Quiet Cambridge Christmas

The streets of Cambridge were devoid of cars and bicycles from Christmas Eve through Boxing Day, 26 Dec. M* and I spent the 2 1/2 days baking (gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and gluten-free version of Grandma Welling's butter cookies), attending midnight mass at Our Lady of English Martyrs Church (a Gothic revival church built in the 1880s that gives the impression of having more seating than in actuality-arriving 40 minutes before the service afforded us standing room and the pleasure of being bumped by the constant stream of new arrivals-good thing for a nice priest, a well-trained choir, an impressive (but sometimes a bit too dark) organ, and mass interspersed with familiar Christmas songs ('Silent Night, Holy Night', 'O Come all ye Faithful', 'God rest ye Merry Gentlemen,' and 'Hark the Herald angels sing')), cooking (roast chicken; a Mexican breakfast including homemade Mexican black beans; cock-a-leekie soup; lentil soup; a Christmas dinner of salad, ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts), eating (everything we cooked!), walking (around the deserted streets of Cambridge), sleeping (until 9, 10 or 11am as sunrise is not until 8am and then no streams of sunlight to wake you) and watching movies (double feature of 007 (first Bond movie that either of us had seen in theatre, and it didn't disappoint) and Borat (I only watched about a half of the movie as my face was buried in M*'s shoulder due to the gut-wrenching uncomfortableness of the comedy)) at the Arts Picturehouse (a theatre with a broad selection of ever-changing movies and a fully stocked bar).

M* and I had wanted to start a Christmas tradition; we decided gaming on Christmas would work. I rarely want to game one-on-one with M* because he's too competitive for my liking. However, by the time we finished cooking and cleaning it was late, and we ended up snuggled under our duvet watching a few episodes of season two of the BBC comedy (or is it terror?) series "League of Gentlemen" capped off with a classic "Strangers With Candy" episode, Feather in the Storm. Not sure if this is going to become our Christmas tradition.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas Day walk.
Kings College, me hanging from a tree in front of Kings College (my head is not that conical--it's the hat--really it is), a lone punt on the Cam in front of Trinity College, ducks taking advantage of quiescent punts

Welcome Tristan Oliver Kraemer

M* and I became uncle and aunt on 23 December. M*'s sister Hallie and her husband Ralf are now parents of a healthy baby boy-Tristan Oliver Kraemer. We're anxiously awaiting photos!

28 Dec--Here are a few pictures!

11 Dec 2006

The river is quiet. The leaves have fallen.

Overheard

*"I don't think you can ever know enough languages."-young college boy walking through the market square with a friend. Reminded me of something my friend James once asked me: "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" I answered something obvious like the power of flight. His choice was the universal translator-the power to understand and speak all languages. I still think it's one of the best super powers out there (yet to be discovered).

*A woman asking to go ahead of two other people in line at Staples. Granted she had only one item, but the other people only had two or three. The people actually let her. I just don't see that happening in the States-at least not in LA.

Things I Like: Grammar Girl Podcast

Short podcasts to fill in the (many) gaps in my grammar education delivered with silly examples: "Where's the snail race at?"-showing misuse of preposition when there is no direct object. Check out her web site or sign-up at iTunes.

Topics include
Is it OK to end a sentence with a preposition?
"Among" versus "between" and "toward" versus "towards."
Have you used a redundant acronym lately?
Is it OK to end a sentence with a preposition?

Good Mexican Food in London

Went down to London last week as M* had another meeting and our friend Andy was in town from DC. I took a later train than M* and walked from Liverpool Station through Shoreditch (stopped at a cool shop, EllaDoran, on Chesire Street) down over the Tower Bridge to the Design Museum London (saw a piece of work by artist Philip Worthington that reminded me of my friend Tyler's media installations, which he's creating during his graduate work at UCLA) and, finally, back over to meet M* by the London Eye. Since it was getting dark, we skipped the London Eye and walked over to Victoria Station and grabbed a drink while we waited for Andy to finish up work (Andy was a good sport to try Mexican food in England-his exact words, "I am a bit skeptical...though I don't ever tire of Mexican food!").

