Category Archives: Observations

Accentuate the positive

29 Saturday Jun 2013

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A friend offered me valuable advice a few years ago. When struggling with a decision I felt had to be decided right then, she shrugged and said, ‘This isn’t a problem. It’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to say yes! Say ‘yes’ as long as you want to. Don’t try to rush into a decision, just keep saying yes.’

What amazing advice this has proven to be! Keep saying yes. I’ve tried it again and again in these past years and am amazed at the outcome!

In some parts of my life there are people who have constantly said no. No to travel. No to risk-taking. No to change in general, even the simplest of changes. People who have wanted to just live life the same, the easy way, or the no-risk way. But I’ve always fought against that in my own small ways. I’ve adapted my life to be such that allows me to say yes to the things I want to do. I just keep saying yes – – until I have to say no. And when I find myself saying no too often, I switch things up so I can say yes. For example:

It’s not a diet, it’s healthy eating. That’s a yes.
It’s not ‘I can’t afford that.’ It’s ‘I’ll do that later.’ That’s a yes.
It’s not ‘My sales numbers suck.’ It’s ‘I can do better.‘ That’s a yes.

In my travels throughout the world, I’ve joked at other cultures and how they refrain from saying no. In Malaysia it was always yes! Yes, you can make the ferry, they effused! But it was already pushing away from the dock. In Japan, there would be a blank stare, or they’d look away, or they’d change the subject, just so they wouldn’t have to say no. In Morocco, instead of saying no, people I have met will ask questions to get the conversation moving toward yes.

I’m taking a lesson from my travels and trying to say no less often. And yes is just so much prettier to say than…

I am a white elephant

28 Friday Jun 2013

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I know now that a white elephant is a rare thing. It means good luck. In many Eastern Asian cultures the more white elephants a king has, the richer and happier he is. A white elephant is a precious thing to be cared for and nurtured. But when I was a middle schooler and was called Sunil’s white elephant, it didn’t seem so positive.

I met Sunil at summer camp. He was from India. A bright-eyed and happy kid, Sunil was fun to be around and we became friends quickly. But when he started referring to me directly and to others as his white elephant, I was offended. He seemed to follow me around and tried to always be near me. He sat by me at meals, came to my cabin, and waited for me after campfire. In hindsight he clearly liked me but i was oblivious. He was, after all, referring to me as an elephant, so why would i think he liked me? He tried to explain what he meant but being referred to as an elephant of any kind was just not a good thing in my 13-year old mind. And I became embarrassed and pulled away from him.

Now, knowing what I know about white elephants and people in general, I realize he was paying me a wonderful compliment! And I feel bad for him and for us because I never really gave him the chance to explain what he was trying to say and I never gave myself the chance to fully get to know him.

So he saw my 13-year old self as a precious and rare thing to be nurtured and cared for and treasured. I wish I had realized that then! It took me years to realize these things about myself. I wonder how different I would be today if I had realized those valuable truths back then!

It just might be the most beautiful name anyone has called me: a white elephant.

Musings of a wanderer

26 Wednesday Jun 2013

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I’ve been traveling to where other people consider ‘strange places’ for years; since 1992. And after all these years the reaction from others is still the same: Why are you going there? Or, You’re traveling again? Or, Don’t you ever work? Better (or worse) yet, they say, “I wish I could travel.”

I can’t figure it out. I get mixed messages from those who ask these questions as if they’re angry I’m leaving again or they’re jealous that it’s not them. “What are you running from?” they ask me knowingly, like they’re certain they’ve caught me and there must be some big sadness or woe I seek to escape. “I’m running toward, not from,” I say when given the chance. To which I receive a blank stare.

‘But there’s so much to see in the United States! Why would you need to travel anywhere else?’ ‘Aren’t you scared traveling alone?’ ‘I can’t travel because my husband/wife/partner doesn’t like to travel.’ ‘I’d travel but I don’t have the money.’ ‘I would never go there!’ ‘Don’t you just want to stay at home?’ And on and on…

And by the way, people who tell me they wish they could travel: you can travel! If it’s a priority for you, you can do it. And also, people who ask me if I ever work or if I’m still on vacation: I get multiple weeks each year from my employer to use as I see fit. I’m not going to forfeit those days.

