Today, we began an English countryside adventure. We’re going over to Bath for a few days, in a rental car. Ordinarily, this in itself would not be newsworthy. However, seeing that we drive on the opposite side of the road in America, it was.

Actually, I discovered several things about driving in England today. First, as long as things are going well, driving on the opposite (in this case, left) side of the road isn’t horrible. Most of the time, you are in traffic, so just follow the guy ahead of you and you’re okay. Second, roundabouts may be great fun as a passenger and they might improve the flow of traffic, but they are just plain dangerous–especially if you are an American, concentrating on staying on the proper side of the road. Third, English country roads are narrow. I’ve been on them before and I don’t remember them being this narrow, although, I was never driving.

And fourth, coming back to point one… when you’re tooling along and not having any problems, this other side of the road business is dandy. But what happens when you are on a single-lane country road, and a van from some florist is coming at you at a high rate of speed? “No problem, I’ll just pull over,” you might think to yourself. This presents two problems. The trees/hedges are cropped very close to the road, so there isn’t really anywhere to pull over. The bigger problem, however, is 16+ years of experience driving on the other side of the road. When faced with an imminent collision, your instinct takes over. And if you are an American, as I am, your instinct says, “Pull over! Now! To the right“. But, uh, your right is the other driver’s left, so you both pull over… and end up looking at the driver opposite you thinking, “What an idiot!” until you realize you are sitting on the opposite side of the road from where you should be–the opposite being the opposite of what you are used to–and you have to sheepishly wave and realize that you are, indeed, the idiot.

Sorry for the infrequent updates (to all three of you reading) but I got side-tracked, oh, I dunno, working…
This week was the first full week the new London office was up and running, so things were very chaotic. We were finishing up installation and testing on so many systems right up to the wire on Monday morning and we’ve been updating, de-bugging and troubleshooting all week.

All in all, it was a very successful opening week. Everyone seemed to really like the new space and really take advantage of all that it has to offer. And in spite of the fact that the space was now full of people working and going to class, we still managed to get an incredible amount of work done this week.

I pronounce it a success! Now, let’s hope my boss does.

They had a party for the contractors and specialists from the States on Thursday as a show of thanks. It was quite nice. The contractor was there, people from the architect, etc. Of course, I was seriously under-dressed, as I’d just come from punch listing a room with one of the systems contractors. However, much wine was had–and I mean much wine–and a good time was had by all. I really do love the British, and I like them even more when we are all drunk.

I also got some tips on places to stay and things to see when I’m “on vacation” with my wife next week. We’re going to go to Bath for a few days and then spend a few more days in London before returning to the states.
So, as I head out of work land and into actually traveling land, the updates may get more sporadic (as if that is possible). I’m still going to write them, though, and just post them all as a batch when I return.
As my British counterparts all seem so fond of saying, cheers!

Okay, are the British as obsessed with ringtones as the telly would have me believe? When I come back to the hotel from work and flip on the news (granted, this is usually later at night) I see dozens of ads for “ringtones” and “wallpaper” for cell (sorry, mobile) phones. They are all really, really silly and/or annoying.
I’m sorry, the “Crazy Frog” is not cute nor clever, it’s just goddamn annoying.

One Pence coins. You think pennies are good for nothing? Pence are truly, absolutly and completely worthless. I hate them. I’m no fan of Two Pence coins, either.

I’ve been noticing the differences between Londoners and Chicagoans. The one that always sticks in my mind is “whilst”. I’ve never heard an American say, “whilst” anything. I have no idea why that interests me, but it does.
I’m still shaking out my schedule a little bit, it generally takes me a few days to get really localized, but I’m pretty good today. Since I’m here working, I didn’t really have much of a chance to ease into anything. Just woke up the first morning and go-go-go.

Fortunately, my hotel is nice, with great wireless access. I’ve been able to “call” my wife easily (thank you, Skype!!) and for free. I did call once on the actual phone, and you know, Skype sounds better! I really do love travel in the modern age.

Getting here was a real hassle though, because the tube line that would be direct is closed in the middle due to the bombings. I didn’t notice people being more spooked on the tube, but I must admit, it crossed my mind when I was riding. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m an American, blasted by the media into an irrational fear of terrorism, or if it is because the bombings here were just so recent. Either way, I did notice a very pronounced police presence around the tube stations which have never been there on any previous trips to London.

I’ve started a new Flickr gallery for this trip, although, I didn’t bring the “good” camera, since I wanted to travel light. And it is a working trip (for now) so I wouldn’t expect any brilliant images, at least whilst I’m working.
So, if anyone out there has any suggestions for places to eat or evening things to do, I’m all ears.

I leave for London on Saturday. I sincerely hope this is the most uneventful trip I’ve ever taken.