so today the sun is shining and having started work at 6am I feel fully justified in having knocked off at 3.30 in search of something more interesting. Have my Pilates session at 5pm and then Ali comes over and helps undo all of that ab tightening with an invitation to drinks and dinner somewhere closeby.
I'm knackered (it's the getting up to work) but figure that the gym will help and that there's no substitute for food, friends and booze. Well no legal substitute anyway
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Letting the belt out
Been a big weekend - especially where food is concerned. Dressler was good but cost a fortune. Bembe was hot and sweaty, latin and sexy and last night D.O.C gave us a 'farewell' bottle of wine to enjoy in Michigan - they're such sweet people and it has to be our favorite spot in the world to eat.
Jude leaves on Wednesday for her 2 year stint in Michigan. I'm going down Friday to keep her company until work starts (Sept 1st) and to help out with finding the stores, the gyms, a house and the like. Then on the 13th she's back in NYC and we have half a plan to be in Europe for a day or two end of Sept. / beginning of October.
Tonight we cooked (bland fish), tested our traveller IQs (mine is poor) and generally tried not to feel as though this was out last weekend as New York residents. There's a sadness that's masking the excitement at something new at the moment and an underlying anxiety at arranging a move, distribution of furniture and all of the transport anxieties that come with another stint as along distance relationship.
I have more to say but eloquence deserts me and the screen blurs as the eyes mist. So I'll stop for now and spend time with my wife rather than with this blog.
Jude leaves on Wednesday for her 2 year stint in Michigan. I'm going down Friday to keep her company until work starts (Sept 1st) and to help out with finding the stores, the gyms, a house and the like. Then on the 13th she's back in NYC and we have half a plan to be in Europe for a day or two end of Sept. / beginning of October.
Tonight we cooked (bland fish), tested our traveller IQs (mine is poor) and generally tried not to feel as though this was out last weekend as New York residents. There's a sadness that's masking the excitement at something new at the moment and an underlying anxiety at arranging a move, distribution of furniture and all of the transport anxieties that come with another stint as along distance relationship.
I have more to say but eloquence deserts me and the screen blurs as the eyes mist. So I'll stop for now and spend time with my wife rather than with this blog.
Friday, August 24, 2007
nita nita
So last night ended with drinks and small plates at Nita Nita - a local bar with a friendly vibe, a good kitchen, a way with sweet potatoes and a really inventive bar menu. All very cool and the conversation was as good as the Jukebox (when I hear "This is a man's world" I know it's gonna be an okay crowd)
Today has been a mix of work (proposals, billing, a presentation) and exercise. Took time out from the scheedule to go to the gym, to have a massage and to take the bike out and across the Williamsburg bridge into the lower east side where I exchanged lighthly used but very much broekn sex toys for new, shiny toys on behalf of a friend not too embarrassed to buy but too embarrassed to return 'used'
Tonight Dressler is Kajsa and Nick and then on into the night for drinks on the LES.
Today has been a mix of work (proposals, billing, a presentation) and exercise. Took time out from the scheedule to go to the gym, to have a massage and to take the bike out and across the Williamsburg bridge into the lower east side where I exchanged lighthly used but very much broekn sex toys for new, shiny toys on behalf of a friend not too embarrassed to buy but too embarrassed to return 'used'
Tonight Dressler is Kajsa and Nick and then on into the night for drinks on the LES.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
A quiet night out
As Jude prepares herself for departure from the B'Burg scene we're doing more than our fair share of eating out. Last night was Bozu (pictured) a small Japanese that does the best Tuna Tatake and can be hit and miss at other times. Last night they were a huge hit. This might have something to do with the fact that we bought caraffes of Sake (numbing even the pain of the 'we need Ikea shelves' / no we need West Elm shelves' conversation happening to our left and the old twat in mad specs (I know, dangerously pot like) behind us). The fatty Tuna was great, the smell of the place amazing (I love the smell of fruit being smashed for mojitos) and the lighting just dark enough.
Coming up we have broadway (as I said to my friend Baxter 'even my hands are jazzed'), a trip to Dressler (one of the new hot but expensive B'Burg spots) and a ciao for now to D.O.C our favorite winebar and scene of some of our most drunken moments (I blame the owner and his lethal post drink shorts - liquid death as Jax calls them)
Things shaping up in other areas. Housing to rent in MI still loooking tight but saw some places. Looking to help a friend plot a kid's animation series *think Bob the Builder with more of an educational subplot. A film producer (and yes he's real not just trying to see my tits a la Fames CoCo) wants me to have a go as a script doctor (we met at a Svedka party he may well remember me through very hazy lenses) and I'm back in touch with some people who have a track record of taking things off of my computer and actually taking them out into the real world. It's a strange and somewhat magical time. Wappingers Falls was all about hibernation and weight gain. Williamsburg has been about discovery and inspiration. Suddenly I feel the need to DO things again (rather than watch things from the good seats) and all seems to be falling into place.
Anyway enough premature crowing... it's time to do the daily. Dog out, me to work blah, blah, blah
Coming up we have broadway (as I said to my friend Baxter 'even my hands are jazzed'), a trip to Dressler (one of the new hot but expensive B'Burg spots) and a ciao for now to D.O.C our favorite winebar and scene of some of our most drunken moments (I blame the owner and his lethal post drink shorts - liquid death as Jax calls them)
Things shaping up in other areas. Housing to rent in MI still loooking tight but saw some places. Looking to help a friend plot a kid's animation series *think Bob the Builder with more of an educational subplot. A film producer (and yes he's real not just trying to see my tits a la Fames CoCo) wants me to have a go as a script doctor (we met at a Svedka party he may well remember me through very hazy lenses) and I'm back in touch with some people who have a track record of taking things off of my computer and actually taking them out into the real world. It's a strange and somewhat magical time. Wappingers Falls was all about hibernation and weight gain. Williamsburg has been about discovery and inspiration. Suddenly I feel the need to DO things again (rather than watch things from the good seats) and all seems to be falling into place.
Anyway enough premature crowing... it's time to do the daily. Dog out, me to work blah, blah, blah
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Man it's been cold
We've had two cold wet days in a row here and the temperature inside the apartment has dropped from an aircon assisted 24c to a rather chilly this morning 20c. Thank god it's going to be back into the 30s this weekend as the though of turning on the heating is something that's just TOO wintery to contemplate.
The house in the picture is one that's in Ann Arbor and (I think) would be lovely for Judith. According to the information I have here it was built in 1919, is 1248 sq feet and has a taxable value of $133,200 (about 65,000 of your UK pounds or 98.750 Euros)... why I have this information I'm not at all sure but I thought that as I seem to have turned into statto this morning I may as well go the whole hog.
Judith moves to Michigan in less than a week. Actually she moves in 5 days which is a scary thought as the days between now and then are packed and she's not. I have no doubt that we'll be packing and shipping books as we move forward and that she'll be looking to me to fill a suitcase full of 'home' with every visit. That will get easier once we find a house down there.
Ann Arbor is a buyers market at the moment. With major industry (think auto and pharma) pulling out of the area there are too many houses for sale and too few people moving toward the area. Of course the town is immune to the local economy to a degree as 1 in 2 people there are linked to the University (and therefore to out of state taxes) but what this means is that the rental market is extremely healthy (35,000 students all looking for a place to live for a year) whilst the buying market is weaker than a flu ridden Mr Bean.
So do we buy? Well no. Prices are falling. Houses aren't selling. And we don't want to be locked in to a place that we end up having to rent out just to cover the bills. So we join the rental charge and pay too much (by MI standards, not by NY standards) for somewhere like the above.
Ain't life complicated?
The house in the picture is one that's in Ann Arbor and (I think) would be lovely for Judith. According to the information I have here it was built in 1919, is 1248 sq feet and has a taxable value of $133,200 (about 65,000 of your UK pounds or 98.750 Euros)... why I have this information I'm not at all sure but I thought that as I seem to have turned into statto this morning I may as well go the whole hog.
Judith moves to Michigan in less than a week. Actually she moves in 5 days which is a scary thought as the days between now and then are packed and she's not. I have no doubt that we'll be packing and shipping books as we move forward and that she'll be looking to me to fill a suitcase full of 'home' with every visit. That will get easier once we find a house down there.
Ann Arbor is a buyers market at the moment. With major industry (think auto and pharma) pulling out of the area there are too many houses for sale and too few people moving toward the area. Of course the town is immune to the local economy to a degree as 1 in 2 people there are linked to the University (and therefore to out of state taxes) but what this means is that the rental market is extremely healthy (35,000 students all looking for a place to live for a year) whilst the buying market is weaker than a flu ridden Mr Bean.
So do we buy? Well no. Prices are falling. Houses aren't selling. And we don't want to be locked in to a place that we end up having to rent out just to cover the bills. So we join the rental charge and pay too much (by MI standards, not by NY standards) for somewhere like the above.
