Rotation announcement day has come and gone. It was a very interesting Basic Grades meeting. It was our second one in a year to take place at Wheelchair Services, with the focus this time on specialist seating for postural control. Sally, the very enthusiastic and knowledgeable physio who gave the talk, tends to work mostly with kids or adults who have very unique long-term disabilities. I wanted to know more about the integration of switches (i.e. foot or head switches, sip and blow, etc) for kids and adults who don't have upper limb function, and how that fits into the creation of customised wheelchairs. When I completed my degree at Tufts, there was a fairly decent emphasis on assistive technology, plus I learned even more about it during my rotation at Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston. I assumed that as part of OT training in the UK, others would have had similar exposure. So it took about 10 minutes into this conversation I had started before Sally and I realized the others weren't following along and had to backtrack into what switches are for, what they look like, what are the pros and cons, etc. Without getting into all of that, for any of you I may have already lost, there are options available for someone who does not have the use of their hands, and therefore cannot control a powered wheelchair with a simple joystick-- for example a button they can press with their head. It's fascinating stuff, really!
But anyway, back to rotation announcements. Not everyone was happy, by far, not everyone. The Head OT has a full Basic Grade rotation plus one, so she said before giving us our assignments that several people had ended up with their third choice, and one person had not gotten any of her first three choices at all. Two of the "older" Basic Grades, those who were on their first rotation when I started, were allowed to stay in the rotations they currently have due to difficult personal problems. At least one of those two rotations was in high demand, since it's a rehab position, and without the personal issues she needs to sort out, this OT would never have been allowed to repeat the rotation. But not everyone knows what's going on with her, and I think there was a lot of resentment. For myself, I scanned through the entire grid, and couldn't find my name anywhere. My confusion must have showed after a minute or so, because the Head OT eventually called out to me that I was at the very bottom, in a sentence underneath the grid at the bottom of the page. I have indeed been slotted into Orthopaedics, and since another OT was also slotted into that post, everyone immediately knew something was up. Plus, the Head OT announced that the finance dept had approved her application to hire new Senior IIs, and now she is just waiting to hear from the Turnaround Committee before she can advertise internally. Not that it was any big secret to begin with, but once the Head OT had left the room, I did admit to the other Basic Grades that I will be applying for a Senior II position, and assuming I'm successful, would be taking over the Senior II slot in Orthopaedics until the Senior II rotation changes in June...and that's why I was listed at the moment as the second Basic Grade assigned to Ortho. Things are looking good for me to move on up, I just hope the Turnaround Committee comes back with a decision in the next week or so, and then interviews can take place by end of March. That would be nice.
Tomorrow is my third and final Bobath module. I'm pretty sad that we're finishing up actually, I feel like I've been learning a lot on this course, so I will definitely have to apply for the more advanced and intensive 3-week course. Our tutor is definitely an expert in her field, and although it seems out of my reach, I'd love to have her skills one day.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Silver Linings
Things have been a little bit gloomy around here the past couple of days, what with Sunday's Arsenal Carling Cup loss and all...and I suppose the rainy weather hasn't helped. So, my happy list is making a reappearance:
I still have a month left on this rotation, thank goodness.
I will be going out to Michigan to see my Grandpa when I'm home in April (I missed the family reunion last summer). I will also get to see Aunt Grace and potentially others whilst there.
I will be going to Guildford on Sunday for a final final pub walk(the last one I posted about is not the last one after all), which will also be a birthday celebration for Alex.
Got to speak to Kristy on Skype last night, for the first time in awhile. Hey Greeky!
Tress heads back to Africa tomorrow after an extended stay in the States, sorting out tennis elbows. Congratulations, sis!
I have booked tickets to go home again for the annual Johnson/Heilala family extravaganza, 4th of July week, up in Vermont!
And last, but not least, Jenn sent me pics of her trying on wedding dresses, so that I could be kept in the loop and able to chip in with my two cents--awww, you're the best, hun.
I still have a month left on this rotation, thank goodness.
I will be going out to Michigan to see my Grandpa when I'm home in April (I missed the family reunion last summer). I will also get to see Aunt Grace and potentially others whilst there.
I will be going to Guildford on Sunday for a final final pub walk(the last one I posted about is not the last one after all), which will also be a birthday celebration for Alex.
Got to speak to Kristy on Skype last night, for the first time in awhile. Hey Greeky!
Tress heads back to Africa tomorrow after an extended stay in the States, sorting out tennis elbows. Congratulations, sis!
I have booked tickets to go home again for the annual Johnson/Heilala family extravaganza, 4th of July week, up in Vermont!
