Petrol and Holiday

Quite possibly, my two favorite British words are 'petrol' and 'holiday. I think I'm almost to the point where I will use them in everyday conversation.

'Petrol' is what Americans would refer to as gasoline or the more vernacular 'gas'. When asked by an Australian why we call a liquid 'gas', I really didn't have a good answer. So for now on, it is petrol as in "rising petrol prices have reduced consumer spending".

'Holiday' and its more common form 'on holiday' is a common substitution for the term "going on vacation". There is nothing more enjoyable that being on vacation few better places to be on vacation than jolly old England. That being said, you won't see me going on vacation anytime soon, I will strictly be going on holiday.

You've been warned now watch out for me buying petrol for my hired car while on holiday.

Kids, don't drink and fly

There isn't very much to do on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, so even the local insects turn to alcoholism.

If you are planning a trip to Molokai, make sure you are willing to deal with 6 inch drunken butterflies. You should also be prepared for some amazing, more or less private beaches.

Pitchers and catchers today!

There are a few signs that spring is coming every year. Shadow-free groundhogs are one. The first time a perennial bulb flowers is another. However, today is the most clear sign of spring of them all: baseball pitchers and catchers day for the Giants. It is the official start of practice before the preseason before the real season for baseball.

So here is to spring!

Surfing USA

There haven't been a lot of times when I'm proud of a picture, but everyone has to be very proud of their first surfing picture. I stood up on the first wave I caught, which is a tribute to the good instruction I had (and probably my inherent surfing skill laid dormant for so many years). I have a feeling this is going to go on Facebook for a long time.

Random stuff in my work bag

I bring some truly random stuff to work every day. I think all that boy scout training leads me to be over-prepared and I try to minimize distractions and frustrations at work by bringing everything I can possibly need. No sense being frustrated at work because my left index fingernail is 3/32ths of an inch too long :).

The most bizarre contents of my backpack:

1) Band-aids
2) 6 pack of AA batteries (for my wireless keyboard/mouse)
3) Dental floss (no worse feeling that having something stuck in your teeth)
4) Ear plugs (I work in a cube)
5) Clif Bars (for somewhat healthy snacking before basketball)
6) Kleenex
7) Nail clipper
8) Skin lotion/moisturizer (dry-painful hands suck)
9) Rolaids/cough drops/medicine
10) Breath mints
11) Chapstick (Dry-painful lips suck)
12) Contact solution (Dry, painful eyes suck)
13) Portable music players (I work in a cube with a really loud New Yorker behind me)
14) Two sets of headphones (With some kind of noise blocking)
15) Umbrella (dry clothes are good)
16) Airborne (being sick is bad)

After reading this, you may infer that I'm kind of anal-retentive. I like having everything I need within reach. I just can't imagine how anyone could get through the day without all this stuff.

The guy who sits behind me has a 1L bottle of hand sanitizer and a 1L bottle of Listerine. At least all my stuff is in small, portable sizes.

Shoulda bought some Yahoo! stock yesterday...