Archive for September, 2006

Fight or flight

Friday, September 29th, 2006

Coming home is often the biggest surprise. Not only did I get a chance to relax and visit somewhere new, but I feel my independence has been turned up to 11.

New York has certainly mellowed my antipathy towards large cities, to the extent that Nottingham is starting to feel ever so slightly insular. The year’s influx of students perpetuate that – their homogeneity seems to increase every year. £1/pint night at (ugh) the Horn In Hand was crammed full of them – bedecked in H&M and pre-torn jeans. I’m by no means the student-hater, I just wish they were a bit more… interesting. They seem to be a lot more amoebic than I remember. Beer stimulus, vomit response. I am told that 125 of them ended up in A&E after Isis on Wednesday.

These may be my last few months in Nottingham. There are a lot of factors – career, friends, finances – but the desire to move on is steadily growing. If they are, then I want to make them ones to remember.

In alternate-reality news, the linkshell killed Fafnir twice this week, and it dropped a goddamn Ridill:

Matt got it; he may well be the first British player to have one for all I know. They’re ludicrously rare. I got the Aegishjalmr (Paladin hat) despite being 19 levels too low to use it. That’s the beauty of levelling unfashionable jobs, I guess.

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Priorities

Thursday, September 21st, 2006

This has really made my day. TechCrunch reports that Facebook is in acquisition talks – $1bn to Yahoo! Whoopee. Then, they pick out a fabulous quote about Mark Zuckerberg, the 22-year-old CEO of Facebook:

At one point in the Yahoo! negotiations, the talks extended into the weekend, says a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Zuckerberg, this account continues, said he couldn’t take part because his girlfriend was in town. Others pointed out they were closing in on a billion-dollar deal. Mr. Zuckerberg said it didn’t matter: his cellphone would be off.

I can’t decide whether that’s devotion, arrogance or stupidity. I’m not sure it matters, he’s still my new personal hero.

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New York, a work in progress

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

I can’t believe it’s only my third day here, it seems like weeks since I was at home. My feet are sore, so is my head, I didn’t pack enough clothes, but I’m loving every minute.

I’d say the thing that’s made me smile the most has been tipping bartenders. Really. It’s makes it so much more than just customer servitude. In short, you tip $1 a drink – and after you buy three generally your next is on the house. Works out about even, and you know your extra money’s going to a person rather than to the corporate machine. Maybe I’ll make it my personal crusade to implement the system in the UK. Or maybe I won’t.

I’ve not found New Yorkers, so far, to deserve their reputation as brash and abrasive. The ones I’ve chatted with have been very welcoming. Actually, until yesterday I’ve found it rather hard to spend any money. The New Jersey lawyer I got chatting to at Band Of Horses insisted on buying me a variety of American beers. Fortunately today I found a cracking record shop in the East Village (possibly as good as Selectadisc) which has rectified that situation.

Other notes:

- The Statue of Liberty is a lot smaller than I expected
- CDs are cheap as hell ($11.99 + tax = 6.50)
- American keyboards don’t have pound signs, dammit
- Money is impossible to tell apart, particularly in a poorly-lit Tribeca club
- I really need a better camera for this kind of visit
- The subway is indeed full of crazy people, and is almost as badly designed as the dollar bills
- The view from the Brooklyn Bridge is truly spectacular
- I wish I could stay longer.

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How Cennydd got his GrooveBat

Friday, September 1st, 2006

It’s a boy! My chocobo hatched and promptly fell asleep for days. Fortunately he’s awake again and eating his San d’Orian carrots. Anyway, he’s called GrooveBat, and I wub him vewy much.

Most of my time has been spent finalising my New York schedule. Found a reasonably grotty hostel in Upper West Manhattan (one block from Central Park), the price of which increased by £100 the night before I was able to book it. I have some loose ideas for ways to pass the time while I’m there, centring mostly on art galleries and standard tourist activites. I’m both excited and nervous, as if I was about to dive from the top board. While I’m very comfortable with my own company, the prospect of spending five days alone in an entirely unfamiliar city is slightly daunting.

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