The weekend before Thanksgiving

On Friday Vicky and I arrived home to find that Moms new fireplace had arrived!

I had a choice, I could help build it straight away, or wait until Saturday morning.  With the Manchester City game on live here, I opted for erecting it in the evening.

It's a beautiful piece.  I took my time assembling it, knowing my luck, I would scratch it!, and Vicky helped me position the heavy top into place.  The fireplace even comes with a remote control!  Sadly we've had to remove the vcr (no bad thing), as there is only room for the blu-ray player and the cable box.

CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO ENLARGE

Afterwards for a treat, we watched a couple of Tom Jerry cartoons.  A recent blu-ray purchase.  The first 30 odd T&J cartoons have finally been released uncut and with their original title cards.  All cats are now seen smoking and 'black face' gags are back in.  "Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Vol 1 is intended for the Adult Collector and May Not Be Suitable for Children"

Yesterday after the manchester city game I had my second driving lesson.  Last week I drove around a school car park, and then a residential area.  This time we took to the motorway!  Essentially the lesson involved driving for an hour in one direction with the odd traffic light and turns, then after a short break, we came back the same way.

Today we watched Dial M For Murder.  A film I had never seen before.  Previously I have seen the stabbing scene many times.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I loved the Inspector, and there were some wonderful lines.

Boys and their toys

Just a little update so far.

Still no interview at work.  They keep putting it back all of the time.  There is a rule where a company can buy me from the temp agency for free after three months of employment.  This would have been the middle of October.  I just want to get it over with.


Yesterday afternoon I had my first driving lesson.  I think it went ok.  It's the first time I've been behind a wheel since last year.  Vicky drove me to a deserted car park, and I had a go for an hour or so.  Next Saturday (after the match of course!), I'm going out for a two hour lesson.

Here is one of my new 'toys'.

CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM


It's an internet radio.  It connects to thousands of radio stations worldwide.  From the picture, you can see I'm listening to BBC radio 5.  I can use my computer to listen to english radio, but to do it from an actual radio is very cool.

Here is a wireless speaker.  It works via bluetooth so I can stream any sound from my computer anywhere in the house.  It has a rechargeable battery, and is also mains powered too.  I have used this to listen to football back in England, just because I can!

A lucky exiled football fan

On May 22nd 2011, I sat in the stadium of Newcastle United, in the same seat I had been in for the last eighteen years.  I witnessed Newcastle score three goals against West Bromich Albion before conceding three for a draw.
After more then twenty years of football.  This was my last game in England.  I emigrated to America a couple of weeks later, and I was concerned if I would ever see my team in person again.  Moving to another continent between seasons helped, I wasn't distracted by the english media.  The closer it got to the start of the 2011/2012 season, I started to rely on websites for news about my team.  I had to.  The American media never cover the English Premiership.  Occassionally Manchester United and Chelsea will have
a tiny footnote dedicated to them in the sports section of a major newspaper.

Once Newcastle started their first friendly games, I found myself using the website Twitter every day.  Fans and Journalists would 'micro blog' about their day before the match, and I would be able to follow their thoughts during the games too.  Not always about who scored, or who was sent off, users would tell the world which player was playing well, and who wasn't.

As an ex patriot, Twitter has become my lifeline for news about my team.  Newcastles first game of the season was broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel, and the next few were as well.  My cable company has a few dedicated sports channels, the others by ESPN.  Both networks also have their own website that streams English Premiership.  The quality of the picture is excellent. 
As of writing, I have seen all but four games live.  Two were not shown in America.  The League cup game against Nottingham Forest, and the Monday night game at QPR.  I haven't missed a goal either, one of the channels has a nightly highlights program.  I see a lot more football here in America.

I feel very fortunate that I can keep up to date with the ongoings of Newcastle United Football Club, I can follow Twitter and the bbc sports website anytime.  Apart from physically being at the match, I find out what is going on instantly.

Following a favourite team from abroad isn't so hard after all.

This blog entry was thought about as I mean to update you all with some new 'boys toys' I have purchased recently.  One being an Internet Radio!

Expect pictures this week.

How'd they cut the power man? They're animals!

Saturday marked two years to the day that I met with Vicky for the first time in Person.  I had plans, but they had to wait as the weather inconvenienced a little. 

The local news TV3Winchester and local website Clarke County News warned us about a severe snow storm approaching over the weekend.

They were not wrong!

Here's Pepper outside 6am on Saturday:

CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM

It doesn't show the severity of the storm, but these pictures will:

We left early and drove to Winchester, Vickys Sister wanted to borrow some films, and we brought back a poster she had loaned:

Returning home, we surveyed the damage to the garden, and to the road outside.


The road is a back way into the local school:

Fortunately, though the tree had fallen on the front porch, no major damage had been done.  But, the power was out.  Neighbours too.  Vicky phoned the Police, who told us to phone the 'Berryville Town'.  Equivalent of a local council.  Naturally they were closed until Monday.  I managed to google the contact details of someone who works in the school.  The driveway itself is owned by the school, and we and a neighbour are allowed to drive on it to park the cars in our back gardens.

Wrapping ourselves up a bit more, I made hot chocolate on the stove (thank god for the gas oven!), and we contacted Liz in Winchester to see if she was ok.  She had power, but a couple of streets nearby were cordoned off because of tree's falling.

