Salty Fish

I had the good fortune to have my travel to Amsterdam cancelled this week due to the volcanic ash cloud of 2010.

In fact, the ash cloud and the chaos to air travel that is caused was a blessing in disguise for a couple of reasons. The first that it kept me in the US. The second that it kept several others from coming to the US. These cancellations opened a spot at a vendor event to which I was invited as a last minute replacement.

The vendor event was in West Palm Beach and it was excellent. Great speakers, a good opportunity to get to know a prospective vendor better, a similar opportunity to get to know a colleague, and finally a couple of days of excellent food, great drink and some deep sea fishing.

Out fishing excursion closed the event. We boarded the bus from the hotel to the marina at 8:00am. At the marina, we learned that our boat was a no show, so we boarded another and were taxied to another marina to board a replacement. This may have been another blessing in disguise as our captain and our mate were top notch and put us on the fish.

We motored to our fishing area and I the mate placed our lines. We had six or even our with a couple of teasers and waited. We were going for sailfish, swordfish, dolphin fish, tuna and wahoo. The first strike ended with no fish on a hook, but that got all of our blood flowing. We also had to pick the order and as the prospective client, I was given the honor. A little while later, we had another strike. The mate coaxed the fish to bite again and it was fish on...he handed the pole to me and it was my turn to work.

The fish was taking line out fast, and I didn't realize I was supposed to be reeling in, so I let him take even more. I was yelled at for not reeling, so I started. Instantly, I was tired. It felt like a monster. I reeled for what felt like forever. As the line started getting closer to the boat I saw a glimmer of silver. I was instructed to step back with the pole and the mate brought the fish on board. It was a Bonita - a trash fish that is used for bait. I didn't care. First, I was exhausted. Second, I was ecstatic. Third, the fish was beautiful - blue and silver with these amazing black patterns on its back. He had the fish in the hold and I took a look at him. I commented how pretty its markings were, and the mate informed me that Bonita is Spanish for "pretty". Made sense to me. We made note of the time, 10:15am as I sat down with a celebratory beer.

As we progressed through the rest of the order, we caught more Bonita. The last of the five on the boat brought in a pretty, if not small, black fin tuna. We finally had a game fish on board.

I was up again and brought in my own small black fin. A very pretty fish and a little easier to reel in.

We ended up going through the order again and caught another black fin, more Bonita, and a blue runner (another trash fish used for bait).

I actually got to go again and brought in another Bonita. Not as big as the first and not as difficult to bring in. I was thankful, as my arms had had enough.

All in all, we caught twelve fish. Enough to win most fish on the boat. The next closest to us had only 5. One out of the six boats that went out was skunked. We also learned that my first was the first for all of the boats, so I ended up winning two wonderful bottles of wine.

As we shared fish stories over an amazing lunch of fresh seafood, we learned that the largest fish of the day went to someone who brought in a 13.5 foot tiger shark. The pictures of that were awesome.

There is a saying that goes, "a bad day on the water beats a good day on land". Thankfully, we didn't have to test its validity. We had a great day on the water.

SL

Gifts Presentation

"As fate would have it, my presentation is the only thing keeping you from the casino and the cocktails and we've started 15 minutes late due to technical difficulties. Like the airlines, I will try to make up some of the time in the air so I can get you out on time."

Thus started my presentation.

Interestingly enough, I wasn't nervous at all once it started. In fact, I wasn't too nervous before hand, either. I knew I knew the material and I had done a couple of walk-throughs prior, so I felt pretty confident.

Not that the deck couldn't have used some sprucing up, or perhaps my delivery could have been more rehearsed...but I was confident that I was mostly ready.

My boss, another colleague and Angie made up three of the perhaps 30 people in my session. This wasn't one of those 1000 attendee conferences - instead there were perhaps 50-60 people attending the two separate tracks. Ultimately, this meant that it was a real good situation to get my feet wet in presenting.

