Apologies In Order

Yes, apologies are in order. It's been two months since my last blog confession. I've been very neglectful. Figured it out yet? I go in spurts. Two things: I haven't wanted to spend any time in front of the computer and it's been so danged hot that even the second floor, usually comfortable, has been hot, too. Mostly, though, I haven't wanted to spend any more time in front of the computer than I have to.

I'm working on another pair of socks. I really like socks! The sock at left is not a finished sock at this point. I'm about half-way completed with the instep and will start the toe-shaping shortly. I have a lovely finished pair in variegated light blue but cannot find them anywhere! It is my mission to locate them so I can WEAR them. Sheesh. So, yeah, lots of knitting. I have another pair of socks on needles in a different patter, same colorway, and I completed a beret for Jane last night. I'm working on a simple triangular shawl in a really lovely rayon. I had one single skein so I'm just keep going until I run out. I wish I could get more.

Mr. DancesWithDogs is down in South Carolina all last week and this coming week. School is starting up soon. He said he has wife-withdrawal. I have husband-withdrawal, too.

Oh. I know another reason I haven't blogged much...nothing to write about. LOL

A Woman Alone

I propose that women, dining alone in a hotel bar, are ignored by service staff. I propose that when Renee joins me we'll be hovered over like crazy, but until then I'll be virtually ignored. I can't propose whether it's American women or just women in general, but there is another woman here in the bar who is periodically alone, too. She has had her traveling companions joining her periodically, and it appears she is experiencing the same thing. So I don't think I'm exactly imagining this. Yesterday I noticed that unless I actually am able to make eye contact with the waiter or barman, then they will avoid looking at me.



It's pretty irritating but it's the culture, I think. Either that or I didn't tip the waiter enough yesterday. Is a woman with a laptop such an oddity? Perhaps that is a part of it. I ordered a chicken quesadilla a half-hour ago. I have to leave in ten minutes. It's not here yet. Last night, at the all-night hotel cafe, I practically had to walk up to the waiter and shake him to get services. When Renee joined me he practically prostrated himself to help us, and she thinks it's because she's in business clothes (suit). Actually, she sticks out like a sore thumb, 5'10" and blonde and thin. So duh, hard to miss. (Update: as soon as I started tipping extra I've been waited on like a queen, alone. HAHA!)

What day is it? What time is it?

We're so confused. Day is night and night is day. We awake at 2pm local time and go to bed at 6am local time. We operate on East Coast hours, so as far as I, and the rest of the bank are concerned, I'm having a breakfast of cheese and crackers and a cappucino in the hotel bar. Otherwise I'm stuck with something heavy from one of the other hotel restaurants. On the one hand my body senses it is morning, but on the other hand me eyes see that it's late afternoon and getting overcast. The sense of time, or lack of, is disconcerting. It should be ok, logically, but it's still weird.

The hotel is buzzing with "after work" activity. A caucasian man across the room, speaking French into his Blackberry, is having a chilled glass of white wine with what look like a basket of fritos (though I'm sure that can't be right). Seasons, the bar and lounge, is open until midnight, and spans two rooms across from one another. I am in the main bar area. Across the hall there is a case of sweets and other small groups of people computing or having tea or enjoying their first beer or wine of cocktail of the day.

When we were driven home last night there were mosquitos in the car. The driver had been standing around chatting it up with the security guards, and had left the door open. Renee and I fought bugs all the way back to the hotel. Last night I dreamed of batting mosquitos and hanging on for dear life as Renee drove us through the lawless Hyderabad traffic. I'm told it's worse in Bangalore and Chennai. My first India dream!

We've spent very little time outdoors. Probably a good thing since the temperature is hovering around 100 F.

It's Hot in India

Hey, it's hot in India.

Ya think?

And really really foreign. I know that sounds odd, and kind of obvious, but it's foreign in every sense of the word. Scotland was different, but I wouldn't call it particularly foreign. I don't think I can really describe it.

The flights were good. Business Class rocks, and I'm officially spoiled. Watch movies, knit, sleep, then we're in Frankfurt. Watch more movies, knit, and sleep a little, then we're in Hyderabad. A few weeks ago a woman at Barnes & Noble saw me buying a book about India and told me that what struck her most when she got off the plane was the smell. It's different, for sure, but not as offensive as I'd imagined. Not so far, anyway.

Did I mention that India is hot?

Helipad behind the Taj Krishna hotel, from my window, 3pm IST

We arrived last night at 1:00 AM India Time. It took forever to get our bags, and I think we accidently grabbed a bag that belonged to someone else! Woops. I didn't do it. We'll be working standard East Coast hours, so we're trying to stay with some kind of East Coast schedule. So, while it's almost 6pm in Norfolk, it's 3:15 AM here and I will be going to bed by 4AM. I think my brain is just going to have a difficult time with this. We'll get up around noon, see a bit of the city, then head to the site at 5pm. Monday is Memorial Day in the US, but there is no holiday here.

