isn't up to it's previous standard) and Peter called Lane's End. It turned out that the proprietor was from Liverpool and he was expecting a good crowd for the game. So Yvonne dropped us off and we settled in for a big dinner (I think I got the mixed grill) and several pints. And, of course, football, which Liverpool won 3-2. It was a good, dominating first half from the Reds, but in the second half they had trouble defending the ball in their own box and gave up two goals to headers. Both seemed balls that Hyppia would have dealt with. But we go away with an all-important group-stage win.

After the game, Yvonne picked us up and dropped us back at the local pub for Quiz Night. This was fun; I was able to contribute a couple of answers, and I met some new people. Then we walked back to Pete's and finished the night with a couple of glasses of port.

My goal for Thursday was to get to Bolton to visit with UK office of my primary client. I caught the train from Preston to Bolton and was picked up at the station. I had a pub lunch with Ian and Steve and then spend a couple of hours at their office catching up on the latest from Europe and Ireland. Afterwards, Steve dropped me back at the train and I returned to Preston. That evening we had kebabs and Stella Artois for dinner and checked out the sporting highlights of the past 36 hours. Around 10ish we headed over to the pub and closed it out (around 12ish, I think).

Friday morning, Pete and I were up relatively early. He had the day off and we had a fullish day planned. We started by heading to Liverpool and the club shop at Anfield, whereat I spent lots of money. No surprise there. One of the highlights (which I didn't actually pick up) was a dog leash with the words, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Brilliant. Peter was so impressed by it he talked about returning to buy one. So I got clothes and magazines and other random souvenirs. Then we had had breakfast at a greasy spoon next to Anfield and then headed north to the Lake District. We spent the day driving, checking out the small villages and the lakes, primarily Windemere and Coniston. Unfortunately the weather was grey and wet, but I did take a number of photos, anyway. We also stopped at Morecambe and got photos of the statue of Eric Morecambe. We went looking for a steam train museum, but it had been closed. We passed Beatrix Potter's cottage in the Lake District. Peter had an uninspiring scone with jam and cream. That night, the three of us (Peter, Yvonne, me) caught the bus into Preston and went to one of the many pubs. After several pints (wine for Yvonne), we walked up to the longest running Chinese restaurant in Preston and had their banquet meal for three. It was fantastic, and when we finally left, we were absolutely stuffed. We had missed the last bus, so we caught a cab and hit the sack.

Saturday was the big day. Peter and I caught the bus into Preston and then the train to Bolton. This was an earlier stop than the one I got off at on Thursday, and was a couple of hundred yards from the Reebok Stadium. We went in by the main entrance and were directed up to the VIP room and our table. We ordered beers and then others started joining our table (most of the other tables had bodies at them). The others at our table seemed a good bunch. The meal we were served was great - leek and potato soup, roast pork with roast potatoes and vegetables and gravy OR brunch type food (or, as in my case, a mixture of the two), and dessert. All very tasty. And beer. During the meal, former Liverpool player, Ron Yeats, gave a talk. At 12:30 we headed round to our seats in the Liverpool section of the ground, and ended up behind the goal again. Unfortunately, today's game did not go well. Even though we had a bright start and dominated the possession, poor refereeing decisions, including an absolutely shocker that led to a Bolton goal, meant that we lost. Every single away game we've been to this year we've had obvious penalty decisions be denied and today's free kick decision (Reina was penalized for handling outside of the area but he had clearly let go of the ball before he left the area and the linesman was in no position to call the angle). Frustration.

After the game we stopped back in at the VIP room for another round and then headed back to the train. We caught a glimpse of one or two of the Liverpool boarding the bus. Back in Preston, we wandered around the shops and the market and then headed back to the house. Later, Yvonne picked us up so I could pick up some Cadbury's for me and some Monster Munch from Sharon (Tim had sent me an SMS from the Brewhouse after the game with Sharon's request). Then we had pizza and beer for dinner and watched the day's football highlights on the TV. Consensus was that the free kick was a game-changing bad call, but there was no talk of the repercussions (that linesman should be fined and never allowed to appear at a Premiership game again).

