Meanwhile, back in America...

After six somewhat glorious months, I am now back in the USA. Monday was one of the longest days ever and after a grueling 18 hours of travel I arrived safe and sound at my parents' house in Watertown. Since then I've been busy getting some Christmas shopping done, getting a cell phone, looking at apartments, etc. I'm also trying to just relax a bit.

Already I've begun to miss London. It seems the grass actually is always greener on the other side. There are of course, a number of things that I don't miss at all:
the bank, crazy cars, the buses, etc... But, there is a big list of stuff that I do miss: my friends, accents, colorful money, Indian food, etc... Today I had the strangest desire to get on a bus and head to Soho to look at used CDs. I'm kinda nervous about my adventures being over and facing some sort of real world. The midwestern accent is really annoying me right now, as is small talk overheard in stores. The snow's charm is quickly fading and the lack of a coffee-house is very noticeable.

I've had/am having many thoughts about my time abroad. Putting these thoughts into words is proving very difficult though. This is the only reason it's taken me so long to update. I think though that I can say a few things:

Travel, whether for a long time or just a weekend is really something that should be required. The knowledge and understanding gained from forcing oneself out of their comfort zone and into someone else's world is not something that can be taught. Through experience only do we learn about one another and the mysterious x factor that makes us all unique. I think that too often we get bogged down in our surroundings and fail to notice the little things around us and the quirks and habits of our humanity. You'll excuse the cliche but it's true. It takes living outside the US to really point out what makes us Americans. I have a renewed sense of patriotism and protest brewing inside which will hopefully linger long enough for action to be made. There's something about living here, in all our comfort that makes us lazy and complacent. I hope that the feelings I have don't fade too fast. All my life I've read history and I know a lot of facts. It's difficult though to put a human face to the events and see broad occurrences through the eyes of a bystander. Some of the most enduring memories for me will be stories I was told by people coming from backgrounds completely different than mine. There's also something innately wonderful about seeing places that are sort-of like home but not. The little things that get taken for granted get writ large and you get to see how the other half lives.

Anyway, this post is meandering and very reminiscent/nostalgic. I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season. I'll write more when my new computer comes.

Time flies...

It's hard to believe that I've been here for 6 months but I have apparently. The time has come to return to the U.S. This will be my last post from the UK but never fear, I will offer a post-mortem on my experiences from the U.S. Later ya'll.

Deutschland Part 2

Once again I spent a lovely weekend in Germany with my friends Sabine and Niklas. As always, it was great to get away from London for a weekend. It was especially nice to get the chance to see Germany at Christmas (read: Weihnachten). Germany is, as one may expect, very German and Christmas is especially. On Friday evening after a delicious meal we headed to the town square in Saarlouis to walk around the Christkindl Markt. Although a rather small market, it was really cool and I had my first Gluehwein which was surprisingly good and rather potent.

On Saturday after sufficient vacation-sleep-in Sabine and I drove to Trier. Trier is Germany's oldest city and is very pretty. The market here was much larger and full of people. We ate Dampfnudel mit Vanillesoße und Kirschen and it was awesome. Here's a picture of it:

So, we ate, we saw sights that were really old and then we went home and out to dinner with some friends of Sabine's at Margaretenhof which was just as wonderful as last time.

Sunday was similarly great. Helga (Sabine's mom) had some friends over from her karate class for breakfast. I was very nervous to speak German all weekend around so many natives. I'm very out of practice. After breakfast we went to Saarbrücken and I got to drive. I can now say I drove on the Autobahn! Saarbrücken is the capital of Saarland and is a gorgeous little city. We looked at an old church and the Schloß, both of which were really cool and very impressive considering they were completely destroyed in WWII and rebuilt to be as they were. The castle had an invisible art display outside that I was very enamoured with. Apparently a number of students from the local art school began stealing the rocks that made up the public square in front of the castle's main enterance. They always replaced them with others while they did their work so noone knew anything was missing. Slowly, they carved the name of a Jewish cemetary in Germany onto the underside of each stone and then replaced it in front of the castle. The result is that everything is exactly as it was before their art except that no people know and hopefully think a bit as they walk. The hidden nature of the names is just so powerful; everyday people walk over their history and give it little thought but now this "display" kinda forces the question of what became of so many nameless, erased people and histories. The names of dead more-or-less, inscribed in stone and present in thought yet hidden from sight. Anyway, I think it's a fuckin' amazing idea.