There is not an established history of Mexican cuisine here-one can barely locate corn tortillas and then it's usually hard, Old El Paso taco shells. Since M* and I have been craving Mexican food, I thought that maybe I'd learn to make tortillas, and I found the Mexican restaurant Taqueria online while Googling "tortilla presses UK." The restaurant has an online store, Cool Chile Co, that sells spice mixes, dried chilis, tortilla presses and more. The menu-with the al pastor, mole poblano, poblanas-resembled that of our favorite Mexico City style Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles-Loteria Grill at the Farmer's Market.

The three of us were not disappointed. We each had four tacos (al pastor was my favorite), beans, rice and mango sorbet for dessert. I also bought Achiote paste, smoky hot powder, dried epazote and tomatillo salsa. The only surprise was the expense-$90 for M* and me! I don't think it's possible to spend that much if you order the entire Loteria menu. We decided not to worry about the bill, as our bellies, mouths and taste buds were entirely satiated. Now back in Cambridge, I'd happily pay $45 for such quality Mexican food.


photos (top to bottom): Tower of London; view of Tower Bridge, Thames and Swiss Re Building from the Design Museum London; Design Museum Tank; shelving designed by Viable at the Design Mart at DML; Big Ben and Houses of Parliament (both at 3:15pm)

First Christmas Mistletoe

3,500 Files and Counting

Just spent four hours sorting through the 3,500 image files that I recovered from my directory-less external hard drive. It was a fun, although slightly mind-numbing and carpal-tunnel inducing, experience-the unexpected trip down memory lane. The images are in fine shape, but were in a bizarre order and had uninformative names like J1067x1600-00827.jpg. Odd how I'd be looking at photos from our trip to Belize in 2005 or Halloween 2003 and a photo like this would pop-up in the middle (click on the photo for a better look).

Amy, Amy Everywhere

I look like a lot of women. People always tell me that I look like someone they know or they think that they know me from somewhere. My brother-in-law sent me a photo about three years ago; it was of a woman getting on or off a bus in the 1960s. He was going through the photos for work, and he said he asked himself, "What is Amy doing on this bus- in the 1960s?"

Last week Matt was reading the NY Times online and there was a thumbnail image from a movie. He said, "There's Amy on the NY Times." I looked over, and I did a double-take. There are photos from a few years ago where I'm wearing an orange top where the resemblance is strong. What do you think?









Paz Vega in 10 Items or Less











KCRW Angel Party 2002- Jess, me and Catherine

First Christmas Stocking

Although there is little incentive to go all out for Christmas, as anything we buy will most likely stay here and the cost is prohibitively high, I thought we should be a little festive on our first Christmas together as a married couple. Christmas lights are bought and on their way to being hung. I also couldn't resist this fun, colorful and sweet stocking that I saw at EllaDoran last week in London.

Amalgamation of Smells

M* was browning bacon for a corn chowder recipe while my fragrant apple cinnamon cake baked in the oven below. Smell of cinnamon and apples-yummy. Aroma of cooking bacon-mmmm. An amalgamation of the three-unusual. I will say that savory won out in the end; as soon as the apple cinnamon cake was done, a chicken rubbed with fresh rosemary, garlic, pepper and thyme and stuffed with more rosemary and onions went in the oven.





(M* making corn chowder. Luckily he finds cooking an enjoyable way to spend a study break.)

Roman Holiday

We're leaving in six days!

Club Fabric--Friday, 12 Jan, 2007

Got our tickets--yeahhhhhhhhhhh!

Event: FabricLive

ANNIE MAC PRESENTS: Mylo (DJ Set), ANNIE MAC (Radio 1), Calvin Harris (LIVE), Rachel Barton, Tom Boy, PROTOTYPE: Grooverider, DJ Hype, Bryan G, Bailey, Blame, MCs: Fun, FIve ALive & Justyce, SOUL:UTION: Marcus Intalex, Doc Scott, Martyn, MC DRS

A New Tornado Alley?

No, London is not Kansas, but a tornado did touch down there today. Freaky--especially as we were just in LDN yesterday, less than two miles from where it touched down. Click here for more info.

Things I Like: Organic Vegetable Delivery

Since mid-November we have been receiving weekly organic vegetable deliveries from the Cambridge Organic Food Company. For £9.50 we get potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms every week. Then we also get a mixture of other veggies, which changes each week. These pieces and fillers, as they are called, have consisted of fennel, chard, leeks, butternut squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, cucumbers and garlic. We even got a free 1/2 dozen eggs. The price is fair, but the quality is high and the deliver is convenient. Plus, I probably would not have bought fennel root (I didn't even know what it was when it arrived--I had to email them and attach a photo), parsnips, turnips or the squash. Aren't the veggies pretty?

