it's over

Any hope of good [American] football in Europe is over. I don't think it ever really had a chance...just like soccer will never make it big in the US.

Snow Patrol...and the rest of my top 5

Last night was event number 2 on my summer concert series - Snow Patrol at the O2. It was an amazing show! You can't exactly tell from the picture but we had a great view. They are a great band. I can't think what else to say except if you don't listen to them you should really start. The venue was also pretty cool. It's a new arena in London, formerly the Millenium Dome. It has a huge arena inside for concerts, smaller concert venues, a movie theatre and over 20 bars and restaurants.

While I'm talking about Snow Patrol I thought it would be a good time to unveil my Top 5 bands off all time (so far!). Drumroll please.....

In no particular order the winners are:

Dave Matthews Band - I have to have him on the list because I listened to him non-stop in high school and college and I still enjoy it. He's got way too much of my money from CDs and concerts.
U2 - You can't deny they're one of the greatest bands. Any band who can keep producing great music across decades and have such huge influence has to be on the list. I'm still dying to see them in concert
The Beatles - Same as above (only I guess I won't be seeing them in concert)
Snow Patrol - This is the newest band on my list but I think they have staying power. I first fell in love with them when I heard "Run" and the rest of their music is awesome as well.
Rich Mullins - One of the best artists in Christian music. His songs (and life) inspire me, make me think and help me through hard times. Plus there is a slight home town connection.

I am still working on narrowing down the list who will make it into my Top 10. I may have to get creative.

and so it begins

Tomorrow The Championships in Wimbledon begin. I don't know much about tennis but I'm hoping to make it this year. I'll also try to go up to the village a few nights and try to spot some celebrities. I'll be pretty busy until the second week when I'm hoping to go with Melissa (who is coming in 10 days!). We're planning to line up early in the morning to get some grounds passes. By that time there won't be much exciting going down on the smaller courts but since I don't follow tennis I'm really only going for the atmosphere, including strawberries and cream. I was going to camp out overnight one night to try for better tickets but the scheduling didn't work out...it's enough to queue up at 6am! I'll keep you posted if I see any celebs around.

week in pictures

I've been a little busy. Good busy, but busy. Last weekend I was away in Portsmouth with my church for a fun and refreshing weekend. This week I was in Oxford a couple nights for work meetings. Last night I went to my first cricket match and today I had lunch with a friend, watched Shrek the Third and had dinner with friends. Phew...and it's not really going to slow down for awhile. Here are some pictures to summarize.
Me and my friend Erin in the harbor of Portsmouth, on England's southern coast. From here they have a hovercraft to the Isle of Wight and ferries to France. The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, we had dinner here on Wednesday. A cute thatched roof cottage in Oxford... We also went to the Turf Tavern in Oxford. Apparently it's one of the oldest pubs in Oxford and used to be frequented by Bill Clinton. The Oval cricket grounds in London. Surrey vs. Middlesex. At first I had absolutely no idea what was going on but once I learned how teams score it was much more fun and I have to say I was pretty into it by the end of the match! I was excited to see that the English do the wave at sporting events...although they have their own twist on it. It's just like the American version only they throw trash up in the air when they stand up. Eww.Me, Wakako and Eleanor at our first cricket match! I don't think I'll turn into a huge fan but it was a good time.

Chocolate

I love chocolate...but did you know that nearly half of the world's chocolate is made in the Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa? Over 12,000 children have been trafficked into cocoa plantations there to make our chocolate.

Here are a list of traffic-free chocolate brands you can buy. Most of them are UK brands but if you live in the States just buy fair trade! Click here to find out more.

quiet lately

I know I've been quiet lately...I'll have an update soon. For now I'm up to 10,000 page views.

Big Brother?

Lately I've been really missing having a car! I like cars in general and it would be so nice to just jump in the car and go to the store or drive anywhere I want. There are a few things holding me back from getting one. First, I am saving a lot of money by not having one and I'm not sure the cost is worth how much I would use it. Second, my license will only last for a year then I have to take driving lessons and get a brand new license. Ugh! And last, but not least - they have speed cameras here. I've had my share of speeding tickets and am always on the lookout for cop cars when I am driving, but here there are cameras everywhere! A colleague said she got a ticket in the mail with a picture of her and her husband in the car that was so clear it made her shudder.

According to this article "there are more than 4.2m CCTV cameras, with the average person being filmed more than 300 times a day" in Britain. Rumor is that the UK is one of the most watched countries and now they are experimenting with installing listening devices as well.