Ain't life complicated?
Monday, August 20, 2007
Slutz
In recent times Barbie - herself no stranger to sleaze - has found herself under attack from The Bratz. The Bratz are a bunch of obnoxious 'tween' dolls with a taste for the mall and a penchant for sluttery. This has prompted Barbie to ditch Ken (too boring) and move into the odd world of 'dating.'
Meanwhile The Bratz have gone from doll to animated series (basically how to be a highschool teen bitch / slut n 26 easy episodes) to real action live movie that has flopped harder than Naomi Campbell's literary pretensions.
Not sure what all of this means for America but when we're told that teen girls are hooking in the mall for the money to charge their phones and put gas in the VW daddy bought them as a sweet 16 then there's either smoething very wrong - or we're really seeing a generation that understands the protestant work ethic.
This should go somewhere but it won't. It's late, I'm tired. People have defaced the posters. The movie sucked - mainly because the gir;'s kinda promised that they would and then didn't really put out. Too real for Tween girls, too lame for teen boys - rock meet hard place.
Meanwhile The Bratz have gone from doll to animated series (basically how to be a highschool teen bitch / slut n 26 easy episodes) to real action live movie that has flopped harder than Naomi Campbell's literary pretensions.
Not sure what all of this means for America but when we're told that teen girls are hooking in the mall for the money to charge their phones and put gas in the VW daddy bought them as a sweet 16 then there's either smoething very wrong - or we're really seeing a generation that understands the protestant work ethic.
This should go somewhere but it won't. It's late, I'm tired. People have defaced the posters. The movie sucked - mainly because the gir;'s kinda promised that they would and then didn't really put out. Too real for Tween girls, too lame for teen boys - rock meet hard place.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
All a bit grim
Today the clouds came, the sun vanished and the temps plummeted. It's still mid 20s here but you can feel winter edging in. The stores are selling off flip-flops, new products are at least 75% lambswool and all over the city people are stripping down whenever they see a human being sized pool of light.
Meanwhile the 'gentrification' of Williamsburg continues unhindered. The new condos cast a literal and figurative shadow over the community and we're all left looking at the biggest building boom in 45 years and wondering "where are the neighborhoods going to go?"
It seems that people are attrected to the grit of the Bowery, the flighty here today gone tomorrow squalor of the lower east side and the skinny jeaned hipsterism of Williamsburg and will pay top dollar for ivory towers that afford them the best views of these places - yet fail to see taht the very act of moving in changes the neighborhood beyond recognition. That's not always a bad thing but it's not what anyone signed up for either.
My solution? Well I don't have one. I say build massive homeless shelters. Have free needle exchanges in very public places. And encourage more 'affordable housing' not near but IN the new towers of glass and bamboo flooring. Maybe that will attract the right kind of money and scare off the tourists. Said he from his too expensive, security camera'd loft
Meanwhile the 'gentrification' of Williamsburg continues unhindered. The new condos cast a literal and figurative shadow over the community and we're all left looking at the biggest building boom in 45 years and wondering "where are the neighborhoods going to go?"
It seems that people are attrected to the grit of the Bowery, the flighty here today gone tomorrow squalor of the lower east side and the skinny jeaned hipsterism of Williamsburg and will pay top dollar for ivory towers that afford them the best views of these places - yet fail to see taht the very act of moving in changes the neighborhood beyond recognition. That's not always a bad thing but it's not what anyone signed up for either.
My solution? Well I don't have one. I say build massive homeless shelters. Have free needle exchanges in very public places. And encourage more 'affordable housing' not near but IN the new towers of glass and bamboo flooring. Maybe that will attract the right kind of money and scare off the tourists. Said he from his too expensive, security camera'd loft
Friday, August 17, 2007
A hybrid, a hybrid - my kingdom for a hybrid
Jude is about to start work in Michigan. That means that she's going to need a car. But not just any car. It needs enough room for visitors and their suitcases. Enough space for the dog (lest she head there for the odd weekend). It needs to be low emission as Jude works in Sustainability. And it needs to be American as she's going to be less than 40 miles from Detroit.
Which doesn't leave much. What it does leave is the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. The seats are recycled. The caqr does 34mpg to the US gallon (that's 40 mpg to a UK gallon) around town and it won't get trashed by disgruntled Ford workers when she's in the city.
Plus as a Hybrid it has the advantage of a $3000 tax break from the government - as well as a generous $2000 off from Ford. That brings it down to around $21000 (10k GBP) making it a real bargain.
The problem is - you can't get one. The 2007 Hybrid was a sluggish seller - but the 2008 (available since Jan 2007 - I know!) has been sold out almost since day one. Getting one is going to take about 8 weeks, minimum. Weird I know. A Ford with a wait list.
Which just goes to show - get it right and Ford could be okay. It's not about badge it's about the right product, sold in the right way to the right people.
The temptation is to give in and get a Honda Fit (Jazz) but that feels wrong in Michigan. So onto the waitlist we go. Insane.
Which doesn't leave much. What it does leave is the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. The seats are recycled. The caqr does 34mpg to the US gallon (that's 40 mpg to a UK gallon) around town and it won't get trashed by disgruntled Ford workers when she's in the city.
Plus as a Hybrid it has the advantage of a $3000 tax break from the government - as well as a generous $2000 off from Ford. That brings it down to around $21000 (10k GBP) making it a real bargain.
The problem is - you can't get one. The 2007 Hybrid was a sluggish seller - but the 2008 (available since Jan 2007 - I know!) has been sold out almost since day one. Getting one is going to take about 8 weeks, minimum. Weird I know. A Ford with a wait list.
Which just goes to show - get it right and Ford could be okay. It's not about badge it's about the right product, sold in the right way to the right people.
The temptation is to give in and get a Honda Fit (Jazz) but that feels wrong in Michigan. So onto the waitlist we go. Insane.
A watched phone never boils
I've spent much of this week waiting for the phone to ring. Of course this has driven me to the outer reaches of my patience and driven everyone else to distraction. Even as I wrote that sentence my phone buzzed and my heart leapt. Alas it was a friend wanting lunch rather than the person I wanted to talk to offering balm for my itching flesh. I do hate waiting for any kind of news.... I blame the internet
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Word gets out
I got bored the othe day and had a quick but happy muse on the future of the web. A half hour thing. I e-mailed it to the guy sitting next to me. This morning I woke up to an e-mail asking for permission to pubish it elsewhere. Within an hour it wa everywhere. Weird. It's not even that good. Still here's a link
www.bigshinything.com
www.bigshinything.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The summer continues to sizzle
So as the summer continues to sizzle and the blue of the sky deepens the stores turn their attention to the upcoming fall. Colors become more autumnal (read lesbian), fabrics thicker (lesbian) and everything takes on a waxy, waterproof sheen (yup, you guessed it)
Of course the fall here passes in the blink of an eye and we'll soon be plunged into a terrifying winter. Meanwhile there are freak tornados, storms, droughts and forest fires to deal with.
Ideas of the day
A bar with a wall of screens showing images of all of the people in the world engaging in on-cam cyber sex. (we wouldn't tell them that they were being broadcast of course - more exhibistionist / voyeuristic thrills to be had that way)
Social Network loans - what's the point of having cyber friends if you can't borrow money from them right? It's micro-financing for the daddy funded. And it could work.
An all gay big brother - called The Big Gay House. Reality TV usually neuters its gay 'characters' by making them 'the only gay in the house' - this of course reduces the chance of them having sex to almost zero and takes away the 'threat' of them. Instead they become sexless 'best friends' that we can feel good about voting for (how tolerant we are)... this version - everyone is gay ---- viewers get to see something very new and the Daily Mail gets to froth at the mouth.
Enough from me though
Of course the fall here passes in the blink of an eye and we'll soon be plunged into a terrifying winter. Meanwhile there are freak tornados, storms, droughts and forest fires to deal with.
Ideas of the day
A bar with a wall of screens showing images of all of the people in the world engaging in on-cam cyber sex. (we wouldn't tell them that they were being broadcast of course - more exhibistionist / voyeuristic thrills to be had that way)
Social Network loans - what's the point of having cyber friends if you can't borrow money from them right? It's micro-financing for the daddy funded. And it could work.
An all gay big brother - called The Big Gay House. Reality TV usually neuters its gay 'characters' by making them 'the only gay in the house' - this of course reduces the chance of them having sex to almost zero and takes away the 'threat' of them. Instead they become sexless 'best friends' that we can feel good about voting for (how tolerant we are)... this version - everyone is gay ---- viewers get to see something very new and the Daily Mail gets to froth at the mouth.
Enough from me though
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Last day of belt tightening
Due to all manner of mix ups my (five figure sum) expenses for this month won't come in until tomorrow (two weeks late)- which also just happens to be pay day as well. This sudden flood of money means an end to the belt tightening exercises of the last week and will no doubt signal the flood of none essential spending that has been so effectively dam'd up all week.
