I had one more city in Tennessee to visit and that was Knoxville; on the other side of the state from Memphis and close to the North Carolina border. We had a small branch office there and they were ready for some software training.
I couldn't get a direct flight and had to transfer to a smaller plane in Atlanta. Without a direct flight your chances of losing your luggage goes way up. But, this time I found the bags after a minimal wait time. A good beginning. Now all I had to do was find the office. I always managed my own travel arrangements and it always worked best for me. Except for those times when the office has recently moved without my knowledge. I searched and searched before giving up and calling for directions.
Once there, I found the office to be smaller than most and with only one estimator. This wouldn't take long at all. I had booked flights and hotel for a two week stay but now it looked like I could go home mid week of the next week.
This was a nice office with no abrasive personalities and everyone was interested in gaining some knowledge. This was rarely the case. Knoxville was going to give me a pleasant week.
Towards the end of the first week I decided to walk to my usual spot for dinner. I didn't feel like getting the car out of a good parking spot and the exercise would be great. I was still hoping to do another marathon in October.
I walked down to the restaurant and bought a newspaper to read while eating. I became so engrossed in the paper, I forgot the time and when I looked up, the sky looked very threatening. Dark clouds were boiling on the horizon and moving towards me. Fast. It was 7:30 and darkness was coming on as well. Then I saw some flashes in the clouds. Lightning. I was about a mile away from my hotel and my car was not available for my rescue. I started walking and walking fast. The lightning came closer and the thunder was right behind it. The rain started. These were huge drops that soon had me soaked as I ran. More flashes. There was a long line of trees in the parkway and I almost sought shelter under them. I dropped to the ground.Then I remembered the story about lightning being attracted to trees and that you should never hide under one. I jumped up and veered away and kept running. Lightning was now almost continuous and striking all around me. I saw the lights of the hotel and ran even faster. I burst through the doors and into safety. It was quite a workout; for my legs as well as my heart.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Memphis Blues
When PCI acquired the major southern subcontracting company, there had been just one branch, Rome GA, that was actively involved in the drywall/acoustic trade. Now, some of the other branches decided to give it a try. Most had been insulation subcontractors and knew very little about drywall/acoustical and even fireproofing. My job was to help them in any way I could and teach their estimators how to use our software.
One of those branch offices, Memphis TN, called us and asked for our help. So I was off to a new destination; something I always liked to do. It was the continued flights to a site that drove me crazy. Airports, TSA and airlines were beginning to be a real drag on my psyche. But...Memphis was new and after looking at the maps on the net, I was eager to be there.
I arrived midday and soon found the office. I pulled into the parking lot, noticing a large crowd of workmen standing around the loading dock. I went into the office and the receptionist informed the manager that I was here. We met and after a few minutes of polite chatter he asked me if I like fried fish and hush puppies? Of course I did, and he told me to follow him. Out to the loading dock we went and out there he had a large deep fryer heating up and lots of fish and hush puppies to fry. He explained that once a month he had a safety meeting where he cooked up a great southern meal, a regular old fish fry.
Of course it was delicious and it some time before I was able to get the manager aside to plan our training schedule. My 'Student' was right there, on the dock, and we set a time for the next day. Now I could leave and find the hotel I had booked. This was certainly a pleasant way to begin the work week.
I was going to be there for two weeks so I began to plan for the weekend. I had the city to explore plus Mississippi was just minutes south of the city. I had to visit that state so I could mark it off on my map of states and cities I had been to. Tennessee was a new one for me.
Saturday morning arrived and I decided to visit downtown Memphis. I drove around without a destination in mind and then I saw a sign that said "Mud Island Next Right". I had to see that! Getting closer, I found a parking lot and the entrance to the monorail that would take me to Mud Island. If you didn't know, you should know that Memphis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River and Mud Island may have been an island at one time but now it was firmly connected to Memphis...and there was very little mud in evidence. Mud Island had a large outdoor concert venue and a most fascinating scale model of the Mississippi River fashioned out of concrete and bronze. You could walk along its length and all the cities were noted in bronze letters embedded in the concrete, along with the mileage from the river's origin in Minnesota (Lake Itasca). The shore line was shown as well as could be. This river is constantly moving it's banks. As you can see in the photo, this is not some amateur model. You can walk along the river, even step into it on a hot day. It's all part of the Mississippi River Museum and it's a fascinating look at this mighty river.
