The snows return
Friday, March 18, 2005
The journey home
I woke this morning at 5am, convinced I was going to sleep through the alarm. It was too late to go back to sleep then, so I got up and finished packing. It wasnt long vefore I was all set, so I went and stored my bags with reception, checked out and went round the hotel taking some pictures of the surroundings. It had snowed overnight, so everything was looking very pretty.
At 9.00 the hotel shuttle took me to the airport. Waiting for the plane I felt pretty strange...a bit like I did at before the last night of JCS. I'm so excited to be going home and seeing my family again...it seems like months rather than weeks that I've been away from them. But my excitement it also tinged with a little sadness that the whole adventure is over. I've had such an amazing time here, done stuff I'd never have imagined doing, met some really wonderful people and, I think, made some really good friends. And what lies ahead? More time on the road, actually having to put into practice what I have been learning for the last 3 weeks. How will I get on? More change!! What a time we're having....
The flight out of Bozeman was fine. It was quite empty, so there was plenty of room. It is only an hour and a half to Denver, so not too long to sit. Once at denver, it was a short stop...just enough time to ring home, then we baorded for the flight to Chicago. Again, it was a good flight...comfy and fairly smooth. We arrived slightly early at Chicago. It's a huge airport - took me about half an hour to find the International terminal - had to take a train to get there. I just HAD to double-check that my luggage was following me...I get so paranoid that it's not going to turn up at my ultimate destination...but everything seemed to be OK.
The flight to Manchester was OK to start with. It was nice to back on an English plane. I was seated right at the very back, next to a rather fat lady, so I was pleased to see that I had a spare seat next to me. I moved over after dinner to give us both some room. Once dinner was over (3 glasses of red wine later!....i wanted to make sure I fell asleep) I got wrapped up in a blanket (it was soooo cold on that plane) and tried to get to sleep. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain...I just could not get comfy. So I tossed and turned all the way over the Atlantic! I must have finally dropped off brifely at around 6.00, as I woke with a start feeling really sick, not really knowing where I was...it was so wierd. I kind of stumbled up to an air hostess and she guided me down to the toilets. She said I looked a really funny colour! I wasnt sick in the end, and managed to get myself sorted out, but I was still soooo cold. I returned to my seat and drank some water, wrapped in 2 blankets. And that's pretty much how I stayed for the rest of the journey. I just know I'm gonna feel really bad today.
I'm now sitting at the train station, waiting for the train to take me home. I guess I won't have much time to post anything else today, so I'll make this my last one for today. As it stands at the moment, I cant really think straight about the future. I get the feeling something has begun now that has a momentum of its own and we're all going to have to make sure we're on the ball to keep up with it. It's going to be hard work, but if we can do it, I think it's going to take us wherever we want to go.
At 9.00 the hotel shuttle took me to the airport. Waiting for the plane I felt pretty strange...a bit like I did at before the last night of JCS. I'm so excited to be going home and seeing my family again...it seems like months rather than weeks that I've been away from them. But my excitement it also tinged with a little sadness that the whole adventure is over. I've had such an amazing time here, done stuff I'd never have imagined doing, met some really wonderful people and, I think, made some really good friends. And what lies ahead? More time on the road, actually having to put into practice what I have been learning for the last 3 weeks. How will I get on? More change!! What a time we're having....
The flight out of Bozeman was fine. It was quite empty, so there was plenty of room. It is only an hour and a half to Denver, so not too long to sit. Once at denver, it was a short stop...just enough time to ring home, then we baorded for the flight to Chicago. Again, it was a good flight...comfy and fairly smooth. We arrived slightly early at Chicago. It's a huge airport - took me about half an hour to find the International terminal - had to take a train to get there. I just HAD to double-check that my luggage was following me...I get so paranoid that it's not going to turn up at my ultimate destination...but everything seemed to be OK.
The flight to Manchester was OK to start with. It was nice to back on an English plane. I was seated right at the very back, next to a rather fat lady, so I was pleased to see that I had a spare seat next to me. I moved over after dinner to give us both some room. Once dinner was over (3 glasses of red wine later!....i wanted to make sure I fell asleep) I got wrapped up in a blanket (it was soooo cold on that plane) and tried to get to sleep. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain...I just could not get comfy. So I tossed and turned all the way over the Atlantic! I must have finally dropped off brifely at around 6.00, as I woke with a start feeling really sick, not really knowing where I was...it was so wierd. I kind of stumbled up to an air hostess and she guided me down to the toilets. She said I looked a really funny colour! I wasnt sick in the end, and managed to get myself sorted out, but I was still soooo cold. I returned to my seat and drank some water, wrapped in 2 blankets. And that's pretty much how I stayed for the rest of the journey. I just know I'm gonna feel really bad today.
I'm now sitting at the train station, waiting for the train to take me home. I guess I won't have much time to post anything else today, so I'll make this my last one for today. As it stands at the moment, I cant really think straight about the future. I get the feeling something has begun now that has a momentum of its own and we're all going to have to make sure we're on the ball to keep up with it. It's going to be hard work, but if we can do it, I think it's going to take us wherever we want to go.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Training: Day 17 - the Exam...the end
So, today was the certification exam.... We were in the usual room and Jen just handed out the papers and let us get on with it...all pretty relaxed. As it turned out, the exam was pretty easy. A lot of the answers were in the on-line help for the product, which made it easy to check when I wasnt sure. I finished first and I'm fairly confident that I've got a pretty good pass mark.
And that was that...the end. I still have some configuration to so on my test site, which also makes up part of the certification, but that shouldnt take long. I can do that next week sometime.
So that was the end...I went and parked myself downstairs somewhere while I waited for Mark to finish and Kip to leave his meeting. I went round and said my goodbyes...quite sad to be leaving the folks here. They've all been so good to us and really friendly. You don't get the impression that this is a head office of a multi-national company, they still have the feeling of a small local business. It's great to be chatting with the receptionist one minute, then the Sales director, then mabye say Hi to the CEO in the carpark! Rob even gae us each a RightNow Technologies hat!
When Kip had finished, we headed out for the last time. We called in at some shops on Main st., then went back to change, before heading out to the Montana Ale Works, one of our favourite spots. We met up with some of the folks from work for drinks, eats and some pool. It was a nice way to end our time here.
By 9.30 we were back at the hotel, and I was packing my bags. An early night being required, I went to bed pretty soon after.
And that was that...the end. I still have some configuration to so on my test site, which also makes up part of the certification, but that shouldnt take long. I can do that next week sometime.
