Hello all busy few days. First we received my brothers package, my daughter loved her gifts very much, I will have to get pictures of her with them. Thank you Pat, from me and her. second we got daughters new bedset and she loves it, thanks Mom. Also big news is I got my job at the pharmacy Boots. I am very excited about that, I start Monday the 5th. It will be roughly 18 hours a week, 530pm to midnight. It should at least take care of groceries. It will also help if we decide to stay in this side of the pond. Daughter and I saw The Tale of Despereaux on New Years Eve ( the year turned over while writing this) and we enjoyed it thouroghly.
Happy New Years Everyone!!!
Thank you for reading,
Chris
P.S newest publication is a review of one of my recent Transformers purchases
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1331540/transfomers_animated_toyline_lockdown.html?cat=11
and a critique of an article I read on Bloggled
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1296952/the_nostalgia_trap_a_critique_of_an.html?cat=9
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
No updates today other than pictures!
visit webshots
http://community.webshots.com/user/prowl26
Love to all, thank you
Chris
Peace... Good will to ALL
visit webshots
http://community.webshots.com/user/prowl26
Love to all, thank you
Chris
Peace... Good will to ALL
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Hello all, Merry Christmas Eve!!
No updates from yesterday, just wanted to update on my most recent publications.
My breakdown of the best gift assortments for Transformer fans!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1309751/great_gifts_for_transformers_fans.html?cat=2
A list of games coming to Nintendo DS in 2009, all of which look fun!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1302515/hot_upcoming_nintendo_ds_games_for.html?cat=19
Here is a link to my most recent work on my Squidoo pages!
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/prowl26
Thank you all,
Peace... One Love
Merry Christmas
My breakdown of the best gift assortments for Transformer fans!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1309751/great_gifts_for_transformers_fans.html?cat=2
A list of games coming to Nintendo DS in 2009, all of which look fun!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1302515/hot_upcoming_nintendo_ds_games_for.html?cat=19
Here is a link to my most recent work on my Squidoo pages!
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/prowl26
Thank you all,
Peace... One Love
Merry Christmas
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Two days till Christmas
Well it has been another roller coaster of weeks this week and last. Last week daughter started off with a sore throat going into Sunday and Monday, missing Tuesday and going to the clinic. Wednesday she started off to stay home but decided she did not want to miss Christmas lunch at school so she went late. We went to the clinic again Thursday as she looked to have pink eye. Sure enough she did have it yay, lucky her she got to miss the last two days of school. The next few days merely found us mostly hanging at the house as partner was worried she may have pink eye too.
Sunday we were invited to the house of one of the University's bus drivers. We took our first trip to Feltham, not much there. The outing was mostly nice, the driver and his wife had a little cold food spread, they even had gifts for us, which was unnecessary but nice. Daughter even got to meet three dogs, some rabbits and guinea pigs and at least one parrot.
Monday we went to London for a Christmas market on the south bank near the London Eye. It was not as big as I expected but, it was nice, not to cold and not to many people. Daughter got some very cute hand made dolls with her X-mas money and we all had some nice handmade food.
Tuesday we went to Staines to see Madagascar 2. I liked it and daughter enjoyed it, not as good as the first but definitly a good escape. We also went out to eat at a resteraunt called Spur, which was kind of cowboy/ Native American/ Mexican themed. It was good although a bit pricey. We then checked out The Entertainer, a little toy shop, daughter got some quality markers and another stuffed kitty and I got a Transformer. We went to Orang (phone company) and figured out the issue we were having with my phone. Finally we got daughter a few more pairs of tights and came home.
We will likely spend the next couple of days recovering, that and nothing runs either X-mas or Boxing day here. Well that is it for now, Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah (sp?) and Festivus to everyone.
Thank you for reading,
Love Chris
Peace... One Love
Sunday we were invited to the house of one of the University's bus drivers. We took our first trip to Feltham, not much there. The outing was mostly nice, the driver and his wife had a little cold food spread, they even had gifts for us, which was unnecessary but nice. Daughter even got to meet three dogs, some rabbits and guinea pigs and at least one parrot.
Monday we went to London for a Christmas market on the south bank near the London Eye. It was not as big as I expected but, it was nice, not to cold and not to many people. Daughter got some very cute hand made dolls with her X-mas money and we all had some nice handmade food.
Tuesday we went to Staines to see Madagascar 2. I liked it and daughter enjoyed it, not as good as the first but definitly a good escape. We also went out to eat at a resteraunt called Spur, which was kind of cowboy/ Native American/ Mexican themed. It was good although a bit pricey. We then checked out The Entertainer, a little toy shop, daughter got some quality markers and another stuffed kitty and I got a Transformer. We went to Orang (phone company) and figured out the issue we were having with my phone. Finally we got daughter a few more pairs of tights and came home.
We will likely spend the next couple of days recovering, that and nothing runs either X-mas or Boxing day here. Well that is it for now, Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah (sp?) and Festivus to everyone.
Thank you for reading,
Love Chris
Peace... One Love
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Update!
Hello world,
This week has been ups and downs, Sunday we pretty much did nothing as we were still all tuckered out from working daughter's X-mas fair. Monday daughter had a X-mas party at school and seemed to have alot of fun! I stayed home and submitted applications online. Tuesday she stayed home with a sore throat. Later that day I had an in-store assessment at a pharmacy called Boots. It seemed to go well, I am supposed to hear back by this weekend so... fingers crossed. Wednesday, daughter stayed home for an hour before deciding she was fit for school. Just in time for her X-mas lunch at the school, haha! Thursday she stayed home again as she had really blood shot eyes, we took her to the clinic and BAM, conjunctivitis (sp?). So she was done for the rest of the week, two extra days of X-mas break. Hopefully she will be better by this weekend as we hoped to get out of the house a little, we'll see. She on the other hand, is as happy as a kid that gets to miss school for being sick but not feeling sick can be!!
