Well it seems that we were beaten by a storm named Noel. How shaming. Noel. So instead of being on a boat in the Bahamas we're looking forward to a night at a local cinema (here in A2) and perhaps a glass of wine or two.
We did make it down as far as Fort Lauderdale - but from there out the flights ran out, Noel hunkered down and we decided to head for home. Still we got a day in a decent hotel, the chance to dip our feet in the ocean and some points on North West Airlines.
So disappointing but we're making the most of it... and Alex and Xtiana are safe, sound and hunkered down
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Maybe not
So last night we flew down to Fort Lauderdale and then on to an airport motel for the night. Up at 7am this morning and back to the airport to find that all flights to the Bahamas are cancelled due to a tropical storm and that the chances of our getting there at all are slim. Well there's a day of my life and a grand I won't be getting back.
Decided to wait it out a day and switched to a Hilton hotel that has a decent spa, a pool and a view of a very rough ocean. Tomorrow we'll make the decision as to whether we jump on a plane towards the islands or we jump on a plane home and rue our misfortune.
Hoping that we can make it - but fearing that we can't. Gotta dash now as the hotel charges for internet in prices that might neccessitate my selling an organ or having Judith 'harvested' for eggs
Decided to wait it out a day and switched to a Hilton hotel that has a decent spa, a pool and a view of a very rough ocean. Tomorrow we'll make the decision as to whether we jump on a plane towards the islands or we jump on a plane home and rue our misfortune.
Hoping that we can make it - but fearing that we can't. Gotta dash now as the hotel charges for internet in prices that might neccessitate my selling an organ or having Judith 'harvested' for eggs
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
We're off
So after frantic unpacking... cat minder finding, dog sitter service vetting and a million and one other things we're off to Long Island Bahamas for a wedding. Should be lovely. And just what we need. Once we get past the flight time. And the inconvenience. And expense. Oh what the hell, it's warm, some of our favorite people in the world are there and if this wedding was in Milwaukee we'd be there, even if it meant walking.
Blog entries over the next 5 days may be few and far between
Blog entries over the next 5 days may be few and far between
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
And granny makes Sith
Took this as the Halloween Dog Parade... a whole family, including dog dressed in some kind of costume. Actually it was called Howl-o-ween which is of course pun tastic.
Today was spent unpacking boxes. The bedroom looks great now. The kitchen pretty good, The living room livable and upstairs as though Bobby and Whitney just made sweet lurve there - it's nasty.
Tomorrow I have a guy coming for the blinds, a guy coming to switch my cable box to one with HDMI connectors and I MUST, MUST, MUST fill in my visa form online and get it printed.
Then it's dog to the dog people, Jude to the paper store and us off to the airport for a bit of a trek, schlep and trudge down to the Bahamas.
Man I'm knackered.
Today was spent unpacking boxes. The bedroom looks great now. The kitchen pretty good, The living room livable and upstairs as though Bobby and Whitney just made sweet lurve there - it's nasty.
Tomorrow I have a guy coming for the blinds, a guy coming to switch my cable box to one with HDMI connectors and I MUST, MUST, MUST fill in my visa form online and get it printed.
Then it's dog to the dog people, Jude to the paper store and us off to the airport for a bit of a trek, schlep and trudge down to the Bahamas.
Man I'm knackered.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Paving the way for a move
So as Jude pulls all kind of flickr viewers with her new hair I started to prepare for the next couple of days and weeks with a spray on tan. Had to show a passport, get finger-printed and sign a waiver just to get permission to stand naked in front of what looked like a garden sprinkler. Then had to brave the overly well lit mirror as I wiped off the excess 'paint'.
What else did I do today? Took the cats to a place where they can stay while we're away - they have a room with a view of goats (who they stalked) and birds (who they ignored).
Also helped a guy remove the landlord's furniture... sitting in an empty room; on the floor with an exhausted dog as I write this.
FedEx brought me my appointment for the US embassy in London - will be there the nights of the 6th an 7th.
