A frozen moment in time.......... (Guest blog, Mr. Wiedz) ((Amended))

I have grown to have a deep appreciation for Mrs. Wiedz blog.  Partially because I know how much she enjoys "capturing the moment", sharing with her followers.  I am constantly amazed the she has developed a visitor following from all over the world, those that have similar passions, interests and lifestyle.  The blogging world has given her an avenue to share the simplicities of daily life.

As much as I appreciate and respect the enjoyment she gets out of the blogging, my personal fulfillment comes from reading and observing the captured moments, those that I am told about when I get home after a busy days work, often unprocessed or appreciated for months.  You see, the World of Wiedz is much more than a blog, it is a snapshot of time, a frozen moment that forces one to stop, think, process and appreciate, life's greatest simplicities.

We recently found out that my father has an aggressive form of prostate cancer.  The process will be  difficult, but Grandpa G will fight.  We live in a world of great tragedy.   I occasionally find myself bogged down, focused on death instead of life.  Mrs. Wiedz moments allow me to remember, that life is best lived in the little moments, those I share with my father, son's, daughter, and spouse.  The moments of #2 shielding #5 from water, a pure love, the simple clothesline, the canned strawberry jam, the knitted fishing sweater, the process of homeschooling all recorded in time.

In closing, I am reminded of a lesson from my wife, the love of my life.  I will share with her life, the birth of our children and the death of those we love, high's and lows.  Life's path is not about a sprint to the finish, it's about the reflection and appreciation of small incremental moments in time.

5:55pm 7-19-2011
A frozen moment in time, speechless, only guided by God's greater plan for Mrs. Wiedz and our lives.  Something happened tonight that goes beyond logic, understanding.  Something that commands an unrelenting faith.  It seems as if my life is a broken record, just when we have hit our stride, a bump in the road, although this as it seems might be a mountain.  For those of us that know us, please be patient as everything will be revealed in time.  A riddle, "As we take a leap of faith, the new year is upon us, bringing together new and old, life and death, happiness and sadness, some would say a man is impetuous, some would say blessed, how might God honor those he loves".

Mr.Wiedz: No regrets.......Right......

This is going to be short and sweet as my vicodin is wearing off. To make a long story short, yesterday I took the plunge and got a vasectomy. What was supposed to be a 30 minute procedure and Tylenol, turned into an extremely painful 1.5 hour procedure that when finished, and I quote the Dr "The procedure did not go well". Great........at-least he is honest. As it turns out, my second VAS tube tore in half as the Dr. was trying to isolate it. I received a few extra stitches, major discomfort and pain.

All this said, I am not going to be a loud mouth patient, complain and say this was the worst decision I have ever made. What I can say is that I will NOT be going back under the knife, regardless of the outcome, you can take that to the bank. The swelling is quite bad. I am faithfully icing, rotating two bags of peas and a large ice pack. I pray that the swelling gets better in the next 24 hours.

The lesson here for me is to remain steady, and listen to the Lord. If I had to go through this, all to realize maybe I should have waited on the procedure, I am now listening. Mrs.Wiedz is being a strong supporter and I am grateful. I will update over the next few days.

Be safe,

Mr.Wiedz

Mr. Wiedz: Karma

I had the opportunity to have lunch with the children today. I sat on the curb at Subway today and waited for the family to arrive. As the old suburban pulled up and stopped, the children poured out of the vehicle like ants floating on a piece of chicken sinking into the water, trying not to drown. Ok, bad analogy, anyhow, they jumped out into my arms, into the parking lot, careless, carefree, priceless smiles. Their was once a time when I would see the family and get so stressed out than I would growl and pick at Mrs. Wiedz and the kids, but not today.

Anyhow, something very unique happened as I held little Bro.bro in my arms, bro bro hanging on my legs. As we walked in, a young man, not more than 16 opened the door for me and the children. Now take a moment, think about what I just said, a brain dead kid, 16 years old, opened the door for me as I held to children, politely offered to let us go first in line, then sat in line and waited. Normally, in this circumstance, it seems as if it is a race to cut in front of the family.

