324,000 minutes and counting...

so i had a bit of a revelation today... time in london is flying by, but i still don't feel like this is my new home.  and why is that?  i think it's because i need to let go of somethings that remind me of new york.  it's like that song we used to sing at camp... "make new friends, but keep the old... some are silver, and some are gold."  i think new york will always be the golden child for me, but we need to polish the silver a bit.  and it's not just about friends, or people for that matter.  it's about the experiences that are quintessentially london.  

and so begins a new chapter for me here.  i'm hoping this translates into more postings on the blog, but in the meantime, i've been thinking about a "to-do" list that i can start to work with that will help me get in good with this great city.

at the top of the list is to finish this great book i'm reading called Brick Lane... it's by this very clever author, monica ali, and is all about a pakistani immigrant woman who comes to london under an arranged marriage and begins a new life here.  circumstances beyond her control brought her here, but as she matures and discovers more about the city and herself, she begins to break out of her shell and become her own person.  i originally bought the book for my last trip home to new york, and thought it would be a good read because it references a neighborhood that is close to mine... but as i'm getting into this book, i think there's a lot more in store and see a bit of the main character in me.  can't wait to read more.

in keeping with the intellectual side of me (don't worry, that's about it after this...), i think i want to take a class of some sort... had originally been thinking about resurrecting my italian... am working with a really interesting italian guy at work and the accent is bringing me back to college days where i took the class and loved it.  so maybe it's that.  another work colleague was telling me about a MA in creative writing that she is taking at oxford college.  this woman has a 1-year-old daughter, works a crazy schedule AND has time to do a masters?  yeesh.  but it definitely sounds interesting, and as i hope my few but faithful readers can tell, i love creative writing.

it's not all about smarts though... as tess mcgill so aptly says in working girl, i've got a head for business and a bod for sin.  and so the sin aspect might be a bit much, but i think the sentiment is still there.  i need to get out more.  and meet more guys (cf: grindr comment above).  not all about the deed, but also the dude.  i'm going to start by putting myself on a 30-day action plan.  my target will be to come up with a direct male acquisition strategy that leverages multiple channels.  grindr is a good start, but it is a little silly at the end of the day.  the speed dating thing i did was a bit OTT, but its heart was in the right place, and so a networking angle might be a good avenue to pursue.  i'm also looking forward to the travel schedule winding down a bit after august, so there will be more weekends here in the city for fun (albeit, less sun).  so watch this space.

so as minute 324,001 passes, i'm feeling good.  good about this city and what it's given me so far.  great about what's left to find.

My new toy

OK for about the past week I haven't been able to put down my new iPhone.  I've resisted buying one for such a long time - didn't want to be part of the "sheeple" rushing to get one ("sheeple" is a term my lawyer friend Nancy uses... I'm assuming it's a combination of the words "sheep" and "people" and is used to indicate a mass follower mentality of a certain fad or trend).

But all that has changed.  Sure, I could have bought several RT tickets back to New York for the same price of this gizmo, but life is so much better now that iPhone and I are friends.  Texting and facebook, two of my guilty pleasures, are just too damn easy with this.  And other things like watching video (or filming! for that matter...), "shazam"-ing the songs of summer and devouring the NYT on my way to work are those nice little touches that make it so indispensable.  

My latest iPhone app, though, is Grindr - think manhunt meets GPS.  

I suggest you try it out.

back to the motherland

so it was my first trip back to the nyc this weekend... and it was, by all accounts, a blast... this was really just intended to give me a taste... i'm going back for two weeks in august, complete with a trip to the FIP, but even this little tease will tide me over until then.

some great times were had - surprise party for LL on friday night in tribeca, a cute little brunch find in the east village on saturday afternoon, followed by the LARGEST frozen margs i ever did see!  benny's burritos, you better work.

saturday night saw continued shenanigans at another birthday party, but it was early to bed to make the most of my 72 hours in the city... topped off with an amazing introduction to the highline... manhattan's newest resident and chelsea's finest... a converted elevated railroad track turned into a chi-chi park.  amazing.