It was odd having no spare cash around. Thinking twice before buying something isn't an exercise I've engaged in in quite a while. And it's good for the sole. Eating at home. Walking past the massage 'parlour', avoiding $9 sandwiches - generally being aware of the price of things has certainly done me good.
That said I'll be glad when the cheques (checks) clear and I can dive into decent sushi again.
It was odd having no spare cash around. Thinking twice before buying something isn't an exercise I've engaged in in quite a while. And it's good for the sole. Eating at home. Walking past the massage 'parlour', avoiding $9 sandwiches - generally being aware of the price of things has certainly done me good.
That said I'll be glad when the cheques (checks) clear and I can dive into decent sushi again.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Dream hotel - okay weekend
So yesterday felt like a real New York weekend. First to the greenmarket for fish, bread and vegetables and the chance to walk the dog around the park.
Then a walk over the Williamsburg bridge under blue skies and in beautiful conditions to the lower east side where we ate crepes in a tint restaurant, shopped for birthday gifts in a packed 'sex shop' and squeezed our way through tiny boutiques that have no hope of ever making their owners money.
The sex shop was one of the new - out and proud, female owned jobbies where everyone speaks just a little too loudly to show that they're not ashamed to be there and the assistants speak louder and slower still as they issue instructions such as "Now before you use this boil it like spaghetti, if it's for group use use a condom for each person and remember even though it comes with 29 strokes lube don't get it on your vulva." All done so earnestly and with such post-mistressly authority that you see people frozen to the spot.
Anyway we managed to get an "Oral Sex in Literature" book for my friend Mok (dirty ditties frm Osacr Wilde, GB Shaw etc.) and then we headed across to the rooftop of the Dream Hotel where the models, the guests, the gays and the 'celebratin a birthday's managed if not to mix then to skillfully occupy different time-slots and areas of the roof.
With a midnight temp a much cooler than of late 23c, a view of Time Square (strangely silent) below us and $15 cocktails flowing it all seemed like fun. And it was. Mok told some self depreciating stories, people from work turned up looking like people (all glam and shiny) and Jude got to see that despite the office's penchant for dares (Saltine eating c ompetitions, drinking piss for money) there are real adults there too.
Bumped into an old friend turned 'tits out headhunter' - glam' is the new 'black book' by all accounts. She looked great, sounded energized and gave me her new (fold out, 4 sided) card.
Tomorrow is back to interviewing people about the future; planning for it; how to avoid making it too awful to contemplate etc. So today is going to be very chilled, very relaxed and may even involve brunch with the neighbors (if we can catch them)... excellent
Then a walk over the Williamsburg bridge under blue skies and in beautiful conditions to the lower east side where we ate crepes in a tint restaurant, shopped for birthday gifts in a packed 'sex shop' and squeezed our way through tiny boutiques that have no hope of ever making their owners money.
The sex shop was one of the new - out and proud, female owned jobbies where everyone speaks just a little too loudly to show that they're not ashamed to be there and the assistants speak louder and slower still as they issue instructions such as "Now before you use this boil it like spaghetti, if it's for group use use a condom for each person and remember even though it comes with 29 strokes lube don't get it on your vulva." All done so earnestly and with such post-mistressly authority that you see people frozen to the spot.
Anyway we managed to get an "Oral Sex in Literature" book for my friend Mok (dirty ditties frm Osacr Wilde, GB Shaw etc.) and then we headed across to the rooftop of the Dream Hotel where the models, the guests, the gays and the 'celebratin a birthday's managed if not to mix then to skillfully occupy different time-slots and areas of the roof.
With a midnight temp a much cooler than of late 23c, a view of Time Square (strangely silent) below us and $15 cocktails flowing it all seemed like fun. And it was. Mok told some self depreciating stories, people from work turned up looking like people (all glam and shiny) and Jude got to see that despite the office's penchant for dares (Saltine eating c ompetitions, drinking piss for money) there are real adults there too.
Bumped into an old friend turned 'tits out headhunter' - glam' is the new 'black book' by all accounts. She looked great, sounded energized and gave me her new (fold out, 4 sided) card.
Tomorrow is back to interviewing people about the future; planning for it; how to avoid making it too awful to contemplate etc. So today is going to be very chilled, very relaxed and may even involve brunch with the neighbors (if we can catch them)... excellent
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wet
Today I'm wetter than a nun at a stripping Pope look-a-like convention. It's pouring with rain and my summer shoes have been no match for the streaming torrents and car created curbside tsunamis. My feet are literally steaming and I see no end to the dampness in the near future.
Locked in a room talking with people about the future, how they see it and how they'll pay for it. Some people get animated, some get teary and some suddenly realize that unless they develop a taste for Kitty Chow early they're going to be in big trouble come retirement.
They can't afford health insurance post retirement, can't afford long term care and a lot have said that they'd pay a premium just to know that when they needed it they'd have some kind of visitor to the hospital. We may be young and single and partial to a martini now but the spectre of a lonely death that proves no more than an inconvience to the person that needs to change the sheets on your deathbed is something that we really fight against (when we can bring ourselves to contemplate it)
Have another 7 hours of these interviews to go. To date it's been fun. We'll see what happens next. Mind if these wet feet turn to pneumonia I may not make the end of the day.
Stay dry all
Locked in a room talking with people about the future, how they see it and how they'll pay for it. Some people get animated, some get teary and some suddenly realize that unless they develop a taste for Kitty Chow early they're going to be in big trouble come retirement.
They can't afford health insurance post retirement, can't afford long term care and a lot have said that they'd pay a premium just to know that when they needed it they'd have some kind of visitor to the hospital. We may be young and single and partial to a martini now but the spectre of a lonely death that proves no more than an inconvience to the person that needs to change the sheets on your deathbed is something that we really fight against (when we can bring ourselves to contemplate it)
Have another 7 hours of these interviews to go. To date it's been fun. We'll see what happens next. Mind if these wet feet turn to pneumonia I may not make the end of the day.
Stay dry all
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
After the storm
Jude and I were both out of town for the 'big storm' last night and returned today to a city hotter, more humid and with less public transportation than the one we left. Not that we were travelling together - but we did both return today.
Apparently there were tornados with wind speeds up to 120mph, howling winds, lashing rain - everything but plagues of frogs and yet today the world looks undamaged is a little soggy.
And the humidity is sapping. 95F (35c) isn't THAT hot but when the air is drenched to the point of visible (I swear you could wring it out) it all becomes just a little much.
Still must drag myself in tomorrow as I start three days of interviews in which we ask various people about the future - what they plan for, what they avoid, goals they set, fears they have and how they'll fund the future that they want. The theory is that we spend most of our time and energy investing in a future self that we hope will be happier and more successful. We study, we go to college, we save, we avoid the 'wrong' crowd, read self improvement books, marry the 'good' girl and buy our houses in 'up and coming areas' as an investment in the person we see ourselves becoming. It's why we diet. It's what gives us hope. It's optimistic. It's ridiculous. It explains the protestant work ethic (though that's often an investment in a future generation's happiness)
So I have investors, clairvoyants, doctors, control freaks, OnStar operators and a whole bunch of other people coming in to tell me what their experience of people planning for the future has been. It ought to be interesting. It WILL keep me late.
Now to turn the aircon to max (the storm knocked it out yesterday, the house is still hot - it's 10pm and still 32c outside), catch up on Top Chef and think about heading for bed.
Soon y'all
Apparently there were tornados with wind speeds up to 120mph, howling winds, lashing rain - everything but plagues of frogs and yet today the world looks undamaged is a little soggy.
And the humidity is sapping. 95F (35c) isn't THAT hot but when the air is drenched to the point of visible (I swear you could wring it out) it all becomes just a little much.
Still must drag myself in tomorrow as I start three days of interviews in which we ask various people about the future - what they plan for, what they avoid, goals they set, fears they have and how they'll fund the future that they want. The theory is that we spend most of our time and energy investing in a future self that we hope will be happier and more successful. We study, we go to college, we save, we avoid the 'wrong' crowd, read self improvement books, marry the 'good' girl and buy our houses in 'up and coming areas' as an investment in the person we see ourselves becoming. It's why we diet. It's what gives us hope. It's optimistic. It's ridiculous. It explains the protestant work ethic (though that's often an investment in a future generation's happiness)
So I have investors, clairvoyants, doctors, control freaks, OnStar operators and a whole bunch of other people coming in to tell me what their experience of people planning for the future has been. It ought to be interesting. It WILL keep me late.
Now to turn the aircon to max (the storm knocked it out yesterday, the house is still hot - it's 10pm and still 32c outside), catch up on Top Chef and think about heading for bed.
