I've just returned from my first trip to Brazil. I spent eight days of a ten day trip in the south of the country in a town called Ipaussu, which is in the middle of a large sugar cane area.
This trip was brought about as a result of my reassignment at work away from mower design into biomass related applications. As I typically do, I'll stay scant on the details, but the purpose of this trip was to help determine certain options for Vermeer in a developing market. I've been told the change is only temporary and I'll be back to the mower group in a year or so.
I had known I would be going to Brazil since my reassignment the second week in October, and the company began helping me apply for my visa, which takes several weeks. I'd expected to be going this week, but was told on the afternoon of the 5th that the visa would arrive the morning of the 6th, and to pack my bags. Just as an FYI, I believe my MSU tuition for a semester cost roughly the same as a day-of plane ticket from Des Moines to Sao Paulo.
I flew through O'Hare to Sao Paulo overnight, which took 10.5 hours, was driven to Vermeer Latin America in a nearby town called Valinhos, then caught a bus and rode for six hours to the largest town close to where our demonstration was taking place. I was told when I got on the bus to be sure I got off at the right place, or I'd wind up in Paraguay, a warning I'd never had aimed at me before. After another 45 minutes or so, I arrived in my first sugar cane field at 10:30 pm on the night of the 7th, after 28 hours or so of travel. The logic behind not letting me just go to bed made me scratch my head.
The Vermeer equipment for this demonstration was supported by about four VLA service personnel, Harold Gorter, who had managed the service department in Pella for forty years before moving to international sales, and myself. Two engineering technicians from Pella had also been there the preceding weeks.
I monitored and learned about the piece of equipment I had traveled there to see and to make function, but the majority of my time was spent working on balers. I commented to Harold at one point that I hadn't worked on balers so much since before I worked at Vermeer. Cliff Cox, it can be said your knowledge went to work in Brazil.
It's mid-spring in Brazil right now so it's the start of their "wet" season. It was in the 90s every day, and we saw no rain except for a sprinkle Monday afternoon. It was quite dry, and very dusty. The soil in that area was rust red, fine as flour, and got into and stuck to everything. This was hard on both man and machine. Clothes were instantly dirty once you got to the field and faces were comically filthy within minutes. I've never scrubbed off so much dirt in a shower only to still leave the towel brown. It's also proving to be stubborn if not impossible to get out of my clothes.
Tools were scarce. The VLA guys had some tools provided by the company, but these were pretty basic. We had no chains, no blocking, no pneumatic or electric impacts, no jacks, and no pry bars. We did everything out in the field in the rusty dirt. There was an old hacksaw blade in the toolbox that I used a surprising amount, most importantly to cut new threads on a worn but critical SAE bolt for which we had no hope of finding a replacement. A very helpful operator handed me a prison-shank-like sharpened piece of plate steel that I constantly used to cut net wrap out of pickups and off of rollers. I had thought ahead enough to bring my Leatherman, and was glad for it.
This was my first trip to a non-English speaking country. I don't count the Netherlands because almost everybody there spoke English. We were always with English speakers in the field to help get our points across to the locals with whom we worked, but Harold and I still did a fair amount of arm waving. I used every bit of broken Spanish I knew in the hopes something might match up, and it occasionally did. I didn't have too hard a time getting my point across in some way or another, though in the few times I was not understood, I felt a bit like a little kid. It gives some empathy for others in that situation.
I generally got along with everyone I dealt with. One Brazilian technician I talked to every day spoke some English and told me to 'speak in English. We like it.' Like most other Brazilians, he greeted us every morning with a good handshake, a slap on the back, and a 'bom dia!' (good morning!). He and I would teach each other a few words here and there. Our last day in the field, he asked to look at my Leatherman. Such tools are hard to come by in Brazil and expensive if you can find them. I had meant to leave it with him, because he needs it more than I do. My biggest regret of the trip was being off somewhere when the shift changed in the afternoon and I missed him before he left.
The two technicians from Pella had both gotten sick on their trips, so I was a little leery. I never got sick from drinking yellow rain water in Australia, and still don't understand how, but I nonetheless steered clear of tap water in Brazil, and never ate fresh fruits or vegetables for fear of how they were or weren't washed. Aside from a belly ache one night, I never got sick, which seems like an accomplishment.
Long days were spent in the field all week, but no one works on Sunday. Herb Waldhuetter from VLA graciously drove us into the hillier country south of where we had been working to see the coffee, cattle, lakes, and rivers. We had lunch at a restaurant on a deck by a waterfall, something I hadn't expected.
The demo ended Wednesday, and Harold's and my ride took us back to Valinhos on Thursday. My flight didn't leave until Friday evening, so I explored the area around my hotel for a few hours without incident. Herb took me to a Brazilian steak house my last night there, which had been the one item on my Brazilian to-do list. Twenty-one cuts of beef were offered to us on skewers by waiters, along with lamb, chicken, and wild boar. We were nearing meat comas when we left. It was everything I'd ever dreamed of.
There are plenty of other stories from this trip, but this post is getting plenty long. Drop me a line and I'll share some more.
It wasn't an easy trip, but I accomplished what I needed to, didn't get hurt, sick,or lost, and collected some more stories. I haven't experienced that much in ten days in quite awhile.
11/19/13
9/15/13
Maquoketa Caves
Since last winter, Sarah and I have planned tentatively to visit a state park in northeastern Iowa called Maquoketa because of the caves it is known for. After some relief from the very warm end of the Iowa summer, and possibly from a recent motivation we've gotten to camp, we finally made the trip this weekend. We got there a little late on Friday night and found one campsite left, waiting just for us. It was a very pleasant, windless, clear, and comfortably cool evening to sit around a fire.
