Not much going on

Well, still no news on the condo - they've delayed AGAIN. Now the final inspection will be Friday or Monday....but we've heard that before. once again i'm regretting not leasing the last apartment for September...right now we're stuck in the doubletree hotel using all the airmiles we were going to use for Australia. Hey ho....I guess it's better than money. Craigslist hasn't turned up anything yet, but I'm still hopeful.

Work is still crazy. When you think you have one thing going on, something else comes along to set you off. Nice thing is that the time I had in Scotland, no one could get hold of me. Fabulous. while i did work (it was planned) it was creating high level missions and objectives, and how they will deliver on the plan. My to do list is alos complete and that really helps.

I'm also worried about Trev. There's something up - I can't place it, he says there isn't but my gut says all is not well. I'm starting to obsess over it and I know i shouldn't but I know something is up.....I'm hoping it's just the unsettled world we've been living in the past several months - however my gut says it's not. Can't place it, we've not argued or anything, and it appears normal....just again, relying on my gut. Worrying as we're about to go into debt together. Hopefully this feeling will subside....he's off again this week to Michigan, and then Florida next week....so I'm getting used to being on my own.

The car is doing Ok and we need to get it taxed. Still on the fence about whether we should give up the Lexus and get a more "sensible" car now that we're only driving it once a week.

On the gym front, my trainer is great, although on Monday and Tuesday i could hardly walk....taken a couple of days off and will be back at class on Thursday. Feel better between that and eating much more healthy. I've given up cereal for breakfast and replaced it with fresh fruit. Lunch today was sushi (yeah!) and I had a takeout salad from mcDonalds tonight. Did have bad stuff as I have oodles of chocolate here....but hey, i good the rest of the time.

OK, off to sleep - gotta get rid of this jetlag.

Gym

Oh my! I worked out with my trainer on Sunday....and I can hardly walk. Must mean that I'm doing something right, right?

I think I'm canceling my next session which is due tonight though:) Haha....

My trip

I can't believe a week went by so quickly. We seemed to do a lot, and then not much....all at the same time. I visited:
- Floors castle
- Edinburgh castle
- Glenkinchie distillery
- Shopping
- Kelso
- St Boswells and Melrose
- Edinburgh and Glasgow

Plus loads of other stuff. We ate in loads of great establishments, although at one point we did drive around for nearly an hour and not finding a single pub to eat in. hahahah.

I have to say, being without the internet for a whole week was hard. I didn't realize how much I relied on it to chat to people, check bank accounts, read news, update this blog, read other blogs and of course, work. I did manage to do some work while I was away, mainly in the line of getting my to do list in line...and only one thing I didn't get to.

I didn't get to see my friend Lorraine which i'm sad about...and I wish I'd remembered her phone number to call her while I was there. However, i will find another time to go and see her, maybe a weekend directly into Manchester or something. That would be awesome.

i certainly am rested and am glad of the time away. I missed Trev like crazy, and am glad I'm home. Mum and Dad are off to Turkey this week, so they have a quick turnaround to get laundry done etc before they leave.

On the shopping front, I did really well until we got to Glasgow on my last day. However, when I got to Marks and Spencer, I found a few things that I "needed". Hahaha. Even then I thought I was doing OK, until I had to go to the airport for internet access on Friday night. There I found a Dorothy Perkins - and promptly found 3 pairs of shoes that I had to have. I went from having enough bags, to having to squeeze stuff in like no other. hahahahahahah

On the condo - STILL NOT READY. We're now in a hotel....which is draining the budget somewhat. I wish we'd now just paid the money and got another month of the last apartment. Hopefully we'll close this week - so we can move in at the weekend.

Back from Scotland

So much for updating while in Scotland....can you believe I managed to not have access to email or the internet for a full 7 days? Talk about feeling like your right arm was cut off....however, did get in the groove after a while.

I'm sitting in the airport waiting to come home. here's my airport story....I'll leave more of the details for when i get home.

So, I managed to fly over a week ago - 1 bags to check in, and a rucksack on wheels as my carry on. Not over populated and OK. So, admittedly I had more stuff when I returned (clothes, handbag, and copious amounts of chocolate!). So, at security before checking in they inform me that my hand luggage was too big. Now we're not talking about the kick ass wheelie bags....it's just a normal sized rucksack - headphones, PSP, laptop etc.

So, I am now sititng with a handbag that's over full, a cushion, laptop,money etc.....and apparently that's ok to carry 10 things.....just 1 bag though.

Blinking brits.....

Off to Scotland

I checked the weather - 55 and rainy. Oh lovely....

Sitting in the airport now...waiting to board. Will update if I can with pics etc.

It will be nice to have some time off. I wish Trev was with me....but he has to work:( I'll be back on the 2nd.

Crazy husband story...

Will make you laugh! So, last night we're off to bed and I said "did you turn the airconditioning on?". Trev had turned it off earlier in the evening as it was too noisy and we didn't need it. We know at night the place gets really hot. Trev replies "yes, of course I have". (with the tone of "why are you treating me like an idiot. When I say i've done it, I have...".)

I kept waking up, full of hot flashes, it was sooo hot. Also it didn't sound right. About 3 am, I asked him again "did you turn the aircon on.." he again said yes. My female intuition got the better of me so I went and looked.....

He had only turned on the heating......

hahahahahahahahahaha

Go on....have a larf

I've hired a new trainer to get me back on my fitness program. Below is the email he sent me today. Talk about larfing my ass off....how hysterical. He really thinks I can do that. hahahahahahahahahahaha


Hi Phil

For your work out regimen, here's what I'd like you to do until I return: (You can change the days around depending on your schedule) For each of the muscle groups, I'd like for you to choose two exercises from the LINK below and perform 3 sets of 12-15 reps for each. Try to do them in a circuit with minimal rest in order to keep your heart rate up!

For example (Pushing Muscles): Dumbbell Chest Press/Lateral Raises(Dumbbell)/Tricep Pushdowns/Leg Extensions - Perform single set of each exercise, one after the other. When you're done, rest 1 minute and then repeat 2 more times. Next, pick new exercises and run through those in the same fashion!

ab workout, shoulder workouts, chest workout, gym workout, dumbbell exercises, bodyweight, exercise bands, arm workout, weight lifting pictures, best, free weight training, resistance bands, leg workouts, free ab workouts, free abdominal workouts, lower,

Wed:
Pushing Muscles (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Quadriceps)
20 minute brisk walk on treadmill
Thurs:
Cardiovascular Training & Abs
40 minutes on Treadmill/Heart Rate = 150-160bpm
Stability Ball Crunches (Blue Ball) 4 sets/25 reps
Fri: Off
Sat:
Pulling Muscles (Back, Biceps, Hamstrings)
20 minute brisk ride on recumbent bike
Sun:
Cardiovascular Training & Abs
40 minutes on Cybex Arc Trainer/Heart Rate = 150-160bpm
Stability Ball Crunches (Blue Ball) 4 sets/25 reps
Mon:
Cardiovascular Training 45 minutes total
10 minutes warm-up recumbent bicycle
25 minutes on Cybex Arc Trainer/Heart Rate = 155-165bpm
10 minutes cool-down treadmill
Tues:
All Muscles (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Back, Biceps, Quadriceps, Hamstrings)
20 minute brisk ride on Arc Trainer
Wed: Off
Thurs:
Cardiovascular Training & Abs
40 minutes on Treadmill/Heart Rate = 150-160bpm
Stability Ball Crunches (Blue Ball) 4 sets/25 reps

Hopefully the above workouts will keep you busy while I'm gone.

