back in the uk

didnt say much about scotland did i? oooh boy there were a lot of bagpipe buskers, yes indeedy. troy ate haggis it was boring. i ate a deep fried mars bar and it was delicious. loch ness was also boring, no monster - who would have guessed? went to glasgow and hung out with an old comrade sarah, saw the grates (again!) and got very drunk with her and her partner matt, laughed and cried about tommy sheridan, australian politics and life.
now we're back in london and have settled down to work finally. its kind of a bummer. maybe i should find some rich benefactor so i can just travel constantly.
we've found a place to live in sudbury hill, its out in the suburbs but at least its got 2 tube stations. its a multicultural little share house with john, yoshiko, graham and andy. john and yoshiko are quite a funny couple, kinda stereotypical - he's a larrikanish irish guy who tells stories of various misadventures from his drinking days, and shes a very organised japanese woman who cops a bit of flak for being the 'dishes-nazi' but shrugs it off, somehow it works. she works for sega and brings home the latest games whenever they finish one, which graham (the south african) plays in the lounge room a lot, swearing at the tv. i'm a bit worried about coming out as a commie given grahams history as a recruit in the war in angola (where various pro-american south africans fought the pro-soviet cubans) dont want to trigger any bad memories! i still havent seen much of andy the korean guy, he works two jobs and keeps to himself a lot (not in a creepy way, i think he's just shy!)
troys joined the epsom extra b's rugby side, i've watched one game, nothing like a bunch of blokes jumping all over each other. i dont really understand the game so when troy talks tactics with me i just smile and nod. i joined a soccer team, and went to training last week. there were about 20 people there! so i hope i get to play a whole game at least once this season but probably not if i perform the way i did at training. i am not cut out for midfield! but we went and had a curry after training and the team are all pretty nice so it'll be a laugh anyway.

bring her back

while im moaning about the loss of sleater-kinney i thought i'd moan about how i miss willow.
i watched date movie the other day, it was a real low point let me tell ya. i felt dirty afterwards but i just miss her. ok ive also been watching 'how i met your mother' which is one of those lame american sitcoms with ally in it , but alas it is not the same. this is probably the longest time i've gone without watching buffy for a good six years, and i'm really feeling it. tv in the uk is crap.

why do good things never wanna stay

indefinite hiatuses suck :(

the great outdoors

ah camping. great for fresh air, simple living, and being at one with nature.
we were on the isle of skye in a lovely place called sligachan, with some dramatic mountain scenery, and a lovely little loch nearby. it was a fairly quiet little campsite, just us and a few other tents, a couple, a family and one woman with a fly net on. we chuckled at her extreme attire, wondering why some people camp with so much paraphernalia.
we had a nice meal in the local pub and i trotted off to the shower to be nice and fresh for the next days adventures.
and then they ambushed me. i was set upon by swarm of angry insects, known as 'midges'. i ran quickly back to the tent, undid the zip and jumped in, frantically trying to close the door behind me. troy asked ' didnt you even try to lose them?' pointing to the swarm which had accompanied me, now buzzing all around inside the tent ceiling. 'you're supposed to run around in circles, and then get in' he said, as if this was common knowledge.
we spent the next hour of fading light hunting them down one by one and squishing them between our fingers. they're small little bastards, about the size of those little fruit flies, but far more vicious. troy got badly bitten:

and spent the next several days complaining about it. i recommended we stop at a chemist and get some anti-itch cream but he's a man of course, so wouldnt hear of such a thing. instead he plotted elaborate schemes to avoid them, took all of his meals sitting in the car, and insisted i set up and take down the tent because they didnt seem to like me as much. i eventually got him some repellant, what works best isn't your normal aerogard type thing but this avon moisturiser called skin-so-soft, which i picked up at a local service station.
troy smothered himself nightly and his face and hands in particular became luxuriously soft and supple. nothing like a camping trip for that extra bit of pampering every man needs.