Something strange has been going on.

It started a long time ago, when a weird message was left on my answer phone. A long series of pings that nearly blocked the whole of my answer phone memory. There were a few such messages and then it stopped.

Recently they came back. Big time. For a while now, I keep coming back home in the evening to two pinging messages on the answer phone. Always two. I think they are sent automatically on a daily basis. At least I know that one of them keeps arriving at 8:30 in the morning, as I’ve heard them a couple of times if I stayed home a bit later than usual.

I have been told by someone in the office that was suffering a similar phenomenon that these are the sounds of a failed attempted to send a fax, normally sent automatically by fax spammers. I need to find a way to find out who is sending me these messages and make sure they stop. I have been told the phone company is useless about those things. I wonder if there a better way. Has anyone reading this have dealt with something like that before? Do you have an idea of what to do?

As you may, or may not remember, I recently wrote about my experiences at Coldplay’s Crystal Palace gig. One of the things to note was my impression of the size of the venue.

Even though I did think that Chris Martin has enough energy to reach all ends of the huge stadium, it seems that he agrees with me that smaller, closed places are much more suitable. As he is quoted in the NME this week: “…we’re not really a stadium band” and “Because we don’t feel we can really make the most of that space yet. It’s all getting very geeky and technological, but we’re not Bon Jovi quite yet.”

Go Chris! (Except for the geeky comment. It sounds as if being a geek is a bad thing). I’d be happy to see you again where you find a more fitting location.

The weekend is nearly here. (For my distant readers who may not be aware, the weekend comes a day early in Israel. Unfortunately, this also means it ends earlier than it does for the rest of the world). This has not been an easy week for me. There have been some worries on a few levels, and my mind is filled with thoughts about the future.

There have been some issues at work; obviously I cannot detail them here. I did not hide my disagreements on some subjects, thought it might have not been a wise move. It prompted a lot of thinking about the more distant future. What do I want to be when I grow up? At the moment I don’t really know. There are a lot of options, and I need a direction. All I want is to do something with my life that will make me happy and pay my bills.

As for now, I hope to enjoy my weekend as much as possible. I’ll think about the rest of it later.

I got myself a new toy: Creative MuVo Sport C100.

Need I say More?

I finally started uploading some photos from my latest trip to London to the photolog. I didn’t take many photos during the trip. Sometime because I didn’t feel like it, but much of the time, because E took so many great photos, that I didn’t feel the need to repeat his good work.

I got a special permission from E to put some of the photos he took online, so some of the photos are his (credit is given in the description).

As a teaser, here’s a wonderful panoramic view of London that E took from the centre of the Hungerford Bridge. I had to resize it so it will fit here, which does it great injustice, so you’ll have to click it for a larger view. (It’s worth it ? this photo is not in the photolog, just note that it will be opened in a new page).

In continuation of my previous post about how things have started to fall apart – number 3 has finally crept on me!

Last night I came home late, very tired after a very long day. It was strangely quiet. I remembered leaving my computer on, and the fridge motor is always noisy. This was strange! I pressed the light switch, but nothing happened. I tried around the flat – nada. I unplugged problematic electric devices, and some others too, tried the switches at the board, but there was no reaction.

I ended up calling the electricity provider, and they were very helpful, saying they will send someone over within a couple of hours. Just over an hour later someone came in, looked at the electricity cupboard, and said that as far as they are concerned, everything is fine. The problem is of switches and cables that were burnt at the board, and this is not something he can deal with, I will need to get an electrician over.

Luckily, my landlady was still up, and kindly allowed me to store some food in her fridge. She also gave me a number for an electrician, and promised to deal with it in the morning. (She already called me early this morning to say she spoke with the electrician, and he will be there in the afternoon).

This morning, while I was getting ready for work to a dim candlelight, I was hoping that my string of jinx is finally over.

No. 1 – When My Tumble Drier Started Hating Me

I came back from my holiday with a big bag full of dirty washing that was added to the previous pile that was waiting in the laundry basket. My closet was almost empty, and a weekend full of washing was ahead. I decided to make an early start and put on the first load on Wednesday evening. I washed, then put in the drier, and decided to leave the folding for tomorrow.

I started getting ready for bed, with the lovely noise of the tumble drier in the background. As I was finishing my shower, I suddenly heard a bang and the lights went off. I dried myself up in the dark, got dressed to a candle light, and went to check out what was going on. I started unplugging things, and pressing the buttons in the electricity cupboard, but nothing helped. Eventually, I ventured out to the service balcony, pulled the washer’s plug out and tried the buttons again. This time it worked. However, it meant my washing remains damp. In my post-flight tiredness, I had to hand my washing out to dry, just before I fell into bed.

A short investigation on Friday morning revealed that a short circuit in the tumble drier was to blame. There will be no washing during the weekend, and the service had to be called. Hopefully, this will all be sorted by Thursday morning.

No. 2 – When the Pipes in the Kitchen Started Hating Me

On Saturday night I finally got around to tidying up my flat and getting it ready for the cleaner who was due on Sunday. I put things away, threw some other things in the bin, and put the dishes in the dishwasher, and left to tend to other things while it does its job. When I got back to the kitchen about an hour later, there was a puddle on the floor near the kitchen sink, and water was flowing towards the bathroom. I immediately suspected the dishwasher and started cleaning up in despair. While cleaning I turned on the tap and heard a worrying noise in the cupboard below the sink – yes, water kept on flowing from the pipes under the sink and on to my floor. Yet another problem to sort out.