After a couple of hours we made the decision to load up the car and stay with Liz until power had been restored.


There were ten people, and three pets all in the house together!  We ate home made pizza (which was delicious), and drank beer.  I also gutted out my first pumpkin!  I thought they were solid inside, and surprised they were not.

Earlier in the afternoon Vicky and I went out for a walk, and saw this:

 

 Sunday we all ate a huge breakfast of sausage, eggs and pancakes, before returning to a normal house.  I cleared some of the fallen tree from the porch, but we'll need help from Liz's other half, he owns a chainsaw!

One of my favourite early memories with my Wife is the day we stayed in and did nothing.  That day we watched Bambi, a film I had not seen since I was little, and yes I did have something in my eye, even before 'that' scene, (a scene which I call the 'psycho shower scene for kids').

As a surprise I purchased Dumbo on blu-ray, so we took over the sofa and watched it together.  Afterwards we watched the ghost movie The Others, a film I urge everyone to watch.  This was my first time.  Last thing before sleep was a new episode of The Walking Dead, a film quality (and budget) horror tv show.

Midnight showings and tests!

Yesterday was a very busy day for me.  Vicky and I woke up around 7.  I had a test to take at the local dmv (dvla).  For a few weeks now I have been learning Virginia's highway code, and on Saturday I took the written driving test.  On the way there we picked up breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, I had three doughnuts, a coffee and a sausage biscuit.  I normally pick up 6 doughnuts, but I had my mind on other things.  We queued up and I was given a ticket and told to sit in an area that looked just like Argos, and waited until my ticket was flashed up on the television above.  The test is in two parts, and it is done on a touch screen.  I had to answer ten road sign questions correctly before I could go onto the next part.  Had I got one wrong, I would have to re-take the test next week, paying $2.  Fortunately I passed this first part.  There was a young girl doing the test with me at the same time.  She was probably 16, and I felt a bit old.  The second part of the test is a 25 multiple choice question, to pass this you must get at least 20 correct.  I passed with 24/25.  I can't remember which one I got wrong, but I wasn't bothered.  One question did make me laugh.  'One 12 ounce can of beer is the equivalent of ..., and I chose the 'one shot of liquor' answer.

But if you can drive at 16, but not drink till you are 21 ...

I understood why the question was there, but I found it amusing.

I now have a temporary learners permit from the dmv, it is the same as the UK provisional license, I can drive straight away, as long as there is an experienced driver in the car with me.  The real license will be in the post next week, or later, and I will now look into taking lessons with a local driving school.

We got back in time for me to see the Newcastle game against Wigan, again the Toon was shown on normal telly!

Late last night I had the thrill of seeing a once banned film at the cinema with my nephew, at midnight!  My Wife mentioned to me a while ago about a showing of a horror film at one of the larger cinemas in the area.  Google 'imdb zombie (1979)'.  It was one of the films banned in England in the early 80's.  Something the Daily Mail termed a 'video nasty'.  The only reason this film is as well known as it is now, is all down to the UK banning it originally.  The saying any publicity is good publicity is very true here.  99% of the 70 odd films banned during this early 80s period are rubbish that should never have been giving the wide publicity as other films, but thanks to being 'banned', they create an interest that extends, and now thanks to the internet, and the cheapness of making the DVDs, all but one or two of them are easily obtainable on DVD now.  Zombie can now be bought legally in England with its uncut 18 rating, and is very tame now.

The main reason behind the midnight showing last night was to advertise the blu-ray release of the movie.

I did say I saw the film with my nephew.  He is only 14, but there is a strange law in America.  The film is an R rating, which means children can see the film if they are accompanied by an adult!  I think he enjoyed himself, and I hope the cinema has showings like this again.

I arrived home around quarter to two in the morning, our brave dog pepper decided to let me into the house before barking like crazy at the intruder, but only once I had got as far as the bedroom.  Thanks dog.  Perhaps smelling me first before waking up the house would be nice.

It's now half eight in the morning, and I'm up for the manchester derby on the telly.

I'll have a bowl of mini shredded wheat and a cup of Ringtons Tea for breakfast.

Next week, I'm supposed to be having my interview for my job at Oracle.  They've been putting it off for a while, but I'm 99% certain I will have the job permanently soon.  Vicky and Mom told me that there is a rule/law in America regarding temp agencys.  If I'm working for a company through an agency, and they want to employ me, they may wait three months before hiring me.  This way I can be given a free transfer, just like football!, Oracle would have to pay the agency a fee to release me earlier than the three months.

I've been told that as well as a proper interview, I had to also take part in a telephone interview with someone from another office.  This is to show there is no bias.

A sign from home

I have a few blog posts in mind, but these will have to wait.  Monday at work, as usual sucked.  But, arriving home, there was a parcel for me.  Forgetting I had ordered anything, I looked closer, and there was a North Shields address on it, and my Dads handwriting!!

I have a few local posters on the walls here, I'll show you these later on in the week.

THANK YOU DAD!!

Random pictures

Didn't they change their name years ago!  Food Lion, Berryville

 Doggy has such a hard life ...

Leesburg, Virginia

 Frogs Legs seen in Food Lion, Berryville

CLICK ON THE PHOTOGRAPHS TO ENLARGE