My boss asked Angie if I have presented like this before - apparently I came across as being very comfortable as I presented. Other than many training sessions I used to give, I really have never done anything like this. I used to present updates and performance at quarterly and annual off-sites, but nothing like this.

Angie and my boss both said it went well. She gave me some constructive criticism about several things I could have improved upon, but for my first in a long time, I'll take it. Her most important critique is that I need to work on letting my charm and personality come across. Perhaps add a little more humor and connect more with the audience. She's right, and I appreciate her honest feedback.

I'm already looking forward to the next one. Anything to get me back to Vegas.

SL

Sweet Suite

Angie and I just arrived at the Palazzo Las Vegas..."Palace" is it's English equivalent.

It is aptly named. There are over 3000 suites in the hotel. Our room is spacious, to say the least. Angie can't get over the velour couch that sits in our sitting area and the fact that our suite has three flat screen televisions; one in the sitting area, one in the bedroom area and one in the bathroom - yes, the bathroom.

Angie isn't used to opulence. Frankly, I'm not either...but I have experienced it a bit more often than she has. It's funny how quickly we can get comfortable in it, however. Angie is sitting on the couch with her feet up perusing the menus for dinner. She's not sure if she would rather eat at the Mario Batali steakhouse or the Wolfgang Puck restaurant. Some girls just can't make up their mind.

As she relaxes, I am putting the final touches on my presentation. I present at the Service Strategies Services Industry Summit. My topic is, "Vendor Management - Strategies for Managing Your Outsource Relationships". Needless to say, I'm a little bit nervous. Although I've spoken in front of good numbers of people before, and I am typically a pretty good public speaker, I always dread it until I get started. I'll be better tomorrow afternoon, when its over.

Besides, how much better does it get when you can come to Vegas for two days on someone else's dime, get to bring your lovely lady with ya, get two shows (Love and Rita Rudner), and some great drinks and meals - all for one hour's work???

It doesn't get any better than that.

SL

A Tale of Two Meals

Forget “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” My question to you is, “How much would you pay for a piece of beef?”

Would you pay $100? Would you pay $250?? Would you pay $365???

If you go to Alexander’s Steakhouse in Cupertino, CA you might. Yes, you can get a 10 oz. filet of good ‘ole American Angus for $46, but you can also get “true Japanese Imported Kobe beef of the A5 grade” for an amazing $365 a plate.

I am in California this week working out our headquarters and on Monday night, we (my client, my bosses’ boss, and a couple of other guests) went to the unbelievable Alexander’s for dinner. I got the Angus filet (the desire to keep my job was stronger than my desire to experience $365 beef) and had an excellent meal. If you’ve ever had that steak, please let me live vicariously through you and tell me how it was.

The next evening, the client and I went to get Sushi. As I walked into “Sushi Express”, I felt as though I had just walked into the fast food of raw fish. However, the client had eaten there before and I have come to trust her recommendations for all things sushi. We had a couple of rolls, hot sake, and a Sapporo. For the same price as my filet, we had another excellent meal.

It just goes to show – it doesn’t matter where you are as much as whom you are with.

I can’t wait to go home and have dinner with my family. That’s the best of both “the where” and “the who”.

SL

Blog Bytes

Not a great deal of major things to blog about lately...therefore I though some quick updates would be in order.

1) School for all is rolling. My classes are already humming along. Angie is working on a paper and currently enjoying the experience. Justin continues to improve and is now up to three classes a semester. Dylan, Marissa and Cassie are enjoying their schools, as well.

2) Activities are getting busy, too. Dylan is in two baseball leagues. One little league and one for school. He's got doubleheaders every Saturday and practice almost every day. His elbow is sore from throwing too much. Marissa practices volleyball before school everyday. Her first game in Thursday and I don't know how I am going to ever see her play. I have school on Thursdays. Cassie is cheering and she had her first game on Saturday. The team lost, but those little first graders looked so cute.

3) Girl Scouts started on Sunday. Since I lead the troop, that one effects me too. We are in year two of Daisies. The girls are so cute and so fun that it almost doesn't seem like work. This year's plan - finish our Daisy petals and get ready for brownies. Oh, by the way, we will be selling cookies this year, so let me know what you want.

