I've been flipping through and loading onto Facebook a bunch of photos that DH and I've taken on various vacations through the years. I look at our first group of "digital" pictures taken on our 2004 trip to Italy (DH bought the camera while I was at my language school and brought it over with him when he joined me for some traveling). They're pretty awful. All kinds of interesting corners are cut off whatever we're taking a picture of, lighting is awful, and there aren't enough pictures of either of us with whatever we're photographing. I then look at some of the pictures I took on our trip to London, and while I'm not even an amateur photographer by any stretch of the imagination, I can definitely see an improvement. I seem to be thinking more about what I'm taking a picture of, rather than just snapping away and hoping it turns out okay. I'm also making sure that I have lots of pics of one of us in there, since the memory isn't really supposed to be the building or the art or whatever, but the fact that I was there with someone.
I really regret the paucity of pictures from my 2006 trip to St John with Jeffro and CCHarmony. By then, DH and I had been to St John twice already, and I guess we just thought we had enough pictures. I really regret not having pics of all of us fooling around in the pool and on the pool deck, rambling around in the Jeep, splitting open our poached coconut, etc.
At least I've learned to just keep snapping. If I get one fantastic photo for every 5 I take I'll be happy.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
There and back again
DH and I just popped down to London for a quick weekend trip. It's really great to be able to do that kind of thing! Anyway, we had a great time, saw about 60% of the stuff we had planned on seeing, and met up with a friend of mine I hadn't seen in almost 5 years!
As with my Germany trip, I won't bore you with details, but here's a quick recap of our trip.
Friday, Jan 16
Took the train from Harrogate to London Kings Cross, checked into the hotel, walked about seeing Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and Trafalgar Square. Met up with Lucy for drinks and dinner, and missed the last Underground train back to our hotel, so we had to grab a taxi to get home (we had enjoyed quite a bit of wine by that point).
Saturday, Jan 17
Took a LONG time getting started this morning ;). In any case, once we did get going, we took a walk along the south bank of the Thames, seeing Parliament and Big Ben (again!), the London Eye (broken, unfortunately, as the weather was perfect for pics from the Eye), the Millennium Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral (didn't go inside as the best part - the whispering gallery - was closed for renovations), and Fleet Street. We closed out the day by visiting the National Gallery. I was pretty excited to see a bunch of Renaissance paintings, but found out that about 1/2 the paintings I wanted to see had been included in a special exhibition - so they weren't with the permanent collections at that time. Poopers! Oh well, we'll catch them next time. We were cautioned against leaving the Gallery by staff for a short time while a HUGE pro-Gaza, anti-Israeli incursion protest was taking place in Trafalgar Square (right in front of the Gallery). It was pretty wild with helicopters flying overhead and lots of shouting and chanting. When we finally got out, we walked back down towards Westminster, where yet another huge protest was taking place across from Downing Street - this one against the Sri Lankan government in the wake of a murder of a prominent journalist. More excitement. We took it really easy that night by eating dinner near the hotel in preparation for a big Sunday.
Sunday, Jan 18
Up bright and early! Had a hideously huge breakfast at a greasy spoon cafe near Victoria station (which I ate just half of), then made our way up to Covent Garden and through Soho before visiting the British Museum. Spent a few hours checking out the Rosetta Stone!, the Egyptian and near-east collections, and the Ancient Greek and Roman collections. After that we made our way to the Tower of London. We had wanted to take one of the Yeoman's tours and then spend another hour or so exploring the Tower. Unfortunately, the last tour had left an hour before we got there, and the Tower was closing an hour later. There was no way I was going to spend 16.50 pounds for just an hour in the Tower, so we left it until our next visit. Instead, we made our way over to the Tower Bridge, visited the upper deck (with clear skies and a beautiful sunset, it was great). Afterwards, we somehow made it back up to Covent Garden to a neat fish and chips place we'd seen earlier in the day, then raced back to Tower Hill for our Jack the Ripper night walk. Despite being 10 minutes late, we made it (miracle of miracles) and walked around the East End of London hearing about those lovely gruesome murders. Very cool.
