02 November 2008
Chocolate Dome - Harrod's
A photo of the Chocolate Dome at The Chocolate Bar at Harrods. It's like chocolate mousse on the inside.
Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate
Harrods - The Chocolate Bar
It's Harrods and I choose to spend my money on experiences instead of things. My friend and I come across The Chocolate Bar and each get a Hot Chocolate (mine's mint) and a chocolate dish (to follow in the next blog) to share.
It is heaven. This is literally the best hot chocolate I've ever had. Not the strongest (Costa Rica), but the best. They even put in fresh mint into my cup.
The experience is definitely worth the quid.
My friend's hot chocolate is even thicker. One spoonful and you melt. Yum!
It's Harrods and I choose to spend my money on experiences instead of things. My friend and I come across The Chocolate Bar and each get a Hot Chocolate (mine's mint) and a chocolate dish (to follow in the next blog) to share.
It is heaven. This is literally the best hot chocolate I've ever had. Not the strongest (Costa Rica), but the best. They even put in fresh mint into my cup.
The experience is definitely worth the quid.
My friend's hot chocolate is even thicker. One spoonful and you melt. Yum!
Londontown
Ahhhh London. It rained last night but it was still beautiful. One of my travel companions loves it because the men are for the most part really tall and also beautiful. After a long turbulent flight and settling in yesterday our first tour is today. More updates later.
31 October 2008
Twittering
Happy All Hallow's Eve. Today I'm leaving on a jet plane. Packed and ready to go.
My old roommate did a lot of touring of Broadway shows. She showed me the secret to packing a lot of stuff into a small space. It's all about using your suitcase as a shelf. If you pack it like a shelf you have access to everything and can see everything while fitting a ton of stuff into the bag.
After re-packing (realized that Europe requires different clothes this time of year than Los Angeles) everything until about 2AM there's still room left for fun stuff to bring home....or bags of coffee for the peeps at work.
I've eaten so much sugar from the Halloween candy at the office that my veins are vibrating. Or, as we used to call it before the digital age created a whole new meaning for the word...I feel like I'm twittering. Flit here, flit there, knock my knee into the desk drawer for another bruise here, trip over the chair over there. That's what happens when you're tired and you have too much sugar in your blood.
Even my thoughts are flying all over the place. Zoom, zoom, zzoooooooommmmm.....
My old roommate did a lot of touring of Broadway shows. She showed me the secret to packing a lot of stuff into a small space. It's all about using your suitcase as a shelf. If you pack it like a shelf you have access to everything and can see everything while fitting a ton of stuff into the bag.
After re-packing (realized that Europe requires different clothes this time of year than Los Angeles) everything until about 2AM there's still room left for fun stuff to bring home....or bags of coffee for the peeps at work.
I've eaten so much sugar from the Halloween candy at the office that my veins are vibrating. Or, as we used to call it before the digital age created a whole new meaning for the word...I feel like I'm twittering. Flit here, flit there, knock my knee into the desk drawer for another bruise here, trip over the chair over there. That's what happens when you're tired and you have too much sugar in your blood.
Even my thoughts are flying all over the place. Zoom, zoom, zzoooooooommmmm.....
18 October 2008
Move and Be Still
Timepieces have always caught my eye. I guess I should clarify that. Old timepieces or pieces where you can see pieces move catch my eye. I guess that's why I love the Astronomical clock in Prague so much. (See my profile picture.)
Ironically, I don't often wear a watch. Nor do I enjoy clocking time. It passes far too quickly or slowly depending on the long or short term and the situation.
In a few weeks I'll be traveling overseas. It's been a few years since I've really traveled. Far too long. And yet, when I think back on all the trips I've taken--whether they were months long or days long--they seem like a blip in my life. It never seems long enough, does it? And if I didn't have the memories and the experiences it could be as if it never happened. It's like that with all trips.
I've spoken with traveling Europeans who have months to travel. They feel the same way. But we all love it. Love how it changes our perspective. Gets us out of our comfort zone and into seeing new sights, meeting new people, and putting ourselves in new situations. Of course, a trip only changes you as much as you let it.
"Let's go to Burger King."
My heart drops. We're in another country that has wonderful food. Yes, it's different from the usual American fare but that's part of the adventure. Unless there is a dietary restriction (I'm lactose intolerant) I try to try everything.
In my travels I've eaten cooked blood, duck brains, snake, alligator, duck feet and tongue, eyeballs, innards, and probably a lot of other stuff that I don't even know I ate because I didn't know what it was but wanted to be polite.
My parents taught me that culture is everything when you're traveling. It is so important to know what is insulting and what is not. To notice how people react to things if you haven't already studied the culture.