4) Angie and I had a date night this weekend. We tried a really great restaurant in downtown Rockwall called Zanata's. I pass it whenever I go to the public dove hunting land in Royse City and have wanted to try it since I started public hunting last year. Everytime I pass it, the windows are open to the sidewalk and the place is jamming. We went, had some cocktails and some pizza. It was great a great time.

5) I haven't been back to the lease, as of yet. I'm trying to work that out, but our weekends are so packed, I don't know how I'm gonna get it to happen. I bought a new fishing pole and a slew of new lures, so I can't wait to get out there. Also, I really want to spend a day or two hunting for dove. There's a wheat field on the land, so I'm hoping the dove are flying. I'm still doveless so far. Dylan has one that he got with his dad on Saturday.

6) I've been home for what feels like forever. I haven't travelled for weeks and it has been great. That ends next week, as I am in California for four days.

SL

What Was I Thinking?

Sometimes I act before I think. Sue me, I'm a guy and that's how I roll.

Often it gets me in trouble and the last couple of weeks has been no different. What has been different is that this has effected my professional life, where most of the time I'm screwing up my personal life. Need proof? Just ask Angie.

Although I've always thought about my career and where I'm headed, I've started acting on those thoughts. In many ways it is because I've landed at a great company that rewards success, because I work for a boss and my boss's boss who both are genuinely interested in the advancement of their people, and because I truly have a mentor off of whom I can bounce ideas. (That mentor is also the gentleman that I am going to Alaska with next week - stay tuned for adventure stories and pictures).

So, a couple of weeks ago I had a skip level meeting with my boss's boss (our SVP who is an OUTSTANDING LEADER - check his blog here). I told him that I thought I could add additional value in his organization and I gave him ideas on how I could do that. He agreed, and before the end of that day, he was sending an e-mail out to his staff informing them of a presentation I was going to give proposing a new function. I gave that presentation this week and it was well received. The net for me - more work, but a great opportunity.

During that skip-level meeting, I also asked for his guidance on potentially doing some speaking or publishing - you know, getting my name out in the field kind of stuff. There happened to be a conference coming up and I thought I might be able to speak there. He agreed with the idea and said he would make some phone calls. Within the next couple of days I was being contacted for my bio, publicity photo and abstract of my presentation. I'll be speaking at the Service Strategies Industry Summit in Las Vegas in October. I'm already nervous.

All I know is that it is great to work for people that aren't only interested in what they can get out of you. When I shared that with our SVP, he said that he much rather be discussing my advancement than doing all the other work he had on his plate.

I believed him.

SL

Happy Birthday, America

This week, or at least the beginning of this week, I am in our nation's capital for a conference. The conference is being held at the brand spanking new Gaylord National Hotel. This is the second time that I've had an opportunity to help open a Gaylord resort. They are amazing. More like little cities than large hotels. This one has a huge (read: IMMENSE) window that opens to the National Harbor. It is a site.

On the flight in, and on the drive over to the hotel, I saw the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, The Capitol, and a bunch of other assorted unidentified "monuments". I forgot how beautiful Washington DC is, as it's been several years since I've been here. I'm thinking a family trip is in order within the next couple of years, so the kids can get a glimpse.

While here, I turned 39 years old (Monday, May 19). This is not the first time I've blogged about being on the road for my birthday - a couple of years ago I spent the day in Cincinnati for one day meetings. This one isn't so bad, although I sure would have like to be home for Angie's arrival back to Dallas from Mexico. The reason it hasn't been so bad is because of what I did last night - I had dinner at the Capitol View Restaurant, which is aptly named since it looks at the Capitol Building. If you've never seen the dome, it is awesome. Really pretty, especially lit up at night. We had drinks on the veranda of the 11th story overlooking the Capitol.