We explored the caves on Saturday. Neither of us quite knew what to expect. Apart from three large interconnected openings with one or two small offshooting tunnels, the other dozen or so caves in the park were not connected and went from ten feet into a hill to about fifty feet deep; some had rooms large enough to stand up in, others were much more cramped. Crawling on your belly was necessary for several of them, if the caver was up for the tight fit. Sarah and I were game and were filthy at the end of the afternoon. I also crouched through one opening with a shin-deep stream coming down it later in the afternoon. In one such moist area, we were puzzled by the walls seeming to glitter around us. After closer looks, we realized it was from condensation on the walls in the form of speck-sized droplets. No pictures would have given those rooms justice, and will simply have to be experienced and remembered.
Unlike Lewis and Clark Caverns' guided tours with restricted access to it's upper and lower openings, these caves were wide open to the general public and always have been. This was reflected on the park by its well-traveled feel and lack of geological growth in the caves; foolish souvenir hunters robbed the place clean of stalactites and stalagmites years ago. Nonetheless, we were glad to have experienced them.
We drove through Davenport to get to Maquoketa, so we had planned on stopping by there on the way back. Sarah went to St Ambrose College in Davenport, so she showed me the campus and around town.
Sunday morning we woke up to rain, which was absolutely welcome, especially since didn't need to rely on a campfire to cook our breakfast. Another adventure accomplished!
We explored the caves on Saturday. Neither of us quite knew what to expect. Apart from three large interconnected openings with one or two small offshooting tunnels, the other dozen or so caves in the park were not connected and went from ten feet into a hill to about fifty feet deep; some had rooms large enough to stand up in, others were much more cramped. Crawling on your belly was necessary for several of them, if the caver was up for the tight fit. Sarah and I were game and were filthy at the end of the afternoon. I also crouched through one opening with a shin-deep stream coming down it later in the afternoon. In one such moist area, we were puzzled by the walls seeming to glitter around us. After closer looks, we realized it was from condensation on the walls in the form of speck-sized droplets. No pictures would have given those rooms justice, and will simply have to be experienced and remembered.
Unlike Lewis and Clark Caverns' guided tours with restricted access to it's upper and lower openings, these caves were wide open to the general public and always have been. This was reflected on the park by its well-traveled feel and lack of geological growth in the caves; foolish souvenir hunters robbed the place clean of stalactites and stalagmites years ago. Nonetheless, we were glad to have experienced them.
We drove through Davenport to get to Maquoketa, so we had planned on stopping by there on the way back. Sarah went to St Ambrose College in Davenport, so she showed me the campus and around town.
Sunday morning we woke up to rain, which was absolutely welcome, especially since didn't need to rely on a campfire to cook our breakfast. Another adventure accomplished!
9/4/13
The State Fair, Stockwhips, and Labor Day
Another Iowa State Fair has come and gone. Sarah and I attended both weekends of the ten-day affair, though in hindsight two solid afternoons there is plenty; either the crowds were more obnoxious than last year or I was more averse to them, and it didn't seem as magical to me this year as last year. I did enjoy the good (and more restrained) sampling of fair food, craft beer, the draft horse pull, visiting with friends, and watching my friend and coworker Mike Buban play with his band.
It's been intensely dry here for close to two months. It even sounds like Montana's gotten more rain the last few weeks than this part of Iowa. The corn is drying out and some farmers have started chopping it for silage. I believe some corn was chopped several weeks earlier than this time last year due to the drought, but this year still seems very dry. Wildfires aren't a concern in the midwest like they are in the mountains, but fields of dry corn still make me wonder if it's possible. I'm told crop fires do occasionally start here, but there's no way they'd have the ferocity of a forest fire.
I've been trying my hand at leather braiding and made a four-foot stockwhip in July. I just finished a ten-footer that is being tried out here before it will be sent to Dave Clark in Winston so he can tear it up and give me suggestions for improvement. I've already got some ideas for what to do differently next time. I also decided to use the Vermeer serial numbering system, with the first prototype being '100'. I made the bold decision to give the ten-footer the '101' stamp of the first production unit, instead of the '99' of the second prototype. Hopefully it's worthy.
Sarah and I enjoyed a perfect Labor Day weekend: busy enough to keep us entertained and pleased about not wasting our holiday weekend, yet not frantic. Friday night was pleasantly laid back with no plans. I spent part of Saturday morning stacking small square bales for a local friend whose paints I've ridden several times before. Tyler Schiferl and his wife Jamie had another great get-together at their place featuring a fire and music, though I didn't add much to the music. Sarah and I made a mini-road trip to northwest Iowa to see the Grotto of Redemption in West Bend. It is the work of a lifetime of a local priest who passed away in the 50s, and is a collection and construction of shells, petrified wood, and crystals. It's the largest such structure in the world, and there certainly isn't anything like it anywhere else. Northwestern Iowa is hardly the place you'd expect it either. From there, we met my MSU buddy Bret Orner in Spirit Lake. I've seen Bret only once since 2008 and only twice since 2007 but we still keep in touch often. His Grandmother lives in southwestern Minnesota so it was an easy drive and good opportunity to see him. We also didn't want to pass up the chance to camp before the end of summer, which is somehow upon us already. Fall doesn't seem as unwelcome as it used to though.
It's been intensely dry here for close to two months. It even sounds like Montana's gotten more rain the last few weeks than this part of Iowa. The corn is drying out and some farmers have started chopping it for silage. I believe some corn was chopped several weeks earlier than this time last year due to the drought, but this year still seems very dry. Wildfires aren't a concern in the midwest like they are in the mountains, but fields of dry corn still make me wonder if it's possible. I'm told crop fires do occasionally start here, but there's no way they'd have the ferocity of a forest fire.
