Puppies!!!

So Puffle had pups. 7 of 'em. We now have, therefore, 10 dogs at home. This is my dream come true! It's like Santa's making up for lost time, for all the years over which I wrote to him, begging for a puppy because I had been "a good girl this year"! Of course, the fact is that I'm not home now, so :(

But still. Isn't this awesome?

Now let's all say it together: Awwwwwwww!

PS: Much as we'd like to keep them all, we will have to find homes for the pups. If you know of anybody in Calcutta who's looking for a Labrador Retriever and who will meet our high standards in fit-to-be-honoured-with-one-of-our-babies-ness, please let me know.

Free Hugs

This is awesome. Here you go - with a hug attached.

Courtesy of N.

Home Life

A long day of delayed flights, pointless trips, power outages and cancelled meetings. I arrived at Charlotte at 2:30 and took the 3:10 flight back. One would think that people would wisen up and get generators or something.



Back home, to work for the next couple of hours, while Pollini plays Chopin's Preludes & Etudes just for me.



Meanwhile, here are some pics.

Murphy Lives!

So I finally gave in and decided to buy some furniture, so friends could choose to sit somewhere other than on the floor. After weeks of research and a couple of trips to IKEA, I purchased the stuff and arranged to have it home delivered. Couldn't wait to set it up.
But...
(And you just know that there's a "but" to this story, right?)

Murphy is laughing hysterically from his perch, somewhere. Because

a. Instead of the chair-sized futon I wanted, IKEA sent me (and charged me for) a sofa-sized futon. But just to taunt me, the cover they sent was for a chair-sized mattress.

b. My sofa arrived in three boxes - frame, cushions and cover. But, without hardware, without instructions, and most importantly, without arms or legs. IKEA informs me that "the arms and legs come separately, you have to buy them separately." Naturally. How stupid (slapping side of my head in self-flagellation) of me not to have specified that I'd like the arms and legs with the sofa too, that I don't want to just lean the frame against the wall.

Aaaaarrrrggghhhhh.

A Week In The Life

Sunday
Late night conference call.
Monday
Early morning conference call.
Work till 7:00 p.m.
Late night conference call.
Tuesday
Early morning conference call.
Work.
Flight to Cleveland.
2-hour drive to Erie.
Late night conference call.
Wednesday
Early morning conference call.
Meetings.
Late night conference call.
Thursday
Early morning flight to Cleveland
Run km in Cleveland airport to different terminal for connecting flight due to depart in 20 minutes.
Work.
Late night conference call.
Friday
Morning meeting an hour's drive away.
Work till 3:00 a.m.
Saturday
Work 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

This is not a life, it's a disease.

Snow and Sunshine

For no other reason than that it's wonderful to be out on a crisp day like this.

King of Swingers, aka Jungle VIP

Today is different.

Today I left work at 3:30 p.m., without a stab of guilt, indeed, gripped by an overwhelming belief that I deserved to go to the pub for a drink. Or several.

Today I didn't feel the cold.

Today I noticed how the bare branches of trees are beginning to bud.

Today I opened my first new account. The first new account for the company this year. (No doubt, there will be others tomorrow and on Monday, but let me have my moment of glory.)

It's taken only nine months. Nine months of pursuit, occasionally joyous and occasionally wearisome, with periodic highs as we crossed each stage more-or-less unscathed, and frequent, overwhelming setbacks making me want to stay in bed for a month. Much midnight oil burned, and the occasional warning to my boss that I was about to throw myself out of the office windows (which, by the way, can't be opened, presumably to dissuade people like me who shrink from the inconvenience of first needing to throw chairs through windows in order to be able to dispatch themselves thereafter). Nine months. It feels like forever.

But it's all been worth it. :) I feel like a king. A somewhat drunk king, about to drink some more. Let there be light. Goodwill on earth and peace to all mankind. Bring on the dancing girls with their hoola hoops and war-whoops and paint the town red. I certainly will!


Update:
The town has been painted red. The dancing girls are wearily whooping their way back to wherever they came from. The documents are signed. And now, back to the program.