Today's ipod choice: The Pixies - Death to the Pixies
I believe I've expressed my love for the football club they call Tottenham Hotspur, no?
Okay, so they play in a North London Derby against Arsenal tonight, who are a MUCH better team. Tottenham is down 4-2 in the 89th minute when Jermaine Jenas spins a beautiful shot past the keeper to make it 4-3. Ho hum. Kinda cool, I thought. Close score, good showing. Especially since they're playing at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
But then...
...in the 94th minute...
...just as the referee was about to blow his whistle...
...Luka Modric bends a ball past the keeper and off the post, where Aaron Lennon cleanly puts the rebound in the back of the net to allow Tottenham to draw 4-4 and earn a surprising point against the Gunners. Magic.
Work today was pretty normal - lots of training, this time with Lionel, an SC from France. He gave a superb demo of Expense, despite having only a month of experience with Concur. Very impressive. Andrew Foster took me out for dinner after work. I really wish I had my iPhone with me to take some pictures, because we went just south of Slough to Windsor, where the Queen makes her main residence. There's a gigantic ferris wheel in Windsor that outshines anything else in town, and really deserved a photo. We had dinner at Thai Square, a beautiful little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. After that, we walked around the Queen's castle, and what was most surprising was across the street, where amongst the little British shops were situated a McDonalds, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut. American influence is taking over, it seems. Andrew and I wondered if the Queen ever has a servent pop out to pick her up a Big Mac. Strange visual, that. I'm headed back to Windsor in a couple weeks, so I'll remember to bring a camera for sure.
But oh my, the topper of the day was Tottenham. Great game. Pure genius.
Friday, 31 October 2008
Day 10: Oh, The Weather Outside Is Crapful
Today's train music: The Cure - Greatest Hits Acoustic
Snowing in London in October. Some said it couldn't be done, but then again, no one thought the British navy could ever be stopped. Some things are meant to be proven wrong.
The iPhone apparently translates snowflakes to raindrops. But trust me, this is snow.
So anyway, crappy night outside. Work was fine today - led another 3 hour training session, like I seem to be doing every day this week. I hope everyone is paying attention, or darn it if I'll just have to come right back to London and do it all over again!
Really nothing more to say than that. 'Night.
Snowing in London in October. Some said it couldn't be done, but then again, no one thought the British navy could ever be stopped. Some things are meant to be proven wrong.
The iPhone apparently translates snowflakes to raindrops. But trust me, this is snow.So anyway, crappy night outside. Work was fine today - led another 3 hour training session, like I seem to be doing every day this week. I hope everyone is paying attention, or darn it if I'll just have to come right back to London and do it all over again!
Really nothing more to say than that. 'Night.
Monday, 27 October 2008
Day 9: Becoming British
Today's commute music: Dave Matthews Band - Live at Piedmont Park
It's official: I'm now officially a Londoner. You know how you can tell? Today on the way home from work I was navigating the train stop in Paddington towards the Circle platform to Bayswater and I found myself behind someone walking incredibly slowly. Then it happened -- I found myself muttering silent profanities under my breath at this person who was keeping me from my train. It's at that point that you realize that you're over the romance of being in a strange town taking exotic forms of transportation, and all you really want to do is get home efficiently. I'm a real Brit now -- I almost cried. Except that I had to catch my train.
This week in the office it's all about training sessions. Each morning this week except for Friday I have a 2 or 3 hour training session with different groups of people. Sales, Pre-Sales, Majors, Nationals, Primaries... someone, somewhere is going to squeeze the most knowledge out of me that they can while I'm here. And to tell the truth, I absolutely love it. I feel like I'm genuinely helping out here. Today Andrew needed me to help him prepare his demo environment for an EIGHT HOUR demo tomorrow with Philips. So I grabbed Scott Drew (SSC, Nationals), and we went through all the demo scenarios Philips gave Andrew and we built in as much as we could into the demo environment. Andrew seemed genuinely stressed about it (naturally), and thanked me a few times for helping out. It's nice to be appreciated, but even nicer to feel wanted, and now I see why I'm in London for a month. They really need the help here. If I would I'd stay longer, because I'm having the time of my life in this office. Every night I go home exhausted but happy. Can't say enough about this group of individuals -- here they are, 5000 miles from Redmond, preaching the gospel of Concur, without so much as an idea of what the headquarters in the States looks like. They're a passionate group, and I'm honored to be working along side them.
No real interesting pictures to speak of, except for this one shot I grabbed outside the Bayswater tube station. He was handing out flyers for some sort of calling card that is most likely an overpriced ripoff. He certainly, however, showed a complete lack of ability to dress himself...
It's official: I'm now officially a Londoner. You know how you can tell? Today on the way home from work I was navigating the train stop in Paddington towards the Circle platform to Bayswater and I found myself behind someone walking incredibly slowly. Then it happened -- I found myself muttering silent profanities under my breath at this person who was keeping me from my train. It's at that point that you realize that you're over the romance of being in a strange town taking exotic forms of transportation, and all you really want to do is get home efficiently. I'm a real Brit now -- I almost cried. Except that I had to catch my train.