And I walked the dog. A lot. She's so happy here. Running in the park, sniffing at the leaves and being away from the BQE traffic. Best thing about the move so far - just how happy Velcro seems to be
Have movers bringing our stuff tomorrow, then flight out Wednesday, back Monday, fly to UK Tuesday for Wednesday meeting. Busy, busy
What else did I do today? Took the cats to a place where they can stay while we're away - they have a room with a view of goats (who they stalked) and birds (who they ignored).
Also helped a guy remove the landlord's furniture... sitting in an empty room; on the floor with an exhausted dog as I write this.
FedEx brought me my appointment for the US embassy in London - will be there the nights of the 6th an 7th.
And I walked the dog. A lot. She's so happy here. Running in the park, sniffing at the leaves and being away from the BQE traffic. Best thing about the move so far - just how happy Velcro seems to be
Have movers bringing our stuff tomorrow, then flight out Wednesday, back Monday, fly to UK Tuesday for Wednesday meeting. Busy, busy
Sunday, October 28, 2007
A L-O-N-G weekend
After a couple of days of packing (see Jude somewhere either left or right swarfed by boxes) and too much running up and down the 63 stairs that served to lead to our apartment (good protection from fat Jehovahs however) we finally managed to see everything on a truck and ourselves heading to what might well be the smallest hotel room in the history of New York hotel rooms. Okay the name 'Petit Double" should have given it away but at $309 a night (the cheapest room in town on the weekend of the NYC marathon) I'd thought that it would at least have room to swing a cat flea. Not so. Ne'er mind though. We had dinner at a vegetarian Korean place with Mike, bough pjamas and slept okay.
Woke up to monsoon style rains, flood warnings, near gales and a general air of 'stay inside'... which we ignored as we loaded up the black Ford Escape with the various bits and pieces required by a long journey with several animals and set off into the deluge.
13 hours, one burger king fish sandwich, too many Starbucks, a scary tuna melt in a scarier Ohio diner (Jude thought that it was a halloween costume party, I insist that it's just Ohio clientel), 250bn gallons of water, four dog stops, too much 80s and 90s music, an average of 23mpg (that's 28mpg to the UK gallon) and one wrong turn later (the wrong turn being the last one - thank heavens for Sophie our trusty GPS) we arrived.
Today the sun is shining, the dogs are out in the park and dressed in halloween costumes and Jude is putting together a bathroom cabinet even as I type (I'll help when it comes time to hang the doors - especially as I do soappreciate the fact that like good freshmen doors should be well hung and accurately mounted)
We're here.
Woke up to monsoon style rains, flood warnings, near gales and a general air of 'stay inside'... which we ignored as we loaded up the black Ford Escape with the various bits and pieces required by a long journey with several animals and set off into the deluge.
13 hours, one burger king fish sandwich, too many Starbucks, a scary tuna melt in a scarier Ohio diner (Jude thought that it was a halloween costume party, I insist that it's just Ohio clientel), 250bn gallons of water, four dog stops, too much 80s and 90s music, an average of 23mpg (that's 28mpg to the UK gallon) and one wrong turn later (the wrong turn being the last one - thank heavens for Sophie our trusty GPS) we arrived.
Today the sun is shining, the dogs are out in the park and dressed in halloween costumes and Jude is putting together a bathroom cabinet even as I type (I'll help when it comes time to hang the doors - especially as I do soappreciate the fact that like good freshmen doors should be well hung and accurately mounted)
We're here.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Long Drive
So with the house packed and the guys on their way to take all of our stuff down to Michigan we're girding our loins for the long drive down ourselves. Saturday is predicted to be full of thunderstorms and rain and general nastiness and of course we have over 600 minles to drive - most of it on the same piece of freeway. We've rented a car (you rent cars in America and hire people), we've trimmed the amount that we're carrying and we're ready to rock. Here's hoping it all is as smooth as a Vegas stripper's what-not
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Big day today
The people are here to pack the house. I quit my job. I'm waiting on a courier to bring me some plane tickets and legal documents and Jude had her hair colored and straightened. Surrounded by a million and one people here so this is gonna be short. More when we have Internet connection again
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Bloated
So flew down and pretty much ate my way through the day. Stuck in a hotel that was with in walking distance only of two chains. The first did huge Burrittos the second did huge Asian-ish food which it served under pictures of Asian-esque food described in Asian-like fonts.
