Farewell January

January has flown by and with its end comes the biggest IT release one of the programs I manage comms for has.  That has meant craziness as emotions are high (hard to think about IT changes like that I know!) and everyone is working incredibly hard.  It's exciting and stressful (well I guess the stress is part of the excitement....in my mind anyway).  It does mean I am staying in San Jose Sunday night and working with one of my developers to make sure we get messages out etc etc etc.  I can't believe how much I have learnt about all this.   Given I have never worked in high tech before it's been an incredible learning curve.  I still feel very lucky to be here and more than startled at where I have landed!  

I am getting to do some fun creative stuff at work too.  We are pulling together our team profile for my bosses boss.  He is an amazingly energetic, outgoing, competitive smart guy. Wants everything yesterday and inspires you to want to deliver it yesterday.  To create the profile we are doing online videos and creating very cool graphics to go with it.  I have never seen myself as a marketer but at various times I have the opportunity to get a little creative, it's fun.

Last night Michelle and I went to an Amy Ray concert - she was fab!  Santa Cruz is a pretty laid back town so the show was almost like watching a band rehearsal.  Interesting crowd to, she's got quite a girlie following.

In April I am catching up with some of the NZ gals in Palm Springs - we are going to the Dinah Shore Weekend.   It is, basically, a four day girl party.  Not usually my thing I gotta say but I figured if the pals are coming from NZ I could at least make the effort to get over myself and hangout.  Thanks to Sim we have found a fab house to rent.   Pool and spa of course....very nice!

So life isn't all work....

President Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration and Address

Sat in the office this morning playing this on my computer. People around me were hugely excited (even some of the republicans - although I haven't met many). I thought his speech was great to listen to and love the way Americans don't blink from celebrating their country. All very patriotic; it appeals to me. Interestingly I had a couple of people ask me if I was going to become a citizen (actually I can't apply until I have been here for 5 years, but yes, I do want to become a citizen). Not sure what prompted the sudden interest so much as thinking those listening to the speech were feeling very proud to be Americans.

Back to everyday life

Well Xmas seems like long ago.  This week proved to be, I think, the busiest week I've had at work yet.    Mostly it was driven by needing to pull together a very complex, high risk message that was being sent out to senior executives.  I double teamed it with my sponsor comms developer - what that really means is that I gathered the info and she did the writing.  The great thing is that she is very good at what she does, calm and keeps a sense of humour!  Concurrently I have caught a cold so, as much as I liked the idea of working from home all week, it wasn't to be. Now it's Saturday and I have been able to stop and I am not sure if I feel better or worse for the pause.

Weather here is spooky warm, like in the 70s.  I so want to be out on the bike but don't think it's a good idea to be riding when I don't feel well.  Best of all, Michelle has moved into her new apartment and it comes with a covered park so I am going to move the bike there for the "winter".  

I am looking forward to watching the inauguration - history in the making and I'm very interested to hear what Obama has to say.  Given the economy I don't envy him, expectations for change are very high here.

The horsey shot

Can't believe I forgot to include this.  If, in the last few years, I've wondered what it is I am good at, what do I enjoy, what brings out the best in me..........riding horses ain't it!  

That said, bundled up against the cold (cool but not a breath of wind) and sitting on a very fine saddle, riding "cowboy" as opposed to "english" on a beautiful, gentle horse.....well I might never be good at it, but I can appreciate it!

Welcome to 2009

Post Michelle's departure Ranch adventures continued.  One very memorable day we headed out to Santa Fe and went to see the "Fashion in Film: Period Costumes for the Screen" Exhibition.  It was fantastic.  Showed costumes from some really well known movies including Dangerous Liaisons (pic on left) and Out of Africa.  It was interesting to hear that, for some movies, they do sometimes use antique fabrics for part of the design and also often make two versions of the same costume so if one gets damaged they have a backup. Given how intricate some of the designs are it's all rather impressive.  

