Fish and Flowers

Working the Philly Flower show was an exercise in endurance. Getting to the convention center by 7:15am and working the booth until 9:30pm was a bit grueling, especially when we lost the hour of sleep on Saturday night.

The worst part, however, was that the folks I was working with from the Irish Tourist Board would take off for the Pub at 7:30, leaving me and my ridiculous sense of work ethic, to finish out the show on my own. Sure, I was invited to go along for a pint, but I just couldn't leave the stand when I could potentially make 10 or 100 more sales for the evening. Thanks Mom and Dad for making me a slave.

The best part of the show was having the chance to walk around the hall and see all the exhibits before the crowds came in. I got some pretty fun pictures out of it. I also got some nice shots at the Reading Market, where I would hang out for lunch each day. Sadly I didn't get the picture I wanted, a pretty Amish girl texting on her hot pink Motorola cell phone.

Here are a few favorites, the rest are found in my flickr account:

Me and My Ethic Hard at Work

What is with today's youth?

At the flower show yesterday I got the following question from a guy in his early 20s:

"Are Scotland, Ireland and Italy in the same country?"

Sadly, he was serious. When I replied that they were all separate countries in Europe, his reply was:

"Oh, they're in Europe? I didn't know. I feel kinda stupid."

Off to smell the flowers

I am off tomorrow to the Philly Flower Show to work with the Irish National Tourism Board for 4 days promoting my company's Ireland travel programs. Who knew that flower lovers want to travel to Ireland? Not me! I am going to have to take a crash course on Irish Vegetation and Horticulture.

If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello.

On a related note, did you know that Globespan airlines is starting a new trans-Atlantic service from Boston and JFK to Knock Airport in Northwestern Ireland? It's no frills (no meal!) but cheap!

Assembly

As 60 pieces of wood and 200 nails, bolts, screws, holders, and knobs were assembled last night to make this Ikea beauty, I wondered 2 things:
1) How many relationships have disintegrated after arguments stemming from interpreting the 25 page assembly manual?

2) Since it's founding in 1943, how many times has Ikea's name been taken in vain, and in how many languages?

Nostalgia

Today is a chilly, rainy and dark day which of course makes me nostalgic for Amsterdam.

New Patterns

My day is always unpredictable and full of different projects-- not that much different than a typical day at EF in that regard. But that's probably where the similarities end.

Working for a small family-run company has it's advantages. There is a disturbingly small amount of red tape to cut through. I am learning that when a decision needs to be made, regardless of category or importance, it's a-OK that I go right ahead and make the decision. No deparment heads, no meetings, no checking in with the President who is invariably off in another country drinking wee cups of vodka or espresso. Just get it done. I find myself writing copy, setting pricing, negotiating contracts, selling itineraries, donating photography (my own, naturally), hiring staff, analyzing deals, setting budgets, contracting groups, ordering supplies, planning marketing efforts, and yadda.

Breaking News! I am hitting up Aberdeen and Edinburgh for a trade show next month! My first visit to Scotland! Damir is hopefully going to meet me for a long romantic weekend there in Edinburgh, it's too good of an opportunity for us to pass up even though the ticket isn't exactly cheap. But, we've both been dying to go there a long time so bring on the haggis*!

MY SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED! Did I mention it before? I am so freaking excited about it! I also happen to be la Maide d'Honour. Sweet! I haven't even been a bridesmaid before, so I feel a little like I jumped to the head of the line. Um, what am I supposed to do? I am not really sure other than get people to do what she needs them to do... like the sales assistant at Macys last week when I went with her to Register. Erin needed a little on-the-spot internet research and the Sweet Little Ole Lady took us to the registry desk and attempted to follow Erin's instructions. It went like this:

Erin: OK, so open up google.
SLOL: umm..............................................ok.
Erin: Type in "betty whatitsname sheets" [sorry, I don't remember the name now, but it's not really relavant to the story]
SLOL: ok..............................like that?
Erin: No. It's "betty whatitsname sheets"
SLOL: Betty? Like this?
Erin: No not quite...

As I noticed bead of sweat starting to form on dear sister's forehead, I jumped in for the rescue!

Maide d'Honour: I am sorry to interupt, SLOL, may I make a gentle suggestion? Get the hell out of the chair and let my sister do the search. It will be faster for us all for the love of all things holy, like the sacrament of marriage.**

And so she did. And all was well.




*Can someone please tell me what the hell haggis is?
** I was a little nicer than that about it, I swear.

Snippets

There have been many blog posts on the tip of my tongue, but it seems as though I have neither time nor energy to sit and make coherent and reader friendly prose. I can't blog from work, and life at home rarely gives me the quiet time and space I need to organize my thoughts.

I've wanted to tell you how four times this week when getting into my car for a quick lunch break from my new job, the song "So You Had A Bad Day" (I think that's the title) by James Blunt (I think that's the singer) was on the radio when I started the car. Then he was a Jeopardy question last night. Weird.

I've wanted to tell you my reflections on living in a household where I don't speak the predominant language and the etiquette rules I have learned about being in the middle of a conversation I cannot participate in. It's a bit of an art to look neither completely disinterested nor overly eager. I can't say I do this successfully, but everyday I try.

I've wanted to tell you about the multiple day trips we've made out East to some beautiful parts of Long Island. I never knew that there was such beauty here, and I am constantly surprised by the quiet coastline and quaint towns.

I've wanted to tell you about my job and the trials of being the "new girl" again. It has been a long time since I was the NG, the last time I was 23 and fresh to the corporate world. Now I am a decade older and expected to make big decisions about the future of the company while still figuring out if the milk in the fridge is community milk or private milk.

For now, I just leave you with these snippets. I'd like to tell you I will be better and blog more, but I can't say for certain it's a promise I can keep.