DC and Philly

We left Miami to go up North. Washington DC and Philadelphia were on the itinerary. What we got was tired legs and blistered feet. Very interesting anyway. Have a look at our pictures.

DC and Philly

Joyce took were good care of us and kitty (Jessi?) didn't mind sharing her place either. We had a great time.

No more furniture!!!

That's it! After the bed I also put up the much needed bookcase. Now the office/guest room is fully equipped.

I will retire to the sofa now and Rosie can sort the books.

Blood, sweat and tears....

...are not on the list of "things you need to build this", but they are a part of the process, when you try to build an Ikea bed.

Conveniently arriving in the famous "flat pack" the delivery guys were huffing and puffing to get the large box to our apartment. We had to have it delivered, because it was too long to fit in our car and I have to say I didn't mind somebody else carrying the almost 70kg (150lb).

Not being an Ikea virgin I thought it couldn't be too difficult to put the bed together and it wasn't, since luckily I have a very smart wife. She spotted all my mistakes at a glance, so I could undo them before it was too late.

The finished bed looks good, is comfortable and fits even me (just). Visiting couples should not worry, the bottom part can be pulled out to make a double twin size. But this is NOT an open invitation to everybody ;-)

An early Halloween

"Hef" "Helga"

It's Michael's first Halloween. So why not celebrate at the biggest party in Miami? Well, that's exactly what we did. We had people over to our place first then headed to Vizcaya. We had a great time at the party, but we are paying for it today with a hangover to match!

Furniture update + TV

So much excitement!! We thought we found a nice daybed online. Not cheap, quite big, fitting in the room perfectly.... so wrong. We opend up the first of five boxes, pulled out the first part and this is what we got


We didn't even bother opening the rest and had it shipped back today.

On a more positive note we went to buy some more chairs for the dinning table/sitting area. They are great!


Oh yeah, I forgot. Our DirecTV was disconnected. Apparently they subcontractor didn't process our application. So after 6 weeks of normal service they noticed that no bill had been paid for our line, which was still in the name of Sandra Diaz. We paid our bill, but they screwed up and cut our service. Now we are back on and it all looks fine. Still waiting for an apology, though.

Package from Germany

Before leaving Cambridge I packed a package with some things I could not fit in my suitcase - winter jackets and a blanket. I thought I won't need those immediately in Miami. After looking at different mailing options it was clear that sending it directly to the US was far too expensive. It was actually cheaper to mail it to Germany and then forward it to the US. Why is everything to bloody expensive in the UK? And why is service so poor there? Anyway, today the package arrived.



Front and back of the package didn't look too bad, a little dirt and the paper a bit torn, just what to expect. One corner, however, was completely smashed and there was a hole punched right through one sort side of it. Luckily I put everything inside in plastic bags so it stayed dry and clean. I now have 3 (!) warm winter jackets (2 leather, 1 wool), a puffer vest and a thick llama wool blanket. When will I need those, if today we still have 31C / 90F?

American Football

is not Cricket, but they also postpone a game if it's raining too hard and I mean torrential downpour.
Went to see the Miami Dolphins play the Oakland Raiders. Miami hasn't won this season and saw an opportunity against the equally bad starting Raiders. Well, Miami got beat 35-17 and people started leaving at the beginning of the 4th quarter.
Nevertheless, we had fun and enjoyed my first American football experience, beer and hot dog included.

More new furniture!!

Has been a while since we last got the screwdriver out to put up some furniture, but we still got it. Only took me most of Friday and Rosie helped finishing it off after work. 10am the phone rings: UPS: "Are you at home? We'd like to deliver some furniture." Well at least I think that's what the lady told me in SPANISH. 10 minutes later I had all these boxes delivered.



Out came the my inner Bob the Builder. Assembling the parts of the desk was easy with the supplied tools. But it was just a little too heavy for one person to slide the 3 parts together. Bob was stuck.
"Move on the the Media Console, Bob." Tough luck for him this time...there were no tools supplied. Abusing his trusty pair of scissors he managed to botch together the first half (bigger of the 2 shelves) before Rosie came home and they could go to buy tools.

Result:

Calling Dr. Rosie....

... but Dr. Rosie is sleeping ;-)
The usual sight in the afternoon if Rosie is home. While I am working she falls asleep in front of the tv. Don't blame her, she's been up since 4.30am

We made it to the beach!

