Interesting week - kind of off topic

hoosier1 · Post by **hoosier1** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:49 am

Hello All,

Back from "the week from hell", or should I say, the arctic. Had a last minute mini-blizzard hit Indiana Monday morning which canceled all of my flights (back-up plans too). So getting to Allentown was starting to look like an impossible task. and I had to get there by Tuesday morning.

Found the last seat on a United Flight out of Indy Monday evening, connecting through Dulles. So I got the last rental car at home that I could drop at the Indy airport and headed out. It was a harrowing ice and snow laden drive until I was just a few miles north of Indy.... then rain.

The United flight continued to delay so I knew my connection was at risk (but I had a backup rental car at Dulles just in case). So we finally flew to Dulles and the gate agent there told me to run to my next flight because it was still delayed. So I did the OJ run (less the murdering) and my next plane was sitting there, still covered in ice. That run made me realize how out of shape I am. 3 hours later, via waiting for their de-icing window (I have flown a ton of miles and have never heard of that "lie" before), I flew one of the bumpiest flights of my life and got in to Allentown at 3:30A Tues. But I was passed out (not asleep) most of the flight.

At Allentown (a small airport), all of the rental car counters were dark except for Enterprise ( I rent with National). I asked her if she had any cars and she said 3... but they were all dirty and out of gas. Sold, I said. Then I griped that it would be nice if she could access my National rental car, and she said she could because the two companies, apparently, just merged. Still got a dirty, empty car, but at least it was the size I reserved, plus it made life easier as I had plans to drop this car at Philly airport at the end of the week.

So I got about 3 hours of sleep (had not eaten for about 20 hours) before my investigation in 20 degree weather. I was not a happy camper. Neither was my GI. Had to pop two imodiums and suffer the consequences when they wore off.

I ended the week in New Jersey, about a couple blocks from where they film the series Jersey Shore, and then flew home, only to have to dig my truck out of a snow drift at the rental car place. The owner of the home on the Jersey Shore was a very neat man who owns a company that build armored vehicles for the DOD, police, etc.

So, I have been in a flare for the past several days and have increased my Asacol. LLQ pain is driving me nuts and my stomach is gurgling very loudly.

Next week is less stressful, fortunately. I think this week took a few years off of me.

Rich

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:53 am

What a trip Rich, hearing those stories makes me miss traveling that much less LOL .. It sounds like you are able to deal with MC fairly well on the road these days that's great news. My grandmother used to live on the Jersey shore and as a kid I spent a couple of summers there, one hot summer with a cast up to my shoulder. That heat and humidity drove me nuts, I could not go swimming...

I finally decided on a new camera and picked up the D7000. The D90 is not waterproof and given the features on D7000 I went for it. The D7000 does have the magnesium body and is waterproof / dustproof.

Good luck and safe travels.

--Joe

Post by **tex** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:06 am

Rich,

You've just made me appreciate my work so much more. Thanks. I work in an extremely noisy, often dusty, environment, which is cold in the winter, and hot in the summer. It's filled with dangerous hazards, where one slip at the wrong time can mean death or dismemberment, and the hours are long, and the pay way too low. But at least I'm in remission, and the only connections that I have to deal with, is scheduling truck traffic for deliveries and pickups, and that's just simple logistics, so the stress levels are way less than what you have to deal with almost every day.

My hat's off to you. You handled that week from hell quite well.

Tex

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:29 pm

Sounds like you were very near where we keep our boat.

Sorry you're suffering the consequences of all that stress. I hope you have a couple of days to recoup.

harma · Post by **harma** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:35 pm

Although I have actually no idea where you have and haven't been this week, you must have gone through quite an extreme week. From plane to car, car to plane, running for a connecting flight and driving on slippery roads. I admire you how you've done and made it through the week. A tip for next time, take a survival kit of MC friendly food with you (maybe a supply for the whole week

)

I asked her if she had any cars and she said 3... but they were all dirty and out of gas. Sold, I said

putting this in prospective of the rest of your travelling week, this must have been on the bottom of your worries list, a dirty car. It's always amazing how priorities shift, under extreme conditions. I would have thought the same, I don't care, big, small, dirty, clean, old, new, as long as it's driving and I can get somewhere.

Must be great to be home now and have some time off.

natythingycolbery · Post by **natythingycolbery** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:31 pm

Hey Rich, that does sound like a really stressful week! I'm so glad it all worked out in the end, apart from the minor flare you have experienced.

Hope you have a nice stressfree week to add the lost years back on!

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:36 pm

Week from hell is right even if it was cold. I'm sure I'd need a week off after that!!

Hoping you are looking at a MUCH better week.

Love, Shirley

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:13 pm

Rich,

I still don't know how you manage. You must be one tough guy. I hope you can recover from that horrendous trip.

Gloria

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:54 pm

Rich
wow, what an incredible couple of weeks. I agree i am sure it would have taken a few years off your life, i hope going forward you can minimise these types situations occuring.

i remember seeing a study where people that pushed it in stressful jobs during the week and only had 4 - 5 hours sleep and then tried to catch up/recoup on the weekends reduced their life by ? 10 years or more? i can remember the exact number.

hope the work/health roller coaster ride you tend to ride on, levels out a bit going forward.