I did something awful

So, while on my day at home catching up (which was very successful), I nipped out in the car for a couple of errands....but I did something I've never ever done before.

I ended up on a toll road, and when I came off it I had to pay the toll. It was 25c - and it was unmanned....and get this - I had absolutely no change in my purse. It had fallen out. So, there's a queue of cars, I found a dime in the car and chucked it in. While I'm looking for other money, some idiot (or 3) behind me start tooting and yelling at me to get moving. I was actually quite scared.

So, I drove off. Talk about a guilt trip....

A quandary

Today was a weird day. When I arrived at work this morning, I was asked for my ID outside the building...never had that happen before. I shrugged it off and continued on my day. I had 3 new people start today so have been running around sorting them out. Just after lunch an email comes out stating there had been a security breach and that if we wanted to anyone in the company could work from home if they choose tomorrow. Nothing else, just that. Can you imagine the confusion and apprehension that caused?

What are you supposed to make of that? personally, I can think of nothing better of staying home catching up without 59 people asking me inane questions. That and...why put myself in a position where there's a possible security breach? Except...that my new hires elected to be at work, most of my team will be at client sites. Why do I feel guilty?

I'll be working like crazy tomorrow....so don't understand why I feel like this. I see no point in going in...so I'll be home. But I'm thinking of the guys...and the guilt is setting in.

PS - remember that post about the cleaning lady who didn't wash her hands after hitting the bathroom. I saw it again tonight. I think I need to make a complaint...what do you think.

Oh yeah, and on the train on the way home tonight I witnessed my first full blown couple argument. We're talking raised voices....and what was even funnier is that she was complaining about how he couldn't resolve an argument without raising his voice and being the "bigger" person. I had my head buried in my suduko on my blackberry trying not to laugh my ass off. It was pretty funny though!

Things I love about NY/NJ

I think we've found the perfect mix of living here - NYC and Manhattan during the week, NJ and Hoboken during the evenings and weekends. I love it. Definitely in the groove. Trev's getting there too, although it's harder for him as he's not here all the time.

This weekend we've done more of the stuff we used to do in STL, so it definitely felt more like our ol' comfy routine. Friday we had a couple of beers, then went home and ordered Chinese food to be delivered. Saturday we both had a massage then went out to dinner, I also cooked the filling for Shepherds Pie. Sunday is chores, the gym, and good ol' fashioned British cooking! It's funny how the simple things make you feel more like home. I just love it.

Places we love to go:
- Bar 41. A place to meet my colleagues and friends for a quick beer after work. The subway is right across the street. As you can imagine, it's on 41st St right by work. We're well known in here, and drinks are always waiting for us. Monica is awesome (she's the bartender!). Food here is pretty good too.
- Green Rock. This is where I meet Trev when I get off the train on a Friday (if we're not in Manhattan). We always feel like we're 20 years older than everyone else, but the food is OK and the music is good.
- Josies. This is a good brunch place. Both in Manhattan, there's one on the upper west side, and one near where we used to live. Awesome!
- Blue Water Grill. Again in Manhattan, right at Union Square. It's primarily fish or sushi, but it's so easy going and the food is so good, we go back again.
- EM. Sushi place in Greenwich Village. Awesome.
- Gaslight. The newest addition to our list, we actually can walk to it in Hoboken. They have a good martini menu and the food is awesome. Mainly Italian, but American too. Really liked this
- Trader Joes. Not a restaurant, a grocery shop. We found them in St Louis, and have located one here. they have a lot of organic food. The hummus and tomato soup is out of this world...haven't found better yet
- IKEA. There are 2 within a 15-20 min drive...and one only has 3.5% sales tax. We've been there a lot as you can imagine!

On the house front, we'll be closing while I'm in Scotland, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem except I can get any time off to sort stuff out. I guess our weekends will be busy busy. Yeah!

I made it!

So, tonight I met with my new personal trainer. Although having worked out a few times since being in NYC, it's nothing like the groove I got into in STL. I worked out myself on Sunday and was hurting for a few days...nothing major, but i felt I was getting back to where I was. Tonight, I met with Billy James*.

I was a little dubious as this guy is a triathlete (yeah, he thinks he'll have me running the NY marathon next year....whatever!). We got on OK on Monday and I managed to prove to him that I may not look fit, but I'm do pretty good. My scores were great, so I thought it should be OK. Didn't stop me worrying though.

I thought it was a good hour, for the most part I didn't think it was as hard as it was in STL....so far. Mind you, I think I'll still hurt a bit tomorrow. I was actually honest with him when he picked weights that were too light....it's kind of weird for me to be like that...was quite funny. What I'm hoping is that I may lose some pounds over this. I'm definitely focused....and definitely eating less bad stuff - that can only be good, right?

I'll let you know how much I hurt tomorrow....although I have committed to Power Pilates tomorrow night. Yippee:)

*is it me or does that sound like a porn name? know what I mean...one of those weird joky things that comes around once in a while.

Little Miss Sunshine

This is a fabulous movie. We went to see it this past weekend and it's so flipping funny you must go and see it. I will buy it the day it's available on DVD.

http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/littlemisssunshine/

I thought this was going to be a 'chick flick' - and that I'd be yawning after 20 minutes. However, talk about being surprised.

Go and see if if you get time!

My health assessment at the gym

So, we joined the gym and tonight was my "personal profile assessment". Some good and some bad news.

Good stuff first:
- Blood pressure = normal
- Cardiovascular assessment = 99th percentile (can you believe that)...so proud of myself. Only 1% improvement here required to reach perfection!
- Flexibility = good

Bad stuff:
- I have 42% body fat....it's supposed to be 29%

My "body age" is 40...just a year over my age. I didn't think that was too bad.

So, I've enlisted a trainer. We meet Weds night for the first time. I have a feeling that my muscles are gonna hurt:)

Let's hope that we can get some weightloss going on here. Penny's got a scale going on her blog...not sure I'm that brave. Suffice to say...that if I was at her heavy weight, I'd be ecstatic!


The assessment itself was quite nervewracking...although I managed it without much effort at all. I even managed to do a minute's worth of crunches without stopping (I was wishing that i hadn't done the 300 i did yesterday, coz i did hurt a bit!). I even managed 25 press ups.

Obviously my time in St Louis wasn't to no avail and I am healthy. Good to know that. So, now I'm healthy i guess I have to do weight loss. Oh yeah!

Ewwwww!

I witnessed the grossest thing yesterday. So much so, I went and bought santinizer.

I was leaving work around 5.30pm, visited the restroom on the way out. The CLEANING lady came in, went to the toilet....and then left without washing her hands.

When I left there she was wiping down the tables and chairs in the conference room.

So, what do we think is really really clean here...........

That is just GROSS!

How cynical are you?

You Are 52% Cynical

Yes, you are cynical, but more than anything, you're a realist. You see what's screwed up in the world, but you also take time to remember what's right.

How Cynical Are You?

Can you pass 8th grade math?

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

I miss the gym!

Never thought I'd say it in my life time, but on Sunday and again tonight I was in the gym. I have missed it - a lot. It's a good thing between work and home...it clears your mind. It makes me leave early from work and I can do something that doesn't involve anyone else.

My new schedule:
Sunday - work out (bike, elliptical, weights)
Monday - rest (coz I hurt like hell from Sunday...all in a good cause)
Tuesday - pilates (not bad, but don't like the instructor much)
Wednesday - same as Sunday
Thursday - yoqua (yoga in the pool...cool eh?)
Friday - same as Monday...socialise night at work
Saturday....haven't decided yet.

I've also decided that I need to enlist the assistance of a trainer again. Just got to find one as good as Jim was....his favourite line when i complained was "this is what you pay me for!!".

