Immeasurably More

Let the games begin!

2012-01-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, The quantity, cost and availability (or non-availability) of tickets to the 2012 London Olympics has been much discussed in the UK for months now. Elle and I both applied for tickets in the initial lottery; I received tickets to four events (of 16 requested), and she to none. One of the events I didn't receive tickets for was Men's Artistic Gymnastics, so presented with the

Be it resolved (Another New Year's Post).

2012-01-07T03:17:00.000-08:00

I love January 1; the symbolism of "starting over" and "trying again" makes me hopeful about my prospects for actually improving my life and myself over the next year. Of course, like so many people, Dec. 31 will find me trying to remember what exactly I had resolved 12 months earlier, and whether I should be setting the same goals for next year - or choosing something more achievable. 2011 was

Welcome to 2012

2012-01-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, This is the year of the London Olympics. I am not sporty; I do not run unless I need to catch a train or a house cat making a break for freedom. But I can sing the Star Spangled Banner, and I can wave a flag, and I plan to spend the year being shamelessly patriotic. (U S A ! U S A !) I've made my usual set of resolutions - read more, talk less, get up on time, keep the dishes

Investing in the Heart

2011-12-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, As an American in London, one of the questions I hear frequently is "How long do you intend to stay?" And typically I respond... "Depends on work. Depends on life." But every once in a while, I'm forced to make a decision where the most important factor is the answer to the question "how long am I staying here?" I faced it at a year, when I finally hung paintings on the walls of

Thanksgiving Haiku

2011-11-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

Fellow travelers, Surround abundant tables; Celebrate blessing.

Please Respect the Kicker

2011-06-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

A choir was singing "Guide me, oh thou great Jehovah" when we walked into Cardiff's Millennium Stadium for Wales vs. the Barbarians. I'm still working on understanding the rules of Rugby Union, but right now my primary question concerns Number 8. Each of the fifteen players in a rugby line up has a name. He can be a Full-back, Winger (there are two Wingers), Inside centre, Outside center,

A Little Reminder

2011-05-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

The British Film Institute is showing all 50 full length animated Disney films this year. El and I went to see The Sword in the Stone which is one of my favorites. The film was preceded by The Little Whirlwind. It starts with typical Disney short silliness - a baby tornado playing tricks on Mickey Mouse. But when Mickey tries to put a stop to the tricks, a bigger tornado shows up to take the

Flat Out Part 2: Paperwork

2011-05-28T03:24:00.000-07:00

Given that my laundry is piled in the kitchen waiting for its turn in the washing machine, and the recently finished load is hanging to dry in the spare room, I've decided to tackle one of the more difficult sub goals - the dining room. This is where most of my paperwork, letters, books, todo lists, etc. inevitably end up. I'll start by browsing through the Edinburgh International Film Festival

Flat Out Flat Cleaning

2011-05-28T01:09:00.000-07:00

TIRMa is coming up for a week. She always graciously insists that she doesn't mind the untidiness she inevitably finds here. But this time, things will be different! I am dedicating my three-day weekend to vacuuming, dusting, washing, ironing and generally doing all the little things I've just been ignoring for a really long time. I am breaking the project down into smaller pieces, so I can

Trains, Training and Trying Again

2011-05-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader, When the train arrived at Fort William, I changed my seat for the fourth time hoping to improve my view of the Scottish Highlands which were being drenched in turns by Sun and Rain. Before the train pulled away from the station, two men came and sat down at my table. Conversation naturally turned to why we were each on that particular southbound train on that day. I explained

Edinburgh Interiors #5

2011-01-26T15:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight I learned to play a game called "Killers". Essentially, everyone is assigned a number from the dart board and loses a point when another player gets a dart in their section. Everyone throws a pound into the kitty and the last person standing takes home the money. Can't remember the last time I played darts. Never played in a pub before. Won 2 out of 3 games so I'm 8 pounds richer

Gie her a Haggis!

