wodge of œ50 notes

27th of Feb, 2003ce* in: diary

Yowser! I got paid. Laid down the deposit on my new flat. It’s also russes birthday today, happy B-day mang.

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Boss Men

25th of Feb, 2003ce* in: diary

Today I moved out of the flat that I was staying in, and moved into my directors flat. Now I am staying with the two executive directors of Babel! A very plush place indeed. I’m very lucky, its for a weeks while I wait for my paperwork to go through on my new abode.

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Maharishi

20th of Feb, 2003ce* in: diary

Went home earlier than usual to have a few drinks with the guy I’m staying in brighton with. I’d been staying clear of the house for the past month to give him and his girlfriend some breathing space… although they would complain either way; you’re here too much or you’re never here you treat this like a hotel its understandable that I can’t win, give me a key to come and go but then complain that I’m coming in a going out.
Well I’m sure they are happy drinking Maharishi tea or whatever. The man has a very short memory as I put him up for about 2 months while we were in London. Still, musnt complain, must be hard having someone stay when you’re in a relationship and the house is invaded.

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Thumb Acres

18th of Feb, 2003ce* in: diary

Went to the last ever Thumb Acres, a weekly pub based games night where drinkers can play xbox / dreamcast etc games on a huge projection screen.
Was a very good night out. Shortly after my manager took myself and a few others out to a sleazy nightclub where we all got copiously drunk and made fools out of our selves.

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penguin climbers

4th of Feb, 2003ce* in: diary

Made a great analogy; people in the pub describing how the contract process works here at Babel, with people being sacked, put on the bottom of the list and waiting to get hired again (games testers and q&a quality controllers are on flexi contracts here). I compared it to those old battery powered toys you could get where the penguins climb the stairs and slide down the slide only to end up at the bottom of the stairs.

Well, you had to be there. Come to think of it only my manager laughed. I suppose thats key eh?

Went to Thumb Acres this evening, a weekly doo set up in the top room of an expensive pub where people can bring their consoles / games and play on a projector screen while drinking copious amounts of beer! Apparently this night is usually quite boring, numbering in about 4 or 5 attendees every time. However this evening was different! At one point there were twenty people in the room, all playing bishi bashi or some xbox game involving ducking and jumping, very hard and way too many pros in the room. We had full size dance mats to play dance dance revolution, however we played a few driving games like this too! like playing twister and driving a car at the same time, but left foot red makes you crash into a bus…

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bit of shit in the sea

3rd of Feb, 2003ce* in: diary

watched brighton pier burn

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Leo Sayer

30th of Jan, 2003ce* in: diary

everyone in babel got paid except for me :( as I missed the monthly cut off for wages, which was the sunday before I started.
Went to the pub with the babel staff, got drunk with tom and went to some shitty night club and spent far too much money… walking down the street and saw Leo Sayer!
Ended up very drunk running down the road calling some random guy a toffee nosed twat as he tried to start a fight with me on exit of nightclub.

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New Job

24th of Jan, 2003ce* in: diary

I start my new job on monday, working as a games artist for Hove based company Babel.

Its a huge relief for me, as I was totally sick of freelancing!

Also, I need a more stable life, what with getting married this year and all…

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Auntie Paula RIP

11th of Jan, 2003ce* in: diary

My Auntie passed away from terminal cancer a few days ago, I didn’t know until today - but somehow sensed this had happened.

RIP Paula Bright - love ya loads and hope to meet again one day!

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Brighton bound!

3rd of Jan, 2003ce* in: diary

Awoke and had my bath, which is always relaxing in Japan. Firstly you shower down your dirty grimy body (or use a pitcher if your bathroom doesn’t come equipped) then when clean from head to toe, jump in the tub. Japanese baths are rather deep compared to western ones, they are also cramped for western bodies - although this is not a problem when used to the style.

After that I ate my usual breakfast which my girlfriend lovingly prepares each morning; consisting of a bowl of rice, a raw egg, some miso soup and a few satsumas. That may seem like a hearty breakfast but the concept of lunch is largely unheard of in Japan, with a slant towards snacking instead. This breakfast includes fish or ham (cooked). With luck, this breakfast should see you through till tea time!

We were packed up and ready to drive me to sendai for my 6 hour journey to narita airport, shoved all the stuff into the family space wagon plotting our course on the car navigation system. A car ‘navi’ is one of the best devices I’ve ever seen, basically a small flat wide screen on the dash that allows you to watch TV or know where you’re going via satellite - it may sound grand but its entirely commonplace in Japan’s gadget hungry populace. Typing in the destination by place name or telephone directory listing creates a route automatically with ETA checkpoints, busy road warnings, traffic light status and vocal proximity announcements - startrecking!

Some 2 hours later and we pass through Sendai cities toll gate, but the drive shaft on the front wheels pops out of place producing a grating grinding sound - not to worry, the space wagon is 4×4 so we keep on truckin! Later taken to a Nissan garage to get the front drive shaft disabled.

We ate cow tongue while watching the snow outside, saw me off and I’m alone once again - with a mountain of stuff standing outside a bus station. Wonder to my self when I’ll finally get settled! This transient life is never ending and soon I’ll be at Narita airport hoping my plane would tidy up my life by crashing into a mountain! I always wondered why the majority of suicides in the UK are committed by 25 year old males… But no! Life is something to hold on to. I have no diseases, I’m not living on the streets and I have found a new direction in life. Although that direction is against the clock now, Brighton beckons me & Sayuki, lets hope I can get a decent job on arrival!

Time to leave Japan again (the 4th time!) I’ll come back soon when I have my life sorted in the UK. shed a tear and close my book, my work here is done - I had fun!

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