If you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate your dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!

Note from the proprietor: I’d like to take a moment to say a few words to those of you who are relatively new to the Zone…

First of all, welcome to The Middle Zone, and a tip o’ the hat to ya! I sincerely appreciate the fact that you stopped by, but I gotta warn you: the Zone isn’t just a wide spot on the WWW, you know; it’s also a state of mind.

About now you’re probably saying to yourself, “A state of mind, eh? All right, Smart Guy, how do you know when you’re in the Zone?” (You know, you really should do something about that talking to yourself thing. Oh, and thanks for the compliment.)

Hey, it’s easy! When everything starts to appear different, strange or unusual, or when you begin to see, well, a bit more below the surface than usual - well, that’s the moment. Yep, it’s when you’re most likely to see and understand the lessons life has to teach; things you’d never pick up from a book or classroom. Make no mistake about it, my friend; when you start noticing that, then you’re in the Zone!

The second thing is this: Did you know there’s a Middle Zone Musings e-book available? Yep, sure ‘nuff! Six stories in e-book form, ready for you to download and read (or, should you so desire, line your birdcage with). You can read all about it by clicking on that cute little tab up there below the title bar labeled, appropriately enough, “Free E-Book: Poke it With a Sharp Stick”.

If you go to that page and scroll down a bit, there’s a banner that shows how many copies have been downloaded already. In fact, why don’t I just pop it in right here…

All you have to do is click on that little do-hickey, and you’ll have your very own copy by the time you can say, “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” – 50 times.

Naturally it’s totally free! Plus, you can send copies to friends, neighbors, and countrymen to your heart’s content. Just don’t make any changes, claim it as yours, or otherwise violate the Creative Commons license (or, you know, Mean Levine will get you).

My original thought was to use a variant on a local hamburger joint’s motto, “Over two dozen downloaded”, but to my surprise, it passed that milestone within 24 hours! (Insert Elvis voice here.) Thank you – thank you very much!

Anyhoo – Just wanted to welcome you to the Zone, and thank you for dropping by. One of the great things about just dropping by is that introductions go both ways. Now that I know who you are, I’ll be dropping by your place too!

Now, how cool is that?

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

So here’s the thing.

Monday morning I was just humming along, flushed with (sound of – – – er, never mind) excitement about our just-completed group writing project here at the Zone (sound of me whistling “Zip-pi-de-do-dah” – which would be quite a trick since I never learned to whistle). Then I get a comment on Tuesday from Markk, who kindly pointed out that I completely missed the project entry from Benjamin Penfold-Marwick! (Sound of screeching tires, followed by prolonged crashing noise.)

What the heck?!? (Sound of weeping and gnashing of teeth.)

Profuse apologies to Benjamin for blowing it in such a public manner (don’t you hate it when that happens?) and I’ll try to do better next time. Hopefully this cute puppy photo will cause him to say “Awww”, get all mushy inside, and then be in the mood to forgive me.

My thanks (seriously) to Markk for spotting the error. I’d already had it pointed out by Yvonne that my email link was broken. Sheesh! Some days, you know?

Well, I always say Life is the best schoolteacher, so the lesson for the day: Always proofread everything – preferably more than once! Ordinarily I will usually have gone back over a post at least a half-dozen times (usually more) before you guys see them, but noooooo – not this time!

Anyway, for those who’ve posted the links at your own sites (no, this was not a requirement – but thanks!), please add Benjamin’s to the list so he won’t be overlooked. Sorry ‘bout that, Benjamin. No excuse.

Although… I could always say the dog ate it. Uh, anybody got a dog I can borrow?

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Serendipity (n.) the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for

It’s when something great falls into your lap; something you weren’t expecting, and had no idea was coming. Not like winning the lottery; people who play the lottery ALL expect to win. Not like that at all.

It’s like… well, like back in February when I happened to mention in a post that I was thinking of finally moving the Zone from Blogger to its own domain. My buddy Tully (whom I’d only just recently met on-line) just up and volunteered to set the whole thing up for me! Totally out of the blue and highly appreciated, let me tell you!

Well, the other day I related a somewhat, uh, shocking incident that happened to me in Venezuela (yes, this is a shameless link to a previous post, so if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’ll just have to read it). The truth is, that assignment was probably one of the hardest I’ve ever had to endure, but there was a truly serendipitous moment that happened on the way to Venezuela.

The thing was, travel arrangements turned out to be rather convoluted. Since there were no direct flights to our destination, my co-worker and I had to fly from Houston to Miami, from there to Aruba (!), and then catch a puddle-jumper to Punta Cardón.

