"No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
I think Samuel Johnson has got to be right about that. We spent a fantastic day in my favorite city yesterday, and I don't think I could ever be tired of that place. I've been there quite a few times now, and there is always something new (or old, for that matter) and exciting to see. We made it to a few museums I've always wanted to visit- Victoria & Albert (my favorite was the display of fashion and trends throughout the ages!), the Museum of Natural History (dinosaurs!), and the Science Museum (space!). Then, after I drooled for awhile at the Radley handbag shop, we ate at a place in Chinatown called the Tokyo Diner (no, that's not a typo). We always seem to eat in Chinatown when we're in London, because the food tends to be more reasonably priced and have more normal (aka American-sized) portions. Tokyo Diner was no different, so definitely worth a second trip.
After dinner, we had a nice walk along the South Bank, taking in the sights and trying not to look suspicious as we walked by MI6. My inner historian is always a little overwhelmed when I think about all the Kings, Queens, prisoners, and poets who have traveled along the Thames (for very different reasons!) throughout history. I could go on, but at the risk of sounding even dorkier I will spare you. Does it sound like we have covered a lot of ground in one day? That's because Jon is a real expert at navigating London, which works out well for me because I have no sense of direction. He has the tube all figured out, which is no small feat.
The real highlight of the evening was going to Camden Town (where Amy Winehouse hangs) to see Heypenny, which happens to be the band of Jon's fellow Chattanoogan Kevin Bevil. They put on a great show- very cool, original music and all high-energy performers. I wish they had been able to play longer! I think Kevin was pretty surprised to see some fellow Americans in the crowd! We were really impressed by how they won over their British audience- it was a good sized crowd, and everyone was dancing and singing along. It was a late night, as we had to take a bus from Camden to Notting Hill (because apparently the tube stops running at 12:20 am) to catch our bus back to Oxford. We finally made it back home at about 3:30, having had to walk from the Headington bus stop home since the Oxford city buses were not running at that hour. It was a fun day/night, but we are paying for it this morning! At least we have all day today to recover. It's safe to say we are tired from London (but not of it).
Another important development in our lives is that we have a new bed! It's "King" sized (which translates to Queen sized in American) and it is fabulous. We found it on the DailyInfo, which is Oxford's version of Craigslist, and Jon went to pick it up on Friday. We've been wanting a new bed for awhile, since we're used to having the extra space (it is hard to downsize to a double bed, let me tell you) and we kept waking up in the middle of the night with elbows in our faces. We also got a new loveseat this week, replacing the horrible futon, so life is good!
Robin
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Jon's job search and our potential vechicle acquisition continued...
Ok, so I have offer 1 in hand, which is nice to have, to be wanted. However, I'm not exactly excited about many aspects of the job and the offer is not what I would call impressive. So, we left it that I'd sleep on it but 99.9% sure I will say thanks but no thanks tomorrow. Even if the offer had been better I still had some strong reservations about it and was pretty sure a "no" was going to be my response.
I have had a couple of other interviews and those are awaiting feedback. I interviewed yesterday for a first round and I am interested in though the commute is a bit long. The town is called Milton Keynes and it actually feels like a US city in how it is laid-out. It was developed pretty recently and they used US-style model for it. I also applied for a bunch of really good stuff yesterday and today and hope that those (and my previous applications for similar jobs) come back to me tangibly soon. It seems recruitment here is much more heavily focused on sales than I am (or want to be) and the role more closely suited to my experience is HR Advisor and/or In-House recriuter. Both are apparently very sought after and the competition is fierce, so hopefully some company somewhere will like what they see in me and give me a shot. Oh, and I applied to Microsoft UK today, a former client when I worked at Volt. Microsoft has an HR Consultant/Advisor role in Reading which is pretty doable. For you IT nerds, I left the fact that I know and use Linux and Mac in my resume, so I'm not a total sell-out!
