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Terminal 2F

I was really shocked over the weekend to hear that part of the roof of Terminal 2E at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport had collapsed, and it's even more concerning to hear that fresh cracking sounds are being heard.

CDG is one of my favourite airports, mostly because it's got such fantastic architecture. Terminal 1 is magnificently bonkers, with it's circular pods and wonky travelators, and Terminal 2 is just stunningly futuristic.

The last time we flew to Paris, we went Air France instead of British Airways (or any of the cattle-class cheapo airlines) and went through Terminal 2F, just before 2E was completed.

I'd almost forgotten about the pictures that I took during that trip, until I saw the news, and so thought that I'd post a few, if nothing else, to remind myself that buildings can be fabulous as well as functional.

Photo Friday: Macro

Submitted to Photo Friday: Macro

Dilemma

It would appear that I'm the only person in my team in the office today.

So, now I'm left wondering if I should spend the day reading blogs and doing other time-wasting activities, or whether I should get on with some of the work stuff I haven't been able to do because I usually get a million and one interruptions.

What to do?

Overkill?

I'm wondering, are embroidered shoes on a pair of shoes overkill, or just redundant? Do they think that they'll appeal to the people who really, really love shoes?

Also, I'm wondering why there are shoes on everything lately. There are shoes on shoes, skirts, tops, purses, bags, t-shirts... even shoe earrings and necklaces.

Is it just me, or has everyone gone shoe mad?

All for a Good Cause

It's been just over two years since my dad died of cancer.

His last six months would have been so very much harder to bear, both for him and for my mother (and to a lesser extent, for myself and my sister, living down here several hundred miles away), were it not for the support of a team of Macmillan Nurses.

It's a charity that's very close to my heart, and so when I read Dragon's post today about doing the Tough Guy 2004 challenge in aid of Macmillan Cancer Relief, it wasn't really at all difficult to decide to donate some money to get him a bit nearer his target of £500.

So spread the word, and go sponsor him - it doesn't have to be a large amount, but every little helps, and it goes towards providing a service that's really invaluable.

You can also follow his training diary, if you're interested.

Photo Friday: Parts

Because sometimes the sum of the parts can be greater than the whole.

Submitted to Photo Friday: Parts

Well Blogged by Candlelight

Well, as predicted, last night's blogmeet was vastly different from Saturday's, and a whole pile of fun.

I got home at nearly 1 am, tired, hoarse from shouting to be heard over the din of around 60 people all talking at once in a very small space.

First off some randomness:

- the venue was uncannily similar to the venue for the Christmas blogmeet... and really freaked me out when I first arrived.
- the chairs were incredibly comfortable.
- it was really dark in there, but with a nice romantic candlelit atmosphere which was at odds with the sheer noise in there.
- apparently my hair complimented the decor very well.
- what kind of central London bar does not have (or has run out of) - Diet Coke, Jack Daniels, Tequila and Jim Beam. I know I can be termed a fussy cow, but it shouldn't take four attempts to try and get a drink.
- the floors were incredibly slippy and on more than one occasion I narrowly avoided landing in an undignified heap.
- it was also interesting to see how the groups formed and shifted, and who the dirty stop-outs were who were still there at the bitter end... and on a "school night" too.

As for the people... beyond the usual suspects it was really nice to talk to (in no particular order) Tim, James, Tom, Robin, Mo, Katie, Simon (sorry for confusing you), Annie (at long last!), Ian (who actually got me to talk about blogging at a blogmeet), Loic, someone from the Friday thing whose name I didn't catch and Hugh.

... and a belated hello to those who I was aware were around me (Marcia, Gary, Cory, Darren, Matt, Tom, Sasha, Yoz and whoever the bloke in the kilt was - I wanted to congratulate him on being brave) and either didn't get a chance to or was too shy to say hello to.

I'm sure that my addled brain has missed people, but that's about all I can remember for the moment.

Alternative Therapy

I find myself both saddened and angered by reading the news that Greater Glasgow Health Board is thinking about closing the in-patient wards at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital.

I know it's very easy to believe that alternative therapies are a lot of mumbo jumbo placebo nonsense, and that the people who both disponse and receive these therapies are little more than aging hippies.

Although I haven't been treated there, my mother has, on several occasions over the last five years. In fact, she began to be treated by the GHH long before they moved into their current custom-built premises, and I think that's one of the things that's irritating me the most.

They spent a lot of money on creating what is the least hospital-like hospital I've ever been in. It's a stunning building, and the atmosphere there is incredible, and why they would now even consider closing the in-patient wards, which make up the majority of its purpose seems like a ridiculous waste.

Unfortunately, I'm at work, so I can't get at the majority of the pictures I took the last time my mum was an in-patient there, but what I did have already online are displayed throughout this post.

... and it works.

Each time my mother went in, she came out feeling significantly better than she had when she went in. Not just in terms of having had a week away to relax, but the therapies actually worked for her and gave her not just some respite from the pain she suffers, but also improved her mobility and dexterity.

I'm not being very coherent about this, but really, I'm just disappointed. For some patients, even a week at the GHH can make a massive difference to their quality of life, and given the seeming lack of concern over conditions which aren't operable or easily treatable with cocktails of drugs, I hope that Dr Reilly is able to continue fighting his corner and keep the hospital open as it was intended to be.

Well Met by Blog

So I'm going to this big London Blogmeet thing tonight.

It's looking like it's going to be a very interesting evening, and vastly different from the other London Blogmeet I went to on Saturday (that's not to say that Saturday's blogmeet wasn't interesting, because it was, I just think tonight will be interesting in a different way).

Note to self: saying "hello" and smiling is a good way to start a conversation and generally isn't fatal.

Back to SchoolWork

Number of emails in my inbox when I arrived this morning: approx 400
Number of emails which require some actual work to be done: 127
Number of notifications telling me my inbox is over it's size limit: 6
Number of new voicemail messages on my phone: 3
Number of phone calls taken this morning: 2
Number of desperately urgent things which require to be done today (as at 11:20 am): 2
Number of other, less urgent but nonetheless important things which require to be done today: 11
Amount of diet coke drunk so far: 2 cans
Time to first intake of paracetamol to combat headache: 2 hrs 10 minutes
Number of double-takes as a result of new hairdo: 4
Status of pot plant on desk: not dead (yay!)
Status of personal items on desk: all still here (woo! yay!)
Hours I have been in the office: 2.5
Hours I will need to spend in meetings today: 3.5
Hours I will need to spend doing work which requires to be done today: 8
Hours I will be able to work today before being thrown out of building (including working through lunch): 9
Estimation of number of things which will still require to be done tomorrow: 7
Amount I wish I was still on holiday: 100%