I also found out I was accepted for publication twice more today so I will get up the one that is ready today and then post up the pending one when it is available. I will also provide links to my Squidoo pages which are kind of like, grandstanders for my articles!
Six more days!!!!
Thank you,
Chris
Peace... One Love
Merry Christmas
my newest publication
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1294806/4_great_recipes_for_your_super_bowl.html?cat=22
my Squidoo lenses
http://www.squidoo.com/Nintendo-DS-1
http://www.squidoo.com/The-Transformers-Toys
http://www.squidoo.com/Tom-Robbins
http://www.squidoo.com/hotdstitles
http://www.squidoo.com/Movies-2008
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/dashboard
This week has been ups and downs, Sunday we pretty much did nothing as we were still all tuckered out from working daughter's X-mas fair. Monday daughter had a X-mas party at school and seemed to have alot of fun! I stayed home and submitted applications online. Tuesday she stayed home with a sore throat. Later that day I had an in-store assessment at a pharmacy called Boots. It seemed to go well, I am supposed to hear back by this weekend so... fingers crossed. Wednesday, daughter stayed home for an hour before deciding she was fit for school. Just in time for her X-mas lunch at the school, haha! Thursday she stayed home again as she had really blood shot eyes, we took her to the clinic and BAM, conjunctivitis (sp?). So she was done for the rest of the week, two extra days of X-mas break. Hopefully she will be better by this weekend as we hoped to get out of the house a little, we'll see. She on the other hand, is as happy as a kid that gets to miss school for being sick but not feeling sick can be!!
I also found out I was accepted for publication twice more today so I will get up the one that is ready today and then post up the pending one when it is available. I will also provide links to my Squidoo pages which are kind of like, grandstanders for my articles!
Six more days!!!!
Thank you,
Chris
Peace... One Love
Merry Christmas
my newest publication
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1294806/4_great_recipes_for_your_super_bowl.html?cat=22
my Squidoo lenses
http://www.squidoo.com/Nintendo-DS-1
http://www.squidoo.com/The-Transformers-Toys
http://www.squidoo.com/Tom-Robbins
http://www.squidoo.com/hotdstitles
http://www.squidoo.com/Movies-2008
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/dashboard
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Goings on
Hello all, got a good bit to update today. Daughter and school put on X-mas play Thursday and Friday, she was second in line of narrators, she was not happy as she wanted a bigger part but she did well. I will be posting pictures and videos either Sunday or Monday.
Thursday night we literally, albeit unintentionally, crashed some X-mas festivities at partners University. Back when I had my interview at the campus computer center I saw a flier for an X-mas get together at a place called the Hub on campus. Only being in the lobby of the computer center for a short time I did not see a smaller print line on the bottom of the flier that said in order to book, email so and so. Well, Thursday evening came along and we went only to find out it cost 5pounds to enter, you had to bring a gift for Santa to give to your kid and it was intended for school staff. Oh were we bummed, luckily they did not turn us away although since we did not know about the gift we told daughter she would not get one this go around. She did have a blast though, and while she was having fun I made a quick dash to the apartment (only about a 10-15 minute walk from campus) both to take her school stuff home, we had come straight from picking her up, and grabbed a small pre-wrapped "Santa" gift. When it came time to hand out gifts daughter was extremely happy and surprised to receive something. She got to unwrap (all the other kids were doing it) she uncovered a Nintendo DS game, Pokemon Ranger. She was very excited to get playing upon making it home. We thanked the ladies running the event for allowing us to crash and they said they were glad to have us and hoped we would return next year.
Also on Thursday partner and I were able to make 10 pounds by attending a study in the psychology department. It took us about 20 minutes and it was kind of fun, we just had to push a button when an English word popped up on a screen. Simple enough, we then spent a little of it grabbing a quick cup of coffee so that we could bid one of our friends farewell as he set off to the next stop on his study abroad.
Saturday, we helped out with daughters X-mas fair. We all went in a 9am to help with set-up and we took turns helpung run one of the activity booths to raise money. Meanwhile partner and I took turns walking daughter around doing that and other activites. It was all quite fun plus, I got to eat the biggest hot dog I have ever seen, it was huge. We won a few things in the raffles including some kind of wierd bath thing, a spoken word version of Wind in the Willows, candles of various kinds and more bath stuff. I won a very nice brown leather clutch for myself (which I will give to daughter, she was just saying she needed a purse) and I won a marble race game against a little kid but, gave him the prize candy. I have no idea how much we spent, I probably do not want to know as partner brought and spent most of the money. I also bought daughter a stuffed animal/ Rudolph as it was one of the few items on her X-mas list. All in all I think we all had a great time while there and I will upload the few pictures I was able to snap while there.
We may or may not be going to a fair-trade fair tomorrow depending on how tired we are from today errr... yesterday, as it is currently about 1:30 am as of writing this. We may just stay home and rest.
This past Tuesday we got a grocery delivery, our first from new to us ASDA. Apparently it is somehow owned by Wally World from back stateside. We were getting our groceries from Sainsbury's but grew tired of their online system. I believe after this first ASDA order that they have a much better selection of vegetarian and organic foods, as well as being cheaper as we got quite a bit of food in this delivery.
