Tire (tyre) slide! new to me! 

me and greenie

I have a bike.

A dream bike.

Light green (some may call it 'mint'), 3 speeds, circa 1970-something, old lady bike.

Free from my nice acupuncturist Laura.

I spent yesterday deep in the zen of cleaning her up. SOS pad, bucket of soapy water, rags -- cleaning off ancient mud on the wheel rims and scrubbing years of 'left out in the rain' rust. She looks pretty good.

And I am happy to report I just took her for my first spin. I was waiting, bored, on a beautiful Friday evening for Mark to get home from London. Already ate dinner. Nuthin on TV, bored with e-mail, laundry in the dryer, and light for 3 more hours. Dang, I'm going for a bike ride.

I bravely (remember my diatribe on cycling in Cambridge!) rode around my neighborhood, to the train station, around southern Cambridge, through the Mill Road cemetery (which I think that is going to be a fav) and EVEN tackled my Mill Road bridge fear (where busses and cars wiz by within an inch of one's life.)

But most of all, I really flashed back to the days when I was anywhere from 8-15 when the bike was the ticket to freedom. Cruising around Hales Corners -- KMart for Icees -- bumming around the schools -- checking out anything that resembled action. It was the after-supper bike ride when you just wanted some wind in the hair and to breath in summer. It helped that I was wearing flip flops and my new £2 apple green poncho to make the trip back to yesteryear.

Dang if I aren't proud of myself, and I know that sounds funny, but it is just a bit more stepping out and one step closer to my original vision of me in Cambridge, basket full of flowers and a poetry book, riding an old lady bike by the river -- long hair flowing. Maybe I can just get hair extensions and cut to the chase.

fat camp

Yes, Fat Camp.

I am in it.

Ok, they are more PC than that and call it "Fit Camp", but we all know what they mean. It is a 6-week program at our fab health club ... health club meaning better than a regular old gym. And I will partake in 3 or 4 sweating sessions a week, plus 50% off of Fit Club menu items in the lounge. (Told you it was a swanky gym -- we HAVE a lounge.) Plus a healthy eating schpeal and meeting with the girls in the group once a week.

Seems ok so far, except they have actual Fit Camp t-shirts that we are supposed to wear. Um, no thanks.

I was a brave today and was measured, and assessed and weighed today by pert Becky. Somehow, when the number is in kilograms, it seems ok and not relateable.

Wish me luck, and be forewarned, I may use this as a venting tool to describe my dislike for movement.

like living in Alaska

No one told me about this. I never heard anyone mention it or read about it in any travel guides.

Now, in the UK, it is daylight for like 16 hours. Seriously. The birds are chirping like mad at 4 a.m. and it is still light at 10 p.m.! NO lie! I would think it would be a big selling point for British summers -- long days. In the US, at the very latest, it gets dark at like 9.

And it will continue to stay light later and later. It is seriously screwing up my ability to sleep like there is no tomorrow. In the winter here, I was a nice Benjamin Franklin, early bed/rise girl... natually found my internal clock to be 10:30 p.m. bed and 7:30 wake. Nice and productive. So that it is sunny at 9 p.m., we are eating dinner at 9 and going to bed at 12. I am sleeping until (!) teenage time of 10 a.m.! Yikes.

If only I could take up par-taying, I would make great use of these evening hours... but as it is, I am just trying to adjust to keeping my hard clothes on until it is dark. No small feat.

Scousers WIN.

Yes, I watched an entire football game on TV. And the extra 30 minutes. And the deciding penalty kicks. Ok, I was also looking out for Mark in the crowd of 35+ thousand Liverpool fans in Instanbul for the European Champions League.

I can actually say I felt the pride of the Liverpool fans - -- known best for loyalty and their theme song, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Makes me think -- are the Green Bay Packers of the English football league?

Now Mark just needs to get out of the stadium somehow...

Michael & Helena, my host home-mates and parents of nice Oliver 

KQ, me and Babs U with our post yoga glow 

nico getting a smack from shinny 

and back again

Am back in the UK!

