As I write to you, the warmer days of autumn are fading. Even in the forecast for next week, we are inching closer to the freezing. I have not lived in this type of climate for many years, and I've grown accustomed to sunshine and warmth throughout the year. The French people at the office tell me to enjoy what little sunshine I see now, because when November comes, I will not see the sun until April. I spoke with some other French people outside of my office about this, and I told them that my colleagues must be exaggerating. The French to whom I was speaking looked away, then down, then back up and said, "I'm afraid they are speaking the truth". I must admit, my heart sank a little bit. But then I remembered something, Paris knows how to do Christmas lights, and they do it big, and early.
I was able to take a business trip to Milan, Italy. As I was visiting a client, the travel was approved. I thought to myself, I'll take a little extra time and spend the night (traveling to Milan can be a one-day trip very easily from Paris). After all, if I'm going to Milan I just as well see something. But as it is true so often, business trips and tourism do not mix. Businesses have moved away from the old and interesting centers of these European cities, and placed themselves in modern office buildings closer to the edges of town where their people live. While I did see some very attractive modern architecture, and dinner that night was in an old area of town, I did not get to see the center of town with its cathedral and plaza.
I have a business trip scheduled for the first week of November, this time to the south of France. They tell me the sun will still be shining there, though I am already looking forward to visiting Montpellier. We have a technology center there that produces software for analyzing the data we acquire, and I'm going there to learn the software, and to discuss expanding the portfolio into my domain of interest and expertise. It is purely investigative at this point, as no one person really makes the decision anymore. We can study, evaluate, discuss, and make recommendations, but then someone higher and somewhere else actually pulls the trigger and makes something happen. That something may be very similar to your recommendations, may be a partial set of your recommendations, it may not look like your recommendations at all. One must accept the outcomes, and do their best to support them. There are many more factors and priorities that affect such decisions, and my input is but one part.
I will be home here in Sceaux for the rest of the month, and I'm looking forward to getting back into routine. I need to get back to my running, regular guitar practice, reading, and communicating with family and friends. All of these things are more difficult to do when traveling, so I confess, the travel restrictions under which we have been laboring have not been all that terrible.
The blog is a little short for this week, but I thank you for coming along.
Until next time,
Mark
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