A respectable showing

Saturday saw PlanetWulfagar visiting the Stonor Cricket Club pavilion in an effort to retain our Quiz Night Championship Title... The team roster was a little different this year -- an all Agar showing, with Ash & his parents and li'l ol' non-cricket-trivia-knowing me.

As you may have guessed from the headline, we didn’t quite make it – but, considering we were the smallest team (4 to others’ 5 or even 6!), we were pretty happy with our bronze medal finish. [Strangely, the organisers didn’t listen to our request for a ‘small team’ handicap, or my suggestion of taking each team’s final score & dividing it by the number of team members. Our 50 would’ve become 12.5 to the winning team’s paltry 9.17. Not that I’m bitter...]

What questions helped us to our 50/72 total? Which ones kept us from the top spot? All I can say is thank goodness the Quizmaster has a fondness for American sports – so naming Brett Favre’s team was no problem. A few others:
1) The shortest verse in the Bible, found in the Gospel of John (thank you trivia brain!)
2) Mt Aconcagua is in which country (d’oh... we just missed this one)
3) Which of these cities is the furthest west: Oxford, Portsmouth, or Sheffield?
4) This star is the lead in Michael Clayton
5) Which is the highest grossing film franchise?
6/7) And I’m particularly proud we were able to name the (individual) artists responsible for “Persistence of Memory “(the artist is Spanish) and “Mother and Child Divided” (the piece is in need of repair)

So - not bad... and we’ll get ‘em next year!

Maybe I should've kept that Slingbox...

D'oh - really really annoying that NBC is no longer selling shows through iTunes. I'll have to watch Season 2 of Heroes with all the other non-Americans - whatever will I do??!

New York, DC, both helluva towns

So –we’ve been back from the States for 2 ½ weeks – about time for a holiday recap! It would take me nearly the length of the trip to cover *everything* we did in such a packed week (and you’d die from exhaustion / boredom reading it all!) So instead – some highlights:

• Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge – iconic views, and the friendly policeman out of central casting who pointed out the shortcut to getting onto the bridge. And when he heard Ashley’s accent, stopped & chatted a bit about the upcoming NFL match to be held in London – with ‘his boys – the Giants’

• Going for a run in both Riverside and Central Parks on a sunny Sunday morning, ending our run with H&H bagels, lox, Starbucks coffees and a fat Sunday New York Times. Could we be any more New York-y?

• Wandering through Washington Square Park, and stopping with the locals (or other tourists – who knows? That’s the great thing about New York, such a mix) to enjoy a jazz interlude, complete with spaced out drummer, and blissful keyboardist in his own world
  
  
  
• Checking out Rye’s classic Playland (since 1928!) – I never knew there were so many variations on kiddie rides. Next time though – it’s the big kids turn!

• First visit to Yankee Stadium – and trading good natured comments with the 99.9999% of fans there who were cheering on the Yankees. Of course, we were good natured because –amazingly – the Mariners were winning; they were good natured because they could see the Yankees were still going farther in the post season... best moment of the game: Ichiro hitting his 200th hit, Ashley standing up and shouting, everyone in our section looking at him, and Ashley responding, as if for explanation, ‘we’ve got the same birthday’

• US Open vs Wii Open in Rockefeller Square. Missed out on tickets to Flushing Meadows – take in Federer and Williams on the big screen set up in Rockefeller Square. OR cross the street and see 2 people you’ve never heard of battle it out on a different sort of big screen – playing Wii Tennis in the ‘virtual open’
  
• Taking in New York skyline at night – at Top of the Rock – definitely one tourist attraction worth a visit (though how come our photos don't look as good as those on the site?!)

• Travelling back to DC for the first time in 10 years – and finding it quite surreal. Almost everything seemed the same, and I had to keep reminding myself that it really was 10 years later, and I’m 10 years older. But then little changes would appear – like the fact my old shared house at 17th & P has been turned into individual apartments. Or I’d pass a corner and think ‘hmm... was that always here?’ I think Ashley got tired of me saying ‘Ooh – I ate here once’ or ‘this is where I got my drycleaning’. Yes, dear, very exciting.
  
