Busy in Reno, but having some fun, too!!

Okay, I have been very busy here in Reno, so trying to blog here and on my MySpace page has been impossible!! Below is the most recent entry in my blog on MySpace, which I posted on December 9th:

So, Keith and I just returned from our trip to Lake Tahoe and I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it was!!

We headed out around 11:00am and at that time, there were quite a few clouds in the sky so I was a bit concerned that we would not have very good weather at the lake. Boy, was I wrong!! We had the most perfect weather!! The sky was so clear - which made the lake the most amazing shade of blue!

I had been to Lake Tahoe when I was here in Reno at the beginning of October, but did not get to see much of the lake. This time, rather than staying in South Lake Tahoe, CA, Keith and I decided to see as much of the lake as we could, so we headed north on Route 89 to travel along the west side of the lake. Although the views were absolutely beautiful, the drive itself was a bit nerve-wracking!! Route 89 is rather narrow as its winds its way up the mountains along Lake Tahoe. Lots of blind, hairpin turns and plenty of stretches without guard rails - I am pretty sure I left permanent indentations on the steering wheel from gripping it so hard!!

Although we drove for what seemed like quite a distance, as it turns out we really only travelled around about one third of the lake. From Reno, we drove south on 395 and then got on route 50 west to head to the lake. Route 50 takes you along the east side of the lake and down to Stateline, NV and through South Lake Tahoe, CA where it intersects with Route 89, which we took north along the southwest shore of Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay (for a visual, please click here to see a map of Lake Tahoe). We stopped at quite a few spots all along our route to take pictures of the lake, but once we got to Emerald Bay, and realized we still had only driven around less than half of the lake, we decided to go back the way we came and got a late lunch at Riva Grill in South Lake Tahoe, CA before heading back to Reno.

All in all, we had an absolutely amazing day! I am so glad that I got to see more of the lake. When I saw the little of it that I did in October, I said then that it was the most beautiful place that I had ever seen and really could not imagine anything more beautiful. Well, as it turns out, Lake Tahoe is capable of improving upon itself!! To see the Lake with all of the snow on the trees and in the mountains was nothing short of astounding!!

I have plenty of pictures posted on my Flickr site, so please be sure to check them out!!

Back in Reno

First, I need to say that trying to keep two blogs going (I also blog on my MySpace page) is a bit tedious. Not sure how long I will be able to keep doing it! So, what I have included below is a post from my MySpace blog on my first morning in Reno (Tuesday, November 27th). It was very early in the morning (4:35am) and my body had not yet adjusted to being on Pacific time. Hell, even today, I woke up far earlier than I wanted to!! I will do my best to keep this blog updated, but no promises!!


We arrived in Reno yesterday with very little trouble. We were delayed by about 45 minutes flying out of Philly yesterday morning, but had plenty of time to get our connection out of Las Vegas to arrive here in Reno shortly after 3:00pm local time (Nevada is in the Pacific time zone). After picking up our luggage and the rental car, we headed on over to the hotel to check in.

Let me say, the staff working the front desk when we arrived was GREAT!!! As we were all getting checked in, we mentioned that we were talking about where we wanted to go for dinner. I mentioned The Steakhouse at Harrah's in downtown Reno, and Keith and Kavia were both up for that. Well, the kid at the front desk (I use kid here because he looked pretty young!!) heard our conversation and offered to make the dinner reservation for us - certainly not the service I expected, but it was most welcome!! With any luck, that same level of service will continue throughout our four week stay! Since it was still rather early (not even 5:00pm, local time) we decided that we should have dinner around 7:00pm so that we would have some time to get settled, freshen up, etc.

I must say, I am rather pleased with the room and the hotel. It is very clean, completely non-smoking, and rather quiet. They offer a full complimentary breakfast every morning, and happy hour nearly every weekday night with beer, wine, and soda. The services they offer are really great, too (give them your shopping list, and they will go do your grocery shopping - no fee, you only pay the cost of the groceries themselves!), since the type of hotel we are in (a Residence Inn) lends itself to longer-term stays.

So, we start work today - making sure the training room is all set up and the connections are good to go, that we have all of the supplies that we need, and taking some time to listen to the folks we will be training as they take phone calls since neither Keith nor Kavia has had the chance to do that yet. On Wednesday, we start training and I cannot wait!!


