they grow up fast these days

can you believe, my nephew is only a year old--look what he gets away with! we airbrushed out the cigarette...

kidding, of course! ah, photoshop...

ban ugg boots!

a woman was hit by a train and killed in Colchester when her ugg boot became trapped in a cattle grid while trying to cross railway tracks. so, besides the obvious--ugg boots are a hiddeously ugly--they also cause fatal accidents. burn them!

madonna still trying to find herself

this post from the onion blog 'the hater' made me laugh really hard. especially the semester abroad in costa rica advice, as that's exactly how it works in foreign lands.

the job front

well, perhaps my meeting with a recruiter last week is helping. and suddenly, my posting on monster from last november is working now, too. this a.m. i had 2 calls in 2 minutes, both from recruiters with prospective jobs! i'm still sorting out interviews and all that, but should know more by the end of today. both jobs actually look quite promising--both are in london, both in digital marketing/media, both traffic/project management related, etc. basically, both jobs i feel i can land. woo!

moving

we're mostly moved in to our new place! we still have a few odds and ends at the old place to collect and move, but we have a bit of time yet. i'm at the old place now, as we're still waiting for our broadband to be switched on.

friends of mine from chicago/capital are visiting now. i'm glad they came--it forced us to unpack our boxes rather quickly, haha. we showed them around town yesterday and treated ourselves to curry. and we'll have curry again tonight. mmm. i like out-of-towners with vicious appetites for indian food.

i'm still mega-sore from all the moving; we're on the third floor at both flats, so the move involved lots of stair climbing and calf muscle pulling. it's really sad how out of shape i've become. i can hardly walk without wincing. sigh.

whistling busker

this man is by leaps and bounds my favorite street musician in guildford! he has the dedication and to be honest, is the most refreshingly original busker i've seen outside my window. he started sometime before 9.30 this a.m., as that's when i originally heard him, and he's been going, albeit with short pipe-smoking breaks, ever since; it's after 3 p.m.! and he's blind! which makes his standing in the freak hail storm, whistling his heart out, that much more sincere. this isn't his best song for sure, but you can see his pure determination, his british stiff upper lip, if you will, at belting out the notes despite the large ice balls cascading down around him!

and a picture--

so, hail! i've never seen hail in england, and it's been a long time since i've seen any in the states. we've had a few hail storms now, all in the last 24 hours. what was so freaky, especially yesterday, was the cloudless sky about 2 minutes before the hail storm, which was followed by rain and thunderstorms. and then sun. just before the hail, we'd been out walking around town, running errands etc., talking about what a lovely day it was to take a long walk--which we canceled soon after uttering the words. today was similar--sun, hail, snow flurries, more hail, sun. then more hail, snow, sun.

and it's easter, right? if not, i'm worried that people are starting to crucify everyday guildfordians at the top of the high street on saturday afternoons--

number of five-year-olds i could take in a fight

i didn't expect to do this well! i thought i could take maybe 4... but 18!? bring 'em on! thanks for the link, brian! and happy birthday today, too!

18