And last, but not least, Jenn sent me pics of her trying on wedding dresses, so that I could be kept in the loop and able to chip in with my two cents--awww, you're the best, hun.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Bits and pieces
There's too much to cover from the last several days, so here's the summary.
Little Golden Men: I won't bore you all with the results, I'm sure you were either watching last night, or have heard by now. However, I must add my congrats to Martin Scorsese-- it's a fickle business, pretty embarrassing that it took this long, but he finally got his due. If you haven't had enough Oscar fever, here's a web site with some amusing best and worst moments.
English Comedians: I'm not sure it's a name most of you will know, but Saturday night was the official leaving do for Rob and Nicole. At the restaurant, we ran into an English comedian by the name of Arthur Smith, who among other things does a show here called Grumpy Old Men. He regaled us for a couple of minutes on the pavement outside with bad jokes about Americans before we went our separate ways. (One was something like-- Why do Americans go to war? So they can learn geography.)
Flashbacks of Halftime: On Saturday morning, I went to the gym for a good long run on the treadmill and some weight-lifting. I was on the treadmill, headphones on, when I hear a loud "Hey!" I look to my right just as a tray with orange quarters on it is shoved in front of my face from the helpful gym attendant. I'm sure I looked surprised as I waved her off-- orange slices for someone who is running on a treadmill? It was a nice trip down memory lane to the hundreds and hundreds of soccer games where we always had orange slices for half time, but it seemed a strange thing for a gym.
"As I do my little turn on the catwalk": Sunday I went to London Fashion Weekend at the Natural History Museum with Angelica, our soon to be new housemate as of May 1. It was little more than stalls of people selling clothing, jewelry, shoes, bags, belts, etc although they did have mini catwalk shows every hour or so. Interesting, but probably not something I'd do again.
Little Golden Men: I won't bore you all with the results, I'm sure you were either watching last night, or have heard by now. However, I must add my congrats to Martin Scorsese-- it's a fickle business, pretty embarrassing that it took this long, but he finally got his due. If you haven't had enough Oscar fever, here's a web site with some amusing best and worst moments.
English Comedians: I'm not sure it's a name most of you will know, but Saturday night was the official leaving do for Rob and Nicole. At the restaurant, we ran into an English comedian by the name of Arthur Smith, who among other things does a show here called Grumpy Old Men. He regaled us for a couple of minutes on the pavement outside with bad jokes about Americans before we went our separate ways. (One was something like-- Why do Americans go to war? So they can learn geography.)
Flashbacks of Halftime: On Saturday morning, I went to the gym for a good long run on the treadmill and some weight-lifting. I was on the treadmill, headphones on, when I hear a loud "Hey!" I look to my right just as a tray with orange quarters on it is shoved in front of my face from the helpful gym attendant. I'm sure I looked surprised as I waved her off-- orange slices for someone who is running on a treadmill? It was a nice trip down memory lane to the hundreds and hundreds of soccer games where we always had orange slices for half time, but it seemed a strange thing for a gym.
"As I do my little turn on the catwalk": Sunday I went to London Fashion Weekend at the Natural History Museum with Angelica, our soon to be new housemate as of May 1. It was little more than stalls of people selling clothing, jewelry, shoes, bags, belts, etc although they did have mini catwalk shows every hour or so. Interesting, but probably not something I'd do again.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Hyde Park Calling
Guess who'll be going to Hyde Park Calling this summer?!! Just booked the tickets through the Live Nation presale! Initially, I was actually trying to book weekend camping tickets for the Isle of Wight Festival, but those were gone almost before they went on sale- in the blink of an eye. :( But I don't think I've done half bad for a second choice. Aerosmith is the first big headliner that they've announced, but there will be many more to come...all I have to say is "I don't wanna miss a thing!"
EQUUS
There's a lot of press out there right now, a lot of talk, both from people in the business and your average joes, about this play. And I think that was inevitable, given the unbelievable popularity of Harry Potter, whom- as we all know- is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe in the movie adaptations of the books. Therefore, anything that he does live (ie theatre) is going to get a lot of attention, and you add full-scale nudity to that, you've got an international phenomenon.