2011-01-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

Scotland's most lauded poet Robert Burns was born January 25, 1759 making tonight Burns Night. In honor of the man and his Address to a Haggis, a friend and I went out for haggis, neeps (swede in English and rutabaga in the US) and tatties (potato) with whiskey sauce. I can't claim to have been won over to Robert Burns's opinion of the haggis, but once a year I think I can manage. My principal

Edinburgh Interiors #4

2011-01-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

I wanted to go to church today so I found my hotel on Google maps and picked the church geographically closest to me. This is the interior, but of course the photo doesn't do it justice. The sanctuary is round, reminding me of the church my late grandparents attended. The ceiling beams and the ceiling over the organ are painted with an intricate pattern. The first song we sang was new to me

Edinburgh Interiors #3

2011-01-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

When I arrived in Edinburgh last Sunday, I spent about an hour and a half in Sainsbury's grocery stores (yes, two of them) looking for gluten-free things to eat. I didn't find a loaf of bread or a box of crackers. I was very disappointed (and hungry!) and maligned Sainsbury's to all my friends! But now I have to apologize. TIRMa called me after visiting one of these stores and said there was

Edinburgh Interiors #2

2011-01-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, I have a cousin who when he was young had a number of food allergies. I can remember the rest of the grandkids eagerly going after some holiday snack while he held back and asked my mom, "will that make me itch?" Given my current paranoia about possible negative reactions to all things edible, a surprising number of my recent posts have been about cooking or restaurants. Evidence

Edinburgh Interiors #1

2011-01-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

TIRMa and I had liqueur coffees at Angels with Bagpipes. We got strange looks from the restaurant staff for photographing their reflective table tops. I can't imagine why.

Lost In (Parenthetical) Translation

2011-01-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

American programmers could not work without the humble parenthesis and might be surprised to learn that their English and Scottish counterparts never use them. Instead they use brackets: '(' and ')', square brackets: '[', and ']' , and curly brackets: '[' and ']'. This was explained to me today when I was reading out some code to a Scottish customer. She stopped typing when I said "Open

Cheery Cherries

2011-01-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, Last week I had four vials of blood taken. One of the things I'm being tested for is Celiac disease, and while I wait for my results, I'm making the effort to eat gluten free. I'm still pretty far away from the "I'm gluten free and I've never been so happy!" attitude of many bloggers, so I'm more or less eating whatever I want that doesn't involve wheat and related cereals. This

Un-Packing It In

2011-01-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, Today I arrived in Edinburgh where I will be for the next two weeks. I thought I would take my new digital camera out for a spin by posting a photo every day while I am here. Before I moved to the UK and began traveling extensively for work, I used to literally live out of my suitcase during trips. But traveling with TIRMa taught be better. Now I unpack on arrival, and my

You Are What You Wheat

2010-12-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

The medicine prescribed for me by my newly acquired NHS doctor wasn't intended to improve my mood. It was intended to quell the queasiness I'd been feeling for weeks whenever I ate anything. Happily, as a result of decreased queasiness, improved digestion or unintended side effects, over the past few days, I have been feeling more optimistic about life. Which is a good thing, because my

Thanksgiving - Leftovers

2010-11-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

I've made it through all the stuffing. The potatoes are going in the trash. I salvaged 800 grams of turkey from the bird most of which is in the freezer now. And the bones have been in the soup pot for hours now. My apartment smells wonderful.

Thanksgiving - Report

2010-11-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Turkey: Not over cooked. Possibly under cooked in places (but since we ate from the outside in, I don't think I poisoned anyone).Stuffing: I really like stuffing. I may just make some more for the heck of it. I didn't want to boil chestnuts, so I used chestnut mushrooms instead.Potatoes: What variety of potatoes did you serve? The local grocery store sells a bewildering variety. Have I

Thanksgiving - sleep

2010-11-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

Guests gone. Turkey (mostly) gone. Full report tomorrow. Sleep.

