Saturday, 29 October:

NHS Part Deaux. I went to the National Health Service walk in clinic again today. The same one that saw Suzanne a couple of weeks back. Two days ago, I started coughing again, only really hard and had some wheezing and shortness of breath. Since it got worse, instead of better, I decided to go get it checked out. So this is my first visit to a doctor in over two years for sickness. After a short triage, where no vitals were taken, I was told to come back in an hour for an appointment with a GP (General Practitioner). I came back early and waited for about thirty minutes past my appointment time before telling someone. (I worked in a hospital; I know that nothing ever runs on time). Ten minutes later I was seen by a Spanish doctor. Again, no vitals were taken, however, he did listen to me breathe through his stethoscope. After listening for a bit, he said that it sounded like I had a viral infection that weakened me enough to allow for an upper respiratory infection and that he was prescribing some antibiotics to take for the next five days, if it doesn’t clear, go see my doctor. Well, I am happy that the antibiotics should help clear up what I have, but am not so happy about the lack of triage vitals. If I was running a 106 fever, which is pretty brain threatening, they would never have known. While I have not received great care in most urgent cares, I at least felt good about the fact that they checked my vitals. Blood pressure, temperature, some basic history questions are apparently not needed by the NHS. Considering the media frenzy over the Asian Bird Flu, I find the lack of interest appalling. Of course, I don’t buy into the hype and worst case scenarios here are that it could kill as many as 50,000 if an outbreak occurs in the human population, that is still less than one percent of one percent of the overall population. (I wonder how many die each year due to a typical flu season). Back to the point, Either they are WAY ahead of U.S. medicine and have moved beyond the equipment used for a hundred years, or they are woefully negligent. I am voting for the latter at this point. Although, I was asked if I smoke three times, I wonder why? And they asked if I had asthma twice.

Friday, 28 October:

Happy Birthday Dad! Now that you are 60, you are officially middle aged, right? I hope you get another 60 with us.

Nothing too exciting or frustrating going on right now. We did get to see the changing of the guards today. Well, we got to see the backs of a lot of heads, some soldiers in big puffy hats, and a marching band in the same hats. After about ten minutes of watching over people's heads, I heard hoofs clopping behind us and turned around to see a large group of soldiers in cloaks and gold helmets with shiny swords on horseback ride by. I think Suzanne and I were the only ones to notice, as everyone else was so intent on watching soldiers march. As we were walking away from the palace, Suzanne pointed out that the band was playing music from Star Wars. I thought surely not, but she was right, it was the Rebel March. This is a bit funny, as I would think that the seat of the British EMPIRE would not want to play music written for rebels. As we moved farther away, we distinctly heard the Indiana Jones theme music. Wow, this changing of the guards thing must date back to at least the 1970s if it is done the same every time.

More job surfing and we have made a routine of walking around the Serpentine Pond in Hyde park every day. It is a really nice walk, and we enjoy getting away from the sounds of the city for a bit. Now that we have identified a Royal helicopter, I am surprised at how many fly to and from the park, as we definitely hear on a day at least.

The ziploc conspiracy has ended. We found some bags, though we are now loathe to use them, as we are not sure when they will appear again. Out of the blue, they were on the shelf at M&S food. This is either a new edition due to our blog, or it is a trick to throw us off the trail of the conspirators. We'll have to see if they still exist once we run out, as I know I scoured that store four times looking for them before.

Wednesday, 26 October:

We got to see a Royal today! Don't ask which one. We were walking through Kensington Gardens today and as we passed the Kensington Palace, a helicopter landed in a field nearby. As we walked toward the field, we noticed it was guarded by PCs (Police Constables). We watched for a minute, and saw a Rolls Royce followed by a Jaguar leave the palace and drive out to the helicopter. We asked the closest PC what was going on and they said it was a Royal getting transported, but that she was not allowed to say who. Sure enough, a bunch of very well dressed people got out of the cars and jumped into the helicopter. So we definitely saw the feet of a royal between the wheels of a helicopter today.

Speaking of PCs, I have noticed that Terry Pratchett's description of guards are dead on for the police force here. The only cops I have seen allowed to walk around by themselves are the parking police. Real police are always in groups of two or more, and typically more. Apparently it isn't safe for them to be out alone. Even motorcycle cops are always in threes when I see them.

Another observation of note is meat. It is almost always attached to bones here. We live in an area that is rife with Chinese restaurants, and every single one has duck carcasses hanging in the window. Cooked, but with the heads/necks and feet all still attached. The other day we went into a grocery store that had a butcher at the back. On his counter were two skinned and gutted sheep carcasses. Complete bodies on a marble slab. It is very different from California, where almost all of the meat has been carefully presented in ways that do not remind buyers of its origin. Even t-bones and rib eyes don't give any indication of where they came from.

The job hunt continues. Nothing new on this front, except for the number of applications that have gone out. My phone interview on Monday didn't happen. The guy got too busy, and didn't have a chance to call. I am supposed to get a reschedule, so we shall see.

Suzanne is almost 100% over her cold. She is out and about and finally responding to a large backlog of emails.

Bureaucracy 101: Phone saga... Well, wait until Monday is now wait until Monday. I was told that it takes up to ten business days for the accounting department to credit a deposit, so I get to wait until next Monday before I can check to see if I have a home phone. Still more fun! And, of course, this means that I get to wait even longer before I can get internet at home. And the banking thing is as fun as ever. I went in to the bank with my notification of service pending deposit and was told that this was not enough information for a bank account. The bill has to be a true bill with OCR line at the bottom and tear off portion. And, if Suzanne doesn't have one in her name, she can not be on a joint account. So I called BT again, and they said they don't do more than one name on a bill. I called London Energy, and they will do this for us, so Suzanne can join me on an account. I guess no trophy wife in the UK can escape having a bill in her name if she wants to have a bank account. Very strange.

