why we work -- journal

Sunday, August 24, 2003

Ah - shade, glorious shade. The new loft faces east, which means a great view of the city and bright beaming sun from about 5-8am. The new loft also has twelve foot ceilings, which makes window treatments an exteme challenge. But after four weeks, we finally have drapes in the bedroom.

Saturday, August 09, 2003

Last month, a coworker pointed me to t-six-ten, a "monthly magazine showcasing the best in mobile photography". The idea - each month they post a topic and you submit a picture taken with your mobile phone. The topic last month was "random pattern" - I submitted my "buffet shrimp" picture from Greece and it was selected as a runner up.

Friday, August 08, 2003

On my way home, finally!.

Thursday, August 07, 2003

This Yahoo weather report just about sums up my business trip to Paris

The day began with another steamy ride on the metro to catch the RER train.

Where I saw this unusual sign which I think means "beware of pinching hares"

The end of the commute is surmounted with a walk through a fragrant tunnel. The tunnel is flanked by murals featuring pachiderms, a rat, and two lounging monkeys.

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Blending in like a regular Parisian - a Parisian trapped in this horrific heat wave! I asked at the hotel if it was possible to take a cab, and the concierge answered with "no, it is very expensive." OK, not exactly what I asked, but whatever. I explained that with the heat and all...and they told me that the train was airconditioned. I think there must be a translation problem because the train was DEFINITELY not airconditioned. The office here is on the same train line as Disneyland Paris, so the train was extra packed with commuters AND tourists :) After taking 5 minutes to buy tickets at the kiosk (and that was an English kiosk, by the way), I somehow wound up on an express train, Luckily it was an express that stopped at the station I needed. The office was a five minute walk from the train station - so other than it being in the 90's on an unairconditioned train, the commute was not that bad :) The trip home was another story. The first care I boarded was unbearably hot - actually felt like a combo sauna/steam room. Could the HEAT be on in this car??? Tried another car and it was just as bad. This was hands down the hottest mode of transportation I have ever endured. I think my face is burned from the heat and the toblerone candy bar in my bag - a casualty of the commute.

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

What a difference a day makes. No more view of the Nile. I'm in Paris now and my view is of an adjacent office building. Bo-ring! So boring that I'm not even going to bother posting the phonecam picture to this page! Did I mention it is hot? Cairo was nothing compared to this - it is near 100 and muggy too. The hotel is nice, but kinda out in the boonies compared to my usual Paris accommodations. Decided to venture out for an hour or so, thinking it would have cooled down a bit by 6pm. Wrong. Took a cab to Notre Dame

And then walked over to the Samaritime department store to see the view from the 10th floor terrace. We visited this spot on our last trip - read about it in the Rick Steves guidebook - which would explain why everyone there is a tourist.

I'd been out of the hotel airconditioning (which isn't quite as cold as I would like) and decided it was time to return. But you can't just hail a cab in Paris. So I took the metro back to the hotel. Had to change at the Pyramides station

Then, at another metro station I spotted this advertisement (which I think reads "There are no Pyramids at the Pyramides station"). You can take the girl out of Egypt, but Egypt follows you - everywhere. Really. Egypt is everywhere :)

By the way, I am now officially fantasizing about what to eat for dinner when I am at home on Friday night.

Monday, August 04, 2003

Being that I am in Cairo on business, I haven't had much time for photo opportunities. (Not that I am complaining - there were plenty of photo ops during my previous trips in March and October of 2002). Ones I particularly wish to have captured are 1) the pack of seemingly thousands of goats being herded alongside the equivelant of a busy interstate highway 2) a woman walking down the street balancing a pan of somewhat live fish on her head and 3) an empty lot filled with a few dozen colorful children's springy toys (like a horse suspended from two rails by springs) - but dozens of them in the middle of the desert. Instead, I return from Cairo with this picture of the Pyramids taken from the conference room window. Note - objects in this picture are larger than they appear.

Saturday, August 02, 2003

Today's work agenda included research - aka, the chronological tour of Pyramids in and around Cairo. En route to Giza, the driver suggested (manipulated) a detour to Memphis and Saqqara. After a stop at the museum in Memphis, it was on to visit the step pyramid in Saqqara.

The driver then strongly suggested a stop at a carpet school - tried to object, but visited the carpet school anyway. Was a pleasant surprise - and the carpets were truly beautiful - which they better be at 32500 Egyptian Pounds (before haggling, of course). The driver then suggested a camel ride in Giza - at noon - in August. Politeness went out the window - no means no :) I've been here a few times but each time is just as memorable. I found out you can actually pay the men with the camels to stay OUT of the picture. THEN, I accidentally paid him with Bahamian money (should really clean out the travel wallet - but the Bahamian 5 looks remarkably like an Egyptian 10). I swiftly retracted it, which made them want it even more! Being it was of no use to me anyway, I gave it to the kid (convincing him it was significantly more valuable than US$).

And then back to the Marriott - here's a shot from my balcony.

Had to snap this nice companion image to the
Coke bottle :)

Friday, August 01, 2003

This is the arrival scene in Cairo - complete organized chaos.

There's a restaurant in the Marriott called "Roy's Country Kitchen". Claims to be "mid-western cuisine". Between the Michigan Avenue street sign and the waiters in denim overalls they've pretty much nailed it on the head :)

There's nothing that reminds me more of Cairo then the sweet smell of shisha smoke in the night air.

Gutentag from one of my least favorite places on earth - the business class lounge in terminal a in the frankfurt airport. One word: smokey.