Almost finished...

Well, what a time I've had recently!

I've been in Linda's old flat for a few weeks now, and up until last week it was still looking like a bomb had dropped on it. I had set up some of the living room, but going to Slaygon's to work and then coming back home to the mess, I just couldn't be bothered to do anything with it. Linda came to the rescue though.

Last week I was suddenly immersed in a project, for the Swedish Idol 2006, to allow users to download the wallpapers and ringtones of the finalists. It was a normal web site, with accompanying WAP site. Now, I've never really done any WAP sites before; so I had to learn to technologies as well as design the sites - all in one week! So it was a bit of a rush-job, but I managed to get it done in time, thankfully.

Linda was in Stockholm for a few days for some lectures, and she came back to mine on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, I had to take some time out with her to do the last-minute cleaning up at fnord's old flat, as the inspection was on the next day. And then on Friday, Linda had set my phone alarm for 7:30, whereupon she said "right; go have a shower and get to Slaygon's, then don't come back until 6!" So, off I went, and I got an SMS at 5:50 asking me to come home. Linda had cleaned the whole place up from top to toe! She'd evening got some candles going for some added romance. She'd done a brilliant job, and now the flat feels nice to come home to.

This week has been weird - The stress from the week before finally caught up with me and I've been very tired. My BBB show suffered from it as well. Noir (who is in Gothenburg visiting friends and family), Hayley and Defiance joined me and Slaygon; so having people in the room kept me going, but I think that if I was on my own, I would have cancelled the show.

So, I decided on the night that I will do one last show this year, next Wednesday. I'm looking forward to doing a good show to end on, and then I'll recharge my batteries for a few weeks and come back alive 'n kicking!

The plans for Christmas have changed, but that's after Linda and I had a chat about it all. Normally Linda would go to her grandparents, and I would go home. But we decided we wanted to spend Christmas together at her flat in Trollhättan. So she's going to inform her grandparents, and I'm going to England next week, for only a week. It means I'm not going to see everyone I wanted to, but I really need this vacation to wind-down, rather than zoom around the whole of England trying to see as many people as possible. Linda and I have decided to go to England next year anyway; so this vacation will be to visit family.

I'll try and fit in another Blog before the end of the year; but if not, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope 2007 brings you all that you wish for.

Never again...

Well, I've said it before, but this time I think I mean it: next time I move, I'm getting professional movers in. I've only ever done it once, and that's when I was moving here to Sweden (as there wasn't another easy choice) and that went well, even though they were just moving the boxes into a storage facility at the time. As mentioned on a previous blog, we were moving twice on one day - something in hindsight we definitely shouldn't have done. We finished at something like 9:45pm, and rushed to the biljard to at least have something to eat. We were absolutely knackered - moving my stuff down three flights of stairs, a 400 meter drive and then walking up three fights of stairs was just too much.

But, it's over and we moved now. Linda has come over the past couple of weekends to visit; once she has an internet connection I'll be going back up with her and spending a couple of days there.

Speaking of internet... Tele2 - despite being recommended by several people - have really dropped the ball on getting my phone line sorted. As mentioned in the previous blog, they had "lost" me and said they'd send a new contract "straight away". Well, last Thursday I still hadn't received anything. After phoning them AGAIN and explaining that I've already moved, the girl on the line said she'd send a new contract out priority post. I finally got it yesterday -- and it was EXACTLY the same piece of paper I had originally got! So... I've sent the new contract back to them, and let's hope it works this time. After that, of course, there's still another 10 working days before they can even switch on the ADSL connection; so I'll continue walking to Slaygon's to work each day.

The important stuff is unboxed now; but I haven't carried on, so I still have a load of boxes around. On top of that, I need to do the final clearing up in the old flat, as that will have new tenants from December.

So, a few odds and ends but it's getting there. I like the new flat - all the rooms are slightly smaller (except for the bedroom and bathroom), but squarer as well which I like - and it has a bath!

Marcel Donné came to visit and stayed at Slaygon's this weekend, so I managed to see him too. It's been a year since I've seen him last so it was good to catch up. Plus we found a new favorite restaurant - Tilda's, which is a five minute walk away. Excellent, excellent food and we still don't know why we hadn't tried it before! Methinks we'll be going again!

A man on the edge...

GAH!

This weekend sees the Big Move, where Linda moves to Trollhättan, and I move to her flat, which is about 400 meters from where I live now. The first task is to move everything down from Linda's old flat and convoy out to Trollhättan, so that her old flat is free. It's also the "longest" move because THN is about an hours' drive away. Then we'll come back, pack the van with my stuff here and drive all of 400 meters to unload the stuff. I know, it's only 400 meters... but it's 400 meters, and there's a main road to navigate.

