Sorry for lack of posts of late. I've fallen off the wagon and have been wandering in the woods. Things have been hectic/busy around here and honestly, I haven't been keeping up with any of my blog duties and I really feel bad. I kinda stepped away from the terminal for a bit, except for when work demands it, and have been distracted with other tasks. I could plead a dozen reasons, but nobody likes to hear whiny excuses, especially me, so sorry for slacking off for so long. I intended to start up posting with a few updates, but my muse got drunk and ran off on sort of abandoned me and I haven't been able to string together anything meaningful or even interesting. A lot has happened over the past two months (Damn, has it been THAT long?). We were still dealing with Anne's passing. Closing out a person's life is something we are not well trained for. Lots of minor details, actions, tasks to be addressed. We have not yet taken Anne & David up to Arkansas to the family site, but we are hoping to do something in the summer. SIL's ongoing condition still makes any long term plans difficult/problematic. Despite all of those hurdles, we are moving on with life. Keeping busy. I won't try to play catch up on everything that has transpired over the last 8 weeks, but it has been a wee bit busy. Physical exams, doctors visits, one of those fun "oscopy" tests, a company merger, one broken window, the end of an era, a few birthdays, one dog party, and the annual Art Car parade. If I tried to cover all of that, this blog would turn into some sort of novella. I will try to play catch up over the next few weeks. I guess we can start with trailers - I had to replace the window in my trailer again. Yea, for those that think this sounds familiar, I've done this before. Two years ago, some punks broke into several trailers in the storage yard looking for stuff to steal/pawn. Didn't get anything from my rig aside of a broken set of binoculars and an old dvd player. Was more of a pain in the butt cleaning up and getting a replacement window. Back in March, I got a call one morning from the guy that owns the property and he told me that his yard guy was mowing the lot and kicked up a rock through my window. He was very sorry and said he would pay for the replacement, so I wasn't really po'd. I actually found it funny - same window as last time so I pretty much had the same clean up task. Just took a few days to get a new window shipped down.
Here we go again
All fixed
End of an Era - with Anne's passing, we've been taking stock of the situation. My parents are 92+ and still fairly active, but things are changing for them. After their wreck in November, they have been taking things a bit more slowly. Not really showing and real hurry or interest in getting a new vehicle, I think the writing was on the wall. My dad was up for a few more trips but I think my mom nixed that idea. So it wasn't all that much of a shock to me when we were having our weekly dinner with them when my dad mentioned that he was going to sell his trailer. My mother chided him for not offering up to me but, honestly, I didn't want it. One year newer than mine, it is 4 feet longer and weighs considerably more. 34 feet and a third axle really increases the weight of the rig and the old land barge just wouldn't be up to the task. For that size of trailer, you need something a bit more substantial. I am not quite ready for another new car payment and, besides, my old 30 footer meets our current camping needs. Unless you were full timing - we really didn't need the extra 4 feet of trailer. So, he is prepping his trailer to turn it over to a broker for a sale. He really doesn't really want to sell it in the club - something about not passing on any problems. It is a beautifully maintained and well travelled rig (for an 18 year old trailer) and, with the care he has given it, I wouldn't hesitate to take it cross country. Airstreams typically don't last very long whenever they hit the lot. They hold their value and typically bring top dollar, even if they are 18 years old. But that brings me to the era thing. I am kinda bummed/depressed. I know this would happen eventually and, with the wreck, it was inevitable, but, to me, it makes the end of a very long era. My parents got their first Airstream from my uncle the Air Force Colonel. back in 1979 while I was still in college. 35 years, 4 trailers and upteen thousand miles later, they are finally hanging it up. It hit me the other day that most of the grandkids have never known them without their trailer. They have been blessed to have been able to travel so much and for so long, but this will be a major paradigm shift for them (as well as us).
Prepped for sale. The WBCCI logo and numbers have been removed.
Yes, I am still here but, honestly, I've been lacking serious motivation of late. Things are still pretty chaotic down here. Earlier I may have mentioned I felt like I've been juggling chainsaws. Now I am juggling chainsaws, while riding a unicycle and trying to give a cat a bath. Not meaning to neglect my duties, but I've actually started a few posts recently but I abandoned them because I thought they were turning into a regular pity party and that just ain't my style. So, in the interim, I thought I would share a few shots of the children suffering through their neglect of late.