This week in the office it's all about training sessions. Each morning this week except for Friday I have a 2 or 3 hour training session with different groups of people. Sales, Pre-Sales, Majors, Nationals, Primaries... someone, somewhere is going to squeeze the most knowledge out of me that they can while I'm here. And to tell the truth, I absolutely love it. I feel like I'm genuinely helping out here. Today Andrew needed me to help him prepare his demo environment for an EIGHT HOUR demo tomorrow with Philips. So I grabbed Scott Drew (SSC, Nationals), and we went through all the demo scenarios Philips gave Andrew and we built in as much as we could into the demo environment. Andrew seemed genuinely stressed about it (naturally), and thanked me a few times for helping out. It's nice to be appreciated, but even nicer to feel wanted, and now I see why I'm in London for a month. They really need the help here. If I would I'd stay longer, because I'm having the time of my life in this office. Every night I go home exhausted but happy. Can't say enough about this group of individuals -- here they are, 5000 miles from Redmond, preaching the gospel of Concur, without so much as an idea of what the headquarters in the States looks like. They're a passionate group, and I'm honored to be working along side them.
No real interesting pictures to speak of, except for this one shot I grabbed outside the Bayswater tube station. He was handing out flyers for some sort of calling card that is most likely an overpriced ripoff. He certainly, however, showed a complete lack of ability to dress himself...
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Day 8: Come On You Spurs!
White Hart Lane, stitched together from my iPhoneTottenham Wins, Tottanham Wins!
In what must have been the biggest "must-win" game for Tottenham in decades, they defeated the Bolton Wanderers 2-0 today at White Hart Lane. And for this Yank soccer fan, attending the match in person was a dream fulfilled.
Being at White Hart Lane was surreal. I've been a fan of the English Premier League for years -- the atmosphere, the chanting crowds, the die-hard attitude of the home team fans... today's match had all of that. And while the stadium is quite old, recent renovations have made the pitch absolutely gorgeous. The pics from my iPhone don't come close to doing it justice. It's just plain magical there. In fact, if I don't take a trip to Europe next weekend I'm thinking of going back and watching my boys play Liverpool.
Scarves, Photos, and a very scared looking vendor.
This is right up there with the pictures of me holding the 2006 Super Bowl tickets. In fact, this is better, because I actually used these tickets.
I don't care that you find this picture boring. I love it. And I bought too much Spurs stuff inside.
Players entrance.
The fans were planning on picketing the club today, but last night the team fired three coaches and two directors, and the new coach is a very popular choice (Harry Redknapp). So no picketing, just onlookers. 
This is the car I rented for game-day. Thanks, Concur!!
I can't believe I found a seat this good online just three days before match day.
Obligatory action shot #1.
Obligatory action shot #2. Somewhere in there is an actual British sunset (thought previously not to exist).One thing I learned -- the English know the geography of America much better than we know the geography of England. The guy sitting next to me asked me where my accent was from, and I said "I'm from the States". He gave me a funny look and said "yes, I know that, but where specifically?" When I told him Seattle he said "Oh, all the way out West then". From now on I'm just going to say I'm from Seattle. They'll know. (EDIT: And they all have ever since)
What a great day today! I may even wear my new Tottenham pullover to work tomorrow, just to celebrate the win. Sure, the Spurs might be bottom of the table, but I'll be damned if I don't celebrate!
Today's walking music: Ben Folds - Way To Normal
Come On You Spurs!
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Day 7: Walking the Length of Mushroom Road
Ahh, Saturday. What to do?
Decided to start walking and see where it took me. I knew I wanted to see a few of the places near my flat, so I grabbed the camera and went off for a walkabout. I went West, and ended up finding Portobello Road. If you haven't heard of it, it's a famous street market with all sorts of goods on sale, from antiques to clothing to junk shops. It's miles long, and I think I walked pretty much the length of it today.
Eventually I found a tube station and got my way home. Decided to walk home from Paddington instead of taking my normal transfer to Bayswater station, only I turned the wrong way and ended up walking a couple extra miles. All was good though, as I ended up in Hyde Park, which was really pretty with all the autumn leaves.
Stopped at my new "local", The Bayswater Arms, for some dinner, then bought some dress shirts for work at the mall. (Four shirts for ₤100, which is pretty good here.) Short walk home and some tired feet. A nice day out.
Tomorrow it's the Tottenham v. Bolton game. Tottenham sucks. But I can't wait! Go Spurs!
'Night.
Decided to start walking and see where it took me. I knew I wanted to see a few of the places near my flat, so I grabbed the camera and went off for a walkabout. I went West, and ended up finding Portobello Road. If you haven't heard of it, it's a famous street market with all sorts of goods on sale, from antiques to clothing to junk shops. It's miles long, and I think I walked pretty much the length of it today.
