The Cycle Continues

The cycle continues, and I'm in that rare situation that requires my presence back on the playing field for a short time. Once again, the situation dictates a last-minute trip into Baltimore. I'm not functioning at full capacity these days, so a red-eye from coast-to-coast is not really sitting well with me at the moment. I'm still trying to get things together for the trip, because there is still business to be transacted. In addition to the day job portion of this, I'm still working through the weekend to get everything wrapped up at home. It's not unlike any other one of the good old emergency trips that I've done many times over. The cycle continues over and over again. This time, though, I've got to delegate my next trip out to someone else on the team. If this emergency business cycle continues, I definitely need to get my rest cycles in place as well.

So, I'm tentatively planning to cancel my trip into Raleigh-Durham next week. However, I'll still put it on hold in case yet another emergency decides to interrupt the normal travel cycle for my team. And so it continues . . .

Later.

Gate Assignment Blues

Last week's adventure sent me through Chicago, where planes circle round and round without a gate to call home. Seriously. I just had a double whammy experience in Chicago where my gate was listed as NO. Now, my first reaction was that a new Terminal N had been built with gate zero. After all, gate A0 exists at Dallas Fort Worth. But, since there is an overabundance of flights into O'Hare lately, there aren't enough gates to accommodate all of them. Therefore, on a few flights out of Chicago last week, I got stuck without a gate. I really didn't think that the gate assignment would be a yes/no answer in Chicago. I can understand having that as a valid response in Salisbury, Maryland, or Laramie, Wyoming, but not Chicago. Anyway, I eventually escaped from Chicago, and actually made it back home in one piece -- sort of. It's a ground assignment for me for the next couple of weeks, so I'll sign off for now.

Boycott Continental!

Later.

A New York Minute

This has not been a good week for transportation. I wasn't supposed to get a car in New York, but I did, because my colleague had a plane delayed due to the weather in the northeast. Apparently, the 18 inches of snow made things run a little slower in Boston and New York. At least I didn't have to drive much in New York, since my friend Denise was able to drive around in the snow and ice for me. I do not mix well with snow, as I have mentioned earlier. I had trouble with the car rental people, as someone gave away my car, and I had someone else's name on my receipt. It took a while to get that fixed, and it took the hotel an hour to send a shuttle to pick me up at the airport on Long Island. Of course, I was waiting in the freezing cold weather, because they said that it would be there any minute. I returned my rental car the night before I had to leave, since I had one of those quadruple connections at 6am, before the car rental place opened. The hotel only offered shuttle service between 6am and 10pm. Since the hotel was relatively new, the taxi driver in the morning couldn't find it, and when he finally showed up it was 40 minutes before the plane was taking off. Then the real fun began. I flew into Boston, and had to switch terminals, but at least I wasn't traveling alone from Boston to San Francisco. Unfortuneately, from Boston, we had to connect in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Usually, I wouldn't mind a connection in Las Vegas, but we only got 10 minutes there, so what's the point of that? We got to San Francisco eventually, and had to deal with the fact that car rentals are really, really, really far away from the terminals, and it was really confusing to get there with the relatively new train system. It's off to Minnesota for me next week, despite my better judgement. I wanna go home!! Later.

Alarms Don't Go Off In Weiner-Mobiles

I was shopping in the Baltimore area with a friend earlier this week. When we finished with our meetings, we stopped at Westfield Mall in Annapolis. We heard a car alarm go off as I opened the door to my rental car. As a seasoned road warrior, I often get cars with cool little clicker gadgets that turn on the alarm or open the trunk. I love gadgets. They're really cool. But I digress... This time round, the rental car company must have been running out of cars, because they gave me a downgrade into a really small red car, which we christened the weinermobile. When you have a Geo Metro-sized vehicle, you can bet that it doesn't come standard with an alarm system and cool clicker gadgets. After all, alarms don't go off in weinermobiles. It must be the fact that I'm a realtively short person, because logic never seems to prevail in any travel occurrence. That's why I get convertibles during the winter in the northeast, and minivans for which I can't reach the pedals in Canada. Oh, well. Later.

Honey, I Shrunk The Rows

I was doing some light reading, and found an interesting article that sums up some of the worst airline seats. Having flown all of these airlines, I agree. The cramped quarters on these airlines is intolerable. Contrary to popular belief, I don't fly in first class on every flight. There have been way too many times when I have been crammed in a coach center seat, with the person in front of me leaning back to crush my knees. I just had one of those wonderful experiences on America West today. They may not top the list, but traveling coach in center seats is really, really bad. I agree with the article. I prefer American Airlines with the wider rows. Anyhow, it took over 12 hours for me to get home once again. Despite the good trip up to Baltimore, I'm still ready for retirement. It's always been a long road home lately, and I think my day is finally over. I'm ready for some new challenges on the ground. Later.

Baltimore, Once More

I'm back in Baltimore, yet again. I'm stuck here until Friday, so I've holed up in a nearby airport hotel. I had the strangest experience on the way up. I came through Atlanta, and we naturally arrived late for the connecting flight. As I exited the aircraft in Atlanta, preparing for my long sprint across multiple terminals for a flight that was supposed to leave in ten minutes, I noticed that the gate was in the same concourse. Not only in the same concourse, but the same gate, as well. In all my years, I don't think that's ever happened to me before. I was actually using the same aircraft for a different flight. That was just incredible. Even though I arrived after midnight, and had to settle for take out food, the journey has been worth it. Time to pound the pavement again tomorrow, but until then, I'm enjoying the fact that I'm in the same hotel room for three whole days. After all these years, it just doesn't get any better than this. For every thing, there is a first time. I know, I know. It's not over yet. But, if only every trip started this way. . . Later.

