Markie Mark's tale of life...

Wow ive been neglecting this once again. In truth im surprised ive found time to write this right now, ive had very little free time of late where ive been able to just do nothing. End of last term was great, had 2 great friends come up to stay with me which was fun. Lots of drinking and LOADS of going out clubbing. Whilst one of them was up i nearly ended up in Whiteknights Lake, with a little helping push from Dan. Going back from the Union however we came across a great 'ofeer' that none of us could refuse - inside joke among a select few that will go down in history courtesy of PFC.

Was going to return to the 'Stow on the last friday of last term but after ringing home i was basically told not to come home till the following thursday. At the time i was very unhappy with that, as some people know, but now i can appreciate it coz its an absolute bombsite here. The loft is finished with parents up there now, my sisters room is now done and we spent the weekend moving all her stuff in there, my old bedroom is now a fully pledged bathroom, and now my room-to-be is starting to progress. It's been emptied, wallpaper stripped, skirting boards removed, etc. Currently sleeping on my sister's floor. Moving her stuff across was quite fun...ish...till we got to the wardrobe which had no hope in hell of being moved out of the room in one piece, so my dad and i had to take the wardrobe apart in such a way that it could be put back together again... achieved it though somehow. Kitchen, old bathroom/toilet and conservatory are now empty and totally unfunctional ( conservatory, until a couple of days ago, didnt even have a roof!) meaning we're pretty much living on takeaways and readymeals. Have I put on weight? You wish, last week at uni I weighed 12 stone - the most ive probably ever weighed in my life, before dropping down to 11.5 within 3 days. Now currently around 11 stone, though expect that to drop further as i fall into my depressing time of year - mid April. Apologies in advance if i get really anal with anyone, warning now that its likely to happen. Im fine atm though, in fact im quite happy :).

Done so much DIYing lately, as well a seeing people, going shopping, looking for stuff for my new room, etc. Its been ok since ive been back here, and yesterday I was SOOOO happy. I saw a silver Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 in the Edmonton Ikea carpark. Best car in the world, just had to take a picture. I miss being in Walthamstow ( I have my reasons ), its like i dont want to return to Reading... who knows, i might not. But in the meantime i need to find time to do an entire 10 credit module's worth of work ( the module is 100% coursework :( ) and start some revision. Got other things coming up too, supposed to be going Thorpe Park in the coming weeks, then the summer trip to Newquay. Out tomorrow once again, pubbing it with mates.

Till the next episode, tata -x-

Posted by Markie Mark at 17:43 | Permalink | Comments

Crikey, its been a while once again since ive written anything on here. Much has happened since i last blogged. Snow, various eventful nights out with my geography peeps, thoughts of leaving uni (still possible of leaving for the TA, but who knows)! Loads of building work going on at home, and ive finally lost my bedroom, lol. All my stuffs sitting in cardboard boxes in a garage. Plus side however is that i get to design my room how i want it! Stressed me out abit, packing all my belongings up in a day and a half, but its all cool now. Ive been in a bouncy mood lately, people keep saying that my smile has come out of hiding. YES IT HAS! And im determined to keep it, which is working so far.

Unfortunately i wont be going to manchester this week to party, but i will (should be) going up at the start of March. Catch up with Alex, and see someone i aint seen since... August (with any luck) and PARTY... well it is what i do best! Lets see if what they have in Mankyland can beat the likes of 3sixty, Q bar, Fez, and Walkabout (Risa's not too bad, but certainly none of the many other places in Reading are worth mentioning). Already starting to make plans for my birthday...kinda, even though its ages away. We'll see what happens. It'll be on a friday, how lucky is that? One reason the Ding is better than Mankyland (Reading & Manchester, duh) is that we had snow and they didnt! Im such a kid! Snowball fight, got hit on the way to lecture on the side of the head, before later socking Paul Drummond on the ear with my first shot. Couldnt have aimed it better if it had a guidance system! And i need not mention the snowman on the field by Whiteknights lake and Bridges Hall, its famous now. Very impressive i think, good 8-9 feet in height!

The Wokingham Road Subway is now taking shape, theyve put the signs up now and everything! Im so gonna be there for all my meals! Well when i eat, and i wish people would stop pushing me over that, so ive lost weight lately!...Im going off on a rant, lol, anyway...Subway rules and im just happy to have one virtually at the end of my road!

Ok, I have to mention the "House of Skirt" somewhere so here it is. House of girls on Addington Road, impressed with the house parties. In fact, best house parties ive been to so far me thinks. To throw 2 in one week (Sat 3rd Feb & Wed 7th Feb) is great effort! Ive gotten drunk to much lately, hehe, but its been good fun. Taking a step back for a while to let my liver recover!

Well, in the words of Porky Pig, abedabedabeda thats all folks!

Posted by Markie Mark at 17:23 | Permalink | Comments

Howdi people,

Bet you thought i had abandoned this again, but im back... for how long who knows, this could be a one-off for over a month again. Not happy, i go home for one night on tuesday, and arrive to find the house already covered in scaffolding and the loft emptied out. All my stuff from up there chucked out, some of which still sitting in the front garden awaiting removal. Plus my room now beng used as a storage room... at least until it gets turned into a bathroom soon. Did i have an input? Nope! Excuse me for being in this mood, but all this seems abit anal to me atm.

