Bienvenito a miami

Just got home from Miami last night. A whirl wind trip evoking a wide range of thought and emotion.
Basically I went on business with about a thousand other people from all over the country. We attended a fancy dinner and a 10 hour long conference to get all pumped for the fourth quarter.
I simultaneously was disgusted, intrigued, amazed and infuriaated bu corperate america.

but all the while it was set to the backdrop of beautiful Miami and South Beach.

Everything was straight from a movie, so it seemed. During our semi formal dinner/awards banquet there was a one Dan Marino as the keynote speaker. bizarro. At one point I leave to go to the bathroom and upon re-enrty I nearly run into a man in a business suite sitting atop the shoulders of another man, in a business suit. He was ferociously waving his arms and in competition with the entirety of the audience to catch one of the 20 or so footballs mr Marino was chucking into a dining room filled with tabled, waitstaff, glassware and lights/sound equipment. What?????
the barnum and bailey circus was no match....

There was a myriad of wack-o things along those lines....

But there was also rediculously, pinch me and wake me, surreal moments.
Like when I got up at seven thirty the last morning to go run down the beach and take it in before I had to pack and get ready to go.

I go out to the waterfront and am greeted by a stern wind. Infront o me lay the ocean in all its turqoise and deep blue beauty. above that is the brightest coral colored strip of sky oozing out from beneath an ominous black cloud. the black cloud is connected back to the sea by a thick grey band of rain. above the black it gradually grows lighter and then you see the mountainous top of the storm cell being illuminated from behind by the sames source causeing the coral color to glow. Awesome. So I run down the way about a mile before I feel like I might as well try and breath underwater. the humidity is wors than back home...
I take off the ol' shoes and prance around in the warm ocean water for a bit and then start to head back. Before I know it I had filled one shoes completely with peices of insanely beautiful sea shells. and then it started to sprinkle. I look up and out to the storm that I first saw and it was closer and faster than I would have thought. It nearly staggered me with its power and intensity. The I start to see the lightning. It is striking its targets dead on. The rain gets harder and harder. With only a quarter mile left to go I decide to take my time. By the time I get back to the hotel gate the down pour is torrential. it stings. but it feels so great. I realize that somewhere along the way I dropped my room key to get throught the gate. There didn't appear to be any cabana boys in site so I jump the fence. No problem, I was just afriad of dropping my shoe ful of sea shells - say that ten times fast.

When I got just past the pool I was welcomed by a cabana boy holding two giant soft towels. one to dry off with and one to keep warm with... now that's what I call service.....
speaking of which, later that morning I go to check out. The girl at the desk is sugary kind and accomidating I tld her I still had five hours before I needing to go to the airport. She ushered my luggage into a safe room and then gave me pool access keys and told me to enjoy the rest of my stay.

I go to lay by the pool for a while and oscar the cabana boy shows me to the chair of my choosing, lays a dry cushion on the chair, covers that with a plushy sham, the rolls and folds a towel for a pillow. He then reappears peridically to make sure I am comfortable. Brings me a magazine and water..... nice.
Then my dear friend and boss comes to join me. Her cabana usher doesn't offer a cushion tossed the sham over the chair and wads up the towel to nearly resemble osacrs perfect pillow-roll. then walks off without two words said. I crack up about it. Later we go to get our luggage to catch the bus. The bellman totes all my bags to the cargo area, and again, my dear friend gets the shaft and is left to take care of her own...
sad sort of. but also sort of hilarious.

anywho - here are a couple of pictures from miami.
peace