I have started using another site along with Associated Content, called Squidoo which can help me promote my writing as well as help boost the availability. Plus it had the added benefit of giving me an idea on one of my next topics as both sites have limited to no content on it. I am also looking into websites that look specifically at writing product reviews and doing article reviews as ways to continue supplementing. As far as Associated Content goes I am currently nearing 300 total views of my four currently published articles. I did however get my first rejected article, one of the Content calls they have, asking for favored rum drink recipes. I wrote on my preferred ones and provided recipes but, only one was my own creation, something I noted by crediting sources for other recipes but apparently that was not what they wanted. Oh well, you cannot win them all.
My two Squidoo links are as follows
http://www.squidoo.com/hotdstitles
http://www.squidoo.com/Movies-2008
These links are mostly a way to get increased viewership to my articles but, they are also pages unto themselves. I have already posted my articles to both my Facebook and Myspace accounts as well as Digg. I guess I could probably do my Linked In account also but I do not know anyone on there yet.
Ok well I guess that is all, as always I will continue to keep anyone and everyone updated.
Thank You for reading
Chris
Peace... One Love
Thursday night we literally, albeit unintentionally, crashed some X-mas festivities at partners University. Back when I had my interview at the campus computer center I saw a flier for an X-mas get together at a place called the Hub on campus. Only being in the lobby of the computer center for a short time I did not see a smaller print line on the bottom of the flier that said in order to book, email so and so. Well, Thursday evening came along and we went only to find out it cost 5pounds to enter, you had to bring a gift for Santa to give to your kid and it was intended for school staff. Oh were we bummed, luckily they did not turn us away although since we did not know about the gift we told daughter she would not get one this go around. She did have a blast though, and while she was having fun I made a quick dash to the apartment (only about a 10-15 minute walk from campus) both to take her school stuff home, we had come straight from picking her up, and grabbed a small pre-wrapped "Santa" gift. When it came time to hand out gifts daughter was extremely happy and surprised to receive something. She got to unwrap (all the other kids were doing it) she uncovered a Nintendo DS game, Pokemon Ranger. She was very excited to get playing upon making it home. We thanked the ladies running the event for allowing us to crash and they said they were glad to have us and hoped we would return next year.
Also on Thursday partner and I were able to make 10 pounds by attending a study in the psychology department. It took us about 20 minutes and it was kind of fun, we just had to push a button when an English word popped up on a screen. Simple enough, we then spent a little of it grabbing a quick cup of coffee so that we could bid one of our friends farewell as he set off to the next stop on his study abroad.
Saturday, we helped out with daughters X-mas fair. We all went in a 9am to help with set-up and we took turns helpung run one of the activity booths to raise money. Meanwhile partner and I took turns walking daughter around doing that and other activites. It was all quite fun plus, I got to eat the biggest hot dog I have ever seen, it was huge. We won a few things in the raffles including some kind of wierd bath thing, a spoken word version of Wind in the Willows, candles of various kinds and more bath stuff. I won a very nice brown leather clutch for myself (which I will give to daughter, she was just saying she needed a purse) and I won a marble race game against a little kid but, gave him the prize candy. I have no idea how much we spent, I probably do not want to know as partner brought and spent most of the money. I also bought daughter a stuffed animal/ Rudolph as it was one of the few items on her X-mas list. All in all I think we all had a great time while there and I will upload the few pictures I was able to snap while there.
We may or may not be going to a fair-trade fair tomorrow depending on how tired we are from today errr... yesterday, as it is currently about 1:30 am as of writing this. We may just stay home and rest.
This past Tuesday we got a grocery delivery, our first from new to us ASDA. Apparently it is somehow owned by Wally World from back stateside. We were getting our groceries from Sainsbury's but grew tired of their online system. I believe after this first ASDA order that they have a much better selection of vegetarian and organic foods, as well as being cheaper as we got quite a bit of food in this delivery.
I have started using another site along with Associated Content, called Squidoo which can help me promote my writing as well as help boost the availability. Plus it had the added benefit of giving me an idea on one of my next topics as both sites have limited to no content on it. I am also looking into websites that look specifically at writing product reviews and doing article reviews as ways to continue supplementing. As far as Associated Content goes I am currently nearing 300 total views of my four currently published articles. I did however get my first rejected article, one of the Content calls they have, asking for favored rum drink recipes. I wrote on my preferred ones and provided recipes but, only one was my own creation, something I noted by crediting sources for other recipes but apparently that was not what they wanted. Oh well, you cannot win them all.
My two Squidoo links are as follows
http://www.squidoo.com/hotdstitles
http://www.squidoo.com/Movies-2008
These links are mostly a way to get increased viewership to my articles but, they are also pages unto themselves. I have already posted my articles to both my Facebook and Myspace accounts as well as Digg. I guess I could probably do my Linked In account also but I do not know anyone on there yet.
Ok well I guess that is all, as always I will continue to keep anyone and everyone updated.
Thank You for reading
Chris
Peace... One Love
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
New publications
Hello all, I just wanted to let everyone know that I have had to further publications for your reading pleasure. First is a listing of what Nintendo DS games I think will be high on Christmas lists this year. Second is my list of the worst gifts to give any member of the family for Christmas.
