Horseshoe Canyon Ranch

Last week, the boy and I took off a few days of work to join some friends in Jasper, Arkansas for a climbing trip in the Ozarks.

We first got into climbing a few years ago and have been doing it on and off ever since. There was a period when we were living in Glasgow in which we'd bike to the gym after work or on weekends and climb three times a week. At the peak of my strength, I was top roping the European equivalent of 5.12s and I could do two whole consecutive pull ups, which was two more than I ever imagined I could do in my life.

This was my third time climbing outdoors. Altogether there were 31 of us on this trip, including an infant. We stayed in cabins on or near the ranch and literally emptied several shelves of the nearest grocery stores when buying provisions to feed our small and hungry army.

Each morning was the same: we'd wake up early, meet at the main cabin on the ranch, pay the paltry $5 climbing fee, hike to a wall with our gear in tow, and set up our ropes.

This was a trip of several firsts for me. It was my first time lead climbing outdoors. I also cleaned my very first route, which involves climbing up the route, clipping in to the bolts at the top using a personal anchor, taking down the other anchors placed in the first place to support the rope, taking down the rope and clipping into it using a belay device, taking the personal anchor off the wall (gulp), and rappelling down to safety. This all went swimmingly until I had to rappel down, at which point I looked down, saw how high up I was, realized that nobody except me was in control of the rope that my life depended upon, and had a panic attack. After a lot of hyperventilating and coaxing and promises from below that no I would not die, I slowly and painfully rappelled my way down. Words cannot describe how good it felt to have my feet planted back on the ground after that.

I think that's part of what keeps climbing interesting for me - the twinge of fear that I still get when I look down, or the rush of excitement when I am able to finally literally grasp something that had been out of my reach. It's an activity where I can keep pushing my limits both physically and mentally. I also appreciate that climbing is something where being a relatively small person is not necessarily a handicap - in many other physical activities, that's not the case.

My sore muscles and bruised knees made sure I spent plenty of time off the wall too. In the afternoons, the hardcore climbers usually moved on to more challenging routes and I would either wander around on the ranch or soak in the hot tub and take in the beautiful, peaceful surroundings.

We converged in the evenings to play board games, drink beer, and stuff our faces with a hot meal. There aren't too many options when cooking for 31 people in a normal-sized kitchen so we went with real basic dishes like spaghetti and tacos. But it's amazing how good that stuff tastes after a long day outside.

I learned to play a game called Legends of the Three Kingdoms that's supposedly a rip-off of the card game Bang! In it, you play a role, work in a team and try to deceive others into thinking you're somebody else whilst accomplishing your mission. I got really addicted to it....surprise of the century.

On our last morning, we awoke to horses from the ranch grazing just outside our cabins.

I'll conclude with this beauty of a collage.

State side

I can't believe it's been two months since I've blogged. That's so strange. I feel like I always go through this weird disgruntled spell - usually in winter, when things are most depressing - where I abandon my blog and then one spring day I come back, tail tucked between my legs. I call this seasonal blog abandonment disease.

Some recent developments...


The job

Upon returning I was immediately staffed on a project and helped run the inception in Dallas. Now the work is being carried out with half the team in Chicago (myself included) and the other half in Dallas. It feels fantastic to be working from my home office and not to have to get on a plane every single week. The project is in its early stages. I'm feeling good that we will be in a position to deliver something awesome.


The move

The boy and I are back in our condo and are pretty much unpacked and settled in, barring a few last things. Moving was a grand adventure. We were on the verge of hiring movers but decided to hold off to see if we could do it ourselves and save some money. And we did! Well, the unloading of the storage unit into the U-Haul, at least. We had some much-needed help from the boy's brother and his fiancee when it came to moving things inside the unit.

One thing about living abroad is that it forces you to get used to not having so many things. Unboxing all of our worldly possessions felt strange. I was flabbergasted by how much stuff I had held on to. It was insane! I think I ended up donating about half of my clothes and a quarter of the books I was still lugging around from college. And even having pared it down that much, it still feels like so much, especially compared to what I was used to abroad.

