Friday, 30 December:

Suzanne and I were walking around our neighborhood this past weekend and were very lucky enough to witness a rip in the space/time continuum. As we were walking along Queensway, we suddenly saw a waffle and hot chocolate shop. This shop had suddenly appeared where I swear there was nothing but brick wall the previous day and was happily serving up blissful smelling waffles and hot chocolate to passers by. Now this is the country that gave birth to Doctor Who, so it is very possible that they have the whole space/time continuum all figured out and can just pop new things in and out of existence at will, but I have never witnessed the phenomenom before. And on Christmas day no less! Suzanne and I have been afraid to partake of the wonderful smelling treats this shop has to offer, as we are afraid they might transport us to a bizarro version of our own world, where we will both have to wear goatees and I will have trouble gaining weight and Suzanne will have the fashion sense of a trailer park queen. However, I find the magical smell calling to me in my sleep and don't know how much longer I can hold out. If the blog entries stop form this point forward, assume I have eaten a waffle and am no longer of this earth.

December 28

Christmas Eve

Leading up to Christmas was more anxious than normal as this was the first Christmas that Donald and I are spending without friends or family. Things are a lot different here as I had mentioned about the Christmas Carolers, so I didn’t know what to expect, or how our Christmas adventure would be spent.

Donald had been working late all week and attending Christmas Parties for work so we hadn’t seen a lot of each other until Christmas Eve Saturday. I was really looking forward to that day as Donald really wanted to take me out to see the lights on Oxford, Regent and Bond Street. This also happens to be where some of the best shopping in London is located. So I was very excited to go see the window displays, Christmas lights, and the craziness of the last minute shopper. We had a blast browsing the shops (I went into the original Burberry store on Bond Street) and enjoyed the window displays during the day. As the night came the lights did too and I was really wishing I remembered my camera. It was very beautiful. The air was so crisp and it was so much a Christmas paradise. We stopped to watch a steel band play Christmas Carols; they were wonderful right there on Oxford Street. (Of course their Christmas Carol License was out on display) Music has such a way of touching one’s soul and this was no exception. It was such a treat and made it feel so much more like Christmas Eve.

We went to a wonderful pub on the way home right outside Notting Hill Gate that has been open since before recorded history. It was a resting point for the Romans as they built a road on their way to western England. In the middle ages the Pub was used as a place for men to water their horses and themselves. The food was wonderful. I had a delicious salmon over pesto mash potatoes with a glass of wine and Donald had a nice hot serving of baked Lasagna with a pint of Guinness. As usual we had an extra seat at our table that we call the “Lisa seat”. This is of course a place for Lisa, as we can’t wait for her to join us in London. When we were finished soaking up the pub life and Christmas cheer we walked back along Kensington Gardens in the cold night air for Christmas Eve Mass.

Mass was beautiful. We had ½ hour of carol singing that led into the celebration of the birth of Christ. We had a front row seat up in the balcony that looked down over the alter and nativity. As I have been a little bit homesick, I wasn’t surprised when I started to get teary eyed during the service. Christmas Mass is always emotional for me especially since I lost my brother, but now without family and friends to share the holiday with I was exceptionally emotional. Even though we had gotten to do and see things that day that we wouldn’t have been able to do back home, I still wish I could have been surrounded by everyone I love as the wonder and spirit of Christmas came over me. I was a little disappointed in myself because once again since I have arrived in London, I have come to realize that I am not as strong of a person as I want to be, but I am proud of how brave I have been to seize this opportunity and have Donald to share it with. Donald of course is both brave and strong and he gave me one of the best presents ever. London.

I am really happy we are here, I think to date, Christmas Eve has got to be one of my favorite days in London.

Sunday, 25 December:

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We hope the day brings you joy and happiness and maybe a present or two. Suzanne and I had planned to spend the day helping the homeless in a shelter or volunteering our services. But the giant monster Crat has stymied us yet again. Not only do you need to have a license to carol, you also need to turn in an application to volunteer, along with two references, a blood sample, a urine sample, a background check, and pass a battery of interviews. It's good to know that this much effort it put into making sure that the homeless person you hand a plate of food to is safe. Now if only they would put that much effort into ensuring the safety of the rest of the city's citizens.

Instead, Suzanne and I are going to be selfish and spend the day walking through the parks here. Suzanne and I opened our presents to each other by opening our eyes. Being in London is a fantastic present. While it isn't very cold, (44F) and certainly not a white Christmas (looks like we will have to wait another year for one of those), it is still chilly enough that we will look the part for winter and perhaps we can get some great pictures. (Pictures should be forthcoming on the site, I apologize for the delay).