and while i happily dreamt of $1.50 slices of pizza and $3 pashminas on my flight home, i know that nyc will always be there for me.  a few new adventures (and a few more cheeky pints) still await me here in the land of lads and lager.

what is it about sex and the city that still makes me laugh?

such a trite thing to say, i know.  i guess it's the fact that i (like millions of you, i know) see a bit of each of the four ladies in me.  or that no matter what rerun they are showing on one of the hundreds of channels that i get with virgin media, i have a chuckle or two.  suffice it to say, a few episodes of SATC gets me through the week with a smile on my face.

i *heart* the heath

hey there faithful readers - it was another lovely weekend in the city of london - i managed to stay outdoors as long as possible and got some great rays.  saturday it was back to london fields (see previous post) for some giggling at the fashion choices of my fellow east londoners and a pint or two with DL at the cat & mutton - tee hee hee. 

but alas, my house keys decided that they wanted to spend a little bit more time in the park and didn't make it home with me.  after a trip out to east ham to see lesia the cleaning lady who had a spare set, the weekend was finally back on track.

sunday was another adventure outdoors, this time to hampstead heath.  HH is just a few stops north on the northern line, and it consists of a series of parks and ponds that have been around since the 900s (yes, that's more than 1000 years ago).  one of the things that HH has kept over the years is a series of single-sex ponds, which you can imagine is a big hit with london's queer set.  i was just happy to be there, soaking up the sun, listening to GaGa on some ipod speakers near by and munching on some snacks from the tesco's down the way.  the single-sex aspect was just icing on the cake. :)

a couple of more observations though to help you set the scene:

1) aussieBum, like Lady GaGa, is everywhere.  unfortunately, the bodies that are usually seen in aussieBum ads, are not.

2) you apparently are not allowed in the park unless you have an open container of some sort.  that is what london's take is on the open container laws we yanks are more accustomed to.  i like.

3) the other big fans of male-only swimming ponds (besides the obvious)?  Hasidic Jews!  because apparently they can't swim in a pond where women may be menstruating.  i'm not kidding.

so, definitely adding HH to my top london picks for sure... 

only in london

into the 2nd of the summer bank holiday weekends here and things could not be more delightful... i can't believe how nice the weather is... and what better way to spend it that discovering new neighborhoods!

today was spent in broadway market with an old but new hoya friend... lots to take in, from the delish lunch we had (cold meze platter and lamb with turkish beer) to the delightful sights and sounds of the market and london fields near by...

a couple of things to note:

1) apparently it is totally fine to start a bbq in the middle of the park.  forget the english obsession with safety... open fires do not qualify as a hazard, or so it seems.

2) apparently it is also fine to hang outside a pub all day (love the name - "the cat and mutton") with your 2 children... strollers and Stellas, what a combo!

but, hey, i just got here.. and what do i know... i mean, hot and jellied eels sounds pretty damn tasty to me!

not-so terrible tuesdays...

yes, i've been absent a bit, and sure, you can believe all of the stories you heard of my matt's mitteleuropa adventures... even that last one... but sometimes, it's the everyday that makes me smile...

there used to be a time after a long weekend of debauchery that i would hit a case of the 'terrible tuesdays'.... ie., after going "full on" for a period of 72 hours, i'd be back at work, still on the (figurative) high from the weekend... and then tuesday came around.  we used to call it "terrible tuesday" because that's when the walls felt like they were comin' a tumblin' down, two days into the work week.  you didn't want to eat, you couldn't focus at work... shit, you couldn't even get out of bed.

and even after some shenanigans this past bank holiday with elee, today was anything but terrible.  in fact, it was one of the most pleasant days i've had here in london so far.

highlights included:

1. getting out of bed, no problem, and hitting the gym

2. enjoying my favorite somerfield cereal and fat free yogurt before work

3. a "cheers, thanks luv, thanks very much, ta" from the lady at the canteen this morning when getting my starbucks (and i'm only 1 red stamp away from a free drink!!)

