The Bitter Buffalo

My father lives in Hawai'i, which prevents me from seeing him too regularly. Two weeks ago, he had some major and highly unpleasant surgery. I (and everyone else) expected a long, difficult recovery process.

So, I began to research air fares to Hawai'i from Raleigh-Durham so I could visit him and comfort him, etc., even though I knew he'd probably be a major crank from the discomfort caused by the surgery and not a whole lot of fun to be around. I found that fares drop dramatically after March 1 -- in some cases more than 50% from the least expensive fare prior to that date.

I decided to book the soonest economically feasible trip, which has me leaving on February 22 and returning to Raleigh on March 2. That's a Wednesday to a Thursday. And it's, um let's see, just over two weeks away.

There is some risk associated with the timing of all this. Right now, at work, I am technically "on the bench" while I await a decision from our client in Alabama to either move forward with the data warehousing project we are proposing, or not. Our presentation to them, which was originally scheduled on January 23, has been delayed to Valentine's Day, February 14. If they elect to hire us to do the work, then I will lead the project. If they elect not to, then I will have to find something else to do with myself.

My concern surrounds the former scenario. Our client has indicated they'd like to move very quickly to ramp up if a decision is made to move forward with the project. Which means, unfortunately, they might be ramping up the very week I will be in Hawai'i. That would not look good. On the other hand, I DID miss the plane that was supposed to bring me to the kickoff meeting in November, and the client was willing to look past that. Maybe they'll wait for me this time, too.

The good news is that my dad's recovery to date has shocked everyone -- even his doctors. When I spoke to him the other day, he was cracking jokes (not all good ones, but I'm willing to let that slide), and he has even purchased a motorcycle to ride around his property (I guess a golf cart is too stodgy for him). Riding horses, it appears, will have to wait a while longer yet.

So, even though I will not be traveling with my wife and child (which would be my preference), at least I will be spending time with a father who is feeling much much better than anyone expected him to be.

Good to hear that your dad is doing well. Also, good luck with the project.

Also... thanks for the Bjork/J&MC thing. It's really good.

Glad your dad is doing well (I know the feeling about not being able to ride horses - I was forbidden to do so until TODAY!!) Yippee! Good luck with the travel/job thing!

Matty, I'll pass on the best wishes. Vern's been cracking jokes like a new man on the phone the last few days, so I'm thinking the guy is pretty much as good as can be expected three weeks after having a foot and a half of his colon removed. In fact, he sounds much better than he did at any time in the last six months.

Try Southwest from BWI (I am sure you already have, but thought I'd throw that out there).

I've been flying a lot since November, and it hasn't been good. To get to Mobile from Raleigh, I have to connect somewhere -- Charlotte, Atlanta, or Memphis are my most common and economical options -- and the likelihood that any one of these connections is either cancelled or delayed significantly appears to be about 80% (i.e., I have endured a cancellation or a delay on four of my five flights down there). And, of course, I missed the sixth flight altogether.

Heading out again on Monday for a presentation Tuesday night. Wish me luck getting there.