• Getting coffee at ‘my Starbucks’ on Connecticut Avenue – I almost told the girl at the counter ‘I was a barista here 13 years ago’... but figured she wouldn’t be perhaps as accommodating with my recollection stories as Ashley

• Enjoying a day out at the Zoo – one of the best in the US, if not the world... I especially like the gibbons, though can’t give a specific reason why...

• And of course – the real highlights (saving the best for last!) – getting to see family & friends – from Chez Olson (yay – place in White Plains looks great, happy to see you looking settled in with so much space), to our Hotelier Friedman Towers (thanks Kim – not only for Upper West Side pied-a-terre, but the great Mexican recommendation for Rosa Mexicano), to Zoo buddies the Caltrider Clan, where I finally got to meet the lovely Lauren and beaming Ben...

Fantastic trip... when do we go back?

I did not know that...

What did you learn this weekend? Me? I learned -- courtesy of an 'invest in our great city' ad -- that Łódź in Poland is pronounced 'wodge'. And here I always thought it was 'shuh-shev-skee'. Ok, really, I just assumed it was pronounced 'lohdz', but maybe everyone knows it's 'wodge', and I'm just a little late to catch on.

I think Polish must be one of the most difficult languages to learn.

Magazine Week?

How did I not know it was Magazine Week? See, this is why magazines are losing readership... when someone as addicted as I didn't even know to celebrate this week? How are the little, non-caring, dilettante readers supposed to find out?

I want to go to *this* movie!

Smell-o-vision returns... and Willy Wonka is the perfect subject! (I always think of that movie with a weird mix of fondness and creep-me-outedness... but I guess that's its charm. And the original only, please. Call me a luddite if you will, but I never got that Johnny Depp high-pitched lisp thingy...)

Schoolhouse Rock for the 'aughties?

How come WordGirl wasn't around when I was a kid?!

Another day, another 5k

A little slower this time -- but with 20,000 other runners on a tight course in Hyde Park, I had a reason! So, relatively happy with my 31:31, though could've done better. But why-oh-why do people overestimate their abilities?? If the sign says 'Est time 25 - 30 min' DO NOT start in this wave unless you know you can finish in that time!

I'm all for inclusive races & getting as many people out as possible, especially for charity-driven outings such as today's run, and I'm certainly no speed demon, but there must be a better way to train newbies on basic race etiquette. I mean, I roughly know my pace, and know not to start in front of people faster than I am... More signs along the way saying 'walkers keep right'? More obvious information in the race pack?

Or am I being a race snob and I should just live with it, and do a better job of getting to the start line earlier so I have a better chance of being closer to the front?

29:17

Woo-hoo... think that's my fastest 5k ever, this morning in Battersea Park for the Trees for Cities 'Tree-athlon'. So thanks to running partner Verity for keeping me moving, and Ashley for cheering us on as our bag man...

I've got another one tomorrow, but no Verity or Ashley -- so a scientific test of how important support is! (of course, I think I know the answer to that already...)

10 year anniversary

August 31st, 1997. A sad anniversary for many (especially here in the UK) – but for one (yes, me, as it’s all about me, remember?) it was the start of a new adventure, as I headed to BWI airport, excess baggage in tow, bound for Heathrow, London, and the great wide world outside of the US of A.

And now it’s 10 years later – who woulda thunk it, but I’m still here, and looks like for the duration. So – as I make the reverse journey, off to New York & my old DC neighbourhoods for a vacation, I thought a look back at stats from my 10 years could be interesting...