Not only does the UK have a lot of surveillance cameras, people here are obsessed with the TV show "Big Brother." I've even come across several shows on cable that are commentaries on the Big Brother show itself. They're like accessories for a TV show. You can even watch cameras from the house 24/7 online or on cable.

Yikes...there are some crazy people over here. (Not my friends of course!)

the list

It's time to re-visit my list. Of the 5 things I want to do before I'm 30, I can now cross another one of the list - I went to the French Riviera! Thursday I headed to Nice with my friend from school, Ryan (thanks for being a great tour guide and translator!). We also went to Cannes and Monaco while we were there. It was awesome! If I loved France after visiting Paris this only makes me love it more.

The weather was beautiful- it was sunny almost all the time. Of course, I love anywhere with a beach and palm trees. The old buildings there are so cute! I loved all the different colors and the shutters on the windows. Combined with the blue of the water the colors make for beautiful pictures. I also love France for the cafe culture and the great food! You can't go wrong with Nutella crepes :) And finally, I'd say my favorite thing was para-sailing in Cannes. Unfortunately I didn't really get any pictures because I didn't want to risk it with my new camera, but it was gorgeous, and so relaxing! I figured it would be the perfect way to check off my list.

I created a new web-page on my Mac with all the pictures (slightly abridged version). It's much easier than web-shots and you can make it more personal. Check it out here.

milestone #2

We'll see how long I can keep it going but I've been writing this blog for a little over a year. Sometimes I don't have much to say so you may get bored of checking back for updates. (Check out Google Reader to eliminate this problem.)

Not surprisingly most of my readers are in Cincinnati but there are a few more interesting locations as well. I've had some readers in Mason, Columbus, Nashville, New York, California, Michigan, Oxford, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Ireland. I also have regular readers in London and surrounding areas. I'm pretty sure I've become more famous since I left Cincinnati because people I rarely talked to at home come up to me when I'm back and tell me they've been reading my blog. (Don't worry Heidi, I don't think you're stalking me!)

I'm no Steve Carr but I get an average of 20 visits per day and my number of page views is approaching 10,000! My unique visits aren't that high but I'm getting there. Currently I'm at 9,801 views. Maybe I should offer a prize for the 10,000th view. Nah- you'll just have to keep reading because you like me.

a Notting Hill weekend

This weekend my friend Ryan from LA came to London to visit! Saturday was a beautiful day and we went to Kew Gardens. We walked all over the grounds which were really pretty. I got some great pictures but unfortunately I spilled water on my camera part way through our walk and now the camera won't turn on! Once I get the pictures off I will post them. After Kew we headed to Notting Hill and Portabello Road market.

While we were there we decided to hunt down a few of the landmarks from the moving, "Notting Hill." First we found the original travel book shop. This was the one used as the model for the actual store used in the movie. The inside looked a lot like the one in the movie. (I got these pictures off my camera phone). Then we headed to find the blue door a few streets down. It's no longer painted blue because too many people were knocking on the door, but we found it anyway!On Sunday we went to the Southbank to visit the Tate Modern and see Othello at Shakespeare's Globe. The play was amazing, although I have to admit if I hadn't read the synopsis beforehand I would have been very lost. The actor who played Iago, the main villain in the story, was actually an actor from Notting Hill! He was the husband of the lady in the wheelchair. It took me a few minutes to figure it out but it was definitely him.

We didn't see Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts but it was still a Notting Hill weekend...

Emily's summer concert series

My summer concert spree started last night with Dave Matthews Band at Wembley Arena. I've been seeing Dave Matthews live for about 10 years now but I still love it every time. I have great difficulty narrowing down my Top 5 or Top 10 bands but I know DMB would definitely make the Top 5 (although I'm not sure which position they would hold there). London was the last stop on their European tour, how could I not go?

We met a few American guys in the tube who were also going to the show. They had just graduated from college and were backpacking through Europe. Steph enjoyed pulling out her southern accent when we were talking to them! There was also another girl on the tube going to the concert. You know how I could tell? She was wearing a Dave Matthews T-shirt! That is a serious no-no. You can't wear the band's t-shirt to their own concert. Well, I take that back, maybe if you're under 14 years old you can get away with it.

Last night the band was accompanied by some extra instruments including a keyboard, trumpet and Tom Morello on guitar. The setlist included some new songs and a lot of classics. I particularly enjoyed the amazing version of Louisiana Bayou and You Might Die Tryin'. They also played some of my favorites like When the World Ends and Lie in our Graves. Most of the other songs were from Crash, Before These Crowded Streets and The Best of What's Around.

