August 1st. Aliens love Underpants

This morning we went to the office. Left at 6am again to beat the traffic. Got there around 7am. Unfortunately the building was locked up solid. Even the proximity cards were not working. We tried to hack our way in through the garage and even got as far as foyer but deadbolted doors continued on every floor. We went to Costa but they did not have Internet. Finally we were able to come to work at 8:15am.

There is exciting movie playing in the infinite loop at the waiting room. Joyless looking lady explains the joy of using automated workforce management solutions. IT and HR get to hear this every day all day long.

In contrast, Belgian office has motivational posters hanging literally in the continuous sequence. Maybe they got a volume discount. Most of them are in Dutch or French and I can't understand them but my mind helpfully provides translations a la despair.com :)

I wonder if 2 identical posters are still hanging in the meeting room of the NJ office. For a long while I've tried to find differences between the posters.  Things like that do not stimulate innovation, inspiration, or thinking in general. They fill up space. A puzzle printed out every day or even a weather report stimulates some thought. I think they got it right in some kindergartens.

Kids went to see Aliens Love Underpants play at Rose Theater next door. They sat on the pillows on the floor near the stage. Isabella was afraid of the "monsters" and sat with her head buried in the pillow for a good third of the show. The play was remarkably well done and the cast was very natural and entertaining. It did not feel like forced or tired fun for kids. It was also very laid back with the little members of the audience occasionally breaking into a dance or clapping. Every now an then a mom would scurry out with a kid to the bathroom.

After the show we walked to Teddington and had dinner at one of the several interesting looking restaurants there, Charm Thai. We will definitively bring those of our visitors who love Thai there. Hint... Hint... :) It was awesome. Even Isabella ate chicken satay (in addition to her regular staple of white rice). During the riverwalk we passed apple, pear and plum trees. And lots of blackberry bushes. Something to think about consuming in a couple of weeks when they are ripe.

On the way back at Canbury gardens we passed a fisherman who caught an enormous fish - over 22 pounds. Turns out there is a fishing competition every Thursday along the river. They let the fish go. A hint for those who love fishing :)