Well, there's some good news and some bad news. To start with the bad news, I didn't get the job I interviewed for (again). So, now I am thinking I might go back to America at the start of December and try to see if there is any seasonal temp work I can do. I will also start calling charities to see if I can find one to volunteer with, so I can get a volunteer visa. I will hopefully be able to do something with computers, so I will be able to gain extra experience, at least.

The good news is that Victoria has started her new job, as a course administrator for a law course. It sounds like it will be hard work. I have also been approved for a bank account in the UK, which is very good news, since it means I can cash my reimbursement checks from my interviews, in addition to just being handy to have. Under the UK banking system, it is apparently impossible to cash a check from a bank in person at that bank: you have to have an account.

I thought the interview went pretty well, but I guess you never know about the other candidates and how qualified they are. I know at least one had a masters, which might have been a large advantage. I barely made it to the interview on time, thanks to my train being delayed 45 minutes. I thought I was going to be early, but I practically had to run to get there on time.

After the interview, I wandered around Lancaster, and took a tour of the castle. The castle is 80% prison, and 20% courts right now. There's one crown court and one other court in the building. The tour was interesting, though a bit macabre. The guide was a bit like Alfred Hitchcock, both in appearance, and his take on the castle. "Now we will move from the torture chamber to the most gruesome part of the castle...", etc.

Unfortunately I had to wait around until 5:30 for my train, because when I bought the tickets, I thought the interview was going to last longer than it did. Regardless, I was pooped at the end of the day.

On Friday afternoon, Victoria and I took a bus to Lincoln, a beautiful town with a giant cathedral and a castle with a copy of the Magna Carta in it. Two of Victoria's friends from high school (Orla and Niamph (pronounced Neeve, it's Irish) : they're twins), were having a birthday get together and invited us up. The bus was roasting hot, and we had to roll up our sleeves and pants legs to keep from dying. Our bus was delayed due to a flipped 18-wheeler (lorry) and so we arrived 10 minutes after our connecting bus was supposed to leave from Leicester. Luckily, that bus was also delayed 40 minutes, so we didn't miss the only connection to Lincoln that night. All in all, it took about 5 and a half hours to get there by bus. However, it was only 10 pounds return (20 dollars), versus 40 pounds on the train!

Interestingly enough, everyone else was delayed getting there as well, and we were the first people to arrive. There was a giant feast and the food was delicious. The twin's mom cooked everything, and did an amazing job. After dinner, many people went out to a club, but it was 11:30 or so, and I was beat from the day before, so I collapsed in the bed instead of going out.

The next morning we watched the pilot of Twin Peaks for some reason, and then Victoria and I went into town, visited the cathedral, and had some tea. It was very nice, and we managed to get unlucky with the bus back to their house, so we took a taxi instead.

The bus ride home on Sunday was much better, except this time the bus was freezing. Just when it got warm, they stopped the bus and we had to change to another bus (which was freezing as well).

This weekend we have bus tickets to Brighton (southern coast) to see one of Victoria's friends do a comedy performance at a club. Should be interesting.