I still have to pinch myself that my working life is far from over. The time that I descend to my office and sit in front of a blank screen contemplating what I need to write next is always a source of concern. However, whatever the topic I still find ways to write something sufficiently fresh, enough that my clients welcome the story telling that comes with each finished article or blog post. In so doing, I have been able to attract an eclectic group of clients that then gives me the opportunity to push boundaries just a little.
For now, however, what is occupying my thoughts has to
do with coming to terms that I have based Margo and mine business mostly on
storytelling and have been doing so for quite some time. Yes, I also help my
clients create a strategy (and tactics) as needed, when asked we create data
sheets and even modernize websites, but at the heart of our business is storytelling
as we come up with creative ways to promote our clients business.
As September comes to an end and fall approaches, we
will begin our thirteenth year that is, if counting on my fingers has given me
the right answer. It was back in October of 2009 that we launched Pyalla
Technologies, LLC on the understanding that this would provide me with
additional networking opportunities while I looked for my next corporate gig.
But then something happened along the way where I lost interest in returning to
corporate life and began to appreciate that old saying, “do what you love,
you'll never work a day in your life.”
Little did I know that when just a few years earlier, in
August of 2007, as I started my first blog, Real Time View, which began as an
experiment among my colleagues, proved to be the link between my love affair
with storytelling and the ability to transition to a new career path. However,
perhaps it had something to do with genetics. Perhaps being a third generation
columnist and magazine (albeit digital these days) supporter it was inevitable.
As for the photo above if you haven’t already worked it out it is a typesetting
machine that allowed operators to create lines of type. In lead, no less!
I came across this Linotype machine in the small
mountain town of Edward, Colorado. It was during a weekend jaunt that took us
to Vail before a side excursion took us to Palisades, Colorado. We have looked
forward to this short break as it gave us the opportunity to drive our new
Corvette. Yes, the other side of being a storyteller is that in the field of
technology there are so few of us that we have encountered little downside from
leaving corporate life. And yet, it probably is all about the toys. We joined
our good friends and neighbors, Don and Anne Marie Fowler, for this time away
from the keyboard and they opened our eyes to a side of Vail we simply hadn’t
encountered before.
Our hotel was typical mix of Germany’s Bavaria and
Austria’s Tyrol that with the cobblestone passages projected an image that was
miles removed from anything American. As for the restaurants the Fowlers took
us too, they were truly gems. This has been one of the real discoveries
unearthed with being able to work together. Margo and I can schedule time away
from those blessed keyboards essentially whenever important business milestones
have been reached. As the purveyors of a bimonthly digital publication, NonStop
Insider, where it isn’t so much gossip we pass on but rather the spreaders of
positive outcomes for the HPE NonStop system (nee Tandem Computers) there is a
three week period when we are extremely busy. Then again, the community this
digital publication serves has proven to be a great source of material that is
never stale.
If it has been some time since you last visited Vail
then it is hard to miss the signs that this is a different place altogether
from any place else in the Colorado Rockies. A quiet Saturday stroll around the
many hotels and residences highlights just how well the occupants have taken
the imagery of southern Germany and Austria to heart. To think that there isn’t
any snow on the ground and yet, it pulls a crowd no matter the season. On the
other hand, Margo and I have come to the conclusion that we do need to return
in winter just to take it all in – imagine the scenery above with just a hint
of falling snow that dusts the buildings with icing sugar! Amazing!
It was only a couple of years back and well before the planet was in the grip of a global pandemic that we spent a week in Munich. One of my all-time favorite townships there rarely is an excuse offered not to return. Even though it was March which can be a mix of weather from snow to sunshine – in our case there was a little more snow falling that sunshine – it reminded Margo and me of the ties we both had to Europe. I spent a number of years commuting to Munich when I worked for Nixdorf Computers in the 1980s and the sight of pork knuckles on a rotisserie together with singing coming from a nearby beer hall was always enough to pull me from my hotel room no matter what the conditions outside were like. And this is the feeling I got from walking the streets of Vail. Of an evening where the similarities were particularly strong and new stories can be written.
However, our trip to Vail and Palisades wasn’t the only
journey we undertook of late. There has been a complete transformation of our
garage that was totally unexpected even as it has delighted us. It was as if many
different decisions we normally spend time discussing suddenly coalesced and it
all happened over a period of weeks and not years. Then again, for Margo and me
and the lifestyle we are currently enjoying thanks to Pyalla Technologies, the
unexpected has become normal of late. Presented with a business opportunity to
present at a conference in Toronto, then of course we would drive. Why not? The
return trip is only 3,333.3 miles!
