London Part 1

Way back in March Diana bought us a trip to London as a birthday gift for me. The idea was that we'd do a few days there when my 90-day tourist visa was up and then come back to Spain with a new 90-day visa. Unfortunately, we later learned that the way tourist visas work in the Schengen EU countries (which England is not a part of), I could only be in Spain 90 out of every 180 days. Damn. Anyway, we decided that we'd still go to London for the few days and that I'd fly back to the U.S. from there and she'd head back to Spain.

We arrived into London on Wednesday morning and visited all the tourist hotspots during our three-day speed visit. One of the things that I had always heard about was the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Umm...maybe because it was summertime or something but the place was a zoo and we couldn't see anything of the event. I got this one picture of actual guards in the plaza in front of the palace but I didn't get to see much else:

We bailed on the rest of the show and took a walk along the Thames river stopping by Westminster Abbey on the way. We didn't end up going in because the entry fee was something like $25 so we contented ourselves with some photos out front.

Can I just mention that I couldn't believe how expensive everything was? For example, the metro costs 4.40 Pounds (approximately $7 U.S.) for a pass that can be used all day after 9:30am. There's no cheaper single-ride option. I know part of the problem is that the U.S. dollar is almost worthless right now but, wow, was it expensive.

We eventually worked our way down to the Tate Modern Museum and hung out there for a couple of hours while one of London's rain storms passed by. I'm thinking that London's a little like Seattle in that when the sun actually does come out everyone says how beautiful the city is and how lucky they are to live there. In between those eight days per year though they stay inside and drink hot beverages.

Our next stop was a quick pass by Shakespeare's Old Globe Theater. The original was destroyed by fire but it was still cool to check out. Ironically enough, there's an exact copy in Balboa Park in San Diego so it seemed very familiar to me.

We walked all the way up to the famous Tower Bridge, which I guess many people confuse as the kid's nursery rhyme's London Bridge. The bridge is fantastic looking and there's an old castle off to one side.

Later we passed by the Royal Albert Hall, which is supposedly a great place to see live shows. One thing is that the name shouldn't be confused with a Prince Albert, which is something completely different.

Diana wanted to go check out the O2 Arena because of its textile construction. We took the metro up there and walked around inside and out. The structure was supposed to be temporary but they're now trying to keep it alive as a shopping and entertainment destination. The building's design is super cool, even for a non-architect like me.

On the way back towards the hotel we stopped to take some photos in front of the Parliament building and Big Ben. It was cold, windy, and rainy, which just seemed right somehow since we were in the heart of London.

London is nice to visit and it's probably the "easiest" place outside the U.S. I've ever gone to. I guess it helps that they speak an unusual form of English that's a little tough to understand but you can work your way through it and figure out what they're saying most of the time.

The Engagement

If you're friends with me on Facebook you're already aware that I got engaged on June 18th (that's how far behind I am on posting). Since my blog is mostly a diary-of-sorts for me, I thought that I'd do a post so I'd remember it. :-)

Leading up to the big day, I had already talked with my sister and Pau about the possibility of Diana and I getting married. Both were extremely positive and supportive of the idea so I figured that the time was right. I also felt good about it because my dad and friends Chuck and Pug (all of whom I trust immensely) told me how great Diana is. So I went about trying to come up with a plan to get engaged that was romantic and something that we'd remember.

On the metro on the way back from visiting some friends, Diana and I were talking about what we were going to do long term since her Spanish citizenship and my U.S. citizenship wouldn't allow us to be together in either country for more than three months at a time. I mentioned to her that we really only had one option and she said "yes!" and then gave me a great big hug. Unfortunately, I never asked a question and the fact that we were in the metro approaching the Vall d'Hebron station, the whole "event" didn't meet the requirements that I had set for myself. It was neither romantic or something that we'd remember the details of for many years. What to do...what to do???

I needed some help so I talked with Pau and he, being a very smart man, talked with his wife Pili about helping me with an engagement party. We decided to use a pre-birthday BBQ that they were having for Pili that Saturday night for the big event. (Thanks Pili for sharing your birthday party with Diana and me.) Pau and I went out and bought some Cava (Spanish champagne) and some snacks for the party. On the way back we got to talking about the engagement ring, which I hadn't purchased yet. After some further consultation with Pili, Pau and I headed to a jeweler near Plaza Catalunya in the center of Barcelona to pick something up. Everything was ready at this point but what was I going to say?

I spent the next two days thinking about what I'd say, what stories I could tell. It got me thinking about our trip to China last year when Diana and I were in random restaurants where we couldn't communicate. Diana would lead the waiter around the restaurant and stop at different customers' tables, do a small bow, and proceed to order by pointing at the food she wanted. It was such a typical Diana move. I know it's strange but it was then that I knew that we'd probably end up getting married one day. It was the fact that I felt so safe with her, that with her I could get through any situation anywhere in the world...that she had no fear of anything, anyplace, or at any time. These things became the basis of my very-mangled-in-Spanish proposal "speech", which I'm still sure that no one present that day understood except for Diana.

