Loo of the Year

How can you top this? This is a sign in the park across the street from Lord's Cricket Ground at the south end of St. Johns Wood. ONly in London would they have a Loo of the Year competition. Cannot tell what year by the way.

Very delayed

well I think I should just assume that I am not going to post in the winter. That way once spring comes along I can post and feel good and not shamed into the posting world.

This winter was weird, I think (despite my endless complaining) I got used to the dark dank days of winter in the UK. I did have a good trip to SF in February and of course it was sunny and lovely as was the trip to Florida in January. After writing all that I realised that I can't really complain as I spent at least three weeks AWAY from London and the winter weather.

Meanwhile I had some odder issues, which have now been diagnosed as gall stones. After some exciting moments involving the Accident and Emergency room at the Royal Free, I find I need to have the gall bladder removed. All of which means that I will have loads of time over the next couple of weeks to post and catch up with everyone.

So sorry for the long delay and I hope to be a posting fiend in recovery.

alternative transport

Lots of glorious pictures on London in the snow but I liked this one from a real cyclist. and not just because he was blogging about our Waterloo Competition entry. Lots of friends here in London cycle as their primary mode of transportation. Its truly amazing to watch them suit up and go out on cold, rainy, and/or dark mornings or evenings and race through the traffic. I'm slightly scared to cross the roads and thy bravely wizz on. Oh well at least this one bike was still for the day.

sian

Epiphany in Tarpon Springs

Yesterday, Mum and I went to see the Epiphany Celebration at Tarpon Springs in Pinellas County, FL. It was a beautiful day and a relatively small crowd at 15,000. After the parade we snaked around to the far side of the bayou and wormed our way up into the crowd so that even I could see and take photos.

This photo is the moment when one of the divers retrieves the cross from the water were the priest has tossed it. You can read all about the celebration in the attached link. It was a great day for it, much better than the cold day it could have been. As you can see it was a gloriously sunny day.

Is it just me or are there a lot of guns here?

The Epiphany Celebration starts with a parade from the church to the bayou. The parade was bit bit haphazard; at one point we heard a guy on the phone to the color guard asking them, "why didn't you wait? You left the rest of the parade behind!"

The thing that I noticed was that every police, sheriff and all other security people were armed to the teeth. Only took two years in London for me to think its odd for parade marshals to be packing serious heat.

My Tampa Home

This is the Tampa house where I lived in high school. On New Year's Eve, My friend Nancy Yost (MFNY) and I drove by the house. As we were taking the picture a car drove into the driveway, we were busted. We staopped and chatted with the lady who bought the house from my parents in 2000. Pretty funny, because my old neighbors sold their house to their son, who now lives their and HE drove up while we were chatting. Apparently most people never move far from home.

The house looks much more bland since my family moved out!

Christmas in Florida

Christmas Day was unusually warm, in fact I thought I was going to die! I have become one of those people who can barely stand it when it goes above 75 F. However by the second week I was back to old Florida form, barely flinching when it got to 75 and trooping right through 80. Goodness knows what will happen when I visit in the summer in the future.

Anyway, visiting with the family was grand, Mum and Dad and sister Ceri were all in fine form. Had other visits with friends and lots of lounging around on the back deck. Even had a kayak trip - will figure out where those pictures are and get them posted. In the meantime I have added pictures from the Eastern European tour below.

Happy New Year to one and all, best of wishes for this coming year.

Christmas in Florida, Part II

Some things never change, Mum and Dad enjoying their Christmas morning gifts and no, they didn't mean to be wearing matching shirts!

If it is Thursday this must be Bucharest

We arrived at the Bucharest airport at 15 minutes after midnight. It was a pretty big plan though, so their were a significant number of us jostling toward the cab rank. My crew - now expanded to four of us - jammed into a cab with three across the back seat. This would not have been a problem except because it was so late, there was very little traffic and our driver took off at a very high speed. Unusually, I was not in the middle seat; I say unusually because in most crowds I am the shortest one and the one therefor who gets the "hump." However, my gallant fellow travellers gave me the seat behind the driver, this I was pleasantly unaware of our careening across multiple lanes until "hump" passenger, Andrew, started looking ahead in a very scared way and gripping the seatbacks of the two seats in front of him.

