Valentines at Kew

Posted on 20 February 2009 by k
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With all the uncertainty at work and the general grey weather, things have been just a bit down here. So, to change the tempo, we celebrated Valentines with a Champagne brunch at home (complete with stuffed french toast) and a trip to Kew Gardens in Southwest London. We’ve been to Kew before, but never in the winter. So it was fun to see it at this time of year. It made us remember that day forever ago when G and I strolled a garden in St. Louis as VIPs before he popped the question…I guess those snowdrops (a type of early blooming plant with a white bloom) don’t care if they’re in St Louis or London…when Feb comes, it’s their time to shine!

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We had a lovely day at Kew…G planned well as they had an orchid display going on to distract the winter duldrums. A little sunshine and blue skies…exactly what the doctor ordered.

G continues to train for the London Marathon. Yesterday was his longest run yet–13 miles. Basically a half marathon. And he’ll compete in a race of that length in one month’s time as part of his training regimen. He’s doing very well and I’m very proud.

Tuesday was G’s birthday! I can’t say exactly what age he is, but if you add the digits together, they total 5… 🙂 We started things off right according to our birthday tradition. Birthday cake at midnight! For this year, I secured a carrot cake from Konditor and Cook (an incredible baker by my office). But their cakes look a bit plain so I decked it out with orange slices, cinnamon, walnuts and coconut flakes. I think it looked better than when I started though it was tough to find a spot for the candles when all was said and done.

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Tuesday was also a big day at the office. The big news of my promotion a couple weeks ago was followed only two days later by more concerning news. Our local and regional clients supported our bid for the client firm’s global production business. We won on chemistry, know-how, understanding of the client firm, etc. But, alas, the decision was made based on price and ability to be at full steam within 30 days in the end and another firm comped their people to reduce their margin for the work. They won. Though funnily enough, it’s now emerged the they will not, in fact, be able to be up to speed in 30 days afterall and we may be asked to localise the campaign. Hmmm…

All this means redundancies. A number of people on my team were told they were ‘at risk’ on Tuesday. I wasn’t one of them…so I suppose I’ll likely be one of those left to pick up the pieces. Not sure which side of the aisle is best.

Despite the ups and downs, Tuesday was a two star day in the end. One Michelin star for lunch (Wild Honey off Bond Street with my client) and one Michelin star for G’s birthday dinner (Quilon in Westminster). Not too bad in trade 🙂

Though I’ve come down with a cold yesterday, we’re off to Austria for a ski trip with friends today. I’m not a skier and have lessons scheduled for tomorrow am. Hopefully we’ll have a wonderful weekend with friends and come back with all limbs in place come late Late Monday evening. Fingers crossed…

How’s the world in your neck of the woods?

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Promoted!

Posted on 3 February 2009 by k

YAY! Another step up…and flattering quotes on the 360 from regional and global clients, internal and external colleagues and most importantly MY BOSS! A good day. I may FINALLY be able to work on new business again as part of the promotion…I LOVE new business.

So I’m now officially titled as ‘Senior Account Director’. But, as with all account handling titles, this basically means that I do what my boss and client ask and think every now and again 🙂 The bigger difference is that I’ll play with bigger toys …and the bigger boys. Hmmm…this could be a slippery pole from here on up.

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Lots of White Fluff in London!

Posted on 2 February 2009 by k
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It’s true. Today, we witnessed London’s biggest snow in 18 years. 20 of our comapny’s 200 employees showed for work today. Rumour has it that the tube drivers didn’t show up for work and with 8″ of snow on the ground, our doubledeckers couldn’t cut it. Things ground to a halt.

I made it into the office (G did, too). There was no commuter drama to be had on the Northern Line–my commute was actually less stressful than general because EVERYONE else stayed home. I scored a seat!

Enjoy our photos from the day here…photo credits to G…

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The Ax Falls…

Posted on 2 February 2009 by k

just to my right….literally. Wednesday will be the guy beside me’s last day…there have probably been ten layoffs so far since December.

Today the departure of the AD in charge of web development work was announced (the guy beside me). And he scored a 3 month redundancy package (ie leave with pay!). Three months of sunshine (when it visits), lattes and pilates sounds like heaven. Maybe the ax wouldn’t be so bad? Though finding a replacement job in this climate would be slow going.