The final bit of our day was supposed to have been a trip to The Sports Cafe to watch the Eagles/Cardinals game, but DH checked the score before we got on the Undergrounf, and it was 21-6. He was too discouraged to go out to watch the game, so we just went back to the hotel to ease our aching feet. It turns out the game was on a Sky Sports channel we got in our hotel room, so DH watched the painful second half from the comfort of our hotel bed.
Monday, Jan 19th
Final Day! Quick coffee and pastry from a neighborhood cafe was our breakfast, which we ate in a park overlooking the Thames. Then up to Westminster Abbey for the visit we were supposed to have done on Saturday morning. We spent about 2 hours touring the Abbey (which was awesome!), and by the time we were done it was time to collect our things from the hotel and make our way up to the train station for our train ride home. We'd enjoyed unbelievably good weather the entire weekend, and the instant our train pulled out of Kings Cross, it started pouring rain. C'est la vie.
Pics of our trip can be seen here.
Next month's trip: A long weekend in Paris!
As with my Germany trip, I won't bore you with details, but here's a quick recap of our trip.
Friday, Jan 16
Took the train from Harrogate to London Kings Cross, checked into the hotel, walked about seeing Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and Trafalgar Square. Met up with Lucy for drinks and dinner, and missed the last Underground train back to our hotel, so we had to grab a taxi to get home (we had enjoyed quite a bit of wine by that point).
Saturday, Jan 17
Took a LONG time getting started this morning ;). In any case, once we did get going, we took a walk along the south bank of the Thames, seeing Parliament and Big Ben (again!), the London Eye (broken, unfortunately, as the weather was perfect for pics from the Eye), the Millennium Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral (didn't go inside as the best part - the whispering gallery - was closed for renovations), and Fleet Street. We closed out the day by visiting the National Gallery. I was pretty excited to see a bunch of Renaissance paintings, but found out that about 1/2 the paintings I wanted to see had been included in a special exhibition - so they weren't with the permanent collections at that time. Poopers! Oh well, we'll catch them next time. We were cautioned against leaving the Gallery by staff for a short time while a HUGE pro-Gaza, anti-Israeli incursion protest was taking place in Trafalgar Square (right in front of the Gallery). It was pretty wild with helicopters flying overhead and lots of shouting and chanting. When we finally got out, we walked back down towards Westminster, where yet another huge protest was taking place across from Downing Street - this one against the Sri Lankan government in the wake of a murder of a prominent journalist. More excitement. We took it really easy that night by eating dinner near the hotel in preparation for a big Sunday.
Sunday, Jan 18
Up bright and early! Had a hideously huge breakfast at a greasy spoon cafe near Victoria station (which I ate just half of), then made our way up to Covent Garden and through Soho before visiting the British Museum. Spent a few hours checking out the Rosetta Stone!, the Egyptian and near-east collections, and the Ancient Greek and Roman collections. After that we made our way to the Tower of London. We had wanted to take one of the Yeoman's tours and then spend another hour or so exploring the Tower. Unfortunately, the last tour had left an hour before we got there, and the Tower was closing an hour later. There was no way I was going to spend 16.50 pounds for just an hour in the Tower, so we left it until our next visit. Instead, we made our way over to the Tower Bridge, visited the upper deck (with clear skies and a beautiful sunset, it was great). Afterwards, we somehow made it back up to Covent Garden to a neat fish and chips place we'd seen earlier in the day, then raced back to Tower Hill for our Jack the Ripper night walk. Despite being 10 minutes late, we made it (miracle of miracles) and walked around the East End of London hearing about those lovely gruesome murders. Very cool.
The final bit of our day was supposed to have been a trip to The Sports Cafe to watch the Eagles/Cardinals game, but DH checked the score before we got on the Undergrounf, and it was 21-6. He was too discouraged to go out to watch the game, so we just went back to the hotel to ease our aching feet. It turns out the game was on a Sky Sports channel we got in our hotel room, so DH watched the painful second half from the comfort of our hotel bed.