It's important to know that in Asia it is rude to not clean your plate. And when someone offers you something you say "no" and they will offer again, and you say "no" and they offer you again, and then you say "yes, okay, you're too polite, thank you."
I thank them for that lesson. It's really helped me feel at home in a lot of situations when I was far from home.
When I lived in London for a short time I noticed the scowls on the faces of the taxi/lorry drivers when American friends just hopped into the car first and then stated where they wanted to go. And then I noticed that my British friends would lean into the open passenger window and state where they wanted to go and only after getting a response from the driver would they step into the vehicle. On the rare occasions I didn't take the Tube, Lorry drivers were much nicer to me because I did the lean and ask before I opened the door.
Traveling can show you more of who you really are. Especially when you're traveling alone. But even if you aren't...you can surprise yourself. Situations pop up that you don't expect. You can be more courageous or more fearful than you thought yourself to be. When you're in a country where you're not familiar with the language you can find yourself more flexible or capable or inflexible or incapable.
You can find yourself following an 80 year old woman down the streets of Rome to a hidden hostel in a cozy but very strange neighborhood. She'll be chattering away at you and you won't understand anything except her gestures and the pointing of directions.
You can find yourself pick pocketed in Ireland having arrived only 5 minutes into the city having nothing left to get back home. And there you learn that being too trusting has its faults too.
In the end, I guess its the same thing that draws me to both wonderful timepieces and travel. It's the movement. To be able to see the movement and how things change. How things work inside because of the movement. Each move causes something new to happen and that change causes another change inside and that, in turn, moves something else.
And then, every once in awhile, something big happens and things stand still. And we take in those moments as well. Why? Well, because in the world of movement absolute stillness draws attention doesn't it? We notice the moment someone gasps and holds their breath. Events go in slow motion when we get into an accident. The old tradition of stopping the ticking clock in a home when someone dies....and then the movement begins once more.
It may be a moment of stillness. It may be weeks. But movement does begin again as does change. Both bear growth. And if they go on too long, both can bear stagnation as well. So we move and be still, move and be still.
Well..I'm ready to move. And I'm looking forward to it.
Ironically, I don't often wear a watch. Nor do I enjoy clocking time. It passes far too quickly or slowly depending on the long or short term and the situation.
In a few weeks I'll be traveling overseas. It's been a few years since I've really traveled. Far too long. And yet, when I think back on all the trips I've taken--whether they were months long or days long--they seem like a blip in my life. It never seems long enough, does it? And if I didn't have the memories and the experiences it could be as if it never happened. It's like that with all trips.
I've spoken with traveling Europeans who have months to travel. They feel the same way. But we all love it. Love how it changes our perspective. Gets us out of our comfort zone and into seeing new sights, meeting new people, and putting ourselves in new situations. Of course, a trip only changes you as much as you let it.
"Let's go to Burger King."
My heart drops. We're in another country that has wonderful food. Yes, it's different from the usual American fare but that's part of the adventure. Unless there is a dietary restriction (I'm lactose intolerant) I try to try everything.
In my travels I've eaten cooked blood, duck brains, snake, alligator, duck feet and tongue, eyeballs, innards, and probably a lot of other stuff that I don't even know I ate because I didn't know what it was but wanted to be polite.
My parents taught me that culture is everything when you're traveling. It is so important to know what is insulting and what is not. To notice how people react to things if you haven't already studied the culture.
It's important to know that in Asia it is rude to not clean your plate. And when someone offers you something you say "no" and they will offer again, and you say "no" and they offer you again, and then you say "yes, okay, you're too polite, thank you."
I thank them for that lesson. It's really helped me feel at home in a lot of situations when I was far from home.
When I lived in London for a short time I noticed the scowls on the faces of the taxi/lorry drivers when American friends just hopped into the car first and then stated where they wanted to go. And then I noticed that my British friends would lean into the open passenger window and state where they wanted to go and only after getting a response from the driver would they step into the vehicle. On the rare occasions I didn't take the Tube, Lorry drivers were much nicer to me because I did the lean and ask before I opened the door.
Traveling can show you more of who you really are. Especially when you're traveling alone. But even if you aren't...you can surprise yourself. Situations pop up that you don't expect. You can be more courageous or more fearful than you thought yourself to be. When you're in a country where you're not familiar with the language you can find yourself more flexible or capable or inflexible or incapable.
You can find yourself following an 80 year old woman down the streets of Rome to a hidden hostel in a cozy but very strange neighborhood. She'll be chattering away at you and you won't understand anything except her gestures and the pointing of directions.
