Moving Day

The end of my first week in Charleston is approaching - and bringing with it the move to my apartment, which will be beginning tonight (Thurs) and completing tomorrow (Fri). Unlike in the UK, the vast majority of apartments here come with absolutely nothing other than a stove, fridge and worktop space. I've been fortunate in taking over the lease from one of the guys in the lab here and so i actually have a bed waiting for me - but very little else. Still, that should have changed by Saturday night - another of my colleagues has offered to drive me to a couple of shops where they have absolutely everything and anything you could imagine. Suffice to say, money is going to be spent. I suspect my credit card may have melted by the end of the day - that is if it hasn't done so already in this heat.

By now, i guess, you're probably sick of me mentioning the weather in these posts (well, the three that there have been since i arrived) so i promise i'll try not to go on about it much more - unless extreme tropical storms etc. appear in the coming weeks (who knows? It is apparently "storm season" now - and will be until the end of August so i believe). It's strange though - one of the major stereotypical traits given to us British - more English i suppose - is that we talk incessantly about the weather. How many of us, when at a loss for something to say have mentioned the weather? All of us i would probably wager. Looks like we're not the only ones though - the good folk of Charleston are just a crazy about it as we Brits - and i suspect the rest of the US follow suit. Still, gives me something to talk about, eh?

Swimming

Hello again!

Wow, two posts in two days - you must all feel very honoured. Sorry, that should be honored - gotta stick to the local spelling, i guess - "when in Rome..." and all that. Anyway, its still very nice and warm here - but the rain is still hovering around like a bad smell. From what i gather, when its high tide, its all hell breaking loose - the water backs up the drainage etc. but then low tide comes and it all drains away. I reckon that all it would need is a good engineer and a few million dollars to sort it out - but i suspect that it would be too much like hard work for the local government to do it. Either that, or its way too obvious - this is America after all.

Anyway, i'm having a wee break from my stack of papers that i have to read - and from interrogating various people around the lab about their research - all part of the project development process that i'm in the middle of. I'm kind of leaning towards one way at the moment - but truth is that i find pretty much all of what's going on here interesting. Interesting enough to have a whirl of ideas about anyway. My boss said yesterday that if i came up with lots of ideas it would be good. Even if he shot down 9 out of 10 of them, it wouldn't matter. Well, the former isn't a problem at all - but as for the latter - well, let's just say that i think he's got the gun loaded and ready. Wonder if he needs the target practice...

How are y'all doing?

Well, hello there from the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. It's my second full day in Charleston and already i'm in the lab - is that a surprise or what? I told you they'd work me hard here. Anyway, had a meeting with my boss - Prof. Yusuf Hannun (http://www.musc.edu/BCMB/facultypages/hannun.htm) - to discuss my arrival, what the position entails and potential research areas that are active in the lab right now. We have begun the process of developing a project for me to do - as i thought, it's likely going to involve latching on to someone else's work and then taking it in my own unique direction. Have a list of people to chat to (this afternoon probably) and am then going to be doing reading for a time i suspect. Will be pretty limited stuff until i can get my ID card and have attended the orientation (next Tuesday - July 5th). So, i'm here in one piece and enjoying myself so far. The jet lag wasn't bad at all - i find it never is when you fly west, much worse when you fly east. Surprisingly, some of my colleagues here find it the other way round - again, i guess its what you're used to. So, it's busy, busy, busy.

So, how is Charleston? As I remember, its very pretty but very humid. The heat hits you like a steam train and i have been assured by many people that I will NEVER fully get used to it - for all those that are planning on visiting, the height of summer may not be the best for you - although i have also been assured that this is not yet the height of summer. Joy! However, would you believe, its been thundery showers here for the past couple of days. Major difference - the rain is nice and warm as opposed to freezing cold, which has its pluses. But if you think that Britain can't handle a bit of rain, you haven't seen anything yet. An hour of rain and the roads are flooding - the drainage system must be victorian. Which will be fun for me when i have to cross it in ten minutes to go for a meeting (International office introductory guff). I knew i should have packed that canoe!