In other news, thanks again to Aunt Linda and Uncle Stewart for playing banker for us. We are really in debt to them, as we would have been skint without their willingness to help out. The banking drama continues, but should be sorted within three weeks. Crat is going to lose that battle eventually, as I am one determined SOB! It was also great to see them again, I feel like we saw pictures of when we were here in May as they were so busy with their son's wedding (rightfully so!) and we weren't staying with them. Bigger than life Paddingtons and Banker to boot, does the title Auntie get any better? =@}

Trains are better than planes. At least they are in this country. The scenery is far more beautiful on the train ride from London to Wakefield than the standard clouds and brown earth or blue sea I see from an airplane window. And the trains we rode had full internet accces, plugs for laptop charging, relatively comfortable seats and on the way up, a table to sit at rather than a dropdown tray. Considering that trains have about a hundred years on planes as a mode of public transport, it is pretty amazing that they are a more modern convenience.

But, the subway finally lashed out at us. On Saturday morning last, when we were headed to Wakefield, we awoke at the Gawd Awful hour of 5:00 to make sure that we gave ourselves plenty of time to get to Kings Cross. Bleary eyed, we walked to the tube station to find out that the trains were already experiencing delays on the Circle line. After waiting for 15 minutes, a train finally showed up, and one stop after departure promptly got stuck. Another 15 minute wait and my blood pressure was beginning to rise. The train finally pulled into the next station and we were told to leave the train, cross over the tracks and wait for the next train. 15 minutes later, we were informed by the most bored man on earth, who decided to have some fun to cross back over the tracks and wait at our original platform. The train arrived shortly after, and we made it to Kings Cross with about 3 minutes to spare before departure. Our 15 minute tube ride took an hour. Considering the traffic I have screamed my head off at in San Diego, I shouldn't complain, it was one delay.

December 21, 2005

Just in time for a little bit of bah humbug

Breaking news tonight in London consisted of arresting carol singers. It seems that not only are London residents wanting to get rid of trick-or-treaters, but carol singers too! Carol singing is very popular here and it’s a way to raise funds for charities. Of course there are always a few who ruin it for the masses and have used carol singing for their own betterment or to torment others. So, lucky us, they have decided to arrest those who don’t have a proper license to carol sing. That’s right, if you and a few of your friends want to walk around to sing carols just for fun, they will arrest you. Count yourself warned. Of course this isn’t going to stop the yobs that still do it for all the wrong reasons. Like just about every thing else in this city the laws are firmly in place to ruin fun for law abiding people and to give yobs one more thing to do.

Yob - British Slang

A rowdy, aggressive, or violent young man\

Try as I might, I can’t seem to find where you can get a caroling license, but I am sure that 10 Downing Street is involved at some level.

Tuesday, 13 December:

I checked with my HR department today, and got the same response about a blog policy as I got from the trainer I asked. Which was a blank stare, then "A what policy". However, the person I spoke with did state where to go to find the internet policy as well as the general policies on the site. I keep thinking that I am using the wrong word, much like cell phones are mobile phones over here, but when I explain what a blog is, I am given the same level of confusion. Note that I have done due process in finding out any information I possibly can. As long as I do not state anything that will harm my customer in some way or the company in some way I am safe. Now this is especially vague, and leaves the onus on me to be good, but as I have stated previously, The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, wife, friends, God, or anyone else for that matter. That being said, it wasn't too hard to find out what the company was if you were paying attention in previous posts. Add the links together, and yuou have the answer.

I attended my National Insurance number appointment today. It was interesting, because there was more detailed questions regarding a NI number than I expected. A lot of questions about how often I have travelled to the UK. Now I get to wait up to two months before I can find out whether or not I got the number. I am not allowed to contact anyone before two months have gone by, but they will contact me if they have any questions. The machine rolls on. And just because it is a pleasant coincidence, you go to a Job Centre to get your NI number, and they spend a half an hour verifying your passport as legit during your interview. So, they must be doing a great job right? If their own are this much at risk, how safe is my identity with them? It is murder to get a bank account here, but it is a simple matter to defraud the gubment of millions. I love red tape, it really brings out the Christmas spirit in me.

In other news, Suzanne now has posting rights. This should mean that you will soon be getting a much more beautiful and feminine perspective in the near future. Look for a post at a terminal near you soon!

Tuesday, 06 December:

Great news! The bureaucratic machine that is government here came through ahead of its promise and I have an appointment to get a National Insurance number ahead of the four weeks it normally takes! I only applied last week, so this is fantastic news (and now we do the dance of joy!). A national insurance number is the equivalent of a social security number in the U.S. and usually takes forever to get.

I spoke to the sales training manager today to see if the company I now work for has a blogging policy. He had never heard of a blog. Mind you, this is the person teaching people how to sell broadband, and he has no idea what a blog is. This is not in any way an indictment of the individual, rather it is an indictment of my experience in London.

