Airports, rental cars and snow...

One can not say that my life has been boring since we decided to settle down in Denver.

On the contrary, it's been rather busy. I decided to take the post with SAP as a LE (Large Enterprise) Account Exec, looking after a the St Louis and Kansas City territories, building new business. Well, if you have not already figured it out, this means living in Denver and flying about the country every week to see everyone.

It's rather exciting for now, as I get to see the country and meet lot's of people, oh and try close the odd deal.
My first week started off by jumping on a flight last minute to SL (St Louis) for a customer event. SL is great, very quaint and pretty. I decided to hire a car so I could drive around and get to know my way. Luckily I remembered to drive on the right hand side this time.

Cute little houses in a St Louis Suburb

View from the air, flying back to Denver

In between Denver had some funny weather, and even had some snow in the mountains, which is a little strange for this time of year. It was great driving to the airport and seeing Mount Evans topped with white snow. Stunning!!!


This week started off with a Monday morning flight to Philadelphia, to the SAP HQ in Newtown SQ. This place blew me away. I know everyone said Philly was not the best place to be, but out in the country and in the little town of Newtown and Devon, where I stayed in a hotel, is like going back in time.
I had to smile seeing freshly baked bread delivered to the door of a deli - still closed and opening later, the bread just sits on the doorstep until the shop opens - Imagine that in SA. Not!
Horse Race track in Devon - Phylli
Typical home in a Devon Suburb

The train station
Freshly baked bread anyone??
On the way to SAP, trees, trees and more trees
The SAP HQ
Entrance Hall - Impressive

The SAP Guest cottage - well one of the many

SAP Conference Centre
A church down the road

Devon is a stunning little town, clean and lot's and lot's of trees. The SAP HQ is just as impressive, situated on it's own campus, quest cottages, training facilities etc.
Again I rented a little car to zoom around in, and thanks to Chris's GPS, am finding my way around just fine.

The rest of the week was spent in my Denver office, where on the 14th floor of the highest building in the Denver Tech Area, I look straight onto the Rocky Mnt's.


View from my office

What is Denver Tech? There is the main part of the Denver City, which we locals ((-:) call Downtown Denver. About 10 miles away from Denver Downtown, there is the Denver Tech Centre, where most of the IT and other big corp's are situated. This area is very new and has stunning buildings.

Other than that, Chris and I invited Fred and Loraine over for Dinner. We had a fab time and caught up on all the news. Chris has also been checking out all upcoming Ski Sales for winter, and is now almost a pro at what's what, what to wear and which gear is the best to get. He also managed to get a great pair of ski boots on sale already, and has been wearing them around the house like a kid, "trying to break them in".Guess who's excited about ski season.

Chris also surprised me with my new set of golf clubs, the ones I've been spying on for the last month. They are the Callaway X18's. So guess who's off to the driving range today!!
Other than that, we are having dinner with Melanie and Jenni tonight, and look forward to hearing all about their hikes and news while they were on leave.
I am flying off to Austin tomorrow until Wednesday for a bunch of meetings.

Well folks, that's my news for now, I'm loving being back at SAP, and having fun in between.

Remember, life's a journey, NOT a destination!

Driving on the right hand side ...or is it the left??

I had to laugh at this, well at least I thought it was funny.

There we are, Melissa and I, out and about in Highlands Ranch, going from shop to shop looking for goodies for Melissa's new home, and chatting away as gals do.
All was going really well until I was about to turn left up the road. Melissa quickly said I could not turn as it was a red arrow, and carried on sms'ing on her phone. So I patiently waited for the "robot" to turn green, then noticing the guy on the opposite side of the road throwing his arms up in the air, and shaking his head. This guy was not a happy camper. What was his problem?

Then I saw the problem, there I was, happily parked in the left hand side lane, directly in the way of the oncoming traffic!!!
I quickly put the car in reverse, and swiftly reversed back into the right hand side lane.
Well, at least I know I have excellent muscle memory! Hee,hee

Loving Life in Denver

As most you you can see by my lack of updating my blog of late, that I have been a very busy girl.

This week we had a whole lot of exciting things happen.