Consider it too a celebratory drive. Surely, with the
end of a dozen years working, we could take a weekend either side to return to
highways we travelled often before the abnormal times set in. We already knew
life was changing. No more RAT tests 48 hours before we leave on a trip. No
more masks at venues we attended. No more self-distancing. It was a time to
return to restaurants we enjoy and whether it was Mastros, the 801 Chophouse or
simply Flemings, we had the opportunity to enjoy it all yet again. If Vail was
so enjoyable and the Palisade restaurant Peche
an unexpected delight, putting together seven evenings was a return to normalcy
we had often wondered whether we would ever experience again.
As for the choice of vehicles then we were faced with a choice between three untested long-distance drivers but it took no time at all to close on our new SUV. To say it’s a beast we ever owned would be an understatement but when you have an SUV sporting 550hp with torque of 520 then well yes, why not? For those who may remember last year when our beloved Range Rover was completely totaled in a wreck on our nearby Interstate highway, it took a full year before its replacement arrived.
Throw into this mix the fact
that our insurance company not only paid out the lease but sent us a sizable
check that reflected the uptick in value of used cars during the mess we are experiencing
with so many supply chain disruptions. But we will take such windfalls any time, thanks.
The Jaguar F Pace SVR is not just a beast but completely track worthy if such a thing can be envisioned. Having experienced driving a Jeep SRT 392 on track I have to admit, the temptation to take his vehicle on track is considerable. But it won’t happen, so no holding your breath for us to write a report on the track worthiness of this 5,000 lb. beast: Economical?
For the speeds me maintained over the course of the week,
returning 23 mpg on US gallons was remarkable as was the ability these days to
maintain 80mph+ cruising speeds on almost all of the Interstate highways.
Furthermore, we had loaded the SVR with all the ancillary equipment you need
for an event where you need to set up tables and provide meaningful trash and
trinkets to all attendees.
But there was one more option we could have chosen and
it was the surprise package. Having received an invitation from Range Rover dealer
to the unveiling of the latest iteration of the Range Rover Sport, how could we
not turn up for Champaign and canapes? There would be a keyboard player
alongside the entertainment the dealership managers were always up for
providing. But then, it all went a kilter just a matter of minutes after walking
onto the showroom floor. It wasn’t the Range Rover that had going gaga but
something new over on the Jaguar side of the dealership.
My family heritage is such that on my father’s side,
there were uncles who really liked cars. It was my dad’s youngest brother David
who turned up at our house with a new car every time, be they Renaults or
Volkswagens (mostly Karmann Ghia) while dad’s other brother Ern loved English
cars mostly Rover and Morris. Dad on the other hand was strictly GM with a
number of Holdens finding their way into the garage. Not to put too finer point
on the heritage angle all three were newspapermen. Again, it’s sometimes
difficult to shake off what is clearly genetic. As for me, I gave up a long
time ago. Sure wish my dad had been a storyteller!
The car in question was a Jaguar F Type R that sported a 575hp 520 lbs of torque supercharged 5 liter V8. The very same engine as is in the F Pace SVR, although it is slightly detuned for the F Pace being an SUV after all. Only a few months earlier we had elected to buy out of lease our then current F Type R Dynamic but given the choice between keeping a V6 and opting for the rip-snorting V8 well, it was a no brainer. Throw in the greatly improved trade-in amount and we made the decision to buy on the spot. And did we mention the new F Type is a convertible and that it is very red?
The garage has changed in unexpected ways. The return
to travelling is upon us in earnest. The opportunity to dine where we liked and
the opportunity to spend time with friends and colleagues (without
restrictions) were circumstances that we so missed. To do it all over the
course of a month well, to quote that punch line, proved priceless. But on this last month of our twelfth year of business
and recognizing that there is only so much heritage you can ignore, work has
never looked better. There is always that sneaky feeling that I will be working
for another decade or so but then again, from all who know me well there is
that kind of unspoken thought that well, “he’s not working is he?”
And so it might very well be; retirement never factors
in to what you love to do and as long as I have readership and as long as I can
continue to be creative, there will always be that motivation to return
downstairs to my office, face that blank screen and type something entirely
different. Storytelling is a never ending story of itself; storylines emerge
from shared experiences and we plan on experiencing even more over the course
of the next two years.
For those who know that Margo and I spent time in Canada this past week there can be only one last photo. It wraps up this post with just enough content that says it all. Yes, we dined at Tim Hortons and the donuts were perfect. And yes, my own heritage includes two years living in Canada a long time ago. Given the occasion was the approach of our working anniversary what better way to celebrate the start of yet one more working year! Champagne may always be readily at hand but good, sickly-sweet, donuts? Not so much!
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