Thanksgiving - Crisp <> Burned

2010-11-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

Following advice from Alton Brown's book I'm Just Here For the Food, I put my turkey in the oven for 30 minutes at 500 degrees to brown it. Yeah.... 30 minutes may be more than necessary. Or my oven runs hot... I cut the heat at about 20 minutes to keep Mr. Turkey from burning instead of browning. Another dousing with boiling water and Blue Dragon plus an aluminum foil wrapping and he's

Thanksgiving - Turkey basting

2010-11-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

When I first bought my bottle of "Naturally Brewed", "No added artificial flavours" Blue Dragon soy sauce, I was dismayed to discover that it was sweetened. Yes, the second ingredient is, in fact, sugar. What does one do with sweetened soy sauce?My family swears by my grandfather's method of basting a turkey with a mix of soy sauce and sugar. Looks like Blue Dragon has found its purpose at

Thanksgiving - Turkey Anatomy

2010-11-25T06:50:00.001-08:00

I'm prepping my bird for the oven. I've got it in a roasting pan with celery and carrots and an onion inside. This turkey came with strict instructions: It is recommended that the liver is not used as it may give the gravy a slightly bitter flavour.But which one is the liver?! My giblets bag has 4 pieces inside. Neck - check. Heart - check. And....?Saved by Google again! (Giblets.)

Thanksgiving - Turkey

2010-11-25T03:39:00.000-08:00

I'm running about 20 minutes behind schedule, as I stopped to ask the local vintner what red wine to pair with turkey. His recommendation: Pinot Noir. The turkey (pictured above) is a fresh free-range bronze turkey. I'm personally hoping that he will "bronze" up nicely for tonight. At the moment, he's resting comfortably in my fridge. I had to dislodge the bottom rack to fit his box in.PS.

Thanksgiving - THE PLAN

2010-11-25T01:52:00.000-08:00

When the Thanksgiving planning began, I assessed my oven to determine the size of bird I could buy. I've got a 5 Kilo (11 pound) turkey on order from the local butcher. I didn't think about things like stuffing and green bean casserole all of which also need oven space.Yeah. My oven's not going to cut it. I've decided to try the following: Have green bean casserole and stuffing ready to go

Thanksgiving - Breakfast

2010-11-25T01:49:00.000-08:00

I'm eating breakfast cross legged on the floor because I've already started setting the table for tonight. But just got a phone call that one of my American guests is ill and won't be able to come. Re-org!PS. Notice the laundry hanging out in the background. Yes, some tidying remains to be done.

Thanksgiving Day - Prep

2010-11-25T00:40:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner for 6 people (3 American, 1 English, 1 Finnish, 1 Dutch) plus me. This is only the second time I've prepared a turkey (and I don't actually have the turkey yet), but as it's not a holiday here, we can always pop down the pub if it all goes wrong!There will periodic (short) updates throughout the day and possibly a photo or two. An probably poetry

Theoretically Speaking

2010-10-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

An hour, 50 multiple choice questions and 14 video clips later, yours truly has passed the British driving theory test and has the right to schedule her practical test.My sole observation is that grainy video filmed from a moving vehicle is nausea inducing, but not so nausea inducing that it stopped me from buying celebratory Irish Cream Chocolate Tart.With spoon in hand, I remainFaithfully yours

LeAn Holds It Up

2010-10-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

When you're on the river and your boat is on a collision course with some obstacle, your coach or cox or bowman may say "Hold it up." or in an emergency, "Hold it hard!" Everyone in the boat will put their oars vertically into the water to stop the boat's progress. If the boat is moving very fast, it actually takes some strength to hold the oar in this position of highest resistance. Today was

Test Standard

2010-10-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

1996 was the last time I parallel parked a car unaided. (And when I refer to "aid" here, what I mean is "You're too close. Now you're too far away. You turned too soon. Watch the curb! Do you want me to do it?")But tonight my driving teacher and I spent an hour and a half terrorizing the owner of a blue hatchback by repeatedly pulling up next to it and then cutting hard to the left and then back

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

2010-09-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last year I was in the US and so I missed the Windsor Festival. This year, I bought tickets to 5 different events. Tonight's event was the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. I had no idea the Ukulele could be so popular. Of course, it's not really the instrument that sells out shows; the group plays classical, Swedish pop, film themes and even something my dad likes to sing around the house.

