Erieversible

Once more the small volume of belongings we possess is being packed up into cardboard boxes.  For the last couple of days I’ve been moving bits and pieces into the new house.  There seems to be a balance to life.  I stayed behind on the Isle of Man for a while, emptying our old home.  Now I’m slowly filling the new home and the rest of the family, having led the way to the US in the summer, will be along shortly.

The process of turning the new house into a home will be slow, but not too slow.  I’ve arranged for our personal effects to come out of storage and to be delivered to the new house.  No date yet, but I hope it won’t be long.

We move on 9th or 10th January - date to be confirmed by the movers.  So, a journey that began in March 2007 with a visa application is set to come to a close in January 2009.  The journey may be ending, but the life we have journeyed to is now, finally, just beginning.  Thanks for a good Summer, Erie.  Clarence and Buffalo, let’s find out what you have to offer!

I left Erie on Sunday evening and drove to find my corporate apartment in Buffalo.  Thanks to the miracle of GPS I arrived without any hassle.  Due to the weather conditions I drove the full way without cruise control and it was much more like driving the motorways in the UK.  I arrived a little tired, rather than bored.  Now, if they’d add some features to Interstates to make it more entertaining I wouldn’t mind the drive so much

Apartment fine.  But no internet access.  Cable, and a cable modem with necessary wires, but no access.  Sorted that out this evening, eventually.  Apartment office says Time Warner to blame, Time Warner say apartment firm to blame, the usual stuff.  Luckily, the usual stuff that I’m used to, so it is now sorted.  All credit to Time Warner who were very responsive.  No idea where the bill is going though!

The first two days of the job are orientation days.  Hectic, far too much information to take it all in.  At least on Wednesday I should have some peace and quiet.  (That’s a joke….)  Lots of stuff to sort out - I need to find a medical practice here and register everyone so we can join the company health scheme.  I need to understand the complexities of the US tax system.  (Another joke….does anyone understand them?)

So, end of day one.  Lots of emails to catch up with about the house purchase, but maybe after work tomorrow I can head to a mall or somewhere and find a decent pillow.  Ho hum.

Yesterday’s entry used the cold weather developing here as a parallel for the economic job freeze starting to take effect.  Today I thought I’d look at the real temperature differences between here in Erie and the Isle of Man.  I know they exist, but how real is my perception to reality?  Very close, as it turns out.  Taking mean monthly temperature figures from a variety of online sources and bringing them all together highlights the 4 seasons experienced in Erie to the 1 season (maybe 2) experienced in the Isle of Man.

The mean high temperatures are quite dramatically different.  And the key measure is where the Erie high temperatures cross over, dropping below the Isle of Man highs.  The moderate Isle of Man climate is quite visible on the graph.

The low temperatures tell the same story of extremes versus moderation.  What the graphs tell me is that October is the switch-over month for cold temperatures.  Time to buy winter coats and check the central heating boiler is working!  And buy a snow shovel.  And….?