first off, if you haven’t actually checked out my photo pages recently, lookee here. stunning photographic genius at work in kew gardens and cornwall.

i used to think the brits had the market cornered on horrible reality shows with distraction, a show where people voluntarily torture themselves for prizes. Witness: the episode where contestants drink their own urine in order to win a car.

however, the stunt where 20/20 disgustingly calls the adoption process “the ultimate reality show” and makes it appear that the “winning” couple takes home a new baby has that beat by a country mile. the sickest bit? uri geller sues, says he thought of it first

lots of fun new playmates joining the e.u. at midnight tonight. which’ll come in pretty damn handy once i am married to a brit citizen (j gets his citizenship next summer). woo hoo! i can go live and work in latvia!

yet more evidence that my fucking country sucks ass

now i’ve seen it all

updates from the world of jen: i just moved. no time yet to take pics of the flat, which is very big and very nice, but located up a very dodgy set of stairs, on top of a honda dealership. wierd. whilst getting engaged and moving are all very exciting and promising developments, unfortunately it means that i’ll prolly have to cancel my trip to greece. lots of expenses coming up (trip to the states for Alex’s wedding and to meet the family, a wedding, and our plan for world domination) which were not in the picture when i booked the tickets in january. oh well, I suppose greece isn’t going anywhere. bah.

three day weekend over here, but as per usual, the weather will be shite. hope it’s sunny… wherever you are. enjoy.

Like this post

Unlike

lots of sun, fun, and drinking this weekend!

friday night began with innocent beers at the local pub, but come last orders, somehow morphed into impassioned conversation about sex, politics and religion over too much jack daniels and wine at a friends house, and concluded with a very unbalanced walk home.

saturday, understandably, got off to a rough start as we tried to prepare for our engagement barbeque. cleaning, cooking and running last minute errands is made all the more trying with a hangover. luckily, the weather was amazing, and as the tides of people came and went, everyone seemed to leave a lot fuller and more inebriated than when they arrived, which is surely a sign of good fun.

sunday was more fabulous weather, and we went for an excursion to kew gardens to bask in the sunshine and enjoy a little patch of nature in the middle of london. returning home sunday night, we met up with kerryn and stef (the best friend next-door neighbour metalheads) and their old friend from s.a., and all headed down to the pub for more beer and too much food.

monday morning was so glorious that we both skivved off sick and went shopping for houseplants, then had a picnic (bbq leftoversand beer) down at tooting common, including a rousing game of scrabble (which i won, but only by dint of pure luck).

it’s not officially summer yet, but it’s so close, i can taste it…

Like this post

Unlike

this weekend marked the occassion of a big milestone in my life – my first trip to ikea.

i now possess in-depth understanding of their marketing and sales techniques. it works basically like this:

you go in there with the notion of purchasing a few essential, cheap, yet stylish home goods. perhaps you even have a list. most certainly, everyone who goes in has a budget.

upon entering, you find yourself captivated by all the pretty colours and showroom design ideas. as you wend your way through the maze, you find yourself putting more and more items in the provided bright yellow carrier bag, simply because they are kinda cool looking, cheap, and you could probably use a new *whatever*. and you think it’s ingenious that you can buy things in modules or separate pieces and start trying to calculate the price of the model entertainment centre, without the cabinet and with wood doors instead of glass.

you begin to get disoriented, and find yourself wandering in circles. after a while you realise that it’s been 4 hours since you last saw natural lighting, or breathed air which had not been recirculated. and you find yourself in a mammoth warehouse trying to match little numbers to what you scrawled down on your reference list, and pushing giant trolleys in a dazed manner, and the panic begins to set in as you start to think “how the fuck do you get out?!?!?!” and by the time you reach the holy grail of the cash tills, and queue, and put all your stuff on the conveyor belt and you start seeing things like a set of 10 rubber spatulas and track lighting for inside the cupboards, and you start to wonder “*what* am I buying??” before you realise it is far too late, if you want to have any hope of getting out alive, you have to just hand over your wallet and make a frenzied dash for the daylight right past the exit sign…

and in the dazzling light, you blink madly while your pupils adjust and realise that you are now out £200 and one whole weekend afternoon of your life, neither of which you will ever get back…

