News of the day

SO here I sit on my way back from Zurich, looking forward to seeing Christine and the kids. Additional bonus, Mom and Dad Gathercole will be around on the weekend, and it will be really nice to see them again. I'm not sure that we have got lots planed, but the most important thing as that we can spend time together. I'm really looking forward to it.

The job in Zurich is just getting better and better. I'm really liking my colleagues and thoroughly enjoying the challenge of being in IT again. It was just like riding a bike to be honest, I'm already back in full swing. Today I had the real pleasure of working out a software technicality with two top coders while I badgered them with problems. A sort of "techie Jam Session" :) I seriously enjoyed it. Barring any major hiccups, it looks like I will be in Zurich until round about the end of the year, and then I will need to consider my options again. So hold thumbs for me. Currently there are only two drawbacks and that is that I miss the family Mon to Wed, and that I'm living out of a suitcase 3 days a week without proper Internet connections. Bummer - little white ones.....

On the other hand, I am still very involved in the private financial consulting, and I'm enjoying this as well. It’s a great job to be doing, although it's not as financially rewarding as I would hope that it would be. I'm finding that Thursday / Friday in the Salzburg office is currently just about right, and I'm able to keep up with my work, and my customers.

Running has been stagnant since I've hurt my calf (in the other blog) but other than that both the family and I are in full health. In fact Christine is now enjoying a very hard earned vacation and with the weather being so great at the moment in Henndorf, she is constantly at the lake with the kids. Both Hanna and Marc are no longer in day care (as Christine is on leave) and they love that situation. Both are learning to swim, and Marc is also "sort of" trying to become potty trained, otherwise the Kindergarten might not take him. He really doesn't want to and so it is very difficult to get him there.... The fact that Marc is no longer at Veronika's is quite a big change for us as well, as she has been our constant companion with the kids since Hanna was 6 months old, so almost 5 years. She was always excellent with the kids and so we are a little unhappy to see that era past, but we were able to make space for Norbert’s little girl Charlotta, so it all worked out well.

What else can I tell you - not much really. I am at home next week (because of Mom and Dad) and Christine and I will be having a romantic weekend in Prague next week as well. Leo and Gitte have agreed to take the kids and Aisha so we can really lie back, kick off our shoes and have some fun. One other bit of extended family news is that Leo is finally in Pension - I hope that he has a really good time and that it all goes well. We've been teasing him about all the stuff that will need to be done now that he has free time, but I think he will take it easy and see how it develops.

So, that’s all for now, enjoy your day,
Richard.