Rain, Rain, Rain...

14 Days in a row!!! Ugh!!! What happened to the friggin "Sunshine" state.?? I guess the rainy season is here. Starts out nice in the morning but by noon, Showers!! Down pours! rain slanting sideways...ugh. 

I walked to the beach this morning, over cast hot and humid. I was a sweaty mess when I got home. I wasn't in the door for more than 10 minutes when the skies opened up, some thunder rattled and boomed and it was a soaking mess. Good thing we did our errands yesterday!! Costco, the wine store, target for a five year old's  birthday present, Starbucks, Tommy Bahama store (but I can't link exactly to what I got) Wholefoods and the post office to get the present in the mail.

I'm off to Panama City, Panama in the morning. We have two days of meetings with our partner who's invested in a joint venture in Peru. With all that's going on,  he's a bit concerned. I'm meeting up with two others who are also flying in, one from Cali the other from Colorado. Should be interesting. I also got upgraded so I'm a bit stoked. It's only 3 hours, nearly the shortest flight of the year I think.

Right now I'm searching for Ark designs...we may need it!!

Memorial Day weekend...

The trip to Sao Paulo is behind me. Good meetings, good trip, great to be home!! Lisa and I went to see my dad and Shirley in Venice, FL. We left Saturday morning after a quick stop at Starbucks. The weather was overcast with periodic showers and some torrential downpours that made driving a challenge. Lisa drove and did an awesome job. We went across "Alligator Alley" the east/west route across the state that connects Miami and Naples. We didn't see all that many of the pre-historic creatures, not like our previous trip across. My dad thought it was due to the temperature, as 'gators need 80 degree temps to digest their food, it was plenty warm so he thought they were in the water...oh well, we chose a different path home...

My dad  and Shirley are in their late 70's. (sorry no pics, we even took  the camera) Shirley's probably not as healthy as dad and always has some ailment. She was using a walker due to a recent fall and broken leg. They live very modestly in a small home in a "adult community". Seems that most of their friends are back "north" for the summer. They choose to stay because Shirley is no longer a fan of traveling, but they plan to take a trip to Muskegon in July, assuming the Physical Therapist gives his OK. 

Most of their day I think evolves around sitting, talking  and eating 'cuz that's what we did a lot of. We did take a drive, after lunch (at Clocks,  where Ralph was out waiter) up to Sarasota...and Longboat Key. Lisa and I chose to stay at the "Best Western" because they only have a twin size bed and...well you get the picture...Dinner Saturday night was dad's choice and we went to "Stuff a Belly" in North Port...I'm not sure why he likes the place other than the prices...or maybe it's the entertainment, which Saturday night was "Karaoke"...really bad Karaoke...Lisa and I enjoyed a nice beer with dinner as the wine choice was white or pink...we had Salmon which wasn't bad. We both never saw that karaoke  coming...Shirley had an advantage on us as she could turn her hearing aid down!

Sunday was a leisurely morning having Starbucks and reading the paper. The had a pull out section on Hurricanes that was actually pretty good. Did you know they have names already chosen for all the expected storms? and they have stricken "Katrina" from any future storm name? We enjoyed a quick lunch at "subway", then Shirley had to go to a "tea" that her grand daughter's girl scout troop was hosting...she was off to that and we went for a walk with my dad. He chose a trail down by the inter-coastal, but it was very warm so we didn't last long. We did see some gopher turtles along the way which was cool. We then went to the Venice fishing pier and then the jetty. We dropped dad off and went to change for dinner. After Saturday's choice, we let Shirley choose and she done good. We went to "The Left Coast" a seafood restaurant. The service, ambiance  and food we very nice. The check was reasonable as very little wine was included...I think we ate for about $110 w/tip...gotta love Venice!!

We repeated the Starbucks run today, packed and showered and were at dad's by 10:00 we chatted for a bit and the said our good byes. It was a nice trip, good to see family, but I enjoyed getting home at a reasonable hour. I felt like I had to go visit, as I'm living here and this was our first visit. They seemed relatively healthy, happy and content. We've never been close, but you only have one dad, so you gotta take the time and do it.  

I bless Lisa for enduring the karaoke with me!! 

Saying good-bye...

...is something I hate!

It's been a long week. I'm currently sitting in The Admirals Club in Miami Airport, on my way to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I received news this week that a former classmate, fellow scout and at one time a friend had entered hospice care. On Friday he passed away. I have not talked with Larry, in over 30 years. I have a picture or two of him from years ago. I spent time as a kid with him, playing and what not,  had dinner at his home, Winter camping as Scouts,  playing football, etc. I'm not good at this whole "passing away thing"...I don't have much training in it...Do any of us? -- It's not something I wanna be good at. 

