I just got an invitation for a reunion from some of my elementary school classmates. After scrolling through the members list, seeing so many faces which, like my own, have changed drastically over the years I realize that i really do want to attend and get to know all those who've poked out of the soil during these nine years. So far away from home, I suddenly wish I were back in Canada.
Now, sitting in shaun's flat, he, gabe, ming, cora, my ex sin yee and rob are drinking steadily into another saturday's night, Lan Kwai Fong waits for our drunken arrival, where I'll use whatever cantonese I know to charm my way into someone else's life. In this beautiful city that has been my real home for four years, where I've really grown up I feel so completely distracted..... I miss canada. I miss my old ring of mates. Alex, CJ, Peter, Moir, Brent, Kayn...even sparcely decorated memories of Immures, Ruth, and the staircase fanatics. What are you all up to?
Would anyone care to pay for my ticket back to the hammer?....haha... oh how wonderful that would be. The last time I smiled at that old grey skyline was a year and a half ago.......two visits in four years. Now, not enough.
home home home home home hammer!
take care all
bebs
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
INTERVIEW!
yooooooooo!
Just a quick pop in to say that my band, THE DAVID BOWIE KNIVES will be doing an interview tomorrow night for a big paper in Hk called The South China Morning Post. I'm not sure when the article will be posted, I'm just so excited that all these interviews and shows keep dropping down on us. Lovely!
There will also be some sort of photo shoot some time next week. Hopefully nothing big happens the day we're in the paper............that way we'll be the sexiest front page material they've ever had!
haha
cheers
brendan
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
My literary world
Well hello there! Sorry for the lack of posting recently. I have all sorts of excuses but there's not any point going into them.
Life in the big apple...I mean Lychee (if New York is the big apple, than hk is the big lychee) is excellent. Regular exercise is keeping me focused, energetic, happy (or at least happily distracted) and I'm really enjoying most of my time in solitude.
Recently I've started re-reading old books, partly for the joy of knowing how good the book was the first read and more so because of my budget and not being able to afford spending valuable money on books instead of food. Sometimes I read certain passages and I remember how that certain string of words stirred some new idea or feeling. Re-reading the lives of some of my favourite characters makes me realize one thing. I'm incredibly easily influenced by the mood of a story, by narrative and location. Watanabe, the main character from Murakami's. Norwegian wood, had me feeling a bit down on saturday......then he traveled and described the remote country side of nothern japan, untouched snow and bright mountains. I was in such a good mood after reading about that!
Now I'm relaxing with, On the Road, and Dean has me, 'catching the bug' as the main character put it.
Finally, out of the literary world. I'm blowing off school for another year to start fulltime in fall 2008. Come september I'm moving to Australia where there's a promise of a girl, an adventure and family.
take care everyone.
brendan
Life in the big apple...I mean Lychee (if New York is the big apple, than hk is the big lychee) is excellent. Regular exercise is keeping me focused, energetic, happy (or at least happily distracted) and I'm really enjoying most of my time in solitude.
Recently I've started re-reading old books, partly for the joy of knowing how good the book was the first read and more so because of my budget and not being able to afford spending valuable money on books instead of food. Sometimes I read certain passages and I remember how that certain string of words stirred some new idea or feeling. Re-reading the lives of some of my favourite characters makes me realize one thing. I'm incredibly easily influenced by the mood of a story, by narrative and location. Watanabe, the main character from Murakami's. Norwegian wood, had me feeling a bit down on saturday......then he traveled and described the remote country side of nothern japan, untouched snow and bright mountains. I was in such a good mood after reading about that!
Now I'm relaxing with, On the Road, and Dean has me, 'catching the bug' as the main character put it.
Finally, out of the literary world. I'm blowing off school for another year to start fulltime in fall 2008. Come september I'm moving to Australia where there's a promise of a girl, an adventure and family.
take care everyone.
brendan
Monday, April 23, 2007
Bungy a Go Go!
There it is.........Macau tower. Home of the world's highest bungy jump.
five, four, three, two, ONE!
I couldn't even move. My feet were tied so tightly together that it was impossibe to take a proper step. So, bunny hoping and penguin walking til my toes pointed over the platform and into nothing but open air was... a scary feeling.
