Settling in.

So yesterday and today have been a little busier and more stresseful than the rest but it just shows that nothing's perfect. Yesterday I went in to the Thomson office here and met with my bosses in London and several people from another team who's data I need to integrate into my client's database. It was nice because I actually got to meet the people I've been talking to on the phone and through email for the last month. I also met the new guy who they've hired to essentially recreate our support team over here as well as several other people who work in the office.

I commented in my last post on how many different countries are represented over here and you can even see that in the offices I've visited. Out of the 8 people I deal with directly at the client site only one is British, and it's the same way at Thomson. The new guy is French, the guy who's cubical is next to mine is Spanish, the new sales guy Steve is Australian, and so on. It's nice becuase I may feel totally foreign right now but most everyone else has gone through the same experience fairly recently so they all jump at the chance to recommend a pub or festival or fun or unique to do. Eduardo, the Spanish guy, actually told me about the festival that I had planned on going to on Sunday before I could even mention it! Still, most of the people I've met are a little older or live further from the center of the city so I doubt I'll have many chances to hang out with them. Steve the Australian is one I'm excited about though since he's already mentioned how he almost got arrested multiple times in the US for drinking outside bars and how Thursday nights are basically the beginning of the weekend around here. It was cool seeing him becuase I met him and trained him on our software while he was in Chicago right before I came out here.

On another note I just made my reservation on a Eurostar train from London to Paris for this Friday! I'll be staying at L'Hotel Les Argonautes, the same hotel I was at last summer, right in the Latin Quarter a block from the Seine and two blocks from Notre Dame. On top of all that it's above a greek restaurant and it's only $60! Seriously if any of you ever visit Paris and stay somewhere else without a damn good reason I might not be your friend anymore. You'll definitely be seeing pictures of this place soon!

While the rest of you might be about to leave work or eat dinner, I'm about to pass out. I have another meeting at the Thomson office tomorow and then a project I need to finish for my client so it'll be another long day. I'll try and take some pictures of the area around my office building tomorrow if I get a chance.