Just Can't Get Enough

In an unusual turn of events, I have returned to my old travel schedule for the last month. In an effort to maintain my status on one of the airlines, I decided to take a day off to visit a friend in Honolulu. However, I decided to take the trip via Newark. Yes, it is an interesting routing to go from California to New Jersey to get to Hawaii for a couple of days. However, it actually cost me a couple of hundred dollars less to go through New Jersey than it did to go on the regular routing through Los Angeles. After all these years, I am still baffled by airline fares.

I just got back from a quick business trip to Boston, and I think I now have enough to keep me as a top-tier traveler for one more year. This might actually be the last year I get to do this, unless I can find a travel job in the upcoming year. You never know. After all, I still wonder why I ever gave this up.

Later.

Back In Action

After all this time, it was great to get back into the field. While on a day vacation to San Francisco, I go rerouted to Dallas to a quick customer meeting. The following week, I had another customer meeting in Minneapolis, followed by a four hour drive to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for a marketing event. It seems like old times, and it was during the last trip to South Dakota that I realized that it wasn't the travel or the airports or the hotels. It's all about your colleagues in the field, and the interaction, teamwork, and camaraderie that you experience during the different missions that you need to accomplish in the field. During dinner in South Dakota, I remarked that I had really missed working with some of my sales team on a regular basis.

I still have a few more places to go before this year is over, so I'm not quite finished just yet. For now, I have a week of desk duty ahead of me. I forgot about the late-night paperwork that follows the adventures on the road. The adventures continue, for a little while longer, at least. For now, I'm gearing up for a quick vacation to Hawaii in a couple of weeks. Travel safe.

Later.

Behind The Desk

I once held a position that required me to be a road warrior in a different city every day of the week. It was an interesting job. However, time did take its toll, and I did get a bit worn down after a decade or two. Every now and then, I do seem to think that I have been stuck behind a desk for a bit too long. For the last year or so, I have been permanently behind the desk, keeping everything together for all of the people who still decide to make a living by playing road warrior on a daily basis.

I do miss the camaraderie that you have with your colleagues on the road. I think I have a closer bond with the people that I have worked with in the field than those that I might have seen in the office setting. I have been asked if I would go back to doing a remote job. If the travel schedule were a bit less demanding than what I used to do, then I might consider it. However, if it's my old 300,000-mile per year domestic travel plan, I think I might be getting a bit too worn down to keep up with that level of travel.

No, I'm not leaving the desk just yet. However, I do think I'm going to get myself onto the playing field a bit more than I have this past year. I'm not quite ready to start getting out of practice just yet.

Later.

Wherever You Go

I once wore a button that had a cool quote -- I live in the past, the rent is cheaper. I like quotes from the past. Another one comes to mind lately -- No matter where you go, there you are. I think this one is from Buckaroo Banzai in the 1980's. I thought about traveling for the weekend, but ultimately decided against it.

I spent a few hours in Los Angeles at an diversity event for the company earlier in the week. I was thinking about going to San Francisco or Phoenix for the weekend. However, I decided to change my plans since one of my friends couldn't make it. So, I decided to stick around here in San Diego for the weekend. There's still a lot of stuff to do here at home. After all, wherever you go, there you are.

See ya.

Here We Go Again

I've been grounded for a bit too long. When you reach a certain point in your career, the temptation is always to get back onto the road to have a presence with your team. Up to this point, I have resisted the temptation, as my responsibilities remain in San Diego. However, there does come a point in time when you just can't stop thinking about life back on the road.

I've decided that it may be time to hit the road on a couple of long weekends. I haven't quite decided upon the destinations, but just like life, it's all about the journey. Since life is a journey, I guess I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm going to throw the dart at the map and see where I'll end up next weekend. Stay tuned...

Later.

Getting Away From It All

Economic pressures have wreaked havoc with just about every aspect of my life. There have been really tough adjustments at work, and work has picked up at my various volunteer jobs because of external pressures. And so I returned to Hawaii for the third time this year. For the first time in quite a while, I'm spending an entire week on vacation. I'm stepping back to spend some time with friends and family.

For the first time in years, a couple of my friends made appearances in San Diego briefly this past weekend. We haven't been together at the same time in almost a decade. I'm spending some time with friends and classmates from the old days, and will be attending one more wedding. This time it's my cousin getting married.

This truly has been my big chance to get away from it all. My last few entries have highlighted the fact that I really needed a vacation. Even though I've said many times that it isn't a good strategy to do so, I do hope this vacation is enough to recharge my batteries.

Later.

Aftermath

I spent a week in Chicago at a trade show. This was the first time this year that I had traveled for work, and it was a bittersweet experience. In the days before I had to leave for the show, the company had some layoffs, and my team was impacted. It was really hard to leave for a show when I should have been back at home trying to pick up the pieces.

Due to the economy, there weren't too many of my colleagues at the show, but I did get to see a few of my close friends there, so it was a welcome break. For the first time at one of these shows, I decided that I needed to break away from the rest of the group for some "alone" time. I just couldn't deal with being around people during this round, due to the events of the previous week.

I've returned home to deal with the aftermath. As soon as I got back, I was moved to a new building and new office. I'm taking a short time this weekend to rest before trying to bring order to the chaos on Monday.

Later.

Breaking Away

With the current state of the economy coupled with other tightening pressures at work, it actually is a relief to get away briefly. Last weekend, I decided to break away from work a few hours early to visit quite a few of my friends. Even though it was only an hour away, Disneyland was a great way to break away briefly. I was able to catch up with a couple of my friends in Anaheim, and then I spent the weekend in Los Angeles visiting several other friends.

I still have not had my first travel assignment at work, and with the current state of the economy, I expect the traveling to be quite restrictive moving forward. I'm still expecting a quick trip into Chicago next month, but we'll see if that actually comes to pass. Until then, I think I need to make sure that I have enough rest and recreation time. I think it might be time to schedule a few more reunions throughout the country.

Later.

Lost In Paradise

After a couple of trips back to Hawaii in the last couple of months, I've been lost in a daze. Realizing that I am no longer built for the ravages of the overnight flight, I decided to continue to ignore my better judgment and take the flight anyway. There has always been a disconnect between my current physical location and my current mental state. It usually takes my brain a couple of days to catch up, just like my luggage in most cases. These last couple of trips were no exception. I think my brain is still lost in paradise somewhere, sipping that tropical beverage with the paper umbrella.

It's an odd thing to be semi-retired from the travel game. These last couple of trips reminded me that I am starting to lose some of my skills in the field. I accidentally brought a screwdriver (the tool, not the beverage) with me in my computer bag. I still managed to bring it back home with me. I would never have let that happen a few months ago.

Before trade show season starts again, I guess it is time to get back into practice. I've actually got to start packing my emergency backup suitcase again, since I had to use it for the last trip. Good thing the clothes still fit -- almost. I'm home for another month, and then it's time to get back onto the playing field again in April.

Later.