It's been a couple of weeks since we updated the blog so there's a bit to let you know about but really we've had a quiet couple of weeks.
Annalie acquired some free tickets to a PGA Golf Tournament taking place locally. She didn't have chance to go because she was travelling, but Ian took advantage and headed down there with some guys from work. Despite having tickets with additional hospitality, the others didn't so he didn't manage to take full advantage of the benefits.
The tickets provided great access to the golf, coming within close range of the players. He's not sure if he's picked up any tips though! There were plenty of freebies on offer but Ian, being his usual cheeky self, managed to come away with more than he should have! T-shirts, ball markers and free food vouchers, he came back with pockets loaded, much to the disgust of the others!
Annalie headed off to Berlin again for some meetings. On her way through, she stopped off in the UK for a day and a night to see some of the old footy girls. She arrived at Heathrow at silly o'clock in the morning so took advantage of the BA arrivals lounge and had a shower, some proper breakfast (not airline rubbish!) and a nice foot massage She still got to Somerset's before 7am though!
Som is blooming with about three months to go until motherhood beckons. Rach and Sarah's boys are growing up fast and didn't manage to put Som off that much - although it's a bit late now! Despite having no sleep on the flight over, Annalie managed to stay up all day, even through the most boring match of the Euros when Spain and Italy met in the semis. How she didn't fall asleep half way through she still doesn't know!
Upon arrival in Berlin, Annalie decided to head out on a mission to find Wii Fit. We've looked for it all over in the UK and it's sold out everywhere. We couldn't really buy it in the US as it's the wrong format for our Wii, so she took advantage of being in Europe to find one in the right format. Lo and behold, in the first store she visited there was a mountain of the things! So she swiftly nabbed one and then proceeded to struggle to fit all her packing around it!
Ian has started his PADI diving qualification at a local dive school. So far he's only done the first of three weeks, where he spends Monday nights in the classroom and Wednesday nights in the pool. There are four open water dives to do as well, but he's not quite sure when they will happen. There's plenty of time over the summer at least.
He's also been making the most of his house husband status by getting out and helping some of the other Rolls-Royce wives with jobs that their worker hubbies don't have the time (or motivation!) to do. He's helped out with a tip run for a family moving out. He's also been pricing up a big DIY job for someone else. They've asked if he wants to plasterboard their basement, a job that he'd like to do but is a bit daunting as the basement isn't small! When he went back to them with a quote for the materials and how long he thought it would take him, the job started to get bigger as he discussed it with Marc. There are new walls to build and possibly a suspended ceiling, so what started out as a potential 2 week job has now drifted out to maybe 4-6 weeks. It would keep him occupied though!
Despite all this, Ian is now legally allowed to work as his work permit arrived about a month earlier than we expected. Having said that, we're travelling back to the UK for 11 days in July, then Annalie's parents are over for two weeks, then Ian's parents are over for another two weeks, so there's not much point in him starting work until the middle of September. But if Ian gets the DIY job from Marc and Mandy, he can always employ the dads for help
When Annalie got home, we hooked up the Wii Fit to try it out. It doesn't replace the gym exactly but it certainly is a useful tool. It seemed to weigh us a little on the light side, but who's complaining! Ian's first attempts at yoga somehow nominated him as a yoga master but Annalie anihilated him on balance which is bizarre seeing as she's constantly tripping over her own feet!
Think that's all for now. Tonight we're heading out to a Glastonbury town event where loads of local restaurants are putting up stalls in the street and there will be live music and a cash-less casino, so it should be a fun night. Marc and Mandy are going and no doubt several of the other IAE folks will be around. Main Street gets shut off and there's a real party atmosphere. The temperature is in the high 80s so it should be a lovely evening, providing the threatened thunderstorms stay away.
We've been trying to upload some more pictures from around the area but they're too big and won't post unless we find some software to compress the size a little anyway.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
A free lunch
They always say that customer service is better in the States and we've seen a good example of that today. After Annalie had finished the majority of her first essay, we decided to pop up to a mall in Manchester (Connecticut that is!) to pick up some shopping. After doing most shopping, we had already picked out where we were going to go for lunch as we had a $5 voucher.
When we arrived, we seemed to have been given a table served by Mrs Non-Charisma! Our waitress was not exactly the happy smiley face you expect of Americans. Anyway, we duly ordered and waited for our meals to arrive. After what seemed like an age, we started to realise that people who had been seated after us were already getting their food. And the place wasn't exactly heaving so we started to wonder what was going on. Just as we were about to ask, one of the managers was spotted looking in our direction and talking to our waitress.
