February 25, 2003

Shining Pig I rented this great little double feature from the local library two weekends ago. The branch is just a five minute walk from my doorstep, located on Camden Road. They rent DVDs for a pound each. What a mind jolt to go from cute talking critters to Jack at his psychotic best! Even when played on my computer monitor and through my crappy computer speakers, The Shining had me on edge for the entire length of the film. Stephen King, Stanley Kubrik and Jack Nicholson; what a brilliant combination! The pig didn't stand a chance.

Break In There was a break-in at Videotel last night. I was still there working when it happened at about 7:45pm. Celina came up in a shambles and said that all her money had been stolen out of her purse. We had a look in the basement and saw that the door had been broken down. I called the police and they actually came within the hour. They were quite friendly and helpful. When Belinda and I called for the police a month ago, we waited for 3 hours and they never turned up. The criminal was taped on CCTV but didn't appear concerned about it. He probably knows it's unlikely he'll actually get caught. Belinda came to clean at 9 and stayed with me to ensure I wasn't alone. A forensics woman came at about 10:30. Just as she was leaving, Brian showed up via taxi to make sure I was safe. Chris and Stephen had been at a football game and made it to the office at about 11:30. Went home in a black cab and worked from home today. I was feeling knackered after Sunday's race and a monday morning swim. Abigail told me about BBC radio 7 and now I'm addicted.

Tri London Awards In January, TriLondon had an awards presentation at the Tup in Islington. I won the club championship olympic distance triathlon race, placed third in the club sprint distance triathlon and won the UK league female novice division. I finally have a load of trophies to scatter around my room.

February 22, 2003

Banana Pancake Breakfast Brian made me banana pancakes this morning! We watched "The Dish" last night. I liked it because it's based on a true story about science and technology, was well acted, and has some humor. Tomorrow we're running a 20 mile race in Bramley. It's gonna hurt.

February 15, 2003

I spent Christmas in Edmonds at my mom's. Michelle and Kristin were there for a few days too. I visited my dad a few times at the Columbia Lutheran Care Center on Phinney, and later at the UW hospital. He had major heart surgery (5 by-passes!) November 2001 and a major stroke during surgery on his carotid a month later. He falls in and out of being lucid and is paralyzed on his left side. I was getting rather depressed by the visits and realized having a companion would help me through them. I asked Michelle and Kristin if one of them would be willing to come with me on the next visit. They both came, and so did Mom and Julie Olufson. Fortunately, Dad was awake and able to talk quite a bit during the hour we were all there. He recognized and addressed each of us individually. Though it was painful to see his condition, I wasn't depressed before, during or after the visit as I usually am. That companionship was the best gift of the year.

February 09, 2003

Barcelona Brian and I went to Barcelona February 5-9. I organized the trip as an xmas present for Brian since he's taking Spanish lessons. But I goofed a bit. They speak Catalan in Barcelona rather than Spanish. Oops. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit nonetheless. Learning about Gaudi and exploring his architecture was the best part. La Sagrada Familia is absolutely stunning! Bought a Palm Tungsten T tax free at the airport and have been happily hot-synching, Bluetoothing and infrareding.