I knew it would be a good show, it's been around for awhile, what with the original theatre production, and the film adaptation that followed (which I would now like to see). So this current production is a revival, really. And it's an extremely compelling story. The story of the boy and his obsession with horses, his religion really, might at first glance appear to be at the heart of the matter, and there's no doubt it is darkly gripping. However, the play is actually about the personal and professional identity crisis of the psychiatrist who is treating the boy. And perhaps since I am a therapist myself, his struggle may have touched me at a deeper level than the average audience member. But regardless, the play is his story told within the context of this one boy's treatment. I think one of the reasons I shyed away from mental health as an occupational therapist is because the world is not black and white. Right and wrong are not absolutes, and I find it all too easy to step into other people's shoes, blurring the lines. While it can be a skill, a gift even, to be able to understand someone else's perspective, it can also be a curse--because it's difficult to know your own mind, and stand your ground when you need to think of yourself first. Anywho, this psychiatrist who is treating the boy-Alan Strang- is experiencing a big, big blurring of the lines. Essentially, he realizes that he is doing "ultimate things", he is changing people through his therapy, his treatments. And he wonders whether he has the right to do that, and more poignantly, is what he is doing "right"? Does he really know what he is doing? He is actually jealous of Alan, because he has never known the kind of passion that the boy has experienced, and his treatment is essentially ripping this passion out of the boy so that he can lead a "normal" life...
As I said, it's a gripping play.
But back to the Harry Potter issue...a few weeks ago, one of the papers was quoting Daniel Radcliffe, who was doing publicity interviews for the show. And he was talking about how they didn't yet know if he could pull it off. He said something to the effect of "If I can pull it off--and we don't yet know if I can...." Well, I can tell you that he can, and he does. Anyone who says otherwise either hasn't seen the show themselves, doesn't appreciate art, or just hates him because they hate Harry Potter. There's been a bit of a backlash from parents and schools, attacking him for not being a good role model, but the nudity is central to the play, and I'm not sure that anything less than this could have demonstrated as clearly that he should not be typecast, and he will be a talented actor. Within minutes of his stage entrance, you have stopped thinking of him as Harry Potter. Yes, he smokes a fag on stage, yes, he does strip down to his birthday suit (so does his female counterpart, but for some reason no one thinks that's a big deal) and stays that way for a good 10-15 minutes. I will admit that there is some room for him to grow into the role. For as serious a subject matter as the play explores, there are a lot of laughs, and sometime during the first 10 minutes when the audience was enjoying a good laugh at one of Richard Griffith's lines (he plays the psychiatrist), Daniel himself almost broke into a smile/laugh and had to rush into his next lines to keep from breaking character. But he really does breathe life into the role, and I think it's pretty obvious that should he continue to make savvy career choices that promote his growth as an actor, he will be able to continue to reinvent himself throughout his career, and not just be pigeon-holed as the Potter boy. The play is still only in the previews actually at the moment, with it's official opening night on 27 February. Hopefully he'll be over his jitters by then, though the only time in which they were in evidence at all during the performance I saw was when he came out to take his bows with the cast (the play ends shortly after the nude scene), looked a little bit shaky, took some deep breaths, and leaned into Richard Griffith's hug for support (Richard Griffiths was in three of the Harry Potter movies with Daniel). That was the only evidence that this was a 17-year-old boy who had willingly made himself as vulnerable as a human can possibly be in front of hundreds of people.
As I started to say somewhere up in there, when I walked into the theatre, I knew it would be a good show... but I was definitely apprehensive about whether I would walk out thinking Daniel Radcliffe's performance had made the story go flat. I'm happy to say that it's an excellent production, can only get better with time, and if it does move to Broadway (according to the press they're trying to make this happen for after Radcliffe wraps filming on the next Harry Potter film), you should definitely go see it.
I knew it would be a good show, it's been around for awhile, what with the original theatre production, and the film adaptation that followed (which I would now like to see). So this current production is a revival, really. And it's an extremely compelling story. The story of the boy and his obsession with horses, his religion really, might at first glance appear to be at the heart of the matter, and there's no doubt it is darkly gripping. However, the play is actually about the personal and professional identity crisis of the psychiatrist who is treating the boy. And perhaps since I am a therapist myself, his struggle may have touched me at a deeper level than the average audience member. But regardless, the play is his story told within the context of this one boy's treatment. I think one of the reasons I shyed away from mental health as an occupational therapist is because the world is not black and white. Right and wrong are not absolutes, and I find it all too easy to step into other people's shoes, blurring the lines. While it can be a skill, a gift even, to be able to understand someone else's perspective, it can also be a curse--because it's difficult to know your own mind, and stand your ground when you need to think of yourself first. Anywho, this psychiatrist who is treating the boy-Alan Strang- is experiencing a big, big blurring of the lines. Essentially, he realizes that he is doing "ultimate things", he is changing people through his therapy, his treatments. And he wonders whether he has the right to do that, and more poignantly, is what he is doing "right"? Does he really know what he is doing? He is actually jealous of Alan, because he has never known the kind of passion that the boy has experienced, and his treatment is essentially ripping this passion out of the boy so that he can lead a "normal" life...
As I said, it's a gripping play.