I don’t care what other people think of me and my travels. I really don’t. But getting bogged down with these kinds of conversations has made me clam-up and not discuss travel plans or travel in general with people; especially at work. Why would I want to invite such comments from people?

I’m long over thinking that I can change other people’s attitudes with one single comment. So I blog. I write my experiences down and post them, assuming that the people who read them will already be somewhat interested in the topic to be reading about travel in the first place. And those who don’t understand either will come to accept it about me, or not. It won’t matter to me because it won’t change what I do. And it won’t change what I love.

I get the most defensive when people assume my travel interferes with my work as a sales rep. I cover three large states in the US and am on the road a lot just for work. I work many hours a day (and night!) because my work is always with me no matter where I am. I’m reachable by phone(s), text(s), email(s) and am talking all day long in dental offices. I’m constantly on. And the fact that I’m unmarried and have no children means I have that much more time to devote to work. And it means that I’m the only one who can get my stuff done for myself between business trips: laundry, mail/bills, errands in general, food shopping, maintenance, etc. So life can be crazy. I don’t only want to travel, I need to do it. And I’m tired of taking flack for it.

It seems to be virtuous in the circles I’m in to forfeit vacation. To give the appearance that I couldn’t possibly take vacation because I’m too integral to the success here. Or to give the appearance that I’m such a hard worker and am so dedicated to this job. When really it might be that people just don’t know what they’d do with themselves for more than a few days off at a time! I’ve never been so relaxed as when I’m on vacation, away from home, for longer than one week. It’s remarkable how relieved and light one can feel after no thoughts of work or home.

Don’t get me wrong, there can be negatives for traveling and I’ve been penalized greatly for my travels. It still surprises me it happened. Once a co-worker stepped in while I was gone and worked her way in to a job I was interviewing for using my time away/vacation as a way to disparage me. Another time I was demoted after taking a three-week vacation (for which I was given approval) because I used poor judgment taking that much time off. (At the end of the year and when not even using all of the vacation time due me, by the way!) So there can be a price to pay. But it’s worth it to me. I am a changed person after every trip. I am fuller and happier and more settled. It’s what makes me who I am.

The point is, everyone can travel. It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do. You can travel. You can travel in your own city! Pretend you’re a visitor and see the place you know and live with fresh eyes! Plan a trip in your own state and see something you’ve never thought to visit before. Go to a neighboring state for a weekend. Try new foods. Be open to new activities. All of that, to me, is considered traveling. Say yes to travel! Define it your own way – – and just do it! Be open to the things the world shows you and teaches you. You’ll never be the same.

Couscous Friday

24 Monday Jun 2013

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Friday in Morocco means one thing: couscous.

The national dish is made in households across Morocco every week and is greatly anticipated. Fridays are traditionally considered a holy day in Morocco and many businesses are closed for the day or afternoon – – or at the very least, a long, long break in the middle of the day for mosque (for the men). Life takes on a slower pace on Fridays. And at the same time there’s a sense of urgency about everything: “We better get to the bank before mosque. It’s Friday!” “We have to hurry to the tire store to get new tires this morning. It’s Friday!” “I couldn’t mail the package to you. It’s Friday.”

Couscous is the best part of Friday. It’s made in restaurants and at home and it seems everyone looks forward to it this week just as much as they did the last week. Moroccans seem to love their couscous even more than the ubiquitous tajine.

When eating couscous with my friend’s family last month, the family commented how long they’d had their couscous serving dish: 12 years. The 15-year old daughter commented that ‘it’s like my little sister!’

