Climate Changes

So here I sit again - this time I actually will be flying out of Gate 87A to Redding - in approx. 3 hours. I was going to get dinner sooner, but thought I would use up my 45 minutes of free internet that SFO provides for travelers before I enjoy my Sushi dinner.

This week, I was able to be in beautiful San Diego - and see many friends that I have know for some time now. The industry that I am in is somewhat specialized - "Financial Aid" - the college type. There were over 900 attendees at the conference this year - close to 1000 with the late registrants. I believe my first CASFAA conference was in '92, when I was a Financial Aid Technician for Point Loma Nazarene University. Then I attended somewhat sporadically over the years while I worked at Educaid / The Money Store / First Union Bank / Wachovia Bank (and now it is Wells Fargo Bank, but I left during the Wachovia years). Started there in '94 and left in '04. Then, when I was with Sallie Mae I attended every year from '04-'09. So being able to attend in '10 with a new company - iHELP - was a great experience - especially since it was in San Diego - sunny - beautiful - San Diego.

I think one of the days it was over 80 degrees - a record for San Diego on Dec. 12. I was able to spend some time with a friend that I have known since the 3rd grade out on San Diego Bay for the Christmas Lights parade - Brian has a little 24' boat - but it has a toilet. He doesn't have a name on it and I suggested to his wife Amanda that they name it "It Has A Toilet".

I also got to spend some time on a nighttime run with a friend that had gone through a tremendous amount of change over the past two years - due to a layoff. I have had some of the same experiences, but not so severe. But we got to catch up over 14-15 miles of running from downtown to Sunset Cliffs and back (up over Hill Street for those of you that know the Point Loma area). Then, not 20 minutes after I got back to my room - the fog rolled in. The temps when I left today were in the 50s. Quite a difference.

I will be heading home now for several weeks now - preparing for a marathon in January (hopefully if Mrs. Smith will let me do it) - and a trip to the frozen tundra of South Dakota for a Sales Meeting/After Christmas Party. I am also on a mission to get California up and running for my company so I can spend more time on the West Coast then in the Midwest. I would much rather be in the climate of California in January, February and March then in the Northern Midwest (where it is bound to be a severe winter if you have been following the news.

Well - need to go dig into some fresh sushi and repair those muscles and get ready for a late-night flight to RDD.

Safe and Happy travels...