July Update

It's been busy. Very, very bissy! So, we haven't been able to write a blog entry for a while. Here's one to get you caught up.

K's PhD. She has gotten the date of her "viva": August 1st, 10 am. This is when she will meet with the panel that is going to approve her PhD. It is also known as a "defense". She will have to answer any questions they have about her thesis and hear about any changes that they feel need to be done before it can be approved, if any. Wish her luck!

Visitors. My sister and her fiance have just been here for about 10 days. It was their first time in England, so it was great to show them around. We went to Stonehenge, the Jurassic coast, Winchester, Salisbury, and a trip to London for two days. Other than that, we just were hanging out around here, partaking in various aspects of English culture. It was great just to spend time with them and we were sad to see them leave. Photos HERE.

On the work front. As you know, I've been struggling a bit with what to do about giving notice of my departure. When is the right time? What exactly should I say? Etc. Well, a few weeks ago, I took my former line manager aside to ask his advice. Not only because he has worked there for 14 years and I trust him, but also because I really wanted him to be able to make plans for losing me in November. So as per K's suggestion, I went for it. He took it really well and was happy for me, though he said I would be sorely missed (nice to hear!). Because he wasn't quite sure what to tell me with regard to giving official notice, he said he would ask someone that he knows well in HR without giving any clues as to who it is he is asking about. I got some pretty good advice. Basically, I can give unofficial notice at any time (to my line manager or the school director, for example) to allow them time to plan accordingly. However, until I have given official written notice, they can't do anything (whether it be accepting my resignation or taking action to get me out of there sooner). HR also said that it was unlikely that they would fire someone earlier than the date stated in a resignation letter, especially if it was a good employee. They were glad to hear that this mystery person was actually concerned about leaving them in good stead, but they also said that sometimes it's better to be selfish. In other words, only give the required amount of notice (in my case, 2 months). --- I've been mulling this over for a while now and I haven't really come to any firm decision on my own. K and I talked about the idea that I give them notice after her PhD viva is over (on August 1st). My problem is that both the course leader and the school director will be away for most of August. Furthermore, my hand is basically being forced now because one of my colleagues is trying to get the school director to OK the expenditure of a new laptop for me and I'm running out of excuses! The cat might be completely out of the bag within the next week or so!

K is working several days per month for the media school doing research and currently has two interesting projects underway: one on journalists and emotionality in relation to traumatic news events; and the other on Islam and terrorism on UK university campuses. She has also started volunteering for two days per week at the Bournemouth YMCA gym.

Exercise. We're still going to kickboxing "drill rounds" on Saturdays together and I am continuing with Jeet Kune Do and Kali. On August 3rd, I will be "grading" for Level 1 Jun Fan (Jeet Kune Do). This is instead of Level 2 Kali because I couldn't find anyone to train with me that had Level 1 Kali. Also, K has started doing weight lifting twice per week at the YMCA. One of the guys that works there is giving her free personal training sessions in exchange for yoga instruction. He has also offered to give me free weight training sessions, too. I am going to start with that tomorrow evening in an effort to bulk up my upper body.

Where Our Sights Are Set

We have just hit the 145-day mark in our countdown to repatriation. Every once in a while one of us has a tiny little "freak-out" about the whole thing. It's kind of scary actually. K probably feels like I did when we moved to Europe (not as scared because it's almost like going home). We will just have some major readjusting to do and we have no idea where fate will take us.

The US is an enormous country, but strangely, we have been having a tough time picking a place we would like to live. We would like to try to maintain a "European lifestyle" (public transportation or walking, small neighborhood with good independent shops and restaurants, etc.); have good job opportunities to do something we enjoy; be near family and/or friends; have good transport links to easily see family and friends that don't live near us; not rely on a car; vibrant cultural scene (concerts, movie theatres, festivals); liberal political atmosphere with opportunities for activism of various kinds; good beer brewing; the possibility outdoor fitness activities; and a chance for us to buy a nice, reasonably priced house.

So, we have a list of places. A list that keeps fluctuating. Sometimes there's just one place on it, other times there have been a lot of places on it. This is something that has been going on for well over a year, but now that repatriation is imminent, we are looking at it much more seriously. By this time next year, we will hopefully be firmly ensconced in this new place of our dreams. The plan is to move "there" in January 2009.

Below is the list. It is divided into three sections. THE LIST! is a list of the places we like the most. If you were to say it out loud, you would have to put one or two thumbs up and say it with gusto and a smile. The List is the "batter's box" for places that we like, but don't necessarily tick off enough of our criteria to make it into THE LIST!, though might jump up there at some point. Again, to say it out loud, you say it somewhat flatly, but with a positive inflection in your voice. Finally, the list is for places that we definitely do not want to live in. Pronounce it with a slight hiss and contempt in your voice. Without further ado, in no particular order:

THE LIST!
St. Petersburg (or Tampa area), FL
Portland, OR
San Francisco (area), CA
Austin, TX
Idaho
Seattle, WA

The List
Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
Arizona
Montana
Washington DC
New Hampshire
Colorado
New Mexico
Hawaii

the list
Everywhere not listed above

---

Hmm... decisions, decisions!

145 Days, 12 Hours, 46 Minutes

Cabinet minister: Brits are 'bloody miserable'

Politics.co.uk - Friday, June 20 10:35 am

The junior transport minister has caused a minor political storm by calling his countrymen "bloody miserable".

Writing on his blog, Tom Harris, MP for Glasgow South, said Britain had never had it so good, but that it had not made most Britons any less grumpy.

"There are more two-car homes in Britain today than there are homes without a car at all," he said.

"We live longer, eat healthier (if we choose), have better access to forms of entertainment never imagined a generation ago (satellite TV, DVD, computer games), the majority of us have fast access to the worldwide web, which we use to enable even more spending and for entertainment. Crime is down.

"So why is everyone so bloody miserable?

"What happened to that post-war optimism and commitment to common values?" he continues.

"Are they gone forever and if so, why? If not, how can we bring them back?"

The blog provoked an instant response from the Tories, with shadow treasury chief secretary Philip Hammond saying: "The short answer to Mr Harris's question asking why everyone is so miserable is, 'We've got Gordon Brown as our prime minister'."

The "Hoggle Situation" has been handled

On Wednesday, because we hadn't received the keys, I went over to Hoggle's apartment after work. I asked for him to give the keys back. He said no. Then we had a debate for about 10 minutes. It was quite involved and actually kind of funny, but it would be difficult to put it in writing. To sum it up in a few sentences:

- Hoggle did not want to give us the keys because they are not his to give. The landlord gave them to him personally and until he is contacted directly, he will hold onto them. [Fair enough; perfectly reasonable].

- He is offended that we don't trust him with the keys. Lots of other tenants have trusted him.

This evening, he came over with the keys. He asked me to sign a little handwritten receipt, which I complied with. Then he told a story about how when he was little he was wrongly accused of being a thief. After that, I told him sorry about this turning into a big thing. It was never our intention. No, hard feelings? No hard feelings. And we shook on it.

All is well.

Result!

We've got Hoggle on the ropes! Though, he doesn't know it yet.

This morning the management company for this flat called me at work to let me know that they had spoken with the management in this building regarding the "regulations" for spare keys. THERE IS NO SUCH THING! Nobody has to give their keys to anyone!

She said they will be sending Hoggle a letter today to notify him that he has to return our keys with immediate effect.

Now let's hope he doesn't make copies of them first!