The process for couscous is not a small or quick task. Vegetables need to be cut and sliced to the correct sizes, meat (usually lamb) needs to cook until tender, and the couscous itself (semolina: tiny granules of durum wheat) requires a tender process of cooking and stirring – – almost kneading – – until it reaches its perfection. This requires pouring hot water over the grain and “stirring” it with your hands and then putting it back in the pot and repeating the process 15-20 minutes later, 5 or 6 times. It’s a hot, steamy business, this couscous-making.

Finally, the ingredients are all added together in specific order (meat in the middle of the dish itself, couscous all around, then vegetables added on top) and it’s brought to the table where everyone forms golf-ball sized clumps of the hot grain in the right hand and it’s popped into the mouth! Yum!

And the other thing about couscous: it uses a special pot called a ‘couscousery’ which I always say to the tune of “Chim Chiminey” from Mary Poppins. It makes me happy to say it. It’s a special pot system that resembles a steamer and a large pasta pot in my world. I’ve been taught to make this treat but it seems best when I make it in Morocco, with people filling the kitchen with noise and laughter; people I’m growing to love.

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Why Morocco? Here’s why!

14 Friday Jun 2013

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People ask all the time what it is about Morocco that keeps me going back. The first time I visited I just wanted to see it. Just the sound of the names of the major cities intrigued me: Casablanca. Marrakech. Fes. All cities I had heard of and in the same breath as other faraway and romantic-seeming cities like Timbuktu, Constantinople (Istanbul), and Bombay. I wanted to see the Sahara, ride a camel, and photograph the colors.

But once there I realized Morocco is all of that: faraway, romantic, colorful. And it’s a lot more. It’s vast! It’s landscape goes on forever. Only a bit smaller geographically than California, Morocco has everything: mountains, desert, seaside, rich rural culture, and vibrant cities. And more. There’s a grandeur about it on one hand and a plainness on the other. A quietness and a calmness countered with a buzz of excitement and energy.

So what is it about the place that keeps me going back? The people, the food, and the Muslim culture!

I feel safe in Morocco, like I understand the people. I can hold my own there. I can walk through the medina and souk and manage to mostly thwart their efforts to flirt, sell, or cajole. It’s all a part of the experience. People are helpful and will go out of their way for you when they can. I’ve seen it over and over. They seem authentically happy to have a conversation with you and seem genuine when they say they just want to talk to you. And most everyone speaks a variety of languages. For sure French, Arabic, and most speak some English. So it’s easy to communicate for the most part, at least in the cities.

The food! It is among my favorite taste palettes of any place I’ve visited (Vietnam is right up there, too!). Tajine, brochette, dates and oranges, couscous, grilled lamb! And all with rich spices to add incredible flavor to the simplest of meals.

The Muslim culture. The call to prayer 5x each day is beautiful and calming. But it seems less stringent religiously than other countries seem to be. Now I can’t say that for sure but it seems more relaxed and easygoing than some of its Arab counterparts. I think that’s what makes it easy to travel there: it’s relaxed and easygoing. While it’s important to dress modestly in these Muslim countries out of respect for the culture, Moroccans are more easygoing about it in the cities.

I visit Morocco for all of these reasons. But there’s so much more. So much more that I cannot describe or photograph; there’s a feeling about the place. A calmness; a slowness. A tranquility. But mostly that’s off the beaten track.

If you visit, see all the hotspots in Marrakech and Casablanca, but then spend your time off the beaten track, discovering the hillsides, the riversides, the souks in small towns. Eat at roadside barbecue restaurants. Stay under the stars in the Sahara. Get away from it all and experience the tranquility of Morocco!

