This is one of these Facebook things, but I quite liked it so thought I'd post it to my blog as well for the readers who aren't also FB bods...
Here’s how it works: Google “[your first name] needs” and share the first 10 results. That's it: it is that simple. But be honest! These are actual quotes from the top ten results.
1. Megan needs a summer intern (really?)
2. Megan needs an ass kicking now!! (OK - that may be more apt...)
3. Megan needs a very quiet home in a place with few or no thunder storms and lots of sunshine. (actually I quite like thunderstorms - like the sunshine bit tho)
4. Megan Needs is on Facebook
5. Megan needs to get Sarah’s contact information from Glenda. (again - really?)
6. The only thing that Megan needs help with at this point is in the area of responsiveness. (Again - possibly more apt...)
7. Megan needs help with at this point is in the area of responsiveness (ok - this is getting repetitive now...)
8. MySpace profile for Megan (needs to be an optimist) (yes I probably do need to be an optimist...)
9. Megan needs a dress rehearsal (what for - life?)
10. Megan needs a boy's profile (couldn't agree with that one more!)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
And so to Maya's work
On Sunday I thought that seeing as how I had seen where Chris works I should really go and see where Maya earns her crust. So in I went and she made me a lovely flat white! No photo though as I didn't take my camera. Very nice wee cafe tho - would be lovely to have one like it on my doorstep...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A lot of scary dogs, great views and Chris's pub
So on Saturday the intrepid Loop walkers (being me, Nicola, Mhairi and Jackie) headed off to do Section 4 - from West Wickham Common to Hamsey Green in Croydon.
We had been meant to do this section a week earlier, but after the 'Big Snow' we thought it might be prudent to wait a week... which was probably wise, but even so it was very muddy. Following on from the walk we'd been invited to a Valentine's dinner at Simon's place (for all of us singletons) - and as it was only a 9 mile walk I thought if we headed off at midday we wouldn't get to Simon's too early. Turns out I was basing my calculations on mine and Julia's walking pace, not that of the four of us so it took us a wee bit longer than I had thought it would! Hey - finishing walking almost in the dark is fun...
But it was a great walk. Lots of woods which were lovely to walk through. Most surreal moment was our lunch stop. We went into a pub called the Sandrock, which was fairly 'gastro'. We were impressed with the service, and enjoyed our meals (we just had light meals however as we were saving ourselves for Simon's), and chatted about how nice it was to get somewhere where the pubs were good (we've been in some pretty sub-standard ones up till now). It was at this point I looked up and through the door into the kitchen, and after peering intently I realised that it was Chris in the kitchen! So purely by coincidence we had ended up in the pub Chris cooks in!! Fortunately I could honestly tell him that we had all been very impressed :-). He came out briefly (they were busy) and was telling me about the fab roasts he does on a Sunday so when Maya has a Sunday off we're going to go out for Sunday lunch!
After lunch we took a slight detour to the Shirley Windmill which is just down the road from the Sandrock. Very cool to see - although Nicola was a bit horrified I hadn't seen the one in Wimbledon Common... After that it was up into Addington Hills for some great views out over London. Check out my pics on Flickr - although my camera really isn't good enough to do them justice. But we were all very impressed - we could see Canary Wharf, Wembley Stadium, the Gerkhin, great views of Crystal Palace etc.
Then it was on through many more woods - and an encounter with not just one, not just two, but FOUR German Shepherds. What was most disturbing was that they were being walked by a woman on a mobility scooter, 3 were not on any leash, and they were all VERY barky and growly at us. It was really unpleasant - and although Nicola spent a lot of the rest of the walk and dinner telling us that wasn't their fault, the opinion of the rest of us was that we would rather not have dogs that scared people. We were not convinced of the woman's ability to control them just with her voice, and it did feel like a pack...
Not long after that we encountered the two Staffordshire bull terriers - which were almost as scary, but at least they were being walked by a fairly scary looking man who did look like he could control them. And while they are meant to be nice temperaments you can't help but think of all the awful stories you hear about them...
And about 1 and 3/4 hours after we said we'd be there, we did get to Simon's for a lovely meal of French Onion soup, hearty beef stew and apple crumble made by Mhairi. Who needs a boyfriend on Valentines Day when you've got your friends :-)
We had been meant to do this section a week earlier, but after the 'Big Snow' we thought it might be prudent to wait a week... which was probably wise, but even so it was very muddy. Following on from the walk we'd been invited to a Valentine's dinner at Simon's place (for all of us singletons) - and as it was only a 9 mile walk I thought if we headed off at midday we wouldn't get to Simon's too early. Turns out I was basing my calculations on mine and Julia's walking pace, not that of the four of us so it took us a wee bit longer than I had thought it would! Hey - finishing walking almost in the dark is fun...