Of course, there's always glitches to these things. Tele2 is the company I've chosen as my telco, mainly because Linda uses them already, and they seem pretty good - or at least, they DID. Until I phoned them this week to ask if everything was OK and my application (which I had send two weeks ago) was approved. It seems they had "lost" me in the system somewhere, and had no record that I wanted a telephone line, let alone an ADSL connection. So, after being handed around to three different people, the contract was sent out again. I was hoping it would arrive today, but it hasn't. I bloody well hope it arrives tomorrow - and even then, I'm not going to get the phone line or ADSL in time. In the meantime, I'm either going to have to walk back to this flat with my laptop in my rucksack (as technically I move out of here on the 15th), or I'm going to have to ask Slaygon very nicely if I can work from his in the daytime.

This also means that BBB, my radio show, is looking a bit dodgy, although I did speak to Slaygon about that and I will probably be able to do the show from there. It will be a different show, as I won't have the sound effects and stuff that I use -- but that, actually, is a good thing. When I moved over here, I was doing the shows from Slaygon's in the first place, and I didn't rely on so much effects, just me talking bollocks. So this will be a good experiment to see what the listeners think and do an A/B comparison.

My faith in humanity dropped a bit this week, too. I went to the biljard with Slaygon on Tuesday. We left the table for a few minutes, and when I got back, someone had stolen my expensive jumper that I love wearing. I mean, a JUMPER for chrissakes! I would have understood - although I'd be very angry - if they'd have nicked the cue that I got for my birthday (which was on the table), but a jumper? And this was before the cold snap that we're in at the moment. It was mild and only drizzling slightly. Unbelievable.

Yes, we're going through a cold snap at the moment. It's been quite mild recently, until Tuesday evening when it suddenly snowed. Wednesday's temperature was -2°C, and today's has been on the zero. Luckily I have my Mafia Coat, which keeps me nice and warm.

Anyway, I have to pack a few more bits and pieces before heading off to Linda's. (That's also a source of anxiety - whether I finish in time.) I might try and add a quick addendum tomorrow before packing my PC up - failing that, I'll look for an internet connection somwehere...

Oh, and before I go, here's an Apple keyboard that I've "altered" a bit. See if you can see what's happened...

Well, I'll go to t' foot of t' stairs...

It's been a week since my birthday, and a number of things have happened.

First off, the "quiet round of pool" that was supposed to happen last Friday was hijacked by my sneak of a girlfriend, Linda. "Come over to mine first," she texted me, "to open your card!" So, I wandered over and was led into the kitchen... to find a load of people in there shouting "SURPRISE!". A minute later, there was a knock on the door, and there was Skitz, along with Nick and Ellie! All I could manage to say to Skitz was "Whaddayawant?", so much in shock was I.

So, I had a great time on Friday, drinking with friends old and new, and we went to the biljard afterwards, too.

Ellie, Skitz and Nick stayed until Monday afternoon, so we spent a couple more nights at the biljard, and generally chilled out as well; so the whole weekend turned out to be fantastic.

Linda, Slaygon and Lisa had all chipped in to buy me a voucher to get my very own pool cue, and I chose it last night. To the right is me with a slightly demonic look, holding my stick in my hand (fnar). I like the "flame" design on it.

I also got a teddy bear with a customised message on it from Ellie and Nick (complete with Geordie accent!), a book on how to speak Geordie (that's the accent that Newcastle people speak, if you didn't know) from Ellie, and Nick gave me a DJ mixer... for kids! But it has some class sound effects on it! Ellie also brought along my Emergency Supplies as well - Bombay Bad Boy Hot Noodles, Pork Crackles and Black Peperami (the hottest!) -- three things I miss from England (but also the reason why I have lost weight!).

Other than that, it's back to normal. I'm a year older, but not wiser!

Ups and Downs

It's been a strange week, or a little under actually.

The thing that started it was Sunday. Linda and I went to the Tower Café. It's basically how it's described - a little café on top of a tower (I don't know what the tower is for, actually), and you get a great view of Gothenburg. We had raspberry pie with ice cream and custard (or vaniljsås, as the Swedes call it) with come café latte. Then we had a little walk by a nearby beach, because it had been a remarkably nice sunny day.

