Tuesday, October 31, 2000

Happy Halloween!  Back to the grindstone for me.  Actually, work is going pretty smoothly considering that it's my first day back.   We had a small bowl of candy for trick-or-treaters, but none came.  Last year, we had a bigger bowl.  Maybe next year, we will be bowl-less.

Monday, October 30, 2000

Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig.  The commuter turbo-prop puddle-jumper plane turned out to be quite a challenge for me.  There was plenty of turbulence, and we were all over the place.  I located my little barf-bag & kept an eye on it, but lucky for me (& more so for my fellow passengers), I didn't need it.  There was a kitty in the cargo hold.  I felt even worse for it.  Someone was shipping it all by its little lonesome.  The poor thing just kept caterwauling until the sound of the propellers drowned it out.  Galahad kept pinching a pressure point on my wrist to keep me from throwing up. But then finally, he just handed me the bag & said I would feel better.  My ladylike nature however did not allow for unnecessary public purging.

Saturday, October 28, 2000

We accompanied our friend to his photo studio to do a photo shoot.  Very cool, but very labor-intensive.  Afterwards, we watched a recap of the year's superbike races. 

Friday, October 27, 2000

Relaxed & vacationed.

Thursday, October 26, 2000

I feel like Team Rocket from Pokemon, blasting off againnnnnnnnn.....  This time, though, Galahad will be accompanying me.  Anyway, off to the airport again.  Lucky us, our trip calls for a change of planes to a teeny tiny commuter plane.  Today's trip was calm fortunately, so no thinking pleasant thoughts while trying to concentrate on how much my stomach isn't queasy.  We had a lovely view of the the leaves changing in the northeast.  What a gorgeous sight!

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Went in to the office & tried to tie up loose ends before leaving town again.

Tuesday, October 24, 2000

Received a phone call asking for my participation in a clinical migraine study.  I agreed to come down & get tested although I am extremely leery about getting there in the morning before eating, which of course, is when they need me.

Monday, October 23, 2000

Played catch up all day with work.

Sunday, October 22, 2000

Time to checkout & come home after eating breakfast on the beach.  I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again with soft sheets.  Galahad kept complaining about the scratchy hotel sheets & lumpy pillows.  Welcome to my world of glamorous traveling, she said sarcastically. 

Saturday, October 21, 2000

Training all day again.  Somehow, I managed to create enough confusion & shame to push the starting time from 8am until 10am.  The shame moved it to 9am & the confusion pushed it another hour.  :-)  We finished early at about 4:30pm.  Nice.  We actually had a few hours of play time on a Saturday night.  Plus, depending on people's foresight in planning their plane schedules, some of us could sleep in.  Dinner on Las Olas after first stopping for a chilled, aged tequila at the swing restaurant where Galahad was enjoying a leisurely late lunch.  Then, a water taxi tour after dinner before saying my goodbyes & turning in.  I was exhausted both physically & mentally.

Friday, October 20, 2000

Teambuilding Day.  Isn't that enough to strike fear into your heart?  I got to sleep past sunrise which has become increasingly important in my life.  We started with an airboat ride through the Everglades.  Believe it or not, my first time doing that.  That turned out to be kind of hokey.  I saw alligator wrestling & bogus Indian villages.  I guess it's good for out-of-towners to know what they're destroying when they keep moving here & over-developing.  We did see some of Mother Nature's greatest sights, in my humble opinion.  Then, it was off to a picnic with a 27-foot rock-climbing wall & an inflatable obstacle course.  Before you think how silly that is, they both kicked my butt.  I made it to the top of the wall, barely, after several attempts.  And, I made it through the obstacle course twice.  The first time was a practice run & I had to rest halfway through.  (I know, I'm a weenie.)  The second time through, we raced.  No resting there, just peer pressure to succeed.  My team lost, but not because of me.  I either stayed with my opponent or actually maybe gained ground.  I was way too tired to think of participating in the other activities of volleyball & egg-tossing.  Afterwards, we had a small awards ceremony in which I was recognized.  That felt good.  My boss is really cool except for his driving schedule of too-early mornings & working-lunches.  Galahad met up with me again for our dinner at a colleague's house.

Thursday, October 19, 2000

Heard about how my company will be branching out & what role I might play in that.  Sounds very exciting if it works out that way.  Sorry, I can't say more -- security & all.  Working-lunch again.  Came home to see Galahad since I didn't have to be up before the crack of dawn tomorrow.  He brought me sushi.  That's why I love him so much.

