Sunday Search: Topic Of Conversation

This past week I spent a lot of time at business dinners where the topics of conversation varied pretty significantly from course to course and from meal to meal. However, there were a few subjects that came up regularly during those times around the table. The first two were, of course, the most obvious as business and the actual trade show we were attending were discussed at great length. Beyond that discourse, the primary topic that we talked about at length was genealogy.

Many of the people with whom I spent the first part of the week had at least a basic knowledge of their own family histories or were interested in pursuing that knowledge. Because of the neutral nature of the discourse, we went from moment to moment and from generation to generation of predominantly United States history with each subject and time period allowing us to learn a little more about each other while remaining appropriate for a business gathering. I guess you could say that this is one of the ancillary benefits to the work that I have done regarding my family history.

It was actually quite surprising the commonalities that many of us possessed in both geography and in the participation of our ancestors in particular events. There wasn’t a single statement that wasn’t followed up by either a story or a question. And this was going both ways as there were definitely some aspects of history of which my knowledge is limited or a local history of which I am completely unfamiliar. In the end, we all came away with a much broader sense of the reach and inter-connectivity that our histories have in relation to one another. And that was just the people that knew at least a little about their own ancestry.

For those who were still unfamiliar with their familial past, it was an eye opening experience that ignited a desire to know about their own families. Hopefully the basic outline that they were given is enough to keep that interest going and that they begin to fill in some of their own trees. After all, it would be great to learn a little bit about their families the next time that we are all together around the dinner table. Who knows, maybe we will find some stronger historical ties between our ancestors. And maybe they can use that new found knowledge, as many of us have, as a great topic of conversation during casual business meetings and, more importantly, with their own families.

Business Trip Recovery

One of the most difficult aspects of a business trip is the recovery afterward. Not only is it the work projects that, for the most part, were put on hold during my time out of the office but, more importantly, it is about making up the time with family and returning to our usual routine. No matter what I have tried it has yet to be made any easier.

What didn’t help this time around was the fact that I few down to Atlanta over the weekend not feeling well and after a few days of early mornings and late nights, I was really feeling like ‘crap on toast’ upon my return. Further complicating the matter was the fact that I had a lodge meeting on the schedule for the evening following my return and there was no possibility of staying home from work that day either. And because that wasn’t enough, both my wife and son were fighting off something.

Just one of these things would have kinked the works enough to make the simple task of getting work done even more difficult but having everything descend upon me all at one time has made the day less than fun. Makes me wish that I had caught up on everything else, the multitude of open projects, prior to my departure. I guess this is just one of those instances when you just put your head down and work until you can’t work anymore.

It really is astounding how much things have changed over the last few years. Walking out the door has become harder and harder with every tear and disappointed look on my son’s face and knowing that there is the possibility that I might miss something while I am gone is nearly an unbearable feeling to hold in throughout the day. And while I know that I am forgiven soon after returning home, the sadness that I have caused during the week is something that I wish I could take back.

Thankfully, this last trip concludes the bulk of my business travel for the year with only a few quick day trips that could pop up during the remainder of the year. I am hoping that my son will better understand the situation next year and that I might be able to have my family join me in the future. It would further complicate the travel but a complication that I welcome.

Something A Little Different At The Office

Every once in a while there is something a little different that happens at the office. Well, not at the office necessarily but with our clients. I’m not talking about anything major just a minor change in the routine. This was the case last week when we took a momentary step back from our usual public relations duties and assisted in the creation of a video case study. For me, this was a first, as in all my years of experience there has been an odd gap in this area… plenty of written case studies but nothing that was committed to film.

Unfortunately, due to a previous obligation, I was not on site for the shooting of the interviews or the organization at work but I have been taking part in about every other aspect of the process from coordination to script creation. Come to think of it, it has been some time since I have been involved in writing for the camera as I believe the last time I ventured into that genre was during a screen writing class in grad school the lessons and techniques from which I am still employing today.

Of course, while some may see the filming as the culmination of our work. It is really on the midpoint at best as there has certainly been plenty of work prior and there is still a multitude of objectives that must be met afterward. This includes editing, dissemination, publication, and making sure that everything is ready to go for a trade show in a couple of months. Additionally, this project might lead to similar projects with a few other customers down the road including the possibility of filming at the aforementioned trade show. It just goes to show that most of the time great work leads to more great work.

