Seattle-bound

Yes, we're off to Seattle today - yay! I'm particularly excited by the weather forecast... today being the most promising at "mostly cloudy". The rest of the days are an encouraging mix of "showers", "rain / snow showers", and the mildly better "few showers" (not quite sure the cutoff point between 'few' and just 'showers', but hey, that's gotta be better!

Not particularly excited about the movies either - though might watch the animated 'Cars'. I'm not sure if I like it now that you can look online and find in advance the movies that are going to be shown. It used to be a treat to get on board, pull out the magazine and flip to the back -- "ooh! They've got Bend it Like Beckham!" Now I already know that there's very little to keep me entertained for the 10 hours to come... Already looking forward to being on the ground!

Guess our invitation got lost in the post...

And besides - we wouldn't've been able to attend the TomKat nuptials anyway. Tickets to Seattle & all that!

not my fault

I know there was no post yesterday, thus breaking my November blog-a-day challenge... but believe me, i really did try! the mind was willing, but the system (blogger in this case) was not able... ;-(

I'll just have to do a few today to make up for it!

Eco-friendly?

So, our local borough of Richmond, like all forward thinking areas (hooray-aren't-we-great) introduced curbside recycling a few years ago, for paper, glass, and aluminium. No cardboard collections, but better than nothing.

Then about a year ago, they also introduced food waste recycling (unlike the US, most people *don't* have garbage disposals here). So, the point is that food-only waste can go for composting, rather than fill up garbage landfills.

And to increase efficiency, they made collection day for all recycling AND rubbish the same - so you only have one day to remember.

However - it still looks like there are 3 separate collections. So 3 separate smelly trucks pootling around Richmond, generating who knows how much carbon emissions or whatever. So -- which is more eco-friendly? Recycling, but 3 trucks, or not bothering, and saving the petrol?

Sigh - it's not easy bein' green...

In honour of my parents' whirlwind trip to San Jose to see la Streisand in live glory, here is a link so you too can Give the Gift of Barbra... (hey - that's what it says on the site!)

Look forward to hearing all about it Mom & Dad!

Meeeat Glorious Meat...

...plus some whiskey and trifle!

Yep - I was so energised writing about my stupid iPod that I almost forgot to post about our dubious success at the MEAT AUCTION. So, there we were, Thursday night, at our lovely local pub, the Greyhound (as you know), for the monthly comedy show -- MC'd by Nick, AKA Quizmaster Nick, who I think is getting to know us (a little at least - he seemed to remember our engagement...)

Anyway, in between the acts, Nick asks for stories from people who've had the worst day or month -- for a grand prize of some drinks and a very large bar of chocolate. Of course, after such a fun week with Mom, we couldn't possibly think of anything bad about the month, so of course couldn't win that competition. (Or, perhaps, for a laugh, and in the interest of competition only, Ashley did mention something about his mother-in-law staying with us for a week...)

In any case - we didn't win. However, my beloved betrothed just couldn't face leaving the pub empty handed -- and when the 'Meat Auction' started, he saw his chance. And yes, it's just like it sounds, an auction for meat. It only took about 5 minutes of frantic bidding, but he emerged victorious from battle, securing about £12 worth of meat for only £25!! Our lucky day... (hmm - maybe I'll try to keep Ashley from any auctions in the future...)

But no, it was a fun evening, and we'll be dining on this story for months. Literally...

busy weekend

Lots going on this weekend, which is always good. Saturday we were off to meet with a wedding photographer, ooh, very exciting! He does fantastic work, so hoping to get that sorted asap... then after getting my hair coloured (thanks to Chloe at Trevor Sorbie I no longer look like a skunk, at least for the next 6 weeks or so), we were off to Stoke Row for the annual Tennis Club Quiz Night! (I know, I know - it's getting to be a habit!)

Sadly due to some incredibly ridiculous questions, including a True-False round, (True or False: Robbie Williams scored higher than Florence Nightingale on a public-voted list of top 100 Britons? Don't ask me, I don't even remember the answer, just that we got it wrong!), we came in a very close 4th out of I think 9 teams. So not bad, but not great - especially as we were second until that last round!

Some sample, non True/False questions:
SPORT (our best round - we got 16/20):
*What sport features in Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (ok, not really a sports question, but I was happy it was there amid cricket & soccer questions, so I could answer one!)

*The ball of which sport is known as the sliotar [nope, we had NO idea!]

ROYAL FAMILY: (pretty easy actually...)
*Who lives in Clarence House (1/4 for each right answer)?
*What year was Prince William born

NATURE:
*What animal has 4 knees (d'oh - we had 2 options, and chose the wrong one...)

Ahh well... all for a good cause!

apple is the worst company in the world

and I would never recommend an iPod to anyone. And I'm not the only one.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

So my iPod started breaking down a few months ago, and finally died about 2 weeks ago. And of course, every time I try to get a reservation at the 'genius bar' -- oops, sorry, we're full. I just logged on at 6:30 AM to find the only available time today is 8 pm. 8pm???? Yes, just what I'd like to do on my Saturday night, because I have no life.

If I ever *do* get this stupid thing fixed, why should I go to the trouble of moving more of my music into iTunes, where they can't be played by any other player, just to have my iPod die in about another year (as I understand the average battery life to be)?

I resisted for AAAAGES getting one, but of course finally succumbed, because everywhere around me people seem to be happily listening to their iPods, buying 2, 3, 4 of them, sharing iTunes files... aaaargh! is it only me??? maybe I have some weird electrical signal that's corrupted the stupid thing.

All I want to do is watch Lost...

