A few years ago, a close friend and coworker (Alpha Sierra) introduced me to a term that perfectly described that "back to school/work" feeling we all get on Sunday nights. Sometime after dinner, the weekend comes to an end, and that sinking feeling of returning to work sets in. No matter how exciting work is, or how great the TV is on Sunday night, the Sunday Wretcheds inevitably creep into our conscience. There are some times when wretcheds are worse than others (if work had been shitty, weekend had been great, coming in from out of town, etc.) but they've always been there for me to some degree probably since about 4th grade when school began to get in the way of playing sports with my friends, wasting time with Nintendo, and doing all of the things I wanted to do.
Since tonight is the last night of the neverending weekend and a summer when I did all of the things I wanted to do, I expected a particularly severe, intense case of acute Sunday Wretcheds. However, I'm not as melancholy (good scrabble word) as I thought, and I'm excited to get back to wearing pants five days a week, being around adults, contributing something to the greater good (other than my blog), and collecting a paycheck to do those things. For most everyone involved, my return to work is a good thing and another new adventure to embark on.
I say "most" everyone is in support of this, because Annie (my dog) is probably the only one who will be upset about the whole thing. All summer long, she's had time to take long walks, whenever she felt like it, and I was there to help her explore her new territory. But with work about 40 minutes away, getting home to walk Annie during the day is not feasible, and although there's not much she'll do without anyone home for long chunks of time, she starts day 1 in a cage tomorrow. You see, Annie has been a bit of a pain in the ass around my sister's house. In addition to her usual antics, she's been terrorizing their cat, sleeping where she doesn't belong (namely furniture), and acting like a dog with no regard for human life or possessions. Of course, I'm partially to blame for her behavior, and I feel a little guilty about having her in a cage, so I went out and got her a roomy cage she can call her own. I'll even decorate it with her favorite things to make her feel more at home, and will post some pics when I get around to it.
In the meantime, I've got some clothes to lay out, a lunch to pack, and school supplies to organize in to my Karate Kid trapperkeeper. And yes, I'm kidding about all of those things.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Field Trip: Gary, Indiana
A few weeks ago I interviewed my friend Tony for the blog, and with only a few days left in my summer, and a few more games left in his season, last night was the ideal opportunity to see him pitch before his team hits the post-season. Tony is a pitcher for the Gary Railcats, who obviously play their home games in Gary, Indiana; which normally isn't thought of as a destination for a field trip, but during the summer of Delta Whiskey, anything goes. Besides, it'd make good blog content and I like to keep tabs on my interviewees.
Driving to the game was no small feat, Tony's game started at 7 PM, and coming from the north suburbs meant I had to drive my way through rush hour traffic to get there for the first pitch. Fortunately, with kids back in school, traffic wasn't too bad on my way down there, and despite the gloomy weather it was a great night for a baseball game by Seattle standards (grey, drizzly, etc.). On my drive through Gary I thought about Gary's reputation, and how the town has really gotten a bad rap; albeit somewhat deserved.
Founded by US Steel, Gary provided much of the steel used to build the huge buildings that line our cities' skylines, not to mention a ton of other uses we've had for steel during our country's growth in the 20th century. Located along Lake Michigan, Gary was an ideal location for water-based transportation, and things were probably good for Gary residents until steel production hit a wall, and then Gary went to hell. For years, Gary's reputation as a crime-ridden city was justified by data (high murder rates) and personal experience, and there wasn't much of a reason for folks to visit Gary. Sometime in the 1990's casinos made their way in to the area, which brought some work to the local economy, but Northwest Indiana never became the "Vegas of the Midwest." In addition to gambling parlors (I like that word), there are fireworks stands, gentlemen's clubs, tobacco stores, and fast food restaurants that make Gary a bit of an eyesore.
But that doesn't mean its not worthy of a visit, and I did my best to support Gary in its efforts to get back their swagger.
I pulled up to the ballpark and noticed police lights in the parking lot outside of right field. I circled until I parked in an adjacent lot, and as I was walking by the roped off parking lot I overheard one of the attendants mentioning that there was a murder in the parking lot. As in recently. Walking by that parking lot was kind of creepy, knowing that only a few hours ago there was a life that ended just a few feet from where I stood. I later found out that it was a murder/suicide attempt, and it is a tragic story. Let's just say police sirens and murder chatter didn't exactly boost my confidence in the Gary, Indiana restoration plan, but that kind of thing can happen anywhere (at least that's my rationale) and I headed in to the ballpark.
The Railcats play in a relatively new stadium that probably seats close to 5,000 fans when its jam packed. Last night's game had plenty of good seats available, since the weather wasn't so hot, and kids/families are in back to school mode. But I settled in between home plate and Third Base to watch Tony go to work, and it was a lot of fun watching him pitch a complete game shutout. Whether its at Yankee Stadium or the Gary Steelyard, seeing a friend do well at their craft makes you proud of them and the work they put in when no one is watching. There were only a handful of moments when Tony was in jeopardy, and the 8 (actually 7) behind him helped him out with a few craft plays in the infield. There's a reason the Railcats are charging hard towards an Independent League title in the post season!
A few other friends showed up last night to support Tony, and we had fun rooting on Tony, making a half-ass attempt at the wave, and strolling around the ballpark to take in the sites and sounds of Independent League baseball. The ballpark stroll gave us a chance to observe the Michael Jackson memorial shrine erected in right field. They may have to go back and edit some of the text on the stone monument, now that his death has been ruled a homicide, and its clear Michael Jackson's death had a profound affect on at least one person, who left behind a teddy bear, with some illegible handwriting on it. I'll never understand that whole thing (leaving stuffed animals at memorials for adults), but hey, he's their native son. I just would like to listen to the conversation that takes place before the maintenance man (or woman) decides to get rid of the teddy bear.