And that brings us to Sunday. An early start and off to the airport. Nothing more really to be said other than I had a superb trip (with the exception of the Bolton result). Big thanks to Pete, Yvonne, Bianca, Bret, Vanessa, John, John, Tim, Ian and Steve.

The week and a half I've been back have been busy. Monday was the usual South Park showing at the Local. Tuesday was Smog at the Red Light Cafe. Wednesday was The Hold Steady at the EARL. Thursday was dinner with Amy. Friday was the usual craziness at the Local followed by poker. On Saturday I slept through the England game at the Brewhouse but still got there to spend some time catching up with Garry and his mates who were over. I was also able to deliver the Monster Munch. Then I went to the Local for a few more drinks and then went home to crash early. Sunday was sloppy, but did end with drinks at the Local with Amy and with John VW. Last night, rather than heading out for South Park Monday, I stayed in and watched The Grudge, as I have a free pass to the sequel on Thursday. And somewhere in all of that, I've managed to get a little work done.

Feel like you're caught up?

October 04, 2006 19:47

Time for a bit of a catchup. Back on the 19th I went to the Art Brut and We Are Scientists with my new friend, Amy. We started out at Fado and then went to the show, arriving just in time for the start of We Are Scientists. They were awesome: lots of energy and a great attitude in spite of the small crowd (The Raconteurs were playing at the Tabernacle that night). Art Brut were good, but Amy didn't like them quite as much. Overall, We Are Scientists were the better, more fun band of the night. After the show we popped back to Fado and then home.

On Friday 23rd I got on a plane to New York (business class) and then on another plane to Manchester (cattle class). My fall/autumn vacation was under way.

We got into Manchester Airport around 8:30am on Saturday morning. Immigration was a breeze and I was through customs in no time. Peter met me at 9am and we headed off to Vanessa's place in Liverpool. We chatted and caught up on the latest news on the way. We got to Vanessa's around 9:40, which gave me just enough time to have a quick wash and change my shirt before Vanessa dropped me off at her friend John's place. John had been able to wrangle a ticket for the Liverpool vs Spurs game; we had to meet the person with the ticket at 12:30. From John's place we went to pick up a couple more of his friends (Malcolm and Tim) and then went to the Pig and Whistle. Two hours after landing in Manchester, I was in a pub with a pint of ale. Two hours, a cheese and onion butty, and five pints later I was standing by the statue of Bill Shankley in front of the Kop awaiting my ticket. Fifteen minutes later I was on the Kop, behind and just to the left of the goal, with a perfect view of the pitch. And what a game it was. The first half was a bit tame, but the Reds fired on all cylinders for the second half - I saw all three goals go in right in front of me. Fan-fucking-tastic!

After the game I met up with the others at The Albert, the pub next to the stadium. We did a round there, and then John dropped me and Tim at another pub in downtown Liverpool, where we had a great chat and down three or four more pints. One of Tim's mates turned up and gave us a lift to the pub around the corner from Vanessa's place, where another pint was imbibed while waiting for Vanessa to pick me up. Back at Vanessa's, John S had arrived home and was watching the Ryder Cup. I had a much-needed bath and change of clothes. We hung out and chatted until Peter and Yvonne turned up. We all chilled for a while and then headed into Liverpool for more liquid entertainment. At the end of the evening we picked up kebabs and fish and chips and got a cab back to Vanessa's. We munched out and watched TV before one by one hitting the sack.

Sunday got off to a slow start. Vanessa and John were in the process of moving house, so they were taking care of that while Pete, Yvonne, and I pulled ourselves together. We watched some TV, and (once returned) Vanessa made breakfast - eggs, sausages, bacon, toast. Pete and Yvonne headed home and I caught up with John and some of the projects he's been working on. Around 1pm, Vanessa took me to the Runcorn station for my trip to London.

