What does it take to stay away from Chocolate Cake?
What does it take to see a mess and not walk away?
What does it take to know you have work and not watch TV?
What does it take to have talent and not make it work?
What does it take to be nice in a world of jerks?
What does it take to believe in a goal and never sway?
What does it take to make your boss see your point?
What does it take to keep up the exercise?
What does it take to finish what you started?
Whatever it takes, that's what I'm gonna do...
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Sleepless in Richmond, San Antonio & Atlanta...
I am the Problem!
I could have got more sleep any day of the week. The Hampton Inn at Midlothian in Richmond pampered me with a huge King Bed. But, they also pampered me with a huge flat screen TV. So every evening I went there this week I spent marathon hours watching mindless comedy shows that I never did any of the work I was supposed to do. And then I woke up at 3 am the next morning to complete the work because my client was expecting it at 8 am. The fact that I ate a full Indian meal before I went back to the Hampton did not help either. It only made me want the King Bed more.
Next stop San Antonio, Wednesday night. Having a 550 pm flight from Richmond that gets into San Antonio at 1010 pm is not a good idea, especially when you have stayed at the Hampton Inn the previous night. (Hello, HINT! HINT! I woke up at 3 am EST). Then when the connection is delayed at Houston and leaves there only at 1045 pm, it doesn't get any better. When you touch down at San Antonio at midnight CST and finally check in to your hotel at 1 am, exactly 23 hours after you woke up, the misery is complete.
Wait, not yet! Not when I suddenly realize I am hungry, also out of money, go 9 floors down to the lobby only to find out the ATM won't dispense any money (that too after taking me through the entire transaction), then I go back up to my room, scrape out the last 75 cents I have, go back up to the 10th floor, this time looking for a vending machine, desperately hoping that it would have something for 75c. Seriously? Dude. This is the Holiday Inn on the River Walk in downtown San Antonio. Nice try.
But then I get lucky. I find the Vannila cream cookie that is the solution to world hunger priced precisely at 70c. Sweet deal baby! I'm even getting 5c back so there's no stopping me. When I have consumed 4 of the 6 pack of cookies, I have wasted precisely one more hour of my sleep, albeit not a King Bed this time but 2 doubles. I realize it's been exactly 24 hours since I woke up. So now I hit the bed. Oh my God! Conference call at 630 am, breakfast meeting at 7 and an all day workshop coming up. Set the alarm for 6 am, no 530...
Sleep was not in scope for Thursday night even in the first place. My flight back home was not supposed to land until midnight and I had conference calls starting at 830 AM on Fri for which I needed to prepare (you do the math). But I started getting really dizzy when Delta airlines told me that my flight to Atlanta (connection) was delayed 2 hours and that I was not going to make my connection and so they would have to put me up at Atlanta for the night and fly me out to Philadelphia first thing in the morning. Now, I've done this before and I know how it works. We were supposed to land in Atlanta at 11 PM and I was thinking that if I had any luck I would get a full 3 hours of sleep before another long day.
My prediction was exactly right. I can't blame Delta though. They were super efficient this time (like Atlanta was on another planet or something). We touched down at 11 PM as re-scheduled and I was in my hotel room at midnight. The last time I had to do this, they took 2 hours just to assign me a hotel. I was quickly into a pair of comfortable clothes and sitting on the bed. My flight Fri AM was not until 730 AM for which I had to be in a shuttle at 6 AM. So there was a minimal 5 hour rest on offer and even a few more minutes if I could shower and change real quick.
I felt a little cold. I tried the A/C but it had no controls and was blowing cold air at full blast. I looked around to see if there was a thermostat somewhere on the wall but could not find any. I tried to tuck myself into the sheets and noticed that the sheets were too thin for a cold night like this. That was it. I could have easily blamed the cold air and the insufficient bedding for my sleeplessness. But it wasn't to be. It had to be me...
I slept that night at 215 AM and woke up at 520 AM because I decided I had to complete some work and reschedule some meetings I had planned for early AM on Fri. Strangely, a sense of responsibility seems to envelope me the closer I get to Friday. I went to great lenghts in those 2 hours to ensure I was up to date on everything and that my work was impeccable.
May be as a result of the sudden surge of work-consciousness, Friday was just perfect. My flight was on time, every meeting brought me the outcome I wanted from it and at 4 PM I was off to my favorite routine in recent times, taking my son to Boys Choir practice and goofing off at a coffee shop with a huge cup of hot chocolate. And not to forget, the perfect ending! Dinner in front of the TV and falling asleep on the couch...
It's 931 AM on Saturday. I am well rested and have already had 2 hot cups of tea (masala chai, to be precise). My son and I are snuggled on the couch watching cartoons while my wife is away at work. Looks like the perfect weekend has just begun...
I could have got more sleep any day of the week. The Hampton Inn at Midlothian in Richmond pampered me with a huge King Bed. But, they also pampered me with a huge flat screen TV. So every evening I went there this week I spent marathon hours watching mindless comedy shows that I never did any of the work I was supposed to do. And then I woke up at 3 am the next morning to complete the work because my client was expecting it at 8 am. The fact that I ate a full Indian meal before I went back to the Hampton did not help either. It only made me want the King Bed more.
Next stop San Antonio, Wednesday night. Having a 550 pm flight from Richmond that gets into San Antonio at 1010 pm is not a good idea, especially when you have stayed at the Hampton Inn the previous night. (Hello, HINT! HINT! I woke up at 3 am EST). Then when the connection is delayed at Houston and leaves there only at 1045 pm, it doesn't get any better. When you touch down at San Antonio at midnight CST and finally check in to your hotel at 1 am, exactly 23 hours after you woke up, the misery is complete.
