April 21 - Oh yeah, the Prodigy

Saw the Prodigy on Thurdsay night. Danced our faces off, one of the best shows I have ever seen.

April 19th - Rough Weekend

But a very good one. Manuel visited. Tore London down. Spent Friday night boozing/dancing/eating bagels with hot salted beef in the East End around 4 a.m. Saturday was spent pub crawling to Notting Hill, more drinking, and then ended at some metal bars. It was an awesome time.

April 14th - Easter with the Kininmonths

My disappearance over the last few days can be attributed to the fact that I literally did disappear from London, as I was adopted by a family (the Kininmonth's, quite the lovely bunch) for the whole weekend.

Easter is a much bigger deal here in the UK than in the States (for obvious reasons I don't need to go into), so both Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays. This obviously pleased be regardless of what my weekend entailed, but being able to spend it with a family made it special.

We hitched a ride down to Isfield on Friday afternoon, had an awesome lunch, and spent the day lounging and filling each other in on life. After meatballs for dinner, we went to the Griffin, a local pub/restaurant/inn where both daughter and son (Harriet and Charlie) worked throughout the years, and I got to meet a wide variety of interesting and lovely people. And drinks lots of good local Harvey's beer.

Saturday was spent visiting Brighton and its loads of funky shops, cafes, and generally people watching one of the most eclectic, hip, and bizarre groups of people I have ever seen assembled.

I managed to pick up a couple of cds and eat a boatload of sushi, something I haven't been able to enjoy at all since being over here. God I miss sushi.

Saturday night we had an awesome dinner, followed by loads of wine and the playing of a game called Perudo, on which I am now officially addicted.

On Sunday, I went to Easter service at a 14th century church (Church of England of course) which was a neat experience. Then it was on to an enormous meal of lamb, veggies, cheese, wine, champagne, cake, jellies, all kinds of things. Ate a TON.

Monday was spent at the Plumpton race tracks, betting on horses, having a picnic, and riding stupid rides. Easter tradition. Most beautiful day of the year so far in England, so that was an added bonus.

Pics can be found here.

Thursday April 9th

The week is almost over, and I have a 4 day weekend coming up, which is probably the most exciting news I have had recently. Most exciting because none of my coworkers in the States get these days off, so they can try and hunt me down all they want. I ain't responding.

Had a great couple of last days with Luke. Monday night we watched the joke that was the National Championship game in a bar, LIVE, with a load of UNC supporters. Needless to say, the outcome wasn't satisfactory, but we still had a good time. It was a weird experience, with the game starting at 2:30 a.m. local time.

The venue was the Sports Cafe, which was a hybrid sports bar and dance club catering to 18 year-olds. Us old fogies were in an enclosed sports area, watching the game, while watching the awful dancing going on below us. If they only knew.

Luckily, the late night didn't screw with our schedules too much, and we got to have a nice last night out at an Austrian beer hall, with some of the best wienerschnitzel I ever had. Plus two liters of amazing Austrian beer.

There was also karaoke at this bar, with some very awful singers, which always makes for an even better time.

Monday, April 6th - A weekend in the park and church

So Luke arrived here on Thursday a.m. Thursday and Friday were both spent exploring the treasures of British culture, which meant spending the entire day/evening in pubs and not making it more than half a mile from my flat. Thankfully this is pretty much the extant to which Luke wants/needs to know about the British, so my duties as tour guide can be considered a success.

Saturday was spent doing more of the same, except for a quick diversion OUTSIDE of the pubs for another steadfast British tradition, drinking in the park. Met up with Jordan (another 10 year or so reunion for he and Luke) and drank several cans of fine Carlsberg while avoiding getting attacked by some geese that didn't seem all too happy with our presence.

We then made our way to Camden town, danced a while, and ate boatloads of falafel.

Sunday, I felt great since Saturday wasn't too much of a late night, so what do we do? Go to a party called "Church", which is the furthest thing from Church. If your church involves buy beers/ciders by the 3 in plastic bags and wearing neon clothing and exposing yourself to 1500 strangers, then this was the place for you.

We knew we were in the right place when we noticed several dudes in neon leggings marching down the street, several girls who looked like last night's party stumbling through intersections. We get to the venue, and the line is several hundred people deep, the site of whom would make any respectable grandmother (or mother) cry her eyes out.

I avoided taking pictures of the clientèle, so I'll leave the outfits up to your imagination. I think most of them were hastily constructed, probably in a drunken/high stupor from the night before, you know trying to think of a last minute Halloween idea. We've all been there. Anyways, 1500 of these people are hammered, dancing to the worst possible music (think Counting Crows and Third Eye Blind), and there are strippers on stage every now and then. I know it makes no sense at all, and I am trying to digest it myself.

We got bombed, had a blast, got in an argument with some Canadians, ate Burger King, and passed out.

Saturday pictures, and Sunday pictures.

Sunday March 29th - Why isn't Spring in the air?

Yesterday turned out to be one of the most bone-chilling and wet days I've seen so far, and it's supposed to be Spring now, and April is 3 days away. Can't say I'm too pleased with that situation. Granted I still feel blessed to have missed the NYC winter, but now New York is starting to pull ahead in the race to Spring. I'll stop complaining.

I started the day seeing the visitors off around 6 a.m. Stayed up and killed some work/laundry/writing. Enough productivity for a Saturday. Afterwards I had lunch with some coworkers who were visiting from California, and started boozing.

My next task was to pick up my cell phone from Wimbledon. Allow me to explain this bizarre situation.

So Thursday night, after a bender in Camden Town (involving Justin and I stumbling through a deserted Egyptian nightclub), I lost my phone. I am 99 percent sure that it was in my lap, and simply fell onto the floor of the taxi that we took home. I THINK.

So, the night ends with me assuming my phone is in the back of the cab. I call it a couple of times that night, it rings, but no answer. I figure since it's on vibrate, the cabbie doesn't hear it, but hopefully will find it the next day when he gets ready for his next shift. I go to bed.

Friday, much of the same. I call my phone several times, with it ringing all the way through to voicemail a dozen times or so. Still nothing. I do however hold off on contacting our cell phone ops and requesting a cancellation of this account + requesting a new device. Good thing I held off because ...

