Andy’s twitter updates for Friday
10:39 Seattle Macy’s parade was cold and wet but still well attended
12:27 Sitting in Starbucks, writing scripts and playing with technology. Vacation days are great.
The Girl Effect
Sometimes it is important to challenge the status quo and force change but that invariably lead to resistance and confrontation. Other times, it is so much more effective to embrace the constraints or unquestioned ‘truths’, take steps that no-one cares about within that existing framework and watch desired outcome emerge naturally.
As a means of effecting change and reducing poverty, my belief and commitment to organizations like Unitus that offer microfinancing solutions remains strong. This initiative also shows promise.
The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.
Because there’s poverty, and war, and hunger, and AIDS, and because when adolescent girls in the developing world have a chance, they can be the most powerful force of change for themselves, their families, communities, countries, and even the planet.
But while those 600 million adolescent girls are the most likely agents of change, they are often invisible to their societies and the world.
So what can you do about that? Help make girls visible. Stand up and be counted by becoming a fan of The Girl Effect, and getting your friends to do the same. Tell the world that you think the 600 million girls in the developing world deserve better – for themselves, and for the end of poverty.
That’s a start. Ready to learn and do more? Head over to girleffect.org.
Bathroom remodel begins
After what seems like months on the go, we’ve finally had a couple of weekends in town and a chance to catch up on a few things on the home front.
First order of business has been to get a major bathroom overhaul under way. The bathroom in this house was in a rather sorry state when I moved in a couple of years ago, and various discoveries since have turned up ‘concerns’ like rotten floors, deep cuts into the joists, water leaking from the shower and tub and other surprises. I replaced the old, original plumbing last winter with PEX (story for another time) but that was really only the beginning.
We spent this weekend touring home improvement stores and finished with resounding success, having picked fixtures, fittings, flooring, tubs and a toilet that can flush a bucket of golf balls. Really.
Work on the prereqs should begin this week (trenching to the street water main, electrical panel replacement), with the real construction starting after the holiday. Exciting times.
Celebrating ‘Change’
Tuesday was a very important day; there was a tense mixture of excitement and apprehension everywhere - on the bus, at the gym, at work, even walking around Seattle in the early evening where Amy and I planned to meet for dinner.
After a fine main course at Palomino, I couldn’t resist but to check the count on my phone and it was right there: 333 electoral votes. All over before 9pm and I couldn’t resist a subtle high-five.
As we made our way over to the Westin where the local Democrats were camped out watching the gubernatorial race, cars were honking horns driving up fifth avenue and people openly cheering in the street. We arrived just in time to be swept up into the excited crowd that filled the main ballroom to watch Obama’s speech. And a great speech it was.
Making our way out through the lobby, there was a great contrast of ecstatic supporters and exhausted, passed out campaign staff. While the crowds were spilling out into the street with more shouting and celebration, I think deep down everyone realizes this is only the first step in a monumental task. But it has to begin somewhere.
Spotted on Dexter Ave N
Reminds me of Lost. Sign reads “CALL SEATTLE CITY LIGHT AT 206-684-3000 WHEN LIGHT IS ON”. What if it’s flashing?!
Halloween 2008
It’s that time of year again, when grown adults dress up and show the kids how it’s really done.
As good today as it’s always been
What better way to break a hiatus than with a bit of nostalgia.
Even after seven years (this Wednesday) away from Britain, this video makes me inexplicably homesick.
Rhonna and Sean get married
A few photos from their wedding at the Lake Union Cafe
And earlier, from the bachelor party at Lake Chelan (courtesy of Ethan):
I wish I had a good photo of their ‘joint’ Halloween costume this year which was inspirational.
UK trip: Friday in London
The last week has been a blur. Just one week ago I woke up in a small hotel in Farnham, Surrey yet I’ve also spend quite a number of days here in Seattle. This is how it went down.
Wind the clock back to last Thursday morning and a 5am town car to the airport. I pounded through some unfinished business at the gate and boarded the plane to Chicago. For those of us at 6′4″ I can definitely recommend the United Economy Plus; I felt like a sucker for buying it (at $100) on the way out but definitely missed it on the way back. A 6am arrival in Heathrow and the body is ready to sleep, not embrace the day ahead.
Heathrow Express into Paddington and I started off in search of some food. I wandered aimlessly for about 20 minutes until it started to rain so I stepped into the restaurant at a nearby Hilton Hotel. For the next hour, I gorged on all the British breakfast food I miss - beans, pork sausages, grilled tomatoes, particular hash browns, real bacon. Mmmmm.
I planned to spend the day with my mum who was coming down by train. I figured I could at least drop off my bags at the hotel before she arrived and they did one better, letting me check in at 8am giving me time for a shower and shave.
We met at Euston and decided to head to the British Museum. The atrium is a very impressive structure, huge sweeping room over a main central exhibit with so much off to the sides too. Unfortunately we had the attention level of uninterested school children and headed straight for the coffee shop to catch up, incidentally glancing at a few mummies on the way. After a good chat, we walked through a small exhibit of American art (impressive woodcuts) and then decided we had had our fill of culture. Definitely a place to go back to, perhaps with a little more focus.
Next we caught to tube to Embankment, walked down the river to Parliament, through some back streets and through St James Park in a torrential downpour. All-Bar-One in Leicester Square for lunch and then we visited a place I’ve long wanted to go: the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Closed shortly after the war, they provide a fascinating insight into the conditions and epic struggle of the time. Having read Roy Jenkin’s biography of Churchill a few years ago, I found a number of parts of the Churchill Museum to be quite familiar too. Highly recommended.
By the end of that tour, I was tired and fading fast. We parted ways and I got an early start on the night’s sleep.
