My Son is in Australia

My son is in Melborne on an assignment for his company. This is from an email about his trip there and his first day in "Melb."

I am south of downtown Melbourne ('Melb' for short). So far I am loving it.

Travel Review:

The second hardest part regarding yesterday (see below for the first hardest part) was the schedule. It started with a 10:40pm flight out of LAX (12:40am Dallas time). I ate dinner, then watched a movie or two until I couldn't keep my eyes open. I took 5mg of Ambien and woke up 4 hours later. (It's supposed to be good for 7 to 8 hours.) I took another, and woke up 2-1/2 hours later. I stayed up, played some checkers (won every time) and watched more movies. We landed and I went through customs. I arrived at the hotel before noon, checked in, and had one goal: stay out and about until 8pm so I can get accustomed to the local schedule. I didn't realize how difficult that was going to be.
I hopped on the Tram and went to Flinders Station (south end of downtown Melb). At the time I only had a Metcard Day Pass and wanted a Weekly Pass. I bought one, then went walking/shopping. I decided that I needed a watch since my mobile phone would only show me Califoria time. (How screwy is that?) I saw a store for Swiss Watches and crossed the street. Swiss Watch is not the same as Swatch, which is what I wanted; I kept walking. I found a Swatch store just after 2pm and left wearing my purchase. I needed food and coffee so I could stay awake. I passed McDonald's and looked for something local. My map showed a Greek section, so I went there. I had two lattes and a spanakopita (delicious). I left around 3:30pm and walked to Federation Square, which is a civic center with a tourism information shop. (I learned that from the Melbourne travel guide on the flight.) At 5pm I decided to give in to fatigue. I felt like I was a pedestrian vertigo, so I caught a Tram back to the hotel. I tried to stay up, so I watched TV until 7pm. I took 5mg of Ambien, and woke up at 1am. Went back to sleep and woke up at 3am. Went back to sleep and woke up at 5am. Went back to sleep and woke up at 7:30am. I got up and went to breakfast. I realize that I need 10mg of Ambien, and that I need to avoid drinking two lattes four hours before trying to sleep.
The hotel TV has ten stations. These are numbered uncomplicatedly from 1 to 10. A minimum of five channels are dedicated to sports, mainly rugby.
The first hardest part regarding yesterday was taking off my shoes after having worn them for more than 30 hours. I would have burned my shoes if it hadn't been a toxic hazard for the kookaburras.

Love,
E

I just wanted to eat my muffin.

Last week I conducted a customer demonstration of a 777 with one of our Asian customers. This customer is one of our toughest to work with because they are methodical to a fault. Their procedures actually interfere with understanding and testing the systems. What is normally a two and a half hour flight, stretched into almost a five hour flight. This tries my patience.

At the "post flight" meeting I didn't let my fatigue show, but it was there. When all questions are answered and a plan to handle the discrepancies that we've found, are established, I excuse myself from the conference room, congratulating the customer pilot and everyone else for doing a good job. (I'm sincere in this, no matter how it goes, it's a challenging task.)

I'd skipped the box lunch during the flight, so I was hungry. There were some left over pastries available. I grabbed a muffin, and walked across the parking lot to our office. I'd gone a short distance when the customer pilot called to me. He came up to me, and I thought, "What now?" He took my hand thanking me for my help. He wouldn't let go. He told me when he'd be back for the next flight, he wanted to fly with me again. He was still shaking my hand. With a stale muffin in one hand and the other captured, I was wondering, "What's going on here?" We talked for a while, then I was finally able to extricate myself. I have to remember that, what for me, is routine, for him is an epiphany. Mixed feelings. I was doing something right and I missed it.

Little League Hero

Warning: Treacly Grandkid stuff to follow.

My twelve year old grandson has done quite well this season in the Little League Baseball. He made it to the All Star Team and worked very hard to move up to second baseman. Two days before the All Star Playoffs, he took a hit across the bridge of his nose by a low hit ball. It slightly dislocated his nose, and opened a cut where it hit. For a few moments, he was stunned. The parents rushed to him and were impressed that he didn't cry. He's like that.

The next day, at the urgent care facility, the doctor suggested that he not play. He cried. He's like that.

Saturday, we watched him play in the tournament.

This is a boy that Hemingway would be proud to have for a son. I know this Poppa is proud to have him for a grandson.

How to adjust your rear view mirrors.

I've tried explaining this to people, but was never convincing. Maybe this will get the job done.

You Never Know What Form Art Might Take

Rock Stacking