Saturday morning, I give it one more shot, just in case. Much to my surprise, a lady answers the phone. We quickly establish that I am the owner of the phone I am calling, and that she missed a couple of my calls on Friday, and that I am glad she held on to the phone. Next comes the interesting part.

So this lady tells me that she found my phone in her foyer around 6 a.m. Friday morning. Apparently someone had put it through her mail slot. Not that crazy, if she lived near me. That would make perfect sense if I had actually dropped my phone near my house, someone walking down the street sees it, figures maybe someone knocked it out of their pocket while fumbling for keys, so they assume it belongs to the inhabitant of the house it's closet to. So they put it through the door.

However, this lady lived about 10 miles from where I would have "lost" the phone. There are a couple explanations for this:

1) Cabbie eventually finds phone in back of car, decides to put it through the nearest mail slot when found. Highly highly unlikely.

2) Someone in the back of the cab takes it, and after getting out, decides to put it in someones door. Semi-likely.

3) Someone in the back of the cab takes it, walks down the street for a bit, trying to use it, can't figure out the password, has a moment of clarity and thinks that the right thing to do is to try and locate the owner, but doesn't want to invest the time and effort, therefore decides to put it through someones mail slot in the hope that they will track down the owner, rather than toss it in the garbage or break it. Pretty likely.

I think #3 is the answer. The only reason I hesitate to give that one a hundred percent probability is the fact that I know drunk people. I am a drunk person. As nice of a guy as I think (hope) I am, in that situation, depending on the number of drinks I had, I may have just broken the thing. Is this a karma warning?

Either way, I have my phone back, and the creepy thoughts about who was playing with/touching my phone on Thursday night. The things we will never know.

March 29th - house empty

So mom/dad/Rick/Candy/Justin all left this morning. Sadness. The house was quite full of life while they were here. Not that it isn't usually, but you know what I mean. Now I'm left with a boatload of linens and towels to wash, and 4 days to recover before my brother shows up.

March 27th

Hey-o, two boring days.

March 25th

So time to get this show back on the road. I've been away too long. I COULD try and recap what has happened in the past month or so, but that would be silly. I can promise you things were good, lots of interesting things happened, and I worked myself to death. Fairly common synopsis of my life in general, but for now, I'm cool with it.

So last Saturday a.m., I was delighted to find my mother, father, Rick, Candy, and Justin (the latter 3 are old friends from Ohio) descend upon my doorstep for a weeklong London adventure.

Saturday was spent resting, followed by a disjointed pub dinner. The disjointedness was caused by myself having to deal with an emergency work issue for 2 hours, so the old people did dinner together, while Justin and I followed soon thereafter.

Got them Fish and Chips, ate at a pub, they were officially acclimated. We then took a quick trip up to Soho to gawk at the assortment of sex shops, watched with wonder at a dude dancing in the window of a bar, saw a Hare Krishna parade skidaddle by, and saw a man with a nice jacket and no undershirt pee on the sidewalk. Good intro.

Sunday was spent walking everyone to death, by taking in Buckingham/Green Park and having tea at Fortnum and Mason's. I had strudel. It ruled.

We ended the evening with an East End stroll, doing a self-guided walk of Jack the Ripper's trail. It wasn't as scary as expected, but we still had a good time. We also had some fantastic Indian cuisine on Brick Lane, as we decided on the 4th different restaurant that claimed to be the oldest on Brick Lane.

Monday, I worked my face off, and they took in Westminster Abbey, which to my surprise, is more than an old church. Henry the VIII, Darwin, and other important people we should all probably know more about are buried there.

Tuesday, they did Tower of London. Worked my face off again.

Today, we did Paris. It was a whirlwind, as we took the first train out of London, which departed at 5:25 a.m. Not so much fun.

We had an interesting experience to start the day. Candy's daughter had a French father, and both he and her grandmother had passed away several years back, but it took the Paris authorities over 4 years to find her. So it was an opportune time to go and see the property that was hers, and put the final stamp on the succession process.

Well, I got to practice my French that hadn't been practiced in 6 years or so, as I played translator for everyone and the caretaker of the grandmother's apartment complex. I am pleased to report I can get by. I looked very cool to the other Americans, so all in all it was OK.

We then scurried about the city, seeing the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, academy of music, opera house, some Napoleon monument, the Arc de Triumph, and some other important looking builds. We drank plenty of wine and ate plenty of French food, and were pretty dead by the end of it. I'll be back in Paris in a few weeks to get a more social view of the city.

So that is that.

February 27th, Reel Big Fish

Thursday was a nice night in the pubs as usual. I need to remember to eat dinner before drinking, as dinner then becomes ginger snaps and potato chips. Which were awesome, but don't really make a meal.

Last night, we saw Reel Big Fish. One of those bands that I've "liked", own a few of their albums, but outside of Sell-Out, couldn't hum a lick of any of their songs. However, they're known for their energetic and chaotic live shows, so naturally they have been on my list for a while. Last night, I finally got the chance.

The show was awesome. A couple thousand kids just dancing. The more shows like this I go to, the less I want t0 see metal shows live.

Beforehand was a hoot as well. Caitlin wanted to take me to a couple of metal bars, so we hit up Garlic and Shots again, and devirginized a few who had never had the blood shots before. They were impressed.

After G&S, we made our way to Crobar, and had a Red Stripe in the streets. This pleased me much.

Then it was to the show, to the pub, and home to a bag of cheese balls. Life is good.

Pics.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, boring

After a nice weekend, I knew I needed to get back to the grind hardcore. Therefore, the past 2 days have been anything but exciting, but have been quite work-productive.

I tried to go out and do some writing Sunday night from some pubs that were supposedly wifi enabled, but neither worked. Bastards.

Some interesting things of note:

* Lots of pubs have Thai food. I know, I'm not sure why.
* Fat Tuesday is called Pancake Day here. You eat pancakes before fasting.
* They really do love David Beckham over here.

February 21 (I forget the day count now)

So I spent the day in Notting Hill with my pal Nicole, watching the Chelsea vs. Aston Villa match in a pub. I'm not sure if the Notting Hill here has anything to do with the Julia Roberts movie, but I'm pretty sure it does, as evidenced by the extreme tourist population congregated here.

