Sixteen Percent

Years ago, there was an episode of Nova, the science show in PBS, titled Its About Time. The program discussed all the interesting thoughts in the study of what time is, how it is perceived, and what the possibility is that time travel may be possible.

One of the segments, the one discussing the perception of time, talked about how different people perceive the passage of time differently. You know the effect I am talking about. Two people sitting in an office both are "working." Well, one is working, the other is watching the clock. The one who is busy looks up and says "Well, will you look at the time! It's five o'clock already! Time Flies!"

Meanwhile, the one who has been willing the clock to jump to 17:00 since lunch time finds himself thinking "At Last! I cannot believe how incredibly long this day has been!"

The program explained that the affect is actually an artifact of the amount of time one spends in considering the passage of time. The more you think about it, the slower it happens. The busier you are, the faster time seems to pass because you have less time to think about how slow it is passing. (Or something to that effect!)

I mention this because when I picked-up my Palm Pilot this morning to check my mail before coming to the office, I noticed that it was already 28-February! Where is this year getting off to? The year is already 16% over!

If the theory that Its About Time offered is accurate, then this year definitely offers corroborative evidence. I have been so busy with my travel and work schedule that I have had no real time to consider the actual passage of the time; consequently, time has been flying.

Here's to the two months complete and the ten ahead! I hope that wherever you are, your year is going well and passing quickly enough to be comfortable!

Don Bergquist - 28-February-2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, United Kingdom

Like I Never Left

We arrived late yesterday and then there was a hassle trying to get through Customs. They think I am coming here too often to be considered a visitor and suggested that the next time I come over I may be required to get a work visa. By the time I got to the house in Thames Ditton it was already noon.

I quickly unpacked and put my room in order. Putting the things I brought for my friends into my messenger bag so I could bring it to the pub with me, I lay down for a quick nap. Around 16:00 I got up and headed out for a bike ride.

I should have headed into Surbiton and done some grocery shopping but I was more eager to head out and see if the parks are blooming yet. (They aren't - but seem close.) I rode for about an hour and then returned home to grab my bag and take the stuff I bought in the US for my friends to them at the pub.

It was a welcome homecoming! We sat by the big fireplace and exchanged stories and toasts until about 21:00 and then I headed home to crash and burn. The bed felt really good last night when I finally got into it and turned-out the lights I was already asleep!

Today I resume working on my project work here in Thames Ditton. I cannot wait to see if I have stuff to test! I guess I had best pack my PC and get into the office.

I hope wherever you are today you have a great time!

Don Bergquist - 27-February-2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Midnight Musings

One of the things I may have mentioned at one time or another on my blog is that I am not, generally speaking, the sort of person who can sleep on an airplane. I have, occasionally been able to when sitting in first class (or business class - when headed to London) but even sitting up front is no guarantee.

I have no idea why this is. It can't be the noise, the red-eye to London is dead quiet once the meal service has been done and the lights have been dimmed. I have noise canceling headphones (What a wonderful invention!!!) that get rid of most of the ambient cabin noise and I've tried sleeping pills on some of these flights in the past.

I mention this because it is about midnight (in the eastern time zone where my flight left from) and I am sitting here, tired, but unable to sleep. I've finished the book that I brought with me for the early part of the flight and will probably get up and walk to the back galley and stretch my legs in a minute.

I've played a couple crossword puzzles on my PDA and will probably watch a movie a little later on. Three hours down, five to go. Have I mentioned that I really don't enjoy this part of the whole "Travel Experience"?

My seat-mate is sleeping fitfully. He keeps snoring himself almost away and then turns this-way-and-that to get more comfortable and falls asleep again. Lucky guy! Well, it's time for a stretch.

I hope wherever this evening finds you you are well!

Don Bergquist - 26-February-2006 - Northwest Airlines Flight 32 Somewhere over the North Atlantic

Waiting... (The Remake)

If she hasn't figured it out yet, she will shortly. My bags are packed and stacked inside the door, the shuttle will pick me up shortly. This is another day of travel (by which I mean waiting) ahead of me. I am waiting already. The shuttle is late!

