Sam's Blog

Man! A lot has been going on...

OK.... So, it's been awhile since I blogged. Well...here's the Cliff's Notes version:

I had a meeting with a customer in Fremont a few weeks ago. I took advantage of the opportunity and did some visiting while I was down... I flew into Sacramento on Wednesday and stayed with the Landrums. I woke early Thursday and worked in Fremont Thursday and Friday. I was back up in Sacto on Friday. On Saturday, we went fishing (aka bait-drowning) in the afternoon. Saturday evening, Tony, Jennifer, and I met up with Dave and Tammy at Osaka Sushi. Dave is the "Norm" of Osaka...we never had to order anything. The gourmet sushi just kept coming. I hadn't been that full in a long time... Afterwards, we had drinks and a "perception debate" at Bistro 33 downtown.

Sunday, I spent the day visiting my family (I was supposed to be there Saturday...). It was good to see the family again. I wish Lisa and the kids could have come down.

After visiting, I made my way back - just in time for some excellent prime rib. HUGE THANKS to Tony and Jennifer for their hospitality!!

I headed back to Washington on Monday, 11/20. I was feeling a little under the weather so I headed to the airport early and kicked back for my 3:00 flight. By the time I got home at 7:00-ish (traffic was a nightmare), I was feverish and feeling like cr**. I had a pretty bad cold through the weekend. Lisa and the kids were sick as well. Luckily, we felt OK on Thanksgiving. We cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, rice, gravy, and a veggie. We had pumpkin pie for dessert.

We had snow over the weekend and the temperature dipped into the low 20's. Monday was clear but it snowed Monday night and Tuesday morning. I had an 8:10am flight scheduled for Tuesday (back to Fremont for a customer meeting). I woke up at 4, showered, and hit the road at 4:30am. Unfortunately, the inch or two of snow was sitting on ice. I was back home by 5:10 - I didn't get more than 1/2-mile from the house. Unable to get through to a taxi company for a ride to the airport, I called and changed my resevervation to a 1:40pm flight. I tried another time to drive in the snow/ice. Once again, I didn't make if far. This time, I couldn't get two blocks away. I tried calling taxi and shuttle companies but none had available vehicles. at 9:45, I left again. I still couldn't get around the block. I drove back home, put the tire chains on the truck, and headed out again. This time, I made it to the highway which was clear.

Highway 18 was clear and very dry...however, the bulk of the drive to the airport was along I-5 which was still very slushy. There were hundreds of cars along the shoulders. I got to the airport at 11:30. The flight took off on time. I had a connection through Reno. The connecting flight was delayed for a couple of hours. I finally made it to San Jose at 6:30 and was at the hotel by 7:30.

We had all day customer meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday was internal meetings and performance planning. I flew home on Saturday (after a short diversion through Portland because of the fog in Seattle). What a trip...

On Saturday evening, we went to a local YMCA for a birthday party for one of the kids' friends. Everyone was a little disappointed in the "party coordinator's" lack of coordination and involvement. However, the party was topped off by some indoor swimming which thrilled all of the kids.

Today was family/football day... This week looks to be another busy work week - day-long meetings at least through Wednesday evening. At least the meetings are in Seattle....

posted by Sam @ 8:52 PM