Graduations and Proms

I am exhausted as I sit and write on a Monday morning. The trials of work are such that I'd like to get on that plane and fly to Hawaii right now and just stay there. I was out last week in Philadelphia after Tuesday and I had five of the eleven staff members either sick or out during the time that I was gone. I'm not happy with that and then I open my e-mail to find not only a note from one of the underwriters to say that she will be off a month in July for a hysterectomy, but an e-mail from another resigning as of June 3rd. Hey, welcome back.

The trip to Philly was much too short and much too rushed. On top of everything, I got hit with a horrible case of food poisoning (And I'm not suggesting that there is a tremendous case of food poisoning out there). I flew out at six am on Wednesday and stopped in Phoenix for an hour. I then boarded another plane to Philadelphia and arrived at 5:55 PM. Our Phoenix Branch Manager was on the same flight and we were met by one of the Marketing Managers at USLI, the company hosting our meetings. The problem was that the manager called us on the cell phone and told us he'd be driving a green pickup. It turns out it was a green Suburban. The fellow is Irish and he considers any SUV or truck a pickup truck. We finally met up with him after about forty-five minutes of waiting. He took us directly to dinner at a country club in Villanova. The dinner was nice and we finally got to the hotel at about nine-thirty. We had a full day of meetings on Thursday and then gathered for dinner at the CEO of USLI Tom Nierny's estate again in Villanova, near the University. His house is a five-level mansion with eight bedrooms and over 12,500 square feet. Dinner was stuffed shrimp, stuffed chicken and stuffed filet minon. It was the latter animal that caused my heartache. The only thing I drank that night was a glass of Amstel Light, a glass of Pinot Noir with dinner and a Bailey's coffee after dinner.

I woke up with a horrible stomachache at about twelve-thirty and went ten rounds with the devil over the next three or four hours. It was brutal and dehydrating (if you get my drift) and there was even some good that came out of it. I lost eight pounds in the ordeal (imagine the exorcist). The worst part was that I had a six-hour flight the next day. I took the morning round of meetings off as I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I got up about eight-thirty and showered and drank half a bottle of water. Big mistake. (Think out-of-control fire hose). I finally roused myself at eleven after going back to bed and called over to the meetings for a ride. I sat in on the afternoon sessions, sore and tired and completely uncontent.

The flight home was brutal as I sweated and tossed and turned on the five-hour flight from Philly to Phoenix. I arrived and had a few odd stares as I walked off the plane. I walked in to the men's room and saw my hair worked into a spike from leaning against the window and trying to sleep. The sweat and tears caused my hair to spike up like Martin Short's. I combed myself back into simply a weary traveler and was able to slowly coax a half sandwich down and it stayed put. I drank some Sprite and walked to the next plane. I arrived back in Sac at 11:50 PM and waited for my luggage. One piece showed up rather quickly, but my main case did not show. I called Darla to warn her that I'd pulled the bonehead traveler move of packing my car keys in my suitcase and could she drive down with the other set of keys? I waited in line at the baggage counter of America West for twenty-five minutes and finally put in my claim. My bag was found at the carousel in Phoenix and would be on the next plane out in the morning.

Darla showed up none too pleased with her oafish husband and I got home about 1:30, which was 4:30 Philly time. Nice trip, eh?

David had a fun filled weekend with his prom and several dates with Destanie. I sent some pictures to family and will post a picture on my blog today. They had a great time and danced the night away. David took our Explorer and brought another couple from his Church youth group with them. They ended the night at Josh's house in the spa...under adult supervision. Destanie brought sparkling cider and snacks for the trip and a change of clothes for the dance. Her long gown didn't allow her to dance, so she changed into a short skirt and was able to have some fun at the dance. She is a lovely Christian girl and I'm very happy for David. Darla asked if she was his girlfriend and David said, "If that happens, there will be an announcement." (Typical David) He spent Friday night at a youth event with her, Saturday at the Prom and Sunday they went to see the new Star Wars movie. An announcement seems imminent to me.

No golf this weekend, but that's a good thing as I was convalescing. I won't play in the tournament next weeknd either, but have one of my suppliers with tickets to the
Giant's game on Saturday May 28th at SBC Park in SF. We will have lunch in SF and then go over to the game. Darla is going, along with Anthony and his girlfreind and the supplier and his girlfriend. It should be fun.

The weather has heated up here (90 degrees) and I have a bit of a sunburn. I need to get a base tan before we head to Kauia. Well, that's it, folks. Not much news, but I've got a small ton of work awaiting me and now I need another underwriter. Will the joy ever stop? Keep your eyes on the Lord and your heart will follow. Ciao.