There were some other things I loved re-opening though. Like mao jing bei - these Chinese towel-like blankets that are really comfy and soft. Like our nice salt and pepper shakers. Man, how I missed freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt. #yuppieconfessions


The wedding

Everyone asks me about this. And I'm like, what wedding? No, seriously. Nothing has progressed. Nada. If anything, things have only regressed. I feel like I'm standing still in the middle of a high-volume bridal highway, watching in a state of semi-terror as engaged couples are whizzing past me - confirming venues, buying dresses, sending out save-the-dates.


The birthday

I turned 26 on Saturday! It was also when the city was celebrating St. Patrick's day. Which in Chicago is a total shit show. Drunk people everywhere and a lot of green dye dumped into our river. This year I reigned my birthday in style by buying furniture (a kitchen table), dropping a ton of stuff off at Salvation Army (see "the move") and having a wonderful home-cooked meal with family followed by a few rounds of Ticket to Ride. It was a perfect birthday.


That's pretty much it for now. More developments to come as I rediscover stuff to blog about and organize my life a little more, both literally and figuratively.

Istanbul-bound!

It's confirmed* - I'm going to Istanbul!

The backstory: there have been some changes here at our client in Glasgow, one of which resulted sadly in our current development team being reduced to roughly half of what it was. At first, the boy and I were told we'd be sticking around. This made sense given that we were based here and many team members who traveled weekly from London, Manchester, etc requested to roll of. But the day before we were leaving for our 2-week vacation (which we are on now), we got the news that our schedules and skill sets lined up better with the gig in Turkey, and were we willing to go? And just like that, we announced to the team that the following day would be our last. 

Logistically we'll be operating in fast forward mode - once we get back to the UK, we'll have a day to pack up in Glasgow, the next day to fly to Istanbul to get settled, and the day after that we'll be at our new client...ahhh!!! Then a week after, we'll head to London to get obtain our full working visas, then it's back to Istanbul for good, with sighs of relief. 

I'd always felt pretty comfortable with the 'pack up and hop on a plane with ridiculously short notice' mentality that comes with being a consultant at ThoughtWorks, but I've definitely gone soft since living in Glasgow and not traveling for work the past year. I'm picturing our apartment and all the random shit we've accumulated - climbing gear, airbed and extra pillows/sheets/blankets, dozens of jars of spices, random souvenirs (thankfully we stuck mostly to magnets), clothing and electronics... to pack or donate all that, sell our bicycles, and pop in to say goodbye to our co-workers all in one day will be the ultimate test of my road warrior abilities.

I'll definitely miss Glasgow. I've grown fond of living and working here. There are still many things I wanted to do in Scotland, like hike Ben Nevis and eat a deep fried Mars Bar and go back to Edinburgh. Leaving on such short notice makes me feel cheated of a proper farewell. 

But travel madness aside, I'm really looking forward to the next adventure. I loved my visit to Istanbul earlier in the year - it left me craving to see more of the country, like the hot air balloons of Cappadocia or the salt pools of Pamukkale. Moreover, I welcome the challenge of a new client, a new city, a new culture. This assignment will take me out of the cozy, predicable nest I've built in Glasgow and catapult me outside my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to learning, to growing, and to helping my new team ship some kickass Turkish technology!

*Well, as confirmed as things at ThoughtWorks get, which is never quite 100%. I'll truly believe it when I've been there a week!

Viva Vienna!

Fun fact: one of the best ways to explore a new city in a limited amount of time is to grab a Big Bus route map, hop on a bike, and take yourself through the sights. There is a ten point bonus if you do so wearing a pineapple shirt!

Studying the route over breakfast accompanied by Austria's famed coffee.

Everything tasted delicious, even his nose.

Vienna is a haven for cycling. They have a stellar bikeshare program that has been in place for over ten years and seems to be enjoyed by tourists and locals alike. Bikes cost nothing for the first hour, one euro for the second, two euro for the third hour and so on. With hundreds of stations around the city, it was a breeze to rent and return them.

