Matt Update

Well it is probably about time that I make an appearance. It is kind of funny because I think I check the blog as much as anyone else and am always eager to read the new one (even if it is about something I just did). I also think it is impressive that Tif averages 1 ½ posts per day. In fact, about 2 weeks ago she had her 100th post, which is a nice milestone.

So it is true that I haven’t been keeping up at quite the same pace but I am sure I will catch up any day now. I think the first thing I have to mention is that I have been very busy at work. Although I actually like being a little busy and like having challenging problems to solve but past a point it is not a lot of fun.

For one thing we are winning a lot of work (which is good) but trying to manage it all is stressful. The other problem is I still have things I am involved in back in the states and because of the time difference my day tends to drag out. Basically, I have most of the day in the UK to work on UK stuff and I don’t get any emails or calls from the US. However, about 3pm everyone in the US starts to get into work and then they start to flow in. Also, between about 3pm to 5pm I almost always have a teleconference with the US because these are the only shared work hours.

Unfortunately, although the people at work try not to call after 5pm sometimes we also have meetings with other (clients etc.) who don’t really care what time it is in the UK, so I end up having to do calls in the late evening as well.

The whole time zone thing is something I have to deal with all the time. We are working on number of projects with people in multiple countries (US, UK, France, Sweden, and Japan for one job alone). Figuring out a time when everyone can talk is sometimes not even possible. For instance to have a conference call with someone from the Eastern US, UK, and Japan the only realistic hour you can call is 7amEST/12amUK/8pmJp. So one guy is just waking up, ones having lunch and the other is getting ready for bed. Anyway, you can see that it forces you out of the normal 9-5 day.

For those who know me well, I am not a big fan of talking on the phone and to be honest, in 5 way teleconferences are often very hard to understand people. For instance I may be calling into a board meeting with 20 people and can only hear the 10 seated closest to the phone. I had two calls like this in two consecutive days which both ran over 5 hours. So sitting on a half heard phone call for five hours is about as fun as it sounds. I can actually work on the computer and such during the call but you are still trapped.

Anyway, I don’t mean to complain, certainly since all this was my idea, but I have been busier than I would like.

On a positive note it seems like Frankie has settled in nicely to her new school, that was one of my worst fears. Tif is also starting to get more freedom, we finally got her a debit card and she is also starting to drive a little more. In fact she was very brave yesterday and went to a local play all by herself, at night, which was a good change. I also like our house, it is not perfect by any means but as spring comes it is really starting to get very green and the views can be amazing. I also like all of our neighbors and that is nice to have. It kind of funny, we supposedly live in Maryport but we don’t really do much in Maryport. It is more like we live in Kirkborough which is only 5 houses big.

I have also started to really like going for walks. In the evenings I like to go for a long walk when Tif puts Frankie to bed and I have found a really nice route that I can take that is about 5 miles. It is actually, if not scenic, then at least a very interesting walk. In the UK, there is not nearly as much open space as in the US but historically there have always been paths that local farmers used to walk from village to village and these paths still exist. This sort of thing is totally different to the US. So for instance, I walk through a path that goes from Nethertown to Dearham and it starts in Maryport and then meanders down by a river and then you have to cross through 3 sheep fields and then down a small road, and then up a farmers road and then back home. It is weird because these paths are historic “public right of ways” which means that even if you own the land you can’t stop people from walking through it. It involves a lot of fence climbing and scattering cattle and sheep. For instance, I took Frankie on one yesterday and we accidently separated 4 lambs from their mothers and there was a great rushing of sheep as they tried to recombine. It is kind of neat to think that this silly path I am walking on is probably hundreds of years old.

So in Colorado when I think of a hike it is a very specific trail that goes from this trail head to this lake or whatever. However here, it is more like someone laid a spider web over the map, there are a million options of which way to go. Last weekend, Tif and Frankie went to a small zoo and I walked from the zoo parking lot, through a forest, then around a lake, then up a hill through farms, then through a bed and breakfasts parking lot, then a small village and looped back around. It is kind of an adventure. The picture below is just a tiny slice of the map, the red line is my nightly walk but all the dotted lines are public foot paths that go everywhere.



I am also finding renting a house to be not very enjoyable. There are lots of things there are out of your control and you have to rely on other people to do things. The landlord is nice enough but a bit (okay very) disorganized. However, he seems to mean well and tries to take care of things when there is a problem. Ken the Cumbrian Handyman is not nearly as appealing but he is who the landlord chooses to do the work. This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy, if this was my house, then Ken would never be contracted to do work again, but that is not my choice here so we end up having to deal with Ken.

Here is a case in point, we asked for a washer/dryer and dishwasher as part of the lease agreement and they complied. However, again, if it was my house I would buy a new one and decent one. I mean who wants to deal with a crappy washer/dryer all the time. However, from a landlords perspective a “refurbished” washer/dryer seems like a fine, money saving idea and he never has to deal with it. Also, even if it was new I am sure it would be bottom of the line. You are never going to put a nice appliance in a rental. So now of course, the washer has broken and now we have to deal with this (or credit where it is due, Tif had to deal with it). So it turns out that Mr. Ken has a deal with the landlord where he refurbishes appliances and then offers a guarantee. So if they break then he has to fix them for free. Again, makes sense to a landlord but is not so good for us. So it is frustrating and makes me really look forward to being in a home I own.

On a similar point, our lease also includes provisions for internet service which this house has but it is so slow (because again, why buy a high speed package for a rental?). But there is nothing I can do about it. I can’t say that they are not doing as they said (providing internet), I just want it faster. It doesn’t stop me from doing something but it takes forever. If I was at home, we would just get better service so not only were our minimum requirements met but also we were not frustrated all the time. Anyway, for anyone renting, I feel for you.

On a closing note, as I was writing this got a text from the landlord saying Ken had a “bug” and couldn’t get us a washer until Tuesday (by the way, third “bug” so far). We are both feed up by this so I asked Mark to get rid of Ken and he agreed. So I am hoping that I will never have to hear the name Ken again.