Colour Circus

It's a twisted little miracle!

2012-02-09T22:05:00.003Z

Gaze, fair reader, upon the face of my latest creation. This marks the dawn of a new age in my life as an artist (and a ticking off of one of the items on my '1001 in 101' list!). Take a look, check back often, and leave lots of comments so I know what you're thinking!

http://quarterpagecomics.blogspot.com/

I found a webcam in the office

2012-01-24T11:55:00.002Z

So I did what any self respecting telemarketer would do...

Butter Tarts

2012-01-23T10:08:00.005Z

I pinched this recipe from the internet. I've made a few adjustments and had things turn out really well. The original was apparently from Brantford.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

PASTRY
2 cups flour
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons cold water

FILLING
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raisins (optional, or can be replaced with pecans)

Preparation:
Pastry:

Blend the shortening, salt and the flour with a pastry cutter, or two knives, until you've created a uniform mixture that is crumbly and about the size of frozen peas.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 egg, 1 tbsp white vinegar and 2 tbsp cold water.

Add to shortening and flour mixture. Mix all ingredients together, but only until just mixed and no more. The key to flaky pastry is not to overhandle the dough.

For ease of handling, make a ball of the dough, wrap in cellophane and place in freezer for 10-15 mins.

Roll out dough onto floured surface to about the thickness of a CD case. Using either a cookie cutter or something like a jar lid, cut out circles from the dough.

Press dough circles into a muffin pan.

Filling:

In another bowl, mix well the maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter and egg.

Add vanilla and stir in raisins.

Spoon filling into pastry shell to just below the rim. Bake at 200c for about 10 mins until golden brown.

Makes about a dozen tarts.

Perhaps a future project...

2012-01-06T15:37:00.003Z

http://www.simondale.net/house/

I've been a big fan of eco-building and earthships for a long time. I've also been looking at pictures of this house for the past couple of years without knowing anything about it. Imagine my surprise when I found a website all about it!

The 12 Pubs of Galway 2011

2011-12-27T11:11:00.000Z

http://youtu.be/Ouxwb4qU5b8

Eleven

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000Z

Happy 11:11:11 11/11/11!

For the book

2011-11-11T00:07:00.002Z

This is the image I'm going to submit along with my story to this little website...

http://wegetthere.com/travelmeansfreedom/

If my story is published, I'll let you know where you can buy a copy! :)

Ooooohhh, Sha ma wa wa!

2011-09-27T12:45:00.000+01:00

I don't know what what this is, but it's too awesome not to share!

Next time Adam...

2011-09-05T12:19:00.002+01:00

Are you kidding me??

2011-06-15T13:37:00.001+01:00

I don't even know what to say! This is either too awesome for words, or not worth the effort!

Read this...
http://ugonnaeatthat.com/2010/04/24/star-trek-romulan-ale/

And then check this out...
http://www.vulcantourism.com/

If you don't know anything about Star Trek you can read this...
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Vulcan

And, if you just don't care, have a look at this...
http://cuteoverload.com/

Demi Vert

2011-05-30T17:47:00.001+01:00

At long last I'd like to introduce everyone to Demi Vert, our downstairs flat with a back garden. I've taken some pictures and then stuck them together to make larger pictures. They pretty much speak for themselves so I'm going to let them do just that. It would be nice if you'd let me know what you think of the place!

The Front Room:

The Hallway:

The Dining Room:

The Back Garden:

You may have noticed that I didn't include images of the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. That's not because we don't have them, but more because we'd like not to post pictures of them on the internet. We're weird like that!

"One Town, 50 different People, One very difficult Question"

2011-05-18T20:21:00.003+01:00

Here's a little video a friend of mine posted on Facebook. It's filmed in Galway and I think it makes for interesting viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP7pdAn3foE

The Royal Wedding

2011-05-01T14:20:00.000+01:00

Did you ever play 'Where's Waldo?' (Where's Wally for the English readers) when you were younger? Here's your chance to relive the experience! Aside from being in the background as When we went to London to see the wedding there was a picture taken of the crowd in Hyde Park that will be kept in the official wedding album. It just so happens that you can see my face and hat in said picture, see if you can find me...

http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Hyde%20Park%20Family%20Photo%20Panoramic%20(Kois%20Miah).jpg

Overall the entire day was fantastic. We got a seat near the front of the crowd in Hyde Park (which at it's peak swelled to 130 000 people) and when the airplanes did their royal wedding fly over on the big screen in the park, we all turned around and watched them appear, from behind some trees, and fly above our heads as they circled the park. It really felt like we were a part of something amazing. Then, after a jug of Pimms in the park, we went out walking in London just to see what else was going on, I got a roadside view of Prince William and Duchess Catherine driving away from Buckingham palace. I'm sorry to say that, because nobody was expecting them to drive past, I was too overwhelmed to actually snap any pictures, but I got a good one of Camilla as she and Prince Charles drove past. I'll post more pictures of the day when I get them off Fiona's camera.

Twins Talking

2011-04-02T18:20:00.004+01:00

I can't embed it, but it's still worth watching. I don't know what the discourse is like in Canada (or even the UK for that matter. I guess I should listen to something other than TodayFM) and I also hadn't seen the original video. So this made me smile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEXFMm1JNk4

What have we come to?

2011-03-23T09:23:00.004Z

I've recently happened across an interested article on Treehugger.com about our attitudes towards meat in the industrialised world. I've included at little snippet of the article here, on Colour Circus, but if you're interested enough to read the rest of the article, you can click here.

"National Butchers' Week aims to help Brits learn more about the meat they eat. The poll surveyed 1000 adult meat-eaters on basic cuts of meat.

An alarming 17 percent thought that pork wings are an actual cut of meat.

Nearly twenty percent thought that tofu ribs and leg of liver were cuts of meat. As many as 23 percent thought that chicken chops or lamb drumsticks were something that you can buy from a butcher."

Gentleman me?

2011-03-20T11:45:00.000Z

This Friday I had planned to, with Fiona, accompany a friend to Oxford for a few drinks. This was the plan until Thursday when I found out that Mr. B was going to be playing at the Vaudeville Rave in Reading on the same night. Needless to say I amended my plans accordingly!

It was a really, really good evening and I plan to attend another at some point. The whole experience really reminded me of the Unfair that I went to when I lived in Halifax. The only difference that really stood out was that at this Vaudeville Rave everyone was in costume. It was an eclectic mix (trust me, this is not an exaggeration) of gypsy, burlesque, renaissance fair, chap and steam punk.

The evening unfolded along the following lines...

DJ Dubious rocked the party with his Balkan/Swing from the turntables. (I've just realized we heard him play once before at the Global Cafe! It's good to know these guys are all local!)

Our MC for the evening was Bass6 who's beat boxing was incredible!

The first half of the show was a cabaret including sword swallowing, belly dancing, light bulb eating, unicycling, magic, a very strange contest between 2 fellows who reckoned they could solve a rubics cube faster than their opponent while being distracted by volunteers from the audience, and various other acts.

