The Captain Is Back

Captain’s Blog:  Sixteen August, Year of Our Lord 2015.  Have finally returned to home port after several voyages over the last few months; visiting exciting ports of call like San Francisco, Seattle, Palm Beach, Anaheim, and Dallas.  I will be sailing away again shortly for a three week stint of two business trips bookending a much needed vacation.  The chronicling bug never left me, but I was befallen by tragedy when my collection of scrimshaw (memory card) fell overboard (dropped from my pocket) and was lost, along with my inspiration.  I kept with my routine, staying the course, until I could find familiar waters to begin anew.

I really was disconsolate when I had lost the memory card.  I was lucky enough to keep some pictures of a couple visits, but not all visits and not prime pictures.  I had taken several to fill my 365 Pictures in 365 Days project and had visited family, generating all sorts of material for blog posts.  For example, did you know polo matches are broken down into chukkers?  And that calling the final one the “mother chukker” will get you kicked off the grounds?  I learned this when visiting my Aunt Becky and Uncle Vern in Palm Beach with my wife.  In professional polo, during what I could only understand as “halftime,” spectators are allowed onto the field for ice cream and Champaign while stamping down the divots made by the horses’ hooves.  My uncle advised “if its round and steaming, don’t step on it!”  Good advice for polo and life, Vern!

This is an amateur polo match.  Lost pictures of the pros.

Beach near Lake Worth Pier

More beach

And still more

No matter where you go, there's someone looking for a handout!

We visited my aunt and uncle in late February to celebrate my wife’s birthday.  We took a long weekend and most days were overcast and rainy.  We did have one bright day, which we used to go to the beach.  While there, we visited with a great-aunt who I believe did some modeling in her youth and now lives in a house that could function as a museum due to its size and use of marble.  At the club, we played tennis, both regular and table; swam in the pool; and attended a party that served oysters on the half shell and lobster tails either baked or grilled.  Back at the house, we swam and hot-tubbed almost every night.  Also gave my First Mate a jolly rogering.  Twice!  And people call us an old married couple.  Well, we do.  We call ourselves an old married couple.  So, yeah, our trip rocked!  Except the end, when we were delayed at La Guardia for about seven hours because of ice and snow.

365 Pix in 365 Days for 2015: Images 026 through 032

The last week of January found me in Chicago at the beginning of the week and ended with me in Maple Grove for a volleyball tournament. As mentioned in my last post, the annual AHR Expo was held during this week. The only people who would know that would be the four who read the blog post. Let's amp up those page views, people!

The tour went off without a hitch and I was able to arrange meetings for the time slots my General Manager requested. Before the trip, he said he wanted all of us to have full days while in Chicago and go home on Wednesday completely exhausted. Mission accomplished; although my exhaustion probably wasn't in the way he intended.

As an introvert, I find constant business meetings and engagements to be mentally and physically taxing. I've grown out of my childhood shyness to a degree, but I recognize I much prefer to think through ideas quietly by myself than to discuss them with others. Also, we all met up in the late evening to early morning of Tuesday and Wednesday, which fed into my overall exhaustion. I woke up at 5 in the morning to shower, having only three hours of sleep and lingering alcohol in my system.

The understanding was Wednesday would be a travel and rest day and then we'd be right back at it on Thursday. No such luck. We arrived at the airport well ahead of our flight, so we had an impromptu meeting for almost an hour. The new expectation was for all Regional Sales Managers (RSMs) to send up follow-up emails with action items once back in Minnesota that afternoon. In a show of defiance, I sent out most of my emails on Thursday, with only one being sent on Wednesday because the GM already promised the Principal I would.

I've already spent more than enough time complaining about work, so I will leave it that the end of January was a carryover from the week prior. Oh, and my mom's birthday was on that Tuesday and I called her from a quiet spot in McCormick Place.

Image 026:  01-26-2015

A view from my room on the 30th floor of the W Chicago Lakefront.

Image 027:  01-27-2015

View of downtown Chicago from McCormick Place.

Image 028:  01-28-2015

The awesome brown liquor wall of the 
Untitled Supper Club 

Image 029:  01-29-2015

St. Paul's version of Stonehenge 

Image 030:  01-30-2015

Minneapolis from Boom Island, which is no longer an island.

Image 031:  01-31-2015

G-Bug showing one of her double threats - throwing it down!

Image 032:  02-01-2015

Her other threat - affecting the opponent's shot.

365 Pix in 365 Days for 2015: Images 019 through 025

I can only describe my fourth week of January with a term I haven't used since college. No, not "beer run."  Hell week.

The week after would be the annual AHR Expo, this year held in Chicago. Our top distributor is also in Chicago and our General Manager thought it would be a keen idea for us to sponsor a field trip with a group of other Principals and Owners who could learn the value of being in the aftermarket parts business. Since Chicago is in my territory, I was charged with teeing up the Parts Manager on a presentation and arranging for transportation from McCormick Place to the distributor location and back again. I'm also one of three Regional Sales Managers (RSMs), so I was responsible for finding at least six asses to fill the 18 available seats on the shuttle. 

