Remembered Remnants

Look Elsewhere

2009-06-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

So like many people, I find myself a bit overwhelmed by my options these days. I've pretty much given up on this blog. If you want to know what is going on with my life in Hong Kong, check out facebook - www.facebook.com/pboykoff.

Meme'ed

2008-05-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

Now I've been meme'ed and I've been a bit slow about it...but here goes.

First come the rules, courtesy of Liz...

A) The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

B) Each player answers the questions about himself or herself.

C) At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

--

1) Ten years ago I was…
Finishing Sophomore year in high school and thinking (really) of becoming a geneticist.

2) Five things on today’s to-do list:
Meet with the movers, deal with my council tax bill, finish reading Saturday, busy some food and sleep.

3) Things I’d do if I were a billionaire:
Hmmm. Support poverty reduction, green planning and other causes to make this world a friendlier one to live in. And reveal my inner hypocrite by using the rest to travel and to hire myself a car driver.

4) Three bad habits:

(1) Wanderlust (2) A tendency towards stubbornness (3) A little too much with the drinking sometimes

5) Five places I’ve lived:

*Chappaqua, New York
*Boston, Massachusetts
*New Haven, Connecticut
*Atlanta, Georgia
*London, England

6) Six jobs I’ve had in my life:

Envelope stuffer, bartender, Kohl's sales assistant, museum assistant, researcher, writer

AND SO WITH MY NEW FOUND POWER I TAG JOSH, CRYSTAL, AND WELL...THAT MAY BE IT...

Think Snow

2008-04-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Photos courtesy of Patrick the intern

Weird Weather

2008-04-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

It snowed. In London. In April.

Pictures to come...

January

2008-01-14T15:26:00.000-08:00

Silent Night

2007-12-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

On Christmas day in London, all public transportation shuts down, including trains, the subway and buses. As a result, very, very few businesses stay open. The downside to this is that there are no options for entertainment -- no movie theaters, no chinese food, nothing. The upside is the city becomes unbelievably silent. Quieter than you imagine a city of 7 million can be. On the way home from work (admittedly at 3am), I just stood on my door step and listened to the nothingness.

Sleep...

2007-12-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

So I am on this evil thing called a "float" shift, where my schedule moves around from days to nights as I fill in for other people. I'm finding it is terrible for my sleep cycles and I end up either sleeping for 14 hours or not being able to sleep at all. Boohoo.

Ah, Cheerios, how i miss thee

2007-11-07T17:11:00.000-08:00

Oddly, regular cheerios are not on sale in Britain. What they call "Cheerios" is actually the sweetened mutligrain version. You can also buy the honey nut version. But not the lovely, healthful, childhood-memory inducing originals. And so when I return I look forward to it. Cereal seems to top the "things I miss" lists of lots of people. Among the U.S. orders from my friends are Multi-bran Chex and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Coming to America

2007-11-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

I land a week from today in New York and will be in New York, the qua and New Haven. See you all soon.

Morocco Pics

2007-10-26T14:39:00.001-07:00

Copenhagen

2007-10-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...

2007-10-26T13:11:00.001-07:00

So yes, I am a very bad blogger. Very bad. For some reason I can procrastinate endlessly on Facebook, but updating my blog. I can do that later. Much later.

So, to make up for it, I'm putting up some pictures from recent trips to Morroco and Denmark. Maybe you will forgive me?

Congrats!

2007-08-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

Josh and Megan are engaged! I am very, very happy for them...

I also feel I've now entered the wedding zone, that phase of life between 25-35, which precedes the baby zone. With four sets of friends now engaged, next summer is quickly becoming crowded. So if you are planning to get married in August 08, could you let me know now?

Catch Up

2007-08-01T15:57:00.001-07:00

So...I've been a delinquent blogger. Here is my attempt to make amends, rather quickly.

1. I went to the midnight launch of the Harry Potter book at Waterstone's in London. It was outrageous, with thousands of people in a very long line and lots of costumes and happy children. Mostly I just hung out with the crew doing live hits. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience, pictures to come.

2. If you have caught some of my lovely news network in the last 24 hours, you may have noticed my cameo. I appear for about 2 seconds reading the Wall Street Journal in a Rupert Murdoch story. If it ever appears online I will send it out.

