He's Back...

Well, dear readers (if i actually have any), i decided after an extended break that it was high time for me to pick up my....er...keyboard and fill you in, once again, on the daily goings on of a British research scientist humbly trying to survive in deepest darkest South Carolina (okay, Charleston) without losing my sanity. Or at least the little bit of sanity that i claim to have left. Suffice to say, it's been a rather strange few months without the outlet of regular posts on here. At times, i've found myself with entirely too much time on my hands, yet at other moments, i've been glad not to have this taking up precious moments required for sleep and other such necessary activies (like Christmas parties). Still, i've currently got a handle on things all work and life related (famous last words, i'm sure) and fully intend to try and update this at least once a week. Maybe twice, if you're lucky. I'm sure there is going to be a wealth of material to discuss in the coming months, what with the craziness of election year already well underway (complete with the accompanying apathy) as well as the general wackiness of the Southern folk to contend with. And a trip to Italy come the end of February as well to keep me (and hopefully you, dear reader) entertained.

For now, the shackles are off, the electricity is running and there seems to be life in this (relatively) old dog yet. It's good to be back!

Fun With Flights

With having two visits to the UK in the next few months (one at the end of April for my friend Phil's wedding, one in August/September for my cousin's and brother's wedding - not to each other i add), i've spent an awful lot of time recently browsing the numerous travel websites out there in search of a reasonably priced flight back over the Atlantic and have come to one conclusion. These days, there just aren't any. Actually, that's not strictly true, if you hunt around a lot, then you can get good deals but, to be frank, i haven't got the time or the energy to do just that. Okay, well maybe i have the time on occasion but it's such a grinding task that leaves you with your head tangled in knots over airport changes, times, different time zones, connections and any number of other things. Of course, the fact that i've now joined a specific Air Miles program doesn't really help matters much, despite the fact that it doesn't really limit my choice of airlines (there is some Skyteam alliance thing whereby a number of airlines all give air miles to the other's members as well as their own).

Anyway, after spending much time going cross-eyed and banging my head against a brick wall, i finally managed to sort out flights for my trip back home in August (the flights for April were booked sometime ago and were a bit less of a headache). Some reasonably extensive searching and cross-referencing allowed me to book flights separately from Charleston to Boston and then to London Heathrow (instead of my usual Manchester) via Paris Charles De Gaulle (which should no doubt be an experience). Okay, so there's an extra change in there but it gives me a couple of extra segments for the air miles (they're important) but also a few extra miles as well. Plus, it was $200 cheaper than the best alternative i could find through the various travel websites. I guess it just goes to show that shopping around doesn't hurt. Now all i have to do is survive my brief stay (a couple of hours) in France. Shouldn't be TOO difficult for an Englishman!

Lost In Time

One facet of my recent California trip that was a new thing for me was the fact that I was going to be travelling within the same country, yet was going to be in a completely different time zone - losing three hours in the process. Or rather gaining them, depending on your perspective. Thus, the joy of jet lag was awaited - although as usual was far worse for me coming back to Charleston than when flying out to San Francisco. The analogy I usually give is that in living three hours again, for your body, it's really just like you're staying up late, and then still getting a full night's sleep. The bad thing with coming back is when you have your day considerably shortened (it's even worse going back to the UK when your whole night becomes condensed into a 6-7 hour flight). This whole thing probably explains my grogginess this week.

Anyways, to top all of this off as well, the administration over here passed legislation recently to extend the period of Daylight Savings time (or British Summer Time as it is known in, well, Britain). I'm not 100% sure of the reasons - i think that work efficiency or something factors into it along the line, but it got somewhat lost in the rest of the explanation. Suffice to say, this last Saturday at 1.00am, the clocks were moved forward 1 hour. Now, add this to the fact that it was the last night of the conference, we were all getting up relatively early for our flights back to Charleston AND we were going to be losing an additional three hours as well, then it's small wonder that our bodies didn't know if they were coming or going. Certainly, i have been sleeping a little longer than normal since coming back (always a good thing!). Of course, this now means that I am currently only 4 hours behind friends and family in the UK at the moment - at least until they put their clocks forward in, I think, a week or so. Confused much? No, me neither.

Things That Need To Go Away

As always in life, there are things that just seem to be everywhere and, to be frank, need to go away. At the moment over here, there seems to be something of an upsurge in the number of things that, quite frankly, I need to stop hearing. So they need to disappear, vanish into Room 101 or something.

1. Britney Spears - Okay, so she went 'crazy' and is in rehab. Like so many other young females who are exposed to fame at early ages. It doesn't mean I want to hear about it all the time.

2. Anna Nicole Smith - Okay, so she died and was quite young - it is tragic, but I'm sure that i'm not the only one sick of the 'soap opera' style court cases that are continually being thrust into the news. Do these people have no shame? Can't they just let the poor woman rest in peace.

3. The Iraq Issue - So, the current administration misled the public to carry out an illegal war in Iraq. Everyone realises four years to late and now the Democrats decide that they're going to do something about it - basically blocking the current administration's plans (not necessarily a bad thing). Fine and dandy, except the Democrats don't seem to have a strategy themselves (other than running away and leaving someone else to clean up the mess). Whilst I appreciate this is a major issue, I tire of the fact that all conversations on this subject are just going round and round in circles. Enough already!

4. The current administration - And whilst we're at it, the current administration just needs to disappear from the annals of history all together. Of course, is the next one going to be any better??

5. David and Victoria Beckham - so Becks is moving from Real Madrid (one of the greatest football teams on the planet) to LA. And it's about the football??? Hmmm. Seriously, they've barely got here and already the news and 'entertainment' channels (I use the term loosely) are falling over themselves about it. Oh, for a really world class psychiatrist!!

6. Advertisements - Not only are they on an obscene amount of times over here (4 commericals in a half hour show! 6 times in an hour long) but they're either incredibly annoying, inane, just plain stupid or all of the above. In particular, i'm sick of adverts for local law firms touting for business, and car adverts. Just as bad over here as back home.

Ok, so only a handful of things. I could go on but we'd probably be here all night. And, naturally, this is by no means comprehensive. If anyone else wants to add their own thoughts about what's driving them crazy right now, please feel free to add. Apart from Britney, of course.