I've been trying my hand at leather braiding and made a four-foot stockwhip in July. I just finished a ten-footer that is being tried out here before it will be sent to Dave Clark in Winston so he can tear it up and give me suggestions for improvement. I've already got some ideas for what to do differently next time. I also decided to use the Vermeer serial numbering system, with the first prototype being '100'. I made the bold decision to give the ten-footer the '101' stamp of the first production unit, instead of the '99' of the second prototype. Hopefully it's worthy.
Sarah and I enjoyed a perfect Labor Day weekend: busy enough to keep us entertained and pleased about not wasting our holiday weekend, yet not frantic. Friday night was pleasantly laid back with no plans. I spent part of Saturday morning stacking small square bales for a local friend whose paints I've ridden several times before. Tyler Schiferl and his wife Jamie had another great get-together at their place featuring a fire and music, though I didn't add much to the music. Sarah and I made a mini-road trip to northwest Iowa to see the Grotto of Redemption in West Bend. It is the work of a lifetime of a local priest who passed away in the 50s, and is a collection and construction of shells, petrified wood, and crystals. It's the largest such structure in the world, and there certainly isn't anything like it anywhere else. Northwestern Iowa is hardly the place you'd expect it either. From there, we met my MSU buddy Bret Orner in Spirit Lake. I've seen Bret only once since 2008 and only twice since 2007 but we still keep in touch often. His Grandmother lives in southwestern Minnesota so it was an easy drive and good opportunity to see him. We also didn't want to pass up the chance to camp before the end of summer, which is somehow upon us already. Fall doesn't seem as unwelcome as it used to though.
8/3/13
Cox Family 40th Anniversary, 50th Annual Broadwater Rodeo
Happy 40th anniversary to my parents, who celebrated 40 years together this last month. Court and Lic organized the event, which involved a very pleasant afternoon cocktail hour at the park in Townsend the Friday of rodeo weekend. Sarah came with me, Licia was joined by her boyfriend Brian, who had never been to Montana, and of course Aaron and Elayna came with Courtney. Thank you so much to all who attended and enjoyed the afternoon with us!
Sarah and I made a week-long trip out of it. After flying in on the early flight from Denver, we were at large in Bozeman by 9:30. After a stroll downtown, we went through the Lewis and Clark Caverns, which was unlike anything Sarah had ever seen. We made a detour on our way back to the ranch through the old town of Elkhorn. Visiting a ghost town was another first for Sarah. It was a perfect day to take in the somewhat still green July Montana hayfields and scenery.
On Thursday, we hiked from our pasture down to the lake and back on a rather hot and dry morning. The crew from Arizona showed up later that day. We were pleased to visit with them and of course Chris, Jim, my Grandma, and my parents.
While the girls did preparatory shopping for the party on Friday, my dad had the guys slated to put in a dozen hefty paver stones to replace some wooden tie steps that had shifted and largely come apart the last few years. It could not have been done without Aaron and Brian, and I'm still a bit shocked about one of the stones falling unexpectedly on Aaron's hand, crushing four fingers and breaking two of them. It's the raw end of a deal to get for volunteer work while on vacation, and I hope he recovers quickly with no lasting issues.
The party was that evening, and was quite well attended; my parents, sisters, and I are all grateful for such good friends and family. Lic, Sarah, and I took Brian to his first rodeo afterwards, which he either enjoyed or faked enjoying quite well. Sarah is a rodeo veteran by now, after attending the Pro Bull Riders in Des Moines in April with some friends of ours and a local rodeo in Bloomfield, Iowa on the 4th.
I was thrilled on Saturday morning to bale the last twenty bales of first cutting with the ranch's new tractor, a Massey 7465. It's a completely different machine than the ranch's old tractors and is a pleasure to drive. Sarah even drove it in a circle later in the trip and was surprised at how easy it was. It was her first time driving a tractor.
The younger crowd made our usual trip to Mackenzie River Saturday afternoon and took the tour train to familiarize the newbies with Helena lore, with the Saturday night rodeo to top off the day.
We all attended the 50th and sadly final Cattlewomen's BBQ on Sunday. Court and Chris rode on the past rodeo queens' float in the parade. I rode a cow in the rodeo that afternoon, with much anticipation from the rest of the family in attendance. The old girl put my shin into the gate and my boot caught and slid me back in the blur that was the ride, but I rode the full 8 and scored a 59. I limped out of the arena and put my gear away before I took my boot off and realized I had a roughly quarter-sized gash on my shin. The EMT cleaned it up and sent me on my way.
Monday was thankfully a laid-back day at home, and we were glad to visit so much with my cousin Emily. We flew back uneventfully on Tuesday, concluding another Montana adventure.
Thank you to any and all who Sarah and I got to see last week and who made the trip worth making. A huge thank you to my sisters and their significant others for organizing things and being especially good sports. My leg has been inspected by several nurses and is being treated appropriately. It has slowed me up some, and I get curious looks at work from my limp, but at least there's a story to go with it. It's a fun one to tell.
Sarah and I made a week-long trip out of it. After flying in on the early flight from Denver, we were at large in Bozeman by 9:30. After a stroll downtown, we went through the Lewis and Clark Caverns, which was unlike anything Sarah had ever seen. We made a detour on our way back to the ranch through the old town of Elkhorn. Visiting a ghost town was another first for Sarah. It was a perfect day to take in the somewhat still green July Montana hayfields and scenery.
