Calypso was looking particularly cute today. I thought I should share the moment.

Well, it was a busy day. After crossing the Channel, I dropped off Aude at Cite Europe to do some shopping while I continued a bit further down to Montreuil to buy my wine. The weather was a nightmare — sunny one minute, pouring with rain the next. I must have looked suspect, because I was stopped by French Customs officials as I went through the tollbooth on the Autoroute, although I’m not quite sure what contraband they thought I might be carrying.

Shortly after my run-in with French law enforcement, I was nearly hit by a learner-driver coming out of a side street. (And yes, before all of my French friends try to explain the French right-of-way rules to me, I definitely had the right of way…) I think they’re trying to punish me for visiting their country.

The Wine Society’s shop was fantastic as always. They managed to collect all my selected wine, charge me for it, and load the car in about 20 minutes — not bad for a order of six mixed cases. I’m impressed with the size of the trunk in my car — we managed to fit everything in.

Just as well. We did tons of shopping at Cite Europe. We’ve got enough food and booze between us to feed an army. We stopped into our ‘regular’ restaurant in Calais for some dinner, then caught the last train home.

There’s not much to do on the train except play with your mobile phone…

…or take pictures of the car in front of you!

In an unprecedented feat of technology, I can show you what we’re going to be doing tomorrow even before it happens! (If you’re really curious, I’ll tell you how I’ve worked my magic)

That’s right, I’m down to my last few bottles of wine, and Aude wants to do some of her Christmas shopping on the other side of the Channel. So we’re off for a day trip to France tomorrow with a few friends. The girls will hit the shops, I’ll head to the wine merchant, then we’ll meet up later in the evening for dinner. If I’m clever, I might even take a few photographs for the website…

Bon voyage!

Well, it looks like autumn is finally here. As you can see, the trees outside my house are just beginning to change colour. And it’s a crisp, clear day here in Canterbury — a big change from the rainy, miserable weather we’ve been having for the past month.

Oh, and you can tell a train is crossing the tracks around the corner. Traffic is at an absolute standstill!

This whole “working for a living” thing is coming as something of a shock. I’ve been asked to head up a proposal for a new client, gathering information about our experience and credentials in a specific industry using a number of products. It isn’t rocket science, but like most companies, we don’t manage our knowledge terribly well. There’s a lot of chasing and networking to actually find the information that I need. And some of the information comes from the US, so I need to work across time zones in order to speak to all the right people.

Which means that I’m working some long days.

So I decided to have a quiet night in this evening. Daisy didn’t seem to mind, spending most of the evening sleeping on my leg. She wanted to say hello.

Calypso decided that she’d relax in the Jacuzzi. She’s not a normal cat, is she?

Managed to blag my way along to dinner with the old SAIC/Pfizer team last night. It was good to catch up with them, even if it meant eating at the Belgian restaurant around the corner twice in one week. I mean seriously, there’s only so many mussels you can eat before you want a change of pace.

They do have some nice beers, though. Which may have something to do with this picture I took of Marc.

Sometimes, when the perfect photo opportunity presents itself, you just can’t resist.