We're trying out a new gym - i quite like it, has a pool, classes when I want them etc so we'll probably sign up. the way it will work is that I'll walk back home, get straight in the car and drive the 8 blocks to the gym. If I do it another way, I'll never go....

Now, off to have a bath as my muscles haven't worked this hard since April!

New apartment, condo, realtors and NO telly!

Yep, another one....this is number 3, while we wait for the condo to finish. I just have to have a rant about the stupid landlord's realtor. Talk about ridiculous. For history, we've moved into this apartment that has to be in "showing" condition 24/7. this means no dirty laundry out, dishes away, clothes hung up, bathroom stuff tidy etc etc. that would be fine...and we were doing brilliantly until the realtor has a cow, the landlord calls with ridiculous demands. Apparently we cannot leave a nice tidy laptop on the table, our soap or hand towels showing in the bathroom or anything. Talk about insanity. Who really thinks it'd make that much different. Of the women who read this...ever tried to tell a guy he can't wipe his hands on the nice white hand towel that's not ours, and to reach in side a cupboard to use our towel? Yeah.....works doesn't it? NOT! Blinking ridiculous! If it wasn't for the fact I couldn't face moving to apartment #4 I would have told her to shove her lease. So, the fact that we ordered a telly and there is no stand and I can't use the table in the apartment I guess it's going to go on the floor (as I don't NEED a new TV stand). fine by me and i've warned the landlord....but I have $5 riding that the realtor will flip her lid when she sees it. Yeah............what flipping ever!

On the up side, we've been given a sort of tentative date of Aug 21st, which would be fine except I leave for Scotland on the 25th and really would like to be here to organize everything. Control freak I know....but stuff has to go where it is meant to go rathe rthan just anywhere. I love Trev very much, but believe me if he organizes we'll end up with weird furniture everywhere. So I'm hoping to move in after i get back from the Scotland trip. We'll see. We decided to take a trip this coming weekend to check it out....that way we'll know what to plan for. Our stuff has been in storage so long I think I've forgotten what it looks like. I miss my glasses, my saucepans especially, my TV, surround sound, my bed, the list goes on. Have to say though - i clearly don't need half the stuff we put in storage!

We've been in this apt 8 days now....and for 8 straight days I've not seen a TV show. I'm getting complete withdrawal symptoms. However....I have got into Arrested Development. Not sure if you get it in the Uk, or watch it here...but it is pretty funny. We're in the middle of season 2 on DVD now. Rollon the TV - I miss CSI, Law and Order, BBC channel, Project Runway (my latest reality show).

I am updating this diary more though, so that's good!

The best worst night out:)

Now, this may seem strange, but we had our best worst night out this weekend! Right at the last minute our friend Melissa invited us to come and stay with her for the weekend. So, on Saturday, right after signing up at the gym we meandered our way up to Glastonbury, Connecticut. Had a great afternoon out. First we went via an antiques fair...although our opinion was it was more of a car boot sale (not sure what the US equivalent is..but you get the idea) and then we went shopping....one of my favourite stores is the Christmas Tree shop. It's like a thrift shop, very cheap and lots of stuf you never knew you wanted. Good example is that i bought some gift bags for 79c, along with a whole bunch of other stuff.

Melissa also has a new black labrador puppy called Lily - so we spent A LOT of time with her. I am so glad we weren't with Melissa when she collected her as I know we would have brought one home.

Later that evening we were all meeting up with Pauline and Gary for dinner. This is where the fun started:) We all had a couple of glasses of wine at Melissa's before heading to the restaurant. We got seated relatively quickly....and then it went downhill from then on. It took 20mins to get a "Hi" and drink and food order in, another 10 mins to get the bread etc. We didn't order appetizers, because we thought we wouldn't eat it. This was around 7.30pm - 7.45pm. We were STILL waiting at 9.30pm for dinner. Can you believe that? We had a blast though...the waitress offered us a drink on the house and the entertainment was this weird guy doing Mick Jagger impersonations. That was pretty funny. Then.....when dinner finally arrived - it was cold. Every stinking person's dinner had something stone cold on it. Hmmmm. So, at that point we were getting a bit fractious as we were hungry. I told them I wasn't hungry anymore. Anyhow - we got the whole meal for free....I should say so. As I say, it was the best worst night out, ever!

Feedback please

So, remember the whole palava over the kitchen countertop. Well it's installed - and it's not what i wanted. it's lighter....and I'm not sure I like it. What do you guys think? does it match? (I don't think it does). If you saw the top that we had in St Louis....I wanted it like that. Let me know whether I'm over-reacting. I think what bothers me most is the floor, the doors and the top don't compliment one another too well. hey ho, i guess it's too late now.

Some sanity is brought to life

First an update. Remember that "spooky" post I told you about seeing a weird ass commercial on the train and I thought I might have imagined it? Well, I didn't. I'm not insane. It's on the train from Hoboken to 33rd St, between 14th and 23rd St stations. It's for a lexus car. I've seen it twice now....so I'll keep on looking to figure out how they do it. At least I know I didn't imagine it. LOL.

My sanity has returned at work - finally. I had a minor meltdown on Tuesday afternoon where I just couldn't think straight. It was my own fault...I started it all. I will try and explain. We'd had bad customer satisfaction results that got published showing a continuing trend of my department's satisfaction with clients - not a good thing given I've only been here a few months. the report was for Jan-Jun. So....I wanted to understand where the scores had come from and do some analysis. I have a website that I'm given access to in order to view specific client feedback - and when I downloaded it for my department there were 5 pieces of info. That's right - 5. Not 500 or 5000 - 5. And of that, 3 was for my sister department. So....my reputation, my team's reputation was based on these 5 entries.

So....since I found out that it wasn't fair representation I forwarded the detail to my project manager and my boss for information. Then I went quietly to a meeting. When I got back Debbie (my boss) was jumping up and down with a "you'll never believe what we need to do" - apparently she took that to her boss who asked her to rewrite the report with a more positive slant. I then took another survey that I do with my clients and put that in the positive. Anyway, it all turned out OK - but way too much work. So much so, I took a sanity day yesterday where I stayed home all day, worked 14 straight hours and got all the stuff I meant to do done.

It was fabulous. all i have to do now is get my project manager working....and not on dumb stuff. she's way too freaking emotional and keeps telling me she's overwhelmed with too much work. Well - know anyone who isn't? I haven't met anyone in years who doesn't have enough to do. what does she think I do? delegate everything and do nothing myself. Hmmmm - so I'm taking her out for a day to get her sane. that will help.

OK, I'm off home!

A really really really really long weekend

Man, I'm knackered*! I don't feel like I had a rest at all this weekend. Poor Trev too - he's had the 3rd weekend in a row where he's had to work. On the positive side, I didn't do a stitch of work all weekend, on the negative - I FLIPPING HATE MOVING. Especially when it's 95 degrees outside.

This is our 3rd move since March - and we still have one more to go to get into the condo. I feel like I've been a traveller for 6 months! So the apartment we've moved into is OK, modern and has some luxuries that I've definitely missed - ie. 2 toilets and laundry inside the apartment. We took it with the agreement we'd keep it tidy as it's on the market.

Issues with this weekend:
- the realtors are supposed to give us at least 30 mins notice before turning up. sunday afternoon they did no such thing and kept intruding. On one of the visits Trev was asleep and I was in the bathroom.
- Sleeping arrangement...more on that below.

