An American Girl in London

Celebrity Spotting

2008-07-04T20:40:00.004+00:00

Living in London, I do happen to see celebrities every now and again. So from now on, when I do I will post it here.

Yesterday while driving past The Ritz, I saw Adam Campbell standing on on the sidewalk either waiting for a taxi or a bus. I really hope it was a bus because celebrities riding buses is just the best.

Admittedly, I didn't know what his name was but I immediately recognized him from Date Movie and Epic Movie. I think he is married to an actress on Ugly Betty.

Little tribe not so lost

2008-06-24T10:34:00.001+00:00

I was sorry to find this out, but it's good to know that it wasn't a complete fake.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/21/amazon

Hampstead Heath

2008-06-20T12:34:00.007+00:00

So yesterday I had to go up to North London for a singing lesson. Afterwards, I thought I would head over to Hampstead Heath and wander around. There is a big debate over who has the best views of Central London, Hampstead or Greenwich. I thought I must discover this for myself since I had the day free. I headed over by bus which is actually the best way to see London. You can see the way the city connects which is essential if you really want to know London well. Here are some photos:

This poor guy was being chased by another. This was his moment of relief at having escaped.

I love the bathing ponds. They have one for women only, one for men only, and this coed one.

My first view of Parliament Hill.

Views of Central London - as good as Greenwich? Nope.

This is looking the other direction.

All in all, it was a good day. I walked around for about 4 hours as it is a big area. But by the end I really longed for the beauty and polish of Greenwich Park.

Podcast for ChoralNet- Interviewee - My cool hubby

2008-06-19T20:58:00.002+00:00

The interviewer is discussing the new album with Chris. It's really interesting. Put it on in the background while you are doing other things on your computer (if you wanna). Chris does many of the interviews for the KS and I am always so impressed with him.

Click here.

Can I brag on my husband for a second? A recent album review...

2008-06-19T20:51:00.000+00:00

"Simple Gifts" is a very rare and special gift to us, as it represents the first full a cappella studio album by the legendary King's Singers in 10 years. Arguably the most popular a cappella group of all time, whose flawless harmonies grace over 30 finely-crafted CDs and a slew of songbooks in the Primarily A Cappella online catalog, we will assume that you know how good these six British men really are. So let's talk about some of the 16 carefully-selected songs: Billy Joel's classic "She's Always A Woman," James Taylor's sublime "You Can Close Your Eyes," the traditional joyous round "The Gift to Be Simple," Stephen Stills' harmonic CSN&Y gem "Helplessly Hoping," some wonderfully-arranged spirituals, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Deep River," "The Water is Wide" and "Steal Away," all of which feature some sweet deep bass leads. Randy Newman's poignant "When She Loved Me," Sting's "Valparaiso," Paul Simon's "April Come She Will"…these are some of our picks for the most beautiful songs of all time. They are arranged by group member Phillip Lawson, Bob Chilcott and Peter Knight, and then sung as beautifully as you can imagine by the King's Singers. The King’s Singers incredible blend and tuning goes to ensure that this is probably their finest recording in a long time. Enough said! 8907 CD 16.95
Listen to "April Come She Will"

What the scream?!

2008-06-16T22:54:00.004+00:00

So today as I was heading to the gym, I thought I would stop in the park and read for a while first. I hadn't been leaning against my pretty tree for 5 minutes when a bloodcurdling scream came bolting from another section of the park. At first I just thought there were some kids playing. But after 30 minutes of rereading the same chapter due to the non-stop screaming, I realized that either another movie was being filmed in the park (horror) or someone was hurt. So I grumpily threw my blanket over my arm and marched in the direction of the noise. I opened the gate to a little side garden with a statue and saw a pre-teen girl lying on the bench with the most horrid squealing coming from her mouth. I walked over to see if she was ok. She said she wasn't (she had about a 5 inch scratch up her side probably from one of the rosebushes which are in full bloom all over the park). I asked if she had anyone with her and she pointed behind me to two women with a couple more children. They were completely engrossed in conversation but eventually looked up and saw me standing there. The mother (I think) said she was fine just overly dramatic and to leave her alone. So I did.