On the plus side i got to meet the newest member of the family, Chesney, our new pet bunny. Only 10 weeks old and he is as cute as ever. Black and white, and when he huddles up in a corner he looks like a football, lol :P

Thats your dose for now, so till next time.

Posted by Markie Mark at 20:24 | Permalink | Comments

Wow, its been quite a while, and alot has happened since i last posted. Its all been great. If the post about my holiday was long enough for you this one will be more of a challenge. You'll deserve a prize if you stick it out till the very end. And as usual it'll be cheap, pointless and consume space uneccessarily.

Tuesday 12th saw meet up with some people in Covent garden and we had a great day. about 20 of us took over Yates in Leicester Square, and it just so happens that the premier to Talledaga Nights (or however its spelt) was on that evening. Thursday i then went up to Reading, hauling behind me my holdall back and backpack for the up-coming trip. Worked thursday night 7pm - 4.30am and then friday night 7pm - 12.30am. Really starting to enjoy work now. You get used to the perks, which there are alot of, and the people there are great and its such a laugh. Even the managers seem quite laid back. Ive really made all that brief, but heres the rest of it, i.e. the trip up North to the middle of no-where. Ive also made this brief because to be honest with you, i cant be bothered to spend ages on this. I know i had a great time and there were many many hilarious moments, but you'll have to ask me yourself. Ive probably forgotten alot of the stuff anyway, as i didnt note anything down throughout the week. Too busy having a good time and didnt have any time to do so anyway...

Sat 16th Sept - Arrival

Woke up about 4.45am Saturday morning, having had about 3 and a half hours sleep after working the last night. Walked round to the College Arms pub where i was picked up by Ross and Paul at 6am. Next went to pick up Laura at St George's before starting our 6hour car journey up north in Ross' relatively tightly packed Ford Fiesta. Stopped of somewhere in the Midlands (sorry, i know the midlands is a very big place but i really cant be more specific... might have been somewhere around Birmingham). Much of the journey Ross was pretty much on his own as the rest of us had managed to doze off.

Arrived in Blencathra at about midday to find the place deserted as no-one had arrived yet. So we went on a 1/2 walk back down the hill the the 'local' pub. Ended up doing a pub crawl. Yes, we went into all the pubs in the area, which came to two. Blencathra, for those of you who dont know or havnt quite sussed it out yet is in the Northern Lake District in the county of Cumbria, and is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Bought chips and a few pints before receiving a txt from Vicki saying she had arrived to the deserted location about 2pm. She drove down and met us at the pub. In the second pub, Paul, Ross and I ordered pints of Fosters, and found that they tasted completely off. Thought we drank half of it before returning them for a another free full pint of Kronenberg.

Returned to the Field Centre about 4ish, just before the lecturers Steve Gurney and Kevin White turned up. Helped bringing equipment in before being shown to our 3-star rooms. Was actually alright. Us guys had a whole building to ourselves, and the were a total of five guys on the trip in a building with 10 beds... techinally 2 beds each. The nine girls had rooms in the main building along with the lecturers.

The first night was just about arriving and getting aquainted and find the bar and play area, which was cool. Food throughtout the week was decent, the alcohol quite cheap, the sofas in the bar area (which was more of a lounge, but they call it the bar area) was really comfortable.

Sunday was about familiarising ourselves with the local area and getting our bodies used to the emmense amount of walking we would be doing. After breakfast (8am every day) we packed u our stuff and Took the coach down to Seathwaite, 130m above ea level. From here we walked up to Sourmilk Gill loacted 398m above sea level and a good few kilometers walk. Looked at some glacial features and did some more walking. Noted stuff down in our notebooks before returning to the coach about 4pm. Back at Blencathra we had a short lecture and then dinner at 6.30pm. Returned to the classroom after dinner for some more talking and lectures until "beer o'clock", a.k.a. 9pm. Then the usual drinking, catting, playing table tennis, playing pool, etc until people could be bothered to go to bed.

Monday we went to Longthwaite where we did work - shock horror! Split into 3 teams, we went to 3 different locations within the same area and used tape measures to measure out 30m x 30m grids. Within this grid we recorded the co-ordinates, circumference, heigh, weight and volume of the trees. Walking back we were crossing a river and rather than jump it i just put my foot in. Only problem was, unlike all the othe rrivers we had so far come across, this one had a soft bed instead of gravel bed. I sunk into it and my leg got soaked pretty much up to my knee. Only just managed to pull my leg out of the mud before i gotstuck, otherwise it would have been bye-bye Markie! Later returned to the field centre to give presentations on our findings and then bar again. In fact i might as well just say now that we all went to the bar at about 9pm every day that we were there. And there were some hilarious moments.

Tuesday our teams took up 3 different locations on a hill called Cat Bells. One team at the bottom, one middle, one top. We volunteered to go to the top (stupid) but it was ok cuase we had awesome views over the valley and Derwent Water. Took about an hour to climb, but only 1/2 an hour to descend. In our locations we toom readings of air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, cloud cover and precipition events.These we taken at 10 min intervals for 2 and a half hours. Was extremely windy up there. We were actually leaning backwards and the strength of the wind was preventing us from falling over! Though if the wind had suddenly stopped we'd have fallen backwards and off the side of the hill to the ground 400m metres below. Well, that would have been the quick way down i guess. Were also attacked by ravens when we decided to start having lunch. Again, returned to prepare our presentations, have dinner, give our presentations and then go to the bar.

