Wednesday, September 11, 2002. 4:30PM.
IDF. San Jose Convention Center.
So far today I’ve done two lab presentations plagued by technical issues, worked booth staff at a convention, had a marginal convention lunch, and am currently breaking down our display at Intel Developer Forum.
It’s just another day in the life of Brian, traveling computer monkey. Despite the significance of this particular day in American history, my daily life has not been overshadowed by events of the past. But that’s pretty much in line with my overall “9/11 Experience.”
For those that have not been readers of my website for very long, let me recap what happened to me on September 11, 2001. I was not in the United States that particular Tuesday. I had arrived in Japan on September 10, heading out on another computer-related international jaunt. The plane had arrived just ahead of a typhoon, making the landing very entertaining. My little website had only been live for a month, and had mostly served as a diary of my overseas journeys.
Due to the time difference, I watched everything unfold live the night of September 11. I left CNN International on all the time, since it was the only English-speaking channel offered by the hotel. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep a bit that night. But I had to keep moving, because life didn’t stop in Japan. My customer visits we not going to be canceled, my work didn’t get pushed aside, my life didn’t stop.
The hectic pace of my trip to Japan helped keep my mind off everything. It was probably a good thing that I wasn’t idle while away from home. It was a bit tricky getting home, but we were luckier than most. Mike and I managed to get on the first plane back to Atlanta from Japan.
Six months later I was back in Japan. I was watching the six-month anniversary coverage from the same hotel where I watched the original events. My life didn’t stop then. On the one year anniversary I skipped the television coverage, missed the moments of silence, and kept on with daily life.
I don’t block the past or try to deny it ever happened … I just learn my lessons and move on. An unhealthy obsession with the past gets in the way of the future. Engineering teaches me to use past mistakes as a way to prevent future failures. Scouting taught me to be prepared. Martial Arts teaches that training now helps avoid future conflicts. I can’t tell if these ideas shape me or just reinforce the way I was already living my life. But they work as well on September 11 as any other day of the year.
September 11, 2002 taught me a few things … never go into a presentation without rehearsing your slide timings (just in case the Intel guy changed them without telling you), make sure the software you’re demonstrating is well tested before deploying it on a dozen lab stations, check that the source code on your laptop is the same as the source on the lab stations.
Be prepared, learn from your mistakes, get on with life … same as any other day of the year.
Leave a Reply