Quarterly Report

So I’ve been here in London for almost 4 months now, and I was struck with a thought this morning as I was reading through yet another batch of quarterly reports. The thought - I have stockholders, too!! You, my faithful blog readers are not really so different from any other stockholders…the stock being me…very valuable stock I must admit – that’s not company confidential info, either, so feel free to spread that rumour….you have a right to know how I’ve done this quarter as well as my plans going forward.

So in the spirit of full disclosure…here is the quasi-official, slightly altered, quarterly report for Veder Via London

Personal Life – As some of you would have guessed, I haven’t had too much trouble making new friends. I am getting a little circle of mates, but I do miss just hanging out with the gang. I have one really close friend, and a few general friends – the ones that you would call to do dinner and a movie with, but not if you needed bailed out of jail or a ride home from the ER. I have decided to join a rowing club though, so maybe I’ll meet some more people there…we’re going in the right direction, so no worries on this one.

Professional Life – the new job is working out well – obviously, there are good and bad sides to all coins, but I get to travel, the projects are interesting, the company is stable, the people I work with are pretty nice…you can’t ask for more. Well, wait, yeah, I guess I could ask for a little more…like maybe if, when we’re in a meeting and I say something very American, it would be nice if a few of the ‘less tolerant’ folks felt the need to point out my americaness and make slight fun of my wordings…um…yeah…cuz I am nice enough to not say a peep when they drop terms like ‘pulled pillar to post’ (i.e. pulled in all directions) or ‘eeeemmmm’ (i.e. uh or ah) ….I grew up on the other side of the pond and not with the queens English mind you, but my mum taught me manners!

Social Life – tomorrow night will find me attending a party with the BBC crowd…should be interesting, can’t wait to see what famous faces are there…not too shabby

Physiological profile – I’m no Oprah or Dr. Phil, but I think my head is on straight….though, I do admit I might have my moments here and thereJ

Love Life – doing just fine here, I have a few email buddies, one is a writer, one is an IT Manager, and bachelor number 3 is an accountant. I have blocked a few prospects – some people are seriously crazy and it scares me a bit that they are out there among the normal dating population. In general, though, my attitude is basically, whatever happens happens…so I’d say we’re doing fine here, too.

Travel Front – So far I have been to Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. I have also decided to meet up with friends in Greece this summer to do a kayaking tour through the Grecian Isles. Tenerife (in the Canary Islands) is also on the books for September. Doing A-OK in this area

Financial – This city is crazy expensive, I cry a little every time I pay my rent, and my I smile a little every time I transfer money back to the states – it’s like a magical transformation – when I ask my banker to send one amount. It shows up as double in the US – I love playing the currency conversion game!!

Physically – Doing great in this realm as well. Besides the whole walking everywhere thing, I have joined a gym, gotten a personal trainer (Steve is hot and I do have some indecent thoughts about him as the metres tick by while I’m on the rowing machine). I do admit to still not liking the gym…it’s a necessary evil that must be tackled, though. The gyms are no different here than they were in the US…well, with the exception of the crazy Aerobic Nazi Barbie that runs the conditioning classes….she says things like 'Whilst you are running, run a bit harder to work out all your bits'. Huh?

So, in summary, as Q1 closes for me in London, I can safely say that my stockholders should have no worries – this little investment is going strong, performing well and trending for big adventure in the quarters to come!