As I walked back over to my tree which was actually pretty far from the little screaming girl, I started thinking about parenting. I always try hard not to judge how other parents are raising their children unless of course they are doing something blatantly wrong. As Chris and I get closer to potential parenthood (we hope), we are aware of being those people watching the way others do it, saying we'll NEVER do that, and then having to eat our words later. Parenting looks incredibly hard to me, I am under no illusions. BUT does my park scenario seem a bit off to anyone? The little girl was being dramatic for sure, but she was seriously screaming over and over for half an hour. She sounded like some Jason or Michael Myers was hacking away at her with a sharp object. Everyone within a 10 minute walking distance could hear her and there were a lot of disturbed looking faces. Do you think the mother should have done something different?

By the way, the book I am reading is great! It might be a bit girly for some of you guys (but maybe not others:). I would recommend it as a good summer read.

It's all Chinese to me.

2008-06-15T22:39:00.003+00:00

Chris is currently touring the Far East for 3 weeks. They are posting blogs everyday while on tour which you can read on their new website which was launched a few months ago. If you want to read, I think you need to sign up to be a "Friend" which is free. But hey, who wouldn't want to be friends with such a great group of guys?!

Work, baby, work... or not.

2008-06-13T21:39:00.005+00:00

We have made some big changes recently. Change 1 - I became gainfully unemployed a little over a month ago. At Christmas, Chris and I sat down and looked at our life and we saw that our quality time was becoming increasingly inadequate. It was bad! This being the 40th anniversary season of the KS they are doing about 40 more concerts this year than normal. They could always do that many but they don't choose to for the sake of their families (thank you!). But this year is special. So when you think about the 40 extra concerts, tack on all the extra travel days as well. As you can probably see, not so good for the old home life. None of this was helped by my job. While I enjoyed it and gained a lot of great experience, my hours were really long and my touring was starting to increase which meant that it would be even worse for us, if that's possible. At one point this Spring, I was flying back to London from Malaysia and Chris was in the air flying from London to Rome.

Anyway, I got back to work on Jan. 7 and put in my notice with the managing director. The notice period is much longer than in the US - mine was 2 months - so between that and my desire to see a couple of tours through, I didn't leave until mid-April.

We knew it was the right thing for us, and it's been amazing when Chris is home. I am here to greet him and we get to shop and eat together and just spend time with each other. It's pure heaven.

This week however, with Chris in the Far East for 3 weeks, something has occurred to me. I AM BORED! And slightly brain dead. Being something stupid like a 90% extrovert, I gain energy by being around people. Since moving to London I spend so much time by myself. At least when I was in the office I was surrounded by people, even if we were working and not talking that much. Isolation is a death sentence for me. I don't feel depressed or sad at all, just zombie-like. It's hard to describe, but I think it's just a lack of stimulation. I had plans with various people this week and in those times I really felt alive, but once I have been home alone for more than 7 hours or so, my brain dies.

I have a few goals career-wise, but I need some time to work on it. So in the meantime, I would just like to have a temp job that allows me some flexibility for when Chris is home. And something to wake my darn brain up! So I will be sending out my CV this next week and hope that the right thing comes along.

Change 2 - we bought a new car. One that is baby friendly. Chris calls it our "baby wagon". Nothing on that front yet, I guess it was just hope on our part. The baby mountain seems to be a bit of an Everest for us. I had another surgery in February and now I am on fertility treatments. It's such a weird time too. I have about 10 friends who are pregnant right now. And while I am SO happy for them, it would be nice to join in the fun.

More on all this soon ( I hope :)

A new year

2008-06-11T19:33:00.006+00:00

Hi. How are you? It's been a while. We are still here and busy, but I miss communicating here with you all, so I am going to try to make it more of a priority,

During my break from blogging, I have become a professional chimney sweep as you can see in my picture on the right. It's a very fashionable thing to do in London. You believe me, right?

Ok, well actually we have been converting our attic space into a room that we can use so the picture is the product of hours spent up there one day trying to rid it of 140 years of dirt. Mom and I were ridiculously filthy.

We have gone from this:

To this:

A ridiculously long hiatus

2008-04-17T23:39:00.001+00:00

I am back.

More later...

A Tour

2007-05-23T23:56:00.000+00:00

A few months ago, Chris and I walked around Greenwich and took some pictures with full intentions to post them onto the blog so you all could have a nice tour of where we live. However, life happens and you get busy and you just...forget. Thankfully, I remembered recently and have decided to now take you on a tour of our home. Our village within the massive city of London.

