Father's Day: Planes, Bicycles, and a Micro-car

"Shawn, are you still looking for another car?"  "Not actively.  Why do you ask?"  "Fellow in the other building just advertised his Ford KA."  "Send me the advert and I'll take a look."  

Such is the consequence of being very weak on the "J" scale of Meyer's Briggs.  I cycled through last winter so I know I can do it again.  We've only got a handful more times where we'll have guests and need to rent a car.  But the discussion happened right before I had to rent a car for the weekend while Kristine and Elise went to Germany.  I called USAA for an insurance quote, ran the numbers, and decided that if the 2003 Ford KA with 70,000 miles ran for another 12 months, I'd have spent about £1000 to (a) not rent when we have guests; (b) have flexibility to drive during the winter instead of cycle; (c) let Kristine have the car during the summer when the girls are off school; and (d) have a car when we're in temporary housing and my bike is in the container on its way back to the US.  That's how my Father's Day gift this year unexpectedly became a new (to me) car.  I told Kristine that for as long as I've been too tall to fit in small cars, I've dreamt of owning one.  In the US, utility always trumps ideology.  The small car is never going to happen.  So this is really my once-in-a-lifetime chance.  Yes, the Ford KA lacks the cool factor of something like a Mini Cooper.  For the fun factor of squeezing my 6'5" frame into it, though, it does just fine.  An unexpected benefit was having the car when I came down with a nasty ear infection over Father's Day weekend, which left me in no shape to cycle for the following week.  It was a blessing to drive without causing hassles for Kristine (who needed the Golf several days since she'd been out of town the previous weekend).

Ayup, Shawn.  How's things?  I've just been to see a colleague about a KA.  Not for yourself, surely?  Actually, yes.

It is properly small.  I can actually pull it up between the house and the fence.

You've got to come see this new car!  It's awesome!  Entertaining the girls was not an envisioned benefit of having the car, but I'll take it.

Charis and Clare did a bang-up job helping me celebrate Father's Day.  We went out for breakfast at the Melbourne Tea Rooms on Saturday, followed by a hike in the woods behind the pool (not the pond, as I've been gently reminded by my Melbourne friends).  Clare gave me a special treat Sunday afternoon when we went down to the cycle track.  After a little encouragement, she successfully rode her bike without training wheels (something like "stabilisuhs" if I try to capture Clare's phonetic homage to Peppa Pig).

Starting the walk at the Melbourne Pool.

We are slowly getting into the routine that says Wellies accompany any walk when there is rain.

Father's Day slumber party.  The girls got the parental bed, and I got a mattress on the floor.

She's off!

With trademark Clare smile to show for it

Proudly displaying my Father's Day gift.  This chain took them the better part of Saturday to put together.

We finished the day with a couple rounds of UNO.  Despite her gentle nature, Charis insisted on beating me a couple times.

Meanwhile, Kristine and Elise enjoyed their time in Germany.  Kristine said it felt more like seeing actual family life, and less like the tourist-oriented trip than our visit last August.

Obstacle course at Saturday school.

Teeter-totters need no translation

Nor do slides

German countryside around Bad Boll, where Kristine and Elise went

Day trip to Legoland

Two Legoland tickets.  Free to a good home.  Would anyone like them?

I can give them a good home.

I've also got a buy one, get one free coupon for additional tickets.  Would you like that as well?

Absolutely.

This discussion from the St. Giles Facebook page gave us a chance to spend £90 for tickets that would normally cost closer to £200.  That turned Legoland from "We're not going there." to "Let's give it a try."  It was almost a bad idea.  Kristine was ill the previous week, we didn't do a good job setting up the night before so got a slow start, and had lots of rain accompanying us as far as Birmingham.  Thanks to Kristine persevering through a long day, the girls turning around their behavior, and the weather clearing up by the time we reached Windsor, we had a pleasant outing.  It was a long day.  We left Melbourne a little after 9 am, and didn't get home until after 9 pm.  It's a trip we would not have considered making a year ago.  That we pulled it off opens up opportunities for the next year.

