I've got some catching up to do.

I've just noticed that our last post was all the way back in June. That's a good long time ago. On the one hand, it feels like not much has been going on. Myra has just been madly finishing off her MA and I've just had my nose to the grindstone, so the last few months seem to have just disappeared.

Codi, Rich, and Calla and Oli came out for a couple of weeks in July, with a short stop in Germany, and that was great fun. It's our third visit from back home so far, with two more on the immediate horizon. From what I understand, they had a great time, having been the kids first visit across the pond. Our meager dwelling was up to the task of housing six people (just barely), mostly due to our guests being comfortable on the floor...

Myra's parents have just left us, having come out for a visit for a few days. I got screwed and ended up having to work every day but one, so Myra took them out to see a few sites. I believe our Pubs made a good impression on them, as we had a few excellent meals at some great, out-of-the-way pubs. London and Bath were explored, and they got a good look at Oxford and a tour of Myra's department at the Uni, and I think that they had a really great time, and graciously put up with our rather slapped together dwelling.

That's something that we're becoming less enchanted with on a daily basis. We knew it wasn't amazing when we moved in, but we just accepted the fact that the housing standards aren't quite what they are in Canada. You wouldn't believe some of the places we saw here when we were looking. They were shocking, and I think our opinion of our current place was influenced by this. When our lease is up, I think we'll be looking for something a bit more central and a bit nicer. It will do for now.

Moving swiftly on...

Not ready to pass up what could be a last chance, we saw Prince play in London at the O2 centre. I have to say, I've never been a huge prince fan, either being slightly too young (sorry Myra!) or just ignorant (better?), but the show was unreal. The venue itself was on a scale that we just aren't used to, and the stage set-up Prince had was amazing. The guy must be 50, but can still move as well as anyone. All in all, a fantastic night. Oh, Myra wants to mention that we also saw Bright Eyes play in Birmingham. Another great show... and actually, provides good content for a nice little rant.

Scenesters. I can't stand them. At shows like Prince and such, you get all sorts (of people, not scenesters)... like the woman who has to stand up in the front row, in front of a whole section of people who are content to sit and enjoy themselves, and dance for us all to see. The kind of woman who talks to her friend beside her through half the show and you wonder why she isn't just at a lame-o bar somewhere instead, as it seems as though all she's really concerned about is having people see how good (or lame) a dancer she is. The kind of woman who, when asked by someone two rows back to please sit down so the rest of us can see the show, can only respond by calling her fat, and refuses to sit, as naturally, that would mean that she's not really enjoying herself, and that, in fact, the rest of us should just stand up too, as we would all enjoy the show more if we weren't sitting. Random example. So anyway...

...the scenesters you get at indie-type shows are different, depending on the type of show it is, but only in appearance. Ahh, the scenester. One type is always keen to appear as though they don't really care. These are the most annoying. Different for the sake of getting noticed - not because they just prefer this or that type of style, or because they just don't care. On the contrary - they care much more than the rest of us. They must look the part, and act it too, for all to see.

We were on the second floor of this particular venue at Bright Eyes (who is a twenty-something musical genius who is more than a little angst ridden, plays a folky/alternative/old-school country/electronica tune, screams a lot, and is fairly political in his content, taking direct shots at the President, and such - you get the picture), the second floor being a giant horse-shoe shaped balcony. So, downstairs, where they are packed in like sardines, half way through the show this punk little scenester decides that he is going to show Connor (Bright Eyes) just how big a fan he is, and how much he appreciates him and understands everything he is speaking about, by pissing off everyone around him, and yours truly, even though I wasn't anywhere near him. He starts flailing around like some whirling dervish, crashing into everyone and causing general discomfort and acute annoyance. Now and then he would stop to pump his, no doubt, socially conscious fist in the air and sing along like the number one fan that he must obviously be.

I'm annoyed just thinking about him. The other kind of scenester is far less harmless. They don't do much other than look the part. To the T. Often very concerned not to appear concerned, this scenester may have the messy hair that took them half an hour to style, and/or their carefully picked ensemble not missing a single detail. All the tools of the trade. Whether is be an alt country show, as above, or a hip-hop show, the scenester is on display, ready to be seen to look the part...

...I'm now bored with this topic. I've said my piece and am ready to move on. So, what else has happened to us lately? Oh, Myra got a new bike! We had the opportunity to pick up a really nice bike at a ridiculously low cost from a guy I now used to work with. Now all of a sudden my cool carbon fibre bike has been eclipsed by her cool carbon fibre bike with a better group-set and cooler wheels. And they match too. Hopefully it's not our first step to buying matching outfits and retiring in Florida.

I think that's all we have to report at the moment. My parents are coming out in six days time, and I can't wait, as we're going to Italy with them for a week! My first trip, and Myra's second. Plus, I get to escape from work for a while. Myra has to come back early, as she has a class to teach, which is disappointing on one hand, but exciting on another, as she is really enjoying it.

Ok, that's really it. I'll be sure to update this thing when we're back from Italy, pictures and all.