Things

I usually use a To Do list to get myself organized. I go in spurts, though - either I’m diligently using my list or it’s sitting on my desk forgotten and obsolete. I keep trying different types of “lists”, too. Sometimes I just use Post-It notes. Sometimes, I use iCal. Sometimes, I use a notebook to keep my list. I think the weak link in this process is me remembering to add my tasks to the list. I just start keeping a list in my head and forget to put them down on paper or enter them into my computer. I haven’t really figured out yet how to fix this weak link.

Anyway, Bill Dobie sent me a link a while back to Things. It is a task management software that uses the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology - whatever that means! There’s a book of the same title and this software is based on that book, but since I haven’t read the book, I don’t really know the details of GTD. From what I gather from Things and wikipedia, it’s a method for getting the stuff out of your head and recording it somewhere. It’s a way to clear the clutter out of your head.

So, I will use Things to organize myself and see how long I stick to it. Should I have a to-do item of “enter tasks into Things”??? hehehe

London tidbits

On Tuesday night, I went to the pub around the corner, Friend At Hand, for dinner (rump steak and fries) and I watched a bit of the football game (Man U vs Roma) while I was there. I also read my book, which probably was insulting to the local football fans in the place. But a player from Man U caught my eye.... Cristiano Ronaldo is HOT! Wow.

I’ve never seen anybody eat spaghetti with a knife and fork before. It was like he was eating steak or chicken, except he was cutting noodles with his knife instead of meat. The elderly man at the next table cut the spaghetti into a small “piece”. He then proceeded to put the cut noodles on the back of his fork and put the noodles in his mouth. Interesting...

Tube fiasco... I got the the South Kensington station at 8:45 tonight and the sign said that the train was coming in two minutes. Fifteen minutes later, I was still standing on that platform. There was a fire alarm in the previous station, hence, the Piccadilly Line service was suspended. The attendant at the station said I should take the Circle Line to King’s Cross and then transfer to the Piccadilly Line there. He said the service should be back up by the time I get there. Again, I waited and waited but no Circle train. So I go back to the Tube map to look for another way. Aha! District Line to Victoria station, then the Victoria Line to Green Park station, and then hopefully, the Picadilly Line will start working by then. Thankfully, it did start up again about five minutes after I arrived at the platform in Green Park. By the time I got to Russell Square, my destination, an hour and 15 minutes had gone by. Agh!

Greenwich

Last Sunday, I rode the 188 bus from Russell Square to Greenwich. Riding the bus gave me a chance to see parts of London away from the touristy sections. It took about an hour to get to Greenwich and once I got there, I visited the Painted Hall and Chapel in the Old Royal Naval College. The Painted Hall is breathtaking. Hard to describe in words how overwhelming the magnificence of the hall is. I just stood still for a few minutes to savour it. From the Naval College, I walked to Greenwich Park where the National Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House, and the Royal Observatory are located. I only had time to visit one of them and I decided to go to the Royal Observatory. I visited the meridian line and took a picture (like millions of other tourists) with one foot on the west side of the meridian and the other foot on the east side. I then headed to the planetarium and learned about black holes, dark energy, and dark matter. Fun! I gave a kid nearby the evil eye because he was being noisy when I was watching the video that explained all this stuff. ☺

It was another day of exploring, lots of walking, going to places I’ve never been to before. Again, it would have been more fun if Ed were with me. I’m getting tired of talking to myself. hahaha