Posts tagged “travel”
I got my US visa renewed today, but no thanks to the petty bureaucrat at window 5 who objected to my American address, American phone numbers, and honest answers on my forms. He was rude, unhelpful, and left me without clear instructions. I got the visa anyway. He's still a dick.
Taking a ten-day trip to Barbados. Back soon!
Visiting London after 15 months away reminded me how much I love it, and how much I prefer California. Friends are thriving, I have an adorable new niece, and I'm no longer the family baby. But British weather, hair-frizzing humidity and sad water pressure sent me happily home to sunshine.
Visiting London for a week to see friends I haven't seen in 15 months, meet my new niece, and surprise a friend at their birthday party. Being back is weird. More on that later.
On holiday in Trinidad, back in SF for NYE. Anyone have interesting plans?
Looking for a travel buddy for Hawaii this summer. Anyone interested?
The dollar is weak. Come visit while everything's cheap.
Used a friend's visit as an excuse to tourist around SF, hitting Marin Headlands and Point Reyes. Back is healing slowly. Finally did grocery shopping after four weeks, though the massive US portion sizes mean I barely need to eat anyway.
I'm falling hard for San Francisco. Between touring the Paramount Theatre, exploring the Mission, and marveling at Castro's gay hardware stores and the February sunshine, I'm overwhelmed in the best way. Huge portions, cheap taxis, hills with views. This city is my shiny new toy.
Blogging from Yahoo's wifi bus on route 280, past a lake with birds. This is nothing like the Northern line.
Just arrived in San Francisco and I can't stop smiling. It's hot, sunny, weirdly affordable, and looks like SimCity. I love it here.
I'm moving to San Francisco. Intermission.
Moving soon. The flight is Monday.
Moving across the Atlantic in days, toggling between panic and glee. Mika's *Life in Cartoon Motion* is the perfect soundtrack. Also: Barney Google was a comic strip before it was a search engine. Someone should look into that.
Leaving the UK on the 22nd. Last chance to see me is Thursday the 18th. Saturday night at Wyvil's from 8ish if you want to say goodbye or just share a pint.
Applying for a US work visa is a sleepless, form-filled, fingerprint-imperiling ordeal involving hours in the freezing cold, bulletproof glass, and a $500 "fraud prevention fee." But it worked. I got approved on the spot. I'm moving to San Francisco.
Got the visa! Too exhausted to elaborate. Details tomorrow.
My Trinidadian number can send but not receive international texts. Use my UK number instead. Also, still hot and sunny.
Posting from Tobago, where the beach looks like this. Hope you're enjoying the fog, London!
Saw Eragon, pretty visuals, terrible plot. Also, heading to Tobago and Trinidad for two weeks, back for New Year's Eve. Catch you then!
My friends Alex and Sup got married in Oxford's Pembroke College chapel in a beautiful Hindu-Christian ceremony. First wedding where I genuinely enjoyed myself throughout. Dinner in a 17th-century hall, dancing on ancient flagstones, bhangra mixed with pop, and even dance-offs. Congrats to the happy couple!
Heading to California unexpectedly! Details later. Need sleep.
Heading to San Francisco (Sunnyvale, really) for handover work following my department's shutdown. I'll be there from the 27th through November 2nd, including Halloween. If you're in the area, get in touch!
Wandered London, had pub lunch, played in the park, and took lots of photos -- many involving a can of Baked Beans.
Photographic treasure hunt in West London tomorrow, one spot left. Cute people get priority, sorry not sorry.
While I transcribe my analog notes, here are two new photo sets: marketing spotted in Ukraine, and an annotated collection of pretty buildings and statues, mostly for the terminally geeky.
Back from my trip and sorting through 338 photos. Check out my timeline, people I met, and a peek at Mikey's life in Ukraine. Much more to come.
Got a backlog of Ukraine stories to tell: beach holidays, attractive locals, extreme eating, Soviet-era monuments, befriending a kid without speaking his language, and the hell of mobile HTML editing.
Blogging live from Kharikov via GPRS, courtesy of my dad's bank office.
River tours, churches, midnight swimming, and blackmail material collected. Now heading to Kharkov to see the real Ukraine beyond Kiev's glitz, then driving back through the countryside.
I'm in Kiev with Mikey and forgot to mention it before leaving. Soviet architecture, gold-domed churches, WWII-themed restaurants, NATO gossip on the plane, marble subway stations with chandeliers, and a Stalin theme park featuring a 200-foot stainless steel Motherland statue. Also: mullets are in. More photos than you can handle coming soon.
A meme stolen from Ed: four jobs, places I've lived, TV shows, vacation spots, favorite dishes, daily websites, and places I'd rather be. Coventry is the arsehole of the universe. Not tagging anyone, but help yourself.
Holiday photos are up on Flickr!
Back from holiday, tanned, rested, and starved of male company. I took 273 photos and need to go clubbing. Also, Google has decided my site is the place to find Orlando Bloom pictures.
Relaxing in Trinidad, minimal internet, heading to Tobago tomorrow. Posts and photos coming when I'm back in the land of broadband.
