First Day at the Office - And Quito by Daylight

I went to the office this morning --or I should say the office came to me!  Three of the office staff called me from the lobby at 9:30 this morning and said they came by to greet me and walk over to the office with me.  Literally next door to the hotel is the office.  Not grand (we are a nonprofit), but workable.  My office has nice windows that look out over the business district, but you can see the hills in the background.  The morning was consumed by short administrative meetings, planning my official visits for next week, and confirming appointments.  I mostly worked on the computer and stared out the window every once in awhile to remind myself where I am.

The entire office closed for lunch to take me out for my first day on the job.  I dared not mention it was my birthday for fear of what they might do to celebrate.  We walked a couple of blocks to a nice restaurant and all 7 of us enjoyed a nice meal, which the project manager paid for ...and then had to ask me to approve!

Everyone was very nice, friendly, and laid back.  Among the important accomplishments of the day: we all decided that Jackson will be the office mascot and is welcome in the offices everyday, that we are going fully Mac as of next week (once I approve the purchase order), and that we do need more space.  As a result next week, I will be out apartment AND office hunting.  The staff is eager to please and I have never had my assistant offer me so much attention.  I was offered coffee, cookies, and water throughout the day.

By 4PM, I decided I needed to venture out and went to the mall.  Bought a basic cell phone and some sundries.  When I got back, it was near sundown and I took a few pictures.  Quito is quite dramatic: hills surround you and a snowcapped volcano looms in the distance.  The temperature is ideal (lows in the 50's and highs in the upper 70's to low 80's year-round. I hadn't really seen Quito by day until today.  It is nice, in a very Latin American way (read not super clean or super new, and with character).

My big project for tomorrow is Round I of apartment shopping.  We start that at 9:30AM. I doubt I'll find a place tomorrow and I know I won't want to spend hours looking, so... If I finish early enough, I will venture to the hill just on the outskirts of town where the Virgin of Quito resides (statue!) and there is a natural overlook onto the city.  Sunday, I want to spend the bulk of the day in the old, colonial section of town.

Still no altitude issues, but I am aware that I am at elevation.  They tell me if the headaches and nausea hit, it will be tomorrow.  Gee, I hope I don't vomit in my new apartment ;-)

Here are some pictures of my sights (top to bottom): snow-capped Cayambe Volcano (in the Andean chain) looming over the city as seen from my hotel room; a view of the city and hills as seen from my hotel room; a view of the street in front of my office building as seen from my office window.