Of course, if I do manage to get this fixed, perhaps when home in Seattle in a couple of weeks, then I'm sure my disposition will turn a lot sunnier... ;-)

But until then, I'll sing this tune:

Favourite election headline...

Now that the elections are over & I've had a chance to peruse various English publications, my main observation is that pretty much all agree this was an election against Bush. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if some non-Americans believe Bush himself is no longer President, given headlines like "Bush defeat" or my favourite, from the Daily Mirror: "American Zero: US voters boot bozo Bush" (sadly it's no longer on the website, or I'd include the image...)

I must buy these boots

Ok, they're not hugely attractive, and I still question whether they'll fit over my calves... but once I found them, I knew they had my name written all over them... literally.

Drumroll please for the Rieker Antistress 'Stefanie 54' boot.

Why 54, who knows? But Stefanie-with-an-F? They must be for me!

how closely do you look at logos...

This is SO HARD! Can you choose which is the correct logo - of various online companies? The only one I got right off was Amazon, only because I know the thinking behind it. The rest were almost total guesses...

What the Fluff?

Woohoo - think I've just managed to figure out how to embed video! (in this case from some sort of parade...)

9 S on a SM

aka, 9 Sacks on a Seahawks Monday... congrats to the Seahawks for actually remembering how to win, and doing it on Monday Night Football! Ok, perhaps it wasn't pretty... so maybe Tony Kornheiser called it a 'death game'... fine, ESPN said even a mediocre team would've beat the 'Hawks... but a win is a win is a win!

World's Longest Bridges

Part of my Nigerian adventure included crossing (twice!) what I was told was Africa's longest bridge - from the airport to Lagos Island (and onto Victoria Island, which I presume is part of Lagos, but what do I know - clearly I need to improve my knowledge of Nigerian geography...)

Anyway, that got me wondering - what's the longest bridge on each continent? And I wonder if someone's crossed all of them? The first question was pretty easy to answer, thank you Wikipedia... I thought Lake Ponchartrain would be the longest, but am amazed it's nearly 4 times the Third Mainland Bridge (which is what I assume is the bridge I crossed in Nigeria, not that there were any signs or anything!) I'm glad I'm only reading *now* the fact that it may be in urgent need for repair, as the government has not maintained it in 15+ years (according to Wikipedia, that is).

A bit harder to answer the 2nd question - if anyone's crossed all of them. I'd say perhaps the Bridgemeister, however it seems he concentrates on suspension bridges (with a few exceptions, yes)... I'll have to keep looking. Perhaps the Bridgetravelmeister is around here somewhere!

National Blog Posting Month

So, it's NaBloPoMo -- didn't you know? I've hung the decorations, wrapped the gifts, sent out the cards, and am practicing my Nablopomorphic carols... Or at least trying to find something to write about each & every day of November. I've made it so far - here's to the rest of the month...

movie-blog

Oooh - saw The Departed tonight... Martin Scorsese-directed, with Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon & Leonardo Di Caprio (interestingly, on the poster Leo gets first credit...)

We'd definitely been looking forward to it, and I'd heard mostly good reviews... so, perhaps my expectations were high - not usually a good thing for movie going! Overall, I thought the acting was very good, especially Di Caprio, though more & more I'm not sure if Jack Nicholson's becoming a parody of himself... I kept seeing flashes of The Joker coming through.

But that's being unfair - I do think it was mostly gripping, and I only started even thinking about looking at my watch about 10 minutes from the end. With all the double crossing and undercover investigations I did find myself getting confused at times as to who was going after whom and why, but think I perhaps understood it by the end. The love interest was a bit disjointed - wondering if perhaps some bits had been edited out to keep it to 2 1/2 hours.

I think I agree most with the New Yorker critic, David Denby, who says "The story is highly improbable, although Scorsese and Monahan keep the complicated goings on clear and taut, and the entire movie is acted with spirit and conviction... “The Departed” is murderous fun, but it’s too shallow to be the kind of movie that haunts your sleep." I certainly enjoyed it, and am glad we saw it on the big screen, but don't think it's a classic or one I'll be pondering over for more than the first 10 minutes of the dinner we had after the movie (and of course the few minutes it's taken me to write this entry.)

A few photos

Yawn... returned from Nigeria this morning, via Amsterdam. Got about 3 hours sleep - am doing my best to stay awake until a reasonable hour. If I take a nap, I think I'll end up sleeping for hours & then my schedule will be completely discombobulated!

A few pictures from the trip:

View from my hotel balcony

On the road - saw so many people balancing goods on their heads, I just don't know how!

Dinner... during a momentary blackout...

More news from the trip when I wake up!

whirlwind trip

I absolutely cannot believe it - trip almost over! In a very short time I've seen the countryside, had a massive dinner, visited the atlantic ocean (didn't go in!), chased a newt out of my room, bought the obligatory-postcard-for-the-collection, and of course, conducted business... one more meeting to go - then off to the airport.

Still surreal to think I've only been here less than 2 days... seems so far away, but so relatively easy to get to.

Photos coming soon!

Landed safe & sound

I could get seriously used to this Upper Class travel, especially on overnight flights. The seat flipped over to form a completely flat bed, and a relatively comfortable one at that. I was out FAST, and think I got about 3 1/2 hours at least... not bad for a 6 hour flight. Arrived in Lagos safe & sound, now in the business centre before my meeting starts. All in all, fairly uneventful. And no mosquitos... after all the malaria talk & 'you must wear DEET-containing bug spray...' and I don't think I've seen a single mosquito.

[but don't worry dad - I'll keep taking my malarone!]