24 November 2008

on missing England

I've been back in Houston for about 3 months now, and I am regularly asked what I miss about England. After giving it some time to settle in...I think the things I *still* miss at this point are the things I'll miss for a really long time.

Here we go with the top 6:

  1. Walking for transportation. It's highly under-rated. And it's a handy way to keep you from over-spending on shopping sprees. When you know you're going to have to carry it around the rest of the day...you usually only buy things you can't live without. I passed up many would-be purchases for that very reason, and can't think of a single thing I regret not buying. Except this one pair of fabulous shoes at the Selfridges sale.

  2. The "keep calm and carry on" attitude of the British. Long lines at the check-out? Ridiculously bad customer service? Annoying traveller on the train? Grocery out of baked beans? The English just deal with it. Every time. There's clearly a lot to be said for convenience and instant gratification, but it feels like we've taken it to the extreme in a lot of areas.

  3. Trains. Traveling non-walk-able distances by train is fantastic for people like me who hate driving. Traveling by train also allows for a LOT more leisure reading time than I'm doing these days. Also, I hate driving. Yes, twice on the driving thing.

  4. Proximity to Europe. Much harder to get a positive response to this question when posed from Houston: "Fancy a weekend in Barcelona?"

  5. The "rawness" of life. Partly because because neither perfect teeth nor perfect hair occupy first position on the priority list for most and partly because most Londoners walk and/or take public transport for their daily commute, and in spite of the fact that the British are generally fashion forward...they just look more "raw". There's something about this that I find endearing.

  6. Judgement calls. The English don't expect perfection in anyone, and they are pretty consistently good at withholding judgement based on first impressions and measure worth in a person from the ground upward, rather than from a standard of perfection downward.

For the record, there is a growing list of "reasons I'm glad to be back in the States", which I will share in due course.

19 November 2008

leisure reading

I can't recommend Jonah Goldberg enough.

His recent articles and commentary on the election have been great reading.

Bookmark his archive page. Visit it regularly.

12 November 2008

Do you know about MOVEMBER?

From movember.com:

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a charity event held during November each year - the challenge is to change the face of men's health. (I'm sure all my pun-loving friends will appreciate that one.)

Men lack awareness about the very real health issues they face. Many feel they have to be tough - "a real man" - and are reluctant to see a doctor about an illness or to go for regular medical check ups.

The aim of Movember is to change these attitudes and make men's health fun by putting the Mo back on the face of men everywhere while raising some serious funds for the number one men's health issue, prostate cancer.

A friend in England is growing a "classic rock star mo" to raise money for the prostate cancer charity. Love it!

But this isn't just for the English...it all started here in the good ol' U S of A. Jump in, boys...there's still time to grow a fabulous mo!!

Movember - Sponsor Me

07 November 2008

oh happy day


I suspect that I'll be at the Richmond Arms quite a bit in the coming weeks, and this is why.

Many thanks to my good friend Lesley for confirming the rumor that the Arms is THE place to be.

The fall lead-up to the 6 Nations tournament means I don't have to wait for January to watch the game that is everything American Football wishes it was.

So happy. So very happy.

31 October 2008

seriously?

My company is interviewing an ex-rugby player (London Irish) for a job in the London office.

Three years. THREE YEARS I was there...and did they hire any ex rugby players during that time? NO. No they didn't.

Does the HR department know about my affinity for rugby (and rugby players)? YES. Were they trying to marry me off the WHOLE TIME I was in that country? YES.

And how long have I been back in the States? Oh, about two months. Fantastic.

For the record...my work permit and visa are still valid. I'm just sayin'.

Man, this whole "believing in providence" thing is tough sometimes.

29 October 2008

breakfast time stream of consciousness ramble

Bread in my cupboard (which begins life as soft and chewy) becomes hard and crunchy when it's getting old. This is why I keep my bread in the freezer.

The lovely crackers I got at Central Market over the weekend (which, conversely, began life as hard and crunchy) will become soft and chewy if they last long enough.

How does food know which way it's supposed to go when it's "going bad"?

And if some things are going to end up hard and crunchy (and others soft and chewy), why can't it just be the stuff that started out that way?!

Doesn't my food know a single girl can't go through that many carbs in one week?! I blame the packaging industry...somehow I'm SURE it's their fault. They give me too much in one go.