We have been loving the change in weather. There is a coolness in the air that reddens the cheeks and makes walks in the park an abosolute joy. After living next to Balboa park, I thought I knew what a lot of squirrels looked like. I was wrong, Hyde park is rife with the things. They are only slightly outnumbered by flying rats (pigeons). The park itself is a wonderful place to walk. There are plenty of pathways and the grass is wonderfully green. The trees are all over the place and after the first fifty yards, you can not hear the sounds of the city (except for Royals in helicopters). With the bite of fall on the air, exercise isn't the sweaty mess that I always managed to become in San Diego. And there has been wonderful showers of rain almost every day, so the air smells clean and fresh from the moment we leave the house.

Sunday, 23 October:

Not too much going on this weekend. We went for a short walk on Saturday evening and found a decent hardware store. It is a lot like the ACE Hardware in Hillcrest. It carries the tools, etc. but it also carries a lot of things you don't expect in a hardware store like dishes and cooking utensils.

Today, we went for a walk down Bayswater Road and were treated to an art fest. Apparently artists are able to get a permit to display art for sale. There was about a mile of artwork all hanging from the fencing along Kensington Gardens. Some of the art was impressive, some of it was mundane. What was really interesting was that none of the artists had any interest in engaging admirers. Most artists weren't even on the sidewalk, they were sitting in their cars and completely ignoring the outside world. Artists have absolutely no ability to sell their work.

Friday, 21 October:

Weather! Well it finally arrived two days ago. I left the flat in the morning to get some water and various groceries. I left to a light rain and made sure I had a good coat on. By the time I had walked out of Tescos, I was being blinded by the sun. Ah well, it was good while it lasted. I walked home directly into the sun, though I have to say, it was a bit colder out, which was nice. By 1pm, it was raining again. Hard. I was loving every minute of the showers and thought fall must finally be here. Sure enough, rain turned into hail. Pebble sized hail that quickly began coating everything. Hail turned back to rain, which became thundershowers. Loud and bright, the storm was in full fury and sounded like it was directly over our building. Within an hour, the storm had passed and we were left with a light drizzle. Here I was worried about not getting any weather, and we got it all in one night! The next day was bright and sunny, but considerably colder than San Diego for a change. Since then, we have been blessed with on and off rain and cool weather that rosies the cheeks. This is what fall is supposed to feel like, and I am loving every minute of it.

On the job front, things are starting to move forward. I have another interview on Monday, and I have been trying to network with people that might lead to jobs. And, of course, the internet… The internet, for all its wonders and joys, is an extremely boring way to try and find a job. Almost as boring as looking through classifieds in a newspaper, though I think that has to be the absolute worst. (All you newsies out there have to admit, it sucks looking for work that way. And this is someone who used to sell classified ads talking.)

Bureaucracy 101: Well, the snail mail was supposed to be at BT yesterday. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I waited until today to call about getting a land line. Sure enough, nothing. I was told the ultimate English sentence: “Let’s wait until Monday and see if it has shown up then.” I love bureaucracy. However, I did get a bill from BT today requesting that I send off my deposit promptly so that they can give me phone line. The 2^nd class bill took less than two days to get to me, but my first class stamp sent through Her Majesty’s Royal Mail still hadn’t reached BT. Too bad I can’t insist that they hook up my phone line and then check for my bill on Monday. This isn’t too big a deal, except that I have to wait “5” business days before I can get internet, once I have my phone. So that means that the soonest I can get online without buying a cup of coffee is the following Monday. That’s without any hiccups. It’s a good thing I like coffee. And that Starbucks is only one building over from where I live.

We went for Mexican food tonight. Alright, we went to a Mexican restaurant, but the food didn’t qualify as Mexican. Neither was the server, she was French. And the “cajun hot sauce” was vinegar and red food coloring. Not the burgundy red that good hot sauce is, but bright, double decker bus red. I ordered a beef chimichanga. I know I requested beef, but after life in San Diego, I had visions of carne asada, then I realized where I was and lowered my expectations to shredded beef. I didn’t quite lower them enough, as it was ground beef. Suzanne ordered a combo plate. Apparently combo meant that she was getting a combination of countries as well as dishes. There was a “green”, “chicken” enchilada which was a cheese enchilada in red sauce. She also got a “Mexican” salad, which was a salad in a large tortilla with the requisite??? Italian dressing. Let’s review, Suzanne’s Mexican salad was served by a French waitress and was topped with Italian dressing. Still, the effort was there. And it was close enough to Mexican food that we aren’t craving it like we were. Or maybe it was far enough away from Mexican food, that we can’t crave it until we know where to get it, I’m not sure. I’d do almost anything for some Las Cuatro Milpas. Maybe that sailing sponsorship will work out and I will be able to fly back once a month.

Tuesday, 18 October:

I spent the morning taking care of some grocery shopping. Thankfully, Suzanne finally got a good night's sleep. She is still resting today, but there are signs that she is returning to normal, and hopefully will be out and about in no time.

I called BT today to see about getting a phone, and apparently they do not accept U.S. cards as a form of payment. It is strange how it is a royal pain to get a bank account in the U.K. but everyone expects that you have one to order services. To get a UK bank account, I have to have a utility or phone bill proving my address. OK, so to get a phone number, I have to have a card from a UK bank to set up direct debit. Are you as annoyed as I am about this? Probably not.

There is a solution, but it is not a fun one either. You can go to the post office and pick up what would be a money order in the U.S. but is called a post order here and send it to BT. When they receive the order, they will open the phone line for you. I hate mailing things. I find it to be a very archaic way to doing almost anything but transferring physical goods from one place to another. I am a net addict, so want to be able to do everything online or by phone. Even documents should be allowed to be scanned in and transferred electronically, rather than having to do everything via snail mail.

My aggravation might have something to do with my little adventure to get my passport, where my wonderfully happy picture and all my citizenship paperwork was lost by Fedex/Kinkos and never recovered, so I had to drive up to the consulate in Los Angeles to get new documentation, and send less than happy photos out the second time. I was so angry in the pictures that I am surprised that I don't get searched as an IRA terrorist every time I show my passport. *Note--I am not a terrorist, I do not support any terror group on any level and I have never been in association with any anti-government group of any kind. I do not condone acts of terror for any reason! There, I don't think anyone can mistake my intentions.

