An extra day at home coming up

6:11pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Thursday night, December 8, 2022. The last day of meetings galore. Finally. This week felt incredibly long and I need a break from work. My daughter’s mom needs to go to Los Angeles on Monday so I am going to stay in Orange County until Tuesday morning. Normally I would feel bad about missing a day in the office but, the timing feels really fortuitous. I am just going to appreciate the circumstance and enjoy an extra day at home.

Worse than I anticipated

6:04pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Wednesday night, December 7, 2022. Today was even longer than yesterday. After a full day of meetings, our branch office was inundated with various problems including staff behavior issues and billing mistakes. We tried to address all the concerns in a timely manner but, there were just too many. Therefore they have to wait and be tackled first thing tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, the meetings also continue tomorrow. And they will be longer and more intense than today. I am beyond tired and grouchy. I knew this would be a tough week but, it is worse than I anticipated.

First day of regional meetings

8:14pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Tuesday night, December 6, 2022. Long day today. I just got back to the room from dinner. Meetings started at 8am and lasted until 4:30pm, followed by a group get together. I am not complaining, it was a nice change in routine. Time to wash up and get ready for bed. The next two days are going to be equally as busy.

Eerily Phantasmal

6:16, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Monday evening, November 28, 2022. Good, easy day today. Took my daughter to school, then parked nearby to sit in on virtual meetings and answer emails. At noon I headed east toward the desert. The roads were busy but not overly full. However, just before Palm Desert a dust storm turned the sky eerily phantasmal. It was surreal and a little scary. I was happy to arrive at the office and wait for the storm to eventually die down. Now I am all checked into the hotel and done with dinner. There is no reason to go out again tonight. I will rest up and be ready for work tomorrow.

Helping a friend

6:52pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Wednesday night, November 2, 2022. A full day in the office today. We had meetings at 9am, 11am, 11:30, 2:30 and 4:30 because there are issues that need to be addressed quickly. Only my second day and I am already in deep. Oh well, I enjoy being a part of the solution and working hard. A friend reached out today to tell me she is moving to Arizona from Texas to start a new job. I offered to let her stay in the Chandler apartment because I am seldom there. I am glad it won’t sit empty any longer and that I can help a friend.

I am feeling better

4:55pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Sunday afternoon, October 2, 2022. It was one more day of rest and football today. Thankfully, I am feeling better and have a direct flight to Oakland. I will sleep in tomorrow, do my morning meetings, then travel to California for a busy week.

Tv fixed

5:37pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Dublin, California, USA, Tuesday evening, September 20, 2022. Got back into my workout routine this morning after taking the last couple of days off. It felt good to work up a sweat and build some muscle. Work was busy with lots of meetings today. I am glad it is over. Positive side note: when I checked in to the hotel yesterday the television in my room didn’t work, but I was able to fix it by myself just now.

Time to relax

6:49pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Rancho Mirage, California, USA, Tuesday night, August 16, 2022. Didn’t leave the office until almost six pm because meetings ran long. Then I stopped to get dinner before heading back to the hotel. Time to relax and prepare for tomorrow.

Inadvertent scare

5:33pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Wednesday evening, June 22, 2022. Another day, another interview. This one was a brief meeting with a new recruiter concerning a position here in the valley. I said I was willing to move forward but, to be honest, it is not really the right job for me. Also, this afternoon, I wrote follow up emails from yesterdays interviews and scheduled two more meetings for the rest of the week. On a personal note, my daughter’s mom texted this morning saying our daughter was exposed to Covid yesterday. Apparently, there is no concern unless she starts showing symptoms. Of course, as a concerned parent, I texted my daughter to see how she was feeling and to say I was worried about her. She was surprised. Apparently, the information was conveyed to her mom after she had gone to morning summer classes, but my daughter herself had not heard about the situation. The good news is, no issues so far. The bad news, I inadvertently gave her a scare.