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.

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.

Winter Revisted

I never really understood the meaning of a winter wonderland.  Since I have lived for most of my life in warmer climates, it usually causes some trepidation every time I encounter snow and ice. This winter has been no exception.  I've been spending a lot of time in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.  Needless to say, there has been a lot of snow so far.  It has been a few years since I have experienced freezing temperatures that actually hurt with just a few seconds of exposure.

While the fresh snow looks nice, it does have its challenges.  Rental car companies don't provide the shovels and ice picks that I needed in the last several trips.  The snow and ice were challenging in Duluth and Minneapolis, and I really needed that shovel in Chicago and Grand Rapids after experiencing the same snow storm twice in the same week.  The small brush and ice scraper that I had available was just not enough to dig myself out of the parking lot.


There are still several more weeks of winter, and I'm not quite finished with my travels into Minnesota for now.  I have yet to understand this concept of a winter wonderland.  However, I do wonder when this winter will end.

See ya.

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.

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.

Out Of Practice

I returned to the world of the road warrior this past week, and found that starting over really isn't all it's cracked up to be. I returned to the warm greetings of the TSA in San Diego, who decided that it was time for my regular flogging. I got the pat down treatment, and it was a tad too up-close and personal for my taste. I had forgotten the nature of my business, and planned the Minneapolis trip to get a two-week advance purchase fare. Unfortunately, I had a last-minute change that required me to stop for a meeting in Chicago. Then I forgot my MP3 player, which really wasn't something I used to use a lot. However, I really missed it on this trip. It was unseasonably cold in Minneapolis and Central Wisconsin for some reason, but despite that, I believe I had a successful trip. I probably should never have given this up... I think it's time to plan the next adventure.

Later.

One More Time

I just returned from Minnesota, and one of the better vacations that I've had in quite a while, despite the snow and freezing weather. I can finally call it a year. It's been one of those months that has allowed me to reconnect with a lot of people. In the last decade, I really haven't had the opportunity to take control of the travel like I have this month. I managed to connect with friends in Toronto, Portland, and Albuquerque. I even got to spend some time with a friend in Minneapolis. I now have regained my elite status on my airlines and hotels, so it's finally over for the year. Still, I think I might take a road trip to visit my friends in Northern California. After all, you can't keep a good road warrior down. Later.

Fighting Every Step Of The Way

Another year has quickly passed, and I think I have aged more in the past year than the rest of my collective years as a road warrior. I've often contemplated retirement, but that wouldn't be a good idea. You see, people like me don't do well in retirement. I keep saying that this will be the last year of this. My boss has decided to promote me into a desk job in the coming months, which will severely curtail my field activities. But since I can see through the erroneous vision statement in my new job description, I know I will still be out in the field almost as much.

I'm still going out to Minnesota on Sunday to capture the last 3,000 miles to keep top-tier status on one of my airlines. The road warrior in me is still fighting desk duty every step of the way, but my aging body is starting to accept the desk job. Maybe I'll start keeping my feet on the ground next year. Happy Birthday to me!

Later.

Taking Inventory

It's that time of the year again. I'm taking inventory of all of those pesky frequent flyer and points accounts. All road warriors go through this around this time of year. You see, as a freqent traveler, we all need to actually go through our accounts to see where we stand in all of those frequent-use programs. I've discovered that I actually did cut back this year. I'm going to give up on one of the programs, and I'm about 15,000 miles short on two airline programs to keep my status going. That means that I need to fly at least 30,000 miles within the next couple of months. In the last few years, I would probably say that it would be no sweat. However, this time around, I am attempting to slow down, and it would be a bit of a stretch to come up with that amount of travel in a short two months.

So, the race is on. I'm traveling to Houston and Detroit this week, with all of the appropriate connecting flights. I have a San Francisco trip next week. After that, I've got a quick trip back to Detroit and Minneapolis. Then, I'm ending the month in Toronto for good measure. That should take care of the first airline, and maybe a little bit of the other one. Now, as for December, I've got a quick trip to Las Vegas and Norfolk, VA, so far. I might squeeze in a short weekend in the northeast to make up the difference, if any. After all, I'm so close that it would still be worth it to make up the difference for another year.