So that was the end...I went and parked myself downstairs somewhere while I waited for Mark to finish and Kip to leave his meeting. I went round and said my goodbyes...quite sad to be leaving the folks here. They've all been so good to us and really friendly. You don't get the impression that this is a head office of a multi-national company, they still have the feeling of a small local business. It's great to be chatting with the receptionist one minute, then the Sales director, then mabye say Hi to the CEO in the carpark! Rob even gae us each a RightNow Technologies hat!
When Kip had finished, we headed out for the last time. We called in at some shops on Main st., then went back to change, before heading out to the Montana Ale Works, one of our favourite spots. We met up with some of the folks from work for drinks, eats and some pool. It was a nice way to end our time here.
By 9.30 we were back at the hotel, and I was packing my bags. An early night being required, I went to bed pretty soon after.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Training: Day 16 - Last day of training
So today was the last day of training. We had a talk about upgrades this morning, a "working lunch" with the people who organise travel and expenses, then we split up into groups in the afternoon. The tech support folks were supposed to meet with their managers, but they were in a meeting. Us professional services folks met with a PS guy, which was really interesting. Then after all that, we were free to go. It's the exam tomorrow, so I did a bit of checking through things, making sure I was happy with everything, then we went back to the hotel.
We went out for a couple of drinks and something to eat later, but none of us felt like a big night with the exam looming ahead of us. I'm not too worried about it. It's multi-choice, so should prove to be easy enough. I know I've taken in most of the training, plus we get to use our laptops to refer to documentation, try stuff out in the product itself and stuff. So I'm pretty confident.
We went out for a couple of drinks and something to eat later, but none of us felt like a big night with the exam looming ahead of us. I'm not too worried about it. It's multi-choice, so should prove to be easy enough. I know I've taken in most of the training, plus we get to use our laptops to refer to documentation, try stuff out in the product itself and stuff. So I'm pretty confident.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Training: Day 15
The end is in sight now. only one more day of training, then the exam, then I'm on my way home!
Today was mainly a day of reviewing stuff for the certification exam, which confirmed my view that I've pretty much got most of it sussed. A nice surprise - Rob had printed off a map of the ski resort we went to on Saturday, using the data from his GPS unit to show exactly where we had been, and framed copies up for the 3 of us. He's been really good and looked after us well. He took us out for dinner tonight to the Montana Rib and Chop house in Livingstone (about 20 miles out of Bozeman). I had a very nice pot roast - couldn't face any more slabs of meat. It was delicious. We were back at the hotel by 10:00 for another early night.
Today was mainly a day of reviewing stuff for the certification exam, which confirmed my view that I've pretty much got most of it sussed. A nice surprise - Rob had printed off a map of the ski resort we went to on Saturday, using the data from his GPS unit to show exactly where we had been, and framed copies up for the 3 of us. He's been really good and looked after us well. He took us out for dinner tonight to the Montana Rib and Chop house in Livingstone (about 20 miles out of Bozeman). I had a very nice pot roast - couldn't face any more slabs of meat. It was delicious. We were back at the hotel by 10:00 for another early night.
Shooting Photos
I got the photos today from the shooting evening. Here area a selection:
One man and his gun
Warning...sniper
The guys
Getting dark
One man and his gun
Warning...sniper
The guys
Getting dark
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Training: Day 14 - Big Mike
After a strange night, full of wierd dreams, I woke early this morning. I couldn;t get back to sleep as, no matter which way I layed in bed, something hurt! I had aches all over...neck, back, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, feet....what a wreck!
It was a lazy morning, breakfast followed by washing, drying and ironing some clothes to keep me going for the last few days here.
After going out for some lunch (crispy chicken salad), we decided to head to the Museum of the Rockies. It's only 5 minutes from the office and was supposed to be really worth a visit. Outside the museum is a life-size T-Rex skeleton, they call "Big Mike"!
The museum itself was really good, especially considering that Bozeman is a relatively small town. It covered a lot of topics, including the original Lewis & Clark expedition which discovered the area, the history of the region's Native population (Indians to you and me), the history of transport in the area, and a large area on the landforms and lifeforms of the area, from 520 million years ago.
There was also a planetarium, which showed a presentation about the stars and how the constelations we are used to today were seen by the Indian tribes. It was fascinating to watch, and hear how the stories differed between the different tribes. It also gave me some clues as to finding some of our constellations in the sky, something I have wanted to be able to do for a long time.
It was an enjoyable afternoon and was just right in terms of the amount of energy required, as I was still totally shattered from yesterday's skiing!
It was a lazy morning, breakfast followed by washing, drying and ironing some clothes to keep me going for the last few days here.
After going out for some lunch (crispy chicken salad), we decided to head to the Museum of the Rockies. It's only 5 minutes from the office and was supposed to be really worth a visit. Outside the museum is a life-size T-Rex skeleton, they call "Big Mike"!
The museum itself was really good, especially considering that Bozeman is a relatively small town. It covered a lot of topics, including the original Lewis & Clark expedition which discovered the area, the history of the region's Native population (Indians to you and me), the history of transport in the area, and a large area on the landforms and lifeforms of the area, from 520 million years ago.
There was also a planetarium, which showed a presentation about the stars and how the constelations we are used to today were seen by the Indian tribes. It was fascinating to watch, and hear how the stories differed between the different tribes. It also gave me some clues as to finding some of our constellations in the sky, something I have wanted to be able to do for a long time.
It was an enjoyable afternoon and was just right in terms of the amount of energy required, as I was still totally shattered from yesterday's skiing!
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Training: Day 13 - Skiing!!!!
Skiing day today!
It all started with an early breakfast, then off to meet Rob and Curtis at work for 7:30. We made the decision to follow them there in our car, rather than go in Rob's big 4-wheel-drive wagon, as we thought that would give us the option of coming back early if we got tired or fed up. This is a decision we would somewhat regret later on!
Snow was forecast for today, and as we headed up into the mountains, we started to see it. The resort we were heading to is called Big Sky...and what a place it was. Absolutely amazing scenery, tree-lined slopes, huge mountains, ski runs all over, and snow falling heavily.
We arrived at about 9:00 and Rob very kindly paid for all our tickets and equipment hire. A free day's skiing! After getting kitted up with boots, skis and sticks, Kip, Curtis and I headed for what Rob had indicated was an easy slope - "Lower Mr K". Curtis used to be a competition skier and said he would give me a quick lesson to get me going. So we jumped on the lift - what a great view you get from up there - and headed up the slope. Jumping off the lift at the top was the first time I had ever skied on snow (the only other time I had skied before was a long long time ago on a dry slope). It was quite exhilarating when my skis first touched the snow and I slid off toward the slope.
