Arrival

Welcome to my blog, and the first real adventure of my life.  I've spent the first 31 years, 11 months and 25 days of my life living on the east coast of the US (Boston and New York City).  I've gotten the amazing opportunity to spend the next 3 months living and working in London, and will cap off my trip with an attempted summit of Mt Killimanjaro, and I plan to document my experiences and mishaps on this blog.  Mostly because it'll be an easier way to keep in touch and avoid mistakenly running up a million pounds in phone and data fees.

No taxation without representation

I'm going to try to update this frequently and then go back and refine it later, so please forgive me any trespasses and typos as I go for volume.  I'd also welcome tips on things to see in London and in Europe, and please make posts and comments.  I'm new to blogging, so that'll help me

I really haven't thought too much of my format, but I'd like to:

• Pick a place to go and do a little research on it
• Write a few bars on what I expect to see and feel (I'm emotional)
• Experience it
• Write a recap and include pics

Bridge I have not yet found the name of

The River Thams

Off the top, here are a few things I want to accomplish

1. Widen my world view:  I consider myself to be reasonably educated, but pretty whiteboyboston in terms of my cultural awareness
2. Visit 8 countries:  Ambitious, but I'm pretty sure going to Paris from London is like driving from Boston to Providence (if that's wrong...see point 1)
3. Walk and use public transportation;  Save money, learn the city, and maintain some semblance of physical fitness so they I don't end up riding down Killimanjaro on a ski patrol sled (see pt 1)
4. Learn how to convert KG to LB in my head (I almost separated my chest from my chest this morning in the gym)
5. Meet someone new and do something new everyday, maybe at the same time
6. Learn to speak English:  I've had to repeat myself a lot already, which normally I'd write off to my 3 nips of Jack on the airplane habit, but which wasn't the case on my morning flight
7. Document as many cultural differences as I can
8. Learn as much as possible
9. Share as much as I have to share

Few things I want to avoid 

1. Learn how to convert Pounds to Dollars:  I feel like that would be painful and would limit my enjoyment of this new/old culture
2. My typical pop culture leanings:  This mostly means spending spare moments on ESPN.com.  I want to detach from the Boston sports scene which consumes too many of my mental calories, I think.  I do reserve the right to watch the Sox on opening day, the NFL draft and Celtics playoff games (assuming I can find a place to see them).  
3. Social Media:  I'm going to devote my eMail, Facebook and G+ time to this blog (I've already used up my G+ time)