Observations on San Juan . . .

Encouraged by Tim's comment from my last post, I'll provide a few observations based on my trip to San Juan. (Thanks, Tim!)

1. The people of San Juan are a wonderful, kind, loving people. Everyone there went way out of their way to make me feel welcome. I once heard a leader I greatly respect state "go where you're celebrated, not where you're tolerated." I was definitely "celebrated" in San Juan and as a result I will go out of my way to go back and support our team there.
2. Example 1: our General Manager arranged for a private tour of the Capital Building in Old San Juan. It is one of three state capitals in the country that is made of marble. Not only that, but all of the exterior marble came from the great state of Georgia (my own county, in fact!). I learned a lot about the history of Puerto Rico that I was woefully ignorant of prior to this trip.
3. Example 2: I also got to tour El Morro, the larger of the two fortresses guarding Old San Juan. Started in the mid-1500's by the Spanish, it protected the city through the Spanish-American War when, in 1898, the American Navy defeated the Spanish and took possession of the island. It reminded me of the fort in St. Augustine, but is much larger.
4. There is great food to be had in San Juan. However, don't confuse "Puerto Rican" food with "Mexican" food. First, they bear no resemblance to one another, and second, you'll really make the Puerto Ricans mad! PR food is more like Spanish food; lot's of pork and beef; spicy rice; etc. We had lunch one day at Reice's, an upscale "traditional Puerto Rican" restaurant where I had Mofongo. Take a plantain, mash it and mix with spices, and press the mixture around the sides of a tall wooden bowl. Fill the interior with churasco (skirt steak). Yum! (side note: anything you can do with a potato, you can do with a plantain)
5. Even though PR is a part of the USA, it really was like being in a foreign country. I speak no Spanish, so I was at the mercy of everyone else being willing to accomodate me and my language. Everyone was very gracious (see #1 above), but usually the conversations bounced between the two languages.
6. The last evening I was there I walked out along the beachfront walk of my hotel. It was December 3rd, and I was lying in a beach lounge chair, watching the stars, listening to the waves break against the rocks about 30 feet away. It's days like that that remind me how much I love my job!!! Hopefully a return trip in February will include Blockus as a travel-mate. She loves PR and definitely deserves a break!

Today I'm back home in the cold but beautiful mountains. Monday, I leave for Seattle and Sacramento. (Hey Tim, did you catch that?!? I'll be there Wed evening thru Friday morning). Then, it's home sweet home for the rest of the year. (I think).

Have a great weekend.

Chris

Good Heavens! ! !

Have I really not posted anything for 5 weeks?!? Never mind "NaBloPoMo", how about "NoPoAtAllInNoMo".

Here's a quick summary of what we've missed.
1) Belle had a birthday (she's 9 now, and really turning into quite the young lady). I heard the party was nice, but I wasn't invited because I'm a boy. You see, she had a fancy tea party, and only girls go to fancy tea parties. So, The Boy and I stayed home and watched football on TV with my Dad.

2) One of my good friends lost his job. I know he's not the only one in the country in that boat, but that's hitting pretty close to home! Prayers for him and his wife are desired and appreciated.

3) I found out that my small team of people is "going away" in 2009. (see item #2 and start to panic). Oh, I found out about this the day before Thanksgiving ; what a way to set the mood!

4) Turns out item #3 is going to turn out all right. I talked to a VP today who really wants me on his new team that he's building from scratch. Turns out that my "old team going away" is really more of a "old team moving to a new home with a new boss" more than anything. Nothing is final yet, including the all important comp plan, but I'm feeling MUCH better.

5) Despite #3 above, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. After spending Thursday with Blockus' family, we headed to my folks (about an hour away) Friday morning to celebrate with my family. Two parents, three brothers, three sisters-in-law (don't you hate it when people say "sister-in-laws"? I know I do), nine nieces and nephews, an aunt and an uncle, and a partridge in a pear tree. It was great fun. We had a professional photographer friend come do a family portrait of the whole clan.

6) One of my nephews got engaged the weekend before Thanksgiving. He's the first of that next generation to do so; all of my nieces were thrilled that someone else was taking the plunge first.

7) And, after a week at home with no business travel, I'm back on the road again. I know you'll feel sorry for me when I disclose my current location . . . San Juan PR. When I left home yesterday morning it was 33 degrees and snowy; it's in the 70's here. Sweet!!! I have to admit, though, I really do feel like I'm in a foreign country. Everyone here in the office is trying to remember that I'm here and thus have all conversations in English. But when they get excited about something (um, that happens a lot here) they lapse back into Spanish and I just smile and nod as I listen. My GM here keeps trying to translate for me by whispering in my ear, but it's exhausting trying to keep up. Oh, cool aside . . . I was the "featured guest speaker" at a training session held over lunch at our office here today. Before I was introduced the local manager kicked off the meeting (in Spanish). I was messing with my laptop while he spoke, but suddenly I realized that his tone of voice had changed and everyone had gotten very still. I looked up and realized that he was praying! And it wasn't just a "Lord bless this food" prayer, it was a long one that appeared to cover a lot of ground. How cool is that? Clearly, this is a close-knit team whose members have been here for an average of 7 years. In ten years with this company, that was a first for me. Just thought I'd share.

