Silly Reena

I had a fun weekend. Friday I met Tom, Tracy, and Rachel for sushi. It was wonderful. We saw Austin Croshere there. Hopefully by me typing it out instead of saying it it is obvious I am not trying to say Ashton Kutcher. I told Reena we had seen Austin Croshere and she was like 'You're joking! Seriously?!' and so on. I didn't really know what the big deal was or that she was that into basketball, and then she said something like 'as in Demi Moore's husband?' Ahh, now I can see what the big deal is! No, not like Demi Moore's husband, more like the former Pacer who has just been traded to the Dallas Mavericks. I told my mom on Sunday that Austin was at the restaurant, and she had the same response as Reena! Seeing a professional basketball player is a lot less exciting when they are first mistaken for an A-list Hollywood star. Anyway, I did not get a picture or bother him in the least, partly because I wanted to respect his privacy but mostly because I'm not that into pro basketball. Had it been Ashton Kutcher you know there would have been an immediate posting! he he

Saturday I had some pool time during the day, then met up with Reena in the evening. We went to a surprise party for her cousin that was on Geist Reservior which is a beautiful area with lots of huge houses on the lake. So that was fun and the people there were nice. From there we went to dinner and had a nice long catch up. We shut down the restaurant and went to a nice restaurant/bar we passed on the way home and had a glass of wine.

About a 1/2 hour into our glass of wine on this final stop, Reena* had pulled her hair back into a ponytail because it was so humid outside that her hair had become twice the size of normal over the course of the night. Shortly after this act, I saw something peculiar. "Are you wearing two different earrings?' I said. To which she felt her earrings, burst into laughter, and quickly pulled them out. Yes, they were two completely different earrings. One was about twice the length of the other. And of course, neither of us noticed until the end of the night. Surely someone along the course of the evening must have noticed. I'm sure her cousins must think I - er, I mean she - was trying to start some new fashion. We laughed until our stomachs hurt! Oh, silly, silly Reena!

*Names in this paragraph have been switched to protect the author

Chicago

This week was my first one on my first project with IBM. I was in Chicago for an HR implementation with a big pharma company. The facilities reminded me a lot of Lilly. The cafeteria was really nice and every day we got big salads from a seemingly never ending salad bar.

The work was really good. I am on early with this project, and I was working with some very senior people this week. Two partners and two associate partners. And me! The are still ironing out the details of the contract which is why the people are so senior right now. I am learning a lot, and I feel a lot like a sponge just absorbing my surroundings.

I found out today though that we are not going back next week. Things are strange with the contract situation and they don't want us there until it's sorted out. So I had all my travel arrangements and everything and had to cancel them tonight. I'm glad for the cats so they don't have to be left again next week, but I'm a bit worried that things might not work out and the project might disappear. It's a great assignment for me so I hope it all pans out!

There are new things about me that I thought I would share so everyone is all caught up:
1. I am pretty much going gray. Or is it grey? Regardless, I found not one but TWO non-brown hairs this week. I plucked one this evening that has just been ridiculing me. Enough was enough. It won't be long before I start coloring. Then I will play around with the color I think. A little darker, or maybe lighter. It will be fun. I'm going to wait a bit though and see if this is going to be a fast process or if these two suckers were a fluke. Rubbish!!
2. On a similar subject, I don't like my hair. Unrelated to the non-brown thing, I have not been happy with my hair lately and am going to grow it out again. I think my hair just does better long. It used to look better short when I was a teenager but I don't think that's the case now that I'm one or two years older than my teenage years.
3. I think I might be addicted to sushi. I actually annoy myself with how much I want to eat sushi. In fact, as I write this I am about to meet up with Tom and Tracy and Rachel to .. wait for it .. have sushi! And I had it on Tuesday in Chicago. By myself. No one else on the project likes sushi (what?!) so I went by myself. And last weekend I wanted sushi but Tom and Tracy were busy so I bought some at the grocery store and ate it at home. Again by myself. It's ridiculous!
4. I have discovered - or rather been introduced by my friends Sunil and Eric - two very funny shows, The Daily Show with John Stewart and The Colbert Report. These are evening political 'news' shows that report on the day's events, usually focusing on politics, and basically take the piss out of everything. It's really funny. Although any American reading this probably figured this out years ago. I'm a bit behind!

