Good Times

What a surprise it was to see that my dear friend Elyse had posted up some fantastic photos of Taylor and me! These photos go way back to 1973! Just kidding, 2005 :)

Elyse got us in the old studio at MCAD to work on a project for photo. I think it was an obvious choice for her to ask us to be her models. She's like a way famous photographer now, this early work opened all kinds of doors for her!

Love this Blog!

I was doing a search on Flickr today. My keyword was Anthropologie and I was looking to be inspired, fashion wise. I found this amazing blog and I thought I would share it with you!

The Hidden Seed

washing up bowl rant

washing up bowl, originally uploaded by kejaba.

Can I just rant for a second?

I absolutely hate these washing up bowls! I don't understand why anyone uses them. They are so gross and nasty. I am writing this little rant because I just got done with doing the washing up at work. I came in to work today to find the washing up bowl in the sink full of stanky water and dirty dishes.

I personally never use one to wash dishes or as we say over here doing the washing up. I am one of those people that has to rinse the soap off the dishes. I don't understand why you would take a plate out of a plastic bin full of other dishes and then scrub it in a put in the drying rack.

Also why not just use the sink? Why not just fill the sink with water? Why put a plastic bowl in it? I don't know.... It just seem so unhygienic to have a plastic bowl sitting around wet. I think there are just some things I will never understand. Oh wait! There's one more thing. Rubber gloves. Now I know a lot of people wear rubber gloves to wash dishes in the states, but I would say that I have seen more people do it over here. I think it's very odd to put on rubber gloves to wash a glass or two.

Anyway, rant over back to work.

I feel so much better. Cheers guys.

207 London Bus

207 London Bus in West Ealing, originally uploaded by iconic Creative.

Having public transport is great, don't get me wrong. Although, there can be times when I wish I was back in my old Ford Escort wagon back home.

I usually take the 207 bus from the station down to my house. Some might say it's a bit lazy and I could walk home. On foot it would take me 10-15 minutes. After a long day sitting at a computer the last thing I want to do is walk.

Yesterday as I was coming out of the station I noticed that there a huge amount of people waiting for the bus. Huge meaning a crowd of well over 100 people. My heart sank. A crowd like would mean fighting my way and fighting my way off the bus.

Fortunately, a double decker pulled and nearly half of the people got on. It was only minutes later that my bus, the 207, which is a nice long bendy bus pulls. I have the great luck of having it pull up right in front of me and I am able to get on straight away. I even manage to get a seat!

It can be nice to have a seat, but there are sometimes when the bus is so crowded that it's really hard to get off. Getting off on a super crowded bus entails, saying sorry about a 100 times as you push your way off. There might be one or two friendly people who aware that you might like to get off and try to move out of the way. More often than not, it's a battle of wills and strength.

The 207 slowly pulled away from the curb and started down the road. Very slowly. It seemed like this bus was barely going 2 miles per hour. There were many groans and what the fucks being uttered.

Then for some strange reason, the driver decided not to stop at a few of the stops. I don't know if that was because he didn't want anyone else pushing their way on or what. I tell you what, it made some of the passengers who wanted to get off very angry.

After some more swearing and shouting between the driver and the passengers, the bus stopped and I decided to get off and just walk the last few blocks. I thought it was a good strategy. Move with the heard. There were a good number of people getting off and I stood a chance. I was also tired of having some one's bum pressed into my arm.

It wasn't fun getting off, but at least there were a bunch of us. It can be awful if you're the only one wanting to get off.

Long story short. I made it home. Next time I might walk, we'll just have to see!

Monday Morning Brolly

Haymarket Rain, originally uploaded by D I C K S D A I L Y.

I woke up this morning before my alarm went off. Lying in bed I listened to the gentle sound of rain. Another day of rain. Although I am trying to be optimistic. That was exactly 19 minutes ago and it seems like the rain has stopped. There could be some sun today. I could have a look at the BBC weather report to see, but I'd rather be surprised. 

When I went hunting for an image to use for this post my search words were Brolly, England, Summer. Brolly is a word that I had never heard before I moved to London. I have to say that I really like it. It's just a cute fun word, makes having to use an umbrella everyday a bit more cheerful!

I am trying out waking up a half an hour earlier to write. I am going to get back into the habit. 

