The Slowest Buffalo: Yesterday...

...all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though there here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Actually, I've got it backwards. Yesterday all my troubles were right there, and it looked as though there were no light at the end of the tunnel. Well, I'm now two days out from the end of said tunnel and I couldn't be happier.

My demonstration (both days of it) went quite well. All companies kicked @ss and left the client, the industry, the users, and a few others seemingly pleased. That behind me, I've only got a few more documents to churn out on Monday and Tuesday (Lessons Learned, Executive Overview, etc.) and I'm done. Feels good. Very good in fact.

Well, what else has happened in the past week or so? Well, on Friday I spent 9 hours on the train and the road for 2 hours worth of work, again someplace I'm not really allowed to talk about. I will say this, however: my temporary I.D. let me know just how much I can look like a serial killer. Too bad I couldn't keep it. Oh, and on the train, I saw my pimp jacket, but I wasn't wearing it. What WAS she thinking?

Well, then there was St. Patty's day. I know I promised quite a write-up on that one. Problem is, I have trouble remembering much of it! No, seriously, it was great, and I remember all of it. Well, most of it, but I won't go into too much detail. Besides, you should have been there (I invited you).

Some key points:

Many, many, MANY Irish visit Cheltenham on race weekend.
Many of them are incredibly nice (good thing, too, since I'm spending 16 days there).
At least one of them thinks he's in the I.R.A.
That one thinks it's a good idea to walk into any pub in Belfast and scream, "I'm American, and I love the I.R.A." Apparently I'll be treated like a king. Yeah, right.

A few more points:

Bartenders will do anything to sell you beer.
Including trading shirts.
But only if you have boobs.
They will also show your their furry, little...dog. As long as he's upstairs above the bar. with her boyfriend.
Silly little (big, actually) hats are fun.

Okay, what else did I promise you? The Heathrow Injection. That's right, the Heathrow Injection. Well, to keep it short, I'll say that I, too, suffered from it, though I didn't know it had a name at the time. I'll also say that it's VERY similar to the freshman fifteen. This past Christmas I looked down, and suddenly I noticed I had put on about a stone of weight (14 pounds). That just would...not...do. So I've been working out, eating (somewhat) right, and trying to behave. I think it's worked. I'll let you be the judge of it when I get back.

I am a bit bummed, though, b/c on my 11-mile run yesterday I tweaked my knee. I didn't feel it until later yesterday and today, however. The run itself was a run down workouts past. I ran to the top of Cleeve Hill which, for those of you that remember, was one of my first long runs when I got here to England. I ran to the top, had some Shot Bloks, and back home. It was great and, minus the break at the top, I finished in around 1:35:00, so not too shabby.

The rest of the weekend has been spent, minus the time at the sushi bar, cleaning and packing. Man these people don't mess around. More than likely I'll end up paying a bit for them to clean it, even though I've been very clean. Oh well, not entirely my money anyway.

Finally, prior to leaving for Ireland, and almost more importantly, coming home, I've bought a Jeep. Puts Ozzy and me one step closer to touring the country. Now I only need to wait for the check to clear and then arrange shipping from Iowa. Oh, one more thing: it's purple! Cute, huh.