But back to the Harry Potter issue...a few weeks ago, one of the papers was quoting Daniel Radcliffe, who was doing publicity interviews for the show. And he was talking about how they didn't yet know if he could pull it off. He said something to the effect of "If I can pull it off--and we don't yet know if I can...." Well, I can tell you that he can, and he does. Anyone who says otherwise either hasn't seen the show themselves, doesn't appreciate art, or just hates him because they hate Harry Potter. There's been a bit of a backlash from parents and schools, attacking him for not being a good role model, but the nudity is central to the play, and I'm not sure that anything less than this could have demonstrated as clearly that he should not be typecast, and he will be a talented actor. Within minutes of his stage entrance, you have stopped thinking of him as Harry Potter. Yes, he smokes a fag on stage, yes, he does strip down to his birthday suit (so does his female counterpart, but for some reason no one thinks that's a big deal) and stays that way for a good 10-15 minutes. I will admit that there is some room for him to grow into the role. For as serious a subject matter as the play explores, there are a lot of laughs, and sometime during the first 10 minutes when the audience was enjoying a good laugh at one of Richard Griffith's lines (he plays the psychiatrist), Daniel himself almost broke into a smile/laugh and had to rush into his next lines to keep from breaking character. But he really does breathe life into the role, and I think it's pretty obvious that should he continue to make savvy career choices that promote his growth as an actor, he will be able to continue to reinvent himself throughout his career, and not just be pigeon-holed as the Potter boy. The play is still only in the previews actually at the moment, with it's official opening night on 27 February. Hopefully he'll be over his jitters by then, though the only time in which they were in evidence at all during the performance I saw was when he came out to take his bows with the cast (the play ends shortly after the nude scene), looked a little bit shaky, took some deep breaths, and leaned into Richard Griffith's hug for support (Richard Griffiths was in three of the Harry Potter movies with Daniel). That was the only evidence that this was a 17-year-old boy who had willingly made himself as vulnerable as a human can possibly be in front of hundreds of people.
As I started to say somewhere up in there, when I walked into the theatre, I knew it would be a good show... but I was definitely apprehensive about whether I would walk out thinking Daniel Radcliffe's performance had made the story go flat. I'm happy to say that it's an excellent production, can only get better with time, and if it does move to Broadway (according to the press they're trying to make this happen for after Radcliffe wraps filming on the next Harry Potter film), you should definitely go see it.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Knackered
I'm just back from helping a colleague/friend address her wedding invitations...she doesn't have very nice handwriting, but I can write with a flourish, so she bribed me with free food to come and insert the names, and write addresses for her. The play I saw last night-- a revival of Equus-- was wonderful, and I will write about it tomorrow, but for now I need some sleep. I had another one of those days at work where I took the brunt of a lot of misplaced stroppiness (strop being one of my favorite English terms) and outright anger, so I spent a lot of time explaining, and soothing, and fixing things, and apologising to patients and their families for the medical team, defending the therapy team to the medical team (things like, "Acutally, yes we did page you several times when your registrar did not show up for the family meeting, and no one answered those pages"), and writing last-minute 7-page therapy reports which were unreasonably requested at 2pm for end of day by the nursing staff. Then I went to the gym, and after several hours of writing invitations, I'm ready for some serious shut-eye. Sweet dreams all.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Another Anniversary
Yes, it was a year ago today, February 20, 2006, that I arrived at Heathrow airport, ready for my grand British adventure...living and working in the UK! There was definitely a rough patch in there. At first I was all excited to finally be here, having had to wait almost a year to get everything in order to move, and then a few months after being here I hit a rough patch--largely due to intensely disliking the rotation I was on, feeling bored and useless, although it also took awhile to make friends and get settled in. And since then, I've pretty much been loving it, and so I'm staying! I'm in the process of waiting to interview for a Senior II position here, but I will continue to apply for other neuro rehab jobs, though I don't expect to get very far with that since I need a work permit :(
A Canadian girl that I met on the yoga weekend told me that I should look at the Highly Skilled Migrant Visa (HSMV) again, because the regulations changed recently. So I did, I used the bloody HSMV calculator for all the good that it did me (yes, I'm still sulking about it). Ironically, if I had stayed in the US for another year, I would have qualified for the visa, which would have meant I could work anywhere I wanted to/could get a job (I wouldn't need a work permit, the visa itself would have entitled me to work). But because I have been living and working here, at a much lower salary level, I miss out on qualifying by 10 points. Argh. However, there's no guarantee I would have still moved here had I waited another year, nor that I would have been able to find work (given the current job shortage). So there you have it. I continue to require a work permit.
