fear & loathing from a remote city: December 2004

Friday, December 31

things are happening...

i know i've been a bit slack with the updates, but if you want to see what's been happening in my always eventful life, check out mikeandkings.com. there's a bunch of photos up there, as well as bits and pieces about what i've been up to.

but a quick update -- xmas has been and gone - i was spolit and was given an iPod from pingu, who also surprised me by arriving here in new york. xmas was an eventful day of drinking and what-not - everyone (that'd be cam, erin, julls & craig, plus kara, prue kings and myself) came here for lunch/drinking all day. after they left, my good friend katrina (who is a friend from london, thou she's actually from the gold coast..) popped in. and noelle and cori dropped by at about 12:30am for some more cocktails. all in all, it was a fun filled day, thou we didnt get any snow for xmas.

on boxing day i headed up to connecticut again, this time to cornwall bridge, somewhere i havent been in 14 years - i went skiing up there which was fantastic, even thou i crashed and burned, and my knee has been sore since (i can walk properly now though, so there's no permanent damage).

we've been having some great dinners here too - last nite we went to the coffee shop bar in union square for dinner and drinks - we'd had cocktails there before, so decided to try the food - and i'm really glad we did - it was great!

anyways - that's the news for the moment...i'll be heading up to boston on january 4th i think, then i'll probably be off to new hampshire, montreal, ottawa and arriving in toronto on january 10th.

leave me some comments so i have something to read :P

ciao
mike

Wednesday, December 22

start spreading the news...

new york is a blast! it's been damn freezing these past few days - yesterday with the wind chill it was about -21 degrees c - walking around felt like my face was going to fall off! but, we managed through it all in the end.

yesterday we went on the nbc tour. unfortunately, we haven't managed to get tickets to conan, but you never know - we could still hunt him down some time soon.

noelle came over last nite for a few dinner and drinks. so...prue and noelle, two of my best friends from the opposite sides of the planet finally got to meet. we sat around the apartment for a few hours, chatting about old times, slowly getting drunk, and falling asleep...

today we woke late, wandered down to the bus and headed downtown to ground zero - it was a little surreal seeing the site where two of the worlds tallest buildings once stood...it was more strange that people were standing there having their pictures taken, smiling...the fact that it's now a tourist spot seems wrong.

but after that, we grabbed a pizza slice and walked down to battery park to see shazza, also known as the statue of liberty. hopefully we'll get around to catching the boat out to the island in the next few days.

so that's been my day. how are you? new york is pretty similar to london in many ways but there are a lot of differences. we're heading out for dinner soon so i'll say bye for now.

a quick note to paul - call our apt. number that prue just messaged you. sorry, i ran out of credit.

post some comments for me to read :)

ciao ----- mike

Sunday, December 19

fear & loathing: crossing the atlantic

well friends, it's official: traveldeskguy has crossed the divide - bridged the waters between the UK and US and set off on a whirl-wind tour of northern america. i'll be sure to update the header image in the next few days.

i flew out from heathrow monday afternoon, arriving slightly delayed but in full spirit monday night. former traveldesk worker noelle was there with cori (her best friend) to pick me up and drag me off around new york city, out to jersey for gas, wah-wah and taco bell, and then back to long island to rest up for the night.

we headed into the city wednesday night to see craig and julls (2 good friends from back home who were also in NY for xmas) only to be greeted at the door by none other than mr cameron edwards and his wife erin! now, this had been planned for some time, and everyone - EVERYONE - knew about it except for me. yet again, traveldeskguy had a great surprise.

with the screaming and laughter and hugs etc out of the way, we had a fab dinner at the olive garden in times square, julls needed to be carried home after a "it was the tim tams!" moment, and the rest of us drank a bit more before heading home.

noelle dropped me back in the city on thurs morning and i dumped my stuff in the guys' apt. and we headed out to central park. craig, julls and i decided a shopping expedition was in order, and promptly bought new jeans and some new games for the old SP.

