Goodbye Indiana … for 2010.

This weekend has been my last in Indiana for 2010 … mid morning tomorrow I head for the airport and begin the journey home.

That is, of course, assuming that my flight isn’t cancelled or delayed due to the weather. Most of the State is under a Winter Weather Advisory and today we had another 2” of snow; it’s like a winter wonderland outside. Very cold too. The forecast has just stated that tomorrow could see temperatures as low as minus 20 Celsius … I may have to use my suitcase as sled to get to my car!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow …

Much like the UK, we have had a good amount of snow this past week. Temperatures have generally been sub zero (Degree Celsius – I’m still trying to understand Fahrenheit) and about 4” of the white stuff has dropped on the area.

The main difference that I’ve noticed with the US and the UK during snowfall is how the roads are constantly being cleared. Pick up trucks have ploughs stuck on the front and drive around clearing the highways. However, every other driver on the road still continues to drive as they normally would (as close as possible to the car in front), so maybe there is a false sense of security instilled by the plough trucks!

This weekend I went to a bowling alley that had 80 lanes; I swear you could actually feel the curvature of the Earth’s surface …

I also sampled a Dairy Queen Blizzard … then felt sick at the amount of Oreo Cheesecake flavoured ice-cream. I  will go back for more though.

This weekend has also been my penultimate one in the US before I fly back to the UK for Christmas. By the time I fly back I will have been out here for 3 months; I really can’t believe how quickly the time has gone.

A Royal Wedding …

I don’t know if you’ve heard in the UK, but apparently there is to be a Royal wedding next April.

Here the story is absolutely EVERYWHERE. It’s on the news, in the news, and possibly around it. There are magazines devoted to it and everybody, once they discover you’re English, asks you about it.

The common questions are “Have you ever met them?” and “Will you get an invite?”. I normally have a little fun and answer in the affirmative to both questions, but a quick Google search shows that there may be a slight chance for any Tom, Dick or Harry to attend anyway  …

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/28/ok-middleton-wedding-ticket-invitation

Happy Thanksgiving!

So we’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving and Black Friday…

For Thanksgiving I had two invites from friends at work; thankfully each for different days so I didn’t have to turn anybody down. On both days the openness and hospitality of people was amazing; I have made some very good friends here. Thanksgiving, food wise, is very similar to Christmas in the UK … lots of it and especially turkey! I have eaten so much great food over the past couple of days, and probably way too many desserts included in that. Still, it should serve as a good warm up for my return to the UK at Christmas where I think I’ll be very busy eating and catching up with friends and family!

I’m still not really that much in the know of how and why Thanksgiving exists, but Wikipedia has been very helpful.

Black Friday was a great experience. It’s the traditional shopping sales/day after Thanksgiving but, although very similar, comes with a much bigger fanfare and anticipation than the standard UK January sales. There were reports on the news of fights breaking out between shoppers outside in the parking lots. Last year I recall reading a story where a shopper was trampled to death after getting caught in a stampede of bargain hunters at a particular store. The day before the event, newspapers are full of leaflets and adverts for all the sales promotions that stores are running. The standout item for was just how cheap some of the flat screen TV's were – $198 for a 32” LCD TV in Walmart! TV’s in general seemed to be the most in demand item, so hopefully everybody got their desired item and nobody lost their life this year! Most of the stores opened at around 4 am and the “early bird” special prices continued until noon. There was no way I was getting out of bed that early (4 am … not noon) and so a leisurely trip out ensued at around 10 am.

I plan to make the most of the rest of the 4 day weekend, mainly by catching up on lost sleep and a visit to the gym! Tonight I’m venturing out for my first IMAX experience …

This week, I have been mostly …

Eating A LOT of food.

Which is fine, because it’s all been amazing, but there has been a lot of food.

Thursday evening saw the return to Bub’s for the 1lb big Ugly Burger. This time there was a whole group from work that went along, with five of us finishing the big burger. Worryingly, I found this attempt much easier than the previous one. So much so that I actually had room afterwards for a very thick, authentic American milkshake.

Friday was a day off from food. I was busy at work and so didn’t have time to take a proper lunch; probably a good job given the amount of burger that I’d eaten the night before! Friday is, however, donut day and so this week I provided the office with 12 Krispy Kreme original glazed rings and 6 chocolate iced, cream filled ones.