Anyhow, the children and I politely moved forward, ordered our 6 sandwiches, enjoyed our time in line, while this kid, likely on his 30 minute lunch break patiently waited, no complaints, no foul looks, no comments, just waited. I thought for a minute, "What is wrong with this kid"? They simply don't come this way anymore. So I thought, I am going to buy this kid lunch. A trivial gesture, but nice none the less.

He ordered his $5.00 foot long special, likely saving his pennies. The cashier said, 6 sandwiches, 5 bags of chips, two soda's, 4 cups of water, and I interrupted. "Please add this young man's sandwich behind me, and make it a meal"!. I herd a sigh, briefly looked back, smiled, and said thank you. The look on his face was priceless. The cashier looked up and said "if that's not Karma, I don't know what is". I chuckled, and again thanked him for simply opening the door, graciously, no strings attached.

I paid $31.50 for lunch at Subway with a smile on my face. When was the last time somebody did something nice for you. No, not mom or dad, your best friend, or a co-worker. A complete stranger, furthermore, you noticed. This said, this is less about the stranger, and more about you. The point of this post is to challenge you to pay attention. Pay attention to the little things, and respond with a nice gesture. It seems that as the days go buy, we get so caught up in our daily activities, focused on what we do, our daily lives, and don't recognize the little things. I am not saying I do this right very often, furthermore, this is the first time I have recognized such gesture in 10 years. That said, it sure felt good to watch this young man act selflessly, and it felt good to reward him, see his smile, here his sincere, gracious, thank you.

Be safe,

Mr. Wiedz

We see that every external motion, act, gesture, whether voluntary or mechanical, organic or mental, is produced and preceded by internal feeling or emotion, will or volition, and thought or mind.

H. P. Blavatsky

Mr. Wiedz: "Mrs. Wiedz, Do you know what the best part of my day is?"

Being a parent is a thankless job. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we give. The Wiedz children have been away for the last 4 days. I picked up #2, #3, #4 last night and I picked up the #1 this evening from the coast. #5 is typically not far away from the bosom, no need to worry there. Anyhow, this evening, as we put everyone to bed, I was reminded of God's many blessings, his grace on our family, we were once again complete. All of the "giving" and frustrations go away, in the brief moment that I stare at each child, bending over to smell their breath and kiss them goodnight. I then finish my evening routine, and am typically the first to bed. Mrs. Wiedz likes this as I warm the covers. As she climbs in, I kick the covers, she complains, and we settle in, knowing the inevitable will come soon, the first crack of a cry that is sure to come just as we drift into cloud nine. At this brief moment, comes the best part of my day. I ask every night without fail "Mrs. Wiedz, do you know what the best part of my day is, "What honey", laying next to you now, knowing that I get to wake up at your side". I simply wanted to post tonight to thank Mrs. Wiedz for giving me the opportunity to share a life with her, share the gift of life, and grow old with the best friend anyone could ever have. You truly do complete me. I love you always......

Be safe,

Mr. Wiedz

Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining

Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying

She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day

Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me

And it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see

But every time she asks me do I look ok, I say

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change

Because you're amazing, just the way you are

And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while

Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are

Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she let me

Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy

She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day

Oh, you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change

If perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same

So, don't even bother asking if you look ok

You know I'll say

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change

Because you're amazing, just the way you are

And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while

Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are

The way you are, the way you are

Girl you're amazing, just the way you are

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change

Because you're amazing, just the way you are

And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while

Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are. Yeah

Bruno Mars

Mr. Wiedz: Rules, Rules, Rules

Here is the deal. Mrs.Wiedz and myself have had a few recent questions regarding my recent posts. Although I appreciate the concern, I would greatly appreciate it if questions and feedback be left alone. I recognize that this might sound strange, but I post with the intent that when I feel it is appropriate to put forward information, I will do so. What I post is quite personal, factual, real and can be difficult to discuss. This said, I have been enjoying posting. Anyhow, I appreciate your understanding.

So, how did the deposition go.........

Frankly, in a sick way, I kinda enjoyed it. All of the pompous lawyers sitting around a table, starring at you in the eye like your a bad person, simply trying to get in your head to make you feel sometype of guilt. Egging you on to make a statement that they can use against you in the future. Simply put, it did not work with me. See, these people need to realize that over the past four years, I have been through hell and back again. Only by the grace of God, did Mrs Wiedz, our family, and myself make it through. These attorneys try and create stress, to make me stumble..... Their stress is petty......

