shaunism

Sunday, 29 April 2012

[The Life of Shaun #446] Swimathon

Hi all,

This is off-topic, so apologies.

As many of you know, my Mom was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer in January. There are lots of events people do to raise money for cancer foundations, but you who know me, it's unlikely I will be running a 10k or doing a swimathon (see where this is going?) any time soon. (When are they going to have a "Pints for a Cure" event?!)

So I am going to take this chance to plug for my friend, Gerardo (CCed here), who is participating in the swimathon this week. He is donating all his contributions to Marie Curie Cancer Care, so if you'd like to donate to his swim in acknowledgement of my unlikelihood of doing similar, you can here:

http://my.artezglobal.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=380982&langPref=en-CA

(It's a UK event, but it generously accepts donations from anywhere.)

No pressure at all, but wanted to put it out there.

Hope it's nice where you are this weekend!

Cheers,

Shaun

From Gerardo's sponsorship page:

"Because I am a strong believer of supporting research for the advancement of science and because many dear relatives and friends have lost the battle against cancer I thought I should take active part and make my own contribution. I've decided to do a Swimathon on Sunday April 29th, 2012. I'll be swimming 2.5 km at the Porchester Centre to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. So if you're feeling generous and want to support this cause please DONATE! And because I got in a massive row with Olly Murs for not supporting his charity, please donate generously.

Many, many thanks for your support!"

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Thursday, 5 April 2012

[The Life of Shaun #445] 100% Slumlord!

As many of you know, when I "bought" my flat, I only purchased a 35% share. Britain in general, and London specifically, is a very expensive place to buy a home. To help first-time and lower income buyers, the government has myriad shifting schemes that help you get on the housing ladder. In 2008, when I moved in, I bought on what was then called "Shared Ownership". With this I bought a 35% stake in the flat and then paid a subsidised rent to the housing association for the other 65%. The idea is that in the future you'll buy a bigger share as you can afford it.

Now, today, just short of four years later, I have completed on a re-mortgage to "staircase", in the vernacular, to 100% ownership. It meant I had to move to a brand new, 30-year mortgage to be able to afford the payments, but I am now officially and fully a slumlord.

Very happy to own my little piece of the East End (and get out of the ever-raising rent portion - was to be 7% this year!).

Cheers,

Shaun

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Thursday, 9 February 2012

[The Life of Shaun #444] Greetings from Manteno, IL!

Hi all,

Just wanted to send an update to let some of you know what's been up with me, and update some of you on the recent happenings.

Two weeks ago, my sisters flew to London for a long weekend city break. That same night, we learned that my Mom had been diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer that day. The three of us immediately booked a flight out to Chicago and left the next morning, my sisters with only their weekend carry-on bags in hand.

Fourteen temporal days and a lifetime later, I have a few moments alone at the Country Inn Suites off I-57. The first few days were traumatic, but eventually levelled off as we moved from despair to supporting roles. Mom's initial prognosis was better than first feared, which made everyone feel a little bit better. Also, my sisters and I pushed Mom to get another opinion with a doctor who's more tuned in than the sole oncologist at my Mom's rural hospital. She explained all the medical reports from the first day my Mom went into the hospital and connected all the dots for us. There are more treatments out there than the country doc advised, so we're laying foundations to get Mom the treatments she decides on.

I am heading back to London Saturday night. Lisa is returning to Greece on the same flight to pack up her house and move her daughter and herself to Naperville to be near Mom and guide her on her treatment. Lara won't be returning to Italy at all and instead will be setting up the Chicago area home for Lisa and her. Lara's children and husband arrive tomorrow, as does our Dad. So, as unlikely as it ever seemed, the Coley family will be reunited again in Illinois, in Winter*.

