Alaska Marathon

Our trip to Alaska was quick, beautiful, and exciting. To begin with it’s a longish 7 hour direct flight. That airline seat gets pretty tiresome in that length of time. Our flight was relatively uneventful with only a few minutes of choppy air. We left about a half hour late, landing in Alaska at 5pm local time. Alaska is 3 hours behind Houston time, so this was about 8pm Houston time.

Pat and Glynda Allen (Melissa’s mother and aunt) were on the same flight with us. We rented a car took them to their hotel. Their room was not ready, so we left the luggage and took them with us to find the Quyana Bed and Breakfast. I had booked this over the internet with little information, except that it was run by a local named Wilburn (“Will”) and it only had four rooms. Out of 35 B&B’s I contacted, Will was the only one that sent me a brochure in the mail and wrote a long email describing himself and his B&B. Besides, it was cheap ($65/night including breakfast!). This is unbelievable for Alaska during the height of the tourist season.

We found the Quyana (Eskimo word for “Thank you”) without a problem. It was located in a local neighborhood and stood out with its neat little yard. Will had left a note with a phone number to call, because he had gone out to dinner. I called him and he directed us to the room key in a box on the side of the house. We unlocked the front door and went in, not knowing what to expect. We were greeted with an immaculate, cute and inviting living room and huge kitchen. The Quyana is 3 levels, counting the basement. Our room was in the basement with a small window in one end. This turned out to be a real blessing, since sunset is at 11:30 p.m and sunrise around 4:30 a.m. We could close the blinds and curtains and the room was relatively dark.

We all went to find a restaurant for dinner. We ended up at the Sourdough Alaskan restaurant. It was very picturesque with all kinds of Alaskan artifacts and decorations. The food did not match up to the scenery. In fact, my Alaskan seafood sampler platter was awful. Put this restaurant on the “not recommended” list. After dinner we returned to our rooms, ready for bed.

The next day, Pat and Glynda had booked a train ride. Anne and I wanted to take the train to Seward but it left too early. Will recommended that we drive the highway to Seward. He said it was a very good highway and we could control our schedule if we drove. Adventurists that we are, we left without any planning. We were delighted with gorgeous scenery and a very easy drive with low traffic. When we got to Seward, we found a picturesque seaside town with an active commercial and recreational harbor. The harbor was filled with boats of every size and description. We ate at the Chinook restaurant right on the harbor and the food was pretty decent. The view of the harbor was very worthwhile.

The drive back to Anchorage had more traffic and I was pretty tired by the time we got home. Will recommended the F street station restaurant. Its an Irish Pub motif that has been in business since 1944. It was busy and nearly full. We had a seat at the bar right in front of the grill, where Carlos did the cooking. Carlos is from Guatemala and Will said he really knew what he was doing. We watched as Carlos expertly prepared 7-8 meals at once. Anne asked him if the shrimp was Alaskan. He said no, it was Australian. She asked him if it was any good and he turned up his nose, making a face that told us not to order it. The scallops were Bering straight (not Alaskan). Will had indicated that native Alaskan seafood was excellent but sometimes in short supply. They did have wild Alaskan salmon from the Copper River. The menu prominently noted that they did not serve farm raised salmon. We both decided to have a salad with grilled salmon. We were delighted with crisp greens and a wonderfully grilled piece of native salmon with subtle spices on top. It was delicious. We wish Greg and Melissa could have been with us. Greg would have delighted watching Carlos cooking with occasional two foot high flames leaping from his grill.

Greg and Melissa arrived at around 11:15pm. We took Pat with us to pick them up. It was exciting to see them, even though everyone was tired.

