Mall Time

It's been a lot of fun having a couple of teenagers around the house these last several months.  As teenagers, I thought it would be good to give them some time at the mall.  Of course, I decided that a standard mall here in California would be good, but the Mall of America in Minnesota would be even better.  So, we did a quick weekend trip to the mall.  Since I spent a few winters in the area, I thought it I would be greeted with the standard blizzard conditions in February.  To my surprise, it was just as warm in Minneapolis as it was in Southern California.  After the entire day at the mall, I think we were all worn out. 

Later.

Vacation Time

I became a temporary father to two teenagers for a year.  In order to start things off, I decided to take the boys on a quick vacation in Los Angeles.  Of course, we had to see the Hollywood Sign.  For some reason, that was one of the "must do" things on the list of most people from outside California.  The sign is deemed a cultural and iconic landmark by some, but it was initially designed as a marketing gimmick to sell real estate about 100 years ago.  My new sons were impressed by the sign, but thought it was still a bit smaller in person.  I guess that can be said about a lot of things in Hollywood...

Later.

The Transitional Life

One of the things that really makes me feel like I have finally retired from the daily life of a road warrior is the fact that my airline club memberships have lapsed for the first time in almost twenty years.  I did do one trip to Colorado earlier this year, and I realized that I was completely over it.  Don't get me wrong.  It was a wonderful experience with all of the interesting and strange adventures throughout.  After reading through this blog and some of my other adventures, I realized that my life was pretty exciting at times. 

After a career spanning three decades, I no longer crave the road warrior challenge. It just happens that way sometimes.  I probably have a couple more adventures left in me since I still have to make a living.  However, I really do want to transition back to normal life, whatever that is...  We'll see how this goes.  Stay tuned.

Later.

Life On The Ground

There really is a temptation to stop and smell the roses.  Really.  No kidding.  I've been grounded for a while now, and I really have no intention of getting back onto the road full time.  Reality will eventually kick in, I'm sure.  Being grounded in San Diego does have some great advantages.  I've been able to spend more time having a life.  Who knew?  I actually do have a life that isn't 35,000 feet in the air. 

All good things must come to an end.  I guess it's time to book my next adventure.  I'm going to a reunion in North Carolina in a few weeks, and then I do have to get on the road for work for a few random days this summer. It's time to get those wings out of storage.

Later.

Grounded

As strange as it may seem, I have been on the ground for a couple of months.  I am still employed with even more work and reason to travel than ever.  It seems that working at my desk has been a quite appealing prospect for the last several weeks, and it gets harder and harder to want to get back in the saddle again.

In a strange turn of events, I was the only one who didn't have to travel for a company meeting earlier this month.  Thanks to the polar vortex this winter, most people were quite happy to have a meeting in Southern California.  Due to inclement weather, a lot of people had some interesting travel stories.  Sadly, I think I've experienced almost all of those stories sometime in my career.

I'm not sure what the future might bring, but I do believe that I'm not quite finished yet.  For now, I'll enjoy being on the ground with a lot of paperwork.  Happy travels to all!



Later.

Limping Along

It's been over a month since my ankle injury in Texas.  I've hobbled along for brief day trips to San Francisco, Sacramento, and Minneapolis in the intervening weeks.  Before my heralded return to Canada (for a day), I am attempting to remember how to deal with the intricacies of the international aspect of travel.  Many years ago I used to travel frequently into Canada, and had many difficulties.  This time I'm fortunate enough to be traveling between a couple of smaller airports, so I think it shouldn't be too difficult.

Fortunately my travel schedule has become a lot more manageable.  The last round of constant travel over the past three years has made me realize that semi-retirement really wasn't a bad thing.  Anyway, it's time to get back to business.  It has been several years since my last opportunity to cross the border, and I am trying to remember where I left my passport and other documents while limping along.

Later.

It Begins Again

Another year, and another long adventure begins.  I log over 250,000 miles domestically every year, and log over 200 flight segments a year easily.  As I start to get a little more grey, I've noticed that my patience seems to be growing shorter for air travel.  Maybe I'm just getting tired or set in my ways.  After all these years of the increased security measures, it just seems really taxing to even walk through the scanners these days.  If this were fifteen years ago, I would consider the standard pat-down-after-a-scan treatment that I get at airport security to be a form of assault.  However, these days I have to dismiss it as the fact that the agents don't need to have a reason to touch me in places that would be classified as molestation by anyone else. 

Lately, in Minnesota and a couple of other California airports, I've noticed that the scan with pat-down seems to happen most of the time.  It's not like I'm unaware of the protocols with shoes, outer clothing, and other stuff.  I just think that after subjecting me to radiation from multiple scans every week, are the extreme pat downs that touch or get close to your private areas really necessary?  I've been feeling violated way too much in the past year from improper touches, but it's not like I have a choice, since I have to travel for work.  I recognize many of the TSA agents at the airports that I frequent regularly.  I'm there every week, sometimes multiple times.  Yet I still seem to get singled out more often than what I would consider normal.  I've been dismissing it as the fact that they probably recognize me from previous visits.  After all, I'm sure the TSA agents see thousands of faces every day, too. 