Back to the point, I now have to rely on the British Postal Service to get my 50GBP deposit to the phone company in a timely manner so that I can have phone service. Once I get that, I can get internet service five business days later. So I might not have to go to Starbucks as early as the end of next week to check my email. And, hurray for me, I earn 3.5% interest on my 50GBP for the twelve months I am required to leave it in BTs hands. Whew, almost to retirement baby!

You heard it here first! *Warning, intellectual property follows. By continuing to read, you agree to not infringe upon the ideas listed nor to attempt to profit from them.*

So here's my idea: Create a certification standard that is very rigid in its rules as to who is allowed to "notorize" documents. Once this standard is in place, you approach government agencies, consulates, embassies, phone companies, cable companies, banks, etc. and show them the levels of guarantee that you offer with your certification, then you get them to approve you certification as allowable for the documents they regularly require. You would then partner with a larger carrier, either the shade of poo trucks or Republic Quickly and be in all of their stores as a document transfer service. People would come in with original documents, that you would verify as legitimate, then you would be able to scan said documents and send them to the required agency's appropriate email and the email would then be accepted as originals. No more lost in the mail documents, no more waiting for two or more weeks for documents to arrive, be processed, then returned. No more worries. Of course there would be a notarization fee, that would make your money. The idea is appealing for agencies, as they no longer have to worry about your documentation, they print and file. It is appealing to people like me who hate snail mail, and it is appealing to mail services, as they are not dealing with losing important documentation that has no real monetary value, and incurs a minimal charge for shipping. Now to find investors. If you have an interest in investing, email imcrossingthepond at gmail dot com.

So I went to the post office and asked if I could use a traveller's check to pay for my post note. Nope, I have to cash it and they charge 3GBP for that. But, since I also need a stamp (0.20GBP) I can buy the stamp with the traveller's check, they will give me my change, then I can pay for my post note with cash. Hmm... I love bureaucracies! The interesting ways they come up with for doing business. Now I need an envelope too, but I can't buy that at the post office window, I have to go down to the end of the post office and purchase that at the post office store. So after spending my 53.95GBP I was all set to send off my 50GBP deposit that I couldn't take care of over the phone. I dropped it in the mail slot, checked to make sure that I couldn't grab it back out again and offered up a prayer to the god of post carriers that it would get there, and hopefully in good time. I should note that the reason for the deposit is that I have no British credit on file and have never had a BT phone line before.

Kudos to my Dad won his first sailing race in a few months on Saturday. It was a real come from behind win and he was down two of his normal crew (myself being one of them). He had a sailing novice on board and a no show for the other crew member. Having raced more than a few times on his boat, it is a hell of a feat to win with only one crew member and to have that crew member be a novice makes it doubly impressive. I really miss racing every month! If there is anyone who would like to sponsor a racing team by flying me to San Diego and back once a month, please let me know. I am sure that we can work out some sail space for advertising. You would be seen on one of the most gorgeous boats in San Diego's bay and it regularly is a podium finisher. To discuss terms of sponsorship, please email me at imcrossingthepond at gmail dot com (using appropriate symbols instead of the words. I am trying to reduce spambot notice by not putting the symbols).

Final note. Every time I bring up Google, I type in google.com and get google.de. This is not a problem, as the search still works just as well, but I keep wondering why my bought in the USA laptop that is sitting in London England thinks it should be in Germany. Maybe my laptop has biometric ID and figured out that I was born in Berlin, so figures that the closer I get to the German border, the more I am going to want German sites. I will have to take a trip to Germany to see if all of windows converts to German or if it is just Google. It could be as simple as T-Mobile being a German company, and so all defaults are to german sites if necessary. More research to follow. It is really time for me to get out of Starbucks, as they have started playing Bob Dylan, whom I can't stand listening to.

Monday, 17 October:

Well, the weekend didn't go so well. After buying three day passes for the tube, we used them on Friday and haven't been on a tube since. Suzanne had a relapse into her cold, so we spent most of the weekend inside with her resting. We did take a short walk through Hyde Park, which is gorgeous and green. We walked around one of the ponds and were suprised at how lax everyone was about interaction with natural animals. Coming from San Diego, where idiots have turned Children's Pool into a battleground for seal isolationists, (I can't bring myself to call anyone who thinks that swimming with seals is a horrible idea a seal lover) it was refreshing not to see signs everywhere that said not to touch the animals, etc. There were a ton of swans and geese in the pond and on the shore and children were walking within inches of the swans, whom I understand can have a really nasty bite. Suzanne was exhausted after an hour of walking and resting in the park, so we came home and she got more rest. Sunday night ended up being the worst for her, as she started throwing up and couldn't have gotten more than about three hours or sleep all night. Being the loving and caring husband I am, I snored through the entire night and didn't wake up once.

So we tried our hat at the NHS (National Health Service) today. We went to what amounts to an urgent care in the U.S. and they said their computers were down, so it may take a while to be seen. Fine, after a 10GBP taxi ride, I wasn't in the mood to leave and come back, and didn't want Suzanne to miss out on being seen, so I said we would wait. The clerk then took all of her appropriate information and typed it into the "down" computer. We waited for about an hour (typical for most urgent cares) and Suzanne was seen. The nurse practitioner stated that he couldn't find any signs of a serious infection, so couldn't prescribe antibiotics, but that she definitely had the flu.

OK, she definitely has the flu, but no antibiotics... Colds are viral by definition. Antibiotics make no sense whatsoever when someone has a cold. Flus are bacterial by definition... Wouldn't that mean that antibiotics should be just what the doctor ordered (pun intended)? However, I guess it is a good sign that healthcare officials somewhere are not randomly killing the effect of an antibiotic by prescribing them every time someone has the sniffles. The NP did give Suzanne a list of medicines to take that would effectively relieve her symptoms and allow her to rest. All in all, I have revised my opinion of socialized healthcare up slightly but will have to wait and see.

So while Suzanne gets some much needed rest, I figured I would update the blog for all our loyal fans. All both that said they read it regularly anyway. Comments people, I crave comments so that I know you are out there. Don't be shy and don't worry about my feelings. If this blog sucks, let me know. Of course I would also like to know how to make it better, so try and make it constructive criticism.

