Away from home - Day #2

Time zones are one of the downsides of traveling. This morning, my internal clock got me up at 7AM eastern, 5AM here. Bad clock, the rest of my body sure could have used a couple more hours of sleep. I'm hoping for a better night tonight. Bonus: after a rainy morning, the sky cleared up. 

Still on schedule with our installation. As expected, the modeling completed overnight. As expected, once presented with the results, the customer decided to make some changes in the setup. So we wiped the results and do-over is currently running. I was able to do a bit of shopping in the area and found a few cute things to bring back home as. I also took a few pictures for future craft projects. 

Major bummer though, I was not able to find any store selling western style fabrics, not even quilt stores. I was so hoping to find Anasazi, Hopi or Navajo inspired prints. Of course, being way out of town and without convenient transportation does limit the scope of my research. 

Bonus of the day, after poking and prodding for a while, hubby and I finally managed to get a video conference going. Yay! Double Yay! I was able to see my my baby girl before her bedtime and wish her good night and sweet dreams. Funny how little things can make you happy.

Away from home - Day #1

Busy day explaining brand new concepts to our customers. Customers that are pretty new to this business location and are still discovering how everything works out in this operation. Ultimately, all we had set out to do today was accomplished. While we are resting, the server is churning through data and building stats and predictions. That's called modeling but there is no catwalk involved, only CPU power. Tomorrow, we get to play by with the results. Very excited.

Very bummed about not being able to get the video stream going. It looks like the network settings are too restrictive to allow the session. So we had to go with good old phone chat. Better than nothing. As it turns out this place is a bit far from everything. Not that many options available to fill after hours. To top it all, most stores close at 6:00 pm. That doesn't leave much time for shopping after the workday. At least there is cable TV. 

Time for some sleep. 

Just what the doctor ordered

Seriously cool room very large with a bed so huge that they should supply a step stool for it





Cosy and perfect after a long day... ZZzzzzzzzzz


Posted from my iPhone

Joys of air travel

Just landed in TX but no time to say "hehaw". The plane was late (what a surprise!) so I only had time to use the restroom and buy a bottle of water before it was time to board again. Final destination: Phoenix where a car service will be picking me and my fellow installer Matt to take use to Scottsdale. My back is killing me despite the meds. I blame it on the tight quarters and lugging 2 laptops in a backpack. If I was traveling more oftern I'd be sure to invest in a fancy wheeled bag. I almost forgot the cherry on the cake: traveling right next to a cranky 5 year old. Yay! I should have packed earplugs. Mpff!

Hoping for a comfy bed after a nice hot shower.

- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Houston,United States

At the gate

As I feared, leaving the hubby and our little one at the security check was heart wrenching. It's not the first time of course but it doesn't get any easier. I am going too miss them both. I am hoping I can stay busy enough to not think about them too much. I loaded enough movies for the duration of the trip on my iPhone and a blogging app that I am testing right now. So far so good. More at the Houston stop.

- Posted from my iPhone

Location:BWI

Countdown

That's it. Well almost it. Tomorrow I will be in Arizona for a week. So today was all about laundry and packing. That part is almost done : suits and shirts all neatly folded, shoes selected and tucked in, makeup, meds, something to read. My OCD won't let me pack at the last minute. All that's left to do tomorrow: load a couple of movies on the iPhone, switch handbags, add toiletries and pack my MacBook and the cables in the computer bag.  That should be pretty easy.

The hard part will be to hug my little one goodbye, knowing that I won't be able to do that for a week. That part REALLY sucks. Like all parents, sometimes I admit she can be very tough to handle (she is about as pig headed and her dad and I combined). Sometimes it is hard to stay zen. But nothing she may do (or not do) can make me love any less. So yes I am leaving. But I will be longing for her little arms around my neck, her lovely cheek dimples, and her voice calling Mama.

Friday ahoy !

Yesterday, we had a meeting at my daughter's school and it is now clear the road ahead is still long. When she started the program she is in last september, we were so thrilled by the immediate progress we were seeing. I foolishly thought, my kid is so smart, by the end of the school year she will be back on par with kids her age. The progress is undeniable. There were plateaus and with the unexpected school interruption for 2 full weeks after the huge snowfalls, some serious setbacks. No doubt now the second year of the program will be necessary for her to be able to go to kindergarden in good conditions. I'm just glad we have been proactive as soon as we noticed something was not quite right. I am glad my daughter is getting all the help she needs to catch up with her peers. I know once she does she will be a run away for the gold (that's the proud mommy talking here).   

Add all this up with the general grumpiness, this week has been rough so far. Thankfully like a long voyage at sea the end is in sight! Friday ahoy mateys! And as we sail closer to the end of the journey things are looking up. Wonderful surprise this morning! Someone drops by my desk while I am working on a case. At first I don't really pay attention as I am totally engrossed in my work. Second look... YAY!!!! It's Karen. Karen is the one most wonderful gals. She is smart, always helpful and caring. Her hart is bigger than her country... and that's pretty big since she is from Canada. There should be more people like Karen on this planet. So we went out for lunch and the grumpiness started melting down. Now I'm hoping for a productive Friday that will make up for an otherwise pretty gloomy week. 