(the little one is the fennel that I thought was a type of celery root)

Things I Don't Like: Small Bags Of Chocolate Chips

I just don't get it. The largest bag of chocolate chips that I've been able to find at the supermarket is 3.5 ounces. A bag of chips in the US is at least 12 and normally 14 ounces. Why go through all the trouble of baking for only 20 cookies? I just might have to special order from the Chocolate Trading Company. $16 for 36 ounces - but I'm desperate.

Things I Like: Google Calculator

Just go to Google search and enter conversion you'd like to have. I use this all the time in the UK to find the metric equivalent of imperial/ US units, especially for recipes and temperature.

Here's more info from Google and one of my examples showing the ever falling US Dollar to British Pound exchange Rate:

The US Dollar Ain't What It Used To Be

Ouch! From the NY Times article on 30 Nov:
"the pound climbed to $1.9661 in afternoon New York trading from $1.9462 late Wednesday in New York, marking its strongest showing against the dollar since September 1992, before Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism."

Is it so wrong to pray for another crash? I'd take a mini one.

Mylo and Annie Mac at Fabric on Jan 12

Just found out Mylo and Annie Mac will be at Fabric on Jan 12. Hopefully the delightful and energetic Jessica will want to venture down to London with me, as M* has finals. I must go.

Things I Like: Mylo Sitting In For Pete Tong

Mylo sitting in for Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 last Friday, Nov 24. It's only archived until tomorrow night, when Pete returns. I'm thinking of adding Mylo to my Killer Party DJ Wish List. Currently the party is set in Belize, but that could change.

Tracklisting:
19:00
Mason – ‘Exceeder’ (Boss Records)
Eric Prydz – ‘Proper Education (Daft Remix)’ (Data / Positiva)
>Roxy Music – ‘Same Old Scene (Glimmers Remix)’ (Mute)
Mylo – ‘Paris Four Hundred (As We Fall Remix)’ (Breastfed)

The Weekend Shuffle
Depeche Mode – ‘Just Can’t Get Enough (Dirty South Remix)’ (Mute)
Roger Sanchez – ‘Lost (D Ramirez Remix)’ (Stealth)
DJ Shadow – ‘This Time (I’m Going To Do It My Way)’ (Island)
Klaxons – ‘Gravity’s Rainbow (Van She Remix)’ (Meron)
Moby – ‘Go (Vitalic Remix)’ (Mute)

One For The Weekend – Annie Mac
Nicky Van She & Dangerous Dan – ‘Around The World Again’ (Bang Gang Records)
Rio – ‘Race Is Set (Part 2)’ (White Label)
Booka Shade – ‘Darko (Booka Funk’s Da Funk Mix)’ (Get Physical)

Tiefschwarz on the phone
>
Tomboy – ‘Flamingo (Tomboy’s Ta-Ram Mix)’ (Gomma)
Antenna – ‘Camino Del Sol (Joakin Remix)’ (White Label)
This Weeks Essential New Tune
TJ Korg & Nino Dos Santos – ‘Circus Bells’ (Compost Black)

20:00
Freeform 5 – ‘No More Conversations (Switch Remix)’ (Fine Records)
Justin Martin – ‘The Fugitive’ (Buzzin Fly)
Leopold Gregori – ‘Pigeon Dance’ (L&V)

DJ Yoda on the phone
Eris – ‘Pitch & Hold’ (Love Triangle Music)

Annie Mac In The Studio
Greg Churchill – ‘Shock Rocket’ (Gung-Ho)
Franz & Shape – ‘The Man Who Played Before’ (Relish)
Eclectic Selection
Squarepusher – ‘Hello Meow’ (Warp)
TTC – ‘Telephone’ (Big Dada)

Essential Hot Mix
>Herbert – ‘Moving Like A Train (Smith & Hack Remix)’ (K7 Records)
Robbie Williams – ‘Love Light (Soulwax Ravelight Dub)’ (EMI)
Digitalism – ‘Zdarlight (Paranoid Asteroid Remix)’ (Kitsune)
Metric – ‘Monster Hospital (Mstrkrft Remix)’ (Metric)
Surkin – ‘Radio Fireworks’ (Institubes)

November 29 - Pictures

Sun setting, long shadows at 3:15pm.