Wednesday (Day 5) was hydrology, and we went to Glenridding River for this. Again we had to climb steep hills to get to our location (this time 351m above sea level). Today it chucked it down with rain and everyone got soaked, however i and a few others were wearing waders because we were going into the river. Waders are basically wellies that come up to your chest... so i only really got wet chest upwards. My boots, bag, everything got saturated! It was blowing into our eyes too, but oh well, when the food fight me and Jordan had with oranges began spirits soon improved.

Thursday was a day of geomorphology at Bleaberry Tarn. This was a really steep climb, but by now we were used to it and we were far fitter than at the start of the week. Looked at a few glacial landforms at the top and drew a few sketches of the area. Also had beautiful views over the valley and the two lakes down below.



Ok, up till this point was written about 3 weeks ago, but i really cant be bothered to continue. All you need to know is that we had a great time, drank lots (especially on the last night), had some very memorable moments such as everyone slipping over on rocks, Me and Jordan slapping each other with latex gloves leading to Steve Gurney's (the lecturer) famous reply that got turned into a ringtone, Jordan falling asleep and someone putting a chocolate in his mouth so that when he woke up it was everywhere, me sinking into a river up to my knees, the matress bundling in Rowan and Jordan's room, everyone messing up their presentation speeches (Rachel: anemomememem...!, Dee: the rocks were covered in vegetarians, me: The rocks were covered in moths :P). Thats about all i can remember now. Was such a while ago.

Anyway, till the next episode - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 14:45 | Permalink | Comments

Day started off as any other... me having a lie-in and skipping breakfast. Then went up to Alex's house before going to cineworld in enfield where we met up with Smithers and Andrew. Went to see Severance. Was a slow-starting film, but things improved and it turned out to be a really great film. Its a horror/thriller, but also a comedy. Somehow they made it a serious film and a comedy at the same time without forcing it into that rubbish void inbetween. Has some fantastic moments though i wont ruin it for you, you just gotta go see it. Only if you dont mind lots of blood and gore though, hehe. Tho i will say theres a hilarious moment involving some bad guys, a bazooka, and a jet plane. Thats all i'll say. Its an attempt to encourage you to go see the film.

Then went to get some chips before raiding Smithers' house. After an episode of the Simpsons on Sky One we headed off to the Salisbury Arms pub where there were already a few people there. Soon more and more people arrived and we soon had about 25-30 of us ex-Latymerians taking over the pub. Was a great night. Lets see if i can remember who was there: Me, Alex R, Smithers, Andrew, Hanif, Flannel, Sarah D, Sarah B, Tobi, Iggy, Ruben, Olly, Amira, Addis, Gareth, Zoe, Sophia, Artemis, Alex C, Reece, Monty, Poj, Eddie, Sof, Briony... there were probably a few more but i cant remember at the moment. Had a great time remembering the good old times at Latymer and catching up on what people are up to nowadays. Were there till closing time - about 11.15ish and me, Alex, Addis, and Gareth went and found a kebab shop for food before walking 20-30 mins to Enfield Town. There me and Alex found we had missed the last 313 bus so we knew we were in a for a hell of a difficult detour home. Managed to catch the last 192 bus though which took us to Tottenham Hale station. Although it was a long detour route, it was quite quick becasue the were no cars on the road and nobody at the bus stops. We then managed to catch the last 230 (which came immediately!), and i got off at Blackhorse Road station, and Alex continued on to Walthamstow Central. Got home feeling nice and tired in the early hours of the morning, but it was well worth it.

Off to Reading either today or tomorrow, havnt quite decided how bothered i am to go yet. But have to go for work... which sucks. Will be back Sunday. So till then, laters people - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 14:42 | Permalink | Comments

Sorry, once again ive been listening to Boyz II Men. I cant help myself, i love their music, lol! I posted the lyrics to part of one song before (I will get there), but hereit is again along with two more songs, that i really like. Firstly i'll add that ive just got back from a wonderful time at Ruth's place, was her 20th birthday yesterday (yeah shes ooooold now! Lol, just kidding :P). Shes got a great family. Anyway... to the lyrics... gives Claus something to read during the lengthy free time he says he has at work:

I Will Get There

I've been wanderin' round, in the dark,
Been lost somewhere where no light could shine on my heart,
I have known a pain so deep,
But I know my faith will free me,
And I'll get through this,
I'll find my way again,
So don't tell me that it's over,
'Cause each step just gets me closer,

I will get there,
I will get there somehow,
Cross that river,
Nothing's stoppin' me now,
I will get through the night,
And make it through to the other side,
Get there,
Get there,

I've been in these chains, for so long,
I'll break free and I'll be there where I belong,
Hold my head up high, I'll stand tall,
And I swear this time I won't fall,
I will do this,
No matter what it takes,
'Cause I know no limitations,
And I'll reach my destination, I will get there,

I will get there,
I will get there somehow,
Cross that river,
Nothing's stoppin' me now,
I will get through the night,
And make it through to the other side,
Get there,
Get there,

Well, the night is cold and dark,
But somewhere the sun is shining,
And I'll feel it shine on me,
I'll keep on tryin', I'll keep on tryin'!,

I will get there,
I will get there somehow
Cross that river,
Nothing's stoppin' me now,
I will get through the night
And make it through to the other side
Get there, get there