To change the topic completely, HAPPY PANCAKE DAY! I remember writing a little post last year on why it is pancake day, so I won't repeat myself, but I do intend to gorge myself on crepe-like pancakes with lemon and sugar before heading out to the theatre in the West End to celebrate my anniversary. Hope everyone is having a good week so far.
A Canadian girl that I met on the yoga weekend told me that I should look at the Highly Skilled Migrant Visa (HSMV) again, because the regulations changed recently. So I did, I used the bloody HSMV calculator for all the good that it did me (yes, I'm still sulking about it). Ironically, if I had stayed in the US for another year, I would have qualified for the visa, which would have meant I could work anywhere I wanted to/could get a job (I wouldn't need a work permit, the visa itself would have entitled me to work). But because I have been living and working here, at a much lower salary level, I miss out on qualifying by 10 points. Argh. However, there's no guarantee I would have still moved here had I waited another year, nor that I would have been able to find work (given the current job shortage). So there you have it. I continue to require a work permit.
To change the topic completely, HAPPY PANCAKE DAY! I remember writing a little post last year on why it is pancake day, so I won't repeat myself, but I do intend to gorge myself on crepe-like pancakes with lemon and sugar before heading out to the theatre in the West End to celebrate my anniversary. Hope everyone is having a good week so far.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Warm weather and training to trek
I was thoroughly exhausted after a grueling 2-hour case conference (family meeting) on Friday, and had managed to come down with another cold-- what's going on here, I thought I had more than served my time this "winter"?!-- so I spent most of the weekend in bed. Although I sound better today, I still feel totally drained, and can't get rid of a persistent (sinus?) headache.
I will get into the case conference at some point this week, but at the moment, it's still too tiring to think about.
A couple of things. Not to brag (especially since I was stuck in bed this weekend, not out enjoying some fresh air), but I've been hearing reports of it being bitterly cold on the East Coast for several weeks now. Over here, aside from the one day we had snow, it has consistently been in the 40s to even low 50s at times this winter. It goes down into the 30s at night. I think most people are pleased about this, but not me...I like my winter thank you very much, and it feels like we skipped right over it into spring! Okay, a really wacky spring, where it was getting dark around 4pm, but these days it's now pretty light when I leave work.
Viv and I have now booked all flights, and the only thing left to do is make sure we're in trekking shape by the end of March. To that end, I'm trying to run at least 3 times a week, have started going to a very challenging class at a yoga studio in Bethnal Green 2 times a week (the athletic power flow version of yoga, not the meditative static kind), and also try to lift weights 3 times a week. Housemate Nicole wants me to sign up for a bike ride from London to Brighton this summer, so she has someone to train with, which I would do, but I can't seem to find the time to go looking for a good quality used road bike.
I will get into the case conference at some point this week, but at the moment, it's still too tiring to think about.
A couple of things. Not to brag (especially since I was stuck in bed this weekend, not out enjoying some fresh air), but I've been hearing reports of it being bitterly cold on the East Coast for several weeks now. Over here, aside from the one day we had snow, it has consistently been in the 40s to even low 50s at times this winter. It goes down into the 30s at night. I think most people are pleased about this, but not me...I like my winter thank you very much, and it feels like we skipped right over it into spring! Okay, a really wacky spring, where it was getting dark around 4pm, but these days it's now pretty light when I leave work.
Viv and I have now booked all flights, and the only thing left to do is make sure we're in trekking shape by the end of March. To that end, I'm trying to run at least 3 times a week, have started going to a very challenging class at a yoga studio in Bethnal Green 2 times a week (the athletic power flow version of yoga, not the meditative static kind), and also try to lift weights 3 times a week. Housemate Nicole wants me to sign up for a bike ride from London to Brighton this summer, so she has someone to train with, which I would do, but I can't seem to find the time to go looking for a good quality used road bike.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
We were discussing Noam Chomsky, believe it or not, as we walked between these hedgerows. (For anyone unfamiliar with his work, try www.chomsky.info, articles he has written that are posted on his site are a good starting place.)
Monday, February 12, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
A short interlude of snow
So, the snow had stopped before lunchtime, and at it's highest accumulation was probably about 3 inches, but that was all gone by 4:30pm because the temperature had warmed up a bit and it had switched to rain. There are a couple of places where I can see there could be trouble tomorrow on the sidewalks, because it had melted to slush, and people either don't know or can't be bothered to put down salt or sand...so there are likely to be icy patches on my walk tomorrow. Wheee. It sure was beautiful for a short time, though.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
A little of this, a little of that
Because it is currently taking Blogger more than 10 minutes for each photo I try to upload, I'm giving up after just the one tonight. I'll try in the morning...it would seem that night-time here is prime time for Bloggers to post, making the site extremely slow! If I post photos in the morning before work, it literally takes seconds for each photo to upload. Sorry 'bout that.
