I should probably sympathize with the wildcat Royal Mail union workers who, contrary to the national vote taken last month, have decided to go on strike. This is the second one since I moved here. It's spread from London to 15 other cities this week (including Oxford), so I haven't received any post since Monday. That may or may not be such a good thing....
I can't imagine how upset small businesses (and large) must be. I read a blurb on the BBC's site about people waiting for medicine, passports, legal documents e.g. who are just up the creek right now. Quite a bit of business has been lured away by other parcel delivery and courier services, and some are saying Royal Mail will be irreparably damaged.
I'm just wondering who the package that arrived at my Gran's last week is from.
10:54:00 PM
All Saints Day, then
I went to the Sommerfields grocery in Headington during my lunch hour, as I suddenly remembered that, unlike the past three years, I'm not living in a high-rise apartment building and that little tykes might actually be ringing the doorbell this evening and expecting candy.
Either I was too late, or Halloween is not as big a deal as I thought it was here, as there was nothing at all like the multi-aisle barrells of treats your local CVS has had sitting on shelves since Labor Day. There were lots of boxes of chocolate and other treats, with Christmas packaging, but nothing for Halloween.
Fortune must have been with me, as I hadn't wanted to spend 15 pounds on junk anyway, and the doorbell only rang once tonight. I didn't answer it. I hope it wasn't Ed McMahon.
10:46:00 PM
Thursday, October 30, 2003
See, I am happy
Stolen from Todd's Ofoto album from his Columbus Day trip:
9:50:00 PM
Three months, or thirteen weeks, or 66 days
I had my first probationary review on Tuesday with my supervisor. All went well, though in preparing for it I realized just how much I have on my plate. It would be nice to have someone else to help but there's no money in the budget for that so I'm Mr. IT Man for now.
The good news is that I get to go to London next month on company time to the Mac Expo, and I'll be able to order a few new computers (one earmarked for me) in the next few weeks.
3:40:00 PM
I think she'll need a bit more help than that.
Re: Southern California's blazing wildfires, now estimated to be California's biggest natural disaster ever:
Other residents, however, defied the warnings of firefighters and decided to stay to protect their homes.
"I'm afraid, but I've got a lot of faith," Chrisann Maurer said as she watered down her yard and home against a stiff, smoke-filled breeze. "I just think there is enough people praying that we might be safe."
CRAZY WOMAN!
2:44:00 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2003
Coupons
Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, but as far as I can tell the English aren't as keen on coupons as the Americans. Every once in a while I'll get a catalog or an offer by post that has a discount voucher, and the magazines and newspapers often have "Freebie" offers (you just pay post & packaging), but there aren't the "catalogs" full of coupons to clip as there are in the Washington Post.
Having said that, I do belong to three or four different stores' Points/Loyalty card schemes. I managed to get about half off my �20 purchase at WHSmiths yesterday when I turned in all the points I'd earned since May for cash. Also, I'm currently collecting vouchers from the Daily Mail (35 of them required) to earn a free flight to Washington (not including taxes & airport fees of about �60) for a trip in April. I woulnd't read the Mail otherwise as its not worth wrapping my fish in.
2:24:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2003
Care package
I went out to Banbury Monday to surprise my Gran and to pick up a parcel that had arrived a day after my last visit. I was very happy to discover it was from my Dad, who had sent me a selection from the list I'd posted earlier this year.
Guess who's having Mac & Cheese for dinner?
and PopTarts for dessert?
6:38:00 PM
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Tunes
The Windows version of Apple's iTunes Music Store and software were released last Thursday to much fanfare by Steve Jobs et al. I downloaded and installed the software and was very impressed with how like the Mac version it is; it has retained the same ease of use and user-friendly interface. The neat thing is that I can launch the software on the PC and have it connect to my music library on my Mac in a different room -- no need to store the music files twice.
In his comparison of iTunes, Naptser and MusicMatch, the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg writes: "Overall, I believe Apple's iTunes is the best combination of a music store and jukebox program for Windows users. It has an elegant, easy-to-use design, and a large music catalog. It loads and runs crisply on Windows, and is the only Windows downloading service that works with the best, and most popular, portable music player, Apple's iPod."
I sent a link and a gift certificate to my sweetie darling Nicky so that she could try it out, and she's developed a great chill out playlist already.
Why don't you download the software and have a look for yourself?
12:56:00 PM
For Furniture
One of the ladies at work organized a night out last night; we reserved four lanes at the local Ten-Pin Bowling Alley and about two dozen of us met up for a game and a meal. Someone found out that I'd been on a league before so I was made "leader" for our team, but it wasn't necessary as we all bowled well & the computer keep track of the scoring etc. I think we actually scored the most pins, but I wasn't anywhere near my old average.