i won't bore you too much longer, but yesteday craig and i went on yet another shopping trip, this time to barneys, and, prue, just for you, i had to buy a diesel jacket. craig almost fell over when he saw it (and was a little pissed he didn't find it first) but i figured it was MY turn for a cool jacket!

after this little bit of retail therapy i had to find grand central to get to milford (milf to the guys), connecticut for a wedding (which is taking place in about 3 and a half hours from now). the train trip took me through harlem and countless other places - an hour and a bit later, i jumped off the train to be greeted by my sister aimee, her husband michael and the bride-to-be missy.

i now find myself with instant family - last nite was the rehersal, with pizza and beer following at cindy and joe's place (missy's folks) - and it was like a family reunion. i was here about 14 years ago, and bits and pieces of that trip keep flowing back. would be nice to have my mum here to relive this, but unfortunately she couldn't make the trip. so i have to put up with my sister and bro-in-law all by myself.

anyways - that's where we're at for the moment. i'll be sure to keep posting when i get a chance. remember to check out mikeandkings.com for photos, more news, the guestbook etc.

oh, and i have a US cell now so...mail me if you want the number.

ciao for now...

mike

Friday, December 10

client party

tonite is the generator client party. basically, all the booking agents, tour people etc that book through the gen come down, talk to staff, and everyone gets a little messy...except me, cause i'm sitting here, on my very last shift, at least for the next 3 months.

i worked the old day job till 8pm, run to the tube, got home about 8.40pm, ran upstairs, grabbed my shirt, and ran back downstairs with my laptop for the second shift of the day - 8.45 - midnight. man i can't wait for this holiday!

i keep thinking, in 4 days time i'll be on a plane, in 6 days time i'll be wandering around new york...next weeked i'll be at a wedding in connecticut...ahh it's going to be a lot of fun.

i have to say congratulations and good luck to my uncle and his soon to be wife. andrew and holly are getting hitched on saturday back home this weekend, and although i can't be there in person, i hope they know i'll be there in spirit.

with my leaving getting so close, and this being my last shift, it's time for a bit of a rant...i have 30 mintes left, so i'll be cutting it fine...

a) if you can't find something after 3 seconds of walking into a room, try opening your eyes and having a damn look! it's not that hard.

b) you buy dinner from the chef, who's in the kitchen (it's the place with the big ovens), not the traveldesk.

c) to find the bar, toilet, phone, tv, reception etc...see point a.

d) if you bought a phonecard, try reading the instructions before you start abusing me for selling you something that doesn't work. it does work - you're just an idiot!

ok, just one more...it just came to me cause it's happening -

e) if you want to get drunk and angry, don't pick a fight with staff...you'll always lose and end up sleeping on the street.

my last shift has gone to hell so i'm signing off...

ciao for now from the traveldesk -- fear & loathing for northern america will be online soon

traveldeskguy - mike

Wednesday, December 8

i can almost taste the plane food

in just a few days, i'll be sitting on a plane heading to new york, new york - the place is so nice they named it twice! anyway...it will mark the end of my current stint in london, allbeit for only 3 months. but it will also mark the start of a whole new thing - my north american adventure.

with only a few days left, i have a crap load to organise - and that's tomorrow, my one 'day' off (though i start work at 7pm). so tomorrow will be insurance organising, buying bits and pieces one needs when travelling (more socks and boxers etc) plus getting trained up for my travelling job.

it's been offered to me to sign hostels up to hostelbookers.com, which is owned by gernerator directors louise and kingsley (another one, not mr faulkner). for every hostel i sign up i get a commission so when i get back to london at the end of february, with any luck i'll have a nice little nest egg waiting for me - so that skiing trip to bulgaria may not be so far off after all...

i'm not going to be all reflective on the last 14 months living in london (i think i bored you with that last week didn't i?) but i will say this - if you've never come and lived here, or at least visited london for a fair amount of time, get your ass here today! london is one of the greatest cities in the world - she's a cruel mistress, and one that won't be tamed, but damn can she have some fun!