I fail to be inspired.

Delete delete delete....

I start typing.. and then.. hit it again...

Delete delete delete....

Since I fail to be inspired lately, I'm just going to work on some free association (i.e. ramble) and record my latest experiences so I can look back at it in the future.

Today I spent most of the day in bed. Hungover. I was thinking about how I should really appreciate this time since I can actually do this - In bed, doing nothing, being lazy, sleeping, and catching up on episodes of Californiacation with no worries in the world.

I'm annoyed by this choppy p2p feed of the Bears game. Not exactly HDTV. Instead, pixelated, choppy video, using a program that crashes once in a while, viewing the game on a 12 inch laptop screen.

Impro has started again, but most of the "players" I started with from the beginning did not sign up for another term. =(

While some of my friends will be enduring probably one of the toughest mental and physical challenges of their lives next weekend in the Chicago marathon, I will be drinking copious amounts of beer in Oktoberfest in Munich. Best of luck to all of them. I wish I was there to support all of you, but instead I'll raise my stein of beer to celebrate your successful finish!

The problem with the indoor smoking ban in London is when you go to a very packed club like Tiger Tiger. The air circulation is so bad you can really smell the BO and vomit. Ironically, I prefer the scent of cigarettes smoke.

I wish I was in Chicago to celebrate the Cubs clinching the division. Instead I take it all in by reading all the articles I can find and searching for images/video capturing the celebration on the internet.

I've watched two foreign films in the last month. Not just on DVD, but actually going to a proper theater! Nothing like trying new things!

I enjoyed the 5 hour visit from Heidi and Jenny last night. They "stopped by" in a layover on their way back to Chicago. Activites included: Fries at BK, hitching a ride in a cycle rickshaw, drinks at Hakkasan, walking aimlessly, and Chinese food. Sorry for my drunken ramblings!

And finally, I bought my tickets back home for the holidays for half the cost I paid last year! Speaking of which there is an American Airlines Europe Fare Sale going on right now! $428 + tax to London. That's cheap! So come and visit!

Good weekend after a rough week.

It was one of those dreadful weeks. It was about a 50 hour work week, and I was just wishing for the weekend to come sooner than later. In fact, the past two weeks have been pretty rough, which explains my lack of blogging.

Fortunately, the weekend started a bit early with a bit of partying on Thursday, which led to the longest day ever on Friday, especially with a hangover! But no rest for the weary as I hit the pub again on Friday and went clubbing on Saturday.


I'm knackered.

Highlights?

Watched England get rocked losing in Rugby 36-0 against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup. (Did you know the rugby world cup was going on? Didn't think so.) The best part of this was a colleague attempted to explain to me what the hell was going on. Ironically, it was his first time watching a rugby game when a team had scored nil. In this case, sadly, it was England. Despite gaining some understanding of Rugby, American football is way better! And just in case you wanted to know, America is also participating in the world cup. Unfortunately, they are 0-2.

Watching European sport continued as I went to my 2nd Football game! (First one being in February watching Fulham) A former colleague invited me to watch West Ham vs. Middlesbrough. Unfortunately, Middlesbrough lost 3-0. But they had three really close goals. It was an away game for Middlesbrough, my colleagues favourite team, and well, we were in the visitor's section. Very interesting to say the least! Lots of chanting against Middlesbrough and well, the good ol' banter! I wore red to mix in with the other away fans. And the weather was brilliant!

A good time clubbin at Favela Chic! For some reason, its a big difference when you go clubbing with the opposite sex! Maybe because you're guaranteed a dancing buddy for the whole night!
It was a good crowd and awesome music.

And finally, Sunday, watched some F1, caught a movie, and now staying up late, blogging, and watching American Football, cheering on the Bears on p2p streaming video on Sopcast!

I haven't had a nice well rounded weekend in London like this one in a long time.

Tube strike and 2 years

You don't really know how important the "underground" or tube is in London until you experience a tube strike.

Luckily I live in the docklands and take the DLR into work. I transfer to one of the lines that are affected, but I also have the option to walk instead of a transfer.

10 lines or about two-thirds of the tube network are affected by the strike and you can really see the difference. Traffic is absolutely crazy, and the sidewalks are full of so many people walking to work. I think its estimated that 3.2 million people use the underground to get to work. The tube strike is considered the worst in a decade!

In other news, last Friday marked my two year anniversary since my move from the States. I have a handful of goals in mind that I'll probably list here for sake of reference in the future:

Travel Hitlist:

• More Italy: Florence, Naples, Pompeii


• More Spain: Bilbao, Toledo


• France: The Alps!


• Istanbul, Turkey


• Edinburgh, Scotland


• Lisbon, Portugal


• One of the Scandinavian countries

That's my shortlist anyway. If possible, I'd like to hit one of the major Asian countries. Another visit to the PI, and perhaps a stop over to visit an old colleague in Tokyo. We'll see.

There are other goals as usual. Take more fun classes, just like impro. Picking up a new language such as French/Italian is in the works, maybe cooking courses, or more acting!

Of course, I'll try to keep up the blogging as much as I can! Here's to another year of memorable experiences!

Thanks again to all my loyal readers.