Chicago

Growing up, the only business trips I remember my dad taking were to Chicago. Later learned that they were for visits to UL for fire testing of doors. Only recently however, I figured out that he never went to downtown Chicago, but to the outskirts in a different direction. (Which may be why my presents were always from the airport).


When I joined Karpen Steel in 1986, my first business trip was to Chicago for the annual Door and Hardware trade show, with my dad. It was Karpen Steel's first time exhibiting at the show. It was windy, rainy, and not a nice introduction to the city. Now, it turns out I go to Chicago 1 to 2 times a year for meetings and so forth, and I have grown to love the city. The city of today is so much nicer than it was 25 years ago. Great restaurants, friendly staffs, and so forth. So, now I present to you just a few pictures of my most recent trip to Chicago (and third time there for the door and hardware show).

This was taken from Navy Pier where the convention was held.

This was the original entrance into the Palmer House Hotel - no longer used.

 

 

If you know who these look a likes are, you watch professional football. And, if you don't, you won't care.

Making a presentation during one of the educational sessions.

Karpen Steel trade show booth. It plays off of our advertising. We like to keep it clean, and bright.

Food - Organically Grown, A night on the farm

This summer we have done a CSA 1/2 share. For those of you that are not familiar with this -- it is Community Supported Agriculture. We pay for our vegetables from a farmer during the winter, giving the farmer a chance to get their seedlings started and so forth with a guaranteed amount of money. Then, each week during the summer we got a box of wonderfully fresh, organically grown vegetables. Let me tell you this was an experience! We learned to cook every green imaginable (Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and more), as well as lots of japanese veggies like endamame, bok choy, and others that we love, along with the traditional carrots and potatoes and tomatoes. As much as I loved all the food, we had a problem with an old refrigerator that kept freezing my greens if I didn't use them right away (now replaced with a new one), and when we traveled we had to find someone else to use our share.

Paul Littman is an awesome farmer and marketer. He knows how to talk about his vegetables, and to put them out in extremely attractive arrangements (nicer than a lot of the tail gate farmers). This was his first really big year of doing the CSA shares, and last night we went to a pot luck dinner at the farm. It was awesome. They had music, and food, a beautiful night, and farm tours. Have you ever seen shitake mushrooms growing on oak logs? And be told that it takes over a year to get a log to produce for the first time? And then learn all sorts of organic and sustainable ways to farm? Paul is a great educator, giving us lots of information without boring us. Although I might not do a CSA share next year, he will continue to be my tailgate farmer of choice. We saw some people we knew at the farm, and met lots of new people. I definitely want to get to know the person better who brought about 10 loaves of hot out of the oven fresh baked rustic breads! And Paul's wife Anna made some awesome eggplant lasagna (no noodles) with fresh tomato's and eggplant.

I had forgotten what fun an informal gathering like this can be. We stayed until the last light leaving with just enough light to walk back through the field down to our car. And we left with big smiles on our faces.

Tomorrow I leave for Chicago. I am almost all packed, just a few last minute things to throw into the suitcase. And, another friend will get my CSA share this week.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation - Part 2

After the time in Maine, we came home for a fast couple of weeks, unpacked, and then repacked for our planned long vacation to Utah and Nevada. The original itinerary was 8 nights away from home, the final itinerary, 10 nights away from home. We tacked on an extra night in Las Vegas to see a show that was "dark" on our planned 2 nights there, and then tacked on a night on Charlotte, NC to go to a Comic Con. But, I think I am getting ahead of myself.

Quite a few years ago, we did Bryce Nation Park, North Rim of Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park as a long family vacation. Adam kept asking that we repeat this vacation, but add in Las Vegas for shows. So, we dropped North Rim of Grand Canyon, and made our plans 11 months before the planned trip. We like to stay at the National Park Lodges, and those fill up quickly.

First Stop: Bryce National Park. This is not one of the more well known parks. Most people say, have you been to Arches? No, not been to Arches, but would return to Bryce in a heartbeat. Of all the 3 parks that I've mentioned, our favorite for trails, for view, for less crowds and so forth. Only negative, not many places to eat (choice of Ruby's just outside the park) or the National Park Lodge (good food, a bit pricey).

I had worked hard over the winter to get ready for a hiking trip. Treadmill, bike, zumba, yoga and more. I wanted to build stamina and some muscles. And it worked. We hiked about 5 miles each day and although it was still tough, it wasn't out of my ability. At Bryce you hike down first into the canyon, and then go back up at the end.

Our cabin at Bryce. Complete with resident mice. We stopped at the store to pick up food supplies for picnics and bought a big plastic container to put them into. Last time here we shared our food with the mice. This time, no sharing.