Anyway, by some quirk of the system, our company reserved “unbooked” tickets (I’d never heard of these before) for the final leg to Punta Cardón, and when we arrived in Aruba were supposed to book the flight and go straight there. To our surprise (and here’s the good part), it turned out all flights were full.

Well! How about that, eh? We were forced (kicking and screaming, of course) to spend the rest of the day and a night in Aruba – with all expenses paid (well, food and hotel at least). Not bad; not bad at all. We checked into the Hotel Sonesta (renamed the Renaissance now) and spent the rest of the day at their private island, had a great dinner at Tony Roma’s rib joint, and slept pretty well that night.

But wait! Hold your applause – it gets better.

The next day we packed up everything again and headed down to the Queen Beatrix International Airport (the name was almost bigger than the place) to book our flight out. Wouldn’t you know it – all flights were still full. “In fact,” the ticket agent told us, “we’re booked solid for two more days. I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait.”

Well, it took a superhuman effort to hide our disappointment, but like the dedicated troopers we were, we drug ourselves back to the hotel for two more days of excruciating, painful waiting. Yep, we were two sad cookies – NOT!

So, how did I spend my unscheduled, all-expenses-paid vacation? Well, I’m glad you asked, my friends, so I’ll tell ya: doing absolutely nothing!

Actually, for most of those three days, I spent them sitting under a thatched-roof shelter on the hotel’s private island, reading a thick paperback book I’d brought with me, slowly but steadily turning into a well-tanned vegetable. I can’t remember when I’ve ever been so relaxed.

The photo above is of the actual beach - and it really was that empty (all the tourists with children were at the other beach). I was virtually alone, with nothing to do but enjoy the incredibly blue Caribbean waters. About every, oh, hour or so, a waiter appeared with another non-alcoholic piña colada (since, you know, this was such hard work). Yep, life was pretty good for a few days.

You know, sometimes serendipity just happens, but I have to say, it certainly sweetened the three months I spent in Venezuela (which turned out to be probably one of the hardest assignments I’ve ever had – but that’s another story). All I had to do was remember those days on the beach (sortof like “going to that ’happy place’ “).

Oddly enough, there are people who just can’t be comfortable accepting a windfall. Can you believe it? They’ll worry themselves sick over it, wondering when, not if, somebody will discover the mistake and lower the boom. Sadly, these people can’t find it in themselves to enjoy life to the fullest, even when it’s handed to them on a silver platter.

So, have you ever experienced serendipity? What was it, and how did you handle it?

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Once again, I am completely amazed by the quality of the stories you folks have shared! It’s another great turnout for this month’s group writing project: What I Learned From… the World of Work. Eighteen entries in all!

Please accept my humble appreciation for your willingness to participate and share the things you’ve learned from one of the greatest of all schoolteachers - Life!

Below you’ll find the entire list of entries. Do yourself a favor and check them all out. Each one finishes the phrase:

What I Learned from…

…Working in a Bar, by Genesis at the At Home Mom Blog

…Unemployment, by Markk at My Opinions are Important

…Working at a Startup, by Alex at Brick Blogging

…Working for the Government, by Lillie Ammann at A Writer’s Words

…The World of Work, by Troy Worman at orbitnow!

…Writing at Work, by Joanna Young at Confident Writing

…a power-cut, by Karin at The Kiss Business Two

…Blogging on Real Estate, by Michael Chantrel at MortgageGuide101

…Roofing Houses, by Nic Darling at Marketing Neophyte

…an Unscheduled Trip to Cleveland, by Mike DeWitt at Spooky Action

…the Corporate World, by Laura Spencer at WritingThoughts

…My First Job, by Pete Aldin at Great Circle

…Work, by Bob Glaza at One Reader at a Time

…Working at a Larger Company, by Jim Estill at CEO Blog – Time Leadership

…Homer Simpson About Jobs, by Jacob Share at JobMob

…a School Student About Business and People, by Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business

…From Industrial Cleaning, by Benjamin Penfold-Marwick at Hello Internet 

…a Manlift, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

_______________________________ 

Y’all give yourselves a big hand, my friends! And don’t forget to tune in next month for our next edition of What I Learned From…

What’s the subject going to be, you ask? Well… that would be telling.

[UPDATE] My profuse apologies for leaving Benjamin’s link out earlier. Thanks, Markk!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Speaking of the World of Work…

Y’know, a lot of times the things that are totally mundane and boring in life are actually pretty critical. Oh, sure, we’d all like spend all our time doing meaningful and important stuff; things that make a difference, right?

Unfortunately, there’s much more to Getting Things Done than that.

