Techie Mommy

I love long weekends, and today is the first day back from the long weekend. The problem with long weekends is that you get swamped on your first day back. And such is my day today. It was also my birthday yesterday, and today, my team mates are treating me out to lunch. Got a photo of the whole team at the table (well, our server did), but I am not using that as photo of the day. Instead, I am using a boring photo of one of our rooms in the office. This room used to be a closet used by our IT to store spare keyboards, cables, etc. It's a utility room. But then, the company started growing and room became sparse that the closet became a "war" room. We actually was just using this as a war room for one of our projects before a bigger one opened up and we moved there. Then, facilities came over, painted the room and this is the next incarnation of the room. It is now referred to as the Lounge and is a good place for an informal conversations and meetings. Do...

Woke up really early today to fly out to San Francisco for our company's Tech Summit. I am one of the presenters on Friday and we're doing rehearsals with the whole team at the San Francisco offices today. My flight boarded without issues but when we were about the push out of the gate, the captain informed us that the occular inspection showed that one of the doors was missing a hinge. The mechanics had to figure out what has to be done to fix it and took about 30-45 minutes to fix the issue. So, while the flight was almost an hour delayed, it was better than getting us bumped off other flights. From the airport, I checked into the hotel, so I can drop off my heavy jacket (which I don't need here) and the suit case and walked to the office. This is a picture of my room for the next few days. Dinner was at Dosa, a Southern Indian restaurant, and while I had to return my food for a redo, the Lamb Chops were awesome. Wish I had time to take photos of downtown San...

Today is one of those rare days that I actually have to drive to the office of my client. While rare, I actually love going to the client office and working and talking with the client face to face. The only downside is of course driving :) since I love taking the train to work everyday but that's alright. Luckily, it didn't snow as was forecasted. I was out on the road early because I had to plan to pull over for a conference call. I also stopped by the O'Hare Oasis to grab some breakfast, and as I was sitting there waiting for Auntie Anne's to open, I saw this view which reminded me of the poster of the movie "Up in the air", except it's more like "Down on the road". No camera with me (it was in the car), so this is from the iPhone.

Tonight is my company's holiday party! Went with all my team mates, and since I live far far west in the suburbs, I had to go in my work clothes :( I was told this is the same place we had the holiday party last year, which I missed because I was on maternity leave. The place was huge! It had a lot of different chandeliers, that I actually think are for sale (I took a photo of one of them). The main entertainment of the night is CRUX Capacitor, our very own rock band! They were awesome!

Q4 over... projects all launched... Time to party! Went bowling at 10pin after work with all the team members working on the account. It was a fun night! I think I played 5 games, and should have stopped at 3. I had a great game, and I had the worst.game.ever! I should have stopped while I was ahead! :) Even though we were having fun, I had to find my photo of the day. This drink became a topic of conversation because we didn't know what it was. Since it was laser bowling, the drink "glowed". I just had to take it's picture.

It's very rare that I don't bring food for lunch, but today is one of those days. Had a lunch meeting that ended early, so I was able to leave the office and and actually spend some time outside. I grabbed my camera in case there are photos to take. Being in the West loop doesn't really give one lots of options for lunch, specially if you want something quick to go. Today, the choice is Jewel. Between the office and Jewel, there's the train tracks, the doggy park, and the chocolate factory. Prime choices indeed :) Took some photos of all those but didn't find any I like. I think I need to work on some confidence with the camera. Oftentimes, I find myself embarassed (?) and uncomfortable taking pictures in public places like grocery stores, theatres or train stations. The grocery would have been a good place to take photos of fruits, flowers and other colorful things, but I hesitated. I did take this photo today while picking something for lunch. I al...

Here's what my calendar looks like for tomorrow. Gah!

Every so often, my colleagues and I get together after work to unwind and relieve some stress.  Q4 has always been a busy time for us, and this year is no exception.  With most of my teammates working over the holidays and a bunch of projects launching in the next few weeks -- we are due one of these sessions... and today is the day. Just two blocks from our office is Carnivale , an Authentic Nuevo Latino cuisine in Downtown Chicago.  Since one of us has been boycotting Jeff's Tap & Grill, this has been our go to hang out place after work.  Being the finicky eater that I am, I always order the same stuff - a frozen (lime) margarita and Pollo Estilo Billy . It is a spice rubbed chicken breast that comes with papas fritas (aka french fries, which I ALWAYS forget, and have to ask every time) and a citrus butter sauce (mmmmm!) Food, drinks and conversation with friends... a good way to end the work day!