Foreign Correspondence

Word of the day: bin
Clearly it’s a trash bin, not a trash can. The British might be onto something.

What I learned today: What is “Ohio” to the big financial executives? Well, I was interviewing one of them for the documentary we are doing about the current state of the securities industry. He asked me where I was from in America, and I told him Ohio. The first city he thought of? Bowling Green. 'Tis a shame. He also thought there were mostly hick towns there. I definitely couldn’t argue with that, of course.

Wait ... Am I the country-bumpkin-turned-city-girl to these people? How funny. I am from suburban Cincinnati ... Wait that doesn't prove much, does it? I did used to frequent shows for a band that sings a song "I Wrecked My Tractor."

What I love about London: Now that it is fall and the tourists are gone, London is finally London, bedecked in scarves and colorful leaves and gray skies.

Whatever Happened to a Good Old E-mail?
Being abroad definitely makes me more in touch with people. I feel like half of my night is e-mailing. Look, it’s midnight and I’m finally blogging. I have been chatting online and checking my e-mail pretty much non-stop since I walked in, even still talking to my colleague Christopher in NYC (the time change makes work hours ambiguous).

The truth is, I think I was supposed to be alive in the 19^th century, because I would be good at being Emily Dickinson, writing letters and short poetry all day. I’d get a little sick of myself, but my job would be writing poetry to become famous as soon as I died -- how cool would that be?

My correspondence skills, I must say, are very unusual -- but I think important! One should not underestimate the power of a nice long e-mail to an old friend, circa 2001.

Then again, half my day at work is e-mailing, so how can I stand to e-mail at the end of the day? One day at work I figured I sent 75 e-mails. My boss gets 600 e-mails a day, so I doubt he is sending gchats to his old chums from university after work. That could be me someday!!

But on the other hand, it’s important not to let the drudge of work keep one from letting her fingers flow over the keyboard to type a proper electronic correspondence to friends and family. Or else the art of Internet communication will slip away entirely. Before you know it, our kids won’t even be able to write a good, old-fashioned e-mail anymore!!!

That’s why I will send them abroad. Bring back the Grand Tour.

I am now reading: This Onion article really sums off the office life for me:
Study Finds Working At Work Improves Productivity
My daily dose of the Onion really gets me through the work day!