Monday

I did not get to do the double-header at the gym today due to timing. My daughter explained that the mat pilates class would probably blow my abs and leave me without the support needed for Yoga class. She is very wise, and I'm sure this was a good call -- although my abs are in very good shape after training for the last 3 1/2 years.

The Yoga class was spectacular with a most interesting, talented and unique teacher. Karolina provides a fresh approach to vinyasa, including a Nia opening dance. I haven't done a dance opening to Yoga for a while, and this was a fun way to warm up. The class ended with shavasana accompanied by a story which provided a connection from our current state, our desires, and a path to a desired outcome. This might sound a little off the normal course, but I assure you that it's most effective.

The studio has mirrors on three walls. While many Yoga teachers suggest looking past the mirrors, I find it helpful for alignment and adjustment of poses. The visual cues are very powerful. In addition, I have been practicing some tall mountain poses and working toward doing them with my eyes closed. Anyone who has tried a balance pose with their eyes closed knows that this adds an additional challenge. The thought crossed my mind that the feedback one receives from visual cues may be faster than than the feedback received from our inner ears. I believe that with practice that the balance poses with closed eyes can improve, and this probably makes the same poses with eyes open even easier.

Tomorrow, we take Jenn to campus. I'll miss seeing her everyday, but I will take comfort that she's close to family and that she is very sensible. We agreed to stay in touch by phone, and it's only about a month before we'll be back for parent's weekend.

Hooked on 24

One of the nice things about vacation is that you have a few extra moments to do things that you normally wouldn't do. The show, 24 is most interesting and, yes, addictive. We're watching the show on DVD which allows one to traverse the 24 hours without the 20 minutes or so of commercials. Using the DVD is probably the best way to watch a series -- sort of like a long movie. The last time I did this was on the series Sports Night. And this was also on a vacation.

I'm going to try not to sweat a few idle hours. In fact, I'll do a double session tomorrow with this most fabulous instructor. The first session is mat pilates for 50 minutes, which I've never done before. This is followed by a 25 minute break then a 75-minute Yoga session with the same instructor.

Hollywoodland

I wasn't really familiar with the original suicide, but I'm told there was no revelation in this film. It seems that the investigations in the past that didn't reveal anything are not likely to be enhanced via screenplay.

The characters were interesting and well-portrayed, but the pacing was a little slow. I also found the ending uninspired, although I am not going to talk about that here -- just in case.

The Windy Suburb

The weather here in the Chicago 'burbs has been incredible this week. Temps in the low 70's, clear with blue skies. With my bio clock still on EDT, I've been waking up around 5:30 in the morning here. There's only so long that you can lie in bed and think happy thoughts, so I found my way out to enjoy the sunrise with a book.

Today, the winds are picking up and the blue is turning to gray. That's okay. As I'm not necessarily and outdoor person, the weather is mostly the domain of the forecasters (and some of my customers who predict the weather with powerful computers).

Speaking of work, I did have the opportunity to release some tension of those who aren't on vacation. Swooping in on the occasional conference call with a clear head allows for quickly identifying the missing pieces and helping the team stay focused on the true objectives (which should never be the escalation of interpersonal conflict over silly stuff). The vacation mindset is a great one to keep. But, like sleep, you can't make deposits and withdrawals from the tolerance bank.

More Yoga

I had a great Yoga class today. The teacher, a young woman from Poland who descended from a family of gymnists, guided the class through a very interesting series of vinyasas. She offered a joyful and light-hearted approach to the class, and finished the session with the gentle distribution of spearmint/eucalyptus oil along the forehead and temples.

Yoga in Chicago

In addition to being a visiting "expert geek" and helping with electronic esoterica, I enjoyed doing a 45-minute meditation class followed by a 75-minute Yoga session. This was my first formal meditation class, which included a warm-up followed by 30 minutes solid. It was pretty intense sitting still for the half-hour, although I was entirely willing to release the layers of work, travel, and the chaotic nature of being away from home (and staying with family).

The weather here is really wonderful. Clear, dry, and low 70's.

Mobile Blogging

Riding through Columbus, Ohio, and blogging along I-70!

The wireless adapter doesn't connect real easily while moving, but once the connection is established it holds up pretty well.

There is broadband in Columbus and the download rate is up to 1MBb/s.

New Gizmo

I picked up a Verizon broadband adapter for the computer today. With the forthcoming trip to the midwest, I wanted to try this on the road. While I don't expect to get broadband the entire way, I'm curious to see if I can do internet on the highway. I expect to be able to connect while stopped, but the true test will be connectivity while moving.

