Recap
Things are beginning to settle into some form of pattern here, with a few major adjustments still to be made.
I've been taking to working out 3-4 weeks at a nearby football ground. The surface is far too pocked and battered to have a football game on, but it suits me as a running track of sorts and gives me adequate room to stretch and do other exercises, push-ups, situps, all that jazz. As long as the weather is still this good, it'll suit most of my fitness needs. I should still probably get back into doing weightwork, in spite of the fact that I loathe doing it. I'm beginning to feel healthier and a bit more energetic already.
Research has been a bit of a slow-starter, which may be owing a bit to the timing of it. In Montreal, I was chomping at the bit to get to Australia to start my degree. Having arrived, I may have gotten to enjoy just taking in being here for long enough that that motivation cooled on the backburner. At any rate, I did make it out to the library today, and may in fact go back for another hour and change before I go to sleep. I've been chipping away at the first 2 chapters of Ian Bogost's Persuasive Games, which is going to be pretty instrumental for a good chunk of this first assignment, and probably the exegesis part of my doctoral work.
This weekend I had intended to do a lot more research, but it didn't materialize as I slept way in and subsequently went running before going clubbing on Friday, and spent Saturday recovering. It was, at least, a very enjoyable if rather weird club night.
Gulag. My friend scoia runs a monthly alternative night called Gulag, which runs in the basement of an English pub in Richmond that I had hitherto never been to. I was actually pretty surprised by just how sociable that part of the night was. I got to meet up with some old friends and acquaintances, met and spoke with a bunch of people, and generally good times were had in spite of it not being a terribly dancy affair. Sometimes, less talk and more rock is better, sometimes the converse. This is a club that seems to run on the latter, which entails a few adjustments for me as I'm set, for the moment, to DJ there on May 1st. It's an opening set, and it'll be to a pretty empty house, so shifting to a bit more downtempo stuff may be a wise plan. It's also May Day themed, taking place on May Day, so some songs about revolution should, I suppose, be slotted in, and the faster paced electropop and mashups planned phased out and left for another time.
Speaking of, I should really get a new DJ sobriquet and quick. I am open to suggestions (that don't suck).
Further, it's a damn shame that I left particular CDs that would have come in really handy for this in Montreal.
From Gulag, it was on to the phonetically similar Golgotha, which is a big goth night that runs exclusively on the eve of public holidays. It being probably the biggest local goth event that recurs more than once a year, people come out for it, and some surprises ensued in who I saw. I had a long chat with a girl named Amanda who I had met the last time, and her fiance, which was decidedly a new development. They're getting married in about 3 weeks. Congratulations were duly extended. I ran into thomasbear again, and while the conversation was a bit brief, it was another friend it was good to reconnect with. IThe big surprise of the night was running into an old acquaintance who had, indulging in a bout of self-destructive behavior over the weeks leading up, drunkenly propositioned me some 2 and a half years ago. She had later apologized, and things went on roughly as normal, and so I had to stop and say hello during some break in the pounding beats.
She positively doubletaked when she saw me, and a very nice, if slightly bizarre at moments, conversation ensued in which we filled eachother in on our lives (both of us doing better than last time) and she repeatedly and profusely apologized for that incident, having felt guilty about it (and more oddly, been reminded about it every now and again) while I was away. We sorted that out, and she will be able to resume her happy new life without having to worry about that particular incident.
That was neither the most bizarre or uncomfortable moment in the club that night. A whole series of them ensued with one friend getting irksomely clingy throughout, but the real cake-taker was meeting one of the local(ish?) goth musicians. I didn't know anything much about this guy prior, save for his performance name, Gothic Prince Ken (of a group called GPKISM). I was talking with someone else nearby, as was he, and eventually the groups merged.
With positively Victorian propriety, he extended a hand and introduced himself with what I thought was a put-on affectation of a British accent. "I am Gothic Prince Ken, at your service," he said. That mode of greeting was a new one on me.
"I'm Mike, and lacking in titles," I replied cheerfully, being ever the smiling jester. "And it's a pleasure to meet you."
Anyway, the conversation goes on a little while, and when it ends I leave completely baffled as to whether this was his personality or a persona. I still can't figure that one out for the life of me, but hey, pleasant enough fellow.