Eventually I found a tube station and got my way home. Decided to walk home from Paddington instead of taking my normal transfer to Bayswater station, only I turned the wrong way and ended up walking a couple extra miles. All was good though, as I ended up in Hyde Park, which was really pretty with all the autumn leaves.
Stopped at my new "local", The Bayswater Arms, for some dinner, then bought some dress shirts for work at the mall. (Four shirts for ₤100, which is pretty good here.) Short walk home and some tired feet. A nice day out.
Tomorrow it's the Tottenham v. Bolton game. Tottenham sucks. But I can't wait! Go Spurs!
'Night.
Friday, 24 October 2008
Day 6: Random thoughts and Observations
Now that I've got six days under my belt, it's time to reflect on some things I've observed about London Life:
Pubs have bartenders, but they don't come to your table to take your order. You have to leave your highly expensive computer gear sitting at your seat while you go ask for food and a pint. In Redmond you wouldn't care, but on the tables here they have signs that say "Who has your stuff right now?", to warn of people who steal your things while you're not looking. Highly comforting. So far, so good though.
Taking the District Line from Bayswater to Paddington is much better than taking the Circle Line, because the District line lets you off much closer to the trains than the Circle line. Every minute counts when you're trying to catch a train around here.
Meal portions are substantially smaller here than in the States. Not ironically, so are the people.
The Tube is highly efficient, easy to understand, and makes me wish Seattle had a subway system. I can get anywhere at any time without so much as a brief look at the map. Simple and convenient. Every city should do this.
The pubs have double-door entries, and for some reason one of the doors is always locked. It's inevitably the door you try first. I'm convinced it's to confuse Americans.
One of the channels on my TV appears to show nothing but professional wrestling. I'm not even remotely kidding. And no one but little kids follow it here, I'm told. And no, you can't get that channel banned from your TV. I asked.
They LOVE Cricket here. Cricket, for those who don't know, is a game that has no understandable rules. Plus, all the players wear sweaters, which disqualifies you from being considered a 'sport'. The rules are this: Some guy runs for a while, then bounces a ball at a guy with a flat bat, which he either hits or doesn't. Either way, everyone on the other team jumps up in the air and hugs each other, like they haven't seen each other in years. The Referee waves his finger to say "no", at which point the whole pointless exercise starts over again. This is probably why the games can take as long as four days to complete (or, roughly as long as it takes an NBA game to complete its final two minutes). Oh yeah, and they take tea breaks. Are you reading this? Tea breaks! Cricket is, in my estimation, utterly useless. I'd rather watch competitive knitting.
Tottenham doesn't play today, which also means it's a day where they won't lose. Go Spurs!
The Fire Prevention Representative of England is not, sadly, Smacky The Frog, as I was lead to believe. I was disappointed. They actually have no fire mascot representation at all. That position is currently open.
Guinness is immeasurably better here.
Everything is more expensive. Except Guinness. Therefore, I love it here.
American accents in England aren't nearly as impressive to British people as English accents are to American people. I've only been asked once where I was from -- the rest didn't much care.
The Brits are HIGHLY interested in the US Presidential Election, and they are overwhelmingly for Obama. The papers all think Palin is an embarrassment, and from what I'm told, even the traditionally conservative papers (like The Independent) agree. There's nearly 24x7 coverage here of the election, and I've learned more from the BBC about the real issues at stake than I have over the past two years from the US news channels. Makes me sad.
That's it for today. Here are some pics I've grabbed on my iPhone recently...
There's an indoor shopping market here where you can buy all sorts of 'questionable goods', like unlocked cell phones, "used" computer equipment (wink, wink), and all kinds of paraphernalia.
Here's a look down the bazarre.
Life-size Boop.
My local pub. I shall miss you, fine purveyor of Guinness!
Mmmm....meat in a window.
Pubs have bartenders, but they don't come to your table to take your order. You have to leave your highly expensive computer gear sitting at your seat while you go ask for food and a pint. In Redmond you wouldn't care, but on the tables here they have signs that say "Who has your stuff right now?", to warn of people who steal your things while you're not looking. Highly comforting. So far, so good though.
Taking the District Line from Bayswater to Paddington is much better than taking the Circle Line, because the District line lets you off much closer to the trains than the Circle line. Every minute counts when you're trying to catch a train around here.
Meal portions are substantially smaller here than in the States. Not ironically, so are the people.
The Tube is highly efficient, easy to understand, and makes me wish Seattle had a subway system. I can get anywhere at any time without so much as a brief look at the map. Simple and convenient. Every city should do this.
The pubs have double-door entries, and for some reason one of the doors is always locked. It's inevitably the door you try first. I'm convinced it's to confuse Americans.
One of the channels on my TV appears to show nothing but professional wrestling. I'm not even remotely kidding. And no one but little kids follow it here, I'm told. And no, you can't get that channel banned from your TV. I asked.