Real stress is trying to feed a family, not knowing where your next meal might come from, praying each night that the Lord would provide. Real stress is putting on a suit, in a 100 degree day, driving an old truck with no AC, 1/4 tank of gas, (cold calling) knocking on business doors in the hopes that they would speak to you about a potential job even though they have never seen you before, real stress is knowing that your wife loves you unconditionally, supports your every action, while her friends judge her, real stress is being so depressed you can't get out of bed the next day.

Deposition went well for one reason, knowing in my heart that no matter how hard they tried, they could not "break me". I am now a stronger husband, business man, friend, and leader than I ever was before. Yes is was painful and hard however it taught me priceless life lessons. In closing on this topic, it remains unclear what will happen when the dust settle's. We will know more by years end. Until then, I take peace in my favorite biblical verse:

"Focus your eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal"

2 Cor 4:18

On a lighter note, I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with Mrs. Wiedz and #5. It was great. We worked really hard, preparing for the grand opening of the Classical School of Wiedz. My weekend primarily focused around building some shelves, moving items where Mrs.Wiedz told me to put them, eating, drinking, and believe it or some pretty good sleep. I am recommending to the board of directors for the Classical School of Wiedz that we do this once a year. #3 slept and Grammie's from 8:30pm to 12:30pm the next day, #4 slept from 6:00pm to 7:00 am. They both made the comment that it is loud at home, go figure!!! I guess a few of us needed to catch up from the past year.

I look forward to the return of our children, they will be trickling in the next few days. I plan on getting out on the river this week. The weather is already beginning to turn and for some reason it seems especially beautiful to me on the water. The fish are starting to run the rivers, and I am about ready to fish for some Chinook. Additionally, duck football begins this next weekend, however I get to skip the first game for a wedding Greeeeaaaatttt......... Mega foul, anyhow, family first. Then off to Sun-river Resort or a family vacation. By then, we will be talking about thanksgiving. Hold your horses, let's slow down a little and take things one day at a time.

be safe,

Mr. Wiedz

Reason itself is fallible, and this fallibility must find place in our logic

Unknown

Mr. Wiedz: Business, Business, business...... Life is not always fun & games

Great weekend, made memories, life is good........ Back to the grind..... Wait, I have to go to court.....

As I mentioned a while back, I had things to say, and sometimes life is not always the easiest. I get the pleasure of attending my first deposition today, what a joy!!!! Yes I am being extremely sarcastic. Essentially, a business that I have been involved in had a partner, who was legally obligated to make monthly cash payments to the business. I went into financial obligations based on those cash payments. Unfortunately, my partners defaulted, paying $60,000 of a $680,000 debt. This action killed my cash flow, which ultimately caused me to default on my obligations. Needless to say, everyone is suing each other, trying to get paid, the attorneys are getting richer, and when all the dust settles, what you have is quite a few hard feelings, more bills, and little to no cash.

So why is this relevant. Here are a few valuable life lessons you can learn from my business failures:

1) Never give up control of the business, maintain at least 51% ownership

2) Don't expect that a legal binding contract will protect you. If your partner has more money than you, they can drag things out in court until you run out of cash, in the end, you loose

3) "Good will" in business is priceless, once you loose good will, your screwed

4) Forecast, plan for 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, nothing lasts forever, even if things are perfect now, all things come to an end

5) Don't take things personally, this is especially important, your business success or failure does not define you, what defines you is how you do business, how you approach life, the choices you make

6) Time heals all things, you still have to get up and get out of bed, because somebody out there loves you unconditionally, life gets better

7) Manage daily risk, everything is risk, getting out of bed and driving to work, the choices you make, the people you associate with, manage risk well, and you will be successful

I found out today that a former good friend of mine (We had a huge falling out) who hired me at Pebble Beach, who went on to an epic golf career at two of the most famous golf courses in the world, who had fancy cars, clothing line contracts, huge salaries, a beautiful wife and three children, lost it all. He is divorced, out of the golf business, selling in Portland. He judged me because I killed a business, I judge him because he killed a quality of life. Loose-loose as far as I am concerned.

