Hi y'all
I've been trying to blog for the past three nights, but a couple of days ago I lost a bunch of lovely photos, and last night roomie and I were assembling my bed until the wee hours of the morning.
Stay tuned, because I'll give it another go tonight!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
New Home Soon
The R Train crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn
Last Sunday I revisited the new home I will be moving into this Sunday. New roomie-to-be and I chatted, ate a bowl of blueberries, and measured every surface in my new room.
It had rained in the morning so the breeze was delicious, and following her directions I went on an exploratory walk. I will be living only a couple of blocks away from Shore Park which looks out onto Upper New York Bay and buffers Bay Ridge from the big parkway directly along the shore.
Trying to see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge through the trees as I enter the park
Little fountains dot the length of the park
It was too sunny for me to patch a panoramic together using the nifty function on my phone, so....
....there are simply two separate photos of the bridge running into the distance (Staten Island, actually)
Then I walked back "inland" and explored some of the neat little streets in the neighborhood. This is what I saw:
Some little Brooklyn whitestones, I'll show you brownstones another time
A quirky narrow Victorian
A real dollshouse!
Oliver Street, a good sign
This photo does not convey the peaceful villageyness of this street. Note the trees were trained to lean into the street and arch over it as you see in the next photo:
A pleasant green tunnel, again not well conveyed by the photo
And a rather Hollywood-style mansion across from a private school
Heading towards the shops on 86th Street, I came across a Cupcake Bakery!
I hope I remember where this was.....
So then I spent the entire remainder of the afternoon on 86th between 4th and 5th Avenues, never even making it to the center of the borough on Atlantic Avenue where the courthouse and even more amenities lie, including a new Target, a store I missed very much when I was in London.
There is every shop, bar, cafe, bistro, and convenience I could ever want right here in Bay Ridge, even some I hadn't expected - and all in one place - so I'd never need to go into Manhattan. Imagine if I got a job in Brooklyn too, my friends uptown would have to coax me into the City.
Tomorrow I will visit the Brooklyn IKEA that had its Grand Opening today in Red Hook, just north of Bay Ridge. There is a special ferry going between it and Pier 11 on Wall Street. Also, free shuttle buses servicing the nearby subway stops. But of course I want to take the ferry!
Monday, June 09, 2008
Summer High
You know what I like about New York? People talk to each other.
If you look nice, someone is guaranteed to say, "You look nice."
If you air a question in the subway, more than one person will answer immediately - of any race, any age, any gender.
For instance, on the way home from seeing an apartment, we got on the wrong line and looking at the map I said to my cousin, "I don't see 86th street on this one." The guy sitting nearby overheard and said, "You need to get out right here and change to the 5 - right here!" And we jumped out before the doors closed.
Then, on the 5, after a minute I let out a sigh - more from entering the cool carriage from the hot platform than anything - and another guy nearby heard me, indicated to the half seat next to him and said, "Come sit here, there's space" and he squished over and I sat. Later on, the train braked really hard, a few people nearly toppled, and he shot out his arm in front of me thinking I was going to fall off the seat, and I laughed and said, "I'm ok, I'm ok."
Next stop, a couple of mothers got on with their toddlers in strollers. The kids were eating crackers and the mothers were quaffing chilled water. Pretty soon, as she leaned over the top of the stroller the mother wondered out loud if her son had finished his snack, and someone with a better view commented helpfully, "Sure, he's finished it. Maybe he needs a bit of water, his face is red..." So the mother gave him his sucky cup as if taking a suggestion from a stranger was the most natural thing.
Did I ever tell you that the only person who ever spoke to me in 6 years on the Tube was a jazz musician from New York?
The other day, an older lady and I were nearly shopping together at Macy's:
"Have you seen this? It's pretty."
"Oh look at this, it's in your size. Try it on."
Just one comment and you might enjoy a pleasant exchange and a laugh with a friendly random person as many times as you care to venture.
**********
A teaser of the clothing I've been acquiring:
Ann Taylor Loft (didn't buy this outfit, though I did get a couple of summer suits for upcoming interviews)
Jones New York Signature - look no sleeves - and white!
Next blog I will try to show you the others.
**********
We're having a summer heatwave here which started on Saturday but might end tomorrow. It's wiping out my cousin but my energy levels are still way up there. We went out today and he couldn't believe how active I was, until he remembered my Texas factor.
I guess 15 years in the Lone Star State is enough to harden anyone to heat, but I thought that 6 years in the London greyness would have reset my system.
The other good thing about the heat, the activity, the sun, and the food, is I am going back down a size and shaping back up, a process that started almost as soon as I got here, so promptly I was quite shocked - but I do feel much healthier and less bloated.
My cousin (Ryan) is a gym buff and has no problem pointing out what bits he thinks I need to sculpt! Bring it on.
**********
Good news on progress:
Went to surrender my TX drivers license, but got a bit emotional at having to part with it because for the past few years it has been like a friend. I'd take it out and look at that Lone Star flag and I'd remember good times.
Anyway, I can't get a NY license yet because they require my Texas records (all clean) so when that comes through later this week I can go back and get it done.
Then Ryan took me to open an account, the service was friendly and happy and everything's free, so I walked out smiling.
All of this was accomplished before 1pm.
As the temps were over 100 today, when we got back home it was 97 and we didn't venture out for the rest of the day. Stayed in basking in the A/C. He's lucky, his job is supervisory so he only has to lay out the plans early in the morning, and then his team takes over and he is free to go.
Oh, nearly forgot to mention, I found a place already!
It's in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a residential enclave by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, full of neater than usual brownstone rowhouses, sweet cottagey houses on cute streets as well as wide avenues lined with pretty little churches and quirky mansions built in the early 20th century as summer escapes for wealthy Manhattanites. The community areas feel villagey and the neighbors are helpful and friendly. Amenities are right on my doorstep or round the corner - subway, express bus, laundry service, pharmacy, groceries, banks, tennis, gym. A park overlooking the bay is a couple minutes' walk away too with bike trails.
The apartment is on the top floor of a quaint little house. It's small but spacious enough for two petite girls, with many original details. It's simple yet feminine, homey and peaceful.
As soon as I mentioned I'd read a listing there he jumped right on the idea and said it was a good area - being like the big brother I never had, and also having discerning tastes, Ryan doesn't want to leave me anywhere he doesn't approve of - anywhere with an iffy walk to the subway, a smell in the elevator, a badly lit hallway, whatever. The minute we drove into Bay Ridge it felt right. I said, "I want to be here", and I was praying my potential roommate would pick me. We clicked very quickly as we share not only many interests but many feelings about things. So I'll be moving in before the end of the month. Also, we both studied art history...
Only 10 days and things are falling into place. Next up: getting a job.
(And Ryan is the best cousin in the world.)
If you look nice, someone is guaranteed to say, "You look nice."
If you air a question in the subway, more than one person will answer immediately - of any race, any age, any gender.