Seamless flight, a few nervous questions at Immigration (I think I am in the 'system' now to raise a few eyebrows and I knew I was in for it when I was asked if I had had 'trouble with Immigration' in the past after scanning my passport). The officer had to 'make enquiries' which had me with a dry mouth and the feeling of a felon. After about 30 minutes, many factual questions about my studying, where I live, how much money I have, what Mark does, where we met, producing my return ticket, the letter Mark wrote stating that he would support me, suffering 3 separate times for the officer to confer with her superiors, I heard the satisfying Clunk Clunk of the passport stamp. She gave me a stern look and told me that I must leave the country within 6 months.

So, Immigration is still a scary place for me.

Luckily, Cambridge is not and after a 3 hour, drooling unconscious sleep in the home bed, a cheese toastie and a cuppa tea, I am human and I am home.

P.S. Barb U, thank you for your e-mail. Thought a posting of this may be ok.

check out the rock! 

cat outta the bag

Just a wee announcement. The word is out and most of you already know.

Mark & I are betrothed! Engaged! Shiny ring and all!

Yippee!
It happened just a few weeks ago, and I have been in DC visiting my homies and went to FLA to visit the vactioning parents.

Most likely we will get hitched next fall in the UK. We are hoping to have a nice long and non-frazzled engagement.

I'll be back and forth US/UK until next April, and I will be stateside Nov, Dec and part of Jan for the holiday months. I can get a fiancee visa in April 06, and we will need to get married w/in 6 months.

We are still kind of in awe about it all and reveling in the happiness and miracle of being able to have a plan after so many years of living in the moment -- which has its benefits.

Teaism for Chinese noodle soup and salty oatmeal cookies. A perfect Thursday night gathering with the gang. 

Underbates with all 4 eyes open 

Curiously attached at the skull 

Sinead and the famous wasabi party favourite 

Wagamama anyone? 

Helena's FAB new grape clog shoes.  

HAPPY 35th to Marky Mark today!!! 

my brown girls 

Barb n Shinny at Aroma, naturally 

sunset, breeze and bliss 

Tan and happy parents in Florida 

Mary's artistry  

Mary Mar, KQ, and Babs U on our picnic in G-town 

Oliver, my adorable host 

back in the US of A

How happy am I?

I've got that 'bar voice' when you've been talking loud in smoky crowds, I am watching Barefoot Contessa make home made granola from Helena & Michael's guest quarters, I am about to go get a pedicure and I just had a terrific coaching session.

Ahh, America.

Blog readers, I have so much to update you on, and I will...

For now, just know I have a great big smile on my face.

what? no bugging?

People -- I thought you CARED! I haven 't written for 19 days and no one has even NOTICED. Wah.

Ok, maybe you were being polite because I was 'in the soup' awaiting word from the old UK Home office on the old visa. Well, I heard. And the answer was a nice fat no.

Needless to say, there are other details to be made, but suffice it to say, I'll be visiting my homeland in May. Sushi, burritos, dollars, NPR, local phone calls, Fresh Fields, beaches of Florida, siblings, parents, beloved friends, margaritas, the metro, loud Americans, cheerful Americans, HBO, right hand side-drivers... bring it on.

in the soup

yeah... I haven't been very inspired the last few weeks. Seems like when a lot is swirling in one's head that it would make sense to write some of it down. I secretly must enjoy the fullness of it because I know once you start writing, that it will start making sense. And that's not always whatya want.

What's happening:

1. I am awaiting news of my student visa. Should hear anyday now. My passport and my future living is in flux, waiting for an answer. (Cue finger drumming and watching kettle boil)
2. Mark is on the West coast of the US for 10 (!) days.
3. Solo living takes some time to get used to
4. I am messy
5. I am not brushing my teeth at night
6. I haven't made the bed
7. I am watching too much TV
8. I have giant spurts of activity, followed by hours of reading quietly
9. I am not eating balanced meals
10. I am going to plant flowers this weekend
11. I bought a book on the basics of gardening
12. And another novel
13. And some diet coke
14. The pope is sick
15. And MOST riveting, I've been working on an Excel worksheet for tracking clients

See -- not remotely interesting. Which is why I have been a bit quiet. I guess I've been waiting for some news that I could broadcast. I DO appreciate the demands for updates, proving to me that people other than my Mom read this.

