In which Roz and Layla secure their utilities, find some quirky events, and spent Christmas at the White House (well, outside it)

by Layla

I would start this blog with an apology for a fortnight of silence and blame it on our new glamorous lifestyle, but really my parents' 10 day visit, mostly involving the receiving and building of flatpack furniture (hope they didn't think they were here for a holiday!), Roz's departure for Christmas in London, and an all-consuming fight with rubbish internet company Verizon (resulting in no internet til a couple of days ago) distracted me. On the latter point, it is fascinating how difficult it is to get on the internet here, and very much an advert for the free market. In the UK, there are about 30 broadband companies, all competing on price, speed, customer service, and quality. In DC there are two. Both are expensive, slow, and have appalling customer service. But the population has nowhere else to go, so both continue to thrive despite their inadequacies. When we told people we were seeking internet connection, every one of them had a horror story about one or other of the two companies to impart, and told us to brace ourselves. However I didn't quite imagine the month-long hassle that awaited us. Even after we'd managed to get an account and received a happy little email telling us we were now connected, we sat there, gazing hopelessly at the flashing light on the modem, and awaiting the technician, one hand holding a non-stop phonecall to customer service. On the first day that the technician was supposed to come between 12 and 4, he didn't (but claimed he had). On the second day he didn't come between 12 and 4, but bizarrely at 10:30 at night. I almost had to receive him in my pyjamas! But all of that is a longwinded way of saying hooray, we have internet!

And we almost have a bank account (though it took a discussion with one of the very top people in the whole bank for it to happen, and we still have a 10 working days wait for our bank cards). And we may nearly have iPhone accounts. (But that is unclear). Utilities do not seem to be DC's strong point... But we do have seven lovely bookcases, a cool new sofa and dining table, a cinema projector and a ping pong table. Most of our art is on the walls. And we've figured out how to have a log fire. So life is frankly quite pleasant.

I am not much further in acquiring a job - I have two potential options in the pipeline, one at a university and one at a think tank. I've been talking to more people, learning things, expanding my CV from 3 pages to 12 (somebody suggested I should aim for 50, but I really couldn't) and being very delightful, but things do tend to wind down around Christmas. So I've been writing a paper on international policies for disclosing medical errors to patients (as you do), taking my parents out for posh breakfasts in fancy local restaurants, attending multiple Jewish events (including a fab storytelling one at a quirky synagogue) in honour of Hannukah, and meeting a visiting London friend for tea as though it were Camberwell (well, a posh bit). Roz and I went to a great NASA event organised by the International Space University alumni association in a cool little bar called the Science Club. And to a LOT of glamorous Christmas parties related to Roz's work, including three in one night! Indeed, the schmoozing has been so great that I have been obliged to get business cards printed, even though I do not have any business to speak of. When I was in Boston, some of you may recall that the first thing people said in any sort of social situation was 'what lab do you work in?'. In DC, it's 'Do you have a business card?' This is rhetorical, and my lack of one so disconcerted people that I was obliged to acquire some and now hand them out willy nilly.

Christmas was spent with a walk in the sun to the White House, hot chocolate in the posh W Hotel, and an incredulous grin that we live here. Last night we hosted our first dinner party. And now Roz is off work for 5 days and we are planning a 'staycation' to explore our new home.