(NOTE: this bit was added later, after the internet connectivity thing was sorted out)
Hi All,
Whew what a day.
I’m taking a well-needed break for a few moments but plan to head off soon to meet with Kay to discuss employment details hopefully today.
The hotel does have wireless internet access but unfortunately the access is not free. It’s provided by a company called iyzone.net and is actually a bit pricey. I made friends with the Bagel Factory here at at the mall here in Jubilee Station by work and they offer completely free internet access as long as I buy something. So I’m sitting here with a double espresso and a bagel. There’s a bit of security alert here because of the recent events with the Madrid bombings and yesterday’s assasination of Yassin so the security guard is making the rounds quite frequently around me. I guess I really need to shave the mustache and beard. Ha ha. It would help if I stopped looking around like I was lost most of the time as well.
As hoped, my contact was kind enough to meet me at the airport and helped me navigate my way to the hotel. I contacted some apartment folks I swapped emails with last week and found a local (free) paper with listings of places to let. I plan to mail that home today. Kris, this Docklands area is being built up like the Heights was a couple of years back. There’s anticipation of a 2012 Olympics being hosted here in the Docklands and LOTS of living places are being newly built to accommodate the traffic. That explains the low cost of the brand-new housing. It’s the emerging new Houston Galleria of London. I really think we should look into this area of town for long-term living arrangements. If you’re not working outside of the home then you can use the public transport to take the kids to pretty much any part of town, depending upon the school zoning requirements.
People here in the Dockland area are just as the books say – very friendly when you do speak to them but a bit suspicious if you smile too big at them or hold eye contact too long. No big hand-waving and shouting “hello” here. Everyone is very friendly to people he or she knows, so it’s easy going once I get to know some folks. I predict it’s the same all over town. Very nice people overall.
Weather – how can I give a report without mentioning the weather? It was about 40 F (6 C) yesterday when I came in and was a mixture of sun and mostly clouds all day. I got hailed upon for a few minutes while walking around to get my bearings… Thank you Kris for the long coats! The air is dry, even with the clouds and rain (a seeming oxymoron but it’s true). My sinuses are adjusting a little bit more slowly than the rest of me. Not many men wear hats here which is suprising considering the often changing wind/sun/rain combination. I seem to be making a bit of a fashion statement. I don’t care — it’s keeping me healthy.
Time for me to go – I’m heading off to brave the London Underground (subway system) to work my way across town. I got an all-day pass for Zone 2 which lets me ride around all day. I suspect I’ll be seeing more of London today than I plan to.
Kris, honey, I’ll send a separate email for you and the kids later today. I miss you all terribly and thank you for having faith and trust in me to handle this. We’re a wonderful team together. I got your email you sent yesterday. Thank you my heart.
I’ll check in again soon. It’s about 10:30 am now (4:30 am Houston) so by the end of the day today it should be around noon there.