The title says "Day 2" but at this point I don't really know what day it is. I know I slept somewhere between 2 and 5 hours last night (no idea which it is) and that it was definitely in 4 installments... but hey, we made it! That was a seriously long flight. Luckily I had some good row mates.
So far things seem a lot like Miami - warm, palm trees, cab drivers that speak rough (but decent) English; the hotel clerk actually spoke better English than I'd have expected to find at a Miami hotel though :)
The comparison to the US really holds true looking out my window here - I feel like I'm in Hermosa Beach (LA) or something of the sort. Palm trees - a big ocean (sea, actually) and just a great view.
I just turned on the TV in my room to be greeted by "Can't Live, If Livin' Is Without You" (in English).
So far so good! Now - for the long awaited shower and tooth brushing!!!
***
The hotel feels like some of the older American hotels I've stayed in and the location is great - if I lean out my window I can see the beach maybe 5-6 blocks down. Notice I said "lean out my window" - they actually trust me with the ability to open my window here - something I haven't found in a big city hotel in quite a while.
That reminds me (speaking of things I haven't seen in a while) - (a) we had meals on the flight. We had dinner last night (at 7AM Israeli time) and breakfast this morning (at 5PM Israeli time) - I guess they're not trying to help get us on our new schedule! Anyway, though (b) they gave us metal silverware. I was pretty surprised by that.
Also, thinking back to the airport earlier - one of the primary things I had read online was that you get stopped all the time in the airport and asked basic questions by security (to try to trip you up if you're up to no good). We didn't see ANY of that - at all. Actually, I didn't see anyone at this airport with a gun (at the Madison airport you pass at least 6 or 7) -- maybe that's just because we were on the way in though... we'll see if things are tougher on the way out.
***
Just got back from dinner with the Rob and Koby (the CTO of Seeking Alpha). Crazy to think that we've been working so closely together but this is the first time that I've actually even seen his face, much less met him in person! I'm looking forward to a couple such moments in the next two weeks involving other members of the team!
We went to eat at an area called 'The Marina'. Very cool place on the water (obviously) with lots of restaurants and places to see. It reminded me a lot of the similar area in Baltimore (is that also called "The Marnia"?... I think it might be). Anyway, this was similar to that but a bit bigger - a few more people - and I actually felt safer at Tel Aviv's version. I remember the walk back to the car in Baltimore being much more shady, despite the fact that we were only parked about two blocks away from the action.
***
Tomorrow we'll be working off some jetlag in the morning and I hope to take a walk down to the sea. Rob and I actually walked down there quick tonight but I'd like to see it during the day. We'll be headed over to meet the team and get a little work done about noon before having a barbecue (hosted by Koby) tomorrow for us all to properly get some social time in.
Showing posts with label rob amanda and leif. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rob amanda and leif. Show all posts
5.26.2007
5/25 - Day 1
For those who haven't heard, I've just started an exciting trip to Israel to visit the other employees at the company I work for (Seeking Alpha). I'm really looking forward to it and know it's going to be a wonderful life experience, as well as allowing me to actually see the people I work with on a daily basis in the flesh.
-------
Our trip started today with Monnie (and Howie) escorting Rob and I to the airport in Madison. Our flight out of Madison was delayed about 45 minutes but we had a cushion built in at Newark (better safe than sorry - we really didn't want to miss this connection!).
Shortly after arriving at Newark we heard an announcement for all passengers on flight 90 ("hey, that's us") to head to the gate right away for extra security screening. We were mid-discussion about how it was already 9PM and we hadn't eaten yet at the time... we probably should have thought "hey, we should get food quick and then go", but instead we erred on the safe-side at reported immediately. -- It turned out to just be an extra 1 minute of carry on searching, metal detecting, and rub downs (that must be why it costs $1300 to fly to Tel Aviv).
So, here we sit - the last time that I plan on taking the laptop out before Tel Aviv as it seems like it would just be way more hassle to take it out and use it than it's worth... oh, that reminds me - we found out when we got to Madison that we both had middle seats on this flight. I guess that extra email I sent to Continental to make sure that we were either together or both windows really paid off! The guy had told me that it was taken care of but apparently he meant "for the return flight".... oh well.
That's it for now. See you in Israel.
-------
Our trip started today with Monnie (and Howie) escorting Rob and I to the airport in Madison. Our flight out of Madison was delayed about 45 minutes but we had a cushion built in at Newark (better safe than sorry - we really didn't want to miss this connection!).
Shortly after arriving at Newark we heard an announcement for all passengers on flight 90 ("hey, that's us") to head to the gate right away for extra security screening. We were mid-discussion about how it was already 9PM and we hadn't eaten yet at the time... we probably should have thought "hey, we should get food quick and then go", but instead we erred on the safe-side at reported immediately. -- It turned out to just be an extra 1 minute of carry on searching, metal detecting, and rub downs (that must be why it costs $1300 to fly to Tel Aviv).
So, here we sit - the last time that I plan on taking the laptop out before Tel Aviv as it seems like it would just be way more hassle to take it out and use it than it's worth... oh, that reminds me - we found out when we got to Madison that we both had middle seats on this flight. I guess that extra email I sent to Continental to make sure that we were either together or both windows really paid off! The guy had told me that it was taken care of but apparently he meant "for the return flight".... oh well.
That's it for now. See you in Israel.
3.20.2006
Seeking Alpha
Well, it’s been a whirlwind of a last week but I’ve gone from not having any new employment opportunities on my radar (and not really looking for any) to accepting a new position!
It became official last Friday – 4/7 will be my last day for Smart Solutions (on contract at American Family Insurance) and I’ll be starting up right away (4/10) at Seeking Alpha. Seeking Alpha is going to be a great company to work with and I’m finding myself more and more excited at the prospect everyday.
Many changes will come along with it…
Working from home:
instead of the office:
Working on a very small team:
v. working in a very large department:
It became official last Friday – 4/7 will be my last day for Smart Solutions (on contract at American Family Insurance) and I’ll be starting up right away (4/10) at Seeking Alpha. Seeking Alpha is going to be a great company to work with and I’m finding myself more and more excited at the prospect everyday.
Many changes will come along with it…
:
Working from home:
instead of the office:
Working on a very small team:
v. working in a very large department:
8.01.2005
We made it!
Well, we are in the new condo! There are still many unopened boxes floating around but it's actually starting to look more like a home and less like a carboard box dump! and my commute this morning? AWESOME. I will be driving an hour less every day which is an incredible amount of extra-life that I've just acquired!
Many thanks to Rob and Brandon for the help on Friday. Co-MVP honors go to those Fox boys. Thanks a ton for all the help guys, it is very much appreciated!
Monica had a second bridal shower on Saturday and we are quite thankful for all the gifts! It's amazing how generous people are - and now we have all this extra space so we can actually have a place for it all!
As for this week: there's a lot of excitement about the unpacking, and I'm really looking forward to getting back out there for MAUL. After a couple weeks of skipping, largely due to presentation preparation - it's going to be "interesting" to see how well I do out there.
Many thanks to Rob and Brandon for the help on Friday. Co-MVP honors go to those Fox boys. Thanks a ton for all the help guys, it is very much appreciated!
Monica had a second bridal shower on Saturday and we are quite thankful for all the gifts! It's amazing how generous people are - and now we have all this extra space so we can actually have a place for it all!
As for this week: there's a lot of excitement about the unpacking, and I'm really looking forward to getting back out there for MAUL. After a couple weeks of skipping, largely due to presentation preparation - it's going to be "interesting" to see how well I do out there.
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