I've not posted on my blog for what seems like an eternity, but what, in reality, is little over a week. A lot has happened in that time and I will try to remember all of the good stuff in that time, so do put your feet up, boil the kettle if needed, and bare with me.
Erin and I secured our wedding rings over the weekend, and with it a massive weight (no pun intended) has been lifted from our shoulders. Being mildly ignorant to the whole buying wedding rings scene, I was pleasantly surprised when we both exited the old mahogany lift of the Strand Arcade in the CBD of Sydney, on the uppermost 5th floor. We had, or more to the point, Erin had found a bespoke jewellers online called "Larsen Jewellery" who seemed to have what we were looking for - "the tailor-made experience". We both decided we didn't want your average joe kind of jewellers. We didn't feel all that comfortable in dropping $2000+ on a ring that 100+ other people could have potentially tried on.
So off we trotted, and trotted we did to Larsen.
[Insert disclaimer here] At no time during our visit did we encounter a Nordic chap of the Larsen persuasion [end disclaimer here]
Larsen's is quite a unique place. I have never stepped foot in a jewellers quite like it. On the face of it, you could say it was on the small side. Elegantly presented however, with cabinets laden with the finest of the fine jewellery. Diamonds, Pearls and Sapphires as far as the eye could see. Then, over by the windows was the tangible juxtaposition of a workshop. In amongst the thousands and thousands of dollars worth of carats were craftsmen, squinting through their magnifying lenses to cultivate the most perfect of ring for the most perfect of consumer - in this case Erin (and I).
We were welcomed by a rather affable lady named Natalie who knew her stones. She proceeded to explain what Larsens stood for, the whole preamble designed to make you feel like this is THE PLACE for you. Past that however, her knowledge shone massively. Questions were answered at length and in great detail. She wasn't pushy, and she didn't go for the hard sale either. We were left in no doubt that the choice was ours if we wanted to purchase our wedding rings from Larsens, and that we decided to do.
We did buy the rings, but we don't actually have them yet as we have to wait 5 weeks for them to be individually crafted to our "O" and "J & 1/2" sizes respectively.
With that purchase comes responsibility and that is on the shoulders of my cousin, Matt. No pressure like, but with our purchase your job just became a lot more real!
After securing the wedding rings, we wandered around the Strand Arcade some more, in pursuit of the all elusive wedding suit. Needless to say that was a fruitless affair, and the more time passes, the more agitated and restless I am becoming.
Finding a blue suit shouldn't be all that hard, should it? I want a blue suit, I have seen countless blue suits too, but you know, just not that blue, you know? The blue I want, it just isn't in the shops and I can't find it. I see blue suits that are too dark, blue suits that are too light, blue suits that are too French looking and other variations of this theme. But just not MY suit...yet.
For those making the journey from England for the wedding, the Strand Arcade/Queen Victoria Building is a must. It is the only place in Sydney where I have felt like it is home. Nothing beats an old shopping centre in the midst of all the newness that is Sydney. Be sure to bring green notes though, as it is on the higher end of the shopping spectrum. Brands such as Coach, Aesop, L'Occitane and TW Steel grace these wonderful buildings.
On the subject of TW Steel, the recognised market leader in oversized watches, it would seem that the Australians love a good oversized watch. Not a day goes by without someone, whether it be a client of ours at the Local Court, a Barrister, a lawyer or a general member of the public complimenting me on my watch - so thanks Mum and Dad, my confidence is going through the roof!!
I even had one elderly gentleman a few weeks ago ask me how much I paid for it, and how much I would be willing to sell it to him for. A few slowly pronounced words later, coupled with some gesticulation and he was on his way.
One thing I did want to touch on with this blog was statistics, and in particular the statistics related to this blog. When I created it, I told myself and even put it into words that I wasn't expecting the outreach of my inane drivel to be anything but small, but, to my amazement I have reached places such as Kenya, Argentina and Tunisia. My two most viewed countries are the United Kingdom and Australia (obviously) and my lowest viewed countries are Ireland, Italy and Tunisia, where one solitary person has taken the time to read my thoughts. I would like to place on record my thanks to those lost souls, whoever you may be.
Being the technology geek that I am, the next bit intrigued me. Browsers and Operating Systems!
BROWSERS:
39% of my page views have been via an iPhone, 18% via Safari, 17% via Google Chrome, 8% via Mobile Safari and only 5% via IE. 65% of my views have been via an Apple device!
OS: iPhone 37%, Macintosh 24%, Android 15%, Windows 14%, iPad 6% and then BB10 (Dad?) iPod Touch and Linux are all <1%.
Segway-ing into tech blogger mode here, do I read that information that most of the people reading this have Apple devices, or that Apple have a massive stronghold of the digital market and are thus monopolising the technology market? I think I know where I stand. I expect a shiny new iPhone 6 for this shameless plug Tim Cook.
Work is going good too, for those wondering. I have been learning the role of Court Monitor these past few days, which is essentially the minute taker. It's great being in a courtroom and typing what people are saying whilst under oath.
I said "Get off me before I punch your fucking lights out" has so much more emphasis and is more factual than "I asked in my dulcet tones if he would like to quickly exit the vicinity in which I was occupying, as if he didn't I would have to exert the unholiest of blows upon his chiselled jaw".
There have been times when my literary creativity has threatened to take hold, but alas I haven't digressed from fact.
I will leave on this note. It is presently 8:36pm in Sydney and 13C. Todays high was 23C.
It is 11:36am in Manchester and 18C. Goodnight.
