The Italian Job

I had a chance to catch up with a few of my Swedish friends in Italy.  Sounds a little odd but that seems to be the nature of the job!  I bump into people all over the place.
Genoa is a lovely seaside city.  Although only there for a few days it felt like a little holiday - but I was working! Honest.
Everyone seems to ride a scooter.  These were parked right along the sea front!
The Italians are crazy.  They served me chocolate ice cream with chilli!  My mouth couldn't work out if it was hot or cold!

Where all good Ikeas come from!

"It just doesn't flow for me" - something I think Matt and Dave will recall and understand more than any of you. Those were words uttered by a former employer while we were desperately trying to get him to record a few simple words to camera for a sporting event we were involved with.

That really has nothing to do with this blog entry. I just thought of it as I sat here staring at a black compose window in blogger as I tried to summon up the will and the 'flow' to actually start typing. Of course, now I'm falling into another trap that so often caught that same employer - I'm saying a lot but not actually getting to my point. But I blame it on yours truly. That last line also just for Matt and Dave.

And now to the rest of you. Thanks for sticking with me. This blog has been quiet for a while which is some ways is ironic. Usually people update blogs to tell the world about the cool things they are doing. Well, I've managed to fill my entire blog to date with not very much at all but over the period that I have been silent I have been very busy doing some cool things!

Like traveling!
This new job of mine opened up a few doors for me at the start of this year. Although I still work for the UK outfit I have been seconded at times to 'Centre' aka Copenhagen to fulfill the role of a trainer of trainers! Just to explain - that isn't to say I'm the best trainer out of a bunch of trainers rather it says that I am training others to be trainers. And nothing to do with footwear.

My first big trip was in the last week in January. I made my way to Gothenburg, Sweden for two weeks in the cold. So just like home then!

I had a great time. The work was fun as I got to try to enthuse people about a new way of working. Basically I got act like an idiot for two weeks so required very little effort.

As well as the work I got to enjoy some nice food. I discovered that typical Swedish food is well, Italian! You can't go far without seeing a pizzeria or ristorante. Another food phenomenon is what they call Filke (I think). On Fridays through an organised rota employees will bring a host of cakes and desserts to the office. Then in the afternoon the whole place grinds to a halt of half an hour as they all get stuck into coffee and cake and a general chin wag.

Speaking of phenomenal food I need to tell about the single most expensive meal I have ever had in my life. I don't want to go into all the details - you can ask me when you see me - but I want to tell you about one of the courses on this epic gastronomic experience. About 4 courses in, yes, 4 I found myself staring quite bewildered at a glass of ice. How stupid did I feel when I was told it was not just a glass of ice - it was a glass of the purest, oldest ice in the world. Impressed? Apparently I should have been. This ice was mined from deep underground (not the same place as River Rock though - I checked) in the most northerly parts of Finland. They say it is as close to pure frozen H20 as you can get.

You'd think that given the age and purity of this ice they would let me suck and savour it. Not a bit of it. They covered it in champagne making it the most expensive slush puppy I am every likely to consume.

Anyone who has been to Ikea will know that the Swedes are great at design, order and storage! In reality they are exactly like that which to my Aussie co-trainer and me was something to be admired and to rebel against. They have a device on the road side that counts the number of bikes using the cycle lane. A casual observation will tell you the answer is lots - this is what they would do in Belfast (and get it wrong) - but the Swedes have a dedicated counter. But one of my new Swedish friends couldn't understand why it was fun to try to run past this device to see if we could trigger a count. You guys understand, right? (We triggered it by the way, and not just once! We rock!)

A note to the lads: it is true what they say about Sweden. Oh yes, it is true. Nuff said.

I have spread a few pics around this post to break up the blurb. One is of us in another fancy restaurant where we had the privilege of learning how to taste wine. Its easy really, you just kind of swirl it around in your mouth. But what was interesting was how the guy demonstated how and why certain wines go with certain foods. We would try the same wine after eating honey, then sucking some lemon juice, then after taking some salt. After each item the wine tasted differently - in some cases a good wine tasted awful!

That night was a late one. The restaurant stayed open late for us but even when we left we didn't go home. We traveled to an Irish bar where I met a guy from Banbridge. He was one part of a two man band who entertained us with some great tunes.

