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Saturday, November 24, 2018
Happy Thanksgiving from the Azores
And already day 3 here on Terceira (Azores). We left Boston on Wednesday night and arrived here Thursday morning
(Thanksgiving Day). The ride to the airport wasn't too bad considering it was the day before a a major holiday so we arrived quite early. Gave us some time to chill and hang out before our flight.
So we arrived Thursday morning and were hoping to crash in our room for a bit but unfortunately the room wasn't ready yet due to it being early. So we chilled in our rental car for a bit before walking into the town. Walked through the old town, taking some pictures and eventually had lunch at a neat cafe/bar. Hung out there for a bit before walking back to the hotel. Then went up to a lookout point which turned out to be interesting (curvy mountain roads) but the views were quite nice.
Yesterday, Friday, we did some more exploring around the west side of the island. Had a delicious lunch, met a donkey, walked a lot (so many hills!!) and had a generally pleasant day. In the evening we walked back into the center of Angra and had dinner at the same cafe/bar.
And today, Saturday, was a pretty rainy and windy day. Decided to sleep in and then walked into the center of town for lunch. Had a delicious seafood lunch overlooking the water. When we were done it was down-pouring pretty hard so we decided to take a cab to the museum. Spent some time exploring the museum which was surprisingly large and interesting. When we were done at the museum the rain had lightened up again a bit so we were able to walk back to the hotel without getting too badly soaked. Relaxed in the room for a bit before heading out to dinner. Ugh, so so full now. Don't usually have 2 full meals per day at home. But it was definitely yummy. Now back at the hotel relaxing with some more wine.
Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny again so we will spend some more time exploring the island. Definitely been having a good time so far.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Nina/WA, Carmen/Malta and Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, November 19, 2018
Client Meeting, Snow and NYC
A little behind with my update but here we go. It's just been busy, busy, busy.
Last week Thursday and Friday I was away for a client meeting/presentation in NJ. This coincided with the snow which was made the whole thing even more interesting. Luckily my colleague and I made it to the hotel on Thursday before it got bad. But the other 2 colleagues who were coming from Newark airport spent 4 hours on what should have been a 45 minute drive. A lot of people in the area dealt with really crappy road conditions and hours in the car. I know of some people who ended up spending the night in their office or hotels. Luckily I made it to the hotel before things got too bad and in the morning when we had to leave for our meeting everything was mostly cleared so all that worked out ok.
Saturday we went to the movies and saw "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" which was good but a bit dark. Then in the evening we caught up on some recorded TV shows. And Sunday morning I continued with my Christmas cards. My international ones are done now and I am about halfway done with the domestic US ones.
Then Sunday we went for breakfast at a local diner and after I caught the train down to NYC. Went to see Josh Groban at MSG which was a lot of fun. Since it was late I had made arrangements to stay near Grand Central and caught the train back this morning instead. I stayed at a Pod Hotel which was pretty neat. They are very small rooms but really have everything you need. The show was really great and definitely worth it even though I am dragging quite a bit today.
Alright and here we are. Leaving for the Azores on Wednesday. I haven't quite wrapped my mind around the fact that it's the day after tomorrow. I am not quite sure how I will get everything taken care of but I guess it will all work out one way or another.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Nina/WA, Carmen/Malta and Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, November 12, 2018
It's getting cold outside + lots of misc stuff + Happy Birthday Mom
Brrrr. This morning the temp I woke up to was 24F (-4C). I am not ready for this. Over the weekend there were snow squalls and some sleet as well. Nothing crazy and nothing that even lasted for any length of time and didn't stick to anything but just the sight of snow. Just not ready for it. It's definitely getting to be the season though. Ugh. Not ready for it at all. Overall the weekend had relatively decent weather. It was sunny but really chilly and windy which made it feel even colder.
We had originally thought about doing something outside, going for a walk maybe, but even though it was sunny it just didn't feel every inviting. There really weren't any movies out we wanted to see so instead we slept in both weekend days which was nice in itself. Sunday morning I got up a little earlier to watch the 2nd episode of "Outlander". I suppose that will be my routine going forward for the rest of the season probably. :) Saturday we ran some errands in the morning and Saturday night I started my Christmas cards. Yes, yes, I know. It's way early. But I'll be traveling quite a bit over the next few weeks and if I don't get started now they just won't get done. I needed to get the international cards done which I accomplished. I won't mail them until right before we leave for the Azores but at least they are written and done.
Anybody move/change addresses over the last year? I emailed/messaged a few people but thought I would put something on here as well just in case. :)
Let's see what else. Last week Thursday I had my physical/yearly dr. appointment. All in all everything went well. Thursday night we also went out at work for Happy Hour with one of our partner companies at work which was fun. And this week I have a presentation to attend for work. Let's see how it goes. Fingers crossed. Anyway, never a dull moment really. Last week I was also covering for a co-worker for a few days and oh yeah we also had a full day training session on Tuesday. So like I said never a dull moment. Let's see what this week brings. One more full week and then next week Wednesday night we already leave for the Azores (21st). Crazy how time flies.
Oh and last but not least, let's not forget this. Happy Birthday Mom. :) It's my mom's birthday today. :)
Letter/Mail Update: A letter should be going out shortly to: Eunice/Malta. Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Nina/WA, Carmen/Malta and Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, November 05, 2018
Outlander is back - low key weekend
And somehow it is November. I honestly don't know where the year has gone. The other day when we walked into Starbucks everything was red and all the Christmas stuff was out. Transformed overnight pretty much. It used to be that Christmas stuff didn't really start until after Thanksgiving but nowadays it seems to be November 1st more or less. I don't know. Maybe I am being a Grinch. Haha. I am just not ready for it.
I also feel like this remaining part of the year will be super busy. We were just in San Diego and in just 2 1/2 weeks we are off to the Azores for 8 days. We leave the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and don't get back until the Thursday after. And less than a week after that I am off to Austria. I'll be there for a week. I am mostly working though while I am there but it will still be nice to be there and see my parents and some friends. We'll see how it all works out. Just so much going on in such a short time period.
I think by the time Christmas and New Year's actually rolls around I'll be very happy to just relax and not do anything. Work is in the less busy season now but I have still been busy with various projects. I am also mentoring someone new. We're in week 5 or 6 now I think. She works in our Houston office so it's been a remote mentoring situation which can make things a bit more tricky and challenging. But I guess one day at a time, that's pretty much what I have been telling myself.
This past weekend was relatively low key. On Saturday we went to the movies to see "Bohemian Rhapsody", the Queen biopic. I really enjoyed the movie and would definitely recommend it. Afterwards we had lunch and in the evening I just relaxed. Sunday morning I watched the first episode of Outlander season 4. It's back. Yay. :) I really enjoyed it and thought they did a good job. Did they change some stuff? Yes. But it didn't bother me all that stuff. I guess I am generally pretty laid back when it comes to that but I always enjoy reading all the discussions and fierce opinions on the various message boards. Always entertains me reading all of that after an episode airs. Definitely shows that you just can't make everyone happy. Right?
Well, anyway, another Monday and I better get ready for work. Let's see what this week brings? Tomorrow I have a training course I need to attend, at least that one is in house so no additional travel involved. And on Thursday I have my appointment for my yearly physical/Dr. appointment.
Letter/Mail Update: A letter should be going out shortly to: Celia/MA and Lotte/Denmark. Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Eunice/Malta, Carmen/Malta and Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 07:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)