on the road again
Here I sit, in the lobby of one of San Francisco's great historic hotels, reflecting on what it means to be "on the road again." When Willie sang it, of course, he wasn't talking about IT consulting. I am certainly not making music with my friends, so between those two things, the musical version of on the road again is out of the question.
I ran into a nice Australian couple at the bar tonight (John Foley's Irish house, best fish and chips in the city), and it's always nice to meet new people. The husband in this case is a pilot for Quantas airlines, and he brought his wife along for a "holiday" here in the city. They weren't sure what to do with their time here, so of course I offered some suggestions. The conversation then turned to politics - I asked them about Australia's election last week. Here are some key points from that discussion:
1) I learned that voting in Australia is compulsory. It's against the law not to vote. The theory behind the law is that plenty of Australians died to ensure that Australia maintained a free government, so the least the public can do is honor those patriots by showing up at the polls. Works for me.
2) Jerry theorized that the reason the opposition government gained so much ground in last week's election is that the electorate was hungry for change just for the sake of change. Australia's economy is doing well, unemployment is low, so it's hard to identify any major drivers for change other than that the current regime has been in place for around 11 years, depending on how you count it.
This 2nd point makes me nervous, because it got me to thinking about our upcoming. I wonder how many Americans will vote for the anti-Bush (whomever that turns out to be) just for the sake of change? I don't have a problem with change. I'm certainly sick of Bush. But change for the sake of change I think is at the very least risky, and quite possibly foolish. I don't want America to vote for someone just because he or she is "not" Bush. Obviously I don't get to control these things.
Jerry and Linda then asked me to explain American Football to them. Those of you who know me well know the irony of this - I am NOT a football expert. I did the best I could, and they were both intrigued and appreciative. We all agreed in the end that it's a silly sport, and that it's a shame so much of what's popular on TV in America is determined by what programming generates the most valuable ad revenue for the TV networks. Why can't we play a 1 hour NFL game in, say, 1 hour?
And so it goes. Another week on the road. Two more after this week before I can take a winter break. Another 30,000 sky miles. Another few frustrating adventures with Delta. Another few meals eaten alone. Another few laughs with the guys on my team. Another few homecomings to my wife and my dog. Another few beverages on the company dime. Another 9 nights at the Sir Francis Drake. Another few visits to Harry's Starlight Lounge. As Jeff Bridges' character "The Dude" says in The Big Lebowski "Strikes and gutters, ups and downs." The Dude abides.
I ran into a nice Australian couple at the bar tonight (John Foley's Irish house, best fish and chips in the city), and it's always nice to meet new people. The husband in this case is a pilot for Quantas airlines, and he brought his wife along for a "holiday" here in the city. They weren't sure what to do with their time here, so of course I offered some suggestions. The conversation then turned to politics - I asked them about Australia's election last week. Here are some key points from that discussion:
1) I learned that voting in Australia is compulsory. It's against the law not to vote. The theory behind the law is that plenty of Australians died to ensure that Australia maintained a free government, so the least the public can do is honor those patriots by showing up at the polls. Works for me.
2) Jerry theorized that the reason the opposition government gained so much ground in last week's election is that the electorate was hungry for change just for the sake of change. Australia's economy is doing well, unemployment is low, so it's hard to identify any major drivers for change other than that the current regime has been in place for around 11 years, depending on how you count it.
This 2nd point makes me nervous, because it got me to thinking about our upcoming. I wonder how many Americans will vote for the anti-Bush (whomever that turns out to be) just for the sake of change? I don't have a problem with change. I'm certainly sick of Bush. But change for the sake of change I think is at the very least risky, and quite possibly foolish. I don't want America to vote for someone just because he or she is "not" Bush. Obviously I don't get to control these things.
Jerry and Linda then asked me to explain American Football to them. Those of you who know me well know the irony of this - I am NOT a football expert. I did the best I could, and they were both intrigued and appreciative. We all agreed in the end that it's a silly sport, and that it's a shame so much of what's popular on TV in America is determined by what programming generates the most valuable ad revenue for the TV networks. Why can't we play a 1 hour NFL game in, say, 1 hour?
And so it goes. Another week on the road. Two more after this week before I can take a winter break. Another 30,000 sky miles. Another few frustrating adventures with Delta. Another few meals eaten alone. Another few laughs with the guys on my team. Another few homecomings to my wife and my dog. Another few beverages on the company dime. Another 9 nights at the Sir Francis Drake. Another few visits to Harry's Starlight Lounge. As Jeff Bridges' character "The Dude" says in The Big Lebowski "Strikes and gutters, ups and downs." The Dude abides.
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