Cross Word

2010-09-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

The UK driving test consists of two parts, a written theory test and a practical driving test. The practical can't be scheduled before the theory has been passed, so my driving instructor is pushing me to get through this first hurdle. During my first practice test I scored 40/50, which isn't good enough. On the real thing, I have to be able to score 85/100.So I keep renewing and reading my

Compare and Contrast: Power over ones enemies

2010-08-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

Ramzan Kadyrov, 33, has been president of Chechnya since 2007...For years, various human rights organizations have denounced this "hero" for his alleged brutality. They hold him responsible for the disappearances of people in Chechnya and the executions of many of his opponents.~~ Spiegel Online, posted 23 June 20101 Samuel 11:12-13 (English Standard Version)12Then the people said to Samuel, "Who

2010-08-16T13:49:00.001-07:00

Dear Reader,I’ve temporarily put my more philosophical reading list on hold while I study for the theory test that UK Driver’s license applicants are required to pass. I’m studying from the Driving Standards Agency’s book The OFFICIAL DSA THEORY TEST for Car Drivers and The Official Highway Code, which declares itself to be “the No.1 best selling theory test book on the market”. Given that the

Pub Quiz Answer #3,#4, #5 - HB Pencils

2010-08-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,It is a rainy English morning and I am about to make myself a cup of coffee and practice my drawing. But before I do...Question #3:What is the American Equivalent of an International 'HB' pencil?A #2 pencil.Question #4:What does the 'H' in 'HB' stand for?HardQuestion #5:What does the 'B' in 'HB' stand for?BlackCheerio,~~~LeAn

Pub Quiz Question #3,#4, #5 - HB Pencils

2010-07-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,I've recently started the next book from my book list (without having finished previous books, but details, details). It's called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Yes, my readers. Yours truly is going to attempt (again) to learn how to draw.In preparation for this, I went to the local stationary store to buy supplies, specifically unruled paper and pencils. (I could have

You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps

2010-07-15T11:12:00.001-07:00

Book 1 scratched off the reading list. You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here But it Helps is something I took to Oxford with me for light reading after a day of Bible teaching, apologetics and chatting with new acquaintances. It is light, but the plot is fairly convoluted. The hero, Colin, fears that his father has sold his soul to the Devil to save his company. Colin goes to a firm of

Keep left

2010-07-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

I got my UK provisional driver's license (Learner's permit) in the mail last week. Now to find a driving school...

Read this, Not that

2010-07-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

There is a store in Oxford called Blackwells. Inside is the Norrington Room, which according to the Guinness Book of World Records is the largest single room selling books. I confess to having bought 3 books from them last week.I was in Oxford to attend the Zacharias Trust summer school, a week of seminars on Christian apologetics. Every time a speaker mentioned a title or author, I wrote it

This post has been delayed...

2010-06-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

... so I can read Ogden Nash.

Biblio-fill-ia-box-ia

2010-06-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

"Bibliophilia is sometimes called bibliomania but should not be confused with the obsessive-compulsive disorder by that name, which involves the excessive accumulation and hoarding of books."Wikipedia, Book CollectingFor those who may not yet have heard, my parents will be moving to a new smaller place at the end of the summer. For years, by leaving everything in the bedrooms we slept in as

We read because we care

2010-06-14T03:48:00.000-07:00

I have been informed by my mother that my last post was pathetic. At least she's reading my blog. It shows she cares.And while I'm in the US, I'm reading the papers because I care. There are two stories right now that demonstrate how what gets reported reflects what's important to people in different regions of the world. The first is the World Cup currently being played for in South Africa.

Sorry. So Sorry.

2010-06-12T02:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,I feel I owe you an apology for my long blogging absence.I'm sorry.And now on to other things.I have just returned from a week long vacation in Malta. The sunburn on my nose is fading.Today I am flying to Boston for a two week US visit. Get in touch if you want contact details.I left my spare keys with a co-worker and begged her to water my plants so there should be no further

Pasty Happyness

2010-05-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

English pronunciation is not exact. How many of us have been caught out by pilates?One of the words I've learned to pronounce since coming to England is pasty. Either PASTEy: resembling paste in color or PAH-stee: a kind of meat and potato turnover.During our weekend trip to Bath, TIRMa and I were discussing these pronunciations and related spellings. TIRMa insisted that "pastie" is an

Dust and Ashes

2010-04-18T01:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,I've had a couple of emails asking if I've been effected by the giant cloud of Icelandic ash hovering over Europe. Yes and no.When I arrived at the office on Thursday morning, our admin was busily trying to figure out which flights had been cancelled, and my coworkers in from out of town were plotting train routes home.I hadn't been home for very long when my phone rang. I didn't

Pub Quiz Answer #2 - Eggplant by any other name

2010-04-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

Australians side with the Americans. Eggplant is Eggplant.

