family guy
i'm going to watch an ep in a minute...but, before that. today is thursdau. tomorrow if friday, i work at 7pm, then saturday work 8-4 then i'm off till the following friday till 7pm...ooohhh yeah, time off is going to rock.
i dont have anything of any interest to say tonite, so i'll bore you for 5 more seconds beofre i go...tomorrow is camden town for halloween costume and piercing shopping. should be a bit of fun!
i'll be back tomorrow...someone leave me some comments about what i should do with my week off. i have nothing except for packing crap up for the trip in 45 days...so give me some ideas (in london, preferably...i dont have the cashola to be trekking around the globe atm).
until then.....
tdg
server probs
sorry for the lack of pictures...the server with the pics is down at the moment, so everything there (mikeandkings.com) is not working. hopefully this will be re-booted in the next few hours.
took a nerdy look at codename longhorn tonite online (here). it looks pretty cool. hopefully one of my friends will install it and blow up their machine :P
pretty boring today. work, more work. henrik (our swedish chef) thought it would be fun to close my laptop lid with a pen and a highlighter sitting by the keyboard...hopefully the dead pixels won't stay.
next week will be good -- i've taken my final 5 days of holidays at the day job -- so i can either sleep in, get stuff organised to send home/store/take with me to the states, or i could go to ireland. i'm not sure which i will do. it's half term (school holidays) starting this weekend so flights aren't that cheap. not hideous, but not 59p + tax either.
so 5 days off both jobs...what is the traveldeskguy to do?
new things
having a few probs uploading to the server atm, so the image below is broken...sorry. hopefully it'll be fixed tomorrow.
i had 4 days off the traveldesk, and so much happened, it's a little crazy. in desk news, we've got 2 new computers (thou i'm still on my trusty lappy), so now we've got a whole new system, new way of running the desk. everything is computerised which is pretty cool, but it also means figuring out what we're doing (but it's not too difficult). we've also got a heap of new products (and more to come) - these include stamps, thongs (sorry, flip-flops), we finally got alarm clocks back into stock, disposable razors, cold and flu stuff and t-shirts. soon, there'll be beer, food, coffee, ponchos, gloves, ear plugs...we're getting fully stocked up! no disposable enemias thou...
in non-desk stuff, a mate of mine from home came over to lunners last week. al's staying with my friend kings over in tower hill and got here on saturday afternoon. it was like old times pretty quickly, with kings, al and myself tucking into a 2pm beer as soon as i got over there. we headed out through the rain down to tower bridge for a few more and some lunch, then off to trev's house warming in kilburn.
this house party was pretty cool, if a little odd. it was almost like being back in high school. can't really place it, but i'll paint a quick picture: house party, drinking big cans of beer, sitting around chatting to perfect strangers whilst munching on chips and cheese...the cops rocked up at about 11pm which added that extra bit of high school flavour, thou fortunately it wasn't that roudy.
anyways, after the cool/strange party, kings and i headed home (we left al in kilburn - he was...busy - nothing like leaving your mate in a random house in a foreign city!) i got back to the gen, had a few more drinks, played guitar till 5am and crashed for a good while. sunday, as i've said before, is funday, and it was about time to introduce al to the boys.
we got there a little later than usual, but after a few beers and laughs the day was rolling along pretty well. we were sitting in belushi's drinking corona's watching the rain fall outside, when this little smart car parked rite out the front. smart cars are those tiny little half-electro cars that look like there'd blow away in a strong wind. the driver was having such a hard time parking this thing - the space was huge and the car tiny keep in mind - so phil came up with the great idea of picking the car up and moving it onto the side walk.
i wasn't sure whether this would work or not, but hey, what the hell right? so garth goes out to 'test' the cars weight - with a beer in one hand, he leans down and grabs the rim with his other...but alas, too heavy. so phil wanders out to help and both of them, one hand each, grab the rim a lift it a tiny bit...of course we got bored of the idea after they decided it was too much effort, but just seeing them grabing this car with one hand thinking it would lift...gold! al's got a pic, so i'll be sure to upload it.
b @ 1 followed for cocktails -- this week, we headed for the usual suspects in grasshoppers and rum runners, as well as a few squirrels, a bit of harvey, long islands, and something else that i just can't remember...i think phil ended up yacking at some point (he, garth and rick drank all saturday night at phil's place, and then started pretty early on sunday) so he left, and after this mass consumption of delicious beverages, the rest of us headed back to the gen for a final drink.