Here you see our house. It is a Victorian home that was built some time in the late 1860's or early 1870's. It is an end of terrace home (that's what they call it here) which is really nice because we only have people to the left of us. There are 6 houses in all that are connected. We are one block from the train station which is amazingly convenient and apparently makes it an extremely sought after property. If you notice the red pipes on the chimney - that is very characteristic of the London skyline, however it is special to still have them as they haven't survived everywhere. Think Mary Poppins.

Here you see our local station. I am not sure what it used to look like, but there was a major renovation a couple of years ago where they built a nice courtyard in front of the building. The nice thing about our station is that there are two lines that run through - Southeastern Trains and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). So if I miss one, I can get the other. The train line that runs through Greenwich is considered to be one of London's oldest and the world's first suburban railway. The line opened in 1836 with this wonderful station being built in 1840, making it one of the oldest station buildings in the world.

This is the West Greenwich Library. I have only been in there a couple of times, but it's my plan to start using it more. It's a beautiful building, isn't it? And the best part, it's about a 3 minute walk from our house. At this point, we are walking towards the centre of the village.

This is our closest movie theatre. We LOVE it. They play a good variety and since we are members we sometimes get special previews of movies before they are released. They also have free events every month. For example, they had a Hollywood Musicals series this winter which we could attend for free. The chairs are huge, cushy, and recline backwards. It's my favorite cinema in London.

Here is one of the many pubs in our area called The Mitre. One thing to understand about pubs in England is that they are not like bars in the States. Some serve really good food and have wonderful atmospheres. As you can see, the landscaping around them can be gorgeous with the use of plants and flowers. Behind the pub, you can see the steeple of St. Alfege's. St. Alfege is the parish church of Greenwich and has stood on this spot since 1012 (the current building is the 3rd version). It stands on the exact spot where Alfege was martyred by the Vikings on Easter Day in 1012. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time. A ransom had been demanded by his captors but Alfege knowing that his people couldn't afford to pay such a large sum, chose death instead. Small fact: Henry VIII was baptised here.

Now we are in the heart of the village. This is one of the side streets - it has shops and cafes and the place where Chris gets his haircut called The Greenwich Clipper. Get it? Greenwich is known for its maritime history. Clever, huh? I love these buildings. It's very charming around here. If you expand, you can see the black sign which shows the directions to all the sights.

This is the famous Greenwich Market. It's absolutely fantastic and we love it! There has been a market in this area since 1700 and on a Saturday or Sunday you can go there and buy loads of original items made by artists, designers and craftman, fresh cheese, meat, pastries and fruit, second hand clothing and furnishings, and flowers. It's so vibrant and wonderful. I love to wander through there on the weekends. There are also shops surrounding the market that are open all week which are great for browsing and gift buying.

Here are 3 shops that I go to a lot. Waterstone's is our bookstore (think Barnes and Noble), Boots is our Pharmacy (think CVS), and Marks and Spencers is our food store (think nothing - we don't have anything that compares in the US). M & S is the BEST! All of their food is top quality, no preservatives, no colorings, no added sugar, just good food. One thing I love about England is that they are very strict about food quality in order to protect the health of its citizens. Because of this, food won't last as long (lack of preservatives), but it's a small trade off for a healthier lifestyle. Chris says that this kind of food is what he will miss most when we eventually move back to the US.

This is a view of Greenwich Church Street (think Main Street) looking back towards St. Alfege's. As you can see, we have one of the 10 million Starbucks that are in London. Also notice how busy the streets are. That, my friends, is England, and more specifically, London.

Here is the Cutty Sark, the world's last surviving tea clipper, which I am sure most of you all have heard of. For the last few weeks it has been covered up because it was being reconditioned in preparation for the Olympics. Sadly, it almost burned down two days ago. They think it was arson which I just don't understand why someone would so such a thing. It is a beautiful ship and an extremely important historical artifact. Fortunately, all the artifacts, masts, sails, and 60% of the planking had been removed for the work. They think it can be saved, but they aren't completely sure yet. Fingers crossed!
A bit of irony with this ship is that my parents had a detailed model version of the Cutty Sark on our downstairs mantle when I was growing up. I thought it was so cool. And now, I live next to the real one!