They LOVE Cricket here. Cricket, for those who don't know, is a game that has no understandable rules. Plus, all the players wear sweaters, which disqualifies you from being considered a 'sport'. The rules are this: Some guy runs for a while, then bounces a ball at a guy with a flat bat, which he either hits or doesn't. Either way, everyone on the other team jumps up in the air and hugs each other, like they haven't seen each other in years. The Referee waves his finger to say "no", at which point the whole pointless exercise starts over again. This is probably why the games can take as long as four days to complete (or, roughly as long as it takes an NBA game to complete its final two minutes). Oh yeah, and they take tea breaks. Are you reading this? Tea breaks! Cricket is, in my estimation, utterly useless. I'd rather watch competitive knitting.
Tottenham doesn't play today, which also means it's a day where they won't lose. Go Spurs!
The Fire Prevention Representative of England is not, sadly, Smacky The Frog, as I was lead to believe. I was disappointed. They actually have no fire mascot representation at all. That position is currently open.
Guinness is immeasurably better here.
Everything is more expensive. Except Guinness. Therefore, I love it here.
American accents in England aren't nearly as impressive to British people as English accents are to American people. I've only been asked once where I was from -- the rest didn't much care.
The Brits are HIGHLY interested in the US Presidential Election, and they are overwhelmingly for Obama. The papers all think Palin is an embarrassment, and from what I'm told, even the traditionally conservative papers (like The Independent) agree. There's nearly 24x7 coverage here of the election, and I've learned more from the BBC about the real issues at stake than I have over the past two years from the US news channels. Makes me sad.
That's it for today. Here are some pics I've grabbed on my iPhone recently...
There's an indoor shopping market here where you can buy all sorts of 'questionable goods', like unlocked cell phones, "used" computer equipment (wink, wink), and all kinds of paraphernalia.
Here's a look down the bazarre.
Life-size Boop.
My local pub. I shall miss you, fine purveyor of Guinness!
Mmmm....meat in a window.
Day 5: Tottenham Sucks
Tottenham Sucks.
They really, really, really suck.
I want to drown my head in razorblades and then spray my face with Bactine. I know that sounds harsh, but that's what it's like being a Tottenham fan this season.
Tonight Tottenham played a UEFA Cup Game against the Italian team Udinese. Here are the final tallies:
Score: Udinese 2 Tottenham 0
Red cards: Tottenham 1, Udinese 0
Penalty kicks given up: Tottenham 1, Udinese 0
Goalies that suck: Tottenham 1, Udinese 0
Reasons to be a Tottenham fan: 0
What I'm doing this Sunday: Going to the Tottenham game v. Bolton Wanderers. Go Spurs! :)
Anyway, I had a great time on the train today (meaning I completely screwed up). I misread the platform announcement, because I ended up on the Express train to Reading instead of Slough. When the train stopped in Reading I thought "I'll just stay on for a couple more stops -- Slough surely must be coming up". I was utterly wrong. Reading is actually one stop past Slough. By the time I decided to get off the train I was in Thatcham (population: squirrels), where a kindly young man laughed at me and then helped me figure out the way back to Slough. Turns out I could have connected in Reading if I had only gotten off. Oh well... I was only an hour late to work and everyone at the office had a laugh at my expense. Three things I learned today: 1) Brits love stories about how you embarrassed yourself, 2) Double-check the platform announcements, and 3) I will never, ever need to visit Reading (or Thatcham, for that matter) ever, ever again.
A traffic jam in Thatcham.
The most beautiful view in Thatcham -- the way out of Thatcham.
Final thought of the day: Tottenham sucks. But I can't wait to see them this Sunday. I've always wanted to see their stadium (White Hart Lane), and I'm paying my dues for when they're successful by sticking by them when they absolutely stink. In case you're not aware, Soccer is the greatest game in the world, and England is the best place in the world to watch it -- even if your team sucks. And sorry Todd Prom, but I still hate Manchester United. ;)
Talk to you all tomorrow.
They really, really, really suck.
I want to drown my head in razorblades and then spray my face with Bactine. I know that sounds harsh, but that's what it's like being a Tottenham fan this season.
Tonight Tottenham played a UEFA Cup Game against the Italian team Udinese. Here are the final tallies:
Score: Udinese 2 Tottenham 0
Red cards: Tottenham 1, Udinese 0
Penalty kicks given up: Tottenham 1, Udinese 0
Goalies that suck: Tottenham 1, Udinese 0
Reasons to be a Tottenham fan: 0
What I'm doing this Sunday: Going to the Tottenham game v. Bolton Wanderers. Go Spurs! :)
Anyway, I had a great time on the train today (meaning I completely screwed up). I misread the platform announcement, because I ended up on the Express train to Reading instead of Slough. When the train stopped in Reading I thought "I'll just stay on for a couple more stops -- Slough surely must be coming up". I was utterly wrong. Reading is actually one stop past Slough. By the time I decided to get off the train I was in Thatcham (population: squirrels), where a kindly young man laughed at me and then helped me figure out the way back to Slough. Turns out I could have connected in Reading if I had only gotten off. Oh well... I was only an hour late to work and everyone at the office had a laugh at my expense. Three things I learned today: 1) Brits love stories about how you embarrassed yourself, 2) Double-check the platform announcements, and 3) I will never, ever need to visit Reading (or Thatcham, for that matter) ever, ever again.