Bianca met me at Euston Station and we made our way back to her place off Abbey Road in St John's Wood. Bret was there, making lasagne, so we had a grand old catch up. Later, Damon Millar and his wife, Tara, arrived and the catch-ups continued. Another of their friends, Pete (an Aussie), turned up with a friend of his, and we all went across the road to the Thai restaurant for dinner. An early night was had after dinner, as Bianca and Bret had work in the morning.

My plan on Monday was to catch the bus into London and check out the Tate Modern Museum. And I was successful in my endeavour. The bus took me to Waterloo, and from there I wandered along the Thames to Blackfriars Bridge and the Tate. The special exhibit was Kandinsky: The Path to Abstraction. While I can't claim to be an admirer of Kandinsky's work, I found the exhibition to be an incredibly interesting illustration of his evoloution from naturalistic landscapes to abstract art. The rest of the museum's collection took the better part of four hours to explore. It was awesome. Personal highlights: Dali's The Metamorphosis of Narcissus, Warhol's Marilyn Diptych. In all, I spent around five hours at the Tate.

It was good that I spent five hours in the Tate, because it was a miserable day outside. Lots of rain. It was a bit drizzily when I was on my way there, and most of the rain was done by the time I left, but it wsa still very damp. I crossed the Thames via the Millenium Bridge and wandered around the City of Westminster looking for a place to catch my bus back to Bianca's. I worked it out with little difficulty and before long I was on my way back to St John's Wood. Bianca made a tasty dinner, after which she, Bret and I played Settlers of Kattan. And then it was bed time.

I awoke and got up around 9am on Tuesday and caught the bus back in to London. I got off the train at Oxford St and wandered around, making my way to Covent Garden. Along the way I spotted a small backpack, which I picked up for £7. I spent an hour or so window shopping and consumer shopping at Covent Garden, and then picked up some CDs at HMV. As it was getting closer to lunch time, I made my way to the tube stop and caught the tube to Canary Wharf, where I met up with Pete R for lunch. We talked about next year's Cricket World Cup (and agreed that getting there was going to be expensive and difficult) and next year's Rugby World Cup (which would be less expensive and much more doable). After lunch, I did a bit of a wander around the area, and took a few photos. Then I caught the tube back to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery.

But that will have to wait until tomorrow, as I am now heading out with Tim, ultimately to the EARL to see the Hold Steady.

September 18, 2006 12:21

It's a couple of weeks since my last post, but it has been a pretty good two weeks. I have been meeting new people and doing things with new people, in addition to my regular daily fun times. Briefly, on Monday I was invited by a girl I met a week or so previously to see some bands at the Earl, so I went and we had fun and I got home late. I gave her a call on Saturday and we went out for dinner and had a great time. Tomorrow night we're going to see We Are Scientists and Art Brut, and before that we're having dinner and drinks at Fado.

I leave for England on Friday. I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward even more to seeing Liverpool play Bolton. It was the only game I could get tickets for, but Pete and I are going to do it in style - with VIP treatment, three course meal beforehand, quality seats. It looks like I should be able to catch up with all the Maroni crowd, as well as spend a few days in London with Bianca and Brett and whoever else is around (Kylie, Pete). I definitely want to go to the Tate while I'm there, and probably the British Museum.

Speaking of former Marconi colleagues, I caught up with George last week. He's got a new job in Charleston, which he starts at in a couple of weeks. Good luck to him.

I've been tracking my iTunes listening using last.fm. Below is my top 10 artists from last week, as randomly picked by iTunes. It seems to match fairly well to the bands for which I have a lot of tracks.

Not much else to report. It's Celise's birthday on Wednesday - I'll have to call tomorrow, due to the time difference. Saturday is Jennifer M's birthday - I'm having dinner with her tonight, although I'm not sure where yet. It's Joe H's birthday tomorrow, and Kristina's on Thursday. I went on a bit of an unplanned birthday bar crawl last Sunday (not yesterday) for Kara's birthday.

