Meditation on Business Travel

I just wanted to lay out some quick points and excerpts from my trip to Denver this week. I used to travel a lot, my first three years out of school, so I have a lot of these feeling still lingering whenever I business travel. Business travel makes me want to say things that would come off like quotes from Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club.” Rather than do that, I thought I would keep it to one simple point, Cell Phone Usage.

Men under the age of twenty-three and over the age of forty should be required to receive a license for mobile phone usage. For older men, the reason: when one’s hearing is not of a reasonable quality, they feel the urge to conduct business calls loudly. To receive the license they should prove a knowledge of both excusing themselves from their continental breakfast buffet table, and go out to the hallway. Sitting at one’s table with an open USA Today and a plate full of freeze-dried eggs blotched with Tabasco is not the place for discussing the scope of one’s business enterprises.

For the young men, the reason: I don’t like the OSU Buckeyes, nor do I care to hear how “ripped” or “wasted” someone’s friends were during the BCS Championship. Moreover, I don’t want to hear how much love one has for their girlfriend somewhere back in Columbus. Certainly what you do is important, working for the Federal Government in your first post-collegiate job is important.

Women, there are two types of you: the matron with the headset coaching one of her family members through iterative daily tasks, or making sure all is well with one’s teenage children’s supervisors. The other types, of course, are those that are early-to-mid-twenties that are pulling a female version of the Type-A male I mention above. Certainly, I am sure their business is “important,” but outward demonstration of command and quick thinking with outward dramatization is not necessary. We believe that these young women, like young men, are “important,” and they have “big” things transpiring. To be sure!

One should be so lucky to have great lovely friends in a city to where they travel for business. On a lighter note, my friends Jonathan and Jess, a great young engaged-to-be-married couple did me the courtesy of picking me up last night, and they took me out for Sushi! The Sushi was phenomenal, some of the best I have had in years. Truthfully, I don’t know that it could be much better. I would go so far as to say, the best I have ever had.

In all fairness to Sushi chefs, I will give a good bit of bias to the fact that I was with terrific company. It was great to see two friends I had not seen in a long time. More than that, it was great to see them both doing so well, and looking so great. Last night was the highlight of my trip to Denver, unquestionably!