-->http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1257615/hot_titles_for_the_nintendo_ds_for.html?cat=19
-->http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1261097/the_worst_gifts_to_give_family_members.html?cat=46
As always read at your leisure and feel free to leave any comments or criticism as I always enjoy feedback.
thank you for reading
Chris G
Peace... One Love
-->http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1257615/hot_titles_for_the_nintendo_ds_for.html?cat=19
-->http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1261097/the_worst_gifts_to_give_family_members.html?cat=46
As always read at your leisure and feel free to leave any comments or criticism as I always enjoy feedback.
thank you for reading
Chris G
Peace... One Love
Friday, December 5, 2008
Two times in one day
Two times in one day!!!!! I have not been using enough exclamation marks/points, so I have just been emailed by AssociatedContent.com regarding a second publication. So i have now had two articles published today. Also, they emailed me with an upfront offer for my first exclusive article. It is only .99 cents but that is more than I made last week so...!! I will post the link for my second article at the bottom. I was so excited, this article is a slightly expanded version of my Proposition 8 post.
Daughter made a Rudolph artwork and a bookmark in crafty kids today, so Rudolph went to hang out near the Christmas tree. Next week she has both a Christmas play where she will be the P/T Narrator and on the Saturday there will be a Christmas Fair at her school. I will be helping out with the fair, set-up and clean-up plus probably some of the running. There is also some kind of Christmas get together for kids at partners University on Thursday so that will be something to do also. I am still also planning on updating our webshots album so..!!
Thank you,
Chris
Peace... One Love
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1256327/proposition_8_in_california.html?page=2&cat=9
Daughter made a Rudolph artwork and a bookmark in crafty kids today, so Rudolph went to hang out near the Christmas tree. Next week she has both a Christmas play where she will be the P/T Narrator and on the Saturday there will be a Christmas Fair at her school. I will be helping out with the fair, set-up and clean-up plus probably some of the running. There is also some kind of Christmas get together for kids at partners University on Thursday so that will be something to do also. I am still also planning on updating our webshots album so..!!
Thank you,
Chris
Peace... One Love
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1256327/proposition_8_in_california.html?page=2&cat=9
My first published article
I was very excited when I awoke and checked my email this morning. I had an email from Associated Content.com saying that my first article a personal list of the top 5 sci-fi/fantasy movies of 2008. I believe any article I post can be commented on so please feel free to critique so I can hone my writing skills. I have several more articles under review and except for the call for content articles I will likely not adhere to any on article type. You can find my first published article at the link below.
Not a whole lot going on this week, I went shopping on wither Tues/Wed for some limited Christmas decorations. I got a tree, some lights and some foil hanging decorations. I also got some candy canes and chocolate ornaments to hang from the tree as well as a couple stocking stuffers. I got away for about 40 pounds so not to bad. Since Woolworths has entered administration (bankruptcy proceedings) alot of stuff has gone on deep discount, even more today as they have hung large 50% off banners on stuff that was already marked down. We ahve also wrapped presents, for the presents from us we reused newspaper for wrapping and I got a small roll for the gifts from Santa (Father Christmas here). I will be uploading some pictures today also so I will include the link to our webshots albums. Wednesday Daughter had cookery and made mincemeat pies (apparently mincemeat pies often do not contain meat) which were delicious, she did a really good job. Today daughter has crafty kids club and I expect is making an ornament or two.
I am still applying for jobs and the Associated Content stuff will hopefully begin to get some views and start making us a little money so.... my fingers are crossed. I have also stopped limiting myself to only looking for part-time jobs as right now i just need something and can worry about hours later. There is talk that some other company/ investor might buy up Woolworths, I sure hope that is true because that would just leave me fighting against another 30,000 unemployed people for jobs.
Thank You,
Chris
Peace... One Love
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/125400/the_top_five_scifi_and_fantasy_movies.html?cat=40
http://community.webshots.com/user/prowl26
Not a whole lot going on this week, I went shopping on wither Tues/Wed for some limited Christmas decorations. I got a tree, some lights and some foil hanging decorations. I also got some candy canes and chocolate ornaments to hang from the tree as well as a couple stocking stuffers. I got away for about 40 pounds so not to bad. Since Woolworths has entered administration (bankruptcy proceedings) alot of stuff has gone on deep discount, even more today as they have hung large 50% off banners on stuff that was already marked down. We ahve also wrapped presents, for the presents from us we reused newspaper for wrapping and I got a small roll for the gifts from Santa (Father Christmas here). I will be uploading some pictures today also so I will include the link to our webshots albums. Wednesday Daughter had cookery and made mincemeat pies (apparently mincemeat pies often do not contain meat) which were delicious, she did a really good job. Today daughter has crafty kids club and I expect is making an ornament or two.
I am still applying for jobs and the Associated Content stuff will hopefully begin to get some views and start making us a little money so.... my fingers are crossed. I have also stopped limiting myself to only looking for part-time jobs as right now i just need something and can worry about hours later. There is talk that some other company/ investor might buy up Woolworths, I sure hope that is true because that would just leave me fighting against another 30,000 unemployed people for jobs.
Thank You,
Chris
Peace... One Love
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/125400/the_top_five_scifi_and_fantasy_movies.html?cat=40
http://community.webshots.com/user/prowl26
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
fixed?
I changed some settings to hopefully re-enable comments to my posts. I am not sure what happened but it may have had something to do with some cross referencing I did to hopefully generate more traffic. Give it a try to see if it works thank you.
