A Sad Spod

Now there's a word you don't come across very often nowadays - "spod". I don't know what it's etymology is but it seems rather appropriate for describing a person whose social life exists mainly, if not entirely, online.

I must confess to a spot of spodding this evening and I came across a very cool, attractive guy on MySpace. He goes by the moniker "WonderBoy" and we chatted for a bit. He seemed quite shy when we were chatting though but I'm sure he's not shy at all once you get to know him.

In any case, WonderBoy posted a joke today which I found very amusing. It goes something like this:

Two priests decided to go to Hawaii on vacation. They were determined to make this a real vacation by not wearing anything that would identify them as clergy. As soon as the plane landed they headed for a store and bought some really outrageous shorts, shirts, sandals, sunglasses, etc.

The next morning they went to the beach dressed in their 'tourist' garb. They were sitting on beach chairs, enjoying a drink, the sunshine and the scenery when a 'drop dead gorgeous' blonde in a topless bikini came walking straight towards them. They couldn't help but stare.

As the blonde passed them she smiled and said 'Good Morning, Father ~ Good Morning, Father,' nodding and addressing each of them individually, then she passed on by. They were both stunned. How in the world did she know they were priests?

So the next day, they went back to the store and bought even more outrageous outfits. These were so loud you could hear them before you even saw them! Once again, in their new attire, they settled down in their chairs to enjoy the sunshine.

After a little while, the same gorgeous blonde, wearing a different colored topless bikini, taking her sweet time, came walking toward them.

Again she nodded at each of them, said 'Good morning, Father ~ Good morning, Father,' and started to walk away.

One of the priests couldn't stand it any longer and said, 'Just a minute, young lady.' 'Yes, Father?'
'We are priests and proud of it, but I have to know, how in the world do you know we are priests, dressed as we are ?'

She replied, 'Father, it's me, Sister Kathleen.'

That's me for this evening. It's close to my bedtime now. Darling J sent me an email today explaining where babies come from and it's not what you think! I was very amused. It's a nice way to end a hectic day at work. Tomorrow will be even busier as I have visiting Noggie (Arendal) underwriters from Assuranceforeningen Gard to baby-sit. One of them is Scottish and very handsome but alas, is (happily, I think) married with 2 children so I can only have wet dreams about him.

Rock Hard

The picture was a great idea but its execution was somewhat lacking. The guy in the picture (whose name is apparently Andy) should have undid his flies/zipper and then perhaps took half a step back as the obelisk (I suspect it's the Washington Monument but I can't be sure) isn't quite in the right position. It looks like Andy's only holding the obelisk and it's not quite appearing to protrude proudly from inside his trousers which was why I suggested undoing the zipper/fly.

Next time I'm in Washington DC, I'll see whether I can do a similar picture but will try to get it right. It's a shame about this one. It could have been very good.

Reliving My Childhood

I went to see the Transformers film with some friends on Friday evening.

It's all been rather updated for the 21st century with lots of contemporary references to eBay and the like. The Transformers are also don't seem to be bothered about energon cubes in the film, rather they're fixated on another cube - the All Spark. It's a cube from their homeworld, Cybertron which has the power to animate machines and to turn them into Transformers.

It was a rather enjoyable film - the sort to switch your brains off to. Not a good film to bring girls to. I don't think it will appeal to them much, unless they're there to see Shia LeBoeuf and if you don't know who he is, well he's the handsome young man in the pictures below.

Which brings me to the real reason why I went to see the film. I must confess that childhood reminiscing aside, I doubt I would have gone to see the film if the leading man (or boy, as it was in this case) wasn't someone I would have wet dreams about. In Transformers, Shia is mostly running around all sweaty which leads one of the Autobots to make a comment along the lines of his pheromone levels indicates that his character, Sam is wanting to have sex (or was it mate) with the female co-star played by Megan (who the f!@# is she?) Fox. I'm sure there were enough shots of her cleavage and shapely body to appeal to breeder boys watching the film but my attentions were elsewhere.