Definitely the last post before i go

Okay, so the chances of me going a week and a half without adding a post when i have access to a computer is actually very slim indeed - thus, this is an extra bonus post for you all. It's Wednesday 22nd and i've arrived back in Manchester after a (busy) few days of being back up in North Yorkshire. Have spent the past couple of days doing a whirlwind tour of everyone that i know in the Catterick area (who was there at least) and have managed to say "au revoir" to them all (I don't really like goodbye - its rather final). Suffice to see it has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster as well.

I'm sat in EasyEverything in Manchester City Centre (my computer is dismantled and left back up north for my brother to collect) typing this with only four days to go till lift off. As you'd probably expect, i'm feeling very excited still - but now the nerves and apprehension are beginning to creep in a bit. This is, i suppose, perfectly natural. After all, its not like i'm moving down the road. The nerves and excitement leave you with a rather odd feeling though - something of a knot in the stomach. This tends not to last too long - the excitement always takes over but i suspect i may be a bit of a nervous wreck when it actually gets to Sunday morning and i walk out of my house for the last time.

Anyhow, enough of all this - its bad enough as it is without me winding myself up further so i'll sign off for now - and this will DEFINITELY be the last post before i get to the USA. On other news, just before i do, i've decided to learn HTML and actually construct a proper website. It'll take me a while to get it together enough to be published on the web (especially as i won't have a computer for a time) and, even then, it'll be a work in progress. However, when it's up and running, i'll post the website address on here - and also send out a big joint e-mail to everyone.

So, there'll be a brief intermission whilst we relocate to another studio!

Countdown

As you can probably guess, D-day of 26th June is rapidly approaching and seems lost, at the moment, in a whirl of tying up loose ends (experiments at work), sorting out paperwork, attempting to tidy my room and sort my stuff out ready for my Dad to come and get on Thursday (i'm an expert at putting this off to the last minute) and trying to get round to see everyone i can to say goodbye to. This, at least, affords me the chance to apologise to those of you who i didn't get round to seeing (i don't think there will be that many) and bid them goodbye for the time being. Also, this page gives me a chance to extend an invitation to all my friends and family to come over to Charleston and visit me - check out the pages below to see what a great place Charleston is, and if that doesn't tempt you, then i'm sure the promise of a semi-tropical climate will (i believe its about 33 degrees and sunny there at the moment).

This is likely to be my last post on here for some time as well - almost certainly my last post in the UK. This is because my computer is going to be dismantled on Thursday ready to take back up North where it's gonna be living for a short time - until my brother comes to collect it (have decided to pass it on to him). So, until i get round to buying a laptop over in the US (which will be quickly, believe me), there will be something of a lack of new info on here. Rest assured i'll be back soon.

So, until i'm back - from the shores of the USA, i bid you all goodbye!

Money

Well, i've now picked up some travellers cheques and cash to tide me over the first month (or so) of life in Charleston until I get a social security number (1-2 weeks) and a bank account (who knows?!). Until then, i'll be working for zip....nothing...nadda because the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) can't pay me without them. Still, it'll be like being a student again - except i have extra wrinkles now. Anyway, the main point of this rant...err, post is to comment on American Money. I mean, who on earth came up with this system?

Over here, things seem to work well enough. With coins (from low to high), it's copper, then silver (round), silver (not round) and then gold (okay, the £2 has silver too but it's pretty recognisable). In the US, they have coins for (in cents) 1 (copper), 5 (a nickel - silver, round and big), 10 (silver, round and small), 25 (silver, round and bigger) and the dollar coins (big, bronze). I mean, what kinda screwed up order is that? And is there a use of having a quarter over a twenty and a fifty pence piece? Perhaps its what you're used to and what you're brought up with but i think it's a bit dumb to me (but, hey, this is the US!).