Backup Your External Hard Drive

While I definitely love the aesthetic of my MacBook, I can't say that I think it's a better machine. There have been a few issues such as quirky battery life, compatability with certain software, the way iPhoto saves imported images in three places and doesn't let you view and chose images before importing them, and it's not recognizing male/female connected headsets. That's all I can think of right now.

My big issue is it's firewire bugginess. I was playing iTunes off the computer on Sunday night, and the majority of my music files were on my Seagate external hard drive. Well, I was in the other room and the battery ran out. I forgot that I had the external hard drive on, and I turned my computer back on after plugging it in. Turns out that my directory on my external hard drive was most likely overwritten. The MacBook wouldn't mount the hard drive, and it showed up as an unformatted drive on M*'s PC. I felt so ill. Almost of all of my music and all of my photos are on that external hard drive.

After much online research, I downloaded Data Rescue II as a trial and I saw all of my files. I was able to recover one file for free, and luckily the jpg was not corrupted. The only thing is that all the file names are gone. For pictures this is fine, as most were some variation of untitled. As for my music - well the thought of going through 5,000 songs and naming them just makes me sick (especially I can't identify half of them). I did read that even if the name is gone, the mp3 files should contain metadata with the song info. We'll see. It's my fault for not backing up my precious external hard drive. I've just bought one (luckily for the same price as in the States), and once it arrives, I'll recover my files using Data Rescue II (I'll buy it) to the new drive. I can send the old drive off to Seagate, and see if they can recover the file names. Usually they charge a $50 assessment fee, but since I'm sending it to their new Amsterdam facility, the fee is waived.

So, all will be ok in time. I've learned my lesson. Oh, the new hard drive is USB only. I'm not chancing the firewire connection. Apple even changed their iPod to connect via USB vs. firewire. Guess I should have suspected something.

Sarah Wigglesworth- Sustainable Solutions Lecture

I've been hoping to find a way to volunteer or partake in some training related to sustainable building or farming. I know that it's trendy right now to be concerned with such things, but I do believe that there is some career in these areas that I would be happy pursuing when we settle somewhere after M* is done school. Since I have the time now, thought it would be good to follow through with this. It did take me a bit of online research to find some opportunities. One is with the group Shape East which is located in Cambridge and "aims to engage the public in the issues affecting the local built environment. Shape East’s programme includes workshops, interactive events, exhibitions, talks, training and on-line resources."

They hosted a lecture last night, which I attended, by architect Sarah Wigglesworth (ok, her name makes me giggle because my sister calls her dog, Chester, "Mr Pigglesworth," and I always think of that). She came across as passionate, energetic, educated and, above all, creative. All of her work is not sustainable, which she attributed in part to clients' desire to be more focused on cost than design and sustainability. In response to a question, she touted legistlation as the only way to get people to focus on sustainability and design. The American in me just thought, "Oh God that's the last thing you want. Governement=good, sustainable design regardless of cost? I just don't see it." Afterwards I realized that it was just the way that she couched her response in the idea that cost shouldn't be the main focus. It was a reminder of how pre-fab has become a wealthy person's domain. I didn't want to hear that sustainability and good design can only exist in absence of a tight budget. That just sounded so classist. However, she never said that good design had to cost a lot, just that it would not often be the cheapest bid. Also, she did point out that sustainable buildings often do cost more up front but end up saving money in the long term through reduced energy costs.

Her overall philosophy appealed to me. She does a lot research about and for her clients, and has an artistic, creative sensibility in terms of seeing the connection between design and expected use. A number of her projects have incorporated ideas inspired by artists and she has collaborated with artists on a few projects. She made me laugh when she described the supports that she used for her project know as "The Straw House." It was the 1990s, and she was tired of architects being into minimalism - skinny design is how I think she termed it. So as a statement, they made these very large supports made from discarded concrete.

Another thing that I really liked about her - she used great words such as diaphanous and detritus that I rarely see written and almost never hear used in conversation.

I'm suppose to be in touch with Shape East this week to learn more about volunteer opportunities. Hopefully something interesting will come of it.

Native Americans Performing on Sidney Street

I should always carry my camera. On Sidney Street this afternoon, there were three Native Americans in traditional dress performing music, which I also assume was traditional. Lots of people perform in this area of downtown Cambridge, but it just struck me as odd that I'd never seen Native Americans perform in such a fashion in the US.