For instance, on the way home from seeing an apartment, we got on the wrong line and looking at the map I said to my cousin, "I don't see 86th street on this one." The guy sitting nearby overheard and said, "You need to get out right here and change to the 5 - right here!" And we jumped out before the doors closed.
Then, on the 5, after a minute I let out a sigh - more from entering the cool carriage from the hot platform than anything - and another guy nearby heard me, indicated to the half seat next to him and said, "Come sit here, there's space" and he squished over and I sat. Later on, the train braked really hard, a few people nearly toppled, and he shot out his arm in front of me thinking I was going to fall off the seat, and I laughed and said, "I'm ok, I'm ok."
Next stop, a couple of mothers got on with their toddlers in strollers. The kids were eating crackers and the mothers were quaffing chilled water. Pretty soon, as she leaned over the top of the stroller the mother wondered out loud if her son had finished his snack, and someone with a better view commented helpfully, "Sure, he's finished it. Maybe he needs a bit of water, his face is red..." So the mother gave him his sucky cup as if taking a suggestion from a stranger was the most natural thing.
Did I ever tell you that the only person who ever spoke to me in 6 years on the Tube was a jazz musician from New York?
The other day, an older lady and I were nearly shopping together at Macy's:
"Have you seen this? It's pretty."
"Oh look at this, it's in your size. Try it on."
Just one comment and you might enjoy a pleasant exchange and a laugh with a friendly random person as many times as you care to venture.
**********
A teaser of the clothing I've been acquiring:
Ann Taylor Loft (didn't buy this outfit, though I did get a couple of summer suits for upcoming interviews)
Jones New York Signature - look no sleeves - and white!
Next blog I will try to show you the others.
**********
We're having a summer heatwave here which started on Saturday but might end tomorrow. It's wiping out my cousin but my energy levels are still way up there. We went out today and he couldn't believe how active I was, until he remembered my Texas factor.
I guess 15 years in the Lone Star State is enough to harden anyone to heat, but I thought that 6 years in the London greyness would have reset my system.
The other good thing about the heat, the activity, the sun, and the food, is I am going back down a size and shaping back up, a process that started almost as soon as I got here, so promptly I was quite shocked - but I do feel much healthier and less bloated.
My cousin (Ryan) is a gym buff and has no problem pointing out what bits he thinks I need to sculpt! Bring it on.
**********
Good news on progress:
Went to surrender my TX drivers license, but got a bit emotional at having to part with it because for the past few years it has been like a friend. I'd take it out and look at that Lone Star flag and I'd remember good times.
Anyway, I can't get a NY license yet because they require my Texas records (all clean) so when that comes through later this week I can go back and get it done.
Then Ryan took me to open an account, the service was friendly and happy and everything's free, so I walked out smiling.
All of this was accomplished before 1pm.
As the temps were over 100 today, when we got back home it was 97 and we didn't venture out for the rest of the day. Stayed in basking in the A/C. He's lucky, his job is supervisory so he only has to lay out the plans early in the morning, and then his team takes over and he is free to go.
Oh, nearly forgot to mention, I found a place already!
It's in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a residential enclave by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, full of neater than usual brownstone rowhouses, sweet cottagey houses on cute streets as well as wide avenues lined with pretty little churches and quirky mansions built in the early 20th century as summer escapes for wealthy Manhattanites. The community areas feel villagey and the neighbors are helpful and friendly. Amenities are right on my doorstep or round the corner - subway, express bus, laundry service, pharmacy, groceries, banks, tennis, gym. A park overlooking the bay is a couple minutes' walk away too with bike trails.
The apartment is on the top floor of a quaint little house. It's small but spacious enough for two petite girls, with many original details. It's simple yet feminine, homey and peaceful.
As soon as I mentioned I'd read a listing there he jumped right on the idea and said it was a good area - being like the big brother I never had, and also having discerning tastes, Ryan doesn't want to leave me anywhere he doesn't approve of - anywhere with an iffy walk to the subway, a smell in the elevator, a badly lit hallway, whatever. The minute we drove into Bay Ridge it felt right. I said, "I want to be here", and I was praying my potential roommate would pick me. We clicked very quickly as we share not only many interests but many feelings about things. So I'll be moving in before the end of the month. Also, we both studied art history...
Only 10 days and things are falling into place. Next up: getting a job.
(And Ryan is the best cousin in the world.)
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Bytes from the Big Apple
Hands up, who wants that title to be on the top of my blog??? Any other suggestions?
Get a cup of tea and put your feet up for this one, it's a saga!
********************************************************************
The Big Move
Where to start..............I arrived on the afternoon of Thursday the 29th after the easiest flight I have ever taken. On departure, there were no emotions at all - in fact, I fell asleep during taxi and was sort of awake during take-off. My neighbor was an amiable old fellow originally from Armenia and he and I got along splendidly.
Parkchester, where I am staying with my cousin for now
**********************************************************
The Shopping Day
Friday I went to Macy's and got my 11% discount visitor card good for 5 days from issue (note well, in case you need it: go to the Visitor Center upstairs, show them your passport or out of state driver's license and they'll hand it over no problem). Bought a couple of Givenchy necklaces, one gold and crystal choker and one short necklace studded with brown Swarovski crystals. I also satisfied my usual desire for Ralph Lauren clothing. I don't need Macy's for anything else really, not if I can always go to Filene's Basement. More on that another time.
The Empire State Building at night
********************************************************************
Staying Downtown
It is warm and summery here now, and by Saturday I was already slimming down and feeling energetic and healthy. My hair is soft, my skin is soft, my lung capacity is greater, no aches and pains, and no black soot in my nostrils.
Approaching Grand Central Station, the shiny Hyatt, and the Chrysler building, along 42nd Street
Saturday afternoon I checked in at the Park Lane Grand Hyatt at Grand Central, a rather nice establishment I must say. Got my room on the 25th floor.
That, I must say, is a very comfy bed
There were more toiletries than I could shake a stick at all over the bathroom
A room with a view...of 42nd Street and Grand Central
My black slippers from London no longer fit in the warm weather, so I had to run out to buy a pair in the afternoon. I was heading in the general direction of Macy's when across the road on Madison Avenue I spotted a swanky looking Payless Shoe Source, it's amazing the nice places that utilitarian shoe store pops up. You get great looking shoes, pretty good quality, for peanuts.
So $24.99 (for shoes, no tax under $100) gave me black patent peep toe kitten heels. Here is my outfit for the dinner:
As I walked down the street feeling very SATC, some old guy commented as he passed me, "Nice lady...", in all a very New York moment.
Get a cup of tea and put your feet up for this one, it's a saga!
********************************************************************
The Big Move
Where to start..............I arrived on the afternoon of Thursday the 29th after the easiest flight I have ever taken. On departure, there were no emotions at all - in fact, I fell asleep during taxi and was sort of awake during take-off. My neighbor was an amiable old fellow originally from Armenia and he and I got along splendidly.