Heading to Trinidad for the Christmas holiday. Back for New Year's Eve, so count me in for your plans!
Caught some Christmas spirit at Waterstones — hot chocolate, lights, and presents. Now I'm packing for Trinidad and ready for a well-earned vacation, sneezes and all.
Eurostar can take me to Paris and back for £75 this Friday. We live so close and never go! Anyone fancy joining me this weekend?
Finally posted Days 2-4 of my NYC photos. Shorter sets, more interesting than the MoMA marathon, unless you're really into design.
First day in New York photos are up on Flickr: 101 shots covering Central Park and MoMA. Future days will have far fewer.
Back in London, jet-lagged, with a dead computer. Turned out to be the power supply — fixed in 30 minutes by the local shop for an inflated price I'd happily pay again. An hour of my own jet-lagged poking around achieved nothing.
Outer Borough Day: met up with Colin in Brooklyn after a slow subway ride, wandered Prospect Park, walked Brooklyn Bridge, finished with Italian food and a village stroll. I heart New York. Huge photo set incoming when we're back.
Day 4 in NYC: manicures (for M, not me, not yet), Central Park, a $750 coat that saved me $1750, cocktails at the Ritz with Jersey City views, Mexican food, and clubbing at a smoke-filled Miss Shapes. Also spotted Carson from Queer Eye at a bar whose liquor license had just been suspended.
Visited M's grandparents in New Jersey, wandered the city, shopped more. Flag count: 204. Bush voters spotted: still zero. Tonight: clubbing.
Packed two days of classic NYC into pancakes, Soho shopping, Chinatown internet cafes, Korean-run Cajun food, Macy's splurges, Art Deco, the Empire State Building, sushi, and ice cream. Day 1 covered the Frick, MoMA, Central Park, Trump Tower, and Mexican food. We're not wasting a minute.
First morning in New York and I've already bought an iPod nano, a new camera, eaten an enormous burger, and caught short films by Daily Show writers. All since landing. Woo!
Watching the election circus from 6,000 miles away in Bequia. Distance makes the pettiness even clearer.
Just back from the amazing Grenadines, full report coming. Also: the new Pope looks genuinely evil. Emperor Palpatine levels of evil. Lightning bolts from the fingers, people who use condoms, you know the drill.
Moblogging from a yacht in the Caribbean via GSM. Technology is incredible, and yes, it's pretty great out here.
Stuck at Gatwick for two hours, bored out of my mind and surrounded by chavs. Misery loves company.
Two weeks in Trinidad, Tobago, and the Grenadines -- a trip I've been anticipating forever. Mostly off the grid, on boats and tiny islands. Back in the UK May 1st, so save your invitations until then.
The English countryside gets far too much credit. It's just an endless patchwork of farmed fields and boggy moors, thoroughly spoiled long ago. People lamenting new housing developments should remember someone already cleared the forests. It's hardly unspoilt wilderness.
Went clubbing in Shoreditch: survived a bongo-playing sadist, a skip fire, and a venue that was essentially a drug den with a dancefloor. The music made it worth it. Barely.
Went to the dogs at Walthamstow for a friend's birthday. Thought we'd be in the posh enclosure. We weren't. Instead: frozen scampi, 1970s decor, and wall-to-wall Essex. Never again.
Back from a 6,000-mile trip to cold, smelly London, but at least I have broadband again. Also, calm down about Prince Harry, and apparently I'm borderline Asperger's. Please take these tests and tell me they're meaningless.
My dad and I drove to the Mayaro coast on Trinidad's east side. I learned about coconuts floating ashore from a shipwreck, saw mangroves, and discovered that Crix crackers are beloved by Trinis despite being genuinely terrible. Also: chaotic maxi taxis and my dad's obscene BMW.
More photos from my parents' place in Mayaro: endless sunshine, a hot tub with a champagne holder and an ocean view, tropical flowers, and one impressive spider clinging to the hot tub cover. Consider this your selective deterrent or reassurance, depending on whether I want you to visit.
Spending a lazy holiday day at my parents' house in Tobago's Rainbow Hill development. Showed off the stained glass, a German sculptress's "local" art, rug-covered interiors, and an infinity pool overlooking the entire tiny island. Banana trees grow absolutely everywhere.
Photos from the tiny islands off Trinidad's northwest tip, where I spent much of my childhood. Highlights include a former leprosy colony now swallowed by forest, Venezuela visible across the water, and swimming in bizarrely vivid green water. I also tried to improve my composition. Mostly failed.
Committed to daily blogging even when there's nothing to report. Vacation has meant rain, Stargate marathons, and aimless channel-flipping through 500 channels. Tomorrow I'm taking a boat through a tiny archipelago. Poorly-composed photos forthcoming.
Visited the Asa Wright Nature Centre with my mom today, which was pleasant but slightly wasted on two locals who already knew everything our guide was telling the tourists. I also took some photos of Trinidad's stunning, relentless jungle. Fruit grows everywhere here without anyone even trying.
