As I write this, it is Saturday, December 6th, and the sun is shining. It has been like this all week, and that is enjoyable, especially at this time of year, when it should be raining! One consequence of this is a lack of snow in the mountains, and that may well mean water restrictions next year. Which is bad news for me, since I am buying a new home, and it needs landscaping next summer.
The new house is only about a mile away from my current place, but it is brand new, and twice the size. I take possession on January 7th. There are several reasons for buying a new home. One is that I have started a part time job, and want to have a room which I can call my office. I will also be getting some additional computers with this job, and so I need additional room. Plus it's a much nicer home.
I have included an artist's impression of the home. It's fairly accurate, except that none of the trees are there, at least not yet. The home is in a new development, which will ultimately have 40 homes. Mine is in the first street, which currently has 7 homes in various stages of construction. The builder's plan is to finish off this street first, before moving onto the others. More details are available on the world wide web at the address shown below the image.
This has been a busy, and enjoyable year for me. In April, I had a very pleasant couple of weeks touring Italy and the United Kingdom. It's only a 9 hour flight from Seattle to London, which makes Europe much easier to reach than from Sydney.
My time in Italy was spent with Rob Michael, whom I have known for many years, and who speaks excellent Italian, eliminating the language problem. Most of our travelling was in and around Rome, much of it by walking. The Vatican was the first stop, and is just amazing. We saw the Sistine Chapel, which is awe inspiring. Michelangelo's frescoes are truly beautiful. And not just the chapel, but also the corridors leading into it. The recent, and sometimes controversial, restoration work has made the art so spectacular, not that I had seen it before.
I found Rome to be a great place to visit, especially since I did 6 years of Latin at school, and hence many of the historic names were familiar. And Rob's knowledge helped too. We also visited a couple of Rob's friends, which always make for a nicer visit. And I had my wallet stolen, which turned out to be a nuisance more than anything else. It will help me avoid this sort of thing in the future, I hope.
In the UK, I visited my good ex Microsoft friends, and had a great time. I hired a car and so saw some of South East England. This tour ended up with almost a week in London, and I saw many of the major tourist attractions. Overall, a most enjoyable vacation.
I have also started a part time job. My employer, NewCon Software, is located in Pacific Grove, near Monterey, which is a little south of San Francisco. My job is still programming. As part of this, I now have my own set of web pages, and a slightly different email address.
Commuting to Pacific Grove is not practical, so I work from home. This is a very convenient arrangement, and I am doing some interesting work, and have started gaining some new areas of expertise, something which I always find enjoyable.
I have also had time to read. Mostly technical books, but a few others slip in along the way.
I did not get around to much gardening this year, which is a bit of a pity now that I am about to sell this house. The new property's lot is a bit smaller, I think. It's a rectangular block, whereas my present one is more pie shaped. The builder landscapes the front, but the rear is up to me. I have met my new neighbours, who are quite nice, and I expect we will get along quite well.
Finally, I should give you my new address, since that will be operative for Christmas 1998. I move in at the end of February, after I return from a month in Sydney!