Soon y'all
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
A cloud
At last the clear blue skies, rampant humidity and ridiculous temperatures broke a little and yesterday saw the occasional cloud in the sky, a chance of rain (rather than late and violent thinderstorms) and and cooler temps (30c)
Of course the city still humms with the sickly sweet scent of rotting garbage... walking the streets is like being stuck behind the bin men as they throw their stuff into the back ofthe truck. I've no idea why there isn't a plague of flies in the city... it would make sense and give the South more proof that this is a Godless island off the coast of America that needs to suffer some wrath.
Off to the airport in a couple of hours and a client call at 8am... before which Velcro needs out (bless her) so this is short and as sweet as the pungent air we choose to share with 8m other Manhattanites.
Of course the city still humms with the sickly sweet scent of rotting garbage... walking the streets is like being stuck behind the bin men as they throw their stuff into the back ofthe truck. I've no idea why there isn't a plague of flies in the city... it would make sense and give the South more proof that this is a Godless island off the coast of America that needs to suffer some wrath.
Off to the airport in a couple of hours and a client call at 8am... before which Velcro needs out (bless her) so this is short and as sweet as the pungent air we choose to share with 8m other Manhattanites.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Ah --- brooklyn
you do see some strange people walking the streets of Brooklyn. I think it's the parasol that really seals the deal on this one. Today I got close to finishing a presentation (hurrah!), talked to some people, drank 2 beers I didn't want and ordered in fish n chips from the local Australian place, Oh and I had to cancel the gym because I was stuck drinking beer at work. Thank god I have 2 days off... can get svelte again.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Hazy Weekend
So the weekend passed n a constant drip-feed of alcohol. Reminded me of the line from Old Red Eyes Is back “He was just a social drinker but social every night; he was very rarely drunk but very rarely sober.”
It hasn’t been excessive drinking. A glass of wine here, a glass of champagne there, a bloody Mary, a beer, a Guinness (hey it’s good for you) and suddenly you realize that one weekend has taken up your month’s allowance of alcohol.
Perhaps in light of this the weekend kind of slid by. Lawrence and his lovely family visited; they saw very little of Williamsburg but it was good to catch up. Then a little work, a movie here, an art class there, a dog walking session, a long brunch and suddenly the weekend has gone and you’re staring down a week from hell without the buffer of having done something worth talking about.
Want to do a Bloody Mary sans alcohol but with whey powder – call it a Muscle Mary and watch the Pink Pounds flood my way. It’s a vague and vain hope but ‘vague’ and ‘vain’ pretty much describe me these days.
Friday, August 03, 2007
All roads lead to breakfast
It's weird that everything I'm working on at the moment seems to lead toward a breakfast. It seems that we all acknowledge the most important meal of the day then feel bad as it whizzes past us... wish I could talk about some of the products that we're working on, but of course we can't. Still they'll be on a shelf near you soon.
The other big 'opportunity area' in the US at the moment seems to be the gouging of the sick for profit. It seems that the fact that health care here is unaffordable is huge opportunity for loan sharks, payment spreaders, preventative healers and anyone with a can of snake oil. The real opportunity of course is to solve the cost of healthcare -- or at least take the sting out of the bills. That's a pet (private) thing at the moment... maybe well get that kind of project.
Jude away in Philly this weekend - so it's The Simpsons this afternoon, followed by Erasure in Mccarren pool, art class tomorrow and a Sunday spent working on proposals etc.
Oh the glamor
The other big 'opportunity area' in the US at the moment seems to be the gouging of the sick for profit. It seems that the fact that health care here is unaffordable is huge opportunity for loan sharks, payment spreaders, preventative healers and anyone with a can of snake oil. The real opportunity of course is to solve the cost of healthcare -- or at least take the sting out of the bills. That's a pet (private) thing at the moment... maybe well get that kind of project.
Jude away in Philly this weekend - so it's The Simpsons this afternoon, followed by Erasure in Mccarren pool, art class tomorrow and a Sunday spent working on proposals etc.
Oh the glamor
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A fine romance
So at about 9pm last night Jude started to run around, bounce, jig, play old swing music and generally show signs of being bored with the walls around her.
Luckily we live 10 mins from Galapagos Art Space and so it came to pass that we ended up watcingd a Korean woman eating Kraft Cheese slices, retching and then stripping down to a GI outfit and beyond to the strains of American Woman; a woman stripping whilst imitating Shirley Temple and all manner of other risque acts.
Oh and we watched a woman being hopelessly out-acted by a French Bulldog (she was playing a barmaid, he a drinker at the bar)...
All in all good bawdy fun, lubricated by too many rum and diet cokes and almost finished off with the "Tator Tot Stagger" ---> luckily our fondness of Svelte and the sight of too many a cellulite dappled thigh stopped us from over indulging in that fried potato snack.
A good evening though - and one that served to remind that while you sit at home in front of some competition reality show or another there are people out there putting it all out there...
Luckily we live 10 mins from Galapagos Art Space and so it came to pass that we ended up watcingd a Korean woman eating Kraft Cheese slices, retching and then stripping down to a GI outfit and beyond to the strains of American Woman; a woman stripping whilst imitating Shirley Temple and all manner of other risque acts.
Oh and we watched a woman being hopelessly out-acted by a French Bulldog (she was playing a barmaid, he a drinker at the bar)...
All in all good bawdy fun, lubricated by too many rum and diet cokes and almost finished off with the "Tator Tot Stagger" ---> luckily our fondness of Svelte and the sight of too many a cellulite dappled thigh stopped us from over indulging in that fried potato snack.
A good evening though - and one that served to remind that while you sit at home in front of some competition reality show or another there are people out there putting it all out there...
Monday, July 30, 2007
ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzubbbbb
Back in the office today and what a soul destroying experience. The music is bad, the lights too bright and there's nothing for me to do before Thursday (whereupon there will be too much for me to do)
A more motivated person would go in search of opportunity --- I, on the other hand, think "Screw It" and am planning an early exit
A more motivated person would go in search of opportunity --- I, on the other hand, think "Screw It" and am planning an early exit
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Credit Cards
So last night I managed to catch up with my ever more gorgeous friend, Yuko and we headed off for really good food and pretty good drinks in some of Tokyo’s smallest bars and restaurants. All very cool. However come bar two and time to pay my credit card was declined. No biggie, huh?
This morning I get up to find a FRAUD ALERT e-mail in my inbox. MY card has been frozen pending my contacting the company. They give me a web link, I follow it, enter my details and am told that this issue can’t be resolved online and to call the number below. Frustrating but hey, it happens right.
The number below of course is a 1-800 number – which can be dialed only from within the US. Irritating.
Still there’s a number on the back of my card that says “If you’re outside of the US call this number COLLECT and it will cost you nothing”
I dial the operator, she puts me through to AT&T and I’m told “I’m sorry Sir but that number can’t be dialed collect from anywhere in the world” Frustrating again.
So I bite the bullet. My cell doesn’t work in Japan. My Blackberry doesn’t work in Japan. My credit card company is giving out duff numbers like they were ‘home base’ cards at a Prom and I am going to need to pay and get the hell out of here at some point. Hotel phone. $8 a minute but hey I’ll get through.
I do, I’m put on hold. Then drawled at by a woman who doesn’t seem to realize that her every elongated, mangled, tortured vowel is costing me $5. She puts me through to another number with ‘excessively long wait times” – I’m told how valuable my call is, move up through the virtual line and am then dropped. Frustrating, huh.
I call back. This time I’m on hold. I get through. My account, social security number and address no longer exist. Apparently. Frustrating. I bite my lip and try again – oh yes there I am. I’m put through, put on hold and get through to another vowel mangler.
This women then chastises me for traveling overseas without first calling to tell them and rather pointedly asks me why the hell I was trying to spend $18,000 at 2am on a Piano. As though this is the problem. The temptation to scream “Because I can!” is swallowed as I realize that I do need my card working and I point out that I was trying to spend 18,000 YEN (US$150) in a bar CALLED Piano at 2am. She puts my card right – I thank her, dash over to Starbucks to buy a $4 latte just to check that I’m now okay and resolve to find some kind of Japanese bathhouse so that I can let off steam in the steam room.
Gnnnrrrrr.
This morning I get up to find a FRAUD ALERT e-mail in my inbox. MY card has been frozen pending my contacting the company. They give me a web link, I follow it, enter my details and am told that this issue can’t be resolved online and to call the number below. Frustrating but hey, it happens right.
The number below of course is a 1-800 number – which can be dialed only from within the US. Irritating.
Still there’s a number on the back of my card that says “If you’re outside of the US call this number COLLECT and it will cost you nothing”
I dial the operator, she puts me through to AT&T and I’m told “I’m sorry Sir but that number can’t be dialed collect from anywhere in the world” Frustrating again.
So I bite the bullet. My cell doesn’t work in Japan. My Blackberry doesn’t work in Japan. My credit card company is giving out duff numbers like they were ‘home base’ cards at a Prom and I am going to need to pay and get the hell out of here at some point. Hotel phone. $8 a minute but hey I’ll get through.
