hello from (not so) sunny grand rapids.

welcome to grand rapids.

i’m here this week for the internet ministry conference with several of my current and former colleagues and some other folks i’ve worked with in some capacity along the way. cool!

looking forward to spending some time this week reconnecting with my web 2.0 mojo. this being my 4th time, i always find the week to be an intense time of sleep deprivation, overcaffienation and inspiration to continue to strive for using the interwebz for more than just an online brochure.

anyway, that’s all i’ve got for now. i’m stuffed with a chicken quesadilla right now and looking forward to frivolity later this week involving my coworker Liz’s birthday and the giant water slide aimed at a tiny pool which sits just outside my window. should be a real bang.. or splash.. not sure how deep the pool is..

hot tub here i come..

just like riding a bike

mariane dragged me out on a bike ride today.

it’s probably been five years since i’ve been on a  bicycle. combined with my lack of height and an overly large men’s bicycle we have a receipe for disaster. i traded that bad boy in for a slightly shorter but still uncomfortably tall women’s bicycle.

results: slightly less disastrous, but still entertaining for the common bystander.

we went for a nice ride along the road, occasionally dodging pedestrians, other cyclists and pesky cars, steering with the highest level of precision, and nearly veering off the road several times. such fun.

anyway. i’m glad to report i made it back to the hotel alive, and unharmed, though undoubtedly a bit shaken from the whole experience.

primark, holland and stuff

i think primark is my new favorite store. i wish we had them in the u.s.

visiting the london store was pretty insane tho. well actually, oxford street in general was. it was very reminiscent of new york, except for the fact that all the cars drive on the wrong side of the road and don’t stop for pedestrians. i guess that keeps the population from growing too quickly.

on sunday, richard and i began our journey to holland. i must say that heathrow terminal 5 is just plain wonky. for some reason, there are three layers of gates that you must walk through to get to the arrivals, none of which have an opening large enough to allow luggage through. i guess you’re not supposed to bring luggage to the airport?

after we figured out where to meet, we got on the road. a reaching the border, we took the eurotunnel to france. first stop, shopping center to pick up some wine. we got a case of 6 bottles, in fact.

in Belgium we made a quick restroom stop, and i took over the wheel. ACK! i’d never driven a right-hand drive vehicle before, especially on the right side of the road.. not exactly the easiest combination to learn on, but at least it wasn’t the roads in england.

no more than half an hour later, downpour began. not just light rain, but serious torrential downpour. i saw my life flash before my eyes as i tried to focus on the diminishing visibility ahead of me.

finally it stopped. and eventually we made it to the conference center, having just missed dinner. drat.