Glynda had broken her foot just before the trip and she was not up to a lot of walking. She stayed at the hotel on Friday. We took Pat, Greg and Melissa touring. We had a late breakfast at noon, and then headed out to the Matanuska Valley. The early part of the drive was a bit tedious and not all that pretty as we drove neighborhoods along the river. After we crossed the river past Palmer, Alaska, we were delighted to come to a scenic overview that was high and showcased this beautiful valley. It was breathtaking. Everyone scrambled out with their cameras. We drove far enough into the valley to see some snow covered mountains and get small taste of the growing beauty of the scenery. We did not make it as far as the glaciers because we were out of time. We had to get back to the hotel for the pre-race pasta dinner.

The pasta dinner was really tasty, but I think everyone was tired and apprehensive about the marathon the next day. We all left early with promises to cheer the next day. I wanted to drive the course and scope out the viewing places. I think Pat had doubts about the value of spending this time. Boy, were we glad we did it! It was difficult finding the locations and some were just downright inaccessible. It took us about two hours of driving and walking to scope out our plan.

Saturday arrived. We picked up Pat and headed for the first viewpoint. Our reward was to see Greg looking happy and good at mile 9. He looked amazingly strong and confident. Melissa was running a slower steady pace. We saw her about 20 minutes later and she looked great! We had some trouble figuring where to be when because of the difference in Greg and Melissa’s paces. I finally set up a spreadsheet on my PDA/Phone to forecast when they would be at each viewpoint. This proved to be very valuable and and accurate. Even with the known pace and forecast, I felt like I had to drive like madman to get everyone around to catch Greg and Melissa. We all saw Greg at mile 18, but missed him at mile 22. I hustled Anne to the finish line, then looped back to pick up Pat. She had cheered Melissa at mile 18. I determined we had to drive to the finish line. While we were hauling, Anne called and tearfully proclaimed that Greg had finished!!! I was so excited and so was Pat. I predicted when Melissa would be at mile 22. Pat’s friend Sharon was there and was watching. Sure enough, my forecast was within 3 minutes and Pat got really excited as she heard Sharon exclaim that she saw Melissa!

We arrived at the finish line and hugged Greg, who had already downed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He said he wanted to support Melissa finishing, so he walked back to about a quarter mile before the finish and waited for her. I planted myself at the finish line and waited. Sure enough they came running down the lane and crossed together! What a team!

During the day, Lisa and I were sending text messages back and forth as I kept her posted on the progress. This was fun and I know she enjoyed her virtual participation. Here is the transcribed set of messages we exchanged:

Lisa 7:14am Can you send me updates on how Greg and Mel are doing?
Me 7:17am Will do.
Me 9:02am Marathon course is nice. (picture of the trail)
Me 9:05am Greg passed 9+ miles looking good and happy. Looking for Melissa now.
Lisa 9:53am Great!
Me 10:15am Mel looked wonderful at 9+mi. Greg 12 min pace. Mel 14.6 min pace. We are at mile 17 waiting.
Me 10:26am mile 17 Temp is 54 degf. Long uphill at this point – a real challenge
Me 11:02am Greg@17.5mi 13.6 min/mi looking tired but grinning big.
Lisa 11:18am That’s cool! Sounds like perfect weather. Thanks for keeping me in the loop. Where else are you going to get to see them?
Me 12:39pm Missed Greg at mile 22 hope to catch him at finish. Last few miles of course are faster (downhill).
Lisa 1:02pm What a relief!! That’s cool they are almost finished.
Me 1:03pm Greg finished!!!!!
Lisa 2:09pm Woohoo! Tell him CONGRATS!
Me 3:14pm Melissa finished!!!! Lots of hugging and crying. Wish you were here. Love Dad
Lisa 3:15pm Yeah!! That’s wonderful!
Me 9:45pm They actually danced at the victory party!!!! Love. Mom

Yes, we all went to the victory party that night to enjoy a good dinner and celebrate. Greg and Melissa were moving very slowly, but they did get up on the dance floor and kind of move around.

It was a fast paced wonderful trip. Anne and I left and headed for the airport to catch our red-eye flight back to Houston, so Anne could go to Lisa’s baby shower on Sunday. We arrived home safely around 9am Sunday morning. It was good to be home.