Saarbrücken's Christmas market was also huge and we ended up there at just the right time to see der Weihnachtsman (Santa Claus/Father Christmas) fly over the market and give a speech to the crowd. More local food followed at a brewery before we went back to Saarlouis. It was by all accounts a fabulous weekend with good friends.

hmm...

In Britain, as I understand it, when a man gets knighted he becomes Sir (his first name) and his wife is called Lady (his last name). So, when Sir Elton gets married, what will they call his husband?

Today is Tanya's Birthday...

Send her a greeting by clicking here. Happy Birthday T!

Because the hardest part of leaving is always what gets left...

allow me to introduce some of my friends (like contestants on a dating show):

Alicia is from Spain (or, as she says, eSpain), she's a wonderful flamenco dancer and has a dry, hilarious sense of humor. She can speak Spanish (eSpanish), English and German.


Anna is a feisty gal from Finland. She's also a professional football (soccer) player for Chelsea Women. She's always on the go and pinning her down could be tricky. Anna knows where to buy American foods in London and has surprised me a couple times with peanut butter.


Look out for Jenny. She's a passionate, firey Italin vixen on the lookout for men. She enjoys a good night out and at one time was a proish rollerskater back in Italia. Beware, if Jenny fancies you, you're finished. She gets the guy she wants and is never afraid to approach him.


Marcelo is a no-nonsense kind of guy from Brazil. He's seen the world and knows what he wants (usually whoever's around). Marcelo one time told me the difference between a straight Brazilian guy and a gay one - three beers. He's a whizz with the languages and is fluent in four (Portugese, English, Spanish and Dutch). He's in London to eventually get his masters in English Literature. He's a fun guy who's always ready with a cutting remark.


"Nobody puts Baby in the corner." and nor would they Lucia. She's a sexy Slovak who can cut a mean rug. She is also a linguist and sometimes works as a translator (most recently changing a thesis on the structural integrity of bridges from Slovak to German-whew) She's always ready for fun so who's coming with her? Beware, she's a whirlwind in heels.


No party would be complete without Amie. Although she's from Britain she speaks Italian and Russian fluently and can always be heard shouting in some combination of the three. Stop and say 'Allo' to her. She's got a wicked collection of music from various locales and we make quite the scene when dancing in her living room. She was at one time a judge for a competition in Amerstam sponsored by 'High Times'.


Richard hails from South Africa and can speak English, German, Dutch and Afrikaans. He can always be counted on for a witty joke. On a recent trip to Zambia he got me a bracelet made of elephant hair. He's always a lot of fun and keeps the girls laughing.


Olga is from Moldova. She is quite frankly the most sexual of us all which is saying something with this group. She's full of spunk and is always intrigued with the news I tell her. She's a joy to watch on the ice but don't make her go too fast unless you want to hear her shriek.


Meike is a mate from Down Under. She likes a good time but unfortunetly gets stuck on business trips with the bosses quite often. She has a wild streak hidden beneath that facade and it gets uncovered whenever we go out.



Katarina is a wild and crazy chick from Slovakia who has sadly moved back to Bratislava. She still keeps us laughing though with her emails and phone calls. She parties like nobody's business and has the fashion sense to match. Katka gets a lot of proposals from Middle Eastern steel men so, jump in the queue before it's too late.


So, these are some of my London friends. I hope they don't mind their pictures being up or what I had to say about them. They'll be the hardest thing to leave behind when I take off to go back home. Say Ciao.

Simplicity...

When I was in Oxford on Sunday I saw a couple magnets that really made me laugh. Here's a sampling:

"What if there were no rhetorical questions?"

"Jesus is coming - look busy."

As long as I'm ranting...

let me just complain briefly about the culturally ingrained misogyny and sexism in London. The worst part of it is the complacency displayed by a lot of the women here. I'm sure it's cultural and these people are used to it but it really pisses me off often-so I'm telling you about it.

Equality...sort-of...