The jump master counted down... but I was still there. I was ready when he made it to 'one!' but not on my own accord. I expected that he'd give me a little push and then there'd be no turning back. I turned to the camera at my side and yelled "I'm terrified!". The kiwi jump master told me that eveything'd be fine. All I needed to do was stretch my arms out at my sides, look straight infront of me and let myself fall forward. But when you've got nothing but a 233metre drop in front of you, it's hard to just 'fall farward'.
haha...I asked for another countdown and on 'ONE!' I was on my merry way. I was so frieghtened waiting up there on the platform....looking down....but the instant I tipped forward I let out a big 'woooooooooo!!" and experienced the first free fall of my life and it was nothing but peacefull.
Ever since I was a kid I had been afraid of roller coasters and that sickly sinking feeling. It was only a few years ago that I really got my first taste of a roller coaster, when I was in China with friends and I loved it. I knew that bungy jumping would be the same but when I was up there waiting for my turn to plunge head first into a 233 metre fall, it's difficult to remember that you're there for fun.
Anyway, I'm really happy that I was so terrified before my first bungy jump (there will definately be more!). The fear of being up so high and going down so unbelieveably quickly made the jump more exciting and so complelely memorable.
After Irene, Josh and I finished up at Macau tower and thanked everyone that helped us with our jumps, we had a wonderful dinner at a cheap local place, wandered around and took the ferry home at ten. Immigration was a breeze yet again. Seeing as I've left the country three times this month they've never questioned my 'traveling' story. Piece of piss.
The three of us are planning on getting a big group together this summer, before Irene leaves for Germany, to do a load of jumps back to back. The first jump is pricey but the second and third are nearly half price...............and............the forth jump is FREE!!
So, the plan is to do three jumps each, one after another in a single day.
I'm excited already!
You've got to try it!
.hong kong harrington
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Bungee Jump!
Tomorrow, I love you. I love you, tomorrow.
Tomorrow myself, Irene and Josh (and anyone else who cares to join the party) will be heading off to Macau.
I've been to Macau over ten times and I really never do much when I'm there, aside from photography and long leisurly walks.
HOWEVER!!!!!
This time the three of us are going to jump off the Macau tower, plunging 250 metres, experiencing five full seconds of free fall on the world's highest bungee jump.
I can't stop thinking about it.
We were planning on going the last sunday of the month, so I wasn't bothered to think about it all that much. But just last night I got a text from Irene saying that she didn't want to wait any longer, so why not do it tomorrow.
How could anyone possibly say no?!
Now,my head is completely full of fantasy images, trying hard to imagine what a 250m bungee jump could possiblyfeel like. I've been to Macau tower before, so I know how incredibly high up 250m really looks. I'm starting to get faint just thinking about it.
I told Rob this morning, on our way to work, that I'm not sure if I'll actually be able to do it once we three get up there. He made a pretty good point though. As long as I pay for the whole deal, then there's no way I can allow myself to back out of it. I'm not going to waste my money that way!
So, all I really need to do is pay for the jump BEFORE checking how ridiculously fucking high up I'll be.....
That's my plan. Pay before I look....and bring a spare pair of pants for when it's all over.
woooooooooooooo!!
bebs
Tomorrow myself, Irene and Josh (and anyone else who cares to join the party) will be heading off to Macau.
I've been to Macau over ten times and I really never do much when I'm there, aside from photography and long leisurly walks.
HOWEVER!!!!!
This time the three of us are going to jump off the Macau tower, plunging 250 metres, experiencing five full seconds of free fall on the world's highest bungee jump.
I can't stop thinking about it.
We were planning on going the last sunday of the month, so I wasn't bothered to think about it all that much. But just last night I got a text from Irene saying that she didn't want to wait any longer, so why not do it tomorrow.
How could anyone possibly say no?!
Now,my head is completely full of fantasy images, trying hard to imagine what a 250m bungee jump could possiblyfeel like. I've been to Macau tower before, so I know how incredibly high up 250m really looks. I'm starting to get faint just thinking about it.