As for the notes - which have a curious air to them, kinda like a musty dusty book that's been in the library untouched for years. Dunno what it is, but i nearly always get a dry throat when i'm near them. But, on top of that, they're ALL THE SAME SIZE and, worst, ALL THE SAME COLOUR. Now, in the UK, if i removed an orange/brown Bank note from my wallet, virtually everyone would now its a tenner, ditto blue = fiver, pink - £20 and so on. Yet, get a wad of bank notes there and its a painstaking process to flick through and make sure you have got the right amount, the right notes etc. Added to the fact they have a one dollar bill (one good thing about this is that it makes you feel rich) and you can understand why they got rid of one pound notes in favour of coins.

So, as you can probably guess, my opinion on American Money isn't currently too high. That may change - watch this space is all i can say. However, if there's a positive message to take from this post, it's that you have to salute that Exchange Rate!

Current Standings

Ok, so introductions are done for now so i guess i'd better bring you all up to date.

It's 4.25PM on Sunday June 5th and i'm sat in my bedroom in Fallowfield, Manchester. In exactly three weeks from now, i'll be somewhere over the Atlantic heading towards Newark Airport and my first arrival at US borders with my visa. I'm pretty apprehensive about this - i always expect the sorts (does that make me pessimistic, cynical or realistic? Answers on a postcard...) Plus, the fact that i have a connecting flights 2 and a half hours after landing kinda makes me jumpy about missing (i suppose you could just say i worry too much).

So where am i going to? I'm moving to Charleston, situated to the Northeast of the state of South Carolina - geography wise South Carolina (abbreviated as SC over there) is situated above the state of Georgia (which is itself above Florida) and below North Carolina (surprise, surprise). It's a very sprawling city - primarily as the local government has passed a law sayng that no buildings above 10 storeys will be built. This is partly due to the fact that Charleston is a hurricance zone (a couple of the tropical storms last year wandered past it but had largely blown themselves out by then) and also lies on a minor faultline (nothing like the San Andreas fault so don't worry). Also because they don't want to destroy the character of the place - and it has a lot of that. This is very evident in the architecture - very colonial in places. It's hard to describe Charleston so, over time, i plan on posting some photos on here to show what it's like. This will also serve as an introduction to the place for those friends and family who make it over there to see me.

Anyway, things are pretty much sorted paperwork wise right now. Tickets are booked (must remember to print them out), insurance is sorted, accomodation arranged - i've managed to sort out a studio apartment in Downtown Charleston which sounds great (it has a balcony and swing chairs!) and is pretty reasonable (especially when you compare it to apartments over here). This will be the first time i've lived alone - and it will be strange being in a new country. But then i suspect that i'll be working quite hard that there won't be too much time when i'll even have to think about it. At least once the first couple of weeks have flown by.

I'd love to be able to say that i know a lot about the history of Charleston but, alas, i don't. Hopefully, i'll learn more of it as time goes on - but for anyone reading whose particularly interested, go to the following websites.

http://www.celebratecharleston.com/
http://www.hellocharleston.com/

So that's all for now - i'll post more later. But bear in mind that until i get over there, i won't have a lot to talk about just yet.

The Beginning

Greetings to everyone!

So, welcome to my blog page and my very first blog entry. This is my own little dedicated space of the internet where i will, over the coming months, be posting a number of my thoughts, feelings and generally crazed rantings about everything and anything that takes my fancy. So, i guess the question you'd ask is - why start now?

The reason for this is pretty simple enough and was bought about by a major change in my life - probably the biggest change to date - namely, the fact that i'm leaving the familiar behind i.e. the UK and shifting over to the other side of the Atlantic for at least a year (hopefully longer). Establishing an online journal has the benefits of keeping all my friends informed of what's happening without me having to e-mail them all (not that i'm lazy, just that i'll be working pretty hard as it is). Its also something for me to look back on in the future (where i'll no doubt be cringing and thinking - did i really write that?). Finally, the whole experience of living in a different culture is something that i think i'll have plenty to say about. So watch this space.

Oh, and one final apology to all my friends/family reading this who know it all already - you never know who may stumble across this page so got to at least give them SOMe background.

And with that, i'll end my first entry. Welcome!