After the exhibition we took mum to Madrid.  I think I've mentioned this long ago as a place we went to when I was living on the ranch.  It is where the movie Wildhogs was filmed.  It's a quirky little town and has a great bar/saloon that has the most interesting characters.  It's a bikers destination as well so you see a lot of motorcyclists on any given day.  It was fun.  

As promised in the last post....Xmas pic on the right, me, mum, Michelle and Brice.  As always a beautiful table setting and outstanding 

food. Here's a nice shot of Karen and mum too....I'm sure they won't thank me for posting it!

I flew back via Denver, some delays but at least I had my laptop and free wi-fi.  Stayed in San Jose as I didn't land until 1115pm and it seemed pointless to drive an hour to Santa Cruz to turn around and come back at 645am.  The economy continues to bite and most vendors are taking pay cuts to keep contracts.  Everyone is sharing the pain but I still feel very fortunate - I have a job and I don't have a mortgage or dependents.  I am quite focused on saving as I think I will buy a house here within the next year or two depending on how the job prospects roll out.  Cisco continues to offer me opportunities and I love my job and the people I work with.  

Apart from the bike I have decided to take up another "hobby"...well I am thinking about it. I've found a shooting range that does clay bird shooting and think I'd like to try that (I tried it on the Ranch a while back and thought it was fun).  I enjoy shooting (no, not hunting, definitely not hunting).  So when it starts to get a little warmer I am going to go out for a half day and see if I like it.  You walk a course so it also means I get some exercise.  We shall see, the other alternative is to take up archery again.  I will figure it out.

It's Saturday and I have woken up today with a minor head cold having slept 15hrs..guess my body wants to fight it off as much as my mind does.  I'm tucked up at home, heating on and not doing much - although my fridge is bare so I am eventually going to have to venture out!

Grand adventures & good times

Time seems to be racing by!  Landed safely in Albuquerque (albeit a little later than anticipated) and arrived at the ranch to snow on the ground.  Nothing like it was in 2006, but snow no less. Michelle and I were safely housed in the bunk house, me in the Cowboy Room and her in the Flag Room; nice to see that the painting job I was part of still held up to scrutiny.  Xmas eve I worked for half a day, so not as bad as it could have been.  Xmas morning was lovely.  Slept in then headed up to Karen and Brice's (5 miles up the road) for breakfast, presents and generally lounging around.  Mum is here too and in good form.  I have to confess to feeling generally exhausted when I first arrived.  These last months at work have been full on and I have been pushing myself hard and not getting much exercise (2009 brings a whole new set of resolutions about making sure I do exercise more so that I don't get run down!).  

Xmas dinner was a lovely affair and the food fab (as always).  We then sat around and watched DVDs - all in all the perfect way to spend Xmas in my book.  

As well as adventures at the ranch (horse riding being one - actually I really enjoyed it and Michelle was delighted.  I am not much of a rider but meandering along is workable and we were well bundled up against the wind).  Spent a full day in Santa Fe on Saturday.  Starting with a visit to the Georgia O'Keeffe Musuem. Georgia is an incredible artist with a long local history.  We then wandered around the shops before Michelle and I headed off to Ten Thousand Waves which is this gorgeous mountain spa.  Karen and Brice had given us massages for Xmas and before we had them we sat in the dry sauna and the outdoor (in the snow that is) spa.  It was lovely.  Afterwards we headed out for a wonderful meal at a local restaurant.  Made all the more enjoyable as the waitress was very funny and engaging.  

Seeing everyone on the Ranch has been lovely and they make me feel very very welcome.  

Time flew by and before I knew it Michelle was heading back to Santa Cruz (and had also spent time helping out with feeding animals etc etc....I think she agrees - life living on the ranch had been tough for me...not).

More to tell and pics to add but I will post this for now.  It's New Years eve and the mother is calling saying I need to get out of bed and come do some "chores"!

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!

