"A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others."
-- Chin-Ning Chu, Strategist
There is huge opportunity for search. Will you be trained by google or not?
I am back in Atlanta, Duluth actually. The way airline security is setup at ATL it is a pain coming back from overseas. You have to go through security of some kind three times. So, with Atlanta being my final destination after returning from overseas I have to get searched. What I mean is that when I arrive home I have to go through security just like I was getting on a domestic flight. I had to surrender a water I purchased in the secure area at Heathrow airport before I could leave the Atlanta airport. It is not so much the surrendering the already-checked water, it is the glare you get from the Homeland Security bots. Nobody likes the glare. The situation exists largely because of the pre-homeland security layout of ATL. It is uncomfortable coming "home" and having to get security-searched (In addition to customs) just to leave the airport.
I stayed in an old manor house in England. It was nice and quite reasonable for someplace less than 30 minutes from Heathrow. It is a great stopping off place before heading back to the US. (Taplow House) The garden (assuredly albeit not in its heyday) is worth it.
I had my meetings in Berkshire England. Not only was I in Berkshire, I was in East Berkshire. It was a bit different than East Berkshire, NY (which I am very familiar). There are mostly paved roads and fewer mobile homes. They also seem to have a Government (albeit historical). I had an absolutely delightful breakfast this morning. The first thing on the menu was poached egg on haddock. It's true. I was very pleased, they seemed to know I was coming.
In Finland I had fish at every meal that I was in country. Just to make sure I didn't just have fish in my diet (for nutritional needs), I managed to buy a can of Bear Meat in Helsinki.
I left part of me in Finland. It is a great place.
I have a lot of stuff to do in Europe. I will be back in a few weeks. I see Munich on my schedule now, but I have a lot more things to do in other places in England, France, Finland, Germany and elsewhere. Building a global team really turns me on.
I am doing a good job of managing the long days and time zone changes/differences. There are all sorts of techniques, but nothing surpasses the ability to sleep well on the plane to be refreshed for work. I don't have to do any Asia trips at this point, knock-on-wood.
I will be home in Atlanta tomorrow, long enough to get packed and unpacked, catch up on work and personal business (like buying a house and a car), and head out to Brazil.
Here are some more pics of Finland.
I am in Jyväskylä Finland. It is almost 11:00 at night and the sun is still well up. It is a bit like Antarctica in that regard. I seemed to have missed Rally Finland by just a few days. It is very pretty and nice. I am off to Berkshire England tomorrow.
I got up in the air today. I flew from Gwinett County Airport to Winder airport. It was good. I did about five landings. Visibility was very low. Legally I need at least three miles of visibility which is very difficult. Once the horizon disappears it is totally different flying if you ask me.
I countered the counteroffer on the lake property. We will see how it goes I guess.
Things are going great. I have an offer in on a house on Lake Lanier. I may get the deal going (picture follows) for the future Winter place, but I am looking at another one on the Lake Saturday after my flying lesson.
Although I am a bit lonely, there are all sorts of connections I can count on. My Sister came up from FL for a visit.
I joined a fitness center today (even though work and the apt complex have fitness centers). It was only 10 bucks a month. I was paying 40 a month in Greene NY. It is nice to have an exercise place that is not work and not home.
I gave myself a busy schedule for the next couple of weeks. Sunday I am off to Finland, second half of the week in England. The week after it is Brazil. One of the interesting things about my travel is that I get out into the non-metropolitan areas. I should have some great pics and stories. I am looking forward to some Scandinavian fish and especially some Brazilian steak house food. It has been a long time! Most of all I am looking to getting some meaningful work done.
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see where things now are so much better than they were at The Raymond Corporation. I am challenged, have a great boss and spend my time in a growing and non-decaying enterprise.
Five indications that it is a good time to look for a new job.
5. The bosses frequently say “I don’t care.”
4. The bosses are replaced with people from a totally different industry.
3. Sales are down 50% and the number of executives is up 50%.
2. Your new boss whines and has less management experience than you do.
1. Executives use the word “fuck” as punctuation in providing direction and its use seems to make them feel better about themselves.
It really is quite nice here in Duluth. There are lots of ethnic restaurants around and most things are good deals. I even saw a Japanese Shabu Shabu restaurant. I will have to go there sometime.
I am trying to find a car to buy. I have my sights on a 1995 or so Mercedes Turbo Diesel. I haven't found the right one yet.