Pub Quiz Question #2 - Eggplant by any other name

2010-03-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Consider:The English were responsible for coining the name "Eggplant" in regards to a variety with egg shaped, white fruit that they became familiar with, yet strangely, they refer to them today by the French name of Abergine[sic], which is a corruption of the Catalonian name "Alberginia". from http://www.seedfest.co.uk/tips/eggplant_basicoverview.htmlNow, we know that Americans call eggplant

Pub Quiz Answer #1 - English Muffins

2010-03-19T14:28:00.001-07:00

Pub Quiz Question #1 was:What do the English call English muffins?The answer:MuffinsAs evidence, I offer the following link to the Kingsmill baked goods website, specifically, the muffins page.To confirm, I also showed an English muffin* to an English co-worker and asked, "What's this?"Her response was, "It's a muffin."So there you have it.Unfortunately, there were no correct responses. But

I'm here for you

2010-03-11T04:12:00.000-08:00

Me to coworker: "I'm feeling homesick."Coworker to Me: "Would it help if I wore a gun?"

Move Musings: Where the Wild Things Are & Stranger Than Fiction

2010-03-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

Children and parents everywhere love Maurice Sendack's Where the Wild Things Are, and I, being no different, was looking forward to seeing the film version released last year. My English coworkers had never heard of Maurice Sendack or his book, so I invited one of them to go with me to a showing at the small local theater.If you haven't seen it yet, don't. Certainly don't show it to your

Pub Quiz Question #1 - English Muffins

2010-03-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,To encourage blog participation, I am going to begin posting the occasional pub quiz question. The first correct answer will win a postcard from my extensive collection of postcards-bought-with-you-in-mind-but-never-sent. So submit your answer and get what's rightfully yours anyway!If no one submits the correct answer, I'll post it about a week after the question goes up.Today's

Credible Credit

2010-03-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

Today I made my first purchase with my UK credit card. I paid £4.95 for a small mocha with whipped cream and a slice of lemon cake. This is a milestone in my UK life as I have twice previously been considered unworthy of a UK credit card. But now I have one and I can charge up to £260! What does £260 represent?< -- A Lulu Guiness Union Jack Jenny Bag (£225 from Harrod's)

Vocab: TEA

2010-01-30T06:23:00.000-08:00

I went to dinner with American friends last night, one of whom ordered a pint of tea. I know what you're thinking. Tea comes in pots not pints. Unless it's Traditional English Ale. I tried it myself, just for the pleasure of ordering "a half of tea".

Vocab: Salsify

2010-01-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

Salsify is a perfect word for the game Balderdash.*My definition would be something like this:Salsify: verb. pronounced "saul-si-fI". Often used in Mexican cookbooks as in, "Start by salsifying the tomato, onion and chilies."You would be very wrong to vote for this definition, though. A saul-si-fee is a root vegetable that looks like a skinny parsnip. (This is someone else's idea of a good

Immeasurably More: Rent

2010-01-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,I've been going through my blog archives looking for something describing how I chose my present apartment, but I have been unable to find anything. I apologize if I'm repeating myself, but I started Immeasurably More so I could tell stories like this, so tell it I will, even if it is telling it again.Those of you who visited me in Boston may remember my old apartment. It had bright

Washing up

2010-01-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

TIRMa helped me host dinner for several colleagues on Sunday evening, and then went to Edinburgh for work. But before she went, she neatly stacked all the dirty dishes.Thanks TIRMa!

Vocab: Gritter

2010-01-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

England, like many other places around the world, has been experiencing unusually heavy snowfall this winter. Which means there's a lot of work for the gritters, those invaluable machines which distribute grit onto icy surfaces.Note: I'm still not sure of the exact useage here. Can a person be a gritter? Can you grow up to be a gritter driver? If you work really hard, could you become a

Happy New Year 2010!