A traffic jam in Thatcham.
The most beautiful view in Thatcham -- the way out of Thatcham.Final thought of the day: Tottenham sucks. But I can't wait to see them this Sunday. I've always wanted to see their stadium (White Hart Lane), and I'm paying my dues for when they're successful by sticking by them when they absolutely stink. In case you're not aware, Soccer is the greatest game in the world, and England is the best place in the world to watch it -- even if your team sucks. And sorry Todd Prom, but I still hate Manchester United. ;)
Talk to you all tomorrow.
Day 4: Professional Pedestrian
I am now, for all intents and purposes, a professional pedestrian. This is no small feat, as walking around London is certainly something that you have to adjust to. People don't stay to the left or right, they just get by you any way they can. At first you try to be polite, but soon enough you realize it's every man for themselves, and how you get from A to B is dependent on how well you can navigate past people on the sidewalk.
You learn a few things walking around London as much as I have. For one, it takes roughly three days to instinctively look for cars to your right when crossing the street instead of to the left. For the first two days I was basically walking into intersections completely blind as to whether or not a car was about to turn me into a pedestrian pancake. I guess there's something to be said for 'blind luck'.
You also learn that Tube stops are entirely closer together than the maps would make it seem. After I got off at the Bayswater stop tonight I turned right instead of the normal left to look for a new place to eat dinner. I found a great pub (with free Wi-Fi!) about three blocks down, and sure enough there was the entrance to the Queensway tube station. It's an entire stop away from Bayswater, and yet it's only three blocks away. You have to wonder how they decided where to put these stops, and why three blocks was sufficient. But then, oh wait -- British weather. Nevermind.
Also, I've been all over England before, but you forget how funny the pub names are. Just a few near me:
The Daniel Gooch
The Leinster
The Leinster Arms (across the street from The Leinster)
The Perserverance
Guesthouse West
The Green Man (Kelly, are you reading this? GREEN MAN!)
The Slug and Lettuce
The Mad Bishop and Bear (paints a picture, doesn't it?)
The Cow
The Brazen Head
The Fettler and Firkin (Of course! Can you imagine a Fettler without a Firkin?)
Crockers Folly
The Archery Tavern (Arrows and Beer... great combination)
The Cock and Bottle (*snicker*)
And my favorite... The Monkey Puzzle
Final thought: Celtic just got their arses whooped by Manchester United. Todd Prom, you must be so proud!
You learn a few things walking around London as much as I have. For one, it takes roughly three days to instinctively look for cars to your right when crossing the street instead of to the left. For the first two days I was basically walking into intersections completely blind as to whether or not a car was about to turn me into a pedestrian pancake. I guess there's something to be said for 'blind luck'.
You also learn that Tube stops are entirely closer together than the maps would make it seem. After I got off at the Bayswater stop tonight I turned right instead of the normal left to look for a new place to eat dinner. I found a great pub (with free Wi-Fi!) about three blocks down, and sure enough there was the entrance to the Queensway tube station. It's an entire stop away from Bayswater, and yet it's only three blocks away. You have to wonder how they decided where to put these stops, and why three blocks was sufficient. But then, oh wait -- British weather. Nevermind.
Also, I've been all over England before, but you forget how funny the pub names are. Just a few near me:
The Daniel Gooch
The Leinster
The Leinster Arms (across the street from The Leinster)
The Perserverance
Guesthouse West
The Green Man (Kelly, are you reading this? GREEN MAN!)
The Slug and Lettuce
The Mad Bishop and Bear (paints a picture, doesn't it?)
The Cow
The Brazen Head
The Fettler and Firkin (Of course! Can you imagine a Fettler without a Firkin?)
Crockers Folly
The Archery Tavern (Arrows and Beer... great combination)
The Cock and Bottle (*snicker*)
And my favorite... The Monkey Puzzle
Final thought: Celtic just got their arses whooped by Manchester United. Todd Prom, you must be so proud!
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Day 3: Slough meaning bad not Slough meaning good
Well, it had to happen -- time to go to the office and do some actual work.
The commute looks like this: Walk, ride, walk, ride, walk. Elapsed time: 50 minutes. Elapsed distance: About 2800 steps (thanks to my handy-dandy Concur pedometer!)
Let me say that Slough (rhymes with "allow") isn't exactly the loveliest part of England. If we were in Seattle we'd rather be in Rainier Beach at 3am than Slough at 5pm. If that makes no sense to you, think of some god-awful town and wish that you lived there instead of where you do. That's what I imagine the residents of Slough think about every day of their lives.