Chelsea won, which was a good thing. It made the vast majority of the locals very happy.

After football, we went back to Nicole's flat, which I must say was pretty sweet. She thinks it is small, I think it is huge. NYC has warped my sense of size.

After leaving her flat, I headed to Waterloo to meet up with Jordan and Rosie, where we drank and then went to an arcade to bowl. If you could even call it bowling. I certainly couldn't.

This is hard to describe, but the bowling pins were held up by rubber ropes, which pulled the pins up for resettings etc. The problem with this was that the sensors to determine whether or not a pin had been knocked down totally sucked. Twice I bowled strikes, only to have the lane set one pin up. We were confused.

Also, this bowling alley's ball-return mechanism pretty much threw the balls back at you, since the return happened aboveground and liked to hop the tracks.

We had a good time. That's all that matters.

More here.

I did a LOT the past few days

Katie comes, we tie one on London. This post will take a while. More to come.

Day 22/23 - Saturday is for Snakebites and Kiwis, Sunday is for Sunday dinner

Saturday was day 1 of Tommy's I am going to be productive working weeking. It started off well enough, as I got a few good hours in at the office. Eventually, I met up with Jordan and Rosie and their group of New Zealand friends, and also one Aussie. They warned me that these people enjoyed their drinking, and I wasn't disappointed.

We made our rounds in the neighborhood of Putney, which means I had to venture out via the overground trains, which was nice. Those trains are comfortable and quite spacious.

Apparently I had missed the best part of the evening, as one of the girls in the group had thrown a ciggarette (lit) at a guy in the street. Apparently this group of Kiwis likes to fight as well.

We ended up at a bar that serves a drink called a snakebite, which is half beer, half cider, and splashed with some blackcurrant liquor. It was too delicious. We went through several pitchers, after which some of us left and went back to the bar with the dance floor from last weekend, where we struggled through a last beer before calling it a night.

Sunday was another working day, followed by another delicious meal cooked by Rosie, followed by drinks at the local pub. Good weekend.

Day 21 - Friday Night in Sloan Square

Friday was spent boozing after work at TGIF, followed by some last minute work. Then it was on to Sloan Square to have a nice dinner with my coworker Ameet, who I worked closely with in NYC and recently moved back to London. Nice French brasserie that served a nice Irish coffee afterward.

The Sloan Square area is pretty neat, although it's a little too posh for my tastes. It was interesting rubbing shoulders with the Gramercy of London though. Maybe more Soho + Gramercy, but spoiled rich kids nonetheless.

Day 20 - Attack of the Pet Shop Boys

Today was a day filled with tons of work, and then plenty of booze.

Some old teammates decided to have a proper welcome Tommy to London night out, and I showed 'em how it's done. Well, we all pretty much showed ourselves how it was done, and ended up being a lovely group of walking wounded on Friday.

Apparently the Pet Shop Boys were also hanging out at our pub. Naturally the people who knew didn't tell us until after we had left. Whatever, I wouldn't have been able to point them out in a lineup anyways.

Day 19 - Cleanup continues plus work Hell

Nothing much to write about here. Work was an absolute bitch today, and I'm still cleaning up a bit after yesterday's flooding. It looks pretty good though, and my work is essentially done. What a rough couple of days.

Oh well, it's all looking up from here. I can't complain too much with a free place to stay in London.

Day 18 - Disaster Strikes

In a couple of ways in fact. Firstly, the neighbors water main exploded in the middle of the night, flooding houses, including this one, so I spent all day mopping up water, running heaters, soaking up water with towels, and essentially laughing at my misfortune, the only way to not drive myself insane.

Oh yeah and on top of that, I was up late as hell debugging production problems. So I'm in some kind of state right now.

I could go into more detail, but it'll be tiring. If you want the whole story, buy me a beer.

Day 16/17 - Snow Days

So I am blessed to be in London for the worst snow in 20 years. The city has completely shut down, and the transport remains in shambles and will probably keep the majority of the city at home yet again tomorrow. I am totally fine with that, since the quiet office always means I get a ton more work done.

So last night, after finally waking up and trying to get my life back together, I headed off to Greenwich to have Sunday dinner at Jordan's. The Jubilee line was down, so I knew it would be a hassle to get out there via bus, but I was cool with the bus ride, it's a pretty scenic and nice ride.

I knew I was in trouble when it took about twice as long to get there. And this was with the snow only moderately blizzarding. Along the way I have to note, a guy in front of a pub hit the bus with a snowball (before starting to throw them at cars), which scared the hell out of me.

I get to Jordan's we have some dinner and drinks, and then go to the local pub for a few. Dinner was amazing, chicken and scalloped potatoes and biscuits. Amazing.

We went to a really neat old place that apparently used to be a smuggling stop along the Thames. The Pilot Inn.

So I head home, and everything goes to shit. The bus, when it finally arrives, takes about 2 hours to get to Waterloo, and by now the tubes were shut down. I then wait for about 30 minutes for a bus, only to learn that I all buses were now shut down. So I get to walk 1.5 miles in the blizzard. FUN.

It actually wasn't so bad, minus the fact that it was so late (I got home around 1:30 or so). The city was actually pretty lively, as not many residents could remember having this much snow, so they were taking every opportunity to play in the snow, take pictures, and build snowmen. I saw some of the largest snowman pieces ever.

It was a pretty surreal experience. Like I said, today it felt like a ghost town, no one could get anywhere, it was just overall maddening.

More snow pics here.

Day 15 - Death by liquor shots (and concert WIN)

So thankfully, the Seasick Steve show on Saturday was in a completely different part of town from Friday and Saturday, so I had no worries of striking out on live shows for the week.

The day started nicely, and with a lot of promise for cool things. It started innocently enough. I printed out a ton of self-guided Jack the Ripper tour notes, so I planned on doing that (lots of good material for the Devil's Demons). I was excited, not only would I see a concert and have a fun night, maybe I could do something productive and creative before my capacity for thinking was greatly muffled by booze. So I made my way from home and started walking towards Soho, where I would need to catch the tube over to Whitechapel.