The shuttle service almost always starts at my place (when I am riding them) because I live so far to the west and south of the airport. I know that there are people who would offer me a ride to the airport to save me the long ride in the shuttle, but I can't ask them to take the time out of their mornings to make sure that I am where I need to be. I was chatting with my neighbor who offered, but it just wasn't necessary. Now, if the shuttle is any later than it is right now, I may go next door to see if I can beg that ride off him!

Well, at least I am leaving the cold and snow behind me. It has been lovely this week, but the weather forecasts are calling for an arctic blast next week with the chance of snow early in the week. I guess I am headed back to London just in time.

I hope wherever you are today your outlook is warm and sunny!

Don Bergquist - 25-February-2006 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Mean Daddy

When my siblings and I were young, there were many times that the decisions that our parents made were seen (by us) to be arbitrary, capricious, and unfair. These were often received by my siblings and me with the plaintive question: "But, why?!?!"

To which, the invariable response from my father was "Because I am a mean daddy!"

As I have grown older (and my father has gotten smarter - funny how that works - but that is another story that I will have to post some day!) I have grown to appreciate that "I'm A Mean Daddy" really translated into English as "Because I love you and sometimes I have to make you do things you don't want to." I am certain that saying "I'm a mean daddy" was not easy, nor was whatever it was he was trying to get us to do that we didn't want to do.

I'm sure of this because today, I realized what a mean daddy I am.

Okay, I don't have any children (per se) but I have Saga. Yesterday was the day that I had set-aside to do things for Saga before I headed back to London for my next trip. We did all the things we had to do (but that I knew she'd hate) in one big go this morning to get it over with. First it was off to the vet to catch-her-up on her her inoculations. Then it was off to the dog wash to have her get all prety-fied. Last evening I clipped her nails. All the while as she was fighting and whining, I heard my dad saying in my head "...Because I am mean daddy!"

Yeah, right! I'm glad I had a mean daddy rather than one who could care less! Thanks, Dad!

As for Saga, I'm sure she will get over it. Probably about the time she realizes that I am gone on another business trip and won't be back for a while she'll realize how lucky she is to have a mean daddy!

I hope wherever you are today you have the opportunity to appreciate the "mean" people in your life!

Don Bergquist - 24-February-2006 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Oh, Yes! They Know!

If you have ever wondered if you pets can read your mind, let me settle your quandary. Yes. They can! Saga can, I am convinced that she knows that I am going away again in a couple days for another eight weeks in the UK.

She has been incredibly clingy all week. She follows me into every room I go into and never strays from my side for long. I know that you may think she is just living off the trauma of my being gone so long, but I think that she really knows that I am about to leave again.

If she has not actually read my mind, then she has noticed that I didn't put away my case as I normally do when I get home. It is still sitting in the living room and is being re-filled with clothing as they come out of the washing machine. She's either psychic or very observant.

This morning, she showed me that she doesn't want me to go by waking me up at three. I have no idea what the deal was, but she came tearing up to bed and pounced on me! She jumped into the empty space to my right, crawled over the pillows at the head of the bed (stepping on my face in the process), and finally nudging herself under the quilts and snuggled into the crook of my arm. Perhaps she was dreaming that I was gone and needed to reassure herself that I was still there.

I am going to miss her when I go back to the United Kingdom next week. Nobody is that excited to see me when I show-up at home in Thames Ditton.

I hope wherever you are, you have someone who is excited to see you!

Don Bergquist - 23-February-2006 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Not Much To Report Today

It has been a busy week thus far, but nothing of note to make mention of. This week was to make sure I had a chance to get some of the stuff that I needed to get done taken care of. As great as the internet is at making it possible for me to maintain my personal affairs from practically anywhere, there are just those things that require physical presence.

It is hump day. I hope I will be wrapping things up and getting things done so that I can relax and spend the last day here with Saga. I think she has figured-out that I am not staying.

I hope wherever you are, you are having a productive day!

Don Bergquist - 22-February-2006 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Old Habits...