On Thursday, we hiked from our pasture down to the lake and back on a rather hot and dry morning. The crew from Arizona showed up later that day. We were pleased to visit with them and of course Chris, Jim, my Grandma, and my parents.
While the girls did preparatory shopping for the party on Friday, my dad had the guys slated to put in a dozen hefty paver stones to replace some wooden tie steps that had shifted and largely come apart the last few years. It could not have been done without Aaron and Brian, and I'm still a bit shocked about one of the stones falling unexpectedly on Aaron's hand, crushing four fingers and breaking two of them. It's the raw end of a deal to get for volunteer work while on vacation, and I hope he recovers quickly with no lasting issues.
The party was that evening, and was quite well attended; my parents, sisters, and I are all grateful for such good friends and family. Lic, Sarah, and I took Brian to his first rodeo afterwards, which he either enjoyed or faked enjoying quite well. Sarah is a rodeo veteran by now, after attending the Pro Bull Riders in Des Moines in April with some friends of ours and a local rodeo in Bloomfield, Iowa on the 4th.
I was thrilled on Saturday morning to bale the last twenty bales of first cutting with the ranch's new tractor, a Massey 7465. It's a completely different machine than the ranch's old tractors and is a pleasure to drive. Sarah even drove it in a circle later in the trip and was surprised at how easy it was. It was her first time driving a tractor.
The younger crowd made our usual trip to Mackenzie River Saturday afternoon and took the tour train to familiarize the newbies with Helena lore, with the Saturday night rodeo to top off the day.
We all attended the 50th and sadly final Cattlewomen's BBQ on Sunday. Court and Chris rode on the past rodeo queens' float in the parade. I rode a cow in the rodeo that afternoon, with much anticipation from the rest of the family in attendance. The old girl put my shin into the gate and my boot caught and slid me back in the blur that was the ride, but I rode the full 8 and scored a 59. I limped out of the arena and put my gear away before I took my boot off and realized I had a roughly quarter-sized gash on my shin. The EMT cleaned it up and sent me on my way.
Monday was thankfully a laid-back day at home, and we were glad to visit so much with my cousin Emily. We flew back uneventfully on Tuesday, concluding another Montana adventure.
Thank you to any and all who Sarah and I got to see last week and who made the trip worth making. A huge thank you to my sisters and their significant others for organizing things and being especially good sports. My leg has been inspected by several nurses and is being treated appropriately. It has slowed me up some, and I get curious looks at work from my limp, but at least there's a story to go with it. It's a fun one to tell.
6/15/13
Oklahoma's the place to be lately
I was in northeastern Oklahoma again last week. No corporate jet this time though: we're testing a prototype in coastal Bermuda grass and I needed a service truck for tools and to haul parts. Details about the machine have to stay scant of course, but Stu the mower technician delivered the mower two weeks ago and got rained out and the farmers we're testing it with had very little luck running it without two particular parts Travis Koster and I had forgotten to install, so I was the first person to get it running successfully. I cut 98 acres in three days, which also included lots of experimentation. I was by myself this trip and liked the break from the office grind. I also showed up on Friday much earlier than was expected; I drove back Thursday night after working eight hours.
The farm was wonderful to work with and is very accommodating to Vermeer. Their operation was large enough to keep multiple mowers busy, and they really knocked hay down when they wanted to go, but they went out of their way to make sure I got done what I had gone down there to do. I really respect their knowledge of hay equipment and what it's capable of, but also that they have realistic ideas about how to improve equipment, which isn't as common as you'd think. They are also very loyal Vermeer customers, and I was sure to thank them for it.
The seven-hour drive was a straight shot and couldn't have been easier. The only notable sight from both drives was the 10+ft tall construction barrel man just north of Kansas City. I didn't have time to get a picture of him, but he was so hilariously well-built that I thought it was a prank.
I won't be checking in on all the new mowers as previously thought. They will probably be visited as needed, but this could change. I seem to be the last one to learn anything when it comes to mower group plans.
Sarah and I will be home for the rodeo! My parents' 40th anniversary is this July, so my sisters and I will be home for a few days to celebrate and take in the old Broadwater County summer festivities. Nothing beats Montana in July!
The farm was wonderful to work with and is very accommodating to Vermeer. Their operation was large enough to keep multiple mowers busy, and they really knocked hay down when they wanted to go, but they went out of their way to make sure I got done what I had gone down there to do. I really respect their knowledge of hay equipment and what it's capable of, but also that they have realistic ideas about how to improve equipment, which isn't as common as you'd think. They are also very loyal Vermeer customers, and I was sure to thank them for it.
The seven-hour drive was a straight shot and couldn't have been easier. The only notable sight from both drives was the 10+ft tall construction barrel man just north of Kansas City. I didn't have time to get a picture of him, but he was so hilariously well-built that I thought it was a prank.
I won't be checking in on all the new mowers as previously thought. They will probably be visited as needed, but this could change. I seem to be the last one to learn anything when it comes to mower group plans.
Sarah and I will be home for the rodeo! My parents' 40th anniversary is this July, so my sisters and I will be home for a few days to celebrate and take in the old Broadwater County summer festivities. Nothing beats Montana in July!
4/13/13
Big Timin' in the Corporate Jet
Today was one of those days I had to step back and think about the series of events that led me to where I happened to be standing. I flew to Miami, Oklahoma this morning on Vermeer's newest corporate jet, an Embraer Phenom 100 with Luke Mushitz (bale processor engineer), Jim Richardson (service tech), and Phil Egging (non-baler product manager). We went to an open house at the ag division's largest dealer, Eubanks Equipment, in Welch. 500-some people attended. The other Vermeer folks and I visited with customers about Vermeer equipment. It was a productive day, and I learned about the area and some details about equipment from chatting and listening. Getting down to Oklahoma by 8 and back by 3:30 also blew my mind; driving down there takes seven hours.