I do, I’m put on hold. Then drawled at by a woman who doesn’t seem to realize that her every elongated, mangled, tortured vowel is costing me $5. She puts me through to another number with ‘excessively long wait times” – I’m told how valuable my call is, move up through the virtual line and am then dropped. Frustrating, huh.
I call back. This time I’m on hold. I get through. My account, social security number and address no longer exist. Apparently. Frustrating. I bite my lip and try again – oh yes there I am. I’m put through, put on hold and get through to another vowel mangler.
This women then chastises me for traveling overseas without first calling to tell them and rather pointedly asks me why the hell I was trying to spend $18,000 at 2am on a Piano. As though this is the problem. The temptation to scream “Because I can!” is swallowed as I realize that I do need my card working and I point out that I was trying to spend 18,000 YEN (US$150) in a bar CALLED Piano at 2am. She puts my card right – I thank her, dash over to Starbucks to buy a $4 latte just to check that I’m now okay and resolve to find some kind of Japanese bathhouse so that I can let off steam in the steam room.
Gnnnrrrrr.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
I'll have the tuna
the Tokyo fish market at (5.30) this morning was much fun. Think Singapore wet market with lots of people with knives, wayward trucks, killer buggies and lack of concern for life thrown in.
Of course I still smell like I've been to the fish market even two showers later and so it's down to Hiltopia (I kid you not) on the hunt for more shoes - these are ruined.
This afternoon - a search for more angels with dirty faces in young people's hotspots and then a soak in a bath before heading out tonight with my old friend Yuko
Of course I still smell like I've been to the fish market even two showers later and so it's down to Hiltopia (I kid you not) on the hunt for more shoes - these are ruined.
This afternoon - a search for more angels with dirty faces in young people's hotspots and then a soak in a bath before heading out tonight with my old friend Yuko
Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan
Heading here tomorrow... spent all day somewhere really cool and now my brain is fried and the only word I can think of is Suduko. Which makes me a moron. Damnnit.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Still in Tokyo
and still coughing and sniffling up a storm
of course persistent coughs now mean cancer rather than cold to me and so - despite having been reassured by every doctor I know that even I can't grow tumors that fast (it's 2 months since I was last 'all clear') I'm already looking up phrases like "chemo second time around"
Actually I'm not as I know that I was allergy ridden in NYC, fine in Namibia and that I got off the plane with a flu to end all flus (okay that's an exaggeration)... each day I'm getting better. No headaches, legs back to normal, fever gone. But still I sniff, then I cough then I worry. Bonkers.
I'll see someone when I get back and I have more scans coming up in a month but it's terrible being the person who can't have a cough anymore.
Still odds of me being here and worrying were slim, so I'll take that
PS Wasn't the Harry Potter Epilogue just awful? And doesn't it just set the scene for more franchise extending adventures? Shame 'cause it's nae bad otherwise
of course persistent coughs now mean cancer rather than cold to me and so - despite having been reassured by every doctor I know that even I can't grow tumors that fast (it's 2 months since I was last 'all clear') I'm already looking up phrases like "chemo second time around"
Actually I'm not as I know that I was allergy ridden in NYC, fine in Namibia and that I got off the plane with a flu to end all flus (okay that's an exaggeration)... each day I'm getting better. No headaches, legs back to normal, fever gone. But still I sniff, then I cough then I worry. Bonkers.
I'll see someone when I get back and I have more scans coming up in a month but it's terrible being the person who can't have a cough anymore.
Still odds of me being here and worrying were slim, so I'll take that
PS Wasn't the Harry Potter Epilogue just awful? And doesn't it just set the scene for more franchise extending adventures? Shame 'cause it's nae bad otherwise
Monday, July 23, 2007
In Tokyo
Cold finally broke - snotty mess here, coughing, sneezing and generally a mess to look at but feeling much better.
Tokyo fun so far. Flight good. New Harry Potter almost finished.
Trying to stay up late enought to avoid the worst of the jetlag.. we'll see what happens
Tokyo fun so far. Flight good. New Harry Potter almost finished.
Trying to stay up late enought to avoid the worst of the jetlag.. we'll see what happens
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Smelling the roses
Ain't Theraflu marvellous. It's like Lemsip on steroids. Actually it may well BE Lemsip on steroids. But taking one every 6 hrs or so is keeping me human. Went to bed at 9pm last night - woke up this morning without the headache and dead legs but with a steaming cold. Guess I have some kind of flu'. Weird because I'm not usually the guy who gets sick from planes... but this time, well this time I am.
Terrible entry I know but with Tokyo looming (10am flight tomorrow, will leave for the airport at 8) I thought that I should post a 'not dead yet' entry
Terrible entry I know but with Tokyo looming (10am flight tomorrow, will leave for the airport at 8) I thought that I should post a 'not dead yet' entry
Friday, July 20, 2007
Jesus I feel shitty
There's something in the NYC air that makes me cough. Granted it miught be the dust from the Grand Central station gas explosion (one person dead - of a heart attack), it might be the cats or it might be the pollen. But I spend the day hacking and coughing and spluttering and generally feeling crappy.
Add to that a headache that I just can't shake and the return of the leaden legs and you have a recipe for misery.
To cheer myself up I went for a Reiki session. The website looked glam - the actuality was a Japanese girl's back bedropom, an overweight cat and a the feeling that something dodgy was about to happen (it didn't)
Upon leaving though I did find a new bar and a new cafe on Hope Street so all was not wasted.
Next up - Quorn, french fried and Snakes on a Plane... a movie that everyone thought that they were going to watch but seemed to skip at the cinema.
Should have skipped Hairspray... much prefered the original. This one was loud, frenetic, heavy handed and had a bizarre Travolta turn that threw it off kilter. None of the sight gags worked (at least where I was) and some of the best dialogue was thrown away in a marsh of mumbles.
Still just a few days ago I was on the beach taking shots like this... and in a few days time I'll be in downtown Tokyo; the only CITY that Jude and I would consider post New York (well maybe Mexico City)
So bit of a crap day all around... but at least I know that the cough in NYC related (it disappeared in Namibia) rather than tumopr related
Add to that a headache that I just can't shake and the return of the leaden legs and you have a recipe for misery.
To cheer myself up I went for a Reiki session. The website looked glam - the actuality was a Japanese girl's back bedropom, an overweight cat and a the feeling that something dodgy was about to happen (it didn't)
Upon leaving though I did find a new bar and a new cafe on Hope Street so all was not wasted.
Next up - Quorn, french fried and Snakes on a Plane... a movie that everyone thought that they were going to watch but seemed to skip at the cinema.
Should have skipped Hairspray... much prefered the original. This one was loud, frenetic, heavy handed and had a bizarre Travolta turn that threw it off kilter. None of the sight gags worked (at least where I was) and some of the best dialogue was thrown away in a marsh of mumbles.
Still just a few days ago I was on the beach taking shots like this... and in a few days time I'll be in downtown Tokyo; the only CITY that Jude and I would consider post New York (well maybe Mexico City)
So bit of a crap day all around... but at least I know that the cough in NYC related (it disappeared in Namibia) rather than tumopr related
Back from Africa
But sick as a dog and having just sat through the 2 hrs of noise that is Hairspray I think that I'm in no state for an update.
More tomorrow... I swear
More tomorrow... I swear
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
As I'm stuck...
... just went down to the Delta desk and found myself shit out of luck. Turns out that the ticket agent was a moron, I was a bigger moron for taking her at her word and now I'm stuck here until 2pm when I could (for $150) have been 90% of the way to New York by then. Such is (my) life.
Anyway I've bought a book (endorsed by Richard and Judy no less), paid for an hour of internet ($12!) and calmed myself. I was sunniness personified at the desk - even when they told me that the flight was less than half full but still I couldn't get on it.
Namibia was much fun - it was a shame that I had to leave before the guys decided to go kayaking, wreck diving and the like. But I have to head for Tokyo on Sunday so things are tight ---> and I do want to see the dog, the cats, my bed and a host of things on TiVo before leaving.
What did we do in namibia I hear you cry. Well we visited Africat - very cool as they have lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs and seem to be genuinely lovely, hard working, concerned people. We went to CCF where I tried not to get in the way, proof read a lot of things, went spoor tracking, dropped my camera from he roof of a moving bus and had an idea or two.
What else? Sand dunes, moonscapes, too many dinners, scorching weather and nick-nack shopping in Swapkomund... a whole bunch of us (Dutch, Rhodesian, South African, American and British) in tiny triangular houses by the sea and generally a good time punctuated by frustration at the speed of the internet and an inability to talk to people at work.. well e-talk anyway.
Hoping that after Tokyo I get a chance to breathe some... but somehow I doubt it. We shall see.
August is house hunting for Jude in Michigan too. Scary.
Okay this is becomeing fragmented, tired here.
