...is upon us again. Wow, where did the year go. It seems like just yesterday I was watching the fireworks over Paris on the television and ushering in the new millenium (well, not really, but don't be such a detail freak). It'll be nine years ago in a little over a month. Yikes. Have I been the change I want to see in my world?
I'm home this weekend. It wasn't planned, but it is appreciated. I love seeing my extended family, but for some reason, I've felt more strain than normal these last few months. Trying to balance work and family, the have-tos and the want-tos, and the rest of the dross of life takes more of a toll on me than it used to. Unplanned time to be home is a true luxury now.
The reason we're home is not a good one, though. Laura caughed one to many times on Friday morning and has fractured a rib. It's very painful - and she has a HIGH tolerance for pain (insert tasteless husband-bashing one-liner here...). She seems to be recovering, but it could be 6 weeks or more before she's back on top of things.
It's especially hard on her. She loves Thanksgiving and Black Friday and the annual lunch at the local greasy spoon. To not be able to go Friday was almost as painful as the fracture. She's a trooper, though. If she can get some sleep over the next three days, she'll feel much more like herself.
That leaves the rest of the tasks for me. I like them, frankly. I lived alone for 35 years - dishes and cooking and laundry are not foreign to me. They aren't a grind, yet. With my daughter at my side, we tackle the tasks with gusto (she'll undo what I do almost as fast as I do it). It's great bonding time.
Well, break's over. My hope is that somewhere in the business you find a few moments to reflect on the season. May the memories of Christmases past and the hope of the future cause you to stop, catch your breath and become the change you want to see in your world.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Happiest Place on Earth?
We're back from Walt Disney World - the pentultimate in marketing. I had a bit of a different experience this time, as I attended a conference while Laura, Abbye and my mother went to the parks.
For some reason, this trip found me much more critical of the Mouse than I have been in the past. Maybe it's the economy. Maybe it's the challenge of having a 15 month old child. Maybe it's because I "worked" all week. In any event, it wasn't quite the magic it's been on previous visits.
Not any surprise to you, dear reader, but Disney is expensive. Damned expensive. The mouse keeps you on sight and proceeds to lock you into a pricing scheme. Let me give credit where credit is due - if you're on a budget, you can pull off the trip, but you are VERY aware of what you've given up. There is a plan for every budget, but not every plan is equal, mind you. The killer for me was the $2.50 16 oz. sodas in the vending machines (which take your plastic...). For $12.95, you can mule around a mug that allows you to refill for free (it's a 12 oz. cup - another personal pet peeve).
We stayed at the Contemporary - err... an annex to the Contemporary hotel. It was nicely decorated and showed care, but:
For some reason, this trip found me much more critical of the Mouse than I have been in the past. Maybe it's the economy. Maybe it's the challenge of having a 15 month old child. Maybe it's because I "worked" all week. In any event, it wasn't quite the magic it's been on previous visits.
Not any surprise to you, dear reader, but Disney is expensive. Damned expensive. The mouse keeps you on sight and proceeds to lock you into a pricing scheme. Let me give credit where credit is due - if you're on a budget, you can pull off the trip, but you are VERY aware of what you've given up. There is a plan for every budget, but not every plan is equal, mind you. The killer for me was the $2.50 16 oz. sodas in the vending machines (which take your plastic...). For $12.95, you can mule around a mug that allows you to refill for free (it's a 12 oz. cup - another personal pet peeve).
We stayed at the Contemporary - err... an annex to the Contemporary hotel. It was nicely decorated and showed care, but:
- Towels were replaced as requested
- In a week, the beds were remade, but the sheets never changed
- All the lighitng was CFL/energy saving - translation: VERY DIM room
- The bathroom had beautiful dual sinks with no counterspace, fans on motion sensors and sliding doors with opaque glass
- There was a fold out sofa, but no seating area- I'd really prefer a table in the room
- The desk (mounted to the wall) was dominated by the Disney "in-room concierge" - a laptop and screen that pushed more Disney messages at you
- Unless you used the in-room concierge, internet access was $9.95 a day
- It was a 1o minute walk from the room to the lobby or conference facilties - outdoors
Ok, you say, but you were on the discounted conference room rate, right? Yes... but at $225 a night, I expected a bit more. I definitely wouldn't have paid $300 a night (the off-season "rack rate") to stay in this room.
Now, if I'd been here to do the park thing, well - I'd have had different expectations. But this is billed as the conference hotel. Having limited business traveller amenities definitely makes me question whether or not I want to attend another conference here.
