It’s still really hot in the San Fernando Valley – my electric bill will be outrageous this month. But June is gone, and here starts the second half of 2006.

I found out yesterday that my health insurance premium is going up almost 50% just because I’ve turned 50. That means just short of $140 a month, with $30 copays, and let’s not even talk about prescriptions. It’s enough to make one very depressed.

On a lighter note…let’s see…um…I made gazpacho last night. Wow.

Since Independence Day falls in the middle of the week, it’s tough to get anywhere that I would want to go and back in the same day, what with holiday traffic through the Grapevine and the heat, so I’m regretfully missing Steve & Denise’s annual barbeque and street fireworks.

That’s all for now – sorry, not much.

Verrrry slow at work these days – we hear that it will be somewhat slow for the rest of the month and into July, then picking up in August and heading for a record month in October, due to the upcoming election in November. We mailed over 22 million pieces in May, thanks to the many candidates still sold on direct mail as the most efficient way to get their message to the voter…okay, enough marketing.

And it’s HOT! And will continue to be so through the weekend. They’re predicting highs in the next few days as hellish as 106º!! Thank goodness (and the LA Department of Water And Power…and my landlord) that my air conditioner works very well, and that there’s a pool mere steps from my front door. Now, how to get from my apartment to the pool in the most comfort – I suppose I could jump in from the balcony – nah.

Not much else to write about – work and the weather. Oh, more about work: we’re moving to a new building in Sylmar, which is a few miles north of where we are now in North Hollywood. And here’s the thing – all the people in my department are getting their own offices! With a door and everything! No windows, though – I don’t think there’s a window in the entire building, as a matter of fact. But this’ll be the first real office that I’ve ever had all to myself. The department is set to take a field trip to the new site today or tomorrow.

My boss is of the opinion that us programmers need our privacy and peace & quiet to do our jobs most effectively. I couldn’t agree more . At the present the three programmers share a large room with the boss, and it can get a little busy in here from time to time, what with our internal customers (the project managers), sales people (who should be out selling, not hanging around in our ‘bullpen’, for crying out loud) and other miscellaneous people trying to figure out a way to take credit for our work. Ours is the most profitable department in the company, but does that result in increased recompense for the workers therein? What do you think?

Anyway, back to my office: of course I’ll bring my surround sound computer speaker system and maybe my little TV/computer monitor (although I don’t hold much hope of any reception success), maybe a satellite radio (ditto on the reception). I’m considering one of those little dorm room refrigerators, too. No sense walking all the way to whatever break room they set up for us to grab a tasty ice-cold beverage, right? Maybe I’ll put a webcam over the door looking out into the production area to keep track of what’s going on out there. Keep a pillow under the desk. The mind boggles at the possibilities.

Boy, a long post today for a change. TGIT – one more day to go before a too-short too-hot weekend.

I’ve been back for almost a week, and I think I’ve got all the jet-lag kinks worked out by now. It was pretty rough for a few days right at the beginning, though. I believe we were up for a full 24 hours before the journey was done, starting with a half-hour ride throught the Paris Metro to the Eurostar station, then a 2.5 hour train trip back to London, another hour on the Underground to Heathrow, where we waited for a while, including an hour or so on the plane before we were allowed to leave the gate, then about 7.5 hours in the air to DC, an hour or so there, then another 6 or more to LAX, followed by an hour and a half waiting for luggage and the shuttle home, then the final 45 minutes before we collapsed into bed at 1:30 AM Pacific time.

I was at work by 8, though – but I only lasted until noon. Thankfully, my desk was still clear, and I completed some routine tasks before I left for the day. Still I had trouble sleeping – very intense dreams about people from my past; I kept waking up every couple of hours, after which the dreams seemed to pick up where they left off – don’t you hate those exhausting nights? That kept up for a couple of days until I finally succumbed to the miracles of chemistry and took a sleeping pill, which finally set everything right.

Anyway, I’ve unpacked, I’ve cleaned the place up a bit from the frantic pre-trip activity, we even managed dinner and a movie on Saturday (A Prairie Home Companion – thumbs up, a very sweet movie).

I see Laurie and Amber made their first trip to Cal State Fullerton a week or so ago in anticipation of the fall semester – it’ll be nice to know that a relative is that much closer (although it’s unlikely Amber and will happen to bump into each other).

Well, another week begins, another quarter earned – hope yours will be a good one.

After seeing Thursday midnight pass on the Eiffel Tower, we had to make the long hike back to the Metro station, where we was met by a large group of Spanish soccer fans. We all had to wait together in the underground station while the trains sorted out some kind of mess that had only a few very crowded trains running though the station, adding more riders with every station we went through. Finally we made it off the train, having wrestled our way through the drunken Spaniards blocking the doors.

Nest day (Friday) we slept in a bit, after which I stuck around the hotel and nearby environs. We had dinner at a place at which I had eaten before in the Marais district, where they hacked the steaks off a lurid side of beef and cooked them over an open fire in the kitchen. Good potatoes, good bread, a delicious dinner and a nice stroll through the darkening streets back to the Hotel.