I've started uploading pictures to Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/november19/. Some of the newest are first, but click on the group called India.

iHubby wants a name change

I've been referring to the Love of my Life as iHubby. Turns out he ain't so crazy about that. So, we need a new name for him. I was thinking of The Teacher but I'm looking for ideas. He's probably reading this sentence and thinking "hey, 'Love of My Life' works for me - LOML."

Yeah, it's this weird sense of trying to maintain some sense of anonymity in a very non-anonymous world. It makes me happy whether it works or not.

Coming Up For Air

Life at work...no, let's call that work at work. Work at work has been very busy since Feb 1 and I've been putting in some very long days. If I got paid for overtime I'd be pretty wealthy this week. Alas, I'm salaried. The weekdays look like this:

Work
Come home, eat dinner (maybe)
Do Homework
Sleep
Work
Come home, do homework
Sleep
etc etc etc...

...and the weekends look like this:

Sleep a few hours.
Do homework.
Sleep a few more hours.
Do homework.
Work.
Sleep some more.
Do homework. Think about knitting.
Work - oh crap, it's due Monday!
Sleep, dream about knitting.

...since February1. I think, finally, it's all settled down. What exactly does that mean? Our team doubled. After the MBNA merger project activity wound down last month, a bunch of people were given notice. I don't know how many but there were a lot. It happens. This is corpirate America and it was a merger. Everyone knew it was coming. At the same time, the SCM team (that's us, software configuration management) needed five new associates. We hired out of the folks let go five people on January 31 and since then have spent every day training, briefing, refining presentations, running mock boards...really, this wouldn't all be such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that I and one of my peers are launching two brand new configuration governance review boards...and some of these new people are going to run them! I don't think I've ever done anything like this so fast and furiously in my professional life. And all these little "gotcha's" kept coming up at the last minute. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever worked with a group of people with so much professionalism and elegance. We achieved so much. We lucked into a situation, hired terrific talent, and now we're pretty much ready to go for our governance board launch next week. I can't quite believe we chose the day after a holiday, but at least it's a minor holiday.

Two months ago I set aside today as a vacation day so I could take advantage of a four day weekend and spent the last few days making sure that there were absolutely no loose ends. Well, turned out there were a few and I answered email for a couple of hours this morning and made sure a few reports made it to their final destination, but all in all I think we (Karen, Janet, Teresa, Steve, Dal, and I) will all have a relaxing weekend with very little to worry about.

I feel like I've finally come up for air.

One Down, Two to Go

Despite the fact that today is Superbowl Sunday, that title is in reference to the last three sessions I have until graduation. So. First session DONE DONE DONE DONE. I'm so happy. I slept in. I knitted in bed. I surfed a dippy website. I checked email and I even posted a comment to my little sister's blog - without feeling guilty that I should be doing homework haha. We have a week off, then it's into a math class, which, by the looks of the workbook, should be ok. I'm actually excited. Most of what I see in there I've encountered either in knitting, photography, or business. A little algebra, a little trig, a little statistics and probability which I had to bone up on several years ago anyway...and I have the iHubby, Mr. Math.

It's cold and drafty today, although blue skies and sunny! I'm cuddled up with the beautiful scarf/shawl Mom gave me for Christmas. It's a hot chocolate day, a day for me. It's a day to hang out with iHubby. We may venture up to Yorktown later this afternoon to lend his LegoRobotics kit to a teacher up there. It's only about forty minutes away, and I'm pretty sure I can talk him into dinner at Nick's Riverwalk Restaurant. That's like going from Silverdale to Port Orchard. Or is my memory failing already?

Anyway, iHubby is down in the kitchen singing "I Feel Pretty" and making turkey Manwich. It's warmer in the kitchen than up here, so off I go!

Avoiding Homework

Today in Collinsland I am avoiding homework. I have two papers to write, and a discussion board response to post, and I just can't bring myself to do them!! I'd rather do just about anything than homework right now. So far I've: read Mom's blog, commented Mom's blog, fixed the commenting on my blog (I think), looked at knitting patterns, read other peoples comments on Mom's blog, napped, had dinner, painted my fingernails, cleaned up my computer desktop and changed it's wallpaper...all in all I've been farting around for two hours. And now I'm blogging.

PROCRASTINATING.

I have this book: "Break the Procrastination Habit NOW." I've finished one chapter. Lawrence, my Study Buddy (he's a stuffed dragon) isn't any help at all. Even my solar RadioShack calculator is more interesting than doing homework right now and it doesn't even do tricks. And isn't half as cute as Lawrence. But I really gotta because tomorrow is the last day and these things have to be turned in.

HAHAHAHAHA!