Even mopre later... (still have 5 hrs and 45 mins here to kill and gatwick is about as interesting as a mime giving a lecture on the one way system in Norwich)
Anyway I've bought a book (endorsed by Richard and Judy no less), paid for an hour of internet ($12!) and calmed myself. I was sunniness personified at the desk - even when they told me that the flight was less than half full but still I couldn't get on it.
Namibia was much fun - it was a shame that I had to leave before the guys decided to go kayaking, wreck diving and the like. But I have to head for Tokyo on Sunday so things are tight ---> and I do want to see the dog, the cats, my bed and a host of things on TiVo before leaving.
What did we do in namibia I hear you cry. Well we visited Africat - very cool as they have lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs and seem to be genuinely lovely, hard working, concerned people. We went to CCF where I tried not to get in the way, proof read a lot of things, went spoor tracking, dropped my camera from he roof of a moving bus and had an idea or two.
What else? Sand dunes, moonscapes, too many dinners, scorching weather and nick-nack shopping in Swapkomund... a whole bunch of us (Dutch, Rhodesian, South African, American and British) in tiny triangular houses by the sea and generally a good time punctuated by frustration at the speed of the internet and an inability to talk to people at work.. well e-talk anyway.
Hoping that after Tokyo I get a chance to breathe some... but somehow I doubt it. We shall see.
August is house hunting for Jude in Michigan too. Scary.
Okay this is becomeing fragmented, tired here.
Even mopre later... (still have 5 hrs and 45 mins here to kill and gatwick is about as interesting as a mime giving a lecture on the one way system in Norwich)
Great Vacation - shame about Delta
More about the vacation when I get home.
It's 6am in London. There are 5 Delta flights out of the airport today.
All have spare seats.
I'm on the last.
Delta won't let me get on an earlier flight.
And they're quite proud of their obstinacy.
Gnnnrrrrr.
More when I get home
It's 6am in London. There are 5 Delta flights out of the airport today.
All have spare seats.
I'm on the last.
Delta won't let me get on an earlier flight.
And they're quite proud of their obstinacy.
Gnnnrrrrr.
More when I get home
Friday, July 06, 2007
LGW baby
At Gatwick... just paid |$200 to upgrade to business class seat on Namibia flight. Not showing on board yet but EVERY flight is leaving late. Could be a LONG night --- but I'm ready for sleep.
London warmer than they said but paralysed by Tour De France... dreadful traffic. Train to town $53! Taxi in town $30! Subway ride in town $8!
Broke
London warmer than they said but paralysed by Tour De France... dreadful traffic. Train to town $53! Taxi in town $30! Subway ride in town $8!
Broke
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Delta 1
I'm hoping that Delta aren't as crap as they used to be. Taking an overnight to London in economy is something that fills me with dread. Taking the overnight on Delta is even worse - American airlines are notoriously stingy when it comes to things like, oh food and water. And oxygen --- there's less oxygen on American flights than on Asian flights. It's cheaper to have people on the verge of suffocation... they sleep longer and demand less stuff... plus oxygen is expensive.
But there is hope. A while ago Delta tried a little experiment. They called it Song. Song was a low cost, high entertainment airline for domestic flights. The theory was that people choose flights based on cost but then lose all sense of thrift as soon as their vacation starts. As my granny used to say of expensive Scarborough fish and chips "We we are on us 'olidays"
So Song loaded the plane with expensive goodies that you could buy - $8 martinis, $7 sandwiches that kind of thing as well as an entertainment system that allowed you to play trivia games against the otehr passengers. I liked the trivia as it drew mainly really thick people. Therefore I could play and win 95% of the time, despite the constant baseball and American trivia disguised as history questions. Upon winning I could then punch the air and scream "oh Yes, oh yes, AGAIN!!! Bring-it-on". This made Jude anxious, the people around me annoyed and me very happy.
Of course the 'on us 'olidays' airline failed as people started bringing on their own potted meat sandwiches but having paid for the ents Delta repainted the planes and announced an 'entertainment upgrade'. Excellent. I may not be able to breath tonight, or move, or sleep but it's good to know that I will at least be able to face off against other miserable insomniacs safe in the knowledge that I know more crap than most.
Result
But there is hope. A while ago Delta tried a little experiment. They called it Song. Song was a low cost, high entertainment airline for domestic flights. The theory was that people choose flights based on cost but then lose all sense of thrift as soon as their vacation starts. As my granny used to say of expensive Scarborough fish and chips "We we are on us 'olidays"
So Song loaded the plane with expensive goodies that you could buy - $8 martinis, $7 sandwiches that kind of thing as well as an entertainment system that allowed you to play trivia games against the otehr passengers. I liked the trivia as it drew mainly really thick people. Therefore I could play and win 95% of the time, despite the constant baseball and American trivia disguised as history questions. Upon winning I could then punch the air and scream "oh Yes, oh yes, AGAIN!!! Bring-it-on". This made Jude anxious, the people around me annoyed and me very happy.
Of course the 'on us 'olidays' airline failed as people started bringing on their own potted meat sandwiches but having paid for the ents Delta repainted the planes and announced an 'entertainment upgrade'. Excellent. I may not be able to breath tonight, or move, or sleep but it's good to know that I will at least be able to face off against other miserable insomniacs safe in the knowledge that I know more crap than most.
Result
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Leaving New York's never easy
I leave for Namibia tomorrow. Of course I won't get to Namibia until Saturday as I chose two overnight flights. The first takes me into 'terrir stricken' London where I have a 13 hr layover and the chance to dash into Knightsbridge for a quick lunch with my old boss and a mooch around Harrod's before heading back for Gatwick (of all places) for another overnight flight to Namibia.
London is responding to recent attempted car bombings and suicide attacks on airports as only the British can. The newspapers are printing Union Jacks to "Fly in the face of terror" and there's a lot of grumbling about "the damned inconvenience of it all"... nobody really seems scared.
Then of course there's the speed at which the British police arrest 'terror suspects' the advantage of having enough CCTV to photograph your average citizen a couple of thousand times a day. Start from the site, work backwards and hey presto "You're nicked"
Have someone from work coming in to look after the cats and Velcro is off to Doggy Daycare (I'm trying to think of it as Camp rather than Prison) so that end is sorted. Also writing an 'instruction manual' for the house and all of those little quirks that living here you take for granted but as a stranger you'd find baffling.
Well cleaning stuff to buy, inflatable neck pillows to be found and July 4th to be celebrated today so I shall sign off here. Another post tomorrow and then I think it will get a little patchy as I scramble for coverage and spend more and more of my time outdoors and out of range of your average cell-phone (whatever happened to Inmarsat?)
London is responding to recent attempted car bombings and suicide attacks on airports as only the British can. The newspapers are printing Union Jacks to "Fly in the face of terror" and there's a lot of grumbling about "the damned inconvenience of it all"... nobody really seems scared.
Then of course there's the speed at which the British police arrest 'terror suspects' the advantage of having enough CCTV to photograph your average citizen a couple of thousand times a day. Start from the site, work backwards and hey presto "You're nicked"
Have someone from work coming in to look after the cats and Velcro is off to Doggy Daycare (I'm trying to think of it as Camp rather than Prison) so that end is sorted. Also writing an 'instruction manual' for the house and all of those little quirks that living here you take for granted but as a stranger you'd find baffling.
Well cleaning stuff to buy, inflatable neck pillows to be found and July 4th to be celebrated today so I shall sign off here. Another post tomorrow and then I think it will get a little patchy as I scramble for coverage and spend more and more of my time outdoors and out of range of your average cell-phone (whatever happened to Inmarsat?)
Sunday, July 01, 2007
My weekend
It's been a while since I posted... I'll blame the sore neck and shoulder but really it's just a symptom of being busy. Had back to back client things at work and then lots of people to catch up with before leaving for Africa.
This week I finally went to the movies again. First Die Hard 4 and then Michael Moore's rather good Sicko. also went to Sketchy's anti Art School (hence the pics)... tidied the house prior to arrival of cat sitters and caught up on a couple of videos that I'd wanted to watch for a while.
Throw in the gym, long walks with the dog and the occasional long conversation by phone and you get very little time left over for other stuff (learning Dutch, getting my driving license)
Oh well... at least the weight is down, the tan is darker, the animals are happy and client stuff is well on track.
This week I finally went to the movies again. First Die Hard 4 and then Michael Moore's rather good Sicko. also went to Sketchy's anti Art School (hence the pics)... tidied the house prior to arrival of cat sitters and caught up on a couple of videos that I'd wanted to watch for a while.
Throw in the gym, long walks with the dog and the occasional long conversation by phone and you get very little time left over for other stuff (learning Dutch, getting my driving license)
Oh well... at least the weight is down, the tan is darker, the animals are happy and client stuff is well on track.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
A blog from work
Knackered this morning... rollickingy camp hi octane rush Die Hard 4 may be but 4 sessions in a week in addition to a 1.30am finish and 5.30am start is a little much for these old bones. Plus with the heat and humidity here you start to feel as though you're wading through an invisible swamp rather than walking through the city each and every time you step outside.