Shia, despite turning 21 just 2 days after my birthday, believably plays a sex-crazed, angsty adolescent male (weren't we boys all at least sex-crazed, even if not somewhat angsty) who saves the All Spark and thereby Earth from imminent destruction and slavery by the Decepticons. The plot was rather predictable but that was all made up for by the fact that Shia was very enjoyable to watch.

Shia's also starred in 2 (somewhat) recently released films - Disturbia and A Guide To Recognising Your Saints, the latter also starring one of my favourite boys, Channing Tatum. I've not seen Disturbia but I bought the DVD for A Guide To Recognising Your Saints and will watch it at some point, unless I see it in the cinema or on the plane first.

A Bit Like Trainspotting But From *Behind*

I received a bulletin broadcast on MySpace today (being rather new to MySpace myself) about this and was rather amused. It's probably less sad than trainspotting but not much.

You probably don't know what I'm going on about so I might as well put you out of your misery and tell you that I'm talking about train-mooning.

Yes, people get together, drop their trousers and show their arses to passengers on board trains. Why they are motivated to do this I don't know.

It's even got a dedicated website (perhaps one of many) - see here.

If you're curious as to what it looks like:

I don't think I'll find myself at one of these events, not unless I'm very drunk.

Apparently showing your arse is ok but frontal nudity is fronwed upon. I don't suppose it'll be called "mooning" then, would it?

Not Quite An Epic(a)

I went car shopping again today, not to buy anything as yet but because an ad in the papers for the Chevrolet Epica briefly caught my eye.

It was only launched here yesterday but I gather that this model has been in production and on sale elsewhere for about a year now.

There are 2 variants on sale here - the 2l and the 2.5l. If I do buy it, I'll go for the 2.5l variant. It's tremendously good value for money - only just under S$85,888 on the road - comparatively speaking but given that it's made in Korea, in absolute terms, it's actually stupidly expensive but that's the case for all cars here. The actual car was rather disappointing and it's not made it to my shortlist.

In a previous post, I indicated that I was choosing between the Audi A4, the Lexus IS250, the Volvo S60 and possibly the Nissan Murano. Things have since moved on a bit.

I've ditched the Murano in favour of the CR-V (the 2.4l variant) and I'm having second thoughts about the A4 and the S60. As for the A4, I went to see the car again today as I've not been very impressed with the specs of the A4 2.0. There's a good deal on the A4 1.8T (S-Line) for now but that's rather out of my price-range (S$139,000) as I'm not looking to pay more than S$130,000 for my new car.

The Volvo S60 is comfortably in that price-range as it's priced at about S$122,000 but it's a model which is on its way out and Volvo expects to launch a new model at the end of next year. Can I hold out till then? It's almost like having to wait of the iPhone! Do I or don't I? I was at Volvo today as well and I saw the new S80 - very sleek and desirable!

The Lexus IS250 is still in the frame but it is just over my budget but a thousand dollars or two. Not that it will make much of a difference but I really need to exercise some fiscal restraint when buying a new car if I want to have some money left over to invest for retirement and to go on holidays.

I was also very tempted by the fact that an entry-level Jaguar (X-Type) costs about S$130,000 but when I mentioned that to my Dad, he looked at me funny and made a comment about how someone my age doesn't have the status to drive a Jaguar. I think that he's just saying that because he couldn't have bought a Jaguar when he was my age. My response to him was "tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis" which got me another funny look which meant - don't be a smartarse. I don't suppose he's read any John Owen. My dad is by training an economist and later a career diplomat (now retired) and he must deeply regret letting me read law at university but it's such fun to tease him in this way.

The other car which has now made it to my shortlist is the BMW 320i.

There are currently 4 variants but after next week, only 2. The reason being that the additional variants are only available "while stocks last" having features which are locally fitted which I don't much care for. As it is, the 320i which is on sale here is an import from BMW South Africa and not from Germany whereas Audi proudly tell all callers that the teutonic pedigree of their cars assuredly remains undiluted - no apartheid overtones here, don't read too much into it. Incidentally, my uncle who is a psychiatrist ditched his 5 series BMW for a Toyota Camry. He said that the electronics were giving problems and he was fed up.