Linda in BC · Post by **Linda in BC** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:34 am

OOOHHH ya... that was stressful week.

I thought mine was bad.. no comparison!

Thanks for making me grateful I don't have your job, Rich!

Hope this next week is much , much easier.
Hugs,
Linda

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:08 am

Stressful to say the least and then you had to be in Allentown.

Not a bad place but not high on my list of places in PA. Near there is the Michener - my favorite author - Library. The saving grace for the area and also a great bird sanctuary.

Definitely sound like a week from hades and hope this one stays quieter.

Love, Maggie

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:01 pm

Hi Rich,

After reading about your week from hell, I feel totally exhausted - think I need a nap

. I'm glad it's behind you and hope that this week is much, much calmer so you can rest up and recover!!!

Love,
Kari

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:15 am

Hi Rich!

I echo the sentiments expressed so far about your week. It was a character-builder for sure. I hope you don't mind me going philosophical on you... When I have something really hard smack me upside the head unexpectedly like you did, after I've recovered sufficiently, I try to figure out what I learned from it. Sometimes I am happy with myself (like passing a test that I've failed before), and sometimes I am not so happy, like if I was given a chance to practice something I thought I had learned before and it turns out I hadn't.

I hope, given time, opportunity, and desire, that overall you will look back on your week from hell as a time of growing in some way and personal accomplishment. It seems to me that sometimes makes what we go through worthwhile. Not that we ever want to do it again, of course.

hoosier1 · Post by **hoosier1** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:29 am

Marliss and All:

I think what I have learned is that I have very little control over my work (travel-wise). And I have known this for quite some time but times like this only serve to reinforce it. My problem is I can't miss, delay, or cancel commitments because people fly in from around the world to the fire scenes and laboratory exams (even if I feel sick or weather plays against me). If I don't make it in, all of their travel, time, and expenses go to waste because the show cannot go forward unless all interested parties are in attendance. So calling in sick is not an option for me. And boy are there days where I wish I could!!!

I do reflect on my work quite a bit because of my MC, and when I think about the alternative things I could be doing (or go back to), the thought of being in one place or one desk (so to speak) seems so unappealing. My wife thinks I would be miserable.

I used to work for very large, publicly owned companies, and at the time, that was good. But my present role is extremely entrepreneurial, and I love that. It seems the Fortune 100 companies have lost their souls. I wouldn't know how to go back to a role where I was "managed" or "micromanaged" in a company like that. I would sooner retire. Also, my philosophy has always been to hire the best people I can, give the some guidance and support, and then turn them loose and stay out of there way. That is the way we operate, and it is counter to the way corporate america operates (and the government sector as I have been watching on the news). And as Joe and Tex (and others I am sure) can attest to, getting to the root cause of engineering problems is very interesting. Every day presents a unique challenge. I never know what to expect.

The application of my "lessons learned" for 2011 is that instead of flying commercial so much, I am going to use a local charter service we us quite a bit already. The lady who owns the company is very cool (roughly my mother's age) and I feel she looks after me when I travel with her (she is also the chief pilot). She also carries food I can eat (thanks to my new office manager who sent her an email of my dietary restrictions). I flew with her yesterday to New Jersey so that I could avoid a two to three day travel event with hotel stays. Linda flies me in direct, waits for me, and then as soon as we are done, we go wheels up and head home. Sometimes she overnights and that is nice because I have someone to eat dinner with. Beats the hell out of commercial travel and I have formerly owned and flown a Cessna 150, so I enjoy the right seat time (even though her planes are all twin engine). The only issue is that her planes cannot fly in the nasty weather (she has a Cessna 310 and 414), but that usually isn't an issue. Plus, she just crossed 10,000 hours of flight time as a pilot and instructor during our flight home yesterday so I feel safer with her than these regional jet pilots that look like they are 22 and spent most of their time flying simulators and in non-icing conditions. She is a pro and I enjoy her company. The modern day Amelia Earheart.

She was thrilled to have me on her 10K voyage since I had all my pro camera gear with me as usual, and because we are friends. I took some really nice photos of her in flight, and her instruments, and the ground, showing the 10K crossover point (very few commercial pilots reach this milestone). She is going to post the photos on her website. I will post a link if you are interested to see them. She popped open a bottle of champagne when we landed so I had to celebrate with her a little. None of the other pilots at the FBO could drink as they were flying so it was just the two of us.

So I have Linda booked for three more trips in the next month. She helps me to ensure I don't have to travel weekends, unless it is a really long haul like to the west coast. And for some reason, I have a lot of Monday and Friday work in 2011.

Regards,

Rich

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:57 am

Rich thanks for the great update. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to fly with someone like that, it must be a real treat for you to have a friend like that looking after you as you travel with them It is great to get some right seat time, I did not know you were a pilot. Are you checked out on multi-engine airframes?

This has been a great post Rich, very encouraging, thanks for sharing that with us. I look forward to your companies successful news

--Joe