Like this post

Unlike

so, one might reasonably ask, after firewalking, what’s next?

the answer: glasswalking, of course!

phoenix house will be sponsoring a glasswalk in the fall, and i’m already on board. not only do you walk across 30 feet of broken glass, but apparently, you do it backwards. sounds like good fun!

in the meantime, i have to start gearing up for the “tough guy challenge” in early july, which i am doing with a team of collegues. so far our training plans include going for after work drinks to develop our training plans.

still no plans for the May Bank Holiday. tossing around the idea of going camping for a weekend in new forest, which is supposed to be lovely, but not sure how warm it’ll be at the end of may. but perhaps something else will crop up at the last minute. there’s also the matter of j’s passport, which only has two free pages left, and will take 3-4 months to get a new one as he has to send it back to the embassy in s.africa, and which he needs to have a u.s. visa in for september (alex’s wedding in maine), so travelling together outside the uk will be a pain for a while and puts a damper on the summer plans. ah well, we’ll see what happens.

in any case, that’s what’s next up for me.

apropos of nothing, people are dumb: what price beauty?

have a good easter weekend, and those of you back home, be sure to have plenty of peeps for me…

Like this post

Unlike

i know.

i’ve been terrible over the past few weeks. sporadic updates, no pictures, no colour commentary on current events.

i plead guilty.

just been really busy. and i have tons of pictures (somewhere in the neighbourhood of 200), but need to find some new dig. photo software to organise them, and publish them. and i haven’t had any time to find any.

but i figure being really busy is a good thing, as there has been way too much time when i was bored outta my skull. so i apologise, but only half heartedly. because it’s nice to have a *life*.

in the meantime, i am very excited about going to cornwall this weekend. the plan is to head down super-early in the morning, stop by stonehenge for sunrise, and then spend the next four days lazing in bed, taking walks along the beach, browsing quaint shops, going for day trips, and eating and drinking a lot.

i can’t wait.

Like this post

Unlike

hello again, dear reader!

spring is arriving quickly, and it just makes the mornings sooo much easier to bear. the weekend was very low-key and mellow, thoroughly relaxing. friday night, nick and i had a nice dinner, then i just stayed in and watched telly. saturday, at my behest, we went on a mission to the shopping centre in croyden, where i made a pilgrimage to a shop called “sweets from heaven”, specialising in american sweets! i’m far too embarrassed to admit how much i actually spent, but i am now fully stocked on marshmallow fluff, twizzlers, and peanut butter. i even found the holy grail – candy corn! i’m told i was actually jumping around in the shop, though in my ecstatic state, i don’t clearly recall. seems highly likely, though.

just when i thought it couldn’t get any better, on the way home i found a jewish deli with real honest-to-goodness dill pickles! the jar i bought, could be most accurately described as a small vat. pickles here just aren’t the same.

saturday night, went back to my flat, cooked dinner in and watched “city of god”, a gritty and unflinching true story about the street gangs terrorising the favelas of rio de janeiro. well worth watching.

sunday was lazy and chilled-out: a coffee, newspaper, breakfast-all-day kind of day. planned a road trip to idyllic cornwall over the easter weekend (!), which i am extremely excited about – it is supposed to be amazingly beautiful, and i’ve never been. also planned to go to the movies sunday afternoon, but that somehow never quite got off the ground, so went to the asian noodle bar “slurp” in streatham for dinner, which has much to recommend it being a)scrummy b)cheap and c)about 30 metres away from nick’s front door. the rest of the evening was all about watching the border collies fly around at the crufts dog show on television.

a delicious and delight-filled weekend.