This trip came about when Seth Schreur offered a spot on the jet to any member of the mower group. Mike and Travis couldn't go, so Eric and I flipped for it and I won. Sorry mom, but it wasn't like I was hand-picked by a bunch of executives.
On regular workdays, I'm lately bouncing between my desk, the engineering shop on the other end of plant 2, and the plant 1 Lely mower conditioner bay where the mowers I'm working on are being made ready for delivery to our dealers. A walk from there to my desk to the shop can take more than ten minutes, so I've been putting on the miles.
Aside from work, I've been keeping busy trying to learn a little Spanish, getting outside when southern Iowa's finicky spring allows it, braiding a parachute cord mecate, and of course spending time with Sarah. I got my first day riding last week with Jesse Munk, and his incoming string of horses that need time promises more entertainment. The mecate's a project I got hooked on thanks to Tyler Schiferl, who happens to be a rawhide braider. Googling 'mecate' may answer some questions. Rawhide and parachute cord braiding are not the most popular hobbies out there, and I got curious about them when I found out Tyler braids. We'll have to see if my first project turns out well at all, which should be done in another week, I hope.
On regular days I'm still mostly doing odds-and-ends and clean-up work for the new mowers. There's a strong chance I'll be out on the road a ton this summer setting up a large portion of the twenty machines spread across the country and checking in on them throughout the season. I love going down the road, but I'll probably be wishing for the jet at some point.
This trip came about when Seth Schreur offered a spot on the jet to any member of the mower group. Mike and Travis couldn't go, so Eric and I flipped for it and I won. Sorry mom, but it wasn't like I was hand-picked by a bunch of executives.
On regular workdays, I'm lately bouncing between my desk, the engineering shop on the other end of plant 2, and the plant 1 Lely mower conditioner bay where the mowers I'm working on are being made ready for delivery to our dealers. A walk from there to my desk to the shop can take more than ten minutes, so I've been putting on the miles.
Aside from work, I've been keeping busy trying to learn a little Spanish, getting outside when southern Iowa's finicky spring allows it, braiding a parachute cord mecate, and of course spending time with Sarah. I got my first day riding last week with Jesse Munk, and his incoming string of horses that need time promises more entertainment. The mecate's a project I got hooked on thanks to Tyler Schiferl, who happens to be a rawhide braider. Googling 'mecate' may answer some questions. Rawhide and parachute cord braiding are not the most popular hobbies out there, and I got curious about them when I found out Tyler braids. We'll have to see if my first project turns out well at all, which should be done in another week, I hope.
On regular days I'm still mostly doing odds-and-ends and clean-up work for the new mowers. There's a strong chance I'll be out on the road a ton this summer setting up a large portion of the twenty machines spread across the country and checking in on them throughout the season. I love going down the road, but I'll probably be wishing for the jet at some point.
4/3/13
Another round of Florida testing, Montana for Easter
Fifteen days on the road is a lot. The mower group sent two mowers to Florida for testing this year, and I spent the week before last with them. I flew to Orlando two weeks ago with Kent Thoreson and Ryan Walker, a baler engineer and the baler technician I traveled round the country with this time last year on the mower campaign. We met another Vermeer baler guy and two engineers from Lely working on other projects but staying in the same area for dinner on the 18th. They left the next evening. The southeastern states' territory manager and a newer territory rep also met us for a couple days, so I was never short of company.
I was occupied throughout the week entirely by mechanical work and didn't cut a single acre due to rain, then fear of more rain, then more actual rain late in the week. This was frustrating to say the least, but that's how it goes. I did manage a decent sunburn and thus a good start to my annual farmers' tan. I'd have felt absolutely worthless had I not had the wrench-turning to do. About the only positive result of the week was that the next guy to go down from Pella could literally just jump in the tractors and go.
Kent and Walker are always good to be on the road with; we told hundreds of stories and had many a laugh throughout the week. Kent is a couple years younger than me and is a farmer from Minnesota. Walker is the handiest, most mechanically inclined grizzly bear there ever was. He was also the primary influence on my decision to grow a beard last year.
Kent and I took in the Ocala rodeo the Saturday night I was there. Anyone from the west might raise an eyebrow or turn up their nose to the idea of a rodeo that far east, but it was actually pretty professional and respectable. It should be for how many horses are in that part of the country.
After my frustratingly unproductive week, I flew back to Des Moines alone. I had a few hours on Monday and all of Tuesday in the office, then my girlfriend Sarah and I got on a plane to Montana. My sisters and I decided a few weeks ago that Easter would be a good time to go home and visit, so we all made it happen. Only the girls came up from Arizona; no Aaron or Brian (Licia's boyfriend).
Sarah had been to Montana on family trips, but only as far west as the Beartooths. We caught the 6am flight out of Des Moines and got to Bozeman by 9:20, so the day was ours. My aunt Chris picked us up, then graciously loaned us a car to tour around. Sarah's first taste of Bozeman culture came downtown at the Cateye Cafe. The day continued with a drive to the base of Bridger and a walk around MSU. Chris and Jim joined us for dinner at a Thai restaurant downtown. We headed toward the ranch a roundabout way, via Norris for a soak and Pony for Moscow Mules.
Court and I showed her around downtown Helena the next day, after stopping to visit with my Grandma. I played in a session at Riley's, which sadly had been my first since playing there over Christmas. Dad and I made a trip to Belgrade Friday to get supplies for his next project, stopping at Churchill on the way to inspect the ranch's new Massey Ferguson 7465 tractor.