2009-12-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,They are lighting firecrackers outside my window. (The police have just driven by, so this must be legal.) I have drunk a glass of bubbly wine (after shooting the cork across the room). I am going to put away my 2009 journal and get out the new one for 2010.And before I go to bed, I will pray that for each of us, 2010 will be a year full of peace, joy and the goodness of God.Yours,

2010 New Year's letter is available now!

2009-12-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,My 2010 New Year's letter is available now! Request your digital copy today or endure the long wait while I dig out your address and stick the stamp on the envelope. (And remember to drop the letter in the mailbox. Such an important step.)Best wishes for the New Year!~~LeAn

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,I have visited with my parents, opened gifts, listened to Christmas songs on the radio, and celebrated the day with old family friends. But before I go to bed, I will sit by myself and sing one of my favorite Christmas songs. The words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are below.Christmas, despite its Santa-suited secularization, is my Holy-day, and I will celebrate.Love, Joy, Peace and

Vocab: Noughties

2009-12-13T01:22:00.000-08:00

This morning over breakfast I read a section of the paper dedicated to an overview of the last decade. They referred repeatedly to the Noughties, and I thought, "who are these people?"I googled it. Noughties as in nought as in zero as in 00,01,02,etc. Somehow, I can not picture myself on Dec. 31 popping the cork on a bottle of champagne and cheering "I survived the noughties!" Everyone will

Bake off

2009-12-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

I'm hosting a party on Saturday afternoon, to which you are invited. It's a Christmas cookie party, which means the primary food will be Christmas cookies. (I had to explain this to a co-worker today. He didn't quite seem to understand the point, but is going to come anyway.) I intend to serve four varieties of cookies at my party. The chocolate chip are done. The sugar cookie dough is

Who you calling "mom"?!

2009-11-30T13:56:00.000-08:00

I was sitting in the pub with several co-workers when it occurred to me... Today is my three year anniversary with my company. My third year with a full-time, grown-up, getting health insurance job. I feel all grown up.Today I was also told that I am the "Mom" of my company's reporting technology.Ok. I don't feel that grown up.

Survival of the fittest

2009-11-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."~~ Erma BombeckThe gerbera, the thmye and one of the cilantro plants didn't survive my successive two week absences and were dumped into the trash today. The other cilantro and the basil are still going strong.Soon I'm going to buy a poinsetta. How long do you give it?

The Gas Man Roweth

2009-10-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Right before I left on my most recent trip to the US, I received a letter from British Gas. This letter informed me that it was time to schedule my landlord's annual gas safety inspection. I put the letter in the "to do when I get back" pile and went to Boston for two weeks.I believe it was the day after my return that I received a second letter from British Gas informing me that I had not yet

LeAn vs. the insulting Scale

2009-10-11T08:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went into London to meet up with some friends*. My food intake for the day is as follows:Breakfast: 6 oz yogurt.Lunch: Entire pizza - La Reine on a Romana CrustCoffee: Starbucks Tall mocha with whipped creamDinner: Fentimans Dandelion & Burdock soda, assorted sausage, fish, pickes, etc (Chopping Boards)Snack: Candied peanuts (bought fresh from a street vendor)Snack: Bottle of OJ, and

Weight loss

2009-10-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,I wanted to go down to the Rowing Club tonight. I did. After all, I have paid my full year membership dues which buys me the right to attend club training. But I was too sick.This is an unfortunate set back in my training and weight loss program. You see, competitive rowing favors those with tall, lanky body types, but the powers that be have taken pity on the height challenged

Five weeks, four friends, three kids, two theatre performances and a rug

2009-08-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,I live here.I've actually been in one place for five full weeks. Four friends have been to visit - TIRMa, one American friend from high school, and two friends from my grad school days. I've babysat my co-workers three kids on three different occasions (they were in bed asleep before I got there). I've been to the theatre down the street twice in one week, and I bought a brown,

Heard on the Street

2009-08-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

Several blocks from my flat is a fudge shop which hires a crier to offer free samples to passers by. Yesterday I heard him say (not loudly, but audibly)Try my fudge. It's better than child slavery!

Rowing, Driving and Riding the Bus

2009-08-02T03:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,My opportunity finally arrived. Because I have no immediate travel plans, I was able to sign up for a 4 week beginner’s rowing course. The induction was Wednesday night.Mom wants to know how it went, but I need to start at the beginning.Beginning (South Bank of the River): Google has carefully calculated that the walking distance from my house to the rowing club is less than 3 miles

Soy what?