I am currently being driven bonkers by a car alarm outside my window that has been going off for the past half hour. I thought they stopped automatically after awhile. I can't wait for Leeanne to move out end of April (she's going home to S. Africa), so that I can take over the bedroom furthest away from the road!! My bedroom is the biggest, but personally I'd rather have a smaller room without the traffic noises.
Everyone is in a tizzy over here tonight because we may be getting up to 10cm of snow tomorrow. That's a grand total of 4 inches, at which Americans wouldn't do much more than blink an eye. However, it is more likely to be 1-2 inches of snow if it is even snow at all-- British weather forecasters being notoriously bad at forecasting, no one is apparently able to say whether it will be snow or rain. This has not stopped many of the London area schools from declaring themselves closed for tomorrow, in anticipation of "the storm." IF we do have snow, and IF it does somehow manage to accumulate to 4 inches, I may possibly be the only one at work tomorrow as public transportation will grind to a halt. Now that would be funny. I don't know, with all this supposed climate change, I'm thinking England had better learn how to deal with snow sooner rather than later.
Climate change was one of our interesting debates this weekend. I have known people who have studied this kind of thing, so I don't claim to be any kind of expert...I don't know if it's been big in the US, but a major news story this week has been the latest report that the average temperature will climb by 4 degrees centigrade by the end of the century, and they are 90% sure that this change is caused by humans. Some of you may have read State of Fear by Michael Crichton, which is the popularized version of the theories against global warming (natural cyclic trends of the earth's climate versus human-made global warming), and some of you may have seen Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. I have not seen it myself, but apparently some head honcho of Marks and Sparks (Marks and Spencer dept store) did see it, and allegedly freaked out about it. The next day he gathered together his M&S think tank to make changes. Whether this is true or not, Marks and Sparks is now committed to cutting their CO2 emissions, and even putting labels on their products about the amount of CO2 required to make the product and get it to their stores, to help people make environmentally conscious decisions when shopping.
I am currently being driven bonkers by a car alarm outside my window that has been going off for the past half hour. I thought they stopped automatically after awhile. I can't wait for Leeanne to move out end of April (she's going home to S. Africa), so that I can take over the bedroom furthest away from the road!! My bedroom is the biggest, but personally I'd rather have a smaller room without the traffic noises.
Everyone is in a tizzy over here tonight because we may be getting up to 10cm of snow tomorrow. That's a grand total of 4 inches, at which Americans wouldn't do much more than blink an eye. However, it is more likely to be 1-2 inches of snow if it is even snow at all-- British weather forecasters being notoriously bad at forecasting, no one is apparently able to say whether it will be snow or rain. This has not stopped many of the London area schools from declaring themselves closed for tomorrow, in anticipation of "the storm." IF we do have snow, and IF it does somehow manage to accumulate to 4 inches, I may possibly be the only one at work tomorrow as public transportation will grind to a halt. Now that would be funny. I don't know, with all this supposed climate change, I'm thinking England had better learn how to deal with snow sooner rather than later.
Climate change was one of our interesting debates this weekend. I have known people who have studied this kind of thing, so I don't claim to be any kind of expert...I don't know if it's been big in the US, but a major news story this week has been the latest report that the average temperature will climb by 4 degrees centigrade by the end of the century, and they are 90% sure that this change is caused by humans. Some of you may have read State of Fear by Michael Crichton, which is the popularized version of the theories against global warming (natural cyclic trends of the earth's climate versus human-made global warming), and some of you may have seen Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. I have not seen it myself, but apparently some head honcho of Marks and Sparks (Marks and Spencer dept store) did see it, and allegedly freaked out about it. The next day he gathered together his M&S think tank to make changes. Whether this is true or not, Marks and Sparks is now committed to cutting their CO2 emissions, and even putting labels on their products about the amount of CO2 required to make the product and get it to their stores, to help people make environmentally conscious decisions when shopping.
Monday, February 05, 2007
News
Hello hello! I am back. And what an amazing, gorgeous, refreshing weekend I had in Cymru! (Or Cambria, or Wales even-- all names for the same stunning corner of land in the UK.) We were based at Buckland Hall, in Bwlch, which pretty much turned out to be 5-star accommodation. We had twin ensuite rooms, and the entire manor to ourselves, a very attentive staff, open coffee bar, big wood fires in every room of the main part of the manor, amazing gourmet vegetarian food, 2 sessions of yoga per day, with hours of sun-drenched/misty hiking in between (yes, in Wales you can combine sunny and misty), and the gorgeous grounds of the manor itself to explore. Not to mention the wonderful people I met, and fascinating conversations we had- boy, do I have food for thought! I have loads of pictures, but it's about bedtime here, and I've spent so much time this evening organizing other things, the pics will have to wait.