I cut through the touristy part of town, so I went past Buckingham Palace, through Green Park, and down Piccadilly Circus. I found an uppity shopping district with lots of cool hat and gentlemens' stores. I didn't buy anything. But there are lots of cool hats there to potentially buy.

Next I headed up Charing Cross Rd, and made a couple of cool discoveries:

1) Pizza Hut sells wine. That's just incredible.
2) There is a store called Fopp that sells cds and books etc. They were cheap. I bought all 3 Seasick Steve albums and a book of heavy metal cd covers.
3) There was a pub named the Marquis of Granby, and they had good beer. The bartender also had a Simpsons' ringtone. The British absolutely LOVE the Simpsons.
4) This part of town is also music store central, there were at least a dozen instrument shops scattered about the area. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

After wetting my whistle and purchasing a couple things, I started back towards the Tottenham Court tube station. Again, not thinking ahead, it wasn't until I was close to Whitechapel that I realized that entire portion of the tube was shut down for the weekend. So I hopped off at Liverpool Street and decided to try and walk.

Jordan called then. Basically, I decided to head to their neck of the woods, Greenwich, instead of the walk. Next weekend.

So I journey there, and meet Jordan near the O2 arena, which is this mammoth of an arena that hosts all kinds of events, is filled with clubs, restaurants, shops, it's ridiculous. We walk to Jordan's flat, which is awesome. It reminded me of IKEA but in a good way. Jordan says the cab drivers refer to it as the Lego apartments:

So we head into Greenwich proper, which is a really cool area. This is where the observatory is, where time is measured (GMT) etc. We wandered quickly through a really amazing market where several artists peddled their wares (return trip absolutely necessary) and made our way to the Gipsy Moth, one of the coolest pubs I've been to. It's right on the waterfront, and they certainly serve a good pint.

After a few here, we made our way to another pub, after which I headed back home and to Seasick Steve.

Seasick Steve was absolutely brilliant. The venue was packed to the brim, the energy was contagious, and the music fantastic. His stage set up was awesome, looked like a camp where a homeless guy by the river (which he was) would hang out:

I was so impressed by how many people knew his songs and could follow along. Even for someone who didn't know a song, it was easy to groove to. He was a real showman too, very refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have way too much fun by myself as well.

After the show, I made my way towards Waterloo to meet up at the Wellington, a massive pub-hotel which was. I dunno. Good?

Neat murals in there of battles. I was pleased by the fancy artwork. Especially as I started to down vodka sodas like they were going out of style:

After this place, we wandered down the street to some ridiculous Cuban place, packed to the brim. We were there for a bit, then ended the night at another place around the corner, where we danced our faces off. There are lots of fuzzy pictures here that end with Jordan and I in some sort of embrace. Bro-love.

That's basically it. We fell in the street at some point too. I think I might have had a shot or eight that night.

I thought I had lost my camera as well, but thankfully I had put it in Rosie's purse (for some reason). Whatever works I guess. We had a good night. I didn't feel particularly well Sunday, but that's what Sundays are for. Recovery.

Concert FAIL Part 2

Well I'll be damned. Same venue, same story a second night running. Power was still out, an intelligent person (which apparently I am NOT) should have called the venue prior to buying a ticket.

Quite funny actually. I had a good laugh about it. Then I went to the same bar(s) I went to the previous evening during concert fail #1.

Days 13 and 14

There's a reason I didn't write anything yesterday. Didn't have a damn free second to do so. Work was absolute HELL yesterday and I didn't get out of the office until after 8 or so. That was lovely. I have a bad feeling that is going to end up happening quite often though. Joy.

But last night proved to be quite interesting and provides plenty of fodder to write on.

So I had mentioned that I was going to see the Streets. I was excited. As I pounded a few beers at home while finishing up some last second emails, I was getting even more excited. As I boarded the tube, I got more excited. As I got off the tube in Brixton, MORE excited.

Seems to be a nice/large/rowdy crowd, people drinking in the streets (funny) etc. Party! So I ask a girl where the venue is, and with the thickest female British accent I have heard yet, it goes

Her: "You finkin' of seeing the Streets?"

Me: "Hell yeah!"

Her: "Well, the venue is that way, but it don't matta. Show's canceled"

Me: "Shit."

I walk down the street anyways, and sure enough it is canceled. Power failure in the area, the venue was pitch black. Fantastic.

So I'm already in this new area, so I just go into the nearest bar, appropriately named "Plan B", which is slam packed with the other concert goers, dancing to the Streets. Which I found frustrating, considering that I have heard the Streets plenty of times on a cd, never live.

Hung out there for a while, then went to the next bar, which had even adjusted their chalkboard out front to say something clever about the Streets. Had some pints there, laughed at drunk British kids dancing, and made my way home, where I proceeded to hit up the Duke of York, which resulted in me feeling like crap today. Worth it though.

Tonight is attempt #2 at seeing a live show, Mindless Self Indulgence.

Day 12 - Day from Hell

Work kicked my ass today, will kick my ass tomorrow. It's fine, the next couple of weeks are crunchtime anyways, the whole point is to be working so I'm kinda OK with it.

I did manage to sneak away for a while tonight to go see Slumdog Millionaire, which was a fantastic movie, and everyone should go see it. Now. Like right now.

It was in a pretty amazing theater as well near Piccadilly Circus, one of the main drags of theaters and clubs in London. It was an old theater house that had been converted for use as a movie theater, so it had some really cool boxes and nice chandeliers.

Tomorrow night, I go see the Streets. Exciting.

Day 11 - Sometimes you need a day off - and then back on

Yesterday was quite productive and restful. Work was a pain (8 p.m. meeting? Seriously?), but it kept me from doing anything social, which was a must considering the recent tear I have been on.

I did some laundry, and utilized the most awesome vacuum cleaner known to man, Henry, pictured above. I wasn't sure if I was tripping or cleaning, it didn't matter. That's just too awesome.

After another painful evening of work, I made it out to see my coworker Lucinda's band, BLAH, playing in East end of London, which is by far one of my favorite neighborhoods here. Even though there is an abundance of hipster flair and "coolness" in the air, you can get past it, and most of the locals are actually alright once they calm down a bit and realize you're not with "the man".