Disney does so much right - I'm very disappointed that this felt so wrong.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Home from the Hospital
Ok, so it wasn't the ending to the weekend I'd planned. Not hardly. It was just supposed to be a birthday celebration for my sister-in-law with the rest of the family. Dinner, cake, gifts - you know the drill.
As we sat down to eat I was beginning to feel poorly. That "oh, geez, not the stomach flu" kind of feeling. "I'll take it easy, not eat too much and do my best to make it through to the end of the night." Or so I though.
My wife tells me that I become pretty lethargic through dinner. I wouldn't hold up my end of the conversation with my nephew. I didn't go back for a burger, the hot dog was sufficient. I was a little too quick to watch my daughter in the living room while others conversed in the kitchen. I'm sure, had things gone differently, we'd discuss this on the trip home.
Later into the evening, I returned from the bathroom and joined the family in the living room. I wasn't feeling great and was suddenly overcome with nausea. I told my wife it was time to pack up. She could see I wasn't feeling well by now. Deathly afraid of reviewing my day's dietary decisions in the living room, I got up quickly and headed for the bathroom. I almost made it. Almost.
I hit the floor right after crossing the threshold into the bathroom. Okay, I'm a home building guy - I use the lingo. I was down long enough for the rest of the family to investigate what had to be the sickening thud of my overweight frame landing without caution on the floor of the early 1900's home. My brother-in-law was there first.
I'll spare you some of the details - it wasn't my best moment. No cuts, bruises or gashes. No major damage to property. Left to my own devices, we'd have called it a night, gone home and I'd have crawled into bed after a shower and a Vernors.
Not with my wife, though. The paramedics (who called them?) were on the scene 2 minutes after the town policeman (yep, I said man, singular...). They checked my vitals. Offered me a ride to the hospital of my choice, within limits. "Nah, I'm fine". Not to be. They let me clean up a bit and then we were off.
I walked down the house steps to the gurney - just for the record.
The ride to the hospital was almost entertaining. 20 questions. I cracked jokes and asked questions. They didn't believe I wasn't in medicine ("you know the lingo..."). Sorry, just an engineer ("...figures"). This would be a quick, yet expensive trip to the ER. Better safe than sorry.
We're pulling into the hosptial. The EMS team is taking off the monitor leads. They want to get back, too...
"Hey, guys... how about putting me back on the equipment. It's happening again." Literally. As we're pulling in the parking lot. I'm blacking out. Wait, maybe this isn't what I thought it was.
The cool thing about passing out is that moment where all you want to do is sleep. You give up. It's like fighting general anesthesia. You know you're going to lose, so why fight it. Sleep sounds great. How come they keep asking me if I'm still with them. They won't let me sleep until I answer them. Hey - this defeats the purpose doesn't it?
I'd have given them grief about it, except everyone looked so serious. Once I was in the building and in a room, I began to wonder. They were cutting my shirt off (if you'd wait a second, i'll just slip it over my head. I kinda like this one...). I'm OK, just give me a minute to catch my breath.
I didn't have the 'life flash before my eyes' moment. I don't think I ever was close to that, frankly. I'm sure the ER staff is trained to look for the worst and de-escalate from there. I was a 38 year old who could be having the big one... I'm coming, Elizabeth...
Nope. Still here.
I'm sure glad.
Abbye needs her daddy. Laura needs her husband (most days). I still need to hang the drapes in Laura's office. And make the bed. And put away my clean clothes. Thank god I'd finshed the laundry.
Checkout time isn't 'til 11:00am and I'm making housekeeping wait. There's a lot in this world that needs fixing, and I can't do that anywhere else but here.
I could bore you for hours with the rest of the tale. I will, in subsequent posts, I guess. I learned a lot. Everything happens for a reason. I'm sure this did too. It's sufficient to say that after two days in the hospital (breaking a 35 year run of no overnight stays in the hospital...) I'm home. No heart trouble, no bleeding colon. No cancer, blood clots, diabetes (sorry to all of you who had that in the pool) or brain tumors.
Just me. Home with the family. A whole lot wiser, more humble, ready to take on the world. And really grateful.
As we sat down to eat I was beginning to feel poorly. That "oh, geez, not the stomach flu" kind of feeling. "I'll take it easy, not eat too much and do my best to make it through to the end of the night." Or so I though.