Parkchester, where I am staying with my cousin for now
**********************************************************
The Shopping Day
Friday I went to Macy's and got my 11% discount visitor card good for 5 days from issue (note well, in case you need it: go to the Visitor Center upstairs, show them your passport or out of state driver's license and they'll hand it over no problem). Bought a couple of Givenchy necklaces, one gold and crystal choker and one short necklace studded with brown Swarovski crystals. I also satisfied my usual desire for Ralph Lauren clothing. I don't need Macy's for anything else really, not if I can always go to Filene's Basement. More on that another time.
The Empire State Building at night
********************************************************************
Staying Downtown
It is warm and summery here now, and by Saturday I was already slimming down and feeling energetic and healthy. My hair is soft, my skin is soft, my lung capacity is greater, no aches and pains, and no black soot in my nostrils.
Approaching Grand Central Station, the shiny Hyatt, and the Chrysler building, along 42nd Street
Saturday afternoon I checked in at the Park Lane Grand Hyatt at Grand Central, a rather nice establishment I must say. Got my room on the 25th floor.
That, I must say, is a very comfy bed
There were more toiletries than I could shake a stick at all over the bathroom
A room with a view...of 42nd Street and Grand Central
My black slippers from London no longer fit in the warm weather, so I had to run out to buy a pair in the afternoon. I was heading in the general direction of Macy's when across the road on Madison Avenue I spotted a swanky looking Payless Shoe Source, it's amazing the nice places that utilitarian shoe store pops up. You get great looking shoes, pretty good quality, for peanuts.
So $24.99 (for shoes, no tax under $100) gave me black patent peep toe kitten heels. Here is my outfit for the dinner:
As I walked down the street feeling very SATC, some old guy commented as he passed me, "Nice lady...", in all a very New York moment.
The event was held at a brasserie which serves "little plates" and my favorite thing to do is make a smorgasbord. As I was not very hungry, I had two lobster and artichoke spring rolls, and a plate of calamari washed down with sangria, and my dessert was puff pastry with whipped cream and raspberry coulis. The restaurant started us out with flutes of champagne and finished us off with tiny glasses of sweet muscat dessert wine.
It rained that night, and for the 3 blocks back to the hotel, I walked in it, enjoying the warm air and the warm droplets on my skin and the warm water in my shoes...
Back in my room I got a bit artistic with things. My bouquet on the windowsill of my room with the night view behind.
Good night New York
It rained that night, and for the 3 blocks back to the hotel, I walked in it, enjoying the warm air and the warm droplets on my skin and the warm water in my shoes...
Back in my room I got a bit artistic with things. My bouquet on the windowsill of my room with the night view behind.
Good night New York
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Surprise Post!
Yesterday, I did not regret braving the driving rain and biting wind to meet with fellow blogger Rick, he of Palm Springs fame, in South Kensington for tea. It was a bank holiday, so he had the day off from his frenetic business trip schedule. (The weather was so bad, the streets were nearly deserted.)
Rick is a most stylish fellow - too bad you can't see the ubiquitous cravat - so I had to dig an outfit out of my suitcase for the occasion. We had a lovely time together, but time cuts short even the best conversations, so this can be continued when I finally get round to visiting everyone in Southern California. (Yes, Nikki and Roomie, this includes you!)
I should not even be blogging at this moment (quiet keystrokes!). I have a million and one things to do....but it gave a nice ending to make an American connection in London before I go "home".
Rick is a most stylish fellow - too bad you can't see the ubiquitous cravat - so I had to dig an outfit out of my suitcase for the occasion. We had a lovely time together, but time cuts short even the best conversations, so this can be continued when I finally get round to visiting everyone in Southern California. (Yes, Nikki and Roomie, this includes you!)
I should not even be blogging at this moment (quiet keystrokes!). I have a million and one things to do....but it gave a nice ending to make an American connection in London before I go "home".
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Olivia's Almost Ex-London Dispatches
As you can see from my blog's current title, we're nearing the end of an era. I'm pleased that you are all coming along with me. Though how you all still fit into my laptop is beyond me ;)
Thursday will be the day when I say goodbye to England for the second time in my life. I've started to describe it as "re-emigrating". Cuts a long story short.
I can't wait! But also, it isn't sinking in yet apart from moments of brief wowness when I realise/realize what I am doing. (Note, I will be reverting to American spellings.)
Or maybe it's just because my room looks like a bomb hit it. I mean, someone needs to send in the troops to clear up, if any can be spared just now. This to me is an immense stress, having to get rid of things in a country that doesn't know what a yard sale is, where few people own pickup trucks, and one must lug everything to some faraway charity shop.
When this is all over, I deserve a holiday.
Anyway, this address will stay the same, but I am starting afresh next week under a new title. This means hitting that big DELETE button in the settings tab...I'll grit my teeth and do it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Don't worry, all is not lost: I'm backing up my posts from the last three years to my spare Wordpress blog. Hehe, had you going there for a minute, didn't I? So you can still go there if you want to look up old topics...as if....
I will try to do a final post later this week, and of course visit you all before I fly.
Have a happy holiday Monday, whether you're tolerating the inevitably rainy Bank Holiday in the UK or celebrating Memorial Day in the USA.
Thursday will be the day when I say goodbye to England for the second time in my life. I've started to describe it as "re-emigrating". Cuts a long story short.
I can't wait! But also, it isn't sinking in yet apart from moments of brief wowness when I realise/realize what I am doing. (Note, I will be reverting to American spellings.)
Or maybe it's just because my room looks like a bomb hit it. I mean, someone needs to send in the troops to clear up, if any can be spared just now. This to me is an immense stress, having to get rid of things in a country that doesn't know what a yard sale is, where few people own pickup trucks, and one must lug everything to some faraway charity shop.
When this is all over, I deserve a holiday.
Anyway, this address will stay the same, but I am starting afresh next week under a new title. This means hitting that big DELETE button in the settings tab...I'll grit my teeth and do it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Don't worry, all is not lost: I'm backing up my posts from the last three years to my spare Wordpress blog. Hehe, had you going there for a minute, didn't I? So you can still go there if you want to look up old topics...as if....
I will try to do a final post later this week, and of course visit you all before I fly.
Have a happy holiday Monday, whether you're tolerating the inevitably rainy Bank Holiday in the UK or celebrating Memorial Day in the USA.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Listen to the planets
There is a great interactive solar system at Spacesounds.com where you can listen to the "music of the spheres".
You can also hear flight recordings from space missions here, including Apollo 13.
(I watched it again for the nth time on Sunday - anyone else see it? - and appreciate it even more, hence this post.)
Thanks to their years of intensive military and mission training, the astronauts would have remained extremely calm. Lovell's famed "Houston, we have a problem" sounds surprisingly matter-of-fact, compared to the panic portrayed in the movie. (If you can hang on until 14 minutes in, out of a total of 38.) Throughout the crisis, from troubleshooting to resolution, you may perceive that the crew have snapped into a familiar military operation mode.
