The End

Listening to: Underworld - Born Slippy (Or I was at half 7 this morning when I turned me radio on with a raging hangover beginning)

Leaving card

At the beginning of my adventure, I'm starting with the end. Or more specifically, the end of my job. Final day yesterday and after all the customary cakes and pretending (not very hard) to look busy a number of us went out for a curry and a few drinks in Oxford.
Started off in the Cape of Good Hope. I don't think I've ever seen a bar snacks menu with salt & pepper squid or breaded pig's cheek before, but then this is Oxford. Off down Cowley road for the meal, and there's a kind of rule about curry houses: the best ones look a bit dodgy on the outside. This one looked alright on the outside, but once inside I'll admit that I was beginning to have doubts. Just keep on drinking the beer, don't look up at the hanging wires and bare and stripped walls and things could be alright. The food though, was good. Really good.
After the curry it was off to another pub where we were promised a metal evening. No such luck. What we did get though was more beer which more than makes up for it. At quarter to 1 I had to get back into the middle of town for the bus. The last time I drunkenly ran for a bus I had to get off 8 miles from home in order to be sick. But, ever the Dev Team member, I like a challenge. I was reminded once again about just how unfit I am. Despite the running I was a couple of minutes late. Turned the corner, and there was my bus! Yesterday turned out good. I didn't even have to get off the bus early. Entered the flat and was nearly overcome by naphtha fumes - just what's needed after 6 pints. Forgot that me landlord had been doing a bit of DIY to preserve the brickwork.
Many thanks to all my friends and colleagues at ABSL Space Products who have helped me and made the working day go so much faster.

Safe As Houses

Ever since I said that I was going to go round the States, I've been hearing stories about mad killer stalker bears and bears that attack cyclists instead of bison during migration season. I've nothing to worry about really...

Man attacked by lion, saved by bear!

London Beginnings

US Embassy in London

The trip began a couple of weeks ago in London (yes, I should have written this up nearer the time, but I've been lazy and distracted). At Grosvenor Square is the embassy of the United States of America. As the photo suggests, it's an ugly building. Reminds me of a chemistry building with gold coloured trim to make it look important.

For anyone wanting to apply for a visa, here's my experience of going through the process. Get the DS160 form done early. That way you know you've got all the information you need together and you won't be held up by someone being away from their emails for a day or two which could make all the difference. Make sure you have the DS160 confirmation, appointment confirmation and fees confirmation. Make sure you haven't got ANY electronic items including car keys. There is a chemist round the corner with storage - I think they make a fortune from people trying to get into the embassy. The first interview was to take fingerprints and doesn't take too long to get that done. After that, it's a bit of a wait. They like to get everyone done by about 3pm, but if you've been in there since 9:30 it's quite a long time. Some people were getting called up individually and got processed quicker. This is because they're applying for specific visas where most of the required information has been provided already and processing is much quicker. The interview itself took about 3 minutes. I was in the embassy for about 4 hours with maybe just over 5 minutes contact time with embassy staff. Given the number of people being processed, that's not too bad at all.