Tag / Work

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Vacation Recap – Arizona Part 2

cbrWhen we left of yesterday, the conference had come to an end and we had travelled to the airport to pick up the rental car.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that, from the time we got in line at the rental car facility to the time we drove away, would take an hour and a half.  That left little time for the day’s activity: a trip to Camelback Ranch in Glendale to watch the White Sox take on the visiting A’s.  Sadly, the White Sox would fall once again, and, due to an extreme lack of shade that seems to be due to the stadium’s orientation, we left early despite having wonderful seats just a few rows behind home plate.  After the game, we headed to the new hotel, which was quite a step down from the Phoenician resort, but Allstate was no longer picking up the tab, and enjoyed a nice swim to cool down.

Sunday had nothing really planned, so, after checking out a few fliers in the hotel, we decided to take a lake cruise along Lake Pleasant.  There were a lot of mountainous views and some educational talks about the history of the man-made lake and the Phoenix area in general.  Following the cruise, we returned to the hotel for another swim.

Monday saw the trip winding down and, again, there were no specific plans.  After hearing good things from some fellow travellers, we decided to go to the Heard Museum, which claims to be one of the premier Native American museums in the United States.  If this is true, it does not speak well of our nation’s collection of history regarding it’s native people.  After about a half hour, the decision was made to cut bait.  Next, we returned to a time-tested activity: baseball!  We headed to Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks, for a tour.

chasefield-poolThe tour took us all around Chase Field, including a look into the famous pool out in left field, and then up to the suite level, and, finally, into the visitor’s clubhouse and then the Diamonback’s dugout.  All in all, a good way to spend an afternoon and I certainly hope to return one day to catch a game.  Hopefully, from the pool.

Following the tour, and a quick lunch at the TGIFridays overlooking the playing field, we returned to the hotel where I met up with a co-worker who recently moved out to Arizona.  This was followed by one last trip to the pool and then, sadly, it was time to return home.

Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful, unlike last year’s disaster.  The weather even cooperated somewhat, with temperatures in the upper 50s, so there wasn’t such a tremendous let down from the 90s we saw for a week.

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Vacation Recap – Arizona Part 1

0Z9A0170Three weeks ago, this year’s Reach for the Stars trip started off just as last year’s ended: with a flight delay.  Thankfully, this time the delay was only a little over an hour, so we made it to Arizona early in the afternoon on Wednesday.  Rather than take part of the pool or some other activity at the lovely Phoenician  resort, my travel companion decided a nap was in order, so I got to start an exciting book prior to the evenings activity, dinner on the quad of the resort.

Thursday was the day of the company sponsored activity, and I chose a rafting trip down the Lower Salt River.  After some trepidation followed by reassurances that the rafting was rather low key, a last minute audible was made to attend said trip, and I must say it was the right decision.  To give the day a water theme, we did finally hit the pool once we got back to the resort.  That night was the gala dinner, where we got to shake hands with the big boss man.

sloan

Friday, my own personal plans for the trip started in force.  March in Arizona means spring training, and the Cubs were doing battle against the White Sox this fine day at their newly re-christened facility in Mesa.  There were a few other folks from the resort who were also headed to the game, so we shared the cost of a car and commuted together.  The Cubs managed to get the best of their former teammate Jeff Samardzija on this day.  Following the game, we returned to the resort in time to head out to the night’s farewell dinner, which was held offsite at a ranch of some sort.  A good old fashioned ho-down was on tap.

The conference came to an end on Saturday, but things were just starting for me.  In the morning, we checked out of the resort and caught a shuttle to the airport, where a rental car was waiting with out name on it.  Little did we know that waiting was the key word.  But that we will cover tomorrow, in part 2 of this little adventure.

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Fitbit Week 10

Week10_FBThanks to the return of baseball, we get our first week using the Fitbit where every day surpassed the 5500 step mark, leading to my best week step-wise since January.  The week got off to a good start on Easter Sunday, which also happened to be Opening Night, with the Cubs taking on the Cardinals.  Thanks to the farthest parking spot I’ve ever used while attending Wrigley Field, I nearly surpassed 10,000 steps.

The work week was rather normal, with afternoon coffee trips helping to accomplish the day’s goal.  Friday, baseball returned to the south side, with a train ride and a hike to the upper reaches of the upper deck contributing to a nearly 9000 step total and a record, at least for the last 10 weeks, of 23 floors of steps climbed.  A return trip to US Cellular Field on Saturday helped to keep the streak alive.

