Welcome to Manchester

 


Hech lives in a old perfume factory converted into apartments.  It's a an oddly beautiful building constructed around a courtyard in the middle.  The Brits seem to be professionals at converting unexpected places and buildings into usable space.  The Kaya office is located within the archways of a railway support- every hour or so there is a noise overhead not dissimilar to what I expect an earthquake would sound like, or literally a train running over us.  I barely notice now after a week, but those first few days it was quite distracting.  Every morning on our way to the office we drive past a huge old church that has also been converted to apartments.  From outside the large glass windows you can see the tenant's bedroom curtains and separation walls that have been erected inside.  There are even bedrooms running up all three stories of the steeple.  Can you imagine living there?  I'm sure it's a bitch to heat but ridiculously unique.

Hech and her husband Damien live on the top floor in the corner of their building.  I was surprised the first time I entered her front door.  It is quaint, comfortable, and open with slanted ceilings adorned with sky lights, and the place is pleasantly not the tidiest you've ever seen.  The fact that they hadn't gone to extreme lengths to clean for my arrival made me feel more welcome, at home, and immediately integrated into the space.

I started in the guest bedroom, but after a night was transferred to an air mattress in the office so that "The Big Cheese" (TBC) could have the bed once he flew in.  This hasn't been a problem, as I am happy to sleep anywhere and it's comfortable enough to steal away if I need some alone time.  When we're not in the office though, we spend most of our time in the sitting room after dinner.  I was also surprised to find that between my two bosses, they watch a lot of television either as background noise or as the main object of their focus.  I guess I wouldn't expect the TV to ever be turned on since they are both some of the busiest people I've ever met.  The whole situation is a comfortable dynamic though that works surprisingly well for four grown people in a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment.

Tonight is TBC's last night with us.  I don't feel one way or another about that.  It has been a phenomenal experience just having the opportunity to shadow him for the last week.  He is highly educated and well read on almost any topic you can think of, and I've learned so much from him.  However, I feel that I haven't been my full self.  It's not that I'm uncomfortable around him, I just am very reserved, self-silenced?  Whether or not my readings of him are true, I feel that he is a very critically observant man and has a right to be.  I feel it's best I just keep out of sight, out of mind.

The one thing I do that seems to have surprised him and Hech both is exercise.  I've taken to doing sprints on three flights of stairs leading to the apartment with a little bit of metabolic interval action in the evenings.  Especially here, I can't help it.  All we do is eat out, consume a ton of carbs, drink a ton of beer and wine, and sit around and talk or work on a computer all day.  It's a fattening lifestyle.  It makes me feel gross.  I need movement.  I desperately miss my 5:30am bootcamps.  And I miss my dog.

On the bright side, we're making huge headway with laying out the project I am working on.  It's amazing to me how a product comes to fruition in a market.  More importantly, no day for me is the same.  This position is one that calls for numerous different skill sets, activities, talents, and job types.  Thank goodness; I can't do boringly monotonous.  It is also personally interesting to me that my degree in science has led me to business.  TBC even said that he prefers to incorporate science-minded people into his companies because of the way they approach positions and problem-solving.  Well, it's all good for me because I get to learn something new.  And on top of it, I'm passionate about what I'm doing.  What better way to spend my days than to conjure a plan that will enable other individuals to effect entire communities?  Bettering lives is the name of the game, and I feel so blessed to get this opportunity to play, fattening or not.