Monday, Jan 19th
Final Day! Quick coffee and pastry from a neighborhood cafe was our breakfast, which we ate in a park overlooking the Thames. Then up to Westminster Abbey for the visit we were supposed to have done on Saturday morning. We spent about 2 hours touring the Abbey (which was awesome!), and by the time we were done it was time to collect our things from the hotel and make our way up to the train station for our train ride home. We'd enjoyed unbelievably good weather the entire weekend, and the instant our train pulled out of Kings Cross, it started pouring rain. C'est la vie.
Pics of our trip can be seen here.
Next month's trip: A long weekend in Paris!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
What's been going on?
It's another gray, rainy day in England-land.
Yesterday was a sunny, but coldish day. I drove my lil' Bug for the first time over to the University of York to meet with the co-coordinators for the MSc program in Marine Environmental Management. I even wore my sunglasses! The meeting went well. Nothing crazy or unexpected, I'd done my homework beforehand and there were no surprises.
When I got into my car after our meeting was over, looked up at the temperature indicator, and saw it was 51 degrees! My lower limit for putting the top down is 50, and the sun was still shining, so down the top went! Woot! I hadn't driven in England-land, and now I was going to drive with the top down!
Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived. About five miles down the road the clouds started to build up, and the temperature dropped to 41 degrees. But I didn't care. I was on a two-lane highway, and speeding along at about 80 with some lovely Dethklok playing in the background. I did give up about 20 miles later, pulled over to the side of the road and put the top up, but still, I was thrilled.
Not much else interesting going on. DH and I are going to London for a long weekend, leaving tomorrow. I most excited about meeting up with two girls I met back in 2004 in Florence; we're having dinner Friday night!
So despite the crazy weather - I'm having a good week. I gotta find something more substantial to do with my time soon, though.
Yesterday was a sunny, but coldish day. I drove my lil' Bug for the first time over to the University of York to meet with the co-coordinators for the MSc program in Marine Environmental Management. I even wore my sunglasses! The meeting went well. Nothing crazy or unexpected, I'd done my homework beforehand and there were no surprises.
When I got into my car after our meeting was over, looked up at the temperature indicator, and saw it was 51 degrees! My lower limit for putting the top down is 50, and the sun was still shining, so down the top went! Woot! I hadn't driven in England-land, and now I was going to drive with the top down!
Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived. About five miles down the road the clouds started to build up, and the temperature dropped to 41 degrees. But I didn't care. I was on a two-lane highway, and speeding along at about 80 with some lovely Dethklok playing in the background. I did give up about 20 miles later, pulled over to the side of the road and put the top up, but still, I was thrilled.
Not much else interesting going on. DH and I are going to London for a long weekend, leaving tomorrow. I most excited about meeting up with two girls I met back in 2004 in Florence; we're having dinner Friday night!
So despite the crazy weather - I'm having a good week. I gotta find something more substantial to do with my time soon, though.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Moving forward while looking backward
Having a Facebook profile and being a curious creature has been a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, reconnecting with friends has never been easier, most of the time with a wave of good memories and a lot of laughs. Old misunderstandings are likely to now be water under the bridge, and new, adult relationships can be built from the foundation of a shared history.
On the other hand, every connection you make with someone from your past puts a memory at risk. Friends who you respected immensely, thought were the smartest or coolest, or even people with whom you had a lot in common, grow and change as much as you have grown and changed. Sometimes you've grown and changed in many of the same ways, and the re-connection provides the catalyst for a whole new relationship. But sometimes the people you have in your memory have grown and changed in ways you would never have suspected, or they never grew or changed at all. That wonderful first love could now be a complete pervy creep. The best friend you spent so many sleepless slumber parties with might now be a bigoted halfwit. Would those be cases where ignorance is bliss?
And sometimes reconnecting comes with a wave of nostalgic angst. You never really know whether old wounds have fully healed and loose ends are definitely tied up until they're challenged head on. Before Facebook, heck, before the internet, plausible deniability ruled the day. In a few cases of my own, I do feel like I've taken a big risk, and I know that if I hadn't truly moved forward, I'd have been paralyzed by looking back and wanting to relive/rehash everything all over again. You never really know until it's too late.
