Friday, May 26, 2006
Random London Musings
Halitosis – quite a problem and I disagree that it is solely related to dental hygiene. One day on the bus two young gorgeous blonde women of apparent Eastern European decent were sitting next to me. They both had lovely teeth and smiles. Then one of them yawned and my gag reflex was almost uncontrollable. Not only was their breath unbelievably foul, it hung in the air for about ten minutes.
Street space – people will not get out of your way even if they are carrying nothing and you have three enormous suitcases you are wrestling up and down narrow sidewalks. The fascinating thing is if and when there is a collision, both parties immediately say “sorry, sorry”. Would it be easier to simply give way a bit?
Size - I am not petite in any sense of the word but I feel HUGE here. These are some of tiniest people I’ve ever seen in my life. Part of that is clearly the huge international influence but the native Brits are quite small. Is this somehow related to our early American struggles to survive?
More size - I just keep bringing in the big American men. I was the fortunate receiver of another 6 month US associate this week. Jeremy is about 6’4”. Two weeks ago (read previous entries) Steve arrived who is also 6’4”. One of my UK associates was standing with the 3 of us, she is barely 5’, and she looked up at the three of us and said “Blimey, you Americans are big” and I replied “I know…we’re huge, aren’t we?” I had on my 4 inch stilettos and my posture is very good from my yoga practice so I believe I appear taller than I am.
Venue - Last weekend Steve and I went to the Ghetto in SoHo. That is the name of the venue (bar) and the area of London. The label for this particular DJ night was the Cock. Fascinating mixed crowd, including many whose actual gender was impossible to outwardly determine, and excellent loud techno dance music. Oddly, Steve and I met a potential Cerner associate and I am currently in the process of recruiting her. She worked at a Cerner hospital in the Cayman Islands. It is a small world sometimes.
Big city life - The other night I had a few pints with Annette, a Cerner associate, and walked home in a down pour only to find I had no running water at my flat because of a water main break. It struck me as an amusing irony. Fortunately things were back in order the next morning.
Visitors - An old acquaintance came to visit the other night. I haven’t seen him in awhile but know him very well. He demands full attention and requires me to be very close to the loo. His name is Food Poisoning. Not my favourite visitor but I do bounce back quickly. I knew something was up with the crazy dreams I was having that caused an extremely restless night of sleep.
Walking…and walking…and walking. Good, comfortable shoes are essential. As a Brit in KC said to me, “you Americans drive to the end of the driveway to pick up the mail” and you feel that pain living in London. My feet are FINALLY getting used to it and although I wear all kinds of shoes at work and out on the town, I walk in trainers (athletic shoes) or my MBTs (Masai Barefoot Technology) shoes. Yesterday as I was leaving the office, a couple Fujitsu associates said to me, “you look like you are going on a hike” and I said “I am, hiking to the train station, up and down stairs, walking from Paddington and finally up the 4 flights of stairs to my flat. I call it urban hiking.”
Friends – Philip, a fellow Cerner associate, came to visit last weekend. He arrived via Abbu Dabbi (where he is working on a Cerner project) and came in from Copenhagen where he was visiting. He stayed for the weekend and flew to Glasgow to attend a friend’s wedding. How’s that for globe trotting? He is one the brightest young Cerner associates I have ever met. We went out for excellent Thai food and found a great brassiere on Portobello road the second night.
Food – the Electric Brassiere – a short walk from my flat on Portobello Road. Can you say delicious? I had a dressed Dungeness crab and duck salad. Very chic Notting Hill crowd in residence. Lovely menu with lots of fresh seafood items. Great service and atmosphere.
Museum – I am falling behind of this one but Philip and I managed to get to the Museum of London last weekend. Huge place with all kinds of fascinating stuff about London history. I wanted to go for the express purpose of seeing the special exhibition, Satirical London - 300 years of irreverent images. From the website…“Fancy poking fun at the filthy rich and famous? Eager to see egos pricked and pompous politicians get their comeuppance? Satirical London is an exhibition of visual satire produced in and about London over three centuries. In this period the form of satire has changed radically, from popular individual engravings to newspaper cartoons and television.” It was great!!!
