Happy Thanksgiving y'all

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK and I think we should... we should take time out to say Thanks to everyone in ours lives... especially God for their influence on / in our lives.

Therefore, I'd like to thank Olly and the girls... my family... the Soos... my church... and the ol' Nanolog community for your love, support, guidance, blessings, prayers, and friendship!

I would also like to thank God that, as in the picture above, His light always beats the darkness that surrounds us at times.

Philly... Day 8 :: Goin' Home!!!

Presently sitting in the business class lounge in Newark Airport with a ginger ale in hand.

Busy day so far... in work from 0800hrs... forgot my glasses so we had to go back to the hotel (d'oh!!!) Traveled from Philly to Newark Airport, NJ... with AC/DC Live blasting in the car. Sure beats the radio - which is terrible! (I am so glad for BBC1 and BBC Asian Network)

Eager to get home and see my honey... and my girls. Having my toys around me is no substitution for the warmth of my people.

I really appreciate all the comments from my community who have followed the trip. I have only one regret - not meeting up with Roy... and EP... (that's two actually) but otherwise its been a blast. I have a great team of folk back in Glasgow... and have enjoyed building friendships with the folk I journeyed with. It was good to see Philly and meet all the wonderful people I have met... especially the Lewis'

Got to go... battery is dying. Peace.

Philly... Day 7

Today was pretty much work. Our partners brought in the fab caterers from yesterday :: Crocodile :: with their wraps the width of my arm... and super-duper cookies!

I asked Susan (on the left) if she could get me a tee from Crocodile... totally blagging it... and she hooked me up!!! Thank you, Susan!!! and thanks to Crocodile for the tee and the golf balls. Appreciated!

I got the tee that says on the back : we answer to a higher calling! What a great memento of this trip.

Went back to the mall for some last minute bits and pieces... and saw this car: the Honda Element. Like it. Not sure its over in Blighty yet... but it should be.

The evening was rounded off in Kobe for some lovely Japanese food... and entertainment. Nice.

Got to pack... arrghh!!! Travelling home on the busiest travelling day in the States. Been a great trip... got to know my team better... and meet some wonderful people. Got to be in amazing places and pick up some great stuff. All good... and I am thankful!

Technorati Tags: philly

Philly... Day 6

Busy at work today. We have the use of two conference rooms and as you can see big tables mean big mess... but its all good. Getting the work done.

Its strange how I appear to obsess over food... but then again I appreciate stuff. I enjoy a good meal and I take notice.

Anyway, the folk we are seeing brought some food in today... which allowed the team to get stuff done while dining on pasta salad, wraps, gerkins and snapple. Nice! The catering was handled by Crocodile and I was impressed. Their food was excellent and their manner was first class... on time and well fresh - just what Glasgow needs! What caught my attention, other than the food, was their quirky style and sloganeering... We answer to a higher calling - How cool is that? They probably did the Last Supper.

After working on and then getting lost on the way home... we headed to the Mall for some last minute shopping. I hooked up the Soos with a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 2's for £50 cheaper than the UK... and I get to use them on the flight!

While browsing... I found a shop called 5 Below which basically sold some sweet, quirky stuff for $5 or less (my kind of place) - picked up a New Era Philadelphia 76'ers beanie... a leather iPod case and the coolest The Empire Strikes Back flight bag for the journey home. All for $15.

Tomorrows our last day... and I think we are doing Japanese again... which will be cool.

I so need to be home!

Technorati Tags: philly

Lard's Moleskine...

Accepting the challenge thrown down to him in the last post... Mr Lard drops a quick vid detailing his work to date in his moleskine.

Sweet, bro... very nice!

Technorati Tags: moleskine

Moleskine Ross Lovegrove notebook @ Detour exhibition

Ross Lovegrove was born in Wales and studied design at the Royal College of Art, London. In the early 80's he worked as a designer on projects such as walkmans for Sony and computers for Apple. When he moved to Paris he was invited to join the Atelier de Nimes, consulting to - amongst others - Cacharel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Dupont. Returning to London he has completed projects for many furniture, industrial, and product manufacturers. He is the winner of many international awards and his work has been published and exhibited internationally including the MOMA in New York, the Guggenheim Museum NY, Axis Centre in Japan, Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Design Museum in London. The 'Primative Modernism' journal by the Welsh designer brings together personal considerations and drawings.

