You're hot then you're cold....

Hola Amigos!

Sorry for my absence.  As usual, the schedule has been completely hectic, but unfortunately mostly from a work perspective.  I had 5 major meetings in three weeks, 3 in New York, 1 in Connecticut and 1 in Montreal. 

Montreal is a beautiful city - well, the drive between the hotel and the airport anyway, but unfortunately, I fell sick with a terrible cold whilst I was there.   That was Friday week ago (smack bang in the middle of meeting #3 - 2 dayer).  Said cold lasted until Tuesday (day 2 of meeting #4).  Luckily, I recovered and was back in form for meeting #5. 

So, last weekend I'm laden with a nasty cold and I had to submit my paperwork for my US tax and I had an assignment due on Sunday night.  Oh joy!  I flew back home from Montreal midday Saturday and embark on my tax submission - and 5 hours later finished it.  I had a birthday party to go to on Saturday night, so I made it there, and stayed for an hour, but the stabbing pains in my throat were overwhelming (and could not be numbed by champagne), so I came home early.  I drag myself out of bed Sunday morning (a horrible, wet  day - it was pouring all day) and seat myself at the dining room table and embark on finishing the assignment.  At least this time I had started it already - all my research was done, I just had to put words around it.  Well, until 11:45pm I worked on the assignment non-stop (well, not really, I did have a nanna nap for two hours in the middle of the afternoon), and then it was finished!  A masterpiece I must say.  It was at least on a very interesting topic close to my heart on why women in Australia aren't making it to senior leadership or board positions, so that kept the motivation alive, breaking through the pain of the cold.  I go to submit online through the Monash portal, and what do you know, it's not due until next week!  Ok, do I laugh or cry?????  I can't believe I'm up this late  and I don't even need to be when I have an important meeting the next day that I'm not really prepared for (had to be up at 5.30am) , tears start welling; but then again, at least it's done, and hell, the weather was crappy this weekend, what else would you have done today?   Tears dry up and lips start to curl up; then realization that by Friday all assignments and hellish load of workload will be finished and I don't have to worry about doing my assignment or any work next weekend, now a full blown smile - though a lethargic one! 

Dragging myself up the stairs, full of relief that assignment is finished, but still with the weight of the week ahead of me, I slide into bed.  Lying there completely wired, I hear a strange tingy sound every few seconds, I turn on the lamp, look around briefly and don't see anything, but the sounds still going.  I some reason put my hand on the other side of fthe bed and it's wet (!!!).  On closer inspection, the whole bed side table is pooled with water - oh no, the bloody roof is leaking! I quickly unplug the portable phone that now has a pool of water in the cradle (yes, it is connected to electricity), grab a bucket and chuck a towel on the ground.   Determined not to let the dripping noise stop me from sleeping, I put on the radio (love songs and dedications - my fave) and nod off eventually.  I'm not too concerned about my leak.  The rain on Sunday was exceptional - it went all day and there was reported flooding all over the tri-state (NY, NJ and Connecticut) area.

Well, this weekend has been just fabulous.  Friday night I took a couple of ladies from my team for some afterwork drinks (not too many - home by 10), I have sprung out of bed both mornings, knowing I can do whatever I want!  Yesterday, I went down to the shop to pick up some groceries, then went over to Manhattan to visit the Tribeca Film Festival Carnival.  I walked down there from the bus terminal - a good hour walk.  It was good fun.  I had then planned to meet a lady I met on the booze cruise NYE - Lindsay, who coincidently is only 2 months younger than me.  Since meeting, we haven't managed to catch up since, but finally we caught up.  We went to bowling in Times Square - this joint was a crack up.  They have 50 lanes over two floors and it's completely OTT!  Not that I'm competitive, but I did win 2 out of 3 games :) .  But gee, I was in poor form.  I think it was all the flashing lights and the 3 meter screen that was distracting me - a little bit of a change from the old Narre Warren bowl that I'm used to.

Today, I went for a walk for 1 1/2 hours this morning around the park, it was really nice.  Then I basically just cleaned the house, my backlog of washing, refined my assignment a little bit more before submitting it, and played with my photos on the computer - basically nothing, which was very good!

I started my spanish lessons three weeks ago.  I'm terrible - it's so hard to learn a language, and dare I say it, it just feels so foreign.  You'd think with Spanish speaking employees I'd get plenty of practice, but as soon as you say something to them in Spanish they respond so quickly that there's no chance of my understanding what they're saying.  The ones based in NY are Argentinian too, who have a  self-confessed very different accent, and dialogue, and speak so damn quickly.  My instructor, Sole, is even Argentinian, but she's 'neutralized' her accent to be a better teacher.  I have more lessons this week, and need to make sure I get some more practice in beforehand. 

Well, that's about it for now!  Hope you're all doing well.

