I’ve had three dreams recently. The first people I know rushing around with a lot of preparations, I see things indicating a celebration: ballons, music, cleaning, but all seemed mad busy. When I thought about it and how it relates to my life I realised this:

I am going to be mad busy until January. Work is busy as always. My University course (see Back to University) is stepping up a gear or two involving: several workshops, an exam and two three thousand word assignments all due before January. And in my personal life practically every weekend until the end of December is being booked up with occassions (seeing friends, my Psychic Party / Home Warming, Christmas parties, etc.). The celebration indicates that it will be worth it in the end, so that’s positive.

So expect less blogging than normal my friends, family, random visitors, etc. I will intend to blog at least once a week to keep you all informed of my life as best I can.

As for the second and third dream, they have both involved me being shown round new apartments. Now regular readers will know that I recently bought an apartment (see The Move) that I love. The dreams don’t mean I’m moving again, simply: New beginings. So I’m excited about the thought of new beginings. New man in my life? New opportunities at work? Who knows.

This week I’ve bought a witches broom I didn’t need it. But it smells of cinnamon and looks quite at home in my hall way. The apartment is feeling more and more homely all time time. Here’s a photo of my witches broom:

(Taken on my Blackberry Storm)

Blog when I can,

Antony

I love the greek god Apollo. He is a deity that I like what he stands for, creativity, lover of the arts, beautiful, admire of beauty (both physically, emotionally and spiritually). Here is some quick facts about Apollo:

Apollo’s Appearance: A young man with curly golden hair.
Symbol or Attribute: The Sun itself, the lyre (a type of musical instrument), the bow, and the chariot he drives across the sky daily.

Apollo’s Strengths: Creative, handsome, supportive of all the arts of civilization.

Weaknesses: Like his father Zeus, Apollo is all too happy to enjoy the charms of nymphs, as well as the occasional youth, and his conquests number in the dozens.
(From http://gogreece.about.com/cs/mythology/a/mythapollo.htm, Last accessed: 30th October 09)

Yet believe it or not, I can’t find a good statue of Apollo for my altar anywhere in the UK. A statue that truely repersents what Apollo means to me. My good friend Kay told me that I she was going on holiday so I showed her what sort of statue I wanted (from images on the Internet). When she went away, she picked me one up and here it is:

The photo took on my Blackberry Storm and it really doesn’t do it justice. On the photo you can’t see the detail and the true quality of the statue.

One of the main reasons that I love Apollo is because he is bisexual. He has had both female and male lovers. As a gay man I am most interested in his male lovers of which there were two. Here are the stories:

Apollo & Cypatissus

In Greek mythology, a myth set in Chios tells of Kyparissos (Greek: κυπάρισσος, “cypress”) — or Cyparissus (Latin: cupressus, “cypress”) — a young boy and son of Telephus. Though the mythic context and the setting is Hellenic, the subject is essentially known from Hellenizing Latin literature and Pompeiian frescoes.[1]

Apollo gave the boy a tame deer as a companion, but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. The gift of a hunter’s prey is an initiatory gift in the sphere of the hunt, a supervised preparation for the manly arts of war and a testing ground for behavior (Koch-Harnack 1983). The tameness of the deer may be purely Ovidian. In a late reversal of the boy’s traditional role, perhaps an interpretation applied by Ovid,[2] Cyparissus asks Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo turns the sad boy into a cypress tree, whose sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk.[3] Cypress was one of the trees Orpheus charmed.

According to a different tradition Cyparissus was the son of Orchomenus, the brother of Minyas, and the mythical founder of Kyparissos in Phocis, which later was called Anticyra.[4]
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyparissus, Last accessed: 30th October 09)

Apollo & Hyacinth

Hyacinth, the young son of the King of Sparta, beautiful like the very gods of Mount Olympus, was beloved of Apollo, shooter of arrows. The god often came down to the shores of the Eurotas River, leaving his shrine in Delphi unattended, to spend time with his young friend and delight in boyish pleasures. Tired of his music and his long bow, Apollo found relief in rustic pastimes. He would take Hyacinth hunting through the woods and glades on the mountain sides, or they would practice gymnastics, a skill which Hyacinth then taught to his friends, and for which later the Spartans would become renowned. The simple life awoke Apollo’s appetites, and made the curly-haired boy seem more charming than ever. Apollo gave him all his love, forgetting he was a mere mortal.

Once, in the heat of a summer afternoon, the lovers stripped naked, sleeked themselves with olive oil, and tried their hand at discus throw, each vying to outdo the other. The bronze discus flew higher and higher. Finally, the powerful god gathered all his strength, and spun and wheeled and let fly the shiny disk which rose swift as a bird, cutting the clouds in two. Then, glittering like a star, it began to tumble down.

Hyacinth ran to meet it. He was hurrying to take his turn, to prove to Apollo that he, though young, was no less able than the god at this sport. The discus landed, but having fallen from such a great height it bounced and violently struck Hyacinth in the head. He let out a groan and crumpled to the ground. The blood spurted thickly from his wound, coloring crimson the black hair of the handsome youth.

