Milligan's update

I sincerely apologize in advance for taking so long to send the first in the Tales from London series - hopefully soon, you'll be reading and viewing pics from our Web site that Greg is spearheading. Also, please excuse any sentences that sound like rubbish and sorry for rambling. We had a 8-week-old baby on 19 May...a Vizsla puppy named Duke. Hence, I am a single mom during the work week and it's showing!

SW1X - a postcode fit for a Queen
Greg and I settled into a furnished 2-bedroom, 1-bath Mews house one block from Hyde Park, 10 steps from the Wilton Arms pub, 20 steps from the Nags Head pub and 50 steps from the Turks Head pub on 5 May. Check out this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mews for the definition of "Mews." On this map Part of Belgravia in London, we live to the left of the Parking symbol on Kinnerton St. Thus, we are 7 minutes from either Knightsbridge or Hyde Park Corner Tube Station and 10 minutes from Harrods. Very convenient and tourist-friendly!!! Since we share the Queen's postcode, we live in a super posh neighborhood with wardrobes and cars to match...I can't seem to ever be dressed up enough just to walk down the street. Are mini-skirts and riding boots worn over pants the rage in the States too? Although the measurements are difficult to decipher, I have been cooking up a storm since we arrived. The smoke detector in the kitchen goes off each time I'm using the oven or stove top...ahhh...a friendly reminder of the good ol' Larkin Lounge. We discovered that the larger of the two buttons on the toilet creates the fastest flush, that we'll never have warm water as an option, and about the equivalent of 5 T-shirts constitutes one load of laundry. We've also been without TV since the move-in (you have to have a TV license here), but found a Blockbuster to sustain ourselves. In our Mews courtyard, we share space with the Judith Blacklock Flower Shop (they have a 2-week change-your-career flower decorating class...hmmm), Raja who works in the Norwegian Embassy (most of the unguarded embassies are near us), a financial PR firm, Barbara and Peter - a retired couple who's lived in their place for 30 years, Sally Ann - a former Vizsla owner and senior citizen who rides her bike to the Farmer's Market on the weekends, a moped rider, gay guys who play really good music we can hear through the wall, an old lady whom Greg helped move her huge plotted plant that probably needed a fork lift, Ed with the fat orange cat named Sammy, and various construction workers/engineers renovating the flat across from us. Waitrose (the Rice Epicurean of London) is down the street, but Greg and I LOVE (please note sarcasm) to fill up our backpacks with food and hike to/from Sainbury's (the HEB of London) that's 20 minutes away, which is the equivalent of one "Houston grocery store trip." On this route is our Royal Mail post office (always has a 12-person queue no matter the time or day) and my summer gym, the Queen Mother Sports Centre (similar to the YMCA, but without spin classes, plays music from this decade and has 3 separate pools - lap, water slide/diving area and kiddie). It's a nice walk or run past fancy neighborhoods with beautiful squares and the infamous Victoria Station with streams of commuters and tourists darting in and out like ants. We use the Underground when the ride doesn't equal the walk. Funny how you think you're better off taking the train, but come to find out, you spend more time in the tunnels. Perhaps once winter arrives, which will probably be September in my view, I will really wear out my Oyster card (refillable electronic ticket).

7-hour work days, 2 p.m. happy hours
Greg leaves on Monday mornings at 5 a.m. to catch a taxi to Paddington Station, then the Heathrow Express to catch the earliest possible flight to Aberdeen where he's working on a project for a super major oil and gas company. From what I know about Scotland (and the corporate world) from Greg, everyone eats meat and potatoes for lunch, strolls into work around 9 a.m. and departs by 5 p.m., and cannot use the vibrate or discreet function on their mobiles. On Thursdays and Fridays, Greg goes into the SAIC office in Green Park (1 tube stop away) where he can't print because his user ID is American and his laptop is British. The dress code for London's office workers is suit and tie (more formal than Aberdeen), iPOD and umbrella. Fridays are casual and every work day must be too because I constantly see professionals at the pubs in mass quantities any time after 2 p.m. My only explanation is perhaps there is a shortage of conference rooms at the office or that everyone is in sales and has to officially close their deal with a pint.