The museum is located at the northern end of the 'island' while upscale homes and apartments make up the majority of the space on it.
The monorail is an upside down one, the car hanging below the tracks. It's also quite short but it is interesting; for someone like me. I spent most of the day on that island and then went back to my room to plan a trip to Mississippi on Sunday.
One of those branch offices, Memphis TN, called us and asked for our help. So I was off to a new destination; something I always liked to do. It was the continued flights to a site that drove me crazy. Airports, TSA and airlines were beginning to be a real drag on my psyche. But...Memphis was new and after looking at the maps on the net, I was eager to be there.
I arrived midday and soon found the office. I pulled into the parking lot, noticing a large crowd of workmen standing around the loading dock. I went into the office and the receptionist informed the manager that I was here. We met and after a few minutes of polite chatter he asked me if I like fried fish and hush puppies? Of course I did, and he told me to follow him. Out to the loading dock we went and out there he had a large deep fryer heating up and lots of fish and hush puppies to fry. He explained that once a month he had a safety meeting where he cooked up a great southern meal, a regular old fish fry.
Of course it was delicious and it some time before I was able to get the manager aside to plan our training schedule. My 'Student' was right there, on the dock, and we set a time for the next day. Now I could leave and find the hotel I had booked. This was certainly a pleasant way to begin the work week.
I was going to be there for two weeks so I began to plan for the weekend. I had the city to explore plus Mississippi was just minutes south of the city. I had to visit that state so I could mark it off on my map of states and cities I had been to. Tennessee was a new one for me.
Saturday morning arrived and I decided to visit downtown Memphis. I drove around without a destination in mind and then I saw a sign that said "Mud Island Next Right". I had to see that! Getting closer, I found a parking lot and the entrance to the monorail that would take me to Mud Island. If you didn't know, you should know that Memphis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River and Mud Island may have been an island at one time but now it was firmly connected to Memphis...and there was very little mud in evidence. Mud Island had a large outdoor concert venue and a most fascinating scale model of the Mississippi River fashioned out of concrete and bronze. You could walk along its length and all the cities were noted in bronze letters embedded in the concrete, along with the mileage from the river's origin in Minnesota (Lake Itasca). The shore line was shown as well as could be. This river is constantly moving it's banks. As you can see in the photo, this is not some amateur model. You can walk along the river, even step into it on a hot day. It's all part of the Mississippi River Museum and it's a fascinating look at this mighty river.
The museum is located at the northern end of the 'island' while upscale homes and apartments make up the majority of the space on it.
The monorail is an upside down one, the car hanging below the tracks. It's also quite short but it is interesting; for someone like me. I spent most of the day on that island and then went back to my room to plan a trip to Mississippi on Sunday.
Monday, August 29, 2016
What's next?
I will have to review the branch office stories to see if I missed any. I just posted a story about Las Vegas, so that is #1. Los Angeles is #2 , Spokane is #3, Rome is #4, Seattle is #5, San Francisco is #6, San Jose is #7, Grandview MO is #8, Rio Rancho NM is #9,
Early on, I had tried to talk them into creating a Reno branch office. Just because it would be fun to see all the people I knew once again. They almost did. We talked with guy who said he could run it for us and we even did a small job over there. It made no money and I never saw any of my old friends. I didn't have time.
Of course there were lots of flights to Kansas City where our corporate offices were in Lenexa KS and our small groups, Strategic Development, offices were in Shawnee Mission KS.
I could write about Tennessee because we had two branch offices there and I was able to make some interesting side trips from each of them
Early on, I had tried to talk them into creating a Reno branch office. Just because it would be fun to see all the people I knew once again. They almost did. We talked with guy who said he could run it for us and we even did a small job over there. It made no money and I never saw any of my old friends. I didn't have time.
Of course there were lots of flights to Kansas City where our corporate offices were in Lenexa KS and our small groups, Strategic Development, offices were in Shawnee Mission KS.