Yesterday (Saturday) we hit the Musee D’Orsay for the Impressionists, then walked to the Rodin Museum to see the famous ‘Thinker’ and ended the day early with a visit to Ste Chappelle church and its fabulous stained glass windows. Another fabulous dinner near the Seine – oysters for a starter and Foie de veax (doesn’t that sound better than beef liver?) We lingered for a couple of hours in a cande-lit restaurant and pretty much closed the place down as we waddled back to the hotel.

Today, the final full day in Paris, we finally went to the Louvre by way of the medieval Cluny Museum where we saw the Lady And The Unicorn tapestries. Good thing we had bought a museum pass, which allowed us to skip all the lines. At the Louvre, we did the typical triple play – Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Winged Victory – before we finally tuckered out and went back to the hotel to rest for the afternoon. Dinner tonight, then a seat by the Seine to watch the sun go down for the final time on 9 days in Europe. It may be the last time I visit, but I would still love to find a way to live here in Paris – at least for a little while.

Be home soon!

Day 8 and we are feeling the weight of 18-hour days – in fact we took the day off for the most part today to try to recoup some stamina for the final 2 days this weekend.

Paris, of course, is wonderful. I have the feeling that it’s not so important to see the sights as it is to get a feel of what it’s like to live here from day to day. The weather has been beautiful. And we are so far north of the equator that it doesn’t start getting dark until 9:30. And I mean that it’s light like it’s 5:30 in the afternoon at 9! Here’s a picture taken at 9:30 PM – with the Eiffel Tower in the background:

Anyway, we’ve done the mundane such as laundry, and a little grocery shopping, took a sight-seeing bus tour and saw the Arc de Triomphe from the Champs-Elyseé:

Thursday evening we ate at the Café Trocadero with a lovely view of the Tour Eiffel, then walked to our intended nighttime visit, and I caught this image:

More about the trip home, our day today (Friday) and our upcoming visit to the Museé D’ Orsay on Saturday next time. Au Revoir!

Well, probably not much gayer than anywhere else in the world, but here we are! The train left right on time, but about an hour into the trip the French conductor said that due to a ‘technical fault’ that we would have to change trains where we were not supposed to change trains. So we clambered off, and found a crowd waiting to clamber on to our train to go back to London while we then clambered on their train back to Paris – does that make sense?
The room at the hotel is almost the same one I’ve stayed in twice before – a lovely view of the street below, and an aural ‘view’ of Notre Dame’s bells.

Ah, Paris!

Yes, it’s been a couple of days between updates – it is Wednesday morning, and we’re grabbing a quck bite before heading for the train to Paris.

Days have been filled with lots of walking, seeing sights so far unseen. Monday we went to the National Gallery for some culture, then headed to the Natural History Museum for some stuffed animals (and an AWESOME T. Rex) then it was a hop/skip/jump to Harrods for a little window shopping. I bought some little chocolates in their gigantic food halls, then wandered around the several floors perusing the luxury goods. We also had dinner there before heading to the theatre for an unbelievable good play, BILLY ELLIOT, a musical based on the film from a few years back.

Yesterday I walked to Covent Garden, a British version of Pier 39. I found the place that was said to have the best fish & chips in the city, the North Sea near the University of London, and discovered I was reasonably close to the British Library, which had an exhibition of writing, literature and music with the actual handwriting of Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Paul McCartney(!).

There’s more detail to be had, but we have a train to catch. Off to the Eurostar and the Channel Tunnel – see you in Paris!

Beautiful weather continues to bless on the second day in the UK. Breakfast at McDonalds (only because of the promise of wireless internet access, which went unfulfilled) followed by a sightseeing bus tour of London. Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, House of Parliament, BBC, etc. We did stop at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum; kinda expensive but a lot of fun.

A fish and chips dinner at Sherlock Holmes Restaurant, followed by a stroll down the Victoria Embankment of the Thames, and an hour cruise of the sights and sounds of the river from a glass boat, then a short ride on the Underground to Charing Cross station and our hotel.

Tomorrow promises some museum tours (National Gallery, British Museum, evensong at Westminster Abbey, and another play to end the day.

Hello! It’s about 10:00 on Saturday night, London time (about 2:15 in the afternoon on the West Coast) and we’ve been here just about 12 hours. The weather is beautiful, and London is very crowded on Saturday afternoon. The cab ride cost about 60 pounds, which is just under $120!! Traffic was HORRIBLE once we got to the area where our hotel is. Ouch!

The hotel, though is great. The A/C is icy, the bed felt great when we napped after arrival. We walked around the neighborhood, picked up the tickets for the play, then had dinner at a restaurant across the street from the theater calles Stockpot, which one of the guidebooks described as a ‘mashed peas” kind of place. It was…okay, not bad, but not great, typical bland English fare. The play was very good, and we were ready to hit the hay by the time it was over.

More tomorrow.

Now it’s all about the waiting – We’re awaiting the arrival of the Super Shuttle that will whisk us away to LAX. You can see I have the webcam in my laptop going, so hopefully there will be a bit more variety in the picture for several days. See you at LAX!