Brighton, UK, in pictures.

Last Saturday, my brother and I decided to hop a train to Brighton (about an hour away from London, UK). The closer we got to the coastal city, the sunnier it became. Needless to say, we were very glad we picked that day.
When we got to Brighton train station, we were directed out, which my brother and I found strange; it made us wonder what was going on. We found out soon enough: gay pride! That also explained why the train was packed with gays and lesbians *facepalm*

We checked out a little stretch of beach to kill time before the parade started. My brother was looking for gems, and I was snapping some pics - including the one above.

My brother and I had fun watching the parade, people (and their pets) and enjoyed the sunshine, too. It was a short parade, but a nice one. When it was over, I noticed I was hungry (I had a small breakfast). Arnold knew of a place and we walked to it: my brother is currently dating a (Dutch) girl and took her to Brighton for a few days before I came over. It was obvious he was familiar with the surroundings, so I totally trusted on him to show me all the good places. I like the fact that Brighton is small and compact, and everything is within walking distance.
My brother took me to a little health food place (he said he spotted body builders who went to the place for their (proteine) shakes). Lunch was fresh and delicious!

My brother knew of a place where they have pedis with fishes, so I decided that was our next stop. It was an interesting experience! I'm glad my brother warned me to not take my feet out the tank once the little fish start nibbling away: it tickles. I opted for a 20-minute-pedi (time flew by!), after which our feet got a quick shower, and we were given some citrus smelling lotion to rub into them. I can't remember my feet being so smooth ever - like a baby's bum.

After walking around the narrow streets, my brother took me to a little place called "Naked" for some delicious tea. It's one of those places that locals know of, but tourists walk by. I had excellent rose tea with a slice of freshly baked slice of apple walnut pie. My brother had some kind of tea emperors in the olden days used to drink - with a bag of crisps. Then it was off for more exploring.

Kemp Town (a little neighborhood) aka Camp Town started to the right of that building. No surprise, eh?
My brother and I actually found an Indonesian restaurant! I'm not sure why it's called "Shop seven" - "Resto seven" would have made more sense to me. I liked the little bilingual sign that said they were closed (tutup - open is "buka").

You know how time flies when you're having fun. That Saturday flew by like a little breeze! Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. I mentioned a place called Terre a Terre before flying out to London, UK, and he said he had several meals there (it's his favorite restaurant in Brighton - and now it's mine, too) so it wouldn't be a problem to take me there for a bite.
He recommended the tapas, which we shared. The food was absolutely delicious! As was the cocktails: I had a Salty Dog, my brother had a Raspberry Kir.

Texas in concert at "Bospop" (July 8, 2011)

Several days after watching The Trews play an excellent show at Alderney Landing I was on my way to Europe: a Scottish band called Texas were scheduled to play the first day of a Dutch classic rock festival called Bospop. I’m not sure why it’s called Bospop; “bos” is Dutch for forest, but the festival site was in the middle of a meadow. By the way: I saw a guy sporting a Trews T-shirt, but I didn't get the chance to find out whether he's Canadian or not.


Still jetlagged, I met a couple of friends at the entrance of the festival site. It was sunny and I was looking forward to spending time with them, catching up and enjoying the music. Among the better known bands playing that day were The Faces, Foreigner and Journey. I have to admit I didn’t care enough to check them out all the bands. I was there to see Texas: it’s been several years since I last seen them in concert (the first time I saw them live was some time in the early 90s as Bryan Adams’s opening act).
The band played the smaller stage (in a huge tent) between Journey and closing act Joe Cocker (both on the main stage), and I didn’t have any problems with skipping Journey in favour of getting a spot at the front row - or as close as I could get - at the Texas gig. (In case you were wondering: I managed to get a spot in the second/third row throughout the concert.)
I could tell by eavesdropping on conversations most of the people in the front rows were fans. What I liked about the festival is the fact that people who had (never) heard of the band had the opportunity to check them out. 