Hasta Luego! (See you later),
Michele

Michele
xxx

"Surprise!!!!!!!"

Well, I can finally let the cat out of the bag - the past few weeks I planned a sneaky trip back home to visit Brett, Jack (the dog) and my family.  I could only squeeze in a 5 day trip, so wanted to dedicate it solely to my fam (sorry friends, but I'll be back in August and you're definitely on my agenda then!).  I left US on Sunday and arrived Tuesday morning and then on Easter Sunday first thing flew myself back out.

I am exhausted and writing this post high on jet lag and on the back of a very ordinary night sleep, so please excuse the slur that I write with.

So, I snuck into town with only Brett, Renee and Lisa in the know only to surprise the rest of the family.  I wish I had the camera on the ready when I saw Mum - she couldn't believe it was me... priceless.  I threw her off kilter for the rest of the day.  She had the grandkiddies that day as Nicole was at work.  We had the challenge of ensuring "Mitchell madness" (my nephew) wouldn't let the cat out of the bag with Nicole.  Mitchy isn't so crash hot at keeping a secret as Jack and Taylor kept telling me, but even without a bribe, he pulled it off and the following night was a second moment of priceless-ness.  Nicole turned up for her birthday party (confused as to why her party was one week early), pleased to see Brett there and as soon as she saw him, started muttering that she couldn't get bloody skype to work with me, and at that time I stepped on out and aged her a few years - sorry Nic.

It was a great week - Brett and I did some great day drives together - I felt like a tourist; I spent a couple of fun nights with my in-laws (also gave John my father in law a bit of a shock), some great time with the kids playing soccer and ball tiggy in the back yard (Brett and I are still arguing over who was best on ground), I finally got to see Nicole and Mick's nearly finished house (if they weren't going to send photos, I thought I better go see myself), a daily walk in the park with Brett and Jack, a quick visit to the chiropractor to fix my aching neck and shoulder, and oh, did I mention a spot of fire fighting...

So, I did used to be fire warden once upon a time, a role that I took very seriously and for which now the memories of a fire drill came flooding back.  On my first day back on Tuesday, trying to ensure I shake off the jet lag and keep awake for the full day, Brett, Jack and I set out for a walk to Akoonah Park (in Berwick).  We are walking in one of the more bushy areas when Brett spots smoke.  We go searching for a closer inspection and find that there's a wild fire that is unattended - about the size of a decent sized lounge room.  Straight onto the Fireys, we hear the local horn sound and then came the roaring sound of the fire engines.  Unfortunately they missed me waving my arms violently and went in the wrong entrance to the football ground.  So, given I was strangely feeling very energetic, I set off on foot chasing after the fire engine - I nearly make it to the footy ground (puffing slightly, okay maybe a lot), only to find the fire engine turning around.  I continue running after the truck, waving my arms, shouting, and you'd think with the two guys sitting in the back of the track (i.e. the outside of the truck) facing backwards, that they'd see me.  But no, off they keep driving, but I keep running....Finally, once they are half way around the field they spot me, stop and reverse and then stop... bastards, they have to make me keep running - I can tell they're laughing at me.  But, I'm not deterred, chanelling the deep sense of responsibility I felt as Fire Warden of the HR department, I keep running, finally reaching the truck.  In my puffed out voice, I manage - fire... huh, huh, huh....it's down that way.. huh, huh, huh.... over the bridge.. huh, huh, huh....you need to go in the next exit.  On that, the fireys set on off and make it to the fire and put it out - disaster averted!  That's two emergency calls in one year - I've never rang 000 before, and here I am calling them, only a month after having to call 911.  I'm becoming a pro now - least this one could understand what I was saying.

So, now I have a few crazy weeks ahead of me.  5 major meetings in 3 weeks, luckily mainly in NY, but  next week I need to travel up to Connecticut and then off to Montreal in Canada (in Quebec)... in the same week.  I then have assignment bloody two due in a couple of weeks, so the upcoming weekends will be filled with the joyous task of writing another assignment (sigh...).  Can I find a therapist that will crack the pain out of an assignment?...

"Kriss Kross will make you Shump, Shump..."

Only 5 days since my last post, but so much to report (when I wrote this anyway - sorry for posting it late!). 

It’s amazing, the weeks leading up to Jodie’s visit were unbelievably insane from a work and a study perspective, but through luck and not good planning at all, it turned out that the time of Jodie’s visit was uncannily perfect from both a work and study perspective.  On top of this, from a personal perspective, it was just what the doctor ordered… being locked up in my house for another weekend was definitely not going to help my sanity.

