I don’t think it’s possible for me to pack for a trip without John Denver crooning in my head, and this occasion was no different. It’s Sunday evening, and I’m headed down to Honduras for a week, my second trip there since I’ve joined the Tegu team. I’m looking forward to the trip, but mostly because I have been promised that there will be absolutely zero hikes involved. (If you don’t know the story behind my last trip, ask me about it sometime later, preferably not while eating.)

Leaving LAX

Currently I’m seated at American Airlines gate 48A at LAX, awaiting my 9:25p flight. The journey to Tegucigalpa usually involves flying first to Miami, then switching planes and heading down to Honduras and the craziest airport landing ever. Seriously, if you have time, search youtube for “Tegucigalpa airport landing” and see what I mean. I’m typing as fast as possible, since LAX has decided not to offer free power. Thanks a lot LAX. And to think I just used to complain about the lack of WiFi. Given this precedent, you might be inclined to believe that anything associated with LAX might fail, and if you watched the TV show, you’d be right.

Looks like I need a travel adapter for LAX...

So there are two main reasons for my journey south(east?)ward, but to say that the purpose of this trip is two-fold would be vastly inaccurate. The reasons for this trip are so numerous that there would be enough folds to create some sort of complex work of origami. Maybe a swan. Or a crustacean of sorts.

First and foremost, Tegu is holding an investors summit next weekend. Put simply, we have invited our investors to come to Honduras and get a first-hand look at the operation. This includes everything from the factory (now up and running, woo-hoo!) to the employees, Honduran and domestic, including yours truly. As such, I have packed my most convincing requisite designer uniform (black turtleneck + beret of course) for our meeting. I expect this to be an exciting time for the investors, as they have an opportunity to see their money at work. They’ll also have a chance to meet and get to know the people, faces, and stories behind the blocks that everyone can’t get enough of.

The second largest reason for my journey is for me to see our production operation, and I’m excited for that. The last time I was down in Honduras, we had just secured a factory space, and there was nothing but a gigantic expanse of polished concrete floor waiting for industry to settle in. And since then, industry has settled in. As a designer, there’s an immeasurable benefit in being able to know exactly how something goes from a sketch on a napkin (I can’t wait ’til we can afford real paper) to a finished product with a waiting list. The more information about the process, the better the design. That all being said, maybe I just want to try my hand at operating the ripsaw.

The smaller folds of course, include things like getting the whole team together all in one place. While I will miss conversing with Will over video chat (and subsequently drawing mustaches on screenshots of his face) I suppose I can trade the humor for the increased productivity and collaboration. I’m looking forward to visiting Chris in his home again, and helping lend some bonafide American community to him and his wife for the week we’ll be there. (In order to make him feel at home, I promised him I would overeat and then buy something frivolous on credit, all while being particularly indifferent to the sport of soccer). I’m looking forward to meeting and working alongside the Honduran employees working hard to make this company great. Too bad Danny Millaaaaa isn’t coming along this time, he could film my best Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) impersonation.

The Goose!

We’re boarding now. I’ll be blogging regular updates from The Goose, so keep an eye out here. I’ll do my best to keep you all posted with how the trip is going. I may even take odd photo requests… Thanks for reading!

-SoS

Tags: Honduras, SoS, The Goose 3.10