Anyhow, so where do we go from here, the debt will likely get settled out of court, the company will get dissolved, you make better decisions next time, life goes on. Hug your kids, embrace your wife, and be grateful you can still enjoy sunsets, a glass of wine, and your children begging you to play ball.

Be safe,

Mr. Wiedz

"You move forward, because you have seen worse"

Unknown

Mr. Wiedz: "Look dad, a naked man on the river bank", huh!

Best money I ever spent! Talk about making memories. Took Wiedz Wonder out for a spin on the McKenzie River Saturday AM for an early morning drift with Sissy, Bro, and "Pro" (IE: Young man that works for me). We had a great float, made it through without any hick-ups. Quite an improvement form the week before. Anyhow, about 3 hours in to the float, I look down stream, nearly 1/2 mile and briefly nudge Pro. "Pro, I think their might be a hotty down there in a bikini". After all, he is 23, good looking, and a former professional baseball player. He has quite a bit to offer. He looks up and gives me a funny look. As we get a little closer, I see a second individual, hands on hips, 10" in the water, leaning back and forth, full frontal. Puzzled, I look back at Pro and say, Pro, that kinda looks like a naked guy standing in the water. Please note, I have bad vision at best with my glasses on. That said, It did not take long for me to recognize the grin on Pro's face, followed by laughter.

About that time, Sissy in the bow-side right, looking on the bank, some 100 feet away looks up and says "Daddy, why is there a naked man on the beach!" I dropped my head, trying to keep a straight face. We are now no more than 50 feet away. I am rowing my a** off, trying to hug the left side of the river and float past. Needless to say, Wiedz Wonder is 20' long, the equivalent of a 1967 Lincoln with suicide doors, yes, it is that long, and slow. As we are now parallel and floating past, the man turns. Fortunately, we did not have to see his***##$$%%!!!!, we did get to see his bare ass, I could have done without. The lady, let's call her Suzy, was not so generous. Although Suzy did have a bikini, she remained topless, for all the world to see. I only wish... if I had to partake, she was a super model.

As we passed, Bro looks back totally puzzled, Sissy has figured it out, Pro is laughing hysterically, and I am trying to figure out an explanation. The only thing I could say was this:

"Bro, the truth is, I think that man was wearing a bathing suit that was the same color of his skin, pretty cool. Sissy, sometimes we have free spirits in Eugene". LOOOK, a huge bird on the other side of the bank!!!!, Everyone turns, I row as hard as I can, take a drink of cold coors light, and smile. Where the bird go dad? Sorry son, you have to look quicker next time.

Life is good.

Be safe,

Mr. Wiedz

"I always new that looking back on my tears would bring me laughter, but I never new that looking back on my laughter would make me cry"

Cat Stevens

Mr. Wiedz: Near miss, in lies the award

Had a very scary moment last night on the river. Pinched the boat between the bank and a log, came close to taking on 3000+ gallons of cool McKenzie River water. Fortunately, only Grampy was on the boat. Mr. K, talked me off the cliff, and was able to help me calm, take a deep breath and work through the issue. He is a good man to say the least. 45 minutes passed and we dis-lodged the boat. No joke, it could have been disastrous.

Anyhow, why is this "blog worthy" and how is it congruent with my previous posts. As I mentioned, Grampy almost went to be with the Lord, with his major heart attack a couple of years ago. Upon his healing, he awoke and concluded that he needed to spend time on the river. Fair enough, after all, if you almost die, what would you like to do, accomplish, visit, or heal a relationship. Fair game as far as I am concerned. As we arrived back to the house, we, smiled, chuckled about the close call, and then embraced. We had just built a priceless memory, scary, but non the less, priceless.

This concept of building memories, is irreplaceable. I have never been one to look over my should and wonder if I should have done something different. What I have done is mix up my priorities. Talking on the cell phone when I have one of the kids in the car, more focused on mowing the lawn that playing ball with the boys, or holding a grudge that interfeers with an individual who might not be around forever, or even pushing away a hug from a loved one because of life's frustrations that don't directly effect the moment in the least. I have failed year after year to not pick up the phone and make the call because "I just did not have time".