Readers- are you out there? Tell me what YOU are doing. I need some entertainment and company.

you know spring is coming when

1. the birds are chirping like crazy at 3:00 a.m.
2. you see one person in hat, scarf & big coat, and in the next minute, another person in shorts
3. suddenly, people are EVERYWHERE
4. the night buzzes
5. teenagers seem more mischievous
6. you feel more mischievous
7. planting flowers seems very important thing to do
8. you hate all your winter clothes
9. your limbs are very, very pale and scared to be exposed outside
10. you want to hang clean sheets on the clothes line
11. margaritas call to you
12. you regret every cookie in the last 4 months and wonder why you didn't make getting REALLY fit your winter project so you would be excited to wear small amounts of clothes instead of dreading it
13. Easter bonnets seem cute
14. you spot blooms on trees and are totally surprised
15. all your windows are filthy
16. you sense that the world is not all lost after all

life insight coaching LIVE, baby

My coaching site is live and well! I am well glad it is Out There and I have a shingle to hang.

I want to publicly thank these fine folks for help in getting it into the world:

1. Mike "Cynical G" Bateman, for his cheery and clever design. Able to take the Network Solutions templates and successfully put lipstick on the pig without complaint.

2. Heather Roberts, for lending her artistic muscle and creative eye to help me with my web photo.

3. Lexie/Lexington/Lexicon Bebbington, for her immediate and enthusiastic feedback on content, images, and her impromptu gender polling of Martin for the male view, and loving support.

4. Barbara Faculjak, my all time favourite editor, always able to make it clean and clear and real within 10 minutes, while driving or on a conference call.

5. Mark Johnston, for endless name brainstorming ideas, for getting excited with and for me, reviewing every step of the way, and bankrolling my domain name and web registration.

6. Friend and Family Network, for encouragement and 'YAY' e-mails, and letting me know what you think.


Now you know a life coach. For whenever you want to work on something. Or know someone who does. Or just want to see what it is about. (and in 6 months the price goes up :-) )

www.lifeinsightcoaching.com

Dears Martin and Lexie. Out for Italian when I was visiting them in their sea side town near Bournemouth.  

means to an end

I thought I'd ride a bike here in Cambridge. I had visions of me (with long, flowing hair) pedaling through the streets on a one-speeder with a basket with fresh flowers and a baguette -- sun shining -- perhaps singing and practicing going no-handed. Oh so misguided.

People don't ride their bikes here for sport or pleasure. Is is transportation -- getting to work, the shops, the pub, school. And I have seen death and gravity defying riders -- the mother with one toddler behind, one in front and shopping bags on the handle bars, talking on a cell phone, without breaking stride. No one has helmets on. They aren't wearing sporting clothes. People regularly smoke while riding. Or smoke AND talk on the phone while riding.

It is not like we have all dedicated bike lanes either. Many roads are really not meant for travel in both directions for cars -- and then add bikers on top of that and it is squishy. Lots of bikers. And of course, bikes don't have to obey traffic laws. Everyone knows that. Stop lights are for suckers in the cars.

The bikes are ratty- with Sainsbury bags on the seats because it almost always likely to rain here. They are old and rusty and banged up and it seems they are locked up with shoelaces or not at all. I think of how many friend's bikes have been stolen in DC with heavyduty state-of-the-art locks and wheels taken off and whatnot. Seems like it is no biggie here.

I frankly think I'd be better off learning to DRIVE on the left here than bike. At least then I;d have doors and a roof protecting me. I'll admit it, I am a little chicken. Or maybe since the leisurely wheel down the street is out of the question, I'll just stick to hoofing it. The joy is in the journey, isn't it??

I hate the bus

Now that I 'commute' in Cambridge on the Citi 2 several times a week, I have come to several realisations/realizations.

