ECF - NYC Office Edition

Today's Eye Candy is brought to you by the letter "K", which is the first letter in the name of the firm I just started working for. I took a bunch of pictures around the office yesterday - many of them from a balcony of the building. I felt like such a Touron (tourist moron) walking around meeting and greeting with a camera dangling - kind of hidden - from my other wrist.

The day, like the rest of my week, was super busy. There was so many people to meet and accounts and procedures to become familiar with. Although we had reservations for lunch, we could barely tear ourselves away to go eat. I can see now that this job will keep me very challenged and active and that's a very good thing.

After work I took the subway up to my brother's new apartment where my grandparents and sister-in-law were waiting. Aside from the lack of air conditioning the place was lovely. We ate, drank and laughed. We all teased my brother about his reasons for not buying an air conditioner. I hadn't seen my grandparents since last August
(way too long) and it was wonderful to see them looking so well. I really miss them!

Unfortunately, I had to eat and run so that I could get to the airport in time for my flight. Hah! After fretting the whole way to the airport, I arrived to find my flight delayed - indefinitely. Could be half and hour... could be much more. it turned out to be the latter, by quite a lot. Is was raining in New York but, apparently, the weather in DC was far worse. It was so bad that our plane, which was supposed to leave LaGuardia at 8:30, didn't even leave DC until about 10:20. When all was said and done, we finally took off shortly after midnight!
Spending large amounts of time in airports doesn't exactly bring out the best in people. I was lucky and found a seat next to a girl who had a sense of humor similar to mine and we people watched and laughed through much of our wait. We laughed about the girl who left her seat with no sign that she was coming back and returned a while later to claim it as if her aura was enough to mark it as her territory for life.

We laughed about the drunk guy who was sitting near us hacking up a lung. Not that illness is amusing but in this context anything can become very funny - like the ever growing pile of cups next to him from his adult beverages; like his regular pronouncements about the state of our flight; like the way he invited a much bigger gentleman standing next to him on line to step away until his cell phone conversation was over while failing to note that his own behaviour was equally offensive.

It was all really funny till the planes actually arrived and then it got a little ugly. In a nutshell, there were 2 flights to DC that were delayed - one at 8:30 and one at 9:30. We were assured that the 8:30 people would board the first plane to arrive. Logical - right?

When a plane arrived shortly before 11:00, the entire room full of irritated and cranky people lined up before the flight was even announced. After 15-20 minutes they finally announced that they would begin boarding the plane with the 9:30 folks. It GOT UGLY FAST! People swarmed around the desk and I admit that I was one of them. We were angry! Then we all got yelled at because we had gotten out of the line that we were told was for the other flight. It just got worse (and funnier) from there like when we noted that the flight they were boarding was not terribly full and suggested that they add some of us still waiting to the flight. They said no because it would start a riot. Ummmm... we were ready to riot right then and there. There was also the very petite woman with the high voice who went up and tried to talk sense to the guy at the counter. Think Minnie Mouse v Mike Tyson - with voices to match. It was too funny and I'm really thankful that there were a bunch of folks who giggled along with me. I guess that they felt as I do - sometimes all you can do is laugh.

I got home at 2AM and got up at 6AM for work so I apologize for any incoherence or really lousy grammar. I'm ready for more caffeine now - Starbucks here I come!

Summer Nights

I just love the summer when it stays light so late into the evening. On some evenings, like tonight, we can squeeze in a little time at the pool to end the day. It was wonderful! My brother had a late flight home so he came too. I have to say that this was the best visit I had with him in a long time. It was quiet and low key and without many distractions. We had time to talk and laugh and relax. I just can't say enough and the best part is that I'll get to see him again on Thursday when I go up to visit my new firm's NY office for the day. Woo hoo!

As much as I enjoy the summer and all of the time spent by the pool it does seem to generate a huge amount of laundry. I wash towels and bathing suits just about every night just to keep up. Not that I'm complainin' or anything. Just an observation.

By the way, the plying continues and now I nearly have 2 completed skeins. On the positive side, I've been able to use my new Fricke skein winder to take the yarn off the bobbin and, thanks to the counter, I have a pretty accurate indication of the yardage in the skeins so far. On the negative side, it seems unlikely that the finished yarn will be enough for the shawl I have in mind. I'll just have to break out the dye pot this weekend.

Cautious Optimism

I thank you for all of your good wishes on my first day at the new job.

As first days go - this was a really good one. I arrived to find a really warm welcome. I don't want to speak to soon but I'm cautiously optimistic about this new job. All of the signs say that this is a good situation.

I was reminded of a few very important things today. It was silly of me to have worn new shoes today. I know better than to wear new shoes to anything important without breaking them in first. They looked really cute but, after a day full of meet and greet I am paying the price for my folly. Speaking of folly, what was I thinking blowing my hair out straight today? I did sit and listen to the weather report this morning but apparently it didn't really sink in at all. The humidity did a number on my carefully considered 'do the moment I stepped out of my front door. Thankfully, these were relatively minor concerns and didn't really mar the day much.

More good news! After quite a hiatus I finally have a little spinning news to report. When I wind this off the bobbin it will make up the second skein for my Hanami Stole. The first was a gently varigated blue plyed against itself. I'll show it to you when it's dry.

I'm still not sure if I'll have enough yarn for the project but, I think that if I need to, I can come up with a solution. I'll keep you posted.

Isn't it amazing how far behind you can get on your email and blog reading in just a few days? I hope to catch up soon.