Monday, July 17, 2017
Hopkins Inn
And here we are, it's Monday again and I have a week of coverage in front of me. Let's see how it goes. To be fair at least I am covering for a co-worker
I am pretty familiar with/know a lot of the clients she works on etc. Her files are usually very well documented and she goes out of her way to make things smooth. So fingers crossed I will make it through the next week and a half alive. Haha. :)
Let's see what's new. Last week was busy but then all weeks in the summer seem to be busy of course lately. The weather was weirdly unstable pretty much all week. Thunderstorms, massive downpours, humidity. It mostly cleared out Friday into Saturday at least so that was nice. I think we are supposed to have a similiar weather pattern this week. Guess we'll see. So far it seems ok today but I think tomorrow we are supposed to get more rain.
Saturday we went to the movies to see "The Big Sick". Really enjoyed that movie and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it or hasn't heard of it. It's based on a true story and Kumail Nanjiani does a really great job, as well as the rest of the cast. It's pretty much a romantic comedy but based on true events. To sum it up in one sentence: It is the story of a relationship between a Pakistan-born aspiring comedian and a grad student who falls ill as they get to know each other. Anyway, go see it. :)
Sunday we went up to the Hopkins Inn for our annual dinner. We usually go once during the summer, usually around our American wedding anniversary (July 12). The weather was great and we were able to sit outside on the porch and enjoy some delicious food. Had escargot, mozzarella & ham & arugula for starters, Wiener Schnitzel and Seafood Saute for the mains and Toblerone Sundae and Mint Parfait for dessert. Paired with a delicious bottle of Gruener Veltliner. Definitely a great meal.
Well, now it's Monday morning and I'm getting ready for the day. I actually had some leftover schnitzel and roesti potatoes for breakfast. Yum. :)
Letter/Mail Update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Kimber/Canada and Nina/WA.
Posted by Hanna at 07:17 AM in Austria , Food and Drink, Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Broadway Saturday - Kinky Boots
Sunday afternoon, we meet again. Really, where does the time go? :) It's already super close to July now. Only one week left in June. So crazy.
Yesterday, Saturday, was a fun day. We took the train into NYC in the morning and had lunch at "The Perfect Pint" before seeing the 2pm show of "Kinky Boots". What a great show. We had been meaning to see it for a while but there are so many shows on Broadway it's hard to make the time and money to see them all. But when Brendon Urie (from Panic at the DIsco) was announced to star in it we finally decided to go see it. I am really glad that we did because it was a truly great show. Very inspiring & heartfelt as well as funny with great music and dance numbers. Would recommend it in a heartbeat.
After the show we stopped into a restaurant/bar on our way back to Grand Central. Had another snack and I had some yummy Frozen Rose. Delicious. Later we took the train back and met up with our friend John at a local place for another couple of drinks. Fun and busy day all around.
Today we slept in late which was nice. Then went for lunch to Oxford. At 121 now. Had lunch and now just hanging out and relaxing with some wine. Nice, relaxing Sunday afternoon.
We will see what next week brings at work. I am sure it's supposed to be super busy. But it will be followed by a 4 day weekend. Management decided to give us Monday, July 3rd off as well as the 4th so we will have a 4 day weekend for the holiday. Really excited about that!! Well let's get through this coming work week and then I can enjoy my four days off. :)
Letter/Mail Update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Kimber/Canada, Eunice/Malta and Caroline/Scotland.
Posted by Hanna at 03:29 PM in Food and Drink, NYC, Performances, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, June 04, 2017
Work Praise and wait it's already June .. how did we get here?
Made it through the week and the week actually ended on a very positive note with some nice praise. The company conducts post-move surveys to see how we are doing, as well as help assess the work of our partner companies (movers, temporary housing, etc). It's always nice to get good scores but it's even nicer to receive some special comments that get recognized company-wide.
"And another super comment for another Hanna. She was “very prompt” and she responded on weekends. Super job all around Hanna!
I had a lot of questions during our first few calls and Hanna had no problems answering all of them and making sure I had all the information I needed. Hanna was very prompt in response and also accommodating. I got replies on occasions I would not have expected (weekends). I wanted to relocate as soon as possible, and Hanna made sure that happened for me."