Have a 4.10am wake up call booked for the morning so it's probably a good time to turn off Dancing With The Stars (post Marie Osmond faint) and try to catch up on some sleep.
Maybe pack my bag first though
Dull couple of days I know - but with a move coming up on Thursday it's probably a good idea to chill a little in Nowheresville, Arkansas
Have a 4.10am wake up call booked for the morning so it's probably a good time to turn off Dancing With The Stars (post Marie Osmond faint) and try to catch up on some sleep.
Maybe pack my bag first though
Dull couple of days I know - but with a move coming up on Thursday it's probably a good idea to chill a little in Nowheresville, Arkansas
Where on earth?
Today I had to get up at 4.30am to catch a 6.30am flight to the middle of nowhere.
That flight gets me in for my meeting at 10.30am.
The meeting starts at 4.30pm.
So I'm stuck in a Best Western hotel miles from anywhere.
And of course the first flight home is at 6.30am tomorrow
So a 5am start
Lovely
That flight gets me in for my meeting at 10.30am.
The meeting starts at 4.30pm.
So I'm stuck in a Best Western hotel miles from anywhere.
And of course the first flight home is at 6.30am tomorrow
So a 5am start
Lovely
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Quite a night
So after a lovely dinner at my friend kajsa's house we decided to head down to The Slipper Room and Burlesque. At first all was as Burlesque so often is - tape over the nipples in the shape of swastikas, drinking the blood of Jewish babies, a great flashdance routine, an exterimator routine that ended with cockroach nipple tassles and so on.
And then came Rabbi Rose Wood. Dressed as a Rabbi 'Rose' almost immediately removed the lower half of her clothing revealing, well her 'thorn' - (s)he then proceeded to dance a merry gig - stopping only to shove a wine bottle up her ass and continue dancing with it dangling what I imagined was precariously. Of course the rest of the clothes come off to reveal a large (but fake?) chest which seemed inconguous with the Haseed beard she was sporting. Most odd. The crowd of course lapped it up but I couldn't help but wonder when the arrests would start.
Guilliani - a man who claims a lot of credit as America's mayor rose a dip in crime to pass through a lot of regulations that all but closed down New York Nightlife. The club scene never recovered - but now it seems that performance art is fighting back. Sure you can't show a nipple anymore - unless it's fake, so here's to blasphemy, political incorrectness, huge fake boobs and a bottle trick that I'm sure I won't be seeing in Michigan.
As that hideous old trout always says "Only in New York"
Thursday, October 18, 2007
I saw this and thought of you
It was described thus(ly)The Cone may appear to be just a stylish sculpture on your nightstand, but press the light-up buttons at its base and this unique vibe will knock your sheets off. The adjustable speeds range from a gentle purr to a rumbling roar through any of The Cone's sixteen vibration patterns (including an "orgasm button" that skips automatically to the highest intensity vibration). Sit astride it in the lotus position while reading or watching your favorite erotica, or lay over it during partner sex. And the shape isn't just about style—its tapered proportions are easy and fun to use by all genders and people with varied mobility.
Size: 7-1/2" diameter, 4-1/2" high
Material: Silicone
Volume: ****
Intensity: *****
Batteries: Three C batteries
It's like a poor man's sybian machine.... who's up ifirst
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Traffic
Today it seems I have more traffic than the B5023 Wirksworth Road through the town of Idridgehay - the residents of which are forever banging on about people speeding and bemoaning the day that the government saw fit to allow motorized horses loose without a preceding man with yellow flag.
What this means I'm not sure. It's been a while since I tried the old trick of dropping blogsearch friendly terms and phrases like "Koreans eat Ellen's dog" or "Lindsay Lohan Sex Tape" into a paragraph to lure the perverted and unsuspecting (most of whom seemed to come from Saudi Arabia I have to say) so I'm thinking that this sudden surge must be something else.
I refuse to believe that people are visiting to hear my veilled hints at possible changes afoot or that they're here to hear me complain about having to call the movers. And much as I'd like to believe it I doubt that people are here for the gags - like the eyes of two Cyclops in a long distance relationship they are few and far apart (cylopses? cyclopsi?)
