Looking at What I Missed

So I’ve been reading and commenting and visiting and I think I’ve finally seen all the posts that were published from Sunday 10-28-2018 to today. Although I don’t always comment on every post of every person I follow, I do try to visit. Since I got caught up on what you’ve all done, I thought I should bring you up to speed on some of my doings that are not of sufficient importance to merit a stand alone blog.

First the burning question you all wanted answered: What did I wear for Halloween?
  

The next question was: What did you do in Baltimore?
I managed to go geocaching! This photo was outside the Orioles Ballpark at the Veterans Memorial.

Then there was the question: Why did you go? The short answer was because I had to. The longer answer was to learn things that I needed to know and to assist with the poster presentation. This is one of the slides that was presented on a boring topic to many but absolutely wonderful to me. I got lots of great ideas!

Another burning questions was: What did you eat?

The photo is of Seafood Imperial as prepared by Mo’s Seafood. It was heavenly. The crab was so sweet and tender, the scallops melted in your mouth and the shrimp were simply delicious. I’d give it a 9/10 and that was only because I could barely finish it because there was so much richness and yum! This was the only instance of eating out. All the rest of the meals were free or on someone else’s dime. Case in point a dinner at the Capital Grill.

This was the Citrus Glazed Salmon with green beans. It was very good but I can actually get just as good in my town. My other meals were at various receptions. There seemed to be a theme – Old Bay seasoned everything but especially potato chips. It was odd. I would have thought that there would be more seafood, especially crab, but the menu was generally sandwiches more often than not with grilled zucchini and Portabella mushrooms.
And I have to confess that I had a couple days where I had a “chocolate lunch” which was necessitated by the schedule of talks being so tight that I didn’t want to miss anything so I ate chocolate to sustain myself. The vendors were kind enough to supply me with Dove, Hershey special dark, York peppermint patties, and a variety of hand made chocolates in the shape of crabs, lighthouses, and mice.

Looking Above the Clouds

Looking at the top sides of clouds
Soaring above the earthbound crowds
From the window only sky blue
I have an angel’s point of view

Not the first time I have traveled
Airplane nerves become unraveled
This perspective feels fresh and new
I have an angel’s point of view

Ignore the stomach butterflies
I focus on the endless skies
And trust the stratospheric crew
I have an angel’s point of view

Moisture laden clouds admire
Dazzling sunset climbing higher
Celestial sunbeams breaking through
I have an angel’s point of view

Yes, I had a window seat. Although take off is always spectacular and the landing has its own special thrills, it is the cruising above the clouds that makes my heart happy. It never gets old. Seeing clouds from the top is awesome! There was a small patch of stormy weather that we flew over. From the top the sky was a clear blue and the clouds were a dark juxtaposition. The sun made the top of the clouds a bright “bleached white’ but the bottoms were an ominous slate grey! There were a few spots where it appeared the sun had punched holes in the cloud cover releasing powerful beams of light into the rain darkened land below. The poem above is a Kyrielle. A Kyrielle is defined as a French form of rhyming poetry written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines), and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza). Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables. I know it sounds daunting but it will flow after you step back to see the overall effect!

Looking at a Pile of Work

I got home last night. I’m exhausted. It was fun and I learned some new stuff. When I go to these conferences I like to take advantage of the opportunity to attend as many sessions as possible. It is a win-win. First I get Continuing Education Units to maintain my professional registry. Second I learn as much as I can. Thirdly I network with the vendors. All this is to make the most of the trip – a trip paid for by my boss. I brought back a bunch of useful info. I also got some swag for those coworkers who remained behind to hold down the fort.

I’m concerned that my inbox will be over flowing with email. I will have to take some time to sort through the messages to hopefully discard the junk/spam email from that which actually needs my attention. I was gone for 6 work days and I know that there will be stacks of items that no one wanted to deal with in my absence. That’s how it has gone historically. I’m not sure what I’ll be walking into. That’s why I’ve packed a bigger than usual lunch – to sustain me as I run around like a crazy person.

This weekend I’ll be doing laundry and other housekeeping tasks that were likewise left for my personal attention. I will however, take several breaks during my cleaning frenzy to access blogs. I did read many of your posts on my phone while in Baltimore. Alas my phone does not allow me to post comments. The few times I’ve tried have not gone well as the comments appear to have been sent only to have them never show up on posts! I’ll be in touch!