At the edge of the canyon, all ready to go for a hike. It took an extra suitcase for all of our gear.

A Hoodoo

National Park Lodge at Bryce

We saw a lot of deer both at Bryce and at Zion. 

At night we would play card games back at the cabin after sunset. We watched the sunset from the rim of the canyon each night. Very peaceful, very beautiful and typically a bit on the cool side. Then we would go back to our cabin and play card games or read books. No internet access which was awesome. My plans to download pictures and write each night didn't happen either -- too tired from hiking. But what a nice tired.

I forgot how long it takes to upload pictures into blogger. So, I am going to post this part of the trip, and then work on the next park - Zion.

What Happened This Summer?

I cannot believe that I have not blogged since May. I guess it was because my summer started off so strange, and then with my dear son home from school, the evenings were filled with watching movies, and playing games, and some how now it is past labor day. So, as my New Years Resolution I am back to blogging (faithfully I hope). There is so much to write about, but I will start with one major event at a time and hopefully also post some pictures.

Well, right after college got out, we headed up to Maine for the burial of my father in law. Yes, he passed away during the winter, but in Maine they don't bury until the ground has thawed out. We coincided the date of his burial with his birthday. The best part of the trip was seeing all of my husband's family, whom I hadn't seen for quite a few years. We rented a big van, drove around the coast of Maine, ate and drank, and talked and reminisced.

What was really hard for us, is that my father in law and husband used to talk every Sunday evening at about the same time. So, for months I planned our eating and so forth not to coincide with the normal phone call time, even though we knew no call would come. Force of habit.

So, here are a few photos from the trip

Yes, this is a 1500 pound chocolate moose! What a tourist attraction -- in the back of a really nice candy shop.

My brother in law - walking around ruins of an old building on the coast.

Pizza had to come from Pat's. We worked at the original one during our first year of marriage while going to school full time. What memories. There are definitely better pizzas out there, but none that evoke the feelings of seeing a Pats Pizza Box (and we still knew the old prices from way back when!)

Two brothers and a sister.

My favorite picture from the trip. Lighthouse in South Portland, ME

In Memory.

I am amazed

It is amazing at the Grainger convention I am out. There are 4500 people (about) including all the vendors, sales rep and customers (which is my category). Tonight's entertainment -- a bus ride to Epcot, and one whole side of Future World was shut down to everyone but us. We had dinner, rides to ourselves, free booze, popcorn, and ice cream and a band. After the real Walt Disney World Guests left, we got the run of the other side of future world with another band. And then at 11:45 pm our very own fireworks show (Illuminations). Rough estimate of cost for the events $1 million dollars, by the time they ran charter buses to and fro Epcot, the food, and everything. It was pretty awesome going on a ride with typically an hour (or more wait) and only waiting for about 20 minutes. We did Soaring, Finding Nemo (no wait) Mission Space (no wait), and Eric did Test Track (short wait), which I opted out of at the last minute. Now it is 1:00 am, and I am too wound up to crawl into bed. Tomorrow we have more seminars, more trade show, and then head back home. So, I guess I better get at least a little shut eye.

Exhausted and Cold

You wonder where I have been? Cold and Exhausted.

Right after the New Year, our family headed to Disney World for some vacation time, and sun and warmth. Well, we went right into record lows for Orlando. Highs of 45 during the day, and lows around 30 at night. Yes we had some clothing, but we were figuring on 60 degree days, and 50 degrees at night (normal January weather). So, I went around with a short sleeved shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a lightweight fleece jacket and a heavier jacket. With 2 hoodies, and a hat I manged to stay reasonable, but not warm. To top it off, the heating unit in our hotel room wasn't working properly, and we didn't get it fixed til the next to last day. Brrrrrr. It was still a fun trip, but the cold really took it out of me.

Then, we get back to NC, and here we are also having record cold days. Lows of about 8 degrees, and highs in the low 30s. But yesterday it was almost 45 in the afternoon, and it felt balmy.

But, here I am back at work, feeling exhausted from the cold, and I didn't get my needed Florida sunshine. But wait, I am going back to Orlando on Sunday for a trade show and it is supposed to be warm and sunny! This is an odd show, Grainger is paying all of our expenses, hotel, plane, food, drink, etc for us to show up to a large trade show about the products that they carry, and go to some of their seminars. No strings attached, except that they hope that we will start buying more from them. I think that there will be about 1000 people in attendance. We even get 4 hours at night at one of the Disney Theme Parks (after hours).