The dinner was a vendor event to which I had been invited. The guest speaker was the former White House Pastry chef, Roland Mesnier. Not only did he regale us with an amazing desert, but with funny stories from the past 25 years in the White House, encompassing five administrations. Two of the funnier stories were how Rosalind Carter wanted to hire him, but he wasn't an American Citizen, so he was whisked to the State Department. After answering ALL of the Citizen test questions incorrectly, they asked him who the president was. He knew that, he was just at the White House. With that, he was granted US Citizenship.

The other is a story was about how Ronald Reagan was eating chocolate mousse out of a huge mixing bowl with a large serving spoon. He dropped some on his shirt, and proceeded to eat if off his chest. I'd do the same thing, but to hear the "Great Communicator" do it is very funny.
We had a great meal, good conversation, funny stories, and were given a signed copy of Mesnier's memoirs on our way out.


All in all, not a horrible birthday.

SL

Going Bananas

I've been introduced to a new game, and although yet to play it, I've bought two of them. The game is Bananagrams. It is very much like Scrabble, but with no board. Additionally, unlike Scrabble, the object is to use up all of your tiles first (no scores for the letters). Simply speaking, the player who uses all of their tiles first, wins. Another major difference is that players make their OWN puzzles, instead of sharing one community puzzle like in Scrabble. The last major difference is that your puzzle board changes during the game since you can add OR remove tiles, words, etc.

The game promotes itself as a funner, more flexible version of Scrabble. It looks like a lot of fun and I'll be bringing one (the tiles are stored in a yellow banana bag) to NY with me and Marissa on Friday. You can play from one to eight players.

Now, you may ask how this game became known to me and why I would go buy two of them without ever actually playing it...or, you may just not give a darn and have decided to go look at someone elses stupid blog (to you, I say "au revior" and allow me to recommend the Friday News FeedBlog).

For those that decided to stay, I was introduced to Bananagrams by colleagues of mine that I work with in North Carolina. As you may know, I've spent the better part of the last five weeks in North Carolina working on a couple of high profile projects. The story of Bananagrams has come up several times - both as a personal entertainment device (played with family and friends), but also as a team building device (used to build cooperation and respect for how others do things). Understanding how a stupid little game can be so effective in many different areas (and still be fun) got me very interested. I look forward to playing and seeing if it is as fun as everyone says. I'll let you know in my post about the weekend in NY.

As an aside - the game has already spread to some more colleagues in Florida. We'll see if the family in NY picks it up and spreads it, too.

SL

In Demand

It's been one of those periods where there hasn't been a lot of free time...I hate those times. I understand the need to get things done, and I can rationalize that sometimes the things that need to get done all coincide, but man - it's been a tough month, or so.


First is work. For the last 4 weeks, I've been traveling back and forth to our Support Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. In fact, of the last 4 weeks, I've spent 16 nights in a hotel in Raleigh. However, no one at the hotel actually knows me because I am typically out early and in late, with 12-hour days not being uncommon. In fact, on Monday of this week I worked from 7am to about 11pm in preparation for an audit (which was the reason I was spending so much time out there).


Unfortunately, even when I've been home, I haven't really been home because if school. During this period of travel - which usually consisted of flying into Raleigh on Sunday afternoon and home on Wednesday afternoon - I was finishing up a semester in which I went to school full time. That means that I would fly home on Wednesday afternoon and instead of going home, I'd go to class. Then, I'd have class Thursday night, Friday night, eight hours on Saturday and then four more hours on Sunday afternoon, after which I'd go to the airport to start the cycle all over.

That being said - this period has abruptly come to an end. The audit for work successfully completed on Wednesday evening. We passed, and as it was my project, I am receiving the accolades of a job well done. Additionally, school ended last night with what I believe to be a successful final. That means, a successful quarter at work and a successful semester at school.

Now - with some time at home, I can reconnect with Angie and the kids. Unfortunately, life doesn't stop because I need a break. Volleyball games, performances, group, and birthday parties are all demanding my time this weekend. I just can't wait until I get a Saturday to myself, where no one is making any demands of me. I can catch up on a movie or two, and some seriously needed downtime.

