Fallen comrades...

This post is not about another fabulous sunset or what I had for dinner or the  perfect weather we have in South Florida. ** So stop reading now if that is what you are looking for **

It's about the number of people impacted this week in Sun's ongoing restructuring.  I've avoided writing about work  here in general,  to avoid conflict...but this just makes me heart broken.  I understand on an intellectual level and business/financial level, but the personal toll this is taking and in this economy,  just sucks!! -- I won't disclose names for fear of missing somebody and to protect the privacy of so many -- To those impacted today, my heart goes out to you and let me know if there is anything I can do for you -- For some it's just a setback,  for others ...

Sun has been a great company to be a part of for so many years and has provided me with so many opportunities and a life time of memories! -- It brought me Lisa! and many  fabulous friends. The chance  to work with some truely brilliant  people who  I've  admired and continue to admire. The ability to travel the world. The opportunity to lead both large and small teams. To recruit some amazing talent from my favorite school the University of Colorado before we even had our campus in Broomfield. The impact it has had on my life is truely humbling.  

Many will argue that a company does not define you, but in my case it has definately shaped who I've become. The things I've seen, places I've been, the people I associate with and the battles we've fought (metephorically speaking of course!)  I believe a person's personality is the sum of their life experiences...mine is rich with diversity.

There is a lot of uncertainty now with the IBM rumors...which will just create a new chapter, and for me maybe a homecoming of sorts.

Good luck everyone and let me know if I can help!!

Hola!! what a week...

I spent most of the week in Mexico City, Mexico meeting with my finance team located there and other members of the management team. It was in the Santa Fe portion of the city. Must be the technology heart because, IBM, HP, EDS, Cisco and others were right side by side. The travel was uneventful. The hotel was very nice a "Camino Real". The office was only about 6-7 blocks from the hotel, but I was advised not to walk. The said "Dave, you just don't look like us." -- OK so I took a cab to the office in the morning and Petra my finance controller brought me back to the hotel at night. I pretty much ate in the hotel and did not venture to far.

Lunch in Mexico occurs about 2 pm and lasts about 90 minutes. I had to make adjustments as I usually eat closer to noon and have dinner between 7:30 - 8:30...

I think it was Tuesday morning the IBM rumor broke, sending everybody into a bit of a tailspin. With no solid information we're all in the same boat...left wondering.

The flight home was easy with a nice tailwind pushing us along...arriving early is always nice coming home.

This weekend was mostly chores and work so nothing fun to report. I did have a nice talk with Tim Kroes on the phone last night. Hopefully the week ahead will go by fast, as it's the end of the quarter and all that, but we have nothing currently planned for next weekend. -- I'll have to work on that in the coming days!

The sunset coast...

We ventured out again this weekend for another weekend away. We went to what I'm starting to call the "Sunset Coast"! We headed due West on Saturday morning on Interstate 75. It's kinda funny because we were on I-75 North...(go figure).

From Fort Lauderdale straight West is Naples, Florida (and the Sunset Coast) -- in under 2 hours we were in downtown Naples staring at the blue water of the Gulf of Mexico. We were also caught in this... The trip to Naples (from Fort Lauderdale) takes you straight across the Big Cypress Swamp and the route is also known as "Aligator Alley"...because you really see a lot of Aligators!! -- I was driving and Lisa lost count!!!

** Breaking News ** 

The space shuttle just lifted off and we could see it from our Condo!!

** Back to Blog **

The beach in Naples was awesome. We ventured out on the pier and saw several dolphins jumping, playing and enjoying the day. We ventured North from the quaint downtown and found the Ritz Carelton...A nice neighborhood!! -- then we headed South for Marcos Island and our hotel for the night. We enjoyed the pool, took a walk on the beach and made dinner reservations. We wandered out to the pool about 7:15 and saw an awesome Sunset!! Two Saturdays in a row...Dinner was just mediocre, but topped it off with ice cream cones...yummy...Mint Chocolate Chip is always my first choice.

Sunday morning was Starbucks for coffee and a newspaper which we took back to the hotel. Another walk on the beach and we packed up the room and checked out. The beach on Marcos Island was all Shells...crushed shells, with little sand. It was hard on the feet, but unique. We've found these differences in Florida...sugar sand to shell beaches all within miles of each other.