4. a good update with my boss, who seems to be pleased with me

5. a very productive meeting with a co-worker today, who is working a very complicated project but who is doing a fab job and makin' me proud

6. a postponement of a meeting i really didn't want to have

7. an interesting new combo at the canteen salad bar this morning: cucumbers, watermelon and feta cheese.  i like!

8. BOOKING MY TICKETS HOME IN AUGUST (and only 3 months away to a week in the pines)

9. a chat with a long, lost friend back at the Tower... who really needs to update her facebook page more

10. and, to top it all off, seeing and hearing my favorite london tube singer today at euston station... this woman's voice gives me the chills, and today it brought an extra smile to my face when i heard her sing one of my favorites -- definitely worth the fiver i gave her!

And, for a bonus round... getting home at 7:30p and it was STILL LIGHT OUT!

not so terrible, eh?

ttfn

commercial break

the same day i found out that there will be a sequel to SATC next may, i find myself channeling my inner carrie bradshaw - in front of my laptop, preferring a marlboro menthol light to carrie's reds...

and of course, it just so happens to be that comedy central has an 'omnibus' of SATC episodes on the telly... kettle on?  feet up? let's roll...

tonight's episodes include the one were carrie gets fixed up by her married friends with this guy who can't wait to get married... miranda pretends to be one-half of a lesbian couple to impress her boss... charlotte is toujours hopeless... and samantha fucks the cute doorman at charlotte's apt building.  an oldie, but goodie...

followed by "land of the twenty-something guys" ... this one's for sure a classic, not just because it's the first time that carrie goes out on a date with big, but because charlotte is faced with getting it for the first time... from behind!  she summons the girls for a cab ride around town to help her deal with her "crise du cul", and the lines are timeless!  my fave - the cab stops short, the girls go flying, and charlotte asks "what the heck was that?" miranda's always astute reply - "a preview!"

love you, ladies...

 

march madness

wow, it's been a little bit of time, huh?

well, lots to update you on... 

since we last blogged:

as they say, march comes in like a lion... and with it, comes a lot of visitors too!  this month brought 4 actually: 

- my 2 dear friends from lewes, delaware, jm & rp... who ironically i (sorta) met for the first time nearly 3 years ago in another euro-fun capital, amsterdam.  as jm&rp weren't staying with me, our time together was brief but big on fun!  introduced them to one of my fave dining places on the cheap, gaucho grill, which is a funky little chain of trendy bistros for the carnivore set.  best part there was watching rp try and order a vodka martini from our polite, yet bewildered waitress... Apparently, the phrase must not exist in the polish language... though i find that hard to believe... poles are not that different from brits in certain proclivities..

- my friend from the big apple via the deep south, jr... who was here on official business actually... the definition of which expanded later to: 1) discovering girls aloud (ok, NOW do you believe me?), 2) demystifying the concept of "music on demand" and 3) determining that pretty much everywhere you go on a friday or saturday night, you're bound to find people who have had a few cheekies too many.  glad he came, hope he comes back soon.

- and last but not last, dj jb from TO... who was here on a bit of a layover en route to italy... some people have the life!  jb and i had only a brief couple of days together, some of the time being spent in my old stomping grounds south of the river in vauxhall.  remember the early days of cheeky pint!  it's where it all began!

and so as march came in like a lion, i'm looking forward to it going out a bit more like a lamb... 'cause as i look at the calendar, i see that we'll have a few more visitors to welcome in the weeks ahead!!  april showers will be the least of my worries!  :)

onward and upwards...

wicked icky-ness

saw a great play the other night called "entertaining mr sloane" which is at the trafalgar studios, just off, err, trafalgar square...

anyway, it was a great show with an awesome cast...storyline involves a young, sociopath drifter who takes up a room in a house owned by a horny old lady... said horny old lady won't stop flirting with the boy until her libido gets the best of her and she throws herself at him... act done, the deed is done...

act two, we meet the lady's brother, equally creepy, and equally infatuated with the young lad (aka mr sloane).  he hires the boy to be his driver, and of course, every driver needs head to toe leather for their uniform, right?  ew... anyway, the real plot picks up when the old lady's father, who lives in the house and is a bit of a side character, realizes that the drifter is the person who murdered his boss and was never found until now... it's then when the boy decides to kill the old man, and when discovered by the brother and sister, rather than send him off to jail, they decide that they will 'keep' him, each six months at a time, so he can be 'entertained'... ew ew!

