Marshall's Bookclub Edition

I must honestly say that we have truly had a smashing transition into our new life and our new lifestyle. I must also confess that there is one true hole in life and I have found nothing that is able to fill it. American football is basically absent from my life and the withdrawal shakes are almost uncontrollable. I went as far as telling my boss that if it does not get better, I have to come home. He has offered to buy a second TiVO at his house and he will record games one Sunday and will ship the box to me. I can then watch them and can return the box while he mails the next set of games. With that said, I thought I would share a peak into my life.

My drive tends to start at a little before 7:00 AM. While the office does not typically spring to life until half eight or nine, I hold on to the early morning hours as that seems to be the only chance I get to address my to do list. The drive in takes me past the Heath every day. I love to watch them exercise the horses every morning. They'll stop traffic as they come from the studs (stables) in the middle of Newmarket. Usually at this time, the delivery trucks are in full swing as they stock the stores. The milkman is typically on the move as well. Our neighbors have the milkman deliver every single day. That is quite a look back in time for folks. We have yet to do this because we still consume on a Skelton pace which would make this quite expensive.

My dream in life would be to have an office that looks over the Georgia Football Stadium (Between the Hedges). Instead, I have an office that looks over a Cricket pitch. I have yet to see a match but there has been a couple of chaps practicing bowling (this is pitching in cricket speak). The building to the left is Mary's place. This is where you can go get a bite to eat. Just off the right if the screen is the gym for the site. Granta Park is basically a mini Research Triangle Park. There are several pharma companies that share the campus with us.

Last week was a particularly eventful week. It started with a trip to Paris. There was a Works Council meeting. This is somewhat similar to a labor union in the US. I was able to meet with the representatives. It was quite the experience. We would conduct the meeting in English but when the the group decided that they needed to dig into a serious discussion, they would launch into the French and I would just hang on for the ride. Luckily, the person that sat next to me had lived in Texas and California and she graciously looked out for me. They were a nice group to work with. The ride back through the Chunnel Tuesday night was great. You blow past the cars on the motorway and you realize they are going 80 miles an hour and you are going 40 miles faster than that. Wednesday, I headed down to Winchester, which is on the other side of London past Windsor Castle. I went to meet with all the country managers for EMEA. The new folks from Russia were there. I was able to spend time with managers from Poland, South Africa, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Germany, and many more places.

Saturday saw my first hair cut. Chris the barber is the place to go. Vivian had to make an appointment for me. I arrived early but Chris was running a bit behind and he suggested that I go to the market. It is quite the day. The town was packed as everyone was taking advantage of all the goods in the market. Market days are only Tuesday's and Saturday's with Saturday being the biggest. I grabbed a sausage roll from the bakery and strolled through the market then it was back to Chris's.