I begin this post as I have many others. It was way too early to be getting out of bed this morning but somehow, after about 4 hours of sleep, I managed to crawl out of bed and into the shower. While it may be a great time of day for some, five in the morning is not a good time of day for me. But, some work days begin earlier than others and today was definitely one of those days.
I
was moving particularly slow this morning and quickly started running behind. About
20 minutes behind schedule, I got in passenger seat of my wife’s car, and we
were off to the airport. We pulled up to the US Airways terminal with what I
thought was plenty of time… that thought persisted until I got in line to go
through security. 40 minutes and a security checkpoint change later and I was
finally on my way to the gate. Normally I arrive at the gate in plenty of time
to sit and relax before flying, this morning I didn’t even have time to hesitate,
and I walk right onto the plane. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised with a front
row, first class seat.
Surprisingly, given the fog, we took off on time. The
next two hours comprised a large number of bumps, so I was told, and a lot of
sleeping. Some people can work the entire flight, from gate to gate, like my
boss sitting next to me. That is something that I have never been able to do.
The best way for me to be productive is to get as much sleep as possible so
that I can get work done later. By the time the plane touched down in Atlanta,
we were running back on schedule. By the time the car service dropped us off at
the client’s office, we were running ahead of schedule.
This
is when the fun began. While the meeting was long, over six hours of constant
discussion, it was a great back and forth both of information and opinion. This
was a discovery and messaging meeting that is a fascinating thing to watch let
alone participate in. By the time the information fire hose is turned off at
the end of the day, you have all the information you need and a lot of ideas
that you don’t. It is also a great opportunity to get to know the people at the
company and find out a little bit about how they go about their work as well as
a little about themselves which comes out is little drips throughout the day.
Before
we had a real chance to breath, the day had passed and the car service was
calling us wondering when we were coming down since they had been waiting
outside for the past 45 minutes. Oops, time to wrap things up and head out the
door. And just like that we were on our way back to the airport to catch a 7:50
plane back to Philadelphia. Even running behind and the notorious Atlanta
traffic, we got to the airport with enough time to sit down for a quick bite to
eat. With egg and cheese sandwiches and Pepsi (I know, I was shocked) in our
stomachs from Der Waffle Haus, we walked over to the changed gate and got settled in our aisle seat
in the middle of the plane.
Two
and a half hours and some restless sleep later we were back in Philadelphia and
waiting for transportation home. So, nearly 17 hours after my day started, I
walked back into the apartment. Even though I was obviously dragging, I was
wide awake and ready to get things going after an excellent day and meeting.
However, my first business day trip (via an airport) is a little nuts when you
think about it. Oh well, sometimes you have to do what you have to do and I
prefer sleeping in my own bed and coming home to my wife. So, while hectic, it
was a good day all around.
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