Stormy Day...

The weather was so humid yesterday that it actually felt like a blanket compressing every inch of my being. So, one would think I would be relieved that we got some rain and a cool front come through early this morning. I actually have mixed emotions about it. I prefer the rain to fall in the afternoon, like it did in Mobile, because it gives me time to get a run in the morning. The run gives me time to wake up, clear my mind, and prepare for the rest of the day. I feel like something is missing when I don't get the run in. Of course, if I get five or six in a row, that one day off feels really good, too.

I have so much on my plate right now that it is hard to concentrate on any one thing. I have three TDY trips coming up pretty much back-to-back and then shortly after that I am going back to the U.S. on home leave. The home leave will be great, but it is complicated with Megan and Diep going down to Saigon for two weeks before we depart for the States. Just a whole lot of moving parts, plus the work trips I am taking are always changing... dates and participants just don't seem to get nailed down until two or three days before the trips. This is NOT my fault. Usually some bozo who thinks he is more important than he really is decides to make a change to his itinerary, which in turn changes everyone's schedule.

The worst work trips are the ones that include a very high-ranking U.S. participants. I can pretty much put a schedule together and coordinate it blindfolded, but add the pressure of having someone who can squash you like a bug professionally, and the stakes go up. I carry around a certain amount of "I don't care who you are" with me and that helps. I do my best to put these things together regardless of the participants and I sleep soundly at night knowing I couldn't have done anything better, given the circumstances.

I guess I better get gettin' on the work I have to do before the homeleave...