I told Rob this morning, on our way to work, that I'm not sure if I'll actually be able to do it once we three get up there. He made a pretty good point though. As long as I pay for the whole deal, then there's no way I can allow myself to back out of it. I'm not going to waste my money that way!
So, all I really need to do is pay for the jump BEFORE checking how ridiculously fucking high up I'll be.....
That's my plan. Pay before I look....and bring a spare pair of pants for when it's all over.
woooooooooooooo!!
bebs
Monday, April 16, 2007
Monday, April 02, 2007
Dear China....yeah!
A compass, t-shirt, toy dog and a two hour long japanese massage is exactly what I got in Shenzhen yesterday. I woke up sunday morning with a tender stomach from saturday's lang kwai fong excursion. Before heading north to cross the hong kong border with china, I went south to causeway bay, where my passport with a double entry china visa was waiting for me. Getting into China is always easy. All I had to do was take the train to lo wu station, pass through the usual stages of the cheerful immigrations department on both sides of the border and I was set for the day. Getting back into Hong Kong was and often is my only worry in immediate life. The fright of deportation back to Canada didn't hamper my day at all. It was sunny, the skies were clear enough and I was in a fantastic mood. Even my stomach was in a good humour and didn't bother me with the moans and groans of nausia, once I gladly walked past the infamous lo wu shopping centre with it's aggressive hoards of locals selling everything from wedding portrait services to pirated dvd's and prostitution.
I had never explored Shenzhen before, even though I'd been there several times already. I was always apprehensive about being theived, getting lost or just couldn't be bothered to walk around solo. Though it wasn't much of an adventure, coupled with my daily bike riding to new unreached places, I've begun entertaining solo backpacking as a much desired and realistic possibility for my post hk future.
Not knowing anything about the city, I started out by walking in a straight line directly away from immigration. The sun was still strong and my backpack was heating me well, so after walking for some time I stepped into a familiar hk clothing shop, 2%, with it's Japanese flavour, multi patterned clothing, mostly for women and a decent t-shirt collection for the fella's. There were three cute gals working inside, all of whom gave a little giggle at the tattooed foreigner walking through the door. One stayed behind the counter while the other two hung around behind me giggling about something. The braver of the two tapped me on the arm and started quickly asking me questions in mandarin. I had no idea what she was saying and told her so in Cantonese. I was a little surprised when I noticed that between the two of them they knew almost zero english but with broken mandarin and canto we still managed to hold a conversation. In true asian fashion we took a couple of pictures together, laughing all along and I bought a toy dog key chain for my virgo astrological sign. One of the two asked me if I thought she was beautiful. I gave a good laugh and answerd easily through a smile. She was gorgeous! Taking steps to the main question she eventually asked if I had a girlfriend. When I said that I didn't she called me a liar. She was single as well and I still can't understand why. She was funny, friendly, phisically was fantastic and was playfully affectionate. I had to leave shortly to exchange some of my hk dollars for RMB to buy my toy dog and stayed a few minutes more before leaving for good. Her name from mandarin sounded like Ma Li and we gave eachother a hug and a kiss on the cheek when I left. Why ma li....!? Why can't we speak the same language. haha.
Walking again, I passed by an outdoor adventure shop, bought a compass and made an awesome new friend. Jennifer's english was really impressive. It caught me off guard after my funny conversation in 2%. Every weekend the shop owner and some locals go for an outing, hiking up some mountain or climbing another. All around the shop were beautiful photographs that the owner had taken from different spots in China. I was really impressed by everything I saw there. Later this month I'll join Jennifer, the owner and a group of others for a weekend expedition.
I went into way too much detail with that 2% business and now I'm short on time before today's final lesson. Today children, we're learning about phrasal verbs and comparing cultures. Is hong kong a melting pot or a mosaic?
Right, well.... sometime between walking and making friends I had a legitimate two hour long japanese massage for about 20 canadian dollars. It was freaking amazing! Then more walking. Immigration was a breeze. The guy before me was taken away for questioning. He looked nepalese. So, the officer I went to looked tres tired and simply stamped my passport without even looking at me. Three more months!