1. I hate the bus
2. Every 10 minutes means "very occasionally" especially when you have to pee, it is raining, or cold or if you are in a hurry.
3. Some drivers are mean
4. Some drivers hum
5. Old ladies and young mothers ride the bus a lot
6. The crazy/smelly person will always sit next to you if you silently pray "please don't sit next to me"
7. Kids are loud
8. People have no issue taking up more of the seat then is rightly their share
9. Sometimes kids are really cute
10. If you are tired of waiting and start walking, the bus will pass you as you try to make it to the next stop.
11. They advertise for Women Drivers to be bus drivers here.
12. If you get on a very crowded bus after waiting for 30 minutes, 3 empty ones will be right behind it.
13. When you are in a hurry, someone gets on the bus and asks the driver many many questions about the bus system.
14. You see the same people all the time and they see you and you have an unspoken Bus People relationship
15. You learn to walk 3 blocks to get the 25p cheaper fare.
16. There are 15x more of the other bus lines on the road than the one you are looking for. "That is the 3rd Number 7 that has gone past in the last 10 minutes and NO number 2s"
17. I am not a big fan of the bus

yay 

taking away the February gray 

on a roll

• skived = played hooked, as in "Mark skived off of work on Wednesday and we watched daytime TV" (totally hypothetical of course)
• having a laugh = you are joking
• revision = reviewing/studying
• private school = public school -- open to everyone -- cheaper
• public school = private, more exclusive (I know, what?)
• A Levels = I can't even explain when you get these, but I know there also used to be 'O' Levels too
• Qualifications = what you leave school with. You need them to really get any job. If you leave school without them, you can pretty much be promised a life of manually crappy jobs and low pay
• chemist= drugstore
• plaster = bandaid
• jacket potato = baked potato (and they put weird things on as toppings, like corn and tuna)
• threw a wobbly = got mad
• porridge = oatmeal
• Hen night = Bachelorette party
• prawns = shrimp. Never see the word shrimp here. Not that I can eat them.
• programme = program
• estate car = station wagon
• overtake = pass
• motorway = expressway/freeway
• roundabout = driving circle, except people know how to navigate them, unlike DuPont Circle

truth

I saw two (!) women wearing leg warmers today.

how COULD I have forgotten?

So integrated that I have simply swallowed them without notice.

washing up = doing the dishes
washing up liquid - dishwashing soap
kitchen roll= paper towels
cling film = saran wrap
loo = toilet
in a tick = in a mo, in a minute, shortly
postman = mailman
Bob's your uncle = there you are
fancy = like , as in "I fancy a coffee, do you?" Or "she does not fancy him."

more englishisms

• chav = white trash/ghetto cool, but trying too hard. Like too much Burberry with a gold chain or your low riders riding so low people see your thong in full view. Also trucker caps. See J Lo. Also B Spear's hubby
• travelers = not like gypsies, Mark declares, as I try to write "gypsies". People who choose to live in vans and buses on the outskirts of villages and "travel about" when the farmers who own the land kick them off. They do odd jobs and so not participate in regular society. Note: I am fascinated with these people and am constantly asking Mark the difference between the UK homeless, the yobs and the travelers (you know, gypsies) and he is sick of answering questions, so if any of you have any intelligence on the subtle differences, please write in.
• dinner ladies = lunch ladies (even though they call it lunch here)
• Sloane girls = IT girls
• working class= blue collar workers
• leisure center = gym
• nail varnish = nail polish
• fag = ciggie, cigarette
• government artist = people on the dole -- who live on social security (welfare)
• spotted dick = sponge with currents, a.k.a cake with raisins

A correction

• kit= uniform, as opposed to my previous definition of undies. " Get your kit off"

Course work complete! Certification program starts in April! 

carol with new carol brady haircut 

course work -- check

I am finished with my class!

I have successfully completed 116 (!) hours of life coaching training. It seems like a big number. And it feels like I was there all of those 116 hours, too. I mean, I was really there. Not like when you take a class for work --- and spend time thinking about lunch or your nails, or noticing how much you'd like to be sleeping.

