Getting Busy

The travel gods have emerged from hibernation; I have a mess of trips coming up. San Diego the 2nd weekend in February. Las Vegas the last week of February. Rochester NY the first week in March. San Diego (again) the 2nd weekend in March. And a potential Chicago trip hanging out there (so far unplanned)

Nice to be busy. For whatever reason, one cannot gauge the health of the economy or the business cycle by me.....

Blogging from BDL (the crappy terminal)

In the old, and soon to be closed, B terminal at Bradley. WAY off my stride this morning; I drove into the Parking Garage (oops) so I just headed right to the exit and got out without a charge and drove around the loop to the B Terminal Lot. Then I got to the ticket counter and could not find my ID. (oops) - I left the terminal thinking I left it in another bag (from last week's Uberman event) but thought to double check my bag and it was in the bottom. Then all that excitement (plus a phone call) maed me forget to hit the ATM in the ticketing area, so I got through security with about $5 in my bag. Need to hit an ATM in St. Louis.

I am headed out for an unusual (for me) site visit - some instability problems with a voltage regulator and a CT Scanner - my customer is sending and engineer, the internal drive manufacturer is sending an engineer, plus myself (ostensibly looking for wiring or grounding problems) and the imaging company site engineer.

The good news - a direct flight from BDL to STL. No rental car on my end (my customer is driving). Probably a late night tonight, and bug out tomorrow, so a quick trip. No time to site see.....

Serendipity

Unblogged so far: back on Tuesday as I boarded the 90 minute late Amtrak Vermonter, en route to Philadelphia, an unusual blip in the fabric of the universe.

I found my way to the Cafe Car (and the business class seats waiting in the front of same). I found a pair of empty seats and tossed my roller bag into the overhead rack. And as I am sitting, I make eye contact with the woman across the aisle, who coughs and says "Do I know you?"

Of course she did - my friend M from MHB (and who I have met twice in person, once in NYC and once in the Boston area) - en route home to NYC from visiting family in Vermont. We gabbed the entire trip from Hartford to Penn Station; she is an experienced train traveller so gave me the 4-1-1 on travel by rail.

Strange days, indeed.

Home Again

Mom and I made good time back from NJ / Philly - leaving at 9:00 a.m. and arriving home around 1:30, and that included a potty break, a gas break, and lunch at a diner in New Haven. We ended up missing NJ Turnpike Exit 11 (for the Garden State and the Tappen Zee Bridge) so braved the much feard (by Mom) GWB. Not too much traffic (even sans EZ-Pass) and then we took the Hutch and the Merritt (which Mom thought was pretty, and was actually a nice drive around noon with little traffic)

So, a safe trip back. Stopped by the house to say hello to Zippy, then to the train station to fetch my car, and then saw mom to I-84 East. Mission accomplished.

A little work this afternoon, and then home for dinner. We watched Mysterious Skin tonight (dark, triggering, excellent) - I'm slowly rolling independent films into our Netflix buffet. We need to use closed captions, I think, because the movie is punctuated by Zippy saing "What?" to an unheard line and me either repeating the line (with increasing emphasis as the movie goes on) or saying "I dunno....."

Amtrak 1, Jude 1

Amtrak was 90 minutes late, so I did not roll into my hotel room until 10:00 p.m. Did I mention my client is picking me up in the lobby at 5:45 a.m. ?

On the other hand, I'm putting my rollaboard up in the rack, and getting situated in business class, and the person across the aisle asked "Do we know each other?" Of course we did - she frequents a message board we hang out on and we've met in person once in Boston and once in NYC. She was en route back to NYC from a family visit in Vermont. So from Hartford to NYC I had someone to gab with.

Still got some work done between NYC and Philly....but no need for all my boredome suppressants.

The universe is weird and wonderful, n'est pas?

Union Place - Hartford Wireless

Hey, free wireless at Union Place....just like at BDL. Pretty slick.

I'm en route to Philly, waiting for the Vermonter. I'm probably over prepared for the trip, with my laptop, MP3 player, a copy of today's Courant, the latest Hartford Business Journal, a book, and some trade magazines. Also an iced coffee and a subway veggie delight for supper - no idea what if any food is available on the train. Hoping that business class provides a power outlet and enough room to work; I have a bunch of reports to get out and emails to review.....

Here's hoping that the trip works out OK - I have a completely romantic and optimistic outlook on train travel.

Unconventional Travel

Business travel for me usually means (a) trekking up to BDL for a flight or (b) trekking over to the local rent-a-car place to pick up a more road-worthy vehicle.

Tomorrow, I head down to Philadelphia via Amtrak - the Vermonter which will whisk me in style (business class!) from Hartford to Philly. I'm working at the Hospital at the University of PA (walking distance from the train) and lodging at the local Sheraton (also walking distance). I'm pretty psyched that the train mode of transit works out so well; wish it did more often....