And so 'twas with bellies full, bikes checked out, and the sun blazing in her full glory overhead that we set out to see the best of what Wein had to offer.

Lord Voldemort has risen

Golden boy Johann Strauss

Vienna was the epicenter of classical music through the early 19th century. Rockstar (figuratively speaking) composers to the tune of Mozart, Hadyn, Schubert and Beethoven crafted their crescendos into the height of the First Viennese School. Everywhere we looked there were nods to the great composers: museums, grave sites, cafes, gift shops. There were even men dressed in full Mozart regalia - powdered wig and all - wooing tourists to come to their company's orchestral performance that evening.

While I certainly appreciated Vienna's reverence for their composers whose music I'd played for hours on end back in middle school orchestra, it just was too darn beautiful outside to stay in and browse through old dusty tomes of sheet music. There were sunny skies and grass stains and bruises from bumping into my bike pedals waiting for me.

Sorry, Mr. Herman.

Natural History Museum of Vienna. One of approximately eighty trillion fafillion snoopzillion museums in the city.

Taking a break to examine our progress.

I had a lot of caffeine that day.

Austrian Parliament Building. Way to put D.C.'s government buildings to shame.

Cool-lookin' columns

Rathaus, where the major and city council work. The humor of the building's name is not lost on me.

I forget which one this was, so let's call it Spectacularly intricate and beautiful Viennese building #947913037464 

Votive church slicing through the bright blue sky.

As the photos (hopefully) convey, Vienna was a wealth of incredible architecture. It felt like each new building or structure we saw would surpass those before it in grandeur. The ones pictured here were the standouts, but pretty much every single structure in the entire city was spectacular in its own right. You couldn't have found an eyesore if you tried.

After a long morning of biking, we inhaled some Thai food and downed a cold beer each:

And then immediately hopped back onto our bikes for more adventuring.

Stephansdom, the most prominent and important cathedral in Vienna. Fun fact: Vivaldi's funeral was held here.
And Mozart's kiddos were baptized there.

St. Francis trampling a defeated Turk. Just lovely.

The interiors were decidedly much less...tramply.

I assure you that I looked really stupid while taking this picture.

Atlas bro, do you even lift

I call this 'Town Gossip with Birds on Head'

We ended our bike ride in front of the museums quarter and stretched out for a snooze in the sun. 

For dinner we headed to a well-reviewed Mexican restaurant, eager to kick back with a margarita or two and eat our combined body weight in guacamole.

To our dismay, we were told that the restaurant had been booked up as the next day was a national holiday and the post-work crowd was getting their festivities on. Nooooo. It felt like I had been slapped in the face with a giant tortilla. Without even getting to take a bite.

We contemplated our suddenly tragic lives for a few brief seconds. You know the feeling when you get a craving really bad and nothing else - not even pizza, or ice cream, or mac and cheese - can come close to filling that void in your soul? That was us.

We eventually decided to duck back in and see if they would fulfill a take-out order for us. Lo and behold, the waitress greeted us with a big smile and told us she was so relieved that we'd popped back in, because two seats had opened up seconds ago at a shared table!

I was beaming like I'd won the lottery as we took our seats and ordered our drinks. We immediately struck up conversation with three locals who seemed pleased for a chance to practice their English.

At one point they mentioned they worked as software developers. Oh, that's funny - I told them that the boy and I worked in the tech industry as well. But nobody wanted to dwell on the subject of work, so no elaboration ensued.

Then, maybe twenty later, the boy was explaining our year abroad situation when he mentioned "the company we work for, ThoughtWorks - "

"WAIT! ThoughtWorks? Did you say ThoughtWorks?"

"Yeah, erm, it's a private tech consultancy - "

"We know what ThoughtWorks is. Hey [friends' names], did you hear this? These guys work for ThoughtWorks! Ha! Wait, does this mean you have met Martin Fowler? Jez Humble? I have read all their books. Prove to me that you work there!"

