I have photos!!!

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Originally uploaded by mechanicaldan1

I've finally taken the time to set up a photo album. I've added the link to the album on the right hand side above my profile. The sweet thing I just found out is that Flickr allows me to click on an individual picture in my album and then blog it. Awesome! So, this is the first test.

I've started adding some more pictures, because they are much better than what I can write. I've loaded pictures from our going away party at Festival International, some initial pictures taken up on arriving, and our first trip out into the Scotish Countryside. Flickr also has a mapping feature that I can add to the photos to specific global locations, so I will probably play with this in the future.

Dena and I are going to Pirates of Caribbean: At Worlds End later this afternoon. I'm excited! Arrrrgh.

Rising gas prices, or are they?

I'd be able to get a little better feel for everyone's reaction to the rising price of gas in the US, if I were actually in the US, but I can't so I have been following gas prices at www.automotive.com/gas-prices If you want to save some pennies, you can enter your zip code to find the cheapest gas station near you.
Now, the interesting thing is that the price of gasoline has been pretty stable in Aberdeen the whole time we've been here at 0.94 pounds per liter. That converts roughly to $7.11/gallon. Obviously, the price of fuel could be much worse. I just find it interesting that the price of crude oil isn't that high, yet gas prices are at record highs in the US. Kind of makes you wonder. Kind of makes you wonder about investing in oil company stock before prices peak mid summer.
I really like the fact that I'm getting to experience a small car environment. It's really great to park easily. There may be the same number of vehicles on the road, but they take up less room, and it's just terrific to have everyone's windshield, bumpers, and roof at the same height. It makes seeing things up ahead much nicer.

The Search Continues

We're still looking for that magical residence to call home. We'll have seen over 30 homes in the last 2 weeks (I've actually seen 8 less than Dena) by the end of today. It's exhausting. I don't think our criteria is all that picky, but we'll be renting, so we can't really make major changes if we don't like a bathroom or a kitchen. I will say that we've found some nice properties, but there has always been just one deal breaker. We're a bit emotional and edgy. If we're close to downtown, usually it's the lack of a shed to store my toolboxes, mountain bike, and other garage items. If we're out on the edge of town, we're too far away from amenities and social activites that might be within walking distance. We have a few more properties to look at this afternoon, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Saturday afternoon I'm going back to the BMW dealership for a test drive of the 120d. Last time we were there, they only had a 118d to drive, and it was really nice, but just didn't have a lot of get up and go. I'm also going to do some haggling, to see what kind of price I can get. The sales brochures have kept me excited like a little kid in a candy store. There are so many options! Just like the house, we'll have the car the entire time we're here, so we want to get it right the first time.
Last night we ended out in Cults (yeah, that's the name for the part of Aberdeen to the Southwest) looking at a house that is being remodeled. It's really exciting, but it's just on the edge of town, so it seems like it's in the country. Once again, almost perfect, except for it's location. We drove down the street to see just how far it was from the downtown area of Cults with some shops and grocery store, and driving down the street meant literally driving down the hill to get to the shops just under a mile away. Dena and I had a good laugh about the fact that I might never hear the end of her saying, "The whole time were were in Scotland I had to walk uphill with the groceries while it was raining." We drove further into Cults and it's really lovely. Lots of beautiful granite buildings, lots of rolling hillsides, and plenty of green vegetation. We stopped at a place called the Bieldside. I had a couple pints of Tenants, Dena had some bottled spring water, and we both ordered a couple of homemade pot pies. We talked and ate and looked out the big glass windows at the countryside and just had a wonderful time.

Looking for a place to call home

Dena and I have spent most of this week looking for a permanent place to live. It's not an easy search. We only annoyed each other a few times, and have still not died in a car accident. Horray!
We have a defined housing allowance, and we're finding that most of the houses/apartments (or flats as they are called here) are either cheap and small, or big and out of our budget. We're also finding most of the places are fully furnished, so we have to ask the current owners if they are willing to put most of their belongings in storage. And, our final requirment has been a close proximity to the downtown area so that Dena can be within walking distance of some stores and restaurants. There are a couple of flats that might have worked for us (if the owner removed their items), but there was no garage, no shed, no any place to put my toolbox and our other garage items. We sent in our list of top picks, so we'll see what happens.
I've been asked by work to get a visa for Russia, so it looks like I might be getting to see a little bit more of the world, and the first of June I'll be heading over to Norway for a meeting. Yeah!
The weather has been a bit colder and rainy the last few days. I guess we're finally gettting to see the real Aberdeen. Rain here is nothing like Louisiana. It's a lot more like what I grew up with in Wisconsin and Iowa. When it rains here, it's a light drizzle that lasts most of the day, not the torrential downpour of tropical southern Louisiana.

