Cos You Had a Bad Day!

A very emotional day (I was tempted to put sad but that's only for the people who are left at BOC like me). People I have worked with and partied with for ten years left or were made redundant today. This is all due to this new fad of off-shoring to India - a fad that mark my word wont last, it's just a fad.

Amongst people who left today were Simon Webley who I've known for all of the ten years I've been at BOC. I remember his son Alex being born, I remember when he got married in his lunch break because he needed a green card to the US LOL!! Lee Dixon - friend (and sometimes foe :)) for ten years, I've know him both as boy and man an I wish him every success in what he chooses to do outside 'The Company' and I hope we have parted as mates. Then last but by no means least and the person I will miss the most - Shahida Sharif. We may have only worked together for about a year but my God I'm going to miss her. People knew we were gossiping and giggling on CHAT (just like the TV advert) they probably hated it but we had such a laugh - I'm going to miss you gal! Always sorting out people's problems as well as their fashion! The Trinny and Susannah of 'The Company' sadly been pulled from the programme listings!

I know things will get better and things have a habit of working out for the best but that's not how it feels today. All the good boys are leaving, a lot of good times behind us and my God there have been some wonderful times at BOC. I was in personal termoil in '96 when I was offered a six month contract, I was near to a breakdown, shattered, emotionally drained with a messy divorce and no real friends but with the support and friendship I found at BOC I put my life back on track - this is why I feel such sadness. Four leaving speeches in one day and this is only the start - more talent walking out that door than most IT departments have in a lifetime - such a waste!

....but it's all so nice to come home

The flight was good. I think the captain was on some kind of mission to get home early! Despite going through quite a bit of turbulence the seatbelt lights didnt come on once! I tried despearately to sleep but couldnt so I read my book - the most amazing The Pact by Jodi Pocoult - what a deep and thought provoking book that is.

This is a picture of one of the Virgin cabin staff dressed as Elvis - hilairous!


Arrived in the UK at about 11am, totally fatigued. Now I've got the bloody jet lag to contend with for the next week or so as well as going back to the miserable place that is BOC!

My dogs hardly recognised me - I think they have been spoilt by the house sitter just a little too much. Unfortunately Bailey has some kind of injury after a high speed collision with Harvey. He seems OK, just a little lame but I knew there was something wrong with him as soon as I entered the door. The cat on the other hand was actually quite glad to see me although I suspect that maybe just because she wants more food!

There really is no such place like 161.100.....sorry, geek joke!

It's so nice to go travelling......

So it's the last day and a long, long day (or two days really) travelling home. The sun is out in Vegas, it will be sad to leave this lovely weather but it will also be nice to see my Furbies again. Work on the other hand I dread going back to, all the friends and colleague's that are leaving this month, back to the proposturous ideas and plans that are going ahead without any proper thought or research - all the sycophants! How depressing is that and I havent even got as far as thinking about the weather!



We got up at about 9am, had breakfast (the last time I'll have buttermilk pancakes for a while) and then went back to pack - it took two hours we had collected so much over the last two weeks!

So its now off to McCarren Airport (again) for that long wait and then the long trip home.

So what do I miss about America? The politeness (everyone says 'good morning' or 'hello') the weather - oh that gorgeous wearther! The shopping!! The way the Americans seem to treat their pets as one of the family. I will also miss the Californian Pizza Kitchen's spicy sausage pasta and the sweet orange juice. The way they love the relatively young small history they do have instead of like us just bulldozing it to put flats up in its place.

What will I not miss about America? the publlic toilets or restrooms - why oh why do the partitions have to have so much of a gap between the wall and the door that an anorexic could squeeze through it? I dont want to see women sqautting when I walk in the loo!! Not even the Americans can explain why this is the case. The toilets! OK, I know you can see a theme here - I dont know what is different from theirs but I think Alan says they use a suction flush rather than ours using water weight(?) I dont know but they are horrid - you see everything floating around in this pond that is the loo - bloody awful. The food! Although some of the food is very good there is always far too much of it and everything is loaded with sugar or corn syrup - even things like cole slaw and mayonnaise! After two weeks of overload and over sweet I crave a Sunday roast or just vegetables but most of all CURRY!

