Not tired

Today has been sweet. I don't generally work weekends but today happens to be a bank holiday in Denmark so I get an extra day off. At the moment it's scheduled for next week but I hope to get it change for when I go home for the weekend in July so I don't miss a days pay. I haven't worked up enough holiday days yet and I have taking more. Nearly all have been unpaid. I'll get money by the end of the year for some I think.

Anyway, I just chilled on my balcony for a few hours listening to Minus the Bear, Moneen and Starters. The sun hits the balcony from 1pm till about 7.30pm/8pm. Jävla nice! Both my housemates are away up in Gothenburg for a Breakdance event (The Quest Continues) that my housemates crew is hosting. So after enjoy the sun I headed over to the Folkets park to meet up with a mate and get some coffee. That's what you do in Malmö. Get coffee. We chilled in the park for a while enjoying the random reggae hiphop shit that was come from the stage they have in the park. The sunshine was still awesome. Afterwards I watch a load of shit tv shows and played some gears until my internet connection was acting the dick.

A couple of hours ago I thought I'd go for a cycle. To the beach. I also took my camera. I don't think you are meant to cycle with headphones on but I do anyway. I tend to listen to my iPod on shuffle and the best songs all came up while I was cycling around. The city looks class as well.













































































































I wish I had a better camera. Mine is ok but only ok. Taking photos while cycling is also fun. The sequence is backwards but yeah. Maybe a Tumblr might be a good idea. Check out Zach's, it's delish. I took some pics from my window when I got back. 














Think I might try to sleep now.

The Real World.

The feeling you have when you finish college or studying for the last 15/18 years of your life is the strangest. I didn't get to have that feeling for very long as I was already working in what I had studied, Sound Engineering, also after I had finished my Leaving cert I had my college course already lined up. After working at my profession for two years I decided I needed a break. I'm still on that break I guess! That was five and a half years ago. 

2 weeks ago I was at home and at some of the best shows of my life. I was hanging out with the best people and having such a laugh. It was like having that I'm free from college/school forever feeling. Having to do two days work last week was the weirdest.


So my time at home involved these: 

For the No consequence gig I just watched Red Enemy mainly because I was really there for Metal Karaoke. Helmut is the best for putting it on. I totally understand how every time it takes a small bit of his soul. I'm still amazed he lets me have the mic. Also singing with Goo, Robbedge and SK is always good. Having a performance from Liamy and him not remembering it, was great as well. 

Staying in the Hardcore Hotel was the best buzz. The place is filthy but the lads make it so good. I have to thank Nelly for .... lots. Hero. I hope you have the best time in the States and Canada. 

For Iwrestledabearonce  I was happy to see 30Nov and Hero In Error. Great to see PK on stage again and I love watching Anto sing. 30nov were so good. Joe Panama serving the highest of Fives to the guys was unreal. I checked out the rest of the bands but just didn't do anything for me. This was the first gig for me in the Pint and I was pretty disappointed with the sound. It had good moments and bad moments but more of the latter. IWABO are probably some of the most talented musicians playing a mess. I was impressed for about 8 minutes and then it started to hurt. Feeling the heat inside did however prepare me for what was to come on Sunday. 

Hardcore For Charity/ The last Find a Way show was probably one of the best shows I have ever been at. Every single band were unreal. Starters, who also released a Delish demo, are writing songs of the summer and are making their way to the top. The Blind are one of my favourite local Dublin bands. So much so i was singing karaoke in the style of David Balfe. My knee was in pain from stomping for three days after. First Death were a stepping stone of what is happening in Dublin Hardcore. So much has come from each person that was in that band. It was amazing to see them play for one last show. 

Find A Way will be one of the most missed bands in Dublin. I really and truly hope that this is just a hiatus and that they will be back playing when each one of the lads get back from traveling. With the set the played in the Pint, (sweatfest 2010) and the set in the Hideaway house for the last ever show there, they had an ultimate send off. The atmosphere Find A way can create at a show is second to none. I don't know whether it was, that I miss being home and in that atmosphere or that I won't get to experience that for a long time because of the hiatus, that was bringing me close to tears at both shows.