Back to the exhaustion. I haven't been going to my normal exercise club, because I am bored of the one thing that they offer, a circuit. No classes, no cardio equipment and their HVAC system needs to be fixed. Which means if I go, then I have to change clothes in really cold dressing rooms, and the bathroom also is frigid cold. So, my energy level is low and not exercising isn't helping. So, last night I left work early and checked out the new YMCA facility just 4.5 miles from work. For only $12 a month more I get: Classes (Yoga, Zuma, Cycle Spin), Saturday and Sunday Hours, Real Locker Rooms with Showers, and lots of equipment. And, til Jan 31st Sign Up is Free! So, as soon as I get back from Orlando, I am going to sign up and then cancel my other membership.

I took lots of pictures on vacation, but have been too tired to go through. But, I need to do it ASAP, maybe I'll work on some of them on my laptop on the next trip.

Chicago Photos

I was in Chicago for a business trip, but had one really nice morning to myself. I walked from the hotel over to Navy Pier. On  the way over, I saw some interesting gates that said Northwest University on them. All of the other pictures are in the area surrounding Navy Pier. I loved the outdoor sculptures, and got down real low to take the picture of the last picture to capture the children playing in the park with the Chicago skyline behind them.

Another Trip - Traveling to Chicago

Tomorrow I am off to Chicago on a business trip. I am tired tonight and I always over pack when I am tired. Too tired to decide exactly what I will wear each day, so I bring along options. Usually a bad idea as I end up packing enough to last more than the number of days I am gone. Saturday I will have most of the day to shop or go to museums, or just walk around and enjoy being in a big city. Sunday is meetings all day, then meetings Monday morning and right back to the airport. So, Saturday will be my time - until my first meeting at 3:45. Need to grab my ipod and a book and my phone charger, and then off to bed.

New York City Fashion

I didn't realize just how little shopping opportunities we have in Asheville NC until I walked along 5th Ave, Madison Ave, and more in NYC. And, how I could spot a New Yorker a mile away. Dressed fashionably in black with expensive shoes walking purposefully down the streets. My clothes budget wouldn't last a day in NYC which really explains to me why my sister in law is such an avid sewer of really beautiful fashionable clothes. Oh well. My family (son and husband) didn't let me go near the front entrances to any of these stores, but I will be by myself for most of one day in Chicago on Michigan Avenue in about a week. But, usually one look at a few price tags is all I need to not spend any money!

New York City

I figure it has to be over 35 years since I have been to NYC. So, the memories were vague and was not sure what to expect. A direct flight from Asheville to Laguardia was certainly convenient and only about 30 minutes to the hotel.

First night there were no real plans, and since the flight was over an hour late leaving Asheville, it made life a bit calmer. Our hotel was a really nice one at 62nd St and Park Ave. Nice size room with kitchenette but no real view. We found a movie theatre (thanks to the concierge) and saw "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs". Better than expected. Afterwards, we hit Dylans Candy bar for dessert (cupcakes) and candy shopping - yum.

Friday we walked across Central Park (and it was cleaner, and safer than I remember) and went to the Museum of Natural History. Lots of fun. My favorite was the dioramas that haven't changed since I was a kid.  Husband loved the dinosaurs, and mammals, and just about everything.

Friday night was dinner in the theater district, then into the Toys R Us (which is so big, it has a Ferris wheel in it!) and then to see Mary Poppins, which was just off of Times Square. This was at the New Amsterdam Theater which was the most gorgeous of all the theaters we went into. And, the singing, and sets and show was fantastic. It is so hard to describe, they added some songs, deleted some from the movie, and, well we were in the second row and it was fabulous. Every night we walked down to the theater district and then took a taxi back to the hotel.

Saturday we had 2 plays to go see --On the way down we did some shopping -- F A O Schwarz, and Disney Store were the highlights.  We started with a  Matinee Performance of Avenue Q (Just Moved Off Broadway).  The best way to describe this show is "Sesame Street for Adults". Four of the developers actually worked on Sesame Street at one time. There are muppets, run by people that you see (but they blend in) and people, and a street scene of an old NY City neighborhood. To give you an idea, one of the song titles is "What do you do with a BA in English?". Although it wasn't the glitziest show that we saw, we really enjoyed it the most (probably had to do with the fun, and the adult theme) The building we were in housed about 6 theaters total.

The evening show was "Wicked". The one everybody goes to see in NY. It is based on the book, but does not follow the plot of the book. The singing in this show was operatic in quality and in that regard was awesome. Our seats were not as good as some of the theaters (almost last row of the Orchestra -- row Y), but none the less a wonderful performance. Compared to Avenue Q the theater was huge!!