Yea, I'm still here. Funny how I thought that July was going to be a tough pull. Once we got past the external audit, the supplier trip up north, my dad's surgery, I figured that we could coast through August getting ready for the fall football season. Silly rabbit. I am working through the weekend getting ready for another audit (more about that later) and trying to pour through resumes and interviews for new buyers (more about that later as well). The next 2 weeks are looking to be "interesting" (if I survive). Needless to say, my supply of scotch is woefully under stocked. The good news is that both my dad and SIL are doing very well. Recovery is coming along nicely and SIL seems to be making improvements (finally). Went across town last night for dinner with the family, check up on my dad's progress, exchange insults with brothers, swap good bull stories. Somewhere along the line someone was complaining about something trivial annoyance and my eldest brother (always a smartass) commented that they were in need of an Optirectomy (a surgical procedure that detaches the optic nerves from the rectum so you won't have a shitty outlook on life). Maybe it was the wine talking, but we found that hilarious. In the interim, I thought I would leave you with a few random goofy dog shots (doing a little spring cleaning on my iPhone).
Really? I am so gonna urp up my dinner in your closet.
Where's Waldo (or Grayson)?
Attention hound
Hanging out at the local farmer's market
Interesting things to see at the farmer's market
I am working on a video montage of Claire, but I don't have the videography skills like Mel and I am trying to find the software to patch together several iPhone videos.
Spent last week up in Wisconsin and Illinois on a pair of audits. Long week, but productive. As usual, things just went bat shit crazy at the office so I was busy burning up the airwaves on my crackberry during the day and trying to put out fires at night at the hotel. Not really a relaxing week but a lot got done. Nice time of year to go to Chicago (unlike going in November). With one buyer retired and another out on a cruise, it left us very short handed for the week. This week has me playing catch up as well with a company wide presentation on Monday and our own ISO auditors paying us a visit for the past few days. They finished up this afternoon without any major problems which means we can coast into the weekend. I need the time just to catch up on my reports/projects/interviews. Yea, I know, I complain a lot. But I guess it beats being bored.
I mentioned the dogs in the last post. Change of pace for our furry children last week. Normally, I take off on a road trip and momma takes care of the dogs while I am out. Things tend to be a bit more sedate when I am gone - not as much hoopla or chaos (I seem to cause some of that). However, since my wife is taking care of her sister full time, it meant the dogs were going to be home alone for most of the week. My parents decided they needed some excitement in their lives (as if surgery was not enough), they volunteer to take care of my two kids. So, on Sunday, I took them over to their grandparents house for a week's stay. Dropped them off on Sunday with enough food and treats to feed an sled team. Gave my parents strict instructions NOT to walk the dogs, just let them out in the yard and I would take care of de-mining the yard when I got back. Of course, those instructions were quickly ignored. They spent a week being the center of attention over there and getting spoiled only the way a grandmom can. They got to play with next door dog, Walter, another Golden Retriever. They even met several other Goldens in the neighborhood when my dad took them for a walk. Sort of a doggy summer camp. I tried to tell my dad not to walk them, but he is hard headed and still does his early morning walks which made him an instant hit with Grayson. Claire wasn't as adventurous and preferred camping out on the terrazzo in the foyer (coolest spot in the house) or trying to catch the resident squirrel that has been stealing pecans off the patio table. Despite their hardship, they got used to the new routine. Mom normally fixes dad eggs for breakfast every morning (been doing that for 69 years) and somehow the dogs wound up with their own egg for breakfast as well. And they say I spoil them. They were happy to see me when I picked them up on Friday but they did miss all of the extra attention they got during the week. It has taken most of the week for me to "deprogram" them and get them back to normal. Grandparents always love to spoil the kids.
My older brother from Seattle is flying in tomorrow. He wants to be here when my dad goes in for surgery on Monday. Normally I do not converse with him on a regular basis (like once every few years) but occasionally he gets "chatty". That was the case last week. He was asking about how we were doing and how SIL was doing and it wound up in a conversation about cancer and doctors and chemo and such. Typical exchange of e-mails on how people react differently to situations. We even discussed how dogs seem to deal with stressful situations differently. At one point, I added my philosophical outlook on how some dogs handle life's problems:
Dogs do have a great outlook on life's problems. If you cannot roll in it, eat it, or play with it, piss on it and move on.
The weekend ahead is looking busy. Toilet repair, clean the carpets, dog show, mini family gathering. Should be interesting (or at least not boring).
As I said earlier, it was an interesting week last week. Things are backing up at the office, the dogs need grooming, SIL is still having a rough time with her recovery, came home to an a/c leak in the bedroom, and wound up putting out fires (notliterally).