Curtis gave me a quick rundown on the way to turn and slow down (very important!), and we started down the slope, me traversing the route rather slowly. It only took a moment before I fell over for the first time. I seemed to be okay heading across the snow, but when I came to turn round I started going faster, panicked and fell over! After a while I got the hang of turning slowly and we continued down the slope. We soon realised, however, that the slope we were on was NOT actually an easy slope. It was very long and had some quite steep bits. So here I am, first time skier, already belting down the mountain like a looney. Some of you may recall a similar situation last time I skied! At least this time I could steer a bit!
But I fell. About 8 times. And rather spectacularly in one instance, which involved me going face-first into the snow, resulting in a bloody nose! After a short foray into some trees (!) I started to get better. Kip and Curtis were both quite impressed that I was doing so well. Apparently you don't normally do stuff like this till about the 5th day of ski school, so I guess I was doing pretty well, albeit intermittently!
I started getting so tired. Its amazing how many different new muscles you discover trying to ski. It was just such hard work trying to keep turning the skis, keep leaning forward, looking up, avoiding other people....and when I fell down, it took such an effort to get back up - having to reattach the skis to my boots got harder every time as my legs got more and more tired. But I made it in the end, sliding down to the bottom really quite gracefully I thought. What an experience! I was absolutely shattered. It had taken about half an hour, but it felt like I'd been at it all morning! I staggered off the snow and went to sit in the restaurant to recover. I was shaking, both with the adrenaline rush, but also from he sheer effort I had had to put in. I think I stopped shaking about 2 hours later! By this time, the rest of the guys were coming in for lunch, so we ate and rested for a while before heading out again.
I was determined to do another run, despite being totally worn out. The rest of the guys were going down some of the harder slopes, so I headed off to a slope that had been recommended by an instructor as an easy one - no messing about this time! Rob had brought walkie-talkies for us all, so I took one of these in case I needed to summon assistance(!) and headed off to "White Wing".
I started well, falling over as I slid off the lift ramp. Not a good start! but I got better. I made my way across the mountain to the start of the run and headed off, traversing quite well to start with. I got a little more confident on a flatter bit and just went straight, with parallel skis. That was fun. I really picked up speed. I must have covered a third of the run in that mode, until the speed I was going at started to worry me a bit, so I started steering up the slopes at the side to slow down. This worked, but, of course, having gone up the slope, I had to come down again, which set me off accelerating again! I only fell once during these maneuvers tho. I think because I was more relaxed, I was more conscious of my balance. As I was shooting down the run, I felt really good - one heck of a rush! I could hear the theme from Ski Sunday in my head as the trees went flashing past me!
As I stood on the final section of the run, preparing for the run-in, it made me think about how unreal it was that I was there. 4 months ago I was in a job that I hated, going nowhere, and now I'm stood on a mountain in Montana skiing for nothing. It was quite a moment.
Anyway, I made it down to the end of the run intact, felling very pleased with myself that I had done it. It's quite an achievement I think, having had no training, to manage to survive two ski runs with nothing more than a bloody nose and an aching body.
So I was now totally shattered and headed back to the restaurant to wait for the others. As I waited I watched the all the people coming and going. It was so nice to see families coming together, with the kids as young as 3 or 4 strapping on skis and getting about. It really made me homesick though, seeing the families all together. I so wished that was me.
Eventually Kip turned up, looking worn out, so we went and took some photos and took our equipment back - we had both had enough for one day. We sat in the bar and had a drink to toast our skiing successes, joined shortly by the others. And at about 4pm we headed off home.
Now, this is where we really regretted not taking a lift in Rob's car. Our little toyota was going to struggle a bit to get through the snow. It had been snowing quite heavily on and off throughout the day, so the roads were covered. And the roads down from the mountains are naturally very twisty and turny!! It was a bit of a hairy ride, but we made it OK and, once back on the freeway, we could relax.
What an experience we've had here. Everyone has looked after us so well and just given us some amazing memories that will stay for us for years to come.
It all started with an early breakfast, then off to meet Rob and Curtis at work for 7:30. We made the decision to follow them there in our car, rather than go in Rob's big 4-wheel-drive wagon, as we thought that would give us the option of coming back early if we got tired or fed up. This is a decision we would somewhat regret later on!
Snow was forecast for today, and as we headed up into the mountains, we started to see it. The resort we were heading to is called Big Sky...and what a place it was. Absolutely amazing scenery, tree-lined slopes, huge mountains, ski runs all over, and snow falling heavily.
We arrived at about 9:00 and Rob very kindly paid for all our tickets and equipment hire. A free day's skiing! After getting kitted up with boots, skis and sticks, Kip, Curtis and I headed for what Rob had indicated was an easy slope - "Lower Mr K". Curtis used to be a competition skier and said he would give me a quick lesson to get me going. So we jumped on the lift - what a great view you get from up there - and headed up the slope. Jumping off the lift at the top was the first time I had ever skied on snow (the only other time I had skied before was a long long time ago on a dry slope). It was quite exhilarating when my skis first touched the snow and I slid off toward the slope.
Curtis gave me a quick rundown on the way to turn and slow down (very important!), and we started down the slope, me traversing the route rather slowly. It only took a moment before I fell over for the first time. I seemed to be okay heading across the snow, but when I came to turn round I started going faster, panicked and fell over! After a while I got the hang of turning slowly and we continued down the slope. We soon realised, however, that the slope we were on was NOT actually an easy slope. It was very long and had some quite steep bits. So here I am, first time skier, already belting down the mountain like a looney. Some of you may recall a similar situation last time I skied! At least this time I could steer a bit!
But I fell. About 8 times. And rather spectacularly in one instance, which involved me going face-first into the snow, resulting in a bloody nose! After a short foray into some trees (!) I started to get better. Kip and Curtis were both quite impressed that I was doing so well. Apparently you don't normally do stuff like this till about the 5th day of ski school, so I guess I was doing pretty well, albeit intermittently!
I started getting so tired. Its amazing how many different new muscles you discover trying to ski. It was just such hard work trying to keep turning the skis, keep leaning forward, looking up, avoiding other people....and when I fell down, it took such an effort to get back up - having to reattach the skis to my boots got harder every time as my legs got more and more tired. But I made it in the end, sliding down to the bottom really quite gracefully I thought. What an experience! I was absolutely shattered. It had taken about half an hour, but it felt like I'd been at it all morning! I staggered off the snow and went to sit in the restaurant to recover. I was shaking, both with the adrenaline rush, but also from he sheer effort I had had to put in. I think I stopped shaking about 2 hours later! By this time, the rest of the guys were coming in for lunch, so we ate and rested for a while before heading out again.