Father's day 2008

It was good. It was love.

My father will be 89 this year. As my brother said this year "I don' t know how many more father's days we will have with him". We mutually wanted to make it special. My father is a simple man who enjoyes simple things. Jo had the right idea. They had recently purchased some good home-grown tomatoes. Jim and Jo brought the fixings to have bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches.

We gathered at the grandparents' apartment in Galveston on Sunday afternoon. I knew this was going to be good when I saw my father's reaction as Anne walked in the door first and he saw her. He lit up and was smiling. He seems like he rarely smiles these days. He returned her hug with appreciation and he hugged me with joy as well.

My mother came in the room and was just glowing.

Minutes after we arrived, Jim, Jo and Amanda walked in the door. ...more hugs and smiles.

We gathered in little conversation groups, the women on one side of the room and the guys on the other. We talked about Lisa's pregnancy. We talked about my new job opportunity. We talked about the woodpecker in Jim's backyard.

The U.S. Open golf tournament was on TV. The sound was muted and the closed caption narration scrolled across the screen. We could follow the tournament without the noise and still carry on conversations. The guys groaned when Tiger Woods hit a ball into the tree and it dropped straight down into the grass.

After a while, it was dinner time and Jo began putting things together for the sandwiches. Amanda sat on the couch next to Jim. She put her head on his shoulder and looked at me and smiled. "This is the only day of the year you'll see this", she said. "Most of the time, I'm like a dog and snap at him."

Oh, dinner was just wonderful. You would think this was the gourmet delight of kings. We all expressed our appreciation and delight in the freshly made sandwiches. Afterward, we had a piece of chocolate cheesecake. It was all good.

Eventually it was time to leave. We had lots of hugs and affection expressed. My father was smiling. My mother was smiling. We had honored my father in the way that he most appreciated. It was a good day.

Later that evening, Greg called and sang happy father's day to me. Then Lisa called and wished me a happy father's day.

It doesn't get any better than this.

New Job in Houston

By now I have told many members of the family that I've been offered an opportunity for an IBM job in Houston. This is the answer to numerous prayers over the years. IBM is a place in which its easy to get lost and have no meaning. Its also a place to travel hard. I've done both.

In September 2007, I got an email from a partner in IBM asking me if I was available to help with a client in St. Louis. I responded back quickly and said I was. At the time I had been "on the bench" for a couple of weeks and was pretty stressed about finding another assignment. So it was off to St. Louis to do an audit of a project that was deemed as "troubled". Three days later, I presented my results and was offered the job to manage the project to completion.

Over the next few months I would have the opportunity to meet and work with client executives and IBM executives that showcased my best side and capabilities. I discovered an area in IBM where I felt valued and could do some good.

In December, 2007, I approached a manager about transferring into his practice. He said he would welcome me with open arms, if my current manager agreed. To my surprise, my current manager did not agree and said he would consider transferring me in six months. This conflict provided a seed for substantive discussions about my role in IBM and what I was important to me. I expressed that the highest priority was to find a position working with large petroleum clients in Houston which would reduce my travel and allow me to be at home more. My manager offered to introduce me to the leader for petroleum business in the U.S. and ask him to talk to me. I agreed, though I was set on transferring and did not think much would come of the introduction.

It took three weeks, but I finally arranged to have lunch with the petroleum leader in Houston. To my surprise, he said they actually had a need in Houston that fit me like a glove. He said it would require the cooperation of my current manager to allow me the time to get up to speed and do the job. So I made several phone calls and wrote several emails. Everyone was so busy and it was discouraging. I finally got a lunch appointment with another manager in the Houston area that I thought was key to the potential role in Houston.

Fast forward.... my persistance looks like it may finally pay off. Everyone has agreed to give me the chance to work in the new role - developing business with key petroleum clients in Houston. They specifically want me to work in the area of custom application development and systems integration. This is something in which I have years of experience.

