At last! My new bedding is COMPLETE!
For the last few months I’ve been trying to troubleshoot my sleeping problems. Looking through the archives, it seems I first reported trouble sleeping over a year ago — yikes! — and then a few months ago I alluded to some continuing issues. I think things have been improving, but I’ll be damned if I can attribute that to any one change! I’ve been exercising regularly (cycling for a few miles every day), and of course I’ve travelled quite a lot this year which has given my mind the SPACE it needs. It’s amazing: the moment I leave my room (which is usually only when I travel), my composure completely changes. I don’t think I’m particularly highly-strung at the worst of times, but when I travel I’m positively mellow.
So, anyway, the bedding! First I got a fancy 400-thread Egyptian cotton bed sheet and a nice protector to go under it. That didn’t help much (though it does feel really good to slide up and down against), so I got new pillows and covers. They helped a bit. Then earlier this week my newest (and most expensive, eep!) purchases arrived: a Hungarian goose down duvet, and a 400-thread Egyptian cotton duvet cover. Today I spent a few minutes re-making my bed — and as you can see from the creases, I am yet to lay on it! I’m looking forward to tonight, that’s for sure.
You’re all invited to come and try out my new bedding, incidentally! Come! There’s plenty of space.
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In other news, it looks like I’ll be in San Francisco in the middle of September. Microsoft is flying me out there for a software launch event! From what I can tell, official business will only last for a day, which means I should be able to spend a few days exploring San Francisco. Do any Angelenos want to come up and see me?! I doubt I’ll make it down to LA unless I can squeeze a whole week out of the trip.
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Photography-wise, I’m glad to say that my exhibition of photos from the Faroe Islands went well. I also sold a few photos from Norway! At last!
I updated my Montenegro gallery, so you can now buy those too. The gallery on this site is actually the most complete collection — Flickr is still missing a few, which I will update in the next few days.
I think that’s all for now…!
51 of 52
The young ones & Have I told you lately that I Love You?
Seb: I’ve spent most of this past week in the company of kids. I don’t mean that derogatorily — I mean that I’m at least 10 years older than most of them.
It’s odd, I’ve always got on better with younger and older people — but not so much with my contemporaries. I get on well with kids because they’re incredibly easy to talk to (and because they’re invariably awed and interested by the cool things I’ve done). Older people (especially women) love me, probably because I’m far too mature and wise to be ‘just 26′, while still sporting good skin and bright eyes.
When it comes to people my age, there’s a certain something in the way. I don’t know if it’s peer pressure, competition, sexual tension or what… but it seems a lot harder to just be with people my own age. It’s always been that way. That’s why I hated college. We were all between 16 and 18. I was forced to hang out with the librarian — she was mid-20s (and cute!) — or with the headmaster (really!)
In this photo, they’ve all been jumping into my pool, and, despite my fatherly badgering, most of them were doing it while fully dressed. Crazy kids!
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Abi: This week saw my good friend Nic get married to his partner Nick. Yes, they have the same name. I don’t really believe that any wedding can be described as conventional but this one was more unusual than most. Look a bit closer and you will see a Drag Queen in the background, one of the several that flanked the Groom’s arrival to the reception and one that provided the Cabaret for the evening.
I have to say that this was hands-down one of the best Weddings I have ever been to. The music was brilliant and we must have danced for about six hours straight. My feet are paying for it today though!
I’ve been a bit down on love for a while. I am however, a hopeless romantic and my faith has been restored in it a bit this year. I do believe that finding a suitable life partner happens to the very fortunate and it is very much something I believe in, however unlikely it can seem sometimes. I’ve never seen it as settling down, I don’t believe people should “settle” for each other. You just continue on the path of brilliance with a companion. I always want to be the best I can be, a succcessful partnership in my eyes is a person I can never stop learning from and laughing with.
I captured this intimate moment between the happy couple and I think it sums up the whole event and my thoughts on partnerships perfectly. Great fun.