November Rain

cue the g n' r

Brea and Titchou

Spent three weeks visiting family/friends in the DC area in October. I also got to spend time with our friendly, beautiful cats that we cannot bring over to the UK. We thought that we could bring them over in February - as we went through the DEFRA Pet Passport protocol. However, our furnished flat - no furnished flat we looked at- would allow pets. After 6 1/2 years of being greeted by them as soon as I walk in the door, coming home is a lonely experience. Luckily my mom graciously stepped up and is happily looking after them. They have more room, more sunlit window perches at her place than back in LA. They've adjusted better than we have to the switch. They did sleep with me every night in DC, and they were happy to pose for a few photos.

D&D on the Cambridge Green

M* and I took a walk through Grantchester Meadows yesterday, and we happened upon demons lying in wait. While visible to us, I guess the archers and maiden who were passing by must have missed the black cloaked, masked baddies. Once passed, the demons made their move. One of the doomed humans shouted, "Look behind you," but it was too late. They were captured.

Never saw anything quite like this in LA, but Cambridge provides a more appropriate bucolic setting.

The rest of our walk was uneventful. We made it to the safety of the Red Lion pub and enjoyed our beer, wine and chips in peace.

A Quick Trip London

Ventured down to London so M* could meet with an entrepreneur that my dad knows, and the lovely fellow took M* to a conference on RFID where he was a guest speaker. We stayed two nights, and I bought tickets on lastminute.com to see Bent with Alan Cumming at the Trafalgar Studios. I'm a fan of Mr. Cumming and he did not disappoint, although M* thought it took him a little bit to warm up. We then ate dinner at Thai Square which was on another spoke of the wheel of streets that is Trafalgar Square. It was fine, but the best thing is that it was open as we were starving and it was 10:30pm. The woman who came around with the credit card machine looked like a Thai Barbie, as she was wearing an almost-perfect replica of Ms B's classic pink satin dress.

While M* was attending the conference, I walked from Shepherds Bush to Kensington. Along Kensington High Street, I saw something that almost made me dash madly across the street: a Whole Foods sign. It wasn't until a car moved out of the way that I saw the remaining bit of info: early 2007. It'll be the first one in the UK. It's just another reason to take advantage of those £5 train fares from Cambridge to London.

Above are a few photos of Kensington and Hyde Parks. My favorite is the coon (the black bird with the white bill) sequence. Coons will completely disappear under water to dive for food--reminded me of the cormorants from Wachapreague.

I Love Diplo

Just signed up for his podcast - Mad Decent Radio. He rocks.

Sep 26 - Pictures on my way home

I try and tote my camera around with me - but too often I leave it at home. Luckily I had it with me today - when the cows started moseying down the path in my direction.

Loves - bacon and donkeys

Shawn, quite a foodie, sent me the transcripts of "Life on the Farm." It's a short audio segment on KUSP hosted by Andrew Griffin of Mariquita Farm, and it's about - well, life on the farm. Shawn wrote, "My food-writer friend sent this to me. All of the items are good but scroll down and check out the pork one at the bottom."

"I was invited to a pot luck barbeque so I brought a goat. Another guest brought a pig. As the animals turned on the spit a crowd gathered to take in the spectacle. The laymen were impressed, but there were a number of professional chefs present and they fell to murmuring. And there was something odd to behold; the goat was fatter than the pig!"
....
"Traditionally, a spit roasted pig bastes itself as the carcass turns over the heat, but this animal had no fat to render. The professional chefs present among the guests began asking each other the kinds of questions that some small scale livestock producers might like to
answer like, "where can we get old fashioned, heirloom swine?" Saving endangered heirloom livestock varieties is an issue the whole eating public ought to take seriously. I'd like to hear a politically motivated folk singer pick up a guitar and start singing out for all The People to hear, "Oh, where have all the fat pigs gone?" " (copyright 2006 Andy Griffin - bolding is mine) (complete audio)

When I searched the web for him, I found another site of his postings. It included this gem.