3. On the travel agenda, Cornwall, Marrakech and Copenhagen. Suggestions welcome.

4. I'm going to be on the East Coast in November. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Tour de London

2007-07-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

So the Tour de France is actually starting in London this year. Some friends and I went down to watch the prologue today, which is basically a set of time trials preceding the race. It was cool to see the racers whiz by, but I have to say after about ten minutes I'd had my fill. The large crowds mean my pictures leave something to be desired, but here they are.

Summer in London

2007-06-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those rare beautiful days in London...June, when it is not too hot and the sun stays out until 10pm, almost makes up for the crappy weather we put up with the rest of the year in this city. Well, almost. Check it out, thanks to my sexy new cell phone with a 3.2 mega pixel camera...

Taste of London

2007-06-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

So Thursday night I went to Taste of London, an outdoor event with exhibitions by restaurants, food and wine vendors and food classes. It was the best night out I have had in a while...yummy food, lots of free samples and class on specialty beers...now I have a bunch of new restaurants on my list.

Amsterdam Pics

2007-06-07T06:24:00.001-07:00

Tea time

2007-06-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Carolee had a friend cancel on her so I joined her for tea at the Dorchester Hotel. Here are the pictures...

Cultural doings

2007-05-26T14:19:00.001-07:00

I've had a busy couple of weeks...I've seen Equus and Avenue Q in the West End and last night I went to the Surrealist Ball at the V&A Museum. Equus was cool, creepy (I already knew the play, so at least I was expecting it to be creepy.) I thought the stage design and costumes were awesome and the acting very good. I am starting to get the feeling that Richard Griffiths plays the same character a lot. Avenue Q was funny, though it bordered on stupid.

Now the Surrealist Ball was crazy. The best part was seeing all the wild costumes people had on. The museum was packed and people had put lots of effort into their outfits, some of which where surreal, some of which were just strange. The only real art displays we saw were two choreographed performances in the garden (lobsters claws, telephones, strange music.) Not a bad way to spend a Friday Night and I enjoyed getting to meet Charlotte's friends.

I've begun to realize this blog would benefit from more pictures and I think I'm finally going to give in and get a digital camera sometime soon. watch out for pictures...

Amsterdam: the CliffsNotes

2007-05-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

So the first 24 hours in Amsterdam were cold, wet and dark and I thought it was going to be a miserable weekend. I try not to let the weather impact my perception of a city, but it is hard when instead of looking at the architecture you are thinking about how nice it would be to have dry jeans. Anyway, once the sun came out Amsterdam was lovely. Very funky -- lots of art, little shops and strange streets that wind with the canals. Cities built around the water have such a different vibe. It's like the water stops them from growing into homogeneous, commercialized masses.

Carolee and I spent a lot of time walking around (and dodging trams and bicycles.) We also hit the key museums and tried lots of yummy Dutch beer.

Note: So I've been thinking about the format of this blog and I've decided to do detailed entries of my travels. This way those who want the play by play can get it and I'll be able to reference it when people ask me for vacation advice. So if you are already sick of me, quit reading now. If not, see below.

Amsterdam: the Epic Novel

2007-05-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

Where we stayed
Hotel Pulitzer. Really nice. Bathrobes, slippers, pillow chocolates and a really comfy bed. Location was fabulous and the building has lots of character. Thanks to a corporate discount, it was only mildly out of my price range and thus I splurged.

What we did.
Lots of great museums in Amsterdam. The Van Gogh Museum is a really fascinating look into the artist and his slightly miserable life...the collection of letters and contemporary portraits compliments Van Gogh's works well. The Rijksmuseum is under renovation so all its best pieces are displayed in just a few rooms. Really convenient for busy tourists. I also liked the Van Loon Museum and the Dutch Resistance Museum, though being able to read Dutch would have helped at the latter. I would give the Amstelkring a miss if I had to do it all over.

The Botanical Gardens were beautiful and I got to commune with the butterflies. Shopping was ok and wandering a must -- definitely one of the best things to do in the city. I even caught a couple of drawbridge openings on the Amstel rivers, which wold have made the entire trip worth it even if I had done nothing else.

What we ate and drank.
't Arendsnest , served us some excellent Dutch beer and cheese. They had a broad selection of local beers on tap and there were a lot of locals in there. I definitely recommend it. We tried Rijstafel for dinner, a traditional Indonesian cuisine were pairs lots of small courses with a big bowl of rice. The concept is nice, but Knatjil en de Tijger, the restaurant we went to, lacked atmosphere and the food that seemed to be prepared in large batches. We also went to the Pancake Bakery, which served up good traditional pancakes and lots of choices. I wasn't blown away but I would go again.