This is the view of Canary Wharf from Greenwich Pier. It is London's new financial hub. I did a one day temp job in the tallest tower (triangle shaped top) and while I was waiting at security to be let up, a girl came down to meet a friend. She asked him how he liked Canary Wharf ( he had never been there) and they both ended up chatting about how "American" it is and they didn't mean that in a complimentary way. I just smiled and thought, "Yes it is and I LOVE it!" There is a lot of great shopping there and it only takes us about 10 minutes on the DLR. They also have a Chili's so if I am ever feeling homesick...

This adorable looking domed building is the entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. It's a tunnel that goes under the Thames and comes out on the Isle of Dogs. Don't you just love that name?

This is part of Trinity College of Music which is located in the Old Royal Naval College. It's a good music school which is great because it means we have nice music events all the time.

This is the Old Royal Naval College. It's my favorite thing in Greenwich. Greenwich Palace used to stand on this spot which was the favorite palace of the Tudors. Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I were all born here. Eventually portions were torn down and the Royal Naval College took it's place which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren (the same man who designed St. Paul's Cathedral). It closed in 1998 and became a historical landmark. If you are a fan of the movie Patriot Games you may recognise the stairs in the middle. That is where Harrison Ford was walking at the beginning of the movie when the drive by shooting occured.

This is the inside of the Chapel. It's stunning. For movie buffs, this was where the 2nd wedding in Four Weddings and a Funeral took place - the one where Rowan Atkinson officiated.

This is the Painted Hall, also stunning. I could just lie on the floor of this room and stare at the ceiling.

This is the Millenium Dome as seen from the Old Royal Naval College. It was built for the Millenium and is the largest dome in the world. It is now called the O2 and is re-opening in July as one of London's premiere concert venues. This year we will have Bon Jovi, Scissor Sisters, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Keane, Justin Timberlake, and Barbra Streisand (who I am going to see!). From Greenwich Pier, I can actually take a little boat which will drop me off right at the dome.

This is the Queen's House which is part of Greenwich Park and the National Maritime Museum. It was built for Queen Anne, wife of James I in the 1600s. Interestingly, it served as the model for one of our famous US houses - The White House.

This is the entrance to Greenwich Park which is one of the Royal Parks of London.

This is Chris standing in the big open area that is at the bottom of Greenwich Park. The park is over 180 acres and has flowers gardens, a boating pond, tennis courts, a deer park, a bandstand, cycling lanes and lots of open space. The most famous element of the park is the Royal Observatory which is the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and the Prime Meridian. Yes, we literally live where time begins.

So, that is the end of our little tour. I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully, now you know a bit more about where we live and how we spend our time. So next time you think of us, close your eyes and picture our lovely Greenwich. It's a wonderful place to live.

Huh?

2007-03-27T21:07:00.000+00:00

An interesting discovery -

I have discovered tonight as I flipped through TV channels that the wonderful comedy Saving Silverman is billed here in the UK as Evil Woman. I know they change titles here sometimes, but come on, something a bit more inspiring please! I bet it wasn't a very big hit here and you can owe that to the title.

Marriage first

2007-03-12T19:28:00.000+00:00

I was hit with a very important thought as I was heading home on the train today. Chris and I live what could be a very unhealthy life for our marriage. He travels about 7 months out of the year which means that during those times, our relationship exists through phone calls. When he is home, I am working all day. We get about 4 hours together at night and then I need to go to bed so that I can be rested for the next day. It's not an ideal situation.

My boss told me to go home today at 5. He had asked when Chris was home again next and I told him that he was arriving this afternoon. He then told me to leave early and go spend time with him. How amazing! It hadn't even crossed my mind to ask. I ended up leaving at about 5:20 and while that is only a 40 minute difference from my normal leaving time, it made a huge difference when I walked through the door an hour early (rush hour wasn't bad yet). I am very lucky to have a boss who cares about things like that. A marriage with this much time apart has to be protected and nurtured and worked at. We are both so understanding with each other and the lifestyles we live, so it never causes us conflict, but it's nice when all other things can be set aside and it's just about us.

