Stormy

I love a good thunderstorm. There's something about the loud, scary shows that tell you nature is around you and you can't control it. I love huge thunderclaps and lightning forks. And I enjoy the sort of rain that is more like a waterfall from the sky that soaks you through in seconds. Because, what can you do?

And one thing America has is a good thunderstorm.

I just sat in the apartment on my own and the darkness of the evening coincided with some sudden and horrendous gales. I had to close the windows because things were quite literally flying everywhere. I checked a weather service and there was one of the scariest warnings I ever did see. I wish I had taken a screenshot because the alert has now passed. But it was 5 paragraphs of block capitals telling everyone to GET INSIDE! Because LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURE'S NUMBER ONE KILLERS! One of the number one? What? Frankly I thought a lot more people died of cancer or were eaten by sewer alligators (ok maybe not that one) but this just plain scaremongering, surely? There was more: REMEMBER, IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER, YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

Anyway, I most definitely stayed indoors and I think we must have been right in the middle when the storm hit, because the thunder and lightning were basically in harmony and the thunder was THE loudest thing I've heard in a very long time. Most certainly the loudest thunder I ever heard. There is just so much more of an earthy, shake-the-buildings rumble about US ones over their UK counterparts.

The lightning was plentiful. Forks tore about the sky before the whole thing was over in under an hour. I didn't take any pictures but to demonstrate, here are some pictures I took when I was in NY two years ago, using the video mode of my compact camera!

Pretty cool, I thought.

In less stormy news, I have now secured an apartment for me and my wife-to-be for the next year. Still in New Jersey, as value-for-money seemed so much better, and I am getting to like my 20minute door-to-door commute! More on that later, for sure!

4th of July (Week)

I needed a holiday. Oh how I needed a holiday! I flew to Wisconsin to be with Laura and to experience my first proper celebration of the 4th of July - I just didn't tell anyone I'm British..

I started with a couple of days with Laura at her home near Rio, Wisconsin. She had the house to herself, except the animals she has to feed, and I enjoyed lounging and wandering around the garden, photographing the wildlife..


It was very hot, and had been for ages. The poor garden and vegetables were starting to look rather sunburned.. but I do like this shot of a peaceful farm/garden scene..


Then we travelled up to Washington Island - a trip I have done before and love... though I do feel guilty with Laura doing all the driving. Once there however, I find it to be the most amazingly relaxing place. No agenda, no TV, no Internet, barely any phone reception, though I did try to make my workmate jealous of the peaceful outdoors, such as this quiet, sandy area we found for some light swimming!


The water wasn't just comfortable, it was positively warm! And you could wander out for ages without it being more than chest-deep. The whole island is full of little summer creatures.. some scary-looking spiders around the cabin (none poisonous though!) but plenty of birds, dragonflies, and butterflies fluttering about (I am sounding like my Dad).


Laura's sister, brother-in-law, and niece were present for much of the week too. My future family! Little Cecilia is more than adorable, so I'm glad she got to meet her future Uncle!

Then of course, was the 4th of July fireworks! Except there were no fireworks. Here's why:


Yeah. A few minutes after this, an almighty thunderstorm started and the event was cancelled. This was the only time we were out and the weather wasn't glorious. But we were back in our same seats the day after, for Take 2 - which was fabulous!



Finally, we spent a couple of the evenings on the rocky beach out the back of the cabin, building a campfire, setting off bottle-rockets, and having fun with sparklers and long-exposure camera settings!


What a great week! It was a shame to leave it, but I felt a lot better and more relaxed than before I arrived. Plus, it's good spend time with those important to you, and share places and experiences important to you both.

The whole Flickr set from my trip is here.

June Has Been and Gone

So sorry.. I haven't updated this in ages. And I was going to update it every other day with brief stuff so everyone knows what I'm up to! Instead, I've been posting once a month and cramming a load of crap in there. So to catch-up, briefly, before I *actually* start updating this with more-or-less up-to-date and real-time info (and other hyphenated-words), this is what June has consisted of:

• Working. More directorial visits from London! More drinking..
• My lovely fiancée visited and we had a long weekend where she tried on her wedding dress (I didn't look!) and we walked the High Line (I looked), caught up with a couple of friends, and generally got to know some potential areas for living in. We had fondue! I had never had fondue before.. 
• I saw Mogwai play a small venue in New York; Webster Hall, in the East Village. They were on really early and a fairly short set, but still decent.
• I started looking, properly, for a proper apartment. I think I'm going to stay Jersey-way, because it has proper 1-bedrooms for the price of a wooden room in Manhattan. Brooklyn might be in with a surprise shout however, I will keep you posted!
• I watched as much of Euro 2012 as possible. Pretty much all the games at the weekend could be caught in a bar or two. I deviated from the normal Midtown area for a couple of matches, after it was pointed out as being next door to Webster Hall!
• I set off for Wisconsin, for a much-needed week off and time with my fiancée for 4th of July week... which will be the subject of my next post or two. Coming soon, I promise!