It's Been a Busy Week

Sorry I’ve been gone so long. It’s been an unreal week (I stay busy, but I’ve never had a week like this one), and it goes a little something like this (hit it).

Friday – (Central time)
General - work, play with daughter in anticipation of a hard week.

Saturday (Central Time)

7:00 Depart for Appleton, Wisconsin (via car) with D.O.N. and Mrs. D.O.N.
10:36 Hear band “The Black Keys” for the first time
10:37 Mind officially blown
12:00 Arrive Appleton, Wisconsin (dress for wedding at friends’ hotel room)
1:30 Attend Panda/Scooter wedding
3:30 Check into to ghetto hotel room*
4:00 Attend pre-reception cocktail hour
4:37 Meet long-time iliveinminnesota reader and commenter Jinx
5:00 Attend Panda/Scooter reception
11:30 Return to ghetto hotel room
11:31 Fall into deep, deep sleep

Sunday (Central and Pacific Time)

7:00 S.S.S.
7:30 Pick up D.O.N. and Mrs. D.O.N.
7:31 Return to Minnesota (via car)
8:30 Stop for greasy** breakfast***
12:00 Arrive in Minnesota
12:10 Pack for business trip
12:15 Play with daughter
3:00 Leave for office
3:15 Arrive at office, gather files, etc.
5:11 Depart for Orange County John Wayne airport (central time)
7:43 Arrive Orange County John Wayne airport (pacific time)
8:30 Dinner at El Torito Grill, Santa Ana, California
11:00 Check in to hotel
11:11 Fall into deep, deep sleep

Monday (Pacific Time)

5:30 S.S.S.
5:50 Go to front desk for network cable
5:51 See Counter Terrorism Team, in the OC to protecting Bush
6:00 Dial in to conference call 1
7:00 End conference call 1
7:00 Dial in to conference call 2
7:55 End conference call 2
8:00 Discover that meeting thought to begin at 10:30; begins at 8:30
8:02 Dress in great haste
8:40 Arrive to meeting
4:00 Leave meeting for another meeting
4:15 Attend other meeting
4:30 Check email
5:00 Pick up colleagues at previous meeting
5:15 Cocktail hour(s) at hotel
7:00 Dinner at Blue Water Grill, Costa Mesa, CA
10:00 Cocktail hour(s) at hotel
11:45 Retire to room
11:47 Fall into deep, deep sleep

Tuesday (Pacific Time)

6:30 S.S.S.
7:00 Dial in to conference call 1
7:35 End conference call 2
7:38 Breakfast with colleague
8:00 Dial in to conference call 2
8:55 End conference call 2
9:00 Attend day-long meeting
4:00 End day-long meeting
4:30 Meet with colleagues for update on other day-long meeting
5:00 Adjourn
5:30 Attend Cocktail hour(s) at Balboa Bay Club, Newport Beach, CA
10:00 Leave Balboa Bay Club
10:30 Cocktail hour(s) at hotel
12:15 Retire to room
12:17 Pack for return flight to Minnesota
12:27 Fall into deepest sleep of all time

Wednesday (Pacific and Central Times)

5:00 S.S.S.
5:25 Depart hotel room
5:40 Leave for Orange County John Wayne Airport
6:30 Return flight to Minnesota in seat in front of my boss and my boss’s boss
12:00 Land in Twin Cities
12:17 Arrive to car; drive to office
12:28 Arrive to office
12:30 Greet visiting dignitaries; sit for afternoon-long meeting
5:00 Adjourn meeting
5:30 Depart for dinner
6:00 Arrive at Interlachen Country Club, Edina, Minnesota
6:15 Dine
8:00 Depart Interlachen Country Club
8:20 Stop at Barnes & Noble
8:22 Select gift for daughter (who had a great report at school)
8:37 Arrive home
10:37 Fall into fitful sleep caused by over-exhaustion

Thursday (Central Time)

6:30 S.S.S.****
6:55 Prepare TinyE’s lunch and breakfast
7:00 Wake TinyE
7:02 Dress TinyE
7:10 Feed TinyE
7:15 Tie TinyE’s shoes; put on TinyE’s jacket
7:20 Depart for TinyE’s school/daycare
7:32 Arrive at school/daycare
7:38 Leave school/daycare
8:02 Pick up out-of-town guest
8:30 Attend day-long meeting
4:00 Adjourn meeting
4:30 Check email
5:00 Attend pre-dinner cocktail hour
5:45 Leave for dinner
6:00 Arrive at Wildfire Grill, Eden Prairie, Minnesota
8:15 Leave Dinner
8:17 Drive to Mystic Lake Casino
8:37 Arrive at Mystic Lake Casino
8:38 Sheepishly call Mrs. Duf for permission to stay out late
8:40 Procure loving permission
8:42 Arrive at cash machine
8:45 Arrive at Blackjack table
9:17 Split, then split, then split again on a ten dollar bet
9:18 Dealer goes bust
9:18 Rake in winnings
10:15 Tip dealer
10:16 Count losses ($5.00)
10:22 Escort guests to hotel
10:37 Leave hotel for home
10:55 Arrive at home
11:02 Take in deep, deep sleep

Friday (Central Time)

6:38 Waken by TinyE
6:40 S.S. (didn’t shave)
6:45 Prepare TinyE for school and self for work
8:10 Leave for school/work
9:00 Arrive to office for meeting
10:30 Adjourn meeting
10:35 Check email
11:29 Start drafting post
11:40 Post to blog



*Friends, when attending a wedding out of town, if the bride and groom recommend a hotel, stay there. Even if you can use points to sleep for free elsewhere. Trust me on this.
**Pronounced “gree-zuh;”
***As an elixir, some in our party caught a kind of flu at the reception
****Alright, I’ll tell you, the first “S” stands for a biological function that is an extremely common daily (or more) requirement among people and animals, the second “S” stands for “shower,” and the third “S” stands for “shave.”