I could write about Tennessee because we had two branch offices there and I was able to make some interesting side trips from each of them
Monday, August 15, 2016
Las Vegas Redux
The story of the Las Vegas branch begins in the Los Angeles branch.
The L.A. branch had become very successful. Great estimators had been 'stolen' from various contractors and since PCI was an attractive place to work, they had stayed and made a lot of money for the company.
The branch manager, chief estimator and one of the better estimators made a pitch to open a branch of the L.A. office in Las Vegas. There was supposed to be a lot of work there and that idea was approved. I was soon on an airplane headed to Las Vegas; the first time since my last trip there when I worked for Solari. When the plane landed and I made my way through the airport, I saw that not much had changed in the dozen intervening years.
The new branch manager was a great guy and he had thoughtfully booked a room for me at the Rio Casino Hotel. That really wasn't my style but I gave it a try. I parked my own car (no valet) and made my way across the casino floor, dragging my suitcase with me. (check-in is in the center of the casino) Crowds are always a problem for me, as well as seeing all the drinking. I'm an alcoholic and though not tempted, I still didn't enjoy seeing so much alcohol being consumed.
Enough of that, I already knew that I would be making my own reservations from now on. On to the office! It was a small one in a commercial area just east of the airport and maybe a few hundred feet north of the glide path of all the air traffic coming into Las Vegas. It's not really a glide path as they have to use power to make it onto the runway properly. Noisy power. And then I found that most of the estimators were unhappy about any kind of training and resisted it any way they could. They would have to go to a client's office for some reason, or they had a bad cold, or whatever they could think of.
I was able to get in some training time with a few of the estimators. The rest would have to wait till I returned. I had a corporate mandate to train them all! This news did not make them happy. I had a nice talk with one these holdouts and I explained my position. It was understood and we started to become friendly with each other. Except for one...I never saw his face. He had skillfully made his way in and out of the office each day without me seeing him. He was an English Quantity Surveyor and it appeared that he wanted no part of our estimating system.
I would return to this office many times over the next few years. And I found a nice hotel in a neighboring town that was close to the office and had no traffic to contend with. The office soon became a permanent Branch office and they moved a few more times as they grew in size. They remained close to that flight path though. And then there was a scandal of some kind that removed the branch manager. I was getting close to retirement at the time and never found out if they kept the branch open. I hope they did.
The L.A. branch had become very successful. Great estimators had been 'stolen' from various contractors and since PCI was an attractive place to work, they had stayed and made a lot of money for the company.
The branch manager, chief estimator and one of the better estimators made a pitch to open a branch of the L.A. office in Las Vegas. There was supposed to be a lot of work there and that idea was approved. I was soon on an airplane headed to Las Vegas; the first time since my last trip there when I worked for Solari. When the plane landed and I made my way through the airport, I saw that not much had changed in the dozen intervening years.
The new branch manager was a great guy and he had thoughtfully booked a room for me at the Rio Casino Hotel. That really wasn't my style but I gave it a try. I parked my own car (no valet) and made my way across the casino floor, dragging my suitcase with me. (check-in is in the center of the casino) Crowds are always a problem for me, as well as seeing all the drinking. I'm an alcoholic and though not tempted, I still didn't enjoy seeing so much alcohol being consumed.
Enough of that, I already knew that I would be making my own reservations from now on. On to the office! It was a small one in a commercial area just east of the airport and maybe a few hundred feet north of the glide path of all the air traffic coming into Las Vegas. It's not really a glide path as they have to use power to make it onto the runway properly. Noisy power. And then I found that most of the estimators were unhappy about any kind of training and resisted it any way they could. They would have to go to a client's office for some reason, or they had a bad cold, or whatever they could think of.
I was able to get in some training time with a few of the estimators. The rest would have to wait till I returned. I had a corporate mandate to train them all! This news did not make them happy. I had a nice talk with one these holdouts and I explained my position. It was understood and we started to become friendly with each other. Except for one...I never saw his face. He had skillfully made his way in and out of the office each day without me seeing him. He was an English Quantity Surveyor and it appeared that he wanted no part of our estimating system.
