Clouds, 2010 style

I have read that last post about a dozen times now, and I have to say that I like it quite a lot. Good God ... what a damn disgusting thing for any blogger to say about their own work, right? Of course it is. What a terrible start to this post. I think I was going to talk about clouds ... 

I wrote the title about half an hour ago, and since then I have made a coffee and clicked through a heap of internet banality, so now I can't quite remember where the title, or the decision to use this photo, were going. 

Clouds, 2010 style? Maybe I was saying "away with negativity!" Christ, I think that's exactly what I was going to ramble on about now that I think of it. Ah, well you can make up your own mind about what I was going to say ... it will probably make more sense. 

 Tomorrow : a new award.

Je N'en connais pas la fin.

I won't be going 'round there after dark anymore.

I saw you in a black and white image the other day, the first time I ever saw your face. At first I thought the perfection was either an impossibility or perhaps my biased opinion. Perhaps my judgement was clouded by emotion. But on reflection, your perfection was indeed real, real enough to make me feel so incredibly far beneath you, as ridiculous as that sounds.

I looked at your hand and imagined holding it, I looked at your mouth and wondered what you would eventually say, I looked at your eyes and contemplated the impression you would have of me, asked myself if that was already written or even important.

Later on I sat in front of a blank page and took a long, deep breath while I contemplated the paradox of time versus needs. Time is something I thought I had in abundance, until I saw your face. Now, as I try to imagine fitting in everything I have to do for you, want to do for you, it has finally clicked that there isn't quite as much time as I could do with. But now the goals are, if not yet realised, finally real. As real as that black and white image.

Shudder.

Night Surcharge - 50cents

I was supposed to be nominating bloggers, ten of them (ten of you) but that's impossible right now. I was trying to think of a specific group of blogs, but that didnt work either. Well, not to worry. There are a bunch of blogs I like very much over there on the right ... I would nominate them all, but as I said, it's supposed to be ten.
I was also supposed to be coming up with ten interesting things, something that I should have just done at the time, spontaneously, instead of thinking it over and finally realizing that the moment had passed. The ten interesting things are going to have to wait as well I guess.
One thing which may be of interest is that this is the last Beyond Wunderman post ... or rather, the second last post. For a very long time at least.
Which explains the centered text perhaps ... 
Ok, need to go get some sleep. 

Horse-whipped.

This was how Edinburgh looked as we flew in. In all these years of flying back and forward I have never seen it look as nice as it did on that day. Perfect timing ... it wasnt quit dark but all the street lights were coming on, snow everywhere. Yeah well, I got a bit trigger happy on the flight to Scotland, which you may or may not have already read about. I then enjoyed two weeks of deep snow, the like of I have not seen since I was a kid but will no doubt see again very soon as Europe is about to become one giant snowball apparently. 
So, moving on. As I predicted a few weeks ago, it is now January, which can only mean good thing. Things like this ... Phoenix over at Res Ipsa Loquitur gave this blog the "Kreativ Blogger" award the other day, which was as good a way to start the year as any I guess. I need to find somewhere to hang it. Phoenix dropped by a few weeks ago and left this wonderful post which I recommend you read before you jump over to check out her own blog which she fills with interesting and funny tales and happenings ... but please note that she has a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so don't go giving her any grief.
I am now supposed to ten you ten interesting things about myself and then nominate another 10 bloggers ... thats going to go on a bit. So I will do that tomorrow :)

Two Bodies.

What better way is there to wake on your day off than to besquashed between two warm, naked bodies? 

I struggle to think of one.

(isn't this post just crying out for a photograph to go with it?)

Up There - NYC Snapshot °4

Blue, the colour we usually associate with sadness, but whyis that? The question comes to me as I stare out over the city, marvelling atthe clear blue sky; it’s so utterly perfect today, not the faintest trace of acloud to be seen, not a single aeroplane trail. An Indian summer.

At the end of October it’s not uncommon for it to becomeunseasonably warm, and this, we are told, is known as an Indian summer. Why isthat? Everyone agrees; yes, we are having and Indian summer and I nod my head,but I don’t know what the hell it means. Why ‘Indian’? I feel so ignorantsometimes.

“E, why is this called an Indian summer?”

She’s not listening.

I think I could do with a little air ... °2

this story began here
"We're getting off! We want our goddamned money back!" you yell atthem.