It's not only the old habits that die hard. Yesterday on the way into the office I stopped off at Seven-Eleven for a cup of coffee. Without thinking (it was only five AM after all), I reached into my pocket, retrieved my wallet, and seeing I had insufficient coinage to buy the coffee, handed the guy the smallest bill I had. The guy looked at the fiver and asked if I was trying to be funny or something. I retrieved the five-pound note, got the other wallet out of my briefcase in the car, and handed over a five-dollar-bill.

Last night, on my way home from the Home Owner's association meeting I made a left out of the parking lot of the church where we have the meeting and almost immediately remembered to drive on the right. (In truth, I wondered why they had put the road signage on the wrong side of the road first.)

I guess I am saying that you can get used to almost anything. Things you enjoy, you get used to more quickly. I enjoy being in London, so I have grown accustomed to saying "cheers" to people instead of "thank you." Someone asked if I got homesick. I did. You bet! But it was mostly for the people and the ones I love back here (SAGA!!!) and very little for the place. You can get used to anything if you are in good company, and the friends I have made in London have made my acclimatization go pretty smoothly. (No comments to the contrary are necessary! You can read back entries on this blog if you want contraindicative evidence.)

I hope wherever you are you are surrounded by people who make your day go a little more smoothly!

Don Bergquist - 21-February-2006 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Editor's Note:
This entry was originally a political screed talking about how contradictory the president's trip to photo-ops all across the country to promote the conservation of fuel is. Don was quite correct. If the president wanted to promote fuel conservation he could have stayed at home and set an example, but that would have been logical.

Oh, he also made some astute points about how it should be no surprise that the president attempted to appoint a crony to head-up the maritime oversight board who just happens to be connected (as in a former CEO) to the company from the Dubai company that he has suggested would be a good company to make sure that no dangerous stuff comes across our borders through our ports.

This, not being a primarily political blog by nature, the editorial staff felt these comments were out of place.

-Editor

Being Nice

I am sitting in a coach class seat sipping on a glass of white wine about half-way through my last flight of the day. I have now been at the mercy of this airline for something approaching sixteen hours. But, this is what I do. I've learned over the years that it never pays to be nasty but being nice... "...more flies with honey..." as the old saying goes. The glass of wine, my second, is one of those flies.

It all started back in the boarding process. Someone who obviously does not subscribe to this idea walked on the plane in the later part of the loading procedure with her three cases, and started trying to shove them into the overhead bins. For those of you not familiar with air travel, it is customarily accepted that you may bring two pieces of luggage with you, one brief case and one carry on, or one carry on and one purse, when you board the plane. On flights that are not extremely full, you can usually bring on a third, but you will almost never see anyone try it on such as packed flight as this. When you do have two, one should go under the seat in front of you, the other in the overhead bin.

So this woman, having conscripted a helper to get her bags (yes, all three of them) into the already near-capacity overhead bins. She just shoved people's stuff around to get her own in and left her bag hanging two inches out of the bin so that it couldn't possibly close. It was at this point that the vinegar/honey decision had to be taken and she chose unwisely.

The flight attendant came along to assist and asked if she could help with finding alternative stowage for the woman's baggage. "I'm dealing with it. It has to stay with me." The woman replied tartly. "It's in the bin."

"I'm sorry," the flight attendant responded, "it cannot stay there. That bin has to be able to close."

"Just where do you want me to put it?" retorted the woman crossly.

At this point the original flight attendant started backing off, obviously irritated. As one of her collages came to her aid, she said under her breath, but loud enough for me to overhear (I believe it was intended to be heard by her colleague alone.) "She asked me where I wanted her to put it!"

"That's a loaded question." her colleague whispered back.

I smiled quietly to myself and read my book through the remainder of the boarding process. That was an hour-and-a-half or-so-ago. A short while ago, perhaps ten minutes after the beverage and snack service, I went back to use the loo and to stretch my legs. The first of the two flight attendants was there. While waiting for one of the personals to become available, I was chatting with the flight attendant. (Those of you who have read my columns before realize that this is something I do often.) During the conversation I complimented her on her restraint.

