Friday's Top Five: The Other Side of the World

Well, since apparently ONLY CHERRYRIDE MISSED ME (hrmph), there will be no full trip report today. Just the highlights. I give you Friday's Top Five.

1. Singapore is a city, an island, and a country all rolled into one...and it reminded me of LA meeting London in an Asian climate. I ate at California Pizza Kitchen and drank Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf every day. The most Asian thing about Singapore was the heat.
2. Perth and Western Australia were amazing. I spent a few days in Perth and then the rest of the time in Dunsborough (about 3 hours drive south). I loved everything. EVERYTHING. From fantastic seafood, to the fresh air, to wine country, to the pristine beaches, to chasing dolphins, to the friendly people, to the birds called Shags, to the muscle cars (which made me laugh), to bartenders that try to make a martini with cointreau. *sigh* I loved Australia.
3. Aussie men are hot. Seriously. Hot.
4. There is nothing to do in Perth on a Wednesday night except hang out with a rock band from LA. (I am soooo famous).
5. An American accent can be an asset. Especially in Oz.

Happy Friday all!

Guess Who's Back? Back Again...

Did you miss me?

Gone Exploring

Just so I don't leave the blog with the neighbours brief sexcapades as my top story...a farewell to you all! I may try to log on from the road but I have decided that I am not taking my laptop (A TRUE HOLIDAY!!) By the time most of you read this I will be winging my way Southeast and anticipating spending St. Pat's day in an Irish pub in Singapore...I can't begin to imagine what that will be like!

Picture me here:

And here:

And finally, here:

As Cherryride said, Jealouscakes?

Sound is a Compression Wave

"The back-and-forth vibration of an object creates the compression waves of sound. The motions of a loudspeaker cone, drumhead and guitar string are good examples of vibration that cause compression waves. This is different than the up and down or transverse motion of a water wave. (See General Wave Motion for more information.)"

In other words, dear upstairs neighbor, when your bed is moving back-and-forth and squeaking like a god damn whistle at 3.20 in the morning, EVERYONE CAN HEAR IT...especially those trying desperately to conquer jet lag who had finally fallen asleep but then couldn't fall back asleep for the next 3 hours (even though you were done in 2 minutes).

Have you considered felt tips for the bed against the wooden floorboards? Or maybe some WD-40?

At least you were quick.

Don't y'all know y'all can't hold me down

Back in London for a minute (3 days exactly) before I fly away to Singapore and Perth, Australia. As I struggle with jet lag today, I have applied for my electronic visa thingie for Australia, got my books on Singapore and Australia here at my desk, and am looking forward to the 12+ hour flight (not).


I don't even begin to know how to recover from that kind of flight + time change. It's not the most anticipated part of the trip. I think spending St Patrick's day in an Irish pub in Singapore might be!


Weather today in Singapore: 82F/28C and mostly cloudy. I can live with that.
Weather today in Perth: 75F/24C and fair. I can also live with that.


What I can't live with is the discussion of beach time in Perth and the thought I may have to put on a bikini in March. Even though I knew it was coming, I am just not prepared. Maybe I can find a hidden cove somewhere...or will I get eaten by a croc if I do that?

It's Official

Took the quiz and got the results. Good thing I'm hopping on a plane on Saturday to go back...

You Belong in the UK

Blimey! A little proper, a little saucy. You're so witty and charming... No one notices your curry breath

What English Speaking Country Are You?

Gone Shopping

You can find me in any one of many fine shopping establishments in the greater Seattle area (if I am not face down in a burrito).

Back soon...

Friday's Top Ten: Ways You Know You are a Londoner

Plagerised from an oldie but a goodie...

1. Hookers and the homeless are invisible
2. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression
3. The UK west of Heathrow is still theoretical to you
4. £50 of groceries fits into one bag
5. You consider someone throwing themselves under a tube train to be an annoyingly selfish act.
6. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Shepherds Bush to Elephant & Castle at 3:30 on the Friday before a long weekend, but can't find Dorset on a map.
7. You say "City" and expect everyone to know which one.
8. You've considered stabbing someone.
9. Your idea of 'personal space' is no one actually standing on you.
10. You actually take fashion seriously.

Am I a Yuppie?

Are you a yuppie? I didn't think it was possible! Surely yuppies died with the 80s? I don't drive a BMW nor do I wear Lacoste...but recent rumblings make me think the yuppie may have returned in a new, environmentally conscience but still premium product prefering form, and that you and I (gasp!) may be one of them.

Evidence Point #1: An article from Time magazine in 1984 titled "Here Come the Yuppies!" inquired, "Who are all those upwardly mobile folk with designer water, running shoes, picked parquet floors and $450,000 condos in semislum buildings?

• Ok - I don't have the $450k condo but have you seen housing prices in Seattle lately? I am guilty of the other 3 points. Are you?

Evidence Point #2, #3, and #4: From the most recent issue of European Harpers Bazaar:

• "The 21st Century Yuppie - Y07, if you like - is a more mellow beast, with a heart as well as a wallet. But the genetic link to the city slickers of 2 decades ago is this: a burning ultra-materialism, fuelled by a love of premium products and prestige brands (though we wouldn't want anyone to know it). This is yuppiedom by stealth, and - let's face it - anyone who has ever spent four quid on a bottle of Fiji Water is at it."
• "It's all very subtle. Yuppies 07 (Y07) do their social grandstanding with a nudge and a wink...Call it inconspicuous consumption, but it is still hooked on the right badges; it lives at the right address and basks in the right annual income; it eats the right foods and drinks the right coffee. Looked at this way, isn't the yuppie, in fact, the most conspicuous urban demographic of age? Aren't we still wedded to status as ever?"
• "Scratch the surface of your latest purchase and you'll find the purring heart of someone pretty pleased with themselves, who knows, deep down, that their taste rocks. If you want a definition of today's yuppie, then surely that's it."

So the argument goes that we still want our premium products (iPod, hybrid cars, sushi anyone?) but we want to feel good about our premium products. We are slaves to our ideals AND our bright shiny objects...dear god, I think I might be a yuppie.

What say you?