Took this just the other day. Seems that somebody didn't want half a mannequin anymore - and threw it away courdroy trousers, socks and all.
In what's become very familar these days I'm waiting on the DirectTv repairman to come on over. It's the 3rd scheduled visit. The first guy buggered everything and promptly left.
The second didn't even show up.
And this guy I'm told will both show up AND fix everything.
Like Thomas and Starr Jones I have my doubts. Still I switch to Time Warner HD on August 25th - so I'm a happy bunny.
Jude's mom also arrives today. Yesterday was spent clearing out closet space for her. We finally admitted that we had too much shit for one open plan space and hired a large cage downstair to handle the overflow (books, a TV, golf clubs, extra hi-fi equipment). I can finally say that we are American - having succumbed to 'excess' in the worst way.
Our justification is very American too. We may, one day, have more money. This would mean a bigger house. A bigger house would have room for more stuff. Therefore throwing away out current stuff would be in opposition to our American Dream - an admission that it IS only a dream.
Not much else happening. I went into Babeland the other day and was greated with stares so icy my external organs all withered away, frost bitten. How was I to know that the 'voluptuous' counter assistant was demonstrating the joys of the double ended dolphin to the giggling Japanese lesbians? Jeez next time I'll make an appointment.
And on that slightly vague yet strangely graphic note I shall leave you.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Friday, August 18, 2006
Early Start
6.55am and I'm waiting on my first conference call of the day. It's a five hour jobby with London and I'm not entirely sure that either my phone battery or my will to live will hold out until the projected midday finish.
Met somebody for lunch yesterday at 'English Is Italian' - an Italian restaurant headed up by semi-celebrity chef Todd English. I chose the place but it REALLY wasn't me at all. All big and fake plush and unneccessarily hushed. Good ice cream though - summer corn, chocolate and raspberry.
Prior to that had dinner at a japanese place that was VERY Kill Bill. Weird to eat on your own money in the same way that you would on an anonymous expense account (though I do tend toward the frugal when I know that somebody who doesn't get to go out for dinner is going to have to approve my costs) - we just blew through the menu, ordered more, then more still and threw in an extra helping of ridiculous for good measure. Fun though to be with people who know my company and the people I work with - yet who aren't part of the machine.
Anyway already taken two calls whilst writing this. Off to talk about the potential power of food.
Met somebody for lunch yesterday at 'English Is Italian' - an Italian restaurant headed up by semi-celebrity chef Todd English. I chose the place but it REALLY wasn't me at all. All big and fake plush and unneccessarily hushed. Good ice cream though - summer corn, chocolate and raspberry.
Prior to that had dinner at a japanese place that was VERY Kill Bill. Weird to eat on your own money in the same way that you would on an anonymous expense account (though I do tend toward the frugal when I know that somebody who doesn't get to go out for dinner is going to have to approve my costs) - we just blew through the menu, ordered more, then more still and threw in an extra helping of ridiculous for good measure. Fun though to be with people who know my company and the people I work with - yet who aren't part of the machine.
Anyway already taken two calls whilst writing this. Off to talk about the potential power of food.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Say hello, goodbye
Abi helped out on a brainstorm for Knorr (one of my brands) before leaving for a new life and a new client in Amsterdam.
I've done a lot of 'hello, goodbyes' over the last few years and I really wish that I'd photographed everyone 'in situ' - I tend to categorize people by where we most often / first / most memorably hung out together.
There are trees in New York that remind me of certain people, beaches in Sydney, streets in Singapore, sofas in India and all manner of weird inanimate objects all over the UK.
Perhaps I'm strange - or perhaps I'm on the verge of a 'breakthrough memory system' a la Paul Daniels in the mid-80s.
Who knows.
Still knackered, my mood still weirdly dark and still angry at DirectTV (the guy who was supposed to come today just didn't bother. Instead he filled out a bogus work docket from his car and buggered off home without even ringing the doorbell)
We have a new compamy providing all of our televisual needs as of the 25th of August.
Enough blather however. Work woes I will pile on tomorrow; but first a quick catch up with Project Runway.
Auf Wiedersehen
I've done a lot of 'hello, goodbyes' over the last few years and I really wish that I'd photographed everyone 'in situ' - I tend to categorize people by where we most often / first / most memorably hung out together.
There are trees in New York that remind me of certain people, beaches in Sydney, streets in Singapore, sofas in India and all manner of weird inanimate objects all over the UK.
Perhaps I'm strange - or perhaps I'm on the verge of a 'breakthrough memory system' a la Paul Daniels in the mid-80s.
Who knows.
Still knackered, my mood still weirdly dark and still angry at DirectTV (the guy who was supposed to come today just didn't bother. Instead he filled out a bogus work docket from his car and buggered off home without even ringing the doorbell)
We have a new compamy providing all of our televisual needs as of the 25th of August.
Enough blather however. Work woes I will pile on tomorrow; but first a quick catch up with Project Runway.
Auf Wiedersehen
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Angry!!!!
So the Satellite repair man arrived 4 hrs late and 8 stones overweight.
He huffed, puffed, sweated and groaned his way up to the fifth floor then said "there's nothing I can do."without even looking at the issue. (he realized, I think, that the dish was on the roof but the switch box was in the basement)
I begged him to take a look and he roughly pulled at some wires. The screen went blank. The signal died. He packed up his bag.
"When you arrived I had a TV picture", I said using fact as my weapon, "Now you're going to leave me with nothing?"
"Not my problem." he sweated "Call the office"
And he left.
I called the office. They didn't have a customer complaints dept. Or a customer service department. Or any supervisors. Or any humanity. They insisted I went through a million repetitive hoops and then they said "we'll send out another guy in a couple of days."