 



Texas did not disappoint: even though their set was short (they weren’t headlining) they made sure to play their biggest hits, and gave it their all while doing so.
Guitarist Ally McErlaine, who suffered a brain aneurysm a few years ago and recovered, has been on the band’s current tour: Bospop was one of their dates on their schedule. It was great to see him back. This was their setlist that night:  


I Don't Want A Lover
Everyday Now
In Demand (yes, that’s professor Snape dancing)
Black Eyed Boy
Halo
In Our Lifetime
When We Are Together
Summer Son
The Conversation (a new song)
Say What You Want
Inner Smile
Suspicious Minds (yes, an Elvis cover)


Before I knew it their show was over, and Joe Cocker was about to start on the main stage. I knew that high of having enjoyed a good show was going to wear off soon, and then my jetlag will hit me even harder, so I decided to go home. I can’t wait for their new album, and a new tour.

Toronto and Peterborough, ON

I was in Toronto and Peterborough about a month ago, and instead of blogging about it, I figured I recap through posting a few pictures. Here goes:

I really wanted that T-shirt. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it in my size....




Chocolate!




Cool drinks with Sean and Moose.




Hot day: some offices had their windows opened, some not.




Detail of wooden staircase at the AGO.




Serena Ryder's mom, Barb, posing with Moose and me!




The infamous lift lock (the main reason I visited Peterborough - besides hanging out with Sean, and meeting Serena Ryder's mom).




I have my own street! ;)




Pretty lights (at a movie theater).

Bad Monkey plays Serena Ryder's "Stumbling over you"

After recording Bad Monkey's first rough demo in April, we realized there's plenty of room for improvement. I suggested we focus on playing other songs (new stuff) before going back and rehearsing the songs we want to record for the final demo. It works for me, and singer Mirthe attested it works for her, too. The drummer and bass player are fine with it and go along. We all suggested some songs we wanted to play and eventually picked 4 songs for the next rehearsals - which were last weekend.
I made one suggestion, shortly before I went on a short vacation: Serena Ryder's "Stumbling over you".

A couple of years ago, I had given Mirthe's boyfriend EJ a copy/complilation of Serena Ryder songs off all her albums, knowing he'd like it. So Mirthe's familiar with her music, but in order for the other two to rehearse the song I had to send them an MP3 file of the song (which I incidentally have).
I figured, since the last rehearsals would be amongst trips of various band members (everybody but the singer) and we had very little time to practice before getting together, you'd want a song to be simple - or easy to play. Hence my suggestion.

After playing a couple of songs to warm up Mirthe's vocal chords we played "Stumbling over you". I was pleased we had it down after two takes, but imagine my surprised when the others praised me for picked such a good song. They love it because it's (fairly) easy to play, but they also love the song for the song itself!

We unanimously decided that this song is going to be recorded for the final demo! :D

Afterwards we had dinner at a lovely place, where we reflected on the rehearsals and planned ahead. Knowing bass player Ester is also a Melissa Etheridge fan I sent her Serena Ryder's duet with Melissa called "Broken heart sun" via blue tooth, which Ester immediately made her new ring tone (her previous one is some Madonna song). Ester is now "converted" and a Serena fan as well. Her last album "Is it O.K." is (still) not available in the Netherlands, so Ester had to order it.

Join Dal in the Halifax Pride Parade

The Halifax Pride Parade is coming up fast, and Dal wants you to come show your pride by marching with us in the Parade. The theme this year is "Better Together" and will celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Parade. This year Dalhousie has been given the honour of carrying Ottawa's Pride flag, which measured 30' by 60' and covers almost a full city block! We are looking for a large, strong, Dalhousie contingent to participate in the parade as the Flag itself requires 40 people!

When: July 23rd, Parade Starts at 1:30 (meet at Noon)
Where: Bottom of Cornwallis and Upper Water Street

What does it mean if I march in the Parade?

Your participation in the pride parade demonstrates that you actively support the  Rainbow Community at Dalhousie and in the larger community. We encourage you to show your support for our diverse campus community. You are not outing yourself by marching in the parade because the parade is open to the LGBTTQ community and allies/supporters. As well, your family and friends are more than welcome to march with us. The more the merrier!


For more information please contact Sarah-Jo, in the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Harassment Prevention, at sarah.briand@dal.ca. Hope to see you there!!

Now you see it, now you don't

This was originally posted on April 17, 2011.

