My picture is of a house I passed yesterday. Unfortunately I didn’t go past it late enough, but the sheer number of free-standing Christmas decorations rather horrified me. There is only a small fraction on the picture.
Today my plans are simple, lunch and a mooch around a bookshop, then drive to the airport and sit lots. I wish the whole travelling bit was quicker. Given that I have a full day’s meeting Thursday I am also hoping that the jet lag is not too bad.
In the afternoon I went to Lookout Mountain. I rode the incline railway to the top. It’s a 1 mile stretch, rising 1,450 feet and is a 72.7% gradient at its steepest point. It was originally powered by steam and opened in 1895. It’s now run by electricity. He views at the top were very impressive. Whilst in the area I also visited Ruby Falls, an underground cave system. It was originally used as a hideout or home by American Indians, Outlaws and Civil War soldiers before being sealed off during the railway expansion at the turn of the century. To be honest it wasn’t that different to other cave systems I’ve been in, but learning about the uses it had was interesting.
I didn’t really do much today, it was a bit of a nonentity. Too tired to think straight. Tonight I’m packing, then tomorrow back in work for the day, then fly home Tuesday into Wednesday. I’m ready to come home, but it has been fun.
Whilst I was eating my breakfast this morning the telly was on in the restaurant, and although I was mainly tuning it out I did hear this gem: 34% of evangelists believe that there is concrete proof of global warming, caused by demons - only in America! I’m getting quite used to eating pancakes with syrup on the same plate a cheese omelette, and actually quite liking it. Today I changed state. I didn’t evaporate or anything, I just crossed from Georgia to Tennessee. I drove north to Chattanooga. Chattanooga has a nicer feel to it than Atlanta, despite it being 10 degrees colder. The hotel is right in the centre, walking distance to lots of restaurants and also by a free shuttle to lots of tourist things. It is about 1 minutes walk to the Tennessee River, which is crossed by a couple of really pretty bridges. There are some nice sculptures along the river side as well.
The other thing I did today was find the Chattanooga Choo Choo. In 1880 the first train ran from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, and was nicknamed the Chattanooga Choo Choo. The route was the first public transport link from North to South. The location of the train is an old station - Terminal Station - which was designed in 1900, closed in 1970 and restored and reopened as a rail museum in 1978. I was just excited that I found the train which was sung about, and the main reason I picked Chattanooga as the place to stop over at.
The course is going well. It is interesting more than informative, though there are a few things I’ll be taking back with me. I am very glad I went actually, though I won’t be sad when it’s over, 10 hrs of mainly sitting isn’t that much fun. It rained yesterday. Apparently winters in Atlanta are a mix of rain and glorious sun, we are back to sunshine today. The temperature is about constant at 10 degrees though - not too unpleasant. Today (twice) I came across an unusual American phrase. My first encounter was as I was walking across a room carrying a drink in each hand. From across the room came the statement ‘I see you’re double-fisting Antonia’ I stopped in my tracks and must have looked confused (mainly as the only definition that came to mind was rather rude and totally inaccurate for what I was currently doing). Apparently it means that I was holding a drink in each hand. It floored me less later in the day when I heard it again. We really are separated by a common language.
The INPO building is very nice and some of the way American plants are run does make them seem attractive. I doubt they would ever be attractive enough for me to emigrate, but I did daydream that thought briefly. I’ve not really done much else. I’m still going to bed early. I tried pancakes and syrup, which are very nice but the ones here I would describe as scotch pancakes. I am about ready to come home now, but hopefully the change of State on Friday will reinvigorate me. As always I enjoy travelling to an extent but I do miss home.
What got you here won't get you there, you need to have a goal to be able to fulfil it. When your goal is eating without falling asleep it's certainly achievable.
black and silver enclose the skin
only flesh ripped would reveal beneath
deep seated fears, recently unfounded,
habits well learnt, comforting still.
Tired, I feel like I'm waiting for something. Still ok and only an acceptable level of homesick.
My new glasses, still strange
make the page sharp and in focus
so odd not to see the words swim and dance
they seem sadder for it,
should I give them their freedom back?
