If a small piece of heaven exists on earth……

…it probably looks like this:

Monique, you should have come along….

And you could have got a bedazzler……

Remembering my kids……..

So as I mentioned in a previous post my kids always send me something when I travel to remember them by.  Here’s what they sent on my current trip to D.C.:

Do you see the resemblance?

Office Fun…

I’m only in the office twice a week, but it’s enough to frustrate me to no end.  The latest ‘incident’ involved printers.  We have various printers all over the building, both big and small.  They are usually in strategic areas so that the people sitting in those areas have them nearby. 

Such is the case with the area I sit in. 

I would guess there are probably close to 20 people that use the printers closest to the area I sit in. We have a large printer:

Big daddy...

 

And we have a small printer…

baby...

 

Now both of these printers work just fine.  They both serve the same purpose and that is to print stuff you want on paper.  There’s nothing special about the paper that comes out of big daddy as opposed to the paper that comes out of the small one.  The only real difference is that the big one prints front and back as opposed to the small one that only prints on one side.  And so here is my office dilemma/annoying stuff people do to me that frustrates me to no end:

My job requires me to work with documents that are incredibly large.  Just this release I have to work with two MasterCard documents (one is 324 pages and the other is 178 pages), an American Express document (318 pages) and a Visa document (499 pages).  That is 1319 pages this release.  Which printer do you think I choose?  You’re right, the big one.  So just recently, very early in the morning I decide to send one of these documents to be printed on the big copier. I did this from home so that 1)it would be there when I got to work, and 2)so I inconvenience as few people as possible with my large print job.  Wouldn’t you know it, I get into the office only to find my document no where.  After a bit of investigation work I find that someone deleted my print job so that they could get their one page email printed out.  This happens all the time.  It’s as if that other printer doesn’t even exist.  Some days people just suck……….ok, I feel better now.

We live in Florida?

You’d never guess it by how my kids were dressed this morning…

Must be snow outside...

Presidential Election

For anyone still undecided about their candidate or the importance of this election, please take a minute to read the following form Dr. James Dobson:

http://www.citizenlink.org/focusaction/updates/A000008358.cfm

Congratulations to the Rays.

Who would have ever thought……

With the second lowest payroll in all of baseball and in the same division as the high spending Red Sox and hated Yankees, the Rays come out on top.

Paper Overload

Today I received new requirements from MasterCard.  I’ve become somewhat numb to this (I attribute most of my hair loss to these releases, the rest I attribute to the Redskins lack of success over the past decade or so), but do they really need to publish two documents that are 324 and  178 pages.  Does it need to be this complicated?  And this is a smaller release (at least for now).  Oh well, Visa will hit me next week with their own 3-400 pager.  Job security I guess…

 

 

 

Business Travel Boredom

I’m lucky enough to get to do some traveling for work at various times during the year.  I love to travel and see new places.  Hate being away from the family, but just love going places (and eating for free). 

Just a few highlights of things my business travel has allowed me to do and see over the years:

• Met and talked one on one with Bono (the living person I have admired most since I was 12 years old) in a Brussels Hotel lobby.
• Attended the David Letterman Show in New York City (guests:  Heidi Klum, Shania Twain, and some other dude)
• Stood in a crowd of many thousands of frozen and crushed together people at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony (no bathroom breaks for hours)
• Bumped into Sheryl Crow by the reflecting pool in DC.  Only me and her and about three of her friends shooting some video. Neat to see her (although she is politically misguided).
• Took my wife to NYC.  Took her to a Broadway show in NYC which was on her bucket list.  Saw Hairspray.  Incredible show.  She got to meet the cast afterwards, including Lance Bass for those boy band fans reading this.  He hasn’t made it to the moon yet I guess.
• Stayed in the Ritz Carlton on the beach in Key Biscayne (I don’t belong there), amongst other locations.
• Bumped into Brooke Shields in Times Square.
• Took the family along to San Francisco and toured the California Coast.

Many great memories on various trips.  I probably would have never gone to Brussels in my life, but have now gone many times.  Beautiful city and great chocolate.  Just ask Monique.

The problem with my business travel is that these meetings I go to tend to all end up in the same places:  St. Louis, DC, New York, San Francisco, Brussels, Miami, Atlanta, etc….  I’ve had so many unique things happen to me over the years that unless I’m meeting a celebrity, I’ve seen the city already, so I’m bored. 

Each time I leave, my kids give me something to take along so I’ll “remember” them.  I don’t know if they honestly believe I’m going to forget them on one of my short trips, but I guess that’s a whole other blog.  Anyway, my last trip to Brussels, Austin gave me a stuffed animal duck to take along so I wouldn’t “forget” him (although the duck doesn’t resemble him at all, I’m thinking maybe a picture would be more appropriate next trip).  I got pretty bored and the following is the result of that boredom….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My traveling partner...

My train compadre...

 

Animal de partido....

 

Even ducks have to go...

 

Catching up on emails...

 

It's been a long day...

I’m a blogger???

So I’m a blogger.  Never thought this day would come. 

Anyone who really knows me knows that I’m a pretty private person.  Almost to a fault.  I’m not sure why that is honestly.  Was there a tragic moment in my childhood that made me this way?  Can’t think of one.  Am I anti-social?  No.  Just the way I am I guess.  So this blog is kind of tough for me.  I’m not used to sharing thoughts or feelings with many people outside my inner circle, and even then it’s sometimes hard.  But I look at this blog as therapy for me in some ways.  Those that know me are aware of my “situation” and there are many days where I just need to get some stuff out.  So along with random thoughts from me you might find various ramblings from me that don’t necessarily make sense sometimes.  Just bare with me.  Hope you enjoy reading this.  If you do, let  me know.