So, yesterday was the big day in the UK. For the first time in it's very long history, the UK allowed same-sex couples to officially register their relationships. Due to some rule however, there is a 2 week waiting period between registering and actually getting recognized so the first ceremonies won't take place until December 21. I wish I could feel really excited about this but it just feels a little lack-luster. The newspapers have been carrying many articles about this issue but they're all more-or-less about the expected boom to the marriage industry now that "pink weddings" will start. I don't know if it's just silly of me but I'm really getting kinda offended by the expectation that gay weddings will be anything different (on the whole) than straight weddings. These articles anticipate a huge rise in business for the makers of feather boas and the representatives of drag queens. Come on! From my, albeit rather biased, perspective, the only area that will be affected will be the greeting card industry. I've been subjected to articles telling me that so and so is excited about the new law and has introduced his and his towels proclaiming, "Nearest, Dearest, Queerest". Ugh! Mrs. Whatever from the London Zoo says, "We're expecting many requests for gay 'weddings' since homosexuals are usually animal lovers." Excuse me? Some hotels have started stocking pink champagne. I am so sick of this stuff. Am I right to be offended? I don't know but I am nonetheless. We've been demanding equality for so long and now that it's arriving, kind-of, in the UK, it has to be portrayed as purely business. Also annoying is the fact that the law introduces civil unions which are equal in all regards to marriage except that they are not called marriage. Therefore, all articles use quotes when talking about everything (the new "marriages" will be equal in all regards to straight marriage, people are getting very excited about the "weddings".) Ugh! I also hate that people refer to gay weddings as "pink" weddings. When did we become associated with a color? I'll tell you when. It was when the Nazis branded us with pink triangles. Sure, the pink triangle has now become a symbol of our community but I really hate pink and it's history still being used to label a whole cross-section of the population.

Naturally I should be focusing on the fact that at long last another country is welcoming gay couples to the fold. Also, there has been almost no furor over it here; the conservative politicians have welcomed the move, religious groups have said almost nothing, I have yet to see any bad comments in the opinions pages, businesses are excited, etc. Hopefully now that the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada (and soon South Africa) have accepted gay unions, the rest of the world will see the benefits. New Zealand and Australia can't be far off. Nor can Scandinavia or Germany. When will the U.S. wake up and offer full equality to all it's citizens?
Anyway, excuse the rant. It's a happy time despite the annoyances.

A sign near my house...

Things that confuse me about this sign:
1. The establishment is not a hotel...
2. What does grill taste like?
3. Are they sure people want that?
4. I can't help but pronounce 'Flaminn' with a soft 'a'...
5. The font makes me think of lighter fluid not food.

On a separate note, why can't the brits come up with a cadence for their phone numbers? In the U.S., it's always 3 numbers, 4 numbers, 4 numbers. I believe it's the same delivery in Canada. In the UK though, it's not strange to get a string of numbers rattled at you like this: 02075246351 or 02075 246351 or 020 7524 6351 or 02 0752 46 351. This seems petty but try to remember a phone number when it doesn't have a cadence...it's hard.

The Weekend that Was...

This weekend started on Friday morning. After pointing out early last week that I am the most senior member of the staff to not have had a business trip, I was invited to attend the annual luncheon of the International Steel Traders' Association. This is not really what I had in mind but of course I agreed. My boss has, in the past, asked me to adjust my appearance. This is something I'm not used to and don't take very kindly to. On one occasion he told me that if they were to send me on a trip, he'd want me to have a shave and a haircut to which I of course replied, “Patrick, I'd love to shave but I can't afford a razor on this salary.” I'm fairly direct usually. When asking me to attend the ISTA luncheon, he said, “If you could make yourself presentable, I'd like you to go.” This was coming from an over-weight, uni-browed man who can often be spotted in large, stretched t-shirts and jeans. I on the other hand am usually wearing nice jeans, shirt-sweater combos with tie and sometime a sports jacket. Anyway, I said “I assume by that comment that you mean more presentable.” and agreed to go. Friday came and I was greeted with many compliments from the men at work, comments such as, “Wow, he can dress-up.”, “Wo Jason, new duds?”, “Who do you have to give the tie back to?” The girls in the office of course, didn't understand since they've noticed this particular outfit before and are well aware that I generally look good. Sometimes these stupid guys just really annoy the hell out of me.