Following the cabaret the chairs facing the stage were removed and the music began. The first group was Tankus the Henge followed by the main act Mr. B, The Gentleman Rhymer (you've already been introduced). I bumped into him in the clutter of people in front of the washrooms. I tapped him on the back before I realized I didn't really have anything to say to him, so I just shook his hand, said that I wanted to say hello, and then said I wouldn't keep him as I knew where he was heading. Smooth aren't I?

The next band was Sam and the Womp who blended Balkan and Dubstep with outstanding results. It was during their set that we bumped into Gentleman Jeeves who invited Fiona and I backstage for a cup of tea. We had a choice of Jasmin or Darjeeling. I chose Darjeeling but should really have chosen Jasmin as there was no milk on offer. Behind us was a 4 poster bed upon which people were jumping. It was all very surreal and only compounded by the fact that the entrance to the back of stage area was just next to a croquet field where ladies and gents were competing.

At this point it was 3ish in the morning and Fiona and I decided (in light of the fact that all of our friends had already departed) that we would head home. That meant we missed the last act Dutty Moonshine who I'm sure was excellent.

And that was our evening! Since the carnaval in Dunkerque there's been a lot of occasions for costumes! I'm going to put some serious thought into the possibility of establishing one of my own!

Colourful traditions

2011-03-17T07:19:00.001Z

As promised, here are the pictures from our recent road trip to the Dunkerque Carnaval!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48141953@N02/sets/72157626147664009/

If you're inclined you can learn more about the history of the carnaval here or even visit the official site here.

Then there's always...

2011-03-15T11:48:00.000Z

Fiona showed me this one yesterday. Apparently they made the film as a tribute to Caitlin Rose who wrote the original.

Call me crazy, but I prefer Rowan's version!

Coming home from Carnaval

2011-03-14T21:00:00.000Z

We heard this song as we were heading back to the Ferry to England after our weekend of cross dressing, drinking, singing and my first proper Carnaval. I'll post some pictures of the weekend here when I get to see them myself. 'Till then listen to this song and let me know what you think...

A day like today

2011-03-09T08:22:00.001Z

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

- Charles Darwin

I dare you not to smile!

2011-03-06T10:48:00.001Z

Poetry Slam

2011-02-17T10:45:00.003Z

Last night I participated in a poetry slam down at the global cafe and I had a really good time. The poem I'd written and recited was okay although I wasn't completely happy with it. Despite the fact that I'd only written the poem the night before I made it into the final round! Sadly, I hadn't anticipated that and hadn't prepared a second poem, so instead I read aloud The Cremation of Sam McGee, which ran overtime, and because it wasn't my original material I was disqualified from the competition. Although in fairness I had already disqualified myself aloud to the audience when I opted to read something other than that which I had written myself.

Apparently they're going to make it a regular thing and if they do, I think I'd like to give it another whack!

Bang! Out of the blue!

2011-01-11T18:28:00.003Z

Something unprecedented on this blog! A picture of me with a mustache!

It's getting there.

Fancy a cuppa?

2011-01-03T21:22:00.000Z

www.freeteaparty.org/

I love this idea. I love tea and grass roots projects. I love random adventures and local communities. I only wish I'd thought of it first! But I'm glad I can read about it and if I ever decided to host a free tea party, I'll write in and let them know about it.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T21:44:00.001Z

I hope this picture turns out alright. It's a composite of pictures I took yesterday in town. It's the Galway Cathedral and middle arch. As you can see things are lookin' exceptionally festive as this year in Ireland it was, indeed, a white Christmas! The cheeky cherub in the bottom right is Fiona after getting the last of her shopping done in town before heading up to Mayo for Christmas eve with her Dad on Inismacatreer.

My Blackberry's not working!

2010-12-23T10:24:00.002Z

This is hilarious! For those of you unfamiliar with the Two Ronnies, you owe it to yourselves to look them up. This is the remaining Ronnie up to his old tricks.

Our trip to Ireland

2010-12-22T12:34:00.003Z

We made it! Compared to some of our travel companions who'd be en route for days on end we had it pretty easy. Even so we had a hell of a journey but in the end arrived safe and sound in Moycullen, Co. Galway.

A little list of laughter

2010-12-17T19:07:00.002Z

I know a post composted entirely of pictures I think are funny isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine, so I take it with milk and no sugar.

It's all you need!

2010-12-14T23:15:00.002Z

Peace, Love and Star Trek, what else could a person ask for? How about Star Trek on demand anywhere in the world?!?! (well it works in England at least) Check this out....

http://www.allstepisodes.com/

It's the most amazing thing I've found on the internet since Chap Hop! (Which appears on my blog only a couple of posts ago but, based on the amount of surfing the web I've done, is actually a significant time ago!) In fact, this has really blown my mind! Think about it, you've got the original series, The Next Generation, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise all at your fingertips!!!!! Even as I type it my enthusiasm boils over!

I know I'm not the only Trekkie out there, so don't judge, just enjoy!

Art for arts sake

2010-12-12T20:46:00.000Z

I saw this and though it was very cool, I hope you do too. The only thing I find dismaying is all the paint left on the red brick wall at the beginning of the clip. Check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuGaqLT-gO4

The site I found this guy on was very cool as well. Have a look see and see for yourself. Poke around a bit. There are enough items on there that you'll need never again feel uninspired.

http://dornob.com/best-of-blu-famous-stop-motion-graffiti-artist-in-action/

I look good!

2010-12-03T13:48:00.004Z

Go to faceinhole.com and have a browse around. Although I doubt you'll find anything quite as disturbing as this one!

The Chap-Hop war wages on!

2010-11-29T20:42:00.002Z

It seems that the rap scene in England is a more diverse platform than I had hitherto believed it to be! It seems that there's a war waging in the relatively new genre of 'Chap-Hop'. A chap, for those unfamiliar with the movement, is a very particular type of gentleman. If you'd like to learn more you can find all the information you'll need at The Chap, a local English publication of note and of no small influence.

As Chap-hop is a burgeoning musical tradition there are only, as far as I can tell, two artists vying for recognition as England's preeminent gentleman rhymer. The first is Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer (yeah, I've appropriated his name for rhetorical value) and in this short clip I hope you'll get a good sense of his style, although he does have a rather sizable body of completely original material as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t28COxEp2k

His competition is Professor Elemental. In this clip he's responding to Mr B's presence in the chap-hop scene in a rather eloquent but in no way convoluted manner. It was actually this video that first peeked my interest in the Chap Hop scene, and I'm only including it second as it references Mr B explicitly and I had hoped to avoid any confusion or ambiguity regarding the song's subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk

So, now that you've familiarised yourself with the Chap philosophy, and with the works of both Professor Elemental and Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer, I shall leave it to you, the reader, to discern for yourself who is the most deserving of England's recognition and admiration.

