Birthday celebrations

So my birthday has been and gone and Michelle and I have celebrated hers as well!  I had a great day out with Michelle on the 20th.  Slept late then went to brunch, did a little Xmas shopping then headed off to the "Mystery Spot".  This place really is a mystery.   They describe it as a "gravitational anomaly".  It's a circular area about 46m in diameter.  When you are in the Mystery Spot the laws of physics and gravity change...true story, nothing works quite the way it's supposed to.  A tour guide shows you around demonstrating all the oddities.  Physics freaks would love, Michelle and I laughed alot - good enough.  After the Mystery Spot we headed back to Santa Cruz and went and had snacks at a very cute downtime wine bar.  By the end of the day we were both pretty tired and work has been so full on that I really has happy to land in my bed at 830pm...having enjoyed a very lovely chat with some NZ friends.  Skype really is fantastic.

Sunday we celebrated Michelle's birthday, heading to the da Vinci exhibition in San Jose.  It's the only place in the US that the exhibition is coming to and it was fantastic.  Lots of interactive display and explanations about how he created his art and his various engineering feats.  

Monday it was back to work.  I am so ready for the break but have to work Xmas eve as well.  On the upside, and rare in these times.  I am hiring two new people for my team.  I am fortunate that the program I am in is part of Cisco's growth strategy so we still have funding.  Tough times for a lot of folk here and I don't think it's going to get easier for quite a while.

I am typing this at Denver airport, about to board a plane for New Mexico - yay, Xmas in the snow.  Happy holidays all!