7 – mailing addresses
12 –flatmates
174 – issues of Heat Magazine read until the content became Big Brother, all the time and I became big bored, all the time
40 – percent increase in grey hair
100 – percent increase in cost of covering said hair
10 – new countries visited
2 - siblings-in-law (hi Jess! hi Amy!)
2 - niblings (hi Toby! hi Beruria!)
87 – work related UK train journeys
3 – irate letters to Virgin Trains to complain about UK train journeys
5 – extra hours wasted on the worst of those journeys; a 2 hour trip to Manchester that crawled into 7 hours total...
16 – extra days I got to spend in Tacoma, waiting for my work permit to be renewed after an administrative error
4 – hours I spent waiting in line to get my indefinite leave to remain status
£635 - cost of getting a UK passport, if I so decide
1392 – days of since my 2nd date with my first Match.com correspondent
1275 - days after that 2nd date, I turned that first Match.com correspondent into my...
...1 – husband (all together now – awww)

(note – some figures are estimates, though I think the husband figure is pretty accurate)

How did it get to be Wednesday already?

Another long & busy weekend, this time 3 days to fill, as Monday was a bank holiday. (ok, and yes, I know, it’s already Wednesday so a bit late for weekend recap, but where did the time go??!)

Saturday started not only with sunshine, but also with a pleasant little fete right on our doorstep – well, on the Green to be specific. How could we give it a miss? After leisurely read of the papers, we wandered over for a lazy trawl through various charity stalls and game booths, munched on hot dogs & burgers, and generally enjoyed the atmosphere (though we did pass by the flower show, not really our thing!)

That evening it was into town for tapas treats followed by a little London culture – in the form of Miss Coco, Coco Peru... (sung to the tune of Roxie Hart). Drag queen, monologist (make that mono-luger), balladeer, and all around raconteur, she entertained us and the whole theatre with amusing stories and observations, interspersed with appropriate songs (aforementioned Chicago piece, a few Disney selections, and of course the fabulous Dolly Parton). Definitely a recommended evening, and Pete & Ashley got in the spirit beforehand with their special matching Miss Coco cocktails...

Sunday it was off to Stoke Row to visit the in-laws – starting with al fresco lunch & jazz at the Rising Sun – courtesy of the stylin’ (or is that smokin’) sounds of Queen Street Jazz...followed that with some cricket watching (the game, not the bug), and more al fresco dining, this time dinner chez Agar (Stoke Row branch). Can you sense an outdoor theme to the weekend? Who knows how long the sun will be here this time, we’ve got to take it while we can.

Monday we did duck inside for a little while at least – for an afternoon of Bourne, Jason Bourne. Enjoyed the Bourne Ultimatum, as all the reviews have said, fast paced, Matt Damon’s great in the role, and we also tried to track how many of the cities he visited we’d been to as well (ooh! There’s Madrid! Hey – look – Waterloo Station! New York! We’re going to New York on Friday! Moscow! Er... nyet on that one)

3 days o’ fun – not bad for the last bank holiday weekend...

Missed wedding list item...

So, I was in John Lewis the other day, when I saw the ultimate in sleeping luxury. And I say ultimate, because that's its name: the Ultimate Preference TV Bed. A massive bed, with a TV in the footboard! From the description: "integrated digital tuner & DVD player... individual handsets allow you to select your perfect sitting position for watching TV... for additional cost other options...include Massage... and HD cable for Sky"!

Well, I was about to whip out my credit card right there & then - I mean, hey, what's £11,800 anyway when it means you can have the ULTIMATE? But then I remembered oh yeah, Ashley's really too tall to have a bed with a footboard. And besides -- it may cater for individual seating heights, but how does it cater for individual viewing preferences? Show me the 6'6" model with 2 screens and headphones, and I'm yours!

Weekend report

Another busy weekend. Well, busy Sunday – Saturday of course was spent pining for Ashley, away in Ohio for the week. Yep, pretty much a whole day of sighing & moping around, oh woe is me.

Luckily, I got over *that* pretty quickly, and packed in enough on Sunday to make up for it.