But it was a great walk. Lots of woods which were lovely to walk through. Most surreal moment was our lunch stop. We went into a pub called the Sandrock, which was fairly 'gastro'. We were impressed with the service, and enjoyed our meals (we just had light meals however as we were saving ourselves for Simon's), and chatted about how nice it was to get somewhere where the pubs were good (we've been in some pretty sub-standard ones up till now). It was at this point I looked up and through the door into the kitchen, and after peering intently I realised that it was Chris in the kitchen! So purely by coincidence we had ended up in the pub Chris cooks in!! Fortunately I could honestly tell him that we had all been very impressed :-). He came out briefly (they were busy) and was telling me about the fab roasts he does on a Sunday so when Maya has a Sunday off we're going to go out for Sunday lunch!
After lunch we took a slight detour to the Shirley Windmill which is just down the road from the Sandrock. Very cool to see - although Nicola was a bit horrified I hadn't seen the one in Wimbledon Common... After that it was up into Addington Hills for some great views out over London. Check out my pics on Flickr - although my camera really isn't good enough to do them justice. But we were all very impressed - we could see Canary Wharf, Wembley Stadium, the Gerkhin, great views of Crystal Palace etc.
Then it was on through many more woods - and an encounter with not just one, not just two, but FOUR German Shepherds. What was most disturbing was that they were being walked by a woman on a mobility scooter, 3 were not on any leash, and they were all VERY barky and growly at us. It was really unpleasant - and although Nicola spent a lot of the rest of the walk and dinner telling us that wasn't their fault, the opinion of the rest of us was that we would rather not have dogs that scared people. We were not convinced of the woman's ability to control them just with her voice, and it did feel like a pack...
Not long after that we encountered the two Staffordshire bull terriers - which were almost as scary, but at least they were being walked by a fairly scary looking man who did look like he could control them. And while they are meant to be nice temperaments you can't help but think of all the awful stories you hear about them...
And about 1 and 3/4 hours after we said we'd be there, we did get to Simon's for a lovely meal of French Onion soup, hearty beef stew and apple crumble made by Mhairi. Who needs a boyfriend on Valentines Day when you've got your friends :-)
The Sandrock - Chris's pub
The Sandrock - Chris's pub
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Chris's pub - with ugly red car parked out front annoyingly!
View over London from Addington hill
View over London from Addington hill
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
If you look carefully - and you know what you're looking for, you can see the Wembley Arch in this one!
Mhairi, Nicola and me at the viewing platform, Addington Hill
Mhairi, Nicola and me at the viewing platform, Addington Hill
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Spot those bags under my eyes - thats what comes from burning the candle... :-(
Valentines Day dinner at Simon's
Valentines Day dinner at Simon's
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Just getting ready to tuck in!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Extreme Information!
Despite being ENORMOUSLY tired from the gig last night (I have the biggest bags and shadows under my eyes...) I dragged my sorry carcass along to a talk I had registered for that was being run by the City Information Group (a professional association I belong to).
The line up was meant to be two speakers - a Lt from the Royal Engineers talking about how the British Army turns information into intelligence in battlefield situations, and a guy from Lehmans who was to talk about what it was like to be at Lehman Brothers the week the 'roof caved in'.
The guy from Lehmans wasn't there, which turned out to be a good thing as the army man had much longer to talk. He had a great presentation with photos and videos (he had been out in Afghanistan last year) and it was really interesting. A whole different spin on the use of information and the challenges of using it efficiently and accurately in situations like that. Very moving as well when he almost cried as he showed us a photo of a soldier and his sniffer dog who he had worked with, and who was killed not long after our speaker left Afghanistan. I can't help thinking that the trials and tribulations of Lehmans would have seemed very trivial after all that...
The line up was meant to be two speakers - a Lt from the Royal Engineers talking about how the British Army turns information into intelligence in battlefield situations, and a guy from Lehmans who was to talk about what it was like to be at Lehman Brothers the week the 'roof caved in'.
The guy from Lehmans wasn't there, which turned out to be a good thing as the army man had much longer to talk. He had a great presentation with photos and videos (he had been out in Afghanistan last year) and it was really interesting. A whole different spin on the use of information and the challenges of using it efficiently and accurately in situations like that. Very moving as well when he almost cried as he showed us a photo of a soldier and his sniffer dog who he had worked with, and who was killed not long after our speaker left Afghanistan. I can't help thinking that the trials and tribulations of Lehmans would have seemed very trivial after all that...
Super Starsailor
Last night it was off to the Luminaire (very cool small venue which I've blogged about before), to see Starsailor - a band I've long been keen on. And in fact it was due to them that I named my blog 'Live By the River' - as you will see if you look back to the very first entry...
And for those readers who were at my 40th, they played the song I took my speech about 'Good Souls' from - so I was very happy!
I was extremely tired today, but it was worth it.
And for those readers who were at my 40th, they played the song I took my speech about 'Good Souls' from - so I was very happy!
I was extremely tired today, but it was worth it.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Busy birthdays
Was a social butterfly weekend just gone. First up on Friday night was Nicola's birthday - had she been fortunate enough to be born in New Zealand she would never have to work on her birthday... But as she's English... Anyhow she had drinks at Somerstown Coffee House - very cool pub by Euston. Bit out of the way, but easy for me to get home from, and its a great venue. Mhairi had originally taken us there a few months ago, so it was nice to get a return visit.
