Return to Business Travel #personallog
Back on the road, as I return to a bit of business travel.
Return to Business Travel
I traveled to Englewood, Colorado, this week and last, to teach. These trips were the first travel for me for work since February, 2020. That trip, just before Mardi Gras, was to Columbus, Ohio. Hitachi Vantara Global Learning operated a data center there, at a partner location. So, when I taught hardware install courses for them, off to Cbus I went. In the interim, Hitachi moved the training equipment to Englewood. While there were a number of reasons for this, none of them really mattered to me. Hitachi placed a number of travel restrictions on employees because of the pandemic. Now that vaccination numbers are up, companies returned to buying new hardware. That means technical staff need training.
Hybrid training
With travel restrictions still in place, install/configuration training presents a challenge. The field service staff prefer actually touching the hardware. This is quite logical, of course. once they pull it out of the rack and put it back in, they develop a confidence level.
Rather than simply show them photos and Powerpoint, Global Learning sent me to the data center. I set up the phone, TikTok style, then racked out the equipment. Best we can do at this time.
Road worrying
I booked flights on Southwest for these trips. I started looking at Delta. Social media updates on how Delta and Atlanta PD handle mask miscreants offered me confidence. Then I looked at Southwest’s fares! Not only did they offer non-stops to Denver, they were less than half Delta’s prices. I don’t mind Southwest at all. Their “Business Select” fares place me in the “elite” tier of flyers, like First Class on other airlines. Additionally, Business Select fares are fully refundable. While that is less useful now that most of my training is virtual, it’s still good to have.
Southwest didn’t play either with respect to masks. There was one plague rat on the first outbound flight. They did the “slow-chew” technique. They did pull the mask up when FAs walked by. At least they were on the other side of the aisle from me. Otherwise, everyone respected their fellow flyers.
Car Rental
It’s a 40ish minute drive from Denver International Airport (DEN) down to Englewood. While Denver has great light rail, the car was necessary. I didn’t rent cars in Columbus, relying instead on rideshare to and from the hotel. In Englewood, most of the hotels are on one side of I-25 and the data center stands two miles away on the other side. No leisurely walks to Short North for dinner, alas. No third glass of wine as a result.
Glad to be home
Overall, the trips worked out OK. I discovered both a Ramen place and a great Indian restaurant, as well as good pizza. The Marriott (Denver South at Park Meadows) treated me wonderfully. While MSY was a hot mess last night, the new terminal is so much better than the old airport. Three-day classes also give me some of my New Orleans routine as well.
@BookNOLA – NOLA Book Club
Book Club!
Book Club for 25-August-2021
We’re discussing Orleans by Sherri L. Smith tonight, 25-August-2021, at 7pm CDT. Here’s the Zoom info:
Hi there,
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Aug 25, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0udOqhrzksHtzP7_C_3pDUD7TAec6qcUNw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
See you tonight!
NOLA Book Club JULY is TOMORROW! (27-July)
NOLA Book Club July is TOMORROW!
NOLA Book Club July
We’re gathering TOMORROW, 27-July-2021, via Zoom, to discuss Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood, by Fatima Shaik. Here’s the Zoom Info:
Hi there,
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Jul 27, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsc-yoqjItHNOVFqg9OJELXnasg9WYfAcDAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Yes, we’ve gone to requiring registration, to combat Zoom-bombing. See you tomorrow!
BuJo with WindowTree!
Bujo = Bullet Journal, and I use a journal customized by WindowTree Stationary.
Weekly view from February
BuJo with WindowTree
Aly gets me 🙂
I’ve been keeping my daily task list/diary/journal using the “Bullet Journal” style, “BuJo” for short. I’ve discussed BuJo and my general struggles to get the right format for a daily task list before. Unlike my more creative friends, my BuJo looked like a grocery list tacked up on the side of the fridge with a magnet. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, if the job gets done, but the aesthetics make even me cringe.
Thing is, I’m just don’t have the skill to add pretty things to my BuJo. I followed the InstaBook pages and creators in this sphere. I finally adopted a grid layout my friend Grey uses. Prismacolor pencils kept things interesting, as each month was a bit different. That kept me going for a full two years.
WindowTree Stationary
In the Fall of 2021, my editor, the lovely and talented Dara Rochlin, told me her daughter, Alyson, my beta-reader for the Dragons novels, started selling customized journals and notebooks. Alyson’s got the imagination and the skills for this. So, I ordered a few Leuchturm 1917 notebooks and sent them to her. The blanks were payment for her making me a WindowTree journal.
And was I ever rewarded! This notebook is exactly what I need. While it’s a less-flexible format than just the very-forgiving BuJo, I feel like that’s a good thing for me right now. I always felt like I wasted the money on pre-printed inserts for my Franklin-Covey binders. Even if I miss a day with my WindowTree notebook, I still get the smiles Alyson’s creativity generates.