On wednesday I'm going to Gwailin and Yung sho with my two lovely local ladies, pat and jas.
woooooooooooooooooo!!!
see you all there!
bebs
I had never explored Shenzhen before, even though I'd been there several times already. I was always apprehensive about being theived, getting lost or just couldn't be bothered to walk around solo. Though it wasn't much of an adventure, coupled with my daily bike riding to new unreached places, I've begun entertaining solo backpacking as a much desired and realistic possibility for my post hk future.
Not knowing anything about the city, I started out by walking in a straight line directly away from immigration. The sun was still strong and my backpack was heating me well, so after walking for some time I stepped into a familiar hk clothing shop, 2%, with it's Japanese flavour, multi patterned clothing, mostly for women and a decent t-shirt collection for the fella's. There were three cute gals working inside, all of whom gave a little giggle at the tattooed foreigner walking through the door. One stayed behind the counter while the other two hung around behind me giggling about something. The braver of the two tapped me on the arm and started quickly asking me questions in mandarin. I had no idea what she was saying and told her so in Cantonese. I was a little surprised when I noticed that between the two of them they knew almost zero english but with broken mandarin and canto we still managed to hold a conversation. In true asian fashion we took a couple of pictures together, laughing all along and I bought a toy dog key chain for my virgo astrological sign. One of the two asked me if I thought she was beautiful. I gave a good laugh and answerd easily through a smile. She was gorgeous! Taking steps to the main question she eventually asked if I had a girlfriend. When I said that I didn't she called me a liar. She was single as well and I still can't understand why. She was funny, friendly, phisically was fantastic and was playfully affectionate. I had to leave shortly to exchange some of my hk dollars for RMB to buy my toy dog and stayed a few minutes more before leaving for good. Her name from mandarin sounded like Ma Li and we gave eachother a hug and a kiss on the cheek when I left. Why ma li....!? Why can't we speak the same language. haha.
Walking again, I passed by an outdoor adventure shop, bought a compass and made an awesome new friend. Jennifer's english was really impressive. It caught me off guard after my funny conversation in 2%. Every weekend the shop owner and some locals go for an outing, hiking up some mountain or climbing another. All around the shop were beautiful photographs that the owner had taken from different spots in China. I was really impressed by everything I saw there. Later this month I'll join Jennifer, the owner and a group of others for a weekend expedition.
I went into way too much detail with that 2% business and now I'm short on time before today's final lesson. Today children, we're learning about phrasal verbs and comparing cultures. Is hong kong a melting pot or a mosaic?
Right, well.... sometime between walking and making friends I had a legitimate two hour long japanese massage for about 20 canadian dollars. It was freaking amazing! Then more walking. Immigration was a breeze. The guy before me was taken away for questioning. He looked nepalese. So, the officer I went to looked tres tired and simply stamped my passport without even looking at me. Three more months!
On wednesday I'm going to Gwailin and Yung sho with my two lovely local ladies, pat and jas.
woooooooooooooooooo!!!
see you all there!
bebs
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
"I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike"
I woke up much earlier than usual for a tuesday morning with recycled images of riding my dad's bike in Canada.
Then, I bought a bike.
I've put on about nine hours on it since it's purchase. Already I can feel the fatigue and enjoyment.
On Wednesday I had a biking adventure and was in a fantastic mood all day. But that night when sitting at home with rob I received a worrying phone call.
Our land lord, called telling us that he planned on selling the flat we were living in very soon, and that we'd have to leave at the end of our contract....April 28th. I'd have to move in with someone else again....likely my bandmate shaun, if he'd have me. Rob would probably be sleeping on sally's floor. The change of residence would be highly, highly unwelcome.
Just a few weeks ago our landlord came by the flat and I had a chat with him, where he agreed to allow rob and I to stay several months past our contract. His english isn't that strong so rob and I professed every possible argument we could (including our vebal agreement) illustrating exactly how screwed we'd be if he kicked us out to Rob's gal, Cora. She rang him right away leaving us two pacing about the flat telling each other how detroyed we'd be if we had to move out in just one month's time. There's so much we need to do before we can even consider moving and neiter of us has time enough to deal with it now.
Cora, being the smooth talker that she is, reminded our landlord of his agreement with me, told him that we need time to get the floor fixed and the rabbits would need new homes to boot.