Then we went back to Linda's, the plan being that she picked her work clothes up and we go back to mine, as I was catching a plane on Monday morning (more on that later). It was by pure chance, then, that I was in the kitchen and I heard Kittypoo meow. But, it didn't sound like it was coming from inside the house, so I leant over the kitchen window, and there was Kittypoo, outside, looking up at me. "Oh God," I immediately said to Linda, "Kitty has fallen out of the window," to which Linda ran down the stairs, picked him up and brought him back in.

He was in bad shape - Linda lives on the third floor (or second floor if you count the first floor as "ground"). He was limping badly, trying not to put pressure on his left hind leg; his body was twisted slightly, he was in shock and very "distant". Linda immediately phoned her boss to say she was having Monday off, and we looked after him the best we could. (I went back to mine briefly to pack my case, but came back.)

Linda took me to the airport on Monday morning and went back to the house. After all of my travelling to England, I got an SMS - Linda had taken Kittypoo to the vet, but he had to be put down. Linda was in tears and I felt useless because I was in England. She knew I had to go and was fine with it, but still... you know what I mean.

So... Kittypoo has passed away. I know I called him a little git and pissed on his head, but he was still Linda's pet, and the poor thing had to go like that, injuries because of a long fall.

Anyway... the reason I was in England was that I had a business meeting. I was there from Monday to Wednesday - it was a flying visit and I didn't get a chance to see anyone at all - not even those in London. It's a shame that I didn't have time, but hopefully soon I'll meet up with the gang again. I didn't particularly like the journey either - just felt "rushed", and because Linda was hurting, that didn't help either. But Linda had a conference in Stockholm too, so she's away until later on tonight. I got back at 9:30 last night, much to my relief. I went to see if Åke (Linda's big cat) was ok and spent a little time with him.

My mum phoned me earlier too. She was hoping to wait until my birthday (which is tomorrow), but she had to tell me that John (my step-dad) had had an angiogram - that's where they use a camera to check your arteries. It was lucky they did - John has two bloked arteries, so only one was working. He could have had a heart attack. So, they've kept him in and are operating on him today.

They have two choices, depending on where exactly the clogs are: implant a couple of stents, or bypass surgery. A stent is a plastic tube that acts like an artery. They would open up the clog, and put the stent in there, to keep the artery open. The alternative - bypass surgery - well, you know what that is, so we're hoping the stents will do the trick -- especially because John was supposed to be having his eye operation next week.

As previously mentioned, it's my birthday tomorrow. It will be no surprise if I find myself at the Kville Biljard in the evening . We will probably go into town on Saturday, too, just to keep the celebrations going. Linda has promised to cook me "English" breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings too, which will be nice! (That's bacon, sausage, eggs, beans... actually it's technically called "London Fry-up" because Full English has a few other bits.)

So, happy birthday (glad födelsedag) to me for tomorrow. This may sound a bit "grumpy old man", but I'll be glad to have something else to focus on, after this pretty shitty week.

Almost Swedish

It's been a while since I've added something to this blog -- mainly because Im a lazy sod who always forgets!

Yesterday, I received a letter through the post from Skatteverket (the tax office) - and I have finally received my "proper" personnummer! This is almost the final step of making me a real Swedish resident! All I have to do now is go to a bank or post office with this form, my passport and a couple of passport photos and I will get my ID Card, and I will be fully integrated!

The only major step now is to learn Swedish - the basics to make myself semi-understood anyway. There's still the SFI (Svenskundervisning För Invandrare, or Swedish For Immigrants), but that's a one- to two-year course; it's free (run by the government) but the length is because it has to cater for the "lowest common denominator", i.e. people who are less able to learn a language. The alternative -- and the one I'm probably going to take -- is an intensive six-week course run by "folkuniversitetet" (The People's University). There are two lessons per week, each running for two hours and 15 minutes. Although it will be full-on, I think this will work better for me to saturate my brain with Swedish.

Linda's grown-up cat, Åke, had a bit of a scare last week. On Saturday, we noticed that he couldn't sit down properly and was waddling rather than walking. Linda phoned up the vet and took him down, and they received him immediately. The poor thing couldn't pee; his bladder was apparently the size of an orange and he was in danger. Thankfully they drained him out and he spent a couple of days there. He's back now -- a little lethargic but healthy. Shittypoo (as you'll recall from previous blogs) is still a little bastard, and he has two big hairy balls, so I think it will soon be time for a "Tchaikovsky" (Nutcracker Suite, geddit?!) before he starts humping everything in sight and spraying over everything to stake his area.

My old mates Lee and Mez came to visit last month, too. They did a little bit of touring around Gothenburg, and we went drinking (of course) as well. A throroughly good time had by all, I think!

