monday 30th september
my first day back at work in nearly three weeks was a mixture of apathy and cleaning, just as i imagined. nothing else apart from feeling tired and the daunting prospect of having lots of work to find, organise, complete, bill and chase. there's no avoiding the inevitable but there is putting it off for a day or two...

sunday 29th september
memento, pulp fiction, leviathan to name some favourites. '...and wear some nice trousers,' she said before dinner in the sun and an afternoon in the park. nearly three weeks off has done me the world of good. aaah.

the first and last line of bugs bunny tonight was 'close sesami.' i like stories that end at the beginning. finding out how it happened is far more interesting.



saturday 28th september
jigsaw and cards and watch. two days after japan and from london to linton. even more travel. it seems as though everyone in london is buying a flat. i'm sure house prices will fall soon but it seems we're all too eager to get ourselves homes. nothing wrong with that, though. winter's here soon. so sod money and be happy.

it should have been the first thing to say! everyone knows i don't like surprises.



friday 27th september
lbc's clean inside and out, ready for cambridge tomorrow. this afternoon i'm trying to catch up with japan. there's a lot to write and i don't want to miss anything out. where on earth do i start?

thursday 26th september
tonight was burton night. the riders were there along with funky's boarding school chums. it was loud, i was tired. despite not being in the boarding spirit the footage rumbled something deep inside. i could hear the calling. november?



wednesday 25th september
unpacking, food shopping, laundry, sleeping and happy birthday, philip. the light across the living room floor was soothing as i faded between narnia and brixton. tokyo seems safe. london feels dangerous.



thursday 12th september - tuesday 24th september
tokyo, osaka, sapporo or, briefly:

the qr are-you-in-japan test.
- are there 'security guards' every ten yards down the street?
- are there painted feet on the floor to show you where to queue?
- can you see motorcycle helmets with ears, flames and/or spoilers?
- do the school girls have their socks glued to their legs?
- do you hear a different, catchy, nintendo-style jingle at each subway stop?
- can you buy smap, pocari sweat or underwear from street vending machines?
- do you take your shoes off when entering a building?
- can you see a bajillion t-shirts carrying badly formed english non-slogans such as 'crazy love joy' or 'good life me' on?
- does everyone's mobile phone have a strap with character, motif or jewel hanging from it, for easy access?
- are you using the internet on your mobile phone while underground, listening to your minidisc player and accessing the web through your laptop which is linked to another phone?
- do you present business cards with thumbs on top, with text away from you while bowing?
- are the signs predominantly primary colours (blue, red, yellow)?
'yes' to any and you're probably in japan.

the beginner's guide to speaking rob:
prefix anything with 'super,' 'bad ass', append everything with 'bad boy'
use the terms 'doubling it up', 'special,' 'extra,' 'rinsin,''wednesday 11th september
hungover and tired i made it to work for a couple of hours to finish off the back of the flyer, invoice and post it. then it was home early to organise and pack. i'm exhausted and in need of a holiday. which is lucky.

i'm off for about weeks (including jetlag) and work's paying for most of it. oh yes. i have two cameras fully loaded and a little money to spend. i'll post if i post. until then you all be naughty and exciting. good night everyone.

tomorrow? tomorrow is tokyo.

tuesday 10th september
i got home late after meeting holly and the m.a. boys (sans brad and matt) in 38 to find sonic the hedgehog for my nintendo advance on the table. chumpy had been thoughtful enough to realise the flight to tokyo will be murder and kind enough to ease the boredom. all round it was a good day people-wise. and i only went and found mario on the southbound northern line platform at kennington, didn't i?



monday 9th september
the survey's back. the windows are fine. i negotiated a deal and decided to buy the flat. mini wave for me. somehow the nervousness and trepidation has turned into eagerness and anticipation. soon i shall be able to paint my walls the colour i want and... build a garden. i'm wondering whether i should do the fireplace first. do chimney sweeps still exist?

sunday 8th september
you go back to where you're from and sit near the river at the back of the primary school in the sun because your parents weren't in to be surprised. darn. then you visit al. i should never underestimate how much better seeing old friends makes me feel.

