Last night I did indeed see Robbie Williams at this hobnobbing event. The event was in this monstrous unused room in a brewery. There were free drinks and free sandwiches, all top notch, and two decked out stages on either end of the room. Oh, and there were about 750 people there. Kara and I estimate this to cost one jillion dollars. So we unfortunately did not get to speak to Mr. Williams, but we did see him perform on a small stage with one the acts playing. He was dressed down, but clearly cooler than all of us. He was on stage for about 4 minutes and then Kara and I went to eat toasted sandwiches and drink Budvar. It was a good thing.

Today was technology day at work. I set up our new computer and worked some more on the webpage for work. Everything is coming together nicely. Now, I am going to eat. This weekend will be a day trip to Brighton and shopping, as we have reached the July sales.

The last couple days have been pretty boring. The only thing notable was a good religion/life conversation with Julie. On to today. I left work early to go to Wimbledon. I sat in line for about 50 minutes to get in, but once I did it was definitely worth it. I got to see some tennis action and it was good. It gave me the tennis bug again. I want to start playing again when I get back from here.

The other super cool thing is that I am going to a party for work tonight that might be attended by Robbie Williams. I'll give you the update on that one tomorrow from work. Get excited for the dish.

This weekend was full of nothing. I did nothing very noteworthy and that was something I needed. I had a very busy week and was traveling the weekend before so going shopping and for a couple drinks was all I needed. On Saturday I went on a search for some new clothes. Unfortunately, the streets were packed and it was quite warm so I had little patience for shopping. Still, I managed to buy some CDs this weekend. The standout of this weekend's purchases was the Pernice Brothers record. I have been listening to it quite a bit and I really think it something great. Imagine an alt-country version of Spoon. It is my favorite record of this month, aside from the 45s demos. Saturday night I went to get dinner in Chinatown, which was fine but could have been more. I ended up getting duck and it was a bit of a mistake since it was served differently than I had expected. The rest of the night consisted of me on the couch with my good friends Ben and Jerry. They are some great guys.

Sunday was only slightly more exciting. I went back to Soho to find clothes because I didn't go to French Connection on Saturday. I ended up finding a rockin' sweatshirt, which was a success in my mind. Now for the absolute best part of the weekend, my viewing of Shrek. I loved this movie. If you haven't seen it yet you must. I thought it was funny and broke down a lot of traditional animated movie stigmas. The hero was an ogre who was gross and not very heroic. Although the lack of heroism was nothing new, rarely do you have a hero who uses his ear wax to make a candle and makes balloon animals out of actual animals. The most poignant thing of it all was just how funny it was. I laughed hard quite a few times. So please, go see it.

Last night I went to see Daniel Kitson, the comedian, again with Kara, Julie and Jessica. He was just as brilliant. Quite a funny man. Then I finished the second Harry Potter. This is something I will speak to you about later tonight as I have grown quite fond of the series.

Yes, bye bye.

If you don't know who they are, I'll give you a picture. First, they used to be a kindercore band and they still find in with the style. They are fronted by a women and have the normal instruments and a keyboard. Think Stereolab unplugged and no french-ness and more pop. Their set was only about 20 minutes but it was so worth the £5. Afterwards Kara and I spoke to them to find out about the album that just came out in Japan, where they're huge. Funny, since we saw them on Wednesday with about 30 other people. So they had no real idea when it was coming out in the states but were pretty sure it came out on September 10th here in the UK. When one of them mentioned touring in the states I asked who their booking agent was and they had no idea. They didn't think they had one but they weren't sure. It was kind of funny how none of them really knew much about their own band. Not caring makes you cool though, so they were doing alright.

The venue was a story of its own. It is supposed to see a super scenester place where you can see celebs like the Gallagher's and Geri Halwell or maybe some less famous but still unusually attractive. We saw none of these people, but everyone was still dolled up for the evening. They were all dressed to the nines and were looking to be noticed. The best part of the place though was the music. They were playing a variety of 60s soul and pop as well as other generally cool music. I am going back just for the soundtrack.

Last night was supposed to be a chill night, but instead I ended up going to some bar later in the evening, which wasn't the best idea since it was pretty boring. As I said, Leicester Square sucks. Tonight was another good one though. After work Kara and I went to Camden to go to Wagamama, our favorite little japanese noodle shop. It was great, as usual. Then, we moved on to our favorite pub in London, Monkeychew. I have discussed its coolness before. They have DJs spinning and it just a very relaxed atmosphere. I would live there if it were in Madison. You would too, trust me.

That's about all I got for ya. Don't for get, stay in school and don't do drugs. Well, at least commit to something and avoid something else.

The only thing that makes it worthwhile is Virgin, Tower, and HMV but you can find those anywhere. I just say this because last night I went there with a bunch of people from my program and I just think it lacks any fun. It is full of tourists, overpriced and boring. Enough of my ranting. I will now continue explaining my adventures of the last week.

