Thirteen minutes after five o'clock this morning found me trying to jump start the outfit's truck with the wife's SUV. In the dark, sans coat or vest, around 26 degrees.

Not an auspicious beginning to the day. That should teach me to not keep the cell phone plugged in, but how many times has this happened already?

But, ten minutes later, I was on the road. And over a hundred miles away by the time the sun came up.

And despite the delay in departure, and the need to park blocks away, I still made it to the meeting place 15 minutes early.

Before any of the folks from that office had arrived. Just me and two other out-of-towners standing in the hall, waiting and watching the resident cubicle denizens come to work in their running clothes, bicycling helmets, and suits.

Most bearing a cup of coffee.

So. A meeting marathon. Five meetings scheduled, one right after the other, all in the same room, with different, but overlapping, topics. Maybe eight of us who attended all of the meetings, others with people coming for one, leaving before the other.

First meeting from eight until ten. The second from ten to noon. The third in the same room, with pizzas delivered, until one-thirty.

We skipped the meeting scheduled at one-thirty because the folks for the two o'clock meeting showed up early. And that meeting lasted until after three-thirty.

Eighteen in the first meeting (six female, one of whom ran the meeting), 11 suits.

Not including me.

Thirty in the second (10 female, one of whom ran the meeting): 21 suits.

Only 15 for the lunch meeting. Five female (one of whom ran the meeting). 13 suits.

I noticed the gal running the meeting, who ordered the pizzas, ordered a salad for herself.

The final meeting had 24 of us around the table and walls, 10 female (one of whom ran the meeting). A total of 15 suits.

So, did I need to be there?

Not really. Although the head water quality guy did call my question during the first meeting about stratification in the reservoir "astute". But I don't think I spoke a word in the second, other than introducing myself, and explaining I didn't really belong there, I just had meetings before and after, so why not stay?

And the company reps didn't really want to talk about my stratification question in the last meeting.

The two guys from our outfit seemed surprised to see me. But when two different people from the Governor's Office suggest it would be helpful if you were at these meetings, well, you go.

So I went.

Only been in the building (on the left)

twice before, and those were brief visits. But, as cubicle habitats go, it wasn't bad. They may be in cubicles, but some of those folks have a nice view out their windows.

By four-thirty I was on the road again. Less than a hundred miles from home by sunset.