I think a Karaoke night is being planned next.
12:48:00 PM
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
England: no longer a second-world country?
The DVD for the second Matrix film was released about two weeks ago, roughly the same week (perhaps even before) it was released in the US. It used to be the case that you had to wait months and months for movies and videos to be released here. I was surprised to realize that the third in the trilogy, The Matrix: Revolutions will be out in cinemas shortly. It seems not so long ago that I went to see the second one with my Dad in Woodbridge. Time flies.
I was also pleased to find that Marks & Spencers has self check-out machines in their food hall. I used to love these at the Harris Tweeder in Ballston, because they usually had shorter queues as most technophobes avoided them. Of course, my happiness was short lived, as the first item I scanned and dropped onto the weighing platform was mis-identified, requiring intervention from M&S staff in response to an alarm and a very loud computer generated voice berating me.
1:23:00 PM
There's no cheese.
Ive just read that filming is about to start on Wallace & Gromit's first feature film, Curse of the Wererabbit. The movie will feature the voices of Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes, and will be released by Dreamworks in Fall of 2005.
I can't recall exactly when I first saw W&G in A Grand Day Out, but I remember being impressed with the painstaking detail and tedious process involved in this stop-motion animation format. Creator Nick Park won an Oscar for one of these short films, but I'm at work right now and can't look it up on IMDB.
11:56:00 AM
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Doesn't anyone stay put?
Spurred on (or spurned?) by my brother, my uncle Dennis decided yesterday to book a two-week holiday to England next March. United had a super deal, $300 rt from Los Angeles and of course he'll have free room & board once he gets here. March actually won't be too cold or dark or crowded, so it should be a good time.
Beth B is talking about coming here in June, and another old friend is talking about a trip in April. Good thing I got that extra bedroom!
Is a trip to the States over Christmas in the cards? Things look positive. A discussion with my manager today cleared the way for me to take the time off (which I'd have to use by April en tout cas or lose it). Virgin has a special deal going on, MilesPlusMoney, which lets you use some frequent flyer miles towards an economy fare - �209 is not bad for over the Christmas holidays, I don't think.
11:56:00 PM
TIVO - it's a good thing.
Thanks, Todd.
11:44:00 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2003
How does this damn thermostat work, anyway?
It's been slowly but surely moving towards shorter days, chillier mornings and windier days, but no rain thank goodness. I know, it will come.
I wasn't as productive as I hoped to be this weekend. I did tackle the ironing which had piled up since I moved here, and got all the laundry done, but I didn't get to the grocery store & I haven't finished unpacking. The shelf unit I bought with Todd last weekend is built but I need a hammer to finish it -- something I hadn't packed in my suitcase from the US.
I did get a call from Beth B tonight, though: we buzzed through one of her 30 minute international phone cards and it was great to hear another friendly voice. I also had a message from Jeff W & will have to try to get back to him this week as I haven't spoken to him since his wedding, I think -- lots to catch up on.
I went to see a film in east Oxford last night, Good Bye, Lenin!, which was very good. It's probably already come and gone in the States but if you have a chance to see it on video I'd recommend it:
�
The Berlin Wall falls while Alex's mother, a devout communist, is in a coma following a heart attack. After a few months have passed, she awakens but almost all traces of her beloved country have gone...apart from her bedroom which remains in a time warp thanks to Alex's efforts to shield her from the possibly fatal shock of finding out about the unification of the East and West.
Have you seen any movies you'd like to recommend?
10:28:00 PM
Thursday, October 16, 2003
One year later...
If you were to check my archives, you'd see that it's been exactly a year since I got the news my application for registration in Ireland's Foreign Births Registry (and thus, acquisition of Irish citizenship) was approved.
Quite a bit has gone on in the relatively short time since then: I was removed from my post at D A R P A & started working in DC; I sold most off my worldly possessions; I had mini-vacations in Colorado, Oklahoma & Yorkshire; I moved house three times; I said goodbye to my kids & family and friends; I voluntarily became unemployed for two months; and I've now settled into a new job & home in Oxford.
I wonder what the next 12 months will bring?
11:35:00 AM
Oh dear.
The mitt hit the fan.
Unfortunately, the Cubs decided not to take advantage of every opportunity given to them, and allowed the Marlins to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NL pennant last night at Wrigley Field. It is almost painful to read the coverage on the web, and I'm almost afraid to call my mom.
There's always next spring....
