Vacation Time...

My co-workers are jealous because I've been on a Caribbean cruise while they were stuck in Paris, France...

Sunday Evening

Today is my 10th anniversary with my employer. It's hard to believe that I have stuck around this long. But, it's a good job that keeps my interest. And the compensation has improved quite a bit over the years.

Today is also Mac's 60th birthday. Mac has been my boss off and on since I started. We are now the same level, in essentially the same job. We searched all afternoon for a bakery that was open on Sunday from which to buy a cake... The one we bought is really more of a big round brownie.

Several on my team have "Sling Boxes" that allow them to watch their home TV's via the INTERNET. A few are really into Nascar. So, here we are in France watching Nascar on U.S. TV. I find it rather boring and left early to post here and to read a book.

Sunday Afternoon

I don't recall who's house this is.... In the courtyard are numerous special police with brightly colored uniforms. The grounds are treated as a big park that is open to the public.


I thought that the duck houses on the pond were a pretty good idea. It give the ducks a nice safe place to nest away from people and predatory animals (i.e. dogs).



This church was near by. I forgot the name of it. It's one of the churches in the DaVinche (sp?) Code movie (and book).

On the way back, I saw this double rainbow that ended right at our Suitehotel where we are staying. I guess this is a good omen? The hotel is on the left side of the road lit up by a ray of sunshine.

International Projects and General Ramblings

During the first two trips, I was working with French "tutors" or what I would call test leads. They would say start at 9:00 but not start until 10:00. Then after 30 minutes they'd say "lets take a 5 minute break" and not come back until a half hour had passed. Progress then of course was slow. And, I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get anything finished!

This week, I was working mostly with a female Hungarian "tutor" and a Chinese man. We stayed much more focused and were able to accomplish most of our tasks in half of the allotted time.

I prefer the latter as I'd rather work hard and get this work done as apposed to letting it drag on for several months beyond the plan.

Tonight, my boss, Richard is taking me out for dinner to celebrate my 10th year anniversary with the company which is Sunday. I think we're going to a high end French restaurant. This week I have eaten more French food than all of the previous trips combined. Usually we eat quite a bit Italian, Chinese, and Mediterranean. I actually like the French food. But, I've not yet worked up enough guts to try the raw steak tartar. Maybe I'll try it tonight... or maybe not.

This weekend, several of the Americans are going to Versailles. I'm leaning toward just venturing out alone to see where I end up. Versailles, I am told is better done when it warms up as much of what there is to see and do is outdoors. Plus, the weather isn't supposed to be very good today. If I don't stay out too late tonight, I may try to hit Notre Dame as soon as it opens in the morning.

Next week, I'm likely working with a French "tutor" rather than the Hungarian. But, as we learn more and more about the SAP system, we will likely start working more independently only calling for help when we get stuck.

I used to think that I wanted to do expatriate work. But, I don't think that I'd like it as much now as I would have when I was younger. I'm coming to really appreciate Kentucky and my family back home. Even with everything to see and do in Europe, I'd much rather have my weekends at home. Plus, it'd be nice to have the company of my wife more frequently.

D.

The Metro

Wednesday, the metro was almost deserted. I've never seen so few people on it. With the metro system, each route has different types of trains. I think that this one is my favorite design. It's flexible, long, and open; much like being in the belly of a worm. Watch as the train twists and turns.

Horse Meat

Translation:

"How do you like horse, as a friend or as a steak?
Don't put horse on your dinner plate. "

I thought my friends in Kentucky might like this bill board in the train station.

While in Paris, I can literally say, "I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse!"

I wonder what other kinds of meats they eat? Perhaps we should be more careful with the mystery meats that we get from street vendors in France!

Back again...

I got back to Paris yesterday. Niels, Richard, Mark, and Mark's son Peter roamed around town, trying to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime. The highlight of the afternoon was the Picasso museum. For dinner, we actually ate French food not just French fries. And, it was pretty good. Regardless of everything I'm getting to see and do, the novelty has just about warn off. I'd rather be home with my family.

It looks like we will have a pretty busy work schedule this week and next. Our consultants apparently have finally gotten some deliverables complete that we can test. Business during the last two trips was rather slow. It was beginning to make me wonder if the work would ever really get anything done. I would rather work hard and get this stuff done by June than to keep up this intense travel for several additional months. Either way, there are some other related North American projects on the horizon that might pull some of us off of the global work. So, if I am lucky, I might not have to be here very often starting in summer.

