Another month, another trip, this time to Houston, Dallas and LA, all in 4 days. Way too much time was spent on planes and in airports for my tastes.
Monday was a holiday for everyone else, but since we were meeting a long standing customer in Houston that afternoon, it meant a 6AM flight to Toronto for me. Fun stuff. At least I didn't have to take a taxi to the airport this time around. The flight was uneventful, and soon we were on our way through customs in YYZ. No free pass this time around as I was thoroughly searched (all bags, patted down, no rubber gloves thankfully). Still managed to make it to the gate in time, though, which was good. A few hours later (and the entire book I brought to read this trip), we were in Houston. Pick up the rental, and off we go looking for our customer's building. Unfortunately Roger had picked up directions from Yahoo maps, and they sucked. No directions (right, left, north, south), and they actually referenced "un-named street" at one point. Needless to say, we got lost, but still managed to make it on time thanks to some rental car map navigating by yours truly. Never again.
So we talk to the customer for all of 10 minutes, and head off to the hotel. The entire time I'm thinking "I gave up my Monday for this?", but they've been using our product for 7-8 years, so it was good to get in touch and see exactly what they do. Now it's off to the hotel where the show on Tuesday is going to be held. Another navigation nightmare (again, no directions), but this time compounded by the hotel being in the middle of a construction zone. This bodes well for the show...
Tuesday morning it's up bright and early to set up the booth/table, and work the show. Problem is, the construction zone combined with heavy rain made this the worst attended show that I've ever been to. I swear, there were more exhibitors than customers. At the end of the show, we pack up and head out to the airport to catch a flight to Dallas. Problem is, Roger booked the flight into Dallas at Dallas Love airport, and the flight out at Dallas Fort Worth, so we had to change the rental car (among other things). Easier than it sounds, as only Budget would let us rent from one and return to the other on such short notice. We get to Dallas, head off to the hotel (and get lost again, because Roger didn't get the directions to the hotel but to the area code), and get a short nights sleep.
Wednesday morning and it was a quick breakfast and out to attend the Freescale Worldwide FAE Training. Why we showed up so early when we weren't presenting until 11 is beyond me, but then again, I'm just an engineer. Over 100 people are signed up, so I figured we'd get maybe 20 attending (it was optional, and I was hopeful). Apparently I was too hopeful...6 people showed up. Two were very interested and engaging, but still only 6. Finishing up here, we raced off to the airport for our flight to Los Angeles for the Wind River Aerospace and Defense Conference.
Once in LA, it was a quick (and scary as hell) taxi ride to the hotel, where we freshened up and headed downstairs for the parnter meet and greet. Basically an excuse for an open bar, but I was glad for the change. Met a few good people, and then off to bed for the show the next day.
Thursday it was up early again and manning the booth. Which was less exciting than it sounds as there were seminars all the time, and few people on the "show floor" as it were. I did catch a few good seminars by parnters, though, and was impressed by their offerings. Oh, and I got a new laptop bag out of the deal. Not bad at all.
Friday it was another early flight (7am this time) to Chicago, an hour wait, and back to Ottawa. All I can say is that I'm glad to be home.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Finally, Paris Pictures
Promised many months ago (or so it seems), I've finally managed to get the pics off my camera (my desktop died, so it took me this long to remember to bring my camera to work).
Notre Dame Cathedral...very big, and tons of tourists (just like me)
The Louvre - line-ups were way too long for me to even peek inside.
L'Arc de Triomphe (as if you didn't know)
Eiffel Tower, which I also didn't go up. Damn tourists.
Apparently I can't go anywhere without taking pictures of ducks, so I'll keep the streak alive.
This is a building under construction, so they put up a wall around it. Tres cool. Freaky too.
Notre Dame Cathedral...very big, and tons of tourists (just like me)
The Louvre - line-ups were way too long for me to even peek inside.
L'Arc de Triomphe (as if you didn't know)
Eiffel Tower, which I also didn't go up. Damn tourists.
Apparently I can't go anywhere without taking pictures of ducks, so I'll keep the streak alive.
This is a building under construction, so they put up a wall around it. Tres cool. Freaky too.Monday, May 07, 2007
Time For A Tea Party
Thanks to the quirkyness that is our company, I ended up going to Boston on about 4 days notice. Originally Steve-o was supposed to go, but he's overseas now. Then Ariel was to go, but he needed the time to prepare for a trip to Asia. So the Wednesday before the trip, I get a "hey Kev, wanna go to Boston?" from Ariel, and next thing I know, my ticket is booked.
Monday I show up at the airport and met Roger (fresh back from vacation and unaware of the personnel change), which was interesting. A direct flight to Boston (thank god), and next thing we're bouncing around in the back of a shuttle bus to get to the car rental office. I swear, the driver was either drunk or practicing for a demolition derby. Picked up the car, and Roger was nice enough to head downtown as I've never been before. We walked around a marketplace downtown for a bit, grabbed lunch (where I found out my company card was maxed), and then headed off to the hotel. The hotel we're staying at is about 30 min north of Boston, on a good day, but we got stuck in traffic, so it took about an hour. Fun times. And it turns out that the hotel is booked only for the 1 night, even though we'll be in town for 2. Even more fun. After that, it was just a quiet night, grabbing dinner in the hotel (we're not really close to anything), and crashing early.
