Beached Whale

So even the Americans laughed at this one!

Halloween.......

So today I carved two pumpkins for halloween. It was one of those things that made me perfectly happy. I sat in the sun at the picinic table in my backyard, enjoyed a Corona and carved pumpkins! What you can't tell from the pic is that I have put battery powered "candles" in them both so they glow at night...... There's a competition at work to decorate our areas as well. Halloween is, I think, the best holiday of all in the US!
Last week I rode the bike to Sunnyvale (near San Jose) for her 600 mile service (okay closer to a 1000). Funniest of all - to avoid the worst of the traffic. given it was a Wednesday - I arrived half an hour before they opened. So, all dressed up in my leathers, I stood in the carpark, pulled out my work laptop, propped it on the saddlebags of the bike and promptly logged on to the free Google wi-fi so that I could download my work emails.......even sent a few and instant messaged some folks, that's kinda how work goes here! Or maybe it's always been like that for everyone.....nah not how I remember it in, NZ nobody carried laptops into meetings as a matter of course and no option to IM! It's a new way of working but suits me.
Oh now speaking of laptops - this weekend I have bought the new MacBook Pro for my personal computer. Having vaguely speculated with folks here that I needed a new laptop the crowd come in on going with the Mac (oh yes and one very loud voter from Aussie as well). Apple just launched a new laptop so I went with it......ordered it on line so should be here this week.
I've booked tickets to New Mexico for Xmas and New Year (Michelle's coming along for Xmas). I'm looking forward to it. I won't have the whole time off but can work remotely so that's easy!

Ever been a public servant?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27228287

Presidential candidates and working life

It's been fascinating to watch the whole election saga roll out - what a costly why to go about it. I watched the first presidential debate and heard some of the second. Not really debating I didn't think. Funny too, alot of the Americans I speak to aren't watching the debates at all but they are passionately interested in the outcome of the election. As to Sarah Palin - yikes.........although she was much better in the VP debate than I expected.....still she feels like a train wreck waiting to happen. The pic on the left comes from a Facebook page called "Everytime I hear Sarah Palin speak I feel sick to my stomach".
The economy, well that's incredible to watch. Panic selling isn't helping! Listening to the candidates I think Obamas got a better handle on it but then that's my biais. McCain initially saying he wouldn't debate the bailout package until it was a done deal didn't inspire confidence.......Fascinating time to be living here.
As of last week I took on my bosses job. It was a huge week, for some reason the program went crazy and we had multiple "firedrills" (you know hurry hurry crisis crisis) - some real and some imagined. Still even my boss said she was sorry my first week had been so full on. Thankfully the Leads in my team really stepped up and we somehow managed to keep all the balls in the air and maintain the appearance of being under control! A really fun part of my job is that I have recently started to have weekly 1:1s with my bosses boss. Igor is the Director for the wider team we are part of. He is Czech, amazingly energetic and visionary in a slightly random way. Best part is that I am now helping him with some of his comms work, learning all about new technology (web 2.0) including a whole new suite of online collaboration tools. So strange to find myself excited by what some of the new IT stuff can do.
Concurrent with this I've landed in Facebook land - now that really is amazing. Its fun and interactive and full of quirks (I'm a vampire) and you get to do fun odd things with friends online. It's very immediate.
I still like my blog though, well it's more of an online journal I guess. Everytime I think about changing it or moving to another provider I remind myself that it works, I don't need it to be more than it is. I like that it is simple!

I have a new job

Not quite as startling as it sounds! Actually I now have my bosses job. She has moved on to another role and I was offered the chance to take on her role, so I move from being the lead on one program to overseeing all the comms folks across several programs. Kathy (my boss) was a real champion about it and put me forward........it comes with the opportunity to possibly convert to becoming an employee - a whole other opportunity full of risks and potential rewards. Either way my new role is another big step in firmly establishing myself here and, I guess, demonstrates a renewed commitement to my professional life. I'm surprised by the things I am good at (well I guess I've been at this for nearly 15 yrs in one form or another), delighted at how much I have learned since I arrived, ecstatic about the quality of people I work with (and how hard they push me to keep up and be as professionally competent as they are) and grateful for the opportunity. I really am ready to give it my best shot and hugely fortunate to have the backing of some very capable people who are committed to having everyone be successful. Couldn't ask for more really.
On another note.....I've tracked down a pal that I met while I was in Bosnia (in fact more than that, we shared a room for 6 months!). We haven't had contact for 13 1/2 years so it is quite a blast from the past.
In between all of this my new room mate (2 days a week) is now in residence and is a delight to have around. It's a little like my rideshare.......we don't spend much time together but the time we do is full of laughter and insight.
On balance life is grand.....