"You showed amazing restraint in not explaining, in great details, you answer to that woman's question." I said. Receiving a shocked look in response. "The woman with the bag problem back in <>Airport Name Omitted<> who asked you where you wanted her to put it." I explained.

"You heard that?" She asked."Oh, god! Do you think she heard it?"

"No! I was sitting right below you while you and your colleague exchanged your comments. I wasn't eves dropping, but that woman was so unspeakably rude. I just thought that you should know that you, in my humble opinion, handled it right."

She was relieved to hear that their comments probably didn't go much further and that probably nobody else was able to hear them. We chatted a bit more, about travel, where her itinerary took her tomorrow, where mine had taken me, and about my travels earlier in the day. She and I were discussing how hard it is to deal with the public some times when I said that she has a hard job and she handled it more professionally than some of her colleagues. I mentioned the guy in my flight back to the states from London when I asked for a glass of water and a glass of wine with my dinner.

As I was wishing her a good flight and said that I would be returning to my seat and my book. She brought back-up that last point again and asked if I ever did get the wine. "Yeah, but every time I asked for anything he made it sound like I was asking him to run errands or something for me."

A few minutes later, she brought me my first glass of wine from the open bottle in First Class. My row-mates were asleep so no explanation was made. It was quite a nice chardonnay. A couple minutes ago, she walked by and explained that the bottle was opened because one person in First Class had wanted white and the bottle would be counted as spoilage if it was served. So why not?

When I agreed to a second glass, she walked off and got it. I am pretty certain that the "Where do you want me to put it woman." didn't get this kind of service. I hope she got mostly ice when her drink was served. But I am sure my new acquaintance's with this airline is too professional to have done anything like that. I am pretty sure if a third glass is offered, I will turn it down. It will be twenty-one hours on the road today before I get to bed and I have yet to sleep since I left London.

The announcement that I just heard places us somewhere near Lincoln, Nebraska. I guess I will close this off for now, get back to my book and post this when I get home.

I hope that wherever you are today, you have an opportunity to be nice to someone.

Don Bergquist - 20-February-2006 - Lakewood, Colorado, United States

Waiting...

Okay, so there was a slight factual error yesterday in my blog. Yesterday, when I said that the part of the trip I cannot stand is the last full day in a place, I'll admit that I was not being entirely up-front.

This is the part of the trip that I really hate! My bags are packed and by the kitchen door. I've reconfirmed my reservations, checked to make sure that what I am taking is secure and ready to go and what I am leaving behind is organized and put away and now I wait.

Those of you who do not travel for a living probably do not realize this but business travel is not all restaurants and sight-seeing. There is a lot of waiting involved. Waiting for cabs, busses, cars, planes, and trains. Anyone who knows me, I am not a patient person. I hate to wait. But today will be mostly waiting.

I'm waiting for my car to come and collect me for the drive to Gatwick. Where I will wait for the sign to announce that I may check-in for my flight. After which I will go to the concourse and wait for the announcement that I can proceed to the departure lounge and (wait for it!) there I will wait for the plane to board. After boarding I will wait for take-off. Upon landing, I'll have to wait to collect my stuff and go to Immigrations and passport control where I will wait to announce that I have nothing to declare, wait for my baggage, wait to check-it in for my domestic flight, wait for that flight, and then wait for my flight to Denver.

The last time I will wait on this trip will be about ten-thirty tonight (about twenty-hours from now) when I wait for the shuttle to take me home. I should get home some time shortly after eleven tonight. (Denver Time) It is currently three in the morning over there.

I cannot wait! I'm looking forward to seeing Saga.

I hope that wherever you are today, you have something worth waiting for!

Don Bergquist - 19-February-2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, United Kingdom

Happy Birthday to my friend, Chip!

Last Day in the UK/Celebration Mach II

Well, it is my last day of this trip. The weather has been wonderful, it has been great being here for the last eight weeks. I will miss my friends and my pub when I head back to the states tomorrow morning. This is the part of the trip that I really could do without.

I want to see my dog, my friends back in the states, and my home again, but I am leaving behind my new friends, my second (or third, fourth - depends on how you want to count it) home and, of course, my pub.

