A couple weeks ago, I got really excited, because I saw an ad for a male strip show in Sheffield. Normally, this sort of thing would not be particularly exciting. However, Sheffield is famous for being the scene of the movie "The Full Monty," where a bunch of unemployed ex-steel workers put on a strip show to raise some money. It delighted me that there actually are male strip shows in Sheffield, as I suspected there aren't.

The trip to Jersey went really well. We were a bit tired after it though, because Victoria's nieces are young and full of energy. We certainly didn't lie around all day resting. We got to see the Jersey zoo, which is actually an animal preserve. They don't have that many different kinds of animals, but they have amazing, large habitats for the animals. As a result, they have been very successful at breeding gorillas and orangutans. We saw about three baby orangutans at the zoo. They also had lots of tiny monkeys and lemurs.

The weather was nice and warm most of the time in Jersey. It seemed like a nice place to live. However, housing was expensive (London prices), and food was double the price as in Sheffield. I guess living on a nice island has its drawbacks as well. It is just a short ferry trip to France though. We could even see France from some of the coastline.

Last Sunday we went to London to see our friend Kelley who we knew from Japan. She is from Charlotte, and was doing a tour of Europe. We hadn't seen her in a year, so it was nice to meet up with her and see how she is doing. We showed her downtown London on a walking tour. I took Monday off and we stayed the night because another foreign friend was in London as well. Francisco and his girlfriend, Fatima, came from Spain to visit friends in England. Victoria met Francisco in Salzburg when she studied abroad there. They were very nice and we gave them a guided tour of a different part, and Kelley came for part of it as well. Before we went back on Monday, they announced that they are getting married in May, so we are invited to Spain for the wedding. Next summer is shaping up to be big for wedding trips abroad, as my cousin Edward is getting married in July as well.

Tonight we had Vernon, a building-mate from downstairs over for dinner. He's a nice guy and easy to talk to. Like us, he has moved up from London recently, so I think he is looking for friends as well.

This Thursday Victoria and I will be going to Jersey, one of the channel islands. Victoria's eldest sister, Fiona, lives there with her husband and three cute girls. They live close the beach, so hopefully we will be able to swim some. However, the weather has not been that nice in England recently. I have been wearing a coat to work every day, to give you an idea. It has been cloudy and rainy as well.

This last month has been a bit tense at work. My department is having a restructuring, so everyone's jobs are being juggled. If I am lucky, I will get a more senior post with more responsibility. If I am not lucky, I will stay with the same post, which is better than many people can say (they will be without a job). So the worst case scenario is that I will be no worse off than now. It looks like I will find out at the end of August, or mid-September.