I would return to this office many times over the next few years. And I found a nice hotel in a neighboring town that was close to the office and had no traffic to contend with. The office soon became a permanent Branch office and they moved a few more times as they grew in size. They remained close to that flight path though. And then there was a scandal of some kind that removed the branch manager. I was getting close to retirement at the time and never found out if they kept the branch open. I hope they did.
A short course
On how to read this blog as a story...blogs were not made to tell a story; they were made for a daily posting of fact or fiction, not a 300 page book. So you have to start at the very very beginning page (there is a link to that page in the post from yesterday) and then go to the bottom of that page to see the first entry. To see the next page of entries, you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page once again and click on the link for a Newer post. When that page opens, you have to start at the bottom once again. It's really a pain and I've tried to think of some way around it. There may be one and it will be obvious, making me smack my forehead and say "Doh!"
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Los Angeles
Memories of the Los Angeles branch office are bittersweet. It started with a job that had been given to us. It was a very big hospital, and through connections, our branch in Roseville was going to do the job. This happened while I was still an estimator in Roseville. Someone was going to have to be the project manager for the job and I decided to volunteer. I still knew a lot of the union officials there and some others that could help in securing a good crew. It was decided that I was going to be 'our man' in L.A.
I started reviewing the drawings while making plans to move an office trailer on-site. I also connected with my ex-partner and asked him if he would be interested in being the jobsite superintendent. He accepted the offer and that was a big hurdle out of the way. I flew down to Los Angeles then to meet with him and to talk to an old friend and see if she was interested in being our on-site secretary. She agreed and it looked like things were going well. I had met with the union and everything was agreeable with them. They were pleased to see me and that was half the battle. I met with the general contractor and watched as the new office trailer was put into place and the phone lines connected.
I was quite pleased with our progress and that was when my boss dropped the bombshell on me. Stop everything. Fire the help I had just hired and come back to Roseville. He had found a couple of Los Angeles locals that had convinced him that they could handle the job better since 'they knew everyone' in the area. Of course I was disgusted by this move on his part and now I knew better than to ever believe anything he said. I gave the new guys the keys and the plans and got on an airplane going north.
Some years pass and the los Angeles branch office outgrows its construction trailer and they have a real building and are becoming very successful. The only reason I'm happy with that outcome is the fact our stock grows more valuable when we have profitable branches. Of course I feel that I could have done as well but I never had the chance.
Once I became an instructor I tried to put all of that in the past and now I would fly to Los Angeles, actually Ontario, to train the estimators to use our software. We had nice office in Anaheim Hills and most of the estimators there were eager to learn. I tried to avoid meeting with the two men that had taken over the hospital job. They were now the Branch manager and the chief estimator and were not interested in learning about the software. Better for me.
This branch became larger and larger and very successful. This meant that I was flying to Ontario every few weeks. My old friend, the CFO that had steered me into the world of computers and spreadsheets, had his office in the same building and seeing him made the trips more enjoyable.
He wasn't going to be able to stay in Anaheim much longer as the pressure was on him to relocate to Lenexa, Kansas, the new site of our corporate offices. They had been in Charlotte. NC. but it made more business sense to locate in the center of the country. At that time I didn't realize that I was going to be spending a lot of time in Lenexa as well. You have read about that in previous posts.
Las Vegas is the next story....
But, if you wish to start at the beginning of this whole saga, follow this link Now scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will find the very first post...11 years ago
I started reviewing the drawings while making plans to move an office trailer on-site. I also connected with my ex-partner and asked him if he would be interested in being the jobsite superintendent. He accepted the offer and that was a big hurdle out of the way. I flew down to Los Angeles then to meet with him and to talk to an old friend and see if she was interested in being our on-site secretary. She agreed and it looked like things were going well. I had met with the union and everything was agreeable with them. They were pleased to see me and that was half the battle. I met with the general contractor and watched as the new office trailer was put into place and the phone lines connected.
I was quite pleased with our progress and that was when my boss dropped the bombshell on me. Stop everything. Fire the help I had just hired and come back to Roseville. He had found a couple of Los Angeles locals that had convinced him that they could handle the job better since 'they knew everyone' in the area. Of course I was disgusted by this move on his part and now I knew better than to ever believe anything he said. I gave the new guys the keys and the plans and got on an airplane going north.