Okay, it's lunch time, so I had better go eat.

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September 07, 2006 21:08

It's Thursday evening. Not much going on. I'm feeling a little restless, but I'm not sure that I should act on said restlessness. A lot has gone on over the past seven days. Let me relate...

After a good day of work last Thursday, instead of going home, I drove downtown and checked in to the Hilton. I had a nice room on the 24th floor, from which I had a nice view of the Marriott. I got changed, then set up my laptop and did some work to finish the day, while I enjoyed some television and arranged the rest of my evening. At what seemed like the best time, I wandered over to the Marriott and then to the Hyatt and picked up my badge. After getting my badge I ran into Jolie and chatted with her for a few minutes. Then I came back to my room, picked up a few items I would no longer need, and drove home.

Once home, I picked up my spare backpack, placed in it a bottle of whisky and walked up to the Local, where I dined on barbecue ribs (with corn and slaw) while waiting for Patrick. When Patrick was ready, I popped over the road to Green's to get some Jack, some Absolut, some Gran Marnier, some beer. Patrick collected me and we went back to his place to await additional bodies for poker. A good game was enjoyed and afterwards, Tom dropped me (with Jack, Asolut, and Shiner Bock) back at my hotel. I dropped off my stuff and then went for a walk to see who was around. I ran into Stacie, Joe, Ray. I hung out with them for a bit and then went back to my room for sleep.

I awoke and showered on Friday morning and got a few hours work done. Then it was off to Peachtree Center for breakfast/lunch, where I ran into Neil and Steph. We dined together and then went wandering off to our first panels. My first panel was at 1pm, and an introduction to the British Track panels. That was fairly boring, so I went to the Hyatt bar to hand out and see who was around. Over the next 72 hours, a reasonable amount of time was spent in the vicinity of that bar. Anyway, from there I headed over to the EFF track to catch Rosalie at the Self-Publishing panel. That was great and informative and I picked up one of her latest books while I was there.

My next panel had been cancelled, and since alcohol had started to fill in some of the downtimes, actual events get a little hazy in terms of order. But I do know that I caught up with Clair and Leann, and that I went to a Podcasting panel, and I did get a fairly early night.

Saturday got off to a good start with the Prisoner panel, followed by Mythbusters, and then Adult Swim, and then Britpop. I picked up people along the way. There were beverages. There was another podcasting panel. There was a Camelpak. There were photos. There was Scott and Phaedra and Brad. There was a wander over to the gaming rooms. There was running into Shane and hanging out with him. There was meeting new people. There was getting to bed around 7am.

Sunday got off to a slower start. I missed several of the panels I considered checking out. I did get to the Alan Moore panel, but most of the afternoon was spent at the bar, people watching. Later on I caught up with Ben, Laura, Jamie, Ian, Daniel, Kim. And then others. Lots of others. And got lots of good photos of costumes. That night found me eventually over at the games rooms, playing a card game called Werewolf. That was pretty fun. Bedtime was a little earlier Sunday night, about 6am.

Monday got off to a slow start as well. After eating, I met up with Stacie at the bar and we spent a couple of hours talking and chilling. Most people were looking pretty worn out by the weekend. I went back to my room for a nap, and then ended up packing up and checking out. It had been a fantastic 'Con, but I was done. I had had superb fun, caught up with lots of people who I hadn't seen in quite some time, met some new people (Nicole, Lisa, Lisa's friends, David, David's wife), enjoyed some interesting panels, learned a new game. Yeah, I enjoyed Dragon*Con 2006.

Back at home, I realized that I had left some stuff at the hotel, so I shot back to collect it. On my way back I thought I'd stop in at the Local for dinner and to wind down. We spent the evening watching episodes of South Park and laughing our asses off. A great way to finish a fantastic weekend.

Tuesday was back to work. I was a little slow and not very productive. But that was to be expected somewhat.

Wednesday started well, but a slight pain behind my eye grew in intensity and area into a migraine. I took some Excedrin, but it didn't help, so I came home and put myself to bed.

