James has been hearing that for a while as he's continued his travels throughout Europe. Poor guy seems to have some kind of delay just about every trip he takes. I haven't had nearly as much trouble as he has, but then again, I travel about 1/100th of the time that he does. But, in this post, I am sorry for the delay in posting on this blog. There has been a whole ton of things going on and I'll give a high level overview here, but will post more later (maybe). LOADS of pictures, but will post them in increments on Facebook so as not to overwhelm you with the 500+ I've taken.
18 March: The job situation
Shortly before we went to Spain, we had a major announcement at AstraZeneca. March 18 we were told that the offices in both Wilmington (where I normally work back home) and Alderley Park (where I work over here in the UK) R&D offices were closing and the company was going through a major (MAJOR) reorganization. They would make the following assessments and have another announcement in the summer: 1) what jobs would exist in the new organization, 2) who would be eligible for the new jobs, 3) whether eligible participants would need to re-apply and go through an interview, or get mapped, 4) a whole shed load of considerations around relocations. In my specific situation, if my job was going to exist in the new organization, and I was offered said job (either through mapping or applying), I would need to move to/work out of the Gaithersburg, MD office (where everyone in Wilmington was going to go, except for a few departments that are staying in Wilmington). Similarly for folks here in the UK, they would need to move to Cambridge (a few hours south), but that wouldn't take place until 2016 or so (whereas I will need to decide before the end of the year).
We had a meeting this week where we were informed of the above. I am very, VERY lucky in that I have a job and I get to keep my same manager (that is HUGE because I love my manager). The major decision now is whether or not we move to Gaithersburg. We'll have to make that decision later this year, but for now, we just keep on keeping on.
29 March: Spain
You've read all about this already
05 April: Jeffy visits
Everyone's liver needed a break and Jeff gave both of us the plague. James was sick for 2 weeks, I was prancing around because I didn't get it and then BAM I get sick immediately before a transatlantic flight back to the states. THAT was a HORRIBLE flight. Thank you very little, Jeff. On the bright side, he did bring me 5 bags of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. We also joined a country club, Tytherington, this week.
When Jeff was here, it was supposed to be Farm Day at AstraZeneca. However, because of some a$$hole animal rights activists who had been protesting leading up to Farm Day and had a protest scheduled for later in the month, AZ had to cancel Farm Day. For those of you that don't know, AZ is on a farm. Around this time, all the baby lambs and calves are born and those little lambs are ADORABLE. Since they canceled Farm Day, me and a few of my colleagues walked down to visit the little lambs at lunch. Pictures are here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151625692604653.1073741828.755859652&type=1&l=5615924b74
23 April: Toronto, Wilmington, Boston
I found out 2 weeks before that I needed to fly to visit a few folks in Canada and Boston for work. Feeling as if my lungs were about to collapse, ears about to explode, nose about to drip off my face, and head about to explode, I boarded a plane to fly to the states - then to Toronto - then to Philly - then to Boston - then back to Philly - then back to our 2013 home. It was a great, productive trip and it was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME to visit my family and friends. I hadn't told my parents I was coming home so as soon as I landed from Toronto, I drove to their house. I knocked on the door about 11PM and when my dad answered, he just stood there as if I were a stranger. Finally I said "dad." He said he thought he saw a ghost! Nice. Then he called my mom down who had a very similar reaction. It was wonderful to see them and be home.
02 May: Mom and Dad visit
Shortly after I returned back to the UK, mom and dad flew over to visit. We had a very busy few days. We visited Bellshill, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews in Scotland, then Bath, Bristol (very briefly), Chester, and Conwy. Mom left us on Thursday to fly to London for 9 days of exploring with her travel partner, Fran. Dad stayed for 2 days and we tried to play golf. The weather was HORRIBLE. Rain, wind, cold. Not ideal. We sucked it up on day 1 and played all 18. Day 2 we only got 9 in. But it was a great experience with my dad. More on this trip, with pictures, later.
17 May: Stockholm
Here's what I have to say about Stockholm: if you are planning to visit Stockholm you should: 1) have won the lottery, 2) have saved for several years, or 3) should not go for another few years until you've saved a lot of money. The price of everything in Stockholm is beyond ridiculous. James and I went out for dinner. We had 2 beers each, a burger, and fish and chips. Our bill was over $100. I am not kidding. It is over-the-top expensive. BUT, we had a really great time. Will try to post more on this later, along with thousands of pictures I took.
Coming up:
HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will leave on May 30 to head to Chicago for work. I return to work out of the Wilmington office the end of the first week in June and James will join me in Wilmington on June 7. We then spend the week (10-16) working at the US Open, inside the ropes!!! Keep your eyes out as we will be on the #2 hole. I promise I won't make a spectacle of myself when Graemey comes to play the 2nd. James will fly back on June 17, but I'll stick around and work in Wilmington until June 21. Then I get to see my youngest niece graduate from high school. SCARY! Then I fly back to begin the 2nd half of our year abroad.
So - a lot has been happening the past few months. The English weather is starting to wear on both James and I. 44 degrees with 23 MPH winds in the middle of May is not our idea of fun. We are both very busy with work, but trying to squeeze as much fun stuff in as possible. It is really great to be so close to so many great places to visit. It's amazing we've been here 5 months already.
