Hey guys,
So we're now in week 10 - yes, TEN - and things are going pretty swimmingly. We've been swamped with work for the past two weeks since we came back from Cayman/Tennessee. My tan is gone now btw - FML - but the memories are still there!! Anyways, yeah, we've been up to our ears in pivot tables and spreadsheets trying to work our way through the different analyses and perspectives from which we need to investigate our data. All was going very well and we had quite a lot to show to Nick, our supervisor, before our presentation to the two company MDs, Sarah Lyons and Mark Addis. After a few hiccups during the meeting, we managed to get the basics of our presentation sorted and we went about pulling it all together. Presentation day came and it was really quite successful! Sarah had to be called away before the meeting so it was just Mark that sat in. He seemed to be very happy with what we have so far and confirmed that we are heading in the direction that he wants. We caught up with Sarah the next day aswell and she was able to go right into the data and discuss with us where she sees us going next - her input was so useful. I love her! Chris also managed to use some of our work in a dinner meeting he had last week which he said was very useful. I feel that I'm finally beginning to see the real difference that our project has to the company and I feel really proud to be a part of that!
We had a bit of an exciting day last Thursday when we had our Saltire Foundation Fundraiser in the London office. We'd done it as part of the Saltire Challenge and managed to raise £267.53 altogether!! Woooohoooo! The day mainly comprised of a bake sale. We tried our hardest at baking Scottish treats and I think we've managed to get some people addicted to tablet! I know I am anyway! There was also a raffle going on for a bottle of Scottish whiskey and then there was a night out afterwards. Although, the best part of the day was definitely dressing up in our costumes. Sarah had dressed as a bottle of Famous Grouse, Jenny as a can of Tennents and I dressed as a can of Irn-Bru - it goes without saying that we were the talk of the office that day!! Don't we look amazing? :D (Those are ringpulls on our heads btw! - Not silver pretzels or some sort of Scottish headress as some people in our office chose to believe!)
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In other London Town news, a fair few social boxes have been ticked. I've been to see Dylan Moran live, the Wizard of Oz on stage, Bridesmaids and the final Harry Potter film twice (the second time was in the Leicester Square theatre which was amazing! Three words. Leopard Print Seats. I'd died and gone to heaven!). I also went to a Ben and Jerry's festival in Clapham with all the free B&J's you can imagine (again, died and gone to heaven), flew a life size Tardis at the Dr Who exhibition and had a drink in the Absolut Ice Bar, literally the UK's coolest bar! So, I think it's safe to say I've been enjoying the advantages of living in the big city while I can! I've been entertaining my socks off too with a few visits from family and friends during the past two weeks and there's more to come this weekend. Woo! Feels really cool to show people around as a fully fledged Londoner :D
Well, this week, along with our current work, we have to start pushing for data to continue with our side project. So that means a lot of meetings, emailing and phone calls on our part. We have also planned a visit to the Lloyd's of London building just down the road from our office. Lloyd's is the traditional market place for insurance, much like the NYSE but for underwriting insurance instead of placing stock. Click here if I've made you want to learn more: http://www.lloyds.com/ We've been told you can't get in without a member, you must be smartly dressed and that it is a very high security building - so we're very intrigued to see what it's like on the inside!
I hope you guys are all enjoying your placements - sounds like we're all loving it anyway!
Blog soon, Susan x