11:29:00 AM
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
I had fish for dinner tonight
(I finished the last post relating the weekend's events, if you're interested).
I had to attend an all-day seminar off site today, in support of a conference on gynecological oncology. I had to be there to load the presenters' Powerpoint presentations and make sure the audio-visual equipment was working properly. Unfortunately it meant I had to pay attention to 8 extremely scientific medical presentations relating to cancer treatment. (The last included delightful photos of someone's cervix being removed.) About 80% of it went over my head. Now I know how tech newbies must feel.
10:31:00 PM
Monday, October 13, 2003
Roll on Friday
True to form, Todd and I leaped into action early Saturday morning. We had breakfast in the restaurant of British Home Stores, then Todd helped me carry a new shelving unit from Argos (this week's project). We were going to see Blackwell Bookstore's "Literary Tour of Oxford" at noon but missed it by 10 minutes so opted for the walking tour of Oxford town centre and Christchurch College at 2. Since we had some time to kill Todd persuaded me to go punting on the Cherwell for an hour. It was sunny and unusually warm (high sixties) for October, and very pleasant to be out on the water.
Our walking tour guide, Ursula, was enthusiastic and informative, and the tour itself wasn't a repeat of the one I'd been on previously. We were given permission to go inside The Queen's College which I hadn't seen before & which has a superb classical dining hall (dinner is announced by silver trumpet) and chapel.
We had a quick bite before heading to the Sheldonian Theatre for a concert by the King's Consort singers: Monteverdi's Vespers which was a wonderful performance but the seats were incredibly uncomfortable (benches with no backs). I'll be sure to get advanced tickets next time.
We sprang into action early Sunday and took the train down to London. A friend of Todd's had made some recommendations of things to do and see in Oxford but we had run out of time, so I recommended the Andrew Lloyd-Webber exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts. We were there early enough to snap up two of the available tickets for that day, and I'm very glad we saw it; the admission charge prevented the gallery from being overrun, and both Todd and I commented on how much richer and saturated the colours were when viewing the "real, live" pictures rather than their reproductions in a book or on postcards.
I had purchased tickets for a show for us the previous night which started at 4, so we had time for a Steak & Kidney pie & a pint at the Leicester Arms in Piccadily before marching down to Westminster for a short circular tour on a riverboat down to Tower Bridge and back. We got to see David Blaine, the american magician who is attempting to "endure starvation in solitary confinement suspended from a crane by the River Thames in a glass box for 44 days." Crazy.
The show, London's longest running comedy, was The Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) and was very funny. Todd and I had front row seats in the 1st balcony & so had a great view of the three performers. Todd thinks he'd seen them perform at least one part of the show at a renaissance festival in the States.
Most of London shut down Sunday evening after the show, so Todd and I grabbed dinner in Covent Garden at Bella Italia and took the train home. It wasn't too late so I subjected him to Eddie Izzard on DVD. I can't believe, as much as I like Eddie, that I hadn't forced it on him prior to this trip. I had to work the next day but Todd toodled around for the morning before getting the coach to Heathrow in the afternoon. --A very full and thoroughly enjoyable weekend.
4:23:00 PM
Friday, October 10, 2003
TGIF
I had a busy, week: more meetings than ever before & as a result not much "ground" work getting done. Two minor disasters fixed, but stress-inducing nonetheless.
I was glad to finish at 5 and meet Todd at the rail Station shortly after seven; he'd spent the day playing tourist in London after his overnight flight from the States & was surprisingly still interested in a pub dinner (at the Mitre) before calling it quits for the night. We don't have any firm plans for the rest of the weekend other than a Full English Breakfast tomorrow morning.
10:47:00 PM
Thursday, October 09, 2003
I've got a Technopad
The satellite TV was installed at 8am Tuesday; there was some confusion about my phone number, so the workmen decided to come to my place first since they couldn't call to schedule a later time that day. Sky is about the same as the cable service I had in VA.
Tonight the ADSL line became active, so I'm no longer having to spend 2p/min. to dial up to my internet provider. It is super fast, and I should be able to post some more photos shortly.
Apple announced today (finally) that the next version of Mac OS, X 10.3, will be available in two weeks. Just to prove once again how much more expensive it is to live here: it will sell for $129 in the States but will be �99 (~$165) here in the UK. It's the exact same bloody software package.
10:33:00 PM
As if I needed a reminder why I moved to Oxford
I took a quick trip out to Banbury this evening, the first time out there since mom went back to the States, to pick up some mail and some odds and ends I had left behind.