I am thrilled the Chargers won yesterday! How about that LT?!? Next week will be a much tougher test, as Philly isn't the Raidorks. And we get to travel across country and play them in their house. I may be able to watch the game though, as I think I found a pub that shows NFL games and the game is an early one, so it will be on at 6:00pm my time. I just hope they choose to show the Chargers game.

Thursday, 13 October:

We spent most of today looking for jobs on the internet. Actually it was quite a boring day. I did, however, meet a friend of sorts today. I started talking to someone in Starbucks, who appears to have very similar interests on some levels.

I had my phone interview this afternoon. It went quite well and I am now being forwarded to the next phase of the interview process. This probably means that I will be interviewing late next week or early the following week. Suzanne found a few jobs that interest her (Thanks to Morgan's websites page!) and applied for them. Hopefully she will start getting calls soon.


We decided at the end of the day to have pasta for dinner tonight and did some shopping for the ingredients. Fresh pesto, pasta, a great sauce, I was really looking forward to dinner tonight. We hit up the M&S food section in Whitely's and we were all set. When we got home, however, we discovered one slight problem, no pot to boil water or cook pasta in. Hmm... It was a bit late at this point to be pot shopping so we broke down and had another American classic. McDonalds. I have to say, the McDonalds in London could very well be anywhere in the United States, except for a very abridged menu. The food was par for McDonalds. Very fattening and not very good for you, but the taste of home (on the very rare occasions we tortured our bodies with that crap).

Friday, 14 October:

We learned two very valuable lessons last night. The first was always pay the extra money for a full day travel pass instead of a single return. The second was don't trust any Londoner to give you good directions. In an attempt to find spices and hopefully crushed red peppers, we asked the local Tesco Metro stockist where there was a full size Tesco. The full size stores carry irons, electronics, lots and lots of food, so we figured they were our best bet on finding what we needed. We were told to go to Oxford Circus. Only a couple stops down on the Central line. Cool beans. So we walked to the Lancaster Gate station and bought two single returns, figuring that we weren't going to need to go anywhere other than Oxford Circus. 8GBP later, we walked away from the ticket counter a bit bewildered. An all day, two zone pass costs 4.70GBP, and we just paid 4GBP each for three stops down the line. What's worse, we had to return to Lancaster Gate, no hopping a different line to get to Bayswater station right by our place. Lesson one learned.

Lesson two involved us getting off at Oxford Circus and looking for the promised full size Tesco. We walked around for about half an hour in larger circles trying to figure out what we were doiong wrong. We started asking people where Tescos was and were told that it was too far to walk. After some confusion, we finally found free internet. All you have to do is walk into the gigantic Apple store just off Oxford Circus. The problem is that everyone in London appears to know about it, so after hovering for about ten minutes, we hopped online and learned that there was a Tescos on Goodge St. that did not have the Express or Metro after the name. Score, except that it was an extra tube stop down and we only bought single return tickets. I didn't want to chance a 20GBP fine per person if it turned out that we weren't able to use the tickets for a farther journey. So we went home, very frustrated, and called it a night.

And on to today. We bought three travel passes today for zones one and two, so that we weren't going to make last night's mistake again. Off to Goodge St. first thing to find the Tesco. We hopped the central line and got off at Tottenham Court Road, which is right next to Goodge. We walked up to Goodge St. and sure enough, there is a Tesco Metro. Note the Metro designation that was not on the website. Mildly frustrated, we decide that we are going to head to the one full size Tesco we do know of, in zone 3 off Neasden, right by IKEA. Did I mention that our travel passes are for zones one and two only. So we went all the way up to our favourite station, Willesden Green, which is at the edge of zones one and two. We got off the train and bought two single return tickets into zone three (they are MUCH cheaper if you are not going into zone one.) and went up to Tescos. The first four doors we walked up to were locked, so we were beginning to think that now that we had made it, we weren't going to get in. Finally we found a door that would let us in and started shopping. We found great deals on an iron, a pot, and some groceries. Most important of all... Crushed red peppers!!! We were saved! After some tears of joy, we finished our shopping, and left.

Because of the unseasonal warmth here, we have been trying to find a fan. Apparently they are part of the ziploc conspiracy, because they are very rare. We stopped at Homebase off the Finchely Road tube station and looked to see if they had anything. Yup. They had one fan. One in a store that is set up like, and about the size of, Home Depot. But now we can circulate air and try and get our clothes to dry a little faster.

Afterwards, we headed home and while Suzanne was making dinner, I went in to Dongle to see if they had a free broadcast digital television box. Apparently the Brits have this interesting plug on all their TVs called a SCART plug. I have never seen one before, but it allows the TV to show digital television. So after picking up the proper SCART cord and a box, we went from four channels to about fifty.

Suzanne made a wonderful pasta dish with tomato sauce and pesto. We had it with Italian bread and a spicy dipping oil that made for the perfect meal. And slightly more healthy than last night's fare.

Wednesday, 12 October:

We woke up in our new place! We woke up late for our checkout time at the temp accomodations. This was made even worse by the fact that the central line trains were not running out of Bayswater , so we had to take a District line train to a different station, then transfer to a Hammersmith line so that we could get up to Baker to take the Jubilee line to Willesden Green. I called the place to let them know we would be late, and they ensured us that was fine. When we got there, we went down to the aparment to get the food out of the fridge, and noticed that someone had already stripped the bed down. Uh-oh. Yup, all the food was gone. It wasn't until hours later that we realized the horror of this event, no crushed red peppers! We spent forever trying to find a full size bottle of red peppers and had horded it like it was gold. We made sure that it even went on our carry on luggage, instead of the check baggage because we didn't want to lose it. And in one fell swoop, we were pepperless. After much consoling and crying, we picked ourselves up and tried to move on with our lives. Suzanne was also mourning the loss of her big box of IKEA cookies.