Working Wednesday, then heading over to NJ where my mom has been spending time with her friend - my mission is to drive her and her car home (or at least as far as CT) on Thursday - save her a few hours of driving; and nice to spend some time with mom.

Another client called Friday - looking to get me down to Baltimore this week. The have not committed so far (and it looks like it may be too late to organize something for Thursday) although maybe I can slip down on Southwest on Friday morning....and come back Friday night or Saturday morning.....

Photo of the Amtrak Vermonter glommed from Jeff Lubchanskey

Christian Pron?

My client and I had dinner at the Texas Roadhouse last night (such a shame to have the exact same dining experience 1/2 way across the country as I can have down the road from my house, but whatever, neither location anywhere near Texas) and in the parking lot was a big 'ol SUV advertising the "#1 Christian Porn Site", specifically: www.xxxchurch.com - we could not figure out whether this was a pron site that was trying to lure in christians, or a christian "recover from porn" site, or maybe some obscure midwest christian sect that was OK with pron. My client (a somewhat conservative gentleman from the south) commented that if the goal was saving souls, they were going about it the wrong way, in his opinion.


Well, I surfed on over this morning, and it is indeed a local "save your soul from pron" kind of site. Amusingly, there seems to be some sort of tie-in with pron star Ron Jeremy - some sort of rolling debate between the pastor of xxxchurch and Mr. Jeremy. You can also find a fairly amusing (caption / graphics / colors) "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" shirt.

Grand Rapids is funny - there are lots of sort of grungy rocker kids, goth kids, and the like hanging around, but their fearsome rebellious clothing is all pro-christian. Take Marilyn Manson tour merch, or Kiss, or even anime stuff - and insert Jesus / Christ / God in there. Channel surfing I found a few christian rock bands - loud, in your face, sulky and posing like any such music - but christian. It's odd, amusing, and sort of passive aggressive.

Parents of all stripes have to continue to dislike the attitude, the dark themes, the tee-shirts, the loud music, etc. But if its all done in the name of the Lord, what can they say?

Heh-heh. The House of Slytherin is alive and well.....

More Free Wi Fi

Add Grand Rapids to the list of airports with free Wifi. So I get to blog a little; my flight is not until noon, but the airport shuttle from the hotel ran at 9:45. So a little early. Wifi makes it palatable.....

I was able to practice this morning in the empty pool area - the heat and humidity were nice for practice although I wonder about the effect of chlorinein the air.....I warmed up in the pool area then stepped outside to a patio to do some inversions against a friendly column and some forward bending - then back inside to stretch, cool down, and finished with a nice, deep savasana. Remarkable the effect of practice on the spirit - I get into this hotel / travel / work lethargy. I channel surf, I lounge, I mess around online. Instead, a good hour+ of yoga and I had time to shower, to pack, and feel much better about life.

In the "wide world of inversions" motif, I did a nice long supported headstand (against the column) and started working towards balancing away from the wall. I also did some down-dog on the wall, and actually made a few stabs of jumping up into headstand (unsuccessful but kind of fun to try, and I can see how close I am). And I got up into wheel for a bit also.....

I have a relatively close connection in Detroit today so I may end up stuck there; otherwise I touch down in Hartford around 3:15. The work went well. My recent struggles getting trip reports down for this customer has germinated an idea - I am going to develop a standard template for this client, with standard language and spots for measurements and photos - I have (3) reports pending and the time spent on the template will be well spent, I think.

A Week Late (and chromosomally problematic)

Wandering through the Grand Rapids airport, my dykedar is going off left and right. Lot's of assortedly butchish, dykish, and/or earthy women in the waiting area - not wall to wall, but definitely a cluster of sorts. Backpacks, nalgene water bottles, birkenstocks, shaved heads. I'm thinking to myself "this is Grand Rapids, not Ann Arbor....."

Then it hit me. Michfest was last week; and Grand Rapids is the closest airport. These are probably the stragglers, heading home. Doh!

Random Road Musings

A couple of puddle jumpers - from Cleveland to Detroit and from Detroit to Grand Rapids. I probably should have driven....for all the hurry up and wait associated with air travel. That being said, Northwest Airlines, and Detroit Metro, have been downright civil so far.

Staying at the Airport Marriott in Cleveland ($159 rack rate) but then you do not get free breakfast / coffee in the morning, free wifi, or free parking even. Sheesh. No wonder I am a low budget hotel kinda girl - I just freaking hate paying for all these stupid things that the moderately priced properties throw in for free. And while I am at it, can I grouse about paying close to $100 to rent a minivan for 18 hours because that's all they had on the lot. Next time, I book cars for all my travel and then cancel them if I need to.....just to lock in a lower rate.....