Over this weekend I haven’t really done much at all. The time has just drifted by. Saturday evening I joined some friends at a Japanese grill; it was really cool. Had some great steak and scallops (food again) all cooked in front of you. I even managed to catch some food that the chef tossed at me – in my mouth. Something the little boy sitting opposite us couldn’t do …

After the grill we went to the cinema to watch Due Date; it was very funny in places but, for me, was just funny overall. It doesn’t quite challenge the Hangover as some people have said. I don’t know who these people are but I’m sure I’ve read it somewhere. Or I possibly dreamt it.

Saturday daytime was spent arranging birthday presents for my mum and nan who celebrate their XXth and XXrd birthdays next week. I can’t say too much more as they read this (or at least they claim to).

Sunday has been a really strange day. I watched Arsenal beat Everton, then cooked some dinner, then whilst eating dinner watched Chelsea lose to Sunderland. The Skype conversation to my Chelsea supporting sister was fun today. This evening I finished a (almost) 2,500 word blog entry for my work related blog so, if you have the means, check it out. It should be going online within the next few hours.

Tonight I start a few days of doing night shifts. I’ve never done one before and so have absolutely no idea when I should have slept to be ready for it. I can never sleep during the day and so wasn’t able to get any sleep this evening. However, now there is 50 mins until I start work, my eyes are feeling heavy.

2 Months in the US …

Done.

It’s gone so quickly. I really can’t believe where the time has gone. Work wise things are going well; I’m very busy and the project that I’m working on is gathering pace. Outside of work I feel really settled into American life. Already, in only these first 2 months, I’ve met some great people and made good friends.

It’s only 4 weeks now until I will be back in the UK for a couple of weeks over Christmas!

Birthday, mini tornado, snow and MORE

Well, not a huge amount more, but it has been an incredibly busy week.

Firstly, I’ve now passed that marker in life where I’m now closer to 50 than I am to being born. It went well and for once I woke up on my birthday morning and didn’t find any new grey hairs. I think people assume you’re joking when you say that, but I really have been finding grey hairs for the last couple of years… that’s enough of my birthday for the time being but I’ll probably go back to it again later!

Midway through last week the news weather reports were filled with weather warnings for tornados! Cue me questioning people on what I should do in the event of one actually occurring … get down low in the most inner part of a building being the most common answer. About mid morning it went amazingly dark outside, and there were some very fast winds and rain lashing down. Apparently at the Wal-Mart just down the road there was an announcement on the tannoy, and that all customers and employees should move away from the windows and get to the middle of the store. Later that evening on the news there were images of houses that had been affected by the winds, and several witness reports of actual tornado touchdowns.

EDIT: I thought I last posted a week ago, but it looks like it was actually a fortnight ago. Sorry!!

Last weekend was my birthday weekend. In the morning, I spoke to my family on Skype (where I also had to prove that I hadn’t already opened my birthday package!). The new friends that I have made here made it a great day and the effort they put in was fantastic – it felt like I was at home. In the morning my office was decorated with balloons and banners, then I was brought a birthday McDonald’s breakfast. Donuts were also served, as is now the custom on Fridays. Ha. Lunchtime was spent at a nearby Chinese buffet where a number of people from work joined me.

Friday night was spent at someone’s 5oth birthday party. It was a 70’s theme, but as I left all my 70’s clothes at home (I know) I had to try and make do with what I had. Surprisingly, and also worryingly for my wardrobe, I don’t think I looked too bad. I had a great time out; even though I was bullied into singing on the karaoke. So, after a Kanye West ‘Gold Digger’ rendition and a failed attempt at MC Hammer ‘Can’t Touch This’, it was time to go back to the apartment.

Saturday was Halloween. The Americans have gone crazy for it. I was invited along to a few parties and also to a few bars, so i grabbed the most ready made costume i could find in one of the many Halloween shops. The Incredible Hulk. I was in a rush and forgot to paint my legs green, so the top half of me has a similarity (the muscles are real, honest) whilst the bottom half makes me look like a poor pantomime version of Peter Pan. I’m probably going to regret posting the photo, but here goes. (I look forward to it turning up on future birthday cards etc etc)

Last week I also went to an Indianapolis Colts game. It was a great experience, although I still don’t understand the rules fully. I’m getting there though! I also got to buy a foam hand – so I was more than happy with that alone. I can now just sit in the apartment pretending to be in the audience of 90’s Gladiators (Wolf, Kris Akabusi etc … not Russell Crowe) …

The last week at work has been really busy. We have completed the first phase of our project, and now commencing the 2nd phase that will take us through the first quarter of next year. During the week there was also a company wide meeting. During this my name was read out and I had to stand up to be acknowledged by the audience; I don’t think  I managed to make a fool of myself.