And that brings us to today. I had a productive day. And that's about all I've got to say for now.

Except that it looks like I'm not going to see Liverpool beat Spurs. At least not from inside Anfield, but hopefully from a pub in Liverpool. There's still the Champions League game, and the Bolton game, so I will hopefully still see them live sometime in the week I'm there.

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August 29, 2006 19:43

Damn! That was good. I stopped by Whole Foods on my way home and picked up some cow (among other things). I got home, heated up the broiler (NZ-speak: grill), and made myself a very tasty dinner of rib eye, brocolli, and green beans. Damn good.

Anyway, before I went to Whole Foods, I was going to Staples, to pick up various supplies (paper, staples, etc). Between pulling into the parking lot and getting to the check out I had a phone conversation with Jennifer M. After I put my purchases into my car and headed back to Whole Foods, I ran into her on her way to Borders. So we chatted for a while until the heat got a bit too much and we headed to the air-conditioning of our target stores. When I was in Whole Foods, I ran into Jen G, who I hadn't seen in forever. She's working up by where I spend a lot of my work time, so I got her number and agreed to call her for lunch when I was in the vicinity next. I know too many people whose name is a variation of Jen/Jenny/Jennifer.

In between the snippets of work this evening, I have been tidying my desk, doing laundry, researching St Simons Inn, and checking out stocks. And listening to my music library on random. Sweetness...

August 28, 2006 15:05

August 28, 2006 10:37

Lots of work to get done this week. Requirements documentation feedback analysis, RFP response review, pilot progress analysis, scope definition for next requirements project. Going to keep me busy.

I am going to be good this week - I have too much work to do, and this weekend is going to be crazy: DragonCon. Okay - back into it.

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August 27, 2006 13:15

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in sunny (with scattered cloud)Hotlanta. The Weather Channel says it's 86F/feels like 90F (30C/32C) and The Beloved are currently playing on my media centre. I should go to the gym or do something exercise-worthy. I should also get myself a UV-blast. It's all about motivation, baby.

I brought my recent bender to a halt on Friday night, going to the Braves game (lost to the Nationals) and getting an early night. I did drink on Saturday morning at the Brewhouse while watching football. First, Liverpool beat West Ham. Then I watcehd the Man U vs Watford (the latter played well, but not quite well enough), and then Man City vs Arsenal and a replay of last night's All Blacks vs Springboks match. When I was done with that, I engaged in consumer behaviour at Best Buy and went home, where I remained for the rest of the day. I played the new Civ IV expansion pack, ordered Chinese food, and watched season two of Little Britain. In the process I blew off four invitations to parties/pubs, but I needed some Damon-time.

This morning I read last week's Economist and made eggs and watched some of the special features from the Little Britain DVD. I'm thinking about either cleaning my bathroom and kitchen, or walking up to the Botanical Gardens. There's no rain in the afternoon forecast, but it will continue to be quite warm (low 90s F/low-mid 30s C) and about 50% humidity. Right now I have doors and windows open so I can air my apartment out a bit.

Next weekend is DragonCon. This should be cause for mischief and mayhem. I have a room booked at the Hilton.

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August 22, 2006 18:57

I am alive. It has been a month since I wrote, but I have been alive. In that time I've been to Chicago, been to Tampa, been to Philadelphia, been to Athens three times. The football season has started and Liverpool got off to a rocky start after beating Chelsea in the Charity Shield. I watched several games this past weekend and met a dancer. I saw Rob Dickinson, The Church, and The Editors. I played some poker. I went to a party and put a hole in my toe. I had a couple of late conference calls. I missed a birthday. I went to an art opening. I booked a flight to Manchester and back. I made some decisions based on dreams. I walked the Brewhouse so it wouldn't matter if I got Sharonned. There was a really big electrical storm last night that was very exciting, except when I had to drive home in it. I watched Little Britain and laughed a lot. Yeah, that about sums it up.