Strange Days

I got up at 4:30 this morning, tossed Lil Andy in bed with Michele to continue his pseudo sleep, and jumped into the shower.

Then it was off to the airport.

I was carrying enough computer hardware to automate a small factory, and I was somewhat concerned about how I was going to get this though the good TSA folks. Seems that they know me by sight now ( a good indication that you are traveling too much) and I went through relatively hassle free.

My 8AM flight gets me into Washington DC by 10:30AM and I walk to the Metro and take it down to the Navy Yard Station. I wander down M Street with my suitcase full of hardware until I am finally able to flag down a shuttle to the office. I am meeting up with a number of my colleagues from Milwaukee, WI and Gaithersburg, MD to prep for a meeting we are having next week.

I proceed to spend the rest of the afternoon piecing back together a complicated hardware and software demo we are installing in the office for an important meeting. The afternoon was hectic and rushed because of failing hardware, corrupted software modules, and wrinkles thrown at us by the new office and IT environment.

Between 4 and 5 I am a driven animal trying to get some software changes debugged and cleaned up before I have to dash to get a taxis back to the Reagan National for my 6:55PM flight home.

My taxis is very late and I get to the airport with 30 mins before my departure time. Security is a drag, and I get to the gate and walk right into the airplane. As I fly home, I continue to work on the software changes I was not able to finish in the office. The only solace is that I can now do so with a glass of wine and some chocolate chips cookies.

I am on the ground by 7:50PM, walk out to the parking deck, jump into the car, and beat it for home. I stop on the way to grab a quick bite to eat on the way home. I walk into my house and it is 9PM.

My commute to work today took me from Milwaukee WI to Washington DC and back. The strange thing is that this feels like a normal day for me. But, I believe, in comparison to most people, this is would be a very abnormal and stressful existence ...

Andy Sailor
Wasting away in Sussex, WI
October, 2006