Snapshots of Morocco

13 Thursday Jun 2013

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Chefchouan tagging
Before
After
A change from Chefchouan blue
Inviting
A perfect place to sit
Pattern
Super old
Outdoor cooler for soda
Brilliancy in Chefchouan
Notions
Prettiest wall in Fes
Tannery in Fes
The lighting store!
Tannery
A decoration in an alleyway
Small streets in Fes
My favorite wall
Tannery
The mirror I wanted
In the dye section of the souq in Fes
Colorful munchies
The pastry lady and her man in the souk in Fes
Souk in Fes
Gooseberries in Fes
Olives in Fes
Dried beef in fat! Mmm. My favorite on eggs
Olives
My tea on an inlaid table
Man creating freehand
Black = green when fired
Ice cream cones!
Souk in Fes
Fes!
Friday market
Little Hajar
Couscous Friday
Famous gate
Market on side of road
My view from the terrace in Fes

When she’s hot, Marrakech is HOT

10 Monday Jun 2013

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Marrakech can be stifling hot. Like a wall of heat. Like a thousand wool blankets piled on you when you’re already hot. Like a furnace blowing too hot for too long. And I’m serious when I say: thank god it’s a dry heat! It makes it better than if it’s a humid heat. But sweat is sweat either way, and hot is hot either way. And it is hot. It was 40 degrees (104 degrees USA) the other day so we took to the seaside for some coolness. The temps dropped to a cool 29 degrees (84 degrees USA) over the course of the 2 hour trip. And with the wind, it was actually cold.
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How to travel

31 Friday May 2013

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You can be a tourist and get on a bus or van and go where the guide tells you to go, or you can travel and experience the people and the culture of a place. Either way, you make plans, but being a traveler, you let your day unfold as it will. As a traveler, you’re happy with however it happens. You’re willing to get lost.

I have the luxury of being a traveler because I’ve already been to Morocco and have already done the stuff the book recommends. (And because I have a Moroccan travel companion who’s in the business!) But I think it’s important to always add a bit of serendipity to a trip; to let things happen as they will. For example, it’s good to have a day in which you can sleep in, if you choose, or to run typical errands like you might at home. Meet the people with whom tourists never see! Be normal in a place. Talk to the people. Possibly get lost and make yourself have to rely on others to find your way!

I don’t think everyone is cut-out to travel for sure. It takes a lot of work to allow yourself to be free and to not worry: about how you look or how stupid you feel not knowing the language, or worrying about finding your way. But what I’ve learned is that someone will always help you. Always! So I say, get lost sometimes!

When in Chefchaouen, Morocco a few days ago, I became confused on the blue streets and alleyways; all of them looked alike! I have an excellent sense of direction but with all these blue doors and streets, it’s no wonder I couldn’t find the Hotel Parador. Or at least that’s what I thought the name of the hotel was where I was to meet Mokhtar after 2 hours of taking pictures. So after walking for what I knew was too long, I stopped and asked someone. He didn’t know English so I tried some French. It worked. He knew where I was to go. So off I went, following him past all the men waiting to get in to Mosque. He explained to each one he was taking me somewhere to show me my way, as if he needed to explain to these traditional men why he was walking with a woman, even though I tried to maintain a 3-step distance behind him.

He walked like he was in a race and I was exhausted within seconds! My god these people who are accustomed to walking in the desert or in hilly villages can walk! We proceeded into the market, me following trustingly behind. I looked to my right and thought, ‘That’s the way I’m supposed to go!’ but instead I followed, partly for the adventure of it and partly because I wasn’t sure of myself at the moment.

We got inside the market and he passed me off to another shop owner, wishing me good luck as I went on my way, blindly trusting man number 2. We walked, and walked, and walked inside that market, up steep hills like goats. Are you kidding me?! I kept thinking. But now I knew there was nothing more I could do except trust him. So when we got outside the market to another steep hill with a sign, ‘Hotel Parador’ at the top, I was devastated! This was not the hotel I was expecting to see. It looked like a rinky-dink hotel when the one I was looking for was palatial, with a big fancy pool and lots of public parking outside. I sat down on the steps and nearly started to cry. So disappointed and now getting a little scared because I had purposely left my phone, but now I had no way to contact Mokhtar to tell him I was lost. So I was feeling in a real pickle. “Maybe I told you the wrong hotel. Maybe I’m wrong,” I said to him. “Parking public?” I said to him. ‘Piscine et terrasse?’ I added desperately! “Oui, oui!” he emphatically assured, with the most beautiful smile! “C’est Hotel Parador! Oui!” So I sucked it up and took a deep breath and tackled the hill. We got to the top of it and my man, my savior, made a sweeping gesture to the parking lot and I hugged him and he said, “You said Hotel Parador and that’s where I brought you! To Hotel Parador!” I gave him some dirhams, probably a zillion too many, and we hugged and waved and said good-bye over and over and I calmly walked to Mokhtar as though nothing strange had happened. But he knew by my crazy sweaty hair and face that something was up!