We did lots of exploring around the ranch in the splendid 50-60 degree weather. Sarah is a small town girl, so most everything ranch-related was new to her, but she was willing to learn about anything I had to show her. She loves the mountains.
Though we did lots of walking about and exploring, the focus of the trip was on spending time with my parents, sisters, niece, aunt, uncle, and most importantly my 88-year-old Grandma, who has had a trying few months but is bouncing back better than anyone ever expected. We all went to Mackenzie River for lunch on Saturday, and after finishing her water, Grandma ate her slice of lemon in one bite. I told her, jokingly of course, that we already knew she's tougher than the rest of us and didn't need to prove anything.
It was a great trip back to a rare, early and pleasant Montana spring-time. This time around, I didn't worry quite so much about getting round to see every person I could. I focused on what I'd gone there for, and had a lady to show around my end of the world on our first adventure.
I was occupied throughout the week entirely by mechanical work and didn't cut a single acre due to rain, then fear of more rain, then more actual rain late in the week. This was frustrating to say the least, but that's how it goes. I did manage a decent sunburn and thus a good start to my annual farmers' tan. I'd have felt absolutely worthless had I not had the wrench-turning to do. About the only positive result of the week was that the next guy to go down from Pella could literally just jump in the tractors and go.
Kent and Walker are always good to be on the road with; we told hundreds of stories and had many a laugh throughout the week. Kent is a couple years younger than me and is a farmer from Minnesota. Walker is the handiest, most mechanically inclined grizzly bear there ever was. He was also the primary influence on my decision to grow a beard last year.
Kent and I took in the Ocala rodeo the Saturday night I was there. Anyone from the west might raise an eyebrow or turn up their nose to the idea of a rodeo that far east, but it was actually pretty professional and respectable. It should be for how many horses are in that part of the country.
After my frustratingly unproductive week, I flew back to Des Moines alone. I had a few hours on Monday and all of Tuesday in the office, then my girlfriend Sarah and I got on a plane to Montana. My sisters and I decided a few weeks ago that Easter would be a good time to go home and visit, so we all made it happen. Only the girls came up from Arizona; no Aaron or Brian (Licia's boyfriend).
Sarah had been to Montana on family trips, but only as far west as the Beartooths. We caught the 6am flight out of Des Moines and got to Bozeman by 9:20, so the day was ours. My aunt Chris picked us up, then graciously loaned us a car to tour around. Sarah's first taste of Bozeman culture came downtown at the Cateye Cafe. The day continued with a drive to the base of Bridger and a walk around MSU. Chris and Jim joined us for dinner at a Thai restaurant downtown. We headed toward the ranch a roundabout way, via Norris for a soak and Pony for Moscow Mules.
Court and I showed her around downtown Helena the next day, after stopping to visit with my Grandma. I played in a session at Riley's, which sadly had been my first since playing there over Christmas. Dad and I made a trip to Belgrade Friday to get supplies for his next project, stopping at Churchill on the way to inspect the ranch's new Massey Ferguson 7465 tractor.
We did lots of exploring around the ranch in the splendid 50-60 degree weather. Sarah is a small town girl, so most everything ranch-related was new to her, but she was willing to learn about anything I had to show her. She loves the mountains.
Though we did lots of walking about and exploring, the focus of the trip was on spending time with my parents, sisters, niece, aunt, uncle, and most importantly my 88-year-old Grandma, who has had a trying few months but is bouncing back better than anyone ever expected. We all went to Mackenzie River for lunch on Saturday, and after finishing her water, Grandma ate her slice of lemon in one bite. I told her, jokingly of course, that we already knew she's tougher than the rest of us and didn't need to prove anything.
It was a great trip back to a rare, early and pleasant Montana spring-time. This time around, I didn't worry quite so much about getting round to see every person I could. I focused on what I'd gone there for, and had a lady to show around my end of the world on our first adventure.
1/19/13
Trip to Holland
I'm fresh back from a week-long trip to The Netherlands for work. I left Saturday the 12th with my two bosses, Mike Van Zee, the mower project engineer, and Seth Schreur, the engineering manager of Vermeer's forage division. The objective of the trip was to get some face-to-face time with our counterpart engineers and managers at Lely, with whom we are close partners and work closely with on some product lines, especially mowers. I'll err on the side of caution and stay light on project details, but we accomplished most of what we traveled there to do.
As per usual, an international trip involving Nate Cox experienced a hiccup or two. Our flight from DSM to O'Hare was delayed right off the bat, so we knew we wouldn't make the flight from Chicago to Amsterdam. We rebooked to catch a later flight to London and then to Amsterdam. While attempting to book this apparently nearly full flight, someone from the airline called and demanded the phone be handed over the counter to one of us, something none of us had ever seen. Another curious sight was a man walking through the airport wearing tap-dancing shoes, possibly the most annoying casual footwear available. Once we boarded the plane in Des Moines, power issues forced a deplaning, which seemed like a cue to give up and try again on Sunday. Reboarding was announced while we were on the phone with Vermeer's travel agent, so off we went.
Our seats on the O'Hare to Heathrow flight were supposedly reserved but not guaranteed, so we gambled the possibility of having to sleep in Chicago. When I checked in at the counter, something was fishy as a reservation for a flight to Bangalore popped up when the agent scanned my passport. She also assured me my two checked bags would meet me, even though I only had carry-ons. Befuddled, I corrected her and she did whatever magic airline agents do behind the counter. Throughout this part of the trip, I didn't have the heart to tell Mike or Seth that the travel issues were likely caused by whatever unfortunate travel karma I have. The trip back was fine though, so maybe my luck is changing.
