UK Letter Home July 2002

Greetings all.

It has been a while since I've written. But, hey, it's also been a while since you've written (hint hint). Ok, I'm sure that you've been busy, with summer and all, but now's your chance to write back. OK, I'll admit that some of you write back, but this is your chance for everyone to send what's been happening in your lives. Come'on - ya know ya wanna.

Humm. what have we been upto . . .

A couple weekends ago, Kim and I hosted our first house party. It was our first anniversary in our house, second anniversary in the UK, and our third wedding anniversary. We taped the last couple Stanley Cup games and played them, as well as showing them a Warren Miller Extreme Skiing video. It made a change from football, which has been dominating the local newspapers because of the world cup. We had a great party, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

A month ago, I took Kim to York and New York for the long weekend. Well, not the New York in the states, but New York, as in just a little down the water from York. We also spent a little time in Old York, which, was, well, old. We took a river cruise, and learned some interesting Yorkie trivia such as: You are encouraged to practice your archery in the local park. If you happen to kill a Scotsman with a bow and arrow, then you will get paid the tidy sum of 1 shilling. I was trying to get my boss to come with us to visit York, but as it happens, he is now moving to New York (the big one).

On the job front, I've been moved from my current department into a different support role. I was working with eGate, MQ, and some Unix, and now I am working with Sybase and SQL. I think the eGate, MQ, and Unix will look good on the old CV, and the Sybase and SQL can only help it. I am in that horrible transition period of learning a new job and trying to hand off my old job, and trying to forget it all. I'm actually still sitting at my old desk, so I have my old team directly behind me, and my new team infront of me, so it's really hard to break free, especially when there's a chaotic situation.

Last week we went to a horse race. It was really weird. There were people from all walks of life. There were men in Georgio suits, and women wearing hats right out of Dr. Seuss. The horse racing was a blast. It was a grass track and after each race, the caretakers would run out and fix the divots. It was fun, and even with the œ35 entrance fee, I managed break even.

We just bought a couple digital cameras, so we will hopefully get the pics on the website as well. Last weekend we went to Edinburgh zoo, so once I figure out how to get the pics from the camera onto the hard drive, then I will upload them.

Right now, we are watching Big Brother 3. They are down from 12 to 6 people. It's been a good series, and we'll watch it `til the end. The housemates are a little eccentric, but fun to watch.

I have created a website over the last 8 months with around 150 pictures from Holland, Cyprus, Egypt, Carlisle, and just a couple of funny shots as well. I'll make you a deal - if you send me a little ditty of how it's going over there and what everyone's up to, I'll send you the address and you can have a virtual stroll thru. Check it out.

We wish you the best.

Brian and Kim