First day on the job

Well it was back to business as usual this morning as it was my first day at work for some 9 1/2 months..ouch that hurts! Last night I even cleaned my shoes once I had brushed off the dust that had settled on them from being in the back of the closet.

My head was thumping by midday with all the new names and faces I'd been introduced to, but the afternoon was easier as I acutally managed to get my hands dirty by cutting some code.

For those with an afinity to such things I have my own office, my own parking space and I work on a spanking new quad core computer and 2 lovely 19" flat panel screens.

I got home from work at 5:05pm and Mrs P had been to the grocery store and we dined on the 'fattest' steak you've ever seen. This bit of 'bully' was at least 2 inches thick. Maybe she'll surprise me tomorrow by having done the laundry too....

Spring Break

The Spring break trip last week was a lot of fun although it was somewhat moderated by the fact that we were all ill for most of it. We celebrated Mrs Ps birthday over two days as no-one was feeling particularly chipper on the actual day itself. Mrs P was dead chuffed with her present of a tent and other camping necessaries and is now chomping at the bit to sleep under the stars.

As for the Springs themselves the water was cool at 72F but still plenty warm to swim and snorkel about in. Just as we got there on the first day a manatee swam into the spring area from the adjoining Suwannee river which was pretty cool to see

Our cabin

A view of the spring

The Suwannee river

Relaxing...

Earth Day

Well I've done my bit for Earth Day and fixed two leaking taps, one at home and the other at Grammy's house. Not the biggest jobs in the world but I believe that every little helps.

Tomorrow is Mrs P's birthday and we're off to Fanning Springs to stay in a cabin. It should be fun and the weather is supposed to be sunny with temp of 85F. That means that the cool spring water at only 72F will feel mightily refreshing.

Bearded wonders

The hot news this morning is that ZZ Top are playing in town in May. Tickets go on sale later this week but with only about 3000 available they are going to be the HOT item. Typically we're out of town and can't be certain of the cell phone signal especially as we're staying in a State park.

For a short video bio check this link out

Messing about on a river

Busy, busy weekend. On Saturday we went to Ginnie Springs in Central Florida. It took 2 1/12 hours to get there as we went the "scenic route". Interpret this as we got a bit lost. We stopped and asked for directions in a small gas station in a scene reminiscent from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Once at the springs we met up with Kate, Ernie and some friends who were camping/diving. They had a great setup and an superb pitch right on the river. The day was spent snorkelling, diving, eating and best of all just floating down the river on inflatables. It was spring break somewhere too and the place was full of college students like one giant frat party. Large hordes of them floated by at 10 yard intervals complete with floating beer coolers!





Yesterday we went to the Cathedral festival, which was basically a funfair. It was a hot, hot day but the kids had a great time and loved the petting zoo. Last night we had our first cookout on a newly purchased grill. Until we can afford to get one of the "all singing, all dancing" gas ones we made do on a $15 charcoal one. Obviously being the "man of the house", all things concerning cooking on an open fire are in my domain and no-one else gets a look in. Its just the caveman thing I guess.

Mrs P is on Spring break too this week and isn't working at all. I've threatened to block access to her work website and lock away her computer too. So far this hasn't been necessary but if I catch her then there'll be trouble. Afterall there are NO math emergencies.

Today I had to go for a drugs test ready for my new job something unheard of in the UK but common place over here. So I turn up not knowing what to expect and then its "empty your pockets", "wash you hands but don't use soap", "fill the pot but not to the brim please", "don't flush or wash your hands after" then finally "can you confirm this is your signature" and that's it, job done.

Just got back from a couple of hours laying on the beach. It was gorgeous down there although the ocean is still a bit cold so I didn't venture in about knee height! Mrs P forewent the sunscreen and now has a pink tummy.

Patched up

The Beast is back and patched up. The main cooling fan is on its way out and its a 2 speed job and the low speed isn't working. A new MOPAR fan is $700 and there are no aftermarket ones available. OUCH. The solution (albeit temporary till I get the funds) was to swap the low speed and high speed wires over on the fan so that the it kicks in earlier. However the A/C is now ICE cold and I have my wheels back. I'll be keeping an eye out on ebay and craigslist in case one comes up.

The Jeep forums suggest replacing it with one from a Ford Taunus but all th installation guides involve putting a switch on the dashboard to manually turn the fan on and off. That smacks of even more of a bodge job than swapping the low/high wires over!