In the front seat along side the driver is Chris who is showing us all three cities. He tells the driver to slow down and the driver does but only for a while, I start paying attention peering around the seat back and noticing that not only is he driving fast but he is also no where near driving in a lane. It was almost like he was a cab driver in Shanghai - in my experience the worst, scariest cab drivers in the world. To distract us from impending death, Chris started pointing out the sights.

Mind you some were REALLY hard to miss. First thing we all noticed was the extraordinary number of car dealerships right outside the airport, very interesting to have Ferraris next to Skoda but all there lined up in a row. The road was huge and wide just like were you would find the car dealerships in suburban Atlanta. Then boom next was a giant collection of stores dominated by Carrefor (which is a French WalMart). Finally we start coming to teh more urban area. signalled by the Arc de Triumf, I swear it was actual size sitting right there in the middle of the roundabout. Turns out it was built in 1922 to memorialise the war dead.

Next up was Ceauşescu Palace. Remember, its probably now about 1:00 or so in the morning, we have been on the go since 8am and traveled here from Prague. This thing looms up to the left as we tear into the city driven by a mad driver. One of us had read a guidebook and piped up with, "Did you know that the Palace is mistakenly called a palace its really supposed to be a government building and is generally considered to be the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon." Looking it up after the trip I discover that factoid is one that everyone quotes, but there are some who say that its actually the third largest behind the Pentagon and the a Pyramid in Egypt. Nice view from the balcony though.

Finally after drag racing around the palace we arrive at our Marriott home. Third night; third Marriott - although this one used to be a guest house for the palace next door. Marriott took it over in 2001. Finally got to bed at 1:30 and guess what the room looked exactly like th eone in Prague and Warsaw - same toiletries, same sheets, same tv. When I woke up I really didn't know where I was until I looked out the window and saw the palace.

If you go to Bucharest - this guide isn't bad.

Day Two and Three, Warsaw and Prague

Since I'm doing this after the fact lets just pretend this is Tuesday last week. I flew from London to Warsaw on Monday, met up with my fellow business folks and went to the Warsaw office met some great people - saw some cool work and had an amazing lunch at a restaurant that served traditional Polish food, U Kucharzy. My wonderful hosts took us there. Wed did not have the famous dish - steak Tartare; but the pirogues were excellent and it was great to watch the chefs. Short walk around the town and then back to the office for more meetings.

Fly that night to Prague, where we once again check into the Marriott. Second night in Central Europe, second night in a Marriott, I swear it was the same room, just different colour schemes. But very well located just outside the old town square so I had a brisk walk before bedtime to enjoy the lights and wonderful architecture. Prague has always been one of my favourite cities even in the dark and freezing cold. I am really struck by how different Warsaw and Prague are. Warsaw was basically destroyed during the WWII and then trashed again during Spring Uprising. Many of the old buildings are rebuilt copies of what stood there before. Significant portions of Prague remained relatively unscathed in the physical architectural sense. My Warsaw hosts said if I wanted to really see what Poland was like before 1940's I should visit Krakow. Must book that flight.

Next day, we head to another office, see another set of projects and meet lots of people all good. Another walk through the city back to the office - another plane ride to arrive at Bucharest at 00:15.

My CEE adventure

I am just back from my tour of CEE (Central and Eastern Europe - apparently lots of folks use that acronym I had never heard it before.)

Now if I could only figure out how to get the pictures out of the phone and onto my computer I could show y'all some touristy stuff. I was an interesting couple of days. Started on Monday by flying to Warsaw and meeting up with the other members of the team -- we were there to meet some company reps of another business. My companions were a guy from corporate parent company and a guy from Abu Dhabi office. Both very nice; we made an interesting crew. Me: planner from Florida, Atlanta, San Francisco, London. Corporate guy: engineer from all over US but most recently Denver and Orange County, CA. Abu Dhabi guy: engineer from Adelaide who had just moved to Abu Dhabi/Dubai to take over a new role. All very different but fairly compatible considering we had just decided to meet up at the Marriott lobby bar in Warsaw.