- Mood:
listless
Today I had rather nice corn beef hash as my side for breakfast and eyed up the pancakes for tomorrow. I also bumped into the other Brit on the course with me. She reminded me that we start at 7.30am tomorrow so we are meeting for breakfast at 6.45 - ew. I then set out, for the second time, for the CNN centre. Today parking was 5 dollars for the day - much happier. The CNN centre was really interesting, helped by the fact that there were only 4 of us on the tour (they allow a maximum of 45). It lasted 50 minutes and we got to see the news actually being presented live. The bit on the weather was the most interesting bit, all their weather people are meteorologists and write the weather they present. The technology they use was also fascinating.
I then went on to coca-cola world. It is more based for children than adults but it did have some interesting bits. I did manage to slightly perturb the guide. It was his own fault really. He said ‘the only country coca-cola isn’t sold in is Cuba’ so I asked if that meant it was sold in North Korea, and he looked confused and a little upset and said that was what he had been told. The interesting things I did learn were that the bottling rights for coca-cola were sold for 1 dollar, and it was the first successful franchise (the company only makes the syrup). Its marketing history is also interesting, with it being the first example of the use of vouchers for free samples. I also liked that their water purification system was built by GE Water (it’s a work thing).
On the way back to the car I walked through the Centennial Olympic Park - quite a pretty park with jet fountains in the middle. They were just being fountains the first time I walked through, but the second time they were moving to music - ‘under the sea’ - it was really amusing. I went on to a Mall, and I’ve got my hair trimmed, so the ends are not so bad, and I was really good and I’ve been to an opticians - no more fuzzy computers for me! I get to pick up my reading glasses tonight. My prescription has got a little stronger since I got the last pair (4ish years ago), and I am very pleased with myself for finally getting it done. Tonight I’m out for dinner with my work colleague, and then early to bed again for an early start, and hopefully pancakes - grins.
This morning (Day 2) the main highlight of breakfast was made-to-order omelettes, with a choice of sides. I joined the queue to try. There was one side which I couldn’t even guess at - Grits, so I asked the lady ahead of me. Answering, with disbelief, in a proper southern drawl, and after she had got me to repeat that I didn’t know what Grits was, she explained that it was like oatmeal but made of corn, and she also said it was the ice-cream of the south. So I tried it. It had the consistency of tapioca and much as it was edible and did taste of corn, I won’t be trying it again.
Unfortunately, despite me getting up early, once I checked the internet I discovered that nothing opens till 10. Well at least it gave me time to eat cake as second breakfast. My first stop was ‘Atlanta Underground’ an underground market/boutique shopping area (not as big as I thought it would be though). Atlanta was historically (and still now) a major transport hub. What that meant was that there was loads of railways all meeting in the centre of the city. This became dangerous for pedestrians (who had to walk alongside the rail tracks), so a solution was devised to build viaducts over the train lines and sort of rebuild the city at that level. When the number of rail tracks needed declined it left a series of tunnels under the city. It is some of these that have been turned into shops and restaurants. I took a picture. The ceiling is quite low and I do find it incredible to think that whole sections of the city were just rebuilt at a new height. I had a wander into some of the areas surrounding the underground section but didn’t stay long as it just didn’t feel safe. Probably daft as the main street did have a police car on it, complete with a policeman with a megaphone, which he was using to shout at people who crossed the road without using a crossing.
I went onto the Atlanta Historic Centre. It was really interesting to learn that the location of Atlanta was picked as it is the intersection of three granite ridges. These ridges connect the interior, the mountains and the coast. Historically, Indian trails went along the ridges, and later they were covered by rail tracks. Also I learnt a lot about the civil war, which was something I didn’t really know much about. I learnt that the unionists invented a rifled cannon in 1860, which could accurately hit a target 2 miles away, and is one of the reasons so many people died (about 640,000). It turns out that the fall of Atlanta to the unionists in 1864 being the turning point and the beginning of the end for the confederates. There was an exhibition on ‘gone with the wind’ and a whole lot about the development of Atlanta. There were also a couple of buildings which had been moved there and restored and a whole lot on the treatment of slaves and emancipation.
I didn’t feel like another museum so went on to another shopping area for a mooch. I had intended to stop and have lunch, but instead I had just had lots of sits to rest my ankle. It was only when I realised I was trying to go up the down escalator that I conceded that maybe I should stop and have something to eat. (I swung onto the third from bottom step of the escalator and got very confused when I went backwards.) So long as you’re selective, I quite like the food here, though I guess you can say that about any country. I do like the free, continuous refills, and the level of service which irritates me in shops is really nice in a restaurant. I did forgo pudding as I had spotted a cheesecake shop, so had takeout from there instead.