I challenge you all to take a deep breath, and analyze your priorities. Priorities with children, family, faith, work and life. It may not be the most comfortable, however, it might become the most refreshing thing you have done is some time and I am not talking about the refreshing water.

Be safe,

Mr. Wiedz

Never shall I forget the times I spent with you; continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours.

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Mr. Wiedz : I am back, at least for now

I have had people ask me to blog, however it has not necessarily been my thing. As a matter of fact, I think it has been over a year since my last guest post, a post from South America as a matter of fact. I should probably look it up and review what I might have said. At that point in my life, I was running on 20, 20 hours awake a day, global travel and fast paced lifestyle, anyhow, more on that later.

Quite a bit has happened over the past year. To begin, I went back to school finished up my undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon, Public Policy, Planning and Management from the School of Architecture. I was hired by a local organization that makes high tech light bulbs and became promoted to VP. Our youngest (4 months) was born, and everyone else has grown older. The days pass quickly. Mrs. Wiedz and I are tired, raising our brood is tough.

Ok, enough with what you all already know. I have spent quite a bit of time the past few years trying to further define who I am. Frankly, I am not sure I will ever really know, however, one could say I am at peace with where I am at currently. Some of this has arrived from tribulations, growing older, listening, making good decisions.

Here is the point, a couple of critical things have happened in the past years that have really shaped my adult life. I am planning on getting into a few details depending on the interest, time will tell. To hit a few highlights, I traveled the world as Director of Global Sales for a billion dollar company, as my good friend C$ would say, whores and blow. We purchased a golf resort for $7,000,000 that went bankrupt (ouch:(). My father had an emergency quadruple bypass open heart surgery (15 days completely out) and almost died. My other father also almost died in a head on car accident in which the other party did die at the scene, who had five children, like me of course. A business associate was charged with felony sex abuse. I have had multiple falling outs with friends whom I thought I had unbreakable ties. And of course I remain married, 13 years, 8 pregnancies, 5 children, to be exact, sigh.................

I recognize that I know very little in the bigger scheme, but I have done quite a bit in my 33 years. This said, I have struggled with the critical questions, most specifically, "what will define me when I am gone?". Have you ever asked yourself that? If you don't, your seriously missing the point in my opinion. Truth be told, I ask myself this question daily. This questions is partly why I am am writing this post. I have decided that I have stories to tell, advice to give, and potentially a few things to get off my chest. Please don't expect everything at once. For goodness sake, at my current rate everyone will be gone before I get to the juicy stuff! I have been told I can be a little long winded, so I will try and keep things fairly short and sweet, again, only time will tell if I am successful.

Here is what I need from the readers. I simply need to know if you are still out there paying attention. Drop a note as I am happy to review comments, both good and bad. At the very least, I will know somebody is interested. In closing, what I can't promise is perfect, punctual reading. What I can promise is truth, insight into my soul, an honest effort. I also plan on sharing a few concepts in business, raising children from a man's standpoint, a look into being a somewhat decent husband (after all, I am a statistic, I have made in 13 years), and managing life's daily challenges.

I am getting long winded, I can feel it. Enough... Enough........

More tomorrow, or maybe later in the week, if my wife still lets me.

Be safe,

Mr. Wiedz

"If you don't like change, you will like irrelevance even less"

Argentina Lifestyle

Polo Director &"Russo"

Well,

Where is one to begin. As most of you know, I am not a big fan of blogging, furthermore, took a little criticism from my last post, so I remain a little gun shy. With that said, I am currently residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina for 30 days, and have very few outlets to discuss what I am going through both personally and professionally. Therefore, I write this as much for me, as for you.

To begin, what an amazing place! They say BA is the Paris of South America and I have no reason to believe anything different. I will be in Paris in January, therefore should be able to establish a fair assessment. The food is amazing, approximately 1/2 Italian, the other native. Art, wine, friendliness, infrastructure, is really amazing. I encourage all to put BA on a list of global places to visit.

