Ltr frm dctr. OMG LOL.

I just received this text from my doctor’s office:

“U will have a ltr from NHS Islington asking u to confirm u r a pt at [name of doctor’s office] Please return this ltr asap or they may remove u from our list ta”

Really? REALLY? OMG LOL.

32 deg today!

It was hot today, like Spain hot. Time to celebrate with some sangria. All this sunny weather I can almost compete with my friend Adrienne’s unemployment tan. Almost.

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Ultimate in London

Played my first game of Ultimate today since I moved here.  I found a pick up team that meets every Sunday in Green Park.  I lasted 2 hours, it was very hot today.  Well, London hot.  Also, it’s quite amusing that right behind me is Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard.  We must be amusing to watch too, we pulled quite the tourist crowd.  Although we don’t wear the fancy hats the palace guards do.

 

Green Park pickup

Borough market

Can’t believe we haven’t been until now! Amazing food market selling just about any food product you can imagine Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Another Bike Lock Incident

I got to Cambridge this morning (after landing into Heathrow at 6:30AM) only to find that yet again some idiot had locked his bicycle to mine. Unlike the first time this happened this guy had locked right around my inner frame so there was no way I was going to be able to get free.

Some idiot locked his bike to mine

I figured if I couldn’t get my bike free, the only other option would be to try to open the lock. Here’s what it looked like:

Close up of the Lock

It looked pretty straightforward – four numbers on a dial. I figured there were probably “teeth” inside and the correct numbers would have a gap under them that allowed the teeth through. I was reminded of 1996 when I read the (in)famous MIT Guide To Lock Picking while procrastinating at University. Could this lock really be that simple? Surely it had to be more complicated than this?

So I gave the following a try:

  1. I pulled the cable very tight, putting stress on the lock.
  2. While pulling the lock I rotated each number one-by-one. Each wheel was very hard to move (due to binding friction of pulling on the lock) but when I hit the “right” number the wheel eased up significantly.
  3. I did the same with each of the four wheels and the lock pulled open.

The above took me less than 20 seconds, and I’ve never picked a lock in my life. Here’s the end result:

Lock Opened

My bike was free! The whole ordeal, from noticing my bike was locked and including cursing, looking for a way to unravel it, kicking the guy’s tyres, texting Sylvia to bitch about it, figuring out the lock was probably easy to pick, and picking the lock was about 3 minutes in total. It’s not surprising that so many bikes get stolen at Cambridge Station.

And to the guy who’s lock this was:

  1. In the future, watch what you’re locking your damned bike to and,
  2. Buy a new lock immediately.

Which kind of hockey?

Conversation goes a little like this,

Brit 1: ya I was once in Canada about 15 years ago and I remember someone asking me what I thought about Wayne greyzky. But I didn’lt know who that was.
Me: how do you not know who Wayne greyzky is??
Brit 1: ya, I don’t know. Just never heard of him
Me: my god! But he’s like a national hero! Hey, brit 2, do you know who Wayne getzky is?
Brit2: no. Who is he?
Me: my god! Only the most famous hockey player ever!
Brit2: what kind of hockey? Ice hockey?
Me: now you’re just taking the piss. There is hockey, and then there is field hockey and road hockey.
Both brits: shrug
Me: urgh’ nevermind.

Tube Strike

London’s been a complete mess in the past couple of days while the tube workers have been on strike. There are lots of people above ground who should really be below ground. So, just for the occasion, here is the Amateur Transplants “London Underground Song” for your enjoyment:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgwoPG63B3Y]

A good guiness deserves a rest

I’m at a pub that specialises in guiness, called toucan actually, appreciate that they understand that when pouring a guiness a break must be made.
The Irish would be proud. And after 2 weekends in Ireland, so am I.
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it’a still just a Wednesday

This is in russel square. In soho square closer to work at lunch today the parkette was packed, barely a scratch of grass free. I don’t seem to remember Canadians embracing outdoor weather so much, but they don’t have to put up with the same amount of abusive rain we have here . Canadians do embrace the patio though. Cultural difference. Since public drinking is not only legal but socially acceptable (perhaps even expected here) the park scene flourishes.
Right now, i’d say well over half the people here are lounging in the grass sipping on cans of beer and bottles of cider. There are even a group of 6 kicking around a football in the sun, beers of heineken in hand. It all seems so casual and carefree.
The Aussies and kiwis I work with don’t marvel in this fact, but they are from countries with similar public drinking policies and attitudes.
I wonder why I didn’t notice this as much last year. Maybe i’ve had to endure my fair share of rain to really appreciate it.
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Jaffa Cakes

IMG00013.jpg

Considering how often I’ve heard the Brits make reference to Jaffa Cakes I expected them to taste better. The one I had today tasted like stale bread with fake marmalade, but maybe that’s because they’re the bog-standard Sainsbury’s brand.

Soft-Sell Telemarketers?

The evil telemarketer hunts for his next victimI was home sick today, so I had the joy of answering mid-day phone calls (who do they expect to be around to pick these in most homes?). One call was from BT (British Telecom) and it went as follows:

“Hello, is this Mr. Slaughter?”
“Yes.”
“Oh Hello Mr. Slaughter. This is just a courtesy call from BT. Do you have Internet access in your home?”
“Yes I do.”
“Is it broadband?”
“Yes it is.”
“Would you consider switching your broadband to BT if we were to offer you a special deal?”
“Probably not, no.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I’m pretty happy with my current provider.”

.. all in all pretty normal, except for his response:

“Oh, OK. Well have a nice day then. {click}”

What the hell? In Canada I would have been arguing with the sonofabitch telemarketer all afternoon! Is that all it takes around here to get rid of a telemarketer? Amateurs! 🙂

Can I really relate to people who have no clue who Mr. Rogers is?

still haven’t gotten around to writing my 2 year post.  sure, i’ve been busy during the week.  But this weekend is a slow weekend and i just can’t seem to get past the procrastination.

With Jason on a business trip i had the opportunity for a long quiet day with the city. Coffee, long walks, a trip to the Tate.  I also met up with 2 Canadian friends today, one for coffee and another for pints.  There is definetely a feeling of mass exodious of expats.  Layoffs, new visa rules… people are starting to head home.  It made me remember a conversation i had with a Canadian at my old company’s chrsitmas party. He’d been living here for almost 10 years, and after telling him that we had just moved over 8 months earlier his advice was:  make friends with locals.  Expats come and go, and if you rely on our Canadian network the day will come when they’ve all gone home.

There are still quite a few Canadian friends, but i see the trend forming.

anyway, read this very amusing article about moving to the UK by a writer at the Guardian.

re number 38, i did a quick poll, british, Aussie, Kiwi, Welsh…. all have no clue who Mr. Rogers is.  I was gobsmacked for a week.