I was determined to do another run, despite being totally worn out. The rest of the guys were going down some of the harder slopes, so I headed off to a slope that had been recommended by an instructor as an easy one - no messing about this time! Rob had brought walkie-talkies for us all, so I took one of these in case I needed to summon assistance(!) and headed off to "White Wing".
I started well, falling over as I slid off the lift ramp. Not a good start! but I got better. I made my way across the mountain to the start of the run and headed off, traversing quite well to start with. I got a little more confident on a flatter bit and just went straight, with parallel skis. That was fun. I really picked up speed. I must have covered a third of the run in that mode, until the speed I was going at started to worry me a bit, so I started steering up the slopes at the side to slow down. This worked, but, of course, having gone up the slope, I had to come down again, which set me off accelerating again! I only fell once during these maneuvers tho. I think because I was more relaxed, I was more conscious of my balance. As I was shooting down the run, I felt really good - one heck of a rush! I could hear the theme from Ski Sunday in my head as the trees went flashing past me!
As I stood on the final section of the run, preparing for the run-in, it made me think about how unreal it was that I was there. 4 months ago I was in a job that I hated, going nowhere, and now I'm stood on a mountain in Montana skiing for nothing. It was quite a moment.
Anyway, I made it down to the end of the run intact, felling very pleased with myself that I had done it. It's quite an achievement I think, having had no training, to manage to survive two ski runs with nothing more than a bloody nose and an aching body.
So I was now totally shattered and headed back to the restaurant to wait for the others. As I waited I watched the all the people coming and going. It was so nice to see families coming together, with the kids as young as 3 or 4 strapping on skis and getting about. It really made me homesick though, seeing the families all together. I so wished that was me.
Eventually Kip turned up, looking worn out, so we went and took some photos and took our equipment back - we had both had enough for one day. We sat in the bar and had a drink to toast our skiing successes, joined shortly by the others. And at about 4pm we headed off home.
Now, this is where we really regretted not taking a lift in Rob's car. Our little toyota was going to struggle a bit to get through the snow. It had been snowing quite heavily on and off throughout the day, so the roads were covered. And the roads down from the mountains are naturally very twisty and turny!! It was a bit of a hairy ride, but we made it OK and, once back on the freeway, we could relax.
What an experience we've had here. Everyone has looked after us so well and just given us some amazing memories that will stay for us for years to come.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Training: Day 12 - Crazy Cowboys
Well, I made it to the end of another week!
Usual stary as far as training goes. It's all going pretty well - I'm picking it all up OK. Lunch today was at "Burger Bobs" - actually the first real burger I've had since I've been here. Not bad really, considering its the USA.
We finished early, so we went back to the hotel for a while, before heading back out. The guy in charge of Professional Services took us out for a meal at a "real Montanan place". The food was good...traditional stuff for round here - steak, tuna, bufallo. The bar was full of cowboys though. And I mean real cowboys, with the hats and the swing dancing. There was a small band in the corner chirning out the country songs (yeah...my favourite ;o) ). But it was a good night. Everyone seemed highly amused by my exagerated version of an American accent. At one point I thought I was about to be accosted by two cowboys for taking the mickey, but they just wanted to hear me say "beer-can"......Yeah.....crazy cowboys!
Usual stary as far as training goes. It's all going pretty well - I'm picking it all up OK. Lunch today was at "Burger Bobs" - actually the first real burger I've had since I've been here. Not bad really, considering its the USA.
We finished early, so we went back to the hotel for a while, before heading back out. The guy in charge of Professional Services took us out for a meal at a "real Montanan place". The food was good...traditional stuff for round here - steak, tuna, bufallo. The bar was full of cowboys though. And I mean real cowboys, with the hats and the swing dancing. There was a small band in the corner chirning out the country songs (yeah...my favourite ;o) ). But it was a good night. Everyone seemed highly amused by my exagerated version of an American accent. At one point I thought I was about to be accosted by two cowboys for taking the mickey, but they just wanted to hear me say "beer-can"......Yeah.....crazy cowboys!
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Training: Day 11
Early start today - it was Rob's 7:30 Thursday morning briefing, at which he previewed some of the photos from yesterday's shooting expedition - they look really good. Hopefully he's going to send them through.
The training was another quiet affair, with salad for lunch. It was a beautiful day so we sat by the lake to eat it. Very civilised!
We went for dinner to a place called Mint in Belgrade, the next town along the freeway. (Yes, it was named after the Serbian capital by the Serbian guy that founded it.) It was really nice...I had a lovely veggie pasta dish, which is quite a rareity round here. They guys had steak, which looked pretty good, but I was glad to have had the pasta - I felt much better for it.
Then it was an early night for all. I think we all needed it.
The training was another quiet affair, with salad for lunch. It was a beautiful day so we sat by the lake to eat it. Very civilised!
We went for dinner to a place called Mint in Belgrade, the next town along the freeway. (Yes, it was named after the Serbian capital by the Serbian guy that founded it.) It was really nice...I had a lovely veggie pasta dish, which is quite a rareity round here. They guys had steak, which looked pretty good, but I was glad to have had the pasta - I felt much better for it.
Then it was an early night for all. I think we all needed it.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Training: Day 10 - Sushi and Shooting
It was a big day today. Rob had been threatening to take us shooting ever since we got here and today was the day. The training went OK as usual. It's not too bad this week - the stuff we're doing is fairly easy. After my training is over, I have to go out on a site-visit shadowing another consultant. I found out today that I'll be going to a client in Cambridge after Easter, which will b e quite good as I'll hopefully be able to call in on my sister Kathryn.
At lunch we decided to go out for a change, and the consensus was that we should have sushi. Now, I have never had sushi before so was not too keen, but thought I'd give it a go. I took Kip's recommendation and ordered some kind of Tuna roll. It eally didn't do anything for me. It was so fiddly and the leaf that it was wrapped in was quite tough, so I ended up gettin rice all over the table! And it was very salty....just not my thing at all. I managed 3 rolls, but that was all. Most disappointing.