Wait, not yet! Not when I suddenly realize I am hungry, also out of money, go 9 floors down to the lobby only to find out the ATM won't dispense any money (that too after taking me through the entire transaction), then I go back up to my room, scrape out the last 75 cents I have, go back up to the 10th floor, this time looking for a vending machine, desperately hoping that it would have something for 75c. Seriously? Dude. This is the Holiday Inn on the River Walk in downtown San Antonio. Nice try.
But then I get lucky. I find the Vannila cream cookie that is the solution to world hunger priced precisely at 70c. Sweet deal baby! I'm even getting 5c back so there's no stopping me. When I have consumed 4 of the 6 pack of cookies, I have wasted precisely one more hour of my sleep, albeit not a King Bed this time but 2 doubles. I realize it's been exactly 24 hours since I woke up. So now I hit the bed. Oh my God! Conference call at 630 am, breakfast meeting at 7 and an all day workshop coming up. Set the alarm for 6 am, no 530...
Sleep was not in scope for Thursday night even in the first place. My flight back home was not supposed to land until midnight and I had conference calls starting at 830 AM on Fri for which I needed to prepare (you do the math). But I started getting really dizzy when Delta airlines told me that my flight to Atlanta (connection) was delayed 2 hours and that I was not going to make my connection and so they would have to put me up at Atlanta for the night and fly me out to Philadelphia first thing in the morning. Now, I've done this before and I know how it works. We were supposed to land in Atlanta at 11 PM and I was thinking that if I had any luck I would get a full 3 hours of sleep before another long day.
My prediction was exactly right. I can't blame Delta though. They were super efficient this time (like Atlanta was on another planet or something). We touched down at 11 PM as re-scheduled and I was in my hotel room at midnight. The last time I had to do this, they took 2 hours just to assign me a hotel. I was quickly into a pair of comfortable clothes and sitting on the bed. My flight Fri AM was not until 730 AM for which I had to be in a shuttle at 6 AM. So there was a minimal 5 hour rest on offer and even a few more minutes if I could shower and change real quick.
I felt a little cold. I tried the A/C but it had no controls and was blowing cold air at full blast. I looked around to see if there was a thermostat somewhere on the wall but could not find any. I tried to tuck myself into the sheets and noticed that the sheets were too thin for a cold night like this. That was it. I could have easily blamed the cold air and the insufficient bedding for my sleeplessness. But it wasn't to be. It had to be me...
I slept that night at 215 AM and woke up at 520 AM because I decided I had to complete some work and reschedule some meetings I had planned for early AM on Fri. Strangely, a sense of responsibility seems to envelope me the closer I get to Friday. I went to great lenghts in those 2 hours to ensure I was up to date on everything and that my work was impeccable.
May be as a result of the sudden surge of work-consciousness, Friday was just perfect. My flight was on time, every meeting brought me the outcome I wanted from it and at 4 PM I was off to my favorite routine in recent times, taking my son to Boys Choir practice and goofing off at a coffee shop with a huge cup of hot chocolate. And not to forget, the perfect ending! Dinner in front of the TV and falling asleep on the couch...
It's 931 AM on Saturday. I am well rested and have already had 2 hot cups of tea (masala chai, to be precise). My son and I are snuggled on the couch watching cartoons while my wife is away at work. Looks like the perfect weekend has just begun...
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
It's Been a While...
It's been a while since I wrote. I've been writing other things, like project plans, powerpoint presentations and little prayer notes. No oil has been spared in my midnight lamp. Numerous missives have left my email outbox over the last few months while I have tried to stay afloat. It's been the busiest time of my life...
It's been a while since I ran. I've been running a different race alright. I've been running ideas through my mind, running errands and running from pillar to post. I have added some miles to my frequent flyer accounts, alright. Some have even given me Silver Status. Rest assured, it's been the only silver lining in the cloud...
It's been a while since I spent quality time with family and friends. I've spent a lot otherwise including what I will earn in the first quarter of next year. I've spent many sleepless nights doing meaningless work to meet the whims and fancies of my peers and customers, only to be told that I need to know how to say no and not take on more than I should. It's been a roller coaster ride...
It's been a while since I played. I played an important role in business meetings, at client visits and big project launches. Or, so i thought. I played the parts of driver, assistant, caddy, favorite whipping boy and sacrifical goat. Thank God, the part of toilet paper was excluded from the plot. I would have been the hot favorite...
It's been a while since I cried. I never cried when I was in pain. I always cried when a loved one was. I never cried when I was hurt. I always cried when I hurt one. I've never cried when I was sad, but I've always cried when I was happy. It's been a while since I was happy...
It's been a while since I ran. I've been running a different race alright. I've been running ideas through my mind, running errands and running from pillar to post. I have added some miles to my frequent flyer accounts, alright. Some have even given me Silver Status. Rest assured, it's been the only silver lining in the cloud...
It's been a while since I spent quality time with family and friends. I've spent a lot otherwise including what I will earn in the first quarter of next year. I've spent many sleepless nights doing meaningless work to meet the whims and fancies of my peers and customers, only to be told that I need to know how to say no and not take on more than I should. It's been a roller coaster ride...
It's been a while since I played. I played an important role in business meetings, at client visits and big project launches. Or, so i thought. I played the parts of driver, assistant, caddy, favorite whipping boy and sacrifical goat. Thank God, the part of toilet paper was excluded from the plot. I would have been the hot favorite...
It's been a while since I cried. I never cried when I was in pain. I always cried when a loved one was. I never cried when I was hurt. I always cried when I hurt one. I've never cried when I was sad, but I've always cried when I was happy. It's been a while since I was happy...
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