Angie calls is unplugging. I call it recharging, and I'm in serious need of some. Maybe next weekend, after yet another trip to Raleigh.

SL

Is Today the Day?

It's too early to tell and I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I may actually be getting home today.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably seen in the news the problems going on at American Airlines this week. They've been cancelling scores of flights while they redo maintenance and inspections to their McDonnell-Douglas (MD80) fleet. Unfortunately, three of those cancellations were for flights on which I was scheduled. I was supposed to be flying home from Raleigh, NC on Wednesday afternoon, but received a call late Tuesday letting me know that my flight was cancelled. After scrambling to get through to an agent (American's customer service lines were overwhelmed and I kept getting "all circuits are busy" messages), I was scheduled for the next afternoon. However, on Thursday morning, I was awoken by American Airlines letting me know that my flight had been cancelled. However, at this time, they had me booked on yet another flight, for Friday morning. That didn't last long, however, and I was again notified of a cancellation. Again, I was rescheduled on another flight for Friday afternoon.

I've felt bad for each of the Customer Service agents that I've worked with on this. They are clearly overwhelmed and dealing with this the best they can. It isn't their fault that the management of their company is inept. Remember, American had 18 months to complete these modifications, but did so in a manner that didn't pass inspection. American blames the FAA for "stepping up their standards" around these inspections in reaction to recent Congressional pressure stemming from two separate whistle blower incidents in the last several weeks. Can you believe that??? American blaming the FAA for being more stringent in their inspections?!?!

That makes me a little concerned that these financially strapped airlines are cutting corners with safety to save a little here and save a little there. Clearly, they've reduced their employee numbers by too much (it comes across in the crappy service that is more often the norm), but are they now cutting too deep in maintenance? I hope not.

You may ask why I haven't demanded to be placed on another airline. The fact is that I was probably going to have to extend my time here next week, so instead, I used this as my opportunity to get more work done. At the end of the day, these cancellations have not been too inconvenient. Just don't tell American that because I already put in for my $500 voucher as compensation for my trouble.

And, assuming I get home today, I have to turn right back and return on Sunday. At least I get a change of clothes while I'm home.

SL

Snowstorm

I just got in from tooling around in my Cadillac SRX in the snow. I'd think I was dreaming if it weren't for the fact that my hands are freezing. I'm awake - my car is a rental and I'm working in Utah.

It's snowing in the valley here in Salt Lake City, and it is absolutely beautiful. It started this afternoon and is still going. I drove home in it, but the roads were fine. Something about how people that get a lot of snow know how to live in a lot of snow. Apparently, the valley here has gotten about three feet over the last week. The mountains have received more.

And that's why license plates in Utah have the slogan, "Greatest Snow on Earth". It's a dry powder that has very little moisture. Makes for horrible snowballs, but GREAT skiing. If you haven't skied Utah snow, than you haven't skied.

It's been a perfect day to get me in the holiday spirit because dreaming of a white Christmas in Dallas is just too much to ask.

SL

Blog Bytes

Lots going on and haven't updated in a while, so I'll use the trusty fallback - blog bytes...

1) Travel - I am soon to embark on week 3 of 4 for travel. I spent two weeks ago in Raleigh. Last week I was in silicon valley. This week is Salt Lake City, UT (can you say cold?). Next week I am in Orlando, FL (should be warmer). Work is very busy as we are in the midst of our vendor launch, but things are going very well.

2) Holidays - I have not been in the holiday spirit too much, probably because we have no money for it. We're trying to focus on what's important and church has been a blessing in that area. We had our annual holiday music service this last week, and the focus was on our work in Africa. The church hosted orphans from Worldhelp's International Children's Choir and they performed as part of the service. Really hit home about what Christmas really means.

