Surfing The Hubs

I've been absent from this column for a little too long, so I just wanted to mention that I haven't faded into the background -- at least not just yet. I spent some time in Huntington, WV, earlier this month. Due to aircraft maintenance issues, they had to call in some mechanical help from Charleston, which is over an hour away from the Tri-State Airport in Huntington. Needless to say, I missed my connection in Cincinnati, and I did have to double-connect in Atlanta, and again in Salt Lake City in order to get home. I've gotten to the point where I expect the delays, and I just plan an extra "lost" day due to the missed connections. It's a really good policy, because perfect flight schedules are as unattainable as that mirage of water in the desert. The days on the road are starting to lessen, but I'm not getting off the field completely. There are still a few more stories out there. Later.

Sleepless In Seattle Again

I'm back in Seattle, after a wild ride to Savannah, Detroit, Lexington, and Louisville last week. Showtime begins at six in the morning, and setup starts at four, so I will truly be sleepless in Seattle once more. I'm playing technical advisor to a client that's visiting Seattle for a conference, and we just got through a dry run of the presentation tomorrow. It's been a bad set of travel weeks, thanks to some really bad adventures on Delta and America West. When you don't have top tier status on an airline, they really have a license to treat you like crap. It was nothing out of the ordinary -- late flights, early connections, giving away your seat even though you landed late and are on the other side of the terminal in Phoenix... You know, the usual stuff. I'd rant some more here, but I've got some work to do, so I'll catch you later.

Boycott Continental! I'm serious.

Later.

Gearing Up

I've been a bit dormant lately. Desk duty is nice for a little while, but it's nice to have it intertwined with a little travel here and there. My attitude toward some of the travel has changed a little since I stopped the full-time road warrior adventure. I did a couple of quick day trips to Yuma and Solvang over the last few weeks for pleasure. I'm acutally traveling for pleasure, and I've noticed the stress level seems to be a lot lower.

Anyhow, I'm gearing up for my next adventure on Wednesday which will take me back to the eastern time zone once again. I'm off to Savannah, GA, to speak at a conference, and then onward to Detroit to speak at yet another conference. Then I have some sales calls to make in Kentucky. By the way, this is all one big trip which spans a little more than a week. Yes, when I travel, I do it right.

Boycott Continental! It's the right thing to do.

Later.

Lost Between The States

It was a pretty rocky start to the week. My pants split on the way to San Diego, so I had to make a quick detour to pick up some new pants. Then, I caught an uncharacteristically early flight into Cincinnati from San Diego this morning. I connecting to Chicago on a 6am flight, which was quite painful. The worst part was the fact that the Cincinnati airport is really in Northern Kentucky, so I proceeded to get lost in both states today. I wonder if I can count that twice. Guess not. Anyhow, that brings my count to 207. After two painful hours, I finally made my way to the hotel, where it's time for dinner. So, I'm off. I kind of have to be in order to do this for a living, don't I? :-) Later.