"Can you guarantee it won't be the same guy?" I asked
"No." they said
"Can you tell me that this one won't be a useless, fat, sweaty oaf?"
"erm, nope."
"Can you promise me that this guy will at least look behind the TV?"
"I can request that on the docket"
And so on and so forth for hours (I had to plug in my phones)
So we have a new guy coming tomorrow - and doubtless I have 'problem customer' against my name. I just want things fixed.
Haven't been as frustrated since the 'missing Viagra' incident of '04
He huffed, puffed, sweated and groaned his way up to the fifth floor then said "there's nothing I can do."without even looking at the issue. (he realized, I think, that the dish was on the roof but the switch box was in the basement)
I begged him to take a look and he roughly pulled at some wires. The screen went blank. The signal died. He packed up his bag.
"When you arrived I had a TV picture", I said using fact as my weapon, "Now you're going to leave me with nothing?"
"Not my problem." he sweated "Call the office"
And he left.
I called the office. They didn't have a customer complaints dept. Or a customer service department. Or any supervisors. Or any humanity. They insisted I went through a million repetitive hoops and then they said "we'll send out another guy in a couple of days."
"Can you guarantee it won't be the same guy?" I asked
"No." they said
"Can you tell me that this one won't be a useless, fat, sweaty oaf?"
"erm, nope."
"Can you promise me that this guy will at least look behind the TV?"
"I can request that on the docket"
And so on and so forth for hours (I had to plug in my phones)
So we have a new guy coming tomorrow - and doubtless I have 'problem customer' against my name. I just want things fixed.
Haven't been as frustrated since the 'missing Viagra' incident of '04
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Ooooh narky
So yesterday my mood was darker than an Arab plot to steal the world’s lightbulbs.My credit card was used to open 30 internet porn sites – and I still don’t have access to any of them. Nor do I have a functioning card.
My Satellite connection went down, meaning that I had to choose between watching the finale of Hell’s kitchen and the semi-dénouement of Treasure Hunters. Ramsey won by a ‘camp head’ but I’m still kicking myself. The guy was supposed to be here between 8am and 10am; at 8.15 he called and said 12:00 and 3pm. If he doesn’t make it by 3pm I’ve arranged to switch to cable and they’ll be here by Friday.
My conversation regarding new jobs, fresh horizons and the like hit a familiar speed bump – work permit. It’s a long story and lawyers are ‘hopeful’ but I’ve been here before and can feel heart sinking.
My oncologist called, to arrange first scans in September. I started to cough immediately and now can feel huge lumps in my ‘Thymus.’ The thymus is sold by butchers as sweatbreads. Lovely. Will have dates soon.
Am spread too thin (‘too thin’ and me have been strangers for a while now) and sleeping too little (no wonder Thatcher went doolally) and flying too much – though I’m going to try video conference for the first time this week. I hope it works.
What else, what else? Working, along with the rest of New York on a big beer pitch. It’s the same old problem – ubiquity leading to invisibility. Nudity is only interesting in context – spend six weeks at a ‘nudist colony’ and it loses its power.
Anyway am trying to dial in on a conference call but the number keeps putting me through to a woman who offers me hot singles in my area. Very odd. Must get that sorted.
Monday, August 14, 2006
outside our house
new pic on the wall outside our house.
and last night a drunken spanish woman trapped in the courtyard.
i let her out into the foyer... let the police into the foyer and allowed them all to get on with it.
rumor has it that she gave them the slip and disappeared into dead of night leaving only puddle of piddle as evidence of her stay.
time will tell.
working from home today as the ofice is mid-restructure and more depressing than ever. It really is an awful place to be at the moment and the dust flying around worries me in terms of health implications.
jude in Atlanta and seems to be enjoying interviews. Canada and Canadians high on her good and nice list at the moment, but months of protracted and possibly painful negotiation to come. She's meeting with more NY universities today. That's the flow, I'm on the rip tide.
And that's it from me.
Should I just pack this shit in?
and last night a drunken spanish woman trapped in the courtyard.
i let her out into the foyer... let the police into the foyer and allowed them all to get on with it.
rumor has it that she gave them the slip and disappeared into dead of night leaving only puddle of piddle as evidence of her stay.
time will tell.
working from home today as the ofice is mid-restructure and more depressing than ever. It really is an awful place to be at the moment and the dust flying around worries me in terms of health implications.
jude in Atlanta and seems to be enjoying interviews. Canada and Canadians high on her good and nice list at the moment, but months of protracted and possibly painful negotiation to come. She's meeting with more NY universities today. That's the flow, I'm on the rip tide.
And that's it from me.
Should I just pack this shit in?
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Ooops
With Jude away the tempatation to do unhealthy things - like eat french toast with cream for breakfast, get on flights to the UK and stay up all night watching Queer Eye re-runs became too much.
Mind I did manage to turn down drugs (very nancy reagan of me); to fall asleep rather than getting ready to go out and to walk the dog twice.
Not sleeping much at the moment - have pitches, accounts and possible changes of job on my mind and lack of sleep seems to be the manifest. That of course really is no good for me at all - I'll try to rectify that one asap.
Other than that not much of anything going on. Today will be a dedicated 'pitch thinking' day... always good to have something to say when the world turns to you expectantly.
God I'm tired though
Mind I did manage to turn down drugs (very nancy reagan of me); to fall asleep rather than getting ready to go out and to walk the dog twice.
Not sleeping much at the moment - have pitches, accounts and possible changes of job on my mind and lack of sleep seems to be the manifest. That of course really is no good for me at all - I'll try to rectify that one asap.
Other than that not much of anything going on. Today will be a dedicated 'pitch thinking' day... always good to have something to say when the world turns to you expectantly.
God I'm tired though
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