Not the grunge band from Seattle

For those that care, the title of my blog is a two part reference to my indefinite sojourn here in Silicon Valley.  I was born, raised, educated and worked in the U.K. before moving to the Bay Area in 1997.  So "Our Man in Nirvana" is a play on my expat existence and Graham Greene's "Our Man in Havana" (made into a great movie with Alec Guiness (aka Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars)).

I know that my colleagues Ryan McIntyre and Jason Mendelson shall be disappointed that I was not paying homage to Kurt Cobain et al.

When I came to California I was pretty much expecting it would be similar to the UK - just with better weather and better dentistry.  I was woefully wrong.  California is a different way of thinking, living and being and until I got used to that I suffered from a strange sense of dissonance (side note: my favourite Christmas present this year was a map dated 1736 from my wife Rachel showing California as a separate island from mainland America - I think they had it right).  Churchill was on the money when he said America and Great Britain were two countries divided by a common language.  Once I internalized this I reached nirvana with the variety of cultures, landscapes, activities  and stimulation available to California residents.