Despite being around shops quite a bit today I only bought one thing. A bit ironic that last time I found far too many clothes that I liked and couldn’t afford or have space in my luggage for, so this time I under-packed and haven’t seen anything. Anyway, I found a top I liked for under 10 dollars so decided to get it. I think the shops were probably glad that I only found one thing though. I took it to the counter and managed to confuse the man as when he asked who had helped me choose the top today I said no-one. I had managed to surreptitiously view their stock, thus not alerting the army of staff to my need for help. I guess they are on commission and he had to fill in a name as it looked quite distressed as he repeated no-one. Little did he know what was coming next. I then tried to pay with cash. Unsuspectingly he took it was pressed a button, but the till didn’t open. After trying again the consulted someone else, who promptly opened a cupboard behind the counter, put a number into a safe, opened it and took a key out. They then used this key to unlock the till so it could be opened to give me my change. He seemed quite relieved to see me leave. Quite a social commentary on our current shopping habits I guess.
- 11:31 I wanted freedom, bound and restricted #
- 11:43 I tried to give it up but i'm addicted #
- 12:27 4 hours drive and i've stepped back 5 years into my past #
I return to rooms as empty as my heart
with a mood the shade of my eyes
to pack all that is shiny and bright
for whilst tomorrow is another day
next weekend will be in a different land
Well, I even surprised myself. After a few days of sleepless nights worrying I was fine after about an hour of arriving. I know I shouldn’t worry so much, but why stop something you are good at? ~grins~
I have had such a weekend, I am just sad it’s over really. All made up and raring to go on Friday, after shopping, our camp was attacked quite early on. The cry for a healer came up, I ran over (ever helpful) ‘I’m a healer but I don’t know what to do’ There followed my crash course in healing and I never really looked back. For the next couple of skirmishes I was the only healer in camp and it was great. Saturday was just not long enough. I joined the Healers Guild and did some guild service and was trained in a new skill. I watched a ritual performed by out faction which summoned a visualisation of Fenris the wolf (the wolf faction belief system is based upon Norse mythology), then we readied ourselves for a battle at Devil’s Teeth. Unfortunately, we lost 8 of our number there. I felt a real lump in my throat as I had healed some of them during the battle but it was not enough. Later that night we held a rite to move their souls onto Valhalla, and then a wake to celebrate their lives and glory, by drinking much mead and singing songs till the early hours. Sunday was the final battle. I cannot describe the feeling of being in the middle of such a battle with spells being hurled out overhead, keeping an eye out for any fallen, our faction or others, all in the fight for our homeland. I fell twice and had to be healed, but I healed many more and The Wolves lost no people that day.
Needless to say I can’t wait for the Gathering in under three weeks time. I think I might have found myself a hobby. I’ve been humming snatches of songs all day, mainly things like ‘My God’s better than your God’ and ‘The Hammer Song’. As well as sorting out the kit deficiencies I have spotted I will also be reading up on Norse mythology before next time. Oh and going to work – Bah!
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
I’ve been thinking about my garden adversaries and their names. You really would think that they’d have chosen less inflammatory names. The dreaded bindweed and the dire fireweed. A bit of a give-away, ending your name with ‘weed’. You'd think they might have chosen something more subtle, such as 'pretty fireflower' or 'not very invasive vegetation'. Bindweed’s family name isn’t much better - convolvulus - named after the convulsions had by gardeners as they notice yet more bindweed invading their borders.
They should take a leaf out of the innocuous-sounding dandelion's book. Despite being the scourge of my garden it does have a delightful name.
I have been thinking about other names as well today, and if I can crystallise my thoughts a bit I will post later on that too.