So we headed up to IKEA to rid ourselves of lilac, get more cookies and buy some pillows. On the train ride up, I picked up a Metro newspaper and was reading various articles when I noticed one that said that bus driver complaints have quadrupled in the last few years. The driving is so atrocious that passengers are literally getting thrown to the floor and some have complained about getting stuck in the doors as they are trying to get on. Think the Night Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie. Sure enough, as we were walking up to the IKEA bus stop, I got hit by a bus. OK, it didn't actually hit me personally, but it whacked the bag I was carrying in my streetside hand really hard. Two inches to the left, and I would have had a really sore if not broken hand. Make that quadruple plus one complaints.

It is interesting to me that you can get feather pillows with hideous zip off covers for GBP 6.99. These pillows are meant for couches, but are the exact same shape/size as regular pillows. Or for 8.99 you can buy the imitation feather stuff without a cool hideous cover. We opted for hideous. Suzanne got her cookie fix, and we picked up a cheese slicer, which appears to be in short supply throughout every grocery store in London. Other short supply items include storage bags, crushed peppers, herbs and spices (hmm... No wonder English food is so bland) in general, and tomato soup. The ziploc shortage really irks me. I don't need to eat an entire block of cheese every time I want cheese. And I don't need to cook 12 sausages all at once and devour them in a setting. Doesn't this country have leftovers? Is there a ban on Tupperware, Rubbermade, and Ziploc in this country? I am going to start calling this the leftover conspiracy.

We also called Mike to wish him a happy birthday. Of course, we knew that it was around 3:00am San Diego time, but really wanted to be the first to wish him well on his birthday. Strangely, he didn't answer his phone so we were forced to leave a message.

After dropping off the hideous pillows, etc. I went and did some web research on the company I am interviewing for while Suzanne unpacked, cleaned, and generally made our new home wonderful. I got a call from the property agents informing me that the wire was GBP 7.01 short due to a bank fee. So I also headed off to pay them the whopping 7.01 that was missing from our rent. In the early afternoon, I went back up to the apartment and we went to grab a bite to eat. By the time we left lunch, it was raining pretty good, which put a smile on both our faces. This is weather, not the constant sunny and partly sunny we left behind.

We headed over to Whiteley's and picked up a new duvet cover and pillow cover from Muji. This store is really great for people trying to live small, as compact design is part of everything they do. It is obvious that the store is Japanese and geared towards the small living spaces in Japan. We then headed downstairs to M&S (Marks and Spencer) to do some grocery shopping. We both got a little misty eyed at the obvious lack of crushed red peppers in the store, but made it out of there without actually breaking down. I never received a call for my phone interview.

We are contemplating heading over to Pizza Hut and robbing every table of its crushed pepper dispenser. Shhh... don't tell anyone.

Tuesday, 11 October:

Well, as has become ritual, we checked in with the property management company to see if our money has arrived by the same day wire we did on Thursday. Yup, same day wire on Thursday and still no news on Tuesday morning. I was really beginning to get nervous about this, as four and a half month's rent is too much to just shite off. We had to leave a six week deposit, then we had to pay three months rent in advance, as we don't have jobs yet. So I started making back up plans and talked to the folks at www.accomodationlondon.net . They said I could extend my stay, but that it would need to be for a minimum of four days. I didn't pay right away, as I wanted to see what would happen by the end of the day.

Went looking for more jobs on the net, and spent the day stressed out about the money. Suzanne, little mary sunshine, spent the day trying to tell me not to worry about it and that it would show up. I think the power of her positive attitude altered the universe, because around 4:30pm, we got the news that the money had arrived and headed over to the property agents to fill out the paperwork. Talk about elated! We now have a place to live! We filled out the paperwork, picked up the keys, then went back to the place to check it all out and see where we were going to put everything.

There ended up being sever delays on the Jubilee line tonight. We didn't realize this when the first two trains were so incredibly packed that we didn't want to try and shove our way in, perhaps we should have. Right after the second train left, the intercom blared to life and announced that because of a signal failure, there would be sever delays on the line. We ended up having to take three different trains to get to where we wanted to go. By the time we got back to the temp room, it was about 8:00pm. We packed for a couple of hours and got everything ready to go. I called directory assistance to get the name of a cab company, and I was impressed. Not only do they offer to connect you to the company of your choice, they also text you with the number. In my case, they texted three different cab companies to my phone so I had my choice. We ordered up a people mover cab, due to the six suitcases and multiple bags of stuff we had. This was essentially a VW minivan with regular car doors. 20GBP later and we were deposited outside our new place.

And finally, blessed rain!!! We finally got some cool weather and a bit of rain. Typically rain is good luck for both of us, so this was a good sign. (It even rained on our wedding day, but stopped by the time we needed to take outdoor pictures). We moved everything in and were pleased to find that the place came with a fitted sheet for the bed, so we didn't need to run out at 10:30 at night to see if we could find one. Of course the lilac color isn't a favourite with either of us, but better than nothing. The pillows were non-existent however. They were gauze bags filled with about a half teaspoon of fluff. Tomorrow we definitely get pillows.

Monday, 10 October:

The interview went well today. I got a lot of good pointers on how to make my CV sing in a UK market. I am scheduled for a follow up phone interview on Wednesday. In the mean time, it looks like yet one more revision to the CV and I will be sending it out to more companies.

WTF! I came to the UK to try and stop sweating for a change. Sun is nice and all, but I can't stand being hot all the time. So we get here and it is sunny and warm almost every day since we arrived. Today, the temperature is in the mid seventies... Hey that is exactly what the temperature is in San Diego. I know that I will probably be missing all the wonderful weather by the time January gets here, but I thought the difference in latitude would bring about cooler weather. My mom actually laughed when I packed shorts. And I would be in them every day if there wasn't such a stigma against them. Some pubs won't even serve you food if you are wearing shorts or workman's clothes.

It looks like Suzanne and I really are over our colds. No more hacking fits or races to see who can use more tissues. This is a good thing, as we really need to be sharp for job interviews.