Those were the days of heroes...
********************************
And now to the point of this post:
Join me on a tour of our universe...!
You will hear radio and gamma waves and elecromagnetic pulses converted into frequencies audible to humans.
Turn up the volume and listen to Jupiter (and enjoy the video):
Personally, I can't get enough of it.
Now turn the volume down a bit (tis scary) and listen to Saturn - with lots of info:
More here:
NASA's SSE Galileo site
And here is the sound of our Earth:
Planetary Multi-Pack: Here are a Uranian moon (Miranda), a Jovian moon (Io), Neptune, Uranus, our melodic Earth, and a very eerie Saturn:
You've got to love the universe even more now, for you have heard it.
You can also hear flight recordings from space missions here, including Apollo 13.
(I watched it again for the nth time on Sunday - anyone else see it? - and appreciate it even more, hence this post.)
Thanks to their years of intensive military and mission training, the astronauts would have remained extremely calm. Lovell's famed "Houston, we have a problem" sounds surprisingly matter-of-fact, compared to the panic portrayed in the movie. (If you can hang on until 14 minutes in, out of a total of 38.) Throughout the crisis, from troubleshooting to resolution, you may perceive that the crew have snapped into a familiar military operation mode.
Those were the days of heroes...
********************************
And now to the point of this post:
Join me on a tour of our universe...!
You will hear radio and gamma waves and elecromagnetic pulses converted into frequencies audible to humans.
Turn up the volume and listen to Jupiter (and enjoy the video):
Personally, I can't get enough of it.
Now turn the volume down a bit (tis scary) and listen to Saturn - with lots of info:
More here:
NASA's SSE Galileo site
And here is the sound of our Earth:
Planetary Multi-Pack: Here are a Uranian moon (Miranda), a Jovian moon (Io), Neptune, Uranus, our melodic Earth, and a very eerie Saturn:
You've got to love the universe even more now, for you have heard it.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friends are diamonds, and diamonds are...
Friday was my last day at the office, where I had pleasant farewells, a card and gift. I left half an hour after I meant to simply because you keep finding one more thing you were working on and didn't finish, to pass on. Plus people want to hear what you'll be up to, so they stop you for a chat or come by your desk. I got hardly anything done, but they said that was alright.
Finally tore myself away, forgot to hand in my access card, and asked the front desk to let me out not knowing it was in my bag.
Once out on the street, I felt dazed. I couldn't believe I wasn't going back. Now, if this is how I feel after working there for only a few months, imagine when I leave somewhere after a few years.
Then I went off to my oldest/bestest friend's house to see Lydia, her Mum, twin brother, and Dad. Their house, let me tell you, is a little gem. It's so pretty and so cute. Every room is spotless, tastefully decorated, and the walls emanate peace and love. I even went to the loo and didn't want to leave!
After a couple of hours of chatting and giggling, we went to meet our mutual friend Angela. It was a triple celebration - Lydia's new project at the BBC, Angela's completion of her child studies course, and my farewell. Despite being old friends, Lyds and I gradually lost touch with Angela after she married and had her two kids. Last year for my birthday, Angela and I met up for the first time in a decade. Yes, it took me an entire year to manage this meetup since in the last year Lyds has been touring all over, studying a short course, and sometimes working 7 days a week, and Angela has been studying full time and bringing up her boys, one of whom was diagnosed with epilepsy earlier this year (it is thankfully under control after a trying few months).
Both their lives have settled down now, and ironically just when I leave Lydia gets a job a couple of stops from where I was working, and on the same 10am - 6pm schedule as I was on! What can you do...???
Anyway, we three girls ate yummy Thai food, were the last out of the restaurant, and when we left they gave us each a carnation wrapped in cellophane and finished with a curly ribbon. At one point I tuned out of the conversation, watching Lyds and Ange chatting away, and I felt sad that we hadn't been able to do this more often. But once again, what can you do???
Tomorrow I am going to Lydia's house again for some of her Mum's gorgeous Greek food. I've known this lovely family for nearly as long as my own. I don't even remember meeting Lydia, but it was at nursery so we may have been 2 or 3. I'm just as close with her brother Anthony. They call me "the other sibling". And so I call their mum Aunty, or Thia in Greek. Whenever my Mum went to hospital (she nearly died in the mid-80s), Thia would come and pack a bag and take me away, and the twins, being artistic, would create lovely hand drawn get well cards. Lyds and I would be afraid of the dark together, and we both remember the one night we imagined we saw a pair of red eyes in the halway. (Brrrr, just thinking of it gives me goosebumps.) Then Dad would pick me up when Mum was discharged, but I never wanted to go back home. I would sulk for the rest of the day. I now realise this wasn't fair on my poor Mumsy.
After nursery, Angela joined our school. Lydia and Angela and I were close. Other girls came and went, but it was always us. But Lyds and I were the core, inseperable. The teachers usually muddled our names up in class, and we even started ballet together. Still, undergoing the usual social development, we three would "break up and make up" in various combinations. Then we would pass "love notes" in class: "Are you still my freind?" (Angela always switched the i and e.) Lydia swears I came up with the idea of Yes and No boxes. Of course they always ticked the Yes box.
Here are the twins at my birthday celebration last year:
Alors, je suis finis. Would you believe I started this post with nothing to say?
Finally tore myself away, forgot to hand in my access card, and asked the front desk to let me out not knowing it was in my bag.
Once out on the street, I felt dazed. I couldn't believe I wasn't going back. Now, if this is how I feel after working there for only a few months, imagine when I leave somewhere after a few years.
Then I went off to my oldest/bestest friend's house to see Lydia, her Mum, twin brother, and Dad. Their house, let me tell you, is a little gem. It's so pretty and so cute. Every room is spotless, tastefully decorated, and the walls emanate peace and love. I even went to the loo and didn't want to leave!
After a couple of hours of chatting and giggling, we went to meet our mutual friend Angela. It was a triple celebration - Lydia's new project at the BBC, Angela's completion of her child studies course, and my farewell. Despite being old friends, Lyds and I gradually lost touch with Angela after she married and had her two kids. Last year for my birthday, Angela and I met up for the first time in a decade. Yes, it took me an entire year to manage this meetup since in the last year Lyds has been touring all over, studying a short course, and sometimes working 7 days a week, and Angela has been studying full time and bringing up her boys, one of whom was diagnosed with epilepsy earlier this year (it is thankfully under control after a trying few months).
Both their lives have settled down now, and ironically just when I leave Lydia gets a job a couple of stops from where I was working, and on the same 10am - 6pm schedule as I was on! What can you do...???
Anyway, we three girls ate yummy Thai food, were the last out of the restaurant, and when we left they gave us each a carnation wrapped in cellophane and finished with a curly ribbon. At one point I tuned out of the conversation, watching Lyds and Ange chatting away, and I felt sad that we hadn't been able to do this more often. But once again, what can you do???