Despite my best efforts

2010-11-28T21:36:00.003Z

No matter how hard I try, or how long I go without trimming or shaving, I will never beat this cheeky little bastard!

Well played sir monkey, well played indeed!

My flippin' phone

2010-11-19T18:49:00.000Z

The title of this post would be more apt if, in fact, my phone were a flip phone. It is not, but it is annoying me. It works well (most of the time) and has a lovely camera. Sometimes when I don't have my actual camera with me it's nice to be able to snap a picture on my phone and capture the moment. Sadly, and despite my best efforts, I'm unable to transfer the pictures from my phone to my computer. I have a connector cable and drivers but it won't recognise my phone. My phone has blue tooth but my laptop does not. I have 100mb of free internet use that includes e-mails sent from my phone but I don't have a phone that allows me to send e-mails.

I'll keep at it and we'll see if I can eventually sort something out!

Words to live by

2010-11-08T22:30:00.000Z

Travel light - preconception and prejudice are unnecessary luggage.

Road trippin`to France!

2010-11-05T10:28:00.000Z

Why not? I've been living in Reading for about 6 months, haven't been anywhere outside the home counties yet, and the cost split 4 ways for petrol and the round trip ferry ticket made it too good an offer to pass up! We're gonna hit up Lille the first night and then off to Paris for the 2nd and then back over to the UK for the 3rd. Not a trip I would fly for, but taking a car somehow works for me!

I've contacted friends in both cities that I made a few years ago when I first passed through France, and hopefully the 4 of us will be able to find a couch together but who knows? I'll take lots of pictures though, and post, perhaps, the best 3 or 4 of them!

Hallowe'en 2010 - National Stereotypes Party

2010-11-04T09:39:00.000Z

This hallowe'en we partied with the Couchsurfing community in Reading. Danielle was the good intentioned Canadian lass who hosted the fete and imagined the concept. Said concept simply put was two fold...

1) You must have a costume to attend the party.

2) You must dress like a stereotype of your nation of origin.

As you can see we leapt at the creative opportunities these rules afforded us! Fiona donned her finest Leprechaun outfit while I sported the rugged attire of a hearty Lumberjack!

Fiona did get a bit carried away with all the jigging, but it was much to the amusement of the other party guests and especially it's host. Some of the other national stereotypes we bore witness to were...

Spanish bulls

English farmers and teapots

Hungarian porn actresses

German tourists and Bavarian milk maid

Romanian vampires

American cowboys, hicks, gangsters, Nascar girls and the statue of liberty (there were a lot of Americans at this one)

Lebanese suicide bombers

Brazilian surfers

There was also our hostess who donned the noble attire of the Inuit. This is a picture of the two of us together, the Canadian contingent, making merry with a little maple syrup! You know how antsy in your pantsy you can get after gulping down a few swigs of the sweet sweet sap of a Canadian sugar maple!

Truer words were never spoken!

2010-11-03T20:30:00.002Z

`Every Time You Shave, A Moustache Dies` by Dead Cat Bounce.

I think it pretty much speaks for itself!

Now that you`ve heard their argument, go out and grow a moustache!

Seeing double

2010-11-02T13:09:00.001Z

Inspired by a picture taken a few years ago but recently remembered, I thought I'd make an attempt of my own. I'm quite happy with the results!

Jamie likes to be bad abroad!

2010-11-01T17:43:00.002Z

Jamie recently came to visit and he brought the devil along with him. Together we tread the cobbles 'neath bow bells seeking neither fame nor fortune, instead just having a good time. In London we hit up the portrait gallery where we each worked in pastel to reproduce some of the modern art in an impromptu artist lead exercise, checked out Camden Market and took pictures of some of the city's main attractions.

At first Jamie found the whole experience somewhat surreal, but before too long he got excited!

Then he just got carried away!He's home now, in Canada, and England can breath a sigh of relief. I, however, will miss the guy.

Quick update,

2010-10-20T15:15:00.001+01:00

So here's the craic...

Yell Adworks has decided that it was time to set myself, and a few others from the office, free to explore other opportunities. Not having loved the job in the first place this wasn't the end of the world, but loving the people that I worked with, having no savings left and needing some sort of steady income does make it a bit of an issue.

Thanks to sick days and having had my pay staggered by a week means that I now have 2 weeks of paid time which I can use to find a new job. I've been looking into the areas of hospitality and tourism because, at the end of the day, those are the industries that I think I'd like to work within. In that vain I struck out this morning, on my bike, to have a look around at what options I had in Reading city centre. My search was depressing. Reading is a renowned 'clone town' which I find disheartening in many ways.

T'was at this point that I decided to head to my little beacon of non-clone comfort, the Workhouse Coffee Company for a cup of Joe, a seat atop the sacks of coffee in the bay window and a read of my book. T'was also here where I got chatting to the proprietor who asked where I was working. When I informed him of my situation and my interest in eventual entrepreneurship, he said he was keen to make me a part of this team. I expressed an interest and will drop of my résumé later this week. The catch is that the money stinks. The upside is that they're willing to teach me everything involved in running the shop. The better news is that they're willing to have me work another job to earn a good wage and then work around my schedule in order to take me on board!

I don't know yet how this will all play out, but it certainly seems promising!

Is it just me?

2010-10-11T10:40:00.001+01:00

... or is this the same guy?

My diabolical tea scheme

2010-10-06T14:52:00.003+01:00

Each morning I purchase, from the coffee bar downstairs, a large cup of tea for 40p. But unbeknownst to the establishment I have, over the weeks, amassed a selection of teas in my desk drawer. For herbal or green teas I reuse the café’s paper cup and all I have to do is add hot water from the coffee machine before I can enjoy a steaming cup of bliss.

For a cup of PG Tips I have a far more sinister tactic. I reuse the café’s paper cup, pop in a tea bag and hot water and head for the elevator. Once in the lobby I make my way over to the café but instead of going to the counter I aim slightly to the right and walk up to the carafe’s. It’s at this point that I adopt a nonchalant aire and casually milk up my brew ‘till it’s colouration indicates the perfect timing for delicate application to my pallet.

Minor infringement or massive disgrace? Have a look at the math and you be the judge …

Black tea

40p x 2 cups a day x 5 days a week x 16 weeks = £64 total savings

Herbal/Green tea

50p x 2 cups a day x 5 days a week x 16 weeks = £80 total savings

Please note that the only real cost to the café is a splash of milk which probably only measures a cup every 2 days. The rest is just good economics!

Ah ha ha

2010-09-29T13:45:00.002+01:00

I was inspired by someone at work who was checking out her friends profile on facebook. I know it would appear that I seem to post only things that in some way IMMEDIATELY refer to myself, but what's another self portrait between friends?

H-U-W-A-K-K

2010-09-16T12:56:00.001+01:00

This was sent to me today by a college at work. I have no idea what it is but I love it!

Kyle Smith

2010-08-12T10:10:00.004+01:00

This is a picture of my good friend and yours, Kyle Smith. In reality it's William the Conqueror (or William the Bastard, depending on your particular historical preferences) but I know that Kyle Smith secretly longs to be like him!