Moving of itself wasn't too bad - we really don't have too much stuff and we were done packing in a couple of hours. It was about 3 trolleys of stuff to the car...drive the car a mile, unpack. We then had to unpack immediately as we didn't know if the realtors would come over. So I unpacked while Trev went and got the final load. Although I'd rather have been sipping cocktails on a veranda, it wasn't too bad.

Now, the only sticking point was that this apartment didn't have a bed. No problem thought I - I went on craigslist.com and found one for $75 that was a couple of years old. So, we called UHaul who didn't have a van until 4.30pm Sunday afternoon. Still positive, we turned up at UHaul about 4pm....and that's when it all went ass over apex. After standing in line for 30 minutes where we'd witnessed several loud bustups we just decided that it didn't matter how cheap the bed was, we couldn't be bothered to get it. We figured that the next best thing was to meander down to IKEA and pick up a new one - the added bonus being I could eat meatballs in the cafeteria!!

Given we didn't exactly know where we were going (we just knew it was by the airport), we found it pretty OK. After much discussion we realized we didn't need another bed (we have a king and queen already) and it seemed a complete waste of money. We found some chairs which have cool covers and have mattresses - we figure that given our lack of space these would be a pretty cool addition to the new condo. While we're standing testing out all the different mattresses the worst thing happens.....THE CAFETERIA SHUTS. Can you believe that? Annoying or what? Anyhow, we're now $300 worse off but have OK chairs that we can put to good use. Have to say, having slept on them last night, they'll take getting used to - but much better than an airbed. Bad thing - I got my hand caught in the springy thing....so have huge bruises...dont' think anything's broken though as I'm typing this with minimal pain.

I'm glad it's all over and done with. The condo doesn't look like it'll be ready in a month, so we may end up extending the lease in September. Will know more tomorrow.

* for those of you who don't know what "knackered" is - it's flipping tired. From the term "knacker's yard" where old horses went when they were too old to work in the 19th century.

Memories of Iowa

Two things happened last night:

1) Arranged to go for a beer with some friends from work
2) Second celebrity siting

So, on our way to the bar, Mary Ann and I were walking a few blocks to Daltons. Pretty good bar, similar to the Cedar Brew Company in Cedar Rapids and we were meeting Sarah, Heather and Trevor and a few others.

On our way, we walked past Alan Rickman (Robin Hood Men in Tights, Dogma etc). He looked like a nutty professor with sandy/grey hair....nothing like his usual dark look. Pretty cool though. I'm keeping a running list....I guess that's what you do when you get to NYC!!

At the bar, had a couple of drinks then started on some shots. So, Penny - I introduced the crowd to Surfers on Acid. Even better, when I started explaining to a barman how to make it I got the "I know what it is....". They went down well, so after a few of those Trev and i ended up on the way home. Got some fond memories of Fridays in Muddy Waters....was pretty cool. Food wasn't too bad....but I pined for the fun Friday nights in IA.

We're moving again this weekend to our 3rd temporary apartment. Hopefully this will be the final temporary move. Shouldn't take too long although we have to go and pick up a bed in Princeton. Craigslist is a lifesaver....for $75 I've got a king bed that's a few years old, seemed cheaper and easier than trying to get our bed out of storage. This is all I need as the weather will be so hot....yippee!

Have a good weekend!

The difference a decade makes....

Age 29 - spent most of the day in the ER with Rachel who had a fly in her ear. Dinner nothing special as we'd been at the hospital
Age 39 - had a beautiful lunch, hung out, got a massage, few cocktails, dinner.

Flipping marvelous! Here's to the big b'day next year! All I can promise is that it'll be on a beach at Heron Island:):) Yee hah

Questions questions...

1. What is your full name now? Philippa Claire Lovegrove
2. What colour pants/trousers are you wearing??? Black
3. What are you listening to right now? Katie Melua
4. Where were you last night? Bar 41 for a drink with Heather, then home alone
5. What was the last thing you ate? New Zealand lamb chops, green beans, gravy...yum!
6. Do you wish on stars ? not usually, although interested
7. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? blue
8. How is the weather right now? Hot - about 85 F
9. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Trev
10. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes (I wouldn't reply otherwise!!)
11. How old are you today?? 38 years, 364 days
12. Favorite drink? tanqueray and tonic
13.Hair colour? Triple highlighted - brown, blond, red...love it!
15.What was the last movie you watched? Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest
16. Favourite day of the year: any day where I'm home, doing nothing, with Trev. Massage is booked - perfect!
17. What was your favourite toy as a child?? my teddy bear (still have it)
18. Summer or winter? summer, as long as airconditioning is near!
19. Hugs or kisses?? definitely both
20. Chocolate or Vanilla?? chocolate
21. Do you want your friends to answer you back? of course!
22. Who is most likely to respond- penny
23. Who is least likely to respond? debbie
24. Living arrangements? been in transit for 6 months, moving this coming weekend to 3rd temp apartment. Condo in Hoboken, NJ by end Aug
25. When was the last time you cried? Can't remember
26. Favorite TV show? House
27. Happy in life?? For the most part, glad I moved to NY but would like a better work/home balance
28. What are you afraid of ? spiders
29. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? None....give me chocolate instead
30. Favorite car? Pontiac GTO
31. Favorite Flower? daisy or sunflower
32. Number of keys on your key ring? 2
33. How many years at your current job? Current company 3 years, current job 5 months
34. Favorite day of the week? Friday
35 How many cities have you lived in? 2
36. Do you make friends easily? Social friends, generally. Close friends, takes longer
37. How many people will you be sending this to? half a dozen or so

Music for Commuting

I'd like some feedback. I'm getting more picky about the music I'm listening to while commuting. It has to be upbeat, and something I can walk fast to -for the morning and when I'm walking to the train station on the way home. Once I'm on the train I like things quieter.

My listening list....

Morning's
Beautiful South - Superbi (new album, favourite band, what more can I say)
Ordinary Boys - Brassbound (SKA like music...The Specials/Madness combination)
Artic Monkeys - Whatever People Say That's What I'm Not (new British band...pretty good)
Bacardi Blast 2005 - very good to walk to
Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack - again, very good to walk to
Ace of Base - 1994 album; love it...not quite sure why

Afternoon's
Katie Melua - any album, sure to put you to sleep
Chris Botti - trumpeter, very mellow jazz
Sting - Brand New Day and Sacred Love (find both these albums very calming)
Beautiful South - what can I say? favourite band, is applicable any time


so, I've been listening to these on and off for weeks. any suggestions?

An achievement leads to ...

.....sometimes I wonder!!!! The joys of management....gotta love it.

I pay my team their bonus for each quarter of the year. In Friday's paycheck, it's the Q2 bonus. I had lots of feedback when I arrived that they never received a written breakdown of their bonus before - and i could back this up with the number of questions I got in Q1. So I decided that I would give everyone their breakdown - the idea being that I'd avoid 95% of all questions. I had sooooooo many of them last quarter I figured this would be a great idea.

Of course, with 60 people in my team I wanted to avoid writing 60 emails with the breakdown. I decided that I would use the mailmerge function in MS Word. Now, I used to use it years ago so I understood the principles of mailmerge. It just took a little while to get it working. By a little while, I mean at least 6 hours at the weekend and about 3 last night. I had issues with stupid stuff....like in Excel it'd show a % and in word it would translate to 1.15. Not a huge deal, but not perfect! By 10pm last night I had it all figured out. You have to create a text-only Excel sheet, make sure ALL the data is correct and then save it. You can then do the mailmerge in Word brilliantly.

Worked great, I got all but one out the door - and have received brilliant feedback. So, I know it was worth the effort.

