31 May 2007

Bang

It's gotta be a joke. There's no way. But yes, it was in the Boston Globe online...someone shot another person because they wanted more chili sauce.

Here's the story:
A guy (guy1) pulled up to the take-away window. He was given 3 chili sauce packets, which is what the poor guy (guy2) at the window was authorized to give. But guy1 wanted more. He threatened guy 2. So guy2 gave him ten packets. He wanted even more. Can we say, bizarre need? And the manager came to the window to argue with him. And guy1 shot the manager. Yes. Shot him.

What kind of moron does this? How is it showing how powerful you are, how cool you are, to shoot someone cause they didn't give you the amount of chili sauce you wanted? If he goes and brags about how he got away with this sort of crime, then he proves the loser he truly is.

Come on people - having a gun and using it against defenseless people is not something to brag about. It doesn't give you street cred. It just shows how weak you truly are. A guy like this is not a true man. And any woman who looks up to these sorts, is truly not one of my sisters.

Let's bring back the real man who didn't need a gun to give him balls.

28 May 2007

I 'surprised' my hubby by taking him 'away' yesterday. In reality, I told him what I was doing, but the planning part was a suprise.

Yesterday, my cricket game was cancelled, so at 1:00pm, Roy & I took off for central London. We were heading for a hotel in the City of London (which is one square mile). We got a great deal on the hotel as the City is dead and hotels there are mainly for business use. Threadneedles Hotel was lovely. We had an executive king room, which had a huge room, big ol' comfy bed and a gynormous bathroom with large bath. It was perfect.

We dropped off our stuff and then went to Covent Garden so we could get a few things from Lush. We got two of their massage bars, a bunch of bubble bars and a ballistic. We were looking forward to using them duirng our hotel stay as well as our honeymoon (less than 3 weeks away!!!!).

Then back to the hotel for a bath. We started with the Ma Bar BUBBLE BAR. Lovely. Very yummy smelling and made good bubbles. Don't need to go into any other details (ahem). Then on to the massage bar. Let me tell you, Soft Coeur, is one of the best things ever invented. If you ever try it, you'll know why.

We then got ready for dinner, which was located near Trafalgar Square. We went to Brasserie Roux, in the St James Sofitel Hotel. It was great! Good food, good price...yup, we were happy.

Yeah, it all went well. And it was worth it. Roy stopped working on his computer and relaxed. I got to enjoy him all to myself Lovely!

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A little aside...got my hair cut. It's less than shoulder high. Very cute. Once I get a pic I'll post it.

26 May 2007

Bathing suit shopping and ego bashing

I went to the local 'mall' today. It has the requisit big stores (John Lewis, Fenwicks, Marks & Spencer) plus all the small ones. You can kinda find the same sort of things as you would in other malls in the States.

John Lewis is very similar to Macys. It has all the home stuff, clothing, makeup and the like. But definitely British - Macys certainly doesn't have a haberdashy department in most of their stores. Fenwicks is slightly more upmarket and Marks & Sparks is less (a nicer version of JC Pennys perhaps?).

Then the smaller stores, like H&M, TopShop, Body Shop, Office, etc. Yup, you can find everything.

Initially I was going to search for a bathing suit and started in John Lewis. But...I don't think it was the right store for me to do a bikini shop in. Then again, I don't think any store is right for it cause I'm not sure I'm bikini ready.

And there it is...bikini wearing. When you are heavier than you've ever been, should you wear a bikini? Or should you begin to be more European and just not care? Who will you ever see again from where you are going? Probably no one. Won't there just be tons of other people who are not fat but not small in bikinis? Probably. Maybe this is why I haven't gone on a beach vacation in years. And I don't remember the last time I was in a bikini. But maybe this is the year to do it. The last one. The last time I wear a bikini before I turn 40 (cause I probably won't be going to the beach again before that year is hit).

So - didn't buy a bikini. But I got lots of other stuff...like a kitchen scale (necessary when baking over here) and a few other bits and bobs. So I'll wait until the week before I leave. Maybe I'll have better luck. I think I'll try in Central London - bigger stores...more possibilities. Sigh.

