After months of communicating with Tegu eastern command in every way technology allows (skype, email, vmail, gmail, AIM, video conf, conf calling, VOIP), we’ve finally found a small break in which to shoehorn a trip for me to go visit.

I’ll be keeping a running log of my trip for all you fans out there, which will manifest itself in a daily blog update for one more day. Enjoy!

West meets East day 6- Phonetastic Voyage

8:00- Last night was the earliest I’ve gone to sleep (12:15a EST) since I’ve been here, and when my alarm clock rang this morning, it jarred me from the most sound sleep I have experienced this entire trip (see Kristen? And to think- you were worried!) Am I the only one who wishes I could pause my dreams when I wake up and continue them the following night? If we could, I’d get a lot more sleep tonight. We can already pause live TV, can we get those guys at Cal Tech to figure out a way to bookmark our subconscious next?

8:44- Getting ready to roll into the office with Craig (who I’m staying with for the rest of my trip.) But before I go, I have to do something I’m not normally accustomed to- Make the bed. At home, my bed is in my office right behind my desk, and it goes unmade. What can I say, I’m a boy. But today I’m a boy who’s a guest in someone’s home, so the bed gets made.

9:12- I’m all set up for my day at the office right now. Will, Craig and I are crammed into Tegu eastern command, which consists of about 100 square feet of hardwood floored home office. It’s pretty cramped and the acoustics are reminiscent of a high school locker room, but then again, it’s larger than the 1993 Accord we took into New York, so I’m thankful for that.

My temporary desk at Tegu eastern command.

10:05- Danny Miller our favorite videographer is flying in today to record some video that we’ll be putting up on our site, so for now I’m prepping for my spot. “Nine naughty nannies nicked Nate’s navy knickers. Nine naughty nannies nicked Nate’s navy knickers.” Okay, I’m good. Seriously though, I’m typing up a simple outline to follow in lieu of a formal script. I’m not used to having office mates, so the conversation going on between Will and Craig behind me is a bit odd. Normally if something behind me was distracting, I’d just change the channel or turn the volume down. Maybe those Cal Tech guys can develop a remote control with those capabilities about the time they figure out how to bookmark my dreams.

11:14- Just got off a conference call where we looped in Chris from Honduras. It’s much more difficult to be scouring eBay for shoes or drawing cats riding bikes when you’re in the same room, but I suppose that’s a small sacrifice to make to trade for increased productivity. The topic of discussion was revolving around production and ways in which we can improve. It’s all about learning and improving. And making. And doing.

A rare moment captured on film: Craig at work, NOT on the phone.

11:24- Will and Craig are now hitting their stride, as both are on the phone, simultaneously. I have NO idea how they can maintain separate conversations with people while they’re only six feet apart. I’m about to put my earbuds in, I don’t know if music will add to the cacophony of sound but I’m hoping it will help quell it a little bit. Or actually, a lot of bit. 

1:13- Off to lunch at Panera. Discussing strategery over a chicken salad sandwich and a bread bowl of soup. Yummmmmmm.

Look! LETTUCE!!! And an APPLE!!!

2:09- Ladies and gentlemen, all the way from Orlando, Florida: Mr. Danny Miller. I first met our grizzly, grinning videographer down in Honduras, so I hope he forgives me for the immediate association of gastro-intestinal difficulties with his trademark 6 o’clock shadow (of which I’m sure the two are not linked.)  I’m hoping to construct some much healthier and pleasant memory associations with him for the next 24 hours while he’s here and we work on shooting some video. 

I promised Danny I would post an equally embarrassing photo of me too...

2:45- Danny, Craig, Will, and I are in the previously mentioned 100 square foot office space together. Three of us are on the phone, with three separate people. It’s similar to how I imagine the NYSE floor in my head, except with more shoving.

...and here it is.

3:20- Time to go shoot some video!

That's a Tegusaurus Blox (Omnivore, Triassic) sitting on the table.

