aw man
Then I read
this and all was forgiven:
January 27, 2005
I hate running flattering e-mails from readers, but I couldn't resist running this one -- the coolest e-mail I've received in a long time. And yes, I gave him my address. From time to time, I'll hear from a reader stuck fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan or somewhere else, and I always e-mail them the same thing -- "Stay safe out there." I hope they all come back sooner than later.
Anyway, here's the e-mail:
Sports Guy,
Just wanted to say thank you. I'm part of a five-man humvee unit somewhere in northern Iraq. All of us are sports fans (I'm a huge Sox and Patriots fan, Springfield, Mass, and one crappy Yankees fan). We have one computer (I'm the nerd) and every morning the first thing we do is setup our wireless connection and check Page 2. All of the articles are great but the one we love is yours. Everyday we get a chance to read you it makes it feel a little closer to home. We appreciate it. My wife sends your articles through regular mail in case we miss one which is often. I know I already said it but thanks again. I talked to my superiors and got the OK for this: If you can give an address to wherever we can send it we have an American flag from our humvee and an official unit patch wed like to send you. We want to make you an honorary member of our unit The Seahawks. Any little thing we can do to let you know how much we appreciate you and the Intern. Thanks, man. Time to go, another day, take care and God Bless the Red Sox.
Sgt Furr, Justin DNCOIC Unit 54United States Marine Corps
"Some people spend their whole lives wondering whether ore not they made a difference in life, the Marines do not have that problem"-- President Ronald Reagan
robbed by da man
Dude, I was all set to come here and do a week round up post, but I stopped to read espn.com (Sports Guy's
mailbag to be specific) first and this happened:
Q: You wrote in your last mailbag, "Can you remember a better foursome in one conference than the Steelers, Pats, Colts and Chargers? Even the Best Picture category in the 1995 Oscars wasn't that loaded." Please tell me you were referring to the 1994 Oscars with such classics as, "Pulp Fiction", "Forrest Gump", "Shawshank Redemption", and "Quiz Show". And not 1995 with such films as "Babe", "Sense and Sensibilty"and "Il Postino."--Jordan K., Hastings, MN
SG: You're right, I referenced the wrong year. (Thumping chest.) My bad, my bad. (End thumping chest.) While we're here, we have a soap opera channel, a game show channel, a sitcom channel ... why hasn't anyone launched an awards show channel yet? Who wouldn't watch edited telecasts of the 1977 Oscars with Travolta and Stallone, or Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas gunning for a 1985 Emmy? You're telling me this wouldn't grab more viewers than Trio did?
ROBBED! I wrote to the Sports Guy about that one. That totally sucks. I feel denied. It's almost enough to not be happy it's Friday.
Nah. I'm pretty happy it's Friday. Wrap up later...
nothing much
Oscar nominations are out. Sean and I are fighting about whether Jamie Foxx'll get it (I say he'll get snubbed) .
My W2 came today. woohoo.
and here's a new quiz for ya (seriously, I need to get some work done...)
You Are a Warrior Soul |
You're a strong person and sometimes seen as intimidating.
You don't give up. You're committed and brave.
Truly adventuresome, you are not afraid of going to battle.
Extremely protective of loved ones, you root for the underdog.
You are picky about details and rigorous in your methods.
You also value honesty and fairness a great deal.
You can be outspoken, intimidating, headstrong, and demanding.
You're a hardliner who demands the best from themselves and others.
Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul
|
holy crap
I couldn't leave without this random link:
Talk about bad timing... I'm a Yankees fan and I feel horrible for this guy. I just can't even imagine.
(FYI - for those of you who don't know, Bill Simmons is my favorite sports writer despite his appaling loyalty to Boston)
flat stuff
First of all, I have done extensive research and study and have come to the final conclusion that boys suck. Don't even try to argue. You know it's true.
