Today, I learned that I was accepted to present a poster session at the NCAT Redesign Alliance Conference in Orlando next month! Really any excuse to get to Orlando works for me. I am hoping for an additional conference presentation in November (I will be submitting a couple of proposals).
Yes and for those of you 'counting' I was just in Miami last month, in Chicago last week...will be in Chicago again the first part of March...then to Orlando the end of March.
I NEVER would have thought, that I would like to present at conferences nor that I would travel as I do for work and conferences....so not at all like me....well maybe it is now.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day
It is so good to be home. Last night after Kevin picked me up at the airport and we got home, I found something special for me on the Kitchen counter:
Thanks Sweetie! They are beautiful and I love them. Tonight we are going to dinner at O' Sole Mio! Yum!
Kevin, you are the best!
Thanks Sweetie! They are beautiful and I love them. Tonight we are going to dinner at O' Sole Mio! Yum!
Kevin, you are the best!
A surprise Birthday Gift
Not too long ago, we received a box from Pauline. In the box was a memory game for Caelum for his birthday. Here he is playing on Super Bowl Sunday with Leslie
Saturday, February 13, 2010
So I am in Chicago....actually heading home later today (YEA!!!).
It has been a good/fast trip. I am here to work with a publisher and many of their developers for some software we use. It has been interesting to learn their thought process and the items they are working on. We have also been able to say what we like, don't like, and what features we want to see. Many of the people I have worked with and met with on the phone, but the first time I have met them in person, and that is always fun too.
The publisher has treated us very well. It is cold here, Lake Michigan and the river are both icy, and there is snow. Here are a few pics from my cell phone...that really means they are not good pictures, especially out my hotel window....
The skyline....
Last night we went to Trattoria 10 it was really yummy...I would go back in a heart beat....
This was our ride over to the restaurant...there were several of us and this was actually cheaper than taxis
Looking forward to being home. I will be back to Chicago the first week of March, so I won't be home too long.
It has been a good/fast trip. I am here to work with a publisher and many of their developers for some software we use. It has been interesting to learn their thought process and the items they are working on. We have also been able to say what we like, don't like, and what features we want to see. Many of the people I have worked with and met with on the phone, but the first time I have met them in person, and that is always fun too.
The publisher has treated us very well. It is cold here, Lake Michigan and the river are both icy, and there is snow. Here are a few pics from my cell phone...that really means they are not good pictures, especially out my hotel window....
The skyline....
Last night we went to Trattoria 10 it was really yummy...I would go back in a heart beat....
This was our ride over to the restaurant...there were several of us and this was actually cheaper than taxis
Looking forward to being home. I will be back to Chicago the first week of March, so I won't be home too long.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Small town antics……
Yesterday Kevin had a bad day at work, we have all had them you know…meetings…things broken…internet down etc…so, around 3:30 in the afternoon we decided to go to town and do some errands.
1. Kevin had something from work to ship back via UPS
2. Go to the bank
3. Go to the office supply/Hallmark store
4. Go to the post office
5. Pick up dinner at the Mall/Subway (really this means go to Wal-Mart and then to Subway on the way out)
Since our town is so small, we decided to park at the UPS shipping place (it is a copy service company) and then walk the rest of it...town is only 4-5 blocks after all
So, we go to the copy place. Their internet and entire network was down, so they couldn't get the shipping label done or printed. After waiting about 10 min, we said, “We have some errands we will be back” Only in a small town, can you feel confident leaving the item knowing that they will get it all set while you are gone. Therefore, we leave and go to the bank.
The person at the bank was new and we were depositing a check into savings but also getting $200 cash back...we asked for $40 of that in 10s 5s and 1s. First, it took her forever to just figure out how to enter all that into the system. Then she could not (I had to tell her how) count the money back to us, and how much there should be. When she did finally count it to us, she had to do it twice because she was so confused...I would think that counting cash would be a job requirement of a teller, and if this was a large city she would never make it. At this point Kevin states that it must be “Waste Kevin’s time day”, because that has been the flow of the day up to that point.
Next, we go to the office supply/Hallmark store
Side Story
We decided to read our Valentine’s Day cards to each other, while we were there. Then I picked up a card to mail to my friend Kari (shhh do not tell her it is in the mail)….We go to the register and of course have to wait for the person to talk to her friend who was leaving. Then I do not have any coins, just a $5. The register she is using does not have the right coins either. The lady says, “Let me check this register” and goes to the other one. No coins there either...so she says, “let me get some from the back” And she leaves BOTH registers (which had cash in them) open and goes to the back to get coins while we are standing there. I cannot believe she left us there, with both drawers wide open...so I warned her to be more careful. She says, “I like my small town and trust people here” I reminded her there is crime even in small towns. Of course, more wasted time for Kevin, while we waited.