How's that for a "stream of conciousness" post? I'll try to come back again before 2009.

Chris

Still missing in action . . .

Well, here I am again. "Here" would be in a hotel room, right where you'd expect me to be.

Once upon a time (not so long ago), when I described my work and travel schedule to people, I would say something along the lines of "I usually travel 2 or 3 days a week, 3 weeks a month. Not too much; just enough to be interesting." Lately, it's been more like "4 or 5 days a week, every week of the flippin month for months and months on end". At what point does "not normal" become "the new normal"?

Fortunately, this really has been a season of unusual travel activity. It will continue to some degree through Thanksgiving, then abate through December. We'll see how "normal" defines itself in the new year.

In the meantime, I finally took some time tonight (while the World Series is on in the background) to catch up one the comings and goings of some of my favorite bloggers. Good heavens! People are getting pregnant, giving birth, moving, taking trips, getting their mailboxes knocked down, mail-ordering worms, celebrating birthdays, and generally getting on with their lives. Oh, and apparently there is an election going on and an economic meltdown going on out there. The election I know about; one thing about lots of travel is that you get to watch LOTS of campaign advertisements on TV. Joy.

That's it for now, my internetish friends. Hopefully I'll get back to more regular blogging soon.

Die Hard (the original!) . . .

So, I'm traveling (again). What with the jet lag and all, I'm up late (by eastern time zone standards) watching TV. Tonight, on TBS, they're showing the orignal "Die Hard". Wow, does Bruce Willis look young. No, really young. If I've aged as much since this movie premiered as he has, I must look REALLLLLLLLY OLD. It didn't seem quite that bad last time I glanced in the mirror, but maybe I'm just not admitting reality. Or paying attention. Or maybe my eyes aged even faster.

Surely that isn't the case!

Here's to Hollywood stars who age faster than we do (despite makeup, stylists, and airbrushing). And, I'm a GUY! Rumor has it, it's even worse for the females amongst us.

C

I'm still here . . .

Greetings, all! Lest you were wondering (as Tim was), I did get home safely from the LAX Crown Room lo those many weeks ago. However, that was just the beginning of a whirlwind round of trips. The next week I went to Chicago and Dallas. Last week, I went to LA (again), New York City, and Chicago (again). In that order. Starting in Atlanta. I'm still tired. Thus, I'm not totally ecstatic about my trip to Phoenix starting tomorrow. At least I'm only going to one city this week! On the upside, the Delta SkyMiles balance is looking impressive.

I didn't mean for this to turn into a travel blog. But, since I haven't even mentioned homeschooling in months (yes, we still do and yes, we still love it), why not. Maybe "A Mountain Homeschool Takes Flight" or some such.

Here's your travel tip for the day. If your trip to NYC means flying into JFK Airport, skip the taxi and call a car service. I did a little test this week - car service from airport to downtown; taxi from downtown to airport. The car service was CHEAPER. OK, not by much, but trust me when I tell you that the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car is far more pleasant than the back seat of a New York taxi.

Not only have I not had time to blog myself for weeks, I've barely been able to keep up with my favorite blogs to read. Oh, I've checked in on The Corner (usually from my blackberry), but that's about it.

I'll try to do better at both these next few weeks. After all, I've missed you guys!!!

G'night,
Chris

Gee, Ma, I wanta go . . .

but they won't let me go . . . home.

So it's Friday afternoon, and I'm sitting in the Crown Room at LAX. That would be in Los Angeles (if you haven't been memorizing your airport nicknames). You'll remember that I live in Georgia. This is a sad thing.

This is the end of week two of a four-week string of UGLY travel.

• last week, Chicago, Philly and Rochester
• this week, Indianapolis, Sacramento and LA
• next week, Chicago and Dallas
• the following week: LA, New York City, and Chicago

That may sound cool and glamorous to those of you who rarely leave the city limits, but trust me when I tell you that it gets old really fast. The good news is that I'm racking up the frequent flier miles and free hotel nights. Blockus is REALLY ready for a family trip.

I just want to go home. And stay there for a while.

note to Tim: I didn't have time to try to get together while I was in Sacramento this week. I was only there for an afternoon and was with my boss most of that time. Hopefully I can get back soon and finally meet you!

Back to normal. . .

Many of you may have had a lot on your minds lately. Hurricane damage; failing banks and insurance conglomorates; a big Presidential election looming.
Fear not. All is well. It must be. This morning, the Today Show was able to dedicate mucho valuable air-time to an "exclusive" interview with Britney Spears' mom.

It's good to know that we're getting back to the important stuff.