Best September of my life !

September 2006 has been the most relaxed month for me since I started working..... and it will be till I retire. I came to UK very early (reached here on the 5th of September). There are three reasons for that:

Firstly, had I stayed longer, I would have ended up working longer. I was infact in office till 7:00 pm on Sep 04.... and my flight was the next day at 1:00 pm.

Secondly, I did not have a place to stay in Oxford. I spent numerous hours on the net looking for a suitable private accomodation close to SBS. they were all frightfully expensive, and frankly speaking I am not the type who will select a place basis some snaps on the net. So I had to pretty much sweat it out. Fortunately for me, the University Graduate Housing found my name at the top of their list when I visited them in Summertown. So here I am well settled at Castle Mill, a brisk 10 minutes walk from the B-school.

Thirdly, I wanted to spend some time with my good friend from school, Tarun, who stays in Essex. I had a lovely time with his hospitable family. My wife Harshita is accompanying me, and we used the time exploring London, its train network, and coming to terms with the steep prices of everything when comaped with India.

I have been Oxford since Sep 15 ...... and so far have only slept, wined and dined. As my batchmates started to trickle in, the get-togethers increased, and I am having a swell time meeting new people everyday.

At first I felt a bit funny every morning, coz I had nothing to do - There was no urgency to get ready and go to office. No worries about pending deadlines. No presentations, meetings... basically absolute bliss. This was compounded by the lovely weather, and the luxurious sunny days.

I haven't walked so much in years...... I cycled after like 15 years (I still have to learn the gear system on bicycles, coz the last time I cycled, I did not have those).

Yesterday, we had a team building activity which was fun. After the drinks at school, it was nice to see such a large turnout at 'Frevd' ..... I do appreciate the capacity !

September has done me good ...... I guess only Keanu Reeves Sweet November was better than this..... Just kidding.

Lets see what October has in store for us ......