saturday 7th september
you have a shit week where everything you thought possibleand a few things you thought weren't - goes wrong . the flat you're trying to buy is damp. it's got rotten windows. you even need time away from your friends yet they probably don't even know why. you have mice in your kitchen. you put it all down to bad luck, go out and get yourself horrifically drunk. you upset someone you've never even met before. you try to apologise. you end up walking from farringdon to oval. you change your answer phone message before crashing out, hoping as you fall asleep that the next day this will have all gone away. this isn't really your life. no, its better than this.

you wake up to a monster hangover and the realisation that sometime in the last 24 hours has entered through the front door and stolen your very expensive and precious mountain bike. it was locked and had a flat tyre so they had to carry it down the road. your parents telephone you. you try to remain optimitsic but end up crying for the third time this week. what do you do now?

friday 6th september
i walked in the front door, passed reception, through the swing doors to the lift lobby all the time behind a guy in a blue t-shirt who did the same a few seconds before me. he was aware of me behind him, leaving enough space for me to press the button. the red display showed '2', i poked it, taking a step back. a second or so later it clicked to '3' which prompted him to say 'well, now it's going up...' with a negative intonation, implying the blame resided with me. i was a bit confused. 'well, i'm... er... not in it...?' i said, assuming he would realise i had no control over where it goes before it gets to the our floor. 'it's called a fucking conversation.' he said, stomping up the stairs instead. i can't even press a lift button without getting it wrong these days.

i used to ride with a vending machine repair man
he said he's been down this road more than twice
he was high on intellectualism;
i've never been there but the brochure looks nice
where are you, south african john?

comfort rocking in my work chair to a remix of lamb's gorecki i downloaded from limewire. also on the playlist is the superblaster remix. also, i have emailed toni and dean requesting them to post jc's rap from ten little girls. one day i'll be able to sing it all the way through. correctly.

i'm convinced these have people in but know they don't. they don't so the future is here. anyone else feel slightly unnerved this?

my japanese business cards returned. my name is in katakana! philip has uploaded the showreel to our site. if you want to see any moving image work i've done try onedotzero 6 and onedottv global for starters in the pop-up showreel window on our work site.



thursday 5th september
-1 + +1 = 0(or) +1 - -1 = 0. i can't decide. either way, the answer's still 0.

wednesday 4th september
if you're wondering where the current uk gold advert campaign originated, it's here. for old times' sake there's stick death, too. possibly a bit too close to the bone, but the 'see the big-assed intro' had me laughing before i'd even clicked it.oh, and you have to go a long way to beat mean hook; the timing is perfect.

'art is a lie that helps us understand the truth.' - back of a fudge tunnel t-shirt entering old street tube.

tuesday 3rd september
i'm listening to doppelganger on repeat; split into fractions' lyrics are empathic.

in an email to funky: 'i was a bit lonely for the hour but it did me good, i think. and i'm a big boy now so it's fine. things have really been getting to me lately; i feel claustrophobic beyond comprehension and realised when i got off the slope that i think snowboarding is the only way to take my mind off things, to stop my brain eating my head. i felt so clean after it...' funky understands these things.

i was 17 and about to take my driving test. i was talking to don about the theory exam and he asked me 'what do you do if you're being dazzled, if the driver behind has his beams so bright you can't see where you're going?' naively i said 'slow down? beep? speed up?' he laughed. 'you pull over, lad... you stop the car!' the answer was so obvious yet it simply hadn't occurred to me. why i remember it so clearly i don't know, but it's been a good metaphor to believe in: when things are getting too much, if you can't see your way then stop. let everything pass, wait, gather yourself and then set off again. years ago i felt stupid for getting it wrong. now i'm glad i did because it stuck.

mittens for chumpy who keeps on adding to his section.

the damp testers go in thursday.

monday 2nd september
'i could have been anyone you see. i wish it was anyone but me.'

i whistled all the way home, out of tune and as loudly as i could, trying to annoy anyone within earshot. the rest is hidden. oh, and thanks, steve.



sunday 1st september
milton keynes, the usual road trip destination in splendid sunshine. phil was learning how to teach, holly and deluxe were just learning and i was off in the play park on my own. after not having boarded for a while i steered clear of the rails and kickers until the last fifteen minutes. then it was all out adrenaline: 6-foot rail, wooden kicker, 12-foot rail, then the same twice more then bindings off and a rum and coke. lovely.

my board seems to have gandalfian powers. everyone who gets on it gets happy.everybody should buy one, even if it's just to stand on. even alison can't help herself from enjoying it, see?




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