This weeks business trip zzzzzzzz

[so called]

Just woke up, 3:25am wondering where I am.

Last Sunday - Frankfurt to Philadelphia.
Monday - Philadelphia to San Francisco.
Tuesday - Sacramento.
Today - San Francisco to Philadelphia.
Thursday Philadelphia to Chicago.
Friday Chicago to Philadelphia.
Saturday Philadelphia to Frankfurt.
Sunday Frankfurt to Manchester.

So far, haven't slapped past 4:00am

Still got Delhi belly from the India trip 3 weeks ago but lost 13lbs so can nearly see my feet

[so called]

Hope I don't sound like I'm whining ?
I do enjoy my job.
In between the flights, there are plenty if good bits.
Yesterday was a nice drive from Sacramento to SF.
Picked up a couple of pairs if shorts for our holiday in July from the Tommy Bahamas outlet in Vacaville on the way
Dinner at the Miramar Beach Restaurant in Half Moon Bay followed by a couple of hours walking around Fishermans Warf.

Been 'looking after' North America for 11 years now as an Application Engineer and Sales Rep in the Passenger Rail Industry.
Gone from an annual loss to annual multi £M profits.
My boss added India a couple of years back as a "reward" !

Much prefer this to being in the office.
Got a German colleague with ne this week. It gets embarrassing when every bar man calls out your name wherever we go.

[so called]

Huntsman said:

Next time you're in the Bay Area, pop over the bridge to Sausalito, find the Light House Cafe and have breakfast. Its wonderful.

Hahaha I was describing exactly this to my colleague. We just didn't have the time.
Lovely place.

Oh, waste line ? I'm trying not to put back on the 13lb I just lost in India. !!! Don't think it's working

[so called]

//j17 said:

On the plus side if you're only home Friday night to Monday morning it's amazing how long a roll of toilet paper will last in the bathroom!

Edited by //j17 on Thursday 14th May 13:44

Mine didn't last the weekend when I got backfrom India three weeks ago

[so called]

Cyder said:

//j17 said:

EnthusiastOwned said:

This sounds really exciting and interesting to me. I am stuck in the same old office in grey old Sheffield 5 days a week, mind you. I bet it wears thin pretty quickly though.

Having done the travel-for-work thing it is be exciting and interesting...for a few weeks. Then you realise that, in order to get the most out of your time your days become:

Get up early to catch flight on a plane that looks like every other plane, from an airport that looks like every other airport.
Get taxi to/from the airport that looks like every other taxi.

Spend all day trapped in an office that looks like every other office, in a meeting room that looks like every other meeting room, not even getting out at lunch time as they have ordered sandwiches in to save time. Yes, the sandwiches look exactly the same too.

Eventually escape and go to the chain hotel work have booked, that could be anywhere but WILL be in the middle of a dead-past-6pm edge-of-town office park.

Sit in hotel room watching TV and working out how much you're paying in mortgage/rent per time actually spent at home/listing all the things you would be doing if you were at home that night/wondering why hotels will only give you going-out-for-a-meal portions in the restaurant when what you want is a try-and-stay-in-the-same-sized-trousers portion.

Quite quickely you find that the only difference is that while you're sat in the same grey old office 5 days a week but get to go home at night, the traveller's stuck in someone else's grey old office 5 days a week - and a grey old hotel room 4 nights a week.



On the plus side if you're only home Friday night to Monday morning it's amazing how long a roll of toilet paper will last in the bathroom!

Edited by //j17 on Thursday 14th May 13:44

God that sounds depressingly familiar.

The only difference for me is that we get to choose our hotels within a budget meaning we can stay in nice hotels in decent locations. Bit pointless really when you're ariving late and leaving early each day and don't get to use or see any of the facilities!

It does occasionally have its perks granted. But for the most part business travel is a tedious round of taxis, airports, aircraft, hotels and meeting rooms. God bless Skype and cheap european mobile internet these days to dull the boredom.

I did get my work to pay for me to go snowboarding in Japan earlier this year though.

I'm lucky in that I can book my own hotel rooms and organize my meetings to suit the week and weekends.
So, as I work out of hotel rooms quite often, and I have a meeting in Miami on a Tuesday, I may arrive in Miami on the Friday before arguing that it doesnt matter which hotel room I'm locked in
Plus, I do a fair bit of driving between cities in the North America so get to see some of the country that way.
Having a morning meeting down town Los Angeles normally then finds me parked up on Malibu beach in my rental come mobile office

[so called]

Puggit said:

Does anyone else collect the data?

I'll have to try that.

Normal year is about 3 months in UK, 3 months in Germany, 1 month in India and 5 months in North America.
this week is 9 including heading home at the weekend.
The 1 weeks India trip was 12 flights.
They very quickly add up.

[so called]

Le TVR said:

Strangely enough, the last thing I want to see during my holiday is an airport. I'd rather just get in the car and drive.

I'm with you there.
July will see me hang up my Lounge passes for the Tuscan and a four week driving trip down to Spain

[so called]

Cyder said:

So I came into the office today with my passport and suitcase.

Friday lunchtime I was told I was going to Germany today, don't know yet what time the taxi is picking me up from work, where I'm staying, how I'm travelling to the hotel, what the meeting agenda is, or even if I'm staying there until tomorrow or Wednesday.

On the plus side I do like German beer.

I know that feeling of "who's doing what" ?
With you on German beer as well

Been planning to attend a meeting in Sterling VA for Tuesday next week but just been told I need to be at a a different meeting in Hyderabad, India on the same day
Looks like 48°C instead of 28°C.

[so called]

Super Slo Mo said:

Normally I don't generally like long trips away, as I've mentioned before, but I'm off to Canada (Ottawa) tomorrow for 4 weeks.

The plus side is that I'll have more non-work days than work days, and it's somewhere pleasant and safe, rather than the utter hole I last did a month in that wasn't really all that safe to leave the hotel and go far away alone.

Quite looking forward to it for a change.

Rent a car and check out Kingston (very British), Thousand Islands, Montreal, Toronto and your only about 4 hours away from Niagara and some very nice Vineyards on the way

[so called]

Today Hannover to Frankfurter to Delhi to Hyderabad.
Hotel collecting me in the morning when I arrive.
Then Wednesday hyderabad/Delhi/Lucknow.
Thursday Lucknow to Delhi
Friday Delhi / Frankfurt / hannover.
At hot and sweaty few days.

[so called]

Arrived at the hotel 10:30 this morning. straight to my room, shower and bed.
Set my alarm for 2:00pm so that I could use the Spa.

Just helped my son move back 'up north' from London, tons of garden labour work for my wife,(water fall feature) and then moved apartments in Germany Saturday before coming flying here.
My body is aching from head to toe.

Spa....full body Burmese muscle repair massage. Fantastic.
Two hours later in the Exec lounge, I cant stand up I'll have to stay for a couple more pain killing gins
Lovely sunset over Hussain Sugar Lake.

[so called]

Just back from our annual driving holidays with my Wife with stays in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Spain, I've just laid out the next 11 weeks of travel.
Drove to Germany today via last nights Harwich - HvHolland ferry, next week is USA followed by 3 weeks in India, a week back in the UK then 4 weeks in India again before heading back to the US.
Then its late October