Oy Vey!
So, Oy Vey is Yiddish for, well it’s difficult to explain. Wikipedia defines it as “Oh Woe” but that has too much of a negative connotation. I think the best way of describing it is as a different way of letting out an exhausted gasp, the kind that comes at the end of writing an exam or after watching a particularly stressful football match. So it needn’t be completely negative it’s just a sigh, a moment of recognition of what has been achieved or has gone by. The reason this week was an Oy Vey week for me, was twofold. Firstly, work got serious; after having problems with a webinar I organized the previous week, we organised a follow up which I really wanted to go well. So at the beginning of the week I set out to learn everything there is to know about online presentations, I watched videos, read reports and phoned up customer helplines, I become obsessed. So my excitement was there for everyone to see, when after a few nail biting moments and a late night, manually inserting 300 email addresses everything went without a hitch. But getting the conference right went a little bit bigger, it felt like a tiny moment of redemption, a chance to work on something which I had gotten wrong before and prove that I could learn from previous mistakes. It also now leaves me as an expert in the whole genre of online meetings, conferences and the like, so if you want to hold anything on line and I’m talking weddings, birthdays and Bar Mitzvahs send me an email!
The Second factor to this Oy Vey week was that my social life got busy! And I mean hectic. The week started with an early night to recover from a previous few days trip to DisneyLand (I know not so hectic yet but wait!). The next evening was salsa dancing, I met up with a few San Diegan pals I met a few weeks ago and practiced some serious hip movements, believe me as the only non-latino in the club my lack of rhythm stood out. After recovering from my dancing escapades, me and the girls (Helena and Yvonne, the other two interns here) were invited the following evening to a BBQ with our company, which involved copious amounts of fantastic Pizza and being chased by our CEO’s kids. The following evening was where things took a really busy turn; firstly we were invited to dinner at the house of one of our biggest shareholders, which was fantastic. Post dinner I headed off to downtown San Diego for a club night at what I was assured is one of San Diego’s most exclusive haunts and with the club being located on a roof with outdoor swimming pool, who am I to judge! The week ended in a slower paced but slightly boozier style. In my last blog I mentioned that Irene one of our co-workers was leaving the company well last Friday was her send off, so for the occasion the girls and I dished up some serious home cooking. The night went well with the whole office coming over to experience our culinary skills. Our food was paired with a single malt, a few local beers and some mead which was brought round by Dustin our architect. Now let me pause from recounting the tale of my week to say that mead is without doubt one of the best beverages I have ever sipped, I implore all who read this to have a try of its honey filled goodness! Anyway back to my week, after Friday and the ensuing hang over on Saturday morning, I headed to some distant relatives that my Nana directed me to who live in the San Diego area. I spent the afternoon sitting by the pool telling stories of home and eating from a BBQ, a great way to soothe any headache. On the last day of the week I escaped to the country. Packing a sandwich and a few litres of water I drove inland down a consistently weaving road. My destination was a national park which had been damaged by recent forest fires. I spent the afternoon hiking in the weird environment that was left behind, a mix of highly forested areas in the middle of acres of burnt out trees. It was to be an Oy Vey experience which ended my Oy Vey week perfectly.