Meetings

I spent the entire day yesterday in meetings. The most important one was a conference call that would help us build an important relationship with some people with influence, and most of the others were about preparing for that call. But there was also a meeting about a different potential opportunity, and one by a laser vendor that featured lots of cool pictures of very tiny holes punched through exotic materials.

In general, though, I'm not a big fan of meetings. I generally prefer to be left alone for the majority of the day. I'm an introvert, after all. An introvert of epic proportions.

Don't get me wrong -- I absolutely cherish the time I get to spend with my close friends, and I greatly enjoy socializing with my coworkers, swim team members, and friends from the gym. But I do need quiet time to recharge, especially when I have a lot of work to do. And I can tell you many stories from past jobs where I've spent uncounted agonizing hours in meetings with morons, pulling my hair out as various pinheads blathered on and on, with no apparent point other than to hear themselves talk. Gack.

I'm glad it's not like that these days. One of the best things about working at ITN is that I get to learn new things almost every single day. There are some flat-out genius science guys who work here, and it's a real privilege to sit in on discussions where astounding advances in state-of-the-art technology are discussed. I also learn new things about business, and about what's happening in the world of energy. It's pretty cool.

But still, it's tough to be captive in the conference room all day, especially when there are no cookies or sodas presented as a reward for sticking around. Most of the other folks have their fancy-pants smart phones, and are sending and receiving text messages and emails throughout the day; but as the last of the luddites, I have to wait for a scheduled meeting break before I can even check my email.

Sigh. Perhaps it is time for me to get a smart phone. Then, if a meeting did become boring, I could play Space Invaders (or whatever the latest smartphone game happens to be) while pretending to be important enough to receive urgent text messages. The part that scares me is that if I had a smart phone, there might be temptations to use it -- and I don't want to talk on the phone any more than I currently do. It's that introvert thing again.

Anyway, I could feel the effects of yesterday's eternal meeting attendance when I jumped in the pool this morning. I was slow and stiff...which is what happens when you spend an entire day sitting in the same spot. I need more motion and more stretching. This becomes especially important as the first of my "Yoga for Swimmers" classes draws near. I'm not sure I can even bend over to tie my shoes at this point, much less do a lotus-position handstand or anything. But today should be much better in that regard; I have no meetings to attend at all. And I'm planning to stay active throughout the weekend.

I hope you can do that, as well. Enjoy the weekend and have a great day!

(By the way -- Go Broncos!)