It's all about NINE

This weekend marked my 9 month living in the USA. how quickly time has flown.. Well, in the past nine months, I have put on 18 pounds (8.1kgs)(9*2), devalued my earnings by close to 9% (dollar depreciation against the GBP combined with increasing inflation). I have been declined 9 times for some form of bank or credit card due to no credit history and taken 27 (9*3)flights out of San Diego airport to some other part of the US, Europe or Brazil. On the bright side of things, I have made nine investments in the renewable energy space, ranging from solar to ethanol (the non-food type), had nine visitors come to San Diego including Michael B, Brett, Markus and Sarah, discovered 18 new places to take visitors too and spent close to 27 days not in America.. Within the USA, I have been nine new places - Death Valley, Mammoth Mountain, Santa Barbara - CA, Spokane - WA, Seattle - WA, Daly City - CA, Broomfield- CO, Miami - FL and Dallas, -TX. I spend on average 90 minutes a day surfing the internet for international news (things are very localised in the US) - thank God for the BBC and following the elections.. its like reality TV on steriods.. I have not enjoyed living here. I still miss London terribly but more importantly, I have realised how good we have it outside the US - from access to the international world, friends & family, affordable healthcare, liberal views of women in the workplace and good cuisine.. America is not the land of opportunity anymore, it is now a land in full recession.. However, I believe in the promise of hope and "change we can believe in".. and as a result, I look forward to what the next few months will bring (including a reduction in body size....:) ).