Flamingo Dancer’s Neighborhood

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When I left DC on Thursday the temperature was in the 40's (below 10 C)......    when I landed in Sydney, Saturday morning, it was 100!!  (38C). 

I got heat stroke walking from the terminal to the car -  of course we walked further in the sunny car park than necessary because my son forgot where he parked. 

His car does not have air conditioning.......

I spent Saturday afternoon lying on his couch trying to cool down.

I spent a hot & balmy Saturday evening with my 3 children and my daughter-in-law-to-be and fifty of her closest relatives.

Sunday (still hot)  I spent with a friend I have known for over 40 years, in her air conditioned apartment.  We drank gin & tonics and laughed a lot.

Today I drove an injured friend around in his stick shift car.   I have not driven a stick shift in over 10 years.  I only stalled it twice.

I just learnt that, whilst the manservant is winging his way to Australia his bag is still in Chile.......  he arrives on Wednesday.  He is told his bag will arrive on Friday.  The wedding is on Saturday. 

My son has a 20 year old computer and internet connection slower than dial-up.  He has an iPhone so he doesn't care.

 

 

Dina spent the first 2 and a half years in an orphanage waiting for the red tape to clear so her mommy and daddy could bring her home. She is loved and pampered and 18 years in the making :)

I love the way the sun turned Juliana's hair to gold. This was cookie day at the B's.

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I love tourists ... really I do because they help my local economy but.. 

-  please stand to the right on the metro (train) escalators so that we locals, with things to do, can walk past on the left.  There is even a sign asking you.

-  and when you get to the top, or bottom, of the escalator please do not just stop there while you figure out where to go next.  There are 50 people about to trip up behind you.

-  Oh - and if a machine has a diagram of how a ticket should be inserted they really want you to insert your ticket that way!  

I think someone needs a drink ....... 

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I wish all Americans a Happy & Safe Thanksgiving - even the tourists! 

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The population of Washington DC is around 592,000.  (and there are an estimated 12,000 homeless).

According to the DC MPD website there have been  127 homicides since January 1st 2009  (to  Friday 11/19). 

On top of those Homicides there have been  6,529  "Violent Crimes"  which cover Sexual Attacks, Assault with a weapon, Assault without a weapon and Robbery (against a person).

In addition there have been  23,718  "Property Crimes"  a group which includes Burglary/Theft,  Stolen Auto and Arson

Those are pretty shocking figures!!

Recently on a walk along 16th Street I was amazed at the number of churches in a 2 or 3 mile stretch -  many different denominations.   

I guess having all these churches does not make all of us more law abiding or likely to follow the Ten Commandments. 

If you can't make it to church the bus will come and get you:  

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More churches around my area (by no means an exhaustive list): 

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Remember my Diet Aids ....   Remember December ?    Well here I am just over a week away from December so I thought it was time to check in.   

I have lost 16 lbs (about 7.3 kg)  since I posted those signs all around the kitchen.   With one week to go I might squeeze out another couple.  That result is not too bad - it's the equivalent of 1.5 dress sizes.   I did not increase my exercise;  actually I don't do any exercise other than the walking required to get places and our weekend strolls which are usually 3-5 miles each Saturday and Sunday.

I just stopped eating all the nice things in the cupboard and freezer and as silly as it might sound those signs really made me stop and think about whether I really wanted to eat something.  It didn't always work because the impulse part of my brain would over-ride everything and say "of course you want that lovely cream puff or ice-cream, or that entire packet of Tim Tams!" .

I continued to have a glass of wine when I got home from work; sometimes two if I'd had to be particularly nice to people at work that day.   On the weekends I was easier on myself when it came to eating the "good" stuff and I definitely had more than a couple of wines!

Now I have to come up with more rhymes to get me through 2010!   But, until then, what's for dinner tonight?  PIZZA!  

On Sunday I watched this shapely lady wobble along on stiletto heels - unfortunately they do not show up well in the photo,  nor does the wobble.

    They are walking towards a bus shelter which has an advertisement which I love even though I'm not sure what it is advertising: 

I indulged my Star Trek sweet tooth this evening, and tried to find episodes of The Next Generation. That entire series has gone missing on US video outlets, although earlier and subsequent versions of the Star Trek saga are there for the taking.

