lunch break… report finished… meet w/user this pm to verify results.

also will start hounding landlord back home to respond (QUICKLY) to a request from my local leasing agent to verify rental history.

woo hoo! survived the first day of school (oops, work) and none of the other kids (oops, colleagues) beat up on me.

have a report due tomorrow. not surprising considering the nature of the business. i got the usual “business-spec-scribbled-on-the-back-of-a-piece-of-paper” thing and did the right thing by turning it into a business/technical spec. and EMAILED it for documentation purposes.

he he that probably was the first part of the test. i’ll finish the report tomorrow morning…

at 230~240v, irons get really HOT here really FAST.

(back @ the hotel) ok i’m ready for tomorrow. 8:30 am…

btw found opwn wifi on street near crossharbour station. very low signal but usable.

next weekend: investigate far E and SE london

travel time from richmond station to canary wharf: 1h30m.

hunted down the asda supermarket that some folks were going on about. funny, it’s a wal-mart!

ah, the decline of western civilisation.

there seems to be some obsession here with cadbury eggs. probably an easter advert thing. i think they’re yummy so i’m glad of it.

richmond area IS quite nice. very comfortable feeling. think the family will like it.

now i have something to compare the new area in the docklands to.

this must be quite like houston — i even almost got lost. hasn’t happened yet this trip…!

ok the barista accidently gave me a triple espresso instead of the double i paid for. whoo hoo i’ll be hopping around after awhile.

no power outlet but that’s ok. i’m just happy to be able to report anything at all…

the street right off the richmond station exit is a very nice shopping district. i’ll wander around the area a bit to get a feel for the area immediately withing walking distance of the tube entrance.

another random open wifi connection in richmond, next to cafe azzurro. “excellent” signal strength. i’ll get some espresso.

today’s test: timing the commute from richnond to canary wharf.

will report more on this area after i get my espresso. yum.

whoa. 20p for every 4 minutes of dryer time. i’ll be glad to get that apartment (with washer and dryer) set up next week.

beats washing in the sink and drying the clothes in the shower though, so i’ll not complain too much.

woo hoo! someone near the local laundrette has an open wifi connection.

it’s been a few years since i’ve been to a public laundromat so this may already be in place in the States… but most of the machines are attached to a computerized payment center in the room. you can pay with coins or credit card. but you have to have your clothes and soap in the machine before you pay, since the machine starts up right away as soon as you pay.

the machines that aren’t hooked up to the payment kiosk are the older top-loading ones. they cost 1 GBP less per load. the front-loading machines are 3 GBP per load. needless to say i shoved everything into one machine.

i’m near the post office by russell square, fyi

for kris, siouxanne and vira: Photos of London sponsored by Weather Underground

time change! what a surprise. moved forward 1 hour. i was wondering why the waiter at breakfast was getting irritated with us folks who came in after “8:00”.

Current local time in London – England – U.K.

Moving from the US to the UK

UK Yankee Forum – Moving Issues

UK Yankee Forum – deposit for utilities

UK Yankee Forum – Telephone Service

covers uk but also useful for keeping out of trouble in other countries as well… Global Etiquette