There is so much to do. I would be lying if I said I wasn't overwhelmed. Finding a Church, Home, Dentist, Doctor, Driver's License, and so on is really time consuming. Finding Flight instruction was high on the priority list.
I am putting an offer on a house today. It is a foreclosure, so it is a bit more complicated. If the deal goes through it will take me about 6 months to get the place into move in condition. The house is on Lake Lanier with a dock, 20 minutes from work.
This pic is the community square area in Duluth.
I had my first flight lesson in Georgia today. I went up in a 2003 fuel-injected Cessna 172SP. I absolutely could not believe the performance. I unintentionally bleated out "Holy Shit" on climb out. Interestingly, the climb-out to near-pattern altitude lasted pretty much as long as it took to get those few words out. It was an excellent reaffirmation why I do this. After the short flight today I was a little shaky and I felt the need for more. There really is a "jones" with this stuff. I can see Homer Simpson saying, "Shoorrtt Finnaall" with a bit of a drool.
Next week it is a new airport, new airplane, and a new instructor.
Kansas was great.
I found this bug outside my apartment in Georgia. He was outside. I am looking at cars and houses. It is all new and different. The plane I got on the other night had a paint job that reminded me of someone-I-know's plane. The woodsy pic is on my porch.
One of the strangest things adjusting to life in Georgia is not having to recycle or return bottles and cans. They go right in the garbagge. I have been told that there are people that separate things later on. Hmm. I had people separate things later-on with my recycling in NY. They always separated a few items at the end of the driveway for me to pick up. Of course, I had to pay for recycling pick-up on my taxes.
I have a flight lesson Saturday Morning.
This has been my first weekend in Georgia. The pace of life is reasonable in the Atlanta area. There are two counteracting forces. First it is in a Southern state where things are slowed down, but secondly, it is a high growth booming city. Between these two forces is OK. It is not all go, go, go like NYC.
My internet connection is up. I have a 16Mbs connection for 29 bucks a month. It is fast. There are faster connections available, but this is plenty fast for me.
Yesterday was aviation day. I checked out a couple more flight schools, had breakfast at an EAA airshow and then a lunch as part of a safety seminar at another airport and flight school. I should get in the air next weekend. The flight schools are a whole lot different than what I experienced in Greene NY. Flight training is big business in this area. The plane in the background with me is one of the old clunkers. It is a 2003 172 with GPS, fuel injection and autopilot. I sat in a 2010 182 with only 44 hours on it and a G1000 Glass cockpit. Amazing.
Things are surreal. You know, in a dreamlike state. There are lots of new experiences, faces, stories, places and things. It energizes me.
I am in Kansas for part of next week. I always wanted to go to Kansas so I can better understand, "You're not in Kansas anymore." Although, I doubt the trip will help on that dimension. Interestingly enough, I have never been to Kansas, one of the very few states I have left to visit. I am working on my travel schedule. It is tough to plan with the European holidays; actually is is OK to plan, but difficult to get things done. OK. I am an American, admitted. I am sure my friends will convert me given the opportunity.
It is considerably hotter in NY state than it is in Georgia the last few days. The heat followed me North and did not return with me down to Atlanta.
I am semi-moved in to my apartment. Everything went like clockwork, deliveries, etc. That definitely added to the surreal aspect. I am still in a hotel, as my command center.
I am watching an infomercial regarding Toyota and the accelerator situation on CNBC. What a bunch of crap! It is a Japanese publicly traded family business. I have a lot more to say about Toyota. Email me.
We went canoeing on the Otselic river between Willet NY and Upper Lisle. We determined the rocks are smoother than the Tioughnioga although there is slightly less water and a whole lot more curves. It was very nice. It is recommended.
I have an apartment in Duluth. What a great deal. It is a 1050 Sq feet with a wood burning fireplace in between the den and living room, washer, dryer, exercise room, gated community, swimming pool all for 713.00 a month. I chickened out on buying a place on the lake right away. There appeared to be good deals in this market, but I still have to learn more.
I snapped this on a 777 aircraft the other day. Some people will bring anything on as a "carry on."
I was woke up last night about 1:00 AM. There appeared to be a party going on in the room next door. It wasn't totally loud. There wasn't any banging on the walls or anything. But it did wake me up and I didn't really get back to sleep for the rest of the night. When I went down for breakfast I noticed a "do not disturb" sign on my neighbors door. I was thinking these folks don't need that. So, I took it with me.