The other day my friend Sarah and I talked about how the Hollywood adaptation of Akira was being whitewashed: we were having problems with the fact Caucasian actors were being cast for parts that are supposed to be played by Asian actors. A couple days later The Advocate ran an article on how George Takei was taking on WB for whitewashing (Takei’s tweet was what got my friend upset). Her husband thinks a large part of it might be that the studio execs are lazy and think that trying to fill such a film with an all, or mostly, Asian cast filled with high profile stars would be too hard. So they take the easy way and recast the movie. He also thinks that the real stupidity of it is that they're taking a story that's well known and loved by a large group of people and that (if done well) would be well received by critics, and then taking actions that likely ensure  the movie under performs.

I understand their need to want to get big names, so the movie is almost guaranteed to be a financial hit with the investors. But, really, with plenty of great and talented Asian actors out there, Robert Pattinson and Justin Timberlake is reason enough for me to skip the Akira remake.

You might wonder why it bothers me so much. Well, let’s put it this way: how do you feel whenever you read about a possible queer lady in a particular movie - only to find out her part is pretty insignificant (ten seconds of screen time and about three lines), diminished (a brief shot of her sitting next to a lady) or entirely changed (into another straight character). The odds of a straight actress cast in a role of a gay lady is also very likely, and in the event an out actress is cast to play a queer lady the media is sure to report that over and over, like it should matter. I’m sure many of you have read interviews with Heather Peace (aka DS Sam Murray in Lip Service) in which the fact she is a lesbian is often the main topic.

I think in this day and age both Asians and queer ladies are underrepresented in movies and on TV. Whenever there are parts in movies or television shows, chances are they’re stereotypes. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Do you think any (even if it’s bad) visibility is better than no visibility at all, or do you demand quality writing?

K’s Choice: Echo Mountain tour at Effenaar, Eindhoven (the Netherlands)

Originally posted on March 6, 2011.

K's Choice was supposed to play Effenaar shortly before Christmas 2010, but I heard their American record company planned a US promo tour, which took precedent to their European one, so part of their European tour got postponed to a later date. I was informed the Eindhoven date was set for March 2nd, 2011. That was fine with me until I found out Serena Ryder and Melissa Etheridge were going to play Halifax Metro Centre the exact same day. Well, poop!

They kicked off the Eindhoven concert with “Favorite adventure”. And it was very clear that the audience showed up to see K’s Choice - even though they gave opening act Arid, fellow Belgians, a shot. I have heard of them, and the one song I recognized off their setlist was “Too late tonight” (which they played early on, but judging from the response from the audience, it might have been better if they played it towards the end of their set).

Singer Sarah announced at the start that this show consisted of two parts: an acoustic set and a full on “rock and roll” set. It’s very much like their latest album Echo Mountain of which the first disc contains uptempo songs, and the second one consists of the slower songs and ballads. I was glad they decided to turn that around for the show and start off with the acoustic set first to get everybody warmed up and ready to rock out later.

The acoustic set lasted about half an hour (it seemed shorter) after which the band took a quick break, allowing their roadies to ready the stage for a regular rock concert.

I was pleasantly surprised when the band also played “Virgin state of mind”: Buffy fans may recognize this song from an episode in which K’s Choice had a cameo. They, of course, played their biggest hit - worldwide - “Not an addict” as well.

I had a great time people watching: it almost felt like Pride. The audience consisted of people of all ages (anything from teenagers to your mom and dad), straight couples, lots of queer women. I eavesdropped on a conversation happening behind me where a straight guy introduced his lesbian friend to K’s Choice. (He, too, appreciated Sarah Bettens’s singing voice.)

K’s Choice came back for two encores. The first one was kicked off by Gert performing “Shadowman”, a song which (in a past tour) he had paired up with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. It’s a slightly haunting song, and in total contrast to the rest of the show, but a good indicator the show is coming to an end. Both encores consisted of songs that are slower and have a more intimate feel to them.

If I remember correctly they ended the show with “God in my bed”. People in the audience either hummed along, or were silently listening. And I was reminded of the fact there once was a time where smoking at venues and public spaces was still allowed: moments like these lended themselves to fish out one’s lighters and sway along to the music. Not anymore. People didn’t even took out their cell phones do to something similar.

Sarah thanked the audience for coming out (no pun intended), and playing at a sold out venue on their first date back in the Netherlands felt like wonderful welcome to them. I had a great evening.