all in all a great 2 days off. it had been about 6 weeks since i'd had my last decent day off, so it was very much enjoyed. al's here till next tuesday, so this coming weekend (i'm off sunday again!!) should be a lot of fun too - with any luck there may even be a party at kings's place!
now playing: sasha - involver (i'm loving this album at the moment)
results are in...
poll number 1 is done, and here's the results:
disposable enemias for all!!!
excitement +
this is how exciting my life is at the moment: i cut out a new map of london, got it laminated, and now it's lying on the desk next to me...and i was excited about it.
day number 5 in a row in the desk. sleep is something that i've missed for a while, but i think it's slowly getting to that critical level where i'll be walking home from work and i'll just fall asleep on the road. that would actually make a pretty decent story...
so this weekend, i had a plan to sleep for 36 hours and catch up, but al (better known as jeebs), my good friend from back home, will be arriving in london on friday afternoon...so i'm sure that there'll be plenty of drinking, partying all nite, clubs, pubs, bars, box socials.....but i can't see me catching up on a lot of sleep.
i launched traveldeskguys bootleg videos at the weekend. basically, everyone was borrowing my movies to watch, and i was losing track of who had what. so...brian and i came up with the idea of memberships, cards...i even made applications. maybe i mentioned this before? oh well...you can read it again. i'm sort of losing track of a lot at the moment, so just bare with me...
traveldeskguy is suffering from temporary insanity -- we'll be back to normal by the weekend...
who's a lucky boy then?
this pic is from the staff party on October 6th. there's a few more pics here
i'm very slowly going insane
maybe it's all these hours i'm working, or other crap going on, but i think the above is true. i'm 6 and a half hours into my 9 hour shift, and already i'm going crazy.
but there's no one around, we've sold hardly anything all weekend. the bar is apparently dead (i can't really see it from here)...odd considering we're fully booked.
jan juts brought me a redbull - maybe this will perk me up. i got some mixing software today so that's been keeping me entertained for a bit. but i need more tracks. any thoughts?
oh, vote in my new weekly poll. this week: what one new product should we sell in the traveldesk?
news from the desk
so a lot has happened this week. apart from my 16 hour shift on sunday -- no one ended up coming to cover, so i worked 8am till midnight -- there's been a few changes. the major one is that BTC, the backpackers travel centre, the company that did all the bookings through the desk, is no more. earlier this week news came through that btc had folded, so decisions had to be made as to what the desk would become.
these decisions came pretty fast - the traveldesk remains (yay!!) but instead of booking tours around europe and the world, the main functions of the desk are the shop (which is as it was before, but we'll be getting a lot of new products soon), and the hostelbookers booking desk. so if you're in london, and want to book a hostel somewhere, come see me, and i'll book it for you.
so the desk is looking slightly different, but we remain all the same.
but decisions have to be made as to what we should sell...i'm thinking beer. beer is everyones friend. and hopefully we'll be getting some fridges in here soon for this (does that mean i can drink on the job? :P) but we'll also be selling t-shirts and what i hope is a whole range of wonderful products that we've been thinking about selling for some time now.
we're full up here at the gen this weekend..i don't think there's a free bed in the place, which for a hostel with 7 floors and over 900 beds is no small thing. and it's not that strange that we're full. it's hard to remember a weekend where we weren't now. i just keep wondering who keeps inviting all these people to come and stay in my house. they make a huge mess, never clean up after themselves, but i guess i can't complain too much. they do keep me employed here right?
but even with all these people staying here, it doesn't seem to be that busy. that said, the discoparty planned for tonite has hit the back burner for the time being.
other news from the gen of late: russ (he's a friend of mine who stays here) was trying to force dave (another friend) to eat a gigantic spoon-full of spagetti last nite, to the point where dave refused, and russ tipped it all over him. but being the gentleman russ is, he threw a glass of water in dave's face to help him clean up!
not to be out down, dave snuck into russ's room, looking to steal some things (on a very temporary basis, just really to piss him off a little really). when he couldn't find his laptop, he looked around a little more, found the only clothes he had out, alond with his locker keys, phone etc and took these. that being said, russ had a pair of boxers and that's about it to run around trying to find dave for this stuff.