This week I am going to Germany for a wedding. Matthew and I are leaving on Friday afternoon for  Saturday wedding in a village just south of Munich. I don't actually know if it's a village, but I thought the idea of going to a wedding in  a German sounds nice. It's a short trip and we'll be returning on Sunday night. 

Matthew's dad's cousin is getting married? I think that's right. He's called Michael and we've gone to visit him back in December of 2007. That was a great trip. We stayed the weekend with Michael and he was an awesome host. He took us around to several Christmas markets and even drove us into Austria. I really liked him so I am happy to be going to his wedding. 

I am also starting a pretty strict diet tomorrow. I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and he was kind enough to inform me that I am a bit overweight. He was very matter of fact about it and of course worried about my health, cheers doc! I will blog about that later, it starts tomorrow. It's not that interesting. I have never been a super diet or exercise person and am not all that concerned with my weight. I certainly don't want to become a person who is always talking about their weight either. Boring. 

I've got one minute left before I have to jump in the shower. I am thinking that today will be a good day! Cheerio!

Sunday night post

I've spent a lot of time thinking about what to write on my blog and zero time writing. I just haven't been in the mood, or I've gotten out of habit. I used to blog first thing in the morning when I wasn't working, but now that I am I just haven't found a good time to write. Oh the busy life in London.

I found out yesterday that my flatmate Wayland is going to be moving out in a month. That means we have to find someone to take his room. There's also the possibility that our landlord might want us to move out. This happened to a woman I used to work with at Candyspace. She told the landlord that the original person was moving out, but that they had found a suitable person to move. It didn't matter, the landlord wasn't having any of it and asked them all to leave. I wouldn't be too happy if Matthew and I had to move out. Although it might be nice to live in another part of London. Shepherds Bush isn't too bad a place to live. It's pretty central and Mary just lives up the road.

We'll find out tomorrow what the landlord has to say about it. There's no use getting worked up about it now.

Matthew and I had an amazing day yesterday in Brighton. We got super cheap (4 quid return for 2 tickets) through a special with Southern Trains. It was so nice and sunny yesterday. The nicest day we've had in weeks? It's been raining almost every day for what seems like forever. It doesn't rain all day, but it will rain usually and it's been pretty cool. I have been wearing a jacket to work, which seems so wrong for July!

The sun was out and it was a perfect day to be by the sea. I like Brighton, it's so happy and laid back. Matthew and I spent a couple hours laying on the beach and just listening to the waves. We had fish and chips near the carousel on the boardwalk. It was honestly a jolly day by the sea. We walked up and down the Brighton pier and played some games in the penny arcade.

We had a wander and then dinner before we were back to London. It was a bit crazy getting to Victoria. We discovered that the Victoria Line wasn't running once we got to Oxford Circus, which was not good. We then jumped out and decided to take the Bakerloo to the District Line to get to the station, all the while the clock was ticking. We got on the Bakerloo and it seemed like we were going to make it, until they announced that the train was being held. That's so annoying! Don't they care that we have a train to catch?

We ran to get the District Line and then ran through Victoria to get to the monitors only to discover that our train left 2 minutes ago. If that darn Bakerloo wasn't delayed. We decided to just get on the next train, which was a bit naughty. We had bought specific tickets to travel at specific times. No one came to check our tickets so we were fine, after a nice jog through the London Underground.

I have to say that Victoria station was so busy, the busiest I've ever seen it. I guess that's what happens when you live in a tourist city :)

As I am writing this post there are about a million things going through my mind. My room is a complete disaster, I've got laundry sitting in the washing machine needing to be hung up, four more loads to wash with no dryer, books that I need to read, papers to go through, mail to sort, plans to make, bills to pay, an exercise plan to create and then follow through, movies to watch, pod casts to get onto my ipod, emails to write to friends who probably think I don't like them anymore, an online test to take, a course to sign up for, a car to clean out, presents to mail out, thank you cards to write, toenails to paint,
websites to look at, industry magazines to read, networking to do, a music festival/camping trip to get ready for, a wedding trip to Germany to pack for, shoes to buy for the wedding, clothes to buy ( most of mine are stained), two mobile phones to charge, photos to tag, a book to write, buy notebooks and file folders for work............

Sigh :) Although I do feel better after making that list! Well, I think I am going to sign off for now.

Wedding Video

Rhea's

Rhea's, originally uploaded by pollyannacowgirl.

Love this sign. I was doing a search on Flickr to see if some of the photos' I've tagged would come and I found this little beauty!

