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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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Saturday, January 04, 2003
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
Heraclitus –
1 Ago
And so the New Year begins and I am a changed man.
I guess I just should be happy that I got through the first Friday of the New Year! This week has been a bit hectic. Just getting back from California on Sunday, working locally (thank goodness) on Monday and Tuesday, then having to head out to New Orleans New Year’s Day.
These past few days have been long as well. Going into the clients at 6:30 AM and going literally non-stop has me happy to be flying home. I just got a phone call before getting on the plane telling me that my trip to Memphis for Monday/Tuesday has been postponed for the time being.
On the one side, I am happy to have a few down days. On the other, I will miss the billing.
Either way, life goes on.
I was talking with Jenny last night and the subject of Lynette came up. She indicated that she is engaged to be married. If the person I am told is her fiancé, it is kind of amusing. She dogged him out so much during our moments together that makes me wonder how she talks about me. In any case, I just want her to be happy and wish her, as well as her finance and son the best.
The best revenge is living well and looking great. Did I say that was one of my New Year’s “revolutions”???? The other is not to eat after 8:00 pm (except one night a week). My goal is to reach 165 by April and I really don’t see that as being a problem.
Despite the craziness of the week, I am in good spirits heading into the weekend. Things are going reasonably well at work (yea, they could be better, but they could also be worse), I am going house hunting this weekend (Delta has $44 flights to Jacksonville) and the new business looks like I might have some time to devote to it.
So, yes, I am feeling good about everything and have nothing (oh I could fret, but have decided against it) to really generate angst about. Well, maybe a little angst. I just got off the phone with my Dad and his wife is in the hospital. When we were out last week, she was still recovering from a leg injury that seems to have gotten worse. I will continue to pray for her.
Blog on!
posted by John Panico at 8:58 AM
Wednesday, January 01, 2003
Sometimes, we do what we don’t want to do.
It is New Year’s day. I am on a flight to New Orleans. I promised myself LAST New Year’s day on my flight out to Sun Valley, ID that I would not be flying again on this holiday. But, still I am flying.
Why am I flying you might ask? And that would be a reasonable question. The answer is long, short and not so sweet. The client needed me. And I am a sucker if a client needs me (even if they are lying, I am a sucker.)
I knew I was going to this client for their go live with our system 2 months back. I told them then that I wouldn’t be flying in till the first flight on Thursday could get me there. I reiterated that statement when I visited a few weeks back.
And supposedly, they didn’t have a problem with that as I was doing other work for them that would more than make up any time lost from that morning. But as is usually with people just starting on our system (actually any system for that matter), they got behind.
I am not a big believer in just because you have an emergency doesn’t mean that I have one. But if I like you or if I feel you are going to fall flat on your face because the person who is supposed to take care of all your wants, needs, and desires that works for Da Company doesn’t help you, I am inclined to be of assistance. And the fact that they called with desperation in their voices Tuesday afternoon didn’t hurt.
So there you have it. They needed help they weren’t getting. They more than likely weren’t going to get it right till I got there because the person who was supposed to insure that it was right didn’t make themselves available. And they asked!
And that what has me flying on New Years.
Christmas was fun. I had a great time out in California with my Dad and his wife. But I was also ready to come home. I think 7 days is the max I want to be at ANY one’s house. Still, it was wonderful to see all my relatives and watch their expressions as they saw me for the first time with my new “slimmer” look.
The time change has pretty well beat me up on the way back home here to Atlanta. Julie really steams me. She took Monday off because she was “tired”. She did the same thing when we came back from Puerto Rico.
Da Company didn’t want me to end my year on a happy note and changed a lot of my trips. The fact that they changed them didn’t bother me so much as their hypocrisy. Lori and others are always harping on the fact of the travel costs. Yet, they have no problem changing my flights twice on a trip that I already had ticketed. That cost the client and Da Company a bunch of bucks for nothing. I could ask what they were thinking, but it is obvious that thinking never entered their :alledged” minds.
Last night was New Year’s eve. I was happy that I was working locally for the last couple of days. I felt like Jenny in that this client knew a lot. And sometimes you would get asked questions, revert to your old tricks that you thought you were never going to have to use again (“Show me how you do it and I will tell you if I see a better way.”).
I hadn’t really wanted to go out for New Year’s Eve. But since the client called and I knew I would be flying out, I relented. We went to church early for a “burning bowl” ceremony. And I have to admit that this was the best one yet. (You write down all the things/actions/regrets that you want to release that happened over the last year [or maybe a behavior you no longer wanted], and then you burn that piece of paper in an informal ritual) It really was a powerful experience.
Then on to the movies because a large group had planned to go watch “Catch Me If You Can”. Don’t ask me about it. I slept off and on through most of it. My batteries just ran out.
Afterwards, we all went to a coffee house and chatted, crashed the new year’s celebration downtown and met some friends. Got home around 1:30, got up at 7 AM because Da Company “HAD” to have a year end expense report, did some grocery shopping (Julie was still asleep) for a New Year’s breakfast that included my favorite morning drink (mimosa’s).
That brings me up to date. I just haven’t had time to get to the Monday Mission, so that will have to wait for the first Monday of the new year.
Happy New Year!
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