As for the car, we've done a bit more shopping and are still on the fence a bit about the level of car to get. If it is for work and everyday driving something decent-good but if it is just for errands, some sightseeing and very limited mileage something a bit less-nice would work fine. We shall see if any of these jobs get serious. I am trying to apply to positions which I can get to easily on the bus/train as it's both green environmentally and will help us save some green on gas. It's about 11 bucks a gallon today and not expected to go down anytime soon.
Keep your fingers crossed for us and maybe say a little prayer? :)
-Jon
I have had a couple of other interviews and those are awaiting feedback. I interviewed yesterday for a first round and I am interested in though the commute is a bit long. The town is called Milton Keynes and it actually feels like a US city in how it is laid-out. It was developed pretty recently and they used US-style model for it. I also applied for a bunch of really good stuff yesterday and today and hope that those (and my previous applications for similar jobs) come back to me tangibly soon. It seems recruitment here is much more heavily focused on sales than I am (or want to be) and the role more closely suited to my experience is HR Advisor and/or In-House recriuter. Both are apparently very sought after and the competition is fierce, so hopefully some company somewhere will like what they see in me and give me a shot. Oh, and I applied to Microsoft UK today, a former client when I worked at Volt. Microsoft has an HR Consultant/Advisor role in Reading which is pretty doable. For you IT nerds, I left the fact that I know and use Linux and Mac in my resume, so I'm not a total sell-out!
As for the car, we've done a bit more shopping and are still on the fence a bit about the level of car to get. If it is for work and everyday driving something decent-good but if it is just for errands, some sightseeing and very limited mileage something a bit less-nice would work fine. We shall see if any of these jobs get serious. I am trying to apply to positions which I can get to easily on the bus/train as it's both green environmentally and will help us save some green on gas. It's about 11 bucks a gallon today and not expected to go down anytime soon.
Keep your fingers crossed for us and maybe say a little prayer? :)
-Jon
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Jon's job search and our potential vechicle acquisition
Well, I must say this has been an interesting job search thus far. I began by applying for positions in late April and May but those have yet to really go anywhere- they were mostly in publishing sales and other sales roles. I have been getting a fair amount of calls and interviews for jobs in recruitment consultancy (staffing/headhunting). I have one company who is possibly making an offer in the next day or two though it seems they want to hire an experienced person and pay just a tad over an entry-level salary. We'll see if they make an offer, what it is, and even then I'm not 100% on it being the right fit (long story but it is about a 40 minute drive each way by car and I'm just not excited about it). I also have a first face-to-face with an agency in Milton Keynes tomorow though that commute would be even longer than the other company (just over an hour each way by car). I have even gotten a few calls about London jobs, which pay much, much better, though that would be an even more terrible commute. It is hard to evaluate what is "fair" for salary packages here. We definitely see the cost of living differences so want to adjust for that but certainly don't want to overshoot expectations either. It is freeing to have so much flexibility though I do look forward to focusing more and having a job to fill my time! We have heard this is not the booming time of year for hiring (many the graduates have been getting jobs over the last months) though there does seem to be some activity. Once I am working that will also help us know what side of town we want to settle-in long-term.
And on the topic of commuting.... We do not yet have a car, though we are starting to see the strong case for having one- we could take personal trips across the countryside and run errands much more easily and not having a car is limiting my job search pretty tangibly. Plus we can pick folks up at the airport when they visit- Ahem Ahem... :) Taking the buses is ok getting around town but using them to commute between towns would add a large chunk of time on both ends of the day that could be cut in half (or greater) with a car. So, instead of 1:00-1:40 each way I would be looking at 30-45 each way. Still not an ideal commute, especially with gas over $10 gallon, but much better and would not have to schedule my life around the buses (they are often late though I must say they are very clean and easy to figure out the lines, etc.- plus free WiFi on-board and they have plugs in the walls to charge devices!).