Anyhow, if you're curious about the evening and want to check out more pics, here's a link to an album with a few captions along the way....
Have a nice weekend y'all...
Driving to the game was no small feat, Tony's game started at 7 PM, and coming from the north suburbs meant I had to drive my way through rush hour traffic to get there for the first pitch. Fortunately, with kids back in school, traffic wasn't too bad on my way down there, and despite the gloomy weather it was a great night for a baseball game by Seattle standards (grey, drizzly, etc.). On my drive through Gary I thought about Gary's reputation, and how the town has really gotten a bad rap; albeit somewhat deserved.
Founded by US Steel, Gary provided much of the steel used to build the huge buildings that line our cities' skylines, not to mention a ton of other uses we've had for steel during our country's growth in the 20th century. Located along Lake Michigan, Gary was an ideal location for water-based transportation, and things were probably good for Gary residents until steel production hit a wall, and then Gary went to hell. For years, Gary's reputation as a crime-ridden city was justified by data (high murder rates) and personal experience, and there wasn't much of a reason for folks to visit Gary. Sometime in the 1990's casinos made their way in to the area, which brought some work to the local economy, but Northwest Indiana never became the "Vegas of the Midwest." In addition to gambling parlors (I like that word), there are fireworks stands, gentlemen's clubs, tobacco stores, and fast food restaurants that make Gary a bit of an eyesore.
But that doesn't mean its not worthy of a visit, and I did my best to support Gary in its efforts to get back their swagger.
I pulled up to the ballpark and noticed police lights in the parking lot outside of right field. I circled until I parked in an adjacent lot, and as I was walking by the roped off parking lot I overheard one of the attendants mentioning that there was a murder in the parking lot. As in recently. Walking by that parking lot was kind of creepy, knowing that only a few hours ago there was a life that ended just a few feet from where I stood. I later found out that it was a murder/suicide attempt, and it is a tragic story. Let's just say police sirens and murder chatter didn't exactly boost my confidence in the Gary, Indiana restoration plan, but that kind of thing can happen anywhere (at least that's my rationale) and I headed in to the ballpark.
The Railcats play in a relatively new stadium that probably seats close to 5,000 fans when its jam packed. Last night's game had plenty of good seats available, since the weather wasn't so hot, and kids/families are in back to school mode. But I settled in between home plate and Third Base to watch Tony go to work, and it was a lot of fun watching him pitch a complete game shutout. Whether its at Yankee Stadium or the Gary Steelyard, seeing a friend do well at their craft makes you proud of them and the work they put in when no one is watching. There were only a handful of moments when Tony was in jeopardy, and the 8 (actually 7) behind him helped him out with a few craft plays in the infield. There's a reason the Railcats are charging hard towards an Independent League title in the post season!
A few other friends showed up last night to support Tony, and we had fun rooting on Tony, making a half-ass attempt at the wave, and strolling around the ballpark to take in the sites and sounds of Independent League baseball. The ballpark stroll gave us a chance to observe the Michael Jackson memorial shrine erected in right field. They may have to go back and edit some of the text on the stone monument, now that his death has been ruled a homicide, and its clear Michael Jackson's death had a profound affect on at least one person, who left behind a teddy bear, with some illegible handwriting on it. I'll never understand that whole thing (leaving stuffed animals at memorials for adults), but hey, he's their native son. I just would like to listen to the conversation that takes place before the maintenance man (or woman) decides to get rid of the teddy bear.
Anyhow, if you're curious about the evening and want to check out more pics, here's a link to an album with a few captions along the way....
Have a nice weekend y'all...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A Killer End to the Summer of Delta Whiskey
The past two nights were more highlights in what has been one of the cooler summers in recent memory. I've documented most of the memorable experiences from the past few months up here, and I'd be remiss if I didn't slow down to capture some of what's gone on since Sunday.
It's no big mystery to those who listen to music that Pearl Jam is one of the defining bands of the past twenty years. Along with several other acts, Pearl Jam took the music world by storm in the early 90's and has continued kickin' ass and taking names ever since. Chances are, most everyone in my age group owns (or owned) something Pearl Jam in their music collection, and I'm no different. You can read about the band and their influences just about anywhere, and I'm not in the business of writing about music, since chances are I'll say something stupid if I make even an attempt at it. But I do like to write about experiences I've had, and the Pearl Jam shows over past few days are a fitting end to such a cool summer.
Through "friends of friends" I became friends with Mike McCready, one of the members of Pearl Jam during my time in Seattle. In addition to sharing some common friends, Mike and I share some unique attributes, which has made it easy to relate to each other, and his perspective on life (and our shared situation) has inspired me to step over and around the crap that can get in the way of living life to its fullest. He personifies what it means to kick ass and take names on many levels...
Despite my admiration for Pearl Jam's music, I hadn't seen them in concert and over the past two nights I was lucky enough to see the band and hang around with Mike when he wasn't piercing the ear drums of folks at the United Center. The music was amazing, and to see an iconic band perform many of the songs I'd grown up with brought back some feelings of nostalgia, but also a great appreciation for their ability to continue turning out great music. But more than any specific song, there were a number of thoughts and experiences that came into mind over the past few days, so here's a few (beginning with Sunday)
-I've never been on a "guest list" for anything like a concert and had no idea what to do. I literally had to ask Mike how to pick up the tickets and was scared shitless that something would go haywire when my sister and I showed up on Sunday night. Sure enough, we show up to the box office window and no tickets were there. Eventually, someone from the band spoke to someone in the box office so the crisis was averted. Or so we thought....
