Archive of Marcia's Musings April 1-7, 2002Sunday, April 7, 2002
Jet Lagged
I think that the jet lag has finally worked its way through my body. The last of it was last night and so I'm hoping, today will be a better day. I was trying to fight taking a nap yesterday afternoon but, after all was said and done, I wasn't successful. I gave up and curled up on the sofa by mid-afternoon with Sally. (Too funny-- Sally sees me heading to the sofa on a Saturday afternoon and races to beat me there so she can get "her" side of the sofa!!)
I did a little bit of hand quilting yesterday and a little bit of machine quilting-- it was good to get back into it again. Last night, while watching television, I did some crocheting so I've touched on everything that I enjoy now-- its good to be home.
Change of Plans
Something I don't ever recall: Brian getting up in the middle of the night. In our years together, I would say that I could count on less than one hand the number of times that he's gotten out of bed in the middle of the night for any reason. Last night, however, he was up at least three times-- it could've been more but I slept through them. He's miserable with this cold, and me? Well, I'm pounding down the echinacea, zinc and vitamin C in an effort not to catch what he's got. If he feels this bad, can you imagine how hard it will hit me?? Not a pretty sight!!
We were supposed to meet Myrna and Roger at their house so that the kids, Sally and Laddie, could play but I called this morning to cancel. They were gracious of course but it was just funny because, like I said, Brian doesn't get up in the night so it was weird for him and not a good night's sleep at all.
(As an aside, my knee isn't getting better as fast as I would like it to be healing so I wouldn't have been any fun for Sally to play with since I wouldn't be able to do any running around.)
More of the same . . .
The only thing on the agenda today is relaxing and relaxing and relaxing-- yes, I know: we'll be busy, won't we? Ah, but it is well deserved and we will enjoy ourselves. Maybe I can even get Brian to nap this afternoon!! Wow, that would really be a treat, wouldn't it?
More later if something exciting develops...have a nice day, afternoon, evening and night!
Saturday, April 6, 2002I am BAAACCCKKKKKKKK!!!
I'm glad I'm back, Brian's glad I'm back and Sally's glad I'm back!! Wow, we are a house full of happy people right now!!!
I went to bed last night at 11:30EST and woke up at 6amPST-- I feel rested but not quite on schedule with my "normal" (whatever that is) self. I'm going to go through the days here rather than trying to back-post and make you scroll up-n-down to let you know what happened. It was a busy time, that's for sure!!!
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Tuesday:
I woke up at 3:30am and Brian woke up around 3:45am-- Sally raised her head for me to scratch when I left not understanding what was going on and, of course, it being the middle of the night, she was more interested in sleeping. Brian (bless his heart) took me to the airport as requested by the airlines, two hours ahead of the airplane's scheduled departure. I got my boarding pass and waited for security to open-- yes, that pretty much ticked me off, too!! Then, since this was the first time I've flown since 9/11, I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that I was nailed on the way through security. I was "wanded" (what do you call that?), and of course, certain articles of clothing kept setting off the alarm. While I was being wanded, another guard went through my backpack. They didn't go through my suitcase, which I thought was weird, but tore through my backpack and then expected me to pick everything (all spread out and unpacked) up with my hands full and repack somewhere else. I told them I was traveling alone and had no one to help so I was going to stay there and repack my stuff. I did and they backed off so I guess they were just being strange. I felt very violated after that-- when I was in Bogota, Colombia, I expected that kind of treatment but not here in the United States and that bothered me.Because we had had to wait so long to book my tickets (John couldn't make up his mind what days were going to be in spent in what city), I ended up in First Class through both legs of my trip going to Atlanta. Pretty cool indeed! When I arrived in Atlanta, I got on the MARTA train and rode to the stop where my hotel (and the office) were located. The shuttle from the hotel picked me up and I checked into my room and called my friend, Judy. Judy and I had an enjoyable dinner out with lots of information being exchanged between us. She's a good lady and it was good to see her again.
When I got back to my hotel, I ironed the skirt I would be wearing the next day and called Brian again to talk with him a bit and then, went to bed to try to get to sleep. Between pre-presentation nerves and all of the weird sounds around me, it was a pretty useless attempt. I had to figure out how to turn the fan from the air conditioning off-- it was very loud and for a partially deaf person to say that, you know it had to be loud!! I finally got to sleep around midnight and then, at 2:45am an alarm of some type started going off in the kitchen. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from (directional hearing is non-existent) but, it eventually stopped so I could get to sleep-- again.