Some years pass and the los Angeles branch office outgrows its construction trailer and they have a real building and are becoming very successful. The only reason I'm happy with that outcome is the fact our stock grows more valuable when we have profitable branches. Of course I feel that I could have done as well but I never had the chance.
Once I became an instructor I tried to put all of that in the past and now I would fly to Los Angeles, actually Ontario, to train the estimators to use our software. We had nice office in Anaheim Hills and most of the estimators there were eager to learn. I tried to avoid meeting with the two men that had taken over the hospital job. They were now the Branch manager and the chief estimator and were not interested in learning about the software. Better for me.
This branch became larger and larger and very successful. This meant that I was flying to Ontario every few weeks. My old friend, the CFO that had steered me into the world of computers and spreadsheets, had his office in the same building and seeing him made the trips more enjoyable.
He wasn't going to be able to stay in Anaheim much longer as the pressure was on him to relocate to Lenexa, Kansas, the new site of our corporate offices. They had been in Charlotte. NC. but it made more business sense to locate in the center of the country. At that time I didn't realize that I was going to be spending a lot of time in Lenexa as well. You have read about that in previous posts.
Las Vegas is the next story....
But, if you wish to start at the beginning of this whole saga, follow this link Now scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will find the very first post...11 years ago
It's been a long time.
I haven't touched this blog in a year and some days. I was supposed to be writing about some of the branch offices I visited on a regular basis and I failed in that. But, I can always re-start the project.
I don't believe I mentioned anything about the Spokane office. A friend of mine, Terry, was the branch manager; having been an estimator at our Roseville office as well as being one of the wranglers on the annual De Anza trail ride. He had also been working for me back when I was working for Solari in Reno. We had a good history. His brother, Bill, was the same man that had invited me to join the wranglers and we had met while working together at Saint Mary's in Reno. Bill was now the warehouse manager of the Spokane office.
I landed at the Spokane airport after taking a flight to Portland and then taking a connecting flight. That's not my favorite way to fly as it's a good way to lose luggage but there were no direct flights. I secured a rental car and made the long trip into town. The office was in an industrial area east of downtown Spokane and hard to find. But I did and we had a small reunion before settling down to the task of showing some stubborn people how to use a computer and our estimating system. I was there for a week and after the first day I told Terry that it would require that week to train just one person. I would have to schedule another trip for the the other training required.
And so it went; I would fly to Spokane at least 4 times each year which gave me a chance to experience a lot of the scenery and a lot of the weather. Spokane is very close to Coeur d'Alene Idaho and a trip to the lake there, if you had free time, was great. In fact, all the scenery in the valley was great. And then there was winter. The airport sits on land quite a bit higher than Spokane and there is a long, curved and steep drive to negotiate. Easy driving during the summer but very nerve wracking during a winter storm.
During one winter trip, Terry invited me to watch a hockey game. It was a semi pro team and a nice arena. It was very cold when we drove into the parking lot, probably close to 0 degrees. It was very exciting game, especially so when a flying puck made it over the glass and hit a concrete beam above me, ricocheting down onto my thigh. Ouch! That left a bruise. When the game was over, Terry took us down a stairway shortcut and we opened the door and suddenly it was like getting hit in the chest with a sledge hammer...-28 degrees. I've never experienced cold like that. -10 was as cold as I had ever been. I was glad to see the heater on in my hotel room...
Another Spokane memory. I had worked on IT projects off and on during this time in my career and Mike called me and said as long as I was in Spokane, would I mind working the weekend to install a new network system in the offices? I certainly would enjoy that; it was something different for a change. On Friday, instead of getting on a plane, I went to work moving computers and helping the IT crew with whatever was needed. We worked long hours on Friday and Saturday and by early Sunday morning we were through. Ron, the 'boss' said we ought to go over to Coeur d'Alene and look around. The 3 other members of the crew had never seen this part of the country and they were quite happy to be making a road trip.
