NRKANGEL'S BLOG

nRkangel

Does the Wind set us Free, or Does it Just Lead by Example?
Tuesday, August 31, 2004

30 days left...

Again, it's late and I find myself at work. I was at a customer site until 8pm working on a gorram piece of equipment out of commission since I went on vacation last week. I let the customer's guilt trip flow off my back like...well you know. The machine is running fine now, and the customer is placated, at least until next time.

Anyway, I came back to the office and called Japan in order to talk about the next four weeks. I thought it might be a good idea to check in and see what plans had been made for my replacement. Imagine my surprise at hearing that there were no plans. Apparently they're just starting to meet in order to discuss this issue and I'll learn more by the end of the week. *sigh*

To add insult to injury, they told me that I have to go to Canada in two weeks to troubleshoot a humdinger of a problem that's been waiting for resolution for months now. Our Singapore reps are really supposed to be handling this, but they've decided to shirk it off on the factory because the guy Singapore sent last week got stopped at the Canadian border with visa problems. (We always forget how lucky we are with the little things...)

Somehow, someone in Japan figures that it'd be a good idea to send me out instead. They have a wicked sense of humor there in Japan... how do I know? Well, the equipment I need will have to be sent to me and should arrive the day before I leave. It'll have Japanese software so I'll have to fumble through with hand-written instructions. And finally I'll be working on modules that they never trained me on in the eight years I've been with the company.

Am I leaving just in time, or what ??!!

Like I said...a wicked sense of humor. Still don't believe me? Think about it this way...if anything goes wrong, I'm the most expendable since I'm out of here in thirty days anyway! To make matters worse, my ability to "adapt-in-the-face-of-interesting-challenges" departed weeks ago... Yup, just up and took off. It was last seen fleeing, hand in hand, with my urge to get to work on time.

Somewhere out there, someone is grinning a Cheshire Cat grin. (Cut it out, Rod...)

You know, this blogging thing has gotten a bit weird now that I know that a friend of mine actually reads this thing... kinda like I'm in that "naked-on-stage in-front-of-everybody" dream... Is it just me?

Then there was last night. I joined some friends for dinner at a nice little Italian place. The food was great and we all had a good time talking about what movies we had seen recently and what was going on in our lives since we'd last broke bread. I left just as the sun was dropping behind the mountains and as I drove, I realized that I wasn't really ready to go home.

I rolled down the windows and cranked the Evanesence CD. A warm wind pulled at my sticky shirt and roared loudly in my ears. The light was that perfect blue that makes everything look clearer than it does even in full daylight.

As I passed my exit, I listened to the wind and the music while incredible stories played themselves out in my mind. Somewhere in the back of my head I wondered if anyone else listened to the music and saw the same things I did.

Amy Lee sang "My Last Breath" and I fell in love as will happen on warm summer nights.

By the time the light had completely faded from the sky, I was on the edge of San Francisco with lights spread in front of me like it was christmas. It had felt really good to let everything go for awhile. I had forgotten work, packing, worrying...all of it vanished for as long as there was music and a highway...

I didn't feel like driving SF, so I put on some Melissa Ethridge, turned around and found a little more highway to follow home....

I Want to Come Over
-Melissa Ethridge

COMMENTS

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 5:14 AM

HASLINGER


I am plauged with seeing things, moments in time really, as little bits of a story. I start plotting angles, lines are often delivered, both audibly and internally. Sometimes if I am really lucky the perfect occurance of Sonace and Aesthetics sends chills down my spine, reminding me of why I believe in A) a Higher Power...GOD and B) that I should be telling stories, not creating them in head.
I call it a plague because it literally causes pain sometimes. When you're so close but so far.


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