Plane = No better then boat across the Atlantic

So me and Jim are in England now. It's really warm. Apparently we're going to get a bit of a heat wave. Which is nice cause I enjoy the warm.

We left the ground at Pearson at a little before 19h00. Then a small child decided that she didn't want to fly to England and began to scream. Screaming like you never thought imaginable. I had a sister who had colic and then two more younger siblings. Even if I took some sort of high speed launching device and sent all three of them careening into one another to create some sort of super screaming monstrosity it would not rival the esophagal fortitude of this little hell spawn.

And it's not like it was a little baby. The kid was clearly capable of using reason, determining wrong and right, and tying her own shoes. Her parents seemed tempted to put her in the overhead bin, but realizing that this would just make the screaming more of a loud echo, the father decided to use PILLOWS OVER HER HEAD. at least this is what Jim says. He was beside her. I was a couple rows back on the other side of the plane sitting with a super hot brunette from McGill who was en route to Nairobi to work for an NGO. Poor Laura (her name) couldn't sleep and she had a connecting 10hr flight to Kenya. Ahh well.

So no sleep and we get to Heathrow for about 6h30 (local, its a 7ish hour flight). But rather then take us to the Castle, they decide that we need to wait several hours (well really an hour and a half) for another plane to come in so we can all share a bus. And then everyone else arrives and they decide that we need to sit around for another 3/4 of an hour still. Heathrow's departure terminal is not meant for long waits. Mostly due to its dullness. That and the constant and incessant reminder that "For safety Reasons we remind parents NOT to let their children ride on the baggage carts". Apparently the English think tourists are mildly retarded which is fine by me.

The roads here are interesting to say the least. There are a million and a half round abouts. Apparently the concept of the 2-way & 4-way stop at an interchange is something us crazy colonists dreamt up.

In the single piece of bad news that's gone on (other then banshee spawn on the plane that ruined my pickup attempt) apparently T-Mobile has dropped Erik Zabel from their Tour de France roster. I know no one really cares but Zabel has been my hero since i was about 16. He's won more Maillot Vert's (sprinter's titles) at the Tour then anyone ever. and i wanted to see him race. Alas, the year when i finally get to see the Tour, they drop him. I guess you can't win them all. Hopefully T-Mobile will change their minds.

So we have orientation stuff today, showing off the grounds and the gardens and the residence. Tomorrow is local orientation. i get to see a castle AND chalk cliffs. i hang out with too many geologists.

So i'm going to stop now cause this is ridiculously long.