Evenin' All.


I think the weirdest thing is that I haven't been here for 2 1/2 years and I feel completely at ease. Shame my Chinese sucks, but at least it's amusing the kids.




Web access seems completely unrestricted except for some BBC feeds. I feel like I've been gypped a bit, as I remember it being harder to get to some sites.... I was hoping for a man in the wilderness feeling but here I am, not even in the country a full day and blogging. Imagine if Captain Oates had said, "I'm just going outside and may be some time." only to return a couple of minutes later to tell everyone, "Did you know there's an Esso garage just behind this big snowdrift....?" I feel a bit like that.

And on that note, I'm off to Starbucks, where small is still called fucking tall.

All That You Can't...

I'm going to China for three months tomorrow. Don't know anyone there (not really) and have only a vague plan of what I'm doing beyond learning Mandarin. I'm excited by the Stingray feeling (anything can happen in the next half hour!). I had this plan 2 years ago just before The Strokes started touring. Going to China for an extended period is the second item on my hit list. I am a very lucky boy.

By take-off I'll be fit to burst and feeling like the first 8 bars of Metal Guru or the guitars and horns on Eddie's Big Bird where it doesn't sound like it will ever come down or Paul Weller playing anything on a Rickenbacker or all of I Want You (She's So Heavy) but especially the bit where George changes pick-ups half way through or Albert and Matt playing GfC or hearing Reptilia live or Common People in front of 90000+ people and I don't care if they're my mates because they all rule or my new polka dot shirt that only took 25 years to get here or shopping with Mick at Oswald Bailey and cooing like affected effeminate pigeons over the linings or laughing with Rob and Graham on the way home from The D&T after stopping at the Parson's Nose or Audrey looking for Cat or Li going batshit-crazy on the roof or hearing from someone who's got under your skin or listening to Embarrassment and Gangsters in 12 hole burgundy docs or typing THE END after 118950 words and 439 pages and I'm spent.


Not sure I can blog from Beijing - I think there may be a block on the site. Guess I'll find out soon enough. Not that you'll miss me, I know you're all fickle tarts and you'll all be over at Harley's, Lucas's and Jamie's blogs once I've gone.

Happy Holidays. See you in 2008.

Maybe.

Ruby Murray Worry


I am concerned. Many of my (washed) tee-shirts smell of curry when I take them out of the closet.

There is no curry in the closet. What if I'm starting to smell of curry and my tee-shirts have caught it? Then what? It would be a disaster, socially, that is. A catastrophe.

More Tooth Aches:


Nothing going on so I'm fixating on my new tooth. I was thinking that as I'd spent so much on tooth # 30 and it doesn't do anything other than look vaguely off-white in my mouth how much better it would be if I'd had it fitted with a little light like those kids in Shibuya have on the ends of the cell-phones? Then I'd have a disco mouth, which I've always quite fancied, and I'm sure it would add a whole new dimension to lots of activities. It might even get people to pay attention when I'm talking.

And as for getting my teeth fixed before going to China--apparently I messed up. A friend sent me a snippet from the esteemed UK Sun newspaper that told of a dentist called Wang Wal who, to help his patients relax during procedures, procured prozzers to give them blow jobs. I'm not sure how this worked, or if I'd be able to sustain the required interest while a man drilled into my tooth (wouldn't it be strange if it became an erotic fixation and you had to do it at home afterwards as the "only way it works now, love"?) but I felt gypped. I'm going to check on Dr Wang Wal's practice to see if you get the good drugs as well and if you do, then I'm taking a bumper bag of sweets and no toothbrush to Beijing....