In case you’re interested I found a slide show of band pictures taken at the Eindhoven show here.

Tweet-tweet!

Originally posted on March 4th, 2011.


Serena tweeted this pic a couple of days ago.

 

I really like the fact Serena's smiling on most of her pictures. Genuine joy is shown in this one, if you ask me.

I came across a couple more articles. Read them here and here.

Skunk Anansie: Wonderlustre tour at HMH, Amsterdam (the Netherlands)

This was originally posted on March 3rd, 2011.

While taking a break from The Great Lunenburg Schooner Race last year (I was crew on the Avenger), I received an E-mail from my friend EJ. He informed me that SA was planning to tour Europe, and asked me if I would like to see them. I can assure you I was looking forward to February 25th ever since EJ told me he managed to get tickets to the concert.

The Virgin Marys, fellow Brits, were Skunk Anansie’s opening act. The music was alright, albeit mediocre. The singer’s vocal abilities were pretty much limited to one style of singing, and I was wondering how he could have been performing all this time without completely losing his voice (especially, after noticing how he sounded like towards the end of their set). Anyway, I think the drummer was entertaining to look at for a while (think “Animal” of The Muppets). Right then, it wasn’t really showing the SA concert was sold out: there was plenty of empty space towards the back - in front of the seated area. (Have a behind the scenes peek here, with guitarist Ace joking around a bit at the end.)

Then, finally: Skunk Anansie time! After an intro where the band made a grand entrance, they kicked off with a song off their debut album (check out the Amsterdam set list here). It was obvious Skunk Anansie was ready to blow their audience away, and that they had planned on having a good time. By the time the band finished their first song the venue was packed.

Singer Skin needed about three songs to get her vocal chords properly warmed up. Little time was wasted in between songs for meaningless chit chat, which only added to their high energy performance.

Their second song (“Charlie Big Potato”) is one of my favorites off the “Post Orgasmic Chill” album: after a Drum n’ Bass inspired intro, the song takes you on a little musical roller coaster ride. (If you haven’t checked out the video through the set list, you might want to do that now to get what I mean.)

“I can dream” is another one of my SA favorites (“Selling Jesus” is my other fave off their debut album, but they didn’t play that one) and is blatantly sexual. When I heard the opening riff to “Twisted (Everyday hurts)” I was super thrilled: that bass line still kills in my opinion.

The band made up an excellent set list in my opinion: uptempo rock songs were followed by poppier songs or ballads in an inconspicuous way. The audience was in for the ride and having a great time. Skunk Anansie treated us to a new song (“I don’t want to kill you”), which I found to sound promising (another Skunk Anansie album in progress?).

Even though the sign to NOT crowd surf were clearly visible, Skin had no problem ignoring them, and the audience in the front rows love her for that: they made sure she didn’t fall. She did, however, trip about halfway through the show and came close to landing ungraciously on the floor. But she quickly regained her balance and continued singing.

When it was time to introduce the band, Skin had a little fun with the guys in the band, and they each had their moment in the spotlights. Literally. (I have to admit I was envious of Mark’s drum kit: what a beauty!)

I noticed that the Dutch audience just seem to love their ballads, which I found interesting.

The band came back for two encores, ending the show with an acoustic rendition of “You’ll follow me down”. Again, Skin’s sense of humor shines through, when she made a reference to her trip earlier that evening.

And just like that, the concert’s over. Skunk Anansie played a great show, and I had an excellent time.

Accident prone?

Originally posted on March 1st, 2011.