Whew. So much for semi-retirement from all of this. Maybe next year. . . Later.

A Time To Thaw

I'm hoping that this has been my last trip through the snow. I just returned from Duluth, MN, in the winter. Let me repeat that. I just returned from Duluth in the winter. Prior to Duluth, I spent the day in Minneapolis. Before that, it was a couple of days of Milwaukee. Just before that it was Ann Arbor, Michigan. I've definitely been breaking my "no snow" rule as of late. The flight delays seem to be getting longer and longer. I've been noticing that I've been spending a lot more time sitting on a plane that is stalled somewhere on the runway, waiting in that eternal line prior to take-off. I've actually had a lot more misconnects and delays in the last few months. Looking at airline statistics, I've noticed that the average wait time for take-off has definitely increased over the previous year.

It's time for me to thaw. I'm off to Fort Lauderdale for a couple of days. It will be a relief not to have to pack that heavy winter coat.

Boycott Continental. The grudge continues.

Later.

Spin

If you've read this month's main column, you already know that I've been traveling through the winter wonderland of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota this month. My job is in marketing these days, and part of what I do requires a process called "spinning." Basically, this just means that I find a way to place a positive (or negative) way of presenting facts. Well, I had an experience last week that gave new meaning to the the spinning process. I was in Ypsilanti. That's in Michigan, near Ann Arbor, for those of you who are interested. I was in a rental car on my way back to the airport. It was snowing and a bit icy on the road. As I am one of those overly cautious drivers, I slowed down to 15 mph for the turn onto the freeway. However, being unaccustomed to the fact that brakes should not be used while on ice, I wound up spinning the car 360 degrees in slow motion. This was one of the most disturbing experiences that I have had in a while. Anyhow, I didn't crash into anything, but I wound up in a ditch buried deep in the snow with a small tree in front of me. When I backed up, I dug myself deeper in the snow. So, contrary to all of the rules of logic, I decided to drive forward into the tree. Strange as it may seem, that did the trick -- I spun around and popped right back onto the freeway onramp.

Well, that was my mini-adventure in the Detroit area. Next, I'm headed for Minneapolis. And yes, I'm still going to be behind the wheel -- at least until someone decides that I can have a driver. Maybe I can put a better spin on this story so my company will hire a driver for me... Hmmm.

Boycott Continental! I mean it, now.

Later.

Passing Time

Yet another year has passed, and I'm still on the road. I'm on the road 51 out of 52 weeks this year. I spent the greater part of my birthday today in Minnesota, freezing my butt off. I expected to get stuck in Minneapolis, but they seem to have a good handle on dealing with snow. Much better than I do, anyway. As I mentioned earlier, I don't do snow very well. I especially attempt to avoid it on my birthday. I got delayed in Chicago today, and got myself a hot chocolate. That's about it. Not much excitement, other than the fact that I'm on the road and going to bed in Tampa, FL, tonight. So, another year, and a kazillion miles later, happy birthday to me! Later.

Going To Extremes

I can't believe I have to get back out into the field already. It's bad enough that I don't get to sleep any more, due to these early flights. My birthday is on Tuesday, and I'm spending it in Minnesota, and I'm getting on a plane to Florida after that. Talk about going to extremes, huh? Yep, it's Minneapolis and Tampa this week, and my flight is in a few hours, so I've got to start packing. What happens to these weekends anyway? I spent the weekend working, and I'm still not caught up. I seem to remember telling myself that I would stop working on Saturdays. I wonder what happened to that plan? I'm looking at the calendar, and you can congratulate me, because I've been traveling EVERY WEEK THIS YEAR!!!! This is a first for me. It's already the middle of December, and my first week that I'm not traveling (for business) is the week beginning December 29th. That's just not right. No wonder I've been cranky this year. I'd get a desk job, but not traveling would be an even worse shock to my system. Talk about extremes... Later.

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.