Canada Day in Trafalgar Square

2010-07-02T14:48:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we went to Canada day in London! We saw a load of great Canadian bands including Radio Radio, Hawksly Workman, Sarah Harmer, and Jully Black! We ate bison burgers and had a Tim Horton's Doughnut! We had our pictures taken with a Mountie and I signed up for a Canadain social club in London and the mailing list for Canadian music in Europe! I also bumped into this guy...

But he wasn't as scary as he looked, and after a few beer, and one accidental bomb scare, we all lived happily ever after! Oh Canada, what a great day!

As it turns out

2010-06-19T12:24:00.000+01:00

Well, it would apear that I've been pfaffing around with the HTML of my blog for the past 5 years (sweet Jesus! It's been 5 years since I started this blog!) when low and behold, I could have just abandoned the whole thing and picked a new template from blogger.

I'd known that was an option for a while, but I didn't know I could make something look as cool as I could! I'm still going to try to personalize my blog a bit, but I decided that it was time to upgrade a little. (hopefully everyone can read the text on this blog!

So in addition to that, Ayden has been over to visit England and it was great to get a chance to hang out with him! It's been 3 years since we really hung out, and even before that, with me living away at University, the time we spent together was limited! It was good to see him and I'm going to miss him now that he's gone back to Canada!

The pictures I've posted were either taken by or of Ayden on our bike trip out from Salisbury over to Stonehenge! Because we took the old byways we ended up spending a great day together and seeing a lot of countryside in the bargain. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed being outside and breathing the fresh country air! (I mean that literally! It's not a figurative reference to the wafting scent of bovine feces!) I'm going to make a point to do this more often! Fiona is keen as well, so I think we'll be railing and trailing on weekends in the near future!

It's a small world...

2010-05-29T12:28:00.002+01:00

... but there's a LOT of it to see!

visited 19 states (8.44%)

Create your own visited map of The World

A new London

2010-05-28T00:05:00.002+01:00

So yesterday Fiona and I took the train into London to visit Ayden and I was introduced to Camden market! I think forever more, it will be my absolute favourite part of London! It's likeMarket! Needless to say it's worth checking out!

After that we went down to Brick Lane for a curry and then pints in Bar 1001 and the 10 Bells.

In Camden I bought a brown bowler very impulsively and then found I was very dissatisfied with it! Ayden and Fiona were both surprised by how quickly I bought the hat and then immediately regretted doing so. Despite my worst fears and fortunately for me, the man I bough the hat from allowed me to return it!

The whole experience left me hesitant to spend any money, and thus for the rest of my time in the market I didn't. Now I regret not buying a proper brown bowler from another shop we'd passed, but at least in future I know where to get one, and the price I should be looking to pay for it!

About a boy

2010-05-18T13:30:00.000+01:00

And the boy is me!

I've been back in Ireland now for almost a week, and then I head over to Reading again tomorrow morning. It's been good to be back! It makes me a little homesick for the place!

There's a magic about this place. Something that gets inside you and leaves you always longing for more! It's a laid back nature of the place, the easy going attitude of the locals, and the likelihood of a walk down shop street ending in a random party on the beach where you meet a man who lives in a hole in a tree and paints teapots for a living! Its just that kind of city! You're allowed to be yourself here, and so long as recreational drinking and random adventures are your thing, you'll find a home in Galway.

It's going to be hard to leave the place, but leave I must! For now...

How 'bout this one?

2010-05-06T13:59:00.001+01:00

Blast from the past?

Lego my... lego?

2010-04-30T09:38:00.002+01:00

So... the profile pic above or the one below? Which one do you like?

http://www.reasonablyclever.com/?page_id=31

Mashup

2010-04-25T10:35:00.004+01:00

These are all great songs on their own, and DJ Dain has done a good job of mashing them all together. It's a bit long, but if you're just listening to it, it's a lovely, gentle song.

http://soundcloud.com/dj-dain/dont-worry-im-yours-mashup

Hope everyone likes it.

Once again

2010-03-10T21:41:00.000Z

I have again stumbled upon a random jem off the internet. I have no idean what it's about nor do I know what it means, but I am open to suggestions from my loyal and caring readers!

So... that laptop...

2010-02-27T19:02:00.000Z

The laptop is not a Mac, it's a Toshiba.

It is also no longer in my possession. I returned it when the track-pad didn't really respond well and the model on display had the same problem. I did however lose $150 on the deal because of labour BS. But I guess that's my own fault!

Sorry to leave everyone in the lurch about that! I know you were all probably on the edge of your seats and checking back 2 or 3 times a day to find out how the whole thing concluded!

Heavy Petal

2010-02-27T00:05:00.002Z

Hey, check this out! I haven't really looked through it myself, so, if you wanted to kind of give me a summary, that'd be cool!

http://heavypetal.ca/

And if you feel the need of a diversion, check this out... (no summary needed!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmjLqddPqZQ

New Laptop!

2010-01-29T14:30:00.000Z

So yeah, I got one! A new laptop that is! In fact, it's what I'm typing on at the moment and updating the ol' ColourCircus with. I'm still unsettled about the purchaise. It's a big expense but it's something that I want and it's going to make my life easier.

I think.

But I have 13 days remaining to decide if I want to keep it before Father Time makes the choice for me.

Abandoned

2009-12-05T14:47:00.000Z

You know, I often think about updating this blog. Or I'll think of something that'd make a great post, but then I don't follow through. I think that dial up has a lot to do with it, and my computer's mouse and keyboard working only intermittently is also the source of some frustration.

I'm in the Smithville library updating this time. It's not as exciting as you might imagine.

I'm looking forward to the holidays this year. I am every year but it's going to be nice to celebrate them in Canada again. I desperately want it to snow though! I'm very excited about Fiona's visit to Canada in 1 week as well. I want it to snow as much to show off how MUCH show we can get as I do just to have a lovely white Christmas.

It's going to be weird to be home but have Ayden away though. He'll be in Madagascar and celebrating his first Christmas away from home. I'm going to miss that guy.

Anyway, this is more of a ramble than a post, but it's kind of the mood I'm in today.

Job Search '09: Conclusion!

2009-10-12T22:29:00.000+01:00

I took a little while to decide to post this after writing the last entry. I don't know why, but I am terribly sorry. I realize how, for many of you, without a constant record of the daily goings on in my life, your own lives seem to start to lack meaning. I know this, and yet I persist in my irregular posting patterns.

And back to the point...

I start tomorrow. I got hired at The Second Cup as a barista, but in the end turned it down for another job as a barista/shift manager at Starbucks. I have purchased my new black trousers, 2 new black shirts, and a lovely pair of leather dress shoes (I had to search long and hard for these, because I was committed to wingtips and brogueing and leather uppers. The result was more expensive, but completely awesome in all ways.) all washed (okay, not the shoes, but they were treated!) and dried, and ready to go in the morning.