You probably can't really tell by looking at me, but I'm generally an active person. The interesting thing is that most of my more serious injuries happen when I'm not at the gym working out, but when I'm relaxing. That's when I my middle name could be "accident prone". Dislocated shoulder, badly sprained back... At the start of a weekend, visiting a friend in Lisbon, Portugal, respectively. I like walking around bare feet in the Summer, but I tend to stub my toes. Not just once, but several times - on one day.
What did just happen? I sprained my ankle on Saturday morning. I was visiting friends at their new house, and rushed down the stairs for breakfast. No, I didn't fall down, I simply mis-stepped (not noticing a difference in level between carpeting and wooden floor - about half an inch). Combine that with rounding a corner to the left... My ankle sort of gave out and before I knew it, I was on the floor. Great. I eventually managed to get up, but walking hurt. I didn't think of asking for an ice pack (or a bag of frozen peas) to try and prevent any major swelling.
The later it got, the more I started limping. And when I got home and removed my sneaker, I was greeted by a swelling the size of half a golfball.
I never realized how often I take the stairs to get to one floor to the next. I prefer to take the stairs instead of an elevator, but still... I have been taking elevator rides consciously since Sunday (whenever possible) since walking stairs and inclines (down) hurts. Most of the swelling has gone down, and hopefully my ankle will recover quickly.

Dreaming big

Originally posted on February 27, 2011.



When, last year, I gave the band its current name I told them I wanted to record a demo - before I was going back to Canada. I kept my eyes and ears open for a decent backing singer, and a solo guitarist (being a rhythm guitarist only gets you so far). The drummer and bass player both did the same.
The bass player suddenly announced she found a sound engineer with a home AND a portable studio. How awesome is that? The sound engineer apparently just loves to record music.
For now the band is only playing covers for the sole reason that it makes for good "bonding" (rehearsing takes place whenever our busy schedules allow). And the demo will show how well we sound as a musical unit.
A friend of mine is an amateur photographer (a great one) who I've asked whether he wanted to do a photo shoot with the band. He excitedly jumped up at the request; he would love to. The one thing Bad Monkey has to do is wait for Summer for the shoot.
Talking to another friend earlier today, she joked (I think she did anyway) she would do the video. The bass player, who was eaves dropping, loved the idea and asked me when we were going to do the video. Um, like, when the rest is able to come to Canada? For now I continue to dream big.

Poopy, pukey... And where's my voice?

Originally posted in February 14, 2011.

I must have caught a cold on Saturday. Just as I had almost recovered from last month's Flu. I was feeling a bit under the weather, but I figured it's nothing a decent sweaty work out can't fix. So, that's what I had on Tuesday. When I came home from work I was actually feeling worse, but I figured I put some food in my body, do the dishes and take it easy the rest of the evening. Only... I puked up dinner, and decided to leave the dishes in favor of several hours of extra sleep.
The next morning I woke up feeling dizzy, and between getting out of bed and getting dressed for work I manage to puke and poop as if it was nobody's business. It was like déjà vu to me; after allowing myself two sick days (early January) I went back to work all poopy and pukey. I decided to call in sick. I call off my doctor's appointment - postponing it till Friday.
Mom dropped by with chicken soup and anti cough syrup, and after doing my dishes she went back home. (She later told me she got sick with the Flu the next day.) I spent the day mostly sleeping. (And barfing.) As well as the next day.
My brother's visiting, and he drove me to the doctor the next day, who - after I tell him I have been retching and barfing up food way too much - prescribed me asthma meds and codeine (cough suppressants). My brother also helps me get some much needed groceries. I'm wiped after that, so I went back to bed. Even though I understand it takes a little time for the meds to kick in, I can't help but feel very disappointed when the excessive coughing, the retching and the puking continues. Trust me; the taste of bile gets real old real fast. Not to mention the fact that it has an overpowering taste, so no matter how often one brushes their teeth after barfing, the taste lingers.
Saturday rolled around, and I'm glad I didn't get tickets to a conference I had planned on attending: I wouldn't be able to do so in the shape I was in. The coughing lessened, and I haven't been barfing as much either. Having said that, it would be nice to not wake up in the middle of the night to rush the bathroom to puke your guts out. (That's what I've been doing the past several nights - several times a night.)
Despite the meds I still have trouble keeping in what little food I ingest. And for the past couple of days I at least try to have a decent dinner - even though I know I'll probably barf it back up. Earlier today I was talking to my brother and suddenly noticed the sound of my voice: one of the possible side effects of the asthma meds is hoarseness. And that's exactly how I sounded like; like I was about to lose my voice. Great.

Broken heart sun

Originally posted on February 10, 2011.