The property agents still haven't received the same day wire that was transferred to them on Thursday afternoon San Diego time. This is concerning as we run out of our lease in wonderful Willesden Green on Wednesday. Hopefully it can all get straightened out tomorrow and we can pick up our keys to the new place. Otherwise, we will need to start looking at some temporary accomodations. I hate that today happens to be a bank holiday in the U.S. as it exacerbates my feelings of helplessness. I guess a worst case scenario would be to ask to live with either my Aunt or Uncle in Yorkshire until everything gets straightened out, but I want to know it is taken care of and that is a LOT of money to be floating around in cyberspace somewhere.

Tube thoughts. I absolutely love riding public transportation. Even when it is busy and I have to stand, it beats the frustrations of driving. It is ironic that I have a strong love for cars, but have grown to loathe driving them. I guess 80 miles a day round trip takes its toll after a couple of years. I am fascinated by the diversity I see on the tube every day. There will be asian sarari men standing next to Jamaicans, who will be right next to white like me business men. But the one thing that Suzanne pointed out as a constant is that no one appears to be very happy. I grin like an idiot at the fact that I don't have to drive, and they all look like this is the last place on earth that they want to be. The one exception is the uncontrollable joy that is exhibited by every one who just barely makes it inside the train before the doors close. Every single person who manages this feat looks like they just cheated death.

BTW, I have been using a USB personal firewall and am pretty happy with the results. I would recommend it to anyone who has a laptop, as it is unbelievably plug and play and has been working like a trooper. It works with just about any network and is great if you are surfing on 802 wireless. The only maker I know of is Kensington.

Sunday, 9 October:

Today we went down to Oxford St. to check out the largest Marks and Spencer in the world. We are looking around to find good deals on sheets and pillows, etc. M & S appears to be one of the better deals, though I think Ikea has them beat. Marks and Spencer is sort of like a Mervyn's with a great grocery section. Though that is not quite right either, as they do sell business suits and the like. Think big box store done UK style. Not as sexy or as fashionable as some of the other stores we have been in, but we are also likely to be able to afford to crack open the wallet in a M & S. Great prices on dishes and utility home stuff, too.

We finally broke down and had to have good old fashioned American fast food. We went to Pizza Hut and devoured a Pan Meat Lovers. OK, so it wasn’t quite the exquisite feast that last nights Indian food was, but it went a long way towards staving off homesickness. Afterwards, we went to Dixons and picked up an alarm clock radio, as I will need to be up early tomorrow for my interview. Stopped by the local Starbucks to get some blogging in, but the hotspot doesn’t work here, so I am typing this in word and will upload it later.

Both Suzanne and I appear to be at the end of our colds, thankfully (Of course every time I think that, we relapse). Neither of us has had to take any medicine today to stay functioning. Strangely, today is the first day we have really had an appetite. Since we have arrived, neither of us has had any desire to eat more than one meal a day.

Obviously I found a working hotspot, because here is the blog for the day. We walked down Oxford a bit more and ended up in Selfridges. If Harrods is tourist and old world chic, and Harvey Nichols is upper class with style, then Selfridges is definitely the sexy world of runway fashion. This is the first place I have seen Galliano's clothing for sale (a suit for only 1435 quid, I'll take two!) The music was very hip, the displays were incredible, and everything was designed to the hilt. This is no ordinary department store, this is a museum of what is hot now and for those with money, you can buy into that hotness.

Saturday, 8 October:

Suzanne really wanted to see the Thames and St. Paul's Cathedral, so we started our day headed in that direction. When we got to St. Pauls, we were more than a bit suprised to find out that a church charges admission. And they even have a discount if you are unemployed, boy is our faith considerate! Unfortunately, the discount wasn't enough, so we decided to enjoy the building from the outside until we are employed.

We decided to walk across the Milleneum Bridge and head towards The Globe and the Tate Modern. As is typical of the two of us, we headed in exactly the wrong direction and ended up walking about three times as far as we needed to, but eventually got to the bridge. The Thames is a wonderfully murky brown river that sparkles with floating garbage. In fact, right next to the bridge is a floating trash can that apparently collects more than 40 tons of garbage right out of the beautiful river every year. That amounts to 800,000 plastic bottles! The bridge itself is a really neat pedestrian bridge that is very industrial in design and appearance. From the bridge you can see the a juxtaposition of old and new everywhere. Doric columns and steel cable are side by side all down the river. This juxtaposition is exemplified by the end of the bridge where the Tate Modern sits right next to the Globe.

We decided to go into the Globe first and take a look at where Shakespeare wrote and performed some of the best known literary works of western civilization. We made it as far as the gift shop, as performances were being done in the theater and we weren't willing to buy tickets. On to the Tate.

The Tate Modern is MASSIVE. The building isn't even fully utilized as a museum as three of the seven floors are for other than art. There is currently a Frida Kahlo exihibit on at the museum, but neither Suzanne nor I are huge fans of hers and the tickets are 18 quid each. (Plus we saw her work in San Diego with Diego Rivera's which really is the best way to see the two of them) However, the rest of the musem is free. Great country, the museums are free, but church isn't. We spent a couple of hours viewing works from Dali to Matisse to Picasso to Pollack, Munch, Warhol, etc. I highly recommend the museum, and to think we got to view these works at no cost is amazing.

After leaving the museum, we called to see how my mom was doing. She went in to have her knee surgically repaired yesterday morning and we wanted to make sure she was alright. Thankfully, it looks like everything went well, but her bullheadedness meant that she hobbled about afterwards yesterday and is really sore today. That seems to be a theme with knee surgeries, you are still hopped up on drugs, so you think you can do more than is wise.

Well, now were off to have some Indian food in Notting Hill. YUM... Indian food!

We went to the restaurant in Notting Hill that we visited when we were here in May. The Standard Indian. Great food at a great price. I had a Lamb Vindaloo that was a perfect blend of hot and tasty and my Nan was stuffed with spicy mutton. Suzanne had a Chicken Curry with Garlic Nan. She was very happy with her selection. When all you wonderful people (is there even any one reading this thing?) come to visit the Standard Indian is a definite must. I will try to do a better job of mentioning where we eat from now on so that I can remember and my loyal following (yeah right!) can get insight into great places to eat.