-Once we got to our seats, we found the actual seats didn't exist. The row went to seat # 14, and our seats were numbers 15 and 16. We returned to the box office, got new tickets, and literally got to our new seats as the house lights went down.
-My sister and I have been to some great shit together at the United Center, and this was another super cool one. Our last time there was in 1997 when Steve Kerr hit a championship-clinching jump shot to win game 6 of the NBA Finals.
-It was funny seeing Mike on stage; mainly because I'm used to him being a pretty calm, at ease sort of guy. Those who have seen him on stage know that is not the case when the music starts flowing.
-As Mike closed down Sunday's show with a Jimi Hendrix (esque) rendition of the National Anthem, I felt proud to know a guy who is able to bring joy to so many people's lives. Mike hasn't had a cake walk in life, and to see him succeed despite those difficulties, with millions of eyeballs on him gave me a great appreciation for him as a man, more than a musician. I don't know if I'd be OK having to live up to such lofty expectations as part of my everyday job.
-Much like the "guest list" virginity, I've also never been back stage after a concert and had no idea what to expect. Marissa and I headed back there for about a half an hour and it was chaos. But it was very cool walking around in the bowels of the United Center!
-Tuesday night I brought by buddies Sierra and Charlie, and much less drama in the ticket department. Our seats were located behind a few of the Cubs, and we got a chance to chat with Koyie Hill, the Cubs #2 catcher, since he too was a "guest of the band." Certain teammates of Koyie left early, who will remain nameless, but I'm sure they'll get shit when Ed visits in the clubhouse later today and finds out they took off. Let's hope they went to Wrigley for some late night batting practice.
-After the show it was very relaxed compared to the prior evening; and Sierra, Charlie and I hung out while waiting for Mike to come out and say hi. Eventually he did, and it was fun chatting with him after the show, and despite it feeling extremely awkward for me to ask for it, he took a picture with the three of us that'll make a nice screen saver, and a lifelong memory.
-The ride home gave me a chance to think about how great the year has been, and how fitting it was that a band from Seattle (albeit a big band) put the final stamp on what has been an unreal summer. I've accomplished what I set out to achieve back in May, and have had a chance to do tons of fun things along the way, which may make 2009 one of those years I look back on fondly when I'm old and gray. But I'm a long way from there, and plenty of more fun stuff coming in my direction...glad you all are along for the ride!
Oh, and if you're interested in more photos from the evening, here's a link to many more.
It's no big mystery to those who listen to music that Pearl Jam is one of the defining bands of the past twenty years. Along with several other acts, Pearl Jam took the music world by storm in the early 90's and has continued kickin' ass and taking names ever since. Chances are, most everyone in my age group owns (or owned) something Pearl Jam in their music collection, and I'm no different. You can read about the band and their influences just about anywhere, and I'm not in the business of writing about music, since chances are I'll say something stupid if I make even an attempt at it. But I do like to write about experiences I've had, and the Pearl Jam shows over past few days are a fitting end to such a cool summer.
Through "friends of friends" I became friends with Mike McCready, one of the members of Pearl Jam during my time in Seattle. In addition to sharing some common friends, Mike and I share some unique attributes, which has made it easy to relate to each other, and his perspective on life (and our shared situation) has inspired me to step over and around the crap that can get in the way of living life to its fullest. He personifies what it means to kick ass and take names on many levels...
Despite my admiration for Pearl Jam's music, I hadn't seen them in concert and over the past two nights I was lucky enough to see the band and hang around with Mike when he wasn't piercing the ear drums of folks at the United Center. The music was amazing, and to see an iconic band perform many of the songs I'd grown up with brought back some feelings of nostalgia, but also a great appreciation for their ability to continue turning out great music. But more than any specific song, there were a number of thoughts and experiences that came into mind over the past few days, so here's a few (beginning with Sunday)
-I've never been on a "guest list" for anything like a concert and had no idea what to do. I literally had to ask Mike how to pick up the tickets and was scared shitless that something would go haywire when my sister and I showed up on Sunday night. Sure enough, we show up to the box office window and no tickets were there. Eventually, someone from the band spoke to someone in the box office so the crisis was averted. Or so we thought....
-Once we got to our seats, we found the actual seats didn't exist. The row went to seat # 14, and our seats were numbers 15 and 16. We returned to the box office, got new tickets, and literally got to our new seats as the house lights went down.
-My sister and I have been to some great shit together at the United Center, and this was another super cool one. Our last time there was in 1997 when Steve Kerr hit a championship-clinching jump shot to win game 6 of the NBA Finals.
-It was funny seeing Mike on stage; mainly because I'm used to him being a pretty calm, at ease sort of guy. Those who have seen him on stage know that is not the case when the music starts flowing.
-As Mike closed down Sunday's show with a Jimi Hendrix (esque) rendition of the National Anthem, I felt proud to know a guy who is able to bring joy to so many people's lives. Mike hasn't had a cake walk in life, and to see him succeed despite those difficulties, with millions of eyeballs on him gave me a great appreciation for him as a man, more than a musician. I don't know if I'd be OK having to live up to such lofty expectations as part of my everyday job.
