Sunday, May 08, 2016
Mother's Day, Work and stuff
Happy Mother's Day to all my friends who are moms and of course my own lovely mom. Talked to her on the phone today. I will see her in less than a month when I get to Europe on June 1st.
Leaving here the Tuesday after Memorial Day and getting to Croatia June 1st. My parents will pick me up from Split airport. They will already be there as they are leaving earlier to drive there.
So much to do and take care of before then though. Quite a lot has been going on at work. The company both Mike and I work has been going through financial struggles for quite a while and it eventually ended in them being taken over by another company. All in all this is not the worst of news as we still have jobs. Could actually be good in the long run. This starts tomorrow so as of tomorrow we will be employed by a new company. Our salary stays the same. And the old company is paying out our accrued vacation and sick time which is quite a substantial amount considering we both have worked there 14+ years. Everything else will need to be figured out on a day to day basis. But all's well for now.
So that's all the news for now. The weather has been super dreary and rainy for a good week and a half. It seems to finally be clearing up. Will be nice to see the sun again.
Mail Update: All caught up with my mail for now. :)
Posted by Hanna at 02:49 PM in Austria , Family, Holidays, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Thanksgiving Weekend
Thankgiving week and weekend done and check. Of course it was a crazy busy week at work, nothing much less to be expected. But we made it through the week. Worked every day expect Thursday and Sunday.
Thursday we took it easy and had a nice and relaxing day. Slept in. Then I spent most of the day writing Christmas cards (most of my cards are done now, will mail them around Dec 1st) while Mike binge watched "Parks and Rec". For dinner we went to the Hopkins Inn. Yummy delicious food. I had the Wiener Schnitzel with all the traditional Thanksgiving sides (mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, peas, etc)
Today we went to the movies in the morning to see "Trumbo". A really great movie and apparently pretty historically accurate too. Then ran a few errands followed by brunch at the Foundry. Yum.
Tomorrow is already Monday. Not looking forward to it. We are slowly settling into a routine in the new office but there is still a lot to be done.
Mail Update: Received letters/still owe replies to: Charles/TN, Tiffany/OK and Laura/Spain.
Posted by Hanna at 03:54 PM in Food and Drink, Holidays, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Office Move
It's been quite the crazy week at work. Spent Saturday and Sunday last weekend taking everything down and setting everything back up at the new office. Of course things never go as smooth as you want them to and everything is still somewhat a work in project so to speak. Every day things get a little better but it just takes time.
Of course there is the technical side of things, making sure the network works, hooking up the PCs, printers, scanners and other random gadgets. And then there is the physical side of things, finding space for filing cabinets, moving furniture around to try and use the space in the most efficient way etc. A bunch of things are in the basement so when we need things we slowly are finding where things ended up in the move. It's sort of funny.
And it also doesn't help that next week is a holiday week (Thanksgiving). Holidays tend to be extra busy for us at work anyway and while I am looking forward to having Thursday off it also adds quite a bit of added stress. For right now I am just happy I was able to sleep in today and looking forward to a relaxing day. Going to have lunch and then veg out and catch up on our TivO. Should be a nice and relaxing day.
Let's see what next week brings. Happy Thanksgiving in advance to all my American friends. :)
Mail Update: Received letters/still owe replies to: Tiffany/OK and Laura/Spain.
Posted by Hanna at 01:19 PM in Holidays, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, November 15, 2015
UK Recap, Office Move, Paris
Meant to make another update while in England but it just never happened. Time went by too fast and I was busy the whole time and/or without proper fast internet access while out and about.
Anyway, the rest of my stay in the UK was great. Had a fun time even though the weather was pretty miserable the whole time I was there. But that's ok, hardly the end of the world and sort of expected I guess. Saturday we went to my friend Nicola's wedding. It was great to see her and be part of her happy day. She seemed truly radiant. Had a great time hanging out with Joanne and Dan, just a fun day all around.
Then Sunday we went to Chichester and did some shopping. I always enjoy Chichester. Very pretty, old town with neat, more unique shops. Was pretty restrained shopping-wise (which is probably a good thing because I was barely able to fit all the things I did buy into my luggage on the way home) but still had a great time. Had a yummy lunch and then headed back to Hayling Island.