It’s a good feeling to be out of control, to be at the mercy of strangers, to trust. To be free! It’s the adventure of travel! I see the good in others and I see the fact that we are all the same in the world. We are all the same. The same. Each and every one of us. It is really profound to me. And out of all the things in life so far, travel is the thing I think I value the very most. It is the singular thing that has taught me the most about others and about myself. If I someday have nothing, I have my memories and my experiences and I know that I have touched the lives of others as much as they have touched mine. It is very good. Tres bien.

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Life’s too long…

08 Wednesday May 2013

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Image…to not do at least some of the things you really want to do.

Working full time can be draining. Especially in sales where it seems we’re always chasing/being chased by numbers. Good, but never quite good enough with this product line or that product line. Good, but not as good as last year. Good, but next year more is expected. Always room for improvement. While that constant treadmill of achievement is what drives me to be better and better, it does wear a person out. The blade gets dull.

To sharpen my blade, I travel. I have to. There’s nothing else in life that gives me the burst of life, the energy, or the enthusiasm that travel gives. 

People tell me all the time they wish they could travel like I do. They think I have unlimited amounts of time to dedicate to it. I don’t; I just save up every ounce of vacation for it. And if it’s a priority, you’ll do it. As a single woman with no children, working hard year after year, travel’s what I choose to spend my time and money on. And it’s what has helped me become who I am intended to be.

I’m not sure if joi de vivre is what drives me to travel or if travel gives me my joi de vivre, but I know I’m happiest traveling through life. I have an exuberant enjoyment of life!

What I know for sure

06 Monday May 2013

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People frequently talk about how bad the world is/or has gotten; how horrible human beings are. I don’t buy that. Not at all. Reading back through history it seems people always think the world is worse in their time than it was in a previous time. Or they think they don’t want to raise their kids in ‘these times’. Again, I beg to differ.

While I’m not naive to problems and issues in the world, I don’t think people are bad. Nor do I think the world is overall a scary place. If it was there’d be far more horrible things occurring to each of us every day. There’d be far more scary days than non-scary days. And there just aren’t, for most of us. Sometimes I think people are most comfortable operating from a place of fear or a place of can’t. I can’t travel because it’s scary. I can’t go there because I could get hurt. I can’t leave because something might happen. I’m not going to try X because I might not succeed. I think our minds limit or stop many of us from trying new or unfamiliar things. And that includes traveling.

I believe we are all similar around the world, trying to live our lives in a way consistent with what we believe, to live happily, to connect with others, and to love those closest to us. Everywhere in the world I have seen that. I think that’s one of the main reasons I travel. It’s important for me to see how we are all similar no matter where we reside or what we do everyday in life.

 

On being back

17 Sunday Mar 2013

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There’s a certain feeling about coming home from a place. A sense of sadness and happiness combined. For me there was no greater time that I experienced this feeling than when I returned from Antarctica where I can say my life truly changed. It might have taken me months to recover from that with such intense moments of sadness and such intense moments of happiness that I hardly knew how to tell the difference between the two.

Summer camp was the same for me. One solid week of intensity that included new friends, constant activity, and experiences completely new to me. Returning home I mourned everything that didn’t involve my camp experience. The intensity seemed to ruin me for my current life, at least for a time.

Returning from this trip to Germany has had an opposite effect. While I do feel a sense of sadness that it’s over, I am more energized and invigorated than ever about my current place in the company I work for. It was such an intense bonding experience. I bonded to colleagues and I bonded to the company itself. Seeing everything in the big picture helped me see my place here and realize its value! I begin this week energized and invigorated like never before. And upon returning from this trip, I am happy.