As an amusement park, Legoland truthfully isn't that great.  There are not very many rides.  The lines are long.  And you've got to wade past lots of stores selling overpriced merchandise to reach any of the rides.  But I don't think you go to Legoland for the amusement park experience.  You go to see the LEGOs.  And that part of the trip was worth it.  Here are some of the photos from our day.  I'll make a disclaimer that captions may be sparse.  There's not that many different ways you can say "cool sculpture."  For the record, the walk to the car at the end of the day involved conversation among daughters who were eagerly anticipating a return visit.

It's almost a scary dragon

I was a little surprised there were not more places providing free play opportunity.  Build a wall around an animal - simple concept that kept the girls happily occupied for quite a while.

I am not ruled by bias.  I can take photos of more than East African LEGO sculptures from the train.

But the East African sculptures are pretty cool.

As I said ...

Disregard this conductor at your peril.  You've been warned.

Pirates - awesome!  LEGO Friends - not so much.  This from the girls, not the parents.

Trademark Clare smile

Look - no hands!

Umm ... was this supposed to be exciting?

Miniland was my favorite stop.  It's got the sculpting skill to satisfy my engineering self, the historical information to make me feel like a responsible parent, and lots of cool things that captivated the girls.

Like autonomous boats (well, not exactly autonomous - they were tethered to tracks on the bottom of the pond)

Around the LEGO world - London

Around the LEGO world - Paris

Around the LEGO world - Cape Canaveral

Cool sculpture

Yep.  Cool sculpture (castle #1).

Really intricate cool sculpture. With water.

Really cool sculpture.  With moving parts.

Mt. Rushmore hero shot #1

Even parents get to play at Legoland!

Cool castle sculpture #2

Mt. Rushmore hero shot #2

Less rides, more of this please, Legoland

I like the mole hypothesis

We wrapped up our day with this tube / raft ride, although we did not get nearly as wet as the girls would have liked

Secondment mid-point: Perks of the UK and Longings for the US

It's been on my mind for a while to write a blog post that discusses some of the things I'll miss from the UK, and the corresponding things from the US that I'm looking forward to.  In light of our secondment extension (the uncertainty has resolved and we are staying through July 2016), this post is a mid-secondment summary instead of a re-entry summary.

I enjoy about the UK

Melbourne Town Band - it's really hard to be a recreational brass musician without a regular place to play.  I haven't had that in the US since a job change in 2011 meant I didn't have access to a large parking lot, and more importantly, didn't have a brass-playing colleague willing to play in said parking lot with me at lunch time.  I've greatly enjoyed my time playing with MTB since moving here.  The highlight was probably the Remembrance Day parade in 2014 that marked 100 years since the beginning of WWI.

Cycling - We knew cycling would form a major part of my commute when we decided not to buy a second car.  There were times, especially during the first few weeks when my balky knees were complaining and my muscles were sore, when I wondered what I'd gotten myself into.  My body has learned to handle the routine. The Corolla-ish car we didn't buy?  Cycling miles accrued saved in fuel not bought what I invested in cycling kit when we moved.  Hand wave, hand wave.  Cycling miles accrued more money in cost avoidance of this fuzzy thing called "wear and tear."  Rationalization produced for more cycling kit, bike repairs, and part of the cost of my single malt mandolin.  Words cannot do justice to the beauty of the South Derbyshire countryside that I get to cycle through so regularly - whether on a summer day when daylight hours are long, or a winter day when I get to see the sunrise.  Although I mention utilitarian reasons like not driving across the Swarkestone Bridge, or personal quirks like using accrued miles in that cost rationalisation I just described, the countryside is what I'll miss most.

Tight space while cycling (fortunately I only had to use this bridge for a couple weeks while the main track was being repaired)

Rolls-Royce evening traffic - and why I prefer to cycle if I can

Walking - We didn't realize how much fun it would be to live in a village where so much - school, grocery store, houses of friends to visit, and restaurants - was within walking distance.  Melbourne is not as flat as Indianapolis (okay, not many places are), so it's been fun to watch the girls grow into bodies that can cheerfully run up and down the hills we encounter on these outings.

