Observations from the road

I am not one to talk too much about work or too much about politics.  I don't talk about work because ultimately someone thinks I can give them a stock tip or help them time the market.  Not really my approach to things.  Or I can bore them to tears.  I don't talk much about politics because I feel that instead of talking about the government and what they should be doing, we should take that time to do something ourselves - we may find we are more productive...  But this week work and politics overlapped to make me reflective.
I did not watch the Presidents address the other night.  For one reason I find his delivery - no matter what the message - annoys me.  I find myself thinking - dont' they give classes on public speaking, surely someone could train/coach/teach him to refine his delivery?  And then I start thinking - Sam Seaborn and Aaron Sorkin could write a better speech, maybe they should be added as speech czars to Mr. Obamas staff.  The other reason - that really warrants more importance... I need to get up early on Thursday to go see a client.  By early I mean, the alarm went of at 4:45am and I was on the road in a rental car by 6am.
Ad that's where it all overlaps...
I was on my way to see one of the longest clients I have dealt with for my company.  When I interviewed this was the company they used as an example to discuss what my job would look like.  Funny - I was truly naive as to the client's industry before that time - call it a girl thing.  I was going to their plant.  Yes, a manufacturing plant...  At least 6 times a year, if not more, I find myself spending a day or 2 on-site in manufacturing plants that are still here in the US.  You think that is a novelty...?  You don't think the people I meet with don't understand what a novelty it is as well.  So off I go (leaving sick dog behind) and 3 hours later I arrive at their doorstep. 
And I am always awestruck by the experience...  I have been going to this location for years now so I go unescorted through the back door and into the plant.  It is a big building and there are shelves of stuff running down aisles after aisles all the way to the ceiling.  There are products for distribution.  There are parts for production.  There ARE areas that sit empty that used to hold products and/or people for a line that is no longer here in the US.  And I find myself in a back room with an internet connection to my laptop and a poor cell signal.  Today we are going to talk about the importance of saving and some other basics.  By the end of the day I will have heard amazing stories from everyday Americans.  I will saddened to hear some of them have family members on their way to war overseas.  Others have stories of volunteer work that make my donations of cash to the foodbank seem lazy.  There are young people eager to learn about this thing called planning.  There are older people thinking this is the year they will retire.  All of them have a sense of pride for who they are and what they do.  Most of them work hard for the money they make.  And I feel blessed that I have a job where I can try to help them put some of those pieces together for their future.
I never expected that to be the case when I took this job.  There are other aspects of this job that I thought were so interesting when I started.  Would really challenge the mind.  Really force me outside my area of knowledge.  I never thought that the days on the road talking to stranger after stranger would bring the best satisfaction.  If only everyone had the opportunity to spend some time with everyday America.  Then maybe we wouldn't focus so much on DC but maybe on our own backyard.

Snow Day

I guess I should document that we did in fact have some sort of wintry mix this month.  I have to say I was quite surprised at the results.  They said a storm would be moving in Friday night - around 6pm.  I took that as a valid excuse to forgo swimming.  Around 4:30pm yesterday someone commented that it was already snowing.  I had to laugh - I saw maybe 2 or 3 flakes after truly straining my vision out the office window.  My co-worker from Boston and I had a good laugh.  And then some 15 minutes later he came by my office to say it was in fact snowing.  Sure enough - there were more flakes coming down.  So I packed up my desk and along with everyone else the hit the roads right at 5:00.  I could have screamed once I was out on the road from the parking deck....  There were so many cars.  I seriously think everyone saw that first flake and ran for their car.  It was quite beautiful the snow coming down... and it was beginning to accumulate along the landscaping.  Would you beleive by the time I made it to the second Target - not too sure on the mileage there - we'll say 20 minutes down the road at tops - the roads were ecompletely dry.  And as far as I could tell, no precipitation started around my house until the early morning hours.  So now there is some sort of frozen tundra outside my back door.  The roads are frozen, the car is frozen shut as is the garbage can, and the little guy and I struggled to maintain our footing on his potty runs... but I am not sure if it is an accumulation of snow with sleet on top or if it is just an accumulation of sleet.
I took some pictures.  I will download them shortly.
Other than that we have stayed in today.  Oh and fretted over his ear infection and potential other ailments.  And eventually hung some red neck curtains (that would be make shift curtains push-pinned over the windows to keep the cold out) as it is supposed to get down to 13F tonight.
A fun way to end January I suppose.  We were supposed to go out for dinner - restaurant week in Charlotte - but the drive just isn't worth it.  Some are walking to the Mexican restaurant.  I am making lentils and some butternut squash soup.

Haiti

I figure if I am going to chronicle the year I suppose I need to note the earthquake in Haiti. I have been sucked into the news on Haiti both Wednesday and Thursday night. It just sucks me in.
I had a work associate that did some ministry work in Haiti a few years back. I was familiar with state of their nation as a result of his preparation to go there. But it wasn't until the other day's news that I learned it is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Most citizens were struggling to provide for themselves in the first place. How sad.
The cynic of politics and media has many thoughts on the subject but I will leave it at just the shock of it all right now.

Something new for the new year

Here's one that comes as a surprise but then again maybe not. FrAngie have invited me to a republican dinner this evening. And I am going. I try not to get too involved in politics. I find the act of politicking in todays media driven environment to be disappointing and more about fame than about governing. So I usually lay low. But then there is that side of me that some may recall (Dave, when you read this Deb will confirm this to be true) that I took a whole bunch of poli-sci classes in university. And I even did an intern through the state government. So there is a part of government that does interest me. So I decided to embrace that long lost interest and go to this dinner. As for the republican aspect? Well we all know I am not a democrat even if I am not a card carrying flag waving member of the republican party. I am looking forward to this evening. Definitely something new for the new year.

Happy New Year Happy New Decade

Wow, think about it... There is so much that has happened over the past year. Well that was my goal - to do a bunch of cool things in my 40th year. And I think I did OK. Didn't do all the things I was hoping to do but I did enough.
Highlights of the year?
That snow storm way at the beginning of the year when I had to be to the airport to go to Wisconsin. That was memorable. I generally don't go too far from home when the weather acts up down here. But there was no way we could use a stranded excuse for a client in Wisconsin.
The trip to Myrtle Beach was a pleasant surprise as well. I was trying to go somewhere convenient. I didn't think it would be all the exciting but it was nice.
Walking to Cooper River Bridge ranked up there.
When my mom visited over the Spring we did a lot of local sight-seeing that I hadn't done before. Brattonsville and those shoal lily?
The two races I competed in. watch out for 2010...
There may be more but that is what comes to mind so that must be the best.