A little background....a few days ago, I worked on a computer for one of our telecommuters in the company that I work for. It was in the context of the process that has been dubbed "PM" (preventative maintenance), and several things were done to her computer to update it and make sure that it was "healthy". I have been doing these PMs on the Windows based computers in the organization for about a month now, and although still new in the IT department, I think I am doing OK at it...OK, I THOUGHT I was doing OK at it until I got a call two days after my coworker was in the office, once she got home and tried to use her computer to retrieve email in that special way that folks have to with our set up. When she told me that email was not working, needless to say, my mind went racing...here was a remote user, who does not work in the office, with a significant problem that impairs her ability to do her job. What did I do to break her machine? Better question, how was I going to fix it?I tried everything I knew with her help to resolve the problem, with her in the Cleveland area and me in our home office in Maumee. After a day of trying and no success but a lot of good information about how the machine WASN'T working, I broached the subject with my direct boss. He gave me some guidance, and advised that as a last resort, if all else failed, a trip would have to be made to the telecommuter's home to resolve the issue there. I took his last few suggestions and tried them, to no avail. I informed the user and my boss that I would be traveling to Cleveland on Saturday to see her in person and troubleshoot her problem with her computer.
Saturday morning came, and I awoke at a little bit later than my normal time. By the time I finally forced myself to extricate from my warm and cozy bed, the brilliant orange sun was just beginning to paint the sky with the colors of morning. The day had all the appearances of perfect cold and crisp winter; a beautiful day for driving, with plenty of sunshine and opportunity for "shotgun photojournalism", which has become my forte of late (see my Flcker album link, right). I staggered to the shower and gratefully turned the water to its hottest tolerable setting, basking in the glory that is a hot shower on a cold day (and yes, I did remember to CLOSE THE DOOR) While washing hair, I began to go over the strategy for my troubleshooting for the day, walking through all that I wanted to do in my mind, so I would be ready when I got to the user's house and had access to her network and her computer. I was so deep in thought that I was inattentive to the amount of time I was spending in the shower, and my ruminations were rudely interrupted by very cold water on my backside, at which point I made a hasty retreat to the cooler and much foggier bathroom outside the shower doors. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to bring the clothes I had planned on wearing for the day into the bathroom with me, so I did not have to leave the warm and humid air of the bathroom to get dressed. Once done with that, I brushed out hair, blew it dry, disconnected all the equipment I was going to take with me, packed all the things in their bags, pockets and cases, located my car keys and made a beeline to the car (it WAS still doggone cold this morning!)
Once in the car, I remembered that first, I needed to take some cash with me for tolls on the turnpike (the safest, quickest and most direct route to where I was going) and that the car needed oil. The money part was straight-forward (except for the sticky crank window on the driver side that I have to manhandle when I want to do anything drive-up), so that was taken care of in short order. After that was done, I headed to the nearest AutoZone to pick up some oil for the car.
It is very humorous to walk into an auto parts store of any kind if you are a woman, and from my experience, even moreso if you have kinda big boobs and you are blonde. The stares as I walked in were nothing in comparison the the outright ogling that occurred when I proceeded to pop the hood in the parking lot and add two quarts of oil. I almost got the impression that there was some betting going on behind one of racks in the back room on whether I knew how to get the hood open, let alone how to get oil in. I am pleased to say that whoever bet against me lost their shirt!
Oil added, away I went, but not without first making sure that the camera was easily accessible for photo ops on the way. I headed down Rt23 toward the office I work in, which is as easy a way as any to get to the turnpike, and beside that, it is a route that is becoming as familiar to me as the back of my hand. Within what seemed like only a few moments, I was at the automated ticket dispenser (wrestling my window down) grabbing the ticket (wrestling my window up) and hitting the road (80/90 East, that is).
With Cleveland as my goal, and an estimated drive time of 2 hours and twenty minutes as the Mapquest estimates, I figured my 10:45 time of departure would put me at my destination with time to spare, but not much. My last drive to Cleveland was with the young one this past summer (which I have unofficially dubbed, "The Summer of Trips with The Young One" - those trip blogs are housed on the now defunct "Once Burned-Twice Shy", and will definitely be archived for perusing at some future time), when I "forced him" to go see the band "Blue October" with me at the House of Blues. It was a fantastic night, after a bit of a rocky start, and the drive there and back was easy and enjoyable because I had him for company. This time it was a solitary trip, with my little mind and my music to keep me company. I settled in to run a little above the speed limit (between 70 and 75) and enjoy the drive. iPod queued up with my current favorites all available, I cruised along, liking the feel of the car passing over the cold asphalt. This first half of the trip could have been driven in my sleep; the route is as familiar as an old friend, having been our path to see my mom and the ex's parents for lo, those many years since we moved to the Toledo area from our safe haven of tiny little Norwalk. We have traveled the route in winter, with snow blowing and drifting across the roadway...we have driven it in summer, when the traffic at the Sandusky/Norwalk exit literally stops on the roadway in their efforts to exit on the tiny exit ramp, on their way to the "Family Fun Park" Cedar Point, situated on Lake Erie in Sandusky.