Tomorrow I am going to Lydia's house again for some of her Mum's gorgeous Greek food. I've known this lovely family for nearly as long as my own. I don't even remember meeting Lydia, but it was at nursery so we may have been 2 or 3. I'm just as close with her brother Anthony. They call me "the other sibling". And so I call their mum Aunty, or Thia in Greek. Whenever my Mum went to hospital (she nearly died in the mid-80s), Thia would come and pack a bag and take me away, and the twins, being artistic, would create lovely hand drawn get well cards. Lyds and I would be afraid of the dark together, and we both remember the one night we imagined we saw a pair of red eyes in the halway. (Brrrr, just thinking of it gives me goosebumps.) Then Dad would pick me up when Mum was discharged, but I never wanted to go back home. I would sulk for the rest of the day. I now realise this wasn't fair on my poor Mumsy.
After nursery, Angela joined our school. Lydia and Angela and I were close. Other girls came and went, but it was always us. But Lyds and I were the core, inseperable. The teachers usually muddled our names up in class, and we even started ballet together. Still, undergoing the usual social development, we three would "break up and make up" in various combinations. Then we would pass "love notes" in class: "Are you still my freind?" (Angela always switched the i and e.) Lydia swears I came up with the idea of Yes and No boxes. Of course they always ticked the Yes box.
Here are the twins at my birthday celebration last year:
Alors, je suis finis. Would you believe I started this post with nothing to say?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A Treat
Although I had a long day (we were short one secretary), there was a lovely bright spot.
When I went to buy my sandwich the barista noticed it was the same as yesterday's (new artisan baguette with prosciutto ham, tomato, basil, cheese, mayo, and I like it). So I told her I was taking advantage of it because tomorrow is my last day at the office. All of them are so used to me now, so she offered me a free coffee, any type, but I don't drink coffee so I got a free hot chocolate :)
The staff are really friendly there so I told the manager that I think Pret has the best behind the counter service in London.
Really made my day!
**********
Now, read this small article I found in the Metro (free newspaper) yesterday:
When I went to buy my sandwich the barista noticed it was the same as yesterday's (new artisan baguette with prosciutto ham, tomato, basil, cheese, mayo, and I like it). So I told her I was taking advantage of it because tomorrow is my last day at the office. All of them are so used to me now, so she offered me a free coffee, any type, but I don't drink coffee so I got a free hot chocolate :)
The staff are really friendly there so I told the manager that I think Pret has the best behind the counter service in London.
Really made my day!
**********
Now, read this small article I found in the Metro (free newspaper) yesterday:
Texting costs are 'out of this world'
Text messaging costs four times as much as receiving information from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It cost £85 to obtain a megabyte of data from Hubble, 595 km (370 miles) from Earth, as opposed to sending a 5p text, which works out at about £375 per megabyte. Scientist Nigel Bannister, of Leicester University, said: 'Hubble is by no means a cheap mission - but the mobile phone text costs were pretty astronomical'.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Bits n Bobs
At this very moment I am watching on BBC Four a documentary about the Crooners (Sinatra, Deano, Nat King Cole et al) and they've got to Tony Bennett.
The narrator said, "Tony was born in 1926, at the height of the Great Depression..."
Tell me what is amiss with this line. And somebody fire that researcher. And the narrator for not spotting it. And the producers
**********
I thought of so many things to share with you today.
I was the last person out of the office at 6.30pm. Don't worry, I left at 7pm last week, as two consultants were quibbling over whose work I got to do first, but I was only the second to last then.
Well, if someone gives you meeting papers to copy, assemble, and bind for the last post at 5pm, and it's 3pm, then they're not going to bind themselves and they are just going to have to go on Monday.
What's more the master copy was out of order and I spent half an hour unmuddling myself and reshuffling the papers. I think I got it right. I've only just got the hang of assembling these things, and am now just about familiar enough with administration reports, Trustee reports and accounts, quarterly reports, business plans, and so on, to be able to look at them and understand what they are.
**********
Last night I had a dream. I was seeing all manner of 20s/30s jazz and dance being performed onstage. It was like a mishmash of "Anything Goes", "Thoroughly Modern Millie", the Charleston, Fred Astaire, and the Radio City Rockettes.
I started crying and wailed, "See? I told you I was born in the wrong decade!"
Oh to live in the 20s
When "sex appeal" was invented. At this early level I think I'd be in with a chance!
How to dance the Black Bottom
How to dance the Charleston
My Dad taught Vanessa and me the Charleston one day at the dorms. (He had been a dancer in his youth and was a champion at the Twist.)
The flappers were pretty wild 80 years ago, considering that Queen Victoria was still alive when some of them were born. But despite their so-called wildness, if we went back in time would we find them surprisingly naive? Or would we be scandalised at just how louche they really were?
What do you think?
The narrator said, "Tony was born in 1926, at the height of the Great Depression..."
Tell me what is amiss with this line. And somebody fire that researcher. And the narrator for not spotting it. And the producers
**********
I thought of so many things to share with you today.
I was the last person out of the office at 6.30pm. Don't worry, I left at 7pm last week, as two consultants were quibbling over whose work I got to do first, but I was only the second to last then.
Well, if someone gives you meeting papers to copy, assemble, and bind for the last post at 5pm, and it's 3pm, then they're not going to bind themselves and they are just going to have to go on Monday.
What's more the master copy was out of order and I spent half an hour unmuddling myself and reshuffling the papers. I think I got it right. I've only just got the hang of assembling these things, and am now just about familiar enough with administration reports, Trustee reports and accounts, quarterly reports, business plans, and so on, to be able to look at them and understand what they are.
**********
Last night I had a dream. I was seeing all manner of 20s/30s jazz and dance being performed onstage. It was like a mishmash of "Anything Goes", "Thoroughly Modern Millie", the Charleston, Fred Astaire, and the Radio City Rockettes.
I started crying and wailed, "See? I told you I was born in the wrong decade!"
Oh to live in the 20s
When "sex appeal" was invented. At this early level I think I'd be in with a chance!
How to dance the Black Bottom
How to dance the Charleston
My Dad taught Vanessa and me the Charleston one day at the dorms. (He had been a dancer in his youth and was a champion at the Twist.)
The flappers were pretty wild 80 years ago, considering that Queen Victoria was still alive when some of them were born. But despite their so-called wildness, if we went back in time would we find them surprisingly naive? Or would we be scandalised at just how louche they really were?
What do you think?
Friday, May 02, 2008
Mini Med School
That was a long-ish hiatus, and I never even warned you!
So, what's been going on chez moi?
Not much apart from work.
I ended up working until 7pm yesterday to tie up loose ends, as it will be a long weekend with Bank Holiday Monday coming up. I took today off to go to the hospital for my long awaited echocardiogram which was recommended after my electrocardiogram last month. Damn, but the ultrasound thing really hurts - in searching for the best image of my heart they keep kneading the probe into all that sensitive tissue upholstering my female ribs. Go on, have you ever heard it described that way before?
