Travel Month(s), Part 1

Well, let's start with Las Vegas.   First, the casinos.

Rule #1:  decide beforehand at what loss amount you will tolerate and still feel good about yourself.
Rule #2:  stop when you get there - period.
Rule #3:  play games you understand.
Rule #4:  quit while you're ahead.  If you ever get ahead.

Worked for me... again.

Rule #1:  bet max of $60.
Rule #2:  not applicable this trip.
Rule #3:  slots, baccarat, roulette.
Rule #4:  left with $85.  :)

Nice hotel.  And talk about cheap!  Half of this room in Boston of NYC would be $500.  I paid $150.

The official reason for this travel was business.  And darned if I didn't actually do some!  It was an excellent conference, at which I learned a lot, and from which my company should benefit.  This, of course, soothes the conscience (to the extent there is still some left to soothe).  ;)

The other trip this month was just this last weekend, and the official reason was: pleasure.  Secondarily, family closeness.  Overnighting at my brother/sister in-laws' home on a lake,

the next day we hosted them at our club seats at Lambeau Field, and it was a great game - decisive win on a pleasant day.  We're in slightly different seats than in prior seasons... down one level closer to the field, and out of the direct sun, albeit further from the glass.

The recent expansion of the stadium into the South End Zone was pretty extensive.  And they have a cool roof deck where you can not only see the stadium from way up,

but the actual Bay (known as Green) itself in the distance.

So... nice.  Two trips down, several to go.  Next up:  Hanover, Germany & London, England.

September is Travel Month.

Come to think of it, so is October, and November...

Along with some new job duties I'm picking up this year, come some travel responsibilities.  Fortunately, since I don't travel all that well, just sort of tolerate it, it's only for about 3 months of the year.  I'm becoming the "reinsurance buyer" for my company (the budget for which is nearly $40,000,000, so I'm taking it pretty seriously!) and that means traveling to where the reinsurers are, in order to market us and thereby try to get the best possible terms for all that money.

Aside from a stray trip to Bermuda in June, we just finished a series of meetings right here where we hosted some reinsurers looking for our business, then there is a trip to Las Vegas next week for a related conference, then a trip to Europe (Hannover, Germany and London, England) at the end of the month, another one in mid-October to Boston for a conference at which reinsurers gather, followed by another trip to Bermuda in November.  And by that time, if we don't have a deal put together, then I'm not cut out for this role!

And somewhere in there we close on, and move into, a new house.  Mostly when I'm gone.  But hey... what else is new?  Moving has never been convenient.  ;)  I'll settle in over Thanksgiving.  Or Christmas.  Or something.

So, watch this space for the occasional blurt of pictures from exotic (and routine) places.  I will actually try to get out of the meeting rooms and into the street if I can.