Summer or winter?

We have spent the last couple days in the weather window where its not quite heater weather during the day but awfully cold in the morning if you don't.  Its funny to me thinking about it now.

We had visitors in May and it was HOT!! Not hot by Tulsa summer standards but hot enough.  The funny thing is that the weather here now is what it was like in Tulsa during a normal December.  Maybe not on one of the really cold days but just normal.  (50s and cloudy maybe even a little rain).

It takes London at its very best in May to compete with the best of Tulsa in December.

December 28 in Tulsa

London today

So just keep some perspective in mind when you are complaining about your 20th day over 100 in a row.  And when you watch the Olympics later this month keep an eye out for the winter coats and stocking caps.

Fingers crossed the weather plays along otherwise it could be really interesting watching something like beach volleyball.

Heat Wave!!

Break out your shorts!!!!!  I think this is the hottest its been since we have been here.  Temperature reached 78 today, and is forecasted to get to 82 tomorrow. I know most will think that is pretty cool, but without AC in most houses, and based on my trip home trains too, its pretty uncomfortable.  Add to that being crammed into a tube with zero ventilation and a couple hundred other people, and you have got yourself a downright horrible situation.  I guess I shouldn't complain though, it could be worse.  I could have been one of the 800 lucky people who got suck on the Jubilee line last night for something like 2 hours.  I guess they gave out £40 vouchers after making everyone walk through the tunnel like a mile to the closest station.  I wonder how they came up with that math.  Probably went like this...

2 hours X 90 degrees X 799 people smashed against you X 1 mile walk in the dark / please don't sue =£40

 Its funny how fast the people here make the switch from cool weather to full on summer.  If you would have walked around on Monday there would have been people walking around in winter coats and now its tank tops (they call them vests) and sun dresses.  Thinking about it I guess it makes sense that if you only get 20 days a year like this you gotta make the most of them, but I am still amazed how many people look like they live at the beach.

Speaking of the beach Kristen took Deb and Rocky to Brighton today.  I don't think the AC was on at work so I bet we had just about the same weather, but their scenery was better I am sure.

Making Tracks

I guess the level 3 alert was appropirate after all.  Started snowing last night around 8 and I guess snowed pretty much all night.  Ended up with 3 inchs or so.  It doesn't seem to be very bad though.  Really wet, and just kinda turns to slush straight away.  Hampton is pretty excited about it though. 

 London looks really nice in the snow.  When it snowed last year everything just kinda shut down, and the city crawled to a stop.  Seemed to be alot of cars out and about already which is really saying something for Sunday mornings.  I bet when we get to the main roads they are pretty clear already.

It was apparently slippery enough that a car missed the corner and smashed through the giant illuminated sign that says 'Hey jack-ass slow down there is a corner here'.



REALLY COLD!!!

I can't feel my right big toe. Hampton took a poo today that was steaming! We walked back past where she had peed like 15 minutes earlier and it was frozen. I don't even know how it feels so cold when it is only like 28 or something.

Its supposed to snow tonight, and they are talking about it like its going to shut the whole country down. They put out a 'Level 3 Cold Weather Alert' today, whatever that means. I can't even imagine what its like in Europe where it is really cold. I kinda feel like its the start of that move 'Day After Tomorrow', and I am going to wake up in the morning and everything is going to be frozen.

Its like -30 in Turkey and Poland right now. The only time I have ever been that cold, was counting frozen chickens in a blast freezer. When it gets that cold you get one breath when the air in your lungs is still kinda warm, but the first time you breathe in the cold air it freezes all the moisture in your breath on your nose hairs. Its a really strange feeling. Anyway, there has been more than 100 people die so far because of the cold in Europe. Record lows just about everywhere and some places have gotten 15 feet of snow. Crazy stuff!!

This is the fountain in Trafalgar Square today

Check out the rest of Europe

I guess the good news is that there is a free preview weekend on ESPN this weekend. The DVR is in overdrive already. Haven't seen college basketball in nearly two years now, gonna be great. Even better they broadcast all the UFC events on ESPN over here, since there is not On-Demand. If anyone wants to come over and watch the fight there is a spot on the couch waiting for you.

Cold!!!

Its payback time I guess for all the 'warm' weather we have had this fall and winter here. I had almost forgotten how cold it gets here. I guess not cold like Tulsa in a ice storm, but you don't have to walk home from the tube in Tulsa either. The windchill was like 20 on the way home tonight. Way to cold to be walking around in work clothes.