Friday also saw the first snow since I've been here. Well, I say snow. There was a flurry for about 30 mins and it didn’t settle, but it was cold and that was enough for me to call it SNOW.

After the week that Arsenal have had, I’m not even going to comment on football. (that comment doesn’t count)

In other news I have FINALLY bought myself a kettle … no more boiling a saucepan of water for me!

Have a good start to the week.

p.s. I promise to update more regularly again from now on…

It’s been a while …

It’s been a while since my last update … I seem to have been really busy outside of work without really doing that much!

The other night I headed to Bub’s Burgers in Carmel. This place was featured on Man Vs. Food where the show’s host attempted to eat FOUR of the Big Ugly Burgers … it’s a 22oz (pre cooked weight) burger; 1lb when served on your plate! It was a monster, but started quite well. I got through the first half in a little over 5 minutes but the remaining half must have taken me around 45 mins … it wasn’t even funny towards the end! But, the burger was finished and my photo is now up on the wall!! (until the New Year when they all get taken down)

The weather has also turned a bit recently, the mornings becoming much colder and daytime temperatures now as expected for this time of year. Last weekend I headed down to Fall Creek and had a walk around the reservoir trail, it was a fantastic day weather-wise and the trees/leaves were a great mixture of colours …

Today there was also an outbreak of rain that lasted under half an hour or so; was also accompanied by some thunder and lightning.

The area seems to be going crazy for Halloween which is something I need to get used to compared to the UK, but I’m armed with my boy scout popcorn to give away. I’ve also bought some pumpkins to decorate – I’m just trying to think of some clever things to try!

Of course, no good weekend would be complete without a great win for Arsenal. A 3-0 win made it a great start to the day.

I’m looking forward to the week ahead. We will be busy at work and then at the end of the week it’s my birthday; I’ll reach the grand old age of 25!

This week has also thrown up plenty of confusion between US and UK vocabulary. I think the day I don’t giggle when somebody says “pants” instead of “trousers” is the day that I can consider myself a grown-up …

Until next time. Have a good week!

Tasty toroidal treats …

All TV shows shown in the UK depict US workplaces as donut/doughnut havens. Ok then not all of them, but the Simpsons etc is good enough for my point. The fact is that of the 5 weeks I’ve been here I haven’t seen a single donut around the place (other than the ones I’ve brought in). So, to actually make the stereotype true I have started Donut Friday. This week was the 3rd Weekly Donut Friday instalment … unfortunately the more people that find out about it the more I’m having to start bringing in.

One month: DONE.

It’s gone so quickly but today saw the completion of my first calendar month out here … it feels like it’s gone so quickly. I feel like I’m now settling into US life, meeting new people, and work is going very well.

11 more to go!

A bad experience …

I ventured into Indianapolis this weekend. It was strange driving there because I don’t recall seeing a “welcome” sign but I just assumed I was there. By a stroke of luck I picked a weekend where there were road works everywhere … so I spent most of my time following diversions to a destination that I didn’t knew existed! After driving around the city for block after block, I finally found a multi-storey car park that was near some areas of interest.

This is where the problems started.

I parked up in a space on Level 4 and headed across to the elevator/lift, I stepped inside and pressed the ground floor button. The doors shut, but nothing happened. I pressed it again; still nothing happened. I stood there for a bit (being very English and patiently waiting) but nothing was happening. So I left the lift and headed for a stairwell that I had seen in a corner of the car park. Normally, in the UK, I always take the stairs – it’s just something less to go wrong. So I headed down the stairs and got to the last exit door. I walked through it and the door shut behind me. I’m now standing in an area that I thought would have been a lobby or entrance of some sort, except I’m surrounded by old broken furniture and baby high chairs! There are 2 doors in front of me; neither of which have handles and can only be opened from the other side. There are some fire exits at the far end, but unlike UK ones they look alarmed. I figured that I’d just go back up the stairs and try the lift again. I tried the door that I entered the room from but this doesn’t open from this side … “Sh*t”. One of the doors had some sinister music playing behind it (in a horror film way; not Justin Bieber et al) so I tried banging the door but nobody answered. There was nothing left but to risk the fire exits and, here comes the crap ending to the story, so I did. No alarms or anything. Just a nice exit down an alleyway with skips and dumpsters – all I need was to get mugged and the cliché would be complete. This didn’t happen!