-Much like the "guest list" virginity, I've also never been back stage after a concert and had no idea what to expect. Marissa and I headed back there for about a half an hour and it was chaos. But it was very cool walking around in the bowels of the United Center!
-Tuesday night I brought by buddies Sierra and Charlie, and much less drama in the ticket department. Our seats were located behind a few of the Cubs, and we got a chance to chat with Koyie Hill, the Cubs #2 catcher, since he too was a "guest of the band." Certain teammates of Koyie left early, who will remain nameless, but I'm sure they'll get shit when Ed visits in the clubhouse later today and finds out they took off. Let's hope they went to Wrigley for some late night batting practice.
-After the show it was very relaxed compared to the prior evening; and Sierra, Charlie and I hung out while waiting for Mike to come out and say hi. Eventually he did, and it was fun chatting with him after the show, and despite it feeling extremely awkward for me to ask for it, he took a picture with the three of us that'll make a nice screen saver, and a lifelong memory.
-The ride home gave me a chance to think about how great the year has been, and how fitting it was that a band from Seattle (albeit a big band) put the final stamp on what has been an unreal summer. I've accomplished what I set out to achieve back in May, and have had a chance to do tons of fun things along the way, which may make 2009 one of those years I look back on fondly when I'm old and gray. But I'm a long way from there, and plenty of more fun stuff coming in my direction...glad you all are along for the ride!
Oh, and if you're interested in more photos from the evening, here's a link to many more.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Dissatisfaction + Vision = Change
In the work I did out west, and the work I'm getting ready to take on in a few short days, I'm asked to help individuals and teams change the way they do their work. Ideally, folks in my line of work are welcomed with open arms by employees and managers excited about the change. But the reality is far different from the ideal, and it is not easy to make a compelling case for folks to do things differently.
There are all sorts of models and techniques that are used to help bring folks along and "see the light" that they should do things in a different way. You've probably heard or read about things like making a compelling "whats in it for them?" argument, and performance coaches and sales/marketing experts have written novels on the subject, some that are full of shit, and others that have some useful techniques and/or fresh ideas.
But I've been thinking a lot about change of late on a personal, professional, family, and a national level; and I keep coming back to an equation that was taught to me by a coach at my last job. And although she used it to describe performance in the workplace, I've found it to be true in just about any situation/circumstance whether we're talking about a personal change or a complex issue like health care reform. So here goes (and thanks Kris):
Dissatisfaction + Vision = Change
If I look back on big changes I've made, they've only come about when the left side of that equation was very clear and very compelling to ME. For example, my decision to move to Seattle for grad school came as a result of being unhappy with my professional life coupled with a wish to help others attain better health. I'm willing to guess that any major changes you've undertaken (undertook?) were a result of those two variables on the left side of the equation.
Of course, our changes don't always lead to the outcome we hoped for, which is why I've thought about this equation as our nation wrestles with the health care challenges. Part of the problem with making change a reality is that our nation is filled with opinions (some that are grossly speculative and inaccurate) on both variables of the left side of this equation.
If you ask a well-insured, wealthy family what they're dissatisfied about, it might be their taxes funding Medicaid eligible patients, or their inability to see a specialist as quickly as they'd like. On the flipside, if you asked a person without insurance, living with Asthma what they're dissatisfied with, they might mention the cost of care or their access to a doctor or medications to make life more comfortable.
In a nutshell, we don't share a common definition of what dissatisfies us with health and health care, and we certainly don't share a common vision for what things would look like in an "ideal" world, so I'm a bit skeptical about how far reform will go this year. I tend to believe that people will make rational decisions when they've got all of the facts/data needed to make a decision...but unless we get some agreement on what we collectively value it is going to be tough to make a big change.
Maybe the equation will help you all if you're thinking about change of your own, helping someone make a change, if you'd like to pull something clever out at your next meeting with the boss.
There are all sorts of models and techniques that are used to help bring folks along and "see the light" that they should do things in a different way. You've probably heard or read about things like making a compelling "whats in it for them?" argument, and performance coaches and sales/marketing experts have written novels on the subject, some that are full of shit, and others that have some useful techniques and/or fresh ideas.
But I've been thinking a lot about change of late on a personal, professional, family, and a national level; and I keep coming back to an equation that was taught to me by a coach at my last job. And although she used it to describe performance in the workplace, I've found it to be true in just about any situation/circumstance whether we're talking about a personal change or a complex issue like health care reform. So here goes (and thanks Kris):
Dissatisfaction + Vision = Change
If I look back on big changes I've made, they've only come about when the left side of that equation was very clear and very compelling to ME. For example, my decision to move to Seattle for grad school came as a result of being unhappy with my professional life coupled with a wish to help others attain better health. I'm willing to guess that any major changes you've undertaken (undertook?) were a result of those two variables on the left side of the equation.
Of course, our changes don't always lead to the outcome we hoped for, which is why I've thought about this equation as our nation wrestles with the health care challenges. Part of the problem with making change a reality is that our nation is filled with opinions (some that are grossly speculative and inaccurate) on both variables of the left side of this equation.
If you ask a well-insured, wealthy family what they're dissatisfied about, it might be their taxes funding Medicaid eligible patients, or their inability to see a specialist as quickly as they'd like. On the flipside, if you asked a person without insurance, living with Asthma what they're dissatisfied with, they might mention the cost of care or their access to a doctor or medications to make life more comfortable.