2009-07-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Since I've moved to the UK, I have been away from home for more days than I have been at home, and I have been lax about cooking. As evidence, I offer a single fact. After I had boiled the rice and chopped all the other ingredients, I opened my cupboard and failed to find soy sauce. Had I been home for more extended periods of time or had I been more inclined to cook during my brief stays here

A Day Out

2009-07-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

This return from Sydney to the UK has resulted in the worst jet lag I've had to date. I was wide awake at 11:30 pm last night (8:30 am in Sydney), and only managed to get back to sleep around 6am. You can accomplish a lot of things while being awake at 3 in the morning. Ironing. Dishes. Finding a new favorite tv show. (Being Human - about roommates who are a Vampire, a Werewolf, and a Ghost

Starbucks strikes again!

2009-07-18T00:27:00.000-07:00

Last week I walked into Starbucks in Sydney with a group of my co-workers and gave them my usual order.When I got my cup back, it had Nestle neatly written on the side.Well, I did order a mocha...

Photos from Santiago and Sydney

2009-07-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Santiago and Sydney

Movie Musings: Misc in flight movies

2009-07-01T02:31:00.000-07:00

I have come to believe that the traditional rating system for films is inadequate. It is impossible to express with a single line of stars opinions about both a films quality as a film and it's entertainment/educational/emotional value. Below you will find the 5 films I watched on my flight from Santiago to Auckland, NZ along with favorite moments and quotes, misc. commentary and my double 5

Don't call me. I'll call you.

2009-06-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,When I checked out of my Santiago hotel room this morning, the message light on the phone was still flashing. Actually, multiple lights were flashing. Two on the phone by the bed, two on the phone on the desk and one on phone in the bathroom.I assume this means that someone called me, but I don't know who.The first time this happened was sometime last week. I never even noticed the

The simplicity of elevators

2009-06-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

I've been on elevators all around the world. Glass elevators at shopping malls. Elevators in office buildings that only visit floors 1-15. The world's fastest elevator in Building 101 in Taipei.All of these elevators work on the same principle. The passenger approaches the elevator door and presses one of two buttons. The upper button calls an elevator to take the passenger up; the lower

Who are you anyway?

2009-06-18T03:58:00.000-07:00

You know how friendly they are at Starbucks? They ask for your name and write it on the paper cup so the barrista can shout it when your Mocha is ready?My name according to the Santiago Starbucks staff? Lassie.*woof*

Expiration dates

2009-06-15T03:05:00.000-07:00

On the flight from London to Sao Paulo, they served yogurt for breakfast. I looked at the expiration date and read 02 Jul 17.That's some seriously long-life yogurt.Actually, upon second reading, it was 02 Jul T7. Whatever T7 means. I ate the yogurt and I feel fine.

Paying the bills

2009-06-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,I'm off again tomorrow on a round the world tour - 2 weeks in Santiago, Chile, followed by 2 weeks in Sydney, Australia.Per company policy, I'm responsible for paying my own hotel charges and then expensing that back to the company. No big deal for the average person. If only I were average!!Because I so recently received my UK visa and even more recently was added to the UK payroll

Where are the woods?

2009-06-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

There is a bridge between my office and the center of town. I was arranging to meet a co-worker for dinner and was trying to give her directions to the restaurant from the office. "It's over the river and through the woods," I told her. She looked confused. "Where are the woods?" Pause. "It was a joke... like the song... nevermind. Here's the address."

Beware the pheasant!

2009-05-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

TIRMa and I went to the Foodie Festival at Hampton Court Palace over the weekend. We skipped lunch so we would have plenty of room for sampling artisanal cheeses, curry sauces, sheep's milk ice cream, fudge, olives and olive oil and similar things. And I brought home two varieties of sausages - "Game and Red Wine" and "Pheasant and Pear".Pheasants may not seem like dangerous birds, but when you

Meet TIRMa

2009-05-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

My new apartment has two bedrooms. One for me and one to share. The sharing one has been in frequent use by one of my female coworkers who lives a couple of hours from the office, when she needs to fly from Heathrow or be at the office for meetings. In return, she drives me to important places like Tesco and Ikea.Because she's going to be showing up in the occasional post, I wanted to give her

Movie Musings - Spirited Away

2009-05-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

There is an adage that "You become what you think about". Nervous public speakers are advised to focus on being "confident and calm" and not to think about "not being nervous". Likewise the Bible tells us "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil.