so russ borrowed some clothes, and ran around the hostel for an hour or so looking to kill dave...i'm still not sure if he found him, but i think he got all his stuff back. i'm kinda looking forward to russ's comeback, cause you just know he'll be planning something pretty big!
also in the last few days, nick, a NZ guy who's been here as long as i have (over 12 months) was happily sleeping, when one of his roommates mistook nick and his bed for the bathroom. this guy apparently rolled out of bed, whipped it out, and proceeded to piss all over nick while he was sleeping.
nick woke up, realised what was going on, went completely mental and dragged the guy upstairs to get hime thrown out (and i think/hope he had a shower straight after...and change his bed). os the guy gets thrown out, and all is good. but he came back! i'm not sure exactly, but i think he's here right now, and if nick finds him, it'll be amusing for all to watch.
funnie thing about this is that it's not the first time it's happened. well, first time to nick i'm sure, but - if you dig around the net i'm sure you'll find a story about a former guest who was pissed on and vowed never to come back!
but that's half the fun of the gen. you never know what's going to happen. maybe i'm one of the lucky ones - never been pissed on while i'm sleeping...i think if i was you'd hear me yelling all the way back home in perth! haha
one final news thing - i've made traveldeskguys bootleg video cards for all my friends who keep borrowing my videos. i figure we'll make a card, then i can track where they're all going! the card is gold...i'll think about getting an image up soon...
still loathing, or; will this shift ever end, 10 hours and going strong?!
one of the backpackers is generally rostered on to work the traveldesk on sunday from 4pm till midnight. this is how it's been for about 2 months now. this week, dean was fired from his job as a backpacker, and it seems the little old travel desk was forgotten about, becuase i'm still sitting here at 8 minutes to 6! so much for covent garden (or lunch for that matter!)
because dean was fired, jan and brian are both rostered to work as backpackers, which leaves me, well, here.
fortunately, i actually get to leave in 6 minutes. that is, the bar should be reasonably quiet, so jan will cover here and brian will work the bar, while i go and eat and maybe trott down to covent for a few drinks...maybe i'll just sleep.
should i have stayed working, or should i have just closed the desk? did i stay just so i could bitch about it? probably...plus i've been waiting for my download to finish. i think i care about my traveldesk too much.
there's about 45 people in reception, all trying to check in. i think it's a german group.
did i write my rant about the australian election yet? i think i forgot to do that yesterday...and i'm too tired to do it now. needless to say, it wasn't a good result. i'll get some thoughts together and post about that on thursday.
i'll be online a fair bit this coming week/end. fellow traveldesker steve has his anniversary, so i rostered him off from thursday till the following tuesday so i'll be working 5 days straight. in return, i get his first born, and a virginal sacrifice - should be a lot of fun!
where's jan -- i want to eat......
the shunning
i spoke to former traveldesk worker (and one of my best friends in the world) noelle last nite. the conversation went something like:
"so...have you heard from bobby?"
"well, yeah i got 2 personal emails and then those group ones"
"um, what? group emails? i'm not even getting group emails?!"
"oh, um...."
"ooh he's getting shunned!! that's it!!!!"
or something like that.
oh, and i got a call from richie last nite at 1am. richie, for anyone who doesn't know used to work here - for about a year! he was the events supervisor and went back home to newcastle (uk not aust.) a few months back. anyway, nothing like a chatting to an old mate at 1am when you can hardly understand what they're saying.
i finished work at midnight yesterday and decided it was time for a pint or three. then went to bed a little later than planned, and had to get up for my 8am shift today...it could've been worse - i could've got no sleep whasoever. at least i got a few hours.
once again it's funday...do i go out. i have 30 minutes left here, and could quicky chuck a shirt on and mosey down to covent garden to meet up with ppl. but do i have the energy today? do i want to spend all that money? well, of course i DO want to go, but should i? i haven't slept much in the past week cause of this and that, maybe i should rest up, watch shark hunt and fall asleep early?
then again, i could just go to covent garden...
traveldeskguy was on hiatus
i'm baaaack. i only worked monday this week, so haven't posted since. but an hour ago i started my 17 hours in the desk this weekend, so i'm sure i'll get around to putting a few bits and pieces here!