Currently my shortlist looks like this (in no particular order):

1. Volvo S60 - subject to Volvo's trade-in policy if I decide that my next car after this is also to be a Volvo
2. Audi A4 - either the 2.0 or the 1.8T
3. BMW 320i
4. Honda CR-V
5. Lexus IS 250

I will decide by end of August or early September and then put money down on my choice.
Your guess is as good as mine as to which of the 4 I will pick. If it's purely a decision based on price, it will be the CR-V but if price is one of the many factors but not the overriding factor, at this point in time, I don't know how I will decide.

Do I Still Want One?

Unless you were living on another planet or under a rock, you will no doubt have heard that Apple launched the iPhone recently to enraptured fans on the east and west coast of the USA. The rest of the country didn't seem quite so enraptured. It was also announced recently that O2 will be the seller for iPhones in the UK.

So when will it be coming to Asia?

Rumours have it that it will be sometime in 2008 by which time other rumours suggest that the Asia launch will feature a Mark II version which may have 3G functionality. Will I ditch my HTC Touch for the iPhone when it's launched?

In my earlier entry, I suggested (and with hindsight, erroneously) that the iPhone was to be my next mobile. Time has obviously moved and I've proven myself wrong. Will I ever get one or has it rather lost its initial charm and novelty?

Who knows? Perhaps once I hold one in my hand, I might fall in love with it all over again. No, I'm not talking about cocks, I'm still talking about the iPhone.

Nice Boys

Here's a reason to visit Tahiti:

Here's one I hope J will like. I had a hardon almost all the time we were together and I'd like to return the favour.

Not Quite Ready For The Olympics In 2008

China has been trying to rid itself of various things in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics next year, two of which are spitting and bad signage. I'm not sure how the "war" against spitting is progressing but it seems like the crusade against bad signage has gotten very far. Some of the more amusing ones below:

More amusing and some rather puzzling ones can be found here.

Do You Have A Bicycle?

A colleague sent me the pictures below as part of a Powerpoint file, two of which I "ripped" out to post here.

The posts from when I was away in London are still not up yet as I'm posting the easier ones first - these will be the more recent and shorter entries. The ones from London are quite introspective and I want to get them right.

In the meantime, enjoy the pictures. Hope they amuse you as much as they did me.

In Case You've Been Wondering

I've been away for the last 2 weeks - my home away from home, as it were.

Lots happened while I've been away and shortly, I'll be posting entries dating from the time when I was away. The entries will be ante-dated and will correspond to the dates on which the events ocurred.

My First Celebrity Encounter

It's 4.30am on a Saturday morning and dawn is breaking over London. I'm sitting in bed with my head spinning as I write this. I can't believe what just happened in the last few hours. I've only just got back, had a shower and now in bed for some kip before I wake up in a few hours to go to Borough Market.

You may recall from my previous post that my dinner date with J ended with us going separate ways for the night although we'd arranged to meet up again today (Saturday) for dinner this evening and this time around, he'd stay over.

When we parted company, I headed for Pleasuredrome, although this was not my original intention.

As you may already have guessed, Pleasuredrome is my preferred gay spa in London. The other one, Chariots has several branches, the largest of which is Shoreditch but it's become quite rundown in recent times.

Things were more or less what I expected in Pleasuredrome on a late Friday evening. By the time I'd got in, it was about 11pm or so. After having showered, I wandered upstairs to see if there was an action.

I was expecting J to spend the night and had been saving my cum for a few days previously and by the time I got upstairs, was almost ready to fuck anything that moved. Almost immediately I made eye contact with a guy about my age, moderately good-looking and we retired to cubicle where after some foreplay, he only seemed to want to suck me off and who was I to decline?

After we both got what we were after, I sent down to the spa to recover from the encounter. The water was quite cool in the spa which was unusual but there were a few other guys in it and we chatted for a bit. There were about 8 guys in the spa when suddenly the bubbles cut out and we were turfed out as the water level needed to be lowered because of the number of guys in it. We all thought it was bollocks but didn't have any choice so some up us went and to the sauna to warm up until the spa was ready to be reoccupied.