This was an entirely new experience because I wanted to be there. What we were learning was captivating, engrossing, human, scary, emotional and risk taking. I learned what is possible when I am actually trying, instead of standing on the sidelines and mocking. I can say without irony or sarcasm that it was one of the hardest, challenging, fulfilling things I have done.

I have made new friends and shared this slice of learning with some amazingly brave and smart people. I learned how to be fearless by watching their courage. I learned to be loose by seeing creativity at hand. I learned to be vulnerable by seeing their pain. I went into this series of classes with an open mind and am leaving with a very full one.


What's next? I have signed up for the 6-month certification program, which will build on the skills I learned. At the end of those 6 months I take an exam and then if I pass, I am certified! I need to continue to work with my clients, maybe get a few new ones, and gain hours and keep learning. Soon I will be pushing out my web site, with thanks to the talented Mike Bateman who is helping on design. I will have business cards, marketing materials. A shingle.

Yeah- it is real.

today is Pancake Day. I am not kidding

I have been seeing signs everywhere for Pancake Day. I thought -- "how nice -- like a pancake breakfast for a school or something." But then people at work started talking about it. Wha?

Apparently it is an Actual internationally recognized Day. Jeez -- is February THAT dull that we need to name a day after flapjacks? Well, here it should really be called Crepe Day -- because what they call pancakes are FAR from I-Hop's ideas.

Actually, pancake day's official title is Shrove Tuesday -- hich is the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Since Lent is a time of abstinence - traditionally of meat, fat, eggs and dairy products - so Shrove Tuesday was the day to consume the last of the fat, eggs and dairy products in the kitchen prior to this period.

I think this is also the notion behind Fat Tuesday -- although that seems so much more about jazz and public drinking.

For those of you who are as un-enlightened as I was -- read all about the history of Pancake Day. And Shrove Tuesday.

Proving that it really is the tumbleweed season of activity.

check -- not quite mate

News flash - I just played my very first ever game of chess. Yes, the intellectual, thoughtful game of strategy and logic. Yes, all the way through. And yes, without knocking the game to the floor in a pouty swoop because I was losing.

Mark has long been coveting a chess set and broke down and got a really cool one with hand-made pieces. Since his options of players includes, well, me only, he gave me a shot as student.

We broke free from our part-ay hart-ay tradition (Um, the dance club was, um closed?) and took over the living room, fire lit, on our raging Saturday night to play. I even had a scotch to make me feel more gentile and worldly. And smart. We reviewed all the pieces (I like the knights -- the jumpers) and what they can do/how they function on the board/ how to get the other guy's pieces and eventually, get the king. Every move is either to advance or protect. Makes one think before acting. Not a bad axiom for living... I thought...Cool. I took notes. And (god love Mark) before each move, I got to ask my handicap beginner question, "is this a dumb move?" Low and behold -- it almost never was!

Per Mark, he was "genuinely surprised" at my quick study of the chess concept. I think it has a lot to do with the chess piece personalities. The pawns are abundant and you can lose one without caring too much -- the aforementioned knights are cool and can do some damage, the bishops are only so so and have a small range, the castle is also a little limited, the king is basically the least powerful guy on the board, but everyone protects him -- and last but not least -- the queen is the shit. She can go anywhere, in any direction and as far as she wants. Like in life.

Somehow -- this little storyline in my head made the logic seem more like the A List for a party then a studied and sleepy game. Plus, the scotch really IS the perfect companion. Slow sippers.

The next challenge -- configuring 3-letter words besides C-A-T in a rousing match of spelling and wit in Scrabble.

This, people, is what life coaching can get ya.

more

yob = rowdy drunkard, also lager lout
poorly = sick, as in "I am going home, I feel poorly"
weekEND = WEEKend -- just a cultural emphasis, "Any plans for the weekEND?"
nipper = little kid
ta/cheers = means all and any of these: thanks, bye, see you later, good for you, yay
pensioner = senior citizen/retiree
kit = undies
petrol = gas
doner kebab = gyro
trainers = tennis shoes
pants = undies (Never tell someone you like their pants)
trousers = pants
go on my son = you go girl
footie = football, a.k.a soccer
lurgie = short for allergy, as in "I am home poorly with the lurgie"