Ok, this entry is very long now and I am shattered! I'll leave this for now an promise another updated soon. I have been to other places since Sweden.....

Happy New Year!

So the holiday period is most definitely over. Though we didn't get snow (Luke please note) we have had our presents, our tree, our turkey, our carols - yip we've had Christmas and it is time to get stuck into a new year.

I trust that as the sun has already set on the first day of 2008 (in Northern Ireland anyway) that you can already say that your new year is off to a great start.

I'm not normally one for resolutions but I do have a few things listed in my head that I'm going to try to do this year and others I'm trying to abstain from. We'll see how it all goes over the next twelve months anyway.

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope that I can play my part to help that happen!

Merry Christmas!

It's just gone midnight so it is now Christmas Day in the UK. So right now many children around the world are either too excited to sleep or too tired from excitement to stay away awake - but either way they wait in anticipation of a day when they hope all their dreams, conjured up over the past weeks and months, will come true in a wonderfully magical day.

But there was a first Christmas Day. And on the eve of that day it could not be said that the world was waiting with any degree of excitement. But what they were about to receive was worth more than all the Christmas gifts exchanged since that day.

In some ways the first and the current Christmas day stand in stark contrast with each other. But on the other hand it could be said we have a lot in common with the world back then. Like the Bethlemhem townsfolk over 2000 years ago so many of us will go to sleep this Christmas Eve with no thought of Jesus. The magnitude of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise in Christ, God Incarnate will not enter our heads.

As we heard in Church at the Carol Service the Wise Men did not come the simply bring presents to Jesus - and they certainly didn't do so just because God wanted to start a new holiday season, or come up with something to boost the local economy during those hard winter months! The Wise Men and the Shepherds came to worship Jesus - funny how we tend to gloss over that bit and focus on the gifts!

How long will it be until we truely celebrate Christmas? See you at church in the morning?

More Geek Stuff

As most of you already know and as alluded to in the previous post, I'm a geek. This is probably why I found myself reading an article from www.pcworld.com and finding it both informative and entertaining.

Anyway, I know a few of you are a bit like that too. So you might want to read the article about 'The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007'.

My favourite line so far from it is:

"In 2007, the words "Internet security" joined the ever-growing list of self-canceling phrases, alongside "business intelligence," "Congressional ethics," and "Microsoft Works.""

Christmas @ the Castle

I'm still catching up with my blogging so you've probably already read all about this on Dermo's site.

Christmas @ the Castle took place from 7th to 9th December 2007. We spent the weekend at Castlewellan Castle enjoying some good craic and listening to Don Carson teach from the book of Jeremiah.

I must say that in learning from Jeremiah and in other recent conversations with people involved in organisations such as New Tribes Mission I have rediscovered the Old Testament. Its not just that it is full of cool stories but because it teaches so much about our God, his grace and his faithfulness to his promises. In the OT you learn quickly how serious sin is and why it took Jesus, the Son of God to die and rise again to atone (an old word, I know) for it.

Dermo (or David as he is now slowly becoming known) and myself had the honour of becoming the new @ the castle geeks. We sat with our laptops displaying Keynote slides (like PowerPoint but better - made by Apple, naturally), showing video, sorting the sound out and all those techy things that we enjoy so much.

The next '@ the Castle' is in June 2008. Check out www.atthecastle.org.uk for more details.

Manila

Let me start with an apology or two or three. One for not posting for while. The second to Laura for taking ages to moderate her comments. And three, to all of you for posting a picture of my legs. That said, they aren't that bad!

This was taken on the Friday afternoon after we had finally finished our week of training. It was great to relax by the pool for a bit and do a spot of reading (thanks to Dermo of the book!).

The work we had to do there was interesting. I enjoyed the various sessions (even Campaign Management - that is for Katya) and had great craic getting to know people from various parts of the world.

It was an eventful week. There had been a typhoon on the island before we arrived. Then on Tuesday I felt the earth move - literally. Apparently there was a 6.0 earthquake a few hundred miles north of where we were. The building rocked and we decided to evacuate. We were the only ones. As we left the building it was clear that it was business as usual for everyone else. Unused to such tremors we had obviously worried more than we needed to.

