Merry Christmas

Well, we just returned from a four day trip of Amsterdam and now we are enjoying a quiet Christmas together. There is no snow here, the temperature today was about 5 above and we decided to go for a walk to clear our bleary travel heads. I told Rick Merry Christmas a couple of times during our walk just to remind us that it really was. It did feel kind of strange not doing all of the things one normally does today. No turkey cooking in the oven, no tree, no presents under the tree (the trip was our gift to each other) and no kids. But it certainly is freeing not having all of the hassles that also come with this holiday and I do like that part of it. At the end of our walk we stopped by our local convenience store and Rick bought a couple of bottles of Becks and a pack of Dr Who action cards for me. He has played a few Christmas tunes on his newly acquired keyboard, we have nibbled on the smoked Norwegian salmon we brought back from our trip and chatted with Joyce, Lori, Molly, and Jackson and emailed friends and family. It has made me think about what Christmas is really all about. Don't you think we get so tangled up in all the hoopla and end up tired and stressed by Christmas that we are ready to kill someone? This is the first Christmas in I don't know how long that I haven't felt guilty, tired, worn out, freaked out, or wishing for the day to be over. Sounds rotten, I know. But let's be serious. If we love each other, why wait until today to say so? Why wait until December fricken 25th to call your mom, or your sister, or your best friends. Love them everyday. Appreciate them and cherish them and count your blessing whether it is your stable income, a warm home, or a terrific meal. After all, we don't need Santa to remind us if we have been naughty or nice. We should already know in our hearts what ever day of the year it may be.

Love and blessings to all of my dear friends and family and all of the best for 2010.

The Land of Oz

Having just finished week three of my new job in London, I still find myself in awe of this amazing city. Every lunch hour, I walk across London Bridge and make my way through the busy streets exploring and scouting out new places to shop. It seems that there is no shortage of tourists, too, despite the fact that the weather is cool and blustery. So often I see them stopping to take photos on the bridge which looks onto the Thames, of course, and not far off to Tower Bridge. People often confuse these bridges. I think it is because the Tower Bridge is so much more majestic and ornate with golden tipped peaks. The London Bridge is, well, a bridge over the Thames and if you didn't read the signs you could easily pass over it without knowing it's importance. The lunch hour is a blur of businessmen in suits talking on mobile phones, people jogging, women in sky rocket heels and teeny skirts (don't they ever get cold?) and so many different languages being spoken as people pass by that my brain is whirring from trying to take it all in. I can't help but feel excited to be amongst this hive of activity.

The offices of Ernst and Young are situated next to City Hall and when I pass through the revolving doors into the reception area, I feel like Dorothy in the Land of Oz. Just the other day, when the weather was particularly wet and nasty, and I was entering the building with my umbrella dripping, the reception personnel/greeter dudes were at the doors with a machine that I have never seen before. When I asked what it was, my favourite greeter guy said that he invented it just for me. He took my drenched umbrella and stuck it in the machine and it came out dry with a long plastic sleeve over it. I must have looked like a complete dork standing there gawking at my umbrella then the machine then my umbrella and then as I walked towards my department, again at my umbrella.

So the umbrella service was pretty awesome and the fact that I had inspired an invention was even more uplifting, but get this, each floor of the building is colour coordinated – so red for floor #4 and orange for level 5 and yellow for 6. But to top it off each floor has it's own latte/coffee/tea/hot chocolate/mocha machine and we can have whatever we want for free. There is also an in-house catering service that looks after all of the meeting rooms. They have staff, dressed in black suits, hired exclusively to look after the catering and push trolley's around to replenish each meeting room with herbal teas, sparkling water, and coffee served in china cups and saucers with pictures of the Tower Bridge on them.

There is also a coffee bar on site which serves speciality coffees and breakfast foods and, in addition, a main cafeteria with a buffet bursting with homemade soups, salad bar, fresh pies, desserts, deli sandwiches and hot pasta dishes, roast beef meals and curries. And I am sure I have missed mentioning other things that are offered there too.

Now that Christmas isn't far away, the most magnificent decorations with a theme of white and silver are tastefully appointed throughout the building. My favourite are the two enormous urns that are filled with white branches and clustered with a wonderful array of interesting floral pieces and Christmas bobbles. I really wanted to take a photo but another greeter dude said I had to get permission. My favourite one wasn't there the day I brought my camera to work. Apparently, I am not supposed to take photos outside of the offices either. So when you see my photos which I have attached I have taken them from a distance. I was afraid they would cart me off, if I got too close. Not sure of the reasoning for this but when I get the chance I am going to ask the inventor of the umbrella machine. He might even pose in a shot with me. So stay tuned for that.