Maybe it's the spectre of death. The promise that something mentioned in passing is actually a malignancy that's killing me as I type. But then the spectre of death has hung over these pages in the past and the only extra people who visited were those who thought that a funeral may have good sandwiches and perhaps a decent song or two (no Angels for this guy)
Then what? What would drive me to a site is the pressure cooker recently described. Am I about to be minted a diamond or instead squished down to primordial sludge and used to manouvre a Buick around 4 and a half inches? There's certainly interest in there. The potential for total meltdown is high and the consequences potentially hilarious - if Britney could make the front pages with 5 blows of an umbrella then what celebrity could I muster from a street tantrum?
A therapist would say that it might be an indicator that people genuinely cared and were interested in me and my wellbeing. But then if I had so many caring people around yme, miss therapist, why am I paying for someone to talk to?
So instead I'm going to plump for an entirely different theory. There's been a groundswell, an upturn, a deluge of interest in the idea of Dakota Fanning playing me in a movie and people want to be able to say - oh well of course, I read the blog years ago.
Okay 8pm - Quorn time.
What this means I'm not sure. It's been a while since I tried the old trick of dropping blogsearch friendly terms and phrases like "Koreans eat Ellen's dog" or "Lindsay Lohan Sex Tape" into a paragraph to lure the perverted and unsuspecting (most of whom seemed to come from Saudi Arabia I have to say) so I'm thinking that this sudden surge must be something else.
I refuse to believe that people are visiting to hear my veilled hints at possible changes afoot or that they're here to hear me complain about having to call the movers. And much as I'd like to believe it I doubt that people are here for the gags - like the eyes of two Cyclops in a long distance relationship they are few and far apart (cylopses? cyclopsi?)
Maybe it's the spectre of death. The promise that something mentioned in passing is actually a malignancy that's killing me as I type. But then the spectre of death has hung over these pages in the past and the only extra people who visited were those who thought that a funeral may have good sandwiches and perhaps a decent song or two (no Angels for this guy)
Then what? What would drive me to a site is the pressure cooker recently described. Am I about to be minted a diamond or instead squished down to primordial sludge and used to manouvre a Buick around 4 and a half inches? There's certainly interest in there. The potential for total meltdown is high and the consequences potentially hilarious - if Britney could make the front pages with 5 blows of an umbrella then what celebrity could I muster from a street tantrum?
A therapist would say that it might be an indicator that people genuinely cared and were interested in me and my wellbeing. But then if I had so many caring people around yme, miss therapist, why am I paying for someone to talk to?
So instead I'm going to plump for an entirely different theory. There's been a groundswell, an upturn, a deluge of interest in the idea of Dakota Fanning playing me in a movie and people want to be able to say - oh well of course, I read the blog years ago.
Okay 8pm - Quorn time.
A quickie
Quite stupidly busy at the moment - even without MRI scans, moving people, posts of unwanted stuff on Craigslist and all the other thigs that come with shipping a house, working a project, updating your health status and generally being under the gun.
Still I'm coping. I'm losing weight. And I've yet to attempt murder - so I'm either more repressed than anyone thought or I'm coping.
More when I have some time - which of course will be anytime. Let's face it if I drop a ball people barely hear the thud - if some people drop the ball their patient's veins explode. I have a story about that - of which more later.
One last thing. A psychic (don't ask) told me that I wake up every night screaming in agony but don't remember because someone that Judith dated in the past was a wizard who has cast black magic upon us. A mere $200 would pay for research into who this person is - and another $800 could help break the spell. Sounds like a bargain. You know it wasn't until I mocked the idea in writing that I started to wonder about the likelihood of her being 100% genuine and 100% right. That's how they do it.
Still I'm coping. I'm losing weight. And I've yet to attempt murder - so I'm either more repressed than anyone thought or I'm coping.
More when I have some time - which of course will be anytime. Let's face it if I drop a ball people barely hear the thud - if some people drop the ball their patient's veins explode. I have a story about that - of which more later.