It was surreal. I rarely bump into anyone who has heard of ThoughtWorks, much less some strangers in a foreign country! Of course I'm very proud of being a ThoughtWorker and I think it's a kickass company. But this was kind of a 'Woah! Someone else thinks we're pretty neat!' moment, and my first encounter of such kind.

I quickly assured our dinner companions that although ThoughtWorks was home to many luminaries in the tech space, it was also full of normal folks like yours truly, and that hey, we were looking for talent in Glasgow.

They laughed. "Well, let us know when you open an office here in Vienna."

And really, who could blame them? Vienna had been a slice of heaven on Earth that day.

Next up: our second (and last) day in Vienna, and a detour to Bratislava!

Life in Glasgow so far

I was prepared to write a long entry about a weekend in Paris but the internet in the apartment has not been cooperating with Flickr. A post about Paris without pictures seems wrong; sacrilegious, even. I'll find a solution soon, but in lieu of that I thought I'd let loose a little and just blog about what life here has been like so far.

A typical work week begins Monday when the alarm goes off at 7:10. I get ready, caffeinate myself as quickly as possible, tell the (colorblind) boy that his undershirt clashes with the shirt he picked out, and we aim to be out the door by 8. About once a week I forget something (usually my phone), stop mid-stair-descent, turn around and go back for it.

I venture outside; on any given day there seems to be about a 50% chance of drizzle. It's usually nothing that a hood can't take fend off, but it tends to dampen the spirit nonetheless. The flip side is that when the sun does make an appearance in Glasgow, it instantly puts the entire city, myself included, in a cheery mood. Sunshine is definitely not taken for granted round these parts.

Work is about a mile away. On the way there I pass through the city's bustling center which includes hordes of commuters pouring out of Glasgow's Central Station. If I get the timing right I usually pass a man who looks like Walter White walking in the opposite direction. I tug at the boy's sleeve and inform him of my W.W. sighting.

The boy and I get to the client site and settle into our respective seats. The day usually begins quietly - a few hellos and how were your weekends here and there - but the conversation doesn't linger because this early crowd knows that these quiet minutes in the morning are precious. Precious for mental calibration, for getting an early start to the day's work, for luxurious slow sips of coffee before the circus arrives.

And arrives it does. By 10:30 most of the team is here, many straight from the airport. Every time I see a fellow ThoughtWorker enter the team room and roll their suitcase into a corner on Monday morning I feel a wave of gratitude wash over me for not having to fly each week anymore. But I digress. We walk through our card wall (an array of index cards that capture chunks of functionality to develop or tasks to investigate) as a large group and we then break into smaller huddles which usually conclude with "Go team!" - a cheesy but effective motivator to start the day.

Here is where the daily narrative ends, for no day at work is the same and certainly no day is predictable. Usually it's a mixture of writing on white boards, kicking off or handing over user stories, talking with my product owner or business SME, and a random assortment of meetings/discussions/team Kumbayamylords. On average Monday through Wednesdays are fairly crazy and fast-paced whereas Thursdays and Fridays are a lot more relaxed. I'm still trying to find ways to plan ahead and flatline my cortisone levels.

Although the work can be challenging, it is also rewarding. We're working with a smart, willing client and the software we're building provides value in the short term and serves as a technological platform for further transformation down the line. Our culture at work encourages being honest with each other, challenging our own assumptions, failing fast, iterating quickly, speaking up for technological excellence, and cracking fart jokes. It's truly a fun and interesting place to be; most days I wake up excited to go in and do some cool stuff.

And as for working on the same project team with the boy - well, that's been surprisingly smooth. It helps that everything is out in the open and everyone is very laid back. Occasionally he and I will butt heads on something or another but that's bound to happen between any business analyst and developer. We work it out like big boys and girls.

