Our free wireless internet provided by one of our flat neighbors hasn't been working for a few days, so I have to do all internet activity from the library. A new post will be ready as soon as I can work it out.

To sum up...a got offered a job, furniture is delivered tomorrow, and everything is good.

Later.

So first things first...this is not London Bridge. This is Tower Bridge in London. Some (or most) of you may have been aware of this fact, but I always thought this was the London Bridge, just refurbished over the years/centuries. In movies and TV they show this bridge as a reference to tell us they are in London, erego it should be London Bridge. Tower Bridge looks really cool. London Bridge really is just that...a bridge.

Anyway, well I made it to London! Most of you already know this. On Saturday, we took the trams around Croydon (where we live) shopping and stuff in an attempt to keep me awake to avoid jet lag. Sunday we went up to central London to Hillsong for church then spent the afternoon walking and taking the Tube (Underground) around the city. We found the building where my recruiting agency is so I could find it myself on Tuesday. We took some pictures and they are posted on our webpage. For those of you I know, but don't know the website address email me and I will give it to you.

So far its very cool here, literally. The tempature has not gone above 80. It has rained a couple of days, though. I am very curious how winter is going to be. Definitely different than good ole Texas.

Later.

Oh, one tip - If you are in an Underground station and you see a lift (elevator), take it, otherwise you will end up taking the longest twisting staircase. This happened to us at the Covent Garden tube stop.

So, Monday was my last day at my job in Texas. It was (is) very surreal that I left and am on my way to London after a couple of days in Atlanta.

I don't know anyone in the "working world" that actually works 9 to 5. I for example, worked 7:30 to 4:30. There were a few of us that worked this schedule and now they have lost one of their crew.

I had a wonderful first job experience. I know several people that hated their first job out of college, but I can't empathize. I worked with a great group of people and I will miss them. I will miss the messed up parking garage. I will miss the afternoon stroll down to the convienent store in the basement for a caffinated beverage to make it through the day. I will miss the sarcastic comments from everyone. I will miss the always changing way we do our jobs. Can't say I will miss the system access testing. I will miss Friday morning breakfast and Friday lunch with everyone.

Well, my long drive from Fort Worth, TX to Atlanta, GA went rather smoothly until I hit downtown traffic in Atlanta. That is the worst. The Volvo has survived to last another day. Let's see how it holds up for my mom.

That is what is needed in order to pack up a very large percentage of your belongings; specifically articles of clothing, into only a few not-so-large suitcases keeping in mind nothing can weigh more than 70 lbs.

Last night I made probably the most progress with my packing for my move to London. Its very difficult to pack enough to make sure everything will fit, yet still maintain a useable wardrobe for the next 10 days I am here. Plus, I have a huge down comforter than I successfully minimized into a 1.5-inch think article. This is impressive considering it’s folded over 4 or 5 times. Thank you SpaceSaver bags (those little bags you hook up to your vacuum, excellent). Now, I have to go through all the hordes of stuff left in my room and determine what get packed away in storage for a while. First I need to clean out my car, because at this moment in times, it’s probably the worst it’s ever been.

One of my favorite tracks off the new Coldplay album X&Y
is "Fix You". It begins very quiet and slow with Chris Martin's trademark use of falsetto for a couple of verses. Towards the end, a great guitar riff changes the tempo to almost a completely different song. I can't really describe the end of the song, but it is very much a stadium anthem as evidenced my their new video. Its a great video and further evidence that I need to see them live. You can check it out here

A couple of more things about this song.
1)It kills me when I purchase an album and I find that one track that I believe stands out from the rest, and people who only listen to the singles played on the radio will miss out...only to have the band release that song as the next single. The other 2 times I remember this happening was with Blues Traveler "Hook" and Red Hot Chili Peppers "Californication". I feel like I was cheated or something. Maybe I am just crazy.

2)I first shared this observation with a couple of friends of mine, both Coldplay fans. One of the first times I heard "Fix You" I felt like it could be used in a movie trailer. You know the story...guy has it all, and then unexpectedly tragedy strikes. Is he gonna make it? Everything is going against him and there seems to be no way out. Until....(the music slowly speeds up) [the guitar riff part] he has to make the choice to overcome adversity (drums kick in), and all will be well (singing in unison). One of my friends told me that this song would have fit perfectly in the trailer for Elizabethtown .

Take a listen and tell me what you think.