Dear God

Dear God, it's me again,
I am so far from where I could have been,
Dear God, I would be incomplete,
But you came and touched my life in time of need,
So I'm thanking you for all you've done,
And for sacrificing your only son,

That's why I'm writing you this letter,
To let you know that I love you,
Thank you for all that I am, and for being a friend,
Lord, my love for you will never end

Dear God, it's Shawn this time,
I'm so grateful for the way you've changed my life,
I'd give all I have, I'd just throw it all away,
For a chance to walk with you through Heaven's gates,
That's why I'm thanking you, for your love and your grace,
I don't deserve these blessings, no no, that you give me

That's why I'm writing you this letter,
To let you know that I love you,
Thank you for all that I am, and for being a friend,
Lord, my love for you will never end

Dear God, as a humble man I come to you like a child,
Needing your knowledge, your love, and your guidance Lord,
Thank you for trusting me with my own life's decisions,
But I'm just a man, and I don't deserve
This incredible life that you've given me
I love you Lord, I love you

Dear God, it's me Wanya
I'm so sorry, so sorry for living for me,
But I promise from this day on, I'm livin' for you,
Cause without you my life means nothing,
That's why I'm writing you this letter,
To let you know that I love you,
Thank you for all that I am, and for being a friend,
Lord, my love for you will never end.

The Colour Of Love

I was lonely,
I needed someone, to see me through,
I was at the, end of my rope,
I needed someone, to cut me lose,
Then an angel, out of the blue,
Gave me the sense that I, might make it through
And somehow I survived, with no rhyme or reason,
And now I know I'll make It,
Through the miracle of you

I know the Colour Of Love,
And It lives in side of you,
I know the colour of truth,
Its in the image of you,
If it comes for the heart, then you know that its true,
It will colour your soul, like a rainbow,
And the colour of love, is in you

Like a bridge,
Over troubled, troubled water
You stood beside me, stood beside me
And your love, did not falter
And then the angel, angel in you,
Gave me the strength to know, That I will get through,
And that’s how I survived, ain't no other reason
And now I know I'll make it, through the miracle of you

I know the Colour Of Love,
And It lives in side of you,
I know the colour of truth,
Its in the image of you,
If it comes for the heart, then you know that its true,
It will colour your soul, like a rainbow,
And the colour of love, is in you

So girl I want to thank you, I can't thank you enough,
For showing me the meaning, The meaning of true love,
When I was lost and so in need you opened up your heart,
When I needed you to comfort me you opened up you arms,
I couldn't face another day you said don't be afraid
You showed my heart the, showed me the way

I know the Colour Of Love,
And It lives in side of you,
I know the colour of truth,
Its in the image of you,
If it comes for the heart, then you know that its true,
It will colour your soul, like a rainbow,
And the colour of love, is in you

Posted by Markie Mark at 21:06 | Permalink | Comments

Not alot has really happened lately, and this will be an extrememly short one, to balance out the marathon of my last post. Went Oxford Street today and then went to meet Jodiekins by the London Eye. Was real exciting coz we hadnt seen each other for about 3 years now - since we were at Haven holiday park in Devon - and we've kept in contact so much the whole time. After spending most of the afternoon together it was time to say an emotional goodbye at Waterloo station, only this time it wont be for 3 years! Currently busy packing to veture off to Reading tomorrow, but found 5 mins to type this post. My first shift at bar risa tomorrow :D should be fun. And according to Kat shes got a new job in Reading as a waitress so i'll probably be back next week to be an awkward customer... though im then vulnerable to her doing the same :S.

Anyway, till i return (as theres no net there yet), tata! - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 00:03 | Permalink | Comments

He's back! And with a smile it would seem. Ok this entry comes with a health hazard warning as im expecting it to be pretty darn long, though i'll try to slim it down as much as possible. As you probably know i just got back from Barcelona tonight (well it was last night now technically) and it was fantastic! I have HUNDREDS of photos, but i'll put a selection on bebo, and maybe facebook too. Probably forgotten alot of what happened but here's a relatively brief day-by-day guide of what i remember:

Wednesday 16th August - Day 1

Well tuesday night i didnt bother going to bed, just did an all-nighter as id have to get up at about midnight anyway. Left the house about 1.45am and headed to the "purple parking" car park near Heathrow airport. After leaving the car there we had to get on a minibus to terminal 2. Whilst waiting for the minibus there were quite a few people, and mum commented that Tarnia can travel on the roof of the minibus if theres not enough space, however my sis was quick-witted and replied that mum could travel underneath it. My first laugh of the holiday. Though there were long queues in the terminal, it was quick moving and despite all the terror stuff we were quickly on the plane and took off about 6.30am on Iberia (the name of the airline).

After the 2 hour flight we properly adjusted our watches and was met by relatively London-like weather, however the afternoon later came and it was truely scorching then. After dumping our stuff in the hotel we ventured out in search of food. We found a place, but spent a good while trying to decipher the menu, before the guy at the counter bailed us out with an english menu. Back at the hotel, we discovered that the tv only had two english channels: CNN and Sky News... both news channels... but anyway we didnt watch much tv so this was no problem. Had dinner in the hotel, found somewhere to see England win 4-0 and then went to bed about midnight (CET - Central European time).