A moment later she appeared at our table and told us that one of our plates had been dropped so they were remaking the meals and that they would pay for the entire meal for us! Up until that point we'd been very disppointed and contemplating leaving no tip (almost a crime here!). But after that gesture, we decided we were a bit happier with the service! The meals arrived very soon after and were pretty reasonable, especially for a freebie!
Also this week, Annalie went for her first "Girls' night out" with the Rolls-Royce gang. It was a mix of wives and workers. although the wives outnumber the workers significantly! Ian is still the only male spouse out here. The other female workers either came out here as singles or are wives of Rolls-Royce secondees who also work for the company and have been able to get jobs with IAE as well. It was a very nice night and quite emotional for some of the girls as one was leaving.
The most exciting part of the week has been our decision to book our first 'proper' holiday of our time out here. Hawaii! Honolulu to be precise - oh yes! You'll probably all be of us by the time the holiday actually comes around and wishing we'd Annalie is going to be in LA already as IAE is hosting an Operator's Conference there in November. So for her it's just the cost of the flight from LA to Honolulu - which has worked out at $500 each. Not bad. For Ian we're going to try and get him there on air miles to save even more money. We've just bought a guide book to help us decide what to do while we're there but our friend, Heather, grew up on the island so she'll be able to tell us where to go and what to do We'll be there for Annalie's birthday and Thanksgiving as well - so that will be very nice. And timed just right for when it starts to get horrible and wet in CT.
Annalie has got the result from the first part of her assignments for her second Masters module and she got another First!! She's completely stunned by the fact but obviously pleased. Shame it's only worth 10% of the final mark! The second part of three is almost over and she reckons part three will be pretty straightforward as she's done something very similar for her CIPR Diploma. But it's not plagiarism - honest!!
Ian's been out taking some nice photos around Glastonbury. Which we would have uploaded now but when he downloaded them, he backed them up straight away onto our external hard drive back-up and erased them from the PC. We'll get some on, hopfully on Sunday, so that you can see some more of the lovely place we're calling home for the next three years.
The weather has been great pretty much all week. The terrible humid weather continued into Tuesday when tempteratures were reaching 100 degrees An amazing thunderstorm blew in on Tuesday night and things started to cool down then. We say cool down, but we have still been enjoying temps in the 80s. There have been some more amazing thunderstorms coming in late in the evenings but they provide some amazing views. Often there's no rain and you're just watching these lightening strikes. However today (Saturday) the thunderstorms hit us in the middle of the afternoon and the rain has been lashing down for a couple of hours.
Everything is settling down for us out here, except for the fact that Rolls-Royce have been unable to get Annalie's pay right so far. For three months in a row (it appears) they have stuffed it up in one way or another You'd think that, given that they facilitate people working around the world on a daily basis that they'd get it right
I think that's it for now. So when are you coming to visit to experience it for yourself?
When we arrived, we seemed to have been given a table served by Mrs Non-Charisma! Our waitress was not exactly the happy smiley face you expect of Americans. Anyway, we duly ordered and waited for our meals to arrive. After what seemed like an age, we started to realise that people who had been seated after us were already getting their food. And the place wasn't exactly heaving so we started to wonder what was going on. Just as we were about to ask, one of the managers was spotted looking in our direction and talking to our waitress.
A moment later she appeared at our table and told us that one of our plates had been dropped so they were remaking the meals and that they would pay for the entire meal for us! Up until that point we'd been very disppointed and contemplating leaving no tip (almost a crime here!). But after that gesture, we decided we were a bit happier with the service! The meals arrived very soon after and were pretty reasonable, especially for a freebie!
Also this week, Annalie went for her first "Girls' night out" with the Rolls-Royce gang. It was a mix of wives and workers. although the wives outnumber the workers significantly! Ian is still the only male spouse out here. The other female workers either came out here as singles or are wives of Rolls-Royce secondees who also work for the company and have been able to get jobs with IAE as well. It was a very nice night and quite emotional for some of the girls as one was leaving.