Wednesday:
I met two salesmen, one sales engineer and the director of revenue recognition (Jennifer) in the lobby for a ride to the office. John talked for the first hour and, in part of his speech, he did an awards presentation. I didn't think anything about it... he gave an award to one guy for hitting high sales for the quarter overall and one for high sales for being new and then he started making comments about contracts and how they are such a pain. The next thing I knew, he was presenting me with a certificate that said "Outstanding Performance for SE Contracts Manager"!!! I about died of shock!!! There's going to be a trophy or a plaque or an officially framed copy of the certificate to follow. I'm hoping its at my office by the time I get back: Bragging Rights!!Then, we had a break and I prepared to make my presentation. I don't like making presentations-- I get nervous and shaky for the first five minutes, which I eventually get over but I still don't like making presentations. My presentation went well however and, as a result of the feedback that I received while I was out there, I think there will be some changes made to the documents-- again. They really need to since we're putting the responsibility of the order on the customer rather than the sales rep and the sales rep wants to control that situation. I can't say as I blame them-- I think that's an issue.
We had our lunch and I checked email and then went to listen to the rest of the presentations for the day-- Jennifer and I were kinda hanging out together waiting for John at the end. We (John, Jennifer, Jim (the director of sales engineers for the Southeast) and I) were all flying on the same flight so it made sense for us to travel together to get to the airport. After getting to the airport, we grabbed a bite to eat and then, went to the Delta Airlines "Crown Club" to check in-- big mistake!! According to the guy at the desk, after giving John his First Class upgrade, the travel agency neglected to charge the transfer fee so I owed Delta $100 or I could go on stand-by. He wasn't able to tell us if there were any seats available for stand-by on the flight so, I had no choice but to pay the flight's transfer fee. Then, he wouldn't upgrade me to First Class (John had a certificate for doing that but the guy refused to use it) so all the way from that desk to the gate to the his seat, John complained and when he got to his seat, he didn't stop!! I went back to my seat in Row 35D and I was okay with that-- I just reminded them to wait for me before they took off for the rental car since I didn't know where I was going.
Well, in a very short period of time, the head flight attendant came back and started telling me about how much John was complaining and since I've been quietly sitting back here in coach and not complaining about it, he was going to move me to First Class just to be nice to me. It had nothing to do with John and if it did, he wouldn't have done it! Ya know, I could've swore I heard John's voice so I do believe that he sat there complaining about it the whole time! When I got up to the front (after take-off and the seat belt sign had been turned off), that same flight attendant offered me a beverage. I asked for a bottled water and he said "But you can have wine or beer or a mixed drink or whatever." "Yes, I know," I said, "But I don't want that-- I want a bottled water." Apparently, one of this guy's concerns about moving me was that I would drink them out of all of their alcohol-- yeah, I know: apparently need to work at not looking like a lush!!! ;>)
Anyway, we flew to Dulles airport and, did you know: they have these passenger shuttles that they use to de-plane you?? I didn't know it!! They are like busses but not (no First Class here) that raise themselves up to the plane's door level and then lower when they're ready to be moved across the tarmac to the terminal. They park all of the planes out in the middle of the tarmac and then move the people via these shuttles (to leave is the same way). When we got to the main terminal building, we went to the car rental place and we all drove to the hotel. I needed to pick up Band-Aids for my feet-- my new sandals were stripping the skin off the top of my feet!!-- so after I checked in, I went to the little store at the hotel and they all went up to their rooms. Eventually, I made it up to my room and unpacked-- I was going to be here for two nights so I could give my arms a rest and spread out my stuff a little.
I couldn't call Brian because he was at SVLUG but I left him a voicemail and sent him an email and went to bed-- this time I slept better but it was still the "strange place, odd noises, will the alarm go off in the morning and man, do I hate sleeping alone" kind of sleep so I wasn't sleeping soundly at all!!
Thursday:
Another city, same presentation. This is a smaller group of sales rep and I have to admit, I wasn't as nervous. I also knew that I was going to get push-back in the same area as everyone else had gotten in their presentations and I had gotten in the Atlanta office. It was actually easier to deal with the second time around and, all I could say at the end of everything was that I would take their feedback to my management and we would all hope for the best.After the meeting, we all went bowling!! I haven't touched a bowling ball in nearly 20 years so that was fun!! I bowled a 102 on the first game and 112 on the second game-- it was a lot of fun for all of us!! Then, we all went to dinner-- well, John and Jennifer went back to the airport and then the rest of us went to dinner. A good time was had by all, for sure. When I got back to the hotel, I noticed my left knee felt a little funky but I didn't think anything more of it-- I took ibuprofen before bed because I figured my back would be hurting from bowling. I called Brian and went to sleep, as best as I could.