In fact, Slough's reputation is so bad that the locals tried to get the name of the town changed. The joke is that they wanted to call it "North, North Windsor", because Windsor is where the Queen lives and it's quite expensive to live in Windsor. But no dice. You can't take the Slough out of Slough, so the name stayed.
The office itself is quite cool though. Nice accommodations, plenty of space, and very friendly people. It's a real good bunch of folks here. I think Graham Knight has to be the funniest guy I've met, although Gareth Vincent and Barry Padgett are right up there. I really enjoy talking to everyone, and I could go on and on about how welcoming everyone is. I could name everyone individually and thank them, but it would take forever. I'll just give a big shout out to everyone in the UK office for being so welcoming - it's really appreciated and hasn't gone unnoticed. Thank you!
It's true what they say about no food in Slough though. I pretty much have to buy a sandwich at the local grocery store and carry it with me to work, otherwise I'm limited to a few small restaurants and a ten minute walk each way to get to them. Key piece of advice to walking in Slough -- don't make eye contact with the locals. Apparently doing so is like saying "I'd be absolutely delighted if you'd take my wallet". Okay, that's a little harsh -- in the daylight Slough is perfectly safe... as long as you're indoors.
I had plenty of work to do from the moment I sat down. Craig Dawson (RSE Primaries) had me helping out on a Cliqbook RFP and joining him for a discovery call with BCD Europe. Andrew Foster (Team Lead, Nationals Pre-Sales UK) and I had a chat about his plans for my month (basically, train train train the SSC's, and help out on demos whenever possible). Daffyd Llewellen (Manager, Majors RSE's) asked if I could give a few days of training to his two brand new RSE's, and Mark Law (Director, Business Development) tapped me for a demo on Thursday to AMEX in Italy. There's seriously SO MUCH work to do here, I'm not sure a month will cover it all.
Bringing my big, expensive camera to Slough is not the best idea, so here are some iPhone pics of the office:
The Slough Lounge.
The view of Slough from the office.
Okay, that's about it for tonight. Too tired to write any more. Great day though, I'm really going to enjoy working here. It's an honor, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity.
The commute looks like this: Walk, ride, walk, ride, walk. Elapsed time: 50 minutes. Elapsed distance: About 2800 steps (thanks to my handy-dandy Concur pedometer!)
Let me say that Slough (rhymes with "allow") isn't exactly the loveliest part of England. If we were in Seattle we'd rather be in Rainier Beach at 3am than Slough at 5pm. If that makes no sense to you, think of some god-awful town and wish that you lived there instead of where you do. That's what I imagine the residents of Slough think about every day of their lives.
In fact, Slough's reputation is so bad that the locals tried to get the name of the town changed. The joke is that they wanted to call it "North, North Windsor", because Windsor is where the Queen lives and it's quite expensive to live in Windsor. But no dice. You can't take the Slough out of Slough, so the name stayed.
The office itself is quite cool though. Nice accommodations, plenty of space, and very friendly people. It's a real good bunch of folks here. I think Graham Knight has to be the funniest guy I've met, although Gareth Vincent and Barry Padgett are right up there. I really enjoy talking to everyone, and I could go on and on about how welcoming everyone is. I could name everyone individually and thank them, but it would take forever. I'll just give a big shout out to everyone in the UK office for being so welcoming - it's really appreciated and hasn't gone unnoticed. Thank you!
It's true what they say about no food in Slough though. I pretty much have to buy a sandwich at the local grocery store and carry it with me to work, otherwise I'm limited to a few small restaurants and a ten minute walk each way to get to them. Key piece of advice to walking in Slough -- don't make eye contact with the locals. Apparently doing so is like saying "I'd be absolutely delighted if you'd take my wallet". Okay, that's a little harsh -- in the daylight Slough is perfectly safe... as long as you're indoors.
I had plenty of work to do from the moment I sat down. Craig Dawson (RSE Primaries) had me helping out on a Cliqbook RFP and joining him for a discovery call with BCD Europe. Andrew Foster (Team Lead, Nationals Pre-Sales UK) and I had a chat about his plans for my month (basically, train train train the SSC's, and help out on demos whenever possible). Daffyd Llewellen (Manager, Majors RSE's) asked if I could give a few days of training to his two brand new RSE's, and Mark Law (Director, Business Development) tapped me for a demo on Thursday to AMEX in Italy. There's seriously SO MUCH work to do here, I'm not sure a month will cover it all.
Bringing my big, expensive camera to Slough is not the best idea, so here are some iPhone pics of the office:
The Slough Lounge.
The view of Slough from the office.Okay, that's about it for tonight. Too tired to write any more. Great day though, I'm really going to enjoy working here. It's an honor, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity.
Day 2: Gleaming the Tube
Okay, so that whole "no jet-lag" thing was a pipe dream. I woke up at 5am, WIDE awake. I'm SO glad I took the first day off to adjust my body clock. I don't even know what century I'm in, much less what the actual date and time are. All I know is that it's half-past something in October. Or November. I dunno. It's cloudy outside, so it's probably not August, which I believe is the prescribed month for sunshine in Britain.
