I’d say my life is a broken record, but it’s not really. Sure there are patterns, but there also seems to be forward/upward/outward/growth/movement. A tree I s’pose is a better analogy. *shrug*
I skirted out of work a bit early on Wednesday and headed up to happy hour at the bar in Columbus.
This time, there was a bigger crowd. I once again gravitated toward the biker contingency and got introduced to a good handful of new faces, along with those I met the previous week.
Apparently I look dead on a hetero Harley repairman up there, so I got a few second glances thinking he had jumped ship.
As bars go, the face fur factor was in full effect, and I was in heaven.
There’s something immediately easy-going about that group of friends up there that I can’t quite put my finger on. I sensed a brotherhood and camaraderie. This wasn’t about cruising. Sure there was a casual playfulness, but it was easy to dismiss. I felt very much at ease.
I got details on the camping trip, sad to put the pieces together and realize it’s on the same day my friend is getting married.
I left early and headed east to join some of the fellers for some of the best Chinese food I’ve had in ages.
Man, I like Columbus.
I grabbed a hotel room and worked on a presentation for the client meeting in the morning.
The next morning, I got up about 5 am and finished up details on the presentation I was giving. Skipped breakfast and headed to the office up there.
Glad they had WiFi throughout the building, I posted the concepts I had been working on and waited for everyone to fill up the conference room. I was having a bad hair day and needed a donut.
The IT guy was extremely argumentative, making everyone confused, complicating the most basic scenarios and pissing the fuck outta me. I finally said, “Do you even want to hear my opinion?” He paused. It seemed like he wanted to say no, but he guaged the scene, another beat, then said sure.
I said we should make the most kick-ass demo we can, then use it as a basis for user feedback, then requirements. Nothing was unusually complicated to implement, just needed some “love.”
We kept going round and round. I almost started yelling, but it was passion. I kept my cool. He was trying to lump everything into User Interface and confusing issues. He said he wasn’t trying to be an asshole. I said he wasn’t succeeding.
Blah blah blah. I got whispered kudos as the meeting let out and I met with the project manager who almost broke into tears back in her office. She’s having a tough time with the asshole. We bonded about life in general and I damn near gave her a hug.
Leaving Columbus, I was at a stoplight and this woman walked across the street in slow motion. She seemed to have not a care in the world. My heart was still racing from the meeting.
It was a long day. I drove home and napped. Very slowly.