Providence Trip - Day 3

Hoping I'd stay in bed longer than normal (in preparation for our overnight Installation), I didn't set an alarm and kept my "white noise" generator on full blast through the night.  Sadly, I only made it to 0730 and couldn't go back to sleep.  After trying to kill time with sleep inducing activities (like reading a boring book), I gave up and went to breakfast in the Lobby of the Holiday Inn Express (Warwick) at 0845.  And, since I was already awake, it made sense to do some teleworking (meetings) from 0900 to 1200.  Even if I'd wanted to avoid work, the outdoor conditions (raining, with temps in the high 30s) didn't seem conducive to be a substitute.  One thing that I did do, though, was return to the Fitness Center for another workout.  This time, I did 20 minutes of biking (4 miles) and 40 minutes on the treadmill (2 miles).  During this time, a little boy (with him mom) came by and started using the other equipment.  When he'd gotten bored with what was open, he actually come right up to me and asked if I could get off the treadmill so he could use it.  I wasn't finished so politely told him that he couldn't have the machine yet.  Fortunately, this didn't upset him and he waited rather patiently for me to complete my walking workout.  Along the way, he asked me a LOT of questions and I did my best to answer.  By the end, I showed him how to wipe down equipment and we talked about "Fitness Center Etiquette" - his mom thanked me profusely for entertaining her son while "his dad is at work".  Following my workout, I returned to my room and joined a meeting that was intended to help several of us that were in the field - that turned out to be a great resource.  At 1415, I departed my hotel and drove (via side roads and I-95) to Quonset Point.  The weather was NOT nice and my adaptive cruise control didn't work for most of the drive.  Also, the loud (muffler?) noise continued - that is really bothersome...   Anyway, I'd been hoping to see my dad on Cape Cod during the coming weekend but he demurred, saying that there wasn't any room for my car in the driveway and that there was so much snow it would be hard to enjoy the visit.  Instead, he proposed that we meet up in Rhode Island and suggested somewhere close to the old Naval Air Station (where we'd lived when I was a little kid).  With this goal in mind, I found the Quonset Tavern on the Green in North Kingstown and he agreed to meet me there.  I arrived at 1440 and met my dad and Beth a bit later (1500).  We ended up being the only customers and had a nice, relaxing lunch (lots of food).  Along the way, I (unfortunately) forgot that it was Ash Wednesday and ended up eating some meat.  Oh well - I reset my clock immediately and hope to do better in the future...  We visited and caught up on news until we were finished with our meal (1625).  After saying goodbye, I drove back (via US-1) to my hotel.  During this transit, I ended up on a work call.  Meanwhile, it was still raining...  Just after my arrival at the Holiday Inn Express (1700), I started trying to nap in preparation for my overnight work at the Airport.  Despite my best efforts, I only got about 45 minutes of actual rest in 90 minutes of trying.  Beyond these attempts, I took care of personal admin work and did a bit more telework in preparation for overnight installation.  Since I'd eaten a full breakfast and lunch, I didn't make a special effort to eat dinner.  At 2015, Jennings picked me up and we carpooled to the Airport (arrived at 2030).  Like before, it was raining but I really didn't care.  Not only was I feeling a bit tired but I knew I'd be indoors all night.  Upon arrival, our team convened and we started the testing activities (2100).  There was a lot more "hands on" for me during this day's activities (unlike yesterday) and I had a front row seat when we found our first obstacle.  Somehow, the site had lost connectivity with their "parent" facility and it took more than an hour of troubleshooting with the National Help Desk before we could continue our planned tests.  Fortunately, we got back on track before too long.  Meanwhile, I cracked open the "thermal travel mug" (AKA "insulated tumbler") and drank some coffee that I'd brought from the hotel.  This was my first use of this cool mug - I'd received it from one of The Prouty fundraisers - and it worked great!  During each subsequent hour, I sipped caffeine off and on and managed to keep my focus.  In the same timeframe, I also managed to get my last mile of walking in (and my step goal).  I was still working at midnight (3.5 hours more hours towards my job).  Hope we are able to get this Installation completed before our internal deadline (0500)...