From York to New York - out with the old, in with the new

I couldn’t resist sharing this video with you of my little puppy despite his advancing age exhibiting the same vigor and enthusiasm as when we first adopted him. Miss you loads Basenji!!!

First off, i’m ashamed not to have updated my blog for nearly two months. Terrible form. Seems it is too easy to not getting round to it, I’ve no valid excuse but then i’ve managed to keep in touch with most of you through joyous instant messaging.

We’ve had the pleasure of hosting many transient travelers to NYC over the last couple of months mainly from the UK, you know who you are and I’ll stay true to my word and post humiliating pictures up asap….mwahahahahaha

I’ve had trouble adjusting to the weather, it has been horribly cold, glacial winds chilling the very marrow in our bones. A couple -10 degree (C) runs have slowed our training. Spring time should usher in the more clement conditions in which I may continue training for a 20 mile relay race this summer.
After a freak gas cloud enveloping the city, evidence that NYC is directly contributing to pollution wafting over to the rosbifs in england and seemingly permanent ice formations across the city, I am secretly harboring hopes that we can have an early and warm spring for purely selfish short sighted reasons. :-p

Pictures to come soon once David gets off his lazy butt and sends his shots over to me. Keep checking in…

ciao!

Spirits were high in Central Park as we ushered in the New Year amongst great friends. Have a look at the video we put together of New Year’s Eve 2007 in Manhattan for you all. (copyright of Grifco World Domination Corporation Production in association with Whipit Media and whole-heartedly supported by Fraulo Franchising).

Hey guys, Merry Christmas to you all from New York City! We’ve got the turkey ready to roast and after a last minute dis-organised hunt for liquor we found a friendly non Christian establishment to purchase said ailments.

Jo: Merry Christmas all from the Big Apple where the sun is shining and the sky is blue! The city is amazing and the shopping is even better! Happy Holiday!!

On a lighter note, a hilarious set of events are occuring in Belgium at the minute after the local TV station aired a spoof news report claiming that the Flemish had declared independance, fracturing the country in two. They had politicians, police and some great misuse of archived footage to make it more interesting. Here is how the New York Times covered the unfolding drama, and check out the actual show on YouTube. It painfully highlights the cultural gap that exists in Belgium…
Also, I stumbled upon this hilarious 1970’s report on american TV about how a small town handled a dead whale which had expired on arrival, by opting for the obvious TNT disposal strategy! This clip is subtly entitled - Exploding Whale

Two weeks now…! Seems like a great deal more, people are right to say that the city absorbs you completely. A real hive of activity, the city is particularly endearing at this time of year. I’ve already posted a few pictures up however do excuse the problems when going through the albums, i need to work on fixing that. (the slideshows work nicely though).

My new job at Acronym Media has been great, looking out of the Empire State Building offers awesome sights of the city from dawn till dusk. My colleagues have been very welcoming and you can feel a real vibe that something special is happening here.

Being right on Central Park’s doorstep provides David and I the luxury of regularly running the various loops in the park, I even spotted two raccoons by in the reservoir! They were arguably really fat and at first i thought they were rats, which the MTA has called all out war on by digging deep into the metro system to purge the poor souls. I think they add to the experience and certainly keep me entertained when waiting for the trains.

Christmas is upon us in NYC, the big stores have their display window scenes all set, the Bergdorf one is pretty cool off Fifth Av. Cartier has built out their boutique’s facade out with massive red present boxes and regularly spewing out Christmas tunes. Amongst all this cheer and preparation, the weather is up to some strange tricks, we’ve had really warm weather and may be on to set a record temperature for December at an average 14C! It will be strange not spending Christmas with mum and dad in Belgium this year, and I’ll miss mum’s cooking for certain! But don’t feel sorry for me, my best friend Jo has been drafted in on turkey duty and dare I say that mulled wine will be flowing generously as we celebrate the holiday season in the Big Apple. Mark and Louise, the countdown has started, I’ll make sure that your trip here will be unforgettable! Looking forward to it

I’ll be signing off for now until next time I wish you all a fabulous Christmas wherever you are. A special hello goes out to David in San Francisco, I wish you, your wife and lovely child a merry christmas and the best of luck for the new year.

Well guys, I’m regretfully back from wonderland… I was left mentally unprepared for the 16 hour flight that brings me to the next stage of evolution. Somehow along the way a piece of my soul has remained in Java and Bali till next time, I promise you.

My travels brought me to Jakarta where i was welcomed by the illustrious tom in his shiny benz. A veritable sprawling maze of skyscrapers and low rises, Jakarta is like a ant nest of activity day and night. A zillion motorbikes zip through without a care in the world whilst pyjama clad families do their afternoon shopping. Indonesians are tremendous hosts, I’ve never encountered such good hearted people always up for a laugh and with stomachs conditioned to absorb pure evil chilis! The country reflects a great fusion of modernity and incumbent development. Jakarta’s gems are often hidden away and difficult to find without the right knowledge. The food is fabulous, not only from its 17,000 islands but also in international cuisine such as Thai, Japanese, Italian…

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Past highlights of my final days in York brought me to all the places and engaging in all the activities i might of ignored in the last 5 years. Some of which were probably not to be repeated!!! (and yes if you are looking to go out on a sunday, toffs IS a gay venue……….nice one kim….) Asides from juvenile water balloon launching around the ouse and red boating, bowling, vudu and chav watching were in order.

Many thanks to mark for the chilli…and keeping me in line with the limit yeah. Anyhows, i’ve reached stage 1 after a long drive to Brighton where i shall bid farewall to family before heading out to brussels where the fun really begins… I’ll keep you posted and pictured up.

5 working days left, my attention span has been depleated completely…hard to do anything but look forward to things to come…aaahhh the Empire State isn’t it beautiful. I’m being haunted by images of New York everywhere i turn which i think is more of a reflection on how little i pay attention to things in passing rather than some form of hint from the divine…

Anyways, I’ve just updated my Flickr with pics from Mr Hudson Hornet’s brithday which i managed to take my camera too. Leaving parties left 4, 3, 2. And i’ll be Going Places too….hint hint Mr hudson

Mr G has courteously provided this footage of phase 1 of the york to newyork experience!

For the ultra nosey amongst you take a look at the manhattan pad… Read more