When we got to the lake, Ron noticed that there was a float plane that offered flights over the lake and the surrounding mountains. Ron decided he was going to call Mike and 'tell' him that as a bonus for getting the job done over the weekend, Mike should pay for a floatplane tour for us. Mike agreed and then we found that just 4 out of our party of 6 was brave enough for the trip. It was an older plane with a big rotary engine and I was going! I had never been in a floatplane before and I had a front seat as we took off. It was so smooth! Then the pilot got us to altitude and circled the lake as he described in detail what we were seeing. The first thing we noticed were the large number of logs floating on the surface. He said they still logged where they just had to toss the logs into a river and the logs floated down to the lake. They were then gathered up and made into rafts and floated to to the mill. The flying was fun and then there was the suspense of the landing on water. It was smoother than the takeoff.
After that we decided to drive into Montana, a short trip, just to say we had been there. All in all, it made for a great weekend.
I don't believe I mentioned anything about the Spokane office. A friend of mine, Terry, was the branch manager; having been an estimator at our Roseville office as well as being one of the wranglers on the annual De Anza trail ride. He had also been working for me back when I was working for Solari in Reno. We had a good history. His brother, Bill, was the same man that had invited me to join the wranglers and we had met while working together at Saint Mary's in Reno. Bill was now the warehouse manager of the Spokane office.
I landed at the Spokane airport after taking a flight to Portland and then taking a connecting flight. That's not my favorite way to fly as it's a good way to lose luggage but there were no direct flights. I secured a rental car and made the long trip into town. The office was in an industrial area east of downtown Spokane and hard to find. But I did and we had a small reunion before settling down to the task of showing some stubborn people how to use a computer and our estimating system. I was there for a week and after the first day I told Terry that it would require that week to train just one person. I would have to schedule another trip for the the other training required.
And so it went; I would fly to Spokane at least 4 times each year which gave me a chance to experience a lot of the scenery and a lot of the weather. Spokane is very close to Coeur d'Alene Idaho and a trip to the lake there, if you had free time, was great. In fact, all the scenery in the valley was great. And then there was winter. The airport sits on land quite a bit higher than Spokane and there is a long, curved and steep drive to negotiate. Easy driving during the summer but very nerve wracking during a winter storm.
During one winter trip, Terry invited me to watch a hockey game. It was a semi pro team and a nice arena. It was very cold when we drove into the parking lot, probably close to 0 degrees. It was very exciting game, especially so when a flying puck made it over the glass and hit a concrete beam above me, ricocheting down onto my thigh. Ouch! That left a bruise. When the game was over, Terry took us down a stairway shortcut and we opened the door and suddenly it was like getting hit in the chest with a sledge hammer...-28 degrees. I've never experienced cold like that. -10 was as cold as I had ever been. I was glad to see the heater on in my hotel room...
Another Spokane memory. I had worked on IT projects off and on during this time in my career and Mike called me and said as long as I was in Spokane, would I mind working the weekend to install a new network system in the offices? I certainly would enjoy that; it was something different for a change. On Friday, instead of getting on a plane, I went to work moving computers and helping the IT crew with whatever was needed. We worked long hours on Friday and Saturday and by early Sunday morning we were through. Ron, the 'boss' said we ought to go over to Coeur d'Alene and look around. The 3 other members of the crew had never seen this part of the country and they were quite happy to be making a road trip.
When we got to the lake, Ron noticed that there was a float plane that offered flights over the lake and the surrounding mountains. Ron decided he was going to call Mike and 'tell' him that as a bonus for getting the job done over the weekend, Mike should pay for a floatplane tour for us. Mike agreed and then we found that just 4 out of our party of 6 was brave enough for the trip. It was an older plane with a big rotary engine and I was going! I had never been in a floatplane before and I had a front seat as we took off. It was so smooth! Then the pilot got us to altitude and circled the lake as he described in detail what we were seeing. The first thing we noticed were the large number of logs floating on the surface. He said they still logged where they just had to toss the logs into a river and the logs floated down to the lake. They were then gathered up and made into rafts and floated to to the mill. The flying was fun and then there was the suspense of the landing on water. It was smoother than the takeoff.
After that we decided to drive into Montana, a short trip, just to say we had been there. All in all, it made for a great weekend.
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