Hooked up!!

A long time coming, but officially as of today I have a phone, a TV, and also wireless internet.  I feel so "in the now".  In London, you pretty much need to get a home phone line, whether you use it or not, to get internet.  So, done, and the unlimited International calls were only like 5 pounds, so went with that - I can jibber on now unlimitedly!  If anyone received my home phone # in in the past, it is not correct.  British Telecom issued me another, so if you'd like it just email me.

TV - interesting in many ways.  First, TV here is "free".  What that means is that if I plug my digital ready tuner (like the one in my new set) right into the antenna I get over 40 TV channels and 20 radio stations.  It took me a couple days of frustration to figure out what needed to be plugged into what (oh, that box all the way up in the bedroom needs to be turned on? huh, who would have figured? Didn't even know what that thing was.).

I don't know if it is just because I really haven't watched much of any TV in a few years or if the TV really is all that different here, but let's just say my first evening in front of the telly was a bit delightful and shocking.  You get I think 4 BBC channels, so that is where I started.  The first show was this great PBS style program about a man with Dutch Ghanan parents trying to trace his roots.  Watched the whole thing.  Quality programming that I heard so much about from the BBC.  I love public, educational programming so I think I may enjoy that bit.  However, this is where the free part comes in -  you actually need to have a license here to have a TV.  People here seem pretty fearful of the TV license patrol guy, who apparently drives around peering in everyone's windows to see if they have a TV.  I needed to sign up online and it cost me 150 pounds - that's $225 - for a year.  Still less than U.S. cable, but this is not optional, unless you don't have a TV, and well with all the guests I am expecting (um, hum) and the fact that the set was included in my relo, why not?

However, after the delightful BBC show was over I started flipping around - still looked to be some decent programming.  For the record, I have never been a fan of British comedies - don't really know much about them.  However, what I can tell you is that I watched this one - it was "smart" as the Brits would say, very tuned in to the human psyche, but I tell ya - they dropped the f-bomb within my first 30 seconds.  Whoa! (on a side note, they really do love that word here, and it appears to be a bit less offensive and used more for shock value.  Jonas said I was cursing more - ooops!  Guess I need to try and not pick up that habit!).  The second program was a couple of 20 somethings living together, and the sleazy sexual references were shall I say, a little blushing.  So, all in all, looks like I can really get into this TV thing!!!

And finally ... the internet hub showed up today ...  and worked.  Let the Skyping begin!!!!!!!!  You can find me by searching my gmail address.