Thursday, August 30, 2007

In contrast...

...to my usual once-a-month epics, I'm here only to encourage the use of fountain pens. After reading an article about them I decided this semester wouldn't be complete without the revival of a classic. Little did I know that it would be a) so hard to find a fountain pen for less than $10, in a market place dominated by gel pens and such, and b) so rewarding, to the extent that the visual buffet that are my cursive notes have motivated me into blogging action.

It makes writing fun again; and I'm a person who enjoys a bit of handwriting, in contrast to the hideous impersonality of the humble keyboard, (mum I bet you're reminiscing about arguments with Mr. Williams about my joined up letter 'f', how times change : ).

While I'm here, big Dan Ireland had requested an update on Yahoo! projects which I can now dutifully provide:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teamranker
http://fantasysports.yahoo.com/ochome

And more to follow soon. In other news I think my metabolism has left me - I now plan a day around napping and resting:

Friday, August 10, 2007

A year in the life...

Full Color Version
On the 4th of August 2006, I left Manchester airport on a chilly Friday morning, bound for Los Angeles via Philadelphia to embark on the most adventurous and eagerly anticipated years of my life. A year on, it seems appropriate for a review of the year in an attempt to capture some of the wonderful things I might not have recorded elsewhere. I’d better begin with the motivation behind this crazy relocation idea:

Madeline – After a couple of months living together I realized that I’d never actually asked Madeline if she wanted to live with me, less still asked her to leave her family in beautiful Encinitas.

Madeline

One of my fondest Durham memories (certainly my favorite (only) Durham University Library memory) was receiving my acceptance email from SFSU, and spending a solid hour trying to get Vodaphone to allow me to make international calls. Finally, hot, sweaty and angry with every telecom company in the country, the call connected and everything else faded into insignificance as the very though of our future began to sink in. She seemed excited so I thought it best not to ask too many questions…

Madeline has been my sugar momma for almost 12 months, and has spent 2 years moving around the world (Durham and San Francisco) so that we could be together. Last Thursday was her last day in her current job and role as sugar momma. She joins me at SFSU at the end of August to finally earn the teaching credential she’s known she’s wanted most of her life. I’ll get a chance to pay for some stuff as I continue living the dream in Silicon Valley, working for Yahoo! Sports.

Looking back, I’ve tried quite a few things for the first time since being in the land of opportunity. Here comes a much more reader friendly bulleted list!

Sports

  • Watched an American football game – San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles, at Monster Park with Pearly et al.
Monster Park

  • Watched numerous college basketball games including Cal vs. Furman with Paddy and Katie and Cal vs. Stanford with Emilie and Kelly as part of the Sixth Man Club
  • Played rugby for a non-English based team, namely, Berkeley RFC
  • Watched a surprising amount of baseball, as long ago as preseason and as recently as last Thursday, mostly the Giants but one game at MaCaffe Stadium for the A’s courtesy of my sister, with my parents.
  • Joined my first cricket team, and played games 3 through 7 of my career with mixed success
  • Joined a flag football team with Madeline and Emilie – the least organized fun you can have on a Saturday afternoon
  • Played soccer (football) on a massive outdoor soccarena surface
  • Surfed and bodyboarded a little, but only in the relative warmth of San Diego – claim I caught my first real wave on the body board
  • Held and fired a gun for the first time – would fancy my chances against any opponent so long as they weren’t armed, were predominantly orange, and at a range of approx. 20 feet…stationary
  • Played softball in a real game – stuck out both innings
  • More recently got to first base – panicked and got out
  • Played/kicked some ass in paintball – honestly amazing fun
  • Drove a gokart, and entered a hairpin bend so fast that all four tires gave up trying to grip the road
  • Played bocce ball – like crown green bowls, but Italian and without the dangerous white trouser, green grass combo

Miscellaneous

  • Witnessed a wedding proposal!
  • Watched an open air movie
  • Was asked to attend tryouts to the cities LGBTA Cheerleading squad
  • Had an academically perfect year
  • Took a biology class
  • Owned a laptop
  • Didn’t go into an exam hoping for a pass, and longing for 60%

Visitors – A wonderful feature of the English education system is how people are positively encouraged to get deeper into debt by traveling for 3-9-12 months, possibly saving the world, or maybe just accumulating gap year beads. Madeline and I are lucky enough to have myriad of wonderful friends who took just that leap following 3/4 hellish years in Durham.

