One busy fun challenging work week that felt a lot longer than three days for some reason. Action packed, I guess? A five day'r squished into three before a holiday kind of week. My ITM team, Matt Sweet and Kareem Hunter had a hopper full of projects and I did several appointments with clients about internet marketing and leveraging technology. Tuesday I drove to Scappoose, Oregon to meet with George Hafeman and his group at Windermere. I was on the I-405 headed south by 6:00 AM.
I love the drive to Oregon when the weather is nice. Its three hours from my condo in Renton. I savor the quality time with self. I had my iPod loaded up with music and a few podcasts. For me, driving down the road is a great way to take time out to contemplate life, the universe, everything, and my place in it. There's something about being in motion. My mind works different when I'm on a road trip. I can collect my thoughts, think about direction and purpose. I mull over the where when and how situations in my head. A little stream of consciousness thinking. I turn off the editor and see what bubbles up. Life today is so much about processing information. I think of it as running CCleaner, Registry Mechanic, and Disk Defragmenter for the brain.
I was in Chehalis just at dawn and witnessed the most beautiful sunrise I can remember. It was just light enough to see across the valley. A very few brief patches of fog here and there that were beginning to lift and a wisp of low lying clouds like stretched angle hair. Just enough light that the fall colors were beginning to show themselves. The sun was barely breaking over the cascades and lighting up the backside of Mt. St. Helens. It was like a ghost shape appearing out of the dark. The color pallet was awesome.
I love my home, the Pacific Northwest. I love the greens, grays, browns, and blues; the never ending kaleidoscope of muted tones that recombine each season. The sun was casting a sickle shaped fire red sliver over the black mountains. Then a kind of burst upward in separated streams into orange as you followed the light higher into the sky, then it disappeared into blue sky. Above the orange, above the mountains dark, just to the left and higher than St Helens through cloud feathers where light and dark collided came 1000 geese. Way up there, miles away in the upper blue sky, a moving ribbon of black specs emerged coming north towards me, wings flapping. A weaving line through the air, somewhat random yet organized, as if someone were doodling in real time with charcoal. It was surreal. I was speechless.
We had a wonderful rewarding conversation about marketing in Scappoose. Yet before you know it... you're done and it's time to head for home. It's always funny to me that no matter how big a thing I make about conversation and/or round table discussion... No matter how prepared I think I am or not, it's over in a flash. Off you go, phase two, another three hours road time to go. You're burning daylight I think with things to do when you get home. Peddle to the metal! I think about where I'm going, where our company is headed, and where the market place may take us. I'm not stressing about it, just wondering. Another gig accomplished, I reflect.
I'm a little tired so let's amp up... I crank up some classic Hendrix, vintage Beatles... move on to Igor Stravinsky, Symphony in C, Philip Glass, Violin Concerto, Chris Smither, a few things I wrote and recorded back in the day, and a favorite seminar by Jeff Gitomer. Traffic is light today and I'm making good time. I think about that small pork roast that's marinating in the fridge. I'll throw it on the grill when I get home and hangout with my 19 year old son Jeff for awhile. We'll be eating like kings in no time.
I pull into my condo complex, "oh yah, finally home!" and stop to check the mail... Oh crap, the GREEN CARD! "Your mailbox was over full and returned to the post office. Please pick it up within 10 days or all items will be returned to sender." Zing! Why can't my mailbox be like my Gmail account, the more you put in it the bigger it gets! Oh well... today I'm happy and content. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did.
René
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