Tonight I recommenced my long and arduous fight. There has been a long break in hostilities due to injury and absence, but the threat has never once diminished. I surveyed the battleground with trepidation, the sheer enormity of enemy forces slowly sinking in. My nerve faltered, quailing at the first hurdle, but with iron determination I commenced short tactical strikes on the patio pots. During this seemingly easy manoeuvre I was viciously attacked from behind by a bush. Totally incensed I immediately retaliated with the electric hedge trimmer. Despite several attempts by the bush to cause me to cut through the cable I triumphed. A small victory, but a significant one for my moral. Still daunted by the state of my lawn I started to tackle the top border. My top border weeding strategy is rather more draconian than that of the other borders, probably due to its closer proximity to the house. Again I succeeded without incident. Thus buoyed I commenced the battle for control of the lawn. I was dismayed to notice the increase in insurgents occupying this almost neutral territory, but with a heavy heart I continued. Wise to the old tricks of the lawn I was undeterred by the altering weight of my grass basket and I didn’t fall into the trap of running over my cable. However, I was unprepared for their new tactics. I stood back, satisfied that I had completed my task, surveying my hard work, when a section of low grass stood up proudly, waving in the breeze. Irritated, I set off and cut it down. Again I stood back, again a section of grass emerged, defiantly. By now, rather more than annoyed, I mowed it down, forcefully. It was clear by now that the grass has finally worked out how to take advantage of my haphazard cutting technique. Finally I actually finished the grass. By this point I was in no real mood to properly tackle the other borders. I completed a couple of light skirmishes but my heart was no longer in it. I packed away my weapons and vowed to revisit the battlefield tomorrow.
Day 11 and I'm home. It was a long and arduous trip, I could go into details about the ineptitude of Heathrow but I'll leave it to your imagination. I've come home to a very well looked after house and cats - thank you xxx. I am very glad to be home.
Sunday evening was made of win. I found aspirin in a local pharmacy (it’s spelt virtually the same) and I bought a light dinner from a local supermarket. Admittedly I failed to find the chocolate aisle, but otherwise I successful. Also, the theatre was excellent. It was a mixture of the main pieces of music from Carmen linked with traditional music to give the story structure, also the major arias were all sung. The music definitely benefited from the counterpoint provided by tapping feet, I particularly liked the style of marching the soldiers employed. There was even a dance with castanets towards the end. I was glad to know the story already as unlike with the opera there were no subtitles, however the story was clearly told in a mixture of dance and flamenco. I will confess I failed to spot the differences in dance styles between last night and tonight, but again I was captivated by the passion of the performance. One interesting thing was the lack of an interval. The previous evening didn’t have the sort of interval I am used to but it did have a break where the narrator spoke to the audience with the curtain drawn behind him, which I sort of counted as an interval. However the performance of Carmen was continuous. Maybe intervals are a British thing. I don’t have enough experience of European theatre to know.
Following my short siesta I set out, by metro, for the old part of the city. I am still finding it hard to accept that I need my ‘bug-eyed’ sunglasses at 6pm, but nether the less I was grateful for them. The first thing I did on arrival was book a ticket to see a flamenco dance troupe later that evening. Then, at the unreasonably early time of 7pm I found something to eat. I am astounded at myself for adapting so quickly and feeling that 7pm is too early to eat especially after complaining bitterly about having dinner at 9 and 10 pm all week, but the heat probably helped. I did a quick scan of the near-by café’s but unable to find one selling my favourite potato dish (‘roll-over potatoes’) I plumped for one on an interesting looking street. Once again demonstrating my outstanding command of Spanish I had a decaf coffee, with spicy potatoes and Serrano ham. The ham was disappointing, I mean it was nice and all but not of the quality I have been eating all week. I guess I have been spoilt in that regard.
So far today has been pretty much made of fail. I ran out of paracetamol this morning and my ankle hurts lots from all the walking yesterday. I had hoped to pick up some birthday presents whilst I was here but either there has been nothing suitable or else I have not looked in the right places. I can't even work out how to rotate the above picture on this pc! lol. Anyway, I have been unsuccessful. This morning I went to the Sunday market, which was far more successful than yesterday’s market in that it was actually there. A profusion of stalls selling a range of goods, including a few stalls selling wares the customs men would enjoy confiscating. I surreptitiously took a photo. I was surprised by the number selling goods of Indian origin, and by the fact that all of the stalls selling metal t-shirts or similar also sported wares related to cannabis, I had never thought the two to be synonymous. I didn’t buy anything but I did enjoy browsing.
On returning to the hotel, an oriental gentleman was stood outside the lifts. I joined him. Being a naturally impatient person after a few moments I glanced at the call button. It was not illuminated. I pressed it and the lift arrived. This did rather remind me of a Korean post-doc I worked with briefly during my PhD. His name was Chung Woo and he arrived 20 minutes late on his first day. It turned out that the bulk of his delay had been spent stood at a pedestrian crossing waiting for the green man to appear. I guess he was lucky that it only took 20 minutes for someone else to turn up and press the button so that the lights changed. I did wonder how long the man had been stood waiting for a lift.
I am off out now to salvage my day by watching Carmen. I plan on being cultured tomorrow and visiting a museum or two.