The other KS wives don't work at all so I can imagine it's easier for them (although your husband being away is never easy), because when the guys come home they can spend all the time together they want. That would be ideal, but it's just not our life right now so I refuse to be sad about it.

The important thing is to make sure the marriage has the priority above all other daily responsibilites. It's about balance really. Long after the job, the travel, and even the friends, it will be Chris and I living this life together. All I can say is thank goodness for understanding bosses who think of these things even before I do.

Now, my husband is finished cooking dinner so I am going to go have a wonderful evening with him. Love to you all!

What I Really Want to Say

2007-03-08T19:56:00.000+00:00

Well, I just don't blog anymore, do I? To be honest, I am so tired all the time and I don't have the energy once I get home.

Tonight was fun. I am going away tomorrow night so I needed to get some cat food. I went to the store, bought the food, and headed home on the train. (Keep in mind that I rarely walk in the door before 7:30 which I find to be obscene. Walking to the store and then back to the train always tacks on an extra 45 minutes) I walked through my front door, suddenly realised I didn't have the bag anymore and burst into tears. Where was it? Apparently, still on the train next the man who was very interested in the contents of his nose. Now analysing this, was I crying over lost cat food? Not really.

What it really comes down to is the fact that I miss home and the people there who care. Chris is always telling me how "brilliantly" I am doing with adjusting here. I have a great job, I am meeting new people all the time, I don't complain about anything, etc. But the thing is, I AM complaining inside my head (I thought I was more outloud, but I guess not). I know everything takes time but adjusting here is way more challenging than I anticipated. The aspect that wears me out the most is the second guessing of myself ALL the stupid time - will they understand that joke? will they think I am a complete idiot if I ask this question? did I spell that word the "English" way? is the protocol for that the same as it is at home? do they just think I am plain weird? am I being productive enough? did someone already tell me how to do that? Where did I write that down? are they maybe laughing a bit at me behind my back? should I be walking home by myself in the dark this late at night? and do I have a choice? do I need to be mean to get good customer service? should I become cynical like many of the people here just so I can survive? or should I keep trusting in the goodness and truthfulness of people? are people good and true here?

I have met some good people who have been very kind to me. But this is a very large city with urban attitudes and because of that even the good and kind keep you at a distance. I am concerned that I will never feel truly close to people here and as you all know about me, I need that. The English are rather reserved. Something interesting I have noticed is that once they have had some alcohol in them, their personalities are more similar to Americans. They really warm up and are quite lovely. They are nice at other times as well, but I can't ever tell what they are thinking. In truth, I can't even tell if they like me at all (when they are sober). I don't want to give them a bad rap, they are really cool people, but it is a very different culture and sometimes I just want a big hug like I can get at home from most anyone I know. (Disclaimer: This paragraph does not apply to everyone I have met here. Some are very nice and friendly without alcohol.)

London is a great, great city and there are many things I like about it. But something I have realised recently is that it was never my ambition to move here. I always wanted to visit, maybe study here for a semester, which is what I did with my Internship in 2005. But to my complete fortune, I fell head over heels in love with an Englishman who is from London. And because I loved him and wanted to marry him, I moved here. I think I would feel this way about most any big city. I don't want to live in the heart of a large metropolis. You can feel alone in a city full of 10 million people quicker than anything.

Having Beka here was a God-send, but she left yesterday to go back to TN and I am terribly destroyed about that. With her here, I still had a connection with home. She is a fantastic friend and I desperately miss her. Chris is gone SO much and now that I am working all the time, I don't get to see him as much when he is home. That's hard to deal with when he is why I moved here in the first place. On the days he is home, it's amazing and we have the best time. Our marriage is wonderful and I never question marrying him for a second. But being here alone just sucks, there is no other word for it.

Sorry to be so blunt and heavy, but it just had to be said. I smile because I am happy with my husband, but on nights like tonight, I miss my home and wonderful loving friends. This is completely normal, anyone in my position would feel like this, but knowing that still doesn't make it easier.

I know I am strong enough to deal with this - that won't be a problem - but I don't want to become like the sea of people I see everyday on trains with dead eyes just accepting their fate of working until they drop. Life can be so much more than that.

I have the ideal husband, our own home, a good job, and two very sweet cats. Now I just need the rest of the dream...

Patience is just not my virtue.

