Saturday, October 6, 2007

Memphis

Here is a recap of my trip to Memphis. Visiting the sights, seeing Mark, eating Memphis BBQ and getting to know the people was awesome ya'll. Work on the other hand was a rollercoaster. Lots of ups and downs, change is hard and requires a lot of patience. I like this quote by Stephen Covey:

“I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a "transformer" in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader.” Stephen R. Covey

I know I am one of the change catalysts on this organization but my patience was tested more than once in this trip. In the end, changed a lot of things, learned a lot and I will have to return soon-not sure of when but I will have to come back to finish what was started.

The day of my trip I had to wake up super early to catch a 5:40am flight. The view of the sunrise was beautiful. There was an amazing view of the clouds and Mt Rainier coming out of the clouds but my camera battery died when I was trying to take the picture. boo-hoo
Washington sunrise from 10,000 feet

On the Denver layover I got some batteries and almost missed my flight in the process. On our descent the clouds looked like cotton puffs. cool!

View from the sky

The food was awesome!! I probably gained a few pounds, loved Memphis BBQ and catfish. I probably lost the pounds while I was at work cause I was on my feet every single day (I need a foot massage!). My boss said there are 5 places to eat BBQ when in Memphis and I made it to 4 out of the 5.

  • Commisary: I went here twice. The restaurant is located in Germantown, a very cute small town east of downtown. Loved the restaurant ambiance, small & cozy. Had the dry rub pork ribs and shoulder combo. Oh so good.
  • Rendezvous Ribs: This restaurant is in downtown Memphis. Hard to find, you gotta find the building in an alley and then go to the basement. Had the dry rub pork ribs and shoulder combo. In my opinion the Commisary ribs are better. But the beans here are awesome and these guys ship ribs via Fed-Ex.
  • Pig-n-Whistle: My boss took Mark and I here cause it's his favorite BBQ restaurant in Memphis and I have to agree. We all had the King Combo with a muddy half slab of pork ribs, kielbasa sausage, BBQ baked beans and hushpuppies, yummy!
  • Corky's BBQ: On my last day we had Corky's BBQ deliver food for the entire plant and I had a Pork shoulder sandwich.
I also enjoyed Catfish and Chips, Memphis version of Fish and Chips. We went to James and Jack's Catfish Shack a few times. Off the beaten path, it's close to work and our coworkers love this place. I loved the catfish, fresh, crispy, not greasy, served with fries, slaw, tartar sauce and hush puppies. Oh so, so good.
I also got to see some of the sights:
  • Graceland-I visited Elvis' home twice. I knew very little of Elvis before this trip and now I have an appreciation of who he was, his music and what he believed in. During the audio tour his daughter said that he was always in search of becoming a better and more spiritual person that's why he explored Karate, gospel music, charity and the bible. He joined the Army when his career was at it's highest point because he felt it was his duty, he was very generous with friends, family anf charities. I loved that.
  • Sun Studio-Visited the studio where Rock N' Roll was born. Held Elvis' microphone. Musicians can still record there after 6pm for $85/hour. That is so cool!
  • Shiloh Military National Park - Mark and I had never visited a Civil War battelfield. Mark was so excited to be there. It was great to go with him. Trips like this are awesome because he has so much history knowledge I learn so much from him.
and that's the recap. Next time I visit Memphis, I am heading to Nashville.

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