We had a full month to prepare for the trip, which left plenty of time. However, these are busy professionals with very fluid schedules. If a better meeting arose, and aftermarket typically gets short shrift, more than likely a Principal would cancel. Booking people for the tour was an ever changing process. In addition, the GM also wanted all RSMs to schedule meetings throughout the time we were in Chicago so he could pick and choose what meetings to attend. We were to schedule a "beer summit" on Monday and Tuesday evening; a dinner meeting on Monday and Tuesday night; and a breakfast meeting on Tuesday morning. Over lunch on Tuesday we would take our field trip.

As luck would have it, two of the distributors I wanted to visit were only available on Sunday night. Everyone else was flying in Monday morning. but I was going to fly in a day early to meet with each of my distributors. Not surprisingly, one had another customer meeting so I wasn't able to connect with him. At any rate, the entire month of January involved some degree of event planning that lead right up to the Friday before the trip.

That week I was ambushed with a series of tasks that weren't on my calendar on Monday morning. Turns out our GM was taking a trip to Winnipeg to meet with a distributor. Although I had that distributor as part of my stable before, I transitioned the account to my fellow RSM. I was still asked to provide some detail on the distributor to prep the GM for his meeting. Once on the trip, he texted me for additional information. On Wednesday, my direct boss scheduled a pseudo quarterly review. I say 'pseudo' as the company requires only second and fourth quarter reviews, the first and third ones being a regular check-up/check-in. These still require prep work to track how I'm performing to plan. Fortunately, Q3 was pretty good for me.

I also learned on Monday I would be responsible for transporting a couple co-workers who have been testing the new e-commerce site the company is trying to release to the local Rep and company Service Office. Minnesota is part of my territory, and as the most customer facing person (I actually visit these places) I was tasked with making the introductions. My whole Thursday was shot, but there was a deadline to complete a Parts Potential Sales report by each Distributor for each region. My territory encompasses the North Central, South Central, and West regions. Thursday is also my bowling night, and since I'm the league secretary, I'm responsible for making sure everyone pays and the alley gets paid. I was able to delegate that assignment to someone else.

Finally, the GM scheduled another end-of-day meeting on Friday. The RSMs were asked to create a report of the last on-site visit we made to our distributors. I was glad to see I had been on-site with a bulk of my distributors over the last 18-20 months. The meeting was a watered down table thumper, where the GM said we needed to be tougher and more demanding of action from our distributors. The report was never reviewed.

So, this is my first true ventry of the New Year. I just need to add a signature and it could be a letter of resignation. 

How about another 7,000 words (assuming every picture is worth 1,000 - without captions)?

Image 019:  01-19-2015

I think everyone will be seen wearing white trash bags
tied at the knee.

Image 020:  01-20-2015

Just a slight dusting of snow. Those are dog toys, not kids toys.

Image 021:  01-21-2015

Wabasha Street Bridge in St. Paul

Image 022:  01-22-2015

My car is a piece of crap and this may have been only the second
or third time I've run it through a car wash, but if I was going to
have people in it, I wanted it to look decent.

Image 023:  01-23-2015

A drive by shooting (get it?  camera shot?) of the Ice Carnival.

Image 024:  01-24-2015

The St. Paul Cathedral lit up for the annual Red Bull
Crashed Ice event. We had bookended trips to
Cowboy Jacks around checking the venue, since we
thought it better to celebrate two friends' birthdays.

Image 025:  01-25-2015

My liver was well lubricated by the time I flew
to Chicago.  By the end of the night a group of
us ended up at a bar that served specialty drinks.
Not pictured:  a Bunsen burner

365 Pix in 365 Days for 2015: Images 012 through 018

I didn't start Week 3 of pictures with the intention of having a theme, but one seemed to have grown organically as I perused my photos. Not only has there been a lot of change over the nearly two decades I have lived in the The Twin Cities, but there has been a surge of new construction in the last few years. The fact that nothing stays the same is hardly an epiphany, but I'm starting to look at places and remembering what used to be there. So, Week 3 is a series of pictures of the old and the new.

Upcoming weeks will have a different mix of pictures as I start my traveling season for work. I'll be making another trip to Chicago followed by one to San Francisco. I'm excited for the latter as I haven't been there for about five years. My wife is jealous because her dad and his wife live there and I will be spending the weekend with them. Cost and timing were not on our side, so she wasn't able to meet me there. I plan to make it up to her later this year.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures and commentary.

Image 012:  01-12-2015

The swankiest corner in the Grand Avenue area of St. Paul.
There used to be a Ciatti's in this corner building.  Now there's
an Axel's and a Cafe Latte.

Image 013:  01-13-2015

Preparations for the Red Bull Crashed Ice Competition.
There used to be a path of sloping green grass here, and before
that, a light rail tunnel from back at the turn of the century.