We wanted to get on the water, so we found a marina that rented boats. We chose the small deck boat versus the party barge. We passed the navigation test and were checked out on the boat. We were underway within 45 minutes, for our 4 hour rental...we suffered through the no wake zone and then were in the open water!! We made one small mistake and found us in very shallow water. We managed our way to deeper water without to much of a problem. (so much for the that prop) -- We found "party cove" but did not stop...took a few passes, ate lunch and then headed back. -- we docked without incident, checked out and returned to Starbucks for our afternoon fortification!! -- we the zipped back across the "Aligator Alley" and made it home in under two hours! (Lisa was driving ;-)  )

Sunsets, sunburn and smiles...

The past weekend is but a memory now, maybe with a lingering redness from to much time in the sun without sunscreen. We ventured out on Saturday morning, heading South on 95 toward Miami. When we got past the airport turn-off, we were in "new territory" again. We took 95 till it petered out and became Highway 1. Funny we live on Highway 1 in Boca Raton...(also known as Federal Hwy) and for this portion also the "Dixie Hwy" -- In case you ever here about the Dixie Hwy in a song, it's in Florida!

We quickly decided we didn't really like the neighborhood or the slow progress. Lisa made a quick study of the map and decided a quick right, then a left would get us back to a 4 lane highway. We were crawling down a 2 laner with red lights every mile. -- back up to cruising speed!! We saw the signs for the Everglades and Key West...we headed for the Keys as our night's destination was Key Largo. (about 1/3 of the way down)

Key Largo was just a wide spot in the road. There was water on both sides, the Atlantic on our left and the Gulf of Florida (Gulf of Mexico beyond) on the right. We immediately found the Starbucks and our resort was several miles further. After some caffeine we went searching for the hotel. We found it quickly. It took us 2 hours from leaving Boca to arriving at the hotel. -- Not bad! -- as luck would have it our room was available so we checked in. Made a quick walk of the grounds locating the pool, beach, some hammocks and other creature comforts. The weather was gorgeous in the high 70's...not toasty warm but really comfortable. -- We changed and headed to the beach...located 2 chaise lounge chairs, ordered 2 fruity cocktails and settled in. We were smart and had applied sunscreen. There was music, various games (Limbo and hula hoop) to occupy the kids (big and small).

By 4:00 pm we were done with the beach scene...we wandered upstairs to the "tree top" bar and restaurant and made dinner reservations. The nice gentleman let us pick our table and put a reserved sign on the one we chose...He told us the sun set at about 6:30 but make sure we were early 'cuz it goes down in a hurry!! -- We drove back into town, walked near the marina to look at boats and killed some time. Then it was back to the hotel to shower and dress for dinner. -- The sunset was incredible -- it was a beautiful night , the food and wine were OK, but that sunset was magical!!! -- We went to bed early, knowing we were losing an hour of sleep and immediately fell fast asleep.

Sunday morning was leisurely (Starbucks Venti Latte and the Miami Paper) back in the room. We checked out, only cocktails, dinner, parking on the bill, as we used points for the room!! Gotta like that...Thanks Hilton and Sun Microsystems for all my trips to Dallas and my home away from home the Embassy Suites!! We headed South again looking for a beach. Went as far as Marathon, went to an art fair, and decided to head back to a previous beach where there were some kite boarding going on. A quick stop at Subway for sandwiches which we took to the beach. We found our beach, found parking and dragged out our trusty beach chairs to enjoy the view. The sun was warm and we were without sunscreen. There were a few dozen people at this beach. Families, couples, a gaggle of college aged girls and three European girls. (we're thinking Italian)...before you know it, the three girls were topless. Gotta love Florida and the Sun. -- of course as things got interesting it was time to leave...

Back in Key Largo there is a state park that is basically an under water preserve. We went there and had a look around, enjoyed some sun but decided to head for home without exploring the underwater wonders. The journey home was quicker than the drive down. When we got home and were taking showers, the redness of the sunburn appeared, offset by the whiteness of the clothed bits...all of which were complimented by the huge smiles we both had from a very enjoyable weekend!!!

Sunsets and cocktails...

We're off to explore Florida this week-end. Heading south, it's suppose to be warm!! -- Trying to figure out this whole South Florida lifestyle. We're heading here! for a weekend away! -- We plan to lay around the pool, sip some fruity cocktails and watch the sunset. When ever I'm near water and the sun's going down, I plop my butt in the nearest chair/lounger and watch the sun sink into the ocean. I've always loved it, never get tired of it and can't wait. We'll be traveling toward Key West...not going to go that far this trip...save that for another time.

I should really get over to see my dad at some point...he's on the right side of the state for sunsets... hmmm...maybe soon.

