So we're holding

Yes, that's right. We are in a holding pattern outside of Philly...for about 20-30 minutes. Why, might you ask?

Because it just so happens that, of all the days this week, the President decided to fly to Philly today.

Lucky us.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

And we're off...

Greetings from somewhere over the Midwest!

I'm currently in flight on the way to my almost two-week global study trip through USD to Mondragon, Spain. So far the first leg to Phoenix was uneventful, and this flight to Philadelphia has been fairly quiet. My buddy Jimmy and I are traveling together for this first leg of the journey, which we decided will take us to Switzerland as our pre-trip experience before we end up in Bilbao.

I'm looking forward to experiencing the participatory model of leadership that Mondragon is known for, and learn firsthand what makes this area and region unique. So many others from USD have raved about this trip...can't wait to get there.

But before that happens, we have just a few more hours to go. :) My seat-mates so far have been great...empty seat next to me on the first flight, and a quiet person right now. Jimmy and I had a chance to catch up a bit on the first leg, but we have different seats on this segment. Plenty of time left to discuss the rest of our program, careers, and sleep. And no major US Airways complaints so far...our boarding in PHX was a bit chaotic, but Star Gold boarding took care of that problem. Bring on the lounges!

(as a side note, Airbus A321 planes are really nice. If you can fly on one, I'd recommend it)

I will be doing my best to post as regularly as I can, given available Internet access. And I can always draft write like I'm doing right now to post later when access is available.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

thank you

A big "thank you" for all of the birthday wishes today - other than it being a cloudy morning, the sun eventually came out and the day was great.

T minus

T-minus 5 days.

Goodness, is it that close already?

I've been working my tail off trying to get all my prep work done for Mondragon before I leave, and looking at the calendar today it finally hit me a little that this whole trip starts in only five days. So much to do before then.

For now though, I'm going to try and relax for the rest of the evening. My eyes can't take another minute staring at a computer screen.

I'm hoping that my three-legged US Airways journey on Thursday goes without a hitch. Any word on how the weather is out east?

one week

By this time next week, I will be on my way out of town and beginning my Mondragon global study adventure. Kinda crazy...been focusing so much on getting classrooms built that I haven't had a lot of time to think about the trip. Guess that will be this weekend. I will be doing my best to blog the trip, although I'm fairly certain my Internet is going to be sporadic at best. Guess I'll find out.

Wimbledon has started again - saw the opening Nadal match and had to laugh, because I actually recognized the chair umpire - it was the same guy from the matches I was at in Qatar when I saw Nadal and Federer play. Ironic.

Tonight's class consisted of work on two-way ANOVA's. Yuck. One class to go!