23 May 2007

Boring

I've been wracking my brain the past few days, trying to figure out what to write about in my blog. I usually have tons of thoughts, but the past few days...well, there's nothing. And it's not unusual around this time of the year. I have so much going on in work...crazy busy and just focusing on getting to June 15th.

It's amazing how work can sometimes take over your life. But I'm still trying to maintain a bit of balance. I went to cricket training last night and got a great workout...as R. said to me when I showed up at home, "shwettie". And I've planned more than work for the weekend.

This weekend I'm trying to do a bunch of things...the first will be to grade almost 30 papers (about 5 pages long). Ick. Hopefully I'll be able to get at least 3 or 4 done an hour (thank goodness for speed reading skills).

The second thing I'll be doing is shopping for my honeymoon. I need a bathing suit, sun glasses (as I seemed to have lost mine) and I'd like to buy at least one new skirt or dress to wear to dinner.

The third thing, outside of work, that I'll do is play cricket. We have a game on Sunday. I think it'll be a good one as we have some decent new players. Quite exciting.

Fourth...the hotel night and French food. More on that later.

And finally - going to Southall with my in-laws.

So yes...a busy darn weekend. Followed by a busy week...cause I'm giving an essay test to my kids which I'll have to grade by the end of the week so they know who has to take the final exam, which happens the following week. Sigh...oh, and review time. Lots of review time.

So - if I don't post here a lot, it's not that I'm not doing anything...it's just that it's so darn boring. But it's almost over. I keep saying it..and hoping it's true!

21 May 2007

Show and tell

I'm quite pleased. I did everything I set myself out to do this weekend.

1. I had two good workouts. I didn't make it to another class, but I still went and challenged myself to some heavy duty weight lifting. I'm hoping it will help before my next class. By the way, I'm still sore. Yes, still. (Or maybe this is new soreness from my weekend weight lifting..it doesn't really matter...still sore).

2. Did my lecture notes for the next two days. I'd like to finish up for the week, but that will happen today and tomorrow.

3. Made some plans for R and me for next weekend. I'm taking him to a hotel and out to a nice French restaurant. I made sure to find a well rated hotel, with a big bathtub and good products. While we won't be going out of town for the holiday weekend (Bank holiday), we'll still be 'getting away from it'. I hope R appreciates this!

4. I did more fixing the bedroom curtains so that I can sleep through the early morning. Now the room is nicely dark even when it's sunny out. There's still some light being let in, as I still have to put the extra fabric on the top...but it's much better! Now I'll be able to sleep in on weekend and when I'm not working this summer.

5. I relaxed. It's always a good thing when at some point in the weekend, you can just let your hair down. And I did!

So, it's going to be a very busy week, but at least my weekend wasn't too crazy. And only 4 more weeks until I go on vacation! Woo hoo!

18 May 2007

And she says it again...

On Wednesday night, I had a big cry with my hubby. I had tried on a skirt that morning that I had purchased the previous year...and it did not sit 2" below my navel as it previously had done...no, it was at or above it. It kept riding up as I walked. I was horrified at myself. So I had a good cry about how I just couldn't figure out how to motivate myself to workout and to eat better. I kept sabotaging myself for no good reason. Poor DH!

So yesterday, DH said he'd have to work late (he had a meeting with a guy who he's doing consulting work for). So I thought, why not try one of those classes at the gym. I can't get into my normal workout, so maybe having a class to go to at least once or twice a week will work.
I decided to try Body Pump. It's one of those 'all around toning' sorts of things, where you do weight lifting using a bench and movable weights and the like. The instructor, on seeing my panic at not having ever done anything like this, gave me a few suggestions. I was told to get out six of the lightest weights, as well as the other things needed (like a bench, bar, etc).

And then we began. It was one hour of feeling my muscles shake. One hour of sweating my tush off. I pushed myself, which is kinda sad as I had the lowest amount of weights in the entire class. I felt like such a wimp. But I won't be that person for long...