3) Givedifferent and World Vision - if you are looking to also make a difference, check out GiveDifferent and WorldVision. GiveDifferent is our church's fundraising mechanism. The $60K we raise will go to digging wells and buying goats. WorldVision is a Christian charity that or church is partnered with to sponsor needy children. Our church has sponsored every child in the town of Katito, Kenya (over 500 children). Shameless plug: our small church is sponsoring more children in Africa than any other church in Texas and several other states in the south.

4) Kids - kids are doing well. Now seems to be a slow time, as there are no sports seasons going on. I think basketball starts soon, so the respite will be short-lived. Cassie is busy with scouts and has taken to school like a fish to water. She goes to school all day and then comes home and plays school. She becomes "Mrs. Blue" and is a real taskmaster. Marissa has acclimated to junior high school very well and is getting good grades. Dylan is getting very involved with the youth worship band at church (playing drums). Justin continues to do his thing at Pizza Hut and at community college. He awaits his Assistant Manager promotion.

5) Angie - Angie is doing well, even if she doesn't get to spend enough time with me. She is very busy with the Women's Events (WE) team at church and is busy help plan women's brunches and retreats. She completed her first semester at community college, taking a design class. She is very much thinking about returning to school to get a degree/certificate in Interior Design.

6) School - right now I am between semesters (the reason I am traveling so much). I got four A's this semester (three A's and an A+) and currently hold a 3.78 GPA. I've reconciled that my grades may suffer due to my travels, but that just didn't happen this semester. The fact is that I had four easy classes. The next two semesters won't be so easy, but I can finally start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I will complete 5 classes this semester (equivalent to full-time) and should only have a couple of more years left.

SL

Out of Commission - Again

As I write this entry this morning, I should have been at 45,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean returning from several days work in Amsterdam. As you can see, I am not. Instead, I am sitting at my desk in my home office with a sore back. As I prepared for the first part of my journey (day trips out the San Jose, CA and then Salt Lake City, UT) I threw out my back - AGAIN. It is amazing how my back goes out - I wasn't doing anything - I just moved from one keyboard on my desk to another. I rotated my body perhaps 60 degrees and WHAM! I felt a twinge on the right side of my lower back. I knew instantly that it wasn't good, even if it didn't hurt too much. I took two Advil and went right to bed.

I had a very early flight the next morning, so I had set my alarm to 3:30AM giving me only about 5 hours of sleep. When the alarm went off I could hardly get out of bed. I was mobile, but barely, and I knew that my domestic travels were done. I went back to bed for a couple of hours and then called travel to cancel my itinerary. I had three and a half days until my flight to London, so I hoped for the best.

I worked not from my home office last week, but from my living room couch. It was the only place I could sit at for long periods, so with a TV tray on my lap and wireless network connectivity to the Internet, I worked as normal. Angie took care of me while I did so.

Saturday came and I thought I could manage the trip, but the plane ride really scared me. Nine hours to London in coach sounds long enough, but add the prospect of back pain, or worse - spasms, and I was terrified. I spoke to my boss and we decided it was best to cancel.

So, I've been up in my office this week but have some to the conclusion that I need to replace my chair with something a little more "quality". I'll reschedule these trips for December and January, so I will have lots to talk about. I have been to Amsterdam many times, but not within the last several years, so it will be a homecoming of sorts.

You know I'll blog about it.

SL

Bored Sick

I was in Raleigh yesterday for an important operational review. In fact, since my interviews back in January, I've had two very important meetings with my boss and his boss (among others). The first was my recommendation for vendor selection (one of the reasons I was hired). The second (yesterday) was to review how that vendor has been doing.

As before every important meeting, I get nervous. Besides preparation, the other way I get ready for these meetings is to pray - I pray to God to help me say the right things and to represent Him properly. I also ask those close to me to pray for the same. So, when I called Angie before the meeting to ask her to pray for me, she informed me that Cassie was sick with a cold and wasn't going to school today (her first missed day). I know how well she is doing in school, so I wasn't overly concerned.

