Fun and Games Dept

So this is the view from my hotel window in Allen, Texas. The freeway with the blurry cars is US Route 75. It’s always busy.

I’m in Allen, Texas on business this week. I’ve met the other members of the group I work in for the first time face-to-face and I have to admit that I feel more comfortable than I thought I would. I like these folks. It’s so much better when one can put a face to a name.

Tonight we had a team building exercise at a place called Top Golf and I swung a golf club for the first time in my life. I’m not good at it at all but I was able to hold my own and not completely embarrass myself. I was happy that I got up the nerve to golf in front of my co-workers! Perhaps a couple of beers helped the situation.

The training is going well and I think my eyes have only gazed over once or twice so far. Sometimes when there’s a lot of incoming data one can get overloaded. Reviewing notes and the like is certainly helping. I’m such a geek.

My theory about my insanity is holding true; I still sleep best in the Central Time Zone and I have absolutely no explanation as to why.

Since the advertised WiFi is not working on this flight, I thought I would try something else along the line of “firsts”. So I’m having my first in-flight alcoholic beverage.

I don’t know the name of the flight attendant that is working coach, but he is a handsome gentleman and he apologized for not having an orange to include with my Blue Moon.

The food choices are rather limited. My supper consisted of a can of Pringles, two free Biscotti cookies, a Diet Coke in a leaky cup and this can of Blue Moon. I see the first class flight attendant walking around with a submarine sandwich. Apparently that’s a first class thing only. Someone is going to have to let me fly somewhere via first class someday. Preferably on a 747.

That will be a grand blog entry entitled “Firsts”. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy my first alcoholic beverage on a flight.

So I was all excited on my flight from Syracuse to LaGuardia because there was WiFi. I confirmed that there would be WiFi on the 3 1/2 hour flight from LaGuardia to Dallas-Ft. Worth. I would be able to do my surfing thing and actually accomplish some things I wanted to get done online.

It was when we reached 10,000 feet and we were permitted to use electronic devices that they informed us that the WiFi on this aircraft was inoperative at this time. So, I paid $9.95 plus tax for a day pass of WiFi when I could have bought a shorter pass for the first flight today.

I wouldn’t say that I’m pissed off about this, but I do find it disappointing. If you’re going to scream about WiFi on your flights, you should make sure that your WiFi is actually working. Geeks get hostile when they’re promised an Internet connection and they don’t get it. I have several tech friends that have two internet connections at home so that they’re never disconnected. I have contingency plans for our internet connectivity at The Manor. While I’m sure that Internet connectivity is hardly a priority on a commercial flight, I do expect a company to come through on their promises.

So, Delta Airlines, you disappointed me a bit on this flight. I’m on a regional jet for three and a half hours, there is no entertainment available (though the three women in row 11 are amusing in an irritating sort of way) and now we have no WiFi.

Such a first world problem I know. I should have commissioned the LearJet.

So tonight Earl and I decided to mix it up a little bit try a restaurant at one of the local casinos for dinner. Normally we go to the ever-growing Turning Stone Casino but this restaurant is at Vernon Downs Casino, a much smaller venue that is trying to bring some year round pep to the aged horse track.

We knew it was going to be an interesting experience when Earl spotted a used condom next to the Jeep in the parking lot. It wasn’t ours.

The restaurant, Mr. G’s, was kind of meh. The ads showed an impressive bar space which led one to believe that it’s kind of like a pub. The truth of the matter is, the nice bar space is situated in one corner of this ballroom turned restaurant and quite frankly it had all the ambience of a hospital waiting room. Really high ceiling, foldable wall and one big fluorescent light fixture in the middle of the room. The food was decent, though Earl’s hamburger was kind of rare, but it didn’t kill us so we were satisfied. My beer was flat.

After that swanky experience we went into the casino, which only has video gaming machines. Since the ATM only gave out $100 bills, I put one in a machine and it was kind enough to let me take out $150 after three spins. I cashed in my ticket and called it a night. Earl had similar luck with his round of video gaming and we were out of there within a half hour. The condom stayed behind.

The slip pictured above is actually after Earl decided to play $5 on our way out. He actually came out ahead as well.

We decided to drive off to the aforementioned Turning Stone Casino where Earl played poker in the poker room and I watched people mill about for a few hours. I actually played one of my favorite games, “Count the Mustaches”. They were found on men both young and old and a couple of surly women. I didn’t include the ladies in my tally, that just didn’t seem like the galant thing to do.

Earl came out of the poker room with a wad of cash. We had a spot of dessert and decided to call it a night while we were still ahead in the game.

I think it was a good way to kick off the weekend.

I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I slept good when I actually slept, but I woke up around 0400 ET and I was unable to fall back asleep. So, I’m in the mood for a nap for the rest of this lunch hour.

There are men in their own cars on either side of me napping right now. I seem to have found the right spot for a nap today. Perhaps it’s the view of the snow bank that makes this the perfect spot.

So Earl, Jamie and I are sitting at the café at Barnes and Noble. It’s the closest thing we have to a Starbucks and it is fairly acceptable. I am curious as to how long this store is going to be here. The electronic age is slowly making books go the way of the dodo. There’s something not replicable about holding a book in your hand versus reading via an iPad, but people don’t seem to have that investment in classic things anymore. It’s kind of sad.

Speaking of classics, the man sitting across the aisle from us is using as 12-inch Mac PowerBook G4. These machines were always a great find back in the mid 00s, I have to admit that I would love to mess around with one just because they’re so cute. I shan’t have that chance, though. I hope the man that’s using it is enjoying it. It appears that he is.