Earth Wind and Fire

On Friday, we went to Charlotte to see EW&F. I had listened to a lot of their music in the mid- to late-70's and always enjoyed their groove. Seeing them live was a real treat, and the band was definitely cooking. They were a little less "cosmic" than they were in the 70's, except for Verdeen White. He came out in a tight, pink outfit with frills at the ends of the sleeves. His long hair flowed down both in front of and behind his shoulders. This man was totally grooving and clearly gave his all with each breath.

The opening act was Chris Botti. I was concerned that I would be listening to smooth jazz for an hour, but was pleasantly surprised. Chris played a wonderful set of incredibly musical numbers which, unfortunately, was mostly lost on the crowd. (I have never been able to figure out why people shell out to listen to music and then talk on top of it.) In Chris' band, Mark Whitfield played guitar and did some truly incredible solos. He went to another place while playing. While much of the crowd realized that something special happened, I suspect few would realize how in music there is a transcendence.

We enjoyed a lovely picnic in Davidson on a beautiful day Saturday, and then headed back home.

Ready for Non-Quiet

I've been flying solo at the house since Wednesday. Even thought my working days have been extended, as well as very exciting given the new organization stuff, I'm ready for "my people" to come home! They will be home this afternoon, given the following contigency courtesy of my dear departed grandmother: "Good Lord willin', and the crik don't rise."

Next week is the last week that J will be home. We're going to the Earth Wind and Fire concert next Friday, and that should be a blast. J will finish her local work on Thursday. The reality of her departure to school is in full view. It is my most sincere wish that next week is special and that the final pages of this chapter in her life read happily. If I do what dads do best, I'll take the pen (keyboard) and help with the verse.

Between posts to the blog, I finished Anne Lamott's Plan B which was a truly soulful read. Ms. Lamott writes effectively, writes from the heart, and effectively reached my heart. Few people I know can so effectively bare their soul and expose the very essence of the insanity of humanity. She has found her's and through her ability to describe her inner sanctum so very well, Ms. Lamott is able to ulitmately maintain the upper hand. (Just how many people reside inside us, anyway?)

The Fenders are coming to dinner tonight. With the contingent returning from the beach, I'll prepare dinner for all. It's the least that I can do since I've been absent for their sojourn in the states thusfar.

And, since the last post, the Yoga teacher training class came together! I'm so happy about this and the opportunity to go deep into and develop my personal practice, as well as learning more about enabling others who are so inclined. I helped my second classmate learn to do a handstand (sharing the technique I learned from Sage) and she was so elated with the accomplishment that I had no choice but to feel rewarded. Enabling others to achieve, excel, learn, grow, do their best, accomplish, and so forth is most certainly a part of who I truly am.

India

So far, I've written about the early travel logistics that slowed down my progress as well as challenged my patience. I haven't written much about the country.

Amazingly, I arrived in Bangalore around 4 in the morning on Wednesday, the 9th of August. It is fortunate that a representative from the hotel was waiting for me and escorted me to the car which would take me to the hotel. The airport in Bangalore is not like airports you would find in the US -- complete with signs leading you to the various venues where you'd find customs, baggage, ground transportation, rental cars, shuttle buses and the like. The airport basically exits to the street, which was alive and happening even at this early hour.

The driver was very enthusiastic about showing me around in a little pre-dawn tour of the city. I could see remnants of the British Empire, which conjured up images of the aristocracy cushioned in a relatively plush existence compared to the lifestyle of the majority. I kept looking for the shimmering oasis that Thomas Friedman wrote about, but I never saw it. (I was informed by one of my customers after returning that EC1 and EC2 are outside of the metropolitan area, and about a 45-minute shuttle bus ride from town.)

In one of the travel books that I scanned before travel, I read about how the locals would enjoy talking about family, politics and values. Not being informed about current Indian politics, I stuck to the things I could talk about. The driver was delighted to tell me about his two children and wife, and how they are practicing Catholics. At the end of the ride, I offered him 200 INR (about $4.30 US) and he offered to be my driver to any destination I desired.

I was very happy to find the hotel, Le Meridien, to be a most suitable facility (quite pricey at $290 US/night and most certainly over-priced). It was good to get a couple of hours to settle in, check e-mail, etc. before meeting with my colleague at 8:00.

Short nights and long days were the norm for this trip, which I will continue to describe in subsequent posts.

The Visa

Part of the travel dilemma centered around receipt of the visa. I executed on a recovery plan after realizing that the visa would not arrive on the 5th as expected. I phoned the agency when they opened on Monday and explained that I needed to travel that afternoon. The agency, which is used to performing rush jobs, quickly got on the ball and sent my visa via AA freight. I was to pick up the package at 2:19pm at RDU. Simple enough as I was scheduled on a 4:50 flight to Logan, and then out of the country heading toward Bangalore.