The work day usually ends between 6:00 and 6:30. Sometimes I have to force myself to leave the office because the work can be so engaging and it's almost addictive to stay and do just a bit more. (This project/domain is BA crack, I tell ya.) Recently our weeknights have been a packed agenda as well; on Monday we go on a group run, Tuesdays and Thursdays are for rock climbing, Wednesdays usually involved a team outing of sorts, and Friday is for pub. On nights when we don't eat out (which is most of the time) we whip up something simple for dinner before spending the last few hours of the evening surfing the internet or watching something on Netflix together. Then it's time for bed.

The weekdays have been flying by in a frenzy of such activity and the weekend always descends upon us rather suddenly. We've been traveling roughly every other one. So far I've accomplished 40% of my goal to visit ten new countries (Scotland, England, France, and Netherlands) - not bad for two months' time. There are more planned ahead: over Easter weekend we'll be going to Barcelona, and at the end of April we'll take a full week off to see Turkey, Vienna and Prague. In May there's Wales with the boy's family, and after that, some talk of Portugal and Greek islands for the summertime...

On weekends when we stay in Glasgow, it's a nice mix between playing catch up non-work work (planning more trips), exploring more of what's in and around Glasgow, and generally enjoying some down time. As sexy as the travel can be, the stay-put weekends are sometimes just as wonderful and often more needed for sanity-restoring purposes.

It's surreal to step back and think that we have been living on another continent for a little over two months. In that time we have basically started our lives anew - new apartment, new friends, new surroundings, new work. Yet it's all oddly familiar as well, like we're living in some sort of Scottish alternate reality where everything's the same but there's haggis instead of hotdogs.

I do feel pangs of homesickness for family and friends and Chipotle back in the US. But mostly I am happy and grateful for so many things: for the opportunity to see Europe, for the ability to have loved ones visit and experience Scotland themselves, for the fantastic project and team, and most of all, for being in the same place as the boy every night of the week. I am very lucky to be here in Glasgow.

Loch Lomond

Last weekend, the boy and I persuaded seven fellow ThoughtWorkers and significant-others-of-ThoughtWorkers - all from Brazil - to drive up and spend a day touring Loch Lomond, the largest lake in all of Scotland. (And second-most famous, after Loch Ness)

Our initial plan was quite ambitious; we wanted to embark on the 5-hour hike up Ben Lomond, a Munro (any Scottish mountain higher than 3,000 ft) located on the eastern shore of the Loch. But as the weekend approached, and a series of realizations like a.) Ben Lomond was probably still covered in snow in February, b.) there was a high chance it was going to precipitate on Saturday, c.) the boy and I were woefully underprepared for winter hiking conditions, and d.) some of the Brazilians had never even seen snow, much less hiked in it, made us scale back to significantly milder plans. 

We got off to an early start at the car rental area. Cars in Scotland are tiny, and ours was no exception. Cars in Scotland are also mostly manual, including ours. And to seal the deal - cars in Scotland drive on the left side of the road. There was a lot of nervous laughter and chanting of "Left! Left! Left" during the boy's first few minutes of driving, but he got the swing of it pretty quickly and hey, we all survived to tell the tale. 

Here are some pictures from our walk along the lake:

The guide at the visitor center, when asked if there were castles nearby, directed us to this 'stately mansion'

Challenge: climb that tree. 

Challenge failed. 

Challenge accepted and accomplished!

He lochs to move it move it

Big grins under a cloudy sky

Playgrounds in Scotland are very different from those in the US. We watched this adorable little girl jump in the trampoline.

The group, representing the Americas!

I loved getting out of the busy city and spending time in the great outdoors with new friends. Even though by the time we got to Loch Lomond the blue skies had turned into a grey blanket of clouds (#lifeinscotland), it was still a lovely afternoon. I'd love to return on a summer's day when I imagine the lake loch would be bustling with activities on the water.

I also really enjoyed the drive. This was my first time getting a glimpse into the beautiful Scottish countryside - lush green fields, open blue sky, winding roads, dogs off the leash, and locals with accents so thick all I could do was nod, smile, and hope I wasn't agreeing to something terrible.

This trip left me itching to return and explore more of the countryside/highlands. Ben Lomond, I'll be coming back for you in a few months' time!