Image 014: 01-14-2015

This is a new housing development called The Paxon.
There used to be an abandoned concrete parking garage just
a year ago last summer

Image 015:  01-15-2015

I was sad to hear that Pracna on Main was closing. This was one of
the bars on Minneapolis' Main Street, one of the first streets in the
city, that had 'patio' seating during the summer. My Wife and I
once stopped here after dropping off our tax returns. We were
going to get some money back and felt like celebrating.

Image 016:  01-16-2015

My Wife and I were invited by some friends from work to attend
a benefit at Cooper's for a young woman who was battling cancer.
There were tacos, bingo, a raffle, and silent auction. Oh yes, and
dancing.  Lots of awkward dancing.  I'll just say there was a dolphin
impression and leave it at that.  I had never been to Cooper's before,
so it was new to me.

Image 017:  01-17-2015

Just one of several add-ons and new buildings being erected in
Minneapolis.

Image 018:  01-18-2015

G-Bug had her first tournament with her new team, the
17-2 squad. There used to be a young lady who didn't get
much competition time on the 16-1 team, but not this year.

365 Pix in 365 Days for 2015: Images 005 through 011

The coldest weather of the winter descended on Minnesota, coming from the most likely of sources - Canada. The mornings started below zero with wind chills making the air feel somewhere between -25 and -30 degrees.  The upper Midwest wasn't the only area of the country affected, as I read Facebook posts from friends on the East Coast lamenting similar wind chills in New England and two inches of snow falling in Washington, DC, which put the entire area in lock down something fierce.

Having gone toe to toe with the Polar Vortex previously, I have a few survival tips for those who aren't used to such bitter cold.  1.) Invest in a couple pairs of thick, cotton socks; 2.) Under Armor makes for a great first layer when getting dressed; 3.) Keep you head and ears covered; and 4.) The first 20 degree day after the cold snap will feel like a hug. Enjoy it!

Here are the pictures for this week.

Image 005:  01-05-2015

In spite of the bitter cold, you can still see some remarkable sun
rises.  This one is over Beaver Lake near the house.

Image 006:  01-06-2015

I think this is binary code for "weather sucks!"

Image 007:  01-07-2015

About 18 years ago, after I first moved to Minnesota, I attended
a christening at this church for the son of the friend of the woman
who would eventually become my ex-wife.

Image 008:  01-08-2015

One of the new Green Line Light Rail stops in downtown St.Paul.

Image 009:  01-09-2015

Scene of downtown Minneapolis taken from the I-35W on ramp
off of Highway 55.

Image 010:  01-10-2015

Another successfully completed shoveling effort. I think this
is the sixth time since November.

Image 011:  01-11-2015

My "man corner" where I plan to do much of my
blogging.  We don't have enough space for a "man cave."

365 Pix in 365 Days 2015: A New Hope, Images 001 through 004

I intentionally put myself on hiatus from my blog posting and picture taking during the last quarter of the year. I was getting too far behind with my picture posts and I wasn't feeling all that inspired to write anything else. I had looked at the photos I had taken and thought if these aren't interesting to me, they certainly won't be interesting to anyone else. So, like any business with a product in the waning stages of its life cycle, I decided to close shop and retool.

I didn't lose my interest in blogging and from time to time would read some of my posts. The writing was rough in some cases, but I could still elicit a laugh every now and again, and I knew the punchline was coming. Even the picture posts were interesting. I tried to make these more compelling for the reader with my tweet-like, one liner style captions, and some worked and some didn't. For me, the pictures were a reminder of things I had seen and places I had been during the year. Reviewing some of the pictures on my camera I didn't post brought me right back to the day I took them.

I think the chronicling aspect of the photos should be my reason for taking the pictures and making the posts. I was too focused on trying to find something interesting to capture when rarely is there a year when something interesting happens EVERY SINGLE DAY. There are going to be days I spend just doing laundry or other chores and maybe a rainbow stack of folded towels is how I will remember it. Finding something clever to say about it will be the hard part.

So, with a new attitude, a New Year, and maybe eventually a new camera, I'm going to start a new 365 Pictures in 365 Days project.  Third times a charm, right?

Image 001:  01-01-2015

Last year, the shot of choice to ring in the New Year were
"baby Guinness." This year was Fireball whiskey and Manhattans
made from Anejo Patron and Dashfire bitters. The result was a
snow angel made while in my underwear. Batman underwear.

Image 002:  01-02-2015

You heard of crop circles? Minnesota has "lake circles."

Image 003:  01-03-2015

The frozen Mississippi River below downtown St. Paul. This past
June these steps and the park above them were underwater when
the river flooded its banks.

Image 004:  01-04-2015

St. Paul from the east side and the river is still frozen. I was, too,
after taking this picture as the weather dropped to single digits.
I don't think those barges are moving anytime soon.