Getting ready for Spring Break

Well they don't really have a "spring break" here at the University. Instead, it's a bigger deal to wait and take a 2 week vacation in August (and a long weekend break over Easter).

Brian and I however are planning a proper spring break vacation - last two weeks of March and we are going back to Singapore. Since Brian's paycheck has been paid from the National University of Singpore since last March, we had been planning on going back this March. Now with his new job change, since he starts that in April, we'll still go back to Singapore so he can wrap things up. And so we can enjoy some holiday!

We'll fly to Singapore on Saturday 20 March on Singapore Airlines (13 hours!) and stay there until Wednesday. Then we are going to fly up to Bangkok, Thailand to play tourist for 3 days. Then fly down to the resort/island area of western Thailand called Phuket for sun and beach. Back to Singapore for a few more days before we fly back to the UK on Sunday 4 April (Easter). In the UK, they celebrate both Good Friday and Easter Monday, which are public holidays. So we'll have Monday off to prep for work on Tuesday.

I'm hoping to work on my non-existent tan and lightening my hair!

What Really Works is really proud of Brian!

Our awesome uncle Paul, founder of What Really Works leadership consulting company, has blogged about Brian as an amazing leader!

Check out: www.paulbatz.com

GAC Alumni Blog

Check out these Gusties!

http://alumni.blog.gustavus.edu

First Decade Award

Hi Gustie family and friends,

Looks like 2010 is off to a great start for Bri guy - Randall from the GAC Alumni Office emailed Brian with the good news this week - Brian is the male First Decade Award winner!

Gustavus describes the First Decade Award: "First presented in 1968, the First Decade Award was established to recognize one male and one female for early professional achievement by graduates of the 10th anniversary class."

After a bit of research, looks like this year is the first year they are presenting the award during Commencement weekend in May, instead of during our class reunion in September.

Be on the lookout for any announcements from us or from GAC regarding Brian's award in the near future.

Go Gusties!

Black tie dinner at the Oxford & Cambridge Club

Well the second black tie dinner of last week was for my work. Brian actually had a night at home alone while I mingled and drank port with Oxford business alumni. The dinner was in London at the Oxford & Cambridge Club - a well worn but obviously prestigious club on the Pall Mall. Another three course meal, this time beef wellington (delicious!), lots of wine and networking was had by all.

My colleague and friend Charlotte and I had taken the train together into London to help set up a few things prior to the dinner. We then changed at the club and helped check people in as they attended. The first 45 minutes was a cocktail reception with sparkling wine before we moved down to the dining hall. There was six long tables with 10 people on each side.

There was a guest speaker after the meal who spoke to finance in London (yawn for me) and then the port and cheese was passed around, follow by coffee and chocolates.

Charlotte and I luckily had booked a car (Mercedes!) to take us back home to Oxford for the night, so we didn't have to take the late train and cab it back home.

I sure don't know how I get myself into these amazing situations sometimes!

Black tie dinners - first one at Brian's new job - Keble College

Last week kept us busy with a couple of black tie dinners.

The first one was a bit of a debut for Brian as the new physics Tutor at Keble college. It was an annual formal dinner put on by the undergraduate physics students at Keble. They invite their tutors and the tutors' partners to join them for a three-course dinner in the college dining hall. If you've been to visit us in Oxford and have seen the Harry Potter-like college dining hall at Christ Church College, Keble's is just as impressive. It's not quite as old or ornate (well we are still talking 1860s), but the Keble dining hall was purposefully built to be 6 inches longer than Christ Church's. Obviously so Keble could claim to have the longest dining hall of all of the Oxford colleges!

About 50 of sat on one very long dining table, 25 on each side. Very Oxford. I sat next to Brian and one of the graduate students and also across from a couple of the undergraduates. Mind you, this is an all physics crowd (my life as I'm getting used to), but they were extremely friendly and welcoming - and so young! The food was very good, I had breast of duck with cabbage and roast potatoes (so British) and Brian had a veggie pasta. Brian was welcomed after we ate and gave a few words to everyone saying how he looks forward to getting to know them all and explore the what, why and how of the world.

I wasn't allowed (by Dr Smith) to take any photos of the evening, as he didn't want us to look like tourists at his new job! Which I understand (I guess). . .  I'm sure there will be more college photos of us dressed up over the years to come!

Brian announcement in the MC Globe Gazette

Well what a guy - an announcement today in the Mason City Globe Gazette business section!