First Post from London, First Day of Work

There is so many blogworthy posts since I've arrived here, but first I want to say a BIG "thank you" to everyone that made the surprise party at the Union bar! What a shocker! BIG was the mastermind of all of it and he pulled it off. Thanks to everyone involved with organizing as well, from Mike and Karl creating the posterboards and signs, to everyone that decorated the bar. And of course to everyone that showed up to send me off. I appreciated it! And a huge thanks for the DVD tribute.. I felt so much love! Thanks again BIG for filming and everyone that contributed it. So much thanks! I miss you all so much already.

Anyway, I'm connected on a "modem" remember those? I don't have broadband in my temporary housing, so I'll have to pray that I don't lose my connection and lose this entry.

To make this short and sweet I'll summarise my experiences so far with General
Topics and blurbs about the particular topic.

Housing
I've been searching for "Flats" all last week. I put in an offer for 2 places that
I lost. Rentals go fast in London. I'm on my third offer and we'll see where it goes. It's a nice big open space with a lot of storage.

What I miss
Washer and Dryer. Things take forever to wash and dry. And it doesn't even
do it that well and you can't do a lot of it. The washer and dryer is one machine.
It sucks. There's this one dial you have to turn, and all it has are these letters on it.

Broadband. I'm on dialup right now.

Sportscenter I miss the football highlights. I mean american
football, not soccer.

And of course friends and family, but that's a given!

What sucks
Toilets! Stalls at work and in general toilets in the UK in general. The toilet stalls at work have doors that go all the way down to the floor so no one can see if you are in the stall doing your business. So what happens? People push on the door to check if someone is in there so it really disrupts your concentration. Plus, the toilet water doesn't go as high as it does in the US so it can leave for
some potential "streaks."

Camera Bad luck again. LCD cracked. I swaped with my sister and am using hers. She's going to get it fixed.

Travels
My mom, sister and I went to Paris for a few days last week. When to see the sights. It was nice seeing it again a second time since 1999. Wish I made some purchases because its 12% off all purchases since you don't have to pay for the EU's (Eurpean Union) VAT (Value Added Tax) since its built into all the prices.

Next trip: Prague next weekend.

Languages
We call it "Take Out" or "To Go" The brits call it "Take Away."

Social Scene
Went to a birthday party this weekend for a coworker that is also an expat. What is interesting was that most of the people were American. A lot of them were women that are in this program that lets them work in London for a year! Two of my other coworkers and myself showed up to the surprise party early and were greeted by 6 other women. It's never happened where I've walked into a party that contained all women. That changed quickly though! Good times though.

Work
Days go by faster here than in the US for some reason.

Take Away Thought
You don't ask where the bathroom is, or the restroom. You ask where the
"toilet" is. As one tour guide mentioned, "We gave you a perfectly good language. Bathrooms are for baths and restrooms are where you lie down."