Up at 6:30 to set up for the show, a good breakfast, and off to the floor. Roger booked another hotel downtown for that night, so we were taken care of there. A good show, good turnout for the presentation, and some solid leads, which was awesome. After the show, we talked to the new reseller that we signed for the Northeastern US (an old friend of Roger's), then headed off downtown. Another good meal, a quick walk around, and off to bed.
Wednesday we had to meet with an old client, who convieniently enough, had their office just down the road from the first hotel. Which is now an hour drive away. But the meeting is at 10AM, so we weren't too rushed in the morning, thankfully. We spent just over an hour with them, talked about where they were going and how we could help, and then jetted off to the airport to see if we could change our flight (we weren't supposed to leave until 8pm, but got to the airport around 1pm). A $50 change fee later, and we were on our way home, 5 hours earlier. I can't imagine how boring it would have been if we had to wait around the entire day.
Monday I show up at the airport and met Roger (fresh back from vacation and unaware of the personnel change), which was interesting. A direct flight to Boston (thank god), and next thing we're bouncing around in the back of a shuttle bus to get to the car rental office. I swear, the driver was either drunk or practicing for a demolition derby. Picked up the car, and Roger was nice enough to head downtown as I've never been before. We walked around a marketplace downtown for a bit, grabbed lunch (where I found out my company card was maxed), and then headed off to the hotel. The hotel we're staying at is about 30 min north of Boston, on a good day, but we got stuck in traffic, so it took about an hour. Fun times. And it turns out that the hotel is booked only for the 1 night, even though we'll be in town for 2. Even more fun. After that, it was just a quiet night, grabbing dinner in the hotel (we're not really close to anything), and crashing early.
Up at 6:30 to set up for the show, a good breakfast, and off to the floor. Roger booked another hotel downtown for that night, so we were taken care of there. A good show, good turnout for the presentation, and some solid leads, which was awesome. After the show, we talked to the new reseller that we signed for the Northeastern US (an old friend of Roger's), then headed off downtown. Another good meal, a quick walk around, and off to bed.
Wednesday we had to meet with an old client, who convieniently enough, had their office just down the road from the first hotel. Which is now an hour drive away. But the meeting is at 10AM, so we weren't too rushed in the morning, thankfully. We spent just over an hour with them, talked about where they were going and how we could help, and then jetted off to the airport to see if we could change our flight (we weren't supposed to leave until 8pm, but got to the airport around 1pm). A $50 change fee later, and we were on our way home, 5 hours earlier. I can't imagine how boring it would have been if we had to wait around the entire day.
Europe Recap
Since I've been asked about it, I'll do my best to re-cap my latest European adventure.
It was a short trip this time, only 10 days, so I figured it would be a pretty good time. I left on the Friday (March 23rd), and got into Heathrow at 6AM on Saturday. After stumbling through security and customs, I wandered off to find a cab to the hotel. $100 later, I was checking in, preparing to be told that my room wasn't ready and to come back at 3 or something. By some miracle, though, my room was ready, and it was off for a quick nap.
Having been to London before, I figured I might be a bit pressed for things to do, so I asked a friend for advice, and was in turn sent to talk someone who actually lives there. I was pointed in the direction of a bunch of markets, and had a wonderful time checking out all the stalls, and looking for a good bargin. I ended up with a nice shirt for myself, and a head massager for Jenn.
Monday rolled around, and it's time for work. We ended up meeting with an editor for a magazine, where I gave a brief presentation on my company, and what we do, then did the same thing for the resellers/distributors that we recently hired in the UK. I had a good time, got to know them and their business a bit better, and then it was "see you tomorrow" and off for dinner. Some good food at the pub, and a good night sleep, preparing for the trip the next day.
It was an early morning Tuesday, as I had to catch a train out to Reading/Twyford for a web presentation from Peter's home. Unfortunately there were some technical difficulties on the prospects end (web server was having trouble, phones were out, and the cellphone he was on was dying), so the presentation was a bit short, but they seemed very interested. A quick bite to eat for lunch, and off to Heathrow (again) to catch a flight to Glasgow, Scotland, where I was to do some training for a customer of ours.
In Glasgow, we had some beautiful weather (no rain, sunny skies) which is almost unheard of. Unfortnately, I spent most of the trip in an office, so it was wasted on me. The training went smoothly, except for a bout of the flu which saw me leaving my breakfast in the hall at our customer. Not fun. Oh, and we took in a match at a local pub, getting to see Scotland be dominated by Italy. We only had 2 nights in town, so as I said, I didn't see much.
