Random Observations

1.  Driving here is frightening.  While I see the benefit to having a car here (more needed here than NYC) -- holy moly the teensy tiny roads, occasional street signs, winding roads that make no sense whatsoever... Oy vey!

2.  At least most people are relatively polite while driving like maniacs.

3.  Toilet paper here feels like the napkins at a fast food joint.  I even bought the kind with "shea butter" and it's marginally better.

4.  Commerce actually shuts down by 7 in the evenings during the week and shops are usually closed on Sundays.  At least close to the corporate apartment.  It's nuts.  Even the "big" grocery store that's close to us is only open from 12-6 on Sundays!

5.  Even though this is still a "tea" town, there's plenty of good coffee to be found!

6.  There are way too many coins in the pound system.  Do you really need: a penny, a two pence, a five pence, a ten pence, a twenty pence, a fifty pence, a pound and a two pound coin?  Good grief!

7.  The food is bland, but not as terrible as I thought it would be.  Perhaps with the exception of "black pudding".  I don't even want to look it up on Wiki to see what it's really made of.  It's creepy and I can't imagine ever wanting to put something that looked like that into my mouth.

8.  The size of UK plugs is utterly ridiculous.  They're huge.

9.  Having a power switch on the wall for each outlet is kind of cool.  Allows you to keep things like toasters plugged in, but allows the power to stay off -- much safer and more efficient.

10.  Face to face, it's still hard to understand some of the accents.  I've been blaming it for the most part on jet lag -- but that excuse will dry up very soon.

11.  At least half of the country with kids must be on holiday because they don't seem to be out and about around town!

12.  The lack of A/C is mind blowing.  I realize it's normally not THIS hot -- but couldn't you still use it to get the moisture out of the air when it rains a bazillion times?

13.  London so far feels like a much nicer NYC.  It's a big city with hustle and bustle, but on a smaller and much calmer scale.  It's a big city, but there are still distinct neighborhoods that feel very suburban.

14.  There are a ton of really really freaking incredible cars here.  I see Bentleys, Astons, Ferraris, etc on a daily basis.  Just out and about.

15.  From all observances, folks here don't use a top sheet on their beds.  They have a light weight duvet with a cover and a fitted sheet.  That's it.  I suppose that will make it easier to teach the kids how to make their beds!

16.  The kids hear tons of languages spoken around them constantly.  I hope this sparks curiosity and a love for language.

17.  How is it that more people here aren't dying of allergies?  With so many freaking flowers in bloom everywhere, I'm sneezing like there's no tomorrow.  And I had years of allergy shots.  I haven't sneezed like this in 15 years!

18.  Folks here must have invented reality TV.  They seem obsessed with reality shows and tabloids!

I'm sure I could go on about a few other things... but I'll call it a night.  :-)   More to come!!