So there you have it. If you receive surveys from any companies you have dealt with, please do remember to take the time to fill them out. It can make someome's day. :) And potentially help them in their career. :)
Yesterday, Saturday, we went for a walk to get some outdoor time in which was nice. Then we had lunch at 121 in Oxford.
Today, Sunday, we went to the movies to see "Paris Can Wait" An indie movie starring Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin, set in France. It sounded like such a promising concept but the movie was underwhelming to say the least. Oh well. Can't win them all. :)
Well tomorrow is already Monday again. Let's see how this week goes.
Letter/Mail Update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Michelle/CA, Eunice/Malta, Lotte/Denmark and Caroline/Scotland.
Posted by Hanna at 05:51 PM in Food and Drink, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, May 29, 2017
NYC & Memorial Day Weekend
Happy Memorial Day to everyone here in the US. :) I am off from work today and had a nice
3-day weekend. Can't complain. :) It's nice to actually have the holidays off at my new job. But being involved in an international company & industry we are still never a 100% off of course. I have people in other parts of the world who don't have Memorial Day off and where it's business as usual so there is a lot of prep work to be done and a close eye to be kept upon things. But it's still nice to have an extended weekend of course. :)
Saturday we went down to NYC and spent the day in the city. Had lunch and saw "Waitress" on Broadway. Great musical and it was fun to see Sara Bareilles in it. Afterwards we stopped and had a light dinner and some drinks before taking the train back to CT. Definitely a fun day out.
Yesterday, Sunday, we took advantage of the fact that the weather was semi decent (pretty humid but not raining at least) and went for a 2 3/4 mile walk. We had explored the same trail earlier in the season when the trees were still bare. What a difference a few weeks can make. So green and lush now. Was nice to be outside for a while.
Today it's been raining on and off pretty much all day. So we have been taking it easy. Slept in and are now at the Red Rooster pub for lunch. Going to stop at the grocery store for a few things on our way home and then catch up on some TiVo. Should be a relaxing night. We will see what tomorrow brings at work. At least it will be a 4 day work week so that's something. :)
Well, that's all the news here from my end. Hope everyone in the US had a nice Memorial Day weekend.
Letter/Mail Update: Letters went out on Friday to: Eloine, NY and Celia/MA.. Received letters from/owe replies to: Lotte/Denmark and Caroline/Scotland.
Posted by Hanna at 03:29 PM in Food and Drink, Holidays, NYC, Performances | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Vermont Easter Weekend
A little behind with my updating but here's a quick recap from our weekend in Vermont over Easter. :)
Went into work at 7am on Good Friday so I was able to leave at 11am (only 1/2 day for us) Once I was out of work we drove up to Vermont. About a 4 1/2 hour drive. We were slowed down by some construction work so I think it took us about 5 hours but still not too terrible.
Once we made it to Burlington we checked in at our hotel. We had booked a neat boutique hotel in South Burlington (Green Mountain Suites Hotel) Our room had a cozy fireplace and a nice layout overall. After freshening up a bit we went to check out a store called 'Wine and Cheese Traders". Really neat store. Vermont definitely seems to be all about the cheese. Not a bad thing in my eyes. :)
Afterwards we headed into downtown Burlington. Walked around for a bit and ended up having dinner at the Vermont Pub & Brewery. Pretty neat place. Then on Saturday we headed out of the city to go wine tasting. It turned out to be a really nice day even if it didn't start off that way initially. On our way up from CT the day before we had gotten a tire pressure warning in the car. We checked on the tires but they didn't seem to have any real issues. The next day we put some air into the front tire and that made the warning go away (well for a bit anyway) Once we got to the first winery we checked the tire again and by that point it had really gotten low so clearly something was off. At that point it was Saturday mid morning on Easter weekend. We called around and luckily found a tire repair shop some miles away. And by some miracle we managed to limp to that place without getting stranded on the side of the road. They couldn't fix the tire (there was a screw in it) but they had a compatible tire at least. Fixed us up and we were on our way to continue the wine tasting for real this time. Stopped at two wineries and were able to sit outside, enjoy a cheese platter & drink some wine. Very enjoyable way to spend the day.
