I used the word potpourri yesterday

and I hate that word.  Blech.  I had to brush my teeth twice just to get that feeling out.

I'll give you absolutely no guesses where I am right now, since I'm to tired to wait:  I'm on a plane.  I was on a different plane just a little while ago.  And before that I was in a basement with no windows.  Before that I was in a hotel room.  Yes, the glamour is sometimes hard to bear.

Other than that, American Airlines has promoted me from "Gold" to "Platinum" and now on to "Flight Attendant."  I get lots of free drinks but I'm tired of all the business men and their roaming hands.

Actually, a lot has happened to BJR since the last newsletter.  First, the newsletter has become a lot more popular - several people have said, "I like it a lot better since you stopped sending them."  Keep the fan mail coming.  The last newsletter actually generated more response than any before - many BJR fans seemed to think that my boyish, outgoing, optimistic outlook had been ruined by work.  But don't worry - it was actually ruined by Junior High.

My outlook on life is a lot more positive, partly from realizing that the project I'm working on is really cool, and partly because the higher ups at Trilogy (yes, "the man" even exists at Trilogy, and yes, I'm trying to stick it to him - whoa, what did that mean) told me that if I don't start smiling more they're going to start pulling teeth.  That strategy seems kind of self defeating.  If you followed that paragraph, give yourself two BJR frequent visitor points.

Where was I?  Oh, yeah - Boston.  Trilogy had it's "Selling Chain Expo," our announcement to the world that we exist.  A two day all out "we are smart, our software rocks, please put money in our socks" affair.  Very cool, very deceptive.  See the Dilbert comic strip that week on Trade Shows for details.

Then, after a brief tour of New Hampshire (the outlet mall state), it was back to good old Milwaukee.  I did see my folks in Florida for a few days, and I took care of my nephews.  My nephews have grown up quite a bit and have learned that Uncle Bryan can get serious and try to make them behave, but all they have to do is laugh at him and climb on top of his neck, and he's a pushover.

I've been dreaming of the day where I'll fly down to Florida, pick up my nephews, and fly them to a Marlins game.  Now I've decided I'd rather talk to them on the phone while they watch TV.  No, no, no - they're still awesome, although Braden's not quite as much fun now that he's not eating everything in sight.

The center of my life remains Milwaukee.  But, much like when BJR was in "Philadelphia" because he was ashamed of being in "Delaware," I'm actually in Brookfield, Wisconsin.  But, Brookfield exposes you to the true Midwest - beer, cheese, and pork.  Just Tuesday night we ate dinner at a lovely restaurant called "The Machine Shed," where Mike Miller (a guy I work with who shall remain nameless), ordered THE COMBINE (as in the industrial piece of farm equipment), which comes with super fried pork, a four foot sausage, badger steak, and the head of a goat.  I ordered turkey.

The other cute qualities of Brookfield/Milwaukee/Wisconsin are the cheeseheads, the cold weather, the beautiful mountains, and the alligators.

While I normally avoid putting web sites or email addresses in the newsletter, I have no choice but to put this one in.  This individual is solely responsible for turning my life into a bitter, cold, sleepless existence.  So, if everyone reading this could please send mail to "jason.weiss@trilogy.com" and ask him to "Let Bryan Go," I would appreciate it greatly.

Have a wonderful mid-November.

BJR