In a nutshell, we don't share a common definition of what dissatisfies us with health and health care, and we certainly don't share a common vision for what things would look like in an "ideal" world, so I'm a bit skeptical about how far reform will go this year. I tend to believe that people will make rational decisions when they've got all of the facts/data needed to make a decision...but unless we get some agreement on what we collectively value it is going to be tough to make a big change.
Maybe the equation will help you all if you're thinking about change of your own, helping someone make a change, if you'd like to pull something clever out at your next meeting with the boss.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Vacation from the Vacation
The whole idea of a vacation is taking a break from the monotony of everyday life, and doing something a little different to slow down a little and do some of those things we don't have time for. That being said, I've been on a vacation for a few months, but am currently on a vacation from my vacation with my family in Florida.
For those who don't know, I lived in the Sunshine state for about 2.5 years during my undergrad days. I wasn't exactly an honor roll student in High School, and I bounced around at the University of Tampa and University of Miami before landing at DePaul in Chicago. I got to see most of Florida from Miami up through Tallahassee, but never went to the Panhandle, which is where I'm on vacation with my family.
We're located in a vacation community about halfway between Panama City and Pensacola, along the Gulf of Mexico. Technically, I think its Walton County we're in, and it reminds me of some of those sleepy beach towns you find along the Carolinas. If you're curious, here's a link to where we're staying; highly recommended if you'd like to get to warm weather but don't want to deal with the Miami/Ft Lauderdale ratrace. Given the year the family has had, its nice for us all to get away together, and we're behaving ourselves without getting in to the petty spats we endured as young kids on family vacations.
I've mentioned this before, but I think weather is a lame topic to talk about. For starters, no one really gives a shit. Well, maybe you do if you're Tom Skilling, or that guy from the Weather Channel who chases Hurricanes, but most of the world doesn't care what the weather is like in another part of the country. But if you're curious, its hot down here. It hasn't stopped me from getting out the golf course, and I've played a few crappy rounds of golf at two really nice golf courses.
But the real fun has been seeing my sister's kids, who I'm living with up in Chicago, and how much fun they're having down here. My niece has loved the water, the beach, and especially the bunk beds in their rental house. While my nephew went crazy for all of the interesting planes, trucks, cars, and other moving machines during our trip down here. Of course, there's been other highlights they'd tell me if I were to interview them, but I'm trying to keep them out of the spotlight.
One funny moment for me came tonight, after I had kind of a shitty day on the golf course and an overall mediocre day. Super hot weather has some challenges for me that are somewhat unique, and those challenges can be a serious pain in the ass.
But anyhow, my sister and the kids were hanging around after dinner when I flipped on Star Wars (episode IV for the Star Wars fans out there), and it was a blast watching it with them. The plot is a little advanced for them, so that meant Uncledaniel (or Dango as my nephew calls me) had to answer a bunch of questions about characters, a few of which I've listed below. Most of these came from my niece, my nephew just likes Chewbacka and the space ships.
For those who don't know, I lived in the Sunshine state for about 2.5 years during my undergrad days. I wasn't exactly an honor roll student in High School, and I bounced around at the University of Tampa and University of Miami before landing at DePaul in Chicago. I got to see most of Florida from Miami up through Tallahassee, but never went to the Panhandle, which is where I'm on vacation with my family.
We're located in a vacation community about halfway between Panama City and Pensacola, along the Gulf of Mexico. Technically, I think its Walton County we're in, and it reminds me of some of those sleepy beach towns you find along the Carolinas. If you're curious, here's a link to where we're staying; highly recommended if you'd like to get to warm weather but don't want to deal with the Miami/Ft Lauderdale ratrace. Given the year the family has had, its nice for us all to get away together, and we're behaving ourselves without getting in to the petty spats we endured as young kids on family vacations.
I've mentioned this before, but I think weather is a lame topic to talk about. For starters, no one really gives a shit. Well, maybe you do if you're Tom Skilling, or that guy from the Weather Channel who chases Hurricanes, but most of the world doesn't care what the weather is like in another part of the country. But if you're curious, its hot down here. It hasn't stopped me from getting out the golf course, and I've played a few crappy rounds of golf at two really nice golf courses.
But the real fun has been seeing my sister's kids, who I'm living with up in Chicago, and how much fun they're having down here. My niece has loved the water, the beach, and especially the bunk beds in their rental house. While my nephew went crazy for all of the interesting planes, trucks, cars, and other moving machines during our trip down here. Of course, there's been other highlights they'd tell me if I were to interview them, but I'm trying to keep them out of the spotlight.
One funny moment for me came tonight, after I had kind of a shitty day on the golf course and an overall mediocre day. Super hot weather has some challenges for me that are somewhat unique, and those challenges can be a serious pain in the ass.
But anyhow, my sister and the kids were hanging around after dinner when I flipped on Star Wars (episode IV for the Star Wars fans out there), and it was a blast watching it with them. The plot is a little advanced for them, so that meant Uncledaniel (or Dango as my nephew calls me) had to answer a bunch of questions about characters, a few of which I've listed below. Most of these came from my niece, my nephew just likes Chewbacka and the space ships.
- Why is Darth Vadar so angry with Luke and Han Solo?
- Why does Darth Vadar breath so funny?
- Do Storm troopers ever talk? What about nod their heads? How does Darth Vadar know they've heard him?
- How is Princess Leia from another planet?
- How do they know what the robot (R2D2) is saying?
- What is the force?
- Why are there so many commercials?
- How come Luke is the only one who has the force? Why doesn't Han Solo have it?
- Why does C3PO talk so much?
- What does it mean that Luke is Leia's sister?
