Yesterday I was part of a team of NRA volunteers who coached 39 new shooters in the safe use of firearms. From setup to tear-down we spent about 8 hours introducing those folks to .22 pistols and, eventually, 9mm or 38 Special handguns. Some of the students were enthusiastic learners who took to the guns well, while others were quite intimidated and took a little more work to get the fundamentals down. Regardless of where they started from, though, they all ended up with a positive experience and big smiles on their faces—and those smiles were just so rewarding!
After I got home from the range I had a quick shower and packed for my business trip, then headed out to Shoreline to catch the Kihncert, a concert featuring Greg Kihn, Pat Benetar, and Steve Miller. We met up with some friends and had a great time late into the evening. This was my first time seeing Greg Kihn and Steve Miller; both put on good performances. The Steve Miller Band, in particular, was really good and featured some amazing performances by blues singers and a violinist/harpist (as weird as that sounds) who did a fantastic job jamming to blues and 70's rock. This was my second time for Pat Benetar, and this performance was much better—she actually got up off her bar stool and moved around the stage, unlike her performance at the Mountain Winery last year.
But, after that concert fun I was up at 5 AM to catch a flight out to NYC for work. Ugh! I can't complain too much because I haven't been travling much recently, but it sure stinks to be stuck in an airline seat for 5+ hours. (Yes, yes, you European/Asian travelers, I'm whiny and don't know how good I've got it versus a 12-hour flight over there.)
I've been using my 15" MacBook in a Delta Economy Comfort seat, and the larger size (versus my old 13" MacBook) has been noticeable, but not impossible. It'd be better if the guy in front of me hadn't reclined fully the instant we hit 10K feet, but I'm managing. Yes, no free upgrade for me to Business Class on this flight—I wasn't even close (5th on the list with zero open seats available).
I'm in a new hotel on the East side of Manhattan this week, as my usual haunts seem to be able to get $500+ a night at this time of year and that's too rich for my company's travel policy. While I really like my previous hotels better because they're closer to my customer's location, this does mean I get to check out some new restaurants in a new part of town. Restaurant Week kicks off this week, too, but I doubt I'll be able to get reservations at this point, especially as a solo diner.
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