It's A Beautiful Day

I finally accomplished what I set out to do when I moved here almost five years ago. I got a job in England. It's in Bournemouth too, which is handy for when I move to The New Forest. Sadly it means I have to get up at 6:30 in the morning untill I move, but I suppose that's a small price to pay for success.

But it didn't really hit me untill last night, when I suddenly realised that I finally did what I've been wanting to do since 1991. I've moved back to England. I've come home. That becomes a bigger and bigger deal the more you think about it...

Transport In Britain

To (probably) quote Jerry Seinfeld "The cost of transport in Britain, what's up with that?"

If I work in Bournemouth and want to take the train from either here in Southampton or Lymington, it's going to cost me about £40 to £50 a week. That's just to work and back, not if I want to go anywhere on the weekend. But if I buy a car, insurance is like three times the cost of the car over here for some reason, and the price of petrol is £1.10 a litre. Which is $7.50 a gallon.

Where does all this money go? The NHS? MP's expenses? All that track work the keeps the trains delayed?

What Goes Around...

... comes around.

Along time ago, I took a week off high school and flew over here for an interview at Bournemouth University. Despite showing clear drive, determination and enthusiasm, I didn't get in.

Flash forward almost nine years ago to the month, and I find myself back on Bournemouth University campus for a job interview. Even walking past the exact same room I was handed the news that has shaped my entire life. Thinking about how much fun I had at UCF, and everything I've accomplished in these past nine years, I couldn't help but think "Ha! In your face!"

The interview went well, but the package was far, far less than I am prepared to except. All those years ago, I wasn't good enough for them. Now they come asking for me, and they're not even in my league.

Assigned Seats?

We were standing in line to see Avatar, but sadly it was sold out. However, I found out something much more horrifying: English movie theatres have assigned seats.

I can't stand assigned seats in movies. It's up there with slow, limited internet on my list of things-I-get-too-worked-up-over. It's so backwards, archaic, and wrong. So that means if I'm good and get there early, I still have to sit at the front because "that's where my seat is"? Screw that. If you're late to the movie, tough luck. You get the bitch seats at the front. If I've got a crying baby or chatty old person next to me, I'm going to move. If I get there and it's half full, I like to asess where the best place to sit is.

Looks like I'll be waiting for more films to come out on DVD before I watch them...

Across And Back

We just got back from The Netherlands this morning. It was great as I hadn't been over for a while, so I got to see the family again. I also realized that Dutch radio is the best in the world. By a mile. I think the music I used to listen to in the late 80s / early 90s is now considered "oldies", but so what. When was the last time Radio 1 or Power 96 played "Girl I Want To Make You Sweat" by Inner Circle?

Oh The Weather Outside Is Weather!

Snow again!

I first saw snow in the winter of '85, and then again in early '91. But I've seen more snow in the last two years than I have in my entire life! It was snowing quite heavily this evening, like New York heavy, with big snowflakes. I guess it's the world letting me catch up on lost time!

2010

Well it's 2010. Two thousand and ten. Let's just see what that means:

1. The 80s were thirty years ago.

2. There is an entire generation of people old enough to vote that don't know a world without The Simpsons.

3. We're five years away from the "future" in Back To The Future II.

4. It hasn't been the 20th century for ten years now.

5. It's almost a hundred years since the Titanic sank and World War I began.

6. Fifteen years ago, you didn't have a mobile phone or the internet, and you were fine.

7. 'The Soviets' haven't been the bad guys for almost twenty years.

Cheer up!