0.4 Children

I've been back at work for four days now and wish I'd posted an update at the weekend when I had more energy. I think I must have been a lot younger last time I had a job, not to mention the hours are that bit longer here. It's not like I ever really get any work to do in the first week of a new programming job but somehow, that doesn't help.

The studio itself is very impressive. It's more organised that anywhere I've worked before and there are nice touches everywhere: a coffee machine that doesn't require constant maintenance, web-mail that loads faster than I can read it and I even get a bus pass! Really, that's the closest I've ever got to having a company car so I must be going up in the world!

Washington and Seattle actually seem more like home than the America I've become accustomed to. It's colder outside than it is inside, there's moisture in the air, pedestrians walk the streets and posters everywhere advertise gigs, plays, etc..

It's rather frustrating for both us grown-ups that we live somewhere where there's lots to do now that we can't do any of it. There's a bar right across the street from us but unfortunately, Washington's under-age drinking laws prevent us from taking Owain to those - the first thing we missed about Arizona. He actually had his first drink from a bottle today but did it turn him into an antisocial lout? Not likely. He's six weeks old today and he can handle himself pretty good.

Our new home is full of 'character'. Most of the cigarette smell is gone now but the carpets are still a little sticky. The shower knob seized up the other day and looked for a while like it would never turn again. However, the most troubling observation (for me at least) is that none of the electrical sockets have an earth... they're all two-pin! This means that none of my power strips work. It also means that I can't use my extended laptop cable and am having to run off my battery right now.

A plus about these flats is that our neighbours haven't secured their wireless internet which is how I'm able to blog. For that reason, I ought to sign off before I'm rumbled and instead get some rest. I'll try and post at the weekend when our goal will be to get tables.