Random Thoughts About This Week

02/20/2007

Today I get to travel to Conway, Arkansas, via Little Rock, for a Company Meeting, formerly called a Sales Meeting.  Since the company now involves a lot more people outside of sales in the meetings the politically correct thing to do is change the name of meeting; so no one outside of sales will be offended.  Funny thing is the whole agenda of the meeting is about how we can increase our sales.  Companies do weird stuff!

February’s weather has been brutal compared to December and January.  We, here in West Virginia, have had just about enough of this crap.  I don’t think we have hit 40 degrees any day this month.  We have three heating systems in this house, and I truly believe all three have run constantly since the first of February.  One system uses propane: the propane delivery guy has taken up residence at our house with his huge tanker which seems to be permanently attached to our tank.  He and I are on a first name basis these days. 

Southwest Airlines is now on my Shit List, but I promised no more airline pieces.  Just make a note; I now harbor hard feelings for another airline.

Back to the sales meeting, oops!  I mean Company Meeting.  There are things about these meetings I love and things I don’t.  I love to go to see my co-workers.  Over the years these people have become part of my family and I am in love with them.  I have known some of them for all of the twenty-four years I have worked for this company.  As with any group one is a part of for this long, things happen.  People get married, pass away, have kids, get divorced, retire and move along to other jobs or careers.  The family dynamic is neat: everyone pulling together for a common goal, i.e., increase the wealth of owners.  Seeing this part of my family will make me very happy.  I plan on getting many hugs.  Hugs make the world go round.

Now that I have thought about it, there really isn’t anything I don’t like about going to the meeting, except for having to be away from The Nancy and the farm.  I am sitting in our family room in my favorite chair.  There is a picture window behind me, one across the room looking south and one to my right facing west.  All three are about 10’by 5’.  The views from them are spectacular, especially looking west at the ridge called Cacapon Mountain.  Today the very blue sky is sprinkled with some puffy, white clouds and the morning sunlight makes the snow on ground have a reddish hue.  I will miss this while I trudge around a manufacturing plant full of noisy, oil-spewing machines.  The people that toil in that environment day after day are to be commended, perhaps elevated to sainthood.  It’s a tough environment to work in.

So in a little while I am off to a Baltimore to board a Southwest flight (don’t get me started) to Little Rock and then onto Conway.  The meeting will be what I choose to make it to be.  So, with that said, the meeting will be great, but it will still be a Sales Meeting and nothing more.  So take that, Management!!!

And that is all I have to say about that…