Eastbourne Pier (built 1866-1872)
I changed the first two to black and white as it seems to work better somehow...
Chalk cliffs at Birling Gap
Birling Gap beach
Hope you all had great weekends!
Monday, 12 March 2012
I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside
A sunny Spring weekend with friends who live in Eastbourne on the south coast...
Friday, 9 March 2012
BullSh*t Bingo
Way back in the days when I had loads and loads to say for myself... you know, before the Great Loss of Nat’s Blogging Mojo of 2012... I wrote about how when I first came to live in the UK, I had to learn to communicate with the locals over here. You’d be forgiven for thinking that would be an easy task - we all speak the Queen’s English, right? Wrong! Regional accents, different slang words and inflections in totally different places only served to confound me almost daily.
But eventually I figured it all out.... I got it sorted! I stopped calling traffic lights "robots", mobiles "cell phones", and restricted use of the word "pants" to talking about my unmentionables (my undergarments) and never in the singular (as in "I wore a jean pant", a phrase quite commonly spoken in the beautiful southern African accent).
I soon learnt that a geyser is a natural fountain that throws up jets of hot water and steam. It’s also the British equivalent of the American slang word "dude"... a bloke who's a bit hard and thinks he's the “dogs' bollocks”. It is certainly not the hot water tank in your house. I now know that someone is not insulting me when they tell me that something I own or have done is “the dogs' bollocks!”. Not so if they tell me I am talking bollocks.
I answer the greeting "Allright?" with "Allright?" and I feel no urge to contradict anyone ending every sentence with "...know what I mean?" since this does not in fact require any formal response, such as "Yes, I do know what you mean" or "No, I am not quite sure what you mean....please elaborate." Ditto, the terms "right?" and "innit?!" do not phase me in the slightest, as they require no further action on my part.
Having overcome that first language barrier, I was then faced with the even bigger task of getting to grips with the frankly quite ridiculous language flying around the corporate world. Now, I am not a business person. In fact, an ex-boss once told me that I completely lacked any sense of business acumen (note, I said ex-boss). I did not take this as an insult....after all, I spent nine years of my life studying medical science, with the express purpose of avoiding spending my working life conversing with a bunch of suits in their uniquely irritating BS (Bull Shit aka Business Speak), 24/7.
With all due respect to those who are actually in the business world, and who like to be pro-active...those who thrive on brainstorming, on getting their ducks in a row and then touching base to get a heads-up on whether they’re singing from the same hymn sheet, before going forward and pushing the envelope out...at the end of the day, BS is not rocket science (even if it does involve some blue sky thinking).
Nonetheless, I do still like to think outside the box....and some long, hard days at work, I just have to find humour in things that are obviously not intended to be funny in the slightest. Very Important and Serious Stuff, don’tchaknow?
Exhibit A
This gem in an email from Annoying Demanding Client #1 today:
Here are the very important and serious data that I requested. There are some outstanding queries that will need addressing, and I am riding herd on those.
Riding herd?
What on earth? Has Annoying Demanding Client #1 branched out into cattle farming? Does she don a power dressing suit and cowboy boots and go round up a few long horns before hitting the office in the mornings?
According to the Fount of All Knowledge (Google), to ride herd on something means to keep watch or control over it. Nothing whatsoever to do with cowboys.
Pity. But that’s a good enough excuse to post some cowboy-related eye candy.....
My goal for next week....to incorporate that golden nugget into an email back to Annoying Demanding Client #1, or even better, casually drop it into the conversation in a teleconference without rolling off my chair in hysterics.
A massive challenge... but rest assured, I’ll be riding herd on that and definitely giving it 110%!
But eventually I figured it all out.... I got it sorted! I stopped calling traffic lights "robots", mobiles "cell phones", and restricted use of the word "pants" to talking about my unmentionables (my undergarments) and never in the singular (as in "I wore a jean pant", a phrase quite commonly spoken in the beautiful southern African accent).
I soon learnt that a geyser is a natural fountain that throws up jets of hot water and steam. It’s also the British equivalent of the American slang word "dude"... a bloke who's a bit hard and thinks he's the “dogs' bollocks”. It is certainly not the hot water tank in your house. I now know that someone is not insulting me when they tell me that something I own or have done is “the dogs' bollocks!”. Not so if they tell me I am talking bollocks.
I answer the greeting "Allright?" with "Allright?" and I feel no urge to contradict anyone ending every sentence with "...know what I mean?" since this does not in fact require any formal response, such as "Yes, I do know what you mean" or "No, I am not quite sure what you mean....please elaborate." Ditto, the terms "right?" and "innit?!" do not phase me in the slightest, as they require no further action on my part.
Having overcome that first language barrier, I was then faced with the even bigger task of getting to grips with the frankly quite ridiculous language flying around the corporate world. Now, I am not a business person. In fact, an ex-boss once told me that I completely lacked any sense of business acumen (note, I said ex-boss). I did not take this as an insult....after all, I spent nine years of my life studying medical science, with the express purpose of avoiding spending my working life conversing with a bunch of suits in their uniquely irritating BS (Bull Shit aka Business Speak), 24/7.