The reality of my trip to Arizona is also starting to sink in. It's nice to know I am going to do something so far from my routine for a whole week. Not just the work routine, but also the house routine. No cooking, no cleaning, no pets. Uhoh.. No hubby and no kid either. That bit is not so great. I know I will miss them both. Guess what... I'll be traveling with two laptops: my work issued HP and my very faithful and how so practical MacBook. Yay for integrated video camera. No matter what I will get to see my two favorite people from thousands of miles away. I just hope the internet access will be comp'ed because the company handbook says I can't expense it. 

Hmm I forgot I also have to worry about what to pack.

Still grumpy

Another grumpy day. Sometimes you know right at the moment you open your eyes in the morning it is going to be one of those days. Hard to get from half consciousness to the surface, hard to get up, hard to get ready for work, cranky on the way to work, irritable and anti-social, nothing can seem to shake it off. No juice. Chocolate not really helping either. Three days in a row. No energy and that nagging feeling everything is just crappy and uninspiring. Apparently I am not the only one feeling gloomy. My friend Shari was also in a totally anti-social mood (self proclaimed), and she was not the only one. At least my workday was not as bleak as yesterday, especially at lunchtime. Shari and I treated ourselves with our favorite : Qdoba's naked burrito. Then I was able to wrap up a couple of long outstanding support tickets. That always helps feeling a bit better.

I think the weather has to do with all this. I'm longing for spring as usual at this time of the year, it cannot come soon enough. I need more sunshine, see some green and some flowers. Yes, weeks after our snomaggedon there is still plenty of snow here. Big piles in some areas are still reaching several feet, and every shady spots has retained quite a bit, for instance my front yard. It  is still covered by almost 2 feet of snow and ice. It is slowly shrinking but unless the temperatures get significantly warmer it will take a few more weeks to melt it all off. I am wondering if my plants will have survived the ordeal. All adds up to this conclusion: my trip to AZ looks more and more just what I need to get over the gloom. Less than a week now. Time to think about what to pack. The idea of wearing open toes shoes after weeks in the Doc Marteens, and short sleeve shirts is something to look forward to!! OK it's for work, but as work goes, that is the cherry on the cake. Here's to cherries, my favorite fruit too!!

Parlez-vous Francais?

Since I moved to the States almost 8 years ago, the occasions to speak French, which is after all my mother tongue, have been limited. For the past year, I have been a member of a French club that meets the first tuesday of each month, and we chat about a chosen theme. There have been some amusing topics, some more serious, there were games and food tastings. We even have been to a local restaurant (french of course). So today was the first tuesday of March and even though I did not have the time to read the books that were going to be discussed, I chose to go the meeting. Among the members of the club, some are francophone, some are francophile, and all are fun. This was as usual a pleasent evening.

I do speak French to my daughter daily and with my mother at least once a week (thank you iChat video conferences!!). I must confess though having an adult conversation about just about anything, in French, it's bliss after spending the day immersed in English. I use my mother tongue so little, I don't even dream in French anymore! And sometimes I even have a hard time finding my words. I can't wait for my little one to make enough progress so we can really have a conversation together. Maybe another year or two. 

In the meantime, the club meetings are like a breath of fresh air. I just wish I could breathe more often. Good news also, we have found a babysitter so next Sunday, hubby and I are going to a nice french restaurant to celebrate the birthday of my french club friend. Too bad birthdays happens only once a year. I think, 2 meetings a month would be so nice. By the way, it started snowing as I was  leaving home, so I did wear my brand new red mittens. Awesome! Allez! Bonne nuit et à bientôt.

Grumpiness

Not a happy day at work. I was feeling grumpy already getting up and things just did not improve. Voicemail. Customer obviously called the wrong person for their purpose. But no matter, since they have my direct line I can make do right ? Yep. Sorry, I can only answer technical questions. Sent email to the account manager that can help out. Then a few hours struggling with customized documents in Oracle Report Builder hell, followed by database tuning and preparing a data migration (non geeks, please follow the links for explanations on what the fun is all about). Murpf. 

My flight to Scottsdale is now booked. I leave Sunday afternoon and return late Friday night (better than a Saturday morning red eye!!). A whole week out of the office, that is going to feel like a breath of fresh air I'm sure. And looking forward to see that new module in action too! 

Not looking forward to leave my baby girl behind for a week though. That part is rough. My mother-in-law will be coming from upstate NY to help the hubby out. He can handle little people, but having him all stressed out all week because of it would mean grumpy husband when I return. I'm going to make sure that the beer fridge is stocked up and that I get him some peppermint patties (his favorite treat) before I leave. 

Highlight of my day : the mail. Yes, I received my Olympic mittens !! Woohoo. Almost hoping for some cold weather before the season turns into spring just so I have an excuse to wear them. It's really not cold enough for mittens this week so far. And I'm pretty sure I'm not going to need them in Scottsdale !