Here are my holiday plans: London through December 30th, then tropics until January 13th. My first UK Christmas ever. People say cold weather makes it better, but warm fuzzy feelings seem easier when you're actually warm. I'll report back.
London in September is effortlessly, quietly romantic. Crisp air, warm coffee, glinting cobblestones, busking jazz on the Thames. Paris gets the headlines, but London doesn't need them.
London's Oyster card is convenient, cheap, and a badge of true Londoner status. But my favorite perk? Overland rail guards can't read them, so a confident wave gets you a free ride. God bless you, Oyster.
Growing up in Trinidad, I never realized how special its diversity was. Two major races, dozens of religions, yet remarkable harmony. That upbringing made racial and religious equality feel self-evident, not politically correct. I was lucky, even if our tolerance hasn't yet extended to sexuality.
Going to Meta 9 on Friday and needed a floor to crash on. Found one. Crisis averted.
Just back from a few days on a tiny island off Trinidad, where the hills crash into the sea and sunsets turn everything into silhouettes against an impossible sky. It's the kind of beauty that makes you wax poetic and slightly embarrass yourself. Worth every cramped flight home.
Taking my annual family trip to Trinidad and Tobago. Three days in Tobago with no internet, but I got a tan and watched sunsets so gorgeous they look fake. Still alive, just not posting anything meaningful for a while.
Vacation countdown to Trinidad sunshine, plus links: Hitler vs. Bob the Angry Flower, global dimming, gay romance comics, the gorgeous Sky Captain trailer, cheap web hosting, and IT graduates still royally screwed.
Just back from Edinburgh (fun) and After Dark (awful), but too hot to think straight. Moving tomorrow to a broadband-free zone, so updates will be sporadic until I wrestle ADSL out of BT. Ciao for now.
I linked to Rik. Then I hit the Edinburgh Festival: "Finding Bin Laden" was funny and surprisingly thoughtful (***), Newsrevue 2003 was sharp liberal musical comedy at its best (****), and the Late Night Laughter Lounge was a disaster held in a converted toilet. Avoid it.
Visiting Evil Dan in Edinburgh and his PC is drowning in adware and spyware. Use Spybot Search and Destroy to clean that crap up.
Visited London for a joint birthday party, and now face the Big Week: last performances, final results, goodbye meals, and on Saturday, the end of my university career. Also managed to leave my luggage on a train. Aaargh.
USA Today has tips for Americans abroad to avoid anti-American sentiment. Shocking revelation: don't be loud, flag-wearing, fast-food-eating tourists. Was this not obvious? This advice applies to everyone, always. Also, 54% of Americans still think the world likes them. It doesn't. Even Canadians are winning now.
Just back from Tobago, hopelessly behind on work. Quiet Christmas -- got luggage, no iBook (thanks Mom and Dad). First Christmas without my brothers, which felt strange. Also, read Spree and tell me what you think.
Posting from Trinidad with a few links worth sharing: a C/C++ garbage collector, Get Your War On skewering war criminals in the Bush administration, 419 scammer baiters, a friend making notable Trinidadian lists, and reindeer spontaneously combusting before kindergartners. Holiday cheer!
Just arrived in Trinidad. Sun, ocean views, and a tan in progress. I'm insufferably smug about it.
Heading to Trinidad and thrilled about it. Cold, grey, and dark at 3pm here, so burning MP3 CDs instead of catching my train. Priorities.
Had a fantastic birthday weekend in London. Thanks to everyone who came out, though let's be honest, it was mostly about me. As it always is. I may have a problem with that. I don't care.
Took Friday off and hit London: Popstarz (best club ever, designed exclusively for me), a Brazilian barbecue, failed Body Worlds visit, hotel room gossip, Regent's Park, and Covent Garden's underwhelming street theatre. A great weekend, even if returning to Winchester remains as depressing as ever.
I compare London, Paris, and NYC subways and find each gets some things right that the others get wrong. The fixes are obvious and cheap. Why won't they just do them? Hire me, Ken.
Last night in New York playing Tropico and stumbled on SaveKaryn.com, where a woman wants strangers to bail her out of $20k in self-inflicted credit card debt. The audacity is staggering, especially since she apparently put even more debt on the card to build the donation site.
Six days into New York. Hit Central Park, the Met, Liberty from afar. Met Ed's friends, one of whom would enthusiastically service Jon Stewart on demand. Fingers crossed he's a reader.
First time in New York. It's basically London but bigger, cleaner, and sweatier. The accents are grating, the buildings are absurdly tall, and the whole place feels like a film set. Seen Central Park, photographed skyscrapers, plenty more tourist nonsense still to get through.
Corporate scandals are making it risky to buy a copier, pay electricity, or make a phone call. Looks like the recession started in 1997 and everyone's been faking profits since. Anyway, off to New York for July 4th!
Back in Warwick after the holidays. Foggy but not freezing. Missed half my first lecture due to a nearby plastics factory fire snarling all the buses. Started swimming with Dan, London sales trip this weekend, and an assignment due Monday. Busy times.