With all due respect to those who are actually in the business world, and who like to be pro-active...those who thrive on brainstorming, on getting their ducks in a row and then touching base to get a heads-up on whether they’re singing from the same hymn sheet, before going forward and pushing the envelope out...at the end of the day, BS is not rocket science (even if it does involve some blue sky thinking).
Nonetheless, I do still like to think outside the box....and some long, hard days at work, I just have to find humour in things that are obviously not intended to be funny in the slightest. Very Important and Serious Stuff, don’tchaknow?
Exhibit A
This gem in an email from Annoying Demanding Client #1 today:
Here are the very important and serious data that I requested. There are some outstanding queries that will need addressing, and I am riding herd on those.
Riding herd?
What on earth? Has Annoying Demanding Client #1 branched out into cattle farming? Does she don a power dressing suit and cowboy boots and go round up a few long horns before hitting the office in the mornings?
According to the Fount of All Knowledge (Google), to ride herd on something means to keep watch or control over it. Nothing whatsoever to do with cowboys.
Pity. But that’s a good enough excuse to post some cowboy-related eye candy.....
This gentleman first put in an appearance back here
My goal for next week....to incorporate that golden nugget into an email back to Annoying Demanding Client #1, or even better, casually drop it into the conversation in a teleconference without rolling off my chair in hysterics.
A massive challenge... but rest assured, I’ll be riding herd on that and definitely giving it 110%!
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Weapons Of Massive Discussion
My neighbours probably think I'm a bit weird.....
Nosy Neighbour #1: Oh her? Yes she's very odd. Lazing about all day at home while the poor husband goes out to work. Apparently she 'shirks works from home' but I reckon there's more to it than that... there's been a constant stream of strapping gentleman callers to that door in the past few years. Plumbers, builders, electricians, kitchen fitters? A likely story! Just how much work can one person get done to their house?
[Quite a lot actually, when you buy a house previously owned by the most inept interior designer since early man decided his cave could do with a few rocks being rearranged, perhaps a few strategically placed mammoth skins].
Net Curtain Twitcher #2: Then there's all that yelling she does some days....
"Just lay that freeking egg already you freeking feathered freak! You are driving me insane!"
[Neighbour to the right keeps hens that for some reason feel obliged to let the wider world know that omelettes are on the menu tonight at Number 10]
"Sod off you horrible cat! Go crap in your own garden!"
[Neighbour to the right also has 5 moggies on high fibre diets].
"Why oh why oh why do I have to put up with this?!!"
[When my internet goes down and I lose connection to my office server... typically on a day when there is a major deadline]
" **** ******ing *****er!!!!!"
[Quite frequent outburst after any communication with Demanding Annoying Client #1].
Nosy Neighbour #1: I think she has an aggressive personality. I've heard she practises some lethal kung fu thingamabob - you know, all that secretive martial arts stuff. Trained killers those people are!
[Actually it's Aikido, and it's a passive form of self defense]
Net Curtain Twitcher #2: We had better watch our backs - we could all be murdered in our beds!
[Not all of you, just maybe Audi Man with the annoying car alarm]
Nosy Neighbour #1: She may already be up to something. Why just this past weekend I overheard her telling her husband "We really must take this stuff out the car! Do we want everyone thinking we're planning on disposing of a body?"
[Actually I did say this to B, last Saturday morning....refering to the shovel, boots and other snow storm readiness paraphernalia that have been clanging about in our car boot since the snowfalls last month.]
Net Curtain Twitcher #2: And I heard her asking him "Can you give me a hand? I just can't fit all the weapons in the car boot!"
[We were on our way to Aikido Winter School and needed to pack the bag of wooden weapons - jo (staff) and bokken (sword)]
Nosy Neighbour #1: Well whatever she's been up to, she's certainly looking the worse for wear... did you see her on Sunday? Crawling around like she's just gone 10 rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson, and with the bruises to show for it!
[Aikido Winter School related injuries.... well, sort of! We were watching the black belts grading when suddenly the fire alarms went off. LOUDLY. In my haste to get out of the sport centre - I could actually smell burning - I tripped down the spectator stand and rammed my leg into a sharp metal object. I have the Mother of all bruises running the length of my thigh. Ouch!]
...........
I've been a bit scarce lately... apologies for that! Just lacking in inspiration and otherwise distracted. Not worth saying anything, unless you have something worth saying....
Hope to catch up with you all soon!
Nosy Neighbour #1: Oh her? Yes she's very odd. Lazing about all day at home while the poor husband goes out to work. Apparently she '
[Quite a lot actually, when you buy a house previously owned by the most inept interior designer since early man decided his cave could do with a few rocks being rearranged, perhaps a few strategically placed mammoth skins].
Net Curtain Twitcher #2: Then there's all that yelling she does some days....
"Just lay that freeking egg already you freeking feathered freak! You are driving me insane!"
[Neighbour to the right keeps hens that for some reason feel obliged to let the wider world know that omelettes are on the menu tonight at Number 10]
"Sod off you horrible cat! Go crap in your own garden!"
[Neighbour to the right also has 5 moggies on high fibre diets].