Next up, Snow Patrol, another band in my Top 5! Maybe if I get ambitious I'll work on nailing down my top 10. I don't think I can do Top 5, that would be too difficult and it might break my heart to leave people out.

a very English weekend

Saturday I went on a walk in the English countryside with some girls from church. I think going on walks is a very English thing to do. In America we go on walks around parks or around the neighborhood, but we don't generally organize social events around walks. Here it seems pretty common to go out in the country for long walks. Anyway, I was pretty disoriented as far as what direction we were walking, but I know we walked about 17k from Farham to Guildford. We also stopped along the way for a pub lunch and tea and cakes. You can see more pictures here.It's also an English weekend because it's been raining. It's a bank holiday weekend (any long weekend here is called a bank holiday) and it's somewhat infamous that there is bad weather on holiday weekends. Last week was sunny and in the 70s and now it's cold and rainy. Perfect for watching movies on the couch! I love the feeling on Sunday when you don't have to work on Monday...

a milestone

As scary as change may be, as much as I worry and over-analyze it, I really do find the curveballs that life throws exhilarating. Sometimes I might feel it less than others but deep down it's true. If I had a motto it might be "Life is an adventure."

Well, today may be considered somewhat of a milestone on my journey (at least I feel like it is!). I made a trip to the US embassy because I needed to get additional pages put into my passport! Whoa. I guarantee when I got this passport in 2002 I never dreamed I would fill it up with stamps. If I counted correctly, there are stamps or visas from 14 cities and countries and some of them more than once (although I don't really care if I go to Frankfurt anymore!). A couple, Tokyo and Korea, don't really count because I was only in the airport, but still. I'm sure it's not a lot compared to some people but it's more than I ever expected at this point in my life. I think I have enough pages to get me through a few more weeks at least.

I have Brussels, the Cote d'Azur and Switzerland ahead of me this summer. Life is crazy- keep it coming.

feeling a little green

This won't be news to my [few] London readers, but others may find it interesting that yesterday they covered Trafalgar Square with grass as a part of a tourist campaign. It's only for a limited time and will be taken off today. You can see more pictures here.

something new

Another virgin birth? I learn something new every day...

I also learned they actually make gummy rat candy when I saw it in the snack shop at work. As much as I'm a fan of gummy bears, cherries, worms, etc I can't see myself ever eating a gummy rat. That's pretty much disgusting.

the next level

What's the next level after baking mixes? Ah, yes...refrigerated cookie dough. Isn't America beautiful?

Well guess what? I got some refrigerated cookie dough today! Apparently they sell it at Costco, and maybe Sainsbury. I don't have a Costco membership but a friend at work got me a pack. So I'm about to enjoy a nice, warm chocolate chip cookie made in minutes. Plus I already had a piece of the raw dough.

Life is good.

PS. To my British friends- don't judge me til you try it.

ONE

Check out this speech by BONO, now available in book form, from the National Prayer Breakfast in 2006. The speech and the book are in support of the ONE campaign to end extreme poverty in Africa. It's a good read (even if it does lean a little heavily towards the social justice gospel).

Recap

It's been a great week in Cincinnati! I left London just in time to avoid the rain and have been enjoying the sun and 70 degree weather here. I enjoyed cookouts and eating dinner with my family in the backyard. I enjoyed eating Mexican food, pizza, Cheesecake Factory and BW-3. I had fun driving, going to the Reds game and catching up on Grey's Anatomy and The Office.

I had a great time with friends and family, although one week really isn't enough. It's nice to spend time and catch up with friends who have I have a long history with...although it starts to make me feel old when I think about how long we've known each other and what we've been through together. There is a certain feeling of security and relaxation I feel when I'm at home in the evenings with my family that can't quite be replicated. It was good to be back!

Although I'm not looking forward to the rain, I'm looking forward to seeing my friends in London again...am I allowed to have 2 homes?

photo booth

I'm digging the photo booth on my Mac. You can do some cool effects! Check it out...

as American as baseball and apple pie

I went to the Reds game on Tuesday night. This will probably be my only chance to go this season since people in the UK don't get baseball. That's fine- I think cricket looks ridiculous on TV so I guess we can agree to disagree on some things.

We didn't win but I loved it anyway. I've always enjoyed going to the games. I go partly to watch the baseball and partly for the atmosphere. I love to go and hang out with friends, soak up the sun, listen to the music and the crowd, and eat hot dogs and frosty malts. Sometimes I find myself distracted during the game and miss the big plays until people start to cheer! I especially like that the stadium is beside the river, I think it adds even more "Cincinnati" flavor.

To me baseball games signal summer and relaxation. I'll make my final judgement when I go to a cricket match but I'm pretty sure it can't compare.