Slowing Down

I took a vacation today, which really means that I had a whole lot of personal stuff going on in my life, so I couldn't get myself onto an airplane. I'm doing a cross-country tour tomorrow, so I guess that more than makes up for it. I've been considering scaling back a bit, as I have started to feel like I'm actually aging. I already written about my "dog years" theory in one of my editorials, so I'll leave the explanation to that. Also, it's starting to feel a bit monotonous. Kind of weird, huh? I mean, it's a different city every day or every few days. I feel like a moving target. That met my needs a few years ago, when I needed to be a moving target. My needs have changed, and I think it's time for me to start some new challenges. Don't worry. I'll still be here, reporting my misadventures from various ends of the country. After all, scaled back or not, once a road warrior, always a road warrior. Let's go to Baltimore -- yet again! Later.

I Have My Connections

Once again, it would have been kinder to shoot me instead of having to actually go through this horrible travel week. I'm never, ever, ever, ever, ever going to consider doing a day trip again. I got up at 4 this morning to catch a quick flight to Hartford. For those of you who don't know me by now, I am NOT a morning person. I go to bed at 4 am. I usually reserve that time for sleeping. After a long, tortuous presentation, I headed back to the airport. Because of the cheapskates in my company, I was not allowed to return on a direct flight back to RDU, so I could get more than three consecutive hours of sleep at any point in time this week. Instead of returning at dinnertime, I just now got back to my hotel in Durham. Connecting in Baltimore, and being forced to fly Southwest is cruel and unusual punishment indeed. I'm getting too old for this . . . Tomorrow night, after a long day at the office, I have the journey into the depths of hell on the way to the long road home. Yes, I'm connecting in Atlanta in a non-upgradable fare. Onward to Los Angeles! Later.

Who Moved My Cheese?

Like a rat in a maze, I made my way through Washington, DC, in the middle of the night. I was trying to find my way to my hotel this evening. Unfortunately, I could see the hotel, but thanks to all of the one way streets and confusing signs, I circled the town for more than an hour within complete view of the hotel. I have now been lost 204 times in my career with this company. I should have retired after number 200 in Baltimore earlier this year. It would be nice to feel like any of my travels actually makes a difference for anyone. Oh, well. Later.

Broken Down

I'm still coughing my lungs out in Baltimore. I leave for home tomorrow, and I'm stuck in a coach center for a four hour flight, so I'm hoping I get shot or something before that. Anyhow, I've had a reaaaaaally bad past few months. I'm seriously considering cutting back on my travel. Yes, I'm getting to old for this, just like Danny and Mel. Hopefully, I'll survive the trip home in the morning. Got to be in Durham, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City next week. I'm getting tired just thinking about it. Later.

Flogged Again

I just made it to Baltimore, once again. I seem to be spending more and more time here... Anyhow, they had me in a smoking room, because my reservation seemed to have gotten messed up. I got up really early for the last couple of days for conference calls and other stuff. I got searched at the airport, harassed by the TSA, and my luggage looks like it has aged another ten years. I sat through the longest flight surronded by kids under two who were screaming and crying throughout the flight. Not a good day to say the least. Got to be up in a few hours, so I better sign off. I wonder how I've been able to survive throughout all this sleep deprivation. Oh, well... Later.

Nap Time

I decided that it was time to rest. I haven't started the normal work that I usually only have time for on the weekend. Amazing, isn't it? I guess I'll have to start getting my paperwork together for next week. In the past three years since I took this job, I have been going relatively non-stop. I guess that's my nature. I'm back home in California for another couple of days. I think I leave on Tuesday for Baltimore, so I'm going back to work now. I'll try to catch another break soon. Later.

Reporting from Baltimore, MD

I'm in Baltimore once again, and for the first time in many years, I'm feeling time zone challenged. I think it has to do with that nagging problem of aging. I was planning a lovely six hour drive to Durham tonight, but I found a flight that gets me there this evening, which sounds a bit more sane. I'm starting to think that I'm getting a little to old for this...

Greetings from San Diego

I woke up this morning in Phoenix, which is currently synched up in time zones. This has been a good week, despite a few travel setbacks which you'll see in one of my editorials later this month. I'm back on the road again, and I think things are starting to get back to normal, for the first time in quite a few years. This time, I'm not working myself to the brink of destruction. Seven days a week is a bit too much... I've started to actually take one day off every week, which I haven't done in several years. Since I have control of my schedule, I'm attempting to be a bit more humane to myself. I've got a conference call at 5:30 in the morning, which I consider cruel and unusual punishment, so I've got to sign off once again. Take care, and I'll talk to you from one of my adventures in Baltimore or Durham next week. See you then!

Greetings From the Homefront

And so I returned. I finally made it home from Minneapolis, and before I head out to Dallas on Monday, I thought I'd say hello to all of my readers out there. It was an unusual week, as I was in the same hotel for three nights earlier this week in Baltimore, and three more nights in Minneapolis. I acutally started to get used to the bed. Anyhow, by standing still for a few minutes, I also noticed that my momentum started to slow down a little, which might not be a bad thing. I'll let you know during my tour of Texas next week. I'll be reporting from either Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. I'm getting tired just thinking about it. I've got to visit my bed, which I haven't seen in quite a while, so I'll see you next time.

Baltimore Unlimited

I've been in Baltimore, Maryland, since Sunday night -- well, rather, reaaaaaaaly early Monday morning. It's nice to be in the same hotel for a few days. I'm visiting various places around Maryland for the next couple of days. The Baltimore airport is really an unfriendly place for luggage. A strange woman, who was obviously a leisure traveler was being very obnoxious in baggage claim, and I stopped short of telling her off. Advice of the day: Don't mess with me after fourteen hours of travel. I think I crossed the country a few too many times in the last couple of weeks, as noted by the discovery of a few more gray hairs on my head than last week.