I've also been helping K. out at work. He works at a "gymnasium" (college) specialising in I.T. (websites, databases, media, etc) and the college has just moved location. This means that the students' laptops needed to be re-installed, and there's a hell of a lot of them. So I was drafted in to do that. Being young students (of ages 16-19), they've just come out of high school and their English is still fresh in their brains, so I had no problem talking to them. One bright spark passed his laptop to me, ran into the corridor and proclaimed, "Take it easy, guys... he's English!", much to my amusement!

Linda is moving away to Trollhättan on November 1st. The main two reasons are that she works there, and commuting every day is taking it's toll on her a bit. She's always tired because of the long hours and the type of job she does, and she has to get up at 5:30 every morning just to get ready and catch the train (or drive), so moving into the same town will be perfect. The second reason is that her grandparents are helping her buy the flat (yes, she's setting foot on the property ladder!). There's also the fact that the sub-lease on this flat that I'm in runs out in November, too, and I need to move (because of the way that landlords work here). So, I can move into Linda's flat when she moves.

Now, the downside to all of this is that her and I are going to be in different towns. But we've had a good long talk about it all, and it's not as bad as it seems, especially because of this intenstive Swedish course I want to do. She can still drive down here for the weekends, and I can go up with her and do my work on my laptop on Mondays and Tuesdays. Then I can take a train back down here for the first lesson, be here on Wednesday for my radio show, and then do the lesson on Thursday. So, we'll be apart for three days (which will take a little getting used to) but we'll still have an extended weekend together, so it will work out.

And that's my recent happenings! I think I'll lie down now, I'm not used to writing this much in one go!

Step dad and Visitations

Blimey, it's been a while since I've written something in here. Suppose I'll have to rectify it

My mum and step-dad are on vacation at the moment, in a county called Dorset, which has a number of seaside resorts. Then they fly over here at the end of the weekend to visit me for a few days: this will be their first visit, so they're looking forward to it as much as I am! Then they'll fly back to find out what day John (that's step-dad's name) goes back to the hospital.

John has had the follow-up consultation after his operation; but unfortunately, the tumour hasn't disappeared. So there are now two more options. The first one is an operation where -- and I won't go into too much detail here just in case you're a bit squeamish -- they basically use a mini vacuum cleaner to try and suck the tumour out.

Failing that, it will mean a complete removal of the eye and a "glass eye" fitted (although I doubt they use real glass nowadays). So, we will just have to wait and see whether the vacuum idea works, and we'll find that out over the next month.

In the meantime, they're keeping in good spirits; they're determined to enjoy their vacation and it'll be good to see them over here in a few days' time!

Slaygon and Ziza are on their way back after a long trans-Europe trek. They'll be knackered but happy, and we shall no doubt meet up for a good old chat about it tomorrow.

Next weekend, of course, is the SLAY Radio Gathering, where all the listeners and DJs meet up together. I'm not doing my show next Wednesday; instead, Ziphoid and I are doing a joint show on Thursday. Then we'll have the "unofficially official" pre-Gathering drinks on Friday evening, after some of my English mates fly over. Then it's the actual day on Saturday. In the daytime we're having a barbecue at Keillers Park (weather permitting!), and then in the evening we have the private room booked at the pool hall (Biljard). More information here.

My step dad

My mum phoned me today, to tell me that John, her husband of two years and my step-dad (obviously) went for his yearly check up. About 10 years ago, they spotted a cancerous growth behind his eye, so they performed raiotherapy on it and it seemed to do the trick, albeit that he only has something like 10% vision in that eye.

He's been going for a check-up once a year from that point, and everything seemed to be going fine, until this year's. They found two tumours, offshoots from the original, one right behind the eye and one around the side. There were two choices: [1] Removal, which meant freezing the one at the back and laser-shooting the one on the side, or [2] remove the eye completely. After a consultation, they decided on surgery, and he had it on Friday.

He has the follow-up checkup in a month's time, so let's hope it did the trick. If not, then we hope at least that they haven't grown too fast, and they can just remove the eye (well, not "just" but you know what I mean).

Mum and John are visiting me at the end of July, and depending on when the hospital give him his appointment, he may have just had the checkup, or just before. But he's determined to come over anyway, bless him.

Fingers crossed... (or thumbs held, as they say here)...

I survived...

Well... I got through it The parental units turned up at 17:00 on Wednesday after checking into their hotel. So we had a cuppa, then met Linda in town for a meal. Yep, she's met them too!