Melbourne Pool and Parish Church - one of our favorite places for walking (or running)

Commerce St: Somehow they found energy to run up the hill the day after we flew back from the US

Countryside in south Derbyshire - I get to cycle through it.  We get to walk in the midst of it as a family.  And we get to drive through it any time we leave our house in Melbourne.

Calke Abbey is a 5 min drive from our house, and one of our favorite places to hang out

Church - Redeemer Presbyterian, which we attended in Indianapolis, and St. Giles Anglican, which we've attended in the UK, share a commitment to place (seeing the Gospel transform and restore the physical neighborhoods where they are located) and creative expression of the Gospel.  These similarities greatly eased our transition into a local church in the UK.  There are some differences that I'll miss.  The key one is probably the centrality of children in the service St. Giles.  More weeks than not, one of the songs in the main service will be one that the children sing during their Sunday School time. I've compared notes with other parents for several years now about our search for solid songs of faith that don't either trivialize the truths expressed or simplify the tune so much that the song is boring to sing as an adult.  The inventory of songs and accompanying chord charts from our time at St. Giles has been a breath of fresh air.  Ditto for exposure to adult hymns from writers in the UK, US, and Australia who have formed a musical connection to the global community of faith that I would not otherwise have encountered.

Christmas 2014: Singing songs learned in the UK on a guitar bought in the UK

St. Giles is very creative in their use of film and drama.  Where else are you going to find a church with a Tardis?  Or hear the Christmas story told through the eyes of Batman and Spiderman?  Kudos to the folks at St. Giles for recognizing and engaging with the redemption narratives that these and other contemporary myths offer their listeners and viewers.

Karate - Re-engaging with martial arts has been a dream of mine ever since I stopped studying Tae Kwon Do in Connecticut shortly after Elise was born.  Doing it as a family has been a dream ever since Kristine stopped Tae Kwon Do with me a few months before Elise was born.  It was not on my radar when we moved to the UK until I saw South Derbyshire Karate Academy's flyer for family Karate on Friday nights in Melbourne.  There have been grand idea benefits from Elise, Charis, and I doing Karate together for over a year now - discipline, self-defense, learning to be more comfortable with your body, getting practice in simulated confrontations.  There have been more mundane benefits as well - progressing through two belt tests with them, watching them each grow more confident, seeing the smiles on the faces of the black belts when they spar with Charis.  I'd wager money that part of the reason my gimpy back hurts much less now than it did when we left the US is because of these weekly sessions.  Extending for another year means that Clare may get a chance to try it out as well.

Charis is gaining skill in Karate (if not growing in her intimidation factor)

Marmite - I knew it would be more accessible and less expensive than in the US.  I even took quite a bit of (unreasonable) flack from people who said I moved my family to the UK because of Marmite (I've consistently said that I didn't move them to the UK only for the Marmite).  I did not know how many varieties of Marmite would be available.  Or that there would be other Marmite products.  Like chocolate.  Like rice cakes.  Like cycling bottles.

This was one of the first sights that greeted me when we went to the store after arriving in the UK

Accents in the office - I knew, both conceptually and from previous business trips to Derby, that my colleagues would speak a different language.  It didn't click until we got here just how many different dialects and accents I would be able to hear in the office on a daily basis.  It's easy to get a narrow view of the world and your place in it.  The language of standardization can enforce this type of uniformity.  I love the daily reminders that the world is so much bigger than my spoken or written description of it.  I appreciate my office mates being good natured about having an American colleague who speaks poor English.  

Travel - our holidays in the US were largely governed by visits to family, as well as Kristine and I juggling who was going to take time off work or not.  There's a freedom that comes when you don't have to balance those constraints.  Although we haven't racked up the miles and countries like some of my fellow secondees, I've enjoyed the chances our family has taken to explore.  I've also enjoyed the way our family has grown through these trips.  During our first few road trips we piled the car full of activities to keep the girls busy.  Our in-car inventory has decreased as the girls have begun filling the time with creative stories that we get to listen to, and family conversations with us that somehow don't come up as easily at home (although discussing a secondment extension while looking for parking in London when you're a bit late for the Easter Sunday service has a few downfalls).  Unfortunately, Kristine's spot, which has to fit her plus knitting plus snacks for the road plus activities for the girls, hasn't become noticeably less cramped.

