That's not a Knife

I've been in the new job for three weeks now and everything seems to be going well. There's still no indication of how long it will last, but even the experience I've had so far is invaluable. I've pretty much been working on my own so I've not really had the chance to integrate, but I did spend half an hour talking to someone about cricket, which is a pretty good indication of the diversity of the workforce here. I'm not even the only vegetarian!

Oh,  I'm not even the only Scottish person who works for these guys, I've just found out there's someone else here who's from Falkirk! Not someone with a great-great-grandfather who drank Irn Bru once, but someone who has actually been in Falkirk for the majority of their life, and still drinks Irn Bru. He also met his wife online and moved here. I ended up speaking to him for about half an hour as well (don't worry, I worked my lunch), and I'm now hooked up for Scottish imports. It's nice to know that is isn't just me, Craig Ferguson, Drew McIntyre and Bill Dundee :-)

Getting back into the swing of full-time work has really calmed the homesickness a lot, although it will always be there. It's good to have my mind on something else and be able to get back into a normal routine, something which I haven't had since late 2009. Getting paid is good too. I am going to get a phone, a geetar, and some sort of games console. But I am going to be very responsible and spread out the purchases, because I'm a responsible person now.

I'm also going to get football nets, a basketball net, new clothes, Burnistoun DVD, The Thick of It box set,  new cricket gear, shoes, dart board, tickets to go see the pirates, and some sweets.



I joined my new cricket club and had my first training session a couple of weeks back. It won't be the same as stepping out onto the hallowed Bailliefields turf (mainly due to the decreased risk of drowning), but it will keep me going until we move back one day. They seemed like a good bunch of guys and have some talented players.  They are about the same level as my old club, so the games should be good. I can't play the full season this year due to the transport and work issues, but even getting a handful of games in will be nice.

I've come up with the idea of starting a cricket club in Atoka/Munford, since all the league teams are in Memphis or Little Rock. Don't have a clue where to start, but I thought it would be worth a go. See, if it's my team I get to play every game and open the bowling and batting. Don't know what the expat community is like in Tipton County and Millington, but surely if there are enough guys for five teams in Memphis there must be enough for one out in the country.

I had one of my first Crocodile Dundee moments the other day. The office was freezing and it was windy outside. So when I left for the night I expected it to be cold outside too, but it wasn't. In fact, it was rather warm. I felt like an alien to be so confused (if for only about two seconds) that it was cold inside but warm outside. . It may sound weird but air conditioning isn't really a big requirement back home, heating  is.