- What is Chewbacka? How do they know what he's saying?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Back to Reality, Just Not Yet
Friday (yesterday) was another one of those "even steven" kind of days. Which means there were some really good things and some not so good things, but at the end of the day it turned out that all was well in the world.
On the good side of the ledger, I accepted an offer to begin work for Advocate Health Care on August 31 as an operations/process improvement consultant. I'm excited about the job, and it really came as a surprise that things worked out as well as they have. When I made the decision to move back to Chicago I knew I was taking on some risk, especially with the economy, but I was pleasantly surprised that I found a job that really appealed to me after only six weeks of working at it. I guess it once again proves to me that I really have no ability to predict the future and spending time worrying about what could go right or wrong is just a waste of time. As I wrote about last week, if I obsess or analyze every decision in life I'll probably go nowhere. So a heartfelt thanks to everyone for the encouragement the past few months, all of you helped in some way, even if it was just a person to listen to me ramble about how to go about finding work.
On the not so good side of the ledger, my little sister had a bit of a health scare and spent last night in the hospital. She's up in Minneapolis and has already been sent home, but it definitely took us all a bit off guard. I'll see her later today, which brings me to what's shaking between now and the time I start work.
My parents, two sisters, and nephew and niece (and myself) are heading to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida for a few days of rest and relaxation. Those close to the family know this has been a tricky year for all of us and it'll be nice for us all to get away for some beach time. Santa Rosa Beach is up near Pensacola, and although I lived in Florida for a few years I've never been. Everything I've read about it leads me to believe it'll be a nice place for us to be, not too florida(ish) and much more like Hilton Head or other towns along the Atlantic further up the coast. Vacationing with the family is something we haven't done for a while, so I'm sure it'll have moments of disorganized chaos, but now that we're adults I'm sure we'll enjoy reading, relaxing, and just hanging out with each other. Speaking of reading, my next book is 100 Days of Solitude, per a friend's recommendation
The only drama about the trip is who is going to watch Annie, but several have offered to chip in while we're away to make sure she doesn't smoke in the house or drink all of my sister's booze.
In terms of travel, this has been a very busy year for me and mostly for fun things, but I got to thinking that after next week's trip I'll have spent time in 18 states in 2009, and we still have a few months to go this year...in chronological order I've been to:
Washington
Illinois
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Washington D.C (kinda counts)
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
South Dakota
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Indiana
Georgia
Florida
Tennessee
Granted, a few of those were layover stops, but I think there may be some way to quantify how much exploration I do by counting the number of unique places I go. I'll consider that as a measure for my 2010 strategic plan, but it reflects that its been a busy year in the world of Delta Whiskey.
I'll bring the laptop with but no guarantees I'll blog down there, but when I return I've lined up a few interviews that are sure to be page scrollers (the computer based version of page turners). And if the past few months are any indication, I'm sure there will be a funny story or two from the trip!
On the good side of the ledger, I accepted an offer to begin work for Advocate Health Care on August 31 as an operations/process improvement consultant. I'm excited about the job, and it really came as a surprise that things worked out as well as they have. When I made the decision to move back to Chicago I knew I was taking on some risk, especially with the economy, but I was pleasantly surprised that I found a job that really appealed to me after only six weeks of working at it. I guess it once again proves to me that I really have no ability to predict the future and spending time worrying about what could go right or wrong is just a waste of time. As I wrote about last week, if I obsess or analyze every decision in life I'll probably go nowhere. So a heartfelt thanks to everyone for the encouragement the past few months, all of you helped in some way, even if it was just a person to listen to me ramble about how to go about finding work.
On the not so good side of the ledger, my little sister had a bit of a health scare and spent last night in the hospital. She's up in Minneapolis and has already been sent home, but it definitely took us all a bit off guard. I'll see her later today, which brings me to what's shaking between now and the time I start work.
My parents, two sisters, and nephew and niece (and myself) are heading to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida for a few days of rest and relaxation. Those close to the family know this has been a tricky year for all of us and it'll be nice for us all to get away for some beach time. Santa Rosa Beach is up near Pensacola, and although I lived in Florida for a few years I've never been. Everything I've read about it leads me to believe it'll be a nice place for us to be, not too florida(ish) and much more like Hilton Head or other towns along the Atlantic further up the coast. Vacationing with the family is something we haven't done for a while, so I'm sure it'll have moments of disorganized chaos, but now that we're adults I'm sure we'll enjoy reading, relaxing, and just hanging out with each other. Speaking of reading, my next book is 100 Days of Solitude, per a friend's recommendation
The only drama about the trip is who is going to watch Annie, but several have offered to chip in while we're away to make sure she doesn't smoke in the house or drink all of my sister's booze.
In terms of travel, this has been a very busy year for me and mostly for fun things, but I got to thinking that after next week's trip I'll have spent time in 18 states in 2009, and we still have a few months to go this year...in chronological order I've been to:
Washington
Illinois
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Washington D.C (kinda counts)
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
South Dakota
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Indiana
Georgia
Florida
Tennessee
Granted, a few of those were layover stops, but I think there may be some way to quantify how much exploration I do by counting the number of unique places I go. I'll consider that as a measure for my 2010 strategic plan, but it reflects that its been a busy year in the world of Delta Whiskey.