5:15- Well, my portion of the video shoot is over for today. We’re losing usable light, and Danny says we have enough video to splice together and get what we need. Either that or he’s finally had enough of trying to get me to look into the camera and stop saying “basically.” If you’re ever looking for a great way to become exceedingly self conscious and highlight every single bad habit, nervous twitch, or speech deficiency you have (and who isn’t?), I can think of no better way than to try and film a video diary entry. In the real world, natural tendencies like flitting eyes can be construed as endearing and adorable (well it is when *I* do it at least), but on camera it looks like you’re mentally chasing an invisible moth around the room- Not so good when you’re trying to convince the audience that you’re more talented than your chimp-with-ADD mannerisms would otherwise lead one to believe.

As frustrating as it probably was for Danny (he actually thinks I did a good job, though I’m not convinced), I’m glad for the video diary series. It’s another way for fans to get a glimpse into Tegu, and the team members who make the company. Between the diaries, the blog, the facebook page, and twitter- we’re putting priority not in just getting the word out about the product, but also about US. We believe in the product and in each other, so if you believe in us- that’s a great start.

6:24- I just heard the magic words: “I think we’re going to have to leave in about 10 minutes for dinner.” Woo hoo. I have no idea where we’re going, but maybe if we’re lucky they’ll have a TV so we can watch Monday night football. Oh wait… over here on the east coast, your football doesn’t start until 8pm. SO WEIRD!!! What am I supposed to watch while I eat then?

7:10- It’s been much longer than 10 minutes since my last post, and we still haven’t left for dinner. Danny and I begin foraging for sustenance downstairs.

7:29- We’ve finally made it to our dinner destination after Craig wrapped up his 149th phone call of the day. Forget Grease Man, I’m going to start calling him Pa Bell, ’cause he’s always on the phone. I never knew what it took to “get stuff done” the way that Craig does, and he’s great at his job. I think there are some customer service centers in India that handle less call volume than the Northeast corner of Tegu’s eastern command. Thankfully he was able to finish up his call before Danny and I started gnawing our hands for nourishment, although I’m sure the sound of our stomachs growling was audible from downstairs.

9:09- My last dinner in Connecticut was celebrated at the City Limits diner, which fell perfectly into this trip’s established pattern of eating from one of the following food groups: Burger, Pizza, or Fried. I’ve got half a mind to exchange tomorrow’s plane ticket home for a bike to ride back instead, maybe that way I could burn off some of this shame. I’ll be sure to bring my own vegetables next time I come out here- Just the thought of grazing on raw spinach straight out of a Trader Joe’s bulk package makes me smile inside. Ah well, as much as we’d like to sometimes, we can’t change some things, including the past. (Hey, maybe we can get those Cal Tech guys on that too, there are some amazing people out in Pasadena, no doubt.)

Our dinner dissolves into a conversation revolving around Michael Moore, christianity, capitalism, and economics. I won’t say who’s talking about what, who’s sitting demurely with a smile on her face through it all, or who’s struggling to stay awake after the mini beer sampler and trying to follow the football game on the bar TV across the restaurant while daydreaming about night dreaming, but the regular readers might have some ideas.

10:39- Last entry for the day. I’m sitting on the couch at the Doescher’s house. My hosts have turned in for the night, and I’m going to finish up this blog and format the day’s photos with the Packers/Vikings game keeping me company. Watching sports this late in the night is so odd to me, I don’t think I could ever cut it on the east coast for that reason alone. Speaking of the game, what’s going on with Brett Favre’s sleeves? They’re so baggy and loose, he looks like a six year old wearing daddy’s old pop warner jersey. (Well, until he takes off his helmet, and then he looks like a 60 year old man about to break a hip…) Overall it’s been a good day discussing strategy with Will, eavesdropping on Craig, and getting some video work in with Danny. I leave tomorrow for the airport and while I’ve had fun, I won’t shed any tears leaving Rowayton for the west coast… but that’s probably because I know I’ll be back again soon. (And when I do, I’ll come see you Patty. You too Ben.) Thanks for reading!

Kickin' back on the Doescher couch doing some work.

Now, lets see about continuing that dream from last night…

-SoS