Very little has changed since the last time I drove this way, but there is comfort in noting the things that have stayed the same. As I approached the Sandusky/Norwalk exit, I glanced off to the left, noting the NASA Plumbrook Research Center (which is now called Glenn Research Center at Plum Brook) off in the distance. When I was in school, I had a friend whose dad worked there, and when we were in about third grade or so, we went on a field trip there. The highlight of the visit was a "moon rock" under a heavy dome of glass, on a pedestal with lights shining down on it from all around. That made a big impression on me, and for years after, I wrote to every NASA facility there was in the United States and begged for free pictures and whatever else they were willing to send to a little kid with questions about the space program. For a few years they were very generous, sending staff photos of the people of the different flights and such, but after a bit, any written request for information illicited little more than a letter of thanks and a catalog for further NASA information and "stuff". I also noted the large industrial area situated near the "Avery underpass" which used to be Certainteed, makers of shingles and other "tar"-y things...the stench that place used to make especially in the summertime, is legendary...not sure if that is still what the industry is there, but the buildings look just the same as always. As I passed over the overpass that takes the turnpike over Rt 250, a quick glance in the southerly direction showed me "The Homestead Inn", and the location of the tiny little motel where I spent my first night as a married person. Such an odd set of rememberances in that little stretch of roadway...my whole younger life focused on that one exit off the turnpike.
Passing the exit, I then moved on to the areas that were more of a distance and mystery when I was young. My family was a pretty much a "stay around home" bunch, so my most vivid and recallable "Place" memories are of Norwalk and the closely surrounding areas. My recollection of "going away", or driving out of town is pretty negligible from my young childhood; most of my driving "adventures" (mom driving and kids in tow) are from after my dad passed away. My mom was always the one who took care of home and hearth, and after my dad died, she was kinda cut loose...not much experience with things outside of her little circle of grocery, school, pay bills (this was when you went to the offices to pay) and every now and then order something from the Montgomery Ward catalog and then go "uptown" to pick it up. A trip out of town for any reason was not an option unless Dad took us all there, although Sandusky was a straight drive north on Rt 250, one of the main roads that goes through town, and there are also several state route that pass through/around Norwalk on the way to Cleveland and the area surrounding. One such "mom driving adventure" I recall in vivid detail was a very daring trip taken to Elyria (laughable in reflection, considering the great distances my mom has traveled on her own since then). I remember my mom being extremely on edge and my sister and I being very excited...we were going to a store we had never been to before to "shop"...VALUE CITY!!! Any folks who are familiar with this chain know that they are not always located in the most savory areas of a community...in retrospect, I believe that may have been as much responsible for my mom's discomfort as the actual drive there and home. I drove past some of the buildings that I recall seeing during the drive that day as I sped past the exit for Lorain/Elyria...the visual stimulus made me emotionally remember that day, that trip and my mom stretching herself to take on the new responsibilities that life had given her without asking, and in my heart I know that every experience like that has helped me to be able to do what I have done in my own life, picking up and going on, even when the choice was not mine to make. It is those random realizations that come at the oddest times and fill me with such gratitude...I had then and thankfully still have with me today, a great role model in my mom....she still influences me in everything I do every day.
Feeling all warm and fuzzy, I continued my drive, passing many exits, although a few I took particular note of are the ones for Avon. I will be back that way in just a few weeks for a Power of the Pen regional event (I know...groan...ANOTHER long and rambling post!) so I mentally made a little tick mark next to "know how to get there", in my constantly morphing list of "things I need to remember" that takes up a humongous amount of storage space in the RAM disk that is my brain.