It was a lovely sunny morning in the upper 50s to low 60s (avg 15C) so I wore a nice Ralph Lauren t-shirt and my cotton safari jacket. I preferred to briskly walk the 45 minutes (including getting slightly lost) rather than take the Tube or bus, both horrific roundabout journeys lasting an hour. Got hot and removed the jacket, and when I arrived I was sweating - for the first time in MONTHS! It felt great!
Anyway, I walked unscathed through Harlesden, appropriately comparable to Harlem, or more likely the South Bronx. I did receive a number of stares for looking distinctly out of place.
I arrived the alloted 15 minutes early but ended up waiting an hour even though there were only a handful of people in the waiting room (unusual for the NHS).
The reason I was given this test is because on my visits to the doctor after the shingles, the nurse was unhappy with my blood pressure and heart rate. When I was a teenager, a doctor said she thought I had a heart murmur and should get it checked out before I have children. A few years later another said he could hear a distinct click and whoosh and thought I had mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which is when the mitral valve doesn't close properly, flaps about a bit, and allows blood to seep back into the chamber (mitral regurgitation). This results in a higher risk of infection, so for instance, before going to the dentist I'd take a prophylactic course of antibiotic tablets the morning of the procedure, and then again afterwards. Bleurgh. This is to protect against any bacteria that might get into the bloodstream through the gums. More recently this treatment has been found to be unnecessary.
There are also frequent flutters, skipped or extra beats, and tachycardia (rapid heart rate).
MVP and tachycardia are often symptomatic of a condition called dysautonomia. It is a fickle and varied state, an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates the glands and unconscious functions such as breathing and digestion. I have little control over my adrenal glands, for instance, and so it takes very little anticipation to have me awash in adrenaline but because I don't need to run anywhere, I must endure a half hour of weak knees, shaky hands, and some breathlessness due to the hammering heart until it wears off. What's more, sometimes just a half thought can cause my heart to leap. Finally, I sigh a lot and I'm really really easily startled - even if I know someone's coming I can hit the ceiling. Other symptoms of dysautonomia are easy bruising, forgetfulness, frequent headaches, fatigue, panic attacks, joint discomfort, fainting, orthostatic hypotension (dizziness when standing up) aaand so on. For me, personally, the unwanted "fight or flight" state ties for worst with the 2-hour periods of tachycardia when I can sit there feeling as though I've just stepped off the treadmill, only without the sweat.
Then there's the fatigue. Days when you wake up feeling drugged after a long struggle to wake up, somehow glued to the bed because your limbs are deadweight. You drag yourself to work, fighting for every step, then sit glued to the chair, holding your head up with an effort. Lifting your hand to the desk is almost out of the question. You just want to fall face forward into the soup, so to speak. For me, such episodes usually last until mid morning or early afternoon, when it seeps away and then suddenly I bounce up ready to start another day just when everyone else is winding down.
But we very often present as normal people since the symptoms are not always simultaneous, so on good days I doubt whatever happened on bad days. In this way you can go for years without treatment or acknowledgement. You also don't want to walk into a doctor's surgery sounding like a hypochondriac. My current GP is a classic product of the NHS in that the last time I was there and tried to bring up a few of my long-term complaints she clinically shot them down, making me feel rather foolish, and then sat there looking defiance - I think they train them as I've seen it on other British docs' faces before - and probably thinking, "I dare you to come up with another one." This is so that she can get me out of her office in the allotted 10 minutes.
It is 180 degrees from my doc in Houston, who told me that no question was ever a stupid question, so one day I brought up everything that had been troubling me, and in this way he was both kind doctor and reassuring therapist. I left the office that day with a bloody cauterised sinus but all aglow with confidence inside, rather than the mumbling booby I was at my GP last month.
It's ironic since because, let's see, in the US I may have gone to the doctor about 6 times in 14 years. Here, thanks to all the stress and malaise I've been about 6 times in 5 months.
On the other hand, there I went to the dentist every six months. Here, I've been unable to find one so haven't seen one since I visited my old one last time I stopped in Texas (2004).
What's more, I've been to a hospital twice this year (for the ECG and Echo). The last time I saw the inside of one, apart from visiting people, was when I was a few months old and had aspirated some milk which led to an infection and high fever. (Preemies have lazy swallowing reflexes).
Hm. This post became so much longer than I had intended. I always do this when I think I have nothing to blog about. Therefore I ought to blog more often.
So, what's been going on chez moi?
Not much apart from work.
I ended up working until 7pm yesterday to tie up loose ends, as it will be a long weekend with Bank Holiday Monday coming up. I took today off to go to the hospital for my long awaited echocardiogram which was recommended after my electrocardiogram last month. Damn, but the ultrasound thing really hurts - in searching for the best image of my heart they keep kneading the probe into all that sensitive tissue upholstering my female ribs. Go on, have you ever heard it described that way before?
It was a lovely sunny morning in the upper 50s to low 60s (avg 15C) so I wore a nice Ralph Lauren t-shirt and my cotton safari jacket. I preferred to briskly walk the 45 minutes (including getting slightly lost) rather than take the Tube or bus, both horrific roundabout journeys lasting an hour. Got hot and removed the jacket, and when I arrived I was sweating - for the first time in MONTHS! It felt great!
Anyway, I walked unscathed through Harlesden, appropriately comparable to Harlem, or more likely the South Bronx. I did receive a number of stares for looking distinctly out of place.
I arrived the alloted 15 minutes early but ended up waiting an hour even though there were only a handful of people in the waiting room (unusual for the NHS).
The reason I was given this test is because on my visits to the doctor after the shingles, the nurse was unhappy with my blood pressure and heart rate. When I was a teenager, a doctor said she thought I had a heart murmur and should get it checked out before I have children. A few years later another said he could hear a distinct click and whoosh and thought I had mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which is when the mitral valve doesn't close properly, flaps about a bit, and allows blood to seep back into the chamber (mitral regurgitation). This results in a higher risk of infection, so for instance, before going to the dentist I'd take a prophylactic course of antibiotic tablets the morning of the procedure, and then again afterwards. Bleurgh. This is to protect against any bacteria that might get into the bloodstream through the gums. More recently this treatment has been found to be unnecessary.
There are also frequent flutters, skipped or extra beats, and tachycardia (rapid heart rate).
MVP and tachycardia are often symptomatic of a condition called dysautonomia. It is a fickle and varied state, an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates the glands and unconscious functions such as breathing and digestion. I have little control over my adrenal glands, for instance, and so it takes very little anticipation to have me awash in adrenaline but because I don't need to run anywhere, I must endure a half hour of weak knees, shaky hands, and some breathlessness due to the hammering heart until it wears off. What's more, sometimes just a half thought can cause my heart to leap. Finally, I sigh a lot and I'm really really easily startled - even if I know someone's coming I can hit the ceiling. Other symptoms of dysautonomia are easy bruising, forgetfulness, frequent headaches, fatigue, panic attacks, joint discomfort, fainting, orthostatic hypotension (dizziness when standing up) aaand so on. For me, personally, the unwanted "fight or flight" state ties for worst with the 2-hour periods of tachycardia when I can sit there feeling as though I've just stepped off the treadmill, only without the sweat.
