Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Maui is Wonderful

Wow. I love Maui! The Ritz-Carlton is fantastic. Over the years, we've stayed at quite a few hotels. The grounds at Atlantis may have these beat, but I think I have found a new favorite all-around hotel. These people know what service is all about. Everyone has been pleasant in the extreme. We have had the standard sorts of minor inconveniences which elsewhere have turned into major ordeals. For example, I was supposed to have an envelope delivered to my room. Because my name was not on the room, I did not get mine while the others of our party received theirs. Not the hotel's fault at all. I seem to have an incident such as this on every trip. Some sort of curse, I suppose.

On other trips, a trip to the front desk for something like this has produced lots of finger-pointing and "Not my fault" attitudes. As a guest with an issue, no matter how great or small, I do not care who did what. I do not care which procedure was not followed. I do not care which department is responsible for what. I just want my envelope. I know at least four departments got involved in the search for my package. Less than ten minutes after I first asked, I had the envelope in question with my name on it in my hand, even though not one of those on duty at first had the slightest idea of what I was asking. By that time, I also had reservations for six at the second-best luau on the island, information and pricing for surfing lessons and horseback excursions, and Patty Jo's direct line at the concierge desk. The only reason I did not have the best luau booked: The next available opening is five weeks away. I felt incredibly well served.

The people of this island are extremely friendly. I heard someone say that was just because they want my money. I remember lots of other places just as tourist oriented which came across as downright rude. Conversations start and end with "Aloha" and everything seems to have a healthy dose of sincerity to it. The laid back attitude common in the caribbean is everywhere here as well. I am not trying to say I have never been anywhere full of friendly people, mind you. Just that my experiences here put Maui at or near the top of the list.

Ritz sidebar: I am sitting on a divan with my shoes off and feet up typing this in a lounge with a gorgeous view of the ocean. A lovely young lady with a beautiful smile asked if I would like anything. I sagely chose coffee to ensure my wide-eyed participation in tonight's activities. The coffee came in a pretty white ceramic set, with cup and saucer, spoon, cream pitcher and a little pot of steaming brew. I love this place. The bathrooms here have no paper towels. Instead, they have chosen to provide neatly folded rows of cloth towels and a hamper. They clean the pools starting at five o'clock in the morning every day, whether they need it or not. I spotted a man dusting and then scrubbing the crown molding in the halls. Everyone uses and remembers my name. They even have Splenda. You might be surprised how many places do not. I was. If I seem impressed, then I am successfully conveying my feelings.

Okay, enough sidebar. We went whale watching yesterday morning. Wow. I was fully anticipating one of those trips I have heard others grumble about where they spend several hours and maybe spot one whale. My wife estimates we spotted about a hundred. I will go with that. They were everywhere. We had a particularly good crew for it, also. Apparently the rule says a vessel can only approach under power to about one hundred yards. If you cut engines and the whales then come closer to you, then so be it. A heat train of perhaps six whales came within twenty-five yards of the yacht. VERY cool. We saw whales slapping their tales, blowing spray, rolling and tossing, jumping out of the water (called breaching) and generally doing lots of cool whale stuff. Incredible. On the trip back from snorkeling, one whale stuck his fin up and waved his fin in the air so many times and for so long, the kids on board nicknamed him Wavy the Whale. My son would have said, "Awesome, daddy!" Miss him.

Another sidebar: We do not all experience the same things even remotely the same at times. I just encountered a woman who believes this to be the most boring place she has ever stayed. She had absolutely nothing nice to say about the hotel. She surmised I could be at home doing the same thing on my computer for free. When I asked, "What about this view?" she bade me enjoy my $500 view and left. I felt sorry for her.

After the whales we snorkeled and watched turtles, Nemo fish and a coral reef. Apparently there was a turtle wash in the area where the turtles lined up and took turns being cleaned by smaller fish like in Shark's Tale. Some of the others spotted it, but we missed out. The yacht opened up the bar right then, so I did not miss it too much. All in all it made for a great day.

This morning we had a choice of activities. My love and I chose to see the local islands by helicopter. Wow again. For weight distribution, we each ended up on a separate aircraft. Bummer. Double bummer when you take into account that I had a much better pilot/guide than she. I took lots of pictures for us to share, however. The sheer cliffs and waterfalls of Molokai are absolutely astounding. Whales from the air are cool, also, by the way.

I love my life. Do not ever let me lead you astray from that simple little point. My motto holds true: Life is Good.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Airline Ruins

As I type this the monitor before me is depicting the Texas landscape disappearing beneath and behind me. I used to love to fly. Everything about aircraft appealed to me. I wanted nothing more than to be a fighter jockey, nudging the controls, guiding a multi-million dollar machine through high mach numbers and obscene g forces. Motion sickness and near-sightedness slammed the bars on that dream.

Failing that, I decided I would design them instead. I became fascinated with aerodynamics, mechanical design, orbital mechanics, flight controls, electronics - the whole ball of wax. I obtained a position as an assistant engineer with one of the major airlines during my sophomore year. I loved it. It practically ruined me.

I approached the whole affair with gusto. I took advantage of every opportunity to be on or around the planes. I flew on every business trip I could finagle my way into. I spent hours, both on and off duty, exploring the repair bays, examining the components, structures and everything about these fantastic vehicles I could possibly absorb. It was a slice of heaven on earth.

Now I sit on one of the very same aircraft I was responsible for many years ago. All I can think of is: What have I done? I know the answers I have been using. The Berlin wall fell down and peace broke out around the world, thus causing the bottom to fall out of the aerospace engineering industry. I went to a tough, unfriendly school that helped me burn out on the whole concept of education. I delved into some very new-age concepts of pursuit of happiness and follow what you love which made the standard path of chase the money seem unenlightened. All true, but the two big reasons both came from my experience at the airline.

The first part of my downfall was my degree training. I barely used it. I had large quantities of physics, calculus and engineering coursework under my belt already. Instead of running calculations or anything resembling actual engineering, I was filling out reports and recommending manufacturer solutions to known issues. Some baggage worker punched a hole in one of the carbon-fiber bulkhead partitions and my entire function is to measure the whole and recommend repair method A or repair method B from the manual. None of the engineers around me were doing anything much different. They were all overworked and under-challenged. They would tell stories of the few tasks each had once had which required actual engineering skills. I found my outlook for the future becoming more bleak with each engineer I met. The foundation bricks of my future downfall were falling into place.

Then came the second part. The portion which turned out to be the coup-de-gras: The Macintosh.

Said airline was moving its engineering department into the digital age. Since the drafting department had just been transitioned, the decision of which platform was a slam-dunk for the Mac. I still remember my first drag-and-drop. I could not possibly have been more hooked. I was in on the ground floor of testing and installing EVERYTHING. We tested different networking solutions, potential printers, various scanners, every software solution in existence at the time, the latest Macs, and all the imaginable hardware accessories which might possibly be of use to the new digital engineering department. Like I said, heaven on earth.

So, my ruination bloomed. The seeds were sown and germinated. Many years later I find myself a frustrated graphic designer because I did not want to become a frustrated aerospace engineer. I tied myself to the machine of my dreams and watched many of them slip beyond my reach. I am even on this plane, one of the craft in the fleet I was responsible for, because of my wife's chosen path, not mine.

It turns out she and my son are among the very few choices I have made that have worked into dreams come true.