So … never take the stairs. The rest of the weekend has gone pretty well!

The weather can’t decide …

whether it wants to be hot or cold … today it was baking. Comparison with King Lynn below …

:)

The post with no name.

So after a few days where it wasn’t very warm at all and with a few rain showers, the weather has been getting better and better as this week goes on. This weekend is supposed to see very nice weather so I’m planning to make the most of and head downtown to Indianapolis itself. You can definitely tell that autumn is here now and the mornings are crisp, making me think that winter isn’t too far away; this morning I actually put my scarf on to go to work.

I haven’t been up to a huge amount in the evenings this week and so that’s why I haven’t been posting as regularly. I don’t know how some people manage new posts everyday on the blogs that I read; I wouldn’t know what to say let alone try and make it remotely interesting or entertaining!

In other news, I haven’t seen the chipmunk from outside the apartment this week so maybe it’s hibernation time; I don’t know. I also got a bit of a jump as I walked to the gym the other night – a raccoon ran straight past me and climbed up the tree next to me.

On the TV there are loads of adverts for Burger King and their new breakfast range. I have seen one advert a few times and I’m pretty sure it’s got Heather Mills in it; strange considering she’s a vegetarian.

And this song is doing my head in … it’s constantly playing on whatever radio station they play at work. It’s not even one that I liked at first and then got bored of through over exposure; I just can’t stand it! Jack Johnson - At Or With Me

On that note I’ll stop moaning and be back soon.

Because sometimes getting out of the car to get cash …

… can be such a drag, so why not use a drive through?? I’ve never seen one of these in the UK, let alone use one!

Today it actually rained (as the photo shows) for a good few hours. Long enough for puddles to form and to make it feel like home!

I cooked pancakes again for breakfast; this time adding some blueberries !

The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast …

LUCKY CHARMS!

I can’t think of anything interesting …

I haven’t really been up to much the last couple of evenings. Over the last two days I have been really busy at work as we begin the first phase of my assigned project; this is planned to continue until the end of October.

Sunday evening I went out to the same sports bar that I visited last week to watch the Indianapolis Colts play Denver. I’m trying to learn the rules of the game but it’s so stop/start and adverts every few minutes. It kicked off at 4:15 and I don’t think it finished until around 7:15 … THREE HOURS. I bought a Colts shirt last week so that I at least blended in a little this time …

Last night I stayed in just watching some TV although there wasn’t really anything interesting on. It’s starting to get cold here which, although I had been expecting it to BE cold, isn’t welcome… I actually had to turn my air conditioning from COOL to HEAT! Thankfully the thermostat has both metric and old money units of measurement; I still can’t get the hang of Fahrenheit. I was watching the weather this morning and although there was a slight chance of rain in the area, none materialised. Unlike Wisconsin where many towns seem to have flooded after a river, following heavy rains, burst its bank. In contrast California has seen temperatures around 110 (even I know that’s hot!). On the subject of units though, I have started to realise how much of a mix we use in the UK. Ask me my height and I will tell you in feet and inches, and probably my weight in stones and pounds. BUT if I measure anything it’s always in m, cm, and mm; if I weight anything it’s always in Kg’s. Our fuel is pumped in litres yet we all talk about our Miles Per Gallon … I guess we are the halfway house between Imperial America and Metric Europe.

This evening I got in from work and spoke to my family back home, and then spent a while doing not very much at all on the computer. I flicked through the TV and stumbled across Fox where I realised I was watching Glee and finding it quite entertaining. Not wanting to admit that to myself (I’m not that American just yet) I turned it off and headed out to the gym. I’ve never really been one for gyms, and the extent of my exercise would normally be playing football with work on a Wednesday evening or 2 weeks of (mildly) intensive training at the end of April ready for the 10k GEAR. Alright then; 1 week. Since I’ve been out here though I’ve been making use of the gym at the apartment complex. Partly something to do but also because I have this fear of Mr Dunkin’ and Mrs Krispy Kreme tapping me on the shoulder … Anyway, when I got back I cooked myself some dinner and then did some cleaning. That brings us up to the present time!