Todd Smith will be in the area soon...up in Jupiter in mid-March. I wouldn't come to FL vs. CO...I think he should re-think that strategy!

I've booked travel for Mexico City in two weeks and Buenos Aires again in early April. -- The press of business continues even as the uncertainty expands.

I got news of more people leaving today. There are opportunities out there. -- I guess "who you know" helps...remember people, don't burn your bridges, you'll never know when you might have to eat a little "humble pie" and ask for a favor.

South Beach...Oh My!

Before I get to the subject title, there's more ground to cover from last weekends epic weekend in Edwards. Our friends Bonnie, Michele and Andrew arrived pretty much on schedule Friday night after an uneventful flight from the Bay Area (SJC) via Southwest. Saturday was a great ski day, with no new snow, but "blue bird" Colorado skies, a few crowds and temps in the upper 20's. Not enough to melt the snow,  but make in comfortable for some exertion on the steeper stuff. I'm not sure if the highlight of the day was the "Red Tail Red" chili at lunch or the marinated Tri-Tip we had for dinner...both were yummy. The crew had brought wine to share and it was all very very good...Thanks Bonny, Michele, Andrew. 

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday less the crowds and a change to the dinner menu...but not lunch!! -- We skied Grouse Mountain for the first time all year because they had a couple groomed runs...Grouse is mostly Black and Double black runs. One of the groomed runs was very very steep and icy (Raven's Ridge)...I did it once, Lisa said no thanks...on the ride back up she asked me what it took to  ski it...I told her plan your first 3 turns and don't fall. - as we were standing there a dad and his two boys skied up the narrow cat track. The dad and youngest son made the stop, but the oldest boy actually didn't stop and went over the abyss sliding feet first, accelerating as he went for a good 500 feet before stopping...his ski's popped off about half way down. I skied down, collected his gear and gave it to him...only thing injured was his pride. 

I looked up and Lisa was pushing away from the edge to go down the other groomed run. On the chair ride up, she said "I really want to do it, but his fall scared me, especially after your warning..." I told her, plan your turns, don't linger at the top and just commit. (not that she has commitment issues...) I  made two turns and stopped on the side, she made her first two turns flawlessly and was on her way!! We celebrated at the bottom and with a hug and kiss and she of course said, "Can we do it again?" (she always says that...if you catch my drift!)...so we did the run a 2nd time and it was done in fine fashion.

Monday was not as nice as Sat/Sun. In fact it was cloudy, warmer and trying to snow...we skied till lunch time...It was quite soggy and it was raining in Arrowhead. I can't honestly say Monday was the best ski day of my life...so I won't. We parted ways with our house guests in the early afternoon and made the slow journey down. Taking extra care as the roads were snow covered and slippery.  Tuesday was a work day and Craig's birthday as well as a high  school classmate Judy!! (from facebook) Happy 50th Craig and Judy!! (a bit belated, but you made the blog!) -- On Tuesday, Lisa decided she needed to stay in Colorado for work, so I changed the plane reservations, jockyed around the driver scheduled to take us to the airport and faced the prospects traveling back to Miami with Simba. We had a little dosing issue on the way back and gave him a "we bit" to much. (ugh) -- He was still groggy when we got back to the condo in Boca but rested and slept it off. I thought he looked depressed when I spoke with Lisa the next day.

Lisa flew home on Saturday morning...somewhat uneventful flight...they had to return to the gate when they figured out they had one more passenger than the available seats on the on-board life rafts...It's good to know that they plan for everybody to have a seat. I picked her up and had brought her a pair of shorts and flip flops. (I'm such a thoughtful guy)  The weather has finaly gotten nice. Sunny and high 70's. W e left the airport and followed the signs to Miami Beach. We ended up right in the heart of South Beach and the "art deco" architecture!! We found a place to park and a starbucks,  then we were off on our adventure!! 

We headed right to the beach. It was more crowded than I had imagined for a Saturday in February. There were all kinds of folks with all kinds of body styles. -- We also found our first thong bikini's -- it may have been underware...but I'm pretty sure it was a swim suit, even though she wasn't swimming...I also noted she had no tan lines. But she wasn't alone...there were more...and some were not so good. 

There is a strand that seperates the beach from the hotels that front the beach. We walked the strand for a ways. At one point we could hear loud, pulsing music and what looked like a cool bar and beach party!! -- On closer  inspection it was filled with 99.9% topless males -- The biggest gay bar I'd ever seen...all dancing (some might call it that) and having a good time..."Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"...