Thursday 14th August - Day 2

Woke up about 8am, went to breakfast where theres a choice of just about anything you can think of. Heading back up to the room, mum nearly got squashed by the lift, as it doesnt stop due to pressure like other lifts, theres a sensor about 2 foot off the ground instead. Bought drinks on our way to Barcelona Sants station to get "Barcelona Cards" - known to us Londoners as a travelcard - and returned to the hotel. On the way to the station there are two walls which are designated for grafitti. The grafitti looked absolutely awesome, and those people are welcome to redecorate my room any day. Got the train at about 4pm to Universal Studios Port Aventura theme park just south of Barcelona. Took about an hour. They have weird-looking double-decker trains over there and you have to actually cross on the tracks to get across to other platforms.

It rained a little bit today, but thankfully this was the only time all holiday that the sky opened up. At Port Aventura, first things first. I went on Dragon Khan, the best rollercoaster in Europe. It was awesome, and inverts 8 times (2 loops, 3 corksrews, a snake roll and a double snake roll). And because of my express ticket i only had to queue about 60 seconds. Bought a keyring with a ride picture on it for 6euros, had food, went to shops and then pretty much returned to the station where we had to wait about an hour for the next train. By this time the platform was packed and when the train came there was a huge free-for-all for the seats. We were lucky as we were triumphant! Back to the hotel about midnight.

Friday 18th August - Day 3

Woke up about 6.15am, after virtually no sleep, to return to Universal Studios Port Aventura. Arrived at the park just in time for it to open. This meant i was able to go on Dragon Khan a further 3 times without any real queueing at all which satisfied me. Then went on Sea Odyssey which is an underwater simulater which was great and very realistic. Then went on Tami Tami (a rollercoaster), El Diablo (a rollercoaster), Hurukon Condor (a fantastic 100m drop ride, where you can see for miles before free-falling back to earth) & Stampeda (another rollercoaster). Tami Tami was terrible, is a babies rollercoaster really, and you queue for about 15mins for a ride which last EXACTLY 15 seconds (yes we counted, sad i know but hey), and had to sit through Stampeda with my sis screaming in my ear the whole time. Shes not a fan of particularly "scary" rides, but she massively underestimated this ride, lol! Lucky i went on Hurukon Condor when i did coz about 5 mins after i came off the ride's workability decided to go AWOL and stopped halfway up and they had to temporarily close the ride. We bought waffles and keyrings. Got train at 4.30pm, went supermarket, went gym, went swimming and just chilled for the rest of the day before checking out the nightclub "Space". Was a really great club. I can best compare it to Time & Envy for you Londoners, or for people in Reading i can best compare it to Fez club.

Saturday 19th August - Day 4

Woke up at 8am and by today i was so tired and seemingly sleep-deprived that i spent the day being lazy up until about 6pm. Took the metro (underground) to Barcelona Sants station to for a traditional gourmet English meal - McDonalds for dinner. Afterwards walked up to the Art Museum which is this fantastic building set up on a slope - meaning lots of steps, look at my pics on bebo or facebook once ive put them up and you'll see what i mean! Was really beautiful and also very busy. Going back down past the fountains there must have been a sudden gust of wind or something cause the water got blown over the path and me and my sis got soaked. We turned around to see mum legging it back up the stairs, thus remaining dry. The sight had me and my sis in fits of laughter, though you really had to be there to truely appreciate the moment. Lots of photos taken, went back to hotel, watched Austin Powers and then retired for the day.

Sunday 20th August - Day 5

Woke up 9am and had breakfast before taking the metro to the coast. There were gorgeous beaches and crystal clear Medditeranian water with a pier area for expensive looking yachts and boats. At one point the "yellow flag" was raised due to the presence of jellyfish in the area. We looked in some shops - one place we were looking at some stuff and turned around to see mum's head disappearing down the escalator. Bought ice lollies (naturally Calippo was the lolly of choice) before taking the bus back to the hotel. Got back about 3.20pm, went gym for about an hour, had a shower, went up to the outdoor swimming pool, did some diving which i hadnt done in ages, and also sunbathed for a while. Had dinner in the hotel restaurant, watched the Spanish super cup final on tv which yes was in Spanish which helped loads. Barcelona won 3-0 against Espanyol.

Monday 21st August- Day 6

Woke up and had breakfast. Took metro to L'estadi Camp Nou (Nou Camp stadium). This place is HUUUUUUUUUGE! Capacity of over 100,000, which makes White Hart Lane look like the local park. We had a tour of the stadium, during which i jumped the security barrier and touched the grass whilst the guards' backs were turned. Went right to the top of the stadium, visited the home teams changing rooms where i hung my top on Ronaldinho's kit peg, saw the team jacuzzi, showers and bathrooms, went into the press box, conference room and walked down the players tunnel. By this point my camera battery was dying and before i could burst into tears my dad saved my life by brandishing a fresh pair for me :D. The tour led us to the FC Barcelona museum, then the shop where i bought a top. Dad and i then bought tickets for a match the following day that we found out about that day. FC Barcelona vs FC Bayern Munich. Cost only 25euros each!Going back we took the bus in the wrong direction, and after getting the bus back the right way we went to a restaurant called "Ars" (no im not missing an "e" in there anywhere) where i had the best lasagne ive ever tasted. Climbed that hill leading up to the art museum again as we found out that behind here is where the olympic stadium from the 1992 olympics is situated. The olympic stadium too was HUUUUUGE. No wonder this was an olympic stadium up here. Because of how high up it was and the amount of stairs you have to climb to get there you almost have to be an olympic athlete to get there! Which contrary to popular belief i am not!