I'll leave you with a pic of me and The Beka. I miss you, lovely girl. If you were here, we would be fixing dinner and watching a fun movie. Or we would be going to a show and having coffee afterwards just like in this pic. London isn't the same.

catching up

2007-02-15T18:24:00.000+00:00

It's been ages since I posted - and I was looking forward to getting some time to write while in the US this month, but this trip's been crazy. We're here for 16 days and have 20 events, including 13 concerts, 6 masterclasses and a "children's performance" - which totally bombed. We performed for a group of about 200 high school kids, some of whom fell asleep, others of whom had a gum bubble-blowing contest, and others of whom didn't even disguise their boredom and ended up yawning theatrically. Afterwards we had a Q&A session; perhaps the best question was "what's your favourite note?" What can you say... still, it was worth it if only one of those kids had a good time, and if we could have inspired one person to take up singing then in my book it was worthwhile.

As I write I'm sitting in Washington Dulles, waiting for (another) delayed flight after a week of crazy weather in the northeast. Admittedly it's not as cold here as it was in Ottawa last week (minus 25) but it's certainly not as warm as Charleston SC which was a balmy 60. And, Mike and Erin take note, you're right - it's a wonderful place. The buildings are really great to look at, and there's loads of history. I can see why anyone would want to live there. It was great returning to the South for a bit after 2 weeks in the north, which is nice but the people aren't always quite as friendly.

We had quite a few encounters with some of our Mennonite fans on this trip, too. They really are some of the kindest, most friendly people I've ever met, and I'm so glad they keep in touch and visit our concerts. One of them in particular spent ages talking to me about how hard it must be to be away from Stephanie for so long (it is, terribly hard) and went as far as to send an email to her (via me) saying how wonderful she must be to cope with my working lifestyle (she is!).

On a happy note, we heard that our good friend Jennifer can come to visit us in London soon, which is a big thing to look forward to. I'm so incredibly proud of how well Steph is doing in London, finding a job and building up friendships and a life for herself while I am away, but it's so important not to lose touch with our friends in the US and It's awesome that you lot look out for us. We can't wait to see you in August!

More later - flight being called so have to dash.

Happy Heart Day!

2007-02-14T22:06:00.000+00:00

I hope everyone has a great St. Valentine's Day!

Beka and I are here in London being each other's dates since there are no men in sight. Chris is still in the states :-( and won't be back until Monday. So, we fixed ourselves a really good meal - greek food for appetizers, broccoli and asparagus and steak for the main course, and strawberry tarts for dessert. And of course some chocolate for all the places in between when we aren't eating something else. hehe! All while watching loads of Rom Coms.

Now, go give someone a candy heart.

Mr. Body himself

2007-02-11T00:30:00.000+00:00

Chris and I had to celebrate Valentine's Day early this year since he is in the States on tour. We decided to go see Spamalot which we had been wanting to see for a while. What a GREAT show! It was based on the holy grail movie but they definitely put in some extra things. Our seats were perfect; they were 1st balcony and about 5 rows back. We could see everything.

One of the major reasons I wanted to see it during this time was that Tim Curry was playing the role of Arthur until the end of January. He was good, but I have to admit that he didn't put a lot of effort into the part. He just kind of stood on stage and reveled in the glory of being "Tim Curry". Who cares, I love him anyway.

We heard a rumor that Orlando Bloom was in the audience which was quite exciting, but we didn't see him. Afterwards I dragged Chris around to the stage door and we waited for the actors to come out. I got a few autographs from some I didn't know, because I was bored standing there in the cold. Then out walked a tall guy with a black hat pulled as far down on his forehead as was possible. He stopped beside me for a minute and it was then that I realized...Orlando Bloom! I had actually seen him walk in a few minutes earlier but didn't think anything about it. He was apparently going in to talk to Tim Curry. People started begging him for pictures, autographs, a night of unbridled passion, but he just turned them all down stating that it wasn't his night or his show. I thought that was kind of classy of him. I left him alone completely. It would have been great to meet him, but he wasn't there to be mobbed. He was there to watch a show and he should be able to do that in peace.