Here, EVERYONE has a cell (mobile) phone. And the hot new sexy thing is the Motorola Razr in pink. The black one was a big deal when I was leaving the U.S. two months ago, not so here. Here it is all about the pink and thousands are selling every day. Here is the link. The phone is damn sexy and a great buy for people with two x chromosomes. But it is not the best in terms of features, and most people want it because of the color only. In the U.S. phones sell because of special features like Bluetooth, here Bluetooth is a given, it is features like GPS and downloadable maps that are hot stuff. If you want features galore, you go with one of the many 3g (3rd generation network) phones here. Like this (which allows for video calling, that's right, video calling like in sci-fi movies, not just video messages). And this is just the most popular of the 3g phones right now, not the only one. These phones actually allow for watching TV shows and you can get quite a bit of web content on them. Sophistication is this little number right here. Intrigued by the new ROKR with Itunes? Don't be. This thing blows it away. Music and a 2.0 megapixel camera. That is one hell of a phone and is typically free at the rates that I was paying for cellular service in the U.S. The point to all this (sorry for the REALLY long tangent) is that we are not talking about a technology adverse society here. In my training group, every phone listed above is represented. And yet, of the group of 18, I don't think four of them have a computer with internet access. The entire country does not seem to be all that interested in the internet as anything more than a way to get email, and with video messaging, SMS texting, and GPRS phones, even that doesn't appeal that way it might. Text messaging is huge here. You can even get text messaging on your home phone. I think this grew out of extremely expensive rates (or tariffs) for cellular minutes, so it was easier to text. And you can compose text messages while you are on the subway with no cell service.

Back to the point. The sales trainer seemed to think that there was no harm that could come from blogging, as it is a publicly traded company and transparency is required, however, I want to talk to someone with more knowhow before I discuss my thoughts and feelings. In truth, almost all of my feelings are positive, but better safe than sorry. Look at what happened to Marc Jen from Google, and a score of others. Google it, and you will find more terminations than the defense industry in the early nineties. By the way, better get this out of the way, as it is important. The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, wife, friends, God, or anyone else for that matter.

More happy news today, we got a care package from Suzanne's parents. This was filled with more wonderful things like crushed red peppers, taco seasoning, and airborne. Airborne is a wonderful invention that is sadly missing from the UK. It is not only great for helping to fight off colds, but is by far the best hangover remedy I have ever tried. Not that I EVER get hangovers. And I got news from my parents that more Vodka sauce is on the way! Yay! Another sadly missing food item from UK food purveyors. It is amazing how the little things can make us so giddy.

And now a moment of zen. Blogger.com's spell check does not reconize blog, blogger, and blogging as words. In fact, blogging's recommendation in spell check is "flogging". Hmm... you better believe if I ever create a phenomenon that takes the internet by storm, I will get it into my own spell check and as many as I possibly can. It is branding people!

This "flogger" is signing off.

Sunday, 04 December:

Suzanne and I went and saw the most recent installment of the Harry Potter saga tonight. I know a certain niece that probably went absolutely wild at the bathtub scene. The movie itself was well done. I liked it better than the Prisoner of Azkaban, which I though spent far too much time trying to show off the director's eye for scenery. I am very interested in seeing how the next two movies go, as this one is the first to tackle a large book, and the next two books are even longer. A LOT was left out of this movie, including for example, Dobbie. Still it did a great job of capturing most of the book and doing it well.

One particularly good line from the movie comes, as usual, from Dumbledor. He tells Harry that very soon we will have to decide between what is right and what is easy. An incredibly profound statement, that parallels one of Suzanne and I's favorite lines from the book Free the Beagle: "If the next step is easier than the last, you are going in the wrong direction". These are good words for the two of us to hear, as the step to come to London was not an easy one. But I feel that staying in San Diego, doing the same old same old would have been the easy way and would have been the wrong direction for both of us. I miss A LOT of the people we left behind, but I have grown both spiritually and professionally since I have arrived. And I know that Suzanne has found inspiration for her art around every corner. So while we miss the ease of our wonderful Hillcrest apartment and the joy of friends and family, we made the right, not easy decision.

On another note, here's another London observation. My GOD this town has money!!! Suzanne and I have become very accustomed to seeing Bentleys in London (OK, I see them and am accustomed to them and Suzanne is annoyed by how often I point them out). On one walk, we saw 12 different Bentleys in a single walk. That is a V12 vehicle that gets abysmal gas mileage driving around town at around $8.00 a gallon. Today, we went out to lunch with some friends and when leaving the restaurant, saw a Lamborghini driving off. After saying our goodbyes, and walking half a block, we saw a Ferrari drive by. This is not a particularly uncommon sight. I can not believe that I left the land of cars (California) and came to one of the best public transportation cities in the world, and I see more dream cars here.

A week into the job, and so far, I am impressed. I have received more training in the first week on the job here than I have at any job I have held previously. And a large part of the training is ensuring that you understand the company's culture, which is fantastic. The company is very concerned with making sure people fit the culture profile, not just the skill set. I have yet to find out their blogging policy, so will not mention too much other than that I like it. After having been off for two months, I am amazed out how much I was able to fill my time. I spent an average of probably four hours a day looking for work. And I spent a couple of hours going for a walk with Suzanne in the park and visiting free museums, I spent some time reading the newspaper, and shopping for dinner with Suzanne, basically, we did not sit around the house and do nothing. Now that I am working, I find that I missed the peacefulness of a brisk morning walk. And I definitely miss Suzanne. Whoda thunk that after two months of nonstop togetherness, we would miss each other instead of being sick of each other, eh?