Like this post

Unlike

hello friends and neighbours…

lots going on in the world, that i’d like to add my acerbic commentary to, but i’ve been deprived of my internet access except at work, so you’ll just have to imagine my rantings on your own.

on the plus side, it has been sooo nice having an actual *life* which is too full to worry (much) about the daily atrocities and outrages going on in the world, over which i have no control anyway.

i feel like i am on holiday!

anywhoo, i’m still in streatham, staying by nick’s place, although this weekend i am looking forward to laying low back at my flat and being cosy (angela is in paris).

lots to come in the coming few weeks, so stay tuned…

Like this post

Unlike

is it a good sign or a bad sign if you end the weekend more tired than when you started it?

nah, it’s all good. Dinner and drinks Friday night at the Satay Bar in brixton, which lacks anything even remotely resembling ambiance, but makes up for it with a killer happy hour (pitchers of cocktails only £10!) and bountiful quantities of cheap yummy food. who needs candles and tablecloths when you can get drunk in a glorified cafeteria for a tenner?

Saturday started off pretty sucky with a queasy blinding migraine (no, it was *Not* a hangover!), and a reneged invite for a home-cooked meal, but improved vastly with a good indian dinner and a party at the telegraph (also in brixton). dancing, drinking, and partying, but had to leave somewhat abruptly… however, safe to say not a single person noticed the depature. crashed in tooting, and spent the better part of sunday morning struggling to overcome the powerful gravity force keeping me warm and cosy in bed, until I was finally lured out by the prospect of a hearty restorative fry-up, which did me a world of good.

it goes without saying the rest of sunday was pretty much a wash… although i did start researching (well daydreaming about, really) the trip to greece. that counts as productive, right?

the trees are very confused – took this a few days ago:

mondays – i wanna shoot the whole day down.

Like this post

Unlike

yay! going to greece for a week of azure oceans, yummy food, greek gods and island hopping! we fly out on 15th june. i cannot wait!

more bigger yay! katie b will be coming to visit 28th april to 3rd may! she hasn’t booked her ticket yet, but i’ve already shed-jewelled pubs, parks, and plays into the intinerary. i’m very very excited.

it’s been a very busy week, and it’s not over yet. hectic work, glassblowing, dinners, parties… looking forward to blowing off some steam over the weekend, and recuperating with a lazy sunday in bed. if you don’t hear from me this weekend, that’s where i am.

for your amusement and edification:

this is kinda gross but yet, disturbingly, mesmerising

ditto

no need for these in the Free Open-Container Land of England (yup, peeps can drink wherever, and sadly whenever. like 8 am.)

dirty politrix:

the muddled morals of bush: illustrated

US spied on members of security council before bombing the hell out of iraq

if this isn’t the pot calling the kettle black

spinning the science

finally, many of you may know about my obsession with quantum/astrophysics and superstring theory: godel, hawking predict the end to the illusory “theory of everything”

Like this post

Unlike

happy mardi gras! or as it’s known here, pancake tuesday. don’t quite get the pancake racing?? *i’m* certainly not complaining, but i do have a hankering for some hot-n-spicy jambalaya, washed down with a hurricane or four. sorry ’bout the torrential rains and floods, by the way, but if it’s any solace, it’s the same here in london.

puts me in mind of my 30th b-day two xmases ago, where jo and i ditched the “home for the holidays” obligations and celebrated in bad girl style in n’awlins. luckily, i have no digital pictures as incriminating evidence. but we drank, danced, partied, hooked up with strangers, and stuffed ourselves silly – there were felonies committed, fabulous f-me boots worn, and sunrises seen – that’s all y’all need to know.

glassblowing: amazing fun. but harder than it looks. took me an hour to make a funny little blob-like pendant (not quite as good as jo’s xmas amoeba).

my boyz are back!

now i’m gonna go put up some new tunes to celebrate…

Like this post

Unlike

happy belated valentine’s day, for whatever that’s worth.

the evening did not get off to a very promising start, as we decided to start off at “redstar” in camberwell, which turned out to be a cold, cavernous bar full of stereotypical, badly dressed, gold-chain wearing wankers and pudgy 15 year old girls tottering around in caked makeup and miniscule skirts, sans tights. they seemed to have pretentions of being some sort of hot spot though, with a multitude of bartenders and bouncers, attitude, a cover charge and a velvet rope even in the distinct absence of any actual queue. it was laughable, really. had no compunctions about helping myself to the free valentine’s sweets, though.

