No weeknote #6

Six weeks in and it's time to reflect. The success of this project has been that I have actually posted something each week for five weeks. This sort of regularity is pretty much unheard of in recent years. However it has brought me to consider content vs quality. I have always been an advocate of the latter, yet this style of posting reeks of content for content's sake. Last week's weeding out of spam comments took me back to a time when there was more to say and more time to say it.

The weeknote style is also more journal-like than I'm comfortable with. Back in the day I had my cosy Wellington readership - now I have no idea who's reading, and a bit more of an idea who's not. I'm very aware that there's not a lot going on here in the first place.

Weeknotes: a great idea, just not quite the right fit for me.

Weeknote #5

At home
The French had visitors most of last week, which necessitated a lot of indulgent nights for them, not so much for me. And now Mathieu is away all this week, so it's just me and the lovely Martial, who's just brought me a mug of peppermint tea. Perfect.

During the week I discovered that some nasty spammer had left a lengthy and nonsensical message on a recent blog post. It didn't worry me too much and at the least it was mildly amusing, in its total lack of sense. But then I realised the spam was repeated on no less than 45 posts! I've been cleaning it up in shifts, as blogger doesn't seem to provide an easy way to batch edit comments. Still, there's been an unexpected positive to this boring chore, as I wind up reading posts from years gone by and remembering events long forgotten. Mostly it's made me nostalgic for the days when I had the time to write, things to write about and the confidence to put it out there.

This morning as I watered my coriander seeds, I thought to myself, today is a good day for growing - and sure enough, this evening I found three tiny shoots beginning to peek through the soil! This makes me very happy. Remember when I lived in Wellington and the back yard was full of succulents grown from cuttings my brother gave me?

At work
My American colleague is in the States for a few weeks, so I took the opportunity to work from home for most of last week, and will probably do so again this week. As long as I manage to leave the house once or twice a day, it's very chilled out and pleasant. Various work projects are in the workhorse stage just now, with lots of effort required but not much to show for it - in a few days' time I think there will be progress to speak of.

On my mind is the fact that my current contract terminates in three and a half weeks. I hope that something decisive happens after that - something decisive resulting in a permanent job, even! That said, the uncertainty is no hardship. My only concern is that in order to carry out my plans for early next year, I am going to need to be able to start saving in the not-too-distant future. Make a stash, etc. And start repaying the many favours generous friends have shown me in recent months.

Out n about
Lovely dinner catch up at my local the Dove with Tom on Monday. Jailbreak to hang with my brother-in-law in Walthamstow on Weds evening. Caught up with Tim for the laptop handoff before heading sarf on Thurs for dinner with Mikey and co in Clapham North, followed by Dangerous Heresy at The Rest Is Noise in Brixton. Felt odd to be on the tube after travelling exclusively by bike for the last few weeks. Speaking of, I dealt with my bike-shop-man-induced paranoia about leaving the thing anywhere by getting insurance. It's only a fiver a month. Friday saw me chilling at home and then on Saturday after watching a tedious Australia vs Ghana match, Tom and I ventured down the market to the Dove. He was in mid-flow with the most preposterous tale when I realised we were sharing a table with the one and only Ian Hart...cue much excitement, gurning and crowing that it had been eleven and three quarter months since our last adventure!

I was a bit slow off the mark on Sunday but managed to get to Proud Gallery in Camden in time for kick off in the New Zealand vs Italy match. Some friends had hired a stable for us to watch the game, and it was a tense but most enjoyable 90+ minutes. Very impressed with the team, particularly the fabulous Paston.

Future happenings
Crazy to think that this time last year I was gearing up for Glastonbury - it seems to have come around a lot quicker this year. Not for me though - I'll be watching it on tv, or trying to ignore it - and anyway, Blondie is happening this weekend. I'm also excited about having made plans to attend Jane's birthday weekend in the Lakes District! Can't wait, although it's not until late next month and comes hot on the heels of some minor surgery. On my tongue. Guess how much I can't wait for that.