In the week since the raw footage was captured, it has been a waiting game as we are all eager to see the resulting product. We pretty much know what to expect but nothing is ever certain until you see it for yourself. In the meantime, many of those other projects are slowly unfolding and there has been a plethora of other projects both for this client and others that have occupied my time and my mind. This includes some upcoming travel and a few things that are finally coming to fruition. All of these things took a considerable amount of time and energy to get done but, in the end, our clients are happy which means we are doing our jobs and exceeding expectations.

Returning Home

This morning I woke up to the reassuring thought that tonight I would be home sleeping next to my wife and son. However, there was a long day ahead of me and a conference call that was about to start moments after I stumbled out of bed. During this postponed weekly call I couldn’t simply let the productive few morning moments pass me by so I used the time confined to my room to take care of a last blast of emails and packed my bag. With a few minutes to go I had everything ready and as soon as I hung up the phone I was out the door.

After returning the key cards to the front desk, I made my way across the street and walked through the Hilton on my way to the show shuttle. Before inspecting the line I swung through the gift shop in search of an item required for my return to the office tomorrow… a Chicago refrigerator magnet. It may seem odd but it had become tradition that each time we travel to a new place for work we pick up a magnet for the office fridge. We have put together quite the collection from across the country.

With the line for the shuttle painfully long which would have prevented me from making to the booth on time, I made the detour to the front of the building, hailed a cab, and was at the convention center with a little breathing room. Enough time to check my coat and bags and make my way to the booth before the first scheduled meeting of the day. I guess it is a good thing that I was busy this morning because it left me little time to think about getting back home to my family.

The morning flew by with a number of excellent conversations and introductions including an interesting discussion with a fellow brother that happened to be passing the booth. Immediately after lunch it was time to leave the floor and so I made my way, along with the CEO and his wife, back to the coat check and out to the sidewalk to catch the final cab of the trip. Thankfully the show was a success and the hard work that everyone put in paid off so the conversations during the 40 minute drive was of a great experience and looking forward to the show next year in Atlanta.

Everything went as smoothly as possible at the airport (unlike my departure on Sunday) and I found myself with a little extra time before the flight. With nothing else that needed to be done I found a little restaurant where I could sit down for a late lunch and called the office to give a little update and my wife to tell her how much I looked forward to getting back home. Before I knew it I was on the plane, propped up against the window, and fast asleep with my legs crumpled against my briefcase.

The flight landed on time with me waking up just before the wheels touched the ground. After a bit of a wait outside the baggage claim (for some reason we pulled into the international terminal) I was soon nested next to my son as my wife drove us away from the cluster of a pickup area. It was a great feeling to be home and finally reunited with my family. While I may have woken up in Chicago, I will be going to bed with my wife and son tonight. A perfect end to a business trip.

A Long Day Away From Baby

Given how things played out last year, I expected things to be busy today at the trade show. What I didn’t expect was sheer volume of people that would be attending the show. What had taken me 20 minutes to go from getting on the bus to the booth, was now an hour voyage through the sea of attendees and exhibitors. Thankfully, I had left early enough that I still made it to the booth with plenty of time to spare before the first appointment that I had booked for the day.

As the day flew by you could tell who had been at the show for both days walking up and down the aisles. Sore feet and slow moving legs were apparent. And, of course, there was the larger than life crowd… the ones that made me look like the after picture from a weight loss commercial. It was a constant fluffy wave that made you think twice when you took a lunch break or went over to the cart to get a cup of coffee.

While our booth was busy throughout the day with only a handful of moments when we were left to ourselves, there were other companies when the exact opposite was true. It was rather odd to see the lack of interest that they were inciting especially in a room where there were more than a few niche companies and products that were constantly talking to customers all day. Makes me glad that some of our previous discussions never panned out but also make me wonder how we could have made the show different for them.

Even during the numerous humorous and busy moments, I couldn’t help but think about what I might be missing back home. I kept thinking about my wife and son and hoping that he wasn’t missing me too much. While he may not be aware of everything he does know when I am out late and I am certain that he knew I was gone.

Those times were tough but it was also nice getting those pictures and videos from my wife and sharing them with those around me. While I may not have been able to talk to him, I could at least talk about him. That was my way of getting through the times when I missed him most and the best way that I was able to relate to those around me who all had kids. That is how I got through today!