Duke's adventures with Mum
Duke joined our family on a chilly Friday afternoon when we took him from his 2 remaining siblings in Coventry and stuck him into a cat? carrier for our 1.5 hr train ride home after missing our original train (see photo). The journey was quite successful (despite the fact he went straight to the vet for his immunization before resting his paws on our cheap, shedding-if-you-look-at-it carpet) and he's been a fan of the transportation here ever since! As I write this, he is thankfully snoring in his crate - he had his 3rd Puppy Socialization class from 11 a.m. to Noon. The classes taught by angels make Wednesdays my favorite day of the week due to knocking Duke out for a few hours afterward, he's even too tired to eat lunch...oh...and because I am learning how to train him properly. The reality is I am just as exhausted as he is after the class since I have to carry him to the tube and then 5 blocks to St. Mary's church where the lessons are held. I try to get him to walk some of the way...we're already leaving an hour ahead. All I have to say is that I salute all the puppy parents out there. It is HARD work raising a pup, not that I didn't think it would be, but goodness gracious I am turning on the patience! Duke is working diligently on his crate training even though he has to be carried down a flight of stairs, past the courtyard and into the street to "be clean." He loves his walks to Hyde Park where he can freely eat grass and leaves, chase birds, sniff other dogs, and get bent out of shape when people walk by and don't pet him. This week he is into biting, barking for attention, chewing anything other than his toys including gum off the street, sunbathing and belly rubs. He is supposed to eat 3 times a day plus rice pudding (the breeders fault) and has 1 hour of play time every 2 hours, which is all his bladder can handle right now. Although he receives a ton of comments about how gorgeous he is and I've made a few friendships with nearby puppy moms, we've also gotten our share of complaints (anonymous notes) so he was kicked out of the Mews this week, 2 weeks before schedule since his next immunization is on Friday. I guess this means Greg and I will not be receiving any Christmas party invites...so much for tasting the figgy pudding!

MBA bound and a Junior Leaguer in waiting
When I wasn't on the phone (daily) with British Telecom trying to troubleshoot our broadband problems even changing out the router (pronounced ROOTER) and ruining an outlet trying to find the main switch?, I was completing my applications at Internet cafes for B-school this fall. So far I have an interview scheduled with London Business School next Monday, one with Ashridge a few weeks later and one with Cranfield in early July. I found out today that I've been rejected by Cambridge and I'm still waiting to hear back from Oxford and Warwick to see if I made it to their interview stage. LBS is my 1st choice due to the content of their brillant (UK translation = awesome) program which emphasizes three major projects, a Foreign Exchange Program, fluency in another language, and most important of all - the flexibility to graduate in 21 months as opposed to the rest of the UK programs which are 12 months. I have also successfully completed my transfer to the Junior League of London. But everyone in charge of my volunteer placement is either pregnant, just had a baby or about to deliver any second (believe me when I say I will not be drinking the water!) so all I can do for now is go to the monthly meetings. I manage one workout a day and will have my road bike tuned up tomorrow...if only I can find my pedals that the packers have hidden, I'll be in good shape for a tri this summer. Greg and I went to the May Thirsty Thursday sponsored by the Texas Exes of London at the Texas Embassy (the ritas, fajitas and chips & queso were a far cry from Tex-Mex standards but the South Padre concoction was enough to make my head spin) and will be attending the UTUK Pub Crawl next Saturday which culminates at the Cadogan Arms to watch the World Cup match of USA vs. Italy.

London A-Z
So we've been living here a month and all we've seen is Buckingham Place (no guards were changing at night), the Victoria & Albert Museum (1-hr...does that count?), Piccadilly Circus, Wellington Arch, Mayfair (lots of yummy restaurants in Shepherd's Market), Harrods (for tea and scones with clotted cream!), and Harvey Nichols (We bought a towel there when we found out the towels that were in the flat during our scouting trip had disappeared, but later returned it after we couldn't justify spending $60. We decided to dry ourselves off with T-shirts instead until the movers arrived with our towels, along with a whole slew of stuff, a week later.). Though not to worry, as soon as Duke hits 3-months-old, we'll be hitting the ground running to all sites that can be toured within 3 hours. Our guestroom is open to all who are passing through or looking for an excuse to add another stamp to their passport. I had the pleasure of entertaining Genevieve while she was stranded in town for a couple of days last week and can say that I have mastered the wine opener since then so all future visits should be painless!

Take care and please keep in touch - I am finally online!!!

Cheers,
Karen

2 Kinnerton Place South
London SW1X 8EH
United Kingdom

Home phone: +44 0207 235 6690

Attached is a picture of our new family member. Duke is playing with all of his new toys at nine weeks old.

We wanted to get an idea of which toy he liked best (all the literature suggests you can use this toy to your training advantage) showing greater intellect than his new owners Duke made sure no preference to any toy was visible. This kicked off a string of "negotiations" at our house between Duke and his new family, it seems he has won concessions on all of his points, however so far we still get to sleep in our own bed.

Seriously, Duke is settling in well, even sleeping through the nights. He is awaiting everyone's visit to London, his favorite activity is meeting new people, and he does so with fanatical enthusiasm (which we're working on).

Hope everything is well, talk to you all soon.

Regards,
Greg