I will take a short moment here to segue into a rant: tomorrow I have to attend an interview with my Mom to decide whether or not she's eligible to enrol in a government programme to pay for the treatment she needs. My Mom has Medicare A, but B doesn't kick in until July, so she either has to politely ask the cancer not to progress for six months or she has to apply to other options. There is every real chance she may not be able to afford treatment to keep her alive. If I were a spiteful person, I would wish this situation on each and every person who is against universal health care in America. But I am kind and magnanimous, so I will wish it only on congressional Repugnicans instead. I am completely and fully baffled how anyone (other than the super rich) finds this system preferable to any of Europe's, Canada's, Australia's - basically every country of which America considers itself the 'leader'.

Cheers from the frozen prairie,

Shaun

*The fifth-warmest in Chicago's history, thankfully, but that relief is screeching to an end this weekend: Saturday's high will be -5°C.

Sunday, 22 January 2012

[The Life of Shaun #443] Dublin take two

In a case of history repeating itself, I found myself in Dublin again with Mary Keany six years after our first visit. Some things have changed - by all accounts, the Celtic Tiger is dead, or at best, meekly limping along, and some of the city's swagger is gone; everywhere there was talk about how bad things there were, whereas before there was endless optimism. Other things have not - it is still terribly expensive (especially with the diminished pound) and the people (and their accents) are just as lovely. Fortunately, this trip was scheduled to visit my friend Matt who's over from Seattle for work, so at least we escaped the hotel fleecing. I really enjoyed the city this time, saw a lot more of its charm and can say that I am now officially a fan.

The trip was subdued - nothing touristy at all, just dining, drinking and lounging - so I won't say much. But I will take a moment for a well-deserved plug for Siam Thai. Mary and I found it by chance in 2006 and it was so good we went back the next night. So this trip is was the only definite plan on the itinerary and it was amazing - the best Thai food I've had outside of Thailand. I would go back to Dublin if only to eat there again.

Slán,

Shaun

Some pics from our weekend:

Gaelic on top.

Thank goodness for these signs letting us know to walk on the left - I was going to try and jump over barriers!

Is it just me, or is this sports bar window dressing a wee bit camp?

Enda Kenny greeting the shoppers boosting the Irish economy.

Saw a great drag act at PantiBar (great name, eh?). This was the famous duet "Time to Say Good-Bye" by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli.

But Gatwick M&S welcomed me back to London gloriously!

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Tuesday, 20 December 2011

[The Life of Shaun #442] Slumdog Thousandaire

I am back from my whirlwind tour of South Asia, and I am the latest in a long line of visitors who have been impressed and charmed by India.

The country is mad - barking mad, chaotic, crowded, poor, wealthy, engaging, uplifting - almost primal, but peaceful. If I had to say just one thing about my visit it's that I've never wanted to hug so many people in my life. We encountered so many kind and helpful people, with disarmingly charming dispositions and honest smiles.

All the platitudes about India are true: it's hot, huge, overcrowded, juxtaposed, spiritual, another world. But it's good they're out there as they help prepare you, as best as words could, for the insanity that embraces you from the moment you step out of your air-conditioned plane into whichever port you've chosen. Everyone says you love it or hate it, and I fall into the former group; it is definitely somewhere I want to return to.

Writing about it all would be endless, so I've put together a few groups of photos for those who are interested:

Mumbai --> http://shaunism.blogspot.com/2011/12/mumbai.html

Colombo --> http://shaunism.blogspot.com/2011/12/colombo.html

Bangaluru --> http://shaunism.blogspot.com/2011/12/bangaluru.html

Kolkata --> http://shaunism.blogspot.com/2011/12/kolkata.html

Delhi --> http://shaunism.blogspot.com/2011/12/delhi.html

Taj Mahal --> http://shaunism.blogspot.com/2011/12/agra-and-taj-mahal.html

Now Rachel Klem is in town for the holidays and I have to give her the attention she is due. Back to work tomorrow - so not ready for it!

राम राम,
Shaun

My favourite picture I took in India.

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Agra and the Taj Mahal

The coup de grâce of any visit to India, the Taj Mahal. It's a painful four-hour journey from Delhi, but absolutely worth the trip. You know you're going to encounter beauty, but it's even more impressive than can come across in photos. Counter-intuitively, some pics below of day trip are below.

