I'm in Beijing!!!

Finally arrived! But it wasn't Sunday like planned. On Saturday, due to bad weather, my plane landed in Philly instead of Newark. After sitting on the tarmac in Philly, we were finally given clearance to land at Newark. However, I missed my connecting flight due to that little snag. At first I was totally upset. But then thought, it was out of my control, so let it go. Continental put me up at a hotel in Edison, NJ and I got there at about 3 pm Saturday afternoon. So I thought about it. I could sit in my hotel room for the evening and get some rest and manuever the remote control for the night.....or I could take off for Times Square. Honestly, that wasn't a hard decision. Times Square, here I come! It was suggested I take the train since it's WAY cheaper than a taxi. Now grant it, I've never been on a train! But I was a big girl, got on the train alone....well, not totally alone. I noticed that the girl in front of me getting her ticket, was also going to Penn Station. So, I asked for her advice for when I got to Penn Station. She told me that since she was going that way, that once we got to Penn Station, she would point me in the right direction for Times Square. We sat together on the train and by the time that train ride was over, I had a new friend!! Her name is Shushelia. Beautiful girl from India. She ended up spending the evening with me. We took the sightseeing bus and sat on the top deck and........got soaked by rain!!!!!!!!!!! I looked like a freakin' drowned rat!! They have these yellow rain covers for times like that.....however, the guy couldn't find them quick enough for us...and we got soaked to the bone. Nevertheless, we had a blast! Of course, she couldn't take the train back since she lived in a total different direction. And I knew that there was a train that left at 11. The tour took longer than expected and I had to ask the driver to let me off. It was 10:45 and I was about 10 blocks away from Penn Station. I took off running! Got there, got my ticket and got on the train and a minute later, they closed the doors! Whew! Barely made it! But I felt proud of myself! I did it! :)

Got up early early Sunday morning and took the 12 noon flight to Beijing. Arrived on Monday at 1:30 pm Beijing time. Flight was good. Not bad at all. I did get some sleep. Not a lot tho.

So far today, I've only attended a dinner for all the volunteers. Great dinner. I actually tried a lot of dishes.....and I liked them! :) It was so good to see Patrick! It had been a while and he was so hospitable (sp?) when he saw me! It was quite endearing. Met the marketing team that I've had numerous chats with. And I also met Risi from the Data Center! :)

So far.......Beijing is beautiful. I'm so impressed. The city is swallowed up in the Olympic theme. The city itself is so extremely well manicured and clean! I'm totally impressed. There are banners everyone. Not just a couple here and there.....I mean everywhere! They are huge billboards showing all the Olympic partners and of course, Atos is on each of those billboards. There are flowers and huge greet potted plants along the freeways. It is beautiful. Yes, there is smog. You can see clearly; but you can see the haze. And instead of an HOV lane, they have an Olympic lane! lol! Of course, the drivers had to obtain a special permit and they can use that lane. But I thought that was interesting.

Verdict thus far: beautiful!!!!!!!!!

OMG, I can't believe I'm here!!! So surreal! The other members of the hospitality team are adorable! Meeting them tonight was such a delight! We laughed and talked and you would have thought that we had known each other forever. This is gonna be great!

Ok....I'm beyond exhausted. Got a couple of emails to answer.....and I'm headed to bed!!!

CIAO!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

PS: I MISS HOUSTON! I really do.