Saturday night was Sarah's birthday, and it was off back into town for me to Clerkenwell Green - which isn't a 'Green' at all, and according to Wikipedia hasn't had any grass for 300 years... However it is home to some rather nice pubs, and we had some drinks and tapas at The Green. Very nice evening again - somewhat enlivened by posh kids running through the pub - guess thats what you do to kill time on a Sat night if you are posh of Clerkenwell...
Saturday night was Sarah's birthday, and it was off back into town for me to Clerkenwell Green - which isn't a 'Green' at all, and according to Wikipedia hasn't had any grass for 300 years... However it is home to some rather nice pubs, and we had some drinks and tapas at The Green. Very nice evening again - somewhat enlivened by posh kids running through the pub - guess thats what you do to kill time on a Sat night if you are posh of Clerkenwell...
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The Big Snow - day 2
Tuesday evening now and I have cabin fever... Still didn't make it into work today. Went to the station, stood on the platform for about an hour watching 3 trains come in which were all rammed from earlier stations and realised I'd had enough so went home again.
Got my work to courier my laptop to me, so I did get quite a bit of work done in the end. Amazing weather though - a once in 20 years event apparently.... which probably means it will happen every year now!
Lots of moaning on the tv and radio about how we should be more prepared etc - but London just isn't geared up for this sort of snow - they just don't have the gear. Still - people have been out enjoying it - sledging, snowboarding, building snowmen etc.
I quite like it really :-). Check out the rest of my photos on Flickr as well.
Got my work to courier my laptop to me, so I did get quite a bit of work done in the end. Amazing weather though - a once in 20 years event apparently.... which probably means it will happen every year now!
Lots of moaning on the tv and radio about how we should be more prepared etc - but London just isn't geared up for this sort of snow - they just don't have the gear. Still - people have been out enjoying it - sledging, snowboarding, building snowmen etc.
I quite like it really :-). Check out the rest of my photos on Flickr as well.
Looking down the road - Lovelace Gardens
Looking down the road - Lovelace Gardens
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Lovelace Gardens about 9am.
Monday, February 02, 2009
The towpath along the Thames to Kingston
The towpath along the Thames to Kingston
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Another one for my summer visitors - bit different huh??!
Looking down Lovelace Gardens
Looking down Lovelace Gardens
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Gives you an idea of the depth of snow - especially for Tracey, Leigh & Maurie who have been to mine!
Snow - Feb 2009 - Backyard tree
Snow - Feb 2009 - Backyard tree
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Snow on the tree from my lounge window!
Snow - Feb 2009 - Backyard
Snow - Feb 2009 - Backyard
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
View from my lounge window this morning. The line to the bottom left is the path...
Snow - Feb 2009 - Lovelace Gardens
Snow - Feb 2009 - Lovelace Gardens
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
View from my bedroom window this morning. No trains or buses running!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Slumdog, strolling, markets and snow...
Went to see Slumdog Millionaire during the week - I'm assuming it has been getting big press in the Southern hemisphere as well so won't bother linking to a site about it. I really enjoyed it - not really the 'feel good' movie it is being advertised as over here, but still great. I've listened to lots of interviews with the director and stars so it was good to finally get to see it. Definitely recommend it! I did hear that there has been some criticism in the NZ press about the fact that the kids are still in the slums, but the film crew are paying for them to go through school - they have also put money in trust for them as well as a bribe to get them to stay at school until they are 16. So don't let incorrect reporting put you off!
Saturday I met up with Gabby and Divya (with 6 month old Tarun) and we walked from Camden to Little Venice along the canal. It was a lovely afternoon, and Tarun is just gorgeous. Very smiley and big dark eyes. Getting pretty cold on the way back though...
Today I headed off to Greenwich Market to do some birthday present shopping - which as always when I go there was successful. It has yet to let me down... But man it was arctic!! I bought a hat for me as well (even though I had one I decided I needed a warmer one). Then I met up with Craig and Sarah and their kiddies and went back to their place for a much needed cup of peppermint tea. And now when I look out of my window there is already snow covering the ground. We have an extreme weather warning out at the mo - can't wait for my commute tomorrow morning...
Saturday I met up with Gabby and Divya (with 6 month old Tarun) and we walked from Camden to Little Venice along the canal. It was a lovely afternoon, and Tarun is just gorgeous. Very smiley and big dark eyes. Getting pretty cold on the way back though...
Today I headed off to Greenwich Market to do some birthday present shopping - which as always when I go there was successful. It has yet to let me down... But man it was arctic!! I bought a hat for me as well (even though I had one I decided I needed a warmer one). Then I met up with Craig and Sarah and their kiddies and went back to their place for a much needed cup of peppermint tea. And now when I look out of my window there is already snow covering the ground. We have an extreme weather warning out at the mo - can't wait for my commute tomorrow morning...
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