Days Like These

15 Friday Mar 2013

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These are the lyrics to the song that became the Ivoclar theme song for IDS.

Tage Wie Diese (Days Like These)
By: Die Toten Hosen

I’ve waited weeks for this day
and I’m dancing on the asphalt with joy
as if it were a rhythm, as if it were a song
that keeps luring me through the streets
on my way to you, to pick you up,
as we had agreed:
at the same time, the same place as last time.

Through the elbowing of the bustling crowd
we’re paving the old familiar way
along the streets to the terraces on the Rhine,
over the bridges, right up to the music
where everything is loud, where everyone is there
to let loose
where the others are waiting to start with us
and get down.

On days like these, you wish it would never end.
On days like these,
we still have all the time in the world.
I wish it would never end.

This is unending, it’s unending for today
We won’t stand idle for an entire night
Come, I’ll carry you through the crowds,
don’t be afraid, I’ll take care of you
We’ll let ourselves drift, then dive under,
and go with the flow.
We’re going in circles,
we won’t come back down, we’re weightless.

On days like these, you wish it would never end.
On days like these,
we still have all the time in the world.
On this night of nights, which promises us so much
we’re experiencing the best, there’s no end in sight.

No end in sight
No end in sight
No end in sight

On days like these, you wish it would never end.
On days like these,
we still have all the time in the world.
On this night of nights, which promises us so much
we’re experiencing the best, no end is in sight.
We’re experiencing the best,
and there’s no end in sight,
no end in sight.

It all goes on and on

14 Thursday Mar 2013

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Everything here goes on and on. The bread and cheese: it’s prolific. Served everywhere and for every meal. The meat! There’s never an end to the variety and quantities served and eaten. Our tiredness: each day we’re more and more tired but the energy of the event(s) pushes us on.

The beer! Unbelievable. it never, ever ends. Served in glasses that we might drink juice from at home, the glass is replaced as quickly as we finish it, with the waiter marking hash marks on a coaster for each new one delivered in order to tally our consumption. You know how they draw four lines, then cross diagonally to indicate the 5th? Well, I will not reveal how many “5’s” a certain two of us had in a very short time before moving on to the next place or function where we continued mounting up our 5’s.

The multitudes of people! At the IDS show floor we are packed like sardines. Crammed into the aisles, packed in the food court, clumps of us at crosswalks, long lines to the train etcetera. It all reminds me of visiting Disney World on Christmas or New Years Eve, both of which I have done. It starts to drive you crazy with all these people.

The exhibition itself: it goes on and on, floor after floor, building after building. Honestly, no one could prepare me for this event. People kept saying, “You won’t believe it. It’s amazing. It’s huge!” All of the above is true – – but to a degree much greater than those words described.

Each day snowballs on to the one before and I feel like I’m on the Tea Cup ride at Disney. When I went on that ride with my friend, Chet Spivey from Ivoclar, he turned that wheel so fast and so fast and so fast that my head literally spun and I laughed uncontrollably screaming for him to stop but loving every minute of it. That describes the IDS and this experience.

I’m fortunate to say that the laughter among colleagues is something that doesn’t end: the tireder we get, the funnier everything is and the harder we laugh. It goes on and on, and thank god for that! Because along with that laughter and comraderie comes passion. And it’s that passion that drives this company. The people who work for Ivoclar are passionate about our products, our role in the company, and the company itself. I have worked for two amazing companies: 3M and Ivoclar Vivadent and each one, at the time I’ve been a part of them, has a group of people that invigorates and energizes me. An organization’s most valued asset has to be its employees – – it’s team – – in order for this passion to exist and I’m lucky to be able to thrive in an environment such as this!