Sleeping late, Open air market, & Driving

It's late, so this is going to be a short post. I have a bunch of pictures to post, but I'm also considering an online photo album of some kind. If anyone has a suggestion, feel free to comment. I think Google now has one.
Dena and I had big plans for Saturday, but apparently our bodies aren't quite on local time. Our plans were to have breakfast at the hotel cafe, try to get Dena a mobile phone, and test drive some cars. We ended up sleeping late on Saturday, and really enjoying it! We walked downtown for lunch and found out that they had a open air market on a portion of Union St. There were a bunch of vendors and we got some spices, some cheese, some delicious cookies! We did a litte more research into a mobile phone for Dena, but unfortunately everything seems to depend on us getting a permenant address and some utility bills. We can't set up a bank account, get a mobile phone, or buy a car until this happens. We might be able to get a UK driver's license instead of a utility bill, but we still need a permentant address.
On Sunday, Dena finally got to experience driving. Yes, we both think driving here is like trying to write with your opposite hand. It's just awkward, but I'm sure we'll get the hang of it in a few more weeks. We drove over to the BMW dealership and had a pretty nice talk with a salesman regarding leasing a 1 series, probably a 120d with the Sport package. I test drove a 118d. It's a really nice car. I've been drooling over the sales brochure and all the available options. My biggest fear was that the seat would move back enough to allow me to fit and drive the car comfortably, and it does! The interesting thing is that there is only about 2" front the back of the front seat to the front of the rear seat when I'm driving. So, now all we have to figure out is what options we want, and there are a LOT to choose from. Good night!

Isle of Mann TT race 1 month away

The Isle of Mann TT race is less than 1 month away. We haven't done any research regarding going, so we'll see if we end up there this year. Without bikes, probably not.

Home, Sweet Aberdeen

We arrived in Aberdeen on time and OK. The flights weren't too bad, although we did have to scramble to get through customs in London. I'm really surprised we made it, due to the fact that we had less than an hour. It was pretty crazy running through the airport trying to find a gate in an airport that we had never been.
So, I suppose many of you want to know what's different over here. It's really interesting all the little things that you notice, and the obvious things. The currency is different so we get to learn the 1p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, 1 pound, and 2 pound coins, and the 5 pound, 10 pound, and 20 pound bills. The bills themselves are interesting because the same bill can be different due to being issued by a different bank. Driving is the similar, but also much different. Having to drive from the right side of the car is almost like trying to write with your other hand. You can do it, but you're probably going to be a little rough and slower at doing it. I've been driving for four days now, and I'm almost up to speed on most of the traffic signs. I do love roundabouts, but there are some special rules that go with using them. You may enter a roundabout with two lanes, but a cross street may only exit with a single lane, so lane placement and signaling is important. The streets are marked with signs, but not very well. Many times the street signs are on the side of a building corner about waist high. The one thing I do like a lot about driving is almost everyone drives a car. It's amazing how many more small cars you can get in a limited amount of street space. Our Honda Civic and VW Cabrio were midsized cars by Aberdeen standards. The cars do get much smaller, and speaking of cars, there are many brands not in the US such as Seat, Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Renalt, Peugeot, Proton, Skoda, Vauxhall, Smart, and models not in the US by manufacturers such as Audi, Ford, BMW, Mazda, Mini, Suzuki, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, VW, and Volvo.
It's hard waiting to get a motorcycle. As far as I can tell, lane splitting is legal!!! The bikes just drive around the cars and are on their merry way. There aren't very many straight roads, so I think I might get a supermotard bike for buzzing around town. I tried on my new Joe Rocket jacket and overpants tonight for the first time together, and they look and fit really great.
Our apartment is a nice two bedroom, but once again small. The kitchen is absolutely tiny, along with the 3/4 scale appliances. The wall outlets are much bigger, and each one has it's own on/off switch. The best part is that we have off the street parking and are only about 2 blocks from downtown, which is along Union Street.
Our air shipment arrived today, so we got the rest of our clothes. They are needed, because the average temperature is around 50°F. I went running in short and a long sleeve shirt tonight, but I was a little cool.
Dena and I are going to get her a mobile phone tomorrow and do some car shopping. I'm hoping there is a little time to swing by some of the motorcycle shops also. :)