The most exciting part of the week has been our decision to book our first 'proper' holiday of our time out here. Hawaii! Honolulu to be precise - oh yes! You'll probably all be of us by the time the holiday actually comes around and wishing we'd Annalie is going to be in LA already as IAE is hosting an Operator's Conference there in November. So for her it's just the cost of the flight from LA to Honolulu - which has worked out at $500 each. Not bad. For Ian we're going to try and get him there on air miles to save even more money. We've just bought a guide book to help us decide what to do while we're there but our friend, Heather, grew up on the island so she'll be able to tell us where to go and what to do We'll be there for Annalie's birthday and Thanksgiving as well - so that will be very nice. And timed just right for when it starts to get horrible and wet in CT.
Annalie has got the result from the first part of her assignments for her second Masters module and she got another First!! She's completely stunned by the fact but obviously pleased. Shame it's only worth 10% of the final mark! The second part of three is almost over and she reckons part three will be pretty straightforward as she's done something very similar for her CIPR Diploma. But it's not plagiarism - honest!!
Ian's been out taking some nice photos around Glastonbury. Which we would have uploaded now but when he downloaded them, he backed them up straight away onto our external hard drive back-up and erased them from the PC. We'll get some on, hopfully on Sunday, so that you can see some more of the lovely place we're calling home for the next three years.
The weather has been great pretty much all week. The terrible humid weather continued into Tuesday when tempteratures were reaching 100 degrees An amazing thunderstorm blew in on Tuesday night and things started to cool down then. We say cool down, but we have still been enjoying temps in the 80s. There have been some more amazing thunderstorms coming in late in the evenings but they provide some amazing views. Often there's no rain and you're just watching these lightening strikes. However today (Saturday) the thunderstorms hit us in the middle of the afternoon and the rain has been lashing down for a couple of hours.
Everything is settling down for us out here, except for the fact that Rolls-Royce have been unable to get Annalie's pay right so far. For three months in a row (it appears) they have stuffed it up in one way or another You'd think that, given that they facilitate people working around the world on a daily basis that they'd get it right
I think that's it for now. So when are you coming to visit to experience it for yourself?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A normal week?
Has this been a relatively normal week for us that we should get used to? Probably. Well aside from the fact that Annalie is still plugging away with her masters assignments, it probably was relatively normal.
Ian had a great time down in Florida, making friends with Canadians and getting sun burnt in the hot sun. He camped at a site just across the river from Cape Canaveral so had a great view of the launch. Just take a look at the pics. It was an amazing sight, but even more an amazing feeling as you could actually feel the whole thing coming up through your feet, moving up through your entire body. Your bones are shaking with the force of the take off. The shuttle broke through the sound barrier so quickly, the sonic boom could be clearly heard.
It was a long old drive, in both time and miles, for around 2 minutes of entertainment but well worth it. On the way back, Ian decided to surprise Annalie by driving through the night to get home a day earlier than expected, arriving home on Sunday in time for dinner
Throughout most of this week the weather has been pretty pants with heavy rain at various times during the week. However, the weekend has turned into el scorchio, with the temperatures well into the 90s and pretty high humidity. To make something of the weather, Annalie worked on her essay for a few hours and then went out for lunch.
Sitting outside one of the bars in central Glastonbury, we watched the world go by while eating a lovely late lunch. Later that day, we decided to go for a round of golf, once the main heat of the day had dispersed.
Despite heading out at gone 4.30, it was still incredibly hot and we were both sweating heavily (nice!) within the first few holes. Initially we only set out to play 9 holes, but we were enjoying ourselves so much that we went around the second 9 as well. It was the first time Annalie had played in about a month with all the travel and uni work, so she was pleased that it wasn't a terrible round. At the start of the second 9, she figured out something that she'd been doing wrong and started off really well. By the end, she was getting tired though so what started out as a promising round ended up with a similar score to the first.
Ian produced an amazing chip on the 17th hole that could have easily seen him chip in. If the flag hadn't been in the hole then there's every chance the ball could have stayed in but as it happened, the ball popped straight back out again, like it was just teasing him!
The only problem with walking round a grassy field for three hours is a touch of hayfever and bitey things feasting on you!
We hope the weather is as good as it is wherever you are!
Ian had a great time down in Florida, making friends with Canadians and getting sun burnt in the hot sun. He camped at a site just across the river from Cape Canaveral so had a great view of the launch. Just take a look at the pics. It was an amazing sight, but even more an amazing feeling as you could actually feel the whole thing coming up through your feet, moving up through your entire body. Your bones are shaking with the force of the take off. The shuttle broke through the sound barrier so quickly, the sonic boom could be clearly heard.