The last Hideaway house show was beautiful. Lots of guessing of the line ups but in the end with Jogging, Logik Party, Find A Way, And So I watch you from Afar and the Heathers it was a great show. I thought Joggings songs could be shorter but they were ok. Real Kate Bush vibe off Logik Party for me, I enjoyed it. Find A Way were unbelievable. wasn't sure how it was going to go but it turned out to be amazing. Probably because they can make their atmosphere. ASIWYFA are an unreal band to watch. I am very glad I got to see them at such a special gig. The police (not the band) arrived pretty much directly after their set. It was pretty loud but it was dealt with quite quickly. The Heathers played in the garden surrounded by people sitting on the ground and wall and standing all the way back to the house. It was beautiful. 

Watch this video because it is the best. 

Last Hideaway House Show

Everything inbetween these gigs also made this the greatest week. Shakes, Barbeques, last Lost, Dutch Gold, Nelly's room, Chris Mahon coffee, Family, Old school mates, Fee, Sean Lugosi in a gigsmart shirt, Starters demo, Sean Lugosi in general, hanging with everyone at the shows, Creeping, Irish sunshine(where ever that came from) 

When I worked for Urban Outfitters in Ireland I pretty much was there ALL the time. Since I started back at the company I have been trying to keep myself away from doing that. Before I left Ireland a good friend said to me "work to live, don't live to work." Best advice I have gotten. 

Having the week off work and having that good time and having to go into work was not the best, It was strange. That was pretty much my summer holiday. I have two long weekends in Ireland in July and August but that's my holidays. It's a weirder feeling than I have holidays from school/college for the last time. But I made the most of the time I was given. If you have your school holidays for the last time, go out and have the Laugh. 

After those two days of work I had a pretty good weekend thanks to my housemates. I think this summer will be lots of fun! 

Buzz

My last posts have been kinda on the negi side so I want to be posi about where I am. I was walking home after my Swedish class and saw this. It probably doesn't matter what language you see this in,  you'd still get it but I read it in Swedish and thought about it in Swedish and laughed. Then I enjoyed the fact that I can understand a certain amount of Swedish. When I'm in work I tend to wait for people to talk to me and ask me whatever question and then see if i can answer it, in English. My Swedish accent is shocking but I do have to practice speaking it, I'm waiting till I know more words.  If I can get the answer right straight away I impress myself, maybe I impress them. There is three questions that I can answer no problem in whichever Scandinavian language it gets given to me in." Where are the fitting rooms?", "Can I ask you a question?" and "Do you work here?"
I will sometimes ask my work mates stuff in Swedish. Half the time they just look at me and the rest the try to answer back in their language and see if I understand. It's really good working with Danish, Swedish and Norwegians. It's also really handy having a Belgian and an Irish guy there cause we are the primary English speakers. Although the Belgian now can speak Flemish/Dutch with the Dutch girl that works there but unfortunately the Latvian has no body to speak her native tongue with. Myself and the other Irish guy should speak Irish just to annoy everyone but both of us can't remember a word of it except the Carlsberg ad. What a sham of a language. We should speak it more.

Joe Panama came over to hang out last month and that was so good. I think he had a good time. There is fuck all to do in Malmö but you can walk around and enjoy the city, get good food and have a laugh in random places. Joe did all of these things. We also watched LOTS of How I met your Mother. LOTS.

If anyone wants to get away for a weekend/week, stall over. You can crash here.

I'm having a housewarming tomorrow in the flat. It should be interesting. I have been living here with another guy since the end of January. At the start of April a mate of his moved into the spare room (kinda spare room). The two of them know each other from break dancing. They are unreal at it. Fredrik is the first guy in this video. Octagon. And Robin is the first one in this video. Grounded.
It should be a good night cause I have some of the guys from work coming over from Denmark and guys I know from Malmö and they have their mates from college and breaking. Robins brother is here tonight to prepare for the party by us getting drunk later! I started a few hours ago.