Turned out fine, we agreed to meet the next day at the coffee shop and meet the Brit who was going to be introducing us to the offices on our three-country tour. Fine, I went for a cold evening stroll passed the culture palace not far from the hotel and was tucked up in my first Marriott bedroom by 10pm.

International Assignee

Just got an email from the parent company of my company (long story) but the gist of it is that as an International Assignee I must choose my 2009 Benefits, you know healthcare and 401K and etc. So its that time of year again, fine. This post is really about the term "international assignee." Its sort of like "resident alien" which is what my Mum and Brother are in the US, here they say you have "indefinite leave to stay." I am always struck by our ability to make up amazing names for things. Its not just the cultural difference of names but how people react to them.

I work for a company that is based in the US but is getting a much larger presence outside the US - so the distinction between domestic and foreign is really a bit strange right now. Technically domestic is here in the UK and foreign is outside the UK because technically we are a plc registered here in the UK and wholly-owned by a US parent which is in turn owned by another US parent. I have been known to get memo requests -- created on letter size paper (aka 8.5x11 inches) which won't print in my A4 world -- asking me for breakdowns of sales in terms of domestic and global clients. What we call "foreign" here in UK would be "global" in the US.

What do you think - foreign or global? and is it a good or bad thing to be an International Assignee?

Ooohh... business trip planned

I can tell my life is getting dull - I'm almost excited by the prospect of an upcoming business trip. I never get excited by business trips, I used to do them all the time. Recently, though I have been assigned to base, as it were, keeping an eye on the looming credit crunch business drop off - or not; kind of depends on the day of the week. Anyway, Just found out that I will be going on an Eastern European fly by night tour to meet some potential business partners. So on Monday I'm flying to Warsaw, Tuesday Prague and Thursday Bucharest.

Sounds exotic but I'm staying in the Marriott in each of these cities - which I think is a bit like going to Paris and eating at a McDonald's but we cannot be picky, can we. By the way I have eaten at McDonald's in Paris and I have nothing against McDonald's; in fact I truly love my fast food - but I think you know where I'm going here.

I'm sure it will be airport, hotel, meeting room, hotel, airport with an interspersing of interesting cab rides. But still could be fun, at least its different from Chicago, West Palm Beach, Charlotte - which was my old business trip stomping grounds. What I really need to check is whether I will get any new passport stamps - Is Romania in the European Union?

oohh I'm off to google Bucharest - its the only one I haven't been to.

Its Thanksgiving!

No that's not my sad English turkey dinner. Its dinner from a couple of weeks ago, at the beginning of the real credit crunch. Since then I've re budgeted 12 times and scaled potential salaries up and then scaled back the increases. Taken a good hard look at all expenses. Tried to figure out which of our markets will survive and prosper. Its been exhausting.

All that work and really its back in the same place, radio and t.v. are all shouting about how we are going to hell in a hand basket and Woolworth's here in the UK just declared bankruptcy. Do we even have Woolworth's still in the US? I can't remember. Surely they have lost out to Target - wonder why they don't have Target here? Such a great store. I digress, as usual.

Point is after all that furious Excel-ing we are back in the same positions the majority of our clients are carrying on but some are slowing down. Seems to be the way all the way around the world. So, I'm having Turkey this weekend at a friend's flat and I will be thankful for family and friends and everything else that sometimes one forgets to be thankful for.

By the way, that dinner pictured above was lovely. Cheese here is really good and sparkling water with fruit juice is always a tonic.

Sproutgirl's thankful list

An old neighbor and friend of mine Jen, AKA Sproutgirl has recently posted a list of 100 things she's thankful for - see it here. Interesting test for an uptight business-girl on her day off awaiting the delivery of new flashy hob and cooker (stovetop and oven for those of you not bilingual). Will have to think about it and get back to you. In the meantime maybe you could share your own lists...