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

Learned about network security & breaking through firewalls.  Internet security seems hopeless to the really determined hacker.  Luckily, they're probably going after the big guys & leaving little people alone.  Security works well to prevent small theft.  Too much work would have to go into it to make it financially viable, it would seem.  Worked through lunch again.  My boss is turning into a slave driver.  All this fresh air is wreaking havoc on him, apparently.  Galahad can't come over.  Too much commuting wore him out.  Poor me.

Tuesday, October 17, 2000

Meetings start so early, & drag on all day.  The president of my company addressed us today.  It's nice that he knows who I am & remembers my name.  He has quite a talent for that.  He let us know that our contributions have been appreciated, which is very nice to hear.  Worked through lunch.  Dinner at a place that is famous for its outdoor swinging tables.  My colleagues love it, so it will become THE meeting place the rest of the week.  The food's okay, but the atmosphere is wonderful.

Monday, October 16, 2000

Time to pack again & then I'm off to my departmental conference.  Fortunately, this one is semi-local, so Galahad can come visit some nights & meet all those crazy people I work with & incessantly talk about.

Sunday, October 15, 2000

Yippee!  I woke up in my own bed today.  It turns out that I was very entertained yesterday on the plane.  I sat next to a Seminole Indian who was heading back to his reservation after going through a drug & alcohol rehabilitation program in an Indian Exchange program in Olympia National Forest.  I learned quite a bit about the lifestyle of American Indians these days & the traumas that they have to endure.  It's truly awful how such a proud race has fallen to this.  He shared his native music with me via the high-technology of a Walkman.  What a magnificent time I had listening to that while flying over the snow-capped Rockies looking at Nature's creations.  It was interesting to hear that he was taken aback by the casual piercings done these days by teenagers, but thought nothing of the mutilation rituals that his & other tribes perform in the name of spirituality, some of which sounded much worse to my ears.

Saturday, October 14, 2000

Finally!  I'm on my way back home to see my Galahad.  I'm dreading the extremely long time I'll be spending in airports & airplanes.  Oh, well, I have a couple of good books to kill some time.  And, somehow, I didn't get much sleep last night, so maybe I'll catnap a bit if it's not too crowded.  Then, there's the old trusty migraine to keep me occupied.

Friday, October 13, 2000

Today's the day of days for superstitious people.  Friday the 13th & a full moon.   No big deal though for me, except of course for my lingering migraine.  That's not really all that rare in my case though.

Thursday, October 12, 2000

Woke up with a migraine but am not surprised since I went to sleep with one.  That said, my day started off better than some.  There's some nasty stuff going on around the world.  Migraine hung around all day, but work got more productive.  Dinner with my brother.  I really feel like I know him now.  Amazing that it should take so long, but it was definitely worth the wait.  :-)

Wednesday, October 11, 2000

Slow day so far...  Trained the rest of the crew that I came to train.  I'm not sure what else I will be doing the rest of the week.  Was offered by someone to take me shopping for my very own pair of Doc Martens.  I hope that she was serious, that we'll have time, & of course, that something will fit that is to my liking.

Tuesday, October 10, 2000

Had sushi for lunch & dinner at the same restaurant, which is, incidentally, a first for me, I believe.  Missing Galahad like crazy...  Watched Dark Angel again.  Love that show even if it is a little fantastical.

Monday, October 9, 2000

Went to the office today & learned new software.  Blah, blah, blah, blah....  Tonight, I'll be going to eat at the top of the Space Needle with some colleagues, one of whom has a fear of heights.  This should be interesting.

Sunday, October 8, 2000

Visited Snoqualmie Falls.  Cool place. Got asked for directions in downtown Seattle, so I guess my native outfit is working.  :-)  Visited with my brother & got to know him better than ever.

Saturday, October 7, 2000

Started my long journey to Seattle.  Man, that takes a long time!

Friday, October 6, 2000

Finished class.  Did laundry & finished packing most of my warm clothes for my trip.

Wednesday, October 4, 2000

Class again.  Rain is finally starting to let up & migraine is hitting full force.  :-(   Watched premiere of James Cameron's Dark Angel.  Loved it.

Tuesday, October 3, 2000

Class again.  Rain again -- doing some major flooding. 

Monday, October 2, 2000

Getting hammered by perfect storm formation in Caribbean.  The water is reaching record levels, even more so than when the hurricane hit last year.   And, of course, my class starts today, so I get to join the morning commuters in a veritable deluge.

Sunday, October 1, 2000

Three or four storms looming on the horizon...  It's a good day to watch football & the tail end of the Olympics.