Fifteen minutes were passed in high anxiety until Cora rang rob back telling us that we could stay.
A fifteen minute bout of depression in an otherwise glorious. After running over and over how screwed I'd be if I had to move again, then finding out that all was well, I was even more cheery than before.
Oh, I named my new yellow bike, Dave.
Dave is awesome.
Right! Our tv interview went really well last week. I was red faced, gabe stared at this shoes when he spoke and shaun swore a few times. Afterwards, we had a few more drinks and saw a few friends of ours play an acoustic gig at Mink.
This past Thursday my band played a gig at the wanch with Defiant Scum and Hungry Ghosts. The whole night was fantastic. A lot of our friends who haven't seen us play in ages seemed impressed with the new rock sound we've been developing. We played eight songs in total and in true rockstar fashion we were sweaty and shirtless by the end of it, jumping around, drinking beer and watching our mates sing along to the songs we wrote. At four o'clock rob, appple and I were at home bowling on the nintendo wii. Then I woke up. I evidently passed out when I went into my room to change. Good times.
cheers all
brendan
Then, I bought a bike.
I've put on about nine hours on it since it's purchase. Already I can feel the fatigue and enjoyment.
On Wednesday I had a biking adventure and was in a fantastic mood all day. But that night when sitting at home with rob I received a worrying phone call.
Our land lord, called telling us that he planned on selling the flat we were living in very soon, and that we'd have to leave at the end of our contract....April 28th. I'd have to move in with someone else again....likely my bandmate shaun, if he'd have me. Rob would probably be sleeping on sally's floor. The change of residence would be highly, highly unwelcome.
Just a few weeks ago our landlord came by the flat and I had a chat with him, where he agreed to allow rob and I to stay several months past our contract. His english isn't that strong so rob and I professed every possible argument we could (including our vebal agreement) illustrating exactly how screwed we'd be if he kicked us out to Rob's gal, Cora. She rang him right away leaving us two pacing about the flat telling each other how detroyed we'd be if we had to move out in just one month's time. There's so much we need to do before we can even consider moving and neiter of us has time enough to deal with it now.
Cora, being the smooth talker that she is, reminded our landlord of his agreement with me, told him that we need time to get the floor fixed and the rabbits would need new homes to boot.
Fifteen minutes were passed in high anxiety until Cora rang rob back telling us that we could stay.
A fifteen minute bout of depression in an otherwise glorious. After running over and over how screwed I'd be if I had to move again, then finding out that all was well, I was even more cheery than before.
Oh, I named my new yellow bike, Dave.
Dave is awesome.
Right! Our tv interview went really well last week. I was red faced, gabe stared at this shoes when he spoke and shaun swore a few times. Afterwards, we had a few more drinks and saw a few friends of ours play an acoustic gig at Mink.
This past Thursday my band played a gig at the wanch with Defiant Scum and Hungry Ghosts. The whole night was fantastic. A lot of our friends who haven't seen us play in ages seemed impressed with the new rock sound we've been developing. We played eight songs in total and in true rockstar fashion we were sweaty and shirtless by the end of it, jumping around, drinking beer and watching our mates sing along to the songs we wrote. At four o'clock rob, appple and I were at home bowling on the nintendo wii. Then I woke up. I evidently passed out when I went into my room to change. Good times.
cheers all
brendan
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The David Bowie Knives invade your TV!
The David Bowie Knives, aka, Myself, Shaun and Gabe will be on channel 27 tonight (hong kong cable) for an interview on the show, What's up After 8?
This is going to be a live interview and as far as I know anyone can call in and ask us a question during our 30 minutes on air.
No cable?Outside hk?
Apparently you can also watch online at www.tictv.com
Cheers everyone.
Brendan
This is going to be a live interview and as far as I know anyone can call in and ask us a question during our 30 minutes on air.
No cable?Outside hk?
Apparently you can also watch online at www.tictv.com
Cheers everyone.
Brendan
Monday, March 05, 2007
Still holding
Do you wish to proceed.
Yes.
To confirm your choice please repeat your answer after the beep.
"Yes"
Press '1' for English.