I left the class feeling like my limbs were made of rubber...going down stairs was tough. I knew I'd be sore...and yup, I am this morning. And I'm going to go back. No more whining. No more whinging. Just doing. (And yes, I do recognize that I've said this before. I really mean it this time. Really. Yes!)

17 May 2007

Pet Peeve

Everyone I know has at least one 'pet peeve'. I definitely have a few. Wikipedia defines pet peeves as 'a minor annoyance that can instill extreme frustration in an individual. Typically each person has several pet peeves that aggravate her or him more than the average person. Another person may not react as negatively or at all to the same circumstance.'

Most of mine involve driving for some reason...but there you go. My biggest one does revolve around other drivers. Basically, I hate it when other people don't indicate (use their blinkers) to let you know that they are turning. I hate it when I'm driving or when I'm walking (which is all I do over here). Another one is seeing someone talking on a mobile (cell) phone while they are driving. You are putting yourself and others at risk...is it really worth it? But today I came across something even worse...

A guy was in a very small car (I think it was a G-Wiz or Smart Car) with his son. He was at an intersection and attempting to merge. But at the same time, he wasn't talkng on his mobile...no, he was TEXTING...and doing it as he was turning onto a main road. Yes, boys and girls, texting while driving with his young son in the seat next to him while in a tiny vehicle. He was willing to put his son at great risk just to send out a message to someone RIGHT THEN. I wanted a cop to be around to pull him over. I wanted to be able to jump into the car and shake him.

So people - don't pick up you mobile in your car unless it is pulled over and you have the brake on (hand brake to be specific). It's fine if you want to kill or hurt yourself...but don't bring me or any other people into this. It's not our choice. Think.

16 May 2007


Think back to when you were a senior in high school. It was the last month of school. Not many days left to hang with your buddies in the corridors. Teachers are giving out projects knowing that you won't really do your all. You might have an exam to work on. Do you remember how you were feeling about now?

Well...for most of the teachers and admin here, I don't think it is a memory. I think we live it again every single year. Yes. We get senioritis.

I have so much work to do. Organizing for next year while doing things for this year (yes, I'm complaining about it again). But I just don't want to do it. I want to sit and read books. I want to go to the movies. I want to walk around in good weather (not that we have any right now, but I would if it was). And I'm not alone.

I guess some of it (for me) comes from the fact that I have a plan for right after school ends. I am going on a true vacation. And so I just can't wait. I mean, really, it's only four weeks away as of Sunday. So close. And yet...so far.

I can picture it...in my bathing suit (that's not the best picture in reality, but I think of myself as slimmer than I am), drink in hand, sun beating down on my body (which will be covered in SPF 50 by the way) without a care in the world. Who wouldn't have senioritis?!

Just to give you a sense of what I'm picturing in my head...here's a picture or two of the resort:

Yeah...sun, beach, sand, rum....sigh.

15 May 2007

School night

You know you're getting older when it physically hurts to wake up after a night out. Not a boozy night out, just a late night.

I went out with R. to meet up with some friends and to watch some comedy. We went to the Comedy Store in central London. Started the evening with dinner - yummy steaks and a glass of red wine. Then off to the club.

The show was a benefit one for dementia. So it was a mixed bag of comedians - most were smaller acts but others had bigger names. And I had a blast! Of course, having the memory that I do, I can't remember any of the names other than a fellow UKY'er, Elizabeth Kuyper, who did a great job (considering that she doesn't do it often). The guy who was staging the show, I think they are called compiers, did a wonderful job - he got us laughing, kept our attention and just jazzed up the show very well...he was almost as good as the regular guys. I did recognize two guys from commercials...and I think some child's show on t.v. (one of those ones like Nickelodian). Have to admit, it was just good to laugh out loud. Something we all need once in a while.

So I got home later than usual. And unfortunately had to wake up earlier than usual due to a 7:30am meeting. And my body is stiff. Maybe this is my body telling me I need to get more sleep, workout more and eat less. Yeah, probably.

