Date Night

Eitan and Dakota (Eitan says age-6). Photo form Dana

Sonnet and I have a US mall experience at Westfields. One can really get into this. We shop, have dinner, see a movie ('Capitan Phillips' - I eat a $15 'medium' size box of popcorn). And further, there are couples everywhere - young and old. The mall has become a modern dating convenience. The perfect neutral ground : safe with plenty of entertainment. And more, Westfields like an airport First Class airport lounge - 5 star luxury all the way. Of course none of it comes for free (as our boxes and bags suggest).

We return home 11:30PM - late for a weeknight - and I do recall Manhattan when it was impossible to retire before 1AM.

Team Wandsworth

We receive a text informing us the kids arrive safe and sound.  Here they are, pre 7AM practice (the poor dears).  Sonnet and I to take a vacation week but I catch the blue meanies and we decide to stay in London.

Spirited Memory

I do some chores around the house including re painting the conservatory. The smell of mineral spirits always takes me back to the summers of 1987 and 1988 in Barrington and Providence, Rhode Island - a time of adventure and exhilaration even if stressful and very often overwhelming.  My memories shared with a number of friends relived whenever together. My parents knew maybe 5% of of it and now I must accept : Eitan and Madeleine on their own path and I am a passenger to their journey.

Swim Camp

Eitan shows us the butterfly

There is a scramble at the door then Sonnet and the kids off for the airport.  Eitan and Madeleine in Greece for one week of training.  The little dudes will see four hours of pool time, one hour of land training and further stretching and aerobics a day. Somewhere in there should be some fun but Madeleine seriously doubts it. Following a solo visit with Stan over the summer they are prepared and no drama. 16 swimmers plus Coach make the trip, no electronics allowed.

The Internets (source: Google)
1998 - 3.6 million Google searches and 26 million web pages
1999 - Jeff founds eZoka.com
2008 - 637bn searchs and 1tr web pages
2013 - 1.9tn searches and 60tn web pages

Eitan: "See you in a week."

Ear Stud

Madeleine plays Moon River

Madeleine: "What would you say if I got my ears pierced ?"
Me: "I would say it's your body and go for it. Mom might have a different view, mind you."
Madeleine: "Indeed."
Me: "They numb your ear then put a needle through the lobe. I bet it hurts."
Madeleine: "Not really."
Me: "And how would you know?"
Madeleine: "Reason."
Me: "Are you thinking about doing it?"
Madeleine: "Maybe. Did you have one?"
Me: "Yeah, in high school. My left ear."
Madeleine: "That is so cool. Can you still put an ear ring in it?"
Me: "I suppose, but it has been a long time."

Madeleine shows me a stud in her left her. Me: "You did it! That is so great."
Madeleine: "Do you think so?"
Me: "Where did you go?"
Madeleine: "In Putney, at a place. I was with my friends."
Me: "Did you feel pressured to do it? That's the only thing that would make me concerned."
Madeleine: "I decided to do it."
Me: "Do you want me to tell your mother or you?"
Madeleine: "You can tell her."

Dad's note: It turns out Madeleine has a magnet that looks like an ear stud. No piercing.
Me: "You so totally set me up!"
Madeleine, grinning: "Yeah."

Aneta walks into the TV room. Madeleine: "What would you say if I got my ears pierced?"

Own Goal

Texas republican Ted Cruz is a fool

Government opens and the debt ceiling raised despite the Republicans. It was always unwinnable.

Eitan: "I have to do homework."
Me: "You're not excused, we would wish your company."
Eitan: "Homework is more important."
Me: "Give us two minutes. You can put a watch on it."
Eitan:
Madeleine: "I'll do it."
Me: "So tell me something interesting."
Madeleine: "Ready, set, go!"
Me: "Ok, I'll ask you a question to get things going."
Madeleine: "15 seconds."
Me: "I'm feeling the pressure. Ok, what did you do in maths class? No, no. Who are you hanging out with these days?"
Eitan: "Joe."
Me: "Anybody else?"
Eitan: "Shaheen."
Me: "Anybody outside of East Sheen?"
Madeleine: "60 seconds!"
Eitan: "Fred."
Me: "Who's he?"
Eitan: "A boy."
Me: "Is he a good friend?"
Eitan: "I'm leaving."
Madeleine: "And he as thirty seconds left."