On the plus side, the veggie wrap at National Coney Island in Detroit Metro (right across from Gate A23) is pretty rockin and is miles ahead of the McMeal I was considering.

And Boingo works out pretty well for me as well - even though I need to buy it, I can log in from Cleveland AND Detroit for my pound of flesh. Not so bad. I had some web stuff to upload this morning; it's pretty cool to be able to keep up with the little things while I travel.

Blogging from BDL

Off to Cleveland (today) and Grand Rapids (tomorrow) and with any luck, back in CT on Thursday. A whirlwind tour of the midwest, courtesy of one of my clients. I'm meeting my client in Cleveland, and he will be heading to Grand Rapids with me, so no need to worry about directions and the like, although I have brought along my GPS, just because.

Per usual, I have my big tool case (46.5 pounds today, I'm pretty good at keeping it under 50) although one of the latches has broken and I need to replace the case. So I have a large strap holding things shut. I need to buy a bunch of stuff next time I get a big check - a new multimeter, a new ground current meter, a new tool case. Probably think of some other things as well.

I also brought my mat, so I can practice a bit - Monday was a nice juicy hot class with Marcia with lots of inversions - I got up into wheel (despite being pretty wiped) and when it came time to do a headstand (which I have been craving and working on during my personal practice) I simply pulled my mat over to the wall and pulled myself up (I need to wall for stability at the moment, but at home I do it in the middle of the room, all of our walls being covered with bookshelves and art). Upside down is great! Marcia was the first person to offer her ankles to me in wheel assist, so I was happy to demonstrate my newfound wheel prowess in her class.

I mention this at times, but I am overly blessed with yoga instructors - everytime I go to a class with Marcia, or Nykki, or Shankara, or Carissa, or Jeff - I lament how infrequently I am able to practice with each of them. Or rather, how it would be OK if I simply worked with any one of them - they are each wonderful in their own way and when I take a class its like coming back to a favorite restaurant. An abundance of blessings.....

For the record, this is a pricey (for me) trip - because its a multi-city one with some pretty tight travel windows - I'm out on Northwest (through Detroit) to Cleveland, then through Detroit to Grand Rapids, and finally through Detroit back to Bradley. But that did not stop me from popping the credit card into the machine when I was offered a $15 upgrade from my center seat in the back to an aisle seat in an exit row. Ca-ching! My client should be fine with it - he usually stays in much nicer hotels (Marriot / Courtyard) than I do when traveling along and I saw that his ticket was quite a bit more expensive than mine. So I can splurge a little......

Dinosaur Kid

Colin McEnroe has been spending some time in NYC with his son, making memories. Pretty cool. It has got me thinking about my own times in NYC. (also, he links here from his blog, and people have been visiting, so I better write something less mundane than my usual pap)

My father hailed from Long Island. We lived in south central PA (think a bit west of Amish) and so my dad and his family seemed urban and sophisticated. Dad was a NY kind of guy, in my eyes. In hindsite, I think Dad feared and hated the city - our visits to his family always involved the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, as if he were circling as far around Manhattan as he could. For years I assumed that bridge was the gateway to New York. So we would head out to the Island - Rockville Center, Massapequa Park, Wantaugh, Amityville. It was urban and exotic enough for this kid. Mostly, my grandma took us to play bingo, show us off to her friends, and smother us with pride and love.

When my dad died, we became estranged from his family - who conspired to hide from my grandmother that her youngest son had been having heart problems. Don't want to worry mom. Instead, she got to say goodbye to her baby in a funeral home. Mom was furious about that, and the rift never healed - I became the conduit between the families. When grandma fell ill, I was the one to drive out to the island to see her in the nursing home - shrunken, with one leg amputated. Her funeral was a debacle for my family - as we drove in a blinding rainstorm from MA down to Long Island. That may be the last time I saw many of my father's family - 20+ years ago.

I remember my dad taking us into the city to visit Museum of Natural History. I was a Dinosaur Kid. That's not particularly odd or problematic these days; kids are weaned on Barney, parking your kid in front of cable TV dinosaur shows is pretty commonplace, and animated dinosaurs have stuffed the coffers of children's museums everywhere. But back in my day - the 60's - being a Dinosaur Kid was different. One had to be cut from a different cloth to find the handful of books dedicated to the subject, there were few toys or models or peers. Dinosaur kids were the hardcore nerds. One of the instances of childhood bullying drilled into my brain was a chant the kids made up "Russell is a fossil of a dinosaur's d*ck"

So my family (my dad, surely, mom was never much for the urban experience) dragged his young family into the city he feared or hated, so his eldest could see some dinosaurs. In hindite, pretty cool. For years, when NYC was discussed, that was my one cultural touchstone.

