Again, it has been some time since I last posted any update. Have been abusing Twitter on a pretty regular basis.

So it has been about 4 months since my last post, but I have a little downtime on a particularly dark and rainy Sunday so I figured I would procrastinate from real work and post a brief update about what I have been up to.
I have been very busy at work, but still very engaged with the stuff that I get to work on. It is nice having a job where I actually enjoy getting up in the morning and going. It also helps that it provides a little more job security than working at a start-up, a bank or Iceland.
The summer went by too quickly with another sailing trip to Croatia, a few weddings including one in Turkey, visiting the family back in the States and speaking at a conference in Crete. I also had some downtime due to a small surgery (a Laparoscopic cholecystectomy), but at least I am now healthier.
I did manage to pass my UK driving test on the first try (even though I hit the curb and stalled out), so that frustrating portion of my life is over (until I have to take a driving test again for some reason that I can’t foresee). Currently, what is driving me nuts is dealing with the Experian credit reporting agency and HSBC.
I have had an HSBC credit card in the UK for three years and have kept a very good history with them. However, when I went to get a new UK credit card (one that offers Virgin Atlantic miles), I was denied because, according to MBNA and Experian, I have no credit history. In attempting to fix this, I have had to sign up for a on-going credit report access and have spent countless hours talking to customer service peons at both HSBC and Experian. HSBC claims that they send the credit data to Experian, but Experian says that they have not received anything. Neither side seems too interested in helping me. The latest response I received was that I should check with Royal Mail because my address is not formatted properly. VERY irritating. I wonder why I keep paying off my credit card bills if they don’t even report whether I do.
So I have plenty of things to work on, but am doing well as the winter sets in. I turn 30 this November, which I guess is the next big milestone in my life.

So I admit that I am not very good at keeping my blog up-to-date. However, this is probably because I am not a blogger and actually DO have other things to do than post nonsense on the Internet.

Since my last post in November (7 months ago) I have been really busy with the “new” job. I guess it is not that new as I have almost been there a year, but I feel like I am slowly getting the hang of it and what I am working on. I must say that when I see friends from business school, many of them tend to complain about their post-MBA jobs. I am lucky in that I really enjoy the work I am doing and the people that I am working with. It is a very different kind of company, but it is one that suits me well. I hope to stick with it for a few years. Whether all of those years will be in London remains to be seen.

Besides work, I have managed to do a little travelling (both work and personal) including time in Zurich, Brugges, California, and an awesome weekend in the Cotswolds where we rented a house with 14 friends for a long weekend.

I have also been working on getting my British drivers license, which is a colossal undertaking. Although I have had my US drivers license since the age of 16, it is a requirement in the UK that all non-Euros and non-Commonwealth have to reapply. The UK test is supposedly one of the hardest in the world, so I have been taking refresher lessons (especially as I am applying for a manual transmission license). It is probably more difficult to “learn” to drive after spending years driving as the way you are expected to drive in the test has absolutely nothing to do with the way people drive in reality.

So, that was a quick update on what I am up to. I am currently sitting on my balcony during one of the few sunny and warm days that we have had so far. I was hoping to go for a run in the garden, but I found out it was “open day” meaning they are letting anyone into the place and it is packed. Plan B will probably involve the pub.