Well, I've found work. It was there, and I found it. Real work. IT work. Work that is actually worth getting up in the morning for (well, time will tell, but I'm confident). Details? Well, it's an entry-level Java Programming position based in Zurich for a relatively small firm who takes on contracts for various bidders. My first project will be for UBS (holy crap!), one of Switzerland's major banks. I start on October the 1st, so I have a little free time.
Anyhow, that's my big excitement for the moment, and an update is long overdue so I have a number of other interesting happenings that I ought to share.

Lets see... Oh yes, we went to a gig by a group named Strawberry Jam in the neighbouring town Neuendorf. We (Emil, Sonya, Claudia and myself) bustled in and occupied a table towards the the back of the tent/marquee that had been built. For CHF20 (approx. NZ$25) we got a drink, a meal, and a show, and what a show it was. They played blues/rock covers from popular English titles, and were convincing enough to have the crowd dancing on benches, tables, and other elevated surfaces. Some people (ie. Sonya) even swung from fixtures on the tent wall. Yes, we had a very good time, got very drunk, and stayed very late, and since Emil and Sonya had gone home at the reasonable hour of 1-2am, we walked home through the forest around 5-6am. Fortunately I (okay, we) found the way, although Claudia was bitterly objectionable about my walking pace. I don't see what the problem was. We got there in 40 mins instead of what... sleeping under a tree?

Roleplaying. Our long awaited roleplaying chapter has finally been concluded. Basically, our party went bad, resistance was futile, and those on the side of righteousness were too surprised and disorganised to do anything constructive. The result? Slaughter, flight, and the prevailence of darkness. The moral? Evil wins every time. How galling.
On an associated note, I have completed the journal from our adventure into Hell. At 16 pages, it's pretty decent. It's also one reason why I haven't been updating my blog regularly. If I manage to get it uploaded anywhere I'll link to the PDF from this post, as it's not really relevant to post in this blog.

I've spotted a Kung-Fu/Thai Kickboxing outfit in Olten, which I might check out if I have time, though my first impression is that it'll be pretty rough-and-tumble sort of stuff. It's not that I don't enjoy a bit of healthy violence, it's just that I have a history for damaging myself in the name of good harmful fun.

The Chilbi is a fair that moves from town to town, and it came to Fulenbach a few weeks back. The town shuts down the main street, and people clamber out of their holes to have a bit of a social evening (although the term 'social evening' for me seems to entail getting rediculously drunk, and stumbled home at 6am). So I'm wandering around at the Fulenbach Chilbi and keeping an eye out for Emil, Sonya and co. whom I'd lost, and as I'm standing by the dodgem cars listening to the music they're playing, the music changes to something... distantly familiar. Listening more carefully now, the bass beat is very distinct. Boom boom-boom boom boom... It brings me back to my gaming days, and reminds me oddly enough of FCC, and then I recognise the song and almost fall over laughing. Why? Because here I am in a quaint country swiss village, waiting by the children's entertainment, and they are playing 'I wanna f*ck you in the ass' by the Outhere Brothers. Now normally that is funny enough, but then something even funnier happens: nothing. Complete normality ensues. The children play, the adults watch, and the elderly chitchat. In fact, the only cause for concern was some foreigner cracking up for no apparent reason (me). You'd think that lyrics that read 'I can't wait to get you home 'cos I'm gonna make you moan' would cause a stir in a small catholic town, but then, people would first have to understand them first, wouldn't they? The song had been remixed, and the lyrics were so muddy that even during the chorus (which is repitition of the song title) I had to strain my ears to confirm what I thought I was actually hearing. Thus, even the English speakers in the town didn't pick up what was being played to their children. One thing I would dearly have liked to know, is did the DJ actually know what he was playing? Was it a cruel joke, or an ignorant blunder?

No photos for this post (though photos from the Strawberry Jam gig can be found here) as I haven't taken any, but now that I've found a way I've been uploading pics into my previous posts.