It has been good to get some traction/interviews already though I feel like I am sort of going down the wrong path. Most of my interviews thus far have come from recruiters who have called me about my online profile. I have been applying for "better fits" but those have yet to turn into anything though I will be following-up on a couple of those early this week. I do plan to hone my job search almost exclusively to Oxford instead of including the more outlying towns; there are a couple of other towns that are easily commutable as well. I have not yet seen a lot of great jobs here, more of a univeristy-town than a booming technical area but there have to be a few companies I have yet to find. I am pretty sure we're going to get a car whether my job requires it or not- probably something older just so we can get around. We have identified a few later 90s and early 00s BMW and Audis that have caught our eye. They are actually cheaper than Japanese cars and everybody says not to buy an English car. There seem to be a lot of Peugot and Renault as well but am not excited about those. We could always look for Saabs and be the envy of Uncle Dave. :)
It is a bit rainy and cool here today. It has been pretty warm (some days even hot) and dry lately so this seems to be more of a taste of what we anticipated. I think that about sums it up for now. Cheers, mates!
And on the topic of commuting.... We do not yet have a car, though we are starting to see the strong case for having one- we could take personal trips across the countryside and run errands much more easily and not having a car is limiting my job search pretty tangibly. Plus we can pick folks up at the airport when they visit- Ahem Ahem... :) Taking the buses is ok getting around town but using them to commute between towns would add a large chunk of time on both ends of the day that could be cut in half (or greater) with a car. So, instead of 1:00-1:40 each way I would be looking at 30-45 each way. Still not an ideal commute, especially with gas over $10 gallon, but much better and would not have to schedule my life around the buses (they are often late though I must say they are very clean and easy to figure out the lines, etc.- plus free WiFi on-board and they have plugs in the walls to charge devices!).
It has been good to get some traction/interviews already though I feel like I am sort of going down the wrong path. Most of my interviews thus far have come from recruiters who have called me about my online profile. I have been applying for "better fits" but those have yet to turn into anything though I will be following-up on a couple of those early this week. I do plan to hone my job search almost exclusively to Oxford instead of including the more outlying towns; there are a couple of other towns that are easily commutable as well. I have not yet seen a lot of great jobs here, more of a univeristy-town than a booming technical area but there have to be a few companies I have yet to find. I am pretty sure we're going to get a car whether my job requires it or not- probably something older just so we can get around. We have identified a few later 90s and early 00s BMW and Audis that have caught our eye. They are actually cheaper than Japanese cars and everybody says not to buy an English car. There seem to be a lot of Peugot and Renault as well but am not excited about those. We could always look for Saabs and be the envy of Uncle Dave. :)
It is a bit rainy and cool here today. It has been pretty warm (some days even hot) and dry lately so this seems to be more of a taste of what we anticipated. I think that about sums it up for now. Cheers, mates!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Another day, another dryer!
When I came to visit Oxford over the last few years, the flat I stayed in had this really tiny washer/dryer combo machine. The machine in our house looked just like it, so I assumed it was a washer and dryer, too. So a couple of weeks ago I went to do the first load of laundry. It was in there forever, seriously, like 2 hours, so I went to take the clothes out and was shocked to find them not dry! Then I picked up the instruction manual, which I probably should have done in the first place, and there was nothing about dryer settings. I had always wondered why there was a clothesline outside.
I mentioned this to some of my coworkers and they just kind of said "So? Don't you have a clothesline?" Now I am willing to assimilate here, but I draw the line at hanging our underwear outside for all the world to see. And do I have to remind you that we live in England, so the odds of your clothes actually drying outside and not getting rained on are about 50/50? So we started by just hanging things over chairs, on the bannister, basically wherever we could find a place. This was not good. It literally took everything days to dry. Then, my fantastic husband found a used dryer online for £20, and the seller was willing to deliver (this is key since we don't have a car)! Phew. Now I just want to do more laundry so I can use the little dryer. It's so cute- it just plugs into the wall and that's it! And it fits perfectly in our pantry, even. Am I gushing too much? On Wednesday our new TV will be delivered (we're downsizing to 42") and on Friday the furniture from Ikea, yippee! Also our shower should be repaired next weekend, so we're almost completely mostly settled in.
We went to church this morning at the Holy Trinity Church in Headington, where C.S. Lewis was a member for 30 years. He is also apparently buried in the church cemetary, but we didn't see the site. We did, however, see the frosted glass window dedicated to the Narnia characters! We liked the church service, and it's a short walk from our house, so we'll likely go back. I even met a man who wrote a book chapter for OUP-USA- everyone's an academic here.