Dutifully, I arrived a 2:15 at the AA freight terminal which is just past terminal C and to the right (just in case you ever need to know). I was feeling pretty good about my recovery plan until the clerk greeted me. They were expecting the expedited parcel and had driven out to the plane expecting to receive this. The team informed me that my package was not on the plane.

Naturally, this started us on a network of activities. Call the shipper, call the UPS Sonic desk, call AA tracing, and so forth. The weather started getting bad at RDU, but the freight handler took another ride out to double-check the plane. Still no package.

The AA freight handler at Dulles remembered the parcel and was certain that this was on the flight. Normal procedure indicates that the package, if not on the first flight, would default to the next available flight. Since that plane hadn't left yet we sought assistance to inspect the baggage carts at the freight area. Still no luck.

The lighting strikes increased at RDU. This disrupted the ground operations at the airport, effectively shutting down the airport for several hours. I believe the ruling is no strikes within 10 miles for 10 minutes to resume gate ops.

About 5:15 the storm cleared. The freight attendant went to the plane once more. About 5:40, he returned with my visa in hand. I said very little as I then sought to catch up with my 4:50 flight which had been delayed.

And this is where we'll resume the story next time.

Aftermath

Just a quick update. I made it to and from India, although the trip was frought with complications. At the end of the story, business was good.

I'll try to tell the stories as time permits.

Waiting for FedEx

Due to a bit of negligence, which ultimately I bear the responsibility for, I'm waiting for the FedEx truck to deliver my visa for the trip to India. In early July, I dutifully had my visa photos made, put this with my letter of invitation, surrendered my passport to my colleague's admin. It made sense to "batch" the submission, and I (thought) I had agreement to do this. Last week, my admin showed up with the package and asked for my DL for submission. She rescued the package from the other admin, where it would otherwise still be sitting. In the scurry to get the package to the agency, we didn't include the requisite application for visa. This discovery was Tuesday, and we quickly filled out the paperwork and submitted.

The paperwork was with the agency on Wed. We checked daily. Friday, the plan was to pick up the visa at the consul, and overnight to me for Saturday delivery. I should have received an e-mail confirming this event. I neither received the e-mail nor my visa.

I'm supposed to fly Monday afternoon, but won't know anything more until the agency opens 8:30 Monday. Will have to plan from there forward.

Odds and Ends

Maintaining the course has kept me busy for the past week. Actually, the structure of events is something that I keep fairly constant, but inside the structure there is a lot of diversity. For example, I find that I still study French first thing in the morning. Rather than doing just grammar, I'll read part of Le Figaro online. Or, rather than just doing the dynamic flow class, I've done the intro to Ashtanga class a few times. I'll read at night, and am slowing working through three different books -- one on business, one on Yoga, and one on plain old soulfulness (Anne Lamott, Plan B).

I've had no coffee nor caffeine for what seems to be over a month. No major reason for doing this other than curiousity. One of my fellow Yogis suggested that not having caffeine led to a more regular and consistent energy level during the day. I'm not sure that I can claim that. I can claim that I don't get crazy about things as much. It's easier to stay on an even keel, even if the night was short.

One observation that I've made is that there is a draining factor associated with hyper-stimulation. At work, may days have been back to back activity, fairly intense subjects, and no real breaks to speak of. As work crept from day into night, I discovered myself still fairly cranked up around the time I'd normally go to sleep. At this point, I realized that I'd missed any opportunity to assimilate the events and counteract the driving by pulling off to the rest area.

I'm pleased that the flow of ideas has a steady current. Inspiration remains within reach, and the ability to muster natural enthusiasm is intact.

Updates

The trip to India has been postponed until August. Instead of New Dehli and Bangalore, looks like we're just going to Bangalore for a few days. I hope the trip makes just so I can get some payback for the two shots in each arm I received to protect my body from third-world maladies.

I'm inching my way through several books now. One of them brought me to the blog just so I could share a quote. Anne Lamott, in Plan B, writes about organizing a Sunday school class. She described a need for help with the children. The quote has to deal with the volunteers who came to help:

"One of the immutable laws of being human is that the people who show up are the right people."

Some Fun

We joined our friends last night to see the movie Wordplay and hit the tapas bar for a post-movie snack. Wordplay was an interesting study in the people and processes that go into making and solving crossword puzzles. I'd never really thought before about the time component in working crossword puzzles. It seemed more of a leisurely endeavor. For the competitors in crossword puzzle contests, speed and accuracy are both key components.