We had our meeting, which went very long due to the great discussion (yes, it went very well) and at my first opportunity I called home to inform Angie. When I got no answer, I became a little concerned - perhaps Cassie got worse and they went to the doctor. I couldn't imagine them doing anything else if Cassie was ill. I tried Angie on her cell phone.

When she answered, I could tell she was out. I asked where, and she informed me she was picking up some items for her three day walk this weekend. I asked how Cassie was, and she informed me that she was at school....

"At school", I inquired.

"Yes, at school. She was bored and asked me to take her to school. She went about 9:30AM."

I couldn't believe my ears. All of the kids know that if they stay home from school, the have to stay in bed or on the couch and that they cannot do anything else for the day. I guess watching Disney Channel all day was worse than sitting in class, so off to school she went.

Does anyone else find that amazing?

SL

I Had Forgotten

I had forgotten how beautiful the mountains were...I forgot how bumpy the approach to the airport was. I forgot how much I enjoyed Utah.

Yesterday, I landed in Salt Lake City to officially kick off training and our vendor relationship. Since February, I have been working on documenting our needs, evaluating and ultimately selecting a vendor, and now coordinating launch. Yesterday we kicked off training and today I had a full day of meetings with the vendor. Tonight I address the engineers.

Then - off to one of my favorite-"ist" restaurants at one of my favorite-"ist" places. The restaurant is the Foundry Grill and it is located at the top of Sundance, Robert Redford's personal mountain here in Utah.

The food is amazing, the views are awesome, even the drive through the valley and up the mountain is fun. I just love it, and I haven't been there in a while. After coming to Utah many times since 1998, I hadn't been here since - frankly, I don't remember how long it's been. A couple of years, I think.

Just add it to the list of things I had forgotten.

SL

Beautiful Backdrop

As I've previously posted, I'm in Sunnyvale, California this week for work. I don't particularly like California except for San Francisco and San Diego. I don't know why, I just never really enjoyed coming out here, even though I've done it maybe a hundred times, or so.

I have to admit, the weather and the environment in California is amazing. It is stunningly beautiful here with mountains and ocean only a stones throw away. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to enjoy the mountain backdrop while participating in a favorite pastime of mine - shotgun shooting.

A colleague took me to the Coyote Valley Sporting Clays in Morgan Hill, CA. The place is nestled at the base of the mountains, and has 16 stations of sporting clays. Basically, you carry your gun and ammo, walk to each station, put your counter on the computer box, say "pull" and start shooting. It was great fun, and helped convince me that my shot isn't as good as I thought. Some of the overhead stuff I would hit 9 of 10. However, some of the crossing doubles would cause me to miss 7 of 10. They had a rabbit target that bounced across the ground - I hit 7 of 10. My take away - more practice needed.

Ultimately, we did probably 5 or 6 stations and had a great time in a beautiful setting.

Interesting note: as we were walking back from the course, we passed a covey of quail. You'd think they'd be in danger living so close to so many men with shotguns. Guess not.

SL

Quick Takes...

I'm in Sunnyvale, California for this week for some training and internal meetings so I thought some quick takes might be in order...

1) Mother's Day was pretty nice for Angie. After church we went to FishMongers in Plano. Had oysters and tilapia...yummy. Angie had her shrimp. She wanted to do some bowling with the kids - so we went to Richardson AMF lanes for some late night fun. I opened with STRIKE, STRIKE, SPARE, STRIKE, STRIKE and then fell apart.

2) Angie's car died while leaving the bowling alley. Angie's mom was with us with her car, so we weren't completely stranded. I replaced her battery the next day. All seems ok.

3) Angie wanted an updated poster size portrait of the kids. Getting them together to do it was my present to her. This photo was uploaded to winkflash.com and will be printed and sent to us.

4) We are confirmed for 3 camping weekends over the summer and are planning several days camping in San Antonio with good friends.

5) Diet, smoking and working out are all going very well. On target and haven't had another cigarette. I feel great about that.