As for the shooting, we headed off with Rob and Curtis, his second-in-command, up into the mountains with a boot full of weapons! We ended up taking a narrow, winding, icy road through a canyon up to a clearing about half way up the mountain. Rob and Curtis set up some boxes with targets on and a row of tin cans about 80 meters away. They had an array of rifles...we started with a smaller one (a .22?) which was quite easy to handle (although i dont think any of us hit a target with it to start with!). We worked out way up to shooting something quite a bit bigger, which had a mini bi-pod at the end - you had to lay down sniper style. The noise this one made was phenomenal - such a loud boom...the ground shook!
We must have been shooting for about 2 hours, until the light got too bad to see. It was actually a really good time. I think we had all been a bit apprehensive, as Rob can be a bit overpowering sometimes, but he was fine and Curtis is a really nice guy. At the end, we set up 3 targets, one each, and took some shots, so we could take our targets home to show our success (or not!). I think I did just about the best, with 5 shots on target, and a couple fairly close to the centre.
It was a bit hairy getting out of the clearing and back down the canyon, with light fading and temperatures dropping. But we made it out and went for celebratory drinks afterwards. Rob had been taking photos of the shooting, and I'll hopefully get some copies and post them here when I can.
Overall, a pretty good day.
At lunch we decided to go out for a change, and the consensus was that we should have sushi. Now, I have never had sushi before so was not too keen, but thought I'd give it a go. I took Kip's recommendation and ordered some kind of Tuna roll. It eally didn't do anything for me. It was so fiddly and the leaf that it was wrapped in was quite tough, so I ended up gettin rice all over the table! And it was very salty....just not my thing at all. I managed 3 rolls, but that was all. Most disappointing.
As for the shooting, we headed off with Rob and Curtis, his second-in-command, up into the mountains with a boot full of weapons! We ended up taking a narrow, winding, icy road through a canyon up to a clearing about half way up the mountain. Rob and Curtis set up some boxes with targets on and a row of tin cans about 80 meters away. They had an array of rifles...we started with a smaller one (a .22?) which was quite easy to handle (although i dont think any of us hit a target with it to start with!). We worked out way up to shooting something quite a bit bigger, which had a mini bi-pod at the end - you had to lay down sniper style. The noise this one made was phenomenal - such a loud boom...the ground shook!
We must have been shooting for about 2 hours, until the light got too bad to see. It was actually a really good time. I think we had all been a bit apprehensive, as Rob can be a bit overpowering sometimes, but he was fine and Curtis is a really nice guy. At the end, we set up 3 targets, one each, and took some shots, so we could take our targets home to show our success (or not!). I think I did just about the best, with 5 shots on target, and a couple fairly close to the centre.
It was a bit hairy getting out of the clearing and back down the canyon, with light fading and temperatures dropping. But we made it out and went for celebratory drinks afterwards. Rob had been taking photos of the shooting, and I'll hopefully get some copies and post them here when I can.
Overall, a pretty good day.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Training: Day 9
Another pretty quiet day today. Training went OK, nothing very exciting.
Kip wanted to go home and detox(!) after work, so Mark and I went out to the "movies". We saw "Constantine", with Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz. It was a little scary in places, demons and stuff...but quite deep in a theological kind of way(!). It was nice to go and do something different for a change.
Kip wanted to go home and detox(!) after work, so Mark and I went out to the "movies". We saw "Constantine", with Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz. It was a little scary in places, demons and stuff...but quite deep in a theological kind of way(!). It was nice to go and do something different for a change.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Training: Day 8
A quiet day today. We had a new trainer and we were in a new room, which is a proper training room - much better than the broom cupboard we were in last week.
An exciting moment was when it started raining! Haven't seen any sort of precipitation since we got here, so it was so nice to have a bit of a change. Made us feel at home!
We went out to a Mexican restaurant for tea (think we've pretty much done them all now!), then got taken out by Rob for a late night of drinks.
An exciting moment was when it started raining! Haven't seen any sort of precipitation since we got here, so it was so nice to have a bit of a change. Made us feel at home!
We went out to a Mexican restaurant for tea (think we've pretty much done them all now!), then got taken out by Rob for a late night of drinks.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Training: Day 7 - Buffalo Jump and Ghost Town
Today was Mother's Day in the UK, so I rang home this morning to speak to Lisa. It was really nice to talk for a change.
We headed out for a journey to explore the west of the area today. We left at around 9:45 and drove for about an hour, till we came to a place called "Buffalo Jump". This is where the indians (sorry, "Native Americans") used to drive the buffalo over the cliff to kill them. It was clearly much easier to persuade them to jump over a cliff than to hunt them down individually. It was odd, but looking at the cliff, you could just imagine it all happening before you.
After driving back up the rather precarious dust track, we carried on down the main road, heading for some "ghost towns" that Kip had read about.
We were travelling through gold-rush country (we even saw some real tumble-weeed!). There are several old towns that were set up just for the people that came over to mine the gold, silver and gems that had been discovered in the area. Then, when all the treasure had gone, the towns were simply abandoned. The one that we eventually found, after what seemed like an eternity driving, was called Virginia City (they use the term "city" rather loosely in the States).
It was a real old cowboy town, and it was fascinating to read the history of all the different buildings. Some were original, some had been restored and some had been transferred from other similar abandoned towns to be restored and added to those in Virginia City.
After Virginia City, we continued on until we reached a small town where we ate some lunch - a very stodgy Chinese. We then headed back on a very long journey to Bozeman. By this time I was feeling a bit fed up of mountains and plains. Kip and Mark were interested in going to the Bozeman Hot Springs, but I didn't really feel like it, so I went back to the hotel for a rest. My laptop had crashed this morning and, as this is pretty much my only link with home, I was keen to get it working. After a while, thankfully, I got it going again.
Dinner tonight was at "Famous Dave's BBQ" - a huge selection of stuff served on a dustobin lid, quite bizarely. We had ribs, chicken wings, coleslaw, beans & fries...good job we're only here for another week and a half!
To see all of todays photos, click here. To see them as a slideshow, click here.
We headed out for a journey to explore the west of the area today. We left at around 9:45 and drove for about an hour, till we came to a place called "Buffalo Jump". This is where the indians (sorry, "Native Americans") used to drive the buffalo over the cliff to kill them. It was clearly much easier to persuade them to jump over a cliff than to hunt them down individually. It was odd, but looking at the cliff, you could just imagine it all happening before you.
After driving back up the rather precarious dust track, we carried on down the main road, heading for some "ghost towns" that Kip had read about.
We were travelling through gold-rush country (we even saw some real tumble-weeed!). There are several old towns that were set up just for the people that came over to mine the gold, silver and gems that had been discovered in the area. Then, when all the treasure had gone, the towns were simply abandoned. The one that we eventually found, after what seemed like an eternity driving, was called Virginia City (they use the term "city" rather loosely in the States).