"Prima Donna-key

Some men reach middle age and react by spending lots of money on sports cars and trophy wives. Not me. For my forty seventh birthday, I stayed with my wife and bought myself a pregnant donkey. A perfect mid-life crisis car like the Porsche 911 Turbo sells for one hundred twenty two thousand, nine hundred dollars M.S.R.P, but my donkey only cost me one hundred and fifty dollars. By my calculation I saved myself one hundred twenty two thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars, plus a whole lot of alimony, but people still question my judgement. “What’s the donkey good for?” they ask. Read more"

Milk Delivered At Your Door

On M*'s first day of classes, I thought I'd be nice and make M* a nice breakfast of eggs, tomatoes, oj, coffee and fresh sausage and bread from the local butcher. At 7am I walked over and bought the sausage, the bread was still baking, and on my way home I noticed milk bottles on the front stoop of a number of houses - including that of our next door neighbor/ landlord.

I don't think I've ever seen milk delivered. There's a vague memory of such an occurrence when I was very young and lived on Long Island, but I don't think it's a true memory. Milk delivery just seems so quaint, such a throwback, so non-LA, that I rushed to take a picture. When M* was coming home late Monday night from a pub, he ran into the milkman and place a daily order of a jar of milk. Obviously M* was a bit too excited about milk delivery, as we don't go through this much, but all one has to do to change the order is to leave a note. They come around to collect payment once a week. If you are not there one week, they'll just get you the next collection day.

A fellow from M*'s program, who is from Ireland, was surprised that we found milk delivery a novel experience. It's still common in Ireland. As he put it - dairy at your door solves the problem of going to the grocery store and wondering if you've remembered everything only to find out the next morning that you've forgotten the milk for your cereal. Now if you've forgotten the cereal, you're out of luck.

--update - It turns out that you are suppose to leave your empty milk bottles on your stoop. I was recycling them until M* saw me throw a bottle in with the rest of the plastics, glass, etc. His suggestion that the milk delivery company picks them up when dropping off a new bottle is now confirmed. The four empty bottles I put out last night were not there this morning - plus I noticed that my neighbor left his out. Oops!

September 15 - Spiders

I've certainly seen more spiders busily spinning, hanging out on and catching prey in their webs in Cambridge than in LA. I thought this was normal - and it is to a point - until I saw a bit on some BBC morning news show about how there is an increase in the amount of spiders in the UK. I can't remember if it was being linked to global warming, because I caught more of the headline than the actual report.

I'm not much afraid of spiders - and for some reason I find them more charming here. There are many more insects here than in LA, so I feel that spiders do not have to bother themselves with entering the potentially dangerous human dwelling. I had a friend in LA who was bitten by a brown recluse and was eventually treated for the bite in the ER (yes I know there are urban myths about brown recluse spider bites, but this really happened). From that point on, I always cast a suspicious eye on arachnids in SoCal. I'm sure my Charlotte's Web/ Alice in Wondlerland/ Masterpiece Theatre inspired view of the friendly but harried UK spider rushing about muttering to itself with a British accent will change once I meet a victim of a nasty UK spider bite.

This morning I saw something dangling outside one of our living room windows, and soon enough it caught M*'s eye. A spider had caught a mosquito in its web and was busy with the task of paralyzing/killing it. The mosquito was still trying to escape (or maybe it was just leg spasms like when a chicken runs around after its head has already been severed - or maybe that's a myth as well) when we reached for our camera. M* and I both agree it was a pretty cool way to start off our one month anniversary.

Here are a few photos:

Finches Bed and Breakfast

We're here in Cambridge!

M* and I arrived last Wednesday, Sep 6, but it seems like we've been here much longer. We had lodging for six nights at a great B&B - Finches Bed and Breakfast - just outside the Cambridge city limits in Girton. I love B&Bs, so I was partial to staying in one. This one was reasonably price and it had Wi-Fi. We couldn't have stayed in a place without it since we needed to check the listings of available flats and make phone calls using Skype on our computers. Also, their web site noted that one could rent a bike just a few blocks away. Bikes in Cambridge are a necessity.

Finches attracts a variety of guests from families of students, to those attending lectures or training at a nearby university or business, to those on vacation, to those looking for lodging, to those in town for other sorts of business.

The couple that runs Finches lives in an attached part of the house with their three children. Jane, the wife, and I emailed a few times before Mat and I even left the States. She was very friendly and helpful, so I knew that I had made the right choice. Check-in time isn't normally until the afternoon, but she made sure that they were around to meet us in the morning. Our room was actually ready, so we dropped off our massive suitcases right away and went off to rent bikes. Since we had five large bags, Nigel, Jane's husband, offered to store any bags that we didn't need. Storing meant putting them in their part of the house, their living room I think.

