12 Hours Later

Well, it was 12 hours of travel time, but let me show you what I see out my hotel balcony:

That's Waikiki beach right out there. It's night so you can't really see it, but it is nice to see that beach once again!

I suppose I should tell you all why I am in Hawaii right now since I haven't exactly explained it to you....

Last year my recruiting team worked really hard if you didn't see my post about the new fiscal year. I enlisted 27 people, getting credit for 24 of those contracts. As a team we worked really hard and came out as the top team in the entire state of Minnesota. It was a lot of work and surely a team effort and we achieved what everyone said was impossible. Because of demographics usually one of the teams out of the Twin Cities takes top team status simply because they have a MUCH larger pool of applicants. But apparently they were no match for my team last year. For our efforts, we are being rewarded with a training trip to Hawaii! So here I am sitting at a hotel in Waikiki.

The next 2 days are pretty much my own, I can do whatever I want. After that they have a lot of team building activities planned for us - including a Recruiting version of "The Newly Wed Game". I'm sure excited about that since I came alone and pretty much everybody else has brought their spouses..... I figure maybe I should go out and find some really beautiful Hawaiin girl to fill in the position of my wife, then "divorce" her when I leave on Friday. Just kidding!

The trip here was really, really boring. 2 different planes and 12 hours later after lay-overs I finally arrived - 8 of those hours were spent in the air from Minneapolis to Hawaii. I did watch a movie, but the battery on my laptop only lasts for about 1 movie. I listened to a lot of music because, luckily, my MP3 player lasts for 20 hours on a single charge. What I did with the rest of my time surprised even myself.

I will admit to you I have never, ever, even once, read a complete novel in my entire life. I cheated my way through high school and did the bare minimum of reading during my days in college. I knew I would have a lot of time on my hands so I figured I'd pick up a book and try to read it. The book I picked up was "Saddam's Secrets" by former Iraqi General Georges Sada. I am already over half way through the book and can't wait to pick it up again - something I've never done before. If you haven't read this book yet, you need to. It is the most amazing book I've ever picked up. It talks a lot about the history of Iraq and what went on inside the government though the years beginning with before the Baath party took power. There is even a part where he lays out what happened to the WMDs - I haven't read that part yet so I can't tell you much about it.

So I'm in Hawaii, paying $10/day for my internet access just so I can keep checking my email while I'm gone. You all know that a recruiter never stops working, even when you're thousands of miles away. I'm behind mission so that explains why I can't let the job go. If I was ahead of mission I would like to think that it would be different but I doubt it would be. So since I'm paying twice as much for internet than I do back home for 1/4th the time I'm going to make the most of it. There will be some new posts over at my brother's blog, JusticeSoldier.com, soon so if you're a regular reader of his blog make sure you check it out.

-SGT Guardsman