It was a long old drive, in both time and miles, for around 2 minutes of entertainment but well worth it. On the way back, Ian decided to surprise Annalie by driving through the night to get home a day earlier than expected, arriving home on Sunday in time for dinner
Throughout most of this week the weather has been pretty pants with heavy rain at various times during the week. However, the weekend has turned into el scorchio, with the temperatures well into the 90s and pretty high humidity. To make something of the weather, Annalie worked on her essay for a few hours and then went out for lunch.
Sitting outside one of the bars in central Glastonbury, we watched the world go by while eating a lovely late lunch. Later that day, we decided to go for a round of golf, once the main heat of the day had dispersed.
Despite heading out at gone 4.30, it was still incredibly hot and we were both sweating heavily (nice!) within the first few holes. Initially we only set out to play 9 holes, but we were enjoying ourselves so much that we went around the second 9 as well. It was the first time Annalie had played in about a month with all the travel and uni work, so she was pleased that it wasn't a terrible round. At the start of the second 9, she figured out something that she'd been doing wrong and started off really well. By the end, she was getting tired though so what started out as a promising round ended up with a similar score to the first.
Ian produced an amazing chip on the 17th hole that could have easily seen him chip in. If the flag hadn't been in the hole then there's every chance the ball could have stayed in but as it happened, the ball popped straight back out again, like it was just teasing him!
The only problem with walking round a grassy field for three hours is a touch of hayfever and bitey things feasting on you!
We hope the weather is as good as it is wherever you are!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Another week of travel for us both
But not together this time!
Annalie spent a mere day and a half back at home before turning round and heading back to Europe. She was off to Berlin to check out the air show there and also visit the IAE office nearby to have some meetings (or meet and greets as Ian calls it!). It was a nice trip with a dinner by the Brandenburg Gate one night, but she suffered badly from hayfever for the first time this year (neither of us seem to suffer in CT).
On the way back, Annalie stopped off in London for a meeting with her mentor. Only two days before the meeting was due to take place, her mentor got called up to Derby so they did a phone call instead. But it was still a good opportunity to go into the office and show face.
Her first stop upon arrival was Boots so she could dose up on Beconase! Still, as soon as she landed, the sniffles started to subside and now she's back in CT, they've gone altogether. Can we live here for good if that's going to be the case every summer?!
Staying a night in London also meant she could catch up with TC. Bloody Marys and crap wine galore, but overall a very civilised night. At least there was the excuse of an early morning mentoring call for Annalie - what was TC's excuse?
While Annalie was away, Ian drove around 1500 miles to get to Florida in order to watch the Shuttle launch on Saturday. He won't be back until Monday or Tuesday so we can upload his spectacular photos then. They'd better be spectacular anyway, he's spent enough on lenses for his new toy over the past few months. He can also provide a full report of what it was like watching the launch. So far, his only report to Annalie has been "That was amazing" so a full installment is expected soon
Other than that, not much to report. Annalie is trying to get started on her next Masters essay, only she is procrastinating far too much! Well, there are other, much more interesting things to do!
Annalie spent a mere day and a half back at home before turning round and heading back to Europe. She was off to Berlin to check out the air show there and also visit the IAE office nearby to have some meetings (or meet and greets as Ian calls it!). It was a nice trip with a dinner by the Brandenburg Gate one night, but she suffered badly from hayfever for the first time this year (neither of us seem to suffer in CT).
On the way back, Annalie stopped off in London for a meeting with her mentor. Only two days before the meeting was due to take place, her mentor got called up to Derby so they did a phone call instead. But it was still a good opportunity to go into the office and show face.
Her first stop upon arrival was Boots so she could dose up on Beconase! Still, as soon as she landed, the sniffles started to subside and now she's back in CT, they've gone altogether. Can we live here for good if that's going to be the case every summer?!
Staying a night in London also meant she could catch up with TC. Bloody Marys and crap wine galore, but overall a very civilised night. At least there was the excuse of an early morning mentoring call for Annalie - what was TC's excuse?
While Annalie was away, Ian drove around 1500 miles to get to Florida in order to watch the Shuttle launch on Saturday. He won't be back until Monday or Tuesday so we can upload his spectacular photos then. They'd better be spectacular anyway, he's spent enough on lenses for his new toy over the past few months. He can also provide a full report of what it was like watching the launch. So far, his only report to Annalie has been "That was amazing" so a full installment is expected soon
Other than that, not much to report. Annalie is trying to get started on her next Masters essay, only she is procrastinating far too much! Well, there are other, much more interesting things to do!
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