but it was a great laugh... good times, good times...

don't diss the nhs

hey there, been a while, lot going on, yadda yadda yadda...

but one thing reassures me - the health care system here in england ain't so bad... and i don't foresee me needing to use it any time soon, but in case i do, i think i'll do all right... 

actually had a chance to be introduced to it last weekend under not so nice circumstances... a saturday night trip to the "a&e" which doesn't stand for arts&entertainment (always my favorite trivial pursuit category, next to geography... and history... and science & nature... ok, i like the game, i guess).  anyway, back to the a&e which stands for accidents & emergencies... had to accompany someone whose mouth got him into a wee bit of trouble and whose mouth suffered the consequences...ambulance attendant was very efficient and professional, which helped calm things down a bit.  the a&e staff were also very calm and made sure we knew what was going on, who we'd see next, etc.  

also had the chance to register with my GP (general practitioner) today as well... in and out of the place in about 10 mins after i had my health screening and gave them a urine sample... clocked in at 175 cms, 75kilos.. which actually, according to some UK standards thing i'm bordering on overweight!  haha, guess i gotta lay off the pints or something.  but all in all, not half bad...

royal retail fix

after counting my lucky stars that i not only have a job, but also was lucky enough to get a bonus on friday, i decided i should put those hard earned dollars... er pounds.. to work.  and go SHOPPING!! credit crunch, my ass... 

well, anyway, it wasn't the bentley or the baccarat that i was after... no, needed to stay pragmatic and go after things to complete my flat for when round 2 of the visitors from 'cross the pond start to invade in a couple of weeks.

first stop on saturday was CARGO... i'd describe cargo as a mix between restoration hardware and bed, bath and beyond... a fairly decent selection of your basic homewares... was able to scoop up some new mugs (chrissy the kettle was a little over me pouring fine earl grey tea into some cruddy white mugs that i've had since i was a sophomore in college), a lovely little bath mat for the guest bathroom (nycgirl almost slipped on her ass coming out of the shower when she was last year, can't have that again) and what was most enjoyable... suction-cup toilet roll holders and soap dishes!  why didn't the americans think of that?  it's time for change, america!

next stop on sunday was SHEPHERD'S BUSH where a mega-mall of middle america proportions opened up a couple of months ago... but you won't find any orange julius stands or "as seen on tv" stores here... the brits do a MUCH better job of store selection, food court action and even transportation.  while i only managed to buy a cute little spring jacket for myself, the trip was well worth it and i'll be sure and go back.

next stop - clapham

well it's been a couple of weeks, and i've been quite the busy lad.. most of my time has been spent with my gal CS who made it over for her maiden voyage right before valentine's day... i reference v-day, as CS is also known as my wife.  mr. and mrs. cheekypint have actually spent many a beach holiday, romantic dinner and night out in seedy gay bars (what?) over the past DECADE or so, so as you can imagine, i was really excited to see her.

i won't go into the adventures that we had, because CS does a fantastic job chronicling (is that a word?) all of the gastro-fun that we had together in her own little blog... but suffice to say, it was great.  i do find that i'm acclimating quite well here - but it's always nice to have a familiar face from across the pond to make it that much better.

so onto the here and now... just wrapping up a great weekend here... after a truly exhausting week, friday night was just what i needed.  discovered a new neighborhood - clapham - which is probably a good mix between smith street in brooklyn and greenwich village (btw, please forgive the incessant nyc comparisons - i am just trying to tailor the message to my audience).   a good mix of young professionals/artists/bohemian types mixed in with your basic 'yobs' (another great word i just learned) having a good friday night out on the town.

