For the first time in about 4 weeks....

"You Can't Travel - You're a Chem E!"

So I may have been told by a very observant blog reader. Luckily I think one of the most strict of the Chem-E police is buying a house right now so I should be OK. But let me tell you, if you work it right, you can be a Chem-E and travel too even though there is a lot of things you leave behind, such as:

- Morning, afternoon, and late afternoon meetings. How else are you supposed to talk about all of the things you should be doing? And what better place to call out a coworker? For a one week trip, that's at least 20 valuable opportunities lost.

- Safety Moments. How would I remember to drive carefully on the road if someone were not to bring up a new traffic accident for every start-of-meeting "Safety Moment"?

- Electrical arc flashing. Learning firsthand the answer to the question, "What is that bright light and popping sound from over there?"

- Guys in boxers. Apparently a legitimate way to protest being given insufficient uniforms is to show up to work without one.

- Learning how to drive a forklift. Rear wheel drive is tricky on those things - I think it is a bad sign if on your first attempt to lift a pallet of metal drums you spear it at a 20 degree angle and hear the cracking of pallet wood.

This is a mere sample of the incredible responsibility I give up each and every time I leave work on a frivolous vacation. This is why travel is assuredly a frowned-upon activity for chemical engineers. And this is why I always leave behind my contact information.

International Companies Rule!

So I got to go to Canada for the first time, for training. It was an intensive 3-day course in Marketing - learning how to provide what the customer wants without putting yourself out of business (solid concept, yes). The cool part was that this training was held on a company-owned island in Canada right outside of Detroit. There are three or four lodges, each housing about 10 people, and you stay on the island the whole time. It started out a little rocky - the weather was bad so I was dropped off alone on the island in the rain on Sunday evening with an "I'll be back eventually with the others but I'm not sure when" from the boat captain. The ominous laugh may or may not have been imagined. And then I was on my own for the next several hours until 3 others showed up and we were able to play some poker. The island also was equipped for multiple miscellaneous sporting activities. Here is a view from my bike trip around the island.

Air Travel Ain't Easy

As I boarded the plane to Atlanta to eventually fly into Indiana for the weekend, I breathed a sigh of relief that (1) the plane was actually at the gate and (2) I was actually boarding it. This is usually a good sign that your air travel is on the right track. But I was too happy too fast. Within mere minutes - about 25 of them - of sitting down, I detected a problem: the plane was not moving. In another 5 minutes, the pilot enlightened the passengers that the left engine would not start. I find it hard to believe that this could be such an obstacle to our flight but apparently it was. So we had to deplane (is that officially a word yet?) and because Indiana is not an easy place to get to on 4th of July weekend and my connecting flight was leaving without me, I had to rebook for 6 am the next morning.

The next day I made it to Atlanta OK but on the flight to Indiana I again found myself sitting on an unmoving plane. Incurable optimist I thought it might be something as simple as a broken toilet that would be no big deal. Apparently there is no such thing as telling adults to "just hold it" for an hour and 20 minutes, so we spent approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes sitting on the plane waiting for the toilet to be fixed so we could take off. AND in their brilliance, the flight attendants, sensing that their patrons may be uncomfortable sitting for such long periods of time with the fate of our toilet still in limbo, were thoughtful enough to pass out copious amounts of WATER to the passengers.

Eventually I did make it to my destination, and luckily the trip home was uneventful.