Started off with a trip to the Design Museum, one of my favourite London museums – always interesting exhibits, and small enough that you can see the whole thing and not get overwhelmed. I went specifically for a small exhibit called ’50 years of Helvetica’, but that appeared to be over. Instead, the main attraction was architect Zaha Hadid – who’s designed some fantastic buildings, including, interestingly enough given Ashley’s present location, Cincinnati's Richard & Lois Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art.

Here's a photo of the architect's model... Not sure how much it looks like the real thing -- but I guess it's there!

I was more interested in the work of graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook, in particular the typefaces he’s designed. I find it fascinating the variety of type that can be/has been designed, and the detail that has to go into making them consistent, and the way designers can be so precise in the mood each can convey. He’s a very political designer, however, and I started to get tired of the anti-Americanism that ran throughout about every piece on display, aside from the typography. It just got a bit old, surely there must be a *few* other targets in the world. Perhaps disagree with some current policies, but the country and its people do have some good sides, and are not solely responsible for any negative thing going on in the world today. (and I’m not a particularly gun-ho rah-rah USA-USA person, but really, the work started to grate. Maybe because it’s so easy to pick on America, work that does gets a little boring and trite. It’s much more of a challenge to have your art be a bit more open and questioning.

After that, headed over to lovely pub lunch with friends and home again just in time for tennis with Emily. I won’t go so far as to call it a game, as neither one of us can serve, and we’re lucky to keep a rally going of more than 3 hits... but still, it makes for an amusing afternoon. Chatty dinner followed, rerun of top 50 funniest movies (Number 1 is still Life of Brian; I've seen 37 of them, not bad I think).

And here we are, Monday once again...

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to the other Stepfh, my oldest (in duration of course) friend... there's still 90 minutes left in Saturday in Seattle, so I've got it in just under the wire!

So here's wishing you a fantastic day, weekend, year, and much more -- and thanks as always for a friendship that's lasted nearly 2/3 of our lives! (of course - that means the only way we can stay as young as we clearly are is to move that meeting date earlier and earlier... I think we must've met before turning 10, can you believe it? ;-)

(PS - that photo was taken December '90/Jan 1991... the Stepfhs learn to ski... looks like the scanner works!)

Yawwwnnn

Stayed out a bit past my bedtime last night -- yawwnn -- though for a good reason. Thanks to Margot for organising an outing to SummerScreen at Somerset House. Enjoyed watching Rear Window on the big screen in a fabulous setting... and the memory of enjoyment is greater, now that the memory of my aching back (from sitting on the hard ground with only a picnic blanket) and frozen toes (brr -- a bit colder than I expected) has decreased!

Definitely worth going, though perhaps the next time I'll opt for a non-school night... Didn't get home until a little after midnight... and couldn't fall asleep until after 1:30 (hmm -- wonder if the fact Misery was on tv had anything to do with that). In any case, I think tonight will be an early one.

Proud as a peacock... er, peahen

Look who's made the press! Ok, it's just a sentence. And it's local Cincinnati business news. But hey - today: a sentence in Cinci; tomorrow a paragraph in Pittsburgh. And who knows -- in time, a whole book in Boston or Budapest... the possibilities are endless.

But really, congratulations to my sweet husband on his success.

Gushing stuff over now -now returning you to your regularly scheduled gruff exterior.

Match report

First of all – a pinch and a punch for the first of the month! (er, at least that’s what Ashley says his gran used to say...)

In all of my ramblings about the busy weekend just past, I completely forgot to give the exciting match report from the weekend prior!

Yes – the time this season has rolled around again to Ashley’s stint as Stonor Cricket Club Match Manager. When we arrived at the lovely pitch Sunday afternoon, it was overcast and chilly (brr...) but we were in luck, the sun actually peeked out a bit, and I even took off my cardigan and stopped saying “I’m coooooolllllddd” for a change.

As for the match itself – well, first Stonor was up to bat, and they did that for a while, and some runs were scored, and some people got out, yada yada yada.

And then the other team was up, and Ashley bowled brilliantly, but unfortunately they batted even more brilliantly, and the end result was not in Stonor’s favour.