Weeknote #4

at home
Very little of note at home this week - although I did get around to planting the coriander yesterday - so I'll talk about today's Big Purchase: a bike! After a week of riding Teresa's, I am now the proud owner of a frankly awesome matte black Trek Soho. It's a single speed model, with a super-light aluminium frame so it's easy to carry up to my flat, and it goes fast! I had it fitted with mudguards and a carrier, and got all the accessories I could think of - lights, lock, helmet, gloves, high-vis jacket, and panniers are in the mail. No more public transport for me as far as I can help it - I need to make this purchase worthwhile!

at work
Busy times at work with a campaign launch that I only learned of on Friday and which went live this evening - so I spent rather more hours working this weekend than I would like. Still, I think it looks good and it's great to be learning how it all works.

My colleague from the States (for whom I must dream up a good alias) has returned home for fortnight, so I've got the place to myself. This may mean a move to the corner office and its super-sized monitor - I'm talking serious real estate here - or it may mean a few days' working from home. We'll see.

out n about
Menomena on Monday at the Hoxton Square Bar were really lovely (and so were the bar staff). They reminded me a little of Kings of Leon, minus heads-up-arse, and also leaning towards the axis of Fleet Foxes/ Grizzly Bear. It was a fun night, and great to catch up with Matt of Grillpanda fame and talk all things Songkick with him and his crew at the Electricity Showrooms.

Thursday saw me back at the old stomping grounds of Berners St, for an MMF seminar/networking event. There were presentations by my friend Chris at PRS for Music on the state of the industry, and also Mathias from Myspace fielded questions on Myspace Music. My favourite part was meeting former mclusky manager Craig, who had some great stories to tell. I love hearing good industry stories - which reminds me, Gilbey has lent me a Led Zep bio which apparently must be read to be imagined *rubs hands in glee* and one day I shall read it.

I saw Dangerous Heresy at the Bull & Gate on Friday, and they were rockin' as ever. I thoroughly recommend checking them out this Thursday at The Rest Is Noise, Brixton - a free gig, and there's a Nando's nearby - perfect.

Today I spent a couple of hours collecting for TCT at the Marylebone Fayre. It was really interesting, although I spent possibly too much of my time gazing at the interesting people in attendance, and their interesting dogs and children. My bucket wasn't half as heavy as the others on my shift.

future happenings
Hmm, what's on the calendar? Considering the Big Purchase, this section is likely to be somewhat lightweight in forthcoming days...but nah, that'd be boring. This week there's the aforementioned Dangerous Heresy gig on Thursday, and other than that, I'm open to spontaneity this week.

Weeknote #3

at home
Today I bought potting mix and coriander seeds… any minute now I will combine the two and get growing! Maybe on Tuesday.

Last night I gave myself a night off and didn't go to Thee Oh Sees gig - instead I lay on the sofa and watched Precious. It was pretty hard-hitting and quite a tear-jerker, but I'd definitely recommend it.

at work
Fun project last week - ticketing for two Pixies gigs at the Troxy in Limehouse. Lucky I'd seen them play the previous weekend at Primavera Sound, as I only managed to catch the encore of each show. Great encores they were: Where Is My Mind and Here Comes Your Man, much to the rapture of the crowds. On the Friday I watched from the balcony, and it took quite a few minutes before I could breathe properly - high levels of humidity, ugh.

Also work- and Pixies-related, I got to meet another work colleague who was over from the States. My understanding of what it is that we do, how and why we do it remains incomplete but I'm working on that and all in all I think things are going well.

out'n'about
I am very happy to have been lent a bicycle for the week, to help me figure out what sort I am going to buy. Today I rode 15km across town to my old flat to collect mail, and thoroughly enjoyed myself even though I didn't know quite where I was for a lot of the time. It took around 1 hour and 10 minutes to make the ~15km journey each way. I am so getting my own asap! Tomorrow I will give the commute to work a go.

On today's return cross-town mission I stopped by AIR Studios in Belsize Park, where I met @GlenMexted and was wowed by the beautiful studio facilities. Very impressive, and lovely staff too.

future happenings
Coming up this week I have a couple of gigs: Menomena on Monday and Dangerous Heresy on Friday. That's it!