I don't really mingle or schmooze, especially with steel traders. Luckily though, I didn't really have to. Lucia and I got to The Brewery (a huge posh venue) at 10 in order to set up a table and assist Jenny with the other set-up since our company was sponsoring the event. There was not much to do so we took advantage of the open bar with a few screwdrivers. When lunch was finally served and the thousand or so steel people had become sufficiently buzzed, we were treated to a three-course meal and all the wine we wanted. Boring speeches, etc. At about five, after everyone was finished and speeches had been heard, we were told that now was when everything really started. It was time to go to the pub. Steel people drink! I don't really like being drunk so I had slowed significantly during lunch. At the pub my boss kept plopping champagne down on our table at £30 a bottle. I think we must have gone through about 12 or so and it was delicious and didn't bring about ridiculous drunkenness or needless hangover. Anyway, that was my big foray into the business world. Moral of Friday: straight bosses only notice my outfits when they're nervous about how I'll represent them and steel people drink-often well.

Saturday was spent wandering around on Oxford street with all it's Christmas joys; mostly crowds. I didn't really do much purchasing but it was fun to look at everything. Especially exciting was seeing the Selfridge's Christmas window displays, the models for which I got to assist with back when I was working on the film here. They turned out really cool and almost exactly as they had in the models. If I get a chance I'll take some pictures.

On Sunday, Lucia and I headed out of the city to Oxford for a day of proper England. We were lazy and just walked around looking at the university and the quaint town before stopping in a pub for Sunday roast. It was a fantastically chill day of tourism.




Blah blah blah, I hate this post... I hope you're not bored...

Scissors and Pirouettes...

On Thursday evening after many tube delays and detours I managed to get to Sadler's Wells for a production of the world debut production of Matthew Bourne's ballet, Edward Scissorhands. It was really something to see. It managed to keep the emotion of the film and occasionally added to it with the beautiful dance. This is highly recommended and I imagine it will be in New York at some point as well as some world tour as most of Bourne's stuff manages to hit a particular nerve with a lot of people. Anyway, it was really cool. Here's a pic from the website:

Today is World AIDS Day...think about it...

"I Am My Own Wife"...

is bloody brilliant! If you have the opportunity, it is crucial that you see it. A lot of the time, theatre is (especially commercial theatre) worn down to the lowest common denominator in order to make it most accessible for an audience. This play on the other hand is different and gets it's audience in that difference. It reels the audience in, seemingly jumping up and down yelling, "I have a story to tell about a person, a time, and a place. Shut the fuck up, attention must be paid!" I don't think I've ever sat in an auditorium so still. There was no talking, no ringing, shuffling, or rustling; all attention was devoted to the breathtaking performance on stage. It really was an awesome experience.

In I Am My Own Wife, there is one actor who, with only a change of voice, posture, tone, plays many different characters-all fully. Centrally, it's the memoir, as told to the playwrite, of an East-German transvestite who lived openly as a cross-dressing gay man through the Nazi and Soviet regimes. Her story is very compelling-but equally compelling is the story-telling.

Since coming to London I've developed a bit of a love for languages. Language groups, their relationships, histories and...stories are incredibly interesting to me right now. In the case of this play, a lot of the "dialogue" takes place in English and German. While Doug Wright was careful to make sure the English-only audience never felt lost, his translations were always sort-of semi-translations. Thankfully my broken German got me through and, as evidenced by my solo laughter, I think I got a lot more than most people there. I even understood a couple German puns! Here's an example of the delicate blend of language and part of why I find myself fascinated by them: Early on, the author is interviewing Charlotte about the museum she curates. It's becoming clear that she is more interesting than her things tough and that she is, in fact, the more important museum. She tells him, "It was during the Nazi raids, I became this house." Easy for most people but they perhaps think the playwrite is pushing a bit for the metaphor. In fact though, it's brilliant. In German, the verb, 'to get' is 'bekommen' and the in simple past tense, 'bekam'. The poetry of how the sentence was created in all it's depth and simplicity stayed with me the whole show and added more than if I thought she merely talked funny. Umm...sorry bout that.

Anyway, Jefferson Mays, as the cast, was fully deserving of his Tony. He's astounding vocally (he switches between accents with amazing ease-Boston, old German woman/man, Southern American man speaking German and English, Russian, Japanese, Indian, British, etc.) and physically. Every little thing he did was full of his thought and had a meaning. Without the cliche one-person-talks-back-and-forth-by-switching-sides routine, he simply changed a crucial gesture and the audience understood.

Anyway, sorry about the school report/gush nature of this post. Moral of this story: see this play.