This Is Spring?

I took this picture as I left the office on Friday. 

As I drove to work on Friday I had to keep telling myself that spring was finally beginning and all of this will come to an end soon. The spring snow kept falling throughout the day seemingly more intense every time I picked my head up from my computer and looked out the window. Honestly, I was just thankful that it was happening on Friday rather than over the weekend causing some kind of delay in my travel plans.

When I arrived in Chicago yesterday I looked at the forecast to see what the temperature was going to be like over the next few days not thinking about the possibility of precipitation. Of course, they were predicting some more spring snow. It was going to be an interesting start to the week and to the trade show.

I woke up this morning wondering if the weather had blown through during the night. When I opened the blinds it certainly hadn’t blown through, it was still blowing. While there was only about 6 inches expected, the blizzard conditions coming off of Lake Michigan made for an interesting adventure just walking outside between buildings. The bus ride was interesting as well.

My boss took this picture from the bus as we made out way to ProMat this morning.

In addition to the disagreeable weather, the news was also reporting travel times of nearly 2 ½ hours from the airport to downtown. With the sideways snow still whipping through the air, we all anticipated at least a slow start to the show. While the expected inundation at the gate may not have come to fruition it was a surprisingly steady crowd and the morning saw a nice pace of interest at the booth. Of course, it makes me wonder what could have been had we been fortunate enough to have good weather.

With the snow having stopped sometime during the day, we all headed back to the hotel to put our feet up and relax for a few moments. After a few quick calls and several emails, it was time to head back down to the lobby to meet up for dinner. It is always a great feeling to get together at these moments with a client after a successful day and before I knew it we departed the delectable Park Grill and went our separate ways to reconvene in the morning.

Of course, as many of my days have lately, there was an interesting moment that concluded the night. As I was enjoying the surprisingly warmer evening (the temperature had actually gone up since the morning) I was approached by a rather gregarious man who was obsessed with my salt covered shoes. While apprehensive upon our initial encounter we were able to converse a bit and I eventually found out that I was talking with the Shoe Shine King of Michigan Avenue.

While I didn’t have much cash on me, only a couple dollars left from the day, he insisted that my shoes needed to be shined. So out on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, I put my foot on his knee and I ended up with shoes that haven’t looked this good in years. An interesting end to a day that had a rather interesting beginning. Hopefully, the shine lasts as long as the show.

The Hardest Part

There have been many difficult moments during these early days of parenthood with the hardest of which happening today. Last night I couldn’t sleep as I didn’t want today to come. I knew that when I woke up the morning would go too fast and my departure would arrive too soon. This morning I woke up knowing that I would have to leave my family for a few days while I traveled to Chicago for work.

The plane was scheduled to depart just after lunch so we all piled in the car around 9:30 so that there wouldn’t be any timing issues. With my wife behind the wheel I sat beside my son staring at him as the mile markers streamed by the window. It was a ride that seemed to go on forever and one that ended way too soon.

While he usually sleeps whenever he is in the car, this time was different. He kept opening his eyes and looking at me as if to catch one last glimpse before daddy had to leave. Each time this happened was just as hard as the last.

When we arrived I moved slowly to prolong the moment. I kissed my son and kissed my wife. Then I watched them drive away as I made my way to the terminal doors.  

Even with the cluster at the counter when I found out US Airways and American Airlines aren’t talking anymore, the confusion at security where there were no signs directing which line to get in, and the debacle at the gate when seat assignments were handed out to all passengers, I still kept thinking about the looks from my son each time he woke up in the car. It is a look that persisted in my mind throughout the day. Even later in the night during the client meeting and after that sending time with a friend that I haven’t seen in over 3 years, I was still thinking about my wife and my son.

It is interesting to think about the changes that have occurred since the last time that I was on a business trip like this. Last year this whole thing was still new having only been at the company for 6 months, it was just my wife and me, and the whole business travel was something with which I was still unfamiliar. While by no means old hat, it is just a different experience this year. Same company, similar trip, a new son, and reconnecting with an old friend.

Things are different this year. It is going to be a great trip and an excellent event but I know my thoughts will remain with my family. Three nights until I can see my wife and son again. Until then, I have to work and enjoy the pictures that my wife will certainly be sending me. Those are the moments to look forward to each day.