I'll bring the laptop with but no guarantees I'll blog down there, but when I return I've lined up a few interviews that are sure to be page scrollers (the computer based version of page turners). And if the past few months are any indication, I'm sure there will be a funny story or two from the trip!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Field Trip: Bears Training Camp
I woke up this morning without much of an agenda, which is something that has grown a wee bit tiresome of late. Believe me, I love the idea of goofing off all day long, but I do miss a little bit of structure and contributing something to the greater good. On the work standpoint, I've had some very productive interviews, but refuse to put the kibosh on it and continue applying for work when I come across jobs of interest. When there's news to report on the job front, you'll know.
So at around 9 AM I decided I'd make today a Field Trip day and headed to Bourbanais, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Bears. For those who aren't football nuts, this is the time of year when teams prepare for the upcoming season. And since I hadn't attended a Bears practice since I was about 8 years old (I used to swim at Lake Forest College as a kid; former home of Bears regular season practice) I figured it'd be an interesting experience. I also thought it'd be kind of hypocritical to talk about doing something "different" during my last post if I wasn't taking my own advice.
I realize I write a lot to say what I want to get across, so I took a notebook with me and am going to be as concise as possible about observations during the day. I've also thrown a bunch of pictures towards the bottom if you want to see what training camp, Jay Cutler, Lovie Smith, and other Bears look like in person. You can go to Snapfish and see all of them here, some captions included.
Observation 1 (sitting in the car): I listened to sports talk radio on the drive to Bourbanais to get a sense for what's going on with the Bears. There wasn't Bears discussion, but there was an interesting topic being bantered about. It sounds like ESPN is planning a documentary on Steve Bartman, who had absolutely nothing to do with the Cubs collapse in the 03 playoffs. Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about, but the story isn't that interesting behind why he is relevant in Chicago sports lore. The hosts of the show were fielding calls for interesting documentaries to be made on other Chicago sports topics, and as a lifelong Chicago sports fan nut I thought a lot about it. I think a piece on the crazy athletes who have played in Chicago at some point in their careers would be interesting--Dennis Rodman, Bryan Cox, Theo Fluery, Bob Probert, the list could go on forever, but in Chicago folks seem to be OK with a little bit of craziness between the ears in exchange for success on the field.
Observation 2 (still in car): Training camp is essentially a hard core interview for guys battling for spots on the end of the roster, and it had me thinking a bit about my pursuit of work. The guys in camp are having every play scrutinized by fans, coaches, and media, and its gotta be brutal on a young guys' psyche. But I think I could deal with it for the salaries these guys pull down. Maybe I'll learn something from these guys today about poise. Probably not, though.
Observation 3 (walking out of my car towards practice field): A gal in her 20's sees me with my notebook in my hand (to keep notes of what I'm doing for you guys) and says, "autograph book, eh?" I chuckled at it, and gave her a smartass response like, "something like that." But it got me thinking about autographs, and I honestly can't think of a single human on the face of the planet whose autograph I'd want. I'm not "above" the idea of having role models or idols, I'd just rather spend time having a conversation than asking some random person for their signature.
Observation 4 (settling in to a spot on the grass): Everything here is free. Or at least the things I've come here for. There was no cost for parking, and no cost to watch the practice. And in today's world it was kind of a relief. I've become so conditioned to paying for everything, and it was nice to be able to do something without paying for it. Of course, there were tons of souveniers, but I took a pass on yet another Bears T-Shirt or Hat. And for a family that loves the Bears but can't afford a game/season tickets, this is a nice way to get close to the players.
Observation 5 (at practice): I don't have anything to compare it to, but watching real journalists do their work is pretty interesting. They are tweeting, writing, taking pictures, and I have no idea how they keep it all straight. But that's why I'm not a real journalist, just a pretend one in the world of make believe.
Observation 6 (at practice): I really have no idea what I'm watching. I played golf in high school, and at scrawny 140 lbs I doubt I would have had much of a career in football. But the purpose of mentioning this is that I have no idea what half of these guys are doing or why they do it. The defensive players are beating up blow up dolls (i think i could handle that part), the offensive players are running plays against an imaginery defense, and the special teams guys are sitting on their asses drinking water.
Observation 7: There's a term in my line of work referred to as "going to the gemba." Its a term coined by those in Lean Manufacturing settings to describe leaders spending time where the value-added work is taking place. In a factory, this means watching parts go together to understand where improvements can be made. On the football field at today's practice, I was surprised to see how lax and disinterested the Bears GM seemed to be in the work taking place on the field. He seemed more interested in chitchatting with media, VIPs, and fans; and although the practices are all being recorded, I'd think a guy with a payroll in excess of $150 M would want to know a bit more about how his guys are doing in their performance. But maybe that's the coaches job. And since money came up, it really is nuts if you think about how much football players get paid on a per unit of work basis. If you calculated the actual amount of time they are doing their job (playing in football games) it probably comes out to a ridiculous amount per rep in a real game. I'm not going to hunt down the stats on this one, unless someone asks me for it, but they're being paid a lot per unit of work.
Observation 8: It's been forever since the Bears had a legitimate quarterback, and its been a running joke amongst Bear fans. But now the complaint is that the ideal quarterback they've acquired (Jay Cutler) has no one to throw the ball to, and this will limit the team's success. The chit-chat I heard among fans about this topic drove me nuts; mainly because I think crazy fans (legitimate fanatics) are impossible to please. No matter the player, coach, opponent, or situation, the crazy fans find a way to worry about things not turning out perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see the Bears win every game (including the Super Bowl), but at some point doesn't this shtick (the constant whining) become annoying? Why not just take a perspective that its great to have a guy who can throw darts and have some faith it'll work out?
Anyhow, here's the photos and feel free to go to Snapfish for more:
Bourbanais, IL, summer home of Da Bears.