Cheerio for now!
Robin
I mentioned this to some of my coworkers and they just kind of said "So? Don't you have a clothesline?" Now I am willing to assimilate here, but I draw the line at hanging our underwear outside for all the world to see. And do I have to remind you that we live in England, so the odds of your clothes actually drying outside and not getting rained on are about 50/50? So we started by just hanging things over chairs, on the bannister, basically wherever we could find a place. This was not good. It literally took everything days to dry. Then, my fantastic husband found a used dryer online for £20, and the seller was willing to deliver (this is key since we don't have a car)! Phew. Now I just want to do more laundry so I can use the little dryer. It's so cute- it just plugs into the wall and that's it! And it fits perfectly in our pantry, even. Am I gushing too much? On Wednesday our new TV will be delivered (we're downsizing to 42") and on Friday the furniture from Ikea, yippee! Also our shower should be repaired next weekend, so we're almost completely mostly settled in.
We went to church this morning at the Holy Trinity Church in Headington, where C.S. Lewis was a member for 30 years. He is also apparently buried in the church cemetary, but we didn't see the site. We did, however, see the frosted glass window dedicated to the Narnia characters! We liked the church service, and it's a short walk from our house, so we'll likely go back. I even met a man who wrote a book chapter for OUP-USA- everyone's an academic here.
Cheerio for now!
Robin
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Venice, by Robin
First, can I just say how thrilled I am that we have internet now? Thrilled actually doesn't even begin to describe it.
Just to add a little to Jon's description (which focused mainly on the beers and cars of Italy), Venice was awesome. It rivals NC for summer heat and humidity, though! Both Jon and I had to invest in some lighter clothing. We were staying on the Lido island, a small strip of land that separates the Venice Lagoon (and the main island, San Marco) from the Adriatic. If I ever return to Venice, I would definitely stay on Lido again. The hotels and restaurants were much less expensive, there were fewer tourists, and it was just a short water taxi away from the main attractions. And being steps away from the beach was fabulous. Even though I was there for work (a Schizophrenia conference) it felt like vacation. We took lots of pictures, so watch this space and we'll get around to uploading them sooner or later! People had warned us about a particular "smell" in Venice (think thousands of tourists, with varying standards of personal hygiene, marching around in 100 degree heat) in the summer, but I have to say I didn't notice it. Apparently (according to a fellow American tourist) August is when it gets really unbearable until the rainy season washes it all away in the fall. So if you're planning a trip any time soon, bear this in mind!
Back in Oxford, we're still getting settled in the house, with a furniture delivery from Ikea expected on the Fourth of July (this should help a lot). Then we'll be ready for visitors, so start planning your trip!
Robin
Just to add a little to Jon's description (which focused mainly on the beers and cars of Italy), Venice was awesome. It rivals NC for summer heat and humidity, though! Both Jon and I had to invest in some lighter clothing. We were staying on the Lido island, a small strip of land that separates the Venice Lagoon (and the main island, San Marco) from the Adriatic. If I ever return to Venice, I would definitely stay on Lido again. The hotels and restaurants were much less expensive, there were fewer tourists, and it was just a short water taxi away from the main attractions. And being steps away from the beach was fabulous. Even though I was there for work (a Schizophrenia conference) it felt like vacation. We took lots of pictures, so watch this space and we'll get around to uploading them sooner or later! People had warned us about a particular "smell" in Venice (think thousands of tourists, with varying standards of personal hygiene, marching around in 100 degree heat) in the summer, but I have to say I didn't notice it. Apparently (according to a fellow American tourist) August is when it gets really unbearable until the rainy season washes it all away in the fall. So if you're planning a trip any time soon, bear this in mind!
Back in Oxford, we're still getting settled in the house, with a furniture delivery from Ikea expected on the Fourth of July (this should help a lot). Then we'll be ready for visitors, so start planning your trip!