Last night I slept a lot. I also looked up flights home and discovered that I could afford to buy a new, earlier ticket. Still feeling homesick and despite having a good cry about it, I decided to give myself another 24 hrs before doing anything rash. This is a salutary lesson for the future, especially for December when I am on a course in the states and planning on tagging holiday on after it.
The other thing I did last night was skip dinner, which led to the wonderful feeling this morning of actually being hungry rather than just going through the motions and eating something out of obligation because I know I ought to. Today, working on Spanish time (ie: late), I set off to explore
The area I now found myself in would have been referred to back home as the Chinese quarter. Shops displayed their names in both Spanish and ideograms and most occupants were oriental. I say Chinese but actually I don’t know which country of origin the locals here were. As I moved closer to the square the streets became Spanish once again. Interestingly, the pedestrian crossings sound like demented arcade games. Instead of just displaying a green man when it is time to walk they also emit a rapid ‘pow’ sound like the shots fired on a space-invaders game. When the man starts to flash the shots slow and sound laboured, reminiscent of a low battery.
By the time I reached the tourist information I had decided that although I am less brave/confident than I thought I was I am here now, and really fear is the mind killer, the little death which brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will let it pass over and through me, and I will stay in
Yesterday was hard work. We started at 8am, much like every other day, however it took twice as long to get into work. The junction off the dual carriageway that we normally took was shut for road works. The Spanish don’t appear to be overly concerned about signage and we didn’t discover it was closed until we got to it. It wasn’t even like we could turn around at the next junction because that was also shut. An approximately 25km detour later we arrived. The morning and early afternoon was spent writing our individual section of the final report. I also proof read some of the other sections for English, something I still enjoy. Later in the afternoon we reviewed the items as a team, improving suggestions and also reviewing them with the counterparts. We didn’t finish till 8pm, and everyone was totally drained. It was a quick dash back to the hotel for a change, then out for dinner with some of the management team.
The picture is of a typically Spanish zebra crossing, accessible on one side and blocked with a fence on the other – lol. Dinner was once again very nice. I did spend the evening talking work, but the food made up for it. I rounded it off with a shot of acorn liquor just before midnight. I won’t miss finishing dinner at midnight. I did spare a thought for our interpreter; he was unable to join us as he was translating our report into Spanish for the exit presentation on Friday.
This morning, our last morning, I pleased myself by ordering my own decaf coffee with milk. We went into work on the back roads and after some final preparation presented our report to the management team and some of the teams that had been involved in the process. It was a new experience presenting to slides in Spanish, and then waiting after each section of the interpreter to translate. From the reaction we got I think the site were pleased with our work, and certainly I feel like this week hasn’t been wasted. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, and I do hope that I get to see some of them again in the future.
On the way back to
Last night we went to a Portuguese restaurant, it turns out that we are only about 100km from the Portuguese border. Unfortunately for one of our party the restaurant served predominantly fish (she doesn’t eat fish), and we were told that they have over 200 ways to cook cod. I am really enjoying the Spanish approach to food which, even whilst not claiming to be tapas, is of a tapas style with many shared dishes being served. We had cod (predictably), octopus, eel, hake, and some type of meat. After caramalised pears and coffee we also had a digestif, a Portuguese orange liquor, similar to cointreau. So far I am drinking far more alcohol than normal (beer in the bar first, wine with the meal and then a spirit) but escaping without a hangover. I am wondering if being in such a hot country is helping as I am making a real effort to keep myself hydrated.
Tonight we went back to the restaurant from Sunday night. It was again excellent. Being hotter now than earlier in the week the restaurant was using mist sprays to keep the temperature down. It was quite unusual to be sat and misted like a plant, but when they turned it off for a few moments it was clear how effective it actually was. The other unusual thing on the walk back to the hotel was observing the number of people sat on the road on chairs chatting outside their houses. It really was the road as well as there are very few pavements. I was told that this is quite normal. I feel like I am seeing some of the real part of
The picture is of Navalmoral de la Mata, where we are staying. Dinner last night was fun. Interesting tapas including a very tasty yellow bean called a lupin bean, it is square in shape and about the size of a penny, and similar in texture to an edamame bean, very tasty. I also got to try white asparagus which has a much more delicate flavour than its green counterpart, and is a staple in this part of
On top of a local church I spotted a storks nest!! The picture is not so good, but I had to try.
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kittys_psyche- kitty
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