So with the whole day (almost literally) in front of me, I decided to check off some errands and go to a few places I'd wanted to see for a while. I quickly put together an itinerary --
1) Find the Bayswater tube station.
2) Take the tube to Paddington and buy a monthly Rail pass for my daily trips to Slough.
3) Find Grey's of Westminster, the premier Nikon dealer in Britain. Promptly buy nothing because it's too expensive.
4) See the London Eye.
5) Since it's on my way, check out the wax celebrities at Madame Tussauds. Seeing as how REAL celebrities have the personality of a candle, this would be a chance to meet them all in one place and, quite likely, have a much better conversation.
Right, let's get on with it then.
It was a cloudy day but not a rainy one, so no need to bring my "brolly" ("Umbrella" in English. "Umbrella, 'ella, 'ella" in Rihanna). I found the Bayswater tube easily enough (it's just a few blocks from my flat), and quickly got myself one stop down to Paddington Station on the Central line.
From there I transferred to the Hammersmith and City line to Baker Street, home of Madame Tussauds. I recognized Baker Street for one reason - when I was a kid my favorite board game was called "221B Baker Street". It's just like Clue, only you're in England and you solve murders that took place at Buckingham Palace by Benny Hill with a really hot cup of tea. Jolly good fun!
221B Baker Street was also where the mythical Sherlock Holmes lived. And sure enough, just outside the Baker Street tube stop was a big statue of Sherlock Holmes. (Side note: If you watch the TV show House, you may have noticed that House's address is 221B. A bit of trivia for you there. Don't say I never gave you anything.)
"Elementary, My Dear Watson."
Turn left, and you're practically dragged by the force of gravity into giving Madame Tussauds ₤20 quid to take the tour.
"Attention: Please do not attempt to light the wax celebrities, as they do not have wicks."
No reason to include this picture other than I think it's funny that this girl apparently can't tell a wall from a door. (Click for bigger version)
Here are some of my closest friends...
Becks and Vic. Becktoria? Vic-ham? Amazingly, these are the real David and Victoria Beckham. They come here a lot to pose for the tourists.
Murderer, Murderer!!
R.I.P., Cool Hand Luke.
If you look closely you can see Amy's career coming to a crashing halt. It's so lifelike it's scary.
Speaking of scary, here's a Jelly Belly Elvis portrait. Delicious!
Tussauds done, I took the Victoria line to Pimlico to check out one of the best Nikon camera shops in all the world -- Grey's of Westminster. I spoke with one of the gents there who was a wealth of knowledge on everything Nikon. Even though UK prices are much higher than the US (and therefore I bought nothing), he very much appreciated that I came all the way from the States to see their shop. No pictures to share, but then again, only camera geeks like me would care.
A quick ride now from the Victoria station to Waterloo (I ALWAYS get ABBA in my head when I think of Waterloo -- I'm pretty sure I owe them royalties). From there it was a short walk to the London Eye, which was built in 2000 to commemorate the Centennial.
"Waterloo, Waterloo...something something something...Waterloo, Waterloo..."
The famous (?) London Eye.
This might give you some idea of how huge the Eye is.
The view of Buckingham Palace and Big Ben from the South Bank. Can you find the Queen? (Note: There is no queen in this picture.)
Close-up of Big Ben, complete with British weather.
They REALLY dig Hallowe'en here (and they spell it with an asterisk, for some odd reason). This display of an 'evil laboratory' was right outside the London Eye, and is very, very scary. I admit, I peed a little.
So anyway, I didn't take a ride on the Eye because the weather was cloudy and not good for pictures, but I did go through the London Aquarium next door, to check out all the fishes and stuff. As far as aquariums go, this was also an aquarium.
Wow, fish.
Wow, spherical fish.
Wow, worm thing.
Cool enough, but I was dead tired so I hopped back on the tube to Bayswater and walked back to the hotel.
Descending into the Tube.
Waiting for the train. As exciting as photos get, truly.
All in all, I'd say I got quite a bit done today. My feet hurt, but I got the most out of the day. There's a lot to do and see here, but tomorrow it's off to work for my first day in Slough. Looking forward to meeting everyone and getting on with the business at hand.
Cheerio, Yanks.
So with the whole day (almost literally) in front of me, I decided to check off some errands and go to a few places I'd wanted to see for a while. I quickly put together an itinerary --
1) Find the Bayswater tube station.
2) Take the tube to Paddington and buy a monthly Rail pass for my daily trips to Slough.
3) Find Grey's of Westminster, the premier Nikon dealer in Britain. Promptly buy nothing because it's too expensive.
4) See the London Eye.
5) Since it's on my way, check out the wax celebrities at Madame Tussauds. Seeing as how REAL celebrities have the personality of a candle, this would be a chance to meet them all in one place and, quite likely, have a much better conversation.
Right, let's get on with it then.