Later in the week several gents who were on trial for an attempted military coup back in 2003 managed to escape and hold up a few people in the Peninsular Hotel. Basically they wanted to try again but the army weren't having any of it and barged through the lobby doors in a tank thus ending the protests rather quickly. At this point I should probably mention I was not staying at the Peninsular Hotel - we were in the Edsa Shangri-La.

The hotel was definitely in festive mood judging by the music and the huge tree in the lobby.


Just when we thought all the excitement was over it transpired that seven of us were hit with food poisoning. On the last night I was encouraged to try an oyster - something I had never tried before and based on what I experienced over the subsequent days something I should never ever try again.

I'll just say that the flight from Hong Kong to London was unpleasant for me. Actually it probably wasn't much fun for those queued outside the loo when I finally resurfaced!

Things didn't begin to clear up until Tuesday - that was when I returned to work to discover the wide spread effects of the contaminated oysters.

Sorry I don't have many pictures. I may have a few on my other phone so I may publish more in due course. None of them are of my illness - so you can relax.

iWait, iPhone, iBlog

I'm sitting at Heathrow blogging on my iPhone while listening to the Zutons. They may be pretty quick to grab a gun rather than say, a wrench, but those Americans certainly know how to make some of the coolest stuff. Hope I don't offend any nation with that statement! But I guess if I am, an airport is the place to do it!

Only in America

A guy in America has injured both his legs while trying to undo some stubborn wheel nuts on his car - by blasting them with his 12-gauge shot gun at close range. Kind of indirectly shooting himself in the foot I suppose. And there is no mention of the wheel coming loose as a result. Full story on BBC News.

Where else in the world would there be anyone stupid enough to try that?!

iPhondling

I had my first encounter with an iPhone yesterday. The touch screen is brilliant both in the way it operates and in the way it looks. It is vibrant, bright, intuitive and boy does it look gooooood.

A couple of things are putting me off buying it. One is that it costs £269 and the other is that I have a feeling they'll bring out a 3G version next year.

Somethings worth considering and so far I haven't heard anyone asking:

1. What happens when they bring a new one out? Do we all have to buy it and transfer our contracts?
2. If we do that, will the our old handsets be of any use to anyone?
3. Will O2 continue to be the sole provider or will future generations of iPhones be open to all or maybe even exclusive to another operator?

But I think that even with the above taken into consideration I would have bought one - if I had the money to do so!

Wheely Good Day

Today was my little sister's birthday. But for several reasons too dull to mention we did most of our celebrating yesterday. We went out of lunch and did a spot of shopping. Sarah seemed to like the idea of nipping into shops, picking up stuff she liked but leaving the bill to her big brothers!
But the main event in my opinion was the Belfast Wheel. For those of you who don't know, Belfast City council have erected a big wheel at City Hall. For £6 you can go to the top of the world! Well, not quite the top of the world but if you are a bit squeamish about heights it feels like that. The ride was good craic and the view was great!We ended up sharing a pod (no idea what the technical term is but they looks like pods) with some Eastern Europeans. The girl who appeared to be with her mother made a call from the top of the wheel during which she stated that all was ok - this was the point that we thought it would be funny to scream. So we did, and it was.

Manila

Manila is a word used to describe those cardboard folders we all know and love but it is also a city in the Philippines. And that is where I have to go later this month!

I knew that my new job would entail some traveling but within a week of starting they are taking me half way round the world! While the journey will be tiring the trip should be a good experience.

What wasn't such a nice experience was my trip to the doctor today. I had to get two injections - vaccinations against Hepatitis A, Typhoid and a Tetanus booster. Actually I think that one injection contained a 3 in 1 vaccine so there is probably something I'm forgetting.

Anyway, my arms are sore and I now feel a tad groggy. I'm guessing that is some way I have a little bit of about four different diseases today so I suppose that was to be expected!

A Smashing Pumpkin

I'm starting to feel part of the furniture in our London office. When I arrived on Tuesday I was asked to help my new team to design and carve a pumpkin for the 5th floor's Halloween competition. But somewhat lacking in time and inspiration this was the best we could come up with.

It's pretty obvious that it is a likeness of Bono (isn't it?) but what you cannot see is my mobile phone hidden in the 'hair' that is playing a version of 'One Love' which we adapted to 'One Bridge' - the name of the new sales initiative and also the theme of the competition.

