V6M to OX4

It would not be an unfair question to ask what has become of that beaupère of beardlings, Gned the Gnome. Did he and his belle get lost in the Irish Sea, only to be remembered in some solemn shanty sung by Snowy Cat in the Wolf & Hound? Have they received a royal peerage and retired to a life of serenity at some English manor, leaving their servants to blog in their stead? Have they finally given up the muggle world in favour of professorial posts at Hogwarts?

Nothing so dire or interesting, I’m afraid. We are in England once more, living the scholarly life, which is great but not a great deal different than it was during our previous sojourn. I have no reason for not blogging, but I’ll blame it on (1) a lack of novelty in our surroundings, and (2) my utter laziness. At least I’m not alone in my silence – none of Nutmilk, Snowy or Roggles seems to have heard the call of the interweb in recent months. Maybe Roggles will reveal the promised details after we next do the Kits triathlon (perhaps July 2007). Well done to those others who keep the Blogosphere humming!

Our former city view

My daily business has certainly changed since leaving Vancouver, largely for the better. I remember July through September as a chaotic mixture of long work hours, early mornings (evil buzzer!), emigration plans, immigration plans, Tree’s coffee and muffins, long sunny days (sometimes mugatronic but usually magnificent), Saturdays at Kits pool with the tri-freaks and leatherbags, more long work hours, good but short times with friends, the occasional cycle ride or Grouse Grynde … all of it overlaid with a desire to relish every moment but suffused with stress. Thanks very much indeed to the kind readers of this blog for your excellent assistance in getting us packed and keeping me sane! Still, the final weeks of packing and storing and freaking and drinking and not sleeping left me “shattered”. When I finally arrived at our new flat in Oxford, having carried almost 200 lbs of luggage through the rain, I drank a nice tall John Smith’s beer from Tesco and collapsed on the bed, thence to sleep for some 15+ hours.

I arose a new man! (or gnome)

Life in Oxford is going very well. No more evil buzzer at 6:45! It was definitely the correct decision to leave the law firm life for the pursuit of academia. But more on that in a future blog. Since I’m reflecting on Canada today, I thought I would raise the following questions that my good Canadian friends might be able to answer:

1. What’s the deal with the Canucks? Will they rise above 500 this year? Granted, every team in the northwest division should be in the playoffs, so it’s not fair to compare their record to that of Nashville or Atlanta…
2. What’s the deal with Stephane Dion? I suppose he is likeable, but I just don’t see how the Liberals figure he can lead them to an election victory.
3. Does Tim Horton’s have any plans to expand to England? There is a dire need for good inexpensive coffee over here.
4. Snow in Vancouver? In November? Somebody call Al Gore.
   

Our new city view

Alas, we won't be home for Christmas this year. Perhaps some of you would like to visit us? Until next time, thanks for reading.