What Time is it Anyway?

Saturday night - very late. Well, actually Sunday morning -early. But it's not so early in the UK. I'm still up waiting to get on an 8 a.m. conference call with the UK... (Their time.) The perils of global marketing.

Another 1/2 hour or so to go. Slap my face, wake myself up.

Why a call on an early Sunday morning? Well, if you work for a highly acquisitive company like I do... well Sunday morning "deals" are just part of the charm. Apparently closing deals on a Monday are bad luck in Europe.

Way too wired on tea. But I'm in my pajamas... with slippers.

Just Googled half my relatives, caught up on celebrity gossip and re-mixed my iPod. So I guess life is good.

Wish LB was here - even if asleep on the couch - to keep me company. He's back from CO tomorrow. Can't wait!

Spell Check

I like/love my job. I get to work in so many global markets. But sometimes, I get confused. Where am I? How do I spell that word? What the *$%#@ do they call 'that' there?

Today I was in a meeting - of a series of meetings - about creating a 'product navigator'. A single interface of sorts that would launch our entire enterprise of products... *ahem*... solutions. Globally.

Well, anyone who has ever worked on products... *ahem*... solutions that are sold globally knows that there are many words, catch phrases, lingo, etc. that is, well, unique to the local market. That's the point of global marketing with a local flavour/flavor. (See? I just did it again!)

It reminds me of when I first started a job at WWLD Institute (code name.) My soon to be friend Melle was helpful enough to phonetically spell out the word 'route' for me. Cause it's pronounced one way in the U.S. and another way in Canada, the UK, etc.

Now I have a whole host of words I need to localize. (Or localise.) Taking a cue from Melle, I have a big bunch of post-its with the proper spelling and pronunciation slapped to my cabinet above my desk.

In the meeting today I wanted to go and grab those post-its and slap them on the foreheads of the others in the room. Is that wrong?

Going the Wrong Way...

I bailed from work early today. It was a long week.

The sky was overcast and a hint of snow was in the air. Stuck behind cars inching slowly along Matheson. And then I spotted the sign. "No U-turns."

Huh? Do people really do U-turns on busy streets? I guess they must, otherwise the sign wouldn't be there.

Got me thinking - cause I wasn't going anywhere fast. Wouldn't it be nice to have a U-turn in your life? A do over? When you realize that perhaps you are going the wrong way and should have taken the road you just passed?

I'm the Only One

I've never been afraid to eat alone at a restaurant. I do it all the time while travelling on business. I know many people who avoid dining by themselves. I'm told they find it awkward. Not sure where to look or what to do while waiting for their entree. Some pull out a book or read the newspaper to 'look busy.'

I was mulling this over - while dining alone - on a recent business trip to Quebec.

When I first arrived at the restaurant I had been told was a 'must go' by the hotel concierge for crepes, I told them I was "one" for breakfast. The hostess asked, "Just one?"

"Well," I replied smiling, "not JUST one. One."

I was quickly squirreled away to the worst table in the entire restaurant. It wasn't a long walk. About two feet from the hostess stand and the front door. I was in mid stride prepared to step around this table when she placed the menu on the placemat and pulled out a chair for me - I nearly tripped over it.

"Oh," I said. "Could I possibly move further inside rather than right here by the door?"

The hostess replied, "But you are only one. The rest of our tables are for two or four or six."

I looked around. They weren't busy. I saw three or four empty tables. Were they expecting a rush of people at any moment?

"Thanks," I said. "I see you are really busy. I've changed my mind. I'd rather go somewhere else."

I stepped outside and looked up and down the street. I felt like a leper! Just a few doors down I spotted another restaurant advertising crepes (not too hard to find in Quebec City!) and walked in.

The hostess greeted me. "You look cold. One?"

"Yes, one please."

She brought me over to a cozy booth by a fireplace with a fabulous view of the street in Old Quebec.

"I will bring you some coffee perhaps?" she inquired.

"That would be lovely," I responded.

Sure enough a few moments later she was back with some coffee and a newspaper. "In case you get bored of the view," she said smiling as she placed the coffee and paper on the table.

I didn't read the paper because I didn't feel the need to 'look busy.' Plus the view was fantastic and I quickly got lost in my own thoughts. The meal was fantastic and the hospitality even better.

When I returned to the hotel later that day, I made sure to tell the concierge about where he should send his business next time.

Hurry Up and Snow Already!

I want to wear my new boots.

Brain Freeze

In Quebec City for business. Spent the whole day in committee meetings today (not so fun) but managed to get out in the early evening to check out Vieux-Quebec seeing as it's just outside the hotel door (good fun!)

I started strolling down rue Saint-Louis and had to turn up my collar and shove my hands into my coat pockets. Brrrr.... It was a bone chilling -5. I couldn't figure out why it felt so bloody cold here. It was a lovely 6 or 7 degrees when I left Toronto this morning...

A few paces later, it hit me. (And then I actually hit myself on the forehead for my stupidity.) It's colder here because Quebec City is considerably much further north than Toronto. Clearly sitting in those committee meetings all day had short circuited my brain somehow...

So it's a good thing tomorrow is a "free day" - no meetings and no stale conference rooms. Need to rejuvenate the old noggin'! I've made a list:

- consume crepes (Breakfast perhaps? I could get that one out of the way first thing!)
- check out the 'Picasso at the Chateau d’Antibes' exhibit at the Musee National des Beaux Arts
- travel down the Casse Cou stairs to Quartier Petit Champlain
- be really touristy and ride the funiculaire
- find some good Quebec artisanal cheese for sampling (In the name of cheesemonger research.)
- perhaps pop by the Musee de la Civilisation (Worried I might spend too much time there...)
- oh, and shop