Friday:
As it turns out, it was my knee I needed to worry about-- it felt like it was out of joint and it was not a good feeling!!! I got to the airport the requisite two hours ahead of time and again, waited for the plane to take off-- I have to admit that I was a bit anxious to get home which didn't help any. I called Brian from Salt Lake City and got on the last leg of the flight. Upon arrival in San Jose, I called him on his cell phone and told him to try to wait but, as soon as I could get outside, I saw him and hollered for him. Since he was ordered to move the vehicle, I waited for him to come to me and, I have to admit, I was practically in tears cuz I was so glad to see him!!! I threw my luggage in the back of the truck, got in and kissed him and we sped off toward home.Sally had apparently been feeling mighty low the last couple of days: watching the front door, moping around, etc. When I got home, she all but bounded out the front door at me!! She started her flip-flopping greeting and body-wagging so I got down on the floor on the carpet to pet and hug her and let her kiss me and man, was she glad to see me!!! (It was mutual, of course-- I missed her a lot, too!)
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I suppose, if I had to, I could get used to this but, man, I sure don't like traveling but I think if I was to do it more frequently, I wouldn't mind it as much and it wouldn't seem like I was losing so much precious time with him.What's Next??
Well, this is a four-day weekend for me. Brian and I need to answer that very question for ourselves-- where do we go from here, if we are going to go somewhere from here? (There-- I've said it out loud!!) I've also got a bunch of email to catch up on and some quilting to do-- it is amazing how used to working that I've become. It really helps me to think and de-stress-- I need a good healthy dose of it today! I've also gotta catch up with friends by phone and see how they're doing and, hopefully, get on with life for the next few days.
I probably won't be back here again today but, you have to admit that I've given you enough to read for awhile. Take care-- have a nice day, evening and night. See you tomorrow!!
Friday, April 5, 2002Arrive home . . .
To be honest, I keep forgetting to look at my itinerary so I couldn't tell you what time I'll be in but, I'll be tired, I'm sure. Hopefully, I'll be able to give you a post when I get home or for sure, by Saturday.
Take care and have a good week!
I'm home . . .I'm tired but glad (really glad) to see Brian!! Its amazing how much you miss someone when you're gone, eh? Speaking of missing someone, Sally went nuts when I got home!! Its nice to be missed but good to be home!
More tomorrow when I've got the energy to write . . . have a nice evening!
Thursday, April 4, 2002Thursday is the second day of this two-day "show". I'm on the agenda for an hour-- again, I'm sure I'll have time for some general questions by the reps which is always a good thing.
At about 4:30pm, we're going to go to a bowling alley in Bethesda, Maryland for a bowling party-- should be tons-o-fun!! Then dinner afterwards with all of the reps-- this will be fun, indeed!!
Wednesday, April 3, 2002Presentations Galore
Wednesday is the first day of this two-day "show". I'm on the agenda for an hour-- I'm sure I'll have time for some general questions by the reps which is always a good thing.
Wednesday night, we travel to D.C. arriving in Herndon for the night.
Tuesday, April 2, 2002Atlanta bound . . .
My flight starts at 6:35am from San Jose-- I'll need to be there by about 4:30-5am!! Way too early!!
I arrive at the hotel by 5pm and am going to be whisked off to dinner with my friend, Judy.
Monday, April 1, 2002April Already!!
Wow!! Where does the time go when you're having fun, eh? ;>) Yes, I know, I said that a little funky but, I'm allowed-- just because I can, okay? Okay!!
No, there wasn't a post yesterday-- your computer and browser are just fine. I really didn't feel like posting so I didn't-- perhaps the little respite that I'll be getting this week will be good for me in that regard.
So, yesterday we had a lovely brunch with Brian's folks-- it is always so good to see them!! Then, we came home and changed our clothes, heading out to the grocery store. When we got home, Brian took off for Fry's (which was closed) to buy a coffee pot and I started laundry. About half-way through the laundry, I couldn't stand it anymore so I had a 20-minute power nap-- felt much relieved after that and was able to finish my presentation.
Since I had a blood draw this morning for a physical that I have next week, I wasn't able to eat or drink anything after 9pm so at about 10, I went to read and fell asleep around 11. Because I had the lab stop this morning, I didn't need to get to the office early so we got a bit of a sleep-in this morning. That was nice for a bit of a change, even though we're coming off the weekend.
My itinerary for the trip is below-- if you want to send email, feel free but I don't know how much access to email I'll have. Have a nice evening, night, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'll see you back here on Friday!!
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