On the way to San Jose

Today was mostly a travel day for me.  It’s 9:40 pm pacific time, and I am just now sitting down in my hotel room to do some real work (well, right after I write this blog).  It seems that most people think business travel sounds like fun (and sometimes it is), but there is also a down side to it.  Like sitting in the middle seat on a crowded coach flight.  Unfortunately, it’s always that way when I fly to San Jose.  The planes are packed, and there are so many business travelers on those flights that all of the “exec plats” get priority for the first class upgrades. 

Today was no different.  I had two men on each side (why do men always have to hog the armrests — what’s the deal with that?). Every time I was close to falling asleep for a much needed nap (got about 6 hours of sleep the previous night), the guy on my right would stretch his legs and stamp on my foot.  I finally gave up on the sleep, opened my laptop and started to work.  I guess it could’ve been worse, at least there were no screaming kids.

Finally, we arrived.  I picked up my bags, hopped on the rent car shuttle, and proceded directly to my car (the perks of being a frequent traveler).  However, the moment I opened the door, I could smell smoke.   The car was beat up on the outside and was dirty inside.  So, I had to trek back to the priority member area to request another car.  The next one wasn’t pretty (bad upholstery stains), but I didn’t want to treck back to get yet another car so I decided to take it.    At least it didn’t smell.

I was headed to Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz mountains.  I’ve been there once before, but today I messed up the directions (long story).  By the time I realized it, I had gone 15 miles out of my way (or 30 miles round trip).  So, over an hour later, I finally arrived at my destination, the Hilton Scotts Valley.  I quickly freshened up and then headed out for dinner with the gang from work.

Now, I’ve got to get busy working on action items from today and deliverables for Wednesday.  My meetings tomorrow are all day strategic planning sessions which means “laptops down” (i.e. no multitasking on other projects).

Ah, the glamour of business travel…