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Click either photo to see it in smaller, technicolor glory on Flickr
50 of 52
It’s Raining Men. & The Yeti
Abi: Apologies for the lateness of this week’s upload, I’ve been in Amsterdam! When my friends and I planned this trip a few months ago, we had no idea that the weekend we chose happened to coincide with Amsterdam’s Gay Pride event. Imagine our surprise to wander down a quiet side street and find thumping dance music intersecting with another Latin beat from another party in the next block! I rarely say this about events in my life but this was honestly like something from a film (think this bit in Ferris Bueller’s Day off, only with more beautiful Gay men and you’ll get some idea of what I am talking about). It was awesome, much dancing ensued.
Anyway, as a consequence of these events, the city was COVERED in pink tickertape, for one glorious weekend EVERYTHING was pink. There is surely nothing more fitting then, than this pretty floral bicycle (complete with revellers from the night before in the background) here on the Prinsengracht Canal.
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Seb: I’ve always said that a big man needs a big microphone, and boy is the Yeti big.
For years I’ve used cheap (and not so cheap) computer microphones. They work, but I’ve always felt that they haven’t quite done my voice justice. You see, my voice has a very rich, warm timbre and most microphones just don’t have the right frequency response to capture my specific tonal qualities.
But that’s all about to change with my Blue Yeti! Finally my virtual and online friends can hear what I REALLY sound like. It also has the added bonus of making me sound like a (late-night) radio DJ — and if I get right up on top of the microphone, apparently it’s almost as if my voice is coming from — and reverberating — within their skull.
I’m planning to do a little more podcasting too, when things calm down. Hopefully in a week or two. I’m still trying to sort through photos from Montenegro! You can’t really see in this photo, but I have quite a nice tan…
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Depressing thine left mouse button o’er either photo would result in visiting yonder Flickr
I just preened at being told I look younger than I actually am… this is a first…
Today, with 26 glorious and fun-packed years behind me, I was told that I look younger than a friend who is actually a year younger than me.
My response really, really surprised me. I actually beamed! I preened! I flicked my frickin’ hair!
It wasn’t like I was being paid a compliment either — they were just making a fleeting comparison. ‘Who’s older, you or him?’- ’Me’ - Oh, you look younger than him…’
I can’t believe I responded so strongly… perhaps I am more vain than I thought… or maybe I really am worried about growing old…
Montenegrin exports
Zoom in on a little, diesel Volkswagen, buzzing and sputtering across the sparse, orange Croatian scrub. It’s a taxi, though there are no signs or licenses or anything like that. Thinking back, I probably shouldn’t have entrusted my life to a man with only a fistful of teeth, a vibrating dashboard and no taxi-driving license. But still, when you have to catch a flight, what are your options?
So, there we are, bouncing quickly across a rough Croatian road. It’s safe to say that the Croatians don’t look after their roads as well as their Montenegrin brethren. The road was hazardous — you know, the kind where your car can jump left or right into the ditch if you don’t keep a firm grip of the wheel — which wouldn’t normally have been a problem, but unfortunately the taxi driver was a SHOUTER and GESTICULATOR. Seriously, what were the odds? Not only was my taxi falling apart, but every time the taxi driver spoke he turned his head, leaned close so that his lips were only a few inches from my ear, lifted one hand off the steering wheel and BELLOWED into my EAR.
He didn’t even speak English! I thought speaking slowly… and… loudly… was a British… tourist… thing… but no! So he’s shouting Montenegrin into my ear. I’m keeping my eyes on the road, my hand within striking distance of the wheel or handbrake. From my limited grasp of the language, I can tell he’s talking about Montenegro (Crna Gora), about how he’s proud of his nation. “CRNA GORA!” he shouts and I can feel spittle landing on my earlobe. He makes a kind of wobbling gesture with his hand, accompanied by whooshing noises. “Airplane?” – “Da! AIRPLANE!” – “Crna Gora…exports?” — “DA! DA! EXPORTS!”
At this point, he takes both hands off the steering wheel. I don’t know if the car stuck to the road by magic, or whether it just happened all too quickly for anything bad to happen. He starts counting on one hand, while gesticulating Montenegro’s main exports with the other.
“VINO!”, a finger up on one hand, and a swigging motion with the other.
“MASLINOVO ULJE!”, another finger up, and a sprinkling motion with the other.
“PIČKA!”, whereupon he balls both hands into fists and makes a monumental thrusting motion with his hips. The car veers quickly to the left and I, with protean dexterity, grab the steering wheel. He doesn’t even say thank you, just nods and smiles.
