Nothing in particular

I'm just back from a couple of days in Nashville, Tennessee for business. I'd never been before, but I can tell you I will definitely go back.

Usually when I am away for a couple of days and my security blanket of a routine gets disrupted, I come back all jumbled up inside. My heart races like I've had too much caffeine and neither my brain nor my body can sit still long enough to sort it out.

The remedy? Writing it down. So, in no particular order, I'll make room in my brain by taking up space in this blog. Here's the nothing-in-particular:

• I broke down at the airport and bought the splurge I so proudly resisted last week. But I'm glad I did. I am still thinking a lot about this story and I hope that when it comes together for me, I can share with you what it did for me.

• I read the newspaper cover to cover in the lounge of my hotel yesterday morning--and inside of it was an article about this software that Dominoes Pizza has developed for people to track the status of their pizza. Online. Huh? Talk about creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist! (Which I, by the way, am expert at doing).

• I read the paper in the lounge of the hotel because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get anywhere else. The hotel was something like 58 acres with tunnels and overpasses for travel. I tried to find a map of the place for you, but they probably don't make it available until they've already got you inside.
  

• I did manage to find the health club (though it took me about 20 minutes) and bored myself to tears on the treadmill watching the perfectly still pool that was directly down below.

• I disrupted the perfectly still pool and swam about 10 laps (though I think it was eight, how on earth do you keep track of laps? I nearly broke my hand (again) trying to figure it out because apparently I can't think and swim straight at the same time). Swimming is a HARD thing to do.

• Then, I made my way outside in the 30 degree air and soaked myself in the hot tub. It was still dark but that moon sure was bright. It occurred to me that I had NEVER sat in an outdoor hot tub before. There's nothing like realizing you're doing something new and different while you're doing it.
  

• I bought Ava the most adorable pair of cowgirl boots. Earl (I'm not kidding, that was his name) at Boot Country on Broadway sold me a pair that are three sizes too big--but I couldn't resist. So she puts them on and just stands there. It's hysterical.

• I learned something about leadership on the plane ride there:

It was a turbulent ride and they announced that it would be turbulent as soon as we boarded. Well, three minutes after we took off, I had to pee. (By the way, how do you not have to pee and then all of a sudden have to pee with "holding it" absolutely NOT an option?) So, I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for that stupid overhead sign to go off. After 25 minutes and "I can't switch to one more position without completely embarrassing myself and mortifying the guy next to me", I unbuckled my belt and walked to the front of the plane. I told the attendants (still buckled at their "station") that I couldn't wait. They told me to "just be careful."

I decided in the lavatory that I would walk back to my seat with confidence. (As opposed to walking back as someone who had just announced to the entire plane that she had to pee so badly she was willing to risk her life by getting up on a turbulent plane while everyone else waited dutifully for the sign to go off.) No, I wouldn't show the least bit of embarrassment. I would walk tall, look straight ahead, maybe even smiling at people as I passed, like I was the most natural person in the world doing the most natural thing in the world. Like I had just accepted a fashion award or something.

As soon as I made it back to my seat, five people (maybe six) got up from their seats to pee too. I feel like I made a difference for those five (maybe six) people that day. That kind of experience probably won't make it into a Jack Welch book on leadership or the follow up to Jim Collins' "Good to Great"--but I think there was an element of leadership (okay, and desperation) in my decision to break the rules and pee that day.

• I felt light-hearted and light-weighted. I attribute it to NO COMPUTER. Seriously, it felt really good to disappear from cyberspace for a while. You should definitely have a day or two of detoxification...even if it means avoiding "Splashes and Splurges" for a while. Use the time to write a letter to an old friend, read a book, or get out for a walk. Really.

Well, that's enough for now. I need to move on to some other things before Ava wakes from her nap, in this particular order:

1. Clean up lunch dishes
2. Wipe the counters
3. Put clothes away
4. Finish editing a report
5. Send out some work emails
6. Draft an outline of a paper
7. Write two pages in my book
8. Send my journal sketch to Bird Dog Press

Okay, I just read the list. I'm not so straightened out that I can pull all of that off in an hour...wanna take bets on how much I can pull off?

Popcorn Splurge:

Tonight is the season premier of Lost. So, it's TV and this buttery salt and pepper popcorn.