An Extra Hour

I'm starting this post in a random fashion by giving you the bird!

It may not be much to some and, in fact, it may be a hassle to others but having an extra hour this weekend has been a welcomed occurrence. Last year it was also a beneficial evening for a different reason as it meant an hour of overtime but this year it was simply a time for me to rest and the ability to get up an extra hour earlier this weekend.  Falling back was a means to fall back into a routine after a long and hectic week that had my body and mind divided between two completely different time zones.

However, weekends like this one can sometimes be the least productive times for me. After a particularly eventful week I am ready to just do nothing during my two day recuperation and that was exactly the rut that I fell into. I even put off writing this post until the very end of the day in the hope that I would turn the corner and get something done. But that was not happening and this weekend passed with only a short daytrip and a few blog posts written as the only things that were accomplished before a week that will consist mostly of making up for last week.

Even with an extra hour I still find myself asking where the day has gone. It seems like the hours, days, weeks, months seem to be going by so quickly that I am unable to keep up with them. Time and again I have to look at the calendar to make sure that it really is the day that I think it is or, as was the case a few days ago, that it really is November. Today, for instance, I found myself floored by the fact that I have been at my new job for just over a month now.

One more hour really doesn’t seem like much and over the course of the year it isn’t but for one day it allows us to fill that extra hour with whatever we want to do. Some of us sleep, some of us work, and some of us take the time to allow our minds to reset. Sometimes it is even a collection of all three. But this extra hour, like all hours, should not be taken for granted or forgotten. We may lose track of time but the memories and accomplishments contained in those minutes are what continues to reinvent our present. Today we got an hour of reinvention.

Beware of Gumby

I want food not my picture taken!

Moseying around the resort on our final morning in Arizona it was a day like any other for everyone there (except the retired gaggle of ladies who arrived early in the morning for what I assume was a means to escape the bother of youngsters). The sun was out, the birds were hopping from tree to tree, and the horses didn’t seem to care what was going on they just wanted to see if I had any food for them. It was just a regular day when I would be heading back home.

Halloween has never really been a big deal to me. I remember growing up and going trick or treating but over the years it has become less and less of an event and, in some instances, more of a nuisance than anything. This year was the first time that I had ever traveled on this particular day and it was quite interesting to see the characters wandering about the airport in Phoenix.

Driving from Wickenburg to Phoenix there was really no sign of the day being different from any other day of the week or year. But when we pulled up to return the car you knew exactly what day it was and that this travel experience was going to be one that would be both interesting and slightly disturbing. Put it this way, the young guy that checked the car had a Batman sweatshirt on…. He would have been a spinning image if Batman fought crime by playing video games all day and never exercising.

As we walked up to the shuttle service to sit down and take care of a few last minute calls before the flight I noticed out of the corned of my eye a giant green mass frightening small children at the Enterprise check in counter… it was a giant Gumby which made me wonder what these kids are thinking as that character hasn’t been relevant for a good twenty years. Regardless, I couldn’t help the thought from passing through my mind, “I’m Gumby, damn it!”

As we headed to the terminal to complete our check in and make our way to our gate the only people who seemed to put any effort into what they were wearing were the TSA officers at the security check in. By the way, can we please standardize the security process at airports in this country? While the broad strokes remain the same the details are what hold up the line (i.e. belt/no belt, watch/no watch/ wallet/no wallet, etc.). I guess this is why it is recommended that you should get to the airport two hours days ahead of time.

Anyway, walking to the gate there were people heading off to all different locations with various accents and outfits indicative of the day. Some make you just wonder what they’re thinking while others make you wonder what they’re parents would think. Thankfully, when we got on the plane everyone around us was in their usual daily attire and by the time we landed we could see the rain and knew that the eclectic residue of the day had quickly washed away before our plane touched down. I guess Philly isn’t a Halloween hot spot.

Last Full Day In The Desert

Today was one that was tremendously productive but also one that made me wish that there was another twelve hours to get a few more things done. I should have known that it was going to be one of those days when I couldn’t get out of bed despite my alarm going off a dozen times. But, as most days, you have to push through the desire for sleep and get out of bed and begin your day.

I was loaded down pretty heavy as I headed out the door with my computer bag bulging with my camera in the front pocket. While I didn’t take nearly as many pictures throughout the day I still managed to get a few shots of the scenery as the sun began to approach the horizon in the early morning hours.

Just a few steps out my cottage door the sun began to peek above the mountains and offer a glow to the desert greenery all around.

Turning the corner and walking slowly up the path it was absent of the morning bustle that I have become accustom to living so close to a city.