Once we got back into Burlington we had dinner at Citizen Cider. Neat to be able to taste various ciders while also having yummy food. And well Sunday it was already time to head back. We had breakfast and stopped at the Ben & Jerry's Factory on the way home which was fun. Got to taste some ice cream and break up the drive home a bit. Yesterday, Monday, it was back to work. Lots of Europe had Monday off for Easter Monday so my communication with any European offices was slowed down quite a bit. We will see what today and the rest of the week brings. The weather is very up and down in typical April fashion. Can't complain too much I guess.
Letter/Mail Update:Letters went out yesterday to: Bianca/Germany, Eloine/NY, Nina/WA and Eunice/Malta.
Posted by Hanna at 07:39 AM in Food and Drink, Outdoors, Travel, Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, March 27, 2017
Rainy, dreary March
What a dreary gloomy day today. It was one of those mornings where I would have loved to just stay in bed. It was really dark most of the day. Ugh.
Yesterday my dad told me that he was planning their vacation for September. They are going to be heading back to Croatia. Fingers crossed that I can manage to take some time off and join them. I will try and figure that out over the next week or so. Will try and request time off. By September I should have enough vacation time accrued to make it work. Fingers crossed.
In less fun news my tooth saga continues. Had 3 appointments Monday and Tuesday last week. On Tuesday I had the tooth pulled. It really is startling having a big gap right in the front. Luckily they fitted me with the flipper the same day and it looks pretty decent. I need to stay away from spicy or crunchy foods for a week. Only bland and soft foods. We are close to the 1 week mark now and I think things are healing up ok. Eating with the flipper is still somewhat of a challenge but it's getting better. Talking is a bit weird still too but not awful.
I have a check up appointment next week on Monday (week from today) and also need to make an appointment with the orthodonist for a consult on braces. Ugh.
The weekend was quiet and uneventful. Just wish it wasn't Monday already again. Lets see what this week brings.
Letter/Mail Update: Letters went out last Friday to: Eloine/NY and Lotte/Denmark. Received letters from/owe a reply to: Nina/WA and Eunice/Malta.
Posted by Hanna at 06:47 PM in Family, Food and Drink, Weather | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Daylight Savings, Pizza, snow on the horizon
Happy Daylight Savings Time to everyone here in the US (well except AZ) Ugh. I am really not a fan of the springing ahead and losing an hour. And it being dark again in the morning when I have to get up. It's worse that we do this even earlier now than the rest of the world. That's a fun Bush legacy. Ugh.
On a more fun note. We went to check out "Colony Grill" in Fairfield today. Been meaning to for ages and finally got around to it. Delicious pizza!! Super thin crust and just really good. It's pretty much a bar with pizza. No other food. Full bar, beer, some wine. But such amazing pizza. Yum!
Been busy at work as I started covering for a co-worker on Friday who is on vacation. Definitely have my work cut out for me but powering through. :) Always good to learn new things and figure out how to handle different scenarios. Never a dull moment. :)
There is a bunch of snow (possibly a foot and a half .. 1/2 meter) of snow in our forecast for Tuesday. Ugh. I am ready for spring. We even had some really nice weather in February, not normal winter weather at all, but now it's turning back to actual winter weather instead of spring. Ugh. I am not ready for it at all.
Letter/Mail Update: Received letters from/owe a reply to: Laura/Spain and Lotte/Denmark.
Posted by Hanna at 04:43 PM in Food and Drink, Weather | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Oscar Sunday, Weather Temp Swings and more
Happy Oscar Sunday :) Going to be watching the Oscars in a little while. Right now we are at Red Rooster pub. Went for lunch and some drinks. Had a yummy omelette and delicious peach bellinis. Yum! :)
Yesterday the weather was warm so we went for a walk in Cheshire followed by lunch in Oxford. The weather warmed up quite a bit Thursday and Friday (close to 70F/20C) So crazy. Definitely not normal for February. Today it is much cooler again and much more normal for the time of year. But it was amazing to have warm spring like weather for a few days. So nice!
