The last couple of months have a been dizzying whirlwind of multiple projects with multiple deadlines, multiple injuries with multiple rehab plans, and mulitiple travel plans with multiple people to Brazil.
As of Right now, Paul, Kelly, Matt, & I are flying to Brazil on Feb 6th. Planning and preparation has been torturous. We also lost a key player along the way, the depth and devastion of which remains to be seen. I don't even know where to begin. Let me start by giving you this little transcript from a few weeks ago.
From: Ardi
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 1:14 PM
To: Matt; Paul; Kelly; Mack
Subject: BRAZIL - What a mess
Hey guys,
Well, I've spoke to each of you a couple of times in the past 10 days, trying to get things organized and stable for Brazil so we can book our tickets and get organized.
A lot of thoughts and concerns were brought up and it's becoming pretty difficult to plan something solid while trying to account for a dozen variables at the same time. I'm gonna just brain dump all the issue here in a list so you can all see what we're dealing with and hopefully offer some intput.
- Paul Has to Be at a wedding in Miami in late February
- Paul can get us cheap ($400) tickets (possibly 1st class) but can't give us an exact date until roughly 2 weeks before travel time. I'm assuming the same uncertainty applies to the return date as well.
- Paul will find out in 2 weeks if he's getting laid off from United Airlines which, if true, will also affect things
- Paul does not want to be in Rio during carnival ("like Vegas on NYE").
- Paul won't know his schedule until mid - December
- Matt is neutral about Carnival
- Matt feels guilty about Diane's friend backing out of their trip to Mach Pichu.
- Out of the infinite sea of possibilities for how to alleviate his guilt, Matt thinks that cutting his once in a lifetime (& Ardi's last) trip to Brazil short would be the best option. Apparently there is NOTHING in North America outside the Jan/Feb time-frame that can compensate for this.
- Diane's birthday is in Late Feb/Early March and it's usually a Mamoth trip trip for the Sherrills
- Mack is almost done with the house
- Mack contends that the house does not need to sell but merely finish and go on the Market so he can start working for $ and then he can go.
- Mack treats Ardi like a bill collector every time he gets called to discuss the trip
- Mack suggests that we should go ahead and plan the dates / book tickets without him and he'll "catch up" when he's ready.
- Ardi would like to finalize the flight dates as early as possible so all the other little details can get planned and streamlined.
- Ardi does not mind buying a full price ticket in advance in return for solid flight dates so everything at home and work can be planned and scheduled. The 2 week notice is almost impossible for him to deal with.
- Ardi is sad. All this nonsense has confirmed to him that he and his friends are permanent prisoners in cell-block "AD" (American Dream).
So that's about the jist of it. Although the possibility of cheap firstclass tickets is tantalizing having the 2 day window before and/or after each departure date wasted due to uncertainty combined with the problems presented at work is not worth it. I can make up the $ saved with one or 2 days worth of work.
The advantage of pushing the flight dates back is that it gives us a chance to see carnival (& cut out if we don't like it) and also give Mack more time to get his act together. The disadvantage is that it overlaps Pauls friends wedding and Diane's birthday. I really want to solidify things ASAP so let me know what your thoughts are and how you suggest dealing with ALL the issues listed above while keeping everyone happy and on-track?
Is it even worth it? Are we paying $20 for a candy bar? (metaphorically)
So ... this is more or less the kind of nonsense I've had to deal with lately. Add in the fact that now we're flying on Paul's buddy passes which means we can get bumped at the drop of a hat and also have to carry our stuff on the plane (so you don't, for example, end up in Rio with your bags in Sao Paulo) and you've got about 1/4 of my problems figured out.
But alas, dear reader, like Depeche Mode said, God's got a sick sense of humor. I've been dealing with some strange convoluted compound back/abdominal/groin injury. This is at least partially due to the BUTTLOAD of snow that we got over christmas that Matt and Leif helped me shovel but the lower back damage it dished out did a number on me. Although I managed to play 6 games last night and although I had some pain it wasn't getting any worse and felt more theraputic than aggravating. Guys who get beat up for a living know what I'm talking about.
So the fear of flooding was another nice christmas bonus. I even dreamed about floods as recently as last night. I'm having Mack & Joe put in a French drain this summer when they tear down the deck (before they build it back with Synthetic material). Also, as much as it sucked, I kinda enjoyed shoveling all that snow with Matt and Leif. Not only was it nice to see how much they cared but it also felt like TRUE QUALITY time. Can't explain it.
Now, just for a shits and giggles, let's introduce this next scenario. The elementary school down the street got broken into. Probably some angry punk kids but who knows. They broke some computers and shit. Shameful. Also, an aqaintance told Jen that her neighbor heard someone banging on their door. They grabbed their gun and looked outside but the punk kids had knocked and ran. This story turned into the "they-tried-to-kick-down-our-door-and-ran-away-when-we-grabbed-our-gun" story which now has Jen believing that our neighborhood is a crime zone and we need extra door locks, motion sensors, alarms, etc.
Also, since I'm such a crazy daredevil I've been asked to up my life insurance from 1/2 a Mil to a Mil in case I die in Brazil. I guess 1/2 a mil was OK for Peru and Equador but you're more likely to die in Brazil. Did you know that they said I was overweight when I got tested before going to Peru? I was 5'9, 190 Lbs, 11% Body Fat. I came back a month later at 172 Lbs and 8% body fat. Amazing what starving in the Amazon can do for your insurance rates.
And here's the kicker just to top things off. I heard throught the grapevine that some entities at work question my focus and dedication cuz I'm leaving for a few weeks. Been here for 3 years and only took a week off for my brothers wedding. The rest has been onsey twosey stuff. All this time I've been planning and saving for Brazil. The person questioning my motives didn't even KNOW about our company when I started planning this vacation. Sadder yet, I probably won't ever get to have a direct adult converstion with him about this. He's a good guy, but like me, probably, he only sees part of the picture. I wonder, as I type this, if I should perhaps speak him about this. But everything seems to be conveyed in 3rd person and via middle-men around here. I miss talking to the people I build tools for. Not only do you get better specs but you also get more satisfaction. Just a guy who needs something and comes to you for help. You listen, you help him, and you get to see him smile when his problems are solved. He might even pat you the back.
So there you have it. All this just to live pure and free with close friends for a few days. 3 years for 3 weeks. Fair, ain't it?
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