Made it back to England, business as usual.

First of all, I assumed that the fact I was making a post at 1:30am would be indication enough that there was something a little different going on, but as I have been asked by people I will make it a little more explicit.
I now have a proper place to live. I have been here for almost two weeks now (moved in Sunday 21st). The house is nice, in Camden Town, living with a guy, a girl and a three-legged cat.
So good news on that front.

Secondly, my senior manager informed me a couple of days ago that when the project I am currently working on finishes in two weeks, I'll be going back to work in the city on a project that involves a little development along with other things. Good news there too, but I'll wait for it to happen before on commit on how good it actually is.

Today I bought a new pair of running shoes. Cost me ₤85. At the current exchange rates, that converts to US$167, or NZ$245. My last pair of running shoes cost me US$50. I could a new pair of shoes every year for the next three years and still have money left for some new socks.

I mentioned that I was going to the Czech Republic to go snowboarding. That was last weekend; I'm back now. Before I say anything about the trip itself, there's something else I want to go into.

I don't think that I look like a terrorist. I don't think that someone would look at me and think "Hmmm, he looks like he is considering blowing something up (possibly himself)." Perhaps a drug deal, or a smuggler of some sort. I can accept that I might conceivably fit that profile somehow. Or maybe it's simply because I am a young, white, male, that I tend to walk with purpose and that I don't get flustered with the whole Airport experience, despite what I've gone through on previous trips.
Whatever it is, I seem to be targetted by airport security.
Going to Canada I was made to go through the 'special' device that blows jets of air on you and then does God knows what else (probably giving me a healthy dose of cancer-causing radiation).
Coming to London from SFO I got the special 'ZZZZ' marked on my boarding pass when I checked-in, and then had to go through the same air-blowing machine before everything I was carrying onto the plane was taken out of the bags and swabbed.
Arriving back from Prague I was pulled aside and taken into the side room for my bags to be searched. I think in this instance once the woman briefly asked about where I had come from, had begun her search through my bags and seen the ski-gear and other clothing quickly decided that I wasn't carrying anything incriminating and let me go.

I remember when I was in Australia, Ian (who was born in China, lived in NZ since 7 for those of you who don't know) was stopped and 3 out of the 4 times at the airport, while I cruised through. Unfortunately, that isn't what happens any more.

Ok, that's enough writing for today. I described the snowboarding another time.