As we were sitting in the sauna, a new guy (his name is "AS") came in - skinhead type, cute, very fit-looking and gregarious. We chatted for a bit and when the spa became ready to be reoccupied, we went back in and continued chatting. My vision that night was uncorrected so I wasn't seeing very clearly or else I'd have remembered where I'd seen him before sooner. As we were chatting, I had this nagging thought at the back of my mind as to why he seemed so familiar but couldn't place him. He said he was at the spa to chill as he'd been busy with a comedy production for the last 3 months. At that time, the penny still hadn't dropped.

As our conversation dropped off, he made to leave the spa and I couldn't help feeling disappointed but just as he was about to step out of the pool, he turned round and said the magic word, "Coming?". My heart either stopped or leapt with excitement, I can't remember which but my head started to swim with anticipation.

I didn't need to be asked a second time and hurriedly left the pool with him. We went upstairs and found a cubicle and proceeded to spend over an hour alone together. I won't say more about what happened as I respect him too much for that and besides I think he values his privacy too much as he would have told me straight off who he was when we were chatting while sitting in the pool. What I will say is that he was more than just a shag from the spa. It was a very personal encounter and a truly unforgettable one which is uncharacteristic of most of my encounters at Pleasuredrome - my last such uncharateristic encounter there was with J.

We went back to the spa pool and then sat there for a good while and he left, I think to seek another encounter. By then, I had already been satisfied several times over and in every sense of the word and when we kissed good-bye at the pool, it was a lingering kiss.

I'm not sure how much time I spent lounging in the spa but it it turns out that I was wrong - I wasn't completely satisfied and decided that I had the strength for another encounter before I called it a night.

That last encounter was unremarkable compared to the time I spent with AS and I won't say much about it other than I was definitely ready to leave for the night by the time it was over. Just as I was about to head to the showers, I bumped into AS again. He said that "they" were about to go and he turned to a stout, middle-aged man with rather theatrical eyebrows and that was when the penny dropped about who AS actually is and I remembered first seeing their comedy double act while on an Atlantis cruise last summer. I don't think they're a couple, other than in a strictly professional sense as they had both been "hunting" separately that night but I could be wrong.

I felt quite embarrassed as I said good-bye. I got a hug and a kiss from AS and a rather awkward handshake from MT.

By the time I left Pleasuredrome, it was in the early hours of the morning but because I was too skint to take a taxi, I decided to wait for the bus which was why I only got to bed at 4.30am on Saturday morning.

I told J about my encounter with AS. He's heard of the double-act but his reaction was rather difficult to gauge but he seemed not to be bothered by it as he stayed the night with me on Saturday and it was magic to wake up with him next to me on Sunday morning.

Another Evening With J

J and I arranged to meet for dinner tonight. We decided to meet at South Bank again. He was running late so I amused myself by having a wander around Foyles until he arrived. I was feeling quite anxious as I don't think he realises how incredibly attracted I am to him and whenever we're together I don't know quite know how to behave. We're still in the process of getting to know each other and every moment we spend together, I learn more about what makes him tick and I hope that it's mutual.

He was very apologetic for being late but I didn't mind it at all. Life is too short and besides I wasn't quite sure how he felt about me and was very pleased to see him again that his running late wasn't important at all - the important thing was that he turned up. It was very reassuring that he again took my hand and we walked the streets of London holding hands.

We had dinner at O-Satsuma in Soho which was when I discovered that J doesn't like seafood, much less raw seafood and my devouring a plate of mixed sashimi must have made him quite uncomfortable. I hope he wasn't thinking about what I might have otherwise been doing to his beloved koi. He needn't have worried about that as I'm not fond of eating freshwater fish. Those tend to have a muddy taste even when left in clear water to purge prior to being cooked and the muddy taste would have been even more pronounced if eaten raw.

We had a rather enjoyable dinner but had to call it a night afterwards as he was tired. I walked him back to his car which he parked near Pleasuredrome. As we were parting company, I think he said goodnight and I think he also said "have a good time" which left me wondering whether he was suggesting that I should go and spend some time in Pleasuredrome.