anyway, the brazilian and i kicked off the evening with seeing the movie that basically everyone else has already seen (even my parents!) but us - slumdog millionaire - at this very cool 'picture house' which, not surprisingly, has a fully-licensed bar next to the popcorn stand (i am sure you can guess which had the biggest line... err... queue).  ok, i get it now.  amazing film.  kinda funny to see a hollywood/bollywood ending though.  (i.e. guy gets girl, guy joins 100s of people in line dancing sequence at end of film).  the brazilian was a bit emotionally taken with the whole story line, so after the movie was done, we quickly changed that scene to one that was more familiar to us.. boys and booze.  first stop was the 'kazbar' - i'd say this would be similar to (here we go again...) g on w 19th street... lots of room to stand and pose, decent music and, well, gay.  second stop was the two brewers... i was less of a fan of this one.. it was a little more run down, a little sadder... kinda like 'posh' in hells kitchen.  but the crowd was entertaining enough and i heard a great mashup of world hold on (bob sinclar) and people hold on (lisa stansfield) that made up for any shortcomings.  

saturday was a very productive day for cheeky-p and the brazilian - unfortunately nothing that i feel is worth blogging about (though if you are truly interested in how to get hard water spots off the shower door and which load of laundry i started first, i would be more than happy to tell you).  after all that excitement, we were itching a bit to return to civilization with - you guessed it - a few more drinks, this time in soho.  we were good boys though, and didn't make it too late of an evening.  all good fun.

the week ahead looks to be fairly brutal, but nothing like the brutality i saw in slumdog.  it'll be funny to see how it's presented at the oscar's tonight (which i will not be staying up for, thank you very much). a bunch of fake hollywood types saying what a great message the movie has - yadda yadda yadda - while spending millions on an awards show that no one really cares about. 

now, if you want to see a proper awards show, check out the brit awards - hosted by kylie? lady gaga and the pet shop boys together on stage together?  amazing...

i'll always have paris...

just got back from a whirlwind weekend in the city of lights... the place that i called home more than a decade ago, but even today, always seems to welcome me back into its arms whenever i'm lucky enough to pop by for a visit...

this weekend was a 2 for 1... work and play... after meeting my french colleagues for an afternoon of meetings, i finally arrived at metro "arts et metiers" on friday evening to meet my good friend theo.   we go WAAAAAY back and it's always nice to see someone that doesn't make it feel that way when you see him.  dinner was at one of my favorites - hotel du nord - followed by some fun yet innocent debauchery at le duplex and le CUD.  CUD apparently stands for 'classic up and down'... but it seems that the clientele there is definitely more 'up' than 'down'... how they are so 'up' particularly at 5am, hmmm.. ya just gotta wonder.

saturday was spent recuperating with some dim sum at a local chinese resto near chez theo, followed by a reunion with an old work colleague and good friend at hers.  we had many a giggle over all of the people we used to make fun of at work, some still there, some not.  after the trip down rue de la memorie, i rejoined theo for the evening's activities... which happened to be a birthday dinner hosted at one of the most fab apts i've ever seen in paris.  what made the evening even more interesting was that the host and the birthday boy didn't know each other.  'Course 8 bottles in, that doesn't matter, and well if we ended up going back AGAIN to the duplex and the CUD for one last CUDdle, that shouldn't matter too!

tres bon weekend!

but as i reflect on the last 48 hours, i liken the whole paris/london experience to what you might feel like the first time you run into your ex after many many years post breakup... initial awkwardness (who looks better?  who's happier?), then familiarity and nostalgia... followed by a brief moment of introspection (did i make the right decision?  what if?  what if?), finished off with a true sense of satisfaction and contentment... 

...for paris was definitely the love of my life back in the heyday of my youth, with its amazing joie de vivre (and equally amazing jolis garcons - who were out in full force this weekend, mon dieu), but now, older, wiser and - yeah, i'll say it - hotter, i'm definitely ready for london (via sao paulo) and all that it has in store for me...

snow, glorious snow!

after returning from a fun-filled weekend with old friends in leeds, i was witness to a rarity only seen once within the last couple of decades - a full-on snowstorm in jolly ole england!  and with it came the usual inconveniences you would expect from a city always looking for someone or something else to blame - slow underground service, no shoveled sidewalks or steps for days, my GYM closed EARLY! and whatever else isn't quite working right...

on the other hand, there were some beautiful sights to behold this morning as i made my way to 76 buckingham palace road... trees and parks covered in untouched white stuff, roads a little less noisy today with no buses or trucks around and smiles on fellow londoners faces as they see something a little out of the ordinary on a usually rather ordinary monday morning...

