We're here and it's HOT HOT HOT

Saoirse posing with our four trolleys of luggage and pets upon arrival to Hyderabad.
I finally have an internet connection which has been the most painful part of India thus far. I need to get cracking on work but figured I needed to update this as well. Anyway, the flight over wasn't too bad, kids didn't act up too much, though arriving at midnight is always a pain and having three trollies of bags and pets (thankfully they all arrived well) and searching for our driver and people taking photos of the kids, staring at the pet crates and the sweltering heat made for a warm welcome (no pun intended).

We've made great friends already, many with kids Ciaran and Saoirse's age and all attend the Int'l School of Hyderabad. Lots to do on the weekends, Sunday brunch is a great deal, all you can eat and drink, swim in the hotel's pool and there's usually activities for the kids, so everyone looks forward to that. We're supposed to be moving into our new house maybe today, depends on whether or not the showers leak. It's a gorgeous house and will be pretty empty until our sea shipment arrives sometime this year.

Oh and we made it one week before we had to visit the hospital - Saoirse tripped over my feet at the landing of marble stairs (before you oooh and ahhh, everything here is made of marble) and split the underside of her chin open. So thankfully the friends I was with were so helpful, had one's driver take me to hospital and the other took Ciaran to her house. So we spent almost six hours by the time we arrived until they'd finally let us leave - with six stiches. Saoirse did well, James and I were grouchy because they wouldn't let us leave with her after she woke up from all of five minutes under general anesthesia. But it definitely helps being an expat - we were shuttered through all the lines and had a plastic surgeon patch her up. So now I can say I've visited an Indian hospital - made it 20 months in Belgium without having to go.

That's it for the moment, need to get work done. Check back soon for updates and maybe photos :)

Photos from Key West

Hamming it up at Sloppy Joe's




coming soon, as soon as I find the camera adapter... (found it May 12th!)

I'm sorry to say you've been eliminated

Oy! If this was the Amazing Race, we'd have been booted out first round - horrific considering I know how to speak two languages and drive a stick shift! James and I didn't bother looking at the flight schedule and that it changed from the usual 4:10 departure to 3:30pm and by the time we relized the change, flew down to Miami, checked the bags in and returned the rental car, we were still too late to make the flight. So with baited breath (and curse words under it) we got a new rental car and I made the executive decision to say screw it, we're going to Key West. So here I sit on a mini vacation with two hours of the beach under my belt (and two beers at 4pm) and feeling a bit better and nonchalant about the whole thing (surprise I know, but Lexapro 20mg is a great thing). So now we'll be taking off on Tuesday the 8th, the pets are safely relaxing at the boarders and I'm going to waste away in Margaritaville tonight and get some last minute red meat - this has been a common phrase I've used for the past two weeks and would explain the 10 lbs I've acquired since my mini-breakdown.

For those that don't know or I've been too distracted to contact, I managed to convince my bosses to let me work from home in India as a contractor, doing the same duties and then some, which while no means rocket science, is a blessing in disguise to keep my sanity as I learned the hard way in Belgium.

I have also decided once I get to India to devote a new mini-blog to the Monkey Man myth, Rob Morris at work gave me a great title to call the blog, which of course I've now forgotten, but that will be my mini-project and if I go to New Delhi for no other reason than to research this "phenomenon" my life will have meaning ;)

Anyway, off to go drink some more in Key West TTFN, and oh pooh. Stay tuned for the details from the flight...