Someone at work had the brilliant idea of programming a “time zone clock” into their application. This clock worked great for five days, until the infinite loop ran the server to a crash in the middle of a busy day. I would scold the programmer for his mistake but I feel funny scolding myself. At least it kept my afternoon interesting. It’s a good thing 1. Love my job, 2. They love means 3. I have a hot standby server at all times and that server isn’t a hot mess. Yay for uptime stats!

While at the gym earlier today I realized that a woman was glaring at me with a disgusted look. Turns out I was staring at her chest. She’s such a silly girl. I couldn’t care less about her boobs, I was more interested in the word “BACON” she had emblazoned across her chest.

I love bacon.

So I just walked around 65 blocks in Manhattan. It might have been a little more. I know that I’m well over my 10,000 steps daily goal per my FitBit, so I’m feeling pretty good.

For a February day, the weather in Manhattan is quite acceptable today. It’s partly sunny with a temperature around 42F. There are quite a few people lumbering around bundled up like they’re ready for the next Ice Age. I walked around in my leather jacket without a hat or gloves. I was not uncomfortable. The accompanying scarf was more stylish than functional.

As I hiked up to the Upper West Side I found myself feeling much like I did as I walked around Dublin back in 2007; my thoughts floated in a happy direction and my soul soared a bit. I find that I enjoy New York much more when I’m away from the tourists milling around Times Square and the like.

I should go out for a walk more often.

So I’m sitting here in the kitchen with my husband as we enjoy our lunch hour together. He has taken a half day off from work; I am working my normal hours but I’m doing that from home, so I’ll hear him roaming around as I do my thing in the basement office.

After work today we are headed to the Big Apple for a weekend getaway; it’s our annual celebration of Earl’s birthday. This year we are going to see “Spiderman on Broadway”. We are also staying at a hotel other than the Hilton on Times Square, simply because we were in the mood for something different and a little less heavy on the budget. We opted to stay at The Edison Hotel. I hear it’s nice.

Though I just got back from a business trip last night, I’m excited about our weekend trip coming up. It should be a good time. Hopefully it’ll be somewhat relaxing. I’m also hoping that the weather will be cooperative.

The trip to Toronto with the VP of our group was quite productive. I was so energized by the meeting that when I got home last night I started writing code like a madman. I was able to bang out a few ideas in a relatively short amount of time, though apparently I was tired and not thinking clearly because there was one very simple script that I couldn’t get to work. When I looked at the script again this morning, I had it working within the first five minutes of my day. Sometimes one needs a good night’s sleep and a fresh outlook. I was able to accomplish both.

I am definitely a creature of structure and habit, even though I fancy myself as one that thinks impulsively. When taken outside of my comfort zone I am always looking for some sort of familiarity in my surroundings so I can reground myself. I found that for the most part during this trip to Toronto. The company we visited ran their operation along the same lines that we have at with our company, so it felt very familiar, but it was different enough to provide a good learning experience.

Learning experiences are always a good thing.

So I am sitting in a cafe at the Eastview Mall near Rochester eating lunch. I’m eating lunch kind of early; it’s 11:30 as I write this, but I’m rather hungry and the timing just worked for this little lunch adventure.

Normally I would opt to eat at Tom Wahl’s, my favorite fast food establishment in this area, but attitudes change when you’re trying to lead a healthier lifestyle, so I am eating at a place called Colie’s Cafe. My meal consists of a roasted vegetable soup and a Very Veggie wrap. The side is chips and salsa in lieu of fries. This cafe reminds me of Panera a little bit, though I like the food choices better.

I am going to be meeting some of my co-workers for the first time in a little while and I’m looking forward to that part of this adventure. It’s always good to meet people in person, especially when you work as part of a collaborative team. Electronic introductions, as much as people rely on them, are not a suitable replacement for an in person ‘hello’ and a friendly handshake.

Today is my husband’s birthday. We celebrated with a homemade supper last night (I made turkey meatloaf) and I gave him two of his presents. He’ll get another present today. Since I will be away on business tonight, this will be the first time that I haven’t spent his birthday with him. This distresses me a little bit, but at least I was able to wake up next to him this morning and hop out of bed in the wee hours to give him his birthday card and some husbandly affection. He said I shouldn’t worry about my absence, since we are movers and shakers.

So late on Friday afternoon I found out that I was selected to go on another trip for work. This Wednesday I’ll be gone for one night on business. We are traveling to the outskirts of Toronto, where we will see another company using the software that I help support. I’m looking forward to the adventure. It’s a little stressful, having to be outside of my comfort zone and all that, but I think the positives far outweigh this little negative, so I’m good with it.

One thing that I’m stressing about is that I will be so close to Toronto but that it will be for such a brief amount of time (less than 24 hours). I haven’t been in Toronto in a couple of years. I look forward to the opportunity to visit for vacation like activities again. But not this trip.

Looking at our family calendar (which we share on all our electronic devices), there’s a lot of travel coming up. I fly to the outskirts of Dallas for a week in a few weeks, we are going to Disney, we are going to play with the other bears in Chicago in May, there’s a trip to North Carolina in the works and Earl and I are already planning our summer road trip, which will involve the likes of Wisconsin and Arkansas and all points in between.

I am a lucky man.

The thought of travel is helping me keep the winter blahs at a minimum. Just the thought of a change of pace is putting a little spring in my step. It’ll be nice when spring is actually here.