Moving on, as I walked to work today, it occurred to me I haven't actually written about London in a LONG time. Lots of random posts, yes, but no London. So, here's some flat news:
As you know, I've moved again. My new flat is a 15-minute walk to work (instead of a 2-minute walk) in a neighborhood called Angel. Angel is full of restaurants and bars and movie theaters and very young professional. Think... West Village (NY) (no East Village punks - that's Camden) or Hillcrest (CA) minus the rainbow factor. Well, not really Hillcrest, but I can't think of a better example. It's right by a tube stop and a busy bus route. Here's a picture:
I live in the very upper-left corner in that row of houses that looks like a zipper. Angel, is basically off the map up to the north. Again, clever people can go to
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/ and enter EC1V 4NN as the post code.
The house has 4 floors. The ground floor has the kitchen and a sitting room and a laundry room that opens up to our backyard and a little bathroom. The 1st floor (remember we're in Europe - the 1st floor is one flight up, not the ground floor) has the living room where we all hang out, the main bathroom and one of the bedrooms. The 2nd floor has two more bedrooms, including mine. The 3rd floor has two more bedrooms and a bathroom that they share. If you've lost count, that's 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms.
My room is huge. I have a double bed with drawers and two little closets and a clothes rack, a desk and chair, a bookshelf, and a faux (now) fireplace with a mantel. Unfortunately, I also have the main fire alarm bell, so smoky cooking makes me very grumpy. I face the street (loud) but have a nice view of a church and its yard and excellent curtains that keep out most the light. Pictures whenever I get around to unpacking.
My flatmates are very nice. There's two guys and two girls (and a visiting brother for a little while). They're all from the UK and all professionals, but one of the girls just moved to London for the first time and is still exploring and one of the girls is moving out soon and a new girl from Spain will be moving in. I haven't met her yet.
Anyways, I haven't got much work done while I've been typing this, so I better go, but I hope that tides you over for a bit. Come visit. I'm thinking about buying a blow-up mattress.
oh for pete's sake
Which is worse: crap tv without outrageous censorship and loads of commercials or good tv that freaks out at the littlest thing and makes TiVO a basic need? Read this:
Gained in translation.
quiz #...3?
You Are 28 Years Old |
28
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.
13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!
40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.
|
So I guess I act a whopping 7 months older than I am. Woah.
what movie are you?
I'm too tired to think, but here's a random quiz to go along with my
earlier "which author's fiction are you?" post.
remembering June
My wonderful bonus grandmother passed away last week and my dad has built a lovely page commemorating her:
June Ludwin. The service is this Thursday and I'll be flying out tomorrow, back on Saturday (landing Sunday morning). She was a lovely person who will be very missed.
new words & tsunami pics
I still haven't uploaded my pictures from vacation. I'll do it soon, I swear. Also, I emailed y'all my new address. So let me know if you didn't get it. Anyways, I can't stick around but I have two interesting links for you today:
happy new year!
And, well, it's about time I get my blog back up to snuff. So here's a lengthy post, starting with catching you up on what's happened since my last real post up to when I left for vacation:
November (
has it been that long?):
First of all, congrats to Dad & Vicki and Mike & Georgene who had their anniversaries, happy birthday, Mike!, and happy turkey day. I basically spent the second half of November working my butt off preparing for a conference and looking for a new apartment. I did manage to make it out a few times, however, and took a couple pictures for you guys:
The Underground:
The river at night:
Thanksgiving was ok. Some very nice people at work went out to lunch with me and I had chicken. But again, November was basically a wash.
December:
If I thought November was bad, I should have waited for December. The conference went really well but that week was just horrendously busy. We also did a ton of 2005 planning. That made the next two weeks all catch-up work, which I have even more of facing me today. Which means I basically have to go before I can write about the holiday. Also, I've got to upload the pics, but here's one more of a pub we get lunch in sometimes called the Waterside:
I gots to go, but I'll leave you with a random link to an
article from Business Week:
Resting with the Fish -- Forever
Eternal Reefs aims to give the ashes of your cremated loved ones a dignified home on the ocean floor in a way that gives back to nature
I actually think this is a pretty cool idea. Might be fun to be a fish home.
