Dry Run

What a day! We executed a "dry run" of the Christmas Eve operation. A dry run is essentially a full scale simulation designed to uncover any unknown problems or risks. Of course we have to make a lot of assumptions about major variables such as the weather, current status of the naughty/nice list, etc.; however, it is generally effective in identifying areas where we need further work.

We started last night at midnight North Pole Time, just like we will do on Christmas Eve. The teams have the sleigh ready to go, I get a de-briefing on the flight plan & any anticipated problem areas, and then its off we go. For purposes of the dry-run, I only made 10 stops on each continent but I did stop at every replenishment station. At the replenishment stations, the crews were in place and went through a full loading of the sleigh as well as rest & 're-fueling' of the reindeer.

Overall, things went very well. This continues to shape up as one of the best Christmas seasons we have had. There is no reason to believe that this isn't going to be a record Christmas. The reindeer are in great shape. I felt pretty good... though I did twist an ankle going down a chimney in Holland. Don't worry about the ankle, kids.... Jingle was with me and he immediately wrapped & iced it (we keep a fully stocked first aid kit in the sleigh at all times... you should do the same with your vehicle). As I type this, I have my leg elevated and ice on the ankle. Between that and the ibuprofren, the swelling is minimal. I anticipate I'll be up and ready to go for a run tomorrow morning despite Mrs. Claus continual pleas for me to not do so. I gotta get my run in though or it just messes up my entire day. My morning run is a great chance for me to organize my thoughts for the day and I feel much more prepared... and hence less stressed... walking into my first meeting of the day.

Oh.... I did try some new coffee today that I meant to tell you about. I still love my Starbucks Christmas Blend, as well as Egg Nog Lattes, but I was given a gift of coffee and I really liked it. You may get a kick out of this but it is actually "Elvis Coffee".... and I had the "Santa Baby Blend". Who knew? It was good to get a little variety in my holiday coffee traditions.

But for now, I'm going to pour a big glass of egg nog and settle in by the fire with my laptop and catch up on emails. I hope the rest of you can stay warm and stay safe!