For those out of the loop: Serena Ryder's going to open for Melissa Etheridge during the Canadian part of her "Fearless love" tour. As you can probably tell by the cover artwork displayed above: the two have recorded a duet - their voices are an excellent match. I'm very excited, and even though I have to miss out on their shows in Halifax, NS, I'm hoping they'll also record a video to go along with it (it's been a while since Serena last released a single). There's only one thing that kinda irks me (I'm biased, I know): even though Serena wrote the song, Melissa's name's on first. Why? Probably because Melissa's more famous than Serena. It'll sell better, that's for one. And hopefully that means Serena's going to reach a bigger audience than she already did.

Read a short interview Serena did for Melissa's official site. And in case you still haven't heard the song: here's Broken Heart Sun.

Here's another article on Serena Ryder, which basically recaps the abilities of this Canadian songstress.

London, baby!

This was originally posted on January 22, 2011.



My brother was a little late in arriving at the airport, so I waited at Costa Coffee. We caught up over tea and a cappuccino before traveling back into London. We went straight to Slurp for a late dinner - we both had skipped lunch, so we were both very hungry by the time we got there. This time I tried the Chicken Teriyaki Bento. Delicious!

The next day Arnold and I traveled to Victoria Station and looked for the Oxford Tube stop, which my brother found in no time. Then we traveled on to Canada Square aka Canary Wharf - via Canada Water, a Tube stop. We wondered around till we were hungry and it was time for dinner. (I came across a sweet deal: HMV sold a boxed set containing all seasons of Torchwood for just £40!) It was freezing outside, and we were glad when we spotted a place called Wahaca, a Mexican restaurant. The food they served was simple, but really good, and our dishes both were very yummie.
I woke up early on Monday morning: I had a bus to catch. I found rush hour pretty much the same in any country. At Victoria I got a sandwich and lemonade before getting on the coach. I picked a seat on the upper deck (it's a double decker) in the front so I can see the landscape go by. Unfortunately, less than half an hour later the windows were pretty much fogged up, and I decided to enjoy the backside of my eye lids instead for half an hour: the journey to Oxford went so much quicker! My friend Alice was waiting for me at the bus station.

She took me to a comic book store, which - unfortunately - was closed. (Later, she also took me to a little pub, which was closed as well - for renovations by the looks of it.) The center of Oxford is easily walkable, and I enjoy the surroundings. It's very obviously a university town, and having read "His dark materials" by Philip Pullman I wandered around wondering where Lyra would go if she were here.
After lunch, we walked to Christ Church: that's where the dining hall scenes of the first two Harry Potter films were shot. Whee!
We also visited the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and proceeded to the Pitt Rivers Museum, which has an extensive collection. Excellent stuff!
We end the day with dinner at a pun called The Four Candles; their Sweet Chili Noodles isn't bad at all.
My brother quickly popped in to wish me a happy birthday the next morning, before I went to work. I spent the morning very relaxed, because I wasn't supposed to pick up Alice (who was traveling in from Oxford) until after 11am. We met up on Victoria Station, where Alice got a tube ticket valid for an entire day (and I got her a subway tube map so she could navigate easier and quicker through the London underground).
We set off to London's theater district aka West End, where we were going to have lunch with Ian (also a SiP fan). It turned out that West End is steps away from Chinatown, and I even found The Hems, a Dutch pub my brother's mentioned. We located Med Kitchen, and to kill some time before lunch Alice and I browse a few bookshops.
Alice and I arrived at the Med Kitchen a few minutes early: Ian had let us know via Faceplace he might be running a little late, but to go ahead and start with drinks (he made reservations).
Ian turned out exactly like he is online: a lovely guy. The food is good, the company, too. Perfect, eh? (Their fries, by the way, is crispy and non greasy. Exactly the way I like it!) Lunch is his treat (he remembered it was my birthday) and I told him if he ever visits the Netherlands I'll buy him and his wife lunch. He told us that there were two comic book stores nearby: a Forbidden Planet (I'm familiar with the one in Croydon, because my brother took me there. But it was closed because it was New Year's Day.) and Gosh! I manage to find Terry Moore's Echo #27, but neither carry back issues (#25 and #26). Oh well... I do manage to find the collected volumes of Paradise, Too.
Both Alice and I restrain ourselves, and managed to not spend a fortune on books.
After work, Arnold wanted to meet up with us for dinner, so with an hour or so to kill Alice and I agreed on having pre-birthday drinks at The Hems. Alice had a Flemish beer and I enjoyed a Jack and Coke when my brother called: he was on his way to meet us at The Hems.
Walking around and on our way to the Hems, I spotted a Chipotle: a mexican restaurant I got familiar with when I visited Stacey (and when I found out there's one in Toronto as well, I went there, too). The food is great, but the steak burrito I had didn't convince me the way it did in the US or Canada (I had a different dishes there, but it shouldn't matter - right?). I'm glad Alice and Arnold loved theirs.
After dinner we headed over to Yates on Leicester Square - my brother has been here before with his room mates and thought it might be a nice place for after work birthday drinks. I thought we were early (it was about half an hour before 8pm), but the place was already packed! Fortunately, a group of people left and a high table with stools suddenly was available. Not sure how many more persons to expect we moved to that spot.
Derek walked in, and he, too, is a lovely guy. Funny stories to tell (in part thanks to his job at BBC radio) and very on top of today's music. Speaking of music, I don't know what was going on, but the later the hour, the more they cranked up the music. (My brother assured me it wasn't like that the last time he was there.) Not only was I older, I was also getting deafer by the minute.
Alice left around 10pm, back to Victoria Station to catch a coach back to Oxford. Derek, Arnold and I decided to call it a night. I had a great low key birthday with great people :)
Wednesday was my recuperation day - one I needed badly: despite the fact I was still coughing my lungs out, Arnold thought I was a little too active). I slept in, took a bath (despite the fact I love my brother's shower - he has the best!) watch "The Four Faced Liar" (which I thought was pretty good) and "Black Swan" (pretty disturbing). Arnold and I had dinner at a chain called Pizza Express; there's one close to where he lives and he hadn't tried their stuff before. We both tried thin crusted pizzas, and we agreed they were good.

