posted by Thomas on Dec 31
This is the third year that I have participated in Project Mayfly. Essentially reflect on your life in the last year and describe it in 24 words.
Diet, drank, diet, drank.
Play started.
1988: 20 Years?!?
Travelled too much.
Writer’s Block: end?
New (real) President.
Play: found end.
Hope, love,
safe(?)
posted by Thomas on Dec 21
Sean, an old work mate of Stuart’s had an long lay over in London today so we thought we would take him for a walk along the South Bank so he could see a bit of London.
Sean has lived in Canada for over 20 years but before that his family was from Iran and he has dual nationality.
We took the tube to Vauxhall and walked toward the bridge. Stuart pointed at a modern, would be innocuous if not for the 50 million security cameras all over it building.
“That’s MI5.”
“Really?” Sean said.
“Yep.” Stuart said.
Sean pointed his SLR camera at MI5. “Can I take a picture of it?”
“Sure.” Stuart said.
“You sure?” Sean said.
“Yep.” Stuart said.
Sean took a picture and we continued on our way toward the Thames path.
A police car with lights on passed us, stopped and backed up several feet. It parked, lights still blinking.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if they were stopping us for taking a picture?” Sean said.
“Yeah, it would be.” I said.
Two policemen exited the car and walked briskly toward us. Cop the First was tall and blonde and had a non-descript English accent. Cop the Second was short and brunette and sounded like an extra on East Enders.
Each had handguns holstered to the top of their thigh.
“Do you know what that building is?” Cop the First asked.
We looked at each other like it was a trick question.
“MI5.” Stuart said.
“Why’ya tayken’ a-picture ov it’thn?” Cop the Second asked.
We looked at each other again like it was a trick question.
“Because it’s MI5.” Stuart said.
Cop the First and the Second reviewed the pictures on Sean’s camera and were satisfied that we were not intending to blow it up in the future even though Sean was carrying a rucksack and had a dark complexion.
“Are we not allowed to take a picture of it?” I asked.
“Oh, you’re allowed,” Cop the First said, “but we don’t encourage it.”
While we were allowed to take a picture of MI5 and we weren’t doing anything wrong, they did fill out a little citation detailing our tête-à-tête (for our records) although they kept saying over and over that this was as far as this would go and that our information would not be entered anywhere and we had nothing to worry about.
Nicole rolls her eyes inside her head, but smiles and nods at the Policeman.
When asked for his address, Sean gave them his Canadian details. He said later he considered giving his Iranian passport to see what they would do.
I must admit, both officers were very polite and friendly. If you are going to get randomly stopped for taking photos of buildings, they were the men for the job.
So if you get out the tube at Vauxhall and walk toward the river, on the right is an unmarked building.
You are allowed to take a photograph of it.
It is however, not encouraged.
posted by Thomas on Nov 5
Yesterday was my third year arriving in the UK. I got a nice present.
posted by Thomas on Oct 20
Hello readers,
As a few of you know, the Search and Display teams in the London office decided six months ago that they wanted to do a community project. We did research and a number of things presented themselves. Many were ready made corporate community events where we would have walked in, done a bit of painting or planting or picking up rubbish for a few hours before we headed off to the pub to toast our altruism.
That wasn’t what we wanted. We needed something bigger.
We came across a Barnardo’s affiliated charity, The Sunrise Children’s Centre in Kent. They work with disabled children, many that are autistic and while their centre is lovely, there is a lot that could be done to spruce it up.
After months of planning and fundraising, next week a large group of us will be going to the centre over two days to replant a sensory garden, revamp their games room, paint their pergola, install a sound system, build a tools shed, and lots of other projects to make the centre that much more inviting for the kids.
Our fundraising efforts have included pub quizzes, a big central London party with the venue donated by an exclusive member’s only club, X Box tournaments, bake sales and general begging at Cardinal Place and Thames Valley Park (and e-mails such as this). Team members with birthdays during the last few months have donated their birthday money that normally purchased cake and a small gift to the centre.
Thus far we’ve raised £3,194.72 which with Microsoft matching funds becomes £6,389.44.
And this is the part of the e-mail that you knew I was driving at. We need a little more help. Our budget is really tight. While many materials have been donated or sourced at a cheaper rate, we still have had to buy many of the things that will make our work at the centre a success.
Can you give even a small amount? Just £5.00 will go a long way… If you give online at our Just Giving page, the funds go directly to Barnardo’s: http://www.justgiving.com/microsoftadvertisingcommunityproject
We are trying to do something really special with our Giving campaign. Will you be a part of it and help us?
I know I have been quiet on the bloggy front recently, so how about a bit of quid pro quo? If ten of you. Just ten of my readers donate even the smallest amount, I promise to post every single day for 90 days. I’ll even make some of those posts good.
If not… well. Perhaps it is time to close things up at the frog? 
posted by Thomas on Oct 16
Stuart was made redundant today along with a ton of people in the UK office.
Good times.
Things will be fine. I just feel terrible because he worked so very hard for them and put a lot of his heart in it.
For years I have been saying he should look somewhere else because the way they did business was so Mickey Mouse, but he said no. That he liked the Company and beleived in what they were doing.
Oh well. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. And start all over again.
posted by Thomas on Sep 12
I’m putting together a Call Excellence Workshop and I thought it might be fun to break the ice with a clip from The Fonejacker. Been looking at a few of the clips looking for one that won’t be an HR violation.
Best lines: “I just installed the world wide thingamgigy.” and ”That’s a bit special.” and “He’s spanking her now.”
posted by Thomas on Sep 11
Classic Fonejacker
posted by Thomas on Jul 29
Because I did not feel sufficiently suicidal after events I will not blog about, I decided to do a bit of clothes shopping.
I am, in the best of euphemistic times. . . curvy. Currently I am positively zaftig.
Shopping with a UK size 14/16 ass is challenging normally but during The Sales, it just sucks. Sales by definition means most of the good stuff is gone and anything that is decent is not in your size.
It doesn’t help that I also hate most of the High Street fashion that is out there. Even on a slim woman I think the silhouette is hideous. It looks like the worse of the 80’s had a bastard child with the worse of the 60’s. Xanadu meets Twiggy with a Flashdance aesthetic.
Even Jigsaw, which I usually like, had a huge case of the uglies. Is it just me? Am I being grumpy? It’s possible I may be transferring my anger that I look like an East German Olympian onto the clothes.
Here are a few off the offerings from the TopShop website that are not even on sale.
Yeah. I’m not wrong. They’re just ugly.
The fact I can’t fit in them just makes it worse.
posted by Thomas on Jul 5
Missed posting yesterday as I was off at a wedding but I’d like to share this with all y’all.
Big thanks to the work mate that forwarded it to me. . .
America Rules England Sucks – Watch more free videos
posted by Thomas on Jun 14
I will be attending my first English wedding in a few weeks and I have been rather excited by the prospect not only because I think the happy couple are lovely people but at the prospect of wearing a hat.Hats are big at weddings here.
I love hats.
I look really good in hats.
I was online last night surfing ebay and I decided to splurge on a Karen Miller dress that was half the price of what it would be if I got it in a brick and mortar.
But what about the hat? A few searches later on “wedding hat”, “ascot hat” and finally “formal hat”, I found an American website (of all things) that had something I think will be fabulous.
Next stop. . . Ascot.