I don't know how long my shift will be, nor where the remainder of my training is going to be, but I know where and when my first shift starts, and that's enough for me!

I can't wait for the money to start rolling in! Legal employment! Oh man, it's been a while!

Job Search '09 II

2009-09-27T16:31:00.000+01:00

So, yesterday I went back out, once again, into the cruel world, to hand out resumes, fill out application forms, make good impressions, and secure employment.

I realized early in the day that the 15 resumes I'd handed out the day before had a small typo. Where it should have said that I worked at Blockbuster Video in Grimsby, it instead read that I'd worked at Blockbuster Video in Blockbuster Video. I fixed it and printed 15 more resumes. What else could I do?

And so, the adventure commenced again. Mom came with me this time and acted as the getaway driver. Our first stop was in Smithville at a pub. Our second stop was to get breakfast. In fact, after this our pace never picked up until much later in the day. After handing out about 5 resumes, Mom pointed out that I had a toothpick in my hair. I'd put it behind my ear and not noticed that I still had it hanging there. Then I noticed that my shirt had come untucked at the back, and that I looked like a jackass. So I tucked it in and kept on trucking.

By the end of the day I'd handed out my 15 resumes (bringing the grand total for the last 2 days to 30 resumes out there in circulation) and I'm planning on heading into Brantford later in the week to try to circulate a shit load more. And hopefully I'll get so many call backs that I'll get to pick and chose.

Oh, and if anyone happens to be reading this, how 'bout dropping me a comment. I'm like 10 posts in with 0 comments on each.

Job Search '09

2009-09-25T17:47:00.000+01:00

Today was the day that I passed out a bunch of resumes. Well, it was the first day that I passed out a bunch of resumes. I'm planning to pass out even more tomorrow.

But anyway, for those of you who're interested, I will now chronicle my days exploits...

I awoke, took my mother to work, and prepared myself for a days job seeking. I left earlyish in the day, and headed directly into Grimsby. I was prepared, and brought with me all the things I felt I would need during the day. A stack of resumes, a thermos of tea, my wallet, and my cell phone. I was ready! I had just enough time to accept a phone call from Fiona in Reading and talk to her a bit about her unfortunate living situation (from what she's told me I gather it's like living in a smokey dog house. And that's not a pleasant combination!) before heading out.

For a large portion of the drive into town I was stuck behind a large tractor with an even larger attachment on the back. He took up the entire road, and pulled over to let oncoming traffic pass, but cared not for the traffic backing up behind him. Eventually he turned, and my quest picked up speed.

My intention was to secure a job as a waiter or barman (or barrista) and thus I haded out resumes to each pub, restaurant, and cafe I passed in town. The first few pubs took my resume but weren't hiring. The first cafe said that had I put my resume in 2 weeks ago, I'd have probably had a job by now, but that they'd just hired. The 'Judge and Jester' asked me to come in again to talk on Monday. I like the sounds of that, and thus, I plan to revisit this local on Monday.

Then I drove towards Hamilton and realized that I'd had to pee since I got in the car. Subsequent to that, I'd drank the tea I'd packed and now REALLY had to pee. So I went to Subway and used their bathroom. I then, purely out of guilt, as I could have saved the money, bought myself a 6 inch sub. It was delicious and came to less than $4, so I didn't beat myself up much about the expense. After that I dropped off a few more resumes before hitting Upper James and finding that I hadn't printed enough resumes. Thus my search continues tomorrow.

Hopefully when I get home (I'm rocking the high speed at Caistor Central School at the moment) I'll have a slew of messages on the machine offering me greater and greater employment opportunities. However I've still printed out another 15 resumes to hand out tomorrow.

Wish me luck, and I'll keep you posted.

My Steampunk Style

2009-09-20T20:13:00.002+01:00

The Ragamuffin

29% Elegant, 21% Technological, 37% Historical, 44% Adventurous and 69% Playful!

You are the Ragamuffin, the embodiment of steampunk playfulness. Chances are, you approach the genre from a much more casual and lighthearted standpoint than most other fans. To you, there is always an element of play inherent in the genre, and you may very well enjoy fashion as much for the opportunity to dress up as for the style itself. You probably wear goggles as an accessory, and rarely as actual eye-protection. Your outfits are likely to incorporate a lot of brown or cream, and combine large boots, Victorian corsets or vests, aviator caps or bowler hats, and gypsy skirts or slacks, simply because you like them all.

http://www.helloquizzy.com/

Strange, but true

2009-09-17T11:45:00.000+01:00

I don't know what it is. Maybe it's being back in Caistor, perhaps it's the autumnal weather we're starting to experience (I loves me that autumnal season! 's my favourite of all!)

But I'm feeling inspired. I'm feeling creative. I'm feeling motivated!

The catch...

It's not gonna help me get any money flowing in (that's right, I want a full on flow. None of this ebbing BS). At least not in the short run.

But perhaps. Perhaps if I manage to maintain this level of inspiration. Perhaps if I can remain motivated. Perhaps I could accomplish something that would be incredibly satisfying, worthwhile and ostentatious. (Although that last one is really optional. It's not really one of my main criteria.)

Anyway, I'm feeling bloggsy lately as well, so perhaps you'll all get to hear about my exploits and chronicle my progress. But in the meantime, riddle me this...

Who the heck were the ancient sea kings?

Little beasties

2009-09-16T11:29:00.000+01:00

I've been watching, and really enjoying, a television series that I borrowed from the Dread Pirate Dobson called 'Supernatural'. In essence it's about a couple of brothers who go around hunting cryptids, demons, ghosts etc. etc.

In the 2nd episode of the 1st season, the show centred on the Wendigo. That got me thinking. I used to have a tremendous interest in all things cryptological. Truth be told, I still do, although it's an interest I've done little to nurture in recent years.

And strange as it may seem, the Wendigo seems to keep popping up. Like in the 'Yak Wendigo War', part of an online comic strip called 'Scary Go Round' (I can't find the exact link, but it's in there somewhere. It's worth reading anyways, so go make yourself a pot of tea and work away.) introduced to me by the Dread Piratess Gil. And... well, I guess that T.V. show I was talking about earlier. Anyway...

So I got interested and looked into it a little. And now I'm hooked. I'm going to have to go through all my books here and scare myself half to death before I attempt to drift off to sleep. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, or ever worthwhile, but what the hell eh?

Poor little fellas

2009-08-15T16:36:00.005+01:00

So while I was sitting around the Doras Gorm (Dur-ass Gur-um : Blue Door : Our little cottage) I got to drawing on the computer in MS Paint. I first drew a naked man running down the road into the distance, then a man with no nose standing next to one with two, then a robber and two lovely aliens, and finally this......which I liked best and, thus, decided to post it for all the world to enjoy. I hope you do.

And please, pitty these poor fools, for they know not what they do!

I already miss the place!

2009-08-10T15:45:00.001+01:00

Enough of the single pictures posts (for now anyway).