I am here to attend the Palermo season, or "Polo Season". We have a team playing in the Argentine Open, which is the greatest polo venue on the earth today. The best players, horses, and of course tournament is held annually in Argentina on the historical fields where the game has been played for centuries. It is somewhat of a gladiator atmosphere, as the fans are passionate both about the sport and it's players. I will say that the more I am around the game, it is truly the sport of kings. Dangerous as people die every year in games. The only way to adequately describe the game is hitting a golf ball while riding a horse 30 MPH, with somebody else trying to knock you off. The ball is the size of a softball, except it is harder than a hockey puck. I have gained a new found appreciation for the men and women that play the game. An additional note, EVERY man that rides is a master horseman. They do things on the back of the steeds I have ever seen before. Leaning, reaching, standing, pulling, nothing short of greatness. One of the greatest Polo Players in the world plays for us, his nickname is "Russo", a 10 goaler, that plays the globe. His 4 brothers, also some of the worlds best are the sons of the greatest player the game has ever seen. The father played in 28 straight Argentine Opens, a feet that will never be broken.

I played polo for the first time a couple of days ago. Reflecting back, it was one of those experiences that one can only appreciate looking back. A once in a lifetime experience. It had been many years since my last ride, nearly ten, and it showed. I was very uneasy. The pony's, as they are called here, are special breeds. Bred of a hybrid Thoroughbred and quarter horse, they are athletes themselves. They are so highly trained, yet want to run and play the game as they are bred to do. To put the value in perspective of the horse, the horse pictured above earned $1,000,000 US Dollars for playing in the open. Anyhow, I was able to eventually walk the horse, carry a mallet, swing and hit the ball all at the same time. I was embarrassed to say the least for such poor performance, although, our polo pro said I had a natural gift for the game due to my time spent on the golf course. He told me I had the best backhand motion of any new player he had seen. I think he was full of s*** (edited by stacy later, this is a family-friendly site), but he maintains honesty. None the less, I am falling in love with the game, and plan on playing more. Good thing that life insurance policy is up to date:)

Business is being effected by the global crunch although we keep pushing through. I can not get into any details due to proprietary information, although I will say I enjoy the work, have huge responsibility, and live daily with pressure. I closed a deal at the end of last week which is a feat in todays market.

Our team plays La Dolfina, the #1 team in the world today. It has a 40 goal handi-cap, which essentially means they have 4 Tiger Woods playing on the same team. We are 38 goals, and anything can happen. We will see how it unfolds.

I miss the family terribly. This will be the first Thanksgiving away in 31 years. I have been trying to compartmentalize this, and hope for the best this week. Thursday will bring many memories, definitely a couple of bottles if wine, and maybe a few tears. As you all know, when you take something away for a while, your realize just how important it is to you.

I better wrap this up as I don't want to bore you all. My best to everyone, and thanks for all of the support. I will make an effort to post at least once more on the trip.

Mr Wiedz:Travel to Philly

It seems that the two most recent questions in my life are:

1. Mr. Wiedz, what exactly do you do?
2. Would you please blog about your experiences and travel?

I fully admit I have been hesitant to post any blogs, as it is not really my thing, I am concerned about security, and I really don’t think my professional life is all that exciting. With that said, others seem to think global travel and a billion dollar business is worth discussing. With that said, and a basic frame work established, I will try and examine my experiences while traveling globally and discuss non proprietary information on the Wonderful World of Wiedz.

Mrs. Wiedz sent me off to Philadelphia, a city in which I have never visited. Reason, a real estate conference. Now, I had very little interest traveling to Philadelphia, not because I dislike to city, Primarily due to future travel obligations and time management. I went so far to check in with “The Boss” to ensure he wanted me to visit. His response was simple, “Mr.Wiedz, wherever you go, good things happen”. Although flattering, this did not seem like the best reason to go. Non the less, I flew via Salt lake, to Philadelphia, arriving on a Saturday afternoon. From the minute we hit the ground, the whole trip was a little off kilter. To begin, we arrived at the gate 35 minutes early due to an emergency on our airplane It seems as if an older lady had a mild stroke. Although she walked off the airplane, we were all taken to the baggage off load and bussed in to the terminal. This took nearly 40 minutes. Once in the terminal, it took another 35 to get my single suitcase off the carousel. After finally getting my bag, I departed the wrong side of the airport, and therefore had a difficult time finding a cab. In the end, I made it back to the other side of the airport, and found a taxi. By this point, I am slightly aggravated as all I want to do is put my feet up, and rest. I departed for PDX at 3:30am the night before.

