Back in London
A while ago – mid 1990’s or so – I traveled to Europe and lot on business. I would come over for a week or two, then go back home, then a few months later come back for another few weeks. I did this for about 5 years. During that time, I worked mostly in London, Prague and Madrid. But I visited lots of places – Paris, Brussels, Zurich, Bern, Nice, Amsterdam, the Hague. I eventually got tired of the travel, but I fell completely in love with Europe. And I still feel that way.
Though I actually try to not travel so much anymore, this year I have racked up a lot of air miles. I have been to Portland 3 or 4 times and I have been over to Europe 3 times this year. At the moment I am in London on business and return back to the States tomorrow.
The big presentation was over yesterday and I am just relaxing now. Tonight we head over to Covent Garden (my old hangout) and the we see the play “War Horse”. I really cannot wait.
I miss home. But I do love London. More on War Horse:
Those crazy Aussies
Not sure if this is true or not but it made me laugh out loud.
Actual Message on School Answering Machine in Australia.
This is the message that the Maroochydore High School, Queensland, Australia, staff voted unanimously to record on their school telephone answering machine. This is the actual answering machine message for the school. This came about because they implemented a policy requiring students and parents to be responsible for their children’s absences and missing homework. The school and teachers are being sued by parents who want their children’s failing grades changed to passing grades – even though those children were absent 15-30 times during the semester and did not complete enough school work to pass their classes.
HBO’s “In Treatment” – worth watching
A few weeks ago we got a call from Dish Network – a special deal on HBO. We figured we’d give it a shot. Well, I must say that it has really been enjoyable. I cannot quite figure out the schedule and so I just sort of stumble on things. It does appear that Sunday evenings some interesting things come on.
One series I have found is “In Treatment”. Again, I have not figured out the schedule, but it seems that early on Sunday evenings they show about 4 or so 30 minute shows back to back. I find myself totally absorbed. Basically the series shows people who are in therapy as if you are a fly on the wall. There are a lot of tortured souls and a lot of tears, but it is interesting to sit in on these people’s problems, thoughts and reactions. On the one hand it can be pretty depressing. But on the other hand I end up feeling grateful that – despite gripes I have here and there – my life is so much more fulfilling and complete than the lives of these folks. I am glad I do not have screwed up kids, a hatred of my parents, or a relationship that is going down the drain.
The writing is good – I guess in some ways it is sort of like a soap opera, except that the problems these people have are so commonplace that they have relevance. The acting is quite good too – at least so far.
Anyway, I am pleased I stumbled upon this little gem. And I am immensely thankful that my life is simple and happy.
A plug for my friend Andy and “Light Children”
When I moved back to SW Virginia and started my web job with my employer, I got a lot more than I would have expected. The work is fun, the environment is great, the founder/president is an honest, good and caring guy, and the employees are smart, sweet and helpful. It is basically an oasis in the desert of corporate America.
One of the guys at the company was Andy Horner, who did a combination of account management, project architecture, sales and creative direction. For a long time I shared an office with Andy and our technical guru Phil – two of the brightest and funniest guys I have ever known. Both Phil and Andy are so imaginative and clever. They would spin yarns ad hoc and basically leave me in my corner laughing my head off.
Andy was the account manager and architect on many of the projects I ended up managing. So, we worked together a great deal and spent many hours in the car together as we traveled to client sites. I always enjoyed these trips; Andy would tell me about some of his creative ideas for business ventures, children’s stories, movies, posters – you name it. I was always stunned by Andy’s endless fountain of amazing ideas. I figured if I knew anyone who would eventually be rich and famous based purely on ideas and enthusiasm, it would be Andy.
A year or two ago Andy moved on to a bigger company and bigger job in a bigger city. But his energy and creativity have never waivered. As a side project he has teamed with illustrator Kyle Webster to develop a graphic novel. They released Book One (the novel will be in 3 parts, which will be comprised of a number of books) in late June. Entitled “Light Children”, I bought a copy last week and started reading it tonight.
With every page I can’t help but shake my head at the world Andy has created and Kyle has illustrated. How the heck does he think this stuff up? It is amazing. I encourage you to head on over to the website at http://lightchildren.com/. Buy a book. You may even get Andy to sign it for you if you ask. You do not often get a chance to watch a creative genius hatching in our world. Don’t miss this one.
Can you ease stress if you “walk the talk”?
Back when I started my life in the working world as a twenty-something, I became good friends with a fellow named Glen. Glen, who I have lost touch with, was one of the most intelligent, conscientious people I ever knew, and I learned a lot from him. He was very religious and I remember he was always saying things like “if you are going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk”. Or something. Maybe it was “you need to walk the talk”. Whatever. Basically, his point was that you should do as you say. Practice what you preach.
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I “talk” a lot. How much of that do I actually “walk”? Ashamedly, not that much, which is pretty awful. I know I am not alone either. I’m wondering how these conflicts affect a person’s well being. If, in essence, you are living a lot of little lies, can you be a very healthy person? It must be terribly stressful to always be preaching one thing and practicing another.
OK, so what brought this to a little boil recently?
When I was at the San Diego zoo I was reading about the gorillas. Of course I know the population of gorillas is shrinking. I figured it was due to their habitat being taken away, and/or their demise because some idiots want a gorilla head as a decoration or something. But the sign I read said that many were being lost in the bushmeat trade. That is, people are killing them and eating them. This really horrified me – even more than the other reasons. “How cam someone EAT a great ape?” I thought. Crickey – that is like eating a person!! How can you kill and eat something intelligent like that?
Then I looked at my own hypocrisy. I eat intelligent animals every day. They suffer because of people like me. And the more intelligent ones probably suffer the most. Once again, I am not walking the talk.
Yes, I would like to go vegetarian and no, I have not started that path. Though Lord knows I should. But maybe I can do a little something to at least move in the right direction. Years ago I made the decision to never eat veal again, because of the way the calves are treated prior to slaughter. I love veal but have not had it in over 25 years. So, I have decided to add another animal to my list. Of the animals we eat, I am guessing fish are the least intelligent. Pigs are probably the most intelligent (I encourage anyone to look into it. There are many resources on the web). So, I am quitting pork.
It is not so easy – especially at breakfast on Sundays. And I truly love pork. But this is a little challenge that has not been all that difficult to meet. I’ll stick with it.
Any less stress yet as I walk one step of my talk? Nah, I have miles of steps to go. But I am one step closer.