I think that's all the new stuff. I got some feedback from someone last week that he enjoyed reading my blog but felt it could do with more references to him. So, in that regard, Scott Seton is a good friend of mine from England. I have known him since the early days of my UK residency. For some reason (the origins of which surely involved many units of alcohol) his nickname for me is Princess and mine for him Pookie. Scott is the husband of my great friend Gemma, for which he is a lucky bastard as Gemma is a beautiful person with a kind heart. They make a very cute couple and once I dreamt that they adopted an adult which still makes me laugh when I think about it. Anyway, Scott enjoys playing and watching football (go Palace!), playing on words (that's a whole other story), and eating proper meat and potato dinners. And, of course, he misses me immensly. ;-) He is human after all.

Prius!

Tomorrow I am off to Chicago for my first day on the Abbott project. I'm very excited to start contributing, and also just curious about what it will be like. I am expecting long hours, but when the alternative is to go to the hotel room I think it won't be hard to stick around the office.

I got my car on Friday! I looove it! Faith also has a Prius so we are Priusmates. She gave me some tips on how to hack into the car's system to turn off various 'features' such as a very annoying beep that is heard inside the car whilst reversing. I am able to listen to my iPod through the car speakers, which is a feature I am loving. Saturday I drove down to my brother's to hang out with him, my sweet little nephews, and my mom and stepdad, and I was in my new car (complete with new car smell, mmmm) listening to my iPod on a sunny day with no humidity. The only thing that would have made things completly perfect would have been my husband sitting in the passenger seat. Despite that huge flaw I was a happy bunny.

My other fun toy is my Dyson. Many of you know that I have been anxiously awaiting the day I got a Dyson, and let me tell you my friends it is everything I dreamt of and more. Yes, I am the proud owner of the Dyson Animal, and I can confirm that that baby doesn't lose any suction. 'Not a sausage,' as the British ads tell us. You knew I would take a picture, didn't you.

Some more kitty piccies behind the Prius photo above. Oh yeah and here's a link to a few other funny ones from this weekend.

Cats and Aidan

I have finally figured out how to get the pictures from my camera phone online. So here are some pics of the cats settled in in their new apartment. They really do seem to be adjusting quite well (touch wood). In fact Jude is cuddled up next to me on the couch as I write this, bless him. He and Abbey even seem to be getting along (for Jude and Abbey). They seemed to miss me a lot last week as when I got home they were stuck to me like glue for a while. But I missed them too so I didn't mind. :-)

Also, on Monday I met my friend Rachel from high school for dinner at this wonderful seafood restaurant downtown called The Oceanaire. While we were sitting at the bar waiting for a table she realised that sitting right next to us was Aidan from Sex and the City! I would love to say I respected his privacy and all that, but I just couldn't help myself and when she went to the loo I asked if I could take his picture. He was really nice about it and while I was trying to be discreet and just taking his picture while I was talking to him, he stood up and had his friend stand up too and they had someone else take the photo for us so I could be in it too. These guys are gigantic; I haven't shrunk! I only have the one picture from that night, but the pic of Abbey and Jude above should take you to a few more of them.

In other recent events, last night I met up with another friend from high school, Annie. She is doing really well and it was great to see her. And I'm supposed to be getting my car soon. I don't remember if I wrote about that before, but I am getting a Prius that should be delivered to the lot any day. I thought it was going to be there today in fact. I can't wait! It will be great to have my own car after driving rentals since I arrived in the country. And I sold my car in England to Laura in February or March and shared John's car since then, so it's been ages since I've had my very own car. Can't wait can't wait can't wait!

And last but certainly not least -- Tom and Tracy got engaged last weekend! He called on Sunday after I'd enjoyed an action-packed day in the heat with my nephews and said they were going for a few drinks in Broadripple if I wanted to come. I said I was beat and would probably pass, and then he said they were celebrating their engagement, in case that influenced my decision! So obviously I met up with them to celebrate this exciting news! They are a really good match so everyone is very happy for them.

Picture catch up!

I'm finally getting around to posting loads of pictures that I have neglected to share recently.

First and foremost, Jon and Marianne had their baby! I was able to see her the day before I left, when she was only a little over a day old. I could smell her on me for a while after we'd left which was the loveliest thing. They have called her Isabella Andrea. She is beautiful. Click her picture to see more.