I made it to my hotel, the Courtyard Marriot, which was a far cry from the original Ritz Carlton in which I would have stayed if adequate time would have allowed. Upon check in, my credit card declined, and locked down due to a “Security Breach”. Lesson one, if you are traveling outside of your daily living area, call your credit card company and let them know. After a few phone calls, clearing up the mess, I made it to my room, which was pleasant, and put my feet up for the evening. I ended up eating at a local pub with a couple of beers, 5 pounders to be exact. Just what the doctor ordered after a start like that.

Sunday, I awoke early, got dressed and pulled up the computer. Now touching briefly on what I do. Simply put, I am the Director of Global Sales for a project in South America, operated by one of the strongest luxury hotel brand in the world. Primary responsibilities include global management of 90 real estate brokerage houses from every quadrant of the world, managing my sales staff in South America, and playing golf and selling to the worlds wealthiest. No exaggeration.

With these tasks comes a little pressure to ensure our global brokerages perform and stay motivated. My casual morning turned into chaos, as urgent business commands my every move. I made it through the morning, stabilized the boat, an called down stairs to order a shoe shine and steam for a shirt. Upon my amazement, the shoe shine guy in the lobby did not work Sunday, and the laundry service was also closed. Just what I needed. For those that know me, it is the simple things that get messed up that set me off. I got dressed in a navy suit, button down, tie, and walked to the hotel next door where the gentleman kindly shined my shoes, shared with me about Philadelphia, and showed me he cared. I rewarded his $6.00 fee, with a $14.00 tip, smiled, and told him to have a great day. This helped change my attitude.

I walked about two miles to the Philadelphia Art Museum, and enjoyed the afternoon noon. What a place. Original work by Van Gogh, Renoia, Picasso, to name a few. I could have easily spent an entire day appreciating the gallery and museum.

Any down time at the hotel is filled with e-mail, phone calls, a quick shower, a couple more e-mails, and out the door. The evening presented a cocktail reception, followed by a dinner at the Ritz Carlton. Hate to say it, but any steak I cook at home with a couple of beers was better than than $150 a plate dinner. The evening wrapped up with cocktails and networking post dinner, then to the local pub, and yes, we shut it down. I face the challenge of pacing myself during the evening gala. Trust me, your body wears down quickly. I finally hit the pillow around 2:00am.

Breakfast was at 7:30 am. Why so early, I don’t know, but I was tired. I made it through a couple of morning sessions, constantly answering the same question, “What is Jumeirah again”, my response “you know the Burg Hotel, yes the worlds only 7 star hotel, the one with 15 white Rolls Royce. Our project is there first latin America project”. I find it amazing, out of nearly 150 participants in the conference, maybe 2 new the Burg. With that said, take the time to view, www.jumeirah.com and www.jumeirahculuculu.com.ar.

I skipped out on the late morning session, had a big pastrami from the local market, and sat through the afternoon motivational speaker. I then went back to the hotel, did 40 e-mails, showered, a couple of calls and out the door to the black tie dinner. Again, dinner stunk, sea bass and some potato dish nobody could identify. Made it back to the room by 9:00 with the intention of getting to bed early, made it to bed by 1:30 am, left the room at 3:30 am for the airport, via Atlanta, and I made it home.

It was great to see everybody right up to the point when #4 projectile puked in the car 3 times. Welcome home dad!

This trip was rough, my first rough trip where I could have gone without. I am off to NY shortly to host an event in the city. I will post during the visit. hopefully I did not bore you all with my first post. Until next time:

Mr.Wiedz

Coming Soon: Guest Poster!

Mr. Wiedz has agreed to post while he's on his trips. I know some people have told him before that they would love to know more about what his trips are like. Now we'll get a first hand account of what his trips are really like. Watch for him!