The tapas bar was sort of funky, decorated in a 70's version of 60's style -- dark, primary colors, paintings that could be LSD-inspired (like the cartoonish pig that seemed to have an electric receptacle at the end of his nose). The upside was the food and friendly service. The downside was the smoking. Fortunately, the folks lighting up didn't do so until we were about ready to leave but it did prompt us for a hasty departure.

This Week

I see that I've been away for a while. What's been happening?

We had a fun ad hoc 4th party on Tuesday, where the main objective was to reduce the inventory of beer. Over the past several events, we've managed to accumulate quite a bit of beer. (People must be drinking wine -- not [yellow tail], but I'm curious after reading about it in Blue Ocean Strategy.


Wednesday through Friday was fairly uneventful at work as many folks took advantage of the holidays on Monday and Tuesday to create a long week off, surrounded by two weekends! It's really a good deal when you think about nine days off and only claiming three days vacation!

In preparation for the still tentative trip to India, I received all of the necessary shots -- two per arm. The nurse was quite knowledgeable about travel and provided a robust package of material for the various actions one should take before traveling to a third-world country (in spite of what Thomas Friedman implies).

Today, as RD is off for the month, I went to the Ashtanga class that I once frequented. There is a new teacher for this class, but even she was more drill sergeant than Yogic. I was glad to learn that I could still endure the practice, and that I still don't know how to perform some of the moves. There is an intro to Ashtanga on Sunday with a "yogic" instructor, so this might be the opportunity to learn and practice some of the moves.

We're going to meet friends tonight to see Wordplay. It will be interesting to see John Stewart as the intellectual rather than the informed, yet cynical comic.

The Tour de France has given me a lot of new content in French to read and is helpful in expanding my sports vocabulary. The World Cup is also providing a spike in French sports reading.

Holiday Weekend

We spent a nice couple of days over in Davidson. While it was quite hot, the pool offered relief as did the quality air conditioning of a very nice movie theatre. We saw Superman and also saw The Devil Wears Prada. The superhero movie was a bit far-fetched -- even beyond flying. Glenn Close came from the Antarctic to play an icy executive in the competitive world of fashion and the political corporate role. The Wicked Witch of the West looked like Mother Theresa by comparison.

I learned that there is a huge difference between Mooresville and Huntersville, NC. Yes, they're both "villes." But where the "big box stores" conquered Mooresville, Huntersville was graced by Birkdale Village. I'm motivated to head back to Davidson just to sample the cuisine in a number of most interesting restaurants. At the top of the list is the Zyng Asian Grill where out front they unabashedly scribed in chalk a customer quote, "I used to dine at PF Chang." Those dining outdoors unknowingly put on display some very appealing plates.

There's been discussion about getting a boat. While I'm not real bullish on this idea, I do think the boat should be yellow and white.

Tour de Farce 2006

Today is the first day of the Tour de France. Even though this event may be partially overshadowed by the World Cup, it's still a fairly signficant athletic event of world interest. Or so I've been led to believe.

As I've spent part of my time this year learning French and continue to do so, it's exciting to read about this race in French. There are number of web sites that provide varying degrees of information.

Much of the information today is about the "dopage" of some high profile contestants. Without trial, conviction, and anything much more than circumstantial evidence, nine racers where evicted from the race. Some type of investigation in Spain led to this conclusion -- one operation "puerco."

I'm left wondering if the investigation is somehow politically motivated. Is it at all possible that doping is so abhorrent in the context of bicycle racing that it leads to such intense efforts to week out people who take more than aspirin? To me, the integrity of the sport is not impugned by the racers' personal chemistry.

What bothers me is that I can't get any type of live coverage of the race. All the web sites are very happy to flash the six-digit access codes for long-distance dialing in France. The TV shows, which are predominantly loops of talking heads spewing endless dribble with commercials showing how jets turn into cars. Any links to live cameras don't connect. No live radio to hear the race. Everything I seem to have touched led to companies trying to sell me something.

If I were a newbie to the Internet, and I had just bought my first computer yesterday it would be fair to laugh at me (with me). But I have actually found the computer to be a useful tool and generally get useful information by finding and connecting to sites with quality content. Not so for the le Tour this year.

I'm led to believe that somewhere in the world today, in Strassbourg, there are men riding bicycles. I have nothing but circumstantial evidence (posted times) to convince me that this is really happening. I'd really like to see these guys riding on bikes, or at least hear someone describing this as it happens. No such luck today.