Living in England doesn't change you, except...

Buh?
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: Thump thump from whatever the guy downstairs is playing
'Buh?' pretty much sums up this weekend. Yep, we did a big fat zero. Lessee...

Yesterday: A trip to the library and lots of reading. Elisabeth got out a book on etiquette and manners and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we actually know what we're doing when it comes to this kind of thing. And how many people who think they do actually don't. I finished up Douglas Coupland's Girlfriend in a Coma and was reminded by how, as a writer, he irritates me so now I'm reading a book about what it's like to be a pimp. It's called Pimp and written my a dude named Iceberg slim with an introduction by Ice T so you know it's legit. It's also got a glossary of 'pimp' terms which is handy. ... If our money troubles over here keep persisting, I know a way to book me some scratch.

Today: We went on a tour of the local theatre where Jack the Ripper's going to play and went to Carters Steam Fair. Those of you who've been following this web site might remember the fun we had there last year in Englefield Green on the bumper cars (Dadgem's in England) and how Elisabeth flirted with one of the carneys. Well, that same damn carney was there this year and, low and behold, who starts taking pictures of him? Hmmm... I made sure they were all deleted post haste... We were also good and resisted the urge to spend money. So instead we headed home where Elisabeth baked some cakes and melted part of the carpet.

A query
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: Bob Marley - One Love
I know that I'm not supposed to get all political over here, but it's the anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks in New York and there's barely a peep in the news. Is it like that in North America as well? Basically what I'm getting at is, has Bush so squandered the international outpouring of grief and support three years ago that he can't even mention "the worst attack on U.S. soil since Peal Harbor?" (In quotations because I'm sure someone has patented that term so that they can make a quick buck out of it)

Just a depressing thought.

-Stephen singing lets get together an we'll fell alright, out.

Update:
I just checked out al Jazeera and according to this story, the New York and New Jersey Port Authorities are celerbating by suing the saudi Government for 7 billion dollars. Happy anniversary!

Cough up the Doh!
Mood:  mischievious
Now Playing: The Breeders--Last Splash
Ok, so we've been a bit excessive this month with our money. Ok, so maybe it was me who was excessive...but in anycase...we're basically out. We made the mistake of believing we could afford going out for a coffee, a bagel, a trip to London, a couple of nice fruit drinks, a bit more wine, and renting movies. Guess that's only for the upper class! Yes, we're right back to where we were last year, except now a 1,800 pounds more in debt!

Needless to say Stephen has been on the prowl for jobs this week, with a couple of leads...

It is a stressful and cautious time as many of you past job-seekers know. But the good news is, once a job is secured, we will be on our way down Easy Street (or so we think.)

Not much will happen this weekend...we can't spend one pence more than necessary...which means we're stuck in Woking with no alcohol, no movies, no nothin!

God Bless the Queen!

Over and Out: E

Funny foibles* of the Trendy British Girl
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: BBC special report: The youth of today are apathetic and depressed!
*Because 'foible' is the word of the moment.

Woah Nelly it's humid today! Moisture is condensing on my glasses, my legs are all sweaty under my jeans, you know the routine. But it's not raining. That's the important thing.

Anyone who's visited knows that the walk to our new flat is along a long, straight road and you can see someone coming towards you from 2 blocks away, sometimes. So, heading towards me is a Trendy British Girl with her umbrella up and as she nears me, I can sense her palpable fear: 'Cor blimy! 'e doesn't 'ave 'is brolly up. It's not rainin' Wot am Oi doin'? Oi must save face and cahn't let 'im know Oi've mucked up. Must look straight ahead. Must maintain my superficial facade of trendiness.'

After we passed each other, I counted to 10 before looking over my shoulder. Sure enough, her umbrella was already put away.

At Last
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: Some pretentious Shakespearean actor name-dropping and going bla, bla, bla on the radio
New gallery added:

Englefield Green Fair

And with that, the photo galleries of year 1 of Stephen & Elisabeth in England come to a close. There are a bunch of pictures that I wish I could have put up from John & Sean's visit but they've got them on their own pages and, best of all, my snide commentary is absent from them so I won't bother.

Time for breakfast.

Light blogging
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: BBC News - the Today show
For the forseeable future. Elisabeth's got tons of work to do at the office, I'm looking for work (And not being driven insane) and things are pretty quiet ie, uninteresting. I imagine that later this month, once Ms. Allin arrives, things worthy of blogging may transpire.

In the meantime, there are a couple of photo albums I've been meaning to put up for a while so this place won't go completely dead.

PS- Whenever I say there won't be much blogging, somethig usually comes up, so yeah, I'm stacking the deck in my favour.

PPS- 3000+ hits on our web site. I would say "cool" but I'm also aware that 2647 of those hits are from JC so I can't get too excited about it. [evil smiley goes here]

Welcome to the 20th century
Elisabeth now has a cell/mobile phone that I may occasionally have on me to help with the job hunt. I'll get my own phone when I receive my 1st pay cheque. She can be reached at:

0787-666-1252

Our contact details will be updated on the main page.

3rd anniversary
Mood:  celebratory
Today celebrates the occasion where, three years ago, Elisabeth and I got hammered and made out at a party for the first time. >sigh< So romantic, these things.

(Mind you, things don't get any more romantic from there - especially considering that after talking to her a few days later, I said that I'd call her the next day and we'd organise a date... on September 11th. I'm sure there are certain family member who could see some kind of symbolism in that. Oops. Shouldn't have written that. [Smiley face goes here])

How to utterly embarrass your wife
Mood:  cheeky
Now Playing: Neko Case (Blacklisted)
1)Get her liquored up on 14% rose wine.
2)Get her singing a medley of her favorite songs. (Patsy Cline, Fats Waller, etc.)so that
3)As she finishes Manhattan Transfer's 'Operator' the cute blonde guy from downstairs applaudes her.

Ha Ha.

Oh well, I've never seen her so embarrassed. Ever. And that's saying something.

Other news: I'm still unemployed and will be off to the temping agency on Monday. Sigh. Sucks being over-educated and over-skilled for all the jobs you want.

Other news: I forgot to pick up Papillon from the library so I'm reading Sonny Barger's biography instead. He's the dude that, basically, made the Hell's Angels what it is today.

Other news: Elisabeth and I are reading Keats and will be going for a picnic and frisbee in the park tomorrow. How freakin' British is that? Maybe we'll even wath those guys play cricket.