One last thing. A psychic (don't ask) told me that I wake up every night screaming in agony but don't remember because someone that Judith dated in the past was a wizard who has cast black magic upon us. A mere $200 would pay for research into who this person is - and another $800 could help break the spell. Sounds like a bargain. You know it wasn't until I mocked the idea in writing that I started to wonder about the likelihood of her being 100% genuine and 100% right. That's how they do it.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Exposed
Well today went about as well as could be expected. The movers made grumbling progress towards a signed contract, I managed to find cover for LA, the client promised to sign, the MRI people are scanning diaries, the life changing decision thing moved forward a step and I played rather a nice bingo on an internet scrabble site.
Of course nothing is tied down but I feel as though I'm starting to crawl out from under the weight of organization that I've been under for the last 18 months or so. It's going to be so nice not to get up with a list of people to chase that day.
coming up - a trip to the bahamas for a wedding - with stops in Florida both ways. A trip to Vegas - and a Xmas being quiet in Michigan as Jude tries to get a million and one papers out.
Nae bad - all this and Barking Bard Billy Bragg on Saturday
Of course nothing is tied down but I feel as though I'm starting to crawl out from under the weight of organization that I've been under for the last 18 months or so. It's going to be so nice not to get up with a list of people to chase that day.
coming up - a trip to the bahamas for a wedding - with stops in Florida both ways. A trip to Vegas - and a Xmas being quiet in Michigan as Jude tries to get a million and one papers out.
Nae bad - all this and Barking Bard Billy Bragg on Saturday
The most stressful day of all time...
>waiting on movers, a recruiter, a client signature, a big decision which could change everything and over which I have no control and a time and date for my MRI. It's a sit and wait game and so I'm sitting and waiting. And of course once this stuff is out of the way I have to deal not only with cleaning the shit from the fan but from all the walls that it hit while the fan was spinning.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
A low key weekend
It's been a low key weekend - which is what I needed after a high drama week. It's been good just to run up the cell phone bill with Jude, play a little internet scrabble, catch up on the old TV and do a little bit of writing for myself. I did pop down to Sketchy's which seemed to have found a bit of form actually - with a 'beauty tames the beast' theme that had great monsters and a 'beauty' all too ready to tame him.
Today has consisted of a long walk with the dog in brilliant sunshine but cooler temps (16c); a half hour harboring the neighbors and their baby as the removal guys in their apartment took out the final pieces and I'm about to go and meet Will to talk about his cartoon series.
This afternoon? Kaiser and her new hair, maybe a movie (it's been ages since I went to the cinema) and then an evening spent writing up some of the work notes that I made this morning.
As I said pretty much exactly what I needed.
It's been an odd week - but it's been a good week. Here's hoping that Monday brings good news on something that I've been waiting to hear on forever and a date on the MRI that will look at the 'rupture' in my neck
Today has consisted of a long walk with the dog in brilliant sunshine but cooler temps (16c); a half hour harboring the neighbors and their baby as the removal guys in their apartment took out the final pieces and I'm about to go and meet Will to talk about his cartoon series.
This afternoon? Kaiser and her new hair, maybe a movie (it's been ages since I went to the cinema) and then an evening spent writing up some of the work notes that I made this morning.
As I said pretty much exactly what I needed.
It's been an odd week - but it's been a good week. Here's hoping that Monday brings good news on something that I've been waiting to hear on forever and a date on the MRI that will look at the 'rupture' in my neck
Friday, October 12, 2007
Continuing on the emotional path
it's amazing what happens when you allow yourself to lose the stiff upper lip. I've spent the day terrorizing other people with tales of my mood and of how I feel about almost everything. It's a wonder friends aren't running for the bunker.
Conversations ran for hours rather than minutes. I held eye contact. I freaked people out. And a weird thing happened. I started to notice things. The rats in the park with McDonald's wrappers in their mouths. The tiny spider caught in the glass of one of our pictures at home (Jude tells me it's been there forever). People on the train.
I feel alive and raw and vulnerable and strangely manic. I feel alert and full not just of noble intentions but a real sense of urgency - a real need to get things done. It's as though a heavy gauze has been lifted and I'm shocked by just how alive and vibrant the world is. I wish I could say that this was due to medication (legal or otherwise) but it's not. It's just about opening up and learning to be more open.