So there you have it, the three main exports of Montenegro, according to a crazy taxi driver are wine, olive oil and pussy.
49 of 52
Montenegro dawn & Cheers
Seb: After two weeks I can now speak Montenegrin! Well, if sentences could be made out of modifiers, adjectives and expletives, that is.
Here are a few choice phrases:
Verlo mali jebi… (Very small fuck.)
Veliki, glup, jebi! (Fat, stupid fuck!)
It doens’t really work on paper, but when accompanied with gestures and expressive modulation of volume, it’s surprising what you can do with a vocabulary of just 50 words. The great thing about sentences without nouns (I do know a few, but let’s face it: ‘water’ isn’t very flexible) is that you can shoehorn almost any emotion with the right shake of the head, finger point or enunciation.
Anyway, regarding this immense landscape and these two little islands. The island on the left (St George) houses an ancient monastery (possibly from the 9th century), while the island on the right (Our Lady of the Rocks) is man-made — or rather, built up from a tiny rock in the water. Over the last 600 years, people have sailed out from Perast (on the left) and dumped rocks in the water. They also used sunken boats, or indeed any other detritus that made for good foundations. Finally, they built a church. This man-made island was so famous that important nobles from all around the Adriatic Sea donated oil paintings and gold coins (that are still hoarded inside!)
But why did they build the island? Because some sailors found an image of Our Lady (The Virgin Mary) on the small rock. I don’t know if they found an actual painting of Mary, or whether her visage was somehow engraved on the rock, but… still… it puts the whole ‘Face of Jesus found on piece of toast’ thing into perspective.
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Abi:I tend to do my socialising in huge chunks. I’m the kind of person who will go out every night for a week, then stay in for a month. I’ve not been a regular weekend drinker since University because the whole scene does not really suit me. I’d rather go see a band or a show, or something.
Having said that, this week just happens to be one of those weeks where everything is happening, I’ve been out for five consecutive nights and again last night as part of my friend Nic’s hen/stag celebrations. This baffles me because I am totally and utterly strapped for cash right now and haven’t managed to spend a great deal. I guess one advantage of not going out and partaking of alcohol regularly is that I am a shameless lightweight. After this Gin and Tonic here I was already tipsy.
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Click either photo to see it on Flickr!
A few photos of Montenegro
I just had my first solid poop in four days! To celebrate, here are a handful of pretty photos from all over Montenegro, the pint-sized jewel of the Adriatic Sea. For a country with 600,000 citizens and an area of just 5,000 square miles — i.e. one of the smallest countries in the world — there sure is a lot to see and do here.
I’ll post a lot more photos once I’m back in England, on Tuesday. If you want to see more, visit Flickr. You can’t buy these photos just yet, but I’ll fix that when I get home.
48 of 52
Recuperate & Bay of Kotor
Abi: Ah! another 52 Weeks in which Abi and Sebastian are thrown off kilter because one of them is travelling. When I think about this project and all its similarities and contrasts, I am always amazed we managed to keep it going the way we do. Every Sunday, we upload our respective images in readiness for the following day, regardless of where we happen to be. It’s part of my week and it’s pretty weird to think it’s almost over. I think I’ll miss it.
I am not the best at convalescing. It’s not so much that I am unused to downtime, more that even during those periods of rest I am quite often occupied. When events force you back to bed and you are quite unable to stay awake it is pretty frustrating. All you can do is just lie there, re read as many novels as you can and watch crap TV until the whole sorry episode is over.
I’m not even kidding, whilst Seb is away taking spectacular photos I haven’t really ventured much further than this.
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Seb: It’s not hard to see why the Bay of Kotor (it’s a fjord really! or ’submerged river canyon’, apparently) is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The last week has been unrelentingly hot, with temperatures reaching over 40C and humidity stubbornly sitting at around 100%. Even at night it’s about 25C. To say that my stay here has been merely ’sticky’ would be a vast understatement.
Still, where there is tropical heat, there is ultimately a tropical storm — and that’s what you can see here. The rain front is on the right (the dark grey fog by the mountain), and about 30 seconds later the heavens opened and soaked both me and the camera.
But I got the shot!
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Click either photo to see a smaller version on Flickr!