We arrived in Amsterdam in spite of the airlines, rented a sporty Volvo T3 (which I didn't have to drive), and drove about an hour to our hotel in Vlaardingen, just outside of Rotterdam. Our travels coincided with a product manager meeting that was attended by forage segment director Joe Michaels and baler product manager Phil Chrisman. They and two Lely counterparts stayed at our hotel.
Being a business trip, the agenda was quite full and didn't include much time for sightseeing. Typically, we'd eat a very nice breakfast at the hotel, go to Lely for the day, go out to dinner with everyone else from Vermeer along with several Lely folks, then head back to the hotel fairly late. The exception was Wednesday afternoon, when Jelle, Seth's counterpart, took us to a large canal lock. Basically two movable dams, these 1000 ft structures block off a main shipping lane from the ocean when storm surges or high tides are expected. Without it, large parts of Rotterdam would flood. Five inches of snow fell and stuck on Tuesday, and we watched a couple dozen kids sled down a man-made hill in the area. That much snow is a big deal in Holland, and driving on Tuesday was chaotic; the country set a record with 1000 kilometers of traffic jams. Even with Seth's experience driving in snow, handling the rear-wheel-drive, moderately powered, slick-tired Volvo was a chore.
The food was excellent. From the exceptional hotel breakfasts to a Greek restaurant to an up-scale restaurant to an "Australian" pub-style place, every part of the meal was of wonderful quality and served in just the right quantities. The dairy products were especially notable, and it's easy to tell the Dutch take great pride in them. Coffee is also taken very seriously. Single-serve coffee vending machines are easy to find at Lely, they serve every kind of non-fufu coffee you'd need, and trips to them are taken often. I normally try to keep my habit to one cup a day, but drank well over that on this trip. I probably shouldn't admit how much coffee I drank last week, but I only had one cup yesterday morning, and had the shakes this morning.
We have regular webcam meetings with Lely. I'd met Jelle (say yella), and Sjoerd (say shoe-erd), one of Lely's mower project engineers who's played a key role in this project, in person in August in Pella, but had not met Harmen, another mower engineer, and Chris, a product manager who has worked mostly with mowers since he was hired in July. Harmen is a couple years older than I am and is more or less my Lely counterpart. Chris is Irish and almost exactly my age. Originally from Waterford in the "sunny southeast", he knew the area I had lived in well. He's also about my height, which was notable because virtually everyone towered over me last week. The Dutch are seriously tall. All of them are quite agreeable to be around and I am glad to have had some good chats with all of them. An important part of these trips is getting to know these people in person, which I definitely believe makes working with them more comfortable and more productive because we understand each other's modes of thinking better.
The most enjoyable part of this trip was no doubt the people. The Dutch are an extremely polite, rational people. My first impression was that anyone so well-dressed and proper would look down upon a typical American, but the opposite was true. Rarely have I been so genuinely engaged by people I barely know. Whether talking to Jelle, Sjoerd, Harmen, or anyone else from Lely I happened to be in a room with no matter their job, I was spoken to eye-to-eye so to speak (not literally given their crazy tallness) and listened to very earnestly. There were no cellphone distractions. Such courtesy is something only a small few Americans have, and we may not even realize we're going without it until we experience it firsthand. I shall strive to be able to give my attention to others as fully as the Dutch do.
As per usual, an international trip involving Nate Cox experienced a hiccup or two. Our flight from DSM to O'Hare was delayed right off the bat, so we knew we wouldn't make the flight from Chicago to Amsterdam. We rebooked to catch a later flight to London and then to Amsterdam. While attempting to book this apparently nearly full flight, someone from the airline called and demanded the phone be handed over the counter to one of us, something none of us had ever seen. Another curious sight was a man walking through the airport wearing tap-dancing shoes, possibly the most annoying casual footwear available. Once we boarded the plane in Des Moines, power issues forced a deplaning, which seemed like a cue to give up and try again on Sunday. Reboarding was announced while we were on the phone with Vermeer's travel agent, so off we went.
Our seats on the O'Hare to Heathrow flight were supposedly reserved but not guaranteed, so we gambled the possibility of having to sleep in Chicago. When I checked in at the counter, something was fishy as a reservation for a flight to Bangalore popped up when the agent scanned my passport. She also assured me my two checked bags would meet me, even though I only had carry-ons. Befuddled, I corrected her and she did whatever magic airline agents do behind the counter. Throughout this part of the trip, I didn't have the heart to tell Mike or Seth that the travel issues were likely caused by whatever unfortunate travel karma I have. The trip back was fine though, so maybe my luck is changing.
We arrived in Amsterdam in spite of the airlines, rented a sporty Volvo T3 (which I didn't have to drive), and drove about an hour to our hotel in Vlaardingen, just outside of Rotterdam. Our travels coincided with a product manager meeting that was attended by forage segment director Joe Michaels and baler product manager Phil Chrisman. They and two Lely counterparts stayed at our hotel.
Being a business trip, the agenda was quite full and didn't include much time for sightseeing. Typically, we'd eat a very nice breakfast at the hotel, go to Lely for the day, go out to dinner with everyone else from Vermeer along with several Lely folks, then head back to the hotel fairly late. The exception was Wednesday afternoon, when Jelle, Seth's counterpart, took us to a large canal lock. Basically two movable dams, these 1000 ft structures block off a main shipping lane from the ocean when storm surges or high tides are expected. Without it, large parts of Rotterdam would flood. Five inches of snow fell and stuck on Tuesday, and we watched a couple dozen kids sled down a man-made hill in the area. That much snow is a big deal in Holland, and driving on Tuesday was chaotic; the country set a record with 1000 kilometers of traffic jams. Even with Seth's experience driving in snow, handling the rear-wheel-drive, moderately powered, slick-tired Volvo was a chore.