I had my work leaving do the night before my last day. It was England's second match in the world cup. Luckily they won so everyone was in good spirits for the rest of the night! My colleagues got me an England viking hat (complete with red plaits!) that I was to wear for the whole evening. I looked like the ultimate England fan. We watched the game in a pub, then went for a bite at a noodle bar, then drinks at Lloyds (where Allan who is usually teetotal had a pint of beer!). After Lloyds we thought we would go to Liquid (a club), even though someone had told us it was shut that night. Liquid, shut on a Thursday night?! we thought. That guy must be drunk. So off we went to prove him wrong, and what do you know it actually was shut. So we walked all the way back up to the top of town to finish out our evening at Rhubar playing I never. When will I learn not to play that with colleagues? The next day was quite funny because I felt alright when I got in and Richard who sat next to me was feeling really rough. He is a pretty straight character and doesn't often come to work hungover, and he was quite upset that I felt ok. He was more than pleased when I got a delayed hangover that started around lunchtime.

John Martin had a 40th birthday party that weekend. He had hired out a clubhouse and the country's finest Elvis impersonator. It was a great evening of dancing, talking, and watching Johnny put back the Stellas.

A couple of days before I flew out, my friends met me in London for a few drinks and food. It was a beautiful day with great people. We started on a stationary boat on the Thames with a great view of the south bank. In the evening we got some food at Wagamama, then finished with drinks at a cool (but really hot) Cuban bar. I had a really wonderful time and was so touched that everyone had gone out of their way to be there. (It was kind of short notice.)

If you click on any of these pictures they will take you to more pictures in Ofoto.

Working Girl

Well I've finally started work! Today is Friday and we've just wrapped up our five day training course in Virginia for IBM. I got here Sunday night and don't leave until 9:55 tonight! It's been a long week. During normal project weeks I should be flying out on Monday morning and returning Thursday evening. So that will seem a little shorter than this week. It's been really good though. There are a lot of people who have consulting experience and the orientation was a bit slow for them I think. But since I've never done it before it was invaluable for me. I learned about the million administration responsibilities I have, from forecasting my time, logging actual time, expenses, and about four or five different career and performance documents that are filled out throughout the year!

I am not 100% sure yet about my first project. I have spoken with my manager and I might be on a project in Chicago. IBM has been awarded the project but I think the contract or something hasn't been signed. When I talked to my manager he was at the airport and it was really hard to hear exactly what he was saying. But basically the project should be going ahead but it was still at a stage where something could go wrong. But if it all goes through it would be just perfect for my first project. Firstly, it's about a 45 minute flight which is wonderful because I won't have a huge travel time. Also if my flight was cancelled I could rent a car and drive down as it's about a three hour drive. Secondly, the project is slated to be big and high-profile so will get me lots of exposure and should help me build some good contacts with senior IBMers. And finally, my role would be Lead Analyst leading a team of 2 or 3 IBMers and maybe some employees from the client side. And I would be lead analyst for an area that I am really comfortable in. So I am really hoping this pans out. If it does he said I would start around the end of July, which means another good thing in that I get next week off (well, 'on the bench', meaning not working on a project). I will be glad to have some down time to do all the new hire documentation that I can't actually do until next week because I'm still getting processed through the system and my accounts aren't set up yet.

And I'm afraid to say that I'm pretty sure I'm going to gain a good 30 pounds being a consultant. Last night I had to make the decision not to go out to dinner with any of the groups from my class. Every night has been really great, rich food and the obligatory glass or two of wine. Last night I decided to get take away just so I could eat something slightly better for me and have water with my meal. The first night a bunch of us went to this wonderful seafood restaurant where I had seared tuna with this great cajun sauce drizzled over it, sitting atop lobster mashed potatoes. Oh my! It was soooo good. Tuesday we went for sushi which was good and you would think not as filling, but I was really full when we left. And Wednesday we went for a curry and simply gorged ourselves on appetizers, mains, naan bread, rice, and sides! I think I'm still full from that.

I can't believe I still have five hours until my flight! Luckily there's another sucker who's flight isn't until 9:30, so I have someone to go to dinner with at least. Hopefully that will help the time go a little quicker. I'm looking forward to seeing my cats after this big break away from them, but sadly I won't see John as is still not in Indy yet. He's given his resignation but his last day isn't until 28th July. We are hopeful the house will complete at the beginning of August and he will be here maybe in the first week of Aug. I am very much missing him!