Tomorrow is talk like a pirate day.

Ninjas need not apply.

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So, I just got back from Jenks, Oklahoma - which is just outside of Tulsa. Tony, Bill and I were there to get a new facility online. Leading up to this trip, all three of us had been working 70+ hours a week for three weeks, so needless to say, we were all pretty tired even before we stepped foot on a plane.

(Related annecdote - the Friday before the trip, after having already worked 70 hours that week, and knowing that I would be working the next day, and getting on a plane on Sunday, I decided to sleep in. I came into work at around 9:30 AM. On my way in, someone who I don’t even know saw me coming in, and said, “Wow. I wish I had your job”. When I asked her what that meant, she replied with some comment about how the Tech Team keeps bankers hours. Funny, I didn’t see her car in the parking lot when I left that evening at 11:30 PM)

We left Oxnard Airport at 2:30 PM on Sunday, which took us to LAX, which went to Colorado, which went to Tulsa. After a brief issue with our rental car, we managed to get checked into the hotel at 2:00 AM local time. Little did any of us know, that would be the earliest bedtime of the whole trip.

We met up the next morning at 8:00, down in the hotel lobby for a continental breakfast. From there, we headed over to the new office. We met up with Chris and Shawn, who would be our hosts in Tulsa. Chris arrived with large amounts of Mountain Dew, which certainly ended up being useful.

Over the next three days, our schedule consisted of meeting up at 8:00 AM, going to lunch with Chris and Shawn around 1:00, working until 7:00 PM, taking a 1 hour break for dinner, and then all of us going back to the hotel room to take care of all of the work that had piled up from the previous day back at the office until around 2:30 in the morning. And then, up and at ‘em at 8:00 AM the next day. Ugh.

For some reason, this seemed to be one of those projects where everything that could go wrong, did. We had a power unit from APC that did nothing but emit an ear piercing shriek. Super. The phone tech from APC managed to get the thing to stop shrieking, but could not get it to work. When he informed me that the earliest he could get me a replacement would be the next week, I let out a morbid chuckle. Luckily, CDW was able to get us out a new one the next day. (On a related note, this whole project would not have happened without major help from Chris Hines at CDW. He went above and beyond.)

In addition to the power unit, we also had issues with our X-Serve and the printers. Oh, and of course, the T-1. We actually ended up having to leave Bill in Tulsa for a few extra days because someone at SBC forgot to activate our T-1. Which is not all that surprising, based on our collective experience.

Tony and I got on a plane on Thursday, looking like death worn over. On the Tulsa to Denver leg of the flight, the charming gentleman next to me spent the flight spitting his Skoal drippings into a clear plastic bottle. Lovely.

I certainly did not want to sit and stare at his tobacco juice, so I looked the other direction. The guy sitting diagonal from me had his laptop open. Now, I am not one to shoulder surf, but he had his font size set into the 30’s, and I could not help seeing what was on-screen. This guy, in a crowded plane, surrounded by people he didn’t know, was writing … (how should I put this) … Adult Stories. The whole thing was really creepy.

The remainder of the flights were nowhere near as eventful. Tony and I both agreed that the funniest item in “SkyMall” were the pink shoes for dogs.

It was a really long trip, and I was very happy to come home and see my wife.

Check out the picture gallery to see some shots of the trip.