We learned fast to walk a couple of avenues away from Broadway to get taxis after the show back to the hotel, and having a tall son, helped us to find an empty one.

Sunday was Central Park Zoo. Quite small, but very nice -- and we did the children's zoo area also. Looking for a place for lunch, we did a real NY treat -- pizza by the slice. Yummy. We ended up at a Borders Book Store near our hotel, bought a lot of books, and then had to run Dana back to the room with them. Adam and I walked down to the district and we were going to meet Dana and do the Wax Museum. But, the line just was not moving, and we ended up in Ripley's Believe It or Not next door. It was fun, followed by an early supper as our Sunday play was at 7:00.

Sunday we ended with Shrek the Musical (after eating Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, Times Square). It was fun, but unfortunately we had the understudy for Shrek. Not as good as the other plays, but had we not seen the other ones we have been wowed! Maybe 4 plays in 1-weekend is too much!?

As you can see, we didn't explore all of NYC, but we still had a blast. I got to see the Torah's being carried at the Temple near our hotel (they were crossing from one building into another one), we got to see part of a parade that went on for over 3 hours, and we got to have a good time together.

Monday we had breakfast at LaGuardia airport (yum!) so we treated ourselves to lunch at Stoney Knob when we got home. Stoney Knob is about 1/2 the price of the same meals in NYC! Made it seem more than affordable.

Sorry for the long time that it took me to finish this entry. I really wanted to buy a new camera in NYC, but with Simchat Torah the store I wanted to go to was closed, and another one was too far away. Oh well, may have to live with Best Buy.

Apologies to my New York Relatives

This is an advance apology to all my relatives in NY that have been reading my blog. Yes, we are going to be in New York City this weekend. No, we don't plan on seeing any of you. Why you ask? Well, Adam wanted a trip to NYC to see Broadway Plays, and see some of the city. So, we arrive Thursday afternoon. See a play Friday night, two on Saturday (one matinee), one on Sunday (early evening), and then leave Monday morning. I love visiting relatives, so please don't be insulted. The problem lies in wanting to sleep in, wanting to explore with no schedule, and then having a schedule to get to the theaters. So, don't be mad at me. Just be glad that I am taking my son on his first trip to New York. And, introducing him to the culture that I grew up with.

And yes, I will blog on our return about the plays and what we liked.

It seemed like a good idea at the time!

It seems like I keep over committing myself to different things, and then when the project needs to be done, or the travel needs to happen, or whatever, I find myself exhausted trying to keep my commitment. So, I look back at when and why I said "sure I'll do it" and then always seem to say "it seemed like a good idea at the time."

A year ago, I committed to write two articles for the Door and Hardware Magazine. One was published in September, and the other has a December publication date. I figured I would get them done over the winter when I wasn't as busy, and then there would be no stress. Hmmm.... the first article took me 3-4 months off and on to write and was published in September. I had just barely started the second article (with an Oct. 1 due date), when the first one hit my desk around Sept 10th. So, the last few weeks at work, I scrambled to finish the second article. Thank goodness, I managed to get about a week extension from the publication. I did finish the text in time to have 2 different people proof it for me (for technical and grammatical errors), and it is going to them with a couple of days to spare. Phew. But the stress showed.

And then there is the trip to Roanoke for one night stay. Sure, I told my mom months ago, anytime you want to go to Roanoke I'll drive you up there. Now, those of you that saw me there before you get upset -- it was definitely worth it to see all of you and spend time with family. However, it rained on the way up and it poured (heavy rain) on the way back. about 4 hours of driving with short stops. I crashed the next day after I got back and got behind on other things that needed doing (like laundry).


Will I stop saying "sure I'll do that". I doubt it. But, I do realize that the stress I put on myself is from me. And I often wonder if what I said I'd do was a "good idea". Other people do appreciate what I do and it is that appreciation that keeps me saying "sure, I'll do that".

Now, for the fun part of this blog - some pictures from the Roanoke Trip. Went up to Roanoke with my Mom to see my nephew and his wife that live there (they are expecting a boy), and to see my brother from New York with his daughter (my niece) who has been in South Korea for a year.

Here is my brother (in the center) and his two children.











Brother and Sister who haven't seen each other for a year.










Mother / granddaughter (my niece). Hate to say it ... but there is certainly a family resemblance.

DHI Trade Show Orlando

For the first time in many years, I decided not to have my company exhibit at the annual Door and Hardware trade show, even though it is near (in Orlando). The cost was just too great, and a survey of customers seemed like about a quarter of the typical crowd would be coming. But, I decided to attend to help staff a trade association booth, be a co-presenter on technical hollow metal programs, and attend some industry classes. And to take our customer service coordinator with me.