You run a business that improves the lives of people in some shape or fashion? Great! But what about the grunt work that keeps that business alive? Let’s see… there’s bookkeeping, inventory, payroll; all the yucky, totally unglamorous stuff that’s necessary for any endeavor to succeed.

Those parts of a business are like the Rodney Dangerfield of the world of work - they get no respect. But they are oh, so important!

So, what is it that gets no respect in your life?

(If you’ve learned anything interesting from the world of work, why not share it with the rest of us in our What I Learned From… group writing project? Just write a post about it, and send me a link. I’ll post all the links right here on Monday, June 11.)

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Bartender: He’s been struck by lightning… how many times has it been now, Reg?
Reg: S-s-s-s-s-s-s-six…
Chet: Six times?
Reg: S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-six-sixty-sixty-six times. In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n the head!

-from The Great Outdoors (1988) starring John Candy and Dan Ackroyd

Well, I can’t say I’ve ever been hit by lightning s-s-sixty-six times like poor ol’ Reg was, but I’ve certainly been too close for comfort!

Back in 1994, I accepted a three month contract to work in Punta Cardón, Venezuela as a Cost Engineer (don’t ask). This was my first time to get to South America (even though it was only the northernmost tip, but still-), so I was naturally excited about seeing a new horizon. (In case you’re wondering where exactly in the world this is, you can use Google Earth or Yahoo Maps to search for Punta Fijo. Punta Cardón doesn’t seem to be searchable, even though it’s right next door.)

Anyway, for several months I lived in the Peninsula Hotel, a former (with emphasis on former) resort hotel that was (I think – alas, the ol’ gray cells holding this particular bit of information took early retirement) about 10 stories tall. Although no longer resort-quality (nope, not by a looong shot), at least it was comfortable enough for me.

The one unusual thing was the shower stall was big enough to park my horse! (Er, if I had one. And if I could get him up the elevator and into the room. Do horses like to take showers?) Don’t know why it was so big, but with a big air mattress (a single bed would have fit with room to spare) and one of those “sounds of the rain forest” tapes, it would have been pretty relaxing.

But I digress – I was talking about lightning, right?

Well, every time we had a big thunderstorm (which happened pretty often, actually), lightning would hit the hotel. Being the only tall building in the vicinity, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Oh, no worries about damage or anything, the lightning rods (at least) were well-designed enough to ground the amps, volts, ohms or whatever safely as they were supposed to. Um, er, almost.

The only problem was, every time lightning hit the building (which was practically every single storm!), it knocked the power out, sometimes for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. The good news was that power was usually restored fairly quickly; the bad news was it always took the air conditioning system off-line. Ugh!

Whenever this happened, all the hotel guests had to troop downstairs (since you couldn’t use the elevators – and I was on the sixth floor!) to wait outside by the pool until the repair service arrived. Although power usually came back on right away, it was almost always a several-hour-long ordeal before we had cool air again (which was no joke in that muggy Venezuelan heat).

But this one storm… oh, baby! No, wait, lemme add some emphasis to that: OH, BABY!!!!!!

We were already outside by the pool, but this time – well, it didn’t look like the power was comin’ back anytime soon. (I was right – it took over four hours!) And because of the wind and rain, we had to huddle close to the building (luckily there were some wide awnings to hide under) while the storm raged around us.

Lightning and thunder were literally shaking the ground like an earthquake, when suddenly this one huge bolt whanged down, right in the empty lot next to us! It was so close the eye-searing flash and deafening shock wave hit at virtually the same moment. (Light and sound of lighting bolt cleaving the universe in half!) I really thought the glass wall behind us would break, it was that powerful (lucky for us it didn’t). Talk about your “up close and personal”!

I’ve never experienced anything like it, before or since; it was incredible and deafening and thrilling and frightening and exciting, all at the same time. My hair was practically standing up; the dissipated charge in the ground was that close. Incredible!

At last the storm passed, power was restored, and eventually the air conditioning system was re-started. Ah, life back to, er, normal. But I gotta wonder…

Is there something about me and lighting? Remember our trip to Paris? Does weird weather follow me around?

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

By the way, folks, only 4 days left –

A Group Writing Project is underway here at the Zone (sound of audience applauding), and yes, you’re invited! But no worries, Mate; you still have plenty of time to contribute to the General Body of Knowledge (otherwise known as the GBoK, pronounced “G-Bok”).

This month’s topic: The World of Work.

All you need do is write a post that touches on the topic of Work (even remotely), send me the link, and you’re in! All entries will be listed right here on Monday, June 11.

If you’re interested, go here for details on how to participate. Links will be accepted through Sunday night, June 10.

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!