It was not originally my intention as I'd wanted to have an early night that night. It wasn't exactly early when we said goodbye - probably about 10ish in the evening, or perhaps later. As I made my way back to Waterloo, I had to pass Pleasuredrome and the lure of the prospect of male flesh made me enter. I think J knows me better than I know myself. I subsequently told him that he was the only person that knows more about what goes on in my mind that anyone else I've known. I hope he doesn't think it's hyperboly - it's all true.

I was hoping that J would be able to spend the night with me but I knew he was tired and I didn't want to pressure him into doing anything but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. Even so, I wasn't resentful or anything like that. My feeling of disappointment was purely neutral and perhaps to assuage my disappointment, I decided to go and see what delights Pleasuredrome had to offer than Friday night.

Denying Myself?

Today is the day of the London Pride parade. I'm not going as I have other plans. I might have gone if J went as well but he was busy this morning so I made alternative plans. In any case the parade meant lots of road closures so I wanted to get out of Central London for the day.

It was quite wet with intermittent rain which was quite heavy at times. Not really good weather for half-naked (or in some cases, almost naked) men to be parading themselves. That said, many gay boys were out in force today which meant there were many nice, fit boys to look at.

I spent the morning doing some shopping and hoping to avoid the parade-spectating throngs before the actual start of the parade after lunch. Managed to get round to Charles Tyrwhitt, Hackett, New & Lingwood and Favourbrooks. Found Vilebrequin and Laduree at Burlington Arcade and afterwards went round to the Abercrombie & Fitch store and that gets a blog entry of its own. Needless to say, there were lots of gay boys there. What with the buff, shirtless models at the store entrance, how could a gay boy like me resist the lure to go in? I wanted to but was too cowardly to ask any of the models out on a date. They are so out of my league and they might even be straight!

I was going to spend the afternoon with the T family who live in Twickers, being uncle to the 2 children and decided to buy some macarons from Laduree to take with me. CnT is a friend of mine from the Bar and has chambers on Essex Street. His wife, KT was formerly with Freshfields but has now gone to an in-house job at the FSA. They have 2 children, a 3 year old boy ST and a 9 month old girl ChT. Another friend of ours, P was going to meet us at Twickers and he was going to the Rod Stewart concert with KT who needed a break from the children as she is still on maternity leave which meant that CnT and I would be baby-sitting for the evening which I was happy to do. The children were no trouble at all and generally quite well-behaved although I had my concerns about the children being left to play, unwatched, especially the 9 month old. Perhaps I'm the sort to be an overly anxious parent.

CnT initially wanted to go round to a nearby pub where we were to meet P but it was raining by the time we got there. On our way to the pub, CnT and I must have looked like a gay couple out on an afternoon stroll with our children. I think we got some odd looks but CnT was quite oblivious to it all.

When I realised that CnT had arranged to meet P at his local, I was quite appalled that he even contemplated that , what with the children in tow, they really shouldn't be brought to a place where alcohol and cigarettes were being freely consumed but CnT is a good friend so I didn't say anything about my concerns. I gather this isn't the first time he's brought them there either.

I don't have any issues with children being exposed to moderate amounts of alcohol, as children living in Europe are. I think they will be less inclined to experiment and binge later in life but that's just a generalisation. I suspect that one of the reasons why I'm chocolate-obsessed is because they were restricted to me as a child and now, in an act of open rebellion, I eat as much chocolate as I want and as often as I want. I'd be the first confess in an a Chocoholics Anonymous meeting that I've an addiction.

During the course of the evening, CnT put the children to bed while I cooked us dinner. I wouldn't have been much help with bathing the children but cooking dinner was something I could definitely help out with. There were ingredients for a spinach and pesto-marinated lamb -dice lasagne (off a Waitrose recipe card) for us. CnT fed ChT with her milk and ST got cream cheese on toast. I was rather appalled by that. As a child, even though I might have been deprived of chocolates, I was actually fed quite well - hot meals at lunch and dinner about 99% of the time. I might not completely agree with CnT's way of parenting but I think it will all work out in the end.