On Thursday we went to the archipelago in Saltholmen, where you use the ferry system to visit the series of small islands off the main coast. Absolutely beautiful; I was awestruck myself as I'd never been here. Definitely doing that again when my mum and step-dad are coming (more news on that below).

On Friday we went to the botanical gardens (Botaniska Trädgården), had a meal, and then visited Slottsskogen ("Castle Forest"), a park just over the road from the botanical garden. Then we had a meal with Slaygon, so now they've met the guy that had me sleeping in his living room for 5 months!

On Saturday, we went on the Paddan, a boat trip that lasts 50 minutes and takes you around the harbour and some of the river system in Gothenburg. Well worth a trip as the tour guide points some of the city's more prominent buildings and features out.

And then it was Sunday. A quick walk around Keillers Park, a snack, and then they were off to the airport! Very enjoyable.

My mum phoned me on Monday, and has already booked her time; she's coming at the end of July, just before the SLAY Radio Gathering. So, it'll be time to do it all again soon!

While I'm here, have a look at this link, which is a news item reported by the BBC that some people are branding Superman as "gay". Have a look at the headline and then the picture they use to show how not gay Superman is. Well, it's convinced me...

Argh! Parents!

t's 15:50 in the afternoon, and my parents should have landed by now, and are probably in a taxi on the way here. Yes, they're visiting from today until Sunday. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with them. Obviously, there's places I can take them, but I really don't know what they like.

When I say "parents", it's actually my dad and step-mum. My dad and mum split up when I was 5, and I stayed with mum, seeing my dad at the weekends. It's a sad fact of life that, although he's my dad, we've kind of grown apart, so I don't really know their likes and dislikes. But, I do have a small idea, so hopefully it will all work out.

Anyway, I'm off to wait for the phone call to say they're here! I'll be back soon...

Aw, what a cute... AARRGGHH!

Look at this wickul kitty... aaawwww! Look at it... what a cute wickul puddy tat...

And it's a bloody nightmare too!

The missus had promised to take a kitten from her friend when it had been weened from his mother; so last Friday, she picks him up. His name is Torsten, which is an old Swedish name (it's like using the name "Alfred" or "Bert" in English), but she insists on calling him "Kittypoo" while he's so small and cute.

Being a kitten, of course, he likes to play and he has absolutely no training (except for litter training, which is a relief). So, hopefully you'll empathise with me (even if you're a woman) when I share a couple of moments with you. Imagine me in the Land of Nod, dreaming nice dreams and breathing deeply. Then imagine a bunch of needle-like claws pouncing onto my gonads. I'm sure you can image my first two words. Yes, that's right: "OW! FUCK!". The little fucker had crawled under the bedclothes and thought Little Boz would be an excellent toy for him to play with, while he waited for us to wake up.

He's a daft one alright. He even attacks the quilt cover, because it has dots on the pattern and he needs to paw them. He's even tried to suck my nipple, the confused little thing.

So... I agree with Linda that he's cute... when he's asleep. Which is hardly ever because he's full of energy, the little git. Bless 'im though

Finland FTW!

Forgive me for basking in my own self-indulgence, but I'm in a very "I told you so" mood today.

Slaygon, Linda and I were having a few frames of pool, and Kville Biljard were showing the Eurovision finals. "Finland For The Win," I commented.

"No fucking way," said Slaygon, in his usual understated style.
"Fuck off!" said Linda, in her usual understated style.

The points started rolling in; and, after we got the stupid fucking pointless Political Voting out the way, it was clear that Finland were getting a big majority of The Big Three points (8, 10 or 12). At this point, S and L were getting slightly worried, but still in denial. "I'm not going to believe it if the Finns get this," said Slaygon (who, by the way, is actually a Finn).

Lo and Behold, at the end, Finland got a floor-clearing 292 points, 44 points clear of second-place Russia, I had to smirk a bit. "Un-fucking-believable" was all I got from S & L.

It was also good(?) to see that the UK did just about as good usual - 19th place out of a possible 24. Pfft.

But, there was one problem with Eurovision this year. I'm not a fan of it, but I love Terry Wogan's dry, sarcastic commentary on it. Living in Sweden now, I didn't get Wogan; just some generic Swede in Dull Voice (tm). It just won't be the same from now on. Which actually is good - I don't have any reason to watch that pile of poo any more.

Oh! And congrats to Sweden for beating previous holders Czech Republic 4-0, and therefore winning the ice hockey World Championship!

Me no likee Toilet Duck

I've come to the decision that toilet rim blocks and me just don't get on. You know what I'm talking about - those gizmos that you hang over the toilet rim, so when you flush, they mix in with the newly-flushed water producing a nice deep green, or a deep blue (like the colour of women's periods, if I'm to believe the adverts).