So on Monday I spent the afternoon playing basketball with my roommates. I hadn't played basketball in about a year so I was a touch rusty. I had fun though. The only downside was that I was sore for the next three days. Oh, and another thing. One of the girls on the trip was a bit surprised by my choice to play basketball. Would you say I, as a guy, am highly likely or unlikely to play basketball? I guess I could see how I wouldn't fit in with the basketball playing crowd, but I don't think I seem completely unathletic. Well, after basketball I went to the pub with Mike, Jamie, Julie and Courtney. Good times.

Tuesday was fun. I went to see Daniel Kitson, who is one of the comedians we represent here at Impressive PR. He was so damn funny. He has a stutter and lisp and isn't the most attractive man. A lot of his set was about this fact. It made it especially funny. He also doesn't drink and did a great bit on how people rate their nights based on how f*cked up they were. For instance:

Dude 1: "Dude, last night ruled. I fell of the balcony and broke both my arms!"
Dude 2: "Well I was so plastered I accidentally slept with my sister!"

Funny, but sick. But more funny than sick, if you ask me. The rest of his set was great as well.

Wednesday Kara and I went to see Birdie at the Notting Hill Arts Club. They were McAwesome. I love that band. And the venue was uber cool. More on that later since I gotta go. Bye bye.

So, I am here to update you on my life. I can't guarantee how long I'll be able to type as I'm at work, but here goes. So last week Thursday I went to see Grand Western one of the bands we represent. They are fronted by a girl and are pretty radio friendly. Mel, one of my bosses, told me that they used to write quirky pop songs but lately they have fallen into the radio-friendly trap. It happens all too often. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed their performance.

Friday I left with Kara and her family for Brussels. We left on Friday afternoon and arrived around 10 in the evening. We got some dinner in the hotel and then went to bed. In the morning we had a very nice buffet breakfast and we had, of course, Belgian waffles. They were really really good. During the day we wen to Bruge, which was beautiful. It is this really old town that was one of the few to survive all the major wars of the last couple centuries. Unfortunately, it was raining the entire time. So, we left around 3pm and returned to Brussels. We had some 'down time' and then got some dinner in the city. Dinner was great but the highlight was the town square. It was all light up and there was some big band jazz going on. It was just wonderful. The next day we went to an art museum, which was fine but not the best I'd been to. Then, we made our way home. I proceeded directly to my bed.

I will give you my updates on this week later this afternoon when I get to the internet cafe. Cheers.

Things are a bit slow right now so I thought I would send a quick update. Today Kara's parents arrive. I presume she is very excited to see them. This weekend I will be traveling to Brussels with them. I have never been and I am quite excited.

Last night I saw one of our bands, Bareface. They were very punky, but very good. Kara thought they would probably be good for the Vans tour and I agree.

Back to work now. Of course when I think I have a couple seconds, I am wrong.

Yes, this is becoming a problem. Yesterday I bought a Blur album, a Teenage Fanclub album, a Pernice Bros. single, a Bedhead album (but they put the wrong one in the case) and an Unwound record. I got one more, but I am blanking out right now. The Unwound record is so good. I am really loving these guys.

Work was hellish today. Actually, not hellish, but a bit stressful. I made it though. Tomorrow will be a bit easier to manage I think. I hope. I am still in love with work though and we have a show to go to this week by one of our bands, Bareface. It should be pretty good.

Camden Market was pretty cool because it had a lot of punk clothes and some record dealers. I had fun walkin' around, but it would have been better sans rain. Tate Modern was excellent. I am going to make a return trip. They had some photos by a guy named Gursky that I absolutely loved. I am going to have to buy a book when I get home. The building itself was cool too. Then, as I mentioned in a previous post, I also hung out with Jon. Kara and I went back to his place for some grub on sunday, and it was nice. We watched the Great Outdoors, which is such a good movie. SOOO good. That was about it I guess. Back to the non-digi world.

Last night I went to see Keene. They were so amazing. They will be huge, trust me. The lead singer's voice is like butter. His singing is effortless. I wish I had a sample for you to hear. So good.

Tonight I went out after work with Kara and two coworkers, Tim and Emma. It was such a good time. They are the nicest people. Tim, Kara and I talked about music for three straight hours without any problem. I hope I hang out with him some more.

I just remembered--today I got a copy of an album by a band called The Reindeer Section. The album has artists from Snow Patrol, Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, and another really good band but I can't remember right now. And the album is really good. Lo-fi and just super cool sounding. It probably won't be out in the states for a few months though so I'll give you a listen when I get home.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll give another update tomorrow.

That is good. So now I will tell you about the two concerts I saw.

The 45s These guys were u n b e l i e v a b l e. It would not be an understatement to say they are the best new band I have heard in over a year. Unfortunately they have no albums released and one will not come out until the fall. At least I have the single and a 5 song sampler. Heh heh. So they are very poppy--power pop to be specific. They have a Ben Folds Five sound but I wouldn't say they are like Ben Folds Five. I am hoping to make a webpage for them since I really like them and they should have one. Anyway, it was a kickass show and I love them.