Friday 7 October:

Here we are sitting in Starbucks, just minutes before my interview and I get a call postponing until Monday. I guess this is good news as it will allow me to get over the last of my cold over the weekend and give it my best first thing Monday morning. Still, I am stuck in a monkey suit until we go home (which Suzanne loves). We are going to use the time to check out department stores to see what kind of deals we can get on sheets, as furnished apartment doesn't mean linened apartment. Not too exciting, but perhaps that will change.

Mad props to Laurie, Sarah, and Julie for the TimeOut London book. We have used that thing far more than we could have anticipated and the information is all accurate so far (except the Sephora, but the rest more than makes up for it).

Thursday, 7 October:

We spent most of today catching up on email and catching up on the blog. Hotspots are wonderful things, as you can sip a nice warm green tea and surf the net. Did some housekeeping (checked up on the apartment, went to the grocery store, etc.) Suzanne is becoming quite connoseiur of British shows. She is up on both the Bill and Eastenders. Of course this is only because we are both sick and haven't been up to doing much lately.

We went to IKEA tonight, which was only two stops up from where we were staying (Neasden), but goes into zone 3. Typical for us, we got off the train, followed the signs, missed one and had to walk about a mile out of our way to get there. Once inside, I got the impression that it was bigger than the one in San Diego. Also, it seemed to have a broader range of options. Cheap was cheaper than dollar for pound in San Diego and expensive was higher end than SD. And this store is open until midnight! We really liked the price of sheets and linens here, as they are the best buy in town for all cotton. That being said, we haven't been to Marks and Spencer yet. Suzanne picked up a box of her favourite cookies, and we headed back to the subway. The walk back was MUCH shorter, as we went the right way. We should have clued in to the fact that we stopped seeing people carrying IKEA bags.

Wednesday, 5 October:

Well, Suzanne is at the tail end of her cold and I think I am quickly catching her on fighting my own cold. Suzanne really wanted makeup, so we headed down to Knightsbridge to see if we can find the brand she likes. After spending some time in Harvey Nichols, Suzanne found some stuff she likes and we were pleasantly suprised to find out that Harvey Nichols DOES care about customer service unlike Harrods. The ladies at the makeup counter were very helpful and gave Suzanne free samples in addition to her makeup. That is one really nice store. And I felt like a complete prat walking around it in a pair of jeans, as everyone there was dressed to the nines. Man oh man, I could do some serious damage in that store. Perhaps after I "make it". Afterwards, we walked around Knightsbridge for a bit and went into the Burberry store. I was suprised to find out that they make kilts there and sell all of the stuff you need for your kilt. They even have two versions of the McCallum tarten, the ancient and the regular. I have never seen the regular version anywhere else. But if the average price of a full kilt outfit is over $1500, imagine what it must be to have Burberry make it for you.

We also found the Victoria and Albert museum. We will have to go back, as neither of us was in the mood for a museum.

Tuesday, 4 October:

Suzanne is feeling much better today, but I have a cold coming in the post. It hasn't arrived yet, but I know it is on the way. We head out to Starbucks to do some more web surfing and look for jobs. Hurray for me, I now have an interview scheduled for Friday, which makes me very happy, and another lead with a sourcing firm. Suzanne researched some leads and has an idea of how she wants her CV to look when she follows up on them. Also, one of Suzanne's friends emails us both to let us know her mother is in town and could we please look her up as she is feeling a bit lonely. We head to a mall that is supposed to contain a Sephora, only to find out that they all closed in the UK. We call Gaby's mom and meet her nearby at a Starbucks. Dawn is an absolutely fascinating woman and what is supposed to be a quick coffee meeting turns into about 2 and half hours of conversation. Afterwards, we surf the net for a bit, then head home.

Monday, 3 October:

Time to return the reference packet. We bring it in and discover, to our pleasant suprise that we can wire the funds directly to the account of the estate agent. Great news, as this means that I don't have to hit the ATM for large sums every day and I don't have to worry about mailing a check, etc. Suzanne is still feeling pretty miserable, but doesn't want to forgoe a short trip to Starbucks after the estate agents. Since I have my laptop, I discover how easy it is to connect to the internet throug T-Mobile and happy are we who are sitting in Starbucks. After about an hour of surfing, though, Suzanne is done in and we head back to the apartment. On the way, we stop by a full size Sainsbury super market on Finchely road and pick up some Sudafed for Suzanne. Stupid me thinks it is a bad idea for her to take ephedra before bed, so I tell her to wait until morning. Suzanne hits the oh so luxurious bed early and tries to get more rest. Unfortunately, rest was not at all forthcoming as her cold hits full force. Intelligently, Suzanne decides I don't know what the hell I am talking about and takes some Sudafed about 3am. She is finally able to get some sleep, and is much more herself in the morning.

Sunday, 2 October:

Suzanne woke up sick this morning. And boy it isn't just the sniffles. I guess we should have prepared for more public content meaning more likely to catch a cold. We spent the entire day in, as I demanded she get lots of rest and she was more than happy to oblige. I spent most of the day playing Vampire the Masquerade, as the stoopid internet isn't working in the lobby and I am not keen to leave her alone. I did go out and get comfort food for Suzanne, you know hoops (spaghetti ohs) and stuff to make a grilled cheese sandwich. When Suzanne woke up from her nap, she was eternally grateful, though I have to say I can't master something as simple as a grilled cheese to save my life. I don't know why, but if I get the bread right, the cheese isn't melted, I get the cheese melted, and the bread is burnt. What mystic rite must I perform to perfect grilled cheese?

Saturday, 1 October:

We went to the National Gallery today. That museum is absolutely gigantic. At one point I went to find a bathroom and it took ten minutes of walking to get to the closest toilet. While using the facilities, I kid you not, a German tourist came in and began using one of the stalls and while taking care of number two (rather noisily) also took care of ordering two tickets for one of tonight's shows on his cell phone. I have to say, I am a bit too bathroom shy to even talk to others while taking care of business. Having a cell phone conversation while on the pot disturbs me on soooo many levels. I also, (luckily) missed an anonymous rendesvous with someone looking for hard action by about twenty minutes according to the graffiti on the bathroom stall.