But oh no, not me. Whenever I buy one, they always mix at such a low ratio that I get a Big Girl's Blouse light-blue colour. I can go to a friend's house and see a lovely Navy Blue. Hell, the toilet block that fnord left behind when I moved in here did a great job. But not me. Just a faint blue, like those pastel shirts that the teacher at school that you suspected was gay wore; which turns green as soon as you pee into it. No matter where I position it. If I was paranoid, I would have thought there was a conspiracy going on.

Spring has finished too. Today was decidedly undecided, weather-wise. I can feel it in my bones that it's going to piss it down tomorrow. Oh well, it was great while it lasted.

I'm a redneck!

Blimey, I look like a Redneck!

Spring Has Sprung in Gothenburg, so Linda and I spent both Friday and Saturday evenings having a barbecue with Slaygon and Ziza at Keillers Park, eating dead meat and playing "Kubb", a "traditional" Swedish game where you throw sticks at your opponents' blocks of wood (and I'm over-simplifying here!). Then on Sunday, the missus and I had a picnic by the coastline and a stroll through the Botanical Gardens nearby.

This combination of staying out in the sun has left me with a neck and forehead that glows red! Proof that even in the springtime, the sun is strong enough to burn the skin - so remember kids, "Wear Sunblock"! But it's good to know that spring is here, and promises to be an environmentally damaging -- but great -- summer!

That tosspot who lived in a goldfish bowl for a week should be coming out soon, after trying to beat the record for holding his breath. Then we won't hear from him for another year - all being well anyway.

Oh, and while I'm at it, I've found a great internet-based radio station. Yes, I know I'm a DJ for SLAY Radio; but sometimes I need to listen to "real" music. Two Nations Gold plays the UK and USA's Top 40 records from the 60s, 70s and 80s (when music was music) and is a great station to have on when you're working or just chilling on the sofa.

What happened to April?

Blimey, a whole month went by without me noticing it! Mind you, there was good reason I suppose.

Anyhoo; it was May Day yesterday and, like England, Sweden takes the Monday off. So a bunch of us got on a boat and sailed to Denmark, to the little port town of Frederikshavn. While there, we drank some beer (actually, we'd started on spirits while on the boat), ate a lovely Thai meal, then did some shopping for cheap booze. Then on the express boat back, we complimented our liquor with some beer. So, after the day, I came back with two crates of beer, a box of red wine, a box of white wine, some ten-year-old whiskey and some Raspberry Vodka. Yum!

Actually, the Raspberry Vodka was kind-of a drink to share with Linda. "Who?" you may be saying. Well... I seem to have acquired one of those female-type devices... er... girlfriends, I think they're called in Real Life. That's why I've been a bit quiet in the past month, as I've been busily buying lots of books along the lines of "Dating Real-Life Girls For Geeks". Actually, that's a lie; but we've obviously been dating, so that's why I've not been around. But I'm sure you'll join me in welcoming Linda to my life (but shhh! don't tell her how mental I am!)

Going back to the Denmark excursion for a moment, one of the other guys that came along noticed Slaygon wearing his SLAY Radio hoodie. "So, you listen to it as well then?" he asked, to which Slaygon informed him that he actually owns the station. "Ah," says the fellow, "I know it from all those Mastering Swedish lessons you've done!" Slaygon points to me at this point, of course, and says "There's the guy that you hear flailing." So, even on a boat to Denmark, there's a small chance you'll meet someone who's heard the Mastering Swedish lessons. And if you're wondering what they are, check out the page on SLAY Radio by clicking here.

In other news... I just read that the big-headed mentally unbalanced prestidigitating nonce David "Ooh look at me, I'm making people happy" Blaine has started his new hair-brained "stunt" of floating in a sphere of water for seven days, concluding with an attempt to beat the longest hold-your-breath-under-water record. Twat. More "infotainment" on the bastion of all news websites, BBC News.

Pfft, snow again!

Can you adam 'n eve(*) it? It's snowing here in Gothenburg again... and it's supposed to be spring! Here's a picture I just took:

But it's lovely here when it snows. Here's some pictures taken at the end of January: Snow Gallery

(*)Adam 'n Eve is Cockney Rhyming slang for "believe". Every day's a school dy with Boz!

More Sticky Fingers and my Sports-Related Injury

I didn't quite go into as much detail about Sticky Fingers as I wanted, but that was mainly because I was tired. There's a few songs that have particular dance moves; certainly in the UK anyway. We all know the YMCA moves - thankfully they didn't play that at SF though.

