I'm a 30 year old born and
raised in Los Angeles

Now a Designer
turned Information Architect
turned Design Director
at a .com in London
with my new wife Leyhsa

Archive:
Apr - Jun 01 | Jul - Aug 01 | Sep - Dec 01 | Jan - Apr 02 | May - Jul 02
Aug - Sep 02 | Oct- Dec 02 | Jan - Feb 03 | March 03

I'm not sure how much coverage the US has shown of the reaction ot the terrorist attacks outside of the states, but it has been enormous. American news programs tend to not show any news events that don't directly effect Americans, so I thought I'd fill you in. The Brits are very traumatized over this. They have been grieving as if New York was one of their own cities. What's frightening on the scale of it, this was the worst terrorist attack on British history as well with as many as 250 British dead. They had a 5 minute silence in the middle of the day where everything and everyone just stopped and bowed their heads. It made me feel a little better to feel that the Brits were so concerned for the welfare of their former colony.

By the way, a week before the 11th madness, I took the advice of you the voters, and bought tickets to Venice. Since Florence came so close in second place, we're going there for a few days there as well.

1. Jesus
2. Walking
3. Pasta
4. Old Things
5. "Ciao", "Bona Sera" and "Gratzi" (a tie)

To see the pictures from our trip, check out my picture site of Italy. So below are the e-mails we sent while on our trip:

Mon, September 24, 2001
We are having a wonderful time in Venice. So far we've been to St. Mark's Basilica, the clock tower, and the Accademia. The Basilica is incredible with its inlaid gold Byzantine mosaics that completely cover the ceiling and sides of the church. We saw an outstanding view of Venice from the clock tower and a wide variety of Byzantine and Venetian paintings at the Accademia. Also went to a production of Vivaldi's works that were played by a string orchestra, performed in opera, and also featured classic renaissance dancers. It was as they say, bellisimo! Venice is a city like no other that we've been to. There are no cars about, only boats for transportation. The walkways are very narrow throughout the city which can be quite claustrophobic. There are so many cute shops that feature very intricately designed and ornately decorated glassware. We've also seen a lot of carnival masks for sale.

The food here is really good. We're eating a lot of pasta. There is certainly a lot of ham on the menu and no lamb to be found (for those of you who are wondering lamb is my favorite). The gelati here is the best - better than ice cream, but still not better than dole whips at Disneyland. We've had this wonderful delicacy everyday since we arrived. You can't get bored of it because there are so many flavors to choose from. It's been cold and rainy since we've been here so we haven't taken that many pictures yet. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit drier so hopefully we'll get some good shots then. Have to run for now. Ciao! Leyhsa and Jason

Thurs, September 27, 2001
We are in Florence now having a great time. Its much busier and crowded than Venice but has incredilbe art and architecture to make up for the noise. We went to Yom Kippur services at a 14th century Orthadox synagogue. The temple was absolutely incredible, but it was hard to follow along because it was either chants in tunes I didnt know or it was the rabbi talking in Italian. The people seemed nice, but the Orthadox way is a little less organized then we are used to in the Reformed temple with everyone kind of going off on there own little prayers or walking around. We had a healthy gnocci and pizza meal to break the fast. I really would like some of those Western bagels and lox about now. Love, Jason & Leyhsa

Friday, September 28 2001
Hey Everyone, Yes, we are back at an Internet cafe. Jason is getting the necessary train info so that we can go to Pisa tomorrow and see the leaning tower before it falls over! It is amazing how close all of these cities are. We have had a lot of pasta since we have been here. It is very good, though Jason says that my lasagna is better (he is such a perfect diplomat!). Actually had steak and chicken tonight since the pasta thing was getting a bit old, though the gelati I never grow tired of! We went to the Uffizi museum today. It was awesome, especially since Jason and I learned about quite a few in the art history class that we met in. Afterwards we went to the Palazzo Vechio. That is where Cosimo Medici called the shots for the Florentine society for awhile. It was incredible. There was some sort of dignitary event going on in the main ballroom. Could not understand what it was about since everyone spoke in Italian.

There is sure are a lot of leather, jewelry, porcelain, and stationary shops here. Jason got a beautiful leather jacket tonight. I love the stationary stores and have purchased a few ornated crafted journals. It is very beautiful here. The people are sure nicer than in France, but I think it is better over there. Jason prefers Italy though, but that is where he has half of his ancestors. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here, unlike the rain and cold we experienced in Venice. Gotta run for now. Ciao! Love, Leyhsa and Jason

Well, Leyhsa and I had a great time at my birthday party at Legoland. I brought along my friends Adam and Tyler from the office. We were the only 'adults' there without children. We went on a bunch of the rides and saw all the Lego cities and pretty much acted like imbeciles. We all had a whole lot of fun and it sure took the sting of thinking I was getting old. Check out the invite I made for my friends at work: LegoInvite.