On Thursday, it was back to Heathrow, drive back out to Reading, another hotel, and another early morning (6am) for the drive out to Southampton, where we were to meet another prospect on Friday morning. Again, a good meeting, but it was cut a bit short (only an hour and a half) due to prior engagements by our prospect. I think it was well worth the visit, though, as we seemed to have convinced him that our product is a good fit. Now it's on to the technical evaluation by their engineers. We finished up at the customer, took a quick bite to eat, Peter showed me his boat (it was near by and actually work related), then back up to London.
Saturday saw me at Heathrow again (4th time, for those keeping score) for my flight to Paris to see another distributor. I decided to go over on Saturday so I could see some of the sights, as I'd never been to Paris. Saturday ended up being a wash, as I only had time to check into the hotel (outside of Paris, it turns out), and wander around trying to find dinner, which was harder than expected.
On Sunday, though, I did manage to grab a train into Paris, and check it out, if briefly. I think I saw all the major sights, but didn't have much time for anything else (no museum tours, no going up the Eiffel Tower, etc), but I did manage to grab a little something for Jenn.
Monday was another presentation, more training, and little else. Tuesday was more relaxed at the reseller (I had nothing to do, really), but we did meet a new customer that afternoon, and then Julien took me around Paris. Great time, and I really enjoyed myself. Julien was an awesome host, and I can't thank him enough.
Wednesday was back to the airport, flight to London, switching terminals, kicking back for a few hours, then off to Ottawa. I even managed to use my upgrade certificates and was in first class on the way back. Man, it's the only way to fly. If only I could afford it more often.
And yes, I'll post pictures soon...
It was a short trip this time, only 10 days, so I figured it would be a pretty good time. I left on the Friday (March 23rd), and got into Heathrow at 6AM on Saturday. After stumbling through security and customs, I wandered off to find a cab to the hotel. $100 later, I was checking in, preparing to be told that my room wasn't ready and to come back at 3 or something. By some miracle, though, my room was ready, and it was off for a quick nap.
Having been to London before, I figured I might be a bit pressed for things to do, so I asked a friend for advice, and was in turn sent to talk someone who actually lives there. I was pointed in the direction of a bunch of markets, and had a wonderful time checking out all the stalls, and looking for a good bargin. I ended up with a nice shirt for myself, and a head massager for Jenn.
Monday rolled around, and it's time for work. We ended up meeting with an editor for a magazine, where I gave a brief presentation on my company, and what we do, then did the same thing for the resellers/distributors that we recently hired in the UK. I had a good time, got to know them and their business a bit better, and then it was "see you tomorrow" and off for dinner. Some good food at the pub, and a good night sleep, preparing for the trip the next day.
It was an early morning Tuesday, as I had to catch a train out to Reading/Twyford for a web presentation from Peter's home. Unfortunately there were some technical difficulties on the prospects end (web server was having trouble, phones were out, and the cellphone he was on was dying), so the presentation was a bit short, but they seemed very interested. A quick bite to eat for lunch, and off to Heathrow (again) to catch a flight to Glasgow, Scotland, where I was to do some training for a customer of ours.
In Glasgow, we had some beautiful weather (no rain, sunny skies) which is almost unheard of. Unfortnately, I spent most of the trip in an office, so it was wasted on me. The training went smoothly, except for a bout of the flu which saw me leaving my breakfast in the hall at our customer. Not fun. Oh, and we took in a match at a local pub, getting to see Scotland be dominated by Italy. We only had 2 nights in town, so as I said, I didn't see much.
On Thursday, it was back to Heathrow, drive back out to Reading, another hotel, and another early morning (6am) for the drive out to Southampton, where we were to meet another prospect on Friday morning. Again, a good meeting, but it was cut a bit short (only an hour and a half) due to prior engagements by our prospect. I think it was well worth the visit, though, as we seemed to have convinced him that our product is a good fit. Now it's on to the technical evaluation by their engineers. We finished up at the customer, took a quick bite to eat, Peter showed me his boat (it was near by and actually work related), then back up to London.
Saturday saw me at Heathrow again (4th time, for those keeping score) for my flight to Paris to see another distributor. I decided to go over on Saturday so I could see some of the sights, as I'd never been to Paris. Saturday ended up being a wash, as I only had time to check into the hotel (outside of Paris, it turns out), and wander around trying to find dinner, which was harder than expected.
On Sunday, though, I did manage to grab a train into Paris, and check it out, if briefly. I think I saw all the major sights, but didn't have much time for anything else (no museum tours, no going up the Eiffel Tower, etc), but I did manage to grab a little something for Jenn.
Monday was another presentation, more training, and little else. Tuesday was more relaxed at the reseller (I had nothing to do, really), but we did meet a new customer that afternoon, and then Julien took me around Paris. Great time, and I really enjoyed myself. Julien was an awesome host, and I can't thank him enough.
Wednesday was back to the airport, flight to London, switching terminals, kicking back for a few hours, then off to Ottawa. I even managed to use my upgrade certificates and was in first class on the way back. Man, it's the only way to fly. If only I could afford it more often.
And yes, I'll post pictures soon...
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