Another song is House Of Pain's "Jump Around"; when you get to the chorus, you jump around. The English Contingency did exactly that. Unfortunately, we were the only ones to do it, so we looked like complete weirdos. But, we didn't care, it's all good.

The other they played was "Blame It On The Boogie" by The Jackson Five. When it gets to the chorus, you "Don't blame it on the sunshine" (right hand in an arc over your head), "Don't blame it on the moonlight" (left hand sweeping right-to-left mimicking moonlight on the ocean), "Don't blame it on the good times" (thrusting your pelvis with arms holding imaginery partner), "Blame it on the boogie" (cheesy boogie dance). Again, none of the Swedes knew what hit them and we got a few bemused looks.

Another highlight was Mez dancing with arms up in the air to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now", singing loudly along with it. And I thought only Lee did that! Oh, and there was a fight outside after we left. Slaygon pulled one of the guys away, while another guy pulled his friend (the opponent) away. From what I saw, Mez just stepped in the middle of the fight, spread his arms out in an "everybody be cool" motion, and walked away. Classic (Although I was later told that he did help in the actual break-up!) What added to the amusement was Mez was swaying very slightly in an alcohol-induced motion. He would have probably toppled over if someone had touched him with a feather.

Then there was the guy who came up, asking for a lighter in Swedish. Before I could offer mine, Lee said: "English!"

"OOOHHH, EEEENNNNGGLLIIIISSHHH!" shouted the tall bloke at the top of his lungs. "I AM BIG FAN OF MILLWALL. I LIVE FOR MILLWALL. I WOULD DIE FOR MILLWALL. FUCK WEST HAM!" Right... so we can ascertain that he's a fan of football (soccer), likes Millwall, and doesn't like West Ham all that much. And, if he's a true Millwall fan... then yes, he would probably die for them

Also on Sunday, I received my second Sports-Related Injury... from pool! On some of the pool tables, there's a brass plaque on the edge nearest the cue ball's area. A few weeks ago, I managed to scrape a huge chunk of skin off my knuckle after a particularly hard shot. On Sunday, it happened again, scraping the newly-formed skin right off again. I received a Band-Aid for my troubles and C. (one of the waitresses) says "that happens frequently". Well, take the bloody things off then!

I leave you with a picture of said injury. Oh the pain, the pain of it all...

"It's all gone quiet," said Rhubarb

Well, the English gang have recently left to catch their flight home. Lee and Mez have an additional 3 hour trip to get back to Worcester afterwards, so it's going to be a long night!

On Friday night, we were going to go into town to celebrate Paddy's Day, but we changed our minds and stayed local, as some of the guys were a little tired after the flight etc. A nice gentle evening to start the weekend off.

On Saturday night, we went to a few bars and then onto Sticky Fingers, a nightclub with four floors playing different music (which is a great idea). It was Mez's birthday celebration and he celebrated in style; and got chatted up by a Swedish girl (only to find out she already had a boyfriend, booo!). A thoroughly entertaining night though full of music and mayhem, and a strangely large proportion of Goth chicks (which I'm not complaining about).

Sunday was a relaxing day; after all, we were nursing the aftereffects of a large night out. At 5:00 we went to Biljard again, had a lovely meal there, and then proceeded to drink Hair Of The Dog (i.e. more beer) and play more pool! Actually, after we got back, Mark wanted to see me "in action" doing a show; so I promptly plopped myself on air and did a short show for people!

Today, we again took it easy to nurse three nights' drinking, and we walked up Keillers Park, a big hill that has the most amazing view of Gothenburg when you get to the top point. After meandering back down, we went to Biljard for a meal (but no drinks), and hung around until a taxi took them to the airport.

Great weekend though. The guys seemed to enjoy themselves! Early night for me tonight, I think

English Invasion

I've got four of my friends coming over this weekend - Anne and Mark, with Mez and my ex-housemate, Lee. It's Mez's birthday so he wanted to come over to celebrate, as he's done a tour of Europe (including Gothenburg) before. Plus it's St. Patrick's Day on Friday; so I guess we'll go out into town on the Friday. Then on the Saturday we'll probably go to Biljard and play some pool.

My American friend A. drew a picture of me, which was waiting in my inbox this morning. It's SO flattering when someone goes out of their way to do something like that! Apparently I was an "interesting subject to draw" - maybe my head is a funny shape or something! Still, you can tell it's me. I'll be keeping that!