 

weekend wrapup

well, and so another comes to a close... but no complaints here... after a great friday night, saturday was followed by the first home-cooked meal at the lofts, courtesy of the brazilian... delicious chicken stroganoff and rice, with wine (courtesy of my favorite neighborhood supermarket)...

after the last bite, darted off across town to the theatre (that's right, -re) to see "studies for a portrait" ... a play in two acts about a dying artist and the struggle over who gets his lifetime work, his current or former lover... it was a bit convoluted, but entertaining... particularly since it was in the back of this old, OLD pub in kennington where a manchester united match was showing in its final minutes.  old fogies, many faggies... you see the humor (i hope).  another highlight had to have been "justin", the 23-year-old boytoy of the main character's partner (following me?)... i was just thinking that this "justin" would be the perfect set up for nycgirluninterrupted when she comes and visits in a few weeks... he's really young, cute and a stage actor.  right up her alley!

today was a little more low key - a nice roast for lunch (including my favorite... sticky toffee pudding), which i promptly worked off with several rounds of tennis and bowling on my NEW WII!  now i'll never leave the lofts...

milk and twinkies

it was back to the barbican with the brazilian last night to see Milk.  the movie just opened here in london (yes, it takes a little while for things to get here... maybe they come by boat still, i don't know), and we were there among a million other homo's to watch.

amazing.

the story in and of itself is impressive.  harvey milk, the first openly gay man elected to a governmental office and an inspiration for gays and lesbians for years to come.  and while sean penn was absolutely fantastic (oscar, anyone?), i really loved the side characters that made up his entourage too.  oh, and james franco is absolutely adorable.  but you readers already knew that i'm sure.

all charged up from some 70s style homo activism, the brazilian and i decided to skip forward to the next decade - the 80s - and hit Ghetto which happens to be only a 5 minute walk from me (god, i love my neighborhood).  on the website, ghetto is described as "a crazy old pub with animal heads" and so i guess it wasn't surprising that friday night was 'kill your pets' night. Which naturally means that dress code of dead animals, disco roadkill, fur-coats soaked in blood and stillettos was de rigueur.  

It was definitely a step back in time, and one of those places you always picture london to look like in the 80s - painfully hip boys and girls with wild do's, spinning and twirling to pet shop boys and culture club. it was great!  door staff, a little rude though... we need to do something about that.  oh, and the fact that i was clearly one of the older people there.  but hey, at least i knew all of the words to the songs...

off to start the weekend.  first stop, gym.  second stop, argos.  don't you dare call me 'predictable'...

portugal, france and every bite in between

tonight i went with the brazilian for a bit of the portuguese - nando's!

according to wikipedia....nando's is a portuguese restaurant chain originating in south africa (with me so far?) specialising in chicken.  ok, that makes sense to me.  i'm always down for some good chicken.  and i love portugal, so i think we're in good shape there too..

had a nice spicy double grilled chicken pitta sandwich with a bit of ratatouille (no, the tomatoe-y stuff... not that cute little vermin from versailles) and a beer (and a half).  

finished it all off with a nice belgian waffle topped with ferrero rocher ice cream (oy!) next door at patisserie valerie - another new fave...

with about 3000 calories down the hatch, i'm now off to bed... and i have a dream... which is to wake up early, hit the gym and work off the excesses of today.  

yes i can.

nighty night!

housework

pretty much spent all day as your typical english housewife... made breakfast for the brazilian (i have never done this before so you know this is something special), put the kettle on and then got to work.  with some able (and rather fit) assistance, i was able to hang up 12 things at britannia lofts today: a huge mirror and a whole bunch of prints that i brought over from nyc.  even that crazy french postage stamp print that never quite made it on to the walls in brooklyn.  what a sense of accomplishment i am feeling right now!  off to enjoy some indian food before calling it a day...