After spending a day with the T family, I realised that I'm definitely ready for fatherhood. I will probably have said this elsewhere in this blog. I'm perfectly aware that being uncle for an afternoon is very different from being dad on a daily basis and I suspect that I will probably be an overly anxious and over-protective parent, in the same way my mother was (and still is, annoyingly) about me. That's rather worrying as I never want to turn into my mother! I think I'd rather kill myself first.

But ending on a somewhat brighter note, the Laduree macarons were very well received. They were completely scoffed by the time I left Twickers that evening.

The Lure Of Burlington Gardens

No one would necessarily associate shabby chic with Savile Row in London but now that Abercrombie & Fitch opened a flagshop store in Burlington Gardens, the crowd thronging the environs of Savile Row during the weekends is distinctly younger and I daresay, gayer.

Yes, 7 Burlington Gardens, where Abercrombie & Fitch is located, is London's latest gay clothing mecca. The store opened its doors sometime at the end of March this year. I missed the opening by less than a week during my last visit and was rather annoyed by that. This time around, I was determined to go round for a shufti.

My first visit was on Saturday which turned out to be a bad day as it was raining and also the day of the gay Pride parade. The shop is located barely 5 minutes walk off Picadilly Circus end of Regent Street which was part of the parade route.

As I approached the store from othe direction of Burlington Arcade as I had just come from Jermyn Street and had also bought some yummy but ridiculously overpriced macarons from Laduree. That's the last time I'm buying macarons from Laduree as they cost GBP6 per 100g (or 5 macarons) , not including the weight of the box which is also extortionately priced at GBP6 per 100g! The ones from Maison Paul are much better value at GBP7 for a dozen but I digress.

The thump of dance music emanating from the premises was audible as I approached the shop. The porch was crowded with people and initially I thought that perhaps the shop was crowded but it turned out that the people were standing around oggling 2 half-naked male models posing at the entrance. It was not exactly the warmest of days to be shirtless but they models certainly looked good without their shirts on - buff, handsome and wearing low-rise jeans from which the waistband of their pants were quite visible. My heart skipped several beats - if only more shops had models like that!

I've been to the A&F store in San Diego but there weren't any shirtless male models like in the London store. Perhaps they only have these in the flagship stores.

In any case, the models were something of a draw and most of the crowd were probably gay boys like me enjoying the sights. Every so often, the models would change and you'd get to see different cute, shirtless boys in their jeans. If you like that sort of thing, do head down to the A&F store each weekend and you're mostly guaranteed to see the shirtless models preening. Some of them looked rather uncomfortable - no doubt because they were made to feel like pieces of meat. I rather felt sorry for them who did feel uncomfortable about being shirtless gimmicks (for which I wouldn't mind giving them hugs and kisses to help them feel better, if that would helped) but for those models who really liked showing off them torsos, I definitely want to see more! I suppose that's the cornerstone of A&F's advertising philosophy and it obviously helps them to sell their clothes.

As I entered the store, I was very surprised. It a multi-level, dimly light place with high ceilings and strategically placed spotlights - it could well have been a gay dance club. The air was heavy with male pheromones but that wasn't really surprising at the crowd was predominantly male and if my gaydar was working correctly, gay as well. The other thing which struck me about the A&F store in London is how important the (gay) male customer base is. Most shops have don't have menswear on the ground floor but as soon as you walk into the A&F store, it's menswear. Womens wear is tucked away somewhere at the rear and also upstairs with the childrens wear.

I wandered around happily like a child in a candy store (not just because of the clothes but because of the sight of so many hot guys) which is rather an appropriate comparison as there was certainly lots of male eye candy about as most, if not all the sales assistants were all looked like model types.

Uncharacteristically of me, I didn't buy anything that Saturday as it was too crowded to try any clothes on. I decided to return to the store the next day but it was similarly crowded. However, the trip was worth it because there were more shirtless male models at the entrance of the store.

I'm nothing if not goal-oriented as seeing as I'd been unsuccessful in buying any A&F clothes on Saturday and Sunday, I returned on Monday to accomplish my mission. It was much better this time as it was definitely less crowded but unfortunately there were no shirtless models on display. I think they are only a weekend phenomenon.

