haonowshaokao

The last week and a half has been largely tainted by the stream of crap events from Wednesday to Saturday. Then Sunday was a mixed bag followed by a blackout. I am disappointed with my apparent inability to live in Prague and not become an alcoholic.
Wednesday was a bit shit all round. First there was my trip to the computer shop in which I discovered my laptop is completely fucked with little chance of repair. The motherboard is dead and Mesh Computers PLC are quite possibly the worst company I have ever had dealings with. Then I went to the internet laundry place and found that I have 350 pounds less than I thought I had, not enough to buy a plane ticket to Hong Kong even. My MP3 player, phone and only jumper are all in the mid stages of breaking too.
Thursday was ok actually, though I just got drunk and watched TV.
Friday was the 13th and a full moon. I had a bad time and that’s all, but a girl I know got her wallet stolen with all the money she had in the world inside. We went to see a band but they weren’t on, it was just a weird fake Irish bar. I was there with Dennily, Liv, Miriam and Amanda and got to see quite how much creepy attention a gang of girls gets. Some drunk Austrian guy found us in Le Chien Andalou after, bought us all shots (which I ended up drinking as nobody else wanted them) and tagged along to Blind Eye and Akropolis. It was around this point that he figured out that they were not available or interested and shouted at Dennily before walking out in a huff. He cornered me on the way out and said “I like you, you are a nice guy, but your girls are bitches.” They aren’t “mine” and he never even had a conversation with them. The music was shit in the “mala scena” so we went into the other room where the music was good for five minutes until some appalling dj came on and played “Do You Really Like It.” Got a day tram home.
Saturday I woke up with panic chemicals in my brain which just wouldn’t go away. I was supposed to go and see Art Brut at Abaton. It took an hour to get there but only a second to realise I’d got the wrong night. Not wanting to go to the ‘skafest’ we went back to the pub. A&M sent me a message inviting me to the cinema so I got across town to find that yet again it wasn’t on. Got annoyed, went back to the pub again, got drunk, played fooz, went to bed.
Sunday the panic chemicals had taken over properly. Spent all day trying in vain to relax and then went to the Art Brut gig on my own in a huff and drank shots of Tuzemak with beers as fast as possible. The gig was good, though I was pretty wasted by this point. Bumped into a few Czech girls I knew and went off to a bar with them, arranged a date with one and got off with her friend after she’d left (bad, bad, bad…) Then I woke up in bed a couple of hours later, my mind a blank as far as what went on inbetween. Spent yesterday feeling very ill, went to play poker at the Clown and Bard for a bit, drank some fruit juice and tea and had an early night.
I am feeling ok now, but a week off everything is needed. Conveniently the Blind Eye is closed for ventilation installation.

I went off with Miriam and Amanda to Cesky Krumlov on Tuesday and got back last night. It was even better than last time. I think it now may well be my favorite place in the world, not that I’ve seen a lot of the world particularly but it would take some beating. There was a good 2-3 feet of snow this time which was generally pretty and only annoying when it meant we had to wait in an obscure provincial train station for three hours while they dug a way out for us. The 30 minute taxi ride from Cesky Budejovice wasn’t a laughing matter either. But then we were in Krumlov, so we didn’t care.
Skippy didn’t mind us getting in so late. She’s a real star and it’s so good to be able to stay at her hostel / house, one of the highlights of the town in fact. We saw all the usual stuff, though the castle was closed. We went in anyway as the door was open but were chased out by a flustered old man who said that two people had just been taken to hospital because of snow falling off the roof. I’m not scared of snow.
We ate a feast at the medieval restaurant on the last night and got drunk on hot almond-flavoured mead. We otherwise drank at the other hostels in town, which were generally full of locals whose English was on a level with my Czech. I’m learning, though. I had way too much whiskey and slipped on the ice three times. Got a couple of decent bruises to show for it too.
Back in Prague now, feeling somewhere between refreshed and hungover. The girls are moving out to find their own place for a bit, which us sad as they are cool but good because they make a disproportionate amount of noise all the time and I need my old man quiet time.
Going to see the Narnia film now. I hope it isn’t too christian.
Photos of the above soon.

I’m a few days behind and typing on a German keyboard with a hangover.
On Saturday there was a Christmas get-together at the Clown & Bard, which I largely missed. One of the resident gang there is an English kid called Tommy who is on acid every time I bump into him. He had a new pet rat which everyone was playing with and he made the mistake of bringing it down to the Blind Eye, leaving it with people he didn’t know very well and going off for a couple of hours. Within 15 minutes we’d lost it down the back of the sofa. Meanwhile the resident three dogs and one cat patrolled the bar area. Survival chances were judged to be slim. As I left at 4am the rat was still lost, the owner not in a state to really mind, yet.
Sunday was my first ever Christmas away from home at the age of 26, and in a country where it had already been and gone by the local reckoning. Next year will be the same too, then I’ll be back in the UK some time in 2007. The first thing I had to do was phone my Mum, Dad, Sister and Nan and explain / break this to them. That done I got down to some serious cooking for the Blind Eye Christmas dinner later in the day. Then Dennily came round, we ate some of the food, watched some Peep Show and got off down to the Eye with the remainder. It was a good party with very good food. I tried biscuits and gravy for the first time and was pretty impressed. Tommy managed to find his rat after it being lost in the bar for 20 hours, not just an impressive survival but a good present for the guilty parties too, not having been responsible for the death of someone’s pet after all. Somehow I ended up playing scrabble in the back room for a while. After that it was just a normal sort of night.
Now I’m in Berlin. More later.

It’s Christmas here in Prague. Families are sitting down to eat grilled carp and potato salad all around. But not me. I’ve spent the day so far cleaning the bath and toilet, watching Doctor Who, walking around the Old Town and now sitting in an internet cafe. Because Christmas is on the 25th where I come from. Tonight they’re festively showing the Life Of Brian at the cinema so might go to see that I suppose.