And well Monday it was already time for me to take the bus back up to London Heathrow to head back to New York. Decent, smooth flights both ways so no complains there. The rest of the week since I have been back has been a bit of a blur. Been in preparations for our office move which is happening this weekend. Been busy moving furniture, office equipment, boxing up things and whatnot these past few days. Today Mike needs to shut down the network at our current office and set everything up at the new office. Let's hope things go smooth.
And last but most definitely not least, Paris. I really don't even have words to explain what I am feeling. And just want to extend my deepest thoughts and sympathies to anyone involved, anyone who knows someone/lost someone. A friend of a friend lost his life Friday night. A completely innocent and seemingly super nice guy who was just doing his job, in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's crazy the world we live in these days. And what is breaking my heart even more are all the comments online of people saying it's because of the refugees. These people are fleeing that exact terror. Why do people not get that? I don't know what the solution is and obviously something needs to be done to try and restore some sort of peace in that region of the world but blaming the refugees who are simply trying to survive as well can't be the solution.
Mail Update: Letters went out on Tuesday to: Charles/TN, Celia/MA and Katie/IA. Received letters/still owe replies to: Tiffany/OK and Laura/Spain.
Posted by Hanna at 07:25 AM in Current Affairs, Travel, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, November 02, 2015
Halloween Weekend/Mets World Series and other random stuff
Already Monday again so I should make sure to make a quick post about the last week. Halloween fell on a Saturday this year which always brings out even more people celebrating and partying. We didn't really do anything for it though. Just went out to our usual local hang-out, had some fun seeing people dressed up and watched the Mets game.
It's been great seeing the Mets in the World Series. It is too bad that they didn't manage to win but Kansas City really did do very well so they deserve the win. It was still great to see the Mets get even that far. It's been 15 years since they have last been in a World Series.
Last week was another 6-day work week and pretty busy as usual. Our move of the office (have I even written about that on here? I can't even remember) has been pushed back another two weeks and is now scheduled for the weekend of November 14 which gives us a little bit more time to gets things organized.
Been busy with a bunch of payroll tasks as the girl's due date was this past Wednesday. As far as I know she still hasn't had the baby yet but understandably has been mostly working from home this past week. She's been working on some tasks while I worked on others. In a way it was a good week to try and do things on my own but still have her to fall back on as a safety net for questions and whatnot.
This week will be another busy week. Flying to England on Wednesday night so I have quite a bit to get done on Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday before I am ready to go. Let's see how all that pans out. Excited for my trip but it will definitely be a whirlwind adventure. :)
Mail Update: All caught up with my mail at the moment. :)
Posted by Hanna at 07:29 AM in Sports, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Autumn Sunday Fun
It's really fall now. Today was the perfect fall/autumn day. Brisk blue skies, cool in the morning but warmer during the day. Just a bit of a breeze so the leaves blow around. Colors on the trees, some leaves on the ground so they crunch when you step on them. No humidity at all. It's perfect. If I could hold on this weather and keep it 80-90% of the year I would be forever happy!! :)
We went for a walk at one of our usual go-to places here in Connecticut and I have to say it's pretty in all seasons but especially so in fall. Had fun watching birds, chipmunks etc. while walking.
Now we are out at a late lunch and eventually will head home and catch up with some TV shows.
Work has been busy while we are undergoing a bunch of changes and transitions. Trying to make it all work out. Also still training on payroll and some other things. So definitely not a dull moment for me in sight right now.
Mail Update: Received letters from: Carmen/Malta, Lotte/Denmarks, Nina/WA and Charles/TN.
Posted by Hanna at 04:32 PM in Food and Drink, Nature, Outdoors, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Fall Sunday
It's starting to really feel like fall now. The weather has been gloomy, rainy and cold for the last few days. But today it cleared up and is sunny. It's windy so feels colder than it is but really feels like a true fall day.
Worked 6 days as we are going through a big transition period at work. Also still training with the payroll girl to get that perfected some more before she leaves on her maternity leave. So not a dull moment for me at work at the moment.
Today we have just been relaxing. Slept in late, took my time getting up and had a nice, hot, long shower. Made myself some tea. Then we went for lunch at Rosy's. And just now some friends texted us so we will be meeting up with them in a bit to hang out. Later we are going to catch up on some TV shows we have recorded.
And then tomorrow it's already Monday again and more work stuff to deal with and figure out. Let's see what this week brings.
Mail Update: Received letters from: Lotte/Denmarks, Nina/WA and Charles/TN.