cheers!

top 5 reasons why i like my gym

ok, those of you readers from my GPS days probably know that one of my favorite leisure time activities is going to the gym.  i've been hooked on it since mike and i moved to california and suddenly found ourselves with lots of free time and fewer people to spend it with.  :(  but, hey, there are far worse things to do to occupy your spare time, right? (though i hope to find time to get into some of that mischief here as well).

anyhoo, i just joined the Virgin Active gym that's right down my street... it's amazing.  shims and i discovered it when he came over for christmas and we both instantly became smitten.  so many things going for it beyond the obvious benefits to my well being (which i will certainly not downplay... particularly as i learn more about this country's healthcare system... YEESH!)... that i thought i'd just list a few so you can see why i'm so hooked:

5) it's near a pub!  well, that's pretty obvious, most things are in this country... and i haven't gone in yet, but i have seen a few gym-goers leave the gym with tinges of sweat on their brow, gingerly cross the street and pop into the Artillery Arms for a cheeky two or three... thumbs up in my book!!  and it's not just any pub... it's right across the street from a historical burial ground and army training field.  cooool.

4) they have a tanning bed, a cafe and free internet access.  i am trying to figure out a way that i can use all three at once, so let me know if you have any ideas.  

3) hot trainers.  compared to my last gym, these guys look like they actually have gone to the gym in the last few days... as i told shims, the best way to describe them - marky mark circa 1991 meets jude law.  oh yeah.

2) it is EMPTY on the weekend.  brilliant.  because it's located near 'the city' (which is similar to NYC's financial district), there's hardly anyone there on a saturday or sunday... though i am noticing that we are right in the middle of the january rush crowd so there are a few more people on my days of rest that i'd like to see.  but like any new years resolution, just takes a little time before we're back to normal, kids.

1) and the final reason why i love this place... it just so happens to share space with the royal army barracks.  yeah.  exactly.

so look for a future post coming to you live from the gym as i plan to spend a lot of time there ... goggles on, smoothie in hand and jaws on the floor.

cheerio!!

song heard everywhere

gym, soho, vauxhall... oh, and about 12 times today from my music-on-demand on my tv...

LOVE it!  it's very american gladiators meets let's get physical...

new discoveries, part deux

ok, now for something a tad more low-brow... but still a sweet find nonetheless.

ARGOS.

no, it's not some greek god that i met out in vauxhall last week ... besides, you know that i'm much more into a certain brazilian these days :) ... it's this funky little retail joint that is most definitely a blast from the past and something that i'm also now a big fan of.

well, for some of you, you may remember when you were little, you and your mom sat down at the kitchen table sometime in early august, opened a thick catalog, thumbed to the boys section (and tried to see if she noticed if you kept thumbing back to the underwear section), and picked out your new "back to school outfits."  what, you didn't do this with your mommy!?  oh, i totally loved it!! let's see, what color rugby shirt do i want this year?  a yellow and navy?  a blue and navy?  what about a GREEN and navy?!?!  write down the catalog numbers, called the 800# number and sat back and waited for the UPS guy to bring me what would we walking down the hallway at cashman elementary in the fall...anyway, i digress...

well, it's this same espirit de catalogue that you get when you enter argos... now, it's nothing fancy to look at from the outside, or inside for that matter, but i think that's part of the appeal.  you have two choices to get your stuff... 1) you can sit in the comfort of your own home and go online, pick out your stuff, and then go pick it up at the store or 2) which is my preferred option, you go to your local store, find the corner of the store where they have stacks of laminated catalogs, look up your item and then enter the item number on a little machine that looks like across between a solar calculator and a speak-and-spell.

once you've ordered, you pay and then you go to the pickup counter.  but you don't get your stuff right away, that would be too easy.  you actually need to look at the TV monitor above the desk and wait for your number to be up.  the screens actually look like those KENO screens you see at racetracks or betting parlors, and i guess it's the same concept really. once your number is called, you win!

and boy did i!  look what i bought:

1) my very first kettle.  isn't she lovely? apparently, every boy needs a kettle in this country, and i definitely "heart" mine.  i think i shall name her chrissy, after my mom.  i feel like i can tell my mom anything, and so shall the bond be between me and chrissy.