1
Press '1' for summary statement.
Press '2' for latest transactions.
Press '3' to change your account details.
Press '4' to report a damaged or stolen card.
Press '5' for teleportation five hundred meters above sea level.
Or hold the line to speak with a customer representative.
dee dee dum da doo da daa.....(holding)
(automated message) This call may be recorded to ensure customer satisfaction and prevent hill fires in northern Alberta.
(A real person) Hi, thank you for calling "_______ ___" and making us your choice today. May I have your full name and latest major transaction please.
(me) Hi, I'm Brendan Harrington. I think my last transaction was a couple of weeks ago. I deposited about 150 canadian.
(guy I was talking to) Alright Mr. Harrington. I have your account information in front of me here but unfortunatly your last transaction was not for 150 dollars. Perhaps you could double check your latest "_______ ___" statement and I'd more than happy to assist you.
(me) I'm at work. I don't have my statement with me.
(him) Alright, well that's okay. Can you recall your latest transaction?
(me) It should have been a deposite for around one something...maybe 250. It was last month anyway. I can't remember how much it was. I just need to renew my card. Can I just do that without giving my last transaction? I have my card number right in front of me if you need it.
(him) I'm sorry sir, I'd be more than happy to assist you, however, I'm sorry to say that we need your latest transaction information before we continue.
(me) So, should I keep guessing or....?
(him) ....
(me) 200 canadian?
(him) Okay, sorry for the delay sir. I'd like to thank you once again for calling "_______ ___" and making us your choice today. Now, how can I help you today?
(me) My card has expired and I'm living abroad....... (and so on)
-------
Oh the joy of dealing with customer representitives over the phone. I find great comfort in the fact that all I had to do was keep guessing the right number until he could help me.
So, other than having fun dealing with canadian bills life has been rolling on and over me at it's regular pace.
My band, the david bowie knives, played a gig last week in the middle of nowhere in ngau tau kok and it was a solid night of enjoyment. The venue was also a recording studio on one side and it reminded of this place I used to go to back in hamilton called The Transit Union Hall, only with a much better paint job and higher ceilings. The stage was quite good but the lights were a bit strong so it was next to impossible to see the frets of my bass. Save for a few quickly corrected mishaps I managed to keep on track through our six song set. We were recieved pretty well and made friends with the guys that run the studio called DM plus (I think) and a surprizing industrial gothic band called head hunter. The bass player I'm quite sure tried to kill himself after the show by kicking the hell out of a wall, before climbing up halfway out a window thirteen stories up. His friends quickly pulled him back down where he then kicked the wall to saity.
On tuesday, Shaun and I played three of our own songs each at this place called Mink on Hollywood road in central. I didn't know 'til I got there but free beer and 250 bones each was waiting for us just for playing a three song set, at a good venue, in front of a good crowd. I didn't play 'til half ten so I had two hours of waiting before I could take full advantage of my free beer. I usually set myself a two pint limit before playing and allow for a third during the set.
I've been really enjoying my first Tolstoi experience with Anna Karenina for the past couple of weeks. Since my book filled return from Ireland I've been making it my quest to read all the old classics I've wanted to over the years. So far I've crossed off Voltaire, H.G. Wells and Mark Twain. Anna Karenina will take me at least another few weeks at the pace I'm going. It's a two parter and there are a lot of names to keep track of. It's not a difficult read at all though, surprisingly, but I'm taking my time with it and as a result I keep thinking of the lives of Vronsky, Levin and Alexei Alexandrovitch more than what's going on around me. I've been catching myself living in the past recently and this is perceptibly not a healthy habit. Tolstoi is helping me come out of this unfavourable distraction with his world of farming, high society and russian military men. There are several quotes I've made note of so far, one reaffirms a conclusion I came too after Sharon dumped me in favour of education and solitude.
This is said by a childhood friend of a main character, Vronsky, regarding the relationship between ambition and women.
"Women are the principal stumbling-block in the way of a man's activity. It is difficult to love a women and do something at the same time. There is only one way to love with comfort and without hindrance, and that is-marriage."
take care all
have a drink for yourself
brendan
Yes.
To confirm your choice please repeat your answer after the beep.
