Back in the U.S.S.R

Well, the former Soviet Union anyway.  My last Moldova blog has more pictures and info about the country.  It was a very productive trip and we were treated well.  We got a better taste of Moldovan life by venturing out on our own to a couple restaurants.  The food was excellent all week.  They really know how to cook well.  Everything I had was tender and not overdone with good flavor.

I never got a good night sleep while I was there, waking up about 3 am every morning and having trouble going back to sleep.  I didn't have nearly that much trouble on the last trip.  When I returned Saturday evening, I went to bed about 9 and woke up about 8 and I slept like a snoring rock.  It was great!

I didn't get any training in while I was gone, but I now feel comfortable enough over there that I will be able to go out for a run on my next trip.  The same thing happened to me when I was in Brazil.  It took a couple trips until I felt comfortable going out for walks by myself which then led to being able to train (running).  Funny, the first time I walked in Brazil, I felt like everyone was staring at the strange American until someone stopped me to ask for directions in Portuguese.  That's when I knew they didn't know that I was from there.

Here is a cool picture of a house near where we were working.

One strange thing happened on the way back.  We checked in with Air Moldova at 4:30 am and they issued me a ticket for the first leg of my trip.  The guys I traveled with received tickets for the first two legs.  So when we got to Frankfurt I stopped by a Lufthansa service desk and asked for a ticket.  No problem, they issue me tickets for the last two legs of my trip.  Everything is cool until about 20 minutes before my flight and I looked at my tickets.  They weren't mine!  I received tickets for Mrs. Susan Michael.  What??? When I received the tickets the guy must have typed my baggage claim ticket number wrong, but not noticing I'm a Mr. and the tickets are for a Mrs., really?  I went to the gate checkin and they printed the proper ticket so no big deal.

Next topic - communication.  I've been thinking about this for a while and noticing it more and more.  I've been in several conversations where someone starts to discuss or explain something they have recently experienced and before they get a couple sentences in to the explanation, someone jumps in and says me too!  I had the same thing, blah, blah, blah, the only thing is, the first person was talking about a totally different experience that happened to start off with the same subject line.  Since I've noticed it more and more, I suspect I've been doing the same thing so I'm now making an effort to let people finish what they want to talk about whether I've had a similar experience or not.  I've seen this at work, home, and out with the guys, so I conclude it's prevalent.

Next topic - my Black Friday order from ZootSports.  I received this email 12/7.

Dear Mike,

Unfortunately your recent order has been canceled due to unavailable inventory at the time of purchase. As a result, we will be refunding your credit card in full for the cost of your order.

I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, which was the result of inclement weather that forced a two day closure to our warehouse and offices.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.


My response 12/12.

Hi,

I have to say I’m disappointed about this. I was pretty excited about the deal I got on November 26th. I hope the lack of inventory wasn’t because my inventory wasn’t pulled before your warehouse sale December 5th. I’m also surprised my order was cancelled with no offer for money off a future purchase or something. I understand you were probably overwhelmed by the Black Friday sale, but the tri gear market is pretty competitive and I don’t consider this good customer service.

Thanks.
Last topic - week 2 of 70.3 training.  Not so good.  I was out of the country for 8 days at a hotel with no workout room and I was chicken to run outside (not to mention I was really tired).  It gets worse.  I went to the ortho doc today and he said I likely have a decision to make.  He thinks I'll need surgery if I want to keep swimming.  I have an MRI later this week.

Planned swim/bike/run (in hours)
1.25/4/3.45

Actual
0/1/0