MY BETTER HALF...

This woman is cleverer, funnier and stronger than I am. So she can certainly kick YOUR ass...

LEAST ACTION HERO...

So many deadlines and dinosaur incursions, so little time...

JOURNEYMAN...

Lay back and think of the air-miles I'm earning...

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Archive for December 2007

Well, it's Christmas Day and, miracle on 23 East Road, it's snowing. For any of my friends back in the UK, that refers to the white stuff that falls from the sky that isn't rain, but so rarely on any important December days.

It's a thin layer to be sure (so far), just enough give a light covering on what was awaiting me when I arrived. Still, it's the first time in umpteen years I've had a white christmas, so despite everything it'll more than suffice.

It's nice to know that whatever shitty things happens in life, there are other things which still seem kinda cool... rather than merely below freezing.

* No giddy nostalgia was hurt in the making of this blog post.

Not had a lot of access to the Net in the last few days as Holly doesn't have a landline yet. However I have picked up an ocassional wi-fi bleed which must be coming from a nearby property. Actually, I'm probably hijacking the signal from the church next door. Thoughts that I may be going to hell for this are tempered by the fact that every Christian I know says it is better to give than receive, so at this time of year, I hope they practise what they literally preach ;)

The ground is still largely snowy, though no new snowfall since I arrived which means the roads are clear and the only real effort needed has been for me to help clear the porch. Holly's new dog Bob has trained me to keep throwing her toys for her to fetch, though I've countered by making sure the said toy is given to me not merely dropped at my feet expectantly. Pix, Holly's horse is not so much with the mind-games and prefers merely to be fed and watered.

In the last few days we've met up with Kit and Ariel for beer and food, visited the Garden of the Gods (see rocky outlets above), put up decorations (I'm great at other people's DIY jobs) and generally discussed life, the universe, irregular sleep-patterns and the importance of cash-flow and strategy when planning trips and executing all sorts of Plan Bs.
Other than that, fairly quiet, fairly fah-lalalala. Nothing new or desperate to report.





I woke in London in the morning with the kind of icy mist and rising sun that looks so great when you can see wide open spaces. sadly, it was mainly warehouses and buildings, but you can't have everything. Checked in easily for Virgin with no major hassles.

Sooooo, the flights were good in the sense that they took off, flew and landed safely and in the right order. I left Heathrow an hour late but with the promise of a shorter than normal 10hr flight. Watched Stardust and Rattatouille (sp?) and Doctor Who (Blink) on Virgin's impressive entertainment package. Time flew like the plane and ten hours didn't feel any more than eight and a half or so.Despite the earlier arrival, we landed far away from the main LAX terminal and for a good fifteen minutes the guy towing the plane performed the kind of parallel parking that made us go backwards and forwards about ten times. Even the pilot was forced to come on the intercom and say 'I have no idea what this guy's doing, we may end up in Disneyworld!' Finally - after a bus ride around the airport perimeter, I got to abggage claim, was quizzed throughly by Customs and grabbed my luggage and headed to Terminal 7 for my United flight to Denver.

Slept a little bit more and arrived ontime (even a tad early) in Denver where I was met by Holly and her dog Bob (who's a girl and clearly going to have gener issues somewhere down the line). Took an hour drive to Laporte to see Holly's place with six inches of snow from a few days before. Very picturesque.

Chilled out for an hour or so, then slept like a log until around 6:00am where I witnessed the sunrise over the snowy surrounding land and mountains.
I've arrived! There's snow! I have my camera. All is good.

So. Off I go. Technically this is the first day of my excellent ADVENTure ( see what I did there?) and things have gotten off to an okay if not quite exact start. I was supposed to be staying at the Yotel at Heathrow Airport (in one of those pods/cabins that everyone is talking about) but now it appears that everyone is talking about them not opening on time, so I'll be shuttled off by shuttle to a nearby hotel at Yotel's expense. Bad PR, but good response, I guess.

Now on the train down to London, GNER has been replaced as the train provider by National Express and they've got my vote by now providing free wi-fi throughout the train. Only strange thing was that when I came to my website, all the navigation instructions appeared in Swedish. No ikea/idea why. All good now. Which is nice.

Tomorrow I'm up early to chreck-in at T2 (the terminal, not the Arnold movie), though technically I've already done so online. Pays not to take chances with computers, I've found.It's going to be good to be away where there's a chance of snow this Christmas. Now if I can just survive without any slight or significant injury this time, it'll be progress.