The Cobbler's Children Wear No Shoes

I spent the last week in Washington State, and it has been a great week. Two days of meetings in Bremerton for Carrier Team One and two days in Seattle for a Project Management Institute seminar on required people skills for project managers. This was my first PMI seminar and was very rewarding... kind of like going to a new school and seeing how you compare to the other kids. What a great group of people! Two days well spent learning and networking.

So, less than four weeks until the big day! I had a chance to stop and visit Asher Stewart this past week... oh yeah, and his parents Aaron and Chelsea, too. The only problem with a short and busy visit is that it's short, and of course, busy. I didn't have nearly enough opportunities to see so many of the people we've missed these past 14 months. Jeff, Char, Curt, Big Rob, Eric Huang, Jenna, Dizzy, etc. Just so many people and so little time!

I did get a chance to visit with the oft mentioned Mr. Kirkwood-Watts. What a neat guy! PhD, multiple undergraduate degrees, borderline genius, and just about as down to earth a guy as you'll ever meet. He and his someday wife are doing good and enjoying Seattle. She's a lawyer and lived in Japan for awhile; I've yet to meet her but am already smitten and excited to swap Japanization stories.

Speaking of which, Monday is a holiday! Lilah and I are planning a mini vacation (hey, take 'em where you can get 'em) at an On Sen (spelling check, anyone?) for a tub and maybe a rub and some down right relaxation before the big big BIG day.

The following Saturday, the first week of June, I'm heading to Texas to two step my way to another Team One meeting, this time a Knowledge Sharing Event for Co-Yard. And YES, this is incredibly close to the birth of our little one; thanks for the heads up. The silver lining here is that I'll be flying back to Japan on the same day as Mother Lummus arrives, so we'll be able to traverse from Tokyo Narita International to Yokosuka together.

That's all the news from my hometown.