I want half-sized loaves of bread so I don't have to only ever use the "frozen toast" setting on my toaster...and so I can leave my bread in the pantry and have nice chewy sandwiches like God intended.

See...this is what happens when I think too much before finishing my first travel mug of Lola Savannah Texas Pecan.

14 September 2008

enduring ike

Moving back to Houston seemed like a good idea at the time. And then there was Ike. "Hey...glad you're back...have a hurricane!" Some welcome home!

Actually, Ike's biggest impact to me so far has been a lot of inconveniences.

Some people have been without power for a couple of days now. I haven't.

Some people have trees in their roof. I don't.

Some people don't even have a roof (or a house) anymore. I do.

And on, and on...

So, when I'm sitting here in my air conditioning watching the Astros play the Cubbies in Milwaukee (weird!), I really have nothing to complain about. And I'm not. Not on the outside.

In fact, I have wept for people I've seen on the news that have lost everything. And I'm praying for the people around Houston who are growing weary of the heat (without a/c at home) and on, and on...

But on the inside I still have little frustrations about not being able to move into my new apartment this weekend to start settling in properly. Or shop for stuff for my new place. Or start to reconnect with friends. And on and on...

How ugly does pride and selfishness have to get before you do everything it takes to rid yourself of it?

01 September 2008

desert life

Here in the desert, at what I've started calling "adult camp" (I can't bear to call it a resort for some reason, and it feels like more than that anyway), when I'm not lounging by the pool, wandering around in a robe, or getting a spa treatment...I've been doing some other things I keep wanting to do but never doing.

Today I spent some time with horses, and will be heading out on a trail ride tomorrow.

I have also taken a couple of very abbreviated photography 101 type classes. My vocabulary now includes the words (and a meager understanding) of such things as ISO setting, aperture, and f-stop. Baby steps...

These are the two best images of the 150ish shots I took. God bless the man who invented digital cameras!


I got this blurry shot during a thunderstorm-laden sunset walk. Apparently it's hard to capture lightening...and I only did it with a blurry shot, but still am happy with the photo.




On a stroll around the resort...this was my attempt at stop-action and short depth of field. Meh...better than what I'd have been able to do before, but still nowhere near fabulous.



Despite the mediocre quality, I had a BLAST.

I think I might have convinced myself that it's worth the first level of investment for a digital SLR. I don't know that I really want to carry one around with me for tourism, but the idea of grabbing my camera and going out to shoot some images for relaxation and a little more creativity in my life is REALLY appealing.

26 August 2008

vacation: an under-rated activity

I miss London, but I'm sufficiently distracted for now!

Maybe it's because I don't do it enough...but totally switching off and enjoying more than just a long weekend away is SUCH a refreshing break. I'm not quite halfway through my holiday, and I'm already settled in nicely.

It's going to be really hard to get back to real work again.

15 August 2008

14 August 2008

the movers

They came...they packed...they loaded up their truck with all my stuff. It took less than 2 hours.

Now it's really official: I *have* to leave...all my stuff is gone!

Tomorrow the cleaners are coming...you're pretty much required to hire professional cleaners before check-out with your landlord...and for what I'm paying them, I'd hope that not even a CSI could find any traces of me or my dirt in this place when they're done!

13 August 2008

more lasts and sorting mania

Today was my last:
  • full day in the office
  • work-out with Jacky (my e-ville trainer)
  • night to prepare and eat dinner in my own flat

It's finally all starting to feel real!

Sadly, I didn't get started on all the sorting I need to do tonight quite as early as I'd hoped.

See, I almost forgot to pack up my office (yeah, it's all going away tomorrow as well), so I didn't leave the office until 8:30 (after the aforementioned session with my e-ville trainer).

The movers are coming at 9:00am.

After the commute home and a little dinner, I started sorting out my junk at 9:30pm...less than 12 hours before the movers come to take away everything I own in this country.

However, thanks to a few key executive decisions, I finished all sorting needed tonight by 11:57pm.

I rock.

12 August 2008

no surprises here

I've left most of the hard work of packing until the last minute. This will come as no surprise to those who know me well.

The sad part is that I actually don't have to do much packing. For one thing, the movers won't let me pack...because if they don't do it, they won't insure my shipment. No complaints here!