Also last week had the Sista Sekunden Relase show. Unreal. At least 700 people at it. They are such a good band and the nicest dudes.

So I am going to be home from the 19th of May until the 26th. I am looking forward to it so much. My liver keeps kicking me every time I think about it. When I had booked my flights at first there was only one show booked. Iwrestledabearonce in the pint. over the last few weeks these shows have been booked:

No Consequence 

Iwrestledabearonce

Hardcore for Charity #2 / Find A Way (The Last Show) 

The Hideaway House -  Last ever show

Also a friend from secondary school who is from Canada is over and I'm meeting him for drinks, there is parties for all the people who are leaving Ireland for a long period of time and probably the most important (for me) it's my sisters birthday. So yeah looking forward to being at home. I also booked flights home for the 25th till the 28th of June. Main reason, PrevoMania 26th of June. can't wait. 

With loads of people having Tumblr's I kinda want to take more pics but I don't know if I will get a Tumblr. After looking at my GReader subscriptions one day I did take some pics while I went walking. 

 

I do have good days. Today is one of them. 

Here

Today I didn't leave my apartment. I wasn't hungover, the weather was ok, it wasn't amazing but I could have went for a nice walk or made plan to meet someone for coffee, I could have just gone and got some shopping, especially since I have next to no food in the house! There was a bank holiday in Denmark on Friday so I had yesterday off which was good because after Thursday's night drinking I needed to sleep, that and I had missed my stop on the train five times on my way home. FIVE TIMES! Ridiculous.
I still went out on Friday to celebrate Valborg. But today I stayed in. I did noting productive. I talked to one person face to face who came over to my apartment. Thankfully she did cause otherwise I think I would be close to being insane.

I have missed everyone today. I probably could have called some friends here in Sweden to see what was going on but I wanted to hang out with everyone in Ireland. This has been the first time that I have really really wanted this. Like I mean I have always been thinking of everyone at home but today I needed to see everyone. I haven't been home since January. My family were over last month for easter which was great and Joe Panama was here just last weekend which was the best, what a dude. Maybe since he was here, I see that I miss home. I miss it more than I think I do.

I keep getting asked by people here, why am i here, how long do I plan on staying, what am i doing here. After 7 months I have my story down. It sucks. Swedish people are a lot more surprised that I am here than Irish people are that a Swedish person is in Ireland. Maybe I just haven't experienced it at home but out of all the Swedish people I met in Ireland I think I asked two of them "why are you here?" and I don't think I asked it as blunt as that. More like, "Why did you pick Ireland?"

I have had to sort my answers out for these questions. In jest I ask them why do they think I am here and 9/10 the say a Swedish girl/guy. 9/10 this is the reason anyone who isn't Swedish is in Sweden. 8/10 they are not with the said Swedish girl/guy but have decided to stay. I am that statistic.

I have no idea how long I am going to stay here. I really enjoy living here. I want to learn Swedish so that if/when I leave I have a second language that I can use. (You can only use Irish for a party trick unless you actually speak it on a regular basis, I have quoted the Carlsberg ad so many times!) Also not being able to speak Irish as a full language pisses me off. I wish I could speak it on a regular basis.

It helps that I am working. It helps that my job is in Denmark. By the time I can speak Swedish I should have a very good understanding of Danish. Completely different language but very similar just with different pronunciation of similar words. For the first three months when I wasn't working that question of what I was doing here was very hard to answer. Just hanging out having the laugh wasn't cutting it.

I miss having a band. This is slowly killing me. I have my drum kit set up in my apartment but my housemate is having more use of it than I am at the moment. I nearly feel that I have lost my creativity at playing. It's a Pearl Rhythm Traveller and when you hit the cymbals it sounds like you are hitting a radiator. That make me not want to play them. I want to be playing in Facing. I'm slowly getting worried that I can't play as well as I should be able to play. I need to be writing music again. Soon.