Catching up

It's been a while...went fast though.  Family came and what a fab visit.  Renting the house next to mine was a winner.  So easy to come together each day and/or have people able to head off to bed with ease.  It really was four full on days!  Some big adventures and some little ones.  Much good food, good wine and laughter.  I really had a very grand time.  One of the very best standout moments that stays with me was the Monterey Aquarium.  It is remarkable for many many reasons (conservation not being the least of it, on occasion they have great white sharks that have been caught in fishing nets, they bring them in and nurse them to the point that they can release them!).  But apart from the kelp forest they have a jelly fish display.  We all went to the 15min talk on "jellies" and then were totally wowed by the display......the reason you don't see jellies many places is that it is incredibly hard to replicate their natural environment - it was quite fantastic. 

It was lovely to see everyone, share stories and laughter.  Marcia, Michelle and Margarita came over for a BBQ on the Sunday before everyone left, nice to merge some parts of my world and nice to enjoy the good food as well (yay to having chefs and foodies in the family).

Back to work and all thought of holidays forgotten, what a difference 4 days makes.  It proved to be a very big week (but I am thinking I say this constantly!).  As well as delivering on our (more than big) work program I am part of negotiating the next Qtrs contract.  I am fortunate to be part of a series of programs that are focused on growing the business so, while not easy times, my job is secure....or so it seems, and (frankly, more importantly) I am not looking at having to downsize my team.  Hard to say how people here are feeling about the downturn.  It is tough times, but we are busier than ever.

Counting the days to New Mexico, seeing the mother and Karen and Brice.  I am really looking forward to it, although I will have to work some days and I am on call throughout.  It's snowing in New Mexico and I (for one) am looking forward to it - my love affair with snow remains undiminished, although Karen assures me it is nothing like the snow I had when I lived on the ranch....that was rather special and lovely, particularly for my 40th....

Bright Lights and Thanksgiving

Have had the most fab thanksgiving break. Managed to finish work around 1pm Wednesday (that in itself was a small miracle) and Marcia, Michelle and I headed to San Fran.  Took the scenic route up the coast and stopped at this very cool eatery that was a little like an old tavern. Marcia had to go to a meeting so Michelle and I hung out in a coffee shop surfing the net and generally being idyll (nice).  Had a quiet night in then headed to Mary and Rubys (two in the left of the photo). They own this really cute wooden three story house (two floors are self contained units) and even have a cute little garden.  Anyway we spent five hours cooking various things laughing and chatting.  It was really lovely, I excelled in dishes, not really being one to do much cooking and clearly surrounded

 by folks who knew what they were doing.  Afterwards we sat around playing scabble and generally having a nice time.  

Slept late the next day (we were staying at Marcia's friends house in Fruitvale, near Oakland) and Michelle and I watched a DVD while Marcia went out and did stuff.  We headed back to Mary and Ruby's for leftovers then hit the road for Santa Cruz.

During December a park off the 880 sets up this amazing light display for Xmas so we swung off the freeway, got in line and proceeded to drive around the park checking stuff out.  The funniest thing of all was that they give out these 3-D glasses and when you look through them you see either dinosaur heads framing everything or flying angels; once we realized we were beside our selves with hysteria.  Michelle and I wore them all the way home - best trip I've had on the 17 yet.

Family come this week and I am about as organized as I am likely to get.  It will be lovely to see everyone.  Although it's a little cooler the weather has been pretty good, some rain but it doesn't hang around for long....Wellington's rainy, windy winters are long forgotten, rain remains a novelty. 

Unexpected guests and Thanks Giving

Had an unexpected visitor over the weekend. Sim happened to be in San Fran so she drove through on Friday and we hung out through Saturday. Sim was a pal back in the Auckland days. It was fun, haven't seen her in over two years. She's been working in Madison but this is the first time we've been in touch. We ended up going to a great local restaurant (2mins from my house) called the Drunk Monkey. Kind of Asian Fusion food - very pleasant. Saturday we met Michelle and Marcia for breakfast at another local haunt. We then walked the beach and strolled into town.
Sunday I did some shopping and then went to Marcia and Michelle's for a BBQ....easy to tell they are back in town, my social life has picked up considerably.
I've had several work dinners which have been fun but make for a long day as they are inevitably in San Jose.
Thursday is Thanks Giving and Ruby has invited me (well I slid in on the M&M invite) to come up to San Fran for Thanks Giving dinner. We are going to head up Wednesday and hangout until Friday. Going to stay in Oakland. I haven't been to SF for quite a while so should be fun.