Snot Nose II: Revenge of the Lurgy

I think I've discovered why so many Swedes have gone down with a bad cold(*)... it's because there's two strains out there. The reason I know? 'Cos I've gone and caught the second one, that's bleedin' well why!!

It was only three weeks ago when I was slowly getting over a crappy cold, and now I'm snivelling and sneezing. What's more, I have a deadline for a piece of work I'm doing, so I can't take today off. Bleurgh!

All I want is a hot nurse in one of those sexy uniforms and stockings and suspenders to wipe my fevered brow. Am I asking for too much? (Yes.)

(*) Of course, men call colds "Man-Flu". It's always worse than the colds that women suffer from. Influenza is a completely different thing, but not to us men!

Identity theft suxx0rs :(

GRRR!

About a month ago, Barclaycard (a credit card company in the UK) phoned me up to inform me that my card had been "compromised". Some bright spark tried to spend £500 at Ladbroke's gambling, along with a few other places. Thankfully, Barclaycard are really on the ball with that sort of thing, so the transactions never got onto my card, and the card was blocked and destroyed by me.

Just a moment ago, I had a call from Jemma at Barclaycard Fraud to inform me that the details of the second card I have with them had been found after a "police operation", and the police have advised them to block every card on the list. So, I've just had to destroy my second card!

If any of you identity theives look at this, you're the smegma under my foreskin of life. Bastards.

Mad as a Fish

I was having a Mass Debate with my friend E. the singer on Monday morning, when Nice Old Lady came into the apartment complex. Nice Old Lady and I usually say hello to each other and she always seems to be happy and jolly. This time, she stopped to talk to me via E. She started by saying "sorry to talk Swedish, maybe you can translate for your friend," and then she talked for about two minutes and wandered off.

E. turned to me with a perplexed look. "What was all that about," I enquired?

"Well for a start, she wasn't born in Sweden. Her accent sucks!" I laughed, but then I thought, "I wonder if Swedish people are going to say that about me when I start speaking Swedish more regularly?"

Anyway, she continued: "Then she was saying that she used to smoke in her apartment, but now she can't because you're not allowed to. Then mentioned that her brother and his wife are coming to visit. Then she went on about some woman who was stabbed in her kitchen about 25 years ago."

We looked at each other for a few moments, and all I could say was "Yay... I have a weird neighbour!" Yes folks, she's a mentalist. Mad as a box of frogs. Now whenever I see Nice Old Lady, I'm going hear "cuckoo... cuckoo" in my head! Nice Old Lady has become A Couple Of Sandwiches Short Of A Picnic Lady (although I'll still call her Nice Old Lady because the above description goes on a bit).

K.'s girlfriend L. is off for a job interview today. If it goes well, we'll be going to the biljard to celebrate. I need some Hair of the Dog tonight, as I drunk like a fish through my radio show last night, and woke up feeling a bit delicate

Everyone's got the lurgy

Blimey... well, the 24hour show was great fun in itself, but I had caught a cold off someone, so I was battling that for most of it. The way I get through a cold is to largely ignore it, and hope it will go away. This time, however, my body suddenly went "Nah, you're not ignoring me this time" and closed down yesterday, so I had to drag my sorry ass to bed and just lie there going "bleeeuuurrggghhh".

But anyway, back to the show. It was certainly an experience staying awake for 24 hours. We started at 18:00 on Saturday. at 05:00 on Sunday I suddenly hit The Barrier - but thanks to copious amounts of caffeine I managed to get through it. Highlights of the show include when Dimmignatt brought along his electric guitar and taught me the start of a song, which I played dreadully (but amusingly); and Andreas finding bits from my previous shows, playing them backwards and finding hidden subliminal messages about sauerkrauts, massages and Le Resistance. It would take too long to explain - just go to the Download Page and have a listen!

Right, I'm off to the Kville Biljard tonight with K. for some end-of-week ball action (oo-er!). (Actually I went there on Tuesday too, which turned out to be a nice night! )

Oh, and a whine to Wrigley's - your fruit flavoured Extra sugarfree gum sucks! They lose their flavour after only three minutes of chewing. What's that about?

I suppose I ought to add my first blog then :)

Well, let's try this blog thing out then. I already have one on my own webspace (www.boznet.com), but seeing as MySpace has one, I might start using this

From today until next Monday, I'm in Stockholm visiting my friend Zihpod. We're doing our first radio show together this evening; and I'm a distinguished guest at the 24-hour show being transmitted at the weekend. Should be good fun.

On Thursday, DHS (from Italy) is coming over, and we'll be sight-seeing on Friday, as this is the first time I've been to sthlm!