TV - what appalling TV they have out there. You'd think being way before us in having hundreds of TV stations that there would be some quality - but no, its appalling! Not to mention the repeats!! And then the adverts - every other advert is for a fast food or restaurant chain - Marie Callender, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Carls Jnr - you can see why they are so fat! They even have Barry Scott over there - 'I'm Barry Scott and I'm now Global' - idiot! I also wont miss waking up on Sunday morning to the sound of Alan putting on the TV to listen (and laugh) at the TV evangelists telling us that Darwin was a mad man suffering from some kind of delusion!

But most of all I wont miss that brown, hot water they call coffee - or cooooorfee!!! YUK!!! Free refils?? You couldnt get a wake up call from their coffee if you drank a gallon of the damn stuff. If I go to Starbies I always ask for an extra shot and the look I get from the Barista is like I've asked him to take his clothes off!

It's Sunday and the last full day of our holiday and the plan is to meet up with my friends Nik and Lee (who although British, now live in Phoenix). I have now known them for ten years and I think we've met them out here about four or five times now.

We decided to stay beside the pool for the morning as it was our last day but oh boy had the storm cooled down the water in the pool - brrrr! When the sun passed over the pool we decided to walk down the Strip for a while and discovered the Sin City Brewery in the soon to be transformed Alladin Casino. The owner was into real beer, had travelled the world to discover beer and horrah it didnt taste like the usual American beer it was the best pint we'd had all holiday if only they didnt make it so bloomin cold!!

the phone then rang and it was Lee and Nik to arrange the evening.



So we met up in the hotel, had a couple of beers and then as Lee needed an emormous burger we headed off to one of our favourite haunts the Harvey Davidson Cafe. Had a good meal and then tottered back to the Flamingo for a few more drinks. It was lovely to see them again and as usual I always miss them when we the evening's over.

Tommorow it's off to good old Blighty!

Hoover Dam

The plan for today was to get up and drive to Death Valley but due to the storm last night there was a land slide and many floods and the US 95 (the main road out of Vegas) was closed. Sunbathing was out of the question as it was still pretty grey so we decided to head out to the Hoover Dam which Alan being a frustrated engineer has always wanted to inspect closer than the drive past we'd done in 1999.

On the way though we discovered Boulder (I was starving so dropped into a BK for a cheeky cheeseburger - or was it a whooper :)) What a lovely green, quiet place this is. Some of the houses that overlook Lake Mead are spectacular. This is the city that grew up because of the Hoover Dam. Its where all the workers came in the middle of the depression looking for work. It was then a tented, it's now a quiet, small city that overlooks the tranquil Lake Mead.


They are in the middle of creating a by-pass for the dam as the road being the main route from Phoenix to Vegas has now become antiquated and inadequate for the amount of traffic it now has to support from these two growing cities. The plan is to build a bridge across the actual gorge!! That's engineering!

We did the trip down to the generators and around inside the dam which was quite claustrophobic but incredibly interesting and to think this was built in 1932 is amazing, what foresight, what engineering, what a pioneer spirit - you dont see that in the UK anymore but it's still abundent in the still very young and ever growing US.

Friday the 13th? (OK so that's a film not a song)

Welcome to Friday the 13th's Blog!

Went to the pool pretty early but within about two hours it was raining - yes, raining in the desert!! So headed out to one of the malls as we thought there was an Old Navy and an American Eagle but there wasnt - need to check out the internet again to find out where these are. As the evening came in so the sky got darker and darker and as you are in the middle of a valley here you can see all around and it was obvious a storm was coming. So we head back to the hotel and something I have never heard or experienced before. On the TV, blotting out all the TV naration was a severe weather warning telling us that a big storm was heading our way and to keep away from windows and unplug non-essential electrical gear - amazing. Anyway, the storm is coming, with this large full room size window we can see over towards Henderson easily and my God is this a storm!!

We'll have to see how this evening pans out but Californian Pizza Kitchen was going to be our choice for tonight and it's only over the road at Mirage but if it rains heavily we may have to stay in the Flamingo. Then off to one of the tables to find a number thirteen, after all it's Friday the 13th and I was born on the the 26th (double 13) so it's gotta be worth a flutter.

Coming back to the hotel we sat up and watched the storm. I have never seen anything like it. Watching an amazing storm right the way across the Valley, lighting up the mountains - something I didnt expect to see in the desert - and the rain - boy did it rain!