I could also get the finger out and try to write stuff on the computer. Or actually study how to speak Swedish. OR actually read the computer programming books that I have and prepare for the course that I dropped and hope to get back into. I have plenty that I should be doing but instead I am watching tv series, going drinking, sleeping and working. I wish I could say I was playing computer games but I'm only barely doing that, which shows cause as soon as I play Gears I die. I want to get my sleeve done. I want to learn how to play the trombone since I have one. I want to hang out with people that mean something to me.

The best thing about today is definitely Minus the Bear and their new album OMNI. And Mark Coleman's link on my Facebook page. And a text from someone. AND my kompis coming over to play some computer games, watch tv shows and have the chats.

Today has not been a great day. I should probably listen to How I met your mother and not post this because nothing good happens after 2am. But whatever, I'm home from May 19th till the 26th. I will be available for hang outs, drinking, chilling, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties and general messing and creeping. Call me.

Home

Living away from home you realise sometimes the stuff you miss. At random times you think of something/someone and that is all you want. Sometimes you read something and it reminds you of something/someone. Sometimes it's really hard, sometimes you just deal with it.

My family were over during the Easter weekend. It was awesome to see them. I miss them more and more. During the last few years myself and my sisters have gotten closer. i think it's cause we can, a) all go drinking together, b) one of us can drive us home, c) they have gotten funnier. I think my parents find it strange that we are not all at home anymore. My sister Laura has lived in London this year for college, last year it was Belfast, the year before was in Dublin. I lived in Dublin for the previous three years but before moving here we were all at home for 3 to 6 months. My little sister Hélèné is in college in Dublin and is commuting at the moment but I think soon she will be living in Dublin. This might be hard on my parents because she has always been around at home while myself and Laura have been everywhere else. Although we have taking her with us to anything that she could get into and since Hélèné has been at least 18 from the age of 16 that has been many places.
I really miss going out with them. They can look out for me, I can look out for them. It was a good system we had going.
While the whole family was over it was kinda hard cause Malmö ain't exactly a tourist place at the end of winter, beginning of spring but we had some nice walks, good food, bowling, Legoland, shopping, drinking. Good but maybe I have to use the saying everyone in Sweden keeps telling me, " You should be here in the summer!"

Mister Joe Panama is flying over tomorrow (Wednesday, so today technically.) I am very excited. A VOLCANO has been messing with this which is fucked cause it's a VOLCANO! Like what the fuck, a VOLCANO! Crazy. But airspace between Ireland and Denmark is open and Norwegian are flying. Class.
I'm hoping that Joe will have a good time while he is here. Will be going to a show at the local venue

Utkanten. Working on getting Famine and Forced Out to play there when they are on tour in the summer. Will probably explore some of København as well as Malmö, do some creeping, walk and have coffee and eating falafel(cause really, that is what you can do in Malmö)

I'm really looking forward to hanging out with one of the lads, there is no Swedish version of "Lads". I haven't been home since January. That said the last two months flew by but April is taking it's time!
This weekend is also Ciara's party which I was really looking into getting flights home for. It sucks to miss all the parties for whatever occasion, be it birthdays, moving, Friday! I keep having the discussion with people of why I am here, and what I am doing and how long I am staying cause that's all anyone here wants to know! and I do think I am going to be here for quite some time. It's fun here but I won't forget home.

I'm home from May19th till the 26th, party karaoke, creeping, gig(s), hanging out. can't wait!

In other news I will be taking my test for my Swedish class on May 5th. I had a mock test yesterday. I think it went ok. If the actually test is similar I will be in the next grade with no problems. Jag måste försöka tala svenska oftare, and I really need to learn how to spell stuff. Also Lost is possibly the greatest show on TV. I started to watch it a few weeks ago because I saw that this was the last season. I had tried to watch it before but it was on a few different stations and I couldn't follow it. But I got all the seasons and now I have caught up and I hate having to wait for each episode now!!

Listen to The Fuck You Fingers
and go here: Jaguar Trust Records

Distraction

Pretty much have gotten into the swing of things since moving into my new apartment. I feel like I have lived here for so long. My housemate is cool, we went out last weekend first to his mates apartment and then to the Deep , it was metal night! My housemate doesn't listen to metal and I'm not sure how much Rock he even listens to but he had a good time, pretty spent most of it laughing at me and his mates singing karaoke.