As the years tumbled past, I've become more NYC savvy. My first major relationship was to a person who had lived in the city - so there were trips to MoMA, to the Met, to visit old friends, to see some shows. I've worked in the medical field for years, and have been to many of the hospitals strung out along the east side. Later, doing freelance production work during the dot.com era, I've found myself in and out of the city for work - schlepping powerpoint at Joe's Pub, the Rainbow Room, at 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, at the Harvard Club, at Chelsea Piers, or in the banquet rooms of the old stately hotels. Even back at the Museum of Natural History; at a New School awards dinner, under the whale.

NYC is kind of old hat to me now - I take Metronorth into Grand Central, I jump on the subway. I hum Sondheim's Song and Dance as I wander around Manhattan. "And that drive in the eyes of New York girls; I'd like to be one of them....." I'm perhaps a bit jaded - avoiding the obvious tourist things, not looking up too often, not letting on the delight and surprise to find myself in front of some iconic structure or famous intersection.

But to this day, mention NYC to me, and a small part of my memory flashes back to the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton (long since remounted in line with current theories of the beast). New York is that dinosaur skeleton to me - ancient, held together with wire and bracing, improbable, fearsome.

Twelve Hours Off

My friend Helen and I often joke about being 12 hours off. I'm usually getting up around the time she is heading to bed, as evidenced by our emails and various message board posts.

Maybe its a New York City thing. I'm up early this morning (the dogs were stirring and I have an appointment to go balloon crewing). I jump online to find Colin McEnroe finishing up a blog post from his NYC vacation.

I'm jealous - he's having fun. So's Helen. (Being young and hot and trendy helps.) Maybe it's because they are both writers.....there's a certain bon vivant lifestyle and a need to live an interesting life so as to write about it that we mere mortals lack.

Then again, in this week's Courant column (which they upload earlier than the news portion of the website, being a Sunday morning early bird has taught me that), Colin writes "....we take the subways, even though, in the summer, the lower tracks appear to be heated by the molten core of the earth....the heat was so vicious down on those lower tracks that it felt like subway poison crowding every other toxin out of my pores."

I think I'll stick to hot yoga for a good detox....the NYC subway sweat, not so much.

That being said, reading about and vicariously living Colin's father-son adventures is good for the soul, a little balm for the wounds left from my own father's somewhat aloof parenting style and premature departure from my life.....

Back to Business

I think, finally, my summer vacation is coming to an end. Today is going to be my first real work day in a week and a half. Kind of looking forward to it, not the least because of the fine air conditioning over at the office. Goodness its powerful hot out there (and in here).

We spent two days in Rhode Island at a charming estate - Zippy's mother and sister conspired to gather the smallish family for a reunion. I had a lovely time; Zippy's niece is a delight and I was entertaining with pool frolics (she loved standing on my shoulders, and kept saying "let's pretend we're friends") and also a game I thought up called "mystery box" - a shoe box became the repository for things lying around and she had to guess what I put in there. Sort of like 20 questions except she was a bit too young to really guess. So she'd work in tandem with Nana (Zippy's mom) to figure it out. We must have gone through 20 objects before I tired of the game. She could have gone on forever.

We also met the newest member of the family, Zippy's nephew Chaz (aka Little Man aka Mister Mister) who was also beautiful and amusing.

All in all a nice reunion. I, lacking a lifetime of history, got along fine with Zippy's family, although there were some old tensions. The food was delicious (Zippy's sister is a Martha Stewart wanna-be, so we feasted on lamb chops and steak on the two nights there) as well as cocktails. I got my swimming in (being 25% dolphin, I love the water)

Today - a morning hot yoga class, and long overdue work - I am cranking out two reports this morning to get a jump on things and then the rest of the day - more reports, overdue August 1st invoicing, and other reports and projects to finish up.

SEATAC Blog

Inexplicably, I have internet access here via Boingo. Not sure if this is costing me anything (I did not put in a credit card number) but maybe it remembers me and bills automatically. No matter. SEATAC terminal A also gets points for having a nice standing counter where I ate my breakfast and from where I am blogging....

I was able to hop on an earlier flight - so I get in at 5:30 or so instead of 10:00 pm tonight. Which means I could conceptually make the Gaia Roots concert tonight (depending upon my energy, the Zipster, and various sundry variables and intangibles. I do not have a seat assigned yet, so I am imagining a center seat all the way back to CT - but whatever. Just happy not to have to hang around the airport all morning.

Yesterday, the work got done early afternoon, so I was able to sneak out to a bit of yoga. I found a Viniyoga class at Yoga Barn in Issaquah. Was not my favorite practice - no vinyasa, never actually got up into Warrior, no sun salutations, I barely broke a sweat. Yet challenging in ways. Something different, worth exploring.

Bout it from Seattle. Back to CT anon!