So if any of you call or see me over the next few days don't be surprised if I laugh louder, ask you about a mole that you've had for years or if I ask you very personal questions whilst staring at you with real intent. I'm not having a breakdown. I'm not high. Or drunk. Or possessed. I'm just feeling very alive. And that (despite appearances) is a godo thing.
Conversations ran for hours rather than minutes. I held eye contact. I freaked people out. And a weird thing happened. I started to notice things. The rats in the park with McDonald's wrappers in their mouths. The tiny spider caught in the glass of one of our pictures at home (Jude tells me it's been there forever). People on the train.
I feel alive and raw and vulnerable and strangely manic. I feel alert and full not just of noble intentions but a real sense of urgency - a real need to get things done. It's as though a heavy gauze has been lifted and I'm shocked by just how alive and vibrant the world is. I wish I could say that this was due to medication (legal or otherwise) but it's not. It's just about opening up and learning to be more open.
So if any of you call or see me over the next few days don't be surprised if I laugh louder, ask you about a mole that you've had for years or if I ask you very personal questions whilst staring at you with real intent. I'm not having a breakdown. I'm not high. Or drunk. Or possessed. I'm just feeling very alive. And that (despite appearances) is a godo thing.
72 Baps Connie
There's an old Victoria Wood sketch that shows just how emotionally distant the British are as a race. Two women talking and it becomes apparent that one has just (and only just) had her husband die
"What are you going to do?" asks the friend
"72 Baps Connie, I'll slice you butter" says the recently widowed one.
It's a better sketch than that - but not a truer one. As a race the British tend to true to solve a related problem rather than deal with the emotion of the issue at hand. It's about control of course. I think. So maybe not 'of course'
It's this emotional distance that gives us the famed "stiff upper lip" and it's why the world was stunned when Diana's death was greeted with an outpouring of emotion and a bashing for the one person (the Queen) who behaved like a Brit through it all. It's why the world wasn't stunned when 9/11 sent America into therapy but the British bombings sent Londoners determinedly to subway stops accross the capital complaining only about the delays.
Why am I wittering on about this. Because being British is fine until disaster after disaster heaps upon you - then reserve and resolve become quiet desperation and emptiness and you end up in the potting shed with your wicker work and a bottle of Barbiturates.
So I've decide to take Ikea's advice to "Stop being so British" and instead to be a little more in touch, if no more touchy feely. So watch out all you may find me strangely connected to the world.
"What are you going to do?" asks the friend
"72 Baps Connie, I'll slice you butter" says the recently widowed one.
It's a better sketch than that - but not a truer one. As a race the British tend to true to solve a related problem rather than deal with the emotion of the issue at hand. It's about control of course. I think. So maybe not 'of course'
It's this emotional distance that gives us the famed "stiff upper lip" and it's why the world was stunned when Diana's death was greeted with an outpouring of emotion and a bashing for the one person (the Queen) who behaved like a Brit through it all. It's why the world wasn't stunned when 9/11 sent America into therapy but the British bombings sent Londoners determinedly to subway stops accross the capital complaining only about the delays.
Why am I wittering on about this. Because being British is fine until disaster after disaster heaps upon you - then reserve and resolve become quiet desperation and emptiness and you end up in the potting shed with your wicker work and a bottle of Barbiturates.
So I've decide to take Ikea's advice to "Stop being so British" and instead to be a little more in touch, if no more touchy feely. So watch out all you may find me strangely connected to the world.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
careful out there
Lunch and dinner with (different) headhunters today - and another called yesterday morning. My brain (for the picking) seems to be in much demand. Hopefully this time they'll make enough in placements to pay me a decent commission. Enough to pay the moving costs anyway - went with middle estimate of $5124
Have a feeling I'm gonna get hosed later - but for now I'm happy with that one.
Well lunch waits for no man - and have two things to write between overpriced meals so I'll dash for the door, take the stairs rather than the elevator and finish this later
Have a feeling I'm gonna get hosed later - but for now I'm happy with that one.
Well lunch waits for no man - and have two things to write between overpriced meals so I'll dash for the door, take the stairs rather than the elevator and finish this later
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