Hello you lovely people.
Despite quiet week, you know the feeling, it never rains but it pours and this weekend it rained all over my bed!
Quite literally there was a tsunami-esque flood from the upstairs apartment/roof into and all over my bed. 
Anyhow, I will post with photos, hopefully tomorrow.
In the meantime with the lovely lovely Darren of Culch.ie we will be liveblogging our favourite show.
Join us and bitch and moan, laugh, jeer and sulk
Yes its here,
despite our mixup last week we are back on track
will be liveblogged here and on culch.ie tonight from 8.45pm (GMT)
To join in just add a comment in the window below once the program starst and we’ll add you.
We’d love to hear your smart assed comments so come on in! 
Despite feeling a bit low and rather stretched at work I do have a big bright blue light on the runway of the past two weeks.
On Saturday night, just gone, Bellx1 were due to play in Paradiso. Tickets were €12.50 and sold out by the time I got my ass in gear (story of my life). I was gutted as I really wanted to see them, and I love Paradiso so it was a double whammy to me.
Only one thing for it… 6.30pm saw me standing outside Paradiso hoping to catch the eye of someone with an extra ticket. By 7.30pm I had almost given up hope, but I had noticed a handsome man walking towards me….. hmmm…. “what are you doing here” he said leaning in with a grin.
It was the lovely Xbox and after our almost/nearly/neverdid meeting in Cork Airport after the bloggies I was glad he came to say hi! Unfortunately he didn’t have a spare ticket either so after a quick chat and a prompt to go back up to the door and ask again he was gone. Well that was that, my resolve was made, I wasn’t going to miss a night at Bellx1 in Paradiso with one of my favourite bloggers. Up I marched to the door again, the ticket booth was empty of punters as the gigs were all just about to start.
The conversation went a bit like this:
Me: Any chance of a ticket for Bellx1? Have there been any cancellations or sell backs?
Ticket Lady: No… sorry its totally sold out.
M: *sigh* ok, I really wanted to see them but I guess I’m out of luck.
TL: Is is just you, or are you with friends?
M: No I’m on my own, but I’m ok in the city, thanks for asking.
TL: No I mean, do you just need one ticket?
M: Eh.. yeah… just one, just for me… I’m on my own (I’m babbling at this point)
TL: Ok ask that man over there (points to burly doorman who previously growled at me) to come talk to me.
M: Ok… (runs to door man) Eh that lady in the ticket-box wants to speak to you
He ambles over to the ticket box and then turns on his heel and grabs me by the shoulder I pretty much think I’m going to hit the pavement for harassment or just being weird.
He ushers me inside the door and says… “gig is upstairs, enjoy!”
Wow, I literally did a little dance in the lobby of the Paradiso, the lovely lovely ticket lady came out and said “Run its about to start” I asked her if I could pay her for the ticket and she said no, she had a guest pass and it was not going to be used so I should have it!
Anyway, I legged it up the stairs and met Xbox at the bar. I went to join his gang and we watched a great set by Bellx1.
Highlights were Bad Skin Day, Rocky Took a Lover, Eve the apple of my eye, and Ribs of a Broken umbrella. They also did Flame and Blue lights on the runway and a fair few others I cant remember now. It was 2 hours of music and I loved every minute. Seemingly its their first sell out gig in Amsterdam, and I hope they come back soon so we can give them another sell out audience. They were excellent. I’m just annoyed I didn’t pluck up the courage earlier to ask the ticket lady (and not the doorman who growled at me) so I could have caught Duke Special’s set. They played upstairs in the small room, which is really intimate and I was feet from the stage.
Thing was, I had spent the day shopping for my nemesis… frickin wedding shoes (or just shoes to normal 30yr old women) I only wear winter boots, trainers or converse (for smart occasions) so as I’m off to a wedding at the end of the month, I needed to buy wedding shoes. More anon
But lets just say I hadn’t had time to eat all day as I was on my shopping mission impossible. I went straight to Paradiso and then gig (plus beers) From there I went out with Xbox and his lovely wife Elaine who has the most beautiful smile ever; her whole face lights up, she rocks. (not hitting on your wife Martin – promise) and their mates. Yep I was not the best for ware as I cycled home at quarter to three on Sunday morning….
My left hand, wrist, elbow, inside leg, Right wrist, knee, ankle will all attest to the fact that drunken cycling isn’t the smartest thing I’ve done. Several beers and one sharp turn too many saw the road quite literally (to me anyway) rise up to meet me from a sharp bend off the Prinsengracht, and I went from sitting on my bike to lying face down on the pavement.
Oh well… hope the bruises and scabs heal up in time for the wedding or the sophisticated look I was going for might be impaired, it might just be a bad skin day.
Ps If you havent already bought Blue Lights on the Runway please do. Its a fantastic album
Well I have to say I’ve let things slide, and I’m sorry.
I’ve missed blogging
What began as a few days with my mum became a nightmare of work that is far from over.
My mum came over for Queens Day, which was (despite everything) great.
Despite what? you might ask, well on the night she came over there was a hit and run outside the door.
A young woman was flung off her bike by a lunatic who went on to nearly kill two others at the end of the street. My mum is not a fan of me biking around Amsterdam, in fact she hates it. And for that to happen on the night she arrived definitely didn’t help. The girl in question was conscious by the time the ambulances arrived and could move arms and legs. I was the first on the scene as I was just upstairs, and her friend happened to pick the guy’s licence plate up so hopefully they will catch him.
The next day, Queens Day, we got up and began to explore the city. The weather was amazing and the colour noise and people of the festival are second to none, it really is something worth doing. And early in the day it’s great for families and kids. Later in the day/evening it gets a lot rowdier. So we walked and ate and drank and watched from 11am-4pm by which point mum had enough. We returned to the news that someone had ploughed through a crowd watching the Dutch Royal Family, killing 5 and wounding 20 people.
I wondered at that point if she wasn’t wondering why the hell I chose to live here. But she likes the country over all and knows that where I live and the country in general is very peaceful and safe.
So for the whole time mum was here the other floors of the house were empty, which was great as when the upstairs folk are home its really loud here. It really bugs me to be honest as they have no consideration and even having spoken to them a few times nicely I know that they really don’t give a crap. I mostly listen to TV/Laptop/ipod with headphones so I cant hear them. The apartment is lovely but I don’t think sound insulation from a house built in 1825 was destined to suit two guys trundling around with their mates slamming doors, shouting and jumping around and listening to dance music and tv with a 5.1 sound system. But anyway, its a pity as I lived here for 10 months with other neighbours in that apartment and they never bothered me.
So other than that it was lovely to have mum over, I enjoyed the peace in the house without the neighbours. The weather was great and it was lovely just to have time with her to talk and relax and spoil her. I really missed her when she left, its really the longest she’s been here since I moved over and I was getting used to having someone in the house to talk to. I got a bit down when she left, and then I got back to work.
With my return to work a project that’s been on slow boil for a while suddenly came to a rolling boil, and I’ve been in work till 8pm every night. I’m happy that I’m making really good progress with it and I know I’ll be done in a couple of weeks, at least this happened in the summer. I’d hate to be stuck in my office till 8 every night in winter, it was bad enough getting to and coming from there in semi light without staying there for 10 hours.
Anyhow, I am returning to my bloggy home, and will be blogging properly again. But that said I may be a tiny bit less frequent than the post a day I was maintaining in March/April.
Thanks for hanging around.
I will reward your loyalty with probably rubbish photos of Amsterdam’s Queens Day and our trip to the Keukenhof.
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