Regards, Chris
Peace... One Love
Regards, Chris
Peace... One Love
Sunday, November 30, 2008
not much going on over here
Hello all, not much to report on this front. As I said in my last post, I was turned down after my interview with the IT lab at my partners school. I spent a chunk of yesterday and today wrapping presents for daughter and partner. I also started writing for a website --> http://www.associatedcontent.com/ <-- that allows user submitted content but, also pays per view of piece. So if I can start publishing a good bit of stuff, they pay as much as $45 for every 30,000 views. So at least while I am stuck at home i can do this here and there and at least try to get a little to come in. Once I can get a replacement adapter for my laptop, the last one broke, then I can do it more often.
Peace... One Love
Peace... One Love
Thursday, November 27, 2008
I can't get no satis faction
Well I am sad to post this but my job interview did not go as planned today. I lacked the answer to a few simple questions, there were only 6 but I only got 3 right in my opinion. Oh well, I am not exactly an IT person i just dabble which wasn't enough!!! So back to the grind.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
SHORTLISTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I am happy to be writing today as, last night I checked my email to find that my application for IT assistant at Royal Holloway where my wife attends university, was accepted. The email stated that they wanted me to come in on Monday for an interview. I was so excited I could hardly sleep. It is a part-time job, which is perfect, which will pay 6.75 an hour. It's not much but it is better than the nothing we are bringing in now. I also do not know the hours but I also do not care as long as I can pick up my daughter every other Tuesday like I need to. WOOHOO!!!! <----exactly, I can hardly wait!
Thank You,
Chris
Peace... One Love
Thank You,
Chris
Peace... One Love
Monday, November 17, 2008
Recent Happenings
Well after much request, I am going to try to get to updating at least once a week. The first week of November my wife and I helped out with my daughter's schools Indian Art Week. Indian art week was a week where the whole school spent the week learning about India, forgoing much of the regular learning in favor of hands on cultural art. Some children themselves from India or of Indian heritage had relatives come in (in traditional dress) and enlighten children as to their culture. My wife and i helped the children create fun works of art with an Indian theme. In the class I helped in we did simple things like watercolors over wax all the way to clay tiles and elephants. We even cut out cloth elephants to make tapestries. This all culminated on Friday of that week where the students were able to put on an art show. I think this was a great hands on learning project and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. The art show too was great fun and the pictures can be found on our webshots album here --> http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/568554682VwWdPO
hopefully that works.
The following weekend found my daughter having her first playdate with a cute little neighbor girl who is a few months older than her. She was excited all week on top of art week to have a friend whose house she could go to. She was able to spend several hours over the course of the weekend playing with the girl. They seem to have a blast, I guess before we moved in another young girl lived in this flat and our neighbor and her got to be really good friends. When the people that lived in our flat before us moved, she was crushed, then she saw our daughter outside one day and got really excited. They seem to be getting along great, and the girl has gotten Bodhi into taking Chinese lessons and Bodhi can now count 1-10 in Chinese (the girl's family comes from China). So not only is it great that my daughter has a friend but she can learn a lot of great things just being around her.
Last week I guess the only thing of real note was my birthday on Wednesday the 13th. My daughter was picked up by her mother on Tuesday so that they could go shopping, my daughter picked out my cake and my gift. On Wednesday my daughter sung me happy birthday and presented me with my cake (a small all chocolate affair tasty but not to rich) and my present ( a cool lego set we could do together from the Exo-Force series), I was also treated to an incredible late breakfast by my wife. All in all a great day and a good week. Bodhi got to play with her friend next door over the weekend for a few more hours, including a tea party.
Today, Monday the 17th, I helped chaparone my daughters field trip to a local church to learn how a church operates. As one might imagine the kids had the most fun ringing the bells. Plus, it helped me get out for awhile.
Alright, I will probably be able to make another post tomorrow.
Thank you for reading,
Chris
Peace.. One Love
P.S. If I can get the time I think I may even try to start my own played out webcomic. I think I could do it.?!!!
hopefully that works.
The following weekend found my daughter having her first playdate with a cute little neighbor girl who is a few months older than her. She was excited all week on top of art week to have a friend whose house she could go to. She was able to spend several hours over the course of the weekend playing with the girl. They seem to have a blast, I guess before we moved in another young girl lived in this flat and our neighbor and her got to be really good friends. When the people that lived in our flat before us moved, she was crushed, then she saw our daughter outside one day and got really excited. They seem to be getting along great, and the girl has gotten Bodhi into taking Chinese lessons and Bodhi can now count 1-10 in Chinese (the girl's family comes from China). So not only is it great that my daughter has a friend but she can learn a lot of great things just being around her.
Last week I guess the only thing of real note was my birthday on Wednesday the 13th. My daughter was picked up by her mother on Tuesday so that they could go shopping, my daughter picked out my cake and my gift. On Wednesday my daughter sung me happy birthday and presented me with my cake (a small all chocolate affair tasty but not to rich) and my present ( a cool lego set we could do together from the Exo-Force series), I was also treated to an incredible late breakfast by my wife. All in all a great day and a good week. Bodhi got to play with her friend next door over the weekend for a few more hours, including a tea party.
Today, Monday the 17th, I helped chaparone my daughters field trip to a local church to learn how a church operates. As one might imagine the kids had the most fun ringing the bells. Plus, it helped me get out for awhile.
Alright, I will probably be able to make another post tomorrow.