So here's the peculiar piece. A guy in my team joins on May 8th - that means he's due 8 weeks worth of bonus out of the quarter's 13 weeks. Make sense? It did to me. So, I was on the floor laughing my ass off when he wanted to know why he didn't get a full quarter's bonus. Is it me, or is he plain stupid? I think the latter.

Luckily, I have a sense of humor!

How open minded are you?

You Are 60% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

What a beautiful sunset

This sunset inspired me to get our camera out. This is the view from our current apartment - Manhattan is in the background. Enjoy!

At last - somewhere to live for August

Thank goodness for craigslist.com - it's a lifesaver. I was very dubious when I first got to NY about it as I'd never heard of it. I found our first apartment through it, our second, and now our third:) I'm now a convert - it's like ebay, but local.

There was an ad for a short term lease in Hoboken, where we'll be living once the condo is ready. When she called yesterday, it sounded like a match made in heaven. She's selling her condo, and it'll take at least a couple of months to close. We don't have too much stuff with us as it's storage so this is perfect. The only request is that it's always ready for a realtor to take around potential buyers. Given we're not there most of the time, that's not a problem at all.

The best thing is that it's an extendable lease - so if the builder isn't ready again, we can at least extend.

All I have to do is find a bed (as there isn't one), and a TV (coz i won't survive without it). LOL

Yeeeeeha!

Got my hair cut!

It's been so hot, and it's been a few months since I got my hair cut that I decided a change was in order. I've let my hair grow since Christmas and it was a long way down my back - since I got my new stylist in March it's been blond, brown, long bangs (fringe to the UK readers), short bangs etc etc.

So....we went with blond and red highlights, along with the brown - colour looks great. For the cut, I had my stylist cut off about 4 inches. It's shoulder length again. I can still pin it up easily, but it feels so light. I still have to keep a dryer at work, because i walk 10 blocks (at least), I always end up looking like a gypsy. I'm hoping having it a bit shorter will make a difference.

That said, it feels so weird to have it this short that I'm not sure I like it yet. Tomorrow is when I dry it myself for the first time. Time will tell.

At least my hair grows quickly, it'll be long again by September!

Overall, I think it's a good move.

Legwarmers

Yep, it's official! I feel like I'm in 1984. I saw someone wearing a short denim skirt...and a pair of barbie pink legwarmers! Who new they'd come back "in". I still have an original pair from way back when.

I am feeling my age today.

What your soul really looks like

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a warm hearted and open minded person. It's easy for you to forgive and forget. You are not a very grounded person. You prefer dreams to reality. For you, it's all about possibilities. You see yourself with pretty objective eyes. How you view yourself is almost exactly how other people view you. Your near future is calm, relaxing, and pretty much what you want. And it's something you've been anticipating for a while now. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

Weird ad

Ok, so I'll tell you what I saw when I was traveling back on the subway tonight. I know it was a clever ad - and I'm going to look for it tomorrow!

I was sitting on the train on the way home, and I thought I saw a reflection in the window....I looked some more and still thought it was weird. I almost think I imagined it....so as I looked out the window between stations I saw a moving car, outside, words - it was for a new Lexus car. I can't describe it any other way. I decided it wasn't my imagination as I checked several times. I decided it was a funky advertising ploy.

So, watch this space for me to tell you if I see it again.

What pattern is your brain?

Your Brain's Pattern

Structured and organized, you have a knack for thinking clearly. You are very logical - and you don't let your thoughts get polluted with emotions. And while your thoughts are pretty serious, they're anything from boring. It's minds like yours that have built the great cities of the world!

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

How do you communicate?

You Communicate With Your Ears

You love conversations, both as a listener and a talker. What people say is important to you, and you're often most affected by words, not actions. You love to hear complements from others. And when you're upset, you often talk to yourself. Music is very important to you. It's difficult to find you without your iPod.

How Do You Communicate?

What is your life path number?

Your Life Path Number is 11

Your purpose in life is to inspire others Your amazing energy draws people to you, and you give them great insight in return. You hold a great amount of power over others, without even trying. You have the makings of an inventor, artist, religious leader, or prophet. In love, you are sensitive and passionate. You connect with your partner on a very deep level. You have great abilities, but you are often way too critical of yourself. You don't fit in - and instead of celebrating your differences, you dwell on them. You have high expectations of yourself. But sometimes you set them too high and don't achieve anything.

What Is Your Life Path Number?

Update on boyshorts

I can now honestly say that after my last post re boyshorts, having worn a pair for a day they are the most uncomfortable, unsexy pair of knickers I've worn in 20 years. It feels like they're around the back of your thighs. I've decided that it must be how blokes feel when they where boxers!

Mum - think Gran's undies

I mean......we are talking HUGE!

My turn to sound off about work!

So, Penny - it was your turn last week.....this week it's mine. I feel like I'm in the middle of a5th grade playground. Grab a coffee, tea, chocolate, gin and tonic...and listen to me get this off my chest. I'm going to call them Jack and Jill. Remember, this will be an essay:)

Jack: is a senior specialist of both a product and financial market. He run classes, makes our heavy users love their products. He's originally from mainland Europe, spent a year in Canada and transferred into my team last February (before I arrived). I didn't really have that much to do with him as he was generally at clients, I received no complaints although I did find it strange he never, ever struck up a conversation with me as his manager.

Jill: is a team lead on the same account. I didn't want to promote her to that position when I interviewed her but was told that it was good for the team, the account liked her etc etc etc. As I didn't have much say in the matter she found herself in the position. While she talked occasionally, she isolated herself as she spends a lot of time on an account that is underresourced and where she's the only trainer. She chose to fill her vacancy 3 months after it occurred by waiting for an internal transferree.

So, here's the thing. Last Friday was a chance for me to go to the client and visit the site. I've spent a bit of time with both Jack and Jill, but not a huge amount. Jill always seemed to be a good trainer, but not someone who could lead a team - my gut of not promoting her has certainly held true so far. I'm at the client site, met a couple of managers who gave me some very very direct feedback about my Company and it wasn't particularly good. Most of it doesn't matter for this, but one piece does. One of the clients mentioned that Jack had not completed a task that was clearly his responsibility. I was extremely displeased and felt that I was blindsided. On the train on the way home, I emailed the account manager with a "you're losing us business" email. I then immediately forwarded to Jack and Jill indicating I wanted to talk to them about it.

1) I had a one to one with Jack tonight. he thought I was going to fire him! Oh good grief....
2) The incident I refer to is something that happened 6 weeks ago. What I didn't know was that Jack and Jill had not even spoken since then.
3) Jack thinks that he's completely in the clear, totally professional and it's all Jill's fault
4) Jill thinks she's completely in the clear, totally professional and it's all Jack's fault
5) They have both declared they refuse to work together
6) The account manager has decreed she doesn't want to lose any resource at all
7) the account manager wants to stick them in a room on Friday and hash it out
8) I don't think that's actually possible. However when I suggested getting HR in the room as a mediator jack said he'd hire a lawyer as her emails he considers slanderous.

I've spent several hours with each of them and not really sure whether there's an answer. i think Jill is getting a bummish deal (but not totally in the clear), Jack needs to lighten up and not be so serious.

In addition while talking with Jack it appears he has a big chip on the shoulder regarding his transfer from Canada didn't go quite as smoothly and he's ticked at my company for not paying for the relocation etc. He's also mad about his visa etc. as he's still paying Canadian taxes. He also wants a green card but never mentioned it me.

I suspect he's mad aththe company in general and taking it out on Jill. Jill's at fault because she's relying on email and not building relationships.

Jill has said that she's thought about quitting as that's what her husband says. She's also considering giving up her position.

Part of me wants to smack them together - they need to find a way to work together. My gut tells me this is beyond redemption. I mean seriously....