Chris finally found a car that he loves. We went car shopping last week Saturday, and he found a great bargain at the VW lot. I call it VW because the Americans can not pronounce "Volkswagen". He fell in love with a dark blue Jetta 2.5, with all the bells and whistles, on board navigation, electric everything, seat warmers and the list goes on.
He collected the car on Tuesday and has been loving every minute of it.

The Man with his new car

I also received my offer from SAP on Wednesday, signed and sealed. I start on Monday 11th August. I will be looking after the Large Enterprise Market, mainly in Missouri, and one or two accounts in other areas. It all feels very virtual, working out of the Denver office (the most stunning building, on the 16th floor, overlooking the rocky mountains), my boss is based in Dallas and I will fly around the place looking after customers in Missouri and a few other places. I am very excited to get back into work mode, never thought I would hear my self say that, but you can only loaf around so much.

Chris and I then went furniture shopping, and boy did I have a fab time. We went to a place that imports all sorts of furniture and nic-naks from all over the world, esp. Asia (India, Indonesia etc). We finally managed to finish furnishing the house, now at least it feels like home and not a student's digs.

My crazy Canadian friend Melissa and I then had a fab afternoon on Friday, we went to Parkmeadows Mall, and sat outside enjoying the afternoon atmosphere at a viby new Italian spot, drinking Mojito's. Later that evening we helped one her customers out, playing on their softball team. This is the second time I've played softball and we had such a great time. My first time hitting (batting), I actually hit the ball, and had everyone in stitches when I ran to next base, but forgetting to drop the bat. Well, you live and learn.
We then went out to dinner in Highlands Ranch, and after a few margaritas, we were def not allowed to drive, the cops dish DUI's (Driving Under the Influence) out here like candy. So I stayed over at her place and we walked to collect our cars the next morning.

Melissa and I

Chris and I decided to take a day trip up to lake Dillon, which is in the heart of Ski Country. Of course there is no snow now, but the lake is viby and they have concerts in the amphitheatre in the evenings. Well, when Chris and I arrived, we were met with the smell of food, and about 5,000 people. After managing to find a spot to park, we went to investigate what was going on. It was the annual Dillon BBQ competition. There were hundreds of stalls, all cooking up , or should I say, BBQ'ing up a storm. Ribs, Pork, Turkey legs. All you do is walk around, drinking beer and tasting all the food. It was good fun and we finally found the best BBQ and put in our vote.

A pit stop at SilverthornThe quaint and bustling little town of Dillon
The BBQ festival competition

A rain storm was coming in, so we decided to take a ride around the lake and I found my most favourite place where one day, when I'm big, I will build my log cabin.

Stunning view of Lake DillonIn the mountains on lake Dillon, my future house on the hill - can you see it...

The popular ski town of Frisco

We are very lucky. Colorado is one of the most stunning places, and we have everything right on our doorstep.


Chris is off to a Rockies Baseball Game today. The Rockies are our home team here.
Jasper, our SA friend who works at Coors has invited him with, free beer, free food and
top notch tickets, not all bad, life could be worse.

Well folks, that's all after an exciting week. Will keep you posted .

Summer Time in Colorado

HOT, HOT HOT!!! This seems to be the norm lately with temp's running in the mid to upper 90 degree F. (Upper 30 degree C's). Here's a clip from the Denver post on breaking the last record of 90 degree temps:
"The National Weather Service has reported a temperature of 91 degrees in Denver as of 2:55 p.m. today, moving us one day closer to smashing a heat wave record that dates to the 19th century. In 1874 and again in 1901, Denver braved 18 consecutive days in which temperatures reached or surpassed 90 degrees".

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_10021666

There is so much to do in Colorado in the summer, it's sometimes difficult to fit everything in.
With extra time on my hands before I start working, we have managed to see so much over the past few weeks.

Boulder is a student town, very similar to Stellenbosch in a way. Very quaint, and relaxed, lots of cafes, shops and interesting things happening. Chris and I strolled through this chilled little place, seeing all the students milling around, watching a concert in the square. Very cool.