Street space – people will not get out of your way even if they are carrying nothing and you have three enormous suitcases you are wrestling up and down narrow sidewalks. The fascinating thing is if and when there is a collision, both parties immediately say “sorry, sorry”. Would it be easier to simply give way a bit?
Size - I am not petite in any sense of the word but I feel HUGE here. These are some of tiniest people I’ve ever seen in my life. Part of that is clearly the huge international influence but the native Brits are quite small. Is this somehow related to our early American struggles to survive?
More size - I just keep bringing in the big American men. I was the fortunate receiver of another 6 month US associate this week. Jeremy is about 6’4”. Two weeks ago (read previous entries) Steve arrived who is also 6’4”. One of my UK associates was standing with the 3 of us, she is barely 5’, and she looked up at the three of us and said “Blimey, you Americans are big” and I replied “I know…we’re huge, aren’t we?” I had on my 4 inch stilettos and my posture is very good from my yoga practice so I believe I appear taller than I am.
Venue - Last weekend Steve and I went to the Ghetto in SoHo. That is the name of the venue (bar) and the area of London. The label for this particular DJ night was the Cock. Fascinating mixed crowd, including many whose actual gender was impossible to outwardly determine, and excellent loud techno dance music. Oddly, Steve and I met a potential Cerner associate and I am currently in the process of recruiting her. She worked at a Cerner hospital in the Cayman Islands. It is a small world sometimes.
Big city life - The other night I had a few pints with Annette, a Cerner associate, and walked home in a down pour only to find I had no running water at my flat because of a water main break. It struck me as an amusing irony. Fortunately things were back in order the next morning.
Visitors - An old acquaintance came to visit the other night. I haven’t seen him in awhile but know him very well. He demands full attention and requires me to be very close to the loo. His name is Food Poisoning. Not my favourite visitor but I do bounce back quickly. I knew something was up with the crazy dreams I was having that caused an extremely restless night of sleep.
Walking…and walking…and walking. Good, comfortable shoes are essential. As a Brit in KC said to me, “you Americans drive to the end of the driveway to pick up the mail” and you feel that pain living in London. My feet are FINALLY getting used to it and although I wear all kinds of shoes at work and out on the town, I walk in trainers (athletic shoes) or my MBTs (Masai Barefoot Technology) shoes. Yesterday as I was leaving the office, a couple Fujitsu associates said to me, “you look like you are going on a hike” and I said “I am, hiking to the train station, up and down stairs, walking from Paddington and finally up the 4 flights of stairs to my flat. I call it urban hiking.”
Friends – Philip, a fellow Cerner associate, came to visit last weekend. He arrived via Abbu Dabbi (where he is working on a Cerner project) and came in from Copenhagen where he was visiting. He stayed for the weekend and flew to Glasgow to attend a friend’s wedding. How’s that for globe trotting? He is one the brightest young Cerner associates I have ever met. We went out for excellent Thai food and found a great brassiere on Portobello road the second night.
Food – the Electric Brassiere – a short walk from my flat on Portobello Road. Can you say delicious? I had a dressed Dungeness crab and duck salad. Very chic Notting Hill crowd in residence. Lovely menu with lots of fresh seafood items. Great service and atmosphere.
Museum – I am falling behind of this one but Philip and I managed to get to the Museum of London last weekend. Huge place with all kinds of fascinating stuff about London history. I wanted to go for the express purpose of seeing the special exhibition, Satirical London - 300 years of irreverent images. From the website…“Fancy poking fun at the filthy rich and famous? Eager to see egos pricked and pompous politicians get their comeuppance? Satirical London is an exhibition of visual satire produced in and about London over three centuries. In this period the form of satire has changed radically, from popular individual engravings to newspaper cartoons and television.” It was great!!!
# posted by Joy and Blues @ 6:52 am 
