The Special People Club

Some have asked what to send me, so here are ideas. This is not a solicitation, by the way, it's a list for those who have asked. I can live without any of this...people all over the world do every day, they just don't realize they're living lives half-lived. Tide with bleach Adams Peanut Butter (chunky preferred) Dill pickles Crystal Light cds crafted by your own two hands Caribou Blend Video tapes of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart People magazine coverage of the Oscars Mr. T's Bloody Mary Mix Hints on favorite places to visit in England (and the continent) That's enough for now. I'll think more and get back to you.

I am sitting in the departures lounge for Air Canada's business class travellers waiting for my flight. I love flying business class. You're suddenly someone important...someone who people want to please. In fact, the woman at security actually said, "OH! You're special! Go to that line over there!" Note, the line she sent me to did not say "Business and First Class, invitation only," as it does at Heathrow. No, it said "Special Service for Disabled Patrons." Hmmm. I spent some time trying perfume in the duty free shops. I was sure NOT to put on too much (see blog about my seat mate on the flight back to the UK.) But I tried spicy french fragrances in hope of finding a signature scent. No luck yet though. My days here have been good. I was travelling with a customer, showing her the city and helping her decide if this was the right place for her to bring her group. Since I love it here, it was an easy task. She's convinced. We ate g...

Vancouver BC - Just because I left Seattle 7 years ago, it doesn't mean I didn't love it. We just couldn't make it work at the time...we'd grown apart. We'd stopped communicating. It said LUSH GREENERY, I said MOSS BEHIND THE EARS. It said HIP, LIBERAL, FUNKY TOWN. I said POSERS AND EGOTISTICAL SLACKERS. We needed some time apart. But MAN I miss my folks from there, and when I come back for visits, I miss the land, too. I'm not quite in Seattle, but I'm in Vancouver, which is mighty close. And I tell you, I've got a warm spot for the place where I finally grew up. Here is the list of the warm-spot inducing idiosyncracies I've found in the last two days: People go out in the rain because, well, not doing so would mean staying in for 6 months. People recycle everywhere. People wear comfortable shoes, so no inferiority complexes occur...no one is running on cobblestones looking fabulous in tall boots. Floating gas stations Neon, neon, and neon Big, beau...

Truly random thoughts of no particular significance... Follow-up to the Spongebob Scandal...the story has broken here now, and it's been juxtaposed with the popularity of "Desperate Housewives" in the red states. (Are they mentioning in the US press that the states watching the most suburban housewife debauchery are all "moral voter" states?) Seems our friends here in the UK find banning a kids cartoon and going nuts for sexy sexy behaviour in exurbia is somewhat hypocritical. Go figure. I love my new house. I have space to walk around. My walled garden needs work (deadheading plants and planting bulbs), but it has great potential. I have a convection oven. Now that I bought a proper chef's knife I can cook everything I could want in my new kitchen, though the fridge is small and I have to really start thinking about which veggies and fruits we chill without having to. My queen sized bed is comfortable, especially so with the high-threadcount pink shee...

So it's my lunchbreak, and I'm spending some time on US news sites to stay current on what's happening in my homeland. There's lots of inauguration coverage, though no mention of the fact that John Kerry was booed at the ceremony by the audience of loyal GOP faithful, as was reported by the BBC last night. (Boy, Randy Kelly, thank god those kind, decent Republicans who care only for the good of the country and harbor no ill will won this election.) And there's an excellent op-ed on social security privatization by Paul Krugman. But the item that caught my interest the most today is the call to ban Spongebob Squarepants and Barney because they promote homosexuality. Basically, here is James Dobson's argument: Spongebob (along with his immoral cronies Barney, Bob the Builder, and Winnie the Pooh) appears in a video for a remake of "We Are Family" that promotes tolerance for people who aren't necessarily like you, including people of different ...

In my last post, some have gotten the impression that I didn't enjoy my time at home. On the contrary, I enjoyed my time very much, especially when spent with my friends and family. I have generous friends who let me stay in their spare room for weeks. I got to watch stupid tv and relax with people I love. I was able to join my bookgroup for their holiday celebration. I had dinners with friends who make me laugh. I got to play lots of Scrabble with my mother and got to hang out with my nephews. My brother and I got to talk smart. My sister-in-law and I got to belly laugh. We made kolaches with my dad on Christmas Eve. My friend Vicki got married in a beautiful little church in the hills of Iowa, and we had a rousing good time at her dance and reception in the Alamakee County Fairgrounds Pavillion. And, since we travelled to small-town Iowa for the wedding, I got to have a fabulous dinner at La Rana in Decorah with 5 of my favorite people on the planet. I even got to see a fri...