I haven’t eaten the Boy Scout Popcorn yet … I’m thinking of keeping hold of it until I’m sure there’ll be no other door-to-door salesmen so that I don’t lose my evidence of not being tight!

Finally, it seems I’m not unlucky for Arsenal if I’m at work when they’re playing. Following last week’s 6-0 win there was a 3-1 win against Partizan tonight. After the two results from each Saturday match since I’ve been here, I’m not looking forward to watching the Chelsea game on Sunday morning. Still, it has to be better than the almost constant re-runs of West Ham vs.. Spurs; I think I’ve seen parts of that match at least 3 times now … that actually makes Glee seem appealing!

I’ve been had …

Sometime this afternoon I was speaking to my parents on Skype when there was a knock at my front door. Having not met any of my neighbours yet, I assumed maybe it was someone coming round to say “Hi”. Well, it was, but following the greeting was “do you want to buy some popcorn?”. It was a little kid with his mum, doing the rounds for the Boy Scouts. Looking back I should have just said I was allergic to the stuff, but I didn’t. Instead I went and got my wallet, came back to the door and handed over $10 … TEN DOLLARS for a bag of popcorn!  It had better taste good.

Pancake extraordinaire!

Check out my handiwork …

Tasted as good as they looked!

Don’t you hate it when …

… you think you’ve finally got a good photo of the stalker chipmunk, only to find THIS with a quick Google search. That photo is just too awesome (although possibly slightly cruel). Still, here’s the photo of my chipmunk (of course now there’ll be a rush to tell me he’s not actually a chipmunk at all!).

I drove for about an hour north of Fishers today, taking my camera with me and trying to get some photo’s of the farmlands and scenery around the area. It wasn’t that easy because of a lack of places to pull over, and everywhere that looked like it could have been a side road actually turned out to be someone’s drive. I did manage to find a place to stop (actually just a really long drive!) and take the panorama below … I’ll try and upload some photo’s to my Flickr account, but it may take some time as the mobile broadband isn’t the quickest.

This morning was taken up by watching a load of crap Arsenal lose at home to West Brom … I’m going to stop watching the games whilst I’m in the States as I’m clearly bad luck. This evening I went grocery shopping (!!) where I went a bit crazy and paid $2.09 for a can of Heinz Baked Beans …

Had to get some “gas” …

And even that is completely different to the UK!

I got to work this morning and the light came on the fuel gauge warning that I was low on gas. So on the way back to the apartment after work I stopped at the Speedway just across the street. Before pulling up to the pump, I checked the gauge to see what side the fuel filler cap was on. The gauge always shows what side you fill from. ALWAYS. It seems that the Impala is the only car I have been in that tells you the wrong side … So, after a quick 3 point turn on the forecourt I then had to go into the station to pay for my my fuel before I put it in. I wasn’t really sure of the size of the tank, so I took a guess and paid $30.

I filled up.

When I got back in the car, $30 actually made the needle on the gauge move to full. So $30 got me roughly 11 and a bit gallons; about 43 litres. On current exchange rates, this means I managed to fill a big family car up for around £19. Based on current UK fuel prices this would cost us about £50.

Ouch!

One more thing …

I finally got asked some questions about the Queen today! My favourite being …

Captured!

I’ve finally managed to get a photo of the chipmunk! Well, kind of. I had just got home from work and there were two on the patio. One of them seemed to be trying to break into the window, but he had gone by the time I grabbed the camera out of my bag. It’s not a great photo as the autofocus got hold of the blinds, but it’s a start.

This morning I also saw a raccoon run along the side of the apartment as I left for work and with all the tame squirrels running around, it’s like living in a nature reserve.

Today we had some rain! It was nice as it had been so hot and humid since I’ve been here and, unlike the small shower on Sunday, it actually rained for a good few hours. There were a few cracks of thunder but nothing in terms if a storm.

I’m starting to run low on fuel in the car so I think I’ll have to fill up soon … I saw the price of a gallon at my local station has dropped to $2.65; I’m going to try and bring some home at that price!

It’s hot!!

How’s the weather back in the UK?? This is a screenshot of a weather gadget on my desktop at 22:00 ….

Wish I had packed some shorts now!

End of the first weekend …

This weekend I’ve managed to do some further exploring and the weather has been great apart from a slight shower early this afternoon. This was nice though as it helped to clear the air a little that had been feeling very humid and heavy.