Only a week away from Namibia and hit my target weight this morning. All I have to do now is avoid the Smarties and embrace the treadmill. Hurrah.
And that is about it. Lots of TV to catch up on today. Happy.
Only a week away from Namibia and hit my target weight this morning. All I have to do now is avoid the Smarties and embrace the treadmill. Hurrah.
And that is about it. Lots of TV to catch up on today. Happy.
Monday, June 25, 2007
A queer old day
I have more client sessions tomorrow. These ones have been arranged by Ara and have been completely stress free. We're all set up and ready to go with a minimum of fuss. Which is good as I've spent much of the day out of the office - first being injected for a neck stiffer than Peter North on Viagra then meeting with an old client and lovely lady that I have an enormous amount of time for. Drank wine at that meeting and now unpleasantly buzzed and waiting for food to be delivered.
If Jude wan't heading for Michigan I think that the next move for us might have been Amsterdam... many things converging and the city looks increasingly attractive (close to home, good prospects, liberal, a chance to have some real space) still Ann Arbor it is and I continue to look for ways to join her there (or thereabouts)
If Jude wan't heading for Michigan I think that the next move for us might have been Amsterdam... many things converging and the city looks increasingly attractive (close to home, good prospects, liberal, a chance to have some real space) still Ann Arbor it is and I continue to look for ways to join her there (or thereabouts)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
My most interesting pic?
According to Flickr this is the most interesting pic that I've posted from this year's Mermaid Parade. I'd disagree - there are sharper, funnier, more colorful images - but who am I to argue with the maths?
Wanted to type a wee bit here but have hurt my neck so badly just dooing this is agony - so I'll sign off with promises of more
Wanted to type a wee bit here but have hurt my neck so badly just dooing this is agony - so I'll sign off with promises of more
Saturday, June 23, 2007
It's mermaid parade time again
It's Mermaid Parade time again. The 25th year it's been going but this will only be my 3rd visit. Last year was overcast, gloomy and threatened rain all day but spirits remained higher and people perkier than the average pastied breast on display.
This year is a whole bunch sunnier and I'm expecting a MUCH bigger crowd (elbows are being sharpened across much of New Jersey I'm sure)... this year also sees me heading out with Mike (who will enjoy the breasts) and K-Jizer (who will enjoy the sequins) so the whole thing should be enormous fun.
I have tickets for The Ball too - but with Velcro home alone I'm going to have to leave and be back here by about 5.30 otherwise I'm libel for prosecution (or something). I could drop her at DayCare but she's knackered from last week and could do with some 'alone time'
Of course Coney Island starts a huge redevelopment next year and I have a feeling that the sideshow freaks, the burlesque on the beach, the monster movies at midnight and general sense of fun will be pulled down with the fiarground and replaced with earnest bragging about real estate prices. I think that it's a shame. But then I visit twice a year - so what do I know?
This year is a whole bunch sunnier and I'm expecting a MUCH bigger crowd (elbows are being sharpened across much of New Jersey I'm sure)... this year also sees me heading out with Mike (who will enjoy the breasts) and K-Jizer (who will enjoy the sequins) so the whole thing should be enormous fun.
I have tickets for The Ball too - but with Velcro home alone I'm going to have to leave and be back here by about 5.30 otherwise I'm libel for prosecution (or something). I could drop her at DayCare but she's knackered from last week and could do with some 'alone time'
Of course Coney Island starts a huge redevelopment next year and I have a feeling that the sideshow freaks, the burlesque on the beach, the monster movies at midnight and general sense of fun will be pulled down with the fiarground and replaced with earnest bragging about real estate prices. I think that it's a shame. But then I visit twice a year - so what do I know?
Friday, June 22, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Ah - the Red Eye
So I got tickets for the 8pm plane and then started to sit out the delay. At 11.45 we boarded, I immediately fell asleep and woke up at about 1.15am as we came in to land in Chicago. Reaching up I see that all of the cold air vents are pointing at me and decide that either the guy in the next seat is an idiot, an asshole or was driven to pettiness by my slobbering and snoring.
Off the plane, through baggage and outside where a drunken "New Yoiker" is acting as though the idea of a taxi line is an idea revived from 1940s Hicksville and keeps trying to hail full cabs "New York Style"
We get into our cab where a barely awake and constantly veering taxi driver sets off for our hotel. Miles later and with signs for Memphis, TN everywhere we arrive at the Holiday Inn Express. It's the kind of hotel where the 'out of order' signs are rotated daily and the wallpaper us held up only by the tar from a million illicit cigarettes. Breakfast is eaten in silence but you can hear the 'how did my life come to this?' internal monologue going on everywhere.
If the windows opened I'd be heading out of them and into the carpark in an unholy plummet.
Still we're here despite recruiter issues, venue issues, flight issues, legal issues, more flight issues and a budget tighter than a post Denis Rodmann reconstructed Carmen Electra.
Here's to Chicago
Off the plane, through baggage and outside where a drunken "New Yoiker" is acting as though the idea of a taxi line is an idea revived from 1940s Hicksville and keeps trying to hail full cabs "New York Style"
We get into our cab where a barely awake and constantly veering taxi driver sets off for our hotel. Miles later and with signs for Memphis, TN everywhere we arrive at the Holiday Inn Express. It's the kind of hotel where the 'out of order' signs are rotated daily and the wallpaper us held up only by the tar from a million illicit cigarettes. Breakfast is eaten in silence but you can hear the 'how did my life come to this?' internal monologue going on everywhere.
If the windows opened I'd be heading out of them and into the carpark in an unholy plummet.
Still we're here despite recruiter issues, venue issues, flight issues, legal issues, more flight issues and a budget tighter than a post Denis Rodmann reconstructed Carmen Electra.
Here's to Chicago
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Delayed
So I arrive with my colleagues at La Guardia for out 8pm flight only to find the self check in machine insisting that my name is Murial. They all check in and it turns out that my flight is actually from Newark. Same time, same booking reference, different airport. Hmmmm.
Standby for the 7pm comes and goes. I smile, I flirt, I lisp, I mince, I pose, I simper and I generally act 'nice' and I get a boarding card for the 8pm. Which is delayed. Currently we're looking at 11.30pm but that plane hasn't arrived (ours has tech problems) and people are starting to go from tetchy to tired. Always a dangerous time - but a good one at which to take out the camera and see 'what's what'
Anyway somebody else's computer here so will sign off; fingers crossed we get out tonight
Standby for the 7pm comes and goes. I smile, I flirt, I lisp, I mince, I pose, I simper and I generally act 'nice' and I get a boarding card for the 8pm. Which is delayed. Currently we're looking at 11.30pm but that plane hasn't arrived (ours has tech problems) and people are starting to go from tetchy to tired. Always a dangerous time - but a good one at which to take out the camera and see 'what's what'
Anyway somebody else's computer here so will sign off; fingers crossed we get out tonight
Off to Chicago today
after a morning full of legal hiccups, last minute changes and general panic we finally managed to get everything sorted and make everyone happy.
Velcro is at Daycare, the cats have people popping in to say hello and the world's largest cockroach has been dispatched up the vacuum cleaner having been first sprayed and then beaten.
We tend to get one roach a year and I knew we had one this year because I saw the cats rush for the front door and start leaping around like 'things possessed'... low and behold a cat sized roach.
Much spraying later I can now be assured that any new stray roaches will be heading next door - I'm RAID protected - and feeling rather manly.
Velcro is at Daycare, the cats have people popping in to say hello and the world's largest cockroach has been dispatched up the vacuum cleaner having been first sprayed and then beaten.
We tend to get one roach a year and I knew we had one this year because I saw the cats rush for the front door and start leaping around like 'things possessed'... low and behold a cat sized roach.
Much spraying later I can now be assured that any new stray roaches will be heading next door - I'm RAID protected - and feeling rather manly.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
dullard of the year?
So I’ve been ‘home alone’ for a little more than two weeks now and things are starting to settle in to a routine. I’m exercising more, eating out less, watching more movies at home and seeing more of my friends. The animals are a little clingier and I’m allowing that to happen. The house is messier though no less clean. The credit cards are paid off, the savings are up and there’s money in the bank. It’s cheaper to live as a single on a single income it seems.
Really happy with the weight loss, less happy with the lack of sleep regulation. Getting very little sleep though I’m trying to fix that ASAP. Work about to ramp up from the nerve shredding to the flat out – ahead of my heading for Namibia. I’m actually much happier doing the work than I am planning it; so lesson learned – no more day to day planning for me. I’ll let the recruiters recruit, the room bookers book and the travel people send tickets,
Talked with Jude today who sounded happy but tired. It was late there and she had been doing a lot so I guess that I understand that note of weary satisfaction in her voice. Actually talked for a half hour – there goes the savings.
