This life of mine
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Brooklyn Botanical Garden
At the end of May J and I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. If you ever get the chance to go, please take it - it's beautiful. I didn't enjoy it as much as I could, because I was ill that day. J and I had to cut our day short and abandon our plans to have dinner in Park Slope so I could get to the ER.
Anyway, the gardens were fabulous. It was the time of year for new life, including these little guys. Watch right to the end and you'll get an extra bonus critter.
Anyway, the gardens were fabulous. It was the time of year for new life, including these little guys. Watch right to the end and you'll get an extra bonus critter.
Labels: Brooklyn Botanic Garden
¶ 5:58 pm 1 Comments
Saturday, August 15, 2009
A pretty damn good day so far
Well, Caturday has been a good one and it's still only 5pm. On my next trip to NYC I won't be staying with the hunky J, and so won't have computer access. Eeeep! Because everyone I know has a constant online life, I decided to join the world of mobile computing. (My phone does have some kind of internet connectivity, but I'll be damned if I know how it works. I want a phone to make calls and send texts.)
Anyway, I'd narrowed the choice down to three - a Dell or an Acer (from PC World) or a Toshiba (from House of Fraser - I had some gift vouchers left over from my birthday, including £70 from House of Fraser. So although their prices are maybe £10 or £15 higher than a dedicated computer retailer, the £70 I see as 'free' money.
I've bought a few big ticket items recently - a matress, a headboard, curtains, etc. and to the salespeople it looks as if I am the most impusive buyer ever. For example, when I bought my new mattress, I walked into the store at quarter to five on a Friday, pointed to a mattress and said to the salesman "I'll have one of those, please". But in the previous couple of months, I'd been to lots of bed places, tried tons of mattresses and when I'd made my choice, I tested the mattress out at three different branches of the store to make sure it was equally comfortable and I hadn't just found a flukey one.
So, after I decided to get a netbook, I researched online, took advice from people who know a lot more about these things than I do, walked into the tech department at House of Fraser today, and out ten minutes later with the Toshiba.
It's a neat little bit of kit. I don't have a wireless router, so it's connected to my wired-up ISP, and I'm also using a mouse because, well, I've got sausage fingers and will need to get used to the touchpad.
I've got it on the dining table, which always reminds me of the time I was trying to give my sister long-distance tech support over the phone.
Me: "Okay, go back to your desktop."
[Pause]
Sister: "It's not on a desk, it's on the dining table."
Anyhow, I'm delighted with my little Toshiba, particularly as I spent the first hour transferring all my favourite programmes onto it.
But delighted though I am with my netbook, that wasn't the highlight of the day. I'd got off the Tube at Tottenham Court Road, as I wanted to look in a few of the furniture places up there (the hunt for the perfect rug and ideal lampshade continues), and I cut down Goodge Street, which runs parallel to Oxford Street, to avoid the crowds. If I lived in Central London (for which I would need either to win the lottery or rob a Bond Street jeweller) it'd be in that part of town, Fitzrovia.
It was coming up to lunchtime, and there are a ton of cafes and bars in Fitzrovia, so I wasn't spoilt for choice. But I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a genuine taqueria, serving the most fantastic burritos and tacos. I was the first customer of the day, and everything was fresh and delicious. I had soft, tender, flavoursome shredded braised pork in my burrito, with refried beans, cilantro rice, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream. It was absolutely delicious, and the made-that-day limeade was superb.
The bill? By London standards it was ridiculously cheap. £5 for the burrito and £1 for the drink. (I know, I know, it's expensive by American standards, but for London, and central London at that, it's ridiculously cheap.)
I also took a few pictures of unusual/interesting bits of architecture. In Cavendish Square a woman asked me why on earth I was taking a photo of the dullest building in the square. I pointed out to her that, to me, it was a fantastic example of Art Deco. Not everyone likes ancient, ornate buidings.
I've got a ton of pictures still to upload to Flickr from my last trip to New York. I'll probably do that tomorrow, while the football's on. Flickr uploader takes forever.
So, a very happy bunny this weekend, so far.
Anyway, I'd narrowed the choice down to three - a Dell or an Acer (from PC World) or a Toshiba (from House of Fraser - I had some gift vouchers left over from my birthday, including £70 from House of Fraser. So although their prices are maybe £10 or £15 higher than a dedicated computer retailer, the £70 I see as 'free' money.
I've bought a few big ticket items recently - a matress, a headboard, curtains, etc. and to the salespeople it looks as if I am the most impusive buyer ever. For example, when I bought my new mattress, I walked into the store at quarter to five on a Friday, pointed to a mattress and said to the salesman "I'll have one of those, please". But in the previous couple of months, I'd been to lots of bed places, tried tons of mattresses and when I'd made my choice, I tested the mattress out at three different branches of the store to make sure it was equally comfortable and I hadn't just found a flukey one.
So, after I decided to get a netbook, I researched online, took advice from people who know a lot more about these things than I do, walked into the tech department at House of Fraser today, and out ten minutes later with the Toshiba.
It's a neat little bit of kit. I don't have a wireless router, so it's connected to my wired-up ISP, and I'm also using a mouse because, well, I've got sausage fingers and will need to get used to the touchpad.
I've got it on the dining table, which always reminds me of the time I was trying to give my sister long-distance tech support over the phone.
Me: "Okay, go back to your desktop."
[Pause]
Sister: "It's not on a desk, it's on the dining table."
Anyhow, I'm delighted with my little Toshiba, particularly as I spent the first hour transferring all my favourite programmes onto it.
But delighted though I am with my netbook, that wasn't the highlight of the day. I'd got off the Tube at Tottenham Court Road, as I wanted to look in a few of the furniture places up there (the hunt for the perfect rug and ideal lampshade continues), and I cut down Goodge Street, which runs parallel to Oxford Street, to avoid the crowds. If I lived in Central London (for which I would need either to win the lottery or rob a Bond Street jeweller) it'd be in that part of town, Fitzrovia.
It was coming up to lunchtime, and there are a ton of cafes and bars in Fitzrovia, so I wasn't spoilt for choice. But I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a genuine taqueria, serving the most fantastic burritos and tacos. I was the first customer of the day, and everything was fresh and delicious. I had soft, tender, flavoursome shredded braised pork in my burrito, with refried beans, cilantro rice, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream. It was absolutely delicious, and the made-that-day limeade was superb.
The bill? By London standards it was ridiculously cheap. £5 for the burrito and £1 for the drink. (I know, I know, it's expensive by American standards, but for London, and central London at that, it's ridiculously cheap.)
I also took a few pictures of unusual/interesting bits of architecture. In Cavendish Square a woman asked me why on earth I was taking a photo of the dullest building in the square. I pointed out to her that, to me, it was a fantastic example of Art Deco. Not everyone likes ancient, ornate buidings.
I've got a ton of pictures still to upload to Flickr from my last trip to New York. I'll probably do that tomorrow, while the football's on. Flickr uploader takes forever.
So, a very happy bunny this weekend, so far.
Labels: burrito, London, netbook
¶ 5:05 pm 2 Comments
