saturday 23rd february - saturday 2nd march
la plagne, in the french alps.

friday 22nd february
the day before you go on holiday is always stacked with trauma. all my current clients turned up today asking questions, getting things straight, planning for while i'm away. still, without all this fuss i wouldn't be able to just go and enjoy myself... or could i? when funky left i noticed what he'd written on our tickets. on y va?



thursday 21st february
the fusebox isn't dry so i'm still painting pixels in the lounge. what i'm seeing looks something like this:



wednesday 20th february
you're so unbelievably lucky your mac at work doesn't like lightwave. you see, when estate agents hire the music hall adjoining your studio to some half-arsed, cheesy fashion show and some drunk inadvertantly knocks over the bin of iced water used to keep the beer cold it begins dripping through the old, wooden floorboards. then it eeks it's way steadily towards the electricity supply, crawls through a gap in the lid and blows the fuses, one by one. you can't help thinking of the apartment scene in fight club as you tell your story. london electricty board are then called, who inform you that you'll have to wait until everything is dry. it could take two days. you, of course, don't know the first thing about all this as you were at home working on squares until 3am again. the next morning you receive a phone call from a colleague and it's at this point that you're grateful for your work computer being such a fussy bastard. and even more grateful that you can spend two days working in the comfort of your own lounge whilst at least four dvds spin themselves from start to end behind the flipped-up screen all the time safe in the knowledge that, fatalistically, somehow, the work mac might have known what was going to happen and actually helped you.

tuesday 19th february
more squares and a bang at work when i wasn't there.

monday 18th february
the squares are still moving, everything is slowly sliding in to place and i can't help feeling something big is about to happen, and it's not about work or holidays or even people. i think it's to do with decisions but that's all i can tell you.

sunday 17th february
nothing but washing. snowboarding holiday t'-minus six days.

saturday 16th february
this one's for holly:



by no means an ordinary road trip. not that they exist but when grey cat exchanged himself for red squirrel a la dom jolly i knew the tangentialising was inevitable. i met holly (cool name) and thought how refreshing it is to find people that understand all the obscurities, references and comedy moments rather than having to explain. some people just make you relaxed, some are good company. some blend effortlessly. and, of course, there was that glove, those vapour trails and 'have you got a game that you can kill people in..?'



friday 15th february
not really that much at all, except the inevitable post-valentines calm,

thursday 14th february
anti-valentine's day got off to a good start this morning with the pixies. we've got all the albums and we're running through them one at a time, chronologcally. mind you, surfer rosa's 'something against you' is pretty hard going when you're half asleep and trying to learn texture mapping in lightwave. ah. now. where was i?

wednesday 13th february
ok, dudes it's link time again. here's where i've 'been' lately:
mattspace - yup, the short, leather-foreheaded one has his little thing going, and i make special guest appearance... as their wedding photographer!
mk12 - these guys know how to do moving image properly. check out the quicktimes.
donnie darko - don't know much about it, but a nice timebased interactive narrative nonetheless.

tuesday 12th february
after searching for the holiday tickets last night (unsuccessfully) and with the sun shining all over the city this morning i decided to walk down to the travel agents in liverpool street. company and personal cheques were paid in en route as a croissant was consumed. turned out the tickets i thought were for our boarding trip to the alps in two weeks' time were actually the train tickets for pj and jen's wedding two weeks ago. lucky that the travel agent had a big pile of papers with elastic bands and wallety things sticking out waiting for me as i walked in. she even knew my name.

as i walked back to the studio i stopped at the starbucks stand, ordered a tall latte and dropped 5p in the grate in the ground. the next customer appeared, ordered something made from beans and then with a 'chink!' did the same. i reckon there's about a tenner down there by now.

through bishopsgate, past the japanese hairdresser's and into the large square where some guy was mowing the lawn next to the rivery fountain. and this is the bit i remember most: coming from the countryside the smell of freshly cut grass is more than familiar to me, but in london it's not what you'd expect at all.



it was the smell of anticipation.

monday 11th february
picture of squares coming soon.

sunday 10th february



and badminton.

saturday 9th february



and food.

friday 8th february
!brilliant it's ?not why it seen haven't you if. dvd on momento watched we tonight.

thursday 7th february
top night at the newlyweds' place with pizza, bongos, glowing testes and that goddamn story of me in new york. curse you sonleys! driving stu home.

wednesday 6th february
some days you simply whistle through the routine as everything slots neatly into place almost as if it was pre-planned, on autopilot - as if you don't even need to be part of it. others are an uphill struggle with even the smallest, most insignificant action tripping you up, stopping you dead in your tracks, creating problems before you've even begun. over the last week there has been more of the former, annoyingly, but today the sequence inverted itself. tube to work, coffee, moving squares for the onedotzero 6 title sequence, tube home, qr updated. i wish more days were like today. some days are words and i prefer pictures.

you know, it felt like i did fall down a hole.

news:
the irish honeymooners are back. the stats counters are finally operational. work arrived in the form of a shiny bronze and blue plastic model. the square count is around 196 with lighting added and test renders. wipeout fusion is too thin and linear. dropship has annoyingly sensitive controls. swordfish is a great film; halle berry seems to become more beautiful with age. alicia keys is falling smoothly alongside to de la soul remixes. paul auster's leviathan is immensley enjoyable - read it if you haven't. and, of course, it's always time to get trickaaay!

tuesday 5th february
"so how do you know about us, then? i'm curious."
"my friend deborah knows you. she was in the first year when you were in the fourth year at lcp."
"really? what does she look like?"
"long dark hair, quite short... er..."
"did she see a german guy from across the street, go over and introduce herself to him?"
"yes, she did!"
"and is she still going out with him?"
"it's been over four years now."

it's true - it was love at first sight. she wanted to be with him from the moment she looked up from her cup of tea and saw him standing there, and, well... you can guess the rest. i've spent most of the day daydreaming about how beautiful the whole thing is, in every respect, no matter which way you look at it. the rest was spent thinking how nice a name ixtha is.

monday 4th february
steve moved out of the state studio today. yes; people are still leaving, moving on and starting again. the sadness of him packing his belongings as i sat where i spend most of my life was counteracted by the knowledge that i know he's doing the right thing for himself. he wants plan b to take off, to fly with it's own wings. in time it will; that much talent always flowers. me, on the other hand? i'm left with is a whole load of good memories, some filthy jpegs and the feeling of how much he's grown, matured and learnt how to take the wide load of responsibility on small shoulders. that and the empty desk beside me.

sunday 3rd february
pointless trivia fact: if you type 'state design' into google our company is the first result. now that is a result...

wedding invites for kate and chris, an invitation to usher again. so that's four weddings, three ushers and a best man. what does this say about me, i wonder..?

saturday 2nd february
"although my love is fair..."
"i fancy nelly futado - she's sexy."
'"fair play."

friday 1st febraury
three weeks' worth of food in the fridge-freezer, virtually all my clothes clean and smelling fresh, new dvds as yet unseen. just how good is the feeling of being on top of your life? bloody good.


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