Kylemore Abbey in Ireland - one of the many beautiful places we've enjoyed visiting

Faithful Golf - "You've got a big family.  You definitely need an estate car or mini-van."  Thus spoke a couple of opinionated folks about our move to the UK.  We resisted.  The fear of Swarkestone Bridge was too high.  Growing girls sometimes means that space can be invaded, elbows can be thrown and squabbles can result.  Overall though, I'm proud of making it work with a small (for us Americans) car.

Packing the cheesecakes for Thanksgiving in Swindon

Adjustable shower height - I mentioned this in the blog post about our house.  The American market is missing an incredible opportunity to let consumers pay homage to their sacred cow of individual choice and expression.

Narrow, windy roads - there's a sense of accomplishment that comes with learning to handle them

I'm looking forward to in the US

Folk music sessions - Melbourne is not a great location relative to gatherings for folks who play music where mandolins / recorders / dulcimers are easy to integrate.  I'm looking forward to reestablishing ties with the venues in Indianapolis.

The dulcimer travelled across the pond with us.  The two mandolins are UK acquisitions that will return to the US.

Snow - okay, this is really for the girls.  In my mind, snow is related to a 4-letter word, C*LD.  They've consistently spoken longingly of it though.  Let's just say that our experience of the snowfall in Melbourne varied.  "Clare, what do you like about living in America?" "Crunching in the snow."

Unlike me, the girls enjoyed the snowfall at Christmas

Warmth - "Clare, what do you like about living in America?"  "Hot." England's mild temperatures during the year mean that unless you are Elise, who is eternally hot, you can spend much of the summer in long sleeves.

A chilly summer day in Indiana is warmer than most summer days in the UK.  Pool thoroughly enjoyed.

Family cycling - we have not done this much during recent years in Indianapolis because Elise was too big for the trailer by the time Clare could ride in the bike seat.  We tried it out again during the summer of 2013 when Elise could ride alone and the trailer still fit Charis and Clare without making them feel like sardines.  Elise and Charis are much better cyclists now, and Clare will be joining them soon.  I'm looking forward to riding into Broad Ripple for breakfast, and also seeing if cycling can begin figuring into our family vacations (Kristine and I took bikes to Maine one summer before Elise was born.  It's a bit of a miracle she stayed married to me)

Cycle trek on Inishmore in Ireland

Church - Redeemer's desire to foster an open discussion of personal and structural brokenness is important if your family of five includes three first-borns who don't like being wrong, or if you work in safety-critical domains which have high consequences to mistakes so view fallibility as shameful (say, for example, aerospace or healthcare).  I've been toying with ramifications of brokenness, fallibility, and grief in the workplace for a while now.  I planned to pull some of these ideas together for the 2015 American Anthropological Association in Denver until we extended.  The ideas are still percolating, and I expect them to be influenced by rhetoric at Redeemer.  Redeemer's emphasis on creating new music also formed a space for personal musical and liturgical creativity.  Perhaps it will again.

Taize Service at St. Luke's UMC - It is both a chance to play recorder(s) and a rare contemplative service in an otherwise frenetic schedule.

Pat's Philly Pretzels - this one needs no explanation.

Ice cream - it's just not the same in the UK.  We've found many other treats and desserts to enjoy.  Ice cream is reserved for consumption on US soil.

Working faucets - it baffles me that the UK market can standardize adjustable height showers, and not solve a simple problem like getting rid of the 5 second lag between when you turn the handle on the faucet and when the water starts or stops running.  I'm not asking for something unreasonable like controlling temperature from a single faucet.

Oh, so luverly havin' all my temperature controlled ...

Wide, straight roads - enough said