September Travels!

Ok September was a very big traveling month for me.
It all went very well, but I’m sure glad to be back home…

Sep 1 – 2 Hilton Head SC with Mom.
Sep 3 – 4 Downtown Chicago IL with Mom.
Sep 9 – 13 Champaign IL. Engineering EXPO.
Sep 19 – 20 Washington DC. Training & dinner with Pat.
Sep 21 – 24 Napa Valley CA. Winery tours with Mom.
Sep 25 – 28 Back to Champaign IL. Interview engineers.
Total: traveled 17 days out of 30. Couldn’t have done it without Mom’s help. She had her own issues to deal with, yet managed to help me get clothes packed etc between trips. Now that it’s over, we can take a deep breath & breathe a sigh of relief: Traveled to 5 different locations, from the east coast to the west coast. 8 days were pleasure, 9 were business.

1. Our Hilton Head and Chicago trips was documented in an earlier Blog post.

2. Champaign 9/9 – 9/13: The family part of trip was highlighted by a couple of very spontaneous but enjoyable encounters with Brian Patrick: I first saw him when he cruised by the ExxonMobil ‘booth’ at the Engineering EXPO. He was headed for class and I was getting my recruiting team organized, so we didn’t get to talk much. Later, we both found time to meet for a bite at Zorba’s on Green St. And just before I left for home, a strange voice called from Brian’s cell phone and asked if I wanted to meet. I asked what he had done with my son & what he wanted from me to get him back. Turns out it was Brian, with a very bad case of larengitis(sp?)! We met for a great lunch at Potbelly’s (he was so hoarse, I had to do all the ordering & talking…frankly I rather enjoyed it!) before I headed back to the office.

3. Washington DC: After a couple days catching up at home, it was off to Washington DC for a one-day training class in Fairfax. Pat Driscoll managed to pick me up a my hotel & we went out for dinner, and a drink & cigars, while we caught up on our recent lives & future plans. He’ll be leaving for a year in Bagdad soon, so there was plenty to talk about. Everything from careers & families, to the war in Iraq, to retirement plans & ideas.

4. Napa Valley CA: This trip was documented in a previous blog post. We had a great time.

5. Champaign (again) 9/25 – 9/28: This time to interview the senior engineers I met earlier at the EXPO. Brian Patrick & I both had incredibly full schedules, so we did not expect to cross paths much (if at all). Surprisingly, one evening as I was out jogging through the Engineering Quad I heard ‘hey dad!’ shouted from the ME Lab Building. It was a very welcome sight to see Brian waving me over as he finished a fast food dinner before his next exam. We had a nice chat about life in general then he was off to his exam. Then Friday morning, Brian called & told me his lab had been cancelled, so we hung out for an hour on the Illini Union patio, where I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a great view of the Quad. All in all, we enjoyed some very pleasant (albeit brief) encounters, considering our busy schedules.

Now I’m back at home with Mom, where we’re both catching up on ‘homework’ and some much needed sleep. October looks like it will be a little more under control. ‘Gee its great to be back home….’ (Simon & Garfunkel).

Love,
Dad