Driving, snapping photos, and following the Mapquest directions, I came to the first deviation from the straight line path of the turnpike...time to exit...and it came as no surprise that at the same time, a huge ORANGE sign was also there, declaring that there was construction and delays were to be expected. This truly is standard fare for me and travel, especially using the Mapquest only way (no road atlas for me, bay-bee!) I was prepared, as usual, to fall back on my impeccable sense of direction and logical thinking skills (**ALRIGHT - stop laughing RIGHT NOW!!!**)to get me through the next leg of the trip. Took the exit ramp to head toward the toll booths (done with the turnpike) and as I rounded the curve, I could see that there were some road barrels on the "I have paid to get past" side of the booths...as I pulled up to pay, I could also see that there were some small orange signs posted near the barrels. I paid my toll, dutifully asked for a receipt, and proceeded (after the window wrestling). As I drew closer to the signs, they became legible..."END CONSTRUCTION"...Whoohoo!!! Yet another bullet dodged by the lovely and talented tekkbabe!
The next part of the drive was kinda boring, with lots of paying attention to the road and directions....I had gotten this far without incident and I most certainly did not want to hose things up now....That meant, of course, that the camera was put away, the iPod turned off and earphones off, and full attention was directed to the task at hand. As the miles rolled along, I passed some signs I really wanted to get photos of, including one for "Entering Brooklyn", but alas, I was not quick enough, so that one has to survive on its mention only, with no photo to substantiate its existence.
As I got closer to Cleveland proper, the blue sky, the distinctive skyline and the general coolness of seeing it again prompted me to once again pull out the camera. Anyone who knows the area, and moreover knows me, is already shaking their heads in wonderment that I am typing this now, considering the photos that I was able to take. I was indeed trying very hard to stay in my lane and not be a road hazard as I tried to snap photos of the imposing buildings of Cleveland and the very famous Jacobs Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. Thankfully on that count, on my way back out of Cleveland, the route I took brought me within spitting distance of the main gates so there are some pretty darned good pictures of it, even though they were, again, taken while driving by.
Amazingly enough, the Mapquest directions were easy and extraordinarily accurate. I made my way around a few Cleveland landmarks (The Cleveland Clinic and the Cleveland Playhouse, as well as the campus of Case Western and the Convocation Center of Cleveland State). With no difficulty at all, I proceeded through to Cleveland Heights and the home of my user, Katie (I hope you don't mind my referring to you by name, dear)
I was early, so I had the opportunity to fill the car with gas and drive about a little in the area (I have never been there before) The "Town" area is intimate and very clean, the neighborhood that she lives in is filled with huge older homes, with beautiful yards. I parked on the side street next to her house, and was interested and amused to watch a squirrel as it ran on a wire from one side of the street to the other, apparently migrating his home to a new location, one trip at a time.
Shortly, Katie got home, with her son. He is a very handsome young man and friendly, but was tired from a very busy morning and early afternoon. Once inside her home, Katie put him down for a nap and I proceeded to work on her problem. I got my own laptop out, and while it was loading Windows, I took a look at a few things on Katie's machine. After a little poking, and meeting some more folks in her family, I decided to directly explore the issue at hand, since network connectivity was definitely fine. Got her on the VPN, launched her MS Outlook, which is what we use to connect to our Exchange mail....logon dialog came up and without even looking very carefully, I entered her password. The dialog box came up again, prompting me for her password... this time I took a little closer look...and ZAP!!! all of the sudden, the problem jumped out and bit me on the nose like an angry snake...her user name and server that she was authenticating to were set incorrectly in her log on...as soon as I corrected that, she logged on just swell, synchronized her emails, contacts and calendar, and was able to send and receive emails without error. When I logged her off and back on again, the settings remained remembered correctly and the logon was again successful....still another bullet dodged! Before leaving, I validated that the remote access software was installed on her machine and working, to assure that we could work together in the future if problems come up.
We spent a little time getting to know each other better, so it was enjoyable time very well spent, because I know one of my co-workers tons better, and had a great time as well. When I left her house, I was pleased and happy...her issue resolved, it was a good day...On the way home only one thing of interest was noted...west of the Sandusky/Norwalk exit, in an open field a little lower than the turnpike road bed, a "herd" of deer, numbering at least a dozen, perhaps more, was sighted grazing on whatever tender morsels were hidden under the thin layer of snow. And me with dead camera batteries (OK, you can stop laughing now!).....
Today, after a good night's rest, I commit the trip to print, with the photos (right) and the links throughout...hope you enjoy seeing another part of Ohio through my eyes, and learning a little more about me in the process...back with more later...I know you are waiting in rapt anticipation :-) Till then....much love to you...
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