11 March 2007
Quote:
You know what? That doesn't even surprise me now...
Ludmila on my being a BG fan
I'm back from the USA, full of airplane food and alcohol!
The business side of things went really well. It was actually quite pleasant! It is amazing what difference it makes to speak to people face-to-face instead of on the phone! The need for extensive "wining-and-dining" is definitely there...
On the first night we went for dinner with Scott, Paul and Craig, who had all assembled for the MSDN/TN meeting. We went to a lovely Mexican place and slagged off everybody from Lionbridge to MILS to Microsoft, suddenly realising that probably all of the other restaurant guests worked for one or the other.
Kindly Scott
and/or Paul picked us up from the hotel every morning, so we didn't have
to pay for the outrageously-priced taxi at all during that trip.
Scott is such a character! We got on like a house on fire, and I didn't
even sense that Emma did not want to spend every waking minute with
him! He is funny, entertaining (extremely so), and of course
over-confident in all things Microsoft which makes him perfect for the job
of "smooching on-site representative"!
Our extreme
CRISIS meeting with MSDN/TN went relatively harmonious. We've been over
the same issues about 115 times anyway... so as long as you make them feel
UNDERSTOOD, all is well!
Ludmila even came out with us for dinner after her working hours! OK, it
was her who got invited, but still... it was clear that she did not *hate*
us.
We might even be on the right track now for a "v" account and a swipe card
for Scott! LOL
On Thursday
it was Emma's birthday, so she could choose where to go (she could have
chosen either way because SHE is the picky one, and I can eat ANYWHERE),
and we went to the Cheescake Factory.
OH MY GOD, those American portions!!
But a good thing about Seattle is that you get great seafood everywhere.
On Friday, after a really antagonizing string of boring/re-scheduled/missed meetings we went back to Seattle and *again* went out for dinner and drinks with Scott. After Emma had retired, I still had a glass of wine on my own in the hotel's restaurant.
The next day we left late for the airport, and had a relatively eventless flight back. Because the flight was full I had to sit right in the middle between a Romanian grandmother and a skinny Christian missionary woman... It wasn't so bad.
What I found
very annoying was the wireless connection that kept breaking up every 3
minutes, even though I paid 10$ every day! I could barely check my work
email, let alone write blogs etc...
so excuse-moi for not writing ealier!
Here's another picture I forgot to upload earlier: The contents of my hotel room's mini bar. Tempting, huh? By the way: there was NO alcohol in my minbar. I think they did that on purpose!
Tired...
... after the trip..
Trying to look professional and *not* intimidated on Day 1 (...it
really did work out later...)