Weeknote #2

at home
Mathieu and Martial returned from holiday on Monday, so our little flat of foreigners was briefly complete before I took off for Barcelona mid-afternoon on Wednesday, returning last night. On my bus home from London Bridge, I got chatting to a lady who was also returning from a festival in Spain, and learned that she is a burlesque dancer. I was intrigued but didn't have the chance to learn more!

Today being a bank holiday I made a rash call and visited Ikea... fast forward through negotiating a minicab home, the painful one-step-at-a-time of getting the thing up to my flat, and then building using nothing but a bread knife - and I have a lovely blue Billy bookcase. It really ties the room together.

at work
Following a weekend punctuated by late nights online testing ahead of a project launch, I was pleased to have five days more or less offline. There are a few challenges ahead this week. Still on the upside I should hopefully get paid.

out'n'about
Barcelona! I've just had a fantastic weekend at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, and I'll post further on that during the week.

future happenings
This week I have got two Pixies concerts. If you're going, it's possible you'll see me on the other end of my iphone, scanning ticket barcodes. There is talk of seeing Thee Oh Sees at The Luminaire this Saturday; they were very entertaining at Primavera Sound on the weekend.

I just finished reading John Harris' Dark Side Of The Moon - have I mentioned my current obsession with Pink Floyd? I'm just about ready for a new album... think it'll be Wish You Were Here, or possibly Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - think it's time I checked out the Barrett era. Today I bought tickets for Roger Waters: The Wall, live at the O2... just have to wait eleven and a half months for it.

Weeknote #1

Taking my inspiration from Wired UK, which I love and am going to subscribe to just as soon as I can spare the money, here is a new format which I may attempt to utilise perhaps even more than once! It's not the most exciting but it's something.. and content is content. You know, I disagree with that statement, but I'm also time-poor, so you take what you can get.

at home
Busy week for visitors - while Martial and Mathieu are both away for another few days, I had three members of An Emerald City setting up their portable internet cafe in my living room all week. They were pretty low-impact and it was nice to have them around.

The landlord brought round a new vaccuum cleaner, causing great excitement, and a reinforced vow to never own a house with black carpet. At least it's restricted to my room. He also took away the double mattress which was taking up valuable full-length storage space in my room, so I can now hang my dresses unimpeded. More cause for joy!

Bad note for the week is the occasionally unreliable wireless connection (no thanks, O2), which - as I write - is refusing to give me a wireless connection. Not the end of the world but highly inconvenient when I have work that needs doing... luckily for me my sister Audrey rode to my rescue with an ethernet cable.

at work
Following on from above, work is busy! I have lots going on, more than enough to take up my time, and have even done several hours over this glorious weekend. I would be doing more if it wasn't for aforementioned failwhale O2 wireless box.

out'n'about
It's been a good week for kiwi music - I was lucky enough to catch the 3Ds at the Brixton Windmill on Tuesday night, and the Clean on Wednesday at the ICA - both fresh from supporting Pavement. The Windmill is an odd venue! Tucked away 15 minutes' walk from Brixton Underground, it reminded me of a gig in a rural NZ town, or possibly downtown Wellington, old-Bodega styles. In contrast, the ICA was very different, as it's more commonly known as an art gallery, although the band played in the theatre. A pleasure to see both bands.


And what a weekend it's been. It's after 7pm, and it's 26 degrees. This is unheard of and such a delightful far cry from the negative digits we had on my return from NZ in March. Long may it last! I spent a few hours yesterday at Hampstead Heath, near the Highgate Ponds, for Jo's birthday. She'd chosen the perfect day and a great spot - we were entertained by a hilarious revolving community of dogs, also enjoying the day.

After that it was back to E8, and a visit to London Fields, where I was alarmed to hear of the shooting that took place there yesterday afternoon. This park is five minutes from my door - and it was PACKED with people yesterday, including several friends who were near during the incident. My sister and her two little daughters visited me today, and we spent time walking through and sitting in the park - I didn't mention yesterday to them, but it was on my mind.

future happenings
This week: Barcelona for Primavera Sound! Can't wait to get away - feel quite ready for a holiday. I just hope I won't have to log on to work too much, although it's a catch-22 as I'm on an hourly rate at the moment.

Before that, I've got Nina Nastasia at Cafe OTO tomorrow, and UNKLE at Koko on Tuesday. Busy times.