My freaking brain is fried!

BTW 0- this is the very very abbreviated version!

Boyshorts

Ok, c'mon! So, I'm on undie patrol so hit the Victoria Secret's website. I wanted not only "cute" undies but functional for walking my ass around a very hot and humid New York.

So I ordered the usual lacy numbers, but then saw "boyshorts"....they were cotton, nice colours etc etc. Looked cute.

I have never been so disappointed. They arrived yesterday. To be clear....BOYSHORTS is the 21st century term for "freaking huge knickers"

ouch!!!!

What does your birthdate mean?

Your Birthdate: July 26

You lucked out the the skills to succeed in almost any arena. Put you in almost any business or classroom, and you'll rise to the top. You're driven and intense, but you also know when to kick back and cooperate. Your ability to adapt to almost any situation is part of what's going to make you a success. Your strength: Your attention to detail Your weakness: You can be a little too proud of your successes Your power color: Turquoise Your power symbol: Arrow pointing up Your power month: August

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

How gross are you?

You Are 36% Gross

You're a tad gross, but generally you're a clean, hygienic person. No one can be perfectly clean all the time, and it's better to be human than a neat freak.

How Gross Are You?

What do people envy about you?

People Envy Your Energy

You've got the drive and determination to keep your life in order, and you are on track to be a huge success. People tend to envy all you've got in life, but they don't understand the work that goes behind it!

What Do People Envy About You?

Missing Trev

I spent 6 hours at work today to get caught up. I can't profess I'm done with everything, but I've at least got some big stuff done that I wanted to. It'll make me feel better on Monday. Times Square on Saturdays is still busy:)

I blew off Heather and Bruce for dinner as all I really wanted to do was go home. When I got here....it just wasn't the same without Trev. As he's in Arizona working all day it's not like I can talk to him until later tonight. John called again to go out with his friends....but they don't go out until 10pm....that's just too late, I really can't be bothered when it's that late.

Feeling a little down... I know it'll pass soon enough. I miss Trev. I'm glad that I still feel this way although I'd rather he was home.

Tomorrow will be a day of chores and then I'll be totally caught up. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow......

Anyhow, to cure the boredom I've been scouring the net for blog quizzes.....so you'll find some following:)

Weird ass on the train...

I meant to mention in my diatribe earlier about a weird on the train this morning. I'm sitting, listening to music as usual. I happen to be sitting in an end seat near the door. So, there's this guy standing by the door, right next to me listening to his own music.

I think nothing of it until I start to realize he's actually moving a bit more than you would normally if you stand.... then I realize that he's actually dancing to whatever he's listening to. Now, it definitely wasn't groovy music. Given the dancing he was doing it was almost like he thought he had a woman with him. It was blinking hilarious.

It was worse when we were stopped in stations....coz then he'd start to do turns and stuff. Hahahahahahah

all I can say is that my description is really crap. But I was almost laughing out loud it was so funny!

Only in New York....

My week in NYC

Get a drink....this is a long one!

We'll start after the power outage. Stayed at Heather's everything was fine and dandy. Saw my first celebrity in New York. I'm sitting at the Blue Fin restaurant having a one to one with one of my managers, and I'm looking at this guy walking by....looked very familiar. By the time he was gone i figured it out - it was Stephen King the author. That was kinda cool.

Thursday night was a leaving do where I'd planned on having a couple of G&Ts and then go home. Didn't quite work out that way. I ended up having a few, staying til past midnight. Shared a cab to Penn Station (10 blocks), had to walk a block to get to my train. So picture this - it's 90 degrees, 1am, humid, high heels, PC bag and I'm walking around 34th St and Broadway and i cannot find a single entrance to my train station that's open. After wandering around for about 10 mins getting more and more stressed (I think when you're over 30 your brain is still sensible) I find a policeman who points me to an entrance that's 2 blocks away on 32nd and 6th. Hmmmmmmmm - was relieved and angry at the same time.

That evening I found a couple of guys that I worked with in St Louis - only to find they'd moved to NYC. Was pretty cool catching up.

See here's where the problem lies - i get home at 1.30am, I have to be up at 6am to get to Stamford for a client visit. That's OK, we can survive on little sleep. So, remember back to the previous evening with the power cut and staying at Heather's? Well, all my stuff (toothbrush, makeup, hairdryer, hairbrush etc) was at work because I didn't take it with me when I went for a beer.

So, mildly hungover and very sleep deprived (to say I looked like crap doesn't come close!! The pain of being over 30 I guess!) I had to get up at 6am to get to work, to make myself really really beautiful for my client and had to be at Grand Central by 8.15am.

That said, I had a fantastic trip with my client in Stamford. Lots of issues and stupid stuff to deal with but really enjoyed doing that part of my job. It still feels kinda weird that I'm a senior person.... i guess I'll get used to it.

Meant to say - Trev's in Arizona for work until the 23rd so he's not really in the picture right now - other than a couple of phone calls a day.

Then Friday night, John N was in town so was out with him. The thing with John is that he goes out at 10pm....kills me every time! So, the plan was to go home, sleep and go out late. Never quite made it as I got back late from Stamford so decided to stay in town. Stayed at work til 9 then got a cab to Greenwich Village and went out with John. First time in my life, flagged down a cab and while some tourists thought it was theirs, I actually jumped in the cab and shut the door. I did get it first, they just didn't see me. I fit into NY pretty well, right?

Didn't get home too late though (1am). I'm supposed to be meeting him late tonight too - but not sure if we'll make that!!

Am at work now getting caught up...the plan is to get a massage, pedicure and whatever sometime in the week.

so, off to work................

Gotta love Thursdays

I love Thursdays at work. It's Sushi day. The cafeteria bring in a sushi chef who makes whatever you want to order. All for about $10. 4 salmon, 4 tuna, box of edamame and a bottle of Fuze. $10. Can't beat it.

To top off the day

I work late, I get my stuff done, I get home only to find the power has been out all day. Now, to be fair Trev had told me the power had gone out and that's why I'd elected to stay at work and finish some stuff off. However, I was NOT expecting there to be no power at 9pm at night.

It was weird as the elevators worked, the lights in the hallways were on - I thought it was just me. I toddled down to the doorman and but no, my floor's power had yet to be restored. Luckily I'd mentioned it to my friend Heather who'd offered me a bed at her plan (back in Manhattan) if I needed it.

The poor doorman was dealing with some very frustrated people - I decided to go and stay with Heather. In the mean time I managed to pick up the car keys, not the apartment keys and locked myself out. Luckily the guys like me so they let me right in.

I get my stuff, I leave for the train station again, I had to wait 15 mins for the train, something I'm not used to. It's also very very humid and hot so I look like some menopausal woman (that's right I'm that already....but that's not the point!!). I get on the train...and then I remember I have absolutely zero dollars on me to get a cab from Penn Station. have you ever tried finding a freaking ATM at 10pm at night in Manhattan. Talk about nearly losing it..... found it, got the cab, got to Heather's. Fell asleep almost immediately so feel better now.

Now I'm at work this morning - managed to pick up a pair of black capris rather than regular pants. I know it's summer but I'm not usually this casual at work. funny as I have to do 4 interviews today. LOL

OK, now to use that hairdryer that I'm leaving at work......

You know you're working too long when...

...they turn the flipping lights off and I'm stuck in the dark! I guess I should leave. the plan for this evening was to catch up, build plans, get data for my teams etc. Totally missed that one. I can't decide whether to keep going or just go home and sleep. I think for my sanity I'll spend a day this weekend catching up and then hopefully take some early days off. I have 4 weeks of vacation to take before the end of the year - maybe I should take some now:)

Flipping tourists

Ok, so I have to sound off about people. I am fed up to the hind teeth of getting in the groove of walking around New York - head down, bag at my side, music blaring in my headphones on my way to somewhere (work, home, restaurant, bar, shop...whatever).

