Rik Abel

Hello World!

Hi there. I'm still here, just been too preoccupied with other stuff to have time to blog much recently. Normal service will be resumed shortly. Thanks for your patience.

skype for OS X

Ooh! Ooh! Great news for mac users. Run, don't walk, and download Skype for OS X. If you don't know what it is, Skype is an internet telephony application which allows you to make long-distance phone calls via your computer, for completely free. Nice. I hear it works very well. My skype name is 'rikabel' if you want to chat.

Offline...

Grrr. So, we eventually got our broadband modem delivered yesterday, only to find out after two hours on the phone to Bell Sympatico customer support that it is broken. So we will be offline at home until at least next tuesday. To give them their due, the Bell people were very helpful and it is hardly their fault that the modem is b0rked, but it is getting very frustrating not being online at home - we are left with our own stupid thoughts far too much. Heh.

In other news, I've been suffering from homesickness quite a lot more than I expected - I've really been missing our friends and relatives, less so the overcrowded pavements and public transport of London. I have been missing good old Blighty though. It is strange to move to a new country (even if not really all THAT different to England) and to suddenly feel somewhat 'dislocated' and insubstantial. I feel a little like a ghost of my usual self, but I'm sure the situation will improve once I get some work sorted out and make a few friends. (I've already met some very nice people, thanks to James at ConsolationChamps inviting me for drinks with a group of friendly Toronto blogging types, and I look forward to expanding our social circle beyond just, well, Adrienne and myself).

It has been so long since we had a regular routine in our lives that we both feel as if we are somehow 'offline' in an existential sense. Man. I don't think either of us could handle travelling around the world for years on end without going quite bonkers. We both need to have structure and predictability in our lives, no matter how much I might like to think I am a 'free spirit'. I also find I am MUCH happier when I have work to do. (So if anyone knows anyone who would like a nice website, feel free to let me know, eh?) Gosh, I'm learning so much about myself...

Anyway, I'll try to keep updating fairly regularly, and hopefully my head will stop feeling like it is full of cold porridge sometime soon. Stupid neurotransmitters.

Cheerio, Pip Pip!