Self Portrait XXXI

Sonnet walks me to work, 7AM

Sonnet's exhibition will tour three museums in Minnespolis-St Paul, Nashville and Oregon once the show ends in London.

Me: "What are you up to today?"
Sonnet: "I am meeting a fashion film maker to review his proposal for my show. He's Canadian, residing in Paris."
Me: "That's cool, what's he going to do?"
Sonnet: "He's filming close ups of the V and A garments and is going to do a slow motion edit. I wanted something different from the usual catwalk footage."
Me: "Why don't you just put up "Godzilla Versus King Kong"? Now that would be different."
Sonnet cracks up.

Miley Pop

500 million youtube views in September 

Walking with Madeleine. Me: "So what do you think of Miley Cyrus anyway?"
Madeleine: "What do you mean?"
Me: "Do you approve of her behaviour? At the MTV awards?"
Madeleine: "I guess so."
Me: "When she was twerking."
Madeleine:
Me: "And rubbing her bottom in Robin Thicke's mid section."
Madeleine: "Ok, Dad."
Sonnet: "Your Dad is just winding you up, Madeleine. He's still 16 years old."
Me: "And her video, 'Wrecking Ball. "
Madeleine:
Me: "Where she sails around naked on a wrecking ball."
Madeleine:
Me: "And licks a hammer."
Madeleine: "She licks a hammer?"
Me: "Yep."
Madeleine: "I do not approve of that."

Friday Night

8th grade party

It all kind of starts in the 7th or 8th grade - at least, that was the way it was in Northern California. Hot tubs, make out parties, weed. I navigated, ie, avoided, ie missed the time of my life, as I was swimming.

Me, driving the kids to the pool: "So do you have any friends or suggestions on who might help me with the  yardwork?"
Eitan, Madeleine:
Me: "I would pay them of course. Don't you know anybody who wants to make some extra money?"
Madeleine under her breathe: "Don't do it Dad."
Eitan: "It would make us look lazy or something."
Me: "What's the big deal? I will be working with them."
Eitan: "It's just weird. Other families don't ask for help."
Me: "So I have to do all the outside chores by myself?"
Madeleine: "We kids have lots of other things to be doing other than chores."
Me:
Eitan: "Can we talk about something else?"

The Deal

Thibault in action

And so it is Friday. My feet are up and watching Law & Order. Madeleine opts out of swimming having been at morning practice. She now quietly reads a book in her bedroom.  Eitan off to a disco party at the Richmond Hotel. He sneaks out the door, no dinner, hair slicked and looking smooth (I text Aneta that I will pick him up in the cow suit and she thinks I am serious).

Sonnet is speaking at Columbia and arrives in Manhattan yesterday. She is with Katie, who she joins at work (Katie gets a grant from the Ford Foundation, woo hoo!).  I speak to Sonnet 4AM NY time. She tells me it's dark and everybody asleep, my least favorite time of day. Blue meanies.

Freedom

School pitch, post match

I arrive home after Madeleine in bed so I tip toe in to her room and give her a kiss on the forehead, which wakes her for a moment. I get a hug then she rolls over and is gone.

Madeleine's netball team takes on Wimbledon and the gals crush their opponents, 15-1. It's a real confidence booster.

Me: "The thing about getting older, is at some point you stop caring about what other people think."
Madeleine: "Where's this going Dad?"
Me: "The funny thing is, you spend your whole life being embarrassed or uncomfortable and just as you think it's behind you.. . "
Madeleine: "Yeah?"
Me: "I have you guys on my case."
Madeleine: "Like the cow suit."
Me: "Yep."
Madeleine: "Or singing whenever my friends are around."
Me:
Madeleine: "Or that time you were dancing when Billy came over."
Me: "Ok, I get it."

Erect(ion)

One final picture from UAE and it has to be of the Burj Khalifa.  At 165 stories, it dwarfs anything nearby, making 50 and 60 story buildings seem petite.  The thing shoots up from nowhere and, standing underneath her, it is straight sci-fi. I stare up, up, up 2,722 feet with the odd sensation that I am looking at a spacecraft.  The 40 degree temperatures add to the weirdness of it all. I mean, why ? It's the dessert.