We go to the post office. The line is out the door, and there is only one person workingso we wait and wait. People were mailing packages, getting money orders, you name it, and anything that is slow is what the customers wanted. Finally get our stuff done.... (More wasted Kevin time)
Then we go back to the shipping place. By now, they have Kevin's bill ready. He wants to pay with Visa since he is turning it into work for reimbursement...but, we have to wait (more waiting), because, someone came in to send a 17 page fax and the credit card machine and the fax machine use the same phone line. So we wait. While we are waiting, a man comes in to make copies. The receptionist talks to him and says, “I have your tab here (for 60 cents), from last time you were in”. They talk and come to find out; his tab goes back to December. Only in a small town would a place carry a 60-cent tab this long. Now that he made more copies, he now has a 90 cent tab and says "I will come back tomorrow to square this away.”Yes only in a small town is something like this possible.
Finally we are able to leave, we go outside and realize that the guy who was in the store, left his car is out front, unlocked, running...... only in a small town can you carry a 60 cent tab and leave your car running out front of a store while you are inside.
Yes only in a small town...crazy
So what about Subway for dinner? Well we never got there….we were headed on our way it was just after 5, we were going to do a little shopping, pick up a couple of items, then grab dinner and take it home. Well on the way to the Mall (aka Wal-Mart), Kevin remembers he has class at 5 pm, and he is now late. We came straight home, he went to class, and I warmed up some stuff in the oven for dinner.
Tomorrow I am off to Chicago for a few days. I am sure it will be different there than here….no small town antics in Chicago. However, I hope I learn something and have some fun too. I am one of 14 people that one of our publishers invited to Chicago to meet with their developers.
1. Kevin had something from work to ship back via UPS
2. Go to the bank
3. Go to the office supply/Hallmark store
4. Go to the post office
5. Pick up dinner at the Mall/Subway (really this means go to Wal-Mart and then to Subway on the way out)
Since our town is so small, we decided to park at the UPS shipping place (it is a copy service company) and then walk the rest of it...town is only 4-5 blocks after all
So, we go to the copy place. Their internet and entire network was down, so they couldn't get the shipping label done or printed. After waiting about 10 min, we said, “We have some errands we will be back” Only in a small town, can you feel confident leaving the item knowing that they will get it all set while you are gone. Therefore, we leave and go to the bank.
The person at the bank was new and we were depositing a check into savings but also getting $200 cash back...we asked for $40 of that in 10s 5s and 1s. First, it took her forever to just figure out how to enter all that into the system. Then she could not (I had to tell her how) count the money back to us, and how much there should be. When she did finally count it to us, she had to do it twice because she was so confused...I would think that counting cash would be a job requirement of a teller, and if this was a large city she would never make it. At this point Kevin states that it must be “Waste Kevin’s time day”, because that has been the flow of the day up to that point.
Next, we go to the office supply/Hallmark store
Side Story
We do not buy birthday, anniversary, or holiday cards for each other anymore. The story is that we both had a huge stack of sweet cards, and we didn’t know what to do with them anymore but didn’t want to throw them out, since the other person had put much thought and care into picking the right card. So, we decided the stack could be thrown out and instead of buying new cards each “event”, we go to the store, pick out the perfect card for the other, the other person reads it, and we put it back on the shelf...saves a ton
We decided to read our Valentine’s Day cards to each other, while we were there. Then I picked up a card to mail to my friend Kari (shhh do not tell her it is in the mail)….We go to the register and of course have to wait for the person to talk to her friend who was leaving. Then I do not have any coins, just a $5. The register she is using does not have the right coins either. The lady says, “Let me check this register” and goes to the other one. No coins there either...so she says, “let me get some from the back” And she leaves BOTH registers (which had cash in them) open and goes to the back to get coins while we are standing there. I cannot believe she left us there, with both drawers wide open...so I warned her to be more careful. She says, “I like my small town and trust people here” I reminded her there is crime even in small towns. Of course, more wasted time for Kevin, while we waited.
We go to the post office. The line is out the door, and there is only one person workingso we wait and wait. People were mailing packages, getting money orders, you name it, and anything that is slow is what the customers wanted. Finally get our stuff done.... (More wasted Kevin time)
Then we go back to the shipping place. By now, they have Kevin's bill ready. He wants to pay with Visa since he is turning it into work for reimbursement...but, we have to wait (more waiting), because, someone came in to send a 17 page fax and the credit card machine and the fax machine use the same phone line. So we wait. While we are waiting, a man comes in to make copies. The receptionist talks to him and says, “I have your tab here (for 60 cents), from last time you were in”. They talk and come to find out; his tab goes back to December. Only in a small town would a place carry a 60-cent tab this long. Now that he made more copies, he now has a 90 cent tab and says "I will come back tomorrow to square this away.”Yes only in a small town is something like this possible.
Finally we are able to leave, we go outside and realize that the guy who was in the store, left his car is out front, unlocked, running...... only in a small town can you carry a 60 cent tab and leave your car running out front of a store while you are inside.
Yes only in a small town...crazy
So what about Subway for dinner? Well we never got there….we were headed on our way it was just after 5, we were going to do a little shopping, pick up a couple of items, then grab dinner and take it home. Well on the way to the Mall (aka Wal-Mart), Kevin remembers he has class at 5 pm, and he is now late. We came straight home, he went to class, and I warmed up some stuff in the oven for dinner.
Tomorrow I am off to Chicago for a few days. I am sure it will be different there than here….no small town antics in Chicago. However, I hope I learn something and have some fun too. I am one of 14 people that one of our publishers invited to Chicago to meet with their developers.
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