Thank you for reading,
Chris
Peace.. One Love
P.S. If I can get the time I think I may even try to start my own played out webcomic. I think I could do it.?!!!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Proposition 8 in California
As many know on May 15th 2008 California became one of few states that not only recognized gay marriage, the state supreme court overturned a ban on gay marriage, allowing thousands of gay couples to be able to share that which many straight couples get to take for granted. Sadly on election night Tuesday November 4th 2008 California voters voted "yes" on proposition 8, a state ballot to amend the California state constitution to specifically define marriage as between a man and woman. This proposition now law, bans gay couples from the right to get married.
No matter your personal views on gay couples, this amounts only to one hateful thing, institutionalized discrimination and an attempt at "separate but equal" views which in other forms has already been struck down (not that long ago sadly) as unconstitutional . 52 percent of voters in California voted to take away the rights of gay couples and to strip them down to second class citizens. This is wrong, we in America sit in our Ivory Tower telling the world how to act, telling the middle east to give women equality, when Iran's leader said on TV he wished to wipe all Jews off the face of the Earth there was a tremendous public outcry. Telling those in China to Free Tibet and let Taiwan alone,the US government has said if China were ever to invade Taiwan that the US would protect them. We tell dictators in Africa and South America, stop these massacres of your people. Yet all the time we sit here and continue to segregate and discriminate against our OWN CITIZENS.
Americans, we can not let this happen, we can not continue to sit and say we defend democracy abroad when we do not do it here, we can not tell misguided countries to follow our lead when we do not follow it. There was a time when the United States was a beacon to the world as a sign of what could be done if a people worked hard enough and, while we certainly had our problems then, we can not continue to allow ourselves to slide back to institutionalizing discrimination. Yes there will always be those who feel their own narrow view of the world should be imposed on others but, we can not allow them to dictate that anyone should be discriminated against.
No matter your personal views on gay couples, this amounts only to one hateful thing, institutionalized discrimination and an attempt at "separate but equal" views which in other forms has already been struck down (not that long ago sadly) as unconstitutional . 52 percent of voters in California voted to take away the rights of gay couples and to strip them down to second class citizens. This is wrong, we in America sit in our Ivory Tower telling the world how to act, telling the middle east to give women equality, when Iran's leader said on TV he wished to wipe all Jews off the face of the Earth there was a tremendous public outcry. Telling those in China to Free Tibet and let Taiwan alone,the US government has said if China were ever to invade Taiwan that the US would protect them. We tell dictators in Africa and South America, stop these massacres of your people. Yet all the time we sit here and continue to segregate and discriminate against our OWN CITIZENS.
Americans, we can not let this happen, we can not continue to sit and say we defend democracy abroad when we do not do it here, we can not tell misguided countries to follow our lead when we do not follow it. There was a time when the United States was a beacon to the world as a sign of what could be done if a people worked hard enough and, while we certainly had our problems then, we can not continue to allow ourselves to slide back to institutionalizing discrimination. Yes there will always be those who feel their own narrow view of the world should be imposed on others but, we can not allow them to dictate that anyone should be discriminated against.
The speech delivered by President Roosevelt incorporated the following section:
| “ | In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want--which, translated into universal terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb. | ” |
| — Franklin D. Roosevelt, excerpted from the Annual Message to the Congress, January 6, 1941 |
== United Nat
These where what FDR considered universal rights, for all people not just what some decide is right.
Thank You,
Chris
Peace... One Love
member of the Human Rights Campaign since 2007, believer in total human equality since 1981
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Future
As I am sure every other blog in the world is doing today I want to say how happy I am that the election is over. Congratulations to our President Elect Obama. I hope you can follow through on your promises to help see through truly revolutionary change in the US. I can say I have waited with baited breath, having read your book The Audacity of Hope after your speach at the DNC in 2004 and then your candidacy. Many of the issues that you stated as your own I too feel strongly about. Your three big issues are your biggest chance to truly move our country forward and re-create a United States that is that beacon to the world we once were and still seek to be.
On your website, in your book and through your speeches you stated your stance on the economy, energy and the environment. Currently the US is in a bit of financial turmoil, we also source the vast majority of our energy from other (mostly unstable) parts of the world and produce more pollution than any country but China (with a population 1.4 billion, four time the US').
I believe as do a great many others, that the solution to all of these issues is the same. The Green New Deal ( i did not com up with the name) something akin to the Tennessee Valley Authority would be a brilliant idea on a National Scale using wind, solar, biomass or geothermal power. While much controversy existed and still exist about the TVA, we also have the luxury of being able to look back at mistakes made which can help to avoid some of these in the future. By using combination's of renewable energies throughout the nation, through government sponsorship and investment, we can create thousands maybe even tens of thousands of jobs that will be around for a long time to come, we can diminish as much impact on the environment as we can currently and we can reduce or even eliminate our dependence on foreign fuels that prop up unstable and often brutal governments.
Regardless of whether you believe in climate change or whether you care where the energy for your house comes from, the possibilities of a green new deal are endless and are all "win-win". What I am talking about is not socialism or communism, I am talking about an investment in our country and in our people, that will pay off for years to come. While this suggestion only touches some of your platform issues, it has the possibility to help with them all.
Thank You,
Chris
Peace... One Love
On your website, in your book and through your speeches you stated your stance on the economy, energy and the environment. Currently the US is in a bit of financial turmoil, we also source the vast majority of our energy from other (mostly unstable) parts of the world and produce more pollution than any country but China (with a population 1.4 billion, four time the US').