Was it a good decision?

First day here we had a committee meeting and made plans for technical presentations for the next day. The mood of most manufacturers that we met and talked to was somber. Too many people being laid off, not enough work, bringing out new products in hope of generating some interest. And everyone wondering if tomorrow would bring distributors to the show to see the new products, and to try to drum up some sales.

Good parts of today included flights arriving early into their destinations, pretty smooth flights, and a really nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant with a group of 6 people total. The hotel I am booked at was at one time really nice, but the guest rooms are showing some wear. The lobby and public places have been renovated and kept up. At one time this was probably a really nice resort. Now, it is just OK.

The convention center at Gaylord however is another story. Very opulent. A smaller version of the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.

First day of Show - Industry Marketplace

Our committee was pleasantly surprised at the attendance at our sessions. First session had only about 14 people, (too early), but then we went up to 22, 24 and finally 29 at the final session. Since some of the industry marketplaces had only 4-5 people at their sessions, then ours was a rousing success. I had really good 'face time' in front of distributors, and this alone made my visit here worth while. Especially since later on in the day, a number of the attendees stopped to thank me for the presentation, and the obvious work that went into it.

First day of Show - Forum for the Future

Let's say I am not into writing really depressing blogs. The economist was an excellent speaker, with humour and good stories, but in between those parts were graphs upon graphs upon graphs, and the trends were not cause for rejoicing. But we can also say that the food was good. The attendance was close to 1000 people by my estimates. Give us free food, and we will come!!

Trade Show - from the view of a "Non Exhibiting Manufacturer" *Brown Badge*

Not being an exhibitor means there is no "home plate" to return to after talking to people, no place where people know they can find you and so forth. That being said, not exhibiting has given me a lot more time to talk to the vendors that provide product to our company, and search out new products that might be of use to us.

There were not a lot of distributors on the show floor, but those that were there really wanted to talk, to learn and to get information. It made me sad that we didn't have a booth when I saw all of our competitors booth, but I still know that it was the right decision. Today, I will be signing up for a booth in Chicago - a great convention venue. My only question is whether I will get cold feet again next year and pull out. There are a lot of empty booth spaces on the show floor. Many manufacturers are missing in action. Will this keep distributors from returning next year?

More later and I should have a few pictures to post after I return to home base.

Packing for Trips

I love to travel. I hate to pack. I know have all my toiletries ready to go, so no worries there. Packing for family trips is fine. Figure number of day and pack accordingly. I know whether it is shorts, or jeans, throw in a jacket, and ready to go. But business trips are another story especially when the trip involves a convention.

There are classes (informal), trade show time (business), social hours (business casual), traveling, down time and if we are exhibiting clothes to set up and tear down the show booth. One time I figured I needed 3 changes of clothing to get through just one day. Yes, I know all the tricks. I have black, and dark grey pants, I know to layer, and so forth and so on. But, it is the actual decisions of what I will bring that cause the problem. San Antonio was supposed to be warm, but it was cold, and even 3 layers couldn't seem to warm us up. And, I want to look just right, I am representing my company. So, which of my logo shirts will I bring? And which events will be in clothes without the company logo?

You can tell when I've had trouble with decisions. My suitcase gets heavier. With the new weight rules, that has stopped some of my over packing. So, I pack, and I make a list by day and event as to what I am going to wear. And, I pack the list on top. It does help, but it doesn't alleviate the stress. Need jewelry, need dress up shoes, need my charger and i-pod and lap-top, and like Alex books to read. And, I made it to the library book sale this past weekend, and bought a lot of books for only $1 or $2 each. If they are only fair, I give them to flight attendants when I am done with them. Need my notebook full of reservations, and schedules, and event details.

Yet, somehow I manage to always make the plane on time, pull it together, and look good. And only occasionally have to buy something extra that was forgotten. This weekend I pack for a convention in Orlando. I don't leave until Sept 15th, but I am already trying to figure out my wardrobe. The good news is that I cut back on the number of days I'll be gone, and the number of events I am committed to attending. I know every day this week when I dress for work I'll think, hmmmmm do I need this for the trip? If so, I better not wear it today. So, that is what is top and foremost on my mind this week. As well as getting through 2 weeks worth of work in one week, so I leave my desk looking clean and organized and have assigned jobs to be done to everyone else.

And, lastly, I have to figure out how to order healthier smaller portions in restaurants. I am getting better at it, but it is tough! And, why do the restaurants think healthy has to be bland (but that is probably another post all together). Any on the road eating tips would certainly be appreciated!