Desktop Summit 2011

I'm going to the Desktop Summit 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The program looks very interesting and I look forward to meeting people from the KDE, GNOME and other communities. Hope to see some of you there :)

Hello from sunny England

So I've been in the UK now for about three and a half months. There's tons of things going on here at the moment and so far I'm quite happy with my decision to move. Of course I miss NZ, my family & friends etc., but this is my chance to see the world. On that front so far I've been to Wales for a few days (freezing cold) and Rome for a week (awesome), and I'm off to some mystery destination for a weekend soon. For longer holidays I'm limited by work for the next few months but I have a few places on my list for after that.

I stayed with friends and relatives for a bit initially, but before too long I needed to find a job and a place of my own. I found a job in Croydon (doing Delphi still) and a flat in Brockley (south east London) which was about the right price and convenient for getting the train to work. Public transport here is pretty good but it's damned expensive - more so than anywhere else in Europe apparently. I miss my car already :/ (although petrol is also damned expensive and shows no sign of getting any cheaper). At least I got paid in pounds for the first time the other day :)

The Big OE

In less than a week now I am leaving New Zealand to go to the UK, for what us Kiwis refer to as "the big OE" (OE being Overseas Experience). The UK makes a good base for taking trips to Europe, which is what I plan to do in addition to working (most likely in London) for the next 1-2 years. Several of my friends are already in the UK and I have plenty of relatives there so at least I won't arrive in the country knowing nobody. I'm sure I'll miss home - the nice weather, having my own car, and of course being able to see my family and friends. Still, you don't find adventure on your own doorstep as someone once told me. Very true.

This week is already shaping up to be a busy one at work, winding things down. In many ways it's sad to be leaving there - I've been there just over six years now, and they are like family to me. I would have liked to get to know several new team members who joined recently better as well. There are plenty of fine people there to pick up where I'm leaving off though, and I've left them with documentation that should suffice when I'm not there to answer questions :)

Being the procrastinatory individual that I am, I still have a list of things yet to do before I go. I haven't packed yet, although I have most of the things other than clothes that I plan to take with me (much less stuff than I expected, actually). Four days left in the week - should be plenty of time ;)

In case anyone is wondering I will still be involved in my various projects (Opie, OpenSync, etc.) - being that these are run over the internet I can still participate wherever I am in the world. In some ways it will make things easier - a lot of the open source / free software conferences are in Europe anyway.