Tim Curry on the other hand came out a few moments later armed with a black Sharpie and ready for photos. So here is the wonderful result:

Blast From the Past

2007-01-25T21:20:00.000+00:00

In a previous life, I had another blog. I really liked this blog, but when Chris and I got engaged, he wanted to contribute. Sooo we started a new blog that was a little more about our life together. This other blog is still out there in blogdom, I just don't do anything with it.

Tonight, Chris, Beka, Pete, and I were watching Family Guy and we saw the infamous theme song episode. It reminded me of this old blog post so I decided to raise it from my blog cemetery. When I posted this originally, there were loads of great comments, but they have now been lost because back then I used a 3rd party comments generator that has now gone bust. So let's have fun and do it again!! Just give our regular blog readers their own theme music. If I am remembering correctly, Mike even went to the point of appointing songs for various parts of people's days. It was awesome. Now go to it!!

I got this idea from watching "Not Another Teen Movie" last night and an episode of Family Guy in which Peter wishes to have his own theme music.

In "Not Another Teen Movie", every time Amanda walks in, "I Can't Fight This Feeling" plays. What song should play every time you walk into a room?

And while you at it, what do you think my theme music should be?

Homesick

2007-01-20T21:18:00.000+00:00

I have felt a bit homesick lately. Nothing to worry about.

Scott, being the best friend, attempted to cheer me up the other day. Below is what he was sending me on AOL IM:

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-24T12:52:00.000+00:00

We've been on radio silence for a while now as Chris is home and Steph has been crazy at work, but now we can finally settle in for a nice quiet Christmas with our friends from Tennessee, and it's going well so far....

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year, whatever you may be doing and whoever you may be with. 2006 has been a wonderful year for us and we're looking forward to 2007 for loads more fun and new experiences.

See you next year!

Homecoming

2006-12-13T15:30:00.000+00:00

Ok, this will sound a bit sappy, but we're all friends here.

Over the past 2 months I have spent a mere 9 days and nights with my wonderful, beautiful, brave, talented wife, and it has just stunk. We have been married for 4 months and it's terrible that we've had to spend so much time apart. Tomorrow I get home, and we are spending every day and night together for a whole month.

At the moment I am torn between two conflicting emotions; I have missed Steph so much that it has hurt, and I am so very excited to see her. At the same time, I am completely miserable - I hate this country, I am tired after 2 months of hard work with no weekends off, and I am fed up with being away from home. I'm so tired, in fact, that I can't quite work out what to feel.

For once, for someone who finds flying to be a necessary evil (you try being over 6 foot in a plane for 14 hours, the planes tomorrow are my friends; they are taking me home, to my darling wife. She has put up with so much for me: moving countries, prolonged absences and starting a new job in a strange city without her husband's support. Words cannot express how proud I am of her, or how grateful for her marrying and loving me. I don't deserve it.

I love her more than anything in the world; tonight feels like the night before our wedding, I'm so nervous and excited to see her again, who makes my life whole.

There you go. Told you I was sappy.

Steph, baby, I love you, and I'm sorry I've been away. Let's make it the best Christmas EVER!!!!

Anger... I'm angry... they're angry... we're all angry

2006-12-07T23:53:00.000+00:00

Angry doesn't quite describe how I am feeling right now. Rather than go on a big rant, let's have the advertisement speak for itself.

Please go here and read the accompanying PDF.

I know this church; I have seen them in action twice in Topeka, Kansas. They make my skin crawl and my stomach churn. The PDF you just read involves a soldier who was the cousin of one of closest childhood friends. She emailed me the other day to let me know that he had been killed in Iraq. The fact that they are going to picket his funeral... well, I have been sitting here trying to come up with the words and I just can't.

Discuss.

More hotel fun

2006-12-05T14:41:00.000+00:00

Oh, I nearly forgot. In the last hotel you could tune into the "phone channel" (channel 27) on the TV - which basically gave you a picture of the hotel lobby, pointing towards the lobby phone. I think it was a security measure so that if anyone phoned up to your room you could check out who they were before agreeing that they could come up.

The way my brain works, this was an opportunity too good to miss. So I went downstairs, called one of my colleagues on the lobby phone and got them to turn to channel 27, then waved at the camera so that they could see me waving on their tv. Stupid I know, but it amused me. Sort of like a one-way videophone.

Those long winter evenings are just flying by.....