And then you get it. Some idiot who's walking fast and then abruptly stops, right in the middle of the pathway to gaze at the skyline, take a photo, chat, light a cigarette (that one really really annoys me). Or comes out of a shop walking fast and runs into you and then looks at you like YOU did something wrong. Or there's a family, all walking in a horizontal line taking up the whole flipping path so no-one can get through. Or a family standing in a huddle in the middle of the path. Or a dude trying to sell boat rides, comedy show, bus trip - do I look like I'm on holiday? In my suit, with a briefcase do I really really look like I give a crap about it? Why don't you go and do that to someone in shorts with a camera?

It gets my goat every blinking day. So I play the music louder, get a good beat, get me walking, think happy thoughts (or more like do a mental to-do list). I'm getting great at avoiding this stuff.

Alright, alright I hear you say "you wanted to move there, get over it"....all I'm saying is that rather than getting mad about stupid dumb drivers it's now actual people.

Fond memories

So, I'm on my walk to work (as I do every morning) trekking down Broadway between 33rd and 42nd. There's a shop that always looks like I'd like to go in it, but in the morning it's always shut and in the evening I really can't be bothered.

This morning as I walked past....in the window was a vase with honesty in it. A huge smile crossed my face as I fondly remembered my grandma:) How cute was that? Not that I don't think of her often but generally that's a deliberate act. I realized I hadn't really seen any honesty since she'd been in her last flat (apartment).

For those that don't know what honesty is - It's a plant/flower. it takes 2 years to grow. First year you get floweres, second year you get crispy silvery circles that looks like paper.

That made my day....

Do you think it's deliberate...?

Trev has been home since last Friday, we're making the most of it as he leaves on Wednesday for almost 2 weeks away at a work shindig in Arizona. So, when I got home last night to find he'd done laundry I was pleasantly surprised......until I found he'd washed it, dried it, dumped it in a hamper....and left it there. About 9pm he said "if you fancy putting the laundry away, it's on the bed". Hmmmph - of course for him he has gym shorts and undies. that's not too bad as who cares if it's crinkled. My stuff - work tops, pants, nice t-shirts. All a crumpled mess.

I know I sound like I don't appreciate it....but now I have to spend 20 mins ironing. It could have all been avoided. Maybe I should just rewash everything when he leaves:) Now, there's an idea.

Still deliberating how to spend the reward money. Another flat panel TV or a few days in Bermuda. Can't decide. Maybe I'll just upgrade my digital camera........................

I don't flipping believe it....

...well, actually I do. We went and visited the condo to see if it was really going to be ready for the end of July. Like crap it is.

Apart from the fact that the floors need finishing, the worktop need to be fitted, the painting finalized, shower fittings fitted etc etc the major thing for me is that the ELEVATOR IS NOT IN AND WORKING. Big flipping deal.

So now, we're in a position where we have to be out of our apartment by the 31st and nowhere else to stay. Trev's away for the next 2 weeks so it's down to me to find somewhere to stay temporarily. Like I ever have time.....

I guess this may be the time we'll be using up Hilton points big time.

Talk of points.....using our Amex points we're both now proud owners of the new QC3 Bose headphones. Blinking amazing. Our old ones just died - they were about 8 years sold so I guess they did OK, even though we still considered them both new. Hahahahahah. My commute is so much better now as I can concentrate on the music and not listen to the coughing and spluttering on the subway.

The other thing I did this weekend was buy a hairdryer.....for work. I'm and totally fed up of fixing my hair and by the time I get to work look like a complete wreck. I decided the best remedy was to invest $15 and a hairbrush (of which I have many) and fix my hair in the bathroom each morning. Worked like a charm this morning.

I'm feeling like a total commuter - hairdryer at work, buy lunch EVERY day, several shoes under my desk and the big one....I walk to work in comfy shoes:)

hahahahahah

To IPOD or not to IPOD

Up until now I've not even considered an IPOD as a "must have" gadget. I have to say though that the more that I'm commuting and listening to music all the time, the more I find I'm drawn to the cute little buggers. It's only now that my 1GB MP3 player doesn't seem enough - it seems too much like hard work to change my music each week. On average I get through 2 albums a day - one on the way to work, one on the way back. I'm also finding that it depends what my mood is as to what I want to listen to. That means I need more choice of what to listen to. Doesn't it sound like I'm writing my own justification?

I guess it's not too difficult to move music once a week....I just don't know what I want to listen to. Have to say though, if they had a 60GB NANO it'd be a slam dunk and I'd buy one immediately!

A few other things to go on my list of what to spend my reward on
- SLR digital camera
- Upgrade my current digital camera
- IPOD


Still haven't decided...have a year to make my mind up. Yeah!

Ipswich Town - Who'd have thought?

Trev and I took a trip to Hoboken to see the condo and take a good assessment on whether it's going to be ready in time.....my gut tells me know, but we wanted to see. That was a waste of time as it was all locked up. We'll go back on the weekend as there's an open house. Hopefully everything's in place and it should be fine.....keeping my fingers crossed.

So on our way back we stopped in at a bar for a beer/gin and tonic (it was hot, and an afternoon right before the 4th July day off) and was hoping that this Mulligans was the same as the Mulligans around the corner from where we lived in Manhattan. The service was as obnoxious as the other, the drinks came in the same weird-ass glasses (for the UK readers...think Shell freebies from the 80s!!) but they don't serve food. Bummer - coz at the other one they did a really good bangers and mash! Oh well, we'll have to take a trip.

Anyway, I digress. So, we're sitting at the bar and i'm look at the "ornaments"....what do I find? A beer bottle with a drawing on it of the Ipswich Town emblem! It was pretty accurate too! Can you believe that? It was right next to Chelsea and Leyton Orient. Weird choices.......... when I looked around I also found an Ipswich Town scarf pinned to the wall!!

Who'd have thought?

BTW - Happy July 4th!!

Choices choices choices

I need some help. I have nearly $2k to spend as a result of a reward. Part of me says "be sensible", the other side of me says "do what you want". Help me decide.....this is my shortlist so far:

- 4 days in Bermuda with Trevor
- 37 flat panel HDTV for the bedroom
- put towards closing costs on the condo
- pay off some credit card debt (we don't have too much....but it would be the SENSIBLE thing to do)
- buy new clothes for work (you know, suits, posh shoes etc)

Do you have suggestions? I think the top 2 are the favourties so far.....

Quiet weekend

After the focus of watching the footie and seeing England lose to penalities in the World Cup we had a very quiet weekend. Went out to dinner with friends (Heather and Bruce) to a restaurant called Gobo in Greenwich Village which was great - it's primarily Vegan food but it's always soooo good. Did not a lot of anything else other than cook a huge roast dinner.

Yorkshire puddings are amazing. I've decided that it's the new tins I bought in Target as my others were in storage - I definitely don't think it's anything I'm doing in the preparation and cooking. For a start I'm using a metal mixing dish....and I was always told never to use metal - doesn't seem to be an issue right now. They are incredible. Big and fluffy and gorgeous! Certainly makes us happy - that's for sure. hahahahahah.

We're still planning for moving into the condo for the end of July so here's hoping we'll be able to do that on time. If not, we'll be in a hotel for a while. Don't really want to do that so we'll see....