Check out the rest of the videos from the Detour exhibition here :: Link

Lard & Soos... can you do vids like this with your books, please???

Technorati Tags: moleskine

Philly... Day 5

Wow... how messy is my desk??? This was my space... early doors... getting ready to go to Philly.

Norristown was deserted when I got there... which kind of spooked me out. Cold and empty. It soon filled up with people going downtown... going to watch the Marathon... or the Eagles game.

OK... for anyone traveling to Philly... here's a wee lesson: The numbered streets run North to South...and ascend towards the West (I think). A block is from one set of traffic lights to another. I got off the train at Suburban Street station...beside 18th street. I recognised Market Street on the map and thought I could walk to 5501 Market St where the Salvation Army were. The corps and community centre is on 55th street. That's 37 blocks... THIRTY SEVEN!!! It took me a good 40 odd minutes to walk... a walk that took me to some scarey places!

But I had to go... I had to see the other side of Philly... and get an appreciation of where the Lord has called the Salvation Army to serve: with the poor, rejected, despised... and I am so glad for the experience.

It was an absolute privilege to meet Lt. Tony and Laverna Lewis. What a warm welcome I received... everyone was so nice and genuine. I was the minority but was never made to feel so... I was a Christian and a Salvationist in a group of Christians and Salvationists... and it was a beautiful thing - being part of God's family.

Worship was different from what I am used to... no big brass bands or tight worship bands. There was an immediacy and sense of spontaneity that reminded me of Uncle Eck. Truly wonderful!

Tony spoke for about an hour on Judges 11: 1-11 - about Jephthah (Set Free) - who was rejected then restored as a leader. I really connected with Jephthah... but was distraught when I found out about the ultimate sacrifice he had to pay.

There was a freedom of expression and worship that I found to be very refreshing and Spirit-led. The whole start of the meeting was about grace... and how we don't need to fight to get God's gift... but need to fight to keep it.

My thanks go to the whole Corps... for their welcome and warmth... and to the couple who gave me a lift to South Street... and wouldn't take some money for gas. Thank you! It means a lot. I hope to come back some time... and pray God's blessing for all the work you are doing in West Philly... where we should be!

It was about 1430hrs or so when I got something to eat. I dived into Starbucks for some caw-fee... and a panini.

South Street is a strange mix of bohemian and hipster... loads of unique boutiques... and Starbucks... and clothing stores - selling anything from sexy smalls to the latest sneakers.

Saw The Bean literally just after I had finished my lunch... shame... would have loved to have checked it out. Looked like my kind of place.

Saw this store too... but wasn't sure what it sold.

Found the famous Philadelphia Record Exchange but couldn't find anything that excited me... too much rock and traditional jazz for my taste... but nice to be surrounded by floor-to-ceiling of vinyl and CDs.

On the way to the station I saw this allotment... which was a breath of fresh air (literally) from all the cars and buildings.

It was a good day... I saw many interesting parts of Philly... and am, to be honest, glad to be alive in this wonderful time called now.

Took the R6 to Norristown... and got back to the hotel... to the beautiful sight of Olly and Dayna (Miriam had crashed out). iSight is an amazing thing.

Good times. Now... for some food!

U*P*D*A*T*E
Forgot to mention... didn't get a chance to hook up with Roy. The marathon made the journey from New Jersey unrealistic... which was initially a bummer but, considering the experience I had today a church, something I think was out of our hands. Keep Roy's dad in your thoughts and prayers... he's unwell. I doubt I'll hook up with Roy on this trip... but may meet up with him soon in Edinburgh.

Technorati Tags: philly

You don't need a thing...

Just think—you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

1 Corinthians 1:7-9 (The Message)

While I am away from all that is precious to me... Olly... Dayna... Miriam... my people! sometimes I feel lacking... missing something... lonely.

Its at these times that I experience again the truth of these verses in Corinthians. I have it all... and I am so grateful! iChat with iSight (thanks Soos!) has been a wonderful thing - keeping me connected.

What's more... my Lord will never give up on me... and he's there beside me keeping me on track. That's a wonderful thing to acknowledge and appreciate. Keepin' it real... Keepin' strong and true... in His strength alone.