Bond

2006-12-05T14:25:00.000+00:00

Just read Erin and Mike's new posts about the Bond film. I agree with them wholeheartedly, except that I'm not sure Connery is the best Bond; he was the first and he made the screen character his own (which will probably never be beaten as he was so iconic) but is he the best as portraying Fleming's character? I would say no.

The Bond of the books is a hard, cruel man who has no time for fripperies or women except to the extent that they further his career. He is a gentleman, not a gigolo. That rules Roger Moore out as the greatest portrayer of Bond, as his ridiculous eyebrow-raising antics are enough to turn the stomach. They're fun films, but not accurate enough.

George Lazenby was a bad choice as Bond, but he was gifted with one of the best scripts in OHMSS. The idea that Bond married and then lost his wife was a stroke of genius to explain his ruthlessness, but the casting director then messed it up by sticking Roger "eyebrows" Moore in the role, echoing the casting of Peter Sellars in the earlier spoof Casino Royale.

Timothy Dalton was excellent; hard, callous, determined, not overly free with the gags, and only attended to his women once the job was done (generally speaking). The Living Daylights will always be near the top of my list.

Daniel Craig was also blessed with a fantastic script, much closer to the original book then many of the other screenplays. If he continues to get this sort of material he'll be up there with Dalton for accuracy.

So, the best Bond film? That's just too difficult to call. In a rough order, here's how I'd rank them:

1. From Russia with Love - Connery at his best in the second film of the series. Some classic Bond moments, a beautiful Bond Girl and a twisty Cold War plot that took you in directions you'd never have guessed.

2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service - a wonderful script (apart from the silly kilt action).

3. Casino Royale - it really was that good

4. The Living Daylights - a good ruthless Bond

5. Goldeneye - Brosnan at his best; no silly stunts or unbelievable machines (a vanishing car? please...) and some really dark moments. Plus a rogue agent - awesome.

6. Diamonds are Forever - if only for Mr Wint and Mr Kidd.

7. Goldfinger - great plot, good action, silly names ("Pussy Galore? I must be dreaming etc etc"). Great golfing action: Fleming approved of this.

8. Dr No - it's the first one, you have to like it

9. Octopussy - wonderful opening sequence with the prototype micro-jet, and some good Indian footage. First one I ever saw so holds a place in my heart. Roger Moore scrapes into the top 10.

10. Moonraker - despite the fact that in the book of the same name the closest they get to the Moon is the coast of Kent, it's an interesting plot and Jaws is a great Bond villain.

Nobody else will agree with this; that's a given. But it's an interesting thing to do.

Of the rest none are bad, but there's nothing that

More Hotel Observations

2006-12-04T02:30:00.000+00:00

Just returned from breakfast.

Customer service here is second to none. I was attended to by about three smiling waitresses, all dressed in the uniform of tight orange jacket and black pants (!) looking like they'd just stepped off the Star Trek set, and all wearing earpieces. My mind wandered to picture some form of master control room where a large master waiter sat looking at 20 TV screens and ordering waitresses around remotely - "Code red table 7, more butter urgently required," "Come on Carol, step lively now, table 13 appear to need more passion fruit" - which amused me for 5 minutes or so.

Then I got to thinking about the western names they all choose, so I stopped Carol and Gail in their tracks (leading to squeals of annoyance in their ears, no doubt, from the master waiter whose dastardly serving orders had been frustrated by this western interloper) and asked them how they chose their western names. Their Chinese names couldn't be that hard to pronounce, I said? Well, apparently they are, as I have no idea what they said their real names are, so it's a jolly good thing they have the western ones.

Apparently each child is different, some choosing a western name in kindergarten and other waiting until their early 20s, depending on how much they think they will be around western people. They choose names that sound like their own names in Chinese, hence in this hotel there is a bellboy called "Reebok" and a chef called "Calf," as well as a waitress called "Dephanie." I kid you not. Many of the others get their names from a specified English names book which must have been written by an eager old dame in the 1930s called Fanny or somesuch, as it seems to contain Edwardian names like Wendy, Gail, Beryl, Winifred and other delights.

I suppose I can understand why they do it (I really had trouble pronouncing the Chinese names) but I feel a bit sad about it in some ways as we should be better at speaking their language.

Oh, better go, we're about to check out and Reebok is here to pick up my bags.