Chris's Bikes, just three blocks away from Finches, is a small bike shop. He had just two rentals left, and Chris had them ready for us by the end of the day on Wednesday. If you stay at Finches and want to rent a bike, I suggest contacting Chris ahead of time (01223 276004).

Why did we love Finches so much? Well, it's a lovely and very comfortable place to stay. There are only three rooms - each with its own bathroom. Our room had a double bed, a desk, wardrobe, etc. We could walk into the heart of Cambridge in about 25 minutes - and there are buses that run into town frequently. But most of all, it's because of Jane and Nigel. They are just lovely people.

Jane cooked us a hearty breakfast every morning - included in the price of course. Breakfast is served between 7:30 and 8:30am Mon-Fri and 1/2 later on weekends. Since we had full days planned filled with walking and biking, we needed fuel to get us going. I normally have an appetizing breakfast of protein powder and almond milk, and it was so enjoyable to chow down on eggs, sausage, grilled tomatoes, ham and potatoes. We were always greeted by orange juice in champagne flutes, and we also had a choice of fruit, yogurt, cereal as well as tea and coffee. She asked us each morning what we wanted, and after the first day we just told her, "The same." The food was so nourishing, that we basically didn't have to eat until dinner. This was helpful because the food here is very expensive since the US dollar is so weak.

A few days we ate alone, and other days we ate with the other guests. However, if we were the only ones at the table, we didn't just talk to each other. Jane, and often Nigel, were around to greet us and check-in on our flat-hunting progress. We had so many questions for them, and they never tired of our inquiries. They pointed us to another bike shop for purchasing a bike - a place where their daughter had just picked one up (I ended up buying a bike from this place today after looking around at a number of other shops). They told us about Argos - a convenient and cheap place to pick up a number of items that we need for our flat. They also lent us their Cambridge map until we bought one. They pointed out shortcuts for all the flats we had to go visit. There was so much more they helped us with. However, it was more than their answering our questions, the conversation was just truly enjoyable.

One of the landlords that we met was surprised that we had a good B&B - he said that English B&Bs are often not that great. Jane worked in the travel industry part-time before they opened the B&B, and she has traveled a bit. She has remembered what she liked and didn't like in all the places that she went. This knowledge has shaped the way the guests are treated, and it is why our stay was truly comfortable.

M* and I were so happy with Jane and Nigel, that I had to remind myself that we were their guests so they probably would have been nice to us regardless if they liked us or not. However, when our cab arrived to take us to our new flat, she presented us with a bottle of champagne from her and Nigel - they remembered that M* and I had just gotten married three weeks earlier. M* and I were so touched. I remember thinking, "Yeah, they really do like us!"

What a great way to be welcomed to England.

Provence, France - Fresh Confidence

in late june and early july, my sister and i traveled with a friend, e*, from aix en provence to arles to avingon, and, since we had a car, we visited many other towns. on the first night my sister asked me if i had the toothpaste (we had decided to share a tube for the sake of space). e* came out of the bathroom and offered us hers - colgate's fresh confidence. my immediate comment, "that sounds like a feminine hygiene product," was met with a quizzical look. e* is originally from germany, and i guess the massengill commercial where the daughter asks her mother about a "not so fresh feeling" was not dubbed into german.

so is the reason colgate actually named a product fresh confidence that the advertising and marketing staff were not in the us in the 1980s or are they just too young to remember? or maybe someone higher up in the company came up with the name, and i can only guess that his/her subordinates were too embarrassed to explain why the name might make customers snicker and be accidentally stocked in the feminine hygiene aisle

after visiting the fresh confidence web site, i have to go with the too young to remember argument. colgate appears to be appealing to teens and maybe the adult swim market, as they have cartoons featuring "the confidentals" - a group of college kids who somehow have all of their problems solved with a squirt of fresh confidence. the tag line: get fresh with the confidentals. i didn't realize that toothpaste could turn into a mobile phone or silence your roommate's music by turning into a pair of headphones that plug into the stereo. all along i thought that fresh confidence only got rid of a female's not so fresh feeling. maybe colgate should show that in a cartoon.