You can find yourself pick pocketed in Ireland having arrived only 5 minutes into the city having nothing left to get back home. And there you learn that being too trusting has its faults too.
In the end, I guess its the same thing that draws me to both wonderful timepieces and travel. It's the movement. To be able to see the movement and how things change. How things work inside because of the movement. Each move causes something new to happen and that change causes another change inside and that, in turn, moves something else.
And then, every once in awhile, something big happens and things stand still. And we take in those moments as well. Why? Well, because in the world of movement absolute stillness draws attention doesn't it? We notice the moment someone gasps and holds their breath. Events go in slow motion when we get into an accident. The old tradition of stopping the ticking clock in a home when someone dies....and then the movement begins once more.
It may be a moment of stillness. It may be weeks. But movement does begin again as does change. Both bear growth. And if they go on too long, both can bear stagnation as well. So we move and be still, move and be still.
Well..I'm ready to move. And I'm looking forward to it.
09 October 2008
Isn't it Ironic?
"I can't believe you made that choice."
"What?"
"I just wouldn't have made that choice."
We hear a lot about how we're supposed to be. How we're supposed to behave, live, and even choose. Since before we could walk people projected their hopes and dreams for who we could possibly become upon us.
And as we grow up....
"Want to be popular with the ladies? Just buy this cologne/deodorant/shirt/shampoo/watch."
"My life is so much better since I've lost 50 lbs. Just eat this pill/join this program/join this gym/sign on to purchase this vibrating exercise machine and you'll have a better life."
...advertisers do the same.
We're told that who we are isn't good enough - we need to be sexier, thinner, smarter, richer; we need to be more rebellious, fashionable, hippie, good, bad, conservative, liberal, eloquent, or funny.
And then we buy into it. Literally.
So then, the question must be asked. What about now?
What about who we are now? At this moment? When do we get to enjoy and revel in the person we are? Whether we're fat, thin, tall, short, good, evil, beautiful, or ugly, street smart, not so street smart, intelligent, average, or below average. When do we not have to work so hard at becoming a better person, to be more of this or that?
We're told "You're special, You're unique, You're different," and when we do things as if we are special or unique or different we're asked, "What makes you so special? What makes you think you're so unique? How are you different from everyone else?" and we're shamed into changing the way we think about ourselves.
When do we accept that yes, we all have dreams and wants, and desires that are important--but who I am in the now is pretty cool?
It's when we choose to close our eyes and ears to what the world is telling us and we let ourselves just be. Some people have already learned the secret to this. And that is pretty cool. Actually, it's more that pretty cool. It's exceptionally cool. For most of us, it comes and it goes. Phases of acceptance. Phases of feeling inadequate. And we struggle to just be. And be contently.
Ironic, isn't it? That we work so hard to become capable of that something for which we are so aptly named? A human being.
Yes, so ironic...and so human.
"What?"
"I just wouldn't have made that choice."
We hear a lot about how we're supposed to be. How we're supposed to behave, live, and even choose. Since before we could walk people projected their hopes and dreams for who we could possibly become upon us.
And as we grow up....
"Want to be popular with the ladies? Just buy this cologne/deodorant/shirt/shampoo/watch."
"My life is so much better since I've lost 50 lbs. Just eat this pill/join this program/join this gym/sign on to purchase this vibrating exercise machine and you'll have a better life."
...advertisers do the same.
We're told that who we are isn't good enough - we need to be sexier, thinner, smarter, richer; we need to be more rebellious, fashionable, hippie, good, bad, conservative, liberal, eloquent, or funny.
And then we buy into it. Literally.
So then, the question must be asked. What about now?
What about who we are now? At this moment? When do we get to enjoy and revel in the person we are? Whether we're fat, thin, tall, short, good, evil, beautiful, or ugly, street smart, not so street smart, intelligent, average, or below average. When do we not have to work so hard at becoming a better person, to be more of this or that?
We're told "You're special, You're unique, You're different," and when we do things as if we are special or unique or different we're asked, "What makes you so special? What makes you think you're so unique? How are you different from everyone else?" and we're shamed into changing the way we think about ourselves.
When do we accept that yes, we all have dreams and wants, and desires that are important--but who I am in the now is pretty cool?
It's when we choose to close our eyes and ears to what the world is telling us and we let ourselves just be. Some people have already learned the secret to this. And that is pretty cool. Actually, it's more that pretty cool. It's exceptionally cool. For most of us, it comes and it goes. Phases of acceptance. Phases of feeling inadequate. And we struggle to just be. And be contently.
Ironic, isn't it? That we work so hard to become capable of that something for which we are so aptly named? A human being.