First work - it's review time again at the office. That time of the year where you boil down everyone's accomplishments, tasks, achievements into a single piece of paper and grade them on a very subjective scale. For me, it's hard to take a year's worth of work and cram it all into one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, not matter how small I write. I have hated review time ever since I was in the Army. And for what? A meager 1-2% increase? I'd rather just give them the money and say thanks. I am especially bummed this year because I missed the deadline to get one of my people promoted. I tried to make a deal with my boss and accounting. Even offered up part of my increase to see if it would open the door but no dice. No matter how much increase I give her, no matter how glowing the review I write, she won't be happy. As a manager, I'm told I need to grow thick skin and look at this from the business perspective, but I call BS. For the amount of increase it would take, it wouldn't really break the bank.
The dogs are up to their their typical antics. We have been under a drought down here for a while so the local park is full of goatheads and grass spurs. Every time I take them to the part in the evening, I wind up picking off about 25-50 of those thorny bastards off of each one. Especially Ms Claire who just HASto roll in the grass every time. Gawd, if she weren't so cute when she does it, I'd have give her a Chihuahua haircut. Still, I am taking both of them to the vet next week for their summer cuts. Maybe it will cut down on the tumbleweeds of dog hair that roam the house.
Mother's Day last weekend. I hope all you mothers out there had a great time (or at least some peace & quiet). I went over to my mom's last Saturday to spend time with her because I knew I would be tapped to help SIL on Sunday. Good time spent with her and my brother. She's still going strong 91 and not signs of letting up. Some of the discussion was around nursing homes. My dad is the eldest boy of his family and his younger brother was moving into a home.
SIL is still having a hard time. She restarted Chemo and it is really kicking her ass. was nauseous for most of the weekend. So much so that we took her back to the ER on Monday to get things right. I spent the day on Sunday with her and her cats to give my wife a break. While there, I was watching some videos on my iPad and there was a loud pop and the power flashed off and on for a moment. Sounded like it came from the back yard so I went out to investigate. Heard the neighbors out but could not see anything until I spotted a small cloud of smoke coming from behind their fence line. SIL lives on a small creek/bayou and it is usually unmowed (unkept) so there is a lot of grass. With the drought I mentioned earlier, I realized that any small fire could get out of hand, so I tried to get the hose on the hot spots but the gate was locked. I picked up a fire extinguisher and sprinted down the block to get to it from the other side. A neighbor had the same idea and we tackled the fires together while someone called the fire department. There were three small fires burning and we got most of them out with our fire extinguishers before they ran out. By the time the fire department showed up, it was pretty much all over. The grass was so dry that it could have gotten ugly real fast. Never figured out what caused the fire - the power line transformers were intact and none of the fuses were tripped. We think that one of the local tree rats (aka squirrel) might have made contact with the power lines and, well, met his maker. That's enough drama for one day.
Normally I try to do some Mother's Day meme, but I just got behind (aka lazy) and overlooked it. With all of the Let It Go parodys out there, but this one I found pretty darned awesome, so I offer it up to all you momma's out there.
Yea, I'm still here. Been busy the past few weeks and I kinda lost track of time. Wrapping up the fiscal year at the office has us doing all sorts of handstands and cartwheels. I spent 4.5 hours in a meeting on Wednesday reviewing a new project that is supposed to launch in September in the UK (4.5 hours of my life I will never get back). Had to host another supplier conference on Tuesday. Just all sorts of fun stuff just to keep the ship upright and heading in the right direction. Somedays, the bait shop is starting to look better and better (inside joke).
On top of the work stuff, I've been uber busy at home. About the last time I posted, my PC decided it was time to retire. And not in a good way. I've seen this one coming for a while so I have been backing up my files and trying to prepare to jump to a new system. Still, having the box die on my two weeks prior to tax day did not help make it easier or less complex. Got a new system, but had problems from the outset. Started setting up the new box when it quit displaying any images (graphics died). First thought it was the PC was having issues and took it back to the store. They tweaked it and told me to try it again. That didn't work so I got a new system. Tried 2nd box and still no picture. So the next step was to try out a new monitor. Hadn't intended to get one but it turned out that the monitor was DOA as well. Seems suspiciously convenient, but it worked. Now I have a new box and huge screen to read everyone's blogs. I intend to spend part of this weekend playing catch up with everyone.