The best part of the National Gallery in Trafalgar square is by far the Monet cityscapes. I didn't know that he painted anything other than flowers and haystacks. I really liked how he portrayed London through impressionist eyes and getting to see these originals was truly breathtaking. Having said that, I don't think we got through more than a third of the museum before we were done for the day.

Mediocre pub food followed and we walked by the palace and meandered through tourist central. A quick tube ride and we were up in Picadilly looking around. I have to say, Picadilly is a neat trick. Once. After that, the romance ends and it is just another street with shops on it. Even though it is too expensive to actually shop in, Harrods is more fun as a walkthrough.

Friday, 30 September:

We looked around for a place again today. And decided on the place in the Princess Ct. We went in today and put down a deposit on the place. They gave us reference paperwork to fill out, but we won't pass as we don't have jobs, yet. However, because we are willing to put down three months rent in advance plus a six week deposit, the landlord will approve us. Better find work quick, because that is a seriously unplanned drain on our savings.

Took a trip down to Hammersmith to check out the Manpower office. Ok, talk about not very helpful. This is supposed to be the largest temp agency in the UK? I wonder how they got that way. Apparently they have no interest in people with degrees, as once I mentioned that we were both educated, the guy said to just email our CVs to an email address on a business card and they would get back to us. Strange, I haven't run into the brush off for being over qualified before.

We went out for our first Indian food tonight. This I am going to get used to. It is hard to find good Indian in San Diego, especially for a decent price. Here, however, you just have to be able to walk outside and you will find good Indian somewhere. My lamb vindaloo was wonderful, the nan wasn't great, but not bad. Suzanne really enjoyed her chicken curry but couldn't finish it, so we have leftovers.

Thursday 29 September:

Well, we spent most of today looking for a place to live. I have to say, it is difficult to find anything in our price range that is not too exceedingly seedy. By the time we find a nice sized place in a price range we are interested in, we are looking at a particularly bad neighborhood or we are no longer in London. That place on Princess Court is starting to look a bit better.

We also went to Harrods today. Talk about an unbelievably expensive store! You can find anything you want, as long as you don't want a good deal. Of course it is still nice to look around, but the customer service is anything but legendary. Interestingly, there apparently isn't a worry about intellectual property in the store, as we saw more than one person taking pictures. Suzanne tried that once in a Nieman Marcus and was very politely asked to cease and desist immediately.

We finally got cell phones today. They are pay as you go and about as cheap as can be, but they do the job nicely. I am a bit disappointed in the reception when we are in our place, but oh well, what do you expect for a 20 quid phone. The nice thing is that it only costs 5p to call the U.S. so we are able to call home for cheap and don't have to pay for incoming calls. As much as Suzanne loves shopping, she does not love it in all forms. She looked as if she were in physical pain the entire time we were in the Carphone Warehouse today.

We're Here!

Tuesday, 27 September:

We arrived at around 12:30 on Tuesday morning at London Heathrow. I have to say, I will be hard pressed to choose an airline other than Virgin any time soon. The food and drinks were free, the service was excellent, and they didn't charge me for the extra baggage. I got to watch three movies of my choice during the flight and they even give you a cool little goodie bag. LHR was pretty easy to navigate out of and we got our bags pretty quickly. When we got to the airport, I called AccommodationLondon.net and told them that we would be heading for the Willesden Green tube station shortly. They gave us the address of the place we would be staying and told us to call when we got there. No problem. A not so short cab ride and £50 later and we were standing outside our new temporary dwellings. Not the most welcome of places and slight problem, as there was no phone near by. I left Suzanne with Six suitcases (our entire lives at this point) and went to look for a phone box. After finding one, I called AL.net again and let them know we were now at the property and headed back to wait with Suzanne. About twenty minutes later, someone showed up to let us in. The building is an old converted house and not too much care was taken as to how the place was put together, but free internet in the lobby is pretty cool, right? Wrong, it has been more than a week and still no working internet. OK, so the flat itself is not bad, but not great. The place itself is kind of nice, but the bed is absolute crap! I think I have pierced a kidney with at least one mattress spring and now have ritual markings in the shape of my bedsprings permanently etched into my body. Also the dishes were filthy, it was as if they were put away after being wiped down, but not washed. The good news is that this is only temporaryaccommodationss. We were pretty beat, so despite a commitment to stay awake all the first day to acclimate ourselves to the time change, a nap ensued.

We got up in the early evening and decided to go get something to eat. In true British tradition, we went to a foreign restaurant for dinner, a nice Italian place around the corner that was staffed by a French waitress. We must really be in Europe. On the way to the restaurant, we started to get an inclination that perhaps Willesden Green isn't the best neighborhood when we were witness to a girl fight. The fight was between two women I don't know if I could have taken and was broken up pretty quickly. Funny, over a year of living in downtown San Diego and I never witnessed a fight, one night in London and it was between two women no less.

While sitting at the front window for dinner, we also witnessed someone throwing what looked like wet toilet paper as hard as he could at a passing car. The sound could be heard inside the restaurant, and again, I began to get the sneaking impression that we were not in the best neighborhood. We walked back to the flat and called it a night.

Wednesday, 28 September:

Our goals today are two fold. Get a cell phone and get a bank account. Once we have those, we can look for work and a place to live. We decide to go down to Queensway, an area we are somewhat familiar with and check out the Halifax branch that is there. We walked in and were ready with either the ability to wire funds, or deposit fairly significant amounts intraveler'ss checks into our new account. . . Unfortunately, the literature is true, it is a royal pain in the arse to get a bank account in the UK. We have to have proof of residence in the form of a utility bills sent in our name to the address or a driver's license with the address on it in addition to a passport. So much for goal one of two, how about the cell phones. We went into a Carphone Warehouse, and lo and behold, same scenario. Without proof of residence and a British bank card, no glory. So we pretty much were not able to accomplish either of our day one tasks. Instead we began looking around for an apartment, and found a really nice one just around the corner from the Queensway station, but want to look more before committing.