Yes, so ironic...and so human.
13 June 2008
Are Wii Still?
The virtual trainer welcomes me to another workout with him. I like the light blue Wii trainer shirt he wears. What I don't like is having to keep within the yellow square as he walks me through both yoga and strength moves.
One exercise requires that I move to one position and back to start. Something so easy usually. But I'm supposed to hold the position for 50 seconds and then go back to my start position. Hold it? 5 seconds - okay. 10 seconds - this isn't so bad. 30 seconds - are you kidding me? 40 seconds - just hold it! Hold it! 45 seconds - Bobble City! Yes! I know my leg is shaky. You don't have to tell me. 50 seconds - yay! I can stop now.
After a day I'm really sore. But I didn't really do anything that made me sweat. Of course, my tree pose sucks. How do you get your foot to stay there without slipping?
One thing I'm learning is that stillness is 1.) really hard and 2.) an active thing. Who knew? You have to actively work on being still? Yes. The little red dot squiggles all over the screen showing me how much I'm actually shifting and swaying.
You know doing an exercise is easy fast. Doing it slow and holding it there is hard. But that actually applies to life doesn't it? You can get somewhere--achieve something quickly with relative ease as long as you know where you're going and what it looks and feels like.
But holding a position - at your goal - that's the hard part. Whether it's a marriage or success or a grant/scholarship or a goal weight. That's what makes the mind and body quake and where the effort comes in. That's where distractions can mean collapse or at least a major bobble if you're not careful. And you're more likely to be able to hold the goal, or whatever in life it is, if you got there slowly.
Momentum carries us places. Entropy too. But to actively be still...
As I sit on the Wii fit board and look at the screen the candle quivers every time focus is lost and I shift. The goal is to stay absolutely still. If you move the candle flame goes out. My first time I didn't last 13 seconds. You'd think just sitting there it would be easy to not move. But we do. In little increments. All the time.
As I sit an old Bible story runs through my mind. You know, the whole thing about how there was a huge and powerful wind and God was not in the wind and then came an earthquake and God was not in the earthquake, and then there's a fire and God's not in the fire. But then, there is stillness and quiet. And there God is.
The modern world is big on moving and moving fast. Maybe with the price of gas we'll learn more about being still. There must be something to that. After all, if it's been encouraged for thousands of years throughout various religious and cultural backgrounds; how can it be totally wrong?
"KA!" yells the voice. Out the flame goes. Darn it! *sigh* Still learning.
One exercise requires that I move to one position and back to start. Something so easy usually. But I'm supposed to hold the position for 50 seconds and then go back to my start position. Hold it? 5 seconds - okay. 10 seconds - this isn't so bad. 30 seconds - are you kidding me? 40 seconds - just hold it! Hold it! 45 seconds - Bobble City! Yes! I know my leg is shaky. You don't have to tell me. 50 seconds - yay! I can stop now.
After a day I'm really sore. But I didn't really do anything that made me sweat. Of course, my tree pose sucks. How do you get your foot to stay there without slipping?
One thing I'm learning is that stillness is 1.) really hard and 2.) an active thing. Who knew? You have to actively work on being still? Yes. The little red dot squiggles all over the screen showing me how much I'm actually shifting and swaying.
You know doing an exercise is easy fast. Doing it slow and holding it there is hard. But that actually applies to life doesn't it? You can get somewhere--achieve something quickly with relative ease as long as you know where you're going and what it looks and feels like.
But holding a position - at your goal - that's the hard part. Whether it's a marriage or success or a grant/scholarship or a goal weight. That's what makes the mind and body quake and where the effort comes in. That's where distractions can mean collapse or at least a major bobble if you're not careful. And you're more likely to be able to hold the goal, or whatever in life it is, if you got there slowly.
Momentum carries us places. Entropy too. But to actively be still...
As I sit on the Wii fit board and look at the screen the candle quivers every time focus is lost and I shift. The goal is to stay absolutely still. If you move the candle flame goes out. My first time I didn't last 13 seconds. You'd think just sitting there it would be easy to not move. But we do. In little increments. All the time.
As I sit an old Bible story runs through my mind. You know, the whole thing about how there was a huge and powerful wind and God was not in the wind and then came an earthquake and God was not in the earthquake, and then there's a fire and God's not in the fire. But then, there is stillness and quiet. And there God is.
The modern world is big on moving and moving fast. Maybe with the price of gas we'll learn more about being still. There must be something to that. After all, if it's been encouraged for thousands of years throughout various religious and cultural backgrounds; how can it be totally wrong?
"KA!" yells the voice. Out the flame goes. Darn it! *sigh* Still learning.
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