Back in Seattle Again ...

I lived. Four times I was strapped into a two-inch-square seat and hurtled through the air, six-plus miles above the earth, in a pressurized aluminum tube - and I wasn't even paid for it. But I'm back home and pretty damn happy about it.

It was a rough week, in general. I got a lot done, but not everything I wanted to. I met quite a few people that I have known via e-mail for years, but it's always great to meet face-to-face and create a personal connection. And a lot went on while I was 2,000 miles away from The Office.

The Good: Great food. Reuben pizzas, ginormous burgers (mmmm), blue-corn cornbread, fantastic carbonara, Blue Sapphire martinis, wheat beer, steak quesadillas. My wonderful friend Linda chauffeuring me everywhere and showing me some great neighborhoods in Columbus, and keeping me company during our dinners. Seeing a real, honest-to-god thunderstorm for a change. Meeting some cool new friends in a beautiful garden before going to a cool old theater to watch one of my favorite Marx Brothers' movies. The nuns/cobblestones joke at the unbelievably, absolutely perfect moment.

The Bad: My laptop frying upon entry to the Midwest. Having back-to-back meetings where I was at first greeted as the Angel of Mercy, and then flogged on a post more than once. Jetlag. Feeling sick from being in air-conditioning all the time. Dealing with team members in Seattle ripping each others' throats out while I was on the other side of the country.

The Ugly: Being told what to do regarding team issues by other core team members and making me feel two inches tall an hour before I had to head towards another pressurized metal tube. Having to come up with an emergency job description and contingency plan for a team member who is retiring at the end of August. Trying to plan how our team will make it all work, knowing that we probably won't be able to hire someone before said team member leaves. Dealing with Flow Control that almost made my flight from Columbus to Chicago leave five hours late. The little girl two rows in front of me throwing up all over her entire row of seats - 45 minutes into a 4 1/2 hour flight.


Pretty Picture time ...

Waiting to board my plane at O'Hare (on the way to Columbus).

My luxurious room.

And the view with the room.

The view from the accounting department - the building is right on a quarry lake. Very serene - I loved the atmosphere here.

My friend Linda. She called herself "Julie Love Boat", being the Cruise Director for my trip.

Linda's friend Jim invited us to have dinner in his gardens (knowing I'm into our gardens) before going to the theater. He's an artist, and some of his sculptures are in the garden. It's exquisite - I wish I had pictures that would do it justice.

The view of the garden from the Tea House. Those are my feet, up in the comfy recliner.

The Pond.

The view from the study. I want a study like this.

And finally, the view from the plane - somewhere over Minnesota, I think.