Baltimore Strand

Electrifying Time on the Slide

I’m at a conference for General Managers near Baltimore and feel stranded on certain levels. Since the very nice hotel, see photos, is near the airport we all flew into, there is no need (read – authorization) for rental cars. The only problem with airport hotels lies in their remote locations – there is nothing within walking distance. I feel imprisoned, albeit a very nice prison with free beer during daily happy hour. The hotel takes full advantage with a gift shop charging exorbitant prices for the smallest items. I’d much rather be back home hanging with the Favorite Panamanian.

The hotel from my Room's Front Door

She didn’t let any grass grow under her feet. When I called last night she had the house full of fellow Panamanian women. She also decided Buddy’s final weeks called for gourmet dog food which I wholeheartedly concurred with. Buddy, of course, was both amazed and forgot he didn’t have an appetite any more by voraciously devouring the new food.

My Room

The conference here is okay. It’s great sharing experience with guys trying to do the same job at different places around the country. There were a couple of good presentations as well as one that had me fighting desperately to stay awake. One of the fundamental questions in life is why HR managers seem to have their personalities excised to reach senior manager level. A monotone is no way to go through life.

I finished up Michael Connelly’s latest book The Late Show on the trip down here. Connelly wanders away from his usual two heroes and introduces a female lead character for the first time and she’s awesome. She’s been sentenced to the late shift after a promising start to her career as a detective because she reported the harassment by a senior officer. She’s obviously over talented for the graveyard shift but goes about making LA a better place with a relentless pursuit of the guilty. As usual Connelly displays an in depth familiarity with the workings and politics of the LAPD. A great read.

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