Big news- Viv and I have booked our trip to......Machu Picchu!!!!! This has been Allison at my best, ridiculously indecisive to the last. Viv was no help (well, you weren't, at least not until the final moments), and each day I'd wake up and think ok, Costa Rica, we're booking that today, and I'd say something to Viv to that effect, and then be texting her the following day to say, no it's Peru. And so on and so forth. To the point where I'd finally decided upon Costa Rica today, picked a package that I loved, which has a stay at a gorgeous eco lodge as part of it since Viv keeps talking about this program she saw on eco lodges in Costa Rica, or little bungalows as she says. I'd filled out the confirmation form, entered credit card numbers and everything, when Viv called and said we should do Peru since I've had my heart set on it. Long story short (too late, I know), we have put down a deposit on Peru! And actually, what Viv said was we should do both- save the other one for the end of the year ;) Somehow I think it may be a bit longer than that until we get there, especially if we actually do intend to do Thailand and Philippines next spring. I can't believe it, I'm going to see Machu Picchu at long last! My fascination with the Incas began with a report I did in the 6th grade, but that's a story for another time.
I was also trying to coordinate a chunk of 2-3 days while I'm home to go and see my grandfather in Michigan-- it's a bit tricky, what with the wedding in Boston and the trip to Peru, and trying to work with my parents' schedules, so I don't know if it will happen yet. Unfortunately, no one was at home when I called this evening, so I haven't gotten very far at this point.
However, I am going to Dartmoor National Park with a bunch of people on another Backabush tour for the first holiday weekend in May. And I've started to look at fares for Vermont week with the fam (Heilalas and Johnsons and Burks, oh my) in July. Heard back from Virgin Airways finally, in regard to my complaint following my flight back to the UK after Christmas. They gave me 5000 miles back in my account, which I suppose is something, although I would have appreciated say 250 pounds toward a future flight a lot more. Especially knowing I will need flights to the States mid-summer and again in November for Jenn's wedding. Ah well.
I hope to post more about Wales and put up some pics tomorrow night. Namaste. :)
Big news- Viv and I have booked our trip to......Machu Picchu!!!!! This has been Allison at my best, ridiculously indecisive to the last. Viv was no help (well, you weren't, at least not until the final moments), and each day I'd wake up and think ok, Costa Rica, we're booking that today, and I'd say something to Viv to that effect, and then be texting her the following day to say, no it's Peru. And so on and so forth. To the point where I'd finally decided upon Costa Rica today, picked a package that I loved, which has a stay at a gorgeous eco lodge as part of it since Viv keeps talking about this program she saw on eco lodges in Costa Rica, or little bungalows as she says. I'd filled out the confirmation form, entered credit card numbers and everything, when Viv called and said we should do Peru since I've had my heart set on it. Long story short (too late, I know), we have put down a deposit on Peru! And actually, what Viv said was we should do both- save the other one for the end of the year ;) Somehow I think it may be a bit longer than that until we get there, especially if we actually do intend to do Thailand and Philippines next spring. I can't believe it, I'm going to see Machu Picchu at long last! My fascination with the Incas began with a report I did in the 6th grade, but that's a story for another time.
I was also trying to coordinate a chunk of 2-3 days while I'm home to go and see my grandfather in Michigan-- it's a bit tricky, what with the wedding in Boston and the trip to Peru, and trying to work with my parents' schedules, so I don't know if it will happen yet. Unfortunately, no one was at home when I called this evening, so I haven't gotten very far at this point.
However, I am going to Dartmoor National Park with a bunch of people on another Backabush tour for the first holiday weekend in May. And I've started to look at fares for Vermont week with the fam (Heilalas and Johnsons and Burks, oh my) in July. Heard back from Virgin Airways finally, in regard to my complaint following my flight back to the UK after Christmas. They gave me 5000 miles back in my account, which I suppose is something, although I would have appreciated say 250 pounds toward a future flight a lot more. Especially knowing I will need flights to the States mid-summer and again in November for Jenn's wedding. Ah well.
I hope to post more about Wales and put up some pics tomorrow night. Namaste. :)
Friday, February 02, 2007
Some "Me" Time
I am off for my yoga and hiking weekend in the Brecon Beacons in Wales, later on this afternoon. I am very much looking forward to it, and it seems like the weather may be in a mood to cooperate. I'm packing my rain jacket just in case though, it will be Wales after all!