The food was excellent. From the exceptional hotel breakfasts to a Greek restaurant to an up-scale restaurant to an "Australian" pub-style place, every part of the meal was of wonderful quality and served in just the right quantities. The dairy products were especially notable, and it's easy to tell the Dutch take great pride in them. Coffee is also taken very seriously. Single-serve coffee vending machines are easy to find at Lely, they serve every kind of non-fufu coffee you'd need, and trips to them are taken often. I normally try to keep my habit to one cup a day, but drank well over that on this trip. I probably shouldn't admit how much coffee I drank last week, but I only had one cup yesterday morning, and had the shakes this morning.
We have regular webcam meetings with Lely. I'd met Jelle (say yella), and Sjoerd (say shoe-erd), one of Lely's mower project engineers who's played a key role in this project, in person in August in Pella, but had not met Harmen, another mower engineer, and Chris, a product manager who has worked mostly with mowers since he was hired in July. Harmen is a couple years older than I am and is more or less my Lely counterpart. Chris is Irish and almost exactly my age. Originally from Waterford in the "sunny southeast", he knew the area I had lived in well. He's also about my height, which was notable because virtually everyone towered over me last week. The Dutch are seriously tall. All of them are quite agreeable to be around and I am glad to have had some good chats with all of them. An important part of these trips is getting to know these people in person, which I definitely believe makes working with them more comfortable and more productive because we understand each other's modes of thinking better.
The most enjoyable part of this trip was no doubt the people. The Dutch are an extremely polite, rational people. My first impression was that anyone so well-dressed and proper would look down upon a typical American, but the opposite was true. Rarely have I been so genuinely engaged by people I barely know. Whether talking to Jelle, Sjoerd, Harmen, or anyone else from Lely I happened to be in a room with no matter their job, I was spoken to eye-to-eye so to speak (not literally given their crazy tallness) and listened to very earnestly. There were no cellphone distractions. Such courtesy is something only a small few Americans have, and we may not even realize we're going without it until we experience it firsthand. I shall strive to be able to give my attention to others as fully as the Dutch do.
1/8/13
MT Christmas, Iowa City New Year's Surprise
Happy New Year! I have been back at work for a week after a trip home for Christmas. It was a very good time, and I was glad as always to see my parents, Grandma, Bozeman family, Alicia, and luckily this year my mom's brother and his family joined us from Texas for a more wintry, and truly white, Christmas than they're used to. The food was exceptional as it is at any Daehne gathering. I wish I got to see all of my family more, especially the Daehnes, whom I only see every other year or so.
We visited a ton, cooked, ate, played games, cooked, ate, and admired the snow. I fed a couple days for my dad but somehow didn't have to fix a single piece of yellow hay equipment. I had some good visits with friends and neighbors as well. I was happy to fit one day skiing at Bridger with Mr Larry Lee in before I had to leave. Can't wait to see everybody again soon!
I drove this round for several reasons, of which I had to keep reminding myself:
The drive back to Iowa, however, included another story but not about roadtripping. I've been seeing a girl for almost three months, so not quite long enough to have planned Christmas around each other's families. She's from Iowa, and was with family around Christmas but didn't have as long a break as I did. I convinced her that I was going to spend New Year's in Montana to make the most of the long drive. I schemed with a friend of hers and planned secretly to surprise her in Iowa City, where her and her friends would be. To do this, I left on the 30th, drove hard, got to Pella the afternoon of the 31st, showered and changed, and got back in the truck for another hour and a half. All the while, I had to make it seem like I was skiing, going out with friends, or spending time with family. I somehow kept the ruse afloat, and showed up as planned. As I sat in the living room with a smirk on my face, she walked past me twice, and looked straight at me once before she was urged to notice something in my corner of the room. She was shocked. Mission accomplished. Happy New Year!
Work's sending me to the Netherlands next week, so more stories forthcoming!
We visited a ton, cooked, ate, played games, cooked, ate, and admired the snow. I fed a couple days for my dad but somehow didn't have to fix a single piece of yellow hay equipment. I had some good visits with friends and neighbors as well. I was happy to fit one day skiing at Bridger with Mr Larry Lee in before I had to leave. Can't wait to see everybody again soon!
I drove this round for several reasons, of which I had to keep reminding myself:
- It cost about as much as flying
- I didn't want to gamble six weeks ahead of time when would be best to fly. This worked out very well because the midwest's first blizzard of the year rolled through the day before I left, and flying would have been a nightmare.
- I'd be able to haul a lot more stuff than I could fly with
- I'd have the freedom of having my vehicle there
The drive back to Iowa, however, included another story but not about roadtripping. I've been seeing a girl for almost three months, so not quite long enough to have planned Christmas around each other's families. She's from Iowa, and was with family around Christmas but didn't have as long a break as I did. I convinced her that I was going to spend New Year's in Montana to make the most of the long drive. I schemed with a friend of hers and planned secretly to surprise her in Iowa City, where her and her friends would be. To do this, I left on the 30th, drove hard, got to Pella the afternoon of the 31st, showered and changed, and got back in the truck for another hour and a half. All the while, I had to make it seem like I was skiing, going out with friends, or spending time with family. I somehow kept the ruse afloat, and showed up as planned. As I sat in the living room with a smirk on my face, she walked past me twice, and looked straight at me once before she was urged to notice something in my corner of the room. She was shocked. Mission accomplished. Happy New Year!
Work's sending me to the Netherlands next week, so more stories forthcoming!
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