So what were my presents? Well the best was a perfect scale replica of my Volvo P1800 that's still in the states. I've been in major Volvo withdrawals so it was nice to have a mini replacement. Leyhsa also got tickets to a satirical play about America for me that we've wanted to see and a big comfy bath robe. My grandparents and my mom chipped in to help me get a replacement Palm Pilot. Every year I give myself a present and so I got tickets to see my favorite band in the entire world, New Order. The concert was great- it was my third time seeing them but this time it was a much smaller venue and it was to a home crowd who were going ape for them. It kicked.

Besides from work struggles, I have a whole new section to the site called the Limey Litmus Test. A place where you can test your Brit IQ. There's even a prize to the winner! Check it out when you get a chance.

I'm getting off subject. Theaters here let you pick your seats. 'Oh neat!' you say. Well, picture a line of thirty to forty people all waiting on an indecisive bickering couple because they can't make up their minds if they would rather be in the 18th row on the left side or the 40th row center. Each ticket sale takes five to fifteen minutes. It's just nuts. I try to buy online which takes care of that. On to the next strangoid: you can buy beer. Some of the larger theaters even have bars attached so the average alcoholic Brit (meaning roughly 80% of the population) won't be without the brew.

So then you get these Seat Nazis when you enter that make you sit in your assigned seat. 'Fine and dandy with me', you say when it's a packed theater. But they are there even if the movie is empty. Leyhsa and I once went to see a movie where the first eight rows were completely empty and the guy made us sit left of center in the seventh row. So Leyhsa and I moved over a few seats to be center. About 15 minutes later, Seat Nazi comes by to take this other couple to their seats which we aparently were in. Mind you we are alone in an entirely empty row as well as the other seven rows around us were devoid of people- Seat Nazi says to the couple: 'These people are in your seat. If this is a problem, I can escort them out of the theater.' Serious. Luckily they did not subscribe to Seat Nazi logic.

Next, movies are pre-empted by television commercials mixed in with the movie trailers. Tons of them. With this added pleasure of tortilla chip and car commercials, movies normally start 20 minutes after the lights go down (which is good because of the 40 minute delay due to the mere six people in front of you buying tickets).

And lastly, people don't stay through the credits. Because of LA being such an indie crowd, I am used to sitting in the theater with roughly 20% to 25% of the audience watching the credits to see their name or a friend's name roll by. Leyhsa and I are the only ones that stick around - out of forced habit more than likely.

Work is going well though very weird with my staff being essentially fired but told to continue working. I'm trying the best I can with the resources that have been given to me but it hasn't been easy. We are working on a new navigation for the UK site and will be launching a Chinese version which is pretty exciting because I am designing with a starting point of no comprehension of the language or the culture.

So it's starting to get cold and dark here. The skies have been blue and sunny but the cold briskness of Autumn has finally arrived. It already gets as cold as 45 degrees which is way chillier than I have ever experienced as a daily lifestyle. Sundown is now at 4:45 inching towards its ultimate goal of 4:00 which is pretty freaky. People are starting to wear overcoats and scarves and they just started using the heaters on the Tube. For LA standards, a cold day is when you have to put a sweater on so this whole thing is going to require some getting used to. The neat thing has been to witness the turning of the leaves. Leyhsa and I took a trip to Hampstead Heath (discussed in an earlier entry) last weekend to take in the last of summer and to walk through our first red and orange tree groves. I posted some of the pictures that we took- they all came out really great.

So Happy Guy Fawkes Night everyone! What am I talking about? The most bizzare holiday on the planet, that's all. So these thirteen conspirators in 1604 plotted to blow up the Paliament building with a huge amount of dynamite with Britain's most notorious traitor, Guy Fawkes, the mastermind. He was caught when one of the conspirators got cold feet and leaked the plot to a friend in Parliament. They get caught and are tortured before ultimately being hung, drawn, and quartered which doesn't sound pleasant.

Since then, people have celebrated the divine intervention of the King saving the day by holding a bonfire where they burn a human efigy of poor old Guy and then light fireworks. Little kids will go door to door collecting money showing off their effigy, then have a big picnic and torch the thing. They even have special recipes they eat during the festivities (kinda like pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving). To add more violence to the storyline, literally every snack shop and convenience store stocks fireworks that look more like missle launchers. They look more like something you could only get over the border in Mexico. Every night for the past week people have been lighting these things and they sound like grenades going off. The night of, several of the parks have carnivals with firework shows and all directions around our flat we could see them lighting up the sky. It was very cool, yet odd.