I crawled into bed sometime around 6:30 AM, which is why I lost most of the rest of my weekend.
I've been taking to working out 3-4 weeks at a nearby football ground. The surface is far too pocked and battered to have a football game on, but it suits me as a running track of sorts and gives me adequate room to stretch and do other exercises, push-ups, situps, all that jazz. As long as the weather is still this good, it'll suit most of my fitness needs. I should still probably get back into doing weightwork, in spite of the fact that I loathe doing it. I'm beginning to feel healthier and a bit more energetic already.
Research has been a bit of a slow-starter, which may be owing a bit to the timing of it. In Montreal, I was chomping at the bit to get to Australia to start my degree. Having arrived, I may have gotten to enjoy just taking in being here for long enough that that motivation cooled on the backburner. At any rate, I did make it out to the library today, and may in fact go back for another hour and change before I go to sleep. I've been chipping away at the first 2 chapters of Ian Bogost's Persuasive Games, which is going to be pretty instrumental for a good chunk of this first assignment, and probably the exegesis part of my doctoral work.
This weekend I had intended to do a lot more research, but it didn't materialize as I slept way in and subsequently went running before going clubbing on Friday, and spent Saturday recovering. It was, at least, a very enjoyable if rather weird club night.
Gulag. My friend scoia runs a monthly alternative night called Gulag, which runs in the basement of an English pub in Richmond that I had hitherto never been to. I was actually pretty surprised by just how sociable that part of the night was. I got to meet up with some old friends and acquaintances, met and spoke with a bunch of people, and generally good times were had in spite of it not being a terribly dancy affair. Sometimes, less talk and more rock is better, sometimes the converse. This is a club that seems to run on the latter, which entails a few adjustments for me as I'm set, for the moment, to DJ there on May 1st. It's an opening set, and it'll be to a pretty empty house, so shifting to a bit more downtempo stuff may be a wise plan. It's also May Day themed, taking place on May Day, so some songs about revolution should, I suppose, be slotted in, and the faster paced electropop and mashups planned phased out and left for another time.
Speaking of, I should really get a new DJ sobriquet and quick. I am open to suggestions (that don't suck).
Further, it's a damn shame that I left particular CDs that would have come in really handy for this in Montreal.
From Gulag, it was on to the phonetically similar Golgotha, which is a big goth night that runs exclusively on the eve of public holidays. It being probably the biggest local goth event that recurs more than once a year, people come out for it, and some surprises ensued in who I saw. I had a long chat with a girl named Amanda who I had met the last time, and her fiance, which was decidedly a new development. They're getting married in about 3 weeks. Congratulations were duly extended. I ran into thomasbear again, and while the conversation was a bit brief, it was another friend it was good to reconnect with. IThe big surprise of the night was running into an old acquaintance who had, indulging in a bout of self-destructive behavior over the weeks leading up, drunkenly propositioned me some 2 and a half years ago. She had later apologized, and things went on roughly as normal, and so I had to stop and say hello during some break in the pounding beats.
She positively doubletaked when she saw me, and a very nice, if slightly bizarre at moments, conversation ensued in which we filled eachother in on our lives (both of us doing better than last time) and she repeatedly and profusely apologized for that incident, having felt guilty about it (and more oddly, been reminded about it every now and again) while I was away. We sorted that out, and she will be able to resume her happy new life without having to worry about that particular incident.
That was neither the most bizarre or uncomfortable moment in the club that night. A whole series of them ensued with one friend getting irksomely clingy throughout, but the real cake-taker was meeting one of the local(ish?) goth musicians. I didn't know anything much about this guy prior, save for his performance name, Gothic Prince Ken (of a group called GPKISM). I was talking with someone else nearby, as was he, and eventually the groups merged.
With positively Victorian propriety, he extended a hand and introduced himself with what I thought was a put-on affectation of a British accent. "I am Gothic Prince Ken, at your service," he said. That mode of greeting was a new one on me.
"I'm Mike, and lacking in titles," I replied cheerfully, being ever the smiling jester. "And it's a pleasure to meet you."
Anyway, the conversation goes on a little while, and when it ends I leave completely baffled as to whether this was his personality or a persona. I still can't figure that one out for the life of me, but hey, pleasant enough fellow.
I crawled into bed sometime around 6:30 AM, which is why I lost most of the rest of my weekend.