Last night I ventured out in the car and found a couple of malls that are within a 10-20 minute drive from the apartment, so that will be useful when I start Americanising my clothes (I look a bit Euro at the moment …). It was also the first time that I have gone properly out without getting lost!!

Today I investigated the facilities around the apartment area. There’s a nice gym with lots of different equipment and from what the lady showing me around said it doesn’t get too busy either. There’s a nice looking outside pool, but I think this is now out of bounds during autumn and winter.

I also drove out north today from Fishers and as the road merges from dual to single carriageway, so does the scenery. The regular mixture of housing, fast food outlets and supermarkets is replaced by trees and fields. The trees are that nice mixture at the moment of having some green leaves but a growing majority of golden colours are visible. Driving a little further the trees vanish and you enter the main farming area that I believe the state of Indiana is most renowned for. It’s pretty much how it is displayed in movies, with traditional farmhouses and barns scattered across the landscape. The land is almost flat with only a very slight undulation – it was almost like driving through the Fens! There were some great patterns in the sky formed by clouds and the sunshine breaking through, but I didn’t have my decent camera on me to capture any of it. It also felt a bit daunting driving through the area, as it looked almost identical to the scenery in the film Twister … not something I want to encounter!

Tonight I was invited by some people I’m working with at the moment to join them at a local Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Indianapolis Colts. I went along and it was a great evening, the chicken pieces were really tasty (especially in the Honey BBQ sauce) and it was a good atmosphere . I even began to understand some of the rules! I think I’ll definitely be going again and will have to adopt them as my NFL team (and it will give me someone to locally support in the absence of Arsenal). I’m going to need to buy a shirt to fit in however. I tried my best though, (by pulling a cheesy grin and sticking my thumbs up)…

But it’s back to work tomorrow so it’s time for bed now!

A few quick snaps …

Block that my apartment is in …

(yellow arrow shows the entrance to mine – ground floor. There is a family above me that crash around quite a bit!)

My wheels while I’m out here …

Today I went to a local market/fete. It had a mixture of produce from local farmers and a separate section with stuff on sale from local artists, the weather was good so it was a nice day out.

When I got back to the apartment I flicked on the TV and was able to watch the Arsenal game – awesome! Not such a good result though.

This advert keeps coming on the TV, it makes me laugh every time. It’s mainly the dude at the beginning with his bad acting when he finishes his golf swing. haha. The old fella does quite well on the contraption though, so I can’t really knock him too much – especially with the spritely finish.

A week almost gone by …

and I still haven’t seen a donut! People told me I’d be surrounded by them, but I haven’t seen any. So tonight I ventured out onto the highway for the first time (other than the short drive to work) and headed to Walmart …

It is HUGE. I’ve been to some big Tesco’s back in the UK, but the sheer size of the building and it’s contents inside is something else. I’ve also realised that Amercian supermarkets just don’t cater for the shopper buying for one. I thought I’d get some eggs; I could only find them available in trays of 18. EIGHTEEN. There was such a huge array of different milk to choose from, let alone find one in the smallest size possible (which happened to be 1/2 gallon). There were loads of breakfast cereals, most of which were brightly coloured (I did buy myself some Lucky Charms) and also in the breakfast section were the Pop Tarts. Here you have the choice from 27 flavours!

On the way home I managed to get lost (took the wrong exit) but after a 20 minute detour I was back on track. I think it comes from watching too much Worlds Wildest Police Videos with dad, but I always get a funny feeling when I drive across a crossroads. I can almost hear the legendary Sheriff John Bunnell commentating on the (hopefully not about to happen) collision!

On the way home I stopped at Burger King to see what their largest size drink is … the corresponding straw is called a Pipe and I can almost fit my little finger down it!

I’ve also noticed the price of petrol … $2.79 for a GALLON. That’s about £1.80.

So, an interesting night. And I got my donuts!

Some photo’s of the accommodation …

People have been asking where I’m staying and what does it look like … so here goes. I’ll try and get some photo’s of outside and the surrounding area later in the week or at the weekend! There’s also a chipmunk (I think) that I keep seeing on the patio, so I’ll try and get a photo of him/her too.

Bathroom

Lounge

Kitchen

Bedroom

Day One: Done.

Today was my first day at work and it lasted almost 10 hours - breaking myself in gently! It was great to get started though and meet some really nice people. I spent the day in a training session for Value Stream Mapping, it goes on for the next 2 days and is proving to be a good way to learn the existing manufacturing processes for the different products.