blew that joint, and had a few pints at the pub before finally making our way to another one of the hot, sweaty, crowded late-night parties under the train trestles at loughborough junction, which was loads of fun. energetic ska band, and djs and i jumped around like a madwoman, drank too much, sweated litres, and generally danced my ass off. someone got engaged and shouted, “she said yes!” and there was applause. home at the bird-chirps of dawn, and my ears are still ringing.

and i even got a valentine, of sorts. a south african friend of nick’s that i met at a party christmas night (though i don’t remember too much of our under-the-influence conversation, i do remember that he was cute and funny) apparently remembered me as well, and i was barraged with phone calls and text messages at 2am to come meet up with them, hanging out over at her place in streatham. honestly, how often does a cute boy ever pursue me? precisely.

anyway, it made me smile all night. whatever else may or may not come of it, it’s all gravy baby.

Like this post

Unlike

hurrah! got a ticket to the pixies on 5th june! (guess that means I have to stick around til then!)

something i find truly annoying: trains being delayed or outright *cancelled* because of “not enough drivers”. this happens all the time. a) i’d rather not know this because it just irritates me to no end and b) can they not come up with some sort of backup plan? other people don’t show up to work, so i can’t get there either?

something i find truly endearing: the woman who knows my coffee order every morning. some days i just want to kiss her. the less i have to think before 9 am, the better.

my last rock-climbing class is tomorrow night, and alas, the palpable super-charged undercurrent of passion which runs between me and my instructor, remains unspoken. perhaps because he has mentioned several times that he has a girlfriend. bah.

anywhoo, after this week, i will be registered with the centre and can bring two guests when i go. which is a scary thought: they’re entrusting *me* with two people’s safety. i can barely look after my own! and i tend to very distracted while belaying, which is definitely not a good thing. but i can’t help it! there’s too much eye candy around! they should make me wear horse-blinkers. my climber could be dangling from a thread, and i wouldn’t notice.

and angela found me a glassblowing course for 6 weeks!

firewalk is in 2 weeks, and i am a bit nervous already.

been messing around with css stylesheets looking to re-design this website. because let’s face it, tables are for sissies. so keep your eyes peeled.

Like this post

Unlike

alex and mike are engaged! hurrah!!

dominican republic, stunning ring, and a pledge of love…sounds like she had a great birthday.

bloody buggery bollocks:

Pixies london date sells out in minutes

why, god, why?!? apparently what happened was this: friday was one of my worst days in a long long time. work was insane. i was knackered and in a foul mood. and that’s the day they annouced the tour dates. the tix went on sale at 9am the next morning, whilst i was sleeping off a hangover.

i would spend some serious money to get some tix, so if you hear of anyone who got some, email me. immediately.

Like this post

Unlike

had to take the bus home today, and ran into this poor american woman who had just moved here yesterday and was hopelessly lost and couldn’t find her house. i think i pointed her in the right direction, but who knows, since she lived on a little mews i only vaguely remember walking past once. then i advised her to buy a “london a to zed”. (for those of you who don’t know, the “a to zed” is a londoner’s bible, and lists every teeny little yard, mews, court and close in the city. london is even more illogically laid out than boston.)

funny, i remember what a big deal it was for me the first time i ventured out without it! and i was just thinking on the bus ride that i finally felt like i was starting to get a grasp on this city.