I managed to find a pair of Rasmusens which I liked and decided to try them on. There were also on sale some Premium Rasmusens which were going for GBP198 a pair and much as I don't mind spending money on clothes, paying that sort of money for a pair of distressed jeans, however uniquely distressed they might be, is just silly.

As I was trying on the jeans, I'm sure the sales assistant at the changing rooms was checking me out or at least checking out my arse. He was South African, judging by his accent (or perhaps Namibian but I think the chances of meeting a Namibian in London are quite remote as compared to meeting a South African) and very cute. He seemed to like what he was seeing and I deliberately teased him by bending over to pick up something and he was definitely looking.

Sadly, I lacked the courage to ask him out or at least give him my phone number.

While at the store on Monday, I saw one of the erstwhile shirtless models but this time, he was fully clothed (albeit looking very sexy in his A&F kit) as a shop assistant. So it appears that the sales assistants double as shirtless models on the weekends - not a bad idea from A&F's point of view. No wonder the sales assistants all looked like model types. It was a pity that he wasn't shirtless today but I could definitely see his bulging biceps under his shirt. I was looking at one of the shirts which was out of my reach and he came over to help me. Turns out this hottie is Australian (could tell from his accent) as he climbed a step to get to the shirt I was wanting and I got a fantastic view of his arse. I'm not normally an arse boy but this one gave me a hardon. Unfortunately all that were available were the big sizes and the cute Australian boy was very apologetic and said that I might want to return during the next weekend when new stocks arrive. I probably will.

I think the A&F store is a place where I would like to work although I probably don't qualify as I am probably overqualified in some respects and not sufficiently qualified in others so I'll just have to stick with my job as an in-house lawyer for Shell. At least that gives me enough disposable income to buy whatever I want from A&F.

An Evening With J

I met J near Festival Hall this evening and had a drink at the BFI bar before taking a stroll to Soho for dinner. Had a thoroughly enjoyable evening with him. J was his usual charming and modest self and while we were together, I felt the same rush of happiness being with him this time as did when we first met. I hope he enjoyed being with me as much I as I enjoyed being with him.

Before we met, I'd promised to give him a rock from my collection (I gave him one with a bit of what might be garnet in it) and he surprised me by giving me this shell.

Afterwards, he came back to my place and we spent some time getting to know each other better. Unfortunately he couldn't stay the night as he had matters to attend to the next day but it would have been a dream come true for me to wake up next to him in the morning. Perhaps that dream might stilll yet come true. We've got plans to meet up again next weekend.

Crumpler - Dr Strong Tron

I bought myself a computer bag this weekend. It looks like this:

Nice isn't it? It's from Crumpler. It's the largest bag from the "Skivvy" range. The Crumpler website is rather nonsensical but it's a delightful collection of nonsense. This "Skivvy" was accompanied by the following description:

"Whack me on, baby, whack me off, pull me up, pull me off – Yeah, you got it right, you do it good, you know how to do the Skivvy shimmy...."

It all sounds very risque, not that I mind.

Perhaps I will get myself a Crumpler backpack after lunch with one of the visiting claims-handlers from the Shipowners P&I tomorrow. We've arranged to have lunch with one of their Members and I can steal away after lunch to get a backpack before returning to work.

My current Invicta one has seen better days and I've had it for more than.... Well too many years now. I was wanting to get a replacement when I was in Rome for a day last summer and when I got to the shop near the Scalinata di Spagna (or to give them their proper name, Scalinata della Trinita dei Monti - better known to the English-speaking world as the "Spanish Steps"), it was either closed for refurbishment or had relocated. I think this was the only one near a metro and I had a very limited time in Rome and didn't have the time to find another shop.

Postscript - Tuesday, 26th June 2007
I liked my Skivvy so much that I went out today after lunch with a friend from Bergesen Worldwide and got myself one of these:

It was a very good deal because it came from a different shop than the Skivvy (at which I got a 15% discount). At today's shop, the discount was less - only 10% but got this free to go with my IPod.

Can you guess what my favourite colour is now?

A Device By Any Other Name Is Still Vulnerable And Frustrated

I couldn't make up my mind about the title for this entry which is why it's so long.

