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.
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