6) As mentioned, I am in CA this week at our corporate headquarters. I am doing a bit of team building and going through some new hire training. I am convinced more now that ever that a move to NetApp was the right decision. The executive management team basically gives up a day every month to spend time with the new hires and talk about the company. Really awesome leadership. I even learned what our logo is supposed to be...any guesses?

SL

Great Walls of Fire

Today I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Great Wall of China in Badaling, which is about 90 minutes by car from Beijing. This portion of the wall, and most of what still exists was built by the Ming Dynasty, which rules China from 1368 to 1644.

I've seen pictures of the wall, and have seen it on TV, but until you actually see it you cannot imagine what an amazing effort that is must have been to build. At almost 4000 miles long it is almost incomprehensible how much work must have gone into it. What is even more amazing is that the wall is built in the mountains...I'm not talking hills here, but full fledged mountains. In fact, the terrain is so steep in places, that walking up the wall is, itself, a very difficult task.

My hosts and I traversed up several hundred yards from the entry point before we had to give in. Not only was I incredibly short of breath, it was exceedingly cold, about 25 degrees. I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to another couple of watchtowers, as that would have earned my 'HERO' status. Common belief in China is that if you walk the wall you are a hero.

Hero or not, I'm just so grateful to have had this amazing experience.

SL

You want me to eat that? Parts 2 & 3

I've had a whirlwind day in China today. I started my day (after sleeping for only a couple of hours in Shanghai). I met with a prospective vendor and had a fruitful two hour visit. Because we ended early, my hosts suggested that we have a quick lunch before my trip to the airport. Because I hadn't had a meal in over 24 hours, I accepted.

We went to a Chinese restaurant, as your would expect. My hosts ordered, and we ate shrimp, fish, pork and vegetables (eaten in a doughy pocket) and several other dishes. The meal was excellent, and my hosts were amazed that I was proficient with chopsticks. I mentioned my love of the American version of Chinese food and how we used to go to Chinatown in NYC to eat every so often. As the food kept coming, I waited for the dish that would challenge my sensibilities - and if finally came. A soup was brought out and it had some kind of weird looking meat and little mushrooms. As you may know, mushrooms skeeve me, so I was hesitant. I asked what it was, and they said I probably should try it before they answer. My "shouldn't eat this" red flags and alarms were going off full bore. I tried a piece of the meat and it was fine. I thought it was chicken, except that it had this strange skin on it. I ate some more, and politely asked my hosts what it was. I had just eaten frog. All I know is that it really does taste like chicken, and I will never turn frog legs down again...

After the meal and our goodbyes, I was on my way to the airport. After a 2 hour flight, I was in Beijing, the China capital. I went directly to my hosts site (my second site visit of the day) and had a short, but effective meeting. It was then suggested that we go to eat, which I accepted. Since we are in Beijing, which was formally known as Peking (as in Peking Duck), I was informed that the name of the restaurant was "The Duck House". After declining a fork (which again, amazed my hosts), we had Peking Duck (wrapped in a crepe like thing), chicken, shrimp, veggies, sweet and sour beef, etc. The only plate I didn't know what it was had vegetables and minced meat. It didn't look bad, so I took some. After eating it, and asking what it was, I came to learn that it was mushrooms. So much for my disdain for all things mushroom. It was good.

I'm finally back in the hotel and looking forward to some sleep. I get up early tomorrow to become a hero....more on that tomorrow.

SL

Shanghai Surprise

Actually, not much of a surprise. I've landed in Shanghai this afternoon and then proceded to wait. I waited an hour to get to the passport officer, and then waited for a half an hour while he and his supervisor inspected my passport (I think there was some belief that it was altered or something - they never said). I then waited for my driver and then waited in traffic. So I've been here for almost 12 hours and have basically just waited.

I've seen my hotel room and the skyline (which is absolutely tremendous, by the way) and that's it. I get to sleep for 5 hours, go to a site visit, and then wiat some more for my flight to Beijing. I can't believe that I am all the way around the world and I get to sightsee my hotel room. Ahhh - at least it is a nice room.

I guess you'll just have to wait for an interesting post...

SL