After about 4 weeks of Michael in the US we finally made it to the beach. And it wasn't for the lack of sunny days, just pure lack of time!

Points of view

If you wondered what we can see when we step out on our balcony with our coffee in the morning. And, yes, that is a giant American flag on top of the building in picture 4

We are getting somewhere

Yes, we have a first result and bought some furniture yesterday. So far we have a small dark leather sectional, a coffee table, a dining table (seats 6) and 4 chairs. Later we'll try to find a nice tv and hope to get a matching media console. Also on our list is a daybed for the guest room/office and a desk for us to work on.

Anyway, this has to wait, as I am off to a Labor Day BBQ now. So hungry!!

From now on properly together

So ... I moved.

Our pad

Thought I would share pictures of our place. I took them before moving in. Well, the place looks pretty much the same, since Michael and I plan on buying furniture together once he arrives.

Good news is that there's an IKEA opening in Miami. So we'll update with picture of the place furnitured later.

Oh, this is a view from our balcony.

Fewer things to do

I now have my ticket!! Aug 28 I will be in Miami. I know it's kinda late, but I finally got it, so you can all stop mentioning it. I then found out, that I can check 2 bags @ 50lb (23kg) each plus 1 carry on @ 40 lb (18kg). I think I only have to mail one box!! Now I need to do a little more sorting out to make sure I fit everything I want to bring in the bags. It's a strange feeling to give away so many things...
Also I sold the printer that had been collecting dust in my room for a long time. My housemate got it cheap and I don't have to worry about it anymore, both win.
What's next? Don't know. But there's progress :-)

Not to be left behind...

I am on facebook too, but don't count on me to check it often...

Michael on Facebook

You can now find me on facebook. But be careful, there are quite a few imposters (Michael Roeder) I am Michael Röder.

Things To Do

I won't go into details, but there's still a lot to do, before I can get out of here. So far I have (amongst other things) terminated my current letting contract, told my boss I'm leaving, hopped across the channel back home to say good-bye to friends and family, who I will probably see even less from now on, sorted through my wardrobe and bagged lots of stuff to give to charity, carried the bastardly heavy old PC monitor and PC plus accessories to the "Used Computer Store", decided to throw away every little bit and piece stuff I haven't touched in a while, gave away books to friends and colleagues ...
Unfortunately the ToDo list is still a lot longer than the HaveDone list. But I manage to do a little more every day.

Michael joins in

It's time I join Rosie and start contributing to this blog as well. From now on I will try to update our friendly readers about my last weeks in England and the final preparations before my move across the pond. Don't get too excited, it could be a short and boring read until I get used to all this and find my own blogging style.

Keep reading and your comments coming.

The wonders of Jackson

Jackson being a county hospital has to be equiped to serve ALL of the local population. From the VIP rooms to the detetion ward, slowly I'm getting to see several ways in which health care can be delivered. Today I got to visit the detention ward of the hospital, appropriately named, Ward D. Now one of the peculiar things in the place is the $1,000,000 toilet. Here is one of the medical students checking it out (and getting a bit more close than anyone should have actually!)



This toillet is used to separete drugs from stool carried within the digestive track of drug mules.

Well, maybe by the end of my 5 year stint here, I may get close to seeing it all...

The fun of residency

So, life as a young doctor begins...
It's been long hours and lots of hands on learning.
I've gotten to operate a dozen times aleady, which is exciting.
Overall, it's been fun! And the fun reaches beyond the hospital walls. Last Friday we went to happy hour at Monty's then to Puerty Lounge. Check out some of my fellow residents, Mark (showing off my eyeware) and Pablo with ICU nurse Lori.

And for those who remained...

Well, someone had to be the last to leave. But, before that day came, there was some left over champagne... so well we had to drink it!

Anna and I left on the 11th. Franze and Thorsten stayed behind to explore Rio a bit more (another 7 days!).

And the fun continued

After the wedding, some still managed to hit the bar and continue to enjoy each others company. Although I instigated this post-wedding outing, I never made it there! The bride had just one too many Prosecos and passed out! Well, at least Michael was there to represent!

Wedding

It was magnificent!

Such a wonderful time. A time to revisit family and friends. A time to remember. And time to have lots of FUN!

And as the wedding ended, the party continued, althought without Rosie as she passed out as soon as her dress was off!

More pictures linked to this blog. Check them out!