It was a real old cowboy town, and it was fascinating to read the history of all the different buildings. Some were original, some had been restored and some had been transferred from other similar abandoned towns to be restored and added to those in Virginia City.
After Virginia City, we continued on until we reached a small town where we ate some lunch - a very stodgy Chinese. We then headed back on a very long journey to Bozeman. By this time I was feeling a bit fed up of mountains and plains. Kip and Mark were interested in going to the Bozeman Hot Springs, but I didn't really feel like it, so I went back to the hotel for a rest. My laptop had crashed this morning and, as this is pretty much my only link with home, I was keen to get it working. After a while, thankfully, I got it going again.
Dinner tonight was at "Famous Dave's BBQ" - a huge selection of stuff served on a dustobin lid, quite bizarely. We had ribs, chicken wings, coleslaw, beans & fries...good job we're only here for another week and a half!
To see all of todays photos, click here. To see them as a slideshow, click here.
Training: Day 6 - Our Yellowstone Adventure
Today was to be our big adventure to Yellowstone national Park...unfortunately Kip was living up to his name and could not get out of bed due to a monster hangover. I had got up at about 8:30 and gone for breakfast, then Mark surfaced about 10:00. There being no sign of Kip, we thought it best to leave him to his recovery, so we went off for a walk around the shops near the hotel - nothing very exciting. Mark went in to get his hair cut and I went back to see if Kip had emerged yet - he hadn't. By the time it got to 12:00, we were both starving, so I rang Kip to get him up. Eventually he appeared and we headed off.
First thing on the agenda was food - we all felt like just some quick and easy junk food, so looked out for something suitable. It seems that every junk food restaurant we found was either too busy, too fancy or too odd. We must have visited 4 or 5 places, before finally getting a KFC drive-through. I don't think we really noticed what we were eating after that, we were just so hungry.
Fully fed and watered we set off for Yellowstone. It's about 90 miles from Bozeman, so it took us nearly 2 hours to get there. Near the entrance we stopped in the very small town of Gardiner - it made Bozeman look like New York! We picked up some water for the journey and went on our way.
The scenery at the park was just stunning. Huge mountain ranges, wide plains, deep snow, thousands of trees....just beautiful.
Before long we began to see some of the wildlife in the park. We saw Bison, buffalo, elk, deer, coyotes...no bears tho, as they are only just waking up, and there are wolves, but they are very hard to spot - people come with high-tech scopes just to look for wolves. The most numerous of all these was the bison though - loads of these all over. They wander across the road and you have to be careful not to knock them down.
As we drove back through the park, it was starting to get dark and we were conscious that we had come totally unprepared for any emergency. They recommend you bring a mobile phone (ours don;t work round here), some warm clothes (we were in jeans and t-shirts!), food (we had half a KFC left...), water (we had some - yay!), and much more. It just goes to show how little we appreciate what life is like over here.
The trip back though the park seemed much quicker than when we went through in the other direction, although the journey from the exit back to Bozeman seemed to go on forever. It was dark and Mark (who was driving) was tired enough from the night before, without having to drive long distances as well. It was a long ride home, but eventually we arrived back at about 8:30. We all went straight to our rooms for an early night!
To see all the photos I took on our adventure today, click here. To view them as a slideshow, click here.
First thing on the agenda was food - we all felt like just some quick and easy junk food, so looked out for something suitable. It seems that every junk food restaurant we found was either too busy, too fancy or too odd. We must have visited 4 or 5 places, before finally getting a KFC drive-through. I don't think we really noticed what we were eating after that, we were just so hungry.
Fully fed and watered we set off for Yellowstone. It's about 90 miles from Bozeman, so it took us nearly 2 hours to get there. Near the entrance we stopped in the very small town of Gardiner - it made Bozeman look like New York! We picked up some water for the journey and went on our way.
The scenery at the park was just stunning. Huge mountain ranges, wide plains, deep snow, thousands of trees....just beautiful.
Before long we began to see some of the wildlife in the park. We saw Bison, buffalo, elk, deer, coyotes...no bears tho, as they are only just waking up, and there are wolves, but they are very hard to spot - people come with high-tech scopes just to look for wolves. The most numerous of all these was the bison though - loads of these all over. They wander across the road and you have to be careful not to knock them down.
Here's a small video of one who got a bit close!
It took us about an hour to drive through the park. Most of the roads are closed in the winter, so we could only see a small part of it - we probably saw only 15% of the whole thing. When we got out the there side of the park, we were in another 1-horse town called Cooke City. They may only have 1 horse, but they have dozens of snowmobiles. And perhaps we should have been riding one, because the road out of Cooke City, and the only way back to the motorway other than going through the park, was still covered with 2-3 feet of snow! So, after confirming with a local that we would have to travel back all the way through Yellowstone, we decided we should eat something to keep us going. So we had some more just food at the local diner, then filled up with petrol and set off back through the park.
As we drove back through the park, it was starting to get dark and we were conscious that we had come totally unprepared for any emergency. They recommend you bring a mobile phone (ours don;t work round here), some warm clothes (we were in jeans and t-shirts!), food (we had half a KFC left...), water (we had some - yay!), and much more. It just goes to show how little we appreciate what life is like over here.
The trip back though the park seemed much quicker than when we went through in the other direction, although the journey from the exit back to Bozeman seemed to go on forever. It was dark and Mark (who was driving) was tired enough from the night before, without having to drive long distances as well. It was a long ride home, but eventually we arrived back at about 8:30. We all went straight to our rooms for an early night!
To see all the photos I took on our adventure today, click here. To view them as a slideshow, click here.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Training: Day 5 - The first week over
It was good to reach the end of the first week today. It was a fairly easy-going day and we got to finish at 4pm, so it was a nice gentle end to the week.
I think we are all agreed that the whole hyper-positive american enthusiasm for everything is starting to get a little tiring, especially in the comfines of our small training room. So it was good to see that we are moving up to the proper training room next week.
Lunch was a ceasar salad, which was very nice for a change. All the previous lunch offerings have been a bit dodgy. It was quite light as I knew it would be a big meal at night - which it was! Rob (Tech Support Director) took the three of us out to a place called Boodles, which is reputedly the best place in Bozeman. We all had steak which was beautiful - just fell apart...no need for steak knives. It was a lovely meal in very nice surroundings, so we had a great time.
