Sunshine on My Shoudlers.......Makes Me Happy

Well, for those of you looking for an updated blog........leaving comments tends to lead towards more blogs! Just kidding. I actually do not even know where to start. My last two days at work with people and with the Cassapian people have been amazing. I continue to learn lots about the country and lots about the language here. I thought it was side walks that are walk paths but those are actually what we call alley's. Sidewalks here are actually referred to as pavement. When walking around it is important to stay off the road and on the pavement. The London tubes are un-real. They are probably the most modern form of public transportation I have ever seen. Some of the stations are 8 stories deep! You learn lots about the language via signs. They have no EXIT signs here in London, the EXIT signs all say Way out. You simply follow Way out signs and you will eventually be out of where ever you are. I also noticed that where ever we would have a sign Watch Your Step..... they have Mind The Gap! When walking over areas that are not level, you must Mind the Gap! The picture I have included in this blog is of one of the oldest Cathedrals in England and is where Prince Charles was married to Diana (St. Pauls Cathedral). This church is very close to where our Weiland partner offices are in Guildhall, Blackstone House. I didn't go in but I might attend mass there Sunday morning just for the experience of a lifetime. Speaking of Blackwell house (remember everywhere here, there is a building called a house of some name) , inside is a LIFT (what we call an elevator) that is the OLDEST LIFT in England. You have to see it to believe it. I made the mistake at lunch today by telling my business friends all about how much I love cruising. They started laughing at me and mentioned to me that the word CRUISING here means a gay man "out looking" for another GAY man! You should have seen their face when I spoke about the fun it is to go cruising! The differences in language go on and on. I learned today that the people of Whales do not like the English people. They have gone so far as to put travel and road signs up in WELCH (and English) just to piss off the English. Nobody from London reads the Welch signs, but they are there anyway just to piss people off. I also learned that while Whales and Scotland, and other surrounding areas have a local parliament, they are governed by the queen of England based in London. Did you know that when the British flag is full mast, it means the queen is in the palace? Half mast means she is on Holiday (what we call vacation). The British flags adorn the streets around the palace.... tomorrow I hope to see the changing of the guard at 11:30 AM local time. These dudes are amazing in that they do not MOVE! Today the Cassapian folks took me to dinner at London Bridge. I remember a nursery rhime about London Bridge falling down, but I can tell you it hasn't because I was there today! I never thought when I was a little kid that I would be eating under London Bridge one day! As we were having a drink outisde a bar there, a zillion people went running by in a 1 mile run for homeless people......the only issue I have is that I have been all over the city streets and I haven't seen any homeless people! I cannot find any garbage, any homeless people, and I haven't seen a Mexican yet. I am not prejudice mind you, but there are absolutely ZERO Mexicans here. We went out for a coffee this morning and a guy swept up a cigarette butt off the sidewalk right it front of me before I stepped on it. Anyway, more will come to me later, but today was a bit surreal, I found that Paris is a 2 hour train ride away (40 minutes under the English Channel), french fries are not called that at all (they are chips),
and people here love the sunshine more than anyone I have ever seen. It has been shining for 3 days and the guys here tell me it never comes out, that is why so many are outside! The sun has been shining ever since I arrived on Air India 124.