Tuesday 22nd August - Day 7

Today was the day of all days. Had breakfast, then went to Barcelonetta (a coastal beach area) where we sunbathed and went into some shops. Then took a bus to Catalunya Plaza to do some more souvenier shopping and also bought some doughnuts (white chocolate and cake flavours which were delicious if anyone was interested) and some Sangria to take back to London. Then returned to the hotel.

About 8pm my dad and i left the hotel to head for Camp Nou again, this time to watch the match. Arrived, picked up a programme (i dont think they were supposed to be free, but oh well) and went to the megastore. Then entered the stadium for the 2nd time in 2 days where we were frisked and had our bags checked upon entry. The guard took my bottlecap from my drink, meaning i couldnt put my drink back in my bag but instead had to drink it. Flipping annoying. We then took our seats, which were row 6 behind the goal! The most awesome seats possible. Events commenced with some Spanish woman singing, fireworks, a huge batch of balloons released into the air, a mexican wave, more fireworks, players being introduced, more fireworks and then Frank Rijkaard and Puyol giving speeches, rather conveniently in Spanish of course.

Kick-off was about 10.15pm. Ronaldinho scored the first goal from a free kick after about 30mins, and lady luck was obviously beaming down on me cause i filmed the freekick and managed to catch the goal right in front of us on camera. Two more goals from Samuel Eto'o meant Barcelona were 3-0 up at half time and these three goals were scored just about 6-7 metres away from us! Saviola scored in the second half meaning the final score was FC Barcelona 4 - 0 FC Bayern Munich. Ronaldinho was typiacally on fire, doing tricks throughout the first half of the match. There were mexican waves going at various points throughout the match and the atmosphere was immense, especially when a goal went in. Stadium wasnt at full capacity though, the attendence reached 76,644 people. After the match (about 12.30am) we walked back, as with 76,000 people leaving one place attempts to hitch a ride on public transport would be completely futile, stopping en-route for a shot of tequilla. For only 2euros (about £1.30) we both got a very large amount of tequilla in a glass - equivilent to about 3 shots in England.

Wednesday 23rd August - Day 8

This was going home day :( and after waking up, going for one last walk, doing our final packing and hitching a cab to the airport, we were later on our way back to London Heathrow, where having experienced sunshine and hot weather for the past week, we were greeted by dull clouds, rain and coldness. After picking up the car we were on our way home. Got back home about 7.30-8pm i think (GMT of course).


And that was it. Have lots of pics, smiles and memories. Loved every minute of it and would love to live in Barcelona. Im missing it already, but still also missed people back here in England. Wooo, ok, this has taken ages to type, and i did warn you it would be long. Hopefully you havnt died of old age or boredom yet. Bebo photos can be found ***here*** once ive found time to put them up. Its done wonders for my mood and hopefully this mood will last! Lol, im still virtually bouncing off the walls despite being toally shattered! Its now 2.39am so night night.

Well people, till the next, shorter, episode! - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 00:32 | Permalink | Comments

Hello people, just have an addition to the party post. Having spoken to lots of friends that were there, it turns out that i missed quite alot of stuff whilst i was in the bathroom. And theres even periods of time before then that i just simply cannot remember what happened. I missed Hanif rugby-tackling everyone, DL's debating on cannabis and feminism, the random dancing that went on, Sam taking pictures of peoples' arses. Also the girls sending 40mins straightening Andrews hair - if you know Andrew or at least seen pics of his hair you would know the hilarious significance of this. The girls had to take turns out of tiredness! You can find a picture of Andrew and his hair on my bebo site, or just click here. So much more happened than that i could remember. Good job i was able to talk to people about it today!

Anyway peeps, til the next episode - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 23:29 | Permalink | Comments

This should be a much shorter one this time. Was meant to go to Reading yesterday but didnt coz i was still feeling so ill. Just had an early night instead. Went today and had my job induction. I have a job and am now a barman! Only thing is at least once a week i'll be working till 3-4am... ah well, im sure i'll get used to it and i can do with the money.

Plus i now have a 28 inch tv to take to Reading and have in my room... YAY! After the last one that i was due to inherit died on me! I should be moving some stuff up to Reading at the weekend, so i can actually live there if i want to.

Anyway, thats all i have for now, so laters friends - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 23:20 | Permalink | Comments

Hello again people. Apart from feeling pretty ill right now, im in a pretty good mood for once. "Yay" i hear you all cry! Now all i need to do is get rid of this stomach ache. Any suggestions? Quickly too, im supposed to be off to Reading in like an hour or so to "work" a couple of hours and come back.

Yesterday was pretty incredible, met up with Alex, Annie and her friends outside Burger King in Kings Cross station, then waited for some more people to arrive before jumping on the tube to Westminster station. After a quick pop into Maccy D's, we dilly-dallied for a while before we decided we were going to go on the London Eye. They dont call it a "ride" on the London Eye, they call it a "flight". Abit worrying that, its like the pods could just take off at any moment! Well that was till we discovered that the price was £13 each! Yeah we passed on that idea. After some picture-taking, the 9 of us jumped back on the tube to Covent Garden, where you can discover some of the most expensive cafe's and restaurants in the uk. One that we stopped at automatically add 12.5% tip to your bill!!! I dont think so somehow. There were also these people dressed up as statues and they really did look like they were statues! They did an incredible job of staying perfectly still. After abit of wondering around it was 3pm, so we headed back to Walthamstow Central on the underground. Went into Asda and bought some alcohol and then took it up to Alex's house. Once there the guys just chilled and the girls started getting ready... as they do.