Then there's the fatigue. Days when you wake up feeling drugged after a long struggle to wake up, somehow glued to the bed because your limbs are deadweight. You drag yourself to work, fighting for every step, then sit glued to the chair, holding your head up with an effort. Lifting your hand to the desk is almost out of the question. You just want to fall face forward into the soup, so to speak. For me, such episodes usually last until mid morning or early afternoon, when it seeps away and then suddenly I bounce up ready to start another day just when everyone else is winding down.
But we very often present as normal people since the symptoms are not always simultaneous, so on good days I doubt whatever happened on bad days. In this way you can go for years without treatment or acknowledgement. You also don't want to walk into a doctor's surgery sounding like a hypochondriac. My current GP is a classic product of the NHS in that the last time I was there and tried to bring up a few of my long-term complaints she clinically shot them down, making me feel rather foolish, and then sat there looking defiance - I think they train them as I've seen it on other British docs' faces before - and probably thinking, "I dare you to come up with another one." This is so that she can get me out of her office in the allotted 10 minutes.
It is 180 degrees from my doc in Houston, who told me that no question was ever a stupid question, so one day I brought up everything that had been troubling me, and in this way he was both kind doctor and reassuring therapist. I left the office that day with a bloody cauterised sinus but all aglow with confidence inside, rather than the mumbling booby I was at my GP last month.
It's ironic since because, let's see, in the US I may have gone to the doctor about 6 times in 14 years. Here, thanks to all the stress and malaise I've been about 6 times in 5 months.
On the other hand, there I went to the dentist every six months. Here, I've been unable to find one so haven't seen one since I visited my old one last time I stopped in Texas (2004).
What's more, I've been to a hospital twice this year (for the ECG and Echo). The last time I saw the inside of one, apart from visiting people, was when I was a few months old and had aspirated some milk which led to an infection and high fever. (Preemies have lazy swallowing reflexes).
Hm. This post became so much longer than I had intended. I always do this when I think I have nothing to blog about. Therefore I ought to blog more often.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Workaday images
The office last week was in chaos. Work backed up on Friday as we packed crates to be moved a short walk down the road over the weekend, to the new office in America Square (I know, a positive omen?). Monday, further business and more jeans-wearing as we unpacked and got dusty again. Tuesday I got some work done but wasted lots of time looking for things. I am still faffing about with the printers which don't work properly. I think that tomorrow, though, I will be able to catch up all the way.
Ibex House, an original 1937 Art Deco office building on The Minories. I post this for comparison with our new office:
America Square, our new office building just off The Minories. I like to call it modern Art Deco. Even in the fact that no detail is overlooked. The lifts are shiny, with lots of blue LED lights. I will have to try to take more photos. You enter the spacious lobby through revolving doors, and pass your card over what looks like the barcode reader at a checkout, set into stainless steel posts, and then "beep, whoosh" the little frosted glass gates slide open and you can enter.
Also the bathrooms - floor to ceiling frosted glass doors. Modern sinks sitting on the countertop. Bright clinical light so you can see the speck in your eye, yet not unkind to your complexion like the old fluorescents.
In the shiny lift, where you have to present your card in order to ascend to a floor
I look so serious! I am not sure I am allowed to take photos in this building, but I'm probably making that up.
Just outside Tower Hill tube station is this sundial
In the background you see part of the Tower of London
Wembley Stadium in the distance, left
**********
Today I was hot in my coat for the first time! I have a sneaking suspicion we might be approaching spring!
Ibex House, an original 1937 Art Deco office building on The Minories. I post this for comparison with our new office:
America Square, our new office building just off The Minories. I like to call it modern Art Deco. Even in the fact that no detail is overlooked. The lifts are shiny, with lots of blue LED lights. I will have to try to take more photos. You enter the spacious lobby through revolving doors, and pass your card over what looks like the barcode reader at a checkout, set into stainless steel posts, and then "beep, whoosh" the little frosted glass gates slide open and you can enter.
Also the bathrooms - floor to ceiling frosted glass doors. Modern sinks sitting on the countertop. Bright clinical light so you can see the speck in your eye, yet not unkind to your complexion like the old fluorescents.
In the shiny lift, where you have to present your card in order to ascend to a floor
I look so serious! I am not sure I am allowed to take photos in this building, but I'm probably making that up.
Just outside Tower Hill tube station is this sundial
In the background you see part of the Tower of London
Wembley Stadium in the distance, left
**********
Today I was hot in my coat for the first time! I have a sneaking suspicion we might be approaching spring!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Is it spring yet?
When I left the house yesterday to go to work, I kept getting whiffs of manure. I thought someone had mulched their garden, but that's not really done around here. Walking up the street I kept glancing backwards and into the distance over the hill, as if I were expecting to see a giant stinky airship, I don't know! In addition to the usual grey sky, cold wind and dampness there was a light fog, which is forecast to last all week.
I was right to trust my instinct as I read in the paper that evening that this is the time of year when French and Belgian farmers usually do one big fertilisation of their fields. The smell had built up over the Continent for days during still conditions before a brisk wind came up and moved it to southern England.
Londoners spent all morning thinking they'd stepped in something, and the radio switchboards were alight with people wondering what on earth was going on.
Pepe le Pew, that's what!
**********
Anyway, it will rain for the rest of the weekend so the whiffy air is gone. But it's so cold, so grey, so damp, so windy! I'm still in layers, and my tired wool coat, and my tired cashmere scarf, and my tired 4 paris of black boots... :(
I'm thinking the extra daylight was a trick and it's still January.
**********
The Union Jack flies at the Ritz
These boys are guaranteed to light up my day! Two legends on one stage!
I was right to trust my instinct as I read in the paper that evening that this is the time of year when French and Belgian farmers usually do one big fertilisation of their fields. The smell had built up over the Continent for days during still conditions before a brisk wind came up and moved it to southern England.
Londoners spent all morning thinking they'd stepped in something, and the radio switchboards were alight with people wondering what on earth was going on.
Pepe le Pew, that's what!
**********
Anyway, it will rain for the rest of the weekend so the whiffy air is gone. But it's so cold, so grey, so damp, so windy! I'm still in layers, and my tired wool coat, and my tired cashmere scarf, and my tired 4 paris of black boots... :(
I'm thinking the extra daylight was a trick and it's still January.
**********
The Union Jack flies at the Ritz
These boys are guaranteed to light up my day! Two legends on one stage!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Marathon Birthday
Of course it's a great day for the London Marathon: grey, rainy, some hail, some sun, 8C (46F) with a possible high of 12C (53F). Good temps for running.