OMG, I've joined Facebook

My Friend Nancy Yost made me do it. She has wrangled a lot of old high School friends into it and I must say its been interesting. One overriding reason I didn't want to join was because it was something else to keep up with -- as you can see from the dates between blog posts, I'm not very good at keeping timely with all things digital. I find Facebook can be weirdly addictive, you spend a lot of time spelunking through the private lives of people you know, people you know and barely remember and other who are just taken with something about you. One guy wanted to be my friend because he wanted to know another Sian Llewellyn, his name is Shaun Llewellyn and he lives in Costa Rica. Others are just friends of Yost and mine that I used to go to school with. Interesting to catch up with some of them - others are readers of this blog and will know more about me than I care to share with al the world's strangers.

Fall in the US is known as Autumn here

Last weekend there was a cold snap in London. I had to turn on the heating, which seemed really odd for the first weekend in October. Even after all these years outside of Tampa, I still think of October as a warm month. In fact, despite the fact that this summer had about three hot days--I don't even think I really opened the windows all the way once--I was sort of secretly happy to wake up to a chill. Perhaps Fall and following Winter is sort of form of Stockholm Syndrome. My first year here in London I was steeled to face the Winter dark mornings and afternoons, cold weather, endless grey days. I find myself almost looking froward to it now. That first cold snap morning, I was shocked to find myself thinking how pleasant it was to be able to wrap up and go out for a brisk walk. Leaves are turning yellow, red, brown and covering the pavements (sidewalks). I have in fact come to really enjoy and anticipate the cold weather. What the heck is that all about?

Autumn reminds me of at least three things:

1) Packing with my Mum for my first year at college at Emory. I had three (3!) wool sweaters, a severe Prince Valiant bangs and bob hair style and a pink peter pan colored button up shirt. It was August/September 1980, and I was so excited to head up to Emory in Atlanta; where they had fall and winter.

2) My roommate Allison (she was from Indiana and Illinois so she knew about winter) in our two-bedroom apartment in Buckhead post-college, coming out one Saturday morning in the fall swathed in a big cable-knit sweater, saying "I know I'm rushing the season."

3) Hayrides and hoe-downs with the Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church youth group and football games at Chamberlain High School.

What do you think about Fall; by the way here in the UK they always correct me when I say Fall, with a curt "You mean Autumn."

Sadly, Chuck still drinks Bud

Had some visitors in late summer, Chuck and Susan. I know them both from my Atlanta days. In fact I take total credit for their marriage since I introduced them to each other. However, I cannot take credit for Chuck's terrible taste in beer. Despite visiting the beer capital of the world, Chuck continued to purchase and drink American Budweiser.

We had a great time while they were here, theatre, art exhibits, good food, shopping; plus long conversation between old friends. However, I fear for my friends. He may be an esteemed architect and Susan a sophisticated museum director, but Chuck still drinks Bud.

Did I mention I was British?

Two weeks ago, my brand spanking new British passport arrived. I was well chuffed. Thanks, Mum and Dad. The paper work was interesting, You can only get an ancestry British citizenship by

A) Having a father who was British at my birth (he's a Yank now, has been since the sixties) - By the way if you were born before 1980 you could only be British through your Dad not your Mum, interesting huh? So you need his birth certificate.

B) Having a mother who was married to your father. So you need their marriage certificate.

C) Having me. So you need your birth certificate.

Then you fill out a lot of scary forms and have someone who is "professional" counter sign your form saying they have known you for some number of years. In my case it was a friend from work who has a PhD in Urban Morphology, he gets to be called Dr. Jones. and that Dr. preface means he gets to co-sign my application. Better than the registered landscape architect I was going togo with, right?