I am excited. I am blessed. I've asked everyone to pray for me to do my best for this opportunity. If I do that, I will succeed and I could be working in Houston a long, long time.

I'm a road warrior

I first heard the term road warrior many years ago, when it described a person whose job was selling and who did lots of traveling doing the job. Since then, the term has expanded in my understanding to describe anyone whose job or avocation requires that they travel regularly. Southwest airlines has recently defined three waiting lines to go through security. One line is deemed to be for expert travelers.

These are the people who spend a portion of the daily lives on an airplane. They are typically traveling to visit a customer or business associate or a conference. When you look at their airline ticket, they are typically classed as gold or platinum class frequent flyer. They carry one carryon bag and a backpack or attache case. Female road warriors may have one larger bag which they check. Their frequent flyer mileage counts are in 6 or 7 figures.

I am a road warrior. I live in hotels. I get up early on Monday morning to catch the first flight out. I fly home Thursday evening, or if its been a hard week, on a Friday morning or Friday afternoon. This is a hard life that limits your time to see you family, keep up your relation with your spouse, serve your church, or work on your hobbies. Its a life that leads to weight gain, if you eat typical traveling food and do not exercise.

I've been working in St. Louis since September 27, 2007, three nights and four days a week. I pay income tax to the state of Missouri and city of St. Louis because I work there frequently. I have a permanent gate check tag on my bag for Continental airlines. I book my hotel reservations three months in advance. I reserve a limousine to take me to/from the airport by email. The drivers all know me. I experience winters with snow and the dreaded weather delays in the airports.

But this is what it takes for me to have a really good paying job and stability and have a shot at building a good retirement. One critical element to survive, which I learned 3 years ago is to get plenty of exercise. I join the Y or the health club in the city where I work. This year I also play tennis with the members of my work team at the client site. On the weekends, I do a lot of cycling. All of this keeps me sane and stabilizes my weight.

It gets very lonely on these trips. Most nights I am sitting in my hotel room by myself, writing email or looking for things on the internet. I tend to buy stuff on the internet when I am on the road. Mostly its because I hate to drive someplace when I am in Houston to buy anything. It costs gas and most of all - my precious weekend time.

Occasionally I read the bible. I try to pray before every meal. Sometimes I pray in the morning and ask for help with my day, which is often stressful. My days always go better when I pray for help. It is truly amazing. In the last couple of years I have begun listening to Christian radio in the car. For the most part, I find it very refreshing and inspirational.

So here I sit in the airport. I prayed for help this morning. My day was amazing. The problems on the job melted away into opportunities.

Thank you, Lord.

What's in a name?

I was just reading my daughter's blog, her latest entry about a person she calls hero, who has inspired her and other fellow triathletes. I decided it was time that I began a blog of my own. As I filled out the forms, the first trick question was "what do you want to call your blog?".

Without even thinking, the notion of "The Spirit moves me" jumped into my head. The word Move is about the transformation that has happened in the last three years, inspired by daughter, my wife, and my son, I began moving - that is exercising. I did not spend my life being a slug. I played tennis in high school and college. I wrestled in college. I was a runner for a few years. I've had owned three bicycles in my adult life. But something happened when I had ankle surgery around 40 years old and I could not run anymore. My job stress and life stress led to slovenly life style that packed on the pounds until 3 years ago. That's when I bought my fourth bicycle just to be with my family on two wheels. Over a three year period and a purchase of the fifth bicycle, I've put myself back into decent physical condition. As my daughter said "Never in my dreams would I have thought I would get an email from my dad saying he just completed 5000 miles on his bicycle this year."

The Spirit part of the title alludes to my spiritual growth. I've been a Christian since 1976. Somewhere in the last 3 years, I feel that I've started growing up spirtually. I am slowly beginning to understand why God put me here and the foundation He provided for me (and everyone) in this life.

So, as lame as it may seem, "The Spirit moves me" is about my spirit and my body - my life.

Bob