Dear Pillow, I've missed you so...

The fair wrapped up almost a couple weeks ago, but Monday I had a dream that scared the thunder out of me. I worked the early morning shift so I could leave that afternoon and head north to the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. The alarm went off just after 5am and I reach over like I always do to hit snooze. Suddenly it occurs to me that I have an hour drive from Sedalia to get back to the office and can't believe I didn't think of that when I set the alarm Sunday night. Aghhhh!!! I leap out of bed in a rush to throw on my clothes when I realize I'm in my own bed, in my house and not camping in a trailer in Sedalia. Whew!!! What a startling way to start a Monday...

Snap, Crackle and aghhhhhh!

The day is winding down and we survived a Monday but I will tell you it seems the start to this day was days ago. This morning, around 6am, when Nathan and I arrived at the Red Radio our signal was terrible!! Popping, static, and cracks. Those sounds don't work so well in the radio business. So we pulled out a new piece of equipment for backup. It didn't want to work. Finally after a lot of struggles and dropped reports we had a solid signal. The first two hours of the day were very frustrating but we survived and I'm sure we are all the wiser for it.
This afternoon, also very frustrating.. The Super Farmer Contest was today. My partner and I have been very competitive in the last couple years. We took 2nd the first year (though we still believe we earned first). We got 3rd the second year (what we deserved). The upside this year, the emergency crew was not needed. As for the contest, we got a 2nd place in only one event! Not even close enough to see a glimmer of the prize or smell a blue ribbon. Speaking of smell, after carrying hay bales, climbing through pipes, hanging gates, post hole digging and crawling through dirt, stink has reached so many levels!

Day 4!

It's the first Sunday of the fair and I don't remember any year when the weather has been more perfect. Yesterday there was some cloud cover which cooled things off but this is great!!
One big change this year, they have a new midway. You wouldn't believe some of the rides they've got. The midway is also very clean too, not something you usually notice at a state fair, but its really worth mentioning.
All the troubles from day 1have started to iron themselves out for the time. We are still having a few computer issues but the golf cart is working again and people seem to be enjoying themselves. The only golf cart trouble is the fact, everywhere we go we are in a hurry. On the grounds you can't get in a hurry because someone is going to get in trouble. I've seen the golf cart Nazi this year. He still looks like he's in a bad mood.

Need rank, file and SS# and your first born

It's the Missouri State Fair!! One of the busiest times of year for the radio station and a lot of other people through central Missouri. Yesterday we kicked off the event from the Red Roving Radio in front of the Pepsi grandstand. That's where the radio has been for more than 20 years during August. It's a little bit rough around the edges, but with a working air conditioner there's little that I'll complain about regarding the radio.
As for the rest of the fair, we have been working out bugs in the mechanical equipment. Yesterday all the broadcast equipment worked like a dream, two hours later the phone system did not. The rest of the day was spent trying to nail down the problem. This morning the phone was working great, an hour later, not so much. It's inconvienient yes, but it's also the state fair so you know problems are going to happen. Expect, know it and fix it and move on.
What's been the bigger challenge this year are the guards at the gates. You'd almost expect them to be dressed in military uniform firing warning shots in case someone should breach security. From the red zone to the side gate, don't get any idea that things are going to be easy if you misplace, forget or drop any form of ID or verification that you are working at the fair, never mind the golf cart, the logo shirt, the beads of sweat, or the worn drained, look of mechanical frustration accounting for the fact you've been here ALL DAY LONG.

When in Rome…

Roam and roam and roam. That's been the last 64 hours or so. On Sunday morning our group of more than two dozen traveled together one last time to the airport where we parted ways. The majority headed back to the States while five of us ventured to Italy!
We had a busy time of trying to see all the sights and we didn't get to all of them. Italy is certainly on the list of places to go again. We saw the highlights and this shot is one that caused several hours of roaming yesterday. We stopped to see the ruins, which is bigger than you could have imagined. Not just the stones, but just the park in general is also rather large. I slipped up to a hilltop to grab this shot through a chain link fence. After that I zigged when I should have zagged and lost the rest of the crew. After a long day of roaming around Rome, we all met back at the hotel within 15 minutes of each other.
Today is my first day to post in what really feels like ages. No internet access for me in Italy so I'm typing this after a long day of wandering airports. It's after 10pm in Washington DC, and it sounds like my flight may be delayed due to more rain.
It's back to work tomorrow. I'll have some follow up stories to pass along over the next few days too, so the adventure is not over.

Say it isn't so!!!

Caffeine is the friend of many, especially while traveling. We have early mornings, late nights, travel and meetings in between. That means caffeine is a necessity. I put away my fair share of caffeinated, carbonated drinks, though I promise I'm cutting back when I return. My caffeine drug of choice includes the wonderful little carbonated bubbles that tickle when you drink..ahhhh.. Great, now I really am thirsty.... Over the past couple of weeks I've encountered a problem in Europe. I prefer a fountain soda with over a chilled can or a bottle. Why, I'm not sure, but ice seems to be an under appreciated addition to beverages. You order a soda and receive a bottle and glass. Sounds nice yes, but I need ice too, something to slide down the glass while I take a drink and bop me in the nose. Without it, it's just not the same.
Aside from the lack of ice, on occasion there has also been a lack of beverage, with the exception of coffee. I don't drink coffee and I don't count pumped up hot chocolate, aka, cappuccino as coffee. However, I had no choice this week.

An early morning drive preceded by a late night and followed by a morning meeting means drowsy Janet.

My ALOT co-adventure taker Aubrey was in the same predicament so we made the leap. That's right; our first ever real cup of coffee, doctored up just a bit. You might notice the remnants of added ingredients. You should also know two sugar cubes and a chocolate cookie were sacrificed to this new creation of wonderfulness. Yhea, I'll admit it was tasty, but so was the saturated cookie that I added for a hint of chocolate. Years ago mom said you'll drink coffee when you're a grownup. I think that statement has led me to avoid the stuff out of denial. Now that I've made that step, geezz I already feel the pressure building.... Thank goodness I only drank half!!
So the journey that has led to so many adventures over the past couple weeks is sadly drawing to a close. Tomorrow we will enjoy a little time of relaxation before flying out on Sunday. Most of the group is heading back home, but a few of us will take a couple vacay days to head to another country....No meetings, no lessons, no "homework," no schedule and lots of fun! I'm so excited!!

Roughin It!!!

On the road you never know what kind of adventure you'll encounter, even where or who. That's the best part of adventures but when you don't plan ahead for some adventures, things can be less pleasant. For this trip abroad, something I didn't plan for… toilet paper.. That's right, I said it and now the world knows we've been roughin it for a few days. So what exactly do I mean… In the Czech Republic, it's not 2-ply, there's no aloe for soft skin, there's not even a hint of softness to a half ply. What there is.... brown colored hand paper towels on small roll disguised as a roll of toilet paper. A little bit of texture has been crimped into the paper, but there is not denying the course, rough, brown paper truth.
I realize it's not a dramatic adjustment, but it does make me feel very spoiled to know how special that roll at home is…