I was on the verge of booking the Costa Rica package for me and Viv last night, when I suddenly realized I'm thinking about Peru and Machu Picchu all the time....specifically thinking it will be "Holy Week" while we are there, and although I'm not very religious, I am very spiritual. And I guess I'm thinking the 4-day trek (camping) to Machu Picchu will be more meaningful in that sense. Hmmm.
Back online Sunday or Monday.
I was on the verge of booking the Costa Rica package for me and Viv last night, when I suddenly realized I'm thinking about Peru and Machu Picchu all the time....specifically thinking it will be "Holy Week" while we are there, and although I'm not very religious, I am very spiritual. And I guess I'm thinking the 4-day trek (camping) to Machu Picchu will be more meaningful in that sense. Hmmm.
Back online Sunday or Monday.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Mind games
A big pet peeve of mine-- people who bottle things up until it is too late to do anything to address the problem because it has gone beyond the stage of possibly being fixed before the other party had any idea there even was a problem, or until they explode inappropriately. We had a bit of a bru-ha-ha at the ole homestead this evening over our recent electricity bill. As has been all over the news lately, there has been a huge rate increase for electricity and gas here in Britain. Actually in everything it seems, because they just increased the fare for all public transportation too, as apparently they do every New Years' Day. Argh. But anyway, I recently bought a decent size electric heater at Homebase, which I then left in our lounge until I brought it into work. Our office, which is on an abandoned ward, can be very cold, and we all decided to contribute a few pounds each toward an electric heater. Now, our recent electric bill was pretty high, higher than our gas bill in fact, and someone decided the huge increase from when the bill was last paid in October until now, must have been due to the fact that I'm using electric heaters all the time. And wrote a nasty, accusatory email with offensive language, stating they were not going to pay a full third of the bill when I was the one using so much electricity. I now have an apology, after I gave an explanation of where the electric heater actually lives (as above), but I really don't like this style of communication. There was no reason for this whole thing to ever have been played out with such drama and disrespect, when it could have been dealt with diplomatically face to face. As it eventually was, once everyone was home together tonight-- But the damage had already been done from the awful email earlier in the day. Final tally: it's the electricity company to blame with large rate increase, not any individual in our house using tons and tons of electricity.
Now, this person is not British, but it did get me to reflecting over the past almost year I have lived here... I have found that the British stereotype of being very reserved and not discussing feelings and not bringing up problems until (quite often) it's too late, is still alive and doing very well in Blighty. I've run into this obstacle in several important instances, and it's like banging your head against a brick wall, "If you'd only said something to me, I had no idea!..." Very, very, very frustrating to know a situation might have been avoided or resolved, some compromise reached, if only you had known what the other person was thinking or feeling. Again, this is not to say that every British national fits this stereotype, but you do get to often wishing you were a mind reader over here. Sheesh.
It was a very mild day here today, around 60ish (15 degrees Celsius), which would have made for a nice run, but I'm very much not inclined to run in Leytonstone-- let me just diplomatically say it's not inspiring at all. So it was the treadmill at the gym again for me. However, as a birthday gift, my parents gave me a 3-month subscription to demandfitness.com, which came with a 4th month free. I signed up yesterday, and I must say I am very impressed! Over 150 classes, which include everything from yoga, pilates, fitness ball, ab workouts, cardio workouts, you name it, different levels available for each class, all available on demand via streaming video. Very cool. I'll let you know in a month or so how I'm getting on with it as a supplement to my gym membership!
Now, this person is not British, but it did get me to reflecting over the past almost year I have lived here... I have found that the British stereotype of being very reserved and not discussing feelings and not bringing up problems until (quite often) it's too late, is still alive and doing very well in Blighty. I've run into this obstacle in several important instances, and it's like banging your head against a brick wall, "If you'd only said something to me, I had no idea!..." Very, very, very frustrating to know a situation might have been avoided or resolved, some compromise reached, if only you had known what the other person was thinking or feeling. Again, this is not to say that every British national fits this stereotype, but you do get to often wishing you were a mind reader over here. Sheesh.
It was a very mild day here today, around 60ish (15 degrees Celsius), which would have made for a nice run, but I'm very much not inclined to run in Leytonstone-- let me just diplomatically say it's not inspiring at all. So it was the treadmill at the gym again for me. However, as a birthday gift, my parents gave me a 3-month subscription to demandfitness.com, which came with a 4th month free. I signed up yesterday, and I must say I am very impressed! Over 150 classes, which include everything from yoga, pilates, fitness ball, ab workouts, cardio workouts, you name it, different levels available for each class, all available on demand via streaming video. Very cool. I'll let you know in a month or so how I'm getting on with it as a supplement to my gym membership!
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