After many phone calls to my landlady and the plumbers, I finally found one who could do the work reasonably enough. He came over to look at it yesterday, and only assessed it hoping to come back today or tomorrow and fix it. Meanwhile, there is a bucket under my kitchen sink, and the prospect of a few days in which I will be late for work, waiting for the plumber to show up.

No. 3 – When Other Things Started Hating Me

I’m not sure what no. 3 is. It could be a few little things that happened to me in the past few days. It could be the way my brother made me look really stupid in front of the satellite TV technician, by calling for support while I was away, when the only thing that was needed was to plug the set-top box in. Or it could be my health that is starting to bother me again, or the stress at work. I just hope there isn’t anything big that’s about to hit me at a personal level. I do have a feeling about something that is coming up, but I hope I will be able to fix it before anything goes terribly wrong.

I never thought of my self as superstitious, but everyone must have those little things.

That’s it, I’m back at home, and not a moment too soon, as it turns out. I had plenty of phone calls and messages yesterday from people who checked to make sure I’m already back at home and safely away from the London terrorist attacks. Thank you everyone for your concern, I’m safe at home. Maybe it is a bit cynical, but I’m actually enjoying the quiet music on MTV2 today.

Coming home was annoying as could be expected. Like always, the stress starts about four hours before the flight at the queue for the El Al security checks, where people push their way through and shout a lot, like Israeli people tend to do. There is also the obvious rudeness of the security people, who may be very effective in keeping the people safe, but it wouldn’t have hurt them to use words like sorry, excuse me, thank you and please in a conversation. They piss me off every time. I managed to sleep for most of the flight, despite the obvious discomfort, and the train home was quick enough. Maybe it was not smart of me to plan a working day immediately afterwards though.

It will take me a bit of time to land back into reality. There’s a lot of work to catch up with, and I need to start thinking about future plans. I want to catch up with many friends, and I must get back into shape. My flat is also a bit messy after my brother’s stay. The cats missed me, especially Sebastian who now doesn’t let me out of his sight, insisting on receiving attention whenever possible.

Once things start to get organized I will also start posting some pictures. I didn’t take too many pictures during my holiday, but I have special permission to post some of the pictures that E took. You will notice when they start showing up.

It has taken less time than expected for my mum to start driving me nuts. Having her here feels a bit like babysitting, and nothing I try to do to entertain her is good enough. Initially I was hoping for a bit more time on my own and maybe even a little privacy, but this just isn’t happening. I shouldn’t be surprised. I should have expected that. I should have know that my mum will still be treating me as a child, which expecting me to show her around as if it is the first time she is in London.

It is nearly the end of my holiday, and it feels like that. On one hand, I don’t really want it to be over, and I definitely don’t want to be back at work. On the other hand, I think I’ve had enough o just “killing time” with my mum. I also miss E very much already, and I am looking forward to seeing him when I get back.

I also want to see my cats, sleep in my own bed, drive my own car, use my own computer and listen to my music. Can I do all that without having to be back in Israel and going to work?

Wireless Festival must have been the best kept secret in London, kept away from possible audience and performers alike. In a way, this was on of the events’ charms, and it is also a proof that it is still early days for the London festival.

In only got to see two days out of four of the Wireless Festival, but I guess that the opening day and the closing day are the most important parts. Neither days was sold out, as far as I know, and the same for the other days of the festival. I don’t know what was the potential capacity of the event, but I do know that it wasn’t too crowded, which as far as I’m concerned it is a good thing. Maybe the bad weather during the festival has also kept people away. It could also be that most of the performers were not the current “big names”. Either way, the people who were there, were not quite the normal festival goers. As the location in London’s Hyde Park suggests, the people did not come there for an event that requires camping in a muddy field full of tents. The result was a varied crowd of families, young people and music-loving old aged pensioners who probably appreciated the ability to sleep in a proper bed after the long day.

The music itself was a variation of un-signed or very young and unknown bands, bands who are past their good days, and some big enough names, who, like Moby stated during his show, also appreciate a night in a proper hotel room rather than a wet Glastonbury tent. Moby was one of my favourite acts on the first day of the festival, despite the fact that I usually don’t like his music very much. His ability to carry the music and encourage everyone to have a good time is undoubted.

The main reason I got tickets for the first day was an earlier performance by Graham Coxon. I have been waiting to see him live for a long time, but during the show I just felt that his music is not suitable for a main stage at a festival, but more to the sort of small venues where he usually performs. I do hope I will get to see him in one of those one day.

Other notable things about the first of the festival were the weather (thunderstorms that got everyone running into the smaller stage’s tents) and the lack of readiness by the organizers. It wasn’t until later in the evening that the merchandize booths were connected to card machines, and even worse, the big screens put into place to allow visibility of the main stage. On the final day I also noticed a few other additions to the festival grounds that probably should have been there before.

The last day of the festival showed slow maturity, the weather was a bit better, but organization was still lacking, which performance times changes and some acts moving between stages to fill up some holes. I came in just on time to see JJ72 play the main stage (they were supposed to headline the Drowned In Sound stage later in the evening). It was good to hear again a band that was showing a lot of promise a few years ago, but disappeared since. Other highlights of the evening were Soulwax (due to play the Xfm stage, but moved to the main stage), as well as a DJ set by their reincarnation as 2 Many DJ’s. The closing by Kasabian was brilliant. It was only their dedication of the last song in the set to the Gallagher brothers that got the festival a mention in the NME, which brings me back to thinking the festival must have been kept a secret from the press as well.

All in all, I had a great time. The music was good, the location was very convenient, and if only the weather was better, it would have been harder to notice the lacking organization and over-presence of advertisers. Maybe it is just immaturity. I hope it will be better for the coming years, since a festival in the centre of London is a wonderful idea.