Instead, I'd like to give everyone a little taste of Galway, the city in the west of Ireland that's been my home these past 8 months.

The song in this video is by a group called the 'Saw Doctors' who're from up the N17 from Galway in the fasted town in Ireland; Tuam (Rhymes with zoom).

You mightn't belive me when I tell you, but it's a pretty accurate representation of life in Galway.

Even Mom's getting into the spirit!

2009-08-08T19:39:00.000+01:00

It's no Bulmer's Pear, but it'll do!

We're living the dream...

2009-08-08T18:33:00.001+01:00

I wish I had a VW camper!

Really...

2009-08-08T17:31:00.000+01:00

I swear!

Things are going well...

2009-08-08T16:27:00.000+01:00

I promis!

Radio 1's top 50

2009-07-01T13:06:00.003+01:00

I was trying to find great songs and albums for Canada day in Galway, and remembered a few years ago I heard on CBC radio 1 counting some of the best ones down. I don't know the number 1 hit, but the rest seem pretty representative!

1. ‘Four Strong Winds' by Ian and Sylvia (1963)
(3850) 4%

2. ‘If I had $1000000” by the Barenaked Ladies (1992)
(3814) 4%

3. ‘Heart of Gold' by Neil Young (1971)
(3761) 4%

4. ‘Northwest Passage' by Stan Rogers (1981)
(3598) 4%

5. ‘American Woman' by The Guess Who (1970)
(3531) 4%

6. ‘Canadian Railroad Trilogy' by Gordon Lightfoot (1967)
(3397) 3%

7. ‘Both Sides Now' by Joni Mitchell (1969)
(3105) 3%

8. ‘Suzanne' by Leonard Cohen (1967)
(3067) 3%

9. ‘Big Yellow Taxi' by Joni Mitchell (1970)
(2998) 3%

10. ‘Early Morning Rain' by Gordon Lightfoot (1966)
(2798) 3%

11. ‘Lovers in a Dangerous Time' by Bruce Cockburn (1984)
(2782) 3%

12. ‘The Hockey Song' by Stompin' Tom Connors (1973)
(2701) 3%

13. ‘Life is a Highway' by Tom Cochrane (1991)
(2586) 3%

14. ‘Try' by Blue Rodeo (1987)
(2581) 3%

15. ‘The Weight' by The Band (1968)
(2553) 3%

16. ‘New Orleans is Sinking” by The Tragically Hip (1989)
(2534) 3%

17. ‘Summer of '69' by Bryan Adams (1984)
(2509) 3%

18. ‘Takin' Care of Business' by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)
(2251) 2%

19. ‘Snowbird' Anne Murray (1970)
(2234) 2%

20. ‘Angel' by Sarah McLachlan (1997)
(2207) 2%

21. ‘Constant Craving' by k.d. lang (1992)
(2113) 2%

22. ‘Home for a Rest' by Spirit of the West (1990)
(2062) 2%

23. ‘These Eyes' by The Guess Who (1969)
(2054) 2%

24. ‘Rockin' in the Free World' by Neil Young (1989)
(2006) 2%

25. ‘Sundown' by Gordon Lightfoot (1973)
(1929) 2%

26. ‘The Universal Soldier' by Buffy Sainte-Marie (1964)
(1910) 2%

27. ‘Courage' by the Tragically Hip (1992)
(1859) 2%

28. ‘You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette (1995)
(1846) 2%

29. ‘Wondering Where The Lions Are” by Bruce Cockburn (1979)
(1659) 2%

30. ‘Mon Pays' by Gilles Vigneault (1965)
(1648) 2%

31. ‘Raise a Little Hell' by Trooper (1978)
(1616) 2%

32. ‘Hasn't Hit Me Yet” Blue Rodeo (1993)
(1569) 2%

33. 'Tom Sawyer' by Rush (1981)
(1424) 1%

34. ‘I'm Movin' On” by Hank Snow (1950)
(1258) 1%

35. ‘Echo Beach' by Martha and the Muffins (1980)
(1166) 1%

36. ‘The Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats (1982)
(1118) 1%

37. ‘Crabbuckit' K-OS (2004)
(1043) 1%

38. ‘High School Confidential' by Rough Trade (1980)
(1055) 1%

39. ‘Brother Down' Sam Roberts (2001)
(1003) 1%

40. ‘Diana' by Paul Anka (1957)
(994) 1%

41. ‘Sonny's Dream' by The Wonderful Grand Band (1981)
(941) 1%

42. ‘Tower of Song' by Leonard Cohen (1988)
(924) 1%

43. ‘Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)' by the Crew Cuts (1954)
(890) 1%

44. ‘Rise Up' by The Parachute Club (1983)
(874) 1%

45. ‘Coax Me” by Sloan (1994)
(832) 1%

46. ‘Let Your Backbone Slide' Maestro Fresh-Wes (1990)
(809) 1%

47. ‘I'll Never Smile Again' by Ruth Lowe, performed by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (1940)
(619) 1%

48. “Fly By Night” by Rush (1975)
(552) 1%

49. ‘Disco Sucks ' by D.O.A. (1978)
(366) 0%

50. ‘My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby' by Wilf Carter (1933)
(250) 0%

Blackbeard lies to read too!

2009-06-23T13:36:00.000+01:00

I just wish he's get his own book and stop reading over my shoulder!

Mixin' it up a little

2009-06-21T13:07:00.001+01:00

And old logo I made a few years ago, and a new list of songs that I dig right now (in no particular order)...

1) Slow Disco - Izabo

2) Jerusalem - Matisyahu

3) Sota - Shantel

4) Joyeux Calvaire - Les Cowboys Fringants

5) How Can I Protect You - Aslan

I'm neither proud nor ashamed of anything is this list! They're all songs that I like, some I hear all the time, others that I've only heard a couple of times. Hopefully some of them you've never heard either and like what you hear! Let me know which of the 5 you like best!

Decison Time

2009-06-19T15:25:00.001+01:00

Have I gone too far?

Should I keep it growing?

I need guidence!

Puppets rule!

2009-06-18T13:17:00.004+01:00

I had been told that I hadn't missed much by not watching 'Hell Boy II' but I wanted to see it anyway. It was good enough (and as it turns out the Elves ACTUALLY speak old Irish!!) but missing it wouldn't have been a terrible loss to me either.

What it did do was get me very excited for the Galway arts festival! Especially when they go to the Troll Market! Here, have a look...

This is Hellboy...

And this is the parade in Galway...

Okay, so the pictures I found don't ACTAULLY contrast the 2 as well as I'd wanted to, but whatever, it's the best I could do!

The parade is done by a group called Macnas (if we're lucky) and their website is here...

http://www.macnas.com/index.php

Also... I don't know why the pictures go under the rest of my blog info. I don't now how to change that! Oh well!

Pictures are worth... making up for not posting?!?

2009-06-04T13:55:00.000+01:00

Well I don't have the internet very often! So it's not easy!