Sometimes exhausting, sometimes unexpected (Jones), but always welcome, cared for, and sadly missed when the visit ends, these people have kept us both happy and busy over the past 12 months:

Pearly – arrived with 5 school friends and set an extremely high bar to which other visitors would be measured. We were still living south of the city, and were just finding our feet in the city, but if that wasn’t the case, we’d never have come home to find them asleep in the wrong apartment. A return visit is a must, particularly now I understand baseball. A 3 day Padres series at AT&T Park sounds perfect.

David – Having completed camp America on the East coast, David was burnt out on traveling, but still found the energy for some intensive tour bus action.

Paddy and tickle – finally settled in the city, and nearing the end of my first semester, P and T big manned those idiots who do Christmas shopping in New York by going all the way and doing it at the Eagle in SF. They joined me on the inaugural Sonoma wine tour, which was quieter than expected for 2 days before xmas!

Paddy and I

AJ and Helen – Had spent forever in South America and arrived mid way through their “tick the box” trip, in much need of civilization – flushing toilets and water which didn’t kill you. Some wonderful times were had: a limo trip to Sonoma, a manly jaunt in Muir woods and some hard core beer/vodka pong.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Dave and Amy – just after AJ and Helen left, deep into spring semester mid term exams, I received a very cheery voicemail from Fiji announcing the impending arrival of D and A. Thankfully they got screwed over by flights and were stuck in LA (the Hilton!) for an extra night which gave Madeline and I a chance to clean the apartment and study! A wonderful trip including a morning at the shooting range (Amy was terrifyingly good) and an evening of wine fueled scooter riding through Golden Gate Park!

Dave and Amy

My parents – Dave and Amy left and the following Monday my mum and dad arrived. IT was wonderful showing them where we lived, worked and played, although the weather wasn’t quite up to par. A night in Sonoma, attempting to have fun in Santa Cruz and Muir Beach were notable highlights. Also drove around Yahoo! for the first time and went for a wonderful Italian meal in North Beach.

Mum, Dad and Madeline

Bean, Frances and Pete – Bean and Pete had been taking on the world, including a month in a camper van in New Zealand, and Frances flew in specially to meet up with them for a few weeks on the West coast. They stayed with us for a few days leading up to the start of my placement with Yahoo! then went to Yosemite, and then came back for a big Durham reunion with Dan, Simon and Katie. After some wine tasting, beer garden sitting and Cat club action, they headed south for some surfing in San Diego and gambling in Vegas!

Dan – Gets his own section because of his early arrival, a full 6 hours before Simon and Katie. In that time we went to Twin Peaks to view the city at night! Dan was possibly the most enthusiastic pro-American visitor, amazed with everything from clothing at the Eagle, to the auto pumps at the gas stations.

Simon and Katie – We suspected this would just be Katie, guessing that Simon would have been killed, lost or sold in South America. Their arrival was much anticipated and their visit in cooperation with Dan was truly special. Katie said her favorite things from the 2 weeks were dancing at Top of the Mark and the beach – both were done without Dan...

Phew!

The wonderful feeling of anticipation which proceeds ever visit is soon to be replaced by a big hole in our lives as everyone returns to working for the man. The notable exceptions to this rule are my sisters, Melanie (September) and Mandy (with Dave sometime in the New Year).

And that’s it! It goes without saying that return visits and first time visits are aggressively encouraged. Here’s to another year in the best city in the world – it’s exciting to wonder how many more firsts there will be this year!

Good luck to everyone heading to London to start new lives this Fall, and more power to those continuing in the big smoke!

Music

Plain white T’s – Hey There Delilah
Pants Pants Pants - http://www.myspace.com/pantspantspants
Editors – Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors (Still)
Arctic Monkeys – Everything because I’m going to see them in September
Guillemots (are having a reprise in my life) – Trains to Brazil
Arcade Fire – still amazing
Ben Folds – discovered through Pandora and loving his stuff
Bob Dylan – An obsession which grows daily

Movies

No Direction Home – Documentary/Film about the life of Bob Dylan
No Control – Biographical film about the life and death of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division before they became New Order
Bowling for Columbine – We saw Fahrenheit 9/11 recently and liked it