"No we don't," Stepek says, looking at you as ifyou are insane, "We're staying put and we want the drinks trolley put back onboard."

The flight staff tell you that there if either of you makejust one more noise they will have you removed from the plane as well.

"Wait, I have an idea," Stepek says to them,turning on the charm for effect. "Now, I would imagine that one of youladies would weigh a similar amount to one of those drinks trolleys down there."

"I beg your pardon?" the nearest stewardess saysto him.

"Two then," you butt in. "We could lose twoof you in exchange for the trolley, surely."

She turns away and begins helping a older woman put her baginto the overhead compartment. The others disappear back to wherever they camefrom. They have obviously decided that neither of you are worth the effort.

"Maybe there are some passengers with some duty free -we could give them hard currency for it." you say.

"Wait a minute," Stepek hisses into your ear, "Ihave another idea. Can you see Hutch yet?"

"You joking? He's always on at the last minute. Thereare still people finding their seats, he will no doubt still be in thedeparture lounge trying to appear suave."

"Hey!" Stepek shouts towards the neareststewardess. "If one of the passengers doesn't turn up, they will take hisbags off, right?"

"Usually." She has her eyes screwed up, because, quiterightly she doesn't trust him at all.

"And, so without that passenger and his bags we couldprobably have the drinks trolley put back on board."

She screws her eyes up further and slinks off back down theaisle.

"Right." Stepek digs deep into his pocket andfishes his cell out before hammering at it with his thumb. "Hutch! Whereare you man? Not even through security? Still out there eh? No, we are notonboard either. No, the flights been cancelled. No, it's not mentioned on theboards for some security thing... Yeah, ok, stay there, no matter if they startcalling your name. Yeah, we're in a spot of trouble but we'll meet you outsidethat food village place on the first floor. Yeah, screw the flight. Don't forgetto ignore them if they call your name out over the speakers, ok? Huh? Hang on asecond..." He switches the phone off.

You high-five each other and then decide to try and get someshut eye.  You both agree that it will nodoubt be another half hour before they give up on Hutch and remove his bagsfrom the plane, the delay as welcome as it was inevitable.

"Poor Hutch," you mumble as you begin to doze.

I think I could do with a little air ... °1

Your day got worse the moment Stepek turned to you and said,"I have a bad feeling about this flight."

"What the hell are you talking about?" you askhim. "We are about to take off! Could you not have mentioned this beforenow?"

"I'd rather not worry you."

"Worry me? So why wait until we are sitting on therunway you bastard. We can't even attempt to get off now; they'll arrest us withinseconds and then they'll slide probes inside us." You squirm on your seat asvivid images of intrusive security measures flood your mind. " JesusStepek, I can't believe you are hitting me with this bullshit."

"Calm yourself, I am not predicting death. Give me somecredit. I've been watching out of the window, and, maybe I am mistaken ofcourse but there seems to be an extraordinary amount of luggage being putonboard." He turns back and stares hard into your eyes. "Do youremember the last time that happened?"

It doesn't take you long to realise what he is talkingabout; you have only ever been in an aeroplane with Stepek once before. Thatwas the time when ...

... you grab his arm in panic. His eyes widen and he beginsto nod steadily.

"They took the booze trolley off!" you yell athim.

As Stepek turns back to the window, you undo your seatbeltand practically climb over the top of him in an attempt to see what is going onbeneath the plane. The two of you have your faces squashed together, two setsof eyes bulging at the scene taking place on the tarmac below. A discussion istaking place next to a monstrous pile of bags and cases.  Your breath begins to steam the glass.  A decision appears to have been reached. Thedrinks trolleys are wheeled off.

"Hey! Hey!" you shout in unison, banging yourfists against the tiny window. A commotion is brewing behind you, but it barelyregisters. Stepek is pummelling one hand against the glass while the otherpoints at the trolley. He is trying to give instructions to the men below, the phrases,"fucking booze trolley," and "back on the fucking plane," burstingfrom him with such volume that within seconds the flight staff are there, atthe end of your row, ordering you to shut him up. You punch him in the kidneys.

"Tell them to put the drinks trolley back on theplane," he shouts at them. "My friend and I bought tickets for thisflight under the assumption that we could get drunk on it. Clearly that is notthe case." You can see that they are becoming concerned that the rest ofthe passengers will get wind of this. The last time it happened they waiteduntil the plane was in the air before announcing that it would be "wateronly" for the duration of the flight.

to be continued ...