Jennifer in Luxembourg

Writing again, in my now common writing spot on the train. It's almost 11PM, my shoulders are shaking with cold and my dress is drenched. I'm listening to the Germany Denmark Eurocup match from an animated group of French teenagers 3 rows forward. How did we get here, you may ask. Or not, but I'm still gonna tell you.  My attempt to invite a friend for a drink after work morphed into an invite to join a BBQ and dancing in France today. So off I chugged this morning, to Metz. This is only the 3rd French town I've explored after Paris and Versailles. I decided first to walk to the cathedral. Along the way, I found a delightful small bakery and got a roll with tomatoes and olives and another with bacon. Further on the path, I found an Auchan grocery store where I grabbed hummus and chips for my BBQ contribution, as well as a carton of ice coffee. I felt straight out of a movie, strolling in France with fresh bread. The weather was perfect, the delightful smells of fresh ba...

Most of last week, and I guess right now, I would die for a giant bowl of cinnamon toast crunch in cold milk. I can almost taste the crunchy squares and the cold sweet cinnamon milk.  Alas, I am resigned to my fate of much healthier foods. The homesickness kinda hit/peaked/appeared last weekend, for no discernable reason. And so, when I found myself in London, I found myself speedily walking towards Taco Bell. It's not the same as the USA, but at least it was a trashy tortilla wrapped around some sort of seasoned meat with a cheese sauce, the epitome of deliciousness. It made my heart happy. As did the Pizza Hut pizza my friend and I got Sunday. The garlic bread actually had the buttery USA taste, way different from the gourmet breads here. The pizza was a thick doughy crust, that left my fingers greasy, and there was actually a good amount of melty cheap cheese on top. None of the fancy thin crust or scattering of gourmet cheeses here!!! ------------- The above was written several...

I'm very grateful for the corporate move assistance. But it doesn't mean everything is good to go, sadly. And so tonight, after an insanely long day between doctor appointments and work, I found myself walking my wooden wine shelf from where the movers had placed it in the corner of the living room all the way into the kitchen. As I painstakingly moved across the living and dining room, front entry, into the kitchen, I had quite a lot of time to reflect.  First I reflected on my mother, and the furniture-moving she instilled in me. The woman was often pregnant or just had a baby, but all that be darned- we would be furniture moving! Every work trip my dad left on was sure to see a makeover for a room in the house. If he didn't like it, everything reset on his next trip. We moved the piano several different places along the wall. And I remember the heavy bedroom armoire that we somehow managed from the garage, and up a precarious flight of stairs to its final resting place. ...

Random snippets of writing from snatched moments in time in this transition.  From my survey trip to Lux:  And here we are, sitting in the Luxembourg office in a board room. Typing away on a borrowed computer. Waiting for a new colleague to wrap-up so we can grab a drink together. Looking out over the city I’m soon to call home. What a week. An exhausting, incredible, terrifying week. Last night I had the fanciest dinner of my life. A random invite from a very senior colleague, a brand new senior colleague, and three industry partners. It was overwhelming and amazing, but provided the clarity I needed. I'm moving to Luxembourg!  From when I was still in Boston:  My hand paused on the door know of my house, unwilling to open it. Once I crossed the threshold, nothing would ever be the same again.  I've felt that all morning. From the moment I paused before crawling out from the warm sheets, to stepping in the shower, to now leaving the house.  I'm embarking o...

Once again, I’ve experience the immense joy of sharing beautiful places with people. There is something that magnifies the wonder of a place, when you have someone at your side. And here in Scotland, that someone is my cousin Deeptha. I had back-to-back events in the UK, and it seemed a pity to waste my company holiday without a trip, so we decided to explore Scotland together. Almost seven years ago to the day, I flew into Glasgow, after graduating the previous morning. I met a childhood friend at a place where we had breakfast and were catching up. One of my favorite memories of the kind Scots is an anonymous lady who paid for our breakfast, and asked the waitress to tell us to enjoy our first European adventure. From there, we went to Edinburgh, before continuing on through the UK and Europe. This year, I flew into Edinburgh with a colleague. It was nice to have someone to share the taxi and airport waits with, and it was quite a delight to explore perfumes and smell whisky at t...