Sitting In A Hotel In The Denver Area

The trip up here was interesting. I much prefer that my trips be boring. I want the excitement to be once I arrive. The Blue Van showed up at 6:00. I got up at 5:15. As I've mentioned, that's far from standard behavior for me. My flight was at 9:00 which left plenty of time to clear security.

I had decided to throw my heat-sensitive meds (two Neupogen syringes, plus a vial of Procrit and a syringe) into my checked baggage. The gel pack to keep them cold probably wouldn't have made it through security. Besides, I really didn't feel like explaining my medical issues to TSA. I was glad not to be in a rush when I set off the metal detector twice. Two strikes and you're out with TSA. I get pulled out and wanded. I was wearing "carpenter" shorts with a side pocket where I carry a cell phone. I completely forgot that. And I had stuck a pack of gum in my hip pocket. It was a plastic blister pack over a sheet of foil, so naturally that kicked the thing off. At one time I travelled twice a month in my job and could breeze through security. But that was before September 11, 2001. I finally get through Security and head to the gate. Plenty of time -- grab a coffee and a muffin, plenty of time.

The flight itself was boring -- as airline flights should be. It was when I got on the ground that things started to get more interesting. The last time I flew into Denver was more than ten years ago. I flew into Stapleton airport, which was in northeast Denver. The new Denver International Airport is located some fifty miles south and east of Denver. Everyone I know from Denver will quickly point out that Federico Peña, former Denver Mayor and later Transportation Secretary under Clinton, just happened to own much of the land that the airport now occupies. I'm sure there was no taint of corruption. He was, after all, a Public Official.

Anyway, the airport being so far from Denver proper, and especially so for me since I was going to the far northeast of the Denver metro area, I had to make a drive. No worries, I have a map and directions from maps.google.com. Let me give you a hint about maps and directions. It helps to read them before setting off on a drive in a strange rental car in a strange city. It took me three hours to get to where I was going (plus an hour for lunch). Next time I come up here, I'm flying the night before. I finally caught up with my team at a local brew pub. Sadly, I couldn't touch any of their very tasty-looking wares. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity next year. No beer for Chris until I have offically achieved SVR. Shed a tear and hoist a glass of club soda.

The class that formed the pretext for this gathering started on Tuesday. It's pretty challenging. The brain fog is not helping, although that seems better since Tuesday. Things were tough then as well. I didn't do myself any favors when I awoke suddenly. I had not heard the alarm clock. I reached over and dragged it to where I could see it. I wear a nasty optical prescription -- I can literally light cigarettes with my glasses, which were not on the bedside table. So I had to look pretty close at the clock. It said 6:45. I had set it to go off at 6:30. I jumped up, started the coffeepot, and climbed into the shower. When I got out and with my glasses on my head, I turned on the TV. It was just coming up on 5:00 AM. I had changed the hour when I reached across the bed. Needless to say, the afternoon was pretty rough. I spent much of the last two hours of the class standing at the back and furiously taking notes -- an old Army trick.

Speaking of the Army, Here's a closing note:

You must be single minded. Drive for the one thing on which you have decided.
General George Smith Patton