On this very very quiet day at work I'm going to get on with stuff I've been meaning to do for weeks....like expenses etc. Byeeeeeee

Promotion

Finally! It came through. I can now officially call myself a Director. Wooooooohoooooooooo! The excitement lasted about 5 nano seconds when I found out the financial deal associated with it. Hey ho - at least it's recognized I do a great job.

Keep on trucking I guess. Official from July 1st.

11am ET Saturday...

....is the date and time of the next England match. We're playing Portugal. So I'm spending the next 2 days making sure there are plans of where to meet up to watch it. Very cool - I love being in NYC. USA may be out of the world cup - but it's still on the telly's at the bar. Yeeeeeha!

Oh my....what a masseuse!

So, I wake up this morning with my neck giving me so much jip that I decide I must get my crap together and get a massage organized. It was one thing Trev and i did about twice a month was a get a massage in St Louis - but haven't done anything like that since getting to NY. I think with all the commuting and carrying laptops I messed up my neck. That together with the fact it was torrential rain this morning I decided to get the massage. I walked into the spa place opposite this apartment complex and booked an appointment. Nurofen Plus was a godsend also.

Now there are a few things about massage that I'm particular about. 1) I like a sheet and 2) I like a female masseuse (unlike the OBgyn doc where I'd rather have a guy).

I spent the afternoon looking forward to it. When I got there (10mins before), I got mad as i was kept waiting for over 5 mins...in fact I had to walk into the staff room and do the "I'm here for a massage, who do I see?" routine. So, by the time I was changing into my robe I was not best pleased.....and I was even further displeased when I realized that I was in my knickers and it was a guy masseuse. So....I was there and I figured I should try it....especially as my neck was hurting so much.

However........... I have to say (and I'm amazed I'm saying this) - it was the BEST massage i have ever ever had. My neck feels so much better. .... and i find out he'll come to your place rather than going to the spa. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I guess you learn something new every day. It hurt like crap (it's supposed to), but having the muscles stretched and dug into felt so good. Yippee - it's so good to know I found a good masseuse on the first go-around.

I still miss Michele in St Louis though......

Ouch!

Although I've been walking everywhere (and power walking where possible!!) I haven't set foot in a gym since around Easter weekend. Yesterday i went and did a full workout.

On one hand i was totally impressed that I could use an elliptical at level 6-8 and not kill myself and do a full round of weights for an hour (everything 3 rounds of 15 repetitions).....but I have to say tonight - the top of my chest is killing me. My legs hurt a bit, my arms are a little sore....but my chest - OUCH!

Given the amount we're paying for membership for just a month I'll be going back tomorrow - as long as I can get back for a 5.30pm class! We'll see....but i do feel good that I'm still pretty fit!

Yeeeeeha!

Spooky

Ok, so I've probably not mentioned here that ever since I got to NY I'm supposed to move floors at work (from 21 to 23). This was definitely spooky....

So, this morning I looked at my packed up boxes from St Louis and decided that I needed to unpack and put away some of it as I was fed up looking like I lived in a barn. I put away about a quarter of my stuff and then started to work. Imagine the surprise around 2pm when I saw our admin who told me that I was moving on July 7th!

Can you believe that? Very very strange......

Football season...

For those that haven't been paying attention it's the FIFA world cup right now. Football = soccer. it's a big big deal in the rest of the world and it's been really hard watching both England and the USA at the same time. At 2 of the 3 1st found games I was in meetings - although I had managed to sneak home for the 2nd game and had it on mute. Easier now that the USA is out but this morning is England's round 2 game at 11am. We're in preparation for it - what drinks/food will we need. Very cool. Have to say though it's only once every 4 years that I get into footy...but it's fun doing it. I've spent quite a lot of time over past 2 weeks explaining to colleagues how it works (you know, leagues, you qualify for the world cup, it's a world cup with more than a single county - LOL).

One thing I love about being in NY is that the football is remaining on the TV's even though the USA is out. Flipping marvelous.

Had a great week at work this week. Thursday especially. I had a team lead meeting where I was decreeing that we had to get much better about communication, how we do it, good things, bad things and showing the company how important our relationships with our end users are. However, I had invited the editorial team (the most famous part of our company) and rather than the 15 mins i had planned it turned into one of those sessions where brainstorming on what clients really need took off. My gut told me that that this should continue.....and it turned out so so well. We all had a great idea for change, got funding an dnow we're full steam ahead. Penny, it reminded me of the meeting with you and Alex when we had that cool idea for programming. It's moments like that that make it all worthwhile....:)

Am having quiet weekend. Trev's home so we're watching TV, shopping, cooking and generally being lazy. We did find a shopping mall less than a mile from home - and it's flipping huge. Can you believe that i didn't know it was there????? Dangerous though.... especially as it has Macy's!

Got a new PC:)

So I downsized my laptop at work..... it's kinda cute. Although the screen isn't so good, it's much faster and it's pretty cool overall. Not sure I NEEDED it, but it's nice to carry round something much lighter. The other one looks so much bigger in comparison. The one thing I've noticed though is that it's much much faster..........and that's VERY Cool.

Now starts the long process of moving music, movies, pics, etc to make sure nothing is on the PC - oh yeah, and to remove all that software that i shouldn't have on there!! At least I have an external disk drive to dump stuff on....but the paranoia.

I also have the UK fruit machine emulator on the PC....so i hope it works on the smaller one. For the unitiated slot machines in the UK are known as "fruit machines". Second, they're more complicated than the US based ones....you get nudges, exchanges, secret things etcetc - sometimes you feel like you need a degree to run one. sounds nerdy I know....but it cured me of spending pounds and pounds when I return to the UK.

I also had Limewire to download stuff - but I found I never really downloaded anything. I also have the DVD ripping software and also the PSP software that shrinks the movies to about 400MB. Blinking marvelous. I can't lose that.

Ok so while I'm writing this I just finished watching Supernanny and Hell's Kitchen (both British) instantaneously by flicking back and forth....what weird ass programs - but tey make you watch it more. At least it's not Big Brother I guess. And now I'm watching Weight Loss Challenge.....so now I need to diet. Man, i wish i wasn't watching it....but now I'm flipping back with that and CSI Miami.

Too many headaches for one week

The week started out OK although horrendously busy as always. Tuesday night, our friend Matt came into town from Iowa - of course we went for a few beers.... Started off in Bar 41 (my work local), then to Mulligans for bangers and mash (our old local in Manhattan, bangers = sausages), ending up in The Joshua Tree for martinis. I had the biggest headache Weds morning....and totally deserved. However we had a terrific evening - and I really relaxed from work that night. then on Thursday it was F2N/N2F - that's face to name/name to face - something that I manage to gatecrash every month. It gives me a chance to meet new people in Reuters. The other things that went on this week were unpacking the remaining boxes and cleaning the apartment. While it was Ok, the floors in the bathroom and kitchen were gross...to the point where Trev thought they were bad:):) Now they're beautifully scrubbed

With all that activity the week went by soooo quickly. Our weekend was mostly nice. We made an expedition out in the car to Sams Club, about 15 miles away. It was refreshing to be in Sams...although after $500 I was wondering why we'd even gone through the door (don't worry, it wasn't all groceries - we bought a printer and new electric toothbrushes along with the groceries!!). We also made it into Walmart (as it was next door) but didn't pick up too much stuff. I feel more at home just by having a full fridge and freezer.

We had roast lamb for dinner today....I did purchase roasting dishes etc as I knew we couldn't wait until the condo before eating yorkshire puddings - and they turned out fabulously! The lamb was amazing. We have a lot of leftovers...esp as we had a curry last night too. It feels homely.....and comforting. I love it.

Back to chaos tomorrow....