In any case, right now I'm having lots of fun. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I've always been a bit of a risk-taker.
On the other hand, every connection you make with someone from your past puts a memory at risk. Friends who you respected immensely, thought were the smartest or coolest, or even people with whom you had a lot in common, grow and change as much as you have grown and changed. Sometimes you've grown and changed in many of the same ways, and the re-connection provides the catalyst for a whole new relationship. But sometimes the people you have in your memory have grown and changed in ways you would never have suspected, or they never grew or changed at all. That wonderful first love could now be a complete pervy creep. The best friend you spent so many sleepless slumber parties with might now be a bigoted halfwit. Would those be cases where ignorance is bliss?
And sometimes reconnecting comes with a wave of nostalgic angst. You never really know whether old wounds have fully healed and loose ends are definitely tied up until they're challenged head on. Before Facebook, heck, before the internet, plausible deniability ruled the day. In a few cases of my own, I do feel like I've taken a big risk, and I know that if I hadn't truly moved forward, I'd have been paralyzed by looking back and wanting to relive/rehash everything all over again. You never really know until it's too late.
In any case, right now I'm having lots of fun. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I've always been a bit of a risk-taker.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Happy New Year! What's coming up in 2009?
Wow. It's 2009 already. That means it's been 15 years since I graduated from high school, DH graduated from undergrad 10 years ago, and we'll have been married for 8 years in November (but together for 12). I'll turn 33 in August!
Numbers, numbers.
DH and I partied it up with a small group of friend for New Year's Eve, with me drinking a twee bit too much! But it's all good. This is going to be a year of great uncertainty, I think. I'm probably going to apply for another grad program - this one at the University of York. Until that would start though (not until October) I've got to find something to do with myself.
DH is still happy with his job here, and I think we're starting to settle in to a small bit of a routine, though the holidays really screwed around with whatever it was we were starting to establish. We've talked about an awful lot of travel plans (Paris in February, London in January, Spain at Easter time, etc) but nothing has been bought in the way of plane tickets or hotel reservations yet.
The weather is still crap, but maybe, just maybe, the days will begin feeling a little longer in fact rather than in theory. Obama is going to be inaugurated in a couple of weeks, and I'm curious what his administration is going to mean to the agencies I hold dear (NOAA and NASA).
I want to start exercising more and getting out and about more (even just for weekend walks). I hope that the kitties stay healthy and happy. I hope to meet more people and travel more places and do some things that I've never done before. I hope that friends back home are able to come visit us!
Most of all, I just hope for a happy and healthy year for DH and me! If you've got your health, you have it all.
2008 was way too stressful for me, so here's hoping for a better 2009!
Numbers, numbers.
DH and I partied it up with a small group of friend for New Year's Eve, with me drinking a twee bit too much! But it's all good. This is going to be a year of great uncertainty, I think. I'm probably going to apply for another grad program - this one at the University of York. Until that would start though (not until October) I've got to find something to do with myself.
DH is still happy with his job here, and I think we're starting to settle in to a small bit of a routine, though the holidays really screwed around with whatever it was we were starting to establish. We've talked about an awful lot of travel plans (Paris in February, London in January, Spain at Easter time, etc) but nothing has been bought in the way of plane tickets or hotel reservations yet.
The weather is still crap, but maybe, just maybe, the days will begin feeling a little longer in fact rather than in theory. Obama is going to be inaugurated in a couple of weeks, and I'm curious what his administration is going to mean to the agencies I hold dear (NOAA and NASA).
I want to start exercising more and getting out and about more (even just for weekend walks). I hope that the kitties stay healthy and happy. I hope to meet more people and travel more places and do some things that I've never done before. I hope that friends back home are able to come visit us!
Most of all, I just hope for a happy and healthy year for DH and me! If you've got your health, you have it all.
2008 was way too stressful for me, so here's hoping for a better 2009!
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