Pictures from the Indian Food Tour

2007-04-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks Carolee!

After Midnight

2007-04-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

I am back on the overnight shift for the next two months, so please be patient if I am a bit slow in responding to e-mails and phone calls. Something about being on overnights feels vaguely normal to me now, though it still definitely has its ups and downs. I am excited about having three day weekends again -- I've already planned trips to Amsterdam and Krakow.

Watch this blog for updates and pictures from my travels.

Paris avec une enfant

2007-04-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

So I spent the weekend in Paris with my adorable cousin Katie and my aunt and uncle. Katie is fourteen months now so she's begun walking with a little bit of help, along with giggling and making lots of noises. We had fun taking her around the city to Notre Dame, the Ile St. Louis, the Latin Quarter and on a boat tour. Paris with a stroller turns out to not be that different from Paris without, though meal times can be a bit more of adventure this way.

Pictures to come (I know I've been saying that a lot lately, but I mean it.)

Indian Food Walk (your hands and feet are mangoes)

2007-04-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

So Saturday my friend Carolee and I went on an Indian food walk in Southall. For those of you not from London, Southall is a London suburb with a large Indian population (Wikipedia says it was the setting for Bend it Like Beckham.) It's a bit out the way, so this was my first visit.

Our tour guide was a woman who gives Indian cooking classes in London. She took us into the main market in Southall and showed us lots of different ingredients used in Indian cooking. Then we went to an Indian sweet shop (samples!) and then a place that makes Paan, these after-dinner snacks wrapped in leaves, which are meant to aid digestion (definitely not my style.) I came home with a box of delicious Alphonso mangoes, which are imported from India and only in season for 6 weeks. They are delicious, but really really messy. Plus I need to make my way through 16 before they go bad. Anybody want a mango?

Pictures to follow soon.

Me and Nobu

2007-03-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

So last week I went to the tenth anniversary party for Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurant in London. The food was fabulous and the company even better (mainly a group of my colleagues). I even got a picture with the man himself. Ok I know, we press types will do anything for free champagne and a brush with the stars....

Coming to America

2007-03-24T03:45:00.000-07:00

I am going to Atlanta and then New York next week. Let me know if you have any request for things from London...

Adventures on the Thames

2007-03-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

So on Friday I chartered a small boat for a work-related outing. It was a remarkably sunny day and as we rode East on the Thames I could not help but think about how beautiful London can be sometimes. We started at Tower Bridge and rode past the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, the old industrial areas in the East and out to the Millennium Dome to the marvel that is the Thames Barrier (photos to come.) We even rode through the Thames Barrier at my request, which was a) exciting and b) made me feel a lot more powerful than I really am.

About five minutes into the journey back, our little boat stalled in the middle of river. Luckily we were quite close to a pier and we drifted over and climbed out. The ever-resourceful director Ollie used his GPS to find out what street we were on and I called a car to retrieve us. Ah London, such a beautiful place, but the transport is soooo unreliable.

Cookies!

2007-03-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

I made Hamantaschen today. For those of you who have never tried them, Hamantaschen are delicious cookies traditionally eaten for Purim (which was a week ago, I know). Anyway, I thought I would share the recipe:

Hamantaschen

For the Dough:
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:
your favorite jam or jelly

1. Soften the butter
2. Add the sugar and beat till fluffy
3. Add the egg, milk, vanilla and beat well
4. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together
5. Stir into the mixture to make a soft dough. Chill for 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle a board with flour and roll out dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut into 3 inch circles (a glass works well as a cutter).
7. Place a teaspoonful of jam in the center of each circle. Pinch three sides of the circle together to form a triangle.
8. Back on an ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes.

For those lucky enough to have a food processor, dough can be made that way as well.

Put your hand on your heart and tell me

2007-03-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

So a year and half in Europe and I've been enlisted into the Kylie Minogue fan club. There is something inherently likable about her and of course the music is infectious. I think my colleagues would appreciate it if I stopped humming Especially For You though. Oh, and no making fun of the costumes.

Out on the town

2007-03-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

I had an exciting weekend hitting the town with my friend Patty. I hadn’t seen her in over a year, so the visit was cause for celebration. We hit Borough Market, the Tate Modern, Brick Lane and High Street Kensington. Unfortunately, the wait for the art slides at the Tate was too long…maybe next time.

Welcome

2007-03-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

So I have taken the plunge. Watch this space for updates about life in the rainy city.