Those poor Maasai warriors have probably never felt anything like it though. They have never been outside their village in Tanzania before, but this year they opened the marathon and are running to raise money so that their village can obtain fresh drinking water. They will be in traditional clothing, carrying their shields and spears, wearing sandals made of rubber tires, and chanting - just as they do at home - and hope to complete the marathon in 4 hours.
They can run for days at a time hunting food and water and herding cattle, so this little marathon will be a walk in the park.
Near London Bridge
On the Tube
Because London is a completely alien experience, they were given a four-page cultural briefing that included info such as:
This just in:
Unsurprisingly, the first six men across the line were Kenyan with one American coming fifth. A Brit came in 5 minutes later.
The rest will be straggling in until well after sunset. Some people in costumes, raising money for various charities, may take a few more days!
***********************************************
And now on to my birthday on Thursday.
I took the day off and my mother came along since she had the day off. This may be our last birthday together in a long time, and I wanted to spend the day in town appreciating London before I leave it.
1) Lunch with Lydia
Lydia is my oldest friend. We have known each other for over 27 years. We don't even remember meeting.
After lunch at Cumin Indian restaurant
2) Chores and banking
3) Wandering around Carnaby Street
One of three handbag flowerpots on a ledge outside a shop in funky Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street
The signed card that greeted me back at work thenext morning! It made my day.
As fine a sunset as you will get in London
***
Addendum:
I've just received a final comment on my previous post.
Mark said: Some nice pics there. I think you secretly like living in London (despite the tales of travel delays)!! You'll miss it if you move away!?
No, Mark, I won't miss it enough to regret leaving and I didn't miss it before I came back.
And I can take nice pics anywhere, you'll see!
What I will miss are little things like perhaps some favourite foods and products. (I will make a list soon.) Also I might experience those split second sensory flashbacks, just as I do now with memories of Texas which come unbidden as I sit at my desk in the office. That's life.
Those poor Maasai warriors have probably never felt anything like it though. They have never been outside their village in Tanzania before, but this year they opened the marathon and are running to raise money so that their village can obtain fresh drinking water. They will be in traditional clothing, carrying their shields and spears, wearing sandals made of rubber tires, and chanting - just as they do at home - and hope to complete the marathon in 4 hours.
They can run for days at a time hunting food and water and herding cattle, so this little marathon will be a walk in the park.
Near London Bridge
On the Tube
Because London is a completely alien experience, they were given a four-page cultural briefing that included info such as:
"Even though some may look like they have a frown on their face, they are very friendly people - many of them just work in offices, jobs they don't enjoy, and so they do not smile as much as they should."
"You cannot rely on the sun to tell the time accurately and will have to rely on clocks and watches. The sun will rise and set at different times." [Me. If they see the sun at all.]
"Whereas at home for you it is acceptable to spit, in England it is not but, if you have to, you must do so in a sink or in some trees when no one is looking." [Me. Then they'll be the only people not spitting on the street.]"You will see many people who are wearing only small clothes and you will wonder why they are cold and may think they are being disrespectful....This is normal for England, especially when it is sunny or in the evening. However, it is illegal to show certain parts of the body and for this reason it is important that you wear underpants if you are wearing your blankets."
To read more, visit the article in the Daily Mail.
This just in:
Unsurprisingly, the first six men across the line were Kenyan with one American coming fifth. A Brit came in 5 minutes later.
The rest will be straggling in until well after sunset. Some people in costumes, raising money for various charities, may take a few more days!
***********************************************
And now on to my birthday on Thursday.
I took the day off and my mother came along since she had the day off. This may be our last birthday together in a long time, and I wanted to spend the day in town appreciating London before I leave it.
1) Lunch with Lydia
Lydia is my oldest friend. We have known each other for over 27 years. We don't even remember meeting.
After lunch at Cumin Indian restaurant
2) Chores and banking
3) Wandering around Carnaby Street
One of three handbag flowerpots on a ledge outside a shop in funky Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street
The signed card that greeted me back at work thenext morning! It made my day.
As fine a sunset as you will get in London
***
Addendum:
I've just received a final comment on my previous post.
Mark said: Some nice pics there. I think you secretly like living in London (despite the tales of travel delays)!! You'll miss it if you move away!?
No, Mark, I won't miss it enough to regret leaving and I didn't miss it before I came back.
And I can take nice pics anywhere, you'll see!
What I will miss are little things like perhaps some favourite foods and products. (I will make a list soon.) Also I might experience those split second sensory flashbacks, just as I do now with memories of Texas which come unbidden as I sit at my desk in the office. That's life.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
First week of April
Except that I do want to complain about the 2.5 hour commute I endured on Tuesday morning. There were no eastbound services on the Tube, and I work at the eastern end of the Metropolitan Line. And it had taken 45 minutes southbound, stuck in a tunnel for half of it, to find that out! Followed by 3 buses and then a 15 minute walk.
Oh, not to mention a power outage on the entirety of the line I live along, on Thursday evening. Some people were stuck underground for 3 hours.
Fortunately it started before I left the office and so I took the Met line and a bus.
**********
My suburban street (spacious Edwardian houses) on a typical grey day. Once upon a time it was probably tree-lined with these huge trees, but they have been lopped to halt the damage caused to the house foundations.
I went for a little ramble last week because it was still light when I left the office!
Here you see Spitalfield's old shops.
Spitalfield's new shopping street next to the shiny ABN Amro building (see top left corner), Spitalfields Church, and the old shops opposite all span centuries
Christ Church Spitalfields, 300 years old, restored in 2004 not as a church but a venue
Lincoln, the life of the party, taking a nap whilst trying not to miss a thing.
With my honorary nephew, taking a guess as to where the phonecam was pointing, hence all the empty space.
Alicia and me covered in grins.
Snow on Saturday, my early birthday present.
Very wet clumpy snow which fell off soon after and melted.
Oh, not to mention a power outage on the entirety of the line I live along, on Thursday evening. Some people were stuck underground for 3 hours.
Fortunately it started before I left the office and so I took the Met line and a bus.
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My suburban street (spacious Edwardian houses) on a typical grey day. Once upon a time it was probably tree-lined with these huge trees, but they have been lopped to halt the damage caused to the house foundations.
I went for a little ramble last week because it was still light when I left the office!
Here you see Spitalfield's old shops.
Spitalfield's new shopping street next to the shiny ABN Amro building (see top left corner), Spitalfields Church, and the old shops opposite all span centuries
Christ Church Spitalfields, 300 years old, restored in 2004 not as a church but a venue
Lincoln, the life of the party, taking a nap whilst trying not to miss a thing.
With my honorary nephew, taking a guess as to where the phonecam was pointing, hence all the empty space.
Alicia and me covered in grins.
Snow on Saturday, my early birthday present.
Very wet clumpy snow which fell off soon after and melted.
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