Poor Old Girl

Since we got back from Helsinki (yes, yes, I've got a backlog of photos), Alice hasn't quite been herself. Google said she was exhibiting symptoms of diabetes. Two trips to the vet got us a "high" (but not catastrophic—ta-dum-dum) glucose reading and special prescription food to try for a week or two. But this past week she really seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. Steven & I took her to the vet yesterday, and they wound up admitting her for observation & stabilization. The hospital is full, so Alice will be spending the next couple of weeks with 12 other cats (her least favorite people). This is without question the worst thing that's ever happened to her. It hasn't been a picnic for us either, as we've had to confront the mortality of our friend, companion and "nurse" of 16 years...

Back to normal

Well, at least for the time-being. The weather has turned weathery again. Today it was hot, cold, muggy, drizzly, grey, sunny, blustery, calm, and rainy. I went out to get some milk & juice (had to go all the way to Notting Hill Gate to the M&S Simply Food because it's Sunday and all the closer Sainsburys and Tescos close between 4 & 6). Then—because we needed window cleaner and ironing water—I walked to the Holland Park Tesco Express, which is open 'til 11 every day (that neighborhood is full of people who are used to convenience: Americans with generous expat packages). It was a crap shoot as to whether they'd have what I needed and I lost. Then, waiting for the bus back to Notting Hill Gate, I was caught in a torrential downpour. Holland Park Avenue turned into class 5 whitewater rapids. I switched from the 148 to the 52 and rescued a French family who are spending 2 weeks on our street at number 70. They got here three days ago and know how to walk here, but not where to get off the bus (because where are road connects to the main bus route it's not called Golborne, but Chesterton). An artist, a journalist, and their youngest daughter house-swapping for their place in the south of France.

The plot

“The great problem is that Al Qaeda has moved far beyond being a terrorist organization to being almost a state of mind,” said Simon Reeve, author of a 1999 book on Osama bin Laden and his associates.

Contact info.

So we were in Helsinki for the weekend. On Sunday night we had dinner with one of Steven's clients, and naturally I took advantage of the opportunity to complain about my phone (you know, the disappearing pictures, ringtones I paid £££s for dematerializing into the ether, etc.). She said that Steven should bring it in with him when he went to their HQ the following day. They'd flash it or something, installing the latest firmware, and the was supposedly going to solve all my problems. Turns out they flashed it, allright, and I hear that they erased everything on the phone: pictures, ringtones, contacts, everything. So the consolation prize is that I got a fancy-pants new phone—an N80—but they were supposed to fix that old phone on Monday and now it's Thursday (they said they'd DHL it to London) and I don't even have my own SIM card back.
What this all means is that until I get the SIM card back (whenever that may be), I can be reached on our "guest" number: +44 7914 224 282. It also means that if you are someone whose number I might have had stored in my cell (and possibly nowhere else), I need your contact info. again, thanks! You can either text or email.
Cheerio!

Bankside 1 atrium 07

Bankside 1 atrium 07,
originally uploaded by sf2london.

Just trying out some integration. I'm going to put all my pics on flickr now, 'cuz they can be higher-res than the ones on the blog (for those of you who are interested). I wanted to set up the direct blogging from the cellphone thing, but alas, my combination of handset and service provider currently precludes that. Anyway, here goes nothing!

Mel Gibson

For those of you who don't already know, Mel Gibson is a racist, sexist, homophobic anti-semitic jerk. Don't pay to see his movies. Don't rent his DVDs. Don't do anything that would make this right-wing neanderthal any richer.

.eu

Back in the day I thought all those "MARKATKINSON.COM is STILL AVAILABLE! REGISTER NOW!!!!!" emails were just so much spam. No more. Today I registered markatkinson.eu 'cuz I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!