Around the corner I now had my back to the slow illumination and a coolness still enveloped the buildings in front of me and the extinguished lights seemed ready for the day to dominate.

The lobby has been part of my temporary routine from walking up to the front door…

…to saying hello to the front desk as I made my way through and into the dining room at the far end.

For the entire morning on through the early part of the afternoon was a series of transitions from table to table and from meeting to meeting. For hours it was a constant stream of information, perspectives, and experiences that filled my mind both with challenges and possibilities. Nearing a time of information overload I managed to step away for a few fleeting minutes both to address the pressing priority of talking with my wife for the day but also to see if there were a few shots that could be stolen in the middle of the day.

This time around there wasn’t anything that caught my attention and called for my focus so my day continued with a couple more brief meetings and some long overdue daily time in the classroom to try and cram in just a little bit more information into the bloated brain cells which by that time had begun whining for a little mercy. It couldn’t have been a better time as the information was a perfect complement to what I had learned the day before and so did more to organize the gray matter rather than beat it into submission. Time continues to rush past as it had this entire trip and soon I found myself walking back up to the main building looking around for a few last minute shots as the last rays of light began to dim and the lamps reasserted their presence.  

But the light faded too fast to capture much more so a simply turned around in one solitary spot on the asphalt trying to record the images of the landmarks I had passed countless times in a matter of a couple days. Looking up the only life in the dwindling light was the passing of a jet high in the sky…

…and looking back toward the direction of my temporary residence was the representative symbol of all present at this event and why we keep pushing forward. All that we have and are able to experience is because of what flies above us and all that we are able to do is because of those who have defended it. It is a single frame that closed this last full day in a perfect way.

And Nicolas Cage Is Nowhere To Be Found

This morning I woke up in a state that I had never been in before last night. I arose from a bed absent of my wife, reached down, and shoot out my shoes just in case because you never know what may have crawled into the room during the night from the arid surroundings. Today I woke up in a small cabin/suite at Rancho de los Caballeros in Wickenburg, Arizona with a full day ahead of me to try and get up to speed with the details of one of the clients for which I work.

Having not been able to fall asleep until about one in the morning (local time) I was not too happy with the blaring iPhone alarm at 6 AM. After hitting the snooze button a few times I managed to get up and out the door not really knowing what direction I needed to walk to get to the dining room next to the lobby. Camera in hand I slowly retraced the path I think we drove the night before in the pitch black desert night.

It wasn’t long until I took my first pre dawn photo of the day.

Somehow I managed to find my way back and, looking off to the left, I caught a glimpse of the sun as it illuminated a tree at the far end of the small parking lot.

 

After a prolonged breakfast with my boss and our client we made our way to the first class of the day to absorb as much as we could during this short trip. A few hours later and with a much better understanding of both what the company does and how we can best serve them, it was time to head back to the dining room for lunch but not before I called my wife.

While I was on the phone wishing that she was here with me I took note of the small island in front of the main entrance where the flower bed was full of colors encompassing the entire spectrum.

Lunch went very quickly as I hopped from table to table trying to talk to as many people as I could and hear about all the perspectives and experiences from those in attendance. It seemed like in no time we were back in the classroom drilling down into the minutia. I’m just glad that I find it interesting or else my energy would have completely left me in a post travel daze. However, having spent much of the day planting in a conference room chair I took advantage of the thirty minutes between meetings to walk around the property and take a few more photos.

The first of which during my after class walk was when I finally took note of one of the large cacti against the blue sky (the first vibrant blue of an otherwise overcast day)…

…followed soon after by the sun radiating around a cactus on the other side of the narrow road.

I meandered between the buildings…

…and enjoyed the mountains in the distance…

…before heading into the last, but informal, meeting of the day.

With everything taken care of, the running around completed, and the list of task having grown to dominate multiple notepad pages, it was time to head out further into the desert for a cook out to close out the day. The manicured oasis provided a wonderfully relaxed means of getting to know participants and attendees just a little bit better without the primary topic of conversation being work related. After all, that is an inevitability when you have a campfire going.

With just a handful of us left creeping closer and closer to the burning embers during the brisk evening it was time to call it a night and head back to our rooms to rest, relax, and prepare for another busy day. It is also another day when I can attempt to not get lost on the way to and from my room but obviously I managed to get back tonight, and in the dark no less, so I guess I’m making progress. One more full day in Arizona but also another full day away from my wife.  

 

*Note: The title makes reference to the Cohen brother's movie "Raising Arizona" starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter. Sometimes I find I have to spell out my obscure references.