I do think when these things happen, it's a time for self reflection. What should I change in my life? Have I thanked enough people? Have I said "I love you" to the right people? I can't change the circumstances, but maybe I can change my path forward. I don't even remember a last conversation with Larry, I know he's married, but I don't know about kids. I knew his brother. His mom was a great cook!! But I don't know what he's done in the last 30+  years and that kinda makes me sad.  

I wonder how many other people out there are saying good-bye for the last time? Life seems to be short...every day is precious. I think about that more now than in the past. Maybe it's the "50" thing...probably having lived more than half my life. But to me, every year gets better!! -- I'm sure this year will be filled with a lot of changes, primarily job related...But everything happens for a reason...that's just the way I've lived my life!!

Let  me just close with a silent thought for Larry...

Till we meet again...peace be with you.

Mid May...

Where has the year gone?? The pace at work has definitely picked up. I've been grinding non stop this week. This is just a brief respite between calls. I leave for Brazil on Saturday night assuming my Visa and passport show up. It's suppose to be FedEx'd to the condo on Saturday. It'll be a nail biter!

I've started another writing project. I'm collaborating with a high school friend...Need to see how it develops before we let others in on it. (that was a tease). I'm also going to start running ads on my blog. If you click on an ad, I get some $$$ from Google. I don't think it will be enough to retire on, but we'll see. I need more viewers!! -- I think I signed an agreement that I can't sit and click on my own page all day. ;-)

The weeks seem to be whizzing along, which is good. We're going to go see my dad over Memorial Day weekend. We have been down here since mid-November and have yet to get over to Venice to see him. I guess ready or not we'll be going. Then it'll be June and only 30 more days in the fiscal year. We're going to Colorado for the 4th of July...I want to go to avoid the heat and humidity here and enjoy the Fireworks from our deck. Shortly there after, I'll be off to Buenos Aires again for Qtr-end/Year end stuff and then to Maui at the end of July!!

What a year it's been...

It's getting hot!!!...

The first days back after a week-long vacation tend to be very very busy. Catching up on email, calling all direct reports, talking with folks in the office, finding out what you missed, returning phone calls to friends/business people  is all very time consuming. The week seemed to drag by...There is a rhythm to most weeks driven by your calendar,  mine is no exception. As the week progressed, the pace seemed to quicken. (thankfully) 

We're at that time in the quarter (week 6) when we have to update the executives on expected performance. We have calls, prepare  spreadsheets, have a few more calls, decide what the answer is and turn it in...wait for more calls and then have a big call on Tuesday to explain what we turned in on Friday...The beauty of all this...most of it's on the calendar and you don't have to think or remember! (just have to remember to look at your calendar)

Speaking of calendars...I'm a big fan of the Today show and watch it nearly every morning...(Though while on vacation we never turned the TV on (I digress)) -- I always like to check out the weather in "other parts of the country" -- mainly Colorado -- Can you believe it's already May? where did the first 4 months go? seems the weather is improving everywhere!!

Here it's in the upper 80's and the humidity is about 100% -- It's getting Hot!!! -- It doesn't make us want to do much, a sense of lethargy has spread to South Florida...I think it's hardest on Simba...he's just moping around the condo dreaming of the mountain house, cool air, chasing hummingbirds or maybe visiting his new best friend Fan-tum (aka Phantom)  {Simba doesn't spell so good}

The Duval Crawl and a fitting end...

One of the big attractions in Key West, other than its  island charm, liberal attitudes,  world class fishing, Jimmy Buffet (as patron saint) and it's  sunset celebration (every night) , is it's lack of an open container law.  i.e. you can walk around with your favorite beverage from place to place.

 

The most famous and popular street in KW, is the mile long Duval street, which stretches from harbor to the Atlantic ocean. All along Duval you'll find tourist shops,  restaurants,  ocean activity kiosks and the ubiquitous bar or saloon.  -- Nearly every night we'd stroll Duval and watch the merriment. We spent a few nights here. They have cheap drinks, a dance floor and live music every night. I even drank a beer there, until the too loud music and the vile cigarette and cigar smoke drove us away.  Sloppy Joe's is best known as Earnest Hemmingway's favorite watering hole, with photos and memorabilia adorning the walls.  Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville"  is a couple blocks away, the "Hardrock",  "cheeseburger in paradise", "Biggun's" (don't ask) are all within a couple blocks of each other.  The Hog's Breath Saloon, not to be confused with the "Hog's breath inn" of Clint Eastwood fame, is not technically on Duval but close enough. I like there motto "Hog's breath is better than no breath"

During our last night in Key West, (Friday night)  shortly after sunset, we boarded a small boat for about a 10 minute ride to sunset key a small island with homes, cottages, a private beach and small restaurant  (Latitude's), for our final meal. There were at most 4 couple's,  in an open restaurant just steps to the ocean with a soothing island breeze carrying our cares and troubles out to sea.  The service was awesome, wine list first rate and the food delicious. It was a wonderful end to a much needed vacation.