17 May, 2006
· Filed under DJ Report
Most of my friends back in NZ would think that the Ministry of Sound was some government department (run by some champ like Winston) rather than a worldwide record brand dedicated to dance music. (The Ministry of Sound == Dance Label).
Okay, so my first London clubbing experience was more of a research project than anything else, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy myself! Here are some of my findings (recolections) on the night…
We arrived early to get in first at 11pm (one of my friends has a staff entry pass so that was way way cool); it was a fairly warm night so a light jacket and a long sleeve t was all that was required. House, house and more house was the flavour of the night; 3 rooms (we didn’t find the chillout room) and it was maybe 80% full. I wasn’t disappointed with the music – it was easy to dance to but I did have cravings for a bit of variety, some trance and breaks would’ve been nice.
The club was pretty safe, tame and nothing out of the extraordinary. We only got asked for drugs twice during the 5 hour period. Usual visuals – lights, weird looking guys and a bit of (smelly) smoke. My jeans smelt real bad the morning after so they we’re in the wash ASAP. Demographics wise, many European people and a tiny handful of Asians.
On the drinks menu we had:
- 2 x RTD (Bacardi Breezer Melon, Vodka with Apple) – £4.00 each
- 2 x shot of Tequila – £4 each
- 1 x shot of Aftershock – £4
- 1 x shot of some sweet concoction of Baileys, Kahlua, Tia Maria (and something else?) – £6
Out the door at 3.30am, this was good timing to catch 2 night buses and then the first morning bus back to my street at 4.45am.
So there you have it. Bring on Tiesto.
Update: here’s an article I found on the way to work one morning (07/06/06)…
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3 May, 2006
· Filed under The Real World
One of my key incentives for coming to the UK was to evolve as an individual – to pursue personal interests with limitless boundaries. This means negating bad habits and presenting myself as best as I can, to new people I meet everyday, i.e.
- Speaking up for my values and ideas
- Following my gut instincts
- Refraining from simply “going with the flow”
- Being proud of my likes and dislikes
- Meeting and spending time with like-minded people
Having been working for more than two weeks now, I’ve settled into a familiar routine – eat, sleep, wake up, sleep, wake up, work. I have shelter, I have food, now I need to implement a purpose. Time to focus… :)
One major change (that may impact you) is to take this blog seriously, to get the most out of my efforts. I’ve always been quite protective of my personal property, hence this blog (and those before it). This needs to change. I need to prepare it for the cyber space massive to include some interesting features – but still being cautious about not defameing anyone or leeking out private material. I need to think very seriously about this one.
Once happy with the direction of my blog and my writing, I will set it free (to Google) and beyond. Some things I would like to include:
- Flickr image gallery integration (flickr.com)
- Personal music listings (last.fm)
- Personal interests
- The weather (in places I care about, London and NZ)
- Technology and design articles
- A new logo and motto
One thing I am questioning is my author name… What do you think? If I become famous it’ll be hard to change later.. :) I don’t want to have an identity crisis… :/
2 May, 2006
· Filed under Travel
So May the 1st in the UK is a public holiday… yep that's all you need to know (i.e. a 3 day weekend!).
It's about 2 hours from central London to Cambridge (by coach) and only 1 hour from east London (where I live). Although, we didn't know that until our coach drove right past our part of town on the way through to our destination (after tubing all the way into central London!).
So why Cambridge? Well, my mates picked the place and it sounded pretty cool. We had a guided tour (£9) and saw a few parts of the university, learning a few facts:
- That Rutherford dude (from NZ) split the atom at Cambridge but his assistant lost his hands since he had to hold the the radioactive stuff
- DNA and the double helix was discovered at Cambridge
- Cambridge is very flat (some parts below sea level) and hence colder than London
- Cambridge has the concept of Colleges – each college usually supports all subjects and you get placed in a college of your choice (hopefully)
- 14% of students now come from Asia
- To become a vet it costs £20,000 a year, for 6 years
Some of the names at the university were quite familiar, like Trinity and Zion… making me wonder if the Matrix creators were just as innovative as Keanu's acting skills.
We also had fish and chips (£6.45) at the local pub, called the Eagle.
Further reading: http://wikitravel.org/en/Cambridge_(England)
