How to BBQ - the long way

There was a South African, an Australian and English person in a car and.... ummm... well you really had to be there to realise how funny it was.

Basically the story was Amy had a BBQ/party in London and the plan was to head down a little earlier so I could buy some gear for my 'studio' however we managed to turn the 1.5hr trip into something closer to 3hrs and the store shut. It was, however, entertaining and we got to see half of London.

Unfortunately due to reasons which can't be disclosed I can't publish any photos of the party up but here are some of the drive back to MK through London. As we'd accidentaly seen half of London on the way down we(I) decided to see the other half on the way back.

EVERYTHING'S FINE!!!!!

I feel the need to blog, mainly because I can but also to say everything's fine. Maybe I need one of those 'Everything's fine' alarms(like on the Simpsons) that goes off constantly to let you know everything's fine. When it stops, you worry.

There's not too much exciting happening at the moment other than work and churning out the odd 'average' song. I heard someone's thought once that it takes a songwriter 100 songs to write a hit. The trick is knowing which of the 100 songs is the hit? Is it the first one? The last one? Or the 52nd one? I guess I won't know until I reach 100. In the meantime I'll keep them coming, might even stick them on an album someday.

Work is driving me a little crazy at the moment although I think it's mainly the idea of work rather than the actual work I'm doing. I'm at the point where I'm thinking how do I know if what I'm doing is what I should be doing if I havn't done the things that I think I'd also like to do? So there could be a change in the air. Stay tuned.

New look 'phlog'

Well I've found the time to delve into this whole blog thing a little more and redesigned my site. Let me know what you think and what I should change or add - you can be honest, I'm not precious.

My Studio

Considering I spent so much time in it, thought I'd show you some pics of the third bedroom aka 'The Studio'


And here's a little movie of it: featuring my latest track as a soundtrack.

Mobile

I also finally got a UK mobile! I'll be using this one more than my old one even though I've still got the Australian number, so if you want to update your phone book let me know and I'll give you my new number.

The real reason - USA

The real reason I was in the State wasn't to go shopping, take photos or date models and actresses(surprisingly enough) it was to attend an International web and new media conference. But as you'd expect a room full of slightly nerdy marketing and IT types don't make great photos so here are some from around about:

The view from the hotel:


Sampling local beers:


World Vision International office


After the conference I had to head up to Seattle for some meetings at the WV US head office. Here are some shots from around seattle.

World Vision US office

Even got to see a baseball match while I was there - Seattle Mariners v Cleveland Indians


Random shots from around Seattle(mouse-over for description):

Beverly Hills 90210

EXT. HOLLYWOOD HILLS
Dark Blue Maserati, moving fast through the Hollywood Hills, passes large, beautiful homes... Driver shifts, grinding gears...

The Maserati comes to a red light and pulls up next to a Dodge Colt. The GIRL in the Colt looks at the Driver and his car admiringly. Feeling confident, he revs the engine. The light turns green. He takes off leaving the Colt in the dust.

EXT. A SIDE STREET IN HOLLYWOOD
A crumbling old apartment building. Dark alley ways, deserted parking lot. The Maserati -- blink and you miss it -- motors past the building.

PANNING UP A building facade of lit windows and metal fire escape. One window in particular. A GIRL stands there in a short kimono, looking down.

EXT. REGENT BEVERLY WILSHIRE HOTEL
The stone wall of the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel sparkle as if thousands of tiny white lights are embedded in each one. Bright flags are illuminated
by the daylight sun. The Maserati SCREAMS into the
driveway and comes to a jarring stop by the front door...

Well it didn't quite happen like that - artistic license - but there was a Maserati, the Regent Beverly Wilshire and me all in the same place at the one time. And here are some photos to prove it, and a couple of others from around LA too.