Using my Journal
On the technical side, I pair up my WindowTree BuJo with Trello. While I consider the paper notebook my primary task manager, I still double-enter online. I’ll do a full update on how I’ve adapted Trello into a daily manager, but, suffice to say, the combination works.
@BookNOLA is WEDNESDAY for The Boyfriend Project @FarrahRochon
Our March Gathering is WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31st! We’ll Zoom at 7pm to discuss The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon.
Here’s the Zoom info:
Edward Branley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: NOLA Book Club – March Gathering
Time: Mar 31, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5043835087
Meeting ID: 504 383 5087
Passcode: boyfriend
One tap mobile
+16468769923,,5043835087#,,,,*781460975# US (New York)
+13017158592,,5043835087#,,,,*781460975# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location
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+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 504 383 5087
Passcode: 781460975
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbeq6ALiZq
See you Wednesday!
The Boyfriend Project by @FarrahRochon – NOLA Book Club
The Boyfriend Project by @FarrahRochon is next up for NOLA Book Club!
The Boyfriend Project
Mark your calendars, invite your friends…
Wednesday, March 31st, 7 pm CST (5pm PST)
Farrah Rochon’s The Boyfriend Project is our March 2021 book of the month for NOLA Book Club, over Zoom. We will put out the zoom credentials as we get closer to the date.
Blurb
Here’s the blurb for The Boyfriend Project:
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be “that” girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah — along with his two other “girlfriends,” London and Taylor — have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men and no dating.
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
“A smart, funny digital-age romance about real women living in the real world. Couldn’t put it down!” –Abby Jimenez, USA Today bestselling author of The Happy Ever After Playlist
*Listed as a Best Book of the Year from: NPR, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, Frolic, Insider, BookRiot
*Book of the Month selection
*LibraryReads selection
*O, The Oprah Magazine: Must-Read Black Romance Novels
*Cosmopolitan: Best Summer Reads 2020
*Insider: The Best Romance Books of 2020
April/May
Also, if you want to get a head start:
April 21st we will be doing Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou by Melissa M. Martin.
May : we will be doing Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood, by Fatima Sheik.
There’s a method in the madness for scheduling. Mosquito Supper Club is a bit pricey ($35), but it’s been out there for a while. So, folks who might want to borrow it from their library (or do an ILL) will have time to get that. Economy Hall doesn’t drop until the 15th of March.
We’ve got dates in mind for April and May, but they’re open to discussion. For March, we’ve got two gatherings under our belts, and we had better attendance on a Wednesday than a Thursday. If we’re wrong about Wednesdays being better, please give us some feedback!
Happy reading !
NOLA Book Club is WEDNESDAY
NOLA Book Club gathers Wednesday, 24-February.
NOLA Book Club
Our second gathering is Wednesday! We’ll discuss The Yellow House by Sarah R. Broom. The gathering will be via Zoom:
Edward Branley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: NOLA Book Club – February Gathering
Time: Feb 24, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5043835087
Meeting ID: 504 383 5087
Passcode: crawfish
One tap mobile
+16468769923,,5043835087#,,,,*84836164# US (New York)
+13017158592,,5043835087#,,,,*84836164# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 504 383 5087
Passcode: 84836164
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbeq6ALiZq
The Book
The Yellow House is a critically acclaimed memoir by Sarah R. Broom. It’s set in the New Orleans East neighborhood. Bring your thoughts on the book and Da East, 7pm Wednesday!
NEXT BOOK and GATHERING – The Yellow House: A Memoir 24-Feb
NEXT BOOK!
More NOLA Book Club!
Our next book for NOLA Book Club will be The Yellow House, by Sarah M. Broom. A 2019 National Book Award winner, “The Yellow House” is a memoir of a family living in a shotgun house in New Orleans East.
Our Gathering (via Zoom) to discuss “The Yellow House” will be WEDNESDAY, February 24th. That’s the week after Mardi Gras.
Get the book
You can purchase “The Yellow House” through all the usual suspects. Since NOLA Book Club fully and passionately supports Local/Indie booksellers, may we suggest (if you’re local to New Orleans) these shops:
- Octavia Books – Go to their website, they do curbside pickup. They’ll also ship.
- Blue Cypress Books – They’ll also bring the book out to you.
- Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Book Shop – ping them for info on ordering/pickup.
We had a lot of fun discussing Maurice’s novel last week. This story will be quite of a change of pace from “We Cast A Shadow.” It’s guaranteed to get you choked up a bit if you have memories of Da East. Since Ms. Broom received a great deal of recognition for “The Yellow House,” some of you may have already read the book. That’s great! You’ll have a month to refresh your memory and be ready to talk it up.