The device in question goes by several names - Elf, P3450 and Touch but it's marketed here as the Touch.

I got myself one of those a few days ago. Despite what I said in an earlier blog entry, I simply couldn't wait for the iPhone which only becomes available in Asia in 2008 and also because my HP Ipaq rw6828 is ageing and soon won't have any trade-in value.

It looks like this (pictures courtesy of CNET):

In terms of appearance, features and functions, it's generally surpasses or at least equals the rw6828 but in terms of speed, it's frustratingly slower with a processor that operates at 210 mHz whereas the rw6828's processor runs at almost double the speed at 416 mHz.

So far, apart from the slowdown in the functions, it's got sufficient memory such that it doesn't hang when I'm using the TouchFlo interface (which was a concern for some industry pundits who reviewed the device prior to/at launch).

The other thing which I don't like about it is a lack of a protective case. It comes with an open-topped pouch which is practically useless for men. It's alright for women who have handbags (and for those men who have manbags - I'm not one of those). It could so easily fall out of the pouch.

Seeing as it was only launched in the first week of June, there aren't really many, if at all, accessories on sale for the Touch. I was told that it will take a few more weeks before the accessories become available which is very frustrating as the Touch will be vulnerable to damage until there's a protective case available for it. I've seen some video clips on Youtube featuring leather cases for the Touch and there's one in particular which I like (see the embedded video) and hopefully it will be on sale soon.

Is It Just My Imagination?

What's to be made of a picture like this? They look like such a lovely couple don't they? It's one of those pictures which make me weak at the knees but hard in my trousers.

For those of you who don't recognise them, the one on the left is Matt Derbyshire (Blackburn Rovers) and the one on the right is Leighton Baines (Wigan Athletic). This was probably taken during a lull in training prior to the U21 match between England and the Netherlands.

In case you're wondering what my dirty mind has got to featuring two boys under the age of the 21, first of all, the age of consent in the UK is 16 and in any case Matt is 21 (his birthday was on 14th April 1986) and Leighton is 22 (born 11th December 1984) so both are in every way legal for the things which I imagine them doing with each other and I don't mean playing football (although nude football may be a possibility!).

It is curious though, seeing as both are over 21, why they're eligible to play in an U21 match. Perhaps it's some quirky FIFA rule. In any case, I hope to see them in the England senior squad, as I do their U21 teammate, Steven Taylor whom I featured in a previous entry.

She's Keeping Me Busy

No, I've not taken to playing for the other team. I still like boys as much as ever.

The "she" in question is actually an "it" but it is industry convention to refer to "it" as "she". If you've not already cottoned on to what I'm rambling about, I'm referring to ships.

Unless you've been living on another planet or otherwise not paying attention to international news, you will no doubt have heard/seen/read about the recent storms in northern NSW resulting in the PASHA BULKER being grounded just off the cost of Newcastle.

Because of my fiduciary obligations, I'm not at liberty to say much about what's going on except that salvage continues to be a concern and that the reports of the grounding as published in Tradewinds and Lloyds List are about 90% accurate.

While this grounding is keeping my professionally busy, on a personal front, I am very concerned about the grape harvest in Hunter Valley. Two of my favourite Hunter Valley wineries, Tyrrell's and McGuigan's are located in Pokolbin/Cessnock and I hope the storms will not have affected production too much or that their owners will have had the foresight to buy business interruption insurance.

Outside of Alsace, I have not drunk better Gerwurztraminers than the ones from Hunter Valley. McGuigan's makes a particularly good one, perfect for drinking in the summer with very pronounced varietal characteristics of lychee and floral frangrances with just the right balance of acidity and residual sugar. It's truly summer in a wine glass.

It might not feel much like summer in Hunter Valley at the moment, seeing as it's winter in Oz but it's starting to feel summery in the northern hemisphere. I was told that it was quite rainy in London the last couple of weeks but the weather's expected to clear up and hopefully it will be sunny by the time I'm back at the end of this month.

Daniel Wu - For J

Here's Daniel in a recent Seiko advertisement looking pensive but nevertheless still very HOT. More about him here.