13 May 2007

Lazy

This has been quite the lazy weekend. Friday night we didn't even cook! We went to our favorite burger joint - The Gourmet Burger Kitchen. It's fantastic. Great big ol' burgers with amazing sauces. Yummy chips. Mmmmmm! It was pure laziness, as I could have very easily gone shopping for food...but I decided to go out with my workmates instead to our local pub.

We then attempted to sleep in on Saturday morning, though the light woke me up (which meant that R. also woke up too). So I got up and did a bit of cleaning, while R. made us tea. I decided that I needed some cereal too. We were having guests the next day and I didn't want it to be too gross looking. From the freezer, I took out the lamb we were going to use on Sunday night. And that was the extent of my work for the day.

Around 10am, we headed to Borough Market (which I talked about a bit earlier in my blog) to pick up food for today. We bought some sweets - a few pieces of cake and pie. We bought some savoury - our fav cheese (mmmm, creamy), a chilli pepperoni and breads. And then finally good olive oil and balsamic vinegar (which if you've never had really GOOD stuff...ya gotta try it - it's not like the liquid you get in the grocers). We tasted so many things. A good morning!

In the afternoon, we caught up on 'Lost' episodes, so that we're now up to date. Can't even imagine where they're going to go with that, though I heard their final season will be in 2010, so there will be an ending eventually. With all the twists and turns, it makes me want to watch more. Darn it.

Dinner was just cheese toast. Divine. Not sure if you've ever had cheese toast. It's NOT toasted cheese. So much better I think.

I finally figure out how to deal with the early morning light (UK light comes earlier and stays later than US light). I used the sari fabric from my mandap, folded it over and put it up. And it worked! I slept until 9 frickin' 30! Which for me is a minor miracle. I feel so much better. Now I have to figure out how to make it permanent. And I will. Time for me to start sewing.

I finished cleaning this morning (yes, a step away from laziness) and we prepped the room for our guests. Some light conversation, tea and treats. It was a good visit of some of R's family friends.

And now, here I am. Sitting on my tush, just looking through the internet with abandon. I suppose I might help R cook dinner (lamb curry)...we'll see. I'm not sure it fits in with my idea of being a lady of leisure.

11 May 2007

And it begins with just one step

I walked to work today. Don't know exactly what got into me, but maybe something about not working out, getting heavier and the like. I got up early and was getting ready in my normal way, when I just decided..."I'm not going to the gym this afternoon like I planned (going to pub) so why don't I just walk to work?" And so I went and grabbed my sneakers and took off.

It took me about 50 minutes to get here. Not too bad for a 3-mile or so journey. Didn't want to speed walk too much as I'm not hugely into sweating a ton in my work clothing. But I kept up a decent pace.

The beginning of my walk is through a lovely residential area. I like to dream of winning the lottery and being able to buy one of these houses. They are among the few detached houses in the area and have to be worth a bundle. Definitely not something we could afford. I then began to think about our plan to buy a house in London one day. It's something we've talked about a lot and we're going to have some serious conversations this summer. Realistically, we're going to have to move in with R's parents in order to really save up enough money to have for a really good downpayment and for fees. His flat is probably worth about £250,000 or so, and we could probably get a mortgage that would bring us up to about £350-375,000. So with a ton of money saved, we could easily buy a £400,000 or so house. Now this won't be a stunner of a property - most likely it will need work on it. Or it'll be small. But it will be more than the flat we're in now. But to have to live with your in-laws. Not sure how I'd feel about that. I know it's the norm for Indian families (at least in the not so distant past). We'll see. It would help us to achieve this dream.

As I continued my walk, I headed toward the busy Finchley Road. It's a busy road with shops and people all along it. I was able to continue my fantasy by looking at the type of furnishings I'd want in my dream home. And also what I might want for dinner!

Finally, with slightly tired legs, I arrived at work. I feel that I accomplished something already today. Woo hoo!

10 May 2007

A teaspoon of this...

