Smiling Faces

We're home, safe and sound.

The kids ran to us and hugged us. They really missed us.

We missed them, too.

All is well.

We all have broad smiles on our faces.

Heading Home

Well, my time here is up. I'm getting on a plane and heading back home with my wife.

I've learned a lot that can help me do my job better.

I've had a little fun.

I've complained a good bit while out of town. But honestly, I've had a decent time. Caught a movie or two. Finally found a few neat places to eat. Spent some time with my wife. And she got to lay around and just relax and unplug while I was in class.

Now we're getting ready to board the plane. And like I said before making my way here . . . if this blog doesn't update again after this post . . . you'll know what happened.

But again . . . let's be positive, eh?

The Sunshine State

Florida is the Sunshine State, right?

Not this week.

It has rained every single fucking day that I've been here.

Everyday after 3:00 PM, it rains buckets. Thunder and lightning. Rain. Rain. Rain.

Before it rains, I look up at gray, heavy, overcast skies. I packed my sunglasses all for nothing.

Sunshine State my ass!

Chipotle

I found a Chipotle restaurant in the area where I'm staying for my training class this week.

I heard of this place from a new employee who had moved in from another state. He raved about Chipotle and was very disappointed that one couldn't be found in his new local.

I became very interested in this place. He talked about it a good bit for his first few weeks at work. He talked about it so much that I too became disappointed that we have no Chipotle anywhere nearby-- and I had never been there before!

I started to feel a bit offended. What? My town isn't good enough for a Chipotle restaurant?

I even wrote the owners and asked them that very question. They replied and said that they admitted to being selective about where they open new restaurants. But, they try to take care in how fast they grow their business. They don't just haphazardly open restaurants anywhere. But, they assured me that they would consider opening up in my area one of these days.

Hmph.

Well, I ran across a Chipotle while I'm out here training in Tampa, Florida.

Chipotle is awesomeness!

I still feel a bit offended that they won't open a restaurant back home where I must soon return.

I think I'll write the owners again.

Maybe it's time for me to quit my job and open one myself. I know the perfect spot where I can start one when I get back home.

Right around the corner from that Five Guys Burgers and Fries joint that recently opened up at that cool shopping park they just built. I'd make a killin' and Five Guys wouldn't even miss a beat from my presence. If anything, we'd feed on each other's attraction of hungry customers longing to get rid of the munchies.

A Little Better . . .

Well, we've finally found some good eats. We've had to ask around some.

Now, we're hoping to find some good sites. The problem? It rains every day after I get out of class.

Oh well . . . this town ain't so bad if you look around and ask for some help.

Time to go to bed. Got class in the morning and my belly is full.

Cookie Cutter U.S.A

Now, I'm not well traveled. I've been a few places across the Southeast United States. I've been just barely out towards the Southwest and I've been up north a little around Chicago and Michigan. I've also had the pleasure of visiting our nation's Capitol for a week many, many years ago.

But other than that, I really haven't been anywhere.

So maybe my comments are a bit unfair and off base.

With the exception of Washington D.C., some parts of Chicago, and Louisville, KY, all of the parts of the United States that I've been to seem like they were produced out of a cookie cutter.

I've flown over to a different time zone, but I can't find anything different to eat than what I can find back at home. At least, not yet. And I haven't seen anything different or captivating so far when compared to the current city in which I live.

I'm sure something interesting is out there somewhere, but where is it???

In the training class I'm attending, our instructor is a native of Cuba. He came back from lunch and complained that the so called Cuban restaurant where he visited wasn't authentic enough.

I'm in Tampa, Florida as I write this. I wasn't too familiar with Tampa before I got here. But from what I've noticed in just staying here one day is that there ought to be some really good Cuban food around here somewhere. I mean . . . I've seen Spanish billboards here that have no English translation. If you don't speak Spanish, that advertisement just wasn't for you.

Not to say that everyone who is Hispanic in Tampa is from Cuba. But, I bet a lot of Cubans come here to Florida. So . . . there ought to be some Cuban food that a native Cuban would call "authentic".

If he is having trouble finding some authentic and unique, how can I find something new and different in a town that is just a mirror image of where I already live?

Maybe that isn't a fair question. Perhaps I've made a false correlation. But, I feel like all hope is lost when it comes to doing something that's unique in Tampa-- something that I can't do back home. Because so far, everywhere I've been in Tampa looks the same to me.

The sweltering heat is the same.

The afternoon thunderstorms are the same.

OK, no palm trees where I live. But, I see plenty of other trees back home.

"Variety is the spice of life", I hear. I think that saying has some merit.

Ah well . . . I can't complain too much. Our hotel is really, really nice and familiarity is also comforting. But still, I'd like to see something a little different from back home. Just a little.

And on a side note: although I miss my kids, I've got a really, really, really, really, really nice break from them. They stayed back home with other family members while my wife and I traveled together. And by the way, they are doing just fine.

They May Love to Fly, but I don't.

My job is sending me to a training class. I'm headed out of town.

My wife will tag along. The company is OK with this as long as I understand that I'm responsible for taking care of her expenses. The company will only take care of my plane ticket, hotel, and car rental.

The hotel will accommodate us both, but I have to take care of the my wife's air fare.

I'll be in a training class from 9 to 4:30. My wife will get a nice little vacation while I'm in class.

Family and good friends will watch our kids while we're gone for a week.

Cross your fingers; I'll be in the air early Sunday morning.

I've got blogs queued up on MDLS (my other blog). However, if this post on this blog ends up being my last, you'll know what happened.

But hey, let's try to be positive, huh?

You can probably tell that I don't like flying much. I like it, but then again I don't.

I love when the plane lifts off the ground. I stare down with wonder when looking out of the window.

But, I become very nervous when I wonder if our pilot is drunk, sleepy, angry, suicidal, or incompetent. I get worried wondering if the airline has cut corners on safety and my plane might burst into flames on the run way, or we go careening towards the ground because of some malfunction that was ignored to save some money.

I don't even think about terrorists. I just have to ignore that idea . . .

And that's when I realize that I don't like to fly in the long run. But, I can't let my fears show.

Even though my wife has flown a few times, she is a little scared, too. So, I gotta be strong for her.

Anyhow-- hopefully, I'll live to update this blog another day.

All in all, I think I will.