wednesday was the gen staff party - a night of drunkeness unmatched by many! i think that giving backpackers, especially those that work for a hostel, free alcohol foran entire night is something that should happen every week! i don't quite remember everything, but i do remember drinking a crap load, playing pool for half the night, dancing for a bit...scene missing...playing guitar till 4am and passing out in the small hours of thursday morning. there's some photos i should put up today or tomorrow if i can be bothered - i'll post a link when i get around to that.
work the next day wasn't as bad as i'd thought - i started at 12 so it wasn't all bad. but by 8pm when i finished i was seeing through time. everything and nothing was happening, and i didn't care either way. i went to BRB in china town to meet up with people, but only stayed for 2 cocktails before i headed home...sad, i know, but hell, i was tired!
one of my travelling friends, anke from germany, has landed in london. she's staying with kings till tuesday - was great to catch up again, but it's a shame i'm working all weekend. we all almost went to fabric last nite (i had 3 free vip tickets and all) but decided against it. you can't really chat while you're jumping around dancing like a maniac. so shots all round, guitar till 3 then bed for me. i lost my voice so i could hardly talk let alone sing, but was still good fun.
i need to make one comment completely off topic, and it goes to bobby -- the little bitch who left and has emailed everyone at least once, except me...now, call me bitter, but what the fuck? where's my mail boyo? huh? pppffft whatever...
enough rambling, i think i need coffee.
now listening to: john butler
sunday is funday!
ok, so i'm an idiot. i didn't buy a brand new wireless mouse and expect the batteries to die in 4 weeks...but hey, there you go. but really, it wasn't until the light stopped working that i thought maybe the batteries needed changing. well, i thought about it, but considering the light was still on before, how could the batteries be dead? oh well, i know for next time i guess.
yesterday was funday, that wonderful day of drinking that only occurs once every week. funday normally takes place in convent garden, and yestreday was, of course, no exception. blueshie's for 2 for 1 corona's, then on to henry's to catch up with wes (former gen bar man) for some cocktails, before heading to b@1 for2 for 1 cocktails until closing at about 11.
the cocktail bar b@1 is one of those special places that you only find by chance, or are invited to to join in the special celebrations there. the menu is a novel of cocktails, one that pingu would admire. from champagne to gin, vodka, specials, classics...it's truely something that is appreciated by the regulars (many of whom grace the walls in photos). anyway, b@1 is always one of the highlights of the weekends, and yesterday was as good as ever.
i didn't realise how drunk i was until i got home, and after the obligitory pizza decided it was more than the perfect time to retire to the penthouse suite for the nite. fortunately i didn't wake up with a hideous hangover -- but that could be put down to the litre or so of orange juice i woke up and drank at about 3am, and the 500ml of water i had at around 4:30.
tomorrow is my 12 months in london - nothing too extraordinary i know, but still a bit of a milestone. and wednesday sees the generator staff party...i'll let you know what happens when i work next (saturday) - it should give me enough time to recompose myself and string a sentence or two together.
rodent problems
i bought a wireless optical mouse about a month ago. it's tiny and was perfect for my laptop. that is until tonite, when it decided it wasn't going to work anymore. why? that's a damn good question!
so, i uninstalled it, then rebooted. then reinstalled it and rebooted. then realigned the id for it - at least i tried, but to no avail! my mouse decided it was going to take a long sleep.
so now i have the task of trying to get it replaced, on my only day off! which will probably also mean i'll need to find my receipt. which of course, i probably don't have anymore.
so if anyone has any helpful hints on how to make my mouse work, feel free to leave me a comment. here's what it does at the moment: put the receiver into the usb slot. turn mouse on, the optical light (that red bright thing underneath) glows really bright, but stays on, and nothing happens when you move the mouse.
in other news, the end of summer party was on wednesday night, which was a hugely drunken affair. i managed to piece the nite together with a series of blinks and the 189 photos i took...although there's still a half dozen pics that i have no recollection of whatsoever. so it must have been a good nite! i'll get some pics up somewhere at some point!
wednesday was also voting day for the traveldesk guy. being an australian living in london, i had to wander down to the strand to cast my vote in our federal election. as you can probably assume from my previous post, i'm not a fan of mr sheen, our current PM, so with any luck i did my part to get him out of the lodge!
one final note - this coming week - tuesday to be exact - will be my one year anniversary of arriving in london. so feel free to post your congratualtions, send presents (monetary payments are always welcome), and wish me luck for surviving two nights of drinking (the gen staff party is wednesday nite so it should be a fun week!)
ciao for now!
tdg