"Why oh why oh why do I have to put up with this?!!"
[When my internet goes down and I lose connection to my office server... typically on a day when there is a major deadline]
" **** ******ing *****er!!!!!"
[Quite frequent outburst after any communication with Demanding Annoying Client #1].
Nosy Neighbour #1: I think she has an aggressive personality. I've heard she practises some lethal kung fu thingamabob - you know, all that secretive martial arts stuff. Trained killers those people are!
[Actually it's Aikido, and it's a passive form of self defense]
Net Curtain Twitcher #2: We had better watch our backs - we could all be murdered in our beds!
[Not all of you, just maybe Audi Man with the annoying car alarm]
Nosy Neighbour #1: She may already be up to something. Why just this past weekend I overheard her telling her husband "We really must take this stuff out the car! Do we want everyone thinking we're planning on disposing of a body?"
[Actually I did say this to B, last Saturday morning....refering to the shovel, boots and other snow storm readiness paraphernalia that have been clanging about in our car boot since the snowfalls last month.]
Net Curtain Twitcher #2: And I heard her asking him "Can you give me a hand? I just can't fit all the weapons in the car boot!"
[We were on our way to Aikido Winter School and needed to pack the bag of wooden weapons - jo (staff) and bokken (sword)]
Nosy Neighbour #1: Well whatever she's been up to, she's certainly looking the worse for wear... did you see her on Sunday? Crawling around like she's just gone 10 rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson, and with the bruises to show for it!
[Aikido Winter School related injuries.... well, sort of! We were watching the black belts grading when suddenly the fire alarms went off. LOUDLY. In my haste to get out of the sport centre - I could actually smell burning - I tripped down the spectator stand and rammed my leg into a sharp metal object. I have the Mother of all bruises running the length of my thigh. Ouch!]
...........
I've been a bit scarce lately... apologies for that! Just lacking in inspiration and otherwise distracted. Not worth saying anything, unless you have something worth saying....
Hope to catch up with you all soon!
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Love, Life and Bubonic Plague
Happy Valentine's Day to all those who celebrate it!
.......
I haven't had a whole lot to say for myself lately.... that's possibly because there's not really been a whole lot happening in the Life of Nat.
.......
I haven't had a whole lot to say for myself lately.... that's possibly because there's not really been a whole lot happening in the Life of Nat.
Work is work. Clients are clients. Some are less annoying than others. Did I mention that I got a promotion last month?
Just over 6 weeks to go till we leave for Vietnam and I think we're on track...
Visas? Check.
Jabs? Check.
249 000 bottles of bug repellent? Check.
Antimalarials? Still debating whether we need them or not. We'll be hanging out in low-risk areas and have been advised they are not necessary, but that doesn't stop me checking the CDC website daily in case there has been a shift in opinions. Avoid getting bitten in the first place is the mantra... and essential to avoid the tropical delights of dengue fever, for which there is no magic prophylactic pill.
Antibacterial wipes, gels and sprays? Check! Yes, germophobe alert!
Travel guides? Check. I picked up the latest DK Guide on Vietnam and Angkor Wat... as I do so love their "pretty pictures and little text" format that suits my short attention span. I also picked up a copy of Jane Wilson-Howarth's How To Shit Around The World: The Art of Staying Clean and Healthy While Travelling... it's fascinating reading for a germophobe and emetophobe like me, and has many amusing little anecdotes that I may just have to share one day.
When I'm not fretting about catching malaria/traveller's diarrhoea/bubonic plague/leprosy and stocking up on medical supplies for our trip, I'm most likely experimenting with new healthy recipes or trying to keep moving, as part of my Not So Fat Nat programme that you can follow over here.
And that is pretty much all that's been happening in the Life of Nat of late....
Saturday, 11 February 2012
A Little More Of Lille...
Some fairly random photos, the last of my Lille collection....
Renault
Creperie
Grand Place
Eglise Saint Maurice
Eglise Saint Maurice
Eglise Saint Maurice
Tree carving at Lille Zoo
Tree carving at Lille Zoo
Tree carving at Lille Zoo
Tree carving at Lille Zoo
Artist's dog
Chandelier at Meert tea salon
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Walking In A Winter Wonderland
Overnight snowfalls made for a beautiful walk this morning.....
My hubby found a good use for the snow he shovelled from the driveway... to build a snowman!
Friday, 3 February 2012
Not So Fat Nat
So, it's been one month of sticking to my new healthy eating regimen.... well, apart from those calorie-laden waffles and macaroons in Lille... and I am rather pleased to report that I've shifted nearly 9 pounds (4 kg) to date.
Rather than bore you all to tantrums and tears with my tedious weight loss tales, I will only be reporting on my progress on here every now and again. But, if per chance anyone wants to follow my journey to a healthier lifestyle in any detail, I have started putting together a separate blog of tasty low-fat recipes, trendy tips and tintillating tales of my trials and tribulations, rather aptly named Not So Fat Nat...that you can find over here.
Still a work in progress and perhaps rather self-indulgent, but I'm hoping that it will somehow keep me on track.. or at least distract me from exploring the contents of the biscuit tin!
Happy Friday everyone...
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