Trip got extended. I should've left days ago. In fact, I should've been home by now. But it turns out they love me so freaking much, they wouldn't let me leave. Well, not quite. My two weeks of training ended up being split between two departments (tech support and sales engineering) so I asked for an extra week in tech support. Given I was already here, it wasn't a big ask and they happily complied.

I should probably update you all on my one wild night in Manhattan last weekend: It was fun.

:-P

Dyn continues to be a terrible, terrible place to work. Umm, just as I was typing that, someone walked past my desk in a "Keep Dyn Weird" t-shirt. For reals. So, like I was saying, terrible place.

The Nerf wars continue to break out en masse. People walk into work saying "Hey, want to see this gun I modified? I removed the air restrictor and tightened the springs." Then they fire the blasted thing and just about punch holes in walls. "Hey Linley, want to volunteer to be shot with it?" Only if you want to volunteer to die a violent death, dude. Remember, everything in Australia is trying to kill you. Including me.

On Thursday evening, we killed a little time by firing suction cap Nerf darts onto the 20ft ceilings, then shooting them down. I shot down three out of four. I was also introduced to the CEO during this casual event. "Yes, I love it here. I'm working very, very hard." Difficult to say with a Nerf "Magnus" in your hand.

The tech support teams had drinksies for us on Thursday night last week, seeing as it was Skeletor's last night before he sods off to Burning Man to spend the week stoned and naked in the desert before returning to Sydney where I will resume smacking him around. They took us out and considerable fun ensued. We started at a sports grille just near work and deteriorated from there. Dyn footed the bill and when the big boss announced we could have whatever beer we wanted from the extensive menu, he said I could of course have a cocktail instead. Bam. Three cocktails. And they don't measure their shots here. :-D

I've never played beer pong but I've found out I'm not too bad at it. The secret? Team up with someone who went to college. Oh, that's right. That's pretty much everyone, here. :-P Just kidding, I actually managed to land quite a few ping pong balls in the cups all by my little self. And when I made a Thailand joke, nobody got it. Hmph. Young crew that's never watched Priscilla, clearly. Anyhoo, the big bosses were pretty good at it. I wonder if they consider those photos blackmail worthy... Two of the three managers left not long after this with the words "OK, we're leaving. Phil's in charge. Don't listen to a word he says." It was after this that the $1 shots broke out. By this stage I've had at least twice as much to drink as everyone else. We then engaged in that other great American sport - drink driving. I did not drive. I picked a ride with the least "apparently" drunk person I could find. The tone of the night was then set by the name of the next club "Manchvegas". Says it all really. They had a mechanical bull, which is about all I cared about. I made every single person have a go and they were all flung off in fairly short succession. I rode like a champ and once again had to bail off the bull before it got close to turfing me. UNDEFEATED!!! (On this trip, anyway. Video of me in a dress on the mechanical bull in Manhattan does exist, but I don't own it. You'll have to beg Lonnie for that.) After that we hit an Irish pub. People kept putting vodka in front of me, I kept drinking it. The group was decreasing in size as we went, some got tired, some chased off after tail. But the last three still standing kept rolling!! I really shouldn't say in public where our last stop was. Butitmayhaveinvolveddollarbills. Staggered back to the hotel in the wee hours.

At 9am the next morning, I strolled into work, in my suit, with my hair coiffed, looking bright and sunny. Every single person watched me very carefully, likely hunting for evidence of a hangover because I'd drunk them all under the table and out the other side on a school night. Pfffft, featherweights. :-D

Fridays at Dyn also feature something a bit... unique. The Donut Viking. The photo says it all, really. You know those American TV shows that feature someone bringing a box of donuts to work? Like, Dexter? That. But he dresses as a Viking. And balances the donut box on a donut pillow. And wears a cape. And the beard is really real.

Friday night I picked up my rental car for the weekend. Now, when I dropped off my Dodge Charger (standard) last Sunday, the girl at Hertz was very nice and chatty. I had told her then if I ended up staying another week in Manchester that I'd be renting a car again on the coming weekend. So when I walked in this Friday just gone, I was very happy to see her on duty again. She said, "Oooh, I saw your name come up on the orders during the week so I kept a special car for you." In fact, what she'd done was phone her boss and ask what they had lying around and got him to send in something a bit spesh. Now, it wasn't a Challenger, (how I wish) but it was the Dodge Charger 5.0 Which packs a friendly amount of grunt. :-D

Saturday morning finds me blowing up the I-93 muttering in frustration because there are cops everywhere and this car is doing 130km/h without even registering revs. Soooooo smooth. Anyway, I could talk about the car all day. The actual point of the road trip was to drive up something called the Kancamagus Highway, one of America's scenic byways. I really, reeeeeeeeally wanted to see a moose and this road is famous for having them walk out in front of cars and flip you off. One of the Maine locals at work though informed me I'm probably just a bit late in the year to see them and he was sadly right. I did not find meese. I did find very pretty scenery though.

After that, I headed on into Maine (famous for lobsters and mooseseses) and spent the night in a pretty place called Boothbay Harbor. On Sunday morning I took a short harbour cruise and saw some lighthouses, some eider ducks, cormorants, osprey and some water. It's a very pretty place and I think maybe more enjoyed by those who like lobster. I do not. I still had fun, though. Another thing they seemed to have a lot of there is ice cream stores. With flavours fit to curdle your taste buds. (See photo.) I have certainly reached that point in the trip where I am DYING for "normal" food. And it really isn't that easy to find, especially when on the road and diners are everywhere to be found. And enjoyed.

I then took my sweet time heading back down the coast to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This is like a mini-Boston. Had an early dinner at an Irish Pub then took the coast road down through The Hamptons before reluctantly returning the keys of my Charger.

I have nothing *particularly* wild planned for the rest of the week, although that could change at a moment's notice. Someone could shout the word "Karaoke!" and I'll just lose my mind or something.