MennoMeat

My friend Brad Miller and his new bride Jessica started a website for Mennonites who like swinging. It's called www.MennoMeet.com, but I like to call it MennoMeat.

And actually swingers are not allowed -- it's strictly for singles. Apparently you're not even allowed to be a member if you just want to meet Mennonites because we make good friends or because you want to trade recipes.

Anyhow, I think it's kind of amusing and a half-decent idea, even though my participation is sure to be tongue in cheek to some degree (because I live in London and I'm really immature and also because I am still a traditional non-virtual networking kind of guy when it comes to meeting the ladies).

That said I do love Mennonites. I love the fact that we have so much common sense and are so brilliant at cooking things and building things and the fact that we understand that we are citizens of the World and that possessions are overrated and stewardship is so obviously symbiotic and that loving is easier than judging and that peace and justice are more interesting than tabloids.

Oh and that we're humble. I especially love that.

Tanner than Danny*

I'm back. And so is your daily blog fix.

So -- my trip. I went to The Algarve. If you've never heard of it, it's the southernmost region in Portugal made up mostly of beaches and English-speaking people. There are some Portuguese people there as well, and a few non-beach areas, but they're definitely in the minority.

I'll post some pictures later this week. It's really incredibly beautiful and quite hot and pretty accessible. And also pretty undiscovered with the exception of the circus that is New Town Albufeira.

It's nice to know that no matter how cold and dreary London gets, I'm just a 10 minute walk, 1 hour train ride, 2 hour plane ride, 15 minute bus ride, 2 hour bus ride and 20 minute walk from The Rising Cock hostel in Lagos.


*Get it?

The wetter here is awful

If you didn't hear about the fantastically beautiful and warmest London April on record, you probably also haven't heard about the torrentially cloudy and rainiest June in London history either.

Well roundabout two weeks ago, I was thinking to myself: "It's mid-June. And I'm cold. It rains three times a day here. When is it going to get warmer for the love of all things good?"

And apparently I was thinking out loud because someone spoke back to me and said: "Remember those two really hot and sunny weeks in April? That was summer".

So I pretty immediately booked a trip to southern Portugal. I leave tomorrow morning and stay through next Tuesday. You won't hear from me again until I'm properly tanned.

1-2-3-4th

Just overheard two non-English speakers playing thumb war (I don't condone war of any kind).

1-2-3-4-I-declare-a-war-thumb

Learn to speak American!

Here in London American's are celebrating by:

1. Eating pizza (single slice).
2. Eating donuts.
3. Drinking Budweiser and other light beer/water.
4. Watching Die Hard: 4.0.
5. Stealing tea packets and throwing them into the Thames.

Happy 4th everyone. Hope it's warm where you are.

What cops are doing in London

Walking around in twos.
Carrying serious looking guns.
Surveying things.
Looking pensive.
Riding horses.
And bikes.
Walking.
Wearing funny hats.
Wearing shiny, fluorescent vests.

Never too high, never too low

Today I had a great meeting that I think saved an account. I was so happy afterwards I gave a homeless guy 6 dollars on purpose.

Then later I had a meeting scheduled and brought all these donuts and juice. And no one showed up.

No more fag time

Fags = cigarettes. So I'm only being insensitive to smokers despite the title worthy of Fox News.

As you may remember from my 'July 1 is going to be the dog's bollocks post', today the England-wide ban on cancer-sticks begins. This morning on my way to the gym an old man was standing outside of a pub smoking. And I kind of felt bad. Poor guy had probably been smoking at that pub for 50 years and now he has to go outside to get his fix. And while today is nice, if the last few weeks are any indication, he's going to get rained on a lot. So I was kind of sad for him but not really. This means I can stop dividing my clothes into "smoking" and "non-smoking" classes.

I'm predicting that in the coming weeks and months, I'll be somewhere and will find myself inexplicably content. And I'll wonder why I'm so happy, and I'll realize that it's because there is no smoke being blown in my face.

Other good news:

My 401k completely vested at work.
My good friend Allan Reesor-McDowell is in town for 36 hours starting today.
I'm going to Portugal (Algarve region -- Lagos and Faro) next Friday.
And then Madrid the next weekend.