But enough about the match itself – if you want details about that you can check the website...
More important was what happened between the innings – my chance to shine at the Cricket Tea. Yes, because it’s all about me. I’m quite competitive when it comes to my yearly tea, doncha know.


Despite the pressure of expectation – given last year’s well received inaugural tea – I think I ably acquitted myself, with a spread including cheese biscuits, oatmeal-chocolate chip-dried cranberry cookies, and the crowning glory, mini-chocolate muffins, as you can see below. Combined with some hearty sandwiches and earthy tea, the treats made for a well enjoyed (if I say so myself!) break.

And once again I am amazed at a sport that has a snack break half-way through... but happy to supply said snack when called upon!

Now... what to do for next year???

Another busy weekend

Tons going on this weekend – starting with Friday. Ashley took the day off, so we enjoyed breakfast at one of our favourites, Giraffe, building up strength for more tennis lessons later that day (one of these days I may even learn how to serve!)

That evening, then, off to the V&A for a little dose of culture – specifically the ‘Alternative Village Fete’. A classic of the British summer, updated with an artistic bent. So – rather than shoot a water pistol through a clown’s mouth or some such game, one competition had players racing to be the first to sharpen a new pencil and pop a balloon. We enjoyed wandering the creative stalls (sculpt Queen Victoria out of grey play-doh! Burp your favourite tune for a prize! Take a lucky dip in the prize draw!) and even treated ourselves to a unique ‘portrait’ – made using a typewriter! Ashley’s is the better likeness I think...

Saturday’s sun inspired some belated spring cleaning, so it felt like a productive morning. (and an excuse for an afternoon nap!) Even more of an excuse for the nap was the need to be able to stay up past our bed times, as we were off last night to our first visit to The O2 – the all new & improved Millennium Dome – to see the Scissor Sisters. The venue itself is pretty impressive, with 2 arenas (one stadium style, one more ‘intimate’), a massive 11-screen cinema (which just hosted the UK Simpsons premiere), and several restaurants & bars. Oh, and an indoor beach. (which I didn’t quite get, as there was no indoor sea or indoor sun to accompany said beach. I don’t really see the attraction in sand in & of itself – I only tolerate it when it’s part of the whole sun & sea combo!)

As for the concert (my first since Elvis Costello in 1991!) – loved it. And I only know a few of the songs... I’d bought the tix as an early birthday gift for Ashley, who’s more of a fan. I thought the crowd was excited, and so was the band, and – aww – it was the lead singer’s parents’ 34th anniversary & they were there to celebrate & he dedicated a song to them. One more time – aww... We got home *way* past curfew, but it was worth it. I even managed to sleep in to 8:30 – so it must’ve been a late night!

Finally, Sunday, Ash headed off for another cricket match (post game report – he said he’d bowled the best game of his career so far, though sadly the game ended in a draw). And I – I headed for the zoo, thanks to a free ticket that was due to expire the end of this month. I enjoyed the new ‘Gorilla Kingdom’ exhibit, though the enclosure still seemed a bit small. The butterfly house was similar to that at the Pacific Science Centre, and just as fascinating to see the gorgeous lepidoptera up close. And I especially liked Meet the Monkeys – similar to the butterfly house, but with squirrel monkeys! So close you want to reach out your hand for them to hop on (except of course for all the signs saying ‘these monkeys bite!’) Taking pictures seemed a better route...

Once more with feeling...

How much do I wish this would come to London?! Buffy the Musical! Great episode, would be even better in person...

3rd? Only 3rd?

Wow - I went to the 3rd Most Annoying Liberal Arts College in America... Should I be dismayed to be on the list? Or disappointed we only got to 3rd. But hey - quite an achievement for the write-ins after not making it on the original short-list. [only Swarthmoreans would do *extra work* to get onto a ranking list!]

And besides, as we always say about polls like these -- really, once you're in the top 5 darling, it's all so subjective.