Mike was in L.A Monday to Thursday. It was nice to spend some time by myself, writing letters, reading and watching movies. But it's nice to have him back. Especially sleeping by myself and waking up alone didn't feel quite right. So it's nice to have him back.
But I am glad he got to meet up with our Australian friend Nicki. Wish I could have gone out to CA too but everything worked out for the best so it's good. And I am glad he had a fun few days away before diving back into the job search.
Let's see way next week brings for me at work. We just booked a 2-night getaway to Burlington, VT over Easter weekend. Can't wait!!
Letter/Mail Update: Mailed letters on Thursday to: Eloine/NY, Bianca/Germany and Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 04:16 PM in Current Affairs, Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Valentine's, Birthday Weekend for Mike, Broadway and more
Another busy week has come to an end. Already Sunday afternoon again, how does that happen?
Had a good but definitely busy week. Tuesday was Valentine's Day. I had to work till 6 but after I got out we made our way over to Red Rooster in Newtown. First time I had been there but I really liked the place. It was busy but we lucked out and managed to get a seat at the bar. Yummy thin crust pizza.
Yesterday was Mike's birthday and we headed down to NYC to see "The Book of Mormon" on Broadway. Been wanting to see it for ages, it's been on Broadway since 2011 I think. It was definitely worth the wait and really funny. Had lunch at "The Perfect Pint" prior to the show and afterwards we went to dinner at Ibiza back in CT - yummy tapas.
Today we slept in and then stopped at my office for a min. Wanted to hang up a couple of things I got for my cubicle. Afterwards we headed to 121 in Oxford for lunch. Relaxing and drinking some delicious rose from Provence now.
Let's see what next week brings at work. Mike is actually off to CA for 3 nights starting tomorrow. Our Australian friend Nicki will be in L.A. so he will meet up with her. I would have loved to have been able to go but with my new job and saving up vacation time it is really not a good time. Oh well. At least the weather has turned almost spring like here in CT at the moment too. Can't complain too much. :)
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter/owe a reply to: Eloine/NY, Bianca/Germany and Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 04:00 PM in Food and Drink, Holidays, NYC, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Pittsburgh Update
Hello from Pittsburgh. :) Already a week gone by more or less. I got here last week on
Sunday and it's Saturday evening now. The week went by pretty quick as we kept busy all week during our training. A lot of it was presented by my manager but there were also a bunch of guest speakers and presenters from different departments, talking about their functions and importance.
It was an interesting week and definitely a lot to take in. We had training from 8pm to 5pm every day except for Friday where we had our test in the afternoon. Fingers crossed for the results. I am pretty confident that I passed (we only need a 70 to pass) but really I am hoping for a good score. I probably won't find out for two weeks until all the tests have been reviewed and graded. I will update once I know more.
We have been trying out different restaurants each night as our hotel (the Hyatt Place on Campbells Run Rd) is very close to a bunch of restaurants, a mall and various stores. So far we went to Cadillac Ranch, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steak House, Burgatory, The Downey House and Sada Sushi & Hibachi.
Today we ventured into downtown Pittsburgh and went to the Andy Warhol Museum which was really cool. Hadn't been there before so I was glad to be able to check it out. Definitely worth a visit. Afterwards we had lunch at a brewpub across the street from PNC Ballpark. And eventually made our way over to the incline so we could take some pictures of the views from Mount Washington. The weather was a bit dreary and gloomy and also pretty windy/chilly (but I guess it is January so what do you want?) but the views were still nice overall. Took an Uber back to the hotel and been relaxing for a bit. Wrote a letter, read a few chapters. At 6.30 we are going to meet up again for dinner downstairs. Getting hungry again so I am definitely looking forward to that.
Not sure what we are doing tomorrow, Sunday, yet. I guess we will figure it out and talk about it later. Plenty of museums, malls/shops and other stuff around here to keep us busy I suppose. Then on Monday we start our new hire orientation until Wednesday, which is the day we fly back on. I am sure the next few days will fly by pretty fast as this first week went by pretty quickly as well. Missing Mike and the cats but not too long until I am back now.
Letter/Mail Update: Letters have gone out to: Celia/MA and Carmen/Malta. Received a letter/owe a reply to: Kimber/Canada and Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 05:34 PM in Food and Drink, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)