The first band sounded sort of like the Faint, and were cool. Lucinda's band, Kingfisher's Catch Fire (comprised of herself single and her partner on the guitar, drums/bass were tracked) were FANTASTIC, great voice she had, so that was awesome to get a chance to see her live.

The next band, David and the Witches ... I'm not sure how to describe them. Music was fine, but themselves. Hmm.

To be noted: when I arrived at the venue, I had a beer sitting at a table, and noticed this odd 50 year old man with pink hair, wearing way too much leather for his age, having a drink with some people. Well, this guy ended up being the drummer of this next band.

They at least had a cello player. And then the strangest of strange, the singer/guitarist himself. Apparently, this guy was a famous glam rock guitarist, playing stadiums etc. I will do some research and dig him up.

He was the most effeminate frontman ever. His voice was akin to Cyndi Lauper. And his guitar, I just wish I had had my camera on me. It was absurd. As was his outfit and affinity for eyeliner.

The 50 year old pink-haired drummer didn't fare much better in the fashion department, sporting a sleeveless sequined black shirt, complete with an enormous bling pentagram necklace.

The music itself was decent. But just weird.

I did find this lovely bit in the bathroom:


Brooklyn is global.

Day 10 - You cannot top seeing New Kids on the Block live in London with your old friend

I cannot begin to describe the insanity that was the New Kids on the Block show from last night. I will however give it my best shot. Believe it or not, the show didn't provide the only entertainment of the evening.

Quick note: I didn't make it to the Imperial War Museum, as the weather was just shit and plus a nap sounded like a much better idea anyways.

So I met Jordan around 6 at the Shakespeare pub near my flat. We quickly decided that in order to make this evening as complete as possible, we needed to be very drunk before the show started. So we pounded a few pints and then skedaddled to the tube where we headed towards Hammersmith.

We left the station and rounded the corner to walk towards the venue, and noticed from a distance that there was a very large crowd of late 20's females. Some holding signs. We knew we were in the right place.

Not being properly drunk yet, we stopped off at the only neighborhood pub we could find. This is where the fun began.

Firstly, and I hate that I didn't get a before and after picture, but this place was absolutely PACKED. To the brim, with a ton of late 20's early 30's women. Yep, this was apparently the official pre-party for NKOTB.

We sat down, started having some pints, and then I got my first taste of supremely drunk local being a complete dick. We hear glass break, and see some jackass stumbling towards the front (we were sitting close to the front as evidenced by the above photo), breaking beer bottles against the bar. He breaks a few wine glasses on the bar, knocks some bottles of a table, and stumbles out (vomit dripping from his lips). Awesome.

Everyone goes on drinking. Shortly after that, in the middle of a conversation, we suddenly notice how quiet it had gotten. We were the only people left in the bar. Show must have started or is about to start, time to leave!

Not quite yet. We were not in fact the only patrons left ... two very very VERY drunk older British men were there. And of course since we were the only ones, they decided to talk to us.

The one kept referring to his buddy as "you Scottish cock" which we thought was great. He also looked like he had just gotten in a bar fight the night before, fresh cuts on his face. Good guy.

They proceed to alternate between hidden jibes at Americans and outright gushing love for the NFL. The "Scottish cock" actually almost cried a tear over his excitement at the potential of the Arizona Cardinals winning the super bowl.

Once we shed these winners, we made our way to the venue. The time was upon us.

We quickly realized were outnumbered in the gender wars:

Maybe 15 guys there. Maybe. I am fairly certain we were the only ones there of our own accord.

So several pints later, we have to admit, we are pretty excited for what is in store. The whole concept was still ridiculous, there were several "are we seriously about to see this?" thrown around, and neither of us had really seen an extreme live show like that before. I had seen a few elaborate metal shows (Judas Priest and Heaven and Hell come to mind), but nothing that popular in the pop music vein.

My god. The show was ridiculous.

They opened with this really cheesy video montage of them, things like "15 Years Ago, they parted ways," and "never to sing together again" etc. ... then the lights dropped, and my ears started bleeding from the screaming.

I don't recognize hardly anything, but you would think every song was a Grammy winner based on the crowd's reaction. I just know that the third song I heard was "The Right Stuff", and I myself might have even skipped or jumped a bit.

Overall, the show wasn't half bad, albeit absurd. There was a fair bit of pyrotechnics, dancing girls, and outfit changes. Each member even came out and did a solo bit, probably to let the other aging stars catch their breath.

There seemed to be a fair amount of lip-syncing, but I don't think anyone noticed or cared. There was also quite a bit of crotch-grabbing, which I don't think the first rendition of NKOTB could have gotten away with, but I guess their and their fans' maturity have spiraled in opposite directions.

I literally laughed for 2 hours. It was just all too much. They even did the whole bit where they "disappeared" from the stage, only to reappear all David Copperfieldy in the balcony, where they sang a song as they progressed through the crowd back to the stage.

They even had this sad (but hilarious) video that played of fallen artists, Kurt Cobain, Biggie and 2Pac, Left-Eye, other artists and actors, ending with Heath Ledger. I'm not sure if the point was to honor these artists who probably would have nothing to do with them, or prove that after all these years, they were still standing. I have no idea, and I'm not going to waste any precious brain cells debating it.

Sadly, we had to leave before Step by Step or Hangin' Tough (needed to catch the tube home), but I think we more than got our share. We still managed to have a couple of more pints before getting in the subway, basking in the glory of the evening.

I leave you with my favorite picture of the evening, which pretty much sums it all up:

Day 9 - Old friends like new

I had a pretty amazing night I have to say. I finally reconnected with my long lost friend Jordan.

Before that, after finishing up work, I walked around the neighborhood and realized how much money is in this part of town. Ridiculous flats/mansions, expensive cars, the works. I was making my way towards the Tate Britain, renowned for its collection of British art, but by the time I reached I need to walk right back to the house before heading out to meet Jordan.

Walking around London reminds of moving to NYC and just losing myself throughout the nooks and crannies of the streets and parks. One of those things where when I next go to the Tate, if I take one additional or one less turn than I did before, who knows what I'll find?

The highlight of the walk had to be this though:

I had to do a double take to make sure my eyes were not playing tricks on me. Yes. That IS in fact the most awesome sweatshirt ever created. It is a wolf sweatshirt. An incredible wolf sweatshirt.