It Takes Balls To Be A Woman

You see, sometimes country music ain't all "Standby your man".

Seriously funny

Well I liked it, made me laugh. It's a little dark (a lot dark) but British humour at its best!

Life under an, almost, Obama Govt

Well it's fair to say I am, mostly, surrounded by folks who are desperately excited and relieved that Obama won.  I'm also surrounded by some who are hugely impacted (dare I say humbled) by the change in their economic fortunes.  My pick is this, Obama will spend much of the next four years navigating the economic times...he will, most likely, do okay.  Come the next election most will be sympathetic that much of his social agenda got stalled....and give him another chance.  But then, perhaps, that is my natural optimism.  Either way politically it's a fantastic time to be living here.

On a more mundane level work remains the dominant thing in my life.  Not a bad thing as I am enjoying some quite lovely and unexpected moments.  I have a team of nine and that brings its challenges as they are, without exception, smart, engaging, clever and challenging.  The theory of managing a high performing team and then actually having one - well, it keeps me honest. I've developed (I think) an honest and supportive relationship with my new boss.  On a lovely note I've also kept in touch with my old boss.  At this stage, despite the economic times, I don't think I am about to lose my job and, if I do, I will survive it.   I don't take anything for granted nor feel complacent - when you have job you can't worry about not having a job, just do a good job (or the best you can) and then roll with whatever happens.  

I have done a little socializing.  Stepping back into my other world.  Went to a friends beach house for dinner and wine tasting on Saturday night....very nice and a mix of funny, entertaining and engaging folk.  Stayed over and it would have been even lovelier if I hadn't got a 730am work call that had me race back home to sit in front of my computer for 6hrs.  Oh well, I guess it's what I choose to do!

Plans for the family visit are finalized and tickets for Xmas booked - all of which is making me very happy!

Obama : 'All things are possible'

BOO! Halloween has come and gone

Halloween (or at least the day before) proved to be quite a cultural moment.  I work in an open plan office where desks are not assigned so you can sit anywhere.  We do have neighbourhoods that group different teams together.  On the week of Halloween there was a competition to decorate our work areas.  People went all out (well Cisco is a pretty competitive environment). We had mummies and zombies and a whole graveyard set up inside a blackended room (even had an ipod playing spooky music and white ice for the judging!).  If that wasn't enough at 1pm when everyone could go and look at what people had done all these folks arrived on our floor from around the building dressed up in Halloween outfits....some of them were amazing.  I found the whole thing hugely funny, Halloween is all about the grown ups.  On the actual night it rained so I didn't go downtown - stayed inside snuggled up and warm.

My MacBook Pro has arrived so I have been having fun figuring out how to use all the different cool things.  It's quite intuitive although very different to use compared to windows.  Now I have split my mind between by work laptop and the Mac!

Last week was a huge week at work.  I am not sure why but it seemed that every time I turned around there was mini crisis going on.  It made for a very long week and I was relieved to have Friday roll around.  

Last weekend I did have a little adventure.  Moss Beach Distillery is at Half Moon Bay and has an interesting history.  During Prohibition the bootleggers used to land on the beach below the distillery to unload.  The Distillery owner always managed to get a few barrels!  Rumour has it that the Distillery is also haunted by The Blue Lady - short, long story of lost love and death, the story has been featured on Unsolved Mysteries.  I went up to check it out as a place I could take the family to (okay also an excuse to do a good ride on the bike).  I had a great time.  Sat out on the patio looking across the sea, ate crab cakes and drunk lemonade (no beer, figured that wasn't a good idea before riding home).  It was fun and definitely a lunch venue for the family.

Oh if you think the election is a done deal, check it out.

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.....