Robin
Back from Venice
Well, Robin is about to get on a bus at Gatwick airport to come back to Oxford after a conference in Venice. I had the fortune of going as well though I came back Monday to cope with utility installs, etc. (we now have internet at the house- YESSSS!!!! CIVILIZATION HERE WE ARE).
Venice was great, we enjoyed the fantastic weather, the exquisite cuisine, a touch of Chianti, Nastro Azzurro, Moretti La Rossa, etc. We took a romantic gondola ride through San Marcos and saw where Marco Polo was born, some really old buildings and a host of other sites. The shopping on San Marcos was unbelievable- every brand name you could name and then 1000 more! :) We even saw Lauren from the MTV show "The Hills" shopping for leather gloves with her mom and sister. I was kind of joking to Robin that it was her but she recognized Lauren's mom and sister so we are sure it was her. I got to see a few Ferraris, Maseratis and some other $$$ cars (no Lamborghinis though). Porsches, Benz' and Beemers were a dime a dozen there. I tried to offer a guy a dime for a dozen though and either he didn't like my pricepoint or it got lost in translation.... I think it was the latter. :)
I have a big (I think it may be a final) interview tomorrow, so my/our fingers are crossed. I was recruited by an agency and am meeting with the fellow who overseas all the UK operations; the company is HQ in San Diego. The position is selling recruitment services into the European market, largely related to mobile phones and related IT areas. It would be similar to what I have been doing but definitely a new challenge. The company is in Aylesbury which would basically require me to get a car to keep the commute reasonable (by bus= about an hour, by car= 20 minutes or so). Gas is hovering between $10-11 a gallon so will have to focus on economy... no Land Rover or other V8 vehicle for us!
I think that about sums it up,
Jon
Venice was great, we enjoyed the fantastic weather, the exquisite cuisine, a touch of Chianti, Nastro Azzurro, Moretti La Rossa, etc. We took a romantic gondola ride through San Marcos and saw where Marco Polo was born, some really old buildings and a host of other sites. The shopping on San Marcos was unbelievable- every brand name you could name and then 1000 more! :) We even saw Lauren from the MTV show "The Hills" shopping for leather gloves with her mom and sister. I was kind of joking to Robin that it was her but she recognized Lauren's mom and sister so we are sure it was her. I got to see a few Ferraris, Maseratis and some other $$$ cars (no Lamborghinis though). Porsches, Benz' and Beemers were a dime a dozen there. I tried to offer a guy a dime for a dozen though and either he didn't like my pricepoint or it got lost in translation.... I think it was the latter. :)
I have a big (I think it may be a final) interview tomorrow, so my/our fingers are crossed. I was recruited by an agency and am meeting with the fellow who overseas all the UK operations; the company is HQ in San Diego. The position is selling recruitment services into the European market, largely related to mobile phones and related IT areas. It would be similar to what I have been doing but definitely a new challenge. The company is in Aylesbury which would basically require me to get a car to keep the commute reasonable (by bus= about an hour, by car= 20 minutes or so). Gas is hovering between $10-11 a gallon so will have to focus on economy... no Land Rover or other V8 vehicle for us!
I think that about sums it up,
Jon
Monday, June 16, 2008
What did people do before the internet?
So the lack of posting has not been because nothing is going on in my life- definitely the opposite! Jon is here (!!), things are starting to pick up at work, and we had a great day trip to London (and the Ikea in Wembley) over the weekend. We still, however, do not have internet or phone service at our house, which makes the blogging a bit difficult. I was carrying my laptop with me every day for the first week, but it's not so light, and my shoulders were really starting to get sore. I promise to be more diligent once I have more reliable computer access (I am, of course, completely above wasting work time on blogging).
We should have everything up and running at the house by the end of next week, but we're also leaving for Venice on Friday (what jet-setters!) so you might have to wait just a little longer...Stay tuned, I promise it'll be good!
Robin
We should have everything up and running at the house by the end of next week, but we're also leaving for Venice on Friday (what jet-setters!) so you might have to wait just a little longer...Stay tuned, I promise it'll be good!
Robin
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