Horrified, Apollo raced over. He bent over his friend, raised him up, rested the boy’s head on his knees, trying desperately to staunch the blood flowing from the wound. But it was all in vain. Hyacinth grew paler and paler. His eyes, always so clear, lost their gleam and his head rolled to one side, just like a flower of the field wilting under the pitiless rays of the noonday sun. Heartbroken, Apollo cried out: “Death has taken you in his claws, beloved friend! Woe, for by my own hand you have died. And yet its crime was meeting yours at play. Was that a crime? Or was my love to blame – the guilt that follows love that loves too much? Oh, if only I could pay for my deed by joining you in your journey to the cheerless realms of the dead. Oh, why am I cursed to live forever? Why can’t I follow you?”

Apollo held his dying friend close to his breast, and his tears fell in a stream onto the boy’s bloody hair. Hyacinth died, and his soul flew to the kingdom of Hades. The god bent close to the dead boy’s ear, and softly whispered: “In my heart you will live forever, beautiful Hyacinth. May your memory live always among men as well.” And lo, at a word from Apollo, a fragrant red flower rose from Hyacinth’s blood. We call it hyacinth, and on its petals you can still read the letters “Ay,” the sigh of pain that rose from Apollo’s breast.

And the memory of Hyacinth lived on among the gentlemen of Sparta, who gave honors to their son, and celebrated him for three days in mid-summer at the Hyakinthaea festival. The first day they would mourn his death, and the last two they would celebrate his ressurection.
(From: http://www.gay-art-history.org/gay-history/gay-literature/gay-mythology-folktales/homosexual-greek-mythology/apollo-hyacinth-gay/apollo-hyacinth-gay.html, Last Accessed: 30th October 09)

If I was to invoke a god (take a god or goddess’ spirit with in your physical body) in the future it would be Apollo.

Kay and I are planning a Psychic Party / Home Warming at the end of November and the invites have gone out via Facebook. So check your Facebook inbox for invites, should be a good evening of fun.

Write soon,

Antony

I placed an order for a phone line and broadband online with BT. I had no choice than to go with BT as I needed a phone line “installing”. They were suppose to be coming to install a line (at a charge of £125!) on my birthday (14th May 09). By “install” they mean flick a switch on the green box outside. I waited and waited but they did not turn up (or bother to let me know).

So I rang them and they stated the order is “stuck” in the system. Whilst on my Blackberry Storm to them they couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t hear them. They asked me if I had a land line they could call me back on. My response: “If I had a land line, would I be ringing you to have one installed?” Honestly sometimes the stupidity of BT staff amaze me.

The order was replaced after several broken conversations and they finally managed to come out today, install a line and post out my BT Hub (that also arrived today).

Prior to this suffering from Internet Withdrawl, I decided to get Mobile Broadband. I saw an 02 dongle and picked it up. Can you believe that it didn’t pick up a single wireless network? I took it back and got a 3 dongle, worked like a charm. Well done to three for beating 02 on signal (I have to admit, that I never saw that coming in a million years!).

Meanwhile, in my on-going struggle with technology I still couldn’t have a clear conversation with anyone on my Blackberry Storm. So I took it in to the shop, guess what the problem is? It needs a software upgrade, only the handset wont allow me to do it. So it has been sent off to the repair centre for something that should be able to be done at home.

My advice:

Blackberry have released an App. World Store. I couldn’t resist downloading it to have a look. I needed a bit of help from Vodafone, which was provided in the form of a video:

It sounded good, but I was dissapointed. The apps were mainly american and although it was suppose to be localised to the UK there were no apps from providers I would have liked including: Pink News, BBC, , C4 as well as various others. Perhaps with time these organisations will create an app. for Black Berry.

In addition to this, the apps that weren’t free where priced in dollars – how am I suppose to know what these are going to cost me in GBP? It was positive though to know they use PayPal as the payment method.

I guess time will tell with the applications that they add.

Geeky regards,

Antony

The weekend started really on Saturday. David and I had arranged to have a chat following the weekend prior (see Job Interview & David).

I had picked up my new BlackBerry Storm (see The phone we forgot) prior to setting out to drive to his, an Up. The Down about this was that as I had choose to keep my exsisting mobile number I had to wait for the PAC to transfer over, so the handset was unuseable for 72 hours.

David jumped in the car to help me find parking. Once we had found it, we had to stay with the car until we were allowed to legally park there. David was initally closed. I had come open minded, but still with the one thought: that I am fed up arguing.

But what I didn’t count on was how I’d react and connect to David’s addictive energy once again. We ended up going out shopping (bought this fantastic t-shirt, I will have to post a pic!) and for a meal in the evening. The day and evening was amazing (Up), but somehow we didn’t manage to discuss the argument (a definitate Down).

Sunday I head back home. I had promised my friend a reiki session (see Reiki one – Qualified) and had to prepare. I had a bath were I cleansed, protected and grounded my energies. I put some reiki healing energy in to some candles and collected my oils, the burner, the reiki-ed candles, crystals, etc. together.

The great thing about a reiki session is that you as the pratitioner also get a reiki treatment too, so add that to the reiki I had done in the bath (cleansing, protecting & grounding) and I had a total of 2 reiki treatments. A definitate Up.

Reiki is a stress-relief energy treatment. For more about how to destress please see my Relaxation post.

I would like to thank my friend for allowing me to give him some reiki treatment and for the nice food he bought me afterwards. Food is always a Up.

So that was my weekend, definitately more Ups than Downs!

Publish more soon,

Antony