The Yellow House: A Memoir
Here’s the trailer for the book:
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Winner of the 2019 National Book Award in Nonfiction
A brilliant, haunting and unforgettable memoir from a stunning new talent about the inexorable pull of home and family, set in a shotgun house in New Orleans East.
In 1961, Sarah M. Broom’s mother Ivory Mae bought a shotgun house in the then-promising neighborhood of New Orleans East and built her world inside of it. It was the height of the Space Race and the neighborhood was home to a major NASA plant–the postwar optimism seemed assured. Widowed, Ivory Mae remarried Sarah’s father Simon Broom; their combined family would eventually number twelve children. But after Simon died, six months after Sarah’s birth, the Yellow House would become Ivory Mae’s thirteenth and most unruly child.
A book of great ambition, Sarah M. Broom’s The Yellow House tells a hundred years of her family and their relationship to home in a neglected area of one of America’s most mythologized cities. This is the story of a mother’s struggle against a house’s entropy, and that of a prodigal daughter who left home only to reckon with the pull that home exerts, even after the Yellow House was wiped off the map after Hurricane Katrina. The Yellow House expands the map of New Orleans to include the stories of its lesser known natives, guided deftly by one of its native daughters, to demonstrate how enduring drives of clan, pride, and familial love resist and defy erasure. Located in the gap between the “Big Easy” of tourist guides and the New Orleans in which Broom was raised, The Yellow House is a brilliant memoir of place, class, race, the seeping rot of inequality, and the internalized shame that often follows. It is a transformative, deeply moving story from an unparalleled new voice of startling clarity, authority, and power.
See you on Wednesday the 24th of February!
NOLA Book Club is THURSDAY! @MauriceRuffin
NOLA Book Club!
NOLA Book Club – Thursday at 6pm!
We’re approaching the time for our first book discussion! Thursday evening at 6pm CST, we’ll talk about We Cast A Shadow by Maurice Ruffin. Here’s the ZOOM info:
Edward Branley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: NOLA Book Club – We Cast A Shadow
Time: Jan 21, 2021 06:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5043835087
Meeting ID: 504 383 5087
Passcode: shadow
One tap mobile
+16468769923,,5043835087#,,,,*450291# US (New York)
+13017158592,,5043835087#,,,,*450291# US (Washington D.C)
Dial by your location
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 504 383 5087
Passcode: 450291
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbeq6ALiZq
Let’s get Unc and VP Harris inaugurated tomorrow, then see you for book talk on Thursday!
NOLA Book Club!
NOLA Book Club is off and running.
NOLA Book Club!
I’ve been wanting to do this for some time. With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approaching, now is the time to kick off NOLA Book Club.
The Concept
This is quite the selfish concept on my part. I’m always looking for challenges to my literary tastes. I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy. So much of that genre, particularly “hard” SF stories, were written by white male authors. Fantasy, less so, but the authors are almost all white. Same for the non-SFF fiction I read. So, I want to expand.
Now, if you’re like me, you need to be pushed outside your comfort zone. I procrastinate a lot. The best way for me to get things done is with deadlines. That’s why teaching works so well for me. I have to show up to start class.
The Club
While I have a good routine when it comes to reading, NOLA Book Club offers an expansion of that routine. Additionally, this concept gives me the chance to meet and engage people. I’ve kicked this idea around with Mandy Pumilla of Royal Brewery for a while now. Mandy hosted a book event for me at the brewery a couple of years back. It’s a great place to sit around and talk.
Since sitting around and talking in person won’t happen for a while yet, NOLA Book Club will start virtual, most likely on Zoom.
First Book – January 2021
For the club’s first book and discussion, we’ll read We Cast A Shadow, by Maurice Carlos Ruffin. Maurice’s book is a great start because:
- It’s good
- Folks interested in the club may have already read it
- A re-read to get started means we can start the February book read early
- Did I mention it’s a good book?
Maurice is the kind of author that I might not have read, if I didn’t know him personally
So, We Cast A Shadow is a great start. It’s easily acquired, both as an ebook and real paper.
First Meeting
We’ll target Thursday, January 21, 2021, 6pm, for our first gathering (via ZOOM)
NOTE: This date and time are a target. Once we have a core group, this is subject to change.
Administrivia
NOLA Book Club will run here (ebranley.com). I’ve got my personal site set up as a WordPress “network” site, so it will be easy to move it to its own website as the project grows.
Twitter: @booknola
ZuckerBook: NOLA Book Club
We’ll use hashtag #NOLAbookclub on social media.
Joining NOLA Book Club
How to join the club:
- Read the book!
- Join us on 21-January to discuss our first book.
- Suggest books and participate in club discussions on social media
And here we go!
Trusted Talents