"Yes"
Press '1' for English.
1
Press '1' for summary statement.
Press '2' for latest transactions.
Press '3' to change your account details.
Press '4' to report a damaged or stolen card.
Press '5' for teleportation five hundred meters above sea level.
Or hold the line to speak with a customer representative.
dee dee dum da doo da daa.....(holding)
(automated message) This call may be recorded to ensure customer satisfaction and prevent hill fires in northern Alberta.
(A real person) Hi, thank you for calling "_______ ___" and making us your choice today. May I have your full name and latest major transaction please.
(me) Hi, I'm Brendan Harrington. I think my last transaction was a couple of weeks ago. I deposited about 150 canadian.
(guy I was talking to) Alright Mr. Harrington. I have your account information in front of me here but unfortunatly your last transaction was not for 150 dollars. Perhaps you could double check your latest "_______ ___" statement and I'd more than happy to assist you.
(me) I'm at work. I don't have my statement with me.
(him) Alright, well that's okay. Can you recall your latest transaction?
(me) It should have been a deposite for around one something...maybe 250. It was last month anyway. I can't remember how much it was. I just need to renew my card. Can I just do that without giving my last transaction? I have my card number right in front of me if you need it.
(him) I'm sorry sir, I'd be more than happy to assist you, however, I'm sorry to say that we need your latest transaction information before we continue.
(me) So, should I keep guessing or....?
(him) ....
(me) 200 canadian?
(him) Okay, sorry for the delay sir. I'd like to thank you once again for calling "_______ ___" and making us your choice today. Now, how can I help you today?
(me) My card has expired and I'm living abroad....... (and so on)
-------
Oh the joy of dealing with customer representitives over the phone. I find great comfort in the fact that all I had to do was keep guessing the right number until he could help me.
So, other than having fun dealing with canadian bills life has been rolling on and over me at it's regular pace.
My band, the david bowie knives, played a gig last week in the middle of nowhere in ngau tau kok and it was a solid night of enjoyment. The venue was also a recording studio on one side and it reminded of this place I used to go to back in hamilton called The Transit Union Hall, only with a much better paint job and higher ceilings. The stage was quite good but the lights were a bit strong so it was next to impossible to see the frets of my bass. Save for a few quickly corrected mishaps I managed to keep on track through our six song set. We were recieved pretty well and made friends with the guys that run the studio called DM plus (I think) and a surprizing industrial gothic band called head hunter. The bass player I'm quite sure tried to kill himself after the show by kicking the hell out of a wall, before climbing up halfway out a window thirteen stories up. His friends quickly pulled him back down where he then kicked the wall to saity.
On tuesday, Shaun and I played three of our own songs each at this place called Mink on Hollywood road in central. I didn't know 'til I got there but free beer and 250 bones each was waiting for us just for playing a three song set, at a good venue, in front of a good crowd. I didn't play 'til half ten so I had two hours of waiting before I could take full advantage of my free beer. I usually set myself a two pint limit before playing and allow for a third during the set.
I've been really enjoying my first Tolstoi experience with Anna Karenina for the past couple of weeks. Since my book filled return from Ireland I've been making it my quest to read all the old classics I've wanted to over the years. So far I've crossed off Voltaire, H.G. Wells and Mark Twain. Anna Karenina will take me at least another few weeks at the pace I'm going. It's a two parter and there are a lot of names to keep track of. It's not a difficult read at all though, surprisingly, but I'm taking my time with it and as a result I keep thinking of the lives of Vronsky, Levin and Alexei Alexandrovitch more than what's going on around me. I've been catching myself living in the past recently and this is perceptibly not a healthy habit. Tolstoi is helping me come out of this unfavourable distraction with his world of farming, high society and russian military men. There are several quotes I've made note of so far, one reaffirms a conclusion I came too after Sharon dumped me in favour of education and solitude.
This is said by a childhood friend of a main character, Vronsky, regarding the relationship between ambition and women.
"Women are the principal stumbling-block in the way of a man's activity. It is difficult to love a women and do something at the same time. There is only one way to love with comfort and without hindrance, and that is-marriage."
take care all
have a drink for yourself
brendan
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