Week 1 in Arizona

Dear family and friends,
I have just about completed my first week in Arizona and wanted to give you an update.

ACCOMODATIONS:
I am staying in a hotel for 3 weeks after which I will move into an apartment. The hotel is a standard room with nothing fancy. It is well located near restaurants and shopping areas and is only 7 minutes away from the office… make that 8 minutes if there is a bit of traffic… I am really forward to moving to an apartment at San Melia that looks much more like a vacation resort than an apartment. Check it out at: www.sanmelialiving.com . It includes a gym, a recreational area and a large pool with real sand where you go into the water. I can’t wait to get settled there.

TRANSPORTATION:
I currently have a Ford Escape SUV that was offered to me at the same price as my original rental. For the life of me I can’t explain why I said yes to this upgrade because the vehicle (special word for my sister Janie) is way too big for one person, even if I plan on carrying golf clubs around. And oh, get this… the gas gage went from full to ¾ after only 37 miles. No way can I afford to put that much gas into it. I must admit that I’ve put on more miles since then and it hasn’t passed the half way mark, but still…. Me with an SUV, come on! I will probably go back to change it to get something smaller and something cleaner because I don’t wash cars, LOL.

WORK:
The area where the offices are is very nice. From Day 1 everyone was expecting me and I got the royal treatment (well maybe not like Kate and William but close enough). My office is much better than the one in Montreal because it has a window where I can get more light. It is very quiet here, perhaps only 70+ people in both single story buildings. We have more than that on one single floor at the CCE. There is no food here, no food court, no vending machine, nada… NADA. Someone is kind enough to operate a little depanneur that is based on the honor system so my 1st day here when I showed up foodless, I spent 2 x .40 cents to buy 2 Krispy marshmallow treats for breakfast. One of the treats even came with sparkles on top just to add a splash of color. The other one was more boring with just a drizzle of chocolate. Yum-yum… Needless to say I hit the grocery store before coming in the following day to buy my goods. So if you come to visit I can offer you from my desk, Lipton tea, Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut, Go Lean crunch with almond and flaxseed or some good old fashion Kelloggs Raisin Bran (I hope I got the right brand dad). I even bought some Ziploc containers to serve as bowls for the cereal. So I’m all set food-wise. So now back to the real work… The days are very different here. I rush into the office for 6:00 AM where it is usually non-stop action until 2:00 PM. I do have small breaks here and there but out of 5 days here I haven’t been able to stop for lunch because 3:00 PM is primetime meeting time back on the East coast. So I still pretty much cater to East coast hours and after 2:00 PM my time, most everyone back home has left for the day so it leaves me with 3 hours to get some of my work done or maybe go for a nap because I’m so exhausted after the sprint of a day… Seriously, no more Guru for me. I can’t afford to fall asleep so I’m officially off the afternoon energy drink. The people are super super nice. Very friendly, where everyone says hello to everyone (my kind of people). I guess when there is only 70 people working in an office you can afford to be friendly and get to know your neighbors. I still have a way to go before I know everyone but after 6 months I think I’ll get there.

PERSONAL TIME:
This is the part that will take some getting used to. I am not much of a loner and I like being around people so until and if I make friends, it’s just me. The week nights are not much different than at home. I buy my supper on the way home, usually at AJ’s high end grocery store, go back to my room and watch TV while on Facebook. I’ve managed to speak to Jackie and Julie once each and Janie usually every day. I have to look out for my youngest sister even if I’m far far away… This past weekend the highlight was definitely my visit to the Desert Botanical Gardens for the flashlight tour that takes place from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM after dark in the desert. I don’t know what planet I come from but I was thinking it would be cold at night in the desert (I was certainly misinformed) so I wore jeans and closed walking shoes. I even had my hoody but I left it in the car thank heavens! By the time I left at 8:30 PM it was still bloody 94 degrees Fahrenheit (sorry but you lose all knowledge of Celsius once you cross the American border… I can’t even think in terms of Celsius anymore…). It was very hot but it was also well worth it. Here is the link that all my non-Facebook (argh!!!! Who doesn’t have a Facebook account in 2011…) friends can use to view my favorite pictures from last Saturday night when I had a date with a cactus or two: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150323091339643.363447.787139642&l=5403953487&type=1
On Sunday, I just took it easy. Went to the gym (boy that was rough) then to the café across from my hotel where I had a nice breakfast with cappuccino (there go the calories burned at the gym), started reading a new book (romance novel, of course) and sent an email to mom and dad who were anxiously waiting for news from their oldest daughter. I followed that up by going to the hotel pool (where were my sisters who always get me settled into my bathing suit…) at precisely 12 noon. What was I thinking? I applied my suntan lotion and once fully slathered with the white stuff I asked myself how can I last more than 5 minutes out here? Am I the only once nuts enough to want to tan when it’s above 100 degrees with NO wind or breeze whatsoever? The answer to that is a definite yes. So I braved the hot sun for 4 hours spending 90% of the time with water up to my chest and my two arms on the outside of the pool to hold my book while I was reading. For those who know me very well (or not even that well)… I always sleep when I’m tanning but this time I couldn’t or else I would’ve drowned by falling over into the water. So read is what I did with maybe just one or two short naps at my chair. After that it was picking up supper at AJ’s and watching the Emmys. Not a bad first weekend.

If you have any questions for me, just ask. I would love to hear from you even if it is just the small stuff.

Take care,
Johanne.