I am … unhindered by talent

Several people have asked about “culture shock” upon returning home, and for me at least there really hasn’t been much (I’ll let WeatherGirl and Sub-Evil speak for themselves). One thing that has been really amazing, though, is the peace and quiet here.

The photo above is from a few years ago, but it’s representative of what it’s been like being back. The roads (and sky) are wide and quiet, and peddling my bike down a big empty street seems kind of otherworldly after a year in a much more crowded part of the world:

The other huge difference is the damn mosquitoes. Didn’t really miss them while we were gone, and wasn’t too thrilled to see them again (in vast quantities) upon our return.

Oh, and burritos are much better in Minnesota than in the UK (and much better in Texas than Minnesota). Really. Much better.

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Apparently we had an earthquake here in the UK last night around 1am, and Sub-Evil and I snoozed through the whole thing! WeatherGirl, however, was still up and reports on the not-exactly-harrowing experience, complete with links to other sources of info.

This is the second earthquake she’s experienced and I haven’t. (I was in Texas at a workshop when we had a small tremor in Minnesota shortly after we moved there. There’s a wonderful story there, but it’ll have to wait until for another day.)

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Coming from a country where we thump our chests and wave our flags at nearly any provocation, one is struck here by the near absence of flags and their waving.

They can be found, however. You just need to sneak up on them very, very quietly…

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