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

We spent the morning round the pool again which was bloody lovely. Then headed out to the Red Rock area to find the PetsMart and Costco stores. I bought this really cool ihome gadget which means that the radio/CD under the kitchen cabinet can be upgraded to an iPod player as well - how cool is that? Costco is really weird, its just like being in the one in Reading it's so similar - apart from the prices of course!

Then onto Costco to buy my beloved furbies so treats so that they'll speak to me when I get home - I cant wait to see them again.

We then decided to eat in the Stardust - in particular the Tony Roma's in this casino. The Stardust was built/opened in 1958 and on the 31st of October this year will be closed forever - a bit of history gone, so we made this pilgrimage to the casino as it wont be there next year - and the ribs were as good as ever. It seems a real shame but you could tell that it's on it way out, the staff (not Tony Romas) we rude and unattentive (and could hardly speak English) and the whole casino was completely full of freaks and weirdos - well even more that usual!

We then had a look in the Wynn and although it's obviously a lot more classy than most casino's on the strip at the end of the day it's still a casino/hotel on the seedy strip of Las Vegas - I dont believe class is something that can be created here - it's tacky and that's why we love it!

Went back to gamble a bit (its a long walk back from the Stardust) and played Reel 'em In as usual. Had a bad run but was more fascinated by this prostitute. It was so obvious, she was pretending to play a slot whilst continually talking and taking calls on her mobile. After about half an hour this middle aged, grey, non-descript male walks in, goes straight up to her and takes her arm and the thrash out details (and I presume prices) in a corner of the casino - amazing people watching!

It's a Wonderful, Wonderful Life.....

Woke up pretty early (for holiday) so went down to the pool at about 11am. Took breakfast with us from the little shop just inside the door and started my third book of this holiday, Mary, Mary. It's true pool reading stuff - not too cerebrally challenging like the last one (The Kite Runner). It was a lot warmer today, the type of weather that I just look up to the sun and think 'hmmm...this is a true moment of happiness'.

Did a bit of shopping in the late afternoon and Alan has finally justified the purchase of an Apple Mac laptop!! I cant believe it - how many PC's does one geek need?
For the evening we went to P F Changs as we knew there would be no overfacing like last night and also that even if you do eat too much at a chinese, you will feel OK in a couple of hours time - and we did - it was delicious

Tried a bit of gambling at a few near casino's but came back to the Flam as the serving girls are always around and attentive, the slots are pretty good and it's a pretty friendly casino to be in! We still havent won our fortune though!

At last! That well earned day beside the pool in the hot sun! I have to say that the Flamingo has been a really pleasant surprise to me/us. The pool is lovely, warm and relaxing. The cafe just inside the doors has wonderful breakfast and lunch snacks as well as decent coffee (a rare thing in the US - they call brown water coffee!!) BUT, there is one thing I certainly wont miss about this hotel - the bloody awful, 80's, mostly British music that is piped round the pool and hotel 24/7. If I hear Sade, UB40, Kim Wilde, Level 42, Elton John or Rod Stewart track again I will throw a wobbler! Thank God for iPod!

For the evening's entertainment we went to Maggacio's in the Fashion Show Mall. I've wanted to eat here since first seeing it last year. It has that rare commodity of outside eating (although I have to say this is becoming more popular as Vegas changes). Anyway, the inside is garbed out like a forties lounge bar with piano player and crooner and for the most part full of beautiful people. On the balcony (where we ate) it's opposite the Wynn and depite the noise from the strip is very nice and feels pretty relaxed. I had the sausage spaghetti which was gorgeous and Alan had the strangest looking lasagne that was hardly any bechamel but mostly cheese - and enough for an English family of four!! We couldnt even leave a dent in these meals (despite me only ordering half size meal) and consequnetly felt over-full, uncomfortable and tired all evening - what a shame, the food is very good but the portion sizes and the richness is just too much.

We then gambled a bit on the slots while feeling VERY bloated!

Viva Las Vegas!

Well, here we are again. Just five hours from San Diego and here we are once again in the middle of the desert in the maddest place on the planet! We are staying at the Flamingo this year for a change of scene - I am not disappointed. The room is nice, the pool, restaurants are very accessible (not always the case with some of the larger, newer casino's) and you literally walk out onto the strip - right slap bang in the middle.

We were however a pair of lightweights - after a couple hours of pathetic gambling we had a few final drinks and didnt even make it to 11pm - yawn!!