So really all I have to do is SORT. One pile for the movers, one pile for my suitcases, and one pile for the charity shop down the street.

Why is this so hard? Well...a few things conspire against me.

  1. I'm very definitely a get-lost-in-the-details sort about this kind of thing. When I clean my flat, I start in one room and make a little progress, but when I pick up the watch I left on the sofa and take it to my bedroom where it belongs, I end up doing some cleaning in there...and eventually I somehow end up getting lost in the gratifying work of cleaning the grout between bathroom tiles with an old toothbrush. And so it goes.

  2. I'm a perfectionist. See note above regarding toothbrushes and bathroom grout. There are countless hours of my life I've dedicated in similar attention to the minutiae that I'll never get back.

  3. I'm the queen of procrastination. If it were an Olympic sport, I'd have multiple gold medals.


So, knowing myself as well as I do...I figure waiting until the last minute may still demonstrate an awful tendency to procrastinate, but at least I won't have spent my last two or three weeks in England thinking about things like whether or not I'm ever going to wear that pink sweater again.

I have enjoyed my last few weeks in the Big Smoke, and I'm confident I'll have PLENTY of down time Stateside to sort out my world.

But I am starting to think I've left it all just a bit TOO late now...!

10 August 2008

rollin' out

Today is the first day of all my "lasts". It's my last full Sunday in London. This time next week, I'll be halfway between Heathrow and Houston.

On my way to meet a few friends for lunch and an afternoon of goodbyes, I saw this beast pulling out of the bus stop across the street.

It was one of those moments that made me sad I don't carry my camera with me at all times...this fuzzy one is from my mobile.

The other guy who stopped to take a photo told me it's a city bus that was all over the streets of London until the early 1950s.

So, that was a first for me, but a last as well, I'm sure.

05 August 2008

finally sorted

For those of you who have been asking repeatedly only to get a fairly vague response from me...let the record reflect that I have finally booked my flight home. I will be returning to God's country West of the Atlantic (aka Texas) on Sunday, August 17th.

(God's country East of the Atlantic is aka Scotland.)

It still doesn't completely feel like I'm 12 days away from leaving this small island, but I'm not in a mad dash for Heathrow, so that's fine by me.

It's still very bittersweet, but mostly sweet.

30 July 2008

winchester

Saturday I took a short little trip south to Winchester. I tried to be sparing with photos, but couldn't resist a few quintessential shots of this quaint but buzzing little English town.

Cathedral? Check.
University? Check.
A river runs through it? Check.
High-profile public boys' school? Check.
Major historical significance? Check.

It's not really a huge list by any account, but somehow it feels like there's lots going on in this little corner of England...

I put a few pictures here, and a little history lesson below.

The history lesson:
  • The very large statue in the pictures is of King Alfred. He was all about justice and order, and took a lot of direction from Exodus. Much of the current legal system is based on his foundations.

  • The 'high profile boys' school' (Winchester College) is on par with the likes of Eton (which, interestingly, is modeled after Winchester).

  • Turns out the founder of Winchester College, William Wykeham, also founded New College at Oxford in 1379. Funny name for one of the oldest colleges in Oxford, eh? Apparently, New College's original remit was to receive the boys who passed through Winchester and to support them during their university studies. Handy.
Don't feel guilty if you couldn't care less about the history. It's hard to care if you don't experience it...but since I have a friend who went to New College, I had an extra little bit of "oh, that's very interesting" sort of thing going on.

21 July 2008

it's all about marketing: example #219

"The Husband Creche"
I'm sure the beer in this pub isn't markedly different or better than the pub 2 doors down, but I'd stop here - even though I don't have a husband to drop off - just because of the sense of humor demonstrated with their sidewalk sign.

And I know plenty of people who would do the same.

Brilliant.

14 July 2008

happy birthday daniel jacob!

How can you NOT totally fall in love with this little man?! I can't wait to see him in August! I hope he saved me some cake.

13 July 2008

it's a small world after all

This morning, an American in London (yes, that would be me) had Welsh cakes for breakfast with Canadian maple syrup, eaten off a plate made in China (and with a fork made in China).

The weird thing is that I don't actually think this marriage of at least 5 cultures is really all that noteworthy...which is the part that feels noteworthy.