Things to Do - Remove from Mailing List

i know that i get a lot of mail. our postal person tends to leave catalogues in a pile by our mailboxes, and, of the five apartments, mine gets the most. i've been an online buyer for years: clothes, bedspreads, air filters, cat filters, cat trees, rugs, face cream, furniture, music, books, vitamins, protein powder, gluten-free products, shoes... couple that with a modest amount of magazine subscriptions and you have a whole lot of catalogues from places i've shopped and those i hope never to shop at as well as offers for "free trials" from a number of magazines which i've always been able to resist (even though it would have been so easy to tear off the perforated reply card and worry about paying later). oh, i forgot to mention that donations to charities will certainly lead to a mailbox that you have to empty daily. those mailing labels and notepads they send to entice or guilt you into donating certainly are bulky.

i spent some time on saturday emailing a few businesses, requesting to be removed from mailing lists. i just spent another fun half hour emailing a few more. while i'm going to be forwarding my mail to m*'s parents house, i don't want them to have to deal with the onslaught of junk mail or pay to ship it to the uk. so to those who are moving or just want to cut down on the amount of unsolicited mailings, give yourself some time.

oh, a very helpful number that i found on an american express mailing is 1-888.5.OPT.OUT. i get so many offers from cc companies and banks that sometime include checks to use for balance transfers, and i am worried (ok, a bit paranoid) about what happens if they don't get forwarded or forwarded correctly. i thought that i had to contact each company separately, but it turns out by calling this number "you can choose to stop receiving "prescreened" offers of credit from us and other companies."

businesses/ organizations contacted in the month or so before leaving (there were so many more but, oh god, how i came to detest this task!)
sierra club
spcala
amnesty international
kcet
crate and barrel
j crew
vermont country store
loehmann's
pier 1
wine spectator
skinstore.com
the territory ahead
covenant house
national audubon society
(while i emailing the audubon, i thought of the plight of the wandering albatross. over 100,000 are killed every year due to commercial fishing practices which could, seemingly, be easily modified. i ended making a small donation to birdlife international.)
staples
bank account #1
(still keeping but finally cancelling paper statements)
ll bean
flor
sharper image
kitten rescue
la opera
ucla alumin
aaa
ralphs
footsmart
blick art supplies
national park foundation
dansk
santa monica college
national parks and conservation association
hammacher schlemmer
office depot
doctors without borders
oriental trading company (what is this?!)

Saying goodbye to Marques Wyatt

i'm not worried about missing live music while in cambridge, as i know it's a college town where many bands schedule a stop on their tours. as for djs, of course england is full of them. so i shouldn't worry about not getting my house music fix, right? well, i was already a bit nostalgic for deep, a weekly house club hosted by marques wyatt. it's true that now i don't get out to see him and his guest djs spin nearly as much as i used to or as much as i'd like, but it was always reassuring to know that i could go lose myself in house music any sunday night. my friend, shawn, and i get the weekly deep emails, and we either weigh-in on the merits of the featured dj or track down someone who had at least heard of them.

so, i'm at trader joes today in santa monica, and i see marques. he's such a familiar face to me, and i'm sure i was smiling at him, that "hey you're my friend and it's good to see you" smile. i went back to shopping, and, luckily, marques' aisle wanderings followed mine. my second instinct, after the smiling, was to pretend i had no idea who he was. in los angeles, one is trained to ignore celebrities, to make them feel as anonymous or "regular" as possible while stealing glances at them and taking photos with mobile phones (i actually started saying mobile vs cell a few years ago. it's not just because i'm heading off to england). but as i lingered by the cereals, with marques checking out the strawberries, i realized that this man has brought me much joy and he should know it. plus, even though it had been years, i had talked to him in the early days of deep.

of course marques was very cool when i told him that i'd be leaving los angeles and i'd miss deep. he was kind enough to say that he had thought i'd looked familiar, but that's probably just because i seem to have quite a few doppelgangers out there. i could have gushed to him about how seeing frankie knuckles in 2002 was such a memorable night that shawn and i talk about it with the same reverence as when people describe the birth of their first child or how, in my slightly tipsy state, i tried to convince my friends that king britt and i were tight friends after a short chat at the bar. but, i said goodbye quickly, feeling good that i paid my respects but wanting to stay until he promised that he'd keep deep going until i return to los angeles.

when i returned to work, i had an email from shawn with the subject "deep farewell." to her question of, "What do you think of checking out Ben Watt on July 30th," i replied, "oh, that we must do." since i'll be done work in early august and can actually stay out until the 4am closing time, we just might get to check out charles webster, joe clausel and andy caldwell as well.