Preparations for a gingerbread house decorating party began yesterday with Jeanine baking the wall and roof panels. I fabricated bases made from Styrofoam. Kyle assisted with wall assembly. Today Nicolai and Holly completed roof construction.
CCHS fell far behind in the opening matches only to finish with several falls (a fall = a pin and counts for 6 team points compared to a normal win which counts for 3) and the victory. Nicolai has been bothered by a shoulder injury so the forfeit (also good for 6 team points) was not unwelcome.
Nicolai’s girlfriend, Holly, attended his wrestling match for the first time this morning. Unfortunately, Lowell Tech forfeited at his 112-pound weight class and he did not have a chance to show off for her.
Trimming the Christmas tree was the family project for this evening, a nice way to celebrate my return from Europe. Kyle selected, retrieved, paid for, and put the angel atop a perfect-sized tree for our living room.
After returning to the George Hotel, I went for an extended walk around the adjacent lake enjoying a fresh 4″ snow cover. The night sky was quite beautiful and if not for the frigid temperatures and an early morning flight I could have spent many more hours exploring this beautiful city.
This morning I traveled to Hamburg, Germany for a meeting with our exclusive distributor and family-run business, Klein & More. After a day of work, we enjoyed a simply exceptional meal with the Klein family and got to know them quite well. Each member of their family was simply delightful and it was with no hesitation that I invited each one of them to visit with our family on their next trip to the US.
The timing of my trip to Europe was designed to overlap with the UK office holiday party. The celebration started with a pool tournament in which US/Pan European bragging rights were at stake. I made it to the semi finals but failed to sink the 8 ball for the match when I had the chance. The Canadian who beat me went on to win, securing the victory for North America. The party then moved to a large club where everyone enjoyed a fine 3 course dinner followed by much drinking and dancing. Please try to ignore the silly hats.
Over my lunch break, I made the short walk from our office to Buckingham palace for the changing of the guard ceremony. Quite an elaborate and entertaining affair involving hundreds of participants and a dozen horses with the goal of changing out four guards who are on patrol at any given time.
I opted to walk to the office this morning by way of St. James Park rather than sharing a cab with my colleagues. This afforded me my only day time view of the city and was well worth the effort.
I am traveling with a contingent from the US including my boss and colleagues in finance and sales. After work, we were all invited to attend a holiday party being thrown by our UK public relations and marketing firm. It was held in a very posh underground club in the Covent Garden district. The entrance was totally nondescript with no signage or numbering of any kind. Once inside this private club, however, we were enveloped in elegance and sophistication. After making a dinner of the sushi appetizers, I invited two of my finance colleagues to join me for an extended walking tour. We made our way to Trafalgar Square and then on to the Savoy Hotel and Theater (the only place where it is legal to drive on the right hand side of the road in the UK). From there we walked along the Thames River for spectacular views of the Jewel Tower (Big Ben), Westminster Abbey and the London Eye.
An all-day meeting at iRobot’s UK office was the order of business today. I gave a one-hour presentation covering the changes and future plans for the Product Development organization and listened to presentations from my European colleagues. I came dressed for the cold damp weather even if I stuck out a bit.
I flew to London today for meetings in Europe this week arriving at the Grosvenor House at about 10 PM. With the five-hour time shift to my advantage, I went on a 2-hour midnight walking tour. My first stop was Wellington Arch and then on to Buckingham Palace. There was not a soul in sight allowing me to set up a 20-second exposure that really captured the ambient light beautifully. Next, on to the theater district of Piccadilly Circus and finally back by way of Oxford Circus where miles of ornamental lighting hung above the street.
Maya’s performed both a jazz number, I Want to be a Rockette, and a ballet piece, Scottish Dolls from Coppelia, in her winter dance recital. Maya has inherited the family genes for dancing and was in fine form despite suffering from a cold.
Jeanine danced her way onto the Board of Trustees for our Arrowhead Homeowner’s Association, elected by our neighbors at the annual meeting held at Vincenzo’s Restaurant.
I depart tomorrow for Europe and may not be able to post until my return at the end of the work week.
Today our neighborhood was invaded by a marauding rafter of wild turkeys. Eighteen in total, I was only able to capture a dozen in one frame. Nicolai was too slow to locate bow and arrow thwarting his plan to harvest one of the birds for Christmas dinner.