Seth Godin

The thing is, we still live in a world that's filled with opportunity. In fact, we have more than an opportunity -- we have an obligation.

An obligation to spend our time doing great things. To find ideas that matter and to share them. To push ourselves and the people around us to demonstrate gratitude, insight, and inspiration.

To take risks and to make the world better by being amazing. ... You get to make a choice.

You can remake that choice every day, in fact. It's never too late to choose optimism, to choose action, to choose excellence. The best thing is that it only takes a moment -- just one second -- to decide.

Seward Community Cafe

ordering breakfast at Seward Community Cafe, originally uploaded by massdistraction.

Ok, this is really creepy! So yesterday I was sitting at work feeling a little homesick form Minneapolis, especially the Seward Cafe. I was having a hankering for a green earth breakfast with a nice cold press coffee, so I decided to have a look for a photo of the cafe.

I posted the photo yesterday and when I came back to it today I realized that it was a photo that had been posted by my friend Sharyn. I've posted lots of Sharyn's photos on this blog before, but this time it happened and I didn't even know it. That's soooo weird.

Extra Crunchy in the UK

Extra Crunchy in the UK, originally uploaded by rheaj.

How great is my boss? We get a bi-weekly delivery in from Waitrose and this lovely little jar of Skippy Extra Crunchy arrived! Rachel is kind enough to provide food and drink and when I was asked if there was something special I wanted I was over the moon to discover that I could get American peanut butter!

I love how it looks just resting on the fake grass on my desk. I am a loyal Jiff fan, but I'll take what I can get here. So sweet and delicious.

I tried to bring back two huge jars of Jiff Extra Crunchy the last time I was in Minnesota, but I packed them in my carry on and had to throw them away. I was so gutted, but now things are looking up! Peanut butter delivered to me at work rules!

Pink is the Navy Blue of India.... Diana Vreeland

Lovely socks, originally uploaded by rheaj.

I saw this chap while I was waiting on the platform this morning for my train into work. I would have to say that the majority of men in London like to wear fun colorful socks with their suits and I absolutely love it. I will sometimes see a man on the tube dressed in a very expensive suit, with gold cuff links, designer watch and a gorgeously worn leather briefcase wearing the most fantastic bright stripey socks.

It's just that little bit of flair and it's not seen as weird or eccentric. I love English men and their festive socks.

Blur in Hyde Park

I went to my first gig in Hyde Park last Thursday. My brother in law bought Matthew and me tickets to Blur for Christmas. What a great brother in law, eh?

Now, I know that Hyde Park is enormous. Although you really get a sense of how huge it is once you go to a gig there. The area for gig was huge. I couldn't believe how big it was and how it was only in one part of the park.

We got there around 3 p.m. and hung around in one of the beer gardens where they had table service! I couldn't believe it. A waitress would come up to the table and take your order by inputting it into a hand held device and then someone would collect it at the bar and serve it to you. You could even pay by card at the table. I thought that was pretty sweet!

Seeing Blur live was great, there's nothing like singing along to Tracy Jacks with 55,000 other people!

Ring me

Vintage Phone, originally uploaded by fitheimaginator.

My thoughts on phone calls.

I miss talking on the phone. I miss having people to call and people calling me. It is really a weird feeling to find that you have very few people that you need to call. I mainly call Matthew up during the day for a quick chat, probably more often than necessary.

I miss calling someone up while I am going somewhere. I miss the quick call to let a friend know that raspberries are on sale at the Wedge. I miss calling up my friends and telling them how much they mean to me. I miss getting that call for a last minute invite to go for a drink. I miss the voices of people who are happy to talk to me. I miss the calls that I would get on Saturday and or Sunday morning to plan going out for breakfast. I never thought it would something that I miss. It's something that I took for granted.

I haven't been very good about calling people here from England. Of course there's Skpye and I have set up phone dates in the past. It's just the lack of spontaneity or being able to speak to someone during the day. I got a thank you card in the mail yesterday from my friend Raya and I realized that we hadn't spoke since early May. I haven't spoken to anyone on the phone from the States since the last time I was home.

Anyway, that's my little rant. On the surface it might seem trivial. I can email people and instant message, yet it's not the same. I am also so tired of writing emails. I long for those quick chats during the day while I am running errands. For all those times I ignored calls and let them go to voicemail I am truly sorry.