My listening habits have become resolutely ‘coffeehouse’ since Jude went. More radio. More whiney women. Said he listening to Sheryl Crowe on Satellite Radio’s Coffeehouse station.
I am SO looking forward to Namibia. If I was a little more certain of my long term survival chances I’d spend some time there checking out the adoption criteria. There have to be some babies that the celebrity ‘Womb Raiders’ haven’t picked up, doesn’t there? Of course with the Grim Reaper furiously tapping his watch and gesticulating at every turn that really isn’t practical. Last thing Jude needs is to be saddled with widowhood and a kid. That sounds morbid, it’s not. I don’t live my life thinking about imminent death. It certainly doesn’t play any part in the decisions we make. But when you’re looking long term it has to be a factor. The truth of the matter is that if cancer taught me anything (other than the fact that my head isn’t nearly as oddly shaped as I’d been led to believe) it’s to lighten up.
My photos are getting better too. I quite fancy a camera that takes great indoor shots in low lighting but I don’t really need it. Needs and wants are so easily confused. Mind I have so many things that I just wanted – and most make me happy. We’ll see.
This is a strange post, isn’t it? I do apologize,
So here’s a sample of my day. Up at 7.30 – latest I’ve been up all month. Get weighed (have an excel weight loss chart to fill in.) Feed the animals. Walk Velcro to coffee shop for breakfast. Come back and write a proposal for some work in Japan. Then some profiles for an exercise that we’re doing in Chicago on Tuesday. It’s 10.30 now and head for the gym. Many machines later I wander into the pet food store and pick up some dog food. Come home and arrange for Velcro to board at daycare while I’m in Chicago next week. Meet with a friend who’s looking to buy a house and wander through a sunny Williamsburg (33c) with him, his lovely gf and the dog. Tapas brunch at a new place, across the park to a 250 stall craft fair, then back through town and home with panting dog. Finish off ‘All the kings men’ (dull with poor diction) and then make some more food – salad and Quorn stuff. Talk to Jude. Return video and pop into bakery for more coffee then home, on to the computer and write this. Will catch up with some TV later and then read my (rather good) book and do a little pre-driving-written-test homework.
It’s not big or clever. It’s not exciting.
This weekend was a zombie movie, a greek meal, roller disco line, two movies, two sets of friends, two drinks, 1 brunch, 1 fair and a lot of walking.
But there are worse ways to live and I do feel great. Now – just what is on tonight?
Really happy with the weight loss, less happy with the lack of sleep regulation. Getting very little sleep though I’m trying to fix that ASAP. Work about to ramp up from the nerve shredding to the flat out – ahead of my heading for Namibia. I’m actually much happier doing the work than I am planning it; so lesson learned – no more day to day planning for me. I’ll let the recruiters recruit, the room bookers book and the travel people send tickets,
Talked with Jude today who sounded happy but tired. It was late there and she had been doing a lot so I guess that I understand that note of weary satisfaction in her voice. Actually talked for a half hour – there goes the savings.
My listening habits have become resolutely ‘coffeehouse’ since Jude went. More radio. More whiney women. Said he listening to Sheryl Crowe on Satellite Radio’s Coffeehouse station.
I am SO looking forward to Namibia. If I was a little more certain of my long term survival chances I’d spend some time there checking out the adoption criteria. There have to be some babies that the celebrity ‘Womb Raiders’ haven’t picked up, doesn’t there? Of course with the Grim Reaper furiously tapping his watch and gesticulating at every turn that really isn’t practical. Last thing Jude needs is to be saddled with widowhood and a kid. That sounds morbid, it’s not. I don’t live my life thinking about imminent death. It certainly doesn’t play any part in the decisions we make. But when you’re looking long term it has to be a factor. The truth of the matter is that if cancer taught me anything (other than the fact that my head isn’t nearly as oddly shaped as I’d been led to believe) it’s to lighten up.
My photos are getting better too. I quite fancy a camera that takes great indoor shots in low lighting but I don’t really need it. Needs and wants are so easily confused. Mind I have so many things that I just wanted – and most make me happy. We’ll see.
This is a strange post, isn’t it? I do apologize,
So here’s a sample of my day. Up at 7.30 – latest I’ve been up all month. Get weighed (have an excel weight loss chart to fill in.) Feed the animals. Walk Velcro to coffee shop for breakfast. Come back and write a proposal for some work in Japan. Then some profiles for an exercise that we’re doing in Chicago on Tuesday. It’s 10.30 now and head for the gym. Many machines later I wander into the pet food store and pick up some dog food. Come home and arrange for Velcro to board at daycare while I’m in Chicago next week. Meet with a friend who’s looking to buy a house and wander through a sunny Williamsburg (33c) with him, his lovely gf and the dog. Tapas brunch at a new place, across the park to a 250 stall craft fair, then back through town and home with panting dog. Finish off ‘All the kings men’ (dull with poor diction) and then make some more food – salad and Quorn stuff. Talk to Jude. Return video and pop into bakery for more coffee then home, on to the computer and write this. Will catch up with some TV later and then read my (rather good) book and do a little pre-driving-written-test homework.
It’s not big or clever. It’s not exciting.
This weekend was a zombie movie, a greek meal, roller disco line, two movies, two sets of friends, two drinks, 1 brunch, 1 fair and a lot of walking.
But there are worse ways to live and I do feel great. Now – just what is on tonight?
Saturday, June 16, 2007
proud mary
Proud Mary indeed... thought that I'd take a break from the drag, the glam' and the false eye lashes (at least until next week's Mermaid Parade) and instead do some of the stuff that I thought that I was going to have to do. So I walked into Greenpoint, bought a cheap DVD Recorder and am burning "So you think you can Dance?" as I write.
Rest of the weekend will be spent working, burning and heading for the gym (decided to do it at 3pm today) - not interesting but exactly what I need ahead of a busy couple of weeks.
Rest of the weekend will be spent working, burning and heading for the gym (decided to do it at 3pm today) - not interesting but exactly what I need ahead of a busy couple of weeks.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Another night another post op tranny
So last night saw one of the girls at work turning 24 (I know!) and we all merrily trolled down to Lucky Changs - a drag restaurant where the line between what's risque and what's crude is hurdled early in the evening and then squashed later. This pic was taken early in the evening. Very early. Tonight it's off to see Billy Connelly in a comedy zombie flick, we have a BBQ tomorrow (oops "I" not "we") and then Sunday is going to be nice and slow with me buying a DVD burner and burning reality shows for Jude ahead of Namibia. It will also see a proper post from me. Hurrah.Steve
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
People are extraordinarily kind...
I know that sounds (in my head anyway) like a Julie Walters 'old luvvie' character (it's almost all she plays and she plays them all the same, as the alter ego of Mrs. Apron - a kind of exaggerated Barbara Knox) but it's true.
Since Jude left I've been invited out more times than I can imagine. My weekends are full. My evenings planned in advance and theres a line to take over house while I'm away.
I feel surrounded and supported and - yes - loved in a way that I can't remember feeling before. Good stuff all around.
Add in a meeting with my old mate Alex in London during my Gatwick layover and I have to say that things are more than looking up - they're all the way grown and blooming.
Marvellous.
Since Jude left I've been invited out more times than I can imagine. My weekends are full. My evenings planned in advance and theres a line to take over house while I'm away.
I feel surrounded and supported and - yes - loved in a way that I can't remember feeling before. Good stuff all around.
Add in a meeting with my old mate Alex in London during my Gatwick layover and I have to say that things are more than looking up - they're all the way grown and blooming.
Marvellous.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Oh happy day
Good day yesterday
Jude's permit to work came through (almost a month early)
As did her expenses cheque for a conference
And the last payment due on a piece of work she did.
So money in the bank, all clear to start in September AND there were strippers on at Galapagos... perfect
Jude's permit to work came through (almost a month early)
As did her expenses cheque for a conference
And the last payment due on a piece of work she did.
So money in the bank, all clear to start in September AND there were strippers on at Galapagos... perfect
Sunday, June 10, 2007
A fine weekend
Rather a nice weekend - although Velcro still seems to believe that Judith has nipped out to the shops and insists on searching for her if we take any route otehr than the one direct to the park. It's bot very sweet and very upsetting. Friday was eating and drinking with some old friends from all over the place (UK, australia you name it) and some new friends from work (hurrah), Saturday was quieter, though I did go out and take a few pictures (as you can see here)... spent the evening at home with the animals, reading a rather good book, listening to some decent music and generally relaxing. Today I went to the gym early (a good move, it was empty)... spent a very social afternoon with my old mate Lisa, the dog and the various people that the dog helps attract before heading back, finishing off Little Miss Sunshine and cooking myself something that can be sprinkled with the fresh herbs I bought this morning. I even managed to talk with Jude for 10 mins. All good then.
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