But here's a quick snapshot of what I've been up to these last few weeks...

I was filmed for channel 5 and the BBC...

It was a travel show around some of Europe's more eccetric locations. I got to be in it at a monkey sanctuary where I had been volunteering. I think they're going to make it look like there is an ostrich there who's in love with me!

This is a garden that I've landscaped for fun and profit out in Connemara. This isn't the best picture of what I've done but it's better because it's got the mountain in the back!

And this is me enjoying one of the 3 new toilet plungers I've recently purchaised, so that I might juggle them!

But now I have to go to a VIP concert down at the docks. I won tickets on a radio show Fiona signed me up for! The band is from Dublin and are called Aslan. I have no idea who they are, but food and drink is provided!!

Overdue

2009-05-14T18:47:00.000+01:00

Well, I've been up to a lot since last I had the internet. I've been robbed by gypsies, been stalked by an ostrich, taken 3 BBC producers on a boat ride through islands of angry monkeys, found cash work, knocked my finger nail so hard it's in the process of falling off, broken irreplaceable crystal, met and dinned with famous actors and politicians. The list really does go on and on, but I won't bore you with the details.

That's not what this post is about. This post is about the quality work that I've been doing here in Delgany. For example take this first picture here...
This is what the old barn looked like through the small door in the back when I arrived. As you can see it's a shambles and a terrible mess. Nothing lovely, quaint, nor romantic about it at all. Then, after 1 day I managed to sort things out and create this...
A much more picturesque and useful space to house this curious little pooch who's wandered by to see what all the fuss is about. All in all I'd say I'd not done bad for a days work!

(Incidentally that's the neighbour's dog and his name is Pie Face.)

What in the world...

2009-03-28T11:15:00.000Z

I don't really know what to say about this. Please watch it and leave your thoughts as comments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hYtUYiuzkw

Actually, perhaps it's best that some of you (you'll know who you are) do NOT leave their thoughts as comments. After this video, I'm not sure how much more I can take!

Adventures on the horizon

2009-03-26T12:30:00.002Z

For the time being I'll be leaving Galway, and heading once again for Ireland's east coast, and the county of Wicklow! I've been out that way once before, and spent some time at Carraig Dulra living in a yurt and enjoying life out of doors! And as it happens, I was told that I could rock up again for a visit and don't need to give notice.

So that's what I'm gonna do. I gave 'em the heads up but not even I know exactly when I'm gonna arrive!

http://www.dulra.org/

Then, (or possibly before) I've been invited to a monkey santuary, also in Wicklow, to help fix a shack. This task involves me making a small amount of money which is more than welcome, and also the opportunity to learn to sail!
http://www.monkeysanctuary.com/

So for the next month or so that's what I'll be up to. Possibly longer as there's a family fun park in the area that, apparently, might be inclined to hire someone such as myself. In case you've not picked up on the pattern here, my cash flow has flowed a little more freely than I'd realized up 'till recently!

Enjoying the good life

2009-03-25T13:23:00.001Z

Last night I went to the Crane Bar, in Galway's west side, to say farewell to a Swiss friend of mine. I've often been to the Crane as it has the best, and cheapest pint of Guiness in the city. (This fact is of course open to contestation.)

The difference was, this time I really listened to the music, and it was very good! I've often thought it very special and lucky to be able to hear music like this any given day of the week, but have rarely actually sat down and appreciated it. Last night I did just that, and broke down to do the 'tourist' thing a take a video of the whole thing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27258209@N07/3384396927/

Anyone wanting to visit is more than welcome!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T06:05:00.001Z

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Galway, Ireland!

My new Facebook App.

2009-03-15T10:27:00.000Z

I made a sweet ass application! You should log into facebook and then follow this link and take it. Then you should come back here and leave me a comment to let me know how it all turned out!

It's a very insightfull quiz regarding your soul's archetype. That's right, souls have archetypes! And this quiz will clarify for you which is yours!

Aha

2009-03-14T14:30:00.000Z

Done! The match is over (and it was a good one, unless you're big into Man. U.). But more importantly...

The update is done and up!

Let me know what you think of it!

I'd also like to add a little context to the picture I've selected for my profile. I know it's horribly unflattering, and that's why I picked it. It's important when viewing the picture to remember that I was not horribly sick, vomitously drunk, or dead when it was taken. It was just a bad moment to pull the trigger.

God it's terrible!

Sh*tty Blog

2009-03-14T12:35:00.000Z

This blog is pretty shitty at the moment I know. I'm casually working on an update that's not only much cooler, but should be much easier to read! It's not as revolutionary as I'd like it to be, but I can't be arsed to learn enough code to rewrite the whole thing the way I'd like to see it.

I can't even write this entry because it's the Manchester United vs. Liverpool match on at the moment and it's actually pretty good.

The crux of this post however is hold on, and keep the faith. This blog is going to be better soon!

Travel Journal

2009-03-09T22:00:00.000Z

So here's the deal. Last time I came abroad I kept a pretty good travel journal. It turned out to be an amazing pain in my ass, so this time I've been more neglect. This has turned out to be a stupid choice as now I have no written record of my adventures. And to compound the problem I've been updating my blog about as often as I experience sunny days in Ireland.

SO...

For now I'm not going to chronicle anything. going to contribute a picture of me and my old shoes at Fiona's birthday party, and a link to a cool music video I found on my Uncle's you tube channel. The man in the video is NOT my uncle.

The picture...

The video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ5FvaASrs0

Step back

2009-02-26T18:15:00.000Z

So I'm apathetic and lethargic regarding this blog recently. I'm gonna try something different with it when I get internet back on a regular basis. 'Till then, watch this. It's very simple, yet very cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

At last!

2009-02-01T19:12:00.000Z

I've been wanting to make a sock monkey since Berlin, and today I did it! He's made out of a pair of toe socks which gives him both a cool head of hair and pretty awesome vice gripping hands.

That's his tail.

Disco Disco

2009-01-07T11:35:00.004Z

This guy is big in Turkey. I'd have guessed him Bulgarian and so did my Turkish hosts in fact, but as it turns out, he's not! He does however play exactly the type of music that I'm into at the moment.

See what you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gViaOYgV8yI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be7O4m9rOZE

Dıabolıcal!

2008-12-15T09:48:00.000Z

At long last

2008-12-09T17:08:00.004Z

Well, ıt's been a whıle. It's been so long ın fact that I can't remember half of the thıngs I want to wrıte, and the thıngs that I can remember are so abundant ın number that ıf I trıed to transcrıbe them all I would have to neglect all else and probably dıe of starvatıon.

So. ınstead of all that I'll ınstead tell you that I mılked a cow ın Latovnık, Bulgarıa. It was later ın the same day that she'd gıven bırth. At about 8am at the neıghbourıng farm Aıden and Aıesha's cow gave bırth. We came by to see ıt after breakfast (about 9 am) and the baby was just tryıng to stand and was stıll covered wıth after bırth.