30th march will be a year I’ve been here (excepting my two months of unwilling exile, which in true “jen logic” i have decided don’t count). the older I get, the faster they go. remember when you were a kid and you couldn’t wait for the year to be over? now i want to stall time, rein it in, and make it slow to a speed where i can appreciate things more fully. you don’t get it back.

yes, the times they are a’ changin’: looks like come may, gay couples will be having full legal marriages in massachusetts. sadly ladies, I am already spoken for, since jo has been trying to get me to marry her for some time now. at least we won’t have to go to canada!

interesting experiment: While sitting in your chair, lift your right foot slightly off the ground and move it in clockwise circles. Now draw the numeral “6″ in the air with your right hand. Your foot will involuntarily reverse direction. like trying to sneeze without closing your eyes – you just can’t *not* do it.

hate those supermarket “loyalty cards”? here’s a place to protest, as well as some interesting insight as to what happens to your personal information. scary. but you already knew that. (thanks, tina)

who knew comic strips could be so deep? “Peanuts” and Sartre’s existentialism. i personally think that’s stretching it a bit though.

the pixies are coming to paris! which hopefully means they’ll also be someplace in london this summer! in paris they’re opening for the RHCP, whom i have officially given up on as major sellouts, but what the hell, i’d still pay to see anthony kiedis in a tube sock.

sidenote: it was ridonculously warm out today 15C (60F!). apparently winter in london is only slightly longer than summer…

Like this post

Unlike

sickie update: somewhat better – still achy and exhausted, but no longer feverish with chills. i’ve actually left the flat twice even (to go to the shop). thanks for your overwhelming concern.

because i will probably never in this lifetime get a chance to see this band in person (thanks to a certain “brady bunch” oliver-like jinx, who shall remain nameless, but rhymes with “mandy”) i implore y’all to go see them on my behalf, and blow kisses. the jealous sound rock, and i guarantee you will like them.

lookee! they’re playing near you!

March 4 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East w/ Engine Down (18up)
March 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ North Six w/ Engine Down (All Ages)

only a few bucks, i’m sure, so lend your support!

in spite of the rumours, there’s usually nothing worth watching on telly over here (sucks when you are sick!), however sex and the city starts its final episodes next friday night, and thanks to angela’s lovely bf paul, we now have access to a vcr, so don’t tell me what happens! however, please tape them for me anyway. ‘coz you never know how 21st century technology will go awry.

now if only the sopranos would get their ass in gear.

i am getting entirely too geeky! (feel free to protest vociferously, by the way.) at the bottom by the soundlinks, is a smart new embedded mp3 player, courtesy of laszlo. currently this is in the default mode, but in the next few days i hope to configure it, so that you can play mp3s from my page without having to download them. at the moment, the xml file would exceed my storage limit on my server, but i am awaiting my domain setup (jnoelbell.me.uk) and then will be all set. also no more ads. big ups for that. and blog archives, lest you miss out on a single scintillating episode.

oh yeah, the music links work now.

9:30 – that means time for bed again.

Like this post

Unlike

not so much politics today – too tired. except to say that a) the president sucks ace, and b) there has always been something I didn’t quite trust about howard dean. and this just cements it. face it. he’s a loon. interested in figuring out who to cast your vote for? try this.

oh, and if you don’t vote, don’t even bother to complain to *me* about anything. talk to the hand. I gotta remember to register for an absentee ballot.

okay, so i lied about no politics. sue me.

things you can do at the british post office:
buy mobile phone cards
pay your car MOT
renew your tv licence
pay your utilities
buy home insurance
cash traveler’s cheques
open a bank account
get stuff notarised
get your government benefits
take out a loan
play the lottery

which is all fine and well and good. except when i waste a whole lunch hour trying to mail a packet.

surprise, surprise! it’s raining again! surprise, surprise! rain tomorrow! although given how small this country is (as compared with giving the weather forecast for New England or the tri-state area) you would think they could give better meteorological advice. all they ever say on the weather here is that it will be “fresher”. what the hell does that mean? colder? wetter? lemon-scented?

in my world-traveller diaries, looks like all my threatening has finally worked! alex and I are actually going to rome in march! I should work for the mob – i could put the hurt on people. alex is clearly scared of me.

the russians have their priorities straight.

because I missed MLK day in the states monday, here’s a belated tribute, which i find particularly apropos:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King (1929-1968)

peace out, y’all.

Like this post

Unlike