November 21, 2005
Mushaboom
GRRRRR…… Wanted the world to leave me alone today – it was all simply too much trouble – waking on a minus temperature Monday – you breathe and your air sits there in front of you for a good 10 seconds – I started smoking again too – it’s the trains fault – late trains – they used to just give you a general idea – 5-10mins – now they have electronic boards to inform you the exact minute of arrival – the 8:13 will arrive at 8:15 exactly – but when they notice everyone looking in the opposite direction they sneak it up a bit – 8:17, 8:21 8:29 – after which the train announcer should really say “fuck it, late is late – once you are passed your intended arrival time you are late in the eyes of all – 5 minutes - 10 minutes – it’s all the same - you really only need to be concerned about getting to the point of no return – the point at which there is simply no reason to turn up anymore…. curse us train masters all you want – you’ll all be here tomorrow…”
I wish there was graffiti at the train station again – something to read in the event of it being too cold to have your hands out your pockets to read the sports page – and you’ve forgotten your I-pod – I walk the long walk back home each day – it seems so much further when you don’t have music – I walk pretty fast – I worry that I march and end up looking like those Olympic walkers – I wonder about those folk - you win gold but surely feel a little shamed – it’s the Olympics I know – but when you take the gold back home – you think there are people lining the streets when you return? A parade? A pub celebration even? you think kids boast about their parents winning the walking 15000metres? when folk ask them if they mean the marathon and the kids look a little embarrassed and say “no, the one where you aren’t allowed to actually run and they wiggle their butt around like a white man getting down to James Brown”.
When I left Jakarta the girl that never really said much at the gym finally said something - she’ll miss seeing me dancing on the cross trainer – I asked what on earth she was talking about - so she did an impression – I never realised that I’d been running to the music in such a style that made me look like a really busy Ian Brown from the Stone Roses – shuffling funky like a doped up monkey then suddenly flying when Paul Van Dyk kicked in…
I’m back in UK and noticeably starting to become a chunky butler again – I used to go to the gym three times a week and go on the bike a bit – then I met Yuni and took up drinking and staying out all night with a vengeance - now I’m back and have been indulging in many of the things that have to be paid for not only with money, but also exercise afterwards – if vodka and whisky were cheaper I wouldn’t be drinking beer again…. I would join up to the one in town on the way home but it’ll be Christmas soon – then off to Thailand – then they start handing out the January free memberships….I could be the size of the moon by then though....
What I need is a virus and tomato soup for three weeks.
Anna and I met up and saw the new place under construction – the chirpy sales person – or as Anna referred to him “a computer geek you’d trust your kids with” – offered us the choices of fixtures and fittings – it quickly dawned on everyone that I would have my apartment looking like a Buck Rogers set and a woman’s guidance was needed – she took control – I’m only allowed shiny door handles from my original selections – the whole ”magic lights that turn on and off on timers and suit the mood of choice” are out as well – every argument I put forward was met with the reasoning that I could save the money more wisely towards a big fuck off plasma telly with surround sound and all kinds of super doper infra red I-pod amp related boom box shit.
Boys and toys. Girls and fixtures and fittings.
Later on it was a night of future and past – we’re good together – her folks took us out to the Watership – man, I had a good steak and sank some drams of Tennessee – some fine red wine – tried to sound like I knew what I was talking about when it came to world affairs – sample quote:
“look if you poison folk, take away their livelihoods, give them no option but to work in the factory making cheap lighters, make it so that they need the kids to work alongside them instead of school – people get tired, poor, ill and angry – and then they blow shit up” and then shrug like that’s all there is to the subject of terrorism.
I can say things like that every once in a while and still retain my “one of the family” status though – I dance with her mother - talk tech with her father – I play DVD Trivial Pursuit – I make the tea.
Listened to Common later on – our heads lackadaisically bobbing to ”Go” - the day winding down – the fire burned and the wine was empty - we’ll always be like this with each other – always there, where ever there is – in one form of communication or another - lucky to be this cool in each others company – now is how it’s supposed to be, her and I.
We smoked cigarettes in the garden, saw more stars than we’ve seen perhaps in our whole 28 years, comfortably shared a silence and went our separate ways to bed.
I wish there was graffiti at the train station again – something to read in the event of it being too cold to have your hands out your pockets to read the sports page – and you’ve forgotten your I-pod – I walk the long walk back home each day – it seems so much further when you don’t have music – I walk pretty fast – I worry that I march and end up looking like those Olympic walkers – I wonder about those folk - you win gold but surely feel a little shamed – it’s the Olympics I know – but when you take the gold back home – you think there are people lining the streets when you return? A parade? A pub celebration even? you think kids boast about their parents winning the walking 15000metres? when folk ask them if they mean the marathon and the kids look a little embarrassed and say “no, the one where you aren’t allowed to actually run and they wiggle their butt around like a white man getting down to James Brown”.
When I left Jakarta the girl that never really said much at the gym finally said something - she’ll miss seeing me dancing on the cross trainer – I asked what on earth she was talking about - so she did an impression – I never realised that I’d been running to the music in such a style that made me look like a really busy Ian Brown from the Stone Roses – shuffling funky like a doped up monkey then suddenly flying when Paul Van Dyk kicked in…
I’m back in UK and noticeably starting to become a chunky butler again – I used to go to the gym three times a week and go on the bike a bit – then I met Yuni and took up drinking and staying out all night with a vengeance - now I’m back and have been indulging in many of the things that have to be paid for not only with money, but also exercise afterwards – if vodka and whisky were cheaper I wouldn’t be drinking beer again…. I would join up to the one in town on the way home but it’ll be Christmas soon – then off to Thailand – then they start handing out the January free memberships….I could be the size of the moon by then though....
What I need is a virus and tomato soup for three weeks.
Anna and I met up and saw the new place under construction – the chirpy sales person – or as Anna referred to him “a computer geek you’d trust your kids with” – offered us the choices of fixtures and fittings – it quickly dawned on everyone that I would have my apartment looking like a Buck Rogers set and a woman’s guidance was needed – she took control – I’m only allowed shiny door handles from my original selections – the whole ”magic lights that turn on and off on timers and suit the mood of choice” are out as well – every argument I put forward was met with the reasoning that I could save the money more wisely towards a big fuck off plasma telly with surround sound and all kinds of super doper infra red I-pod amp related boom box shit.
Boys and toys. Girls and fixtures and fittings.
Later on it was a night of future and past – we’re good together – her folks took us out to the Watership – man, I had a good steak and sank some drams of Tennessee – some fine red wine – tried to sound like I knew what I was talking about when it came to world affairs – sample quote:
“look if you poison folk, take away their livelihoods, give them no option but to work in the factory making cheap lighters, make it so that they need the kids to work alongside them instead of school – people get tired, poor, ill and angry – and then they blow shit up” and then shrug like that’s all there is to the subject of terrorism.
I can say things like that every once in a while and still retain my “one of the family” status though – I dance with her mother - talk tech with her father – I play DVD Trivial Pursuit – I make the tea.
Listened to Common later on – our heads lackadaisically bobbing to ”Go” - the day winding down – the fire burned and the wine was empty - we’ll always be like this with each other – always there, where ever there is – in one form of communication or another - lucky to be this cool in each others company – now is how it’s supposed to be, her and I.
We smoked cigarettes in the garden, saw more stars than we’ve seen perhaps in our whole 28 years, comfortably shared a silence and went our separate ways to bed.
Spo | November 21, 2005
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