Despite tossing and turning sleeplessly half the night, I woke up feeling relatively energetic. Just like on the previous day, the Southern California morning was clean, blue and coolishly warm (if you know what I mean :). I walked only a few minutes from the hotel to my company's office.

Like most of the people I've encountered at my company, the people in our Irvine office were pretty welcoming. I was introduced to around 4 people and 26 empty offices, since most of the people were out for training. I got a nice little office of my own. It belongs in reality to one of the consultants I met on my trip to our headquarters in the south, who, I found, has an enormous fondness for Star Trek, a trait non too rare in the software world.

Playing Captain Kirk with my colleagues Star Trek models

I've finally been placed on a project, albeit a small internal project developing some web-pages. At least it's something to keep me busy. It's the first chance I have to prove myself here, so I guess I'll put my heart into it. That didn't stop me taking a long lunch break. I drove to a nearbye mall and had lunch in this fabulous restaurant called the Rainforest Cafe, which featured animatronic elephants and gorillas, occasional thunder and lightening, rainfall and the cutest waiters dressed in safari gear.

Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe

I put in a good three hours of work in the afternoon, and then walked back to the hotel in the beautiful late afternoon sunlight. Walking through the office park, it was increasingly obvious how wealthy Orange County is. The landscaping here is gorgeous.

Walking through the office park back to my hotel

I just had time for a quick workout, before heading down to San Diego. Of all the hotels I've stayed in over the last few months, this one had the best-equipped gym.

Working out

Back in the hotel, the sun was getting lower and lower, but it was still warm on my balcony. I almost wished I had the time just to lounge away the rest of the evening there.

When I was about twenty minutes into my drive to San Diego, I passed a distance sign announcing another 60 odd miles to go. Oh Lord, I'd thought it was closer than that. I speeded up and spent the rest of the trip checking my rear-view mirror for cops. I made it there by around 7.30 and found Davis' house pretty easily.

Davis had moved down to San Diego a few months earlier, which was only a few months after I'd gotten to know him. Typical California - you get to know someone and then they move away! He's a lovely guy who doesn't deserve to be living in San Diego (oops, sorry San Diego!). It was great to see him and catch up. We went for dinner in Hamburger Marys and he told me all about his new webcam site.

Dinner with Davis - Hamburger Marys in San Diego

Not long after dinner, I headed back up 405 to Irvine. Wow - I got a lot done today!