As I was saying, another year, and another long adventure begins. Time to roll...

Later.

There's No Place Like Home

As we begin a new year, I can't help but look back to the last couple of years on the road.  I was traveling as much as the old days, and I had the same number of whacky adventures as well.  For some reason, I just couldn't find the time to keep up the blog.  I can't say that I'll be too much better in the upcoming year, but I'll give it a try.

In the meantime, I have been home for a couple of weeks, and it has been great to rest up a bit before another year that will likely top 250,000 miles once again.  I've got a new home office thanks to one of my close friends, and I think that this will be an interesting year of changes.  It's a long road back, but the journey has to start somewhere.

The journey begins in California and continues to Wisconsin and beyond.  Time to get started...

Later.

Another Round

It's been a while since my last update.  I've been through quite a bit in the last few years, and I've traveled quite a bit as well.  It all started about two years ago, when I became a victim of corporate America, and found myself looking for a new career.  I returned to another round as a full-time road warrior.  Unfortunately, it seems that I seem to have less time to provide updates to my various blogs.  In searching for a new a new job, I realized that I just don't think I can leave the wonderful weather and sights of Southern California.  Since my skills are somewhat specialized, I decided that I needed to find some work on the road.

I was also catching up with my previous posts, and I noticed that a couple of years ago, I was wondering how I ever gave this up.  I think I realized why.  It seems that there is a linear relationship between age and difficulty when playing the road warrior game.  So I'm not fresh out of college any more. At least there a few advances in technology that make life on the road a bit easier. I had mentioned this past week that my GPS has failed, so I had to resort to my map reading skills.  I was then asked what "map reading" meant.  Ha! 

Anyhow, I have returned from semi-retirement for one more round. There are still quite a few more stories to tell.  Stay tuned!

Later!

The Remote Office Blues

As in past years, I'm wiping the dust off my home office to make it a fully functional working office. At the moment, I can work from home occasionally, but it is not the most ideal circumstance due to the clutter. I decided that it is now time to clean up and turn the office into the command center that I require for my various work and volunteer activities. I'm starting with the paperwork tonight, and then I get back in touch with my inner geek, and rework the electronics in the office this weekend.

Later.

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.

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.

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.

A Time To Heal

I took one final trip into Los Angeles for the year this past weekend. I've not been in the best of health for the last year despite my reappearance in various airports throughout the country, and throughout the world for that matter. For the rest of the year, I'm staying home for some very necessary rest. When rest time is over, I'm starting the year with a quick weekend vacation in Hawaii. It's good to have some time to heal before I have to resume my regularly scheduled role as a road warrior. Later.

Flight Controller

So I spent some time this holiday weekend monitoring planes, trains, and automobiles. No, not the movie. I used those scheduling skills of mine to get one of my friends home for the holidays. Through Amtrak and the airlines, we did manage to pull this off without any significant issues. However, it is a lot different from the other side of the equation. I have found that it is a lot different to pull the strings when examining flights, alternative trains, buses, and other random forms of travel if you are not the one actually traveling. I did manage to bring him home, but now I have to get him back to school on the other side of the country in the morning. Time for me to continue monitoring.

Later.

Sweet Home California

According to the counter on the blog, this is my 200th post in this column, so I'll start by wishing myself a Happy Anniversary. It's been almost seven years since I started blathering on about my travels on my various blogs and columns. I recall starting to write about my adventures after travel started to get complicated a bit after September, 2001.

Lately, I've been staying home at headquarters in California. It's easy to get a bit complacent and to forget the difficulties of the travel adventure when you spend a few too many weeks in the office. To rectify this, I'm getting myself back on the road once in a while. Later this month, I'm being sent on an adventure to the Deep South, specifically, Alabama. Nothing against Alabama, but I would have picked Honolulu first. Still, it beats the four walls of the office building for a few days. It's been a while since I've last visited the Deep South, and I'm sure I'll have more to tell after the trip when I get back.

Later.

Daze Of Summer

I just spent the most fast-paced vacation, followed by a quick jump start onto the playing field. After some family gatherings last week, I spent some time catching up with some old friends from California to North Carolina and beyond. But, as all things come to an end, I had to get right back into the mix. After returning to San Diego last night, I had to hop on a flight to Tampa for a quick meeting tomorrow morning. After that, I'm off to Philadelphia and Chicago to round out the week. It's nice to know that some things in the universe are still consistent.

Later.

Voice Of The Traveler

I finally got that podcasting dream started. The Road Warrior Podcast is now live, and if the iTunes people let it pass through, you might even see it out on the iTunes Music store, too. How neat is that? Anyhow, I just got back from a quick trip to Orlando, with a detour into Salt Lake City. I did manage to make it back on Saturday morning, when I remembered that I had a few things to do in Los Angeles. I just made it back home in time to finish up the publication of my first podcast. Now I have to get ready for a quick trip to Dallas tomorrow, and Philadelphia the next day. These weekends seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Seems like old times... Later.