My wife tells me that I become pretty lethargic through dinner. I wouldn't hold up my end of the conversation with my nephew. I didn't go back for a burger, the hot dog was sufficient. I was a little too quick to watch my daughter in the living room while others conversed in the kitchen. I'm sure, had things gone differently, we'd discuss this on the trip home.
Later into the evening, I returned from the bathroom and joined the family in the living room. I wasn't feeling great and was suddenly overcome with nausea. I told my wife it was time to pack up. She could see I wasn't feeling well by now. Deathly afraid of reviewing my day's dietary decisions in the living room, I got up quickly and headed for the bathroom. I almost made it. Almost.
I hit the floor right after crossing the threshold into the bathroom. Okay, I'm a home building guy - I use the lingo. I was down long enough for the rest of the family to investigate what had to be the sickening thud of my overweight frame landing without caution on the floor of the early 1900's home. My brother-in-law was there first.
I'll spare you some of the details - it wasn't my best moment. No cuts, bruises or gashes. No major damage to property. Left to my own devices, we'd have called it a night, gone home and I'd have crawled into bed after a shower and a Vernors.
Not with my wife, though. The paramedics (who called them?) were on the scene 2 minutes after the town policeman (yep, I said man, singular...). They checked my vitals. Offered me a ride to the hospital of my choice, within limits. "Nah, I'm fine". Not to be. They let me clean up a bit and then we were off.
I walked down the house steps to the gurney - just for the record.
The ride to the hospital was almost entertaining. 20 questions. I cracked jokes and asked questions. They didn't believe I wasn't in medicine ("you know the lingo..."). Sorry, just an engineer ("...figures"). This would be a quick, yet expensive trip to the ER. Better safe than sorry.
We're pulling into the hosptial. The EMS team is taking off the monitor leads. They want to get back, too...
"Hey, guys... how about putting me back on the equipment. It's happening again." Literally. As we're pulling in the parking lot. I'm blacking out. Wait, maybe this isn't what I thought it was.
The cool thing about passing out is that moment where all you want to do is sleep. You give up. It's like fighting general anesthesia. You know you're going to lose, so why fight it. Sleep sounds great. How come they keep asking me if I'm still with them. They won't let me sleep until I answer them. Hey - this defeats the purpose doesn't it?
I'd have given them grief about it, except everyone looked so serious. Once I was in the building and in a room, I began to wonder. They were cutting my shirt off (if you'd wait a second, i'll just slip it over my head. I kinda like this one...). I'm OK, just give me a minute to catch my breath.
I didn't have the 'life flash before my eyes' moment. I don't think I ever was close to that, frankly. I'm sure the ER staff is trained to look for the worst and de-escalate from there. I was a 38 year old who could be having the big one... I'm coming, Elizabeth...
Nope. Still here.
I'm sure glad.
Abbye needs her daddy. Laura needs her husband (most days). I still need to hang the drapes in Laura's office. And make the bed. And put away my clean clothes. Thank god I'd finshed the laundry.
Checkout time isn't 'til 11:00am and I'm making housekeeping wait. There's a lot in this world that needs fixing, and I can't do that anywhere else but here.
I could bore you for hours with the rest of the tale. I will, in subsequent posts, I guess. I learned a lot. Everything happens for a reason. I'm sure this did too. It's sufficient to say that after two days in the hospital (breaking a 35 year run of no overnight stays in the hospital...) I'm home. No heart trouble, no bleeding colon. No cancer, blood clots, diabetes (sorry to all of you who had that in the pool) or brain tumors.
Just me. Home with the family. A whole lot wiser, more humble, ready to take on the world. And really grateful.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Random Ramblings
OK, so I'm finally biting the bullet and starting a blog. I'm not quite sure who'd waste some portion of their day reading my meaningless thoughts about nothing in particular (wow, this is starting to sound like the initial concept for Seinfeld). I am convinced though, that I could use the opprotunity to climb up on a soapbox now and again to vent and save everyone the time and energy of listenting to me rant about nothing in particular.
After all, opinions are like bellybuttons, right - everybody has one and they start to stink if they're not aired every once in a while.
Add your comments, if it helps you. I try to be open, so I'd ask you to be the same.
Okay, so here goes nothing...
After all, opinions are like bellybuttons, right - everybody has one and they start to stink if they're not aired every once in a while.
Add your comments, if it helps you. I try to be open, so I'd ask you to be the same.
Okay, so here goes nothing...
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