A sweeper at Akbar's Tomb; notice the mobile phone.

Signs at the entrance to the Taj, separating the queues.

First view of the Taj!

And proof I was there.

Close-up.

One of the three optical illusions of the Taj: Albert Einstein.

From the distance.

Where Shah Jahan lived his last days under house arrest; the story goes that all he asked for when he was imprisoned by his son was that he have a view of the Taj.

Delhi

New Delhi was the last capital of British India and remained the capital after independence. Its broad avenues, roundabouts and stately buildings belie the country it governs. There's more to see in Delhi than in other cities, per the guidebooks, but it somehow lacks the soul and spirit of India, and least from the exposure I had. Glad to have seen it, but I don't feel the need to return.

New Delhi airport has fantastic toiler indicators.

Un-Indian-like streets of the capital.

The effect of 16 million residents and an industrial base is clear in the haze.

The Indira Gandhi museums was one of the oddest museum experiences I've had. If you're actually keen on reading about her life, it's the wrong place to go, as you don't have a chance to pause because you are swept along in the virtual conveyor belt of people filing through. And the attendees seemed much more interested in the tall white guy than anything in the displays.

Some tall think in South Delhi.

Love the vest!

Ma Petroni and I were mini-celebrities; caucasian-deprived Indians were fascinated with us, and we will be in many family albums across India.

We saw this sign all over India - I've never wanted a Coke so badly!

Like so many other Aussies, the Opera House went to India to get spiritual and became the Lotus Temple.

India Gate.

Connaught Place, the commercial and social hub of New Delhi.

Ma Petroni and me at her birthday dinner.

There's military all over India; this one is guarding the Red Fort.

A swarm of birds randomly kicked off.

Old Delhi docs.

Old Delhi was a crammed maze of ancient streets; I loved getting wheeled around its crazy streets is a rickshaw - each street seemed to get smaller than the previous.

Old Delhi.

I went on a tour that explained the lives of the street children of Delhi and the foundation that looks after them. In this pic, our ex-street kid guide, Satender, was explaining that the reason the Hindu gods are put on the wall is because the wall used to be heavily urinated on, so they do this to prevent people from making a toilet of the wall.

The foundation takes in about five new kids per day from New Delhi rail station alone. They manage to get about 70% back with their families; the other 30% they try to get off the streets and into education or employment.

Modern filing...

Who needs the NHS?

The most local place I ate at - and no Delhi belly!

Kolkata

Kolkata, née Calcuta, of black hole fame, the armpit of India, per many natives' opinions. From the moment you land, you can tell you;re in a city that hasn't quite made it to the 20th century. It's crumbling, crowded, medieval, frantic, poor, dirty and utterly charming. More than anywhere else in India, life is lived on the streets in Kolkata, and I liked it instantly.

Somehow, I could feel the weight of Empire here more than anywhere else in India. It was from this port that London drained much of the wealth out of India, as well as its food, leading to the death by starvation of two million citizens in WWII. There is an abundance of colonial architecture, grand homes and libraries, mixed in with the clamour of daily life in the metropolis on the Hooghly.

We stayed at the Oberoi - a oasis of colonial charm and solitude literally in the middle of the masses; on the sidewalk you are surrounded by street-hawkers and commotion, then you pass through the gates and the sound quickly fades as you walk to the main entrance. Inside you would never guess there are 14 million toiling souls on the other side of the walls.

Kolkata is known for its position in the Empire, separatist uprisings, communism and the angelic work of Mother Theresa. All together, it's a city unlike any other.

A chaotic welcome at Kolkata.

The view outside my room.

Our lobby - and how we saw Russ on most of the trip (he is newly iPhoned!).

Victoria Memorial, built to commemorate the death the Queen a continent away.

Kolkata's charming taxis, in their normal free-for-all state.

Health and safety does not rule over every public action; these workers painting the road median had nothing more than a paint can to separate them from the passing traffic.