I believe as do a great many others, that the solution to all of these issues is the same. The Green New Deal ( i did not com up with the name) something akin to the Tennessee Valley Authority would be a brilliant idea on a National Scale using wind, solar, biomass or geothermal power. While much controversy existed and still exist about the TVA, we also have the luxury of being able to look back at mistakes made which can help to avoid some of these in the future. By using combination's of renewable energies throughout the nation, through government sponsorship and investment, we can create thousands maybe even tens of thousands of jobs that will be around for a long time to come, we can diminish as much impact on the environment as we can currently and we can reduce or even eliminate our dependence on foreign fuels that prop up unstable and often brutal governments.
Regardless of whether you believe in climate change or whether you care where the energy for your house comes from, the possibilities of a green new deal are endless and are all "win-win". What I am talking about is not socialism or communism, I am talking about an investment in our country and in our people, that will pay off for years to come. While this suggestion only touches some of your platform issues, it has the possibility to help with them all.
Thank You,
Chris
Peace... One Love
Monday, November 3, 2008
First real post
Hello all, I am now coming to you live from the UK. We got internet about a week or two ago, and things are finally settling down enough that I can think about posting, albeit at 10pm my time. First off terri, my partner, and I love it here. While there are the pro's and con's we think the pro's currently outweigh the con's. Some of the pluses, there are sidewalk's, honest to goodness sidewalks that people can walk on. Despite being about ten miles from London, there is greenery everywhere, tree's and gardens, nature paths all very refreshing to be able to see while walking. Some things are a little more expensive however, once we can start making some British money and stop having to convert it will not be so bad. the country despite having a reputation from being conservative, is actually in some aspects far more progressive (more to come later on this topic).
We are really enjoying ourselves here and our daughter now says she thinks she would like to stay here to live.
We saw Igor two weekends ago, while it was an somewhat enjoyable waste of time, I believe it is a movie incorrectly advertised to kids (a main character is a suicidal rabbit who attempts to continually find ways to kill himself) when most of the humor is slightly more adult than the Shrek movie's. Though the movie was not bad there were a number of trailers for movie that I believe we would have preferred to have been wathcing. Overall I give the movie a C. The cinema however, was very nice with real prices comparable to the US (a movie is expensive anywhere), the popcorn was salty (they do not have butter at the cinema) but tasted better than most and the nachos come with not only cheese and peppers but salsa.
Last week my daughter had what they call here half term. It is a week long break in the middle of the school term. We were not expecting until about a week prior and we ended up lounging around the house most of the time, especially since terri was busy in workshops and meeting Mon-Wed. By Wed night my daughter, Bodhi, was so bored she was nearly ready to pop out of her skin. So at more or less the last minute we decided to go to the aquarium in London. This would be me and my daughters first time in London and our first time taking the train. We were excited to say the least.The train ride was relatively short and uneventful but we are enjoying not driving and being able to see things.
London, we were also somewhat unaware that the aquarium is located smack dab in one of the main tourist spots of London. The London Eye (or Millenium Wheel), Big Ben ( not all that big), and the houses of Parliament very close-by, along with several museums the only saving grace I beleive from making it total pandemonium was the fact that it wasn't a bigger holiday. The line to get into the aquarium was about an hour long. Plenty of time to realize that you are hungry and one of the little food stands is just perfect. We had a small bag of fresh from the fryer donuts with a light sprinkling of sugar, tey were probably the best donuts we have ever had. The lady behind us was very nice and gave a an extra 2 for 1 coupon that you get to use when you take the train into London, saving us a decent bit of money. The aquarium definitely highlighted the fact that england crams a whole lot of stuff into tight quarters. Small hallways combined with, likely, a higher than average foot traffic made for some tight quarters and the desire to unfortunatly move a little more quickly. All being said it still had some great displays and a vast variety of sea-life to appreciate. The gift shop (also tight) was quite impressive with the array of choices (more London themed than aquarium) and quite fair prices on most of the gifts, terri got several, Bodhi laid claim to a stuffed orca and I acquired a change purse (a necessity in this country). back outside we could see the preparations for halloween, which is oddly not as big a deal here as in the States being that it originated here. The London Eye is impressive and I can not say as I would like to go on it, one it spins very slowly, which while understandable, if you decide shortly after going up (after waiting in a very long line) that you do not like it you are stuck for quite a while. I took quite a few pictures on the trip, all of which were uploaded on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
That will be it for now, I am getting kind of sleepy. I will have plenty more to write when the time (and computer) is available. Next time I will probably speak about my daughters first time seeing snow in her life, my trials and tribulations in searching for a job and hopefully even a review of another movie (hopefully the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace) or maybe a DVD (Incredible Hulk or Iron Man).
Thank you for reading, cheers
Peace... One Love, Chris
We are really enjoying ourselves here and our daughter now says she thinks she would like to stay here to live.
We saw Igor two weekends ago, while it was an somewhat enjoyable waste of time, I believe it is a movie incorrectly advertised to kids (a main character is a suicidal rabbit who attempts to continually find ways to kill himself) when most of the humor is slightly more adult than the Shrek movie's. Though the movie was not bad there were a number of trailers for movie that I believe we would have preferred to have been wathcing. Overall I give the movie a C. The cinema however, was very nice with real prices comparable to the US (a movie is expensive anywhere), the popcorn was salty (they do not have butter at the cinema) but tasted better than most and the nachos come with not only cheese and peppers but salsa.
Last week my daughter had what they call here half term. It is a week long break in the middle of the school term. We were not expecting until about a week prior and we ended up lounging around the house most of the time, especially since terri was busy in workshops and meeting Mon-Wed. By Wed night my daughter, Bodhi, was so bored she was nearly ready to pop out of her skin. So at more or less the last minute we decided to go to the aquarium in London. This would be me and my daughters first time in London and our first time taking the train. We were excited to say the least.The train ride was relatively short and uneventful but we are enjoying not driving and being able to see things.