I left work at 4:45, and got to Gran's at almost 7. There was a "scrapyard" on fire somewhere in the country that affected train service into and out of Oxford.
I didn't stick around long; I just had some tea and bread & jam. It was Gran's friend Mr. Shehan's night to visit so I left them alone to chat. Luckily there was a train at Banbury station as I got there and within 35 minutes I was home.
10:30:00 PM
Hack, cough, wheeze
My mom has been discharged from the hospital; she was in for a few nights after going to the ER Sunday night with trouble breathing & pain. She'd caught a cold after returning to the US & it turned into onset pneumonia. She's a bit better now but hopefully will not push it & risk a relapse. Times like these make me frustrated to be six hours ahead and 4000 miles away.
I tried sending some flowers through the internet, but the delivery service couldn't find a patient named "Sally". I had to call the next day to give them her real name, which Only Her Mother Calls Her.
10:23:00 PM
Monday, October 06, 2003
I could use a three day weekend myself
I might have put off buying a few things for the house until later, but with Todd's upcoming visit I went out Sunday to get some shelving, pots & pans, a telephone, etc. Of course I didn't realize until after the shops had closed that the shelving units require glue, which wasn't one of the items at the top of my shopping list. It's amazing how much "stuff" it takes to fully stock a home. I'll have to tackle the shelves tonight.
I took the train into London on Saturday afternoon, for no real reason. It was a nice day and I wanted to see how much it cost & how long it would take (an hour). I went to Virgin Megastore and picked up a DVD or two from their MegaSale, got the latest issue of one of my Mac magazines, and was home in time for a late dinner.
I'm normally quite good at getting around via the Tube, but the Northern line had me flummoxed twice. It branches at Camden Town, and it took me ten minutes (and a lucky guess) to figure out which platform I needed. Quite un-friendly, and unusually complicated.
11:16:00 AM
And to think I missed London Fashion Week
The weekend was spent doing laundry. What was I thinking when I shipped five boxes and two suitcases full of clothes? Thank goodness I have the garage in which to store "out of season" clothes.
I only noticed Saturday, while running back and forth between the washer in the kitchen and the dryer in the garage, that there's wildlife in the back garden; one or two frogs (or toads, I couldn't tell which) and dozens of snails had decided to surface & take advantage of the recent rains. The frogs don't bother me but I'm a bit squeamish about the snails.
Gran says they're not good for the garden & goes out hunting for them every so often. Are they really that destructive?
11:06:00 AM
Thursday, October 02, 2003
ZZZzzzzz
Except for last night, I have really enjoyed sleeping in my new bed. It's a large double and I have a heavy goose-down duvet & cover -- much different from Gran's wire hammock and scratchy blankets boiled in hard water.
Even better, though, is that I'm able to spend almost another hour and a half longer in bed each morning than I used to when I had to commute from Banbury.
3:58:00 PM
An awful fright
I was going to bake my birthday cake last night, but only realized after I got all the ingredients out that my oven is Celsius, and I couldn't remember how to convert from Fahrenheit (and couldn't get online to look because I don't yet have ADSl and my home phone wasn't scheduled to become active until this morning).
I went out window shopping instead. I was looking for some pots and bathroom dustbin and some shelving. Instead, I spent an hour in HMV, Waterstone's and Borders. I brought back fast food for dinner.
It wasn't until I was about to go to bed when I realized my mobile phone was missing; I've been using it as an alarm clock and of course it has all my phone numbers and contacts. I had been unpacking and throwing out boxes all evening, so I tore the house apart (even more) and retrieved the garbage I'd set out for collection this a.m. I couldn't call my mobile to see if I could hear it ring because I didn't have another working phone. I really thought I must have left it in one of the stores & wasn't relishing having to shell out �100+ for another (I wasn't sure whether the insurance I'd bought at the same time would cover it).
I had a sleepless night, as I wanted to be sure not to be late for work. I kept dreaming about the phone & twice dreamt I'd found it.
When I got up, I had the bright idea of using my laptop to dial the number for the mobile, hoping that would make it ring if it was in the house. It was, under the kitchen table cloth. I have no idea how it got there.
On an aside, the night before I dreamt I was recovering from a very painful breast reduction surgery. I was concerned I wasn't going to be able to sleep on my stomach as I often do.
3:46:00 PM
Our walking tour guide, Ursula, was enthusiastic and informative, and the tour itself wasn't a repeat of the one I'd been on previously. We were given permission to go inside The Queen's College which I hadn't seen before & which has a superb classical dining hall (dinner is announced by silver trumpet) and chapel.
We had a quick bite before heading to the 