So, it is now Wednesday, we complted our first day of training and things went rather well. So far, so good!! Just 11 more days of training and a total of 17 more days with the staff. I am really enjoying being back here and know that the time is going to pass by far too quickly!!

more cards!!!

So, I have not posted any pictures of my cards recently, but that is because I have not made many cards recently! I did, however, make these cards in the last week and I am really pleased with the results. There is more information in my SCS Gallery. Not sure how much card-making I will get to do in the next few weeks, but I will do my best to post what I do make! Enjoy!

Home From Reno

So, I realize that I have not posted in quite some time. It is not because I have not wanted to post, but I have been so busy I have not had the time!! I got home from Reno last night after a GREAT trip with an amazing team!! We did a ton of really great work, but we also managed to have tons of fun, too!!

We arrived on Sunday evening and, after checking into our rooms, had a great meal at one of the hotel restaurants (we were rooming at the Eldorado Hotel & Casino). We spent a little time in the casino that night...I played some blackjack but did not win (unless you count breaking even a win!!). Monday was busy with presentations and interviews, but on Monday evening we drove to Lake Tahoe. We had heard that South Lake Tahoe was the fun place to go, so that's where we headed.

The drive to the lake was incredible!! The views kept changing and getting better and better as we drove up the mountain, and when we rounded a bend to see the lake open up in front of us, it was absolutely breath taking!! The sun was just starting to set behind the mountains, so the light was really amazing!! It really is the most beautiful place I have ever been and I cannot wait to go back!!

So, after taking some pictures on the eastern side of the lake, we headed into South Lake Tahoe. I suppose everybody has their own definition of fun, and I suppose that if we had been there on the weekend and during the day, we might have had more fun, but we were hungry and tired - not a good combination!! We did find a great restaurant just over the California border in South Lake Tahoe, though, so the evening was not a complete loss!

Tuesday was filled with interview after interview, and let me tell you, the folks that we met were amazing!! I am so thrilled about the prospect of bringing them on to work with us!! After heading back to the hotel to freshen up, we headed to dinner at the Harrah's steakhouse. We were completely blown away!! The food was delicious, the service was top-notch, and the restaurant itself was cool - it has a real "rat pack" kind of feel.

Wednesday was filled with more interviews and lots of work to wrap up and prepare for our next steps back here in PA. That evening, we again headed west into California. We were told that there was good shopping and good eating in Truckee, just a few miles west of the Nevada state line on Interstate 80. What we were not told, however, is that most of the shops close at 6pm - we got there around 6:15pm. We did find a really lovely restaurant, however, and had another fantastic meal, so the night was pretty good!!

We flew back on Thursday morning and got home to Philly around 5:30pm. While I was ready to come home, I really cannot wait to go back. I tend not to be a really "outdoorsy" type of person, but feel like I could become one! I just cannot believe how beautiful that part of the country is! Anyway, today I have been completely exhausted! Flying east totally sucks and I am still very much on Reno time!

More Reno news...

So, I mentioned earlier this week that I have been asked to go to Reno on a recruiting trip for my company. The coolest part about all of this, is that the positions we will be offering are for telecommuting jobs for folks who are facing the prospect of their office closing in just a few months. I know that we are going into a rather sensitive situation, but I love that we are giving people the opportunity to stay with the company AND to work from home.

I also found out (just today), that one of my favorite co-workers will be going with me and the other two folks going to Reno!! The team that is going on this trip is so great and I know that we are going to have a GREAT time!!

I will be sure to keep you up to date!!

Heading to Reno!!

I just got word today that I will be travelling to Reno, NV the week after next to do some recruiting for my company!! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!! More to come...

I hate Rupert Murdoch

Granted, Sally Field did not do herself any favors by flubbing her acceptance speech and political statement, but the fact that Fox chose to censor more than just the word "goddamn" is unconscionable.

For those who do not live in Canada, where free speech seems to mean something, and did not get to her her full statement, what she actually said at the end was, "And, let's face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place!"

I have yet to find an uncensored version of this, so here is the way it looked and sounded during the Emmy Awards last night...