haonowshaokao

With an hour to spare, I have finished my sitcom treatment.
Now home for food. And a lie-down.
I should have been working on it last night, but received a text message from Bob informing me that there was a free keg garden party at the Clown & Bard. So who could resist? At ten we were playing shithead in the bar. At midnight I was somehow cooking pasta in Jess’s flat instead of getting down to work at home.
But it’s done now. Phew.

Trying hard to work on a sitcom treatment that will probably never get made. Ah well. Back to work tomorrow.

Friday night was as per usual. Went to the Akropolis club and sat around being boring. Later on somebody got punched in the face for breaking an ashtray. I was too tired to be out, after doing little or no work all week.
Saturday was Jess’s party. Almost nobody I knew turned up so I socialised with strangers a little, drank beer, wine and cheap whiskey, then passed out at 1.30, disappointed at the failure of my attempt to levitate Jess. When I awoke, fully clothed at 3.30 an almost entirely unclothed man was being shouted at and carried out of the room. Odd.
All in all there had been, in the two hours I had slept,
1. A guy trying to have fights with everyone
2. People getting off / making out with other people they shouldn’t
3. Somebody being sick
and
4. Somebody being shouted at and then crying.
All in all, I think you will agree, the components of a successful party. Shame I slept through most of it.
Sunday we did nothing apart from eat food and watch ‘Love, Actually’ which was appallingly bad, but occasionally funny. Occasionally.
Today I’ve already returned to my “house” to find the budgie missing, presumed dead. Last time I saw it was Friday, I was making faces at it and whistling, which is what you do with budgies, as far as I can tell. Though my actions are not related to the possible death of said bird, they were a little disrespectful considering the short time it had left to flutter across its little cage.
It was very fat, probably overfed. That would do it.

So I went out to the Clown and Bard again for a few bevvies before bed and had the usual conversation about, yeah, like wow, is that, like, a mobile phone or a brick?
What jolly backpackers often fail to appreciate is that, like the Amish, the expats of Prague live in a world where modern technology is shunned, the only difference being that our cut off point is somewhere around 1997. Nokias with ‘Snake 2’ are looked upon with wonderment and CD burners are a magical new technology bestowed upon the few.
Meanwhile, in the real world, ringtones apparently now account for ten percent of music sales. This fact leaves me open-mouthed shocked because I can’t think of anything worse than seeing some businessman on the metro answering his phone while it plays The Final Countdown by Europe. Ringtones are appalling, all of them, don’t give a shit how long you spent programming them. If you have a pop tune ringtone you are just not cool. Get a phone that rings, please.
Went into the office to collect my pay packet, which amounted to a measly 3204 crowns, aka not much money at all, plus a telling off for not attending a meeting I was told was voluntary. Pissed off generally. Will spend what money remains on Jameson’s.

Spent a day writing today. That means cooking food, eating it, going for a walk, listening to the radio, listening to CDs, staring blankly at a notepad. A bit is done, but I am well behind.
Then I was going to go to the Roxy and see Múm play, but for various reasons that doesn’t seem to have worked, so I’m going to borrow some mon and get drunk instead. Tomorrow is payday! I hate exclamation marks, but they are occasionally justified.

Hung out with Hamish for a change last night, my first free weeknight in a while. He had extensive stories of goings on around Zizkov, most of which were pretty unpleasant.
For example: on Saturday Becker was chatting to some Chicago guy in the Akropolis. The guy had seemed alright, he said. Down at the tram stop, on his way home, he had been stopped by the guy’s friend, who offered him a joint. Becker refused and the guy grabbed his hat and sprinted away. Around the corner he was grabbed by the guy and his friend, who kicked him in the face, shouting “why did you steal my camera?!” Becker had, of course, stolen no camera, but in the resulting action the guitar on his back was smashed. Being Americans in the area they shouldn’t be hard to find, and a lynch mob was out for them yesterday. Crazy shit.
Had a couple of beers and played shithead, then went home when everyone was off to the Roxy.
Not up to a great deal today, besides going for a little meal as it is Jess’s birthday and her housemate is cooking some food.
I had refried chili for breakfast. It was safely stored in tupperware for 4 days and then refried to within an inch of carbonation. I am not vomiting yet so I think I will probably be ok. Though my stomach is protesting a little maybe.

A monster of a weekend, mainly due to the recovery process for illness, incomplete on Friday and held in a state of suspended animation due to extensive consumption of rich food and alcohol in the intervening time. Today I am shattered, but fortunate in not having to do a lot tomorrow.
I don’t have to do a lot tomorrow because I just lost 3 lessons. Too bad. They come and they go.
But anyway, back to the weekend. My dad and stepmum were here so I spent most of the time taking them round old town and showing them all the usual tourist stuff. It was good, though my dad does have the habit of buying me too much in the way of alcohol, meaning that I am unsure whether my illness is in fact just an extended hangover.
The food was good though. My last 5 meals have all been in restaurants. Saturday night I brought Jess out and we had a meal in Radost, which was very nice.
I have been back to my “house” for only short periods, mainly to sleep or get changed. Martin had a good deal of his extended family there all weekend. I think they are gone but can’t be sure. There was one old man in particular who, in the small amount of time I was in the house, managed to knock on my door and continually attempt to talk to me in Czech, despite my protests that I couldn’t understand. Staying away, but will have to return for food tonight. Oh well.

Feeling a whole lot better today, and in an hour or so my Dad and Stepmum arrive for a weekend of jolity. I will take them to the old town and the bridge and the castle. I love disneyland.
Some of Martin’s relatives are staying in the house these last 2 days, presumably his parents. They speak even less English than I speak Czech, and seeing as I’m not working today we’ve been the only people in the house. Has been odd, but after half an hour I only vaguely notice them.
Seem to have lost some work, which is bad. May have to compromise and start working at 8am, what a gnarly thought. On the other hand, seem to have made money elsewhere, which is good.