Travelling for Work

It's getting to be that time of the year again. Time to hit the road for the annual conference season - a high-tech dog and pony show where we show everyone how fine and dandy our web resource is and all the wonderful things that they can do with it.

Did I mention hitting the road? Yes, this means time away from the family. There is a certain appeal to the travel, if you don't count the actual time spent in the airports, cabs, planes and trains. I'm referring to those nights without being woken up by wails of "MAAMAAAAA!" or the ghostly specter of one of the two boys in the doorway, just standing there. From past experience, I do miss my guys but I'm usually way too busy to think and, before I know it, I'm back on a plane headed back home.

So now I'm flying for Chicago at the beginning of July and because I have to give a presentation on three separate days, which are spread out over four days, I have to be away for five nights. Grumble. I don't like being away that long.

Time to surf the airline webpages trying to find the ideal flight schedule/fare combination. Jeepers, wasn't this supposed to SAVE us time and effort by putting the information at our fingertips? I've just been the biggest waffler in the world for the past week because I can't decide whether I want to leave in the early afternoon so as to get to Chicago by early evening local time or whether I want to leave in the evening CA time so I can see the kids before I go to the airport - but this means I get to O'Hare at just past midnight and to the hotel at some godforsaken hour. Waffle, waffle, waffle. You know, sometimes it's really nice having three airports to choose from when flying in or out of the Bay Area but, this very second, the combinations are driving me batty! Fly out of Oakland but return to SFO. Fly out of San Jose and return to Oakland. Do I want to fly through Denver or fly direct? That's really a no-brainer - fly NONSTOP!

Thirty minutes later.... Done!

I've already checked out the hotel website and they do have FREE high-speed wireless. I hear there's also a nice big lake to run by/swim in close by :) and I'm positive that there's got to be an aikido dojo not too far away. I'm guessing my bag will be half full of work clothes and half full of running/swimming/aiki gear. Oh, and there is that matter of the conference, guess I'll have to slap together a presentation for that too.

This is going to fly by so quickly.