The next morning I woke up early again, this time to catch a train leaving from Euston Station. I traveled with Arnold by bus to Brixton station where we got on the tube. I got off on Euston, my brother commuted on. With an hour to kill, I got a little breakfast on Euston Station. I needed a little help in finding my correct seat, and soon I was off towards Manchester (a little over 2 hours by train) where I was going to meet up with my friend Wendy. We bonded over K's Choice and Texas and have been chatting online for the past 3, 4 years and I knew we would get along very well.
I've known from early on Wendy wears hearing aid, so I reminded myself to make sure she looks at me when I talk to her. I was worried I might forget, but I instantly adapted to it and it wasn't a problem at all. Wendy was relieved to hear I have a distinct *gasp* American accent, instead of a distinct Dutch one (she's had a Flemish girlfriend in the past, and Wendy told me she had trouble making out what she said): it made "hearing" me much easier.
Wendy remembered I watched (the original) Queer as Folk back in the day, and took me to Canal Street. Despite having basked in the sun on my way to Manchester, it was drizzling when I got off the train. Fortunately, while Wendy showed me around in the city center it stopped.

She took me for lunch at Little Yang Sing, where we went for the veggie options (Wendy's a vegetarian, and I didn't feel like having meat). We shared starters: veggie spring rolls and steamed spicey vegetable and nut dumplings. Then Wendy had the stir fried mixed vegetables in black bean sauce, while I had the veggie rice vermicelli Singapore style. It was all quite good. Plus, they scored brownie points in my book for not adding MSG to their dishes.
After lunch we set out to a couple of comic book stores. (See a pattern here?) There's a Forbidden Planet in Manchester as well, and that's where I got my brother and I light sabres - heh heh... Unfortunately, they didn't carry Echo #25 and #26 either. Wendy knew of another little comic book store nearby: Travelling Man. And guess what? They carried them - wheee! (I caught up during the train ride home.) We also popped by the Manchester Art Gallery. (I love their kids' section.)

Manchester is different from London (and Oxford), but not in a bad way. I had a good guide, and before we knew it it was almost time for me to get back to the train station - passing the opportunity to have a drink at Vanilla. Rob was right when he suggested I should book a hotel room for the night, and return the next day. Who knows next time, eh?
I slept in the next day, had a relaxed morning. I met up with Arnold for lunch near his work. It was a dreary day, but lunch at Wasabi was good. I had veggie sushi, and edamame (to take out, so I could snack later). Traveling up to meet my brother I started to feel unwell, so after lunch I slowly trekked back. Back at the house I had an extended nap, only to be woken up when my brother called to asked if I felt like having a typical British "fish & chips" for dinner - or, in this case "chicken & chips". (No salt nor vinegar for me.) The food was better than I expected.