Tomorrow is trash day so walking down the sidewalk is a bit of an obstacle course. There was a trash bag leaking some shmutz, it has apparently frozen solid. I slipped on it and think I broke my knee. My eyes started watering, and then pretty sure they froze open. Needless to say just a bit jealous of Tulsa's weather right now

Weather

I am not trying to be dramatic but wow what a difference a day (or three days) makes. Last weekend in Tulsa it was 95 and sunny, you couldn't even look out the window without sweating. Its 55 and raining here in London today. Yesterday on the way to work I could see my breath outside. Pretty sure I have caught a cold by not wearing a coat to work yesterday. From what I hear, peopel think that the summer will be bad weather because spring was so 'hot'. Can't imagine how cold a 'normal' spring would be?

Saw this truck on the way home yesterday........


Any guesses what they do for business?

Old Man Winter

Our Backyard winter wonderland

No end in sight......three days on from my last check of the weather channel and the 10 day forecast looks the same, or maybe even worse. Yesterday it was snineting, or slowining, not sure what you would call it, but rain, sleet, and snow at the same time. I don't even know how that is metorologically possible. Seriously??

I tried to figure out the radar, but instead of yellow and green and red for the intensity of the precipitation, they have different shades of purple. I can't figure out if dark is worse than perrywinkle. I guess it doesn't much matter since the whole country is covered in it. Even the locals are starting to freak out, and the newspapers say the worst is yet to come.

Monday!!

Now I am not one to "come down with a case of the Mondays" or dread going to work on Sunday nights, but after a day like today I just may start. I mean damn!!

First off lets talk about this weather. Record low temps were never the selling points we signed up for. I remember getting up last Sunday and thinking "nah cold weather will be gone in a couple of days". Ha boy was I wrong. Its been brutal for over a week and no end in sight. The 10 day forecast doesn't get above 41 and there is snow predicted 6 out of 10 days. And the weather is tricky too. You wake up and its super cloudy and you think its going to be freezing, but its not, its 38 and will stay that way all day. But if you wake up and its sunny, well just wipe that grin off your face. Oh no, its not going to warm up, oh no, its going to be 25 and get up to a blistering 33. Average temps are supposed to be 48 everyday, and we move into the coldest November in the history of record keeping. Again I can't understand how the Brits handle it. Kristen wore a stocking hat, the hood to her sweatshirt, and a scarf around her head like a turban. I mean yesterday we saw a guy driving around with the top down on his convertible, while I was wearing three pairs of pants.

Oh but it gets better.........stupid transport workers called another strike last night. 15 minutes at 27 waiting for my train just about froze my nose off. I didn't think their strikes were very effective in the past, but now I am on their side even if it is just to avoid frostbite.

Usually I don't mention anything about work because well its super boring, and nobody really knows what I am talking about anyway. I mean if I told you I spent half the day reviewing hedge documentation you would just stare at me glassy eyed. Unless you are one of the few who actually knows what I am talking about, and then you would feel even more sorry for me. Anyway I digress. Today though I feel that there were points worth discussing. Some good, some very very bad (I will save that for last).

So I had to attend a course called living and working in the UK. Sort of my cultural introduction. I can see how it would be super useful if I spoke a different language, but it turned out to be more of a comedy special than anything else. I am sure the Asian guy who said his goal for the day was to "make all you friend" actually learned some valuable info, but I didn't get much out of it. Our instructor was named Dougel, yeah not a spelling error, Dougel. Like bugle, or google, but with a D. I even did a double take and asked him twice to repeat his name. He didn't seem put off by it till I told him I was from the U.S. then he must have thought I was just stupid since I couldn't understand what he was saying. I swear to you, cross my heart, that this guy was who Mike Myers must have must have modeled Austin Powers off of. The bad teeth, the bad jokes, which he laughed at more than anyone else, and even the chest hair. Had is shirt unbuttoned easily two buttons too far. It was funny though to hear all of the other Europeans say how rude and unpleasant the British people were, while I find them all super nice. Maybe its the accent that makes everyone sound excited to talk to me or maybe I just have that effect on people. Either way I laughed about it.

Finally, just let me say that if you are considering buying or building an office building I have some very important design hints for you. DON'T CARPET THE STAIRS!! Seriously how puts carpet on stairs? Its a McDonalds coffee burn just waiting to happen. I know this because as I was retuning to my desk with my lunch (the highlight of my day mind you) I biffed right in the middle of aforementioned carpeted stairs. Not only was there the humiliation of the whole episode, but to top it off I spilled my grapes. So there I was hands and knees picking up runaway grapes, trying to help others avoid a similar slippery fate. I can only imagine that the smushed grape carpet stair combination would have been deadly if left unchecked.