Insha'Allah

Sunset over Arabia

And here is what I learn about the Middle East from Jose Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs for THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (this is how his business card reads. No, really) : the 15-29 year age bracket accounts for ca. 30% of the population.  Youth unemployment is around 40% and unemployment for those with a university degree is twice as high as those without. This means higher education preparing young people for jobs that do not exist. It is not surprising to learn that, when polled, 80% want to work in the public sector. Already it is around 60%.

Thibault from Astorg and I wade through a number of meetings, lectures, coffee sessions and general riff raffery at the Super Return conference. It must be done. 

Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque can take 40,000 worshippers, making it one of the world's largest. It features 82 domes, over a 1,000 columns, 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers and the world's largest hand knotted carpet. The main prayer hall is dominated by one of the world’s largest chandeliers –10 metres in diameter, 15 metres in height and weighing twelve tonnes. The mosque's first ceremony was the funeral of its namesake, Sheikh Zayed, who is buried at the site. It dominates the skyline, day and night.

There is not one human figure or animal to be seen on the walls nor engraved in the architecture, making it strangely uninteresting to me. The wailing call to prayer both haunting and beautiful.

Abu Dhabi

Emirates Palace, now a 7 star hotel

I am in Abu Dhabi for an investors conference. First time here and an easy observation : hot as hell. And the infrastructure is totally new - the highways and bridges are pristine (no concrete rot so evident on the London flyovers), the hotels and buildings gleam in the sunshine. The men glide through the hallways in white ankle-length thawbs undifferentiated as individuals yet contrasting totally with those around them in modern or western wear. Like ghosts.

Eitan and Madeleine run a 2K road race to qualify for the borough championships only I forget to give them their race day bar code so the effort for not. Stabbing sensation in .. heart . .. Eitan wins his age group, fourth overall; Madeleine in the top 30. Both would have qualified for Team Richmond.

In And Out

Man smokes a fag, Orly Airport

I am home for one night than tomorrow it's the United Arab Emirates and 100 degree temperatures. This raises a question : what to wear? Apparently the Arabs are business formal but not to worry since the buildings and shopping malls kept at near freezing.

I am looking forward to visiting Abu Dhabi and Dubai and checking out the Burj Khalifa but this hardly compensates for missing tomorrow's 2k road race where Eitan and Madeleine aim to qualify for the borough cross country championships.

This evening the kids are at their club swimming championships where Madeleine competes the 200m breast, 100 freestyle and 200 IM. For Eitan, the 200 fly, 200 IM and 100 free. Sonnet and I take the dog for a long walk and now watch junk television, her choice.

L'Equipe

Jean-Hubert

My week with Astorg continues and today we complete a lengthy strategic overview, in French, followed by a 20 km bike ride along beautiful groomed trails overlooking the sea and distant shoreline. There is good camaraderie yet concern about the lack of deal making in France.

Tomorrow I return to London followed by Sunday to the UAE.

The partners each make a brief remark on what they would wish to accomplish during the offsite. Me: "Je suis ici pour apprendre le français."

French Riviera

Ile de Porquerolles

The French Riviera is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France.  It was one of the first modern resort areas which began as a health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. The water is a pleasant 27 degrees this time of year.

L'Amour

Paris, 8e

Astorg has an LP meeting which puts about $30bn of investment power in one room together. The discussion covers the portfolio, investment pace, team changes - usual stuff. Now we are at Le Mas Du Langoustier on the Ile de Porquerolles in the Cote d'Azur for a bit of team bonding. I am honoured to be included.

The Mall

 Groovy gal

Madeleine and I hit Westfield London which opened in '08 and offers 150,000m² of retail space or the equivalent of about 30 football pitches - the thing is God damn big.  I ask myself : how many styles of trainer can one look at ?

In my day, the closest mall was Hilltop in Richmond, California, which opened in 1976 and built on land previously occupied by the Chevron Oil Corporation tank farm.  There was parking for miles. Christmas lights went up in October and, in 7th grade, I shopped for a gold medallion to go with my feathered hair.  Now, when I consider Hilltop, I think of Dawn Of The Dead where a group of refugees hole up in a shopping complex to escape zombies.

England, as Napoleon famously said, is a nation of shopkeepers. Until Westfield, London's only mall was Queensway which turned-over clothing boutiques catering to mustachioed men and frizzy haired women. No Prada, no Gucci, no Banana Republic but there is a M&S.