Then you send all that off with your existing US passport (eek - I was without a passport for weeks!). I will get the US passport back because technically I am a dual citizen. After the required amount of time they send you a letter and tell you show up at a dodgy part of town (in my case Hannibal House at Elephant and Castle) where you have an interview and "prove" you are who you said you were. Couple of scary moments in the interview when they asked me my phone number. Shit, I've never known my phone number. I use my work number for everything because I can remember it. So I told the interviewer, I could never remember my mobile number and I could do parts of it and proceeded to ramble off some familiar sounding numbers. Apparently I got pretty close. Next slip up was when I started rattling off my Dad's birthday instead of my Mum's. Then I switch to my sisters in stead of My Mum. Ack, panic - was she the 6 or the 7, franticly counting the days between Christmas and 12th night which is the only way I can remember it. Oh, I'm fluffing this. Ask me about direct labour rates, gross or net contribution or what percentage of our net rev goes towards fringe benefits - don't ask me phone numbers and birthdays and expect an answer without the help of supporting documentation. Whew, they let me go and told me I would hear from them in 4 to 10 days.

Five days later I get a piece of paper at my home telling me to arrange a delivery, which I do for the next day at the office. Then I hang around near my desk or go to meetings clutching my mobile so the deliver company can reach me because I have to prove to the delivery boy that I am the to whom he should be delivering the package. That's it. Some sweaty bicycle delivery guy looks at me looks at my California drivers license then hands me an envelope. I rip it open hoping its the passport and not a rejection letter. It is! It is a pleathery red square-ish block with biometric chip and antennae (!?) and additional pages for those traveling folks. I'm in! I can go and live anywhere in the European Union. I don't have to get stopped, questioned and frisked at small airports in France. I can go to CUBA! I can go anywhere because the Queen says so inside the front cover.

Best of all I don't have to get another work permit because my first one runs out next week. So what have I done with my new found freedom? Nothing. I've taken the 168 bus from the Royal Free Hospital stop on Haverstock hill to Southhampton Row and then walked to Clerkenwell Road and left onto Hatton Garden to work. All I need now is a bowler hat and a black umbrella to be the perfect British worker bee.

To celebrate, I have begun using the words "crikey" and "bother" as often as possible in everyday speech.

End of Summer BBQ

On last bank holiday of the summer - sort of the equivalent to Labor Day in US - I took a couple of days off and lazed around. It was lovely. By Monday I was ready to see some folks and invited some Australian friends over for a BBQ, which I had been threatening to do for some time. Unfortunately I didn't have a BBQ, but had seen these clever disposable things in grocery stores. So I headed out to check out the newly revamped Sainsbury's on Finchley Road. Sainsbury's is basically like Publix - its an upper-mid market grocery store with everything. I am a Waitrose shopper, which is like saying I'm a Whole Foods shopper - it implies you are idiot who pays too much for your food, but the stores are smaller and are more to shop in because they are less like bus stations.

ANYWAY, I headed out for the newly refurbished Sainsbury's and had that feeling I usually get when I walk into store of over 200,000 SF, "would I ever really need a grocery store this big?" There are aisles with nothing in them but canned food. The aisle are so long that you can see the curvature of the earth. They had a season aisle - always a favourite for me. What will the season aisle bring? IN this case it was a decimated aisle of summer-like products; sunscreen, unbreakable plastic products, very breakable chairs, sun umbrellas, a smattering of garden related implements, slug pellets, compost, and etc. They also were having an end of the season sale on disposable BBQ - two sizes small and family size. They are aluminum (or aluminium as we say here in the Great British Isles) trays with flammable briquets leashed in the tray under a sort-of-grill thing. You put it on its cute little stand which is made of something like a wire coat hanger. Then it requires that you place it on a non-flammable surface. Tough to do in my back yard since its all paved in railroad ties (known as sleepers here). So I rigged up a table with a big tray and balanced on the tray is a big slab of slate that usually holds cheese at dinner parties.

I was really pleased (chuffed) at how cleverly I rigged up the grilling gadget. I thought even my "of-shore ready" sister would have found my improvisation acceptable. Everything went off like a charm, the BBQ worked great, we had great burgers that tasted like they had been grilled. Good thing I bought three of those disposable BBQs