This past weekend we hitched a train to Cambridge and it was absolutely beautiful. The University is close to 800 years old. Yes, eight HUNDRED freakin years old. Each major has their own individual colleges that are dotted around the town and not on a central campus. Each college has their own dorms, chapel and cafeteria. The whole thing is linked by a lazy canal that meanders through the town that people can take little rafts on. Leyhsa and I just loved it there and walked around for hours.

I'm getting tired, so check back later and I'll upload the pictures.

• Current London Temperature: Just above freezing and getting colder
• Time it is when it gets dark: 4:15pm
• Number of Litmus Test Takers: 12
• Uncle Mike Responses: 0

The best way I can explain Brussels is that it's like a Ford: the car's American, but the engine is Japanese, the parts are German, and it was sold to you by a guy from Lebanon. In the spirit of a Ford, Belgium is it's own country but the national languages are from two other countries, plus the city is quite Parisian but has a German-like strictness. Because it has been occupied by pretty much every other country in Europe at some point in its history, it is very diverse. But unlike the US-version of diverse which means you can get a variety of choices from Chinese, to pizza or hamburgers at your local strip mall, here they actually blend together. The average Belgian can speak conversations in four languages: Flemish, French, German and English. You'd be considered a linguistic genius in most other places, but this is common here. They also blend foods here like their most popular dish is a big pot of mussels, which is very Nordic, but they prepare them French.

Saying that, Belgium is very unique...but in a very odd way. Their most famous statue is of a little boy urinating water into a fountain called Mannikin Pis. People come from all over to see it. They put different little clothes on him every day and have posters, key chains, a beer of all things, signs and banners all over the place with this pissing baby. There other famous monument is of a giant replica of the atomic structure of iron. Now that's some exciting stuff. Its called the Atomium and is a football field-high monolith made from steel spheres connected in a cubed formation by giant tubes. Brussels also has its own unique kind of street vendor. Forget the fake watches guy, the hotdog guy or the peanut guy, they've got the waffle guy. Little trucks are all over the city selling the guaranteed best waffle you will ever have in you entire life. They are slightly sweetened and sticky, served hot and you eat them with your hands. Leyhsa and I had 7 in a two-day period to give you an idea.

The people were very nice, the food was great and the sites were incredible. The main square has these two giant Baroque palaces surrounded by incredibly ornate Guild Houses (otherwise known as trade unions) that date back to the mid 1600s. I'll upload the pics later on this week so check back.

So I just finished uploading the photos from our pilgrimage to the birth place of Dr. Evil. So make sure you check out the photo gallery of Brussels as soon as you can. One of the many fantastic pictures is shown here of the main square. Man, I miss those waffles..

At the party, I realized that British (unless you are from Wales or Cockney) cuss significantly less in their casual speak than we do. But when they do, it's pretty funny. The reason why is that it sounds so sissy. In fact, they have many sissy sayings. Instead of saying, 'I'm going to the convenince store to get a popsicle and some soda'. The Limey version goes: 'Say chaps, I am heading to the sweet shop for a lollie and some pop.' I'm not talking about a guy in a balerina costume, your average bloke will use all or most of these terms. My bank statement from the ATM machine (called here an 'Advice Slip'; also sissy) says at the bottom 'Keep Britain Tidy'.

But the best is their cussing. They have fanciful words that seem so benign but are quite crass. Example (you might want to cover your eyes for the next bit if you have a weak stomach for sissiness) 'Cheeky wanker! Bugger off, you bloody sod!' I just said something really bad. No really. View the translation if you want to know what that actually means in non-sissy. They even say more standard cuss words in a less aggressive way, like 'farking arse shite'. I almost would have more respect if someone said instead, 'You gosh darned poodie head'.

As a special request from my Aunt, I just added pictures of our flat. It's a nice place and near everything and rents for a decent price (only double what I would pay in LA). See the pics. I wrote more on it when I first got it in June.

December 24 - My fiftieth birthday!
On my first day Jason and Leyhsa took me on a private walking tour of the city which included Big Ben, the Thames, the Parliament Building, Winston Churchill's war room protected by its original sandbags, and Buckingham Palace and its surrounding park. Its astounding to realize all of those movies and photos you've seen all your life is of actual places that are bigger than life and that you are touching and breathing in history. I know I'm sounding like a typically boring tourist here, but I was just awestruck. We had a wonderful take away snack made of a crepe made fresh at a stand and covered with a chocolatey syrup and fresh sliced bananas served in a paper cup. We took photos of the most lonely looking guard marching alone in the dark in front of the Palace with steps so high and arms so stiff you would have thought it was the changing of the guard with everyone watching and cheering.