From there we then went on to a couple of bars down the main street in Bozeman. There aren't that many to choose from so we didn't have far to go. Quite a few beers later, we headed "home", glad to have finished our first week of training
I think we are all agreed that the whole hyper-positive american enthusiasm for everything is starting to get a little tiring, especially in the comfines of our small training room. So it was good to see that we are moving up to the proper training room next week.
Lunch was a ceasar salad, which was very nice for a change. All the previous lunch offerings have been a bit dodgy. It was quite light as I knew it would be a big meal at night - which it was! Rob (Tech Support Director) took the three of us out to a place called Boodles, which is reputedly the best place in Bozeman. We all had steak which was beautiful - just fell apart...no need for steak knives. It was a lovely meal in very nice surroundings, so we had a great time.
From there we then went on to a couple of bars down the main street in Bozeman. There aren't that many to choose from so we didn't have far to go. Quite a few beers later, we headed "home", glad to have finished our first week of training
Friday, March 04, 2005
Training: Day 4
Early start today - there was a briefing at 7:30, so we were all in the office for 7:15. As it turned out, it wasn't really much of a meeting and only lasted about 15 mins, which was a bit of a shame.
The rest of the day was spent in our usual broom-cupboard (although we are scheduled to move up to a bigger room for next week). Another fairly easy day for me. Kip is starting to lag behind a bit, as he is torn between wanting to spend time making links with the tech-support team here and wanting to learn about the product. As tech support manager for europe, he's in quite a tricky position.
Lunch today was chinese. I ordered Garlic Chicken Strips with rice, thinking it sounded nice. When it came, it was just 6 small chicken drumsticks, and there wasn't much meat on them. And no rice! Not what I had hoped for. By the time 5pm came around I was getting very hungry. Luckily, we had a meeting after work to fix some of the tech support issues that have been left unfixed while Kip and Mark are over here, and pizzas were provided. I had a slice to keep me going. It was a good session, giving me a good insight into the sort of issues that tech support have to deal with and how they go about fixing them.
After all this, we got away about 7:30 and decided to head to the Italian restaurant close to the hotel. i had a salad and we all had much-needed beers. It had been a very long day .
The rest of the day was spent in our usual broom-cupboard (although we are scheduled to move up to a bigger room for next week). Another fairly easy day for me. Kip is starting to lag behind a bit, as he is torn between wanting to spend time making links with the tech-support team here and wanting to learn about the product. As tech support manager for europe, he's in quite a tricky position.
Lunch today was chinese. I ordered Garlic Chicken Strips with rice, thinking it sounded nice. When it came, it was just 6 small chicken drumsticks, and there wasn't much meat on them. And no rice! Not what I had hoped for. By the time 5pm came around I was getting very hungry. Luckily, we had a meeting after work to fix some of the tech support issues that have been left unfixed while Kip and Mark are over here, and pizzas were provided. I had a slice to keep me going. It was a good session, giving me a good insight into the sort of issues that tech support have to deal with and how they go about fixing them.
After all this, we got away about 7:30 and decided to head to the Italian restaurant close to the hotel. i had a salad and we all had much-needed beers. It had been a very long day .
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Training: Day 3 - Mountains and Plonk
More of the same today...technical training all day. It's going OK - I pick things up fairly easily, and, compared to Siebel, that I was using at BT, it is a doddle.
We ate in for lunch - we had ordered tacos/wraps etc from a local deli, which was nice, if a bit stodgy. We (us brits) have been invited out by the Tech Support director on Friday night, which should be fun. And tomorrow we have a long day - there's a tech support get-together at 7:30am and a fault-fixing get-together after work till who-knows-when. As the other 2 guys are both tech support, which should be quite useful for me in getting a view of tech support issues.
Straight from work today, we decided to take a trip to the Bridger Bowl ski resort, about half an hour from Bozeman. It is supposed to be quite a fun place, with bars and restaurants, which we thought would be a good night out. Well, it was a nice journey, up through the mountains. But when we got there it was empty...about 3 other cars and not another person in sight! Not quite the apres-ski atmosphere we had hoped for! So we looked around, took some photos and went back to Bozeman.
We ended up having dinner at a place called "Plonk", which had pretty much every kind of wine imaginable (of which we sampled a nice Pinot Noir and a Corbiere). The food was really nice too, not at all like we have had elsewhere - quite small and simple dishes, but really tasty. The atmosphere was good too, and, as always in this country, the service was excellent.
We ate in for lunch - we had ordered tacos/wraps etc from a local deli, which was nice, if a bit stodgy. We (us brits) have been invited out by the Tech Support director on Friday night, which should be fun. And tomorrow we have a long day - there's a tech support get-together at 7:30am and a fault-fixing get-together after work till who-knows-when. As the other 2 guys are both tech support, which should be quite useful for me in getting a view of tech support issues.
Straight from work today, we decided to take a trip to the Bridger Bowl ski resort, about half an hour from Bozeman. It is supposed to be quite a fun place, with bars and restaurants, which we thought would be a good night out. Well, it was a nice journey, up through the mountains. But when we got there it was empty...about 3 other cars and not another person in sight! Not quite the apres-ski atmosphere we had hoped for! So we looked around, took some photos and went back to Bozeman.
Bridger Bowl landscape (wmv 2.4mb)
The Bridger Bowl Ski Resort
The Bridger Mountains
Kip and Mark - "Where's the action?"
Now you too can treat your pets as well as the Americans do, with the following pet products from SkyMall:
The "Stay-Fresh Feline Drinking Fountain"..."continuously circulates, filters and aerates your cat's water supply", removing all those impurities and "odour-causing particulates". Huh?
The "Pet Staircase" helps pets climb up onto the furniture and is "skid-resistant"....don't even go there!
The "Lightweight Pet Stroller" and "Double-Decker Pet Stroller" are easy to push and fold easily for storage. They're designed for dogs and cats and keep them, "safe, ventilated and shaded".
The "Pet Playpen" is "the largest available" (that's goos coz I was so frustrated at the size of all the other pet playpens I've seen...) It's got PVC mesh walls and floor, and even has a "zippered door". Lets just hope your dog is good at doing zippers...
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Training: Day 2
Today was the first day of the "real" training. It had snowed overnight, which was a really nice surprise when I opened the curtains. Apparently Montana is in the middle of a 7-year drought, and so they're just not getting the amount of snow that they used to. So I think everyone was a bit pleased to see some.
After a decent breakfast (coffee, cheerios, bagel, juice) we got into the office for an 8:30 start. As I mentioned, the room we're in is really small and very cramped with all 12 of us in. We'll all be good friends by the time we've finished!