Relish Little did I know that Relish would be playing with Three Doors Down. I mentioned this in the last post, but I only found out about that part right before the tickets were handed over. 3DD was pretty crappy, as would be expected, but Kryptonite was fun. Kara and I spent most of the show yelling "Krypto-suck!" Fun. Relish was very good but they need to cut there songs down in time for their live performances. It was drawn out. I thought they were a good act though. A combination of Hootie and the Blowfish and Steely Dan.

Tonight I am going to see Keen, at least I think that's the name of the band. At least I know where the show is. I'll let you know what they're like.

So it's time for me to go. Money is low on my card so no more typing. This weekend will include hanging with Jon, Camden Market, Tate Modern museum, a movie of some sort and laying out a design for the Impressive Music website.

I love all my coworkers so far. They are Tim, Emma, David, Karen and Mel (who I haven't met yet). Tim is easily the coolest. Today Kara and I spent a lot of time doing American/British impersonations with him. It was so funny. I work most closely with Emma who is also super nice. She has been really helpful and is a lot of fun, but unfortunately she has been super busy. Karen is the co-boss with Mel and I would love to have a boss like here someday. She is easygoing but is still always on top of things. Also, she knows how to have fun too. David is really cool too, but a hard worker so we don't get to chat too much.

The coolest part is tonigth we are going to our second show of the week, free of charge. Also, we went home with 5 free CDs, as I had mentioned last time. Oh, and Karen said if there were any gigs we wanted to go to she would try and get us in. So nice. The capper is that Karen said that she would let me design their webpage for money. Granted, it's illegal, but it'll be okay. She is going to look at my plan next week.

Okay, time to go. I am going to see Relish (one of our bands) and Three Doors Down. Buh Bye.

So I am updating a whole lot later than these numbers indicate I realized just now, but that's cool. Anyway, so this weekend I did typical weekend type stuff. We all went to a club Saturday night. The club was called Club Monaco and felt like a Bar Mitzvah. If they had played "Celebrate" then that would have been the capper. Still, I had a lot of fun. It was a good time. Two people on our trip, Mike and Terri, have been, you know, wink winkin' for a couple days and on Saturday I was talkin' to Mike and he said how Terri wants a relationship and yadda yadda yadda. Anyway, she's a bit of a nutcase so I don't blame him. The whole night she was hangin' on him like a bad suit. I just realized she might stumble upon this site and then I would feel like an ass so I will stop right now. It was fun though.

Sunday was relax-o. Kara and I went to Jon's (Jorie's boyfriend) house for a BBQ. The people there were really way too nice. I like Jon and his friends a lot. We also watched a tape of an AMAZING show called Trigger Happy TV. It is something like Buzzkill, which was on MTV. It is hillarious. There is one scene when the main guy has this mammoth cell phone and he yells into it in really quiet areas like libraries or restaurants. It is so damn funny. But I digress.

So I had my "interview" today and the gig sounds rad. I come in at 10am, I can wear whatever I want, we get free CDs, go to free shows and everyone is super cool. I couldn't have asked for more. I'll keep you posted on it.

Later this week: karaoke, a concert (the 45s) and more shenanigans.

I'm spending money like water, and it's got to stop. Still, I got some good albums with the money I spent.

Yesterday I bought:

• Mum (I don't remember the album name)
• Low and Dirty Three EP
• Mogwai - Rock Action

It was a good pick up, I must say. The Mum album is uber-hot. You should check it out.

Little to no clothes buying, but I am trying to be frugal with that.

Last night Kara and I went to see Burning Airlines at the Garage (GARE-age, not grr-age). This is my second time seeing them and I have to say that I was dissapointed. I didn't like them so much last time, and I still don't. Kara said they are a combination of prog rock and Sunny Day Real Estate and I think that's right on. I kind of like Sunny Day and I generally don't like prog rock, so you can see why I wouldn't like Burning Airlines. I am more of a Jets to Brazil fan. In fact, I think I've been to kind to BA; I really do think they suck. There, they suck. So, if you like me and my opinions, avoid them.

Today I found a "Jolly Nigger Bank." If you have seen Bamboozled then you'll know what I'm talking about. It's this little bank that is a man with blackface on and the bright red lips who puts a coin in his mouth when you pull a lever in his elbow. It is horrific that these were made at all. That reminds me, if you want to see what I thought about Bamboozled go here. I bought it to give to the Afro-Am department back at school as I think it is an important part of history.

Alright, no more virtual life. Time to experience life in a base 10 system.

Last night we spent the night with Jorie and her boyfriend, who is Canadian but studying english in london right now. He took us to some really cool pubs, the coolest being Monkeychew. It was almost too cool for me. Also, their food was good.

I have to sleep on bunk beds. Yeah, it isn't the best thing but I make due. The bigger problem is that my mattress stinks. And now I'm done complaining. Time to go record shopping.