So, last time I wrote in I was on the back of a Broadway appearance (just in case you forgot…).  I’m still waiting for my encore, I’m sure it will be coming soon.  Anyway, that was Tuesday night.  Wednesday night was then my first visit to Madison Square Garden.  Firstly, in all my exploring and walking very close and I think even past the venue, I never knew where it was or what it looked like.  I mean it’s a giant stadium in the middle of NYC, surely you can’t miss it.  And with a name ending in Garden, clearly it was surrounded by a park.  Well, no it is not a park and when you pass it from 8^th avenue the front of it looks like a building.  On the other hand, from behind, it is clearly a stadium as I found out on Friday of that week.  Anyway, so the stadium is pretty much like Rod Laver.  We went there to go see a NY Nicks Basketball Match.  So much fun!  That team sure knows how to put on a show – the entertainment from the cheerleaders, to half time activities, to chants through the game, to may favourite – singing “Shump Shump” to the tune of Kriss Krosses 1992 song “Jump, Jump” every time Shumpert scored.  Luckily, old ‘Shump’  was having a high scoring match which kept me singing all night.  We dressed head to toe Nicks – hat, tshirt ... and of course had to enjoy a giant cup of beer...

and we even had matching shoes ….

Going with my theory from the Superbowl, I am now convinced I am good luck for NY.  Firstly, the Giants were playing pretty ordinarily until I turned up and then ended up winning the Superbowl, then came the Nicks who were also playing pretty ordinarily and are now on a winning streak.  Originally, it was thought it was due to little unknown Jeremy Lim, who went from complete notoriety to stardom in a matter of weeks – he was even put on Sports Illustrated two weeks in a row, the first NYer in history and only achieved by the likes of Michael Jordan – but Lim, otherwise known as Lim-mania, was out this week with a knee injury and the Nicks still managed a stellar win.  See, Lim has nothing to do with it, more like Mush-mania!  

So, Thursday I dragged myself out of bed (on the back of a week since Jodie arrived that I was averaging only 5-6 hours a night sleep – I’m usually an 8 hourer…) for my last day of the week of work.  It was crazily busy, but motivated by a weekend away, I soldiered through and got myself home ready for a weekend in the Hamptons!  Originally, Jodie and I were planning on driving up to Niagra Falls on the Canadian Border, but I discovered it was a 8-9 hour drive, and given I haven’t driven a car since leaving Australia we didn’t think it was a good idea for such a venture.  So, in brainstorming new ideas, we thought where else can we go outside of NYC… of course, the Hamptons!  So, through some internet hunting we found the little town of Montauk ‘the end of the Hamptons’, and actually the end of Long Island.  The train went from NYC down to Montauk and we found a horse trail ride place in the same town.  Jodie is a horse rider from way back, and me well, let’s say I’m not, but I’m always up for an adventure.   This ranch is the oldest operating ranch in the US!  The trails we rode on were the same that Teddy Roosevelt rode on in the late 19^th century when he used to live in a place close by.  The day was beautiful, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  We went through a mix of the woods and the beach, and we learnt some history along the way.  This trail ride was the first time I rode on a Western Saddle (although not a rider from way back, I have ridden maybe a handful of times) .  This was a different experience.  The first time we broke into a trot, I was bouncing around like Tigger, and given the fact that the saddle is also quite a bit harder than the English style saddles – let’s just say I am still somewhat sore!  Youch!

So we arrive at the motel, somewhat dodgy and not quite what we were expecting of the Hamptons, but who cares.  I feel like I am in a sleepy beach side resort, much smaller than Torquay, a little bit bigger than Golden Beach (if you haven’t heard of it, there’s a reason).  Anyway, there were a couple of stores and a few bars that we visited to enjoy dinner and an attempt at a boogy (here was one of the locals we met - he couldn't take his eyes off us!)...





This guy was hanging out in a bar, which is apparently the bar that the one in Revenge is modeled from (never watched the show myself, but it seems everyone in Australia has).


Apparently, the town is fully chaotic come summer when the tourists come in flocks, but this weekend was their first weekend opening just some of the stores and restaurant after winter - its amazing that people can live out there year round.

We wake up on Sunday morning to a horrible, drizzly and cold day.  We pack up and make our way into the main street to a good old fashioned diner "John's" (along with every other resident in town) for some pancakes – these rocked!

The weather not being so kind....

.... we high-tailed ourselves out of town and caught the bus back to NYC. Where the train went on the outskirts, the bus took us through the main street of all the towns on the way to Montauk – I’m talking South Hampton, East Hampton, Bridgehampton etc. etc.  Well, these towns are unbelievable and this is what I expected the Hamptons to look like.  Main streets lined with Tiffanys, Ralf Lauren, BMWs, Porsches etc. etc.  The houses and the properties they're on were extraordinary - think Portsea on steroids.


We arrive back in NYC and not missing a final opportunity to shop, we dumped our bags in my office and set off down 5th Avenue.  Finally, I ticked a NY experience off the list - a play on the giant piano.  After watching from the sidelines a number of times, this time I jumped right on.  I was useless, but who cares.

Well, now it is time for me to catch up on sleep...