Annie and I decided to make some punch and it turned out to be quite a fantastic punch... despite the highly unattractive colour that it was. Its a shame that we didnt keep a recipe. All i remember is that it contained: vodka, malibu, bacardi breezer, orange juice, apple juice, pineapple juice, pineapple chunks, grapefruit juice, grapefruit chunks. When that ran out we decided to make another batch, however this time we didnt quite have the same ingredients and we botched it up kinda. It was a hell of a lot stronger and didnt quite taste as nice. Thats what destroyed alot of people by the end of the night, including me. Priya egging people on to get drunk didnt help either. Then the crew started to arrive about 8.30pm. All in all there was probably about 25 of us there, coz alot of people dropped out with lame excuses like they have work in the morning or theyre in Asia. Fahad on the other hand was just lazy.

By about 11pm the punch had gotten to me and i had to go upstairs to the bathroom (the downstairs one was occupied by Hanif who was also an unsuspecting victim of the punch). Dan Addis had taken the one on the top floor, and for some reason decided to lock himself in there all night long. At this stage i thought it was best to stay by the loo so i just lay on the floor there for a about 45 mins. Thats until Lindsay came looking for me, and she stayed there with me on the bathroom floor chatting for about another 2 hours so that i had some company. How nice is that? By time i felt confident enough in myself enough to leave the bathroom many of the people that were going home had gone. Though the house then became a temporary hotel, many people just crashing there for the night. All the beds were taken by now, so the floor it was!

Barely slept at all during the night, chatted for a little while longer. Got up in the morning (was abit to dazed to establish what the time was), and about 10 something i went with the others to Walthamstow Central and said an emotional good-bye and returned to Alex. My mouth was extremely dry so i bought a can of fanta. BIG mistake! Set back my recovery by abit longer as that made me feel quite a bit worse. After spending some more time at Alex i finally came back home an collapsed on my bed with the mother of all stomach illnesses. All in all it was a great time! Though im supposed to be going to Reading like any time now, but i might have to pass on that.

Pictures will be added another time. Lots of new friends, memories and alcohol stains. Lol, til the next episode - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 16:45 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Markie Mark at 23:25 | Permalink | Comments

Hi people. This weekend has been a very busy one, makes a change. Saturday started off with abit of tennis playing before going home and getting ready to go out again. Went to the baptism of my two little cousins, Naomi and Gabriel in the evening. Im now god-father of Naomi. Puts my tally of god-daughters up to 3, alongside Bethany and Zoe. Was a great day, and they were well behaved... most of the time. Naomi decided to go crawling through benches and kept removing her shoes to play with them. Was a good ceremony and was a nice church. Went back to their house afterwards for dinner, including the traditional West Indies / Caribbean food - curried goat! lol. Some pictures from the day are on my bebo site which can be accessed using the link to the right of the page or by clicking here: bizz-markie.bebo.com. Lots of kids running round to look after too. Spent the night there, to save me from having to get the bus back the following day.

Following day, after waking up in the late morning and getting ready, me, my aunt and uncle jumped on a 279 bus down to Tottenham to watch the Spurs v Inter match at White Hart Lane. 36,000 sell-out crowd and the atmosphere was fantastic. And im loving the new spurs 3rd kit. Chocolate brown and gold!! Mmmm! Slightly disappointed that Adriano didnt play but was still a great match. First half saw a Tainio shot deflect off a defender and end up in the back of the net, but then Martins equalised for Inter just before half-time, slotting in a parried shot. Was funny coz when Inter scored everyone in our block was quiet and sat down (as you'd expect), but one guy, obviously an Inter fan stood up clapping and cheering with a massive smile on his face. One guy in a sea of Spurs fans... ive spent the rest of the day wondering if he ever did make it out of the stadium alive. Tainio then scored a beautiful curler from about 20 yards with about 10 mins to go. Final score 2-1 to spurs! Woooo! Again, i have pictures on bebo which can be accessed here: bizz-markie.bebo.com. Getting back afterwards was a mission as all the roads were packed tight. Lots of walking then... nice. But i was too in a good mood to care... makes a change really doesnt it.

One good weekend is not enough to change the way im feeling overall though. I dunno, whats the matter hey? Who knows, a whole lotta stuff. What do i do. Give up? Looking more and more likely now but like i said before, who knows. I dont. My trust in people is being compromised, only people i can really 100% say i believe in at the moment are my younger cousins. Hence why i love spending so much time with them.

Back to Reading on Wednesday with my best mate Alex to pick up my keys to the house and maybe go cinema or something. Then its his birthday bash on the following Monday, when i can hopefully catch up with fellow ex-Latymerians and have a good time. Then back to Reading on 8th August. Possibly in Reading AGAIN on saturday 12th to catch up with the C3 crew... ahem, i mean Brighton Road and Grange Avenue crew (sorry guys if i dont make it). Then i'll be in Newcastle on 13th and 14th August (or two other days around then) to see a good friend i havnt seen in years! Which should be good. Then on 16th August im off on holiday to Barcalona for a week. Big gap till 16th September when im off to the Lake District for a week which should see me up till when i move into the house in Reading to stay. Oh, and i should see Jodie at some point in Portsmouth, i havnt forgotten. 3 years goes quick, lol! Also requests from Oxford, Sheerness, Birmingham (well... near Birmingham). Geez, i dont really have the time or the funds for all this. Especially the funds.