We started off at Garlic and Shots, which is part restaurant where the dishes are, you guessed it, based on recipes including Garlic, and also a basement "vampire" bar where the most ridiculously dressed metal and punk people hang out.

We played catchup for a bit, had some Bloodshots, which is this vodka/Tabasco/garlic monstrosity that will clear your sinuses up for a week, and had gay old time. Jordan's mom Mary Ann came out, and I filled her in on the last 10 years as well. Mary Ann was a second mom to me for many many years. Lots of love for her. Met Jordan's lady Rosie also, and she was a doll.

Next we ate at Nando's Chicken, a chain of London restaurants that is part fried chicken/soul food and part party restaurant. It had a gourmet/fancyish feel to it, with obviously cheaper food. It was really fun, except for the fact that "Hot" means hot there, and Jordan didn't warn me. My mouth hurt for a while.

Finally, we made our way to the Intrepid Fox, which is this enormous heavy metal bar in Soho. It was quite a hoot. Filled with metalheads and punk kids, a heavy metal DJ, skulls and metal paraphrenalia all over the place. Pretty much in Heaven (or Hell I should say), except that it's so loud you can't talk. But by this point we were miming most of our conversations anyways, so it wasn't too big of a deal.

Main point, we reconnected, made up for loads of lost time, and will do it up over the next couple of months. Felt so good.

Full set of pictures from yesterday here.

Today, I'm off to the Imperial War Museum to look at old guns and shit, and then ... wait for it ... I'm going to see New Kids on the Block. Yep. Live. They are in fact alive. Free too. Lots of pictures and stories to come from that hopefully.

I'll have some meat-flavored non-meat products please

This just amazes and tickles my fancy so much. The variety of meat-flavored snack foods here is incredible. Obviously, meat is a big part of pretty much any European cuisine, so I'm not sure if making everything non-meat to be meat flavored is like using nicotine patches, just to try and ween people off of meat, but either way, the fact that I can have bacon-flavored and steak-flavored anything is OK by me.

For instance, I was walking through the office this morning and stopped by a snack room to get a quick bite. I started reading the labels of the chips, noticing all the meat flavors. Here:


Seriously, how awesome is all of that? Also, I know Worcester (Worcestershire sauce for most of us) sauce isn't a meat, but you put it on meat. I do anyways.

Day 8 - Lost friends are better when you find them.

I have to admit, I am pretty damn excited. Today I will be reunited with an old friend (Jordan) who I haven't spoken to or seen in over 10 years. Our tastes in music are the same (we discovered metal together, so blame him) so we're doing a tour of metal dive bars in London, beginning at Garlic and Shots, which is a pretty killer bar I've already visited once before.

So that is that, more on that afterwards. Let's see, last night after work (work was horribly busy yesterday) we had several rounds of drinks upstairs for TGIF, and then went down the street to a nifty little pub called the Plumber's Arms. After putting a hurting on our livers and wallets, most of the crowd wandered off, however myself, John, and Deepa kept on strong, heading deeper into the city to a pretty neat cocktail bar where all the cool kids go.

It reminded me a bit of the pretentiousness of the East Village nowadays, but it was still a neat place. And any time I can have good ginger beer cocktails, I'm all for it.

After a cab ride home, it was off to bed. Now just trying to power through this work shit so I can hopefully get in an hour at the Tate Britain museum before heading off for the night.

Day 7 - More cool food stuffs!

The invasion of the awesome soda cans continues:

Everything is just given the zero suffix rather than being called Diet. I like the consistency. However, it should be noted that all of these sodas actually have around 10 calories in them, so they're technically not zero. Which leads me to wonder whether the sodas in the states actually DO have calories, but there's some sort of rule which allows food manufacturers to claim 0 under certain circumstances or if it falls below a certain level.


Tango is delicious. Although it's pretty much the same as Fanta zero.

As you know, I am an avid beef jerky fan. So this little discovery had me quite pleased:

I'm proud to know America is associated with beef jerky. It's the way it should be.

Holy Guiness

Wow. I had a lot to write about yesterday actually, and all I was able to produce was the little blurb on walking around naked. I planned on writing much more last night. Why not? Well at least a dozen pints of Guiness will do the trick.

Myself and several of my new teammates went out to a pub not too far from work, in a frumpy neighborhood, so the pub was kinda classy and filled with old rich people. Which was neat.

Got to catch up and learn a lot about these guys, talked about guns and North Carolina, and got lots of good travel advice, the majority of which I can't recall. I did however make a concert-going friend, so I won't have to go solo to all of my shows.

We basically stood around and drank as quickly as possible for 4 hours. I only had to walk 10 minutes home, but several others had to take trains over an hour home. I win on that front.

I of course wasn't ready to turn in, so I made my way to an Indian restaurant that was open late and had myself a nice meal of chicken curry, complemented by a rather large beer that I didn't need.

I stumbled home, and woke up quite confused this morning. Work is not fun today.

Day 6 - Don't walk around naked without checking first

So I'm fairly certain my neighbor saw me naked this morning. Whatever. At least it gives me something to write about.

I love the fact that most homes here have tons of windows, even the below-ground levels are built in a way to have some windows, letting in tons of natural light. You need lots of windows to amass as much as possible, since London in general doesn't get the greatest amount of sunshine.

However, this obviously has a couple of drawbacks. Well only one really, which is why you should be very careful while walking around the house with little clothing on.

Day 5 - Getting into too much of a routine already.

Ugh. Worked about 14 hours today. I knew the London work would be tough, but it just seems to never end. Over the hump I say, then everything will even out. I hope.

I did manage to sneak away today to pick up a ticket to see Seasick Steve next Saturday night. Playing at the Hammersmith Apollo which is supposedly a pretty cool venue. So there, I accomplished something non-work related today.

Actually I feel like the day was more of a success than just that. The cleaning lady Rose came for the first time today. Weird. But, the weirdest part ... I had a couple empty grocery bags stuffed into balls in the corner of the foyer, for random use, who knows ... anyways, I come home tonight, and wouldn't you know, the bags have been FOLDED into cute little portable bag packets:

Holy crazy/awesome is that? I want to put them in my pocket and just give them out to people on the street.