Hot air

The Beast is still in the garage, apparently there are 2 problems. The fan doesn't come on to cool the A/C condenser which explains why it only works in short bursts. If you're bombing down the highway then there's enough airflow to cool the condenser and the A/C works. However when you're stuck in traffic (and when you need A/C the most) then the condenser overheats and shuts the compressor off. Its most likely an electrical relay or temp sensor that's gone faulty. The second problem is that there's an engine coolant leak from somewhere. I couldn't quite determine where from the conversation on the phone...

Sofie said that I needed to get the music fixed too...I mean what's wrong with AC/DC?? What is wrong with the 3 year olds of the world today??

Today I've got to book a couple of nights away somewhere for next week. Mrs P is taking some much overdue time off work and the kids are on Spring Break. It's also Mrs P's birthday and as yet I've not got her any presents.

With just over a week and a half til I start work I also need to get myself ready for that. I guess I ought to get a hair cut too as my last one was back in September. At the moment its like a cross between an 80's George Michael, an 80's Jason Donovan and and 'Achey breaky heart' Billy Ray Cyrus! Its not a look that I've gone for intentionally I can assure you.

Record temperatures this week

It's possible we're going to have some record temperatures this week, unfortunately it's at the wrong end of the scale with a low of 41F expected. This comes after Saturday's high of 80F too. Good job I've got my car booked into the garage tomorrow to get the A/C looked at. It still gets up to the mid 60's during the day so for my last two weeks of lazing around the house, shorts are still very much the order of the day.

Like mother, like daughter...

Yesterday was a BUSY day. It started with a kids triathlon at the YMCA and some 60 kids aged between 6 and 11 entered. Bathed in strong sunshine and with temperatures approaching 80F, Raina crossed the line in 2nd place in her age group (6-7) and was the first girl home. We celebrated with an ice cream and by accidentally setting the car alarm off (which we then couldn't stop!!!)

It was also Raina's birthday on Thursday and we celebrated that yesterday too. It was a sushi party at Raina's request and we made our own rather than buying in. It was a lot of fun and we have plenty of leftover for today too. Tuna, cream cheese, and asparagus makes an excellent sushi roll.

Homemade sushi, as good as store bought too!
Raina's Cog/Dat cake
Raina wanted a cat birthday cake so I made the following. It looks like the hybrid lovechild of a cat dog relationship, hence a cog or dat, but Raina loved it anyway.

All good things...

...must come to an end as today I've been offered a job. I start at the end of April and I'll be working for the County. It's a techie position and I'm looking forward to with a lot of enthusiam. It also means that my Playstation 3 is getting nearer.....

Mrs P is very happy and excited too. She'll finally have me out of the house earning real money! How she'll miss me when I'm gone.

Still I've got a couple of weeks to bum around and get my tan going...think a trip to the beach is in order this week.

Beer o'clock

Met up with a friend last night for a few 'Happy Hour' beers at Jack's Bar-b-que. Funny how beer tastes better and is drunk quicker when its 2 for 1.

Now that the fog of last night's beer has worn off its time to tackle another project. Mrs P wants the outside tap moved so that she can reach it from the porch rather than have to go rummaging about in the bushes. Looks easy enough and I bought the necessary parts yesterday. Time to turn off the water and get to work

Update:
What is it with women and going to the bathroom? Not 5 minutes after I shut off the water and cut the existing tap off, they need to go to the toilet!!! They flush and this causes a drop in pressure in the system and the water then syphons back out the lowest point. Which happens to be what I'm working on! "Sorry I forgot" was the apology, anyway no harm done and its all back together and tested. The double bend I had to put in was to accomodate the fact that the upper post overhangs the lower post by about 1/2 inch.

Mrs P will be happy when she gets back. Next job is to replace that scruffy lattice work on the left of the picture

In at the deep end

We went to an outdoor pool today for a swim with Mrs P and couple of her friends. After we all did 20 or so lengths the girls went off for a 5 mile run, they're doing some triathlon training. I declined to join them for this part as someone had to be towel monitor.

The AC on my car has started to play up and it doesn't get very cold. This could be a number of things but first stop is to get the system recharged with refridgerant. This is one job I can't do infact i can't even see the AC components under the hood. I think a Haynes manual is needed.

Beadle lives on

To keep the spirit alive of the self-titled "World's greatest practical joker" on his favorite day of the year I set up a prank of my own. Last night I froze Raina's cereal and this morning she couldn't work out why her spoon wouldn't go into the bowl!

Watch out there's a Beadle about!

On another note I've given my tenants notice that I need them to vacate my house. I need to sell it so that I can take advantage of the depressed market over here and before the UK goes tits up too. It's a bit scary not having the mortgage covered and not having a job to pay for it either.