Anyway... if you do hear from me again, till the next episode, if not then i doubt you really care anyway. I wonder how many people will actually read this? Better still, who will read it and care? Im rambling again, bye! - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 23:43 | Permalink | Comments

Had a fairly long lie-in this morning, though it took me a while to get to sleep last night. There was a party two doors up and some nice ******* decided to start playing drum and bass music at 1.30am.

Went to the market earlier, bought lots of food and drink and stuff. In fact I liked that film xXx2: The Next Level to the point that i bought it today. We came across a fantastically named shop too. "Cheap Shop", as illustrated in the picture. Well... thats Walthamstow Market for ya, at least you know they arent lying. And yes they did just sell cheap crap that no-one will really want to buy. Also, we discovered that Woolworths had commenced selling Christmas decorations. ITS JULY!!! Its about as far from Christmas as you can get! Ah well, at least they're cheap. Also popped into Blue*inc to see the new ranges and catch up with my old work collegue, Shahin, who had moved from the Stratford branch (where i worked) to the Walthamstow branch.

Well what more do i say? After shopping and a little abit of driving in the Toyota Avensis, i didnt have much else to do. Was just watching tv for a while but then went and lay on my bed for a while. Doing so i had time to think about how my life is going and how its been. Not good really, in fact it really upset me in a way. Seeking company on msn for a while i got talking to a few really good friends, and one of them came up with a really great quote. She said i was like a broken clock. I was puzzled, but then she continued "Even a broken clock is right twice a day". I like that quote :D. Though im just not so sure if its really true (well obviously im not actually a broken clock, but im talking about the metaphor). Its difficult to know who really is there for you and who isnt, but its nice to know at least some people are.

Looks like im gonna be extremely busy for the rest of these holidays which makes a change. I have word from the man himself that Alex Rapley (or Vinny to many) will be holding a birthday bash in 2 weeks which should be great, especially if it tops the April shindig. Looking forward to it. Also visiting friends, trip to the Lake district for a week, possible holiday to Eastern Spain, returning to Reading on a number of occassions...

Anyway, i've spent long enough writing this now. Till the next episode - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 23:11 | Permalink | Comments

Before i move onto today i thought id start by saying Thursday night me and a real good friend went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's chest up in Wood Green (showcase cinema). Good film but was far longer than i thought it would be. Good mainly coz it has Keira Knightley in it. Also being in Wood Green, it wasnt going to be long before a fight broke out, and sure enough one did outside the cinema before we went in. Everyone within a 50 metre radius (including us) stopped to find out what was going on. Yesterday sky movies 9 supplied me with the film 'XXX2: The Next Level'. No thats not a porn film, its an action film with a 12 certificate. Was surprisingly really good.

Right, to today. Those of you foolish enough to have forgotten what rain is (or what it looks like), will be forgiven as it has been a long time since London had such an experience. Was going to go out earlier, maybe play abit of tennis, but the sight of those extremely dark clouds approaching over the horizon and then over the house soon changed my mind. Good choice too, as around 1.50pm it bucketed down. Yet my room was still sauna-like. Dad kindly bought me a mini tower fan today so i can kiss goodbye to those heat-induced sleepless nights.

I won £10 from my mum today (which shes yet to pay me). She was reading the free tv guide that comes in 'the Mirror' when i wanted to, and she said that today's listings would also be in the newspaper. I argued it wouldn't be so she bet me £10 it was. Me, being confident it wasnt, accepted the bet. She then spent the next 10 mins frantically sifting through the newspaper but found no luck. Meanwhile i found what i wanted in the tv guide and returned to my room. Returned 10 mins later to see if her luck had changed, but nope. Then me and my sis decided to chuck hula hoops at/into my mums mouth. She was happy with this until one of Tarnia's (my sis) hula hoops nearly took her eye out. Other than that ive spent the day watching tv and listening to music (esp. Boyz II Men). Fun!

Im officially able to move into the house Reading in 10 days! Unfortuantely that also means the first month's rent is due. Good timing as i have an induction at bar risa, in Reading, on August 8th. Doesnt mean ive got the job yet, but im hopefull.

anyway, l8ers peeps, till the next episode - x -

Posted by Markie Mark at 22:26 | Permalink | Comments

Hello again people. Well the day started off as any other. Waking up at about 9.30 to an empty house inside my little personal sauna that i also call my bedroom. Came online on messenger in the early afternoon and was chatting to an old mate, who kindly reminded me of my old blogs that i used to have on those space things. Last one having been written on 15th July 2005... and there wernt a hell of a lot of them. I was accused of a lack dedication, so here i am on blogspot (I know quite alot of people who are on here and also its easier for me to log into than my other one). Think back, when was the last time i was peer-pressured in joining something... oh yeah, myspace just a matter of months ago. If you read my first few comments on there you'll see how happy people were when i gave in to them. Anyhow, im here now but i cant guarantee that i'll keep it up but i'll try. Off out to the cinema with and old Latymerian friend in about an hour or so, so i'll leave you people to continue with your lives.

Till the next episode... -x-

Posted by Markie Mark at 16:42 | Permalink | Comments