gettin along

I'M IN IRELAND!! Made it to this beautiful country yesterday morning, 9am Belfast time! Flew in over the rolling green hills and the cows lounging in the quiet countryside. It was a great flight in, sunny and blue skies greeted me! I was expecting rain similar to Seattle's forecast so it was a lovely surprise. Andy McIver fetched (I'm picking up the Irish lingo) me from the airport. Neither of us really knew who to look for. Doug's hint for me was to look for a tall, skinny guy with reddish hair. I thought, hmm, I'm going to IRELAND! Not very helpful haha. Anyways, Andy informed me he had been creepily staring at young girls walking out of the airport hoping one would be me! I finally saw him wearing the NiSoft shirt (dead giveaway) and we met. I promptly looked on the wrong side of the road when crossing, and then tried to get in the drivers side. Andy told me I wasn't driving. Why not? :) I was surprised at how awake I was and tried to continue keeping my energy up by getting a coffee with Andy. We went to a cute coffee shop near my apartment and chatted for a bit. He's in his early 30's, expecting his second child any day now, and we have really hit it off. He's really easy to get along with. He dropped my off at my apartment (which has a BEAUTIFUL view of Belfast) and I quickly fell asleep on my bed for a couple hour nap. I guess I was more tired than I thought.

After my nap I met Doug at his hotel and we headed over to the office. I met everyone and started in right away with some meetings and phone calls. After almost nodding off in a meeting I had to stand up and pace the room. I was so tired I was in pain! After work Doug and I had dinner at his hotel and I managed to stay awake until 10, when I quickly fell asleep and slept soundly until this morning.

I headed to work this morning (it's a nice 25 minute walk over a bridge and through the city a bit) around 8:30. I had a day full of meetings and got to sit in on a meeting with the marketing folks who are designing NiSoft's new website! That was right up my alley. I love the marketing concept and design. They are wanting my input as well which is fun for me.

You might be wondering why I titled my blog "gettin along?" That's what everyone asks me, meaning "How are you doing?" or "How are things going?" With their accents I think they're asking me "How are you gettin home?" I always catch myself after it's too late and I answer, "How are you gettin along?" with, "I'm walking!" :) Oh well!

Tonight I am going to have dinner with Doug at the local mall, excited to check that out. Some upcoming events:

Friday: Night out at the horse races with Momentum, a firm in the office below us.

Saturday/Sunday: Explore the North Coast of Ireland (Giant's Causeway, etc.).

Monday: Company trip to Dublin to tour the Guinness Factory and shop.

And then the rest of the days are filled with some work of course ;)

Having a blast and will update when I can!

PS. When I was going through the UK customs I saw this guy from the Glee Project TV Show! I had just been watching this new show this weekend and noticed that one contender was from Northern Ireland. I wondered if possibly from Belfast. Well sure enough, I was right! He was standing right next to me in line for customs! I'm sure no one else knew who he was but me, but I was secretly excited!