Total steps: 53,555

Daily average: 7650.7

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Fitbit Week 9

Week9_FBAnother pretty impressive week, with my first time crossing 10,000 steps twice in one week since late July and my trip to Minnesota.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday as we traveled out to Lake Pleasant for a long boat cruise along the lake, followed by a trip back to the hotel for some exciting pool time.  Monday was the first 10,000 step day of the week, thanks to a morning trip to the Heard Museum and an afternoon tour of Chase Field.  Tuesday was time to return home, so its total was mostly made up of airport activities.  Wednesday was time to go back to work, so it was back to the afternoon coffee trips.  Thursday was the second 10,000 step day of the week, thanks to an afternoon walk around the campus while waiting for dinner.  Friday was Good Friday, so we got out of work early, but a trip out for dinner helped boost the total.  Saturday was the latest in a long list of disappointing weekend days.

Total steps: 47,535

Daily average: 6790.7

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The Final Four

2015FFWith four teams left to go, my bracket ended up being half right.  I was perfect on the left hand side with Kentucky and Wisconsin, but my predictions were a little less good on the right hand side.  Louisville, at least, made it to the Elite 8, but Iowa State flamed out in the opening round.  Assuming Kentucky finishes things off and wins the whole thing, I should end up winning something in the work pool.

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Fitbit Week 8

Week8_FBWhile last week got off to a slow start, things picked up, especially as I headed out west to Arizona.  After another poor weekend performance, things picked up on Monday and continued strong for the rest of the week.  Wednesday morning I headed out west for the Reach for the Stars event, which involved plenty of airport time.  Thursday included the Gala event, along with a rafting trip down the Low Salt River.  Friday’s activities included a trip out to Sloan Park in Mesa for some crosstown spring training action, followed by the farewell dinner.  Saturday was spent at Camelback Ranch, watching the White Sox lose to the A’s.

Total steps: 48,952

Daily average: 6993.1

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Sixteen Is So Sweet

As we head in to the Sweet Sixteen, I’m currently tied for first in my work pool, while I’m sure I’m trailing well behind in the other pools.  3 out of my 4 Final Four picks are still alive, but with everyone having Kentucky winning the whole thing, I’ll need to get as many points early as I can.

2015midwestsweet16Things look OK here in the Midwest region, where I have 3 out of the 4 remaining teams.  Assuming Kentucky makes it out, I should remain in the hunt.

2015westsweet16Things look about the same in the West region, although there are more opportunities for me to gain points moving forward.

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Heading To The Desert

phoenician-resortAs discussed back in December, I won another free trip, this time to Arizona, from work due to my continuing outstanding awesomeness.  Well, the time has come to cash in and today I will be heading out to the southwest, leaving the Chicago spring behind.  I’ll be spending the next three days at the beautiful Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, before heading to Phoenix and the comforts of a Hampton Inn for another three.  Hopefully, unlike last year, I won’t come down with something and be sick for most of the trip.

Plans for the trip include my first foray in to the Cactus League, including trips to both the newly re-chsitened Sloan Park and Camelback Ranch.  Beyond that, I will be playing things by ear, hopefully enjoying some downtime in the sun.

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Fitbit Week 7

Week7_FBAnother impressive week, which featured my first 10,000 step day since acquiring the Fitbit nearly 2 months ago.  The week got off to its usual slow start on Sunday, although it was pretty close to 5000 steps.  The entire work week was above average, with the worst day still coming in at over 6700 steps.  Tuesday crossed the 10,000 step plateau for the first time thanks to multiple meetings in North Plaza with IBM, along with the usual afternoon coffee run.  Things went south on Saturday to wrap up the week, as I was trying to nip a cold in the bud before leaving on vacation tomorrow.

Total steps: 46,565

Daily average: 6652.1

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Fitbit Week 6

Week6_FBAnother decent week, though a steep drop off from the week before.  The weather finally turned a corner last week, and every day was above freezing, even getting into the 60s by the end of the week.  Unfortunately, I was not able to take advantage of most of it, due to the combined efforts of IBM and a release, which kept me busy all week.  The weekends continue to be a dead zone, but hopefully that will improve next month with baseball season upon us.

Total steps: 39,649

Daily average: 5664.1