As I was wrapping up an early morning test of the video conference gear with our team in Bangalore I noticed the downtown Houston skyline emerging from the post dawn mist.
Either image is well worth clicking to see the full size version. Even more worthwhile is this:
I must say, I enjoyed my (work) trip to San Antonio much more than I had anticipated. The River Walk didn’t smell like I remember from my last visit many years ago, so that was a plus. Must have had something to to with the spectacular weather last week.
And even though it was a work related event and there was plenty to do, I did manage to get out and shoot some interesting pictures and make some surprising discoveries.
We wrapped up the event at a ranch on the outskirts of San Antonio for the awards banquet. That’s where I encountered this odd fellow…
That’s one tame bull, I tell you what. I kinda felt sorry for the poor thing. But I suppose being a trained bull is one way to steer clear of the slaughter house. *rimshot*
And much like last year, I spent some time with The Irish Contingent which netted me a few more pictures of the gang from Galway who are more fun than a bar full of Irishmen. Speaking of which, here are pictures of a bar full of those same Irishmen plus one Irish woman (and Patrick, who’s Dutch but lives in Ireland).
One good thing about these high end hotels where we hold our sales conference is the the hotel’s commitment to providing an abundance of coffee in the morning.
Speaking of coffee, I had the oddest dream the other night. In my dream there was an online service where you could upload your unused coffee to a web site to make it available to others to download free of charge.
It was for those times when you brew a pot of coffee, but don’t finish it. It wasn’t for uploading a half drunk cup of used coffee though I could see that as a potential abuse of the service.
Cynthia tells me it strikes her as a very “Jay-like” dream. I have to agree.
Sometimes you only need look out your window to realize that maybe your job isn’t so bad after all…
Update to the unfolding bat drama.
To be frank, while I did not come in contact with the bat, this still creeps me out so I can just imagine my more “panicky” co-workers flipping out and overreacting. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.
A company that specializes in bat removal is coming out to inspect the building.
In my job, one of my responsibilities is to oversee incoming trouble tickets and make sure the support staff is routing them correctly.
I was working on something when my co-worker Luis asked me about a particular ticket that had just come in and how to handle it.
There’s something you don’t see everyday. A trouble ticket about a bat loose in the building.
Even more distressing was this bat was on my floor.
I told Luis to pass it to facilities and to contact the facilities manager so she could contact animal control, which he did. But then he decided to go have a look and in the process of checking out the bat it took flight across the length of the 15th floor and buzzed my desk.
Did you see that episode of The Office where they discovered a bat living in the ceiling? It was the episode titled “Business School”
I can now tell you from personal experience that having a bat flying loose in your place of work is not nearly as amusing to experience as it is to watch.
When it was reported as a barely moving, half dead bat I was just a bit put off, but mostly uninterested. Now that I could see the thing flying around the office I, of course, had to get in on the action. It eventually landed itself near the ceiling where the window blinds are.
As I was snapping a few shots for the record I did begin to question the sanity of getting too close to what could easily be a half-crazed, sharp-toothed, erratically flying rabies delivery system. That was when the Dwight Schrute quote from the same episode sprang into my forebrain:
“Whenever I’m about to do something, I think “would an idiot do that?” and if they would, I do not do that thing”
Animal Control eventually came and took the bat away.
Co-worker: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Not if it’s about computers, I’m on my break.
Co-worker: It’s not a computer question
Me: OK, shoot
Co-worker: I’m having a problem with my e-mail
Me: That’s a computer question
Co-worker: No, it’s a software question
Me: #$%!*