Of course, setting up the PC has been not with out some challenges/headaches. I try to keep an open mind on new technology and changes (even got an iPad last year), but I have to admit that I really starting to hate Windows 8.0. Nothing like my old set up. Links are not where I expect them, the screen set up is totally different, I am still trying to figure out where the files are stored and how to recover some of my pictures from the cloud. I have been working through several scenarios and I am about 75% back to normal, but still not happy with the set up. I know this sounds so whiney and there are way more important things to worry about, but this just irritates me. One interesting thing I discovered was that somehow, all of my favorites got imported over to the new PC. Not sure how that happened but I am able to find all of my old favorites and links that I set up on the old box. I blew a few days revisiting some of the old blog sites I used to follow to see if they were still in business.
In the meanwhile, life moves on despite my PCs travails. Spring has arrived and the dogs have been busy collecting as many goatheads as they can carry. I take them to the neighborhood park and wind up with so many of the prickly things that I have been contemplating going Chihuahua on their coats. No, I won't go that far (that would get one ostracized from the GBGRR meets), but it is tempting. Spent last Saturday at a local charity event in Houston for dogs called Doggy Party at CityCentre. A massive gathering sponsored by the city (even the Mayor was there) of various organizations for dogs and their servants owners. Booths for vet services, grooming, dog food, boarding, training, supplies, and even a group for emotional support for pet loss. They have a special line of booths for rescue groups like ours called Rescue Row where we can try to drum up attention and donations. There is even a mini parade for the rescue groups with some potential big prizes. Last year our group took first place so we were going for a repeat. Some of our group tend to go overboard for these things and this year was no different. One woman made capes for all of the dogs as our theme was Rescue Heroes. Was funny to see 30 or so Goldens in capes. One guy even build a float out of plywood and paper Mache in a distinctive shape (see the picture). Good turn out but we wound up taking 2nd place. Still pretty shiny gifts for 2nd place. All sorts of donations for food and services from companies - we tend to use them later on at our annual picnic as prizes.
To paraphrase Twain: Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Yea, I'm still here. Wish I had a good excuse, but I really don't. I could regale you with stories of work or shopping or hospital parking or doctors visits or working on the trailer or prepping for the holidays or sniffing glue, but all of those are really boring. Honestly, I have lost my muse and cannot seem to find her. I have been playing catch up at the office (seems like I am always doing that) on all of the reports and projects I have picked up. Sorry if I have overlooked my blog friends, but I have been ignoring the computer for a while. I actually started 2-3 posts but they wound up sounding, well lame or whiny or downright narcissistic to me in the daylight so I pitched them. Lately, I am spending a good chunk of my day on the computer and I have no real motivation to jump on the computer when I get home. Especially when greeted with this face...
SIL Update - after 33 days in hospital, they finally released her on Monday to go home. Extended recovery and some complications with infection kept her there for way longer than planned. As tired as we were on making the trek up to the hospital every other day, she was ready to finally make a break. Still going to be a long road to recovery, but at least she is doing it at home. My wife is planning to spend the nights with her for the next month or so, which really puts a twist in on our holiday plans. Holiday prep - Still a long ways to go for my Xmas shopping. Seems like I go later each year on finding the right gifts for everyone. So far, I have avoided the mall completely this year, but may have to make a run this weekend to nail down a few things. With our chaotic schedule it has been hard to get into the spirit but we are making progress. I only have 1/2 the lights up but I hope to get everything out by this weekend. At least the tree is up now. Now if I can only find some figgy pudding. Ho Ho Ho.
I wish I had some good excuse for not posting but, let's be frank, I've really been slacking off.
I've been swamped at work with reports and our system validation. After 10 months of development and weeks upon weeks of testing, we are almost ready to make the switchover. This has been one long, slow, painful project. on top of that, i've been out of town for the past three weekends and I am sitting here in California leading another round of audits. I wish I could say this was my last road trip but there is still too much time left in the year to be that optimistic.
Last three weekends have been busy for me. Earlier, we took the trailer and dogs down for one of our Airstream rally's at a local state park. The park is a nice place just south of Houston located along the Brazos River. Great park, lots of trials, lakes. Great place to see some of the local indigenous wildlife (raccoons, armadillos, possums, eagles, ducks, geese, and lots & lots of alligators). Yes, I said alligators. This is a regular haven for thiose cute little swamp critters. This time of year , they are pretty slow/dormant, but in the spring during their mating season and you need to keep an eye on your kids and pets.
Two weekends back, everyone was in town for my day's birthday (the big 90). The entire family gathered again at out local Italian restaurant for the gala event. Even Stephen and Rebecca were able to make down from Austin for the weekend. Great to be able to spend time with them, even if it was brief. Was a great party. Even my brother from Seattle flew i with his wife to join in. My middle brother, the budding photographer, spent some time a few years back pouring through all of the old Kodak slides was amassed over the past few decades of family life. He extracted a lot of pictures and had the printed out or scanned on line. He brought out a number of those at my mom's 90th in February and did the same for my dad. It was fun to have my dad hold up the picture and explain where he was and what was the occasion. Got to see the picture of them on the prom date, one of him in his flight jacket when he had earned his wings, on beefcake shot on the beach, many of them together on the road. Great way to look back over a long life. My dad is still going strong - still hauling their trailer all over the state, always active. I honestly feel that is the reason the both of my parents are still going strong - staying active, never slowing down. They even took the trailer up to College Station for the weekend game with my brother who flew in from Seattle for his birthday. They are planning to take the trailer up to Dallas in a week or so to have some work done on the side panels and back end (he violated the 3 foot rule while traveling this summer). I spent last weekend up at the game as well with the furry children. They love to travel and meet new people. Part of the routine is to walk over to campus to see all the preface hoopla. Of course, those two were the center of attention wherever the went. We even stopped by a booth for veterinary service run by a bunch of vet students where they give out tips for pet first aide - in case your dog or cat is injured or eats something bad. With all of the attention Claire was getting, she became the unofficial spokesdog for their cause. I even had one of the students ask can i leave Claire there for a while because of the crowd she was drawing in. Claire live for these show deals and is a natural. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to post any pictures from my iPad while on the road, but I will be trying to play catch up on everyone's blogs over the next week. Happy trails!
Been a heck of a week month. Between work and chores and family, I feel like I've been rode hard and put up wet. My purchasing team has been pretty much decimated of late. One of my buyers injured her eye and has been out for 3 weeks. Another has been reassigned to the validation project for the new facility. One was off in the Caribbean on vacation which left me with one buyer to run the show. Of course, with that set up, Murphy likes to show up. Not only do we encounter all sorts of crises and emergencies, but last weekend, my one remaining buyer calls me on Sunday and said her son was in the hospital with appendicitis. So, come Monday, I was the entire purchasing department. Was able to muddle through for a day or two until two buyers made it back to work. Still, we are running short handed and have a lot of sticks in the fire. I am using the weekends to decompress. Spent last weekend at the dog park and working on the yard. This weekend is pretty full. I'm doing a short stent at the farmer's market with the dogs, mow the yard, attend a friend's daughter's wedding, having dinner with my parents before they head off to the wild blue yonder. I am seriously jonesing for some good Mexican food this weekend, even if I have to drive across 2 counties to find it.
In the interim, I thought I would dump a few more shots from the past month's activities
Flowers for our anniversary
Mother's Day with the dogs (Collarless Grayson)
Despite all my gripes/whining about work, I like what I do and it is good to be working for a company that helps people. It also helps that the company is doing well. I mentioned that we've been doing well since the new CEO arrived several years ago. They are doing all sorts of new things over the past few years. For the 2nd year in a row, we were picked as one of the top 50 Houston companies to work for because of our benefits, growth, pride and spirit. They are always looking for things to motivate and inspire the workers. Did I mention the results of our Epilepsy Fundraiser? Every year we collect money for the Epilepsy Foundation and give it during the Epilepsy walk in April at the zoo. I did not make the walk this year since I was up at Pate. This year we wound up handing over a check for $100k - all of that raised from donations and fundraisers. No too shabby. It is always interesting to see how they celebrate their success. We wound up our fiscal year last month in a very good position. Hit our goals, made the numbers, increased sales, stock is up, everyone is happy. As part of the success, the company likes to pay back it's employees with some of the success. Some of it with bonuses or awards or corporate events. Last week, everyone got one of these notes on our cars.
On the reverse side was a note from the CEO thanking them for the past year and telling them that they could expect a little "something" in their paychecks. Nice/amusing way to share the success. It is times like these that make some of those late nights and endless meetings more palatable
And next weekend is the annual Dad's Day 5K run. Charity run for Prostate Cancer. I got hooked onto this one a few years back and this will be my 3rd run in the heat. A warm, humid run on a flat course (one bridge/overpass). With my schedule of late, I haven't been running much over the last two months so this could get ugly.
Next week's run
Still, I am looking for the rematch with little Miss TuTu.
This week is definitely one for the books. I have made plans to take off for a week starting Wednesday. Got the vacation, gonna use it up. I figured I would take 3 days before the wedding to take care of last minute stuff and then 2 days after just to unwind. That translates into two days at the office to get about 2 weeks worth of work done (remember, I was out for most of last week). I know, I know, I'm whining again. The week has taken off already. I am working on getting a limo for the kids for the wedding party to take them from the church to the reception and then from the reception to their hotel. I know that is way past extravagant, but I wanted to do something special to make their day even more memorable. Anywho, I have been looking up limo services down here in Houston and there are quite a few available. I put my name out last night to a couple of local limo companies to get a general bid a wedding package for Saturday and my phone started ringing the hook at 0800 this morning. I've been fielding calls from various limo companies to bid on the job. I haven't decided anything yet and I will probably get one, even if it grinds against my cheapa%% nature. On top of limo negotiations, I am trying to get the dogs groomed this week. Something I should have done last week but just didn't have the time. My normal groomer at the vet is booked so I am utilizing a coupon I got from last fall's GBGRR picnic for a mobile groomer (one of those that come to your house). I was conversing all morning with the lady who does the service and we came to a reasonable deal. I made plans to have her come to us Wednesday morning to take care of both Chaos and Pandemonium. It is not that those two have any role in this weekend's hoopla, but being Goldens they are getting quite shaggy and shedding up a storm. Junior has become slightly allergic to pet dander, so I wanted to eliminate some of the source. I love my two mutts, but sometimes, I envy those who have dogs with shorter coats. The groom is coming down Thursday night (likes to cut it close). We pick up tuxes on Friday, confirm headcount of the reception on Thursday, lock down the menu for the rehearsal dinner Wednesday. The bride dropped by last night to drop off a chair (won't fit in their new apartment) and she is going out to the club tomorrow with her mom to work out the final details of the reception. My folks are flying in tomorrow from their road trip in New York, my middle brother is coming from Seattle on Wednesday. It feels like a gathering of the clan. Still got lots to do. The one good thing is, come hell or high water, after tomorrow, I won't be on the clock so I might actually get something done around here.
It's only halfway through July and with three road trips, several projects due, and the wedding only 28 days away, I find my month is already blown. Last week, I was baking out in the Grand Canyon State. This weekend I am NOT working on the trailer but playing catch up on all of my chores. This week I have another road trip up north to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, L'Etoile du Nord. Spending a few days in Mankato, Minnesota (home of MSU, the Viking Training Camp). I am planning a short side trip that I will expound upon later. Without giving too much away, I have worked out a few logistics and was hoping to be able to have lunch with a good friend and famous author/blogger. If you want more details about my trip, you'll just have to keep an eye out for an update next weekend. The trip takes me out of the office for 3 days and, combined with an all day department event/team building exercise, leaves me with exactly one day actually in the office. And that day I already have a 6 hour planning meeting for our new facility. Sounds like I am whining a wee bit? Yea, I know, life's rough and I keep reminding myself that I asked for this. Still, I'd rather be busy than be bored. After next week, I have a week in town before I head west to the Golden State. I may get a few more pictures of Bubble Gum alley in San Luis Obispo. That puts me back in town about a week before the wedding.
When I typically travel, I will map out my trip/agenda (that's the A/R part of my personality) of where we are going, hotels, routes to take. If it is a new destination for me, I will try to look up some details of the area to give me a better idea where to go, what to see/do. You are never too old to learn something new.
Some interesting (but useless) facts about the places I have been/am going:
California, "The Golden State", has some other slogans/mottoes that I uncovered (not sure which ones are legit): - The Land of Milk and Honey - The Grape State - The Eldorado State - California - Find Yourself Here - California: As Seen on TV - By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda - California: It's Long and Hangs to the Left - California: Our Governor Can Inappropriately Fondle Your Governor - I'm a Big Deal in California
For Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes, some of the slogans I uncovered are: - The North Star State - The Bread and Butter State - The Wheat State - The Gopher State - New England of the West
For Arizona, The Grand Canyon State, some of the slogans I found are: - The Copper State - The Apache State - The Aztec State - The Baby State - The Valentine State - The Sand Hill State - Italy of America
Life's a journey. Remember to take plenty pictures along the way.
Are we there yet? Man, the weekend just would not could not get here fast enough.
It has been another one of those insanely crazy, chock-a-block full, nonstop mayhem weeks from when I stepped out of bed Monday morning. I'm keeping a lot of balls in the air right now. Lots of projects coming due, reports to write, meetings to sleep through sit in, e-mails to write, blogs to read. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Yea, I know, it sucks to be me.
I am working on a couple of upcoming audits in July & August while we're getting ready for an in-house audit next week. Even though the summer has just started, my calendar is already filling up fast. I've got 3 or 4 road trips planned between now and August. Fortunately, my trip to the Philippines has been pushed out until the fall, but the rest of the trips are domestic hops around the states. I blocked out a week of my calendar in early August for the wedding, so it was interesting to note what days/weeks I will be off the grid this summer.
It's hard to plan things when your Internet dies. Our modem gave up the ghost Tuesday night leaving us in the stone ages. Couldn't even get on live via my iPhone for a while. I had to go to the Comcast store (they wouldn't come out until Saturday) to get a new router. To complicate things, I had another doctor's appointment on Wednesday am for a Physical. Not the same as the one we had at work, this one is more "intrusive" by my doc. I used to do these every year for Scout camp (something about worrying about us old farts stroking out at camp). Last time I went to this doc is when he uncovered my prostate cancer, so it has been a few years since I have been back. Normal physical stuff, but I have to go back for a cardiac ultrasound and treadmill test next week. Blood work came back OK and, so far, I am still checking out 5 by 5.
Wednesday morning was the day they opened registration for the Marathon and I was unable to log on line to register before I left for the physical. While waiting my turn in the office, I was trying to keep up with work and the net. I stole some bandwidth in the waiting room and was able to read everyone's blogs, check the news, catch up on e-mails. I decided not to wait until got into the office to register so I managed to log onto the Marathon website and sign up. With the lottery system, normally I wouldn't know my status for a few weeks, but, since I decided to step it up a notch and sign up for the Run for A Reason Charity, I got a confirmed slot for January 13th. Whoo-Hoo! I have manypeople to thank for encouraging me to abuse myself.
OK, Melcarded me. It's been a week + since I posted up anything. I was going to say "anything meaningful" but that would probably have been a few years since that's happened. I'd like to say that my absence is due to making arrangements for my windfall fortune in winning the recent MegaPowerball lottery last week ($460 million), but, alas, we missed out on the winning ticket by just a few numbers (like 5). I would claim that I am busy with work, but after reading ShadowRun300 working ungodly hours sans potty breaks, I cannot make that claim. I could fain illness/injury, but hangovers don't count and I've been in good shape. I could claim that I have been working hard on my dissertation like some old rock star who starting a rabbit farm, or trying to figure out who's going commando at the gym or dealing with sex changes and pond scum, but that would be stretching the truth a bit.
In reality, I don't have a good excuse aside of being a bit lazy. Work's still kicking my butt, but it pays the bills, keeps me off the streets, and is definitely not boring. Last couple of weeks it feels like a circus around here and I'm the guy in charge of clean up after the elephant parade.
Here's a shock. I didn't win the lottery. Was doing pretty well in ignoring the whole hoopla up to the last weekend, when several people at the office banded together to buy a block of tickets. I figured it was worth a ten spot to kick in just to make sure I wasn't that lone guy who didn't join in when the rest of the group won the lottery. I figured our chances were about as good as getting hit by lightening (twice), but, as they say in Vegas, you lose 100% of the bets you don't make. Oh well, will have to postpone getting the Porsche for another year.
Doing some e-mail clean up, I got tagged for a reminder for the sign up for the Dad's Day 5k in June. It is a 5K run in downtown Houston I ran last year on the Saturday before weekend of Father's day tied that is tied to collecting money for Prostate Cancer research / treatment. It's dedicated to people who have had or have prostate cancer. I spotted it last year when I was getting my new shoes at the running store and, since I am a charter member of that club, I signed up. I figured that I could do a 5K on on a flat Houston street before breakfast without breaking a sweat. Forgot to account for the fact it was in Houston in the middle of June. Starting temperature was 85 and humidity was downright sauna-esque. Still, I managed to finish up in 3rd place in my category (Cancer survivor over the age of 50) - whoo-hoo! Only problem was that the winner was a 74 year old grand-dad who kicked a%%. Still it was a good run for a good cause. I am debating doing it again just because I am a sucker for these things. Sign up for next year's Houston Marathon is in early June and, given the popularity of the last few years, it's going to be a tough job to get into the 2013 Marathon, but I have a strategy.
Speaking of runs, I am on a couple of e-mail lists to notify me of deadlines and dates for upcoming runs/events. One that popped up recently I found interesting. Anyone ever done/seen a "mud run"? Something about doing a 5K through various obstacles including copious amounts of mud/water. Excuse me? Why would one pay $60 to run through mud/water??? I was paid (not enough) to do that in the Army.
I am a creature of habit. It could be my O/C personality or maybe I prefer a consistency. Every morning, it is pretty much the same routine. Wake up at 0 dark thirty, let the dogs out, fire up the coffee pot, crank up the computer, fetch the paper, let the dogs in, check my e-mails, read the online news, catch up on all my favorite blogs, check my work e-mail/schedule, answer a dozen inquiries, walk the dogs, give them their post walk chew bones, make lunch, shut down the computer, take a shower, let the dogs out one last time, jump in the car and head off to work.