The following photo is taken from my hotel window. I am on the highway side of the building. But, it's still very quiet. I have two windows each has two glass panels seperated by a foot of air. The two office buildings on the right belong to my company but are still under construction. We are working in a building just on the other side. The walk to the office is just a few blocks and probably only takes five minutes.

Sunday Outing

I am still not feeling great. But, I am felling better. Richard (my boss) and I went to the Louvre today. It was very tiring but much better than being miserable in my hotel room. After a long day of staring at uncountable naked men and women lounging beneath hovering angels, we headed back toward the hotel.

We hopped off the train for a quick look at a part of town called "Le Defense". This is the big glass building big business part of town. We just walked around a few minutes then got back on the train.... Here's some pictures we took while there:

Status Report

This week, I have not noticed the stench of sweaty Frenchmen. Perhaps it is that we are not packed in crowded conference rooms. Or, more likely it is because I have a terrible cold and my nose is stuffed up. Don't get me wrong. Not all Frenchmen stink. It's only a small minority that make them all look bad.

On Thursday, I was feeling quite miserable. I was coughing up a storm. I was wearing a heavy coat at work and still feeling chills. My boss finally told me to go back to the hotel and rest. Progress was slow. The test script we were to go over in the afternoon was 90% the same as the other two we did in the morning. So, I left. At the hotel, I slept for nearly 18 hours. When I awoke, it was Friday evening.

I then went out for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. This is my boss's favorite restaurant. It's not bad. But I think I still prefer the Americanized Italian back home. Regardless, it's a nice cozy little place with very pleasant waitresses. Most of the Americans were going to play Texas hold em in the hotel lobby. I really wanted to join them but was feeling like crap. I was so exhausted I thought I could go back to bed. But even though I was sick and tired, I couldn't sleep well. I don't think I finally went into full sleep until about 5:00 AM. I slept until close to noon. Upon awaking, my symptoms still persisted but I somehow felt better. And, I was sick and tired of staying in my hotel room.

So, a group of six of us made the trek to downtown Paris. We started with a late lunch in the Latin Quarter. Gyros's this time. I'm not quite sure that I know the difference between a Donar Kabop, a Schwarma, and a Gyros. I used to think I knew the difference. But in Paris, they all seem the same to me. This fountain is where we usually meet up if we don't all ride out to the Latin Quarter together.

Next, we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral. My co-workers said that there usually is not a long line. Today, the line was excessively long. Instead of standing in line, they recommended that we skip it and do the tour some other time.

The plaza in front of the cathedral had many Gypsy baggers as well as street entertainers....

Just underneath the plaza floor and possibly under part of the cathedral is Crypt Archeologique. We were able to go on the crypt tour. These are ruins of buildings some of which date back to 100 AD. It kind of makes you wonder what other ancient ruins are still buried throughout Paris.

And then, just around the corner is the "Musee National Du Moyen-Age" or Middle Ages Museum. The building was equally impressive as the displays inside. Much of the building is originally Roman. I don't have many pictures of the inside. But, I did get a snapshot of this well and interesting sun dial on the wall.

Much of this museum building and it's contents date back to before any white people were in the America's. France is old as dirt. There is a mind boggling amount of history around every corner.

By this time in today's excursion, I was pretty worn out. I'm still feeling ill. We sat for a while in a coffee shop and then headed back to the hotel. I then ran by a grocery store to stock up on breakfast items and snacks. Everyone else was going to take the train back into town for dinner, but I decided to call it a night. I'm hoping to recoup a little in hopes of hitting the Louvre museum tomorrow.

Back in Paris

I arrived in Paris yesterday. This is to be a two week trip.

Richard and I had donar kabobs (Turkish gyros) for lunch and spent the afternoon shopping. At the Hard Rock Café I got Brandi a T-Shirt. While there, I also found a little Teddy Bear for my son, Sky. The bear is wearing a brae and has "Hard Rock Café Paris" written on his shirt. Later, I found an stuffed Eiffel tower that is also a giraffe. Sky's so Giraffe obsessed that I couldn't have not bought it for him.

For dinner, we met Mark in the Latin corner and ate at an Egyptian restaurant. They call the area the "Latin Quarter" because it has several Universities and many book stores. The way I understand it, long ago, Latin was the official language for education.

I forgot to bring my camera out with us so, I don't have any pictures to share at this time.

today, we've been in meetings and have begun testing our "V2" content. Everything in the office is rather disorganized and chaotic. The entire process seems very inefficient.

Sab is sad

Sabastian is sad because I'm packing...

Music and Life - Alan Watts

Philsophy of working...