Also, I figured out the laundry machine today. Simple enough. The best part though are the little detergent packets that you just throw in with the laundry. No measuring, just toss and go. Stop me if you've seen these before, but they blew my mind away:

These buggers look like this:

And they just magically dissolve in your laundry. How? I have no idea. MAGIC.

Laundry worked. Dryer too. Although, you have to dry for about 2 hours. And that's standard according to the instructions. What works works.

Let's see, what else. Ah yes, almost forgot. I was perusing the aisles of the grocery store as usual tonight, and came across the mixers aisle. There is a whole section in the grocery store dedicated to mixers, special smaller cans, etc. for making drinks with. Awesome I know.

So I found a Bloody Mary mixer, and will make Bloody Mary's this Sunday. How awesome is this brand of Bloody Mary mix? Well I will show you how awesome:

Adjusting to a new home

My new home has some interesting features. One of whom I met this morning, Rose, my cleaning lady. I'd post a picture of her, but that would probably be pretty rude of me to ask. Plus, she's Portuguese and speaks very little English, but is lovely regardless. And seriously, Rose the cleaning lady? Too perfect.

Having someone clean up my living quarters is odd. I don't like it. I mean, I like having clean things. But not having someone else clean them for me. Oh well. Not the point.

One "feature" of 16 Guildhouse St is the above bomb-resembling power converter that powers up a US power strip for charging things. It makes a pretty cool sound when it powers up, what I would imagine powering up a stock car, space shuttle, or planet-destroying weapon would sound like while warming up.

The light switches are awesome:

I have a tendency to hurt myself on "normal" light switches (don't ask), and these just seem to work more efficiently. The only issue being it's very common that the ordering of the switches has no logical flow, so you're forced to remember what controls which. Maybe it's just me, but usually the switch closest to the door (in the States) controls the main light, and the rest are auxiliary.

The boiler is pretty impressive as well. It makes a decent bit of racket, but it's also very good at what it does; heating up water.

The shower is taking some time getting used to also. There are separate knobs for the overhead faucet and the "shower yourself" attachment, I don't know what to name that but you know what I mean. There's also a red button on the middle knob, whose purpose I have absolutely no idea.

I'm excited to try out the washer and dryer. Who knows what fun that will entail.

Day 4b - Semi-fail, but semi-success

Today was good enough. I got up early enough to realize that it's still pretty damn dark at 7 a.m.

I can tell that the gym is going to be a source of much entertainment for me. The characters are just incredible, all kinds of people. And gym etiquette is quite different, not nearly as polite, and depending upon the person their idea of personal space can vary from stare you down 20 yards away or breathe on you and when you ask "would you like this equipment?" they walk away. I dunno. I just laugh.

Work was hectic today, but pretty productive. I already mentioned my adventures with food. The office was also completely abuzz with the inauguration, and the atrium was filled to capacity (and then some) for the actual oath and speech. An awesome moment to say the least.

I got a free Blogger (weird, I'm writing on the Blogger product right now ...) sweatshirt instead of having to buy one. The Mobile engineering admin rules. 2 days in a row of free stuff from coworkers.

I ran out afterward to try and procure a ticket for the Seasick Steve show next Saturday, but found out the printing machine was broken. Another errand for tomorrow now.

The cleaning lady comes tomorrow, Rose, who speaks Portuguese and no English. Apparently the situation has always worked out before. A cleaning lady? I have never had one of those. Another first for me.

I think it's time for a bottle of Obama wine. I'm very happy that twist-top wine bottles are OK here.

Day 4a - I got new cards!

My oyster card, to refill for use on the Tube (it makes rides cheaper as well):


My new gym card:

My fancy new Nectar card, which is a VIC or MVP card except that it's like a credit card:

I like new cards.

Things learned today:

* London's equivalent of the Metrocard is the Oyster Card. Much better name. Not sure what the oyster part means though.
* A football schedule is called a "fixture". What?
* A football match between two teams in the same city/area is called a "derby". What?
* If you walk up the wrong side of the stairs you get some REALLY interesting looks

Day 4 - The food is excellent (not excellent, just different)

Look at that breakfast. What a smorgasbord of fantastic things. Eggs, baked beans, mushrooms. Smoked salmon on the side. All-bran with yogurt. My heart is content. Stomach too.

I forgot to mention that yesterday for lunch, I had bean and Quail egg salad. The quail eggs were so cute! And absolutely delicious of course. We need more quail eggs back in the states.

I have a feeling this could turn into a 90 percent food journal. There's just so much of it. I am completely enamored when walking through the aisles of the grocery stores, noticing the differences in labels, portions sizes, and just general branding. The advertising industry has ruined me in that sense.

Take for instance those baked beans pictured in the post below. I mean, how could you NOT buy those cans? They're perfect in every way. And they're not scared to spell Beans with a Z either. Takes some gall. Heinz has it.

I even love the different soda cans. Especially the ones that have counterparts in the US. For example, the lovely Dr. Pepper zero, which is otherwise known as DDP (Diet Dr. Pepper for those not in the know).

That's a damn good can! Interesting to note, and I can't recall if this is on the US labels or not, but apparently this is a "carbonated low calorie fruit flavour soft drink". Since when does Dr Pepper taste like fruit? And what fruit would that be? I am interested to know.

Also below the car code are 2 lines which ask "What's the worst that could happen?" Not necessarily a standard slogan on a soda can, but whatever.

Here is another of my favorites, the Pepsi Max:


That black can just screams badass. It's so extreme. I should go skateboard now after downing this holy grail of caffeine.

There are at least a dozen other cans worthy of being photographed. I'll ration them though.

Day 3a - Things coming together

Not the most of exciting of days, unless you're the kind of person who likes crossing things off of their to-do list (which I am sometimes). I ended up joining LA Fitness, the club that required a bank account, they figured out a way to trick the system and have me pay by credit. The mangers basically told me to lie to the front desk and tell them they were "looking into my account" whenever my membership comes up declined because of the monthly debit. Whatever works, I don't care. Less paperwork for me.

LA Fitness. I'm nowhere close to LA. But whatever.

