Week17

Hi everyone, the last 2 weeks have been exceedingly busy on the work-front, with things now going so well that the client is now talking about us doing some more work for them. In addition, it also looks like we'll be doing a combined presentation at the annual itSMF conference in Long Beach later this year. Both very good news.

Not much to report on the leisure front. Went to a sports & tv memorabilia show last weekend, where I bought some X-Files and Alias goodies to add to my collection. On my return I drove through Carbon Canyon, a very scenic area to the east of LA, and you can see some pics on this weeks photos page.

On Tuesday evening we had a torrential downpour, leaving an inch of rain in the valleys but a foot of snow high up in the mountains. The following morning the view of the mountains, freshly capped with snow, from my living room balcony was simply beautiful. Wildfires remain a constant threat around the southern California area, with Santa Ana only having had 2.13 inches of rain since July 1st last year, almost 5 inches below normal.

Last Sunday I went to the local mall to take photographs of the Festival of Orchids. Following a recent flower competition, all of the entries had relocated to the mall for the weekend. All three floors of the mall either had orchid displays or orchids for sale. Some of the displays looked stunning, but the smell played havoc with my sinuses. Anyway, check the photos along with the rest of the pictures from the last 2 weeks by clicking here.

It's another Bank Holiday tomorrow over here in the US, this time President's Day. They have 3 more bank hols than what we do, but not as much annual leave. A discussion in the office last week revealed employees usually start on 10 days annual leave, and it takes about 10 years to build up to 4 weeks leave.

Finally, one scary note - I think I've been here too long. I was at the car rental office on Friday signing my regular monthly renewal agreement and as I left I said to the agent "have a nice day now", just as yanks typically do. I'm a Brit, get me out of here!

Until the next time, goodbye and 'have a nice day'!