It mıght seem odd to mılk a cow the same day ıt's gıven bırth but worry not! We saved 2 teets for the baby and mılked the other 2 for us. We made pancakes (more crepes but apparently that's what the rest of the world calls pancakes. Who knew?) wıth the mılk and the colostrum gave them a great buttery flavour! The mılk was ın my belly about 10 mınutes after I'd taken ıt from the cow!

It was a good day!

Super Tea

2008-11-12T19:50:00.000Z

This was a good cup!

I like this picture because it looks like we`re a wacky crime fighting team or something.

It was taken in Česky Krumlov in the Czech Republic at the hostel I was staying at.

The dude on the far right is in Budapest now, as I am, and tomorrow we`re going to meet up and see some stuff.

Lots of other stuff, I mean LOTS of other stuff has happened in the time since last I logged an entry on here, but I don`t feel like writing about it now.

Yesterday

2008-10-24T11:15:00.000+01:00

I had wanted to leave the 'farm' yesterday, hitchhike into Koblenz and then catch a train to Hamburg in order to chance a meeting with a friend who said they could host me. I figured I'd find a way to get in touch with them so no biggy if I had nothing really arranged ahead of time.

I arrived in Koblenz (after a free bus ride and 1 car) and the weather was wonderful! Sunny and warm in a way not typical of October 23rd! I was feeling good so I went to a shop and got my watch battery replaced (the one that controls the 'globlu' function, because as it turned out my watch has 3 batteries.) and grab a kebab for a quick lunch outside the train station.

That's where things went wrong.

A ticket to Hamburg was €80. I decided screw it I'll head straight to Berlin. But that would cost me €100. So now I have a dilemma the likes of which can only be sorted with the help of the Internet. So that's where I went, a cafe just outside the Hauptbahnhof to search for cheaper bus lines and to ask for a ride share. I found nothing. So I talked to the Moroccans outside (this is when it's good to know a little French even in Germany) who told me I should go to the homeless shelter for 1 night and then try to get a ticket tomorrow.

I didn't do that.

Instead I went back to the station to see when the next 'cheap' train fare would be available. Turns out if I waited until Sunday I could get to Berlin for only €64. Still far more than I was expecting if I wanted this rate I would have to buy the ticket at some point before 8pm that night. So I had some thinking to do. I posted some last minute requests on Couch Surfing and now I had to play the waiting game.

I'd been told Cologne had more and cheaper hostels but the Internet revealed that this was a lie. So I did what any traveller in my situation would do. I bought some cheap beer and sat on a park bench.

Behind me there was a skate shop\record shop that I thought might be nice to check out, so I finished me beer and took a walk inside. I looked around, and on my way out asked if the store clerk (a 24 year old named Geronimo) if he knew of any hostels in Koblenz. Turns out there is only one and it's €18 a night. But he said he'd let me use the Internet at his shop if I wanted!

It was while surfing the net here that I got a call from a CS host who said she could host me, but not until the following evening. So now I had to find a place for tonight. The search was one and I was diligently running through all of my options when Geronimo politely informed me that he was closing the shop. I was screwed, but Geronimo told me to wait a moment while he made a phone call. Homeless himself he had nowhere he could let me crash, but after a phone call to his boss he assured me I would not be out on the street, I could in fact crash in his store's back room where he would be spending the night.

Crisis averted I went back to the station to buy my €64 ticket at which point I was told I could go to Berlin for a mere €25 if I didn't mind taking the slow train and having the 6 hour trip stretch into an 11 hour trek. I didn't mind and so with ticket in hand, I set off to the Circus Maximus to buy a burger and relax.

6 hours after arriving in a strange city without anywhere to stay and no idea where I was going or what was going to happen to me the Universe once again smiled upon me and I was spared a chilly evening on the banks of the Rhine.

Oktoberfest

2008-10-02T12:05:00.000+01:00

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

I'm not going today! Aside from the beer I had this morning for breakfast (it was a traditional Bavarian breakfast apparently, and was composed of white sausage, white beer, and big ass pretzels. It was pretty damned good too!) I will be giving the drink a bit of a miss today. Instead I think I'll try to take it easy and do some corresponding with the folks back home.

Time for a recap . . .

2008-09-29T16:15:00.001+01:00

For the moment I'm in Frankfurt (as pictured above) but will be leaving for München and Oktoberfest tomorrow. So far this has pretty much been the pace of the trip. Quick! We stayed in London for 3 nights at a hostal in Lewisham. It was even more awesome than you#d have imagnied. Folks there were awesome and Richard and I had some great times!

Now we're in Frankfurt and things are just as great! Last night we went out to try some local apple wine and some traditional Frankfurt foods. What we got was a 10 liter jug (it's the smallest they had) of apple wine and a HUGE plate os meat layed over a bed of saurkraut. Seriously, it was a plate of meat! Sausages, ham, whatever! It was delicious! And much to my dismay and misinformation it cost €11.50.

Today we forced ourselves to wake up before 2pm and are going to go walking and exploring for a bit.

It's the theme song.

2008-09-18T20:31:00.002+01:00

Put this in your I-Pod, I dare you!

On the road again . . .

2008-09-08T17:50:00.000+01:00

Yes folks, it's that time again. The time to cast off the shackles of daily life in Canada in favor of adventure in Europe. A time to gain, a time to lose. A time to rend, a time to sew. A time to love, a time to hate. A time for peace, I swear it's not to late. But enough of this rhetoric, it's for the byrds!

My plans thus far are as follows . . .

23rd - Departure to London, England
24th - Arrive in London, England
27th - Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany
30th - Arrive in Munich for the last week of Oktoberfest
Sometime after that - Some other stuff

Yes, I find the secret of successful travel is to have a carefully laid out itinerary.

August Post!!

2008-08-29T02:49:00.003+01:00

Shoot! I almost missed a month!

Here's the most of it!

2008-07-18T20:28:00.000+01:00

I've been trying to find a way to post some of the 'best of' pictures from my year abroad. (that's the year I spent in Europe, not the year I spent as a woman. The pictures from THAT year are well hidden and for a good reason!)

So here's what I've got so far . . .

http://www.flickr.com/groups/799465@N20/pool/

I still have to post Norway, the Netherlands, Scotland and Wales and to compoung my frustration, I'll have to wait 'till next month to friggin upload them too thanks to the fact that I don't wanna buy a 'Pro' account!

All that aside, it is now time to look on dear friends. To vicariously bask in the Portuguese sun, to marvel at my adventures, and enjoy a few of the highlights of my year abroad!

'Tis a storm a brewin'

2008-07-17T02:12:00.000+01:00

So it's been a while eh?

Today I had a haphazard 'what the hell is going on here anyway?' type of work day where nothing was planned and I just kind of ran all over the place. First laying sod in the thunder and lightening and then doing the same in the dry sweltering heat. But I did finish early . . .

And came home and juggled. I should have mowed the lawn but I couldn't be arsed. I'm hoping to borrow the 'big' mower from work anyway to make things a little easier!