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It is hard being on the road over 200 nights a year...away from your family, isolated in many ways. It definitely isn't for everyone. This blogs represents the thoughts of just one such person. Read along and find out if the road is for you.
This is my new blogchalk:
United States, Georgia, Gainesville, Unity of Gainesville, English, John, Male, reading, RE Investing. :)
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Wednesday, November 06, 2002
Another day, another???? 1 Ago
As I write this, it is starting to snow. At first glance, it makes the place look so pretty, almost Christmas-like. And Christmas always makes me feel good. On the one hand, that is always something to look forward to. On the other hand, I know that I have a 2+ hour drive to the airport tomorrow and understand that the ride will be made that much more difficult by the snow.
It has been a long day overall. Not a whole lot got done at the clients today. The client expressed some disappointment and even asked if I might be able to stay an extra day, which is probably not possible. Usually, I take full responsibility for the schedule getting off track. But not this time!
It isn’t my fault that things that normally take a maximum of an hour to train take over 2 hours. Why? Because they are still putting together their procedures and have discussions (most with the lead owner, some that include me) on how “they” are going to handle this aspect/feature, which makes the schedule run behind. Add to that the fact that I am going to have to leave early today to make my flight and I am not confident that we are going to be able to cover everything. Another reason that we are behind is that the person who created the schedule probably doesn’t really understand what is required/not required to adequately perform the training.
I stayed so late at the clients that by the time I got back to the hotel, created cases for areas that I have questions on, and attend to emails, it is almost 8:30.
I decide that I haven’t taken in a new coffee shop in a couple of weeks, and hit the phone book. I do find several, but after further research by calling around or actually going to the location, come up empty.
I really don’t want to call any day a “bust”, but overall, it wasn’t anything to write home about.
posted by John Panico at 6:56 AM
Monday, November 04, 2002
Trying to remember gratitude. 1 Ago (Back on track with at least a little something to talk about)
Monday's Mission is out for the week. Check it out.
Is having an “attitude of gratitude a way life or a test? I know that I indicated Sunday’s message at church was about being grateful, but couldn’t it be just a little easier?
Da Company had me flying into Rochester and “only 60 miles further than Syracuse” to save $1,200 in airfare. You know what? I am grateful that at least they called to ask me if it would be ok. (Of course, my constant complaining over the last few months might have made them think twice about just booking the flight).
But 85 miles came and went on my odometer before I even came upon Syracuse on my way to Utica. A total of 140 miles later, I roll into the hotel. I probably wouldn’t complain so much (or would I?) if my plane didn’t land until close to 10 PM. I checked into the hotel at 12:30 AM.
That being said, I got to the client this morning to train on the new product. I was actually starting to get some confidence on this product until today. One of the principals who hasn’t got involved in any part of the process up to now challenged me all day. Like Jenny’s experience today, in many cases she would ask questions about how to do things and I didn’t really have the answer for her. Unlike Jenny, my issue was not that I didn’t know (but it could have just as easily been that) the answer, but that “Why can’t you make it like I want it.” Folks, when you buy any ERP software package, you must bend your practices to the software, the software won’t bend to you! She was blown away when I told her to “Just get over it” when she complained one time too many.
Still, overall I am in a good mood. It is cold and rainy here, but I have some time on the road to myself to ponder the questions of life, which are many.
posted by John Panico at 11:12 PM
At least I have another pair like them at home! No 1 Ago again today. What can I say? It was a weekend and they are usually the “lost” days to me :)
Well, the past couple of days have been interesting. As I am headed up to Rochester, NY and then a 90 minute drive (at least) to get to Ithaca, I can only thank Da Company for handing me such a route. But what else is new and complaining only frustrates me (my new approach to this situation).
Friday was a fun day in several ways. First off, when you are relatively local on a Friday, you are already ahead of the game. Being just 35 miles from home saved a lot of airport and traffic hassle in general.
On top of that, the client turned out to be fun. Not that there was any indication that they wouldn’t be (that would be this trip that I am going on right now), but you just never know. Several folks actually came up and personally thanked me for the time I had given and the job I had done. Maybe it was me, but they actually sounded sincere!
It helps if you have fun along the way. And that is something that by and large I try to do at work and in life. So, I kid folks a lot trying to get my point across in a not so threatening way. “Is it my accent that you can’t understand me?” I might ask when I tell them to do one thing and they do exactly the opposite. (For the record, even though I live in the South, I don’t have an accent.) I have some other quips that I might say during the engagment as well. I never try to be mean spirited and if I feel that I am getting close, I tend to back off.
On the other side, if you can’t take it, you shouldn’t dish it out is my motto. So, when I am on site, both the clients and I have fun poking at each other hopefully in a playful manner.
But as usually, I digress.
I pretty much stand all day when I am training. Some folks don’t, and there are times when I may sit for a few minutes, but by and large I will walk around the room checking to see if everyone is on the same page or might be having a problem that they won’t speak up about.
Do you ever know at some point in time that something isn’t just quite right? That feeling flooded my senses around 10:30 Friday morning. As I slid my foot across the floor, it occurred to me that the pair of shoes I was wearing didn’t quite feel right. It is hard to describe, but some shoes just feel different as you walk and occasionally when you drag the shoe on its’ edge.. Something was wrong with my left shoe. As I looked down, I immediately saw the problem. I was wearing two different pairs of shoes. The left one was black and the right one was a two tone brown. I laughed out loud and disclosed to all my faux paux. They laughed even more than I did, but it was all in fun. Like I told them, “I have another pair just like these at home that I was meaning to wear.”
Saturday had me looking at homes. My new local realtor seems to understand what my goal in a house is (getting a fixer upper that I can turn over in a year or so). But since I just got the pre-approval the other day, he hadn’t scouted out any potentials yet. So I went and looked at some new homes. I have to say that I was pretty impressed and might be persuaded to go in that direction. I have never been a “brick” man before, but I saw one that knocked my socks off. No, it isn’t St. Augustine, but it doesn’t look like God wants me there right now. But you never know.
Saturday evening was spend alone and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Being on the road does have its’ downside, but having time to yourself is not one of them in my opinion. (I will admit there are some times that it crosses into your mind though.)
Going to church today has changed my perspective a little bit. No one needs to go to church. Some go for the social contacts of like minded people. That is all well and good, but I go to have someone to work on during the week. I don’t always agree with the minister, but if I do, I make an effort to try and incorporate that aspect into my life. This week’s topic was about gratitude.
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