The Story (what's all that about, then?)

They said it was the land of opportunity. What they didn�t say was it was the opportunity to have your motivation sapped as esprit de corps sank to depths known only to Titanic. The ship, not the movie.

The IT Department worldwide consisted of Andrew Thomas (IT Systems Manager) and Carl Morton (IT Support Analyst) - university graduates and self-confessed seekers of wealth and life experience. Andrew wanted the wealth. Carl wanted the life experience.

They battled in secret to achieve a similar goal - to leave Apollo first - and were granted the opportunity to leave not only the company, but country, too.

This is their story.

***

It�s a tale of Februaries. Cold ones. Actually, this one�s been record-breakingly warm, but I�m on a roll, here, stay with me.

From finding themselves grouped in a Human-Computer Interaction lecture in February 1996, to Carl being employed by Andrew at Apollo in February 1997, to them both going their seperate ways in the February of 1998. Actually, Carl�s going in March, and Andrew hasn�t any idea if or when he�s going at the moment, but hey, I�m using a little creative licence here, give me a break.

You could say that fate thrust them together, but let�s not be melodramatic. Face it, they were a couple of people who got along better than most - no different to the rest of you (well, if you have any friends, Internet Boy) - and they intended not to let a little thing like being several thousand miles away from each other get in the way of their silliness.

Carl had always wanted to travel, although not even nearly as single-minded as Thom when it came to destinations. Backpacking around Egypt, Israel, India, Nepal, Thailand, well, you get the gist, all those kind of places. Basically, everywhere you needed a jab for, Carl wanted to go. Acquiring a one-year working visa for Australia was the deal-maker - the trip was on.

Andrew (let�s call him Thom) had other ideas. You could count the destinations he wanted to go to on the fingers of one finger: The United States of America. Attending a video-taped interview in London, he was told that he�d hear something from them in the New Year. On January 2nd, he got the call. Pending successful visa application, he�s going to Atlanta.

***

This page is devoted to chronicling the events leading up to and including the parting of the ways, with any luck culminating in their meeting up, wherever, whenever, if ever that happens.

***

"Carl said we were like Cain and Abel - even the initials were right. All I can say is that I hope we�re not too much like the biblical figures, since I�d hate for Carl to have to spend the rest of his life cursed, and wandering. Y�know, after he�s killed me in a jealous rage when my offering of my firstborn to God was accepted and Carl�s offering of a few fruits and berries was rejected."

Thom,

"Yeah, but I didn't mean the biblical sense. I was thinking of the Jeffrey Archer version."

Carl.