The morning's training was OK...and I was able to chat briefly to the family on MSN in the breaks, which was really nice. At 11:30 we went out for a "team" dinner to a very nice bistro in town. The food was delicious - I was nearly tempted to try an elk sandwich, but opted out and plumped for chicken instead. I must try it before I go tho...that or buffalo. It was a very nice lunch and gave us a good chance to chat to the other people on the course as well.
When we returned to the office, I had an email from the Tech Support director inviting Kip, Mark and myself to a "team-building skiing day" on March 12th. He had been threatening to take us skiing when we met him yesterday, despite our assertions that none of us were skiers. Not sure if we're really up to it as I gather he's a bit of an expert...although the message seemed a bit more of a request, rather than a simple invitation. We'll have to see.
We started actually getting hands-on with the software this afternoon, and I was well ahead of the game as I'd been working through the exercises for the last couple of weeks. Think I'll be OK with it - looking forward to getting back home and actually using it for real.
Tonight we're heading back into town to try to find somewhere to get something to eat. I don't think any of us are all the hungry after our very American-sized lunch, but we will need to find something as the hotel has no restaurant.
The "Sleep Sound Generator"
This small white box emits a "gentle whooshing sound" that blocks "continuous or annoying sounds", thus helping you sleep. Now, I don't know about you, but I could do without any whooshing while I try and sleep. And if you are bothered by "cointinuous or annoying sounds", perhaps cotton woll in your ears would be cheaper than a $50 box.
Tomorrows featured items: Pet drinking fountain, Pet Staircase, Pet strollers, Double Pet Strollers and a Pet Playpen!
After a decent breakfast (coffee, cheerios, bagel, juice) we got into the office for an 8:30 start. As I mentioned, the room we're in is really small and very cramped with all 12 of us in. We'll all be good friends by the time we've finished!
The morning's training was OK...and I was able to chat briefly to the family on MSN in the breaks, which was really nice. At 11:30 we went out for a "team" dinner to a very nice bistro in town. The food was delicious - I was nearly tempted to try an elk sandwich, but opted out and plumped for chicken instead. I must try it before I go tho...that or buffalo. It was a very nice lunch and gave us a good chance to chat to the other people on the course as well.
When we returned to the office, I had an email from the Tech Support director inviting Kip, Mark and myself to a "team-building skiing day" on March 12th. He had been threatening to take us skiing when we met him yesterday, despite our assertions that none of us were skiers. Not sure if we're really up to it as I gather he's a bit of an expert...although the message seemed a bit more of a request, rather than a simple invitation. We'll have to see.
We started actually getting hands-on with the software this afternoon, and I was well ahead of the game as I'd been working through the exercises for the last couple of weeks. Think I'll be OK with it - looking forward to getting back home and actually using it for real.
Tonight we're heading back into town to try to find somewhere to get something to eat. I don't think any of us are all the hungry after our very American-sized lunch, but we will need to find something as the hotel has no restaurant.
The "Sleep Sound Generator"
This small white box emits a "gentle whooshing sound" that blocks "continuous or annoying sounds", thus helping you sleep. Now, I don't know about you, but I could do without any whooshing while I try and sleep. And if you are bothered by "cointinuous or annoying sounds", perhaps cotton woll in your ears would be cheaper than a $50 box.
Tomorrows featured items: Pet drinking fountain, Pet Staircase, Pet strollers, Double Pet Strollers and a Pet Playpen!
Bozeman sights
This was the sight that greeted me from my bedroom window this morning.
.
And this is the view from the RightNow office car park.
(Click on the images to see bigger versions)
Not bad huh? I really wish Lisa and the kids were here to see it...
.And this is the view from the RightNow office car park.
(Click on the images to see bigger versions)
Not bad huh? I really wish Lisa and the kids were here to see it...
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Training: day 1
So, the first day of training went OK. It was basically an overview about general HR stuff... It started with an opening by the founder and CEO, Greg Gianforte, which was actually pretty good. He's got a good vision for the company, and conveys it very well. Although us English folk were slightly taken aback with his stories about hunting bears and eating them... Not quite what we're used to!
It was followed by presentations of varying quality, but generally it was a good day. We had pizza for lunch, which was OK, although a bit stodgy and I couldn't really eat that much.
I started to feel very tired after lunch and relied on much coffee to keep me going! By the end of the day, me, Kip and Mark (the other 2 guys from the UK) decided that we should probably go and eat before going back to the hotel, as we'd probably fall asleep if we chilled out for a bit first. So we ventured down the main street in Bozeman...and realised how much of a one-horse town it is. We couldn't beleive how quiet it was. We finally came upon a bar that someone had recommended to us, so we pulled in and had food and a few beers. Later, some of the american guys from the course turned up, so we played some pool ( I think we wone overall...) and did our bit for anglo-american relations.
Tomorrow we're in a pretty pokey room, 12 of us, which will be nice and cosy! At least we get to use our laptops, so I will be able to access the net, which I couldn't do today (my training PC was playing up).
I mentioned the excellent on-board shopping magazine that I picked up in the flight here. Here's today's feature item:
Sounds good huh?
Don't know how I've managed with out it for so long! Featured item for tomorrow: "The Sleep Sound Generator"
It was followed by presentations of varying quality, but generally it was a good day. We had pizza for lunch, which was OK, although a bit stodgy and I couldn't really eat that much.
I started to feel very tired after lunch and relied on much coffee to keep me going! By the end of the day, me, Kip and Mark (the other 2 guys from the UK) decided that we should probably go and eat before going back to the hotel, as we'd probably fall asleep if we chilled out for a bit first. So we ventured down the main street in Bozeman...and realised how much of a one-horse town it is. We couldn't beleive how quiet it was. We finally came upon a bar that someone had recommended to us, so we pulled in and had food and a few beers. Later, some of the american guys from the course turned up, so we played some pool ( I think we wone overall...) and did our bit for anglo-american relations.
Tomorrow we're in a pretty pokey room, 12 of us, which will be nice and cosy! At least we get to use our laptops, so I will be able to access the net, which I couldn't do today (my training PC was playing up).
I mentioned the excellent on-board shopping magazine that I picked up in the flight here. Here's today's feature item:
"New! Turbo-Clipper - the power tool for a man's nails - cuts clean and
traps flyaway clippings!"
Sounds good huh?
"Our innovative Turbo-Clipper easily cuts fingernails and toenails with
hardened steel clippers...neatly directs all nail clippings into a
compartment...no more flyaway clippings!...Comes with deluxe microfibre case."
Don't know how I've managed with out it for so long! Featured item for tomorrow: "The Sleep Sound Generator"
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