Dec 26 - Boxing Day
My first question is, what in the world is Boxing Day? Leyhsa and I had our own theories which began with the notion that there would be fist fights in the streets, or that everyone went about town in their boxer shorts (we quickly ruled that one out as unlikely given the current icy cold weather.)

From watching the telly we had come to the conclusion that it was the great day-after-Christmas sales, so onto the tube we piled along with the rest of London to find the great bargains for which the day had become famous. Everyone scurried about the busy streets, elbowing one another in their haste, but apparently rushing along to nowhere. No one seemed surprised to discover that every store and restaurant was closed, even Harrods, where we'd gone to watch people go crazy over sales. We still have no idea what exactly boxing day is, why it's a holiday, or why they so heavily advertise boxing day sales when all the shops are closed. But we had a great time riding double decker buses and seeing the sights of the city.

We did find an amazing Italian restaurant open and had a sumptuous meal. I don't mean an American pizza and pasta joint, but the real deal, with al dente pastas with spicy mussels and hunks of lobster.

Though the shops were closed for Boxing day, the theatres were open. One of my birthday presents from Jason and Leyhsa were tickets to the play of my choice. We had 8th row center seats for RENT, which was fabulous. Leyhsa has decided to get the spiked heeled vinyl boots worn by the lead actress to wear under her wedding dress. (But she promises not to wear them on the tube so as to Mind the Gap.

Dec 26 - The British Museum
We spent most of the day at the British Museum and spent most of the time at the display of Egyptian antiquities dating from as far back as around 1550 BC! The strangest thing about this museum is that they have these priceless pieces of history, Egyptian statues, tombs and relics in total access to the public and without any apparent guards around so that anyone was free to actually touch these precious mementos, not just absorb them with your eyes, but with all ones senses. The ability to make contact with a past that dated before Joseph read the Pharoah's dreams, to walk through the massive sculptures that guarded Ramses as Moses approached him and threatened plagues…like walking through a time machine and turning up in biblical Egypt.

We then entered ancient Greece through the actual remnants of the Parthanon made whole through an exact replica of the temple as it once stood which displayed the whole wall reliefs and statuary in their proper places.

Afterward we had supper and went to the Odeon to see The Lord of the Rings. Apologies to Hobbit fans but the seats were so comfy I slept through the first 30 min.

Dec 27 - The Tower of London
Working backwards, let me tell you a little about my flight to London. Suffice to say that I have placed a hit on the man who took advantage of my 4 inches of living space with his elbows and his wide-armed newspaper reading which took over 7 hours to finish. By the end I felt somewhat like that guy on twilight zone who saw little green men on the wing of the plane.

I'm telling you this because I know this guy is here in the UK and I'm know what I'm going to do with him when I find him. Its off with his head in the Tower of London where Princes and Princesses were tortured and beheaded. The tower is actually a fortress built by William the Conqueror after he became king to guard the Entrance to London in 1097. That portion, known as the White Tower was added to over time and served as a royal residence, armory, treasury, and prison for enemies of the Crown. Most beheadings took place outside the gate where public executions were a day's entertainment, but a few more regal death were done within the Tower's walls. The most well known was Anne Boleyn, Henry the VIII's second wife whom he had beheaded in 1536 so that he could marry Jane Seymour.

But the coolest thing in the Tower of London were the Crown Jewels displayed in an open vault which one can view by riding a human conveyer belt which we did, over and over again. The crowns and the scepters are studded with a mind boggling display of diamonds and other rare stones, one scepter contains the largest perfect diamond in the world, and I'm talking about a doorknob. But can you wear it to the grocery store?

We walked across the Tower Bridge which is massive and an incredible engineering feat for its time.

We had dinner in China Town and the food was amazing. Again we aren't talking about Panda Express. There is a large settlement of people from Hong Kong which was once a principality of the UK. The food is authentic and wonderful. We had a seafood soup that was steamy hot, duck served hot and finely chopped at the table, then served with bits of green onion, cucumber and plum sauce to season delicate pancakes. There were crisp Chinese vegetables and thick dark mushrooms and a whole crab sautéed in a slightly spicy sauce.

Now comes the most exciting part of the trip so far. We got off the tube at Kings Cross to check out the area at the train between platforms 9 and 10, which as every Harry Potter fan knows is where Harry caught the train to wizard school. To our amazement there were actually banners indicating the location of platform 9 ¾ and pointing the place to que up for first year and returning students of Hogwart's!