I love the pub culture here. I wish someone would come-up with one in my area. Pubs are not bars, as we know them in the states, they are social meeting places with beer.

Last night I went out clubbing with a friend here in London and was out until about three this morning. A friend of mine found out that it had been my birthday and wanted to celebrate with me. It was fun! We went to a couple different places. One was this fantastic dance club with lasers, fog, and a really good DJ. Needless to say, I slept in 'til nearly seven thirty this morning!

I hope wherever you are, you have something to celebrate today!

Don Bergquist - 18-February-2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, United Kingdom

Happy Birthday, Cousin Stephanie!

Celebration!

Make new friends but keep the old
One is silver; the other gold.

I cannot think of the last time I had such a blast on my birthday! I thoroughly enjoyed last evening. When trying to think of how to put this, I decided that I couldn’t really say that there was no place that I’d have rather been. I probably could come up with something, but it would certainly be difficult to top last night! I know that I have said this before, and I will say it again. I have some really good friends here in the United Kingdom!

Mom's girl scout troop used to sing the song above about new and old friends. I wish some of my old friends could have been here and could meet my new friends.

My evening started about 17:00 when I left the office. The plan was that we would all meet-up at the King’s Arms to have a pint-or-two before heading into Esher to have a curry. In preparation for going out, I left the bike at home yesterday after my lunchtime ride. I headed out of the office and set out along Summer Road toward Hampton Court. I was not twenty feet from the front door of the office when Kevin pulled over and gave me a lift to the pub. (It was my first ride in a London Police Car. I suggested that had he been a couple minutes earlier he could have certainly caused a stir at the office by calling in at the reception desk and asking for me.)

Well, this was a good start! I took a quick walk into The Wilderness, with a few unexpected minutes to kill before the pub opened, I decided to check and see if the bulbs were yet in bloom. They are trying but they just aren’t ready to pop up yet. I returned to the pub about 17:25 just as the barman was opening the doors. Paulo hadn’t quite finished all the set-up before opening, but he had seen me walk past and didn’t want me to wait out in the cold so he opened early. He wished me a happy birthday and then ran down to the cellar to do something.

Everyone started showing up around 18:00 and it was wonderful. Terry and Angie gave me some very nice looking beers and a framed print of an old map of the area. (I’ll be scanning it and putting it on the blog at some point.) It is a really cool map! It shows the area almost as if I had pulled it from Google Earth and selected the part of London I am most familiar with. The area covered by the map is from The Portsmouth Road on the south, Teddington on the north, King’s Hill on the east and East Molesey on the west.

A few toasts and present opening behind, Paulo and Carl (the owner of the pub) came down with a lit cake. I blew-out the candles and thanked Terry, Angie and Kevin. They then informed me that the cake was Carl’s idea… they’d had nothing to do with it! How cool is that? (When is the last time that the owner of a business you patronize spontaneously bought you a birthday cake? - And people wonder why I love it here!)

The car came and collected us soon thereafter and we were off to Esher for Curry. The restaurant was a cool little place on the main street. The atmosphere was wonderful and the food was excellent. We all ordered starters and offered each other taste. Mine was a kind-of stuffed dumpling (like a pot sticker) and was served with a yellow chili sauce. It was yummy! I also tried their grilled prawns (also excellent) and their sauteed chicken livers (also yummy!). All the curries were great! The conversation was good, the company was excellent. The evening seemed to fly by!

We returned to the King’s Arms for another round before calling it a night and ran into Paul and Bev who had brought the dogs (as always) so I got to play with the dogs for a bit. The evening ended with a very pleasant surprise. On my way to the loo, I saw the barman and his friend chatting in the third bar. Paulo introduced me to his friend who also wished me a happy birthday and seemed completely sincere when he told me that I looked nothing like I was in my mid-forties.

He asked me to join him and chat a bit; Paulo had to get back to tending the bar, so I grabbed my beer and we chatted for a while.

As I said, a wonderful way to spend one’s birthday!

I hope that wherever you are, you had an excellent day yesterday and have a better one today!

Don Bergquist - 17-February-2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, United Kingdom