It was a cloudy day but not a rainy one, so no need to bring my "brolly" ("Umbrella" in English. "Umbrella, 'ella, 'ella" in Rihanna). I found the Bayswater tube easily enough (it's just a few blocks from my flat), and quickly got myself one stop down to Paddington Station on the Central line.
From there I transferred to the Hammersmith and City line to Baker Street, home of Madame Tussauds. I recognized Baker Street for one reason - when I was a kid my favorite board game was called "221B Baker Street". It's just like Clue, only you're in England and you solve murders that took place at Buckingham Palace by Benny Hill with a really hot cup of tea. Jolly good fun!
221B Baker Street was also where the mythical Sherlock Holmes lived. And sure enough, just outside the Baker Street tube stop was a big statue of Sherlock Holmes. (Side note: If you watch the TV show House, you may have noticed that House's address is 221B. A bit of trivia for you there. Don't say I never gave you anything.)
"Elementary, My Dear Watson."Turn left, and you're practically dragged by the force of gravity into giving Madame Tussauds ₤20 quid to take the tour.
"Attention: Please do not attempt to light the wax celebrities, as they do not have wicks."
No reason to include this picture other than I think it's funny that this girl apparently can't tell a wall from a door. (Click for bigger version)Here are some of my closest friends...
Becks and Vic. Becktoria? Vic-ham? Amazingly, these are the real David and Victoria Beckham. They come here a lot to pose for the tourists.
Murderer, Murderer!!
R.I.P., Cool Hand Luke.
If you look closely you can see Amy's career coming to a crashing halt. It's so lifelike it's scary.
Speaking of scary, here's a Jelly Belly Elvis portrait. Delicious!Tussauds done, I took the Victoria line to Pimlico to check out one of the best Nikon camera shops in all the world -- Grey's of Westminster. I spoke with one of the gents there who was a wealth of knowledge on everything Nikon. Even though UK prices are much higher than the US (and therefore I bought nothing), he very much appreciated that I came all the way from the States to see their shop. No pictures to share, but then again, only camera geeks like me would care.
A quick ride now from the Victoria station to Waterloo (I ALWAYS get ABBA in my head when I think of Waterloo -- I'm pretty sure I owe them royalties). From there it was a short walk to the London Eye, which was built in 2000 to commemorate the Centennial.
"Waterloo, Waterloo...something something something...Waterloo, Waterloo..."
The famous (?) London Eye.
This might give you some idea of how huge the Eye is.
The view of Buckingham Palace and Big Ben from the South Bank. Can you find the Queen? (Note: There is no queen in this picture.)
Close-up of Big Ben, complete with British weather. 
They REALLY dig Hallowe'en here (and they spell it with an asterisk, for some odd reason). This display of an 'evil laboratory' was right outside the London Eye, and is very, very scary. I admit, I peed a little.So anyway, I didn't take a ride on the Eye because the weather was cloudy and not good for pictures, but I did go through the London Aquarium next door, to check out all the fishes and stuff. As far as aquariums go, this was also an aquarium.
Wow, fish.
Wow, spherical fish.
Wow, worm thing.Cool enough, but I was dead tired so I hopped back on the tube to Bayswater and walked back to the hotel.
Descending into the Tube.
Waiting for the train. As exciting as photos get, truly.All in all, I'd say I got quite a bit done today. My feet hurt, but I got the most out of the day. There's a lot to do and see here, but tomorrow it's off to work for my first day in Slough. Looking forward to meeting everyone and getting on with the business at hand.
Cheerio, Yanks.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Day 1: This Place Smells Like Brit
4:00pm Oct 19
I've arrived.
Thanks to the magic of pharmaceuticals, I slept for 9 hours and 20 minutes of the 10 hour flight. After deciding that 3 bags and a backpack was too heavy to lug on a train, I hailed a Black Cab to the apartments I'm staying at in the Kensington/Hyde Park area. Besides Double-Decker buses and red telephone booths, Black Cabs are about the most "British" thing you'll see. I'll see if I can grab a picture one of these days.
The 'flat' (the cool way of saying 'tiny apartment) I'm staying at is nice, and has all the basics. I did learn one thing, however - this is not a hotel, and as such does not come with any of the usual hotel amenities. No shampoo, no soap, only weekly maid service, and just two flimsy towels which, according to my judgment, are made out of something texturally similar to 20-grit sandpaper. Therefore I'll have to go pick up some "make me smell better" supplies tomorrow.
Here are some more photos of my place:
I call this masterpiece "Kitchen".
The "Loo". Complete with "spray all over the place" showerhead and sink. (EDIT: Fixed within a couple hours after complaining at the front desk. Top marks, Grand Plaza!)
9:30 pm - Looked out my window to see this beautiful view. To think that some of these buildings are literally hundreds of years old is amazing. They were around before America (and might just outlive it, too).
That's it for Day 1. I'm exhausted from the trip and it's time to get to bed. Luckily I'm tired at exactly the right time, so I'm hoping I'll escape from jet-lag.
'Night.
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