? you may as well travel like this.
I travel for work, on occasion. I expect it averages out to about three times a year. Unfortunately, for this year, two of the times are separated by only one week between.
I am on the first of the trips now. Leah?s State basketball tournament wrapped up this afternoon (Sunday) and after getting a quick sub for lunch, Sherry and Leah dropped me off at the MSP airport. I spent the next few hours near my gate, and while I did finish the scenario of HoMM III I was playing, I could not find an outlet in which to plug my power cord, so I had to move on to non-computerized distractions.
Fortunately I had thought ahead and brought along ?The World?s Largest Dungeon? (TWLD). Sure, it?s heavy, but it?s fun to read. I am trying to decide whether to break into it in the ?middle? and run my current adventuring party through it, or rather to ask the D&D guys to make new characters specifically for the dungeon.
Anyway, TWLD is a nice distraction.
Then, in the gate area I ran into someone I know from work who will be attending the same conference I am. So, I will have someone to share a taxi with on the way to the hotel. Jim (the ?someone?) is very intelligent and, while pleasant, enjoys his solitude perhaps even more than I do. I suspect we will see each other some, but not too much, on this trip. I can think of many, many other co-workers who would have assumed I wanted constant companionship. Jim will not. This is good.
To make the trip even better, I discovered I have a First Class seat assignment on this leg of the journey. I?m pretty sure it was an automatic upgrade ? I don?t recall selecting this seat when I made my reservations. In any case, the added leg and arm room, together with the extra special attention from the flight crew, make this part of the trip pretty enjoyable.
This trip, by the way, is the closest thing to a ?boondoggle? I?ve ever had as an IBMer. I am going to a conference in Orlando, FL. But, while there I am not expected to present any papers ? I get to just sit, learn, and meet people in the Software side of development. Furthermore, the conference organizers have arranged for buses to take us to Epcot on Tuesday night, and have given us each a $25 certificate to be used at the food vendors there. Apparently the evening culminates with dessert and drinks at some IBM-sponsored area in the Technology section. So, while I will definitely be doing work while I?m there, this is not a ?heavy lifting? conference, and it even has some fun built right into it.
In contrast, the trip I take in a couple weeks will be less enjoyable. I will be driving to Chicago (yuck) for two full days of a week-long conference. Now, again, I am not expected to present anything ? just network (meet people and hobnob) and attend presentations. But I have to drive there! And back! It will take most of a day each way (well, most of a ?work-day?) ? and we?re talking Chicago! Heavy traffic and road construction year-round, in my experience.
Still, the week between contains Leah?s 14th birthday. That will be great. And I am not missing any weekends, nor any important events in the kids? lives, so all-in-all, this is not bad.
But I do expect to enjoy Orlando in March more than I will enjoy Chicago in March!