Quaint Streets of Boulder

One thing I really miss is the bush and the wildlife that we have back in SA. As most of you know, every spare minute I had, we would escape to the bush and do some game watching.
well, the best I have here is the Denver Zoo. So off we went for a day at the zoo. It was wonderful, they have a big variety of game, and it takes you quite a while to get round to seeing everything. I was a little upset to see a single meerkat in a cage, as they are social animals and need to company. I was also annoyed to see the leopard in a tiny cage behind glass. Such a majestic animal, who needs trees and space should NOT be in such a small enclosure! We wrote to the Zoo and gave them out feedback, and to my surprise they wrote back and told us about their expansion plans. I am considering working as a volunteer at the zoo, at least I get to be near my animals. The Wild, Wild West

The highlight of my week was going to the Cheyenne Frontier days Rodeo, in Wyoming. Chris, Melissa and I headed of to Wyoming early on Saturday morning, to attend the biggest Rodeo in the World, called "The daddy of em all".
This is Cowboy country and boy, did I see some cute cowboys (Sorry Chris, but you saw some cute Cowgirls as well).

There were different events, bull riding, Bronco Riding, Lassoing of Cows etc...
These guys are crazy, and how half of them manage to stay alive is a miracle in itself. the Bull Riding was very exciting, and saw some close shaves. What we also really enjoyed was seeing the Cowboys ride along side a young calf, jump down from the horse and tackle the calf to the ground, and then tie it up, all in a record time of 6 seconds. Wow.Melissa and I - checking out all the interesting goodies on sale

They also had all sorts of food, corndogs (which I have yet to try), hotdogs and Turkey legs. Chris attempted to eat one, I thought it looked more like a Ostrich leg than a turkey leg, it was massive!
The Big Turkey Leg

I had to of course but myself a cowgirl hat (reliving my dream of being a cowgirl when I was a kid). Now I just need a cute pair of cowgirl boots and I'm ready to strut my stuff!! All good fun!!
My New Cowgirl Hat

The next day Chris played golf at the No. 1 Mountain Golf Course in the States, The Raven. I spent the morning shopping and having lunch with Melissa. Afterwards, I met up with the girls and wives of the guys Chris was playing golf with. We went to a concert in the park near Cherry Creek and had a pic-nic. I must say that everyone here is so friendly and that has really helped us get settled and feel at home.

Lastly, my parents have booked their tickets to come and spend Christmas here with us. We have also booked a week in Mexico which is going to be fab, so we will at least see some hot sunny weather amidst the snow and chilly Colorado winter. Best of both worlds! Yay!

Beat the heat – head off to mountain

Another scorcher in Denver - 100 degrees (approx 38’ C). The only way to escape this type of heat is to head for the mountains. So off we went, equipped with lots of water, back packs and sunscreen, towards the west, to the mountains just past Morrison. Chris and I discovered the Bear Creek trail which follows the river, under the canopy of evergreen and other kinds of trees.
After a nice long walk, we relaxed by dipping our feet in the river, just soaking in the beauty all around us and the wonderful sound of the river. It’s difficult to imagine this same river all frozen up in winter. Such a great day, definitely one of my favorite past times.

Trip to San Diego to meet with SAP

So, clearly I have not had my fill of SAP yet, and thus, I’ve been chatting to them about rejoining.

SAP held their annual mid year Summer Sales Meeting in San Diego, and I was asked to go to meet a few people.
So off I went to San Diego on Sunday, where most of the staff were staying at the Grand Hyatt, on the marina, next to the convention centre. I had a great view from my room, on the 26th floor, of the USS Midway carrier and the bay.View from my hotel room

Monday morning was an early start, where I had to meet with another AE, Sally, who would be my host for the day. There were sooooo many people, only SAP staff and a few SAP partners, it felt like our SA version of a Saphilla.

After a day of meetings, and attending some sessions, it was time to get back to hotel for the evening event. The dinner was hosted on the USS Midway, the same aircraft carrier that Chris and I toured in San Diego. What a great evening, with some great people that I met. Thank you to Sally, Michelle, Ephraim and Mitch for looking after me and showing me around.
Dinner and drinks served on the USS Midway deck, where the aircrafts land. very Cool.

Watch this space for more news on the SAP front.