Well, I finally found what I was looking for, but not without some effort. For whatever reason, I can watch video streams of the series - all seven seasons - from either China or Korea. The shows are subtitled rather than dubbed, fortunately. I caught up with Captain Picard and his crew for one episode and intend to check in with more of the same.

It's a pretty bizarre feed, in that it stops, then starts, then stops, then starts. That signal must be traveling quite a long way to get to my computer here in Boston! After a while the signal sorts itself out and there's less interruption.

The commercials are a hoot. At one point an exultant Chinese (Korean?) couple are dancing around a beach singing the praises of some type of fruit juice. I have no idea what's going on there, but an ad is an ad wherever you go, I guess.

So, I got an hour of Star Trek, surrounded by Asian calligraphy and tacky commercials. There was even a little cartoon guy in the lower right hand side of the screen, drinking his juice. But, hey - I got to see Romulans, Klingons, Federation guys and the Starship Enterprise in its 1980s recreation. I'll drink to that!

`

I speak English and Americans speak English but  there were times when I first moved here when I was nearly in tears because I could not understand what someone was telling me. This was especially so when dealing with public transport employees when it was pretty important that I understand their direction.     

I can only imagine how hard it must be for someone when English is their second or even third language.  This  morning I saw a Latino woman at my metro station almost crying with frustration as she dealt with the station master.     

Our metro ticket machines are specifically designed to confound anyone trying to use them. In high season there are long lines of confused tourists standing in front of them while help in the form of station attendants stays well hidden.     

Now, I am no slouch with train ticket machines.  I have successfully operated them in China, Paris, Italy and Spain where there can be minimal help for those who don't speak the respective language.  But, the first time I stood infront of a metro machine with some English words thrown around it, I was confused. 

Each station has a little box where the station master sits.  They rarely deem it necessary to actually come out of their little box to demonstrate the workings of the machines.  They talk at you through glass using a funky tinny speaker which distorts their voice to that of a cartoon character and they don't seem to care how many times they repeat the same sentence even though before you will have figured out their instruction they could have come out and actually helped. 

Many times when I walk past I hear a frustrated passenger shouting from our side and the tinny response of the metro employee and I think "poor person, half a dozen trains will have gone past by the time they understand"

Back to this morning.  As I walked into the station I could hear the poor woman trying to tell the attendant that she did exactly as she was told and it hadn't worked. The attandant's cartoon voice came back saying well she didn't press the "minus sign".  The passenger asked "what's a minus sign?".  The attendant just kept repeating:  The minus sign; the minus sign. On the machine there is a minus sign; you have to press the minus sign."  

The woman said "I don't understand minus".  The attendant repeated the mantra that the minus sign must be pressed.  

Seriously how helpful can that be if you don't know what a "minus sign" is ?!?!?!?!    

Feeling terribly sorry for the woman I said "I'll show you"  and took her back to the evil machine and pointed out the + and -  symbols which allow you to get a farecard for more or less than the amount that comes up on a screen.    

This episode annoyed me for most of the day - so, a big minus to Metro for customer service this morning.   At 6.40am I'm sure they are not overworked with paperwork or whatever else it is they do in those little boxes. 

How apt is this photo which I took on our Sunday walk (mural in Columbia Heights) - it says "Immigrant Rights":

 

I want this house and car: 

Photo taken only half a mile from the depressing building made up of boxes........

Meet Black Jack.  That's what we're calling him.  Or Just Jack.  With out jazz hands!  We really don't know what his name is.  We bought him yesterday.  The man we bought him from is a horse trader and had taken him as part of a debt.  He doesn't need him and so. . . .  He is about 20-25 years old, has packed and been ridden.  DH rode him yesterday and he did well.  DH and the mule!   He is very friendly, described as "Dog friendly" by previous owner.   How true.  He is a paint mule.  He has a couple of white spots on his right side and 4 or 5 on his left.  He has a grey belly and muzzle with light coloring around the eyes.  He is going to fit right in.