Passion to the nth degree

11 Monday Mar 2013

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Right up front I want to say that I realize I have a certain level of enthusiasm for things I deem worthy that can be a bit overly. Maybe even annoying to some. I put myself fully in to situations and generally enjoy whatever I’m doing. And when I’m happy I can’t help but show it. So take what I’m about to write with that in mind. But I’m here to tell you that the Ivoclar Vivadent presence in Cologne, Germany at the IDS meeting and the booth at that show and the general experience in the entire city surrounding it all would most likely make the most stoic among us giddy with enthusiasm. The energy here is palpable.

Maybe everyone here with their company feels that the city is palpating with the energy of them. I’m sure the Nobel Biocare team feels pride seeing their company’s logo flying on the flags across the river and the Sirona team likes seeing their logos and advertising around the city. But it’s different for Ivoclar. Our flags fly at hotels and at other buildings around the city. Our logo is plastered on the outside of the huge building our booth is housed. There are signs with our logo pointing people in the direction they need to go: to our functions throughout the city. Our product banners are displayed at building entrances. It goes on and on. While we enjoy excellent success in North America with our products and innovations, it’s different here and there’s nowhere better to see it displayed than at this show.

A visit to the official opening of the booth yesterday proves my point. We entered building #11 where we are housed (There are many, many buildings for this show. Presumably 10 before us and who knows how many after us, so this place is huge!) It’s bustling with the normal activity of booth set-up day at any show. But this day was a culmination of 10 days of booth set-up! Ten days of constructing a booth at least 5x the size of our booth at Chicago Midwinter, our largest North American show. (And I might be underestimating. It could be much larger.)

Approaching the Ivoclar Vivadent booth, there’s definitely a change in atmosphere. The lighting becomes brighter and the colors become bluer due to a new concept at the booth this year. And then there’s the pulsating of the sound system with Dean Martin singing ‘When You’re Smiling’ among other spirited music. There are dancers dressed in white and blue costumes with stark white hair on the stage set up in the middle of the booth. There’s a bar with high tops and chairs all around inviting people to meet and sit awhile. There are two glassed-in rooms set up with audio for group meetings and demonstrations each completely set up with our full product line and interestingly enough, green apples all around, adding the green to our blue and green company theme.

The booth looks great, there’s no doubt about it, but the thing that was even more impressive than our stunning booth? The passion and enthusiasm of everyone helping put it all together. And it’s no wonder: they’ve all been selected to work this meeting as a reward for some thing or another, so they seem happy to be there. But also, everyone was at a kick-off meeting last week where they learned the layout of the place, the products we’ll be focusing on, and had a team building experience. So they know what they’re to do and they’re acting happy to do it. The theme of the meeting for us this year is “I am a part of the future.” The booth evokes that definitely.

Then the official kick-off of the show began and I actually had to wipe away some tears! The music changed to a German song that is popular now and everyone spontaneously started singing along and moving and smiling, clearly a song everyone knows and loves! It felt like an anthem and it turns out it will be. As translated by a colleague, it’s about these days. These special days we’re all a part of to live and enjoy together. We’re all part of a bigger story.

And as it seems, we’re each a part of the future of our company.

Guten Morgan, Germany!

10 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Observations

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Arriving in Germany this morning was exactly the same as waking up in Minnesota, except instead of my usual hot cup of Eclipse coffee from Caribou, I was holding a hot and mushy egg muffin with the words,’guten morgan’on it. I wanted to take a picture of it. I absolutely love the little touches like that of the country you’re visiting. As if Germans always eat hot little mushy sandwiches for breakfast. It’s a charming part of travel and I love it.

I’m here for the IDS: the International Dental Symposium held every two years here in Cologne. It’s where companies like mine hobnob with other companies like mine. It’s extravagant! A showcase for products used around the world; bigger than any dental show I’ve yet experienced. I’ve wanted to go for years and decided to just do it. Life’s short and this is one thing I’ve wanted to do.

So it’s like Minnesota in that the weather is exactly the same. And it was exactly the same in Amsterdam as if a big weather front is enveloping most of the northern hemisphere. Maybe it is, I wouldn’t know. I’ve been watching TV hoping to figure some things out but to no avail. I can’t understand a word. Except ‘guten’ and ‘morgan.’