Movie Musings

2009-05-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

If you know me (and if you didn't, why would you be reading this blog?)...If you know me, you know that I love movies.At one time I thought I might try my hand at writing movie reviews. However, as a reader of movie reviews, I finally realized that I would never be able to do a respectable job of it. My inner critic gets distracted by the lights and music and can't think of anything witty or

3 weeks, 3 churches

2009-05-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

I've been in the UK for 3 weeks now. That's the longest I've been in any one place since January!! And now that I'm finally mostly settled, the church search has begun in earnest.3 weeks, 3 churches.Because I'm in the UK, I thought I would start with all of the C of E (Church of England) churches in town. (I am told that C of E does NOT equal Anglican. This needs more research which I will

Locked away

2009-05-10T22:51:00.001-07:00

The US has long given up serious usage of skeleton keys except in places like the old farmhouse where we lived for several years while I was a child. In that house, finding an old key in a drawer and then going through the house testing it on all the interior doors was fun and exciting.Skeleton keys are still very popular in the UK and there are 4 of them associated with my apartment. One of

I have internet!!

2009-05-07T15:37:00.001-07:00

*see title*

Home again

2009-04-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,I do not yet have internet access from my flat, but I know you are all wondering where I am.I am in the office.In the UK.Hoorah!!More details will follow soon.Yours with jetlag,~~LeAn

Have Passport, Will Not Travel

2009-04-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

Preface: I am currently working from my old office.Because I have no real US address anymore, I asked the British visa processing center to return my passport and visa to my relatives address. For the last week and a half, I've been answering the questions "Why are you still here?", "Didn't you leave?", and "How's the UK?" every time I turn a corner at the office. I've been fantasizing about my

Adidas would be proud

2009-04-02T06:04:00.001-07:00

Those who know me know that my general level of fitness is about the same as that of moss. I consider eating fast to be an athletic activity. Therefore, do not be shocked, dear readers, to learn that while in Phoenix last week, I bought myself a pair of athletic pants.Athletic clothes come in all sorts of moisture wicking fabrics, temperature comfort levels, sports categories, and - I expect

Suffering in Santiago

2009-03-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, my boss's boss came to me and said, "Since you're going to be in Phoenix, you may as well go to Chile to train our new employees there", as if Santiago were just across the state line. I protested because I still need to finalize my UK visa application and I have to do that from the US, but in the end, I scheduled a two night stay in Santiago. (For the curious, Santiago is a

The following fares are not upgradeable

2009-03-20T03:32:00.000-07:00

The following fares are not upgradeable: Fares booked in I or O Fares booked in Q between North America and Asia, Europe, India or South America. Q is me.

Church Visit 1

2009-03-08T04:01:00.000-07:00

I had very good intentions of going to church this morning. I even walked up for the 10:45 Matins, arriving just on time. But the church I selected is also considered part of a tourist attraction and so I was denied entrance and asked to come back for the 11:45 Eucherist.15 minutes home, 15 minutes back... nah. Maybe I'll go back for Evensong.

Bubble and Squeak

2009-03-05T22:43:00.000-08:00

If I'd been feeling adventurous at the restaurant last night I would have ordered this. Maybe next time.http://www.foodreference.com/html/artbubblesqk.html

It's 4 am.

2009-02-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

And my choices for British TV areBBC Three: Being HumanBBC Four: Paul Merton Looks at Alfred HitchcockITV3: TeleshoppingSky Three: Road WarsChannel 4+1: Angela's Dying Wish (Why is this not Channel 5?)More 4: More4 PreviewFilm 4: Film 4 PreviewQVC: In the Salon with Gatineau (oooo.... moisturizers.....)4Music: Party Bangers (currently something with Justin Timberlake.)Dave: Home Shopping

It's 9pm.

2009-02-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Got home from Sydney this morning and have managed to stay awake until now thanks to Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes and a bag of Sour Cream and Onion potato chips. Ah.... It's the little things.