We were under pressure - being the team driving the 'One Bridge' project - and we didn't exactly come through with something good enough to win. Although a cheer-o-meter style vote was cast my rather over exuberant efforts were not rewarded.

Toilet Humour

I was in B&Q today. My vacuum cleaner hose split on me so I had to call in for some essential maintenance supplies - namely Gaffer Tape.

But two things happened on the way out. So small and insignificant in many ways but two things that indicate some personality traits quite possibly a few flaws!

One. I bought a battery stick on light thing. I could argue that I really needed it for my rather dimly lit cupboard - so I don't damage my vacuum cleaner in the dark again - but I fear that the main reason I bought it is because I'm a sucker for gadgets and I think I'm turning into my Dad. Just FYI - during a power cut you'd be forgiven for thinking my parents house is the place to be. Full of torches and lights and stuff. No batteries though!

Two. I saw a box that contained a toilet. No surprise there, I'm in B&Q and they sell all sorts of bathroom stuff. But the box was emblazoned with the words:

Toilet
To Go

For those of you who know me will understand why that got into my head and made me laugh. I laughed out loud at the till. The guy looked at me like I was crazy. Come on, you gotta see the humour in that. Its like saying 'TV - To Watch' or 'Chair - To Sit'. Explaining why I laughed didn't help to change that and I rather suspect that telling you all now isn't exactly making me look smart.

Remember Me! I'm a star!

For decades various stars of the silver screen have been adding their mark outside Grauman's Chinese Theater (pardon the US spelling) in Hollywood. It is seen to be a great honour to be invited to place ones handprints, footprints and autograph in a slab of cement so that countless others can remember you in the years to come.

In a similar vain, others show their desire to be remembered by adding their distinctive marks in other places. This one, already mentioned in Dermo's blog was left by someone (and I'll not name any names) who clearly shows belief in their own stardom. And given where it was left - in our church, under the top lid in the old piano, in dust - it has the potential to be preserved for generations.

Belief is Free!

I downloaded a John Mayer song from iTunes recently because it was free. Even though it was free iTunes still sent me an invoice. I have included an excerpt from it below because I found it interesting and a little thought provoking.

Can belief really be free?

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

Apple have announced that OS X 10.5 Leopard will be on sale from Oct 26! I really want to get this as it looks sweet. But its £85 that I could do without spending. That said, when you consider that most versions of Windows Vista cost twice that and more, the new Apple OS is unbelievable value for money. And I dare say anyone upgrading to Leopard will not be disappointed. Compare that to the countless new Windows Vista users who are crying 'what?!' rather than the advertised 'wow!'.

Tempted to preorder now...mmmmmm

You can do so at the Apple Store.

Warning - fat person thinking

Just thinking - not my fault by the way because I'm an individual. If individuals cannot be blamed for being fat then what happens if a few fat people gather together- can you blame them as as a group? Do they have to be eating junk food while they are charged?

Bottom line, in my case, a big bottom line, is that that I am to blame for my own condition. Just in the same way that I am to blame for every stupid and wrong thing I do.

We seem to be a society focused on our 'rights' and not at all focused out our responsibilities or in disciplining our children or ourselves to live up to them!

Its not my fault!

Apparently I get to blame someone else for being fat. Isn't society great. Seems like the only person's behaviour I'm not responsible for is my own!

I'm off to to get a Kit Kat and its YOUR fault Mr Brown and everyone else around me including YOU reading this! But don't worry, its not your fault that its your fault. You could blame that on someone else - maybe even me. In that case, I'm sorry. But what am I apologising for?! I can't possibly take any kind of responsibility for this or anything for that matter!!

Check out the article on the BBC News site.

By the way, there would be a picture of some junk food, or Augustus Gloop or something in this blog but the picture thingy isn't working on Blogger today. Not my fault and probably not Blogger either. Its probably the government or YOU again!

Wispa

The Wispa is back! I spotted this beauty in Centra near where I work. About 20mins later it was a gonner - snaffled up as a perfect companion to my post-lunch coffee.

Apparently Cadbury responded to some online petitions and brought the popular bar back. But it is only out for a limited period so if you want one, go get one soon! Maybe if we eat enough on them they will make it a permanent relaunch!

Note, just realised Dave has already blogged about this and his photos are better.