December 28- Stonehenge and Salisbury
We took a 1 ½ hour train ride through the English countryside to see Stonehenge, which was surrounded by snow. Even though we were bundled, we were ice cold, with all our fingers frozen through two sets of gloves each.

Stonehenge is an odd circle of massive hewn stones purposefully set down and created 5000 years ago without any real explanation of how they got there, how the stones were brought to the location and the megalith constructed or why? Some say they were put there as a clock to guide the planting seasons, some say it was a place of prehistoric sacrifice, some say it was witches and some say extraterrestrials. What do YOU say? I say it was fascinating for the first 15 minutes and then it was brain numbing COLD.

The bus let us back off at the township of Salisbury where we were to catch our train. We decided to wander off for a bit and find some lunch. We discovered the most charming little town and stayed long past nightfall.

Salisbury was founded in 1220 and looks as storybook as the movie set for a Dickens tale. Little shops and houses, some as much as 800 years old are set along a river on winding cobblestone streets. We wandered through an outdoor marketplace and found a warm little Indian restaurant where we seemed to have lingered for hours over saag and nam breads, prawns swimming in a bright red spiced sauce, crisp delicacies with yellow seasoned yogurts and sweet sectioned oranges to end the meal. The best part were the steaming hot towels at the end which we rolled in our icy hands until the heat evaporated out of them.

On a whim, before returning to the station, we thought we'd check out the large cathedral whose tower stood well above the little town. Salisbury Cathedral was built in the early 13th century. It was a breathtaking example of gothic architecture with tall lancet windows. The spire is the tallest in all of England. As we were browsing, an official of the church invited us to stay for the short evening service that was about to begin, so we sat down in the stately seats reserved for royalty by name and crest. It was an impressive service including a choir whose voices were magnified by the tall stone ceilings and whose lady bishop secretly snored next to me in her place of honor when not officiating in her part of the service. Jason actually snuck a few highly illegal photos through the arm of my jacket.

Jason and Leyhsa were quite silly on the train on the way home. I've discovered that one of their little habits is to serenade the other if proven wrong on a bet. It goes like this, "Leyhsa is the best Leyhsa is the best…" to a tune more or less like the farmer in the dell. Jason loses the most and sings the worst. Very adorable.

So my company sold out on Friday. The official statement is that we are 'merging' companies with our competition - though the founders will not be continuing, our site will be shut down, and most of the employees will be layed off. Hmmmmm...

I can't say too much due to a non-disclusure agreement I will more than likely have to sign in the near future, but suffice to say I don't know what is going to happen next and I feel pretty betrayed by the founders. I am officially still employed unless I am told otherwise, but it's not going to be a pretty picture for the former Flutter employees. Just mind my advice and don't ever ever ever work for a start-up. Ever.

Aside from that, Happy Christmas people. Because that's what we call it over here- none of that 'merry' stuff or 'santa' stuff (they call the big fat guy, 'Father Christmas'). The holiday season here is pretty much the same with the main streets all lit up - aside though from a few unique details. They have just a different slant on what I am used to seeing. They have some interesting customs, like eating of all things, brussel sprouts cooked gushy (yum) as part of the staple Christmas Dinner. They also give stocking stuffer presents called Christmas Crackers which are small wrapped tubes that pop open and have little trinkets in them. Nobody gave me one so I don't know first-hand but it looks like a great 'oh yeah, I forgot your sorry ass, so here's a present anyway' kind of gift. They also eat mince pies and Christmas pudding. Mince pies are made with a filling called mince meat which isn't really meat but instead is raisins and currants, brandy, lard, and then some more brandy. Christmas Pudding is essentially a fruitcake served hot with gooey custard on top. It's a big favorite over here though I couldn't really stomach it when I tried it. The crescendo comes when everybody tunes in to see the Queen make her Christmas day speech. I'll let you know how that is.

The best though is how they extend out the holidays out a few days. There's Boxing Day which everyone gets off and is the 26th and if you're Scottish, there's Hogmanay on the 31st where you bring some whiskey and go visit all of your neighbors and get smashed. I like those Scottish.

Speaking of which I received feedback from a British reader who followed up on my comments about the British love for drinking alcohol. "Pubs are everywhere and are integral to society - a person's 'local' is almost part of his personal address...On your limey litmus test, any of the options is valid to go to the pub. In fact, i'm going to the Pub right now." Thank you, Doug, you have touched on my point well. Especially since I received this e-mail at 11:20am.

Oh, you must check out the Swear-o-Tron, which fits neatly into my previous week's entry about British cussing.