Saturday, February 18, 2012

First Fridays

My Daughter Enjoying her Dream Vacation in Paris
My Beautiful Daughter in Front of the Louvre

Getting ready to head out to San Francisco tomorrow.  I'll try blogging from there but that will depend on the Internet connection at the hotel and my ability to configure my work computer to access it.  It will be a good barometer of how far I've progressed with my computer expertise.  Last night I had a great time hoisting a few beers with my boss at a Worcester bar.  This is something we refer to as First Friday - we are celebrating the First Friday of the week.  That gives us a reason to get together at the end of every work week and its a great opportunity to pass on needed messages and coordination that may have been missed during a busy work week.  It's a tradition I brought with me from the military.  When I joined the Army one of the traditions in our infantry battalion was a Friday get together when we were in garrison of all of the officers at the Officers Club.  It was a great experience for a young lieutenant where we could socialize with superior officers without the constraints of the daily military protocol.  I learned so much at these gatherings and infantry officers can drink a lot of beer.  I carried this tradition forward with me to every military assignment I had and it continued to pay benefits even when I became the senior officer passing time and experience with the younger officers.  I have always enjoyed these times and have continued doing them as a civilian if I can find willing participants.  Civilians can't do it on a weekly basis but we have started a nice little tradition where a lot of work and coordination takes place.  My sister was the recipient of many an entertaining phone call from me over the years when my wife was driving me home from one of my First Fridays.  For me there's something special about the taste of beer on Friday but the best benefit is the camaraderie with the people you spend most of your waking hours during the week with.  If you're lucky, as I am, you look forward to spending time with these people.

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