I miss my people... but I am glad of the friend who is always with me.

Technorati Tags: philly, thought

Philly... Day 4

What a trip... Philly is an amazing place... so much so, I'm heading back today. Going to meet up with Roy for a caw-fee.

Caught the train at Norristown and headed into Philly... jumped off at the Suburban Station to a surprise - what a beautiful station.

I'm used to Argyle Street and Glasgow Central... they have nothing on Suburban! It is vast... beautiful... ornate... clean! Built to last! Wonderful.

Just outside Suburban is the Love Park - not much to see other than the fab L*O*V*E sculpture. I love it... reminds me of a photo I saw of Cornelius where he posed next to this sculpture. Nice.

We walked down Ben Franklin in the direction of the Museum of Art to do a Rocky and run up the steps. On the way, we popped into the Franklin Institute Science Museum where we experienced an exhibition on Charles Darwin and had a big laugh on a flight simulator. The exhibition has got me thinking... I'll come back to that some other time.

We got to the steps of the museum and wow... its huge!!! A lot of steps for Rocky - good fun trying to run up them... I am so unfit.

While we were there we found out that the Philadelphia Marathon is on today (19th) which will make for fun while in the city. I was going to run it... but, you know, meeting up with Roy is more important!

After that the gang headed towards Rittenhouse Square and Walnut Street for some trendy shopping.

Saw La Colombe but didn't sample their wares... saving that for today (I hope).

Found Ubiq and drooled a wee bit too much at the Nikes looking fresh and limited. Nice.

Also checked out Urban Outfitters which is a lot cooler than the one in Glasgow with really reasonable prices. Picked up a Qee bear for a couple of bucks... which is way sweet.

After the shopping marathon... we found a lovely Mexican called El Vez. Well nice. Ambience was a celebration of Latino culture with wrestling images and lowrider bikes. Food was great... I have chicken fajitas and they were just right.

We headed home and hit the bar... I then hit my bed. Can't stay awake passed 2200hrs ET. I wanted to get up at 0300hrs ET to iChat with Olly and the we'ans. I miss them so very much.

Philly... Day 3

Another day at the office... and what an office it is!

This is the view from the conference room we are based... its pretty amazing... especially when these huge hawks / buzzards fly passed... kind of just chillin' on the thermals - awesome sight! I'll try to get a pick for the twitchers in the community - Nuno and my dad.

We out for lunch and had my first Philly Cheesestake except its not steak but chicken... and boy was it good. I feel like a flippin' blimp... the Michelin Man!!! Really tasty.

The place we ate in was a fab venue called The Boathouse - a real family place... mixed age... loads of TVs playing sports... great ambience... friendly staff... fab!



After work the team headed to the King of Prussia mall and all I can say is OMGoodness - it is HUGE!!! McArthur Glen x 10!!! at least.

First thing I did was find Starbucks for a venti Gingerbread latte... LOVELY!!!

The mall is bigger than you could imagine... its a cathedral to consumerism... in fact it kind of suggested what it would have been like in the Rome of St Paul's time... with all these temples to the various gods of the time... except our gods are Apple, LV, Abercrombie & Fitch, Armani, Bose, Sonystyle etc. Got me thinking.

Way too dear in there... even with a fab exchange rate.

This was my first experience of an Apple Store and, to be honest, I thought the staff on Great Western Road were better. One lassie could not understand battery - she thought I said body... I didn't get a battery for my sick iBook but did pick up an 80gb iPod for £60 cheaper than the UK... even though they add 6% sales tax onto the quoted price. Its for my Christmas... but I have to take it out the box to ensure I can get it into the UK without a rubberglove check at Customs.

My mother-in-law has a huge shop in the mall! I didn't get a shot of the SonyStyle store but had a wee play with the Mylo - the ol' nanolog looks fab on it. Going to be a big thing soon. Too expensive just now.

After the mall trip... we checked out Kobe - the Japanese steakhouse in the Hotel... Wow!!! Fully on tepanyaki experience... with teriyaki chicken being extremely welcomed and appreciated! Olly - you'd have loved it!

Good times... finished off with a few root beers in the hotel bar. Hitting Philly tomorrow. Going to be good!

Technorati Tags: philly