Notes from work conference in Raleigh, NC

We left for NC really early on Sunday morning, caught a taxi to O'Hare then a red eye flight with N. on our laps. One thing I didn't realize about the South was that everything basically shuts down on Sunday. The hotel is beautiful, probably the nicest hotel I've stayed in for a work conference so far. Downtown Raleigh is also really nice - but it's small, compared to Chicago, and it seems a lot less populated than the equivalent part of Chicago, The Loop. One other thing - the Miss NC Pageant is here (was here?) so a lot of young girls wearing dresses and heels and lots of makeup, and a lot of what look like 'pageant mom's running around. N. has been running around and playing on the furniture whereever she goes, everybody seems to love her.

K. is really happy (I'm really happy). A friend of hers told her about a job opening up in another part of the city - some guy she used to go drinking with is now a principal and he told her to submit her resume for a teaching position he has open. So she sent him her resume and they set up an interview for when we get back from vacation. It's looking pretty good, more news on that later on I guess.

I've been getting up really early and running 6 miles around Raleigh before everyone wakes up. They also have towel service and a really nice exercise room at the hotel. Raleigh is really clean city, I have been sticking to one boring running route though as I don't want to end up in the bad part of town.

The conference is fairly boring, there's a lot of marketing presentations that I don't need to be at. And most of the technical talks seem like rehash to me, as I'm fairly advanced at what I do. My boss and one of my colleagues is here. I've been a hermit in terms of the conference though. When not at presentations I typically go back to our room and hang out with K. and N. They've been sleeping a lot, we all seem to be really tired lately, maybe it's jetlag. They've also been swimming at the pool here, which is really nice, and today I think they're going to the Children's Museum, which is only a few blocks away.

It's hot out, really hot. We go walking around the city when we have an opportunity, and we try out different restaurants. So far we've gone to some pretty sweet restaurants. I had an awesome veggie reuben for lunch yesterday, and citrus gazpacho soup. I could live here, I don't need to be living in a huge bustling metropolis. K. says it's too hot and the southern accents would get on her nerves. I also like how polite everyone seems to be. Oh yeah, physically I'm miserable - I keep falling asleep with my contacts in as I'm always so tired lately - and I think my left eye might be getting a little infected. So today I'm not wearing contacts as I don't want it to get worse, and hence I can't read any of the slide presentations at the conference.

It's like going up to heaven, then coming back alive

I encounter another challenge in life. My wife is a Chicago public school teacher and she just found out she is going to be one of the thousands of cps teachers laid off this year due to budget cuts.
Rage. I don't want to get into how corrupt the government is right now. I imagine there are families across the city are experiencing the same financial worries to varying degrees. A lot of K's colleagues who are laid off are not married but have kids to support, I can only imagine what they're going through. I will say one thing and that's why must government balance the budget on the backs of hardworking people and innocent children while corruption is allowed to continue in all levels of government? They couldn't cancel a couple sweetheart construction deals to save a few teachers? Apparently it's also not so rosy for the teachers who were not cut as they will be forced to take pay cuts, furlough days, pension cuts, and skyrocketing class sizes.
I told K. maybe she should think about getting out of the business altogether, who knows if she'll follow through with it.
Raining hard today as I stare out the window on a train bound for home. I have to run a lot this week - I'll probably wind up running in the rain tonight. Work has been challenging but I feel like I've been holding my own. Pretty good performance review. Missed j's BBQ last weekend due to in laws being in town, I sort of regret that. Worried about money and how well manage now that I'm the only breadwinner. To think 50 years ago it was the norm that only the husband worked, now both parents usually work because it's just that difficult to make ends meet.
Now would be the time for me to step up and get a way better job that pays a lot - tell my wife she doesn't need to work If he doesn't want to. I feel daunted by that notion, I feel like me switching jobs is at least a year out.
In other news I feel fat because I've been eating out a lot. Looking forward to two weeks out of town starting next week - first a work trip to n. Carolina next week, then a week in cancun.
Have been playing around in ableton a lot, so far I have not produced anything I feel is good enough to show people.

Summer '10, let the fun begin.

Brothers On A Hotel Bed (Bachelors Of Science Remix) - Death Cab For Cutie
Welt Am Draht (Animal Collective Remix) - Pantha Du Prince
Ten Cent Pistol - The Black Keys
Neckbrace - Ratatat
You and I - Washed Out feat. Caroline Polachek
Suffocation (Memory Tapes Remix) - Crystal Castles
1901 (acoustic) - Phoenix
What Else Is There - Royksopp

Quote

The people you love become ghosts inside of you and like this you keep them alive.

-someone

Quote

The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; it's to test the limits of the human heart.

Bill Bowerman

Quote

For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the beset of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
-Benjamin Button, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

If I was a stripper, this would be my song

Help, Im Alive (The Twelves Remix) - Metric
Come With Me - ceo
Maps (Elite Force Re-Fix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
My Love (Diplo Mix) - LCD Soundsystem vs. Justin Timberlake
Smash Your Head - Girl Talk
Power - Kanye West
Sleigh Bells - Run The Heart (Bassnectar Remix) - Sleigh Bells
The Suburbs - Arcade Fire