One of the few nights where I haven't blacked out.
I'm worried for myself regarding these black outs. Sometimes the have been from a point in the night until I wake up the next morning, other times an hour (well, I think an hour) or just a whole section of the night.

Work has been good. I now can't last any longer than 5 minutes on the train without falling asleep. I have tried to read stuff and I just can't cause I'm asleep. I have even had cups of coffee in my hand, drinking them and falling asleep, waking up now and then to drink more coffee and then fall asleep, again. Only once (touch wood) so far I have missed my stop, I woke up two stops after mine one morning, I had only fallen asleep just before my stop. Most of the staff is Swedish which is cool cause they know I'm learning Swedish and will speak with me in Swedish to see if I'm learning, the Danish guys are even more impressed when I understand Danish. The two languages are very similar but the pronunciation is completely different.

My Swedish class is fun. I'm getting to know some of the guys in the class quite well, most have the same story, moved over here for a Swedish love. But they are all still going out with theirs. What is really good is I have to be there twice a week, in a class with a teacher. I can email and say I won't be there but if you don't email and miss three classes you are out of the class. After 3 classes I had the chance to take a test to see how well/bad I am doing. I got 20/45 which wasn't great but after three class of Swedish, it's really good. We had another test the other night just so my teacher can see how well he is doing at teaching us. I need to work on certain bits of grammar and spelling. Knowing where the accents are would help.

In contrast, the computer programming course I am taking is the opposite. I have to rely on me to do it. So I have loads of different distractions to help me not to do it, like the internet and TV. I started to watch House recently but so I would still have time for my course, I watch it with a mate of mine so I can't watch it unless she is here. I now also have the same set up for Lost. My housemate stop watching it around season 3 so I have just gotten there and now I will only watch it if he is here, but I had a great Sunday last week, pretty much watched half of season 2 in one sitting, I think about 12 episodes. What i should have been doing is my computer course. I have handed in my first assignment on the deadline date for the second assignment. I have had to resubmit it cause it doesn't work right. I still have to do assignment 2 and the deadline for assignment 3 is coming up soon. What am I doing today? This. I need to get it together. At least I won't sit down and watch House and Lost, well until my housemate gets home!

Since I'm off today I have to go and change my phone into my name and pick up a book I ordered for the computer class. I might go and meet a friend for coffee just so I don't have to do this assignment. I know I am making distractions for myself, why can't I just sit down and do it? I also have to clean around the apartment and do a few other bits.

I'm sick that I missed this:

and will miss this tonight:

There are so many shows on in Dublin. So many good shows with all the Local bands and some amazing Touring bands. There always seems to be a big gap in between shows here.  

This is the next show that I am going to:

It will be (hopefully) the second release show for The Fuckyoufingers who are releasing an 7" on my mates label Jaguar Trust Records. Check them out, they are awesome. Also I think it's the first show Hårda Tider will have in 2010. 

Actually check out all the bands, they are class!

Hårda Tider http://www.myspace.com/hardatiderhc

Retaliate (USA)  http://www.myspace.com/oxnardretaliate 

Nitad http://www.myspace.com/nitadstockholm

Commitment Crew http://www.myspace.com/commitmentcrew

Undergång http://www.myspace.com/undergang

Forever Young http://www.myspace.com/foreveryounghc

Stay Hungry http://www.myspace.com/stayxhungry

The Fuckyoufingers http://www.myspace.com/thefuckyoufingers 

Bad Intentions http://www.myspace.com/badintentshc  

For The Record http://www.myspace.com/fortherecordhardcore

Lose The Life http://www.myspace.com/losethelife

I think after that is Sista Sekundens release party:

and then H20 are playing in Copenhagen at the end of April.
Set some shows up in May in Dublin for me. Demented Promotions.

My old housemate is coming over this weekend. Can't wait. And mister Joe Panama is making his way over in April. The Lad. The Best.