2) a toaster.  yeah, yeah, trying to minimize my carb intake and all that, but can i just tell you?  i'm REALLY excited to go buy my first pack of crumpets and pop those babies in!

 

and 3) for something truly decadent (and unnecessary), a sandwich maker.  look, after a while, i know i'm going to sick of seeing sandwiches in plastic triangle form, unrecognizable among all that mayo, and will have a panini craving sooner or later. this maker will make me very happy, i'm sure.

well that's about it... i'll leave you know so i can go log back onto argos and see what other household treasures i can find... hmm... I KNOW!  a mop!  

see ya...

new discoveries, week of january 5th, part one

well, i'm sure you all remember the fun i had with mister washer-dryer... we had a row when we first met, but after when we went out for a cheeky two and had it out, it was all water under the london bridge... and i think it's little victories like that are what life is all about for me here in this new land.

and this week was full of 'em!

like the barbican. well, for those of you readers who remember me from my gayparkslope.com days, you'll note that i lived really close to the brooklyn academy of music... it was, as they say, a divine institution. there was nothing better than taking a quick stroll down flatbush, stopping at target for some toothpaste and then hitting BAM for a dose of cul-cha. movies, shakespeare, ballet... you name it, they got it.

and i think i found the same thing at ye olde barbican as well... picture a city block of pure concrete colossa and brick behemoths, but once you weave you way into its lair, it's like an underground encyclopedia britannica. they've got everything- a huge concert hall, restaurants, shops, a bar, a cool light installation we checked out... did i mention the bar? anyway, needless to say there was a lot to look at. DN and i actually partook in a movie, and while our choice was eh.. the venue was so cute! assigned seats, wine and beer served... all very civilised! and then it was just a hop, skip and a jump homeward to the lofts. will definitely go back to see MILK there next week!

barbican and cheeky pint, new BFFs!

back on the grid!

hello my faithful friends from across the pond and beyond - 

well, after a minor delay, we finally have what the london underground would call "good service."  good service is what we would generally refer to as "normal service" but here normal is good.  got that?  

anyway, it's not just good, but GREAT that i finally have internet service at my flat and can get back to telling you all about my adventures here.

starting with christmas... yes, it's ok to say "christmas" here as apparently everyone celebrates it... christians, jews, agnostics, retailers, taxi drivers who legally can basically triple your cab fare on christmas day when the tube is closed... you get the idea.  but an otherwise series of silent nights turned in a week long stay on santa's lap when my dear friend shims came and visited...

now i'm not going to get into whose laps were sat on, where they were sat upon, how much said lap sittings were paid for, etc. etc. (hahaha... just kidding, kids), but needless to say, it was a lot of fun.  

highlights included:

1) finding the only (and i mean ONLY) pub open on christmas day... molly moggs... where it is considered "VERY RUDE" to tip... but not so rude, apparently, to put one's grubby hands and boozy breath over you.  drag queens were actually pretty good, have to say.  free champagne that keeps flowing and flowing?  even better...

2) mastering the london bus system... the 55 line connects directly between my flat and soho, which is fantastic for quick jaunts for splurges on oxford circus or quick escapes after some subway 6-inchers... just make sure that if anyone tells you "ok, we can just take any bus home"... don't listen.

3) making new friends... i go, you go, tiago, diego...

4) discovering new talent... sure, you guys have whats-her-name knowles and that timberpond guy... but what britain's got is pure talent!  shims and i discovered "connie"... connie talbot that is... and we both instantly agreed that "christmas with connie" is destined to go right up there with "the night before christmas".. a yuletide tradition that will keep you going for hours and hours and hours.... 

5) lastly, ringing in the new year with a very good friend... who i hope had as much fun as i did this past week, capping off a year that had it's ups and downs, it's g-f-y's and p-c-d's... setting us all up for the year that is going to be our year..

2009 baby!!

xoxo