Posted by Hanna at 02:49 PM in Food and Drink, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, September 07, 2015
Labor Day Weekend
And here we are. September already. Where has this summer gone? I really don't know. Labor Day weekend officially marks the end of summer here in the US even though technically according to the calendar it's still summer. :)
I guess ultimately time just flew by getting through all the changes at work, training employees and figuring out all the details. Plus 2 weeks in Europe which of course was nice but flew by super fast too.
Not sure what's next for us. Besides work. Which is all consuming at the moment. I have someone else starting on Wednesday so more training in my immediate future. Plus I myself will need to train since I am going to be covering a girl who is going on maternity leave and due in October.
We have a wedding invitation in London in November and I really hope we can make that. Just so hard to know right now. Everyone cross their fingers for me because I really do want to go!!!
Well let's see what the rest of this week brings. One baby step at a time.
Mail Update: Letters going out tomorrow to: Celia/MA and Charles/TN.
Posted by Hanna at 06:04 PM in Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Busy, busy but hey it's almost summer
And another busy week. Lots of changes coming up at work over the next few weeks/months so there is a lot to do to prepare and take care of things. The short version is that the company we work for is changing suppliers. Doesn't sound so bad but the new company we are going to be partnering with is located in Pennsylvania which is a a bit of a ride from Connecticut/New York so all of our scheduling will need to be updated accordingly. Lots of things to figure out in our system, to coordinate and take care of things so the switch happens relatively seamless. The official change over will take place around July 12.
Good news (for me anyway) is that I leave for Europe on July 29. So I have a very busy month and a half ahead of me but at least then I get a 2 week break. :) I will need that break because as soon as I get back I will need to get into full on preparation for the school start up. And not that long after that someone in our accounting/payroll department is due for maternity leave. So yeah, no dull moments for me in the near future. :)
Worked yesterday, Saturday. Mike hasn't been feeling great with a stomach bug of some sort so we have been taking it easy. Caught up on a bunch of TV shows yesterday and just hanging out and doing the same today. Worked from home for a bit today, went to the store and now going to catch up on some more TV stuff in a bit.
Bought some ice cream so going to have that as well. :) The weather has definitely been very summer like these past few days so taking advantage of that by eating ice cream and lounging around in shorts and tank tops. Very happy with it after the awful winter we had.
Mail Update: Letters went out on Friday to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Carmen/Malta. And a letter is going out tomorrow to: Laura/Spain.
Posted by Hanna at 03:38 PM in Austria , Outdoors, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, February 09, 2015
Lazy weekend, Grammy's and more snow
So here we are .. Monday .. and it's snowing AGAIN. I am really over it at this point. Ugh. It doesn't help that I am not feeling all that great to begin with but what can you do?
Spent the whole weekend at home, writing some letters, drinking lots of tea with lemon & honey, trying to fight off some sort of head cold/sinus thing and sore throat. Been sneezing and blowing my nose and just generally feeling like a mess. Bleh.
Last night the Grammy's were on so we watched those. Nothing too eventful I suppose. The big surprise for me was that Paramore won for "Best Rock Song". Didn't see that coming at all. I am really happy and excited for them. Their first Grammy. So cool.
Other than that nothing too exciting going on. Last week we played catch up all week from the snow on Monday. And it seems like we will be in a similar situation this week. It didn't snow quite that much today so far but it's still coming down so we will see what the rest of the day brings. I am really truly over winter. Such a pain.
In more fun news we will be leaving for California a week from tomorrow. Not really ready for it but I am definitely looking forward to getting out of the frigid weather for a bit, even if it's just a week. The weather around L.A. can be iffy in February too so we will see what it brings but at least it won't be -7F (-21C) like it was the other morning when I woke up. Brrr.
But until then we still have a lot to get done at work. A week from today is President's Day and a lot of schools have their winter breaks scattered around it. Add in all the delayed openings, snow days and early closings and it becomes quite the challenge to keep track of it all.
On a non-work related note tomorrow is our wedding anniversary (14 years already - where does the time go?), Saturday Valentine's Day and on the 18th Mike's birthday (40 -- again, where does the time go?) Busy, busy. :)
Mail Update. Letters went out today to: Tiffany/OK, Nina/WA, Lotte/Denmark and Celia/MA. Received letters from: Caroline/Scotland, Emilia/Finland, Kimber/Canada and Alexandra/Peru.
Posted by Hanna at 10:36 AM in Travel, Weather, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack