Ramping Up

Ok - I didn't finish the story about the Block Party: The kids were in that jumper until we pulled them out around 9 (2 hours past their bedtime, but at least an hour earlier than the other kids wound up staying up), and they both passed out quickly... The weather got colder and colder, and so in the middle of July, we had a fire pit going, passing around hot coffee and Bailey's. With the kids down, I was on house duty while Pamela hung out, rolling in after 11.

The next morning, the moonwalk was inflated at 9am (the family hosting the jumper set that time as the earliest, even though their 3 kids had been up since 7 demanding more bouncing). The whole neighborhood of kids was BACK out at 9:01 jumping again, but there was exhaustion... a little less pep to the bouncing. By 10, they were all just sitting in and on the jumper, getting on eachother's nerves, but unwilling to leave the space, because hey, it's a MOONWALK. By 11, when the men with the truck finally came to take the moonwalk, there was a brief flurry of frantic jumping, but then general relief that no more jumping would be required.

There were widespread reports of rubberlegs, aches, and general grumpiness. Our whole house took a NAP. Even Bella. It was good. We had the semiannual neighborhood progressive dinner on Sunday night (ramped back from quarterly - I love my neighbors, but my time is ever more precious at home), and had a good evening of catching up... Rita and Jeff are seeing an increase in business, which means they've weathered the downturn well: We've been so concerned and hopeful for their design-build operation...

Now I'm in Philly, and will be for quite a while. Last week out in Jersey was frankly so stunningly taxing that I had a hard time getting my head on straight Monday, which was fine, since the first few days of a gig are always just ramp up time. My boss Ken handed me a thick manilla folder filled with notes to get caught up on, and I've read the whole stack thrice now - once each day. By today, it was all making sense, and I was hitting the internet to get more info on some of the esoteric things they're doing....

This is a cardiology project, but a very very different one than I did a couple of years ago: In a traditional cardiology unit, you're dealing with arterial plaque and coronary blockages, mostly older people, and 95% of the time, you can clear things up with some drugs, angioplasty, or inserting stents. Maybe 5% of the time you're dealing with something genetic. In PEDIATRIC Cardiology, it's 95% genetic anomalies.

So the needs of the doctors are very very different, and you get to realize that these tools have all been built around the 95% adult cardio model. My job is to help figure out a solution that will actually work for the Pediatric world. And it may not actually exist yet. It's very exciting.

Today I was doing research on the most common heart defects and the sorts of procedures that are used to treat them. Also, I did some deep diving into some of the procedures that I hadn't really seen much of in the past. Today I learned about Electrophysiology - the study of the electrical system that works the heart. Seems some people have overactive nerve clusters in there which lead to the heart twitching rapidly and being inefficient in its job as a pump.

There's a procedure called Ablation where you guide a wire up into the heart, and literally zap tissue in the overactive regions to disrupt the electrical feedback loops. There's a a surgery called "The Maze Procedure" which is more invasive - they actually go in and cut patterns into the heart with a scalpel and then sew it back together, and that scar tissue is less likely to have the electrical storms. And finally, if a person has an out of control arrhythmia they do a "Cardioversion" which is basically using the Defibrillator paddles to shock the heart back into sync.

This is all very cool and interesting stuff. It's not really very common to think of yourself as an electrical being, but every muscle twitch is an electric process.

Can you tell I'm happy to be back in the clinical world, learning about things again? Much more fun than trying to figure out how to get the assistant of the CIO of that one health system to pass a message along about how we have the best consultants if only they'll give us a chance. Much more fun.

Anyway, the point is that after a few days of drinking from the firehose, I'm starting to feel like I might just know what I'll be doing, and am having the pieces fall into place. Add to this that I am totally loving this city (more on that in posts to come, but you can be assured food probably factors in to this), and this will be a very good gig for me. VERY good.

And now I'm going to switch gears and do some work for the Jersey client... a promise is a promise.

A New Home

Philly. Phil-LAY. Here I am.

Running off to a meeting in a few minutes but so far so good. Got an office (better than the communal picnic table I had at the South Jersey place), got things to get revved up with, and most importantly, I'm working in a hospital, which has a great energy.

Nothing to report yet, except that I'm here, and happy.

Safe and Sound

Sorry about that last post: I was tired, my brain was completely full from the week's work, and I was READY FOR HOME.

I wound up only being delayed by 2 hours, and things were ok. The crew was very polite and kept us informed. It was fine.

Had good family time upon arrival, cuddles at bedtime, and then Pamela and I snuggled in to watch So You Think You Can Dance, which is just my favorite show in the world. Man those kids can HOOF it!

Off to the Block Party now: The moonwalk has been set up across the street since 10am, and yes the kids have been in it all day. Isaac is still napping (he got 90 min of moonwalk in before naptime), and now it's the big neighborhood bbq and party into the evening. I think that Bella might actually get 10 full hours of moonwalk in today.

8 weeks

Eight stinking weeks going to south jersey. Last day on the job and I have a mechanical problem on the airplane. Yay.

At least they deplaned us and gave us snack vouchers (free food is good).

Final presentation went very well today by the way. It felt goooooood.

But I'm very ready for home.

PS - Final in Jersey

1) Had to change hotels from the one I'd been at for two months... worse internet connection, but better blackout shades (overslept one day!) Somebody has a puppy that's yipping and it makes me miss Zinsser.

2) Perhaps ashamed of the stinky car from last week (I kept it all week, but didn't hold back when I returned it and in the subsequent internet survey), they gave me a sweet ride this week: Ford Mustang (not convertible) with Sirius Radio. I've been listening to Sirius 22 First Wave non-stop (80's alternative) and barreling down the road.

3) I've been doing my "Jersey's Greatest Hits" restaurants this week: Primo's Hoagies, Ariana Afghani food, La Posata Italian... Still need to hit Joe Palumbo's Mirabella Cafe one more time for that Rigatoni Bolognaise (Which they call "Rigatone Bah-Loyne") Oh what will I ever eat in Philly? Oh no, did you say I'm staying across from the Reading Terminal Market? DID YOU SAY THAT?

The Brain Fry

This is the big week at work: It's my last full week at the Jersey client before moving to the Philly client, and I'm building my final deliverables... which are major presentations to large groups. I did my first one today, which I think was the harder one, all told: This was the project that a predecessor had thoroughly flubbed and I parachuted in to do it right in half the time. In the end, I identified 10 major workflow gaps that needed addressing, and spots for 38 workstations they hadn't considered across their 4 hospitals.

It's the sort of thing that I seem very good at doing: Synthesizing hundreds of data points across a dozen subjects, holding the whole picture in my mind to absorb the problem and craft the solution(s), and THEN somehow relate everything I've learned to a large group of people in a cohesive manner. In truth, the statement of work didn't say this is what they wanted, but I delivered exactly what they NEEDED.

I'll always wonder if I missed anything, but dang I uncovered a lot of stuff. So then the harder challenge is how to take 10 big problems and present them in an hour. Once the structure finally came to me, it practically wrote itself (though it did undergo 3 huge revisions). I whipped up some fun graphics (representing all 10 projects on a timeline with interdependencies), and ran the meeting with a steel grip - we actually finished on time with concrete to-dos... and everybody was happy.

Shifting gears to the other project has been hard. I tried before lunch, but it didn't take. I played hooky in the afternoon to watch Harry Potter (having already worked 24 hours in the previous 48, I felt entitled to a little break). Loved the movie! Hermione's moods were practically breaking my heart... and nobody but nobody gives icy stares like Snape. Alan Rickman is wonderful.

Anyway, the night is still somewhat young, and I've got all 24 hours of Thursday before presenting on Friday, and I know this project even better than the other one, so I'm not terribly worried. I'm seriously considering packing it in for the night and letting my neurons rest for a spell, since the last 2 days were pretty darn intense.

I'm pretty psyched to be starting the new gig, but I'll be on retainer to my Jersey friends to help see some of my more mad schemes to fruition.

On the home front, we're a bit alarmed that Isaac has been skipping his nap more and more... first because we need the break in the day, but second because we still remember well our trials when Bella lost her nap. We had to end her naps because with them she was staying up to 10 pm. But for 3 months, she had horrible night terrors from her lack of sleep, screaming bloody murder. They were some of the hardest parenting days we had. Hopefully Isaac will either keep napping (for a long time), or make a clean break and go to bed early nightly... I'm not sure which would be better.

Bella is really enjoying doing Synchronized Swimming, and has asked to keep on doing it into the school year. It's a "sport" but it's based on cooperation, not direct competition, which I think works for Bella. Plus she loves to swim. Oh, and that tooth has NOT fallen out yet. She may be waiting for my return...

No wacky Jersey stories, alas, mostly because I've been so busy I'm lost inside my skull. I think that the people at Dunkin will miss me. They know my doubleshot espresso order from the moment I walk in, and they're always so nice. I think the store is family owned, because the same multigenerational east indian characters are there anytime I show up - morning, noon, evening.

Well, I gotta do something. Something....

Turned the corner...

Woke up refreshed and ready to make up for lost time this morning... No insomnia, no headaches. I had a great day at work: I had good meetings, got great information, uncovered more messes to clean up (my job), and even got some good quality time in with the project sponsor (who has been AWOL for a week).

I think the Febreze was even starting to work on my stinky car.

I felt like a guy who was on top of everything, until about 4pm, when I discovered I had lost my wallet at my previous meeting (in a hospital. Totally safe place, right?). Fortunately, a panicked trip back and the nice guy in security not only recognized me, but had the wallet, all contents intact. I was so happy I skipped off to the car.... then walked BACK IN when I realized I had forgotten my KEYs on the security desk. On the way out (to the laughter of the guard) I made sure my phone, wallet, keys, ID badge, suitcoat, shoes, glasses, and pants were all intact.

That's a little signal from the world that I needed a little break, so off to dinner. Now I'm back to the hotel for more catchup work... but hopefully not TOO late of a night. Got plenty of meetings tomorrow.

I've decided to take the job offer, by the way. I looked at it very very hard, and it appears to be all upside, with no visible downside. I get to do the work I wanted to do in the first place (making the money I was hoping to make), there's a pathway back to the Twin Cities after my non-compete finishes, and I'm already being given some commission opportunities. Plus, HEALTH INSURANCE, and somebody else handles all of the billing and taxes muckymuck. Works for me.

Looking forward to some wonderful family time this weekend!!!

Stinky Car

Well, I've definitely had better weeks than this one.

1) My rental car has a musty smell somewhere between fat man sweat and swamp. I have febrezed it repeatedly, but it's just not pleasant. And there's a good gallon of water loose somewhere in the body panels, because it slooooshes when I turn. Ordinarily I'd have turned it in, but due to the next two points I haven't had time, and I might as well ride it out.

2) I got in late on Monday, got checked in (after a frustrating incident with the credit card people who couldn't be bothered to post my payment when I made it on their website last week), having driven the stinky car into Jersey... and then I sat awake until 3:30 am with horrible horrible insomnia. So I was a partial zombie for some of Tuesday.

3) Tuesday evening I joined my co-workers for dinner, and had a glass of red wine. Now, 4 times out of 5, I'm ok with a glass of red wine. This time, not so much. I didn't feel particularly good (which didn't make for a productive evening), then halfway through the night I realized I had the signs of a migraine. I was a complete wreck, heaves and all. I pulled into work around 10, took a nap at lunch (drove to the hotel - can't nap in the stinky car!), and only really got back into the swing mid-afternoon.

Well, I've turned the corner - I'm going to have a productive evening and get caught up tonight. No coffee, no antihistamines, no wine, no nothing. Just going to have a quiet evening with spreadsheets and project plans and have a better day tomorrow.

On the plus side, I've started to arrange for my transition to the new client in downtown Philly. I have my public transport maps ready, AND since I will be keeping some hours at the current client, I've enrolled in Zipcar.com which is a car sharing service. My friend Al in San Fran uses Zipcar and swears by it. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully, no stinky cars.

It's been a strange week at home too - Zinsser has had the doggy trots and has got Pamela up several times a night for potty breaks (at least he is asking - better than just pooping). Looking forward to a quiet weekend with the family - less craziness than the past weekend, ok? OK?

Brains

I'm at the airport preparing to board, but thought I'd dash off a few quick ones:

1) This morning Bella was running very late to her morning nature camp... she wasn't dressed, she was sleepy, and she hadn't eaten, and we only had 10 min to get it going. I asked her what she wanted to eat, and she asked for my trademark fried egg and ham on toast sandwich with habanero pepper sauce. I said that I didn't think I had TIME to make it for her. She thought for a moment, then suggested "what about HALF of a ham and egg sandwich then?"

Can't argue with that. I wound up making the sandwich and she wound up missing camp... but after the crazy weekend, she was a wreck and really needed a down day.

2) This afternoon, Isaac had been refusing all food but popsicles (AND he blew off his nap too), but was complaining he was "Hun-ga-ree". When I suggested a run to Five Guys ("The Hamburger Store!!!") he was game, dancing around. We had a quick stop at the post office, and he managed to tell four different people that "I'm going to the HAMBURGER STORE WITH MY DADDY!!!"

On the way he mused "The hamburger store will be Wonderful!" He saw a block party in progress on the way and shouted out "Look! It's a CELEBRATION!" When we finally got there, he was dancing and charming the patrons, and exclaimed that "This place makes me hun-ga-ree". When the food actually came, he was more talk than action, but had a half dozen bites of his burger and around 20 fries.... which was good enough.

3) Pamela and I decided that it's probably better when I leave in the early AM - walking around all day knowing I'm leaving is just a bit tough.

4) On the way here, I drove behind a white Town Car with open back windows, and a small arm kept dangling a teddy bear out the window on the freeway. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel with tension.... I could only imagine what would have happened if Didda or Doggie the Dog were lost in transit.

Eventually I pulled alongside, and found the grownups paying no attention (very wasp-y), the kids not in boosters looking horribly bored... a lost cause. The teddy bear was a cry for help of some sort (not literally), but those issues will need to get worked out in therapy in years to come.

Time to get on the plane!

Boom Boom FirePower

I now know what that is: She saw it in a TRAILER for Night at the Museum 2. And there was some Darth in that. Now it makes sense.

Glad to know there isn't some bootleg starwars movie out there Bella has seen that I haven't.

Mercy Me

My apologies to those of you for whom this is a regular source of Jimmy News - things were busy this past week, so I'm trying to catch up.

The Week At Work was good - My client has nicknamed me "Columbo" for rooting out the actual core issues that were supposed to have been found by my predecessor... so now I'm planning how to fix the problems. On my original project, my "neat and tidy' solution once we got into it was almost a million dollars in software and hardware upgrades AND two new positions needed in HR for the new workflow. So I've got a good "Plan B" on the table that will cost a heckuva lot less and get the job done. They still like what I've pulled together, thankfully - the high price tag was the result of a number of Directors saying "sure!" and a bunch of Managers saying "but it'll be this much..." Disconnects like this are the whole reason I'm there, actually.

No good animal stories this week - it was a pretty heads down week, and the Canada Geese seem to have moved on someplace else. The giant snapping turtles (Gameras) have kept a low profile as well, no doubt because of all the tourists sent there by this incredibly influential blog.

It was a very busy weekend, of course. Friday was a lot of yard work, then we saw some old friends for dinner at the Chatterbox (which I still like, but am starting to think that the inept service is actually BY DESIGN, and not some sort of growing pains), then an evening of scotch tasting with my boys. It was an evening of strong, "different" tasting scotches - not much smoke and peat, but rather lots of fruit on the palate. We watched the French spy spoof "OSS 117" which I would recommend to just about anyone - it was delightfully wacky, while never dropping "character" - unlike Austin Powers, where Myers spends the movie mugging at the camera, these people really tried to make a pitch perfect 1960s spy movie, only a completely insane and daft one.

Saturday was the 4th, and Pamela got up at 6am to meet with some neighborhood gals, and they pushed the Scott Terrace Mobile Recreation Unit (MRU) down about a mile to the parade route. The MRU is a garishly recovered couch that we mounted on casters for mobility. Pushing it down the street over 10 blocks was definitely work. After the parade, I helped push it BACK. The parade was great as usual... it always seems like too many military vehicles - I mean this isn't Soviet MayDay here, plus those diesel antiques belch a lot of fumes. Isaac was somewhat controllable this year, though during gaps in the parade, he ran in wide circles around the middle of the street in sheer joy at being able to. The clouds and mild drizzle kept us cool and unburnt.

Playtime in the afternoon, with a comically interrupted nap (no fewer than 5 separate kid-based wakeups.... I did not get much rest). Then more friends over for a 4th of July grill, lots of kids playing in our back yard, many popsicles, and cheap fireworks on the driveway to the oohs and ahs of the assembled kids. It was a late night to bed.... And an early morning for me as my east coast system snapped awake at 6 and denied all attempts at a snooze button.

Coffee in the late AM with Grandma and Grandpa, and then Bella was whisked away to the Edina Pool with the neighbor kids, while Isaac and I tried again for naps. I got some sort of wakeful shuteye, and Isaac got a good recharge in. Zinsser was also quite the snoozer. Tonight we were over celebrating JeMae's birthday with the neighborhood, and the kids were again nowhere to be seen, playing complex games (with modified rules for the younguns like Isaac).

At bedtime, Isaac was shouting "Boom Boom FIREPOWER!" over and over. I asked Bella and she admitted and she and Jenny had taught him it. She said

"It's from Star Wars - there's this little guy inside of a self destruct and Darth Vader is trying to do a choking thing on him, but he's too small and inside the self destruct, and I think he says "Boom Boom Firepower" - but maybe not at that exact moment - maybe later"

Having watched Star Wars a few times myself, this particular scene wasn't known to me. I have no idea what she could be talking about. Changing the subject, she brought up the Battle of Hoth in Empire Strikes Back, with the "GIANT ROBOTS TRYING TO STEP ON PEOPLE". Then "if you like Star Wars, why don't you watch it more often?" Why indeed.

Finally a few details: Isaac is obsessed with Popsicles. It is the first thing he asks for in the morning, and he likes to march over to the fridge, throw open the door, stroke his chin, and say "hmmmmmm.... how about.... POPSICLES!!!" pointing triumphantly up at them. (We make fruit juice freezes, so it's not THAT bad).

Bella woke up today in a reflective mood and asked to look at her keepsake box. She flipped through early pictures, her school work, her art, and re-organized it all and put it away. She was in a very happy place reviewing her progress to this point.

And finally, since I've left the old job, I'm not on their Blackberry network, so there's really no purpose at all to me having a blackberry - they don't sync well with Macs, they aren't very cool. So I up and sold a bunch of old gear again (ipods and cellphones) and had enough to get the newest iPhone. And I'm in LOOOOVE. It's just great to have an iPhone again.

Hopefully South Jersey will have some good stories for me this week: I'm leaving Monday AFTERNOON for a long week, so send good energy to the homestead.

At the Zoo

While at the Zoo last weekend, we went into the wolf area. Isaac pointed to one of the big grey wolves, and called out:

"A WOLF!!! Will he try and trick us?"

A better week

The unreasonable pace of the past few weeks has slackened somewhat this week, with me actually getting to do things like get more than 5 hours of sleep some nights, and put my feet up in my hotel room. There's still a lot to do, of course, but it's doable without working TO DEATH. Not quite not-busy enough for me to sneak off to see Transformers 2, Electric Boogaloo, however.

I had a checkpoint on my "reboot" project with the sponsors, who are so far thrilled with the different direction I've taken the project and are appreciative of the things I am uncovering. On the OTHER project, there's a little lull while I marshall the troops to start planning action on my findings... but a few key people are out this week, so I can only plan.

I had a dinner out with people from the company I'm subbing through. The company is one I knew from my previous work, and I'm quite grateful to them for giving me a short term gig, and for their fast payment, which is unusual in the industry. We went to a cuban food place in downtown Philly called Mixto. As we walked through the neighborhood, I grew excited about the upcoming change from Jersey to Philly for me... this will be my stomping grounds. I will get to know Philly. Of the group, 3 had lived in Manhattan before, and all said Philly had more to offer them.

One of the gang is a doctor who, like me, is a subcontractor. Michael is an oncologist who is full of humorous yet grisly anecdotes, and every third story ends with "of course, he died." He has a farm, is quite wealthy, and told a great story about accompanying a friend to Peru to visit Machu Piccu a few years back. They started at the bottom, and Michael decided to forgo the 3 day hike. He went back to the hotel, and took a helicopter to meet his friend at the top 3 days later, fresh as a daisy. He's that kind of guy.

Today the sight of some geese outside our window (they took over where the Mister Softee truck had been.... but it's been cold and rainy for weeks and I haven't seen that ice cream truck since my first posting!) It launched into a story about Guinea Hens and a lonely turkey who was hatched with them and thinks he's a hen too. He waits at the base of the tree that they all roost in all night. Fortunately, that cute story did NOT end with "of course he's dead now."

Anyway, I had a cup of coffee with the owner of the company today, and he has offered me a position... and it's quite tempting. It addresses all of my concerns: You bill hourly and get a good cut of the proceeds (indeed, the percentage is the same as my OLD company took for Independents), health benefits, and additional percentages based on sales. So I could do nothing but bill and get about as good a deal as any sub firm would give me. But if I sell a little on the side, it's all upside. Plus, health insurance. He even said I could work my next year in Philly for them at the rate I negotiated with them, they'd take ZERO percent just to have me with them.

It's pretty tempting. I told him I was just getting out of a bad relationship and needed some time to think, and he said the offer's open anytime I want to take it. That's pretty cool. I could just keep doing side work too, if that's what I prefer.

Talked to the family today on iChat: Bella is still loving Sync, and learned how to flip underwater ("it's easy" she says, with a confident smirk). Isaac is Isaac, and I'm looking forward to more cuddles this weekend. Zinsser is being trained by Pamela and Bella, and he knows "Sit" and "Come" pretty well, and is learning how to walk on is leash. He's adorable and I love him.

We have a third kid - Jenny has been spending several days a week at our house while JeMae and Randy are at work. Having her around is a nice buffer - she plays with both Bella and Isaac, and offers some cushioning between the two, who left to their own devices would probably tear eachother from limb to limb some days.

I haven't been working out much on the road - things have just been too busy - but I found time this morning to give it a go. I did 2/3 of my BodyAttack class, and felt like I was going to flat out DIE. Time Out called today to ask if I could teach this weekend, and I had to decline - I'm not in good enough shape to do the workout, much less lead the class. It was a wakeup call, and I'll be getting back on the exercise stick soon. At least it hasn't hit my waistline yet - all pants still fit. I repeat, all pants still fit.

Well, a little more work left in the evening, so off to it!

Father's Day

It was a LONG week in South Jersey last week: Instead of my usual 4 day stint, I had to pull a full five due to important meetings Monday AND Friday. So when I rolled in on Friday Afternoon, I was VERY ready for a break with the family... and what family I got! PapaBam came up from Palatine with niece Lilli in tow on Wednesday and had been keeping Isaac and Bella more than busy... The weekend itself was busy and fun: Saturday was Swimming with Isaac, then the Zoo, then naptime, then Swimming at the Edina Pool... then ZZZZzzzzzz. Sunday was a lazy start to the day, some walking around and wrassling, a good heavy lunch from FiveGuys (burgers and fries - what every dad needs), and more naps. In the evening after the Chicago gang went off home, I cuddled up with the kids and watched my favorite movie - The Incredibles. Isaac only engaged during the Super scenes, jumping around and shouting, and went off to play with blocks during the "drama". Bella and I loved the whole thing.

Just because I was home didn't mean I didn't have work, alas. As part of the "reboot" project to recover from the nightmare earlier in the week, I had a big spreadsheet and a presentation to build. I worked on both after bedtime on Sat and Sun nights - getting to bed after midnight each night. But I feel I got things where they needed to be, and will have a good week here, where I will hopefully not be spending quite as late of evenings as I did last week. But with the full days and working late, I feel like it was a bit of a "lost weekend!"

Kid Updates... Kid Updates.... Kid Updates.....
Bella has decided to try her hand at Synchronized Swimming: One of our friends is a "SynchroMom" and both of her daughters (who are friends of Bella) are involved, and with Bella being such a water bee, we asked if she'd like to try. YES she said without hesitation! Her first session was last Tuesday, and she didn't say much about it, but did want to go back.

Saturday swimming with Isaac was a big step: I didn't get in the pool with him this time - it's just him and two other kids listening to the teacher. They sit on the steps and learn how to be in the pool safely without mom and dad holding them. Next week, no swimsuit for me even - just a bystander! It was quite bittersweet for me: He's such an independent guy that in a way I liked having our swimming time for him to clutch to me, needing my support. He still likes a cuddle in the shower at least.

Today was apparently very hot in Edina, and the kids were pretty poky on the soccer field. Isaac had a special job to work the spray bottle and keep the girls cool. Or so I heard, since I'm in Jersey again! I got upgraded in my hotel to a bi-level two bedroom suite. Not really sure what to do with the space, so I'm moving from surface to surface every 10 minutes. Not getting the upgrades at Hertz though - got a tiny Toyota Yaris rollerskate today... but actually it's pretty cute.

Well, I'm a few hours down on my sleep, so I'm going to turn in and read another chapter of Pillars of the Earth, which I'm finally getting around to reading only around 20 years after it was released. I hear it'll be a miniseries soon, with Rufus Sewell as Tom the Builder.

Best of times, worst of times

Work, work, work. It has been over 3 weeks since I started this gig, and I had my first major touchpoint yesterday: I presented a powerpoint of my findings to date and initial recommendations to my boss and her boss. This is where my ability to "synthesize" multiple threads really came into play: The project is tracking 3 different technical threads across five different applications, with a core technology that people don't really understand.

To succeed in this presentation, I needed to teach about the underlying technology, THEN describe the 5 applications, THEN address each technical thread and how it crosses the five application areas. And more than that, I needed to describe why it's not working today, and how it SHOULD work. Heck, it's hard to write even generically. The core tech is the mark of the beast, the Barcode, of which I understand a great deal more today than I did 3 weeks ago. We're talking about how to scan patients and drugs to make sure the right drug is going to the right patient, then scanning the nurse to register WHO administered the dose.

This is good stuff: We want to get it right so that we can reduce medication errors and keep people healthy. But all of the interdependencies were breaking their brains, which is why I was brought in. So after 3 weeks of learning, listening, and synthesizing, I came up with my presentation.

It took 45 minutes, but by the end, everyone understood. The CIO actually said it was "the best presentation he'd seen" and was looking forward to re-reading it several times for further detail. That pretty much had me walking on air. And it was vitally important to establish that credibility, for today.

As I mentioned a post or two back, I've been dropped in to help a struggling colleague with his project. He's been working on his for over 8 weeks now, and frankly his scope was a lot more narrow than mine. His materials were almost incomprehensible - he had reams of information, but no structure. He couldn't talk to his findings, and he had to present to the same group I did yesterday.... today.

So I've been spending my evenings trying to whip his stuff into shape, and finally I was asked to lead the presentation as well, and let him offer details as needed. I did my best to assemble everything and make a coherent presentation, but I was worried - I felt like there was something very KEY missing from this, but couldn't figure out what.... and he wasn't able to help me figure it out either. Something just felt... wrong....

We did the presentation, and everyone was very polite.. but there were no followup questions whatsoever. And it hit me: We didn't answer the question they needed answered. We completely missed the point, and this guy had burned through tens of thousands of their dollars. As we walked out, the consultant patted me on the back, thanked me for helping, and said he thought it went very well. The pit in my stomach grew and I decided i needed to get some air. I visited the geese and turtles out back.

Long story short: The client was livid, the consultant will be done tomorrow, but didn't blame me. In fact, the only thing keeping them sane is that I agreed to parachute in, circle back and find the missing information. The next 4 weeks will be even BUSIER than before, but at least I bill hourly. The good thing is that I know what he missed, and I know I can get the info, and I already know all of the OTHER stuff he found out. I can pull this off.

But not tonight: I was at work until 7 recovering from this, had some dinner, and came "home" to watch a movie. Over the past 3 weeks I've got caught up on Joss Whedon's brilliant space-western Firefly, and tonight I watched Serenity, the "wrapup movie". I had seen Serenity a couple of years back without having watched Firefly and I thought it was only ok. But given the context of having watched all 14 episodes, the movie really was a capstone and a wonderful one at that.

Family: Started a new swim class with Isaac on Saturday - up to now, it has been me in the pool holding him for everything. This new level is to build independence, so they're to be more solo in the water (with the teacher). I'm still in the water, but they spend time on the steps, sitting on the edge, or floating without my help. It's a smaller class (3 kids), and the teacher actually thinks that by next week we might have the parents OUT of the water, encouraging from the sidelines. I'll have to get my wet Isaac cuddles some other way. Showers. Those are nice, and he loves for me to hold him for a cuddle in the shower.

We went to visit my dear nephew Magnus on Sunday, and I'm proud to say we brought THE CHAOS to Carrie's house: We brought Zinsser to meet Freddie the Boston Terrier and there was a lot of barking and chasing. Isaac loved "Baby Maggus" (can't quite get that "n" sound in there) and wanted to hold him a lot. Bella had a quiet fascination with the little man. And by the time we left, I could honestly say that Carrie and Scott felt that things were comparatively quiet... even with Magnus starting to squawk. Glad to help.

Oh, and one more surreal image: Last week, I was visiting the geese and turtles out back and saw what looked like a log sticking out of the water, around 15 feet out from the shore. Then a shell bobbed up - at least 2-3 feet in diameter ("big as a truck tire" said one other watcher). It was a HUGE snapping turtle with that sinister smirk they have, and he looked over at me. He stayed on the surface, and was bobbing up and down. I wasn't sure what was up with the bobbing, until a SECOND big head came out of the water from underneath. Yeah, I saw some hot hot giant snapping turtle love.

I'm telling you, South Jersey is bringing all KINDS of experiences.

More as it happens.

The Tetris Effect

Week three on the new gig - can it almost be half over already? I'm back at the first hotel again, in a much better room, and actually like it this time around. Not that I'm here that much - there's a lot of work to be done. ;-> But I'm appreciating the better location, and the great healthclub too.... while also trying to eat a bit better so I don't go all Jabba the Hutt.

One casualty of the travel is my fitness instruction: My Bodyattack Class was canceled just before the gig started due to low attendance, and I'm dropping my Bodypump teaching for a while too: Can't really justify that time away from the family right now: I can keep in shape while on the road, and not disappear for hours to teach or practice teaching. It has been a fun thing to do these past 9 months, but I have other priorities that need to take precedence. Sorry Les Mills.

On the home front: Bella finished Kindergarten on Friday - she's officially a "first grader". I think that the excitement wore us all out a little... plus Isaac has some molars cutting right now, so he's pretty ornery. The upshot is that while Saturday was the usual fun, Sunday was a very crabby day for the kids, and Pamela and I were completely at a loss as to what to do. Even TACO night wasn't able to break through it! Even good guy Zinsser was a bit peevish.... After everyone was off to bed, Pamela and I just stared at eachother in disbelief.

Fortunately, the tide turned somewhat yesterday, and Pamela hasn't been exactly besieged.... she's handling things pretty well and I'm grateful. Last night Bella played Soccer again, and she told me on the video chat this AM that she "actually kicked the ball this time". I'm so proud!

Ah the Video Chat - it's a valuable lifeline to home. It's no secret that while one huge driver for my career change was the rewarding work (and I really am loving it), it can't be denied that there was a financial element to it: Things really hadn't panned out as expected with the new sales role, and I needed to make a change. Well, last night I was doing some financial modeling to budget things out.... and did a model of what things would have looked like if I had stayed the course with the same revenues... It wasn't pretty. I sat back and took a look around my Residence Inn room and said "Yeah, this'll do. This will be ok."

Besides, I love South Jersey. I'm catching myself imitating the cadence of the speech patterns here... and am terrified that I'll come home and start sounding like mobster. A problem of having a "neutral" accent (since my MN accent isn't very strong) is that really strong accents are "contagious". "Do you want more coffee?" "Nah, we're good here. Tanks".

One more detail: Uncle Ant of the Scotch Avengers leaves today for a 5 day trip to Scotland - a first class ticket paid for (by miles) from another scotch aficionado who wanted to see what sort of tour Ant could whip up of the Isle of Islay. So we'll have some great stories I'm sure... We're all jealous!

Surreal Moments

I'm at the new gig in South Jersey again this week and have some odd occurrences to report:

1) The worksite here backs onto a small pond with a walkway around it. I was just out there collecting some thoughts and my eye was drawn down under the walkway: Floating in the water was a bunch of what looked like comic books... but on closer look appeared to be written in arabic. The cover of one had an eagle holding an AK47. Other books were below it... all getting waterlogged.

As I studied this, my eye tracked and saw a HUGE TURTLE - over a foot in diameter - sitting in the water just next to the texts. Guarding them?

I moseyed back inside.... and there haven't been any reports of global jihad breaking out in Gibbsboro New Jersey, so I'll just keep an eye on things. They're moving from that location in 2 weeks anyway.

2) Some may remember my brief career in the early 1990s doing arrangement work for lounge singers: I shorthand that as "i wrote Karaoke backing tracks", but in reality at the time, the true customer was single lounge singers with a single keyboard that could play "midi files".

Well tonight I saw the logical progression. As I had some VERY tasty Penne Arribiata at a restaurant recommended by my Italian boss, a lounge act came on stage. The lady was rail thin with hair teased to double her head circumference, and the guy had a non-ironic latin 'fro, a solid black sponge going down to a ponytail (I know - how did that WORK?).

The two of them sat with microphones on either side of a LAPTOP COMPUTER and a mixer. So they weren't even trying to pretend to play one of the parts, as my lounge singers felt obligated to back in the day. Better, when the lady was singing, the guy was playing with the knobs on the mixer, adding in reverb and delay to make her voice sound more exotic at certain points. When he was singing, she sat on her barstool and stared into space. It was a beautiful evening.

And it set me up with energy to do 4 more hours of work in the hotel room. See, in addition to my gig, there's another guy there who has a big deliverable and the other consultants have figured out he really isn't going to deliver much for the 400 hours he has billed, so they've asked ME to ghost write a bunch of his stuff (for pay, of course), so tonight I was reformatting and rewriting a bunch of reference documents. Good times.

3) Surreal moment number three wasn't really that deep: It was just me driving "home" to the ALoft hotel through some very industrial areas, with the sky just superblue with dusk, the lights just coming on, and wisps of orange and yellow clouds across the sky.

As I sat at a light, just ahead a freight train started across a bridge I was about to go under. Very slowly, pulling flatbed cars on which were stacked black metal boxes with the word "EPIC" stenciled on the sides. (Epic was the software we specialized in implementing at my last job... not touching it right now).

I drove under the bridge and on the left was a scrap yard, and as I glanced, TWO cranes literally FLUNG clawfuls of metal onto a small mountain. They wound back, swung forward, and released the gleaming metal. Then I drove up a 30 degree incline to a bridge into the sky (over a waterway).... then down to the hotel.

I'm telling you, it was a very peaceful and strange few minutes.

And that's my story for the evening. Night night.

Bella Quote

"I don't want to be popular. It is better to be rare."

(Bella, last night in bed to Pamela)

No comment - I love that girl.

Jersey

First week of the interim gig - and while I did fly into Philly, My trip took me 15 miles due east to the wonders of South Jersey. Here's what I gotta say:

1) So far, there are a LOT of people who do in fact talk like and look like The Sopranos. I was in a hoagie place today, while a total Bobby Bacala got into an argument with one of the sandwich guys about the health merits of sushi - "it's got oils that is good for your heart, which is very important when you're a fat guy like ME!!!" "eh - only way youse supposed to eat fish is if it's COOKED. Can't COOKED fish be good for your heart too?" Large man gives a dismissive wave and walks out with a large turkey hoagie.

2) The work I'm expected to do in the next 6 weeks is pretty fun, but it's sort of like lying on your back looking up at the sky on a cloudless night. Your eyes see the stars. And then as they adjust, you realize there are a whole LOT more stars behind those bright ones that you were looking at. And then you notice that milky band of the galaxy. The scope appears to be exploding, but then I'm also seeing areas where I can identify it, contain it, and carve it off. And I just need to remind myself - my job is to actually figure out the size of the project, then recommend how to get it done, not actually DO it.

Because by then, I'll be safely in Philly.

3) I picked a hotel that I'm alternately liking and hating. It's not quiet, it smells a bit damp, and it's located off of a breakneck turnoff of a highway, and to get anywhere I need to merge into fast traffic and make a U-Turn. BUT, instead of a tiny workout room, there's a full health club across the street which is pretty nice. Next week I'm trying a different place...

Oh, and the internet connection is terrible at this hotel. Which is why I can't iChat with my family here.

4) iChat is wonderful and will be the key to sanity as I travel: I've enjoyed checking in with the brood every day from the workplace. I can't wait to see them tomorrow!

I forgot my power cord at the client site, so I've only got a little juice left - so no more big updates... but I'll try to update at least every other day from the road going forward. Keep the lifeline going!

A beautiful weekend...

The trial is over, I have work, I love my dog, and I've got a new nephew - Magnus! Dear sister Carrie has gone and had a healthy baby boy with her fiancee Scott, and the little titan is named for great destiny. We met him this weekend, and he played the part of helpless baby VERY WELL - we suspected nothing. Carrie and Scott are in great spirits, updating the Facebook with pictures and whatnot.

It'll be fun to have yet another Boy Cousin in the family. And cousin Tiffany also had a boy this past week too (Clyde) - so Bella remains queen bee of that side of the family (the one other girl in the preteen age group, Areaya, rarely comes from Delaware so we call Bella queen bee by default)

I'm charging my batteries preparing for my trip to South Jersey this week - I expect it'll be both feet in the water right away - as it should be. I broke the news to Bella and Isaac today, and they got a little misty, but then it devolved into a wrassling match, so all is forgiven. I'll need to be VERY present when I'm here for them.

Isaac had some brainstorms this week, and has had to have a lot of timeouts: Very willful ignoring of us, headstrong marching in the opposite direction, and my favorite is on the third call for him to do something he stops, cups his ear and says "what? what did you say? WHAT?" Cute, yes, but we do want to put him in Zinsser's kennel sometimes.

Today he had a silver robot in his bed for naptime (yes, a Cylon, but the 70's model) and he did both sides of this conversation:

Isaac: Hi Mister Robot!
Robot: HI
Isaac: Say "Hello" Robot!
Robot: HELLO
Isaac: Say "Hello" Robot!
Robot: HELLO. OK ALL DONE. DON'T WANT TO DO THAT ANYMORE.
Isaac: Ok, Robot.
Robot: I AM SO HAPPY. I WANT TO GO INTO OUTER SPACE
Isaac: Ok Robot, let's go into space together!
Robot: 3-2-1 BLAST... NO WAIT. 5-4-3-2-1 BLASTOFF! HERE WE GO!

When he was doing the robot voice, it was monotone and robotic sounding.

During Isaac's naptime, Bella and I snuck off to see Monsters vs Aliens in 3D. It was wonderful stuff - not too heavy, very amusing. And a lot less potty humor than some Dreamworks properties. And Ginormica was fantastic.

Tonight, our neighbors (who have Wyatt, who is just a little older than Isaac) had us over: Ryan had roasted some whole chickens and whipped up some homemade BBQ sauce for sandwiches. I made tacos for the kids, and only lost 3 of them when I walked smack into a screen door. No I had not been drinking. Thank you for your support. The kids all played well, Zinsser was in the middle of it all too.

Finally, little Zinsser update: He's still adorable, and getting a bit bigger every day. He's been kinder to us at night - last night he went 7 hours without barking OR messing his kennel. Of course earlier in the day, he messed in his kennel twice, so it's a wash. We finally got a small wire pen for the yard which is his "poo and pee place", and so far it's working pretty well. We'll see tonight.

I still love that dog, and he is finally warming to the rest of the family: He's really attaching to Bella well - to the point that he will stay on her lap if I'm in the room. And it thrills Bella's heart every day to have a dog. In fact the other night as she was falling asleep, she said "it's just like a dream, having a dog... only better".

Puppy Papa

I love this dog, and this dog loves me. We've spent a lot of time together these past days, especially with Bella at school, Isaac up and about (but with a good nap in the day), and Pamela downtown attending the trial... yes it's been Jimmy and Zinsser in the house, and the dog stalks me at every moment. And I love it.

It's been very hot these past two days, and while I do have the AC on (yes, 90 degrees is pushing it), having a dog on your chest at all times is not the most refreshing thing. I can tell by the way he's panting that it's a bit warm for him too, so I move him off, and he climbs back on... the things he does for love.

On to other things:

The trial is now in the jury's hands, and Pamela spent most of the day with the family waiting for a verdict, which hadn't come by 8pm when they all went home. Hopefully by 9am tomorrow they'll have their verdict.

I'm not getting any more of a vacation this summer: One of my contacts in the business found out I have 6 weeks before starting my next gig and decided to put me to work for them doing strategic planning work. I'll be headed out to Philly/South Jersey on Tuesday to start the work.

It's actually fun work: I'll be figuring out the overall strategy a new hospital will be using for identification: Patients, Staff, Physicians - how do we know who a person is - for security, for access, for patient safety. I do the strategy and get the docs and management to sign off on it, then we hand off the project to someone else to DO. It'll get my brain all warmed up for the new job in July!

And since my new work is in Philly too, it's possible I could do fill-in work out there ongoing, upping the hours.... I mean, if I'm out there, there's no reason not to be working.

This is going to be hard on the family - this travel - and I am prepared to work extra hard on the Friday/Weekend home stretches to make my time count. But as I've been watching things continue to devolve at the old place, this is the right thing for me to do. The sales pipeline is bone dry. Morale is rock bottom, and the knives are regularly being unsheathed and sharpened. While I'd love to have work locally, right now my unique skills are in need in a different city, and I can help actually make a difference. And when the TC market warms up next year, I can be here to help with even more great experience under my belt.

In the meantime, I'll have iChat to keep in touch, and the family has my dear friend Zinsser to keep them company.

Oh yes: Zinsser has been sleeping a bit better: Going for 3-4 hour stretches before yipping to be let out. And he's getting to know his crate and it's not QUITE the insult it seemed the first few nights. We're still working on his biological processes. Twice now, we've gone outside for potty breaks, sat out there for 10 minutes, and then he came back in to poop on the floor. But tonight I got him out there and waited it out...

So that it that!

The first night....

To add chaos on top of excitement, we had Jenny for a sleepover last night, as well as it being Zinsser's first night in our home. So the energy level meter was pretty much peaked all evening.

We had Zinsser in his crate for bedtime, but not before some long cuddles and a final potty break. He was NOT happy to be in that crate, and there was a lot of howling and whining... but we put his crate into bed with us, so he could look at us and hear our breathing... and that calmed him down.

Twice in the night, we heard him whine and bark with some "intent". 2am and 4:15am. He seemed pretty agitated, so we took it to mean "potty time"... anyone driving through the neighborhood would have found bleary eyed bathrobe people standing over a tiny puppy in our front yard.

But the end result: No pee or poo in his kennel... so far. We've heard that if the puppy keeps his kennel clean, he's easier to potty train, so we're encouraged.

This morning, Bella and Jenny woke up at 6 and wanted to get Zinsser... but he was still sleeping, so I put them off. At 6:15 Bella wanted me to know she REALLY wanted Zinsser. I told her to wait. At 6:30, Zinsser and Isaac both woke up, so the house got going. I made pancakes and bacon, and we took the little guy out for his morning potty break.

By 8, we had a houseful of neighbor kids who all wanted to meet the puppy. by 8:45 everyone was gone (including Jenny), and we were having some quiet time with the dog.

Pamela and Bella are headed off to Church in an hour, and I'm looking forward to my 2 hours with Zinsser too... ;->

Puppy Love

I've got a snoozing puppy across my belly as I type this... and I couldn't be happier. Ok, the details.

Zinsser is a Schnoodle, which is a well established poodle/schnauzer hybrid which is very good for allergies and doesn't shed. The breeder we used provided another schnoodle on our block - Otto - who is a year old and a handsome devil. As a breed, they're hypoallergenic, smart, and playful. Great with kids, and easy to train (though their poodle brains make them crafty)... he'll get to be around 15 lbs fully grown.

Bella has wanted a dog almost since birth, and we have promised for years that she could have one on her golden birthday (10/7/09), but who wants to train a dog in the fall with the cold weather? We decided that springtime is the right time for puppies, so we put our deposit down for a puppy.

About that deposit: The breeder we used has a great reputation and we're very happy with everything they've done... but it's not cheap. Fortunately, I did a bunch of e-baying recently, and my proceeds from Star Trek toys, Depeche Mode t-shirts, and old computer interfaces paid for the dog outright.

Anyway, Bella and Isaac were off at swimming with Grandma and Grandpa while we drove out to Isanti to pick up the little devil. We made it back before they did, so when Bella walked in, she got to meet the dog. She was very reserved with a nervous giggle and a big smile... and carried the dog like a ticking timebomb for a while... but by the end of the day she was palling around like a pro.

As to the name: Bella has heard Papa talk about "Zinsser" for years - especially whenever discussing painting projects - he's a big fan of proper wall preparation. Zinsser is a wall primer. But Bella liked the sound of the word, and Papa sure says it enough that she remembered it... and she decided that would be a good name for a dog. She's had that as her dog name for at least a year now... So when she met the puppy, she named him Zinsser right away... "Z" for short.

So just how hypoallergenic is he? I've had him up close to my face for much of the day, and haven't had even a tickle of allergies. I've had worse reactions to Merino wool. This little guy is ok with my body, which makes me very happy. Because for as much as Bella has wanted a dog, I confess to having wanted one pretty badly for the past year too, so I'm happy to have him in the house.

I do hear that the first night for a puppy in his kennel is a noisy affair, so I'm expecting a bad night of sleep... bring it on.

Meet Zinsser

Mister Zinsser (or "Z") is the newest member of the family. He's an 8 week old Schnauzer/Poodle mix (called a "Schnoodle". He's smart, sweet, and very cuddly.

He also loves climbing on my head.

Bella, as you can expect believes she has died and gone to heaven. Pamela and I decided to keep this a secret, so when she came home from swimming, she found a new friend.

PS

Two more things:
1) Watch for big news in our household tomorrow. BIG news.

2) I'm nursing a burnt tongue: I was served a PIPING HOT Creme Brulee this evening. I do not believe that is how they are meant to be served.

Latest Updates

Such a busy week - ups and downs for sure! Here's what we're tracking in Jimmy Central:

1) The trial was very tough on us this week: Pamela went most days, as did I, but I took off early to pick up Isaac, so Pamela wins the attendance award, except for Wednesday when a migraine flattened her for the entire day. The details are depressing and I alternate between feeling angry and sad at all parties... every moment is a reminder to treat our lives with care. There are a lot of broken people out there.

I'm not going to post any details - it'll all come out in the end. We ARE very frustrated with the press, however: They really think it's important to keep blaming the victim and question WHY Mark was in the neighborhood in the first place. IT DOESN'T MATTER. Even if it was for an unsavory reason, it doesn't mitigate or justify murder. So let it GO. At least one colleague has terminated his Star Trib subscription in protest.

2) In GOOD news, I now have solid confirmation on my next gig - I'll be headed east to do good work for a Pediatric Cardiology group, flexing my geek AND my management muscles. The guys I'll be working for/with are great and I can't wait to get started.

I'll begin right after the 4th of July holiday, so I'm actually taking a few weeks off, which has been handy while covering this Trial this week, but will also be needed as the kids finish school (Isaac was done this week, Bella in 2-3 more weeks) and I can engage in all sorts of summer fun with them. Of course, my name is in the hat for some short term work too, so I may be posting about heading to New Jersey for a quick gig, but in the meantime, we're planning on WEEKS of me hanging around.

3) After trying for 5 months, we're finally killing my 6am BodyAttack class. I never got more than 5-6 people to attend, and the break-even point is 8. There were many weeks where I was teaching to 2 or 3 people. I'm not sure why we never got the numbers up: People who did show, tended to come again so it's probably NOT me. probably.

I'm still planning to get up early and head to the studio to DO Bodyattack twice a week so that I stay in shape... (why? sprung wooden floor and high ceilings at the studio let me really run and jump instead of duck and crouch as I do in our basement....) At least until July when I will need to move to an entirely new routine...

4) There's a new burger place in town called Five Guys - it's a chain from DC, and it's incredible... I took Isaac there earlier this week and we split an order of fries, and each had a burger. Isaac has toyed with the concept of hamburgers in the past, but never really committed. FiveGuys has turned him into a convert, and he EATS the burger. I'm so proud. We went again today. Ooooof.

5) Yesterday, Bella said "Dad, I made you a card in class today". She handed me a folded piece of paper with a big red heart on the front. She's been writing us nice love notes, so I expected the same. I opened the card, and inside was a drawing of a tarantula and the word "BOO" written about 50 times. It was the best prank yet, and I was paralyzed with laughter. Bella was pretty proud of "getting me".

Earlier that day, I met her for lunch in her cafeteria, and was proud to be the "silly dad" who insisted on having a phone conversation with a banana. The entire table of kindergartners were rolling in the aisles. The best part was when I pulled out my phone and tried to eat it. That sent them to sheer bliss.

I have been rehearsing for "silly dad" for many years, and resolve to enjoy these moments BEFORE I am an abject embarrassment to my children... which will be quite soon I'm sure.

6) One more Bella thing: The other morning she leaped out of bed and ran downstairs, insisting she had something she NEEDED to draw. Minutes later, she had sketched a duck by a pond... but instead of the standard duck-in-profile, she was working on perspective, with the duck at a 3/4 turn, and the head facing the viewer. I didn't quite work (it looked like an italian wine sac with a clown face), but I was amazed that she had a vision of how the duck would look in that position and wanted to try to draw it. She really is very creative.

7) Wow. Seven things? Number seven is simply this: STAR TREK IS AMAZING. I've seen it twice, and it's like going to church. I haven't been this completely satisfied by a movie since The Matrix (which I saw 5 times in the theater). SEE THE MOVIE. You don't need to be a Trekker to enjoy it. The Onion had it right.

A hard day...

Today was the beginning of the trial for the second suspect in Mark's murder back in Sept 2007. Jury selection was last week, and today was the beginning of the proper trial, with opening arguments and the defendant in the courtroom. Of course I took off work and joined Pamela to be supportive on this first day... Samantha was due to testify later in the afternoon, so we wanted to make sure she saw a sea of friendly faces.

The opening arguments were interesting in that the prosecution acknowledged that the evidence is based on statements by the defendant and informers and no physical evidence... and the defense telegraphing that everyone who passed on that information are liars and cheats. The defense was all over the map, kind of trying to paint the defendant as pulling his life together, a family man, a musician, and a patsy victim of others who would see him fall.

Forgetting for a moment that the defendant has a prior assault convictions where he beat someone in the head with a metal bar just as Mark had done to him. Otherwise, I'm sure a nice fellow.

We heard testimony from both the veteran cop and the rookie who were first on the scene, and from a member of the forensics team (brief aside: The forensics guy had a distinguished east-indian look with a shock of white hair, and when he opened his mouth, the nasal and slightly effeminate northern Minnesota accent was shockingly mismatched with his look... It was bracingly distracting).

During testimony, we were shown pictures of Mark lying in the yard next to his bike which were both shocking and strangely comforting - to finally see him in his final resting place - it made it feel strangely real. Of course, this affected us all pretty deeply, and the judge paused the proceedings to let us know that overt emotion in the gallery could be seen as an attempt to influence the jury, and could lead to a mistrial, so we need to keep that in check. RIGHT.

Sam's testimony came later in the day, and it was hard to watch: She was just delivering a chronology of the evening... and the hardest thing to watch was her explaining that at 1:30 when she awoke and didn't find Mark in bed (but Eve was), how she assumed he was on the couch downstairs... And how she figured out he was gone in the AM, but needed to get the kids off to school without alarming them.

I must say that in the past year, Isaac has been the kind of kid who wants to be in bed with you, and once there is NOT a good neighbor. I have fled to the couch more than once, as has Pamela. I can completely understand waking up with a kid in bed but not your spouse and not really wondering what the problem is.

Sam made it through with just a few breaks to collect herself, and the cross-examination was mercifully short - I think that no matter what your defensive strategy is, it scores no points with a jury to belittle or harass a grieving widow.

On our way out, there were TV cameras set up, but we weren't approached for comment. All the same, I was apparently on several news channels this evening.

As the trial goes this week, Pamela and I will be there as we can to support Sam and the family... It'll be good to have this closure.

Tech Support

This weekend, I helped three people with computer stuff:

Two people got new computers and needed their old stuff transferred across. One was moving from a 6 year old PC to a new Laptop. The other was from a 4 year old PC to another desktop, plus a new printer/scan/copier. In the end, I spent over 8 hours of my weekend doing this work - and one is for money (yay), the other for babysitting time (YAY!!!!). It's actually pretty fun work for me but there are... frustrations...

Mostly it's in accessing/finding the right data in the old system to move: Stuff in 2004 was put in different places than they do now, so I need to get creative - lots of sleuthing. Also, the older systems have slower communications ports, so I spend a LOT of time waiting for data to copy over.

Then there's the "remove all of the crap" stage: PC vendors love to load up their machines with trial versions of software which pop up right and left with reminders to try and buy. It is my personal vendetta to eliminate all of these useless things and get them a working system right out of the gate.

All told, I wound up 98% successful: Turns out that one old program simply will NOT move to the new system and my client needs to shell out for an upgrade, which'll cost her over $700... and we're still trying to configure her email so that her contacts will show up (and I know they're in there....).

And I actually sort of enjoyed working with the new Windows machines - Vista isn't THAT bad, and the new computers were pretty snappy and responsive. The frustrations were with the older machines in both cases... but as I was in there moving things, realizing that the underpinnings are pretty much the same, I realized - I can enjoy Vista, but it's still Windows... it's still going to bite me someday. Still, I can't argue that there's some value: The laptop was under $700. The new CPU was $450. You just can't buy Macs for that price.

My third tech support call for the weekend was from the neighbor with a Mac: All of his pictures had disappeared, his backups weren't running, and a launch icon was missing. I had it fixed in 10 minutes and was home to tuck Bella in for bed.

I do love me some Macintosh... They may be a bit more expensive, but you save a lot of time.

Media

1) No sooner do I post my "poor communication skills" diatribe, but then Fringe went and did me proud: Scientist who knows a lot says "I'll tell you what I know, but first you must help me do X"... nobody's sure if we can trust him, he's trickling out little bits, and then things turn and the scientist dies before he can tell what he knows.

Classic poor communication setup, right? WRONG - he left behind a videotape where he says "I promised to tell, and if you're seeing this I must be dead, but a deal is a deal". It was great.

2) I've been watching Tropic Thunder again: This time with the actor's commentary track turned on: Yes, Robert Downey Jr does the entire commentary track as Kirk Lazarus in character, with that deep 70's blacksploitation rumble. And poor Ben Stiller and Jack Black just can barely keep up. A highlight is Jack Black getting an In-n-Out 4X4 to the recording studio.

3) Ooooooh Dollhouse, you are living up to your potential. This was a good show this week. DARK.

4) Heroes knocked it outta the park with a great finale this week too.

And that's the media update.

Quick Update

Today was a swimming day with Isaac, and he's really becoming part fish - he loves to dunk his head under water and keep it there for a count of 5. After swimming, he insisted that we stop at a playground to look for "Some kids, some BIG kids" to play with. We parked and he marched to the playground exclaiming "Playground, HERE I COME!" Alas, there were no kids there, but there was a group of middle-tweeners playing softball across the park, so he ran off that direction shouting "KIDS!!! KIDS!!!!"

That guy just loves people.

In the meantime, we're working on big sister management strategies: The more Isaac does cute stuff, we get the uncomfortable "bella echoes the behavior" for attention. We're finding we need to give her big girl jobs - a LOT of them - to keep her busy and getting positive attention. Now if only she had something to take care of... a pet... hmm... Watch this space.

Work: Well, since the last update and now, I had a plan that was supported by my managers, but it got shot down by HR... but then they came up with a different plan which appears to be acceptable to HR. I'm going to digress here - I simply don't like HR departments in general: My main interactions with them have been them not hiring people I wanted them to hire, not firing people I wanted them to fire, and hiring and firing people I didn't want them to hire or fire. Oh, and periodically making my benefits slightly worse. They truly are well represented by the Catbert character in Dilbert - a more malevolent department does not exist in any organization.

If you are a member of the HR world (or as my employer puts it: "Human Capital"), feel free to defend yourself in the comments. And on a personal level, I have known many NICE HR people. But as a collective group - the worst bureaucratic nightmare organization possible.

Anyway, digression over. The SF gig may not happen - one of the people who interviewed me decided that in the process of telling me about it, it sounded so cool he decided HE wants to take the job. Plus, in a miscommunication of legenday proportions, it was the wrong San: Diego, not Francisco. That is very different. So that one's on the lower tier of possibility. But something new in Seattle popped up... lots of plates spinning and the vortex of potential is swirling.

Now it's time to get caught up on Dollhouse!!!

Sarasota

From Minne-sota to Sara-sota. Why am I here? While at our trade show, we held a drawing for an Amazon Kindle2, and I got to deliver it! Of course it's for a customer who doesn't use any of the software we implement, nor do they use many consultants, but hey, it was a random drawing, and he won fair and square, so why not go out and see what they're up to?

My scotch avengers had just been talking about "when in a foreign land, look for rare bottles", and an internet search brought up an interesting restaurant/bottle shop on Longboat Key, advertising "Best rare single malt selection in Sarasota!". I needed some lunch, so off I went. The food was passable (gaspacho), the decor was mid-eighties Miami-vice style, but I was sitting outdoors and a breeze was blowing, so I didn't care all that much. The scotch selection was hilariously bad, however, which doesn't bode well for the rest of Sarasota, alas. We're talking 5 bottles: Macallan 12, Glenlivet 12, and Glenfiddich who-cares, Bowmore 18, and Talisker 10. Nothing to write home about, and I think that their internet bragging rights should be removed. Not that it would make much difference, all 5 bottles were covered with a thick layer of dust, so I suspect that even IF they were the best in town, there's just not a market.

Went to my meeting, which was pleasant enough. Confirmed we're not really a vendor match, but he was appreciative of the Kindle. I actually spent more time talking him through the features of the kindle than pitching the company... But who knows - something COULD happen - we did have a nice visit.

Then I called an old co-worker Nick who lives out this direction only to find that he's on a job in Connecticut, but he recommended a restaurant for soft shell crab (which I don't like, but I figure they'd have something I WOULD like), and gave me what seemed like clear directions. I just headed up Longboat key.

On the way, I stopped at a Marine Aquarium and met some Rays, Sharks, Octopi, and assorted fishies. But the COOL things were in separate buildings: First, a Seabird Hospital and Sanctuary. Egrets and Pelicans with broken wings are hard enough to look at, but for some reason, there were a LOT of sandhill cranes with prosthetic feet. Many of the birds didn't appear to have anything wrong - perhaps healed, perhaps just resting. A pen with 5 giant owls was quite startling - they all turned and looked at me at once. As sad as it is to see animals hurt, it was also incredibly heartwarming to think that people are giving their time and effort to help these animals and give them shelter and another chance. I left the hospital feeling hopeful for them, and for us.

Over to the Marine Mammal sanctuary: Some dolphins (not for show, they're healing!), lots of giant turtles (close enough to touch, but don't!!! they have powerful jaws!!!) And a manatee in a big pen swimming around: Manatees look like a child's drawing of an animal more than a real animal. They're all lumpy, and the tail seems added on, and the eye looks for all the world like a dot from a magic marker. They're like lumpy clay whale/seals. But they also seem pretty nice.

I enjoyed my time with the sea creatures. And that led to a powerful hunger... though not really for seafood.

I kept on the road, imagining that I'd hit the end of the road and the restaurant would be self evident, just as the Bubble Room really can't be missed on Captiva. "Just go til the road ends, and there it is". After 10 miles and two islands past Longboat Key, I figured out I had missed it. I pulled into a shack by the side of the road with a compelling skeleton sign called "Mister Bones BBQ". Turns out, it was delicious. I ate a full rack of ribs, waddled back to my car, and headed back to my hotel.

Now I'm working on "what comes next" in my career: I got a call this afternoon for a possible fun gig, which seems like a more major commitment than my other one... this is managing the building of an entirely new hospital... in the SF Bay area. Need to find out more (have a call in the AM), but it sounds like a great challenge.... Plus I have friends out there - first Yoshi moved there to work for Pixar, and my buddy Paul looks to have a new position at another Bay Area concern (which if you can believe it is actually as cool as Pixar, if not more so... but I can't reveal it yet). Plus the existing superfriends. So there'd be a lot of fun out there. I'd have to budget for a LOT of trips with the kids and Pamela - especially in the colder months...

The next few weeks will definitely tell more about what will happen: There are great possibilities, and the amazing successes of Paul and Yoshi just tells me that while there is a lot of upsetting energy out there, there is also some positive disruption happening, and I need to ride the wave.

I'll be home Wed afternoon... and we'll see what the rest of the week brings!

Not to be believed

When Pamela went on Oprah a couple of weeks back, she self-identified as "Dr Mehmet Oz's biggest fan" and got to sit on Oprah's couch with her Dr Oz action figure (sans Oprah, alas). The talent wrangler gave Pamela her card and asked her to write for tickets to Dr Oz's new show coming in the fall.

So Pamela did write last night, and by this morning, the coordinator had written back: Dr Oz will be on Oprah THIS THURSDAY - does Pamela want to go? A quick set of calls to arrange things, and yes, she's definitely going, and this time bringing her mom.

I'll be superdad with the kids from Wed night to Friday lunchtime. And Pamela will have been in the Oprah audience twice in a month. WOW.

In my own world, I'm still waiting for the stars to align for my next gig, but am growing more and more amused at how things are turning at my work: Today the new "big boss" decided that the way to penetrate into more clients is... wait for it... to hire a telemarketing firm to do the initial calls, and set up meetings for us.

I actually can't imagine that working... not in a relationship-based business like this. In fact I could see it backfiring in a massive way. But I'm not the big boss guy. I'm just a guy who is biding his time waiting for the next thing. Nothing to see here. No siree.

Crazy Neighborhood Living

Spring has sprung SO HARD: For the third day in a row, the whole neighborhood has been parked out on a neighbor's yard with kids running around and adults shooting the breeze with a beer or two. It's especially fun now with Isaac, who is capable of holding his own with most of the bigger kids, and is in the middle of the action.

He actually does so well, that Colin, one of the neighbor kids who is TEN asked for a playdate with Isaac yesterday. They spent an hour in their backyard (with Colin's mom) playing happily.

Today we rolled out the Mobile Relaxation Unit - the couch that Jenny's parents donated to the cause which Pamela and Papa extensively redecorated with brightly colored remnants. We carried it out the front door, set it down, and rolled it across the street and down the block on its casters. The neighborhood kids were all screaming with excitement to see this grey, pink, silver, and zebra striped couch rolling down the middle of the street. We were going to bring it home tonight, but the fact is tomorrow will be another party (and we'll be grilling!), so we left it over there.

Bella and Isaac are hitting growth spurts now, and have both outgrown their shoes. Bella has these big paddlefeet (when Kaitie handed her to us in the hospital 6 1/2 years ago, she actually apologized "I can see she got my feet!") so we can't just do the neighborhood shoe hand-down. We went to Schuler Shoes, a local institution and got her properly fitted with a couple of pairs of New Balances which have the room she needs. One of the pairs has robots and blinking lights on it, the other is silver with bright yellow details (Yellow is coming up in the rankings of favorite colors these days). Isaac also busted out of his latest pair, and so we got him a couple of fresh shoes on sale.

Of course, nothing is FAST in a small shoe store, so Isaac and Bella were running around like MANIACS which exhausted us. Isaac walked behind a rack of sportswear, and pushed his way through, pausing to declare "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!" as though he had just emerged from the curtain on stage. I almost fell out of my chair. What a ham.

As to work: I have one solid offer to start in July, one potential to start in 2 weeks, one fell through already, and one just arose today from a new source which I should find out more about tomorrow. So parachute or not, I think things are looking pretty good. On the parachute front, there's resistance at the management level, as noted elsewhere... but then our April forecasts aren't looking so good and we have an "emergency circle the wagons" meeting tomorrow. We'll just see.

Poor communication skills as plot device

I've grown in awareness when I'm watching or reading something of the prevalence of the unfinished sentence as a major plot device which simply wouldn't work in real life. This was used to horrible effect in the old X-Files, where if Mulder would simply finish a sentence, or add in a single detail when explaining something to Scully, she would have had enough information to actually HELP him sometimes.

Hypothetical example:
Agent 1 and Agent 2 are leaving from Spybase Alpha to infiltrate the underwater lair of Dr Devious.
Agent 1: How are we going to get in?
Agent 2: I'll go first and let you in.
Agent 1: How will you get past them?
Agent 2: I have a plan.

Flash forward - Agent 2 is seriously behind schedule, Agent 1 panics, stumbles into some guards, is taken prisoner, and is being brought before Dr Devious. In a nick of time Agent 2 pops out of a pool of water and saves Agent 1 "didn't I tell you, I can breathe underwater?"

If Agent 2 had just TOLD AGENT 1 his plan was to swim under the whole damn island because he has GILLS, Agent 1 could have sat back and worked with that. But NO. Agent 2 didn't reveal the plan. And it's not like they didn't have a good few hours in the SpyJet, just the two of them, flying to Dr Devious' island. What else did they talk about? American Idol???

This may seem extreme, but for god's sake, it's used on a weekly basis on just about every one of my favorite shows. (And of course in those Maximum Ride books: Anyone: "Max, let me tell you some useful information" Max: "WHATEVER!!!" )

And when they do it, I want to scream because it is just LAZY WRITING. Even well written shows like Fringe are guilty - The cellphone conversation where if they just added ONE MORE SENTENCE to the conversation prior to hanging up, things would turn out differently. Like "I'm at the corner of Dunn and Bradstreet", or "I think that my wound is growing more infected", or "He's acting strangely". Things that I imagine you or I would probably add in.

So writers, and I know there are so many of you reading this, please please please, if you catch yourself withholding information to further the plot, that's ok. But then at least be realistic with how people who HAVE the information would USE that information. In a life threatening or strategic situation, a person sitting on a key bit of info and somehow NOT revealing it during the entire course of a transatlantic flight, or just before a firefight is just absurd.

At least let the person either NOT have an opportunity to be sharing the info (IE - don't have them talking in 90% detail about something but then trailing off "there's more.... but we don't have time"), or let them actually share the info WITH their people, but not US, so we can all be pleasantly surprised by the entire SWAT team crashing through the wall taking out the Vegan Terrorists because the whole group was working with the best possible information.

We as viewers can still be surprised.
And I'll be a lot less frustrated.

So far...

Two days home, and it's good to be here. Tiring, too!

Last night Isaac was bursting with wild energy, leaping from chair to couch to floor announcing that he's "SUPAMAN!!!" He took a good hour to wind down in bed, and then decided to get up around 3 to talk, sing, babble, and demand my company. I crashed on his floor a while, then brought him into bed with us. Funny thing, Isaac harasses ME in bed but leaves Pamela alone. If I'm on my back or facing him, he's happy, but noisy, which makes it hard to sleep. If I roll over and face the other way, he kicks me, tousles my hair, pokes my back, etc etc. He just can't keep his hands off of me.

By 4:30 I had enough, got up and went to the workout - not teaching, just using the studio to practice my aerobics routine. It's been over 2 weeks since I last taught and I needed to a) remember everything, and b) make sure I could do the full hour without dying. PASSED on both counts. Got home with fresh bread from Breadsmith and caught 45 min on the sofa before the upstairs woke up.

At work today, it was supposed to be "D-Day": My boss had made the case for me to be laid off based on a few factors, and his boss was going to check in with me today. Well, we had the meeting, and I blew it. I actually was myself, and he decided that I had skills and energy and he didn't want to let me go. So I'm going to probably have to forgo the severance and just move on. SIGH. It was a long shot anyway, but at least I tried. This might not be "the end" yet, as my bosses might just decide to act in my favor... things move in mysterious ways.

I came home a little dejected, to find the entire neighborhood in Jenny's front yard: The kids were all running around playing, and the parents were all kicking back in lawn chairs with sunglasses. We were kicking off SPRINGTIME in a proper way. 3 hours later, the kids were filthy, we all had full bellies from Famous Dave's (someone bravely went out to get takeout for us), and the stresses of the day had melted away.

We threw the kids into the tub to soak and it was off to bed for them. And I'm debating whether to catch Fringe tonight, or wait until tomorrow... hmmm....

Home and Safe AGAIN

After 10 days away, I'm finally back in my own home, sitting on my couch in front of the fireplace, enjoying a decaf. The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind - from the trip to Portland, to the secret Eastern city, to Chicago for the Trade Show of DOOM, to Palatine for more family fun and Easter... and finally home today.

Some highlights of Chicago/Palatine: On Friday, we went to the train station and caught the Metra and went 5 stops toward Chicago to Des Plaines, to lunch at the ChooChoo restaurant. Isaac and Bella were both wearing striped overalls and loved the train experience. The ChooChoo was opened in 1951 - a malt and burger joint where the food is sent from the kitchen around the bar on a model train. It's delightful, and the joint was packed. The kids were enthralled and got excited every time that train came out. It was like magic. Sadly the town of Des Plaines figures that spot might be better used for parking, so there's an online petition to save this place at www.savethechoochoo.com


Jimmy to the Rescue: I'd been hearing from Bam that her iMac was starting to act funny. The list of symptoms were alarming, and I was happy that at our last visit in November I had the presence of mind to set up a backup disk for them. When I arrived on Wednesday, I ran over to it, confirmed that there WERE backups, and took one more just for good measure. When it went to sleep after backing up, it was to be its final shutdown. It never woke again... perhaps it knew that things would be OK now that the geek with glasses was there.

Bridget (Lilli's mom) is an Apple Store manager and had a line on an ex-demo iMac to replace it: Amazing machine, amazing price (my jaw dropped), so we went to get it and I spent the next couple of days bringing her data back from the dead, while pruning out years of ridiculous old downloads. By the end, we were back up and running with a fabulously huge 24" display. I love it when a technology story ends well.

Easter was our usual brunch with Grandma and the K-family at her retirement community. Very good food, good conversation, and both Bella and Isaac were pretty adventurous with the eating. About a pound of bacon each, probably.

The drive home started around 2, and we rolled in just before 9, having taken a leisurely dinner at a Pizza Hut in Mauston. The kids slept the first half of the trip, and we watched videos the second half. All was very very nice until about 10 minutes from home when screaming and squirming erupted. It was all hands on deck triage to get things down when we got in the door, and both kids zonked almost immediately.

And now I'm off to do the same.

Words to Live By

Bella, Isaac, and I were at a playground, and Bella spotted a sand volleyball court and wanted to play "in the big sandbox". She dropped to her knees and started digging in the sand to make a big wall. Now, it was around 50 degrees, dry, and windy. There wasn't going to be much of a wall made, and while I was all for running around and climbing on the playground equipment, I told her I didn't want to get my hands dirty.

She told me:
"Dad, when you're having fun: the dirtier you get, the more fun you're having. And you're not dirty AT ALL."

Fair enough. We did play a lot, but not enough for her: She went to bed sad that she didn't get to have enough fun outside. Thankfully, spring is still springing, and we'll have a lot more fun in the months to come. And we're going to have to get some hands dirty.

Re-CHARGE!!!

The mind numbing events of the past week seem so far away now, after a couple of great days with the family. The kids and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo yesterday and made friends with the big cats and the monkeys... while Pamela attended a taping of the Oprah Show!!! I don't think I'm breaking any nondisclosure agreements by telling you that Pamela did NOT attend a big giveaway taping, so no new cars or weeks at Miraval, alas.

We've been running around outside a lot, building forts, and giving a lot of airplane rides. The house has been full of giggles.

Thanks for the well wishes after the last update: It was a total "venting" post, I admit, but I needed to get it out! Things are moving forward on all of my "secret plans" so I'm feeling very positive now.

We're off to take the train for a family adventure this morning, so that's the short update!

Catch the Train

Well in the week since my last update... so much has happened. So much.

1) My secret meeting went extremely well, and I think there's a great opportunity out there. The catch is that for funding reasons it can't start until July, so I'm not sure exactly how to hold out until then. Perhaps I could get the old gang together and do some street corner busking.

But seriously - the job would be working in a clinical context again, doing large scale analysis and planning, working for cardiologists and geeks alike to build a new system. They were clear that it's a year to start, but could turn into multiple years... and they'd work with me on family friendly travel options (week on/week off, etc). It's for a children's facility too, so there's good karma in helping care for kids.

2) The trade conference has been an unmitigated disaster. We were asked to share booth space with our parent company which is in an entirely different line of business than us. So the whole booth looked like Company X, with just a little sign inside saying "Plus Company X Consulting". We were off the main drag, and had bad sight lines, and nobody knew we were there. And nobody would wander in looking for our services either, any more than you would go to a Ford dealership to purchase the new Stephen King thriller.

ADD to this that our parent company has been involved in some unpleasant litigation recently which has led (rightly or wrongly - I don't understand the lawsuits) to a general perception of our company is borderline unethical... and that's the name on my badge. As I schmoozed in receptions, I actually had several people physically recoil and walk away as they saw the name. REALLY.

So even though we all know I'm moving to some new thing, I did want to attend and do my real job well, since it is my job. But I was 100% stymied, and the end result is that I didn't have a SINGLE potential client interaction. It's mind blowing!!!

3) I did make some PERSONAL connections for my next potentials, however...

4) Allright I gotta vent - with a lot of time in the booth and not much traffic, I got to see our management team in action, and it wasn't pleasant. Our CEO showed up for 2 hours one of the days, and sat on a couch in the booth doing emails. Didn't say hello to the 10 people working, no pep talk, no personal connections whatsoever. The dominant narrative on this guy is "he's really smart, but not so good with people" - my revised narrative is "this guy is a total jerkwad". Sorry, but the job of CEO is to lead. To lead, you need to motivate people, not be a toad. It would have been better for him to have not shown up at all than this performance.

The layers below him were equally annoying. Booth rules are simple - walk around, engage customers, smile, don't eat, don't sit. Standard VP behavior in OUR booth? Sitting in circles, talking on phones sipping coffee, checking email, ignoring customers (the few that wandered in). It was embarrassing.

So to recap - terrible booth, bad location, uninspiring leadership, bad customer reaction to our brand... hmmmmm.... Remind me why I'm looking to move on again?

5) To rub salt in the wound of the week, the obligatory "team building exercises" for the week were just more depressing than anything. With the downward spiral in all other aspects of the company, our personal relationships are all fraying, and there's a breakdown in our willingness to tolerate eachother's quirks. So at the dinners, there were long silences, and a lot of "Whew, I'm beat - time to turn in!" Compared with years past where we all cut loose and had a great time... it just felt like one of those balloons with a slow leak.

AND SO:
I'm getting on a train to take me back up to Palatine to see the family, and I'm happy to have this week behind me. I thank you for letting me get this off my chest... I'm going to have 5 wonderful days up here surrounded with love which will bring me right back up to fighting strength!

Rat-a-Tat

On Saturday, Papabam came up to spend the week with us. Papa and Bella immediately went into project mode, and took over the dining room table with all sorts of little crafts. By Sunday, Bella was wearing a pair of eyeglasses made out of twigs and string, and there was a full size drawing of Isaac with butterfly wings on the floor. It's simply wonderful.

Sunday AM we went to the Arboretum for their annual pancake breakfast and maple syrup tour. We ate huge stacks of very good flapjacks and sausages, and even though the weather was brisk, we enjoyed touring the maple syrup fields... I was impressed with the latest technology: while they still use bags/buckets for some trees, they also run loooooong tubes down hills connecting a dozen trees in series, leading directly to the collection vat.

Our neighbors upgraded their couch, so we scrounged their old one and turned it into a "Mobile Recreation Unit" - we recovered it in scrap fabrics (fake fur, vinyl, animal print, flannel, it's frankly hideous in a good way) and bolted casters to the bottom. This beast will live in our garage and get wheeled out on nice days for hobnobbing on the sidewalk. We're going to carpe a lot of diems.

I'm in Portland today: We finally got a meeting with a client that I'd been desperately trying to get into for over a year. And when they made time, they MADE TIME: I got 90 minutes with them, including 30 minutes with their CIO, plus their director joined us for dinner as well. It was actually fabulous.

But more than the schmooze: When the CIO arrived, he had some very specific questions - how would we solve problem X? How would we design project team to do Y? For 30 min, it was a rapid fire conversation with just the two of us, and the rest of the people at the table sat back and tried to keep up. I gave him some free consulting, and he took copious notes. Enough to establish credibility, not enough to do the full job, of course. It's not like I read him the Colonel's secret spices recipe or anything. I got a good email back from him today thanking me for my time and looking forward to working more in the future.

I really liked yesterday because it didn't feel like sales. It felt like consulting: Talking about problems, and brainstorming solutions. And that just further cements my conviction - I need to be consulting again. And do I even need to mention that there's not a single other person in my company who could have answered his questions, nor is there anyone who could actually do the work I was describing that needs doing? Of course I don't. You know what I gotta do.

Dinner at the Heathman was divine, and I always love the fact that they have Ardbeg at the bar - long live the smoke! The Heathmans in Portland and Seattle are just such amazing places.

So shhhhhhh don't tell anyone but I'm not actually going home from Portland - I'm headed out to an east coast city to talk to another group about solutions - on my own behalf. I bought my own ticket, got my own hotel... and it's another "who could do this but me?" sort of gig. I'll be home Thursday and will probably have some news...

Then it's off to Chicago for the big HIMSS trade conference. Mucho schmoozo. But I'm still bringing my A-Game to the job I actually HAVE. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, doncha know.

Pamela, the kids, and Papabam will drive down to Palatine over the weekend and I'll meet up with them Wednesday for family fun time. We'll come back home after Easter. The kids get two whole weeks with their grandparents.