American roads don’t seem to be too well signposted with regards to speed limits, so I have been ultra cautious and sticking to 30 ish on the main roads. I’m trying to get hold of a copy of the US Highway code but even Google doesn’t throw up any answers; anybody that knows me will know that Google is my answer for everything!!!

One more thing …

There is a 5 hour time difference … so it’s not me randomly posting during the night whilst commenting on the previous day! Goodnight!

America is … BIG!

I’m here! Apartment is very nice and I’ll post pictures once I’ve tidied up the mess that I’ve created in the process of unpacking all of my stuff. The local area looks nice although I haven’t been out to explore yet!

Today (Sunday) has been spent mainly sorting out my bits and pieces, getting my mobile to work (still having problems), and setting the internet up in the apartment. I’ve consumed plenty of tea, thanks to my box of 240 I brought with me (thanks mum). It’s also been a strange day as I come to terms with the fact that I wont see any familiar faces for the next 3 months … I’m looking forward to getting into work and meeting new people to make up for this!

The flights went very well, I tried to stay awake most of the Heathrow to Chicago flight to avoid not feeling tired when I got to  Indianapolis and, despite the lack of movie choice on the plane, I managed to avoid sleeping. Once landed at Chicago I joined the queue for passport control and then passed through to collect my luggage. Once luggage was in hand I had a dash from Terminal 5 at Chicago to Terminal 1 (made easier by a monorail serving the airport). I arrived at gate B18 with about 30 mins before boarding started for the 50 minute flight. I can’t remember much from this flight other than take off and landing as I fell asleep! Once off the plane and luggage collected, I was picked up and taken to pick up my wheels for the duration of the secondment. From here I was taken to my apartment where people had been kind enough to supply me with some basics before I have to go to the supermarket. I had a quick shower and having spent the previous 20 or more hours travelling, jumped straight into bed. Sleep has never felt so good!

I found this in the fridge; I know we have 4 pint containers back in England, but it sounds so much more extreme as a Half Gallon …

The end of a crazy week; the beginning of an exciting year.

Work is finally finished for the week. It felt strange clearing my desk and having people help carry some bits and pieces to the car. Even stranger still when my name was removed from the fire register!

I’ve been amazed at the amount of people wishing me good luck, some people that I have never worked with before but may have seen when passing in corridors. It’s an extra confidence booster.

Now I better start packing … 11 hours until departure for Heathrow.

Woah-oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien …

I’m soon to be an Englishman in Indianapolis. My passport is now all nicely stamped with a US Visa and on Saturday morning (9/11…) I board Virgin Atlantic flight VS0039 to Chicago.

I’ve still got to pack!

Embassy visit: done.

This morning started badly. Firstly my alarm went off for what seemed like an eternity, a never ending rendition of The Entertainer filling my ears as my eyes tried to decipher the onscreen prompts to disable it. I got up, showered and dressed and got to the train station in time for the 06:18 to London Kings Cross. Then I had to buy my ticket from an automated ticket machine; I’ve used them before no problems. Today I had problems. Somehow I managed to mess it up so much I ended up with a First Class single (the First Class bit I didn’t actually notice until halfway through the journey).

Anyway, it got me to Kings Cross and after a couple of short dashes on the Underground I emerged above ground on Oxford Street (it’s a very quiet place at 08:30 in the morning). A short walk down to Grosvenor Square and I was at the US Embassy. Due to security measures I first had to deposit all my electrical items at a small pharmacy offering safety deposit bags. They charge £3 for this – the easiest money in the world.

Fast forward 3 hours and I emerged from the embassy. The process as a whole was organised although the downside being that, during my 3 hours in there, I probably only spoke/was spoken to for a grand total of 5 to 10 mins … but I did get to have my digital fingerprints taken!

Should get my passport and visa back within 5-7 working days!

Announced!

Earlier this week there was the 6 monthly Town Hall meeting where it was announced I had been offered, subject to visa, a 12 month secondment! I’m no longer the worst kept secret (hurrah!).

The visa submission is well underway now and a likely departure date is now nearer the end of August!

I think I’m gradually getting over the loss of the GTA; the pain has been eased by my Nan kindly letting me borrow her Corsa whilst I'm still in the country. Well, it is red …

Getting closer …

On Friday I bid a (tearful) goodbye to my car as it was driven off by its new owner …

Today I found out that my visa application has been submitted and I should find out about a trip to the embassy within a couple of weeks …