It feels as though my life has turned upside down over the past month. Perhaps it’s the extreme cold, the start of silly season, the soccer world cup or just the fact that I’m in my mid thirties. Whatever it is, it’s been real.

Work is ever more demanding, getting there at 7:30 and only leaving after 6. Actually, yesterday was the first day I got home while there was still light outside (and not of the artificial kind)! I’ve been handed a project while the project leader is in the States and as luck would have it, this particular project has become the most important for our customer’s requirements. I don’t think I need to tell you but as the only woman on the team, it’s challenging to get the guys to do what i need. On top of that, the only person who has been pushing this project for the last three years is not my boss’s favorite, making any suggestions extremely difficult to get approved.

On the up side, my team members are working like daemons, so at least I don’t have to worry about the analytical section.

It’s three weeks before I leave for Sweden and it’s starting to dawn on me that one month away is quite a long time. It will, however, be extremely good for my carreer, as I’ll get the oportunity to learn about some of our other products we make. And, of course, I’ll be doing analytical work without much admin or other stuff, so I’ll be in my element! I’ll be fairly far up North and this time of year there is sunlight pretty much 24/7. Apparently, there are lovely forests and fields to walk through and I’ll be there in the height of berry season. Guess I’ll be picking my dinner, so no expense there!

I’ll have the house to myself for most of the time, except when Marc joins me during the week of my birthday. This, by the way, happens to be on Wednesday, August 4th, so feel free to drop a note. If I do manage to get an international roaming cell, I’ll send out the number.

On the home front, Mutty’s still around, bumps and all, the puppies are getting big (and heavy!) and the cats are, well, cats. Catherine’s nick name seems to change on an almost daily basis: usually, we call her “Tanks”, since she bowls into one and tries to knock one over. Yesterday, however, upon arriving home, Marc informed me that her name for the day was “Lassy”. Apparently, Mutty was locked into the shed by our housekeeper and Catherine alerted Marc to the fact, upon which she was released. This morning she’s back to Tanks though (being woken up by 15 kg’s of dog jumping on a full bladder is no fun at all!).

On a technical note: my latest toy is an IPod touch. I’ve had it for two weeks now and all I’ve managed to do is load music and set up a few play lists. Marc’s been sweet and connected it to our wireless Internet, so as soon as I get home, I can check my mail. Not that I’m too excited about checking mail after having responded to mail all day. The other “new” technical development is that Marc’s swapped my desk-top with his old laptop, making cooking from Internet recipes so much easier.

Speaking of which, I’ve started to bake and thus far haven’t killed anyone at home or at work. The first time I took biscuits to work, I sent a note to those people I thought are slightly suicidal and would risk my baking (i.e. close friends and enemies). They liked them, who would’ve guessed?

That’s pretty much it. Sad, isn’t it?