I also:

* Got a gphone back. Yay. It's a UK number, but whatever. I am saved.
* Got a new desktop at work. Yay.
* Got my Blackberry being worked on. Yay.
* Put out the recycling and garbage on the front. So easy. I am spoiled.
* Got a Nectar card at the local Sainsbury's. The UK equivalent of the MVP card, VIC card, or Kroger card.
* Joined a friend's pub quiz team. First match tomorrow night.

Recent photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tommyyoung3/LondonDay2#

http://picasaweb.google.com/tommyyoung3/LondonDay3#

I should not break 5 shots into one day. I'll try to organize better from here on out.

Day 3 - Why am I working on MLK day?

Racists here, that's what I say. Joking. It's actually nice working during US holidays, something I've done before when actually in the States. I get more work done without all the racket around me.

Kinda misty here. I will trade the bone-chilling cold of NYC for high 40's (Fahrenheit, need to get on Centigrade) and a little moisture.

I had baked beans for breakfast, which excites me to no end. I highly doubt I will get sick of them. They also have a full English breakfast (sausages, bacon, ham, tomatoes, toast, desserts) but since I don't need a nap right after breakfast, I'll avoid it for the most part.

There is also cottage cheese every day on the lunch buffet. I am going to turn into cottage cheese.

Saw several people in the office who didn't recognize me with a shaved head. They eventually picked up on my identity however, and promises of drinks have begun. I also joined a Pub quiz team on Tuesday nights, although since the content is largely British-based, I will be a poor addition.

Today I have been pounding Irn Bru (pronouncing Iron Brew) which is well-known soda from Scotland, which also doubles as a hangover remedy. Not that I have a hangover. I really don't. Lilt Zero is also fantastic, a pineapple flavored soda. There are also some fantastic teas to be had here in the office. I need my beverages.

Day 2 - Cotton Buds, not Q-Tips

Today was a shorter, less productive day, aided by the fact that I didn't get up until nearly 2. So I checked out gym #2 on my list of gyms to check out, and I forever love Europeans for their gym attire. Some of the things guys were wearing, it just brings a tear to my eye. One guy in particular, I couldn't tell if he was there to swim, bike, run a marathon, or chop wood. I think he went into the athletic store and just said "give me 1 of everything". The prevalence of tights among men is incredible. We're men, we're men in tights ...

I was made aware that I'm going to need a UK-based bank account though to get memberships. This could pose a problem, since most banks don't like you opening accounts and up and moving away. Time to tell a white lie!

Tonight, I journeyed to Soho to Bodean's to watch some NFL, just because I'm American and that is what I am supposed to do. I made my way up the West side of St. James Park, and came upon Bodean's finally.

This was a fantastic BBQ place, and their sour pickles were honestly the highlight. So much so that I ordered a second plate of them. That's how good they were. This place also only had Coors Light on draft. Super American.

There was a lovely group of douchebags from Philly, completely decked out in Eagles' gear, hair gelled up and all. Thankfully, the Eagles lost.

I sat in the restaurant by myself, and next to me was another solo artist, some American man. He kindly knocked over my salt and pepper shakers twice, my ketchup once, and made a comment along the lines of "If this was America I'd tell them what the fuck was up" in reference to a group of guys he walked up to and asked if they wouldn't mind sitting down since they were obstructing our view. Again, lovely.

I'm already in the zone here, walking around with my iPod blasting, just having a merry old time. I probably think I know too much already though, as evidenced by my tendency to simply walk right past my destination, but hey, I'm just having a good time.

Things I learned today:

* They are called cotton buds, NOT q-tips
* You "support" a sportball team, not "cheer for" them. This is stupid.
* Gyms charge a pound towel fee. Stupid.
* Cottage cheese is much fresher here from the grocery store. They also have onion and chive cottage cheese. Very good.

Day 1 - a good start and introduction

Today was a good first day. It was tiring and hectic, but overall it did the trick.

My plane landed an hour early, which meant 8:30 London time, 3:30 a.m. EST. Which means I went to "bed" totally shitfaced only 3 hours earlier. Whoops. I can't help that the flight attendant was giving me free wine.

I still made it just fine through customs (although I think the girl was trying to trick me when asking me what I did for a living) and got to the office to only discover my phone doesn't work. It still doesn't, even after an hour on the phone with Sprint. Cell phone people should fix it Monday.

So let's see, after getting settled into the new place, I checked out a local gym, one of several I got freebie 1 day passes to before signing up. Met a guy there named Tommy (funny) who also happens to be a metal guitarist. He also makes cash playing radio and commercial jingles, and told me he has some paying work for a bassist if I'm interested. Awesome.

I checked out the Tate Modern at night, which was absolutely awesome. Many return trips in store. Lots of good Picasso, Dali, other modern masterpieces. And the usual Modern Art bullshit, you know like balls of yarn that represent the violence in Darfur, that sort of stuff that is always way over my head. But it was still cool.

The bar at the top floor of the Tate had some fabulous views. They also were serving a special cocktail comprised of rum and Ginger beer. I am so happy about the prevalence of Ginger Beer here.

Walked along the Thames for a while, up to the London Eye, and then accidentally stumbled into a bar I had been at the last time I was in London, where I had an interesting dinner, served by a Polish gent named Lucas, who got really excited when he found out I was from the states and liked hardcore. We talked several favorite bands, and he gave me 3 free pints in the process. I am liking this pattern.

Next I met a nice lady on the tube who helped get me home. The tube system isn't too complicated, but the stations can be maddening. So she got me in the right direction. Good nice people. She also told me to stand to the right on the descending escalators else I might get ran over. Good advice.

Finally, before heading home, I stopped off at the Prince of Wales, my local pub and befriended the bartender. Free peanuts in my future.

Other interesting things of note:

* It rained on me. My first London rain. Feels normal.
* If you order a Fuller's London Pride by saying "a fuller's please" they won't understand. It's simply a pride.
* I was reading a British newspaper in the pub tonight, and every word in my head was spoken with a British accent. I tried so hard not to do that, but I couldn't help it. Weird.
* So much licorice to be had here. Sorry dad.

The Eagle has landed

I hope to keep this thing updated with the highlights of my days in London. We'll see how good I am.