As the title of this post suggests, or blatantly promotes, I am here to discuss the wonderful program that is iChat. You will notice (or already have) the link to Apple Computer and the "on my ipod" list on the right side of this blog. If it isn't painfully obvious, I am a fan of Apple products and Mac OS X. iChat is really just a fancy name for the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) program that runs on a Mac. One of the coolest features of iChat is video conferencing (with the assistance of an iSight web camera of course). On Friday afternoon, I video conferenced with Cheryl who is, as you know, across the pond in London. It was awesome!! By far as good if not better than Apple describes it.

It was so nice the see my honey face to face, even if its on a computer screen. We talked for about an hour, probably longer and it was the highlight of my week! I had her take the camera around our flat so I could see what it looks like since she hasn't taken any pictures of it yet. It was choppy at times, but still very cool. There was a little stedi-cam/Blair Witch camera angles a couple of times. Our nephew Noah also joined in on the conversation for a little while as well.

Cheryl has the laptop and I don't have my own (I'm still waiting for His & Her Macs) so I had to go over to my brother & sister-in-law's place of employment (thanks guys!) and video conference with their computer. If I had my own computer, I guarantee we would video conference everyday. I guess for know we will have to settle for just talking over telecommunication lines. So, 20th century.

So, bottom line. Get an Apple, get an iSight camera, video chat.

Editor's note: It should be noted that video conferencing with AIM is possible using a computer running Windows, however setup and use on a Mac is far easier and superior.

I just received a phone call on my mobile (2 syllables) from a wonderful individual, Patricia who works at the British Consulate General's office.

A little background...As I stated previously, my wife Cheryl is, at present, living in Croydon, UK. (How many commas can be in one thought?)
In order to join her over there I was to complete a visa application for a spouse or dependent for someone that has been granted a Work Permit Visa. I was under the impression, that since I do not have a job upon my arrival in the UK, erego do not have a sponsor for my own work visa, as a spouse I would be able to gain employment under Cheryl's visa. Therefore...I completed the visa application for a Settlement visa, as I am planning on settling in the UK for at least a couple of years. That was my downfall.

Apparently, Settlement visas are for dependents and spouses of British nationals/citizens, which 1) was not made clear during the 8 pages of application data, and 2) I'm pretty sure Cheryl is not. Of course, I discovered I completed the wrong application after I paid for it (not cheap). Upon this discovery, I called the phone number on my confirmation email, where I was instructed (by recorded voice) to call another number to discuss visa applications. It just so happened that the 2nd phone number charges $2.10 per minute!!

Anyway, (this post is getting rather long...) I FedEx-ed the application and a page long letter detailing my error (moroness) and requesting someone contact me ASAP so I could complete the proper visa application. After 3 emails sent to the Consulate (2 were returned as "undeliverable" as it were) and another $2.10 per minute phone call, everything seems to be set. That is where Patricia fits in.

Patricia received my most recent and only successful email and called me to discuss my situations. She told me to complete the work visa application online, obtain all the required documentation, and to FedEx it to her. Her specifically! She said she would personally take care of my application and I would be refunded the amount for the Settlement visa. She also gave me her direct line at the Consulate just in case. I just wanted to know that someone at the Consulate was aware of my situation so I could breathe a little easier, but this was above and beyond.

So, crisis averted and it appears that I will be able to leave as I have scheduled and my stress level may drop back to normal. Thank you Patricia.

Now I just need to buy my ticket...and pack.

Well, Blogger didn't like my first post apparently and wouldn't recognize my web address. The purpose of this post is strictly to try again.

Hello all.

I played around with the idea of a blog back in October, however it never really formed into anything. This is my second attempt at joining the blogging ranks.

As for the title of this blog "Somewhere In Between" is taken from the Jack Johnson song 'Better Together' off his most recent album In Betweeen Dreams. He titled the album as such because he wrote most of the songs for this ablum in between his 2 tours. I like to think that no matter what we are doing in life (or not doing as the case may be), we are always 'somewhere in between' events in our life.

This has special significance for me as my wife Cheryl and I are starting a new life in London, UK (a suburb of London anyway).

I promise this blog won't be deep or anything. Those of you who know me probably aren't too concerned about that. I mean the title of this blog is after a very mellow tune. We will talk movies, music, pop culture, religion (more specifically faith), and whatever items I feel like discussing or making a semantic comment about.

Enjoy.