heaven

I was on cloud nine all weekend. I can say for sure that this is the happiest I've been in as long as I can remember. I am amazed at how fortunate I am to be exactly where I am exactly at this moment... I am trying to bask in the glow as much as I can so the memory of how things are right now lasts as long as it possibly can.

It started with a smashing blowout party at our house on Friday night with everyone I know and love in London. The party was American-themed, in honor of the Fourth of July, and everyone was someone or something American... we had special appearances from Barack Obama, John McCain, Miss America, Christian fundamentalists, American Indians and many, many more.

The party was still raging at 3 AM - despite a slight mishap - when Georgie and I left for the airport for our day trip to Milan. We landed, took a short bus ride to the center of town and took the metro to the Duomo, a gigantic gothic cathedral in the middle of Milan. After some typical touristy photo-taking, we made a beeline for italian coffees and gelato... a perfect breakfast for a perfect day. We spent the rest of our time walking around the city, laying in the shade, eating a lunch we made of olives, bread, cheese, artichoke hearts and cherries from a gourmet deli and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Arrived back to London late on Satuday night, had a hell of a time getting home, but got back with enough time to get a good six-hour sleep in before an incredibly intense Sunday. My team heard from many of the recent UK MC members (going back to about 2000), learning about their decisions, mistakes and what they see as the next frontiers for @UK. Before that ended, I had to take off to meet Jan, my predecessor, at the train station to go to Wales for the next few nights.

We arrived at the five-star hotel that was hosting the Assocation of Graduate Recruiters' annual conference, an event so steeped in cash that unlimited free wine was provided for all of the 600 delegates far into the night. The event was an incredible experience for me on many levels... I had the opportunity to see both my predecessor and his predecessor in action, selling their companies and themselves with awesome skill; I met a bunch of people and learned a ton about the UK University system and I did my best to make a good impression on the many current and potential @UK partners that were in attendance. Curiously, I feel like I've changed over this weekend alone... I felt like I was in my element and I now feel much more competent and savvy about my work and I feel even more confident about my role on my team.

Speaking of my team, one of the most unexpected elements of the past weekend was how much I missed everyone when I wasn't around. My team feels like a second family already and when I'm not around them, it feels like something is missing. It's amazing that I've come to love them all so much already... I only see good things for us in the coming months... :D

(And just a note to my @US friends on all levels... I love you and it takes incredible courage to stand up and make your opinions heard. Just keep doing the right thing and all will end well.)

Time to stop blogging and join in to the awesome party that's happening in the office right now... yay for trainee night!!