I love to cook. I find it utterly facinating to try new recipes with new ingredients. I look online, look in cook books...pretty much anywhere that I can find to get ideas. One of my favourite websites is a blog called Nosheteria, which I'm quite certain I've spoken about before. And then there's BBC Food for those recipes that are so British (though I do find more than that there).

I'm still getting used to the ovens over here - remembering what celcius temp is the same as the farenheit one. It's a challenge. And then our teaspoons are not the same as UK ones. But I rarely ever totally follow recipes, so it's not that big a deal.

Next week I'm cooking for my in-laws for the second time. They both tend to like the same old things over and over again. But I want to do something different. I found a recipe (in one of my old cut-out collections) for a spicy thai prawn pasta. I think they'll like the spice while appreciating how different it is from what they normally cook for themselves.

Have to say that it's a bit nerve wracking to cook for two people who have so much influence in our lives. Crazy. But I'll be all ready to try this new recipe. And if it doesn't work...well I'll be sure to have something in the freezer that could be used in a jiffy.

Tonight I'm going to make another pasta dish. I'm thinking something like a plain spagetti with a tomato based sauce with chorizo or perhaps pancetta. Add a chili or something for a touch of spice. Mmmmm...my mouth is watering just thinking about it. What R. likes is that I try to make new things, while he tends to stick with what he knows. That way we do have old favourites regularly (like curries) and still have something new every so often too. I think we'll probably have something simple on Friday and then perhaps find something good at Borough Market for Saturday night. Can't wait!

09 May 2007

Journey

I'm doing well. I've left on time from the house with hair looking okay (forgot to buy mousse but the gel seems to be working) and my bag packed for the afternoon hockey session.

I get to the train station three minutes early. Excellent. Time to walk to my favorite spot where I can do some people watching.

A few of the same people are standing next to me. The black woman in her usual white coat, with platinum blond streaky hair; so put together. The couple who look like they love to gossip, glancing around at their fellow passengers and giggling into shoulders. The business man who is reading the Financial Times and looking harried.

Train arrives on time (what luck). But what I see before me isn't good news. It's packed. People try to get in. No one wants to move down the center aisle of the carriage. You could fit so many more passengers on the train, but no one is willing to move. Come on people. So not fair. I'd move for you. Nope, can't get on anywhere. Several others are left behind too.

I'm not willing to wait the 12 minutes for the next train. No way. Cause it'll probably be the same. What a pain. Should I take the bus? Yes. Walk out of the station and see both buses that I'd normally take drive on by. Not another bus for 10 minutes at least. Damn it.

So I begin to walk. Walk toward my job. It's good exercise I think. I'm wearing trousers and comfy shoes. It won't be a problem. And perhaps I'll catch a bus along the way.

I walk by people waiting for the C-11. They glance at me struggling along with my over sized black work bag and my small pink backpack. Perhaps they are thinking, 'Why aren't you waiting for the bus?'.

On I go. When the heck is the next bus coming? How could I have walked a mile without seeing one? And then it comes. I'm only a quarter of a mile or so from the tube, but I jump on it anyway. Darn traffic. I should have kept walking. It would have taken less time. But I finally make it to the tube. It's also crowded but at least I can make it on the carriage. And whisked to work.

Made it. Time to get busy.

04 May 2007

I'm in charge of what?

Next year is going to be crazy busy. I mean CRAZY busy. I have quite a lot on my plate for work and it'll be interesting to see how it works out. Here's just a little breakdown of what I'm going to be doing:

Counseling - I'll still be the high school counselor. I'll be there to meet for short-term therapy with any of our 450 students. Many of our students who need therapy end up going to someone outside, so I'm more of a support than a serious therapist.

Teaching - I will teach two sections of my Introduction to Psychology class. It's quite a lot of work, but I've handled it okay this year. But I'm going to have to do some summer work to get it totally up to speed.

Peer Advising - I am in charge of this program. Juniors & Seniors meet once every 8-day cycle for 40 minutes with the freshmen. I have to design and run the curriculum, meet with all the advisors at least once a cycle to go over it all. Yeah - it's busy!