My review was delayed first due to our pitch and then a new business pitch last week. It’s tentatively scheduled again for tomorrow though I’m not holding my breath for it to go forward. There are way bigger fish to fry as the executive team tries to figure out how to play in this market. Scary!

I’m not pushing really, as my boss is a better politician than I and he and others have expressed that they’ll do what possible to keep me. He’s great with timing and so I’ll leave it to him. No sunshine, lattes or pilates days for me…yet.

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Marathon Update: 10k Test Run

Posted on 1 February 2009 by g
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This morning I had my first test in my training for the London Marathon. I have completed 4 weeks of my 16 week training plan and the objective is to run a 10k race in under 50:00. This will make sure that I am on pace to complete the marathon in 4 hours.

As luck would have it, a local running club, The Mornington Chasers, had a 10k race scheduled for this morning so I signed up. The race was in Regent’s Park (one of our favorite in London) about 1.5 miles from our flat. The race consists of three laps that are approximately 2 miles each.

There were probably 300 or more people in the race and the start was a bit chaotic. I got caught up in the rush and started out too fast. I have had many people warn me to avoid this on marathon day as it can get you tired early and throw off your entire race. As I settled into the race, I just tried to focus on holding my position and keep a steady pace. I figured if I am ahead of schedule I should do ok if I can keep it together.

In the end I did very well and really surprised myself finishing the race in under 46:00. So I passed the first checkpoint. Next up is the Bath Half Marathon in March. I’ll keep you posted.

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Sighting: Our Famous Neighbor Emerges

Posted on 25 January 2009 by k

SO…tonight we were walking back from the theatre in Camden Town after seeing Slumdog Millionaire (which was excellent and realistic based on our experiences in India) and saw our famous neighbor in his car outside the house. It’s official…not just a rumour…Chris and Gwyneth live just around the corner from our house!

And for the record, they do live by the rules they preach. Chris was sitting inside a fuel-friendly Toyota Prius. And seems to be growing his hair a bit…it’s longish and curly.

Though, I have to say. My cutie husband’s way cuter than the Coldplay singer 🙂 Other neighbors who have seen him about Belsize have said that he’s the loveliest man alive…he looked like a normal guy to me. Very cool.

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A Mid-winter Update

Posted on 24 January 2009 by k

Last Saturday…and Sunday…and Monday were lazy ones. K came down with a nasty stomach flu and was on Jello (known as Jelly here?) and tea all weekend. Not fun.

But now, we’re back on track. Kind of. This week was a crazy one.  In December, K’s global account was put out for pitch. There are three parts of K’s client’s business that her firm currently handles–online advertising creative development, of course, which is K’s remit. Online advertising production/localization–also K’s remit. With the third being Web development. The two parts of the global business K works on are up for pitch and have been so since December.

K’s team scored the highest of any region worldwide on their client’s scorecard in the third quarter. An impressive 91%. And she was also called out as one of three regional contributors or note by her clients. Now for the downside. The business is run from the firm’s NY office–which earned a 60% on the same report card 🙁 If the global client’s not happy, no one’s happy. And as a result, the creative account was opened to an agency roster rather than the previous retained agency model–the announcement was made official last week. And K and her programme manager had to announce to employees (since K’s boss and the exec team of her firm were out of town at a leadership conference).

Now for a spot of good news. Down to the London office’s efforts over the last year, her firm was offered an opportunity to re-pitch for the global production work (where the majority of the revenue comes from anyhow). The chemistry check was held in the London office (with the LDN office representing the entire global network) Thursday. And K’s client–whom she LOVES working with–is on the panel of three client reviewers/negotiators. With any luck, they’ll be able to keep the business. Fingers crossed…and any spare prayers would be appreciated.

K loves her firm and the culture there and doesn’t want to make a move. Hopefully all will work out and she won’t be forced into the job market in this economic climate… Her review is also next week and she’s up for a promotion…fingers crossed on that front, as well that whatever’s decided puts her in the most advantageous position internally to weather the storm. Everyone (her boss in particular) seems to be looking out for her, but again prayers and positive thoughts never hurt.

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