Back From Detroit and Getting Caught up

It is always a bit of a trial when I fly East to Detroit. That first day when the alarm goes off at 6:00 AM and it is 3:00 AM California time, I groan and bury my head under the pillow. I finally got caught up after Wednesday and then flew home Saturday at 7:30 PM though Denver and arriving back in Sacramento at 11:00 PM (2:00 AM Detroit time). It was a rainy Sunday and we got some help from the end of daylight savings time. I slept in this morning and was asleep again on the couch by noon in front of the TV.
The meetings were good for the company and good for me personally. Our branch won the Bronze award for Branch of the Year for Division 2. My office had been Division 3 up until this year when we surpassed $15,000,000 in premium and got into the tougher Division 2 ranks which include offices with premium up to $20,000,000. We won the Gold award for Division 3 last year and when the Division 3 awards were presented and I was left out, I felt bad. Due to the compression of premium in our industry and company, the Divisions were realigned and I'm pleased to have made the leap to Division 2, which encompasses 14 offices and still take an award. Anthony in my office won the Directors Award for premium production being in the top 30 producers in the company.
It was an interesting week. Our bus suffered a flat tire on the way to the office on Thursday morning and we got stuck on the side of the road for an hour while the bus company brought us a replacement bus. Fun at 34 degrees in Detroit. I ate too much, drank too much and put on four pounds in five days and look forward to getting back on the Lifecycle at the gym tomorrow at lunch. My meeting with the CEO went well. He had nice things to say about the turnaround in Sacramento and the fact that an office he was afraid at one time would be closed is now a leader in percentage increase in profitability year to year. Many of my meetings in the past have been fast, he talks and I listen meetings, but this one was a 45 minute dialogue on what changes have been made in the office and where I see the office going in the next five years. I told him that the third year that I met with him when I had brought the office from losing to $480,000 to profitability at about an $80,000 profit, I met with him expecting to be praised and he handed me my head, saying that if I was a grocery store he'd close me down with the kind of margins I had. He laughed and said, he has high expectations for all of his offices and he knew I could do better. This was my seventh Branch Manager's meeting and I think I am firmly in the club now.
I got to the hotel Tuesday night after my flight in and realized that I had left my ties at home. Luckily it was only 8:30 and I was able to catch a ride with the bellman over to Macy's in the mall next door and bought three new ties for the meeting. They had hand painted ties in the gift shop of The Henry (formerly the Ritz Carlton) for $85 each. I passed on those.
Darla took the opportunity when I was gone to paint this guest bedroom/office and the guest bathroom next door. The smell of fresh paint is in the air and I had to reconfigure the internet in order to get on the computer after she took everything apart Friday. She painted this room an eggplant color with one wall a chocolate color. She painted the bathroom purple with a chocolate accent wall as well. Now, of course, we have to change the blinds and window coverings. I'm actually looking forward to redecorating the boy's rooms. I will likely move the office into the front bedroom and make Daniel's another guest room. Both of those rooms have been "doors closed" kids rooms for so long, it will be nice to have those rooms become part of the house again.
Our golf tournament got canceled today because of the rain and pushed back to next Sunday. I will play both Saturday and Sunday in tournaments as the final Diamond tournament is on Saturday.
Darla will leave for an 8 day trip to Italy next Sunday. She will meet up with David and see the sights of Rome and make a trip over to Venice as well. I was invited, but will wait until the 23 and 21 year old are off the payroll before taking any expensive trips. David still has a year and a half left and Daniel 2 quarters until he graduates.Hopefully the job market will improve by the time they get ready to look for work. Now that the Republicans have control of the House and are pushing for more int he next campaign, business is no longer a curse word in the White House. Obama got slammed HARD with the unprecedented losses in this last election and it is a clear mandate that Americans have had enough of Hope and Change. Toward the end, Obama was trying change and hope and that wasn't working either. Hopefully, we can undo the Health Care mess before it cripples businesses and working families. One lesson is never elect someone with no experience, it is ALWAYS a disaster. Hopefully, Republicans learn from that and turn Sarah Palin out to pasture before 2012. IF she runs against Obama, he WILL win another term. Anyone else with true experience and the Presidency should be returned to the party that supports small business and will get America back working again.
That is it for this week. Darla will be off to Europe next week and I will have time to write more, David also plans to update his blog and I'll put some pictures from that on this site as well. Be well, happy and healthy. Ciao.