Jay Cutler
Defensive players swinging their arms at blow up dolls
Football players probably have the coolest uniforms compared to the other sports.
Get to work Angelo!
So at around 9 AM I decided I'd make today a Field Trip day and headed to Bourbanais, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Bears. For those who aren't football nuts, this is the time of year when teams prepare for the upcoming season. And since I hadn't attended a Bears practice since I was about 8 years old (I used to swim at Lake Forest College as a kid; former home of Bears regular season practice) I figured it'd be an interesting experience. I also thought it'd be kind of hypocritical to talk about doing something "different" during my last post if I wasn't taking my own advice.
I realize I write a lot to say what I want to get across, so I took a notebook with me and am going to be as concise as possible about observations during the day. I've also thrown a bunch of pictures towards the bottom if you want to see what training camp, Jay Cutler, Lovie Smith, and other Bears look like in person. You can go to Snapfish and see all of them here, some captions included.
Observation 1 (sitting in the car): I listened to sports talk radio on the drive to Bourbanais to get a sense for what's going on with the Bears. There wasn't Bears discussion, but there was an interesting topic being bantered about. It sounds like ESPN is planning a documentary on Steve Bartman, who had absolutely nothing to do with the Cubs collapse in the 03 playoffs. Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about, but the story isn't that interesting behind why he is relevant in Chicago sports lore. The hosts of the show were fielding calls for interesting documentaries to be made on other Chicago sports topics, and as a lifelong Chicago sports fan nut I thought a lot about it. I think a piece on the crazy athletes who have played in Chicago at some point in their careers would be interesting--Dennis Rodman, Bryan Cox, Theo Fluery, Bob Probert, the list could go on forever, but in Chicago folks seem to be OK with a little bit of craziness between the ears in exchange for success on the field.
Observation 2 (still in car): Training camp is essentially a hard core interview for guys battling for spots on the end of the roster, and it had me thinking a bit about my pursuit of work. The guys in camp are having every play scrutinized by fans, coaches, and media, and its gotta be brutal on a young guys' psyche. But I think I could deal with it for the salaries these guys pull down. Maybe I'll learn something from these guys today about poise. Probably not, though.
Observation 3 (walking out of my car towards practice field): A gal in her 20's sees me with my notebook in my hand (to keep notes of what I'm doing for you guys) and says, "autograph book, eh?" I chuckled at it, and gave her a smartass response like, "something like that." But it got me thinking about autographs, and I honestly can't think of a single human on the face of the planet whose autograph I'd want. I'm not "above" the idea of having role models or idols, I'd just rather spend time having a conversation than asking some random person for their signature.
Observation 4 (settling in to a spot on the grass): Everything here is free. Or at least the things I've come here for. There was no cost for parking, and no cost to watch the practice. And in today's world it was kind of a relief. I've become so conditioned to paying for everything, and it was nice to be able to do something without paying for it. Of course, there were tons of souveniers, but I took a pass on yet another Bears T-Shirt or Hat. And for a family that loves the Bears but can't afford a game/season tickets, this is a nice way to get close to the players.
Observation 5 (at practice): I don't have anything to compare it to, but watching real journalists do their work is pretty interesting. They are tweeting, writing, taking pictures, and I have no idea how they keep it all straight. But that's why I'm not a real journalist, just a pretend one in the world of make believe.
Observation 6 (at practice): I really have no idea what I'm watching. I played golf in high school, and at scrawny 140 lbs I doubt I would have had much of a career in football. But the purpose of mentioning this is that I have no idea what half of these guys are doing or why they do it. The defensive players are beating up blow up dolls (i think i could handle that part), the offensive players are running plays against an imaginery defense, and the special teams guys are sitting on their asses drinking water.
Observation 7: There's a term in my line of work referred to as "going to the gemba." Its a term coined by those in Lean Manufacturing settings to describe leaders spending time where the value-added work is taking place. In a factory, this means watching parts go together to understand where improvements can be made. On the football field at today's practice, I was surprised to see how lax and disinterested the Bears GM seemed to be in the work taking place on the field. He seemed more interested in chitchatting with media, VIPs, and fans; and although the practices are all being recorded, I'd think a guy with a payroll in excess of $150 M would want to know a bit more about how his guys are doing in their performance. But maybe that's the coaches job. And since money came up, it really is nuts if you think about how much football players get paid on a per unit of work basis. If you calculated the actual amount of time they are doing their job (playing in football games) it probably comes out to a ridiculous amount per rep in a real game. I'm not going to hunt down the stats on this one, unless someone asks me for it, but they're being paid a lot per unit of work.
Observation 8: It's been forever since the Bears had a legitimate quarterback, and its been a running joke amongst Bear fans. But now the complaint is that the ideal quarterback they've acquired (Jay Cutler) has no one to throw the ball to, and this will limit the team's success. The chit-chat I heard among fans about this topic drove me nuts; mainly because I think crazy fans (legitimate fanatics) are impossible to please. No matter the player, coach, opponent, or situation, the crazy fans find a way to worry about things not turning out perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see the Bears win every game (including the Super Bowl), but at some point doesn't this shtick (the constant whining) become annoying? Why not just take a perspective that its great to have a guy who can throw darts and have some faith it'll work out?
Anyhow, here's the photos and feel free to go to Snapfish for more:
Bourbanais, IL, summer home of Da Bears.
Jay Cutler
Defensive players swinging their arms at blow up dolls
Football players probably have the coolest uniforms compared to the other sports.
Get to work Angelo!
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