Health info - I have to bring someone in to do the alcohol and other drugs education (for Freshmen and Sophomores), I work on trying to educate the students on other health related topics

GSA - I am one of two adult mentors for our Gay Straight Alliance. Next year we're trying to bring in a speaker to work with all the groups in the high school - teachers, faculty and students...with a few workshops for the student leaders. It'll be interesting. I'll be in charge of this.

Coaching - field hockey - I'll do the defense & middle school coaching. It'll be a 5-6 day a week after school job from late August until mid-November. It takes up a lot of time!

9th grade advisory - I am the director of this new program. I have to train the faculty who will be taking part, come up with the curriculum, meet with the 8 faculty regularly to go over the curriculum...it's going to be a HUGE task.

So yeah. I may need to employ some serious stress reduction technques - or else have weekly therapy sessions myself! I can't wait to see what'll happen if I end up getting pregnant...

02 May 2007

A cognitive twist, not shaken or stirred

Recently, in my psychology class, we've been talking about errors in thinking that we all have. Such biases such as the Fundamental Attribution Error or Actor-Observer bias. And these are things we all do. It's wild. And if you try to catch yourself thinking this way...it really blows your mind.

Fundamental attribution error – this is the tendency for people to underestimate situational influences for others behaviour and over estimate personal or internal factors in persons behaviour. We often neglect situations and just look at personality as an explanation. For example...a person you meet at a party acts distant. You assume that the person is either not friendly or is arrogant. What you don't know is that the person just found out that her grandmother died and yet she didn't want to bow out of the party at the last minute. So you attribute how she acts to 'who she is'...whereas it's really about the situation that she's been put in.

Actor-observer bias - this is the tendency to attribute your own behavior to the situation but others person’s behavior to person (internal) causes. We all do this quite regularly. I walk to work on a busy road. Quite often I have to side-step another person coming at me, which causes me to somewhat cut off the person next to me. It's something that I wouldn't normally do, but because of the situation, I have to do it. But sometimes as I'm walking on that same sidewalk, I get cut off...and I get angry at the person for doing it to me. I think, "How rude!". But maybe they were about to be run over by the person heading toward them and had to do what I did just a few minutes earlier. But I attribute their movement to just 'rudeness'.

Then my fav error, that I see in England (and the States) constantly....primarily because my hubby and I are sports fans and players. This one is the self-serving bias...tendency to take credit for our successes (internal for doing well), but we deny responsibility for what we do poorly (external attributes). When my team wins (teams I play for or teams I'm rooting for), it's all about how awesome we were. But when we lose...well it had to be the umpire, or we had injuries, or the conditions just weren't fair.

How many of you will catch your cognitive errors today? I know I've already seen a few in my day...

01 May 2007

Flying time

Wow. It's already May. Can't believe it. The school year is flying. We have only 6-1/2 weeks left until graduation. My dad's school in the States only has about 3 or 4. And then it'll be time for vacation - OUR HONEYMOON!

In between all of this I have tons to do. As a school counselor I run a Peer Advising program and I have to interview all the candidates. We usually take about 24 or so. These kids teach a once a cycle seminar on how to adjust to the high school to 9th graders. It's a cool program...but I am in charge of it and our 9th grade advisory...which means that I also have to develop all the coursework and sessions that go with both programs.

It's also the start of cricket season. This year R. isn't taking part, he's retiring after several years of professional and non-pro cricket. I, on the other hand, will be getting revved up for my 3rd season of playing. It's very strange to be an American playing this sport. But I seem to be decent...this year I'm hoping to make the competitive team instead of the developmental team, but it's a long shot. I have to improve both my bowling (which is like pitching) and my batting. Especially my batting as that seems to be my core strength.

And then there's working out, going to my in-laws at least once a week, trying to keep the flat clean, teaching a new topic in my Psychology course (which means hours of prep each day/night)...yeah there's a lot going on.

So...when am I going to get time to go shopping for a bikini?