The next morning Arnold and I set out to Westfield Shopping Centre to catch the 11:35 screening of the last Harry Potter movie. Unfortunately for us, parts of the London Underground weren't running, so getting there took us longer. (In time for the afternoon screening!) First, we strolled around on Shepherd's Bush Market for a bit, before walking over to Westfield. Having skipped breakfast, I got my brother and I Buffalo Burgers at GBK. (They're very tasty, and my brother loved his.) We shared a small portion Chunky GBK Fries with really good garlic mayo.
We killed time before the start of the movie walking around the mall. Arnold and I both enjoyed the movie (it wasn't as good as the book...).  After the movie Arnold and I shopped some more. Or, more accurately, Arnold shopped some more. We had a massage (I was reminded why I don't have them; they hurt like hell! Yea, me being a bit tense is an understatement.) and later shared a freshly baked soft pretzel (cinnamon). We ended up having a really good talk (we hadn't had those in months) at the local Starbucks - till closing time and everybody was asked to leave.
By the time we got home it was late, and we weren't hungry. Arnold went to bed, I repacked my bag for the next day.
Over brunch, my brother and I were trying to determine the best way to get to Liverpool Street (where an express train rides directly to the airport). To cut a long story short, the trip ended up taking much longer than we anticipated. And when I had finally checked in, I had a little over 10 minutes till the gate closed. So, I hurriedly said goodbye to my brother, before "rushing" through security. After that I had less than 10 minutes, and getting to the gate would take about 12 minutes. Needless to say, I sprinted to the gate - despite the Bronchitis. I made it in time.

I had such a wonderful time visiting my brother. Not sure if and when another opportunity comes up to visit him. But if I do, I'd like to visit Brighton as well ( a 50-minute train ride!)...

NYE in London, UK

This was originally posted on January 3rd, 2011.

Instead of the first weekend of December mom and I made it to London (no cancellations this time! Three is a charm...). We celebrated my brother's birthday, NYE (at Trafalgar Square) and enjoyed good food. Nando's a good place to have spicy chicken, but Slurp's an excellent place to have Japanese food (or Chinese or Thai, if that's what you prefer). Speaking of chicken; those Brits sure love their chicken. There are about two or three fried chicken shacks on every block (or so it seemed).
After waiting an eternity it was finally 5 minutes to midnight: that's when the BBC starts airing live footage (there were plenty of choppers flying overhead) and huge screens were showing it. A massive countdown preceded the fireworks... And then: 20 tons of fireworks was blasted into the sky over the course of 15 minutes. It was awesome! (I guess I can scratch this off my bucket list now.) I think, together with the fireworks at Milwaukee Pride, this was the best I've seen this year. Wait. Technically, Milwaukee Pride was last year.

Me enjoying my food (and double Jack and Coke) at Slurp :)
My brother sneakily shot that one... Doesn't his chicken teriyaki bento look drool inducing as well?

Bonjour Paris!

This was originally posted on October 17, 2010.



Exactly one month ago, I arrived at the hotel in a Parisian suburb. I hadn't visited Paris, France, in several years, so I was stoked to be back for a weekend. Here's a (quick) recap in pictures:



I just loved my designer sink so much I wanted to take it home.



A nice comfy bed, with a firm mattress. I slept like a baby.



A Parisian rainbow!









A nice contrast between old and new:




One of the many entry ways into the subway. This one's in "Art Nouveau" font.



This one (obviously) isn't:






Sunday morning in Le Marais, the Jewish/gay neighborhood:




This used to be a bakery, now I'm not sure if I'd pick up a loaf of bread there:




Around the corner (turn left) from this traiteur/boulangery is where locals - and tourists - get the best fallafel in Paris (l'As de Fallafel). I, of course, tried one and it was definitely one of the best I ever had.





I had a fantastic weekend! EDIT: I'm so glad we went last month instead of now. Can you spell strike?