where the bloody hell are you?

I had mixed feelings about London, but overall it was a brill (ha.. local speak), experience. The city is so huge, yet through place names and architecture, so familiar. Bike riding around helped see more of the layout than I would have in a Tube (though that was fun). Props to Matt and Melissa for lending me a bike and letting me crash xmas while I was in town

Meeting up with an ex-girlfriend went better than expected. This is super ancient history, but every time we interacted after we stopped seeing each other in 2002 involved tears, awkward 3am SMS and uncomfortable silences. Our last gauche meeting 18 months ago (a few months before she left for her first big world trip), I suggested travel would make these emotions seem insignificant and trivial. I had many reservations about meeting up with her, but as she is quite a kind person, I decided to give it a shot. Once we met up and I stayed a few nights with her and her flat mates, my theory proved true and things seem to have settled without the weirdness. I think by the next time we meet, we'll be on the way to a normal friendship.

Staying with Simon and Alex was fab. Although I spent more time with Simon, these guys were the only Brits I interacted at length with. Great guys to meet and hang out with - talking music, travel and life over a few beers. It also gave me a chance to see south London, spend plenty of time around Battersea and catch up on last year’s Doctor Who. Browsing their extensive music collection didn’t hurt either. Bill Drummond is a genius.

Oh.. and now I’m in Dublin