This morning, when I logged onto my work account to check e-mails and get a run on the day, I saw that I had meetings scheduled from 0800 until 1700 (5:00 pm). I like to consider myself a tolerant kind of guy, but crikey, 9 hours of meetings???? One of this is probably a meeting on trying to explain why we weren't getting our projects done.
To quote Steve McCroskey: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking...
Early on in my Army career, I an old E7 platoon sergeant who was pretty salty. He was a lifer and had been around a long time and taught me a lot of things you don’t learn in school. Whenever we wound up in some stupid situation or had some dumb requirements/tasks to accomplish, he would just shake his head and say “One day closer to retirement, Sir”. That’s become one of my mantras ever since.
Been busier than a one-armed paper hanger with an itch. Once again, I am up to my butt in work trying to get stuff done between now and the end of the year and still need vacation to burn. I picked up a lot of silly projects and tasks while keeping up with my real job. I got signed up for another road trip for a supplier audit, but this time it is back to Europe. I’m flying over to Belgium next month for an audit and business meeting. I know, I have absolutely no room to whine about this, but it is just screws up my plans/schedule. I should be grateful for the opportunity but I am still cranky about it for a variety of reasons: 1) I really don’t have time for it right now, 2) I’m not looking forward to another pair of 10-12 hour flights, 3) It’s the wrong time of the year to go to Belgium (cold and wet), and 4) I am scheduled to fly back on the Wednesday BEFORE Thanksgiving (supposed to be the busiest day of the year for flying). I have made it a point to not travel during that time of the year and here I am right in the middle of it. Would sit home and watch the news reports on how busy the airports were and how full the parking lots were getting and think to “Glad that ain’t me.” This year I get to be a part of the circus.
Still, somebody has to do it. Just like my other trips, I plan to make the most of it. Got the weekend free in Brussels and intend to do as much exploration as possible. Anyone care to guess what Belgium is famous for?
Chocolate and Beer
I've been given instructions to come back with some...
I have the day off again. It is that time of year when I have vacation built up that I have to take. The company has a policy that you could only carry over a certain amount of hours/days at the end of the year. Since I have been here for 10+ years, I accrue a boatload of vacation each year and can only carry over 60 hours (7.5 days) by the end of December. They used to have a policy that, if you didn’t use the vacation, they would pay it out to you. That changed a few years back and now the policy is “use it or lose it”. I think it is a bit counterproductive. I am one of those who doesn’t take much vacation during the year. We used to take a lot of trips and with my Boy Scout involvement, I would normally burn up most of my days throughout the year. When junior was doing intern work out west, we took off a week or two to go out and visit/bug him. Since junior has graduated and lives only 3 hours away, we are not taking as much time off. Momma is spending a lot of time taking care of her parents and we cannot get away for long trips. This all leaves me with a plethora of vacation time to burn at the end of the year. I’ve taken off Fridays to go to college football games, I’ve done a bit of hunting, momma’s got me doing a whole bunch of “honey dos” (aka chores). I am pretty much taking off every Friday between now and the end of the year. Got a lot of work to do at the office and every time I take off, I seem to get further behind. On top of that, I just got signed up yesterday for a road trip to Belgium the week before Thanksgiving for another audit and to work with our European office. I know, I know - I really shouldn’t be whining and should be grateful for the time and opportunity, but this just messes with my plans. I always thought that, when junior was out of the house and it was just momma and I and the dogs, life would be calmer and less hectic. Silly rabbit.
In spite of my complaining, we have been busy. A couple of trips up to College Station for games. Helped my dad celebrate his 88th birthday last week. He and mom are still pretty darn spry for a bunch of octogenarians. You think, at that age, they’d be hanging out at home or in nursing home. Nah, they just left town on a short 4 day cruise to Cozumel with my brother. I can only hope I am that active/mobile when I get their age.
And the real reason I am not happy is that my PC picked up some virus last week and pretty much cratered the system. I was able to restore it to an older version, but all my settings are screwed up. None of my favorites are set up any more, most of my files and pictures are missing. I have a back up drive, but a lot of the information is not there as it should be. I have copies of the important stuff and a lot of my files are recoverable and I made a secondary back up of my pictures (being paranoid is sometimes a good thing), but this just pisses me off. I am not ignoring everyone, I am just trying to get back to where I was two weeks ago.