London, we were also somewhat unaware that the aquarium is located smack dab in one of the main tourist spots of London. The London Eye (or Millenium Wheel), Big Ben ( not all that big), and the houses of Parliament very close-by, along with several museums the only saving grace I beleive from making it total pandemonium was the fact that it wasn't a bigger holiday. The line to get into the aquarium was about an hour long. Plenty of time to realize that you are hungry and one of the little food stands is just perfect. We had a small bag of fresh from the fryer donuts with a light sprinkling of sugar, tey were probably the best donuts we have ever had. The lady behind us was very nice and gave a an extra 2 for 1 coupon that you get to use when you take the train into London, saving us a decent bit of money. The aquarium definitely highlighted the fact that england crams a whole lot of stuff into tight quarters. Small hallways combined with, likely, a higher than average foot traffic made for some tight quarters and the desire to unfortunatly move a little more quickly. All being said it still had some great displays and a vast variety of sea-life to appreciate. The gift shop (also tight) was quite impressive with the array of choices (more London themed than aquarium) and quite fair prices on most of the gifts, terri got several, Bodhi laid claim to a stuffed orca and I acquired a change purse (a necessity in this country). back outside we could see the preparations for halloween, which is oddly not as big a deal here as in the States being that it originated here. The London Eye is impressive and I can not say as I would like to go on it, one it spins very slowly, which while understandable, if you decide shortly after going up (after waiting in a very long line) that you do not like it you are stuck for quite a while. I took quite a few pictures on the trip, all of which were uploaded on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
That will be it for now, I am getting kind of sleepy. I will have plenty more to write when the time (and computer) is available. Next time I will probably speak about my daughters first time seeing snow in her life, my trials and tribulations in searching for a job and hopefully even a review of another movie (hopefully the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace) or maybe a DVD (Incredible Hulk or Iron Man).
Thank you for reading, cheers
Peace... One Love, Chris
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
In England trying to set up
Hello, First post since moving across the pond. We have now officially been here more than a week. We are still trying to set up and get used to things. We have our utilities set up and hopefully will have a bank account by weeks end. Then our plan is to sign up for internet/home phone/tv once we have the account. I have only recently begun my job search and hope it is over soon. Terri and I are very happy with England so far, the locals are abit standoff-ish but we have met a few nice and helpful people. We actually ended up taking a black cab to our hotel (which had an excellent shower) which was not nearly as expensive (the cab) as we had thought. The drivers/ driving is nuts, I have the very distinct feeling that most Americans would die in traffic accidents here if they tried driving here. Somehow the Brits manage in the beautiful chaos. Bodhi loves her school and is having a blast with it however, she still flip-flops about liking England. She is also going to be joining an art club on Friday (at school) that will allow her a creative outlet. We are still very much adjusting to things, it is cooler and much less humid but that also means dryer air. We have also found and affordable bus route that cuts our walk time (and stress) fdown considerably. It will still take awhile to get completely set up so posts will likely be few and far between right now.
Well that is all for now I hope all friends and family are doing well and that all are in good spirits.
peace... one love
or as the Brits say "Cheers"
Well that is all for now I hope all friends and family are doing well and that all are in good spirits.
peace... one love
or as the Brits say "Cheers"
Monday, September 15, 2008
Last post before the trip
Hello all, this is my last post before our trip to England. I can feel the nervous/ excitment all over my body. I did not sleep very well last night and my tummy is in knots a bit. We have a very small amount of packing left, other than that I do not know what we have planned for today besides veg a little bit. The first two legs of our trip are relatively short until we get to Washington Dulles, then a seven hour flight to London Heathrow that will be the rough part. At the moment I am kind of just writing to keep my mind occupied.
Peace... One Love
Peace... One Love
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Righteous Kill
Me and my partner just got back from the movie Righteous Kill starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, co-staring John Leguizamo Brian Dennehy and Carla Gugino along with rapper 50-cent (Curtis Jackson). The movie is about two veteran New York police detectives who find themselves mired in a case of who is killing men escaping prosecution for heinous crimes. The movie has a great cast and a good twist ( although some may find it predictable) and some great scenes. I think this is a great movie for a matinee viewing and DeNiro and Pacino give it a great punch.
B+
Peace... One Love
B+
Peace... One Love
Friday, September 12, 2008
Burn after reading
I just got back from the new Coen Bros. movie starring John Malkovich. It was excellent, there were quite a few good twists and many of the characters were hilarious. If you are a Coen Bros. fan, a John Malkovich fan or a Brad Pitt or George Clooney fan this is a great movie for you. Also looks like there are some very interesting serious/ true event movies coming out soon.
A+
Peace... One Love
A+
Peace... One Love
Thursday, September 11, 2008
First shot
This is my first of what will hopefully be many posts. I (and my wife and daughter) am moving to England in 3 days and hope to be able to chronicle our trip to and adventures in the UK. We hope to try new things (though I am pretty certain I will not try blood sausage) and see many new places , if we can afford it. I will also use this blog as a launching point for me to make posts about my thoughts on matters near and far as I see them. Hopefully many will read them although realistically I do not expect it. I will probably even post reviews of not common to us products and services as I encounter them.
Peace... One Love
Prowl
Peace... One Love
Prowl
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