So the big moment came. Pau and Pili served everyone champagne. I got "up front" and began my speech to Diana and the whole group. I told everyone about how my life in the past three years has ranged from super terrible to super great. I told everyone about how I never expected to find "the one" when I went to Spain last year. Diana started to cry a bit here. I told her that she couldn't cry. I then told the story about China and how Diana said "yes" to a question that I never asked in the metro that day. Everyone laughed. I felt good. I ended by asking Diana "quieres casarte conmigo?" (do you want to marry me?) She immediately said yes and we gave each other a big kiss.

Unfortunately, in my nervousness, I forgot to give her the ring, which I did about three minutes and 20 kisses and hugs from friends later. It all worked out in the end and now we're engaged.

Thanks to Pau and Pili for hosting (and sharing) the party with us. Being able to share the day with close friends was as romantic as I had hoped it'd be (in a Darren-and-Diana kind of way) and definitely something that we'll remember. Also, big hugs and kisses to everyone who came that day as well as to those who couldn't be there. XXOO!!

In true Diana fashion, by the following Monday night, we had met with the priest to confirm a date, the church to get a time slot reserved, and with the restaurant to host the reception. No time wasted there. The wedding will take place in late September of this year in Barcelona. It'll be a smallish event but we would love to have you attend. Please contact me for details if you're interested in coming and we hope to see you there!

Airline Repair Facility Tour

Wow! I'm really far behind posting stories. Don't worry though, I'm still alive and lot's been going on...LOTS!

On our first day in Frankfurt we did a BBQ with our hosts at their place. While drinking a couple of bottles of wine and eating some fabulous food, we were offered a chance to visit host #2's workplace for a tour. He's an aerospace engineer and works in projects and maintenance for a large commercial airline based in the city, which, due to a long legalese non-disclosure form that I signed, I can't mention by name. (Also, you'll note that the photos for this story have been partially blacked so that I could use them. There are so many more cool ones from the visit that I can't post.)

Have you ever thought about what it'd be like to go behind the scenes at your local international airport to see what goes on? Ever wonder what they're doing over in those huge hangers on the other side of the airport? I definitely did and couldn't wait to see it. My only other previous behind-the-scenes view of an airport was one time when I flew from Carlsbad to Las Vegas with the owner of my last company on his small plane. Landing on the main runway at McCarran with 737s in front of and behind us was an experience I'll never forget.

After arriving at the airport via the metro, we took an employee bus to one of the industrial-style entrances on the other side. There's a visitor's center (sorry-no photos allowed) there that's mainly for vendors and other official visitors but it's also set up for the occasional friend or family that comes to visit an employee. The waiting room had two sets of three coach-class airplane seats and not much else. I was hoping for an upgrade but it wasn't going to happen on this trip. Oh yeah, there were no pretzels or peanuts provided while we waited.

When host #2 arrived, we had to pass through a security checkpoint that is identical (sorry-no photos allowed) to the one you go through to fly on a commercial flight--identification check, metal detector, x-ray tunnel, etc.--but without the U.S.-government sponsored "massages". And with that, we were on our way into the first big hanger where there were several planes undergoing different types of maintenance. It was very cool to be able to walk get up and personal with both the planes and the staff.

We then went through one of the buildings where they disassemble, inspect, and reassemble the engines. It's amazing how many small blades there are inside a jet engine. Each one needs to be taken out, sent out for inspection/rework, and then reassembled back into the engine. The engines are then set aside for use in the next plane that needs them.

From there, we got to see one of the main "control" rooms where all the facilities planning is managed. Having done a ton of facilities planning over the years, it made me happy to see that they were using model planes with magnets attached to them on a large magnetic white board (sorry-no photos allowed) to allocate space for each of the planes needing servicing.

From there, we got to check out the cockpits and crew quarters of a couple of the planes. It was interesting to see the differences that host #2 pointed out between the two main companies that manufactured the planes we saw. For example, one company uses a joystick-based control system where the other uses a "steering wheel" style of control.

Have you ever wondered where the crew disappears to on those long, international flights? They might just be hanging out in the crew clubhouses built into the recesses of the planes. We got to see one area that was behind and above the rear bathrooms in a 747. There were several bunks and a tiny bit of space for the crew to nap/relax. One of the other planes we saw had a system where they place a "crew-container" into the belly of the plane. The crew accesses it via stairs or a small elevator located in a closet next to one of the middle bathrooms. The container looks just like one of those large metal cargo boxes that they load into the plane except that these ones have some bunks and space for the crew.

Another walking-around photo:

One of the things that I learned on the tour that I had no idea is that they regularly reconfigure the seats in the plane depending on the route and demand for seats. Host #2 told me that it can be done in "a couple of hours", which allows for them to offer more or less of certain classes of seating. Prior to this, I assumed that the seating in a plane was relatively static, rarely if ever moved.

The last part of our tour was probably the most important--the employee dining room! We got to sample a bunch of company-subsidized food from the cafeteria, which, as with tour and everything else from that day, was first-class! What an amazing opportunity! Life's pretty good, isn't it? :-)

A special thanks to our hosts (who requested to remain nameless) for the amazing time we had on our trip to Frankfurt and to Diana for knowing lots of pretty amazing folks. Let's all meet up again soon--maybe in northern Thailand???